So Busy!

Things in the Mangiaracina household have been crazier than ever and it is just going to continue to go nuts! I've been a bit MIA as I was out in California attending a conference for work. The conference was good, but seeing pals Patrick Wilson and Franco Anzini (and lovely wife Dawna) was GREAT! Patrick just so happened to be in town from Portland so we were able to catch up. Franco and Dawna call Santa Clara home so they gave me the tour of the swankier part of silicon valley. All in all, it was a good trip.

Unfortunately, because of my time away, there is a lot of playing catch up going on. And I don't just mean with work (which is out of control nutso right now thank you very much Toy Fair!). We have been working on many things around the house in anticipation of our bundle of joy and everything seems to be happening right now.

We figured that once little baby boy Mangiaracina makes his entrance, life as we know it will cease to exist so we need to get things done now or forever hold our peace. So, with that said, here is the laundry list of To Do items that will be blogged about in the near future:

1. Install blinds on all windows throughout the house. Or rather have Home Depot install them so we don't screw it up!
   
   
   
   
2. Build a window seat in the front window bump out that seconds as an attractive toy chest for all the anticipated baby stuff. 2A. Order cushion for said bench. (P.S. We also hired a pro for this as we do not have the skills nor the tools to conquer) (P.P.S. Not our house in photo below...but you get the idea.)
   
   
   
3. Paint and prep nursery. This one will happen in stages but painting is a must in the near future. The color will be revealed shortly.
   
   
   
4. Paint and minor renovation of the Master Bath. I've mentioned our issues in here before. We have some serious wall issues in here since the previous owners thought it would be a genius idea to put flat paint in a bathroom with no windows. It's time to slap up some satin finish paint, install a new light fixture and a new medicine cabinet. The full renovation is unfortunately out of budget at this time, so our mini reno will have to do. 4B. Find said light fixture and medicine cabinet (harder than you would think!)
   
   
5. Install medicine cabinet in the upstairs hall bathroom. For some reason, this house has terrible storage situations in all 4 bathrooms. It's now time to fix that ~ especially since we will have a little person who will be using this bathroom soon! Our fav:

This laundry list of items is more for me than for you so that I can keep track of everything, but I promise to share with you the progress of each project as we are very excited for the end product.

Anyone else out there doing some light home renovations? Share, share!!

Overwhelming

That is the word we use to describe all things baby registry this weekend. My goodness...is there A LOT of things to think about and A LOT of stuff to choose from. Our heads were spinning as we were walked around the massive store filled from floor to ceiling with toys and bottles and clothes and bouncy chairs and whatever. I mean look at all the car seats and strollers they have!


It's enough to make you want to forget what the doctors say and grab a big drink ~ I didn't, of course! We headed to Buy Buy Baby first thing Saturday morning to set up our registry and were treated to the knowledge of an associate named Claire. She must have seen the blank stares on our face because she took us under her wing and helped us sort through the sea of pink and blue.


First stop was car seats and boy did she WOW us. We never thought we'd have the reaction that we did when she showed us how easy it was to install the base of the Chicco KeyFit car seat on her test bench seat. I almost hugged her! From there we went to strollers, then playards, then high chairs, then bath time and then safety. The good news is that in 2 hours, she helped us pick all kinds of stuff for the kid. The bad news ~ we are no where near done. But it was time to go. We were hungry and tired and could not look at one more pacifier or Boppy pillow.

Another trip to Buy Buy Baby is in store for us...but not before a little break. We need about a week to decompose and regroup. Plus I am headed to California tomorrow for the week to attend a conference and I can pretty much guarantee that Ed will not sneak off to add more baby stuff to the registry. :)

Blue

It's official: The peanut is a BOY!!

Yup - come March the gender scales will be more even in the Mangiaracina household with me and Lucy holding it down for the girls and Ed and our future son representing for the fellas. And we couldn't be more excited. Lucy even showed some excitement when she heard the news!

We just found out the great news this morning at our 20-week sonogram. And I am happy to report that this baby boy is healthy as can be and is growing at the correct rate. All parts are present and accounted for!

