Halloween

We recently dressed up for Halloween with a group of friends. Matt went with a Mario theme that a few other of our friends were dressing up as, I decided to skip that theme- not all that flattering :-)
So we went to the costume place to find something for a nearly 5 month pregnant person to wear...not an easy task!! In case you haven't noticed, costumes for women are pretty skimpy these days. Now, normally I'm fine with this...but no one wants to see a pregnant lady showing skin! I opted for a Flapper costume, not my fav but as I said, I had limited choices. It ended up being cute after all though. It was freezing too...go figure so I was cold all night. The cold probably wouldn't have been such an issue if I was occupied by a drink in my hand all night!! I made it through the night though, thats what matters!

Halfway through...20 weeks!

How far Along: 20 weeks

Maternity clothes: I am not "technically" wearing maternity clothes. I have however, invested in a bella band, which lets you wear your same clothes which is really nice. When not at work, I wear alot of leggings and dresses too, which of course still fit fine. But for the purpose of this question, yes my clothes barely button :-)

Weight Gain:  Holding steady at 5 lbs. I did ask the doctor about my weight gain this week and he was completely fine with it. He said as long as the baby is growing (which she is) then no need to worry about my weight gain.

Stretch Marks: not yet...hopefully I never will :-)

Sleep:  sleep? what sleep? ok, its not that bad but yes its difficult now. My arms go to sleep, my legs ache, my shoulders hurt. Its weird and I don't like it.

What I miss:  I'm doing good this week. although, when work and life is stressful, that glass (or bottle) of wine would be SOOO nice!

This week:  No big changes this week. Baby moves alot after I eat something, so thats fun.

Symptoms:  Other than random pain when I sleep on my side all night, I'm symptom free!

Cravings:  This weeks craving is peanut butter and jelly.

What I'm looking forward to: Mexico!! Ok, not baby related but it is my focus right now. 2 weeks from today, I will be on the beach!

Our 20 week appt with the doctor went really well. Everything looks good and I was measuring right on target, which is a relief! All is going well...this is much easier than I ever expected it to be!!

Pink Roses!

I have the sweetest husband...just throwing that out there! 
After our ultrasound where we found out we were having a little girl, we both went our seperate ways, I went back to work and Matt was off to the airport. I was a bit sad that we weren't able to "celebrate" that evening together since Matt was traveling for work...but oh well. Anyhow, that afternoon at work I got a special delivery! Matt had sent me a dozen pink roses for our little girl!

Its the little things in life!

19 weeks!!

How far Along: 19 weeks

Maternity clothes: My clothes are finally getting a little uncomfortable. I can still wear everything but my pants are getting tight. I'm going to invest in a bella band this week! 

Weight Gain: 5 lbs

Stretch Marks: not yet...hopefully I never will :-)

Sleep: This is not improving, but no worse either. My shoulders hurt from laying on my sides all night. I like sleeping on my back but you aren't supposed to anymore.

What I miss:  Sleeping normal!

This week: Baby is definately moving around!! I feel her everyday now especially if I haven't eaten in awhile!! Matt actually felt a little kick last weekend, so that was exciting!

Symptoms:  I get light headed if I get up too fast, either from bed or during the day at work. Apparently blood pressure is particularly low in the 2nd trimester. Other than that, I feel great! 

Cravings:  I'm still struggling with chocolate! It doesn't help that around our office all the halloween candy is out, so its way to easy to indulge!

What I'm looking forward to:  Getting the nursery started. We didn't quite get to anything this weekend BUT we did decide on a paint color.
I also registered...well started it at least at Babies R Us. I'm sure I'll continue to add to it but its a start, right!

Next Friday we go back to the doctor for our 20 week (5 month!!!) visit. I'm anxious to go as I feel like its been SO long since we were there last. I'm making myself nervous about leaving the country in a few weeks for our Mexico trip as well. I have no good reason to but I keep thinking what if something happened while in Mexico!! ahhhh! Then I tell myself that people in Mexico are pregnant too and give birth in that country and survive. haha

I'll share a picture I took last week of the "bump". There is a little one but I really think I look like I have a beer belly. I do have a book that you keep weekly pictures of it but keep in mind, Matt is gone all week, so its all on me to take the picture, so I have to get creative and take it in the mirror!! Don't laugh!



18.5 weeks



Week 18...4.5 months along!

