MacBook Pro

My doorbell just rang…
& guess what has arrived??

My new MacBook Pro!

Today is a bit of a milestone for me.

When I first started blogging in 2009 I invested only $11 for a domain name. My goal was to slowly grow my business (which has turned into 4 blogs).

Once I became more profitable I gave myself a budget of $5500 for new logos and a complete makeover. Now that I have the new look that I had dreamed about I would love to learn to be more blog savvy.

So, my next goal was to be able to buy myself a Mac. My husband had offered to upgrade my $399 PC years ago, but I really wanted to pay for this on my own with my blogging profits. So here I am with a brand new Mac!!!!!

Can you guess what my next goal is? BLOGSHOP!!! EEEK, only 2 weeks & I am soooo excited. I’ll be attending in NYC with some fabulous other bloggers & I cannot wait to share my experience!

Do you have blogging goals?

photo of the day

Here’s my little guy this past Halloween! Jameson dressed up as WIIIIILSSSOOOON! from Cast Away. I tried to get my husband to go as Tom Hanks, but he didn’t think he had the tan to pull it off

Lindsey
linzwoelke.blogspot.com

do you have a photo you would like featured for “Photo of the Day?”
please email it to spearmintbaby@gmail.com (subject: Photo of the Day)

Gender Reveal

Did you hear? It’s a BOY! We are so excited. I’ve been having a hard time working the past couple of days because all I want to do is look at baby boy clothes and toys. Read all about how we told our families here.

There are some things I learned from our little gender reveal weekend that I’d love to share with you all, in case you’d like to do something similar one day.

1. If baking isn’t your specialty, leave it to the pros. I had a great experience with Crumbs, but I’m sure other bakeries would accommodate similar requests.

2. Skip the cupcake flags or any other decoration that might accidentally reveal the filling early. Cute it theory, but not practical.

3.Choose dark colored frosting. I wanted chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and frosting so people had a choice, but the white frosting didn’t hide the blue filling that well. I’d do all chocolate if I could go back in time.

4. If possible, get both sides of the family together for the reveal. It was fun to be able to do it twice, but it was hard to keep the secret for the side of the family that had to go second (and friends who were dying to know). It would have been so much fun to have both families find out together – the more, the merrier, right?

5. Enjoy yourself! Any time I plan something like this, I have a hard time relaxing and enjoying the moment once it arrives. If you’re anything like me, try to take a deep breath and remember what’s important – celebrating with family and friends!

Would you ever do a gender reveal party or gathering?

Pink, Gray, & Yellow Nursery

Happy Tuesday afternoon. After a LONG (6 day break) I am back. We had a really nice holiday even though I was sick most of the time! I didn’t get nearly as much done as I had hoped, but did a lot of laying in bed which was nice. I hope your holiday was equally relaxing.

This afternoon I wanted to share a beautiful nursery designed by Kimberly, an online friend I have had for years thanks to this blog! She has been making nursery artwork for years and now has a baby of her own.

Here is what she shared about the space:

I wanted to design a place that was stylish and that would grow with my daughter, but still appropriate for a baby. I knew I didn’t want to do a theme, and I chose a color combo of pink, gray and yellow. The unusual colors made it hard to find decor items, so I made many of them myself including the artwork. I chose a graphic design for the wall, which I hand painted. I love how it turned out and I feel very calm and peaceful when I am in the room because of the light colors. I can’t wait to watch her grow up and enjoy her room for many years to come!

I did several DIY projects for the room, and I posted tutorials on my blog for them if you are interested in sharing those: customnurseryart.blogspot.com

Baby Belly

Hi Shari!

Love your website!! I have been taking these photos on my porch every five weeks and I love that the leaves changed in the background! My due date is October 27th so hopefully I will get one more shot in at the 40 week mark with some colored leaves!!

-Joanna

are you EXPECTING?

send a photo/s of yourself (and your BUMP) to Spearmintbaby@gmail.com

feel free to include wks pregnant, boy or girl, 1st/2nd/3rd baby, cravings, and/or something interesting about your pregnancy. we all enjoy reading fun pregnancy details!! if you have a blog, etsy store, or website we would love to give you some link love!

A Birth Story…Through the eyes of an adoptive Mama

I have been wanting to write this story for you since the second I first laid eyes on our baby boy however I have been busy being a first time Mama.

