Friday, February 28, 2014

5 on Friday




Linking up for the 5 on Friday fun! We made it! This week has been a long one!

1. My best friend Megan's bridal shower was last Saturday at my house. We had a great time! My mother in law made these adorable "wedding dress" cupcakes.

I messaged Brent on Facebook and asked him a whole bunch of questions about himself. Megan had to answer them and for each one she got wrong, she had to put a piece of bubble gum in her mouth. Fun times! Hahahaha.
Opening bedding for the marital bed! :)
Megan's mom has had a group of friends that she has know for 30 plus years. They refer to themselves as the "YaYa's." It was so fun having them at the shower! This is Michelle, Megan, Megan's mom Barbara, Stephanie and Theresa.
Megan with her matron of honor (me!) and her bridesmaid Kasey (Brent's sister) Her other bridesmaid Jen had to leave early due to a family emergency. :(
Phi Mu girls. Megan is Melody's big sis! :)
I am not sure why but every single time I have an event at my house, I forget to take pictures of the food table. You can kind of see it in the background of the pictures but we had a fruit tray, bacon cheddar ranch dip with wheat thin chips, crockpot meatballs, cake batter dip with nilla waffers and chicken salad with croissants. The countdown is on to the bachelorette party in 1 week and more importantly, the wedding in 30 days! So exciting!

2. Oh my goodness, how good was The Bachelor this week? Yay for Andi telling off Juan Pablo! I think he's a total douchebag but I am of course still going to watch until the end. I hope the rumors are true about Andi being the next Bachelorette!

3. This is Kennedy's new favorite book. It is the cutest story that goes along with the nursery rhyme "to market to market," except the animals at the market all start going crazy. So funny!  If you have a toddler or preschool age child it is a must have!
4. As many of you know, every night I pray for women who are dealing with infertility. I pray for them in general and I pray for specific women I know are dealing with infertility. God has been so faithful to many of the women I have prayed for, blog friends, church friends, co-workers and sorority sisters. My good friend and former roomate Sara and her husband Greg have been trying for over a year now and Sara has recently been diagnosed with PCOS.  For awhile Sara has kept this private but she is now reaching out and asking for prayer. Will you join me in praying that God makes them parents?

5. Kennedy is 15 months old today! I completely forgot to take her chair picture so I will have to do that this weekend. So what's new? Talking, talking, talking, some things we can understand, some we can't. One word we heard loud and clear yesterday morning was "bow!" Are you surprised? Right after I got her dressed for school, she started pointing at her bow holder and saying "bow" over and over again. Momma is so proud, lol. She is also cutting FIVE, yes, 5 teeth right now! Poor thing! Once these pop completely through, she will have seven teeth. We had some more awesome weather this week and were able to play outside a lot which she loved. I love how she loves to be outside but even when outside she is still "all girl," has to have a babydoll or her Minnie doll with her! 



So blessed to have this precious baby girl in our lives! Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

RSVP

When I was 8 years old I was invited to a classmate's birthday party at the skating rink. I didn't want to go. I didn't have a good reason. I just didn't want to go. My mom told me that was fine but that I needed to call her to RSVP so I needed to come up with a reason of why I couldn't go.  I was so mad at her because I have always been a terrible liar and I couldn't think of a reasonable excuse of why I couldn't go. So I went. I may have been furious at her but looking back, I think that was just the start of her raising me to be polite and well mannered.

Last Saturday, I hosted a bridal shower for my best friend Megan. The shower went great and I am planning on posting some pictures and details in my 5 on Friday post. However one thing that really irked me and yes, Megan knows I am blogging about this topic: RSVP. I sent out 24 invitations to the shower. 7 people contacted me to RSVP. I usually do my grocery shopping on Sunday afternoons. The Saturday before the shower I realized I had absolutely no clue how much food to buy because no one had RSVP'd. I started messaging the people I knew on Facebook  and texting poor Megan saying "do you know if _____ is coming?" I was able to find out the status of a few more people but still didn't really know an exact number. I ended up spending way too much money on food, which is okay because Megan is worth it and we had lots of yummy leftovers. However, I just don't get it. How hard is it to RSVP???  One of Megan's co-workers even texted me to say she wouldn't be able to make it which was completely cool. Text, call, send me a message on Facebook, whatever, just let me know! I just think it's a common courtesy but apparently it's a thing of the past. Megan and my sister in law Rachael hosted my baby shower and said they had issues getting people to RSVP as well.

