Surprise!

For the second summer in a row, I've been fairly absent on the blog. I promise it's for good reason! You see, in July, we got some unexpected and wonderful news...

We are shocked and absolutely elated! I'm fairly certain that Griffin just thinks I'm eternally pregnant and Annabeth is blissfully unaware that she'll be promoted to big sister in March. 

Tyler and I still can't believe that we're expecting #3. It feels like a dream sometimes, until I look down and see my already growing bump. I'm just over 13 weeks, so I'm into the second trimester and am hoping I will start to feel better soon! 

I will share more soon, but we are so excited to finally spill our big news!

Five on Friday :: Found on the Internet

I'm linking up with the ladies today for Five on Friday! 

Since I'm still spending a great amount of time nursing Annabeth, I've been finding some fun stuff poking around on the web. I thought I'd share some things that I'd found via Pinterest, my Feedly reader, and through friends. Consider this my Five on Friday "Found on the Internet" version! 

1. Ham, Ham, and more Ham

Both of our families were in town this past weekend for Annabeth's dedication on Mother's Day. We had a ham on Sunday (one of my favorite meals!) and we were left with the ham hock plus a few baggies full of ham. What to do besides freeze the hock for soup? Of course we'll be having ham and cheese sliders from Tasty Kitchen. They are so easy and super delicious. But we needed something different. Enter Fettuccine Ferrari from Samma's blog. I made this last night (I subbed a random shorter cut of pasta I had in the pantry-- it had some fancy, weird name) and it was fantastic. Tyler and I both liked it a lot and said it would be great with grilled chicken this summer. If you have leftover ham (or grilled chicken), make this. You could even just add more veggies and leave out the meat. It's quick, easy, and tasty. Two Haney thumbs up!

2. Patio Furniture DIY

My mom and I repainted an iron patio a few years ago. We used a pretty yellow spray paint and while I have loved the color, it just hasn't held up well. Maybe it's because it's been about 3 years. I have been thinking about repainting it, but this post from my friend Rachel really inspired me to get my behind to Lowe's and spray it again. We use it almost everyday in the summer, so it really needs to be done soon. Maybe a new umbrella and cushions will be my reward! 

3. Aldi

I have noticed that my grocery bill just keeps getting higher and higher. No matter how many coupons I have and how much I try to use what's in my pantry, it's nearly impossible to keep it reasonable week after week. My sweet friend Kara (we went to college together!) wrote a great post on why she shops at Aldi and what she does and doesn't buy there. I love reason #2; Kara has such a heart for the Lord and people. Make sure you add her blog to your reader; she has a great sense of style and three of the most darling children I've ever seen! I shopped at Aldi this week and ended up spending only $60! I did buy a kickball, plate, and cup for G and didn't buy my meat there, but I'd say that's a pretty good deal! Plus, Griffin thought it was the best day of his life when he got to put the quarter in to get our buggy. Small pleasures.

4. Organizing vs. Purging

We are putting our house up for sale soon and I'm preparing by going through each room with a fine-tooth comb. Well, as fine-tooth as I can with two little ones demanding a great deal of my time. I loved this post by Tsh about how different decluttering and organizing really are. I found myself nodding as I was reading and thinking about the post days later. I think she's really on to something. I wouldn't consider myself a minimalist and I probably never will, but many of her points were spot on. 

5. Kids and Starbucks

It's no secret that I like to frequent Starbucks as much as I can. I can't help it; it's a sickness. It certainly helps that the Cincinnati area is very light on drive-thru Starbucks. It's rare that I want to drag my three year old and his 13 pound (plus heavy car seat) sister into a storefront for a coffee. This pleases my husband and our budget, obviously. But we do have one drive-thru near Trader Joe's, so if I'm in that area of town, I'll often swing through for vanilla macchiato. Griffin begs for a cake pop every time we pull into the parking lot and I usually rarely indulge him. I loved that Raechel posted about what she gets her kids at Starbucks. I think Griff would go bananas over this as he always begs for "just one sip of your Starbucks coffee, Mama!" This way he can have his own treat that isn't a ball of sugar on a stick. But you can't blame him, can you? Those things are so stinking good. 

