Thoughts for Thursday- Finally My Weekend Recap.. Meredith's 10 year Reunion!

Happy Thursday Lovies!

Sorry so late but at least I'm posting! I'm back to recap my weekend. I can't believe I've been out of college for 10 years.. how did that happen?! I spent 4 fun filled years at the all womens college of Meredith. If you had told me when I was younger or even an early junior in high school I was going to Meredith I would have laughed in your face. I have soooo many wonderful memories here. It's truly a special school that holds a very dear place in my heart and always will. It was a rush of good emotions walking back to campus (BTW- My Hubs and I were also married here. We were married in Jones Chapel December 1, 2012. So even more than just school memories.).

A few of us took a picture in from of Vann dorms. This is the dorm where it all started on 4th floor our freshman year. My room mates for all 4 years, my closest friends to this day, and crazy memories all started in this dorm.

Some of us girls after dinner at the band party. The Band of Oz was playing, booze was flowing (well for those who could drink it), and a photo booth!

Saturday morning was a meeting/speeches before breaking for lunch. Lunch was served in our old Belk Dining Hall. I had to take a picture of my tollhouse pie. See I was obsessed with this pie in school and ate it at almost every meal. :)

Us in front of Johnson Hall after our class meeting, shopping at the market, and the dessert reception.  

Our class had our individual dinner Saturday night at the Busy Bee cafe. Amber started us off with a selfie at the bar. 

The food was amazing! The space was a little cramped for mingling and picture taking. This one was taken at the end of the night when they were putting away tables. So good to see and reconnect with old classmates! I'm excited about our 15 reunion. 

Sunday was truly a day of rest of this Mama. All the activities wore me out! I barely left the couch all day. In the end, I was so glad I went and blessed to have attended such an amazing school.

Linking up with Natalie and Annie.

18 Weeks

how far along: 18 weeks! 

  size of the babies: Size of sweet potatoes!   total weight gain: 5lbs overall officially. I haven't weighed this week. I choose to not weigh and leave that up to the professionals. :)   gender: Dying to know what these monkeys are! Countdown.. 10 more days..   maternity clothes: Yep. Already 100% maternity pants. Some shirts I'm now breaking down and wearing maternity. I'm also pretty much maternity dresses unless they are maxi dresses.
stretch marks: Nope. Starting to itch so I'm sure it's coming.    movement: Maybe a bit. I feel pressure and movement when I've eaten a lot.       sleep: Sleeping is so so..I toss and turn a lot because my hips get sore or I wake up on my back and my legs are numb (fun times!). I also have to pee at least 2 times a night.    missing: this week I would have seriously killed for a ham and/or turkey deli meat sandwich. have you told friends/family: Yep! Everyone should know by now. If you see me, you know I'm preggo. Can't hide the bump anymore.   cravings/aversions: Lately.. watermelon, ice cream, oh and golden oreos.. damn those things. I may or may not have eaten an entire package in a few days.   symptoms: I have to pee ALL the time!   

cries: I seriously tear up at EVERYTHING.. no major cries but some close calls.

labor signs: No

belly button in or out: In.

wedding rings on or off: Well.. I say on. My fingers have swollen a couple of times this week since the humidity is out of control around here. I've been able to take them off for a few and put them back on. Who knows how long this will last. 

  the hubs is: Ready to know what these babies are. Tired of me calling them leeches. He hates that! I called them that in the first trimester when I was super tired. Now I kinda throw it out there to annoy him. Ha!  

babies are: five and a half inches long and five ounces in weight each. They are developing yawning and hiccupping skills and their own unique set of toe and fingerprints.

  looking forward to: Finding out what these babies are.. I just pray that they are healthy. I could care less what they are but just excited to finally know so I can plan and decorate!!   best moments: Reunion weekend was fun. Everyone was shocked to know I'm expecting twins. :)

Thoughts on Thursday- What We've Bought or Decided on So Far for the Babies

Happy Thursday Lovies!

In some ways these weeks are flying by but in others dragging. Like how I am 17 weeks already?! But the day that we find out seems like an eternity to knowing what these little monkeys are. Patience is not my strong-suit so this has been pure torture waiting especially when I'm DYING to buy stuff and plan for their arrivals. T minus 16 days!!

- My Dad sent me this picture this week (please excuse the messy garage in the background). I teared up.. figures! One of these high chairs and the little rocking chair was mine when I was little. My Mom is somewhat of a borderline hoarder so she saved a LOT. I do think it's super cool that my kiddos will get to use them. They are still in excellent shape. The other high chair that just so happens to match is from one my Mom's friends. She had it and her kids didn't want to use for their babies so she offered it to me. I am over joyed! Can't wait for our little ones to sit in these for meals.. well I say that but I don't want to wish time away either!

