Seriously? Another nosebleed?

Let me just tell you, I've had enough of nosebleeds while preggers. It's been ridiculous! Every morning I wake up with the usual morning mild-congestion/stuffy nose...probably from the fan that goes in our room and the fact my body has been all jacked up for the past 8mos. Every morning, without fail, I blow my nose and a mild bloody nose always follows - motherhood is SO not pretty. So, I sit for a moment, check facebook, the weather, omg.com, etc. as I have a tissue wedged up my nostril and my iPhone held to the ceiling so I can keep my head back. Most moms have a cup of coffee as a morning ritual, but this is mine...don't be jealous.

It got even better today as it was about 3:45pm and I felt a bit of a stuffed up nose again while working at my desk - so I went to the restroom to blow my nose and be back to work. Yeah right, like a runny nose, I could feel the blood start streaming....all I could think of was not letting it drip on my white capri pants - that would mean more laundry. So, I grabbed one of my cute little peace-sign tissues that I carry in my purse and stuffed it up my nostril and held my head back at my desk - I looked like I just stepped out of a MFC - Mother's Fight Club. I'm so over these things!! Yeah, yeah, yeah, pregnancy is a beautiful thing, but I don't need all of it's glory rushing out of my nose twice a day to remind me. I understand that over the course of a pregnancy my body produces 40-50% more blood in volume to accomodate the needs of my baby, but do I really need to ooze a portion of it daily like an old-fashioned Renaissance-era blood-letting? Sigh, I digress...

On a brighter note, Camilla & I went to visit Dr. Duggar today for our 32wk appointment and all is well. She was a busy bee in there today, but had a great & healthy heartbeat. I'm still convinced she is breech, but Dr. Duggar thinks it's possible she's turned. I still feel like her little noggin is in the same spot it was a few wks ago during our 29wk 4D u/s. I still get these swift steps or kicks in the bladder which is a bizaare feeling - it makes you feel like you need to run to the restroom for 2 seconds, but then realize that she just happened to 'step' on your bladder...she probably laughs to herself inside. Funny girl. She's indeed an active little booger and I have fun with her when she is...I play poking games to get her to react and it's funny to watch the wave of movement across my stomach. As I type, she is busy moving and grooving in there....I suppose she liked the chocolate milk I had with dinner?

Here's the latest on how she's growing:

• Camilla should be approx 3.75lbs (roughly the weight of a jicama)
• She probably stretches out to be 16.7" long (or in that neighborhood)
• She should start paying rent for as much space as she's occupying in my uterus!
• Mommy will gain about a pound per week from here on out (8 more wks) b/c roughly half of it will go directly to Camilla...she'll gain 1/3 to 1/2 of her birth weight during the next 7wks as she fattens up for life outside Mommy!

Mommy is experiencing certain food aversions again (say no to boiling and shredding chicken - ICK!), some heartburn and sleepless nights...yay. So far, I've only gained 26lbs and am feeling pretty good otherwise. You can't tell I'm preggers from the back until I turn to the side or to the front...Camilla truly looks like a little basketball in my tummy, but I can assure you that I haven't seen my feet in a long while and shaving my legs is nearly impossible. However, I was able to put my Mother's Day gift from Rod & Sophia to use (I'd been saving it up for the bitter end!): an hour long prenatal massage!! I went last Friday and I was giddy as could be. You could've told me to just lay down on the carpet in the spa's lobby and listen to the nature music and I would've thought that was great - but I got to lay on my stomach for the first time in about 7mos - pure BLISS!! The spa had a special pregnancy pillow contraption that allowed your tummy to go into a little cut out area and the other portion surrounded your sides to offer support. It was heaven to the highest degree. The aromatherapy and music were perfection and I was so relaxed. I know I was tense in areas I didn't even know existed and was grateful to the masseuse for finding them. I felt rejuvenated when it was all over. I even joked on facebook that I was so relaxed, I needed someone to come pick me up as I was pretty sure I shouldn't/couldn't operate a vehicle! If you ever need to give a pregnant girl a gift, spend the $80 and send her to the spa for a prenatal massage...she thank you FOREVER!

