Color Changes Everything

Today is my best friend's birthday!  Sure, she won't tell ya... but it's true!  Please go over and pay her a visit today and wish her a happy one!

And just for her, I'm posting one of my favorite commercials.  What, an ad?  Yeah.  The first time I saw this one, I knew 5 seconds in that it just had to be a Target commercial.  All of their ads have this certain whimsy to them that I can't put my finger on.  Which is much like my sweet friend, KK.  And this particular commercial is exactly how I would advertise HER if I could.  She adds color and spark to everything she touches.  I love you, girl, and hope you have an excellent day!!!

Dude...

WHY cannot I not get my butt on the 'puter to blog?  Like everything else in life, it is a total chore right now.  Going to the bathroom is a chore.  The 3rd trimester slowdown has come on with a vengeance.  I'm not fatigued like I was during the 1st trimester, but Sam is so mushed up in there that it's hard to breathe.  So the littlest thing, like talking, gets me out of breath.  My sweet husband suggested I just stop speaking.  Hahaha...

My Braxton Hicks contractions did get the better of me last night...  we missed the neighborhood Christmas party because of them!  I've had them on and off throughout the day the last few weeks, but the doctor said not to worry about calling unless we had more than 6 an hour.  Well, first I'm supposed to get horizontal and drink a glass of water if I have six.  And if they don't slow down, then we call.  So last night I was having them like every 10 minutes for over two hours, so we did call.  Only for them to tell me that there's not much to do since I'm past 34 weeks.  Baby is super viable at that point, so if labor were to start, they're not going to interfere too much at this point.  OK whatever... I felt better after hearing that, although I do want this little booger to stay in there and bake as long as he can.  We go for another OB visit on Tuesday so I will ask again if there's any different protocol for my situation since my doctors don't want me going into labor period... I failed to think to ask that last night, but I'm not worried.  These definitely aren't true labor contractions.  But hopefully we can get some more assurance on Tuesday.

We were supposed to hit the mall after church today to finish up the last bit of Christmas shopping we had, but decided to play it safe and lay low.  Shopping (well, standing up or walking for long at all) has gotten super difficult.  I've only been able to do quick trips.  I did do a BRU-Kohl's-Target run Friday afternoon with my mom and I think that did me in.  From now on it's either Amazon or a motorized scooter.  The hub is taking good care of me... whether it's a 4am poptart or an emergency backrub, he comes running.  The other day he said he can't wait to sit in our rocker and doze off with Sam in his arms.... wow, melt my heart!  He's going to be such a great daddy.

So, all is good... the nursery is really, really coming together!  As I type, the hub and my dad are upstairs finishing up the beadboard in the bathroom.  The cornice board for the nursery has been assembled, but for the fabric - it is going to look SO great!  Still waiting on some other little odds and ends - various fabric projects/accessories and also lighting fixtures... but the major projects are all but done.  Can't wait to see it all come together!

And lastly, for now, here are some pics from one of my last showers.  This one was hosted by my wonderful godmother.  We had a fabulous turnout - lots of great friends of my mother's came all the way from Alabama to help us celebrate.  And a lot of my sweet friends came from all over as well - many who I hadn't seen in forever!  It was a great afternoon...

Sam's own little Christmas tree!

The sweet hostess with the mostess!

Eating for two... nom nom nom!

One of my favorite gifts!  A sweet name plaque for Sam from my friend, Jill.

I think I'm trying to explain to my mom what Baby Legs are...

One of my dear friends gave us this awesome wagon!

Uh, yeah...

This is what I wore... Gap dress with my Target shoes and grey tights.  Dress was cute on - if I didn't move.  But I had horrid static cling that day, no matter what I tried... so it did not hang so well at the shower.  Oh well...

Baby Shower - Nov 6th

We had a double header that first weekend in November!  This second shower was put on by my best high school girlfriends and another one of my sweet girlfriends that I used to work with.  This one was a lot more intimate and girly... all the details were so sweet!  What a fun weekend, huh?!

The lovely food table with all kinds of sweet goodies - including a bike-shaped diaper cake!

