My Atlanta Trip...Finally!

I’m finally writing about my trip to Georgia to see my family. It’s been all too long and I fear this post could be just that, all too long. Pull up a chair, kick your feet up (unless you’re me and you have no flexibility left) and relax!

I got to Atlanta late afternoon on Friday the 15th. Right when I walked out of the airport mama was there pulling up. It’s like our minds were synced perfectly for timing. Shocker! We didn’t waste a second. We started getting caught up right away on what’s new…there wasn’t much. We talk all the time. However, apparently we couldn’t shut our yaps. We were so preoccupied with talking that we almost died. I know, I’m generally a dramatic person so you may not believe me. I’m not even kidding though. See the pictures for proof. Or at least imagine these pictures are proof. We were at a red light right behind a train track. The light turned green and we were going to turn left. There was a truck or van that had to go through the light first though so we could yield to them. They WOULDN’T go….Mama was getting so annoyed. He just kept pointing at something our way. Um okay dude, we can’t read your mind – go or we’ll cut you off and go ourselves. Pregnant girl on board must get to a bathroom. We went, he flashed us and honked (I believe, that could be my dramatic nature making things up, but I really think he did something). RIGHT after we drove over the train tracks and turned left we heard the train. We narrowly escaped the wrath. We looked back and the warning bars were already down with the flashers going full speed. We have no idea how we got through the tracks without getting hit by the bars coming down. The kind man in the vehicle, what – he is kind now, that wouldn’t allow us to yield to him was pointing at the train!!! Oh we laughed.laughed.laughed. Mama asked me not to mention anything to dad, why bother with a lecture? We know where we went wrong! It lasted a day, we couldn’t keep it from him!

This is the light that we had to turn left at, apparently he didn't want to get hit by a train!

These are the tracks that dad narrowly escaped having to add our memorials to.

This might sound like I’m being judgmental but I assure you I am not. I’m simply stating the obvious. Atlanta is a country all on their own. Ask Teiha. Though, I love it out there the culture just isn’t the same. We went to Dairy Queen the night I got there – or another night, who cares – we literally couldn’t understand the sweet woman. She was so nice she even told us to “hab a goob bay.” I think that’s what she said. It was a nice change from the Dairy Queen in Asheville where my bully worked. Ugh, my parents sent ME every time to get our after dinner ice cream because they loved watching me get threatened, my bully really wanted to beat me up. Rude…way rude.

On Sunday Jarod and Lindsay invited us over for a BBQ. First we were going to an event that Lindsay had put together for the new company she is starting. Mama bought me a pedicure – heaven, and Jarod and Lindsay bought mama a manicure for Mother’s Day. It was a good time relaxing and eating a bagel…and by “a bagel” I mean several bagels. Well, me anyway! Before we went into Atlanta though we stopped at Babies R Us because my sweet parents wanted to buy my pack n’ play for Kenleigh. It’s soooo cute, I can’t wait to show pictures. Unfortunately for pops it took a while in the store…and luckily for him they had a million gliders that he could sleep in. Right as we were getting ready to leave father decided that he wanted to share with the rest of us what he concluded after many minutes of lying in the glider. His exact words to the rest of us, “I bet a lot of pregnant women shop here.” Could we start calling him captain obvious – or is that too obvious?

I had so much fun while I was there. I missed Zach and got a touch home sick for him but I’m glad I went. Thanks mama for helping me FINALLY complete my registry. I didn’t even come home and delete it either this time. I love you guys so much!!

