Preview

Here is a preview of Sadie's nursery thus far! (I just got an iPhone the other day so I am still learning how to use all the picture editing on it!)  I ordered all the fabric online and my Aunt Phyllis, the wonderful seamstress that she is, has sewn it all together (bedding and curtains). The piece above her bed is part of the fabric used in her bedding and the monogram part I found on Pinterest.  It is cut out of a piece of wood and then I painted it black.  It is still a work in progress but I think it is coming along nicely.  I really, really like it. 

I'll update with more pictures again the more I get done.  

I can't believe Christmas is only a few days away! To say time is flying is an understatement.  10 and a half weeks from this Friday (that is if everything is still going fine) she will be here.  March 9th.  Unbelievable. We are officially on the countdown! 

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!

This is the last week...

This is the last week of my second trimester.  Can we say time has FLOWN by??? It does not feel like I have been pregnant for almost 7 months now.  Things lately have been going really good.  The only time I ever really feel nauseous is if I let myself get hungry (which I try my hardest to never do!) or hot.  I get hungry a lot more often now and even though the temps have been fairly low lately, I rarely ever get hot.  I think my body temp has risen at least 5 degrees ha.  I had my 26 week check up last week, everything went good expect for the fact I failed my 1st glucose test.  This is where they check you for gestational diabetes.  You drink a horrid sugary drink in 5 minutes, sit there for a hour then they draw your blood.  You blood sugar has to be 130 or below and mine was 133. Seriously! I failed by 3 points.  So two days later I went in for the next test.  This test involves an even more horrid sugary drink to be drank in 5 minutes, sit for an hour then have your blood drawn and check it, sit another hour...check...then another hour and check.  That totals up to be 3 hrs of sitting.  Did I mention you can't eat anything from midnight the night before?? I was starving and sick to say the least! Luckily I passed the 1st and 2nd hour screenings so I didn't have to sit for the third.  So all is well.  Now we are just counting down the days until little Miss makes her arrival.  I'm feeling pretty good these days and not too huge yet so I'm comfortable and not rushing this time away.  Once she is here...she is here and sleep is O-V, so I'm not rushing quite yet.  I am in the process of finishing her nursery, I am LOVING it so far.  All the bedding and everything has turned out perfect, exactly how I wanted it. As soon as I get a little more of it done I'll post some pics.
It is also the countdown for CHRISTMAS!! My favorite time of year.  I love giving gifts! The shopping part of it isn't my favorite, especially since I tire out so easily these days and my feet ache horribly.  Oh well! Lots of exciting things coming up in the next few months! Cant wait for all of it :)

No news is Good news

I don't really have any new news to post or anything particularly interesting to post so I'll just ramble a bit.  Dr. Webb always tells me that "no news is good news". I like that. Anywho,  I haven't been sick since my last post THANK GOODNESS.  Well nothing other than the occasional nausea, headache and growing pains (yes, growing pains).  We haven't been doing anything too exciting either.  Last week I went to a friend's, Ashley Lamb Bowles, baby shower.  She is having a baby boy in December! Corbyn Bowles! Can't wait to meet the little man.  Sadie and him will for sure be friends.  I can't wait for them to all play together.  There is a whole group of us, 6 to be exact, that all get together sometimes that are pregnant right now! Ashley (boy, Corbyn) and Kelly (girl, Lakelyn) in December, Brittany (boy, Hunter) in January, Chip and Vanessa (girl, cousin, Eliza), me (girl, Sadie) in March and Courtney (don't know yet!) in April.  Isn't that insane.  All of our husbands are close friends and have "guys night" to watch Sons of Anarchy on Tuesdays.  So it's kind of funny to all of us that it has ended up this way.  It wasn't planned either.  Lots of exciting baby times on the way! Sadie already has so many friends that she doesn't even know yet! Its so comforting knowing that she will grow up with some of my best friends children, Anne Cambria, Danielle's little angel and Molly, Mary Frances' little pumpkin.
Did I mention we are officially over HALF WAY THERE!? Scary.
Oh yeah, at my last appointment he told me that if we hadn't had a baby by March 9th, that's when we'll have her! My official due date it March 11th and he said he was on call that weekend any way, so that is the date.  He said he just has to keep me pregnant for that long, so pray for us that she stays in there that long!
Symptoms as of now:
Food Cravings: none
Food aversions: steak, shrimp (the thought of eating either of those makes me gag)
Weight: none of yo bizness.  It is on track though, not too much, not too little.
Nausea: definitely better but not all gone by any means.  If I get hungry, it is O-V.
Movements: The "flutters" have turned more into "thumps" lately.  I definitely feel them more often now but not a whole, whole lot yet.  I enjoy them :)
Memory: Pregnancy brain is NOT a myth.  It is a real thing.  I have lots of moments where I feel "special".
I just ordered a pizza and cheese sticks and they should be here any moment, so I'm going to sit and wait for them now.  Happy Halloween!!