Delicous cake pops made by one of my girlfriends

A watermelon baby carriage - too cute!

Sam's going to one dapper little dude!

More great gifts... Sam is really loading up!

Couples Shower - Nov 5th

Finally, some pics for you!  This incredible shower was put on by some of our very good friends.  Every detail was fabulous and we had an absolute ball.  It could not have been more perfect!  We are truly grateful to be blessed with such amazing friends and family that were so excited to celebrate with us.

The table set-up for a delicious BBQ dinner

Adorable centerpieces with baby books and rubber duckies

Favors with one of my faves... white chocolate covered pretzels!

Monogrammed petit fours

The petit fours and some delicious red velvet cupcakes

And you gotta have some chocolate!

Sam's loot!

Me and the hub... and check out the cute mason jars with tags and paper straws!

Yes, folks, there really is a baby in there!

Showered with Love

Wow, what a weekend!  And thank goodness we have an empty room downstairs... or had I should say.  The "empty" room has now become storage for all of Sam's loot!  And the boy racked up this weekend.  We had two lovely showers thrown by sweet friends of ours.  My dad played photographer (in addition to grandpa-to-be) at the couples' shower Saturday night and he got a lot of great shots.  And one of my sweet hostesses from Sunday got some great pics as well.  I'll be back soon with more deets and pics (still waiting on some to get sent to me), but check out these adorable cake pops that one of my girls made for Sunday's shower...

And how stinkin' cute are these monogrammed petit fours from Saturday?  I'm a sucker for a monogram... especially with sugar.

Lots of love for little Sam this weekend...  so grateful.

Shower Outfits for this Weekend

Can't believe my first showers are HERE!  I'm so, so excited.  And of course all the goodies for Sam are totally fun, but I'm also thrilled to get a lot of our friends and family together that we don't see all that often.  So fun to celebrate this special time with all of them!

Tomorrow's couples' shower is hosted by some great friends of ours.  I'm glad the hub and the grandpas get to participate in some fun!  I'm going a little more casual for this one - but fabulous nonetheless, right?!

I actually changed up this outfit last minute.... I had something entirely different in mind, but I threw this together Wednesday night to go out for our anniversary dinner and decided it was WAY cuter than my shower ensemble.  So the old outfit got the boot!  The blouse and jeans are from Old Navy.  I got the shoes off Amazon to go with the original shower outfit, but they look great with this new one!  And I'll finish it off with some chunky gold bangles.  Super cute!


Sunday's shower is hosted my several of my sweet girlfriends and will surely be a bit more "girly" so I'm of course going with a dress for that one...

I tell ya... finding cute fall and winter maternity dresses is quite the challenge.  Summer is EASY.  Fall and winter?  Not so much.  But Gap has been my savior here.  The dress is from Gap - and that necklace in the pic is not part of the dress, FYI.  It's such a flattering cut and easy to wear.  I'm pairing it with some burgundy tights and metallic pewter shoes from Target.  The tights are not maternity - just some basic ones from Target that I may have to slice the waistband on to be comfy.  But hey, for $7 tights, I don't mind breaking out the scissors.  The shoes were a mere $19.99 and look much nicer in person.  They look pretty cheap in this pic.  Well, cuz they are.  But they really do look better in real life.  The only shoe options in my closet were flats, which would make me look frumpy, or 3.5 heels, which would surely send me to the hospital in my extra-clumsy state. 

Excited!  Can't wait to tell y'all all about the showers on the other side.  TGIF and hope you all have fabulous weekends!

More Shower Fun!

Are you ready for all this attention, Sam?

Outside

Inside

Another one!

This is getting fun...

Eeks!  Sam is gonna be so spoiled.

TGIF by the way... it has been a looooooong week.  Very glad to see today.  Looking to get some painting done in the nursery this weekend.  More on that later!

First Shower Invitation!

Another one of those "is this really happening?" moments...

Back later with more updates.  I'm buried in work for the time being!  Hope you all are having a great week!

First Baby Gift!

I was so excited to get home and find this fun package in the mail yesterday from a dear friend...


