Bourbon anyone?!

Hey all! Since our blog was based around my animals orginally and I havent posted too much about them I figured Id try to introduce one of my animals each Friday and explain their "story". Today Im kicing it off Critter of the Week with my beloved snake Bourbon!

Behind the boa names
As you may have noticed all our (originally owned- non adopted) Boas are named after alcohol. It started with our very first snake and boa Corona, becaused we loved the name. Corona was an awesome snake. Bourbons "personality" reminds me a lot of him. But we got Corona when Mr. Jerseyjess and I first started dating. People who came over imediately fell in love with Corona and he also helped "heal" a few people of their snake fears. About 6 months after we had Corona we decided to get into morph boas and breeding. We picked up Whiskey and Tequila, a male and female pair of het albinos. Het albinos mean they carried the trait for albino and when bred together part of their clutch (baby snakes) would be albino. Anywho...we decided after realizing we wanted to breed snakes that it would be easy to stick with a theme and since Corona was already an alcohol and there were TON of alcohols, we chose that! After we got Whiskey and Tequila we had our first summer in the rental house. It was hot. We turned on the a/c for the first time and at this point all the reptiles were in one room (since we had 5 iguanas at that point). The room was warm as it should be, and with the a/c flowing we knew it wouldnt overheat the room. I checked the vents in the house before I left and air was flowing through the vents. We both left for work. We came home that night to realize the house wasnt cool at all. It was hot. Really hot. No a/c. I immediately went into the reptile room and checked everyone. They all had water, the iguanas were okay...our ball python Monty was okay, our corn snakes were okay...the boas werent moving. We lost 4 snakes that day due to the room over heating: Corona, Whiskey, Tequila and a baby ball python we were watching for a friend. I was devistated. Mr. Jerseyjess checked throughout the house to find out why the a/c hadnt come on. Apparently the fans came on which is what I felt coming out of the vents that morning but in order for the a/c to turn on we had to flip a switch that said "pool". Awesome. Thinking about those animals we lost still makes us sad. In honor of our late boas we decided to not give up and keep the alcohol name tradition going...which started up again with our Bourbon baby.

Bourbon (who is also the snake featured on the main pic of the blog) holds a special place in my heart. I definitely have a soft spot for the guy (dont tell the others!). He is a Colombian Boa and is about 5 years old. We got him when he was just a wee one from the pet store I was working at. I loved the pinkish hue he had and he was so clean looking (no speckles).



So cute! He was always a mellow snake, never got an attitude or tried to strike at anyone. He has always been EXTREMELY photogenic also. He always seems to want to know what we are up to and stop to pose for the camera. Such a handsome boy!






Where are all the books on Colombia?!


The above pic is with the (then) babies (who are also sisters) Alize and Tequila Rose.

32 weeks...and an addiction.

Hello 32 weeks! Only 7 more to go, squeeeee! Its flying by! She is about 3.75 lbs and 16.7 inches this week. At this point I should be gaining about a pound a week, and about half of that goes to the baby. "She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth." Babycenter.com



We had our breathing and relaxation class last night. All went well, I have absolutely no problem relaxing so that's good! haha I have to work on my breathing techniques a bit so I have them down come time for the real deal. Of course Mr. Jerseyjess was making jokes the whole time and I was laughing so it made it hard to "be serious" and focus. Then the lady said the dreaded words "supporters, if you can make your partner laugh during the labor...that's great, good for you!". He loved that one. And Im thinking oh lord lady, do you realize what you just did to me?! So I already plan on having extra objects around that I can launch at my clown of a husband! Makenna decided she wanted to be a goofball like her Dad and made my stomach an earthquake the entire class, she seriously did not sit still. I'm wondering if she thought all the "your contractions are peaking...switch breathing techniques" were the real deal and she was trying to escape. Luckily she hasn't found the escape route yet!

Aside from that there isn't too much to report this week. I figured Id post about some of my recent baby finds...


I wonder if they make a rehab for giraffe addictions?

Cause I haz one...

I have been trying not to buy TOO many baby clothes. Aside from my big sale hit at Sears, but all those clothes were for this winter. So I hit up my fave bargain store, Ross, looking for clothes I could wear being 7-9 monhts preggo and OF COURSE had to look at the baby section. At first there were no finds. Im not into the clothes that have the name brands written across them, Im not a walking billboard and our baby wont be either.

Then... I spotted it.





Giraffes.



Its neutral and still super cute, and has a giraffe. I win! As I searched through the racks and abundance of Puma, Roxy and Polo baby gear... I spotted another. Now this time it was a set and the bib got me.







