Tales of Me and the Husband

giveaway: jonas paul eyewear! :: CLOSED


these two are sporting the cool shades of the jonas paul eyewear people.  do you see the kids on that opening page of their site?  could they be any more chic?  they put me to shame.

anyhow, jonas paul eyewear has both sunglasses (100% UV!) and optical glasses that are actually pretty cool looking and also for kids (generally ages 4-12!).  i remember when lindsey needed glasses early on, the slim pickings at lenscrafters left much to be desired for a gal her age… enter, jonas paul eyewear.

plus!  for every pair purchased, they support cbm international by giving people sight whether it be through glasses or corrective surgery.  love that.  buy sight, give sight.

so, let’s have at it?  two frames are up for grabs — that means two winners!  open to any and all!  for one week!

Maria & Liz are the two winners!  We’ll be contacting you shortly!

this post is sponsored by the nice folks at jonas paul eyewear.

life after the hundred.

ha, jk.  that post title is so dramatic.  toning it down riiiiiight now.

it’s late monday night and i’m showered and got the kiddos off to bed and am sitting quietly and thinking about how great this weekend was so… why not shoot off a little blog post while it’s fresh on the brain?  (but… more to come soon because… it’s like a high i’m still coming off of, you know?)

as someone who’s never been to a blog conference or even a blogger meet up (wait!  that’s not true.  i went to one when i was pregnant with parker so… a long time ago.) i had no idea what to expect.  was it going to be like… really, really weird?  guess what!  it wasn’t!  i mean, it was… cause, here we all are meeting people we soooort of know?  (i want to say here “like a big voyeuristic convention” but this is me not saying that because the sexual connotation with that word is real, people.  so, there’s really no word to convey what i’m trying to say so we’ll just go with… bloggers’ conference.)  but how often are you around people who know blogs, have a blog, understand blogging, can talk about blogging without their eyes rolling out of their heads?  never.  at least for me, i have friends who i’m pretty sure at this point still don’t know i have a blog because unless you’re in that world or an avid reader of them, they’re just sort of huh?

so, anyway, it was nice to be with a bunch of really cool women who are in that world, dabbling or seriously invested, and who throw words around like “google analytics” and “seo” like it ain’t no thing (though if i’m perfectly honest, the two still leave me scratching my head most days).  and these women!  they’re so fun, so cool.  blogging is usually me behind my computer so to bring it out into the real world was a really cool opportunity and so much fun.  so glad i did it.  you women rule.  thanks so much for coming so it wasn’t just me, lauren, megan, and grace looking at each other and eating way more cake than we should for three days straight.

thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

more to come when i get all my real pictures on the ‘ol computer.  you know.

now off i go to stalk all my new blog friends’ blogs.  say that five times fast.

(above clothes provided by our top sponsor joules.  who also gave out a ton of other free swag including wellies (aka rain boots) for each and every attendee so maybe you should all come next year.  except you southern californians because it never rains there.  and finally, i know, i’m not in florals.  but when one is nearly six months pregnant, you gotta work with what the belly will allow.)

pictured: lauren, megan, & grace

a trip to the park that got rained out + a naturebox giveaway! :: CLOSED

the weather was perfect the other night.  low 70s, clear.  we took ourselves and a blanket to the park for a little evening fun.  some playground, running around to get out the end-of-the-day jitters (that applies mostly to parker), some feeding of the ducks, and maybe we’d even catch a little sunset from the water.  and lovely it was!  until… the weather had different plans and out of absolutely nowhere it started to pour.  the sun stayed out the whole time and those sunny rainstorms are sort of my favorite, but it’s not totally conducive to the little sunset viewing and blanket relaxing i had planned.  oh well, parker and lindsey ran around in it while steve, william, and i ducked for cover under a nearby tree.

