What I Wore: Maternity Edition- Cobalt Blue

Top: Motherhood (Bought On Sale-Original Here)

Pants: Motherhood (BUY HERE. LOVE)  Shoes: Target (Fall 2011 - Similar Here)

Earings: Forever 21 

32 Weeks pregnant with Baby #3.

A Rainy Sunday.

Hair: DIY Braided Hair Headband.

Lots of tutorials on Pinteres!

Here's a good one

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday!

My Husband, who is slightly obsessed with Craigslist, (Awesome)

Just went to pick up a big wooden desk unit that is FREE..

and calling out to be painted with a pop of teal or yellow! excited!

Fall Treat Bag Tags- "Happy Fall Y'all!"

I'm adding some more fun treat bag tag printables to my Etsy Shop!

Happy Fall Y'all Treat Bag Tag Printables

I love Fall.. and these are the perfect touch for

gift giving this season without the spook.

I had a client fill these with scarecrow crunch. I found a recipe via Pinterest here

I think I'll load up some little ziplock snack bags with some buckeyes we made..

and add these tags to them to gift to some neighbors and friends!

Happy Fall Y'all! ;)

Room Inspiration - Rugs by RugsUSA.com

I have been wanting to get a rug for

our family room area for a while.

I happened to stumble across RugsUSA.com...

and was so impressed with what I found!

Here's a round up of some of my favorites that they offer.

Some of these would be so cute in a family room..

or an office..or a child's room! I love a good pattern.

What is so crazy about this site.. most of these are 35% off or more!

I found they are almost always having some sort of discount sale.

I was going to do a top ten...but then decided to limit myself at 15. ;)

one. two. three. four.  five. six. seven. eight. nine. ten.

eleven. twelve. thirteen. fourteen. fifteen.

Which rug is your favorite??

I'm so excited to be doing a Review on one of their rugs.

I'm trying to choose a favorite... I am currently loving #3 and #8!

Rugs USA is on Pinterest...and they have

some great Boards to help with Room Inspiration!

My Little Felt Monsters

I had fun doodling my little monsters on card stock..

and bringing them to life with a little felt and sewing!

I've seen "Adopt a Monster" party favors all over Pinterest...

so I wanted to use that same Idea for our Monster Bash!

(A Toddler Friendly Halloween Party!)

I also created in Photoshop a Monster

Adoption Certificate for the girls to fill out with me. :)

It was fun having sophia (my 4 yr old) help me choose

how many spikes, teeth or eyes the monsters should have!

And even more fun hearing the names they came up with!

(the blue one is apple....haha. ;)

We also have a spikey, gilly and fuzzball.

I'm considering adding these to my Etsy Shop- Charming Felt!

(complete with the Monster Adoption Certificate!)

These little monsters are fun soft toys for your toddlers...

or as a party favor this Halloween!

I loved seeing the girls play with them..

I started off making 1..then they requested a daddy..

and then a mommy... etc etc..

Some of the monsters are in love.

as you can tell from the photo below.

I have to finish up some client felt orders...

but then I REALLY want to try and make these into puppet versions!

I think the girls would love that. :)

If you follow me on instagram or facebook, then you saw

I made up some sweet little felt owls too!

I'll share those on here soon.. I seriously am in love with them.

Sick Babies.

Rough day in our house today.

Got a text from the husband while I was at the doctor's office for baby check up..

"sophie just threw up everywhere"

came home..she threw up a few more times..

All she wanted to do was snuggle up on the couch.

Sienna then says "I feel sick"...

I thought she was pretending to be like her sister.

I was wrong.

I caught most of it on me the first time..

not so lucky the time after that.

I've changed my clothes 5 times today.

showered twice.

then gave up on not smelling like throw up till they feel better.

New strategy..wear a towel at all times.

Please say some prayers that my girls get through this little bug quickly..

It's so sad seeing your kids sick.

Both girls have woken up to throw up..

so ben and I are each taking on one to sleep with.. 

I'm going to look AWESOMELY refreshed and rested tomorrow morning... ;)

On the bright side.....I love the snuggles from my sweet sickies.

We usually have healthy kids. so when they do get sick..

It makes me so thankful for their overall health.

We can do this.......we can do this...... :)

goodnight all.

