36 week check-up

I've been saying for the past couple of weeks I'm in the home-stretch, but this time I really am.  Agh!!  So excited!  Excited for my sweet love to get here, excited to wear non-maternity clothing, excited to not have pop Tums all.day.long,  excited to have a glass of wine....or beer....or for Heaven's sake, a margarita!  When I think about this pregnancy the word that comes to mind is: long.  I know every pregnant woman feels this way, too.  It just blows my mind that I've been through 3 seasons: winter, spring, and summer.  I've been pregnant since January.  That's a long time!  Anyway....

My 36 week check-up was today.  I weighed (still holding strong at 30 pound weight gain- thankful it didn't go up), got pricked, and was sent on my merry way to wait for my Doc. (Btw, have I mentioned my Doc's name is Doctor Harper?  Harper is not named after my Doc; however, he said he's going to take some credit for it.  Ha!)  I had the Group B Strep test done today (blah) and then Dr. Harper "checked" me.  I knew this was going to happen today, and have been dreading it.  I'm not dilated (not shocking- I was only one centimeter dilated when I went into the hospital to have Aaron; I was contracting but not dilating), and I was informed (shocker- not really) that there's just not a lot of room for you know, birthing a second child.  I won't go into details as the readers that I do have I want to come back, but my birthing experience with Aaron kinda set the path for future deliver(ies).  After a lot of discussion with my Doc, we made the decision to deliver baby girl via c section.  I am totally okay with this.  In fact, I've been somewhat preparing myself for this since I delivered Aaron.  I'm honestly happy with this decision.  They're supposed to call me tomorrow to schedule the surgery, and I'll be at least 39 weeks when I deliver unless she decides to make her appearance sooner.  So, that's where we're at.  Harper Elizabeth could be here in as little as 3 weeks from today- eeeekkk!!!  I just can't wait to see her!

In other random news, I am DYING to see the new Joseph Gordon-Levitt movie, Don Jon.  I've been pretty much obsessed with him since his SNL striptease.  The movie doesn't come out until September 27th, so I highly doubt I'll be seeing it in theaters, but rest assured, I will be snatching it up as soon as it hits Redbox, y'all!  Here's the trailer:

Have a good night!

~LL

*Patiently* Waiting

I am exhausted today.  I tried to nap some while Aaron was napping, but I think I might have dozed for maybe 30 minutes.  Sleep is so essential right now, and I just can't get rested.  I'm sure it's part excitement/anxiety/discomfort from carrying this baby girl, etc.  Either way, things are getting down to the wire.  I can't believe I only have 4-5 weeks left.  Eeeekk!!!  I keep on looking at her chunky face from her 3D picture and falling more and more in love with her.  I wonder if she'll come out with tons of long, black hair like her big brother; heck, she might come out blonde, red, or even bald (although the ultrasound tech showed me her hair).  Bless it.  Her room is coming together, and I've decided I will only post a pic once everything is officially ready.  Adam painted my old dresser a pretty, matte pink and we are getting new hardware to replace the old, rusty knobs already on there.  I bid on a Pottery Barn Kids chandelier on Ebay and won (yes!) so we still need to get that installed.  We still have some wall pieces that have yet to be hung, I want a pretty rug for her floor, I want a skinny book shelf stand next to her closet, and we still need to get her car seat/base installed in the car.  I absolutely love her room.  It's so girly and pink, and as soon as you walk in it immediately feels like her.  We've been so lucky that basically everything we needed for her, we got at showers through gifts or gift cards.  The only thing left that we need is a swing.  I don't know why I never thought about a swing until now!  Adam and I are such last-minute people (which is totally not a good thing) so I'm sure we'll be collecting these items, and finishing all these "to-dos" up until it's go time.  I ordered some pretty pj's and a bathrobe to wear in the hospital so I'm more comfortable, and I can promise y'all that I will have my makeup bag, dry shampoo, and my curling iron on hand and ready.  Call me prissy, crazy, whatever, but I want to look halfway decent in those hospital pictures!  Priorities, people. ;)

Aaron (finally) starts back school next week.  Last night was his orientation, and today he met his two sweet teachers at Open House.  I hope he has a great year.  I can't believe my monkey is growing up so fast!  It's so sad how fast time flies by.  We popped over to his old teacher's classroom to say hello and she couldn't believe how big he is.  Last time he was in her class he was only 1; toddling into her class- just a baby.  Tear.  It makes me cry.  I would post a pic, but that would send me into a full-on melt-down. He's such a little man now, and I'm so proud of him.  My sweet, big boy. 

Enjoy your weekend, friends!  I'll try to update at some point.  Tomorrow starts UGA football, and my hubby is acting like it's Christmas Eve tonight.  Ha!  Can't believe it's already that time!

~LL

What's Going On

It's Tuesday!  The past few days have completely bypassed me.  Things have been busy in the Mosely hacienda!  First things first.....catching up:

• Ashley's baby shower for Baby Brooks was this past Saturday at Basil's, a great restaurant in Atlanta.  The restaurant was adorable, the food was delish, and the company was even better.  Brooks is sure to be a handsome little guy- he got tons of super-cute outfits.  It was such a nice shower, and I was so happy to be there! 
• Last night me and my fellow Gemini friend, Lauren, celebrated our June birthdays (I'm the 10th, she's the 17th) with 8 of our closest girlfriends at Carrabas.   Again, the food was amazing and the company was wonderful.  We both got surprised (thanks, Jess!) with a huge piece of their "Chocolate Dream" dessert and I cannot stop thinking about it today.  So delicious!  I swear, I've had the biggest sweet tooth this pregnancy.  Anyway, truly a great night with great friends.  I'm truly blessed.  Here's a pic:

 

• True Blood came back on Sunday.  Whoop!! I am so excited for this season!!  I'm most excited about the fact that we're already getting the sad/"I'm in love with you, Sookie" looks from Eric.  I.Heart.Him.  I think if I were her, I'd be all about re-living Season 4 (y'all know what I mean) all day long.  Holla!

