Any Day Now!!

Okay ... I will officially be 40 weeks pregnant on September 1st!! I feel like the past few weeks have flown by ... but have also lasted forever. Does that make any sense?

This could be the last weekend for me and my mister without our newest addition. I can't believe it. Today could be the last Friday without Baby - our last date night without bringing Baby or finding a sitter. It feels so surreal to me. And I am ready ... so ready that I am willing to forgo our last weekend together if that means I can hold this baby of ours in my arms.

Being 39+ weeks is pretty exhausting. Sleep comes in 2-3 hour increments due to waking up to roll over or go to the ladies room. Once I make it downstairs I try not to go back up until it's time for bed. Bending over to rub Louie's belly doesn't happen that often anymore. I try to use my foot but she looks at me as though she is saying, "This is crap, Mom. You can do better." I think of errands I need to run and don't really want to but I force myself because it may be my last "last minute, hop in the car" errand.

Our bags are packed, the nursery is ready, all of the newborn gadgets are put together, and the carseat is installed ... bring on Baby Walker or Baby Sadie!!!!!

Maybe my next post will be an update on how our beautiful baby entered this world with an obnoxious amount of pictures for you to oooooh and aaaaaah over. That's my plan anyway.

Have a great weekend and cross your fingers for a baby this weekend!

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

I don't even know where to begin. I guess by saying that your relationship is just awesome ... in every way possible. Thank you for showing me what it means to love someone with all of your heart, how to be a best friend, how to encourage and support, and to never give up even if the going gets tough. Your marriage is a true example of what all marriages should be like and I can only hope that ours can follow close behind yours. I love you both very much. Thank you for being such wonderful parents.



Happy Anniversary!

Wordless Wednesday

Our Baby Bumps.

Birthday Recap and a Baby Update!

What a whirlwind of a weekend!! Mr. Chase had his 3rd birthday party on Saturday and Andrew and I were kinda on the fence about if we would make it or not ... all depending on Baby Rudy. Well, Baby Rudy behaved nicely and we were able to celebrate his big day! He has so many friends!! It's always so much fun when we get to visit with ABC^2. We all had fun watching Chase blow out his birthday candles, play with his friends, and open presents galore! He is definitely one loved little boy. He has so much personality ... we see both his mom and dad in him more and more as he gets older. I'm so glad we were able to visit with them one last time before our little one arrives. Now it's time to stay put in Matthews until our baby's birthday! But our visits will never end. :-)

We stayed the night at ABC^2 and then headed in to good ole Davie County to celebrate my Mom and Dad's birthdays. Dad decided he wanted to go out for dinner and we ended up at Logan's Steakhouse for a delicious meal. We then headed back to the house for presents and ice cream cake. YUMMY!! Mom also made a peach cobbler that I just had to have a bite of before we left to come home. What a bad idea ... it just makes me want more!!! She sent some home with us that Andrew polished off fairly quickly. I did manage one or two more bites before it disappeared.

Summers sure are crazy with all of the birthdays ... and we are just adding to the mix! Baby Rudy is doing great. I will be 36 weeks pregnant tomorrow and he/she is growing strong and kicking hard! I had my weekly appointment today and everything is looking awesome. His/her heart rate was good and strong at 152 and he/she is measuring at 37 weeks. We had a growth ultrasound at 33 weeks and he/she was already measuring around 5 lb 6 oz ... can we say healthy baby?? My goodness! We are just so excited to meet this new little person. I can honestly say that I will miss being pregnant. Some may not agree with that statement. Don't get me wrong ... I want him/her in my arms so badly. But I am going to miss the tiny hiccups, soft nudges, and super strong kicks!

I can't wait to post my Wordless Wednesday picture for tomorrow ... you should all get a good kick out of it!

Happy Birthday to all my family with summer birthdays! Much love!

Happy 60th Birthday, Daddy-o!

I'll make sure to recap the weekend this week ... but I wanted to wish my Dad the happiest of all birthdays today! Love you very much. xoxo

Wordless Wednesday - Birthdays!

July 28th is a pretty spectacular day!

Happy Birthday to the best Mom I could ever ask for!

Happy Birthday to the most awesome 3 year old I know!

I'm in L-O-V-E ...

with the produce stand in town. Do not waste your money on grocery store produce if you don't have to. You will spend way too much money and most of it is pumped full of crap to keep it 'fresh' longer.

i originally went there for ingredients for dinner tonight ... grilled chicken salads. All I needed was romaine lettuce, one tomato, and a few small cucumbers. Wellll .... I got a bit more. Shocking, I know.

Here is what I walked away with:

bundle of romaine lettuce
2 tomatoes
4-5 small cucumbers
small bag of red potatoes
2 large zucchini
large yellow onion
2 garlic clove bundles
2 avocados

Ready for my grand total?

$11.50

I mean, c'mon, you can't get those deals at the store! And it wouldn't be nearly as fresh.

