Shots from Yesterday: Carolina Livin'

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my baby daddy and most favorite person in the world, Will Brez!

Side bar: It's really no wonder we fell in love. That duck he is clinging to for dear life happens to have the same hair-do as his future wife. 

That is no coincidence. 

Will we have cute babies? I question it. . . . Moving along . . .

He is currently dominating the North Carolina bar exam for the second day in a row! His relief and excitement with finally being done the exam must be the greatest birthday gift of all. 

Will and I went to college in North Carolina and I must say we are still very much in love with the state. The Cheerwine and the barbecue. The rolling hills covered in actual foliage. Four distinct seasons per year. All of the above. I was actually able to run outside for the first time in months since the heat is not stifling in the morning hours like it is you-know-where. (Yeah, it's the equiv of Voldemort.) The people here are actually friendly and helpful. It's like visiting another country.

Will's brother and sister-in-law live here in NC so we were able to stay and visit with them during our trip. They are the best and have the smartest most cutest daughter ever, that just loves her uncle Will. (By the way, sorry in advance for eating all your Cheetos.)

Birthday kisses. 

As my Aunt Jodie Lou would say, "STOP THE MADNESS. I CAN'T TAKE IT."

They have a chicken pen in the back yard, providing not only fresh eggs every day but adorable photo ops. Like I said in my last post, I am in love with f/1.8 and I no I will not apologize for it. 

"Say cheese! . . . No? . . . Okay."

After visiting with the chicks, Will got to check out out the playhouse he painstakingly assembled during our last trip to NC.

"Show me where the black widows are!"

It has a kitchen and a working doorbell and you know you're kind of jealous.

Now I need to stop eating Cheetos and figure out a birthday gift for Will!

Until next time,

T

Lately (7QT)



Getting my act together to join Jen for some random quick takes on my lunch break.

 

1. This is what I've been seeing of my husband lately. The back of his head.  I nap on the couch in the office while he studies. Muy romantico. We cherish this quality time together. It's almost over. Will takes the bar exam in just FOUR DAYS! I have to say, I am so excited for this test to be over with. I cannot wait to get rid of the stress in our home leading up to the exam.

 



Also, prayers please!?

2. To top off the excitement next week, Will's birthday is the second day of the exam. Nothing like 200 Multistate Bar Exam questions to ring in the big 2-7. Am I right? What's really exciting is that we get to celebrate the end of the bar exam with his birthday in Raleigh! I need to plan something positively epic for the occasion. (My end of the bar party consisted of airport Bud Lights and awkward conversations with bar-takers on my flight from Tampa to Fort Lauderdale. So many people didn't get the memo: the first rule of the end of bar party is not to talk about the bar exam!)

3. You may (not) have noticed that I got a new camera lens! A Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens is mine all mine. Our office is actually a bit darker than it appears in these photos. f/1.8 is kind of my new favorite thing. When I finally leave the house to take some pictures, I can't wait to get some new photography posts up.



I may still need to get that whole in-focus thing down, but... baby steps.

4. In case you missed it, this lil' guy (or gal) is hanging out in my belly right now:

We will be ten weeks (double digits!) on Sunday. The story behind we found out is (I think) a little crazy, so if you haven't already, check her out.

Now for a few pregnancy observations/woes . . .

5. Don't touch my belly, weirdo. We told my family that we were expecting just before my Ocean City trip. I knew there was no hiding it and everyone was finding out through the grapevine (aka Aunt Chrissy!!!), so we decided to out our big news. I was like six weeks along, with a baby the size of a blueberry, but that didn't stop many family and non-family members from giving my belly a loving caress. Yep, it's still just fat and bloat my rock hard abs you're feeling, so . . . this is awkward. I think we can all agree that if you are going to take the plunge and go in for the belly rub, you may want to wait until your lady friend is actually showing. Otherwise, a most awkward and uncomfortable experience for all involved.

6. Potatoes are extra delicious during pregnancy. I just want some Trader Joe's tater tots. Don't get me started . . . . Which means my pants don't quite fit right and are very uncomfortable. Forget suit pants and skirts, that zipper ain't going nowhere. Kallah talked me into splurging on a Blanqi (apparently pronounced "blah-n-ky", not "blankey"), even though their website only features photos of super fabulous third trimester ladies wearing them. I was very skeptical (especially with the $70 price tag), but I'm oh so glad I did it. I wear it all day, every day! (Will asked, "Is it okay to wear all the time?") It gives the boobs a nice lift, gives my back and shoulders some much needed support, and smooths and holds up my pants. I got the extra long version in black, and while I probably didn't need the extra fabric on the bottom, I like that I can fold it up for some extra support on my hips. Thanks, Kallah!

7. Finally, I wish to declare my border-line hatred for this Babycenter lady and her unrealistically shapely butt:

Not cool. (Unsubscribe!!!!)

Now go check out Jen's link-up.

A New Brez to Blog

Serious Daisy has some important news to share.

What says, "This is serious business" more than this photo right here?

She finally got her wish. After years and years of dedicated training, I am officially eating for two. All those carb-loading sessions. It's not just for practice anymore. Meet our new addition, Baby Brez!

I guess now I can do the thing where I explain why I haven't updated my blog at all lately. I am TIRED. Boy, am I tired. I had all sorts of elaborate plans for how I would announce our pregnancy on the blog. Daisy's glamour shot was the best we could do. But at least we have outtakes!

