So I’ve been stressing out trying to find a good software application to create invoices (actually cash sales) with ease and simplicity (no big ERPs or financial apps). In Portugal we have a requirement that all entities who use digital invoices, must have applications that export the data in a specific SAFT file (Standard Auditing File for Tax purposes).

I’ve been surfing and surfing trying to get my hands on everything I can, and nothing works like I want it too.

Primavera Express is the most famous one, but unfortunately is windows-only.
Then I checked all the cross-platform apps (since we have Linux in the office), Colibri, Gardenia, Evaristo(aka MP-biz). Sucks, Sucks, Sucks. Seriously, just because you do your coding in Java doesn’t mean your application is portable out of the box. Its incredible how full of bugs, problems, lack of instructions these programs are. Its just crap-out-of-the-box, sorry for being honest.

Now I’m considering just to install something on my mac and do the invoices from here, until I found a better solution. Invoy is nice, but doesn’t allow me to set a different date when creating the invoice! There are many nice invoicing apps, but since they are not portugal-oriented, there is no SAFT support.

Rupeal, a portuguese company, is “renting” its Invoic€xpress product as SaaS (Software as a Service), but its expensive and does not support Cash Sales (only invoices).

God, I’m really upset for wasting so much time and still having no solutions!!

Update: got an email reply from the Invoy guys – bad news, they are closing shop and ceasing development. too bad, it really was a nice piece of software

Also known as Gardenia jasminoides ‘Veitchii‘, I purchased yesterday three of the last remaining small plants from a local gardening center. The soil in the containers was very dry so I rushed home, dug holes, planted them, and soaked the soil. I’ll be doing the same again within the hour.

I’ve not had success in the past growing gardenias, but I felt the time was right to try again, as I’ve always enjoyed their beauty and fragrance.

I don’t think I ever really “give up” on a plant because it dies the first (or more) time I attempt to grow it. When I revisit past “difficult” plants, I make note to perhaps plant them next time in a different part of the garden, where the sun or shade is different, water on a different schedule, feed them with different plant food, etc. I’ve experienced my share of plant deaths, even with plants known to thrive in my area, so it does sometimes require a bit of trial and error to know what will help my plant to thrive in my location, specifically,  in my own garden.

Summer begins here on Tuesday. We’ve had so many hot days already, today was 35 degrees celcius and last Sunday was a sweltering, quite unbearable 43 degrees!! Along with the hot weather, summer in Sydney brings with it so many great things…..one of those being bushes full of scented gardenia’s! The scent just says summer to me. Love them….my next painting, (which hopefully i will get to start this week) is a big, full, open bloom like this one. x

After having seen Epicurean Shea Butter Company being sold on the shelves of big time natural product retailers, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw their booth at DC’s Eastern Market last Saturday! As well as the company is doing, it’s so nice to see them keeping up with this booth that allows people to see and try the entire array of shea butter-based products. I found out that this company was founded on a family tradition of soap making, in a garage in Maryland in 2001. So it turns out they still keep in touch with their point of origin and sell at local venues like the Eastern Market.

After a good deal of debate, I decided on the Shea Butter Moisturizer titled ‘Blessing‘. This moisturizer is unique because it’s a soft solid so you have to dig into it a little bit, but then it goes on really smoothly. And the smell… the smell is absolutely what sold me. Putting just a little bit on the back of my hand makes me think that I’m suddenly in a garden filled with lilacs and gardenias. The scent is that good. It even fills the room when you put it on, but it’s not overpowering because it smells so real! In terms of scent, this is by far one of my favorite beauty products now. Not to mention how smooth and healthy my skin feels when I use it.

Photo Credit: Epicurean Shea Butter Company

Beklager den halvskumle overskrift, men står du med forfrosne og modehungrende tæer og fødder, så er det ikke det værste tidspunkt at kigge ned til os i butikken.

Gardenia støvler i i alt fire forskellige styles lander i butikken nu… To styles er allerede kommet, og den tredje kan komme “as we blog”, mens den sidste kommer om et par uger.

