UGH...weird Christmas!

So, Scott and I both woke up about 1:30 am Sunday night puking our guts up. Montezuma came and exacted his revenge! It was so horrible, we woke up every 30 mins to an hour to get sick. We finally quit puking at about 8am the next morning but we still felt terrible. Thank goodness my sister-in-law and her husband were staying with us, because they were such a HUGE help with Carter. It's hard to take care of a little one when every time you get out of bed you get sick! I don't know what I would've done if they weren't there. At first we thought it was food poisoning but now we are pretty sure it's that nasty 48 hour bug that's been going around. I finally started to feel normal again on Thursday!

The absolute worst part is that we have effectively passed it around to Scott's family. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy but now 4 of them have had it too. Even our poor little nephew who is only 2 got it and it was soooo sad to see him sick! What a pitiful Christmas with everybody sick!!

I will be posting pictures from Christmas as soon as I get back home. I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

Santa Monster

I've been wanting to take Carter to get his picture made with Santa. He's such a laid back baby that I really didn't think that would be a big deal. On Friday, we got him all dressed up in his Christmas sweater and headed out to the mall. Apparently Santa looks like a monster because as soon as Scott put him in Santa's lap Carter started wailing. It was the biggest most pitiful frowny face you've ever seen, so this was the picture....

Merry Christmas everyone!

Carter's Visit to the Doctor

On Monday Carter had his 6th month check up with the pediatrician. First of all they have to weight and measure him to get all his stats so here they are.....

weight - 18 lbs 13 oz. (75th percentile)

height - 28 1/4 in. (Off the chart or basically the 99th percentile) maybe that means he'll be tall!!

head circumference - 17 1/4 in.

He also had to scrap some wax out of Carter's ear which did not go over very well and Carter had to have FIVE shots. He recovered fairly quickly though, thank goodness! The doc gave us the go ahead to start phase 2 baby foods which means exciting new options for dinner. The doc also said it was early that Carter can sit so well by himself without any support. Yea Carter! Overall he said Carter was a beautiful baby and doing excellent.

Tagged!

Tagged: "I Am..."

Tagged by Heather!

*i am ready to finish watching this movie
*i want to stay home with Carter
*i have a beautiful son!
*i miss mom (she went home today)
*i fear not being able to provide for my family.
*i hear Scott playing with Carter as he is getting him ready for bed.
*i search for ways to make my grocery bill less.
*i wonder what my family will look like in another 5 years.
*i regret little, but sometimes I do wonder how my choices effected the outcomes. (I agree with this one, Heather!)
*i love my family, my friends, and a good milkshake
*i forgive easily because I don't want to hold a grudge, it waste energy.
*i ache after doing anything physical...I'm sooo out of shape.
*i always want to be right.
*i try to admit when I'm wrong.
*i seem to be on the right track.
*i know I am lucky to get a job when so many are losing theirs.
*i feel anxious about starting my new job and putting Carter in daycare
*i dance not nearly often enough.
*i dream of watching my babies grow up.
*i give to the march of dimes when they send you those address thingys
*i listen to my mom and dad....their opinion is important to me
*i sing Carter songs in all the wrong keys, but he doesn't mind.
*i laugh when Carter laughs and at funny movies, oh and when Krissee does her fake laugh
*i can't believe Christmas is almost here.
*i write note cards and grocery lists that's about it.
*i cry not very often but will when I'm emotionally drained or hormonally ramped up
*i sleep on road trips. ditto, Heather!
*i am excited and nervous about starting my new job.
*i see great thanks to mom and dad for the lasik eye surgery!
*i need to do laundry and seriously clean house before company comes!
*i should try not to worry so much, but it's in my blood.

I tag Krissee, Dawn, and Holly and anyone else that wants to play! Just fill in the answer with the FIRST thing that comes to your mind.

How Do You Like Them Apples

You can't turn your head away for a second! After feeding Carter his dinner, I went to put his bib in the hamper and when I returned I caught him and his little octopus arms red handed in the cookie jar (or the apple basket). I thought this was too cute!

Here he is again trying to get his little octopus arms on some Christmas decorations. I know he only wanted to help.

