Easter Preparations & Puffs

Easter is quickly approaching and there is MUCH to do!  Its our first Easter in our house and more importantly Jack's first Easter!! I know he's not going to remember it or even understand what is going on but I am still SUPER excited to start family traditions with him.  I've been collecting stuff for his basket for weeks now and think I'm finally done.  Just have to gather stuff for Johnny's Easter basket (which won't be nearly as extravagant) and then I'll be finished.  

On top of getting the baskets ready I've now been asked (literally YESTERDAY) if I would host Easter dinner at my house.  Which I'm totally fine with because it honestly makes things a lot easier with Jack and I like having people over.....just another opportunity to entertain!!  So in honor of hosting our first holiday at the house I've been trying to get a little festive, I just started tonight and quickly realized I don't have a lot of Easter stuff, in fact, I don't have anything at all really.  So I'll have to get crafty and fast....that will be a later post!

My Mom (thankfully) bought a ham and brought it over today, I just have to get some sides and little things.  She's got plans for games and an Easter egg hunt....leave it to Mom to get everyone to act like big kids for the day :)
On a not so happy note, my grandmother (mom's mom) is in the hospital but is now OK and doing great! The hospital  is literally five minutes from my house so after dinner on Sunday we can all go visit and bring her some Easter cheer as well! I will say, I'll be missing her desserts, she always makes dessert whenever we get together and they are to-die-for delicious!!!!

We are now eating PUFFS!...Jack that is, I was terrified to give him these little melt-in-your-mouth puffs at first, and think this was actually a bigger moment for me than anyone else including him!  He likes them a LOT!  I got the organic banana flavored ones to start.  I've been told that apple cinnamon are really good as well.  I also bought those little yogurt melts that also dissolve on the tongue which he's not a big fan of just yet.  He'll eat them but he def gets WAY more excited for the puffs.  I know he's not nine months old yet or crawling yet but he has four teeth and he eyes up everything we eat so I thought I would at least give them a try.  Its hilarious watching him try to pick them up with those chubby little fingers and put them in his mouth, and then see how excited he gets when he realizes that he did it!!  I also gave him some of my little noodles that were in my soup (they were very small and soft) and he liked those to.  Its really fun experimenting and letting him try new foods but at the same time I just stare and hold my breath while he takes his first taste.  Once its down his throat I can then relax.  I have to admit that last week I was giving him little tastes of a cracker and he was fine with it until I let him hold the cracker to suck on and literally within two seconds he had bitten off a big piece and was coughing because it was in the back of his throat....I feel like such an ass and can't even imagine what could have happened.  I just want that to be the first and LAST time I ever have to scrape food out of his mouth!!  Not to mention my husband still talks about it and doesn't seem as though he's ever going to let me live this one down!

Here we are trying to take a pic and send it to Dad at work :)

Curtains & Pantry Doors....Oh My!!

So I originally planned on posting about my pantry doors (which I hate) and how I got crafty and decided to paint, partially with chalkboard paint so that I could scribble recipes and lists all over them.  BUT then the pantry door DIY project turned out to be an epic fail.  It could probably still be saved but I don't have the patients or enough tylenol to cure the headaches the spray paint is giving me!!  I have really ugly wooden doors with glass panels.  My plan was to paint the wood part white and the glass with chalkboard paint, and this may have worked had my husband just let me paint them with a brush and a can of paint in the house like I wanted to.  Instead he insisted on spray painting them in the garage (with the door open to vent) in the freezing cold snowy weather that we are having (they won't dry properly in this cold!!).  Ultimately the spray paint fumes sneak into my house and stink up the entire downstairs when he closes the garage door.  Of course the doors don't dry properly so the texture is all effed up and need to be re-sanded and painted again!!!  We have company over this morning so he brings them in (still tacky) and hangs them up for when they are here and the place STINKS even worse!!!  I have such a headache at this point and don't think the baby should be breathing any of this in so I make him take the doors back out to the garage as soon as they leave and we decide to just buy new doors :)  I'm all for a good DIY project but when the weather is not cooperating and I want things done, sometimes its just better to buy new stuff!
These are my ugly doors:
 

I had a baby shower for my friend Melissa this morning while our company was stopping by, so I actually missed them (sorry Dre & Tina, hopefully see you in May).  To tell you the truth I was REALLY looking forward to going to this shower today... I just kept thinking about the fact that I was going to get to eat a meal and have a mimosa with other women/mommies (adults) without a baby on my lap or wanting to be entertained!!!!!!!!!!!  Can you tell I need to get out more???  Ha ha ha  I think with the whole teething thing that's been going on and lack of sleep I just NEEDED a break.  So all in all the baby shower was a huge success for Melissa, she got a TON of great stuff, she even got a pair of tiny Jordans for her little fella, he's going to be so stylin!  I got her these baby Uggs as part of her gift, I love Jack's, they really do come in handy in the winter time plus they are so stinkin cute!!!

