Operation Skinny Mama: an update

Oh boy. I've written about this topic before.

I wrote about my post-baby #2 body here & I gave an update here. Well, after that second update I kind of fell off the wagon. I needed to start pumping more & therefore had to increase my calories. I quit Weight Watchers so I could focus on building up my milk supply. 

I didn't gain weight, but I certainly wasn't losing it either. I stopped watching what I was eating & I never worked out. That will get you nowhere, my friends.

I'm here to say that I am back on track! A few weeks ago I stumbled across a picture of myself in a bikini when I was 20. 

Talk about some crazy motivation.  I taped that picture on my bedroom mirror so I can see it everyday. So I can see that I CAN look like that. Okay, maybe not exactly like that...but close.

I didn't go back to Weight Watchers (see also: I'm cheap) but I am tracking everything on My Fitness Pal. I've been working out every day at home & I can't wait to be able to walk outside once it warms up. I am determined to make this the year of me. The year where I won't be pregnant (fingers crossed) & the year where I can finally feel good about myself.

I've lost 3.5lbs in about a week & a half. I've got 16.5lbs to go until I reach my first goal. I have until June 29th--my cousin Robyn's wedding--to meet that goal. SO, here's to being back on track AND feeling better!

I'm not a resolution person.

I'm not a resolution person. There is a lot of pressure that usually comes with New Years reso. lutions. I don't have any resolutions, but I do have some goals for 2013.  

• Start my day by spending time with the Lord. Whether it is just prayer, reading my bible, or doing a devotional...I can always tell a difference in my attitude when I start my day off right.

• Be a more patient mom.

•  Be a better meal planner and actually stick to our menu! I need to start couponing again & planning our weekly meals around the Publix sales. 

• This goes along with menu planning, but I want our whole family to just eat healthier in general.

• Not have a baby and not get pregnant. I want some more time to enjoy my two boys! 

• Drink a lot more water & a lot less diet coke. 

So, those are my goals! Pretty simply, really.  I'm excited to see what 2013 brings! What are your goals?

a letter to my teenage self

Over the past week you may seen quite a few bloggers write letters to their teenage self.  There is a link-up over at Chatting at the Sky that has hundreds (literally!) of these letters & it inspired me this weekend to participate. I've often thought about things I wish I had done differently as a teenager. Writing this letter was actually pretty therapeutic.

Dear Teenage Laura,

There are so  many things that I wish you could know at this very moment in your life. But the truth is, as much as things may hurt & as bad as you think things sometimes might be, it's better for you to learn things on your own. When you are 16 & 17 years old, your emotions are so strong & you will feel like the world is over more times than you care to mention. Trust me when I say that the world ISN'T over and you aren't defined by your high school years. Goodness, if only you knew what all was in store for you 10 years down the road. I know that you think high school is the best time of your life, but your adult life is pretty amazing.

You will spend the first 3 years of high school sorting through friendships & never completely feeling like you have a niche. Don't worry. You will go hiking in Canada for 10 days with YoungLife the summer before senior year and that trip will renew you. You find yourself that summer and realize who your true friends are. Cherish the times you have with those friends. Once you all go off to college you will miss having them 5 minutes away. Don't take them for granted & spend as many late nights at Steak n Shake with them as you can. This huge group of friends makes your senior year at Lassiter so much fun & even as an adult you are thankful you had such a tight-knit group of friends to help you survive those hormonal teenage years. Here's a fun fact: some of those girls are still your best friends even if they are hundreds of miles away.

Oh, girl, I wish you wouldn't put so much of your value into your physical appearance. You are beautiful & perfect just the way you are. Stop comparing yourself to other girls at school and church. This will quickly turn into an obsession and completely take over your mind. Trust me when I say that an eating disorder will get you nowhere but home during what is supposed to be the best freshman year ever in college. There will be moments in this season of life that you hit rock bottom. You aren't sure how you're going to get out of this sad place. You are so much stronger than you think you are. I wish more than anything that you knew that. You learn so much about yourself during your senior year of high school & freshman year of college. Your eating disorder doesn't define who you are, you will recover, & you will come out a much stronger and more confident girl.

I also want you to know that these boys you spend SO MUCH time focusing on are not the ones for you. You spend so many nights crying over things they say & the way they treat you and they just aren't worth any of your tears. They don't respect you & you can do better. You know this deep down but like the attention they give you. Trust your gut. At one point early on in college you will just want to give up on guys all together. You feel broken & used. Yes, you will shed many, many tears but here's a little secret: not long after this you will meet a wonderful guy who will eventually be your husband. He makes you feel beautiful & important & he loves you. and guess what else? God didn't hand you just one guy...he gives you 3! That's right...that guy you meet will also be the father of your 2 precious little boys. Don't give up yet, sweet girl!

Sometimes you feel so conflicted about who you are & what type of person you want to be.  It's hard to walk the halls of a high school with almost 3,000 of your peers and not feel insignificant. You have friends from many different "groups" and it confuses you. You are a Christian but you feel torn between how to act. Sometimes you feel out of place because you are more naive than some of the other girls. Sometimes you feel out of place because you don't go out & drink. Here's all you need to know: don't turn away from the Lord because you feel like a hypocrite sometimes. He loves you & is so passionate about you. and guess what? You're a sinner saved by grace & you aren't supposed to be perfect. Cling to your faith & don't worry about fitting in with all these different groups of people. People like you because you are kind and genuine. You have a good heart. You CAN be the girl that is involved with YoungLife, goes on mission trips, sings in the school chorus, AND has friends that are different than you. Even friends that are a little wild. I promise.  Don't worry about not fitting in to a certain mold. This makes you a more well-rounded person; a quality that you will appreciate as you get older.

