Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year Blogger World! I hope 2013 will be a safe and exciting year for you all! We are excited to become parents once again in the new year, and cannot wait to see what else the world has in store for us!

I spent a quiet weekend with the family the past couple of days...exactly what the doctor ordered!

But now it's New Year's Eve and time to party! (Well as much as this pregnant woman can)
Usually my NY Resolution is the same one...lose weight. But since I feel like I will succeed once again with Weight Watchers once I pop this kid out, I have a different one this year.

It's to Remember...
Remember that time is precious. To be thankful everyday for what we are given on this earth.
The Sandy Hook Shooting hit home for me that nothing in life is guaranteed and today I just heard some other devastating news of a close friend's nephew. A child once again gone too soon!

Hug your little one's tight and be thankful everyday for what God has given us.
The days are long but the years are short...even when the little ones drive us crazy, just remember to be thankful!

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Christmas Time is Here!!!

What an amazing Christmas!!! This year was the first year that Tyler "really got it". He understood that Santa was coming and was so excited! He looked for his elf, Cyde every morning (The name stems from when he was two and I told him that he needed to deCIDE on a name for his elf), and he even noticed when Santa's plate of cookies was just a plate of crumbs the next morning.

And the highlight of my Christmas morning...when he unwrapped his Spiderman underwear and got so excited that he dropped his pants in the middle of the living room, stood up and and screamed "MOM, PUT EM ON ME!!!!" Ben was crying he was laughing so hard!

When we got back from Disney, we had exactly 4 days to get ready for Christmas. Saturday, we unpacked and rested. I also got my hair did (yeah, I said it like that on purpose) and we sneaked in a trip to the mall to finish up Christmas shopping. Sunday, we hit the gym and then my friend Leah and I took Tyler and Jack to McDonalds to hit the playground. Sunday afternoon, we attended another White Elephant Exchange party in the neighborhood and then Sunday night we went caroling with all the neighbors. So much FUN, and Tyler had a blast!

Monday, Ben had to go to work but Tyler and I had the day off. We finished up some last minute errands and then spent the afternoon baking cookies with my neighbor Jill and her girls! 

I made Chewy Butterfinger Cookies and Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies from Pinterest and holy f'ing amazeballs were they good!

That evening we put on our new PJ's ....

And then I made Crockpot Corn Chowder (again from Pinterest)...wow is all I have to say! I don't mean to toot my own horn but it was so freaking good! Followed the recipe exactly except I didn't add carrots and did add lots of garlic, paprika, pepper, & seasoned salt..... Oh and I deleted the bacon but had green onions as a garnish. Seriously, try it...you won't be disappointed! 

After Santa arrived, we spent the morning opening gifts and made a big breakfast of sausage, eggs and hashbrowns. Tyler got a Power Wheels Jeep, a Star Wars Sword and Light Saber, Tons on Spiderman stuff and action figures, and a new scooter from Grandma and Grandpa (They got to watch him open their presents via Skype). I got a new Dooney and Ben got new sunglasses and grill accessories! Then we took off for Spartanburg where we spent the rest of Christmas day with my family. It was a great time. We all racked up in the gift department once again!!! (Baby 2 even got a couple of presents) 

Wednesday morning, Ben and I left Tyler in Sparkle City with my parents and headed back to ATL. We both had to work, so Tyler spent some extra time with Nana and Papa. We are off to meet my parents in Commerce tonight (our halfway point) to pick him up...although the extra sleep has been nice, I've missed the munchkin man! 

I hope your Christmas was a magical as ours!!!

Yo Ho, Yo Ho...A Disney Vacation for ME!

(now sing the title of this blog post to "A Pirate's Life for Me" and it will make a lot more sense) 

Hey everyone! It's been one heck of a December holiday for us!!! The week after our Anniversary/Luminary/Breakfast with Santa craziness we had to get geared up for our Disney trip!!! We left on Sunday 12/16 and (during the week) needed to pack, have Tyler's classroom Birthday party, go to my book club, bring gifts and snacks for Tyler's Holiday classroom party, and attend our neighbor's annual white elephant/ugly Christmas sweater party...oh and find out the sex of our baby too!
So needless to say, it was chaos. But good chaos!

So back to logistics, we left on Sunday...7.5 hour drive. It was the longest we've ever done with Tyler but he was good. There was a 20 minute stint where I thought I might kill him if he didn't go to sleep, but other than that he was great!
We arrived at Disney and checked in to our hotel and waited for my parents arrival. Once they arrived we got geared up to head to Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Magical Merry Christmas Party! Tyler had a BLAST watching the parade, riding Dumbo a hundred times and seeing the castle lit up in it's glory. Highly recommend if you ever go at Christmas!

Parental Note (because I'm a Disney expert now and all, LOL): The week BEFORE Christmas is the BEST time of the year to go to Disney. Kids weren't out of school yet so we never waited more than 20 min for any ride. You get to see all of the amazing lights, and the weather was 80 degrees and sunny the entire time. Ben and I decided that when we go back we will make sure to go at the exact same time. Yes, I know your kids are in school...but take them out. Seriously, it's so worth it to not have to wait in line 2 hours for the freaking Peter Pan ride. 

