Summer Fun

This summer is flying by and I think it's because we have just been so busy. Not in a bad way, but in a "taking advantage of being home and having a very active one year old way".  After spending the first week in PA, I got right back into stay at home mama mode - my favorite!!!! Owen and I have been playing in the back yard from morning until night, swimming, swinging, digging in the dirt. You name it and we've done it. We've also had lots of play dates with friends from work and friends in the neighborhood. Here's a little glimpse:

Our little artist

The baby pool at Gammy and Pap's house in PA

A little uncle love

Too cute!

We turned the pool into a ball pit - SUPER fun!

Brookfield Zoo with Camille and Isabella

Reading to Tucker

Owen's1st Monkey Themed Birthday Party

We planned Owen's party for the day after his actual birthday, May 12. All week the weather did not look like it would be in our favor and my plans of our backyard being host to a beautiful spring party seemed lost. When we woke Saturday morning, it was pouring. The patio was soaked, the grass was wet...but, no need to worry. The boys all set to work setting up tents and planning out the garage for the food and a table or two. While it wasn't the beautiful sunny day I had hoped for, the party was perfect and a lot of work and love went into every last detail.

I absolutely loved the monkey theme as soon Brett and I settled on it. I didn't want to stick to sock monkeys, Julius or Curious George so we went with a little bit of everything and centered it on our blue and yellow colors. Things couldn't have turned out better.

I worked with an amazing seller on Etsy to create the PERFECT t shirt for Owen to wear on his big day (he wore it to the zoo also since I wanted to get more than one wear out of it). Missy from Tiger Chic Designs matched our colors perfectly, and designed the perfect party hat for the monkey to wear!

Other than that, we pretty much did everything ourselves. The favors included a few things from the Target dollar bin (Paul Frank key chains, notepads and pencils; monkey water squirters and masks), some things from Oriental Trading (beach balls with monkeys, monkey tattoos) and a package of animal crackers (not monkeys, but close). I got the treat bags from the clearance bin at Party City (they were Curious George and I got 12 for $1). Each bag was tied with blue curling ribbon and had a monkey that I made from construction paper templates and glued together with a thank you note from Owen on the back.

As for food, it could not have been more simple and perfect! We rented a hot dog steamer = AWESOME! Steamed hot dogs and buns and all the toppings for both a Chicago dog and a 'Shorty's with Everything" (Shorty's is a local hot dog shop in Washington, PA). My parents also brought a nacho cheese pump. I think the nachos were the biggest hit. In additional we had yummy pasta salad, a veggie tray and a great display of fruit skewers. On the tables were buckets full of blue and yellow candy (sixlets, gummy bananas, and blue raspberry rings) and well as blue and yellow chocolate covered pretzels that Brett and I hand dipped.

What I was most proud of was the cake and the cupcakes. I wanted cupcake toppers but didn't want the expense of ordering them, so I set out to make them. They turned out to be slightly time consuming trying to figure out the best way to do it, but after I figured it all out, they were very easy. They looked adorable atop yellow cupcakes in blue and white striped papers.

The cake was in the shape of a monkey! I found the design on Parenting.com and it turned out to be so much easier than I thought. I made it Friday night and took so much time to make sure it was perfect. Everyone commented how cute it was and I was feeling pretty proud. When it came time to sing, I carried it to Owen's seat and as I fixed the tray on his highchair, I bumped the cake and it fell to the ground!!!! Cool, calm and collected, I pieced it back together and 30 seconds later Owen dove into it.

Because of the weather, we didn't have much in the way of decorations. I originally planned to hang tissue paper pom poms around the yard, but when the threat of rain appeared in the forecast, I decided it wasn't worth the time. Basically the colors from the table cloths, other things I have already mentioned served as the decorations. We also had a 5 foot inflatable monkey gracing us with his presence.

Honestly, the day could not have been better! Owen was blessed with a birthday party full of lots of friends and family that mean a lot to him and to Brett and I. That was my one simple goal. Our family truly is blessed and it really showed on this special day.

Happy Birthday to our baby boy!!!

Babies + Pumpkins = Too cute

I don't know if I ever mentioned that last year in my department at school, we had 5 pregnant mammas at he same time and 6 babies born! Four of the five are good friends and have tried to get the babies together as often as possible. (We aren' leaving the fifth out, but she only works part time and not directly with us so we arent' as close.) Last weekend was the first time we were all able to get together and so Owen was meeting a new friend, Jayden, for the first time.

