One

Sweet Caroline...

You were born on this day, one year ago, at exactly 12:53pm.

Shortly thereafter, I enjoyed a Jimmy John's sandwich (beach club) while introducing you to your family,  and telling the story of your arrival.

You have been a blessing from the start.

You have brought so much energy and joy to our family.

You smile all the time and laugh often.

You are so curious, but also cautious.

You LOVE your Lily girl and expect her greeting each morning when you wake.

You love to eat... anything and everything.

You are independent.

You don't love naps.

You love to crawl up the stairs and give yourself a round of applause when you've reached the top.

You love Hawaii, sun dresses and bare feet.

Shoes do not work for you currently.

You have 8 teeth and just a little hair, and your nails grow fast and furious.

You eyes are the color of a Northwest lake... green mixed with some blue steel... and your hair is fair, for now.

You love your grandmas and your daddy.

You love to be in a social setting and wonder...

You are calm and mellow, just like your dad.

You really enjoy grocery shopping, my Evergreen Hospital thermos, and remotes. I cant wait to introduce you to cake...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BUNNY!

I cannot believe I have a one-year old little lady.

Words to Live By...This Week Anyway!

This is an overused and over saturated quote, however, nothing describes how I am feeling, one week from my "due date", better than this...both figuratively and literally!

Projects

Since moving into a house, there have been a few things on my list to do/make and didn't have the time until after the first of the year.... of course when I'm super pregnant.  Lets just say, I am super grateful for a very helpful and handy hubs and dad!

I am so proud of Jeremy and how he brought my stolen visions to life.  Here is a few of the projects we recently completed:

Dining Room Farmhouse Style Table
We were given a beautiful custom-made table base by our good friends the Smiths, and decided to use it as an inspiration to make our own dining room table.  It took some serious craftiness and sanding, but Jeremy pulled it off and we LOVE it!  He even made a bench to go on one side, and we plan to find some cool chairs to re-finish for the other side and ends. 

Disclaimer: we realize this table is rather large and doesn't fit our current space that well, but we are hopeful for a larger space in the future.

Resources:
Ana White
The Home Depot
Lowe's

Entry Way Table
I found this adorable little table at Marshall's for like $25 and didn't care for the black painting job, so decided to use some Anne Sloan Chalk Paint and spiff it up a bit.  I then added the dark wax over it to make it look weathered/antiqued. Super easy and no priming or sanding necessary with this stuff... its the greatest thing. Ever.

Resources:
Anne Sloan Chalk Paint (Duck Egg Sampler)
Anne Sloan Dark Wax Coat
            Local Retailer: Haley's Cottage


Kitchen Table
I inherited this table when I got married.  I never loved it but saw the potential it had. We have a lot of wood grains going on in our casa, so I finally decided to try to tone them down a bit by painting the wood exposed portion to this table and chairs.  For this piece, I used the clear wax to seal the paint and create a slight sheen.

Resources:
Anne Sloan Chalk Paint (Paris Grey)
Anne Sloan Clear Wax Coat

I also used this Paris Grey color for a small entertainment center (purchased at Ikea - originally white), as well as a bed frame my dad made, which I used the dark wax to create the antiqued look.

Barn Door Head Board
This image I found on Dreamy Whites, a lovely blog I look to check out every now and then. I have had this image in my "house" folder for like a year now and we FINALLY got around to figuring out how to create our own.

Here's how we did it:
1. Found a set of doors
2. Attached them
3. Painted them
4. Waxed them
5. Painted hardware
6. Added hardware
7. Secured to wall

Resources:
Re-Store (Ballard)
Anne Sloan Chalk Paint (Cream)
Anne Sloan Dark Wax Coat

9 Months

I cant believe I am in my 9th month of pregnancy, and will finally get to meet this little person that has been living with me all this time in just a few weeks.  HOLY. COW.

Since I am using my silly little blog as a diary of sorts, I wanted to make sure I wrote this little one a note before he, or she, blesses our family and this world with their presence....

Baby Y,

I cant believe I only just found out about you in August.  How the time now seems to have flown by.  I have loved being pregnant.  I always thought I might, but I'm sooo happy it has been the experience I had hoped for, ups, downs and all.

I get stoked every time I hear your heartbeat, feel your little legs kicking or nudging me in the middle of the night, seeing you float around in my tummy those first few months... Its rather awesome and I will miss those moments that only you and I have shared...BUT, losing those moments means we will finally get to meet you, see your beautiful face, and start our journey as a family together.  And most importantly, learn if you will be a fearless little boy, or a vivacious little lady!  Lets be honest, you will likely NOT be shy...

Good luck with your passage into this life... it might be a little crazy and hectic, but I promise to do my best to get you here unscathed (and keep myself in tact as well).  You are coming in the Spring, which is one of my four favorite seasons.  You will be a welcome addition to the sprouting flowers and trees, baby birds and bunnies, misty rain... and brighter, longer days.  

