Weekend Highlights

For the past couple of weekends, we always felt that it may be our last before we celebrate being doubly blessed into parenthood.

We have constantly heard that twins come early, so gracious, being the preparers that we are have had everything ready to go for weeks now. 

I am now officially 38 weeks and 2 days and hoping to see our babies soon. 

So this past weekend, we did the things that every homebody enjoys. 

Friday night, we made a mad dash for dinner to bring it home and watch Dateline, our favorite Friday night show.

We stayed up late doing things that I can't even remember, but 6:00 a.m. came early and I was bright eyed and bushy tailed. 

Tootsie was too, demanding her food, her outside time, and her treat. In that order because she is routine like that. (Oh, boy, all that is about to change!)

Ken and I spent the next couple of hours looking over, changing, and dreaming of house plans that will not be built for a couple of years while still snuggled cozy in bed. 

Oh, technology! You have come a long way since dial up!

After a very nice blueberry pancake breakfast by the sweet husband of the household, we did what any couple would do while waiting on babies. 

We threw ourselves a party in the living room where we napped, watched movies, and read books all day long. 

It was wonderful. 

We stayed up late again (this will be our reality in a couple of days) and then went to the early church service where the babies were competing on who could bust the best move or show the most body parts. 

Seriously, the beautiful service was on being blind, but yet, we were wide eyed watching these babies do their thing for 20 minutes. 

Praises for these sweet movements and wonderful moments! 

We will have to work on our church manners in the near future, though!

We came home, and I napped while Ken and Tootsie worked in the yard. 

We then went out to lunch, ran a few errands, and walked through a local nursery because I just had to see some flowers and dream of getting my hands dirty.

Middle arrived and brought some banana bread which we dove into along with good conversation. 

We ended our Sunday night with sweet maternity pictures out on our land and a delicious meal at home. 

I am thankful that I have a sister who doesn't mind sharing her talents to capture last minute moments before our world is rocked! 

We had the best weekend- full of laughs and love. It may not have included a fancy meal or a night out on the town, but it was exactly what we enjoy doing. 

I hoping that our next blog post will be an very big announcement! 

Happy Monday, friends!

Weekend Highlights

Well, how is that for a blogging break? There is so much I need to write to remember myself as well as share with you!

It is also 4 in the morning, my babies are playing patty cake and roly poly, so blogging is the next best thing right?

Oh, how I dreamed of waking up in the morning because a baby is moving. It is even better because there are two!

So I will just start with this weekend.

We went to Mississippi to attend a baby shower hosted by our family and friends. Oh my word was it fun!

Friday night, we loaded up our car with stuff to take. I seriously have no idea where our children will actually sit during our Mississippi trips due to no trip has just been just luggage and the dog.  I am sure we will figure it out or add a trailer to haul everything around.

I was anxious to get to Mississippi to see my friends and sisters who were decorating for the shower, so I had to skip the whole, “I need to go to the bathroom, and Goodwill has the cleanest one in town,” stop and continue forward.

I did my best tuck and roll they wanted to use when Ken let me out at Montrose in Holly Springs. Had to protect this swollen belly, ya know.

So after unloading a few things from our car, like burlap, because I am the burlap keeper for showers, Ken and I took a quick tour of the house in the dark. I had taken a similar tour in high school, but during the day, so I knew basically what rooms led to what. I love how the old maid’s quarters led directly into a room like a secret passage. What I did not expect was opening a dark bathroom and finding a mannequin staring back at us. Good way to speed up your heartbeat without exercising.

This was the first time in about 5 years that all my college best friends were in the same room, and it was wonderful! We laughed and talked, and I tried to do what they told me to do which was sit. When the serving pieces came out, I just could not sit anymore. I had to play with the pretty pottery.

My sisters were also there. There is something about having sisters there were you know exactly what they were thinking without saying a word. If there was any miscommunication, we would just have a sister meeting in the bathroom. All three of us. This happened more than once. Good times.

We finally made it home around 11 pm to rest. Amen.

Saturday was a hustle and bustle kind of day starting around the breakfast table devouring my daddy’s massive breakfast. Oh what fun it was to have family and friends grabbing biscuits and homemade jelly and combining it with bacon and eggs before stuffing it in their pie holes! That is the way to get the day started.

