Jesus. Bunnies. Babies. Family.

Easter was nearly a month ago, but I wanted to get some pictures up before we head off to our next adventure this week...

We had a few egg hunts, visited the beautiful Cantigny Park, had a visit with Mr. Easter Bunny and apparently he has a wife (who we also visited, to Claire's dismay). We ate good food, enjoyed the company of Grandpa and Gramie and even got out for a little date night while they were here.

We also colored eggs. That's an activity I have since learned from after Benjamin dumped the entire cup of pink coloring on the floor, which quickly transitioned into the next activity, cleaning. We will either be skipping that fun event in years to come or doing it outside.

Claire was overall confused with the hoopla surrounding the holiday, but had no problem finding eggs and popping crackers into her mouth like a boss. Benjamin fully enjoyed the egg finding (except when he found eggs with coins inside them. Clearly one gummy bear trumps a quarter to a 3yo). He was an expert at finding all the pink eggs at the park we visited and at home, found every one and ate the treat as he found them. Next year might be a little different when he has competition in the form of a 2yo little sister who will know better than to sit around watching him take all the treats!

Jesus. Eggs. Sugar-filled kids. Bunnies who bring gifts (and also make toddlers cry). Grandparents and lots of love. Easter 2015 down on the books.

Gaw-bee Visit & Serious Deals

My mom was in town this past weekend and it was so nice. Those of you who have parents that live locally to spend time with the grandkids or just give you a break every now and then don't know how lucky you are! Or maybe you do.

Benjamin was beside himself with happiness that "Gaw-bee" was in town. I have no idea where he got that name, but he calls my mom that and my MIL "Gae-bee" (for Gramie I'm assuming). I have a trained ear to know the difference, but either way, he loves to "call call" them both and loves it when they are in town to love on him with 100% attention.

We took full advantage of the extra help and made our way to REI for their annual garage sale. I knew there was a very slim chance, but I was hoping to score a BOB Duallie Revolution jogger for a discount. That didn't happen. If we lived in Los Angeles, there would probably be a half dozen for the picking. Here, there was a single and that was even overpriced. I'm throwing down for one in the coming week. Let's just not discuss how many strollers I have owned. The Bumbleride Flite is about out the door via Craigslist, but yeah. I'm a stroller hoarder.

Since it was only 8:30 in the morning, we headed off to another sale. I was emailing back and forth last week with my friend Alli who is Crate.&.Barrel's biggest fan. I forwarded her this email that was blabbing about a warehouse sale and 75%+ off, etc. I feel like I get those emails from every company on a weekly basis and really thought nothing of this one. But apparently this one was different. We have an outlet store and distribution center here in the 'burbs and I almost never score anything of high value. Sure, a table runner and dishes here and there. But furniture? Nah. But when I told my friend about this sale, she said it was the real deal. Still, on Saturday I was not thinking we would bother. Until the REI sale was a bust and we decided to drive on over for the fun of it.

We got in line 5 minutes before the sale opened and there were a few hundred people in front of us. Once the doors opened, we entered the warehouse and saw tons of factory firsts, seconds, returns, and floor models in every furniture line they sell! People were throwing their hands up left and right and sold signs were being slapped onto couches worth thousands of dollars marked down to $500. We looked through and noted the gorgeous furniture. But really, we didn't need anything. I found a cute bowl and wineglass in their houseware department I wanted and got in line with my $5 bill. My husband and baby were off next door at Land.of.Nod Outlet store at this point. Just because it was fun, I asked the guy behind me what he bought. He told me he used to work there and this sale has never been done before and that he bought a King bed. He whipped out his phone and showed me a picture. I fell in love immediately. It's basically my dream bed. Reclaimed wood. Rustic. Cool shelving. The perfect mix of modern and contemporary. I asked if they had more and he told me they did. I paid for my kitchenware, ran over and found the bed. I called the husband who came running back and consulted the sales associate in the bedding area of the warehouse because the bed I chose wasn't tagged. I asked if it was sold and it wasn't. They tagged it as a complete bed and I threw my hand up to buy it. A $2,700 bed for $250. Sure, we did just complete our bedroom and buy a headboard and new nightstands, but this was a solid wood bed for cheaper than the price of wood itself!

At this point, the line to purchase was about 80 people deep. I fed Claire in the car while E waited in line and then headed across the street to Target to kill some time while E waited in line. He reserved a truck to transport the bed while waiting to pay and then we were off to get the truck. Just then, I received a call from the sales associate who tagged the bed and she told me the bed they sold me was incomplete. But, because they are awesome and I already paid for it, they will be honoring it as a complete bed and making it right. But that we didn't have to pick up that day (phew, you should've seen the line!). We headed back to Land.of.Nod Outlet and they were also having a bit of a sale. We scored a rug for Claire's room for $75. E loved it at first sight, but it took me awhile to love it. Now I really do and the quality cannot be beat.

