Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

Happy 38th Anniversary to my wonderful Mom and Dad!

Hope you do something fun to celebrate!!
Love you!

Circular Saw Survival

As much as Derek likes to think he's a regular handyman, we all know better. Sure he can change light bulbs like the best of 'em and is a master at tightening loose screws, but when it comes to larger projects I have to admit I get a bit nervous.

This past weekend we rented a circular saw as three of our doors needed cut on the bottom. Two of them were because of the new, plush carpet and pad in our basement and the other is in the bathroom so that we can keep a rug in there. Geared up with headphones, ear plugs and safety goggles, we dove in....

.... and survived! No fingers cut off. No scraps projected into any eyeballs. And three doors all perfectly cut on the bottom.

And yes, that's even me helping to measure and make a straight line! Great job babe.... I'm glad we are both still alive!

It's Birthday Time!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAL!

(Don't worry - I won't post how young you are!)

  

And So It Begins

Derek and I owe four family members two HUGE thank you's!

First - to my parents who graciously offered to purchase Baby K's crib AND dresser for the nursery!! I researched high and low to find the set that I wanted that would be quality construction and had great reviews online. Once we found it, my mom and dad surprised us by saying they wanted to purchase the pieces for us as our big gift!

And we ended up with this wonderful crib and dresser set. They look awesome in the room and we LOVE the espresso color accented by the light green walls!

Second - to Derek's parents who graciously offered to purchase our glider and ottoman! I've been told to definitely get a comfortable chair with as much time as you spend rocking in it and this glider is just that. You barely have to move for it to rock and it's very comfy!

 Here's a quick shot of Derek and Mike assembling these three pieces. Note who is "supervising" on the bed!

Thanks so much to both 'grandparents'!

I know Baby K will appreciate his nursery and we appreciate these generous gifts!!

Mike's Visit Part 2

On Saturday, we got up and drove down to the Cleveland Browns Stadium to watch the KC Chiefs lay the smack down! Browns fans are crazy mean and even my preggo belly did not deter several men from trying to start stuff with Derek and Mike. At least we won and could gloat afterward!

Tickets were really pricey for this game so this is our view from the second to top row. It was definitely a hike for me to get all the way up there!




The rest of the visit was spent eating food at various restaurants we love, seeing movies, playing Monopoly, grilling out and trying out some bars downtown.

Mike even helped me pull out all of the ground cover under our beautiful orchid tree out front one of the days while Derek was at work! We didn't like the vine-like plant that was taking over landscaping and I can't WAIT until spring when I can get some color planted down there!

MISS YOU ALREADY BEAN!

Mike's Visit Part 1

My brother came up for a few days to see Cleveland in the summer and enjoy a nice break from med school studying.

On our first day out, we ventured to the island of Put-In-Bay, but first made a stop at the Drive Through Safari.

We fed zebras, giraffes, gazelles, buffalo and some other animals that we weren't quite sure what they were!

This guy reached in through the sunroof and was trying to lick my hair!

And the last animal was a white zebra!

Then we were off to Put-In-Bay island where we had fun driving around on the golf cart. We stopped and ate good food, had some good drinks and had some great people-watching!

We took a winery tour, stopped by the chocolate museum and had some drinks at this beach house with swings to sit on around the bar and sand in between your toes!

I was even able to enjoy some yummy virgin drinks while the boys chugged their beers.

I'm just so glad to have spend some time with my Bean!

Aerator Shoe Attempt

We decided that our yard was just too small to rent an aerating machine this year so we decided to try out plan B. Derek bought some 'aerating shoes' and was just going to walk around in the bad spots to create some holes, in which I would follow behind and sprinkle some seed.

Yes the ground was wet to make it softer and yes he had them properly fastened. Did that matter? Nope.

I'm not sure why we thought they would make nice, neat little holes in the ground. Instead, they took up huge clumps of grass and dirt. On top of that, they lasted an entire 10 minutes until the snap broke on one of them.

Consumer Warning: Do NOT waste your money on this product!

We did get the yard done, though. It just took Derek a lot longer making holes with the iron rake!

Basement Mini-Makeover

We are super excited to have a basement now with fresh paint and new carpet to enjoy!

the old carpet was dark and ROUGH with no padding (similar to the sun room we changed out). Now we have a wonderfully plush carpet with a good, thick pad and LOVE walking barefoot down there! Below are some shots of what the carpet looked like as well as what was under it once the Lowe's guys pulled it up. The blue picture is our new pad -

And her are some shots of the new PLUSH / SOFT / AWESOME carpet! -

Doesn't it just brighten up the whole basement?!

