Kennedy-18 months/5 on Friday

Happy Friday everyone!

1. Our biggest event this week was that Kennedy turned 18 months! Or as her daddy likes to say "one and a half." Nick thinks the whole "months thing" is ridiculous once they get over 1. I think I am still going to stick with it when people ask how old she is until she gets closer to 2 and then I will probably just say "she will be 2 in November" when people ask.

Kennedy and Daddy had a ton of fun doing yard work this week. Kennedy loves to help, so Daddy was excited that she wanted to help pull weeds.

 I couldn't help it, we had to take a picture in the chair!

 Catching up on some reading at the pediatician's office for her 18 month check up. ;) The doctor said Kennedy is doing great! She is still a very big girl, 97th percentile for weight and 94th percentile for height. Nick and I were guessing she weighed about 30 pounds but surprisingly she only weighs 28 pounds, just a little over a pound more than her 15 month check up. She has been feeling so heavy lately and outgrew her 18 month clothes very quickly so we just assumed she had put on a few more pounds. She is wearing 24 month and 2T clothing and we have moved up to a size 5 diaper!

 I hope we aren't the only ones that the living room has turned into "the toy room!"

 Our little swimsuit model over Memorial Day weekend.

2. This picture was "Throwback Thursday" on Facebook yesterday. This is me and my parents about two months before they divorced, right before my 3rd birthday. Taking it waaaay back this week! Thank you for everyone who has been praying for my dad. He is currently in a great rehabilitation center and although he is still not walking, he is making good gains in physical therapy. I went to see him Sunday after church and we had a really good visit. He was in much better spirits than the last time I saw him.

3. Speaking of social media,  I think I am the only person in the world that doesn't have an Instagram or a Twitter account.  I have had a few blog followers saw they have tried to find me on Instagram...sorry! Find me on Facebook!

4. We are a hosting a Phi Mu alumnae cookout at our house on Sunday so we have been doing some major cleaning! As you can probably tell from my pictures, I am not one of those people that has an immaculate clean house. It's hard when you  work full time and have a toddler. Anyways, while cleaning Kennedy's room, I found some of her old Avent "Soothie" pacifiers that she wore until she was about 6 months. *Cue baby fever* She is getting so big!!! We are still going to wait a little longer before we start trying again but those definately brought back a lot of memories and emotions!

5. This week has been absolutely insane at work. I am the chair of the morning news team and the co-chair of the Accelerated Reader program so I had two end of the year celebrations to put on, plus my class readers theater production, Not to mention I had to work on MEMORIAL DAY! It was a make up day from the ice storm. 8 out of my 18 students showed up. Such a great use of instructional time....not. I don't blame parents for not sending their kids! The last day of school is June 5th, so I only have 4 days to go! Thank goodness! I had a great class this year and I am really going to miss them but I am ready to relax and spend time with my baby girl! Bring on summer and being a SAHM for awhile!

Go link up with Darci, Christina, Natasha and April to join in on the 5 on Friday fun!

5 on Friday

Happy Friday! Here's what's been on my mind this week:

1. Who watched The Bachelorette?!?! LOVE ANDI! Love her smile, love that she's a southern girl who says "ya'll" and love that she's a Phi Mu of course. I will say that after the first episode, I was very tempted to go and read the spoilers on realitysteve.com because I am convinced that she is going to pick Josh M. Especially since he's from Atlanta so she wouldn't have to move. But, I resisted the urge! My other favorites were Marcus, Chris and Marquel. Marquel stole my heart with the cookie sampling! I have such a sweet tooth! I liked Chris because I loved the whole "farm boy" thing plus he seemed really genuine. And Marcus? Umm, he's just hot! Who are you rooting for so far?

2. I love Gymboree but I usually only shop there during their semi-annual sales because they are a bit on the pricey side. My friend Carmen doesn't have any kids so she loves to spoil Kennedy. Recently, her and I went shopping and she spent over 100 dollars at Gymboree on Kennedy! She used my rewards card, so that earned me 50 dollars in Gym Bucks that I can't wait to spend this summer!

