Daily Drops in the Bucket

It really is amazing how God’s plans are so much more perfect than our own! The weekend before Addie arrive my very bestest besties were down for the weekend helping me prepare for Addie’s arrival. Little did we know just how SOON that day would be! We ate Japanese food, unpacked shower gifts, put together the glider and baby seat, and organized the Addie’s closet! We had time to catch up, be silly, and just enjoy time together. I guess Addie was so excited about all of her new clothes and toys she couldn’t wait any longer!

Here’s a glimpse of Addie’s humble abode!

First of all….THE WEATHER HERE IN SOUTH GEORGIA FEELS FABULOUS! I am so glad to finally wake up to that familiar crisp, cool chill in the air. Thanks God for the beauty that can be found in each of the seasons that you have created for us.

This weekend has been so much fun! My besties Tori and Mariah came in town to help me prepare for Baby Addie’s arrival in just a few weeks. Our weekend consisted of unpacking baby gliders and bouncers, washing crib bedding and clothes, shopping for new PJs and hospital bag items, and throwing one of the cutest baby showers I have ever seen! I was able to accomplish so much this weekend with the help of these guys and I don’t know what I would do without them and all of my friends who dressed up for Addie’s Halloween themed shower! (I hope to post pictures of all the fun from each of the showers that we have had this month very soon!)

I am so glad to know that Adeline is going to be raised around such Christ-centered, adventurous, daring, bold, and positive female role models. She is one lucky girl….and so am I!

With Fall fully upon us, and Addie’s arrival roughly one month (give or take a week or so…) away I thought it would be a good idea to review my Fall Bucket List: (check it out below)

1. Music Midtown Concert in Atlanta (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Imagine Dragons, Journey, Weezer, and more!) This was rainier than I expected…but still a lot of fun!

2. Read more from my “To Read Library Book List” (I have a few personal finance books that I want to check out, a few about parenting, and then some fiction fantasy just for fun!) This is probably partially fulfilled…I have read several budgeting books and books about babies as well as Divergent. I still have several on the “To Read” list, but that will probably never change…

3. Carve a pumpkin (We try to do this every year. I like to pull out the pumpkin guts and cook the seeds, while Hubby does the actual carving!)

4. Apple Picking Weekend in Ellijay, GA (I think that we are going to rent a cabin with a few friends and celebrate on the very last weekend of pregnancy that I am cleared to travel….haha!) We went with two of our very favorite couples and had a blast!

5. Make some Fall Wreaths for all my family (Look at the one I made tonight at Ladies Craft Night at Church!) Made one for my Mama for her birthday!

6. Make s’mores! Made these on our Ellijay Trip

7. Go watch my sister’s high school football games and watch her during marching band performance. Really wanted to make it to more of these, but at least we were able to see her perform at a local competition. 

8. Go back and see a college football game (and tailgate!)….I really don’t care too much for football, but I enjoy getting together with friends and eating! 🙂

9. Get a head start of Christmas shopping! (With all the excitement coming at the beginning of December, I need to start thinking about this now, or everyone will be getting a picture of Addie and a gift card!) I am proud to say that we are at least half way done Christmas shopping already and I feel better about this already!

10. Go to a local Oktoberfest festival

11. Take maternity pictures!

12. Eat greasy food at the County Fair

13. Make my 2014 Bucket List!

14. Make chili Made on the Apple Picking Weekend

15. Go on a date night to a nice (read expensive) restaurant Waring surprised my by taking me to Local 11 Ten, a local restaurant that I have been wanting to go to for a while, and then going to see Mama Mia!

16. Starting a Bible study with friends.

17. Having a baby! (ya know…no big deal… I got this….)

This week will mark the 35th week of pregnancy for Baby Addie and I! I can’t believe in just a few short weeks we will meet this crazy little girl who is being very wiggly in my stomach as I type.

Pregnancy Update:

-I am still trying to walk/do light exercises a few times a week, but I admit that they are getting rarer!

-I have noticed some crazy swelling in my feet and lower calves, however my doc said that my blood pressure is perfect and everything else is looking stable so I am on a super low sodium diet and supposed to drink even more water than usual (so I guess that means I will have to pee every five minutes now instead of every ten minutes!)

-I feel like my second home is the bathroom at my work. I spend more time walking to and from the bathroom to make my scheduled potty breaks than anything else it feels like these days!

-I am still able to sleep through the night (no insomnia for me…yet!).

-I only have one craving: CHEWY ICE! I am so happy that a Parker’s has just popped up only 2 minutes from our house, which means I can have whenever I want!

-It feels really strange to teach sitting down, but due to the recent swelling episode I am going to have to start getting in the habit in order to keep working.

-Hubby took me on a surprise date night to Local11Ten and to see Mama Mia at the Civic Center this week. It was such a sweet surprise, and a great way to spend time together after such a hectic week.

-I have had two awesome showers in the past two weeks, and have two more this upcoming week. I feel so very blessed to have such loving family and friends who are as excited to see Addie as we are!

