Fall Traditions

For day 3 of the November Blogathon, I am talking about my family's Fall traditions. I hope you enjoy this throwback photo of my older sister and I...(I am the devil...) *smiles*

Let's talk about September...technically it's kind of a summer month, but I consider it Fall...

One thing we try to do each Fall is go apple picking at our local apple orchard, Eckert's. This is something I have done for as long as I can remember. Usually our whole family tries to go together; parents, grandparents, kids, aunts, cousins, the whole group. We usually eat some apples while we are in the orchard and the cooks of our family make apple flavored treats with the apples we picked. 

My oldest sister's birthday is in September, so that is always a part of Fall for us. We usually go out to dinner, but this year was her big 30th birthday! My younger sister, my mom, and I all put together a surprise party for her, it was really fun and she was surprised!

My husband and I were married on September 1st. So, although this tradition is only two years old, my husband and I celebrate our anniversary each Fall!

Let's talk about October...

We have all kinds of Halloween traditions! The kids always dress up and go trick or treating. Each year we have a Halloween party at my parents' home. One thing that I have learned is "St. Louis specific" is the tradition of telling jokes. At each house, the child has to tell a joke in order to get candy. Weeks before Halloween kids (and adults) start sharing their jokes. Here's the joke my husband and I told this year:

What's a baby ghost's favorite food?

Booooooobies! 

Haha! It's more funny if you know that I am currently breastfeeding our 11 week old daughter. 

My "little" brother's birthday is October 1st, so we celebrate his birthday as well during Fall. Although he is not really my "little" brother anymore, he is 17 years old and 6 foot 1in. 

Let's finish off this post with November...

Ahh November! This is a very special month for be because this is the month that my son was born and the month when I first met my husband. My son's birthday is on the 23rd, so sometimes his birthday falls on Thanksgiving, (he was actually born on Thanksgiving!). Every year my son has 2 birthday parties, one for his friends and one with our family. Last year his friend party was playing paintball, they all had a blast! Some other places he has had his birthday are: Skyzone, YMCA, Roller Skating Rink, and the Bowling Alley. One year my husband and I lost our minds and took about 10 eleven year old boys to the Holiday Inn for an overnight swim party. They had sooo much fun, but it was a lot of work! 

My nephew Dominic's birthday is also in November, on the 28th. I was so happy that I got to be there for his birth! My sister lived in North Carolina at the time, and he was born while we were there for a visit. They have moved back to St. Louis now, so each Fall he has a big birthday party as well. 

Thanksgiving! All I have to say is "yum". Our Thanksgiving includes a ton of food. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, broccoli rice casserole, dinner rolls, green bean casserole, corn casserole, cranberries, and I'm sure there is more that I am forgetting! We all go over to my mom and dad's house for dinner. My mom gets out the good china (the only other time this happens is  Easter) and usually my little sister helps her set the table. Sometimes we get festive and go around saying what we all are thankful for, but it's more about having a big dinner with family and people that we love. 

I feel like Christmas traditions is a whole post within itself, so I will save that for another day! 

I'd love to hear about your Fall Traditions! Feel free to include a link to your Fall Traditions post in the comments. 

Favorite Fall Recipe: Noodle Casserole

As part of the November Blogathon I am sharing my favorite Fall recipe! I wasn't sure which recipe I was going to choose for this, then last night my mom made this casserole for my sister's boyfriend who is visiting from Holland. He really enjoyed this, and as always, the rest of the family did too!

Ingredients:

1-8 oz. package medium egg noodles
1 lb. ground beef
1 TBLS. butter
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 cup tomato puree
1 cup creamed cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Cook noodles in boiling salted water. Rinse in cold water and drain.
Brown meat in butter, then add salt, pepper, garlic salt and tomato sauce.
Simmer for 5 minutes.
Combine cottage cheese, sour cream, chopped onions and noodles
Alternate (like lasagna) layers of noodles mixture and meat mixture and cheese in a two quart casserole, beginning with noodles and ending with meat.
Top with shredded cheese.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned.
Serves 8

I hope you enjoy this! I think this recipe smells like my Nana's house. If you are participating in the November Blogathon (or even if you aren't) link up your favorite Fall recipes in the comments!

30 Days in November, 30 Facts about Michelle

I am trying to blog more, and what better way to do that then to participate in the November Blogathon sponsored by the Mrs. & the Momma! She has developed writing prompts for each day in November, how fun!