Do you RSVP??? If you are one of the ones that doesn't, that's cool!  But, just curious, what's the reason? Help me out with this!



Monday, February 24, 2014

Monday Memoirs-Our Jamaican Honeymoon!


Linking up with Royal over @ Royal Proclaims for Monday Memoirs! I hope others will join in on the fun and share some memories with us!

Today I am blogging about our amazing honeymoon to Sandals Whitehouse resort in Jamaica! Just like our wedding, it didn't exactly start off amazing. This was because a week before our honeymoon, a tropical storm had hit Jamaica. Our shuttle driver from the airport informed us that instead of the normal 2 hr drive to the resort, it would be 3 to 4 hours due to roads being closed. The trip was MISERABLE. The roads were bumpy and winding and the girl in front of us was puking into a plastic bag the entire time. By the time we got to the resort, I just wanted go lie down in our room. We get to our room and SURPRISE, there are ANTS EVERYWHERE! I burst into tears because I was tired, jetlagged and nauseous from the bus ride. Nick immediately got on the phone to try and get our room switched. The person he spoke to said they would come "spray" the room. Nick replied with "no, this is my honeymoon and my new wife is crying! I want a new room!" Finally, they switched our room. This was the only time we felt like we didn't have good service at Sandals, the rest of the trip was absolutely amazing!

Us on the plane

We did a spa day, which I definately enjoyed more than Nick. We had couples massages, body wraps and then got to go into a hot tub and eat fresh fruit and champagne. Nick was not a fan of the body wrap, as you can see! 
The best part about Sandals resorts is that they are all inclusive, meaning you can eat and drink all you want! The alcoholic beverages were delicious and so was the food! Nick's favorite drink was called the "5th element" and mine was the "Jamaican Smile." I also really enjoyed the martinis from the martini bar. I think I sampled all the flavors but the peach was my favorite! Our favorite restaurant was an italian restaurant, can't think of the name. They also had an amazing restaurant with a breakfast buffet. We usually would go there for breakfast and have mimosas and lots of food and be good to go until dinnertime.

This night I may or may not have had a little too much to drink and thought I was a rapper....

The people on the resort were always so friendly and always willing to stop and take your picture. We made friends with several of the workers there and by the end of the week, our favorite bartender Gary  at the swim up bar already knew our drink orders. The picture below was actually taken by our new friends Matt and Kelly. They were on their honeymoon too and were from Valdosta, Georgia so we bonded with them because they were Southern like us. They got married on October 2nd too, as did most of the other honeymooners there, which was neat. Kelly and I still keep up on Facebook. I am sad that we didn't get a picture with them! 

We spent most of our time on the beach and at the pool. We love the beach, so this was the best honeymoon imaginable for us. Both of us had an amazing tan when we came home. 


To top off having an absolutely amazing time, our pilot on the plane ride home came over the intercom with college football scores and the news that South Carolina had beat Alabama!!! Talk about being estactic! I may or may not have let out a big "whooo go Cocks!" on the plane.

This trip was so much fun but it seems so long ago! I am ready to take another vacation like this but not ready to leave Kennedy. We have only left her for one night and I was an absolute basketcase. My brother in law Jon and sister in law Rachael were married the same year as us so we have discussed taking a 5 year anniversary trip with them next year. They went to Sandals Antigua on their honeymoon and loved it. We are unsure of whether we want to do another Sandals resort or go on a cruise, which none of us have done. Thoughts?