I have been feeling so much movement from Harper over the past couple of days.  I love it!  She's always been active at certain points during the day, but it seems like I'm feeling her a lot more frequently now.  I think she's already practicing the choreography for Beyonce's "Diva" so we can officially hit it big and start touring together.  Once she's walking I'm totally going all Dance Mom, y'all.  (KIDDING!) ;)  For real though, she's really making her appearance known.  She's gave Adam 2 hard kicks last night (what's up, daddy-o?!) and he just started laughing.  I love her.  So much.  I can already tell we're going to have our hands full.  I went to the Doc today and everything went great; her heartbeat was good and strong, and my weight gain total is 17 pounds.  I'll be 25 weeks Thursday.  I honestly don't know how I haven't gained more than 17 pounds (thank you, Jesus) because I've been eating like an effin' cow.  I call it a miracle.

It's looking like we'll be moving this weekend (fingers crossed!).  We're getting our ducks in a row, and hopefully we'll be closing this Friday.  Yay!!  As soon as I know something more concrete, I'll be posting.  In the meantime, you might not be hearing much out of me over the next few days.  Still have a good bit of packing left to do and ends to tie up.  I'll try to post again this week, but if not don't be surprised.  I promise to get back at it as soon as I can devote more than 15 minutes to it.  

Enjoy your week!

~LL

Hump Day Musings

I might be speaking too soon, but I feel like I've hit some stride with my packing capabilities.  I woke up this morning, drank a big cup of coffee (decaff, of course), and literally, hit the ground running.  I haven't finished my list for today yet; however, I knocked the hardest things out first.  The rest should be a piece of cake.  Yay!  My new friend is bubble wrap.  I love it.  Being the major priss that I am, I hate packing with newspaper.  It gets all over my fingers and then transports to my plates, glasses, etc.  I can't stand it!  I know this is weird, but whatevs.  Bubble wrap has been a lifesaver.  I've already gone through the huge roll that I bought last week, so I'll be heading back to Lowe's tomorrow for more. 

This blog post is way too exciting, y'all.  We're discussing bubble wrap.......YES!!!!! ;)

Last night I rented Safe Haven off of the Redbox.   Surprisingly, it was really good!  It seems like when those Nicholas Sparks books get made into movies they're a hit or miss.  Of course, Josh Duhamel is gorge.  And the fact that he's play a widowed father of 2 kids?  Major turn-on.  I won't go into too many details for those that haven't seen it, but lemme' just say, the make out scene against a tree was almost too much for these pregnancy hormones to handle.  If I weren't such a buddha right now, I would've totally rolled myself off the couch to grab the remote for a rewind, but I'm just way too big for quick movements like that right now. 

I decided to bite the bullet and purchase JT's new album last weekend.  I'd already bought "That Girl" off iTunes a few weeks ago (fave summer song right now), and after listening to his station on Pandora it was confirmed: I must have the whole album.  Not to mention: I'm seeing his fine a$$ in concert in December- whoop!!!  Myself and six of my friends will be heading up to the A for this event.  Cannot.wait.  I will be 2 months post-pregnancy and will probably be packed into a full body spanx suit.  Do I care?  Hell no.  I'm dropping this shh.. like it's hot.  And then I'll probably need someone to help me back up.  Ha!  Anyway, I love this whole album.  My new favorite is "Spaceship Coupe" and although it sounds awful, it's kinda hot.  I just can't even handle him.

True Blood comes back on Sunday!  Agh!!!!!  I truly hope it's better than last season.  Last season was just so disappointing in my opinion.  I want Eric.  Lots and lots of Eric! 

via

Btw, have y'all heard the dirty, nasty rumor that ASkars really is dating Ellen Page?  Wha???  I seriously don't know what to think.  Part of me wants to cry, and part of me wants to high-five Juno (Go gurrrl!).  My pregnant brain can't even process this right now.

Alright y'all, enjoy your Hump Day!

~LL

I'm ready for the beach!

Goodness, I've been a total slacker with the blogging this past week!  Aaron and I spent most of last week at the pool; either laying by one or (in Aaron's case) swimming in one.  My little guy started swimming lessons last Monday, and I have to say I'm very proud of him!  I'm pretty positive we'll be paying for swimming lessons next year as well, but as long as he enjoys the water and isn't scared of it the money and time are well worth it.  Here's a pic of him and his swim buddy, Aubrey.  Aren't they the cutest??

Aaron and I headed up to G-town last weekend for a little R&R at my parents since Adam was out of town.  We continued our pool ritual through the weekend.  Y'all, I am serious about the tan this summer.  If I'm going to be fat (yeah, yeah, I know....pregnant) than I'm going to be tan.  Sadly, there won't be much time for laying out this week; trying to pack up this effin' house for our big move and have I said how much I hate packing?!?  My sweet mom came down this morning and just left around 30 minutes ago.  Thank God for mama's!  She literally walked in the door, got a note pad and made a daily list of what I'm to pack every day up until next week.   Then, she helped me pack my entire living room.  One room down.....six more to go!  We can do this!

Yesterday I turned 31- whoop!  Cannot believe I'm officially in my thirties.  That's cray.  I intended to pack all day yesterday and only packed one cabinet in my kitchen.  Total fail.  I don't know what it is, but in addition to being pregnant and tired all the time, I also feel like baby girl's taking my brain cells.  I can't think.  I can't plan.  I feel like a sumo wrestler.  Plus, the heartburn's started up (this was about the time in my pregnancy with Aaron that the heartburn really started to kick in) and as soon as I get up and start moving around, I'm ready to sit down again.  I'm not complaining, I'm just stating the truth.  We don't have a closing date as of yet, but I'm thinking we'll be moving next week.  There are so many things that we have left to do before we move: I need to find Aaron a toddler bed and chest of drawers for his new big boy room, pick up some furniture that we're buying from my sister and her husband, set up our utilities, set up movers, etc.  We're not moving again for a long time!

