The best mother's day gift of all!!

We are all doing great. Tommy and I are on cloud nine and walk around with smiles on our faces all day. She really is a miracle.

She's eating and sleeping well. We've just been relaxing around the house and enjoying all the visitors. I post more soon with a birth story. With 27 hours of labor and 3 hours of pushing, I have a LONG story to write.

Hope everyone has a great mother's day!

21 weeks and Christmas

How far along? 21 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 10 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Yep there is no escaping them now.
Stretch marks? Thank goodness there are none yet
Sleep: Pretty good lately. Tommy bought me a preggie pillow for Christmas and it was really helped me sleep lately. The last two nights I haven't even gotten up to pee once.
Best moment this week: Christmas with the family and the first coat of pink paint on the nursery walls.
Movement: Yep
Food cravings: Still strawberries. On Christmas Eve, Tommy made me the best chocolate covered strawberries I have ever eaten. He's the best husband.
Gender: We definitely have pink walls.
Labor Signs: nope
Belly Button in or out? still in but it's definitely not as deep as it was.
What I miss: getting on the scale and seeing the number go down instead of up...but it's all for a good cause!
What I am looking forward to: finishing up the painting in the nursery so we can put together the crib!
Weekly Wisdom: Wow we only have 4 more months to go.
Milestones: We got most of the nursery furniture in. The hutch is still on backorder. But I'm excited to get it placed it in the room and start setting everything up for our new arrival.


Christmas was nice this year. It started off horrible because Tommy got the swine flu on Wednesday and missed Christmas Eve dinner with my family and Christmas day with my grandparents. But he is much better now and well rested. We went to my parents house on Christmas Eve to quickly open up gifts with them. We didn't stay long because Tommy didn't want to pass on the flu and my uncle was having dinner at his house that night. So Tommy headed home and I went get some gumbo and open more gift. Christmas morning Tommy and I exchanged gifts. I gave him a Craftsman tool chest and a few other small things. He gave me a preggie pillow, some PJs, slippers, a craft organizer, a smoothie maker (for yummy strawberry smoothies) and few other things. We had a great Christmas. Then I went to my grandparents for their HUGE Christmas day lunch. Tommy had to miss out on this too. The food was great and I think everyone had a great time. We had Christmas with Tommy's parents and brothers on Sunday at our house. I really enjoyed having everyone over and using some of my serving dishes and wedding gifts that I don't use very often. It was very fun. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and I can't wait for 2010! I know its going to be a very exciting for us with lots of new surprises.

Christmas Decor

Here is some pictures of some our christmas decor.

The tree

Front door

Ornaments on transom

The entry way

above kitchen cabinets

above another kitchen cabinet

Top of the tree

mantle (with a pink polka-dot stocking for baby girl!)

Merry Christmas to all,

Happy Birthday Tommy!

Happy birthday Tommy! You are such an amazing husband. I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing day because you deserve the best. And just remember you will always be older than me :-)

I love you!

My crippled husband

Last weekend Tommy participated in a Black Pot Cookoff in our home town. We had a great time and he won first place in the pork division!! As part of the prize he won a small black pot filled with local seasoning and items. He decided he wanted to “show off” his prize to the guy at the fire station, so Monday morning he brought the pot with him to work. Well as he was taking it out of his truck and placing it on a table he back went out. We had to use the wall to stand back up. He went to the doctor Tuesday and luckily he said it was just a pulled muscle that was hitting a nerve. I was just happy it wasn’t a herniated disk or something worst that required surgery. Poor thing has been home and in pain all week. The first few days he could barely walk or get up from the couch. It has slowly been getting better. He decided last night to try going to work today. I hope he doesn’t hurt it even more. He’s only 25 years old, I told him he’s going to be crippled and need a walker by the time he’s 30. :-)

He’s off the rest of the weekend and hopefully I can convince him to start looking at baby furniture. He thinks we have to wait until we know the gender before we can pick a crib. I want to get the furniture picked out that way once we know the gender I can go crazy with picking out bedding, decorations, etc!! We have a doctor’s appt on November 6th where we will hear the heartbeat again and schedule our appt for the ultrasound sometime in early December…that’s going to make for a wonderful Christmas. Speaking of the Christmas season, I have been so excited about going shopping on Black Friday. We’ve gone the last 3 or 4 years and I can’t wait to do it again. I already signed up on the Black Friday ads website and I’m waiting to receive email when they post new ads! I hope everyone has a great weekend!! GEAUX TIGERS!

Memorial Day weekend

We had a blast last weekend and enjoyed the long weekend off from work. Friday we worked until early afternoon and then went shopping and out to watch Night at the Museum II. It was great, not quite as good as the first one but still enjoyable. Before the movie we went to Sear's and bought a patio set for our back patio. I've always wanted a casual set and I love the sofa with 2 chairs sets. So this is one we got. I love it (especially since it was on sale)!!

