Happy Easter!

Owen has an announcement!

that's right... i'm pregnant again!

i'm 8 weeks today and couldn't be more thrilled to be welcoming our second little love bug due November 8th, 2013. we found out the day before i missed my period. i had been taking tests 3 days before that were all negative but i just knew! 

Owen and baby will be 15 months apart. 

we're excited for the joy this new addition is bringing to our lives!

reality chic

being a stay at home mom is hard work and often doesn't give much motivation to look your best on a daily basis. i'll be the first to admit yoga pants and a loose t-shirt is my go-to outfit. thing is, i deserve more than that. i deserve to look and feel pretty every day. i've been attempting to step up my dressing game lately so when Samantha announced that she was starting a mini series/link-up on mommy fashion i knew i wanted to take part. (if you haven't met Samantha yet she is one hot momma with a killer wardrobe)

the gist of the link-up is you put together an outfit on polyvore and then recreate that outfit in real life using pieces that are just as fashionable but much more affordable. 

this is what i threw together this week

neutral casual by womaninamansworld featuring a x armani exchange

you aren't going to believe the total for the items listed above...

$1096
yeah... i'll never afford that.
but after doing a little closet shopping i was able to recreate this outfit for way less

the total cost of my version is

$59
now were talking!

Owen's Easter basket

this is Owen's first Easter and i am very excited! it's a lot of fun to experience each holiday "for the first time" again with O.

because he is so young this Easter, we aren't doing too much. no dying eggs or egg hunt, but i knew i absolutely wanted him to have an Easter basket to wake up to. i bought his basket and the eggs to fill last year while i was still pregnant with O and the rest of the fillers have been picked up here and there at Target.

 the basket includes: sidewalk chalk with a holder; toast stampers, a Peter Rabbit chocolate bunny (O won't be eating any chocolate but it was too cute not to buy), baby mum-mum rice rusks, plastic eggs filled with puffs and yogurt drops.

what's in your little one's Easter basket this year?

link up with Sarah and check out all the other baskets!

weekend social mix {blog hop & giveaway}

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ 
Welcome to the weekend everyone! 

   The Weekend Social Mix Blog Hop: 

Kick off your shoes, pull up your chair and let's get Social!
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

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Grab Our Button!!
 
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♥Link your blog post up using the linky tool below! It can be ANYTHING! 
Why? Because it's FINALLY the weekend! 

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♥Most Importantly: Have a Great (and Safe) Weekend Everyone!♥

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Giveaway Posted Below the Hop!!!

♥Giveaway♥
 
We're Celebrating Marine Wife Mommy & Life's 
Lil' Marine's & From Grandma with Love's youngest Grandson's FIRST Birthday on 5 April!!

 (Yep, From Grandma with Love and Marine Wife, Mommy & Life are Mother & Daughter!)

 A group of Amazing & Sweet Bloggers have come together to wish the Mini Marine a Happy First Birthday and bring you the Weekend Social Mix Blog Hop with a 
BIG AWESOME GIVEAWAY!

Sally ♥♥ Jenni ♥♥ Holly ♥♥ Katie
Brittany ♥♥ Kristina ♥♥ Krista ♥♥ Kalyn
A Girl ♥♥ Alex ♥♥ Terri ♥♥ Kara ♥♥ Marquis

One lucky winner will win the  
ENTIRE Giveaway pictured below!!!

All Entries will be verified.

Be sure to enter all, some can be done daily to increase your chance of winning! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

march cara box reveal

by now you must know what cara box is! if you don't hurry on over and check it out and sign up for next month. trust me. you want to be a part of this!

this month i was paired up with two lovely ladies, Lauren & Heather. the theme was "my name is..." so you were supposed to fill their box with things that start with the first letter of their name. i sent Heather a box and you can head over to her blog to check that out.

Lauren sent me an amazing box filled with K things that i love!

K is a tough letter and she did a fabulous job finding a bunch of great items.

K is for...

... Kettle chips (jalapeno is my favorite!)

... Key lime cookie mix

... KitKat bars

... Kits for growing strawberries and tomatoes

... a Kite

... Keratin treatment spray and cream

and she of course included a sweet note.

i was so lucky to have Lauren as a partner this month. she is such a sweetheart!

what did you get in your box?

8 months

Owen turned 8 months yesterday! i'm still kind of in shock. you'd think by now these month birthdays wouldn't sneak up on me, but they still do. every time.

this month flew by and all of a sudden my little baby is starting to seem like such a big boy. 

• he is this close to crawling. he'll go from sitting/laying down on to his knees and rock or push backwards, but he hasn't quite figured out how to move forward yet.

• he was never a fan of rolling until this month. now diaper changes, nursing, getting dressed are all challenges cause this little man just doesn't want to lay still.

• the separation anxiety has begun. i can no longer be more than 5ft away from him without tears being shed. and normally that isn't even enough, i have to be holding him. when we're on the floor playing he'll climb into my lap. if i'm somewhere else in sight it's "uh uh uh" with his hands reaching for me to pick him up. for the most part i love it. i love knowing how much he loves me and wants me near, but on the other hand it makes previously easy tasks (i.e. going to the bathroom, going to get something from another room, getting things done while he plays alone) almost impossible. 

• i made him his first meat puree. i mixed ground turkey with black beans and mango and he loved it! he also loves when we give him little pieces of tuna and salmon and chicken.

• the constant drool and everything going straight in him mouth has continued throughout this month and still no tooth. did any of you have little one who teethed for over 4 months before getting a tooth?

• he is a little chatter box. he is constantly talking. while he's playing, while he's eating, in the car, at church, at story time. the guy has got a lot to say and he ain't afraid to say it!

