Why We Have Decided To Find Out If Baby Hughes Is A He Or A She...

So if you couldn't already tell, or know, we have decided to find out the gender of our baby :)

Let's rewind about 2.5 years or so.

Ryan had always made it perfectly clear that if and when we decided to have children he did not want us to find out the sex of the baby until the baby was born.

If you know me at all, you have realized that I CANNOT do this!  How would I plan?  How would I decorate?  How would I have a shower and get everything I needed and still be cute for our baby?

So obviously we both never agreed on this until a few years later.

Once Ryan and I got married we knew that as soon as deployment was over we would be starting our family.  I had decided that I would go over to Ryan's side of the gender debate.

I convinced myself, happily, that I could wait to find out.  I could still have an adorable, gender neutral nursery for Baby Hughes and we would have names picked out for both, just as we do now.  We would register for items we needed in greens - which I don't mind at all since it is my favorite color.  We would go the entire pregnancy without knowing if our little bean was a he or she.  

We were both happy and content with our decision.  People thought we were crazy, which I understand, because I was one of those a few years prior.

Now fast forward to the week after we found out what we are having.

I don't remember the conversation exactly, most likely because it was while we were in bed and I was probably half, if not completely, asleep by then.

Ryan asked me when we could find out what Baby Hughes was.  I was shocked!  This man, the man who had told me from the beginning that we wouldn't find out, the man who convinced me to not find out.  On one hand I was ecstatic!  I could find out!  YAY!  But on the other, what made him change his mind??

I asked him multiple times if he was sure and what changed his mind.  His answer is the cutest and it just makes me smile each and every time someone asks him.

His answer to why the change of heart in finding out what Baby Hughes is??

"I need to know what color boots to buy.  Do I buy the boots that I would like to wear?  Or the boots that Sara would like to wear?"

I love it!  And I love him!

So there you have it folks!  Baby Hughes' gender will be found out and celebrated!

I decided that we would have a Gender Reveal Party.  Ryan had no idea what this was, as did many others that we told about it, but we are having one.  I cannot wait.

My pinterest account is filled with ideas and I can't wait to start buying and DIY-ing decorations.

I ordered the adorable invitations above from the lovely Amy of Champagne Alley Designs and couldn't be more pleased with them.

We find out what Baby Hughes is two weeks from today!  I cannot wait!  

Unfortunately, our party isn't until Saturday, which means that you all won't be able to know until the following week.

Stay tuned!

Happy Friday Y'all

Couple things first...
1.  It's freaking FRIDAY!!!!
2.  It's the last weekend in March!
3.  I am so ready to be off of work and hanging out with my two favorite boys this weekend, Hank and Ryan! I haven't forgotten about Abbie, she has been spending time with her grandparents until Hank goes to training.  Better for her at this time.  I miss her dearly!

Anyways!

Some more randomness for this Friday.

Swimsuits
Now I am never a fan of purchasing swim suits and for the past, probably, 3 years or so I have done it all online during the Fall so that I can get clearance suits sent to my house and try them on in the comfort of my own home.
So, last year we went to the Bahamas and it was amazing and I ended up with 7 swim suits.  So with this being said, I knew that I was set for this summer.  However, now I have this wonderful, amazing and lovely new accessory called The Bump.
Question is ladies, do I try to go buy a maternity suit?  Do I just wear a bikini with one of Ryan's shirts over it like I did in elementary school because I would burn like a lobster?  Decisions, decisions, decisions.

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Baby
I can't believe that I am almost half way through my pregnancy!  How did this happen?  I love being pregnant.  Sure there were those days in the beginning where I was too tired to even get dressed and really wished for it to go by faster, but now?  Now I want to keep this little bean inside for as long as possible.  I love everything about pregnancy so far.  I love being able to see The Bump and now that little man or lady is in there cooking away getting big and strong.  I love knowing that I am growing this tiny little thing.  I am the one who will give him or her life and protect him or her for the rest of my days.  My mom has always told me that she loved being pregnant and being around so many women who have been pregnant and somewhat miserable at times I didn't know how it was possible.  But she is correct, and now I am too.  I LOVE BEING PREGNANT!!!  Now don't take this for craziness and think that I want to be pregnant for the next 5 years of my life, because let's be honest that means that I have to push babies out of my hoohaa that many times, but for now it is perfect.

