it's been a while! [long catch up blog]

I haven't blogged in a while other than my weekly updates. School has started back and OMIWORD it is cahhh-razy! So busy! This is actually the first weekend of "nothing" since school has started back. It's been nice.

Let's see... where do we begin... Since Labor Day weekend...

I painted my belly. LOL

We started our lamaze DVD and we have watched the first three chapters or "classes." I'm so glad we chose to do it this way. We just put on our PJ's and sit on the couch and watch a little at a time each night. We have actually learned a lot so far and I really recommend the video. It's slightly "older" but it is not really "breathing techniques" but more of "what to expect" and some breathing and how to handle the pain and such. We even know all of the signs to look for and when to call the dr. etc. You can watch the first chapter for free on the website. We actually liked that chapter a lot. And we got it for $15 on Amazon!

The big brother finale was fabulous and we enjoyed the bachelor pad finale as well... We have nothing to wath on tv now until Wednesday when Modern Family comes back on! Yes!

We have played many rounds of corn hole in the back yard next door. It's fun and mindless when I get home from work and it is nice to just free my mind for a little while with my family. I even beat mom last week! Oh yeh. and she beat dad for the first time he has ever been beaten since he learned to play. Woohoo! Go mom!

Last weekend we threw a super fun wedding shower on Saturday for Tai and Sean. Mom and Dad and Michael and I hosted it at my parents house. It was super fun and they got lots of great gifts!

we painted mason jars with chalkboard paint for the sangria and margaritas

tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, and balsamic

yes, I cut a million lemons for the center pieces. lol

Then on sunday, we had an AWESOME shower in Burlington. Page and Brenda gave it to us and it was incredible. I don't have many pictures to share, but I am hoping to get some from Brenda and maybe Darvy. So many people came and even traveled from Charlotte and Greenville. It was so nice to see everyone and we got some incredible things. Everyone was SO generous and we could not be any luckier and/or more blessed. I just want to say a million thank yous to everyone involved. It was incredible.

before we left for our shower. (we got michael good shoes on the way) ;)

here is Riley's room when we got home... still not completely unloaded either.

and if you know me... it was clean before long!

After the shower, we went to Babies R Us and got the car seat, stroller, car seat base, pack-n-play and angel care SIDS monitor. This morning in the mail I got our 15% off registry completion coupon for BRU- So, I called and thankfully they let me bring in the receipt and "returned" everything so I could use the coupon. Now we have a gift card for a nice amount to use there on who knows what. We haven't gotten her high chair yet. We're thinking maybe a Christmas present since she doesn't need it right away. And, Michael wants to get her a play yard so she can lay on the floor and "play."

Oh lazy weekends, I love you.

Yesterday after work, I went straight to the mall to use our gift card from pottery barn kids. I got Riley the most ADORABLE set for the beach. I cannot wait for it to make it's debut along with her! Mom and dad were at the mall, so mom stayed with me and dad went home. We left the mall and went to Target so I could use my gift cards and get some of the stuff left on our registry. Well, you know me... she ended up with two more outfits too! :) Her "last" load of laundry before she gets here is in the washer now... we'll see if it is really the last. At target, I got some diapers... just so we have enough to get us through a week. lol. I also went ahead and got some more bottles (for my pumped milk when daddy wants to feed her...), some extra crib sheets, some pack-n-play sheets for the beach house, a bottle dry rack, a dishwasher basket for bottle parts, some more wipes and who knows what else. I managed to use the gift cards and still have a little left over. We will be saving it for diapers most definitely. We didn't end up buying her bouncer. We can't decide if she really needs it. After the Target trip, Mom and I went BACK to the mall... Michael and Dad met us out there because we were all going to go out to dinner. Dad got his watch looked at while I treated myself to some new TOMS (can't wait for them to get here!) I got these. They look much better in person and I needed some "fall" comfy shoes since my flats are killing my feet. My elephant toms are too "summery" and the gray ones can't go with everything considering most of my wardrobe is brown in the fall/winter. :)

Today, we got a lot done around the house. This morning we slept in and made pumpkin pancakes for breakfast. We love to get in the kitchen together. It's always amusing. We went ahead to "triple coupon" weekend at HT and got our groceries. We only saved $27, but we didn't really have a lot of coupons because there weren't many that fit our needs this time. We even got pumpkin spice lattes on the way out! :) When we got home, daddy came over and helped fix our leaking faucets. We also wrote all of our thank you notes from the shower and from gifts we have received lately. I have cleaned out the hall closet, the pantry and under the sink today. It felt so good to get rid of junk we didn't need. Michael cleaned out the coat closet and he is heading to under his bathroom sink next! You may call it nesting, but if you really know me, you know this is pretty much a monthly project in our house... "clean sh** out." LOL. We REALLY need to take on the attic. Yikes! Just don't go up there. Now, I am being lazy and watching Disney channel. I can't believe I will be 35 weeks on Tuesday! That's just 2 weeks away from being full term! I would like to brag for a minute and say that I wore my skinny jeans and an old tank top today with my boots. None of them were maternity, but they were from last fall! Yes, I was thrilled about this. Granted, the skinny jeans were a bit big before, it is still nice to have some more clothes to wear since it was 58 degrees today!

It looks like a torpedo sticking out of my belly! Lol. I'll stop typing now because I can't sit at this computer anymore. Time to finish The Wizards of Waverly Place movie... I'll always be a kid at heart! :)

I'd like to leave you with THIS to make you laugh...

~let go laughing.