Baby L

I finally told my boss yesterday about Baby L. He was actually really happy for me and we worked out a plan for my maternity leave already. I'm still unsure how long I am going to take (at most 6 weeks, but I may come back sooner on a part-time basis because I work from home). It will depend when the Doctor releases me.

 With the news of a baby, planning mode has kicked in big time. I know that I work from home and it probably seems cold, but we will be sending Baby L to daycare during the day.  I feel so lucky that it appears we are going to get our first choice, which is Goddard School in Austell. They all have super long waiting lists, but with Baby L not starting till September, there is a spot! Hopefully we will be able to secure our spot by Friday! I had considered hiring a nanny (the cost is about the same), but I really wanted to be able to get Baby L into a great school and this will secure our spot through Kindergarten. I was a little upset at the fact they only offer 5 days a week for infants, I was hoping for a 3 day a week program. He/She will only go a few hours a day anyway!

Getting Fat. I am quite upset because I officially can't fit into my clothes. It is depressing because I am in between looking like I have eaten one too many cupcakes and looking like I could possibly be pregnant. I need clothes that fit, but maternity bottoms just look funny on me. This stresses me out and I'm sure the B thinks it is totally hot that I only wear gym clothes now days (one of 4 outfits). Rockin' wardrobe!

Coming this July 17....

Baby Litteral! Yes, I am pregnant! We are very excited to add to our family! Baby L is due on our wedding anniversary, July 17. To say our parents and the boys were excited to hear the news would be an understatement! They are overjoyed with the news! We will find out the sex in January. Of course Austin and Little J are hoping for a boy (we'll be happy with either!). I was a worried about telling Little J because he is known for telling me he doesn't want to be a middle child and that I don't "need" any other children. I hope I prove to him all the time how much I love him and Austin and they would never be "replaced" by a baby.  I just know by how excited Austin was with the news he is going to be the best big brother Baby L could ask for!

We decided to come up with a creative way to tell our family about Baby L. We piggy backed off  the MasterCard commercial and used the picture taken on our cruise. I was pregnant in the picture, but we didn't know till we returned home!

The bottom of the picture said:

Cruise to the Bahamas $1000

Souvenirs $100

The fact there are THREE Litterals in this picture....

PRICELESS!



The guy in the picture is NOT related to either of us, he was just standing in the ocean in a tux and we thought it would be funny to get our picture with him. The champagne is not real either!

Neato XV-11

I have been having so much trouble finding time to blog or do anything. Since I accepted my promotion in late November I have been working non-stop, most nights till around 11 PM. Just yesterday things started slowing down a little bit (I will not argue with that). Everyone seems to think working at home and traveling occasionally, I should be able to accomplish so much. So NOT true. I have had to hire a maid service (mostly because I am a clean freak). I walked into my house two weeks ago and couldn't even see my kitchen counters. It was bad, like....really bad. Those who know me, know I hate a mess! Thanks to Good Steward Atlanta, I don't have to worry about it anymore. Now if I could only hire a cook, and someone to help the boys with homework and projects, I'd be set!

To piggy back off my need for clean, I have been wanting the Neato XV-11 for months now. My entire house is hardwood floors and they get so dusty! It is annoying to constantly have to clean them. For my birthday,  The B got me the Neato XV-11! It is so nice to just press a button and have it take off and clean an ENTIRE level! It can clean hardwood, tile and carpet! It is programmable and I can set it to clean whenever I want. I can even take it upstairs and 30 minutes later it will "ding" to tell me it's done! Whole house clean in under an hour and I don't even have to lift a finger! I LOVE it!

Vacation and a Promotion

The B and I just got back from a week in the Bahamas. The trip was very fun and relaxing...till the day we came home. We both ended up with a pretty bad head cold. The B is still not feeling very well. On the bright side several good things happened this week. I came home from vacation to a promotion at work! I haven't decided if I am excited or terrified. I feel very fortunate to work with a great team, and for being able to work in Global HR. Then, I received my necklace from AllieSuttonDesigns. I love it! Thanks so much Allison! I can't wait to wear it!

Little J's Party Preview

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Today I managed to squeeze in time to order Little J's birthday invitations. This year we have booked a party at Medieval Times. We are all excited to have his party there this year. That night we will have a house full of boys (more than the usual) to spend the night. I can't wait and I know Little J can't either! Now I just have to figure out how I am going to top last year's Lego cake!

70th Anniversary Celebration

Last weekend we celebrated my Grandparents 70th wedding anniversary (http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/local_news/Gwinnett-Couple-Celebrates-70th-Anniversary-201111024-pm-pk#.TqdCbJqUvvh.facebook). They were married in 1941. I feel so very lucky to still have both sets of Grandparents with me. Fox Atlanta came out and did a story on them. It was very sweet. The whole family was there along with all the residents of Garden Plaza in Lawrenceville. They renewed their vows and had a wonderful celebration. They are role models for our family.

