Weekend checklist

This weekend and the next two are all about checking things off my mental to-do list so that we can have as much done as possible before the baby arrives.  So this weekend we were able to......

1.  Get 75% of the nursery done.  We're not changing much in there, but I needed to get all the baby clothes washed, put into drawers, hung in the closet, and organized.  I got almost all that done.  I still need to make sure the swaddle blankets are ready, the diapers and wipes are organized, the upper shelves of the closets are clean, and the painting that says Spencer is taken down and one for the new baby is put into place.  I'm happy with the progress we have made so far, and I don't think it'll take much more work in there.

2.  Put fertilizer and compost into the front garden bed and the vegetable garden bed.  It rained a lot today, so I'm glad we were able to get that done prior to the rain.  I also was able to get a ton of old leaves raked up in the backyard that fell after our last fall raking.  It was a lot of work going up and down our hill with the wheelbarrow and Spencer "helping" push, but it looks a lot better and it was worth it.

3.  Go on a date!!!  Sat night B and I went to see The Hunger Games finally and then went to dinner afterwards.  We both liked the movie (I've read it, he hasn't) and enjoyed our last dinner out for awhile too!! 

4.  Make cupcakes for one of my co-worker's birthday.  They're lemon blueberry with a lemon curd marscapone frosting.  Yes, they are as delicious as they sound.  I really hope she likes them!!

5.  Typical weekend stuff- church, dinner menu, grocery store, laundry, cleaning the kitchen multiple times, etc. 

6.  Got my car detailed.  I had a groupon for it, and my car looks amazing now.  Soooo much cleaner and the dirty, yucky smell that has acquired over the past 9 years is gone.  I'm really happy with how it turned out. 

Now I am sitting on the couch with B, watching the Amazing Race, and finally off my feet.  It is wonderful to be sitting down at the end of a task oriented weekend.  I have more to get done during the weeknights and more next weekend, but, for now, I'm just going to be happy with all that I got done over the last two days. 

What was the most productive part of your weekend??? 

Easter 2012

Easter morning with Spencer's first Easter basket.  He received monkey jammies, an Elmo cup and snack container, sidewalk chalk, Elmo eggs filled with change for his piggy bank (he LOVES putting change in his piggy bank), and two new Elmo bibs.  Yes, our world revolves around Elmo!!

 

My big boy right before church

Before the Easter egg hunt during the "eggercizes"

Spencer's first egg.  He could not have cared less until he found out there was candy inside.  Then he was all about it!

 

Look, I can even find the ones under the tree.

Notice the sweater in honor of Master's Sunday.  Golf cart intarsia knit with madras plaid pants.  This is, without a doubt, B's favorite outfit I have ever put on SYT. 

After the egg hunt

36 weeks with my almost 2 year old.  Yikes!!  The belly is large and in charge ;)

Not the most flattering picture, but a family picture none the less!

I love, love, love this picture of my two favorite men.  Can't wait to meet the newest addition to the "boys" in just a short time.

I hope you all had a blessed Easter and enjoyed the weekend.  We had a great dinner all three nights, we enjoyed a lot of time just playing with Spence, AND we got a lot of stuff done around the house.  It was so nice on Saturday that we even got our lawn mowed and the flowerbeds weeded for the first time this season!!  We loved watching the Masters, and we loved our ice cream that we ate for lunch dessert even more :)  Have a great week (and the Easter treats you may have received!!).

What's on "par" for the weekend...............

BIG weekend around the T household!  It's Easter and our favorite sporting event of the year all combined into one glorious weekend.  We've already set the DVR to tape today and tomorrow's rounds of golf and plan on not missing a second on Saturday or Sunday. 

B has to sing tonight at church and has rehearsal afterwards- it's a big week for the choir!!  Tomorrow he has to sing at noon for the Good Friday service.  Spence and I will not be attending either, unfortunately.  I can barely keep my eyes open this week and slept horribly last night, so we are headed home after work today for a quick and easy dinner, bathtime, bedtime, a few small things around the house for me to look after and an early bedtime for me as well.  Tomorrow night we will be watching the golf we've DVR'd, eating butter chicken (a pinterest recipe in the crockpot- sooooo good), and finishing up the painting we are doing to some bookshelves for the playroom.

