Baby Blev

back to blogging???

2012-01-01T16:26:00.000-05:00

ehh....let's be honest. i kinda doubt it. :) but, i want to accomplish some goals in 2012 and i wanted them listed somewhere permanently so i can review them. and i've learned that i tend to lose paper lists (though i still make them and then can't find them to check off my accomplishments!). since last april, which is the last time i posted, i've been tempted to post quite a few times, but i would re-read what i wrote to Hud on his birthday and just couldn't bring myself to write something else and take away from that e-letter to my one-year-old. Hud's quickly racing towards two, and with the new year right around the corner, i feel like i can finally bring myself to write on the blog again. i look at all these other busy mamas who still find time to keep a blog, and am inspired to try to keep mine up better. i mean, what an awesome "permanent" memory keeper!

so...while i'm not really a new year's resolution maker (they seem so fake and difficult to keep), these are my goals for 2012:

1. lose 10-15 lbs by april
2. budget better and keep to the budget!
3. make one new recipe a week
4. have a date-night with jay at least every other week
5. blog at least once a month (i can handle that, right?) :)
6. organize my house (maybe follow the 52 week challenge?)
7. create a month-in-photos book

what are your goals for 2012? (hello? is anyone there? does any body even read this blog any more? haha.) can you think of any other goals i should have???

talk to me! :)

Happy 1st Birthday Hud!

2011-04-08T21:47:00.000-04:00

Hudson, sweet child of mine,

One year ago today (almost to the minute!) you graced this world with your presence. And I promise you, dear boy, the world will never be the same. From the moment of your birth to today, you have been the sweetest baby and so easy to care for. You are a delight to be around and everyone near you knows it. Your toothless grin lights up your eyes which light up a room. You have the best personality! Typically you are either: thoughtful (in which you sit and ponder a toy or person), determined (for example, we watched you push a wagon round-n-round tonight and nothing could slow you down be it shoe, rug or furniture), sweet (in which you give me kiss after sloppy kiss), or silly (playing patty-cake, so big!, and just hamming it up for your audience). You make me and your daddy and everyone around you sooo happy and I just can't put in to words what you mean to us. We can't imagine what our life was like before you were in it. You are such a joy and we are blessed to be your parents. On this first birthday, I wish you all the happiness in the world and pray that we will always provide you with a safe, healthy and happy home.

Happy 1st Birthday Hudson. I love you to the moon.....and back.

xoxo,
Mommy

photos courtesy of meg davidson photography

Snow Day!

2011-01-10T15:16:00.000-05:00

School's closed today, probably tomorrow, and maybe even Wednesday?!?! We've already gotten close to a half foot of snow, and now it's sleeting....

Top 10 in 2010

2010-12-31T15:42:00.000-05:00

Happy Last Day of 2010!!

I'm well aware I haven't blogged in over a month, and for that I apologize. But, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year....and we wish and hope the same for you and yours! I've seen + heard about other bloggers doing this and thought it only appropriate that I at least blog again before the end of 2010. These are our families top events throughout the year in chronological order...

10. Hudson's BIRTHday....of course!

Sure, this was 4 months into the year, but Jay and I are pretty sure that nothing cool happened to us in those days before April 8, 2010. Hudson has blessed our lives more than we could have ever imagined and has made this year the best we've ever had!

9. Graduating from Grad School

I'm still not sure how I managed to finish grad school in the month after Hudson was born, but on May 22, 2010 (my Sissy's 24th birthday) I graduated with my Master's in Teaching and got a nice pay raise! Thank you to my understanding professor's at Mercer University! (This pic was from a little graduation party we had since I chose not to "walk" at graduation.)

8. Grams turned 90!!!

And Jay and his family got to go out to Electra, TX to celebrate with her. Unfortunately, we decided it was best for Hud and I to stay behind, but we were celebrating Grams in spirit!

7. My 1st Mother's Day

What is there to say? I finally understand why mothers around the world looooove this holiday. I love being a Mommy!!!

6. Jay's 1st Father's Day

We celebrated with a Father's Day breakfast at J. Christopher's with Jay's family. I got a yucky stomach bug later, but that gave Jay more time to just hang out with his favorite little guy.

5. SEASIDE

In July we went on a family vacation with Jay's family to Seaside, Florida...a.k.a. my favorite place in the world. My family used to vacation there every Spring Break and it's my little Heaven on Earth. Our plan is to make it an annual thing...my fingers are crossed!

4. Linds + Bryan got Engaged!!!

On August 6, 2010, Bryan proposed to my sister in Laguna Beach, CA and we got to surprise her and showed up moments after he popped the question and spent the night with them celebrating! It couldn't have happened without our parents and we thank them for that....we will never forget it! If you want to read more about their engagement story, read it here.

3. Thanksgiving

Pics from our Thanksgiving weekend....we have so much for which to be thankful!

2. Atlanta's 1st White Christmas in 100+ years

This would have been my favorite Christmas anyway (it's like being a kid again when you're the parent!), but then it snowed for the first time on Christmas day in Atlanta in over 100 years! And it didn't just snow, we got multiple inches, and it stayed for days! It was so pretty, and even though Huddy won't remember it, we have pictures to prove to him that it snowed on his first Christmas (and probably the only time it will in his lifetime).

1. Booked our Trip to Meet Hud's Great-Grandpa + Grandma (although it'll happen in early 2011)...what a way to ring in the New Year! We can't wait to see them in Arizona!

I hope 2011 brings you as much joy as 2010 brought us, and may God bless you!

Election Day Off = Halloween Weekend Recap

2010-11-03T18:29:00.000-04:00

Gwinnett County gave us the day off for Election Day today so I figured I'd use the opportunity to upload my photos from this weekend to share with you. Enjoy....

A happy boy on Game Day

All decked out in Halloween gear, and split between Georgia and Florida!

Opening his present from Aunt Kara and Aunt Christine!

A house divided!

...but we still love each other!

Trying water out of a sippy cup for the first time.

Halloween Night. An angel and a skeleton.

Going trick-or-treating in the wagon....like big boys!

A witch and a ghost answered the door!

All tuckered out after eating all that sugar.

Just kidding. :)

....And go vote!!!

I Had a Dream

2010-11-01T19:35:00.001-04:00

I had a dream last night that Hudson and I were on a jet and, for some reason, in order to protect Hudson or save him, I had to put him in a pod and eject him from the plane while we were over the ocean. I knew that by doing so he had the best chance of survival, but it was nearly impossible to do. As I watched the pod with my baby in it plummet toward the ocean, I thought about how crazy it was that I was putting his safety in the "hands" of that pod and fate, but that I had to have faith that what I was doing was going to save him.

When I left Hudson at Open Arms, his daycare (or school as I'm calling it), for the first time this morning, I felt the familiar feeling that I'd felt during my dream. I know that he'll do great at school and that he's going to learn so much and make friends, but it goes against my motherly instinct and every. bone. in. my. body. to leave him in the care of people who don't know him (no matter how sweet and caring they are--and Miss Angela and Miss Erika certainly are), love him and would die for him.

But I have faith. I have faith that God has him there for a reason. And I know that He loves him even more than I do.....even if that seems impossible. :)

Bright and early before school...too excited to eat!

On our way!

Playing at school the moment we arrived...there are so many more toys than at home!

Pumpkin Love

2010-10-31T00:08:00.000-04:00

Do you love pumpkin as much as I do?!?! If so, check out the following from fellow bloggers, family and friends....they are tried and tested by moi. :)

1. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
http://www.flythroughourwindow.com/2010/10/my-eyelids-are-held-open-with-toothpicks/
(You'll have to scroll a ways down for the recipe (easiest thing I've ever made!), but as a reward, you'll get to see Darby's little rovers and her other creative projects.)

2. Pumpkin (or squash) Risotto
http://igameals.com/?p=167
This recipe is from a girl I knew in high school! It's not too pumpkin-y and went really well with rotisserie chicken and pear and praline pecan salad. (Thanks for the help with pairing the food, Mom!)

3. Fran's Pumpkin Pie Dip
I got this recipe from Jay's aunt. Mmmm....

10 oz. cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat)
3/4 c. pumpkin
1/2 c. packed brown sugar (I used the Splenda kind)
1 1/2 Tbsp. orange juice
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves

Process in food processor until smooth. Serve with gingersnaps (or 'Nilla Wafers!).

4. Pumpkin Baby
Take small bites, please!

Do you have any pumpkin recipes you can share with me? Due to my fear of a pumpkin shortage, I just bought an insane amount of canned pumpkin and would love to use it in some new recipes! Please share in your comment. :)

Happy Halloween! xoxo

You know you've been a parent for 6 months when....

2010-10-26T13:56:00.000-04:00

....you completely forget to turn the monitor on one night and don't realize it until it's time to get up the next morning!

P.S. Please don't turn us in to DFACS. :)

Hudson @ 5 and 6 months!!!

2010-10-23T23:07:00.001-04:00

Hello?!?! Is anyone there?!?!

Probably not, but in case there's a lone soul out there who still checks my blog, here's a sampling of the latest pics of Huddy Buddy from the past month....

Chillin' on his tummy, playing, wanting to crawl...@ 5 months

The best "nest" picture I got of Hud @ 5 months...except I forgot the egg! Grr...

Comforting the sweet boy after he decided he no longer liked the "nest."

One more try....

Okay...we'll just play with the egg on Mommy's lap then!

Seriously--he's that happy. And he makes me that happy!

Sitting all by himself....the day before turning 6 months old.

He's loving being able to sit by himself!

Those eyes. Those cheeks. Those lips.

And this is the other face he makes when he's not smiling. So serious and deep in concentration!

Happy 6 month birthday Hudson!

Opening up his half-birthday present. :)

Blocks!

Mmmm....the citron block is yummy!

We got to have a play date on my furlough day with Kelly and Kaden! It was so precious to watch the boys interact with each other for the first time.

Kade was waaay better at "army crawling!" That smirk on his face reads: Eat. My. Dust.

His 6 month "nest" photo shoot went much better than @ 5 mos. now that he thinks he's a big boy.

....I'd really like to take a bite outta this egg....

Well, that all for now. I'd like to say you'll hear from me soon, but who knows when the next time will be. At least know I have ideas for future posts that I would love to work on when I find the time. ;)

Besos!!!

Hudson @ 4 Months (Even though he's almost 5 months!)

2010-09-03T17:49:00.000-04:00

And now the outakes:

Where's the baby?

Ooh...an egg....

Mmm...wraphia....

Wait...where do you want me to look again, Mom? And why'd ya have to move the egg so far away from me?

What? Who me? I love this egg!

I Wanna Be a Billionaire So Frickin' Bad

2010-08-03T21:47:00.001-04:00

To quote Travie McCoy. :)

Tomorrow I go back to school/work. My heart hurts. I can't stop crying. I love my students, and I love my job, but I want to be at home with my baby more than anything else. So I wish I was a billionaire and could. If you win the lottery and have some extra, feel free to send my way. Just kidding. Sorta. Not really.

