Monday, February 28, 2011

Spring---is that you?!?!

The weather here in Atlanta has been absolutely incredible lately! My mom was in town for the weekend and we took full advantage by spending as much time as possible outside.

On Saturday we packed up all of Madelyn's necessary accouterments and headed out to Serenbe, a precious little farm community about 30 minutes from our house. Serenbe is a large community that aims to be fully sustainable- all homes are green certified, the restaurants mainly serve food grown there on the grounds, and there is even an adorable B&B. And let me tell you, the restaurants are excellent, and I can't ever help but ooh and aah over the farmy-chic decor.

First we had lunch at The Hil restaurant. Yum. Then we headed over to the B&B which has tons of outdoor recreation to encourage you not to stay in your room and watch TV and instead enjoy the farm lifestyle. The highlight was this super fun in-ground trampoline. Madelyn didn't know what to think but she had a ball.




Then we walked the grounds "talking" to all of the animals--baby sheep, chickens, horses, bunnies, goats, an alpaca, a donkey, and a big ugly hog.


On Sunday we did a little bit of shopping then played around in the yard until it was time to take Gigi to the airport. Here is Madelyn modeling her new dress. I really can't believe how cute she is.

Really.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Sentences

All of the sudden Madelyn is speaking in near sentences and every time she does it I am just so surprised and proud. Like last night at dinner for example. I asked her what she did at school that day.

Her reply?

"I play Chelsea poop"

And indeed she did.

Apparently her BFF Chelsea went to the corner of the playground, took off her diaper, did her business and proceeded to rub it all over her body. Madelyn obviously wants to do everything Chelsea does, so she followed suit. What followed was a full bath for both of them and mommy being given a trash bag full of defiled clothes to take home. In addition to a lovely conversation over tilapia and green beans about how it is not appropriate to play in any sort of excrement.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Recent acquisitions

This pregnancy has thrown me for a bit of a loop. I am ravenously hungry all the time, yet simultaneously nauseous all day long. I am putting on weight like it is nobody's business. And I am flat out exhausted, though apparently not so much that I can't eat. Or shop. At this point we're just down to the essentials.

In light of this, I thought I'd share a few new fun things I've purchased or been given.

First, Matt and I purchased these gorgeous leather chairs to take the place of the heinous and largely- oversized love seat in our living room. In our next house they may move to his office but for now they'll be perfect for the room where we spend all our time. We all know I'm a sucker for anything with nailhead trim, and my Dad actually subsidized them as part of our Christmas gift that we're just getting around to buying. We also got them for half off due to a sale price and family connection in the furniture dept. Score.
Baggu Bags. You may remember these from a recent post over at Urban Grace. I should note that if you aren't reading UG's blog you are seriously missing out. Tons of gorge interior eye candy and gratuitious shots of her beautiful little girl. Love. Anyways, Kristin has a weird knack for reading my mind and just knew when I saw this post that my hippie side would be wanting some of these reusable bags. Sure enough, she got me a set of three for my birthday! In the blue stripes no less. So chic.
Then last week I picked up this shirt at Gap for $6.
And lastly, I bought this print a few months ago but forgot to share and I'm so in love with it I thought better late than never! It's from tastes orangey on Etsy and it's going to serve as the inspiration pic for Madelyn's big girl room. I'm thinking blues, grays, and tiny pops of orange. Not only does Claire paint gorgeous pictures, she ships them with this incredible hand-painted packaging and a hand-written note. Love love love her. I plan to hopefully purchase a few more prints from her.
Happy shopping everyone! I need to get back to trying to figure out how I can simultaneously eat and sleep at the same time. Let me know if you have any ideas.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Sweet as sugar

Happy (slightly tardy) Valentine's Day!

Madelyn and I started our day off yesterday with a fancy cereal breakfast and surprise cards from Matt in the kitchen waiting for us when we got downstairs. Madelyn immediately tore into her super cool 3D card, ripped it in half, then said "uh oh Mommy, broke it". She's a very hands-on child :)

Hopefully she didn't rip in to the cute treats we got for her friends at school before they could enjoy them!

