Our newborn..Baby Julian.

I have a few men in my life that I have truly loved instantly. The First is my Dad. The first man i loved, my first Valentine, one of my fave playmates and the guy who gave me my first scooter ride (to a 3 yr old that is a HUGE thing).

The second is my brother. The one who made me a big sister. My shadow and the kid who wouldn't hold back when playing Teenage mutant Ninja Turtles or He-Man.

The third, my husband. I knew when we first met that he was THE one. It's been rough with ups and downs of life but the love is still there in spades.

My newest love is my newborn son, Julian. How small and perfect he is. Whether sleeping or crying he is just lovely. He makes my heart skip a beat like in high school when the cute guy would pass-by. I am truly humbled and blessed to have him in my life and can't wait to share in his life.

here he is:

Here he is with Big sister Victoria and my Hubby. My cup runeth over.

April the Diamond

The April gemstone is one of the most coveted of all the gemstones on the planet. It is the rock we all look forward to getting from a guy on bended knee. It is the subject of wars and fair trade. It sparkles and shimmers and catches the light in such a wonderful way that one cannot help but smile when that sparkle greets our eyes.

All you lucky April babies are blessed to have a stone that comes in a variety of colors and shades and are still called diamonds. Cognac, chocolate, black, blue, champagne, canary, pink, etc. They are all wonderful examples of the beautiful carbon stone. In fact, the varieties of colored diamond have a higher value than their colorless sisters. Whether it's in a ring, a necklace, a bracelet or any other peice of jewelry, diamonds are a joy to have in any collection.

Myths and legend behind the stoen suggest that Cupid used diamond tipped arrows and thus the reason why the stone is coupled with love.

The Hope diamond is NOT i repeat is NOT the largest diamond on the face of the planet.
The Golden Jubilee, with the weight of 545.67 carats, is the largest faceted diamond in the world. Rough stone weighed 755 carats and was discovered in Premier mine, South Africa in 1985. The Golden Jubilee was presented to the King of Thailand in 1997 for his Golden Jubilee - the 50th anniversary of his coronation. Prior to this event, the stone was simply known as the Unnamed Brown. Estimated value of the Golden Jubilee is $4-$12 million.
My favorite diamond is the Star of Africa:

The Cullinan I, a pear shaped diamond weighing 530.20 carats is also known as the Star of Africa. It measures 53mm x 44mm x 29mm, and has 76 facets. It's called the Cullinan I because it is the largest of 9 large stones cut from the 3106 carat Cullinan Diamond. Cullinan I was placed by King Edward in the Sovereign's Royal Scepter as part of the Crown Jewels, and it is now on display in the tower of London. Estimated value of Cullinan I is over $400 million!

But those are for royals. How can the everyday girl indulge in the April birthstone on a more realistic budget?

At Amazon diamond earrings can be quite reasonable at $59.99.

Kohl's Sterling Silver Diamond Circle Bracelet is a good investment piece at $75

Macy's has 14k White Gold Diamond Dragonfly Pendant (1/5 ct. t.w.) on sale for $179

jewelry can be fun and worth investing in since we wear it so often and it makes us feel great!

Find your diamond and let it shine!

Love and Flowers

Well my birthday is this monday and I have to say I'm quite happy with how my 27th year of life is coming to a close. My hubby surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers from MArtha Stewart Flowers ( he realy thought about this one wihch is so great). They were delivered right as i was making the closing annoucnement at the library. It took me by surprise and from what everyone else said i did a few "ums" over the PA before I aburptly discontinued the announcements. They are even more gorgeous in person and i do have my a photo of them that I took. Below is the stock photo.

Here is my photo:

I think it's better than the stock photo and it is fragrant. I found 3 different roses in the bouquet and it 's is just beautiful on my kitchen window sill. Look how shiny the jelp tin is. It is just gorgeous! Hubby called after i got out of work tomake sure i got the flowers and I was so happy to get his call because I know he's busy with deployment and all. It was also nice to be able to thank him for thinking of me. He says he has another part to my gift..I can't wait to see what it will be.