The Royal Wedding

I know. I'm sure everyone is sick to death of reading/seeing/hearing about the Royal Wedding. I promise this is the last you'll hear about it from me. I'm bored though, and have a lot of random thoughts flitting through my head about this whole shenanigan, so I thought maybe if I wrote them down they would go away. So here we go. I had to get up early this morning anyway because I had to work, but I got up a few minutes earlier so I could sit and give my undivided attention to the tele (note my clever use of British terms). As I watched Kate ride to the abbey, I wondered what she was thinking about. I'm sure she had the typical bride-on-her-wedding-day jitters, but I wonder if she was feeling the extraordinary pressure of literally having the whole world watching. The news reported an estimate that billions of people watched from home, on top of the several hundred thousand that lined the streets and palace plazas. Can you imagine? I'm certain that my only thought would be "Please don't trip. Please don't trip. Please don't trip." I'd be saying it to the rhythm of my footsteps. Actually, that's exactly what's happened any time I've had to get up in front of people. So, I said a little prayer for her. Well, from my lips to God's ears, y'all. She. Was. Flawless.

I think her dress looks a lot like Grace Kelly's did. It's simple. It's elegant. It's timeless. It's proportional to the size of the church without being out of control. I love it.

I also loved seeing them smile and whisper to each other. They're obviously very much in love and it makes the almost-non-existant romantic in me go "Awwww!"

And the hats! Katie, bar the door! Anyone that knows anything about me knows how much I love big hats! My husband send me a text later this morning that said "This is soooo up your alley. Puffy hats everywhere!" I love him. Anyway, I wish I had been born in an earlier time when it was socially accepted/required to wear hats like that. I guess I could move to England, but I think I'd rather live in Civil War-Era Georgia than modern-day snooty England. That's just me though. Sidenote: How did Harry end up being the good-looking brother? William just hasn't aged well, bless his heart. Carry on. Where was I? Oh! The hats!

Also stunning: Kate's sister, Pippa. I know several people who adore that name. I'm sorry, I find it heinous. Okay, maybe heinous is a little extreme. I very strongly dislike it, but it doesn't matter, because her dress is gorgeous! I wonder if she feels any kind of pressure from her family. "Your sister is going to be queen one day. What are you doing with your life?" I hope that's not the case.

I just have to briefly touch on the two three things that really annoyed me. Two of them are hat-related, surprise surprise.

First, Posh, darlin (or should I say daahhhhling). I know everyone thinks she's such a fashion icon, and I'll be the first to say how smashing she looks all glowy and pregnant. But the hat. On her forehead? With black stick-like thingys coming off of it? No no no.

Secondly, and I'm not saying too much, because she's the Queen and all. But Your Highness. Really? Big Bird yellow is your color of choice for the day? Ugh! There's so much more to elaborate on about how horrid this color is, and there is no shortage in other color options. But she's the Queen. She does what she wants. Amen.

Last but not least, Princess Beatrice. Why? Why, why, why? She majorly annoyed me. Her make-up was a train wreck. But most of all...the hat! I found it tacky and pompous. A giant bow, like she was all wrapped up as the gift to the wedding. Puh-leeze.

So that's it. My take on the day. Did you watch it? What'd ya think?

Ten on Tuesday!

1. How many blogs do you read every day and what are they? (I’m talking the ones you NEVER miss)
*Points to my blog list* All of those. It’s part of my morning work routine. Facebook, Proverbs 31 devotional, blogs then The Bump. That’s pretty much my entire day on repeat. Unless it’s one of the few days we’re actually busy. Pathetic? You betcha.


2. How many “best friends” do you have? Do you have different “besties” for different areas of your life?
Hmmm. Devin is my very best friend; he was my best friend before he was anything else. Then there’s Amanda Denise. She’s like a sister to me. We don’t talk or see each other as often as I’d like, but when we get to catch up it’s like no time has passed. Really, that’s the case for all my best friends since none of them live even remotely close. I have a lot of really special memories that involve Amanda. Jillian and I have been friends since high school; she’s my oldest friend. The most random, life-endangering things always seemed to happen when we were together. She’s getting married in October and I can’t wait to be part of her day! I met Trish when I dispatched in Huntsville. She and I have been through more together than I care to think about. She’s become such a Godly woman and I wish we could see each other more.

3. What’s your daily make up routine?
BareMinerals is the best thing since sliced bread. It’s fast, easy, and pretty much a miracle. Amen. It takes about 6 minutes.

