Gender Reveal

Yikes.
Looks like I've been snoozing on the blogging as of late.
I have three good reasons for that:

1. I'm currently growing a human being inside of me and I'm tired.  And completely brainless most of the time.
2. My 3-year-old does not take naps anymore (thank you in advance for your condolences).
3. Managing to complete a load of laundry, scrub a toilet, and/or shower and dress for the day has taken precedence over lounging in cyberspace (refer to #2).

With that being said, I do still love to blog and I have a lot of posts piled up in my head. I'm just not sure how/if they'll ever touch ground.

But enough of me whining.  Let's get on to the true meat of this post.  Gender Reveal Parties!  They really seem to be all the rage nowadays and I took my turn with throwing one a couple months ago.

I suppose it goes without saying that after the glowing attention thrown at the birth of a first born child there's not a whole lot of pomp and circumstance with subsequent babies. No showers, no new stuff, no endless spans of time to plan, decorate, reflect, glow.  Heck, the kid won't even have a baby book filled out for him.

Therefore, there are very few options left when it comes to celebrating the upcoming birth of a second (or third, fourth, fifth...) child.  This is where gender reveal parties make a big splash.  They're a great excuse to celebrate, show off, and give your little bean a time to shine.

We decided to use homemade lottery cards to reveal the gender of our baby.  I found the adorable idea on Pinterest and only made some minor modifications.  So easy.  So much fun.  Great memories.

 First I made some silly props using a mustache and lips.  Guests selected a prop upon arrival depending on their guess.

These were very easy to make (granted I only had to make a couple dozen seeing that my party was small).  I found the mustache and lips on Google images and used them as stencils.  Black and red foam sheets were used along with skinny dowels and some Super Glue.  A no-brainer.

Everyone posed with their props (or cried like my 3-year-old).  The majority of guesses were for a boy ... how did they know???

Next came the actual reveal.  This is the winning scratch off lottery card.  I created these in Word and printed them onto card stock.  See Pinterest link above for directions for making the scratch off paint.  SO.  DANG.  EASY.

A little goody for guests to take home.  Again, stolen from Pinterest like everything else.

Here we are!  Soon the tides will shift and Marly and I will be outnumbered by males in our house (dog included).  We are thrilled about our newest little guy and can't wait to meet him.

Gender reveals can be cute, fun, AND easy!  Which is great for the prego hostess.  

Have you thrown your own gender reveal party or attended one?  What did you love about it?  How did you/they make it special? 

Please share!

Linking Up With...

Fun Friday Blog Hop

My First Feature and Follow Blog Hop

I'm linking up for the first time with the popular book blog hop, Feature and Follow!  I'm looking forward to meeting other book nerds like me.  So ... let's do this!

This week's Feature and Follow question is: 

If you could only have ONE – one book – for the rest of your life. Don’t cheat…what would it be?

Yikes!

I believe this would be a book nerd's nightmare.

However, this is an easy one for me.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

There has not been a single book out there that has come close to comparing with this classic.  The heart wrenching romance between Catherine and Heathcliff is immeasurable.  Bronte encapsulated the true meaning of soul mates.  This story will forever haunt me.

“He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” 
― Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights

Nuff said.

Now, let's be friends!

New Blogger Liebster Award

I was recently nominated for a Liebster Award from the lovely Adelma at Beautiful Chapters.  I graciously accept this nomination and thank Adelma for recognizing the new bloggers of the world!  Shall we begin?

THE RULES!

1) Each blogger should answer the questions the tagger has set for you.

2) Choose 11 new bloggers to pass the award on to and link them in your post (I'm sorry - I only passed to 5 others.  Call the Liebster Police!)

3) Create 11 new questions for the chosen bloggers.

4) Go back to their page and tell them about the award.

5) Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.

6) No tag-backs!

