a sorta fairytale

All kinds of Goodies. Birchbox, Cuptakes, Oreck & Bebe Bee!

2012-02-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

I have been receiving all kinds of goodies lately. Thought I'd share.

1. First of all, of course, my brand new Oreck Magnesium Vacuum!! I use like 3 times a week. It's wonderful. If you haven't had a chance to check out my review & enter the giveaway, go do it. Like, now. Today is the LAST day to enter to win your very own Magnesium vacuum, valued at $499!

2. Check out these little treasures I got for Baby Fitz!! I'm so exited. I ordered them from Bebe Bee Couture! I decided I wanted to get some cute things for Fitz's birth photos... and I died when I saw this orange & white pixie hat. And this blue cocoon!! Ohh be still my little heart. I can't wait to put him in these things.

3. Hello new iphone case that I won in a giveaway!! It's from a company called Cuptakes. And they have some of the cutest case designs EVAR. I had actually just gotten a new iphone case recently, but am still super excited about this one. Will be switching cases constantly.

4. And last but not least... I got my Birch Box. Have you ever heard of them? I hadn't until a few months ago, but sat on the fence about whether to sign up or not. But I finally bit the bullet and I'm glad I did.

So pretty much, every month... a cute little pink box shows up in my mail box full of goodies to sample. You get between 4-5 beauty products in your box, and they send different products to different people - depending on the beauty profile you fill out when you sign up.

And for real, who wouldn't love to get a bunch of sweet beauty products delivered right to their door every month? You never know what you're going to get, that's the best part!

And get this. It's only $10 per month! What a steal, huh?? It's a really neat, inexpensive way to spoil yourself.

Alrighty, so in my Birch Box this month:

Dermalogica | Daily Microfoliant. It's an exfoliating powder, all you have to do is add water to it and it creates a paste that will buff away dead skin cells. Sweeeeet!
Eye Rock | Designer Liner. These are single use, stick on liner strips. How fun are these?? I am totally going to put these on, maybe this weekend?
Jouer | Luminizing Moisture Tint. Basically it's a tinted facial moisturizer. It leaves your skin dewy and glowing. This stuff is brilliant. It isn't heavy like foundation. Feels just like you're putting on lotion, and it has a perfect tan tint to it.
Juice Beauty | Blemish Clearing Serum. High-performing zit serum with organic botanicals to purify your skin. 'Nuff said. :)
Supersmile | Powdered Mouthrinse. Little powder filled pouches you can take with you on-the-go. All you need is to add water to it and it will sweeten your breath AND whiten your teeth. Seriously awesome.
Special Birchbox digital downloads. I also received 6 free tunes from a an indie rock band called Green River Ordinance.

So that's a lot of stuff to try out for $10, right? And if you really love any or all of the product samples you received, you can order the full size directly from the birchbox website. Wanna go sign up to receive your own little box of beautifying surprises every month? Go here!!!

Steppin' out to dinner & The Vow

2012-02-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

32 weeks pregnant and starting to feel very frumpy.

What I'm wearing: Maternity top - Target // Maternity jeans - Motherhood // Shoes - Ross (like 5 years ago!)

linking up with steppin' out saturday @ harpers happenings.

This weekend, well... on Friday I actually put make up on and got dressed! It's a miracle. ;-) What was the occasion? Dinner and a movie with my best girlfriend, Kiara. We went to dinner at Coho Cafe. I got a delicious asian chicken salad. YUM!

After dinner, we went to go see a chick flick on opening night, The Vow. Starring Channing Tatum & Rachel McAdams. You know, the two actors from The Notebook & Dear John. Both of which were extremely good movies, I love all of those Nicholas Sparks movies... I always cry. Although this movie wasn't based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, but sorta still felt like it was. It was actually inspired by true events. Kinda cool.

I have been dying to see this movie for months. It wasn't as much of a tear jerker as I thought it would but be I did shed a tear or two. I really liked it and would definitely recommend it! Besides, you can't really go wrong with Channing Tatum, can you? ;-)

Oh, and I only got up to pee once during the movie. I'm impressed with myself. Ha.

Well there you have it! Where did you step out to this weekend?

flashback friday - newborn bennett

2012-02-10T05:00:00.000-08:00

I am sure that I have already had a flashback friday post with photos of Bennett as a newborn. But I just can't help myself. With this new baby's due date right around the corner, I'm feeling so nostalgic thinking about Bennett's birth and those first few weeks we had him home.

Bennett definitely set the bar high for baby fitz. B was a stinking cute newborn. Don't you think? :-)

On un-following.

2012-02-09T08:42:00.000-08:00

::be prepared to hear these words a lot: blog, follow, subscribe::

I wrote a post a while back about the importance of putting self-portraits on our blogs, and how I felt that our blogs are truly a reflection of who we are, and by making them public - we are inviting people into our lives. {see that post here}

So with that in mind, the blogging community isn't much different than real life. There are people that you mesh with, people that you immediately click with, people you have things in common with. Or maybe you are just inspired by someones creativity. Therefore, you are interested in what they have to say so you will try to keep updated on their life. In blogger terms, you 'follow' them or 'subscribe' to their blog.

A lot of times I think we feel pressure to 'follow' or subscribe to someone's blog because they follow ours, or leave lots of comments. Or because they are hosting a blog hop or photo challenge. There are a lot of reasons, but to be honest - it's your blog and your reader/dashboard so you should follow the blogs that you want. And if you should decide to unfollow someone, don't feel badly about it.

On the flip side....

When you're on the receiving end of the unfollowing, it can be kinda hurtful actually. Cause let's be honest, it kinda sucks when you lose a follower. It really does. It's almost like you are losing a friend. Right? But it's not the end of the world, and it doesnt mean we did anything wrong. I have seen a lot of tweets or people saying things like "I lost 5 followers this week, what am I doing wrong?" - that kind of makes me sad to hear that.

I look at it this way: My blog, being a Mama Blog, my not necessarily appeal to everyone. Someone may choose to unsubscribe to my blog because they don't relate to me as a Mother or a person, or maybe they are offended by something I said (although, I hope this isn't the case), or maybe they are generally disinterested in what I have to say. Whatever the case may be, that is their choice. And though I completely value my readers, I respect people's decisions.

I guess the point is that here in cyber space, it's really easy to get offended when someone unsubscribes to our blogs. But try not to let it bother you, and remember that just like in our daily lives, you won't be friends with everyone. There are people that you are close with for a period of time, and then you sort of drift. Its normal.

Just be you.

Wordless Wednesday {pinterest inspired wall art}

2012-02-07T21:14:00.000-08:00

Finally!!! I am actually creating one of the ideas I got from pinterest. Only thing is, I can't find the idea now. I saw it from my phone via the pinterest app, and forgot to pin it, so I can't source it. I feel bad.

But.

This is the idea. I created this in Photoshop. I'm going to make a series of 8x10 graphic images to frame and put on Bennett's wall in a collage. This is the first of probably 6-8 of them. It's easy and super cheap to do. I will be sure to show you all of the finished graphic posters once I complete them. (and that will probably be a while cause I'm working at a snails pace, but hey, at least I'm trying!)

Linking up for Wordless Wednesday with The Paper Mama, Jenni from the Blog, And Then, She Snapped, and Naptime Momtog.

Oreck Magnesium Vacuum Review & Giveaway!

2012-02-06T07:20:00.000-08:00

This Giveaway is officially closed to all new entrants. 

The winner was chosen via random.org.

And the winner is: #51 Jessica D!! 
*please contact me within the next 24 hours or a new winner will be chosen!  

I will be the first to admit that doing household chores really isn't my favorite thing. I'd say that doing the dishes is my least favorite. Yep. That's the worst. Everything else kind of ties for second place, except vacuuming. No lie, I always sort of secretly liked vacuuming. It has a calming effect on me. Maybe it's the white noise? Okay but as much as I don't mind vacuuming, I still didn't to it a ton because our old vacuum was heavy and bulky. Which made it quite the chore for me... I was always panting and sweating moving that thing around. And especially since we moved in the house, I have a really hard time getting it up & down the stairs. And being 7 months pregnant?? Yah... not happening.

When I was contacted by Oreck to do a review of their new Magnesium vacuum cleaner, I pretty much JUMPED out of my seat. Why you ask? Click on this link and take a look for yourself.

The very first thing that stood out to me was that it only weights 7.7 pounds!! That is less than Bennett weighed when he was born! It's super slender design makes it easy to store in the closet and get around small areas.

It's got an extremely strong frame, which makes it super durable. That's important to me, having a 2 y/o running around. Who by the way, is OBSESSED with the vacuum.

Yes, he's thrilled about Mama's new toy. And so am I. Let me tell you about one of the things that I love MOST about the Magnesium vacuum. You know how you have to stop in the middle of your vacuuming and move a big item of furniture just so you can get to the space underneath?? Not anymore!! The Magnesium vacuum cleaner has the ability to lay flat, so that I can vacuum underneath tables and shelving without a struggle!!

Here is an example of how easy it is to clean under things. And yes, that is me and my big ol' belly vacuuming under the coffee table and loving it. It does an AWESOME job. The suction is extremely strong so it really sucks up everything extremely well.

Oreck says it best:

The Oreck Advantage - Direct Suction

Our direct suction design delivers dirt in a straight, efficient path right to the vacuum bag. It's a streamlined design that works beautifully with a smaller motor — and one reason why Oreck uprights are so lightweight. Here's how: our upright vacuums incorporate a "dirty air system" in which dirt is pulled through a fan that breaks it into smaller particles that get sucked up into the vacuum. Oreck's smaller motor drives this fan, as well as the brushroll. Because these smaller motors sit closer to the floor they provide efficient suction and are able to spin the brushroll incredibly fast.

In addition to vacuuming our carpets, I also tried it out on our hardwood floor in the kitchen. Hallelujah! A solution to having to get out the broom! It does an incredible job on the hardwood. Not a crumb left on the floor after I'm done.

Another awesome feature of the this vacuum cleaner is the nifty cord clip on that back underneath the handle. So now instead of having to hold the excess cord with one hand and trying to vacuum, I can just clip the cord up and I'm good to go!

To summarize, the super sleek design makes this vacuum easy to carry, easy to store, and easy to maneuver. I've been so happy with it's performance. I love that I can get it up and down the stairs and not have to worry about breaking my back. And now, I actually enjoy taking it out to vacuum because I no longer consider it a "chore". I hope you will go check it out and read all about it!!! You will be impressed.

Disclosure: I received this product to review for free from Oreck. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation.

Oreck has offered to GIVE AWAY one of their new Magnesium Vacuums to one of A Sorta Fairytale's readers!! That's a $499 value! Eeeeep! Amazing right?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Oreck Corporation provided the prize for the sweepstakes but I am the official sponsor.

Giveaway winner must be a resident of the U.S. contiguous states.

week in iphone pics w.23

2012-02-03T21:23:00.000-08:00

iPhone pics. Everyone takes them and has instagram right?? (my username is: mandychiappini - come find me and say hi!). Here are some of my IG pics from this past week. Parties, playtime, trips to the park, cake baking, trike riding, tubby time, 30 week preggo photo... la de da!

Linking up with iPhoneography & InstaFriday and my week in iphone pics.

On naming a baby.

2012-02-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

I had mentioned in a previous post that there was a blog post I had in the works about baby names. Lots of you got excited... yay! Only... you will be disappointed that I am not actually revealing anything. Ha ha. Sorry :)

My Husband and I have always had a hard time coming up with boys names that we like. I want my boys to have names that are recognizable but not super popular. So therein lies the problem. I feel like all of the boys names out there are either way too traditional and common, or super trendy.