The rest of Saturday will be saved for a separate post. All I can say is we are loved, our babies are loved and they will probably be able to spell their name before they can walk due to receiving multiple monogrammed items. It’s a Southern thing.

Sunday, involved a repeat of Saturday morning minus two people. By the end of the weekend, daddy had cooked 4 dozen eggs, I can’t tell you how much meat, and there were at least 6 pots of coffee made. We are eaters that is for sure!

We also went to church were my sweet babies seemed to enjoy the service. I could hear faint clapping and swaying.

Apparently, I got in the spirit to after church, and for the first time in my life, I got left at church. Thankfully, there was room at the preacher’s inn before my daddy barreled through to pick me up due to my husband thinking I was with someone else. Really?

Once I was reunited and feeling good, we celebrated my grandmother’s wonderful birthday at a local eating place with leftover shower cake disguised as a birthday cake with vintage clowns and previously burned candles. That is how we roll. It’s the taste of the cake that makes the difference, right? And this cake was absolutely divine.

When we got back to my parents’ house, Daddy and Ken loaded up the car with all our lovely gifts. We could not see out the back, and Tootsie girl had a small space where she was looking a little claustrophobic around the gills.

After a three and a half hour tour of North Mississippi and Alabama, we made it home, let Tootsie out, and went to celebrate a dear friend’s birthday.

Talk about having a weekend full of celebrations. Whew!

The best part of the night was unloading the car. My husband is really the best, and it did help that my feet were swollen in that Ken unloaded the car by himself. I just hauled it from the door to nursery, where we put clothes up until we about fell asleep in the floor.

Thank goodness for long weekends where you can travel and get a day’s work/rest in. Thank goodness for visiting with family and friends near and far that celebrate the blessings in your life with their generosity and encourage words. Thank goodness for delicious food, laughter, and memory making. 

All these things fill the soul and help you face the week little better.

Weekend Highlights

I have missed blogging about our live-for-the-weekends weekends. 

So I will try to do better, but I will not pinky promise. 

In honor of this feat this week, I will post this.

However, we are actually 14 weeks, a day late, and dollar short.

(Sorry ya'll. I couldn't resist posting this picture of the sweet daddy, too!)

My babies' daddy is dying to take the weekly pictures of my growing belly, however there is a small window of opportunity where I come home looking somewhat decent and the 0 to 5 seconds it takes me to put on yoga pants.

So, my friends, this may or may not be the one cute picture of me without yoga pants on.

