Dress for less

 lets face it, baby clothes are expensive.. expensive because they grow out of them so fast so your buying TONS of clothes. You definitely don't need to break the bank to find adorable clothes for your little one. I must admit, Eric and I did go a little crazy our first time out buying for Liam. We did however go to the Outlet in gulfport.. so we weren't actually paying top dollar for the Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Baby Gap outfits. But still, we ended up spending around $400 for only a couple outfits.

Here is just a small handful of the "look for less" items you can find at target and old navy in comparison to other brands:

   Ralph Lauren: $49.50        Target: $8.99

         Ralph Lauren: $25.00      Old Navy: $ 12.40

     Ralph Lauren: $16.00       Old Navy: $3.50

Ralph Lauren: $44.00         Sperry: $23.95 

It's also very helpful when you get bags full of clothes from other people. There is nothing wrong with hand-me-downs, especially when they are soo cute! This also leaves me with more money to spend on his accessories.. like bow ties, neck ties, hats, and leg warmers.  

Until next time.. 

Moving on..

 Today I am 25 weeks pregnant.. I cant believe it! Only three more months and Liam will grace us with his presence (on his terms of course). I also officially started packing to move out of my parents house today. It's bittersweet. Moving out of my parents house is an interesting thing. Most "kids" can't wait to leave, 18 and their gone but I've loved every minute of it.  I close my eyes and remember days long gone by. I sat and thought about my childhood, how seemingly perfect and wonderful it was. Feeling so loved and cherished by my parents and how lucky I always felt to have 2 older siblings. I used to follow them around like their shadows, driving them crazy with my clinginess and high pitched whines, I'm sure. Though I know we've grown older and each moved on with our lives, it's a strange phenomenon, but that's what time will do. These younger-year memories, like commemorative statues are etched and forever in my mind. Singing "twinkle-twinkle little diaper" and honestly thinking that was THE funniest thing. Building snowmen, or at least trying to, for some reason we could just never get it right. Coming home FULL of mud and getting locked out of the house until one by one we received a bath. 

Life moves forward, as it should. We each have our own families now (with the exception of my brother, I sometimes wonder if he'll ever move out. haha.). We each have our own life purposes, sets of priorities, daily routines and paths. I am aware enough to realize, as I've said, that this is the flow of life. That this is good and wonderful for me. I can preserve and maintain that family from the past, accept what we are to each other in my present, and cherish the beautiful family I've recently adopted, and also begun to create my own. I have a wonderful new husband. Families, if we're lucky, are our safe havens. They protect us and offer us strength when we need it, urge us forward when we need the nudge,  and send us off into the world to gain our independence, and one day, find a family unit of our own. Families are always transforming, shifting, growing.

Things may not be exactly the way they were when I was a kid but that's OK. They are not supposed to be. I can honor the way it is now, the lives I and each of my family members leads, and feel joyful that all is flowing forward just as it should. So that’s it.. the stuff that’s been on my mind. A lot of rambling, I know, but that’s what my brain’s been lately. A jumbled mess. One minute I’m excited, the next scared. But I’m on the brink, and I know from experience that this is what “the brink” feels like, standing on the edge of a giant precipice, safety behind me and the unknown below, my heart’s pounding and my head’s hammering, but I know what I need to do. 

Leap. 

Robbed by a Nigger (part 1)

So this week I was robbed by a nigger (hence the title) I'm also making this a 'Part One' because I'm sure I'll be burglarized again by a nigger sometime in the future.. cause that's what they do. I actually get robbed by niggers every time Uncle SAM decides to diminish my hard earned check bi-weekly. Dirty heathens, all they do is scrounge for hand-outs and oh no, free food and insurance isn't enough. They have to steal other peoples hard earned commodity. As Peter Griffin would put it "really grinds my gears" & I swear I'm not racist, I totally jam out to Q93. When I say nigger, I do not mean black people in general.

For example, a definition of a black man is Neil DeGrasse Tyson, a well known and respected physcists. A definition of a nigger is that man that stole your bike the other day.

On to something a little more upbeat, went to see Dr. Stewart this past Monday. Liam is doing great. He moves around like crazy and kicked the doctor a couple times while she was trying to get a heartbeat. He's a little rascal. Eric and I went shopping for baby clothes.. boy oh boy did we spend a lot. We also did our registry. We are currently registered at JcPenney and Target. So get out those credit cards and buy us crap! ha, just kidding... kinda. :)

April 18th we go back to see Dr. Stewart, do my glucose test and get our 4D ultrasound! I'm very excited to see Liams features. Oh, did I mention we picked a name?! Yes, its official Liam Gage Slaydon. Still in my second trimester these past couple weeks have been a breeze. No barfies, No back pain. I have a larger appetite these days and have to pee almost constantly but I'll take this over barfies and back pain any-day. I haven't had any swelling and no stretch marks with a total weight gain of 14 lbs as of now. Eric and I might be buying our first home soon (fingers crossed) this was the icing on my cake. Well actually if there were icing, I would have eaten it by now. I'm trying not to let the stress of it all get in the way of the fun and excitement of my first pregnancy.

Fat Tuesday

After "8" Hours of community service at the Picayune-ASPCA, I'm pretty sure they are in dire need of donations. I know what you're thinking, why golly what must you have possibly done to get 8 hrs of community service. Well being the awesome person that I am, I recieved a ticket during my 09' Spring Break and "forgot" to pay it. Ok, enough about me being hardcore with the law. Seriously, someone donate some cash and make it rain on those poor bastards (and by bastards I mean the animals, of course). There was even, not one but two dogs that were returned from their adopted family. How the hell are you going to return an animal that needs a home? ahh who am I to talk, Chico is about to be on a one way trip to the pound if he doesn't stop marking his territory on my shoes.

In pregnancy news- the barfies are gone, completely. Hur-ray. Oh yeah, and did I mention I only had to do four of the eight community service hours because the lady felt sorry for me? Oh, the perks of being pregnant. On the downside, my feet hurt and I want a doughnut.

Gas prices on the road- $3.29 Unleaded, Hotel room in Picayune- $129.95+T, Getting rained on during Mardi Gras- Priceless. :)