I've been trying to write this post for days now, and just couldn't get the words out. And then I got this poem from my aunt. To say she has "a way with words" just doesn't do her poems justice.It's like she can see into my soul. She's been sending them to me since my pregnancy though I know she's been writing about topics other than Nugget/Baby Blev/Hudson for years. I hope she doesn't mind me sharing this with you all, but it's easier to post what she wrote than to write it myself. I'm worn out from crying!

"My Heart in Your Heart"

Anut Kay*

Today I will put my heart in your heart

So you will know it’s only a brief time apart.

I can’t imagine I will be able to breathe

As I turn away towards the door to leave.

Make myself put one foot in front of the other.

In the car, concentrate on being a safe, connected driver.

A pull so great and longing to turn back so deep,

Fight back the tears so I can see down the street.

Get through the work day as I would normally do,

A huge difference is all I want is to talk about you.

My spirit hovering for the moment I may hear your name,

The only comfort the day can offer is your face in a frame.

Navigate through conversations with others like an adult,

Remember other subjects other than you is not an insult.

I will eventually have to forgive them for not realizing,

It won’t be long before they will know you are so amazing.

The last bell rings, got to get going, the day is finally done,

Everyone outta-my-way, yes that’s right, I’m going to run.

Rush in the door, search the room to get you in my line of sight,

Oh yes, my baby boy back in my arms, once again all is right.

Tomorrow I will once again put my heart in your heart.

*Yes, I intentionally spelled Aunt, Anut. Little inside joke.

P.S. I may have proofread & edited a bit. :) I am an English teacher after all!

Revenge of the Lizard!

2010-07-29T14:34:00.000-04:00

Sorry for my absence! (I apologize for that a lot, don't I?) We were on vacay for the past week in Seaside...and while this post was supposed to be pictures of our vacation, I just had to share this with you instead. :)

On Monday, my mom came over very early to babysit for me while I coached conditioning for my cheerleading squad and started setting up my classroom. (The heartache I'm feeling as I prepare to go back to work in 5 days will be saved for another post.) I called her around 10 a.m. to check in...only to find out that she & Hudson were being held captive in the kitchen because there was a lizard under the chair in the family room! (Side note here: my mom is terrified of lizards!) By the time I got home, my other mother, Suzy, was also there and the two of them were intent on getting that lizard out of my house! The 3 of us spent the next few hours hunting Mr. Lizard. He went under the chair, we flipped over the chair, he went under the couch we Swiffered him out. We swept him, we sprayed him with Windex, we threw a Windex-soaked paper towel over him, we beat him with the Swiffer. He wouldn't leave and he wouldn't die. In the end, he took retreat in my glass-encased fireplace by climbing through the grate. My mom & I then spent the next few hours taking turns watching the fireplace in case he came back out. Seriously, we took turns. If someone had to pee or get a glass of water, we'd tag out and put the other in charge. Our eyes were crossing. And Mr. L taunted us. Oh, how he taunted us. He'd stick his head out, then his tail...but he NEVER. CAME. OUT. By the time Jay came home, we were at our wit's end. We'd finally flung the fireplace grate down, only to find....NOTHING. I went to bed telling myself that Mr. L had either found a way out through the fireplace or had died in there.

And then this morning I came home from cheerleading conditioning and saw a tail slither under the chair as I walked in to the family room. F**K! Luckily I'd just put Hud down for a nap, so I lifted up the chair....NOTHING. Was my mind playing tricks on me? I moved the ottoman and saw him scamper back under the chair. WAR. ON.

I chased him with the broom all around our family room and kitchen. I flipped over furniture. I sprayed him with everything in our closet. Cursing at him all the while. And finally, finally I beat him to death with the Swiffer.

Here are the post-war photos:

Yeah, I flipped the couch by myself.

My "weapons."

The chair ended up in the kitchen. On its back. And on the right is our all-natural bug spray that I tried to drown Mr. L in.

Dead & Captured. RIP Mr. L.

Apparently, lizards stick their tongues out when they die. Or I beat his tongue out of him.

Oh, did I forget to mention he wasn't a cute little green lizard? He was HUGE & BLACK.

A Quilt to Remember

2010-07-14T17:06:00.000-04:00

My mom's dear friend Jean is a creative genius. Seriously--this woman has creativity pouring out of her! She makes hand-made pottery, pillows, you name it. And the decor of her beachy California home is just gorgeous and comfy all at once.

She made this quilt for Hudson. It's so beautiful I don't know whether to hang it, drape it, or actually use it 24/7. We are so blessed to be on the receiving end of her creativity & generosity.

Just look at that fabric!!!

The dove. I love the dove. And of course the nest...

Close-up of the nest. Notice that is says Hudson Will Blevins. Yes, that is a sepia photo of Hud & me transposed on cloth. And let's not forget the baby blue egg. Perfection.

Close-up of the dragonfly.

This is the other side of the quilt. Turquoise softness! And a nakey-boy. :)

There are no words to explain the swelling & tightness in my chest when I look at this.

Can you see the little spot of pee??? The kid NEVER pees when I'm changing his diaper or during bath time, but as soon as I put him down on this beautiful blanket and start snapping pictures, he pees. I'm so sorry Jean!!!

And some day, he'll be so embarrassed by this photo of his bum...but just look at that little thing!

A Lovely Tribute...

2010-07-11T18:38:00.000-04:00

....to one of the fabulous books that I teach and love. Visit this blog and read. If you haven't read To Kill A Mockingbird, stop what you're doing right now, find a copy, and read it. And then read The Help. And while, unfortunately, race is still an issue all over the world, be thankful that we're a little more colorblind today than we used to be. Help me by doing what you can to make this a colorblind world. I know I sound corny, but we're all the same inside.

P.S. Viva Espana! Congrats to Spain on the World Cup 2010! Te amo y hecho de menos mucho!

Hudson @ 3 Months

2010-07-09T13:36:00.000-04:00

Taking these pictures is becoming much more difficult! Hud looooved the wraphia that I use to make the nest....he was grabbing handfuls! But, once again, such a good sport. :) I hope his laid-back attitude sticks around for a long time!

From Father's Day...a Family Photo

2010-07-07T18:48:00.000-04:00

The Help

2010-07-03T17:19:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, I've been MIA again. I'm reading The Help with every spare moment I have. And I probably won't be back until I've finished. It makes me want to write...and to write about something important. You should read it too.

Hope you have a glorious day tomorrow.... Happy 4th of July!

Happy Birthday Big Dog!!!

2010-06-25T14:04:00.001-04:00

Huddy, Jay and I love you very much!!!

Greece is the word!

2010-06-24T22:39:00.000-04:00

Confession: I am a blog stalker. (As are many of you!) My mom & sis are as bad as me--if not worse.

Now that that's out of the way, I can tell you that 2 of the blogs we're obsessed with are Darby's & Erika's--twin sisters who are just so. dang. cool. For their 30th birthday they went to Italy.

That got Linds and I thinking....we may not be twins, but we're as-close-as-you-can-get-sisters, and we should go on a trip together for one of our 30th birthdays! And since mine is closer (less than 3 years away!) it gave us a good excuse to start dreaming...so....

Greece...here we come!!! (In our minds, anyway!)

P.S. So sorry I've been MIA....I'm back, I promise!! :) xoxo

Weigh-In Wednesday + Hudson @ 2 Months

2010-06-09T11:35:00.000-04:00

Since I'll be keeping track of my healthy eating, exercising, and weight loss on here, I decided Hump Day would make for a nice update-day. (Why? Because it's the middle of the week, rather than the beginning or end, and because of the alliteration! I am an English teacher, afterall!)

Drum roll please....

Week 1 Total Weight Loss = 2.5 lbs.(!!!)

And now for the honesty. Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred is hard! So hard in fact, that I've only been doing it every other day. On the off days I've walked or done push-ups, crunches, and stretched. I just don't have the endurance that I used to. I'm really hoping to build that back up!

And for the good stuff....

Yesterday was Huddy's 2 month Birthday! And he was such a trooper with my silly pictures. :)

Hudson:

How old?: 2 months

Weight?: 11lbs. 7oz.

Length: 23"

Size clothes: Mostly 0-3 months...he can still fit into a few newborns and has worn a couple 3-6 mos., but they're a little big!
Movement: He absolutely loves to stand on our laps while we hold him under his arms and look all around. He also loves looking in mirrors. (I would too if I looked like him!)

Me:

Stretch marks?: Yep. Using Mederma to try and get rid of them. Good news is that my belly button is starting to look more normal and my linea nigra has faded significantly!

Sleep?: We're going to drop the middle of the night feeding this weekend...wish us luck!!!
Weight loss: 22.5 lbs. Jillian is kicking my butt!

What I'm looking forward to: Going to the beach with the Hudster and Hubby's fam in July!

Best moment of the month: I'm turning my worst moment of the month into the best...comforting my son (or him comforting me!) after his 2-month-old shots.

Weight Loss Goal

2010-06-05T11:01:00.000-04:00

You voted...and my weight loss goal is....

Lose up to 2 lbs. a week!!!

And the good news is that I've already met this week's goal! I got on the scale yesterday just to see where I was at and I'd already lost 2 lbs. :) Jillian Michaels is doing her job!! She's kicking my butt, but if it works, I'm all for it.

I'll keep you updated!

Motivation by Humiliation

2010-05-31T21:55:00.001-04:00

I've been OKd by the Doc for major exercise. I've plateaued in my weight loss. It's June 1st. Therefore, I'm taking my weight loss up a notch.

Image from essence.com

For those of you who don't listen to Atlanta's The Bert Show on Q100, Motivation by Humiliation is a segment they do to motivate listeners to reach their weight loss goal. Here's how it works: Jay has taken a photograph of me in shorts and a sports bra (I'm not brave enough to don a bikini). If I don't reach my goal by July 1st, I have to post the picture on this blog. (Sorry Joe!) If that's not motivation, what is?

What's my goal you ask? Well, you all are going to help me choose it! Please vote in the above poll What is Mama Bird's Weight Loss Goal? by Friday to help me choose.

In the meantime, I'll be working out and eating healthy....wish me luck!

I Wanna Win--Please Help Me!

2010-05-24T21:43:00.001-04:00

How awesome are these mobiles? Doesn't Huddy need one? Check out her blog, mobiles, and comment to help me win! But you gotta promise that if you win, you'll give me the mobile and not keep it for yourself...no matter how badly you want to. ;)

http://simplecasualliving.blogspot.com/2010/05/citycottage-shop-give-away.html#comment-form

xoxo

Melts My Heart

2010-05-23T20:56:00.002-04:00

A yawn.

A look.

And a smile.

Happy Birthday to...

2010-05-22T17:01:00.002-04:00

Who's as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside, talks faster than anyone I know, makes me laugh at least once a day, has been my best friend since the moment she was born, has never let me be the boss of her (even though Lord knows I've tried), loves me even though I love the spotlight, should be my personal shopper, and is the best aunt to Huddy??? That's right...Aunt Sissy!