På billedet kan du se den style som kommer om et par uger, og det er en fed støvle med elastik. Den er stort set identisk med den style, som allerede ligger i butikken nu, bare med den forskel at sidstnævnte har lynlås i stedet for elastik.  

Inden du svøber fødderne i de nye lækre støvler, kan du passende iføre dig et par nye Black Lily strømper eller strømpebukser, som også ligger klar på hylderne nu. De er populære som aldrig før, og er du i tvivl om hvorfor, så prøv et par i Støy Munkholm.

Last night I had a, cough, robust debate with someone over the fact I liked perfume and whether this was a shallow pursuit or not.

My response was pretty much: “Well, shallow or not I always like to smell FABULOUS” (and I do, incidentally, seriously, Jo Malone should sponsor me or something, or at least send me a bottle of their now discontinued original Gardenia perfume so I can get over the trauma of my bottle running out).

But it did get me thinking that the pursuit of beauty can be seen as a rather facile one, and not a delight in the sheer aesthetic wonder of it. I love reading blogs on things of beauty, whether paintings, make up, fashion style or even book design.

Part of the, cough cough double  cough, constructive debate, was sparked by the BBC’s November season on Modern Beauty, which looks at whether in all the debate and brouhaha surrounding whether modern art has sacrificed beauty for cheap thrills and shock value.

There is also the legitimate debate on how our society’s obsession with the attainment of beauty imposes constraints on women (although beauty is of course not confined to us,  and nor is the ‘Gaze’ a la Laura Mulvey), but questions arise as to whether we have allowed that to obscure a more healthy and balanced look at aesthetics in a more positive light as a concept that brings delight and joy to those who appreciate it.

Or, is it that we have subverted notions of beauty so much we no longer know what ‘beauty’ means no understand it can be a positive, healthy term?

Which all in a long winded way brings me to this stunning audio slideshow on the Guardian featuring make up artist Alex Box, who has collaborated with photographer Rankin on a new book, and which you can see/hear here.

Alex’s work is certainly unconventional, but the make up line she works for, Illamasqua, is not your average make up line. I like that she creates new style glamour in a new style way, and while it’s not always pretty it’s certainly, in a strange way, beautiful. While I’m not entirely sure I could carry off all of them at work, I think the ‘attacked with several fluorescent spray guns’ style above would look great on a Birmingham night out …

Overvejer kraftigt at købe disse støvler fra Gardenia. Fandt dem på Debell.dk, men er i tvivl mht størrelsen.. Hmm, de ville være perfekte til hverdag! Nogle der kender til Gardenias størrelser?

/Stina

Jag har köpt de finaste skorna. Jag blir glad bara jag ser de stå i hallen. Ett par svarta gardenia stövletter. Nätta men grova … mina nya bästisar. Jag köpte mina på http://www.hallmans.com och så här ser de ut.

Gardenia

When summer is approaching and the gardenias are blooming, the heat of a slightly balmy evening heightens the sweet sensuous fragrance. I don’t know why, but I think the best perfumed flowers are white in colour, like for examples Jasmine and Tuberose.

http://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/2008/09/01/jasmine-flower/

http://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/tuberose/

Gardenia  is native to the tropics and subtropics of Africa, southern Asia, Australasia and Oceania. In Indonesia it is called kaca piring. There are approximately 250 species of gardenia and they belong to the coffee family Rubiaceae.

The name Gardenia came from a Scottish American naturalist, Dr. Alexander Garden.

Most gardenias are milky white that will become yellowish by age, while few species are real yellow. The most common varieties grown here in Australia are from two different species: G.augusta and G. thunbergia.

The most popular Gardenia augusta species are Florida, Aimee Yoshiba, Magnifica, Fortuniana , Prof. Pucci, Golden Magic and the prostate dwarf variety is Radicans. These species have attractive deep green foliage with double flowers.

Gardenia thunbergia is also known as star gardenia which has single petals. This species originally found in South Africa and it is also known as wild gardenia of forest gardenia.