With my last pregnancy, we didn't even have a solid list of names until a month or two before my due date. Luckily, we agreed on some and took the list to the hospital with us. I secretly had a name that I loved more than the rest, though. And I had convinced myself that I we would use that name. But, we decided not to name Bennett until he was born and I'm so glad we did it like that because the name that I had secretly picked out.. didn't end up being the name we used. When it came down to it... it just did not feel right.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with picking a name out ahead of time, some people just know what they want. But for me, I really feel like I need to see my babies sweet face, and meet them for the 1st time before I name them. The moments directly following Bennett's birth are a bit fuzzy to me, but the thing I remember most clearly, is when they handed my baby boy to me, I just had this overwhelming feeling that his name should be Bennett. The interesting thing was the months leading up to my labor, I really wasn't super fond of the name and didn't think I'd use it... but when that moment came - it just fit.

Now that I'm my 3rd trimester, the time has come for my Husband and I to get serious about making a list of potential names for our little Fitz. (We nickname our babies while they are in the womb, in case you didn't already know that!). We're currently working on a list of names to consider using. I am hoping that when this baby is placed in my arms for the first time, the same feelings come to both me & my Husband and we'll just know what his name should be.

After all, he's stuck with it forever.

{another couple pics from the selfie challenge. i forgot to post these}

What are your thoughts? Do you name your baby as soon as you know the gender (or have names picked out for either sex)? Or do you wait until you meet them to decide?

The Paper Mama Challege: Self

2012-01-31T12:48:00.000-08:00

Chelsey @ The Paper Mama just wrote a post about how sometimes people say cruel things (whether it be in real life or on FB, or on our blogs), and it can really take a toll on your self-confidence. Her point in writing about this, is to say that we all need to take a step back and not let these people get to us.

To follow it up, she has challenged us to take a self portrait and share a little bit about what is going on in our lives by following Danielle's "currently" prompt.

So in light of my recent post about the importance of sharing photos of ourselves, of course I needed to step up to her challenge. And I even challenged myself a bit further and didn't use my phone or hold out my point& shoot at arms length. Go me!

{30 weeks along}

Obsessing over…

All of the things I want to do to decorate in my house. And how I probably won't get to do many of them because it's tax time and I will need to save my money to pay taxes (on my business). I'm super bummed but I guess decorating can wait a little longer. :)

Working on…

Editing the wedding I shot a couple of weeks ago!! This particular wedding was absolutely an crazy/interesting & fun experience and I've been having a good time processing the images. Hoping to make a pretty good dent in the work so I can be ready for all of the upcoming photo sessions I have lined up this month!

Thinking about…

Names for this little baby I'm carrying. Wonder what we'll name him!! (a post about this coming soon!)

Anticipating…

The nice weather this weekend!! We're supposed to have sunny warm weather. Well, warm for us in the winter(like in the low 50's). I have several shoots this weekend and am so thankful I won't have to deal with the rain!!

Listening to…

Nothing right now. The sound of my fingers clicking away on the keyboard.

Eating…

I'm actually eating Ritz toasted chips right now. Soooo good.

Wishing…

I could plan a vacation in the next year, but just dno't see that happening with a brand new baby coming this Spring!@

Okay your turn! Go link up with Chelsey's challenge!

Two boys. And why I want them.

2012-01-30T05:00:00.000-08:00

I really common question that I got when I announced we were pregnant is: "Oh are you hoping for a little girl??"

And since finding out I was having another boy: "Oh are you happy about that?"

Of course, I totally understand why people might ask those questions. I think it's pretty common for people to assume that if you already have a boy, you will want a girl next. And vise versa.

So here is my response to those popular questions.

Since Bennett, I have always wanted another boy. Like BADLY. Of course, I would have been thrilled if we were having a girl, but the truth is, in my gut- I always knew I was meant to have at least 2 boys. So I wasn't surprised at all when it was confirmed at my U/S a couple of months ago that I was in fact carrying my 2nd little man.

So to put it very simply, of course we are happy about having another son. I'm absolutely ecstatic about it. I mean, I look at Mom's like Summer, Sarah, Adriel, Lauren, Mandey (all mom's of 2 boys)... they make me SO excited for Bennett to have a brother. Bennett is so full of life & energy I really think that it will be good for him to have a little brother to play with and be crazy with. He definitely needs a little companion.

Here's another thought. A deeper, more personal thought.

I truly believe that the world is deprived of great guys. That's not to say there aren't a lot of them out there- I mean come on, I married one! ;-) BUT I feel there are so many men out there that aren't respectful at all of women. My Dad, being one of them. I don't think that I have ever talked about him on this blog before- mainly because his entire life and existence has been very depressing. He's just not a good person. I'm not going to get into specifics right now, just trust me on this.

So with that said, I think that part of the reason that I really wanted boys, was to do my part to raise sons with good morals & values, ambition & work ethic, honor & humility. But most importantly, I want to raise my boys to respect women and treat them well. And to honor the institute of family. I kinda feel that if I can accomplish that, it will *sort of* make up for the absolute let down that my Dad is. I know nothing will ever right the wrongs that have been done by my Dad, but I think it sort of makes it better (for me at least) knowing that I am trying to raise boys that will become wonderful Husbands themselves one day. And Fathers.

I know this all might sound weird, but it's really important to me. And I realize what a huge task this is. Nature vs. nurture, right?? We'll see. But I will, to the best of my ability, instill in my boys the importance of being humble, gracious, and appreciative. I will try to lead them down a path of righteousness, so that they can be good examples & hopefully inspire others.

So ladies that have little girls.... just know that there are Mama's out there with little boys, that truly want to shape them into the kind of man worthy of your girls one day. :)

{this is an old picture, but i just love it - and i felt like this post needed a photo}

Steppin' out to Bennett's 2nd birthday party!

2012-01-29T11:18:00.000-08:00

Even though Bennett's actual Birthday was on Thursday, Jan 26 - we celebrated on Saturday! We kept it small to family and close friends. It was perfect! Unlike at Bennett's 1st birthday, I was REALLY bad at taking pictures this year. I just really wanted to be present more and enjoy myself. We did get lots of video, though. I just haven't gotten around to uploading them quite yet!!

We did a Toy Story theme, it was a hit with all the young kids. I mean really, what kid doesn't love Toy Story?

{his hair looks so silly here - you can thank his daddy for that! ha ha}

On Philip: Button up shirt - Brooks Brothers // Jeans - Levis

On Bennett: Head to toe Tea Collection

On Mama: Shirt (that isn't a true maternity shirt but I tried to make it one) - Forever 21 // Jeans - Motherhood Maternity

Linking up with Steppin' Out Saturday.

I'm so thankful for the friends and family we have near us to help celebrate. We had a really fun time watching Bennett open his presents and enjoy his cake! We love love love him so much!!!

week in iphone pics w.22

2012-01-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

Here we are! Another week (almost) gone! It's been a good last few weeks. The snow melted, I attended a birthday party, watched lots of movies, made a cake for no reason and ate it all, I had my 28 week OB, my glucose test (which I passed!! yay!), I had a 3D u/s, received a sweet vacuum that I will be reviewing and giving one away.

We also went out to dinner to celebrate Bennett's birthday... and TOMORROW we will be celebrating again during his birthday party! We're keeping it small & simple with a cute Toy Story theme. Should be good times!! Will post on that next week! In the meantime, here's a reflection of the last week or so!

{funfetti cake. be very jealous. this all entered my stomach in 24 hours. okay not really, i shared. but i wanted to eat it ALL}

{last time we played in the snow before it went bye-bye}

{watched this movie for the first time - i liked it a lot!}

{received my new bag from zulily. LOVE it}

{drinking that awful drink}

{i passed the glucose test, but found out i'm pretty anemic so now i'm on iron pills}

{denny's!! haven't been there in forever. we had fun}

{actually did my hair and makeup}

{new bathtub crayons}

{my awesome new oreck vacuum. look out for a review & a giveaway!!}

{put up a new shower curtain. $10 at ikea. FTW!}

{little guy using the toilet. i'm such a proud mama}

{loving that my belly busts through all my cardi's now. ha ha}

{bennett turned 2 on the 26th!!!}

{blackened chicken sandwich from red robin. YUM}

{beautiful day = a walk to the neighborhood park to play}

Linking up with iPhoneography & InstaFriday and my week in iphone pics.

Happy Birthday, Bennett!!!

2012-01-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

Bennett, today you turn 2 years old.

Instead of listing off all of the cute little things you do, and believe me, you do a lot of them, I think you should know how incredibly special you are to me. And you need to know all of the wonderful things you have accomplished already - how you have inspired me.

Did you know that your name 'Bennett' means "little blessed one"? And little boy, you are blessed. You're blessed with a family that loves you more than life itself. But more than anything, you have been the blessing to us.

To watch you grow has brought me such joy, I still can't believe how big you've gotten. You have such a silly and sweet nature about you, and you have the ability to bring a smile to people's faces as soon as they come in contact with you. At just 2 years old, you have managed to help me grow more as a person in the last 24 months than I have in my entire life. You have taught me how to love unconditionally. You've taught me the importance of enjoying life, even when things are tough. You have taught me how to be more patient and nurturing. You have taught me what it means to truly put someone else before myself. You have shown me that life isn't just about what I want, but that it's about making other people happy & that the more I give of myself - the more joy I will find in life. Wait, aren't I the one that is supposed to be teaching you these life lessons?? And for this Bennett, I am grateful for you. I am grateful for the love and happiness you bring to everyone around you. And I'm thankful for all that you have done for our family, without even knowing it.

I'm so proud of you, my sweet little Bennett Roy. You are my light.

This baby exists.

2012-01-25T13:05:00.000-08:00

{WHAT!? 2 posts in one day? that never happens. i was in the middle of writing this when i took a break to read some blogs and saw chelsea's post on this exact same topic. so... it lit a fire under me to finish writing and get it all out there}
................
I always wondered what it would be like to be pregnant for a 2nd time. Would it be easier? Harder? How would people react to it? Would this baby be welcomed into the same kind of excitement as Bennett was?

I have had a lot of guilty feelings the last few months and I need to just get this all out there.

When I was pregnant with Bennett, I was over the moon excited. Like, the anticipation of this new little life growing inside of me was overwhelming. What would he look like? What personality traits would he inherit from me & from his Father? People were always asking about me and how I was doing. Asking how the baby was doing. Wanting to see pictures and hear stories of my OB appointments. I was constantly buying cute little baby things and getting gifts for my little boy - all throughout my pregnancy. Christmas 2009, there were more presents under the tree for my unborn child than for me. Ha ha. I loved it.

This time? This baby? Nothing like that. Not in the slightest. Very few people ask about this child. No one asks how I'm doing or feeling. I'm not having a shower this time around, which is totally fine. But where is the celebration then??

The truth is that I feel so ridiculously guilty for being kind of oblivious to this pregnancy. Yah sure every 3-4 weeks I will check in with some updates or whatever. But it's just not the same. I'm 29 weeks pregnant and I JUST finally bought a little newborn outfit for Baby Fitz to come home in. Beyond that, he's gotten absolutely nothing from anyone (including me)... with the exception of my amazing sister-in-law, who was the only one to remember him on Christmas. I didn't even get him anything for Christmas.

Gosh I should like I'm throwing myself a pity party but I'm not. The real pity party is going to my little baby that seems to have been lost in the scramble of the home buying process & the move & the holidays & and the family tragedy... etc. And as all of that is understandably going to distract me.
I want him to be just as recognized as Bennett was. He needs that. He DESERVES that. He is important to me and I just don't like the fact that this pregnancy is going by so fast that I've hardly had any time to really celebrate him.

I need to do a better job at acknowledging him and talking about him more. Because let it be known that I am so excited for this baby. I am just as excited as I was with Bennett... only I'm a lot more reserved about it. Mainly because yes I'm busy with life and a crazy 2 y/o, but also, I feel like people don't care as much or don't wanna hear me babble on about baby names or my fear of going through labor again. But all of that stuff is on my mind, it really is.