Saturday is supposed to be beautiful here (mid 60s and sunny), so in the morning I hope that we can get some yardwork done.  B needs to mow the front yard, and I really need to weed the gardens out front.  I'm hoping to buy more perrenials next weekend, and I need to get the weeds out in order to have somewhere to plant them!  We also need to take pictures of Spence's big boy room so that I can post them here and work in the playroom a bit.  It is coming along, and I'm really excited about it.  We'll watch golf (and hopefully I will sneak in a nap) Saturday afternoon.  We're having pork tenderloin on the grill for dinner that night- yum!!

Sunday we will head to church- B early for rehearsal and SYT and I a little later.  His little Easter/Master's Sunday outfit is TDF, so you know I'll be pimping him out here on Sunday or Monday.  There's an egg hunt after church for the little ones, so we'll stay for that and then bring him home for his nap.  We were hoping to be able to swing brunch too, but we'd be pressing our luck with the timing and the nap, and it's just not worth it.  We'll do brunch another year!  I've already picked up Ben and Jerry's and jelly beans for our afternoon Master's/Lenten/it's finally Easter (and why would a pregnant woman give up ice cream and candy) treat, and both of us are chomping at the bit for the ice cream :) 

B is excited to watch Hunter Mahan this weekend as he's the top ranked American going into the Masters, and he won last weekend so is coming in feeling good today.  He is still a huge Tiger fan (though he obviously doesn't agree with his personal decisions that got him into the last few crazy years), so he'll be rooting for him as well.  I always root for the same people: Phil, Luke Donald, and Ian Poulter.  I will often pick my person of the day based on the color of their pants.  It's my favorite part of golf (hence the reason I love Ian) :)  It'll be fun to watch Rory and see how he does.  I love, love, love that golfers can be so good but have such bad days because you never know what's going to happen.  Sometimes it makes for not exciting wins (it's really boring to see two guys that aren't "popular" who are on the top of the leader board, especially if they're both in khacki, black, or navy pants!), but it just proves that anything can happen. 

What's on par for your weekend plans?  Will you be watching golf?  Shopping?  Visiting with family or friends for the holiday?  Enjoying a long awaited visit with your darling mom?  I hope that whatever you have planned is absolutely fabulous and that the weather is equally wonderful.  I also hope that all of you have picked up your favorite Easter candy as a treat to yourself!!

House update for Monday morning.....

So, we have a verbal agreement from the seller that we are getting the house.  She was away all weekend and couldn't get us the signed paperwork, but it is looking like the house is ours at our stand firm price.  She does want to push the closing off to 6 weeks which means we're not in until the middle on December- yuck.  I may be crashing at a friends' house for a few weeks until we can close as I'm looking to start work on November 30th.

Neither of us will feel confident until we have official paperwork in our hands, but it is looking good.  I'll definitely be upset if we have to start the house hunt all over again after all this, but I'm trusting that God is working his best to provide what we need at this point. 

Did I tell you that B had two phone interviews this week with a local company up there?  He will here from their HR department this week about scheduling a in person interview early this week.  I truly believe that that is completely God's work at hand.  Especially knowing that Michigan's economy is so awful.  Who would've thought that B would have a chance to work for a great company doing exactly what he wants to do at exactly the right time.  Prayer and trust are powerful things :)

I hope you all had a great Halloween and a great night's sleep with the extra hour!  We definitely had fun at the wedding.  I'll post a few pics tomorrow.  Happy Monday!!!!

Big News and Future Changes!

