0 The Supporting Cast

This past weekend Tania E. Bracetti-Cahill (Lina's sister) and Aida Rosado (Lina's mother) held a baby shower for Lina. We had guests from Philadelphia, Florida and all parts of NY in attendance for an afternoon tea party in Manhattan honoring the mother-to-be.

Once we arrived home we had time to process our thoughts and take inventory of all the generous gifts. We are overwhelmed by every one's enthusiasm and generosity. It's understood that we all are doing our best to weather through these challenging economic times; so for people to graciously equip us with the tools for parenting is truly humbling. Although we are sending out the thank you cards this week, we felt compelled to say THANK YOU to everyone in advance. We can't thank everyone enough.

To our daughter: "You are not alone. You will always have God. In addition to his greatness, he has provided you with a supporting cast that is driven on putting your mom and I in a position to be the best parents we can be to you. They came out in support before you arrived and will continue to do so after you arrive. You will never be alone..." ~ Mom & Dad

8 Eviction Notice (Chapter 2)

Finally, we get a look at the infamous man cave transformation. I am about 90% done with the nursery. Minus some wall art, we are just waiting for the crib. I wanted to hold back showing you guys the room until we get the crib as it really ties the whole room together. Why keep everyone waiting, right? We based our paint choices off the crib's bedding set. To the right is a swatch of the bedding set that started the creative juices flowing.

3 weeks ago I had finally gotten the room empty enough to start painting. I assume from all the moving I threw my back out the morning I was going to begin. I literally could not move and was bedridden for 3 days straight. I became very depressed that I was not able to work on the room for a week and more importantly take care of Lina as she was 30 weeks prego at the time. I reached out to my family to pray for my recovery. Through the grace of God and some muscle relaxers I made it my mission to make up for the lost time. It's one thing to paint a whole room, but to do it with back pain is another story. What amazes me is what resulted after focusing on what this project was about and who it's for. I put it in my head that this is for our daughter. It felt as if the love I have for my daughter gave me the energy to fight through the pain. Similar to how adrenalin kicks in when you are in shock. The process was slow & painful. So I am particularly proud of this room. Less the design of the room, but more the journey it took to get here. Enjoy the pics.

Oh! If you are wondering what the room looked like before click here.

I guess it's safe to say that this is no longer a man cave. Unless you're a man that's really into pink and has a polka dot fetish. We didn't want to paint the room entirely in pink because we like to do our own thing. 

0 When You Wish Upon A Star...

We spotted this knitted hat/sweater combo while on one of our many strolls through FAO Schwarz. Love it! Like most parents we know, we heart all things Disney. From the movies to the theme parks; and yes folks, even the Disney-owned ESPN. We only purchase animated movies and a majority of them are produced by Disney. We just can't wait to take the baby to Disneyworld when she is old enough to feel the magic. It's paramount that we get a flick of our little Mouseketeer at Disneyworld while wearing the prerequisite Minnie Mouse ears with the classic polka dot bow. It's right up there with taking a flick with Santa Clause.

Lina and I celebrated our 3-year wedding anniversary at Disneyworld back in 2009. Upon check-in to the hotel resort, we each were issued a red pin which read "Happy Anniversary!". I assume it's Disney policy for all employees to verbally wish you a Happy Anniversary if you are spotted wearing that pin. It's genius! It kept us focused on the fact that we were celebrating our wedding anniversary throughout the whole trip. It never got old.

God I miss the Disney Dining Plan!

0 The Price is Right!

This weekend we got a great deal on onesies from T.J.Maxx. These Nike body suits come in a 5-pack that retails for $24.99. They were hanging individually on the rack with out any prices. I grabbed everyone I could find, 13 total, and headed to customer service hoping for the best. The young girl at customer service offered them to me for a dollar each. I nervously told her "I'll take them all".  Lina and I walked out the store feeling like we just stole something. 13 onesies for $13!!! GOOOOAAAALLLL!!!!

0 Baby Registry

I've noticed almost every time we tell people where we are registered two things are usually said:

1. "I've never heard of that store..."
2. "I can't find your registry..."

So let's clear the air. Lina and I are registered at Buy Buy Baby. Being that they do not have any stores on the west coast I think an explanation is in order. Buy Buy Baby is a baby superstore owned by Bed, Bath & Beyond. Think of it as Babies R' Us' competition. There are some great opportunities for savings as Buy Buy Baby accepts Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons (they must be current and follow the same exclusions in the fine print), they accept manufacturer coupons and also accept Babies R' Us coupons. Talk about going for the jugular!

We are also registered at Amazon Baby. It's basically Amazon.com. All you have to do is go to www.amazon.com/babyregistry and search for Lina Colon.

To make it easier I've included links below to both registries.

• Buy Buy Baby
• Amazon Baby