Stomach Virus

I. HATE. YOU. 


I got the stomach virus Monday afternoon.  I hadn't felt too good all day at work then around 2, it really hit me.  I was writing a report and starting getting extremely queasy.  I stopped and walked to the bathroom, nothing happened so I figured it was the normal pregnancy nausea. Then, it hit me, while I was sitting at my desk.  (I don't need to give any details here) I headed straight home only for the same thing to happen over and over again for about every 30 minutes until 10:15 Monday night.  It was HORRID.  I felt like my body was going into seizures every time I was getting sick.  I called the on call doctor around 8 and he called me in some Phenergan and told me if it didn't work to come up to the hospital for fluids.  Poor Sadie.  I bet she was wondering WTH was going on! Tuesday was recovery day.  I stayed in the bed allllllllllll day long.  Literally.  Today though is a new day! Feel so so so much better! I think I will survive again.

Latest Update

I went to the doctor yesterday for my monthly check up.  We are now at 18 weeks.  I swear this time is flying by! It is unreal.  Everything was great! Couldn't have asked for a better check up.  Her heart, brain, bones, kidneys, bladder everything looked perfect and she is measuring to the day of my due date (March 11th).  Dr. Webb said she is "not too big, not too small, just right" :) Love him.  I also found out that he is on call the weekend of my due date and if I don't go before March 9th, he will take me then! Yippeee! Nothing much else went on, just a "normal ole pregnancy" (Dr.W said) and I am 100% happy with that.

Sadie Lea Tucker

I must say a LOT has happened since my last post.  We found out a week or so ago that this little miracle is a little GIRL!!! Ahh!! I was extremely excited! I have always wanted a little girl.  I want both, but its a special treat to get a little girl first :)  We went to Baby's Kickin to find out.  We don't go to the doctor's office to "find out" until October 11th...me being as impatient as I am just could not wait that long! So I called them up and made an appointment.  I just knew going in it was a boy.  I had been to the doctor the day before and the heart rate was 135-140.  An old wives tale says that lower heart rates are boys (120-150s) and higher are girls (150-170s).  But, I was wrong!

Here are some sonogram pictures from that day....

Look at that little leg!

Arm

Heeyyyy!! We think she is waving to us there. 

She was WILD that day.  She was flipping, flopping, kicking, punching...you name it and she was moving that way.  I wish I could feel it but then again, they told me when I do start feeling, if she stays this active, she will probably end up hurting me! Me and little Sadie might have to start talking about this but for now, we are good.  I expect to feel her any day now though.  Sometimes I feel little flutters but I don't know the difference between her moving and the normal stomach movements.

We had a reveal party that night for family.  Luckily all of our family (except for my dad :( he had to be in Nashville on business, sore subject) was able to come. I think a lot of people were expecting a boy so this was a pleasant surprise! To reveal it to everyone, I got them all to stand outside my parents garage and lifted the door up so at the same time everyone could see this............

Taste: Delicious. Decorations: Not so much

We were so busy visiting with everyone I didn't even take any pictures with anybody.  It was a lot of fun.

We have since bought a crib too! I really love it.

We got the crib and the dresser (not the hutch).

And of course, I already have the bedding picked out! I don't have the fabrics yet but I did buy the swatches.

