Christmas Pics and Update

I finally got around to uploading our Christmas pics to the computer, so here goes....


Let's see...not too much going on here, unfortunately...At my doctor's appt. last Wednesday, nothing had changed.....Blood pressure was still pretty high (140/100), I won't be going back to work on the 2nd, baby or no baby.....I had contractions all Wednesday night, from 10 pm until about 5 in the morning, but then they stopped :( The rest of the week has been pretty uneventful.....We have all the Christmas stuff packed away and all the baby stuff out and put together for Gabriel, if he ever decides to get here! Mom and I hit the mall this afternoon, we walked it from top to bottom, hoping that might bring something on. So far, nothing.... Then Cedric and I went out to dinner for Mexican and watched the UNC/Valpo game, GO TARHEELS! If I have not gone into labor, I have a doctor's appt. on Wednesday...At that point, they will make a plan to induce...they will not let you go more than 1 week past your due date, so I guess the worst case scenario is January 9th. I hope it is before then, but I guess it is not up to me!

Late Merry Christmas to All!

Hi Guys,
Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! We were super busy yesterday, we started the morning off at 6:30 at my parents, went to my grandma's for lunch at 12:00, headed to Kings Mountain to see Cedric's family in the afternoon, and then finished up the night at Aunt Janie's....Needless to say, by the time we got home around 9, we were exhausted!!! Rocky and me slept in this morning, but poor Cedric had to go to work. Still no baby news....I go to the doctor today at 2:15, so we will see what they say....I am officially 39 weeks pregnant today! Hopefully I will go into labor any time now, we are ready!

Movie You HAVE to See!

Last night, Cedric and I went to see "I Am Legend" starring Will Smith....I have to tell you, this is one of the BEST movies I have seen EVER! I will warn you though, it is a tear jerker. If I had been watching it from home instead of the theatre, I would have been doing one of those can't breathe, loud, sobbing cries...I did my best to control it at the theatre so I would not embarrass Cedric. Seriously, you have to got to go and see this one...

Other news....let's see....I am still pregnant and hoping to go into labor at any time.....I am feeling pretty good though, still doing a lot of resting. We are ready for the holidays. Of course Cedric has to work this weekend and on Christmas Eve from 10-2, but at least he is off on Christmas Day...wouldn't surprise me if next year the Matt Firm decided to be open on Christmas Day too....I mean, I am sure there must be at least 1 person who would come in one of the thousand stores if they were open. My Christmas wish is that Cedric will have a new job this time next year :), and one with a better schedule, one that allows us to actually see each other!

Cedric is going to the Cowboys/Panthers game tonight in Charlotte, lucky dog...I will be watching from home of course...Even if we did have a ticket for me, I don't really think I could make it. When we went to the game at the end of November, I could barely make it to our seats at the top of the stadium :)

Too Much Free Time!

Ok, you can tell I have a little too much spare time on my hands..I figured while I am out, I might as well learn a little bit...here is my 1st attempt at doing a slide show with pictures. These are from our baby shower with Cedric's family..It was last Saturday and we had a ton of fun! Hope it works!!!

Belly Shots!

Ok, a lot of you have been requesting some belly pictures, so here goes.....




I swear I think if it gets much bigger it is going to pop!!! At least no stretch marks yet and my belly button has not popped out..but it is getting close!!!!

BEDREST!

Doctor's appointment yesterday did not go so well. Gabriel is doing fine, but I am not doing so well. Blood pressure is way up and they are concerned about how much my hands and feet are swelling. So, I have officially been placed on bedrest. I am not supposed to do anything besides lay on the sofa or bed with my feet up, and I can get up to shower or get something to eat. So here I am at 2:00 on a Tuesday, still in my pajamas and watching a movie! Today it has been nice, but I have a feeling it is going to get old very quickly. I have to admit though, I am glad to be away from work. It has been so stressful lately, and it is nice to have a little time before Gabriel is here to get some rest, I think I really do need it. I go back to the doctor on Monday. They may let me go back to work next Tuesday through Friday, and then our Christmas break begins anyway. My bag is packed for the hospital and so is Gabriel's. Hopefully it will not be too much longer now! My aunt dreamed that I had Gabriel 3 days before Christmas and that he weighed 8 pounds, I hope that she is right!!

Baby Shower #3!!!!

