Summer Nails

I have always loved doing my nails and trying to always keep pretty nails on my feet and hands. The range of colors out there is insane and I love trying out new ones with glitter, without, bright, dark, you name it, I'll paint it.

Over the last few years, I've posted so many colors and combinations for the holidays, Summer, Winter, etc. Or simply because I was feeling that color at that time. I thought it would be fun to go back to all those posts, compile them and take a look back at my crazy colors. It's only Tuesday and most of us, if not all of us, are sad because the weekend is over and I wanted to post something fun and cheerful.

Most of these are from Sinful colors and they are super affordable. You can't beat that. If I see a color I like in a more expensive brand, I'll get it, but I don't think you need to spend a lot to make your nails look good. If you get a good top coat you should be okay with pretty much any polish. Granted, the color payoff in some isn't the same, but I like this brand because it's really good when it comes to that.

I hope you think they are fun and love some of these colors!

Friday Favorites- Baby Ready

Now that I am expecting another baby, I'm excited to find new things in the baby world! I remember seeing all these cool things that other mamas would post waaay after having Elliot and thinking I'm going to get that when I have another baby! Now I can!

I love this Solly Baby wrap in Baltic. I love the color and have heard so many good things about them! I never wore Elliot because I had no idea these things existed ha! I love the thought of having the baby so close and safe!

The cutest pacifier clips from Ryan and Rose! These come in so handy especially with a newborn. I love all of the different types and colors.

This little jumpsuit from H&M is super cute! I may be getting ahead of myself with baby stuff, but I can't help it with all of this out there! Perfect for an October baby.

Since Elliot was born, I have known and understood the power of the swaddle. If they felt comfortable being a burrito inside our bellies, they will feel the same outside of it. That's the way I see it. These Aden + Anais ones are the sweetest. I love all of the designs! I used this brand with Elliot as well and to this day, three years later, they have held up so well after many, many washes. The fact that they have gorgeous prints makes me so happy!

To carry all of the baby and toddler stuff, you need a U-Haul, kidding, not really. This time I want something stylish and not bulky like a regular diaper bag. Been there, done that. I'm in love with this bag from Fossil! How beautiful is it?? I love that it has a lot of pockets and plenty of space and no one will ever know it's stuffed with diapers, crackers and pacis. Well, they will, but you know what I mean.

We all know preparing for a baby gets expensive. Starting to buy all the things that we will need now and little by little, will put my mind and wallet at ease, that's always a good thing. Have a great Friday and weekend!

Hump Day Bumpdate

How far along: 14 weeks

Gender: Boy!

Maternity clothes: Still wearing my regular clothes but my jeans are getting super uncomfortable. I purchased some maternity tops already and I'm looking forward to wearing them soon! I did purchase jeans but they were a size too big (thanks online shopping) so I'll have to go to the store to return them and get the right sizes.

Sleep: Sleeping okay. I keep having the most random and weirdest dreams! I think that's normal? The most common one is of Jack leaving me for another woman haha!

Best moment this month: Feeling better! That is for sure my number one best moment. The fact that I am not puking my brains out at least twice a day is a great sign. 

Worst moment this month: Still not being able to eat a lot. I can eat now but really light. I just make sure I eat snacks and small meals throughout the day to keep my belly full and not get nausea. Also, I've had some of the worst headaches! I remember those with Elliot's pregnancy too. They suck!

Miss anything: Being able to do things on the weekend. By the time the work week is over, I am exhausted and all I want to do is be lazy and relax at home. Hoping to get my energy back soon.

Movement: None yet! I think I feel something but then I think it's probably all the watermelon I've been eating.

Cravings: Watermelon, cucumbers, spicy food, veggies and ranch, any fruit.

Queasy or sick: Everything at some point. I haven't been able to cook a decent meal this entire time! I did get a lot of recommendations from friends on what to do to get rid of nausea and a lot of them worked! Thank you. :)

Looking forward to: The "sweet spot" as some of my friends have told me. Elliot's pregnancy was so smooth, compared to this one, this is all new to me! I'm ready to kick this nausea to the curb and gain my energy back! My next appointment is on my birthday, April 25, so happy we get to see this peanut that day! 

