Home Improvement Day #2

This was actually Monday, but how could I not partake in my favorite Top 2 Tuesday so I just saved it for today.

Day 2 consisted of painting the baseboards and wiping down some of the walls (dog drool, mud, scuffs from parties you get the idea) That was pretty easy with my mom helping me out, what would i do without her??

Then when hubs got home from work we went to work on pulling all the carpet and old padding up and then moved all the furniture out. Leaving us living like the caveman on cemet, don't worry we retreated to my bedroom and lived there for 2 days amongst couch cushions and pillows.

Oh but this was sooooooo worth it!! Wait til you see the after picture :) yummm yummm yummm

this is what Lydia thought of all the noise and the whole process

T2T: Deserted Island

Ok, so for this Top 2 Tuesday it is about 2 things (not people) you would take to a deserted island.

#1. Flares: this is so I could quickly signal for help because really it would be awful for me to be on a deserted island. Nothing good could come from tropical insects, animals, and no shelter. So I would want to get out of that place ASAP.

#2. Sunscreen: To get me through until my flares worked and somebody showed up to save me because I also would hate to be fried to a crisp (I have gotten wayyy over that stage in my life) and nothing sounds more uncomfortable then being burnt to a crisp on a deserted island waiting for someone to save my life.

So all in all, I hope I never get stuck on a deserted island, ya'll saw lost, even if you were hidden under a rock, because it was everywhere, and that stuff was crraaazzyy.

So keep me on my Florida beaches or maybe the caribbean at a resort where I have a nice hotel or condo and restaurants to feed my every desire and keep the tropical drinks flowing.


Head on over to Taylor's blog and play along!

Home Improvement Day #1

So, we have lived in this house now for a little over 2 years and my carpet has been crap for oh 1.34 of those years. I don't blame the previous owners for doing a cheapo job just to spruce up the place for selling it but with our 3 pooches and the few parties we had over the first 2 years it took a major beating and needed replaced before our lydia bug starts crawling.

Up close look at the carpet pulling up by our fire place

Before Picture

So I have always looooved hard wood floors, I love old homes with all the nice hard wood floors and the character that it adds to a house. Also, with the dogs it will be so much easier to care for, their hair won't get stuck permanently into the carpet, they can't get their little claws into the seam and rip it, and they can't stain it! All major pluses in my book. Plus when spills come having tile in the kitchen and wood laminate (yes much cheaper than the real thing) in the living room will leave the majority of the house spill proof, just wipe it up!

Nasty seam that ran through the middle of our room

So we finally decided that we would take some of our tax refund money we had put away in case I could get into a new car (which didn't happen) and use it towards this floor and we would get it done before I have to go back to work. ::anxiety attack begins now over the word work::

To save money we have decided to pull all the old stuff up ourselves. Saved me a good $400 plus we are putting all the quarter rounds in after it is down, perks to having builders in the family.

Sunday = #1 of home improvement and my mom and dad came to help pull all the tac strips up that lined the whole room. That stuff is NASTY!

Luckily the carpet looks like it isn't going to give us that much trouble coming up so we are saving that until the last minute so we aren't walking on concrete.


Now a look at our little girls guardians keeping her safe from all the ruckus that was going on, don't worry we quickly moved her into another room and the dogs into the kitchen when we really got to work, this was just while my mom and I assessed the situation. They knew something was up though.


Ooooh Day 2 post to come tomorrow :)

Weekend Recap

So it is Sunday evening and my little darling is down for the night, she is not asleep yet but she does this adorable gurgly talking thing I think it is the funniest thing ever. So here I am doing a blog about our fun weekend and her fun weekend is apparently still going on in her crib.

Well first off, Thursday was the first day that her and I spent at the pool by ourselves and I actually put a swimsuit on... ahhhhh scary scary but I survived and I am rockin the mommy one piece with pride! I worked hard for that one piece :) Well I didn't put miss lydia's swimsuit on because I felt I needed more hands and help if I was going to get her in the pool with me plus who would take adorable pictures right?



We also frequented the St. Jude fest Thursday and Saturday so I could show her off at my old church to all the people I don't see on a regular basis. ::BIG HIT:: It was so weird to be there with my baby when I was watching all these tweens and teenagers walk around in their "cute" outfits, I would say differently, when I used to be one of those kids. I used to look forward to this weekend so I could put on a cute outfit and dance with my dad and family to the band that was playing. Oh how times change.

