I've been wanting to get this post up for awhile! I wanted to make sure to journal Merritt's arrival before I forget all the details. Yes, it's probably better to FORGET some of those moments, but I thought it would be nice to go back and read him this story some day.
I remember feeling my first contraction on Friday morning, August 22nd, 2014. I already had a doctors appointment scheduled for that morning at 10:00am so it worked out pretty well. My mom and I went into the doctors office and they confirmed that I was contracting (about every 5-6 minutes). They sent us home, with the understanding that it could be several days before things might actually get moving. But I knew otherwise! My mom had actually planned to leave that day to head back to Salisbury (I wasn't due for another week) but she obviously opted to stay.
We decided to head to the hospital later that night, around 6:00pm. My contractions were closer to 3 minutes apart and getting more and more uncomfortable. I was assigned a room and checked to see if I was dilated, which I was not. AT ALL. So we decided to wait around for a few hours to see if things might progress. Thomas and Mom both took turns walking the hallways with me.
After several hours, I was checked again and still was not showing any dilation. I was so upset at this point. I had really hoped for at least a little progress. So my options from here were to head home and wait it out.. or to be induced. I really wanted things to progress naturally so I opted to head home.
This was by far the longest night of my life. My contractions were steadily happening every 3 minutes... and it was to the point that I was DREADING when that 3 minute period was up. I tried sitting, I tried standing, I tried the bathtub, I tried the shower, I tried holding on to the back of the couch.. NOTHING helped. I was so incredibly miserable. But luckily, morning came and I decided we had to get back to the hospital. I couldn't take another minute at home. I had been up all night and I was physically exhausted.
We checked in Saturday morning, where I found out I was 4 cm dilated. I almost immediately got my epidural and I've never felt such instant relief. It was one of the happiest moments of my life!
The rest of the morning and afternoon were pretty low key. My dad traveled down from North Carolina and met us at the hospital.. and I was able to get in a quick nap before the delivery.
Merritt arrived at 4:48 Saturday afternoon. It was a smooth delivery with no complications.
We had a few visitors at the hospital, including my parents, thomas' parents, and some friends of ours, Blake and Jen.
We did end up spending at extra 48 hours in the hospital because Merritt had Jaundice. He didn't enjoy being under the lights in his bassinet, but we pushed through and eventually made it home.
Merritt is just over 2 months old now and I actually have found time to blog! WHAT?! The first 2 months were a little rocky, but we've witnessed a much happier baby over the past 2 weeks and we are thrilled! He smiles and babbles all the time, as well as just happily hangs out in between feedings. That was UNHEARD of several weeks ago. He was constantly upset, with the two of us trying to decipher what was wrong.
We're so thrilled that Merritt is finally here. Its surreal. We both couldn't have imagined how much we could love this little guy- but he's definitely changed our lives forever!
Friday, October 31, 2014
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Thomas' new Office!
We've been busy trying to get Thomas moved out of the babies room and into his new office, which is currently our formal living room (that we don't use). My dad came down several weeks ago and we installed french doors to close off both openings to the room.
Luckily we were able to do a set of french doors and a transom window in each opening with minimal sheet rock work.
We've been working off and on for a couple weeks to get the doors and trim painted. You'd be surprised how long it takes to put 2 coats of paint of doors that have a million little cracks and crevices. Luckily, my in-laws came down this past weekend and helped Thomas finish up while I was gone. They finished all of the interior trim and also managed to paint the walls and ceiling of the room. There is still a little organizing to be done but its starting to come together!
After a little more painting on the adjacent rooms and a little organization in the office itself, we'll be done! And now the babies room is completely empty and we can get to work in there also! More pictures of those projects to come...
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Pregnancy Progress...
A few facts to note during this pregnancy so far!
Favorite Food: In the beginning (while in survival mode), Pop Tarts and Nilla Waffers; favorite food now- strawberries, bagels with cream cheese, Now and Laters, Japanese Food, and apples
Morning Sickness: YES! More like all day sickness for a solid 13 weeks
Exercise of Choice: Swimming and Walking :)
When we found out we were Pregnant: A few days before Christmas
How we told our Families: In person over the Holidays
Due Date: August 28th
How many weeks to date?: 20 weeks, 5 days
Gender: BOY!
Name: Still to be decided!
Other things to note: Baby Tuck likes to move a lot at night time, I'm really uncomfortable wearing anything but dresses and my favorite baby books so far are Consumer Reports: Best Baby Products, The Hot Mom to be Handbook, and What to Expect When Your Expecting
9 weeks
12 weeks
14 weeks
16 weeks
17 weeks
18 weeks
20 weeks
The Sunshine State!