At 5:35 pm on June 15th my phone rang, I thought it was the Birth Mother (V) calling to let us know how her 37 week Dr. appointment had gone however it was V’s friend letting us know she was in labor. IN LABOR!!! We had expected her to go early but not that early. I had planned on flying down that following weekend to wait for our beloved baby boy to join us I also had hoped to be there for his birth however, he had other plans he wanted out! We instantly booked my flight getting a 6:30 a.m. departure the next morning. I was so excited and scared and emotional while waiting for that phone call to say he had arrived. At 9pm that evening the phone rang again, he was here, he had arrived at 8:20 pm 5lb 2 oz 18 1/2″.

Fast forward to the next morning my husband A, bonus children M & G and myself were all piled in the jeep heading to the airport. All I could think about was arriving in Florida, getting to the hospital and holding our baby boy. I arrived at the airport in plenty of time, checked in and grabbed a coffee before looking at the flight screen to find out my flight had been slightly delayed. No big deal I thought just a half hour I still have plenty of time to catch my connector out of Atlanta. That half hour passed and another and another and another. We learned at that time that we were delayed indefinitely due to a lightning strike that had hit the plane the night before we needed clearance from the FAA before we could take off. It was 2:30pm when we finally did take off. I FINALLY arrived to the hospital at 9:15 pm that evening, 9 hours past the original time I should have arrived. Talk about emotions running high that day, it was awful but worth every second when I finally laid eyes on our beautiful baby boy!

At that time he was technically not ours yet however I knew deep down that this situation was good, that I was meant to be this amazing baby boy’s Mama. When I first took him into my arms I melted, I was in love it was a love I had never felt before. We had chosen the name Tripp for him. Tripp means “to travel” which we thought was a very fitting name for this baby boy. I wished my husband could have been there with me but because it happened so quickly only one of us could go.

I spent that evening and the entire next day with V and T in the hospital, it was so special to have that time with her and to be allowed to care for T before he was actually released into my custody. V did not have to do this she could have had me wait until the 48 hour waiting period was up but she didn’t, and for that I was so grateful. That evening at 9 pm T was released into my custody and I was on my way to my Aunt and Uncle’s hours away in another part of the state. My awesome cousin A had driven up to get us and had coined this adventure “Operation Tripp Southbound.”

The next week we waited for our Interstate Compact Clearance to travel. If you are adopting an infant from another State the sending State must send the appropriate paperwork to the receiving State to clear the infants travel to the receiving State. While we waited I fell more and more in love with my baby boy, if that was even possible. I felt as though we were bonded instantly and I could not wait to bring him home to meet his Papa and bonus siblings. I could not wait for us to be a family!

During my adoption research I read hundreds of adoption stories, some good, some bad, some in between. We are so lucky to have experienced nothing but the good in our journey. We are beyond grateful to the powers that brought Tripp to us. He is perfect in every way and I can’t imagine my life without him.

The pictures I have attached are of myself leaving the hospital with him after he was released into my custody, me handing him to Papa for the first time after our flight home, Papa holding his baby boy for the first time and the beginning of “Tripp Through the Months”.

***Update to our Adoptive Birth Story… on September 21, 2011 (my 38th birthday) our adoption was finalized baby T is forever ours and I received the BEST birthday gift anyone could ever get!

–
Warmly,
Jessica
Maine Girl Creations
www.mainegirl.typepad.com
www.etsy.com/shop/mainegirlcreations
www.etsy.com/shop/hotyogabags

click here for info on how to submit your birth story.

photo of the day

facebook.com

do you have a photo you would like featured for “Photo of the Day?”
please email it to spearmintbaby@gmail.com (subject: Photo of the Day)

36 Weeks Pregnant

Hi. Love your blog, and all the amazing inspiration.

Here I am with officially one month to go. Even with all the crazy pregnancy side effects, my Husband can still make me laugh. We’re expecting our first Baby Girl on December 16th. She’s due on her Grandma’s b-day, and Grandma is determined to share her day with her 5th grandbaby. Not sure what is going to happen if she comes early or late?

Pregnancy cravings have included pounds of strawberries, cucumbers and anything sweet. I’ve eaten so many strawberries that while she’s been cooking we’ve been calling her Baby Berry. Unfortunately, my Husband has ruled out naming her Strawberry. Haha.

I’ve been blogging my journey with some design inspiration at: sugarspiceliving.blogspot.com

Thanks!!! Karen

are you EXPECTING?

send a photo/s of yourself (and your BUMP) to Spearmintbaby@gmail.com

feel free to include wks pregnant, boy or girl, 1st/2nd/3rd baby, cravings, and/or something interesting about your pregnancy. we all enjoy reading fun pregnancy details!! if you have a blog, etsy store, or website we would love to give you some link love!