We contemplated going back the next day for day #2 of the sale. Mostly because we live locally and my mom was in town still. We never get the opportunity to just shop without our toddler around! And, we were curious if there would be more stock put out. And of course we found about 10 things in our house we'd like to replace with better pieces of furniture for these ridiculously awesome prices.

So we went. We showed up earlier to get in line this time and were behind about 30 other people. Almost all of the people in line with us were also there the day before. All going in for the kill again. The guy who told me about his bed and is the sole reason we bought one? He was three people in front of us.

This time, we bought a queen bed to replace our 10-year old IKEA bed in the guest room that wasn't in the best shape. Still functional, but definitely seen quite a few moving vans. I sold it the next day for $100. This new bed was $1,100 and marked down to $250. We wanted to get a new media console for the living room, but we didn't find much. We liked a few, but the one we really wanted was already being claimed by another couple as we approached it. We were able to score a couple chairs for my friend Alli who wasn't there from the new stock they put out for day #2.

And the bed we bought the previous day that they have to complete for us? They are likely getting that shipped to us for the inconvenience. Man, I love deal shopping.

Benjamin had a blast with his Gaw-bee and is still on a detox from her visit. They had french fries and milkshakes and lots of playtime together. We even went to a special local chocolate dessert place together and split a few decadent cakes. And now it's Wednesday and the daily fun continues with tantrums and food throwing and overall fun 2-year old behavior.

Gaw-bee, come back. 

Aunt Samantha Comes to Town

For Thanksgiving, Benjamin's Aunt Samantha came to visit. That made for one very happy little boy. We celebrated a little differently and had a Mexican feast. Since there were three adults and only one toddler, I was actually able to get in the kitchen and cook! A rare treat these days.

On the menu for Thanksgiving: steak and veggie enchiladas with a homemade tomatillo enchilada sauce, sweet corn cakes, yellow rice, homemade guacamole and Trader Joe's Karat Cake for dessert (don't waste your time. Chocolate ganache cake will far exceed your expectations... this barely meets them).

Aunt Samantha came bearing gifts from Benjamin's Maryland grandparents! Among them was a very cool tractor nightlight that Benjamin refers to as a truck because he hasn't nailed down the word tractor quite yet. He loves it. You can gauge how much he loves something by the number of times he says it in a row. The count was off the charts. We went shopping, ate lots, went out to a delicious lunch and Skyped with Benjamin's grandparents.

We even went to see Santa! Our local Bass Pro Shop was having Santa and friends at their store and boy was that awesome! I totally recommend it. Free carousel, crafts, trains, mini exhibits and of course, Santa and company! We love that store anyway because of how huge it is and the big fish tank in the middle, but seeing the Easter Bunny earlier in the year and now Santa (but more important to Benjamin were Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman... as he literally followed them everywhere they went) have definitely added to the cool factor of the store.

Santa didn't phase him at all. My kid is quite cool having complete strangers hold him. Sigh...

B loves his Aunt Samantha so much that when she was reading one afternoon, he grabbed the iPad (that he was playing on in the kitchen) and walked to the formal living room where she was laying. He crawled up on the couch and just sat with her to be close. So sweet. Aunt Samantha even went with us to a gymnastics class. And as if he didn't love her enough... she left a special "deet" for him on the bed after she left. It took him no more than 20 minutes to find that deet and inhale it. Really fun weekend!

And that mullet in the last photo? It's gone. Dad cut it this weekend.

Maryland Grandparents Visit Chicago

Benjamin has seen so much grandparent love this past month. Lucky boy! Good thing, because when he opens the family photo album I made him of all the people who love him, he always stops at the pages with both his grandmas and does a little whiney grunt like where are they? It's adorably pathetic and totally sad. Benjamin wishes his grandparents were closer, too.

But, he is quite a lucky boy to see them as frequently as he does! Benjamin's Maryland grandparents were here for a long weekend and we not only got another date night without the bambino (praise JESUS and thank you Thai restaurant for some of the best Thai we've ever had!), but Benjamin got lots of quality time pulling his grandparents wherever he wanted all weekend long. Kid heaven.