You will be instantly and insanely loved and oogled over.  You are the first grandchild, so be prepared.  All of your aunties and uncles are super excited for your arrival as well. 

I might freak out a bit at times... I may forget how to eject your car seat or to change a diaper or three, or even how to collapse the redonk stroller we got you, but please be patient... I am no Carol Brady. 

I'll do my best to make you smile and keep you calm, cool and collected 95-98% of the time. Despite my inevitable downfalls, I know I will always try to kick parenthood's a$$ as best I can.

I'll love you forever, and I'm overcome with joy that you will soon be on your way.

Love,
Your Mom

Here I am in all my glory... big as a house, swollen piggies, nose starting to get bigger (how weird) and things getting super cramped in my belly (yes baby, that's my rib your foot is stuck in...).

Here's to my last few weeks on this earth as just me... I cant wait for my little Spring arrival, and for life as I know it, to never, ever be the same, in the most exciting, most terrifying and most amazing ways.

Showered

Last weekend, my dear friends threw me the most perfect baby shower.

It was very surreal experience for me... I felt like I was at someone else's shower... I have been to so many over the years, it was so crazy to be at my OWN.  I am so, so grateful to have such a special group friends, and felt so loved.

I hope to have time to conduct various self-tutorials on how to use the goodies I received prior to April 1st. Wish me luck.

THANK YOU!

Southern Kitchen

As I was eliptical'ing last week, watching "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" (yes, I watch cooking shows whilst working out... I find it inspiring... to finish faster to get home and eat dinner), I caught a fried chicken recipe.  I can honestly say I'm not sure I have ever actually had fried chicken, but it looked tasty, so thought I would give it whirl.

Well, I ended up using a Tyler Florence recipe instead, and here is how I did it:

Ingredients:
- peanut oil
- 2 T salt
- 6-8 pieces of chicken w/ the skin (i used thighs and legs)
- 2-3 C all purpose flour
- 2 T cayenne pepper
- 2 T paprika
- 2 T onion powder
- 2 T garlic powder
- 2 C buttermilk
- 2 T chili/garlic sauce
- salt and freshly ground pepper

Prep:
- Soak chicken in water and salt for min. of four hours in the refrigerator.  This will brine the meat and make it super tasty and super moist.
- Mix flour and spice mixture in 2 inch dish.
- Mix buttermilk with chili/garlic sauce in a bowl.
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with foil and paper towel.

Step 1 - Heat oil (about 3 inchs deep) in a fryer, or a deep pan to approx. 350-356 degrees.  Thermometers are a must!

Step 2 - While the oil is heating, pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.  Next, dust in flour mixture, followed by buttermilk, and back into flour mixture.

Step 3 - Make sure oil is hot enough (Note: the oil will cool as soon as you place the chicken in it, so adjust the temp. accordingly), and gently place 3-4 pieces of chicken in the oil. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, then carefully turn to cook on the other side until golden brown, another 3-4 minutes, or so, depending on the size of your chicken pieces.

Step 4 - Remove cooked chicken and place on lined baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and place in the oven to stay warm while cooking other pieces.

Serve warm with your favorite side.  I tossed some freshly blanched green beans in butter, olive oil, garlic and some S & P.

The chicken skin was SOOOO crunchy and so tasty.  NO sauce or gravy required.  Inside, the chicken was perfectly cooked and flavored nicely from the salt brine.  And, not oily at oil.

A must try for the fried chicken virgin.

I might even get real Southern, and eat the leftovers with waffles tomorrow.

Enjoy!

Namaste

Week 29 and feelin' fine!  Baby is measuring normal (whatever that means), I too seem to be measuring normal, and all systems a-go to date!  Baby is moving lots and feeling him or her move is the best part of my day.  I cant wait to get into bed at nite, grab my baby books, and read while I feel the baby move around, wondering what is going on in there!

I had my first pre-natal yoga class this evening, and it was awesome.  It should have been my second, however, I somehow managed to lock my keys in my my car last week... in a car that is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to do this in.  Dumb. Young. (no, thats not any sort of Asian Cuisine...Sta)

I've really, really, missed hot yogs, so it felt so good just to be going through familiar poses, even if it was in a cold room, very slowly, with no music, four randos, and at a hospital.  I fell asleep towards the end and started drooling;  I was that relaxed.  I can still do pretty much all the moves, I just have to be extra careful of my growing belly when bending over and/or backwards.

Here's me attempting one of my favorite poses at home for Lily, dancer.  She is clearly not amused. Needless to say, my balance is off these days, so its not as pretty as it should be, nor my leg as high as it could be.

I haven't quite mastered my new spacial allowance, so often run into things... and people.

I cant believe I'm on the home stretch already... less than 2.5 months to go (with a short month!). WOW.

#notreadyyet!