She is 24 years old today and I love her with all my heart. She should be celebrated every day of the year!

Happy Birthday Linds! xoxo

The BEST Dinner

2010-05-18T22:13:00.002-04:00

I'm only sorry I didn't take pictures. It was so colorful and beautiful! I was too hungry and it looked too appetizing to take the time for photos. I literally cleaned my plate--practically licked it.

I wanted to share this with y'all because if you're anything like me and Jay, you have a stupid-hard time deciding what to eat for dinner e.v.e.r.y. night. Oh--and did I mention how easy it was?!?!

The following recipe has been modified from Publix's Apron's Simple Meals:

Grilled Fish & Tropical Salsa, Avocado Salad, Sweet Potato & Corn Muffins (serves 4)

1 lb. tropical fruit salad (bite-size pineapple, strawberries, kiwi)
1/2 c. grape tomatoes
2 tbs. fresh cilantro (finely chopped)
4 tilapia fillets
1 tbs. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt & pepper blend
A squirt of honey

Combine fruit, tomatoes, cilantro, balsamic vinegar and honey for salsa. Season both sides of fish with seasoned salt and pepper blend. Grill fish. Top with tropical salsa.

A tiny bit of minced garlic
2 tbs. E.V.O.
2 tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 bag of romaine lettuce
1 c. grape tomatoes
1/4 c. diced red onions
1 avocado

Combine garlic, oil and vinegar in a medium bowl and whisk until well-blended. Add lettuce, tomatoes and onions. Cut avocado into bite-size pieces. Add to salad; toss to blend.

I served the fish and salad with corn muffins and a sweet potato. DELISH. And with the sweet potato (and a little brown sugar on top), we didn't even need dessert!

Bon Apetit!

Da Boys

2010-05-17T13:56:00.001-04:00

We got the Blevins grandbabies together last night for a rockin' good time. Drew is such a good big bro and cuz. And thanks to Kari & Dave for dinner!

(from L.) Grady, Drew & Hudson

a.k.a. Gradymeister, Drew Man & Huddy Buddy

I know I'm biased, but aren't these boys beautiful?

The Kween's Designs: A Shameless Plug

2010-05-16T15:37:00.000-04:00

For those of you who don't know my mom, she is an extremely creative, multi-talented woman. Before I was born and for the first three years of my life, she was the Director of Merchandising for Contempo Casuals (now Wet Seal), then as a stay-at-home-mom she gave entrepreneuership a whirl and created Sweet Shirts in which she designed and created women's and children's clothing during the late 80s and early 90s and then had a prosperous booth at an antique store in the mid 90s. She now works at a lovely decor boutique called C'est Moi and does freelance interior design work under the name A Change of Space.

A few weeks before Baby Blev/Nugget/Hudson's arrival, my mom got the idea to hand-paint a few onesies for him. Because of my obsession with all things nest & bird surrounding my little bird's nursery, she had the idea to paint a nest on the onesie with a blue & green egg. She also created one with a bird on it. As some friends recently had babies too, she painted a few for them (some with pink & yellow eggs for girls!). I think they're so fabulous that she could sell them at baby boutiques!

Hudson's tee is signed with a "g" for Gamsie!

an example of a onesie...and up close...

Unfortunately, my mom doesn't ever think the things she creates are as fabulous as they really are, so with her permission, I'm tooting her horn and advertising for her! If you think her creations are as adorable as I do, and you have a baby or toddler you can buy for, please email her at kweenie13@aol.com and let her know the size and gender of your little one and she'll create a one-of-a-kind baby onesie or t-shirt for you! These hand-painted creations are $20...and if you have your own idea or want something even more unique, just ask her in your email and she may be able to paint it just for your little one. :)

Hudson @ 1 Month

2010-05-12T14:53:00.002-04:00

Hudson's 1 month birthday was on Saturday (5.8.10) so I'm a little behind in posting this. My plan is to take a photo of our little bird in a nest with an egg declaring how old he is every month. I'll try to be on time the rest of the 11 months! :)

Hudson:

How old?: 1 month

Weight?: 9lbs. 7oz.

Length: 21 3/4"

Size clothes: Newborn and 0-3 months...it depends on the brand...baby clothes are weird!

Movement: He can hold his head up pretty well, loooves tummy time, and has even rolled on to his back from the tummy position!

Me:

Stretch marks?: Yep. They appeared in the last few weeks of pregnancy...trying to get rid of them. :)

Sleep?: Depends on the night, but Hud has started to go 4-5 hours between feedings at night which = more sleep for Mama!

Weight loss: 20 lbs. (-12 lbs. right away and -8 more since then! Still just on a "walking" regimen until my 6 week appt., but I have ordered Jillian Michael's 30-day Shred (as seen on Mrs. Southern Belle's blog and encouraged by my sister).

What I'm looking forward to: Every day. :)
Best moment of the month: Every moment. But if I have to choose one, it would be waking up and seeing Huddy's face on my first Mother's Day.

When I grow up, I want to be Kelly Ripa

2010-05-11T17:31:00.001-04:00

or Reese Witherspoon. I think both of these women are just absolutely adorable. And as I'm home now, I've been watching Live! with Regis & Kelly and I've noticed that she wears nude pumps or sandals almost every day. No matter what outfit she's wearing. I'm sure I'm behind on this trend, but I decided I had to have a pair of nude pumps.

So I found these

and these

both from Nine West. They didn't have my size.

Then my sis found these on Piperlime

but once again, they didn't have my size.

And then my mom found these Cole Haan's.

I can only imagine how comfy my feet would be if I could afford a Cole Haan!

Or these Stuart Weitzman pumps

or peep toes

Oh Cole and Stuwie...why do you have to be so expensive?!?!

But have no fear...DSW and Jessica Simpson are here! I exchanged a pair of boring flats and got these instead...

Yay!

10 Things I Hated About This Weekend

2010-05-10T09:09:00.001-04:00

10. Jay had to leave us for the long weekend. (But--it was totally worth it. He was able to be present at his grandmother's 90th birthday celebration. Happy Birthday Grams!)

9. Because he was out of town, Jay missed Hud's 1 month birthday. (Pics to come!)

8. Time spent with my dear friends (4+ hours) wasn't long enough. (Nor did we have enough laughs...ha!)

7. I didn't get enough pictures of these two. Can there ever be enough?

6. This was only the first time Hudson & I were invited to dinner with my mom and her girlfriends. We're crossing our fingers we'll be asked back...what lovely women!

5. Jay wasn't home for this:

Ellie got sick and pooped all over the first floor. And yes--it was runny.

4. A text from my former roomie and one of my best friends sat unnoticed for two hours. It read: "We're engaged!" And I still haven't seen her...or the ring.

3. Hudson slept through our shopping trip to Scott's Antique Market and didn't get to see all the beautiful furniture & decor.

2. My mom and I didn't get enough of It's Complicated. (Hudson & I gave it to her early for Mother's Day!)

1. Mother's Day ended. I couldn't have asked for a better first Mother's Day. What an absolute joy it is being a mom! This has been the best month of my life...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And a Happy (belated) Mother's day to my sweet Mommy. She is the best mom a girl could ask for and I love watching her as a 1st time grandmother!

Mommy-suits

2010-05-06T16:04:00.000-04:00

Thanks to ole' Huddy Buddy, I might not ever wear a bikini again. But who needs a bikini when Land's End has these adorable tankinis?!?! And of course, I was too slow on the draw and missed their 40% off swimwear sale last week. Sad day. But I'm determined to wait it out until they go on sale again...cross your fingers for me!

I've yet to share this with many people, but Hud gave me some wicked stretch marks around my belly button. I'm determined to make them look a little better and recently bought Mederma b/c it's the cheapest stretch mark therapy cream I can find. I'm tempted to take before & after pics to see the difference...what do you think, should I do it?!?!

I think I can...I think I can...

2010-05-04T14:48:00.000-04:00

CRAWL!!!

That's right folks. Hudson is less than one month old, but he loves his tummy time!!! And totally frogs around like he thinks he's gonna crawl right off the mat.

Oh, and he can practically do push-ups.

Photo courtesy of Curtis Baker Photography

My kid is such a stud.

Hudson's 1st Bath

2010-05-02T14:52:00.000-04:00

As I changed Hudson's diaper today, he had a nice, runny shart. The perfect time for his first bath!!! (Don't worry, I've been bathing him, but have just been giving him sponge baths.) This poop required much more than sponging. :) My dad was over, so he got to assist....thanks Dad!

I know a man named Michael Finnigan...

Did you sing that song when you took baths as a kid? Or is that a Willhite family tradition only? Comment and finish the song if you can!

The Friends & Family Plan

2010-05-01T14:34:00.000-04:00

Hudson & I have been so lucky the past few weeks with all of our visitors!! My mom, dad and Jay's parents visit regularly, Jay's aunt Fran came to meet Hudson, friends have provided us with food, and my aunt Kay is coming at the end of the month! So even though I haven't posted daily about their visits, I have been good about getting pictures of everybody with Huddy Buddy and wanted you all to see them...

Hud with his Pops & Gaga

Uncle Dave

Aunt Sissy & Bryan

Kelly...with Kade still in her belly! (Thank GOD he's not anymore, huh Kel?!?)

Miss Suzy

Aunt Sissy loving on some Hud.

Christin & Rich...you guys next?!? Haha.

Aunt Fran was here to meet Hud and celebrate her birthday!

Papi!!!

Hud & his girlfriend, Nora

Aunt Kari & cousin Drew

I love my Baby Bjorn!

2010-04-30T16:31:00.000-04:00

Dear Readers of Mommy's Blog,

Hudson here. I just wanted to write to sing the praises of the Baby Bjorn. You see, as of the last couple of days, I've been extremely fussy if not being held--seriously--it doesn't matter if I'm asleep or awake.
I. Want. To. Be. In. Someone's. Arms.

But now that I weigh 8 lbs (well, 7lbs., 15.8oz to be exact....but Mommy said that's practically 8 lbs.), I get to hang out in the Baby Bjorn while Mommy tries to get stuff done around the house. It's the best of both worlds! She feels like she's accomplishing enough to justify spending the entire day at home (I know, I know, tell her to give herself a break...she's on Maternity Leave for crying out loud!) and I get to nuzzle up right against her! ***Sigh***

Here I am trying it out last night with Daddy.

And here's a pic of me and Mommy today! She's already done a load of laundry and we're typing this blog together! (I promise I'm in there...I was just taking a short snooze...)

Now if only we could figure out a way for her to get a shower while I'm in this thing...

Happy Anniversary Ellie

2010-04-30T13:13:00.000-04:00

This weekend was the 1 year anniversary of our life with Ellie. We sure are thankful for her! And so proud of her since Hudson's arrival. While she's always been super sweet, she's also a rambunctious 2-year-old puppy. But now that Hudson is here and we are at home most of the day every day, she is calmer, less mischevious, and even sweeter if possible. Our only difficulty is keeping her from licking her baby brother from head to toe!