How far Along: 18 weeks

Maternity clothes: Not yet..still in my regular clothes.

Weight Gain: My weight fluctates a bit. This morning I weighed myself and I was still holding steady at 3.5 lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight.

Stretch Marks: nope

Sleep: ahhh, still so, so. Seriously, these dreams I have are really annoying and I wish the dreams would stop. I was actually reading in one of my pregnancy books last night about this and everything I'm dreaming about is completely standard for pregnancy. Its really weird though!

What I miss:  Par-taking in happy hour. A few of my friends asked me to happy hour and as much as I want to see them and catch up, happy hour doesn't quite have the same appeal as it once did :-)

This week: I think I felt the baby move last night!! I'm 99% sure anyways. We were in bed and I was pushing on my stomach and could feel movement, I'm guessing it was in response to me poking and prodding at her. It was exciting though! I'm excited to feel more movement!

Symptoms:  headaches but other than that, not much really.

Cravings:  I'm on a chocolate kick right now. Where I was getting much more disciplined about what I ate before I got pregnant...that is now out the window.

What I'm looking forward to: creating the nursery! Matt currently has his home office set up in the room that we will use for the baby. So, we are going to set up Matt's office in a different room this weekend, so its a small step!

The countdown is on...for Mexico!

In about one month from now, we will be sitting on the beach all day long, basking in the sun and enjoying unlimited pina colada's (virgin for me, of course!).

We are heading to Cancun over Thanksgiving this year with Matt's parents. This is a first for us all, as I'm usually big on spending the holidays with all our family but this year, we are getting away for the holiday! I'm really excited for our trip, which has now turned into our babymoon too :-) When we booked the trip, I was not pregnant, so I wasn't planning on going to Mexico and NOT drinking while there. I mean, beer and mexico just go together!! This will definately be an interesting change to my daily vacation agenda that I'm accustomed to. All for the good though! :-)   Anyways, I'm starting the one month countdown this week for our trip.

OH and I can't forget to mention, I have now begun a search for a swimsuit. Normally, no big deal. However, now I'm trying to find a suit for a 6 month pregnant belly...no easy task.  As most probably haven't noticed lately, maternity suits are not all that "cute" or really my style. So, the search is on going for something cute. At this point, I'm thinking I'll just be buying a few tankini's and ordering a size up. I have NO clue how big (or not) i'll be in a month. At this point, I have only gained maybe 5 lbs  (and wearing my clothes just fine) and I think people are beginning to question if I am really, truly pregnant or not.  I'll need all the luck I can get in this search....

Week 17

How far Along: 17 weeks

Maternity clothes: No...BUT some of my work pants are beginning to get tight around the waist. My jeans all fit pretty well but ummm, I must admit, I'm not in any hurry to go buy a new wardrobe so I'll wear my clothes as long as I can :-)

Weight Gain: I still haven't really gained much...maybe 3 pounds. I can't eat alot at once so I eat alot throughout the day. If I sit down to eat dinner, or even lunch, I get SO full so quick. I'm guessing its becuase there is less room?! I haven't noticed any increase in appetite really either. Although, on the weekly update I get it did say the baby would be going into a growth spurt over the next few weeks, so I may start to notice a difference sooner than later.

Stretch Marks: nope
On the sleep topic, my poor husband has to be bored with me. On weekends, I can't stay up IF we are at home. If I'm busy, out and about, I'm fine. But the second I sit on the couch, I'm out...even if its 8pm. We got a movie Friday night and I think I lasted past the previews but not sure. I am exhausted in the evenings AND i thought this would be better in the 2nd trimester but its not yet!! (see pic below)

Best Moment of the week: Seeing the baby was healthy and growing as she should and of course finding out its a GIRL!!!

Gender:  see above :-)

What I miss:  Not having crazy dreams and sleeping better than I am now.

Symptoms:  I still am fairly symptom free. I have noticed more headaches lately and my lower back aches alot.

Cravings:  Cravings have subsided recently. I was craving ice cream, which I still do but with less intensity. I think now I'm just used to eating ice cream so I want it. Other than that,  I crave fruit related food, so thats a plus!

What I'm looking forward to: Finally I can buy things for a baby girl! I haven't purchased one thing because I didn't know what the baby was going to be...I'm free to shop and plan the nursery accordingly now! woo hoo


Matt took this picture of me and both dogs passed out on the couch Friday night (probably at 8:30pm)! Isn't he sweet!   I am only posting it for a good laugh...you can barely see little Sig's ears in the back behind Brice!!