You can find the link to her November Blogathon post HERE.

The first blogging prompt is for Monday, November 3rd, and the prompt is:
There are 30 days in November, so share 30 facts about yourself.

30 Facts about Michelle

1, I have an incredible husband, Nathan

2. I have an amazing 13 year old son, Jasen

3. I have a precious 11 week old daughter, Marlene

4. I am 28 years old

5. I was born on St. Patrick's Day

6. I live in St. Louis, Missouri

7. I have 2 dogs, chiweenies, Mustang and Stella

8. I have 1 cat, Walter

9. I have a water frog, Bonnie (she ate all of the food and her mate Clyde died)

10. I have one older sister, Melissa

11. I have one younger sister, Megan

12. I have one younger brother, Mark

13. My parents are still married

14. I have been married for 2 years

15. I earned a bachelor's degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from UMSL in 2008

16. I minored in psychology

17. I originally went to school to be a doctor and was enrolled in the pre-med program

18. I changed my career path after my son's father passed away

19. I earned a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling in Spring of 2014

20. I am a stay at home mom now, and I love it!

21. I preformed at the Muny in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat" when I was 11

22. I love to watch QVC (it's on right now)

23. My favorite color is green

24. I used to do singing and dancing competitions when I was younger

25. I was a teenage mom (It has been challenging and awesome at the same time)

26. I met my husband online (on Okcupid.com)

27. I have one nephew, Dominic

28. I have one niece, Aubrie

29. I love my them like they are my own kids

30. I really love my life, it's not glamorous, but I feel so lucky each day! 

I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about me! If you are doing the November Blogathon, feel free to provide a link to your 30 Facts in the comments of this post. I would love to read about you! 

Life with a Two Month Old (It couldn't be sweeter)

Life is great! I mean, just look at that little face! Marlene Mae turned two months old on October 15th and she is growing by leaps and bounds. Here is a little glimpse of what she is up to...

Marlene's favorite activities:

Having daddy bounce her on the yoga ball

Laying on the floor playing in her baby gym (she works out)

Swinging in her cradle swing

Snuggles with mommy, daddy, and her big brother

Going on walks

Being worn in her Moby Wrap or Mei Tai

Taking a bath

Marlene's Stats:

Weight: 12 pounds, 3 ounces (her birth weight was 8 pounds, 7 ounces)

Height: 24 inches (her birth height was 20 3/4 inches)

Weight: 60th percentile

Height: 96th percentile

Marlene's Sleep:

This little lady is not a daytime napper! She cat naps for about 20 min a few times per day.

At night, she usually goes to bed around 11pm, wakes up at 4:30am to eat, goes back to sleep and wakes up again at 7am to eat. If I'm lucky, she will go back to sleep for another 2 hours. 

Marlene's Eating:

She is exclusively breastfeeding (go Marlie!) and she is doing so great! 

She eats every 2 hours during the day, for about 30 minutes total. 

She loves eating!

Marlene's Favorite Toys:

Pink elephant stuffed animal/rattle/book/squeaker/crinkle (yes, it does it all!)

Crinkle flower/rattle

Black and white zebra stuffed animal

Little Miss Marlie loves being talked to, we spend all day chit chatting. She loves to be held and kissed and loved on. I am one happy mama! I take like a million pictures of her everyday, if you don't follow me on Instagram, you totally should because you will get to see this adorable face!

Thanks for reading! I love comments and questions, so feel free to connect with me!

Meet Marlene and Life with a New Baby

I have not blogged in a long time! I guess that's what happens when you have a new baby :) Sure, some bloggers are awesome about having a baby update on the blog within hours, but that has never been my style. Also, life with a new baby is time consuming! I thought "oh, my baby will sleep all of the time and I will have so much time to blog...". Wrong.

If you would like to meet the little lady that I spend all of my time with, here she is...

Little Miss Marlene Mae was born on August 15th at 1:57pm. She weighed 8 lbs, 7 oz. Eventually, I will post her birth story, because every birth story is amazing, and I would love her share her story with you all. Marlene is named after my two grandmothers, Marlene Rose and Betty Mae. We call her Marlie for short, and we love every second with her. Every moment with this little angel is a gift, and we love her so much!

As of today, she is 7 weeks old, she will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. All of these photos are from her newborn photo shoot with my talented sister, Melissa. She has changed so much, and I can't wait to share more recent photos with you all, but my OCD is making me post pictures in chronological order.

