This and that...

A little random post for a rainy Wednesday:

Well, our time at Disney was FANTASTIC. It was the perfect short getaway. When I get home I'll upload pics and do a post on our adventures. For now we are at Nanny's house aka Andy's Mom's. Andy's cousin, Rob, is getting married this weekend so we are staying here till then. Andy is doing some traveling for work the rest of the week and AG is living the life in the country.

It was weird leaving Disney with the knowledge that the next time we return we'll be a family of four instead of three. Speaking of returning...we went ahead and booked our return trip for the fall with the kids. They were running a ridiculous special and we took advantage of it since we were already planning to come back. We also booked a getaway for Andy and I at the end of November/first of December for a few short days without both kiddos. It'll be our first trip alone since Hawaii of last year and our first trip alone since we became a family of four. I'm already looking forward to it. I need to start working on our dining reservations for the fall and start thinking about plans for our trip later in the year. Disney takes dining reservations 180 days out and I should be able to go ahead and book our fall trip soon. I'll have to wait a few weeks on the other trip.

Hard to believe that March has come and gone and April is here. Today I started making a mental list of things we need to do before Avi-Kate arrives. I need to put it all down on paper...I do love a good list. I'm almost 30 weeks which is surreal. Lots to do around the house in the coming weeks to get ready.

My toddler amazes me daily. Yesterday, for example he requested cereal but I couldn't quite understand him. So he did the sign for cereal which I think I've only signed a handful of times and I actually had to look up on my app to verify that that was indeed what he was signing/saying/requesting. This afternoon while laying him down in Nanny's bed for his nap he looked at the ceiling fan and informed me that there were diamonds on the fan. I looked up and yes, there were in fact diamond shapes on the fan. I love, love, love this age. I love how much he is soaking up and learning from day to day. Andy and I are also enjoying watching his personality really take flight.

Here are a few things we've learned about AG over the last few months:

-He's a thinker. He analyzes any and all situations...he's not shy in new situations he's just processing it all. Once he's done analyzing it he jumps in with both feet.

-He's a silent leader. He does his own thing and doesn't have to be in the spotlight. Some kids love the spotlight and others hate it. AG could take it or leave it. He's not doing things for the spotlight.

-He loves music...with a passion I might add. If a toddler can be passionate about something at such a young age?!? We are planning to keep doing Kindermusik this fall since he is enjoying it so much.

-He's quite tender and concerned for others. Daily Andy and I get asked, "Okay, Dada?" "Okay, Momma?" when we cough, sneeze, blow our nose, drop something, bump in to something, etc.

More to come...happy Wednesday...

What do you get...

...when you combine the Imagination Movers and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse?

AG's favorite new phrase, "Think Big! Hot Dog! Have Fun!" Complete with hand motions that get get higher with each phrase and with more excitement/emphasis in his voice. He usually breaks this out when he's excited about something. I'm sure we'll hear it several times while we are Disney. I need to get Andy to record it on his iPhone 4...add that to the To Do list.

I laugh every time he does this which happens to be on a daily basis. It always makes me chuckle. Think big and have fun both come from Imagination Movers and the hot dog comes from Mickey Mouse...for those that are not versed in Disney Junior shows. :) Both of which are a common occurrence around here on a daily basis.

So, here's to thinking big, hot dogs, and having fun in the days to come!

And we are...

...off! Almost.

We spent the weekend celebrating Caroline and Clay's wedding. It was busy, hectic, wild, beautiful, fun,etc. All of our company cleared out late Sunday afternoon and then Andy took off for two days to Columbus early Monday morning for work.

My allergies started an uproar at the end of the week last week and progressively worsened. Determined to not repeat a visit to the ER for sinus issues in Orlando, like I did in December, I called my allergist yesterday. He called in antibiotics and steroids and I've gotten several doses in to me and am on the mend.

