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

Zane Benjamin!

We went home two weekends ago for Thomas' 10 year reunion, and also to meet our nephew Zane! We had such a nice weekend. We arrived Thursday night and stayed at Thomas' parents house. On Friday morning, we woke up early and left to spend the day with Meredith and Ben and the baby. It was a low key day. We relaxed and caught up, sent the boys out for chick-fil-a, and then took Zane to the outlets for a little afternoon shopping. We cant wait until we get to see him again! This picture alone sums up our day with him.

Please, no more pictures! I beg of you!

I couldn't show up empty handed, so I of course whipped up a flannel baby 

blanket for little Zane. He told me he liked it :)

After separating from Meredith and Ben, we headed into downtown Hillsborough where we checked into our B&B. It is an old house that was built in the mid 1700's (if I'm remembering correctly) that was renovated into a B&B. The breakfast was delicious and the hospitality was wonderful. It is called the Teardrop Inn. We rested up for a few minutes, changed for the evening, and met up with our friends Angela and Paul for dinner. It was so nice getting to spend time with them and catch up! I met Angela and Paul when we moved to Texas (Thomas and Paul went to High School together), and they have since moved to Florida, so they drove up for a long weekend for the reunion. After dinner, we drove together to the High School football game and met up with a few other friends. And from there, we went to a local bar where we met up with Thomas' parents and many other friends. 

On Saturday, Thomas and I woke up and went to the local farmers market. We bought a few goodies for our friends Jen and Blake who were keeping the dogs. We did a little more shopping, went out to lunch with the in-laws, and then headed back to our Inn to get ready for the reunion. 

Before the reunion, we met up with a small group of friends for a drink, and then we all carpooled out to the reunion. It took place at a friends barn that is pretty far out in the country. We ended up having a really nice time. There was barbecue, dancing, a bonfire, christmas lights, and lots of chatting. A LOT of chatting. That's to be expected, right? It is a reunion after all. I'm a little more shy than my outgoing husband; therefore, a few hours in, I reached my limit on small talk. Thomas, on the other hand, could of stayed all night. 

On Sunday, we woke early for breakfast at the B&B and then headed straight to the airport for our 11:00 o'clock flight. We picked up the dogs on the way home from the airport, had lunch with Jen & Blake, and then came home to unpack and relax. Overall, it was a really nice weekend!

Clara Jane is 2!

We went home this past weekend for Clara Jane's 2nd birthday party. I cant believe she is already 2! It feels like we were just at her 1st birthday party. How has another whole year flown by?!

This year, the theme was Curious George. It's one of her favorite characters to date! Here are a few pictures I was able to catch during the party.

Clara and her friend Liza from school- these two were so cute together!

The birthday girl! Red sparkly Toms and all!

Uncle Thomas and Clara

Happy 2nd birthday Clara Jane! We love you lots!

Christmas 2012

For Christmas this year, we were able to squeeze in some time with both families. We started out by visiting with the Tuck's in Hillsborough from Thursday-Saturday morning. The weather on Thursday was terrible and made for a very long drive. But we arrived safely- albeit 2 hours later than expected.
We did our family gift giving on Friday morning and then a late afternoon lunch followed by a night full of X-Box rafting :) On Saturday, we woke up, had breakfast downstairs, played MORE X-box (but this time it included dancing) and then we headed out.

We did our Tinsley family gift giving on Saturday night. We also did a White Elephant exchange with my relatives that was a lot of fun. Thomas ended up with a lazy susan remote holder (which I at first did not care for, but it has slowly grown on me) and I chose a box that had 3 scratch off tickets. The only stipulation was that you had to drink the mini bottle of tequila that was included before you could scratch them. I decided it was a risk worth taking, but in the end, NONE were winners. Bummer! There were lots of other fun gifts handed out- most of which will probably end up in the trash at some point in the near future :)

All of my relatives headed out on Sunday and the rest of us had a lazy day of Christmas movies. That's what vacation is all about right?? I got a new sewing machine from my parents for christmas, so I spent some time playing with that also :)

Thomas and I headed back home on Christmas Eve. The drive was great! One of our easiest drives yet.  And we made it home in enough time to quickly unpack, hit the grocery store before they closed, go to our Christmas Eve service, and drop by a friends Christmas Eve Party.

