Gardening on the Brain

Lately, I've had gardening on the brain. Do you remember this post? Well, I'm still looking for ways to "beautify" our yard. I like doing fun and unexpected projects. Here are a few ideas, that I've recently come across.

What do you think of this? A little vertical growing unit. And all those potted plants. I just love how this looks.

And this sweet, little idea. Would add a ton of color to our yard. Wouldn't this be so fun? You could build them around a deck. As the corners. Now that would be nice!

Lastly, is this idea from Home Depot. Have you noticed the commercial? The first time I seen it, I told Mike, that he needed to build us some of these! I'm thinking it would also be nice as an herb garden. Near the kitchen.

Have you started gardening yet? I know that we're late at it this year. But when I should have started, I was 8 months pregnant. And since then, well I've just been enjoying my kids. Although, a friend helped me plant some bulbs, early in Spring. They're just starting to pop out of the ground. :) And sometime this week, we're going to go pick up some plants. You know, veggies and stuff. Let's see what we can get done this season.

♥Rach♥

Thank You Pinterest!!

In the last few months, maybe even year, I've spent lots of time on Pinterest. No lie! There are so many GREAT ideas on there. And sometimes, you just need to "shake up" snack time. That's when you turn to Pinterest. And find something fun like these carmel dipped grapes. :)

My boys are good at eating their fruits and veggies. With little more than, some Ranch dressing to dunk their veggie sticks in. But this Momma, sometimes is looking for a sweet snack. These are the perfect little treat. Super quick to make! And so easy!

I buy some of those carmel squares. And I melt them in the microwave. Be careful not to burn the carmel. Literally, I had a whole bowl melted and ready for dunking, in 45 seconds! Then I take a toothpick, and load up about 3 grapes on it. This is where I differ from the picture. I dip all the grapes in the carmel, then quickly roll them in some crushed nuts. Because my carmel is pretty thin, it doesn't give a thick coat. And it doesn't over power the grapes.

What a fun, and unexpected treat! I made these on Friday. During the boys' nap time. It was definitely a fun treat for them, when they woke up. Not something we'll have every day, or every week. But a nice treat, to "shake things up." Have you found some fun snacks too? Things that are unexpected. I'd love to hear all about them!

♥Rach♥

Trying Something New

Sometimes I feel like I get in food slump. I'm not the best cook around. Especially not in Mexican food. But I try. Every time that we go to visit Mike's family, I try to learn 1 more thing. Sometimes, it's simple things. Like beans. Or Spanish rice. And I have to say this, I have a very patient husband. Who endures it. Endures the same food every week. Who happily smiles, at the 10 or so dishes that I've mastered.

But even I get tired of it. And go hunting out simple and new recipes. Things that I can tackle. With success. And that we'll enjoy eating. Tonight, I'm feeling a little stuck. Like I can't endure the same tacos on Tuesdays, and Spaghetti on Wednesdays. So I went to hunt out a new recipe. And I found this one. For Shrimp & Garlic Pasta. Yum! It already sounds AMAZING!

We're also blessed, with sweet boys. Who aren't picky eaters. That will try, just about anything. At least once! :) That is truly a blessing. Ask any mom. But honestly, this is going to be a home run for our family. I already know it.

My sons adore pasta. I'm sure, all kids do! And shrimp, that's another favorite around here. I just showed Mike the recipe. And he asked if I can make it tomorrow. I can't wait for dinner. Do you have any other good resources for recipes? I'd love to hear about your favorites. :)

♥Rach♥

The Sweetest Thing!!

I'm due in one week! Can you believe it? I feel like this pregnancy has just flown by! Probably because for once, I wasn't pregnant during the "Dog Days of Summer." I mean, I was. But it was morning sickness. Not the "how many weeks do I have left" pregnancy. I'm sure, if you've ever been pregnant, you know what I mean. When you're just ready to have your baby.

But I'm not feeling that right now. I'm happy. And comfortable. Honestly, I don't feel like our baby girl, is coming anytime soon. I'm not feeling that same "feeling." I don't know how to describe it. But after having 2, it just doesn't feel like we're too near yet...