Thomas and I had a really nice vacation last week in Florida. There was a lot of car time involved, but it was well worth the time spent with friends.
We left Saturday, the 5th, and drove to Gainesville, FL. Our friends Paul and Angela live there and we were able to spend the day with them and meet baby Henry. It was quick 24 hour stay, but we really enjoyed getting to see them! Thomas even got to pet an alligator (wink wink).
On Sunday, we left for Miami. Our friends Meagan and Tripp live in Miami and we stayed with them until Tuesday. Thomas and Tripp both had to work all day on Monday, but Meagan and I enjoyed a little shopping and a little beach time :) I will say- for being in the sunshine state, the drivers in Miami are not very sun shinny!
On Tuesday morning, we left Miami and headed towards St. Augustine (where we would stay for 4 nights). Tuesday was our only rainy day of the trip- which turned out to be perfect car weather. We arrived around 3:00 and got checked into our airbnb location. It was breath taking, to say the least. We were able to enjoy our own freestanding apartment that had a view of the ocean, our own pool and outdoor lanai, a dock with a great view of the lighthouse and the bridge of lions, and great company (our airbnb host and his schnauzer, Tillie). I would (without a doubt) recommend this stay to anyone, except that the owner is selling the property next month and moving to WINNIPEG. Thomas and I both thought he might be short a few marbles after telling us of this move. Thomas travels to Winnipeg quite frequently and it is COLD. We asked how he would make that hard transition and he said - "with lots of medication".
While in St. Augustine, we were able to explore the lighthouse, spend an entire day exploring downtown, and also spend a day at the beach. We were conveniently located to everything so we were able to walk downtown and back whenever we pleased.
I think one of the real highlights of our stay was Tillie. We are obviously dog people- and so is she. She loves being around other dogs and stuck by our sides the entire trip. Only at nighttime did she eventually go home to sleep in the main house. Other than that, she napped, walked, explored, and vegged with us for the entire trip! She was a spitting image of Wendy and had a lot of the same mannerisms- except that she was 6 lbs. Wendy is a whopping 15lbs! Apparently Tillie was the runt and never grew to her full potential. I will say- if Victor had asked us to take her home with us instead of toting her to blizzarding cold Winnipeg, we would of said yes in a minute!
We really enjoyed sitting out on the dock everyday. Thomas was able to fish every single day while I sat with the dogs and watched. He caught so many interesting things- 2 sting rays, an eel, a striped burrfish (blowfish- like), lots of cat fish, a couple sharks, and a few red drum and blue fish. We also had several close encounters with dolphins that came right up to the dock to see us. It was very cool to see!
Victor, the homeowner owned another property that was located on St. Augustine Beach and we were able to park there on our beach day. It turned out to be very convenient because it was easily accessible for parking and had a pool and restrooms to use while we were at the beach! Pregnant ladies pee a lot.. or so I've been told...
On our last full day, we explored town. Traditionally, we buy an ornament on each vacation so we went out on a search for that. We also packed a picnic lunch and were able to picnic right next to Castillo De San Marcos. We didn't pay to go in, but we did get a great viewing of a cannon demonstration :). We also walked out onto the Bridge of Lions, which was fun!
Overall, it was a great vacation. We didn't have a busy agenda, but that was perfect and exactly what we needed!
We left Saturday, the 5th, and drove to Gainesville, FL. Our friends Paul and Angela live there and we were able to spend the day with them and meet baby Henry. It was quick 24 hour stay, but we really enjoyed getting to see them! Thomas even got to pet an alligator (wink wink).
On Sunday, we left for Miami. Our friends Meagan and Tripp live in Miami and we stayed with them until Tuesday. Thomas and Tripp both had to work all day on Monday, but Meagan and I enjoyed a little shopping and a little beach time :) I will say- for being in the sunshine state, the drivers in Miami are not very sun shinny!
On Tuesday morning, we left Miami and headed towards St. Augustine (where we would stay for 4 nights). Tuesday was our only rainy day of the trip- which turned out to be perfect car weather. We arrived around 3:00 and got checked into our airbnb location. It was breath taking, to say the least. We were able to enjoy our own freestanding apartment that had a view of the ocean, our own pool and outdoor lanai, a dock with a great view of the lighthouse and the bridge of lions, and great company (our airbnb host and his schnauzer, Tillie). I would (without a doubt) recommend this stay to anyone, except that the owner is selling the property next month and moving to WINNIPEG. Thomas and I both thought he might be short a few marbles after telling us of this move. Thomas travels to Winnipeg quite frequently and it is COLD. We asked how he would make that hard transition and he said - "with lots of medication".
