The Big 2.5

My sweet, incredibly amazing, smart and super cute baby big boy is 2 and a half today! As cliche as it is, I can't believe how time flies! I feel like I hardly remember when he was a newborn. I know its not his full birthday but being 8 months pregnant I am overly emotional and just need to do this. I decided to write a little letter to him.

Dear 2 and a half year old Hunter,

I don't even know where to begin. I remember the day you were born so tiny (relatively speaking you were over 9 pounds,) and so dependent on me. Now, you want your own independence and want to do things yourself. I stand by looking and wondering when did this happen? When did my swaddled up bundle of joy become this tall and handsome little boy? You say the funniest things. Things that I wouldn't imagine a 2 year old even knowing. I really think you will be voted class clown with how much of a character you are. You are also so smart. I know I'm biased but your teacher even says how she can't believe your only 2 since you work with the 4 year olds! You know all your letters and sounds, you can count to 14 then skip to 17 and count to 20, colors (well you've known those for at least a year), shapes (even trapezoids and ones I don't remember) and some Spanish (thanks Dora and Diego)!

You are the most caring and loving little man. Since I haven't been feeling well or just really tired through these last weeks of pregnancy you have been so thoughtful and gentle with me. You come up and ask if I'm okay and give me kisses and hugs and all the cuddles I want. I can't wait to see you and your baby brother together. I know you are going to be the best big brother and teach him so many things!

I know that I learn so much more from you then you from me. You have taught me patience and even more importantly how to just stop and take a look at all the beautiful things in life that us adults tend to miss. I am so lucky to be your Mommy.

Always remember how proud I am of you, and never ever forget that I will always be here for you no matter what. Mommy and Papa both love you so much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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34 Weeks Pregasaurus/My fears/Potty Training

I'm a little over 34 weeks knocked up y'all! Time is flying and my anxiety levels are UP. I am so nervous/scared to be a mom of two. Mainly because I don't want Hunter to think I don't have time for him. But that is another post for another day.

So far I have had a pretty uneventful pregnancy. Until last week when my damn blood pressure was high. So I had to go back a few days later so they could make sure I was still doing okay. Well my blood pressure was still high. As of now I'm just going to be monitoring it at home, and watching for other symptoms of preeclampsia (i had this last pregnancy). Unfortunately, I will have to go into the dr more and will be having my cervix checked earlier now (boo!) because they think I may go into labor earlier.

I was doing fine on weight gain until the past few weeks where I have gained 7 lbs. Putting me at 23 gained :( oh well. At this point I'm not worried I am really motivated to shed this weight after baby, and I will.

This was about a week ago..

 

Hunter has been such a crazy kid lately. I seriously love him so much but he does drive me crazy at (many) certain points throughout the day! He is the biggest goof ball and sooooo active. I don't know where he gets his energy. He is doing pretty good potty training. He just figured out how to pee standing up and always says "I pee standing up like Mommy and Papa" I still haven't told him I can't pee standing up (wouldn't that be the greatest though.) Plus he always watches me in the bathroom so I don't know where he gets that from. I still have to take him like every 45 min to an hour to the pot if he hasn't told me himself he has to go, so he is not fully trained yet. But it's a good start!!

 

Big boy undies!!

 

Pretty sure I will be needing to do this to my toilets at my house soon!!

How were all of your potty training experiences? Anyone else balls deep in it? Any mom advice for having a second kid??

 

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Weekend fun and a luggable loo!

How was everyone's weekend? Mine was jam packed and pretty awesome I must say! The hubs took Friday off work and we hit the road to his parents house. They live about 2.5 hours away. Hunter was a doll face the whole trip. We got there that afternoon and hung out with his parents. Before dinner the hubs and I went to Cabelas to get some stuff we needed for boating the next day. Well guess what the hubs got me...

Haha yes it is what you think it is. With being how pregnant I am I pee every 30.2 minutes...it sucks. Where we were going boating there were no easy ways to pull onto shore and "pop a squat" (not sure if I could even do that right now!) So anyways Hunter and I used the lugable loo on the boat on Saturday bahahaha. I have the sweetest husband. Then my super sweet inlaws spoiled me for my birthday (its this week) and got me a Garmin forerunner GPS watch (can't wait to run again after baby) and a Cold stone Oreo cake...mmmmm!

 

 

Anyways on Saturday....Hunter did amazing on his first time ever on a boat. He loved it so much!

 

Saturday night the hubs and I had our first date in AGES. We went to our fave sushi place (none of what I ate was raw because of baby), and went and saw "Now You See Me" which both of us liked! I was great to get out just the two of us.

Sunday we left in the morning and got home around 12:30. A new church I've been checking out was having a river party so I decided to take Hunter and go. It was at a beautiful house right on the river. Hunter went on another (much faster) boat ride and loved it. He also had tons of fun playing with all the kids. The hubs was out bow fishing on the river and stopped by and took hunter and I out on his boat as well. It was a great day.

