Christmastime Was Here

Well, today is December 28th. I last blogged on December 3rd.

The Best Blogger Award of 2015 goes to Jenny of So.Many.Words. Blog!!!

Or not.

Sorry, y'all. We are just in the thick of it over here. I really think that having an infant AND going through the holiday season is it's own brand of insanity. It's not bad, but it just adds a level of complicated. A happy complicated, but complicated nonetheless.

So let's do a quick little recap, shall we?

Christmastime was here.

We decorated and Ellie loved all of it.

She had her first dance recital:

She totally nailed it and was so enthusiastic she had us crying with laughter. At the end she said, "Mommy, I do that one more time."

Grant and I took advantage of the grandparents being in town and headed out to an ugly sweater Christmas party with some friends:

It was so fun to go to a social event. I didn't realize how badly I needed to get out of this house!

Ellie also had a little Christmas program at school. She sang a song about Mary and Joseph riding on donkey and she wore a Biblical costume and it was all just a little too much. 

Between the dance recital and the school program, I am finding that our Ellie girl is quite comfortable on the stage. Her maternal line is full of performers and drama queens, so I'm not all that surprised, but it was just so fun to see her step into those shoes. Welcome to the fun of performing, Ellie girl. Wait till you get a laugh for the first time... then you're destined to a life of entertaining for sure!

We also enjoyed one of our favorite yearly traditions which is going to look at Christmas lights in River Oaks with my BFF Lindsee. She sat in the backseat this year between my two (sleeping) kiddos as we looked at the grand homes and fun displays. Every year I pick a house, stand in front of it, take a pic, post it to social media and say "Merry Christmas from my home to yours!". Most people know I'm kidding but some don't and it's always funny to get the "I didn't know you were a bajillionaire" reactions. 

Christmas Day was sweet. It was hard not to be with our family in Louisiana, but with Jack being not even 2 months old it was just a little too difficult to coordinate travel logistics. But we had a sweet morning here at the house with cinnamon rolls and coffee and our babies. Here's Ellie after she opened her gifts:

She's been asking me for a "neck-a-lace" for a long time now so she was thrilled when she pulled this pink one out of her stocking. She also received a little Doc McStuffins animal vet kit and some Sofia characters. She also got a craft set, some Chapstick of her very own (I'm tired of her smushing mine down to a nub!) and some new games for her LeapPad. It was fun to watch her open them!

Jack got some rattles and some pajamas and some Baby Einstein toys. He seemed pretty pleased as well. We are so thankful to have him with us this Christmas. Here he is enjoying his loot.... or staring at the ceiling fan. Either one!

We spent the rest of the day at my parents' house with my sisters and the kiddos and my wonderful mom and dad - and it was just a really nice, relaxing day. It was approximately 90 degrees outside so it felt super Christmas-y and seasonal as you can imagine. 

The weather is trying to redeem itself, however, as today there should be a windchill here of 32 degrees. MAKE UP YOUR MIND, TEXAS. 

Thankfully, we spent the Sunday indoors taking down Christmas and tackling house projects that we have been meaning to get done. The utility room is cleaned out, the papers in the office are filed, Grant cleaned the closet (BLESS HIM) and I did about 2 months worth of laundry. Okay, 2 months might be an exaggeration but it ain't that far from the truth.

Jack is going to be 8 weeks old in a few days and we are just madly in love with that boy. Even at 4am. I'm working on a "Newborn Must Haves" post that I plan on publishing in the next few days - there have definitely been some things that we just couldn't live without. 

I couldn't let December come to a close without posting an "I'm alive" post - so yes, I am alive. I'm sorry it's been so long. I usually write when the kids are sleeping and I'm feeling inspired. It's a RARITY that they are sleeping at the same time and due to the lack of sleep I am inspired next to never so I seized this opportunity!

Happy last week of 2015! 

Newborn Days: The Days are Long But the Nights are Longer

Tomorrow Jack will officially be one month old. On one hand, I feel like he's been around a lot longer than that. On the other hand, I can't think of what we've been doing for a whole month. We haven't gone anywhere! We haven't done anything!

Oh yeah.... I've been sitting in this house snuggling this little bubby:



It's been sweet. Combined with the frequent feedings, the cold and rainy weather, and the fact that Jack hasn't gotten any shots yet, we've been spending a ton of time cooped up in the house. We've had such sweet family time.

