The Nursery

With less than 2 weeks to go until my due date, I finally have the nursery about finished. The only thing missing in there (besides baseboards, crown molding, closet doors and a new window) is the ceiling fan. We were able to get a few installed in the other rooms of the house but the nursery and the family room are the last to be put up. Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll have that taken care of. Anyway, take a look at what we've done...

Since we are having another boy, I didn't want to buy new bedding and decorations for the room and start all over, plus I still liked the jungle theme we put in there for Ethan. So instead, I bought a jungle themed wall decal off my favorite website etsy.com.

Also since our house is 100% tile floor, I also put a new rug in there to warm it up a little, add some more color and cushion the floor a bit.

The decal was super easy to put up. It came in a bunch of pieces and my mom and I got it done in about an hour and a half. It can be removed later and doesn't damage the walls. I also ordered his name in the same decal material from another company and was really happy with the result. Not to mention, it was a TON cheaper than buying letters and painting them like I did for Preston and Ethan.

I kept the plaster belly my sisters Karlene and Ashlee and cousin Erin did of my stomach when I was 36 weeks pregnant with Preston. I had a scarf that was almost the same colors as the room so I tied it on there for some "coverage". It looks so small compared to what I'm carrying around now!! I like having something from each of the boys/each of my pregnancies in there.

I found these great fabric lined wicker baskets at Target about a year ago to store the toys in my living room in. I measured them and found that they fit perfectly under the changing table!...AND Target still carried them in stock for about $19! I was pretty excited! They hold a lot and look nice in there. The animal masks were found by my mom a few years back while she was on vacation in San Clemente and the paintings were done by a man in my home town.

I L-O-V-E this glider! It was a gift from my sisters when I had Preston and it is really comfortable! The kids have gotten it kind of dirty but luckily most of the cushions come off and can be put in the washer! It is great for nursing, rocking the little ones to sleep, or just relaxing in.

Oh, and that dresser...it has been in our family for YEARS! It was my moms when she was a little girl. It has just a few nicks on it from all the moves, but otherwise is in great shape!

Now, the room is d-o-n-e!!! All we need is the baby and it will be complete! AANNYYY day now... :) HA HA HA

Lots of Love and Bunches of Hugs,
XOX Brogan Lee

Halloween week (FINALLY!!)

WOW! It has been a REALLLLY long time since i have posted! It's now a week past Halloween and I'm just getting around to loading some pictures, sorry world! Anyway, last weekend the boys and i picked up some pumpkins at the base. I wasn't up for the pumpkin patch with them this year. I can't get on any of the rides and am not fast enough to chase after both of them by myself. I'm glad they didn't seem to mind skipping it this year. They really liked coloring all over the pumpkins and they let me cut some traditional faces into them.

I can't believe how different they look in that picture!Both boys were pretty proud of their pumpkins. I love the little things that make them happy!

Friday was the kids last day of daycare and they had a little Halloween party. Last year i went all out and made a few dozen different desserts and got a little creative. Being almost 38 weeks pregnant this year, i wasn't feeling the creative bug! I went to the bakery and ordered a fancy Halloween cake. However when I went to pick it up on Thursday night, the bakery informed me they had misplaced my order and didn't have anything ready. Sooo, the daycare kids got some store bought cupcakes with a candy bar stuck on top. I felt pretty bad about the sorry desserts they got this year.

I didn't want them wearing their new costumes because i figured they'd get ripped or dirty and didn't want to try to mend anything last minute. Preston wore his iron man costume from last year and Ethan wore the robin costume that is about 20 years old. A family friend made it for her son and then Martin (my little brother) wore it when he was 3 or 4 and Preston wore it when he was 2. I washed it and the letters all came off but it still worked.

Sadly by the time Monday night rolled around, Ethan had come down with a pretty nasty cold. He wasn't really feeling getting dressed up, but i managed to get part of his costume on and we headed out for a night of running from door to door in search of as much candy as we could each carry. Preston was READY!!

Preston could hardly contain himself to get his picture taken and as soon as the flash went off, he was at a dead sprint to the nearest house. He has told me multiple times that Halloween is his favorite day, even more than Christmas!