• he loves watching other kids. especially big boys. he'll just stair at them and follow them has they play and then every once in a while he'll get excited and shout out at them like he saying "hey! you look like fun! can i play with you?"

• every week we go to gymboree and the library. most weeks they have toddler time at the library and that's lots of fun and then we check out new books and music for the week. gymboree has been awesome! O loves it and i really enjoy getting out and being active. and it's nice that we both get to socialize.

stats:

weight- 21.5lbs

height- 29in

clothes- 9-12m

diapers- size 4

monday mingling {blog hop}

Welcome to the eighth week of Monday Mingling! Please take the time to introduce yourselves to our co-hosts! If you are new to this blog hop, please leave us a comment letting us know you are following and we would be happy to follow you back. Due to the changes with Google reader, I changed the rules to follow either GFC or Bloglovin'. Thank you for joining us this week, and don't forget to link back to us by grabbing our button. Happy Mingling!

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Sarah @ Beyond the Gradebook

Blog | Facebook Less than one year old, I've been blogging here about life and everything in between! I really like to post (and hope to do much more soon) about interior design, photography, recipes, and books!
Katie @ Woman in a Man's World

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Bloglovin' | Pinterest | Instagram Hey! I'm a 20 something new wife and mommy. I blog about life in general and throw in a recipe or a craft here and there.

Rules:

1. Follow both of your hosts via GFC or Bloglovin'.

(first 2 links below)

2. Follow your co-hosts via GFC or Bloglovin'
(next two links)

3. Link up your main blog URL, not a specific post.

4. Link back to us by grabbing our button.

5. Tweet, Facebook, and Pin this blog hop. The more you spread the word the more people will link up, and the more success you will have! 

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6. Be sure to visit other blogs! Don't just link up and wait for others to find you. 

Let's get this party started!!...

five minute friday: remember

i'm linking up for five minute friday again this week.
the prompt is - remember

START

remember when it was just you and me? us against the world with nothing and no one else to worry about. that first summer together was pure bliss. i fell so madly and deeply in love with you and never looked back. i remember the hot days we would spend riding around in your jeep with the top down and the doors off. i felt like i was the queen of the world. with the wind blowing in my hair and my hand in yours, i didn't have a care in the world.

and the nights. the nights we'd spend cooking out by the lake. or sometimes still just driving down some old dirt road. we'd find a quiet secluded road and it seemed as if we were the only two people left on the plant. and i didn't mind at all.

life has changed so much since then. mostly for the better. i'm happy it's changed. but every once in a while i flash back to the summer. i fantasize about being the pretty girl riding shot gun in your jeep again.

END

citrus lane review

i've spent a lot of time researching subscription boxes for babies. i love my birchbox and wanted something for Owen each month, too. so after checking out all the options, reading reviews, comparing prices, etc. i decided to give citrus lane a try.

since i was so excited when my box arrived i decided to share with you guys!

retail value

art cards from wee gallery- $12.95

peekaboo lovie from cloud b- $7.99

organic socks from iplay- $5.50

two packets of food from nurturme- $2.50

calendula weather protection cream from weleda- $12.00

promocode from justfab- $20.00

total box worth- $60.94

if you were as impressed as i was with citrus lane, you can try it out here and get $10 off your first order!

happy spring!

today is officially the first day of spring.

sadly it doesn't feel like spring here. its cold and overcast and it stinks. we had a little tease this weekend and i got to wear my favorite pair of shorts and now my legs are longing to stay out in the fresh air. i have visions of days spent relaxing at the park; strolling along the walking paths, pushing Owen in the swings, catching him at the bottom of the slide. all while wearing nothing but a t-shirt and shorts. those are my kind of days and i can't wait for them to arrive this year. 

but for now it is cold. so our days will be spent scouring through the library for another good book, playing inside while looking longingly out the window and singing the "mr. sun" song.

today it's also my brother, Joey's, birthday.

thank you for being such an awesome uncle to Owen. you are going to be an amazing dad!

happy birthday, Joseph! i love you!

weekend shenanigans

we had a super busy weekend that flew by way too fast! 

thursday and friday were Mary's birthday celebrations. i still can't believe she's 12! 

my 3 oldest brother's surprised Mary and came home early from their spring break trip to be there for her birthday. i finally got some pictures of O with all 5 of his uncles!

O loved listening to Sean play and Joey, Luke, and Sean sing to him. i think it's pretty inevitable that he's gonna end up loving music.

there were better family photos, but this one is just... us. 

we celebrated St. Patrick's day on saturday with my parents annual St. Patrick's day rosary and party. St. Patty's day is a big deal in our family since we're actually Irish! my dad is a 1st generation Irish immigrant and my mom's family all originated from Ireland too. 

on sunday we visited with my in-laws. they took a billion pictures, but i haven't seen any of them yet, so i don't have any to put here. we spent the rest of sunday relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather before the evening Mass.

how was everyone else's weekend?

did you celebrate St. Patrick's day too?

five minute friday

today i'm linking up with Lisa-Jo for five minute friday. the rules are you set a timer for five minutes and write, raw and unedited, using the weekly prompt.

this weeks prompt is REST 

ready, set, go

REST-

oh how perfect this prompt is for my life right now. because right now i long for rest. 

be a momma is hard work. it's exhausting work. but being a momma to a sick baby, while you're sick as well. well that brings on exhaustion in a form i never knew existed.

and then with other things going on with my body making me tired, things i'm not quite ready to share with the world yet, i am literally ready to collapse by the end of each day. 

that is why i am so thrilled that today is friday. it's friday and Beau is getting off early today and as much as i don't want to admit it, i need his help this weekend. so i can rest! 

and stop

i think it's apparent how badly i need rest by how little i could right in 5 min.