Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Bottomview Farms: Pumpkin Patch 2011

Our MOPS group took a trip to a local farm to pick pumpkins today.

Last year, we went to Jackson’s Orchard in Bowling Green, KY, and the year before we trekked out to Honeysuckle Hill.  I have to admit, Honeysuckle Hill is still my favorite place, but what made today so fun was going with my friend Ashley and her two girls, Brooklin and Presley.

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Brooklin is SO good with little ones and her help with Erin was invaluable today.  Especially since Mr. Man thought he had no boundaries and kept getting lost in the masses of school kids that were present on a field trip!

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Erin getting a taste of fresh molasses…

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Sigh….the new “smile.”  Can’t get anything better from him these days….

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A fun day at the farm = a house full of tired people.  But it was a great day!  This is by far one of my favorite traditions, and I just can’t get over how much Seth and Erin change each year we do this!

2008

2009 (Andrea, you have to click on the ‘09 link…AP looks SO little!)

2010

Monday, October 24, 2011

Reflections: 10.24.11

Little things this morning have my step light and my heart happy.

  • comfy new pajama pants from Old Navy, thanks to a birthday gift card from my mom
  • little ones waking up in good moods
  • clean dishes
  • honey nut Cheerios with perfectly under-ripe bananas
  • hitting my 20-lbs-lost goal
  • a dry Pull-Up from overnight!
  • ginger ale
  • our small group
  • having some of our best friends as neighbors
  • a phenomenal  babysitter who my children adore

What is making you smile this morning?

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Peanut Butter Perspective

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Chances are, he’ll remember the Saturday afternoon in October when we made peanut butter cheesecake.

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Chances are, I won’t remember the mess he made eating the leftover crust crumbles.

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(And if, by chance, I do remember the mess, I’m pretty certain…..I’m not gonna care.)

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Another Lovenox journey embarks

6w3d

This morning, I had my first ob consult appointment with Dr. Morgan's office, with Dr. Blake's nurse, Amy, and I loved her.  She wasn't phased by the 5 gallon bag of used needles that I brought in for (long overdue) disposal.  She wasn't phased by my chart that is easily 4 inches thick.  She wasn't phased when I told her I wanted an ultrasound, and that I wanted it today.  She made it happen.

1 flu shot, 3 prescriptions, and 8 vials of drawn blood later, I was in a darkened exam room saying hello to my tiniest child-to-be...a beautiful little bean of an embryo, with a teeny heart beating away at 144 beats a minute, measuring right where (s)he should be.

I have the reassurance I needed to enjoy my getaway to LA this weekend.  I also have a new ziplock bag ready to be filled with used Lovenox syringes.

You're worth it, little one.  You are worth each and every of the 235 shots I will do between now and your birthday.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Family Tree

I'm pretty sure the person most surprised with the news of this pregnancy was my father-in-law.  I've not seen much phase him, but the news that a fourth Gregory baby would be making his debut this spring left him a little speechless.

It was fun to tell Jim's parents.  Moreso, because I think they realize that this new baby plants in our hearts even more firmly that we want to be closer to family, sooner than later.  We're trusting the Lord to provide the right opportunities at the right times to facilitate that, and He is most definitely at work.

In the meantime, I'm just doing my part, growing my little branch of the family tree.....

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Coming up...

My poor neglected blog!  Only 6 posts for September?  So pitiful.  I have high expectations to do better this month.  Our calendar is full of fun adventures and visits with dear friends, and I don't want to miss recording a single moment.

I plan to go back and finish documenting our family vacation; I'll be sure to link a current post to the back-dated ones as I finish them. (I did it!  It didn't get published until after Thanksgiving, but here it is!)

In the meantime, I thought I'd let y'all know what we've been up to, and what's coming up in October.

We spent a whirlwind weekend in mid-September traveling to see our family in Ohio, primarily to celebrate the marriage of my cousin Ashley.  It was a beautiful day, made only more beautiful by the fact that we were able to see SO many members of our family (including our favorite Floridians, Nonna and Papa).

The following weekend, I had the opportunity to go to Cincinnati, without my little ones!  Each March, Jim and three of his best friends from Ohio, gather in the Cinci area for a guys weekend, and each year, us wives say, "we need to have a weekend of our own."  Well, we finally got to a point where no one was hugely pregnant or nursing, so the four girls got a hotel room near the outlets and the West Chester IKEA, and we ate out and shopped to our hearts content.  It was a WONDERFUL getaway, and I know now that we've had a taste of it, we'll be doing it more often.  (Most likely, not annually like the guys, but at least more than once every six years!)

This weekend, I spent Saturday strolling through Franklin, TN, with Tiffany.  Neither of us made any major scores in the antique department, but we had a great lunch at Merridee's (not to mention that we shared a table with Darryl Waltrip!) and enjoyed spending a gorgeous fall day together.

Jim took Seth to his first Nashville Predator's game, and that was a huge success.  I'm not sure which sport Seth is showing more promise for/interest in: golf or hockey.  Right now, it's pretty close.

In a few days, we will spend fall break with family and friends in Ohio, and then in Gatlinburg, celebrating our sixth wedding anniversary, and just a few days after that, I'll be jetting off to LA for a quick 48 hours to film a parenting documentary series.  (How cool is that!?)

The following weekend is a LONG overdue football-and-chili family "playdate" with Sarah and her clan, and then comes Halloween, and October is GONE!

See why I don't want to miss even a moment?

I can't promise that the posts will be well-written or my most entertaining prose, but I can promise some pictures of my adorable kids, and maybe a recipe or two, and just the general ramblings I know you all have come to love (and miss, when I only blog 6 times a month!)

I hope you are all enjoying this most-welcome fall season as much as I am already!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Go, Predators!!!

A boy and his first professional hockey game:
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No girls allowed, and from all the reports I got at way-past-bedtime-o’-clock, it was a huge success.