 

The circle fabric is going to be the outside.  The pink minky dot is going to be the inside.  The bed skirt is the other black and white fabric.  It is pleated with the pink and white stripes on the inside of the pleats.  It is also accented it other places.  I'll upload a picture of the finished product whenever it gets ready, but don't hold your breath.  It'll be a while.  

This is the general idea though

Other updates:

I have been feeling some better.   For about a 4 day stretch a week or so ago I felt wonderful.  No nausea, not too sleepy etc...  But that has since ended.  I have felt nauseous at some point every day.  Yesterday, matter of fact, we went on a tour of Shannon (where I work) to see what type of conditions our students live in.  We took a school bus, big, BIG, mistake.  About half way through the ride I was puking, in the bus, got them to stop it, then flew out the door to continue.  Good times. 

This has all been such an exciting and wonderful experience.  I can't even put it into words.  Miracle, that pretty much sums it up for me.

I think I have updated everything up to this point.  Keep us in your prayers that we will be good parents/providers and little Miss Sadie continues to be healthy and happy. Thank you all :)

So...

Not too much exciting has been going on here lately.  Over the weekend I went to Woodland Furniture to check out the baby furniture.  I just wasn't able to commit quite yet.  That is a big decision and I just wasn't ready.  I know I'll be better prepared to make that decision after SEPTEMBER 20th ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  I don't think it will ever get here!! September 20th at 9:30am.  I plan on waking up, showering, going to get breakfast and drink the largest Dr.Pepper I can find (for 2 reasons: full bladder (TMI I know BUT they said they wanted me to have one :) and caffeine to get little punkin moving!) We don't want a stationary beebee.  We want that little monkey moving! I will sit there all. day. long. if I have to, to make sure I find out what beebee is.
Next week is such an exciting week though, I'm ready to get this week out of the way so next week will bring it.

Want the lay out?? SURE! Why not!

Monday- doctor appt at 3
   *dinner party (I think) that night for one of tt's friends
Tuesday- THE DAY.  Appt at 9:30!! And I'm off work all day. Pumped.
   * reveal party for the family at my parents house
Wednesday- MUCH needed Hair appt at 3
    * New 2 You Consignment Sale at 7
Thursday- Miranda Lambert (jealous??? I would be if it wasn't me)
Friday- it's FRIDAY, never need too much of a reason to get excited about it


Oh, back to this weekend....it's my little mans birthday!! September 17th, he will be 6 years old.  It has been a wonderful but tough at times year. I am so thankful that the medicines have been working and he is doing so much better.  Answered Prayers.  Plain and Simple.

God is Good.
 

Quick Updates

Buster

He is doing soooooooooooooo much better! At this point, I couldn't be any more pleased.  He is getting the shot every 5 days and the arthritis/joint etc... medicine every day and around 1 to 3 pain meds every day (depending on how he is feeling).  The sharp pains he was having happens only a few times a day.  There has even been a day or two that I haven't seen him have any.  Such a blessing that the meds are working.  We are so so so happy for this progress!!!!

Baby T

Baby T seems to be doing just fine.  Every week I grow more and more.  I can't button a pair of pants that I could over a week ago.  Matter of fact- I can't button any pants! HA! Nothing unexpected though. I go for my next appointment on the 19th at 3:00.  Just a normal check up.  The next day though is the big day! Will Baby T be a boy or a girl??? To say I can't wait is an understatement.  We are beyond ready to know. My brother and Vanessa found out they are having a healthy baby girl, Eliza (the name they decided on), last week so they are very excited about that.  I'll have a niece! So many changes going on around here and I can't wait for all of them.

The Rebels.........pretty sure I don't need to make any updates on this subject. Moving on........

Work......it is going right along.  No complaints there.  Since Head Start is back I'll be getting busier and busier in the next few weeks. I love this little ones though, so that's okay. 

I believe that is it! Hope everyone is enjoying this amazing rain, I know I am! 

Happy Labor Day!!

Spondylosis

This is what my little boy/dog has.  Spondylosis.  It is horrible.  I found out in December 2008.  He had been holding his leg up and wouldn't put any pressure on it, so I figured he had pulled a muscle.  BOY WAS I WRONG.  I took him to the vet to get some x-rays on his leg.  They were shocked at what they saw.  They said it was one of the worst spinal x-rays they had ever seen.
They told me he had Spondylosis.  I was blindsided, devastated and heart broken.  Basically, his spinal cord is fusing into one solid bone. He has no movement up and down or back and forth.  It also, almost grows another bone below the spine.  So not only has it fused together, it is a lot larger than it was before.