The tree is up,


The stockings are up,


And Ellie is finally healthy again!

That was the cold that just would not go away.

We have ventured out a few times... to my parent's house for Thanksgiving, to BabiesRUs for a few necessities.... the other day the kids were both asleep in the car:



That lasted for over 30 minutes. That was a straight up gift from God. I mean it. Sleeping babies and Christmas music and no talking. It was glorious!

A lot of people are asking "so.... how's it going?" Here's what's going on around here:

Jack is a really good baby..... about 22 hours of the day.

Between 7pm-11pm he usually has a few very unsettled hours. Lots of squirming and fussing and crying and screaming - it's hard to get him settled down. I'm not sure what exactly is happening but by the time I feed him his next bottle he usually calms.

He wakes twice a night to eat and will usually go right back to sleep. Every once in awhile if he slept a whole lot during the day he will have some wide awake hours from 2-4am and he wants to have a staring contest.

He also is on some kind of cruel schedule where he will only poop between the hours of 12am and 4:30am. Never during the day. Only in the middle of the night. It's very special.

At night he will go 4 hours between feedings and that is a blessing. I am quite tired when Ellie comes down to visit at 7:00am, however I do a really excellent job of parenting and I give her the iPad and she plays for an hour while I sleep a little more. Some call that laziness, and I would agree. MAMA NEEDS TO SLEEP.

As of right now, Ellie is at school, Grant is in his office working and Jack is in my office with me while I'm writing this blog.

He's sweet.



I'm eager for the next few weeks - I feel like babies kinda turn a corner around 6 weeks and a lot changes. I'm ready for less frequent feedings and perhaps some sleeping longer stretches in the night. I'm also ready for him to "play" with me - the smiles and the giggles and the cooing. It's my favorite.

But for now, I'll take the snuggles!

Jack's Birth Day

I thought that November 4th was going to be my last day of pregnancy. I thought I would go to bed that night, knowing that the next day I would be holding my son after my much planned scheduled c-section. But, of course, God had some other plans for us...

In the final weeks of my pregnancy, we had made a few trips to Labor & Delivery for monitoring. Jack would sometimes go almost a full day without moving much. Decreased fetal movement is the most telling sign of low fluid levels - a problem I had with Ellie which led to an induction at 38 weeks. Since I knew that low fluid levels can be dangerous, I was probably a little hyper-sensitive to this and every time we went in to L&D to be checked out, they always told me that Jack looked great, he was just chilling out and not causing much of a stir. I reaaallly hate being "that girl" - the one who cries wolf and goes into the hospital and causes everyone to get all hyped up for no reason and is sent home having wasted everyone's time. The last time we went in for monitoring was right at 37 weeks - and I promised myself I was going to stop being so sensitive and that I was going to stop psyching myself out. This baby was going to come on November 5th and unless I sensed something was really, really wrong, I was going to stop making a scene.

Fast forward to November 2nd. Monday night. I had crazy painful contractions all night. They weren't consistent, they weren't all that close together. They followed no pattern. But they were there. And they hurt. As it got later and the contractions didn't subside, we called my mom. She came out to the house to spend the night. I had a fear that things would get crazy in the middle of the night and we would be calling people at 2am trying to find someone to watch Ellie so we could go to the hospital. Mom spent the night. The contractions stopped around 1am, and everything went back to normal.

Tuesday I took Ellie to school and got some stuff done around the house. Contractions were happening all day. Again, no pattern, but they hurt. I suddenly realized that since I was a scheduled c-section, I hadn't really thought through the whole "going into labor" scenario. How many minutes apart is it supposed to be? At what point do I go in to the hospital?

I was walking around my house, having contractions, playing out scenarios in my mind of waiting too long and having a vaginal birth in my bathroom or something. I'm not dramatic at all.

I called my OB's office just before they closed on Tuesday. I spoke to a nurse, and I explained that I was having contractions, but was not in labor. I said something along the lines of, "I know y'all are about to go home for the day, but for the last 24 hours or so I've had contractions off and on.... I don't think I'm in labor or anything... but I know y'all don't really want me to go into labor or progress much since I'm a scheduled c-section... so at what point would y'all want me to go to the hospital? Just in case they get bad again tonight... how many minutes apart should the contractions be where you would want me to go in?"

The nurse got all "Uh.... you're making me nervous. How do you know you're not in labor?"