Here he is ready for decorating!

An Early Merry Christmas!

So, I found out today that I GOT THE JOB! What great news to go into the holidays! They still have to do reference, sled, and drug tests and checks, but once that all clears my start date is January 5th. It's so bittersweet because I'll have to leave Carter and I have loved every minute of being home with him. But, we all knew I couldn't stay home forever, and this is a great job with a great company. I really couldn't ask for more. Thank the Lord for answered prayers!!

Thanksgiving Treats

Wow, what a jam packed Thanksgiving! We spent Thanksgiving this year with my side of the family in Myrtle Beach. We drove down on Wednesday and since Scott had to return home on Friday, mom said she would bring me back to Columbia on Tuesday, which equaled tons of fun with the family. Thanksgiving was actually pretty typical. Mom made a great meal and everyone came over to enjoy the food and family. Carter got his first taste of sweet potatoes and boy did he enjoy that. Then Scott and Carter had to take a little nap after all that eatin'! Next, the girls got around the table with all the sale papers and mapped out our plan of attack for BLACK FRIDAY. We always have so much fun, but I'm always super exhausted afterwards. We started this year by meeting at Wal-Mart at 5am. Let me tell you, those are some crazy people at Wal-Mart; you could barely even move in the electronic section!
Here is Carter and Holly hanging out on the couch after a busy busy day.

One night while I was home Maggie and Teagan decided to spend the night. Well, Teagan didn't want to sleep with me so she made a pallet on the floor next to Granny and Papa's bed which worked great until about 4 in the morning. Teagan woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep on her pallet, so this is how I found her and Granny the next morning at 7am.

Saturday we went to Carolina beach to visit my Aunt and cousin. We went to the mall and all got pedicures for my mom's birthday! Here we are hanging out on the bench while the other girls rode the two story carousel in the mall.

Here is Auntie Dawn and Maggie playing with Carter while we were shopping.

And finally, one of my favorite pics.....we had to make a trip to wal-mart to get some baby food for the kiddo and I ran across dad on the printer aisle "sit shopping" (a term I coined from this photo). I feel you Dad, shopping is such hard work!

Anyway, it was so much fun to get to spend so much time with the family. Mom brought be back on Tuesday and stayed until Sunday and boy did we get some sewing done!! I'll post pics soon of some of our projects.

Help!

I've been kidnapped!! I'm at my parents house until Tuesday, so I'll update when I get back. But, we been having tons of fun here eating turkey, hanging out, and shopping. So, until I return home, I'm just relaxing and taking a blogging break.

Second Interview

So, I had my second interview on Thursday for this one position, and I think it went really really well! I interviewed with "the team" which was three people in all and they took turns asking me questions. But I got to ask them questions at the end so that was cool. It is between me and one other candidate. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll hear something about it this week.

Fun with Family

The girls came to visit this past weekend which is always lots of chaos and lots of fun. My sister Dawn was already in town because she was at a conference for work, so we got to hang out with her all afternoon on Friday. The rest of the crew got here about 8:30 pm which was just in time to say hello to Carter and then send him off to bed.

Saturday we went to a big indoor garage sale, the craftsman classic at the fair grounds, and then the mall and surrounding stores. We sure were busy!! But we had a blast together as always. I really love when they come to visit. Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Auntie Dawn and Carter hanging out at Mellow Mushroom

A very tired Teagan on the way home from shopping on Saturday. (And yes, she's wearing a dress that says Prom Queen!)

Auntie Holly and Teagan reading to Carter

Granny feeding Carter a little applesauce and cereal

Bald Head

No, I'm not talking about Carter's head, I'm talking about Bald Head Island. Some friends of ours invited us to their beach house on Bald Head Island for some low key, relaxing, inexpensive fun! We said, absolutely! So, last weekend we went and had a great time. The island and the beach house are both so gorgeous. There are no cars on the island and you have to take a ferry over which Carter really enjoyed.

Carter playing in the sand

Since there are no cars, everyone has golf carts which is so cool! So, we went riding around touring the island on the golf cart. Carter loved riding facing out, but in this picture he was ready for a nap so he is turned in.