Tommy had to work Saturday so I did more shopping and cleaned the house from top to bottom. Sunday we had a few friends and neighbors over for a crawfish boil. I think everyone had a great time. The crawfish were great and I got to play with 2 twin 6 month old boys. My neighbors daughters had twins in late November and they are so adorable...it definitely gave me baby fever. Anyway, Monday we lounged around and watched Taken which was also a great movie. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would now.

And now Tommy and I are both fighting off a terrible cough. He went to doctor Tuesday and was told he had bronchitis. So I went to the doctor Wednesday and lucky I do not have it also but I have a upper respiratory infection...so I think we're mostly going to recuperate this coming weekend.

Catching up - Part Deux: Mardi Gras

Laissez Les bon Temp Rouler
Show me something mister…

Yuck, That definitely didn’t get us many beads. But we did have a great time at the parades this year. We missed our old hang out spot on the lot that Tommy’s parents owned. But it has been sold so we were forced to claim our territory in a different spot. Needless to say, I think we scared everyone off.

Tommy trying to “do the stanky legg”

The annual slip & slide in the ditch/pond event after the parade

At the after party

Dione’s birthday shot

Everyone had a great time and we can't wait until next year.
Don't forget to check out my catching up - part one posted earlier. Yep, two post in less than 1 hour!

Catching up - part one: Valentines Day & 10K run

Hey everyone! I’m so behind on my blog posting. I like to keep track of holidays and “special” events on the blog and well I have a very special event to tell you about. Tommy and I actually ran a 10K…yep that’s 6.2 miles! We couldn’t speak, and could barely stand after it was over but we finished!! It was the Mardi Gras Mambo on Valentines Day. It was a lot of fun and it felt great to actually finish.
The rest of Valentines Day was even better. I got beautiful roses, some monogrammed wine glasses and a fabulous dinner. Tommy received a heart attack on his bathroom mirror, a new watch, and some chocolates.

Here is a picture of his “heart attack”. I saw it on a website and thought it was something nice I could do for him. I know…I’m cheesy.
We went to dinner at Zea’s and it was amazing. Their food is just awesome. After Zea’s we got ice cream and watched “He’s just not that into you” which is just not that good. I didn’t really like it very much. I was expecting much more since there were numerous great actors in the movie. Oh well, we had a great time and I love my valentine!!

Top 8 of 2008

1. Celebrating our 1st year anniversary. We had a wonderful first year and I can’t wait to celebrate many many more. I am so thankful to have such a loving husband and best friend!
2. Watching Cajun grow up. It’s actually been pretty amazing to watch him go from an 8 lbs little puppy to a 90 lbs HUGE dog that can knock me over when he tries to give me a hug. I love him to death and I don’t know what we would do without him (probably have some landscaping in the back yard) :-)
3. Celebrating weddings, birthdays, child births and holidays with family and friends. We have some the best family and friends and it has been awesome to celebrate life events with everyone this year. We’re so thankful to have such close-knit families.
4. Tennessee. Tommy and I had an amazing time together touring the state and just spending some one on one time with each other. It’s definitely a trip I will never forget.
5. LSU National Championship game (1/7/08). I know that seems like such a long time ago but it actually was in 2008 and I love it!!! Geaux Tigers! We had a great time celebrating in New Orleans with hundreds of thousands of Tiger fans.
6. Crystal Beach. Another vacation that I will probably never forget. It was a great relaxing time with lots of friends that hopefully we can make a tradition. Although, since Ike destroyed Crystal Beach we will have to find a different location.
7. Cruise. Yet another vacation (wow we traveled a lot this year). It was fun to experience Tommy’s first cruise and certainly fun to experience repelling for the first time.
8. Job stability, house, car. I am so thankful that we have not been greatly affected by the economic turndown. I’m grateful to still have my job and still be able to pay our mortgage and both have good vehicles to get us to and from work. Everyday it seems like the economy just gets worse and worse so we are so appreciative to still have everything we’ve ever wanted!

I hope your 2008 was great and that 2009 only brings even more happiness!

Christmas 2008

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. It's hard to believe it's already over. We had a very busy few days and enjoyed visiting with all of our family. Last Saturday we had Christmas with Tommy's brother since we was working Christmas day. Then we spent Christmas Eve cooking at our house then eating at my Aunt & Uncle’s house. My dad actually took a visit to the ER Christmas Eve for a staf infection in his leg. He broke his ankle about 4 years ago and has been battling an infection in that leg ever since. But luckily it wasn't anything too major and he was able to go home with a few antibiotics. Christmas day was a little better. We went to my grandparent’s house which is absolutely crazy every year. We have a 50-60 people there with tons and tons of food. We eat everything from teal to geese to meat pies. Anything that my uncle has killed and my grandma has in the freezer is laid on the table. It’s great. After lunch we find a little spot on the floor in the living room and grandpa plays Santa Clause and hands out the hundreds of gifts under the tree. I remember how excited I used to be when I was little to hurry and eat lunch so we could open gifts. Now I just like to see the kid’s faces as they open their gifts. After my grandparents Christmas we headed to Tommy's parents for a little while to open gifts with them. Then we headed to my parents to drop off some food and check to see how my dad was doing. After all of that we headed home and fell asleep. Friday we went to movies to watch Marley & Me. It was pretty good movie. I thought it was going to be a comedy but I laughed and cried throughout the whole thing. It was a good family show. Below are a few pics from my grandparent’s house:

Grandpa as Santa Claus

Tommy sooo excited for gifts

The sea of presents

Aunt Monica so excited for gifts

Grandpa and grandma amongst the sea of presents

Some of the kids finding their spot in the living room.