Friday, daddy was off work so we gave him a couple hours around lunch time for some rest and relaxation and went to meet some girls that I work with for lunch up in Broadripple, it was so fun to catch up, I really don't want to go back to work I would rather catch up with them this way. Then Friday evening we grilled out and then hit up the horse track for the first time with Lydia. We aren't big gamblers but we love to go and my hubby puts down small bets here and there. Actually the last time we were there I went into labor a day later and we had to leave because I was actually feeling kind of weird, labor a day later explained that reasoning.


Saturday we had our first official pool day with the fam. All day loungin on my chair or in a raft (if baby girl was snoozin), reading, drinking a beer, chillin to some tunes with my parents and sister. We even put her in this adorable swimsuit and let her try it out. She wasn't so sure. Then we rocked her awesome jean skirt outfit and hit up the festival again for some food and drinks with family and friends. * The swimsuit pic is from my sisters iphone, she took more with her camera but she hasn't uploaded them yet. She has pictures of the cute jean skirt outfit too, those will be a post of their own because well they are too cute not to share.


Today has been relaxing and productive all at the same time. We went to church and lunch with daddy before he had to go to work. Then we finished up the 1st season of Glee, BUT WAIT there is even more coming out in Sept. that isn't on Volume 1... holy cow, how do I wait til September???? I will be you tubing Glee to get my Finn and Mr. Schuester fix!

** We are doing some home improvements this week and getting a new wood laminate floor in our living room ::squeal with happiness:: I have hated our carpet for oh about 1 year and a half now and am sooo excited for this to be done. Post to come!!

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend and look for those home improvement posts this week, i'm already living in chaos under my standards and it's driving me crazy!! Don't know how people live in the house they are remodeling. I would need to be medicated.

Taking a Stab at Thoughtless Thursday

So this is my first try at the Thoughtless Thursday, I really didn't have anything pressing to blog about today and saw that a few of the ladies I follow take part in this every week, so why not??

I am also using my hubby's computer today as I sit in my bed with my sleeping baby next to me after watching the 2nd disc of Glee season 1 (totally completely hooked and in love!) So I just so happened to see what pictures would be at my fingertips to use for this post and I found the folder he used for a valentines day gift for me a couple years (ok so like 4 years) back when we were just dating.

First of all this was the best Valentines Day gift ever, he was gone from school over the "holi"day because he was working a Senior Retreat so he made a dvd with pictures of us to music and then set it up in my dvd player before he left, then he had a card ready for me that said open on Valentine's Day and inside it said push play. I was in tears, it was so thoughtful and one of the best gifts ever I went running to my roomies and made them watch it with me again!!

So here are a few of the pictures featured on the dvd, a definite blast from the past as most of these are from my Junior year or first semester of Senior year in College.


Young and in Love!! Head on over to Life in the Fulmer Lane and play along with Thoughtless Thursday :)

Where Have I Been??

I think I have been hiding under a rock for the past 2 seasons of what could quite possibly have the potential of becoming a top runner in my TV show list... GLEE. Hello, it is fantastic, there are plenty of you out there who watch this show and I have read posts with your thoughts about episodes and characters and I just never quite jumped on the bandwagon but consider me a passenger on the bandwagon that is GLEE!! Can't wait to join in on all the conversation next season.

I am working on the first season now, Lydia loves the music and loves that mommy sings along too :)

Ok, so I'm pretty sure if I had a teacher like Mr. Schuester I would have joined the glee club too.

T2T: My love for Realty TV

So what a coincidence that in my Top 2 Tuesday post last week one of my guilty pleasures was Reality TV so now I will just expand upon that post and give you my favs and why :) Oh I love Tuesday posts!!

#1. Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood
Why you might ask?

