i wish i had known...and i'm thankful to know ahead of time...

...of these 2 websites!

thanks to the blog A Cup of Jo, i plan on buying maternity wear for the next pregnancy from here. i only wish i had known of it sooner! how cute is this dress?!?!

and thanks to Little Green Notebook, i will definitely be creating a family command center like in Southern Living!

hope you enjoy these finds!

What a Wonderful Weekend!!

I had a whirlwind of a weekend that started with a dinner party at my mom's on Friday. Unfortunately, we had so much fun, that I forgot to take pictures! Luckily my mom snapped a few of me (and you can see the beautiful decor in the background) before the party really got started.

Jay went out of town on Saturday for a bachelor party and I got to spend it with my mom, Aunt Kay, and Sissy! I started out my Saturday by going to Baby Mayfield's shower, then met up with the girls for a little shopping.

Our first stop was at B.Braithwaite...the most precious baby store in the world!

Technically we were shopping for others, but I may have added a few items to Nugget's registry!

Then we headed to Old Navy at Atlantic Station where Aunt Kay treated Linds and me to early birthday presents! And I bought a few post-prego outfits for Spring and some outfits for Nugget.

We were supposed to head to Ikea next, but ran out of time. Guess I'll try and head there this week....?

On Sunday I headed off to another baby shower hosted by my wonderful and wonderfully TALL friends (and fabulous mother/daughter duo) Cindy and Kara.

We played a really fun game (that I highly recommend if you're throwing a baby shower!) where Kara divided the ladies into 3 groups and gave them parenting/baby magazines, scissors and tape. They had an allotted amount of time to cut out and make a collage that would describe Nugget. With this group, the game became very competitive!

Group 1 hard at work...

And their finished product:

Group 2...

Which included mini-Martha (Stewart!)

And their outside-the-lines collage:

And last-but-not-least, Group 3...

And their (hairy) masterpiece thanks to Nugget's aunts...

They were all fabulous! Which group would you pick as the winner???

And I can't even begin to describe to you all how blessed and loved I feel. The generosity of my friends and family is astounding! We are seriously just about set now for this little guy's arrival! (If I could just get his nursery de-cluttered and set up....)

P.S. For those who noticed--YES--I wore the same outfit on Sunday that I wore Friday. I'm running out of cute clothes that fit!

~C

Mommy Mobile

On Wednesday (with a temp. of about 30 degrees), Jay went to the local Nissan dealership and bought me a Mommy Mobile! I was busy (a.k.a. lying on the couch and writing papers for grad school), but he kept calling me to see if I wanted to be a part of the decision-making process. Luckily for me, I know that I can totally trust my husband to pick out a car for me (not to mention I didn't want to go out in the cold!). How many people can say that?

As I drove to work on Friday in my new Mommy Mobile, I realized just how personal a decision buying a car really is, and how, despite the fact that I didn't pick this one out, my husband just may know me better than I know myself--it's PERFECT--like it was made for me.

Thank you Jay!

I think I have a chance of looking like a MILF in this bad boy...

And I can't wait to see a car seat back here!

WARNING!

If you are one of my (few) readers, and you like to peruse my blog at work (ahem, Sissy!), please quickly take note that I have added music to my blog. You might want to mute your volume now so as not to get busted. :) Otherwise, I hope you enjoy the music...feel free to introduce me to artists/songs not included on my playlist. And if the music really irks you...let me know that too. This blog is for you guys (well, and for me too, let's be honest) and if you don't like it, I can easily remove it! Happy Valentine's Day! XOXO

Snowed In

I'm 32 weeks pregnant!!! I came to the realization tonight that we will have a son--for the rest of our life--in 8 weeks...or more...or less...(!!!) Life is about to change greatly, and while I seem to be slightly panicking, Jay is nothing short of thrilled and ready to have a baby. I am so grateful for his laid-back attitude...he's going to make such a great daddy!

Tonight was supposed to be a fun night with friends, but the snow got in the way. The mini-dog sure loved trying to eat it all though!

I'm so excited that my family is growing...I mean, look at how cute they are!

While it's BEAUTIFUL, we were certainly bummed to be snowed in our respective homes. I think that's about 2 1/2" folks...in GA(!) and it was still snowing...

But Jay and I decided to make the most of it!

Hard at work...

Or hardly working!

And look at how the hard work paid off!

I can't wait until Baby Blev is maxin' and relaxin' in there!

Apparently Ellie is sniffing around for her little brother too...

But all that snow and hard work wore us out!

As you read this, if you are in one of the 49 states where it's currently snowing, I hope you are warm and snuggly!

