I'm a Blog Buddy Today!

Please head over to Kerry's blog to see her blog buddies for the month of April.  I have been honored to be one this month along with several other lovely ladies.  Check them all out....you won't be disappointed!  So head down under and visit Kerry in Australia :)

Have a great weekend friends!

The Joy of Traveling with Babies

Today I'm over on the lovely Tiffany's blog, Momma Bear Diaries, sharing my story about traveling with Nolan when he was about 8 months old.  Please stop by and read my post and give Tiffany some love!  She's moving and has a lot of hours in the car, so I'm sure she'd love to hear from you.  You will enjoy reading about her and her adorable little girl!

****Sidenote-I am playing around with my blogger design, so you might see some different ones before I actually decide on one :)

Wordless Wednesday-Water Spray Bottle Fun!

A Challenging and Fun Age-Is That Even Possible?

Right now I am having so much fun with Nolan--but I am also having a challenging time too.  Oxymoron?  It's so exciting to see him have new experiences and how thrilled he is with the smallest every day things.  He literally runs throughout the house picking up random household objects and moves them to new places.  He's always trying to hold as many items as possible.  However, he is also at the age where he gets frustrated with his emotions becuase he doesn't know how to express himself or why he can't do certain things.  AKA just walking out the front door or the fact that he needs to hold mommy's hand when outside to cross the street.  Or the fact that everytime mommy and daddy are eating doesn't mean you need a piece of it.

This parenting gig is hard, and I know I'm just in the very beginning of it.  I realize now that you will be repeating yourself a million times...so I better get used to it.  I am already saying, "Don't get in the dog water," and "Say please and thank you."  It can definitely wear you out emotionally and mentally, but I know that in order to be a good parent being consistent is very important.  Let's just say I didn't know HOW MUCH they test you when they are at this age.

How did you deal with your children at this age?  (Nolan is 17 mos)

Hope everyone had a fun weekend!

Spring is HERE! Or Should We Call It Summer Already?

Now that it's spring or SUMMER as I like to call it since it is already been mid 80's in my neck of the woods I thought I would ask my fellow bloggers about their favorite activites for their kids in the warm weather since Nolan will be able to do more this year.  I'm trying to come up with some fun activities whether it's outside at the house or at a public place. 

Here are a few ideas that I have or have done already:

*Go to the zoo
*Go to the parks to play on playgrounds
*Go to parks to go to splash pad
*Play in our baby pool from last year

What are some fun outdoor activities that you like to do?

Drum Roll Please....Giveaway Winner Is:

The giveaway winner is comment #48 which is Sherri Lynn from The Life of a Wife!  I am so happy Sherri has won the $15 gift card to Starbucks because she has been a loyal follower and commenter from way back :)

sherri lynn said...

my favorite starbucks drink is the coconut mocha... I can't wait for it to be back!

March 17, 2012 8:22 AM

If you haven't checked out her blog, please do because Sherri always has some great recipes or crafts to share.  You'll just love her like I do!

The Luck of the Irish

It's crazy to think that Nolan is now old enough to have celebrated holidays for a second time.  Looking at last year's St. Patrick's photos really shows how much he's grown in a year. 

 Can you believe how little he was?  Here's this year's photos:

  He's such a little boy now with his haircut!  Hope you had a fun "green" weekend :)

Happy One Year Anniversary to My Blog!

I never imagined in a million years that I would enjoy blogging as much as I do or that I would form the friendships with many of you lovely ladies.  Words cannot express how great it is to have such support from the bloggy community when you are dealing with this new experience called "motherhood."  I found that I wasn't alone, and many others had the same questions I had. 

So to all of you who follow my blog and comment, I want to give a huge THANK YOU for being here.  I know time is precious and the fact that you stop by here means a lot to me.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, I'm having a giveaway.  Now it's not a lot, but I thought I would give back to you guys by having a giveaway for one of my faves---Starbucks!

One lucky winner will receive a $15 gift card to this lovely caffeinated establishment.  Here's all the different ways you can enter and make sure to comment separately for each item:

******Be a follower of From Corporate to Domestic on GFC
******Be a follower on Twitter
******Tweet about this giveaway
******Leave a comment of your favorite Starbucks drink

Giveaway will end on Tuesday, March 20th at midnight EST. 

Good luck my friends :)

Goodbye Baby--Hello Toddler Boy!

So we finally bit the bullet and decided to get Nolan's haircut.  It was just so long in the bangs and the back that it had to be done.  Here's the pics from Nolan's first haircut!

He was the keeper of all combs :)

What?! Where did my baby go?

And of course we never get a pic with a smile!

He did really well I must say.  The lady kept talking before we even got started, and I was like let's get this thing on the road...we've only got a limited time to keep him entertained!  So no more long-haired Nolan :(

I guess it's just another sign that my baby is getting older!