While in St. Augustine, we were able to explore the lighthouse, spend an entire day exploring downtown, and also spend a day at the beach. We were conveniently located to everything so we were able to walk downtown and back whenever we pleased.
I think one of the real highlights of our stay was Tillie. We are obviously dog people- and so is she. She loves being around other dogs and stuck by our sides the entire trip. Only at nighttime did she eventually go home to sleep in the main house. Other than that, she napped, walked, explored, and vegged with us for the entire trip! She was a spitting image of Wendy and had a lot of the same mannerisms- except that she was 6 lbs. Wendy is a whopping 15lbs! Apparently Tillie was the runt and never grew to her full potential. I will say- if Victor had asked us to take her home with us instead of toting her to blizzarding cold Winnipeg, we would of said yes in a minute!
We really enjoyed sitting out on the dock everyday. Thomas was able to fish every single day while I sat with the dogs and watched. He caught so many interesting things- 2 sting rays, an eel, a striped burrfish (blowfish- like), lots of cat fish, a couple sharks, and a few red drum and blue fish. We also had several close encounters with dolphins that came right up to the dock to see us. It was very cool to see!
Wendy was a good little kayak dog
Victor, the homeowner owned another property that was located on St. Augustine Beach and we were able to park there on our beach day. It turned out to be very convenient because it was easily accessible for parking and had a pool and restrooms to use while we were at the beach! Pregnant ladies pee a lot.. or so I've been told...
On our last full day, we explored town. Traditionally, we buy an ornament on each vacation so we went out on a search for that. We also packed a picnic lunch and were able to picnic right next to Castillo De San Marcos. We didn't pay to go in, but we did get a great viewing of a cannon demonstration :). We also walked out onto the Bridge of Lions, which was fun!
Overall, it was a great vacation. We didn't have a busy agenda, but that was perfect and exactly what we needed!
So long for now St. Augustine!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
A Chicken Success!
I had a super success with my cooking this week! I tried a new recipe which entailed slow cooking an entire chicken for 5-6 hours. I didn't have much experience with cooking a whole chicken, but it was actually quite easy.
To begin with, I placed a bed of chopped carrots, onions, and celery in the crock pot. I then stuffed the chicken itself with one chopped lemon and rubbed the outside of the chicken with a dry rub consisting of onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, s&p, and cumin. I then placed the bird on top of the veggies, closed the lid, and let it cook for about 6 hours. I had worried that the chicken would dry out because this recipe in particular didn't call for any broth, but it worked out just fine! It was very moist and falling off the bone by the time it was done.
I carefully pulled the chicken out of the pot (this proved to be very difficult since it was falling apart) and separated out all the good meat (Thomas and I broke the wishbone- he won). I poured the vegetable/broth mixture in a different container and stored it in the fridge to mess with on another day. For the first two nights, we just served the chicken as a part of a salad, which was really yummy. Have you ever tried a spoonful of hummus added to your salad? If not, you should. Its delicious!
Last night, I decided to tackle the rest of the chicken and vegetable leftovers. I was able to make two different dishes. I should mention first that after the veggies had refrigerated at least 24 hours, I was able to open up the container and skim off some of the fat layer that had formed from the chicken. I then threw the veggies in a pot, added a container of vegetable broth, part of the cut up chicken, 1/4 box of cooked penne pasta, more s&p, and let it simmer for an hour.
For the other half of the chicken, I made a cold pasta salad. It consisted of 1/2 box cooked penne pasta, steamed green beans sliced into bit size pieces, 1 small head of radicchio (chopped), dried blueberries, and the leftover portion of the cooked chicken. I toss all of this in a champagne salad dressing made by Girard's, let it sit overnight, and then devour because its delicious!
Here are a few pictures to share-
To begin with, I placed a bed of chopped carrots, onions, and celery in the crock pot. I then stuffed the chicken itself with one chopped lemon and rubbed the outside of the chicken with a dry rub consisting of onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, s&p, and cumin. I then placed the bird on top of the veggies, closed the lid, and let it cook for about 6 hours. I had worried that the chicken would dry out because this recipe in particular didn't call for any broth, but it worked out just fine! It was very moist and falling off the bone by the time it was done.