Last year, B started looking for a new job, and we had focused our search not only on the midwest, but even more specifically in Michigan.  Yes, it makes a lot of sense to move in the middle of an economic downturn to the financially worst state in the country (doesn't it?)................................    Unfortunately nothing really panned out, and he ended up taking a new job in the Chicago suburbs in early July.  After awhile, he realized that his job was something that could be done from home- few meetings, everything done on the phone or via email, his boss lives and works in Dallas, etc.  He encouraged me to apply for my dream job in Michigan figuring that if the interviews went well, he would talk to his boss and see what would progress from there.  Well, the great news is that I had two interviews for this job and was offered the position at the beginning of this month!!!!!!!  It's an awesome job, one that I'm quite knowledgable in, and the others in the practice are wonderful.  I cannot wait to start!  I am currently waiting for licensure and then have to go through hospital credentialing, so, if all goes well, I'll start in December (though it could be January). 

The discouraging news is that B's company "restructured" last week and his job is not as secure as we thought.  We will be okay for awhile, but we're definitely looking into other options asap.  The new boss he would have had in the restructuring isn't wonderful (at best!), so even had we stayed in Chi-town, he would have been looking for something else anyway.  We've decided just to go for the new and not look back on other possibilities.  We both REALLY want to be in Michigan, and we'll just have to figure things out as we go along.  I'm so glad we are good with money and saving because we know we have a huge cushion to work with which makes this whole thing a lot less intimidating.  This makes not buying all the frivolous purchases that I've dreamt of over the years truly worth it.

We're heading up there on Friday night to house hunt for the weekend.  We've got two main school districts we're looking into and quite a list of houses to go through on Sat and Sunday.  Our realtor said no more than 8 houses per day- that's 5 hours each day of house "shopping" as B likes to call it.  I think that will be plenty!!  We're also going to see his wonderful cousin and a friend of mine who just got her dossier on her new TWIN baby boys that they are adopting from Africa!  It should be a wonderful weekend in our soon to be new hometown! 

Fall Colors!

We had a great weekend up north.  We hiked the ski hills with my mom, Ralph, their new dog and Junebug, took lots of long walks, raked Gram's huge yard (raking is my favorite outdoor "chore"), ate great meals, and enjoyed time with the fam.  Today was a LONG car ride home (over 7 hours- normally 6), but worth it for such a great weekend.  B is out tonight at the Wilco concert with some of his friends- he's going to be a tired boy in the morning :) 

Here are some pics we took while we were up there- enjoy!!

I have zero photoshop skillz, so these are (obviously) untouched, but still give you a sense of how gorgeous it was!  I hope you all had a great fall weekend as well!!

Working for the weekend!

Tunnel of Trees in Harbor Springs

Today is day three of three at the hospital, and I'm so glad that in 10 hours I'll be done for the week! Tomorrow after B gets home from work, we're hopping in the car for our annual fall weekend up north. The leaves are at their peak right now, and it's not supposed to rain at all, so it should be beautiful up there! Bestie, S, is riding along with us to see her parents for the weekend as well. Even though we won't arrive until after midnight tomorrow, it's so worth it to wake up Friday morning knowing we have the whole day.

Some of our weekend plans include:
*Meeting mom and Ralph's new dog, Orion (they got him from the shelter last week after walking dogs at the shelter for 2 months. They totally fell in love with him!)
*Hiking the ski hills at Nubs Nob with the dogs- great exercise for us and the dogs (hopefully some good photo ops too)!
*Eating Boston Cream Pie for dessert on Friday night while celebrating my birthday. (Doesn't this look delish? I can't wait to try it!)
*Golf (for B and my brother at  Crooked Tree.  Simply fabulous fall colors on this course.)
*Either shopping downtown or heading into Bay Harbor for the Harvest Festival
*Lunch at at least one of my favorite restaurants (Gurney's, Flatiron Deli, or Roast and Toast)
*Running with S on Sat morning to burn off the cake from the night before
*Champagne toast to celebrate B's marathon victory (hey, he placed 18,000 and something out of 33,000 runners- that's definitely not last place, so it's a huge victory!)
*Etc,etc,etc........