Gardenias grow best in warmer, moderate and humid climate. It hates frost and cold temperature. Can be grown in partly shade area for hotter climate or in moderate climate it will be happy to be in full sun. The soil has to be rich and well drain. As gardenia tend to lose traces elements in soil (yellowing of the leaves), it is good to apply a complete fertilizer which contains major trace elements. Once the plants are established, they only need to be fully watered once every forth night.

Gardenias are prone to have problems with scales and mealy bugs so regular spray of white oil will help to keep these bugs away.

If you love white flowers and you enjoy the sweet sensation of lingering fragrance in your   garden or verandas, gardenia will certainly fill this purpose. As gardenias will continue to bloom from late Spring to Autumn, the beautiful scents of this versatile flowers will greet you for longer time.

This is an old song by The Deans with the title “Little White Gardenia” The gardenias always remind me of this song…….

Happy Gardening!

Nel mese scorso “Gardenia” ( sulla quale sono sempre molto scettica), mi ha stupita con un bel reportage di Costanza Lunardi su un giardino catanese e con la pagina finale dell’allegato “Rose e Tulipani”, scritta da Stefania Bertola.
Il giardino è chiamato “le stanze in fiore di Canalicchio”; le foto di Dario Fusaro, come al solito molto suggestive e pulite, forse consapevoli di qualche omissione, ritraggono una sorta di oasi paradisiaca con vegetazione mediterranea e tropicale disposta alla maniera inglese, cioè quella tipica sistemazione che viene chiamata “giardino mediterraneo”, che di mediterraneo ha più o meno solo il nome, essendo in realtà un’invenzione di quelli che Guido Giubbini chiama “inglesi refiosi” che nella seconda metà dell’Ottocento venivano a trascorrere le vacanze o il resto della vita in Italia, e che così si immaginavano che dovessero essere i giardini mediterranei: una versione subtropicale del loro giardino settecentesco.
Albion caput horti
Il giardino è bello, ben concepito, di quelli che hanno la venustà della vecchiezza, che è una delle doti più pregevoli in un giardino. Piante locali, come il fico d’india, frammiste a piante più inusuali e difficili, come le felci arboree, l’erba nuova in mezzo a vecchi scalini, abbeveratoi in pietra come fontane, dovunque il senso dell’ “eredità”. Niente bordure per i fiori, anche perchè avrebbero stonato, al loro posto invece delle vasche rettangolari per i fiori da taglio, un po’ come quelle che desiderava Russel Page per un suo giardino privato.
Le rose non vengono neanche nominate.
Non manca neanche qui, però, una forte concessione al contemporaneo gusto del consumo dei luoghi. Luci a scomparsa attorno al laghetto per una suggestiva visita notturna, la piscina per nuotare (non si capisce bene se privata o no, ad ogni modo la piscina -secondo me- dovrebbe essere un elemento a parte di ogni giardino), e gli stuzzichini siciliani con un nome inglese. Tutto molto molto “very cool”, da sciure che l’aperitivo non gli basta, che per sentirsi soddisfatte devono aver consumato un po’ di antichità, perchè la modernità è alla portata di tutti, sciure che non hanno problemi se menu e prezzi sono da concordare.
Insomma, c’è anche lì la longa manus del consumismo moderno e del consiglio per gli acquisti ma il giardino, perlomeno visto in fotografia, vale una visita anche se poi bisognerà tenere il portamonete lontano dagli stuzzichini.
Direi: palla al centro.

“Gardenia”, che è sempre un po’ eguale a se stessa, sembra comunque essersi sollevata dalla sciatteria di qualche anno fa, per volgersi ad un pubblico dal portafogli ben gonfio e dai gusti raffinati (o falsi raffinati?). Invece l’allegato “Rose e tulipani” non era male, e la pagina finale scritta da Stefania Bertola, direi insuperabile. Una delle migliori cose che ho mai letto su “Gardenia” e una delle migliori cose che ho mai letto in assoluto su una rivista.