We visited Fermilab out in Batavia, IL and an awesome pumpkin patch where we pet lots of animals, ate lots of delicious fried delicacies like cider and pumpkin donuts and funnel cake, went for B's third hayride on a "kuck" which is really a tractor (he loves them) and picked pumpkins that we later carved and made pumpkin seeds from. We also suited Benjamin up in his scarecrow costume for the first (of three) times for our church's trunk'n'treat and pumpkin drop where Benjamin (and his grandpa) scored some treats and checked out some cool decorated trunks.

At Abbey Farms. This child loves petting zoos and anything he can hang from.

At Fermilab and back at home carving pumpkins. His face says it all-- he was not sticking his hand in the gooey pumpkin and happily directed us to put the contents in a bowl. This kiddo is not a fan of getting his hands covered in anything.

More photos from the Farm. They had old Radio Flyers and Benjamin enjoyed being toted around in them.

A mix of park pictures and the trunk'n'treat. More hanging from things-- these ziplines are a serious favorite.

Our adorable scarecrow, his grandparents, and our friend's daughter in that last photo. She's part of a train that her brother chose and designed.

And here are photos of the seeds we made (soy sauce/olive oil & butter/cinnamon/sugar) and the pumpkins Benjamin's grandpa and dad carved out for him! He also discovered the treats Mom pulled out for the trick-or-treaters when he woke from his nap on Halloween and promptly figured a way to get himself one of those "deets" and repeated the word for HOURS. He was sad when the trick-or-treaters knocked on the door and then promptly left. He loves people and doesn't like it when people go "bye-bye".

...and with that... Halloween is complete. Now what to do with those two rotting pumpkins on our doorstep...

A Month Late: California Grandma Visits Chi-Town

Part of me didn't get this post moving because I hadn't outed myself about the newest uterus inhabitant yet and obviously I look 8 months pregnant already (despite being about 6)... but part of me just couldn't find the time/energy to get out a blog post with just pictures. But I know family loves to see them, and I love having them here...

We'll see what the future holds and if I do bring home a baby in a carseat and all that. I just don't see these whenever family comes to visit posts continuing. I might switch to a more lazy general approach to things and just IG some of them and post a couple here on the blog. I just can never decide because I love all of them! With that said, I still have one more trip post and another one coming once Benjamin's Maryland grandparents visit in a week!

California Grandma came to visit in September, but California Grandpa couldn't come... but that was okay because he got his fix about 3 weeks later when we visited him!

Book time + a Noodles & Co. and chocolate and coffee date while B was napping one afternoon at home with Dad

A visit to a new orchard, Honey Hill in Waterman, IL. We picked apples, raspberries, went on a hayride, bought overpriced things from the gift shop like cider donuts and cider, and pet the animals in the petting zoo.

While Dad was putting in a new window well cover since our rambunctious toddler likes to JUMP on them, we went to Brookfield Zoo to check out the sights... and a first carousel ride (to which he was indifferent).

Family Visit & Changes on the Home Front

First, I must mention how incredible the weather has been here in the suburbs for the last few days. It's been breezy and between the 60's-70's! It's sure nice since most days are over 80 and close to 90 degrees, with humidity. It has felt exactly like what I'm used to in Southern California.

Moving along... we were so happy to have Ray's parents and grandparents visit last weekend. Ray's parents are now on summer vacation (though my MIL still has work but is lucky enough to choose which days!) and more available to come out and visit. They brought along Gramie and Papa for the visit to explore Chicago (though they've all been before) and see our home. When they arrived on Friday, I had lunch waiting for everyone. We had the champagne glasses cued up with white grape juice and sat down to eat. At this point, no one had any idea we were about to break some serious baby news! They were just assuming we were being sweet and toasting their visit.

Ray gives the toast and says something along these lines... "We're so happy to have you all our here to visit and that Gramie and Papa were able to come ... and that Brandy is pregnant!"

Oh, the faces. Between the tears and dropped jaws, I think we thoroughly surprised everyone.

Quick backtrack... when we told my parents via Skype just 2 days prior, we had similar reactions. I had been cleverly scheming how I would creatively tell them, so we sent my dad a package for Father's Day, full of goodies. At the bottom was a wrapped present for the both of them. My dad was so confident that he knew what it was until it was opened-- Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul with a post-it that announced they are soon to be grandparents! Inside the book were photos from our first ultrasound appointment. My mom asked me THREE times if I was pregnant. Three times!

Needless to say, we shocked everyone.

On Friday afternoon, I chatted with the ladies while Ray took Papa and his dad to his work to give them a tour. When they came back, we had dinner and hung out. They were all so tired from their early rise, the 1-hour time difference, and the flight. It was an early night.