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! I'll be back on Monday with the second installment of Annabeth's incredibly long birth story.  And just because I can't help myself, here are a few pictures of my kiddos. We're so glad spring is here to stay! 

Five on Friday!

It's time for Five on Friday with the ladies! I love this linkup; it's perfect for a sporadic blogger like me!

1. Belated Anniversary Date Night

Our anniversary is in August, but instead of celebrating then, we decided to buy tickets for Wicked when it came to town wait to have our date. My parents came into town and kept the kids while we went to dinner and the show. We had a fantastic meal at Sotto, one of my favorite restaurants in Cincinnati. We had goat cheese & honey bruschetta, polenta with fried egg, brown butter, and parmigiano, pennette with vodka sauce, and braised beef with tomato, red wine, and polenta. The food was incredible and we finished our meal with the ricotta donuts and dipping sauces. I was kind enough to share them with my husband, but I could have bathed in the salted caramel sauce. 

After our dinner, we headed to the theater to see Wicked. In February of 2007, we went to dinner at the Signature Room in Chicago and afterwards, Tyler asked me to marry him. Spoiler alert: I said yes. After we got engaged, we went to see Wicked, but I was practically giddy so I honestly don't remember much of the musical! The company that put on the show here in Cincinnati did a phenomenal job. I enjoyed every minute; Wicked is such a clever story and the music is wonderful. It was one of my very favorite theatre experiences. Tyler and I had a wonderful night out and it was great to spend some time together without our little people. 

2. Burrito Love

I'm pretty sure that I've talked about food in every Five on Friday. Oh well, it's just who I am. I've been eating these Amy's Bean and Cheese burritos for lunch and I love them SO much. I craved Taco Bell bean burritos with extra cheese throughout my pregnancy with AB. These are a much healthier option and they really are delicious! I haven't made them in the microwave yet; I just wrap them in foil and baked them for about 50 minutes. They're a fool-proof, easy lunch! 

3. Toys Galore

Griffin was an only child for nearly three years and he was also the only grandchild on both sides of our families until his sister came along. Naturally, this position comes with lots of spoiling and toys. His room was getting so cluttered and he was just going from one toy to another. He really didn't even know all that he had because there was just so much stuff. While he was at school on Thursday, my mom and I organized his toys into four groups. I put three groups in the attic and kept one group in his room. It's my plan to rotate groups of toys every Sunday. This weekend, I will take the laundry basket in his closet that's full of toys and replace it with the next group that we have in our attic (our attic has very easy accessibility). Some of my friends do this with large Rubbermaid bins and just bring down a bin a week, but I didn't really want to spend the money on bins and a laundry basket worked just fine for us. It's also easy for me to carry up and down the stairs depending on where we're hanging out that day. We'll see how it goes; my parents just left today, so Griffin's been occupied with playing with them and hasn't realized that a lot of his toys are "missing". 

4. Potty Training

Well, last Friday I decided that it was time for Griffin to say goodbye to his diapers. This was after I'd spent $70 in diapers for two the week before. No way, man. Plus he was totally ready. I used an abbreviated version of the "three day method" and he did so well! He had a few accidents on Friday, one on Saturday, and since then has only had 2-3 more! I am so proud of him! We decided to wait to night train him since I'm a little more tired than usual these days, but we're planning on working on that next week since he's done well. I'm not as worried about that. My little guy sure is growing up fast. Time really does fly! And how darn precious are those little boy underwear?? I thought my heart was just going to melt. I love being that boy's mama.

5. My Babies

And for my grand finale, here are two gratuitous pictures of my sweet babies. I just can't help myself. Griffin loves sleeping with his hammer that he borrowed from his buddy next door and Miss Annabeth started smiling last week. I couldn't love them more if I tried!

Happy weekend, friends!

February #haney365

I'm still planning on trying to do these weekly once I catch up, but for now, here's our February in pictures!

February 1

My mom makes the best lasagna in the world. I'm serious. I've never had a better lasagna in a restaurant or homemade. I desperately need to blog the recipe! She was kind enough to make it while we waited for Bubbles to make her arrival.

February 2

Tyler introduced Griffin to his shadow. It was a huge hit! I love this picture so much!

February 3

Griffin is always the head smoothie maker in our house! He whipped up a few before we left for the hospital to have the baby.