Reality at our house.

~~~~~

Friday night, I worked late due to being the only counselor for over 700 students and in charge of administering a state assessment next week.

Good thing I had my medicine keeping me going.

It wasn't working properly on Thursday, and this counselor started hyperventilating because she needs something for her sanity. Thankfully, my shuffle started back up on Thursday afternoon and kept the mojo going for the rest of the week. Huge sign of relief. 

So I dragged myself home late Friday afternoon to find this ...

How lovely to come home to!

Also, this arrived in the mail ...

and I was so excited to think that a good night's sleep was ahead of me. Little did I know that I would not be looking like this pillow model ...

We did what we do on most Friday nights -

Climb into bed and watch Dateline, only on this Friday night, we both fell asleep before we figured out if the husband did it or not. 

Bummer. 

I was also trying to get use to the pillow, but wound up grabbing my other pillow and propping myself against my babies' daddy's back. 

Apparently, I did it 6 times without realizing it. 

The boy was counting. 

I wondered why he was so eager to jump up in the middle of the night to stop the shower from leaking. 

He was just trying to breathe from being smothered by a pregnant woman.

Saturday, we worked in the yard, fixed the shower leak, put up the new window boxes built by the lovely husband of the group, went to a two-year-old's birthday, and had a date night starting at Babies-R-Us.

We have to check all this paraphernalia out due to being clueless.

So after a little confusion and education, we snuck some candy in to watch the thrilling true story of Captain Phillips.

Great, gripping movie.

Even after the late night, we managed to go to early service at church, run errands, and nap on Sunday.

So here's to a Monday where I will begin my count down until the weekend.

A Girl's Weekend that is, down in Pike Road, Alabama.

Weekend Highlights

The past weekend was a perfect summer loooong weekend.

I got to make my rounds and catch up with fabulous friends and family.

We left last Thursday, our anniversary, to make the three hour treck back to Mississippi. 

What a weird way to celebrate your anniversary, driving west, splitting a club sandwich, and eating I-thought-it-came-with-the-sandwich rotel and chips. 

Fast talkers clearly confuses both of us from time to time. 

I was just glad that I was the one in the car and got to witness the very annoyed face of my hubster as he was bringing food across the parking lot. 

But I got my rotel. :)

Friday, we went our separate ways. I headed north to some old stomping grounds and he stayed around the home place. 

I had coffee and laughs with school friends and then went next door to Huey's and had lunch with some crazy friends - Brooke and Amber, and one middle sister. 

I have no pictures to prove any of this, but lots of good memories. 

Brooke has two sweet girls that just cracked me up. One has an awesome poker face and the other just wants to get jiggy with it. They both shared their personalities with us all throughout lunch. 

After lunch, Amber, Middle, and I went thrifting in which Amber found a rocker/glider for her new counseling office. It came with an ottoman, which she promptly worked her selling magic and sold.

After burning calories with these sweet and funny ladies, Como Steakhouse was in order with the family. 

I always love with both of our families can enjoy sharing a sausage and cheese plate as a preview before a ginormous steak and potato.  

We left full and happy. 

I enjoyed the ride and the company. 

I snapped this on the way there. iPhone photography is the bomb.

Saturday, we went our separate ways again since Ken was in his cousin's wedding in Tupelo. 

He went on ahead while I stayed behind and helped my parents with their rental house (a little painting was involved), took Tootsie to the lake,



and helped plan my parents and grandparents Disney trip. 

That last part is correct and true. 

I can't imagine what that trip with hold. 

I finally got in the car with my sweet mother-in-law and headed to the wedding, finding and scrubbing paint off in various places on my arms and legs so I could look presentable.

The wedding was perfect from the cool breezes during the ceremony to the strawberry wedding cake. 

I got two slices - one for me and one for Ken.

He then rounded the corner with his own piece and forced me to eat the two slices I got. 

It was pure torture, I tell you. 

The groom's cake was Reese's and while that sounded delicious it was also decorated with things from that school "Up North."

I did not let it touch my lips. No, I did not. 

I also got to see this precious girl.

Let's pretend I have my hand on my hip and look incredibly sassy with thinner arms. 

After a round of this,



we headed back home.

Sunday morning, I got up and went blueberry picking. I must tell you that picking blueberries on a cool, breezy morning is very therapeutic. 

Eating while you pick is even better. 

After church and a rather large Sunday dinner of crappy, chicken, hushpuppies, and fixins', we waddled ourselves to the car for the long drive back to east.

It seemed that we chased a rainbow all the way home.



No leprechaun or pot of gold was found, just a lot of pictures and feeling loved by God's blessings. 

I promptly picked a large bouquet of flowers to welcome our arrival and long week ahead of us.



I hope you have a great wet fourth!