Saturday was the downtown visit. Kay, my MIL, had booked tickets for us all to go on an Architectural tour through the waterways in Chicago. We drove down there quite early and I'm sure glad we did! The traffic wasn't forgiving and the Puerto Rican parade that was going on had the streets blocked. It was difficult navigating with two cars, but we managed to get there in time for lunch before our cruise! It was a 2-hour cruise around the waterways and we listened to a recent University of Chicago graduate of architecture discuss all things related to the building structures, their architects, etc. It was nice to be out on the water on such a nice and sunny day. Ray and I even walked down to Navy Pier to grab some amazing Garrett's Popcorn to share with the group. They also had muffins, cookies, and beverages for us on the boat cruise. Here's a photo I took on the cruise...

We finished the evening off with a nice dinner at a popular restaurant, Rosebud, in Naperville. Gramie and Papa treated us to dinner this night and the food was great! We had so many leftovers because they serve such huge portions.

On Sunday, we made our way to church in the morning and to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle. It was awesome! We had no idea that this place near the 88 freeway would be so nice. We walked through some of the park and were able to drive through the rest. There are hiking and biking trails as well as a fantastic children's area. We'll definitely become members and go more frequently when we have kids of walking age. During our drive through the park at the end, we felt as though we weren't even in the same state! It really felt like we were driving through a mini version of a national park. I highly recommend checking this place out some time... especially if you have kids or like hiking in this flat state. That evening we headed to a Father's Day dinner at the House of Emperor Chinese restaurant. My FIL, Steve, loves Chinese and we're also big fans. This place came highly recommended and we really enjoyed it.

Before they left... Gramie and Papa also had a special surprise for us. Because Ray has an Air Force military background, Gramie and Papa wanted to honor him by giving us a family heirloom that means a great deal to Gramie and Papa as well as Gramie's late mom, Big Ceil. As you can see below, there is a large photo of a man-- General A.W. Vanaman, Gramie's uncle. This (vase) was a gift given from their many military travels and is now a family treasure. This is a Cloisonné vase. Cloisonné is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork and often involves intensive skill and precision. Each coil is a tiny piece of wire inset and decorated on another metalwork. It really is striking. We're honored to have it.

We had a wonderful visit with Kay, Steve, Gramie, and Papa! We're so happy they came and we were able to celebrate so many great things with them. We'll see them again in August when we drive to Pennsylvania for the annual family reunion at Seven Springs.

On another note, the house work has been non-stop. Actually, that's not true. This week, it hasn't really been a big priority and as a result, we've had a wonderful time being a carefree (almost) married couple. On Friday evening, I went for a run and Ray played ultimate frisbee with a bunch of our friends... I joined later and was able to socialize with some of the girls we know from our small group. We went out to dinner that night (though the food at Pete & Johnny's was terrible) with all the friends who played frisbee. We spent this past Saturday at a pool party for a friend, Jessie, dinner with our friends Sandy & Chuck (tried a new-to-us deep dish place, Lou Malnati's), and went to see Date Night at the movies with our friends Derrick and Liz! Sunday was equally fun because we went to church, relaxed, and had a game night with our friends Jim & Kristi.

But, since there is some housework that has been done recently, I'll update y'all. This is actually pre-repair, but I have no photos from what it looks like now because I don't have a desire to sweep the deck for a photo! Ray scrubbed, by hand, the entire deck, replaced all of the rotten boards (which required him renting a truck from Menards himself, strapping the wood in, and returning the truck), and stained it with a paintbrush BY HAND! I helped a bit with the railings and it took a lot of time and effort. But hopefully the deck will last us a few more years! The dangerous boards are all gone and new ones have taken their place. Try to envision a more cherry wood color and that's what it looks like now!

Also, I don't believe I ever posted a photo of our finished dining room. The chairs are here and being used. We love the decisions we made on both the table and chairs. We're so happy we bought the chairs at Carson Pirie Scott for $85 each rather than at Crate & Barrel for $200 each!

The basement basically went from a finished (and gorgeous) basement to an unfinished basement with no carpet and lots of missing drywall in a matter of a week's time. We found water damage and all kinds of other things that just frustrate me to talk about, so I'll just leave it at that. Luckily, the rest of our house functions just fine despite the unfinished basement. It's nice to have enough space that we don't really need it. Though, eventually we will re-do the basement and get it all fixed and usable. That time is not right now.

Finally, here's a new addition to the front of our house... the flag! Just in time for the 4th of July, Kay, Steve, Gramie, and Papa left this behind for us as a gift. I think it looks perfect!

Okay, what a post... I'll probably post again tomorrow about the baby, but until then, I think this is enough reading material! :)