On Christmas Day, we woke up, made a big breakfast, and had our 3rd annual Tuck Family Christmas with just the 4 of us. Our presents to each other weren't supposed to be big this year, but Thomas surprised me and told me that I'll be able to get Lasik in 2013. I've had such issues with my eyes lately I know it will be money well spent. And in order to find out thats what I got, he sent up on a little hunt to gather all the letters. It took me a little while to unscramble them, but I was excited when I figured out what it was. Later in the afternoon, we gathered with some of our neighbors for a pot luck lunch. It was a nice relaxing Christmas Day!

I'm off for a few more days so I'm attempting to get our lives back in order and ready for the New Year! Hopefully everyone enjoyed their Christmas as much as we did!

Thanksgiving 2012!

We are finally back home and settled after a week long trip to North Carolina for Thanksgiving. We had a good time but we're definitely glad to be back home and settled. It's only fun to live out of a suitcase for so long :)

We started off our week in Hillsborough (Tuesday-Thursday). We got in late on Tuesday night and visited for a few before turning in for the night. I was spent after a long day at work and a long day on the road! I had taken the kids of Legoland that day in Atlanta (which was a lot of fun) but I was done for by the time we got through the traffic filled trip.
On Wednesday, Thomas and his Mom got out to run a few errands and the rest of us stayed behind for the annual cooking of the brunswick stew. Tommy cooks it outside over a fire in an iron witches kettle (for lack of a better description hehe). He even stirs it with a wittled wooden stick! It's delicious and I will savor the few freezer bags that we've got for as long as possible :)
On Thursday, Meredith and I woke up and took a long run down to their church and then over to the neighbors house (Betty Ray) where the boys were waiting to drive us back. All in all- about a 3 mile run. The rest of the day was spent prepping for Thanksgiving Day lunch. Needless to say, it was delicious.
Not long after lunch, Thomas and I packed up and headed to Salisbury. We stayed in Salisbury from Thursday night-Sunday morning. Our weekend there consisted of another Thanksgiving meal, lots of playtime with Clara Jane, and plenty of relaxation. Every time we are around Clara, we're amazed by her milestones! This visit might of been the most fun. She's very chatty now and even calls us "Uncle Thomas and Auntie Cate". She also has a slight obsession with Wendy, but at this point Wendy has learned to play along with her instead of being frightened so they had a great time together!
The only downside of our time in Salisbury was that my Mom and I attended a funeral for a dear family friend, Jo Goforth. After my grandmother died when I was younger, Jo and my grandfather reconnected and remained companions for many years. She was as much a part of the family as my grandmother and I have very fond memories of my time with her. I will miss her dearly!

The drive back was less than mediocre, but fortunately we made it back with no major issues! We stopped in Gastonia for a few minutes to visit with some friends of ours (Hank and Jordan Trogdon) who just had a baby girl a few weeks ago. Her name is Mollie Kate and she is just precious. We also stopped at the outlets temporarily so I could have a look around at JCrew and Pottery Barn. I had a few good finds including a new coat for our upcoming trip to NYC in December!

Thomas is gone now for a week long trip to LA/Las Vegas and the dogs and I are here holding down the fort (and hanging Christmas Decorations, of course!). We're excited about Thomas' arrival back home on Sunday. After this week, he wont travel again until after the holiday's.

Hope that everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I don't know about you, but it's a good thing that the pie is finally gone! I was making excuses to eat it for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner! :)

Happy Hump Day.

P-S: Here are a couple photos from our trip away (sorry, I didnt take very many!)

Thomas, Myself, Meredith, and Ben

The 3 puppies that Meredith and Ben are taking care off. There were originally 5, but as of Thanksgiving 3 were left. They found them in the woods next to their house and have been caring for them for several weeks. As of now, I think there is only 1 left and they are considering keeping him. His name is peanut and he is the runt. They were incredibly cute!