Saturday brought us a day of relative relaxation and an impromptu invite from my parents to have Sophia over for a slumber party...Sophia usually only sees them on the wkds and was SO jazzed to spend the night with them. It left Rod and I puzzled as to what to do with this sudden spare time?! We sat on the couch befuddled and then decided to be productive and run a few errands and then having a date night out. Before dinner, poor Rod spent 2hrs on the phone with Dell to figure out some sort of printer/laptop issue. Meanwhile I was enthralled watching HGTV (how have I missed this gem?!) in peace. However, it started pushing 7pm and I was ravenously hungry! Finally, we were able to head to dinner and enjoyed a delicious meal over at the Wynlakes club....salad, filet mignon and a HUGE dessert later, I was a fat and happy girl!

We're slowing putting some finishing touches on Camilla's nursery - I finished painting a large 30x40 canvas that will go above her changing table (will post photos later) and picked up a cute white traditional monogram decal to adhere to the wall above her crib. We'll then look for a few frames to go on the wall above her tall dresser. I'm still in love with her room and am looking forward to late night feedings when it's just her and I together....those were actually my favorite when Sophia was a newborn too. I loved being able to just watch her - it was such a sweet and special time.

Now if only the next 7-8wks would speed up, I'd greatly appreciate it so that I can snuggle up to my second little daughter! I'm getting SO ANXIOUS!

The Look for Less!

I'm pretty proud of myself for being able to come up with less-expensive alternatives to fairly expensive home decor, etc. I subscribed to a bajillion magazines (Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn: Kids, Teen, Outdoor, etc., etc.) - I get them all! I love looking through them and getting ideas and then I go out and see how/where I can get the "look for less". C'mon people, as the commercial says, I'm a "recessionista" and I'm not going to pay an arm and a leg for something someone wouldn't be able to tell the difference on! I find it ridiculous to pay some of these prices just for the name - especially when I can find it cheaper AND treat Sophia or our family to something fun with the money we saved! Anyhow, I compiled a little list of items we recently got that I discovered are pretty darn close to the 'designer' version:

The Look: Farmhouse Table & Chairs

Pottery Barn Kids

Small Table = $169 (large version = $219)

Set of 2 Chairs = $139 (not even 4 chairs!)

Total = $308 + tax/shipping!

*different colors/finishes available / chairs come as a set of 2 & avail. in selected colors

The Look for Less: by Kidkraft

(Wal-Mart.com)

Kid Kraft Nantucket Table & 4 Chairs

Total = $95 Sophia received this as a gift from Nana & Papa, and we have LOVED this table & chairs! It's perfect for little girls and is also available in primary colors for a boys room or more gender neutral area. You can even ship it from site-to-store and save shipping!

The Look: 5x7 Cottage Floral Rug

Pottery Barn Kids

Total = $229 (reg. $299) + shipping

*no longer available (too bad!)

Pottery Barn alternative: 5x8 Daisy Garden Rug
Total = $299 + shipping

Look for Less: Circo Floral Rug

Target (store & online)

Total = $79.99

We adore the Circo brand (Target house brand) rug and it goes PERFECT underneath Sophia's Kidkraft Nantucket table/chairs! It's super cute altogether and just makes the room so sweet. Sophia was so jazzed the day we got the rug too!

Lastly, is Camilla's window drapes hardware. We got hers at Bed Bath & Beyond, but I noticed that Pottery Barn Kids carried something very similar...don't be fooled! BB&B's version is so much cuter and it looks SO awesome in Camilla's room!

The Look: Daisy Finials

Pottery Barn Kids

48-88" rod

Total = $79 + shipping

Look for Less: Cambria Lily Glass Drapery Rod

Bed Bath & Beyond (stores & online)

48-84" rod

$39.99 (use a 20% BB&B coupon & save $8!)