We had our 3rd baby shower today for Gabriel, given by the Parker side of my family (my mom's family)...It was given by my aunts (Rita, Carol, and Christine) and my cousin Measer. Everything was SOO cute (I especially love the cute Boston Terrier stuffed animal that Aunt Rita found) and we had such a good time!!!! The cake was made by our favorite cake maker Martha, and it was YUMMY!!! My aunt Carol made homemade butter cream mints for the first time and they were adorable and delicious--she is going to teach me how to make them too!!! We got so much cute stuff and really, I think we now have just about everything we need for baby Gabriel. It will probably take me the month or so I have left to put away everything and get it all ready for him to use!!!!! Here are some pics from the shower:





Me and Mom

Me, Anna and Abby (friends from work)

The rest of the weekend was pretty busy too...We went out Thursday night to watch the Green Bay/Dallas game, so I was up very late. Friday, Cedric and I went to Mooresville to do a little Christmas shopping. We got home around 8 and I think I was probably asleep on the sofa by 8:05, I was worn out from being out late the night before. Saturday, mom and I went to Hickory and I finished up 90% of my Christmas shopping. I still have to get stocking stuffers for Cedric and Rocky. This morning before the shower, I was feeling pretty good and wrapped all the presents I had left to wrap..So I have most everything done for Christmas, thank goodness. Tomorrow night, I am going to a breastfeeding class at the hospital. Cedric has to work, so I am bringing mom along for support! Friday and Saturday, Cedric and I have our childbirth classes at the hospital, and on Saturday afternoon, his family is giving us a shower. So this is going to be another busy week!!!! I wish I could just take a week off from work to relax some before Gabriel is born, but unfortunately that is not possible. Maybe I will at least take a day off--I am trying to make it until Friday, and if I have gotten a lot of stuff done at work, maybe I will take a personal day.......

5 Days Off...goes by too fast!

AAHHH! Tomorrow is already Monday and I'll be back to work....I tell you, 5 days off sure goes by a TON faster than 5 days at work. We had a pretty busy break..Of course we were with our families on Thanksgiving Day. Lots of good food and company. We really do have a lot to be thankful for.

Friday morning, Mom and I hit the stores at 6 a.m., just as we have done for as many years as I can remember. We did find a lot of good deals and we were home to rest by noon. Saturday, I went grocery shopping, finished up a little Christmas decorating, then wrapped presents. After that, I worked on getting some of Gabriel's stuff washed. I learned this week that you have to wash everything before babies wear it. I did all the blankets and 0-3 month clothes. Boy, he has a lot of clothes!!!

Today, Cedric and I went to the Panthers game versus the Saints....Oh my gosh, how much worse can we possibly play??? We left at the beginning of the 3rd quarter, when it started to pour down rain. We decided that this year's team is just not worth sitting out in the rain to watch. So now we are at home all snuggly and watching football on TV, which honestly, I prefer. I like the commentating and I like the yellow first down line they put on the screen. It makes things a LOT easier for me to follow and understand.

Tomorrow, back to work, but only four more weeks to go until Christmas break begins...and only four more weeks until I will be out for my maternity leave! Yeah!!!!! I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. I think now I have to go every week. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Break.

Weekend Update and Baby Shower #2!!!

I guess we started our weekend on Thursday night...Cedric and I went out for burgers at Red Robin and did a little Christmas shopping....Friday night, we had a TV/movie night and just stayed in...we caught Grey's Anatomy and several episodes of the Sopranos..we are on Season 3 now, thanks Netflix!

Saturday, mom and I went to Best Buy..my parents are giving us a video camera for Christmas, so we went to get the one we have been looking at, it was on sale....Then of course we hit a few more stores and came home when my feet couldn't make it anymore. Then, mom came over to our place and helped me do some cleaning...it was supposed to just be cleaning the living room so we could put up the tree....2 hours later, she had the whole house looking awesome. Thank you mom! Sometimes, you really do realize just how much your parents love you...They are the only ones that can really put up with me right now, with all my complaining, tiredness and health issues. I know they are probably sick of me too, but at least they are sweet enough to hide it from me!!! That is true love for your child!!

After she finished the cleaning spree, with a little help from me, we finally put up the tree. We were both exhausted Saturday night! Just putting up the small tree this year, last year we had it in our dining room and had the HUGE one in the living room..We decided with everything going on this year and with the way I am feeling, we should probably just do the little one this year :( It makes me a little sad, but hey, there is always next year!

We had our 2nd baby shower for Gabriel this Sunday, held by the Sigmon family. Cedric wasn't able to come because he has taken so much time off work for his eye, and boy, did he miss a good time! And lots of good food! With all the bad things that come with being pregnant, I guess the one good thing is that it is the one time in a girl's life when it is socially acceptable to be a little fat!!!

We got all kinds of adorable stuff for Gabriel, but I think my favorite thing is the rocking horse we got from my mom and dad...It is so cute, and when you squeeze its ears, it plays music and makes horse noises and its tail wags back and forth! I love it! We also got our stroller/carseat (the one item you cannot leave the hospital without), lots of cute clothes, toys, CDs, blankets, bath stuff, bibs, etc. Now we have just got to figure out where we are going to put all Gabriel's new stuff!!! I hope that Gabriel is a UNC fan like his mommy, because boy, he already has acquired quite the collection of UNC stuff, including these adorable overalls!!!



