7 week belly pics

i know very well that what i'm about to show you is pure bloat (and the result of 1 too many cookies) but i started documenting @ 7 weeks with alex so it's only fair.

so here i am this morning @ 7 weeks 2 days:

please note that my child is playing with my flip flop. i wish i were that easily amused.
so- as you can see, along with my stomach- my ass & thighs are on their way to getting bigger. super. i'm still wearing my 5/6 skinny jeans- but i feel like that's not going to be acceptable for too much longer.

case in point? this is how i keep my jeans up on a day to day basis:

a hair band & almost zipped zipper. (if you look closely you will see what's hanging on from my last pregnancy- my linea nigra & stretchies. this is why i will never rock a bikini again. no MILF title in my future)

so yes- 7 weeks. so far my boobs aren't huge- they're bigger, but they got pretty pathetic after i weaned so now they're simply acceptable looking. all my normal clothes still fit (thanks to strategically placed hairbands) and noone that i don't want to know knows i'm up the duff with #2 (did that make sense?)

aaaaand- to stop you from ripping your eyes out after those pictures of my non Victoria Secret's body- i give you miss alex. happy as a clam @ 6 in the am:

aw aw aw!

too cute. we like green- and white. ha!

and because i'm slipping like MAD- who wants to vote for us?

#18 makes us sad- that smiling lady is lying! clicky clicky!
happy friday everyone!

p.s. if you think i should be reading your blog because you're awesome, when you leave a comment leave a link for your blog & i'll go follow you. i really do try to comment back on everyone- but it's hard! so help me out!

Sonic Alert Alarm Clock winner!

the winner of the Sonic Alert Alarm Clock is:

Comment #45- congrats Tiffany! please contact me within 24 hours so i can get your info over to Sonic Alert!

to everyone else- thanks for playing! stay tuned for monday's 31 Gifts giveaway!

7 months old

so i'm a couple days late on this one- alex turned 7 months old on saturday. 7!!!

so i decided to try out my new seamless paper: omg she looks like a little person!

i LOVE this picture. i entered it for the I Heart Faces challenge!

notice how this pic looks different? this is how NOT to use your speedlight. horrible.

she loves bunny.

ok she was so done.

but then i let her play with nail clippers (mom of the year right here)

she refused to sit after awhile...

bebe toes!!

"look cessna! clippers!"

photo fail.

so there you go. my kid is 7 months old! i think if i love her anymore i might explode. oy.

here's the flickr set in case you want to see bigger pics: alex flickr

Sonic Alert Alarm Clock review/giveaway!

CLOSED!

ever since i started sleeping with my husband (yes, actual sleeping) i've noticed one thing. he sleeps the sleep of the dead.

that's right- atomic bomb? ::snore::
really effing annoying alarm clock? ::snore::
my screaming? ::snore::
and most recently, baby crying? ::SNORE::

yeah- how someone can sleep through the shrill sounds of both an alarm clock & a screaming 7 month old is beyond me- but he can.

so when Sonic Alert contacted me & asked if i'd like to review one of the their alarm clocks i said "heck yes!"

so i took a look at their site & the first thing i noticed was that their alarm clocks include a vibrating bed shaker. what is that you ask?

well, by plugging in the bed shaker & placing it underneath your mattress, not only will the alarm go off @ 4 am but your bed will also start to vibrate. that's right- you might be able to ignore the alarm but can you really ignore the bed vibrating? me thinks not.

so we tried it out- i picked this alarm clock:

because it has dual alarms and i get up before the hubs (ie: one can go off at 4am & one can go off at 6am- your choice)
and set it up.

well when it went off the next morning at 4am the hubs couldn't ignore it. he turned it off and promptly glared at me. SUCCESS!

BUT- what's also really cool is that you can turn the actual alarm off & just have the bed shaker go off instead. i think this is a fab idea for co-sleeping & bed sharing parents.

while the alarm is loud & obnoxious (like it's supposed to be) and will probably wake up Jr. the bed shaker isn't. it's an obvious vibration that will wake you up- but it's not disruptive.
alex sleeps in our bed some mornings & she didn't even open her eyes when the bed shaker went off!

it really is an awesome alarm clock. and because it's so loud, it's great for those that are hard of hearing...and teenagers. heh.
and there are tons of clock options- here's a few:

analog clock

heart shaped clock

travel sized clock with a travel sized bed shaker

black & red Sonic Bomb

and the list goes on. they even have one that you can set to go off whenever your phone rings! and the large large display clocks (like the one i chose) have great big numbers but are actually a really decent size (ie: not tiny & not massive) so it fits right on the windown ledge & i'm never squinting to see what time it is.