Can't wait to meet you Baby Hughes.  Your Mommy and Daddy love you so much already, although I am sure you already know that by how often we tell you at night before we go to sleep. :)

*************

House Hunting
I can honestly say that this time around with house hunting is already going better.  I couldn't be happier with how we feel now.  Everyone just seems nicer and more willing to help us.  I know now, more than ever before, that the house disaster of March was meant to be.  Without it, we wouldn't be where we are now and wouldn't be as happy in the long run most likely.  Although sometimes I still picture the Plumas Lake house, I know that the house we buy this time will be the right one for us and our littles. :)


Enough randomness for this Friday.  I hope that you all have a lovely weekend and have a cocktail for me!!! :)

Dream Home - Pinterest Addition

Since we are once again trying to buy our dream home, I thought that it would be fun to show you a little bit of what I dream of.

Of course, none of this would be possible without Pinterest! :)

Take a look, let me know what you think :)

I can't wait to use some of these trips, tips and DIYs :)

So I'm Having A Baby And I'm Trying To Figure Out What Gender He Or She Is...

So as you know, or not, I am having a little babes!

Hubs and I could not be more excited!

We are finding out what we are having, very soon indeed, but before that I think it is fun to try and figure it out using old wives tales.

Let me know what you think after I tell you what's been going on around here. :)

1.  How low can you go?

High = Girl     Low = Boy

I can't really tell, my mom says High, so GIRL

2.  Body Clues.

Getting Ugly = Girl   Soaking it all in = Boy

I am definitely soaking it all in, in my humble opinion, so BOY

3.  Gold Ring On A String.  

Back and Forth = Girl   Circle = Boy

Round and round we go baby, so BOY

4.  Baby's Heart Rate.  

Above 140 = Girl   Below 140 = Boy

We are working out a lot in there, so GIRL

5.  Sweet or Salty?  

Sweet = Girl   Salty = Boy

I am loving potato chips and pickles, so BOY

6.  Chinese Calendar

GIRL

7.  Mayan Calendar

GIRL

8.  Hubby's Extra Padding?  

Gaining Weight = Girl   Staying the Same = Boy

Hubby is still looking as good as ever, so BOY

9.  Sicker than a Dog?  

Sick = Girl   Swell = Boy

We are basking in the joy of pregnancy with no sickness, so BOY

10.  Acne?  

Acne = Girl   Clear = Boy

Clean and clear and under control on this face, so BOY

11. Side You Most Rest On?  

Right = Girl   Left = Boy

I am loving my left side, so BOY

12. Cold Feet?

Same = Girl   Colder = Boy

As if I could get any colder?  It is possible, so BOY

13.  Headaches

No = Girl   Yes = Boy

I am dying w/o caffeine daily, so BOY

14.  Urine Color

Dull = Girl   Bright = Boy

Do you look?  Mine is brighter than Ryan's I guess, so BOY

15.  Graceful or Clumsy?

Graceful = Girl   Clumsy = Boy

I would like to think I am still graceful but I think I lost some of it, so BOY

*********************

Total:

BOY: 11

GIRL: 4

What do you all think?

Weekend Recap...A Day Late But Not A Penny Short

Hello Lovelies!

I really need to get back in action when it comes to this little blogging thing.  I feel so inspired at work and then by the time I have time to write about it, I either:
A) Forget - very possible due to pregnancy brain by the way
B) Want to snuggle on the couch with the hubs and pups instead :)

So  I will start this week a day late, but never a penny short, with our weekend recap.  I am going to try and hold myself accountable to blog at least every day the rest of this week and hopefully plan an hour of so this weekend to busting out some posts for next week.  Wish me luck! :)

Friday!
I guess I should start with the biggest start to our weekend...I chopped my hair off!  Friday I left work early and started my weekend with a fresh new hairdo.  I took 12 inches off and donated 11 inches to Locks of Love.  This wonderful charity takes donated hair and makes hairpieces for disadvantaged children suffering from long term medical hair loss.  It has been something that I love to do for many years.  I believe this is the 4th time that I have donated.  My hair grows really fast so it doesn't bother me at all.  And it is for a good cause.  And I needed a change.  And my husband likes it.  Not the I need to justify a haircut at all, but all of those reasons above are just added bonuses.  :)