Now that we know the news, the pregnancy is that much more special. We can actually refer to the baby as "he" and "him" vs. "goy" and "shim". And you know that the planning will be kicked into high gear now! And even though it is a boy, we plan to keep things ~ especially the nursery ~ fairly gender neutral so don't expect to see baby blue coming out of our ears around here. :)

Starting to Feel Really Real

This is currently sitting in our living room:


With this sitting in our house, the baby thing seems really real. Not that it didn't before...but now it feels REALLY real. Like no joke real! Our wonderful neighbors, Kim and Chris Newland, loaned us a few baby items including this bassinet (thank you guys!!!) so we have officially started collecting baby gear. Lucy is not sure how she feels about it...but she'll sniff it all the same.


Tomorrow is a BIG day in the Mangiaracina house. The gender of the little peanut will be revealed and we can hardly wait!! Any predictions? We have no idea and will be happy either way as long as Baby M is healthy. Lots of you have placed your bets based on how I look, how I have felt and how I am carrying. Man there are LOTS of old wives tales out there! There is even a test where you can tell the sex if you combine Draino with my pee. Um...no thank you. We'll wait. :)

Jammies

Lucy and I have this little ritual every night when it is time to go to bed. I head up the stairs and say to her "It's Jammie Time!" and she comes running up with me as I get out of my binding pregnancy clothes and into my comfy PJs. Lucy's real role in this nightly ritual is to be by my side as I get comfortable...but not anymore. Now she has her own jammies!!!!


Look how cute her butt is in these!!!


I couldn't resist when I saw these in the catalog at the Red Dog Spa when we were there for our little VIP party. I've been dying to get some for her, but never could find her size. Not anymore. :)

Unfortunately, her excitement does not equal mine when it comes to this new addition to her wardrobe. Her face reads "Really, Mom? Do I have to wear these?", similar to the face that Ralphie makes in A Christmas Story when his mom makes him wear the bunny suit.


Aw well...what are Mom's for it not to embarrass the hell out of you with ridiculous pajamas!

Ed's Crazy Obsession

I'm a very lucky lady. I married a guy that does not ditch me and spend his weekends in front of the TV watching sports or out on the golf course or getting drunk at poker games. Instead, I married a man that is obsessed with light bulbs.

That's right. Light bulbs.


For some reason, when we moved into this house, Ed became a man on a mission to ensure that we had ample light bulbs and that each fixture had matching light bulbs. We have a big bucket in the basement filled with light bulbs in case we run out. And even when one blows, we head to Home Depot to buy more.


I think we have the most beautifully lit, energy efficient house on the block thanks to my light bulb-obsessed hubby. Good work, Bubby!

A Little Fall Clean-up

We took advantage of the gorgeous weather this weekend to get things ~ meaning landscaping things ~ under control. With all the rain we have had, things were getting a bit unruly so it was high time that we took back control. We don't have a lot of property, but we did inherit lots of bushes that grow wildly no matter how much we wish that they didn't. Here's a look at the before:


Like that butt shot of Ed? He is very happy with me about that one. :) With my gardening gloves on and my gardening shears in hand, I went to town. It was time to trim back those mother's so that we could actually see the numbers on the house again! We also bought some mulch and weed killer for the front garden to spruce things up a bit. Take a look at my handy work after a few hours:



There is nothing better than the feeling of accomplishment after a good day's work. :) With the addition of some beautiful mums and some Fall fun, it looks like we are ready for the Trick-or-Treater's come Halloween!

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Doesn't this mirror look so GOOD in the latest West Elm catalog??


Doesn't it look even BETTER ON OUR WALL?!!!??!??!!!


I have been looking for a mirror for the front entrance hallway for a while and drove my loving hubby insane in the process. There were many contenders like this beauty from Ballard Design (too big):


...and this lovely from Belfort Furniture (too ornate ~ actually considering for over our bed).


But alas my heart went out to the Antique Tile Mirror at West Elm (my go to for all things decorating). It was a bit of a pain to hang being that it was so heavy, but my talented and loving hubby made it happen and I am in LOVE with how it looks. It is perfect for the location and adds a bit of flare to the entryway.


