Lovin' Lulu with a Bark Box!

As you all may or may not realize, Lulu is a huge part of our family.  She is our first child, our little fur baby.  She has been with us for four years now and is a delight in our day.  One of my favorite parts of the afternoon is seeing her little head pop up over the side of the couch and hearing her tail flapping against the pile of pillows she has perched herself on.  

Benjamin and I know that having a Winston around is going to rock her little world, so we are taking proactive steps to start getting her acclimated to his things and to let her know that she is still precious to us.  We have set up the highchair and have moved it around the kitchen and dining room so that she is used it something rolling around after her.  We have been playing the sounds the little musical things and thankfully, she hasn't been bothered much by them.   One suggestion we have not yet done, but will be doing is to set up something in the crib that makes crying baby sounds.  

Our philosophy right now is that one of us will have a Winston and one of us will have a Lulu.  We know that we'll still have the evenings to love on her and we're counting on her adoring little Winston as much as she adores us!

Another thing I've done in an effort to make her feel special during the first few months is subscribe her to Bark Box.  Each month she will receive a box full of goodies especially for her!  I just love surprises and this is a fabulous way to get new things {toys! treats!} and enjoy a surprise!  And because I heart companies that give back, Bark Box also donates 10% of it's revenue to pet shelters.  If you'd think it's something you'd like to try out, click on this link and receive a discount on your first subscription.  Lulu's first box arrives in September, so count on a review of how she liked it and what it contained!  Also, Groupon is currently offering a discount on the 3-month subscription via here. 

Some may call us a little nuts for how much we love our Lubaby and the crazy things we do for her... but we're okay with that!

Family Routine

Yup.  That sums up our little family in a set of 1, 2, 3!  

Created by Fresh Words Market, it is available on One Kings Lane for a discount!  Hooray!

Not with One Kings Lane yet?  Click here and join!

Happy Weekend to you friends!

Sara

Give a Penny, Take a Penny: Hospital Bag

After some consideration, I'm trying out a new segment that I will call Give a Penny, Take a Penny.  GAP TAP for short.  Based off of the phrase, "A penny for your thoughts..." I'll throw out a topic where I would like you to offer up advice or comments on your experience or the experience of others you know.  Feel free to give a penny or even perhaps learn something new and take a penny! 

Here we go:

When it comes to the hospital bag, what was the most useful item that you took along with you that you thought, "Man!  I am so thankful I have this!"  And in saying that, was there something that your significant other was thankful to have?

..aaand go.

Much love,

Sara

Bump It: 31 Weeks

9 weeks left.  NINE.  That is the equivalent of 63 days.  1512 hours.  Gulp.  Nervousness and then excitement!  So much excitement and a full heart of anticipation on the day when we'll get to meet our wonderful Winston Ace!  It's kinda funny to me - I remember what I felt like when I was 9 weeks pregnant with 31 to go: nervous, excited, hopeful, nauseous.  Now that it's 31 weeks pregnant and 9 to go I feel: nervous, excited, hopeful, nauseous!  A complete circle of emotions!

We head to the doctor tomorrow to get a more exact guess on the due date.  We continue to mark actions off of our to do list.  Things such as:

• Find a pediatrician
• Sell our spare bedroom set
• Start setting up the room to be ready for Winston
• Take glucose test

I am happy to report that my glucose test came back normal!  And that it wasn't as horrible as I had built it up in my mind to be.  I was under the impression that I was going to have to suck down a Route 44 sized orange slush mixture that was going to make me gag.  Quite the contrary - I had 5 minutes to drink what looked like a small bottle of orange Fanta.  I cracked open the top, took a deep breath and started chugging the liquid.  And I'm glad I did - I got most of it down in one go!  When I returned less than a minute later to throw the bottle away, the nurse looked at me with large eyes and said, "You're done drinking it already?!"  Yup, empty bottle is proof of that.

As mentioned above we started getting the room ready for Winston.  Here's a little teaser.

Our theme for the room is Whimsy Woodsy for Winston!  Surprised we didn't go with a monkey theme?  And wondering why a monkey is in this picture?  Well, Jacques the sock monkey matches the colors!

In the next few weeks Benjamin, Lulu and I are planning on making every effort to continue enjoying life as we know it.  We are still very relaxed about the upcoming life changing event even though we are in the single digit week countdown.  I have been sleeping really well at night, thank the Lord and am not taking that for granted in the slightest!  I am still mesmerized by how miraculous it is that a tiny human is being knit together in my womb.  I don't really have to do much - eat well, sleep well and God takes care of the rest.  

Getting' ready!!

Travel: Vegas in the Fall

In the fall, Benjamin and I will be venturing to Las Vegas.

Yes, it will be for a conference.  You know how we roll.  We are excited about this trip because neither of us have ever been to Las Vegas!

Things that I know I visit while I am there include:

The Neon Museum

How whimsically wonderful does this place look?

This organization collects and displays neon signs from the Vegas Strip as a way of preserving history and appreciating the art of neon signs.