Life with Marlie is incredible. I am breastfeeding, so that comes with its' own set of challenges, but overall it is going well. We have been exploring the world of attachment parenting and baby-wearing and we are having a blast! We spend our days nursing, playing with toys, attempting to do housework (yea right) and running errands. Did you know that going to the grocery store with a newborn takes upwards of two hours? I forgot! My oldest is 13 years old, so it has been a long while since I cared for a newborn baby.

I have always been a working mom, so staying at home with this little beauty is something I am getting used to. I am so lucky to be able to be a stay at home mom to her during this time, I honestly did not think it would be able to happen. We are adjusting to our new schedule and loving life at our own pace.

I hope you enjoyed all of her sweet newborn pics, and be on the look out for more Marlie updates!

Thanks for reading!

29 Week Bump Date! Aches, Pains, A Rockin' Baby, Classes, and What's A Doula?

I have to say, this week has been one of the more challenging weeks of pregnancy. I'll share with you the good and the bad of Week 29! 

Aches and Pains:

I have been experiencing a lot of back pain and pain in my stomach muscles. My doctor said this is because this is my second pregnancy and my muscles are weakened from my first pregnancy. I was not in great physical shape when I became pregnant, so this does not completely surprise me. 

Over the past few days, the pain started to impact my daily activities. I wanted to cry every time I got out of bed, or out of a chair. I had an incredibly hard time getting dressed, walking and standing. I feel like there was a point this week when I crossed the threshold from "regular pregnancy" pain to "this shouldn't be happening yet" pain. 

I decided to go and see a chiropractor yesterday. I think my favorite part about seeing her was that she listened to me, which made me feel good. She didn't blow me off, or tell me to "suck it up", she didn't laugh at me or make me feel like a wimp. She gave me some empathy, which is exactly what I needed. Well, I needed empathy and a back adjustment. She aligned my back in a few places and actually saw me again this morning for follow up adjustments. This is my first time ever seeing a chiropractor and so far it has been a great experience. I am still sore, but not in pain like I was before I saw her. 

Rockin' and Rollin' Baby

I'm starting to feel really big movements from Miss Marlie! I can watch my stomach moving and feel her big twists and turns. I love it! I can feel her becoming more active everyday.  

Class Time

I finally signed my husband and I up for a natural childbirth class! I had been debating whether or not to take an actual class, or to just watch videos online. In the end I decided that I really wanted to experience this with my husband in a way that I don't think we would get from online videos. I like the idea of a small class setting, with other couples and an instructor we can see face to face. 

The class I decided on is a 7 week class that covers the following topics:

• Mechanics of childbirth, natural labor preparations, first and second stage labor information, breastfeeding, postpartum care, and tips for labor partners

The instructor seems really nice and I am excited to meet her! The class was originally $300. She was able to give me a voucher for $50 off, and she is willing to do a payment plan for us. This made the class much for affordable. I am really exited for what we will learn!

What's a Doula?

Over the past few days I have suddenly had the urge to hire a doula. I never knew what one was or what exactly they did, until I began to research. They are like a support person for both you and your spouse and are with you before, during, and after labor. 

Here is an official definition from DONA International:

"The word "doula" comes from the ancient Greek meaning "a woman who serves" and is now used to refer to a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period. Studies have shown that when doulas attend birth, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily."

In my area (St. Louis, MO) the average Doula's services cost about $1,000. However, I have found one provider that has a service price listed of $400, and a few others that have service prices between $500-$600. I have found that most of the doulas in my area offer a package of 2 prenatal visits, unlimited phone calls, support throughout the entire labor and delivery, breastfeeding support, and 2 postpartum visits. This totally sounds worth it to me! 

No one in my family has done a natural birth or exclusively breastfed. I think it would be beneficial to have this person as a resource. If my husband and I can afford it, I would love to hire a doula! 

**I know that was a long post for week 29, thanks for following along on my journey! I would love to hear about anyone's experience with a doula or natural childbirth tips! 

27 Week Bump Date!

Woo hoo! I just finished my 27th week of pregnancy! Here is what has been going on during the past few weeks...


Pregnancy Symptoms:

• Baby Movement: Holy kicks and punches! During the past few weeks I can really feel Marlie kicking, punching and dancing. I still love it :) She's kicking my laptop as I write this. 