Only more more day of school until Thanksgiving Break, thank goodness! I have not been sleeping lately and I am feeling pretty crappy...apparently, I have developed Carpal Tunnel syndrome in my right arm. According to my doc, this is another common pregnancy issue, but one I had NEVER heard anyone talk about. I have always heard about CT, but let me tell you, I can really sympathize now with those who have it. Basically, my right hand is numb and tingling and there is pain up to my elbow.My fingers feel very swollen and I cannot close my hand to make a fist or pick up things normally....Lucky for me, it is MUCH worse at night, and has kept me awake the last 5 nights or so. Last night, I was up at 2, back in bed at 4, and I may have gotten about 20 minutes of sleep before the alarm went off at 6:00. Really, the only thing that makes it feel better is to get up and walk around....Not exactly what you want to be doing at 2 in the morning! Talked with the doc today...Tonight, I have a really dorky wrist brace to sleep in and some Unisom sleeping pills. Keep your fingers crossed for me that it works!!! I am also supposed to wear the brace during the day at work, what a fashion statement!!!!!!!
AAAHHHHHH! Only about 6 more weeks to go!!!!!!

Trip to Raleigh

Ok, I know it has taken me a week, but I wanted to write about our fun trip to Raleigh last weekend. We were supposed to leave late Friday after our first childbirth class, but surprise, it was cancelled because we were the only couple to enroll. So now we are doing a weekend class in early December. No worries, I really have been dreading it anyway, so at least I got to put it off for 1 more month! am not dreading Gabriel making his appearance, I am just not that interested in hearing or thinking about the actual delivery, not to mention watching videos of other women in agony!! It worked out nicely, we were able to get to Cynthia's at a decent hour on Friday night. Saturday, we were up early and headed to Chapel Hill for the Homecoming game against Maryland. We won, but of course I did not make it through the whole game, it was still too hot and crowded for me, and the seats are just not comfortable at all. Laura and I headed to the Student Stores to do a little shopping, then met Cynthia, Laura and Travis back at the tailgate to hang out until all the crowd came out after the game.

My observation for the weekend....I have decided that our crowd is officially getting OLD! We went back to Cynthia's after the game and were all probably asleep by 10:30 or so. Some of my family and friends did hit uptown after the game, but turns out, they are old too, because they called it an early night as well. Personally, I think this could be a result of the absence of Party Animal Morgan, who has been missing for the last 7 months! No fear, I will be back, only 2 more months of Pregnant Morgan to go!!! Seriously, what the heck has happened to us???? Next homecoming, things are going to be different, that is my vow! Granted, I will need a babysitter, but I have a feeling that won't be too hard to come by!

Sunday was the big day, our first baby shower!!! Let me tell ya, the girls and Miss Rhonda did an AWESOME job! Everything was Carolina Blue of course and the food was delicious! Rhonda made this diaper cake, I have it at home now in the nursery, I couldn't bear to take it apart!!

She also made a teddy bear cupcake cake and we had "dirty diapers", which were paper diapers filled with Malted Milk balls!! Nuts were held in little baby booties made from paper towels and ribbon and the Carolina Blue punch had little rubber duckies floating in it, it looked like they were in a bubble bath! This was the first baby shower for our group of UNC girls and boy, the girls went all out!


Cynthia (not usually known for her creativity with craft ideas!) had the idea of having everyone at the shower decorate onezies with paint and they turned out to be so cool!! My personal favorite is "Mommy Needs A Drink", created by MC! They are all adorable and I can't wait to see Gabriel wearing them!!

We had a blast, and it was so good to see our friends from the Raleigh area that we don't get to see nearly as often as we would like. My friend Susan and her family (hubby Andy and two adorable kids) even came on their way back from a wedding in their hometown. We got a lot of neat gifts and I even held a few babies!!! Still haven't changed a diaper, I am holding out 2 more months so that Gabriel is my first!!! I got lots of good baby advice from Erin, there are just so many questions that I have about EVERYTHING!!!!!






Sunday night, we watched football (Cowboys vs. Eagles! at Cyn's and again, called it an early night. Monday, we lounged around until around noon, then hit the road back home. Oh, Cynthia did help me create a Facebook page, so now I am on that as well. Just one more way to waste time when I should be doing something else!! We had such a fun weekend, thanks to all our friends who made this so special for us.

Big Announcement!
My cousin Justin and his wife are the proud parents of Jett Brown Parker, born Friday 11/9 around 1:00. Check out a pic on The Spinellis Blog, he is adorable!!!!!

Happy Halloween!!

Hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween! I wanted to let everyone know that Cedric's eye surgery went very smoothly today and he has a new cornea! We are back at home, and Cedric is resting on the sofa. He goes back tomorrow morning to have his patch removed...don't worry, I will be sure to get a picture of him tonight! He will be out of comission for the next week...no lifting or even bending over, I will have to tie his shoes for him, should be fun, considering I can hardly bend over...We are both just glad that it is over and excited to see how his vision is going to be! We are planning on a very quiet Halloween evening...maybe watch a scary movie and hand out candy to a few trick or treaters.

This and That

I am at home today, it is an optional teacher workday and I took the day off! It has been nice, I ran a few errands this afternoon and have been pretty much doing NOTHING, which I don't get to do too often. I was at the beach this weekend with my parents and my aunt Janie..we shopped for 9 straight hours on Saturday, you should have seen us by the end of the day, I was barely walking! Dad was an angel, and drove us around and carried stuff for us! Got a little bit of my Christmas shopping done, which is good because I need to get it done early this year. The weather was great and it was good to get away, I just wish Ceddy and Rocky could have made the trip too! We celebrated Cedric's birthday last Thursday night, he got an awesome outdoor fire pit from my mom and dad. It is starting to get chilly here, so it will be fun to sit out by it at night and roast some marshmallows. From me, Ceddy got some new cologne he has been wanting called Red Delicious, it smells yummy! He also got a new work clothes and a Cowboys car shade that you use in your backseat for baby--I refuse for us to have those dorky ones with fish or baby stuff on it. Hint-hint, I want a UNC one!

Wednesday is the big day for Cedric's cornea transplant, we have to be there at 10:00, so please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. We will both be glad when it is over. This weekend, we are headed to Raleigh...It is homecoming at UNC on Saturday, they play Maryland. We will go to the game, then the girls (Cyn and Laura) are giving us a baby shower on Sunday. We are both very excited, I just hope that Cedric isn't feeling too bad and is able to take part in all the fun.

The Big 32!!

Happy Birthday to Cedric, he turned 32 today! He had to work, so I will get to celebrate with him when he gets home tonight. Mom made him his favorite pound cake and I have him a bottle of his favorite wine chilling in the fridge (Duplin Scuppernong wine--good, but a little too sweet for my taste).... Then, we are taking him out to dinner to celebrate with my side of the family on Thursday night,when he is off work! He is getting a cool gift from my mom and dad, I will tell ya what it is later, in case he reads this before Thursday. I will be turning 30 in March, man, I feel like we are getting old! Remember when you were young and people that were 30 seemed so old..not the case anymore, we are those old people!

Anyways, this week has been a busy one so far.....I am headed to the beach this weekend with my parents, I am hoping to get a little bit of my Christmas shopping done, I need to get it done early this year. Monday is an optional teacher workday and I am opting not to work, so I will have a long weekend...Then I work Tuesday and am off again on Wednesday for Cedric's cornea transplant. Please keep him in your thoughts next week. He is nervous about the surgery, but anxious to get it over with.

Massage!!!

Cedric had a little suprise lined up for me when I got home from school yesterday, a pregnancy massage!!! It was at a massage center in Mooresville, and let me tell ya, it was GREAT! They had these neat pillows with a cut-out in the stomach area, so that I was able to lay on my stomach comfortably, and I was very surprised at how good it actually felt. It was an hour of pure bliss, and I felt so good when it was over. What a sweet husband I have :)

Next, we tried out a pizza place called Wolfman Pizza...weird name, but excellent pizza. We had the barbecue chicken pizza, and it may be the best I have had anywhere. Cool place, with a little bar area and small game room. We will definitely be back. Stopped by the store to pickup some ice cream and then headed home to watch Grey's Anatomy, which we had DVR'd the night before. All in all, a fun Friday night!!

Speaking of Grey's......is anyone else SICK of Meredith??? She drives me crazy....Hottie McDreamy tells her he loves her, wants to spend the rest of his life with her and have kids with her and all she does is stand there. She makes me sick, but...I don't like her sister Lexi either. And what about George?? I don't see why Callie and Izzie even bother with him, he is such a whimp! I wish Izzie would go for Alex, it is obvious he still likes her. Ok, enough ranting on that.

It is Saturday morning..I am doing a little laundry then hitting the shower and heading to Mooresville to do a little shopping. Cedric's 32nd birthday is on Tuesday and I have something else I want to pick up for him.. Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Baby Shower-Nope, Change of Plans!