Now we will always be able to check our hair status before we leave the house...in the most stylish way we can. :)

Fall Festival Fun

The smell of Fall is something that can't be matched. From the apple cider to the pumpkin patch to the hearty mums you can smell the season in the air. It is hard to believe that the sweltering heat of the summer is behind us and the crisp days of Fall are here. We have been so busy around here that Fall kind of snuck up on us and before we knew it, it was time for the annual Fall Festival in Fairfax City.

We happened upon this festival last year (check it out here) and had a really good time so we decided to hit it up again...only this time we brought the Lucy girl so that she could share in the fun. It happened to be a beautiful weekend so we were pretty psyched about checking out all the local vendors, sampling the carnival food and taking in the sites.


Since it was so nice out, it was PACKED so Ed had to hold Lucy most of the time so that she wouldn't get trampled. Talk about lucky...I was hoping for a piggy back ride, but no dice. :(


The best part about it is that even though it was so crowded, we did manage to bump into some friendly faces including one Miss Mary Molloy and family (Suzy Q's best bud from elementary school ) as well as Jessica Bush (fellow Chica from WTW).

After weaving through the crowd and purchasing some yummy treats for Lucy, we made our way to the important stuff ~ the food! This year Ed dined on some traditional carnival fare (cheeseburger and cheese fries) while I went gourmet with a wrap from Doug the Food Dude's food truck. But not before I got my hands on some kettle corn. LOVE ME SOME KETTLE CORN!! We found some shade and shared our eats with Lucy.


The day at the festival ended with a few new collars for Lucy, a fun lawn sign for the house and some soft serve.


This year, Gonzo's Nose was playing but we were too hot and tired to stick around for their set. Instead, we came home and enjoyed a late afternoon nap on the couch. I have a feeling that next year's festival will be a little different with the addition of a baby stroller. :)

Travel Routines

I just got back from a week in Dallas. I was down there for one of our two biggest events, Fall Toy Preview and I have to say, it went really well. My sponsors and advertisers seemed happy as did the boss so that's a good time in my book.

I realized on this trip, that I have a set of travel routines that I tend to stick with to make my time away from home not so bad. I bet a lot of us have travel routines we can speak of. Here are a few of mine:

1. I have a bit of a packing ritual. I first make the bed so I have a smooth surface to work with. I then go through each day and choose my outfit - from socks to pants to unmentionables, I lay everything out on a day-by-day basis. When I pack toiletries, I go through my morning routine and think about what I need. For instance, "In the shower I need shampoo (check), conditioner (check), body wash (check), face wash (check)..." and so on. It's a little OCD, but I rarely forget something. And of course, my sidekick Lucy keeps me company while I do all of this.



2. When flying, I always wear shoes that are easy to slip off so I can scoot through security quickly. But more importantly, I wear socks. I definitely could have gotten away with wearing my flippies on this trip, but the thought of putting my bare feet on the cold, dirty floor of the airport is enough to make me have morning sickness here and now. I'm sorry to say, the Kardashian's don't share my phobia of airport security germs.


3. When I get to my hotel room, the first thing I do is rip apart the bed to check for those little critters known as bed bugs. NYC is notorious for their infestation, especially this summer, so I am now trained to look for these little suckers. I also make sure to pack many Ziploc baggies in all sizes to protect my stuff. I definitely do NOT want to bring any of these guys home with me.

3. Yup...I'm that person. I take hotel toiletries...when they are worth taking that is. :)


4. At night, I need noise to help me fall asleep. At home, we have an air purifier that we run to keep things fresh and I have gotten very used to the white noise. So, since I can't pack the air purifier, I instead use the White Noise App on my phone. My favorite sound - the Airplane Mode. Puts me right out!


So there you have it. A little bit of my craziness is now out in the open. What travel routines do you have? Are you aisle or window on the plane? Do you call for extra pillows in your room? Do you ever really use that iPod docking station clock that they sometime have? Fill me in...don't let me be crazy all on my own!