Right now it's Sunday night and I am so ridiculously tired. After my dr appointment this past Thursday I am supposed to be resting and not allowed to work out (more on that Wednesday). Tuesday I have to go back to the dr again to see if things are getting better, lets hope they are.

But whatever happens everything will be okay!

 

 

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My Wedding Day!

I am so excited to be linking up with two of my FAVORITE bloggers Melanie and Holly, these girls kick ass and take names daily!

I got married almost 5 years ago at the ripe old age of 22. I always thought I would get married MUCH later in life but things change when you fall in love with a snowboard instructor with gaged ears that works for your Step Dad. I remember when we first started dating my Step Dad warned me "Be careful with him he is a womanizer!" I honestly did not know what that meant. I looked it up and he definitely wasn't he was (is) the sweetest and most thoughtful guy ever. Another post for another day...anyway, onto the link up questions!

Location:

Greek Orthodox Church

We had a traditional Greek Orthodox Ceremony

Colors:

Hot magenta pink and Navy Blue

Bridal Party:

Maid of Honor: Lindsey (BFF)

Christina (BFF)

Kristen (awesome vegan friend)

Linsey (awesome body builder friend)

Christina (cousin)

Analisa (cousin)

Ian had the same amount of groomsmen I'm not going to list those nuts right now :)

First Dance Song:

It's super cliche but it was "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain. We tried to dance to all these Jack Johnson songs that we both loved but they just didn't work. Plus whenever this song came on the radio I would cry so it worked out. 

Honeymoon:

Jackson Hole, WY (snowboarding destination)

What would you do different?

Not forget to wear my garter! (Right after I did the bouquet toss Ian lifted my dress to get my garter and ooooppsss nothing there!)

Not stress so much.

Not so big!!

Keepin it classy

Full view of my dress

Right before the ceremony my bridesmaid Kristen was like "hey you still have time to ditch this place!"

I love this picture

Walking down the aisle after the hour long ceremony! Ready to party!

So if you haven't already go link up with these two lovely ladies! You won't regret it I promise!

Domestic Goddess Part 1: Meal Planning

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that I would write a post about some easy dinners that I make. Well here it is finally! I kept putting it off until it came to the dreaded time to meal plan so I thought I would write a post and meal plan at the same time (score!) A lot of these I haven't made and will let you know. I'm trying them out because they are also freezer meals that I want to try first.

Let me tell you this whole stay at home mom who meal plans and makes freezer meals is completely foreign to me. I never thought I would be doing this! Serisouly, I would eat cereal every night for dinner if I could get away with it. But it makes life a lot easier if I have things planned out and freezer meals made ahead (I want to have like 25 stocked up) for after baby. So here we go I'm going to try this whole "domestic goddess" stuff out and let you know how it goes!! So here is the first part of my domestic goddess mini series I'm doing.

 

A lot of people use a calendar to meal plan like this meal on this night and so on. I've decided I'm just going to make a list of 10-12 meals per grocery shopping period (twice a month) and can choose from that list each day depending on how we feel. I will make my grocery list based off of these meals so I will always know that I have every ingredient I need. I don't have a meal for every night because I know we will probably go out or get take out once and I will make our favorite chicken and brown rice (just marinated chicken breast baked, brown rice and veggies) a few times. Also im sure we will grill steaks and burgers a couple nights. Now I realize there is a lot of chicken recipes on this list but that's what we like to eat in the summer.

My lovely grocery list :)

 

Spicy Sausage Pasta

Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken and Rice

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken (skinny taste)

This chicken and make brown rice on the side

Layered Enchilada Casserole

Brown Fried Rice (beef)

Cafe Rio Pulled Pork Salads

Honey Lime Chicken

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken/pesto stuffed shells

Cranberry Chicken

Healthy turkey meat loaf muffins

It's fairly easy to make most of these recipes healthier. You can sub plain Greek yogurt for sour cream (I usually do half and half.) I like to use whole grain brown rice it's much healthier for you, or whole wheat pasta. Also, I use corn tortilla's instead of flour.

I hope this helps with meal planning. I know I hate deciding what to cook for dinner! And I like things that are easy peasy, which all of the above recipes are...yee haw!!

Stay tuned tomorrow for a not so mommish post Wedding link up with the ultra fabulous Holly and Melanie!

 

 

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Hot Summer Reads!

My little man started swimming lessons yesterday and did SO RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME. I was one proud Mama.I thought for sure I was going to have to sit on the side of the pool and get in but I didn't. It was a far cry from last year when I had scratches all down my back from his nails digging into my skin. The only time he cried was when it was over!

Before his lesson he was so excited!

Okay Mommy bragging over! Today I'm linking up with the BEAUTIFUL blogger Erin and Mean Ang (whose blog is awesome and I just started following!) They are doing a HOTTTT summer reads link up. I love books and I love reading. I just wish I had more time to actually read. I do have a few hot, smutty and semi romantic reads on my kindle that I have read recently. I'm so excited to check out the other blogs who linked up and get some ideas for some spicy reads. 