Well, I went with mom to help set up for the baby shower at 12:45....About 1:15, another person shows up who is helping with the shower (not from my side of the family I must add--sorry Mease!).....This person tells my mom that she has MONO! And then she is in the room coughing and hacking all over the place. Not only is the person we are giving the shower for VERY pregnant, but of course I am too. And not to mention that mono is HIGHLY contagious, and really this person should not be unnecessarily exposing ANYONE to it that she doesn't have to. Needless to say, as soon as she told my mom, my mom came into the room I was in and told me to get the H$#@ out of there. So I left without getting to see anyone :(

Now I am back at home in my comfy clothes eating a sandwich, drinking another N/A beer, and watching some football. Yes, I'm sure you are wondering.... I am a LITTLE pissed off. Actually, it is almost comical to me that someone does not have any more sense than that...and what was her mom thinking??? I love showers and have been looking forward to this one for quite a while. If anyone should NOT have been there, it is the dumbo with MONO, not me. Not sure what happened after I left. I wonder if they are planning on telling the guest of honor at the shower. I know I would sure want to know if someone at my shower had MONO. Don't you think???

As Promised!

I promised you guys a happy blog, so here it is! I actually am feeling a lot better. I had my doctor's appointment on Thursday. He had a good look at my feet and said "They look bad, but they are probably going to get much worse". To which I replied "If so, you are going to have to cut them off!". But there was no protein in my urine, which is good. My blood pressure was high, but we have taken it several times since then and it has been fine. He told my mom to take it every day and make sure it doesn't get up any higher. I think it may have just been from doctor's office anxiety! Mom got to hear Gabriel's heartbeat and it was good, in the 140s. I find out the results from the gestational diabetes test on Tuesday. I did get a doctor's note for my shoes, you could tell he thought it was ridiculous that I even needed a note. He was like "where do you work" and "have the people there seen your feet"??? It was funny and I now have permission to wear "whatever shoes I desire" due to the "significant swelling in my feet"!!!! I wore my rainbows on Friday and I swear my feet felt SO much better. It makes such a difference not to have shoes rubbing up against the side of your swollen feet all day :)

Friday night Cedric and I had dinner with my parents, Zach and Nicole, and Aunt Janie at Chili's...Yesterday, I decided to do nothing but what I wanted to do. Went for a pedicure in the morning, my toes look very good! Then I headed to the new Harris Teeter, which is about 2 miles from our house. It also has a Starbucks, so of course I had a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Bought some St. Pauli Girls N/A beer, which I have decided is truly the best out of all those I have tasted. Also bought some California Rolls for lunch (no raw fish of course!). Then I spent the afternoon watching the UNC/South Carolina game on TV. We played really good, and were in a position to win at the end of the game. Last night, I made pumpkin dip for the baby shower we have this afternoon and then Ceddy and I watched some more college football. All in all, a very relaxing day which was just what I intended.

The wicker rocker is done and we are working on the painting the footstool that goes along with it. It turned out BEAUTIFUL and is very comfortable. Much prettier than any of the gliders or rockers I have seen in stores. Check it out!



We also put Gabriel's name up over the built in bookcase:





We bought this little pilot outfit, it is one of my favorites!!



Also, got this sign put up over one of the doors



Only 2 1/2 more months to go!!!!!!!

Swollen Feet!

Well, this past week has been interesting to say the least! My feet (and hands) have really been swelling, I can hardly fit into any shoes, except my croc flip flops, which are thongs and don't go across the widest point of my feet. Going up a size doesn't really help...Trust me, I have tried many pairs of shoes from my aunt, ranging in size from 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 (my normal size is 7 1/2)....Doesn't make a difference, my foot is double the width it usually is, so going to a bigger size really is useless. Also, gone for the next few months is my engagement ring, which we struggled to get off the other night. It now occupies a special place in my jewelry box, I can look at it every morning when I pick out earrings to wear. Cedric had to use lotion to get a bangle bracelet off of me the other night! Can't wear my silver watch anymore, had to switch to a nice adjustable sports watch! Did I also mention my feet are KILLING me????

Needless to say, I spoke with the doc today and my appt for next Tuesday has been moved up to Thursday. Everything my mom and I have read says that mild swelling is normal, but we both agree that this does not seem to be mild, especially since I have 2 1/2 more months to go. I will keep ya posted...In the meantime, I will be getting a doctor's note so that I can wear my beautiful croc flops to school, since ya know flip flops were banned this year. In your face, Dr. R!!!! Guess I will be getting my wish to wear them again, but I would rather it not be this way :(

Let's see, on to better things.....This weekend, Cedric and I went to the Bandys football game, which was the homecoming game. My cousin Nicki was in it, and one of my other cousins won Queen...Saturday, I had to skip the UNC/Miami game due to my aching feet...Missed a damn good game too, from what I have heard. I listened to much of it in the car. I headed down to Concord Mills to hit the Old Navy, which has a maternity section. Didn't make it to any other stores, again, the aching feet...are you sensing a theme here????? Sunday, I spent much of the day on the sofa with my feet elevated, then it was back to school today. Yipee! I am so sick of that place and I swear, if I ever get all these IEP meetings done, I am going to have to find some way to celebrate. Maybe with a pedicure :) Or a case of beer (just kidding for all of you out there worrying, I am not drinking while pregnant).