4. What is your ideal girl’s night?
Mexican food and drinks with all my best friends. I would just want to sit around and catch up on everyone’s lives and laugh.

5. Do you keep up with your nails/toenails or are they au natural?
If you know me, you know that’s the one “girly” thing I am stringent about. If you’re gonna wear sandals/flip flops, you better keep your hooves scrubbed and painted. I think that may be a southern “rule”, but I have a huge foot phobia so I feel like it’s only appropriate that if I have to look at ‘em, you could at least maintain them. I’m not as hard-core about nails. I think chipped polish is tacky, though. I stick with acrylic, myself.

6. What’s your best roommate story (assuming you had a roommate at some point in your life)?
Almost all of my favorite roommate memories are from when Amanda and I lived together at Gateway. We had so much fun…and we lived well together. I can't think of one specific best time though. There were a lot.

7. What’s your “go to” outfit that you wear more than anything else?
Jeans, t-shirt and flip flops. Pretty much every day. I’m in a weird place right now where my maternity clothes are too big and my pre-baby clothes don’t fit. It’s not very confidence-inspiring, but I’m working on gettin’ my slim on.

8. Do you have a beauty secret?
My beauty secret is to be friends with people who are think you are beautiful no matter what.

9. Did you read Seventeen magazine growing up?
Of course!! I always tried to pick up tips on being more “girly.” Clearly none of it stuck.

10. How did you learn to put on makeup?
The Clinique counter and Seventeen magazine. Then I pretty much threw it all out the window and was like, “Screw that, I’m low maintenance.”



Your turn!!

Springtime in the Bluebonnets

On my days off this past week, I loaded Claire up and headed over to a huge park that has about the only big bluebonnet field I've seen this year. I think that the fact that we've had almost zero rain really hurt the wildflowers this year, but we lucked out with the park. Of course, it's an unwritten law that all good Texans throw their kids off in a bluebonnet field for pictures every Spring. I know a lot of people think it's a ridiculous tradition, but I don't happen to be one of those people. I love love love bluebonnets; they're one of my favorite things about this time of year in the Hill Country. So of course, I find pictures with two of my favorite things (babies and bluebonnets) absolutely precious.

On Wednesday, we got to the park a little after noon and it was a gorgeous day. Not a cloud in the sky, about 80 degrees with a nice, light breeze. I got Claire ready to go, then took a few pictures with my iPhone. I got out the camera to get the good shots, and naturally, the camera battery was dead. Sooooooo frustrating, but I figured we would just go back on Thursday and try again. Of course, Thursday was cloudy and not nearly as nice. We made the best of it though and I got a few pictures. Claire refused to cooperate (don't all 3 month-olds know how to behave for photo shoots?!), and was only interested in chewing on Sophie and looking anywhere but at me. They'll suffice for the obligatory bluebonnet shots, but I'm definitely hoping for something a little more refined next year. I don't think you can go too wrong with a picture of that girl, anyway!

I tried to post the ones from Wednesday, but for some reason, they won't rotate. So, here are my favorite shots from Thursday.

Such a sweet smile!

Blue Steel. Probably not funny if you haven't seen Zoolander.



Listening to a secret from Sophie.



Ok, Mom. I've had enough of this.

I really did have a good time taking pictures of her. Hopefully I'll remember to bring the camera along for more everyday stuff, because she's always up to something cute! Hope y'all are having a great weekend!

What We've Been Up To...

It's really kind of sad when I think of how little we've been up to. We've done the odd fun thing here and there, but my days off are usually spent at home soaking up every minute I can with Claire. Leaving her to go to work has been really difficult for me. I thought it would get easier with time, but it hasn't happened yet. I try to put a positive spin on it; I'm working hard and making the sacrifice to provide for her. It just doesn't do the trick though. Blah. Anyway, this was not meant to be a depressing vent. I've been trying to remember to take lots of pictures, so this may turn into a lengthy post. Just FYI!

We've been reading to Claire for a few weeks now. She's now to the point where she will sit still and somewhat pay attention. I'm sure she doesn't care about the story yet, but will sit and stare at all the illustrations. Every once in a while she'll coo and squeal; I say she's reading along with me. It's so cute. Right now her favorite books are The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Corduroy and Goodnight Moon.

Last weekend we made trip to Houston to vist one of my very best friends, Jillian, and her fiancee, Ford. They're getting married in October, and Devin and I can't wait to be part of their special day! Jill and I have been friends since sophomore year of high school, and now that I live here we see way too little of each other. Of course I totally fail and only took two pictures the whole weekend. And they were of Claire, naturally.