Monster Bash!- Toddler Friendly Halloween Party Inspiration Board

We are having a little get together in October..

A Monster Bash! I wanted to throw

 a Toddler Friendly Halloween Party.

I am a wee bit pregnant right now.... so It's going to be simple.

We are doing a Pot Luck and I'll probably do a cute Monster Themed Table.

I have seen the Adopt a Monster pins all over Pinterest...

so today I ran to JoAnns to grab up some cheap felt to make some

friendly monsters for the girls' and their friends to adopt at the party! :)

I put together a Spooktacular Monster Bash Inspiration Board

for any of you wanting to throw a Toddler Friendly Halloween Party!

1. Monster Cupcakes

2. Halloween Treat Bag Tags Printables (sold in my etsy shop)

3. Painted Pumpkins

4. Monster Playdoh

5. Mummy Juice Boxes

6. Pumpkin Dip Veggie Platter

7. Adopt a Monster

8. Boo Decorations

9. Candy Corn Candles

10. Monster Slime

11. Monster Cupcakes

12. Kid's Painting Pumpkins

I also grabbed up at JoAnns some fun googly eyes.

the girls will flip over this. This is a doable DIY for a pregnant lady. haha.

monster cups

I made up an invite the other day for our party!

Plan on e-mailing this one out to make it easier.

Want to use this for your party?? message me!

 I'll be adding the Printable my Etsy Shop for $9

(A lot of you asked me how I did it.. I created it in Photoshop.

If you want to learn how to use it check out tutorials on you tube!)

I have also always wanted to do a Mac N' Cheese Bake Off!!

(this by no means is a pregnancy craving strategy.............hehe.)

I thought it would be a fun fall addition to a party!

So while the kids get sugared up on monster cupcakes..

We can taste test all the yummy cheesy delicious

mac n cheese recipes people bring!

voting and prizes are a must. :)

mac n' cheese

Monster Bash! (Toddler Friendly Halloween Party)

So I might have made up a Halloween Party Invitation

during their nap time today......

I am not a fan of 'scary' Halloween..

but like making it fun and playful for my girls.

Ben wants an excuse to use our fire pit.

And the girls like any party where they can dress up and adopt a monster.

More details soon. :)

I should go.. Sophie just woke up from her nap and came and

curled up on the suitcase in the middle of my family

room (still there from our trip this weekend)....
I think she is back asleep..

mom duties call.

(I made up fake location/rsvp details for privacy.)

What I Wore: Maternity Edition- Stripes

Top: H&M (non maternity)   Pants: Motherhood   Shoes: Old Navy (Fall 2011)

Necklace & Bracelet: Forever 21

30+ Weeks pregnant with Baby #3.

Date 'Afternoon' with the Hubby.

On the Road Again- Philly

Today we packed up and headed back on the road to Philly!

Ben's Mom and Step Dad have been fostering 2 little ones for a long time

and the adoption finally went through last week!

We are the Godparents of one of them..

So we are making a quick day and a half trip for the Baptism and Party. :)

Sophie started the trip off with a prayer.. that we would drive safe and "not hit a reindeer"

(we might have grazed a deer last year..scarred for life.)

I was praying for a safe easy drive and that the kids would sleep.

(they napped an hour of the 5 hour trip...)

Twizzler bribery might have happened.

Favorite part of the trip:

Hearing the girls "Read" brown bear brown bear what do you see.

Least favorite part of the trip:

Leaning back and trying to referee from the front seat while

holding a little human in my belly/lap that was kicking and stretching inside me.

braxton hicks every time I had to move/stretch.

Seriously though..I felt two little feet on the left side..

and a head at the other side..

stretching..

my belly can only stretch so far little one!! ;)

ben felt it..and is convinced we have a basketball

player that is going to be born 3 ft tall.

Pretty sure someone snuck red bull into their juice cup.

good thing she's cute. ;)

Arrived at our hotel!

The girls were acting like this was the most incredible experience of their lives.. haha.

This isn't even their first hotel.. but they are at an age where they can share the fun!

Their backpacks weigh more than they do. I packed them..only to find as we walked out the door that they had packed MORE random stuff.

(a wheel from the broken baby stroller? seriously sienna? hehe.)

We already hit up the indoor pool..lots of giggles and squealing.