we also brought along some of the latest naturebox snacks.  are you familiar with them?  if you’re not, it’s pretty cool.  they’re a bunch of easy-to-grab (key!!) snacks that are definitely leaning on the healthy side (also key!!) when it comes to the to-go snack world.  i had such fun browsing the snacks page to pick a few out.  we tried the whole wheat strawberry figgy bars (mine and parker’s favorite), the chocolate quinoa granola (a family favorite), and the dark chocolate nom noms (steve’s favorite).  the sticks and stones were also delicious.  next i want to try the garlic pumpkin seeds and the sea salt pop pops!
a little more on naturebox: they’re a subscription service that lets you select whichever snacks you wanna try and then they deliver them!  to your doorstep!  for free!  and for those interested (that’d be me) no high fructose corn syrup, no partially hydrogenated oils, no trans fats, no artificial sweeteners, flavors, or colors.  so when you throw them in your bag for your outing, you don’t have to feel really bad about it either.  onto the next adventure!
today naturebox is giving away a 6-month subscription to two readers!  enter the giveaway by checking out their snacks here and then letting me know in the comment section which snacks you’d like to try as well as your email address!  open to U.S. shipping addresses only.  
this giveaway is closed: megan and emma are the two winners!  you’ll be contacted shortly!
and for a discount: 50% off first deluxe box using code TALES50 or $10 off your first box in your first prepaid subscription. new and U.S. subscribers only.  use the code at checkout!
thanks for entering!
post sponsored by naturebox

a dress with a print.

dress: stylemint (old)
shoes: target (old)
this dress got me through this week (and these pictures) but as this bump grows, i think it’ll need to be retired.  any shorter than we’re lookin’ at here, and it’s borderline… needing to be retired, as i said.  anyway, i’m feeling good, i will say.  tired, but what else is new?  not sure that has anything to do with being pregnant.  i’m just perpetually tired.  aren’t you?  speaking of, i just read this study that they recommend seven hours is just right, and eight is actually too much and i’m calling BS on this whole study because i need nine.

a dreamy space… that’s also clean. :: CLOSED


i’ve mentioned before that both steve and i are huge fans of getting rid of.  i routinely go through my clothes and take inventory, “have i worn this in the last year?”  if the answer’s no, good chance it goes in a bag to big brother or salvation army.  along with that, i’m trying to be ever more careful about what i bring into the house, particularly in terms of clothing and home decor.  i feel like i’m finally (am i late to the game?) getting a handle on just what my personal style is.  i suppose it changes all the time and what i loved at 22 isn’t the same thing i’ll love at almost 30, but i definitely have some regret-purchases i see when i look around the house.  shockingly, that white couch isn’t one of them.  slipcovers and a really hot wash cycle rule.  don’t fear the white couch!  
so, when dyson asked me to create a post around my dream space, it seemed like a no-brainer since living spaces are so on the brain lately since we are, as of today, a mere two weeks into our new home.  
here are a few things that are, in my humble opinion, crucial to your dream space.  that dream space doesn’t have to be the dream space.  you know the one… the one you keep pinning and tallying up the budget for and getting really pissed when another mommy-blogger shows up with a house that includes so much of your dream checklist on instagram and you consider unfollowing them.  no?  just me?  (full disclosure: our new kitchen has white subway tile.  it was on my checklist and now i have it and please accept my apology.)
// baskets + storage in general: i am a big believer in everything having a place.  if the craziest, most chaotic of messes is contained in a cute basket, suddenly it’s like, “oh, you sweet little mess you.”  baskets!  they are worth their price in… twine?  weaving?  here are my favorites: 1 / 2 / 3
// a good cleaning system: we have hard wood floors in our new house and they’re dark.  they’re beautiful, they’re pristine, they’re dark.  and guess what else we have?  a yellow lab named gracie.  she sheds approximately 67,892 hairs a day, each one nice and white-yellow in color.  she merely has to walk through the freshly vacuumed room and i have to vacuum again.  so, i’m coming at this problem full-force and multi-sided (did that even make sense?).  a swiffer and a vacuum and me on my hands and knees with damp paper towels.  all three have happened and multiple times (no fewer than three times a day and that’s the truth).  the plus-side?  a clean home.  the downside?  someone has to clean it and that be me most of the time.  this baby is sleek and small and would store no problem.  steve would be happy: no more tripping over vacuum cords that i basically have as permanent snaky fixtures running across our floors.  for real.  go you dyson DC59 motorhead, you go! (i mean, just check out that fancy name.  it should get the job done.)  some notes on it that i am finding really cool: it’s cordless.  cordless!  it’s lightweight so even the puniest of arms can reach it up to the ceiling to clean up there too (seriously–look at that petite lady doing it like it ain’t no thang.)!  it’s rechargeable!  rechargeable.  cause, if you’re like us, once those batteries die… it’s like the thing itself has died forever.  check out those features and more on their very slick site.
// music: having lovely background music is key.  my sister stopped by this morning and i had some really sophisticated french music playing on our sound dock and my coffee and i was draped in a pretty gray blanket and parker was holding grapes above my head while i plucked them from the vine with my teeth it was like suuuuch a normal scene at the hunt house.  like, “yeah, this is how i roll.  i was already doing this before you showed up.”  here are my favorites to make you feel sophisticated: french cafe on pandora, etta james, theolonius monk
// a good candle: i’m currently working my way through a soy essential oils one that smells of lavender, orange, and vanilla.  it’s from a local place however so… sorry.  but it’s amazing how quickly a candle burning makes me feel like i have my life together even if our toilets are dirty and my hair hasn’t seen a brush in three days.  “but… (wild flourishing of hands) smell my fabulous candle!!”
now for the nitty-gritty: 