We left for Houston on Thursday night after I got off from work. We stayed the night with Devin's brother Ryan, and his wife Andi. We had a good time hanging out and catching up Thursday night and Friday. They always make me laugh we always have a blast with them. Friday afternoon we headed to Jill and Ford's house. We just sat around and caught up and were gloriously lazy until dinner. The five of us met up with Devin's dad, step-mom, Ryan and Andi, and Devin's half-brother, Nicky and half-sister, Maddie. We had fabulous Mexican food and a great time visiting. Of course Claire was up way late and had a total melt-down in the restaurant. We all made it home and went right to sleep. Saturday morning, Jill's mom, who is very dear to me, came by the house. We got Claire ready and we ladies went shopping for Jillian's veil. She got the perfect one and she looked gorgeous! I can't wait to see the whole ensemble put together. Devin and Ford spent the day at the gun range playing with man toys. They came home happy and sunburnt, and totally fired up for the Zombie Apocolypse. I can't tell you how happy it makes me that Ford and Devin get along so well. Serious bromance going on there, let me tell ya! Saturday night we grilled burgers, put Claire to bed and stayed up playing Mexican Train dominoes. I had never played before, and I loved it! It was so much fun! Sunday we packed up and headed to The Woodlands to see my aunt. We had some more delish Mexican food and spent a few really nice hours at her house catching up. We finally forced ourselves out and made it home just a little past Claire's bed time. We had such a great time and wish we could've seen more of everyone!

Claire discovering herself in the mirror at the bridal salon. Please note the hilarious bald spot on the back of her head. That's where she turns her head back and forth when she's extra tired.

Claire and my aunt. I love this picture. Even though we don't catch up much, I'm very close to my her. We're very much alike and I love her to pieces!

We've taken Claire to a couple of baseball games, which she seems to enjoy. By enjoy I mean there are plenty of new things for her to look at. We went on Tuesday to a game that we got free (amazing) tickets to. It just so happened that one of my very favorite Texas country artists, Josh Abbott, was singing the National Anthem. Thanks to our awesome seats, we got to talk to him for a minute before he performed, and he was nice enough to take some pictures! I've been a huge fan of his for years. He's come a long way and it's really cool to see that his success hasn't gone to his head. Thanks, Josh!

I think that pretty much sums up our life lately! Hope y'all are enjoying this gorgeous weather we've had lately!

Claire Hearts Sophie

I know, I'm horribly behind! I'll (hopefully) get another post up later this afternoon with more of what we've been up to. Sadly, it's not that much, so there really isn't an excuse for how lame I've been.

So since Claire has come along I've seen a ton of hype about this teething toy. It's a giraffe, I thought. Big deal. Recently, Claire has started to gnaw on her hands/clothes/whatever she can get her hands on and slobbering like crazy, so I think teething isn't too far away. I did some research, and this giraffe comes insanely recommended. We came across a really neat baby boutique that had them for a good price, so I thought "Why not?" I was proud of myself for thinking to have the camera handy for Claire's introduction to Sophie (that's the giraffe's name) and I'm just tickled pink at the pictures I got. Her face is so expressive!

This is her very first look at Sophie as she came out of the box. "Mom, what is that thing?"

Just a split second later. "Wait a minute...she looks kind of friendly."

She's still working on learning to grip things, but it looks like Sophie is gonna be a big hit in our house! I just have to make sure the dog doesn't get a hold of her!

Three Months!

I wish I could tell you where the last three months have gone. Everyone told me that time would fly by, and boy, were they right. It's the strangest thing; it feels like it was just a few days ago that we were anxiously driving to the hospital for my induction. At the same time though, it feels like Claire has always been part of our lives. Like everything before her is so insignificant now. Does that make sense? It has been absolutely incredible to see how much she's grown and to watch her personality develop. We have been very blessed in that she hasn't been sick at all and that she's still overall a super content baby. I'm not sure how much she weighs. Devin estimates somewhere around 14 pounds. She doesn't feel that heavy to me, but I have never been good at guessing stuff like weights and distances. She isn't rolling over yet, but she's so strong. She's able to push off the ground with her arms and lift her head and chest up. Tummy time definitely isn't Claire's favorite activity, but she tolerates it much better than she used to. She'll also put her weight on her legs when we stand her up, and she doesn't need much support when she's sitting.