What is Spondylosis?

Spondylosis, also known as spondylosis deformans in dogs, is a condition where osteophytes grow on the ventral and lateral surfaces of the vertebral bodies. Osteophytes are commonly referred to asbone spurs and are bony projections that can form along joints in the body of a dog. The reason behind the formation is an increase of damaged joint surface area.

The growths are normally found by incident when the vet is examining the dog for some other reason using radiographs.

Normal Spine

Spondylosis Spine

    

Spondylosis, arthritis of the spine

The vet at the time told us the worst case scenario: he would be completely stiff and wouldn't be able to move within a year and I would have to put in down.  My world stopped.  (This hasn't been the case...until now...) The following Spring, he had total knee replacement surgery.  Because of the spondylosis, his nerves do not run good up and down his spinal cord, which in return (from what they told us) caused his knee to "blow out".  At this time, they also told us his bones, especially spinal cord/hips/knees have arthritis.  Just added insult to injury.  He fully recovered from his surgery and was done great.  For the past few years we have been able to manage his pain with pain meds.  They told us whenever we notice that he is having "bad" days to just give him a pill.  This has been going on since Spring 2009.  So far so good...until now.  A few weeks ago we noticed him having sharp pains.  He would sit down very quickly and look at his bad legs.  It lasted for about a week and then went away.  We just upped his pain meds to help his as best we could. 


Where we are today and why I am writing this post: The pain is back and it is worse than ever.  A few nights ago the pain was so bad, he was pretty much running around in circles, heart racing, breathing so hard-he looked like he was literally going crazy.  We figured it was the last of the fusing and hopefully it would be over soon.  My dad talked with a vet in Greenwood who deals with dogs with spondylosis everyday, the news wasn't good.  He said the pain will probably never go away.  He said it just a side effect of the spondylosis.  He said the pain is so severe a human probably wouldn't be able to withstand it.  He gave us some more medication and some shots to give him once a week.  This is our last hope.  Please pray that he isn't enduring too much pain and that it will ease up.  I know some people may find this silly but I LOVE my dog.  He is like my child.  I can't imagine my life without him.  But on the same note, I can not let him live in this extreme pain forever.  Please pray that it eases up and I don't have to put him down.  Any prayers would be so, extremely appreciated.  I know he's "just a dog" but he's my  angel and I love him. Thanks.

First Comes Love....

Then Comes Marriage........

 

Then comes baby in the baby carriage!

Tyler and I are very happy to announce Baby T is on the way!!  

We found out on July 9th but having been trying our hardest to keep it fairly low key until the past few weeks.  We were thrilled when we found out.  This is such an exciting and special time in our lives.   We went to the doctor on July 26th and got the 110% confirmation and heard a heartbeat.  I know its early but hearing that sweet little noise is so special.  I had another doctors appointment today and everything is right on track and looking great!  The heart rate was 160.  I am 11 weeks as of yesterday.  I was 9 1/2 weeks when that sonogram picture above was taken.  Our due date as of now is March 11th, its going to be a spring break baby! (uh oh, Tyler said he/she is never going on Spring Break haha)  I have been feeling okay.  As of right now, I get sick every 2 to 3 hours but if I eat something it usually goes away, so it's been fairly manageable.  Afternoons and nighttime aren't my favorite time of day either.  I'm usually very tired and not feeling 100%.  BUT it hasn't been too bad so I can't really complain!  We are going to find out what "flavor" (as Dr.Webb says)  we are having on September 20th, so only 4 more weeks! That is if baby T decides to cooperate with us on that day, but that's what we are planning on anyway.  

So there are LOTS of exciting things going on around here! We can't wait to meet this little miracle! God is so, so good. 

back to school back to school....