I have to say thank you to all my friends and family for the birthday wishes yesterday!  From FB posts, messages, texts, phone call- y'all rock!  Thank you!!!  All of you make my day!  To those that didn't.......let's just say that I have a fantastic memory and I don't forget much.  If that sounds cray, so be it.  I'm pregnant and really don't give a damn.  Life's too short to waste time on others who don't care.  Point noted....moving on.

 These are Adam's "I'm sorry I forgot your birthday" flowers.  For reals.  He's forgiven......for now. ;)

Enjoy your day!

~LL

Updates

Wow- this week has really dragged by.  BUT, it's hump day so that means 2 days closer to the weekend- whoop!

I've been keeping my friend Nicole's little girl, Zowie, this week.  She's nine months and adorable.   It makes me really excited to get a glimpse of what life will be like with a baby girl.  Aaron has been great with her (for the most part) so that gives me hope that he'll be a great big brother.  Fingers crossed!

We Adam finished the kitchen floor Monday night.  I love it!  Here's a pic:

Excuse the counter clutter

Since I'm lame and can't figure out how to do a before and after shot, here's what the floor looked life before. 
I truly think he did an amazing job.  You can see how the floor darkens the kitchen, so keeping the cabinets white is really our only option.  The next time the hubs is home, he and my father-in-law are repaving our driveway, so we're not looking at repainting the cabinets until later on this month.  In the meantime, I'm happy with my new (or what feels like new) kitchen!

Now onto the house situation......grrrrr.......not really going like we hoped.  We put in our offer Monday, they counter-offered yesterday (not a really great offer in that they barely came off the listing price), we put in our final offer, they counter-offered again last night (again, not that great of a counter-offer), and we're standing firm on our final offer from yesterday.  Lucky for us, we have an excellent realtor who is supporting our every decision and keeping us updated minute-by-minute.  When they counter-offered the first time yesterday I cried.  I know, I know, I need to toughen up.  Blame it on the pregnancy hormones and just the general aggravation of it all.   I know this is common procedure in the real estate market these days.  When Adam bought our house in 2006 it was so much more simple.  The house was on the market for two weeks, Adam submitted his offer, the seller agreed, and he was closing within three weeks.  I'm just trying to stay positive and know that it's out of our hands.  If it's meant to be, it will be.  Repeat mantra......

I'm getting my hurr did Saturday and I am so pumped!  No cut as my hair is finally growing out after 9 months, but color and I'm thinking ombre.  Here's some of my pinspiration:

Gorge via

So pretty via

Pretty but my least favorite.  I guess b/c she's all the way blonde & I'm brunette.

Love how subtle the ombre/highlights are via

I haven't gotten my hair colored in awhile so you can imagine the excitement.  I'll be sure to post a pic!

Enjoy your hump day, friends!

~LL

Weekend Randoms

I can't believe it's already 5:50 on a Sunday afternoon.  Where did the weekend go?  You would think it would have dragged on by considering the lazy weather.

We have been incredibly boring; correction: I have been incredibly boring this weekend.  The most productive things I've done over the past 2 days is go grocery shopping and take Aaron to get a haircut.  My hubby has been busting his behind in the kitchen all weekend laying our new tile.  I'm so excited about the finished product!  We decided that we're going to repaint the cabinets white.  After much deliberation, we just decided it'll look a lot better than painting them brown.  Our kitchen is pretty small, so the lighter we can keep things the better.  I'm thinking we'll put in some turquoise accents- I love those two colors together. 

I'm of course thinking like we'll be here longer than we are, when in fact we'll need to be out around this time next month.  Yep folks, we have tenants!  And good ones at that- yay!!  They need to be in mid-June as they're getting married next month and want to be in the house before the wedding.  Which leads me to my next thought.....

We found a house!  It's actually the house that I was talking about in one of my blog entries from last week.  We went back to Griffin Friday so Adam could see the house and he liked it.  We're putting an offer in tomorrow.  Eeekk!  So excited!!  Once we've negotiated and signed the dotted line, I'll post a pic.  It's definitely not ours yet, so just hoping and praying everything will work out.  It just has to!  Aaron Mo needs a big boy room, and Harper Beth just needs a room.  I'm already envisioning tons of girly things for her room: a chandelier, pink/green accents, pictures, paintings.....the list goes on.  Agh!!

BTW, Adam and I watched Skyfall (the James Bond movie) this weekend and I just have to say that even though Javier Bardem is a total psycho in the movie- I still think he's a hottie.

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I'll post pics of the kitchen when Adam's finished!

~LL

I might need to get a job....

To pay for all the adorable girly things I keep seeing everywhere!  I knew girls clothes were much more abundant than boys, but dang- it's really not fair.  Walking into Dillards last Thursday the whole section was dominated in pink, ruffles, and frou-frou.  There was one (maybe 2) racks of boys clothes.  And I know it's not just there.  I've got to keep it all in perspective.  If I don't, I'll go bankrupt.  Luckily, Harper has grandmother's that love shopping so we might not get into too much trouble.  It also helps that friends who have girls have been so kind as to offer their hand-me-downs.  If you read this, thank you, thank you, thank you!  I have already learned by having one child that they don't have to be in smocked bubbles/jumpers/and Kelly's Kids latest trends every day; Aaron wears Walmart and he always looks like one of the coolest dudes in the room. ;)  Harper will have some Mud Pie dresses and Matilda Jane jumpers, but I won't hesitate to snatch a dress off of a Sock Shoppe rack if I like it.

Speaking of clothing, I ordered more maternity clothing today.  I got so excited to see an email from Loft this morning saying that everything was 40% off, until I went to their site and saw that even if I used my 40% off promo code, I'd still be paying at least thirty bucks for a shirt.  Um, no thank you.  Old Navy it is!  I think my look this summer will be simple clothing in solid colors.  Nothing flashy or busy.  1- I'll be big as a house and don't need anything else to make me look bigger; and 2- It's going to be hot as h*ll.  I ended up going with 3 tops and pair of denim cut-offs.  Total (with their promo code) was $65.  Not too shabby.  Another prego friend of mine told me that Ross has a maternity section so I'll probably be checking that out, too.  At first I was kicking myself for getting rid of all my maternity clothes awhile back, but I guess it doesn't really matter now.  When I was pregnant with Aaron (and sweet Luke) I was pregnant during the cold months.  This bambino is going to have me sweating as soon as I walk out of the house.  Therefore- as little clothes as possible- ha!  All worth it in the sweet end. :)

I hope y'all had a good weekend!  Between looking at houses and going to baby showers, my weekend flew by.  I'm so excited because I think I might have found our house.  Adam hasn't seen it yet, so we're going back Friday.  It would be perfect for our growing family.  Perfect size and beautiful, huge backyard with a deck.  Harper could probably have her wedding reception back there.  Just praying and crossing my fingers that it'll work out.  If Adam likes it, then we'll probably put an offer in.  I'll keep you posted....