Tonight I picked up our last minute supplies and all I have left to do is pack myself. I've already packed AG and our miscellaneous bags. In the morning we'll head to Gibson to pick up my sister and then head to Macon for the afternoon/night. We are staying with Andy's sister, Caroline, and then we'll head out early Friday morning. Andy is planning to work all day tomorrow here in Rome and then head to Macon in the evening.

I'm looking forward to lots of quality family time over the next few days, Florida sunshine, a break from the pollen, and some magical memories at the happiest place on earth...

Today is...

...your anniversary! Today is a special day! This little phrase is a Gary Gettis original and is sung for all manner of celebrations. Dad even serenaded Andy and I with it on our wedding day. There's also a Gary Gettis original dance that goes with it. Maybe one of these days I'll get it on video, anyways.



Happy 30th Anniversary to GiGi and G-Daddy! We are so blessed to have you a part of our lives and we are so thankful for all that you are and do for us. We love you!

Yo Ho, Yo Ho...

...Mommy got a great deal! Last year, I wanted to get AG a water table but we opted to splurge on his playhouse/climber combo for his birthday present. This year he had some birthday money that I decided I would use for a water table. It's funny because I really liked this particular table last year and since then AG has become a huge fan of all things associated with Peter Pan... including pirates!

The only problem is I didn't want to pay full price for the table, $79.99. So, I started shopping around to see if I could find a good deal and what a deal I found! Here's how it breaks down:

Toys'R'Us Price: $79.99

Coupon for $10 off from Toys'R'Us

Gift Card from Christmas for $40 to Toys'R'Us

Bringing the total down to $29.99 plus tax...which I used birthday money to pay for...so we paid nothing out of pocket! Wahoo, for shopping around and looking for good deals. 

Here's AG trying it out for the first time. He was quite excited about it...

I'm sure it will provide hours of entertainment this summer. I need to decide where exactly we should put it. Right now it's just hanging out on the patio but I may relocate it to the sandbox. We'll see. Anyways, I guess all that's left to say is Anchors Away!

Wordless Wednesday...

AG's Anatomy...

...who needs Grey's Anatomy?!

Yesterday, during Project Saturday, I ran to get us a late lunch from Chick-fil-A and while I was gone AG played doctor. Apparently, Habersham was in dire need of some medical attention and AG took good care of him. (Habersham was Andy's childhood gorilla and AG loves to play with him.) Alayna and Emily, two of our college girls, gave AG his doctor kit for his birthday. Here's a few of the pictures that Andy snapped while I was gone:

Showing Habersham how to wear the stethoscope.

Taking Habersham's blood pressure...AG enjoys 'helping' take my blood pressure when I have my OB appointments.

Habersham's blood pressure was perfect.

Now, it's time to listen to your heart...

After, I got back with lunch I got to witness the doctor in the house. Today the doctor returned to check up on his patient and everything seemed to be in order. Andy and I our thoroughly enjoying this stage of development. We love watching AG's imagination take flight...

A little DIY...

...for the weekend.

Andy and I are working, working around the house. Up for this weekend:

~Yardwork. Andy put in a new pull cord on the lawn mower this evening and was able to cut the backyard. This weekend we need to cut the front and all of the monkey grass in the frontyard. Yes, I know it should have been done weeks ago but let's face it the weather for the last month hasn't really cooperated and I'm too pregnant to do it by hand. (That and the fact that we have a TON of it since this is Ye Old House!)

~Finishing the benches for the dining room! Wahoo. Last weekend, Andy did the first coat of paint and he's been patiently waiting for the weather to dry out so he could sand 'em again, paint again, and then put the protective coat on them. I can't wait!

~Redoing the chandelier in the dining room. Since this fixture was already here we thought we'd try and rehab it. Originally, we were planning to just replace it but I thought why not try to rehab it...if it bombs no big deal since the original plan was to replace it anyways. Might as well, right? I'm hoping it turns out well... documentation to follow on this little project.