 

 I've been thinking about making curtains since pretty much the day we moved in....and pretty much every room needs them.  That's the problem though, I'm still thinking about it and can't seem to make up my mind.  In fact I keep collecting more and more fabric that I like.  You can see either folded up piles or big spools of it randomly around the house in hopes that one day I'll break down and sew the damn curtains.  I'm a big "well what If I find something better" kinda girl.  I'm also the type of person that likes to know she got a bargain, which makes it that much more difficult because everything I LOVE is never on sale.  The other problem is that there really are not that many places around me that sell really nice/fun/unique looking fabric patterns.  I'm sorry, but I've been a little disappointed with Joann Fabrics lately, they haven't had anything I've liked in a really long time.  I did just recently see they now have an HGTV line of home decor fabric - about time they got some new stuff! There are a ton of online options with some really nice stuff but I like to see my fabric in person and be able to touch/feel it.....so I'm always hesitant to pull the trigger and order online.  Below are some swatches of what I've been into lately.   All are from Calico Corners and in the Nate Berkus collection......except for the thick navy/white striped swatch, I found that online somewhere and can not for the life of me find it again.  However Calico does have a very similar one in their store. 

Here's a little Jack for ya, BEST smile EVER <3

8 Months Old

Jack turned 8 months old last Friday and I never even thought twice about mentioning it!  I did however remember to take pictures (we had a photo shoot of course!), so at least part of me was on top of things that day.  Here's our 8 month photo shoot, now that he's really squirmy its getting more difficult to get a good shot....

 

Runny noses have been an epidemic in my house lately and I was going to chalk Jack's up to teething but now that I have one and am getting stuffier by the day and with Johnny battling a cold last week, I'm beginning to think its more than just teething.  In fact that's pretty much my answer to everything these days...."Must be teething"!!!  So far no green boogies so I think we're OK :)  Also another thought I had in regards to his constant waking up at night is could it be night terrors???  I had them as a kid but I was much older than a baby.  I'm going to research them, gives me something to do while I'm laying in bed listening to him cry at 3am!!!! (and no I don't just let him scream all night but after multiple times being up and he finally decides that he wants to be wide awake and play you run out of things to try :) )

I finally had some time last night to upload all of the pics I've been taking with my actual camera (as apposed  to my phone which I normally use) and realized that I haven't done so in all of January or February, so I'm going to have to do a Jan/Feb recap with pics of the little guy.  Somehow posting pics on the blog makes me feel better about me majorly slacking on putting albums together.  

First day of SPRING....yeah right!!

Today is the first day of spring and I call bullshit!!  I was looking back at my blog from this time last year (post from March 2012) I was 22 weeks pregnant and complaining about the heat in this post!!!

YES that's right, it was 78 degrees and I was running around town looking to buy t-shirts that would fit me.  Today it has snowed on and off literally all day and its FREEEEZZING.  This is bad for business as well, nobody wants to go out in this kind of weather anymore, everyone wants to walk to lunch in the warm sunshine!!! To say I am disappointed is an understatement!

Jack's sleeping habits have not improved at all since I last posted anything.  Tonight I put a worn shirt of mine in his crib (I strung it through the rails so it can't get lose) in hopes that if he wakes up he will smell me and then be able to soothe himself back to sleep.  I read where someone else did this and it worked, she walked in to find her little babe snuggling with her shirt...too cute.  A friend of mine told me about this Amber teething beads, a necklace that baby wears and its supposed to alleviate the pain caused by teething.  Funny thing is that I was reading a different blog last night and there was an entire post on these things and apparently this woman had great success with them for her son.  My thing is that I don't want him wearing it while he sleeps and that is when I have the most trouble.  He's fine during the day, night time is the issue.  Here is a Link to them on Amazon in case anyone wants to look into them.  I'm still debating.   I'm really hoping he just adjusts one night and things go back to normal.

Here are some pics of my little monster to keep you smiling even if you are having snow storms  in March like me!

Play time before bed on the GIANT sock monkey!!!

