San Antonio Baby Shower

This Saturday we celebrated Molly with our friends and family in San Antonio. The shower was at a Mexican Restaurant in Helotes and everything was WONDERFUL! Food, cake, family, and fun!

Nana, Mimi, Mom & Molly, Grandma Dee

Lots of presents!

Diaper cake from Aunt E

I had to do it

I had really great intentions on using my Silhouette to create Molly's monthly stickers. But...
These ones are so dang cute...and already made. Plus they match the nursery theme. (I'm getting really good at justifying buying all things Molly related...is it too early for this???)



If you haven't seen these before you should check them out over on etsy. I saw them for the first time in action on Sarah's blog and fell in love with the idea. Not to mention how easy they are. Now I can't WAIT for them to get here!

35 Weeks

How far along? 35 weeks
Size of Baby: honeydew
Total weight gain/loss: 30 lbs
Maternity clothes? for sure on pants and shorts but with tops I can go either way.
Stretch marks? Jenny confirmed none yet
Sleep: getting better or maybe I'm just adjusting to running on less.
What I miss: being able to sleep in a bed
Movement: tons
Cravings: milk
Symptoms: swelling in my feet & my lower back is starting to hurt
Showing: for sure
Gender: Molly
Mood: I'm ready to meet her! but I'm starting to feel a little sad about what it'll be like not to feel her swimming around in my tummy anymore. I'm sure there'll be so much going on with her I won't even notice though.

Damn you TLC...

for getting me hooked on Extreme Couponing!

So I think SOME of the people on the show, mainly those who let their "Stock piles" take over the entire house, are CRAZY! However the idea of paying full price for groceries AND diapers/wipes is frightening. With that said...I'm making the effort to start couponing. Let me clarify. Couponing. NOT EXTREME COUPONING! I will NOT be turning the guest room/garage or any other room in my home into a grocery store. I'm simply hoping to save a few dollars so my bank account doesn't go into cardiac arrest after Molly's arrival.

I started by reading a beginners guide at the Krazy Coupon Lady. She has some really great tips even for non-extreme couponing. (and apparently her book is AMAZING but as you can see from my post from two days ago I'm not getting a lot of reading done) I also created a coupon binder. (I know it seems like I'm turning into one of the EXTREME people but really I'm just that OCD)

I started out with a binder from Wal-Mart along with a package of baseball card protective pages and a set of really cute tab dividers from the clearance isle. This site had the binder divider categories that were most like the items we use on a regular basis. So I printed them and put them in the binder behind the tab dividers I created. (Each tab is labeled with a part of the house: pantry, fridge, freezer, bathroom, etc.) After putting the baseball card pages in I created a cute cover and then printed the coupon policies for the stores I frequent. (suggested by the Krazy Coupon Lady) I stashed these in the back pocket of the binder along with the weekly ads for the same stores. The envelope with the "R" on it is the stash of coupons that I'd use for that trip. That way I don' t have to take the entire binder to the store.

Now the only thing I have left to do is find the actual coupons to put in my super cute coupon binder. Wish me luck!

Dominoes...It must be the Mahan Family Reunion

This past weekend we spent some time in Brownwood for the Mahan Family Reunion. As a relatively new member of the family let me just point out one thing I learned last year at the reunion. These Mahans take their games of 42 seriously. I mean very SERIOUSLY!

The weekend basically consists of about 40 Mahans (give or take a few) in a hotel conference room eating, drinking, and playing dominoes. The kiddos get a chance to swim and soak up some sun but most of the adults jump right in to the 42 Tournament.

This year we weren't going to be able to go since Rustin had to work but at the last minute everything worked out and we packed up the truck and headed north. Rustin's sister, Elisa was kind enough to let us stay with her. On our way out to the barn to feed the horses that night a snake slithered across my shoe. For most people this wouldn't be a big deal, but I am a city girl so I immediately began to scream and jump around. Which made for some high quality entertainment for my hubby and sis-in-law. They laughed...I hid in the house for the rest of the night.