3. The school year is coming to a close. I am really going to miss my class this year. They have been a really good group. However, I have to say, my all time favorite group was my class during the 2011/2012 school year. They are in 5th grade this year so they will be graduating JES and moving on to middle school. :( I am really going to miss seeing them around school. Their class was my smallest class ever, only 16 students, so I think we just really bonded and had such a strong classroom community. Honestly, they were just an all around great group of kids. I have so many memories from their class and I think my all time favorite was around this time of the school year telling them I was pregnant with Kennedy.  They were so excited!!! A bunch of them bought me gifts when Kennedy was born that fall even though I wasn't even their teacher anymore. I am the chair of the morning news team at school which is made up of fifth graders so I have been blessed to have 5 of them on the news team this year. One of them, Kinsley, danced in our talent show Tuesday night to this song:

It's called "Mean Girls" By Rachel Crow. Kinsley's parents own a restaurant and when we were eating up there a few months ago, her mom told me that Kinsley had been having a really hard time with bullying this year.  Kinsley is slightly overweight but is such a sweet girl and has a really quirky personality with a great sense of humor. She always made me laugh and was never afraid to speak her mind or be herself when I had her in 3rd grade. It made me so sad that she was having such a hard year. Ya'll,  I bawled like a baby through her whole dance. Many of those "mean girls" her mom had been telling me about were in the audience. It took so much courage for her to get up there. I am so proud of her. If you get a chance, you must listen to this song. I had never heard of until now, but it has such a great message. Bullying stinks!

4. My dad moved into a rehabilitation center this week. He is making great gains in physical therapy and the therapists say if he continues to do well, he can be released in 2-3 weeks. The main goal is for him to be able to walk on his own. I am going to see him this weekend. My sister says I will notice a huge change in him, especially with his speech. Thanks for the prayers! Keep them coming!

5. Kennedy has had a fabulous week! Today is her last day in the Toddler 1 classroom at school. Tuesday, she will move up to the Toddler 2 room, which is for kids 18 months and older. We are excited for her to move up but we are really going to miss her teachers especially Ms. Angie, who was her favorite! Here's what else she has been up to this week:

 We went on a walk with Jessica and Janna on Monday and stopped at our neighborhood park. Janna and Kennedy had a blast together. Janna held Kennedy's hand and walked her up the steps on the jungle gym to the slide, so sweet!  I of course stood over them like a "hover mother" the whole time but Kennedy went down the big slide all by herself, no fear! Jessica stood at the bottom to catch her and she said Kennedy had the biggest smile on her face! Wish I had it on camera!

 Aunt Gretchen, Uncle Ben, Marley and Tabatha bought Kennedy these legos for Christmas. Kennedy hadn't really been interested in them until this past weekend. Nick was soooo excited that she wanted to play with legos because so far Kennedy has been "all girl." She had a blast building with her daddy!

Our little princess turns 18 months on Wednesday! I can't believe she is 6 months away from being 2!

Have a great weekend everyone! Thanks for reading!

My 30th Birthday Celebration

We celebrated my 30th birthday Saturday night by going out to eat at Bonefish and then headed over to the Backyard Tavern, a small local bar that we like. By the way, at Bonefish they have several new menu items. I tried the spicy tuna bowl and it was delicious! My friend Jessica planned the party (with a little help from Nick) and she rented out the back area of the bar. She had decorated it so cute and my friend Penny made a beautiful cake. We played horseshoes, hung out, talked and then went inside for a little kareoke action, which was quite amusing! Me, Megan, Melody and Jessica sang "Since You've Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson and got a standing ovation, woo-hoo! People started leaving around 11, but we were "extra wild" and went out to The Country Club with Ashley and Kevin, my brother in law Jon and my sister in law Rachael. Us girls tore up the dance floor while the guys chatted. We didn't get home until after 1, which was SUPER late for us. I am usually in bed by 9, even on the weekends! My in-laws babysat for us and doggie-sat for Kevin and Ashley's dog Dash. My mother in law was up when we got home but my father in law was asleep on the couch with Dash curled up on his lap, so cute. The next day was rough but I am proud to say, we still made it to church that morning!

 Me and Ashley

 So, random fact about me. I am terrified of birds. It's a seriously bad phobia. My best friend gets 2 new tattoos and they are birds, seriously Ash?!?! LOL.

 My beautiful cake!

 Hubby and me!

 Penny, Jessica, Megan, me, Melody and Ashley

 With our spouses. Mad props to Penny, she was the only single one and it didn't bother her one bit!

 Jon and Rachael came late because Jon had to work so they missed the beginning of the night picture action.

 Cake time!

 Megan, me and Ash.

 This was us singing kareoke. I am a little disappointed that Nick didn't get any shots of us jumping around and fist pumping. ;)

 The after party!

 

I had an awesome birthday! So far 30 has been treating me great!



5 on Friday

It's Friday! This has been another long and crazy week but I am excited to be linking up with these ladies again!

1. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my dad. He has been making some good gains this week in physical therapy such as bending his leg at the knee and standing (with help) to brush his teeth. He also got approved for one of the top rehabilitation centers in the area so he will be going there after his hospital stay. Keep the prayers coming!

2. We had a graduation party last weekend at Nick's parents house to celebrate him getting his Masters Degree in Educational Administration and Leadership. We are so proud of him! Kennedy had a total blast swimming in Grandma and Paw-Paw's pool and playing with her cousins Lexie, Marley and Tabatha and good friends, Payton and Grayson. I wish I had gotten a picture of all the kids together but they were nonstop on the go!

3. Can I please share 1 thing I am not loving and 1 thing I am loving? Okay here's what I am not loving! These Special K cracker chips taste like seasoned cardboard. Yuck.

What I am loving are these:

Do you own Palazzo pants? My birthday present from Nick was a shopping trip at the mall and I bought my second pair. They are so comfy and so cute! I know a lot of people that don't care for them but I don't care! I hope they stay "in style" awhile longer. Dressy pants that feel like pajama pants that I can wear to work? Yes please!

4. My Mother's Day was fabulous! I woke up to a pancake breakfast, a sweet card and a gift certificate for a massage that I can't wait to use. Although I am super jealous of all you mommies that got perfectly posed pictures. This one was the best we could get and then we had an epic toddler meltdown because we wanted to go play in the front yard instead of getting in the car for church. They had a photographer at church and he snapped a couple of pictures of us, so hopefully they turned out decent. They should be uploaded next week. After church, we came home and relaxed, perfect day. My present from Kennedy was an adorable fan that has her handprints in the folds. Her teacher, Mrs. Angie, is so creative!

5. What has Kennedy been up to lately? Playing outside ALL the time! She had a blast 2 weekends ago at her cousins birthday party and wanted to do everything the big kids were doing. Nick and I finally caved and bought her a step 2 playhouse for the backyard but with everything going on,  we have not had time to set it up. I think my brother in law Jon is going to try to come this weekend and help Nick out. New words lately? "puppy" (very odd because we don't have a dog) "MOOOO" (points to cow and says this) "EAT" (says this and points to her high chair) and "Paw-Paw", which Nick's dad was very excited about!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am super excited for tomorrow night, which is my 30th birthday party with friends!

Life Update

The past week has been full of ups and downs. There is soooo much that has been going on, way too much to write in one post.

Last week we had PASS testing (state standardized testing) which is always stressful to teachers. At the conclusion of testing on Tuesday, I looked at my phone and there was a voicemail from my sister. My dad was in the hospital and he had had a stroke. To be honest, I had been expecting a phone call like this for awhile. My dad is an alcoholic, is overweight and is just in bad health in general. He hasn't been the best dad to me and my stepdad has stepped up a lot over the years to take his place. However, he is still my dad and the news was hard to hear. I was very upset. The earliest I was able to get to Columbia was Friday. I took the day off and spent it up at the hospital with him and my sister. His whole left side is still numb and he is unable to walk. He has a long road of physical therapy ahead of him. He is a sportswriter and covers the Gamecocks for Bleacher Report. He is absolutely devastated over the fact that he cannot type and wants to get back into the pressbox more than anything. It was so hard to see him upset and so down but surprisingly at one point, he said to my sister and me, "I have no one to blame for this but myself." As much as I am really sad about this, I hope it will be a wake up call for him. He will be in the hospital for a few more weeks and then will go into a rehabilitation center. Keep him in your prayers.

 My wedding day

I think this picture was taken around 2006 at my Aunt Gail's farm. My dad looks a lot healthier here.

At our gender reveal party for Kennedy.

 

 

There have been some really great things going on, like Nick's graduation party this weekend and the fact that he had a job interview last week for an assistant principal position! More to come on that, along with pictures from the party. We are so proud of him and can't wait to see what God has in store for the next chapter of our lives!

 

Happy Mother's Day! A year ago we were celebrating my 29th birthday (yes, I am going to be the big 3-0 tomorrow!) and Kennedy was getting dedicated at church.

 It is so crazy how much life changes in a year! I also want to give a shoutout to my wonderful Mommy who will probably kill me for putting this picture of her fist pumping at my wedding on here but it's one of my favorites! I love her so much. She is a great listener, a wonderful friend and an amazing Nana to Kennedy!

 

I hope everyone is having a great Mother's Day! I couldn't think of a better way to spend the last day of my 20's!