My Apologies to Crazy - Not So Crazy - Cori "Cheney"

A while ago we had a girl’s night. We ate yummy food, played bonco, laughed, laughed, ate, laughed and made fun of Cori. I’m not sure how the subject came up but someone asked Cori if she suffered from a slight case of OCD. I guess being the over dramatic, older, dominating sister I couldn’t even let her answer her own question. Yet I found that I myself couldn’t answer it either. Not unless the snorting laughter coming straight from my lungs stopped first. At that point I found it very necessary to touch on a “small” part of Cori’s childhood. I decided it was important to tell all the girls just how really OCD Cori was. I’m not sure how many of you already know this, but I’ll tell my story anyway. When we were kids Cori always complained that the left side of her body was a lot bigger than the right side. We always dismissed her complaints because most, if not all, people suffered from this. Usually the difference is so minor that not many, or any, complain! Not Cori…she would ALWAYS stuff a wad of toilet paper in her right shoe because she thought it made her shoes feel the same size on her smaller foot. She would tie and re-tie her shoes over and over until the tightness was equal. Big deal? Ok not so much. The best part comes when my mom would be doing laundry and she would yell upstairs to Cori to get her butt downstairs. Hold on, I’ll be right back. I have to laugh so more….
Ok I’m back. She would say to Cori, “if you keep one more hair tie on your panties before you put them in the laundry you’re going to get grounded.” Some of you wonder what she meant by this. Cori’s complaint of her body being two different sizes really went to extremes. She would rip the left side of her underwear to make it a little looser on the leg (the leg that was SO much bigger). You’d think this was enough. Nope – she also tied the right side to be tighter with a hair tie so they felt the same. Seriously, was it that necessary? Were her legs really that different in size? I think not…I thought not.
The other night when we were all together we were laughing at this story so hard at poor Cori’s expense. She kept trying to defend herself but we couldn’t let her speak because we were laughing so hard. As I look back I realize Cori never let out any laughter. This was a serious subject. To her at least! After we all stopped laughing one of our friends gave Cori a chance to come to her own defense. She asked Cori if she still suffered this problem or if her right side had caught up to her. Cori said she still has the problem and it still drives her nuts but that she has learned to deal with it. I still couldn’t imagine that she wasn’t following in my dramatic fashion. I made her prove it. She backed up bare feet against a wall with a neutral person at her side to judge. It’s true; we concluded that night that Cori’s left half is in fact unnaturally bigger than her right. Her foot is literally an inch longer! I had been humbled. Cori wasn’t being dramatic. Her thigh is bigger and I’m pretty sure her arm was too. My bad Cori, my humble apologies to you!

Almost 20 weeks!

Yay, i'm almost 20 weeks pregnant. Some days I think time is flying, others not so much. I'm posting a picture for my lovely parents who wish I would move closer, but i've not yet been enticed enough. Ok fine, whatever...I'd love nothing more! Not a lot of update really. My 20 week ultrasound is Monday. I'm soooo excited. I can't wait to see her again. She moves like crazy. Definately active at night...similar to both of her parents. I still haven't registered; I feel too overwhelmed just walking in a baby store. It's starting to sink in more and more that we are about to be parents...1/2 way there! I can't believe how lucky I am to get to feel her all the time and know that I'm the one that's preparing her for this life. Oh crazy. I wish Zach could feel her but she's not kicking hard enough yet. I only get sick about twice a week, so that's a positive! I'm still down 3 pounds from when I started so i'm not complaining about that! I think i'm over my food aversions...yay! That's about all I have for now. Enjoy my only picture!!!

Finally!!!

So Zach and I cheated today and went to Fetal Foto to find out the gender of our sweet baby. I’m sure you can tell by my new background that we are having a girl!!! I’m so excited, words cannot even begin to describe. All you mothers know what I’m talking about. I had a hunch from the moment I found out I was pregnant that I was having a girl. We were sitting at dinner in Cancun and a friend said, “oh it’s a boy!” I’m sure he was trying to keep Zach pumped. We bet $10 right there and then because I just had no doubt in my mind that he was wrong. Today he found out he has to pay up on his bet! Anyway, I hadn’t imagined that when the ultrasound tech said we no longer have to call her a shim because she’s a girl that I would be surprised. I mean I’ve known all along. The words just shot from my mouth, “I told you so Zach” followed by tears galore. It was INCREDIBLE to put an identity to my sweet little child. We knew right away that if we were having a girl we are going to name her Kenleigh Mae. Zach’s not sold on the spelling because he thinks that’s too hard for a little 3 or 4 year old to learn to spell. How cute is he, already thinking ahead! Then there is me, sure she might have a tough time spelling it but when she learns cursive can you imagine the cute signature!? Ha ha ha!! Of course the first people I called were my parents in Georgia, I started crying all over again. Since the day I said “I do” and I knew I finally found the man I would spend the rest of my life with I have never felt so AMAZING as I do on this day! I’m not even sure that’s the word. I never imagined I could feel so complete. I swear I have been feeling her kick (or punch) for a couple of days now, but I knew it could be anything because it’s still so early. The ultrasound tech had no doubt it was her that I have been feeling. She was soooo active I couldn’t stop laughing. Her feet kept kicking my uterus during the ultrasound. It was very obvious she wanted her presence known. Zach called her a (please excuse the language) camera whore. He said she’s already just like her mom. Oh, he’s sweet, ha ha! Below is a picture of sweet Kenleigh Mae Howarth!!!