I won't bore you with Day to Day details but the Disney trip went like this:

Sunday night - Magical Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom
Monday - Animal Kingdom
Tuesday - Tyler's bday! Breakfast with the Disney Characters, Tyler's Pirate make over & all day at Magic Kingdom
Wednesday - Hollywood Studios
Thursday - Epcot
Friday - Head home

Tyler's birthday was amazing!! He had such a great time at Breakfast and the pirate makeover was too cute! We wore his little booty out though, because he passed out on Ben by 7:15pm...at the restaurant!
Certainly a first for my little party boy!

One of our favorite moments of the trip was the lighting of the square at Hollywood Studios! It was out of control!!!
And of course Animal Kingdom Epcot were tons of fun too!
See more pics below!

So many fun memories, and so glad we went! But we certainly aren't one of those "Disney ever year" type of parents. Anyone who tells you that Disney is a vacation is a freaking moron...it's not a vacation, it's a trip. A trip that will wear your ass out. We loved it so much and will happily go there again in 4 years when we have a 7 year old and 3 and 1/2 year old!!!
Happy holidays from our Disney Family to yours...

It's That Time of Year...

Yep, it's getting to be that time of year peeps! What time you ask? That time when things are so BUTT ASS crazy that you don't even have time to think straight! I know you all are probably just as busy as we are...the thought of doing this next year with TWO kids is a little scary to say the least!

So last weekend's craziness started out Friday night with our good friend Anna's birthday party! Tyler's babysitter came over around 6:30 and then Ben and I headed over to Anna's house for drinks and apps. I volunteered to be DD for the evening, so I got the pleasure of driving my drunk ass neighbors around in Anna's minivan. It was really quite hilarious! We had a great time at Whirlyball. I couldn't partake in the actual sport (bumper cars and pregnant chicks don't go together) but I kicked ass in Rock Band!!! I got a standing ovation for my rendition of Eye of the Tiger! Well maybe not a standing ovation, but a few people clapped...same thing!
After the festivities started to wind down, we all headed to Roswell Tap for late night drinks and food. My pregnant ass managed to kick it past midnight! Ben and I were finally in bed around 1:30am.

Saturday morning, Tyler and I got a last minute invitation to a Studio Movie Grill with my good friend (and across the street neighbor) Jill! She was taking her girls to a free showing of Rise of the Guardians and wanted to see if Tyler and I could come along. Tyler was so pumped for his first movie. We had popcorn, about a million twizzlers, and I indulged in a Frozen Hot Chocolate! The movie was great, and Tyler was so well behaved. I definitely underestimated his ability to sit through plays and movies. This kid is good to GO!
After the movie, we went to a can-a-thon event in Roswell and then to the park.
When we got home around 2pm, I crashed for an hour...I was worn out. Ben was on Daddy patrol for a few hours!
Later that afternoon, we packed up Tyler and got him ready to head over to his first sleepover! He was so pumped to stay the night with one of his best buds Maddie! Our old neighbors and dear friends Melanie and Jared have asked if Tyler could spend the night since we kept Maddie for the night back in June. I was happy to oblige since it was our 5 YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!! That's right people...12/8, Ben and I celebrated 5 wonderful years of marriage. The ups and downs are part of the excitement of this wild ride and I love Ben more now than I ever have!!!
After we got Tyler settled in for the night at Maddie's, we headed to Piedmont Park for a carriage ride (it was cloudy and rainy which made it even more romantic), then to our favorite Steakhouse Bone's, and then to Fox Theater to the see the Nutcracker!
It was such a wonderful night, and Ben did a great job planning it!!!

Sunday morning, we were up early getting ready for our Surprise Breakfast with Santa! Normally, I hire a Santa every year for Tyler's Bday party, but since we are going to Disney this year, and I didn't want to wait in the long dreadful lines at the mall...I asked the neighbors if everyone would chip in $20 (per family) and we could rent Santa for an hour. Everyone was very excited about this idea and it worked out great. The kids all came over in their PJ's and everyone brought a brunch dish! The kids ate and played and then Santa came around 10am. The kids had NO clue that he was coming so it was obviously the most exciting thing ever when he showed up! The kids had a whole hour to spend with him...which included sharing wish lists, getting pics, and singing for him! It was a great time! After Santa left we did a Christmas Craft (the kids decorated sugar cones like Christmas trees...whud up Pinterest) and then everyone headed home!
That evening was our neighborhood luminary night. We drove around the neighborhood and looked at all the lights and then ended the night in Anna's driveway with a firepit, smores and hot chocolate! I couldn't have asked for a better weekend!!!

It's a.....

BOY!!!! 

We are so excited to announce that the Sullivans are bringing another boy into the house!!! Hooray!!!!