this product is valued at $600 and one audience member from this campaign can win it.  just leave a comment telling me: what is your dream space and what dyson DC59 motorhead feature do you enjoy the most?

giveaway closed.  winner will be contacted shortly!

this post is sponsored by dyson.  thanks for reading!

getting back to normal.

i really do promise this won’t become a pregnancy blog, but did i promise this wouldn’t become a mommy blog back in the day?  is it a mommy blog?  are you all shaking your heads yes in unison right now?  let’s just move on.
when i had the big ultrasound, of course i’m eager to find out boy or girl but it’s all secondary to how the baby’s doing.  i mean, come on.  whenever the ultrasound tech gets quiet i’m like, “everything good?!”  they reassure me.  i want constant check-ins: this is the heart.  everything is good.  here is the spine.  everything is good.  here are the kidneys.  everything is good.  one place in life where being a broken record is a good, good thing.  anyway, we found out BOY and i had a momentary, “oh.”  i wouldn’t even call it disappointment but just, ok, this is another boy.  if there was a moment of disappointment it was for steve’s sake, who was hoping the lord might grant him one more girl out of his plethora of children (sometimes i tease him and sing the ‘father abraham’ song but with steven subbed in.  you know it?  father abraham, had many sons, many sons had faaaather abraham…).  but the lord had other plans and hunt baby number 6 (and probably the last of the hunt children!  what, you think we should go for seven?) shall be a boy.  as i left the appointment i thought more about having a boy, and how we’d just have to break it to lindsey who was hoping for a sister and then it’d be smooth sailing from there on out.  and, aside from her probable disappointment, i was really happy.  really happy with our boy results.  a mother of little boys?  there’s something really special about that.  and while i thought one of each would be fabulous, and i still think one of each would be fabulous, i feel like i get boys a little more.  which is strange considering i come from a family of women, i am a woman, but even so sometimes the girl-breed has me scratching my head in serious confusion.  i know how the men feel!  sort of.  steve, if you’re reading this and thinking, “you are soooo woman,” then ok.  i still confuse you.  whatever.  i could leave you scratching your head way more than you are, so shut it!
so, to my future boy reading this, i’m so happy to be your mom.  and to my nonexistent girl, i would’ve been so happy to be yours too.
anyway, about a week and a half after the ultrasound i got a phone call from one of the nurse’s and it was basically a few question marks in my ultrasound once the doctor read it.  and nothing really floors you like that.  i was in the car with my mom, driving to cape may when i got the call.  steve somewhere in the car between minnesota and massachusetts, and us still officially homeless, and… it was just a lot.  she said everything was great now, perfect baby, but there were still some question marks that could become problematic and i found myself telling steve amongst passersby on the cape may mall and crying while he reassured me, as husbands do.  and then finding out the doctor who read it can’t really elaborate and isn’t really even sure, and, by the way he’s in europe till next week.  it wasn’t handled well, in my opinion, and i found myself having to advocate for myself and asking if there was anyone else who could take a look at this and give me more concrete information.  there was, but i did have to wait a day to talk to them, and then it was good news.  and then just the other day one more ultrasound confirmed that all is well, and lord willing will remain well, and that there were never any problems to begin with.  false alarm.  it struck me though, how quickly life can be thrown into perspective for you.  a house closing, family traveling all over the place, a toddler in transition… it didn’t matter.  there’ve been times in the last month that life just felt like it was dishing up a lot for the hunts.  this one was at the top.  and i know there are no guarantees and that everything doesn’t always turn out as we hope or as we plan but for right now in this very moment, life is good.  and chances are, it will turn out that way, regardless of what happens in the meantime.  i hope i’m not sounding too trite.  am i?  forgive me.
so, the sun is out, i have a kicking baby boy in my belly and steve reading to parker behind me, william and lindsey are still sleeping in their beds, nathaniel’s doing work in hong kong and jordan’s doing construction in minneosta, and there are eggs in the fridge and as soon as i stop writing i will go and make some with toast for us and we will sit around the table and eat them together.  
and i hope that everything is good where you are.  and that if it’s not, you persevere and trust that it will probably be good one day and you will again find yourself feeling content.  and soon too.  we’re more resilient than we think.  