Ethan on the other hand took a much calmer approach to this holiday. I stuck with him as we slowly made our way from door to door. He stopped to look at every decoration, had to check out what candy he was just given and then when we ran across this cat, it held us up for about 10 minutes! The next morning Preston could hardly walk from running so hard and Ethan and I felt perfectly fine from taking it slow and steady! Ha Ha Ha

There were some pretty cute kids out and about in the neighborhood. It was so cute the way the older kids took Ethan's hand and pulled him to the front of the pack and weren't greedy to be the first to get candy at each house.

There's my little Bam Bam without his club and hat (and with a turtleneck on because of how cold it was and how sick he was). I still think he looked pretty cute!

Ethan got back to the house, walked through the front door to the kitchen, sat down and started tearing into his candy stash...

...as did every other kid there!!

They don't look so happy because this was right about the time the candy was taken away.

It was well past 8pm, they were tired and sweaty but it didn't stop them from playing a few battle rounds of BeyBlade (apparently it's the cool new toy for boys??)

The next morning, Preston and I were up early because he had a Dr appointment to get his shots for kindergarten (5 shots to be exact). I was under the assumption they would give them to him in his arms, and was hoping this was true because of how sore his legs already were. It literally took 15 minutes to get 20 feet from the parking lot to the front door of his doctor office because he was limping so bad. I sadly was wrong. The nurse made him lay down and cross his arms and I had to put his blanket over his chest and practically lay on top of him while she held his legs down and gave him the shots. It was terrible!! I had to hold back my tears as i watched him scream. He yelled so hard that it broke all the blood cells around his eyes and he was spotty for about 2 days. But within about 3 minutes he had calmed down. I took him for donuts afterwards(we found the BEST donut place EVER in Coronado!!) and to play with my friend Anna's daughter. He was such a good boy. I was really proud of how well he handled it all. Then we went back home, dumped out the candy from the night before and started to pick through everything. I think the boys were in heaven!!

Overall Halloween week went pretty well. The boys had a good time, they got lots of candy and Ethan is slowly recovering from his cold (and i now have it as well and will hopefully be recovering soon). I hope all of you had a ghoulish good time!!

Lots of Love and Bunches of Hugs,
XOXO Brogan Lee

Baby #3: 36 weeks!

I'm in the final stretch! Baby Walling man #3 could be here any day now! I for some reason have been nervous this entire pregnancy that he was going to be born premature, but now that I'm in the 36Th week, I no longer have to be concerned. I am officially very uncomfortable! I do have good hours, but most of the time i feel like this kid is trying to push his way out. My hips and back have started to get really sore and sleeping is no longer all that great. It's a big process to try to role over at night. I'm a belly sleeper and cannot wait for the day after he arrives to be sleeping back in that position again! I am, to say the least, OVER sleeping on my sides! The good news is that in the past 4 weeks, i have only gained 2.3 pounds! If i can manage the same amount of gain in the next 4 weeks, i won't reach 180 pounds! It may seem ridiculous that I'm excited about this, but on the delivery day with Ethan, I was just under 200 pounds! This means I may have 20 pounds less to lose! My fingers are crossed. I'm still going to the gym 4 days a week but have dropped my routine down to light arm weights and walking 1-3 miles a day. It's not much but i think it may be helping out. Here is what this giant belly is looking like now. My supervisor called it a torpedo belly!

The boys were so cute! I asked if they would take a picture with me and they ran to the couch before I even told them where to go! I love this picture. They look so happy for 6:45 am! Preston is going to be, yet again, a fantastic big brother! He knows exactly how many more weeks are left until baby brother come and tells everyone! The other night i was laying on the couch and the baby had the hiccups. Preston has never felt him move, so i put his hand on my tummy. Preston starting laughing and jumping up and down and poking my stomach. I think that baby liked it because he started going crazy, which just made Preston more excited! So this went on for about 15 minutes. It was really cute! Also, while we were at the commissary last weeks, I bought a bottle of water and Gatorade. Preston asked why I wasn't drinking it now. I explained that it was to take to the hospital when baby brother was coming. During the week, I laid everything out on my bed and started putting my hospital bag together in case this little guy makes an early break. Preston saw the bottles in the bag and started jumping up and down and screaming "baby brothers coming now, baby brothers coming now!!" Needless to say he was a little disappointed to hear i was just getting things ready and he would still have to wait a while. I don't really think Ethan gets any of it, I just hope it's not a terrible shock for him when he is no longer the baby :(