St. Patty's Day

Honestly we didn't even dress in green today, if you can believe it!  We did yesterday though and I don't even think I have a pic!!!!  Was sort of a crazy weekend.....both my husband and I had to work at the cafe yesterday and my mom watched Jack.  Friends came over to visit last night, which was nice because we don't get to see them enough so it was nice to catch up.  Well, I don't get to see them enough, Johnny works with Steve so they see each other all of the time.  Then today was really a day to catch up on all things that I don't get around to during the week, like CLEANING!  Also got the majority of the quilt finished that I've been working on for my nephew's birthday which was Friday....yep missed that deadline!!  With Jack teething and literally up all night every night for the past six weeks I don't get much alone time and when I do sewing has been the last thing on my mind.  That little tooth finally cut through the skin the other day and he did sleep two nights in a row through the night but was up again last night.  He fell asleep at 7:30 tonight so fingers crossed he stays down!!!
Hubby finished spraying the chairs to my dining set so now I have all black chairs and a brown table...table is next but the weather needs to be warmer otherwise it will take forever and never dry properly due to the cold.  Speaking of weather can I just say how really pissed off I am at the fact that it is still snowing and we are supposed to get another snow storm this week!!!!  I'm just angry and bitter and just so completely FED UP with mother nature right now!  Easter is just a couple weeks away and we will probably have 30 degree weather with snow on the ground.....ridiculous. 

Spring Fever!

The past couple days' nice weather has really gotten me thinking SPRING!  I'm soooooo ready for warm weather, sun on my face, backyard bbq, beach and bikini kinda days.....the thought makes me smile every time :)  In the mean time there is lots to be done at the Kong household to get ready for warmer days.  "Money bought this house but I am going to make it a home" - I read this quote earlier today on another blog and I couldn't agree more!
My husband is working on the dining room table and chairs right now (slowly but surely), lookin good so far!  Then I think its time to just break down and do the hardwood floors in the rest of the downstairs.  I just can't take this carpet any longer....especially with the dogs I think it will much easier to keep clean.  With this comes painting all of the trim since I have that 1980s/90s brown wood trim everywhere you look.....not our style and I CAN'T wait to see white trim line my dark hardwoods....mmmmm this also makes me smile.  The other BIG project is going to be the kitchen cabinets which I know I've mentioned before but seriously once painted they will make such a major difference.

This kitchen has me thinking of doing two colors for cabinets (upper vs. lower) 



 Dramatic difference right??!!  This is a very similar style to my kitchen, same color cabinets and ginormous ceiling light....its GOT to go!





My parents have a big barn on their property that is currently housing a bunch of furniture and items that have been collected over the years but havn't found places in the house.  As soon as it warms up a bit more I fully  plan on raiding that barn and seeing what I can use.  I know of a couple pieces that are calling my name and just begging to be repurposed ;)

Besides house stuff I'm totally thinking of all the cute baby stuff that comes along with warm weather.  Here are some adorable must haves for this spring:

litte dress made from a mans shirt...too cute!

little dress made from a pillow case...I NEED to have a girl one day to make these for!

peter rabbit collection at baby Gap

peter rabbit collection - seriously the entire collection is to-die-for adorable!

Swim Class

Just found out this past week that both HomeGoods (one of my favorite stores EVER!) and H&M are moving closer to my house!!!  HomeGoods will now be like 5 minutes away, this could get me into some serious trouble :)
Swim class started this week for Jack and I, oh my  goodness he is too stinking cute in his little swim trunks and swim shirt....makes me giggle every time I think about it.  We are going twice a week, the first day he wasn't too sure about this whole pool thing at all....the water was cold and there was so much going on I think it was just really overwhelming for him.  But by the end of the 30 minutes he was much more comfortable and chewing on a little swim toy (toys always help!).  At first I just bought him a pair of trunks and didn't even think about the fact that he could be teeth chattering cold!!!  I learned my lesson and went straight to Target afterwards and bought him one of those little long sleeved swim shirts and I could DEF tell it made a difference at today's class.  Today he played with one of those noodles and kicked his legs and splashed around......definitely a more enjoyable experience.  Not to mention there were only three of us in the class so we just played around rather than singing all of the kiddy songs like we did in the larger group earlier in the week.  Speaking of which.......I realize now how long its been since I've heard/sung any of these songs because I DON'T remember any of the words ha ha ha!!  Wheel's on the Bus......I forgot how many verses there are!!  All in all I'm really glad we are doing this not only for Jack but for Momma as well.  It was really nice to be able to chat with other moms and share stories, makes you realize what you're missing by just talking to a baby all day!  Apparently they do play dates and continue to get together when swim is not in session which I'm looking forward to, should be a lot of fun :)

Weather Rant - Good ole Buffalo weather strikes again, its so inconsistent its ridiculous.  I thought it was going to warm up a bit and at least be in the 40s and I come downstairs this morning to GIANT size snowflakes falling and actually sticking to the ground, now its all melted and apparently going to be 50 on Sunday!!!  Craziness I tell ya.