A super soft and deliciously sweet baby blanket - our very first baby gift! It's much cuter than this crappy phone pic shows. It's ivory with a baby blue satin trim. And along with it was this lovely card...


Definitely brings about one of those "is this really happening?" moments. To God be the glory indeed. THANK YOU, LAUREN!!!


So the questions I'm getting the most are "How do you feel?" and "Are you going to find out the sex?" Well, just to answer those quickly... I still feel like total crap. Eating is still a chore and I'm tired a lot, etc. etc. But everyone tells me that it should get better at 14 or 15 weeks. Today, I'm 13 weeks, so here's hopin'! As for the sex, yes, we're definitely planning to find out. We have another ultrasound on Monday for our 12 week screening, so maybe they can make some guesses then, but my doctor said not to buy anything till we hit that 20 week mark.

Thanks again for all the well wishes!

10 Week Ultrasound

Lots of big steps this week! We're officially in double digits! We're now in the "fetus" stage and no longer the "embryo" stage. Very exciting. And on Friday we graduated from RBA and will now be seeing my normal OB/GYN going forward! Big steps... very grateful... and I think we're really starting to get excited.



Friday's ultrasound was definitely the best one so far... our little nut actually looks like a little baby now. An alien baby, but a baby. The ultrasound tech was pushing on my stomach and having me hold my breath to get the little guy to move around. He was definitely dancing around in there! Can't feel it yet though - it's just bizarre knowing there's a little creature inside of you wiggling around.




These scans aren't great - they show up kinda dark here, but hopefully you can see the images OK. We measured right at 10w1d on Friday and baby almost doubled in length from the last ultrasound to 3.31cm. We heard the heartbeat again, which was good and strong. Everything looked great! This 3D image is kinda freaky...




Totally looks like a little alien! Dr. T was excited to see us off and get us back to my OB. It was definitely a bitter sweet goodbye - RBA has been such a big part of our lives for over four years now. We'll of course be back when we're ready for more, but for now it's goodbye. Here we are with Dr. T...




OK so we also figured it was time to start capturing belly shots. I've honestly had a pooch since beginning my meds back in early April. I literally JUST got off all the hormones on Friday (woo hoo!), so who knows if my belly is due to meds, baby, or both. It's definitely there, whatever it is. And we obviously didn't get a "before" shot since I started plumping up before the transfer even happened. So we'll just use this crappy screen shot from my Lupron shot video as my "before" picture. Because it was all over after that morning!




And here's the pooch as of today (10w3d)...




I'm wearing these fold-down maternity pants from Old Navy here and I can already tell these are going to be a favorite. I'm curious if dropping the hormones will affect the pooch or if I'm just in for the long haul from this point. Either way, fine with me! There's plenty of time to get my flat belly back later. Soooooo not worried about that right now. Honestly I'd like the big belly to hurry up and get here because right now I'm in that stage where none of my normal clothes fit. All I can really wear right now to work are dresses, so getting ready for work has become challenging.

I still feel like crap. Still tired all the time. Nauseous much of the time. Eating is a chore because it's impossible to plan my meals. Therefore I've been spending more on food because I impulse-eat. Grocery shopping is hard because (a) it's exhausting and (b) everything is gross. But I'm managing! In fact, I'm about to head out to Publix right now... so wish me luck!

Hope you all have a fabulous 4th! The hub's running the Peachtree in the morning. (Meanwhile, I'll be snoozing.) Then we have a cookout later that afternoon with friends. Enjoy and stay cool!

Beta #5 (Last one, I promise!)

11,349!!!

at 23dp5dt


Woot! I wasn't too anxious about getting today's numbers, but still - huge sigh of relief afterward! Definitely more at ease today than I was on Tuesday. Now I'm just waiting for Dr. T's assistant to call me back to schedule the ultrasound next week. Fingers crossed for Monday!!! I'm dying to see this babe on screen! (Or babes?)


And I'm also 6 weeks today! Amazing...


Grateful, again, to make it this far. Who knows what tomorrow brings, but wow - what progress! Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! I'm off to enjoy the afternoon with my sweet friend, Pam. Stay cool, fellow Atlantans... it's HOT out there!