Have a good Tuesday!

~LL

I am totally a blonde at heart

I am such an idiot.  I am on my third iPhone........in a matter of seven days.  I cannot blame pregnancy on this one- just plain stupidity. 

A little background: my original iPhone (the one that I bought at my last renewal in December 2011) has been without a cover since March.  I've been meaning to scour Amazon for an Otterbox (??sp??) and just haven't gotten around to it.  I think we all know that an iPhone without a cover is an accident waiting to happen.  So, last Thursday while getting Aaron out of his car seat, I lay my phone on the trunk and BAM- it hits the pavement.  Aaron runs over to pick it up and all I hear is "uh-oh, Mommy."  Screen shattered.  I mean shattered so bad the fiberglass is coming out in pieces.  Plus, I quickly realize that the sound has been lost when I can't hear Adam on my emergency freak-out call.  Luckily, my sweet mom had just gotten her iPhone 5 and was able to pass on her old iPhone 4 which (of course) was in mint condition because she actually takes care of her things (unlike me).  Last weekend I popped over to Verizon, got them to transfer my number and contacts to her old phone and was set.  Easy peasy.  Cut to this morning when I'm in the tub shaving my legs, my text message notification dings, I pick it up, and PLOP- phone's in the tub with me.  Seriously?!?  I jump out of the tub as fast as I can (I literally thought I was about to be electrocuted), and run my pregnant a$$ into the kitchen, stick my phone into a plastic bowl, and pour a whole box of rice over the phone.  Freaking out.  After observation I see the phone's still working, however; the sound is not (shocker).  After trying a few tricks (i.e. googling "my phone fell in water and I can't hear a damn thing!") like twisting a q-tip around in the headphone jack, etc. phone still was not working.  Grrrrr!  Aaron Mo and I ended up driving up to the Apple store where they informed me there was nothing they could do: I could either wait it out and see if the sound would come back, or they would trade in an exact model for $160.  I chose the latter.  I called Adam when I left and all he said was "order an Otterbox (??sp??) now!!"  Some days I feel so bad for Adam that he got me; today is one of those days.


In other news, we (as you know), are in major house-hunting mode.  We still haven't found anything we're in love with yet, and we are not going to settle for less.  Really, really hoping the right house with the right price will pop up sooner than later, but in the meantime I can't stress about it.  With all of that being said, we've decided to put a little money into our house to make it more updated.  We definitely can't afford to spend an arm and leg to remodel the whole house, but we feel there are some tweaks we can make without breaking the budget.  Our first project will be our kitchen floor (hopefully).  We've had this beige linoleum since we bought the house in 2006 and I've despised it since the moment we've moved in.  We're thinking we want to tile the floor provided it falls within our budget.  Our kitchen is relatively small, so while it won't be cheap, I don't think it'll be horribly expensive either.  Adam's going to measure the kitchen, write an estimate, and we'll go from there.  The other "tweaks" on my list include:

• Re-tile bathroom floor in master bathroom (again-super small bathroom so I don't think it'll put us in the hole).
• I'd like to put in a new bathroom vanity in the master bathroom, too.  I'm sure this probably would be the last thing we do.
• Instead of installing new kitchen cabinets (would love to do this but that would most definitely be out of the budget) we're probably just going to put new hardware on.  Our cabinets are already white and I think going any darker would make our kitchen look smaller.
• Another thing I would love to do but is not cost effective is new interior doors.  Hence, new door knobs!  Less expensive and I heard new doorknobs can do a lot for interior doors.  Have to check the pricing on that.

Do y'all recommend Lowe's or Home Depot?  Who has better prices?

Have a good day!

~LL

Weekend catch-up

It's Monday, y'all!  I am not a huge fan of Monday's; however, the sun is out and although it's f-reezing out with the crazy wind, it's nice to see a blue sky after days of cloudy ones.

We had a busy weekend.  Saturday afternoon we celebrated Aaron's 3rd birthday with a party at McDonalds.  The party was a success!  It really couldn't have gone better than if I had dreamed it.  Most importantly, my Aaron Mo had a great time and that's really all that mattered.  He had around 10 friends show up, and the location couldn't have been better.  The kids played their hearts out at the inside playground while the parents got to socialize.  My only expense (besides Aaron's presents, decorations, and cake) was the $40 for the kids happy meals.  And I have to rave about the McDonalds (on Bass Road in Macon)- their customer service was excellent!  So if any of you readers are interested in a Mickey D's party, I say go for it.  The best part is- it's not your house that you have to clean afterwards!  Can't beat that.
Aaron got a massive amount of cars, games, legos, a tee ball set, a baseball mitt and baseball, and etc. and now has a cool trampoline in our backyard thanks to his grandparents and great-grandparents.  Now that we've survived the third birthday party, let's hope we can survive the third year just as well.  Fingers crossed!

Yesterday I met up with four of my besties for a long lunch.  It's so nice being able to spend time together, especially when we don't get to see each other as often as we'd like to.  I've always believe that the definition of a true friendship is one where you can go weeks, months, heck in some situations, years without seeing each other and pick up right where you left off.  That's what these girls are to me, and I'm so lucky to have them.  Anyway, after a long, leisurely lunch I stopped by my parents house for a quick hello before hitting the road to head back to Macon.  On the way home I had the brilliant idea of creating a "Mo Thugs" station on Pandora, and I seriously jammed out on the way home.  It was high school all over again: "Ghetto Cowboy," "Thuggish Ruggish Bone," Notorious B.I.G.  Ha!  I know so random, but sometimes you need some rap in your life.  This is totally the station we're using for our next dance party, y'all!

