Back to Normal

Hola Friends! Have you missed me? I finally feel that my life is getting back to normal again after the last week or so. Actually, after the last month or so. With packing, selling the house, moving, etc., our lives have been somewhat turned upside down lately. But, finally yesterday we got our phones, cable, internet, etc. hooked up, and we can communicate with the outside world again. I never knew how much I appreciated just the sound of the TV being on during the day. Sadie is not a TV watcher, but I think we both were getting tired of all of the silence all day long. I just like having that little bit of sound throughout the house. Call me crazy, I don't know. I realized that I even like the sound of Elmo, Handy Manny, or Bob the Builder in the background. At first, it was nice. Dennis and I would just sit out on the screened in porch and talk and just enjoy the quietness. But, once he went back to work and it was just Sadie and me all day, I realized how deafening silence really is. I felt like I was going insane at times. But, now, we're all set up and our new house seems to be feeling more like "home" every day. Sadie has adjusted so well. She never skipped a beat. She loves her new room, and everytime we walk in and turn her new light on (it's a little pink chandelier) she gets so excited. And, we have a "playroom" for her in this house, so she loves that! Almost all of her toys are in this one room, so she can just go crazy in there and not have to hear "no, no" to anything!
I have to give some Kudos to a group of wonderful people who helped us make our move so incredibly successful. My mom, Dennis' mom, Dennis' grandma, and my dad.
My mom kept Sadie for us on Friday night and all day Saturday. It was so wonderful to not worry about her at all. Shewas great for my mom and I could have never done it without her. Mom even gave Sadie her first pedicure and painted her little toenails. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen. I still laugh every time I look down at her little pink toes. I have no idea how mom got her to sit so still for the painting process, but they actually looked really good! And, she and Sadie went shopping and bought Sadie a "princess" rocking chair for her new room that just fits her perfectly. It even has a ballet too-too on the bottom. So precious!! THANK YOU MOM!
Dennis' mom was there to help with everything too. She was nonstop as usual. She helped keep Sadie on Friday morning while we went to closing, then she met us back at the house on Friday afternoon and brought a ton of food and helped us bring in some boxes. Then, she was back on Saturday doing all sorts of stuff. Running back and forth between houses, carrying tons of loads up and down the stairs, etc. Then, her and LJ brought us a wonderful BBQ dinner on Saturday night after the move was over. THANK YOU GRAMMY!!!!!
Dennis' Grandma came over on Saturday and brought lunch for everyone, including all of the movers. What a blessing!!! She even brought us some paper towels, toilet paper, trashbags, etc. All of those things that you need when you first move in to a new house. She's amazing!! THANK YOU, GRANDMA!!!!
Last, but definitely not least, I have to thank my dad again! He was a superstar once again. Dennis couldn't have made it through any of this move without him. For two whole weekends in a row, he dedicated all of his time in town with us to help with whatever we needed. Not to mention, all of the time he spent at home these past few months getting Sadie's bookshelf built and her cradle refinished for her room. He met us Friday night and helped us move a ton of stuff over here and get unpacked. He met me here early Saturday morning and hung more curtain rods, put together Sadie's new crib, put together Sadie's big girl bed (for the future), helped me hang curtains, helped me put all of our bedding on, helped me do all of Sadie's bedding, ran back and forth between houses getting loads of boxes, and other junk, and finally, he went to my aunt and uncles house where Sadie's playset was, basically took it apart and got it ready for the movers to come and pick up. Then, when the movers brought it here, he helped them put it all back together, and he helped Dennis tighten it all up. He was nothing short of amazing. Dennis was so appreciative of all of my dad's hard work. He definitely saved Dennis from having to stay up all night that night putting a bunch of stuff together and getting curtains over the windows, etc. He allowed Dennis to be able to stay at our old house with the movers while he was here with me, helping me out with stuff. THANK YOU DAD!!! There is no way we could've done it without him, and I never once heard him complain about anything. Not one time. The only thing he complained about was that he left half of his meatball sub sandwich in our fridge when he left, and he was looking forward to eating it.
We have a great family that is always there to help us when we need it. Especially for those last minute requests!
I'll blog more later, but I wanted everyone to know that I was back from no man's land!