She told me to go in.

I told her I didn't want to.

She talked to the doctor and then told me it would make them all feel better if I went in to get monitored.

I said "Okay, but if I go in and I'm not in labor, y'all are just going to send me home, right?"

"Yes."

Sigh.

I didn't want to go through all this hoopla for nothing.

But again - I didn't wanna have a vaginal delivery in my house. Or in a car. Again, with the dramatics. (Yes, I know things don't usually progress that fast but I start to wig out when a major life change is upon me.)

We went in. Brought our bags- just in case. Mom met us up there to hang out with Ellie. I said to Mom and Grant "I'm pretty sure this is about to be a colossal waste of everyone's time, and I'm sorry."

We were monitored. And we waited. And we waited.

And the contractions kept coming.

And we waited.

Eventually, Mom took Ellie back to our house since it got so late. We told her we'd probably be home later.

But then the nurse came in and said they talked to my doctor. They'd been monitoring me and the frequency of the contractions.They wanted to keep me overnight and then do the surgery the next day.

WELL THEN.

SOMEBODY GIVE ME SOME FOOD BECAUSE I KNOW PRETTY SOON Y'ALL ARE GONNA TELL ME I CAN'T EAT ANYMORE.

Yup. That was my first thought. I shoveled a giant meal down my throat at 11:45pm since they were cutting me off at midnight.

We got settled in our room and tried to get some sleep.

Around 1:00am, the woman in the hospital room next door to me had a baby.

I listened to the whole thing.

IT WAS BOTH HORRIFYING AND MAGICAL AT THE SAME TIME.

The screaming. I prayed for her. Hard. And then I heard a baby crying.

And then I started sobbing. SOBBING.

Grant slept through the whole thing.

But the weight of what I was going to experience in about 12 hours was just too much and I just sobbed. Hormones are super fun. Contractions are super fun too. I was doing really well in this moment.

The next morning - after very little sleep - we got word that the surgery would probably happen around lunch time and that Grant's parents were on the road from New Orleans. This was happening. My family started to arrive. I put on a little bit of makeup. We watched The Today Show. Ellie came up with my mom - she was pretty cracked out as my dad had come to the house that morning and gifted her with a giant Disney World castle with all the princesses and princes. She was a smidge hyper - but also pretty concerned with why I was in that hospital bed.

Around noon, my nurse walked in and asked me if I was ready.

"Ready for what?"

"To go."

"Oh."

And then, I literally stood up and walked down the hallway to the operating room. I hopped up on the table all on my own. This was incredibly bizarre and weird. A sweet, sweet nurse held my hands and talked to me about her life in France to distract me as they administered the spinal. This worked instantly and I love it. They laid me down and started getting ready. I chit chatted with my doctor and the nurses as they prepped - they all were remarking about how cute Ellie was, and then my doctor even admitted that my husband was pretty cute too. I agree.

And then he walked into the OR and everyone started saying "Oh hiiiiiiii, handsome husband!" He is pretty darn handsome.

And then the procedure began. It was so different this time. I was fully awake and aware and happy the whole time. I wasn't scared. I was just ready.

Jackson Charles was born at 12:27pm. He came out screaming. And peeing. Welcome to boy world, I guess?

I wept.

Sobbed so much that the doctor and nurses peaked over my little curtain to check on me. Grant brought Jack to me and I just wept as I touched his face and kissed him. As soon as I started talking to him he stopped crying. It was a really, really, beautiful moment and I will thank God for that moment I met my son until the day I die. It was one of the most spiritual moments I've ever had. Grant was crying too. We're just a couple of saps.

I recovered quickly from the anesthesia, I threw up a little bit but nothing major. When I got into the recovery room, Jack was waiting for me. I held him and fed him and we snuggled and I cried a bit more. All our family got to come in and love him and hold him. Ellie held him and kissed him and sang "You are my sunshine" to him which was just enough to make me bawl.

It was such a happy, happy day. The first few days postpartum after a c-section are a little difficult but with all the awesome nurses and my family and Grant supporting me, I really had an awesome recovery team. So awesome, in fact, that we got to go home on Friday - just about 48 hours after he was born.

 I am a very puffy postpartum woman.

And then we got home from the hospital and we let Ellie hold Jack on the couch and he yawned and SHE SNEEZED INTO HIS OPEN MOUTH.