11 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME

 1) I have the amazing ability to feel restless and lazy at the same time.
 2) I have a thing for nostalgia.
 3) I live for back tickles and would pay cash for them (thankfully, my hubby gives them for free).
 4) I don't have a middle name and people always think that's weird.
 5) I shy away from heels because they make me a towering 6 feet tall and that's just plain awkward. 
 6) I have a serious Triscuit addiction.
 7) I have a yellow Chihuahua named Chico.  He's a total weenie.
 8) I got married on Friday the 13th and again, people always think that's weird.
 9) I have secret rock star aspirations.
10) No matter what, anytime I stumble across the movie Goodfellas on t.v., I must stop whatever I'm doing and watch it to the end.  Every time.
11) If I could just read books for a living, my life would be perfect.

QUESTIONS FOR ME

1) What is the first thing you do in the morning?
I let my little buttered biscuit out to go potty.  His morning bladder needs come before mine.  Is that wrong?

2) If the characters from TV shows or the book world are real, who would you want to be with? (Examples: Will Herodale from TID, Damon from Vampire Diaries, or the Doctor from Doctor Who)
Easy!  I would hang out with Roseanne Conner and Jackie Harris from the sitcom, Roseanne and Auggie Pullman from the novel, Wonder.

3) What is one thing that you are exceptional at?
Adapting.  I may be silently kicking and screaming on the inside but you'd never know it on the outside.  I roll with the punches (and perhaps put up a good front).

4) What is one beauty product that failed to impress you?
A few months ago I purchased an eye shadow stick by Neutrogena.  The consistency of the shadow was very strange and left a thick, sticky feeling.  It felt like someone was trying to tape my eyelids shut all day.  Uh, no thanks.

5) If you can have any pet in the world, what would it be?
I already have him.  My adopted first-born, Chico Montoya.  Equal parts baby, pest, and joy.  Wouldn't trade him in for any other pet.

6) Quick, list the five people you would want to meet! (Real or not real.)
Emily Bronte, U2 (that's 4 people in 1 - cheating?), Dr. Seuss, Donalyn Miller (author and teacher), and Chelsea Handler (even though she scares me)

7) If you have a million dollars, what would you spend it on? 
I would finish ALL the updates for our house, sock most of it away for future needs, and then probably use a portion to purchase LOADS of books for my local library and school.

8) What are you currently reading? (Ex: Magazines, Newspaper, Article, Books!)
Books: Inkheart, The Boy Kings of Texas (both are FABULOUS)
Mags: Parents and the newest AAA catalog

9) Have you ever done any DIY projects? If so, what did you make? (Take a picture if you can!)
Why yes I have.  See the latest here: http://pokiedot.blogspot.com/2013/04/i-did-it-wipe-off-menu.html

10) If you had a book that could be worth a lot of money, would you sell it or keep it? (Ex: A signed copy of the first Harry Potter book.)
Hmm... depends on the book.  If it's a story I personally cherish I'd keep it.  If it's a copy of Great Expectations then I'd sell that thing faster than you can say "overrated."

11) How are you enjoying your blogging life so far? Future goals?
Loving it!  No goals.  Just enjoying the ride.

QUESTIONS FOR MY NOMINEES

1) Name the top three foods that leave you in panic mode when you run out of them.

2) What color looks best on you?  What color are you unable to pull off despite how much you try?

3) What is the best part of your day?

4) Name your number one favorite techie gadget you cannot function without.

5) List the top three songs that are spinning in your player ... and head.

6) Tea or coffee?

7) Do you have a doppelganger (a celebrity look-alike)?

8) The BEST thing you've read recently.

9) What brings you inner peace and makes you feel whole?

10) A favorite childhood memory?

11) What's your favorite aspect of blogging?

And my nominees are...

Smile & Write 

Four Seasons Style

A Gut and a Butt

Olive Heart
Mints in My Mother's Purse

Now let's get out there and discover some new blogs!  Not a new blogger?  Feel free to chime in with your comments and/or answers.  The more the merrier!