I started back work on August 2nd.  The students came back on August 4th. Much to my surprise, this year has gone extremely smooth so far. (kinda scares me to write that...probably just jinxed myself, tears).  I haven't been able to start seeing kids until today due to schedules constantly changing.  Its hard to make a schedule when their schedules changes.  As of right now I have 15 students in 3rd through 5th grade and 14 in 6th through 10th grade.  Head Start starts back next week so I will begin screening/testing them around the middle of September.  I always pick up anywhere from 5 to 10 of them so my role always goes up, which is fine by me because I absolutely LOVE the Head Start kids.  If I could work with 3-5 year olds everyday I would be in Heaven! That is my favorite age range.  They're still baby sweet.   That's pretty much all the is going on in work right now.  I have other exciting things going on but I'll save those for a later post! Hope everyone is enjoying the end of summer time.  Heres to the cooler temps!


side note- hurricane season is picking up aka- i'm glued to weather.com and the weather channel yiipppeeee

Farewell Summertime....

Oh oh oh oh oh how I will miss you.  I think you go by faster and faster every year...oh wait maybe that's because you get shorter every year!
To me summer means: off work, no school children all day every day, sleeping late, not showering everyday (sad but true), staying up if I want to, going where I want to whatever time of the day I want to, lunch with friends if I please, catching up on lots of random TV shows, cleaning here and there, washing clothes here and there, going out that night if I want to because I don't have anything to do the next day, sitting on the couch all day OR laying out at a pool all day....I could go on and on.  These are just off the top of my head.  All of those reasons plus many more are why I love working in the school system.  No, working in the school system you don't get as paid as much as you could elsewhere but to me, being able to look forward to this all year makes it worth it (I mean within reason, if somebody was going to hire me for a million dollars a year, I would be out of there in a hot second). I know I may not work in the school system forever but for now, I am completely happy.
Next Tuesday is THE day...D-Day as I would like to call it.  Starting off the year with an all day meeting, just how I wanted it, not. Thursday the hellions, sorry I meant, children come back and it's on from then on.  Might as well get ready...because its coming much, much sooner than later.

Beach Trip

Last week Tyler, Chris, Jenna and I all headed to Orange Beach for a long weekend.  We woke up early Thursday morning and headed out.  Once we got there we stopped by the Foley Outlet Malls to look around for a bit.  In my opinion, there were no deals.  Everything we normal priced and there wasn't even a good selection of stuff! I was disappointed.  But I didn't really go down there to shop so it wasn't too big of a deal.  Once we got all of out stuff settled we decided to head out to the beach for the afternoon to just relax.  That night we went to dinner at Bubbas, it was ehhhh.

Headed out to Bubbas

Jenna and Chris

The next day we woke up and headed straight to the beach! We ended up staying until around 4:30 and went to the pool after that.  That night we went to Mikees, which again was a disappointment. Tyler and I have been there multiple times in the past and it is/was our favorite place to eat down there.  We had built it up all day to Chris and Jenna only to be completely let down once we got there! Sad.  The food was over cooked and the service was terrible! Oh well.  Maybe next time!?

The boys got BURNED at the beach that day!

Saturday morning we woke up to a monsoon.  Tyler and Chris were supposed to go play golf but considering it was coming a flood, they decided it wasn't the greatest idea.  We decided to venture back to the outlet malls because my watch had broke the night before and I wanted to see if somewhere there could fix it.  Jenna also needed to pick up something for her sister so off we went! After we got done there we headed back and went to lunch at Live Bait.  It was yum! The weather was still icky so we went back to the condo and hung around and started getting ready for that night.  We decided to go to Cobalt that night for dinner.  I think that was the best decision we made the entire trip.  Everyones food was sooooooooo good!! It was really nice and had a great view.

Had to take a pic! I also had to get a tshirt.  It reminded us
of our little (big) pup at home Cobalt!

Everyone at dinner

Taking pics outside on the pier
I need to learn how to use my camera and get the settings right.
Little bright, huh. 

Back story: So we wanted a pic of the 4 of us outside so I asked this man if he would
take a pic.  He said, "Sure, I shake a lot though".  I thought no big deal. Wrong! He forgot to say
he was also drunk.  So after 2 minutes of showing him how to take a pic, this is what we ended up with.
Great huh. Nothing a little cutting and cropping cant fix.