~Cleaning. Purging. Organizing. I'm sure everyone is tired of reading those little words in all of my posts as of late. But, I'm still pregnant and my nesting instincts are in full force. Tonight I completely cleaned, purged, and re-organized the pantry on a whim after dinner. Streamlining things makes me happy. Over the weekend I need to keep working on my closet and I need to get Andy to start his...

~Spray painting. I have a few things I need to freshen up with a new coat of paint around the house. Picture post on those items forthcoming.

There you have it. A few projects I'm hoping we can check off our never ending to do list.

Add hockey...

...to AG's interests. Andy, being the sports aficionado that he is, has passed his passion on to his son. Football, Baseball, Soccer, Golf, Basketball, and now Hockey. I'm waiting for the day when AG starts quoting things from Sports Center. Let's face it that day will be here before I know it. (Especially, the way his vocabulary is growing these days!)

Here's a few snapshots from a game that AG and Andy watched together, last Thursday, while I organized the linen closet:

Dad, how do I hold this?

Dad, let's play!

Taking a break to cheer on the home team in his jersey.

After dinner rough housing is a nightly occurrence in our house. Hockey games are no exception. AG decided to play and watch...Mom, you can't find us! 

Rough housing with Daddy is so much fun.

Yelling during sporting events is also a common occurrence.

Love my sports fanatics!

Since these photos AG and Andy have watched another game together. As soon as Andy put the game on AG went off to retrieve one of his dad's hockey sticks...making Andy and I chuckle when he reappeared with it. AG insisted that Andy take a few shots before rough housing with him. Here's hoping that Avi-Kate is athletic and a lover of all sports!  

Words for Wednesday...Just Like Daddy Edition.

Andy is a drummer and before we had kids he hoped that one of our children would be musically inclined. AG is his father's son. (In more ways than one.) He's been drumming on things since before his first birthday and in this last year he's really gotten in to it. Sunday night Disney did a concert special of the Imagination Movers, one of AG's favorite programs, and the next morning we had to re-watch the concert. I walked in from cleaning up the breakfast dishes in the kitchen and this is what I saw:

He had created his own set-up...complete with Andy's Guitar Hero drums, one of my plant stands with a holiday tin on it, and he grabbed his stool out of 'his kitchen' to use as his seat.

Oh, and let's not forget the pedals...one for each foot. He sat there completely content and drummed along to the concert. He even 'sang' back up on some of the songs at the top of his lungs. Does it make mommy smile? Yes. Does it make daddy happy? Yes. Just like daddy? You bet. 

And that's not a bad thing...

26 Weeks Update...

In two weeks my baby sister will be married and I will have officially crossed over in to the final trimester. I go back a week from tomorrow for my next appointment and my glucose test with my midwife.

Weight Gain: I'm at 23 pounds exactly today.

Maternity Clothes: I'm still rocking my jeans and a Bella Band, however, I did order several things from Boden this past week to try out their maternity line. I'm excited for everything to come in next week sometime...shipping takes a little longer since almost everything ships from the Britain. But worth the wait because everything I've ever ordered from them has been fabulous.

Energy: Today I'm on self-prescribed bedrest. This last week I overdid it with cleaning and wedding festivities. I had several painful Braxton Hicks contractions last night back to back. I'm staying off my feet all day and resting. I'm hoping that I'll feel better overall and ready to take on this next week with a day of rest under my belt.

The first half of this was typed yesterday...here's the rest:

Cravings: Coke and Sprite ice cold on crushed ice. Water continues to make me nauseated most days. So that's why I drink everything over a ton of crushed ice since I can't drink just water. Popsicles.

Gender: Girl!

Movement: Quite active but she appreciates it when I slow down and prop my feet up after a busy day.

Miscellaneous: I'm at the stage where I can't eat an entire meal anymore but I'm hungry every 2-3 hours without fail.


I feel like there is more I should type but my brain is at a stand still and I can't remember what I wanted to type earlier in the day. I'm exhausted from trying to keep up with AG today and not still feeling 100% yet. I'm praying I feel better tomorrow...here's hoping.