The day we adopted her. It was love at first sight!

Today. Click on the link below to see a beautiful photo of Miss Ellie May thanks to Curtis Baker.

http://curty.zenfolio.com/hudson/e11227d9c

Hudson's 1st Photo Shoot

2010-04-24T09:03:00.001-04:00

Hud may be a model some day! Or not. :)

Over the last couple of days (yes, it took more than one shoot), an old friend of ours from high school--Megan--now a photographer, came over to take newborn pics of Hud. You know those really cute pictures of newborns where they're asleep and all curled up in baskets, hats, and on top of dressers, etc.? Yeah, she couldn't get much of those because apparently Hudson likes to stay awake during photo shoots and track the camera and look directly into the lens! Luckily, Megan's a great photographer and still got some great shots! And even though we hadn't seen each other in forever, it was great spending time with her and getting to meet her little ones (who I've--naturally--been following on facebook). Huddy Buddy and I are looking forward to playdates!

Check out the rest of some of the photos on Megan's blog: http://theothermegan.com/blog/?p=414

A Day in the Life

2010-04-21T22:22:00.000-04:00

Wednesday 4.21.10
Hudson is 13 days old

7:30 - 8:00a.m. 1st feeding of the day! Then a little wake time and nap time in which I found time to get ready (sans shower ;)), and make our first trip out! We went to Starbucks and Target...all by ourselves! Sure, my knuckes were white from gripping the steering wheel so hard, but we did it. :)

11a.m. 2nd feeding of the day + wake time + nap time. Hudson and I hung out and then Mommy took some time to "work" (a.k.a. update my blog) around the house and have lunch.

Oh, and Ellie looked out for her brudder.

2p.m. 3rd feeding of the day + a walk around the neighborhood during which time Huddy fell asleep which gave me time to shower when we got home.

5p.m. Daddy starts heading home (yay!) and we have our 4th feeding of the day + family time once Jay's home and *hopefully* we make and eat dinner. (Or, in reality, we just have to assemble & heat thanks to generous family & friends!)

8p.m. 5th feeding and we watch our favorite shows (American Idol, Lost, Parenthood, Glee, Braves games).

11p.m. Daddy's gone to bed by now and Huddy has his last feeding of the night. This is when I start praying that he'll fall asleep immediately after...which he did NOT do last night!

4a.m. If I'm lucky, Hudson sleeps until now and we have our middle of the night feeding...and *hopefully* go back to sleep! :)

And then we start all over again!!!

This is my new life now. And I love it. I'd always felt like God made me to be a wife and a mother, and now I'm more sure than ever! Jay and I seem to have a difficult time remembering back 14 days ago before Hudson was in our lives...

Conjunctivitis....GO AWAY.

2010-04-17T19:08:00.000-04:00

I cried over pink eye.

I knew the first little imperfection that happened to Hudson would suck, but I had no idea just how badly it would kill me.

Yesterday, he started getting a bunch of "sleep" in his eyes and I would wipe it out with a warm, wet washcloth. But during the midnight feeding, I noticed that the gunk had taken over his right eye. And what did I do? I cried. I cried like the gunk in Hudson's eye was the end of the world. And I'm pretty sure I used the words, "He could go blind." Because I didn't know what the gunk was. So we called the Children's 24-hour hotline and I talked to a nurse who assured me he was fine since he didn't have a fever. She encouraged me to call the pediatrician in the AM. (Luckily they're open 9-11 on Saturdays for this very purpose.) So we took him in this morning, and the verdict is conjunctivitis, a.k.a. pink eye. No clue how he got it, but it's not bothering him. And the fun thing is that while we were at the pediatrician, we found out he's passed his birth weight and now weighs 7lbs. 5oz.(!) and he lost his umbilical cord crust at the office.

And he's happy as a clam. :) Case-in-point:

Hanging with Mr. Ted in his crib yesterday.

Napping with Daddy this afternoon.

Wide-eyed and beautiful in Mama's arms.

And on a separate, and super-exciting note, my friend Kelly who'd been expecting along with me had her baby boy on Thursday! His name is Kaden and Hudson can't wait to meet him!

The Nursery--FINALLY!

2010-04-16T14:27:00.000-04:00

A picture post of Hudson's room...

For those of you who haven't seen our townhouse, it's a 2 bedroom, but both rooms are GINORMOUS master suites. Kinda like a roommate plan. So rather than a traditional nursery, we converted our guest room into a nursery + guest/mommy room. (I'm guessing we won't be hosting many guests soon unless they want to bunk up with Hudson and nurse him in the middle of the night!) Once Jay goes back to work, I can always sleep in there so as not to disturb Daddy. :)

When you walk in the door, this is what you see of the nursery. (I do have drapes for the windows thanks to Ikea, but haven't found rods yet so they're not up.)

To the left is the guest/mommy area. Luckily, the colors & decor we already had in the guest room worked perfectly with my nursery vision!

When you stand at the foot of the bed, you've got a great view of the crib! I used a rug (that you can barely see) to divide up the nursery area. We found the rug during a T.J. Maxx run for $40!!! The prints above the crib were free--my mom found them at Pottery Barn (in the frames that were for sale) and convinced some poor schmuck to give them to her even though apparently they're not supposed to give them away or sell them. Way to go Mom! The beautiful crib was a gift from my dad and is convertible so he'll (hopefully!) have it for life. The bedding is from CustomHouseBedding on http://www.etsy.com/ and was our big splurge. I love it!!

In this nook, the awesome Lee glider was a gift from my parents. The blanket is a hand-me-down from Jay. His Sissy (grandma) made it for him when he was born and now Hud gets to use it! The side table is one of my favorite finds. We got it at a local antique store, Queen of Hearts (www.queenofheartsantiques-interiors.com) and it was pink and $29. With a little Martha Stewart paint and Daddy Jay's skill, it's now the perfect blue! The print on the wall was a $10 find on etsy.com as well.

The bookcase is the Billy bookcase from Ikea, decorated by my mom...it looks so cute!

This was Jay's chair when he was little!

A couple of things have yet to be completed. (1) that peach-ish lampshade has got.to.go. My mom found a chocolate brown one on sale at Restoration Hardware...I've just yet to buy it. And (2) I need to get a shelf + hooks for above the changing table.

A sweet teddy bear from some dear friends and a better shot of the bedding that I oh.so.love!

This dresser started it all. My mom found it at Scott's Antique Market before we even knew if Nugget was a He- or She-Nugget, but from the cell phone photos she sent me, I knew I had to have it as the changing table and would make it work either way. I still think I'd love to use it in the future if we ever have a little girl. Oh--and inside that dresser are tons of adorable clothes passed down from Hudson's cousin's Drew & Grady.

I got the idea to have a bag on the back of the door from Urban Grace Interior's blog. I'm using it to bring clothes, diapers, etc. up & down the stairs since I'll have Hudson in my arms too. The cute canvas bag was a gift from a friend and has a strip of ribbon in brown/aqua. :)

This painting (which will hopefully be propped on a shelf soon), is an original created by Hudson's Aunt Sissy (my beautiful sister) in 1993 when she was 7!!! I wish I had a better photo of it, but I had to show y'all anyway.

Well, that's all for now! I'll get some pics posted with Hudson in them soon! XOXO

A Baby Story: Happy Birth Day Hudson!

2010-04-12T14:06:00.000-04:00

As my sweet son naps in his awesome lamb swing, I wanted to share the story of his arrival. Just 4 days after he graced the world with his presence, I'm already afraid I'm going to lose some of the details of the day if I don't get them written down! Sit down and grab a drink or snack, because you're in for the long haul....

Well, to start, my last post (below) turned out to be the REAL D-Day...I still can't believe it! Apparently, as I posted, I was in labor and didn't know. :) I had heard so many times when asking what contractions would feel like or what labor feels like, "Believe me, you'll know when you're in labor!" They were wrong.

Around 4 p.m., I decided not to go to my 5 p.m. class at Mercer because I was a little uncomfortable. I emailed my professor feeling a little bit guilty because I felt like I was exaggerating by telling him I was in the "early stages of labor" to get out of going to class. I decided to take a warm bath because I've heard that helps relieve the cramping, but was highly disappointed because the water didn't stay warm very long and wouldn't run warm any more. Jay and I finished packing for the hospital thinking we might be headed there in the next couple of days. :)

Jay was watching the Master's so we really didn't think about what we were going to do about dinner until almost 7 p.m. Neither of us could decide what we wanted, and I wasn't super hungry. Jay offered to go to the store for us, but I wanted to go too with the hopes that getting out of the house and walking around would help my cramping. We put Ellie in her crate and drove to Publix. As we walked around, I decide all that really sounded good was a smoothie so we got what we needed to make me a smoothie and Jay decided he'd just make a frozen pizza. I remembered I needed a couple of things in the "health and beauty" aisle so we went down there and I grabbed hair spray, face wash wipes, etc. and Jay started looking at body washes. This is when I should have known I was in labor. I remember thinking, "Freaking pick a body wash already!!!" But instead of saying this, I smelled his 3 options, and helped him choose a body wash then headed for the check-out aisle, praying he was behind me because I was ready to get home.

We got home and I was definitely uncomfortable. Jay let Ellie out and I started preheating the oven for his pizza. I decided to lie down on the couch and we tried to time my contractions, but they seemed so irregular. I'd have one and it would last about 30 seconds, then 6 minutes would go by and I'd have one that'd last 90 seconds and then another one immediately after that, then 3 minutes would go by and I'd have a 45 second contraction. Around this time, as Jay was making me a chocolate banana smoothie, I looked in What to Expect When You're Expecting and found a FAQ that sounded just like me. I read it to Jay and he convinced me to go ahead and call the doctor's office and get their opinion. It was about 8 p.m. at this time and I put in a page to the midwife at my Ob/Gyn. She called me back and I explained my irregular contractions while pacing around the house and breathing through a few. At first she said, "It's totally up to you...it doesn't get any easier from here, and I'm already at the hospital if you want to come in now." But as I tried to talk through a contraction, her attitude changed a bit to, "That sounds pretty intense. Why don't you go ahead and come in." OMG! We were headed to the hospital. As I began to moan and groan and try to change for the hospital, Jay packed up the car and we headed down around 8:40.

It only took us 20 minutes to get there (thank God I wasn't in labor during rush hour or Baby Blev might've been born in the car!) and we parked with the flashers on in front of L&D and went inside to check in. I immediately sat down and groaned through a couple of contractions (probably terrifying the little girl sitting in the waiting room next to me) while Jay checked me in. At one point, the admissions lady looked at me and asked, "Is this your first?" And I thought, "Is it that obvious? I know, I know, I'm being a big baby about these contractions. I'm definitely going to need an epidural!!" She then asked me if I felt the need to push and I said, "Kinda..."