Saturday, February 22, 2014

SUYL-A healthy baby girl after two miscarriages

Linking up with Kelly over at Kelly's Korner for her SUYL-Infertility. I had every intention of posting this yesterday along with my 5 on Friday but completely forgot. My bestie Megan's bridal shower is today, so I have been going crazy getting things ready!

I had two miscarriages before I had Kennedy. It was the hardest thing I ever had to go through but God is faithful. If you are currently suffering through this-I am so sorry! I hope reading this will help you through your journey.This is our story:

My husband Nick and I have been married since October 2nd, 2010. Nick is 5 years older than me (34 years old now, 32 when we started trying) and he wanted to start having kids fairly early because of his age. This thrilled me. When I was 6 years old, I had two goals for my life, to be a teacher and to be a mommy. I was the little girl who always played with baby dolls and still secretly played with them at 12 year old.  I have worked with children all my life and I have been a third grade teacher since 2006. Here is a timeline:

April 2011: Stop taking birth control. We decide to not really "try" yet because we had a big beach trip planned the first week of June with our good friends Adam and Jessica. This was supposed to be our "last hurrah" However we had the attitude that if it happened, it happened.
Mayish 2011: Can't remember exact date but period started and it was on day 28, right on time.
June 4th 2011: Period, 32 day cycle this time. Start officially "trying this month."
July 8th 2011: Positive pregnancy test. We are thinking “wow, we are those lucky people that get pregnant right away!”
 

July 12th 2011: Visit to OBGYN. We had a trip planned to Oregon that week to visit family and wanted to make sure everything was okay before we left. HCG level is only 47. Doctor is a little concerned because based on date of last period I should be 4 weeks along, but says to enjoy the trip and we will test again when I return. Needless to say, I have fun but worry the whole trip. Thank goodness my mom is there to calm me down a bit. My symptoms during this time are minimal, just really tired and slightly tender breasts.
July 21st 2011: We return from Oregon. My HCG is 262. The doctor (we ended up switching because she was just absolutely terrible) tries to assure me not to panic yet. I have done nothing but research HCG levels while we were in Oregon. I know that my HCG should be higher at this point but she just kept telling me there was nothing we could do but wait. I wish she would have checked my progesterone looking back now. I also wish I had asked for a sonogram to make sure everything is okay.
July 25th 2011: I start spotting. I call the Dr and the nurse tells me not to worry. Spotting is normal, especially if it's brown, which this was. In the next couple of days the spotting starts getting sorta clumpy so I call back. She schedules me for an appointment on August 1st for a sonogram.
July 31st 2011: I wake up in the middle of night gushing bright red blood. I know immediately it's over. :(
August 1st 2011: We go in to have a sonogram. The tech is incredibly rude to us. The Dr. comes in and tells us in a monotone voice without even sitting down that we have had a miscarriage. I can't stop crying even though I knew that was what she would say. She tells me I have already passed most of the tissue and will not need a D and C.
We end up switching doctors in mid August not sure of the exact date. We love our new doctor, who tells us that he is "old school" and prefers that people wait 2-3 cycles before trying again, just to be on the safe side. We agree.  Meanwhile it seemed like every single person I knew was announcing a March pregnancy which was when I would have been due.
L I remember having to block some people from my news feed because it was just too painful to read their posts.
Labor Day weekend: We get carried away and have unprotected sex.
September 17th: Positive pregnancy test. At this point, I have a bunch of different emotions. I am scared because I haven't even had a period since my miscarriage but I am also hopeful. My sister in law's sister got pregnant right after a miscarriage and had a healthy baby.
End of Septemberish: This time around, I have major symptoms, nausea, throwing up, really sore breasts and major fatigue. I go into to get my HCG checked. It's 1043!!! We are so excited! I never even got that high with my 1st pregnancy. My progesterone is in the normal range, but on the low side of normal so just as precaution my dr. puts me on progesterone supplements. We go back in 48 hrs to see if it doubles and it's 2280, so it more than doubled, which excites us even more.
October 11th 2011: Our first sonogram. We are of course thinking we are going to see our baby. The tech is honest and tells us she sees a gestastional sac but no fetal pole. She tries to comfort me by saying that maybe I am not as far along as I think. The doctor is more straight up with us and tells us that the sac is measuring at 7 weeks, there should be a baby at this point. He tells me to come back the following week for another sonogram just to be sure. I also have my HCG checked and its around 32,000, which is should have been higher at 7 weeks. We are absolutely devastated. Even our doctor says he actually had really high hopes for this pregnancy. Not only am I devastated but I am confused. I had no spotting at all and I had waaay more symptoms which usually people say is a sign of a healthy pregnancy. How can this be happening?
October 17th 2011: 2nd sonogram, still no baby. We make an appointment for a D and C for October 19th.
October 19th 2011: I am an emotional wreck. My husband and the sweet anethesioligist pray with me in the pre-op room. I feel a little more at peace but still very sad. Hubby and I talk and decide that this time, no messing around, we have to have protected sex until I have 3 cycles. We cannot put ourselves through this again. Of course, I am completely panicked also thinking there is something wrong with me. They did testing on the tissue from the D and C and everything comes back clear. Hubby and I decide to genetic testing just to be sure. Both of us come back clear. Praise the Lord. Our doctor tells us now all we have to do is wait. He thinks the first time was just a "fluke" and he thinks the 2nd time it was just "too soon." When he performed the D and C, he said he removed quite a lot of tissue and thinks some may have been leftover from the 1st pregnancy.

