Holy Snow!!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! It is reallllly coming down out there! It's beautiful outside but not beautiful enough to make me want to get out there. It's still coming down and collecting and really collecting :) Hopefully it will stop soon so we can actually go outside and enjoy the winter wonderland with Kavan who has his own little orange snowsuit :) In the meantime, our trip to CT was cancelled today - and may be tomorrow as well :/ Eek!

Will post pictures at day's end!

Woot Woot! My Brother is engaged!!

I am overrrr the MOON!! My brother asked his girlfriend to marry him and she said YES!!! I am soooo happy!! I am so happy for them and so happy for ME :) to be welcoming such an amazing young lady into our family as my sister :)) I've always wanted a sister. I kinda had one growing up with my brother (hehe, jab) but this is amazing. Her name is Devina and she is from New Delhi, India and she is just perfect for him. They've been dating for a while now and I've gotten to know her really well over the last few months. She is beautiful, intelligent, funny, loving, warm, sensible, and full of grace and so much more. I couldn't even imagine someone better for him. I love watching them together - how happy they seem, how much they joke and laugh and kid around with each other - that's exactly what my little brother needs! I love how real she is and how she keeps him in check! She has shown such compassion towards us losing our mom - after going thru so much pain over the last few years since our mom died, I just couldn't be more thrilled at this happiness that has found its way into my brother's life. They say everything happens for a reason and I am a firm believer!! Here are pics of the lovely couple:

And without further ado, I'd like to introduce CUPID himself. The one, the only, the reason these two beautiful people have come together - is SHIV. Shiv is a good old friend of ours since we were little kids.I remember always looking forward to his trips to the states with his brother and sister and amazing parents and loved playing all our silly games and antics. It just so happens he is the bride to be's neighbor and very good friend as well! You can't write this stuff! Shiv is an absolute sweetheart and doll - full of spirit, gusto, a hands down hysterical sense of humor and style like u wouldn't believe :) I keep trying to convince him to start his own blog - he would have such a following - I'm sure of it. Shiv, this is a public plea for u to please entertain us and put urself out there girlfriend! I'll be personally harping on u to do so until I see ur blog. Anyway, he has really done wonders by bringing these two lovely people together. It's like, after all these years, out of of nowhere, our little Shivvy Cupid fell from the heavens and made magic happen :) Shiv - this is a personal THANK YOU for bringing such happiness into their lives and mine by allowing this mama to regale in the party of this century - their wedding! As far as I'm concerned, their first born should be named after u. In the meantime, let's get ready for this wedding! Can anyone say - diet. GULP. Put that fork DOWN! Mwa! :) Here is the magic maker himself :)

Slippers Should Be Shoes :)

Seriously. It should be socially acceptable to wear slippers outside, like, in public - as SHOES. I know what I'm saying. I am the girl that used to live in cute heels and collected them like it was my job. Maybe I don't realize just how far I've fallen since I am now deep  in the trenches of life in sweats, no showers or makeup but cushioned in plenty of spitup and babyfood stains - yay! For the sake of all moms out there - ESPECIALLY - pregnant moms like urs truly, slippers in the winter should be an acceptable form of shoes. I'm really not sure why people stare so rudely when you're out in slippers. I can't believe I'm typing this because I used to joke that if ur out and about in sweatpants - u know, the kind that taper and cinch at the ankle - then it's a way of telling society u've given up :) hehe. Ummm not so funny now considering that my daily uniform is a pair of sweats, a tshirt, sweatshirt or fleece, cozy socks, a scrunchie of some sort and Comfy shoes. I try to make an effort. I do. I try to make sure I'm wearing cute sweatpeants, a flary variety to fight the frump or a snug shirt since I can while pregnant - the only time I don't have to suck in :) But I stop at the feet. That's where I draw the line. With my aching back this pregnancy and the blistery winter, I've got to have my feet comfy. 

The way I see it: there is a spectrum of slippers that will do and disguised under the right pant, it should be completely ok to be out in them. Some won't ladies. U've got to use ur own discretion! 