SO! do you need to wake up in the morning? do you need your significant other to wake up in the morning but you want to stay asleep? do both you & your significant other need to wake up at different times? do you need your 15 year old to get their butt in gear in the morning?

if so- then you probably want one of these bad boys! so the good people over at Sonic Alert are going to make that happen for one of my readers- yay!

you get to choose from any model (excluding models SB1000/SB1000SS)

Required Entry: (2 comments)

- go to Sonic Alert's website & tell me which clock you think you'd like best.

Additional Entries: (3 commments)

- vote for me at Top Mommy Blogs: Top Mommy Blogs - Vote for us @ TopMommyBlogs.Com!

(you can vote daily & leave comments daily!)

and that's it! good luck!

Princess Couture Designs Giveaway

and the winner of the Princess Couture Designs giveaway is:

Comment # 24. Congrats sfloyd! please contact me within 24 hours!

and to everyone else, thank you for playing (as always!)!

stay tuned, on monday we have another giveaway- a Sonic Alert Alarm Clock! it's pretty neat because you have the option of a regular (LOUD) alarm clock PLUS a vibrating alarm- what does this mean you ask?! well, i'll show you on monday!

have an awesome weekend everyone!

baby #2 update

(i'll post the u/s pics after i get home & scan them!)

what we saw last time: 04/15

- gestational sac (measuring at 5 weeks 1 day)
- yolk sac
- implantation bleed (subchorionic hematoma)

what we saw this time: 04/22

- gestational sac
- yolk sac
- baby (measuring @ 6 weeks 1 day)
- heartbeat @ 124 bpm
- smaller implantation bleed (subchorionic hematoma)

so you know what that means? it mean yay! i can finally relax (but only a little because i'm freaking paranoid- der) the subchorionic hematoma explains the small amount of reddish/brown blood that i've been seeing for the past week. and it will most likely continue until the SCH bleeds out or re-absorbs.

my OB said things look "fantastic" and that i shouldn't worry about the SCH considering the awesome growth & very strong heartbeat (for such a young babe)

so, while we're definately not out of the woods- i feel much better! i was so freaking terrified that we weren't going to see anything this time. i had that sickly feeling (you know, when your bowels just drop) but felt immediate relief when she stuck the wand in & zoomed up. and when i saw the flickering heartbeat ::swoon::
i seriously don't know if there is anything better than seeing that. oy.

the hubs came along this time, and once he got over his shock at the size of the u/s wand ("omg- do they stick that all the way in you?!!?") i could see him smiling away.
here's to 9 more months of "i told you so!"
this is the one situation where i can't begrudge him for it.

i've got a nurse appt scheduled for 05/11 & my first "real" Ob appt on 05/19. how very surreal.
the girl that checked me out was like, "ummm, weren't you just here and pregnant like, a few months ago?"
why yes, yes i was sweetie.

thanks to all for their well wishes & prayers (you're totally allowed to keep praying- i'm cool with that ;)

p.s. aaaand- today is the last day to enter the Princess Couture Designs giveaway! i'll announce the winner in the early AM! thanks for playing :)

Top Mommy Blogs - Vote for us @ TopMommyBlogs.Com!

Princess Couture Designs Giveaway!

CLOSED!

so, many of you are probably aware of my aversion to hairbows on little girls.
it's not that your daughter isn't adorable- it's just something about the massive bow/flower that appears to be swallowing her head. oy!

so when Michellen over at Princess Couture Designs asked me if i'd like to try out some of her bows- i started to sweat. omg! bows, flowers, massive clippys! ahhhh!
but once i took a look at her site i started to calm down. in fact, my fingers started to itch because i wanted some of those bows right now!

while she does offer the big fru fru bows for those faithful to them (heh) she also offers the most adorable little bows & felt clips. she also does some very delicate looking flowers that do NOT look like they weigh more than your child.
i was sold.

so she sent me some bows & i went to work.