Um, can we talk about Walking Dead??!  Daryl crying?  Oh em gee.  Merle dying.  OMG!  (For those of you that haven't watched I just gave away the major spoilers- sorry!)  Seriously, somebody needs to take the Guv'nah down.  I'm over him and he's seriously cray.  And I'm probably going to get some haters for saying this, but will they take Glenn as well?  He just annoys me.  Is it weird that I was a Merle fan?  He really was a somewhat good guy way, way down.  He let badass Michonne go.  He loved Daryl (but then again, who doesn't?).  Daryl breaking down was almost too much for me to handle.  He needed a shoulder to cry on.  Like mine. ;)  Next Sunday's going to be good.  I'm a little bit too excited about it.

We have Aaron's 3 year pics tonight. I'm hoping this insane wind won't make things unbearable tonight.  Needless to say, I'm arming myself with suckers and probably chocolate in order to get these pics done right.  Don't judge.

We're meeting our realtor to look at a couple of houses before we meet to take pics.  I wish I could say I was looking forward to it, but I'm not.  We just haven't found anything we're in love with, and we aren't going to settle for less.  We want a certain school district, we want a garage (believe it or not we've never had one!), we want a freakin' laundry room.  It seems like the only houses available (in our price range) offer only one of those things.  Frustrating!  Why must the houses that we love, that has all those things we want, and would be perfect for us are out of our price range??  Ugh!  Trying to stay positive.  We have another 5 or so months to find our dream home.  This will work out.  It has to. 

P.S. If the dirty rumor that Perez Hilton has started is true that my ASkars is dating Ellen Page I just threw up in my mouth.  If Juno can date him than I sure as hell can! (of course, in my non-married imaginative world!) ;)

Enjoy your Monday!

~LL

House Hunting

If you've been reading my blog over the past few years, you know our housing situation has constantly been up in the air.  Currently, we are living in Macon and have been since 2006.  We had a brief stint back in Griffin in 2011, but moved back to Mac-Town in early 2012 to focus on selling our house.  Selling?  What a joke.  I know that I'm definitely not the only one dealing with the depressing after-effects of the housing market crash in (whaddya know) 2006.  Adam and I have always said that had we known how bad the real estate market was going to get, we definitely would not have bought a house seven years ago.  Now don't get me wrong, I love our house.  I'm actually the one that found this house when we began the pursuit of our first home.  We got engaged here, we started a family here, and it's home.  Our sweet, little love shack. ;)  We live in a great location, have awesome neighbors, and honestly, if it weren't for the need for more room, we very well would wait this housing craziness out until we could sell it for what we bought it for.  However, there are some changes coming to our family this year (good changes that I'll elaborate on very soon), which makes moving somewhere else the best decision for our family.

Lately, Adam's job is requiring him to work in Atlanta more often which is great.  With that in mind, we've decided to move (again) closer to the Atlanta area.  Which means back to Griffin.  Since we're planning on settling for awhile we've decided to buy and I'm so excited.  I know Griffin's been catching a lot of flack lately; however, that was where I was born and raised and many of my happiest memories involve growing up in that small town.  Luckily, Griffin's close enough to metro Atlanta where Adam will be able to come home most nights that he works and that sounds great to me.  So begins the home search!

Except we haven't found anything that we're in love with....yet.  We have an excellent realtor (April English at Southern Realty- look her up!) and I have complete confidence in the fact that she's going to help us find our dream home.  We've only been seriously looking for a month now and we have a good 5-6 months before we have to make a move.  I just want us to find "the one."  You know, the house where you pull in the driveway and you say "this is my home."  (As a side note, I got that phrase from April and it rings so true.)  So, the search continues!  We would like to find a somewhat newer home (even if it's an older home that's been remodeled); we're not interested in a fixer-upper.  As of right now, that's mostly what is available in the area we'd like to be in.  I'm definitely not saying anything is wrong with a fixer-upper; if we had all the money in the world we'd gladly take one of those lovely homes built in the 50's-70's and go to town.  Right now it's just not something we're interested in.  There are several homes out there that I love, but the pricing is way out of our league.  I know things will work out.  Just trying to be positive and confident in that feeling when my obsessive-compulsive nature kicks in!


Anyway, I hope all of you are having a great week!  We have a busy weekend ahead.  We're having Aaron's 3rd birthday party at Mickey D's this weekend.  Am I crazy?  Probably.  However, the thought of having several toddlers running around my house destroying everything in it's path led me running for the hills (ore more like the phone book) for another solution.  Voila- McDonald's!  I'm taking it back old-school and I'm kinda digging it.  I mean, weren't birthday parties at the Golden Arches all the rage back in the day?  I'll post some pics.

Sunday I'm meeting up with some of my besties for lunch, and Monday we have Aaron's 3 year pics.  Lord help me- I'm dreading it.  Not the pics, but trying to get a very head-strong/stubborn 3 year old to pose for pics (i.e. smile- not complain) is an act of God.  I'm already exhausted just thinking about it.

If I don't update this weekend, have a good one!

~LL

Happy New Year!!

It's NYE!!  I'm actually excited for our plans tonight.  We're meeting friends for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant and then headed back to our friends home for games, drinks, and (I'm sure) a dance party or two.  My sweet parents took Aaron Mo for the night so we can indulge in some much-needed adult time.  I honestly can't remember the last NYE that we got dressed up and went out (that's sad, right?).  Cheers!

So, let's just go ahead and get it out of the way: Kimye's having a beybey.  Celebitchy predicted this last week.  I don't think it's that shocking.  I guess she felt that her clock's ticking and her divorce is dragging, so she might as well get knocked up.  Please God, let this child look like her.  Or Mason.  Or Penelope.  Check out this link for the hilarious twitter reactions to baby Kimye.

