Fantastic time in Nashville!

It was a fantastic weekend in Nashville! I love, love, love, love my college girlfriends! God truly blessed me TWELVE Augusts ago when I met them all. I am confident that 12 years from now we will all still be trying to meet up. This summer was the weekend with the largest attendance.
Roll call please:

Me

Karie Fouts Fager

Jenny McCormick Martin

Janna Shero Gustafson

Clair Wietecha Patton

Joy Richardson Carroll

Erin Nordin Harsh

Leslie Daniel Echols

Ashley Sholl Lemaster

Lyndsay and Max Magar

We ate, shopped, ate some more, lounged by the pool, ate, talked, talked, talked, talked, talked, ate, walked downtown, ate, slept (but not much), talked, talked, talked, and finally, ate. You can see, we had our priorities in the right places. My camera was super lame this weekend and decided to demand a new battery pack each time I turned it on. Thanks to Ashley and Leslie for supplying me with pictures to share with the world. Hopefully, I will be receiving other pics later.

Friday afternoon...lunch at Corky's (at fave of Mrs. Lemaster's)

Clair and me (Clair was in charge of getting the hotel...thanks Clair!!!!!!)

Dinner Friday night at Buca di Beppo's. So good! Everything is served family style. The annoying waitress (who wasn't even our waitress) sat down to have her picture taken also. You can tell by our expressions that we do not welcome her in our photo.

Dinner Saturday night at Big River Grille...Clair, Leslie, and Janna

Karie, Jenny, Erin, and Lyndsay

Ashley, Joy, and me

Expecting moms: me (Oct. 1 c-section), Leslie (due Oct. 15), Ashley (due on Oct. 8, but scheduled c-section around the 1st), Erin (due Feb. 17 (I think!) )

Breakfast Sunday morning at Pancake Pantry...we had already dropped Ashley off at the airport...we missed her!

Sweet Max Magar! He is 6 weeks old and a wonderful baby!!!! When he cried, you could hardly even hear him. He was a perfect "token male" at our weekend!

Again, it was wonderful to see everyone and I am already looking forward to a possible Colorado weekend next summer! I love you all and am so thankful that God made us friends!!!!

Mississippi

We arrived in Mississippi today around 4:30pm. Our drive took a little under 10 hours. We shaved some time off of the previous visit in March...way to go us! I was very impressed with our stops...only TWO of them and that is something to brag about with a very pregnant passenger. I kept my liquid intake to a minimum. Hopefully my bladder can maintain the same strength on my trip to Nashville Friday.

Nora has had a marvelous time so far...her favorite has been to sit in the swivel chair and have someone turn her around. She looks a little drunk when she gets out of the chair though.

We are off to the pool in the morning.

I leave Friday morning, bright and early, for a reunion with my college friends. I think there are going to be 10 of us there! Last year, we were brave and drug our children along. This year, we are smarter, and are not having any kids (with the exception of sweet 1 month old Max Magar). Matthew will be hanging out at his dad's with Nora while I spend 2 nights away. This is the longest I have left my baby girl and I am looking forward to it! I am sure I will miss her, but I am looking forward to some serious rejuvenating time!

I had a doctor's appointment on Monday...my glucose levels were great (I assume because I haven't heard from the doctor's office) and I am still measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule. I hate measuring big. I melted down (when I was alone) about being so big. I mean, I am really trying to go in for an appointment one day and the doctor says to me, "Hey, you're right on schedule...great!". He assures me it is not a weight thing but a uterus thing. Whatever, all I see are the pounds. I know, I know, I know, I will not be a huge preggo for the rest of my life...just 9 more weeks, but come on, my ego could use a boost!

I write this, not to gain sympathy from anyone, but to simply write. This is my blog and my outlet, whether it be to share photos and antics of my little girl, or to write about what I am thinking/feeling. As mentioned above, I am going to Nashville Friday to see dear, dear friends. I am confident they will not judge me for my gigantic belly or expanding everything else, but, it is hard to think that I will probably be the Carnie Wilson in the group. Why do I let it get to me? BTW, if you are preg. DO NOT get the magazine with the big headline "BEACH BODIES" on it. It shows celebrity women before/after pregnancy in their swimsuits. I don't think it is healthy for you to put yourself through that.

I will update on Monday when we get home. I will post pictures of our trips. I'm off to bed!

Tagged

I was tagged by Amy S. Thanks!