Claire loves to smile. When I come home from work, or pick her up first thing in the morning, she's all smiles. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. She's not full-out laughing yet, but she has discovered her voice and loves to giggle and squeal. It's so precious. She adores car rides. She'll look around for a bit but almost always goes to sleep. She loves baths & showers. Sometimes when I take her in the shower with me she'll snuggle up against me under the water and start to fall asleep! She loves being outside. Almost any time she's fussy and nothing else will work, we walk outside with her and she immediately calms down. She seems so content just to sit outside and look at the world. Before I say this, put down your pitchforks and extinguish your torches. Claire loves TV. We don't plop her in front of it all day to avoid interacting with her. But I'm not above letting her stare at a cartoon for 30 minutes while I get a chore or two done around the house. It's not an everyday thing, but she's fascinated by the colors and sounds. She loves being swaddled. She'll nap unswaddled, but she sleeps much better all snug as a bug. Just this weekend she's started sleeping in her pack-n-play. She would only sleep on my chest for the first five weeks. Then we got the glorious rock-n-play. It took a few days for her to get used to it, but she slept in that bad boy like a champ. Here recently she hadn't been sleeping as well, and I think it had something to do with her not being comfortable in it anymore. So on a whim Thursday night I decided to try the pack-n-play. She's napped in it a few times but usually won't stay longer than 30-45 minutes. But she's sleeping great in it now! I think she's coming off a growth spurt and still gets up once in the night to nurse. But I read that it's almost unheard of for breastfed babies to sleep through the night at this age, so evidently the six weeks she was doing so was just a beautiful, glorious phase. I still count myself lucky though that she's not one of the babies that still wants to be fed every two hours. Praise God for small miracles! I'm so glad to see her adapting to changes well, but it also makes me sad that she's growing up.

There's not too much Claire doesn't like. She hates being cold and will let you know it in a hurry. Usually if you're not going to hold her, she needs a binky (pacifier) to be content. If she gets overly-tired she will have a complete meltdown. Other than that, though, she really doesn't cry.

She brings so much joy to our lives. We had no idea it was possible to love someone so much. Sorry this got to be a little long, but Little Miss has really come a long way, and I wanted to update y'all! I'll add some pics to the post as soon as I get them off the camera! Hope y'all had a great weekend!

4/15/2011

I finally got Devin to dump the pictures off the camera, so here are Claire's three month pictures!! I'll throw in a one month picture for comparison. I can't believe how much she's grown!

One month: (Sorry, it was before I knew of the glory that is month onesie stickers)

Three months! My girl's all grown up! I know I'm being dramatic here, but seriously.

What I'm Loving

It's been a looooong and frustrating day, so I thought I'd make a happy list of things that I am currently all about. Enjoy if ya want, skip this post if you don't care :o) I'm even gonna number it, because numbered, ordered lists make me happy.

1. This face. Duh.

2. Baseball games. We went to one Wednesday night and had a great time. The weather was a bit chilly, but hey, baseball is baseball.

3. Softsoap Coconut Scrub Body Butter. It exfoliates amazingly and leaves my skin super soft. Plus, it smells like summer in a bottle. Who doesn't like summer in a bottle?

4. The weather outside today. It's sunny, the perfect temperature and just a little breezy. What I wouldn't give to be playing outside right now.

5. My sweet husband. Seeing so little of him really makes me treasure our evenings together. He also ordered a surprise for me that got delivered today. I can't wait to go pick it up. I LOVE (sorry, no yelling) love surprises!

6. Recently new-found motivation to drop the rest of this baby weight. The last week or so I've gotten serious about wanting to get rid of the deflated basketball I've been sporting since Claire was born. I'm starting the Couch to 5k running plan on Monday. I hate running, but for some reason I'm really looking forward to this.

7. This blog. I have found tons of new recipes that are delicious and low-fat. Win-win for my house!

8. The Unit. I have no idea how I missed this show when it was on TV, but Devin and I are on Season 3 thanks to Netflix and it is ah. maz.ing. I wish I could sit and watch the whole series. I have to force myself to turn the TV off if we stop in the middle of a disc. Otherwise I'd be up all night.

9. Now I'm really having to stretch my brain, because I'm out of thoughts but I'm having trouble ending my list on an odd number.

10. Claire is three months old now. This gets its own post, probably tomorrow. I can't believe how fast she's grown, but I'm so proud of all her tiny accomplishments. Watching her learn and change is bittersweet for me; I love watching her progress, but I'm also sad that she'll never be that tiny sleepy cuddle bug again. Hopefully she's still a cuddle bug, just a bigger one.

Happy Friday to my friends with normal jobs. It's my Monday...at work all weekend. Blah.