K-I-S-S-I-N-G....

"London Kiss"

Sunday, The B and I were talking to the boys about kissing on our way back home from Sam's Club. We were asking if they had kissed any girls. Austin told us he had his first real kiss recently from a girl- who is a friend. Little J was delighted to tell us who it was with (he knows I will look them up on Facebook)! We asked if it was just a kiss or a french kiss...(we didn't think either of them knew what that was)...when Little J blurted out, that it was a "London Kiss." We asked him what that was and he told us that was when you kissed under something (London Bridge). Ha! Turns out they both know what a french kiss is! Smarter than I thought....

Fall Festival Shopping

Today we had to hit up Sam's Club to shop for Little J's Fall Festival. Typically, I would have done this the day prior, but since I am headed out of town again this week for work, I won't have time. This is a picture of all the food before we loaded the truck. Austin was able to pick out all the candy that kids love and he was a huge help loading everything in the back of the truck with the help of the B. Friday is going to be here before we know it! I am looking forward to picking up Little J tomorrow morning from camp. We love having Austin alone, but can't help missing our little scout!

British Original

For those that know me, know I am pretty much obsessed with two things, London (yes, the UK) and keeping the boys in awesome clothes ( I am pretty obsessed with the boys too, so make that three things). Yes, I know....kids grow..blah blah blah...I can't help it. I want them to look cute and feel cool in what they wear. They are dressed better than me. One of my most recent finds is mini Boden. Ironically, it is a UK based clothing company and has the British flair I love. I love Boden (the adult store), but the kids stuff is so hip and cute. I find myself looking forward to the arrival monthly catalogue (I may have created a Little J monster, because he looks forward to picking what he wants almost as much as Lego's). Check it out at http://www.bodenusa.com/#. Maybe one day when I have a wee one (yes mom, one day I will) I can deck him or her out in the baby clothes!

First Scouts Camping Trip

After school, the B and I headed to pick up Austin from school and take Little J to the camping grounds for his first scout camp out weekend. He was so excited! When we got there, we set up the tent and helped his Scout Master set up the camp. I am excited for all the fun things J is going to do and all the skills he is going to learn being a scout. I was able to capture some pics as we were setting up camp. As we were leaving, his Scout Master gave him a lecture in front of us on behaving. He is always pretty good, but we have been stressing how serious this is and not to goof off as he sometimes does! We will go back to pick him up at 9AM on Sunday. Looks like Austin gets to be the only child this weekend!

Lunch & Book Fair with Little J

Today I went to Little J's school to have lunch with him and work on some things for the PTA Fall Festival next Friday. We had a blast. We had Chick-fil-a and ate with his good friend's Hunter & Hunter and Hunter's awesome mom! After school got out, we headed to the book fair for a sneak peak and Little J made his selections early and came home with two cool books and one we pre-ordered (http://www.wimpykid.com/). He loves books, but today he was really excited to go on his first Cub Scouts camping trip! Not only is is his first camping trip, but his first time away with no parents!

Back to the Grind

I have been traveling for work much more frequently then I have in the past. I am pretty much gone 1-2 days a week the past 3 months or so. I am hoping it will slow down as the year comes to a close. I hate leaving the family, especially on a Sunday. Today, I was flying out to Raleigh for my quarterly HR meeting, I arrived early for my 4 pm flight. Turns out, my Dad was flying in at the same time and we were able to meet up for a few minutes at the airport. To make a long story short ,I just arrived in Raleigh (after midnight), with a business class upgrade and a free flight to use in the next year (hello tropical destination). Since Airtran is overbooking all their flights, I took advantage and was "bumped" to the later flight. Here's to a long few days of meetings and presentations with my HR family. 21 days till vacation. Yes. I'm counting.

Little J Goes Camping

Little J is preparing for his first camping trip next weekend with his friend from school and the cub scouts. We went shopping for all his gear this weekend. Since I have only been camping once, on a college field trip, The B had to help us pick stuff out. I think he is jealous of Little J's experience. He remembers all his camping trips when he was younger and how much fun he had. We are very excited for J to experience this and we know he will go on many more of these trips as he gets older.

Lego's!

This past weekend we took the boys to Lego Land in Orlando. It was a sneak preview, before the park opened to the public. There were only about 200 or so people there and Brian & I the boys had a blast! There were so many cool things made out of legos, like a full size Ford Explorer! To say Jordan LOVED the trip would be an understatement. That boy was over the moon excited. He loves legos and to be able to go to the preview day was amazing. We did lots of lego shopping and came home with some pretty cool things. I'm thinking he may be getting some cool Lego things for his birthday in November!

The Reason

I have decided to blog for Austin & Jordan so they can remember all the fun things we did when they were younger. We are always on the go doing cool things and going awesome places. Who am I kidding? I am also blogging for me...