And plans for this weekend??? This Saturday there is another UNC game, against S. Carolina. But I have a feeling that unless my feet take a turn for the better, I will be sitting this one out too. Sunday, we are helping give a baby shower for my cousin's wife, who is due in early November--lucky dog, she is almost through this. I hate to moan/whine because I know in my mind that millions of women have been/are pregnant, but I am really not enjoying it. I feel horrible for saying that and even worse putting it in writing, but it is the truth and I cannot help that I feel this way. I really do have a whole new respect for moms, especially working moms. I know it will all be worth it in the end, but right now, I really am just feeling sorry for myself. I know you are all probably sick of reading my poor sob story, so I will shut up for now. I promise my next Blog will be a smiley one :) Thanks for bearing with me!!

Fall is Here!

Sunday was the first day of fall and I have decided that fall is officially my favorite time of the year! Of course I love summer because we are out of school, but fall just feels so much better. It is cooler, I love all the beautiful colors outside, I love FOOOTBALL (and beer-but not this year), and I love fall scents, such as pumpkin spice, apple cinnamon, caramel, etc. Right now, I have my pumpkin pie candle burning at 8:12 a.m. and am drinking some coffee with my new pumpkin pie flavored creamer! Heavenly--what a way to start off my Saturday morning. If you haven't tried this yet, you have to try the Pumpkin Spice latte at Starbucks. I had one the other day after my doc appt. and it is the best thing I have tasted in quite a while. The Pumpkin Frappucino is good too (ok, can you tell I love pumpkin??), but it doesn't even compare to the hot version so don't waste your time, or your 4 dollars! I also love fall decorations, and have already put out my big and small pumpkin/leaf flags and a new pottery jack-o-lantern I got at Michaels. I have a few more things I need to drag downstairs, I will probably get to that later in the day.

Movie you have got to see--- The Kingdom, with Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner (who I love since she was in that movie 13 going on 30) and Jason Bateman. It is about several FBI agents who go to Saudi Arabia to investigate a major terrorist event. If seeing Jamie Foxx for 2 hours is not enough reason to get you there (it was for me), don't worry, because the movie was GREAT! The last 45 minutes or so I don't think my eyes left the screen for even a second. I highly recommend it, also Jennifer Garner is a major ass-kicker and I like movies where the women are tough (think Demi Moore in GI Jane).

Alright, can't think of anything else to share...I am helping some friends check out apartments in the Mooresville area this afternoon...they work at my school and live in Hickory now, but are looking for a change of pace. I'll be watching the Panthers play Tampa Bay tomorrow and somehow squeezing in time to watch the Rock of Love finale--I am going to miss that show, I really do love Bret Michaels. I know he has aged a bit, but he is still a hottie!

Have a great weekend :)

By Request :)

I have been getting some requests to post some pics of the nursery and of my big belly...here are the nursery pics! I will have to get Cedric to take a picture of my ever growing stomach!!!!


Cross Stitch done by my mom (she hasn't crossstitched in years, I guess being a grandma re-inspired her!)


Glittery Stars over the crib


Same thing!


The new curtains


Dresser Ceddy painted blue and white, white cloud lamp made by me


Quilt hanging from bear paw clips

It is really starting to look good in there! We were originally going to buy a white glider...but, sometime this week my mom remembered that she has a white wicker rocker and footstool out in the gararge..it belonged to her great-grandmother. We pulled it out this weekend and I love it!! It is so much prettier than those gliders you buy and it is an heirloom! We are going to re-paint it and get some cushions made for it and then add it into the nursery!

Not much else going on...I am getting ready to do some cleaning and whip up a big batch of chili for football time tonight...Sunday nights are usually spent the same way at our house, watching football! It is hot again :( I want the cool fall weather to stick around!

The doctor's appointment on Thursday was good...Gabriel's heartbeat was around 150 and I have gained 4 more pounds, that makes about 15 in all and boy, can I feel it. I just thought I was fat before :) Now my feet are swelling, it is hard to bend over and pick stuff up off the floor and I have a hard time getting up and down off the floor!!! And I still have 15 more weeks to go!!!!!

Happy Birthday To Rocky!!!!