And then we took her temperature and IT WAS OVER 100.

WE HAD BEEN HOME SIX MINUTES.

The End.

And Suddenly I Have Two Kids

Hello, my blog friends.

A week ago today a new little mister joined our family.

This is Jackson Charles!

Born November 4, 2015

12:27pm

7lbs, 13 ounces. 19 3/4 inches long

He was born a day ahead of schedule but that is another story for another blog. I'll write out his whole wonderful birth story in the next few days. But just know that it was wonderful and he is wonderful. God is gracious. We got home late Friday and Jack is now one week old. 

Things are going pretty well. We are very tired but he is a good baby and is making it relatively easy on us. Ellie loves him but is frustrated since we are keeping her away from him for a few days since she has a little cold. We were not expecting her to be sick when we brought him home so all these big promises we've been making her about holding him and helping with bottles and such aren't really coming true for her. But we are trucking along.

Last night, at 3:30am, Jack woke up for a feeding. I pulled him into bed with me, fed him an ounce, pulled him up to my chest to burp him, and then I woke up at 6:30 with him still on my chest. Both of us slept there for 3 hours. He got an ounce and a burp and that was the end of that. Sorry buddy.

Today is kind of a big day as today is my first day without help. We have been SO INCREDIBLY BLESSED with help from Grant's parents and my parents and I felt like I could brave today on my own. Grant has a meeting right now and will be gone for 4 hours. For the first time, I am here alone with my babies - both of them - and we are making it! 

Here we are this morning. Can we have a moment about how beautiful I look? Just like Princess Kate when she left the hospital. Puffy face and all.

Clearly this is not my best moment, but I wanted to document my first day home with my 2 kids.

A few more:

She really is such a good helper.

Today we are staying in our pj's and watching movies. I'm not getting overly ambitious with my first day. I'm medicated and exhausted - we aren't going to be doing any Pinterest crafts, I can tell you that!

It's been a bit of a transition for Ellie. It really hasn't been terrible at all, but we are seeing some behavior changes as we've had a week of no structure, major life change, she's under the weather, and mommy's attention has been elsewhere. We're trying to get back on track - I know it will take some time. I can't drive yet because of the pain meds I am on so we are kinda stuck here. I wouldn't change it though, I know this time will fly by!

More blogs to come on Jack's birth - make sure you're following me on Instagram and the blog Facebook page for more pictures and updates. 

I'm so beyond grateful and blessed - God is so good!

Halloween 2015: The Year of the Monster

Let's take a little walk down memory lane, shall we?

Here's a very poorly done photo collage (I was in a rush) of Ellie's first 3 Halloweens:

2012: The Year of the Elephant
2013: The Year of the Bumble Bee
2014: The Year of Minnie Mouse

Oh, the yumminess. I could just eat that little elephant with a spoon.

This year was the first year that she really got to pick her costume. Originally, she wanted to be Tinkerbell but about a month ago she changed her mind.

She told me she wanted to be Sully from Monsters, Inc.

Yes, James P. Sullivan. The monster.

I decided to just go for it and I found the cutest costume. Thankfully it wasn't too hot here Halloween night and although she was hot and sweaty, I wasn't concerned for her health.

On Friday morning, Ellie got to wear her costume to dance class.

Every other little girl was some kind of princess or fairy or ballerina. But not my Ellie. She was Sully the Monster. And she OWNED it. I would show the pic, but again, not sure how those mamas feel about their girls being on a blog.  Just know that she was standing and beaming amongst all the Elsas and the Cinderellas.

Believe it or not, this is the first year we've Trick or Treated. Last year was the first year she could really have done it anyway and we were out of town. So this year, we really went for it and went door to door. She LOVED it, loved seeing all the other kids in costume, and was just as happy and cheerful as ever.

Here's our girl headed out for her first Trick or Treat experience!

Giving her best roar!

The tail and the curls.

She was quite pleased with herself and I'm so glad.

This was our first Halloween in this neighborhood and they really do a great job. Some houses were a little too spooky so we skipped those. She said thank you to everyone and got a pretty good stash of candy.

Her gloves made it hard for her to grab candy from people's bowls but she refused to take them off. It just wasn't an option. It was so fun to watch her and she asked if we could go again "next mornin'"

Um, no.

It was such a fun night and I'm so glad my little monster is unique and different!

Next year we'll have an almost one year old taggin' along with us!