So cute! And it even says daddy's little princess on the onsie. Awww! (or so I was thinking at the moment).

At this point I'm pretty happy with my cheap and o-so-cute buys (thanks Carters and Ross!). The next day I decided it would be good to stop at a different Ross, yanno, to see if they have clothes for me. Right. I bee line for the baby section...more Puma and Polo...ugh.

Then, OH MY GOSH. They must have made this outfit set specifically for MY baby. Carters should really get out of my head. And bingo, they have it in newborn. This time, it was the hat. Definitely. I couldn't resist.








So far this is going to be her coming home outfit. Im so excited, she will look so cute in that little giraffe hat! Neiko approved of the outfit and cant wait until he can cuddle with his little sister...





I have a few other giraffe obsessed outfits but dont have pics of them at the moment. BUT I did wanna share these adorable non- giraffe outfits!

This one I picked up at Target for $6. Couldnt resist! It has a little fish on the butt and says "Catch me Im cute" in the front of the shorts, again Carters got me.





This outfit was actually given to us by a good friend. I absolutely love the little shoes!



AND last but definitely not least, if you dont know already, I have a love for Dr Seuss! Im trying to collect a bunch of the books for her nursery because Dr Suess is just the man and no child should ever have to go Seuss-less. Then I saw this awesome Horton onesie at Ross! It says "I meant what I said and I said what I meant, an elephant is faithful one hundred percent!". Gah!



Thats all for today! If you made it this far through this long post, I heart you!

Hope everyone has a good Tuesday!

31 Weeks- Baby Day!

Happy Tuesday! Today is 31 weeks, moving right along. She is about 16 inches and weighs around 3.3 lbs.


photo from baby center.com

I am pretty much over my cold which is fantastic! Im feeling a lot better and have much more energy than last week. The baby is kicking a ton, as always, and I think I felt my first Braxton Hicks contract on on Friday. I probably wouldn't have noticed but from the way a few people described how it would feel it was pretty close to what they described. Painless.

I also had my 3 hour glucose test done on Friday. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. They actually had a separate room with a tv and comfy-as-hell recliner. I had a little timer and had to get blood taken 5 times throughout the 3 hours. Now I just walk around looking like a pregnant drug addict with all the bruises on my arm from the needles. Bah. Oh well. Im interested to see the results though.

Also, I had a doctors appt on Wednesday. She said I was right on target for my weight gain. I have gained about 20 lbs so far, and she said 30 is average for a full term pregnancy so with 2 months left, Im not doing so bad. Hooray! Of course when I look at the normal, non pregnancy end of it and realized I gained 20 lbs Im not so thrilled. BUT it (and more) will be hopefully flying off once the baby is born!

Monday, the 19th, is our Breathing and Relaxation class. Im pretty excited about that one. It was recommended by the hospital for woman who were more interested in Natural Birth and ways to control the pain. Thats us! As most of you know, I dont want any drugs during the labor process. Call me crazy but Im determined to do it since Im not a huge fan of medication. I figured why should I bring my baby into the world all drugged up if I dont like medication/ People have done natural births for thousands of years...if they can do it, so can I. Plus I saw when they put the epidural in my sister in laws back and there is no way in hell they are coming near my spine with that needle! So Im pretty set in my ways and interested to see how that goes.

In case you missed my post somewhere along the way, here are a few pics of me at 30 weeks.


Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

One Mans Trash is Another Womans Treasure...

I work for a moving company so there is always old storage lots around here that are full of old furniture. Majority of it is crap...old and useless crap. Well we sent a trailer over to the local auction and they sold what they could and claimed the rest for trash. The auction coordinator said that nothing else was good and we just need to buy a big dumpster and empty the rest. Dumpster eh? Seems like a fine place to find some furniture for our house! Haha...

My Mom (who is the manager here) ended up spotting this guy as they were cleaning off the trailer...



Its in really great condition, not broken anywhere, all the drawers and cabinets work. With a little sand paper, new handles and dark stain it will make the perfect buffet cabinet!

In other news, despite the fact that Mr. Jerseyjess has been working double shifts almost every day, our bedroom reno is progressing nicely! He told me yesterday that it looks like we should be able to paint this weekend...and put the floors in shortly after (depending on his work schedule). Sweet! Im excited to be staying on the main floor and not have to go up and down those steep steps in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Plus we will be able to put our clothes in the dressers finally and be just one more step closer to living a "normal" life.

Baby Day!

I figured Id make Tuesdays my pregnancy update days since they are the days we are a week further along! Today is week 30! I cant believe how fast its flying by. The baby is steadily growing and moving a ton. She should be about 15.7 inches and 3 lbs now!