Our family is taking this time, to just relax. Enjoy being a family of 4, for a few more days. I'm loving being a "Boy Mom." In fact, we added a few fish, to our family. And we're just enjoying life. This time of year, is just so nice out. The boys and I, have been going on daily walks, through our neighborhood. It's the first thing we do, after breakfast. And I think our neighbors are enjoying it too. Many, have started to wait for us. At 7:30AM, you'd be surprised how many people are out, and enjoying the weather. :)

But I've also been looking for some inspiration. For our baby girl's newborn pictures. And I've found lots of things, that are going to be fun to try out! I've also been looking for some cute clothes. Cute little things, that would look darling. On our little girl. Let's just say, Pinterest and I, are becoming BFFs!

Isn't this the most darling picture? Oh, I can't wait! I'm telling you, I just can't wait until we get to meet our little girl. I can't wait to dress her up. And recreate fun pictures like this one. I just feel like our little girl is the final piece, to our family puzzle. The one person, that is going to make our family whole and complete. I can't wait to meet our sweet little one!

♥Rach♥

Yes Please

I know that it's just February. But around here, it already feels like Spring. Mikey and Danny, pretty much want to be outside, 24/7. And honestly, I can't blame them. It's gorgeous outside! In fact, for the last few days, we've found that jackets, are optional. :)

It also has me dreaming about other things. Like projects for our yard, new toys for our kids, and a big 'ol porch! You see, I'm from the great state of Georgia. And it's very common to have the big sweeping porches. Where you spend long evenings, rocking in a comfy chair. Sipping some sweet tea. And enjoying your family.

I've wanted a porch like this, for a long time! Since we moved into our home. I'm a subscriber to lots of magazines. And every time I see something like this, my heart just melts. I want a porch. To just hangout, while my kiddos run around the yard.

Doesn't this just look so peaceful and inviting? Those rockers, remind me of the ones at Cracker Barrel. Oh, how I love them! I'd love to have a space like this. With big flower pots, overflowing with pretty flowers. I'm going to add this to my "Wishlist." Maybe Mike will see it. And maybe, just maybe...I'll get me a relaxing porch too! :)

♥Rach♥

Exciting!

In just about a month, we get to meet our daughter. I'm super excited! What's one of the things, that I'm most excited about having a baby girl? All the cute clothes! Pinks, purples, peaches. And the ruffles and bows. Oh, and the dresses!! This is going to be such a different experience.

I found this picture on Pinterest. And it just got me thinking about my precious little girl. How fun this is going to be!! I love my boys, with all my heart. But I'm so excited to meet my precious little girl. I have a feeling, being a "girl Momma" is going to be very different, from being a "boy Momma."

♥Rach♥

I Would Have Never Thought....

Back in the day, between moving out on my own, and getting married...I lived to shop!! I can't even lie. I'd head to the store, the minute I got paid. Well, I'd pay my rent first. :) But you get the idea!

I had this fabulous closet. Full of great clothes, shoes, and tons of accessories! Loved it! I'm pretty sure, I was the most stylish student teacher out there. Which was hilarious! Then I met Mike. OK, I still would dress up. Actually, we were just talking about this. How I was always so stylish. Had the most current clothes. Now, I wear my husband's firefighter t-shirts, and leggings. With the waistband cut out :)

After Mike and I moved in together, I realized I need to "downsize" my closet. Really, who needed all those clothes! And shoes. And purses. Little by little, I sold most of those things. And used the money for furniture. And eventually, our home. A much better use of my money.

But there were things that I couldn't get rid of. Most of that, was my jewelry. I don't know why. But somehow, I didn't find it hard to get rid of blouses, dresses, shoes, purses, or jackets. But my jewelery, I couldn't do it!

Since we moved into our house, I'm embarrassed to say this, but it's been all tangled in one of our dresser drawers. 1. Who does that? 2. I never wear any of it. Because it's all tangled up. And I don't have time, to untangle it. 3. I could think of a million better uses for that drawer. Like a place to put my pjs. 4. I thank God, that Mike bought me a jewelry box, for my nice jewelry.

Yesterday, as I was getting ready for church, I wanted to dress up a bit more. Put some effort into my "mom outfit." I opened that drawer. And I knew exactly which necklace I wanted to wear. 40 minutes later, I only had it half untangled. And I was annoyed!

We went to church. My necklace stayed home. In that drawer. And I was so annoyed. That I wasted all that time. I still wasn't wearing what I wanted to. And all that jewelry is being wasted. I told Manders about it. An she told me to check out Pinterest. Because she had gotten a few ideas, about jewelry storage.

When the boys went to bed last night, I started my search on Pinterest. There are a ton of ideas! But the one that I like best, was this one. Simple. Easy. And inexpensive!