On our way home, we stopped in MB to visit my family and mom treated us to lunch. Here we are getting lunch and mom and Teagan are playing with Carter.

All in all, it was a great weekend! Thanks for having us Ty and Jenn and thanks to the fam for meeting us for lunch!

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Aunts

Carter sure has been a busy boy with all of his visitors lately. A couple of weeks ago, Auntie Dawn came to stay with us on a Sunday night because she had a conference in town. While she was here, her and Carter played all night. They spent some time on the computer and then played with the toys in his room. After play time, Auntie Dawn gave him a bath and then read him some books before bed. Once Carter got to sleep, I lit some candles on the birthday cake I made and serenaded Dawn with Happy Birthday since her birthday was two days later. Thanks for the visit Auntie Dawn, come back anytime!

Playtime on the computer

Auntie Dawn reading to Carter

Next on the visitor log book was Aunt Heather. She came down on election day to go shopping with me, Krissee, and all the kiddos. Now, I'm not sure what she was expecting, but we didn't end up doing a lot of shopping. Between feeding babies, changing diapers, taking them in and out the car, getting them in strollers, etc......there just wasn't a lot of time left to shop! But we did manage to get a little done.

Aunt Heather also got a birthday cake and a serenade because her birthday is coming up really soon! Anyway, thanks for making the trip down Heather! We loved seeing you and having your help with the babies!!

Me, Heather, and all the kiddos waiting on the elevator (and boy did we fill that elevator!)

WHOO HOOO!

I got a call today for the company I interviewed with yesterday and.......they want me to come in for a SECOND interview! YEAAAA!!!! The interview is scheduled for November 20th, so while it's still two weeks away, I'm still SUPER excited!

Thanks for all the prayers and good vibes....keep it up, it's working!

Tell Me About Yourself

Well, I had one of my interviews today, and I think it went really well! I hope I am on target when I say this, because sometimes it hard to tell how other people perceive you. But, the job sounds good and there is tons of room for advancement. The lady I interviewed with hopes to have it narrowed down to the top 2 candidates by Friday, so I'll soon know either way!

I also landed another interview tomorrow with the same company for different position. It really seems like I have some good things rolling now. If I can only get one of them to shake out. I'll keep you posted.

The Bewitching Hour After Hour After Hour

Wow, what a Halloween! Our friends Daniel and Krissee had an extra pumpkin costume that they let Carter have. We thought it was all too cute that we would have our own little pumpkin patch. So, I get Carter all ready to go over to the Day's house to have a little Halloween fun. I decided to pack a bag for myself because we were planning to have a few drinks and the Day's were gracious enough to say..."just stay here". That way we can be responsible and no one has to drive home. Perfect, right! Well, here are a few pics of our cute pumpkins.

Carter in his glow in the dark skeleton onesie that Auntie Holly sent!

My sweet little pumpkin!


The whole family.

Our very own little pumpkin patch

Well, then the fun really started! We get to the Day's and take some pictures and then have a little pizza and then it's time to get kids ready for bed. So, I get Carter changed into his PJ's and get him to go down in the pack and play that the Day's put in my room. Perfect, Carter normally sleeps until about 6:30 am so I'm thinking now mom can have a few drinks with the girls. That's not exactly what happened. About 30 mins or so after he goes down, he's crying....so not normal. I rock him a little and put him back to bed. A little bit later, he's crying again. So, after a little tummy medicine to help with his gas....I rock him and put him back to bed. Still not happening because a little bit later he's crying again. It's now about 1:30 and I decide to feed him because maybe he's hungry and with a full tummy he'll be able to sleep. Not so much. I called Scott and he will be on his way back in town from a gig shortly so I ask him to come pick us up. It's about 2:15 now and Krissee decided to go to bed and I decided to put Carter in his carseat and he goes to sleep, whew! I decided to take a little nap on the couch until Scott arrives.

