Anniversary, Birthday, Babymoon

In light of the proximity of Papillon's expect arrival date to our (3rd!) anniversary, we decided to bump up our annual anniversary trip plans. We figured pre-baby was easier than post-baby, and, as luck would have it, our only free weekend fell on my birthday weekend. This resulted in a tri-purpose trip. Which was a wonderful excuse to splurge a bit.

This is Mon Amour's year to plan the trip, and boy do I have my work cut out for me for next year...cause he did an amazing job this year!

What do you think he planned?

To take me to Atlantic City for the weekend?

Well, yes but that wasn't the point.


To stay at a really nice hotel/resort while we were there?

We did that too. But again, not the point.

The highlight of the trip, which he did not tell me until we had already had fun at the beach, and relaxed in our beautiful hotel room, was this:

The Elizabeth Arden, Red Door Spa.
Let's just say it was near divine. I have been to a few nice spas before (one of my job's random perks), but this was hands down the best one. And no, I am not just saying that cause I am pregnant and needed a massage more than ever. Objectively, as an event planner who plans spa outings, it was an amazing spa.

Subjectively, as a pregnant lady with terrible sciatic nerve pain, it was just what I needed. Between the massage and then utilizing the hotel's pool (swimming while pregnant is glorious by the way...I didn't realize how heavy these extra 30 pounds were until I got in the water and they seemed to disappear) my sciatic nerve pain has all but completely gone away. I am limp-free again!

It was a beautiful weekend.

The view from here. 33 weeks

33 weeks.

5 weeks of work left.

Less than 2 months until she arrives.

Not really ready for the adventure called parenthood...but ridiculously excited to get it started.

Spring Wedding

Weddings are always fun! And today Mon Amour and I (a Papillon of course) had the privilege of going to a very lovely one.

The church was an adorable back drop, set in the scenic-middle-of-nowhere.

The ceremony was full of sweet moments.
Like this one...

...looking for the ring bearer, and coaxing him to bring the all important rings forward.

And of course this one...

...the all around sweetness of the bride and groom.

...and my favorite part (at least, it was my favorite moment at my wedding)...after all the pomp and circumstance is over, and you are just happy to be married and among friends!

It was a lovely way to spend a Saturday.
Congratulations to the bride and groom!

Multi-Purpose

When Mon Amour's parents visited the other weekend, the brought a very fun gift for Papillon.

Its a cool solid wood piece that has 3 fun functions.

It's a little desk...

....a rocking horse...

...and a high-chair!

A very clever invention if I do say so myself!

Grocery Shopping...Block Party

It's not really new news that I like to grocery shop. What is new and exciting is the number of shopping options that I have now that we live in the city. Every week is a new shopping adventure, trying to figure out which places have the best prices and best produce and such.

By far the most exciting shopping adventure was this one from a couple weeks ago:

The 6 hour sale was called "Jamaica-Me-Crazy". I initially skipped over this add for its cheese-factor. That kind of gimick can't possibly be connected to legitimately good sale prices.

However, the morning of the sale, I looked at it again, and realized it was a sale that could not be passed up. With ground beef for 99cents a pound, and cherry tomatoes at 50 cents a pint; I could not resist.

However, I was mildly intimidated by the fact that the sale was complete with "live entertainment". I have mild phobia of cheap DJs, and much prefer to shop without distraction. So I convinced Mon Amour (and by convinced, I mean that he was more than willing...cause he is great like that) to come with me.

Between the live entertainment (a DJ, and the mascot for the city's MLB team) and the games (some raffles and such), and the limited parking (it's a small local grocery store) it was a mad-house!!!
They had every check out lane open, and the lines were still huge! But they moved pretty fast, and everyone seemed to be having a fun time. The store owner was there handing out random coupons for future shopping trips, our cashier was the friendliest person ever. And all in all, it felt more like a community event, like a block party, then it did like a sale. The good prices were just an added bonus.

Hand Me Downs

About a week ago, Mon Amour's parents paid us a visit, and brought with them a bunch of girls clothes from a neighbor of theirs whose girl had outgrown them. It was a ton of clothes! They filled one large box,

...and 3 grocery bags.

Which proceeded to make up 3 completely full loads of laundry!

The hand me downs included everything from newborn clothes to 4T, as well as some blankets and sheets.
And also this exciting frog costume.

We are so blessed to be the recipient of such generosity! I can't wait to dress Papillon in some of her adorable clothes.

31 Weeks

For the first time this past week, when someone asked how I was feeling, my very first thought was "uncomfortable", rather than "great!". Papillon has found her way onto my sciatic nerve, which means from time to time (mostly when I am trying to get out of bed) I get a startling stab of pain in my lower back and right leg. Its really not that bad, just surprising, and can cause me to gasp and stumble when I am walking. When its bad, I find myself hobbling along with a slight limp.