I clearly have a weakness for puppies. It's no wonder we didn't end up bringing one home ourselves! Here's one of Wendy's first pictures.

Ok, and just one more :)

Thomas and Clara

Doing a little light reading :)

Wendy and Harley and their shannigans :)

Sunday's are for relaxing, right?

Wendy covered in snow balls

Did somebody say Bacon? The maple kind?

Where did summer go?

Is it me or has this summer flown by? It's not quite over- but almost!

Remember that last post where I mentioned that it was so nice to be at home for a few weeks in a row? Luckily, we had that while we did because I feel like we've been on the road ever sense!

A few weeks ago, we spent an entire week in North Carolina. But not before I took my sweet husband out for his birthday on Friday, the 3rd :) We went to Flip Burger Boutique and not only enjoyed burgers (duh) but also a smores Milkshake. Yum! We left Saturday morning for Salisbury and stayed until Thursday. I spent time with family while Thomas worked in the Concord office. And an added bonus was that some of my extended family was in town visiting also. From Saturday to Monday, the house was packed full of Tinsley's, Moorefields, Tuck's, and Jaeger's. 15 people to be exact! I think that come Monday, my Dad was ready for everyone to leave! He'd had quite enough company for one weekend.
Also- amidst this crazy week, my Mom adopted a new puppy from the Animal Shelter. Her name is Maggie Blue.. and she has been a great addition to the family!

On Thursday, we headed to Hillsborough. We stopped in Burlington on the way through to see Meredith and Ben's newly renovated house (which looks fabulous) and then we managed to surprise Lorraine and Tommy (Thomas' parents) for their birthday dinner. The rest of the weekend entailed shopping, fishing, The Campaign, a Mexican Fiesta, and lots of laughs. Not to mention the gathering of  8 grand dogs!

We arrived back home on Sunday. And then I left the following Thursday to go see my family at the beach for a few days. Thomas wasn't able to come this year because of their annual trade show at the convention center downtown.. so I decided to use some airline miles and make the 45 minute flight to Myrtle Beach in lieu of the 6 hour drive. I think it was a great choice. Who wants to drive that far alone?

We had a really fun time at the beach. It was a lot of fun getting to see Clara playing on the beach and splashing in the water. At this time last year, she was too little to fully appreciate the beach. So this year was extra special. And luckily my Dad took a mere 800 photos to capture all the action. Surely there are a few good shots in there somewhere. Here are a couple photo's from my phone-

Applying of the sunscreen- her FAVORITE! Cant you see the excitement in her face? :)

Beach Baby!

This past week and weekend has been super crazy for Thomas. A lot of preparation went into the trade show.. and Im relieved that he's finally finished. For about a week and a half, he was driving downtown daily (leaving at 6:30 and sometimes not getting home until 8 or 9 at night) and it was definitely starting to take a toll on his body!  Nothing another beach trip cant fix :) More to post on that later!

I wasn't sure what to do with my low key/husband-less weekend. So I decided to get some sewing done. I haven't had a lot of sewing time available lately so it seemed like a great idea. I've had this tunic/shirt pattern that I've been wanting to undertake for months. It took me ALL day but it is finished and I think it looks fabulous. Only I could point out the minor mistakes.. and there really aren't many. I think Im definitely ready to take on more clothes. Here's a photo of the finished product- disregard the cheesy setting!

That's it for now! Time to shower and get ready for dinner out with our friends Kalee and Matt!

Hope that all the (NC) teachers had a great day back today! And hopefully everyone has a great week!

Super Seth

My brother underwent his second brain surgery this week! It's been slightly intense and chaotic.. But he did great and is already home.

Basically, a couple months ago, his doctors started noticing that there was a little bit of growth going on in his head. It wasn't growing at an alarming rate.. But enough to make them consider the possibility of surgery or radiation. And after many days of contemplating his options (and several opinions), he decided to move forward with the surgery. Seth will still do a round of radiation after he has healed, but now that they have removed a large piece, there is less to radiate. Or at least that is MY understanding :) I still miss the boat occasionally on all of the medical terminology.

