Easter Sunday

       We're back! And there's lots to share! We escaped Tahoe for 5 days and it was wonderful. We kept our camera at hand to take lots of pics. Our trip started in Benicia, for Easter with my family. So let's jump in...
       For Easter, I definitely wanted to handcraft Nolan an Easter basket chockedful of homemade love, so that's just what I did. In the spirit of "use what you have" I searched around the house to see what supplies I could pull from. I was pleasantly surprised when my eyes landed on this beauty on a shelf in our garage. 

       During one of Nolan's naps, I painted the basket with some light grey paint to give it a bit of a facelift. From there I started adding a few more details and filling it up. I used some burlap fabric that I already had to "stuff" the basket and then filled it with a few pairs of socks (yes, my boy gets socks for Easter. Terrible, I know), some candy for his daddy, and a few dog toys for his bro, among other things. Because I'm obsessed with bunting, I made some from paper that I already had on hand and strung it from the handle. 

And I crafted a few rosettes from fabric and a hot glue gun. 

When it was all said and done I was happy with my very 

affordable (less then $10.00) and charming basket.

       After Easter Mass, where Nolan did amazingly well

(though a bit talkative) we went home 

and let him have at his Easter basket.

Luckily, his cousin Roxy was there to lend him a helping hand.

He was most interested

though in trying to put every little thing in his mouth. 

Baby quality control.

I'm pretty happy that I forked over .99 

for this set of ears at Tarjay.

Nolan and his cousins,

and proof that Nolan's hair does not run on 

my side of the family.

And then, it was time for the Annual Hay Easter Egg Hunt.

The bunny that stops by our neck of the woods

hides the eggs very well.

As in really well.

Buzz was not overly interested in hunting for eggs,

just in quality control.

The only thing better then hunting for the eggs,

is opening them up to see how you did. 

Our bunny uses moo-lah instead of candy.

There was also lots of good play time.

So that was our Easter in a nutshell.

Afterwards we were pooped. 

Something about lots of small kids running around

that takes it out of me every time.

After we said goodbye to my family 

we made the drive out to the beach. 

I'll be back on Monday with the rundown on our beach getaway.

In a word, it was perfect.

What have we gotten ourselves into?

       Yeah, that's what I'm thinking right about now. When I received a text from a friend more then a month ago about joining a team for the "Tough Mudder" race,  I think excitement got the best of me. My sense of logic was nowhere to be found. Needless to say, we signed up that evening. And now, the competitor in me won't let me quit (although the wimp in me would like to).  Jon and I are on a team with a few friends, a few friends of friends, and my brother! It's a big race that operates internationally and seems to have a reputation that proceeds it. 

Something about the logo makes me a bit nervous. 

       This is how the event is described: The Tough Mudder series was created because there is not an event in America that tests toughness, fitness, strength, stamina and mental grit all in one place and all in one day. Sure, there are a few that will test these things – for thousands of dollars and a week of your life. But in one day in one location? We don’t think so. Other mud runs like the Muddy Buddy series? Forget it – unless you want to run alongside your 60-year-old grandmother. Tough Mudder is a truly exceptional event for truly exceptional people. Fair weather runners should stay at home. I especially like the part about the 60-year-old grandmother.

       The event is more about challenging groups to work as a team and build camaraderie, then "winning" per se. After checking out the roster of other teams that have signed up we seem to be competing against lots fire departments, police departments, Crossfit Gym teams, Fraternity's, etc. We, are a group of friends. Friends with babies and kids. 

       Every location features a different course. Ours is taking place at Squaw Valley, which happens to be a mountain featuring a 2,000 ft elevation gain and lots of terrain. The course starts in the valley at 6,000 ft and is estimated to take about 2.5 hours. 

Courses involve things like this. 

This.

This. 

(Those are electric wires that you have to run through, 

and it's one of the obstacles we'll be treated to.)

This.

This.

Oh, and this.

This.

And this.

Get the gist?

       I haven't been to the gym since July 9th, 2010. Pretty odd that I know the exact date but it was two days before I went into labor and delivered Nolan, so it's easy for me to remember.  My arms are weak, my legs are weak, I'm weak. I've squeaked in just a few runs since I've become a mommy, so my endurance is also, let's say, weak. We are almost exactly 5 months away from the race (that's September 18th for you folks trying to do the math), so we still have a bit of time to get serious. Last week, I went on a slow 3-4 mile run and it left me tired and feeling dehydrated. Reason to be concerned? I think so. 