It's about 3:15 and Scott gets there to pick us up. We get home and sweet Scott says why don't you go to bed, I'll try to get Carter down. Then the scream fest started.....he screamed bloody murder for about an hour and half. There was no consoling him. Since I couldn't sleep (go figure), I got up to take over and let Scott go to bed. Well, after I got Carter he quit crying and was sound asleep after about 10 minutes of rocking. I was thinking there's no way this is going to last, but I put him in his crib and went to bed. I then had to wake him up at about 8:30 am because there was absolutely NO WAY I was going to let him sleep all day so we could have a repeat performance tonight.

I still have no idea what was wrong....maybe it's his teeth coming in or something else, who knows! But he seems to be doing fine today and I bet I will have one tired little boy tonight. I can honestly say, I hope this is one tradition that doesn't get started!

Day of Great News

This has been a great day! You know I went to fill out that job application on Monday. Well, first thing this morning, they called and want me to come in for an interview! YEA!! I'm trying not to get my hopes too high, but I am still VERY excited. My interview will be on next Wednesday, so if you pray, please say one for me or just send good vibes in general this way.

As if this news wasn't enough to make my day, my sister went to the doctor today for an ultrasound to tell if she having a boy or a girl. So......it's a BOY!! I'm sure you can imagine how excited my dad is about this. He's thinks he's on a roll with the boys after having 3 daughters and 2 granddaughters.

Jellybean - we can't wait to meet you, cuddle you, play with you and love you!

Holy Poop Pants Batman

One of Scott's fraternity brothers got married Saturday night in Aiken at this really beautiful historic house and gardens. I had picked out this super cute outfit for Carter consisting of khaki pants and a little blue argyle sweater (really precious). Well on the way down to the wedding I got tickled at Carter because he was grunting and making all these noises.....I said sounds like he's trying to work something out back there. Well, was he ever. We get to the site of the wedding with about 15 minutes before the ceremony starts. Scott goes to pull Carter out of his car seat and was like oooooh what's that (referring to the wetness on his hands). So he turns the kid around and finds these britches....

I got a little tickled, but immediately opened the back of the envoy so we could change him in the back. Scott is holding Carter at arms distance and I had to just peel the clothes off of him. But we got him all cleaned up and changed with about 5 minutes to spare. Scott only had a little bit of poop on his white shirt, but with his jacket button you could hardly tell. haha! So, here's Scott and Carter on the way back to the car after a great wedding.

The worst part of the whole thing was that there wasn't exactly any place to put the diaper or clothes, so we just had to leave them in the back of the car. You can imagine the buffet of smells waiting for our noses when we returned to the car 2 hours later!

How Qualified is Qualified

This post will actually be pretty different than if I'd have written this yesterday. You see, yesterday I was feeling pretty frustrated about my job search and job prospects. I think in total I've probably applied for around 30 jobs with few of those applications resulting in even a phone call. One particular frustration I've had is with the local university and their system for applying for jobs. For one thing, it's all automated which on one hand is nice because it's easy. On the other hand it sucks because your resume is dumped on an HR person who probably looks at it for a minute, if that. So, you apply and the status says "your application is being reviewed by HR". The next day you check and it says "not qualified". This has happened on four positions that I've applied for with the university.

Seriously! It's not like I'm trying to teach school, I'm applying for jobs with the career center or student services office, or even the business school. I have a master's degree and four years experience and I'm "NOT QUALIFIED". UUUGGGGHHHHH!!!! Give me a break people. WHAT are you looking for exactly??

But today......I get a call from a company with which I applied for a position at the beginning of October. They want me to come in to fill out an application. YEA! After not having too many phone calls about jobs, this is pretty exciting news. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much because it's just an application, but it's better than what I've seen lately. The best part....it's actually a job dealing with my major, marketing. Keep your fingers crossed for me on Monday that I cross my T's and dot all my I's!

Just Pictures

I really don't have anything to post about right now other than my total and utter frustration at my job search. But I won't bore you with that.....so, here are a couple of new pictures!

Carter in his lion towel.

Carter and daddy having some play time before bed.

Cute Little Punkin'

This church down the road from us has a great pumpkin patch that I've been wanting to take Carter to. So, on our way to church this Wednesday, we stopped by to get a pumpkin and a few pictures. I have to say, I think they turned out pretty cute.

I really love this time of year!

Tagged!