Sleep: I have been having crazy dreams and lots of them...I don't like this change!! I feel like I'm never in a deep sleep! Plus from my dreams (Ill spare the details) I think I have anxiety of something happening in general to the baby/pregnancy. I worry about everything, so this is no big surprise!

We have a GIRL!!

Yesterday was the big day...although really it was just confirmation of what we pretty much already knew. We had the anatomy scan and it was confirmed we have a little girl on the way! I immediately starting thinking about starting my shopping for her, of course!! I've been putting it off until we knew 100% it was a girl. So, as I told Matt, let the shopping commence :-)

17 weeks 2 days

So I know the clarity isn't the best on this picture, but I swear her nose looks like Matt's!! I'm anxious to see how this changes throughout...but as for know, she has his nose!

The scan went well and her organs are all looking great and as they should with no issues, so thats a huge relief. I had higher levels of AFP in my blood (some protein the baby makes) which they will monitor throughout the pregnancy to ensure that nothing develops due to this but I'm keeping my fingers crossed all is fine, as the doctors reassured us many women with high levels do fine thoughout the 3rd trimester with no issues.

Happy Fall Ya'll!

Now that football season is in full swing, it seems like our lives are centered around it lately. For the past 4 weekends, we have traveled to Columbia bright & early every Saturday morning to spend the entire day tailgating with friends and then heading into the game at night. Theeennnn...making the 2 hour trek back home around 10pm or so. *On a side note: did I mention how much fun it is for me to tailgate these days. I get to spend a good 8  hours watching every single person drink...and drink alot. I am not a big fan of the sobreity going on BUT I do know its for a good reason. I'm just sayin' its a whole different experience tailgating/football when you don't get to partake with everyone else. :-) I'll get it through it though...as if I have a choice in the matter. 
Needless to say I feel like weekends have been flying by and that I don't get anything done really. Until this weekend...thats right, I get a break from college football. I always intend to do more blogging but it Wednesday before I even think about it! But, in a nutshell that has been our life the past month. And I shouldn't fail to mention that Brice, the (insert saracasm) sweet, adorable puppy has the Mange. Yes, the Mange...I know it sounds like some awful disease that dogs who are not taken care of and live in the streets develop BUT its not that bad or uncommon apparently. I guess puppies are at more of risk due to their immune system not being fully developed. His isn't bad at all, but we noticed b/c he had a few "hairless" spots developing on his neck. Matt took him to the vet (which we actually make it 2 whole months w/o visiting for once!) and he got some drops for him and he is on his way to a fur-filled neck once again. 


"What did I do?" 


I'm heading to Greenville Saturday to visit one of my very best friends, Becky and her new lil boy Tucker! I can't wait to spend time with her and meet Tucker, finally!! Then, the following weekend, my sweet honey and I are heading to the mountains for the weekend and I CAN'T wait! 2 whole weekends without football...well without attending a football game. I'm sure we will be in a sports bar watching somewhere but at this point, I'll take it.

Week 15

How far Along: 15 weeks

Maternity clothes: Not yet, my clothes still fit fine...I'm expecting to notice a difference any day now though.

Weight Gain: From my morning weigh, I have gained about 1.7 lbs...its been up for the past 2 days so I think its real gain vs. just eating too much that day :-)

Stretch Marks: nope

Sleep: Its been better lately, can't complain. Although, I literally can't keep my eyes open past 9:30pm.

Best Moment of the week: nothing exciting this week really. We go back to the dr. on Monday, so I'm guessing we will get to hear the heartbeat then!

Gender:  Don't know 100%... but we have a 80% accuracy guess on gender from the doctor last week :-)

What I miss:  the usual...wine. I don't really have any other big impacts in my life yet due to pregnancy.

Symptoms:  I have been symptom free this week. This is way easier than I ever thought it would be!! I am NOT complaining!! 

What I'm looking forward to: Buying baby stuff!!

Week 14 Update

I'm  a week late posting this, I had it in the drafts folder all week and forgot to post it. So, here are week 14 stats. I am now 15 weeks, so that is coming this week too but for my sake of keeping track, I wanted to go ahead and post week 14.

Week 14How far Along: 14 weeks

Maternity clothes: No change here, still wearing my clothes comfortably.