• Braxton Hicks Contractions: I never had these with my son, but I started feeling them during this pregnancy about 2 weeks ago. They mostly happen when I am walking around (baseball games, grocery stores, and at work). They feel like a stitch in my side and then my whole belly tightens up. They aren't really painful, just uncomfortable. My doctor told me if I have more than 5 in one hour to put my feet up and drink water. 

• More Potty Breaks: I can definitely tell that Miss Marlie is squishing my bladder! I wake up about twice per night to go to the bathroom, if I'm lucky, it's just once. The other night at my son's baseball game I had to go to the bathroom about 4 times during his 2 hour game. 

• Standing For Too Long Hurts! I have noticed lately that I can stand for about 45 minutes before my back and feet really hurt. I finally asked for an accommodation at work. I bought myself a $10 camping stool from Dick's Sporting Goods to take with me on work site assessments. I had to provide a doctor's note saying that I was allowed to sit for 10 minutes out of every hour. I was embarrassed to ask for an accommodation at work. I honestly felt like a "wimp" and felt ashamed that I was asking to sit, when I know that there are pregnant women who stand all day as cashiers, nurses and hundreds of other occupations. But then I counseled myself and I told myself that I don't need to compare myself to other women and just because others handle discomfort differently, doesn't make my discomfort not valid. 

Baby Planning

• We are going to register for our baby shower today! We have been wanting to do this for weeks, but haven't had the time or energy. I am determined to get this started today!

• I have been researching natural child birth and all of the benefits. I am trying to decide if my husband and I should pay to take a class, or if there is enough free information online to prepare us. I would love to hear suggestions! We are also looking for information on infant care. I am sure a lot has changed since 13 years ago when my son was born. I want to make sure I am up to date on the latest! 

Life

• I am officially done with school! I graduated with my Master's Degree 2 weeks ago! 

• I am in full blown nesting mode. Every time I walk into a room, I think about a new paint color and decor. I wake up in the middle of the night and can't stop thinking about how to arrange the nursery furniture. This is happening! 

Thanks for following along on my pregnancy journey! I would love to hear any suggestions or advice! :)

One Of The Best Things Anyone Has Ever Said To Me

Sometimes, things come out of our children's mouths that astound us and stop us in our tracks. Often these things are inappropriate, funny or just out of this world. And sometimes, what your child says to you can be one of the best things anyone has ever said to you. I had one of these moments recently.


"Mom, how did you get to be so accomplished?" My 13 year old asks me.

"What do you mean?" I responded, a little surprised by his question. I don't often think of myself as "accomplished".

"I mean that you are 28 years old, married, have a kid, are pregnant, have a job and are getting your master's degree. You have already done so much."

I sat quietly, a little speechless.

"I don't know if I will have done everything you have when I am your age. How did you do it?"


I smiled and explained to him that I made a decision about what was important to me, and I set goals. I told him that he can accomplish anything he wants to by any age if he sets his mind to it. I have no doubt my son will be extremely successful. He is smart and charismatic. He is wise beyond his years in so many ways.

I was taken back by the thought that I am "accomplished". I spend so much of my time focused on the things that I don't have, what I haven't done and what I might not be able to do in the future. This conversation made me realize that I really need to take some time to reflect on my accomplishments, and give myself a little more credit now and then.

I try to stay humble, but maybe there is a fine line between being humble and not recognizing value in yourself on a regular basis. 

More than anything, it means the world to me that my son views me as accomplished. For me, it means that it has all been worth it. Every class, every test, every 20 page paper. Every date, every bad relationship, every time my heart was broken. Every time I struggled and I wondered if it would make a difference to anyone. It did. And that is why when my son told me I was accomplished, it was one of the best things anyone has ever said to me.

How Can I Be A Stay At Home Mom?

I am in need of some help and advice. I spent my lunch break at work googling "how to be a stay at home mom".

I have hit the point in my pregnancy where I am completely preoccupied with my baby. All I want to do is get her nursery ready, knit her a blanket and organize her cute little clothes. There's only one problem I keep running into: I'm too exhausted.

Right now I work full time at a job that can be both physically and emotionally demanding. Sometimes I am standing for 2-3 hours with a client at a work site assessment, or counseling an emotionally distressed mother, or getting cussed out by an angry client. By the time my day is over, there is no part of me that can muster up the energy to prepare for the arrival of my baby. I also take classes two nights per week, so there are some nights that I don't get home until near 10pm. I know school will be over in a few weeks, so at least I won't be quite so drained those two nights per week. I have reached the point where I spend my days dreaming (and researching) how I can stay at home with my baby.

