Breakthrough

I meant to post this entry last week, but things have been so busy I couldn't find the time to sit down and compose without it being all over the place.

Last week I had a breakthrough.  Seriously, it hit me at 10:30 last Sunday night.  I'm embarrassed to say that it hasn't hit me sooner than now.  After getting my feelings hurt for the upteenth time by someone close to me, this Maya Angelou quote hit me:

"Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option."

I've read this quote several times before, and I know I probably have it pinned on my quotes board on Pinterest, but I've never really thought about it until now.  So simple, yet so true.  Why make someone so important in your life when the feelings aren't returned?  I'm not going to publicly bash anybody on here (as much as I kinda want to), because in the long run it's not worth it.  I will say; however, that there are people in my life that I have made a priority over and over again, and in return I've only been treated as an option.  And you know, I'm sure there are people that feel that way about me as well.  I apologize for that. 

I'm done.....for real.  I'm done with the hurt feelings/anger/bitterness over these unfulfilled relationships and friendships.  I'm not saying that I won't be there for you; if you need me I'll be there.  But the bending over backwards to please, and the lack of self-reciprocation I'm over.  I, from the point on, will no longer make someone a priority when I am only an option to them. 

I have to conclude this blog by saying that I am very blessed to have the good friendships that I have. This post isn't about bashing anyone, or feeling sorry for myself, and I really hope it didn't come across that way.  It's about growing up, and realizing (like one of my best friends, Natalie has always said): "Who's going to be there when the limo breaks down and you have to ride the Greyhound."  Hahah.  I've always loved that example.  Or, who's going to answer the phone in your hour of need, whether it's 3 pm or 3 am.  Those friendships/relationships are my priority.  

Thanks for listening, dear reader.  Enjoy your day!

~LL

Updates

Aaron and I have already started this day out by being incredibly lazy, and still in our pj's at 10:30 AM.  Oh well.  Yesterday was crazy.  I was up by 6:30 that morning and we were out of the door by 7:30 to get to Aaron's eye doc appointment at 8:30.  Never again.  And when I say never again, I mean never again will I make an appointment that early in the AM an hour away thinking it's going to cut our wait time in half at the Doc.  Not true!  We arrived a little before 8:30 and did not walk out of that place until 10:30.  I'm sorry, I know that's pretty standard at the eye doctor, but I think it's a little crazy.  An hour and a half out of those 2 hours we were waiting.  I thought by scheduling the first appointment of the day we would be able to get out of there sooner, but that's not the case.  I really don't think there's any way of getting out of there in less than two hours, no matter what time your appointment is.  Oh well, it's over and Aaron's not due to go back until January.  And next time, Adam's making that trip!

In other news, the royal baby was born yesterday and it's a boy!!  I must say, I was surprised by two things:
1) I was convinced that Kate was having a girl.  Convinced.  However, I am very happy for her and William and cannot wait to see this little royal prince.  I'm sure he's beautiful.  I imagine a head full of beautiful, dark hair- like his mom. 
2) How is it that Kate gave birth to an 8 pound baby and looked like she was maybe 5 months pregnant when she gave birth??  Call it good genes, I guess.  I'm impressed.  I'm A LOT bigger than her in my seventh month of pregnancy than she was in her ninth month.  She's gorge.  Also, in every picture we've seen of her during pregnancy, she was always covered up and dressed very conservatively.  I'm sure she was not shopping at Old Navy, and wearing flip-flops and stretchy leggings on the daily.  And, I'm also sure that she will be back to her awesome pre-preg bod by the time People has the royal fam featured on their cover.  Mark my words.

Last weekend we celebrated my mom's birthday.  She turned 52.  I pray I look as good as she does some 20 years down the road!  We enjoyed hanging out with family all weekend, and eating tons of good food and cookie cake (nom nom nom).  I've blogged about my mom and how special she is before, so I'll just link that entry up in case you want to read.  She's awesome and such an inspiration to me and I just adore her.  Hope you had a wonderful birthday, Mama!

There's been another trailer released for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and my dorkometer is going crazy.  I.Heart.Peeta.  Here it is if you want to watch:

We can't forget Finnick!!  Especially since we're totally best friends with him in real life! (Sorry this joke will never get old, y'all.)  I think next to the birth of our second kid, this movie coming out is the next best thing about 2013.  There, I said it. 