February 4

After getting to know our girl for a night, we announced that our sweet Annabeth had joined our family! It was such a joyous first full day with our baby girl!

February 5

Headed home from the hospital! We couldn't wait for AB to meet her big brother!

February 6

She really is her daddy's mini-- she'd much rather sleep than eat!

February 7

Tyler got some great snuggles at Annabeth's weight check. She was gaining like a champ!

February 8

Griffin had a great morning-- breakfast with Daddy & Papa and then a trip to the library with Mimi & Mama. I love that he loves going to the library as much as I do!

February 9

Handy Manny gave Griffin lots to think about.

February 10

Tyler worked from home and kept AB while I went to the store. When I got home, I offered to take her, but he wanted to keep her with him while he was on a call. So, so sweet!

February 11

Our first girls baking day!

February 12

This baby girl is proving to be quite a problem! ;)

February 13

My parents took Griffin to get his hair cut by my dad's barber, Mr. Joe, who has cut his hair for over 20 years. Mr. Joe gave my brother his first hair cut and his wife used to cut my hair when I was a little girl. Griffin loved Mr. Joe! It made me so very happy when my mom texted me this picture.

February 14

Happy Valentine's Day from a hungry Haney baby and another very concerned one!

February 15

Tyler and I took Griffy to coney island for lunch. We had a really sweet time together! We ordered him his first Jello, but he ended up not liking it. Oh well… sorry, Bill Cosby.

February 16

Heading home from Michigan as a family of four! We had to listen to Griffin's favorite song over and over and over and over. 

February 17

It was my first day alone with both kids, so naturally we ordered pizza and had a picnic on the family room floor! Three cheers for Pizza Hut delivery!

February 18

Griffin loves this drill and just wanted to share it with AB. I believe his exact words were, "I'm just showing Sissy my drill! We're a construction team!" Sweet boy.

February 19

Two kids? Piece. Of. Cake.

February 20

A year ago on this day, I was being wheeled into an OR for what we didn't know would be life-altering surgery. A year later, I'm holding a tangible reminder of the fact that God ALWAYS has the final word. I'm still so grateful for all He taught me this past year. He is good and He is sovereign. GREAT is Thy faithfulness!!!!

February 21

We were getting ready to leave and Annabeth started to fuss. Griffin grabbed his guitar and started to play her a song and sing to her. She quieted down almost immediately. It was such a precious moment for me as their mama.

February 22

Our first family walk! It was a gorgeous day and left us longing for spring.

February 23

I'm convinced that there's nothing better than your newborn burying her face in your neck and falling asleep. Best feeling ever.

February 24

I was so thankful that sis slept through Griffin's doctor appointment so I could focus on him. He just had a fever virus, but he was pretty miserable. After his appointment, we snuggled on the couch and I introduced him to one of my old favorites, The Land Before Time. 

February 25

Griffin's hair is dark, coarse, and curly. Annabeth's is blondish red, silky, and straight. I love that they have such different heads of hair!

February 26

Super Griffin (wearing his gloves, no less) thought Sissy's cradle was broken. He was determined to fix it!

February 27

My sweet boy couldn't love his sister more, but he's having a hard time sharing his mama. I love looking at his precious face while he sleeps. I know the transition will get easier as time goes on!

February 28

I can't get enough of seeing these two together! Love them so, so much!

January #haney365

One of my favorite bloggers (Shay at Mix and Match Mama) took a picture every day in 2013. I admired this mostly because I've tried to do it in the past and I've failed miserably every year.

However, she shared her pictures on Instagram with a hashtag. That seemed much more doable to me considering the fact that Instagram is my favorite form of social media. I don't have Facebook and I'm not as big on Twitter anymore, but Instagram feels like a good middle ground. If you're on Instagram, I'm rnoelhaney and I've been using the hashtag #haney365. 

I was hoping to blog these every week, but it just didn't happen, so you're getting a mass picture update for January 2014! Lucky you! And thanks to Shay's tips, I was finally able to complete at least one month of this which has never happened before. Miracles do happen! Here we go… and again, better late than never! 

January 1

Griffin partied too hard on NYE and passed out cold. Bless him. 

January 2

Poor Griffin just couldn't get comfortable. ;) It was a relaxing pajama day at our house.