This post is to acknowledge my love for my 2nd little boy. And to make a promise that I am just as eager to welcome him into this world as I was with his older brother.

So get ready for more baby related posts because this little guy exists and he's going to know how much we love him and are excited to meet him!!

Wordless Wednesday {just some photos}

2012-01-25T07:43:00.000-08:00

My last WW post wasn't so wordless. But this one will be. Promise ;-)

I took these photos a couple of weeks ago, and totally meant to post them but I forgot. So here they are!

My amazing little boy turns TWO tomorrow!!!! I can't believe it. Seriously. I can't.

Linking up for Wordless Wednesday with The Paper Mama, Jenni from the Blog, And Then, She Snapped, and Naptime Momtog.

29 weeks. U/S & glucose testing!

2012-01-24T07:30:00.000-08:00

Whoa. I'm 29 weeks today.

Time has been flying, as usual! Things have been crazy busy and having a toddler to chase after really makes everything go at warp speed!

I had my glucose testing yesterday...don't I look thrilled?? lol

With my first pregnancy, I failed the 1st test by only a couple of points and had to do the long 3 hour 100g test. Turned out I did NOT have gestational diabetes with Bennett, not even close.

So I'm reallllly hoping that this time I pass the 1st test because I do not want to go in again and drink that 100g drink. I just might vomit. Not to mention who wants to hang around their OB's office and get their blood drawn every hour for what seems like eternity? Enough about that.

UPDATE!! :: I got the results of my test. I PASSED!!! Bad news?? I'm getting pretty anemic so I have to start taking 300mg of iron, 3 times a day :( Bummer. But at least I don't have to do the 3 hour glucose test!

Here's a picture of my little Fitz at just about 29 weeks gestation. We could get a really good picture cause he was squished between the placenta and my uterine wall... but I like his little profile. :)

I will let you all know when I get the results back from the glucose test! Keep your fingers & toes crossed for me!

power outages, wedding & the news!

2012-01-22T07:41:00.000-08:00

This past few days have been a little bit nutso. Remember how we had that awesome snowstorm? (the news like called it the "arctic blast" ha ha). Yah, well as much as I LOVE snow and me and Bennett had a blast playing in it, what I don't like - is when there is so much ice coverage on the trees, that they start falling on power lines and knock out our power for almost 3 days.

Yep. No internet, no TV, no hot meals... etc. Luckily, we my sister-in-law only lives about an hour away and didn't lose power and was so kind as to take us in for a couple of days! Bennett had an awesome time with his cousins, as usual, and we had a warm place to sleep and a happy toddler. Yay!

What else happened? I had a wedding to shoot on Friday! It was quite the wonderful fiasco.

{on my way to the wedding, extremely cold and nervous}

Due to the snow/ice/slush and road blockages, almost all of the bride's vendors cancelled the day of the wedding. The florist, the DJ, the wedding planner, the hair stylist.. it was a complete disaster. I was supposed to meet the bride & groom at our previously agreed upon location for their formal shots, only the location? It was closed. So... we turned around and high tailed it to our backup location, only to find that it was pretty much unusable due to some miscommunication of the hotel to the bride. Ugh. At this point, we were running soooooo behind and basically had no choice but to just go to the venue (that wasn't open yet) and shoot on the outside on the property grounds. Mind you, at this point it was POURING down rain. Like... raining cats & dogs as the saying goes.

So we get to the venue only to find out that the venue had lost power!! Luckily they had back up generators but it wasn't enough power to heat the place so it was freeeeeezing. Okay but back to the photography. My assistant couldn't make it out either, so I was on my own. Bummer.

To our advantage, the snow did make for some amazing photographs, the bride looked stunning despite everything that was going on & I am so happy that I could be there to capture this day for her. Turns out that me & the catering company were the only vendors to actually show up for our jobs.

Here are a couple of shots from the day:

Also? Turns out the KOMO 4 news caught wind of all of this, so they showed up and covered the wedding. Only thing that kind of bugs me about the way they edited this segment, is that they put my voice over a part of a different time of day. You will see me in the video, and hear me say "give me a smile... good job!!"... and it looks like I'm talking to the bride & groom, but really I was saying that to the little kids. Ha ha. Oh well.

Over all, it was an exhausting, crazy & exciting day. I am extremely sore from 9 hours on my feet and running around 28 weeks pregnant like a chicken with my head cut off - but I'm so glad that I was there for them.

The next couple of days are pretty busy as well. I have birthday parties to attend, 2 doctor appointments, a wedding consultation, B&O taxes to complete & Bennett's birthday to get ready for. I will try to post but forgive me if I don't :)

Take pictures of youself. It's important.

2012-01-19T07:40:00.000-08:00

This topic has come up several times by a few of my favorite bloggers, Chelsey wrote an awesome post called "owning your self portraits". And Jess also wrote a post called "the importance of a self portrait on your blog". Both of these ladies are queens of the selfies. They inspire me.

Okay but wait. Why am I talking about this?

When I started blogging years ago, I hardly ever had pictures of myself on the blog because I was always behind that camera. When I started to gain more readers, make more friends, put myself out there in the blogging world more - I realized that I needed to step it up a little bit with photos of myself.

And here's why:

When people visit your blog, it's like they are taking a step into your world. They are reading stories about you, your family, your kids. They're seeing pictures of your home, your city & your loved ones.

It's super important to let your readers/peers/friends (whatever you want to call them) see WHO you are. Being able to put a face to the words & stories makes a huge difference when you're getting to know someone. Of course, there are the skeptics out there that like their privacy, and I definitely understand this - that is why we have the option to make our blogs private - by invitation only. But by having a public blog, you're allowing people to get to know you on a personal level, and trust me - they want to see who you are. I have made some incredible friends through my blog (examples: here, here & here). And even though I met these ladies through the internet first, I felt like I had already known them for years. And that was in large part because they weren't shy about letting their readers see who they were by posting pictures of themselves.

You get my point, right?

Now onto the awkward stuff. I'm sure a lot of people think that putting pictures of themselves on their blog might seem vein or self-absorbed. But that really isn't the case for most of us. Obviously, you don't want to OVER-do it with the selfies, but don't be shy about it, either.

Also, most of us don't have photographers following us around, not that I'd want that anyway, but you know what I mean. It's hard to get photos of ourselves. I know that I'm super picky about having my picture taken, it has to be my idea and on my terms. So if you're like me - taking self portraits are a challenge. However, we all have timers on our cameras right? I also have a remote & a tripod, which I admit I never use. But if I did, that would be a great way to do it. If you don't have a camera, you have a camera on your phone, right? See... no excuses. :-)

If all else fails, just hold your camera out at arms length. That's what I do most of the time. Cause well, I'm too lazy to get my remote & tripod. Or even ask someone to take a picture for me. But hey, it works.

don't be afraid to look RIGHT into the camera. That is after all, how most people see you when you're talking to them. be real.

{although i admit this is kind of a creepy photo of me, the angle isn't flattering at all. ha ha}

it's okay to do some girly, flirty photos. we all do them. isn't this why our husbands all fell in love with us? ;-)

also, make some funny faces if that's who you are. i'm can be pretty silly and quirky sometimes and so i like to let that shine through.

and lastly, don't be afraid to show your "bad side". this is my bad side. i hate this side of my face for some reason. but... it exists and so i will show it to you. like i said... be real! it's good.

Anywho, I'm definitely not the most confident girl in the world, and I have my flaws. But I am who I am, and so... that's what you get to see. So I challenge you to take a few more photos of yourself and put yourself out there. It's okay, really, it is. Your friends/readers will love it. :)

That cold white stuff is pretty awesome.

2012-01-17T07:11:00.000-08:00

Finally!! We got the snow that the weatherman have been predicting! I LOVE snow. We don't get a lot around the Seattle area, but when we do - it's gorgeous and awesome. Granted, people go totally nutso because no one can drive in the snow and people freak out and go to the grocery store and stock up on food storage like we're about to get hit by a meteor... but... oh well. I'm not really afraid of driving in the snow, my car does fine and I know the general rules of thumb. So I'm never truly "home-bound" unless there is some serious ice, then I am a little more conservative with my driving.

Anyway, enough about all that!

Yesterday, we had gotten our first little bit of snow (about an inch or two). So it really only made sense to invite some friends over to play! The morning started off at iHop for breakfast. It was yum. The boys were hilarious at the restaurant, they were trying to "out laugh" each other. This went on for 5-10 minutes. They got louder and louder to the point where people started to get annoyed. It was pretty hilarious, wish I had video of it.

After breakfast, we came back to our house to play in the snow and drink hot cocoa.

I think it's pretty safe to say that Bennett LOVES the snow. He thoroughly enjoyed all of the snowball fights, slipping & sliding around on the ice, chasing his buddy Dane around, and eating the snow.

Get ready cause this post is about to vomit like 4483 photos :-)

This was not a snowball that was thrown at him. He actually took a snowball and crammed it into his own face. What a silly goose!

"I'm gonna get you!"

SNOWBALL fight!!

{ Me, Bennett, Dane & Kiara }

I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful friend in Kiara. She's always up for anything, and she is so easy to be around, easy to talk to... and I can completely be myself around her. That's rare. I just love her. And it totally doesn't hurt that she's got an adorable little boy just 4 days older than Bennett. I love watching the boys play together and am so excited for the friendship that *i hope* will develop between them!

Here's to MORE SNOW and more time with good friends!

January Sponsor Spotlight!

2012-01-15T11:17:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already - please go and check out all of these awesome shops/websites/blogs!! Seriously... go do it. :-)

{ website }

{ blog | twitter | facebook }

{ blog }

{ blog | twitter }

{ blog | twitter | facebook }

week in iphone pics w.21

2012-01-13T12:44:00.000-08:00

I wanted to say THANK YOU for all of your wonderful suggestions/advise/recommendations on my last post!! I am pretty confident now going forward on what I want to buy!! You all are the best!

It's been weeks since I shared my iphone goodness. So here we are!

My view looking down. Hiii belly!

Chillin'

New business cards! Thanks uprinting.com

Kicking the ball around the street

Kisses!!

Ikea!!

Cool sky.

Riding his Toy Story quad around the neighborhood!

The day he almost escaped his crib!

We've had some nice days here recently! Cold, but nice!

New iphone case!! Yah! Techcandy.com.

My text message stalker. He started texting me December 29th and hasn't stopped. You'd think he'd get a clue from the non-response that this was the wrong number. But nope, he keeps on comin. Does he think I'm petey pablo??

Hubby squished his desk next to mine. Cute huh?

My flat iron broke :( But no worries, I got a new one. A better one. This one ROCKS!

Post-nap snuggles. <3<3

More cool sky.

Me & my boy.

"in my bag". One of the Jan photo a day prompts. Nothing super glamorous. Mostly toddler necessities.

Linking up with iPhoneography & InstaFriday and my week in iphone pics.

On my list. Need recommendations!

2012-01-12T07:41:00.000-08:00

Luckily, I don't have to buy a long list of things for this new baby. But there are a few things that I didn't have the first time around that I really want. Thing is, I am at a loss as to what style/brand to go with for some of these things. So I need your help! I'd love any suggestions or advise you have to give on the following products:

>>1. Double Stroller. Since baby Fitz is due in April- we'll surely be going out this summer with the kids to enjoy the weather. I should probably get a double stroller to cart them both around in.

So my question is for Mom's with 2+ kids, what is the best type of double stroller for a 2 y/o and an infant? I see the side by side strollers, and the tandum ones. Not sure which to be looking at??

