And so it begins...

I couldn't resist the urge to pick up some matchy-matchy outfits for my boys at ROOTS sale I stumbled upon on my lunch hour the other day!

Looking at the photo below I have a hard time believing that I am actually going to be a Mom of two boys! It's exciting, yet terrifying all at once! However, I can't wait to see my little monsters in their coordinating outfits! Hopefully I got the sizing right!

I have a feeling this little duo-outfit shopping is going to become a new obsession of mine, at least until the novelty wears off, or until E can actually say to me 'There is NO WAY I am wearing the same thing as him - Mom.'

So for now... I live in my little matchy-matchy bubble - and I like it!

Tiny Dancer

A few videos of E ... rockin out! He's loves listening to music these days - and is obsessed with my ipod and playing it on the docking station. Not only playing it, but playing it LOUD.

He's got a little bit of his uncles in him in the chair dancing video - I fear for what is to come in his dance floor future!

On being 'the baby' of the family...

It's no secret that I was the baby of my family... not only was I the youngest sibling, I was also the youngest cousin of the Bellerose side. The baby of all the babies.

Being 'the baby' definitely has its advantages... there is no doubt about that. My sister had to test the waters and break in my parents, she basically paved the way for allowing me to do things bigger, better, and earlier.

As the baby of the family, you always got a little more attention, after all, you were 'the baby' so like most parents, my parents wanted me to stay young and innocent as long as possible, and so in a sense, they babied me just a little bit longer to see that happen.

I always remember how upset my sister and her friend would get when I would try to interfere with whatever they were doing (mailing out magazine subscriptions on behalf of the entire town!) - and I would go crying to my Mom and her friend about how they wouldn't let me in... so, in order to avoid complete disappointment, my Mom's friend would offer me a popsicle as a mediation tool. Being 'the baby' always had it perks!

But, while the perks were good perks, the drawbacks are still present in my memory. Let's talk hand me downs... as much as I enjoyed getting bags of clothes from older friends, it also meant I got less new things - unlike my sister, who was rolling the new duds all. the. time. And the hand me downs were not just in the form of clothes, were talking bikes, skates, skis... the list goes on. I remember the one year I was actually allowed to get a new bike... what a year that was - a purple Toys R Us special... it was such a kick-ass bike, and it was my very own - brand new, all mine! A focal point of my childhood as you can tell!

Aside from that one time, being the second owner of everything definitely shaped my personality for my adulthood - I like new things, and I am pretty sure that's because I didn't get a ton of new things as a child (I know, my mother is reading this thinking I had plenty of new things and wasn't deprived the least bit - and being realistic, I had it pretty good, but the second hand stuff is still present in my 30 year-old memory!).

Now, that I am faced with having a first born and 'the baby' of my own family... I am conscious of making sure my 'baby' of the family does have new things - but at the same time I can see how 'the baby' becomes the queen/king of hand me downs. Finding out I was having a second boy was exciting because I didn't want all the good clothes I had bought E to go to waste! So naturally this baby will inherit a lot of E's clothes - but if I may toot my own horn - they are very decent clothes! However, in terms of other things, I am going to do my best to ensure that 'the baby' of the family has his special moments, and his special things - different from his brother's and new and special to him and only him.

Yes, it will be a challenge, and I am sure I will get in caught up in the 'but, its still in good shape' mentality, but being the baby of the family myself I think it will be top of mind to make sure there are new things for him... starting with his baby room! Although it would be easy to move E into a new room and leave the current nursery as is, all set-up for The Sequel, I don't want to do that. I feel like so much effort went into planning E's room and this baby deserves just as much thought and planning. E will still get a new room, but The Sequel will also get a new nursery... maybe not a complete makeover, but new bedding, new wall decals and new things to call his own.

Of course, PC, being a first-born in his family does not see the point... he thinks its a lot of work and money for something The Sequel will probably not remember, but this is where the 'happy wife equals happy life' theory comes into play. I won't back down on this one, because as 'the baby' of my family, I know starting things off on the right, non-hand me down foot, is crucial!

