Nesting

My pregnancy philosophy this time around has been not to stress over every little detail of every little thing. That was my main reason for not wanting to know the sex of the baby this go round...if I didn't know than I couldn't plan! We were not going to switch over our guest room until after the baby was born and then I would take my time putting it all together and just making it work. My philosophy has changed slightly since finding out that we are having a boy. I immediately gave away all of my girl bedding, clothes, etc to make room for new "stuff." We have had extremely generous friends give us clothes, blankets, and all of our baby bedding, so I have not had to spend money on much. Lucky for us (and our budget) my "peeps" have really good taste!
So about a month ago I mentioned to Tony that we only had around 45 days until the due date and it sent him into a total panic. He immediately devised a plan to disassemble the guest room, paint, lay new carpet and rearrange Cienna's room (complete with new twin trundle bed) so that Anthony Jr. will have a space of his very own when he comes home from the hospital. My mom and Tony's parents purchased Cienna's new bed and mattress for us. My sorority sister Bre designed and created custom letters for the wall. My friend Elizabeth donated all of her baby bedding. And with one trip to Ikea it was complete! (Errr...well except for the new baseboards that are going in but we will just have to overlook that for now!)
Thank you to everyone who made this transition possible by giving us clothes, gift cards, support and ideas. A big THANK YOU to my mom who watched Cienna while we frantically threw everything together last weekend. I can't thank everyone enough. You truly are the best!

AJ's New Pad

Letters Done By Bre At Artzy Alphabets

The Time Out Chair Just Waiting For AJ's Little Behind (Hey..I Know I Am Going To Need It So I Might As Well Have It Ready!)

Cienna's REALLY Big Girl Bed

Wall Art

Traveling Trash Family's Top 10 List

I was inspired to compile this Top 10 list yesterday after an evening hauling job. It never ceases to amaze me what people consider "junk" and pay us to haul away. Funny thing for Tony and I....a lot of the time (and I mean a lot) we come across things that we actually need and or can use in our house. And last night was no exception. We arrived at the hauling job of a lovely woman who was moving to Virgina for the military and because she had missed her "move date" the military was not going to pay for her move. Because of this, she needed to widdle down her stuff so that she could drive it across country. She had a CA King size bed frame that was in immaculate condition that she needed hauled away (among other things.) When I saw it, I could not believe my eyes! It matched our bedroom furniture perfectly! We have the same furniture set that Tony's parents bought for him when he came down to go to school at NM. For the last 8 years we have never gotten around to completing the set by buying a head and foot board. Anyway, to make a long story short, it seems like this happens to us all of the time. Two weeks ago I received a gift card from my friend Jenny for baby "Guido" from Target. I made a list of things that I needed and one of the items was a Graco base for the infant seat for Tony's truck. It would be such a convenience to have a base in each car so when we were on the go we could just click the car seat in and not have to worry about moving the base every time. I suspected it was going to cost about $50. On my way to Target Tony called me and said that he had just finished up a hauling job and wanted me to come and look at what he had before he went to the dump. What was the first thing that I laid eyes on? A Graco car seat and base! I could not believe it. That is just the way things work out for us!
There is a saying that "one man's trash is another man's treasure." This is my Top 10 list of treasures that we have come across in the hauling business.

#10

The King Size Head & Foot board


Our Existing Furniture Set

#9

An Old Window...Love The Way It Looks!

#8

Oak Gun Cabinet...Tony Helped An Old Lady Move And She Paid Him With The Gun Cabinet!

#7

Grandfather Clock. Tony Did A Hauling Job For These People And What They Didn't Have Hauled Away They Had An Estate Sale For. They Told Tony He Could Have First Pick. We Got The Clock For $500 And Later Found Out It Was Worth $6500!

#6

Tulip Floor Lamp. Same Estate Sale. Paid $40 For The Lamp And $112 To Replace Some Of The Shades. The Store That Replaced The Shades Sells The Same Lamp For $850!

#5

Mirrored Wall Window. Too Cute For Words.

#4

Cedar Toy Box. When We Hauled This Away It Had 3 Legs On It. After Sewing Off The Legs And Adding The Wood Letters To Spell "TOYS" It Is A Gem!

#3

Hurricane Lamp. We Used To Have A Pair Of Them Until Bekens Moving Company Came Along.

#2

Elvira Pin Ball Machine. Tony Cleaned Out A Recording Studio In Dallas And We Got The Pin Ball Machine!

#1

My Absolute Favorite. 2 Glass Piggy Jars Filled With Pennies From The 1950's And Earlier. They Are The Cutest Things That I Have Ever Seen. (Well Besides For Cienna.)

So that is it! My 10 Top hauling job treasures. There are more (I could have done an honorable mention list) but I am off for a bike ride and a movie with the family. Hope that everyone has a great week!

Small Town 4th of July

Friday night we headed up to the cabin to celebrate the 4th of July, South Fork style. It was our first time celebrating the holiday in a small town and it reinforced why we bought a vacation home in South Fork. We are so excited that our children will have the memories that this town will bring summer after summer, year after year. Here is a snapshot of our weekend.....

Waiting For The Parade To Start In Creede


The Beautiful Backdrop


South Fork Celebrity....BeauMeyer.com


Eating Her Loot And Wearing Her Beads

After the parade we went to the South Fork volunteer fire department for their annual catfish fry, which helps raise money for the department. At 2pm, South Fork put on their own parade...this time with rain!


Cienna Riding The Rubber Duck Float With Skylar


One Of The "Local" Jeeps

At 3pm, there was a rubber duck race where a duck could be purchased for $5 and the proceeds are going to be used for new playground equipment in the town.


Catching The Ducks At The Finish Line

After the rubber duck race we headed back to the cabin for naps and then joined Beau, Heather and Skylar for a fabulous dinner of chili dogs and watermelon before heading out to watch the fireworks. Cienna cheered the fireworks on with phrases like "come on, more colors!" and "oh...beautiful colors!" It was her first fireworks show, since she slept through them at Disney World back in April. She was totally in awe.
The next morning we got the raft on the river. 3 hours later we ended up at our destination, and Cienna was dead asleep, sitting up. I wish I had the camera...it was classic!

A couple of other blog-worthy notes / pictures from last weekend:

Tony's UNM teammate, Jarrod, and his adorable wife Danyett and daughter Victoria visited from Houston. Since our daughters are only 3 weeks apart, we always try to get them together so that they can play and we can "compare notes." The girls had a blast....



Having Fun In The Hello Kitty Tent


Tony & Jarrod


One Adorable Family

OK, last picture is of Cienna's "dress up" outfit. I have dedicated a basket to various clothes / accessories that Cienna can put on throughout the day. She likes to put them all on at once instead of just going for a "look." I have tried countless times to explain to her what a look is. I guess at 2 years old putting on everything you own is a "look." Anyway, thought that this picture was too cute not to post!


My Fairy Princess

I also wanted to say RIP to Scratchy Ma, one of my mom's cats. She was put to sleep on Sunday after a very traumatic 4th of July where she was injured while out and about during all of the fireworks. "Brrrring, brrrring" Scratchy Ma. I am gonna miss you! 1998-2009

Zeus Moose, our 1st born, is turning 7 years old today. Happy B-Day Zeusers! We love you!


Zeus The Night We Got Him in 2002 (10 Weeks)


Zeus As An Adult!