>>2. New baby monitor. We have a set of Graco monitors, and to be honest they are junky. They work for a day and then just intermittently they'll disconnect from the main unit and the only way to get them to work again is to go and turn the receiver off & back on again. It's really lame. Not to mention the reception is terrible and the stupid things beep when they aren't getting good reception, even if we're just down the hall.

What baby monitors do you recommended?? I'm looking for something that has really good reception. Doesn't have to have video capability, but that would definitely be a bonus!

>>3. Breast pump. This is something I should have had with my first baby but I was too cheap to buy one. Will not be making that mistake this time!!! I really want to get a pump that is reliable and works really well. My goal is to get a good storage of milk up in the freezer in case this baby decides to go on an extended nursing strike like Bennett did!

I really need your help. I know nothing about pumps, which ones did you guys love?!

>>4. Pack 'n play. Another thing we managed to get by without last time aroudn, but I know that I will want one to have downstairs with the new baby. It'll be a little place for him to hang out, where Bennett can't be constantly in his face. Not to mention, if we want him to sleep in another room, the pack n' play will come in handy.

Any recommendations for a sturdy, easy-to-move, inexpensive pack 'n play?

And that's pretty much it!! Not a long list, but unfortunately, the things on here aren't cheap. Boo! Oh well, ya do what you gotta do!

And because it's hard to have such a wordy post, without one single picture. (this was taken back when Bennett was sick a few weeks ago!)

A Tuesday Vlog.

2012-01-10T15:01:00.000-08:00

Whoa. How long has it been since I did a vlog? TOO long. So if you're in the mood for some pointless mumbo jumbo. Here ya go! :-)

And wow, I love the screen shot of me on the cover of this video!! Ha ha.

Workspace Makeover. Before & After photos!

2012-01-09T08:06:00.000-08:00

I promised I would continue with the home tour, so far you have only seen the downstairs. I think I will take you through the upstairs one room at a time, as we get everything settled!

This week, I completely reorganized and made over my office.

I am truly embarrassed about what a disaster it was before the "makeover". Granted, we have only been moved in a little over a month, but if I'm being quite honest - my workspace has always been a mess.

Here is the before picture: (i'm cringing just looking at it!)

I can't believe I ever worked in this area. Who could concentrate or get anything done in a space like this? Not me. I have been scouring the internet, pinterest, websites... etc for ideas on what to do to organize better. And after days & weeks of trying to decide, this is what I came up with.

And here is my workspace solution: (this is the same room, I just set things up on the other side)

In case you're wondering, this entire set up was purchased at Ikea. The shelving, lighting, storage bins, desk, organizers.. everything (except the computer & chair!).

Total cost: ~$300.
Set-up time: Less than 2 hours.

I WIN!

This is such a great solution for me, I can organize all of my photographer gear, marketing collateral, paperwork... etc all in the shelving beside me. I don't have to roam around the room looking for things anymore. It's seriously amazing.

I actually like to be in my office now. Of course, there are a few more things I'm going to do to the area to decorate and make it a little more fun, but for now- I'm totally happy with how it turned out!

Tea Collection Review & Giveaway!!!

2012-01-07T11:33:00.001-08:00

**This contest is closed! Thank you to all that entered, winner will be announced soon**

I was contacted by Tea Collection to do a review of their boy's clothes. YES please! I had seen many recent reviews of the Tea Collection, all were wonderful, and was very interested in how their clothes would fit Bennett! So needless to say, I was super excited when they contacted me!

{ from tea collection: pants and both shirts pictured in this blog post}

And as you can see from this picture, these pants fit him perfectly!!! In fact, they are a little bit long so I rolled them up. Even better! Why? Because he'll be able to wear them all winter and probably into Spring.

Okay so let's talk about the clothing. These brown carrot fit cords are TO DIE for. I'm not even kidding. When I got them in the mail and tried them on Bennett, I called my Husband downstairs immediately to come and look. It's not often that my hubby gets excited about kids clothing but he was loving these pants! He was very giddy about how they looked and fit. They're soft and flexible, 100% cotton and machine washable. And they are slim fitting... which I love! These are size 2T, and they have the adjustable waistband- always a plus cause my guy is a tall and slender.

I also chose 2 shirts from Tea collection. My husband and I had a really hard time deciding what to order because there were so many adorable things! Tea Collection recently released their Modern Mexico inspired Holiday collection. The blue shirt that you see pictured above is from the Mercado Mexicano collection. Talk about adorable little boy's clothing?! I love the fusion of different cultures into my son's wardrobe. What an amazing line up of extremely unique outfits for boys. I love the Mexican themed pattern.

{look at those pants again! holy moly they are adorable... love the pockets!}

And THIS shirt is called the Playa Plaid Hoodie, from the Casa Oaxaca collection. We were both completely drawn to this style of clothing.

Sizing: I got both shirts in size 3T. The reason being that usually long sleeved shirts never seem long enough for my boy's gangly arms. And most shirts are not long enough in the torso. And of course, I want him to be able to wear the clothing longer. The sleeves on the plaid top are rolled at the cuffs... so he'll definitely have room to grow into it! Yay!

So because Bennett is (almost) 2, and both shirts in size 3T are roomy, I think this brand of clothing runs pretty true to size. They are a thicker fabric, which is awesome, and are extremely well made.

Bennett is pretty happy about his new clothes, too. So let's look at a few more photos...

The best thing about this particular Hoodie, is that it has buttons so you can remove the hood if you want. Genius!

So if you haven't caught my drift quite yet, Tea Collection is amazing. Not only did I fall in love with their boys apparel, I am utterly impressed by their designer girls clothing, baby collections, and women's line. So you see, they pretty much cater to everyone. I can't say enough wonderful things about Tea Collection. I hope hope hope you will go check them out and order lots of clothes. You won't regret it.

Note: *I was provided with product for the purpose of conducting this review and promotion. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation*

Tea Collection has graciously offered a $100 online gift certificate to one of A Sorta Fairytale's readers! So whether you have a boy, girl, baby, or you're a cool chick who wants clothes for yourself - you won't want to miss this giveaway! I wish I could enter it myself!

Here are the things you need to do to enter:

*If you haven't used Rafflecopter yet, it's super easy!! The first thing listed in bold is mandatory. But of course, you have plenty of other ways to get yourself more entries! Please notice that you can tweet once daily, each day you tweet - you get one more entry :-)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wordless Wednesday {Randoms & more random}

2012-01-03T22:42:00.000-08:00

I'm not really that wordless today. Let me just have a post full of stuff for you to read. If you even read it.

+ First thing. This might be TMI but most of us are Mom's or at least have neices or nephews so here I go anyway.

Took Bennett to the doctor because he has been having ongoing diarrhea issues. Wonderful, right??? No. It's so gross. He wakes up in the night covered in his own pooh. It's so bad. Like... we have to get him up and bath him at 2am and do a load of laundry, that kind of bad. This has been happening on & off for like 2 weeks now. We're thinking it's just a stomach virus or something, but I feel so bad for the poor little guy. His little bum is covered in diaper rash. I'm doing my best to keep it slathered in diaper cream but he hates when I change his bum and try to put that stuff on him. It's a big stuggle, let me tell you. So the doctor basically said that they want to run some test on his stool so I have to collect samples and take them to the lab. I'm shuttering at the thought of this and I won't even go into what this will entail in order to get the samples (because they can't get clean samples from a dirty diaper). So I'm waiting till Hubby is home on Thursday to even attempt this. Pray for my little munchkin that he can get over whatever this is quickly!

Okay moving along.

+ Ordered a sweet new bag for a freakin' awesome deal from Zulily. Go check out their sales. Seriously good stuff going on there! They are having sales on clothing, purses, shoes, home decor - everything. Go peek.

+ GIVEAWAY. Yes yes yes, I have a giveaway coming from Tea Collection. You know, that awesome clothing company that has the cutest collections for boys/girls/babies and women? I'm sure you have seen it around the blogosphere before, but get ready for another review and chance to enter to win some an awesome prize!

+ The GOP caucuses/primaries are underway! This is both nerve-racking and exciting for me. In case you didn't know, I'm very passionate about the economy and our nation and follow politics fairly closely (for the most part, unless I get way too into it, then I get heated and have to take a few steps back). But this is an important time of year so I will be all in up to my eyeballs with the political coverage going forward to the 2012 election. And I truly believe whether you are a republican or not - or you are going to be voting in the primaries or not - this effects you! It's important to stay educated on what is going on, it does effect you too!

+ We painted our bedroom. When we moved in, the master bedroom was painted this dark sagey green color. It was okay, but kind of depressing cause it made the entire room sooo dark all of the time. I've been whining about it for weeks and finally, hubby agreed that we could paint it. I picked out this awesome grayish color with a tinge of blue. Well after 2 coats of it, we realized that it's more of a pastely blue, and a lot less gray. So... not exactly what I pictured but I still like it. It's really light and airy. I meant to take before/after photos but I completely forgot. Fail. I have some other projects I'm planning for our bedroom so I will try to get some photos soon.

+ I swear I'm further along than 26 weeks. Maybe it's because this is my 2nd pregnancy that I'm just more aware of what's going on with my body, but I feel much further along than 26 weeks. The baby is moving so much, I can see him moving, kicking and rolling from the outside (as opposed to just feeling it). I remember with Bennett, it wasn't until 30+ weeks that happened. Also, I just feel more "full", like I feel the baby when I bend over and things like that. Again, didn't feel that until 30+ weeks last time. I'm also carrying much larger this time around, which makes me feel further along than I really am. And at my last 3D u/s, the baby was measuring a little bigger than average at the time of my u/s. But, according to my OB, my due date is accurate, so I will take her word for it. April 10th it is.

And since this post is all kinds of random, here's a random picture of Bennett. :-)

Linking up for Wordless Wednesday with The Paper Mama, Jenni from the Blog, And Then, She Snapped, and Naptime Momtog.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T10:24:00.000-08:00

Welp, we've had an interesting last few days. I came down with a really nasty stomach bug. Not sure if it was food poisoning or the flu or what. But I spend 13 hours straight huddled around the toilet puking my guts out. That same night, Bennett started puking. It was pretty disgusting. Needless to say that our little family is exhausted and ready to be healthy!

So it looks like we'll be ringing in the new year at home trying to recover from the ickyness. Ah well, what can ya do?

Anyway, this wasn't meant to be a post where I complain!

What I meant to say was HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Hope you all have a wonderful and safe evening!

Bring on 2012!

Reflecting back on 2011!

2011-12-29T07:48:00.000-08:00

Wow!!! Is it almost 2012?? I can't believe it!! This last year has been a roller coaster, but mostly a fun one! I want to take a minute to look back on some of the highlights of this past year! So grateful for all that I have, and am looking forward to another year of adventures!

{bennett's 1st birthday}

{teatro zinzanni date}

{point defiance zoo}

{baseball GNO}

{day at the beach}

{blogger get together}

{same link as above - stay-cation and bloggy boot camp}

{vacation part 1 | vacation part 2}

{ocean trip part one | ocean trip part two}

{independence day post}

{bennett's first outing to safeco field}

{baby #2 announcement | gender reveal}

{pumpkin patch photo dump}

{halloween 2011}

{home tour}

{santa experience with my 2 y/o}

{merry Christmas 2011}

Okay as I started skimming through photos of this past year, I realized how many awesome things we did! But I will stop here or this post would go on foreva! Basically it's just been a fabulous year and I'm looking forward to 2012! :-)

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T08:54:00.000-08:00

***Get ready for a enormous photo dump!!! ***

I wanted to try to fit everything into one post, but I still haven't uploaded some videos- those I will post later! I do, however have a bunch of photos for you so bear with me. :-)

Christmas was awesome!! We hosted Christmas Eve this year. We had my sister, brother-in-law, my mom, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, nieces, and brother-in-law's family over. Philip made gumbo from scratch... we totally love cajun food and he's always wanted to make it since it's was always tradition of his family's. It was a total success! Yum.