The next morning after prepping some of the food for lunch we headed back into town. On our way a chicken crossed the road in front of the truck and now it was my turn for some high quality entertainment. Apparently this is normal (hence the jokes) however I'd never seen it before and laughed pretty much the entire way back to the reunion.

All in all we had a wonderful time getting to see the family. Next year will be Molly's first reunion and as of now she should be the winner of the "youngest Mahan" award.

Pictures to come!

Summer Reading List

One of the many things I'm trying to make time for this summer is my "To Read" pile. This pile has grown oh so large especially with the addition of my nook. I must warn you this post is kinda Reading Rainbow-ish.


I got hooked YEARS ago when the first in the series was made into a lifetime movie. Now ten books later I still LOVE the series. It's a group of 4 women, a detective, a reporter, a Medical Examiner, and a lawyer, who work together to solve homicides in San Francisco.





I started on this series while I waiting for a hold at the library. I knew his other series were entertaining and I thought I'd give it a try. Plus it was checked in so that helped. It's about a NYPD detective/ hostage negotiator. This is only the second in the series but the first was AWESOME!

Can you tell I like James Patterson? I LOVE this series. It always keeps me guessing. I picked up the first one after watching Kiss the Girls with Morgan Freeman (which I may still have somewhere on VHS...yes I know, that's sad) With each new book the characters get more intense and the storylines take more twists and turns.

*check*

Another James Patterson book, who would've guess? This time I'm excited to read something he's done that's not part of a series. In this one young couples are being murdered in cities across Europe. Other than that I don't know much about it but that was enough to hook me.

This one is the most recent in the Eve Duncan Series. She's a forensic sculptor...enough said! Her daughter was kidnapped years ago and never recovered. She spends her time working on skulls of missing children but occasionally bad guys want her help and though she tries to escape it she eventually gives in for some reason or another. I believe Face of Deception is the first in this series and it's definitely one of those books you can't put down.


I waited on pins and needles last summer for the short stories...now I can't find time to read. I'm really looking forward to this one though! Vampires in the south always make for entertaining reading. If you haven't read TrueBlood go to Barnes and Noble right now and get it. No I mean it really!
*check*

Started this one and have yet to finish, but it did make for good entertainment while waiting at the DMV. The first in this series is Bitter is the New Black and it will make you laugh out loud, literally. It's all about Jen's life and with titles like "My fair Lazy" and "Bright Lights Big Ass" who wouldn't laugh.

Murder Mystery and recipes all in one. What more could a girl ask for. This is a fun series. Hannah Swensen owns her own bakery in a small town in MN and happens to stumble upon a lot of dead bodies by mistake. In her quest to find the killer she gives you amazing recipes for all sort of yummy things.

If you haven't read anything from this series you're missing out. For sure! Stephanie Plum, the main character, is a bond enforcement officer. (read: bounty Hunter) And not a very good one. Crazy stuff happens to her and her cop boyfriend, Joe or her smokin' hot mentor, Ranger must save her. Did I mention she has a super crazy family and that the entire series takes place in NJ.

Eris got Jenny and I into this series last year before the show started. I got to book four and then school started and I put down book four and couldn't remember where I put it. Anyway before I read on I feel like I need to re-read. I've never watched the show so I'm not sure how well they align but the series is def. a good one. Four High School aged girls who were close until the disappearance of their friend.

As you can tell I'm a fan of series (9 out of 10 books on my list are from a series). My list isn't made up of profound, thoughtful books, or soon-to-be mommy books nor are they all on the NY best sellers list but I love them. They're the only thing allowed to keep me company during my "me" time. To me reading is just plain fun. This is what I hope to instill in my students each year, but who knows if it actually sticks. Anyway happy reading!

Baby Shower in Austin

Let me just start by saying that we are truly blessed to have so many people in our lives who love us and already love Molly. Jenny did an AMAZING job putting the whole thing together.

There was great food:



Sweet Treats:

Miss Heather's diaper cake turned out SUPER cute!!! (If you'd like one of your own you can contact her and she'll make you one) So cute infact that I really don't want to take it apart.

Lots of presents:

Including these little suprises:



And wonderful friends...

Including...

4 Generations~
Mimi, Mom & Molly, and Great Nanny