The holiday season was a very hard time for us. At first, I had a major pity party for myself. I cried, got mad at people who were pregnant and cried so more. Finally after a long talk with my pastor’s wife, I decided to just give it all to God and just PRAY. I read the story of Hannah and her infertility in the book of Samuel over and over again and meditated over the words. The prayer team at my church prayed for me as well along with our good friends, Jessica and Adam and our families.
November 29th 2012: Period finally comes
January 4th 2012: Period comes. 35 day cycle this time.
February 19th 2012: Period FINALLY comes. I am excited that we finally get to try again but a little scared because my cycle was 45 days this time. I am worried that I am not ovulating regularly and also thinking about high school when my periods were really irregular. My senior year I got on the pill and have been on it ever since. I call the Dr. to ask if I should be worried. He tells me that my cycle is probably still just adjusting from all the crazy changes that have happened in the past year but that he would reccomend taking ovulation tests just to be sure I am ovulating. Lucky for me, my mother in law had already bought me FIVE boxes of ovulation tests. (My husband is one of 5 kids, he's the only one who hasn't given them a grandchild yet, can we say pressure?!?!)
March 5th 2012: I ovulate on day 15! We are excited because I ovulated.

March 28th, 2012: Positive pregnancy test. So many emotions at this point. Terrified, happy, scared, excited, nervous.

I go in for testing for my HCG levels and they are normal but again, progesterone is on the low side. The doctor puts me on progesterone suppliments. I cannot stress enough to people that have been having miscarriages, make sure your doctor is checking your progesterone. My first doctor didn’t even bother to check. All she was worried about was my HCG levels. Looking back, I really wish I had demanded a sonogram sooner with my first pregnancy knowing my levels were so low. I would have rather found out sooner than later.

4-19-13: We go in for our sonogram. I am so nervous.  To make matters worse, when we pull up at the doctor’s office, there is an ambulance and police car in the parking lot. Someone had gotten run over! Nick and I pray for our baby but also for the elderly man who was hit. I am a ball of nerves at this time. We go inside and we didn't have to wait long surprisingly before the sonogram tech called us back. She spread the gel on my belly and immediately said "ohhh yes, there is someone in there!" and then I heard the sweetest sound ever, the heartbeat of our baby! I cried! The heartbeat was nice and strong, 159 BPM. We got a video of the heartbeat and I listened to it over and over again. On June 28th, we found out were having a baby girl. We decided on the name Kennedy Hannah. Kennedy is a family name and I picked Hannah from the story in the bible that helped me restore my faith that yes, I would be a mommy one day. On 11-28-12, our sweet, wide eyed baby girl was born at 7:39 pm. The number 28 will always be a lucky number for me. I found out I was pregnant on March 28th, found out our baby was a girl on June 28th and she was born on November 28th , when I was 28 years old! She  was 6 lbs 6 oz and had a head full of dark hair. I can’t even find the words to describe the feeling of holding her for the first time. I have never loved someone so strongly.