Uncle Matt and the baby dolls.

Merry Christmas!

I know it's a day late but I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year!

So much to do and so little time

I think it just hit me this weekend that Christmas is THIS THURSDAY! I think I finished my Christmas shopping over the weekend. I even got all of Tommy’s stocking stuffers. And I even have everything wrapped. But for some reason it seems like I forgot something. I don’t who it is but I think I left someone off of the list. I’ve been going through both families and I can’t figure it out. Oh well, I’m probably stressing over nothing. But for now I need to worry about making all of the goodies for Christmas. I’m making cheesecakes bites with a praline sauce to go on top, a chocolate meringue pie, oreo truffles, cornbread dressing, and rice dressing. I actually need to have all of this made for Christmas Eve and I have to work Monday and Tuesday. Not to mention that we’re going out to dinner for a friends birthday Monday night. Wow, I need to get busy. At least I have all of the grocery shopping done. Now it’s just a matter of cooking everything.

Here’s the recipe for EASY oreo truffles in case any of you are interested:
1 pkg Oreo cookies, finely crushed
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
Semi-Sweet chocolate chips (Or Andes mint chocolate chips)

Mix 3 cups of cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 1-inch balls
Freeze for a few minutes to harden
Dip in melted chocolate chips and place on waxed paper. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs or Christmas sprinkles.
Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.

You can do a lot of different twist with this recipe. You can use white chocolate or mint chocolate in place of the semi-sweet chocolate chips. Or even try using the mint oreo cookies.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It's Snowing!!!

South Louisiana...and I have 2-3" of snow in my yard :-)
I'm off to build a snowman. I'll post pictures later.

Halloween 2008

I know its late for Halloween but I'm just getting around to doing a post about it. Tommy's brother had an engagement party the weekend before Halloween so we dressed up for that. I was Monica Lewinsky with the blue dress with the white stain. And Tommy was Bill Clinton in a suit with a cigar in his mouth. Everyone had a good laugh. We had a great time. For Halloween night we were in Tennessee so we didn't dress up but we saw some pretty strange people in Chattanooga that night. I'll have to write a seperate post about our Tennessee trip. It was amazing. For now, here's pictures of Halloween. Enjoy!

Me, Tommy, his two brothers and future sister-in-law

Priest and pregnant nun

The whole crew. We had a saints player and referee, Fred & Wilma Flinstone, a french maid, little red riding hood and the big bad wolf, Al & Peggy Bundy, Monica & Bill, the preist and the nun, and I'm not sure what the girl in the blue dress was. (And snow white was there but she must have been taking the picture)

Have a great day!

Happy 1st anniversary

"We don't choose to marry the person we can live with, we choose the person we can't live without. We take the good with the bad because we can't imagine living one minute without them."

That quote pretty much sums it all up. Tommy has been an amazing husband and I couldn't imagine not having him in my life. This past year has been incredible. From the wedding and honeymoon to the vacations and cook-offs, we have had a great time standing next to each other and experiencing life hand-in-hand. I love this man with all of my heart. He is everything I ever dreamed of as a little girl and more. He has made so many of my dreams come true. To my wonderful husband – I love you more than words can describe!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Soon to Be Halloween!!

Birthday weekend

My birthday was last Saturday, June 28th and I had a really great weekend. Tommy had to work Friday during the day and all day Sunday. But Friday night we went play putt putt golf (which we did on our first date) and then we went to Sonic (which we did on our first date)! So we sort of recreated our first date together. It was really fun. Saturday we cut grass in the pouring the rain and had a crawfish boil with our family and friends. It was alot of fun. Tommy gave me some landscape lighting for our front yard. Hopefully we can put it up this week. My mom gave me a decorative planter, a rolling ice chest, and something else that she has to wait for my dad to give to me. My dad and my sister didn't come to the crawfish boil. My sister had a softball tournament in Baton Rouge that weekend and her games ran late so they stayed in Baton Rouge from 9:30 saturday morning until midnight. I was pretty bummed that they couldn't come.

This weekend should be alot of fun also. Tommy and I are going to Tunica Falls to go hiking and see waterfalls. Then we're going to spend the night in Baton Rouge and go to Bass Pro, Cabela's, and maybe the outlet mall. It should be alot of fun. If it rains on Friday we may end up going to New Orleans instead of Tunica Falls. Either way it will be fun. And then next weekend is Toledo Bend!! I'm so excited. We go to Toledo Bend every year with the Dupre family and it's always so much fun. We have about 30-40 people staying in one huge lodge and people sleeping everywhere...it always makes for a good time. I'll post updates (with pictures of course) of our traveling adventures.