Friday evening the hubs and I met up with another couple for a nice dinner.  Ryan and the other hubs are Army pals and we have been trying to meet up with them at least once a month.  It's nice to interact with others who understand why your husband is gone a random amount of days throughout the month and also nice to hang out with married couples instead of our single friends sometimes because we all understand this little huge thing in life called marriage.  Anyways.  Recently our friends moved to another city that is now close to an hour away from us.  We had decided that we would meet mostly in the middle by going to Downtown Sacramento for dinner at least once a month.  I am super excited!  I love going to dine downtown and now we will get to try new restaurants that me and the hubs have never been to.  Exciting!  This month we went to Chicago Fire.  AMAZING!  We love it there.  A little on the pricey side for pizza but so worth it.  We got the Traditional Cheese Pizza with half black olives (for me!) and half mushrooms (for the hubs!)  Because it's Lent we choose not to eat meat on Fridays so cheese pizza was the perfect solution.  It was a lovely evening.  The hubs got tipsy on Happy Hour Beer and we had a fantastic time with good company. :)

Saturday!
Saturday was our relaxing day for the most part.  Not relaxing as in we just stayed home all day though.  It was way too nice outside to do that.  I started our day with a nice puppy snuggle while waiting for the hubs to wake up :)

Once we were all up and dressed we headed to the hospital for some blood work.  Negative part of having a baby...?  They want your dang blood all the time!  I do not like it!

As a treat for being such a good girl during my blood draw the hubs and I got an early lunch. :)  We tried a new place!  Ring the freaking bells, alarms and blow some whistles!  Super exciting!  I am not a food adventurist at all so this is big news people!  We tried Costa Vida.  It was super close to the hospital and this baby loves all things Mexican food right now :)  I'm not complaining.  We went it.  It was like a Subway but Mexican food style!  They had HOMEMADE TORTILLAS!!!  I was in Heaven!  I had a burrito and it was delicious!  The only thing I would change is that their pinto beans had chilies in them and I am not a fan.  But we will definitely go back again.

After lunch we went back home.  We were relaxing on the couch when Ryan found an Open House that he wanted to go look at.  If you don't remember our recent home devastation you can read all about it here.  We have since been on hold for house hunting but decided on Friday that we would start again.  Without even knowing it, we found an amazing house and had to go look.  Although I am not getting my hopes up as much this time I am just excited that we are moving forward.  I can't wait to see what life has in store for us and home buying. :)

We then went to dinner with my mom at Sizzlers.  Who doesn't love a little steak and potato?  We ended our evening out at our favorite local bar and met up with tons of friends - some planned and some a surprise.  It was a fun day.

Sunday!
Sunday was our fun day!  Literally!  Remember that couple from Friday night?  Well we joined them once again for a nice outing on Sunday.  The hubs and I had planned on going to Daffodil Hill this weekend and we invited some friends to go with us.  None of us had ever gone, but it sounded like a magical place.  We hit the road for our 2 hour beautiful drive through our rolling hills and arrived at our destination.  This is a working ranch that during the Spring is open for touring their gorgeous garden beds full of nothing but daffodils :)  While it was gorgeous and fun to be outside, it didn't take us as long as we thought.  We took our time and it probably only took us 20 minutes to get through there.  While we didn't want to waste our drive, we drove back to the town and had a picnic and walked around.  There are tons of antique shops and wine tasting.  It was a fabulous day.

We headed home and spent the rest of the evening relaxing with the pup pup.  Hank was so excited to see us.  He acts like he has been abandoned for days, weeks even, when we come house.  At least it is always nice to know that he loves us so :)

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Overall it was a wonderful weekend.  I love that Spring has sprung and we get to enjoy time outside.  Plus it is good for me and the baby to be active.  :)

Have a wonderful rest of your Tuesday!

Happy Spring My Darlings!

Today is officially the first day of SPRING!

Although it has already been in the 80s here in the valley of California, I am so ready for this season!

