Our second baby announcement

There are so many baby announcement photos out there and it was hard to decide on one to use so here is what I put together:

The first one we put on Facebook and the middle one was taken on our last vacation.  I used the middle one to send to co-workers saying "my boss gave me next summer off..well, she kind of had to..."

The last one is more of a look and see...we did a thinking announcement the first time around and I used it to show our family.

The season was perfect to use the pumpkins so in the end it won out! 

Our Nursery

I have been working at turning our nursery into a more appropriate room for our growing 18 month old toddler.  I decided to make a couple changes in room set up and wanted to take a moment to share the nursery we put together two years ago!

 

Since we didn’t plan on finding out the baby’s gender, the traditional blue or pink would not work.  I have always LOVED bright colors and had our wedding colors in Bright Pink (Raspberry), Blue, and Yellow with accents of Lime Green, Purple, and Orange. 

 

Having a baby wasn’t about to flex my favorite bright color pallet to Pastels!

 

I found the lime green tree (on the dresser) on clearance and I thought it would pair well with orange.  And later down the road, we could add bright blue or pink! 

 

We painted the walls washable white (from builder’s grade flat beige) and brought in a used crib and changing table.  I wanted a signature piece and comfortable glider chair to round out the furniture. 

 

The dresser was from my mom and dad’s room in the house I grew up in.  It wasn’t pretty to start but I made it work- filling in cracks and painting it orange for an accent piece.  We waited until the baby was born to add the blue accent pulls at the top. 

 

The glider was my big purchase at $300 but it was my one and only true spurge of the room.  Once a big boy bed goes in, the chair will fit in with the living room or family room.

 

Many other décor pieces were added to make it how it is pictured here.  Sisters, friends, and I contributed to the wall hangings with several homemade items- strongly inspired by Pineterst…

 

I was thrilled in how the room came together and never looked back from that old office/guest room it once was!

 

I have a good couple hours organizing and packing away baby items before I share the end results of our toddler room makeover but we love it already! 

Holiday Cheer in the Blogoshere: O Christmas Tree

 

I am a little late joining this link up for showing off our 2013 Christmas but I am pretty proud of it.   Normally our tree is covered with black,  silver, and white ornaments but then I thought of our toddler throwing those breakable ornaments like toys.   

I had to find something that was toddler friendly and the word "shatterproof" spoke to me during my trip to Hobby Lobby.  I decided that I could spend no more than $15 to refresh our toddler safe 2013 since we already had so much nice (but very breakable) Christmas ornaments already. 

I after circling each of the Christmas aisles three times I picked out a bright blue/greenish hue to add to my silver.  I spent $4 for a new base sheet cover, $5 on ribbon to make the bow the spiral down the tree, and $6 on two boxes of mini Christmas bulbs with 18 bulbs each.

I was pretty proud of myself:

I laugh at my improve skills in trying to find something to lift the tree higher off the ground, what do you think?

Yep, those are full diaper boxes, taped together, and then the tree base taped to it too.  It isn't going anywhere on my watch!  It works for me and after Christmas I may talk myself into a clearance taller tree.

Thanks for stopping by, Holland

Christmas Pj Party

What's cuter than all holiday pjs in the stores? Seeing them on our little minis! Today I am liking up with the Christmas pajama party.

We decorated our tree in our Christmas pjs:

I think he actually smiled because I let him stand on a chair for once....

We have a couple other pairs but haven't caught them on camera yet; we also snagged a cute pair for next year!  Again Wal-Mart $5.88 for some cute ones ranging from newborn to 5T!

Lessons from my toddler

I am organizing my photos and I keep finding some real gems....I decided to put a quote with a few and share them-here's the first:

Happy Monday everyone!

Holland

Holiday Cheer in the Blogoshere: Merry Mantel

Today is the first of the Christmas Link-Ups that I will be participating in and the subject is Merry Mantels.

Our fireplace and mantel sit directly below the TV so we I don't have the option of switching in a seasonal print or mirror..well I could cover the TV but I am pretty sure the hubs wouldn't stand for it!  I make do with what I have and so I present our  2013 Mantel:

A stocking for each of us with our initials, the "G" stocking hanger for our last name, some beads, with a couple of extra large silver ornaments.  I added some black metal trees from Target a couple years back.

The last several years our tree has been silver and black but I inserted a turquoise this year and have yet to find a stocking I like to replace the middle red stocking.  When I do, I will insert an updated photo.

Happy holiday decorating and season to all!

Holland

Why can't a girl get a free "who-ha" exam, it's bad enough I shouldn't have to pay too!

Twice this week I have had questions regarding an amount a doctor visit costed me and I not only spoke up twice but was right both times!

Insurance is very confusing and with Obamacare forcing some healthcare changes (won't say my beliefs on good or bad...) it won't be getting any easier.  I chose many times to go green and get electronic statements but when I had the option for my health insurance explanation of benefits papers (EOB) I declined.  I want to physically hold in my hand what was charged to insurance and what it is going to cost me.  I know I can look them up online but I wouldn't do it every time nor keep track of the whole family's appointments to look it up after each visit.  The paper versions are my best option.

I worked in Human Resources next to the benefits lady for six years and I thought I knew my plan well.  I was shocked to be told I owed $35 for a Pap smear/ women's exam.  I questioned it there at the office but was told otherwise.  It didn't sit well so today I got out my insurance book and found my answer: "pay nothing for an annual physical and covered preventive screenings."  Well I would say I went in for the exam as a preventive measure- it sure as hell wasn't for fun.  

I called the office back and after explaining and reading the some sentence to the lady four times, I was told that I would have a $35 credit on my account.  The second time was a different bill that was $21 more than normal. 

My lesson to share is don't be afraid to second guess charges, if it doesn't sit right look it up, call your insurance, and/or ask for someone else to help you- it just might save you money or get you better educated on your benefits!