Mid-Week Update

I thought I'd do a quick mid-week update, since I won't be able to post my upcoming Weekend Update. I found out that I won't have my computer hooked up, phones, cable, etc. until next Thursday. Yikes! I think I can do without the phone and computer, but I'm pretty attached to the TV. Especially my precious DVR. Thank the Lord that most of the season finales are this week and not next week. I would DIE! I will have to miss The Bachelorette on Monday night, but I guess since it's early in the season, I shouldn't miss anything too dramatic. Other than that, I think I'll be okay.
I had my dr. appt. today. Dr. Adkins was out of town, so I was supposed to see one of his fellow dr's, but he ended up having to go deliver a baby, so I saw the Nurse Practitioner, which was fine, because I was in and out of there in about 10 minutes all together. That never happens!!!! All is well, and I'm moving right along. I will start going every 2 weeks now. I can't believe it. Where in the world has this pregnancy gone???? I will find out at my next appt. on June 4th what my exact delivery date will be, so I'm excited about that. Little Sawyer is moving around like a crazy man! I never remember feeling Sadie go this crazy this early, but maybe I just forgot. He's already poking, jabbing, kicking, flipping, etc. It's pretty amazing. I try and appreciate each and every movement. Sadie was laying on my side today, and Sawyer started kicking right at her. I wonder if he knew she was there. I like to think he was saying "hi" to his big sis.
We passed our home inspection on our new house on Monday, so we've been taking loads of boxes and things every night this week to the house and unpacking them when we get there. It's been wonderful!!! I've already got my whole kitchen unpacked, pantry filled, etc., and that usually takes forever! What a blessing! So, on Saturday when the movers come, hopefully they'll just have to move the furniture, and we'll already have most of the boxes already at the new house and unpacked. I'm pumped. Sadie will be spending Friday night at my mom's house for the first time. Yes, she is 14 and 1/2 months old and has never spent the night with my mom. It's all my fault because I am psycho. I just don't like to be away from her overnight! She's only stayed at my mother-in-law's once overnight, and that was because we were on our death bed. It's not that I don't trust either of my mom's at all, because they are both wonderful with Sadie. I would trust them with her life! But, I just like my little baby chicken in my nest. But, there's no way we can get up early on Saturday and try to start moving with her here. Plus, there's no way I can have her crawling around the new house while the movers are bringing in furniture, so my mom will have her Saturday too. I hope Sadie does well and sleeps well especially. Saturday night should be all of our 1st night spending the night at the new house. One big happy family!
Anyways, I guess that's all for now. I will post again as soon as my computer gets up and running. Fellow bloggers that are also fellow Bachelorette watchers...PLEASE watch closely on Monday night and give me a good update!! So far, I really like Jason. I know he has a kid, but he seems so precious and sincere. She'll probably keep him around for a while, then freak out towards the end and send him packin'. That's my prediction.
Hasta la Vista! Pray for us this weekend!!
By the way, our new address/phone number is:
1002 Kidron Way
Hendersonville, TN 37075
615-590-7780

Weekend Update

I tried to think of a catchy title for this week's update, but I am feeling uncreative today. Mostly just tired!

Friday, Sadie and I ran a few errands, and met my mom back at my house so that she could help me pack some of the house while Sadie napped. "Packing" turned into only packing up one room and then watching "Days of Our Lives". I wasn't feeling very motivated, obviously. Thanks, mom!

Friday night, we had our usual family dinner at Chili's. It's becoming a weekly thing. The service is never outstanding, but the food is always good and cheap, b/c I usually get a kids meal for myself. There's not as much room in the ole belly as their used to be!

We left Chili's and ran by the new house to see the landscaping that had been done that day. It looks incredible! Then, the cravings started kicking in on the way home, so I made Dennis stop at Publix. I got a box of Ghiradelli brownies to make, vanilla ice cream, and Magic Shell chocolate sauce. Can we say PIG???? That would be me. I didn't end up making the brownies, but I did enjoy a nice sized bowl of ice cream topped with Magic Shell.