It doesn't take much to make these girls happy. :)

The big Baptism day is tomorrow! Signing off for the weekend..

Some fun posts coming next week.

Have a great weekend!

$500 Pittsburgh IKEA Shopping Spree WINNER!

I'm so excited to announce that

Lizzie of Growing up Wharton

has won the $500 shopping spree

to the Pittsburgh IKEA!

CONGRATULATIONS!!
(details on the giveaway here)

I can't wait to see what she picks out. :)

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway..

I have another fun one in the works so stay tuned!!

And of course Thank you to the Pittsburgh IKEA for collaborating with

me on the my girls' Shared Big Girl Room Makeover and the $500 Giveaway!

(For those of you who are bloggers...start tweeting! and chat it up. :)

It has opened up so many doors for me and my blog!)

Baby Book- 28 & 29 Week Bumps

The past month of being pregnant has flown by..

The 30's have snuck up on me!

I'll be 30 weeks on saturday....caaa-razy.

It's funny how different my body is "Stretching" this time around..

My belly is going OUT..

TORPEDO BELLY.

Yesterday I tried to squeeze through an area that I used to be

able to fit in in the dining room..only to find I got stuck haha.

When the husband and I were in NYC, it was interesting weaving our way

through the crowds. In my head I thought I should be able to sneak past a person

when in reality I would just bump them or have to say excuse me for more room..

Another thing we noticed in NYC was that people love to stare at pregnant ladies.

They look at my belly first and then my face!

Most people tell me congratulations and how much I'll love being a mom.

They are SHOCKED when I tell them I have 2 at home.

I've also noticed lately that restaurants with a buffet, get terrified when

a pregnant lady walks in thinking we will devour the place...OR..

that we are about to go into labor at any second in their place of business. haha.

ps. we painted the play room blue...... :)

BLANQI Mama 

This pregnancy I have been incredibly more sore than with the other two.

Not sure if it is how the baby is positioned..

or if it's something with my sciatic nerve or possibly symphysis pubis..

but I am in PAIN.

I went to a chiropractor but am going to ask my doctor about

getting a script to see a physical therapist. It comes and goes..

but is more and more becoming constant pain.

I can't put pressure on my right leg, If I sit/stand/lay in one position for

long then move I jolt in pain. The times it is worse is when I try

to walk short distances and then bend over to pick something up like a child..

or a toy..something I do only a million times a day......... ;)

There have been a couple times I've been out..and couldn't walk to my car

and had to wait a bit to stand still and hope it "stretches" out.

I can only imagine that it'll get worse as the baby load gets heavier.

I might see if I can get a hip stabilizer..was told that could help!

You know it's bad when you crawl to your room because it hurts too much to walk!

Pretty sure I blogged about this pain already..but It's gotten pretty bad.

The chiropractor said that it'll probably go away as soon as the baby is born..

so going to try and hang in there till it's D-Day!

Did you have this pregnancy symptom???

BLANQI Mama

Creamed Spinach Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes & Chicken

All of these ingredients sounded yummy..

so worked them into a recipe all together!

Recipes like this, full of basic yummy ingredients..

make winging dinner easy ;)

(I always know when to post a recipe on my blog...

If the instagram photo gets people begging for the recipe..

you know it'll be a good one to post. ;)

Creamed Spinach Pasta with

Roasted Tomatoes & Chicken 

INGREDIENTS:

Angel Hair Pasta

2 Heirloom Tomatoes

Chicken Tenderloins

Pack of Green Giant Frozen Creamed Spinach

Heavy Whipping Cream

*Spices: Garlic Salt, Oregano, Basil, Pepper, Salt

Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS:

Set the pasta to Boil..

Preheat oven to 415 (I just stick my tomatoes in as soon as they are ready!)

Heat oil in sauté pan..add chicken and spices.

(I covered the chicken with oregano, garlic salt, basil & pepper..salted to taste)

When water starts to boil add pasta of choice. I used angel hair.

While Chicken and Pasta cook, slice up tomatoes very thin..

Cover cookie sheet with foil(clean up is easier)

Lay out tomatoes on cookie sheet.. drizzle with olive oil and Spices*

Roast tomatoes. (I suppose you could use broiler but I liked mine not so dried up.

Take out tomatoes when they look nice and toasty and how you like them!