One last thing: my dear friend Katie sent this pin to me last night, and I think it speaks volumes.  Katie Anne- you know me so well, my dear!

Enjoy your Tuesday!  Gotta go hit up the grocery store- life is so exciting! ;)

~LL

Gotta get down for Friday!

Happy Friday!  I logged on all geared up to write, and am now yawning and aching to lay down.  Hello, pregnancy!

 Today has been productive thus far so I don't feel too bad for the laziness.  The key to productivity in my case is sleep.  Lack of sleep pre-pregnancy was not nearly as bad as it is now.  Wednesday night I tossed and turned.  I might have gotten 3 hours of rest.  I ended up turning on the TV at 4:30 AM, and watching Pleasantville on HBO until I got sleepy again.....which wasn't until an hour later.  By the time I finally fell into some good sleep, it was 7 AM and Aaron was up and crawling into the bed with me.  Nothing like your 3 year old alarm clock!  "Mommy, let's get up.  What's for breakfast?  I want a pop tart.  Can I watch Umi Zoomi?"  All of these questions (and more) were asked within 5 minutes of each other at 7:15.  Too bad I'm grossed-out by a cup of hot coffee at the moment.  And the thing is, yesterday didn't start out so bad; a friend of mine came over and brought her adorable son over for a play date with Aaron, and they had a great time.  It was after they left that my mood went south, and I became evil.  Aaron, demanding chicken nuggets, a hot dog, and mac and cheese for lunch (before anybody judges us, we do, in fact eat our fruits and veggies, I promise), Sophie puking on our newly "Stanley-Steemed" couch, and the fact that my heartburn was seriously still off the chain after I had already popped four Tum's.  Once I finally got everybody fed, dog puke cleaned, and heartburn under control, I put Aaron down for a nap.  Lo and behold, it's quiet and DING DONG- the freakin' doorbell rings.  Are you serious?  UPS.  And Sophie goes crazy.  Luckily, Aaron wasn't too fazed by this because he was sound asleep.  Y'all, I swear it wasn't even 30 minutes later that the doorbell rang again and it was FedEX (we're obviously doing a lot of online shopping right now).  I think steam came out of my ears at this point.  I finally scribbled a note on the back of an old envelope that said "Please do not ring the doorbell or knock on the door.  Child asleep." and taped it to the front door.  As bitchy as that is, I really don't care.  Nap time is sacred.  And essential for my sanity.  Luckily, my prenatal massage was yesterday, and it could not have come at a better time.  After an hour of peace and pampering, I slithered off of that massage table with a new attitude. 

I really do feel bad for being a raging lunatic at times.  I think (or at least I'm hoping) it's all these hormones plus baby girl's extra hormones making me crazy.  Pregnancy was much easier the first time around.  The only person I had to look after was myself, and I could sleep/eat/lay down as much as I wanted to.  I truly enjoyed being pregnant.  This go-round has been different.  BUT with all of that being said.....I'm finally in the home stretch and I'm going to enjoy these last couple of months being a family of 3 before we expand.  Before I know it, I'll be up to my ears in dirty diapers, bottles, and spit-up.  So sexy!!

My mom, sister, and I are heading to Senoia tomorrow to shop and eat.  I'm pumped.  I would not be lying if I said that I am fully prepared to stalk any Walking Dead cast member- especially Norman Reedus.

Hellur!  via

Simple Things

Aaron and I went to my friend, Michelle's, house for a play date and lunch today.  She has two awesome kids, and although they're older than Aaron, they always take the time to play so sweetly with him.  Aaron, of course, is dying to be a big boy, so playing with the older kids is so exciting to him.  Michelle is a super mom; she's actually one of the best moms I've ever known.  It's evident in how sweet and well-mannered her children are.  I can only hope Aaron and Harper are as lovely as Ryan and Anna are!  Every time we hang out, I'm constantly taking mental notes on everything she does.  And the thing is, Michelle doesn't even realize how amazing she is.  That's what blows my mind.  I can only hope that I'm half of what she is!  Today I asked her, "What do I do to make sure Aaron is as great of a kid as Ryan and Anna are?"  Her response, "All you can do is your best.  They will be who they're going to be."  Just as simple as that.  We, as parents, put a lot of pressure on ourselves trying to raise the perfect child.  How many times do I have to remind myself that no child is perfect?  As a matter of fact, no one is perfect!  Simply, all you do is your best.  With the constant exposure to parenting blogs, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. you feel the need to make your life like a fairy tale where every day is perfect/magical/amazing.  That's just not true.  That's not the real world.  You love your kids,  love your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend,  love your family, and go to bed at night knowing you did your best.  Wish somebody had given me this advice years ago!  Thanks again for a great morning, Michelle.  You're the best, my friend. ;)


