More little randoms

this is my family text chain. my sister has turned into a redneck.

i made these for Holden's Halloween snack. They are the easiest thing ever. Cut a mozzarella stick into thirds. Slice the bottom 2/3 of the way up. Use a knife to create the brooms. Tie with a chive. Stick a pretzel stick in and call it a day.

This has happened twice in the past week. Cleaning up glass on a slate floor with two children and two dogs running around is impossible. Thank you for my mom for coming over to watch the babies while I got all of this cleaned up. Two days in a row. We are sticking to stainless bowls from now on.

My mother-in-law sent me this pic of my sweet girl. I think she looks adorable and scared while hugging her daddy's childhood stuffed animal.

Speaking of Indiana. My grandpa's long term girlfriend, Susan, is a cosmetologist and took us to a shop where she can get products at wholesale. I recently gave up on purology products because they are soo expensive but I jumped at the chance to purchase a 1/2 gallon bottle of conditioner for $45! It retails for at least $120. 

This finally came in. I have been waiting since I ordered it the day it came out. lovely.

I joined some friends a a brewery and was so excited that they had some type of non-alcholic drink on tap. This beet infused kombucha was lovely (and yes, I know it has trace amounts of alcohol in it).

My kids are obsessed with mickey. He loves to watch disney jr on our iphones. I am loving his chunky monkey thighs!

i may or may not take screenshots of the cute pictures my kids' preschool teacher posts on shutterfly because I'm too lazy to download them...

such a little man

pots and pans are our favorite...

mommy would appreciate it if someone stopped blowing out his diaper on his pants. thanks!

Trunk or Treat

A few weeks ago we headed to the babies' preschool for a little trunk or treat. It was the COLDEST day of year and Charlotte was the coldest city in the country. Brrr. The babies' handled it pretty well and after the initial shock of seeing everyone in costume, they had some fun running from trunk to trunk.

my mom teaches at this preschool and was dressed as a witch. of course, emma cate didn't mind at all and wanted to hang out with her all night.

drink break

pic stitching is the best way to get my two together!

Work, Life, and Stains Randoms

I don't talk about work a lot on here but I am a computer and business teacher at a private middle school. I teach 6-8 grade, 6 classes a day. Last year I co-wrote a grant for a 3D printer. The printer arrived, we never got it work so we passed it along to our feeder high school. I created a new class this year based around using the 3d printer and had to rewrite an entire curriculum when we learned we would not be able to use the printer. Our PTO has graciously agreed to buy a nicer, better, 3d printer to keep in my computer lab. I got to miss school to take a tour of a 3D printing facility right outside of Charlotte to learn more about the product before we purchased. Here are some cool prototypes that the new printer can print. I'm excited about the fashion possibilities and engaging girls in 3d design to create jewlery and other "girlie" items they'd be interested in. I love when I can get girls interested in technology!

Stains. Yáll (PS- I have no idea why my apostrophe won't work with the a key... driving me crazy) my kids come home with huge stains every day. I didn't even pack raspberries but somehow Emma Cate came home covered in them. Oxy Clean is not working for me at all. Shout seems to do pretty well. What is your stain remover of choice?

Cuddles. This happened a while ago but I'm just now posting. I was taking a little rest break and this little booger climbed right in and made herself comfy. 

Lastly, this bounce house is their most favorite thing ever. We are still in the process of making the man-cave a playroom and they are having so much fun with all of their toys inside. 

Gigi and Taters

The love between these two is crazy. More than a mommy's girl, Emma Cate is definitely a Gigi's girl. She cries when she leaves and lets out the biggest squeal when Gigi comes in her room in the morning to get her ready for preschool. It's so fun to watch this relationship develop!

Girl's Weekend

I have like a million posts I need to catch up on so hopefully today I can get them written! Here's the first, Girls Weekend.

My middle sister, Allie, got engaged a few weeks ago and is planning a September wedding in Asheville. A few weekends ago we decided a little girls getaway was in order and my mom, sister, and I headed to Asheville for the night. We missed my youngest sister, Bo, but she had to work and couldn't attend. We spent a lot of the weekend eating, shopping, and trying to cross of some wedding stuff!

We arrived Saturday afternoon and enjoyed lunch at Tupelo Honey. It's one of our Asheville favorites! Remember to call about an hour before you plan to get there. They take call ahead seating and it brings the wait time down tremendously!