Guess what I picked up today. Other than our weekly groceries. :) Yes, a few kitchen organizers. This is my project for the weekend. Hopefully Mike can get them hung, before he has to go to work. And fingers crossed, that I manage to untangle all my jewelry. You know, before I go nuts!

Isn't this a great idea? I love it! I still have a few things to search for. But I'm going to tackle this project, before I dig up anymore. And hopefully, by Sunday. So I'll be able to wear that necklace. Oh, that pretty necklace! It's been years...

♥Rach♥

What a Sweet Peach!!

I'm starting to think that God, reads my blog. That he's been listening to little 'ol me. Praying that our last baby, will be a girl. Today, I'm 20 weeks, 1 day pregnant. And we had our gender ultrasound. I wanted to be 100% sure. Being our last baby and all.

Listening to our babies' heartbeats, long before we meet them, is the most AMAZING thing in the world! I still can't believe, that Mike and I, made these gorgeous little souls. With our love. Wow! It is amazing.

With every pregnancy, I've totally embraced every second. Every small kick, movement, and even morning sickness. But there's something about this pregnancy. Maybe because I know, this baby is our last. But I've embraced every second. I'm trying to record it all. So that years from now, I'll have these little memories. Of "growing" my sweet babies.

And with our amazing appointment, came our great news! In March, we'll be welcoming a sweet little girl!! Can you believe it? Even our boys are excited. "A sisa? We gonna have a gurl? When her come home?" They are excited! We are excited!!

Before we had kids, Mike and I agreed on 2 very important things. 1. He'd name our sons. I'd name our daughters. 2. Whoever named our baby, had to pick our baby's Godparents. Oh boy! It's all on me now!! :)

Actually, I've had 2 girl names picked out. Since I was a little girl. Now I just need to decide between Georgia and Savannah. Before you think I've completely lost it, I'm originally from Georgia. And I knew, I always wanted my daughter to have a connection to my home state. Especially since now, we live in the southwest.

And Godparents...I've known for years, who'd I pick. Now, we just need to get them in 1 place, at the same time. :) I'm really excited about this too!

Oh, and since we're having a sweet girl, I want to do something a little different. Especially when it comes to her nursery. I'm thinking, I want to use the theme "Georgia Peach." I've been looking everywhere, for the perfect crib bedding. But haven't had much luck. But I am positive, that I'm going to use peach, with a little bit of pink, for our daughter's nursery.This picture, is my inspiration!

There's so much to do, in the next few months. But I'm so excited! This is going to be such a fun chapter in our lives. And our daughter, is going to completely change our home. Right now, I'm totally outnumbered! There's my hubby, our 2 sons, and our little dog. All boys!

Mike and I, are planning a little shopping trip. Probably Wednesday. I now realize, we don't really have anything for our daughter. With Danny, we had lots and lots of "hand-me-downs" from Mikey. But honestly, I think Mike is super excited! On the way back from our doctor, who is an hour away from where we live, we stopped at Target. Each of our sons got a new little car. Our daughter, her first Barbie doll! How cute! Yes, we are so excited to be adding a little girl, to our little family!

♥Rach♥

Bad News

I should have known. When I saw the news yesterday. And there was another fire. Mike is heading up to the fire. He should be there no later than 9AM today. I feel so bad for the people up there. They are already evacuating the area.

But we miss Mike. It's been weeks since we've seen him. Mikey asks about Mike every single day. And I feel just like him. I can't wait until Mike is safe at home. But we know, as a firefighting family, that sacrifices have to be made. And we're OK with that. Because we know, Daddy is doing good work.

We just ask that everyone keeps Mike and all the firefighters in your prayers. They need all the support they can get. We love them all. And we hope that they are able to get their work done quickly and safely. Because they all have families who are waiting for them at home.

♥Rach♥

Ugly Animals!

I'm pretty sure, my boys and I are hooked on PBS' Nature Show. It's amazing. And the boys honestly enjoy watching all the animals. I'm always learning something interesting. It's just a "Win-Win Situation."

This week was about the world's ugliest animals. Which of course, my boys were so into! This pig thing, Mikey wants one. What the heck?! I'm sure Spot wouldn't enjoy this guy.

Let's just say, I'm happy these animals are on TV. And not anywhere near me. :) Oh, and we're super excited! Mike is supposed to be coming home, sometime Tuesday. I'm so excited! He's been gone for what feels like forever! I can't wait until our family is back together again. :)

♥Rach♥

Cars 2 Date

I'm not even going to lie. I had a blast with my boys today! I just wish that Mike was around. To be part of our "Family Date." The boys had a great time. But I also knew, they were missing their daddy. I was too!