Weight Gain: I weigh myself in the mornings and from that, there is still no gain. I asked the Dr. if that is ok and he said it was completely fine!


Stretch Marks: lets hope not considering I haven't gained much weight yet!


Sleep: Not good...but not from pregnancy related discomforts! I keep waking up at 4am and then can't get back to sleep. The roaming puppy that is up and moving around at this time doesn't really help either.

Best Moment of the week:  Went to the dr. on Monday for the first "real" OB visit. We went over all my lab work and all up until this point and everything looks great.  We got to hear the heartbeat and it was 168- more reason to believe its a girl!


Gender:  Don't know 100%... but we have a 80% accuracy guess on gender from the doctor last week :-)

What I miss:  WINE!

Symptoms:  I'm completely fine other than I can't stay awake past 9:30pm. This could be b/c I'm awake at 4am though.

What I'm looking forward to: Knowing the gender for sure!! I am ready to shop!!

Emotions:  The nervousness is waning, I'm feeling good about things these days!

Oh BOY....or not!

Since the day we found out we were having a baby, Matt has been convinced its a boy for no good reason other than the simple fact that he wants a boy. He refers to "it" as him all the time. Its like there is no other choice but for it to be a boy.

All along people keep suggesting it may be a boy since I haven't had ANY morning sickness at all. The Dr. even joked about the possibility of a boy as most people pregnant with girls are more sick than those carrying a boy. So, maybe we kinda thought it could be a boy...BUT the heart rate has been pretty high since 6 weeks when we heard it for the very first time. They say that a higher heart rate typically indicates a girl and some people swear by this.

So, here the comes the good stuff. At our 13 week ultrasound, I asked the doctor how early they can detect gender annnnnd....he offered to give us his opinion right then and there. Of course we wanted to know...hello!!?  Long story short, I thought Matt was going to pass out when he told us that he is 70-80% sure its a GIRL! I immediately glanced over to make sure he was still standing. (which he was by the way, although a little pale looking....KIDDING!). While we don't know for sure, I'm fairly convinced its a girl. Matt on the other hand is holding out hope for that 20-30% chance it could be a boy. He seems to be happy about it either way at this point though :-) 

If your wondering how they tell, there is a "genital tube" of some sort that they look at to get an idea of gender. They don't actually see any "parts" but they base the gender off of the angle of this tube. So, if it angles up at 30 degrees or more, its a boy and if its downward pointing its indicative of a girl. Ours was down alright, now mistaking that! So..we will put this case to rest the 3rd week of October when we find out for sure.

Week 13...

Week 13

How far Along: 13 weeks

Maternity clothes: Nope- pants/jeans still fit fine so far. I'm in no hurry to grow out of them!

Weight Gain: Nothing yet! I'm sure this will be changing soon though!

Stretch Marks: nope

Sleep: ugh...its ok. If I could get through the night without needing a bathroom break, my sleep wouldn't be too bad. But everytime I get up to use the restroom, I can't get back to sleep.

Best Moment of the week:  We got to see the baby during our ultrasound and it looks like a human now!! It was so fun to see it!

Gender:  Don't know 100%... but we have a 80% accuracy guess on gender from the doctor last week :-)

What I miss:  Getting through the night without using the bathroom and of course a glass of wine (or two).

Symptoms:  I honestly have NO symptoms! I told the dr. during the ultrasound and he said I'm lucky and not to worry as I have been. I feel completely normal. Just in the past few days, I've started to feel bloated and have really lost my appetite but I think its from the growing cervix ;-)

What I'm looking forward to: Having the gender confirmed next month and my first OB dr. appt this coming Mondy!

Emotions:  I'm getting more and more excited, the farther along we get. I'm of course still  nervous to actually raise a child but we'll be fine!

We have big news!!

When March of 2012 rolls around, we have some big changes happening. We are having a BABY!! And no, not another puppy...and I say that because that is the first thing my Dad asked when I told him the news (I'm pretty sure he was convinced we were too selfish to ever have "real" kids").  So I can make it official as we had our end of the first trimester ultrasound on Friday of last week and everything looks great!! We are very excited, of course but I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty nervous too!! The weird thing is that, I'm not so nervous to actually deliver this child as I am to raise it! I think this is definately going to be the hardest thing we have ever done in our lives and its scary to think about...but exciting too. I don't know how to ensure we bring up this baby to be the person we have envisioned, anyhow I'm trying not to think too much about that and hope that is just comes natural as we go :-)
Never the less, we are counting down the days to each appointment and ultrasound to learn more about our lil growing baby! I'm going to post weekly about updates and changes with the pregnancy, for myself as much as family to keep up to date. So far, so good though. I haven't been sick at all really! Until tomorrow, I'll leave you with a pic!