These are a mix of photos from Christmas Eve & Christmas Day. Both were amazing.

Some of the awesome gifts we got:

For the Kitchen: slow cooker, cookbooks, cast iron skillet, cast iron pot, brand new 14 piece set pots & pans, food scale. We've really been into cooking lately, so all of this stuff is amazing.

Bennett got: books, music, movies, massive stuffed animals, some cute clothes, a tool set, puzzles, coloring books, race car track, and a toy story quad! He was pretty thrilled about everything!

Also, I got a entry way bench, a nice tripod for my SLR, comfy jammie pants, lots of gift certificates, a new duvet cover, scarves, candles... and all kinds of other sweet stuff.

Now onto 29302810 photos. :-)

{ bennett & uncle chad }

{ bennett and cousin alison }

{ uncle mike & bennett }

{my nieces amy & alison }

{bennett & his cousins }

{ My sister-in-law's home-made bread is absolutely delicious. I always look forward to it when she makes it! }


{On Mama: jeans- mimi maternity // red shirt & caridgan- target. On Bennett: jeans & navy blue polo- target // argyle sweater vest- the children's place! LINKING up with steppin' out satruday}

{ my sister alissa & her husband mike. and of course me, philip & bennett }

{ presents!! }

{ big huge awesome stuffed hippo for bennett, from grandma }

We had a wonderful weekend! There's nothing better than being surrounded by family. And of course, remembering the reason for it all - and that is my Savior's birthday. I'm very thankful for my faith & knowledge of the true meaning of Christmas. It really helps keep things in perspective.

Merry Christmas! xoxo

2011-12-25T04:00:00.000-08:00

week in iphone pics w.20

2011-12-24T08:30:00.000-08:00

It's been a fun week, preparing for Christmas!! I didn't take a whole lot of photos... but I wanted to post the ones I did take! :-)

somehow he managed to pull down his onsie before he fell asleep. ha ha

he found a new seat

christmas tree!

the nutcracker, one of my favorite ballets!

we had some gorgeous weather here in seattle!

girls night out

a morning bath after icky poopy diaper

more of the sleeping babe

happy to be awake!

Linking up with iPhoneography & InstaFriday and my week in iphone pics.

24 weeks & moving right along...

2011-12-22T08:36:00.000-08:00

It was pointed out to me by several of my friends that I need to post more pregnancy updates... so here I am! Ha ha.

Sorry about these awkward bathroom pics, that's all I got for ya. If you follow me on twitter or instagram (mandychiappini), then you have already seen this! :-)

So as far as my pregnancy... it's going well! I mean, I'm tired and achy, and I get some mad heartburn... all the normal jazz. But I feel good, no more nausea or vomiting. I think I mentioned this in a previous post, but I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight and then some. Yahoo for packin' on the pounds! >>insert sarcasm here<<

What else do I have to tell you. Hmm... I don't really have any cravings or anything. Although, I do drink a ton more milk when I'm pregnant so I guess that's a craving. I'm in terrible need of some cute maternity clothes. I can still wiggle into some of my normal clothes, but most of the cute stuff doesn't cover my belly sufficiently.

When I ask Bennett "Where's the baby?", he'll point to my tummy. I think it's super cute!

Moving onto Baby Fitz.

He's doing well, too! I had a 3D u/s the other day and currently he's 1lb 7oz. And in the 77th percentile for size. He's still soooo tiny right now, but I have a feeling that I will be giving birth to another 8 pounder.

So the good stuff! Some people think 3D images are weird, but I think they are awesome!! Here is my little Fitz in 3D at 24 weeks gestation:

He looks so cozy in there with his little hand up by his face. I think he's a good lookin' baby already :-)

Wordless Wednesday {Christmas is near!}

2011-12-21T07:30:00.000-08:00

Yep, the obligatory Christmas tree photo!! Everyone has to have one, right??

Christmas is in just a few days and I still have a few things I need to do/buy! I have a busy next few days, OB appointment today, and a Girls Night Out on Thursday (which I'm super excited about!), Christmas Eve dinner grocery shopping to do... and lots more. But somewhere in there I need to get my act together and finish up my shopping! Hopefully I won't procrastinate until the day before!

I'm really excited about Christmas this year. Bennett is almost two and although he still really has no idea what Christmas is all about, it will be so fun watching the excitement on his face as he's opening his presents! Can't wait!

Oh and P.S. you'll notice there are no gifts under the tree. It's because one day, I decided to run a little test and I put just 1 present under the tree. Within the hour - Bennett ran over and unwrapped it. Ha ha. So... all of the pretty gifts are in the garage for the time being and we'll put them out on Christmas Eve. Kids! Whadya gonna do! He he.

Linking up for Wordless Wednesday with The Paper Mama, Jenni from the Blog, And Then, She Snapped, and Naptime Momtog.

Win a mini-session with ME! (seattle area bloggers)

2011-12-20T13:40:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I own my own photography business. And this year, I've decided to do a little Christmas giveaway!!

So if you're in the Seattle area, and want a chance to win a mini-session with me, go to my Photography Fan Page for details!!

Look for this flyer, it will tell you what to you have to do to enter! :-)

I got tagged. Yeehaw!

2011-12-19T14:26:00.000-08:00

Whoa! 2 posts in one day! I'm on a roll. Thank you Jess over at IROCKSOWHAT for tagging me! It's been a while since I played along with one of these, so here it goes!

Rules:
1. You must post these rules.
2. Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
4. You have to choose 11 people to tag and link them on the post.
5. Go to their page and tell them you have linked him or her.
6. No tag backs.
7. No stuff in the tagging section about ‘you are tagged if you are reading this.’ You legitimately have to tag 11 people.

11 things about me:
1. I haven't had my hair cut in over a year. (whoops!) Oh and I haven't dyed my hair in 3.5 years!
2. I love to bake cookies but I hardly eat any of them!
3. I have seen Prison Break (all 4 seasons) twice through, I'm pretty much in love with Michael Schofield (actor: Wentworth Miller). I even tried to convince my Husband to name our unborn son Wentworth. Ha ha.
4. I never learned to play any instruments when I was growing up - I wish I had. If I have the chance in the future, I would love to learn to play the piano!
5. The one thing that can drive me to the loony bin, is sitting in traffic. Such a waste of time!!!
6. I have an obsession with orange tic-tacs. Let's be real, they are not mints, they are candy!
7. I don't have an issue with the Duggar family. Who cares how many kids they have? More power to them!
8. I love DISNEYLAND and I seriously can not wait to take Bennett there!
9. I don't usually like zombie movies/shows but have started watching The Walking Dead with my husband, and I really like it!
10. I could eat salty foods all day, every day. I was told my my OB (when I was pregnant with Bennett) to stop eating salt because it was making me retain too much water. Ha ha.
11. I have had an iphone for like 5 months now and still can not type worth pooh on that thing. So many typos!

Questions from Jess @ IROCKSOWHAT
1. If you could get paid really well to do what you totally love, what would it be?
Luckily, I am already being paid to do what I love. I have been a photographer for 3 years and I am in love with it!
2. Who is your celebrity crush?
I have two. Obviously Wentworth Miller, and also Channing Tatum. :-)
3. What is your dream car?
Hmm... I haven't thought about this for a long time. Now that I have a kid, I don't really care to drive a super snazzy sports car or anything. I think I would just love a really nice Honda Pilot with all of the bells & whistles.
4. What do you wish you were better at?
I wish I was better at crafty things. I mean, I can do simple stuff- but I really wish it just came naturally to me cause I would make all kinds of goodies.
5. What is your food weakness that you will over eat every single time?
Chips & Salsa. Although, the salsa has veggies in it.. so it's not ALL bad :-)
6. What latest fashion do you hate and wish would just die?
The fake black mustache thing in everyone's photos. (sorry please don't hate me!)
7. Your favorite iphone/android app?
Probably Instagram.
8. What is your most favorite website?
Besides Facebook? Pinterest!
9. Your top 3 favorite stores to shop?
Downeast Basics, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Target (I miss target!)
10. What was your favorite childhood toy?
Skip-its!! Do you remember those things? Awesome!
11. What really freaks you out/scares you?
Typical girl answer here, but... Spiders!!! I loathe spiders.

My questions for the peeps I tag:

1. What was the best thing that happened to you this year?

2. What is your #1 pet peeve?

3. What's your favorite place to vacation?

4. Favorite place to eat?

5. Who truly inspires you both in your own life and someone you've never met?

6. Best and worst movie you have ever seen?

7. What is your guilty pleasure?

8. Describe your dream home?

9. If you could switch places with any blogger friend for a day, who would it be?

10. Do you believe in love at first sight?

11. If you could go back in time to witness any historical event, what would it be?

WHEW! That's a lot of questions. Ha ha. Okay I tag
Chelsea, Kiara, Summer, Jenni, Stephanie, Amanda P, Branson, Jessica, Sarah, Lauren, Joni
(but i will admit i am not going to go to your blog and tell you i tagged you, hopefully you'll see this!) :-)

I love this face.

2011-12-19T07:37:00.000-08:00

Are you kidding me with this face??? Look at those cheeks! And those pouty little lips! Oh and don't get me started on his big doughy blue eyes. Gosh he's the cutest. How lucky am I that I get to stare at this face all the live long day?

With a couple of my favorite bloggy babies turning 2 recently (shout out to Kingston & Ruari!), it's got me really thinking about how just next month - my cute, adorable, handsome little "baby" will be 2 years old! Eeeeeek! I can't even think about it. January 26 to be exact, my little guy will have lived 2 whole years. It feels like just yesterday that I brought him home from the hospital. How is he already almost TWO? I haven't even started to plan his Birthday yet!

An interesting tid-bit - when he turned 10 months, he started throwing tantrums like I couldn't believe. I've said before that he's "difficult", what I meant is that he's just sensitive and hard to calm down. But lately, like the last few weeks, he's been so pleasant, it's been a different change of pace. His personality literally changed before my eyes. He's a completely different kid now than he was even a couple of months ago. I'm not sure if it's the new house, or what - but he's just such a joy to be around. (he's always been a joy, but with less tantrums now.) He loves to just sit and watch movies with me, cuddle, interact... it really is so much fun. The tantrums still show their ugly faces, but he's much easier to calm down now than he used to be. Redirection definitely works now, thankfully!

I'm hoping that he's turned a leaf and he already went through his "terrible two's" before he even turned two. I guess we'll see! ;-)

Here are a few things he loves:
Curious George, hide n' go seek, hamburgers, anything electronic, hugs, kisses, cuddles (this is new!), flavored water, oatmeal, Toy Story 3, Despicable Me, Disney, climbing, running, shoulder rides, helping mommy with dinner, nap-time, vacuuming, sweeping, all the things that "grown ups" do, playing in the garage, his friend Dane, his cousins & aunts, his grandma... on & on & on.

He's still not talking much, but he's getting better at finding ways to communicate to me what he wants. We're working on it!

I LOVE MY LITTLE GUY SO MUCH!

Steppin' out to Snowflake Lane!

2011-12-18T08:16:00.000-08:00

On Mama: Sweater: TJ Maxx // Leggings: Target // Boots: Sketchers
On little guy: Jacket: Walmart // Pants: Target // Shoes: Ross (shirts underneath that are un-pictured are from target!)

This week we went to Bellevue for dinner & Snowflake Lane! We went last year, too! My pics were way better last year though. Ha ha.

Anyway, If you are a Seattle-lite and haven't been to Snowflake Lane over Christmas time - GO! It's awesome. The atmosphere is so happy and joyful!