Sunday we woke up to another monsoon and headed home! By the time we got finished loading the truck everyone, especially Tyler and Chris, were completely soaking wet! It was awful.  It rained almost the first 2 hours of our drive home. But we made safe and sound! I wish we could have had a few more sunny days at the beach but all good things must come to an end.

Speaking of good things coming to an end.....my summer is almost over.  I can not believe that in 2 weeks I will be starting back work! Where did this summer go????!! This week I'll be heading back up to the school to get my classroom ready, its hard to believe it.  I plan on being extremely lazy for the next two weeks to get ready for the year ahead :)

4th of July

For the 4th we went to Pickwick.  It was super super hot! But we all had a really good time.  We left on Friday night so Tyler could do last minute preparations on the boat before we started the weekend.   Saturday we stayed out on the water all day.  That night we went in to eat and then back out to watch the fireworks at Grand Harbor.  They were beautiful! I loooove fireworks.
Sunday we went back out on the water and went to Freddy Ts that night. A great time was had by all!

Happy 4th from the ladies!

All of us heading out to Freddy Ts

We had a lazy day on the actual 4th to end the holiday weekend!

Fun times with Friends

This weekend was quite an enjoyable weekend!  As I have said many times, I always love when I get to hang out with my friends.  We all have such busy, different schedules these days its hard to get all of us together too often. Friday night we went over to Johnny and Danielles house for a cook out.  I got to play with Anne Cambria!  She is one of the cutest and sweetest babies I have ever been around.  Her demeanor is just too precious.  And she is doing yoga now! Downward facing dog.  You can venture over to Danielles blog to see all the precious pics.  We had burgers and hot dogs, dips and I made potato salad.  We had so much fun hanging out with everyone.

Danielle and I

Natty and I

Me, Kory and Danielle

All the girls! Including Mary Frances.....see next pic....

Frances...please do not shoot me for posting this.  Keep in mind she is being induced
Thursday June 23rd, 4 days from now...so she is 9 months pregnant!
And I think you look great considering! I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday I rode in the golf cart with Tyler while him and Chris played golf at Big Oaks.  Tyler had golf lessons Saturday morning and they seemed to help!  He's on the up and up! ha

And now for today....We started off Fathers Day by going to church with my dad and eating lunch with all of my family! Right now, my dad, Chip and Tyler are all playing golf together at the Country Club.  I have been getting texts from my dad fairly regularly telling me he is beating them! Gooo Freddie! I love my sweet deddy (as I call him).
I, on the other hand, spent some time at my moms and am now back home watching the US Open.  I don't normally enjoy watching golf, but watching "history being made" is pretty neat. And Rory McIlory is the one doing it, he is UNREAL.  Currently he is 17 under par on hole #11.  From what I've heard that is the lowest score in US Open history (something like that anyway).  I also watched him during the Masters.  After watching him crumble so hard so fast, I have been rooting for him ever since and to see him doing so unbelievably amazing is awesome.  I love a good comeback story.  GO RORY!!
Tonight we are heading to Tylers parents house to spend Fathers day dinner with him.
I can't believe this summer is going by so fast! I meant it is June 19th! Dear Summer: Please slow down. I am excited for the rest of the summer though.  We'll spend the 4th in Pickwick, as always and head to the beach on July 14th with Jenna and Chris! Pumped.
I hope everyone was able to spend their Fathers Day with their dads and I hope it was wonderful!

Tyler's Birthday Celebrations!

Tyler's birthday was Monday June 13th.  We started off the celebrations by going to Pickwick on Saturday.  We had a pretty big group go as always and had a ton of fun.  We went to dinner that night at Jon's Pier and his parents joined with us.

Megan (Tyler's cousin) and I before we went out

Tyler and I with his parents at dinner

My brother and me!

FIA (as Meg says!)

All the ladies at dinner
Alexandria, Megan, Ms. Debbie, Jenna
Laurie, me and Kate

Happy Birthday Cake!

Cuz luv!

All of us at Freddy Ts after dinner

On his actual birthday we went ate at my parents house for dinner! I don't have any pictures to share from that night but we had a really good dinner and good time.  I would say Tyler had a successful birthday weekend!