 

Now, I know what some of you are thinking. How is this infertility? Yes, I have been blessed that I was able to get pregnant very easily, however, the struggle for me turned out to be keeping the baby.  A co-worker of mine told me I had no idea what infertility was like. It took her 19 months to get pregnant and she has PCOS.  She has never had a miscarriage. She really hurt my feelings when she said that. I am not trying to say that my situation was worse. However, I was attached to those two babies the minute I saw that 2nd line on the stick. The love I had for them was instant. The feeling when you find out they are gone really feels like losing a loved one. I think there are different types of infertility and having multiple miscarriages is one.

Here is my advice for people who may be going through similar situations

*Pray, pray, pray. Everything is better with prayer. Read the bible.  Ask people close to you to pray as well.

*Get your progesterone checked!

*If your HCG is low, ask for a sonogram. You can look up normal HCG levels online. The most important thing is that your HCG levels should be doubling every 48 hrs.

*If you feel like something’s not right, be assertive! I wish I had stepped up more with my first pregnancy. I felt like since it was my first time, I should just sit back and do whatever they said. I had a very insensitive doctor and she and her nurse kept trying to sugar coat everything and tell me it was okay. I had a bad feeling it wasn’t, things I was reading online said it wasn’t and guess what, it wasn’t!

*If you have already had a miscarriage, wait 3 cycles before trying again! I know a few people that have been blessed to get pregnant after not even having a cycle or after 1 cycle. However, I really think you need to give yourself time to heal, mentally and physically.

Having two miscarriages was the hardest thing I have ever had to go through. However, it made me appreciate being able to get pregnant and have a baby so much more. It also made me realize that God is in control, not me. I will always have a special place in my heart for people who are struggling with infertility. Please know, I am praying for you even if I don’t know you. Every night I pray for women who are struggling with this. Don’t give up. Keep praying. If there is anyone who can make it happen for you its God. He did it for me and he can do it for you too. I have faith.

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, February 21, 2014

5 On Friday

Missed linking up with these awesome ladies last week due to the crazy ice storm! Glad to be back!
Let's catch up!

 1. The ice storm in South Carolina last week was just plain crazy. We were fortunate to only lose power for about 19 hours but that was long enough for us. Kennedy was afraid of the fireplace so our "sleepover" in the living room was not fun. She finally went to sleep after midnight and woke up the next morning at 6:30. Tired Mommy and Daddy the next day. We were out of school for 4 days due to all the ice and the fact that so many people lost power. Aiken County had more power outages then any other county in South Carolina. I enjoyed spending time with Kennedy and Nick but I really hate being cooped up in the house so I started to go a little crazy near the end.


 2.Did you have a good Valentines Day? We went and ate with Kennedy at Red Robin. We came home and put Kennedy to bed and Nick and were cuddled up on the couch watching a movie when all of a sudden, the house started shaking. EARTHQUAKE!!!! So rare in South Carolina. I had been in an earthquake before when I was in high school and lived out in Oregon but this one was much scarier. Mostly because it was a higher magnitude earthquake but also because I was so worried about Kennedy, but she slept through the whole thing! The pictures below were taken Tuesday of this week. Kennedy wore her Valentines dress to daycare this day because they had to postpone their party due to the storm.

 3. I have been so good about working out this week. Monday and Wednesday I went to the gym, Tuesday Kennedy and I took a long walk and Thursday I did a Zumba class, which I used to do before I was pregnant with Kennedy. So much fun! I had really missed it!