What are your resolutions this year?  I have a few.

• To wear a bikini next summer.  I really, really need for this to happen.  For great beach pictures, of course.  MyFitnessPal app is downloading on my phone as I type...
• To let go.  Of everything.  To stop worrying about everything.  To pray and trust that God's in control.  To grow closer in my relationship with Him.  To be a better person.  A better mother.  A better wife.  A better friend.  Just be better.
• To read more. 
• To blog more.
• And finally, to stop cutting my hair off. We don't work well together.

Some things I'm looking forward to in 2013???

image via

The return of this guy (well more like True Blood) in June.   I'm sweating right now.

The return of this show next month.  Eeekkk!  Love them.


And of course, I can't talk about 2013 without talking about this...

Aghhhhh!  JHutch!!  Finnick!!!  Too much excitement for me to handle!!!

Is it bad that all of my excitement involves televisions shows and/or movies?  Oh well.


Anyway, from our home to yours...........

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As a side note, Aaron got a helmet to use while riding on his "Show-Wheeler" AKA Four Wheeler, and he refuses to take it off. 

~LL

I am such a Scrooge on Monday's..

It's Monday.  Monday's suck.  And I haven't updated my blog in almost a week sooooo......here I go....

Did y'all have a good weekend?  Mine was nice.  Very low-key.  Aaron and I hung out in Griffin over the weekend spending time with my mom and dad.  I love visiting my parents on the weekends that Adam works because: 1) Aaron has lots more room to run around and play both inside and outside, and 2) I get a break from full-time mommy duty which is always nice.  Yesterday, I went and spent some time with one of my besties, Natalie, who is due to give birth anytime over the next few weeks.  Eeeekkk!  I'm so excited to meet her sweet baby boy!  It was heartwarming to see her and her sweet belly, and to know that in a very short time she's going to be holding that sweet bundle of love.  Very happy and excited for her and her hubby!

On a random note, whilst in Griffin this weekend my mom and I decided to do a little Christmas shopping in G-town (AKA hit up Marshalls).  After putting my whining toddler in a buggy (while he's wailing "I not wide in buggy, I wide in buggy car!!"  The "buggy car" he's referring to is indeed a buggy shaped like a car that he rides in when we shop at Publix.  This.is.my.life.) we proceeded to start shopping.  That's when I noticed a girl in high school....who used to terrorize me.  Literally.  She once chased me down the 400 hall at Griffin High.  I was wearing high-heeled loafers.  Don't hate, that was the style back back then.  She stalked me by phone, threatened me through messages delivered by her buddies, the works.  I'm not kidding, y'all.  I know some people reading this will know exactly who I'm talking about.  I was Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls eating my lunch in the bathroom (except not really, I would just beg my teacher to let me eat my lunch in my 4th period class room) this girl harassed me so bad.  And you know why she hated me?  All because of a guy.  Now this guy, he was gorge back then.  And it was a full-on high school love affair for me.  Getting back to my story, I run into this girl while shopping.  And do you know, she wouldn't even look at me?!  Seriously.  Saw me walk in, put her face down, and wouldn't even make eye contact with me.  I gave her several chances- she wouldn't bite.  Now let me say, I don't hold grudges.  High school was a long, long time ago and I'm sure she doesn't even think about high school drama.  I don't either, until it's right in my face like it was this weekend.  I just wanted to smile at her.  That's all.  Let bygones be bygones.  She wouldn't make any sort of eye contact.  And she saw me.  Oh well.  I hope she's happy with her life.  And can I just say that it was so nice to run into this person who used to scare the s&*t out of me, and be able to look at her and think "I really don't care anymore."  I wish her the best.  I really do.

Anyway, a busy week awaits.  Another one of my besties is getting married Saturday and I'm so excited for her!!  It is truly a joyous, happy time for many of my friends. :)

I have some news.  Well actually, a new development in my life...................................

I GOT BANGS (again)!!


They're side bangs.  And, I loved them at first sight.  And I still do, surprisingly.  I'll try and post a pic of the infamous bangs.  Agh!  I heart them....again!  Our relationship is like JT and Jessica pre-wedding: they treat me bad but I can't stay away!  The saga continues.....

~LL

A recap & an election

I'm freezing.  Are you?  I gave up on looking decent at 12:45 pm.  Went from jeans and wedges to sweat pants and an old GHS Bears sweat shirt.  So much better.

I couldn't bring myself to recap Walking Dead yesterday because I literally did not know what to say.  I still don't really.  FYI: If you haven't watched WD from this week and don't want to know any spoilers, you probably don't want to read any further......but hey, whatever floats your boat.

• Lori gave birth and died.  How depressing is that?  I'm sad for Rick, for Carl, and especially for that baby.  What happens now?  She needs her mommy!  Rick killed me.  I felt so bad for Carl, but it seems like he's accepted his role in this new world better than anyone.  Carl usually gets on.my.last.nerve but he handled it like a man.  Rick....I don't even know what to say.  He wasted so much time being angry that he never really reconciled with his wife and now she's gone.  It just all feels so unresolved and hopeless.  
• T-Dog bit the bullet.  Well, he actually threw himself into a pack of zombies after being bit.  Bless it.  IronE Singleton (T-Dog....or should we say T-Pain) was on Talking Dead after the show and he shed a few tears.  Here's hoping T-Dog gets some work!  Now, where's Carol?
• Glen and Maggie are obviously still getting it on.  Andrea is so going to hook it up with The Governor.  Who's next?  I vote for Darryl- country boys need loving, too!

That's it.  Next Sunday's episode should be interesting.  As far as Lori goes, I guess they kind've left it open for her to come back since we never saw her get shot on camera.  But, of course, that would totally be far-fetched.  Stranger things have happened...


So today's election day.  I voted a few weeks ago; Adam went and voted today.  It seems like every one's getting out and voting and that's encouraging.  I won't share my politics on my blog because it's not the place, but I will say I'll be so glad when the election is over and I can enjoy Facebook and Twitter again.

Peace out.