All this say, I get to go baby bedding shopping again... YAY!

What do you think... are you the baby of the family, or a first-born? Did you feel one way or another about your siblings getting new things, or getting hand me downs?

A look at The Sequel at 20 weeks!

Just a quick peek at our newest addition.... from my 20 week ultrasound. He is cute as a button and resembles E so much ... during the ultrasound he had his hands behind his head for the majority of the time... much like E when he was first born and still is like that today! Already E and his baby brother have so much in common.

Home Project #307: Kitchen Countertops and Backsplash!

This post is long over due, but thought its still worth posting because everyone loves a little makeover reveal!

We've been in our house for 5 years now and when we bought the place, one of the MAJOR drawbacks from me was the nasty dark green countertop... I hated it. But PC reassured me that changing the countertop was a simple/cheap thing and once we moved in we could just choose what we wanted - pop it off, and voila - we'd have the perfect kitchen.

What a theory... 5 years later we just got around to the revamp on the kitchen countertop... plus the backsplash! It took me a while to actually figure out what I wanted. I knew I wanted ANYTHING but dark nasty green, but I didn't realize the options were endless as to what the replacement would be. In the end, we chose to replace laminate with laminate but to get a corian edging to prevent chipping, etc. Since we don't plan to be in this house long term, the investment Granite didn't seem to have as many rewards as a cheaper reface to get me through another couple of years. The countertop, with the choice of blacksplash had me excited for the reno, and once the countertop was installed, PC stepped up to the plate to do the backsplash.

It turned out exactly how I wanted, and better! It has given our kitchen such a face lift... I even blurted out 'I think I could get another 5-8 years out of this house now' - however, that was BEFORE I knew The Sequel would be born in 2010.

Either way... I love the update and wanted to share PC's handy work.

BEFORE THE BACKSPLASH

PC APPLYING THE GROUT

GROUT ON AND WAITING TO BE SEALED

THE FINAL PRODUCT: I LOVE IT!

Big News!

So... I haven't visited the blog in over 3 months... CRAZY, I know, and totally not like me, but I've had a very good excuse ... I'm pregnant with number 2 or as I like to say: The Sequel. This baby has been draining the life outta me for the last few months, or perhaps just the blogging life out of me.

Either way... while I love to write and rant, I just couldn't bring myself to spare a moment for the blog... and sadly enough I haven't even been reading any blogs lately. All things bloggy have just dropped out of my life. But... no more! While I can't promise to blog on a regular basis, I can promise to TRY to keep my little space of the blogosphere a little more interesting than the last little while.

For starters, I had my 20 week ultrasound yesterday and we found out some pretty exciting news. My first pregnancy we decided to do it the old fashion way and wait until the baby's arrival to find out it was Baby Boy. This time around... we did the opposite and utilized the fabulous technology to get to know the newest addition to our family a little bit earlier.

There were two choices.... BOY or GIRL, Baby Brother or Baby Sister for E....
After a lengthy ultrasound... we got the good news, E is going to have a...
Two boys for this family... and we are pretty excited! It's so weird knowing... because in my head I am already picking out the coordinating outfits they will wear to special events, and I am sure PC is thinking they will be close enough in age to play on the same sports teams! I think the bond of brothers is a special thing... and I am so happy it will be part of our family!

I have just under 5 months to finalize all the details for the arrival of: The Sequel - and I really can't wait. From moving E into a new room and picking out new things for this baby boy - its going to be a busy couple of months - yet a lot of excitement as we build towards December 6th.

I promise to keep you updated on all things baby, but also few pregnancy hormones stories. I don't anticipate flying tacos this time around - or anything too crazy, but ya never know when pregnancy takes over and my filter quits working... I've come close a few times this week!

At any rate.... thanks for checking back with me - and I am so happy to be able to share my exciting news with you!

Baby BOYS! Yay!