Friday Favorites

To say it's been awhile since I've posted Friday Favorites is an understatement. I haven't completely given up on these posts, but my blogging took a slump in the first trimester with this baby. Hopefully, they will make a comeback in the coming weeks.

5. Birthday Parties
I love celebrations and birthdays are definitely a reason to celebrate. Our friend Al celebrated his 30th birthday last week and this weekend we will be celebrating with him. It's been awhile since we've had a chance to hang out. Living in California made it difficult to see all of our friends because our family took a presedence. Now that we are back in Texas, we have opportunities to see our friends and make their birthday celebrations. Also, Happy Birthday to Jill! She is Mason's Godmother and a very dear friend and she is celebrating her birthday today. We will miss seeing her this weekend.

4. Babysitters.
I made a little career out of babysitting when I was younger. Looking back, I'm surprised that parents left their young children with me, when I was only 10. Thankfully, they trusted me and my parents did a great job at teaching me responsibility and I was able to have several clients. There wasn't a weekend I wasn't babysitting atleast one night.

It was hard to find babysitters in California. All of our friends had kids the same age and we usually did things together. Since we were the only ones that didn't have family in Bakersfield, it was hard for us to find a sitter. We finally found a gal we loved and the kids adored having her come over.

We had to start the search all over again when we moved back to Texas. Thankfully, one of my old biblestudy girls recommended a friend of hers. It's made the process much easier and I met with our new summer babysitter this week. She's a sweetheart and the kids took to her right away.

3. Conversations between the kids.
T - I want to go to Aunt Stina's house.
M - No, Santa lives in the North Pole.
T - Aunt Stina doesn't live in the North Pole, she lives in Katy.

2. Summer Fun.
Our best friends in Bakersfield have planned a trip to visit us in Ft Worth this summer. We can't wait to see them, especially the kids. We both consider ourselves extended family of each others families. It can't come soon enough. Hope they still want to visit after coming during the hottest time of the summer.

In less than a month, we will be revisiting our favorite little spot in Leakey, Tx. This time there will be a few more people and Adam gets to join us. Our family has been looking forward to this week for several months.

1. Sonogram. 
Wednesday afternoon, we will find out if Baby #3 is a boy or girl. We are so excited to know. It's going to be an exciting week!.

Ten on Tuesday

I had so much fun with this week's ToT questions that involved answers with pictures. If you want to read the other ToT answers, be sure to check out Chelsea's page. I have a feeling there will be a lot of participants this week.

1. Your favorite piece of furniture in your house.
This is our entertainment center. We saved up for it for a long time. Our old TV stand came into the marriage through my husband and it showed all the cords. Not really something you want to see and when you have children, it just poses a huge problem.

2. Your favorite thing on the wall.
I couldn't decide between the two. First is a mirror I purchased at a garage sale. It was from Pottery Barn and had an old flaked gold finish. I bought it for $20 and carried the heavy mirror home. I repainted it to match our style and house.

 We recently bought this piece of metal wall art when we moved into our new house. I love all things Hobby Lobby and it fit perftectly above our fireplace.

 3. Your bed as it looks right now.
Thankfully, I made my bed this morning. I have someone coming over this afternoon and while I doubt we will venture upstairs, I still felt the need to make my bedroom presentable.

 4. Your pantry.
It's somewhat an organized chaos at the moment.

 5. Your favorite piece of jewelry.
The piece that means the most to me would be my engagement ring and wedding rings.

 6. Your favortie book.
The Bible. I have a couple, but this one fits in my purse and is great to bring with me wherever I go.

 7. Your most comfortable shirt.
This is my selection of T-Shirts hung in my closet. I prefer them to be on hangers to avoid ironing.

 8. Your messiest room.
The kids playroom. I decided to include two pictures because the kids realized I was taking a picture and decided to pose. To get them to pose together and have both of them smiling is rare.

 9.Your house shoes.
I don't do slippers. I prefer to wear socks instead. As you can see in this picture I have mismatched socks on. I was a little tired this morning when searching for a pair of socks to wear.

 10. Yourself.
This is me with no make-up, drinking my decaf coffee and trying to wake up.

18 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 18 Weeks

Size of Baby: 5.5 inches and 7 ounces

Total Weight Loss/Gain: Gained a total of 8lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Everything except Summer Dresses and some of my tops

Gender: Set to find out May 25th. Any guesses?