Side story - Owen and Jayden were born on the same day, 20 minutes apart. When we went to the hospital on tuesday, I jokingly sent Jayden's mommy a text and told her that we beat her to the hospital but if she was quick, she could beat us in the baby race. She did. Jayden was born on 5/11 at 10:30 and Owen was born at 10:51. Our due dates were two days apart - mine on 5/ 17 and hers 5/15. What are the chances?

Anyway, we all met at Johansen's Farm and couldn't have had a better time taking pictures of the babies and enjoying our new roles as mommies and daddies.

Owen (5 months), Jayden (5 months), Camille (8 months) and isabella (10 months)

Birthday buddies!

My new favorite family picture!

Our little pumpkin!

BFFs!!!

A Perfect Fall Weekend

Could we be more blessed with this weather lately? I mean really, it's October and this man is outside with no clothes on...

What a wonderful weekend we had! We opened our home to good friends, the Hooli's, and had more fun than we could handle. The interesting thing about the Hooli's is that Brett met Brian the same weekend that he and I met in Myrtle Beach. They became instant friends and as both boys moved on, got married, and had kiddos, our families have become wonderful friends. They are the kind of friends that you love to have as overnight guests. They're very much like us and we can have the greatest time doing nothing at all.

On Friday night, we enjoyed catching up playing with their boys, Colin is 3 and Brendan is 4, and they got to meet Owen for the first time.

On Saturday morning, the men went golfing and Claudette and I took the boys to the Adler Planetarium. Brett and Brian met us later on. What a  beautiful day to be by the lake and learn a little about space.  It's wonderful to be grown adults hanging out with your children and still acting like little kids. The joke of the weekend was "five" because so many jokes were made that you would think we were still kids. What planet comes after Saturn? Uranus. Yep! Still funny!

Saturday night we had a cookout, play tag in the dark and all retreated to the basement for some laughs and some good episodes of the Backyardigans. 

Sunday was equally as beautiful so we went to park. This was Owen's first real trip to the park and he enjoyed it immensely already.

Cluadette and I entertained ourselves by trying to learn to juggle with walnuts. "five". 

 Oh, I wish this weather could last forever!

What have we been up to?

We have had an exciting past few weeks. I'll try my best to catch up...

• Scotty went to college! On August 20, Brett, Owen, the puppies and I packed up and drove to Dayton to meet my fam and move Scotty in to the University of Dayton. We stayed at an awesome hotel, The Drury Inn, and had a blast relaxing in our suite and enjoying their free food. On Sunday, we said good bye to the baby of the family. We know he'll do great things!

The fam in Dayton. (love the use of a stranger's car as a "tripod")

• I turned  the big 3-0! The Sunday that we left Dayton also happened to be my birthday. It was wonderful getting to spend it with my family, even if most of it was in the car and we ate at KFC.
• We went to Washington! When we left Dayton, Brett drove home, but the rest of the Clancy crew drove back to Washington for 2 weeks. It was wonderful getting away for a while and watching Owen spend so much time with my parents. It was also nice being there for so long because I got to visit with people that I usually don't get to see.

A visit from our good friends Sarah and Aunt Zoe!
I think Owen and Shane will be good buddies when they're older!

Lunch at Bahama Breeze with Gammy.

Still lovin' the Moby!

Getting ready for the Steelers preseason game with Grandpap.

Owen and his buddy Bryce.
Bryce is my cousin's son so they are 3rd cousins? 

"I wanna be big like you, Uncle Ben!"

• Owen rolled over! On Thursday, August 26, Owen and I were playing at my parents house. He was on his back playing with his feet and before I knew he flipped himself over. I don't know if he was proud or surprised. He hasn't done it since.

• Owen sits in his high chair. It will be another month before Owen has a taste of something other than my delicious milk, but we decided it was time he join us at the table. He loves it!

• Happy 6 year Anniversary! September 10 was our 6 year anniversary. We celebrated with a FABULOUS night out and a babysitter! Is it bad that for a second I forgot about Owen and almost thought we were carefree with no responsibilities again? It didn't last long :-) We had a yummy dinner at Maggiano's and then went to Tasting Divine for a wine flight. Let's just say I can't drink like I used to!