Gummy Bear baby!


This pictures was at 9 weeks - looks like a gummy bear! Thebaby is on its head at this point :-)

Bring on Fall!

I don't know about everyone else but I'm ready for Fall!! I am not sad to say good bye to the 90 degree temps and humidity. I'm ready for cooler weather and fall candles! It goes without saying that fall around here also brings College Football, so while we will be saying goodbye to the boat on weekends, it will be replaced with college football games...every dang weekend!

This weekend is the first game for the Gamecocks, which Matt is obsessed with and in return we have season tickets to. Its ok though, I'm excited for even football to begin (gasp!).  I am upset that I don't get to spend the last summer weekend at the beach as we did last year...but I'll get over it I guess. Its a long weekend, I'm not complaining!
 So bring on the tailgates, football games and fall...I'm ready!
Happy First day of September! :-)

The family is in town!

Two weekends ago we had some visitors in town! My Dad, Dona, Morgan and Marcus came and spent 4 days with us. It was so fun to have them here!! We really didn't have plans for the week other than relaxing, spending some QT together and boating! Luckily we had really great weather so it was perfect for boating.

Oh Sunday we did go to Matt's parents house for a Pool Party and cook out. Of course it was a lot of fun and Debbie and Bill were so kind to have us all over and cook for us!
OH- and in my opinion the best part of the trip was the surprise they brought me. All the way from Rushville....a Pizza King pizza!! Everytime I'm back in Rushville, I always make a stop at Pizza King. They seriously have the BEST pizza EVER! I have yet to find any pizza anywhere that compares. So it was a great surprise!! :-)
Anyhow...here are some pics from the visit! I can't wait to seem them again...unfortunately it is probably going to be Christmas time :-(

Dinner Friday Night!



Pool Party!



Girls Night out!

When I lived in Indy- along with all my girlfriends, we often had girls nights/slumber parties, however since we have all moved away in the past few years its much harder to get together. Last year, a few of us met in Gatlinburg and stayed in a cabin for the weekend, 2 of us were in NC and 2 were in Indy so it was middle ground. We had such a blast (and paid for it on Sunday!).  Well, now there are even fewer friends left in Indy (although we stll have Amber there) but Beth has moved to Cali so she is not easy to meet up with at all!

So anyhow, Jess, Karma and I met up in Raleigh & had a slumber party last Saturday at the Marriott, complete with a Harry Potter-a-thon. Although, i'm sure not that only getting through the first movie really counts as a "thon" but it was meant to. We had a great time spending time together. We went to the mall (of course) and then pigged out at the Melting Pot, which was probably the highlight of our trip being that we all LOVE to eat- especially if its cheese and chocolate! We ended up bumping up our reservation to an earlier time because we started talking about the food and then couldn't bring ourselves to wait until 8pm.

I hope that we can get together with a few of the other girls this fall. Its really hard getting everyone together these days with everyone dispersed all over the U.S. (NC, Southern Cali, Chicago).  I miss the days we all lived near one another and could get together all the time. It seems weddings are the only time we all get together anymore.  Anyhow, that was my weekend. Matt had class in Columbia on Saturday and then on Sunday had a Fantasy Football Draft (I was so sorry to miss that)!   This weekend my Dad, Dona, Morg and Marcus are coming down and i cant wait to have them here!! 

Excuse my lack of blogging...

Life has been busy lately! I didn't forget about this blog but I kept putting it off, day after day. Things have been crazy lately. My company was recently acquired, which has left me putting in a lot of hours lately. Matt has been traveling Mon-Thurs every week and then when he's not working, traveling or trying to have somewhat of a life, he is in studying. Poor guy, he has alot on his plate right now! He is working on his MBA and it definately keeps him busy.
That is my quick update. I will be back tomorrow to update you on my weekend in Raleigh with 2 of my best friends.  Annnnddd....my Dad, Dona, Morgan & Marcus are coming this weekend for a long weekend to stay with us. I can't wait to have them here!! More to come on that!

