The back porch

I really can't believe that I haven't posted this yet. It's prob because it feels like we have been working on this stinking porch forEVER- shhh don't tell me husband I said that....

But really- it's been a long time.

April 28, 2012- here is where we started. 

The Goal: back porch sitting area without cleaning out the bank account. AKA- do it yourself back porch. (or better known as- the husbands job)

Good progress the 1st weekend-. I mean- I can actually see things coming together- right?

Looking good!

May 2 2012- all the boards are down- now to pick out a stain color for the wood.

July 18th- so you can see here- the wood is stained. And yes- we have started K on yard duty at a young age. He loves it! so we aren't going to steer him away. And our poor poor pitiful grass- I mean seriously- have you ever seen grass so sad?

Aug 10

WOW-  the grill has been moved over- and we are moving forward with the roof and the pergola

Sept 24th- lookie here! 1/2 of the covered porch is done- and the pergola is finished!

and there's little K doing yard work again- I tell ya- he loves it! 

just in case you are worried- the mower isn't on- he just loves pushing it around the yard.

Sept 30th- we boxed in the cedar posts- and can you see our grass? It came back!! You know what they say 'if you build it- the (grass) will come' right- or something like that.

trimmed the posts- you can see we have been working in between rain storms. We also stained all the posts, pergola, everything so it would look the same.

Oct 3rd- finishing touches. And then there was light! Adds the perfect ambiance (ahhhmmmm- biance) to the back yard. Now to enjoy.

so about eh 7 months give or take- that's a long long project. thanks husband- it's awesome! and getting to be that perfect patio weather- fall in TX- just the right temperature outside to sit and enjoy.

We still have some work to do- but from what he tells me 'it's the easy part'

Next- shingles on the roof. And pavers to cover some of the grass that didn't come back- the a fire pit out on the pavers. But heck- it's going to be a while before it's cold enough here for a fire pit right?? we got time.

Friday night

So when we decided to just 'try' for a month or so

and 'see' what happens

you know- let the universe decide.

I mean- sure we are talking about another potenial baby here- but we kept going back and forth and yes and no- so let's just throw caution to the wind and see what happens.

well...

it. happened.

a positive!! I have to be honest- I was in shock- for at least 24 hours. for sure- maybe 48. And then all the silly irrational fears started to pop in my head

I'm too old

4 kids is too many

My youngest son will be mad at me

How will we ever vacation again

Who will babysit

Really? 9 months, again?

Yes- 9 months again. And then- our sweet bundle of joy will be here. And i know all those irrational fears will melt away. And we will forget. And K will love being a big brother and our family of 6 will be perfect.

Will we have our ups and downs along the way? sure. We always do.

how lucky and I?

to have a wonderful loving husband. 3 gorgeous kids. a house over my head. a supportive career. an excited family.

And to have the chance to do it all over again. What would I do different from the 1st time?

That's how I started my 1st journey- by asking other moms-

If you could do it all over again- what would you do different?

Workout- was almost always the answer. Eat right. Sleep more.

What will I do?
- work out for sure- but that's not really different- I will just make a point to continue doing what I have been- I love my gym time.

-I want my husband to be more involved during delivery. We never really had a 'plan' I mean- since everything can go anyway- I was more just going with the flow- and had a fantastic delivery. But this time- I would like us to have more of a plan.

- I won't sweat the small stuff. No crazy decorating a nursery- in fact- the two youngest will be sharing a room for a couple of years. (or until our oldest moves out) So we will do a shared room for them.

Granny's Cabinet Re-do or Up-do

whatever- I guess I didn't really 're-do' this china cabinet- but it for sure got an all new improved look!

Check it out!

Here it is before. This came from my Ganny's house- all the way from Georgia. It's funny- because it still smelled like her.

The news paper is covering the glass.

We picked a bright teal blue color- I LOVE it.

the inside we painted a copper color- I don't think I took any pictures of us doing that in the process- it came out really great.

we didn't sand it or anything- which allowed the wood to come through the paint.

now what kind of hardware to put on it??

after looking and looking- we decided on these- ordered them from HomeDepot- on line.

Ta- Da! All done.

A Mustache Bash!

What a great time! I had not had the opportunity to plan a baby shower before - so as soon as these two announced they were expecting- I started 'pinning' and planning like crazy!

We decided on a Mustache Bash theme- and for these two- it really couldn't have been better. They requested a party- where there just happened to be a pregnant girl- and so a party is what we had!

I admit- I had lots of help- so I will pass that along to all of you-

I got this inspiration from here- we used a hula- hoop for the middle- and then plastic table cloths for the runners. PaperGoods.com has great deals on table cloths, serving dishes, plates, etc... and a HUGE selection of colors!
Really- it looked better in person... I should have taken more pictures- but you get the idea.