4. Toddler meltdowns are really hitting us hard. Wednesday afternoon, as I was leaving daycare with Kennedy, I ran into someone I know from church, who's daughter is a year older than Kennedy and goes to Kennedy's daycare. While we were talking, Kennedy kept trying to play on these concrete steps (her daycare is housed at a church)and I kept pulling her away and saying "no." Finally she threw herself in the grass and had a huge meltdown. I ignored her and just kept talking but the whole time this woman was looking at me like "uhhh your kid's having a meltdown..." Honestly this was the first time she had had one out in public but when she has them at home, we just ignore her and she stops. I guess in public maybe we should switch it up? What do you do???

5. So what else has Kennedy been up to this week? She moved from the snail room to the bunny room at church. This is an exciting change  because she will be with kids who are more mobile like her. The room has a little jungle gym and slide! However, we will really miss the ladies in the snail room!

We had some warm weather this week so we took advantage and played outside in her pink car. Only in South Carolina is there an ice storm one week and then 80 degreees the next week! She also has a few new favorite books, a children's bible that my mother in law got her and a book called To Market, To Market my mom bought her.


I love the look on her face in this picture. "You stopped pushing me and Minnie just to get a picture? Come on Mom!"

Still loves taking selfies with Momma! 
It warms my heart how much she loves reading her little bible.

Have a great weekend everyone!


Monday, February 17, 2014

Monday Memoirs-Our wedding drama

 
Super excited that Royal @ Royal Proclaims has finally made this a link up!!! I hope some of you will share your memories, good, bad, or crazy with us!
 
Nick and I were married on October 2nd, 2010. Our wedding day was one of the best days of my life but unfortunately, it started off with some drama. The drama has since been nicknamed "The Tale of Maidzilla." You see, I had a bridesmaid that was not such a good friend. She more or less assumed she was in my wedding and I am not a confrontational person so I just let it go. Big mistake. There was a lot of drama that took place before the wedding including her refusing to chip in for my bachelorette party and then being furious at my bestie Megan for telling her if she wasn't going to chip in for the limo and VIP area, then she couldn't come. She complained about the bridesmaid dress. She complained about the food at the rehearsal dinner. She honestly seemed to complain about everything. But what ended up being the worst thing of all was she would not get off her phone! She was on her phone all throughout my bridesmaid luncheon and it wasn't even on silent so while people were doing toasts, her cell phone was constantly going off with text messages. She was texting and talking on the phone to a guy during my entire rehearsal. My bridesmaid Sara could hear her conversation with the guy through the entire rehearsal. Numerous people were coming up to me asking "what's up with the girl who won't get off her phone?"
Nick's groomsmen Ricky's wife Kim took this picture at the rehearsal. Maidzilla is circled on the left texting away on her phone. Sigh.
 
The day of the wedding starts out with her not showing up for her hair appointment. Luckily my bridesmaid Candice's mom Dale who was also my wedding coordinator took her appointment so we didn't waste the stylist's time and have to pay a cancellation fee. I had a ton of fun with my bridesmaids at the salon and we arrived to the venue laughing and still singing the Nelly song we were jammin out to in the car. We got into the bridal room and start getting ready. Maidzilla arrives and the tone in the room instantly changes. When it was time for me to get into my dress, Dale asked all my other bridesmaids to leave and it was just me, my mom and my sister in the room, which was very special. While I was getting into my dress Dale walked out to where my bridesmaids were waiting on me and politely asked Maidzilla if she could please get off her phone because we would be taking pictures soon. Maidzilla gets an attitude with her and tells her "no." Dale comes back into the bridal room and tells my mom what's going on. My sweet little 120 pound Momma walks out and says "Hi, can I talk to you for a second?" in the sweetest voice according to my other bridesmaids who were all sitting there. Maidzilla replies" What?"  in a very rude voice. At this point Momma gets a little upset. This is her daughter's wedding day after all. She politely tells Maidzilla that she has been on the phone way too much and that she can either get off her phone or leave. Maidzilla says "where's my stuff?" She walked out without saying another word and that's the last time I ever saw her. She did immediately get on her phone and call a few of our mutual friends and say that she had been "kicked out" of the wedding for "talking on the phone to her MOTHER." Whatever makes her feel better about her behavior, everyone that was there knows the truth.
 