It's a.....dunnn dunnn dunnn.....

…I really have no idea what we’re having, well what I’M actually having. I say “we’re” because sweet Zach helped make the little dude or dudette, but I suppose he won’t be having anything…until it’s his (which I suppose it already is) and then he’ll HAVE a child. In the meantime, I’m not sure what I’ll be having…I just wanted to practice for next week when I do find out what gender our sweet buttercup is!
I’m doing this post strictly for my mama! She would like an update over the last month of pregnancy and she also wants to see a “baby bump” picture. Against my will I’m giving both. Against my will because I’m incredibly ashamed to say pregnancy thus far has chosen not to agree with me and for that I’m afraid I might be too negative. Admitting the problem they say is the first step so I’m hoping I keep some of the negativity to myself. Incase I don’t, please attribute it to hormones. Yes, hormones. The picture is against my will because I’m 16 weeks and look 40 weeks. Maybe that’s a bit dramatic. Though, I’m generally not a dramatic person so some will likely agree with my assessment. Though if you do please do not post it on my comments. My darling cousin Brooke is around 23 weeks pregnant and she posted a picture of her at 20 weeks along. I swear to you all you cannot tell she is pregnant. Many of you know who she is so I’m sure you’ll pause your reading and go compare her picture to mine below. However, those of you who don’t know her please do not search my blog list to compare pictures. That’s rude! I have several scientific reasons why she looks so little. 1 – I’m a lot shorter. 2 – she has experienced this before. Oh whatever, every blog has to have someone to analyze things. So let me get you started. #2 is actually a lie. They say the more kids you have the sooner you start showing. I know, I know. I guess I’m in denial. So I guess I only have one scientific reason why I’m a touch bigger in the belly and to be honest I’m not even sure I’m shorter than her. It has NOTHING to do with the fact that she is in incredible shape. I’m guessing she has abs of steel and they are helping her hold her sweet boy in, or that she is a marathon runner, probably craves healthy food…etc. It really has nothing to do with any of those reasons. I think she just has good genes. Yes, it’s my genes. Scientific reason #2 – I have bad genes. Brooke – I hope it’s ok half my post is about your cute belly. I hope you’re flattered at any rate!
So my update…I’m almost 16 weeks along. We find out next Monday what our baby’s gender is. I’m sooooooo excited. We do already have names picked out. I hate to write them for the world to see because I can’t guarantee they are official but I’m thinking so. Maybe I better wait just in case though! Since I found out I’m pregnant I have lost 14 pounds. I’ll find out Wednesday at my next appointment if I’ve put some weight back on. I’m guessing I have though. OOOHhh speaking of, I think that gives me reason #3 – go back a few posts in my blog when I talked about starving Zach (accidently of course). I think I learned back then that malnourished people tend to bloat. I’M BLOATING, there you have it! What a relief! So anyway, I thought around 13-14 weeks that my morning sickness was going away so I decided to stop the anti nausea medication. Two days later I thought I was dying. How dramatic does that sound? Again though, not a dramatic person. Turns out I had a lucky two days. I just can’t imagine I’ll be sick for an entire 40 weeks. No one is that bad in life right? I’m looking forward to the day of consistency and feeling good and I know it’s coming! FAITH!! In the beginning I used to talk to my little dude/dudette and ask Shim to not make me so sick! Later I had an ultrasound where Shim was flipping me off. I don't think I flipped my parents off until at least 16 and even then Iit was behind their backs. Sorry parents! After that I let Shim do what Shim chooses because I’m afraid of its wrath. Good parenting huh? I also think it’s inappropriate to call it Shim because that could give Shim a complex. I don’t speak it aloud and until Shim learns to read I’m not all that concerned. If however, you are concerned and you think I’m already starting out on a bad parenting track, again, please attribute it to hormones…oh and also please do not post that part on my comments. I did, for everyone’s enjoyment, post the ultrasound picture of Shim flipping us off! I cannot imagine anyone would disagree with the fact that we are blatently being flipped off. Ok I’m done. I’m sorry I was negative. I don’t really think I’m fat. Well I do, but what girl doesn’t? I also do not mind the sickness because my parents always say they would do ANYTHING for their kids and I tend to think I’ll agree. I already know I’ll do anything for Shim and if it means being sick for a few nine months I can handle it!