Firsts and lasts:

First Memory - When my sister was born and going to the hospital to see her. I was 2 1/2.
First Real Kiss - Travis Engel from church...I was a freshman in high school
First Love - Matthew Henderson-seriously!!!! I was 16 years old.
First concert - My first "real" concert was a Dixie Chicks concert about 9 years ago. I went to a ton of college concerts, but never anything really big. I know, I was a dork!
First thought in the morning - Lately it has been...Wow! She sure slept a long time last night!
First Best Friend - Karie Fouts...we met when we were both 8 years old at camp and have been friends since then (22 years!)
Last food you ate - A piece of chocolate cake tonight at Bible Study
Last CD purchased - A worship kids CD
Last good book you read - Ughhh...I can't remember the name of it, but it was the last book in a series by Beverly Austin. If I wasn't being lazy right now, I would go look it up. Maybe later.
Last time you cried - Today! Nora accidentally hit me in the eye with one of her toys and it hurt soooooo bad. I'm surprised there is not a huge bruise. She started crying too when she saw how upset I was...poor kid!
Last "I love you" said - To Nora when I said good night...in a few minutes I will tell it to Matthew because we are about to go to bed too.
Last funny thing you did - Hard one! I am extremely funny-but I'm usually the only one who really thinks so. I'm sure I did a million funny things today...I made Nora laugh a ton!

Okay, I now tag...Sara, Jennifer, Ashley, and Julie

Busy, Busy, Busy!

We sure have been busy lately...and there is no sign of it slowing down any time soon. That is what a summer is for after all!

Last weekend, we went back to Camp Tahkodah for the new mess hall dedication. The mess hall was dedicated to Randy Lambeth. For anyone who has ever been to camp, you know that Randy has given much of his life to camp and making sure that each child that came to camp knew God better by the end of each session. He is a special person to us (he married Matthew and me) and we were so excited that this honor was given to him! He told everyone he was completely surprised and didn't expect it. There were a lot of people there...Cliff and Jane Sharp (the directors when I first started going to camp 22 years ago!), the Ganus', Dr. and Mrs. Burks, us...you know, all the "important" people. The day was a hot one and I was glad that we did not choose 4th session to attend...I'm pretty sure I would have passed out from a heat stroke daily. The mess hall is fabulous! If you are ever near camp, you should go out and see it...quite a sight!

We hurried home Sunday afternoon, changed the clothes in the suitcase out and headed to Matthew's mom's house. We spent a few days playing in the sun and Nora enjoyed the water.
Our biggest project though has been painting our guest bedroom. We are moving Nora to the guest bedroom when the baby comes. Matthew and I spent the better part of Tuesday painting (I know, I know, I'm not supposed to be around paint fumes...calm down. I didn't have my head in the bucket breathing in the fumes, the room was well-ventilated, and I took several breaks). We still have several more things to do before it officially becomes "Nora's room". I still need to make curtains for the enormous window (the jury is still out on how they will look), we need to find a toddler bed, Matthew is refinishing a dresser of his grandparents that we (he) are going to antique, and we need to find a home for all of the former guest bedroom furniture. Here are some pictures of our work so far:Today was spent cleaning out our closet and the guest room closet...I am giving away a ton of clothes to Goodwill and threw away 2 trash bags full of trash from the guest closet. I decided if I hadn't worn it in a year, I didn't need it (or if I didn't think there was anyway I would ever fit in it again) and if I hadn't used what was in the guest closet in over two years, there was no need for me to hang on to it any longer! It felt good to clean out! Now, I have to move stuff over from Nora's closet to her "new" closet. That job can wait a few weeks though!

We leave Wednesday for Mississippi and I leave Friday from Mississippi for Nashville to see my girl friends from college! I am so excited! Hopefully, between tomorrow and Wednesday, I will clean out more closets and give my house a really good cleaning!

Just keep your mouth CLOSED!

****Disclaimer-This is a picture of me 22 weeks pregnant with NORA. I had just started wearing maternity clothes a few weeks before and was super proud to show off my "bump"**** Now, onto my ranting...

I am sick and tired of hearing the following:

-When are you due? October? Oh my goodness, do you think you will be able to make it that far? Your belly is really big!

-Not long now! Oh, you still have 12 weeks? Wow (confused look on stranger's face)!

-Are you sure there is just ONE baby in there?

-Only 19 months apart!!!!! Good luck with that one! Are you going to try and have her potty-trained by then? (The answer, by the way, is NO! Are you kidding me?)

I am sick and tired of perfect strangers thinking they have some sort of right to tell me that 1. I am look like I am 12 months pregnant and 2. that my life is now over because I am going to have 2 children under the age of two. Back off people!

This pregnancy has definitely given me a run for my money! First of all, it was completely unexpected! I have never been more surprised to see 2 pink lines in my life. I was so shocked in fact, that I spent a few weeks crying on and off. If I had it my way (and I don't, thank you God for knowing me and your plan for my life better than I ever will!), Nora would have been out of her crib, eating by herself with a fork, potty trained, and not attached to her pacifier before we threw another kid into the mix. Didn't work out that way though. Complete strangers...stop judging me...