1. Donna Martin
2. Stella and Liam (tooo cute!)
3. Her style
4. Guncles
5. Crazy animal antics (4 dogs, chickens and now a goat)
6. Party planning


#2. Keeping up with the Kardashians/ Khloe and Kourtney take Miami

They are so entertaining, my husband hates them and thinks they are all ridiculous and they mostly are ridiculous but that's why I love them. I love that Khloe is so blunt, such an instigator and now she is married. I love that Kourtney is now a mom to little Mason and the drama with her and Scott is never ending. I love that Kim is actually in a lot of ways pretty responsible compared to her crazy partying family but I love her style! I love the games they play with Bruce and their mom (now she really is crazy!)


Honorable Mentions:
Kendra
Real Housewives of NYC and the OC (I'm not a fan of New Jersey)
Real World Challenge shows (matt actually loves these too)
Bethenny is Getting Married?
Holly's World

LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE me some Reality TV :) Now go play along at Taylor's Blog!

Weekend Recap: DMB and 2 Year Anniversary

So this weekend was soooo fun! I haven't really been out since I had Lydia so this weekend was amazing, not that I don't love every second with my little Lydia bug but every once and a while you gotta get out and let loose.

So Saturday was the Dave Matthews Band concert and thank goodness we decided to go 2nd night (it's always better) but it also crazy stormed on those who went Friday night, I mean lightning like I haven't seen in a long long time. So Saturday I had friends come in from all over and visit with me and Lydia in the afternoon, we met up with them later for the concert and then I went to my parents where my sister, brother and me took my dad to DMB for his Father's Day gift. He has loved Dave longer than any of us and has only been to 1 concert so we took him. It was a BLAST being with my friends and my family all at the same time!


Sunday, although I didn't drink much, I am a cheap date after all that time not drinking, but i was still feeling it a little bit so Lydia and I layed around in our pj's all day and watched crap on tv, so nice! Then my hubby got home from work and we got all spiffed up to go out for our 2 year Anniversary. Aunt "Waura" took care of Lydia while we were out. We went to Ruth Chris downtown and then took a walk to walk off the amazing dinner we had, then we went and rented a movie. It was such a nice evening to finally have for just the 2 of us but I was so excited when baby girl walked back in the door for the night and we wrapped up the evening as a whole family!


Weekends like these I know I am truly blessed with amazing people in my life and we sure do know how to have a good time!

2 Years Ago who would have thought...

That we would have the life that we have together right now so soon in our marriage. 2 years ago today I married my amazing husband and best friend! We had the best day and we all still talk about how amazing our wedding day was and we would have never changed a thing, it was truly the best day!

Now on this 2 year anniversary it is also my husbands first fathers day, I know he wishes he could spend more time with our little girl but he works so hard and we appreciate all he does for us! He is a great daddy and Lydia and I both love him sooooooo much for that :)

So Happy Anniversary and Fathers day to my best friend and the love of my life!!

Ooooh I was so nervous

So last night we went out after Matt's family invited us to dinner for Grandma Marge's birthday and they were going to Harry Izzy's. Yes yes of course I will go to a nice fancy restaurant where I can get dressed up and have a glass of wine and feel like I'm living outside of my tax bracket..... 5 minutes later.... oh crap we have a baby now.

Do people take babies to these kind of restaurants? What happens if she has a thunder pants episode (moms you know what I'm talking about, the big loud explosive sound of a dirty diaper)? Do I feed her at the table? What if she cries, will I take her outside and walk her down Illinois St.?

Well we sucked it up and decided she was still going to go with us. Did they have a sling for her car seat? No. Did they have a changing table in the bathroom? No. Did any of the workers at the restaurant oo and aww over her? No. They don't like babies I'm pretty sure but we made it work. She behaved wonderfully, we made do with making a makeshift changing table on the sink, we did feed her at the table, and she did fuss a bit (but it was so loud in there nobody could hear)

SUCCESS and we did get to dress up and go downtown and act like we were living outside our tax bracket.


*you can't really see ms. Lydia's dress in this picture so I put the picture below, it's one of our purchases from our visit downtown to visit grandma at work, I got it on sale and Aunt Laura used her birthday coupon on it too. YAY for good deals and this is a great dress for summer, it has the onesie attached, nobody touching babies bare skin when they pick her up AND it breathes so nicely for a poor little girl stuck being held and in her car seat sweating in this hot weather.

Wordless Wednesday

T2T... Guilty Pleasures

So it is one of my favorite posts of the week... head on over to Taylor's blog and play along!