I forgot to shut the bathroom door beforehand. And somebody forgot to put the seat down on the toilet.

Hmm... Over here.

Still over here.

THE STORY

Back to the pregnancy! We are just over nine weeks. Now I'd like to take you back to June 9, 2013. My dear sister (this sister: blogged about here, here, and here) calls me one Sunday afternoon to tell me she is pregnant! I was like, "Seriously?" To be honest, I was not expecting this call. Shannon is kind of a practical jokester, but lo and behold, she was serious! And I was SO EXCITED.

I come to find out Shannon was walking on egg shells when she told me the news because she knew Will and I had been trying to get pregnant with no success for a while. I had just finished my first (failed) round of Clomid and was kind of a crazy psycho afterwards. But who cared? Not me! I was ECSTATIC. A baby! A baby that I could kidnap and spoil and not have to face charges for it. God is good!

The next day, the 10th, my dad called and said, "Now we just need to get you pregnant!" (Um, "We?" How do you think this works, Dad?) Anyway, I wasn't entirely receptive to that comment. I was working on it. Sheesh :( sad face. No pressure. The following day, on the 11th, I had a really bad workout. At this point, I had started training for the Marine Corps Marathon, so I set out to do a high intensity circuit workout. Ten minutes in, however, I thought I was going to faint and had to leave the gym and sit down outside to recover. That was weird.

On the 12th, I got home from work and decided that I needed ALL THE CARBS, right that second. I think I ate like half a bag of Tostitos. A party-sized bag of Tostitos. All the carbs. I was P+10 (NFPers know what I'm saying) so I decided to test. I had one last cheap Wondfo pregnancy test so I thought, Why not? I asked Will if he thought it was okay---apparently husbands don't like when you use ten-plus pregnancy tests per month (what's it to ya, anyway? it's just money!)---and he said (paraphrasing), "Fine, whatever, you're weird."

You know where this is going . . . .

I swear I see a line. It's faint. Do you see it? Huh? Huh? Do you see it? Will wasn't sure. It definitely looked different from the dozens of tests I'd taken before. It would be too good to be true. Can it be? Like any good TTCer I had backup digital tests. By the time I dipped the second test, I was sure I saw a line on the Wondfo. "I don't even care what the digital says!" Will teased, “Oh if you don’t care then I’ll just take this!” and picked up the digital and pretended to run away. 

I snapped this photo to send to a friend: "TELL ME YOU SEE IT."

Okay, now looking at it I barely see it, but whatevah.

I was busy squinting at the Wondfo while Will watched the digital test blink . . . blink . . . blink:

Source.
No, I did not have the wherewithal to actually snap a photo of my blinking pregnancy test.

. . . blink . . . blink . . . blink . . .

The thing took forever. But eventually:

Will noticed it change before me. He screamed, "PREGNANT!!??!!" Thereafter was a victory celebration that rivaled the USA men's relay swim team at 2008 Beijing Olympics, but with more jumping up and down and less flexing. Actually, come to think of it, there may have been flexing. 

I made an ugly cry face like Dawson from Dawson’s creek.

 

Will says he made the Home Alone scream face.

I immediately called my sister and told her the news. It was too much. Our due dates are nine days apart.

My dearest niece or nephew on the left. My son or daughter on the right.
COUSINS!

My cup runneth over! (And my mother is absolutely beside herself.)

And now back to my carbs. (Doctor's orders.)

OCMD

Last time I updated the blog, I was but a young, freshfaced twenty-five year old. Now that I am a year older, and that much wiser, the content of this blog will be taken to a whole new level.

Like really short vacation recaps.

 

I rang in the big 2-6 how most do: by celebrating the nuptials of my eighty-two year old grandmother and my brand-new step-grandpa. Keeping it real.

 

I know what you're thinking. Why would an eighty-two year old want to get married? Read the article (yes, a real life news article, we're so famous) here. Spoiler alert: She wanted to set a good example for her grandchildren! Well mission accomplished, grandma. Mission accomplished. 

 

My grandmother chose to have her wedding on July 1, when the whole family gathers in Ocean City, Maryland for our yearly family reunion. It was here in Ocean City where my grandmother met my grandfather (the original, though she did meet step-grandfather here also), and the family has come for July 4 every year ever since.

 

It's kind of chaos among crazy among a catastrophe. We're a very loud bunch.

Three games of cornhole and one game of KanJam.

 

I ditched my husband (who is still studying for the bar exam - 2 weeks left!!!) and made the trip up. Many many steamed crabs, Dumser's milkshakes, and Billy's cheesesteaks were had in his honor, to avenge his absence.

 

Every year we line up our beach chairs on 126th Street, our street (territorial much? yes), to watch the fireworks display. We sing America, the Beautiful, or, at least, the parts we know, the Star-Spangled Banner, and God Bless America. This year we threw in a Hail to the Redskins, just for kicks. Ravens fans tried to drown us out with some kind of song the Ravens sing that is non-specific to the Ravens, who knows---can't say they really have any traditions---well anyway, just as no one puts baby in a corner, no one drowns out a group of 60+ Nolans. It will not be tolerated!

 

 

And, yup, every year is a new t-shirt. We are the coolest fam evah.