Sorry about the glare!

Yay for good news!!!

I’m back! I’m blogging…my dad says, “it’s about damn time.” January has been a crazy month for me. It turns out I’m pregnant. I say that as though I had no idea…and that’s not true. We planned and it happened so quick I was shocked and excited and shocked, and mostly excited! I found out the day I got to Cancun that I was pregnant. I tested abnormally early and got a positive and couldn’t believe my eyes. God was just telling me a bit early so he could make sure I was extra careful on my trip. Unfortunately I may have been so careful that I didn’t get my full fun out of Cancun. Maybe some day I’ll return and try again. I was a nervous wreck. It is my first child and I wanted this so badly I didn’t know what was acceptable. When we were on the speed boats the ocean was so choppy I kept telling Zach to slow down because I was afraid he was going to knock the baby loose. Poor Zach. When we went zip lining I thought the harness would suffocate the little fella’. I had to decide, me or the baby…well that’s what I thought I was choosing between. Turns out I was too scared to fall so I wouldn’t loosen the harness. I really wanted to though. Also turns out stuff like that doesn’t suffocate babies. If anyone’s unsure about child bearing call me, I’ve researched it all! When we got back from Cancun the sickness kicked it. Thank you for not letting me be sick in Cancun. In the last month I’ve lost about 10 pounds. Maybe a couple of those pounds were lost in Cancun because I was afraid of much of the food. Ok so in January I’ve lost 8 pounds. I love to eat, I loved to eat. I never want to eat again. I really don’t. I have aversions to almost every food known to man. As I sit here there is nothing I can imagine eating that would make me happy. I lied, a lemon. I peel them and eat them like oranges. Those are yummy. Don’t worry hygienists in the family, I brush after! I told my parents the day we got home from Cancun. In dad fashion I heard, “it’s about damn time”. I wonder on days if I’ll get more than that but I think that means “congrats, this grandchild will be my favorite”. Sorry Cori, there’s only room for one! Just kidding, I don’t think Launa or Teiha could get beat out! Anyway, I wanted all my family and friends to hear the good news. I’m 10 weeks today and so excited. The doctor said I was pretty much out of the danger zone so that’s why I’m announcing it now. I know anything can happen so keep us in your prayers. I’m so excited and I feel like at this point in my life I’ve never wanted anything so bad. We had an ultra sound today. I didn’t scan the picture but have a pretty good idea of what I saw so I drew it for you all to get an idea of what my little baby looks like. It’s not to scale, apparently it’s the size of a Brazilian nut. Whatever that size is. That’s according to my weekly pregnancy calendar I get emailed to me! I love you all!!

Cancun!!!

Yay!! I’m finally writing a blog. I’ve been so busy with finals that I haven’t had time to write anything, nor have I had any motivation. Audrey, this is for you…now when are you going to update? I know finals are over, don’t kid yourself.
Zach and I went with some friends to Cancun for a week this last week. The each day on the trip one of us would say to the other couple “so, are you going to want to be our friends after this?” ha ha…we had soooo much fun. I’ll tell you EVERYTHING that happened but that means it’s going to be a looong blog. Dad says I can talk and I’m showing him it’s true.