Oh yeah, Easter is right around the corner and I can't wait to put an Easter basket together for Jack this year.  I know he won't even know what it is or ever remember but I don't care, I'm too excited not to!  I keep looking at the seriously adorable baskets with monogrammed liners on Pottery Barn Kids and really want one but I'm having trouble pulling the trigger with that price tag!!  I'm hoping they go on sale maybe right before or after the holiday.  I'm thinking the smaller one would be decent size enough, the large looks really big, if anyone has any input please let me know, are they good quality, size, worth it????

another bib I whipped up yesterday with an old t-shirt, I know its really big but I wanted to fit the entire "mr. happy" on it, plus i figure he'll grow into it.

look at the adorable smiling face <3

Rolling around while I sort and pack away his clothes that don't fit anymore, YES I'm getting organized :)

Just Rambling

Big news in our house, Jack is going to swim class!  I'm so excited, I CAN'T wait to get him in the water.  He LOVES bath time and splashes so hard I have to back up so I don't get all wet.  I think he's going to really like it.  He's all set but I on the other hand am in need of a "Mom" appropriate bathing suit.  Do Mommies wear bikinis to swim class?  I haven't worn a one piece since I was a kid but am thinking I might try a few on since there are so many really cute ones out right now.  Tankini is another option, but of course I made this decision yesterday and class starts Tuesday!  Not leaving myself much time.  Did some running around this morning but of course nobody had anything I liked in my size......this crap always happens to me.  On the brighter side........I was able to do all of my running around without a baby in tow.  That right there is big news in my book :)  I can't even tell you how fast I got things done.  I'm so used to lugging that stupid infant car seat everywhere I go and then buckling and unbuckling, such a major pain in the ass!  I went to three stores in under an hour and a half - and this included trying things on!!  Being the paranoid mother that I've become I keep texting my husband to make sure he's not screaming his lungs out and of course my husband tells me hes not being very good (later I find out this was only in attempt to make me hurry - EVIL).  So I'm racing around, trying to hurry up only to get home and find out my little angel has been just that!

In other news, its snowing AGAIN, and I'm trying out a couple new cookie recipes for the restaurant.  More importantly I found a royal icing recipe that is different than any I've ever tried before, so I really just want to see how that turns out.  I'm thinking shamrock cookie pops to get people in the mood for St. Patty's Day. 

DIY dining room - china cabinet part II

China cabinet is DONE!!!!  Boy what a relief, are we crazy to be considering starting the table this weekend, like tomorrow????  hahaha maybe we are but I just love how everything is coming together.

Of course a screw broke while attaching the final clam shell.....grrr... gotta love making a late night Lowes trip!

So my thoughts on this rust-oleum paint kit for cabinets.......its not bad, LOTS of work but easy enough and the finished result is pretty great.  The only thing I might complain about is the fact that it is hand painted with a brush and not spray painted....which would be SOOOO much quicker.  Its just tedious work to paint such a large piece with a brush, OR a million kitchen cabinets.  My husband really likes the deglosser part which you do rather than sanding, and I really liked the final coat of clear protectant gloss.  As far as the table and chairs go, we are totally going to degloss, spray paint, and then gloss.  I'm sure there is some sort of gloss/protectant coat that can be sprayed on.........that is my research for this weekend.  All in all I absolutely LOVE the results and think it really transformed the room.

From here on out its going to be DIY central in our house....we have a goal of certain things that we definitely want done before Jack's first birthday party in July.  Definitely finish putting in hardwoods in the downstairs (when we first moved in we immediately did the family room and baby's room but that was it).  The kitchen cabinets WILL get painted, and maybe even add a back splash.  Then decorating, need to find some fun, unique pieces that I can decorate with.  I need a big piece that could possibly house a TV for the living room (technically the "formal living room" that will be anything but formal in my house).  Its a bigger room that definitely needs something large and chunky to fill up the space.  Antique, second hand stores, and craigslist here I come!!!  I think the best part about re-purposing furniture is the feeling of gratification you get when its all done.  AND knowing you now have an amazing piece that would cost you an arm and a leg at Pottery Barn for a fraction of the price :)  Don't get me wrong, I love me some Pottery Barn, I just like to see if I can recreate their look whenever possible for less.

I'm sure I will move things around a million times but this is what it looks like right now

You can see a bit of the table and the ugly chair that goes along with it, they are getting done next for sure!