Top 2 Guilty Pleasures

1. Keeping up with the Kardashians, Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood, Holly's World, Kendra....

I cannot help it but these "reality shows" are so addicting and entertaining. Sometimes it makes me so thankful for my life and other times it makes me wish I could live the lavish lifestyle of celebrities. My husband thinks I'm silly for watching these shows but I can't help it, it's my thing.

2. Carmel Frappucinos

YUMMY, oh so bad for me and I don't even know if I can count as high as there are calories in this drink but they make me so happy and are so yummy! I love it when I get gift cards because lets face it, they aren't the most fiscally responsible thing to spend my money on so it makes the PERFECT gift :)

How Beautiful?!?!

How beautiful is that little lady in the my new blog header??? Oh my gosh she melts my heart into a big puddle of mommy goo, she is the best part of my day, the cherry on top of my sundae, the nice clean sheets on my bed and the cats meow, people she ROCKS!!!

I am so in love with my daughter and it just keeps growing every day (how is that possible?) She is changing in front of my eyes and as much as I wish I could just stop time I am so excited to see the little girl that is to come from this beautiful little baby :)


Ok, that is all for this Sunday evening, I have a date with my beautiful daughter.

Wishful Wednesday: My Dream Job!

'I wish' .... I had the opportunity to change careers and it would be to become a boarding kennel owner!



If I had the opportunity to change my career I would definitely become a kennel owner. I believe I have mentioned this before for those of you who have been following me for a little while now. I worked at a kennel growing up, I started volunteering when I was 13 and started working the day I turned 14 and I continued working there through the summer before my junior year of college (20 years old), that is a long stinkin time to work someplace. However, it was the best job in the world ::hints the reason I stayed so long::. I love love love anything with four legs and fur. Plus I got to go to work in basically my pj's because well it's not the most glamorous job in the world and the owners are great family friends and basically my 2nd family all through high school.

I want to be able to help people feel at ease when they leave for vacation, pets are a big part of today's families and you worry about them while they are gone and I want to provide an atmosphere where they can feel completely comfortable leaving their furry four legged members of the family. I want to live on the property so I can be there in a second if something is wrong, I want to be able to make a pot of coffee and walk down to the kennel to work for the day. I want to be home when my kids come home from school and I want a lot of land so in the middle of shifts I can go play with my own animals (horses, goats, dogs, etc. )


This is my dream life!! Maybe one day :)

** Now head on over to Seattle Smith's to check out other bloggers Wishful Wednesday Picks**

T2T... I'M BACK!

So I'm finally back to doing one of my favorite posts every week, the Undomestic Momma's Top 2 Tuesday, head over and check it out... after you read my post of course :)

Top 2 Favorite Books:
Ok, so I'm a major book worm...Matt always laughs at me when I get into a good book because I won't put it down and sometimes I have been guilty of staying up all night to read the book and can finish it in 1 day :) So on that note, this is kind of hard but at the same time there is an obvious #1.

1. TWILIGHT: ok so this is technically 4 books but I'm counting the whole series as just 1. I am guilty of being a complete twilight obsessed freak, ok so I don't dress up in Team Jacob or Team Edward garb and camp out to make opening night of the new movie, but I have read the series 2 times all the way through and I am currently getting ready to read Eclipse for the 3rd time in preparation for the new movie.

2. HARRY POTTER: ok, so once again this is technically 7 books and I do have a favorite book of the series which would be book number 7, it is so exciting and she did such a great job of wrapping up all aspects of the series that I had to read it twice so I wouldn't miss anything. Yes, I made fun of my roomate for being a Harry Potter nerd and then I turned into one myself :)


A few honorable mentions:
Emily Giffin- Something Blue, Something Borrowed, Baby Proof and Love the One You're With
Nora Roberts- Bride Quartet Series

** I love most series that I read, it keeps the story going, I always get sad when I fall in love with characters and then the story is over and I have no idea where their lives take them next. Yes, major nerd moment!

WARNING: Too cute :)

Lydia's newborn photos : remember I warned you they are too cute for some people to handle :)

Our first month together!