I L-O-V-E our local farmers and the produce stand.

A Surprise 60th Birthday Celebration!

This year is a big one for my Dad ... he is turning 60 on August 1st! Mom, Leah, and I got together to plan a day he will never forget. Yesterday, Andrew and I had the Raynor family over to help celebrate the big 6-0! It was a complete surprise for my Dad. My Mom told him that we were going to celebrate birthdays at my house but he had no idea his brothers would be celebrating with us. It was wonderful to have them all over with their significant others and children too. We all had a great time and plenty of pictures were taken to capture the day. Hope you all enjoy the Smilebox I created ... I am officially addicted to it! (working on one from my second shower!)

This free digital scrapbook generated with Smilebox

My Hometown Baby Shower

One of my Mom's dear friends, Melody, and her daughter, Emily, hosted such a special baby shower to celebrate Baby Rudy! I had such a great time spending time with my Mom's friends, my family, and my closest Davie County friends. Melody created this awesome Smilebox design with some great pictures from the day. I've downloaded the program so I can create some of my own. Hope you enjoy!

Make your own digital scrapbook

Wordless Wednesday

So, remember my birthday post?

And I wrote that I was having an awesome birthday? Well, I received the best birthday present ever! Andrew and I found out that morning that we were going to be parents!! And ever since then our life has been a whirlwind of excitement.

I do apologize for taking such a long break. My first trimester treated me pretty well ... a lot of exhaustion but very little nausea. By the time I hit the second trimester, I was well on my way to feeling good and getting back to my old self. Ever since then we have been getting ready for the baby and I haven't even really thought about blogging. And that bothers me ... I have so badly wanted to document this experience and I haven't done much at all to do so. Shame on me.

But I am back ... with a strong desire to keep this blog of mine (ours) going.

Just wanted to say hello for now ... I'll be doing some photo updates, posting pictures of our nursery and of me, and writing a few catchup posts all about Baby Rudy.

Still Recovering

I have pictures to post from our holiday celebrations and promise to post them soon. I also need to get my hands on some other cameras that belong to family members so I can make sure to include everything.

I am still in recovery mode and getting ready to get back into the swing of things with a little house decorating. We are working on a new living room complete with paint, a wall mounted tv, new flooring, and new furniture. It's going to be quite fabulous.

Hoping you all had a great Christmas!

Stay tuned ....

Hello, 26.

Yep ... today is my birthday!! It's hard to believe sometimes that I am 26. Sometimes I still feel slightly immature and childish. But I think we should all have those moments. Just not everyday.

And let me go ahead and tell you ... today has already been a great day!! Andrew made me breakfast, Louie cuddled in the bed with us, we finally finished our Christmas shopping and we had a fabulous lunch at Osaka. Now we are just patiently waiting for UPS to deliver a package and we will be on our way to Mocksville for continued birthday celebration and Christmas.

I am also finally finished with all of the cookies for this year! Well, sort of. I have one more batch of pecan tarts to make at my parents and then I will be done. Whew ... it's worn me out this year. But let me tell you ... they are fantastic!!

Okay ... need to finish packing up a few more things and get them loaded in the car so we can head out as soon as UPS swings by.

Have a fabulous day and a very Merry Christmas! I'll be posting birthday pictures and Christmas pictures after the holidays.

10 Reasons I Love Christmas Cards

10. I love to send them to everyone I know.

9. I love to receive them from everyone I know.

8. I get to show them off on my kitchen wall.

7. I love the picture cards so I can see how cute the little ones are. I just got one from my bff, Holly, and her little ones are ADORABLE.

6. You get them through "snail" mail. I love getting cards in the mail.

5. I think the sender's sentiment is written all over the card whether it's a card with angels, a Bible verse, believing in the season, or simply about loving one another.

4. When you get one in the mail you know the sender thought about YOU during their busy holiday schedule. I love the feeling of knowing we were thought about.

3. I love to buy them on clearance after Christmas. You all know my passion about bargain shopping. It's simply one of the best feelings.

2. I reeeeaaaallllly love to use holiday return address stickers and Christmas stamps. Oh, the little things.

1. I am starting to reuse them and it's so much fun!!! No, I don't resend them the next year. But I do cut the front of the card off and use them as Christmas tags on everyone's gifts. And don't worry, I don't use the picture cards for anyone's gifts ... that would just be creepy. But it would be kind of funny.

Christmas Treats and My Very First Tree House!

Short post ... but some awesome pictures!

What do you get with all of these ingredients ...

plus yours truly?

All of these! And that's not all of them.

Don't you wish you could just grab one? Excuse me, I think I need a sugar cookie ... be right back.

nom nom nom nom nom

And now moving on to something quite spectacular!