At that point, we went in to "rush mode." We were given our L&D room assignment and walked to the room where I quickly found out I was already 8 cm. dilated!!! The RN asked me if I wanted an epidural. I declined because I figured at this point I'd probably gone through the worst of the contractions and I'd really hoped to be able to give birth without it anyway. I did ask for pain meds though and as she started to give me an IV, my water broke. Next thing I know, a midwife whom I'd never seen nor met before introduced herself to me explaining that my midwife, Libby, was in the OR with a c-section and that she'd be delivering my baby. Whatever. I just wanted somebody to deliver this baby...and the sooner, the better!

I pushed through the next 3 or 4 contractions with just Jay and the RN and midwife by my side before in walks my angel...my midwife, Libby! Right behind her was my mom, sissy and best friend, Natalie who'd been at dinner with my mom. I welcomed them all in, pushed through the next 3 or 4 contractions, and into this world came my sweet baby boy at 9:41 p.m. (A mere 30 min. after getting admitted) weighing 7 lbs. 4 oz. and 20 in. long. Jay and I looked at each other and said, "Hudson?" (I think we'd both been pretty sure this would be his name, but were just waiting to see him to be sure.) We knew Will would be the middle name if we went with Hudson because it represents my maiden name, Willhite. And with Hudson on my chest I found out that I was never given those pain meds! I just had an IV drip of fluids! I went ahead at that point and asked if I could go ahead and have 'em. :)

The rest of the night was spectacular. Friends and family abounded and filled the room with love. Around 10 p.m. or so, Natie offered to finally move the car for us as it was still sitting in the emergency bay with lights a-flashing! Everyone left by midnight and we were escorted to our room where we spent the next 2 days. We got to go home early evening on Saturday and we've been enjoying our bundle since! We're still trying to figure out our schedule at nights, but have been so blessed by our family's help during the day. (As I type this, my MIL is mopping my kitchen floor!)

More pics to follow in subsequent posts...including Hudson's Room!!!

Belly Pic....1 Day from D-day

2010-04-08T16:35:00.000-04:00

And by D-day I just mean Due Date Day!!! Who knows when the real D-day will occur...I guess only the little guy in my belly and the Big Guy upstairs!

Although....I am having irregular, small contractions and yesterday the doctor told me I was close to 2 cm dilated and stripped my membranes. If that's TMI--sorry!

I made Jay take pics of me today because I've had requests. And even though I got rained on earlier and nothing fits me right now and I was in the middle of one of those mini-contractions (which BTW are still fairly uncomfortable!)...here they are:

Still on the couch...before I was "ready."

Technically "ready" but looking awkward...

Laughing after a mini-contraction because Jay was giving me a hard time...he said, "Those are supposed to last a minute? That was only about 10 seconds...you got a ways to go!" Thanks for the support, Jay! :)

Spring Break 2010

2010-04-06T10:53:00.000-04:00

First of all....my apologies for being MIA for a few weeks now! As we gear up for Baby Blev, life has just been crazy, and as a matter of fact, I should be doing about 100 things other than blogging right now! But I had to at least say hi. :)

Secondly...my apologies for not having a belly pic in this post. I know it's been a loooong time since y'all have seen this thing, but I refused to let my mom take pictures of me on Easter. The only thing I had to wear was a black dress and I just wasn't feeling very cute or Easter-y. Sorry! I'll try and get Jay to take one of me when I actually get dressed in something cute this week.

Which is something else to note: I have nothing to wear!!! I mean, I knew that at 39 weeks, 4 days pregnant I'd be large-and-in-charge, but I didn't expect it to be almost 90 degrees outside in early April!! I don't have maternity clothes for summer....Lord, get this baby boy outta me!

But as I say that, I don't really mean it because I have 2 (3+ page) papers due Thursday that I have to finish, 1 (10-12 page) research paper due Monday 4/12 and a project/presentation due Thursday 4/15 for grad school. At the moment, my plan is to get the papers finished and worry about the project/presentation "later." (When "later" is, I'm not sure, but I highly doubt that I'm going to feel up to presenting next Thursday--even if I'm still pregnant.)

So I'm spending my Spring Break vacation this year with my feet up and researching and typing away on the laptop. ::Flashback to Spring Break 2009:: Jay and I were on a Carribbean cruise with our dear friends Christine & Bobby Bahama....wish I could time-travel!

Last, but certainly not least, I'd like to ask for your prayers for a wonderful, wonderful friend of ours. I'm not going to go in to any details because it's not my story to share, but one of the kindest men I know has an aching heart and I ask that you pray for his healing, peace & happiness. God has great plans for this guy, and while this is a trying time in his life, I know--and he knows--that God is working and God is Good! So...take a quick minute and say a prayer for one of the nicest guys I know.

P.S. The nursery is "done." I'll have photos posted ASAP. Thanks for your patience!

It's the little things...

2010-03-17T21:38:00.000-04:00

I was having kind of an awful day yesterday. There are exactly 11 days left of school before Spring Break and my Maternity Leave and all of a sudden I'm getting piled on. Here's a little glimpse into what needs to get done ASAP:

Grades were due today at school
I have to create a power point by tomorrow for my AP to use when explaining the new curriculum that I've been assigned to teach next year (btw, this is supposed to be a compliment that I've been chosen...right now it feels like a punishment)
I had to attend a proctor meeting after school yesterday before my doctor's appointment because I have to spend 3 out of my 5 planning periods next week proctoring the Georgia High School Graduation Test instead of getting my work done (oh and did I mention that most of the proctors teach the 11th graders who take the GHSGT?...I'm one of the "lucky" few who have to proctor it despite the fact that I teach 9th and 10th grade)
I have about 80 research papers to grade
I have to write a Critical Analysis of a Research Theorist by tomorrow at 5 p.m.
I had to get my info/paperwork together for my yearly evaluation with my AP tomorrow during my planning period
Umm...I'm sure there're a few more items on my to-do list that I'm forgetting right now due to "pregnancy brain" :)

But enough complaining. This post is about how my day got better!

I called my mom when I couldn't make a decision about what to eat for dinner last night (Jay was out of town last night...as he has been for what feels like the last month...which means I've been a single parent to Ellie who's decided to start behaving like a terrible two-year-old and has recently destroyed 2 cell phones in the process...adding, I'm sure, to my stress & frustration). Who else do you call when you can't make a decision? Poor thing, I totally set her up for failure. She couldn't win. Nothing sounded good and everything sounded like heartburn waiting to happen. So what did I do? I headed out to pick up dinner without a clue of what I was going to get...and I ended up at Papouli's Diner to get a gyro!!! Heartburn city, right?!?! Spicy lamb meat??? Ha. But it sounded soo good. And turned out to be just what I needed, because I walked in, ordered my gyro to go and had the sweetest convo with the cute Greek guy behind the counter in which he told me that I was beautiful in a completely non-creepy way (and told me about his 2 daughters). Why is it that European men know how to compliment a woman so well? Seriously, he made my night. Then I got in the car to come home and Train's new song, "Soul Sister" came on and I belted it out and then Kesha's "Tik Tok" came on and all of a sudden I was having a great night!

It really is the little things...

Whose feet/ankles are those?!?!?

2010-03-10T21:19:00.002-05:00

1 month to go!!! And you can see it in my feet and ankles....

(All images thanks to Google Image Search for "cankles" and "fat feet")

I think they just "swole up" this weekend for the first time and I blamed it on my, my mom and mother-in-law's 3 hour trip to IKEA. But then yesterday, after our tour of the hospital (made it all seem oh-so-real!), I got home only to look down and almost faint at the sight of my feet. Seriously--whose feet are those?!?!? They can't be mine--I have petite ankles and feet, I wear a size 5 1/2 shoe--and those look like Fred Flinstone's club feet!!! Naturally, I snapped a quick pic on my cell phone and sent it to my sister so she, too, could poke fun at me.

***UPDATE***

Aunty Sissy figured out how to email me the pic I sent her...

Look at that indention from the strap across my foot!!!

In other news, I know I'm 9-months-pregnant-huge and probably a teeny, tiny, little bit cranky and all, but I am sick and tired of people telling me I'm about to pop. DUH--I'm NINE MONTHS PREGNANT!!! Take the following situations that have all occurred in the last few days:

Walking in to the copy room at school the other day, a teacher from my department who also happened to be in there, stops in the middle of her conversation to say to me:

Old Lady Teacher: You are fat, fat, fat!
Me: Um....
Nice Copy Lady: She's supposed to be--she is pregnant after all!

I pretty much high-tailed it out of there after that. I felt so awkward--what was I supposed to say--thanks?

At the Verizon store on Monday, an older gentleman started a conversation innocently enough:

Old guy: You like you're getting pretty close...
Me: (with a smile) Yeah, I sure am!
Old guy: How much longer?
Me: About 4 weeks.
Old guy: 4 weeks?!?!?!?! More like 4 days!!!! (He seriously looked like he was going to have a heart attack at the thought of me having 4 weeks to go.)

Again, I pretty much high-tailed it outta there. This man doesn't even know me!

And then this morning, while talking with a friend before the first bell, another old lady teacher interrupts us to exclaim:

Old lady teacher: There is NO WAY you're going to make it to your due date!!!

Ok, first of all, I want you to notice the common factor in these rude comments. That's right--old people. I am in no way anti-geriatric (Is that even a term?!? Haha.), but I think you lose your filter when you hit a certain age. Is it 65? 70? Because my friend and I have noticed that the only people who seem to feel perfectly comfortable commenting on our weight or how huge we are, are the older people. Don't get me wrong, people in their 30s or 40s still comment, but they're nice comments, things like, "Congratulations! When are you due?" or "Do you know what you're having?" or "Is this your first?" Like I said, I know I'm probably a little more sensitive right now, but I'm getting pretty sick of the fat jokes. I'M NINE MONTHS PREGNANT PEOPLE....BACK OFF!

One final (and much happier) note. The nursery is beginning to come together!!! We got the chair in, the bookcase assembled, the crib is supposed to come this week, and the bedding is supposed to ship. I'm crossing my fingers to be able to start putting it all together (and showing y'all pictures) this weekend! Woo hoo!

XOXO, C

Beyond Blessed

2010-03-05T08:55:00.000-05:00

Last week, my teacher friends threw Mrs. Mayfield and I a baby shower after school. I can't even begin to describe to you how sweet they were to us. We got so much great stuff! Seriously, after the 3 showers that my fabulous friends and family have thrown for me, I think we have just about everything we need before Nugget comes!

The lovely ladies of the English department:

Kat's cute decor...seriously, the classroom felt like a party room!

Us Mamas-to-be:

The adorable cupcakes Liz made!

On a side note, I think people (including me and Jay) are starting to get frustrated that we haven't named him. We just can't seem to settle on something (I think we like too many names!) and I think we may truly have to wait until he's born to make the decision. Feel free to throw something out there (or an idea you have on how to make the decision) if you'd like...we're open to suggestions! :)

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

2010-02-23T21:47:00.000-05:00

...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!!

2010-02-22T21:18:00.000-05:00

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!

Mommy Mobile

2010-02-21T11:19:00.000-05:00

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!