Secondly, my stomach is WAY bigger this time around than it was with Nora. Someone recently told me that it takes 2 years for the uterus to shrink back to its original size after a pregnancy. Obviously, mine never made it there...I only gave it an 11 month hiatus. I have been "showing" since the little stick confirmed my pregnancy (at least that is what it feels like!). The scales have been kinder to me this time. I have not gained as much weight (not to say that I won't eventually pack it on...I mean, I still have 2 1/2 months to go!), but that does not seem to affect my belly. Each time I go to the doctor, I measure 3 weeks ahead of what I actually am. However, the baby is measuring EXACTLY to the day. I don't understand it. Complete strangers...I don't look at you and point out your enormous bottom or crooked teeth or bad hair...why do you pick on me?

Okay, that's enough for tonight...I feel much better!

Human for Sale

This is ridiculous! I thought I was priceless!
I am worth $2,218,870 on HumanForSale.com
How much are you worth?

Our trip in photos (part 2)

We all arrived home last night! Nora and I drove up at 4:45 and Matthew got home at 8:30. It was so nice to all be home and in our own beds! We celebrated this morning with a pancake breakfast and some family time. Right now, Matthew is mowing the lawn (apparently it rained here every day that we were gone), Nora is napping, and I should be doing laundry and cleaning. Here are some pictures from our time in Texas:

Our Fourth of July fun:

Watching the neighborhood parade. It wasn't so much a parade as it was a tribute to Corvettes. Almost every "float" in the parade was a Corvette. The grown men really enjoyed it!

The weather was beautiful on the 4th! We celebrated by going swimming. Nora had a blast in her red/white/blue swimsuit...thanks Gram!

That evening, several of us went to a concert in the Botanic Gardens. It was great! There were so many people there!!!!! An orchestra played patriotic songs and then the Texas Girls Choir sang. As you can see from the picture below, the place was packed! The only downside of the evening was the water logged ground. Our feet were MUDDY by the time we made it back to our cars!

Nora and I watching the fireworks...they were so pretty and LOUD. I don't know if you can tell by Nora's face, but she is exhausted!

Other fun on our trip:

Julie and Bailey came over one day to play. We were all going to play at the pool, but well, you know, the rain got in the way. They seemed to have a good time together but you couldn't go too far from them because these two are quick on their feet!

My cousin, Danita, brought her 6 week old baby over so she could go shopping for a few hours and Bailey and Nora discovered his car seat. Hmmmm...looks familiar!

The best "toy" in the house...the stairs! It was a race to the top and Nora barely edged out a victory!

I have been keeping up with Suzanne's blog and since I was in Fort Worth, I wanted to go and see the lovely lady for myself. Marty and Suzanne were at Harding together for a little while so I knew Marty would want to go too. She is beautiful!!!! Marty and I could not stop talking about how great she looked and what good spirits she was in. It was so good to meet you Suzanne!

It was a fantastic trip! Thanks mom for everything!

We're home!!!!

And we are so happy!

Photo update of our trip so far...

The first night we arrived in town, we were able to have dinner with our friends, Alex, Brooke, and Taylor Hale. It was so good to see them. We used to be in a home Bible study with them before the up and moved to Texas. I had high hopes for Nora and Taylor rooming at Harding one day together.


We have both had pedicures since we have been here. Nora slept through mine, but woke up when it was her turn...smart girl!
She enjoyed a fun filled evening at Chuck E. Cheese (her first visit). At first she wasn't too sure about the rides, but by the time we were ready to go, she was fearless!
Swimming lessons! First day...disaster; second day...a little better, she lasted the whole time; today...she is a fish! She is loving the lessons and already blowing bubbles and splashing like a pro. Watch out Olympics :).

"Cousins" luncheon. My mom had a lunch Monday for the girls in the family. As you can tell by the picture above, we are adding lots of babies to the family in a short period of time. This Christmas there will be 5 little ones running (or laying) around. And I am sure, there are many more to come!

Is this my near future? Nora is all smiles for this picture, but she was acting very jealous when I was holding baby Colton...it should be interesting in October!

It has been a great visit so far! We have been able to be at the pool in the mornings before the rain comes in the afternoon. Tomorrow we are hoping to go to the pool again and then see some fireworks tomorrow night. Hopefully the rain will head to California (they are having a drought). We are happy to be in Texas but SOOOOOO ready to head back home and see Matthew!!!!! Only 3 more days!

Happy 4th of July!