Total = $31.99 + tax

The Lily Glass drapery rod from BB&B shown above is so beautiful and timeless, that it'll go with future decor & themes in Camilla's room...plus, we found some great coordinated glass knobs for Camilla's closet from Home Depot for $3.99 per knob. My next project is painting my own version of a beautiful 30x40" gallery canvas print called "Cherry Blossom" found in Pottery Barn Kids/Baby catalogs and online. It's such a stunning print, but rather than splurging the $250 + shipping, I figure I can tailor the colors more towards Camilla's lavender room and still get the same look by painting it myself. Now I feel confident in my skills as a painter to do it - plus, it's a design that can lend itself to what I call "intentional-artistic-error"...meaning it doesn't have to be exact. By shopping around for the blank canvas and then using some of the paints I have and purchasing a few others to make it complete, I'll come out cheaper than I would having had ordered it from PBKids/Baby! Plus, I'll be able to have a HUGE sense of accomplishment in knowing that I, Camilla's mommy, painted that big ol' thing special - just for her!

So, just know that there are ALWAYS more cost-effective options out there other than the gorgeous glossy magazines. I love to be inspired, but it's so much more gratifying (& easy on the pocketbook!) when you can find the look for LESS!

Cherry Blossom - 30"x40" gallery canvas - $250/Pottery Barn Kids

Camilla's Nursery!

I'm so excited that we finally were able to 'finish' Camilla's nursery this past weekend! I was a busy nesting mama on Friday night as I washed up her bedding and ironed it in preparation for it going on the bed on Saturday. Saturday afternoon Storkland came and delivered Camilla's furniture - dressers, nightstands, crib & mattress! The delivery guys were super nice and worked so quickly and carefully. I was so excited. Rod and I had luckily gotten the morning to run last minute errands, etc. as Sophia got to spend the day at Nana & Papa's house (thanks!). We even got to enjoy a lunch out together - how nice it was to enjoy an adult conversation and uneventful meal! Once the furniture arrived and was in place, we un-rolled her rug and vacuumed it out, then began putting all Camilla's bedding on the crib - I am so in love with her nursery that it's by far the most calm room in the house. It's so serene and perfect. Just before Camilla arrives, we'll moving the rocking chair from Sophia's room to Camilla's - we'll have to move Sophia's nightly storytime to either the living room or her bed...as I'll need the rocking chair for Camilla's feedings and, well, rocking. We've yet to hang anything on the walls, but I'll be working on that the next few weeks - trying to determine what I'll want to put above the long dresser & changing area (we bought the matching mirror, but will wait to put that on once we're not utilizing the area as a changing area). Not positive what I want to put above the crib, but will be working on a painted name door hanger (like Sophia's) soon.

Today was spent getting groceries in the early a.m. with Sophia, making chocolate chip muffins with Sophia, and doing load after load of baby laundry. Thank goodness I had packed all of Sophia's things away so neatly and organized - it made pulling it all out a fun/pleasant process. It was fun to reminisce on when Sophia wore those little outfits or the funny stories that accompanied some - and even sweeter to think about what was in store for Camilla! I feel like I smell like Dreft detergent and Sophia likes pouring it into the washer from the 'pink cap'....of course. She was a diligent little helper today and I sure hope that little helper-trait sticks with her in the next few months/years!!

As promised, here are some photos of the 'finished' product of Camilla's sweet nursery....my home now feels complete with that 3rd bedroom finished for a child (not just a catch-all guest room)!

It's absolutely perfection (to Mommy!)

Ta-Da! I'm so in love!

Can't wait to see Camilla in here!

Sweet Dreams Camilla!

Aside from the hub-bub of stocking up Camilla's room (& now drawers & closet!), Rod snapped these funnies of Sophia on Friday night being silly with his shoes:

Funny girl

You want a smile? I'll give you one!