2010-02-14T19:28:00.000-05:00

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

2010-02-12T21:51:00.000-05:00

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

2010-02-09T08:49:00.000-05:00

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.

2010-02-06T22:03:00.000-05:00

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...

2010-02-01T21:47:00.000-05:00

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?

Holy Moley

2010-01-31T20:17:00.000-05:00

Is it really January 31st and I'm 30 weeks + 2 days pregnant?!?! NO WAY. This is surreal. I swear, just yesterday, it was the beginning of January. Ultimately, this means that I only have 2 months left to get ready for Baby Blev. ::hyperventalating::

So here I am as of last night...dang that belly's B-I-G!

A pic of Mama AND Daddy Blev on our way to friends' for dinner.

As promised, I have some pics from the recent baby shower that my dear sisters and friends hosted for me...thanks to Fran (and Natalie for the photos she posted)....

Here's the adorable table decorated with baby pics of me and Jay and delicious "nest" treats made by Natalie.

Of course the shower had a "nest" theme!

My mom and Kari (who opened up her new, beautiful home to host the shower...thank you!)

Stuffing my face with the delicious food. And that's my friend Kelly who is expecting her son just a mere 7 days after me!

This might be one of the most unflattering pictures of me I've ever seen...but I was so excited about all of my gifts! And that's my beautiful sister next to me...

Thank you to my hostesses! (From L-R, Natalie, Christine, my Sissy, a very awkward-looking Me, Danielle, and Kari)

On another note....

This weekend was a chilly and fairly lazy one. I didn't get much done until today when I started cracking the whip. Jay and I got the garage cleaned out and organized, the Christmas boxes finally got put back in the attic (yeah, yeah, only a month behind!), and I cleaned out our "junk" drawer!

Life is good. Feeling great. And just trying to stay on top of--or preferably in front of--all my projects including the high school projects, grad school projects, and home projects! Next week's (let's be honest--weekend) home project is the Laundry Room. I'll take before and after pictures!

Feeling So Loved...

2010-01-30T12:34:00.000-05:00

...thanks to my family and friends who threw me and Nugget a Baby Shower last weekend! I've wanted to post about it in all its fabulousness, but have yet to receive any pictures from them. (Hint hint!) :) But, my best friend, Natalie, who designed a nursery for me when I first found out I was pregnant which has been a HUGE inspiration for the nursery that we're currently putting together, just posted about it on her blog so you'll have to check it out there! Thanks for stopping by....

http://lavieenrose-natalie.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-best-friends-baby-shower.html

You Know You're Pregnant When...

2010-01-27T21:53:00.000-05:00

....You spend close to $30 at Jason's Deli by yourself just so you can have it delivered to you at home. True Story. This is what was delivered to my home tonight.

In my defense, I was home alone tonight as Jay's out of town for work, I didn't want to leave Ellie in her crate, and I was working on a paper due tomorrow by 5 p.m. for graduate class. And what I didn't eat tonight, I can eat for lunch and/or dinner tomorrow.

That's my justification--and I'm sticking to it.

P.S. I officially can't see my feet anymore when I look straight down. Pics coming soon...

If it's Broken, Fix it!

2010-01-24T21:03:00.000-05:00

Thank you Mom for helping me realize that even though I may not have gotten my organization goal accomplished this week, I did complete Lauren's Pure Style Home task-of-the-week!

My plan was to set up the new shelves in the garage that Jay bought me during the week (BTW....so grateful, but I really think I need another....there's just not enough room in our garage!) so that I can organize the laundry room, which will allow me to clean out the armoir that I've used as my "craft" storage since we got married, but will now be used as an actual armoir for the baby. BUT--as we are also looking into upgrading my hockey puck to a mommy mobile, it was time to finally fix the sideview mirror that I'd broken at least 6 months ago....

One day, while leaving for work around 6:15 a.m. (!!! I'll never get used to working so early) in a rush, as I was pulling out of the garage, I noticed that I was too close on my side. But it looked like the rubber flap on the garage door would just barely graze my sideview mirror, so I just backed up slowly and then--to my horror--watched in slow motion as that little rubber flap POPPED the casing off of my mirror! And as it hit the garage floor...it broke into 2 pieces! SAD DAY. Flustered Chelsea. Within a few days I took it to our neighborhood Good Year to get if fixed, but they told me it would cost around $500!!! FOR-GET-IT. I've since been driving around with it looking like this.

But thanks to Scott's Auto Center and a week of driving back-and-forth there, ordering the part, multiple phone calls to see if the part had come in yet, and finally taking it in on Friday after school...it now looks like this!(And cost less than $200...)

P.S. While at my first baby shower on Saturday (will be sure to post about this wonderful event as soon as my friends and family send me the pics), my sweet husband had my little Volvo washed and detailed and would have taken it to CarMax to see how much we could get for it, but the "Check Engine" light came on...guess that'll be part of this week's to-do list...

Coat Closet Re-do

2010-01-17T12:46:00.000-05:00

Oh. My. Gosh. I can't believe I'm about to show you these pictures...how embarrassing! As I mentioned earlier this week, I'm following along with Pure Style Home's Pure Organization Weekly Projects and this week Lauren has inspired me to organize our coat closet. First of all, I think we have too many coats! There's only 2 of us and we live in the south...how many coats do we really need?!?!? Secondly, the hanger on the door began as a good idea: I thought it'd be a great place to hang my aprons and scarves...but what an eye-sore it is now! Thirdly, we're "storing" stuff in here for which I think we could find a better home. Wish me luck...

Sign hanging on the doorknob of our coat closet. I need to "have a little faith" that I can tackle this project!

Ugh...what a mess!!!

How can I even find what scarf I want to wear? I wish I could say that I use those aprons...they're really beautiful aprons...

Icky. What a waste of space!

There are no words for the floor...a hodge podge of stuff, cleaning supplies, bags, silly gifts, etc.

I was so overwhelmed with tackling this project that I found it best to be a copy cat. Here is the Pure Style Home version (much cuter than mine!) Unfortunately, because we rent (and will hopefully move out in 6 mos. or so) it'd be silly to be paint. So I did my best to make it look nice. What's most important is that it's organized, and I should be able to keep it this way! That being said, as soon as we own our home, I will so be taking Lauren's advice to paint it a pretty color...and I do love the aqua she chose! Now...drumroll please....here is our new-and-improved coat closet!

The first task I started with was going through our coats. I got rid of a couple of mine that I no longer wear (or that no longer fit--like an old yellow slicker that had 3/4 sleeves on me now--that's not gonna keep me dry when it's raining!), switched out the hangers so that they're all white (already had these), and divided our coats so that mine are on the left and Jay's are on the right (they're coded by color and length, too).

I bought a cheap shoe organizer at Bed, Bath & Beyond, and while initially I wasn't thrilled with the idea of clear plastic, once I put our winter scarves, mittens, hats--and my aprons!--in, I liked being able to see what was available so I can quickly grab it on my way out the door, and it added color to our drab closet.

The closet floor is the biggest improvement. I also bought this wire cube organizer at BB&B (gotta love 20% off coupons!) to house our "stuff." I've got cleaning supplies in there, games, and my ever-handy step stool. In a perfect world, there'd be another place to keep the cleaning supplies, but our coat closet is in a very accessible area of the house and there's really not another logical place to put it, so I just decided to make it work!

The only thing I have left to decide is whether or not to hang the broom, mop, duster, etc. on the left and right side of the closet walls, or to hang them right outside our back door in our garage. (I'm voting for garage, but I think Jay is hopeful that if they're inside, maybe I'll clean more!)

And last, but certainly not least, here's the shelf in the closet. I grabbed this cute basket (which I re-found while cleaning out the guest closet) and threw a couple of larger winter items and blankets inside. I can also use it to "hide" shopping returns and exchanges until I make it to the store.

What's even better is that while organizing the coat closet, I was inspired to quickly organize under the kitchen sink! I don't have a "before" picture, but I guarantee you it was bad. Here it is now:

I used this cute picnic utensil basket that never gets used for our under-the-sink cleaning supplies.

And used this cool hammered brass antique pitcher to keep all our plastic bags that I like to re-use to take my lunch to school.

Unless I'm inspired by Lauren's organization post tomorrow to work on something else, my plan for this week is the laundy room...

Covetousness

2010-01-15T14:46:00.000-05:00

Design blogs and Etsy are going to be the death of me. While oh-so-inspiring, I'm starting to covet other people's things, stuff I can't afford, and--most of all--other's creativity. My poor husband and mother are receiving the brunt of this. I've been newly inspired to move this piece of furniture there, to buy new dressers to be used as nightstands (courtesy of Lauren of the blog Pure Style Home), to "Whiteberry" our guestroom furniture, and now...to create my own mobile for Baby Blev! :) (In the meantime, I'm supposedly getting organized and ready for Nugget, taking my final two graduate classes to receive my M.A.T. in May, teaching and inspiring 9th and 10th graders in English, and trying to have a social life!) So this is what inspired me to make my own mobile. I've been searching, and searching, and just wasn't finding anything I loved. If I found a mobile with the right color scheme, it'd be planes, trains and automobiles. Or I'd find a birdie mobile, but it looked dangerous or was the wrong color scheme or looked too girly like this Bananafish one from JC Penney for only $50:

But then I found the creme de la creme--and it's $94.

I just don't know if I can bring myself to spend that on something that I know the baby really isn't even going to enjoy that much. I mean, sure, he'll stare at it from time-to-time, but it's really for me because I want his nursery to be cute. Right?!!?

So after seeing all of these different ideas, I'm now thinking that maybe I can make him one. I could buy a pattern (or maybe even create that, too) and felt and use some extra pieces of fabric from his bedding to create the perfect mobile. Here is some felt inspiration that I've found on Etsy:

(All of the above images can be found by searching "felt bird" or "felt owl" on Etsy.)

Do you all think I've finally gone crazy?!?!?

Nesting....It's Hit Me!

2010-01-12T20:44:00.000-05:00

As the ticker on this blog continues to remind me how very little time we have left until this baby arrives, I've begun to realize just how much there is to accomplish! As I told you below, I'm a terrible procrastinator. :) So I created a to-do list. Then, I got inspired by Lauren at Pure Style Home to just tackle one project a week so as not to be overwhelmed. It's my New Year's Resolution to be more organized. While my projects may not always follow hers, this week does! It was on my list, so I just bumped it up a few weeks so that I could accompany Lauren on her journey. This week (or weekend, more likely) I will tackle the coat closet!!! Last week, my project was the guestroom closet. While I don't have a before picture to show you, I wanted to show you the "after" picture which will soon be shared with the baby. We don't have much storage in our rented townhome, so unfortunately, we can't not use this huge closet for some of our storage. It's not ideal, but here she is now. Ready (or more ready than before at least) for Nugget:

The right side of the closet: our side. I swear this is more organized!

So we threw our suitcases up there so they're at least out of the way. Anybody have any better suggestions as to where to put and/or what to do to store luggage? I'm stumped.

The entire left side of the closet is now open and available for Baby Blev!