We met up with my bestie friend Kiara and her adorable family at Red Robin beforehand for dinner! (forgot to get a pic, darn it!) And at 7:00pm, that's when the show starts. We headed out onto Bellevue Way and the drummers came out, the music started blaring.. the boys started dancing. It was pretty much awesome!

...and a video. sorry about the shaky camera... i'm not very good at taking videos (obviously!) ha ha.

week in iphone pics w.19

2011-12-16T08:08:00.000-08:00

mid-yawn

happy to be getting some ice cream

decided the couch wasn't suitable, and drug the chair over to watch TV

we made our first gingerbread house!

frosty rooftops! it's getting cold here

walkin' into the store, i love that he loves to hold my hand

wrapped the nieces and some of bennett's presents - i got some cute gift wrap this year for the kids

beautiful sunset

being silly.

getting ready for snowflake lane

snowflake lane! - more on this later!

Linking up with iPhoneography & InstaFriday and my week in iphone pics.

December Sponsor Spotlight!

2011-12-15T06:30:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already - please go and check out all of these awesome shops/websites/blogs!! Seriously... go do it. :-)

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{ blog | twitter | facebook }

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{ blog | twitter }

Wordless Wednesday {gingerbread house}

2011-12-14T07:40:00.000-08:00

I was a little hesitant buying this gingerbread house kit, because I wasn't sure how Bennett would handle it. Kinda thought he'd have meltdowns when I didn't let him eat it or tear it apart.

But to my surprise - he did SO well. He really enjoyed helping stick the candies to the side of the house. Of course, I'm sure he enjoyed eating some of the candy, and the frosting more. BUT overall, it was a total success.

The finished gingerbread house won't be winning any contests, but I love it. I love it because I made it with my little boy. *i heart him*

Linking up for Wordless Wednesday with The Paper Mama, Jenni from the Blog, And Then, She Snapped and Supermom.

Elfie on the shelf.

2011-12-13T12:49:00.000-08:00

How could I not take a picture of my elf? Everyone does it. And of course, there has to be some bokeh in it, too. Right? :-)

{linking up with Life with my 3 Boybarians' Sweet Shot Tuesday & The Holiday Bokeh Party}

Visiting with Santa. Kinda.

2011-12-12T08:09:00.000-08:00

As predicted, Bennett kinda freaked out (in a crying, screaming, scared kind of way) when I tried to get his photo with Santa this year!! I guess it's the typical 2 y/o Santa reaction, right?

Don't let this first photo fool you just because he's smiling and happy! This was just minutes after a complete meltdown. You will also notice how I'm in this picture. Blah. I really didn't intend on being in any photos, which is why I'm dressed in my scrubby clothes with next to no make-up. Oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do.

And here is the attempt at putting Bennett on Santa's lap. Ba ha ha. It's quite comical actually. Bennett wasn't having ANY of it, and Santa seems absolutely mortified. Poor guy.

Click here to see last year's Santa photo!

Holiday card creation!

2011-12-09T13:33:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I haven't really posted anything "Chritmas-y" yet!! Fail.

Well I actually took out my camera today to take a picture of my elf on the shelf... and Bennett wanted in on the action. Perfect timing... now I have a photo to go along with the little card I wanted to make for The Paper Mama's holiday photo challenge! Nice.

I'm definitely not the most creative person in the world, but I gave it a shot! Here's what I came up with :-) (oh and if you're wondering, he's sucking on a candy cane in this photo, ha ha)

getting acquainted!

2011-12-08T07:29:00.000-08:00

It's kind of strange moving into a new neighborhood. It's taken us a couple of weeks to kind of adjust to this new community, not sure that it's really sunk it that this is our home now. This is where my children will spend their childhood, making memories (hopefully!).

It's a whole new territory. We still haven't met any of the neighbors. We really should go and introduce ourselves. I'm sure they are friendly! Our street is full of kids, and just about every house has Christmas lights hung and a tree shimmering in the window. Very inviting. We just need to get up the nerve.

In the meantime, though, we've been appreciating the breathtaking views from our development. I absolutely love where we live now. I am in awe of the amazing beauty that surrounds us. All we have to do is walk out onto our porch and this is what we see.

In the distance, you can see Mt. Rainier. It's actually an active volcano, so lets hope that it doesn't erupt in my lifetime! :-)

If we walk a few blocks up the street, the sight is amazing!!

From the top of our hill at sunset.

And of course, a few houses down (or I should say 'up' from us) is an amazing park for Bennett to play at! So excited.

Umm... he spotted those ridiculously huge tube slides back there and off he went!

He was in awe about these things, but I really didn't think he'd want to go down them.

But he went running for the stairs. He couldn't climb them fast enough.

He's got the slides in his sights now....

And he's down! I was super shocked he actually went down those gigantic slides. He wasn't scared in the slightest. The funny thing was, though, he didn't want to go again. I guess once was enough! Ha ha.

I can see that we will be spending a LOT of time at this park, SO happy that it's only a of couple steps away!

Wordless Wednesday {rub-a-dub-dub}

2011-12-07T06:00:00.001-08:00

If you have been reading my blog for a while, than you know how bath time was one of my favorite times of day.

Now? Not so much.

My little monster has decided his favorite thing to do is splash. And not just splash, but create tidal waves in the tub. By the time the bath is over, I am completely soaked and the bathroom floor is flooded. Okay it isn't flooded, that was dramatic... but it's super wet and I have to use two towels to dry it up.

Here's how the story goes:

Just set him down in the tub... his hair is dry and he's happy.

About to do something he's not supposed to, look at the devious smile.

Yep, I knew it. SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH! Splish splash... over and over and over. This goes on for about 5-10 minutes with me trying to get him to settle down. And toys don't do the trick so we just don't even bother.

I didn't even need to rinse him, he rinses himself with all that sloshing around.

"Oh it's just a little bit of water on the floor, Mom... no big deal!" *as he smiles at me so sweetly*

Even though he has a fabulous time in the tub, bath time really is more of an annoyance these days. It's just ridiculous how much water gets everywhere and he doesn't take "no" very well. Hmm... but he is stinkin' cute. And I do love his smile.

Ah well... it is what it is! :-)

Linking up for Wordless Wednesday with The Paper Mama, Jenni from the Blog, And Then, She Snapped and Supermom.

Hank Player apparel review & giveaway!

2011-12-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

Who loves finding new places to shop for their kids? I do!! And what I love even more, is when the shop offers me something unique, but maintains good quality clothing.

I was super excited when Hank Player contacted me to do a review of their boys apparel. I had never been to their website, but holy cow - I'm so glad I've been introduced to it. They have a wide variety of shirts for boys, girls, babies, and even men!

From the Hank Player's website:

Hank Player strives to create a quality, long lasting t-shirt that brings together a combination of hip, novelty graphics and vintage inspired colors. All about clean designs, Hank Player tees are garment dyed and vintage washed to give it a familiar lived-in and super soft, comfy feel.
The kind of clothes repeatedly picked out of the drawer or closet when given the choice, Hank Player has the ability to make a positive statement about the kids wearing them and once they put them on, they'll never take them off!

They sent me two adorable t-shirts. Of course I put Bennett in the first one right away and we went outside for a little photoshoot!

{the long sleeved onsie is not part of the t-shirt, i layered because it was cold!}

These t-shirts are size 2T, and I found that they run fairly true to size but if your child is anything like mine, and growing like a weed- I'd get a size larger than you think you'd need... just so they can wear these cute shirts for a longer period of time.

These shirts are extremely soft, unlike a lot of the stiff little t-shirts I already have for my son. Makes me want to cozy up to him even more. Is that even possible?

Okay, but the best part about this brand, is that the shirts are slim fitting. Bennett is tall and slender and I always have an issue with his shirts being wide & short. These fit him AWESOMELY! They are long enough to grow with him, and hug him in all the right spots.

And? I really love that the neckline is wider cut than usual. I get really annoyed at the average crew cut shirt, and trying to squeeze it on and off over his head. I know that my child has a large "thinker"... so this is one of the things that really sold me on this brand of clothing.

Overall, I am seriously excited about Hank Player. Their designs are casual, yet trendy. A perfect mix if you ask me! I highly recommend that you hop over to their website and check them out. They have sizes as small as 6M all the way up to 10/12. Oh oh, I almost forgot, they also have the most adorable accessories. Seriously, check them out while you're over there!

*I was provided with product for the purpose of conducting this review and promotion. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation*

Hank Player has generously offered to giveaway not one, but TWO shirts to one of A Sorta Fairytale's readers! The winner chooses the size but please note: Due to Hank Players stock changing daily, they will choose the graphic tees to send you so that you can receive your shirts as quickly as possible.

>>But before we get to rules of the giveaway, are you ready for more good news?? Hank Player is also offering my readers 40% off when you use code: FAIRYTALE40! Discount will be available for 30 days, that's amazing right? Go take advantage of it... like now!!

Okay here is what you have to do to enter:

*If you haven't used Rafflecopter yet, it's super easy!! The first two things listed in bold are mandatory. But of course, you have plenty of other ways to get yourself more entries! Please notice that you can tweet once daily, each day you tweet - you get one more entry :-)

Steppin' out to a Holiday Party!

2011-12-04T16:20:00.000-08:00

Friday night we got dressed up, well... I got dressed up - compared to my usual sweatpants and oversized t-shirt look. Ha.

shirt: tj maxx // jeans: motherhood maternity // belt: target // {unpictured shoes}: target

My amazing friend Kiara offered to watch Bennett so my Husband's I and could attend his company holiday party! The party was held at The Woodmark Hotel, in the Marina Room. It was pretty spiffy, I must say. The hotel is right on the water, it's completely gorgeous. The party was pretty well catered, and they had sort of a "casino" theme. They had blackjack tables, roulette, texas hold 'em... etc. We all got some chips and got to gample with them. At the end of the night, the employees could use their chips to bid on prizes and stuff.

We didn't stay until the end, though. So who knows what we could have won. Ah well. We had a really good time! It was so nice to get out of the house, just the two of us and enjoy an evening together!

Here we are at the blackjack table, I'm pretty sure I had just won "5000" dollars. :-) And please excuse out crazy eyes, all I had was my iphone (didn't feel like editing). and whoa belly... it's really gettin' large, huh?

So there you have it, that's where I stepped out to! Linking up with Mandy @ Harpers Happenings.

please, leave it at the door.

2011-12-03T21:12:00.000-08:00

*this post was written last week. it's more of a journal that i just sat down and wrote because i needed to get these feelings out. i debated whether or not to post it but decided i should because i want to remember how i'm feeling about this.*

this is personal and hard for me to write, so please wipe off your feet and leave any judgements at the door before you proceed any further.

tonight, i did something hard. i gave our dog to a better home. i will not go into the specific reasons because there are many. but mainly, we just couldn't provide him the attention he needed. it may have been a failure on my part, the pet owner, but it remains true. i feel incredibly guilty for having given away a 'member of our family' as he was, but in the end - i truly feel he is better off.

now i know that a lot of people frown on my decision, and many have told me that you shouldn't "just get rid of animals" and "you made a commitment when you bought him". believe me, i know this. i feel that i have been judged harshly for my decision and it kind of hurts. just because you feel that you would never give your pet away, doesn't mean that it's not what's best for the animal. i assure you that i did not make this decision lightly. i have been thinking about it and debating over it for a very long time now. i've been selfish in the last year or so in keeping him *hoping* that things would just click better. i think i've realized that i am a 'pet person' and i am a 'kid person', but i am not a 'pet & a kid' kind of person. that is a hard truth to swallow.

anyway, i loved my chihuahua, Jeffrey. he brought me a lot of happiness and joy and i will miss him terribly. but i did what was best for my family, but most importantly - i did what i believe was best for my sweet dog. he deserves more love and attention than he would ever get here.

thanks for listening.

week in iphone pics w.18

2011-12-03T09:12:00.000-08:00

A little glimpse into this last week! It's been kind of a whirlwind. More unpacking, sick child, endless tantrums, Christmas decorating, baby playdates, 21 week ultrasound, yummy thai food dinner, Mommy/Daddy date nights! (not all things shown).

