Five on Friday vol 2

Linking up again this week for Five on Friday

O*N*E
I booked my first unofficial photography gig a couple weeks ago for a close friend who is pregnant with #2 thats happening tomorrow afternoon. Im a little nervous to say the least. Im no professional, and am honestly scared that we will end up with no good pics. My friend has complete confidence in me and says shes knows that im just beginning, but that she thinks i take really good pics. (if youve see pics on here of matthew and his girlfriend sam, thats her firstborn). I told her she didnt have to pay me unless she liked how the pics came out. That way its a win-win for both of us, cuz honestly Id do it for free just to get the experience, and this way if the pics dont turn out good then she can hire someone else to take pics. :/ Wednesday during my lunch break I even went downtown to the location to scope out some areas where we can hopefully have some nice background scenery. Now only if I could figure out how to make my camera do the focused foreground blurry background trick when i want it to (i only sometimes get it, and it frustrates the crap outta me!)

T*W*O
We finally put up the swingset that Matthew got for his birthday back in June, this past weekend. It took hubby and 3 of matthews uncles to build it in 2 days. It sits so nicely in our big backyard and I can already picture many future playdates with lots of kids. Matthew already is attached to it. He'll grab his shoes, bring them to me to put on, and then head straight to the back door. And also, his changing table is right next to the window that overlooks our backyard, lets just say diaper changing has become a complete challenge since he can see the swingset thru the window. Look forward to a whole post of the swingset, but for now, ill leave you with this pic.

T*H*R*E*E
Kinda fitting I pick to write about this third. I have this weird theory that everything comes in threes, but more particularly life and death. So if someone tells me they are pregnant or that someone has passed away, im always looking for the second and third person to be pregnant or pass away. (sorry if the death one is kinda morbid, but its true) So basically, where this comes into play is i think i have major baby fever right now. Matthew is starting to act more and more like a toddler and less and less like a baby. He has his own characteristics, and is becoming so smart that its hard for me to enjoy it because i already miss his small baby squishiness (yes, i made that word up). So when a friend of mine announced her pregnancy, I immediately started looking for the next couple of preggos, and OMG they just keep coming. Literally

1. Friend - Sarah L
2. Acquaintance - Krista G
3. Friend  - Julie F
4. Friend's wife - Jamie L
5. Friend's sister - Daniella S
6. Friend - Ciji J
7. Friend - Kristina
8.  
9.  

And these are all IRL friends. I dont really count blog friends since I dont know them personally. So basically Im am literally chomping at the bit wondering who is #7 & #8. And unfortunately even though baby fever has come in at full force, i know for a fact its not me :( we're not trying yet, but hopefully soon.

F*O*U*R
Ive been a total slacker on weight watchers lately. I feel like a drop-out. But i refuse to give up. So what if ive have a few bad weeks, as long as i go back on it i am good. Im still down 30lbs so Im happy about that, but i finally got my bob jogging stroller and ive had my new rollerblades in my closet for a good 1-2months. So i have absolutely no excuse not to be exercising now. Plusalso the temps should be dropping at least a degree or two soon (thats alot cooler for us floridians lol) so i should be able to rollerblade after work before dinnertime. We shall see. I just need a good kick in the butt! Any volunteers? jk

F*I*V*E
We finally booked our Thanksgiving cruise. Its kind of a tradition on my side of the family to go on a cruise for Thanksgiving, but we missed last years due to matthew being too young.We were debating going on this years because it goes to a port we've already been to and because its only a 4day cruise. But at last minute we decided a short cruise is better than no cruise. So basically the countdown begins for when i need to be in a bathing suit in front of people. Which brings be back to point four above. My small goal is to be down at least another 10lbs before the cruise. My final goal weight is about 20lbs more, but Ill be happy with 10lbs by Turkey Day. Wish me luck!

Thats about it for me. Hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!

If youre new here, leave a comment and ill make sure to hop on over to your blog too!

our babyfree weekend

Two weekends ago, hubs and I got to go on our first overnight without baby mini-vacay. It was more like a staycation, considering we were only 10 minutes from our home and 15mins from Matthew, but none the less, i was still a tad emotional when we dropped him off at my sisters.

source

You probably heard me mention a few times on here about Tortuga Music Festival. Well it was taking place on our home beach from April 13-14. Seeing that it was the inaugural event, we were unsure of just how much of a clusterf*ck hassel it would be down by the beach.

So, we opted to get a hotel room at a old florida type motel, called Tropic Cay, for Friday and Saturday night. This way we wouldnt have to worry about beating the traffic Sat morning since the first act went on at 11am. One of my childhood best friends, Erin and her mom also got a room at the same hotel, so we did have some fun Friday night as well.

 

It was actually a little funny because Erin kept saying it was so weird to be out at midnight with me and hubs. (she knows we norm kick people out of our house by this time so we can go to sleep! lol). But this weekend would be different. Time for mommy and daddy to enjoy some adult fun time. So what are baby-free parents to do? We hit up the notorious Blondies. I swear this place has been around FOOOOORRREEEEEVVVVEEERRRR (said like from the movie The Sandlot). Its basically a chuck-e-cheese for adults. Bar. Beach. Pool Tables. Basketball Hoop game. Arcade Games. You name it. But its also basically a dive bar. Its actual name is Dirty Blondies, and it lives up to that name 100%.