Saturday morning, Dennis got up early and met my dad at the new house to do some work. I have to give a shout-out to my dad. He is incredible. He selflessly spent ALL day Saturday doing stuff around our new house such as hanging ALL of the blinds, hanging curtain rods, helping Dennis with stuff, etc. Then, he came back on Sunday morning and finished up some more stuff and ended up staying in Nashville until about 3:00 in the afternoon before he had to head back to East TN. He is a saint, I tell ya. He saved Dennis from having to go to the house every night this week and do all of that stuff all by himself. He definitely came to the rescue, and Dennis and I both agreed that the best part about it all is that we know that my dad doesn't mind helping at all. He actually finds it quite enjoyable, and does it all with a smile on his face. He's coming back in this weekend to help me out with some more stuff while we move. He and Dennis worked all day long until about 8:15 that night. My dad even made Sadie a custom-made "dollhouse bookshelf" to put in her new room, and it looks like it was built in to the wall. It fits like a glove in her room. It is so precious. I know she's going to love it! THANK YOU POPPY!!! You are truly the best!!!!! He and Dennis remind me so much of one another. I'm so lucky to have married someone that is like my dad. And, the best part is that I know in my heart that my dad loves Dennis just like he is his own son. It blesses my heart to know that they have such a good relationship.

Anyways, mom, Sadie, and I went to Chance's baseball game, but they got killed. The game was over when the other team was outscoring Chance's team by 10 points. Ouch! But, it was fun to watch Emma and Sadie play. They are too cute.

Mom and Sadie in their cute sunglasses.

Emma helping Sadie walk. I thought this picture was priceless.

Mom and I ran some errands after the game and then I came home, put Sadie down, and I tried to rest for a moment, b/c I wasn't feeling well. I think it's just allergies. Fun, fun.

I took Dennis and Dad some dinner (aka McDonalds, my dad's favorite), and then Sadie and I went to my mom's for a yummy home cooked roast dinner. It was so delicious. I can still taste it...We took Sadie down by the lake to feed the geese and their babies. She was laughing hysterically. It was hilarious. I guess she just thought it was funny to see the geese eating. She couldn't stop laughing. Then, we enjoyed my mom's homemade banana pudding. Oh my goodness. There's nothing like it in this world. Don't worry, although I enjoyed roast while Dennis had McDonalds, I did bring him home a big helping of banana pudding. I'm not that selfish! ha ha

Oh yeah, I can't leave out that when I took dinner to my dad and Dennis, they informed me that our new neighbors that had just moved in have 2 freakin' yappin' dogs that they were keeping out on their screened in porch. Is it bad of me that I was already trying to plan how I could poison these animals??? Forgive me Lord. I just know that we built this house in this particular neighborhood, on this particular lot so that we could enjoy peace and quiet, especially out on our screened in porch. The last thing I want is to go sit out there and listen to not one, but TWO barking dogs everytime I go out there. Keep in mind, I am dog LOVER. I love them to pieces. But, I do not like it when people keep dogs outside that they know are going to bark all of the time. Lexie and Cocoa were never barkers, so I don't think we're getting paid back or anything like that. I just hope and pray (literally, I've been praying about this) that these people will bring their dogs inside once they get settled in. Please Lord!!! Please!!!!! Not to mention, Sawyer's nursery is right there on that end of the house, and so help me, if those stupid dogs keep him from sleeping...sorry, I'm having murderous thoughts again....Pray for me...

We all got up Sunday and went to church. Sadie did great in the nursery. She didn't even cry when we dropped her off. Finally! Afterwards, Dennis went back to the new house to help my dad finish some things up, and I came home and packed.

Oh yeah, and for everyone that is wondering, I made my Ghiradelli brownies Sunday night.

So, a pretty productive weekend is behind us, and now our week ahead has begun. Moving Week! AAAAGGGGHHHHH! I've been waiting for this week for almost a year now!!!! Dennis has done an amazing job building this house. I'm so proud of him. I can't imagine how proud he must be. Every little thing he did to the house was thought out by him, and it has paid off. Thank you, babe. You are amazing and wonderful, and I'm the luckiest wife in the world!

So, if you fellow bloggers don't hear from me for a while, it's because we're moving, and I'm not sure when our internet will be hooked back up, etc. But, pray that our move goes smoothly!! I can't wait!!!