Movement: Mostly at night while I'm laying down.

What I miss: Laying on my stomach at night.

Cravings: None yet, but my appetite is increasing.

Symptoms: Heartburn. Frequent bathroom breaks.

Best Moment of the Week: Hanging out with one of my oldest and best friends, while all of our kids played together. She just had her third son and we chatted about our kids and the baby. All of our kids are the same age and it's amazing how much has changed in the last five years. God has truly blessed us.

Building a Fence

Over Mother's Day weekend, we headed to Katy to celebrate with our families. My Dad is a man that loves projects. Mason is the exact same way. That weekend, my Dad tore down and started the process of replacing and building a new fence. Mason immediately began begging to help. The boy loves anything that involves tools and being outside. So his Granddad put him to work.

There was one night that I gave him a bath and had to scrub his head extra hard just to get all the dirt off of his scalp. He didn't care that he got bit up by bugs and had an allergic reaction on his ear, he was having fun and loving every minute of it. Great memories were made that weekend.

17 Weeks

Since I'm visiting with family right now, I haven't spent much time on the computer.

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 17 Weeks

Size of Baby: 5 inches and 5 ounces

Total Weight Loss/Gain: Gained 6lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Everything except Summer Dresses and some of my tops 

Gender: Set to find out May 25th

Movement: Mostly at night while I'm laying down.

What I miss: Laying on my stomach at night.

Cravings: None yet.

Symptoms: Heartburn. Frequent bathroom breaks. Emotional. 

Best Moment of the Week: Celebrating Mother's Day. We were able to spend the day with both sets of family down in Houston and Adam treated me to dinner for two that night at one of our favorite Houston restaurants.

I had to cancel my appointment last week for my 16 week checkup due to Adam's schedule. Instead we added an OB appointment to my ultrasound on the 25th. Two weeks from today, we will learn if we are having a boy or a girl.

Ten on Tuesday

Thanks Chelsea the queen of ToT.

1. What is the weather like in your city today?
It's cold this morning but supposed to warm up in the 70s at some point. I want my warm weather back.


2. Do you like the zoo?
Yes, as long as it's not too crowded. It's a lot harder to stroll the zoo with a stroller and a big crowd. It's fun to see all the animals, especially through the kids eyes.
3. Do you eat coconut?
Love it! I like fresh coconut, coconut milk, coconut cream pie, coconut cake, coconut coffee creamer, coconut candy and the list could go on.
4. Have you ever hammered a nail? Are you good at it?
Yes and I'm pretty good at it. My dad is a man of many trades and he taught me how to use a hammer at a young age. I even helped remodel a house for World Changers in 9th grade.
5. Does your family have a vacation destination that you visit often?
We are going back to a property we rented last summer again in June. It's in South Texas and not far from the Frio River and the perfect place to relax and get away for a week. My son has been begging to go back since we left.
6. How many pillows do you sleep with?
One, but when I get further along in this pregnancy that will change to atleast two.
7. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
Use the bathroom and then brush my teeth. Can't stand morning breath.
8. Will you send your kids to summer camp?
Yes. I had the best time at summer camp each year and I hope my children have the same type of memories.
9. What do you put in your baked potatoes?
Butter, shredded cheese, freshly cooked bacon, sour cream (ranch if i'm not in the mood for sour cream) and chives. If I'm at the Rodeo or a bbq restaurant, I'll add chopped beef to that list.
10. Did you take swimming lessons as a kid?
Yes, when I was 4 or 5 years old. It taught not to be afraid of the water and that began my love affair of going to the pool each day during the summer.

16 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 16 Weeks

Size of Baby: 4.5 inches and about 3.5 ounces

Total Weight Loss/Gain: Gained 5lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Just shorts and tank tops. Most of clothing choices include skirts or sundresses, which I should be able to wear for awhile.

Gender: Set to find out May 25th

Movement: Mostly at night while I'm laying down.

What I miss: Laying on my stomach at night.

Cravings: None yet.

Symptoms: Heartburn. Frequent bathroom breaks.

Best Moment of the Week: I have my 16 week checkup this week and I'm looking forward to it.

The weather in the DFW area has been a bit bizarre lately. Yesterday I awoke to storms and cooler weather, much cooler weather. Normally I wouldn't mind, but I'm ready for summer and I enjoy the warmer weather. I don't like season reversals, where it's typical nice spring weather and then have it revert back to winter weather.