I am a lucky gal in that I do not get allergies.  I'd like to say it is because I've lived within the same zip code my entire life so I am really used to it, but I think my immune system just didn't want to give my parents one more thing to deal with when I was little.

So anyhow!!!!!

Spring is here!  We have so much planned for this Spring and I couldn't be more excited!

On our agenda for SPRING:

Gender Reveal Party

Easter

Buying a house

Planting a vegetable and flower garden

Taking Hanky-Poo to school (although I am not so excited about this..without my baby for 2 months! Que tears now!)

Ultrasounds

Mom's birthday

Brother's birthday

Mother's Day

Goodness!  Looks like we will be some very busy bees very soon!

I can't wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for us, but for now, we will enjoy this wonderful SPRING!

He Is Amazing and I Love Him

I've known it from the start that we were meant to be.  It might have taken him a little bit longer to give in to the urge but eventually we did it and I couldn't be happier.

I am talking about marrying Ryan and living with him for the rest of my life.

My husband never ceases to amaze me.

He has always done whatever it takes to take care of us and make us happy.  However, since we found out about Baby Hughes this has been escalated times 56748521348498635213!  He is always making sure that I eat enough and the right things.  He makes sure that I don't over exert myself or not get enough sleep.  He does everything possible to let me just focus on growing this little baby inside of my tummy.

For that I love him even more than I did yesterday.

But the kicker?

This morning!

Let me preface by telling you our normal routine...
5:30-5:45 AM - We both set alarms so that I wake up in time for work.
5:45-6:10 AM - I get ready for work and Ryan takes care of Hank (waking, feeding, potty break)
6:10-6:25 AM - I get my lunch and breakfast together while Ryan either helps or keeps Hank out of the kitchen by watching the news together.
6:30 AM - I'm out the door headed for work.

Now, this morning...
Some horrible early time Ryan's alarm went off.  He didn't wake me though.  So I rolled over and went back to sleep for as long as he would let me.  ::I am not a morning person AT ALL and love turning off my alarm, rolling back over and sleeping until my little heart desires::  Next thing I know I smell BACON!  Now I thought that I was just dreaming.  I was wrong!  My wonderful, amazing, sweet, loving husband made me breakfast!!!!  And it wasn't a bowl of cereal!  He came in ever so quietly, crawled into bed, gave me a little love and asked me to get up and join him in the kitchen for breakfast.  I was ecstatic and shocked and excited and so in love.  He had woken up early to make me bacon, eggs, toast and a glass of milk.  Him and my Hanky-poo were there in the kitchen looking ever so cute and I couldn't love them more.

This might seem odd and like he never does this for me but it is only odd because today is TUESDAY!  We only make and eat breakfast together on the weekends.  It was a special treat today and I love him so for it.

Ryan: "I figured a nice healthy breakfast for you and the baby wouldn't hurt today."

Gosh!  Could I get more lucky??

In conclusion?

I love him so!  He is the greatest decision I have ever made and I will never regret it.  It takes such great care of me and I can only imagine how amazing of a dad he will be.

I love you babe!

16 Week Bumpdate

How far along are you? 16 Weeks and 1 Day 

How I'm feeling: Great!

Total weight gain:  We go to the doctor this afternoon but I don't think I've gained more than 3-5 pounds this far.  I am super excited about that.

How big is baby? Baby Hughes is the size of an avocado!  About 4.6 inches and 3.5 ounces.  Growing big and strong.

This week baby: Baby is growing hair, lashes and eyebrows this week!  He or she is also starting to hear Mommy and Daddy's voices.  Baby's ears have moved from their neck to head and can now hold their head erect.  Baby is also peeing every 40 to 45 minutes!  

Maternity clothes: Maternity bottoms are a must now.  Tops are fine but pants are snug around the top.

Sleep: Sleep is my best friend!

Best moment this week: We went and bought The Honest Company's Organic Belly Balm and started using it.  This stuff is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! 

Movement: I don't think so. :(  I am hoping this week I start to feel something.  Ryan is like a little kid at Disneyland, he cannot wait to feel the little!

Food cravings: Not really.  But sometimes certain things just sound amazing!!!  Or I will eat dinner and then want something directly after because dinner didn't satisfy my taste buds.  :)

Food aversions: Just the smell of certain things get to me.  The trash usually.  I always know when it needs to go out before Ryan.