The high the weekend is only 52 (and that's the day we leave!).  BRRRRRR!  It's going to be chilly!  I'll just have to pack warm clothes, heavy socks, and a cute scarf to keep me warm!  I'm not going to let it bother me on bit though!  We'll just have to exercise a bunch to stay warm and snuggle with the pups when we're indoors! 

Tell me about your weekend plans- pumpkin patch, apple picking, decorating the house for Halloween, baking, shopping for layers or new boots???  Keeping up in blogland will be tough after Thursday afternoon, so lay it out for me now! 

More pics from the weekend

Sunday after the dog beach, the four of us went downtown to show G and N Millennium Park and walk around downtown for awhile. N was in the market for a new dress, so we shopped for awhile which was so fun for me (and the boys didn't complain!). We were home around 5, took the dogs out for a neighborhood stroll, and just chillaxed before going to dinner. We went to a great neighborhood restaurant (Dunlay's on Clark)- very yummy. These are a few pics we took in our backyard before leaving.


B and I


G and N


G and I

G and N didn't end up leaving until Monday morning, so early Monday we all went to the dog park together to tire Bella out for the trip home. All in all it was a very successful, fun, relaxing, busy weekend, and I loved it all!

Busy as a bee!

1. Tonight we are heading to see Indigo Girls at Ravinia with our friends Pete and Nikole. We are in charge of the food and they are in charge of the wine. I'm marinading the flank steak now for steak sandwiches with horseradish sauce. I just finished making the cream cheese brownies, and the pesto cream cheese dip is ready to go with the cracker and crudites. Our basil is growing like gangbusters, and it's all I can do to stay on top of it! I'm going to make more pesto on Monday (our fourth batch!)

2. Tomorrow morning B needs to get in 8 miles for the marathon training, so I'm going to work out as well. We'll then walk the pup over to the farmer's market for some flowers for the evening.

2. Around two-ish tomorrow my brother, his girlfriend, and his dog arrive for the weekend. I'm so excited to see them.

3. Tomorrow night we're hosting a backyard gathering for about 20 or so people. We're having chicken kabobs, a caprese pasta salad (more basil!), a rice salad (I'll have to post the recipe- it's so good), watermelon, cherry limeade cupcakes, beer, and a signature cocktail. Another couple is bringing an appy for the group. I'll make sure to take pics and post recipes next week. There will also be 3 dogs involved in this endeavor, so it could get completely out of hand. Hmmmmmmm........

4. Sunday we are taking Junebug to the beach for the first time. We'll all go with both the dogs and see how she does. I just don't see her as a swimmer, but with the heat wave we've been having, maybe she'll go in. I'm not sure what we'll do all afternoon, but we'll head out for dinner later in the evening.

I'm prepping all this now as well as reloading iTunes onto my computer (horrid task). I want a new summer playlist, and when my computer crashed last year, I lost all my music (BACK UP YOUR STUFF, PEEPS!). I am now in the process of reloading cds and then will get on to purchasing some newer stuff. This leads me to ask, what songs remind you of summer? I'd love to know. Also, any great workout songs that you are loving right now?

I hope you all have fabulous weekends planned!! Life is good :)

Tomorrow........

is my first trip up north for the summer!! We actually haven't been there since Christmas. We're going up because B has a bachelor party at his friend's summer cottage which is in Charlevoix (a neighboring town), and my Gram just turned 85 so we are celebrating her birthday on Saturday night. Many of my friends won't be up yet, but the few that do have darling children that I am so excited to see! We'll get up later Friday night (9ish?) and I'll just hang with my mom. Saturday Gram and I will go on a walk with Junebug, I'll visit with Katie and her kids (I'll take pics because they are beyond precious), perhaps walk around downtown for a bit and then head to my aunt and uncles for the party. I'm hoping Junie B (her new nickname) can handle all the excitement! Sunday I hope to get a run in and see a few more people before we have to leave to come home. It will be such a quick trip for all the driving (6 hrs both ways), but I don't care!! I'm just thrilled we're going!