Anytime we get a chance to speak to Seth's surgeon, I think we all look a little dumbfounded. He came in right after the surgery on Tuesday and told us that everything went great.. But everything he said after that was slightly a wash. What I DID catch was that he removed part of Seth's temporal lobe that he didn't need. Mary and I both could not focus on anything else he said after that because we weren't sure why Seth would be missing part of his temporal lobe. But come to find out, there are several areas of your brain that go unused. The section that he took was the part that wasn't being used. ::sigh of relief::

Seth's surgeon (and their practice) has a nurse that comes around specifically to help us understand the dictations that the surgeon made. We are vey thankful for her. She always helps clear things up.

The weekend before the surgery was Clara's first birthday party. She did really great. She was very social and also managed to make a great showing with her personal birthday cake. She loved it until she was done.. And then we couldn't get her cleaned up fast enough!

I stayed with Clara a few nights while Seth and Mary were at the hospital and we had a really fun time! I've got lots of fun videos and pictures to post once I can sift through them and get them uploaded.

I was very sad to leave Salisbury on Thursday.. But I did get a chance to talk to my brother on the phone on Thur night and he sounded great. He's definitely on a quick road to recovery and is already making silly jokes about " losing his mind".

Just wanted to give everyone a little bit of an update.. And also say that we are very thankful for all of your prayers this week! All of the Facebook messages and text were very encouraging and helpful!

Happy weekend everyone!

And the crazy month begins..

The Tuck B&B has been very busy over the past week! I guess the second "B" is used very loosely.. considering all I offered were cereal and fruit :)

Anyway, Carly and her boyfriend Josh made their first visit down to Georgia to see us last Wednesday. Josh had an audition for a roll in a movie that he was applying for on Thursday afternoon. It was a very quick trip, but hopefully they'll come back and see us soon! And maybe the AC will be on for Josh the next time around :)

It's  true.. we're in the high 70's/low 80's and we haven't turned on our AC yet. We usually try and hold out as long as possible. The days are a little warm sometimes but the nights are still pretty cool. I mean it's only the beginning of April. It just seems to early for air! Not to mention that our check books aren't ready for it either. 

Anyway, continuing on, Lorraine and Tommy came into town on Friday afternoon and stayed until Monday morning. We fit in a lot of things over the weekend- a beer festival, grilling out, shopping, and the boys managed to get a day of golf in. Overall, the weather turned out to be perfect for all of these outdoor things we had planned.

After they left on Monday, I was sitting at our breakfast table having lunch.. and I heard a strange noise coming from outside. The dogs were out there.. and its not uncommon for Harley and the neighbors dog to chase each other up and down the fence line.. but this sounded a little different. I went out to see what was going on and saw that Harley had captured a squirrel and was holding it in his mouth. Needless to say, if you've seen Harley with his toys, the squirrel didn't stand a chance. I imagine it would of looked something like this:

We've had a pretty good week- just trying to get back into the swing of things. And also trying to prepare ourselves for this month. We've got lots of things planned and it's sure to fly by! I'll blog more about them as they happen :)

On a final note, I just wanted to mention that my parents had to put down our 12 year old Australian Shepherd today :( She had a tumor on her backside that was getting bigger and bigger by the week.. and it was really starting to affect her. She was having trouble walking and getting comfortable at all. 

My mom seems to be handling it well.. but I know she'll be glad to have some Harley and Wendy love soon. Shouldn't dogs get to live a little longer than they do? They have such as easy stress free life. It definitely makes me want to cuddle up with my doggies and snuggle with them the rest of the afternoon. However, before that, I think we'll go for a walk. The day is beautiful and I think we should take advantage of it. 

On one more final note, Happy early birthday to my sweet niece Clara who will be 1 tomorrow! WHERE did the time go?!

Ciao for now!

ACC Championship!