Hope you all had a wonderful week!

Linking up with iPhoneography & InstaFriday and my week in iphone pics.

yep. i'm crazy... or i'm getting there.

2011-12-01T20:07:00.000-08:00

My poor little boy has been sick with an icky cold the last few days. I feel sooo badly for him, there's not a whole lot I can do besides give him some Ibprofen here and there and try to give him extra love and attention. Isn't just so sad when your child is sick?

Sometimes they are total sweethearts... cuddly and clingy.

Other times... this...

Crying. For hours upon hours in a day. Have you ever been around a baby/toddler when they are screaming, crying & throwing tantrums that last all the live long day??? Seriously, if that won't make you go insane I don't know what will. And like I said - I am completely sensative to the fact that my little bug is sick and feels icky, I spend most of my days consoling him and trying to distract him.

But there are moments when I just lose my mind.

And yes I totally ran off into a room by myself to take a picture of me "pulling my hair out". That is how I feel after non-stop screaming.

I feel like after a few rough days like we've had, I just aged by 10 years. Look at those wrinkles! Seriously guys. But okay... I'm optimistic that things will go up from here. I am going to get a good nights rest (hopefully) and wake up in a better frame of mind. I WILL HAVE A GOOD DAY TOMORROW.

Wish us luck!! And please, pray that my little man gets better soon!

A letter to Target. A bitter sweet goodbye.

2011-11-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

Dear Target,

We have had a long and wonderful relationship over the years. Circo, Mossimo, those are brands I have really come to love. My closet, and my sons have become infested with clothes from your store! I'm sad though, to tell you that you have failed me. I have recently moved out to Maple Valley, WA and to my dismay, there is no Target to be found anywhere within a reasonable proximity to my new location. Total bummer.

Well I am here to tell you that I have found your replacement. Walmart. Yes, I said Walmart. Now I know that a lot of people are skeptical of that place (me included) because it's "ghetto" and the people that shop there are somewhat "cheap". But let's just be real, who doesn't want basically the same products for cheaper? *raises hand* I know I do!! There is a Walmart only a few short miles from my house, and I will be honest, the first time I shopped there - I felt a little like I was betraying you. But Target, gosh darn it, I saved money. Even with my trusty Target card, where I would save 5% every time I use the card, Walmart is still less expensive. So, Walmart for the win. I'm sorry. It just isn't worth the drive to come and shop at your store.

So with that, I am thankful for all of the countless hours that you were there for me when I needed a warm place to wander with my son. Unfortunately, it's time to part ways. No thanks to you. But, should you ever decide to open a location closer to me, I might consider coming back to you. In the meantime, all we have is this bitter sweet goodbye. Good times Target, good times.

20 weeks... s. l. o. w. down!

2011-11-28T05:00:00.000-08:00

Where is the time going? Seriously. I'm already 20 weeks along with this pregnancy and I can't believe it!! I remember when I was pregnant with Bennett, I desperately counted down the weeks until my due date. Time felt like it was going at a snails pace and I couldn't WAIT for my due date.

This pregnancy?

I keep wishing the clock would give me some breaks! As excited as I am to meet my new little guy (and believe me, I'm extremely excited), I also just need more time! I need more time adjusting to the idea of having two kids, I need more time settling in at our house and getting things ready, more time with my hubby and lastly (but not least), I need more time with Bennett before his little brother comes and completely upsets his entire world. Okay, more on all of that later, I have much more to say on this topic but right now... we'll move along.

Here are the pregnancy things you've all been asking for:

+ Morning sickness has finally subsided... for the most part! No more puking for me. Woo hoo!
+ I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Thank goodness or my OB would have yelled at me.
+ I am feeling a little more movement in there, baby Fitz is getting bigger and more active. I can feel his little kicks! It's so cute.
+ His heart rate is 150bpm. That's pretty normal I think.
+ We have our "big-in-depth" sonogram later this week (I'll be 21 weeks). Hoping and praying that everything is normal!
+ Overall, I am feeling much better. I feel like I am getting a little bit of energy back and I'm really looking forward to the Holiday's.
+Bennett still has no clue why I keep telling him there is a baby in my tummy. Ha ha.

There you have it! That's all I got for you right now. You can expect another update/picture in probably 4 weeks. That seems to be as often as I get around to taking them! He he.

week in iphone pics w.17

2011-11-27T08:25:00.000-08:00

It's been almost a month since I've posted my iphone pics. But if you follow me on instagram or twitter, I'm sure you've seen these! :-)

1. trying to figure out how to use the new washer/dryer

2. shopping at walmart. bennett is obsessed with the fish!

3. standing in line at safeway. it was a mad house.

4. my little monkey trying to climb up on the window ledge.

5. home-made soft taco. yummm!

6. being a happy boy. that's all.

7. bennett tried to move one of his toys into the tent.

8. put Christmas lights up in the kitchen. i like it.

9. he always lays this way in his crib. wish he would just flip around the long ways, he'd fit much better! ha ha.

10. thanksgiving dinner!!

11. he was completely zonked out after thanksgiving.

12. and so was i. sooo tired.

12. love his cute reflection.

Linking up with iPhoneography & InstaFriday and my week in iphone pics.

Home tour - the downstairs

2011-11-25T20:23:00.000-08:00

Okay okay! After lots of comments begging for a home tour, here it is. Well, here is part of it. The downstairs is pretty much unpacked. There are things that still need to be hung on that walls, but for the most part - it's clean. Thus, you just get a tour of the downstairs for now, k?

Outside of the house, obviously. :-)

Formal Living Room.

View from the stairs. See the pictures in the corner? Those still need to be hung!

Formal dining room, turned Bennett's "play" area. We have chosen not to get a formal dining table quite yet since we have a kitchen dinette area. Maybe once the kids are a little older and we don't have the toys, we'll get a nice table for this space.

Kitchen & eating area. (yep, those are Christmas lights on top the cupboards!)

View into the family room from the kitchen. We're planning on building shelving in the family room and mounting the TV. I'll show you more before/after photos once that project is complete!

Backyard. there is a lot of work to be done in this bad boy. Hopefully we can fill most of it in with grass so that the kiddo's have more room to run freely. Maybe this Spring/Summer we're get around to it!

And that's all for now!The upstairs is still a big fat mess. Boxes around and rooms aren't put together at all, so once it's all situated (could be months!), I'll pop back in with the upstairs tour. K?

Giving Thanks. Real thanks.

2011-11-23T12:47:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's that time of year when we all spill our guts about how thankful we are for things. Seems silly that some of us need a "reminder" day to really think about how grateful we are for the blessings in our lives - but not me. I really do think about how thankful I am every single day. My Husband and I pray daily, we don't just pray for things we want. But talk to our Heavenly Father about how grateful we are for the wonderful things we have, and the blessings that we get to enjoy - however small. I think it's so so important to constantly acknowledge the good things in life.

But what I don't do nearly enough of, is publicly express my gratitude. And of course, this is a time when a blogger like myself remembers to write it all down! So thank you Thanksgiving, for reminding me to speak my gratitude out loud! :-)

I am grateful for so many things. Especially now. This past month or so has been filled with sadness, stress, misery, anger, and so many other negative emotions (rightfully so). But through all of that, I am still thankful.

Of course, for the little things I enjoy like food, electricity, electronics, my car, movies... etc.

But more importantly I'm grateful for...

My Heavenly Father
My faith
My Husband
My beautiful son
My 2nd little boy growing inside my belly
My family
My business
My home
My friends
My freedoms and my country
My right to vote

And also, I've been thinking a lot about the things I'm grateful for that I take for granted, the things that most people don't think about that often. I'm thankful for the mistakes I've made because they allow me to grow and perfect myself. I'm thankful for my accomplishments. They remind me that I can do important things, good things... if I put my mind to it. I'm grateful for the hard times, because it's through the challenges that I learn about who I truly am... and who I want to be. It's the difficult phases in life that show me the real purpose I'm here. I'm thankful for my morals. I have high standards so that I can be the happiest possible me. And I am so thankful that I can stick to my morals and beliefs without reservation. I'm thankful for the right to choose my attitude, I know that my attitude and perspective is one of the only things I have real control over.

Most of all, I'm grateful for my life. I'm blessed to be here. I know that I will go through sadness and there will be times I'm angry, frustrated and just plain sick of life. But I'm lucky to have the opportunity to be here, to live and to learn, to love and to enjoy this time I've been given. As cheesy as this all sounds, we have been chosen to live this life, to make the best of it, and be grateful for every single thing we're given, even when we're faced with trials.

Whew. Okay, got those incredibly deep thoughts out of my head. Now... It's time to enjoy the holiday with family and eat lots of food!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Moved in and exhausted!

2011-11-21T19:10:00.000-08:00

Hi!!

We are officially moved in to the house. This last 4 days has been so busy that I don't even know where to start. So... maybe I won't even try to get into details.

We had some amazing help from friends to finish painting before the move, and then had more awesome help to get all of our crap moved in. I haven't been super 'useful' actually moving things because I can't lift much weight (thanks to pregnancy). But I have been doing my best to get things organized. The unpacking is coming along, slowly but surely. We have most of the downstairs unpacked, but the upstairs is a bit of a disaster. There are boxes everywhere and things are all over the place as we're trying to get settled. It's kind of overwhelming to go from a small apartment to an *almost* 2000 sq ft house. We are loving the space, definitely, but I have no idea where to put things that will make sense for us.

Bennett has adjusted fairly well. His first night he threw a bit of a tantrum when I tried to put him in bed, but he napped like a champ today so I think he will settle in nicely. Anyway, I'm totally pooped. I've been doing nothing but unpacking, organizing, running errands, grocery shopping, chasing Bennett around, baby proofing.. etc. I'm just tired. This is the one of the first times I've sat down at the computer in 4 days!! Can you believe it?? It's a record. I don't even have any pictures for you yet cause I'm embarrassed at how messy things are. But I will try to post some pics of the house once things are less chaotic.

Just keepin' it real here. This is what I look like lately. Hair a mess, not one ounce of makeup, and yes i'm totally wearing an iPhone shirt... not even sure where I got it. Most of my clothes are still packed so this is all I got. Notice the mess behind me? Hopefully I will get that all organized soon!

I have some blog posts I've been meaning to finish, have no idea when I will do it but I hope to get back into the swing of things soon!!

A day in the life of Chelsey@ The Paper Mama

2011-11-18T08:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to "A Day in the Life" series here at A Sorta Fairytale! Have you ever wondered what other people do all day? What are their routines & habits? How do they always look so put together?... or not? Ha ha. Well, each month I will have 1-2 of our fellow bloggers walk us through a day in their life.

Today... Chelsey from The Paper Mama is here! She's crafty, has a cute little girl, cute animals, a cool shop, she's pretty much awesome. And Chelsey is also running a series called "50 DIY days of Christmas". There are some amazing DIY ideas from a plethora of bloggers on this series, please be sure to check it out!

Good morning friends! I'm Chelsey from The Paper Mama! I was so very happy when Mandy asked if I would do this guest post for her! What a great idea! I can barely remember anything anymore (mom brain) so I'm hoping this will help!!! I had no idea what a challenge this guest post would be! It seriously took me a couple months to finish it completely. It was definitely a challenge I LOVED and would do it again in a heart beat!

So, here's a typical day (sorta ;D... it was a Friday) of my daughter (Ruari) and I...

5:45 in the freakin' morning:

I wake up! Mike gets up really early for work... so, in our small house it's SUPER noisy and the whole family gets up! So, while Mike gets Ruari up and changed... I put my contacts in... use the restroom... shower.