 

We decided to walk to the bar, i mean come on we were on the beach, why the hell not? But, it sure did give us a little bit of a heads up of how far the walk would be to the concert the following two days. Realistically, it wasnt that far, but try walking that route twice a day, in the blazing hot sun, after drinking beer all day, in the heat, and hardly eating anything. It was for sure my workout for the weekend.

 

Saturday morning, I wish I could say I took advantage of sleeping in. Like really took advantage of it. But considering we didnt go to bed till about 3am, waking up at 10am just didnt feel like a full nights sleep to me. But who am I to complain right? We waited at the hotel for our other friends to show up and then headed down to Sonic for some breakfast? lunch? breakfast. Hubs absolutely loves Sonic, and its literally the only one that is close to us. But we hadnt been there because we never actually get the time to go to BeachPlace (a mall thats right across the street from the beach). Now let me tell you something, you thought Sonic was good in the middle of nowhere? Well its like waaaaay better on the beach. With a bar and all! Best.Sonic.Ever. And yes we did have it again on Sunday too. lol. (good thing we walked so much!)

 

As for the actual festival? It was awesome! Im not going to give you a detailed recount of the whole thing, because honestly i cant remember that would take forever. But lets just say, all the musicians put on dam good show. My favs included Michael Franti, Jake Owen, Lynrd Skynrd, Kenny Chesney, and my favorite was Eric Church. Ive seen Kenny Chesney in concert about a million times, and he always puts on a good show. Lynrd Skynrd rocked the house! It was my first time seeing them and as Ronnie Van Zant put it "Theres nothing better than a Skynrd crowd!" He was waving his rebel and american flag the entire time. Now, Michael Franti, i truely didnt really know all of his music (although surprisingly alot more than I thought) and he was the one who really got everyone moving dancing and jumping around through his entire performance. I was surprised they didnt have him on the bigger stage. Erins mom actually had him as the one artist she WOULD NOT miss. We ended up losing her and then found out later she was backstage with Michael Frantis girlfriend. Go figure?!?!

Michael Franti

Eli Young Band

Kenny Chesney

Eric Church

Eric Church

And of course, Eric Church just blew us all away. If you remember, I saw him back in December for my birthday. I dont know if it was the beach, booze, or day, but he was even better than I remember! We actually almost didnt get to see him perform, as he was the closer on Sunday night, which meant he played from like 7:30-9pm. We were supposed to leave and go pick up Matthew, but my sister generously offered to just keep him another night. I was a little uneasy with the thought of this. Not that I didnt trust her or anything, i just missed my baby. And I knew we would probably be home by 11pm, and just didnt like the thought/feeling of being home without him (its different if im at a hotel ;)). But thank god/sis, she did keep him, because it really truely was an incredible show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We cant wait to go back next year. It was well worth the $150 per ticket. And made an awesome birthday gift for the hubs! Some things I will remember for next time though include getting a closer hotel, reapplying suncreen religiously, bring a hat, and have just as much fun if not more than this years! (that last one is going to be pretty hard to top!)

matthew's first easter (photo dump)

This year Easter was not only special because of it being Matthews first easter (and we all know my obsession with "firsts"), but it was also special because it was our first easter as a family. The first easter I got to start new traditions with my son. And let me tell you, the Easter Bunny, he was good to our family ;)

We started off the day with an absolutely beautiful church service at 8am that was held in the park across the street from our actual church. The park is beautiful, especially that early in the morning. Right on the water. And with such enjoyable weather. We were running a little late (as per usual) but this particular service is a great one to bring kids to because its outside and has so many things for them to be amused by. In our case it was the boats passing by, the birds chirping above, the green grass below, and a stroller tray full of puffs!

 

 

We followed up the service with a nice little drive down by the beach. When i say it was absolutely gorgeous out, I am by no means exaggerating. This view, this ocean, these palm trees, this is why i love living in south florida.

I think what also made this years easter so memorable, was that we didnt really have any plans to be anywhere until about 4pm. Usually we are scrambling to get from hubs familys house to my familys, and rarely have anytime to enjoy the day. But this year we kind of just went with the flow. We decided at the last minute that we would head over to my sisters house to dye easter eggs with them. And of course, since it was so beautiful out, what better place to do the dyeing than outside! Matthew even got to take part too! (even if it was just to observe and chew on a spatula)

 

 

 

 

Somehow, Matthew ended up taking all the credit.....

After my sisters house we came home to let matthew take a nap before the evening filled with family and great friends. I headed over to my moms a little early to help out since she had gotten off work a little late. This year I actually got to help my mom make the riddles for the easter basket hunt. I remember fondly all those years that "EB" (easter bunny) left my sister and I little riddles that we had to figure out to lead us to our baskets. They were funny riddles, and I swear we always ended up finding our baskets in either the dryer or the shower. My mom even made a comment about how the last riddle needed to lead my neice and nephew to the shower. I laughed at her and said this year it was going to be a different place to really fool them. Best part was when my nephew, as he was reading the last riddle that lead them to the shed, said "but this doesnt take us to the shower." I about died with laughter.

 

 

 

The rest of the day was spent just hanging out with family and close friends. It was so relaxing. The kids got to enjoy their easter baskets. The adults got to enjoy a few good beers and delicious food. Matthew enjoyed observing everything and everyone between the pack-n-play, swing, and being carried around.

 

We got a few good family pics squeezed in there too!

love his expression in this one, such a goofball, takes after his father in more ways than one ;)

You know, I knew I would always love having a family of my own, i just never thought about how much I would enjoy all the holidays with my own kids.

Well, I hope you all had as nice and relaxing of an Easter as we did!