Milkshake Confession

Yes, just as I wrapped last week up with a post on my strong diet will power... I willingly somersaulted off the wagon this weekend with not one, but TWO Chick-fil-A milkshakes. Small ones though without whip... gotta save some calories somewhere, right?! Ha.... but let me plead my case.

Friday was a rough day. A very dear IF buddy got bad news Friday afternoon. It hit me hard because I just wanted this SO badly for her!!! (I went to her transfer with her a couple of weeks ago, if you remember.) Plus, her husband had to catch a flight like an hour after they got the call from the doctor. So just a sucky day for her all around. After work I dropped by her place with a chocolate CFA milkshake and fries. Well and I had to get one too - out of sympathy right?! We slurped our shakes and had a good cry together. Time and chocolate heal all wounds.

Then Saturday night we took a little road trip to the southside to visit kuntry bride and her hubby in the hospital. They had an early delivery of their baby girl last week - a tiny little princess weighing less than 5 lbs! She was being watched closely in NICU but is doing wonderfully. It was so great to see our friends and meet their new little one, but being in the labor and delivery area of a hospital is still tough on me. I wonder if we'll ever get there... that part of the journey seems SO far away. I felt like any minute one of the nurses was going to say, "You don't belong here." And walking through the waiting area on our way out was the worst part really... seeing all the parents and grandparents with their balloons and cameras, oogling over newborn photos. *Ugh.* Nothing another milkshake can't cure, right?! Cookies 'n cream this time.

Oh, but we're back at it today, dear readers. No more cheats. You'll hold me accountable, won't you?!

Hope you all have a fantastic week!!!

P.S. If you're going to ask me why the hell I didn't try the new banana pudding milkshake, let me remind you that I hate bananas with an unrivaled passion. I made the hub get it though and he loved it.

Eat some cole slaw. And be my friend.

Working at home today. Roads are still icy and I'm a wimp. And I don't have much at all going on at work today, so why take a chance? I've been in a ditch before. It's not fun. So while I'm waiting on some info from clients, I thought I'd share a quick recipe from one of my favorite Atlanta cheap eats...


Taqueria del Sol is the go-to spot when I meet up with kuntry bride and Lucky. It's a fairly central location for us all, it's delicious, and it's CHEAP. Anyway, last weekend we had my parents over for dinner to celebrate my Dad's retirement. (Both of my parents are officially retired now!) We cooked up some fish tacos with Mexican rice and Taqueria's jalapeno cole slaw. This slaw is super easy to make and a perfect compliment to fish tacos. Eat it as a side dish or pile it in your taco. I did both.


Jalapeno Cole Slaw
from Taqueria del Sol

- 9 cups cabbage, coarsely chopped
- 3/4 cup grated carrots
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pickled jalapeño, diced
- juice of 1 1/2 lemons
- 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
- salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and add salt to taste.


This is a good one to make the night before or early in the day because it gets better and better as it sits. So good! Oh and I use light mayo and short cut it with the ready-pacs of shredded cabbage and carrot mix. Duh. The recipe also says it serves 15-18 but that's BS. Plan on that giving a good hearty serving to 6-8 maybe. I don't like to skimp.

OK so now that I've buttered you up with a good recipe, won't you be my friend? I recently joined Goodreads after a fellow reader recommended it. You may've noticed my little widget in my sidebar...


It is an awesome site for keeping up with what books you've read, what you're currently reading, and a wish-list of books you intend to read. It's a great way to see what other people are reading and get reviews on every book ever written. You can create reading goals for yourself and track them. But as they say on their website, "Goodreads is approximately 7 bajillion times more awesome when your friends are using it too. We have proven this. With science."

So far I have one friend. If you're a reader, will you be my buddy? Sign up here if you don't already have a Goodreads profile. And then come find me! It's fun to see what other friends are reading and get recommendations! I'm still very new to the site so I'm not very *seasoned* yet. I need some friends. Be my friend!

Egg Shells

"As you grow, your associates will change.  Some of your friends will not want you to go on.  They will want you to stay where they are."