Green Smoothie for the Skin!

Lately I have been on the search for a healthy smoothie that I could make easily in the mornings. And one that was all natural and healthy, incorporating only fruits and veggies. So, I have been seeing several different types of smoothies that incorporate spinach or some type of greens into it and its weirded me out. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE spinach and eat alot of it during the week buuut wasn't so sure about mixing it with fruit. Seemed weird to me.  As a side note, spinach is a superfood, very good for you!!
But I found this recipe online (yes I did steal this) and decided to try it out. Its specifically mentioned being healthy and good for your skin and I the past week my skin has been really bad!! I figued I'd give it a try. I went to Costco Saturday and stocked up on everything organic needed for this. Let me tell you...its really good!
You can not taste the spinach at all either!!  I've had one for the past 4 mornings and I can really tell a differnce already, especially my skin. I recommend you try it and don't be scared by the ingredients becuase all you can taste is berries!

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen berries (Costco has a big organic bag of Blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. The less strawberries the better as these are particularly high in sugar. Blueberries and blackberries are best!)

1 large banana (I buy bananas in bulk from Costco for less than $2.)

1/4 cup Bolthouse Carrot Juice (This is the key ingredient. You might not like the sound of this, but this juice is delicious and the berries are still the main flavor. Also, carrot juice has tons of vitamin A & biotin, both of which are key to healthy hair and nails. Hair and nail vitamins provide 100% Vitamin A and one serving of Bolthouse Carrot Juice has 700%)

1 capful Greens+ Unflavored OR spinach (This is another key ingredient as it’s just like having a day’s worth of spinach, kale and collard greens - without actually eating them. NOTE: I didn't have any of this on hand so I used about a cup of fresh organic Spinach and it did the trick just fine. I'm sure its much cheaper too!).

Throw it all in the mixer/blender and there you have it...its yummy!!

Boating, Boating & more Boating

Pretty  much sums up our summer so far. In May, Matt & I finally made the decision to buy a boat, after more than a year of talking about it. Of course, we got all the usual boat comments in regards to what a bad idea it is- in particular the 2 best days are the day you buy it and the day you sell it...yeah, yeah, heard it all. However, we were prepared for all the was to come with the joys of boat ownership (or so we thought).
All kidding aside, we have really enjoyed it and had a great time so far this summer. We have had the dogs out a few times with us, I enjoying taking them as they are so darn cute in their little life jackets!! They don't enjoy them nearly as much as I do though.



Get this thing off me!



Sig LOVES the water!



I'm not so sure about this yet!

 We busted out the kneeboard that Bill was nice enough to give to us a few weeks back. That was interesting to say the least!! Matt & Jess were both pro's at it, however the rest of us that have attempted it, didn't do so hot. Its really hard to get up on but its definately entertaining. And not to worry, we have already gone through one prop ($150 down the drain).  We apparently hit something, no clue what but if i were to guess I'd say an alligator bit it, thats what it looks like (plus I was driving when it happened so I'm going to blame it on anything else other than my abilities).

We are determined to use the boat as much as possible considering it will sit in storage for 5 months out of the year. If you want to go boating- let us know and come visit!

Captain Matt

Back home again in Indiana

While we were in Indiana for MeckesFest we also spent some time with my mom's side. My Mom and Don live in the country so its so nice and relaxing to be there. We had so much fun just relaxing around their "beach".  The dogs LOVED running around free out there and swimming in the pond. I wasn't sure how Brice would be with the pond but he jumped right in and swam all around, both dogs were worn out at the end of each day!


ahhh, so relaxing!

 We did have a close call with Siggy though involving the golf cart! Apparently Sig was under the golf cart and we didn't realize it. As my brother and cousin were pulling away, we heard Sig yelping and freaking out. As you can imagine I nearly had a panic attack immediately when I saw him. Thank goodness for my Mom and Matt as they went over to help him and see how he was, I obviously couldn't even get near him. (side note:I have no clue what I'll do when I have kids that actually require my help in these  situations).  Turns out, it apparently just scared him and slightly hurt him but no vet visits!! We have seen our fair share of the vet (as has our bank account) in the past 5 months, so I'm doing all I can to avoid that place for awhile.
We had such a great time visiting and as usual the time went way to quick! I always look forward to staying out there and enjoying the country...oh and not to mention all the fabulous food my mom always makes for us. mmm mmm!!