So now I have 2 weeks left of work and 1 1/2 weeks left alone in S.D. My mom will be back in the country around the 25Th. I'm hoping that he can wait until after that so I'll have some help with the boys while I'm at the hospital. Everything is ready though. The rooms are ready, my hospital records are in the car, so is my hospital bag AND all 3 car seats are loaded in the back. YES, there are 3 car seats in the back of my Nissan Sentra!! I can't believe they fit, but thank god they did because I am not in a position to get a new car right now!

Hopefully the next time I make a baby post it will be to announce the arrival of our newest little man!

Lots of Love and Bunches of Hugs!
XOXO Brogan Lee

The ultimate bagel

Tonight my dinner was so delicious, that i felt that i should share it with everyone! I thought so highly of my meal, that I dare call it "The Ultimate Bagel"! In case you just have to try one for yourself, here is how you make it...it's simple:

1: Slice and toast the bagel of your choice

2: Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette

3: Spread cream cheese over the top

4: top with sliced onion and fresh ground black pepper

5: tear and top with fresh basil leaves

6: layer with sliced tomatoes

7: finish off the top with thin sliced cucumbers!

And finally...The Ultimate Bagel! Plus, no meal is complete without a side dish. Tonight it is fried pickles! Yes, i said fried pickles. A big thank you to Mrs. Anna Jay for explaining the shallow fry process to me! Unfortunately, this new found knowledge may lead me to many more meals accompanied by fried side dishes. Oh well, only 4 more weeks to enjoy the good stuff than it's off to a strict sugar/starch free diet i go :(

Happy eating!

Lots of Love and Bunches of Hugs,
XOXO Brogan Lee

Diaper Shower

Since this is my third baby, and third boy at that, I really didn't want to have a shower. I don't like being the center of attention and I really don't need anything new since everything can just be handed down. So yesterday my fantastic supervisor Janea threw me a diaper shower instead. Let me tell you...this is totally the way to go! You don't have to open gifts in front of anyone, it's more affordable for people, I don't think I will ever have to buy wipes again and may not need diapers until this little man is about 6 months old!

She hung Barrel of Monkeys from the ceiling. 1st, I didn't know these were still being made and 2ND, I took them home for Preston and Ethan to play with and they loved them! The monkeys entertained them for several hours! I never expected that.

The desk confetti was pretty cute but got EVERYWHERE! It was being trailed all around the office and kept getting stuck to the under side of my belly that I can't see. People were pulling it off me all day!

UUMMM cake! Who doesn't love cake?!?! Especially one with a TON of frosting! I did manage to smuggle some home for later :)

Another plus to the diaper/wipe shower...nobody has to wrap anything!

I was also given a few outfits, bibs, gift cards and baby necessities, but look at all the diapers/wipe!! I know this is dorky but i did a count of what there was because it was so over whelming: 1,804 wipes and 730 diapers!!

I want to give a B-I-G thank you to all of my fantastic co-workers for being so generous, creating a great Friday for me and starting our newest addition off with a huge supply of the two things you can never have enough of! I am extremely thankful and appreciative! I'm going to try to stick it out at work for 2 more weeks. I'll be home for about 5 months and am really going to miss the conversations and adult interaction. I'm not quite ready to give it up yet!