I totally started this blog entry 6 hours ago while Aaron was napping, and saved it so I could finish it later.  Only thing is, I've lost my train of thought due to pregnancy brain.  We ended up hitting up a friend's pool for the afternoon, and didn't get home until dinner time.  I'm so excited because I have a prenatal massage scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.  (Thank you Nat, Jess, & Amy for the birthday present!)   I can only count on one hand the number of massages I've had (sad, isn't it), but out of the 4 massages that I've had in my entire life, the prenatal massage I had when I was pregnant with Aaron was by far the best.  So.Pumped.  I might just slide right off that table when my hour is over. 

I'll leave you with this new Dior ad featuring Rpatz.  Is it just me, or is he so much hotter since he and KStew finally called it quits?  Love him.

via

Nighty-night.

~LL

I can't believe summer's halfway over!

After my rant the other day, I found out late yesterday afternoon that I passed my glucose test.  Woot!  I was totally under the impression that they were going to call me with the results, and when I hadn't heard from them by 3 pm yesterday, I called them.  Turns out, if the test had been abnormal they would have called me.  I guess in this case no news= good news.  As selfish as this sounds, I was thrilled that I didn't have to give up my sweets (doughnuts, cheesecake, oatmeal cream pies, ice cream, etc).  Now just to reign it all in.....another story for another day.

All of Harper's bedding has come in, and my mom helped me put it all together in her crib this morning.  Y'all, I love it!  I would post a pic, but I want her room to be a little more prepared before I start posting pics.  The only thing that's ready right now is her crib.  We still have a lot of work to do, but hey- at least it's getting underway.  I absolutely cannot wait to see her sweet face asleep in that bed......only 12 weeks left!!

I'm still in shock over Cory Monteith's death.  Adam let me sleep in Sunday morning, and as soon as I picked up my phone, I saw a notification from US Weekly (of course since I'm totally celebrity-obsessed that app is probably my fave) that read: Cory Monteith: Dead at 31.  I could not believe it.  Even Adam was shocked as Glee used to be one of our favorite shows.  I knew that he had his issues; that he went to rehab for a month earlier this year, but with so many celebrities going to rehab all the time, using and abusing it (Lindsay Lohan), I just assumed "Oh, he's alright.  It's the celebrity thing to do."  Judging from all of the articles that I've read about him over the last couple of days, he's been battling this illness for quite some time.  Of course, the autopsy details haven't been released, but one can only assume drugs/alcohol were the cause of his death.  So sad.  I feed so badly for Lea Michele.   So, in honor of Cory Monteith I'm posting one of my favorite Glee performances by him (and the other Glee cast).  Enjoy.

~LL

The sun will come out....tomorrow??

I'm in major countdown mode right now.  Counting down the weeks until I give birth, counting down the weeks until my baby showers, counting down the days that I have to get my mostly-empty house ready for a baby shower to be hosted at our home.....you get the point.  This morning, I was seriously counting down the weeks until Aaron goes back to school.  Don't get me wrong, I adore my child, but as I've stated before: mama needs a break.  Yes, I'm in major countdown mode and won't deny it.  I know you're supposed to live each day as if it's your last....yada, yada, yada.....but sometimes you just need to freakin' count. 

I posted yesterday about my weight gain, and how my Doc (and the friendly worker at Subway) both informed me that it was time to cut back.  I got some really nice feedback on FB from dear friends that made me feel better about my new preg bod.  Thank you, loves!  Anyway, last night around 2AM I turned over to lay on my left side and.....the bed broke.  Seriously.  Well, more like collapsed.  I just laid there in a daze; embarrassed because I am obviously an elephant.  Adam, half-asleep said, "what happened?"  Um, I broke the bed.  Sorry...I'm a fat ass.  Turns out, the slats gave out, and therefore the mattress fell down.  My poor hubby, he was giving me every excuse in the book to make me feel better.  I spent the rest of the night worried that any movement might cause the bed to fall through the floor into our basement.  Therefore, I slept maybe 3 hours.  No sleep=a rough day.  I even had to take a Zofran for the first time since first trimester today; I've felt terrible.  I'm blaming all of this on lack of sleep; I just began third trimester yesterday- this can't be the standard for the rest of this pregnancy.  Tonight, I'm going to bed when Aaron goes to bed.