notes along the way of pregnancy + life // 21 weeks

so, i’m about 21 weeks along now, which is crazy considering it felt like eons before i got here with parker.  but here we are, chugging forward, and just over halfway.  this sweet baby boy hasn’t gotten quite the amount of attention his older brother parker did.  i haven’t stopped to feel the kicks or rubbed my belly as much as i did with my first pregnancy, but i am making up for lost time now that we’re more settled.  and the kicks are so good.  
it is weird, or has been for me anyway, this second pregnancy.  i haven’t connected as quickly as i did the first time.  i know i will, once he’s here, but it’s a little bit, “how will this change life as i/we know it?”  and how will parker, who is still home with me all day, react?  i know it’ll be good and sweet and awesome but it’s a little daunting too.    
our house is looking more like a home but there’s the learning curve that goes with a new house:  where are the light switches for this room?  which drawer should hold the silverware??  we’re figuring it out, making adjustments as necessary.  plus, since we downsized, we really need to make every inch count.  and from here on out, i will give greater thought to what i bring in this house.  how badly do i need that new salad bowl?  how much do i love this sweater?  we had two bureaus and a pretty big armoire in our room that no longer fit at all.  double and triple-thinking purchases from here on out!  the purchase i will not double or triple-think however is the meyer lemon cookie thins from trader joes.  crack.  so, so, so good.  eat a handful (a sleeve, or two, what have you) with the best exotic marigold hotel soundtrack going in the background.  it’s a lovely pairing, if i do say so myself.
like they all say, the terrible twos are nothing, and the threes are where it’s at.  for parker anyway.  with that said, he’s still a sweet one most of the time, but i’m definitely seeing some behavior that’s new and… challenging.  it’s also been a time of transition, so we’ve got a few variables thrown in here.  when confronted with his toddler-ness as of late, i found myself at a loss. how should i react?  i was really surprised at my sudden lack of confidence in being his parent.  up until this point, i felt really good, really solid about the decisions i was making for him, and then suddenly, i was second-guessing myself.  are time-outs good or bad?  should i give ultimatums?  rewards and punishments?  do i tell him when he’s hurt my feelings or is that manipulative?  i’m still learning, and lord knows there’s a million different parenting theories out there, but for now i’m reading this book (recommended to me by my friend sara, who’s daughter is the cutie on the cover!) and really enjoying it.  parenting toddlers could become a whole blog series.  who’s with me?!  hear hear!
i just bought the first gift for the new baby last week.  i don’t foresee myself getting much more because, as we discussed, space… add to that, it costs money!  and because it’s a boy!  hand-me-downs galore!  but i did get the little man this because it’s beautiful and every baby should have at least one new thing.  
so there you have it.  notes along the way of pregnancy and life at 21 weeks.  as always, thanks for reading.

lately.

even the site of the haul makes me a little anxious… this load was close to the end at our old house…
my seriously pinterest worthy fourth of july creation… it’s what i do.
fireworks!!  
my favorite new pictures: my dad and parker in nj.  i’m so glad i brought my camera over.
and parker thought pool bands would be best around his legs.
birthday balloons for the big three-year old.
legos, legos, all the time legos.
william and his friend chillin’ in parker’s present while he naps.  
best $30 ever spent.  here at target.  we got him a few pool toys to go with and called it good.
he couldn’t been happier.  big kids were in it all day too!
in lieu of birthday cake, we took a nighttime bike ride to parker’s favorite popsicle place and got his favorite: strawberries and cream.  he was thrilled.

we’re getting out of the fog of moving and it’s good, really good.  we had the lowest key birthday for parker yesterday.  balloons in the morning, a pool before and after nap, burgers for dinner (his favorite), and a trip for a popsicle.  it was simple and he was so happy.  and i was oddly unemotional about it which was a seriously welcome break from my usual.  you know, making everything an emotional thing.  we also have internet as of yesterday afternoon… hooray!  and i’m actually making dinner in my kitchen and setting the table to usher in normalcy as quick as i can.  pesto pasta one night, burgers and caprese salad another.  it feels really good to sit around a table and eat together after all the upheaval recently.

now what?  hopefully we’ll have some summertime relaxing.  we could use some of that.

hope you guys are having great summers wherever you are!

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