I'll try to be camera happy and post some pics next week. What are your weekend plans? Fun parties? Weddings? Races? Tball games? The beach? Having a baby (shout out to Momx2)?????? Whatever it entails, may it be wonderful, warm, and full of love!

Tonight!!!

Tonight, B and I are going with two other couples to see

The Zac Brown Band and

Keith Urban!!

I am SO excited. I haven't been to a concert in forever, and this one should be great!!

I'm sure a lot of you have heard this song (and either love it or completely hate it), but if you haven't, take a listen. It puts me in such a happy mood!! I'm sure the All State Arena will go nuts tonight when they start it!


What are your plans for tonight? Dinner? Plans with friends? Going to see Angels and Demons (if you are, let me know b/c we want to see it tomorrow and I want to know how good it is in advance!) Fill me in!!

Full weekend

B and I had a great weekend, mostly because the weather was gorgeous here, and there are starting to be signs of spring. (I will not let myself think about this coming weekend in which there is predicted SNOW!)

Saturday morning we were up early and ran 5 miles. Longest run to date! We did it in 49:21, so just slightly faster than my normal 10 min mile. After running, we came home, got ready, and went to the Chicago History Museum. The two premier exhibits were on Abraham Lincoln and Chic Chicago. Fashonistas, Chic Chicago is a must. There were so many gorgeous dresses with information on the designer, the dress, which Chicago socialite wore it, and which event it was worn to. Chanel, James, Versace, Donnna Karen, Armani, Karl Lagerfeld as well as many more were featured. Pictures were not allowed (bummer), so I have nothing to show you! The exhibit runs through July, so if you live here or are coming in for a visit, go! B wasn't huge on the fashion exhibit, but there was so much else there to see, we ended up staying for two hours. Then, we headed out for lunch at a Senagalese restaurant we had heard good things about (it was okay) and went to get some new running shoes for me. After being out and about all day, we came home to make an amazing dinner (longer post with recipes later), drank a bottle of wine, and headed to my cousin's to hang out with him and his friends. It was a ball, and we ended up being out until 1:30 in the morning. We knew a few people there, but the rest were so sweet and so much fun, we just couldn't tear ourselves away.

Sunday B slept in (a rarite around our house), I tried to finish American Wife (almost done), and we went to brunch here. Our neighborhood was so busy because of the weather. I saw tons of flip-flops; so exciting! We went back home, opened all the windows, and started a major deep clean. Every surface was dusted (including under the bed), cleaned, vaccuumed, polished, etc. We did 7 loads of laundry including the quilt, the mattress pad, etc. Our apt looks amazing now, and I feel ready for spring!! We used our stovetop smoker last night to make brisket with coleslaw, corn pudding, and cornbread. It was so yummy. I'm so glad B convinced me to register for the smoker. It's awesome!

Today we're back at work with the rest of the world. I'm so thankful for our weekend together, for the wonderful weather, and for the motivation to cook good meals and deep clean. What were you thankful for this weekend??

Big Weekend!

B comes home from Dallas this afternoon (yea!), and we have a big weekend ahead of us!! We're celebrating his birthday with a ton of friends, my best friend and her husband are coming to stay the night with us on Sat to attend dinner and the party, I have an amazing breakfast planned for Sunday morning, and Duke has a rematch with Wake on Sunday afternoon.

He leaves again Monday (his real birthday) for Dallas (again), so Sat night will be the only shindig for him. I'm sad I won't be able to make his actual birthday memorable, but I'm glad we can celebrate this weekend! I can't post yet about his gifts or any of the other plans, but I'll do a picture post on Monday.

Have a great weekend everyone!! Let's hope the snow tomorrow doesn't keep anyone from venturing out!! Lucky for B, Chicagoans are used to all this winter weather. I'm just not sure what I'm going to do for foot apparel as my outfit included adorable black heels that don't tolerate the snow well!!!