I don't know how it is going to be with a rainy rest of the week. Good thing I'm about to get my cook on! 

Welcome Distractions ... A Backlog of Posts

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you so much for all your sweet comments on my last post. I felt encouraged and empowered to continue sharing our story. Because there is more. I am not quite ready for the more part, but I will be. 

Until then feel free to peruse our welcome distractions. 

There was a trip to the big house

Easter Weekend

A Glamorous Rustic Weeding

A Craft Fair

A House Divided Weekend

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Weekend Highlights - Celebrations

This weekend involved dividing our household. 

The Husband went North for a bachelor's party. 

The Wife went west for a celebration of Middle and Mama's birthdays. 

Its a good that that husband went North because I had to make a pit stop at the Goodwill in Corinth. They have the best bathrooms and $.99 handkerchiefs. I would hate for him to roll his eyes at the cleanest bathroom in Corinth. 

Before I go any further let me briefly explain birthday celebrations in my family.

They are actually food marathons, and its a good thing that we have been training all our lives for this particular feat. 

Ken is still trying to get in shape for the food marathons. 

Wimp. 

Friday involved presents to help in Middle's balcony makeover and delicious, hot pizza from Lost Pizza Company in Southaven. If you add spinach to it, that makes it healthy, right? 

Middle's BFF came over to visit and join in the food marathon. 

As luck would have it, we also found a long lost caramel pie in the freezer. 

Remember, though, we did have spinach on our pizza. 

Saturday involved some wet yard selling, junking, and having to rearrange the car at every stop.

By the time we were done, nearly everyone was holding something in their lap and was leaning forward due to the full sized head board in the back.

That is what I call a successful junkin' day. That and breakfast at the Arcade in downtown Memphis. 

What better to end a successful junkin' day than with a 24 oz steak at Como Steakhouse where


(I did not eat all of this in one setting. I did save some for the next day.)

Some people do not share well ... :)

If you ever get a change to go to Como, there is more there than scrumptious food.

There is also a quaint downtown that is hopping on a Saturday night as well as streets and streets of beautiful old homes. 

Sunday involved coffee and conversations on the newly redecorated balcony. 

Which caused us to be late for church, and on top of being late, I had to get gas. 

Middle went on ahead in her car and walked in where the congregation immediately started singing Happy Birthday to her. :)

I luckily snuck in late and learned that Jesus was not my co-pilot, but really more my pilot. 

The sermon reaffirmed that my guardian angel was my co-pilot that morning as I was driving fast to see Jesus at church.

We finished out the day by eating at Taylor's Buffet in New Albany. 

It was a fabulous weekend with family, friends, and food. 

I would like to thank my family for footing the majority of the food bill this weekend. Without you, I would not be eating cereal for the majority of my meals this week. 

Easter Weekend

Easter Weekend was slam packed of going here, there, and yonder. 

Then mother nature decided to bless me which made this girl weepy, hormonal, tired, and cranky. 

Thank goodness that the Americans created the Reese Egg for Easter. I seriously tried to live off them right after I had my meltdown in the Walmarts. 

Friday night, Middle had her Sierra Leone photography displayed for Trolley Nights on South Main Street in Memphis.





If you live in the area, Trolley Nights happen the last Friday of the month. You can peruse shops, boutiques, restaurants, and art galleries while snaking on treats and sipping on beverages.

It is a unique experience even if every time we walked in an art gallery, my daddy would say, "What am I looking for?" 

Can't take him anywhere sophisticated. 

Mama, the always trying to make connections with others every where we go, found someone she taught with from the Delta over 30 years ago. 

So if you decide to go to Trolley Nights, you can find a little bit of everything there - goodies and people. 

Saturday was wet, wet, wet. I was suppose to hunt Easter Eggs with my adopted nephew, but after grabbing a bag of Reese's eggs, I decided to just limit my interactions of large crowds for the afternoon. I did visit my grandparents and my in-laws before finally taking a nap. 

Later on, we went to hear Middle perform a monologue at church before topping the night off at Huey's. 

Sunday, the Home Alone airport music played in my head as we scrambled to get lunch prepped before church. My parents normally host both sides of the family for Easter. We had 39 people, an indoor Easter Egg Hunt, tons of delicious food, and of course Reese's Eggs. 

(Doesn't everyone have an uncle that naps on a Sunday afternoon?)



There was also "snow" in the shop that my sweet adopted nephew found ...








Tootsie also showed off her acrobatic jumps from the dock ...













Such grace ...

Easter weekend involved many irons in the fire much like the rest of the month of April.

I have over-committed and just want to stick my tongue out at the whole month. 

There is a wedding, a craft fair, some birthdays, and school along with all the domesticated stuff one must do to make sure the family is clean and fed. There is also a garden to plant and flowers to buy. 

