Where I have been! :)

I decided to try to do this again.  Slade is older now and is doing much better.  Our life is not as hectic as it was when he was first born! We aren't in doctors offices as often and he has been seizure free for 6 months!! I feel like we are finally becoming normal again! 

So, on a happy note I will share some pictures of Slade! 

Easter 2014 15 months old

I started a new blog where I talk about Slade's diagnosis (although I kind of quit that too). Guess I need to start it back up! I will post a link to that blog here: 

Just an Update

Student teaching is over with and this is my last week of college... ever!!

That's right I said EVER! 

(at least for now)

I am so exhausted from school... my brain hurts literally! 

Finishing a four year degree in two and a half years seems ridiculous but remember: 

Everything is possible! 

I finished just in time too!

This is week 30 of pregnancy and we officially have 10 weeks left until we get to meet our sweet boy!

Since it has been a while since I have updated our blog I guess I should let you know that we have finished the nursery (except the curtains that were just finished recently).  It looks amazing!

We have been completely inspired to create things from pinterest.  

My computer has a wonderful virus so I cannot upload the pictures at the moment but I plan on doing that soon! :) For now we are just updating to say hello, we are still here!!

 & Slade will be here soon as well! 

11 Week Baby Update

My last update on baby was my first update and since then I have:
Finally gotten moved out of the apartment
Took a two week vacation to the beach, and now...
I am starting to finish the last little bit of unpacking that I have to do before student teaching begins next month!!

Well, I am exhausted and I am sure that I am due another vacation but maybe it is too soon to be thinking about that! :)

Today I am 11 weeks 4 days so... here is a little update on baby!!

Last week was my first prenatal appointment and what a relief it was to see baby and hear his/her heartbeat. At the appointment, (I was 10 weeks 0 days) baby measured 9 weeks 5 days and had a fetal heart rate of 169.  He/she was kicking and moving all over the place.  I believe he/she would really like to come out and play with everyone but of course not yet!! Dadddy couldn't come to the appointment but we did get to video the ultrasound which he very much enjoyed watching the baby move and listening to the heartbeat.  I believe it was a shock to him how much our 10 week baby looked so grown... it was a shock to me as well.  I wasn't expecting to see so much! 


Our next appointment is in two weeks so we are just as excited about the next appointment! 


Since everyone wants to know what I look like... 
Well, I look exactly the same except it looks like I swallowed a little debbie cake without chewing that is sitting in between my hip bones.  Other than that, I look the same.  


Time for school work... IN MY LAST CLASS!!!... only two more weeks until I am finished!! 

Baby's Room Before

Of course we are not finished unpacking or packing for that matter.  While choosing a baby room, since we have two to choose from, we chose the small room.  This room was perfectly made for a baby.  It is just the right size!!

This is the before picture.  

I downloaded a picture of what it looked like now but...

I didn't figure you would want to look at all our unpacked boxes. 

I cannot wait!! Hopefully by the time I get home, Shannon will bring all of the left over boxes from the apartment to the house so we can be completely moved in.  I am so ready to have our name off of the apartment!! That would make me so, so, so, happy.  If only I could pick up all of the boxes myself... but I can't. 

Speaking of new house, I will be posting pictures probably whenever I get back from the beach and I have everything unpacked. Of course, when I get back home I will be excited to go to the baby doctor!! :) 

We can't wait to see our little nugget and I know a lot of other people who can't wait to see him/her either. 

Now we have to decide if we are going to still do gender neutral or if we are going to wait to find out boy/girl before we paint and get everything ready.  Decisions, decisions... 

Just the Three of Us!!

Well I haven't been able to blog here lately but like always there is a good reason.  

We bought a new house at the beginning of May. 

I had surgery the second week of May which had me on the couch recovering. 

The third week of May I became sick (and have been sick since) with a cold.

Of course our one year wedding anniversary was the fourth week.

We also got to move into the new house during that week/weekend.

Thank goodness for the help of our nephews, without them it would not be possible.

Packing boxes, driving back and forth between apartment and house, cleaning, painting, etc. Exhausting!! 

Little did I know that during this busy time I was pregnant. :) 

Depending on whether you go by the gestational age or the fertilization age I am either 7 weeks or 5 weeks.  