Lo riporto integralmente:

LE ROSE SONO COME I GATTI, se ne fregano. Non conoscono amore e fedeltà, sono bastardelle rese presuntuose da secoli di venerazione, e sono sempre pronte a mollarti per una ciotola più profumata o un cuscino più morbido. Prendete le mie. Hanno adocchiato il ristorante, già da tempo. Io le ho amorevolmente piantate in una aiuola che corre lungo una cancellata, oltre la cancellata c’è un ruscelletto, e oltre il ruscelletto un ristorante. E l’unico scopo nella vita di quelle disgraziate è allungare rami, spine e fiori fino a superare il gap e approdare trionfalmente nel cortile del vicino. Cosa sperate, cretine? Che i simpatici camerieri giapponesi vengano a imboccarvi di tortino al cioccolato fondente e sformatini di carpa? Non si pasce di cibo mortale chi si pasce di cibo celeste, dovreste saperlo: non sono per voi, i golosi avanzi dei provinciali. E allora perché vi stremate in questi assurdi tentativi di fuga, che vi portano a sbocciolare nel nulla? Osservate, vi prego, il mio giardino in maggio. Lato casa: foglie foglie foglie spine spine. Lato ruscello: rose, roselline, boccioli, gruppetti, un profluvio incantevole di sfumature rosa, bianche, confetto, alba, tramonto. Fiori che allietano la vista di chi va ad aspettare l’autobus, o delle auto di passaggio, mentre noi ne intravediamo a malapena qualcuna, forse più timida delle altre, o più pigra chissà. Io le acchiappo con un bastone dell’Ikea, quelli con il gancio in fondo per appendere i vestiti negli armadi alti, e le rivolto insultandole, e lo vedo benissimo, nell’espressione dei fiori, che appena girerò le spalle ricominceranno a crescere verso il ristorante. Sono galline in fuga, anche loro.
Quelle che non possono scappare di casa, manifestano la loro indipendenza creando insetti. Creando, non ospitando. Li fabbricano in proprio, confermando le teorie di Aristotele. Un bel cespuglio di rose bianche, adagiato attorno allo steccato dell’orto (chiamiamolo così), produce abbondanti boccioli graziosi e compatti che però, quando si aprono, contengono già al loro interno un insettaccio nero che mi ride in faccia e divora tutti i petali. Gli spruzzo cose, e loro ingrassano. Che insetti siete? Appartenete al nostro mondo, o siete fatti della stoffa degli incubi, come i Manga giapponesi? E la rosa rossa sul muretto? Perché non fa NIENTE? E dico niente. Non fiorisce, non muore, non fa foglie, non si secca, non dà segni di vita e neanche di morte. Sta. Un rametto verde nel terreno, vivo ma inerte. Esisterà la depressione fra i vegetali? Devo darle il lithio, invece che quel buon letame di cavallo? Questo spirito di menefreghismo nei confronti del committente sta contagiando anche le ortensie, quel fiore buono e ottocentesco, un po’ la nonna dei fiori, diciamo, la simpatica zia rotondetta che suona vecchi valzer su un pianoforte scordato. Nessuno si immagina di vedere le ortensie in prima fila a una manifestazione contro il G8. Eppure, anche loro quest’anno hanno cominciato a fare le furbe: fioriscono solo ed esclusivamente raso terra. Grandi piante piene di salute, che mettono i fiori sui rami bassi, come una specie di bordura che si impolvera e langue. Io le vedo, le ortensie in giro, che sembrano disegnate da una bambina pignola, con quei fiori ben distanziati e regolari, fitti fitti, tanto belli che ti chiedi perché la gente in Piemonte si ostini a piantare oleandri. Le mie mi ridono dietro, e di notte bisbigliano con le rose: «Rendiamole la vita difficile. Hai parlato con i bulbi? Gli hai detto di passare direttamente dal boccio al marcio? Si? Ottimo».
E come i gatti, le perfide rose sanno farsi perdonare. Basta un fiore perfetto una mattina di giugno, e le doneresti anche il sangue.

