just another random, rambling list

-Everyone at our house is sick. Luckily, Sidney is the least sick of the three - but still, snot reigns supreme at our house.

-I haven't bought the first Christmas present yet. Christmas is only what, 25 days away? No big deal.

-My house is a disaster. I had it mostly cleaned up over the weekend, and now it's slowly creeping back into chaos. I've got to stay up late and get it cleaned.

-Sidney and I are going to Columbia, TN next weekend for Christmas with my Dad's side of the family. And I still haven't bought the first freaking present.

-I go back to the neurologist tomorrow. Hopefully they'll release me and let me drive again. I'm going to go crazy if I have to remain in the passenger seat until April!

-I want to put together a little holiday wish-list of cute things I've found while "window shopping" online. There really are a ton of amazingly awesome things out there on the www!

-I may be freaking out a little that I haven't bought any presents yet!

-The "Nugget" (as I have dubbed this baby) is doing so good so far. I've been feelin good, although my appetite is so weird. I'm either hungry or I'm not. Hours can pass by and I want nothing to eat - then all of a sudden, I'm ravenous. Then I may not eat again until the next day. I'm trying to tell myself the baby's got enough fat to live on in there 'til my appetite gets straightened back out.

-I really miss my girlfriends. I feel like it's been months since I've seen them. It probably has been close to a month, in reality. That's just depressing.

-I should probably go Christmas shopping this weekend, don't you think? Yes, I guess I should.

romantical

hey baby

I'm glad the sickness is mostly over for now, I feel better as I get near the end of the first trimester (10 weeks this weekend)!

Some food makes me beastly ill sometimes (the thought of eggs can kill me dead). And sometimes I'm starving hungry and sometimes I can go for hours on end without wanting a bite to eat.

Cold food tastes better than hot food sometimes. The three-hour-old grilled cheese and tator-tots I ate for lunch today was ten times better the second time than when I ordered them at lunch. My gummy vitamins don't make me sick this time around, which is lovely - an added bonus.

I've seen my doctor twice now and things are looking good, which is a huge relief. I was so naive the first time around with Sidney, I never dreamed of all the million and one things that can go wrong with a pregnancy and birth. This time, it's all I think about - so to get the reassurance of my doctor that everything looks normal and on track is a huge weight off my shoulders. I'm just looking forward to taking that step over into the second trimester and ticking off the days 'til June.

mobile uploads 5

You can see previous mobile uploads posts here, if you're into that kind of thing!

Onward! Photo dump time...

what can I say? I love the way Dobby can wear a scarf...

Chuck Taylor heaven

Cassie thinks shopping with me is a lot of fun! D'oh!

I sent this one to my husband. I hope he didn't delete it.

pizza dinner date

the absolute best part of lunch!

sidney and her bff logan

I see a tiny patch of blue sky in the middle of all this rain

Sidney and Dobby after the beauty pageant back in Aug.

notes & classwork

she's cute and all, but birthday hats make anyone look dorky!

Dobby and her big-eared Lulu

Sidney likes to "drive" Justin's truck

she mastered the art of the water fountain...finally!

morning car buddy (wearing her Pops' hat!)

Gap holiday cheer circa 2008

My #3 favorite tune from Gap's holiday ad campaign from 2008:


My #2 favorite tune from Gap's holiday ad campaign from 2008:


And my #1 favorite tune from Gap's holiday ad campaign from 2008:


I love me some Rainn Wilson (and who knew Selma Blair could sing?!)

little ole me, stuck here

Some people think I'm crazy (see: Heather) but I often find myself day-dreaming about the fabulous faces and places of the people I've "met" though the online community.

When all you ladies (and sometimes gents) post all these fabulous stories of life in the "big city", I get a little down and out. I'm country. No fabulous country or hippie country or green country or modern country or historic country. Just plain ole country, run-of-the-mill Southern town.

Don't get me wrong, I love my locale and wouldn't trade any of these country days and nights for a Hollywood lifestyle. But I do dream of seeing the bigger country I live in - I dream of seeing the sites and stores and dots along the map that you all talk about.

Someday I may get to see these places. Then again, maybe not. But I still enjoy day-dreaming about your (probably less than) fabulous lives in far off places. I hope it's always as glamorous for you as I imagine it to be.

my view isn't all that bad, though, right?

the way I see her

It's hard to look at my baby girl and think of her as a "big sister" - even though she's gladly taking on the role. She's very excited about the baby, and it's going to be a long road waiting until June - every day she asks me if the baby is ready to come out now. She's super excited to meet her little "sista" or "brubber" and it's honestly one of the cutest things I've ever seen in my life.

But I know what she can't possibly know yet - this baby will compete for attention with everyone in our family. She's the only grandbaby on either side of the family, so it goes without saying she's beyond spoiled. All attention is on here 24/7. She hasn't had to share one moment of the spotlight in over three years. It's going to be a huge adjustment for her learning to share "quality time" with everyone around her.

There are moments when I look at her and think she's so grown up, she's so big and smart and it's just incredible to think how much she's changed in her three years of life. This will be her fourth Christmas - to think back on her very first one and compare it to this year's upcoming holiday makes my head spin. How has time flown by so quickly? Where have all these days and months and years gone?

How is it I'm looking at my little girl, watching her grow each day, getting one step closer to being the big sister I know she can't wait to be? It's hard to see her like this, getting older - getting bigger. I know she's only three, it's not like she's leaving for college tomorrow.

But it is kind of like that - and it won't be long before I'm sending her off to college (if that's what she chooses to do). I imagine what she'll be like as a big kid and a teen and an adult, and I have since she was born.

But to see her growing up, to wake up one morning and realize it's still zooming away before my eyes - it's still hard to accept. I'm grateful for this baby and really excited about the future. It's just really hard to let go of my firstborn baby, the only baby I've ever known and loved for three years now.

The way I see her is changing everyday. And I hate that there's nothing I can do about it.

boots

They're not combat boots. There's not anything extra special about these boots. They are merely the boots of the man I love, the man who goes to work every day for our family to provide for us. He's strong. He's dependable. Just like his boots. The wear of his work shows on his body. Just like his boots. He's strong up front and soft in the middle. Just like his boots. I love these boots. I love everything they stand for and everything they mean for our family. I'm proud of these boots, and I'm extra proud of the man who wears them...

celebrating curves in all the wrong places

Liz Hurley once told Allure magazine “I’ve always thought Marilyn Monroe looked fabulous, but I’d kill myself if I was that fat”.

How anyone in the world could call Marilyn Monroe "fat", I'll never understand. Sure, by today's thick-stin standards she was on the bigger side of the scale. But never fat. It used to be believed that Marilyn wore a size 16, making her a truly "plus sized" gal. But those rumors have been widely denounced, and it is know commonly thought she wore a size 4 or 6 - the farthest thing from "plus sized" imaginable.

I've been dwelling a lot on the "skinny" side of things, and how much I truly dread getting as big as a whale with this baby. I'm trying to keep things under control and to not let myself get bigger than I already am. Being a "plus-sized" woman is hard enough, but being a "plus-sized" pregnant woman carries an entirely different stigma around with it. It's awkward and really uncomfortable in these "in between" months when you're mostly bloated and only a little belly.

So for inspiration and encouragement and that extra boost of "oomph" I need right now, I'm turning to Marilyn - the queen of curves. Can you imagine what kind of trends she would've set as a pregnant, curvy woman? I like to daydream about the things she might've worn, being big-breasted and swollen-bellied.

But regardless of what Ms. Monroe says, diamonds are not a girl's best friend.

Spanx are.