XOXO

My Pregnancy-Induced Rage

Well, at least that's what I've decided to blame it on. It may very well have been due to the fact that I'm coming down with a cold and felt terrible yesterday (all achy, tired, can't breathe, throat hurts from nasal drip) and had a long day at school, but here's what happened. I made it through a very long, sicky day with my kiddos (who, for the most part, were really sweet once I told them how terrible I felt) and was quite hungry by 4:30 when I was on my way to grad class. Being that my lunch is at 10:30 a.m. and then I teach the rest of the afternoon, I typically bring dinner with me to eat at the beginning of my 5-8 p.m. class. This has never been a problem before, but last night we had a seminar in the library lab. On my way to class I stopped and got a smoothie. I'd had about 2 sips when I got to the library and meandered in. The following conversation occurred (remember, this is my much biased version):

Library Reference Desk Biotch: Ma'am, you can't take that drink in here. (Points to a "Food and Drink Caddy" where apparently students are supposed to leave their food and/or cups for just any ol' random person to take if they so choose.)

Me: Oh! Um, I'm sorry I didn't realize. I just have a class downstairs tonight. Can I just take it down there and leave it outside the classroom? I won't be using the library. I'm just here for class.

Biotch: No. There are no food or drinks allowed in the library.

Me: I understand, but I just have class here tonight, and as you can see, I'm pregnant, and I just bought this, so I'd really love to be able to take it down there with me so I can drink it when we have breaks.

Biotch: No. That's part of the library and no food or drinks are allowed anywhere in the library. You'll have to leave it outside on the caddy. Or drink it now. (Mind you, it's now 4:59 and class starts at 5 p.m.)

Me: (Banging my smoothie on the caddy...) I CAN'T drink it now, I have class now. (Walking by her desk....) Don't worry, I'm only 32 weeks pregnant (I'm actually 31, but 32 sounds so much better for these purposes, don't you think?) and haven't eaten since 10:30 this morning. I hope it won't be on your shoulders if I go in to convulsions from lack of nutrition!!!

Luckily, this story has a semi-happy ending in that my smoothie was still there when I left class at 7:30. Despite it's watered-down consistency, it was still quite delicious. (And I didn't have any convulsions.) :) I'd like to be able to say that I feel badly about my outburst, but it had been a long day, I didn't feel good and this lady couldn't make ONE exception?!?! So, I guess what I'm saying is, even after sleeping on it, I'm still feeling like I had every right to be upset about her stupid rule. :)

Judge Judy....er, Eileen, RN.

So Jay and I went to Birthing/Lamaze Class today with my friend Kelly and her husband Trey--for 8 hours. It was a long day...made much more bearable thanks to the giggling that occurred between the 4 of us. Unfortunately, the nurse wasn't a huge fan of us. And it started when Kelly and I walked in with coffee and she said, "I guess it's okay that you're drinking coffee." And then later reminded the class that some of us who are caffeine drinkers will need to drink more water during labor since we're apparently so sinful. Oh, I'm sorry Miss RN. I didn't realize you were perfect when you were pregnant and never had a sip of caffeine. And thanks for not thinking about the possibility that our coffee might be decaf! (BTW, Kelly's was decaf...mine wasn't--but still--she didn't know that. It very well could have been!) Judger.

And then we got the giggles about the drawings of the women's perky boobs despite their huge pregnant bellies. (I bet they don't get stretch marks either!) She turned to us and said, "What's so funny?" Busted. Just like I like to do with my students at school. Not so fun when it's turned on you...

And then we got the giggles when we had to practice our breathing techniques and get in awkward labor positions.

And I took pictures during one of our breaks. Bet she looked down on that too. But Jay was really in to it. Guess I'm the only crazy who wants to take pictures of birthing class for my blog. :)

Overall, it was a good day. And we learned a lot. And I feel a lot more prepared to birth a child. (Though I'm sure I'll forget it all with the first contraction.)

Spring is...

in the air my heart! And I am so ready for spring clothes. (And wish that I could fit in to them!) I went to Old Navy the other day b/c they have a pretty decent maternity section...but what I wanted was so not maternity. Yet I tried it all on thinking maybe-maybe-I could make the clothes work. Ha! And what I saw in store must be so new that most of the clothes aren't even showing up online yet. So here are just a couple of things I found in store and online...

And OMG I can't wait until I can wear a belt again!!! How cute is my adorable (former) roomie in her belt?

And this one from Old Navy?

Should I buy them (even though it's 10 weeks early) for my post-partum Spring clothes?