Hard to see in the picture, but Owen
is wearing a handmade onesie that says "Happy Anniversary".  How sweet of him to remember!

• Souper Sunday Week 1 2011! Last Sunday was the kickoff of the NFL season and the start of what we like to call "Souper Sunday" or Dirtball Sunday in the Clancy household. We started off with our favorite soup - The Clancy's Crock Po Potato Soup - and of course had Buffalo Chicken Dip. It was  good start to the season for Chicago. As for the Steelers, not so much. 
• Yesterday Owen and I went to Whole Foods. We returned to find that one or both of the dogs had eaten a box of raisins. (my money was on Lucy) After a call to the vet, we all went to the Glen Ellyn Animal hospital where Lucy and Tucker were given an injection to induce vomiting. After the evidence that came out proved that it was Lucy, she was given charcoal to rid herself of any of the toxic raisins that remained. Love our crazy dogs!

Suprise!

All last week, I was looking forward to Saturday night. Brett and I were going out. Like, for real. We were meeting at Natalie and Jason's house and there would be a BABYSITTER to stay with Owen and Camille. They love each other, so even Owen was looking forward to it.  I was so excited I was even stressing over what to wear. Saturday evening came, and I was ready. Dressed by 3:00 and diaper bag packed (with everthing the boy could need for a month). We got to their house about 5:00, and walked in....

Surprise!!!

There was  no babysitter, but rather tons of our friends there to celebrate!

I was absolutely shocked! Everyone asked if I had any clue about the party and I really didn't. The only thing that I had thought a bit off was that Brett had not asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday and I leave this weekend for two weeks. That's unlike him since he usually has something in mind. I also told everyone that had I known anything about the party, 1.) I would not have walked in wearing my hideous yellow raincoat and 2.) I would have changed Owen out of his poopy clothes before we left the house.

The party was a blast. Brett ordered way too much food from Portillo's, extra chopped chicken salad just for me, and Natalie did an amazing job (as always) of creating such a warm and fun party atmosphere. Her house is always beautiful and she put on quite a spread of munchies and desserts.

It's amazing how things have changed though. Most of the guests had to leave early, because well, bed time for little ones is not to be missed. Owen was an angel and slept on their bed until midnight so we could celebrate a bit later.

Over and over, I continue to be amazed by the generosity and friendships that our friends provide. It was wonderful celebrating this milestone with everyone!

Thanks to my mom, there was a wonderful picture on the cake from my freshman year in high school!

Our little man did a great job of keeping the secret!

To top off this fabulous weekend, Brett told me Saturday night that I would be spending Sunday at the Coldwater Creek Spa, a combination "Happy birthday" and "New Mommy" gift. It was heavenly!!!

God Bless Owen!

Sunday was a very special day for Owen - he was baptized! He was very fortunate to be surrounded by family and friends on a perfect summer day while he was welcome into the church.

During th actual baptism, he was so content. he only cried at the very end, probably because the water was so cold. 

Brett and I feel blessed to have Natalie and Mark in our life. We know that Owen is equally blessed tot have them as his Godparents. They are sure to be a special part in Owen's life!

Owen was given a special white cloth made by the ladies of the church. He looked adorable in Brett's baptism outfit. He also wore a special pin with a medal on it that was worn by both my mom and myself at our own baptisms.  

"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."

What did people do before electricity???

We have a 6 week old baby. My parents are coming to visit this weekend and will be here for a little while and then my brother and his friend will crash our house for a week. Owen is being baptized on Sunday. So - we have a few things going on. What better way to spend my day yesterday than packing up our refrigerator and freezer into coolers of ice because our power went out?!?!?! For 22 hours! The storm Tuesday night was horrendous. The wind was 75 MPH, the thunder unbearable and the tornado sirens were going off. Then to top it all off - it all went dark.

Fortunately, my dear friend Natalie brought the ice over (because the stores near our house were either closed or out of ice) and soothed my crying baby while I took care of house needs. THANK YOU!!!!

Last night I got so desperate, I took owen toWhole Foods so I could get dinner and use their free WiFi. What did people do before they had electricity and the internet?!?!?!