Life is beautifully busy, and I need it to be, even if I feel the need to breathe in a brown paper bag. 

Otherwise, I would just hibernate. 

A Long Weekend Highlights ...

Well, this week is Spring Break, and I don't know who did more cartwheels on Friday - the teachers or the students. 

All I know is that I burned rubber in the parking lot because Ken and I had plans the next morning at the big house out East. 

And when I say big house, I mean this:

Where we toured the gorgeous rooms, learned a little history of the family, and took in the spectacular views further understanding why George built the ol' place where he did. 

This is my third trip, and Ken's first. It took me a few years to convince him that he would love it. He did. 

It also nursed my obsession with old homes and architecture as well as get my Downton Abbey geek on.

On the main tour, my favorite rooms where the kitchen and indoor pool. 

I could easily just sit, take in the room, and allow my imagination run wild about the previous owners and all the secrets the house holds. 

I also wanted to find some back stairs and go exploring. 

I am pretty good at finding passages and discovering new areas. I minored in this at college. 

However, this probably would have expedited our visit, and my husband would not be happy with me. 

So we stayed on the beaten path, jammin' out with our audio tours, and admiring the details.

~

The winery was on our list, and it did not let us down. They make most of their wine on the premises and offer a wide selection. Their tours are complimentary and are well-informed. You also get to view more of the property as you make your way to winery. 

It was fun upgrading our palates and trying new things outside our usual moscato box.

(I truly believe that my taste buds are currently in transition because I suddenly want stronger coffee and have a obsession with raspberries.) 

We came. We toured. We conquered and left with 3 sophisticated bottles of non-moscato wine. 

Success.

~

The gardens were just starting with buds, but due to being cold and rainy, I did not get to scout it out as much as I wanted, but I did manage to get a few pictures. 

We also toured the gardens as much as the weather would let us before upgrading our tickets for the next day.

(You can buy an one-day ticket and then upgrade it for $10 for a second day.)

We sashayed ourselves to the ticket counter, before we knew it, we side barred, and signed up for a specialty tour, the Butler's tour that allowed you to view all the different entrances and the generator. 

The Butler's tour had Ken at generator. 

This was a total score because we would get tot see the mechanical side of the Biltmore as well as the Butler's pantry in which I could layed out on the Butler's table and stared at the TWO STORIES OF DISHES!!!

It was a win/win for everyone involved. 

We also go to go out on one of the balconies, where I tried to snap as many pictures as possible. 

I also ran into one of my students and her family, which was neat, because when I told my students where I was going for Spring Break, I was met with crickets. Her group was the only group that I did not see that week before, so I had no idea. It gave us something to talk about. :)

~

We stayed at a quaint cottage where Tootsie could stay with us.

That was one of the pluses. 

Another plus, was the free range chickens that provide our eggs one morning. 

We were also quiet successful in preventing Tootsie from getting a taste of those free range chickens. 

It was complicated that involved intricate moves and leashes, but we made it without any travesties. 

We were able to book this cottage through airbnb, a suggestion by Middle.

We had a kitchen that we took advantage of, a living area on one end and bedroom on the other, with a bathroom. It was perfect for us.

~

We ate like royalty, which is always first on our priority list. In keeping with trip tradition, Mellow Mushroom was first on our list, where we happily split a his and hers specialty pizza.

Thank goodness for his and hers pizzas. It has saved our marriage and our love for pizza. 

We also frequented Starbucks every morning. It was strategically located at the entrance, and worked its magic on most that past through. 

We ate at the Stable Cafe twice. It's menu was quite diverse, so we were able to try different things each time. The quantities of food are huge, so one day, we split a meal while the next, we were quite stingy. 

We enjoyed going downtown Asheville as well. We ate on night at Early Girl Eatery, one of my favorite places before, but this time, I was disappointed. It was good, but not great like I remember. Next time, we will try out a new place. 

~ 

So, basically, we could visit the Biltmore during the day, come back to the temporary home base and play with Tootsie before catching up on our movie watching. This included Zero Dark Thirty, Argo, and Flight. 

If you are planning a trip to the Biltmore any time soon, I would recommend the following:

- Book tickets online and upgrade second day tickets when you get there. 

- Rent an audio tour upon arrival and bring ear buds to share. We rented two at $10 a piece only to see all the smart people with one and sharing ear buds. Duh.

- Eat at the Stable Restaurant. They have a variety of items on the menu, so eating there on a daily basis is no biggie. 

- To save a little money, try using AirBNB. We loved that Tootsie could go with us, and she did not seem to mind. 

- Make sure to take pictures of your sweet husband carrying your purse.