Purging. Cleaning. Nesting.

Whew.

I've been on my feet all day cleaning out my closet and the linen closet in the guest bath...while having ER play in the background. ER and FRIENDS were two my favorite shows from high school and we have them all on DVD. Whenever I need a little background noise while I tackle a project I pop in a disc. I've seen them so many times I don't have to 'watch' them. Anyways, after dinner I made a trip to Wal-Mart to pick up some containers to help me put everything back together. I'm taking a break and propping up my feet while watching Idol.

Lots of progress made in my closet today. I have a huge pile of clothes I'm going to try and consign...if that doesn't work then I'll donate it all. It's quite freeing to purge en masse! And rewarding...I just ordered some new maternity clothes from Boden since they were running a 20% off special. :)

Andy and I both purged our vast collection of t-shirts, however, I'm not giving them away. I've boxed 'em up to go in the attic for the time being. I want to have them made in to a couple of quilts. I need to do a little research to see how they are made and figure out if it is something I could do myself. I'm betting that while I'm crafty I might be better off getting someone to make them for me.

I also started on the linen closet and normally I'd say stick to one organizing project at a time, however, some of the stuff that I was sorting from my closet needs to be moved to the other.  We have to be super creative with our storage since our space, in this wonderful old house, is at a premium.

I'm off to watch another episode of ER and get to a good stopping point for the night. Plus, I need to unearth our bed. Speaking of bed I slept great last night for the first time in several days. I'm hoping for a consecutive night of 'good sleep' which doesn't always happen when you are pregnant.

Around the House...

Here are a few notes from around the house...I've slacked in recent weeks on daybook/what we've been up to posts.

Currently:

~Andy has been working hard on building me two benches for the dining room table. He finished them last night and is ready to start painting them and finish the table. I'm thinking of doing a matching cushion of some sort for the tops. We also picked up two very old chairs this past weekend that we think were Andy's great-grandmother's...they are in desperate need of some TLC BUT my very handy husband should be able to fix 'em up. I'd like to find two more chairs with arms to sit at each end...I need to hit up the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and see if I can find anything good. Pictures forth coming of all of this...

~I've tweaked AG's play area in the den a bit and it's quite functional for the stage of play that he is in right now. I also LOVE having half his toys in the attic to rotate in and out every few weeks. Andy's old Fisher Price Zoo has seen lots of play time the last few days since I brought it down (AKA Misty helped with this project while Andy was gone last week!) from the attic.

~I've been washing baby clothes and putting things away as we get them so as to not have to do it all at once. Let it be known that this little girl has way more in her closet now than AG ever has had! Ha. :) Lots of cute dresses and rompers for her to wear this summer.

~I packed up a bunch of AG's baby blankets since we won't need them this go around since they are quite "boyish".

~I'm getting ready to do a mass purging of my closet and Andy's closet. Time to do some major cleaning and reorganizing. I also need Andy to add an extra shelf to my closet so that I can store out of season items.

~In the guest bath it's time to reorganize and adjust the linen closet. I also never put up a new shower curtain when we painted/put in the new vanity. So, it's time to do some finishing touches in the bathroom. I need to spray paint a few items to give them a face lift and then add them to the decor in here. Pictures to come.

~I've also had a lot of decor the same way since we moved in here almost four years ago. Time to move stuff around change it up a bit with my knick-knacks, pictures, candles, etc. Pictures to come.

~I want Andy to build me a huge frame to sit on the mantle in the living room this summer so that we can put a family photo in it. I've already got the design in my head now I just need to get Andy to build it. :)

~Speaking of building I also need him to build a bookshelf ASAP so that I can put all the books that are stacked in Avi-Kate's closet on it. The shelf they use to sit on is now in AG's room with all of his books on it and so I'm down a shelf.