Typical toddler, right?



Saturday night did bring us a fun family night out as we helped co-host a baby shower for our friends Brendan & Monica (Sophia's Godparents) and their new baby boy, Evan (our Godson!)! Big sister, Ava, and Sophia had fun giggling, playing, coloring and dancing together - fun was had by all as we showered them with love, diapers, wipes and well wishes! Evan has a CUTE airplane themed nursery and I promised Monica I'd paint something special for his room just as I had for Ava. I decided after seeing his nursery that one thing was missing for a growing boy....a growth chart! So I got busy painting Evan one! Here's how it turned out:

Grow, baby, Grow!

Hooray for Preschool...and Progress!

This has been a BIG week for our family - it brought several achievements so to speak:

• Mommy & Camilla reached the 30wk mark!
• Camilla's room officially began to take shape (& color!)
• Sophia started preschool
• Daddy got a new office at work (with a big ol' window)
  

So, now that I've hit the precious 30wk mark, that means only 10weeks to go (more like 9 now since I'm blogging so late in the week)! I couldn't be more excited about that milestone - things are really picking up pace now. Camilla is an active little booger and must still be breach. I can still feel her little noggin on my right side (where it was last week during 4D u/s) and I feel her kicking my bladder...giving me sudden urges to have to use the restroom...even if I haven't drank anything. Bizarro. As I relax and lay down, I always giggle when Camilla moves all around - it's this funny sweeping motion if you watch my belly....it's such a fun thing to watch. Sometimes feeling it can be uncomfy at best, but is so miraculous that discomfort goes to the wayside. However, the more discomfort I feel (I am definitely waddling) that just means Camilla is growing just as she should be. This week, Camilla should weigh almost 3lbs and stretch nearly 15.7 inches long! She's likely surrounded by a pint and half of amniotic fluid, but that will decrease in the next few weeks as she grows bigger. Her eyesight continues to develop, but isn't very keen - even after birth she'll keep her eyes closed the majority of the day. When they are open she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision...meaning she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. I will continue to celebrate the dwindling day countdown (now about 66 days left)!!

Next up, we really made headway on Camilla's nursery. Last Saturday was spent working like a flipping dog/horse/mule....if it's a hard-working animal, I mimicked it! Rod and I were able to really concentrate on clearing out the remainder of stuff/junk - my MIL, Patricia, offered to keep Sophia on Saturday so that we could really focus....a HUGE thank you to her! We took several more items to Goodwill, stored the guest bed and sent my old desk and chair back to my parents. My Dad was a big help too in that he helped Rod haul alot of stuff around. Whew! My Mom even helped by taking some of the lavender bedding and picked out several paint samples for me to choose from - by days end I'd settled on Lilac Bisque. She went & got a tiny tryout, painted a posterboard and we taped it to the wall to determine if that was indeed the winner - it was. Woohoo!! By Saturday night, Rod and I were so ridiculously wiped out, I nearly fell asleep at dinner - oops!

My Dad had offered his awesome skills for handiwork and painting this week while we were gone at work - we're SO thankful! Dad came to install Camilla's chandelier on Monday and do some painting prep work. Tuesday he painted and I was thrilled to see the major transformation! Wednesday he touched up trimwork and started work on re-configuring Camilla's closet. Today brought the curtains going up and the closet re-configuration being completed! It looks so great I could sit in there and just stare! Dad is a saint and has taken her closet doors home to sand and re-paint...adding the new glass-knob hardware too. I'm so thankful that I have the best Dad in the entire world to do all that work for his granddaughter!!

Camilla's nursery takes shape & color!

Papa works hard on Camilla's room

Camilla's new chandelier

I'll wash up Camilla's bedding this weekend as her furniture is being delivered on Saturday!! I'm completely beside myself on getting that all set. I'll also be sorting thru Sophia's baby clothes and washing up what's lasted over the past 3yrs and start putting that in Camilla's room. Yay!