(i almost died when i saw the birdie & pear! hello! birdie- duh! and the pear totally matches her Gap outfit!)

and by work i mean getting alex to sit still long enough to get a bow into her hair. don't forget- for 6 months this child had refused to even wear a hat- so bows were pretty foreign to us. but we gaev it the old college try, and what do you know? adorable! plus, old ladies at the store stopped asking if she was a boy or girl! (cept for one lady who was like "boy! no, wait...girl? right?" um, hello- does the hot pink bow NOT give it away? please lady!)


the absolute perfect size, no?

(no idea why we buy her toys since her father's Mr. Donut mug is her latest obsession)

and in fact- we love our bows/clippies so much that i actually picked her easter dress out to match the adorable birdie clippy!

and as much as she loves to rip them out of her hair (she's sort of violent) they never fall out on their own!

i honestly never throught i'd have a bow/clippy holder full of bows/clippies but i was wrong! and i love love love it!

so! who wants some of these?! well one of you lucky ladies (or dudes- i don't judge) will win a $20 Princess Couture Designs giftcard! and believe me, you can get a TON of bows with $20. Michellen's prices are more than reasonable & her stuff is awesome quality.

Proof? alex has nommed the crap out of several of her bows. in fact, she puked on one. the hubs threw it in the laundry (argh) and not noticing, i washed it. imagine my suprise when it came out in one piece! it's the ornange one up there- see it? still works!

Princess Couture Designs has many many many other bows, clips, bracelets & even mom & me sets! so go check em' out!

Required Entry:

go to Princess Couture Designs & follow her blog. that's it! (2 comments)

Addtl Entries:

1. vote for me on TMB: Top Mommy Blogs - Vote for us @ TopMommyBlogs.Com! (1 comment per each vote- 1 x per day)

2. grab Princess Couture Designs button (from her blog) (3 comments)

2. become a fan of Princess Couture Designs on FB (3 comments)

good luck!

CanvasPress giveaway winner!

sorry this is late! the winner of the CanvasPress giveaway is:

RANDOM.ORG - Integer Widget

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 121 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

comment #121!

Congrats Eliza! thank you for reading my blog on a regular basis :) please shoot me an e-mail within 48 hours (because it's Sunday) and i'll get your info over to CanvasPress!

and to everyone else- thank you for playing as always- and thank you also for reading my blog!
stay tuned for tomorrow's giveaway it's one for the ladies- a Princess Couture Designs hairbows giveaway. seriously darling!
RANDOM.ORG - Integer Widget

twitter home tour

so as many of you know, i live in a log cabin. an honest to goodness ski lodge really.
best thing about it? it's a log cabin of course!
bigget fears? fire & termited. oy!

i gave a "tour" when we first moved in- but here's what it looks like now:

i'll start with Alex's room:

mr birdie on the light switch is my favorite!

i love her room. it's a tad bit small- but it's perfect for now. i searched high & low for that rug & was ever so lucky to get my hands on it. i also have a small obsession with Amy Ruppel's artwork so that is what adorns her walls.

the decal was a cinch to put up and i love all the little birds.

onto the master bedroom:

if you look closely you'll see a stinkbug climbing on the mattress. i promptly made the husband put him outside. ick. you can also see where my cats flex their claws. annoying.

the blue sheet is spread over the bed daily so we don't have to sleep surrounded by cat hair.

my side/dresser.

the "guestbook" from our wedding.

i smell like one of these on a daily basis.

we have an addtl dresser- but it doesn't fit. so the hubs clothing is in the closet. poor guy.

ok next- the loo:

quite possibly the ugliest vanity known to man- but we're too cheap to change it yet...

the hallway:

now, the living room, kitchen, family room & dining room. yes- all in one:

kitchen:

i swear my counters are usually bare- however the husband has taken it apon himself to change the oil in my jeep- so this is where it sits until he does it...

the husband's pride & joy...enough liquor to rival the most well stocked bar.

i SO prayed that the previous owners would leave this when they moved out- i was so stoked when i saw that they had!

what we see when we look up

woodstove.

we love our L couch- but we're definately going to need a normal one- we need more room to move around...

technically this is the dining area- but we hardly ever eat in it (which explains my art stuff & PR things littering the table)

the front door:

what greets me when i get home...

the third bedroom:

it's being worked on currently (the hubs first project after i told him about baby #2) this'll be alex's room...

the basement:

yeah- it's just a un-finished basement.

the backyard:

the front of the house:

and i'll leave ypu with what alex does best:

play of course!

thanks for stopping by :)

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