 

I was perusing blogs the other day and noticed the above quote in the margin of a blog friend's page.  I did an audible "Hmmm..."  And I immediately thought, "OMG am I that person?  Do I make my friends feel like I don't want them to move ahead?"  No author was listed, so I googled the quote and it's supposedly a snippet from something Colin Powell once said or wrote.  If you look up the entire message, I think you'll see that it's about making wise decisions regarding whom you associate with, because you eventually become who you hang around.  Which I completely agree with, by the way.  A couple of weeks ago at church, we were asked, "who are you listening to?"  Because whomever you're listening to (and seeking wisdom from) is a preview of the future you.  So true - what a good way to put it.  And I realize I have no authority to give mom advice as I'm an ignorant non-mom, but I was a teenager once.  So I can say with confidence that it's absolutely crucial that you KNOW your teenager's friends.  They are who they hang around.  But this is something that follows us our entire lives - not just as kids.  We are always being influenced.  We are who we hang around.  So yeah, I'm very careful about who I hang around and you should be too.

 

But aside from that whole argument... that quote got me thinking on a different level.  I know I've mentioned again and again how I'd love to freeze time and keep my childless friends childless until I can join them.  It's not like I voice that to friends or even really mean it.  It's just that pit-of-my-heart selfish desire.  It's much like being the "eternal" single gal and watching all your friends get married.  You secretly want to keep a few unmarried pals to yourself until you can find your own mate.  Of course you're *happy* for your friends and all their milestones - truly you are.  But let's be honest, it sucks for you and me.  And it's OK that it sucks.  I know how all this crap affects me... I know my limits and what situations to avoid.  I realize the funk that goes on inside my own head.  I do.  But after reading that quote, I'm left wondering... do I somehow impress that selfishness upon my friends?  Do they feel like I can't be a good friend to them if they move on without me?  Yes, I DO want them to stay where I am.  I'd be lying if I said otherwise.  But the bigger question is, do I make my friends feel like I need them to stay put in order to be my friend? 

 

I've always considered myself to be very self-aware.  But that doesn't mean I don't get blindsided sometimes.  And I don't really know the answer to my question.  I guess I'm just saying, I know the issues I have and what I need to do to get past them... but is it possible that my inward angst sometimes spills over and makes my friends uncomfortable and our relationships awkward?  Do they feel like they have to tip toe around me?  I'd like to just keep the hurt and awkwardness to myself, deal with it, and let the world continue to spin. 

 

But I guess relationships are always growing and changing... it's inevitable, right?  Who you associate with changes as you go through different stages in life.  That's totally normal.  You tend to gravitate toward others like you.  Moms look for other moms.  Singles look for other singles.  And then there's us - the perpetual DINKS who can't seem to fit in anywhere.  And little by little, people keep leaving our little club.  I know I willingly alienate myself from certain groups... honestly, finding myself stuck in a circle of moms is my definition of hell.  One on one, no big deal - I have lots of great momma friends.  But when I get greatly outnumbered and all topics center around breast-feeding and labor nightmares and the terrible twos... just shoot me while I'm smiling and nodding.

 

I wish I had an easy answer.  But I guess the only thing to do is to be OK with the fact that things change.  I will continue to make time for the people who are important to me - no matter what stage of life either of us is in.  I love my friends for who they are, not where they are.  My friendships may look different from year to year, but that doesn't make them any less meaningful.  So what do y'all think?  Any advice?  I'm not even sure I have a clear question.  All I know is that quote made me go "Hmmm..."

Harry stuff.

Anyone else but me uber excited about Harry Potter this weekend?!  We've got our IMAX tickets for tonight... cannot wait!  I've been listening to the audio book while working to get ready.  I've said it a million times, but if you're a big fan of the books and haven't experienced the audio versions read by Jim Dale, you must-must-must! I have all 7 books on my ipod. 