During my last pregnancy, as an attorney who worked fulltime and overtime mind you, I made sure I still wore heels to the office. Bad. Move. One day I literally slipped just a wee bit and went flying. I ended up being Ok and baby was ok but my back was BUSTED. I remember getting a lecture and tutorial on how different pregnant backs are and how careful I had to be from the chiropractor, the physical therapist, a physiatrist, the hubbigans and my dad. So the very next day I went out to DSW and scored a pair of slipper shoes. There are two aisles in that store where fancy slippers merge into different types of shoes and u can't tell what is what. What's a girl to do? Who are u going to ask? What is ok? The only thing my waddly achey preggo self was thinking was comfort, comfort, comfort - must find comfort. So I scored these beauties below!! I remember asking the cashier just as I was about to walk away - "Excuse me maam, are these slippers or shoes" and I know in my heart of hearts I heard her say "Slippers" - but I consciously chose to hear "SHOES. It's ok you poor thing, they're SHOES. U can wear them!" :) These babies have gotten me thru many a rough day. I even wore them to court. :) (sorry this is blurry but baby is napping and i finally get to sit down!)

Here is another pair for you. My MIL got them for me last year, god bless her sweet soul. I realized my slipper obsession when I hid them away to save for a rainy day (winter). I stumbled upon them this fall and acted like I struck Gold! How pathetic is that. I swear to god they are like big blankets wrapped around ur feet. They are SO good at what they do. They are undeniably SLIPPERS.... but not so clear to the outside eye. Can u tell? I think not. ESP not when ur wearing a wide legged sweat or jean that covers the white fluffy slipper part :) I advocate for these being considered SHOES!

When u get to this type of slipper with no extra reinforcement at the bottom for outdoor wear but only that cheap thin lining, u clearly don't care what people think. These are clearly hands down Slippers slippers slippers and even I, the strongest slippershoe advocate u'll meet, would say....girl, those are slippers - don't make them shoes.

Now when you get to this slipper, a cushy pink slipper flip flop and decide to go outside in them in the winter with or dare I say without socks on - admit it - stop running. U've given up and it's time. It's time for a spa day for mamma.

Obsessed with Home Decorating and DIY projects

In the last week or so, I've been put to the task of trying to envision every room for our new home. From scratch people! I am completely in over my head here and I'll be the first to admit it.

I've turned to the wonderful world of mommy blogging for some ideas and inspiration. All i have to say is - WOW!!! You ladies are IMPRESSIVE. I had no idea the amount of TALENT out there - how people literally get things for a steal at thrift shops and redo them to look more luxurious than u can ever imagine. This includes chairs, armoirs, tables, nightstands, dressers etc. The same thing applied to whole ROOMS - kitchens, living rooms, dens, bathrooms. A whole world out there of people who have refused to get ripped off paying for the same stuff they get in stores but instead doing it ALL by themselves, making it personal, making it just how they like it, even with a few imperfections - it's perfect and I can't imagine HOW satisfying.

I have now discovered the art of WAINSCOTING. Isnt that a cool word? What a perfect way to combine style and elegance - and apparently very easy to do? Genius i tell u! I never even heard of wainscoting before not to mention have no idea how to pronounce it properly. This whole house hunt and rennov going on has opened such doors!! I think we're going to attempt this ourselves and take it off of the long list of to dos for the contractors. Check these beautiful examples out:

So - I didnt know where to start or how to describe what I liked - all I would do is grunt at ideas the hubs ran by me to the point where the pressure started making me crankyyyy. I've learned that I'm clearly a visual learner and thinker and NEED pictures. I can't just go by how a contractor (complete stranger who doesnt know us or our style) would describe projects they can pull off. Not only is this super expensive but u've got to totally trust the end product which.... is not easy.

With the help of these moms and their wonderful blogs - hopefully I can somehow manage to put my own ideas to task and find exactly the look I'm going for. I'm RE-excited about this all over again. But in the meantime I will be obsessing over any and every picture of home decorating and rennovating out there!! This is all new to me but I am loving it so far :)

Some amazing Blogs I've spent loads of time on already:

• http://decor8blog.com/
• http://itsgreattobehome.net/design-services/
• http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/
• http://www.thenester.com/

I'd love to see any of ur projects if u have any!

Baked Spaghetti Pie Recipe

Bear with me on the format of this blog! I realize I created a TAB for recipes, but don't know how to actually post into a tab justttt yet. :) baby steps.....