When my son was born, I was a single teenage mom. There was no option to stay home. I knew that I had to work, finish school and he needed to go to daycare. I was in survival mode for the both of us and my mind was focused on how the two of us were going to make it in this world.

My life is different now. I don't have to be in constant "survival mode". I have a loving husband who will be my partner in caring for the baby, and my incredible teenager who will be here to help as much as we need him. This isn't a one woman show anymore. Ever since the thought has crossed my mind that I could be a stay at home mom, it is all I can think about.

I want to be with my baby all day. I want to be the one to care for her. I want to take her on walks and trips to the park. I want to have time to prepare her meals and make her healthy baby food. I want to be the one to help her learn her colors and letters and numbers. I was never afforded the chance to do these things with my son. I got to spend a few hours with him in the evening before bed. All while juggling school and work and being completely exhausted all of the time. I had to let family and daycare providers do all of the things I wanted to be doing. My son has turned out wonderful, he has always had the love, support, and everything he needed. It's me who has missed out.

So tonight, I am sitting in my bed, wiping away tears as I write this post. I am pregnant and emotional and sad. I am sad because I don't think I will be in a position to stay at home with my baby. I don't think I will be able to deprive my family of my income or the health insurance I carry. Financially, I just don't see how I can stay at home with my baby when she arrives.

This is where I reach out to my readers for advice. Have any of you made the transition to a stay at home mom? How did you do it? Maybe there are things I have not thought of. I need all of the help and advice I can get. How can I be a stay at home mom?

22 Week Bump Date: The Good, The Bad and The Really Bad

Last week was week 22 of Pregnancy: Marlene! I still love being pregnant...although this week did not include all of the sunshine and rainbows of last week. I may have "jinxed" myself by writing about how much I loved pregnancy last week. Go figure! Thanks for following, I love to share my pregnancy stories with you all, including the good, the bad and the really bad.

The Good...

Marlie has been rocking and rolling this week! She has been having little dance parties every night. This week I felt her move in more than one place at a time. My best guess is that she's shaking arms and legs at the same time. Let's just say this chick can really rock a womb (hahaha, get it?)!

Both Nathan and Jasen got to feel her move this week. Nathan has felt her once before, but this was the first time my son has felt her. It is such a great experience to share as a family! She was moving towards Nathan's hand on my belly, it was amazing!

The Bad...

Hello random second trimester nausea. I have not thrown up this entire pregnancy. During my first trimester, I felt sick to my stomach all of the time. It was a special kind of nausea that never goes away. This past week I started feeling intense feelings that I was going to throw up. It was so bad one morning that I ran to the bathroom three times at work. I still haven't thrown up though!

The Really Bad...

Warning: I am about to give you all way too much information. But it really wouldn't be fair if I only shared the good things about my pregnancy, right? I promise, I will spare you all the gross details. On Friday, my doctor had to do minor surgery... on my ass. Yep, that's right, it's the ugly side of pregnancy. For a few days I was stuck in bed, laying on my side.

My sweet husband held my hand through the entire ordeal and waited on me hand and foot when we got home. I told my son "when you are thinking about getting married, you have to think to yourself, 'would I hold her hand through butt surgery?' and if the answer is yes, then she might be the one". Of course he looked at me like I was crazy and he thinks I am a weirdo for posting this story on my blog. But it's real and life is real and I like to keep my blog real. So that was the really bad event of pregnancy week 22.

More Good...

I like to end things on a positive note, so I have a few more good things to tell you all!

My mother in law and father in law gave me a huge box of fresh fruits and veggies from a local farmer's market. Yum! If you follow me on Instagram, you have seen the pic. If not, come on over and follow me!

My son played two great baseball games in a tournament this weekend.

My husband played in his first kickball games of the season and won them both!

I finally upgraded my cell phone to the iPhone 5s! I love it!

While we were at the doctor's office for the umm...pain in my ass...we got to hear Marlie's heartbeat! It was in the 150's, which the doctor said was great! I love hearing her heartbeat. :)

Well, here was week 22 in a nutshell, thanks for following my adventures!

2014 Ultimate Blog Party! #UBP14

This is my party post for for the 2014 Ultimate Blog Party! I am excited to be involved and make some new blogging friends!

A little about Michelle's Pixie Dust...