He Did Not Want to Watch me Whip nor Nae Nae

Houston had another big storm weekend- the "hunker down" kind where everyone just kinda goes inside and stays put. Thankfully, it ended up being somewhat of a non-event as the rains came down in slow, steady increments over a period of about 24 hours rather than dumping 10 inches on us in just a short period of time. It really wasn't a big deal but it made for a nice, quiet family weekend at home for the 3 of us.

The 3 of us. That's about to end. This little boy in my belly is nearing his estimated time of departure. Honestly, this last week we thought for a minute we might be meeting him. We spent most of Wednesday in Labor & Delivery as he did one of his little pranks on us where he stops moving for like 18 hours. We went to the hospital with bags packed, just in case, and there was a moment where my OB said "we might be doing this today" - but then he started changing his mind and got himself all active again. That's fine, Mister Man. You can stay in for a few more days.

I'll go in again this week and they will do another ultrasound to make sure my fluids are okay. I've been having a lot of contractions, some of them quite painful, but we haven't gotten into a pattern yet or anything so I'm good, for now. Anytime he wants to come is honestly okay by me. I'm ready to hold him.

This weekend, as we stayed home and were facing the possible threat of street flooding and torrential rain, Grant went into full responsible-homeowner mode and made it his life mission to keep the pool from overflowing. The last time we had a big storm we had water at the door and so he was a little nervous that this time was going to breach the barriers. He was draining the pool and walking around outside with his waders on and it was all very intense.

I started having contractions and he alerted me that I was not allowed to have a baby right now. "No. You can't do this tonight. I have to keep the pool under control. Sit. Down."

I tried to unload the dishwasher.

"SIT. DOWN."

I tried to take Ellie upstairs and put her to bed.

"JEN. Stop. I'll do it. You go lay down."

"I'M BORED."

"We're all bored. Go sit down. I don't want you having a baby right now."

Did you know that big storms can cause women to go into labor? Something about the moon or the gravitational pull or tide levels or the stars aligning or something. I'm making all that up - but apparently big thunderstorms mean crowded Labor & Delivery wards. So we were a bit more on alert last night and Grant was not having it.

At one point last night the TV was on and the Whip/NaeNae song began and I decided I needed to dance it out.

"Now watch me Whip..."

"STOP."

"Watch me Nae Nae"

"SIT DOWN!!!!"

It was about the time I started doing the stanky leg that he really got mad.

He had no tolerance for my shenangians.

Or maybe it was just that I looked so ridiculous that he just wanted to save me from further embarrassing myself.

We didn't go to church today, partly because of the weather and partly because NOTHING FITS ME ANYMORE. My belly has gotten so big, and the 5 shirts I wear on rotation have been washed so many times that they are shrinking. I can't justify spending more money on clothes I will wear for a maximum of 10 more days so I am just looking like Smee with my belly hanging out.

My belly hanging out is not really appropriate church attire.

The good news is, this storm is supposedly bringing cooler temps to last us through the week and I am beyond thrilled about that. I'm even wearing a shirt that has sleeves instead of a tank top. My belly is hanging out but that's beside the point.

10 days, people. We're almost there.

Monday Morning Update

We're slowly trucking through October over here and I am thrilled. The sooner October is over, the sooner it is baby time! I want Jack to stay in me for as long as he needs to but also I'd very much like to not be pregnant. I've been pregnant since February. I HAVE BEEN PREGNANT SINCE FEBRUARY, FOR THE LOVE.

Here'a few pics from the last week or so...

This is me with my two children, both getting all up in my personal space.

Jack gets an excuse since he lives inside of me, but Ellie has lately been attached to me physically at all times. I try not to complain over this since she has never been especially cuddly, but lately she has needed me to be next to her and she has needed to be physically touching me. I try really hard to savor those moments. But also did you know that it is super hot? Yeah. But I'm letting her do her thing. I think she knows there's change on the horizon and she's getting a smidge clingy. I'll take it. 

One day after work last week, Grant was out in the front yard doing something with the grass (I'm not really sure what all he does out there) and Ellie asked if she could go outside and see her daddy.  I opened the door and let her out since I was cooking dinner. About 15 minutes later, I realized I hadn't heard from her or him and got a little worried. I thought perhaps they might have walked to the playground down the street.  But, no. 

She's fully clothed, running through sprinklers.