Belly button in or out:  In! 

What I am thankful for: I am thankful that this baby is going to be joining our family and is growing big and strong.  All we want is a healthy baby at the end of this.

What I'm looking forward to: We are both very much looking forward to finding out what we are having. We are hopefully finding out today!!!!

Devastated, A Little Defeated, But Not Destroyed

A little bit of a dramatic title?

Well in about 2.7 seconds you will understand why...

So you remember last week when I wrote all excitedly about us buying a house?  Well Monday while we were at the house for the home inspection - that we had to pay for - the deal fell through!

Cue disgusting tears, yelling and quite a bit of cursing.  I have never been one to hold back my emotions and as soon as we heard about this I was beyond upset and devastated!

I had just finished picking out the paint colors to cover up the hideous blue and orange everywhere!  I had just measured the insert for the fridge!  I had just measured the insert for the television!  I was ready!  I had already planned on when we hubby would paint and move our stuff in!  I had already decided that we would have a gender reveal party and host it at our new house!

I had done all of this stuff and the deal?  Well the deal didn't give a flying eff and screwed us!  Now we are out of our "dream home" and have to start over again at square one.

I felt defeated.  My husband felt defeated.  I hate seeing him in pain or angry and to say that he was a little of both is an understatement.  I feel as though things were going too good to be true.  I know that we are good people and do good things and have good karma and in return feel as though we deserve certain things, but they don't always work out.

I sit here looking through Facebook and IG and ask my husband often, "How do they afford all of that?  We both work full time and have very little debt and there is no way we could do all of that!"  He simply always reminds me that they probably live life on credit and we do not.  I am reminded that it is most likely true and I shouldn't judge our lives based on what others have.

We have a lot. A lot!  We have a great marriage and unconditional love.  We have a baby on the way who will have the very best life we can provide for him or her.  We have a puppy dog that acts like we are his Saviors everyday when we come home.  We have family that supports us no matter what.  I have to remind myself that even though I am devastated and defeated that I am not destroyed!

I know that I loved that house and the idea of the community and neighborhood.  But I also know, that we will find the perfect place for us to live and raise our family.  Maybe it really wasn't meant to be?  Maybe that 15 minute drive from my work plus the 40 minutes extra each way it would take me to drop off the little at my mom's house wasn't meant to be?  Maybe we will find an even better house where we don't have to paint the entire thing, but only the rooms we want?

Until that day we will continue to be a strong and happy couple.  We will continue to live our lives the way we have for the past 5 years and continue to build our relationship and savings account :)

Chicken Fettuccine

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

This recipe has been a go-to of my mom's since as long as I can remember.  We both love it so much!  It is super simple and makes plenty of food.

I hadn't ever made this for Ryan because my husband doesn't like white sauce on his pasta!  Can you believe it??  I know, I know, he is weird.  But after begging asking nicely he said he would try it.

I give you the easiest and yummiest semi-homemade Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo :)

Ingredients:

Pasta - use whichever kind you would like, we like corkscrews so that the sauce gets in between :)

Olive Oil - only enough so your pasta doesn't stick together & enough to coat the bottom of the chicken pan

Alfredo Sauce - I use whatever is on sale - either Prego or Bertolli

Italian Seasoning

Boneless, skinless chicken - I use tenders because they cook faster but once you dice it doesn't really matter

Peas - optional 

Directions:

In a big pot cook your pasta according to the box/bag directions

While pasta is cooking clean and dice your chicken

Throw chicken in a skillet with warm olive oil.  Throw in some Italian Seasoning - this is where you want to add your extra flavors in

Cook chicken thoroughly and drain excess oil if desired.

Toss in Alfredo sauce with Chicken and about 1/4 of the jar's worth of water.

(If you choose to add veggies you would do so now and let them cook as the sauce heats)

Heat sauce and serve.

A semi-homemade dinner in less than 30 minutes :)

Our Wedding Day: DIY and Etsy

I am back for some more fun on Wedding Wednesday with  Meredith and Jordon!

Today I will be talking about all things DIY and Etsy purchased from our big day.