The Arts Factory

While perusing through Not Martha, one of her travel links boasted this post by everywhereist and after reading it, I have put The Arts Factory as a place to visit and eat.  

Besides the staples of the Bellagio Fountains and trying out a slot machine or two, what would you suggest putting on our list of to-do's?

Ready for vacation,

Sara

vegas sign  neon museum arts factory

Baby Cuteness

I was looking back at some baby photos of Benjamin and I this evening.  And the cuteness that spews from the both of us back at that young age is just too adorable to not share...

This is one of my all time favorite photos of me.  And here's why:

1.  Who doesn't love an adorable dress with ruffled socks and black Patton leather shoes?  My momma dressed me well folks.  

2.  The Gerber curl on the top of my head.  It was my signature look for years.  

3.  The excited face and massive smile.  Almost every photo that I have looked at, I have that same expression.  The parents say I was always a happy kid... here's proof.

4.  The grip I have on my poor doll's head... combined with the crazy* (*see excited in the comment above!) eyes!

Plus I have some really great memories of Noah making me laugh so hard until I was crying with his commentary about this photo.  It was stellar...wish y'all could have been there.

This is one of my favorites of Benjamin and here is why:

1.  Again with the snazzy socks and adorable shoes... and a BOW TIE!  With Benjamin's sense of style, we were destined to be together!  No it's true, when we get ready to go out on the town, he chooses his outfits so that we won't clash!

2.  How sweet is she precious expression?  I just want to pinch his little cheeks!

3.  The way he sweetly is loving on Toby Rabbit just melts my heart.  The cool thing is Toby still makes an appearance every Easter.

I won't overshare, but here are two that I hope just make you smile a little, if not laugh a little.  Go ahead, we give you permission.

Here's to hoping that Winston turns out the perfect blend of classy and crazy!

Tuesday Happies!

So far today, there have been four things that have made this Tuesday great!

1.  Finding out that Which Wich is having $3 wiches tomorrow, August 1st for those of us that live in the Houston area!  Proceeds go to a backpack drive for back to school.  Who doesn't love good food at a great price for a great cause?

2.  This video popped into my life today and I felt inclined to share it with you.  Be sure to click on the link and listen to the entire interview!  My laughter was heard echoing through the halls of the 9th floor...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/28/sister-haircut_n_1635143.html

3.  The Dining Hall had white cake with funfetti sprinkles.  It's really good, trust me.  If you ever want to try it for yourself, just come for a visit!

4.  I am planning when to use my Sprinkles Cupcake offer from Facebook.  Buy one cupcake, get one free... HELLO, yes please.  

Hope you've had some joys in your Tuesday!

Hugs,

Sara

Documenting Life

Update: So...it's been more than a week, but I have been working on the things below!!

Over the next week or so, I will be working on catching up on documenting our lives.  This will include the following:

• Hosting an 80's Party
• Hawaii
• Crafty Projects
• The Orange Show
• San Antonio
• Crossing a cool item off our bucket list
• Galveston
• Lulu's Birthday

You are more than welcome to check back here for the updates as I'm going to retro-post them as to keep The Timeline of Our Life in order...at least on the internet!  :)  I will more than likely repost this piece each time there is an update so bear with me.

Loves,

Sara

Bump It: 26 Weeks

Where has the past 7 weeks gone?!  Time seems to fly when you're growing a human!  In the past seven weeks we have had Andrew come to live with us for 6 weeks, we travelled to San Antonio, we spent time in Galveston with Benjamin's family and tried to keep up with the every day routine of patients and work.

The time has gone relatively quickly, however we feel fairly relaxed and on top of things for the most part.  We feel like we have the big things covered:

• Name: Check
• Room Theme: Check
• Hospital Toured: Check
• Lamaze started: Check
• Crib purchased: Check
• Stroller/car seat: Check
• Day care for when I return to work: Check

Everything else seems to be ticking along nicely as each day comes.  One of our most out of our comfort zone experiences so far was registering at Target.  It was a lot of me setting my purse down on one end of the aisle and moving up each section saying, "Oh, I don't know...this one?  Or maybe this one?  There's too many choices.  Surely they're all okay, right?  (sigh)  Let's go with this one"  Insert the sound of me scanning an item.  All of this happening while Benjamin was doing price comparisons on Amazon.  Another favorite conversation was this:

Benjamin: I scanned us the starter bottle pack.

Me: How many are in there?

Benjamin: 8

Me: 8?!  We need more than 8 bottles!  How many times a day do you think he'll eat?

Benjamin: Like 4-5.

Me: Nope.  Like 8 or more.  Do you want to wash bottles every day?

{Sound of Benjamin scanning three more sets of bottles}

We have totally enjoyed the experience of registering and have found ourselves laughing along the way.  Although we don't consider ourselves hippies, most of the the baby items that we like just happens to be eco-friendly and made of out of sustainable, recyclable items.  Maybe those items will help offset the fact that we are going to be using disposable diapers!  

Onto week 27 and beyond!!!