I couldn't help but laugh. Why are daddies so much more fun than mommies?

He just turned to me and said "it's the last days of Summer!"

She had a blast and she ran out some energy so we were all good. Isn't that a gorgeous picture though? Grant took it and I think I may frame it. 

On Friday, our friend Blythe and her mommy came over to play and the girls had such a fun time. 

The pigtails and the ruffle butt and the Saints jersey... I just can't. 

They are too cute. 

The girls played in Ellie's kitchen and ate cookies and had to work on the art of sharing. This is what the little years are made for! We also let them jump on the bed because they are little monkeys and we are pushovers.

This week is filled with more of the to-do list and just laying around feeling less than energetic. I was telling Grant last night that every day I feel like doing less and less. I pulled clothes out of the dryer last night and then basically felt like giving myself a trophy and calling it a day. I get very winded very easily. 

Here's to hoping those clothes get folded sometime this week!

Hi There....

Oops. It's been over two weeks since I've blogged. Sorry. Sometimes I just can't. Sometimes my mind is blank and I am ridiculously pregnant and all I can think of to write is "I'm still super pregnant" and that isn't all that interesting for anyone to read.

But here I sit. At my computer. And I felt like writing some words today. I love when I feel like writing some words.

Ellie is at school and I just popped a Zyrtec because the allergies are here and they are making their presence known. I don't know why the beautiful days with less humidity have to also bring ragweed and pollen with them, but they do. They always do. My eyes are on fire. But the weathermen here in Houston are telling us that cooler temps are on the way, and I will gladly accept that. With my whole heart, I accept temperatures below 90 degrees, yes and amen.

I feel like the story of my life right now is one giant, long to-do list. Every day I cross things off the list, and yet every day I add something on. With Jack's arrival just around the corner, I am in full nesting mode over here and trying to get everything done that I can. The c-section has been scheduled for November 5th so that is really, really, really soon. I am so excited I can't even stand it! I'm excited to hold him and see his face. I am also greatly looking forward to sleeping on my stomach again some day.

On Saturday, we took Ellie to the Museum of Natural Science. We went into the Planetarium and watched a short, 30 minute film about outer space. They turned all the lights off and there were stars everywhere and the narrator had that soothing narrator voice and I SURE DID SLEEP THROUGH THAT WHOLE DANG THING. Yep. Mama fell asleep during the movie. The 30 minute movie. At 1:00 in the afternoon. I am just the greatest version of myself right now, except not.

On a positive note, THE SHOWS ARE BACK ON TELEVISION. I have missed them as the Summer shows Grant makes me watch are all on the Discovery Channel and I was getting really tired of them. One can only watch people fish for crabs so many weeks in a row before it gets redundant. He also made me watch Naked & Afraid which is a ridiculous show that makes me wanna puke for so many reasons.

We have started watching that new show Blindspot. Is anyone else watching? It's kinda like the Bourne movies and we love the Bourne movies. I'm intrigued by the show but some of it seems a little far-fetched to me. But, then again, so were the Bourne movies.

Anyhoo, we are trying to embrace Fall around here even though it hasn't really shown up yet. We took Ellie to a pumpkin patch a few weeks back and got this little gem of a photo:

She's such a pumpkin. A big, 3 year old, sassy little pumpkin.

A pumpkin who's going to be a big sister in about 3 weeks or so.

Sunrise, sunset, sob sob sob.

And here's a little sneak peak of Jack's nursery - which is still a work in progress.

I still need to put on some finishing touches and then I will do a full nursery tour.

The rocking chair is still in Ellie's room. We rarely rock her anymore, but it's still in her bedroom. I've asked Grant to transfer it to Jack's room, but he has been dragging his feet. He has finally admitted that "well maybe I still want to rock her a few more times before Jack comes."

He's such a sap!

Sorry I haven't blogged in so long. I'll try to get my words flowing a little more often. Y'all have a Happy Tuesday!

A Series of Unrelated Things

1. How come laundry is never ending? It's like the fish and the loaves, man. It just continuously multiplies and it is never, ever done. Laundry is the boss of me. In the last year or so I have stayed on top of it more than I ever have as far as how frequently I throw something in the wash... and yet I am still folding big piles of laundry every, single day.