I was really big on having home made items at our event...1 because it is usually cheaper and 2 because I think it would add a nice touch to our rustic vintage theme.

Let's start with DIY:

Centerpieces:

I knew from the beginning that we would be using mason jars.  My mom and I searched and searched for the best deals and ended up getting all of our mason jars from OSH.  We got each pack for $9 which ended up saving us almost $100!  Once we had the mason jars we were on a search for what to do with them.  Lace was huge in our wedding so I knew that it would have to be on them.  We went to JoAnn's twice and bought them out of the perfect lace! :)  We didn't have any extra and it was perfect.  The next step was to find the candles and rocks to fill them with.  I went to the Dollar Store and found the perfect rocks.  I bought little rocks for the middle size jars and big rocks for the large jars.  We ended up spending $17 on rocks.  We found the candles at Hobby Lobby for $5 a pack and only needed 2 packs.  Once all supplies were purchased we had a craft night - one of many for this big day - and assembled the centerpieces.  With a little bit of hot glue and alcohol, my mom, me and a bridesmaid got these babies done in an hour.  I was so happy with the end result.  Total cost: $9.60 per table.

Signage:

I knew that I wanted signs every where for different things.  I searched and searched Etsy and couldn't find the exact ones that I wanted for the price that I wanted.  I ended up finding all of my signage from Hobby Lobby and Kohl's and couldn't have been happier with how they turned out.  I bought the chalkboard easels (on sale) from Hobby Lobby and the picture frames (on clearance) from Kohl's.  We bought some chalk pens from Hobby Lobby and Michael's and a dear friend offered to write them all out for me.  Total cost: $45!

Seating Chart:

"Friends of the bride, Friends of the groom, Please sit together there is plenty of room!"

This is probably the item I was most excited for as far as the DIY projects went.  I knew that  I wanted something old and rustic.  While it isn't that rustic looking it was an adventure getting to the final result.  I had everyone on the look out for an old window or door.  For months we were searching and searching.  With no luck we finally told my Mother-in-Law about our troubles.  5 minutes later she called me from a garage sale and found this beauty for $3!!!!  We snatched it up and that is when the make over began.  We had to cut off the wires that were attached to it and my mom found some clearance black fabric that we stapled onto the back.  We used the same chalk pens as mentioned above and voila!  Our seating chart was born and I loved it!!!  Total cost: $10!

Button Art:

Probably the oddest thing I requested from my guest was a button.  I had put it in with the invitations that when they replied with a yes or no that they please include a button.  I didn't know that this would be such a confusing thing, but in the end I got enough buttons from my guests and made this beautiful DIY project that sat at our Guestbook table and hangs in our house today.  I loved that each button on their is from someone that we love and care about and a part of them and their family will always be in our house.  My great aunt even sent us a button that she cut off of my great grandma's dress.  It is the center of the "H" and I wouldn't have had it any other way.  It is so special to me and an easy request I believe.  Total cost: $10!

Now onto Etsy:.

Guestbook:

I knew that I didn't want a traditional guestbook.  I went back and forth with different ideas.  I thought about doing a calendar where every guest would sign on their birthday.  Well then people started suggesting that I might hurt people's feelings if I forgot their birthday because they signed it on my guestbook.  LOL.  Plus I wouldn't look at that very often after the year most likely.  I started searching Etsy and found the perfect item.  It was a handmade wooden box with our names on the top and wooden hearts inside.  The vendor, dazzlingexpressions, was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G to work with and it shipped and arrived so quickly! It is currently displayed in our entry way, but unfortunately all of the hearts are inside and not visible.  I have bought all of the materials to make it something that can hang in our house and I am hoping to get to that soon.  For another DIY project :) Total cost: $84!

Garter:

Oh the garter!  That awkward moment when your newly wedded husband dives under your dress and your family watches.  WEIRD!!!!  Well, I didn't really care by the time of the night but I knew that I wanted something special and cute and manly.  LOL.  As manly as a garter can get.  I searched Etsy once again and found exactly what I was looking for.  I got a camo and lace garter that had our wedding date engraved on mine and "you're next" engraved on the receiver's.  SnickerdoodleClothes was awesome to work with.  I gave them my leg size and it was at my door shortly after.  Total cost: $35!