***Photos courtesy of google.

9 Month Fun

       Crawling, no. Pulling himself up, no. Graduated to the bigger boy bathtub, yes. Our Buzz is getting pretty big for his sink bathtub so a couple of weeks ago I picked up a bigger blow up tub. He's still unsure how he feels about it. 

Don't mind the dirty grout. 

We're renters and elbow grease can only do so much.

He got his first shampoo-hawk.

Here's a few more from around the house.

Okay, gotta go. I've got an Easter Basket that I need to finish.

Sunshine, yes please!

       We're on our way to the beach and we cannot wait. This weekend we'll be heading down to the bay area for Easter weekend with the Hay clan. That means lots of kids, lots of candy, and some sunshine! On Sunday evening we're heading to the coast where we booked a cottage for three nights. And we couldn't be more ready for a getaway.  Well actually, we have lots of packing to do before we're actually ready for it, but mentally we're very ready. 

We booked ourselves a small cottage, close to the beach.

The porch and views sold it for me.

I anticipate lots of coffee being sipped out there. 

We'll be at a small beach on the Sonoma Coast. 

It's village features a coffee shop and a surf shop. 

And that's about it. 

Jon already has big plans for renting himself a board.

We'll bring our camera and take lots of pictures. 

Have I mentioned we're still shoveling

 snow off of our deck and steps here?

I Dream of Homes: Bathroom

       I have a confession to make. It's one I've been aware of for quite sometime, but I've kept it under wraps until now. Wait for it. I have a secret little obsession with interior design. I know, what woman doesn't right? Well, it's becoming a bit of an illness. I spend freetime combing over real estate listings and by this point I think I'm pretty well versed on every home in our market. Honestly. I'm actually not sure why I'm not working in real estate.  I daydream up how I would renovate and decorate said homes and lets just say that my slight addiction to HGTV is not helping the matter.  A while back, I started taking it one step further. In order to help define and identify my personal design stye I started stock piling images and dreaming up design boards for our future house. I thought it was about time that  I share it. So here it is. 
       There are a few things that you should keep in mind when reading on. First, when we buy a house, no matter where it is, it will be  a fixer-upper to some extent (and there's a pretty good possibility that it will be totally hideous) .  I've created an image in my head of our future home and surely, no home will fit the bill perfectly, and most likely none in our budget will come close. Second, we welcome the projects. We see the charm in making something ours and putting the Milam stamp on things, so to speak. So this little blog series will be a bit of insight into what our future budget home renovation plans will be. I'm calling this little series I Dream of Homes. 
       I'm jumping off with a bathroom design plan. Yes, I know. Not the most exciting room of the house, but it's small and approachable and I'm new to this so there I shall start. So here's what I'm thinking: Neutrals with lots of texture.

     1) Wood floors. I love wood floors and my hope of hopes is that one day we can afford to have wood floors throughout. It will serve as a great bouncing off point for the other neutral tones in the room.

     2)  Monochromatic. Usually I love some exciting pops of color and a touch of the eclectic vibe but in a smaller bathroom space a unified color scheme appeals to me. Lately I've been loving this seagreen color for its versatility and understated charm. 

     3) Textiles. I have a real love for textiles and patterns. I've included two here; a grey print and a neutral floral. While I'm not married to these particular prints, I really love what they bring to the room.

      4) Beadboard panneling. I L-O-V-E it. It's white. It's charming and it adds insta-character to a space. It's also a very doable DIY project and I hope to incorporate it into lots of our spaces. 

      5) Carrera marble. Yeah, it probably won't happen on our budget, but there's a chance. I love it. Classic & clean.

       So thats it. Nothing mind-blowing. Just our soon-to-be-but-not-sure-how-soon home. I have more rooms to share and they're in the lineup for things to follow. 

     

*** Please keep in mind that I have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to design. I'm just talking, really.

9 Months

        He's charming, he's playful, and he's on the move. He's learning things daily...like the word "no." We even feel like he's starting to make progress towards "mama" and "dada" (but maybe that's just two hopeful first time parents). He's sleeping in his crib, putting anything and everything in his mouth, and keeping us very entertained. We are very lucky to be his parents.

       This weekend I brought out our bubble maker to see what Nolan thought. Answer: he thought it was awesome. 

He does lots of rolling, pushing, reaching, and kicking.

Blue plays along, for the most part.

I think he's realized he doesn't have a choice.

I could just eat him up.