Yesterday was Rocky's 6th Birthday!!! He got a new stuffed football for football season, a new favorite leapord-print stuffed ball (this is probably the 10th one of these, I get them at PetSmart), pig ears and some treats! I cannot believe I have had him for 6 years! He is getting ready to go through some big changes, he is finally going to have to share the limelight with someone, his little brother Gabriel! It will be tough for him I think, because he is so spoiled, not only by me, but by my mom and dad too. But I think he will be ok once he gets over the initial shock of things!!
Other than that, things have been pretty uneventful...Tarheels and the Panthers got beat this weekend, it was not good for my two Carolina teams. I have my next doctor's appointment on Thursday, and Cedric and I are also going to go and visit some daycares.
Big news for Cedric---he found out last week that he is going to have to have a cornea transplant on his eye!!! We have known that the vision was bad, but did not know that without surgery there was a chance he could lose his eye. Scared the crap out of me, and I think it did him too. The doctor's act like it is no big deal, but he is going to be out of work for a week and will have to wear a patch for a few days. The surgery is scheduled for Halloween, so I told him he will have to dig up his pirate outfit from a few years ago! He will already have an authentic patch!!!

Check This Out!!

Please check out my good friend Maryellen's blog...she and her family are in China right now adopting their 16 month old daughter Sophie, and boy is she adorable!!!! She has been posting updates while they are over there, it is so cool!

tbghappenings.blogspot.com

Congrats to you guys and I cannot wait to meet little Sophie!!

It's Been Awhile!

I admit it, I have been neglecting my blog now that school is back in....Here is an update.....Let's see....Cedric and I have been working more on the nursery, we got the crib put together and Cedric hung the ceiling fan, it is really beginning to look great in there! Friday night, we went to see Halloween, the movie directed by Rob Zombie. It is a prequel to the other Halloween movies and we both really liked it...very gruesome and the music alone is enough to scare me! Plus, instead of a real dinner, we binged on movie popcorn and candy, it was delicious!

Saturday, mom and I went to see the Body Worlds exhibit at Discovery Place in Charlotte. I highly recommend it to anyone who lives near Charlotte. It is all these real bodies that have been plasticized to preserve them. You can see all the organs, blood vessels, etc. It was really neat. My favorite part was the prenatal exhibit, which had babies all the way from 4 weeks to 34 weeks..It was so interesting to see what point I am at and how Gabriel looks inside of me.

Today, I have been cleaning up and watching the Panthers game, right now they are winning, 24 to 13, with about 5 minutes left in the game, let's hope they can hold on to it and get a win. Tonight, we are grilling out burgers and watching the Cowboys play. Then, it is back to work tomorrow...Gosh, the weekeneds go by too quickly! UNC got beat by ECU yesterday :( We will be heading to Chapel Hill to see them play UVa on Saturday. Hope everyone has a good week and I will try to update more often!!

The First 2 Days....only 178 more to go!

Alright, the first 2 days of school are over, my have they been busy! Even though I have not pulled kids yet for speech, these last 2 days have been very CRAZY and filled with lots of meetings and paperwork, my 2 favorite things about being a school-based SLP :(

Here's an example: Today at school, one of the new kinders, who will also be seen by yours truly for speech, bit her kinder teacher between the belly button and the pelvic region, IT DREW BLOOD! This girl has multiple issues and has had severe tantrums the past 2 days, in which she punches, screams, bites, etc. Her teacher is very concerned about me working with her, because when she tantrums, she punches in the stomach area of the adult. Needless to say, I am not looking forward to this and plan on going into the classroom to work with her, instead of pulling her into my speech room for therapy. I am going to privately refer to her from here on out as "the vamp", so be sure to check back for more stories, I think she is really going to make things interesting this year..

This afternoon, I was involved in an IEP meeting regarding a high school student. It began at 2:45 and was still going strong when I left at 5:00. God, I hate this part of my job. But on the plus side, I do love my new office (I was moved over the summer) and tomorrow I will begin to see my speech kids, who have all stopped by to see when they are coming to see me. This is why I love being a school based SLP.

Not much else going on, I have been tired at night, not used to getting up at 6:00 a.m. Tomorrow after school, I am getting my hair done, cut and dyed a new color--not exactly sure what color but check back soon, I will try and post a pic. Ever so often, I get sick of having blonde hair and need a change, this is one of those times! This weekend, I am headed to the UNC game, they play at 6:00 on Saturday--GO HEELS!!!

How Cute Are These?????

Here are the cute gifts I received yesterday from my friend Maryellen! Doesn't Rocky look handsome in his jersery??? I can't wait to see little Gabriel dressed in his UNC uniform and the Boston Terrier outfit!!

Had a doc appt. today. Everything is great with Gabriel, his heartbeat was 148-150, which they said was perfect. I have now gained 10 pounds total and I feel like a big pig!! I go back again on the 20th of September. I can feel him moving now, it is the weirdest but neatest thing ever. I cannot believe I am over half way done!!!