Probably the biggest achievement this week was sweet Sophia's first day of big girl preschool! No more Mother's Morning Out in the baby/toddler wing - Sophia moved across the atrium at Frazer to the 3's, 4's and 5's wing! She attends 5 days a week from 8:30-12:30 and will stay until 2pm Tues-Thursday. She also has her own little desk, chair and red cup with her writing 'things'. Her teacher, Mrs. Thomas, is a wonderful lady who we love already. Thankfully, Sophia's friend from last year, Violet, is also in her class. Sophia will be learning how to write the ABC's, her numbers and learn to recognize them in & out of order and even learn to cut with scissors this year (yikes). She was SO excited to go back to school, that I thought it'd be a breeze the first day, despite the dramatic changes in routine/environment. I was in for it yesterady! Poor Sophia didn't want to put on her name badge necklace (policy), and was overwhelmed by all the buzz going on in the atrium upon arrival (parents, kids, photos being taken, etc., etc). She was in meltdown mode - uh, oh. I had to carry her all the way to her classroom and then we got to her little hallway where she told me "Mommy, I'm afraid", so I spent a good 10mins re-assuring her it was lots of fun and everyone is afraid on the first day. She hid behind me as I greeted the teacher and then proceeded to cry as Mrs Thomas took her into the classroom - I almost cried too as I felt so bad for her! My preggie hormones definitely didn't help. They only stayed and hour the first day and upon arrival to pick her up, I found out from Violet's parents that Violet did the same thing - whew. The two of them came bounding out hand in hand beaming about their first day....so luckily we got to snap photos on the first day, just like everyone else!

Candid of Sophia at her desk!

Sophia & Violet = happy preschoolers!

Our big girl preschooler!

Daddy also had a minor move at work this week - he's back over in the division for Regions he was when he started as there is some inter-company shifting going on - the upside to being shuffled around? A nice office with a view - however, Daddy said it gets awfully hot in the afternoon because he gets the afternoon sun in that big 'ol window....if that's the only downside, we just don't feel sorry for him yet!

Camilla the Ham

Today marks 29 weeks and that also meant that we got to see Camilla in her 4D ultrasound today! I never got a call last week, so I've been cleared of gestational diabetes (whew!), but still bear a not-so-attractive-rather-heinous bruise where they drew my blood, but what a small price to pay for my sweet baby.

Camilla gave us a pretty darn good show today during her u/s, which makes us think that she will indeed be a ham. Hmm, wonder where she gets that from?? Both Rod & I have been known to be hams one way or another and our firstborn, Sophia inherited the gene too. Makes a mama quite proud! To ensure a 'good' u/s session, I ate a lunch I knew Camilla likes: turkey/swiss panini, Granny Smith apple with peanut butter, pink lemonade and a bit of ice cream.

Once we got all situated, we immediately were able to tell a few crucial things:

1. my placenta had indeed moved up and back - hooray!
2. Camilla was breech
3. Despite being breech, was in PERFECT position for photos!
   

Lisa, the u/s tech, was tickled like us to be able to snap some great shots for us. We were thrilled to get to spend the next hour with Lisa as she showed us our sweet girl! We got to see Camilla smile, stick out her tongue, yawn, hiccup, grimace, open her eyes and even flash the "a-ok" sign! We truly couldn't have asked for a better session! We heard a very healthy heartbeat of 127bpm in addition to seeing her. Camilla measured a tad small (about 27wks), but Lisa said that was no concern since her head, body and legs were measuring proportionate and her weight was 2lbs 7oz....she said since I was little, that she would expect Camilla to be on the petite side too. I'm anticipating her birthweight to be 6lbs and a few ounces (big sis Sophia was 6lbs 9oz).