January 3

It was a morning that included a full term baby bump, a snack trap breakfast, a dirty mirror, and a toddler who kept yelling at me to "COME ON! COME ON! COME ON, PREGNANT!" Such a precious nickname.

January 4

Mimi came for a visit and gave Griffin a drum set from her and Papa! Griffin is big into music right now, so he gave us all an instrument and put us to work.

January 5

My sweet mom came to help me clean and get the house ready for Bubbles. She worked so hard and was so helpful, so we took a little break to go see Saving Mr. Banks. Great movie!

January 6

Since my mom was in town, we snuck out for dinner one night. However, it was during the first Polar Vortex, so the temperature was literally zero degrees. We were planning to do something after dinner, but we were SO cold that we just headed home. Party animals!

January 7

It hit me on this night that Griffin's final days of being our only child were coming to a close. I laid down with him in bed after he was crying and ended up crying myself. I have been feeling ALL THE EMOTIONS.

January 8

We had (what we thought was) Bubbles's last ultrasound. She looked great!

January 9

Griffin is very particular about how he eats hard boiled eggs. He eats the white, then the yolk. He loves these and calls them "Mimi's eggs" since she loves them, too.

January 10

Someone found a rogue pacifier while I was cleaning out the nursery. He came and asked to be held and rocked while telling me that he was still a baby. Don't tell him, but he'll always be my baby.

January 11

We went to breakfast at our favorite local diner and then to Target for a few "essentials" and some big boy underwear. Apparently we like to do big life events like potty training and having another baby right on top of one another. 

January 12

I spent the evening watching the Golden Globes, eating strawberry cake that I'd been craving, and updating our birth plan.

January 13

This boy loves playing Memory and I love celebrating every time he makes a match. It's so fun that we're getting into the "game playing" stage!

January 14

We had a fun playdate at the library with our friends! Griffin and the twins are exactly 7 days apart, so it's always a good time when these "triplets" play together.

January 15

I pack Tyler's lunches in these sectioned boxes and Griffin often begs to have a lunch like Daddy's! It's never complete without an Air-Ee-Oh (Oreo).

January 16

Poor Griffy was coming down with a cold, so I let him sit in the kitchen and watch Veggie Tales on my computer. I love that precious little face resting on his hands.

January 17

I took the covers off our throw pillows to wash them and feathers went absolutely everywhere! Griffin collected them for me in a bowl and I paid him with some mini marshmallows. He was happy for the treat and I was happy not to have to crawl around and collect them myself!

January 18

There's nothing like cuddling with your dad on a Saturday while watching Bubble Guppies!

January 19

Griffin often says, "I will lay verrrrrrrryyyyy still in Sissy's bed!" He loves lying there and watching the mobile.

January 20

I was making my grocery list, but this boy just wanted to cuddle. I'll never pass up an opportunity for snuggles with my boy!

January 21

What else is there to do in the middle of a polar vortex than make banana nut muffins? I love that Griffy loves to bake!

January 22

Bubbles's due date! Come out and play, little one! 

January 23

This sweet thing was waiting for his daddy to warm up the car. I love that Tyler takes him to school everyday; it's good quality time for the two of them.

January 24

Here I am, still eleven thousand weeks pregnant! Yikes. We went walking at the mall and of course the big brother needed a cake pop!

January 25

We had a wild Saturday night at home, complete with root beer floats!

January 26

Yep. Still pregnant.

January 27

Griffin has been my Monday morning grocery shopping buddy for three years. We've had some of our sweetest times together on those trips. I'm so thankful for my tiny companion and so lucky to be his mama.

January 28

Griffin fashioned a keyboard out of his clementines and said he was typing on his computer like Daddy. Then he got on his "phone" and said, "Uh, hello? I'm working!" Monkey see, monkey do!

January 29

Bubbles is officially 7 days late-- yikes! We had an ultrasound and a NST and she was doing fine in there! 

January 30

It's a horrible picture of me, but I happened to snap this impromptu kiss from my sweet boy. I couldn't love him one ounce more!

January 31

Papa and Mimi came to town to help us pass the time, so we made a trip to the bookstore. This boy has his Mimi (and Papa) wrapped around his little finger… but can you blame them?