Oh, for those of you who know about this--- I found the ultrasound pics under a placemat on our dining room table tonight!!! Hallelujah! I thought I had lost or thrown them away!!!

I Will Survive!

Ok, just wanted to post to let you know that I have survived my first 2 days back at work. My room looked like a tornado hit it (they moved my stuff to a new room over the summer), but I have finally got it looking half-way decent. It has been eventful, to say the least. I ended today by telling off another SLP in our district, don't worry, she deserved it :) However......

My day was saved tonight when I arrived home to find a package from one of my good buddies on the front porch---it contained a tiny UNC basketball outfit- #50, just like my boyfriend Tyler Hansbrough's, an adorable onezie with a Boston Terrier on it (looks just like Rocky), and a UNC dog jersey for Little Rocky. She didn't want him to be jealous!! I will post pics of these later, they are so freakin cute I can't even stand it! It ranks up there as one of the best gifts ever and really did change my whole mood. I'm glad at least one person out there can understand how I feel about my dog....She recently had a b-day party for her doggies- Ceddy will be happy when he gets home tonight because I am now a happy girl, so a big big thank you to my girl "Auntie M"-- I love ya!

Alright, I am gonna wind down now--tomorrow is another day closer to Christmas Break!

Tomorrow........

Well, tomorrow is the day.....I will have to be there by 8:00....Doesn't sound that bad, but I have been sleeping til 8:30 every day this summer...Oh well, it will be good to see some of my friends from school...And I am in a different room, guess it will be fun to see how it turns out once I get it all set up. It is a nicer room, but smaller.

We have had a busy couple of days.....we painted the nursery and put the border up...I had to get another color of khaki, the other was just too peachy for both of us. The furniture came in and Ceddy put together the changing table. Hopefully he will do the crib later on this week. Friday and Saturday we were in Kings Mountain, Cedric's family had a big family reunion. There were about 75 people there, from NC, Georgia, and Maryland. We had a blast, I am very tired though! Today,we had lunch with my family at the campground...For those of you that are not familiar, I am not even gonna try and explain it to ya, it is just too hard to explain! I spent the rest of the afternoon watching the Panthers get pounded by the Eagles, thank goodness it is just preseason, they did not look too good...but, my boyfriend Julius Peppers did not make the trip, he is sick :( Poor baby, I think he needs me to bring him some chicken noodle soup! We are watching the Sopranos now, hopefully I will get to bed before midnight, 6:30 is gonna come awfully early tomorrow morning!

Here are some pics of the nursery:


The Before Pic--Kinda Scary


Ceddy working hard on the paint


The finished product!


Changing Table is ready, I am using it to fold laundry on right now!!!

Busy as a Little Bee!

Things here really have been busy lately and I know I have been neglecting my blog! After we found out that we were having a little boy last week, I went into my "gotta get everything done as quickly as possible" mode, which really gets on Cedric's nerves. Within two day of finding out, we registered at Babies R Us and Wal Mart. Oh my gosh, I cannot believe all of the baby stuff that is out there, it is CRAZY!! We also ordered our crib and changing table, which should be here sometime within the next two weeks....



And since I know that when it arrives, I will be bugging Cedric to put it together, we needed to get the nursery painted....So that's what we did yesterday, we got the first coat on the walls..the top is sky blue and the bottom is a khaki/peach color (a little peacher than I had hoped but it still looks good with the baby bear cub border). We will do the second coat tomorrow if all goes as planned.....


Lots of other stuff too....My friend Laura came into town for a visit this past Tuesday and we had a great time catching up and just relaxing. I had a dentist appointment and an eye doc appointment. Thursday night, we had dinner with my cousin Melissa (aka Measer-haha) and her hubby Pete at this delicious Thai restaurant...I had the Drunken Noodles with 2 stars of hotness---it was great but let me tell ya, my lips were burning and I felt like they were puffy like if I had collagen injected into them! Cedric even found something that he really liked, pineapple chicken fried rice. Last night after painting all day, we just stayed in and relaxed.....

Well, there is only one more week of summer break for me, and I am not exactly looking forward to going back to work..I really don't know how I get everything else done while working..I usually go to the gym first thing in the mornings, and then the rest of the day, I am on the go doing one thing or another. Going to work from 7:30 to 3:30 is really going to mess up my days!!!!! Guess I will just have to get over it...At least once school begins I can start counting down the days to Christmas break...since my due date got moved up to December 26, hopefully I will not be going back to work after the Christmas vacation....Who knows, maybe I will go 2 weeks early and even miss a little school before the break!!

For all my buddies who work in a school, enjoy your last week of freedom!!!!

BIG NEWS!!!!!

Had our ultrasound this afternoon and we are having a little BOY!!!! I will post pics later!!! We went out and did a little shopping after our appointment, it is so much fun picking out stuff!!!