Honestly, after she left, I just breathed a sigh of relief. Nick had 7 groomsmen and I originally had 8 bridesmaids with Maidzilla so with her gone, everything was even now for pictures and for escorts down the aisle. My bridesmaids starting laughing again and after we took pictures, we all sat in the bridal room talking and telling stories. About 2 minutes before Dale came to tell us it was "time," I told my bridesmaids how much they all meant to me and thanked them for being there on my special day. My friend Brittany has known me the longest besides my sister of course and I looked over and she was crying. She had come all the way from Oregon to be there for my special day and she said "I am just so happy I could be here." At that moment I realized that the girls in the room with me were my true friends and that I wouldn't miss my friendship with Maidzilla at all. In fact, I was so relieved it was over. The rest of the day, everything just seemed to fall right into place and it truly was a perfect day. If I could go back, I wouldn't have it any other way. The situation taught me a lesson about what true friendship is about and made me so thankful for the friendships I have with each of these ladies:
 
My beautiful bridesmaids: Megan, Molly, Candice, my sister Augusta, Ashley, Brittany and Sara.
My amazing friend Brittany. She and her sister Jennifer were my first friends when my mom and I moved to Oregon in middle school.
My maid of honor: My sister Augusta

 
It may have been a rough beginning, but it sure did have a happy ending!
 
 

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Overdue Weekend Post and So What!

We are at home today because of the huge ice storm! I am linking up with Shannon for "So What Wednesday" and saying "so what" that I am just now posting about our awesome weekend last weekend and "so what" that last weekend was the first weekend we have left our house other than to go to church for the past 3 weekends!
 
We have all been sick the past couple weeks so we really haven't done anything but lay low on the weekends. This past weekend we actually got out and about which was nice! Our nephew Tristan turned 15 and we went and ate Mexican for his birthday. Of course there was singing and a big sombrero hat which Kennedy didn't really know what to think of as you can see from the picture below! Tristan's girlfriend Bailey came with us. They have been dating for about 9 months which is a pretty long time for two high school freshmen. We really like Bailey and we hope she's here to stay! She has a two year old half brother so she is very good with Kennedy. She also made a bet with Tristan that if she ate her whole cheese steak burrito, he had to watch a Law and Order SUV marathon with her the next time she came over. She won. Awesome! Any girl that loves Law and Order SUV and can put away some food is a keeper in my book!
 


 I hit up the Reqoop consignment sale and yes, I found Kennedy's Easter dress! It's actually the yellow one on the right. The pink one in the middle is adorable too but it's a 3T so we will have to wait until next year to wear it. I also found her white church shoes for 5 dollars! Nick was a little irritated at the prices from this consignment sale. This one was strictly for boutique clothing so the prices were higher than one would expect for a consignment sale. Most of the clothes ranged from 15 to 25 dollars. The smocked circus dress on the left I just had to have. It was 25 dollars but it looked like it had barely been worn. Most smocked dresses are around 35 so I still considered this a good deal.
 On Sunday, I hosted a Phi Mu alumnae event at my house. It was called "It's Sweet to be a Phi Mu" and was a dessert social. Jackie brought sweet little Laurel with her so we just had to get a picture of the two legacies. Kennedy had just woken up from her nap so she wasn't in the best of moods...
 Sorry for the cleavage shot in this one, Little Miss Sassy decided she didn't want me to hold her for the picture. We had a great time talking, eating sweets and making Valentine treat bags for the collegiate girls.

We are getting hit with more wicked winter weather so I am so glad we were able to get out and about this past weekend!

Oh and a big thanks and shout out to Shannon for changing the "So what" format! Love it!