According to our weekly babycenter.com email, Camilla should weigh around 2.5lbs and measure a tad over 15" (head to toe). Muscles and lungs are continuing to mature - all while her head is getting bigger to accomodate her growing brain. Her brain is busy developing billions of neurons too! Each day, about 200mg of calcium is deposited in her skeleton, which is now hardening. Grow, girl, grow!

Here's a few of our favorite snapshots of our precious baby girl:

So tired!

Sticking out her tongue - silly girl

I'm a-ok in here!

Mommy can't wait to kiss those lips!

Already looking cute & chubby!

Looking like big sister Sophia!

We were having so much fun comparing the girls' 4D u/s photos - we came to the conclusion that Camilla will bear a pretty strong resemblance to her very proud big sister, Sophia! Sophia's 4D u/s was taken at 29w4d, while Camilla's was 29wks even. I had determined from earlier u/s photos that Camilla seemed to have a very similar nose as Sophia, but today solidified it. Now, if only they could tell us if Camilla will have the same olive skin, thick curly locks and hazel eyes as Sophia. We wonder if Camilla will pick up the recessive genes like Sophia or if she'll have the dominant genes of olive skin, dark brown eyes and dark brown hair. Hmm, only 11 more weeks until we'll know!

Work on Camilla's nursery is slow, yet steady. Furniture is already shipping and headed our way, bedding should arrive any day, and her chandelier was ordered last night with it's arrival by weeks end. I worked HARD this past Saturday sifting, sorting and digging thru extra STUFF in our guest room - ended up donating 3 BIG boxes full of stuff we had no business keeping! Felt like an episode of Hoarders or something. Tragic. Looking forward to finishing that all up!!

Ant situation is still that, a situation. They've taken to bait in two areas which is a.) creepy and b.) effective. I'm having a hard time 'relaxing', but thankfully we have not seen droves of them for awhile. PLEASE keep us in your prayers so that this nightmare ends and those things die off from the poisonous bait or LEAVE. I'm so over dealing with this everyday.

Onto happier things...I just felt Camilla move her head and wiggle her arms...since her head is by my belly button, I'm watching her move across my tummy as I type on the laptop...time for me to go and play our usual game of "hide & seek"! Goodnight!

Is it October yet?

I'm dying in more ways than one this week:

1.) the relentless heat + humidity (triple digits + heat index = kill me now)
2.) starting to waddle
3.) our argentinian ant friends are back (so is my Windex!)
4.) hormonal meltdowns

Right now it seems most of the country is experiencing ridiculously hot weather, but when you live in the deep south, it seems a whole lot worse. We've had high temps forecasted at 100 degrees nearly everyday, add a healthy helping of southern humidity that will choke you and heat index, and you'll have temps of 106 to 115. Pretty much a recipe for disaster. Add a pregnancy and you have a unhappy, waddling, sweating, lady that is hotter than hell. Literally. By tanking water & staying out of the heat when possible, I seem to fare ok. However, I highly dislike getting into my sauna of a car and reading the temp at 111 or higher when I turn it on. I'm just waiting for the car to say, "Screw this, I quit!".

We've also experienced an unannounced visit from our pesky Argentinian ants again (aka 'sugar ants'). We had our first problem last summer with them and hoped it was our last. Luckily, they do not harm - meaning they don't bite or sting - but are simply a nuisance. Just like people, they seek cool shelter in hot weather, dry shelter during rain and seek carbs & sugar. You'd think with that much in common, we'd invite them to dinner, but when they bring hundreds of their friends, the novelty of what we share in common tends to wear off! With all this HOT weather, we noticed a few in our guest bathroom and most recently in our kitchen (cue Julie's meltdowns #34 & #35 here, respectively). I have become BFF's with our pest control company since they've kindly paid us a visit once a week for the past 3 weeks! I have also become the crazy Greek lady with the Windex (if you've seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", you know how Greek women LOVE windex). Per my brother, Jim, who used to be in the pest control biz, he told me that if you have an ant problem, simply spray windex (it has ammonia in it) and it will kill ants on contact & also kill the pheremone (sp?) trail they leave for other ants. Genius! I was spraying everything that moved - in reality, Cook's should've paid ME....oh well. We're hoping that the problem in 'under control'. However, I'm so paranoid that every spec of something I think is an ant!