Heather tagged me with these lists of 8, so here are my answers. Hope you enjoy.

8 Things About Me....

8 Favorite TV shows: In no particular order
1. Survivor
2. Dancing with the Stars
3. American Idol
4. So You Think You Can Dance
5. Friends (Re-Runs)
6. Lost
7. The Shield
8. Oprah

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Chic-Fil-A
2. Olive Garden
3. Casa Linda
4. Motor Supply
5. Thursday’s
6. The Villa
7. Groucho's
8. Mellow Mushroom

8 things that happened yesterday:
1. Took Care of Carter
2. Went to church with the How's and Day's
3. Stopped by the pumpkin patch
4. Had a glass of wine
5. Watched part of the presidential debate
6. Looked for a job
7. Cleaned a bathroom
8. Met a new neighbor walking by

8 things to look forward to:
1. Hanging out Sat. night
2. Thanksgiving at mom and dad's
3. Halloween with carter and friends as pumpkins
4. supper club
5. Carter getting better with the food
6. My new niece or nephew
7. Christmas with the family
8. going to the beach

8 things I love about fall:
1. Trees changing colors
2. FOOTBALL!!
3. Halloween
4. Season premieres on TV!!
5. Cooler weather
6. State Fair (although we didn't get to go this year)
7. Thanksgiving
8. Christmas

8 Things on My Wish List:
1. More babies (one day)
2. Heather and girls to move back to Columbia ;)
3. A JOB!
4. Another trip to Puerto Rico
5. Spend more time with my family
6. New computer
7. See friends more often
8. A JOB!

8 people I'm tagging:
ok it's not eight, but I'm tagging Dawn and Holly

Here's What the Doc Said

Carter had his "4 month" check up today although he's really getting close to 5 months. Here are the stats...weight was 16lbs. 13oz., height was 26", and head circumference was 16" (I'm still not really sure why they measure this, but oh well it was 16). He was in the 90th percentile for his height and weight and the 25th percentile for his head circumference.

Carter also got a shot in each thigh which he was not to happy about, an oral vaccine, and the wax scraped out of his ear. By the end of all that, he was looking at the doctor like he was a terrorist. But, he bounced back and seemed just fine in a couple of minutes.

Probably the most exciting news is that Carter gets to start real food! (well...baby food that is) First we're starting with a little rice cereal, then in a couple of weeks we'll add fruit, and then in a couple more weeks move to veggies! Very exciting. So, I decided to go ahead and give it a shot tonight. Here's Carter's first eating experience!

I'm all ready, Mom!

Ummm...what is this stuff?

Maybe I'll just stick to my fingers!

10 Year Reunion

So, my 10 year high school reunion was this past weekend. I know what you're thinking....but yes, I am that old. I know it's shocking but come on we can't stay young forever. Anyway, back to the story of the festivities. I was really unsure about how I felt about going back and seeing everyone. I can't say I was really excited, but I wasn't really dreading it either.

My friend Dana invited us over to her family's beach house to have a cocktail with her and her husband before the big shin dig got underway. After a couple of drinks we decided to head off to the reunion. The actual event was held at a resort in North Myrtle Beach. We arrived about 7ish and mingled and had few cocktails. We finally sat down to eat around 8 and then more gabbing and cocktails followed. There was a huge dance floor although there wasn't much dancing going on. As you can probably imagine, most everyone hung out near the bar which was located on a private porch outside. Scott was a great date, although he did get a little tired of being there and went to wait in the car until I was ready to go. (I think there might have been some football involved or something!)

We finished up the night and arrived back at mom and dad's house around midnight. All in all, it was a pretty fun night. But I can say I'm glad I'm not in high school anymore! and NO, I wouldn't want to re-live those days again!

Summer, Me, and April B.

Me and my wonderful date

Me and April L.