Mother's Day Weekend Update

Hello Mommies out there! I hope your weekend was as good as mine. Last Mother's Day was such a blur. I had a 2 month old, and I think I just spent it being sleep deprived! This weekend was much better.
My mom went out of town for the weekend, so we celebrated Mother's Day together on Friday. We just ran around town and went to lunch at Avanti Gourmet. Yum! They have the best cheeseburgers in the world! We had ice cream at Maggie Moos. Oh my goodness. I can't get over the "Better Batter" w/ crushed oreos in it. I'm afraid throughout the remainder of my pregnancy, I may gain most of my weight from eating ice cream there. But, I'm so thankful that it came to Hendersonville! My mom got the chocolate better batter w/ crushed brownies. We shared with Sadie and she couldn't decide which one she liked best. She just said "NUM, NUM" the whole time. It was precious.

Friday night, Dennis, Sadie, and I went to Chilis to eat dinner. Saturday, we ran out to my mother-in-law's to give her a Mother's Day gift and have lunch with her. We all sat out on the back porch and ate lunch, and then we rode around the farm with Sadie so that she could see all of the donkeys, etc. She loves it out there, because we spend so much time outside. It was such a beautiful day! Saturday night, we just went and ran some errands and ate dinner at Longhorn. It was pretty gross. We had good service though, so it made the gross food a little more bearable. We had this obnoxious family that sat right behind us. The parents seemed hammered, b/c they were drinking margaritas, and the 2 kids seemed like they had ADD or something. They talked so loud that it seemed as if they were yelling the whole time. Then, we heard that their bill was around $80, and they only tipped the precious waitress $8. Cheapskates! We felt so sorry for her, so we left her a good tip. We tried to go get some ice cream at Maggie Moos, but the line was pretty long, so we opted out of that, which probably worked out for the best, b/c I didn't need Maggie Moos 2 days in a row!

Sunday, we skipped out on church, which I wasn't very happy about, but we kinda had no choice. Sadie didn't wake up until 9:30, so we missed that service. Then, we had to be out in Green Hills for lunch at Nero's Grille w/ Dennis' family, so we couldn't make the 11:00 service either. So, we slept in, drank some coffee, took our time getting ready (which doesn't get to happen very often), and headed to Nero's for lunch. Dennis & Sadie surprised me with some great Mother's Day gifts and some precious cards, along with some fresh picked roses from our rose bushes. It was very sweet, and I felt very special. Anytime Dennis' side of the family gets together w/ ALL of the kids, it's usually madness, but this time, it seemed like more of an organized chaos. The kids all behaved and the food was YUMMY! It was a buffet style set-up, and they had the best french toast I've ever had. The best part was, they had a little bowl of powdered sugar, so you could put as much as you wanted to on your french toast. Let's just say for me, you could barely see the piece of french toast, b/c I piled so much powdered sugar and syrup on it. It did me right! We had our own private room, which was a blessing. It ended up being great.

Cayce, Steele, me, and Sadie. Sadie's trying to take Steele's sippy cup.

Aunt Pam, Travis, Anita, Cole, Mitsi, Grammy, and Sadie.

We went to bed last night talking about how blessed we are to have such a precious little girl. Dennis asked me if I thought other parents enjoyed their kids as much as we enjoy Sadie. I said "I sure hope so". She is definitely the joy of our lives and she brings more happiness to this family than anything else in the world. I am to the point now where I can't wait for little Sawyer to arrive, because I know he will just add to the love in this family. I definitely feel like the luckiest mom in the whole world.

Weekend Update

Whew! This weekend flew by. I hate when that happens, because I love it when Dennis is here all weekend. I look forward to it every week.