My Momma and I



I LOVE his face in this pic!!



He's catchin' a ride on my mom

  

The Beach Bar...good times had here!



Whats cookin....

Fresh from the Garden!

I love summer time for the fresh food/veggies it brings!!! I could probably be a vegeterian but living with Matt would make that nearly impossible as he loves some meat. Most nights when Matt is traveling I make very simple dinners since its just me,tonight is one of those nights. Matt's gone so I can eat veggies for dinner. Our garden is, well... unpredictable. I guess I don't know enough about gardening as some things are living fine others are flat out dead and I dont know why. I did however get some good stuff out of it which I'm having as part of dinner toninght.

I have become alot more aware and much more passionate about the food that I eat (Matt is a work in progress but we are getting there). For the most part we have cut out processed food all together- its the devil! Now, its not like I dont still eat it from time to time, I do! But I stopped buying processed foods and have noticed a huge difference. I have lost weight and my  health in general is better (i'll spare the details) but trust me, its makes a big difference. We buy organic when possible/feasible along with free range or grass fed meats. I started reading more and more books about food and the more educated I became about what we put in our bodies and where it comes from, I totally changed my outlook on food. After reading this book, it really made me rethink the meats that I eat! I could go on and on about food and what people eat, but I'll spare you for now. Alright, back to my plate of veggies....

MeckesFest 2011!!

About 2 weekends ago, Matt and I along with both dogs headed back home to Indiana to visit family and attend the 28th annual MeckesFest (fyi, I'm assuming its no coincidence it started the year I was born)!! MeckesFest is a large gathering of all the Meckes' each year, basically our family reunion but much more crazy and wild than a typical famly reunion! Traditionally it was always held in Rushville, primarily at my grandparents house but over the past 5 years or so we have branched out and tried some new spots for the annual party. This year we happened to go camping...in a campground and it was, um and adventure! By adventure, we camped in a tent and came home covered in bug bites, chigger bites to be more specific. I had no idea those really existed but they do, trust me! Oh yes and Sunday morning when we woke up, I found a tick in our bed, at that point I was done camping!
We had such a great time spending time with family though and it was a beautiful campground. We were camped out right along a river and had a lot of fun floating down the river in tubes! Dad especially loved the tubes!

Yee Haw!

My cousin Kiel set up a bloody mary bar on Saturday and it was ah-mazing! I mean really, it was awesome- gourmet bloody mary's!!

Anyhow, the weekend came and went all to quickly and I'm already looking forwar to next year's gathering...wherever it may be held. I'll leave you with a few pictures snapped from this years event...


Mark & Kellie relaxin in the river!



Coolin' off



Deep Thoughts I'm sure!



Warning: Do not pass out at MeckesFest!

During this trip we also got some QT with my momma...more to come on that later as the dogs LOVED running around in the country and especially the pond!

Welcome to the family, Brice!!

We recently added a new addition to our family, a sweet lil Boxer boy we named Brice (more on his name shortly)!! As most people close to us know, we lost our Boxer, Bailey in May to cancer and it was much harder to take than Matt or I either expected. Of course, Matt immediately wanted another Boxer, which I was completely against. Let me tell you, after I got Sigmond at 6 weeks old and pawned him off on my mom for a month to potty train him, I swore I'd never get another puppy...EVER. Well, never say never! We brought Brice home on June 11th and what entertainment he is!  I will say, there are days when I could do without him but when he's not making a mess, I adore him! 

Sigmond even loves him, which is a huge plus!

Testing out their new life jackets on the boat!

When we brought the puppy home, we were having a really hard time figuring out a name for him...that we both agreed on. Jess & Mike were over and Mike gets all the credit for the idea!! As everyone knows, Matt is a Gamecock fanatic, you may already know where I'm going with this. If you not a fanatic like him, then I'll tell you that the Gamecocks play at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia, hence Brice. It seemed fitting! I will keep you up to date on everything he gets into.

Here we go...

My first blog! So how did this blog come to be?! Well, I have been thinking about starting a blog for awhile now to keep my family in Indiana up to date on our life happenings but of course have yet until now to get around to it. Basically I wanted a way to share with them whats going on with us and of course share pictures. I feel like our lives get so busy, its hard to keep in touch with everyone and so this is a vehicle to keep everyone more up to date.
I will do my best to update this as much as possible!