And here is part of the family seeing us off on Sunday. Maggie was there she just didn't make it far enough over to be in the pic. It's kind of a tradition that been started to stand on the porch and wave until you can't see the car anymore....pretty cute! (I think Teagan had something to do with starting this) Oh....and that's my dad on the left-PUT a shirt on Dad! :)

Ultimate Karma

This was just too funny I couldn't pass up sharing. Yesterday, Scott is sitting back on the couch playing with Carter. He's holding him up in the air and then....YACK, Carter spits up all over Scott's mouth and down his shirt. I immediately started laughing hysterically...why, you may ask....because A. it's just funny and B. it's happened to me before (more than once I might add). Scott is making this face and saying "take the baby I think I'm gonna get sick", which makes me crack up even more. He doesn't get sick, but he does go get cleaned up and then heads out to go run some errands.

Fast forward to about an hour or two later when I am laying down on the couch playing with the baby, holding him up above me.....I'm sure you can see what's coming. SPLAT - spit up right in the eye. So, with my squinty eye I kind of laughed inside because I really deserved that after how much I laughed at Scott. Thanks Karma for teaching me a lesson....but it was still funny!

Life at the Beach

Many of you may know that I spent part of last week visiting my Aunt Linda at her condo in Carolina Beach, NC. Ahhhh....the life. Me, mom, and Carter got there on Tuesday night and basically just spent the next few days hanging around and messin' about. Wednesday we went out to lunch, did a little shopping, and took a ride on my Aunt Linda's boat, the Maggie P. We got Carter all fixed up in his infant life jacket (which was pretty funny on it's own) then he promptly went to sleep. Thursday we went to the local nail place and got pedicures (I do love a pedicure!), walked along the river walk in downtown Wilmington, got some ice cream, and then stopped by the fresh fish market to get some dinner. We picked red snapper, which I've never had but it was very delicious. Friday, my Aunt gave us a little tour of the island before we had to pack our stuff and head home. It was very relaxing and so much fun to spend time with my mom and Aunt!

Carter in his life jacket ready for a ride!

Mom, Aunt Linda, and Carter aboard the Maggie P

The view of the inlet from the balcony (not bad, right!)

All of us on the river walk with the U.S.S. North Carolina battleship in the background.

Meet our Godchildren

Scott and I were so honored when Krissee and Daniel asked us to be Godparents to Smith and Addison. I've never been a Godmother to anyone and then all of a sudden...BAM...I am a Godmother to two beautiful children. It's like winning the lottery. The actual baptism service was this past Sunday and everything was wonderful. The babies did so well on their big day and lots of family and friends came to see them.

One big happy family

Two proud Godparents!

If you read Krissee and Daniel's blog, I'm sure you hear more about this wonderful event! (I would include the link if I could figure out how to do that!)

Smith and Addison - We promise to always be a part of your life and help you grow in God's light!

Girls, Girls, Girls

Saturday night was GIRLS night out and boy did we have a good time! We decided to go to the Carolina game (thanks for getting us the tickets, Mary) and we somehow managed to talk my brother-in-law Sean into driving us all. I'm not sure how we managed this, but he did it and we owe him a big thanks for that! We also managed to get all the men folk to stay home with the babies, so we knew they were in good hands and could go out and have fun. Sean picked us up about 3 pm and we headed off to the game. I have to say the most fun was just getting to hang out with these ladies and catch up.

After the game, we went back to Mary's for more "hanging out", because we just weren't ready to go home yet. We did not behave, we did not get home at a respectable hour, but we did have tons of fun and shared lots of laughs!

And I just had to show this picture I took of Carter before I left the house. His head is thrown back in the throws of laughter and I just thought it was too cute. It's almost like he's saying, "you're leaving me with who...haha". But I have to confess, Scott did a wonderful job taking care of him, as always! :)

Baby Mullet

I think it's pretty commonly known that some babies can lose their hair after they are born. What's not so commonly known?? That your baby can develop a mullet all on his own. See here's what happens....as your baby sleeps, he can rub the hair off his head in the spots where his head touches the crib. A friend of ours dubbed this the baby mullet and it looks a little something like this....

Ahhhh....too funny! The good news in this situation is that Carter is now growing some new hair and it seems to be filling in the bald spot!

Here's a pic of Carter sitting in his Bumbo seat. I was so excited when he was able to start using it. That feeling was promptly replaced with sadness when I realized that he won't be using it long because when I went to take him out, the seat lifted up too because it was stuck on his little thunder thighs!