At the request of the Dad to Be- we didn't have any party stopping games. All of the games and activities just went on behind the scenes. We did a 'Name that Stache' game. And of course- we had a prize for the winner- Maker's Mark (Dad to Be's favorite) If you google famous mustaches- you will find ALL kinds of stuff- just narrow down which ones you want to showcase, print up some score cards, decorate a little box so that people can drop their cards in- and then score them all towards the end of the night.

I made lots of Mustache on a stick- these were fun! I purchased these from Etsy shop Pink Pueblo- for $5- such a steal! I used these for making the invitations, all the signs you see framed, and for the mustache on a stick- great deal!

For the Mom to Be (and baby) we also set up a coloring station with all the letters of the alphabet- that way everyone could help in making Baby C's 1st book! On the front of each page was a letter and on the back were some questions to answer. Like "Advice for the parents to be____" and  "My favorite thing about your mom/ dad is________"

The book turned out great-  we had one out of town hostess- and the sister, nieces, and new Grandma of the Mom to Be couldn't be there- so I sent them all letters before the shower- and got tears of joy and surprise when she saw who all had helped create the picture book.

One of my favorites was from her niece, who did the beautiful A that you see below- under the "Advice for the parents to be" she wrote:
#1 be forgiving
#2 have medicine for cat scratches nearby at all times

HOW CUTE IS THAT??

 Working hard on his creation- we don't want any slackers coloring in the new picture book!

The VERY happy Parents To Be

 The hostesses

  

We all play bunko together- going on 10 years! can you believe it?

fabulous onsies, bibs, burp cloths done by a good friend of mine. I SO wish I could give you a link to her shop- but she has decided to close the doors to focus more on being a full time mommy to her 2 beautiful babies. Sad for me- but happy for her!

 ok- so let's just get to it- I know we all want to know what food we had! I mean- come on- that's the important part right?

 Since we had kids and adults- and tastes of all kinds-  here is what we did. From left to right:

- Mini wedge salads- would do these again in a heart beat. Easy- cut up iceberg lettuce into 8ths (for those mathematically challenged, like me, that's in 1/2 once- then again 1/4s, then again = 1/8) Stick a toothpick with cherry tomatoes on it through the middle to hold it all together, sprinkle with bacon crumbles and some good blue cheese crumbles and then drizzle with blue cheese dressing. We made our own- and you should too! it's so much better than bottled.

- Fruit & Cheese skewers- again easy peasy. We did Monterrey Jack cheese cubes, pineapple, and half a strawberry- all on a toothpick

- Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella salad. YUM. It's back there covered in the white bowl. I almost forgot about it. Not to worry- it all was scooped up. Recipe here.

-Ham, Pickles & Cheese- ummm there is a pregnant lady here- so pickles was requested for sure. 

pin-spiration found here.

-Pepperoni Pinwheels- served with marinara dipping sauce. Huge Hit. For the adults and the kiddos. Will definitely be making these again. Recipe here.

-Cowboy Sliders- so easy- good- filling. YUM. Pin-spiration here.

-Bacon Wrapped Bread- yes- you read that right. When I read this recipe- I shook my head. No way something so easy could taste so good. You would never guess that this is a 3 ingredient recipe. But it is. Find it here.

Tortellini Skewers- served with cilantro pesto dipping sauce. No recipe- but pin-spiration here.

And then there were sweets. 

Peanut butter was the other requested from the Mom to Be, and Tres Leches from the Dad to Be.

We had Mini Peanut Butter Cheesecakes.

I struggled with the Tres Leches. I mean- I make a dynamite Tres Leches- but let's face it- even thought it tastes soooo good- it's just an ugly dessert- presentation wise. I looked and looked on how to make it look pretty- but most of the techniques I found were beyond my baking skills.

and then WA-LA!

One of my most favorite blogs- and she had a recipe for Tres Leches Coconut Cupcakes-

I can do this!! and we did. and they were great. 

The longest part was letting the Tres Leches soak into the cupcake. What worked best for us is using one of these squirt bottles that we just had laying around. Then I could stick the tip down in the cupcake and squirt the mild inside. (mind out of gutter- stay with me) Anyhow- you don't have to worry about the top of the cupcake  looking all holey (hmmm... is that a word?) not looking pretty- because then you whip the frosting on top and cover with the toasted coconut and they are pretty all over again!

check this out- actually found mustache duct tape at Walmart! can you believe it? Then obviously used it to wrap all the water bottles.

All in all- it was a hit. Everyone had a great time. Baby Carlos is due any day now- so ticktockticktock- we can't wait to meet him- and hope that mom and baby have a save and happy birth-day!