Thomas and I had a really great weekend. It was a very unexpectedly fun weekend. Originally, our plan was to lay low and watch basketball all weekend.. and out of the blue, my Uncle Johnny called and said they were coming into town for the ACC tournament. He had gotten tickets through work and was going to try and get us tickets as well. So we told him to come on and that we'd figure it out when they got in from Charleston.
Luckily, they were able to get us tickets for Saturday. So Thomas, myself, Johnny, and Robbie all ventured downtown on Saturday for the tournament. We also had passes to get into a VIP area before and in between the games so we were able to enjoy free food and beverages.
Even though Duke lost, we had a really good time! We certainly wouldn't of been able to afford lower level ACC tournament tickets on any other given day so it was definitely a great opportunity. Thank you Uncle Johnny!

Thomas' celebrity sighting! (Dickie V)

Last week was pretty low key for me. Thomas was out of town in Boston for most of the week. So I took the time to get some more organizing and cleaning done. I've been working on an interesting project lately for Etsy.. so I've been spending a lot of time getting that together. More pics to come once I get the business more in line :)

I've also been spending quite a bit of time with these little munchkins (Hayden and Braxton). I've been babysitting for them on a weekly basis to help out! I used to nanny for their older brother, Chase, who is almost FOUR now. Does that make me old? 

This is Chase when he was younger (probably in the 18 month range)

Wearing my nasty tennis shoes of course

Braxton and Hayden ("Peanut")

Thomas and I are definitely trying to soak in a little downtime.. seeing as our next 2 months and jam packed full of activities. More details to come on that later. For now, I need to get back to my Etsy project!

Happy Bachelor Finale Day!

It's go time!

It's been a great Christmas.. but also a very hectic one!

We flew home the weekend before Christmas to do an "early" celebration with our families. Carly was graduating from UNCW so we wanted to fit that into our trip back east. We started out in Hillsborough Friday-Sunday for the Tuck Christmas and Graduation celebration.. and then headed to Salisbury Sunday-Tuesday for the Tinsley Christmas. Overall, it was a great visit.

Thomas and I spent Christmas here in Austin with the dogs and it was really nice. We went to our Christmas Eve service, came home and watched Polar Express (a tradition of ours), and then got up and made a big breakfast before opening presents. We also had dinner with some friends of ours that were also in town for Christmas. Since our apartment is in shambles and pulled apart due to all the packing, they agreed to host us at their apartment. And it was delicious!

After Christmas, we did a couple days of packing.. and then headed east again for Meredith and Ben's wedding. We decided to drive this trip so that Thomas could stay in Georgia after the wedding and would also have a car. We stopped in New Orleans along the way and had a night out on Bourbon Street. And then also stayed a night in our home in GA before making the last leg to NC. We were able to fit in dinner with our good friends Kalee and Matt. And also breakfast with the Smith Family (that I used to nanny for). The wedding was awesome and we had a fabulous time! It was a great way to bring in the New Year.

After the wedding, we stayed a night in Salisbury so that we could get to the airport more quickly this morning (Monday). I had to be there at 6 (eek). Thomas was able to drop me at the airport and continue the drive to GA.

I'll be here for 3 weeks. This first week back will be incredibly busy because the movers are coming to pack up our things on Saturday. So I'll be here to help organize that and Thomas will be in GA to receive the stuff. For the last 2 weeks, I'll be here with minimal stuff so I'll definitely need to find some things to do to pass the time! Hopefully I'll get lots of running in.. and a little soul searching as well on what to do with my life once we get back to Georgia!

That's it for now. I'm pooped from a long day in the airport. Wendy was a very nice travel companion today.. but she's a little on the heavy side :)

Goodnight everyone!

Christmas in Austin! :)

Wendy girl :) struggling with the Christmas spirit this year..

Our christmas tree.. any bigger and it would take over our little apartment. This one fits perfect!

Thanks Jennifer! :)

:)

Our Fireplace and stockings! 

Harley in his "bed"

A few recent Pictures to share!

Our long journey on the way to Texas!

Our first night out to dinner after a long day of unpacking!

The realization that we're actually in Texas!

The Congress Bridge Bats (when mom and dad came for a visit)

Hook em' Horns! (our first UT game)

Happy Halloween from Harley and Wendy! (Dogtoberfest at The Domain)