Book Review - Best Friends Forever

So I switched up authors to try out a Jennifer Weiner book, Best Friends Forever.

Although the storyline was a bit far fetched for me, I do like Jennifer's style of writing and how she goes to great lengths to develop the characters. The predictable story follows two women who have shared a lifetime of memories, yet separated for almost a decade. As their friendship is rekindled out of the most unusual situation, the two former best friends discover what is important in life.

Although it's a quick, easy read, I'm still only giving this book a B-

First Prenatal Massage

I decided that it was time to treat myself to a prenatal massage now that my 'comfort level' has changed a bit. I went last night for a full hour and it was great! It felt so good and definitely relaxed me quite a bit! It was weird not laying on your stomach for a massage but didn't change how wonderful it felt.

I'd HIGHLY recommend an hour of pampering yourself if you're pregnant! Us 'preggos' deserve it for everything going on with our bodies!

Queen of the Deck

Sometimes on the weekend when I have a few minutes, I like to lay out on our deck and enjoy the sun while catching up on some reading.

Often, however, my youngest four-legged seems to think that I set up the lounge chair for her.

This is what I found on Sunday after a quick trip inside the house -

Such a rough ruff life, huh?

Happy Birthday you Old Girl

Well, it's Lacy's 8th birthday today and it feels like I just posted about her 7th birthday not too long ago. How time flies.

I don't even need to snap a picture as the "annual McDonald's burger feast" will look exactly like Bailey's birthday a few weeks ago.....

We can't believe our first born is 8 years old and discuss non-stop about how lucky we are with her. We knock on wood all the time that she hasn't shown any of the problems a lot of labs face like hip and back strains. We know it's because she's adopted and a mut, but whatever the reason, when this girl runs you'd think she was 3 years old.

WE LOVE YOU BABY GIRL!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Baby K Update!

A little less than four months to go and we're getting super excited! We've made some big decisions (after hours of research) on the infant car seat, crib/dresser, the bedding set, glider/ottoman and the pack 'n play and this week we're deciding on which stroller to purchase! Lastly will come the smaller items to register for as well as finish decorating the nursery.

Just a few fun Baby K facts for you –

• He is about 10 inches long in growth and almost a pound, and will double in weight over the next four weeks.... crazy, huh?

• He is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb.

• He is starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day.

And yes, that's a definite bump over to the side there. It's really pushed out in the last week.


The newest 'change' is that we can actually SEE him move in my stomach. It was so amazing for Derek to be able to put his hand and feel him move around and kick, but when he's extremely active, you can actually see my stomach move. It's quite an incredible experience!

One Good Labor Day Weekend

My parents came up to visit this past weekend for a few days and see the sites that Cleveland has to offer. After an extremely stressful week, followed by a visit to the ER late on Friday night for my mother, we were all "healed" and ready to go on Saturday.

We began Saturday with a trip to the Westside Farmers Market to pick up some meat and fruit for the weekend and later ventured to see the Cleveland Orchestra in their outside location, Blossom. We watched the Joffrey Ballet and relaxed on the lawn with munchies and coffee to keep us warm in the unusual 58 degree weather!

On Sunday we ate at the famous restaurant, "The Melt", which has made it's appearance lately on the Travel and Food networks. Then we headed down to Derek's office to watch the Cleveland Air Show. I've definitely always loved airshows since I was young, but my father was like a kid in a candy store. The first shot below is probably one of my favorite of the weekend.

Sunday evening we enjoyed a full farmers market meal prepared on the grill followed by a drive down to Crocker Park, our favorite outside shopping area. The weather was perfect and it was a nice evening to sit outside nibbling on ice cream while doing some people watching.

Then on Monday, we made our way to Kelleys Island for some shopping, eating and sight-seeing. We rented a golf cart to get around the island so that we could see the various stops such as the Glacial Grooves, the beach and a local winery. (click the pictures below to make a bit larger)

Overall, we had a wonderful weekend and I miss my parents already! Thanks for everything mom and dad!!

Kitchen Space Filled

So the space next to our fridge needed to be filled with something that looked like it 'fit' in a kitchen. I've thought about a cart for quite some time to add a bit more counter space and storage. Finally, a couple weeks ago, I found a black one with a stainless top and made the plunge!

This is what that space looked like before -

We also decided to paint a piece of the wall with chalkboard paint and frame it. So after all of this -

And putting the frame up, the area now looks like this -