I Waterfront shoppingcenter ligger  Moda women og Moda Sko. Tirsdag d. 3. november holder begge butikker ekstra længe åbent (til kl.21.00) OG der er 15 % off på alle varer. Hos Moda Women kan du blandt andet finde tøj fra Vila, Ilse Jacobsen, Pureheart, Margit Brandt m.fl. Hos Moda Sko findes mærker som Billi Bi, Gardenia, Sofie Schnoor, Tommy Hilfiger m.fl.

Por fin me sobró tiempo para mis grandes novedades y acabar ya con la 2ª lider de gimnasio de Sinnoh,Gardenia,experta en Planta.Por una parte,Dark Eagle consiguio una victoria rápida sin problemas mientras que los monotipistas de tierra tuvieron que hacerlo en más tiempo por la clara desventaja.

Disfruten de todo y estén atentos a más videos muy pronto.

Så er det igen tid til Ugens Outfit, og der har været en lille pause i dem, fordi jeg ikke har kunne finde nogle at bruge, men her forleden faldt jeg over et skønt outfit på bloggen Pagik, som jeg bare måtte bruge, og det har jeg så fået lov til af skønne Pernille her!

Pernille fra Pagik

På billedet ser du Pernille i Kjole fra Acne, Velour Leggings fra Cheap Monday, Sko fra Gardenia, og et Ur fra Casio

Og som jeg altid gør, har jeg stillet Pernille 7 spørgsmål så vi kan lærer hende lidt bedre og de kommer her!

• Hvor bor du?

  Jeg bor i en lille by en halv times kørsel nord for Århus. Den ligger plantet mellem marker, skov og strand så her er faktisk ret pænt, men jeg glæder mig nu alligevel til den dag jeg flytter hjemmefra og ind til byen. Til gengæld er jeg blevet en ørn til onlineshopping.

• Hvad er din yndlingsforretning?

  Der er ikke vildt mange butikker i Århus jeg finder særligt spændende, men Fund i Fredensgade er en af dem. Jeg elsker blandingen af udvalgt secondhand, høj musik, sko på væggen, små trappetrin der fører ned til butikken og en altid munter mand bag disken. Jeg bliver også lige nødt til at erklære min kærlighed til Urban Outfitters, og det selvom mine besøg kan tælles på én hånd. Men hold kæft jeg elsker deres underlige boligudstyr og alt fra Silence + Noice.

• Hvad køber du for at forkæle dig selv?

  Jeg elsker at forkæle mig selv med god mad. Det lyder meget banalt, men det gør jeg virkelig. Og det kan være alt lige fra en skive honningmelon til en hjemmelavet middag med kæresten. Et par lækre sko slår nu heller aldrig fejl.
  

• Hvad er dit yndlingstøjstykke/accesorie?

  Den er svær. Det er sjældent at jeg bruger den samme ting igen og igen. Men min vinterjakke fra Minimarket, som jeg købte i 2007, er stadig det eneste jeg iklæder mig når det bliver koldt. Den holder hvert år.
  

• Hvad er din “fetisch”?

  The 80’s! Og her snakker vi både tøj og musik. Skulderpuder, palietter, dansefilmene, Queen, Michael Jackson, Rocazino, Duran Duran og (alt) for meget af det gode - I love it all!
  

• Hvad er dit dummeste køb?

  Jeg har lavet rigtig mange fejlkøb, og gør stadig, men de fleste har heldigvis været af ret mild karakter. Jeg har dog en tendens til at miste fornuften, når jeg finder noget der er billigere end normalt. Jeg havde prøvet en stor silkekjole fra Stine Goya til 2000 kr, og da jeg så fandt den til 1500 på trendsales blev jeg nødt til at eje den. Siden da har jeg fået den brugt to gange. Jeg bliver altid ved med at bilde mig selv ind at jeg nok skal få den brugt en dag, men indtil videre hænger den bare i mit skab og ser flot ud. Og hvem har også lyst til at skille sig af med noget der ser så flot ud?
  