In the meantime....here is a FAB recipe I tried just the other night. Yes, night - the time of the day when I'm absolutely exhausted and the last thing on my mind is putting a healthy dinner together. I usually try to prepare dinners during baby's naptime or throughout the week or on the weekend but this recipe was easy enough to assemble and was yummmy!! I got the recipe from the Family Circle May 2009 magazine. I changed it up a little bit. I nixed the olives which I dont like and instead of adding bacon (which Im not a fan of shockingly), I just broke up pieces of a turkey meatloaf I made the other night. Always love putting leftovers to use!!

Baked Spaghetti Pie:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Break spaghetti into thirds and cook 8 mins
3. Stir in 2 cups pasta sauce, 1 cup mozarella cheese, minced meat (of ur choice), and 4 eggs lightly beaten. Stir mixture.
4. Coat a casserole dish with cooking spray and sprinkle the inside of it with 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
5. Spoon the mixture into the Dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 mins.
6. Take it out, top with some parmesan cheese and bake for another 10 mins
7. Cut it into wedges and serve away!

Image courtesy of google images (since i forgot to take a pic of mine!)

I have tabs - Now what?! :)

I'll be the first to admit how new blogging is to me and how lost I am --- but I am loving it and having fun! I am loving learning so much about this techie area that I know next to nothing about. I'm sort've teaching myself with online tutorials as I go along how to put this page together. The littlest thing like adding a counter to my blog gives me such a sense of satisfaction for days, I can't even tell ya :). If not now, then when right? It took me a few hours today but I was so pleased with myself for figuring out how to get the code into my html section thingie for TABS! real live TABS on my very own blog. I almost jumped out of my chair to see it work - like MAGIC.  Im such a dork but u have no idea what these little things mean to me! :)


Ok so....now that I have tabs, when I click on them, they take me nowhere - to a blank page. I don't know how to get material linked to my tabs - how do I post material in the tabs. Oh lordie. Looks like I need another tutorial but I prefer doing it this way versus hiring someone to just make it fancy. Maybe one day but I wanna learn from the ground up and what better opportunity than now?!

Just bear with me folks!!

That being said - does anyone know how to post stuff in ur tabs? ......      

Making a Kitchen from Scratch

This could possibly be every woman's dream opportunity (amongst MANY) and now that it's come my way - I'm feeling a little silenced and overwhelmed at the thought of creating a brand spankin new kitchen for our brand spankin new house. We went over yesterday to get measurements and check the place out.

These are some pics of what I had in mind....

Oh foolish foolish girl. These are completely out of our range and budget :// I was clearly dreaming when talking to one of the contractors bout my grand plans for a master SPA bathroom and a newly constructed kitchen. What a dummy. I'm the exact type of client these contractors want to because I get Very carried away and go from 0 to 200 within 3 seconds. My dreams fizzled once the hubs told me our budget. I really wish he shared these numbers with me before i made a complete fool of myself! Err looks like we won't be knocking down any walls or building any custom made islands - oh well.

That being said we still DO have to create a kitchen from scratch. The kitchen needs to be gutted, cabinets need to be completely redone and it's gotta be designed right. So this one chance I get to do it the way I want it - to do it on a budget - to do it right - to put YEARS AND YEARS of watching HGTV to practice --- is here. I think we can, I think we can:) This is our chance to do it right and I am up for the challenge!

I will be seriously studying what to do, how to do and when to do like it's my JOB. Hello IKEA? There's nothing wrong with IKEA - i love it there.

If u have any advice, suggestions, tips or DIY projects uve pulled off - i'd love to hear about it!

A Moment to Focus on my Little Man

With all the hulla bulla surrounding finalizing on a house, preparations for the work to be done and closing, I've gotten distracted here. I just want to take a moment to focus on my little adorable boy who in the last 2 weeks has hit such a growth spurt physically and cognitively!

Kavan now walks around the whole house like a little boy - not a little baby anymore! He now responds when we ask him animal sounds which is so exciting for US :) When we ask what a cow says, he says mmmmmm oo. When we ask what a lion does, he does the silly RAHRR i do with him that makes  him laugh. When we ask what a duckie says, he says kak kak (quack) :) When we ask what the monkey says - his favorite - he starts scratching under his arms and goes ah ah ah! like a little monkey! When I ask what the rooster says, he does coh...as if going to say cockadoodle doo! He is identifying all these sounds which makes me feel like all these months of just repeating them to him is paying off. I knew he was absorbing it but was always so eager to hear some feedback.