Walking into the doctor's office yesterday I was a nervous wreck...but in a good way. I couldn't wait to hear what we were having. The Ultrasound tech did a lot of measurements and tests but waited until the very end to tell us the gender. Damn her! At one point when she was showing us the thigh bone, I swore that I saw a penis, but I didn't say anything. Then finally she said "you want to know the sex, right?" and we both said YES! She pointed the camera at the nether region and didn't say anything...she just stared at us. I looked at the screen and said, "I definitely see a penis...it's a boy isn't it?" and she said "Yep it's a boy!" 

Meanwhile, Ben was like "Where's the penis? Are you sure it's a boy? I don't see it...where?" After a few minutes, he was able to see what we were seeing and we finished everything up. I think Ben was in disbelief that his dream of having two boys was actually coming true! 

Finally, the doctor came in and said everything looked great and that the baby was 100% healthy!  Yay! 

So there you have it! We are now a family of all boys (minus me of course)! I can't wait to see what life has in store for us and I finally have the feeling that my family is complete! 

Now...onto names. We are still debating between Jacob and Liam, with Jacob being the front runner. We will let you know once it's decided for certain!

Crazy to Think....Blue or Pink?

It's crazy to think that in less than a week, we'll know if we are having a little boy or a little girl!!
I strongly believe (even more so than with Tyler) that this revelation will truly change the dynamic of our family.
With Tyler, just the thought of having a baby (boy or girl) was a drastic change for us. We had no idea what we were doing...so having a baby (regardless of gender) was a roller coaster ride in and of itself! Now that we know how to manage the in's and out's of parenthood, the anticipation of knowing the gender of our second (and final) kid is killing me! This will truly change the Sullivan family as we know it....obviously for the better, but change is always a little scary!

I mean think about it....if we have another boy, it will be brother mania in the Sullivan house. Ben will have two little mini me's running around. I'll be kicked out of the house on Saturdays and Sundays in the Fall so that the Sullivan men can watch Football (except when the Gamecocks and Skins are playing...I'll be sitting right beside them for that)! I will be outnumbered and the house will be full of smelly socks, action figures, race cars and testosterone! Toilet seats will be up and the fridge will constantly be stocked with food for our hungry boys!
But...I LOVE little boys! Tyler is the light of my world and the love of my life! Everything he does makes me smile! The thought of that multiplied by two...would make me so very happy!

Now think of the opposite...we have a girl. The tables will be turned and it will be "Even Steven" in the Sullivan house...estrogen and testosterone on the same playing field. When my daughter and I get kicked out of the house for Football by Tyler and Ben, we can go get mani's and hit the mall. I can buy all the pink tutu's I want and dress her up everyday! She will have an older brother who will protect her, and she will steal her Daddy's heart. I can play tea party and beauty parlor, and watch her perform in dance recitals.
The thought of this melts my heart and would make me so very happy!

So now, you can see for yourself. When people ask me, do you have a preference? Do you want a little boy or a little girl...I can honestly say that I don't care.
Both scenarios...though truly life changing will be an amazing experience.

I can't wait to find out next Thursday!!!!

Nutcrackin it up!

We had an awesome weekend! Gettin into the Christmas spirit...that's what I'm talking about!
The week leading up to Friday was pretty quiet with just work & preschool...the usual.
After work on Friday, all of the neighborhood moms and kids met up at Diesel Pizza in downtown Roswell for dinner and then we headed over to see the Nutcracker.

The kids had a BALL (in case you can't tell)! And as much as I was skiddish about how Tyler would do, I'm proud to say he did fantastic!!! Of course snacks and a couple of games of Fruit Ninja on my iPhone helped when he got bored, but overall I give him a solid 4.5 out of 5 Stars on behavior!

Meanwhile, some of the daddies (including Ben) hit up the local Hooters for booze and wings...that's their version of culture!

Saturday morning we hit the gym and then Tyler's friend Bella came over for a playdate with her mom Emma and baby sister Olivia. Then Ben and Tyler ran some errands while I napped, and Saturday night we went to the Roswell Christmas Tree Lighting. We met up with Steph and Pat (with Dylan), Melanie and Jared (with Gabe and Maddie) and our neighbors the Fellabaums (with Ashley, Grayson and baby Kaitlyn).  Afterwards we headed to Lucky's for burgers and watched the end of the SEC Championship...what a game!!! Our next door neighbor Tati also managed to swing by Lucky's with Sebastian and Emma for a burger too! It was a great night.
Sunday we had church, a birthday party for a classmate of Tyler's, and then Tyler and Ben napped while I went maternity clothes shopping.
I think this (and bathing suit shopping) may be the only time in life that I hate to shop.
But I still manged to hit up DSW afterwards. New shoes always help the depression of an expanding waistline!
Sunday night, Ben made Pad Thai and we played in the front yard with the neighbors. The weather has been gorgeous lately so we have been soaking it up!
I hope everyone else is getting into the Christmas spirit this season!!!!