Discomfort was bound to happen; and the fact that for the most part it waited until week 31 to show up is pretty fantastic. And despite the hobbling my inability to sleep through the night these days, I am still very much enjoying being pregnant. Her little kicks are still the most fun thing ever!

It was also this week that I realized how soon she is coming! 2 months is a significant amount of time I suppose, but between work, and an over committed social schedule, her arrival is seeming ridiculously close! I can't wait for her to arrive, but I don't feel prepared at all. So, for now, it is fine with me if she keeps hanging out inside me, even if she is sitting on a nerve.

Armoire Adventure

Remember the armoire that we found for free at a yard sale a couple weeks ago?

Well, the other weekend we put some stain on it. I must say I am super impressed with how it turned out. I thought it might have needed more love than we could have given it, but a little sanding and a little stain and its (almost) good as new!

Doesn't it look nice?


The problem with it in this picture, is that it is in my kitchen....not where it is supposed to be.

We stained it on a Saturday, having thoroughly checked the forecast to make sure that there was no chance of rain for the next 24 hours, so that it could dry outside. We put the last coat of stain on in the evening, and went to bed without another thought for its well being outside on the porch.

Well, at about 5:45 am, I woke up (as I often do in the middle of the night these days, thanks to Papillon) and thought I heard rain. My first thought was of the armoire, but I figured I must be imagining things, since the forecast had not even called for the slightest chance of rain until the next day. But, the pitter patter was unmistakable.

So I work Mon Amour up with a gentle "Mon Amour, it's raining". He reacted exactly as I anticipated; first he grunted and rolled over, assuming that I was just being annoying perky about an early morning spring shower. About 5 seconds later he put two and two together.

With a gasp, he lept out of bed and flew down the steps.
I am not sure what his rush was, cause I can't move that fast these days, and I knew he would need my help moving the armoire inside. I creeped out of bed and followed him at a much slower pace.

Without too much ado, we got the armoire inside to the kitchen. And left it there. Mon Amoire was back upstairs and asleep before I managed to mozy my way back to the stairs.

The armoire spent the next week in my kitchen.
I can help move furniture short distances in an emergency, but there is no way Papillon and I were going to even try and help move that upstairs.
Fortunately, with a bit of able bodied help this weekend, it is now upstairs in Papillon's room where it belongs, none the worse for the rain shower it endured.

Like mother like daughter

In honor of mother's day, and my wonderful mother, I just want to say that its a good thing that I like my mother a lot, cause every day I am becoming more and more like her.

There is not time to count the ways in which we are similar.

So for now, I will just mention one.

Like all good women in my family, when life gets rough, and motivation to do anything on your ever growing to do list has completely died, there is only one thing to do...


...make peanut butter fudge.

It is essential that you make it without a recipe so that it comes out a little different each time.
And of course you must pour it into a plate,
leaving enough warm and delicious fudge in the pan to satisfy your sweet craving,
and leaving the plate full of fudge, untouched for future temptations.

Roses

Our roses have started to bloom. It seems we have one white bush...

And one red bush.

The Book Thing

Possibly the only thing more exciting than our yard sales finds last weekend, was our discover of a really cool "bookstore" that is nearby.

I put bookstore in quotes, cause you don't actually buy anything. Its a sketchy looking little warehouse type space, full of books that are free for the taking. Absolutely, 100% free. You can take whatever you want.
They have tons of books that they collect through donations. Some are obviously old, and will probably sit on their shelves for a long time. But we perused the shelves for some time and came away with a good box full.

Just what we needed...more books. Our primary goal for yard sales has mostly been to find bookshelves since we didn't have enough to begin with. Now we have even more books....oh boy.

What can I say, free books are too tempting to turn down.

More Yard Sale Success

Yard sale-ing is an addictive hobby. Last weekend we had more wonderful successes!

Here is what we found:

5 maternity shirts, 1 maternity dress, and 1 maternity skirt. All $1 or $2 each. Woohoo!

Foam interlocking floor mat toy. $2

Mrs Piggle-Wiggle Books: Cheap (I forget how much). I LOVE these stories. If you have never read them, I highly recommend them. Definitely children's stories, but lots of fun to read.


Wooden DVD shelf - $2. (cause of a "cracked" bottom rung...easily duct-tape-able, and well worth $2)

Barely used crib mattress - $20. Now we just need to put Papillon's crib together, and she will have a place to sleep whenever she arrives!

We are off for more adventures this weekend, who knows what we will find!