 

Only other major thing this weekend is that we're pulling out the Christmas decorations!  I usually wait till the weekend after Thanksgiving, because I really do not like to overshadow that holiday - it's also a big favorite!  But, we won't be in town but for one day next weekend, so we've got to get that rolling early.  I'm excited, but also sort of dreading it because I know we'll come across Charlie's stocking at some point.  I can't believe it's been almost 5 months since we said goodbye to him...  I find myself thinking about him at random times.  The other morning when we were getting ready to leave for our transfer, I could have sworn I heard his bark.  Sometimes I lose my breath when I remember, again, that he's gone.  We sure do miss him!  We're thinking about hanging his stocking somewhere (other than the hearth) with a little halo over it.  Too sweet!

 

OH and I also ordered like 15 of those cheap pregnancy tests online - $15 total (free shipping) for 15 tests.  Beats $15 for 2 tests at the grocery!  Anyone ever use these?  I've heard great things about them, so I much rather pay only $1/test.  And if they're a bust, Wally World's right around the corner.  We still have a while before we can test, so we're just hanging tight for now.  Somehow we've affectionately named our little embryo "dot."  So the hub and I have been referring to "dot" and talking to "dot."  And I remind him that I'm baking dot and therefore cannot do _____.  Or because I'm working hard on dot, I really need him to _____.  So far, it's worked really well.  I plan to ride this one out as long as possible.

 

I also have a couple of friends weighing heavily on my heart this weekend.  One friend from my women's small group had some cancerous cells removed from her abdomen last week with surgery - which were not expected to be cancerous, but were.  So now the doctors fear it may've spread to other areas, so they're in the process of finding all that out.  She's of course terrified and not sure what to think - and she's my age, how scary!  She has two very young kids, so this is of course really frightening for her family.  And then my sweet friend, Lucky, just found out her husband is going to be deployed for six months - almost a month to the day before their 1st anniversary.  They've known this was a possibility, but she is so upset and has only a week and a half left with him before he must go!  I'm so sad for her that he'll be away for their first Christmas, anniversary, and many other special moments.  But she is blessed with lots of family and friends here who will keep her going!  I'm so, so proud of her hubby and ALL of our men and women in uniform, but it's never easy to let them go.  So yes, several big line-items on my prayer list right now. 

 

Alrighty, that's about it for me today.  Y'all have fabu weekends!  I'm trying to wrap some things up so I can get outta here and go see Harry!  Expecto patronum!  Wingardium leviosa!  Stupify! Etc, etc.

Kiss it, etsy.

My sweet bestest had a craptastic day yesterday... she found out that her etsy shop had been permanently shut down.  Some ridiculousness about copyright infringement.  Which is bogus.  But bogus or not, etsy kicked my dear friend to the curb.  So not only does this make me sad for my friend, who used etsy as her #1 means of getting business, but it also puts etsy on my shit list.  I know there are other outlets for her to sell her stuff and she is in the process of researching all that.  So if you, dear crafty readers, have any advice or suggestions for her, please pop by her blog and let her know!  Her ears are open.  There's no one with a kinder heart and she doesn't deserve this crap. 

 

*Grimacing and shaking fist at etsy!*

Another one bites the dust.

Remember one of my big fears I mentioned earlier this year? Well, it happened. It was inevitable. I had dinner last night with two of my best girls and sure enough, one of them (kuntry bride) announced she is pregnant. Both of these girls have been big prayer warriors for me during my struggle, and she was very gracious with how she gave us the news. (Lucky has also been trying since day 1 of being married and is already frustrated.) I know that all must sound ridiculously selfish if you haven't gone through the crap the hub and I've gone through - I mean I don't want friends to walk around on egg shells around us when it comes to sharing good news. But there are better ways to do it than shoving ultrasound photos in my face and saying "Surprise!!!" (Yep, that has happened before.)

I am truly, truly thrilled for my sweet friend. She and her husband are going to be amazing parents! But I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt. No worries, I didn't like make a scene over my enchilada or anything last night. Surprisingly, I haven't cried at all over it. All I can say is that it just feels weird. I had a hard time sleeping last night. It's hard not to spiral into a case of the why-me's and it's-not-fair's. It's really hard to not get frustrated with the fact that it comes SO easily for other people when we've spent nearly 5 years and thousands of dollars and we're still nowhere. It's hard not to get angry. And once again, it's hard not to feel left behind. Last night, trying to fall asleep, I just felt very... alone.