The Day We Found Two Pink Lines

It was a Saturday night and we had purchased a bag of blood oranges. So deliciously sweet but a bit tart at the same time. Like a mix between an orange and a grapefruit. I looked up some blood orange margarita recipes, but ultimately ended up coming up with my own concoction and boy were they good. Really good.

I made the first one and the only one I would drink that night and the last one for the next nine months. I remember taking the last sip and getting up to make another one, but then this strange feeling came over me. It felt wrong, I felt as if I were doing something wrong. I knew why.

In the last year and a half, we have had a couple of instances where Jack and I thought, this is it, we are having a baby. Only to find out we weren't. I went to my doctor for my regular checkup and he told me I should've been pregnant by now, especially because the previous year at my appointment, he knew we were trying. I'm not sure why but it just wasn't happening. I started with an ovulation kit after this last appointment and that did the trick!

Four or five months later, after starting with the ovulation kit, and after my last sip of that margarita that night, I really knew. I also knew that the ovulation kit came with a pregnancy test. I wasn't so sure it would be positive since I had been drinking water all day and well, the margarita, but I was positive about it. I took the test and after what seemed like an eternity, the slightest hint of a pink line was visible. I ran to Jack and told him I saw a line, I saw two lines! He said he couldn't see it. He said we should wait till the morning, buy another test and take it then but I couldn't wait. I drove to the pharmacy and bought a box of three, but this time I wasn't going to mess around with lines, I needed the one where it clearly tells you pregnant or not pregnant. I took another one and we could clearly see it! It said pregnant! I took two more, one the next morning and one a few days later, just to be sure.

I was overcome with feelings, happy and sad. It made me miss my dad more than ever. It also made me mad because it made me miss my dad more than ever. The fact that he's now missing out on the lives of five soon to be six grandchildren is infuriating, but I want to be positive about everything and enjoy this moment for what it is. Such is life and it goes on. You can read about that here.

So here it is, another baby Brown waiting to meet the world, mama, daddy and big brother and we cannot wait!

Love Month

This weekend we had beautiful weather and while Jack was washing the car and Elliot playing in the garage, I decided to clean out some of the remaining boxes from our move, three years ago. Better late than never right?

I was going through this one box where I had things that were from when I lived at home with my parents and found so many memories. I have kept every single card, note and letter that Jack has ever given me in the almost nine years we have been together which is a lot of stuff, and it brought back so many amazing memories. The first Valentine's card, first birthday card, love letters where he expressed his feelings in ways that made my heart skip a beat. He wrote "I can't wait to marry you!" a lot and "I love you more than I can say!" I've always loved his handwriting too!





We used to write love letters to each other back then saying how much we loved each other, before we got married and how we couldn't wait to be married and start that part of our lives. We also had the letters that mentioned we had had a fight, but how that didn't make him feel any different about us. I felt all of the feelings when reading them and I saved some so that Jack and I could open them together again and read what he wrote years ago. We laughed about what he wrote with a knot in our throats remembering those times saying "remember this? I remember that time!"

Going through that box was a great reminder that now all those years later, we still feel the same if not more in love with each other as we have gone through marriage, parenthood, the stresses of life, of owning a house, having bills to pay, and car payments, and the many things that make marriage so hard and so wonderful at the same time. Sometimes we are going through the days on what seems like fast forward x8 and that is okay because it is part of life, but reading the letters and cards also made me realize that we need to slow down.

They reminded us that no matter what, we have each other's backs just like we did when we met and fell in love. We may not write each other those long love letters as we used to, but we talk to each other and tell each other how we feel. While it's certainly not butterflies and rainbows all of the time, at the end of the day we feel how we felt in those love letters and notes and cards. We are happy and we are pushing through life together, plus there are still love notes that we leave each other in our lunch bags or around the house and those make our marriage and life a lot sweeter.