We wrapped up our Valentine's Day extravaganza (and I use that word lightly) with a little trip to the 'ol IHOP. Eggs and pancakes and kids eat free. Can't get much more romantic than that ;)

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Holy Hormones

Last night Matt and I got into a serious argument over the remote control. Aside from the disappointment that comes from becoming such a marked cliche comes the realization that I have completely lost control over my hormones, and therefore my mind, mouth, and actions.

Yikes.

I got so frustrated and annoyed that I unlocked the front door and was seconds away from throwing the damn thing into the yard and making Matt go survey the dark, wet grass for it. And unfortunately that's not an exaggeration.

A few minutes later when we had cooled down I warned him that he really shouldn't get me all riled up like that because at this point I refuse to be accountable for my actions. I don't necessarily think it's fair, but he got off easy when I was pregnant with Madelyn--I didn't
act irrationally, I never sent him out at midnight for Chinese food, and I lost all the baby weight (and then some). You're welcome!

I should probably have a bumper sticker on my car (or forehead) that says "Pregnant: If provoked will retaliate." I'm pretty sure no one would mess with me. Or at least in my defense I could say they'd received fair warning.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Testing

One morning a few weeks ago (January 26th to be exact) I awoke to a blinding migraine. I rarely get headaches so it struck me as a bit odd. Matt and I had decided a few months back to start trying for another baby, and knowing I hadn't been on the pill I thought it would be wise to take a precautionary pregnancy test before I popped the extra strength Motrin.

Imagine my surprise when it was positive.

So was the next one.

And the next three I took that morning.


I took five pregnancy tests in the course of two hours, each more shocking than the last.

We were extremely blessed with the ease in which we conceived Madelyn but I never thought we'd get that lucky twice. I have friends who have or had trouble conceiving, so I'm not immune to the fact that getting pregnant naturaly and easily is truly a miracle.

We called the doctor, made our first appointment for when I would be seven weeks, and reported as scheduled. That appointment was today.


I'd been extremely nervous for reasons I can't explain. I think the first time around you're so naive and shocked you don't know what to expect, but this time I was cautious and concerned. In fact, I literally took a pregnancy test every three days until the appointment to make sure everything was still ok. I even took them out of town with me. It became a serious issue.

Today we saw a throbbing heartbeat on a little body that is currently only a quarter of an inch long, and which can be seen below. He/she is the little peanut-shaped body on the left.

We set another appointment for four weeks down the road at which point I'll be 11 weeks. And until then, we just pray that everything is ok.

I am excited, a little anxious, always somewhat nauseous, and extremely lucky :)

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

My Girls


These are my girls. And as you get older, the importance of your girl friends becomes increasingly apparrent.Truth be told, these girls aren't just my friends, they're my family.

Time with them can rejuvinate me. It can help me with my abs, which usually ache from endless laughing. It can humble me. And it can remind me how lucky I am to have found them.

A few weeks ago Megan and Dai came up from Florida to spend the weekend in the ATL with me and Kristin. We try to do a girl's weekend once a year, and it's very sweet of them to come up this way since I have a certain two-year-old travel accessory that makes it slightly more difficult to cross state lines. Plus, it gives Madelyn a chance to see her crazy aunts, which is how I've decided I'm going to refer to them.

These girls let me sleep in their beds when I had eccentric crazy random roomates in college. They danced to ridiculous songs at my wedding and they've humored me every.single.time I've requested someone play "pour some sugar on me"in the past 11 years. They may know me better than Matt. But please don't tell him that.

They spoil Madelyn like she is already one of the girls and I can't wait to hear what stories they tell her when she gets older.

They're the people who will be drinking champagne and telling funny stories at my funeral because they know that's what I'd want.

They're my drinking buddies. My eternal road trip companions. The first people I call when something good (or bad) happens.

We've transitioned from babies on a campus of 40,000 people, to young professionals that never really felt like it, to fiances and wives, and now some of us to mothers. As many life changes as we experience, and we've covered some big ones in the past decade, the person I am when I'm with them is the most authentic version of my true self, and I thank them for bringing that out of me.
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