Dammit, now I'm crying.

But I have to remember that nothing has changed for us. We're still plugging along - we've got our plan in place. And I must say I'm grateful... grateful that I've been in such a good place mentally and spiritually lately that I feel I'm really able to handle this news peacefully. A few months ago, I would've taken it a LOT harder. This journey has been a true roller coaster, so I'm thankful to be soaring high for the time being! The news is still uneasy. And I don't know what it's going to look like tomorrow, or a few months down the road, but I can't worry about it. I'm just going to do what I can with what I'm given today and lean on God for tomorrow. I'm going to love on my friend and pray for a happy and healthy pregnancy for her. And continue to pray for peace for me as we charge on. So hopefully the "weirdness" will soon fade and this new normal will become more... normal.

Happy 4th (holiday)!

Hope everyone had a fabulous 4th weekend... we sure did! Been running around since I left work Thursday afternoon. But we had a great weekend with friends and the weather was perfect. Saturday night we had a neighborhood block party and I actually ran back to our house to grab a FLEECE once the sun went down. On July 3rd. Crazy! The hub ran the Peacthree Sunday morning while I stayed at home with the girls. Then we had a cookout over at our friends' house and watched the fireworks up here in Buford. All in all, a great weekend full of celebration.

I'm officially on a week-long staycation right now and loving it. I've got a few projects on my to-do list but honestly I'm just looking forward to a restful and relaxing week of pretty much nothing inparticular. Sounds dreamy, right? So I probably won't be on the 'puter much but I do need to get my final Charlie post up. I've been putting it off because I've just been busy or not in the right place to do it. We are doing lots better but still miss our boy so much. Thought about him lots this weekend because he was always SO terrified of fireworks. Honestly, I'm glad he wasn't here to witness all the boom-boom-pow while he was feeling awful. That might've done him in!

Enjoy this first week of July... I'll be back soon!

Look Mom, No Hands!

Aw, bust.

That's my high-flying husband. We were on the lake last Sunday - had a great time! Everyone was wake boarding, but I was just sitting pretty eating my Moo Goo snacks and soaking up the sun (a la SPF 45 of course). No rigorous exercise for me, thanks. And slamming my body into the water at high speeds sounds a bit rigorous.

No lake this weekend, but it's a fun one. Last night we had our couples' small group over for an in-home cooking class with a professional chef. SO fun! And hello, we got all the leftovers! Didn't even think about that when we volunteered to host, but hey... bonus! Of course, I can't have any of them - ha. But the hub's happy. Y'all would be so proud... I mean we are talking all these fabulous appetizers (our class was just a bunch of different appetizers) and like 75% of them involved cheese. Sad! But I was good. I brought out my own Moo Goo friendly crackers so I could have some hummus and fruit salsa. And there were a couple of meat dishes I could partake in - some flank steak skewers and some teriyaki chicken wings. Ugh, and she made this delicious looking Sangria (y'all know how I love me some Sangria!) and I had to stick with my room-temp water. Boring, but I managed. It was such a fun time anyway though. And our small group also declared that for our next meeting we're all bringing Moo Goo friendly snacks (we all bring an appetizer/dish to share at group meetings)! So sweet! Guess it'll be lots of meat... ha!

Though I have discovered that I can have corn tortillas. I'm not a big fan of them, but hey - that means I can have enchiladas and I guess hard taco shells too. Finding all the things I can eat at a Mexican restaurant has been essential. Anyway, so I bought stuff to make enchiladas and I think we'll give that a go tonight.

Tomorrow we're putting together a Greek-themed menu for Father's Day. My parents are coming over for dinner. I'm going to attempt Baklava for dessert - I found what looks like a really good, simple recipe. Working with filo dough is the hardest part! I think I'll have to try a small bite once I make it... I mean, the dough is paper thin and all. Just a bite though!

Alright... gotta put together my grocery list and get moving. Feels so good to have a clean house today and not have to worry about any of that! We may go to a free concert tonight with some friends... I'm not sure what the plan is. But if that doesn't pan out, I'm totally cool with chillin' a la casa tonight too. Shoot, I may not even shower. *Gasp!*