Since the due date of Baby White will be February 5 (which means they are going by the gestational age) that is how I will keep up with his/her progress over the next couple of weeks/months.  

We are extremely excited!! 

For those of you who know us well know that we have been trying for this baby since September. 

Only through prayer was this baby sent to us.  

The day we found out I was pregnant we talked about what each of us were doing the night before. 

My sweet husband says he prayed for this baby the night before.

I then became very emotional because I knew what I had done the previous night.  

When my sweet husband came to bed he wanted to talk, I was of course reading my bible.

I told him I was reading and was almost at a stopping point but I had to finish this chapter. 

I was reading 1 Samuel. 

1 Samuel begins with the story of Hannah. 

Hannah is married to Elkanah and is unable to give him a child.

Hannah prays to God for a child. 

Eli (a priest) finds Hannah praying for a child and tells her that God would bless her...

The next day after some persuasion from a sweet friend of mine, I finally took a pregnancy test and it was POSITIVE!!!

Just to clear everything up, I am 7 weeks pregnant and our sweet baby is the size of a blueberry! 

 How precious!! 

Like I have said already we are so excited! 

We have three weeks until we go to the doctor for the first time. 

Probably the most nervous I have ever been... 

But until then, I will occupy myself with two weeks at the beach!! :) 

...

You want to know how packing is going??

It's not.

Of course I would decide to start packing on finals week for the two classes that I am taking.  I keep trying to talk myself into working on the house but I do feel that keeping my awesome GPA is more important.  I mean, wouldn't you rather write curriculum's, do concept maps, and integrated units instead of packing?? Exactly my dilemma.  There is no plus side. 

Is it time to eat supper yet?

The Beginning - Week 1

Today will mark the first day of our packing adventure.  And by "our packing adventure" I really mean.... I am about to pack everything in the house to prepare for moving day (which of course is where the men come in to help).  Oh the joys of being a woman at home.  If you remember it was a wee 10 months ago that I was doing this exact same thing except this time, hopefully it will be a more permanent move and I will not have to look at brown moving boxes for a while. This time, I think we will do things right and get rid of half of the things that we already own.

So, where do I start?  You guessed it, clothes.

In our current apartment we have two fairly large closets upstairs dedicated to clothes.  Two large closets that are packed full with two storage containers to place the "not so important" clothes.  Not only that, we have a large dresser that contains the rest.  Yes, I believe it is time to go through them and give to those who really need.  So, Week 1 will begin with me going through all of the clothes that we do not need and get rid of them. 

Since I have attachment issues, I think I will start with the hubby's clothes.  :)

This is going to be a pretty lengthy task so I will just set myself that one goal for the week.  Anything else I get accomplished will just be me succeeding at this whole packing thing.  I'm seriously considering a career in packing/moving, I have really gotten good at it.  You would be good at it as well if you have moved four times in three years. 

Yes, there are no pictures in this post. Sorry, I'm a boring red head with only words.

Let's Talk Muffins

Warning: There are no pictures that will be attached to this post!!!

Let's talk muffins...

This morning, my sweet grandmother decided to fix me breakfast, since she has been staying with me this weekend.  She got up early and let me sleep in while she cooked.  It was so nice to wake up to the smell of food being cooked I felt like such a kid.  I went downstairs and was surprised that she made my favorite... muffins.  

She told me they tasted a little different and obviously I did not immediately understand until I went in the kitchen and she had cooked them in a cake pan.  She did not want to wake me so she went the alternate route and used whatever she could find.  (I hear that I hide my muffin pans... oops!)

A couple of  years ago she bought me a brownie pan (which I call a cake pan) off of QVC.  I know... my grandmother is that lady! It has these nice dividers so after the brownie (or cake) is baked you do not have to cut it.  There are already single serving cut pieces.  I do really love this pan! But back to the muffins...

Muffins just do not taste the same unless they are made in a muffin pan.  Brownie shaped muffins just taste funny and I want answers!!! There has to be a reason for this!! 

Have a great day!!  

Obsessed!!

I guess things have changed and not only is that sweet husband of mine trying to eat better but I am obsessing over "healthy" food.  One of the biggest things that I have become obsessed with is the avocado.  