- I'm also planning to use my old crib that matches the above design for one of the babes. I debated this a lot and finally just decided if it met safety regulations.. why not?! My Mom has measured and checked it over and meets all the current requirements for safety plus its solid wood and metal. I plan to purchase either a cherry or white crib in the same design from Target. The color will depend on the genders. If it's two boys I'm leaning towards all cherry. If it's a boy and a girl I'm leaning towards the cherry and a white one. If it's two girls.. well I haven't decided yet because white is what I envisioned for girls so we'll see but for now below is what I'm thinking of purchasing.

- I'm leaning towards the baby jogger city select stroller and adding the extra seat. I think this is my best option for adding car seat adapters and for shopping as they grow. I have pushed this thing around Buy Buy Baby several times now and I think I'm sold. I debated a side by side and jogger and etc. A friend told me she wants to sell her double BOB at the end of the summer and I can have first dibs so I think that sealed the deal on this decision. 

- My Mom was so excited when she found out we were preggo and especially with twins. I had already decided on a carseat/stroller combo when I thought I was having one. Well obviously all that had to change but I found the carseats at Target a few weeks after finding out it was twins on major sale. My Mom bought them for us. So we have carseats all ready to go! We went with britax Bsafe. I liked that they are gender neutral since we don't and can be easily sold later. 

So for not knowing we've either bought or already made some decisions. There is a laundry list of other things we need to decide on once we know. Any input, comments, or thoughts would be appreciated. 

Linking up with Natalie and Annie.

17 Weeks

how far along: 17 weeks! 

  size of the babies: Size of my palms or a turnip!   total weight gain: 5lbs overall. Up 4 lbs from my last appointment. Bleck! The doctor seemed super pleased.. I cringed. Ha!   gender: Dying to know what these monkeys are! Countdown.. 17 more days..   maternity clothes: Yep. Already 100% maternity pants. Some shirts I'm now breaking down and wearing maternity. I'm also pretty much maternity dresses unless they are maxi dresses.
stretch marks: Nope. Starting to itch so I'm sure it's coming.    movement: Last Wednesday I swear I felt my first official kick. I've had a few random ones here and there.      sleep: Sleeping is so so..I toss and turn a lot because my hips get sore or I wake up on my back and my legs are numb (fun times!). I also have to pee at least 2 times a night.    missing: Raw tuna/sushi and medium rare steaks! have you told friends/family: Yep! Everyone should know by now. If you see me, you know I'm preggo. Can't hide the bump anymore.   cravings/aversions: Random cravings at the moment but nothing major. Although since Mother's Day and eating this delicious strawberry short cake, I have wanted one early night since.  Strong smells still turn me off of food.   symptoms: I have to pee ALL the time!   

cries: I seriously tear up at EVERYTHING.. no major cries but some close calls.

labor signs: No

belly button in or out: In.

wedding rings on or off: On. Wondering for how long though with the temperatures also getting warmer. 

  the hubs is: Getting excited...Also counting down the days until we know the genders.  He rubs my belly every night and talks to them. It's pretty sweet. He's going to be the best Daddy!  

babies are: the size of my palms, weight about 5 ounces each, and are developing some body fat. Their hearts are now regulated by their brains and beat 140 to 150 times per minutes. They are practicing their survival skills that they'll need a birth such as sucking and swallowing.

  looking forward to: Finding out what these babies are in a few weeks.. I'm seriously counting down!   best moments: This past weekend was Mother's Day. This year was a really good one. Incredibly blessed!

This Mother's Day..

Will be different. For that I'm will be forever grateful. Last year was the lowest of the lows. See no one knew our story. They didn't know our struggles, they didn't know the pain. They didn't know all ups and downs we'd already faced and the ones that lay ahead. They didn't know the painful testing, the self administered shots, and the piles of negative pregnancy tests that were already behind me. They always asked when children would be in our future. I'd always smile and say maybe some day and shrug it off as if it wasn't on my mind. They didn't know these comments hurt to the core. They didn't know I would leave each event in tears and cry all the way home. They never knew the amount of tears shed, the hopeless days, or the constant disappointments. It made me question my faith. It made me question my life at times because I always thought I'd be a mother. A pain greater than I had ever faced. You can't relate to this kind of pain unless you've experienced it. I don't wish this pain on anyone. Today I'm proud to say it's made me stronger. A stronger person, a stronger Christian, and stronger willed. It's made me so incredibly grateful for these two miracles growing inside me. This Mother's Day I will rub my growing belly a little more, I will thank god a few more times, and I will celebrate with a grateful heart that God chose my to be these little ones Mommy. For the ones struggling with the same kind of pain- my heart goes out to this Mother's Day. I can only hope you will one day experience the same feeling I get to this Mother's Day.