This is what the closet looks like when you open the door. Look at all that hanging room for Baby! He better not have that many clothes, but if he's anything like his Mama or Dada, he will!

In case you can't tell, I'm really not that great at organizing. :) If you have any suggestions, please please please (!) post them or email them to me. I'm trying to do this with zero cost using what we have and not run to The Container Store for "organizers" so send me your ideas!

Master of Procrastination

2010-01-08T15:23:00.000-05:00

I am THE master at procrastinating....case-in-point: Today. :) We got a snow day in GA today and I had great intentions of all I was going to get done. Instead, I've spend much of my day on blogs and getting inspired. (Don't get me wrong, it's been super-fun, but it would have been helpful to clean out the guestroom closet since the guest room is soon going to occupy the nursery too.

But....all that being said....LOOK what I found on this blog! First of all, I'm so excited to find a blog on nurseries, but I love these prints! They are from the Wisteria catalog and are waaaaay too expensive, but do you think I should add them to my Wish List?!?! Maybe I could find a book with similar prints and rip them out and frame them on my own?!?!

Nursery News

2010-01-08T09:51:00.000-05:00

There is so much to update you all on! (I guess if I kept up with my blogging better, there wouldn't be so much to tell you in one post, right?) Let's start with Christmas. :) I hope you had a lovely one....we sure did! It was so much fun to envision what Christmas 2010 will be like with an 8 month old! Both of our families were so precious and got Nugget awesome gifts. Jay's family surprised us with a baby bath and all the neccessities and my family surprised us with a mini-Beamer for Nugget (disguised as a gift for Jay since it's Gator orange and blue). What a fun first (in-my-belly) Christmas for Baby Blev!

Jay with his son's new BMW:

After Christmas, we had the AMAZING opportunity to go to Cabo San Lucas with my dad. What a wonderful treat! We read, laid out by the pool, ate fabulous Mexican food and seafood, and got pampered all-around.

At dinner one night:

With my dad:

Once we got home, I got into major nesting mode. While I love decorating, I've never been much of a "nester" and typically shy away from most domestic duties. But on the weekend before school started back, I found myself mopping, hanging mirrors, putting away the rest of Christmas decorations, and finally registering for Nugget's Nursery. I've posted about my ideas for his nursery, and finally started making some decisions!

This is the color palette I'm using for his bedding. (Thank you Marjorie from Customhouse Baby on http://www.etsy.com/ for making it!):

I'm going to order this print and mat and frame it in white:

I think this style crib is our favorite. We're planning to make a decision and order one this weekend.
(Thank you Dad!):

My mom is buying us this rocker/glider in a barely off-white (slipcovered, of course!):

And you can't forget the dresser!

Any ideas for a possible paint color?

Since we rent (and our lease is up in July), we will not be painting now. But my hope is that we will move into a three-bedroom in July so that we can have a true nursery and a true guestroom instead of a combination, and paint! I don't care if there's not another painted room in the house--I really want my son's room painted!!! That being said, I still can't wait to see what it starts to look like as we put it together. At 27 weeks (!!!) this is all becoming very real, very fast.

Update:

How far along? 27 weeks

Total weight gain: 16 lbs. (and my goal was 20 lbs. total--ha!)
Maternity clothes? Definitely jeans...I still <3 the GAP ones I bought forever ago...wear 'em all the time. I'm growing out of another pair of pants I have. Dresses are my best friend b/c I can still wear my favorite pre-pregnancy dresses with tights/leggings and boots--a great option for teaching!
Sleep: I HATE HATE HATE sleeping on my side! Toss and turn all night long. Miss sleeping on my back so much...
Best moment this week: Going back to school and hearing all the comments from my students about how large I've grown in the last two weeks. Kids (even teenagers) say the darndest things!
Movement: Tons...I LOVE it! I would lay by the pool in Cabo just watching my belly change shape as Nugget moved around. A-mazing.
Gender: Boy, oh boy!
Labor Signs: Nope--and no Braxton-Hicks yet either, thank God.
Belly Button in or out? Is flat an option? Either way, it's weird looking!
What I miss: Sleeping on my back!
What I am looking forward to: Sleeping on my back!
Weekly Wisdom: I got great advice about breast pumps today from a teacher friend....thank you Lori! :)
Milestones: Making decisions this week! I've always been indecisive, but when it's for your son, it's even that much harder! But it feels soo good to finally have made some. (Even if they are just about bedding!) :)

NOT For the Weak of Stomach

2009-12-22T09:59:00.000-05:00

Today was my first morning to sleep in during my two week vacay from teaching, and the day started off just lovely. Ellie woke me up just a smidge before 8 a.m. so I got a fabulous 8 hours of sleep and we came down stairs to bum around for a bit. Ellie had already eaten breakfast (thanks to Jay feeding her before he left for work) and I had a bowl of cereal. Not long after I finished my cereal, Jay called to check in (or see if I was awake yet, I'm sure!) and just as I hung up with him, I noticed Ellie had just puked up her entire breakfast (still in LARGE chunks) on the family room carpet. Well, this lovely, low-key morning just got interesting! I've never really had a weak stomach, but since I've been pregnant, I really haven't been able to stomach much at all. Tough luck! I needed to clean up this vom ASAP before Ellie ate it up. (Which is oh-so gross.) So I shoved my nose down into my t-shirt, grabbed a dustpan (to use as a make-shift shovel to shovel up the chunky vom), yellow rubber gloves, grocery bags, Spot Shot and got ready to work. No sooner had I stooped down and shoveled up the first chunk, then I gagged, and gagged, and gagged again. I stood up to make my way to the kitchen (as I've learned what this gagging precursors thanks to other scenarios), and projectile vomitted onto the kitchen floor! As I finished throwing up my entire bowl of cereal into the kitchen sink, Ellie chose to help her momma clean up her vom and licked up most of what she had previously thrown up. By the time I finished heaving into the sink, all that was left to do was Spot Shot the now wet areas where Ellie's puke had once been.

And as I sit here typing this, I realize I'm still hungry because I have nothing in my tummy any more! Guess I need to find something else to eat before breakfast....cereal doesn't sound so great anymore...

6 Months?!?!?!

2009-12-12T18:40:00.000-05:00

How--how--is it possible that I'm 6 months pregnant?? That's right folks...as of Friday, I am 23 weeks pregnant--officially in my 6th month. So here's a mini-update. Pics of the bump and of the first clothes that Nugget's mommy and daddy bought him!

Shopping

2009-12-10T21:19:00.000-05:00

Whoever thought shopping for someone else could be this much fun!?!?

Recently, I've begun to panic that (a) we don't know Nugget's name and Jay doesn't seem to have much of an opinion yet, (b) he doesn't have a nursery to sleep in nor have I really decided on a theme/design for his nursery, (c) we haven't even started creating our registry or buying things for him! And did I mention I'm 22 weeks along?!!? Time is running out!

So...I went internet crazy this week. My friend and I are both due within a week of each other and spent a better part of this past week on http://www.etsy.com/ searching for items for our respective nurseries. Ironically enough, we are both pretty settled on similar things. (Surprise, surprise. Our entire pregnancies have been eerily similar.) She's thinking owls, I'm thinking birds/nest. Here are a few items/ideas I found this week:

The photo I love. It's 8.5 x 11. Think big white matting and a pretty frame:

Color palette options for the custom crib bedding I'm hoping we can afford:

Then, on Sunday, Jay and I ventured in to Babies R Us--scary!!! I was so overwhelmed with the idea of shopping/registering there, but it actually went smoothly. We both had the right mindset: This is an initial visit. We do not have to decide on anything today. We will only look at the BIG items. (In other words, no breast pumps, bottles, or pacifiers, yet.) And, lo and behold, I think we may have decided on a car seat and we found a few crib options that we both agreed on!!

The SnugRide35 (the Babies R Us option):

The SnugRide35 (the one I really want):

#1 crib we both like:

#2 crib we both like:

Jay is pretty adamant on not having a white crib for his strapping young son, so I think we're going to go with the convertble crib option so he'll have this bed for years and years to come. That way if we have a girl with Round #2, I can buy her a pretty white or iron (or white iron!) crib.

Oh! And we bought He-Nugget some clothes! We have been so blessed with outfits for the little guy already thanks to gifts from friends and his grandparents and especially his Aunt Kari and her boys' hand-me-downs, but Mommy and Daddy finally bought him a couple outfits. It was so much fun.

Needless, to say, I'm feeling much better about the whole situation. Not to mention, my sweet Momma came over Monday night for some chicken noodle soup and baby planning--Yay!

I'm Carrying a Weenie Around! in My Belly!!

2009-12-01T19:36:00.000-05:00

It's a He-Nugget!!!

We are so stinking excited!!! Of course, we would have been happy with a boy or a girl, but I'd always said I wanted to have a boy first, and obviously Jay's thrilled to carry on the Blevins name and have a sports buddy. I'm so excited to start planning his nursery....I promise I'll post pics. As for his name....Jay and I have a handful of names that we're pondering, but we're considering waiting on naming him until he's born. My mom and dad did that with Linds and I and I think it's great idea to make sure he gets a name that fits him. Not to mention, I know you all would give me nothing but positive comments, but there are plenty of people out there who might tell me what an awful name Oliver is, when that might be my favorite name! (And yes, this did happen to me today. Luckily, Oliver is not in the running, but I have always liked the name.) :)

Me, at 21 weeks. Getting nice and big! (And looking a little rough at the end of the day.)

His dresser/changing table. My mom found this for me at Scott's Antique Market and it's going to be my inspiration. I'm still thinking about the nest theme with neutrals, aqua and chocolate brown.

(And yes, currently we're using it in the dining room because I love it so much, I want to enjoy it!)

P.S. For my few faithful readers...we found Baby Blev's gender last Tuesday, November 24...sorry it's taken so long to post it!! AND...as soon as I get to a scanner, I'll post his pics!