3rd Trimester Pregnancy To Do List:

It is finally starting to sink in (kind of) that we only have a few more weeks to get everything ready and prepped before Addie makes her grand entrance. There still seems like there is so much to do, so when I feel in doubt I always make a list! Here are just a few things that need to be accomplished: (in random order…)

-pre-register at the hospital

-wash nursery bedding and clothes

-clean house (I mean deep clean…like we may pay a team to come in here and shampoo carpets etc… I know that I just did this over the Summer, but I feel like it needs to be done again!)

-pack the hospital bag (Waring’s, Addie’s, and Mine)

-clean car (again…deep clean…)

-install the carseat

-pick a coming home outfit for Addie

-get some nursing bras? (not sure if I should wait until after she is born…)

-write a letter to Addie

-get the house sprayed for bugs (I want to do this before she arrives but I need to figure out what can/can’t be done)

-find recipes and make some freezer meals for after the baby

-write and mail out thank you lists from showers

-set up the bassinet

-check out some library books on newborn care (how hard could it be….right???)

-get new/cute pjs and slippers for the hospital stay (if I am going to be a hot mess….I at least want to be wearing cute clothes!)

-make hospital thankyou gifts

-clean out my closet and dresser

I am sure that I have missed about 5 dozen things….but I will be doing good if I can get through most of these things as it is! Here we go!

I know it isn’t October yet, however in my little neck of the woods this weekend our county is holding our annual Oktoberfest Weekend Extravaganza! With some of my very favorite people coming into town this weekend (cough cough…Mariah and Tori) I am so excited to hang out with them and eat some schnitzel with noodle and watch the wiener dog races (it really is the small things in life….)!

As much as I love small town USA’s version of Oktoberfest, I can’t help but wish I was jet-setting across the Atlantic to experience true Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. (A girl can dream!)

This past week was my 30th week of pregnancy! YEAH! Baby Addie and I have got this whole baby making/growing thing down at the moment I think! We are both healthy, and I got word from the doctor that I passed my glucose test and all seems to be going smoothly. Addie is still pretty active, and gets hiccups at times, which is really an interesting feeling.

I have had my first really serious craving I think….but at least it is something healthy. I want Parker’s CHEWY ICE ALL THE TIME! Sometimes I go to the store and fill the largest cup up with ice and nothing else because I don’t want any of my precious ice to melt into the liquid of the soda or tea. I don’t know what it is about the ice, but I told hubby that when it is time to go into labor we would have to make a stop and get a few cups so I can have it in the hospital too!!!! (He might just need to get me a cooler if we are going to be there for a while!)

So next week will be Week #31, which seems outrageous to think because it has gone by so fast, but (knock on wood) it hasn’t been bad so far. Everyone tells me that it only gets worse from here, so I am just thankful for each day that continues to be pleasant and pain free.

In other News: Music Midtown Trip Report

Hubby and I have just made it back in town from our recent bucket list adventure to go see the Red Hot Chili Peppers and several other bands at Atlanta’s Music Midtown festival.

Positives:

-The Red Hot Chili Peppers were really good and we had a great time jamming out to them and Imagine Dragons.

Negatives:

-After we got off the Marta and walked three blocks to the entrance of the concert, it took us OVER 1.5 hours to get through the gate AND it was POURING RAIN!!!! We watched as a group of disgruntled fans knocked down a chain link fence and ran past the entrance gate (all while the security guard just looked on in awe) because they were tired of waiting (and probably drunk).

-It rained for the first several hours of our concert viewing experience. Luckily Waring and I had purchased ponchos before the trip, however a maxi skirt, muddy hills, and rain are not really a recipe for success.

-It took an hour waiting in line to get into a portapotty (which is not good on this pregnant bladder!) I tried to play the pregnant lady card to cut in line, but I just couldn’t bring myself to actually do it!

-It took an hour to get food and drinks! (Also, not good for my pregnant appetite! Baby Addie was NOT happy!)

-The MARTA was so packed on our way home (and we were so soaked/wet/tired) that we decided to pay the $40 to take a cab back to the hotel. Yes, it was expensive…but I would have paid more if I had to in order to get home and have a hot shower!

The Take Away Lesson:

Most bucket list adventures are tons of fun, but you have to realize that when having fantastic adventures like this….not all will go as planned. It will rain, there will be crowds, traffic, and complications. Looking back I am still glad that Hubby and I were able to have this experience, and a chance to get out of house and truly LIVE!

As a teacher, you aren’t allowed to say it…but you have a favorite topic or area to teach. In US History I really love to talk about the scandal, death, disease, and daily life during the Colonial Era. This past week my students and I explored the colony of Georgia from the viewpoint of Oglethorpe and the Trustees, as well as the Malconents, Salzburgers, and Highland Scots. You should have heard the classroom debates during our “town meeting!”

I guess all of our colonial conversations have got me missing one of my favorite museum/interactive historical sites in the United States: Colonial Williamsburg, VA. I went in the heat of the Summer, however I bet with the Fall weather blowing in, that this place is even more AMAZING!

Colonial Williamsburg, VA