I love them and they are healthy for you.  They are a great substitute to put on a sandwich instead of mayonnaise.  (Well, this is what I hear anyway.)  My favorite way to eat this is as guacamole.  If anybody really knows me you know that before a month ago I would not eat guacamole because of its resemblance to baby poop.  Which of course, I love babies but I do not want to eat anything that looks like their poop.

Other things that I have learned to love it Aldi.  Do you have an Aldi where you live?  Check here. This is obviously where I buy my avocados.  Every time I get them they are not ripe yet so they last longer and you can buy things that are on sale and not have to worry about using them that day.  I love Aldi! :)

So, back to the avocados... since I have been making guacamole, I have enjoyed using my food processor that I got for Christmas.  I absolutely love it and am trying to find different ways to use it to make multiple delicious things!

That's all for now! Have a great day!!

New Year Calendar & Crazy "Holidays"

So, tonight as I was making my general calendar for my notebook I wanted to add all of the "important" holidays so I looked them up to make sure I did not miss one.  Who knew January had so many crazy holidays?? Not only does January but every other month does as well.  I wonder how many people celebrate these holidays?

This is my wonderful calendar with the holidays that I believe are important either because they are a holiday that people are off work or days that I make references to... such as Friday the 13th:

Now, let's talk about these crazy holidays.  For a full list you can look here.
My top 5 favorite holidays from the list are:

January 3 - Festival of Sleep Day

This day is basically national sleep in day where everyone hits their snooze button and gets a couple more hours of sleep.  Thankfully, I am able to celebrate this day everyday so of course it is one of my favorite!  The only bad part about this "holiday" is that it is the day that my sweet husband goes back to work therefore he is not able to celebrate with me. :( Oh and something to look forward to there is a sleep week in March!!!

January 11 - Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friend's Day

There is no research that backs up why this day exist but it would be fun I am sure!

January 13 - Blame Someone Else Day

This day just makes me laugh because wouldn't it be so much easier if every mistake you ever made you could blame on someone else?  Well, today this is possible!!

January 13 (again) - Make Your Dreams Come True Day

And once I read the name of this holiday, I automatically start to sing the Disney World theme which makes everyone happy I am sure!

January 17 - Ditch New Years Resolution Day

I am sure we all have this problem at the beginning of the year.  Say we are going to do something new and it either gets old or we forget to start and say that we will put it off until next year.  I will tell you that I am loving these last couple of days of laziness before the resolution begins. 



Obviously I had to cut the favorite of the holidays short because there were so many but hopefully I will be able to think about them as each day passes.  Wouldn't it be fun to "celebrate" each of them! I may have to try it!

I'm not sure if I will get much more done before we leave tomorrow but if I do, of course I will share!





Cleaning = No Fun!!

Since the holidays are over and all of the gifts have been opened, it looks as if my house has become a place where Santa dropped all of his extra paper.  Not only did he leave his extra paper in the living room, he also left a mess in the kitchen from all of the sweets!  I know I shouldn't blame Santa, but I really felt it was better than blaming myself!

  

I am going to call today Day 1 of "After Christmas Cleaning".  

We all want a clean house for the new year but does it really have to be this horrible?  Okay, I admit I hate cleaning but someone out there has to have a way for me to "have fun" while cleaning.  I have not found this while searching through google but I do have a feeling it is out there.  Let me know if you find it! But for now, I have to get back to the dishwasher... 

Photo Card

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Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!!

I absolutely love snow!!

I do not care when it comes:

November, December, March, July....

Hey, I am from the South what do you expect?

The snow has started to fall here and I am so thankful!

I cannot wait to lock myself in the house tomorrow with some hot cocoa and clean!

(The cleaning part is not a choice I can eliminate or I would)

Let's be real for a second... I am from the South.

This snow might not even be here in the morning. 

Such a tease!!

Enough about snow... let's talk about where I have been.  As some of you may know we have had numerous deaths in our family recently which means funerals, and visitations.  Oh, while we are at it let's add the two Praxis test that I had (I passed them both, thanks for asking), Thanksgiving holidays with both families, observing in classrooms, papers, and adding an extra class to my load and then you just have a mess.  Who do you people think I am??? Superwoman?