~LL

Weekend Review

This weekend has totally flown by.  Today I have done nothing.  Well, me and my boys went and indulged in Mexican for lunch and I grocery shopped, but other than that- nothing.  It's been fabulous.

Yesterday was busy.  Last night, me and three of my girlfriends hosted a couples shower for my friend, Jessica, who's getting married in December.  We also have her Bachelorette party in "The A" next weekend which I'm insanely excited about considering I haven't experienced a GNO on the town in quite awhile.  I am positive it will involve: lots of Spanx, a penis necklace and a crown, a dance-off of some sort, some drunk tears, and possibly some vomitage.

Anyway, the shower went off without a hitch.  The food was delish, the guests seemed entertained, and most importantly, the Bride and Groom were happy.  The only thing that was terribly embarrassing (of course, on my part) was when I mistakenly asked a guest if they were going to the Bachelorette party, and she had no clue what I was talking about.  Hello?  Social radar!  Stuck.foot.in.mouth.  I felt horrible....so I drank.

Here are some pics:

The hostesses w/ the Bride: L-R: Laura, Me, Jessica (The lovely Bride), Kristen, & Nicole

BTW, every time I say "Bride" do you think of "Franck" in FOTB?  I do.

Here are a few other pics of the evening.  One thing I learned after looking at the pictures: only tall and thin girls need to wear a dress that hangs straight down that while absolutely adorable (shop my friends boutique Ella Bleu- the clothes are amazing!) made me look like a chunky midget.  Here's proof:

Exhibit A: Me with Eric and Jessica.  Love the top of the dress.

Exhibit B: Me w/ both Jessica's (aren't they lovely?).  Should've worn heels instead of cowboy boots.  I look like a hobbit.

Exhibit C: Uhhh....not good.  Especially standing next to these hotties.

 Moral of this story: I need waist definition in dresses.  Taking note.  Moving on.

I hope all of you have had a wonderful weekend!  If you get a chance, send my father-in-law, David, a positive thought.  He is an avid Dawgs fan, goes to every game, and is at every tailgate cooking up some yummy food for every body, every weekend.  Yesterday, while cooking up a low-country boil at the tailgate, accidentally walked in flip-flops through boiling water (that someone had poured out without him knowing) and got badly burned on his feet.  So bad in fact, that Athens ER rushed him via ambulance to the Augusta Burn Unit where he had surgery today.  :(  Positive thoughts/prayers appreciated!

Enjoy your evening!

~LL

This is my life

Happy Belated Halloween!

I meant to post yesterday, but I had a cooking disaster yesterday morning that has left my hand looking like this:

FYI: Never let me fry sausage patties....like never, ever.  I was channeling my inner Pioneer Woman yesterday morning: turning a rotisserie chicken into chicken salad, and thought "Hey, while you're at it, why don't you fry up those sausage patties in the fridge and make your own version of a Sausage McMuffin?"  Um, never again.  My inner voice told me this was a bad idea as soon as I put the skillet on the stove (always listen to your inner voice, people!).  As the sausage was frying I flipped a patty over and hot grease splashed all over my right hand (cue bloody murder scream).  I think I might need a skin graft.  Regardless, my career in hand modeling was over before it started.  Dammit.

So that little kitchen mishap kicked the day right on off.  I couldn't even take a shower and wash my hair because my hand was in so much pain.  I had to break out the ole' 80's shower cap, and bathe with my left hand...hilarity.  I'm going to tell you what I wore yesterday so you can have a good laugh: black velour pants (because I think I'm JLo circa 2002), a gray tank, a long white cardigan, brown Uggs, and my greasy, unwashed hair pulled back into a pink baseball cap.  Sexay.  AND, I wore this classy number all day yesterday.  Heck, I couldn't even wear makeup- just lipstick, because of this hand injury.  To add to all of the drama?  Sophie May had her annual Vet check-up yesterday afternoon (shots, etc) and a new Vet has taken over the practice, and he's HOT.  I mean like, "What are you doing in Forsyth, Ga hawt?!?"  I literally couldn't have gotten out of there faster.  I started breaking out in that horrible upper lip sweat I do when I get nervous, and my ears had turned a bright shade of tomato.  As a side note, whenever I'm in a situation where I'm nervous, anxious, excited, etc. my ears always turn a bright shade of red.  Never fails.  If I ever do run into ASkars he's probably going to run because it looks like I might spontaneously combust.  This is my life.

Anywho, my hand is better today and I can actually move it without feeling pain.  Aaron and I hit up the dreadful Walmart last night (Tip: if you go to Walmart on Halloween hardly anybody's there) and I got some good burn cream.  We ended up staying in last night.  Aaron had already done the "trick or treating" thing last weekend, Adam was working, and I honestly didn't feel like getting a 2 1/2 year old out in the mix.  I was bummed, but Aaron's still too young to understand what Halloween is.  I definitely think next year will begin the fun, door-to-door trick-or-treating that we loved so much as kids.  I ended up cooking a pot of chili, and catching up on Modern Family eps.  Not the best Halloween, but not the worst either. 

This morning while the little tater tot was at preschool, me and my friend, Jessica, hit up Dillards, Belk, and DSW.  I was looking for some hot pumps for a Bachelorette party next weekend, and y'all I found them.....on clearance at DSW, nonetheless!

BCBG....originally $84.95 got them 30% off for $58.  Still a little bit too much, but they are BCBG, and I do need a pair of platform pumps as I don't have any.....I'm totally trying to justify this purchase and I can't.  It's frivolous and that's that.  I love them and if I don't bust my ass in them, they will be the best 58 bucks spent on shoes in a long time.

Alright, lovers.  Enjoy your day!

~LL

Sporadic

Alright, let's get down to the gritty.  I know y'all have heard about the Mariah/Nicki throw-down.  Wow.  I am so totally not surprised.  I mean, did AI producers really think those two were going to play nice?  Or maybe that was the plan the whole time..get these two on the show and see who wins.  My money's on Nicki.  I would not mess with her.  She's from the ghet-to.  She hangs out with Lil Wayne and Drake (who's brawling with Chris Brown "at da club."  Way to keep it classy, AI.