The front of our hotel

The view from our balcony
When we got there we checked into our hotel and we were early for dinner so we decided to just walk around and acquaint ourselves with our new surroundings. There were Iguanas everywhere. They were huge too!

We walked to one of the big markets where they sell things and Preston, one of the people we went with, allowed me to believe that I could barter with anyone. He said that I could literally name my price and they would sell me whatever I wanted. Are you kidding me? Is it true? I’m here to tell you it’s not true. I wasn’t even shooting low on my prices because I was feeling bad for these people and they seriously kept laughing in my face. “You too low, you gotta let me make money. You are crazy, you don’t know what you’re buying here…this is real cotton…” Blah! I didn’t buy anything because I couldn’t even believe they laughed so hard. Rude. The next day we went on this boat tour where you take a speed boat through the “jungle”, maybe 16 miles they say, to this place where you go scuba diving. Let me tell you what an experience that was. I have always loved water. I love going to the lake and wake boarding and swimming and everything that comes with it. I lived not far from a beach for many years and to my knowledge I would always get in and have me a swim. Well, here we are in this gorgeous ocean about to scuba. Don’t you worry…I jump in the water and I’m pretty sure my scuba gear isn’t even on, therefore I have yet to put my head in the water. Yep, sure enough I see a shark. I start screaming, “Shark. Shark.” Zach grabs my arm and tells me to calm down. There aren’t any sharks. Ok so maybe I didn’t see a shark but I’m pretty sure at the time I thought I did. Then all of the sudden I realize there are tons of fish right next to me…uh duh…what did I think we were going scuba diving to see? Sunken ships? I started crying and really wanted to go back to the boat. After Zach calmed me down again I got brave and continued with the scuba experience. It really was an amazing experience and I’m so happy that I did it. I come home to find out from my mom that when we went to the beach I was scared of the ocean then too! Oops… The next day we went zip lining through this most incredible jungle I have ever seen. It consisted of 11 zip lines through the jungle 120 feet off the ground. I am deathly afraid of heights…I know, you’re thinking it seems I’m afraid of everything…it’s true, I am! I graciously let our guides know that I was freaking out and they took such good care of me! It was the most fun I’ve ever had. After we zip line they take you on a mountain biking trail. It was neat but the only thing I learned from that is I hate exercise and that’s why I’m getting fat. Now that’s not a very good life to live. I just have to figure out what to do about it. Most likely call the Mendenhall’s for help and learn to run or something! I’ve noticed Stacey and Ryan have gotten pretty good and I’m thinking there could someday be hope for me too! Anyway, the mountain bike trail took us to this sink hole or “cenote”. It was several hundred feet deep of natural water, no salt. It was amazing. There was a zip line that you could take in, but there was quite a drop. I never got in because it had snakes and…well…it had snakes! Later that night my amazing friends entered me into a singing competition. Don’t worry, I won. Yep it’s true. I know dad, I’ve been trying to tell you it’s my calling. I mean sure it wasn’t about who sung the best, it was about who knew the most songs, but is that really the point here? We did so many things this week scuba, zip line, boat tours, mountain bike, lay out, eat, swim, boogie board, almost get killed by the boogie board, bleed because of almost getting killed by the boogie board, convince myself a shark would find me if I’m bleeding in the ocean, run out of ocean, trip on rock, get stung by something that’s not right (that was Zach by the way) and it was such a good time to just get away from reality…work, school…um, well work and school! The locals in Cancun are so much fun to be around and they teach you so much. We asked so many questions and they were always gracious enough to educate us. I learned on this trip that I’m not graceful and I had many injuries not necessarily worth discussing. Know that I’m ok and we made it out alive. However, the plane ride home was horrifying and I’m embarrassed to say that I cried. So what you guys learned from this trip is that I’m a crybaby. You can also take with you that I have the most patient husband on earth who will get me through anything with so much love and attention I wouldn’t know what to do without him. It’s good to be home and eating good food again!

Some random snake we found at the mall named "Tiny"