On a more positive note, I have been washing all of Jack's clothes and blankets and folding them and putting them in his little drawers. It's all just the most precious thing ever. Plus, I'm washing it all in Dreft so I'm basically needing to smell each individual piece as I fold it. The little onesies. Oh. I can't take it. I will squish him and he will be my squishy.

2. Speaking of Jack, I just got back from the doctor and it looks like he will be coming the first week of November. (We are having a scheduled c-section, so we get to more or less pick the date, unless he were to come on his own.) If we have him the first week of November, that means that we will be meeting him in about 40 days, give or take a few. FORTY DAYS, Y'ALL. How is it possible to be SO joyously excited and SO panicked all at the same time?! It's pretty much 90% joy and happiness and like 10% anxiety attack. I go back to the doctor in 2 weeks to check his position, and then after that I start going once a week. This trimester has flown by. Goodness gracious.

3. THE SHOWS ARE BACK, Y'ALL. We watched Nashville last night and I'm so glad that Deacon is okay. I mean, I never really doubted it, but I was able to take a big sigh of relief once I knew for certain. And I am going to need Juliette to pull herself together and put on her big girl panties and stop being such a brat. There, I said it, I feel better. And tonight is a very big night on ABC for all the big Shonda shows and I am suckered in, hook, line and sinker. I've been watching Grey's Anatomy since the very first night it ever aired. Honestly, I am ready for that show to move on but I can't stop watching now. I've got to see it through to the end, whenever that might be. I'll probably have grandchildren and we'll all be watching Zola Shepherd-Grey become Chief Resident as she deals with her childhood trauma and scars from her daddy dying and her mother being so dark and twisty.

4. Ellie has "Pet & Vet Day" today at school. A veterinarian is coming to talk to them about taking care of animals, and several people are bringing their pets up to school for the children to pet and look at. We had the option of bringing Moxie, but I chose not to as he is not especially drawn to children and also I don't want all his dog hair in my car. I asked Ellie on the way to school this morning what animals she thought she would be seeing today. "Oh, I gonna see puppies and kitties. And giraffes and hippos and a lion."

I sure hope not. But, perhaps a hamster?

5. We have officially entered the season of Fall as far as the calendar is concerned, but the weather has not taken note. It is still very, very hot. I was telling a friend of mine yesterday (who is even more pregnant than me) that when I found out I was due in November, I envisioned all the cute Fall clothes I would wear as I neared the end of my pregnancy. "A November baby!", I thought to myself. "It'll be so different from the end of my pregnancy with Ellie. No tank tops and flip flops, this time. I'll be wearing scarves and boots and it won't be so hot. What a nice change!"

Um, no. It is remaining hot. I am in capris and short sleeves every day and I sweat all the time. There are no scarves or boots in my life. No cute maternity sweaters. I am continuing with the tank tops.

I feel like if you look back at the 8 or so years that I've had this blog, probably 50% of the content is just me complaining about the heat. Forgive me.

Happy Thursday, y'all. I hope wherever you are, it's cooler than it is here!

Getting Ready for Jack

In case you missed it, over the weekend I announced our sweet son's name.

My dad's name is Jack, which is a name I've always loved. And he's a man I've always loved and greatly admired. Grant's dad's name is Charlie, which is another awesome name and wonderful man. When we were picking a name for our son, we knew we didn't have to look much farther than our two dads. To quote my husband, "I just can't think of two better men."

Our son's name will be Jackson Charles.

This weekend, my sweet sister threw me a darling shower in her home to help us switch from girl mode to boy mode over here. I love the attention to detail - she did such a great job, as she always does!

This sweet teddy bear and balloons welcomed us in.

Blue punch (with a swimming rubber ducky!), perfect letter blocks for the nursery from Etsy, THE YUMMIEST MINI CHEESECAKES OH MY GOODNESS, and delicious cookies!

There was also a big spread with muffins and breakfast casseroles and lots of yummy things that I had second and third helpings of. No shame, y'all, no shame.

More cookies!

The theme of the nursery is a madras plaid in primary colors, so the cookies were made to look like plaid. More to come on the cookies a little further down in the post.... seriously they are amazing.

I squealed a little when I saw this on the mantle.... I can't believe this is happening so soon!

Grant's parents were so kind to drive all the way in from New Orleans to celebrate with us this weekend. I wish I had gotten a few more pics of all of us at the shower, but this picture right here is a treasure to me. My mother-in-law said a prayer over me and Jack, and the whole time she was praying, she had her hand on one side of my belly while my mom had her hand on the other side. 

