Pure Family. Pure Love. Pure Michigan.

My husband and I have decided that we are going to start taking FULL advantage of our family time together, with Teagan, before Juliana arrives.  Furthermore, once Juliana is born, we're going to start spending family time together visiting places and spaces right here in our home state, Michigan!  Because I am taking a very-much-needed ten weeks off of work for maternity leave, this summer is going to be an awesome time to embark in activities and visits, to places that are located in the Mitten State.

Last weekend we visited the Children's Museum--where Lance taught Teagan how to milk a dairy cow.  P.S. for growing up in a small town in Michigan, my husband is soooo not a country boy ;)

We played at the water table, which is the absolute messiest learning station they have at the museum--FYI  :)

We planted some 'Forget Me Nots' in honor of Earth Day!

We played in the maze--mama had a hard time fitting in the little spaces!

We made a stop at the 'Dentist' where we were intrigued with the mouth--and got to sit inside of it!

And finally, we weren't about to call our visit to the Museum complete without a beautiful cupcake face-painted on Teagie Tot's cheek!  By this point, she was SO tired and about to fall asleep.

Overall, we had such a great day!  It was so much fun to hang out together as a family:)  

Not sure who had more fun though, my two year old--or my HUSBAND.  Here he is hanging out at the 'Eye Doctor'!  LOL!

What type of things do you like to do with your kiddos that the entire family enjoys?  What are some cool MUST SEE/DO family attractions in your home state?

36 Week Pregnancy Update!

How far along?/Weeks Highlights: 36 weeks, 0 days...28 days to go! 

This morning I had my 36 appointment-- it was a two hour ordeal, but so worth it after hearing that everything is looking 'AWESOME' and going really well.  Music to my ears.  We started the appointment with a NST(non-stress test), then moved into the ultrasound room, and finished with a quick prenatal appointment with my Midwife.  Finally got a nice face shot of little Miss.  She's been sitting very comfortably up against my uterus throughout this entire pregnancy, which is reason to believe why we haven't gotten a good picture of our itty bitty, and also why her nose is appearing semi-smooshed in the one pic that we did manage to get of her...  So far, she is looking exactly like her big sister did in the womb.  

Size of the babe? 6lbs 11 oz.  Measuring bigger than her older sister did at BIRTH! Oh my! ;)

Weight Gain: 27 pounds--up to 181-ahhh! 

Cravings: Have really tried to subside with the cravings lately.  I went through a pretty rough patch of eating a bag of Cadbury Eggs, with the hard shells, pretty frequently.  Damn 70% off Easter Candy!!  I think I'm good now.  I've been eating super well and really have tried to cut out extra processed sugar--aka whole bags of candy--from my diet.

Symptoms: Sciatic nerve pain shooting down to both butt cheeks, but nothing too painful.

Movement: All the time.  Sharp, intense movement.

Baby to-do list: Finally feeling much more prepared for baby Juliana.  Need to purchase diapers (going to be using Pampers Swaddlers), and get the bassinet, car seat, swing, bouncers and stroller washed up, and we'll be good to go.  My mom has helped out tremendously with washing all of the newborn-6 month clothing we had in storage :)  Also on the to-do list:  *Prep hospital bags *get breast pump out to figure out any supplies we need to update it with

Maternity Clothes: Still rocking the super annoying maternity clothes.  If it would warm up, I would LOVE to start wearing dresses SANS leggings!  I'm so over undershirts that don't quite cover my entire belly.  I CANNOT wait to start wearing my normal clothes!!

Baby Buys: Haven't bought anything for the baby in a while.  She needs NOTHING!--except a diaper stash!  Also, am super interested in cloth diapering, so I need to start on that, too :)

Gender/Baby Names: We're so ready to meet Juliana Kate in four short weeks!!

OK, Mr. Easter Bunny- We're Ready for YOU!

I left work Friday at 5:00PM with the mind-set that I wasn't going to do a dang thing the entire weekend.  Since hubs had to work, Food Network, my bed and my two year old were about the only three things on my agenda :)  

I contemplated stopping by Michael's to grab some things for a little diddy that this pretty lady inspired me with, and when it was snowing/raining and 28 degrees (it was 80 two weeks ago...), it took all I had to get out of my car and go into the store...  

Let me just start by letting you in on two little secrets--

1. I am so NOT crafty!  I have the best of intentions, but creativity/crafting just does not come natural to me- which is why I'm in LOVE with Pinterest and Bloggers, who give me that boost of inspiration!!

2. Sharpie Paint Markers are the absolute WORST invention!

So, I'm pretty sure I had Teagan's Easter Basket made and my MESS was cleaned up by, oh, about 9:30AM on Saturday morning.  So much for being a lazy  sleeping in!

Supplies: 

*Galvanized metal tub

*Sharpie Paint Markers (Next time I'll just use regular Sharpie Markers)

* Stencils (but just because I have TERRIBLE handwriting to freestyle!)

*ribbon of your choice

There really are no rules when making this Easter Basket, but check out Dana's awesome how-to to get you started.  I definitely started out with this project STRESSING  out because I was trying to be too perfect!  It really doesn't matter that my bunny's face is a bit dis-formed, or that my eggs didn't turn out to be perfect oval shapes. 

Thank you so much, Dana for your coaching and inspiration on this CA-UTE project!  Pretty sure this basket will be around for years to come :)  P.S. If I had more patience, I would have made Juliana a basket too.  Poor baby girl will have to wait until next year!  Not quite sure how the heck you did THREE of these!