Via

Thoughts for Thursday..16 Week Update

how far along: 16 weeks! 

  size of the babies: Size of avocados!   total weight gain: I'm sure I'm up a few pounds. I'm eating overall pretty healthy but I snack all the time! Doctor's appointment scheduled for next week so I'm interested to see the actual #'s.    gender: Dying to know what these monkeys are! Countdown.. 23 more days..   maternity clothes: Yep. Already 100% maternity pants. Some shirts I'm now breaking down and wearing maternity. I'm also pretty much maternity dresses unless they are maxi dresses.
stretch marks: Nope. Starting to itch so I'm sure it's coming.    movement: I feel like a few butterflies but nothing really.     sleep: Sleeping is so so.. A lot going on with work so I've had a lot on my mind. Being out of town last week didn't help at all. Hoping this week to catch up so to speak.    missing: Raw tuna/sushi.  have you told friends/family: Yep! Everyone should know by now. If you see me, you know I'm preggo. Can't hide the bump anymore.   cravings/aversions: Random cravings at the moment but nothing major. Strong smells still turn me off of food.   symptoms: I have to pee ALL the time!   

cries: I seriously tear up at EVERYTHING.. no major cries but some close calls.

labor signs: No

belly button in or out: In.

wedding rings on or off: On. Wondering for how long though with the temperatures also getting warmer. 

  the hubs is: Getting excited...Also counting down the days until we know the genders.  He rubs my belly every night and talks to them. It's pretty sweet. He's going to be the best Daddy!  

babies are: Weighing in at a whopping 3-5 ounces each and 4-5 inches in length each. The bones that are in place in their ears mean they can probably hear my voice. Muscles in their backs are gaining strength, so they can straighten out a little more. Thanks to their developing facial muscles, babies are capable of making a few expressive frowns and squints. Their eyes are finally working, making small side to side movements and perceiving light (although eyelids are still sealed).

  looking forward to: Finding out what these babies are in a few weeks.. I'm seriously counting down!   best moments: Sitting in the sun this past weekend.. wondering what these babies will be.. 
Linking up with Natalie and Annie.

Weekend Recap.. Beach Time... Food.. Decorating Debates..

I swear these weekend recaps keep getting later and later. Sorry about that! Until then, I'm just happy I'm posting these.. LOL. Last week was a bit crazy as I was in Alpharetta, GA for work most of the week. On Friday, the weather forecast for the weekend was so gorgeous that I just had to get to the beach. The weather.. PERFECT! Carolina Beach just finished a brand new board walk between the Marriott and soon to be new hotel (no one knows for sure but rumor is.. it's a Hilton). I was in love with the swing and could have sat there all day. I even took a selfie (side note.. I never take selfies!).

View from the swing.. breeze.. roar of the ocean.. HEAVEN!

This is one of 3 little covered areas. They did an amazing job with the landscaping too!

 A beach weekend always includes amazing food (even pre-preggo). My Mom's favorite place is Rucker John's (I have to admit it's my favorite too). They have the BEST croissants- warm and drizzled with honey. I could have eaten an entire basket of them!

We always go for the brownie sundae's too. I had told my Dad to pass this time but of course he ordered one anyways. So I had to have a have a bite!

 On the way home on Sunday we stopped at the Mad Boar for lunch. We do this quite a bit but we parked at the back of the restaurant this time. I've NEVER noticed this cute little fountain. Not sure why but I was seriously amused by him. 

While at the Mad Boar I decided to order their banana pudding on special. Ok.. maybe I'm just too Southern but this is NOT banana pudding.. This was vanilla instant pudding with some bananas, vanilla wafers, and chocolate chips. Anyone eat theirs like this? I thought it was weird.

Mom and I found this little chest at Home Goods at the beach. My Hubs was oh so excited to haul this home on Sunday. I love the size and details. Just not sure if I think it's too dark for our house. Most of our furniture is a bit lighter. Any decorating tips? Comments? Love to hear them. Still debating how I feel about it. Although my Hubs says it's staying because he's not loading it back up anytime soon. If it stays.. the mirror will be changed or at least painted gold. This is one actually a silver/pewter color. 

How was your weekend? I hope it was a good one!