Lastly, I'm starting to waddle. Yay. Looks like I've made it to the 3rd and final trimester - as of yesterday, I hit the 28week mark. We only have 12 weeks til we meet sweet Camilla! We've ordered her furniture & bedding, so now the pressure is on to clean out the guest room and begin the transformation. It may be a small room, but at this point it takes very little for me to feel overwhelmed! Once bedding arrives, we'll be able to match up some wall paint and begin that task. I'm really wishing my Fairy Godmother would quit joking around and show up with her magic wand to get it all done asap....hmphf!

I'm also starting to tire very easily, but with working full-time, and chasing Sophia (who is VERY busy these days), it's easy to understand how I can be exhausted by dinnertime. I think I have a pretty good reason though as Camilla is quite busy herself these days getting her 'grow' on:

• Camilla should weigh roughly 2.25lbs
• She is stretching somewhere in the neighborhood of 14.8" from the top of her head to her heels
• Camilla can open & close her eyes, which now sport lashes! This movement is more a reflexive 'blink', moreso than a deliberate opening/closing
• 84 days to go!!

I can feel her quite a bit now - she is most active when I first lay down in bed...it's really fascinating to feel her dance around in there...until she really kicks you in the bladder or gut. I also went in for my standard 28wk glucose test, where they test you for gestational diabetes. Results are due Thursday and no news is good news....so say a prayer! I didn't have gestational diabetes with Sophia, and I'm hoping I don't have it with Camilla. Getting your blood drawn twice in a matter of 1.5hrs is no fun though - nor is getting stuck in the hip with a RhoGam shot b/c you are Rh-negative! Ah, the things I do for my girls! Luckily, according to my other stats, the Dr & nurses could tell I've been eating right (guess that DQ blizzard from Saturday didn't show up!) and my weight gain so far is at 20lbs. I've been concerned about weight gain since I hardly have an appetite and get full on very little - I've been making sure that I've been gaining enough. Check, check!

Sophia has really grown up too - she got her first 'big-girl' haircut this past Saturday. She chickened out at the salon and opted for Mommy to cut it at home instead. I'm not sure in the course of 1 haircut how she went from 3 to 13? She wakes up requesting a hairbrush "Because my hair got all crazy while I was sleeping" and "I need to look in the mirror to see if I'm stylish". Yep, you read that right. She's concerned about her stylish-ness. Yikes. She does love to be Daddy's big kitchen helper too:

Eating her latest fave: hard-boiled eggs!

Helping Daddy marinate the chicken

Giving the asparagus a good shake!

"Just like this Daddy?"

Sophia & her big girl haircut!

Chef Daddy & Sous Chef Sophia

I've also been pining over new lamps for quite some time, but could never settle on the 'right' ones. Or I could never find them in pairs like I needed. I never wanted to order from online as I'm a real freak on being able to see it and touch it before I buy it. Or some people call that picky! I finally found the winners IN-STOCK at Target for $39/lamp and then found the drum shades for $25/shade for a grand total of $64 per lamp! My inspiration came from Restoration Hardware (who doesn't love that catalog!?)...however, theirs would cost me a fortune just for one lamp and then tack on another hefty price for a shade. The economy stinks people, and I'll find the same look for LESS! I was THRILLED with my new lamps and poor Rod wondered if I had hit the sauce b/c I was so giddy over it! Poor, poor Rod....he's such a good sport to listen to me flip out over lamps. They completely rock my world.

Target version = $64 total for lamp & shade

Restoration Hardware Lamp ONLY = $239

I'm super proud of my thrifty-ness and how I finally got the "look for less"! Now onto my next project....