Third trimester has also brought back my distaste for coffee.  I've attempted to drink a cup every day, and after two sips ended up dumping it down the drain.  I just want something cold to drink when I wake up.  My fellow Keurig friends, do they make ice-coffee k-cups?  This is probably a dumb question considering all I need to do is make a regular cup, and pour it into a glass with ice, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

I hit up Marshall's early this afternoon for some home decor.  Have I ever said how much I love this place??  I bought a black entryway table for our foyer, a canvas for our den, a vase of pink (artificial) roses for our dining room table, some yellow and gray throw pillows for our bed, and some new dog bowls for Sophie May.  I could have spent at least two more hours in that place.  This is going to be fun!

Off to order Chinese.  This overcast weather give me no drive to whip up anything in the kitchen.  Looks like a couch/movie night for us.  Enjoy your evening, friends!

~LL

Let the poking & prodding begin!

Today marks my 28th week of pregnancy- whoop!  I celebrated this special occasion by taking my glucose test for gestational diabetes (yuck), getting a shot in my rear (even yuckier), and getting my blood drawn (the yuckiest).  I'm Rh-negative; therefore, I have to get injected in both third trimester and after baby girl's born.  Fun times.  Anyway, I find out Monday the results of my glucose test, and I plan to eat ice cream every day until then in case the results come back positive.  You do what you gotta do!

I realized today that this was just the beginning of the poking and prodding.  It's getting real now.  I go back in three weeks and from that point on I'll be 9 weeks away from delivery.  That's crazy!  My appointment went well today; baby girl's heart beat sounds good and strong, and my vital signs are good.  I've gained 23 pounds total, and when I asked my Doc (whom I adore) if that was good,  he basically told me that I need to cut back on the sweets and fast-food.  Um, for real??  He said that he only wants me to gain 3-4 pounds between visits, and I've gained 6 since my last visit.  I'm not gonna lie, it hurt my feelings.  Yeah, I know he's right because he's the expert and all, but it's not like I'm hitting up Chick-fil-A every day (just around 2x/week).  I mean, I have eaten a Krispy Kreme every day in the past 2 weeks, and I'm not one that's going to turn down dessert or anything.  AND, I did just get back from Destin where's it's practically required that I eat fried shrimp, crab cakes, hush-puppies, and slaw every day, but other than that I'm not being too awful, right?? Who am I kidding, I totally have gestational diabetes.  Let my last weekend of freedom begin!

Since I was feeling guilty from all my "sweets and fast-food" intake, I hit up Subway and picked up a sandwich for lunch.  One of the sandwich makers asked what I was having and when I was due.  When I told her October 3rd, her response was "you ain't gonna make it."  Thank you, Ms. Subway Sandwich Maker.  After I marched my large, pregnant a$$ out of there, I remembered a similar comment that was said to me at this same point in my pregnancy with Aaron at, you guessed it, a Subway in Macon.  Be prepared friends: not only are those Subway Sandwich Makers preparing your turkey sub (with vinegar and oil I might add), but also imparting gems of wisdom for you to mull over forever.  This is what I say to them:

 

With all of that being said, I'm off to nap.  Happy Friday, friends!

~LL

Nursery Updates

Folks, I have picked out bedding for Harper Beth's nursery.  This is major for me right now.  Prego brain has completely taken over my life.  I'm hoping when all the new-house hoopla settles down, I'll get some of my brain cells back.  Anyway, I decided to go with Pottery Barn's Penelope pattern and I am in love.  Here's a peek:

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 Isn't it sweet?  I love the pink and green accents, and I adore the little birds.  I can just see Harper Beth in this crib.  Ahhhh.....girls stuff is so fun!  Once we get the bedding in, I can really go to town with the decorating.  Both the crib and changing table are already set up and in there places, and Adam is going to paint my old dresser pink for the other wall of her room.  Pics coming soon!

I'll try to update more later.  Have a friend coming in town and I need to jump in the shower!

Talk soon!

~LL

Lots of catching up to do!