There is however good news!!!!

I have started working on a new project that I hope I can share.  I have not completed it yet so I have no idea how it will turn out.  Plus, I have to find a guinea pig to try it out.  Since I do not have any children, I will have to find one lucky mommy that will try it out for me!  I have a mommy in mind but I haven't talked to her yet! Oh best friend, pull through for me! :)

Let's be real...

It is not like it snows here everyday so I am going to go outside and stick my tongue to the sky like a little kid. 

Break Time!!!

Well, I took a little break from blogging.  We have had a family emergency and I was not able to get online.  Since this is an emergency that will not be going away for a while I just wanted to make a little update to let everyone know that I am still here, I am just temporarily disabled. 

I get a whole week, and maybe more off of my workout so that should be interesting.  I may try to fit something in here and there while I am away from home. 

Anyway, until tomorrow or whenever the next time I see you!

:)

Day 3

Day 3 I added another mile to my workout which added up to 4 miles.  Yay!

Well at least we know that I can push myself!

I am very proud of myself as well as my husband for pushing himself.  I have to say we have really worked hard on working out. 

Other than that I do have some other things going on in my life...

Since I am on my blog, I think it is time for me to talk about the things that I believe in. 

Initiative 26

I have been very vocal about whether or not I would vote yes or no if I were able to. 

The thing is...

Initiative 26 is not just about abortion.  Their website said so a couple weeks ago before they deleted their Q&A section.  One of their leaders said that they were against birth control (IUD and the Pill) on television today as well as saying that they were against In-Vitro Fertilization.  It is funny to me that the people who are for this initiative take birth control and some have even had in-vitro fertilization. 

Whether you believe what I say or not, if you were to do your research you would see that this is what they want.  You would also learn that Les Riley is a secessionist who tried to form an independent theocratic republic in South Carolina. 

Oh, and for the record.  I am against abortion but this Initiative is not just about abortion. 

Oh and on another note...

I HAVE A BIG 'OL SURPRISE COMING SOON!!! I CAN'T WAIT TO GET IT OUT! I MAY JUST BURST WITH EXCITEMENT!!!

3 Miles on Wednesday

Our three miles today were awesome of course!

Seriously, who heard the sarcasm in that statement???

I am terribly upset that my husband is obviously in better shape than me.

Of course I ran/walked the same three miles but his motivation was seriously way higher than mine.  I think I am going to have to sneak in some day time workouts to get into better shape. 

So next week... I am thinking about expanding and doing more than just walking.  I have no idea what I am going to do but if anyone knows of any workout plans please let me know.  I am on a walk/run cardio plan right now that is for thirty days but I would like to change it up.  Walking or running for an hour is really becoming boring to me.  I think I may need the motivation that my husband has!

Good news is, I only had one bathroom break today and it was a real one.  It was not a bathroom break that was really an excuse to get out of walking for a few seconds. 

That is it for the night.  I have to get back to school work.  I have a huge Classroom Management Plan due Monday and I will be working on it until the time it is due.  

Whew!!!

I need to confess some things about myself!

1. I like to convince myself that I am in great shape. 
2. I am not in great shape. 
3. I said I had to go to the bathroom during my run/walk this morning because I had a fear I would fall off of the treadmill and die. 
4. My bathroom break was my second break from our morning workout. 

Yes, today was me and my husbands first day at the gym. 

SOMEHOW I SURVIVED!!

5 A.M. will come early in the morning so I have got to get my rest and finish my school work.  But, just to keep a little record of how we did today... we ran/walked for 3 miles and it was a little less than an hour.  Since it was our first day I expect to do a little better in the weeks to come. 

Oh and side note... the gym is hot even before you start to work out so wear some shorts and a short sleeve shirt.  Even if it is 30 degrees outside. 

I am sure this is exactly what I looked like this morning.  Specifically 0:35



Thursday!!

Well, today is Thursday which means only one thing... Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice come on! OH MY I just cannot wait! by my clock, I have about an hour before they come on so I will start to work on my school work and of course, do this!

Tonight, we had the most wonderful meal. I just wish I could tell you where I found it! Yes, it was a blog but I am not sure whose blog it was. When I find out I will let you know. We had, Chicken Parmesan Wraps. So... so... good!