When I ask him to give me a kissie  - last week he was doing a puckered mwa mwa sound with his lips. The other day he saw me and the hubbigans kiss and he started doing his puckered kiss sound mwa mwa :) He Knows kisses by sound and sight. So now when I ask him to give mama kissie, he actually brings his little mouth to my lips and kisses me. It just MELTS my heart my little angel :)

He also looks at everything I ask him about. If i start asking him if he wants to play his little piano - he goes over to it and starts hitting the keys. When I say ok let's now sing and play together - he goes LA LA LA LA because usually when he plays or i hit the keys I sing la la la la la la. Speaking of LA LA LA - he knows all his favorite little books especially MOO BAA LA LA LA so much so that when I just pull the book out, he starts saying LA LA LA. 

He has grown so much right before our very eyes, it has been AMAZING to witness.

Inspectors, Contractors, Lawyers, Oh My!

I'm starting to realize how much work the next 2 months is going to be! Searching for, buying and closing on a house has got to be one of the most stressful things we've ever been through. Since the hubster is busy at work during the day making money so we can eat :) - I don't want to bog him down too much with all he has to do. I should be able to handle this, right? Err... Don't answer that!

I've been contacting inspectors to come check the place out. Apparently there are all these RULES for getting things done from this point on. The inspection has to be completed within 7 days from yesterday and this has to be completed by then and that by bla bla bla. They already lost me so I'm just going to focus on one task at a time. The first inspector quoted me $674 for the inspection and $158 for an additional radon inspection - what the?! I had no idea how expensive this stuff was?! So now I'm frantically shopping around for inspectors and getting asked a bunch of questions I should know the answer to but need to look up like the heat in the house, the year it was built etc.

The contractors start by saying they want to see the place first and will give us an estimate within a week. We don't have a week people! I need answers yesterday! So hubs agreed to let them all come out on Saturday - let them see each other - "the competition" and all and we can just pick one who is going to give us the quickest  estimate and best price to get what we want done. I know these contractors are real guy GUYS but I really liked the ones who  said they will show me pictures of what they've done and referrals from homeowners they've worked with and even a chance to go check out some work they've done in homes - that's how much some owners loved them. See. that's what I'm talking bout - a I need a little personal touch, some visuals, a joke here or there - now those are the people that are going to get my business! 

The attorneys aren't calling me back. I shouldn't complain - I know what the workload is like but jeez I have so much else waiting on the line here.

So. Much. Work. Crossing my fingers it doesn't put me into early labor! :/

Images courtesy of Google Images

Drumroll Please...................

WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!! yipppeeee!!

We were waiting alllll day for a call from our realtor for news, any news. All the bids for the house went in by Noon. We got a tip from the sellers' agent saying if they could come up jussssttt a bit - the sellers reallly like their closing date. Of course she can't reveal anything - but I was surprised at not revealing ANYTHING like even the number of offers. I wasn't asking for the prices but just an idea of just HOW many offers were on the place. SO we just bit down hard and said - asking price, we will offer asking price - well just a tad more. We were even prepared to go 15K OVER asking price - the hubster loved it that much.

We couldn't sit inside and just wait so we head out to distract ourselves and went to Home Depot of all places to check out kitchen cabinets and countertops and bathroom tiles and vanity cases too. Pure torture because if we didn't get it, it was kinda just getting our hopes up. WELL -- low and behold -- the realtor calls us AT HOME DEPOT and lets us know our wait has finally paid off and we got the property! We were even told that there were multiple offers for higher than asking price but they went with us because they liked how fast we want to close - little do they know our reasoning takes into account another little chicken nugget on the way to being born - we've got to get in there ASAP.

We are so happy and excited, we just can't believe it's true. Things like this don't really work out for us so we kept coming up with backup plans and options and settling on this house or that house etc. It took a few hours to sink in but I kept asking the Hubs if he was happy and he really is and so am I. I'm actually over the moon that we don't have to househunt ANY MORE! the idea of our weekends just put into packing, planning, rennovating and moving sounds like a dream to me at this point. I know it's going to be hard tho. We have alot of work to do in the house and considering that we are paying asking price, it's cut into how much we can actually get done now - things may have to wait - which is fine! I just feel like a kid so anxious and excited to get in there - our first real home and make it our own :)

Here is a pic of the front and back of the house for ur viewing pleasure :)