6:30 AM:

I take over Ruari duties as my hubs gets ready for work. We start with a tasty breakfast. This morning was: french toast with nectarine and banana! Yum.

7:30 AM:

Time to play. I usually turn on some music and Ruari usually gets into something while I turn my back. ;) I also put a hair clip back in her hair about 40 times. She pulls it out and hands it to me.... but, she wont let me cut her hair....

8:00 AM:

Diaper time... there are many diaper changes throughout the entire day. Ruari: "Why are you taking a photo of my diaper change?"

8:15 AM:

I do some cleaning while Ruari plays with the most annoying toy on the planet! She loves that thing... I found it at a thrift store for $2.... now I know why they got rid of it!!! ! ! !

9:00 AM:

We both play more! Ruari carries around and packs things into her boot purse... I help her and also try out a new hairstyle for the blog.

9:15 AM:

I'm starting to drag and realize it's probably because I stayed up TOO late again last night... and, I forgot to make my tea!!! So, I have some tea.... put on a little mascara and enjoy my CAFFEINE!!! While I do this... Ruari puts on her boots... all by herself! She's always so proud when she does this (in fact... I didn't have the heart to fix the wrong feet. :D).

9:30 AM

Ruari empties out our ENTIRE bottom drawer to a filing cabinet... (it took her about 2 minutes). SO, I had to childproof it. Whew!

10:00 AM:

It's naptime. I read Ruari about 5 million books... cuddle her.... then, lay her down.

10:30 AM - 2:00 PM:

Blogging time. Yup... my daughter takes about a 4 hour nap (I'd say that makes up for waking up at 5:45 every morning... ;D. This is the time I catch up on my blog reads, blogging, etsy orders, and tweeting. :)

2:00 PM - 5:00 PM:

Play. Do laundry. Play. Run around. Dance. Play.

5:00 PM:

Daddy's home. Lets go somewhere! Eat. Walk. Shop. Poor Rod Stewart in the clearance section. ;)

7:00 PM:

Dinner. BLT's for mama and daddy... and, PB&J for Ruari.

7:30 PM:

Bathtime and sleepy time for the kid.

8:00 PM:

Me time! This is usually when I catch up on orders and emails and the hubs and I completely space out. Love it.

10 PM:

AND, it's our bedtime..... gotta get up early!

The next day:

And.... repeat. ;)

Thanks to everyone for reading! I'd love to have you if you'd like to visit. AND Thank you so much Mandy for having me! I <3 you and your family.

Moving this weekend = busy!

2011-11-17T11:30:00.000-08:00

I have been neglecting my blog (again) and will be continuing to do so for just a little while longer. Since closing on our house last week, we've been busy fixing, paining, shampooing carpets...you know... all those things that go into home-ownership. This weekend will be a whirlwind. Bennett is going to stay with his Aunt and cousins Friday & Saturday so I can be at the house to help with more painting/unpacking.

We realized after spending more time there, that we just weren't that happy with the way the walls were painted, so, we pretty much decided to paint the entire house (except the kitchen and the 4th bedroom). So... needless to say, there is a lot of work to do!

AND I seriously have the best friends in the entire world. My good friends came over to help tape/primer/paint the other day, and it was such a great help. And they are coming back on Friday to help some more. They even happily carried on painting while I was laying on the floor with a leg cramp being totally useless. I love them. I am so blessed to have such amazing people in my life.

I have a guest post scheduled for tomorrow and I will be back next week to check in on all of you lovlies! Hope you have a wonderful weekend! :-)

{me and my girls, hard at work...kinda. ha ha}

Shabby Apple Dress WINNER!

2011-11-15T08:36:00.000-08:00

Yay Kiara! I will be in contact with Shabby Apple to give them your info! Expect an e-mail soon! :-)

on being a WAHM

2011-11-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

I started this post in August, and never got around to finishing it! Things got kinda nuts with work so blogging went on the back burner. I'd still love to post on the topic, so here I go!

Before I got pregnant with Bennett, I was working full time as a vendor at Microsoft and was working part time building my own business, Mandy Chiappini Photography. Once we found out we were pregnant, I knew right away that I wanted to quit my "full time job". My Husband and I always talked about how wonderful it would be if I could be at home with our children, especially when they were little. So... that's what I did. I quit my job at Microsoft and spent most of Bennett's early months snuggling with him and enjoying every minute of being home with him. Once Bennett was around 3 months old, I decided to jump back into my business. I started working more and more, and I admit - it was wonderful to watch my photography business thrive and turn into a success. But with that came a lot of challenges.

Balance. How to I balance running my own business and staying at home to care for a baby? Totally new territory for me. This is when I really started to understand, and took on the title of "work at home mom".

Here are the things I love about being a WAHM.
First and foremost, I get to spend most of my days with my little boy! Super important to me. Also, I have control over how many hours I work every week, I have flexibility with scheduling throughout the days I work, I get to stay somewhat social in my job, I have a fairly steady income, and I am my own boss. Pretty much my dream job/situation...

But here are the things that make it a challenge.
A busy toddler running around means that mama doesn't get to work during the days at all unless it's naptime. I have to work around my husbands 8-5 work schedule, which means that I mostly work in the evenings and on the weekends. Normally I don't mind that, but sometimes it can be a hard because it cuts into "family time" and activities. Not to mention, a lot of times I have to stay up late and work in order to meet my business & client expectations. Which in turn makes me really tired the next day and hard to keep up with Bennett.

{sometimes i feel like i should be multi-tasking like this. ha. not even close}

I actually work a lot more than people realize. Aside from the photography session itself, I put in hours upon hours, upon hours... editing & post-processing (which is the biggest time-sucker), consulting with clients, organizing client sessions, uploading galleries, placing orders, preparing orders for shipments & post office runs, bank runs, balancing budgets, networking, blog posts, working on marketing collateral, website maintenance, updating my portfolio... etc. That is a LOT to handle in a few short hours at the end of every night and on the weekends. And I never really get "alone" time to work. I don't leave the house and go to an office. I work at home, which means when I'm trying to talk to a client or concentrate on finishing the post-processing on a session - often times I'm battling the screams and noisy toys of my 21 month old.

So since I work at home being a Mom (and yes!!! it's a lot of work), and I work at night and on the weekends, sometimes, it can feel like I don't get much of a break. Which I'm sure is a common feeling for anyone that works and has kids. But I think what makes it a little harder is that I'm forced to work during the only times my family has to be together.

It's extremely difficult to fit in family time, time with friends, time for other hobbies, time to clean, time to organize, time for just me and my hubby, time to RELAX? It all comes back to finding that balance, and I haven't even come close to figuring it all out.

Okay that sounds like a bunch of complaining and I totally didn't mean it to come out that way. Even though it's tough sometimes to be a WAHM, I really am grateful for my job. And for the wonderful opportunity I have to do something I love & be able to stay at home with my son. I try not to take it for granted and I definitely admire those that work full time and have to be away from their babies throughout the week. You are all truly my heroes because I can't imagine having to be away from Bennett all day every day.

I hope that from this, you get a little more insight as to what some of us WAHM mom's do all day/night! :)

Offical home-owners!

2011-11-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

So you know all those posts I wrote complaining about the home buying process? Well the nightmare is finally over!! If you follow me on twitter than you probably know a little bit about what's been going on.

A few days ago we were contacted by our realtor that the short sale had finally been approved (for the 2nd time)!!! We were ecstatic. We went in, signed the closing docs (for the 2nd time), and yesterday, we officially closed on our house!!! We couldn't be happier that this happened right before the holidays!!! So we'll spend this next week painting and fixing a few little things here and there but we should be all moved in by next Saturday!

A lot of you have been asking about the specifics of the house so here's a little bit of info:

Location: Maple Valley, WA
year built: 2002
4 bedrooms
2.5 bathrooms
1900 sq feet

I know there is a lot that goes into owning a home, and there are several things we'd like to change/upgrade... but for now - we are happy to have a place to call home for our growing family!

Wordless Wednesday {a walk in the park}

2011-11-08T18:01:00.000-08:00

Tuesday evening was just gorgeous here in WA. The sun was shining, the air was crisp, and the fall colors are to die for! It was a perfect evening to take the little man down to the lake/park for a stroll. I'm so lucky to be only 5 minutes away from beautiful places like this!

Forgot my camera, so you get iphone pics! :-)

Linking up for Wordless Wednesday with The Paper Mama, Jenni from the Blog, And Then, She Snapped and Supermom.

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway!

2011-11-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

This giveaway is closed! Thanks! :)

Today's giveaway is brought to you by Shabby Apple! I know you've all been to there website, right?? I know I have. I have a little "shopping" tab on my browser and Shabby Apple is the first link on that list. They've got vintage inspired dresses, skirts, swimwear, accessories... and more! I swoon over their unique designs. Wish I could buy every single dress in their shop!

Here are some of my absolute faves::

See anything you like at all?? Of course you do! If these designs haven't impressed you, you should take a look at their awesome Arts & Crafts collection, their amazing Kids boutique. And while you're paroozing their site, be sure to check out the charity work they are involved in. It's absolutely wonderful!

Okay now onto the good stuff. I have chosen my favorite dress from the shop to giveaway to one of my wonderful readers!! I'd like to share with you the Da Vinci dress. It's totally my style. This fall, I'd wear it with a cute cardigan, some leggings and boots. Then when spring/summer rolls around, you can shed the layers and your good to go!

{ the da vinci dress }

Okay so now you want to know how you can win this super cute dress, right? Here are the deets:

Mandatory Entry:

Like Shabby Apple on Facebook. Also, visit the Shabby Apple website (if you haven't already) and tell me which item you're most in love with!

don't forget to leave your e-mail so we can contact you if you win!

Want more chances to win?

1. Follow Shabby Apple on Twitter. Leave a comment telling me you did so.

2. Subscribe to the Shabby Apple blog. Leave a comment telling me you did so.

3. Tweet about it, with a link back to my blog. Leave a comment telling me you did so.

4. Share this giveaway on Facebook. Again, leave me a separate comment if you did!

Giveaway open from 11/7 - 11/14

*please note: the shabby apple giveaway is open to U.S readers only.

17 weeks. Hello!

2011-11-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

I told you I'd be bad at posting belly pics! It's been almost 4 weeks since I took a photo of my growing tummy. And it is definitely growing.

Sorry about the crappy quality - if you want pictures, this is the best I can do right now. :-)

Hmm... any other pregnancy/baby updates?

+Morning sickness. Blah. I still have it. But I totally expected to have it until at least 19-20 weeks. So... only a few more weeks and hopefully it will go away! The one nice thing about morning sickness, though, is that I lost 10 lbs and therefore I still wear all my normal jeans (most of the time).

+Belly. It's gone from a little "bump" to a full on round belly. It might be small still, but it's definitely a preggo belly now.

+Baby kicks. I think I felt our little Fitz moving around. It's hard to tell cause he's still so tiny in there but I'm pretty sure I've felt him kick a few times. They mostly just feel like little taps... but it's cute and I love it.

+Bennett still doesn't get that there is a baby in my belly. I'm hoping as my tummy keeps growing and he gets a little older, it will start to make sense!

+U/S. We got called into the Siemen's training facility again for another U/S. They were doing a some kind of testing so another free scan for me! Little man is super cute already! I would post a picture but the CD of u/s images got packed up with the rest of our stuff. Whoops!

and in other news...

Things are good. I mean, my life is good. We may not be in our new home yet, but we are alive and healthy. We've settled into my Mom's house and Bennett has adjusted very well. He loves it here. My Mom has been so welcoming and has made us feel right at home (and made me feel back at home). I'm thankful for family in the area that can help us out when we need it.

Welp! That's it for now. Ta-ta!