And in other random celebrity news, I never thought I would ever say this in my entire life but.....I think Lady Gaga is looking naturally pretty these days.  Check this photo out from People:

Love her as a brunette.  Plus, I'm liking the fact that she's put on a few healthy pounds and looks real.  Go gurl!


And since I'm going with the "this blog is all over the place" theme today, my hub's has a job interview this afternoon for a job where he'll be able to work from home.  Yay!  Please send some good vibes his way- we could really use this opportunity.

Enjoy the rest of your hump day!

~LL

New York, New York!

Apparently I was ranting so much about the Emmys yesterday I forgot to announce some big news........

Adam and I are going to NYC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We booked our trip yesterday.  Whoop whoop!  We will be celebrating five awesome, wonderful, hard, happy (some not so happy), crazy, years of marriage!  

Because Adam is constantly traveling with work, he has built up a massive amount of flight miles and hotel points.  If it weren't for those miles and points, we would not be able to take this trip so we are very fortunate.  Between the flights and the hotel the only portion we paid out of pocket was $25 in taxes.  Twenty-five bucks for a trip to NYC......yep, we'll take it!  Of course we'll be spending PLENTY when we get there, but we feel very lucky that we're not paying an arm and a leg for it.  Plus, we'll be there in December so we get to see NYC at Christmas- cannot put in words how excited I am!!

So with all of this being said, I need ideas of places to go, people to see, restaurants to try, shows to watch, etc.  The last time I was in New York was May 2003.  Before then, it was August 2001.  I was there almost one month before the towers were struck.  I actually have this amazing picture of the towers I took while taking the ferry to the Statue of Liberty.  I'll scan it and post it one day.  I remember walking by the entrance to those buildings so vividly.  I was making the trip with my then-boyfriend and his mom.  We had gone to the top of the Empire State Building the day before, and we were walking around Manhattan doing touristy stuff the next day.  My boyfriends mother, Ms. Carolyn, asked if I wanted to go inside the towers and go to the top.  I said no.  Actually my exact reply was, "Nah..I went to the top of the Empire State Building yesterday- I'm good."  I will always kick myself for that one.

So please, load me down with information!!  I've got around 2 1/2 months to plan.  Now, we're only going 2 days/2 nights.  Give me the best of the best, pretty please!!

And before I end this entry, if you are a praying person, please say a prayer for one of my besties, Natalie.  Her sweet Daddy is undergoing heart surgery this Friday.

Thanks, boos! 

XOXO!!!

~LL

An explanation

Well, I guess I should start things out by saying that it feels good to be back.  I haven't blogged since February, and honestly you probably wouldn't have wanted me to.  My life over the past 7 months has been ever-changing, and going into all types of directions.  I'm scattered......it's really no fun.  You see, I am the queen of making rash decisions.  Some of these decisions have been wonderful, most- not so much.  After moving back to Macon in February, I started a job as a claims adjuster at Allstate.  I lasted 4 months.  I went directly into a new job as a dental assistant.  That lasted 2 1/2 months.  I know you probably think I'm crazy......for goodness sakes, I  know I'm crazy! I'm 30 years old and I still haven't figured out what I want to be when I grow up.  The only things I'm sure of at this moment are: I have an incredibly wonderful, kind, patient husband who puts up with A LOT, and I have a fantastic 2 1/2 year old who blows my mind in every amazing way possible and cracks me up daily, and as usual, my mom, dad, and sister are my rocks.  I'm lucky to have wonderful friends,and it is true that the older you get you learn which friends (as one of my besties Natalie states, "will be the ones that ride back home on the Greyhound with you when the limo breaks down."  Sad, but true. 

With all of this being said, I'm happy to be back to this blog.  It is the one place I can come to that's all mine.  And I definitely plan to come back here quite a bit.  So please stay tuned.  I promise it gets better!

~LL

Hellur!

Oops, I did it again.  I haven't blogged in weeks!  What's wrong with me?  Well, I can tell you what's wrong with me; I'm obsessed with "Eric Northman" (ASkars) and have done nothing but read all of the Sookie Stackhouse books, and catch up on all season of True Blood.  I'm exhausted.  Can I please just meet this gorgeous man?!  Can I please just have his beautiful Swedish babies??!  I think Adam will understand..... ;)

In other news, I got a job (whoop!) and we're moving.  A lot, isn't it?  I should have blogged weeks ago, but between the OCD over my Swede, and trying to pack up a house (again) I haven't had much time.  Maybe I can start blogging at night when Aaron goes to bed??  Anywho, I got a j-o-b at Allstate (just like my hubby) and I'll be a Claim Adjustor.  I start this coming Monday.....YIKES!  I'm excited, nervous, and scared all at the same time.  All I've done is be a mommy to my presh baby love for going on two years now.  I'm excited for this opportunity; it's so true that when God closes a door, He opens a window.  I'm excited at the fact that there will not just be one income, but two.  Adam and I can save money!  We haven't been able to do that in years.  I can get a new car (shhh....keep it on the low-low, haven't told Adam yet), and we can actually go on a vacation of our dreams, and for goodness sakes, I can give my Aaron Mo the best of the best.  I'm nervous and scared, too.  Scared about not spending most every minute of the day with my lil man.  I'm nervous about putting him in daycare, and I'm afraid he'll feel that I just dropped him off and left him.  That scares me to death.  All I can do is trust that we're where we need to be.  This job literally came out of nowhere, and I know there's a reason for it.  We'll see where this next chapter takes us...

As for moving, it is what it is.  All we can do is focus on getting back and selling the house.  I will always have a special place in my heart for the house, but our family has outgrown the place.  We'll see what happens..

Okay, since I've clearly sucked at not updating as often, I'm going to make a promise to update at least three times a week.  Don't give up on me yet! ;)

In the meantime I leave you with this.  Yes it's old, and yes I'm a dork that enjoys watching fan-made videos on YouTube, although this is not.  I will meet him one day.....this is true, my friends.

Puss, Puss!  (Kiss in swedish.  I'm SO ready!)