So, when you were younger did you ever have a tree house? I never did ... but I did have fun playing in the bamboo when I was little. Yes, bamboo. We had a small forest of it in our backyard and I use to play in it a lot. But I stayed clear of the compost pile. haha. Okay ... back to the tree house. Remember a few posts ago I told you about the Hallmark Dollhouses I get every year at Christmas? Well, I decided to put up a tree (mucho thanks to Mom and Dad!!) in our dining room and put alllllll of my houses on it. So now I have my very first tree house and it's every little girls dream come true. I love it. And it looks fabulous in my dining room. I think this has to be my most favorite decoration this year.

Have a great weekend!

In a tizzy

Oh my goodness I feel like I have so much to do! Between being house manager, financial advisor, personal shopper, and professional baker I have so many 'to do' lists to accomplish before Christmas. So what that I am house manager of my own house, financial advisor to only my accounts, personal shopper for only my family, and professional baker for only the people who know me ... they are all very demanding jobs. But you know what? I.LOVE.IT. This time of year is my most favorite and I don't mind all of the last minute shopping or baking. It's all worth it because it's for my loved ones.

I'm trying to sort out everything that needs to be done leading up to Christmas. I've decided this week is the week for baking. And I might as well say that I'll be baking up a storm next week too.

Cookie List 2009:

sugar cookies - everyone's number one go to cookie

wedding cookies

ritz peanut butter cookies

pecan tarts - finally! Andrew has been begging for these for the past few years and I am finally making them again.

I also have a few maybes on the list ... it really depends if I have a meltdown or not when it comes time to make them. Baking is hard work believe it or not ... I'm just thankful to have a window in my kitchen so I don't get as hot as I did last year in our little one bedroom apartment. No worries though. I tend to be an over achiever when it comes to baking so I am sure I'll be making them. Maybe my oven will fall apart on me (once all the baking is complete of course) and then I can get one of these:

Isn't she lovely? That means next Christmas I can make even more treats! Cross your fingers.

Okay ... gotta finish those lists and get to shopping.

Much love to you and yours this holiday season!

It's not Grandma's, but I like it.

So, I've been wanting chicken pot pie for the past few years. And I say years because I haven't had one since my grandmother passed away. I have always had the ones that my grandmother and her lady friends made for their church bazaars. They were all chicken pot pie queens. And let me go ahead and tell you that I am a chicken pot pie snob. So, don't tell me to get one from the grocery store because you think it's good. Yuck. And I do not like dark meat or tons of vegetables in mine. And the consistency ... it can't be too thick or too runny. Double yuck. I'm not so concerned with the crust ... homemade or store bought ... honestly, it is all the same to me. Andrew would disagree with me but whatever. I guarantee you that I could tell him it was homemade and he wouldn't know the difference. He would argue with me about that too. But the inside?? It's gotta be the way I want it or I won't eat it. So please don't take offense if I don't eat your chicken pot pie.

Well I wanted to try my hand at it and found a recipe that is pretty darn tasty and close to what I remember of my Grandma's. Minus the homemade crust. And I can tell you that I am 100% certain the recipe I followed isn't really close to what my Grandma and her girlfriends went by but the taste is there.

A few changes I made along the way .... I used cream of chicken soup instead of cream of potato. I didn't use a cookie sheet either. I didn't use the full amount of vegetables because I don't like a lot in the pie itself. I know two cups doesn't sound like a lot but it was to me and I am set in my ways. If you want your vegetables make them on the side ... not in the pie. And don't forget to make a pot of white rice to go with it. Not brown rice ... white rice. Trust me.

My newest hobby

Make sure to click all the red words ... takes you to some super fun sites!!

****Update**** Our local news station was there to report on the goal of First Book-Charlotte. So, yes ... I am now famous. ;-) You see my wrapping skills a few times throughout the clip and the stack at the very end was wrapped by yours truly.

Well, tonight I am beginning my first day of many volunteer opportunities. And let me tell you, I am so excited! Let me back up. I have volunteered before. And I've had fun. But I am just now starting to get passionate about it.

I found this great little website, volunteermatch.org. You sign up, type in your zip code, and voila! Hundreds of opportunities in your area pop up for you to choose from.

I chose First Book Charlotte. This organization collects and distributes books to parts of the community where literacy is low and many families can't afford to buy books for their children. I am meeting a group of people tonight at the YMCA to wrap books for the holidays. Can it get any better? I want to volunteer, I love to read, I love the holidays, and I love to wrap presents. That's what is so awesome about volunteermatch.org ... you find what you will be passionate about and sign up!

Off to make my smoothie and get on the road.

But before I go ... what's your all time favorite book?

Two of my many favorites -

On my list to read -

Happy Birthday to my Mister!

Why didn't I think of this?

You have to head over to this blog ...

I am soooo doing this. I've just added ornaments to my list to buy after Christmas cause I'm all about the bargains. And a homemade bargain wreath will be awesome compared to making it for full price. And I don't need this right now ... even though I really want it.