• Hvilken sang hører du mest for tiden?

  Det er jo helt umuligt kun at nævne én sang. Det skifter både fra humør til humør og dag til dag. Men i denne weekend har jeg pludselig fået øjnene op for Björk, som jeg ellers tidligere aldrig har lyttet til, og det var sangen Big Time Sensuality der gjorde udslaget. Men efter to dage er jeg allerede ved at være træt af den, så jeg tror i stedet jeg vil nævne Roennebaer med Balstyrko. Hvis jeg er i dårligt humør så får den mig altid i bedre.

That’s my mom’s gardenia. IT just bloomed. Apparently, it’s really hard to get them to bloom, but it smells heavenly. Dang it was burning hot and I was outside grilling. And for future reference, I’m vegan. I don’t consume or purchase meat, fish, milk, eggs, butter, cheese,etc. So I was grilling red peppers or something, and I just about died from the heat.

The shadows in this make it seem like its night time. It was broad daylight. I can’t explain.

Gardenia, Gardenia Glory, Gardenia Glory Sector 46, Gardenia Glory Sector 46 Noida, Delhi property, Noida property, NCR property, Delhi Real Estate, Noida Real Estate, NCR Real Estate

About Project : Gardenia has launched new residential project Gardenia Glory in Noida. Gardenia Glory offers 2, 3 and 4 bedroom apartments. Gardenia Glory has wonderful amenities children’s play area, club house, swimming pool and more.

About Developer : Gardenia India Ltd. A leading real estate developers whose activities cover residential, commercial, and industrial infrastructure development with a promise to build an outstanding track record in real estate and property management through practices to match the best of international standards. Promoting and building city-scapes of international stature. Providing premium quality constructions of residential and commercial apartments including Townships, Malls, Group Housing, Farm Houses, Villas, and Service Apartments. Offering array of support activities that promise to transform the management of property to service the unique needs of an equally wide array of clientele fusing the art of building with science and state of the art construction technology.

After purchasing my first Aimee gardenia tree in the early spring and impatiently anticipating its first bloom, I discovered how in love I am with these silky white blossoms. There is absolutely no flower that smells more wonderful—it’s just a shame it’s so difficult to provide a fruitful environment for the plant, especially in NY. But, the good news is you don’t even need to own one of these bushy plants in order to enjoy its fragrance. I scoured online shops for home and beauty products inspired by the intoxicatingly sweet and delicate scent that will undoubtedly make you feel flirty, girly and beautiful. Check them out below:

Bodycology White Gardenia Body Cream (left) $5.49, and Body Mist (right), $4.99.

Alba Hawaiian Gardenia Hair Conditioner (left), $9.49, and Classic Gardenia Freesia by Dana (right), sale item: $7.99.

Henri Bendel Gardenia Candle (left), $30, and Liquid Hand Wash (right), $22.

Les Exclusifs de Chanel (left), $200, and Marc Jacobs by Marc Jacobs (right) sale price: $44.99.

Gardenia by Elizabeth Taylor (left) sale price: $19.99, and Body Lotion (right), sale price: $12.99.

Okay…. so Miss Gardenia is already having a name change!!

I love it when it snows. In the Big City, we got lots of snow in the wintertime (sometimes even in the fall and springtime!). I LOVE SNOW. I LOVE IT! The crisp whiteness of freshly fallen snow, the smell after it snows, the crunch of it beneath my feet, the sight of it falling soft or hard from the sky… snow is beautiful however it comes. In the Little City, it doesn’t snow enough for my liking. Our winters are mild & the very chance of snow sends the city into a tizzy with schools being canceled and people rushing to the grocery stores to stock up on canned goods. When I was in school in the Big City, school got canceled TWICE. TWICE. We went to school in a blizzard. Sure, sometimes we got sent home early but for the most part we dealt with the weather.