Lots of Love and Bunches of hugs,
XOXO Brogan Lee

Shepards Pie (remix)

These days i pretty much only cook for myself. Price is now in Georgia, my mom is in Italy, and the boys eat the majority of their meals at daycare(and won't eat the same stuff as me anyway). So basically i cook one meal on Sunday or Monday night and then divide it by 5 and eat the same thing every night for dinner. It saves me a ton of time and dishes and i have no problem eating the same thing everyday. Now that i am approaching the end of this pregnancy and am getting increasingly more tired and have less and less room in my stomach for large meals, I'm trying to get as much protein and iron in one meal as possible...thus resulting in my "remix" of a Shepard's pie. I don't use a recipe and don't really measure the ingredients out, so this is Rachel Ray style...

approx 1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 box frozen spinach
3 or so eggs
a hand full of baby carrots finely sliced
6 or so stems of asparagus thinly sliced
i used about 6 mini bell peppers but u can use 1-1 1/2 large bell peppers,sliced
1/2 white onion
4 cloves garlic
1 frozen pie crust
several slices pepper jack cheese
3 red potatoes
milk
butter
salt
pepper
hot sauce of choice (i use California Hot or Tapitio)

Saute the peppers,carrots and asparagus in one pan with salt and pepper, boil potatoes in another pot(i leave the skin on because i like it and I'm lazy), brown the meat with onion and garlic until cooked fully. Microwave the frozen spinach in a large bowl for approximately 3 minutes or until soft, and then wring all the water out with a thin towel. Preheat the oven to 350 while all this is cooking

When everything is fully cooked, add it all into the large mixing bowl with the spinach. Mix well. There will most likely be a lot, so i Divide it in half and freeze some for next time. Once you have the right amount in the bowl, add the eggs and mix well.

Once about half of the mixture is spooned into the still frozen pie crust, top with a layer of pepper jack cheese. Finish filling the pie crust with the meat/veggie mixture and top with more cheese. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for approx 30-35 minutes.

While pie is cooking, blend boiled (and drained) potatoes with milk, butter,salt and pepper. You now have mashed potatoes! When pie has finished baking, top with mashed potatoes and put under the broiler for about 5-7 minutes.

I really need to master the broiler. I always check my food when the timer goes off and think it needs another minute or two...it really doesn't! I always end up slightly (or really) burning whatever I'm cooking, as seen in these pictures. :)

Once cooled, slice, top with hot sauce and ENJOY!!

So now you all know what i am eating for dinner this week. And since i have an extra pie crust and frozen filling, most likely next week too!

Happy meal times!

Lots of Love and Bunches of Hugs,
XOXO Brogan Lee

Price Graduates!

YAY!! After 15 long months of hard work, Price graduated and was pinned as an E.O.D. tech today! I am SOOOO proud of my husband! I VERY sadly wasn't able to be there since I'm so far along in this pregnancy, but thankfully my sister in law Melanie flew out there last night and kept me in the loop with a ton of video footage and pictures! THANK YOU MELANIE!!!!!

He started his schooling in Great Lakes Illinois in July 2010 and was there for about a month before heading to Florida, which is where he has been ever since. It has been tough being separated from him for so long but luckily over the past year i have been able to fly out there for visits and he has come home several times.

Unfortunately, even though he has graduated, he still has a few more months of training ahead of him. He leaves for Georgia next week for about 3 weeks and then will be off to Mississippi for a few more weeks after that. He'll get to come back home around the second week of December and will take time off for the holidays and start the final leg of training in Coronado. I am beyond thrilled he'll be finishing up back here in California and won't have to leave again!

This morning he also had his re-enlistment ceremony. Price has been in the Navy for just about 6 years now and just signed on for 6 more years. This means we have 6 more years of military life! There are pros and cons to this. The obvious pros: job security, free medical care, constant paycheck, plus i think we'll get to stay in San Diego for at least that much longer...the cons: not always having Price home, deployments, missed birthdays/holidays/anniversaries, and the biggest con of all, the danger of his job. :(

Here is Price and a few of his buddies, Troy and Max. They will both be stationed in Virginia (i think :) ). I know he is going to miss these guys once they finish training and head their separate ways.


Thank you again to Melanie for keeping me updated on the ceremony and for all the pictures, and CONGRATULATIONS Price! I am so proud of you and your accomplishments!

Lots of Love and
Bunches of Hugs
XOXO Brogan Lee