I should get  the "Mother of the Year" Award for taking Owen out yesterday just so I could get a  Starbuck's fix (don't judge, we had no power). I dropped everything at about 10 and threw him in the Jeep with nothing but my wallet. By the time we got there, it was raining again. Hard. And the wind? Blowing. Sideways. Not going to stop me. We ran inside and I can't even describe the look on his face. He was soaking wet and in shock I think of the wind :-) Well, I splurged and got a venti (I should at least make the trip worth it, right?) and we braved it to the car again. Only this time, I was a better mother. I put napkins all over him so he wouldn't get as wet.

Baby, Baby, Baby

I know I have been a bad, bad blogger. I really have no one or thing to blame except for myself. So let's see if I can catch you up on the happenings around here over the last few weeks.

Today, I am officially 37 weeks. I don't like the shirt I am wearing, AKA ugly maternity shirt saved until the end because now my belly is so large and in charge that shirts barely cover my maternity panel/ belly. So here is a cuter one from 35 weeks. Yes I am (much) bigger now, so we'll see about getting an updated one.

I made a Shutterfly book documenting our pregnancy. There's not a whole to it other than our weekly belly shots and random photos of a few things I took pictures of. It is however up to date and will be easy to print whenever I decide to do so. I would love the last picture to be of us leaving for the hospital because I figure the next book after that will be BABY, BABY, BABY.

Speaking of baby, BB still has no name. That's right folks - nameless. Everyone says we'll know the name when we see the baby, but I am doubtful. We still have a list of 9 :-)

I now see the doctor weekly and have been seeing a new doc who I L.O.V.E. First he has the greatest bedside manner of just about any doctor I have ever seen anywhere. He comes in and does what he needs to do, but then always sits down and asks about questions and concerns that I have. I love this because I don't like to feel rushed or intimidated.It also doesn't hurt that he is incredibly good looking and a very nice dresser. He reminds me of Prince Eric from the Little Mermaid. Not that I am into cartoonish looking men, but he has that same perfectly cut jawline. Brett even likes him, although more for his bedsdie manner than good looks. I have to see Dr. Needs-To-Retire tomorrow and I am not looking forward to it. He just seems impatient and doesn't make me feel like I can ask what I need to.

A few weeks ago we were blessed to be given not one but two baby showers. One by my very good girlfriends and another by Brett's step mom and sister. I was truly overwhelmed by our friend's and family's generosity. I am not a "shower person" simply because I struggle when lots of attention is on me, but I had an absolutely fabulous time.

The same weekend of the showers, my very best friend (we've been friends since Kindergarten) and her daughter were able to fly in and spend the weekend with us. It was so great to see them and have them stay with us. It really made me miss them and wish we lived closer so that we could see each other more often.

The baby's room is done...almost. We have a last minute shopping trip that we'll take care of this weekend and we still need to decided on a glider/ chair for the room. I have been stressing and researching this for a while. My big dilemma? How much do we spend? I want something moderately comfortable if I am going to spending a lot of time nursing in this chair. However, I don't want it to be a major purchase because while I may spend a lot of time there at first, it won't be in the room forever.

I don't know if I have mentioned this or not, but I (Brett is totally on board but just said I have to tell him what to do) have decided to cloth diaper. I have been told on more than one occasion that I am nuts. That's OK. I figure that even if I do it for the 6 months that I will be home, it will be worth the benefits (not buying diapers, not disposing of diapers, and hopefully a baby that doesn't get a whole of diaper rash). We are lucky that there is a store specializing in cloth diapers in the same town that I work. Cute name - it's called Comfy Bummies. I bought a variety to start with and then we'll go from there. It's a trial and error thing when it comes to brands and types so we'll just have to see what works for us. I started the prepping process (washing the diapers a million times before using them) and tracked down a laundry detergent that is cloth diaper approved. S0, now we just need a baby to try these things on.

Saturday Brett "graduated" from daddy boot camp. He received a certificate that says that he can officially "change a diaper as well as he can change a tire". Cute, but I have never seen him change a tire :-) He also received a very cool camo shirt that he will be wearing for delivery.

Our bags are packed - for the hospital that is. I'm sure I brought a lot of stuff I won't need and will think of something once there that I forgot, but we are "ready".

So, we haven't just been sitting around, we really have been busy. As each day passes we get closer and closer and closer to the arrival of our sweet baby. I am nervous and overwhelmed and impatient and terrified and excited and I would be lying if I said I wasn't all of these things. But this baby will be here soon and I truly CANNOT wait any longer!!!!!!