This is what our wraps looked like:

Egg roll wraps, baby spinach, chicken, marinara sauce, Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese. 

We had rice to go along with it but of course it wasn't ready when I decided to take the picture.   

This weekend I get to sit at home and study for my two Praxis test that I have in a couple of weeks.  I am thinking it was not the best decision I have ever made to have them both in one week but, I just really wanted to get it over with! If I could get the certification stress off of my shoulders I would think I would feel so much better! 

School is desperately calling my name.  I have to do lesson plans and finish my Classroom Management Plan so unless you all would like to help me I will have to go finish up! :( 

I am pretty sure I was going to talk about me learning to sew but I haven't uploaded my pictures yet so maybe tomorrow or this weekend I will do that! I need to get it together! 

I am going to find the person who listed this recipe and will give them the credit they deserve! I will edit soon!

Birthday Celebration!!

Since yesterday was officially my birthday we decided to do a little something since we had really already celebrated my birthday the previous weekend and Monday night.

Yesterday afternoon, the husband and I met in the park and shared cupcakes from my favorite place... Cupcake and Co. I have talked about them before but, if you are near me or if you plan on visiting my area you should definitely check them out!!

Here is the link to their facebook page!

After we shared our cupcakes, we decided to go on the Haunted History of the Shoals Ghost Tour. The tour is given by Debra Johnston Glass and is so much fun! Since we are new to the area it was very interesting for us to learn about the history of our new town. I do have to say that I am extremely excited about exploring these places downtown soon!

To learn more about the Haunted History of the Shoals.... go here!!!


If any of you are interested in ghost and would like to see pictures of the ghost here in The Shoals, you can go to their wordpress site. Click HERE to go to their wordpress site.

I only have a couple of pictures of our afternoon in the park. I decided not to take pictures on the tour although I probably should have. Here are our pictures!

Cupcakes in the park! We had: White Chocolate, Red Velvet, German Chocolate, and Chocolate with Cream Cheese! Yum!!

Seriously... how cute are we in the park??

I absolutely love the fountain in Wilson Park!

This has to be my favorite entrance into the park. So beautiful!

This is our last picture before the tour began. How fun! Of course, we only took this picture to see how our new phones worked in the dark! Such dorks!

I hope you all enjoyed the things I shared from my birthday! We did buy two books from the author who gave the ghost tour! I will let you all know how the books are after I finish them! Hopefully before Halloween!!

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Well, obviously by the title it is my birthday but there are so many other things that I need to cover! I think we can all tell that I have been away for a while and believe me, there is very good reasoning behind this.

1.) In a couple of weeks I will be taking my Praxis exams for Mississippi and Alabama. Obviously the two states need to get together and have the same testing requirements but, of course that would be too easy and a lot cheaper for us poor college students. I am sure, the point of this was to make us spend all of our money and force us into a profession. Regardless, these things have to be done and this is where I am in my life.

2.) School is taking over my life. Besides the papers that I am having to write, working in my groups, observing in the classroom, and actually participating in class, I am still expected to clean house and take care of myself and my husband. It is a lot of work sometimes but I am learning to deal with it.

3.) My mom gave me a sewing machine for my birthday so she came and spent the weekend with me and taught me how to sew. I will talk about that in another post. Yes, I do have pictures and I am excited to show what I learned to do.

4.) Oh, did I mention I have been sick? I have been living off of oatmeal, soup, and sprite for the past month. I just started eating normal meals last week. I lost twenty pounds over the past month so now I plan on getting myself in really good shape. :) That is the plan... we will see how that goes!

5.) Since I am up here away from everyone I know I have had my share of company lately. I have been so excited that my friends and family have come to see me! The spare time that I did have to write I have filled with people that I love!

Although saying that here is my plan...

I plan on trying to write back on my blog again. It is a new year in my life and I have a lot of stuff that I need to get out. Have you ever been so busy that you just didn't know what to do with yourself?? Well, I have gotten myself organized with a wonderful planner that I have and hopefully will find myself so free time to do things that I love to do... like this. Yes, believe it or not I love talking about myself!!

I hope you all enjoy and the next time we meet, maybe there will be a little more color to the page!