Zoo Day: Today and a Year Ago

Here is Nolan at his first trip to the zoo last April:

 And here is Nolan today at the zoo:

Gettin' his snack time on!

It's amazing the difference a year makes! (I also can't get this guy to look at the camera for the life of me!)

Nursery Ideas and the Weekend

Thanks everyone for the congrats on baby boy #2!  I'm very excited that Nolan will have a brother so close in age.  Now comes the hard part....picking out a name.  I feel that boy names are so much harder to pick out than girl names.  I've started thinking about what I am going to do with the nursery.  I'm not a big fancy nursery type of girl---so it will be pretty simple and functional.  We're going to move Nolan's changing table and glider into the room, so I'll need to get a new crib and accessories.  I'm also thinking of moving Nolan's small corner dresser in there.  Nolan's room will have plenty of room for toys!  I think I will get the small cube shelves to put some of the cute bins that Nolan's changing table held.  Have you guys seen any good deals on those?  Anyhow, here are some of the nursery inspirations I've been pinning:

Source: projectnursery.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: projectnursery.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: projectnursery.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: projectnursery.com via Natalie on Pinterest

I'm either going with orange or red accents since the room is a soft blue gray.  I thought it would need a bright color to brighten it up. 

Here are some cribs I am liking:

Source: walmart.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: toysrus.com via Natalie on Pinterest

I'm not on Pinterest a lot, but I might be on there more now that I've got to figure out a new nursery so follow me on my journey :)

Anyways, we had a pretty busy weekend here---Nolan had swim class and went under 4 times!  He even cracked a smile this time.  We went to a friend's 1st Birthday party yesterday afternoon and also celebrated Nolan's grandma's birthday on Saturday.  Now his other set of grandparents will be in town this weekend.  March is flying by!

Let me know what you think of the nursery ideas and hope you have a great Monday!

Is it Ribbons and Bows or More Trains and Trucks?

The answer is:

We are having another BOY!  YAY for being a BOY MOM and Nolan to have a little brother to play with!  We are so excited to add another boy to the family!

18 Weeks and Counting!

18 weeks:

It's hard to believe I'm already in the fifth month of pregnancy.  I fell like this one has flown by.  Probably because I have a toddler to keep me on my toes!  I felt the baby move on Friday of last week, and then saw my belly move for the first time with this baby.  Tomorrow is the big day....we find out what we are having! That is if baby #2 cooperates.  It's crazy how this family of 2---quickly become a family of 3, and now 4!  Does this require me to drive a mini-van?

Wind, Rain, and a Salt Water Pool

I don't know about you guys, but we had some crazy wicked weather over the weekend.  It seems that most of the country did, and I have the families that were hit by the tornadoes in my thoughts and prayers.  I know we didn't get as bad as weather as others, however it was still scary.  I just kept thinking we were about to get more hail damage after we just finished repairing from the storms of last year.  Thank goodness we just saw wind and rain without any damage.

On Saturday, we went to Nolan's first swim class.  It was so much fun, and Nolan did his "Nolan thing" by being an observer.  He didn't mind the water and was totally relaxed.  It was as if he was at a spa, and I was there to pamper him.  He was just checking out everyone else, and we had a time getting him to look at Daddy and the camera.  It's so funny to see his personality and his reaction to new environments.  You will see in some of the photos that he has his "emotionless face" where literally I think he was just relaxing on mom's shoulder.  It was typical Nolan.  It's so interesting to see traits that he had as a baby still continue as he gets older.  He's a watcher and cautious before he jumps all in.  He wants to know what is going on before he makes a decision.

Hope you had a great and safe weekend!

Life's Lessons: The March Edition

It's been awhile since I've linked up with Sara and Rach for Friday's Life's Lessons so here goes nothing!

1) It's been a busy year so far.  I feel like it was just January but now it's March.  This year is flying by and before I know it I'll have baby #2 and will be taking care of two little ones!

2) March is super busy.  Nolan's first swim class starts this Saturday.  I hope he likes it!

3) Then the 2nd Saturday in March our friends are coming to visit us with their 14 month old.  We're going to go visit the zoo and the aquarium.  I think the boys are going to have a blast!

4) My parents are coming to visit the weekend of St. Patrick's Day.  Of course Nolan will be sporting some St. Patty's Day gear!

5) Next week we find out the gender of baby #2.  I'm excited and have no idea what the ultrasound will say.

6) The last weekend in March the husband and I will be going to the first of three weddings that we will be attending this year.  Last year I went to ZERO which is crazy since I've been attending a wedding every year since 2001.  Of course this year I'm pregnant and last year I wasn't!

7) However April I have nothing on the calendar...but in May I did book a beach vacay for this family of three!  Nolan's last hooray before he has to share the attention.  Kind of bittersweet isn't it?

8) Oh I almost forgot---The Hunger Games movie comes out in March!  So excited!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!