ANYWAYS… I love the snow. While both Hubby & I thought it would be fun for our next baby to be born in September (we were going to try next January for another September baby but God got to us first!), I’m excited for the idea that our third child is due in December – I just might have a snow baby! We joke that I’ll probably have to drive myself to the hospital (with Hubby in the passenger seat) because I’ll go into labor during a big snowstorm and since I’m obviously a better snow driver than he is … I’d be the one to drive – haha. It’s true though, I’m a better snow driver.

I got to thinking how beautiful it would be to incorporate some “winter” theme into her name. At first, we thought Noelle for a middle name if she was born around Christmas. Friends of ours just named their new baby girl Noelle so… that’s out, more or less! No worries there because I’ve found the perfect solution. Instead of her being Gardenia, to match her sisters Juniper & Magnolia, she is going to be called Snowdrop. It’s a simple but beautiful white flower with marvelous green tints on the inside. And the perfect name for my third daughter, in fact.

So, Miss Gardenia is no longer… as she has become Miss Snowdrop. I like it much better and it certainly seems to fit, regardless of whether she’s born on a snowy day. Once I said it out loud I KNEW it was the perfect “botanical” name for her. Perfect!

Juniper, Magnolia, & Snowdrop. My precious daughters.

****

In other news, tomorrow I will be 26 weeks pregnant with 14 weeks left to go!!! I’m so excited!!! I can’t believe how fast this has gone! I’m feeling pretty well… for the most part. Been having some real contractions here and there – never too many in an hour but it IS something I’ve been keeping watch over. I don’t think I’ll carry Snowdrop full-term but you never know. I’m still guessing Thanksgiving weekend for her birthday. I’m HUGE, getting bigger every day, it seems! I know they told me there is only one baby in there, but isn’t it possible that there was a second one hiding? Possible the ultrasound tech with twenty-four years of experience missed a second baby? Possible that they were just laying in such a way that it made it look like one, big baby? In light of my life and all the wacky things that have happened to me, I’d say it IS possible… not likely, but there’s probably some sort of chance.

Or maybe I’m just having a big baby? Not likely, but probably as good of a chance as a second baby hiding out!

Hubby & I spent some time last night (like two hours) clearing out & cleaning up our third floor, where Snowdrop’s room will be. We’ve managed to pitch a lot of trash (YAY!) and get a ton of “stuff” stored away in the closets. It’s amazing how big & nice the room has become just from what we did last night. I’m going on Wednesday to pick out carpet samples for our stairs/hallway/third floor & hopefully (HOPEFULLY) Hubby will be able to paint the baby’s room in the next two weeks so we can get the carpet installed, the furniture set up, and get the decorating done so we can just relax for the last few months of this pregnancy! We’re working on the room more tonight so I’m super excited things are coming along!

Juniper & Magnolia are really surprising me every day with their speech improvements. It seems like they’re saying new words/phrases every day & really starting to excel and feel comfortable with trying to talk. They’ve also been singing quite a bit! Sometimes they even get the tune right! SO CUTE!! I really have to catch it on video some time soon.

No one has used the potty this week. Sad, but true. They’ll get back on the horse, so to speak, soon enough. We’re not pushing the potty training, we’re just letting them pace the process. Soon enough, soon enough.

The girls have also started pulling out our dining room table when it’s time for lunch!!! It’s so funny – I also can’t believe they’re so strong!! I’ll ask if they’re hungry and they’ll say “yes” and pull the table out and sit in their big girl chairs. We’re foregoing buying booster seats for the chairs as they seem to be able to sit, eat & not move for the most part. We’re also leaving the highchairs up here for now as some days they are not as well-behaved as others. When they don’t eat a good lunch (i.e. food on the floor, all over the table, etc) then they have to eat dinner in their highchairs. It’s a good system and seems to be working.

Speaking of… it’s time for Sesame Street & Lunch. I’ve begun keeping the TV off during the mornings and waiting until Sesame (followed by Caillou) comes on. They seem more interested in watching (which is great for keeping them in their seats and continually eating during lunch) & it’s obviously much better for them to NOT watch TV every hour that they’re awake. I’m also enjoying not listening to their TV shows, haha!