I started Michelle's Pixie Dust in 2012. I can't believe it's been two years already! I started this blog as a way to display my DIY projects. For my one year blogiversary, I wrote a more detailed post about my first year of blogging. You can read that HERE.

Ultimately, this blog has grown to be a reflection of me. I post about whatever is going on in my life at that time. Sometimes I am really into Cooking and finding new recipes, other times I am into Craft Projects and upcycling. My career is counseling, so I have posted different Creative Therapy Projects. Sometimes I post about parenting and my family life. Right now I am pregnant, so readers will find a lot of Pregnancy Posts!

At present, I am 28 years old. I have been married since 2012 to a wonderful, wonderful man. I have a son who is 13 years old (which if you are quickly doing the math, makes me a very young mama) and I am expecting my daughter to arrive in August of this year. I have two little dogs, Mustang and Stella, they are chiweenies and are completely our babies. We recently adopted a stray cat, Walter, who is sweet and sneaky and possesses all of those other cat-like qualities. I will graduate in less than a month with a Master's Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. I have a Bachelor's of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology. And I still have yet to figure our exactly what a want to do for a career.

Sometimes I am a "bad blogger". Sometimes I don't post frequently or update my social media. One time I let my URL expire...As much as I love blogging, it usually falls at the bottom of my priority list. I get caught up with family and work and life (as many of you can relate)!

So thank you for stopping by my little piece of the internet and I hope you enjoy some of the things you read here. I love to connect with my readers, so please comment me and follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

Happy Blog Partying!

21 Week Bump Date: Pregnancy Love

I am already 21 weeks pregnant...We are half way there, how exciting! I have to say, I really love being pregnant.



I love that my husband and I created this beautiful little person.


I love that I get to have her with me all day right now. I can feel her move a little bit now and then, and it makes me happy every time. She is moving while I write this :)


I love thinking about our daughter who will be in our arms in just 19 more weeks.


I love the baby girl clothes that people keep giving me. Everything is so tiny! My son passed me up in height about a year ago, so I am amazed at the thought of having a tiny baby again.


I actually enjoy watching my belly grow and filling out my growing stash of maternity clothes.


Sometimes I just stop and think, "How amazing is it that there is an actual human growing inside of me?"



Of course there are a few pregnancy symptoms that I am not a huge fan of, such as:

• Waking up to pee in the middle of the night
• Lots of tossing and turning
• Crying about ridiculous things
• The wonderful mood swings (happy-angry-sad-angry-sad-happy-happy)

I have realized that the good outweighs the not-so-good and most importantly, every second is completely worth it.

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An Owl Themed Gender Reveal Party!

As I mentioned in my last post, my sister is a craft genius! She made all of the decorations and snacks for our gender reveal party. I have a love for owls, so everything is owl themed!

Guess WHOO will be joining the family?

Old Wives Tales

Owl Banner

Question Mark Cupcakes

Pink Gender Reveal Cake (I made this one!)

Gender Reveal Snacks

Family Belly Photo

I hope you enjoyed some of the photos, we had a great time! 

Gender Reveal...It's A....

This past weekend, my family and I went for a 3D ultrasound and we got to find out the gender of our newest family member...

That's right, we are having a little girl! We will welcome Miss Marlene (aka Marlie) to our family this August. She is named after my Nana who passed away last March. If my Nana were still with us, she would be beyond excited to welcome another little girl into our family. 

Here is one of my favorite photos of Miss Marlene. She is crossing her legs and looking oh so lady-like!

It's amazing how much we can see of her at only 17 weeks. My family threw me a wonderful gender reveal party. I have a very crafty and talented older sister. She made adorable decorations for the party! I am going to post the pictures of her creativity in my next blog post.

We can't wait for our sweet baby to arrive!

Our Fun Pregnancy Announcement!

After 13 years...I am pregnant again! Our family will be expecting a new baby around August 10th of this year. We are so excited! 

We totally copied off of some other fun pregnancy announcements I checked out on Pinterest. I am so happy with how this turned out and even more happy that I finally got to share the news with everyone on Facebook this evening! 

I am 12 weeks pregnant and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat today. I almost had a mini heart attack as it took my doctor a long time to find the heartbeat. But not to worry, all is well! After about a minute of searching, we heard that wonderful little noise. My husband says the heartbeat sounds like a helicopter :) The doctor informed us not to worry, we just have a very wiggly baby! 

I hope to keep updates and pregnancy posts coming...

Thanks for reading!