Hey!  Do you remember me??  I have a blog titled "Laughing Lolly."  Ever heard  of it?  If you haven't, I'm not shocked because there's been zero bloggage in what, three weeks??  Sorry, y'all.  We moved into our new house two weeks ago, and we just got Internet yesterday.  I wish I was kidding.  Let's just say that next time we make a move (which we're not planning to do for a long time) we might rethink the AT&T relationship.  Not impressed. 

Anyway, we are all moved in to our new house and loving it!  We've never had this much room since we moved into our first home in December 2006.  More room=lots of empty spaces which we'll have to build upon as the time goes by.  The new house things I'm super stoked about are: a separate laundry room, separate master bathroom, carpet (yes, I know I'm crazy), and the fact that I have a foyer.  I haven't been able to access Pinterest that much over the past couple of weeks, but since things are finally settling down and since we finally have internet I plan to get my pinspiration on.  I'll post pics of the house soon, I promise.  My hubs is super pumped about the fact that we have a partly finished basement that's the size of the house.  His own personal "man home."  Oh, the things we have planned......can't wait to put these plans into action!

The most important "to do" right now is getting Harper's nursery ready.  I am so lame that I haven't even picked out nursery bedding yet.  That's cray.  I'll be entering 3rd trimester this Friday (28 weeks- whoop!).  By this point in my pregnancy with Aaron the bedding was already chosen, and Adam was painting the nursery.  The only excuse I have is the fact that we just moved, and haven't had much time for nursery planning.  I do have my eye on some precious bedding from Pottery Barn that I will most likely purchase this week.  Once I do, I'll give y'all a sneak peek.  I feel like once the bedding gets here, the creativity will take over.....hopefully.  Her walls are already painted beige, and I'm fine with sticking to that color.  My main color is pink (duh), and I feel like I can pull in all kinds of fun colors with that as the base. 

Speaking of baby girl, we went for her Fetal Echo two weeks ago Friday, and her heart is healthy and normal!!!  Ahhhh.....relief.  Like I've said before, I've felt pretty confident from our past two ultrasounds that her heart was normal, but it was music to my ears to hear from a pediatric cardiologist that her sweet heart showed no abnormalities and is normal.  We are so blessed.
This Friday is my Gestational Diabetes test (the glucose screening) where I have to drink the yucky, orange stuff.  Not looking forward to it.  However, I am looking forward to the 3D/4D ultrasound of Harper Beth next month!  I just want to see if she has hair.  Aaron had tons of it.  I've been plagued with heartburn again this pregnancy so I'm taking that as a good sign.  My Aaron Mo came out with tons of black hair, that had basically grown into a rattail it was so long.  I could not believe I grew all that hair in my belly.....hahah!  Guess we'll see!

Since it's been forever since I last blogged, and a lot of things have happened since I'm just going to let my photos document the past few weeks:

My girlfriends and I went to see NKOTB/98 Degrees/Boyz 2 Men a few weeks ago.  Y'all, we had a blast!  We started out in the nosebleed seats at Phillip's Arena, but ended up on the second row right before NKOTB took the stage (thanks, Lori!).  I know we're totally tweens, but I'm just going to put it out there and say: NKOTB put on a great show.  We even lingered behind after the show was over trying to get a glimpse of Joey and Company.  My sweet friend Brooke and I even tried to pimp out our pregnant bellies to get backstage access and all we got was a set list from a nice guy that was working production.  Oh well, it's the little things!  Here's a video of the guy's singing "Tender Love;" an old-school love song that I've been obsessed with forever!

The next day after the concert, we closed on our house!  Here's a pic of the front of our new casa:

Wish I could say the white BMW was mine also, but sadly I cannot.  Dreamers can dream!

Best news of the week!!! 

We were only in our new home for a week before we headed to Destin for our family vacation.  With the exception of the last three, rain-drenched days of vacay, we had a wonderful, relaxing time. 

The night we arrived.  Heaven. 

Crab Cakes at The Crab Trap.  My mouth is watering. 

We took our annual boating trip around the Gulf to Crab Island and Dewey Destin earlier in the week due to the terrible rainy weather at the end of the week:

The Captain & his Skipper ;)

We're on a boat, y'all!

My boys enjoying Crab Island.  The water was a little green this year, but nevertheless beautiful!

Mi familia

Our last night dinner at Whales Tail.  See you next year!

Sadly, I didn't get as many pics as I would have liked to, but like I said before, it rained.  A lot.  Boo.  Oh well, there's always next year!!

Enjoy your Tuesday, friends!

~LL