Payback

I got a call from the director at Claire's preschool today telling me that she said her throat hurt and she had a low-grade fever and wanted to come home. She did have a low-grade fever the night before, but a little Motrin and it was gone by morning. I even checked her temp again before we went to school.

When the director called my cell phone, I was in the bathroom at work and missed the call. Then, she called my home phone and talked to my nanny who was home with David (he doesn't have MDO on Wednesday). The nanny called me to tell me about Claire and I called the director back to tell her that the nanny was coming to pick Claire up.

Here is the funny part of this story ... when the director couldn't get me on my cell phone, she asked Claire if she should call her daddy. Claire's response was, "No, my daddy is at work and we don't need to bother him." What?!? Clearly, it is no big deal at all to call mommy, and bother her at work.

The reason I titled this post "Payback" is because when I was in elementary school, I called my parents from the school office at least once a week to come home because I didn't feel good. I loved getting to go home and lay on the couch and watch daytime television.

[An aside ... when I spell checked this post, I had misspelled the work "elementary." Clearly, I should have stayed at school and worked a little harder on my spelling skills!]

I did make Claire take a nap this afternoon, which she normally does not do on days that she is home. Apparently that healed her because she had a grand ole time playing outside this afternoon and going to the grocery store with me tonight after dinner.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday. 33. I am feeling a little old, although I have been told I don't look it. (I still get asked for identification almost everytime I order an adult beverage.)

I had a wonderful weekend full of celebrations. Friday night, we ate dinner at my mom & dad's house where we had my mom's fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and deviled eggs (mine and my sister's favorite). For dessert, we had chocolate cake with marshmallow creme frosting, like my Meme used to make. It was yummy!!

Saturday afternoon, I got to sneak away to the spa for a much needed manicure and pedicure. Thanks to Will for setting that up for me! It was a treat! Saturday afternoon, my in-laws came by to visit (they were in town visiting some other relatives) and they took us to dinner at my favorite new Mexican restaurant, Chuy's. We got there at 4:45 and still had to wait 30 minutes for a table, but it was totally worth it!

Today, we had lunch after church at our favorite meat and three diner, where David managed to get ketchup on his ear and collar of his white shirt even though he only ate about 3 bites of food. I tried to talk Will into watching New Moon tonight, but I think he cried foul on all the birthday celebrating for this year.

Now that I am reading back over this, apparently, birthdays are all about eating for this pregnant gal. Might as well enjoy it while I can! I did get some fun birthday cards that sing and light up that Claire quickly confiscated for her card collection. You may see her on the show Hoarders one day ... I'm just warning you.

Speaking of eating, you must watch Jamie Oliver's show, Food Revolution. Will and I are both hooked and are seriously thinking about making some changes to how our family eats.

Party Planning

I finally feel like I am sort of getting caught up on things around here. I've even managed to get the kids' birthday party invitations done a little early! My hubby will be shocked!

I love sitting down to play with Photoshop, but the sad thing is that I typically have to re-learn the program all over again every time I used it. I have Photoshop Elements 7.0, which is pretty user friendly, but I still had to google how to cut my picture into a circle (even though I did it last time I used the program ... about 4 months ago). I finally learned how to blur out text in a picture too. Yeah!

We are having a joint party for the kids (since their birthdays are 4 days apart) and decided to break down and pay the money to have it at a local "bouncy" place. Very low key.

(1) Invitations

I got some ideas from my friend Melissa who has a little web business making super-cute stationary and such. (Her waterproof labels are the best I have ever used.)

(2) Outfits

I typically make birthday party outfits for the kids, but I am just not feeling totally up for it right now. However, I did find this super cute cupcake fabric that I will be making pants out of for the kids.

And, I ordered matching t-shirts from one of my favorite Etsy sellers, Smitten & Co. Check her out. These shirts make great gifts too. The kids' shirts will look like this (with their name and age, of course) and match the cupcake fabric above.

Now, all I have left to do is order/bake cupcakes. I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do yet. I would love to save some money and make them myself, but I have a feeling that Publix will be getting a call from me the week before the party!

Excuses, Excuses ...

I can't believe it has been almost two months since I last posted, but I have a good excuse ...

That's right ... I'm pregnant with baby #3. I found out on January 15, but it was still very early, so we waited about 4 more weeks before we started telling our close friends and family. Then, we waited until my first doctor's appointment to tell everybody else.

The pictures below are from my first OB appointment on March 4. I thought I was about 10 weeks along, but ended up being almost 12 weeks along.

First trimester ... check! Due date is September 19.

Here is a profile shot of the baby.

And a front view. It looks a little bit like he/she is waving at us. Boy or girl, baby was very busy during the ultrasound.

I have had bad morning (what should really be call "all day") sickness, bronchitis, a bad allergy attack and a 48-hour stomach virus with this pregnancy, thus the lack of attention to the blog.

And, for memory's sake, here is my first belly shot at 14 weeks (today). There is a little shadow on the belly, but unfortunately, I am really showing that much already. I have a feeling it is going to be a long, hot summer!

For the record, Claire is positive that this baby is a GIRL and she has already named her Mary Caroline. We will know in a few weeks if she is right.