Sweet Jack, you are loved by your grandmothers - and that is the understatement of the century.

Grace and Ellie wore matching dresses because they are so very darling. Those girls have such a sweet little bond.

Ellie was really excited about the "Baby Jack Party!" and couldn't figure out whose birthday it was. She had a blast nevertheless!

More on those cookies - Debbie from Honeypie Sweets is beyond talented and made all the cookies and treats for the party. She even made this amazing mobile! The stars say "Pops", "PaPa", "Daddy" and "Baby Jack" - I love that little homage to his name and his grandfathers! You can see these photos and photos on the Honeypie Sweets Facebook page.

The whole shower was just so special and intimate and I'm so thankful for this new life that will be joining us soon. Today, while Ellie is at school, I plan on starting to wash Jack's clothes and put some things together in the nursery. We're getting into the final countdown, people!

Have a very Happy Tuesday!

Red Carpet Recap: Emmy Awards 2015

Welcome to the Red Carpet Recap! I've missed this so much - it's been way too long since I've done one of these so I'm thrilled to be back at it. The red carpet looks tonight did not disappoint. Let's start off with a doozy, shall we?

Heidi. There is about 7 different things going on right now. And the color isn't helping. WHAT IS THIS.

Sarah Hyland is on point, per usual.

If you're competing for most beautiful couple, WE GET IT. YOU WIN. STOP.

I don't like that third strap, but she is absolutely darling.

I like the dress. I like the shoulder thing. I don't like them together. 

I'm not sure who this is, but I like that she decided that her hand pose should be a heart. 

Well just give her a pointy hat and she's got herself a Halloween costume!

Who is this beautiful girl? Oh! It's Lady Gaga! And she's not wearing a dress made of meat! What a marvelous improvement this is! She looks beautiful. LET'S STICK WITH THIS LOOK, SHALL WE?!?

No. No. A thousand times, no.

At first I got angry when I saw this pic cause I wanted to know who that home wrecker is walking the red carpet with William H. Macy. And then I realized that it's Felicity Huffman with brown hair and she is unrecognizable. But also kinda fabulous!

I'm not sure why, but the colors and pattern of this dress reminds me of that old store in the mall, Gadzooks.

OLIVIA POPE I MISS YOU PLEASE HURRY BACK TO ME I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS AND I AM ANXIOUS FOR THURSDAY NIGHT TELEVISION AND ALSO YOU LOOK AMAZING OKAY THANKS BYE.

Sweet honey child - those pants do not belong with that little top you have going on there. I'm not sure who advised you that all of this was okay. Pick a direction and stick to it. You can't do two things at once. 

LOVE this look on Maggie!

Regina King is one of my favorite actresses. And if this gown went all the way to the ground, it would be one of my favorite dresses.

When she was slouching in her chair wearing a hoodie.... oh heavens she makes me laugh!

HE'S WEARING A NAHVY BLUE TUXAHDO.

She is quickly becoming one of my favorite people. So ridiculously funny and talented - and she looks beautiful!

And the textured jacket award goes to Mr. Andy Samberg!

For the record, I thought his opening song and dance number was hilarious but the rest of the show felt awkward. He couldn't get the jokes to land right. I could tell that he knew it wasn't going well. Not sure what happened there......

But look! Fred Armisen came with a Wolverine hand which totally makes sense!

Is he about to burst into a song and dance number? Perhaps with tap shoes?

Can we just revisit this for a moment? I AM SO CONFUSED.

This is Andy Samberg's beautiful wife and she may be wearing one of the oddest things I've ever seen. What is happening on her chest?  Why is it there?  Is it a picture frame?

And the winner of the best earrings of the night goes to Julia Louis-Dreyfus!

I don't know who this is but I've named her Peppermint Patty.

The top of this dress is very mother-of-the-bride and the bottom of this dress is very flower girl. But Retta is hilarious so I don't really care what she wears!

THERE IS A STRUCTURAL ISSUE HERE. One side of this dress has fallen down entirely. This bothers me more than I can fully explain.

Mindy really doesn't want anyone to take her purse so she labeled it with a very big font.

She also matches the wallpaper which is an added plus. 

Who was your favorite look for the night? Can anyone tell me what is going on with Heidi's dress? Did you also feel like Andy's jokes fell flat? Let's discuss!