Bikini Talk



 

 

 

 One of my goals for this summer was to get back into a bikini.  Last summer I wore a  tankini that may as well have been a one piece. I was still 15 points away from my pre-pregnancy weight and hadn't really gotten serious about losing the weight. My friend Jessica is tiny. She told me that after she had her boys, she just didn't feel right being in a bikini and felt like now that she's a mom, she is too old. She also has some stretch marks  and was insecure about those as well. I was lucky that I didn't get any stretch marks and even though I will be 30 this month, I still don't think I am "too old" for a bikini. In fact, I don't think you are ever "too old" for a bikini.

I have been looking at the above pictures religiously for motivation. I have been working about 5 times a week and trying to cut back on what I am eating. Dieting and I do not get along so the best I can do is work out hard and cut back. However, I am still not at my pre-pregnancy weight, still stuck about 5 pounds over, where I have been for awhile now. 5 pounds is not a lot but my body is just not the same. I still have a muffin top and although I don't have a pouch like some women I know, my stomach is still not as flat as I want it to be. I have never been thin and have always been proud of my curves. I finally decided to just bite the bullet this past weekend, embrace my chubby girl self and go swimsuit shopping,  Surprisingly I found a bikini that was very flattering on me so I bought it. When I came home from the store and showed it to Nick, he looked a little disappointed at the high waisted bottom and the big supportive top, but hey it's a bikini! Maybe someday I will be back in a string bikini but for now I am just proud that I look decent in this one.

So, what about all the other mom's out there? Do you rock a bikini or are you more of a tankini wearer?

Oh and P.S....  Yes that's snow in the top picture. Nick dared me to go out into the snow in my bikini. I am not one to back down from a dare. ;)

5 On Friday and my 100th post!

 Happy Friday! This is my 100th post! I can't believe it! Thanks for being here!

1. Have to start off with a rant this week. I am super aggravated that the school district I teach in is making us make up Memorial Day due to the ice storm. I am not understanding the instructional value of us making this day up considering a week later we are out of school for the summer. To make matters worse, I just found out this week that Kennedy's daycare is closed that day so we have no child care. Considering my husband and I are BOTH teachers, that means one of us has to use a sick day, which we don't have many of. Not cool. Rant over.

2.I am loving Kristen on Real Housewives of NYC! "I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I am preeettty!" LOL. I love how she stands up to Ramona and I was dying laughing during last week's episode when she was making fun of Ramona's eyes by squeezing that doll. Of course Aviva wouldn't find that funny, *eye roll.* I can't decide who's crazier, Aviva or Kelly that used to be on NYC. Carlton from Beverly Hills is pretty crazy too and let's not even get started on Theresa from Jersey....Maybe they can start a club.

3. Lately we have been asked a lot about when we are going to have a second child. I know people don't mean any harm by it, they are just curious. I am just not ready yet. I am enjoying spending all my attention on Kennedy, not ready to share myself yet! Two of the moms in her class at daycare are pregnant and they have both been telling me how rough it is to be pregnant and have a toddler so I am glad we avoided my MIL's advice to have our kids close together. Nick is one of five kids. His oldest sister Angela is 37, his youngest sister Tina is 31 and Nick and his two brothers are all in between. At one time his parents had 5 kids all 6 and under, can you imagine?!?! I am also of course very nervous due to the fact that I had two miscarriages before Kennedy. I have prayed about it though and come to peace with the fact that we may only have one child. I feel so blessed to be a mom period so if it's God's will for Kennedy to be an only child, then I will accept His plan.

4. I am so excited for this summer!  I have already signed Kennedy up for a "Mommy and Me" swim class. Due to all of our various vacation plans, I only have time to do one other class with her and I am having a hard time deciding between toddler gymnastics or kindermusic. Kennedy loves music but she also loves to be active. Has anyone taken either of these classes with their toddler?

5. Kennedy's new word this week is..."please!" Yay!!! I am so proud of her learning this word! Last Saturday, we went to our friend Ryan's 4th birthday party at the park. Kennedy had a blast and followed my friend Kristin's 7 year old daughter Kaylie around the whole time. She loves older kids! We have another birthday party at the park this Saturday for her cousins Tabatha and Marley, can't wait! I will leave with some pictures from the park and a random cute picture!

 I was super proud of her for doing the see-saw by herself! Kristin stood behind her in case she fell over backwards but she held on like a big girl!

This picture would have been even cuter if we could have gotten her to remove "lovey" from her mouth but no such luck. Kennedy loves purses, just like her mommy!

Have a great weekend everyone! Thanks for reading my 100th post!