2 Months Down...

 

Clearly my plans for keeping up with the blog fell through.  Every time I would sit down to write something, Pace would need me or the phone would ring or the laundry buzzer would go off.  For some reason I thought I would have all this free time to do projects and write while Pace napped....but I forgot about all the other life things that need to happen when I have a few minutes.....like showering and brushing my teeth or paying bills.  Ha.  Boy was I naive.

But just because I haven't been writing doesn't mean that I don't have a lot to tell you.  Despite my limited free time, I have been able to get a few projects done here and there.   Like finishing the nursery, updating the guest bedroom/office, creating a hallway frame gallery, finding an umbrella for the deck and completing the walkway project (installing new steps....although we hired someone to do that part).  We are also in the beginning phases of finishing our basement.  I can't wait to share these updates with you!

For now though, I will leave you with some recent pics of the little guy.  He is changing so much every day.  I can't even stand it!

 

He loves our little photoshoots.....for now at least.  I'm sure that he will be pushing the camera out of his face once he learns that he can.  Haha.  I will enjoy it as long as I can though.

I'm also just 1.5 weeks away from returning to work and I can't tell you how much anxiety I have over it.  1/2 of me misses the office environment (weird, I know) and the social interaction and the other 1/2 can't imagine being away from my peanut for that long each day.  For some reason I thought that it would be a breeze to return to work, but the closer I get, the harder it is to swallow.  I have also been thinking about my career and I really want a change.  This would be the perfect time to do it, but I just don't know if I have the guts to take such a big leap of faith.  B is wonderful and supports me regardless of what I decide.....but that is almost harder than if he had an opinion.  I have to make this decision all on my own and it is nerve-racking!  Have any of you guys been through this before?  Did you think you would return to work and then decide not to?  Did you go back and regret it?  Any thoughts or insights on this would be amazing.  

Ugh, and I thought labor was hard......

Attention Moms-to-be: AMAZING DEAL!!!!!

I was casually checking emails the other night (10:30 pm to be specific) and came across a daily update from babycenter.com (through one of their partners diapers.com).  If any of you moms-to-be aren't signed up for this yet, I highly recommend it.  Not only do you get information on promotions and sales, but you get weekly updates on the growth of you and your baby.  It's pretty cool. 

This specific email was offering an AMAZING deal though (click here to check it out).  Like, pinch yourself, to-good-to-be-true, deal!!  Prepare yourselves, people. Ok, here goes....if you buy a Britax B-Ready Stroller (which is $499.99.....yes, definitely expensive, but it can hold an infant carseat and then later convert to accommodate a second child....so you can use it for years and years) you get a Britax Chaperone infant car seat for FREE!!!!  The infant car seat goes for $229.99, so you are saving a TON of money!!!  Just enter BRITAXGIFT as the promo code at checkout and you are good to go!!

We definitely needed both of these items for Little B's arrival in August so it was a no brainer for us to jump on the deal.  And coincidentally enough, these two items were already listed on my registry.  I read countless reviews and safety reports on car seats and strollers over the last few weeks, and ultimately decided that Britax was right for our family.  For one, Britax has AMAZING safety ratings, and secondly, I have had a bunch of friends own them and rave about how easy they are to use.  If you are in the market for a stroller and an infant car seat, I HIGHLY recommend this deal!!!!  I can't provide a personal recommendation for the use of the product just yet, but I will DEFINITELY report back to you when we start using it in a few months.  I buy almost everything based on user reviews and recommendations.  A personal testimony of a product is so much more reassuring to me when I can't try it out for myself.   

Oh, and I almost forgot to share with you the best part......the fabric!!  I know all of you design-savvy people out there can appreciate this portion of the deal, even if you aren't expecting a child at the moment.  The stroller comes in a few standard colors....green, red, silver and black.  And although the car seats come in coordinating colors to match, they also offer a fabric called "cowmooflage".  Now, I'm definitely not normally an animal print fan, but for this....I couldn't resist!!!! 

How cute is that???  We got it in the mail yesterday (oh, and did I mention that the offer includes FREE SHIPPING as well!!!!  We ordered on Tuesday night and got it on Thursday!!!  Honestly, can it get any better than that??).

Ok, enough of  my ranting.  If you are in the market for these items, go check it out!!  If not, I apologize for the random product-related post but I couldn't resist sharing the deal with you!!

Happy Friday everyone!! 

Bar Harbor

We drove up to Maine this past weekend to visit the in-laws.  They have a house in Winter Harbor, which is a quaint little fishing town on Mt. Desert Island.  It takes us about 5 hours to get up there from Boston, but it is ALWAYS worth the drive.  It is one of those towns where there are no stops signs or traffic lights and the post office is run by the same guy as the 5 and dime store.  One of those places where everybody knows your name (Cheers-style)!! 

Whenever we go up for a weekend we try to sneak over to Acadia National Park to do some hiking or biking.  And if we plan it right, we'll stop for lunch at Jordan Pond House (their popovers are heavenly!!)  If we are staying longer than two days, then we try to walk around downtown Bar Harbor and grab some dinner locally as well.  If you have never been to Bar Harbor, you are really missing out.  It is one of our favorite places to visit, which is one of the reasons we chose it for our wedding destination.  It is such a beautiful, relaxing, friendly place.  And now when we visit it is a really great reminder of that perfect day! 

I can't believe it has almost been two years!!

This past weekend was a quick trip, though, and we wanted to spend some time with the in-laws.  No complaints there; we had a great time!!  In fact, we got back to the house on Saturday just in time to cook up some fresh lobsters and build a campfire in the backyard for s'mores at sunset!  Love it!!

Then yesterday we decided to drive over to Jones Pond (near Prospect Harbor) to do some kayaking before heading back home.  The weather was beautiful (both days, actually) and the water was like glass.  We had a blast!!  We only wish it could have lasted longer.

 

It is so nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city every once in a while!  

 

There aren't enough words..

I'm sure we are not the only ones who have been blessed with AMAZING parents, but I have to say that ours have truly gone above and beyond any expectations we had.  B's parents spend their summers in maine, so they have not been able to come by as often, but when they do, they are a TREMENDOUS help to us.  Whether its providing the extra tools we need, priming and painting all of our previously yellow walls (don't get me wrong, I like yellow, but it was literally covering EVERYTHING) or cleaning up the endless supply of dust and dirt, they have been so helpful to us during this whole process.  I don't know what we would do without them.

My parents have been rockstars as well.  I have often referred to them as the "extreme home makeover team" because of all the work they can do in a day.  Seriously, you would never know that they are 60 and 61 years old (sorry, mom, for spilling the beans on that one).  I don't think I could get HIRED labor to work that hard.  It's impressive.  Just this past weekend, my dad stayed with me to finish up some last minute projects.  He trekked back and forth with me to Home Depot THREE times (and Lowe's once!!!) never complaining once or rolling his eyes at my indecision.  Granted, I think that he secretly enjoys spending my money, but there is so much more to it than that.

I can't thank them enough for the blood, sweat and tears they've shed in the last 5 months for our house.  when I finally get some photos up on this website of the house and show you the transformation it has undergone, please keep this dream team in the back of your mind.  We really could not have achieved all of this without them.  At least not in THIS lifetime!!