I'm a Bad, Bad, Blogger

2009-11-30T13:51:00.000-05:00

***Note: this was written 3 weeks ago and then never posted. See....I told you I was a bad blogger!

First of all, to my few readers out there, I'm so sorry! I have been feeling really good lately, but have been so busy with grad school, grading projects and essays, and coaching that I haven't been telling all my good stories lately. :)

A couple weeks ago, mom and I went baby shopping just to get an idea of what's out there. What a day! The first store we went to is in Vinings, called Precious Cargo. At first, I was completely overwhelmed, but at the end of our visit, we were approached by an extremely helpful woman who turned out to be the owner. She taught us more than we could have ever thought to learn about cribs: conversion cribs that turn in to a toddler bed, conversion cribs that turn in to a full eventually, drop side cribs (which are good for short mommas like me, but congress is outlawing them soon), iron cribs, wood cribs, etc. etc. Based on her teachings, and my limited research, this is my fave so far:

How far along? 18 weeks today!
Total weight gain: none....as of a couple weeks ago. I've been avoiding the scale. :)
Maternity clothes? just started....have an awesome pair of maternity jeans from GAP that I heart. I can still wear most of my shirts and sweaters, but have a few long shirts for the growing belly.
Sleep: starting to get uncomfortable on my back...but I'm not comfy on my side, either
Best moment this week: peeing in my pants a little when I sneezed (sensing some sarcasm?)
Movement: I think....but I'm still not sure, but I want to believe it was the baby and not gas.
Gender: will know on 11/24...most people are guessing boy, but the "ring test" predicted a girl.
Labor Signs: ha--not even close
Belly Button in or out? in, but starting to look like an Asian eye (as my sis-in-law calls it) meaning it's a bit hooded and stretched out. sounds cute, huh?
What I miss: nothing really...I'm still too excited about being pregnant
What I am looking forward to: knowing if we're having a He-Nugget or She-Nugget!!!
Weekly Wisdom: keep the news from your teenaged students for as long as you can. I'm so tired of them sneaking up on me to touch my belly (eew!) or exclaiming, "Mrs. Blevins! You're showing!" or "I can see your baby bump!" Uh, no duh....it's been there for weeks. Can we talk about something relevant to Language Arts now?
Milestones: feeling Nugget move around....if I did....I'm still not sure....it seems to good to be true

14 Weeks

2009-10-13T17:27:00.000-04:00

Does anybody else think my "bump" is way high?!?! Actually, I think my true baby bump is lower, but everything is being shoved up so I have all this swelling above the bump too. Nice. My stomach is gross. I'm so ready to have a cute baby bump and not a fat, I-eat-too-much-and-never-work-out belly.

I can't believe I've lived my entire teenage (yes, I was thinking about mommy-hood even then) and adult life thinking I wouldn't want to know the sex of my baby when I got pregnant some day. Boy, was I wrong! It's all I can think about now! I feel like I can't do anything until I know if Nugget is a He-Nugget or She-Nugget. So I browse online at strollers, cribs, car seats, clothes, etc. feeling like I can't connect to any of it until I know if my son or daughter will be using it. I'm sure Jay is just loving this because he has said all along that he'd want to find out when we got pregnant some day, and I would just roll my eyes as if to say, "tough luck, buddy, if I don't want to know, then you ain't gonna know" and now here I am dying to know and I still have 6 more weeks before my next ultrasound!!

Remind Me...

2009-10-07T19:07:00.000-04:00

...of the kind of parent I don't want to be when needed m'kay? What kind of parent is that? you ask. The kind of parent so many children today seem to have. The kind of parent who makes excuses for their child rather than encouraging him/her to be a better student. The kind of parent who questions every. little. thing. their child's teacher assigns. The kind of parent who allows their child to manipulate them. The kind of parent who has given or allowed their child to grow in to a sense of entitlement. The kind of parent who "rescues" their child at every opportunity rather than letting them learn from their mistakes. The kind of parent who lets their child walk all over them.
Dear God, please teach me how to be a good parent. And please help me remember that none of us are perfect, and that these parents are just doing what they think is best. Even if the rest of us can see just how wrong it is. Love, Chelsea

**Speaking of those kind of parents....listen to this clip from a school in Australia. This is their "new and improved" voice mail. LOVE IT!!!

(Ok, so I'm having technical difficulties and can't figure out how to post it. Have patience, or in the meantime, go to http://www.q100atlanta.com/ and find it on their site.)

Baby Blev's Baby Room

2009-10-05T18:19:00.000-04:00

I am surrounded by incredibly talented people in my life. One of whom is my best friend Natalie, an interior designer in Nashville. She was in town last weekend and I got to spend a few precious moments with her and our families at dinner. While at dinner, I mentioned that I'd recently become obsessed with nests and birds (see the post "Sharing the News or Birdies" below) and was thinking it'd be great inspiration for Nugget's nursery. Naturally, Natalie has gone above and beyond and has created a more beautiful nursery than I could have imagined. Mom, you've got some competition! :)

The Good News Is....I Can Still Suck In!!! (Sorta)

2009-09-30T20:49:00.000-04:00

12 weeks, 5 days

At the end of the day...obviously!

Sucking in...

Letting it all hang out...

Surprisingly, I haven't gained any weight yet! Or at least that's what they told me yesterday at the doctor. Maybe I gained my first few pounds today?!?!

P.S. Got to hear the heartbeat yesterday. Fast and strong!

My First Taste

2009-09-30T20:15:00.000-04:00

of parenting, that is. Last night, a woman from Bark Busters came to our house to give us a lesson on "parenting" Ellie. Though I highly doubt she'd call it that. We were educated in all the ways of a dog pack and taught that Ellie is testing us to see if we are still deserving to be the leaders of the pack. When we fail (i.e. allow her to pull on her leash, or walk through the door first), Ellie begins to question our abilities as leaders. Sounds a bit like what teenagers do to their parents, no? :) So now we have homework this week. We're supposed to work with her on Sit-Stay and we go about our businees until we Free her. Wish us luck tonight!

Lemon Drops or Ultra-Screen

2009-09-28T08:45:00.000-04:00

I think I had my first true craving yesterday. I had to have Lemon Drops. (Not that I've eaten them since I was like 10, but all of a sudden I could taste them in my mouth and had. to. have. one.) Luckily, I realized this as Jay and I were headed to Pops and Gaga's house (Jay's parents) so we stopped at Publix. They were out of Lemon Drops. Grrr. Not to worry! There's a CVS right across the road. They didn't have them either. I was incredulous. Who stocks these candy shelves?!?!? I settled for Mike and Ikes (of which I finished off the box in one night) only to decide on the way home that I still wasn't satisfied. So I made Jay stop at the Walgreen's on the way home. Lo and behold, Walgreen's was my savior-of-the-night. They had Lemonheads. Though looking back on it now, I still feel like I settled.

This is what I got.

And this is what I wanted. I think I'll have to go on another run today.

On a more serious note, I'm scheduled to have an Ultra-Screen tomorrow at my 2nd OB appointment which screens for Down Syndrome and Trisomies 18 and 13. I'm having a really difficult time deciding whether or not to have the screening. There's only 1 pro: Jay missed the first ultra-sound and I would love for him to get to see the baby and hear the heartbeat (and I wouldn't mind another peek!). The con is just that I think it might cause more anxiety than is necessary. Of course there's going to be some chance that Birdie could have a birth defect; but it's not going to change my mind about anything and I've heard horror stories about parents preparing and planning for a baby with a birth defect for months, only to give birth and find out it's perfectly healthy. So today I'm calling our insurance to find out if the Ultra-Screen is 100% covered. If it's not, then that'll make my decision not to do it. If it is, then I have to go from there...

Sharing the News or Birdies

2009-09-27T15:37:00.000-04:00

I wanted this post to have two titles so I just named it both. One of the shows I watch (I can't think of which one right now....is it too early to have "pregnancy brain"?!?!) always titles their episodes like that and I think it's so creative. Speaking of creative, I wish I was more creative. I see all these cute pregnancy blogs, or pictures of pregnant women, or nurseries, and think, now why didn't I think of that?!?!? I'm just creative enough to wish I was more creative.

Anyway, I'm out of the pregnancy closet. Officially official. I posted it on Facebook and it doesn't get more "out" or official than that. It's starting to feel much more real. Maybe the fact that I can't button my pants anymore has something to do with that too. Shout out to my sis-in-law for loaning me a bella band so I don't have to wear maternity pants yet! I told my students on Friday which was super-fun...they were so cute about it. I'm so lucky to teach such awesome kids!!!

Oh, and as for the Birdies part of the title...that's just because I'm obsessed with all things aviary right now. I was already headed down Jay Bird lane before I got pregnant, but now that there's a little nugget inside me (which is supposedly the size of a plum this week!), I think birds and nests and such are just adorable. Do you think the nursery could have a bit of a bird-theme whether it's a boy or girl?!? And, while I love the nickname Nugget, I'm kinda wanting to call Baby Blev, Birdie or something like that too. Some of my students came up with the nickname Doodle from a story we read. I love 'em all! Tell me what you think.

Rough Night

2009-09-24T13:12:00.000-04:00

I'll try to spare you the details.

Background Info:

A friend at work ate spaghetti for lunch.
It smelled delicious.
After school, the volleyball team (which hangs out in the classroom across the hall from mine on gamedays) ate spaghetti before their game. Again, my stomach growled.
At cheerleading practice I called Jay to see if he could pick up supplies for spaghetti so we could have it for dinner.

The Facts:

We ate spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner with green beans on the side.
It was delicious!!! (I've had a bit of an aversion to chicken lately, but I'm loving hambuger meat.)
After dinner, I was certain I had room leftover for dessert. (This fact is very important because I've quickly found that the only feeling worse than feeling hungry pangs when pregnant, is feeling too full. It's miserable.)
For dessert I ate leftover chocolate fudge coca~cola cake with a large ice-cold glass of milk. Mmm...
5 minutes later I had that awful hunger pang feeling I get if I don't eat every hour.
It was almost bedtime, so I decided to ignore the pain thinking my food would settle soon, I'd be asleep, and I'd wake up feeling fine.

The Bad News:

While brushing my teeth, I lost it. The spaghetti, the green beans, the chocolate cake, the milk.
IN THE SINK.
Then the toilet.

The Worst News:

My sink has not been draining properly for quite some time.

Naturally, Jay and I took this opportunity to argue about who should have unclogged the sink before this disaster occured. Luckily, he was a dream and helped me clean it up. (With yellow scrubbing gloves on his hands and a t-shirt tied around his nose and mouth.)

I thought towards the end of the first trimester the nausea should be getting better???

I'm pregnant!!!

2009-09-22T11:20:00.000-04:00

I've been waiting to create this blog until I was "fully out" with the pregnancy, but then I realized that I could make it private. So if you're reading this blog, then I've invited you to join in on this crazy journey that I've begun! By the end of this week, I plan to have told work and my students and the remainder of my close friends who don't know yet.

Today, I am officially 11 weeks, 4 days pregnant. According to some of the websites I now read daily, Baby Blev (or Nugget, as Linds aptly named it) is starting to grow fingernail beds and hair follicles! Though I've now been to the doctor, saw the ultrasound and heard the heartbeat, it's still hard to believe. :)

While I am experiencing nausea, I haven't had a bad bout of morning sickness. And hopefully the nausea I am experiencing will be gone in another couple of weeks! Linds told me yesterday that she's ready for me to start showing....part of me feels the same way. At least if I look pregnant, then maybe I'll feel pregnant! But so far, the only "bump" I get is bloating at the end of the day. The good news there is....I haven't gained any weight yet....yay!

Here's the proof of the pregnancy. Yes, I took 3 tests because I just couldn't seem to believe the first....or the second.... :) I know, eww, I peed on these! Also, you can't see the (+) sign very well. Sorry!

And here's my first "bump" picture taken at 10 weeks....obviously at the end of the day. (The kangaroo pouch on the dress probably doesn't help, either.) As soon as I can get to a scanner, I'll scan in the pics of Nugget from the ultrasound.