I carefully pulled the chicken out of the pot (this proved to be very difficult since it was falling apart) and separated out all the good meat (Thomas and I broke the wishbone- he won). I poured the vegetable/broth mixture in a different container and stored it in the fridge to mess with on another day. For the first two nights, we just served the chicken as a part of a salad, which was really yummy. Have you ever tried a spoonful of hummus added to your salad? If not, you should. Its delicious!
Last night, I decided to tackle the rest of the chicken and vegetable leftovers. I was able to make two different dishes. I should mention first that after the veggies had refrigerated at least 24 hours, I was able to open up the container and skim off some of the fat layer that had formed from the chicken. I then threw the veggies in a pot, added a container of vegetable broth, part of the cut up chicken, 1/4 box of cooked penne pasta, more s&p, and let it simmer for an hour.
For the other half of the chicken, I made a cold pasta salad. It consisted of 1/2 box cooked penne pasta, steamed green beans sliced into bit size pieces, 1 small head of radicchio (chopped), dried blueberries, and the leftover portion of the cooked chicken. I toss all of this in a champagne salad dressing made by Girard's, let it sit overnight, and then devour because its delicious!
Here are a few pictures to share-
Enjoy!
Friday, February 28, 2014
Mary's Curtains :)
My sister-in-law Mary started a new job after Christmas- same job (school counselor) but just at a different school that is much closer to home! At her old school, she used to just have a small office and she would actually travel to the kids classrooms for group activities. But at her new school, she has a full trailer where larger groups can come to her. We all remember trailers from our High School days (or at least I do). They can leave MUCH to the imagination. So with the help of my Mom, we were able to make her new curtains for the trailer to liven things up a little bit. It was quite the undertaking (6 windows, 6 lined curtains) which is why I begged Mom to come down and help me. I was feeling a little overwhelmed, but it went seamlessly (pun intended) with her help! She's a great little assistant :)
Here are a few pictures to share!
Here are a few pictures to share!
A practice hang!
Green ribbon tabs to match!
Finished Product :)
2014 so far...
We've really enjoyed 2014 so far. We haven't done much, but after the November and December that we had, it's a blessing to be able to say that! We'll travel for the first time in 2 months to Hillsborough next weekend for Carly and Jay's Engagement party. We're very excited to celebrate with them and visit with friends and family.
We've had an unusual amount of snow this Winter. I'm sure you've seen us headlined across the news. Those crazy southerners that don't know how to deal with winter weather. It's true though! We just aren't prepared for winter weather. We don't have enough salt trucks on hand and there's way too much ground to cover.. especially in a city like Atlanta. So things tend to shut down for DAYS. Which is exactly what happened- twice. Luckily, we never lost power and the neighborhood kids enjoyed the sledding that only occurs every 2-3 years :)
Hopefully we've almost seen the finish to this winter. We've had a few spring like days and it has me longing for more! I love love love Spring. Planting flowers, opening all the windows, prepping our garden, flip flops and sun dresses - it's all so much fun!
We got a new washer and dryer last weekend! So exciting, right?!? I get excited about these things. I got a vacuum for Christmas one year, which made for a VERY fun holiday break :) Anyway, our hand-me-down set has been very good to us and we were thankful to of had it as long as we did! It was 11 years old and saw us through 5 moves. Crazy right? The dryer is actually still working well- but we were able to get a great deal on a washer/dryer set, so we decided to go ahead and purchase both.
Washer and Dryer shopping can be a little stressful. We went into it with an open mind but they are very EXPENSIVE. We thought we would price both front load and top load, but we quickly realized that the newer front loaders were both HUGE and expensive. We were able to rule them out quickly since our laundry room would not fit them- and neither could our wallets! We went to Sears first, which had a great selection, but we ultimately purchased from a store we have here in GA called Fry's. Its kind of like a Best Buy- mostly electronics, but a small selection of appliances also. They ended up having a great deal on a floor model set that we couldn't pass up. It was literally delivered in less than 24 hours and we were back in business!
Speaking of which- I need to go get some more laundry done! Im still in catch up mode...
We've had an unusual amount of snow this Winter. I'm sure you've seen us headlined across the news. Those crazy southerners that don't know how to deal with winter weather. It's true though! We just aren't prepared for winter weather. We don't have enough salt trucks on hand and there's way too much ground to cover.. especially in a city like Atlanta. So things tend to shut down for DAYS. Which is exactly what happened- twice. Luckily, we never lost power and the neighborhood kids enjoyed the sledding that only occurs every 2-3 years :)
Hopefully we've almost seen the finish to this winter. We've had a few spring like days and it has me longing for more! I love love love Spring. Planting flowers, opening all the windows, prepping our garden, flip flops and sun dresses - it's all so much fun!