Fallen too Far by Abbi Glines

Never too Far (sequel to Fallen too Far) by Abbi Glines

Both of these books are super easy smut filled reads (aka amazing) haha! They are not too deep though. Basically, a good girl whose had a rough life falls for a play boy rock star and things go from there. Some of it is a little messed up but it makes for an interesting read!! 

The Help
 This one isn't smut as I'm sure you all know. I loved the movie and finally read the book last summer and it was really good. Tons of parts that weren't in the movie.

A Stolen Life: A Memoir: Jaycee Dugard
I like books about survivors. This woman is amazing for what she has been through with her kidnapping. A sad and heart touching read. 

Waiting to Be Heard: A Memoir: Amanda Knox

I haven't read this yet but I'm planning on reading it this summer! Should be pretty interesting...

I'm pumped to check out everyone else's books and find some good ones!

Before I was a Mama...

How was everyone's Fathers Day yesterday? We had a great day together! After the hubs opened his swag (aka a custom mug designed and colored by Hunter, a framed picture of them, beer and a home made card) we hit up Denny's for breakfast. Then just spent the day as a family and went out of town for a bit. I am so lucky to have Ian as a husband and father to our child(ren). He has been such a hands on Dad and from day one has changed poopy diapers, cleaned up spit up and woke up in the middle of the night. I love you Ian (even though he won't see this because he doesn't read my blog haha)! 

Connect the dots at breakfast :)

Before I was a Mama...

 

 

I liked to take selfies: (oh wait I still do!)

 

Going to bed early was 11:00

Sleeping in (on weekends/summer) was 11:00 early was 8:00

Spur of the moment activities were endless

Always thought about myself 

I could get ready without any interruptions 

Could leave the house within 5 minutes if I needed too

Long car rides were no big deal

When I was sick I could lay in bed all day

When I wasn't sick I could lay in bed all day

I didn't realize that later I would be packing diaper bags with snacks, bottles/sippy cups, diapers, wipes and a change of clothes just to go out for a few hours.

I never understood why so many moms were on a "schedule"

I would not be prepared for the day when sleeping in was 8:00 am

I never knew how much I could love someone so small

I didn't know how much one tiny person could take up your thoughts

I couldn't imagine how it would be to care for someones every needs no matter the time or place and enjoy it 

I never knew I would be so obsessed with spying:

I never knew I would protect someone with my every move

I couldn't imagine cleaning up spit up without being grossed out (yes its gross but when its your own kids it doesn't bug you as much)

I NEVER EVER thought how much I couldn't imagine being without this tiny person would shatter me. 

I never thought that before I did anything I would think about how this would effect my child

I didn't know how much one tiny person could take up your whole heart and soul

I never ever thought I could love someone so much and only had known them for seconds

I truly love being Hunter's and soon to be Baby 2's Mama! When I think about life before him it seems SO long ago. I still love having fun and having time to myself, but for some reason my own needs don't matter as much anymore. Now, I still fully believe in taking care of myself and MAKING time for myself (going to the gym, time with the hubs and friends etc..) but my little guy is most important. No one truly understands this feeling until they have/adopt children of their own and it is AMAZING.

 

 

 

Letter to my 21 year old Self...

Today I'm linking up with the always fabulous Big Holly and her cutie pie friend Jake!

I am really excited about this link up. But also a little embarrassed, my life at 21 was full of shenanigans! You will start to notice common theme in this post *cough* alcohol *cough* I seriously loved my 21st year of life though! It was pretty dang amazing!

Dear 21 year old Annie,

• Please continue to set out a Powerade and 2 advil on your nightstand, before you go out drinking at ANY age...(yes this was my hangover cure...it worked... most of the time). 
• Wear a little longer dress on your 21st bday:

• Actually do not change anything about your 21st birthday. It was the most unforgettable night ever (even though you won't remember much...):

• DO NOT I repeat DO NOT accept the challenge to dance on the bar at the Bistro for free shots, you will later realize that a video was released....I kidd I kidd ;)
• Please stop buying polish sausages from the hot dog stands at 2:00 am. It never feels good the next morning and in another few years you'll start to get acid reflux...yuck. 
• STOP forgetting your credit card at bars! 
• Remember where you parked so when you go to get your car the next day you don't have to spend an hour looking for it. Write it on your hand if you need to!
• Remember playing beer pong with St. Chapelle's soft red wine is not a good idea...especially when drinking it with a straw. :)
• Keep enjoying your friends as much as possible. They are some amazing people. :)
• Do not schedule any classes before 10 am. (You should already know this by your third year of college though). 
• Keep your heart open
• Remember that you only get 21 ONCE...LIVE IT UP!

Love Always,

Your  (almost) 27 year old self.

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