Enjoy your loved ones everyday, tell them and show them how much you love them this month and everyday! ;)

New Year, New Blog Name

This is my new blog name! It is what my name means and I am so excited to head in a direction towards content related more to what I like and enjoy doing. You'll still read about Elliot and life happenings and all of our crazy adventures since that's how this little place started but now that I want to add different things, I felt that Baby Button Brown didn't fit the content, or the other way around. Stick around for new and good things! :)

Thank you all for your support! :)

Elliot is THREE!

Hello, it's me, I was wondering if after all these months you'd like to read.

Gosh how long has it been?! It feels like ages, but I know it's only been a few months. I guess I lost my mojo, but I am back! I wanted to wait till I got enough content and topics to keep me going for a while so here I am!

Elliot turned three on January twentieth and now that he is a little older and understands (somewhat) the concept of a party, we decided that it was time to throw him a real one. For his first and second birthdays, it was family only and a couple of friends. His third included most of his little friends along with my college and high school friends' kids. It feels so weird to write that last part! Grownup life.

On the actual day, we celebrated with a slice of cake and a number FOUR candle. I'm not sure what was in my head that day that made me buy that instead of a three so we scratched the number candle and went with three small ones. #mamabrain (is that a thing?).

Anyway, I wanted to make this post about what I did to make sure this was a good, fun but simple enough party where I didn't have to be running around. Do you think or believe that actually happened? Somewhat, but I was actually impressed with myself because I actually did buy all of the decorations ahead of time and that helped a bunch.

The first thing I did (many months ago) was to create a board in, you guessed it, Pinterest, to start pinning ideas, colors and a theme. I wanted to be fully prepared for it with a theme and colors. I asked Elliot if he wanted Minions or superheroes and I don't think he hesitated to say he wanted superheroes. I was kind of excited about it because to be honest, I love Despicable Me, but the colors of the minions? Not so much.

I decided that in order to not buy the entire Party City or Amazon on superhero stuff, I would narrow it down to three to four colors. I picked green, yellow, blue and red.

The second thing I did was order invitations about a month in advance (then sent them out about a week and a half before the party, the irony!) from Tiny Prints because they never disappoint with quality and the cutest designs! Then I started buying the decorations slowly.



I also ordered Elliot a personal cake that I could decorate for him. I bought the bunting at Target and printed out the little signs at work (black and white only boo!) then glued them on thicker paper and cut them. Am I the only one so behind on the technology that doesn't own a printer?



My sweetest friend Chanel made these little props for Elliot's picture wall and I was blown away. She said she would do whatever she could to help me and she did! She's the sweetest! One of the things I love about Instagram and blogging is getting to know women like her! Thank you Chanel!!

We taped this table cover/backdrop to the window in our backyard to take pictures using the props.

This man is the sweetest. He's our neighbor, and we consider all of his family our family! If you follow me on Instagram (@shadiabrown) you saw my post about how he dressed up and surprised Elliot! He was over the moon. This was the cherry on top for the party! Completely unexpected and awesome.

The party favors were super simple. I put play doh, bubbles, superhero tattoos, and lollipops in a little brown bag and stickers that I ordered with the invitations and of course this is the only picture I took.

Some of the kids were missing because yeah, you know how it goes when you try to take a picture of all of them at the same time and all of them looking at the camera. Plus the sugar didn't help! Here's one where these four guys and girls stayed still enough for five whole seconds eating cupcakes.

As usual, I was too busy running around before and in the middle of the party to take pictures of all of the setup, but we had a children's table where they decorated their capes and masks. I made the capes out of fabric and spent a few nights cutting them and gluing a yellow circle on the back for their initial then had washable markers and stickers to personalize them and little masks that I
got at Target.

Also, you can't see it but I made Elliot a superhero shirt using iron on fabric that I got at Hobby Lobby.

All I wanted was for Elliot to be happy and all of the kids (and adults) had so much fun! Planning a party is freaking hard and a bit stressful but it is all absolutely worth it in the end. We also had the perfect weather and didn't have to move inside the house! Success! :)