Photo taken from babycenter.com

Im really excited about getting to this point because if for some reason something went wrong and they had to do an emergency c-section, the baby has a much better chance of living in the outside world (with the help of doctors). Of course I am hoping that she stays put for the remainder of the pregnancy!

For the last few weeks I have had the joys of swollen feet and hands. My rings barely fit around my fingers, I had to move my promise ring to a smaller finger. And because I sit at a desk all day it kills me to be on my feet for any length of time mostly due to the back pain.

Since the beginning, when I found out I couldn't lay flat on my back, I invented Pregnancy Mountain (as my husband calls it). Its a stack of about 9 pillows in a slant so I pretty much end up sleeping sitting halfway up every night. Funny part is, I never knew I slept on my back until I couldn't. But since I normally have back problems and laying flat on my back normally fixes it, Pregnancy Mountain was the next best thing! It works wonders for getting me to go to sleep!

I have also lucked out because I havent been sick in the entire 7 months. I even made it through flu and swine flu season without getting sick. All that went out the window on Saturday though. I now have a full blown cold, luckily I haven't had a fever. It does make for a pretty miserable, waddling, pregnant jerseyjess though! Especially since the weather has been pretty warm. But hopefully the cold will be gone in the next few days and I will be back to my normal, happy, waddling self!

Tomorrow is my first of the every 2 weeks appointments! I love hearing her heartbeat and having the doctor tell me everything looks good. I feel her move throughout the day but I'm still a worried Mom. Then Thursday is the fabulous 3 hour glucose test. Ugh! I failed the one hour test by ONE point! She said they start to become concerned at 130...and guess who was exactly 130?! So I'm pretty sure I don't have gestational diabetes but I still have to do the 3 hour test just to make sure. I think the part I'm dreading most is siting in those horrible waiting chairs for 3 hours!

We'll see though!

Teee Dahh!!

So I'm sure you are wondering what was going through my mind when I picked the color for the living room/ dining room pictured here. Or you just want to know where the hell I'm going with it?! All your questions and curiosities will be solved in this wonderful blog!

Living Room
We knew we wanted a sectional, we always have. Of course the room is a bit small but we dont care. We want our big comfy sectional and we want it now. So I started browsing around and actually fell in love with everything about this picture, the colors... everything. I searched high and low for the rug in this picture and even had the fabulous MandeeFoFandee helping me out! So I am putting out a reward...to anyone who finds this rug you will receive a great and fabulous prize! Okay, not really. Im renovating my house people! You think I can afford rewards?! But seriously, you will be my bff forever. Hopefully that works on more than just my nephew ;o).


Photo taken from jarons.com

Lucky for us my husbands coworker was selling a very nice, fairly new couch that looks very similar to this one...only way more comfy. So here she is, we havent picked it up yet but hopefully within the next week or two!



Now, of course I have concerns about this fitting in the room. But Mr. Jerseyjess has assured me it will fit and look great. So I go with it and we shall see!

We picked out the below track lighting for above the couch.



And the tv stand we picked is from an unfinished furniture store and looks something like this one below, only in darker wood. And yes, we totally plan on getting a cardboard tv just like that one to save on electric. Ha!


Pic taken from jarons.com

I havent quite picked out a coffee table but I love this one, and would like to keep it pretty simple and probably a little smaller. I may even talk my handy husband into making one!


Photo from jarons.com


We will also be hanging curtains in the living room, probably darker brown ones nothing too over the top!

And there it is! Our living room in a nutshell.

Dining Room

We never have been and never will be formal people. We wanted our dining room to be fun and inviting. The pub style tables have always been something we liked and when we saw this baby at American Signature Furniture, we were sold- especially by the price! Its an extremely sturdy table & chairs and also has a butterfly leaf so we could make the table bigger if we wanted to. Score!



Originally we had picked out green plate sets, in which we recieved for the wedding shower. They remained packed up until we moved and once we decided the colors for the room, we realized green plates wouldnt do. We returned them and picked up this set! Im really excited since all my serving sets are also white so everything will match perfect!



We will be getting brown roman shades for those the bay windows. Similar to these (in brown of course)...


pic from target.com

The light fixture we got is a 3 pendant fixture from lowes which will hang above the table with red covers...



We will also be adding a buffet but are trying to find one we can pick up for cheap (or free!) and refinish ourselves.

We also picked up an awesome abstract panting (for an even more awesome price) at Home Goods with a ton of different colors in it to go on the back wall in the dining room. This will hopefully tie all the colors together in the room and allow us to bring in some new colors.

It might take some time but as soon as this all comes together I will be sure to post some pics of all the work!