I can't believe that these are the only pictures I took of this weekend! Anyhow, after lunch, we visited Short Street Cakes for a tasting and enjoyed their yummy cupcakes. We headed up the mountain to Claxton Farms so that I could see the venue where Allie is getting married. It is beautiful and the view is amazing. She is going to have the BEST wedding pictures. We headed back to the hotel for a little rest before hitting the J.Crew Warehouse sale in Arden. The sale was semi-fun. I'm not much of a clearance shopper. Marshalls and TJ maxx give me anxiety. I need things laid out nicely. The warehouse is rows and rows of boxes. After an hour of so of digging we called it a night. I walked away with three sweaters and a pair of shoes. If you are in the market for shoes and have some time to dig, I highly suggest going to this sale. All the tall boots were $60 (some were originally $360!). 

We also hit up the Clearance Store next door and that's where I really scored big. I got two pairs of maternity pixie pants for $15 each. I grabbed a sweater with adorable elbow patches for $12 and a ruffle collar sweatshirt for $18. Great deals on items that were still in the stores for full price! I think next time I'll skip the warehouse and head straight for the clearance store, where everything is on hangers and nicely organized but still great prices!

sale madness

We headed back to downtown Asheville for dinner at Lexington Avenue Brewery or LAB. The food was yum. The few sips of beer I had were good. I've never had a non-carbonated beer before but the one they serve was really good. We called it a night early and headed back to the hotel.

We had breakfast at Early Girl Eatery and it was soooo yummy. I highly recommend. The service was amazing too! After breakfast we headed home to see the munchkins!

Allie and Me

shameless selfies

Glad to be home and back with these two!

Naming Baby #3

We were so excited to learn we were having a boy! (Jay seriously thinks I have some psychic power now that I've correctly guessed the sex of all three of our children).  Luckily, when we were pregnant with the twins we picked out two boy names we loved and two girl names we loved before confirming that they were indeed a boy and a girl. We really liked the boy names equally, both were named after our Grandfathers. When we learned Jay's Grandfather wasn't doing well health wise, we decided to go with Caviness Holden (Caviness is Jay's Grandfather's last name). This time around we knew that this boy would be named for my Grandfather. Unfortunately, like last time, my Grandfather is not in good health and I say my prayers that he makes it until baby #3's birth. We've chosen to honor him when we choose a name for baby #3.

NOW, here is my dilemma. The name that we really like and are going to call baby #3 is Shepherd (or Shep for short). The name we choose to honor my Grandfather is Arthur (my Grandpa's first name). We really liked Shepherd Arthur however, with our last name, his initials would be SAC. As soon as we tell people the name and they realize what the initials spell they die laughing. I know some of yáll think this is the goofiest thing in the world that I would care about this BUT as a middle school teacher I see kids get teased for EVERYTHING and I wonder how crappy that would be of me to hand the other kids the ammunition. (I have visions of my kid being called b@llsac). We've thought about changing the name around the Arthur Shepherd, which is what he did with Holden. I know it can get confusing going by your middle name.

The names are definitely set and we will for sure call him Shep but what do you think about the order? Should we go with SAC or ASC?

Thanks for your help!!!

tiny baby Shep. he's wayyy bigger now.

Its a BOY!

We're so excited to announce that a sweet baby boy will be joining our family in April!

We had our gender reveal this past Saturday. We decided to keep it extremely simple, unlike last time. I think simple is the plan for baby #3. After an extremely eventful pregnancy last time, we WELCOME simplicity and normalcy!

We've had an incredibly busy week and we knew that we would not be able to pull anything extravagant. With Jay in graduate school 3 nights a week, me coaching 3 nights and tutoring after school and having a competition Saturday morning, we are working on keeping this year simple and just spending time enjoying our family when we can.

Both of our parents, my sister, and Jay's grandmother came over for Jay's chili and baked potatoes and some Whole Foods (my fav) cake. I got home just in time for the reveal and had to make sure that no one was outside when I pulled up with my car full of balloons. Jay and I quickly wrapped up the balloons in a box and the twins opened the box to reveal the baby's gender. We found out on Friday at our ultrasound and kept the secret for the day until our family arrived.

My mom took all of the pictures so I'll have to update this post when I get a hold of her camera but until then, he's what we've got!

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Baby #3 Week 17

Oh my goodness morning sickness! I'm behind on posting week 16 because we had an emergency in our family last week. On Wednesday, we learned that my Grandfather in Indiana (the one we went to visit in Florida last spring break) was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. My mom and I hopped in the car and headed up to Indy on Thursday morning. It was soooo tough not being with my babies for their first time actually trick or treating but thanks to facetime, videos, and pictures I was able to participate! Big thanks for my sisters for going out with the twins, Jay, and his mom.  