We got a new washer and dryer last weekend! So exciting, right?!? I get excited about these things. I got a vacuum for Christmas one year, which made for a VERY fun holiday break :) Anyway, our hand-me-down set has been very good to us and we were thankful to of had it as long as we did! It was 11 years old and saw us through 5 moves. Crazy right? The dryer is actually still working well- but we were able to get a great deal on a washer/dryer set, so we decided to go ahead and purchase both.
Washer and Dryer shopping can be a little stressful. We went into it with an open mind but they are very EXPENSIVE. We thought we would price both front load and top load, but we quickly realized that the newer front loaders were both HUGE and expensive. We were able to rule them out quickly since our laundry room would not fit them- and neither could our wallets! We went to Sears first, which had a great selection, but we ultimately purchased from a store we have here in GA called Fry's. Its kind of like a Best Buy- mostly electronics, but a small selection of appliances also. They ended up having a great deal on a floor model set that we couldn't pass up. It was literally delivered in less than 24 hours and we were back in business!
Speaking of which- I need to go get some more laundry done! Im still in catch up mode...
Friday, January 17, 2014
Newest Projects
I made it through another Christmas without finishing my Christmas Quilt. I had such good intentions, but as the holidays get closer, things just get so hectic. I really am on the home stretch, but it'll be next year before I actually get to enjoy it. It's amazing how long it can take to sew together 285 squares!
The main hold up was trying to figure out my embroidery attachment on my sewing machine. I spent several weeks trying to figure out how to upload designs and actually make them work. I DID finally have success- and I decided on a few different snowman and snowflake designs to garnish my quilt.
The main hold up was trying to figure out my embroidery attachment on my sewing machine. I spent several weeks trying to figure out how to upload designs and actually make them work. I DID finally have success- and I decided on a few different snowman and snowflake designs to garnish my quilt.
Here is one design I chose. I was practicing on scrap fabric :)
I made homemade ornaments this year as presents for some family members, so that took precedent as well. I think they turned out really well.
I managed to forget to take final pictures of each (mostly because I was hand sewing them in the car) but they turned out very cute!
I also attempted making bunny clothes last week for Luke's bunny. It wasn't a failed attempt, but lets just say I won't be quitting my day job to take up miniature clothes making!
Hopefully I can get to working on the christmas quilt over the weekend and have some updated pictures to show for it!
Happy (belated) Holidays!
I'm a little behind the ball here but I hope everyone had a great November and December! We've been busy (to say the least) so the blog got pushed to the back burner, but I'm hoping to get all caught up over the next couple days!
We traveled A LOT of the holidays. We're known to travel quite a bit- but this was pretty extreme. For starters, we spent Thanksgiving in the Mountains. It was glorious. It was so peaceful and relaxing, not to mention we were able to actually pick and cut our christmas tree, make a trip to Boone, AND experience a little snow while we were there!
We traveled A LOT of the holidays. We're known to travel quite a bit- but this was pretty extreme. For starters, we spent Thanksgiving in the Mountains. It was glorious. It was so peaceful and relaxing, not to mention we were able to actually pick and cut our christmas tree, make a trip to Boone, AND experience a little snow while we were there!
A lot of our time looked like this (don't mind the lovely outdated decor)
We played A LOT of monopoly!
We went for several walks with the dogs
Foggy View
Thanksgiving meal!
Overall, we had a great time. It may be a new tradition. We enjoy spending time with family over the holidays, but sometimes relaxation takes precedent.
On Saturday, we left to head to Hillsborough for one night. Zane was being baptized on Sunday so we wanted to attend that before heading back home. Other than one explosive episode during a quiet time of prayer, he did fabulous! We'll definitely have to remind him of that episode later in life :)
The following weekend, Thomas and I took a trip to Vegas for an early birthday celebration. Thomas had to work some while we were there, but we still had a really nice time. We did a little gambling, saw the Hoover Dam, and also enjoyed a few thrill rides on top of the Stratosphere.
It was quite cold while we were there!
View from the Stratosphere
Trying to find a happy place…
The weekend after Vegas, we returned home for my brothers 3rd brain surgery. It was much less evasive compared to his other surgeries and he's doing fabulously! We were very glad we were able to be there for it.
For Christmas this year, we split the time between our 2 families. We spent the first half with my family and the second half with Thomas' family. We got to visit with lots of extended family and it was really nice to see everyone! We were so happy to get back home though after a crazy couple of weeks away.
Happy (belated) Holidays everyone!
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