Cook pack of frozen creamed spinach in microwave as the box directions say..

When Pasta is done add in creamed spinach..and a few splashed of heavy whipping cream

(add just enough to make it easy to stir)

I added in some more of the spices* to taste

Add in the roasted tomatoes (or plate, and serve on top)

Chicken should be done! Slice up and put in pasta..or or serve on the side!

Enjoy!

Trip to NYC- 5 Yr Wedding Anniversary/Babymoon

The normal for celebrating our Wedding Anniversary is getting Chinese Take out..

and taking care of a newborn. ;) (We usually have august babies!)

Last year we didn't have a newborn (but a little sienna)..

so we got a babysitter for the night and a nice hotel here in pittsburgh.

But for our 5 year we wanted to do something really special..

and the girls were at a good age to do it! So my wonderful husband Ben planned

an amazing trip to NYC and it was soooooooooooooooooo fun!

Here's a peek at our trip via our iPhones. :)

If you are planning on making a New York Trip sometime soon,

maybe you'll get some ideas from our adventures!

 

I showed Sophie this post and she points to my belly in that photo of ben and I in

Times Square and goes "mommy that's beautiful right there!" ;)

The Jimmy Fallon Show was soo fun. We had to do a lot of waiting in line and being herded around the building.. but it was worth it! We ended up front row..(on the right if looking at the stage) My friend said she saw us on the show! We haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

The guy who comes out to warm up the crowd was HILARIOUS. and the Roots...AMAZING.

It was really cool seeing the whole production of the show.

It was neat seeing Jimmy do his thing live.

We had fun exploring the city!

Our hotel was right by Times Square (The Residence Inn Marriott)

We stayed in that area since we only had 2 days.. There was plenty to see!

We tried to stop by Mood Fabric Store but for some reason it was closed! bummer. 

One of my favorite parts of the trip was going to see the Broadway Shows!!

Ben had ordered tickets for Once. It was INCREDIBLE. The show was focused on the singing and acting. The stage stayed mostly the same. But I seriously have never heard better voices.. It made your jaw drop at moments. We loved the movie..and loved the play even more!

After the show we ran over to the ticket booth and grabbed up some half off tickets to Newsies! I felt so spoiled!! The show was really good and full of amazing dance routines. It was neat being able to get a taste of both Shows..because they were so different. I liked the singing in Once best..but I loved being able to see the dancing and set design from Newsies!

The lead guy was a stand in..making his debut (graduating from carnegie melon) and he was AMAZING! That made it really cool..because you could tell at the end he was just soaking it all in!

 We had a great view of Bryant Park from our hotel room. So pretty.

We ended up taking the train in and out of Philly..

It was nice having that time together on the ride to and from.

Funny Story: Ben and I hear this buzzing sound..sounds like those

air fresheners going off in public restrooms.. and it started to smell flowery...

and I go "o wow they spray air freshener on the train..that's nice.."

I even got ben to agree with me that that must be what it was...

Couple minutes later we realized ben was leaning up against me and my purse

that had my hair spray in it!!(no lid..lost it at the hotel) hahaha..

we had a good laugh after we cleaned up the sticky mess.

The whole trip was really fun and refreshing..a good break.

We ate at restaurants..and didn't have to wrestle with kids while trying to eat...

We slept in!!! We had fun being spontaneous and doing our own thing together!

With baby #3 coming in november...it's going to only get harder to have time

with just ben and I like that, so I'm glad we squeezed in a Babymoon!

I missed my girls and am happy to be home..all of us together.

Their reaction when we picked them up was PRICELESS..and I wish I had video!!

They had so much fun with Grandma B and Grandpa..

We had called friday night and sophie goes "I miss you.. Bye!" and ran off to play..

It helps to know they are in good hands so you can relax!

I'm so thankful to my In-Laws for this weekend.. Love you guys!

Can't wait for our anniversary next year. :)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BEN.
I love you. Thank you for this incredible weekend..
I love you even more every year..
I love how you make me laugh..(even though right now that causes contractions..)
I love how you make me smile and take care of our family.
You are my rock and my support..leading me to heaven.
I hope that you realize how amazing of a man you are...
a holy, strong, loving, hunk of a man. ;)
(more wedding photos in last year's anniversary post here)