Friday night, we went to my Memaw's house for dinner to celebrate my sweet cousin Molly's engagement! I still can't believe she's getting married! It reallly makes me feel old because I can clearly remember when she was born, and now she is getting married next year and graduating from UT this week. Chance and Emma were there too, and it was so great to spend some time with them. Sadie loves them both to pieces. Here are a few pics of the night:

Saturday, we spent the day running errands and getting some things done. Nothing too exciting. Saturday night, we went and got Chilis-to-go and took it to Dennis' grandparent's house and had dinner with them. It was great to sit and spend some quality time with them. His grandad has a blod clot in his leg, and hasn't been able to leave the house for a few days, so hopefully, we brightened his day a bit by bringing Sadie by to visit. We came home and put Sadie down to bed, and then had this fabulous dessert that I had made just for fun. It's one of Dennis' favorites, so we chowed down on that and about made ourselves sick. It's so fun being pregnant!!!!

Sunday, we got up and went to church. Dennis' dad and stepmom came and went with us. They are planning to move here from Tullahoma, so they had a day of house-hunting planned. Church was wonderful, although for some reason, the traffic getting in and out of the parking lot was horrendous. (I'm not complaining though...) We all went and ate outside at Salsaritas, because it was a beautiful day! Then, we took them by our new house to show them the progress. It's just about finished. Yippee!!

My stepdad brought a contract on our house by to go over with us, and we signed it, so I guess you can say that we've sold our house, although it won't close until July, so we have to hold our breath until then. My stepdad said that the people that bought it have been the most difficult people he's ever worked with. The contract was nothing to jump up and down about, so forgive me if I don't sound too excited. For anyone who cares, the whole reason we started building another house was so we could take the money we made off of this one, put the big chunk down on the new one, and lower our mortgage payments to make it more comfortable for me to be able to stay at home with the kiddos. Well, due to the contract we received on this house, we're hardly making anything at all, and our mortgage payment is going to actually go up now. So, our plan did not quite work out as we had hoped, but we're trusting that God is in control. He knows our needs, and we both still fully believe He wants me to be a mommy-at-home, so we're trusting Him to provide the money we'll need every month, etc. Sometimes our plans are not God's plans, and we just have to have faith and trust Him.

But, at least we have a contract, and now we can close on our new house in a couple of weeks and move on!!! Praise the Lord!!!!

Last night, we went to my mother-in-law's for dinner. My little neice was staying there because my poor sis-in-law is in the hospital with kidney stones, or kidney boulders as her doctor described (I feel your pain, sis!). So, we let McHaney and Sadie play for a while. McHaney was all over me. I think she missed her mommy. I thought it was so cute though. I was attempting to "relax" on the lounge out on the back porch, and she was just wallering all over me and laying on me. It was hilarious. I loved it though. What mom doesn't eat it up when those precious kiddos are lovin' on ya???

Our weekend ended with another helping of my dessert and we watched "Rendition" w/ Jake Gyllenhal and Reese Witherspoon, 2 of my favorites. It was a great movie, but extremely confusing. I'm still wondering what happened...

Anyways, God is good. That is what I left my weekend feeling like.

Playdate w/ Olivia and Baby Addy

We went over to my friend Katie's house today who has a newborn, Addy. She's 5 weeks old, and her and Olivia are the same distant apart as Sadie and Sawyer will be, so I wanted to take a sneak peek into their lives to see what I have to "look forward to" in 3 months.

Besides Olivia being extremely jealous of Katie while she's nursing Addy, it seems to be going smoothly. I mean, things are definitely busy around there, but it didn't seem to be as much "madness" as I would've expected with a 17 month old and a newborn. I think you're just much more laid back with your 2nd. You don't run to them the very second they start to cry, you simply don't have the hours every day to just sit on the couch and hold them, and so forth. I'm hoping that Sawyer will be much more independent than Sadie was as a baby. And, I'm praying he'll be a better sleeper. Take a look at a few of the pictures I snapped. They're pretty cute!

Sadie looks awful suspicious in this picture above. But, that's about as close as she would get to Addy.

This is Olivia being a sweet big sister and giving Addy a kiss.This is Olivia trying to teach Sadie to climb from the chair up onto the coffee table. NO, NO Sadie!!!!
I commend Katie so much though, because she's definitely one of those mommies who isn't afraid to just get on out there and go, go, go with 2 babies!! The other day after "My Gym", we took the kids to Red Robin for lunch, and Katie didn't skip a beat. I can only hope I have it together that much to take 2 babies out to lunch all by myself when they are that young. With one, it's no big deal, but with 2, man...you sure have your hands full!!!