We started out our adventure with a late lunch. Pizza at the mall. Nothing too special. But we had a blast. Mikey just loves the pizza at our mall. Is it funny that he asks for it often? We don't have it very often. But he will ask me for it more than he asks for toys. Yes, I know my son is funny!

But after lunch, we got to see Cars 2. Mikey was cracking up. He laughed so hard, he made me laugh. I enjoyed the movie, just because he was having so much fun. Danny slept through part of the movie. He watched the more exciting part at the end. He really seemed to "get it." I'm so glad the boys enjoyed their movie.

And after the movie, we went out and had a fun dinner. The boys giggled and laughed. We shared lots of yummy finger foods. It was just a lot of Family Fun! Just what we needed. It's so tough when Mike is gone. We're so proud of him and the work he does. But we miss him so much when he's gone.

On the way home, I thought both boys had fallen asleep. I was quietly singing with the radio. When I heard Mikey. "Mommy tank you. We have so mush fun! I wuv you." It melted my heart. I teared up. My boys mean so much to me! I'm so glad that we had a fun day out!

♥Rach♥

Echo the Elephant

Earlier tonight, the boys and I watched a story about Echo the Elephant. Made me cry like a big 'ol baby! Not even lying. It was part of PBS Nature. Honestly, must see TV! Now more than ever, I wish I could buy this movie.

The boys were so thrilled with all the elephants. They just loved watching them play together. And just all the interaction. Mikey was showing Danny how elephants walk around. They were just cracking up.

I was completely interested in the story line. I'm not even going to lie. It was completely an amazing evening. I was so tempted to call my local PBS channel. Just to give a donation. So I could get the DVD for our family.

Instead, I'm going to search on ebay. Hopefully I find it there. For much cheaper than the $250 that PBS was asking for. But it was definitely a fun night. And I'm looking forward to watching much more of this type of TV with my boys!

♥Rach♥

Hanging Flower Baskets

Last Fall, we went to visit my in-laws. They live about 4 hours north of us. One day while we were there, we went to the plaza. My MIL wanted to buy the boys some new toys. And they have to have the cutest toy stores around!

While Mikey was running around the grass, and I was nursing Danny, I spotted these gorgeous flower baskets. They hung all the way around the Plaza. Full of flowers. Gorgeous, colorful, and fragrant flowers.

Immediately, I told Mike, I wanted some of those. And we put them on our "to-do" list. Honestly, I didn't think I'd get them. I'm not going to lie. Because out "to-do" list is pretty long. And our boys come before everything else.

Today Mike and I took the boys grocery shopping. And we took a short detour. To the Dollar Tree. And I found some hanging baskets, and the liners! For $1 a pieces. I wanted to cry. We bought 12! And they had seed packets...4 for $1. We bought a bunch. Mikey helped us pick some flowers.

I'm so excited. And I hope by summer that I have some beautiful flowers. Mike is also trying to figure out how to hang the basket around our backyard. I'm so excited! The first "home project" that feels feminine. And super exciting! I can't wait. :)

♥Rach♥

Welcome to Our Family Danny!

Mikey has a new baby brother! Daniel (Danny) waited for his Daddy to come home! Mike was able to come home for a week. And he arrived early on July 14th. The night before, I had begun having some fierce contractions. And I labored well into the morning of July 15th. But it was all worth it. Just to meet our little man! Danny we love you so much. Our family was definitely not complete without you. I see an entire lifetime of fun ahead for our family! But for now, I'm going to be spending lots of time with my boys!

♥Rach♥

Love 21 Maternity

Ya, I'm still pregnant. My husband is still 100s of miles away fighting a fire. But my in-laws are here with me and Mikey. :) They surprised us for the holiday. I'm so glad they did!

In other news...

Did you know that Forever 21 now has their own line of maternity wear? It's called Love 21 Maternity. I found out about it on twitter.

They don't have much. Just 7 tops and 6 bottoms. But it's cute stuff. All between $4.80-19.80. Not bad at all! And I really like this outfit...




If I wasn't so far along in my pregnancy, like weeks from delivery, I might take the hour drive to do some shopping. But it's good to know. You know for next time around! OK, maybe my MIL and I have planned a small trip to the city tomorrow. :)

♥Rach♥