~Once we get AG completely switched to his big boy bed we'll move the crib and finalize where furniture is going to go. Speaking of AG's big boy bed he now has a set of Curious George sheets for his new bed. They look really cute on his bed. Can't believe how big he is getting...

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm off to go start tackling my closet...I've put it off long enough and I'm ready to check it off my list of things to do. I'll be 26 weeks this weekend and time is winding down I've got lots to do before she arrives and lots going on between now then. Happy Thursday.

Three weeks...

...till we head back to Disney for a nice long weekend. To say I'm excited is an understatement. With so much going on right now we need a few days break. We got a great last minute deal with our passes to stay at Pop Century. I think for what we want to do this go around it will fit our needs perfectly. I'm already starting to mull over our fall trip plans. We'll need something bigger in the fall since we'll have AG and Avi-Kate. We are also planning a week long trip next March with all of Andy's family. Since we've decided to do a week long trip next year we are going to plan on renewing our annual passes for 2012. It just makes the most sense and saves us money. Plus, they discount our renewal and we'll be off-site for our week long trip...so our passes will save us a ton in parking money. Here's hoping that all of us are well in three weeks unlike our last visit. I'm so ready to be there...

The comedy of errors...

...that was my Tuesday. Last Tuesday. (It's been that crazy and I'm just now getting around to posting.)

Andy left for his business trip to Cali bright and early Tuesday morning. Before the sun came up. He kissed my head as he left and I slept till AG got up after 8. AG and I snuggled...I worked on some Disney plans while we watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We had breakfast.

After breakfast I needed to get a shower. AG insisted he needed to shower with me. Sure. Whatever works since we are flying solo till the weekend. Well, I finished and got out to dry off. I left AG in to play a minute more while I got dressed. I turned off the shower and asked AG if he was ready to get out...typical toddler he responded with a very sweet, 'no' and a shake of his wet head. Well, I gave him a minute more and started doing my hair. I look over and he is squatting. He then gets up and moves a few steps and squats again. This goes on for a minute or so...well moments later he poops in the shower. For which I couldn't get mad because we are starting to explore the world of potty training and this was the first time he's pooped for either of us. I laughed. Dried him off and stuck him on his potty to finish up. He peed and we did his potty dance. At this point I'm laughing and ready for whatever gets thrown at me next.

The next would be my partner for mentoring canceling an hour before we have to teach at Model High School. Okay, I'm an educator and I can handle two high school 101 classes on my own...no biggie. And then it dawns on me 30 minutes before I leave the house that I don't have my wallet. Yep. No wallet. No money, no license, no insurance cards, no cash, etc. And I know exactly where it is. I left it in Andy's truck which is not in Rome but in Adairsville. Thank heavens he didn't leave it all the way at the airport BUT the downside is that I don't know where it is in Adairsville. When this light bulb goes off Andy is somewhere over the mid-West and not reachable by cell.

I laughed, again. Left Andy a message to call me ASAP and prayed that God would let me get safely to and from Model without my license. Thankfully, I made it there and Andy called during my lunch break. I filled him in and got directions to the house where he had left his truck. I then called my sister, Misty, to see what time she was planning to come up. I filled her in and told her that we'd be off on an adventure once she arrived to retrieve my wallet.

I finished teaching, made it home, tutored for an hour and a half, and Misty arrived. We did dinner at the mall with our college crew like normal and Andy called to say he made it to Modesto safely. I had to tell my other sister, Caroline, that we wouldn't be able to make it to her wedding shower that her bible study girls were throwing her since we needed to go find my wallet.

We plugged in the address to OnStar and put in AG's Kindermusik CD and set out for Adairsville. We thankfully made it there and were able to get my wallet! Which was essential since I needed my insurance card for my OB appointment the next day...in addition to my license and money. :) After a long day we made it back and put AG to bed after he needed an extra 30 minutes of snuggling time.

I'm grateful for seeing the humor in all of it and thankful for the help of family. Never a dull moment, right?