Lydia,

You are one month old today, I cannot believe that one month ago I was big and pregnant awaiting the first sign of your pending arrival. It seems like so long ago but just like yesterday all at the same time. Our first month was filled with lots of ups and downs, mostly downs for mommy but you helped me get through them, you and your dad were what kept me going.

In this month, I got to hear you cry for the first time as they put you in the warmer and cleaned you up to hand you over to your daddy. I got to watch people fill with joy and love as they met you and held you for the first time. You are such a lucky little girl with so many people who love you and would do anything for you.

I love when you are screaming for someone else and when I take you from them to hold you all is good with the world again because you are with your mommy. Yes there are plenty of times we both cry together as I get frustrated and you get fussier but that's part of it right, we are learning more and more about each other every day and it takes time to learn a new language (newborn was not something I was very fluent in).

I had to spend a few nights away from you and it was enough to realize that everyone is so correct when they say that when you have a baby it fills a void you never knew existed. I had no idea that I had a huge gaping hole where you would eventually be. Those 4 days were the hardest of my life and when I got to come home to you it made me heal so much faster!

Here are some moments I have grown to love the most over the last month:


When you hold my pinky as I feed you your bottle

When you stare at me and smile (it might be gas but I think it's my kisses!)

When we have dance parties in your nursery to get rid of your hiccups (just to wait them out really)

When your eyes get real big as you discover something new

When you are sleeping so peacefully in my arms and I can hear your breathing change

When I take you places and people ooo and aaa over you, everyone smiles when they lay their eyes on you, you work magic little lady!!

When you make me laugh out loud as you make silly faces and cross your eyes as you try and focus

When you aren't quite to the screaming because you are hungry stage but at what I have affectionately named the "crack baby" stage and you make pug like noises and try and eat your hands, it makes me laugh every time

I love everything about you, even your fussy moments, because I will look back one day and realize that these we were the moments we were figuring this whole newborn and first time mommy thing out. You are a blessing and a true miracle, if anyone ever needed proof of our amazing God and the miracles he works every day, they just need to look at you and know he is real!

I love you Lydia Rose and am so excited for our future together as we keep growing as a mommy and a baby together, you are stuck with me for life little lady!

love,

Mommy :)



(month stickers to come, I ordered them but I am missing Month 1 and 2)

Wishful Wednesday.. SATC!!!

So this is my first Wishful Wednesday, I'm usually too lazy to participate in this and pull the wordless Wednesday card because well, it has wordless in the title and that is super easy for this new mommy. However, I could not pass up this topic because it is definitely one of my favs! I L.O.V.E Sex And The City :) I borrowed all the seasons and watched a couple a night before bed when I was in college and then I have watched the movie only a gazillion times. I haven't seen the new one yet but I'm waiting to go with my sis and things have been kind of crazy so I hope to do that in the next week or so. Well here is my Wishful Wednesday post :) HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!

'I wish' .... I could be the one and only Charlotte in SATC2!!

I love love love Charlotte, I mean maybe the obvious choice would be SJP as Carrie Bradshaw herself and don't get me wrong she is fabulous, I love her love of shoes but I LOVE Charlotte's life and her out look on love and family. She always kept an optimistic outlook on life and falling in love, she never gave up on finding the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She is so loyal (see scene where she screams at BIG or tries to be mean to him again trying to say her line she has rehearsed as her water breaks) Not to mention she is always put together to perfection. Seriously, every hair in place, every outfit beautiful and perfect! I have not seen her in SATC2 yet but I'm sure she will not disappoint :)

I feel like a new woman :)

Ok, soooo I have been so busy this past Memorial Day weekend finally getting Ms. Llydia out of the house that I am so far behind in blog world, not only in posting the most recent developments since my plee for help but also catching up on all my blogs I read.

So here is my short attempt at catching you guys up: SLEEP, is wonderful and something we have finally gotten a little bit of the past 3 nights! Lydia has been sleeping the first part of her night in the bassinet by our bed because she usually doesn't have too long until her next bottle and it's nice to just grab her and go when that time comes but from then on she sleeps in her crib and the last 2 nights has slept for 3 to 3 1/2 hours in between feedings so Matt and I are actually able to take shifts which means the other gets to sleep and therefore = a very happy mama :)

I'm so proud my girl is working it out :)

BIG Blog post to come this week.... Lydia will be a MONTH old :( really????