We learned on Friday morning that my Grandfather's diagnosis was not accurate and further tests proved that he has mesothelioma, a terminal cancer of the lungs caused by asbestos exposure. It was a sad day for all but I'm glad I was there for support and to spend the weekend with my mom and her siblings and listening to my Grandfather's stories. We are praying that he is able to leave the hospital tomorrow and that he is able to travel to Florida for the winter at the beginning of December. Please keep my family in your prayers. 

I returned home Sunday night and was eager for my doctor's appointment on Monday. We learned that baby #3 is doing well and has a heartbeat of 155 at 16w4d. We're so excited to learn the gender today! This week has been rough with the morning sickness. I caught a cold in Indiana (I blame those ucky hotel rooms) and have woken up with a horrible cough that brings on the morning sickness. I'm ready for that to be OVER!

This week has been busy with cheerleading and our annual cheer sleepover (I got 4 hours of sleep on Wednesday night!). Lots of fun but also made me miss the twins a TON! Can't wait for the weekend to hang out! 

holden checking out baby #3

Pregnancy Highlights:

Today's Date: Friday, November 8, 2013

How Far Along: 17 weeks

Size of baby: Onion 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I am at a standstill and haven't gained any weight. My doctor told me to give it until 20 weeks and at that point they would talk with me about using the 200 calorie shakes. This makes me crazy. I am not a "skinny" person by any means and was overweight when I got pregnant both times. Losing weight has always been difficult for me. My appetite is non-existent and I don't understand why at a time in my life when I am supposed to gain weight, I don't. My biggest concern is a tiny baby. I know the twins were preemies and thus had low birth weights but I am fighting for this baby to be big and full term! It will certainly making nursing easier! 

Maternity Clothes: Yes in pants, no in tops. I'm really not showing at all. I get a little bigger towards the end of the day (or lazy about sucking in). It amazes me that with a singleton, I'm almost halfway there and you can't really tell!

Gender: We know! We'll reveal the gender tomorrow at our gender reveal get together

Movement:  I've felt some little pitter-patters every now and then but am looking forward to the big movements

Sleep: The hotel was miserable so my sleep was awful and I'm trying to catch back up. I'm still able to sleep through the night without waking up to potty and I'm treasuring that!

What I miss: Sleep this week and wine! 

Cravings: Nothing really :(

Symptoms: Bit of morning sickness/queasiness, breast tenderness has subsided. My hair is doing some weird wavy things close to my scalp and I think I'm going to have to break out the flat iron to tame it. 

Best Moment this week: Hearing baby's heartbeat. It is so nerve wracking waiting a month between doctor's visits  Its so easy for your mind to go to scary places. I love visiting the doctor and hearing my little baby on the doppler. 

Baby's now the size of an onion!
Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. His umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes now feature one-of-a-kind prints.

Christmas Bucket List

I thought it would be fun to put together a little Christmas in the Charlotte bucket list. Normally I wouldn't do this until after Thanksgiving but so many of these events start before Christmas. This list is not complete at all! Please let me know if you have any fun activities your family does around Charlotte at Christmas time.

SouthPark Christmas Tree Lighting
Turkey Trot 5K
Founders Hall Bearstein Bear Orchestra
SouthPark pictures with Santa
WBT Holiday on Ice Skating Rink
Singing Christmas Tree
Fourth Ward Holiday Home Tour (GNO!)
Boyd Mountain Christmas Tree Farm (seriously the BEST place to go cut down your tree. Make stop at the yummy Asheville restaurants on your way home!)

Nature Museum

A few weeks ago we took the babies to the nature museum on a rainy Saturday. We had soooo much fun! A lot of family members have been asking what to get the babies for Christmas and instead of tons of toys and clothes we have asked for a yearly membership to this museum as well as Discovery Place. I love doing experience things with the kids and this will get even better as they grow. 

The museum was almost empty and the babies had a blast running around and exploring. Emma Cate LOVED the puzzle play area at the end and Holden's favorite part was walking over the wooden bridge.

One of my favorite pictures of my little explorers!

I've got lots of cutest bugs!

They LOVED the water table. I loved that they didn't get soaked!

the playground area was the perfect size for these little babies and they had so much fun crawling through the tunnels and going down the slide.

love this picture of EC looking out of the bubble in the play place

pretty classic nose smoosh