Lo, be carefree and young while you can. Have fun with your friends. Take advice from your parents--trust me, they usually know what they're talking about. You'll actually become friends with them after you leave the nest...isn't that crazy?! They're pretty fun to hang out with. Don't wish away your life--you'll get to that marriage/mama thing eventually and it will be the best season of your life--BUT, enjoy the moments before that. You think that senior year of high school is the greatest time of your life, and while it was pretty awesome, it only gets better.

Love,

27 year old me

P.S: you look better with long hair. Don't cut it off.

Body after Baby...numero dos

Being pregnant does so many crazy things to your body. The craziest being that at the end of 40 weeks it literally looks like you have swallowed a basketball. 

I think I got spoiled with my post-baby body the first time around. I was 2 years younger. My body seemed to "bounce back" a lot quicker. I could wear my pre-pregnancy jeans the moment I got home from the hospital. Not only did they fit, they were loose. I actually came home after giving birth to Grayson weighing less than what I weighed when I found out I was pregnant.

I gained the exact same amount with Griffin as I did with Grayson. This led me to believe that the exact same thing would occur after having our second baby boy: I would lose the basketball belly & immediately go back to normal. Heck, maybe even better than normal! 

Well, I'm 2 years older AND I had my 2nd c-section. You know, that major abdominal surgery that totally wreaks havoc on your stomach muscles. Yeah, that. 

Let's start with the 39 weeks "I swallowed a basketball" belly:

I'm still amazed that my body can look like this. 

Here's what I looked like 5 days after having Griffin: 

Um, yeah, I still had a 4 month pregnant belly. I know, I know...everything is still swollen & shrinking back to normal. BUT? I didn't want to look pregnant after I delivered my baby.

This is me 2 days ago:

Obviously, swelling has gone down & the lovely belly pooch is what I have been left with. Not a fan. My pre-baby jeans are still too tight which causes the dreaded muffin top. It's really attractive. *said with intense sarcasm*

SO, I am now embarking on a mission. A mission to get skinny. I'm calling it Operation Skinny Mama to be exact. I have signed up for Weight Watchers again & started tracking my points a couple of days ago.  I wish I was the kind of person whose weight just melted off from breastfeeding, but that doesn't seem to be the case.  I'm sticking to Weight Watchers because I know it works & it's easy.

I'm determined to lose this baby weight & then some. Right now I have about 7lbs left to go until I reach pre-Griffin weight. My scale at home is ridiculous so I'm just going to be going by how my clothes fit for now.  And those clothes? Well, they better start fitting because I have been recycling the same 5 things over & over again...which is difficult when you have a baby that likes to spit up a lot.

I figure if I put a before picture out there on the internet, that's enough to hold me accountable. I mean, if I have a "before" picture then I eventually have to show off an "after" picture, right? That's my thinking anyway. 

So, if you people see me tweeting about how I MUST HAVE A KRISPY KREME DONUT RIGHT! THIS! SECOND!, your job is to give me a virtual head smack. Thanks in advance.

happenings

• Last week I said bye bye to my brunette self & hello to a much more blonde-ish self! It took a couple of days to get used to seeing more than just a solid color on my hair, but I was more than ready to get some blonde back! I'm definitely a blonde at heart. 

• First things first, G loves sunglasses. Right now he has 3 pairs. We went to target last week and he PITCHED A FIT until he got these blue sunglasses. I like them. He's pretty old school. 
• Saturday was one my favorite Franklin festivals...Main Street Festival! I love living in a town that has a historic downtown & still has street festivals. G and I went by ourselves on Saturday morning while Ben was at work & then the 3 of us headed that way again later in the afternoon. Grayson had a big time! We heard that Ryan Seacrest was there with Julianne Hough (of course I didn't see them) AND Eli Manning was there. Gah. That little Ole Miss Rebel in the picture above would have looked pretty darn cute posing with Eli.

 

• One thing I have learned a lot about since becoming a {boy} mom is trucks. Before G? All trucks were simply that...trucks.  Post G? I can name just about every single truck/machine there is. The toddler? Well, he can point them out. Excavators, skid steers, front loaders, dump trucks, cement mixers, rollers, cranes...I mean, really. WHY ARE THERE SO MANY TRUCKS?!

• See this cute guy? His name is Gerrard. I'm on the hunt for him. I want him to be Griffin's monthly picture friend. Gerrard the Giraffe. I kinda love him! 

The Story of Us

With Valentine's Day right around the corner & so many great love stories floating around in blogland currently, I decided to share our story. I'm linking up with From Mrs. to Mama & if you want to read some great stories, go check out the link-up! I've never blogged about how Ben & I met and fell in love. Why not have it down on "paper" forever? 

Meet the 19 year old version of me. I was a sophomore at Ole Miss. At this particular stage in my life I felt kind of broken. At the beginning of my sophomore year I was recovering from an eating disorder (never blogged about that either. weird.), enjoying my freedom a little too much of living in an apartment with friends, and trying to be okay with being single. After a string of not so great guys, I decided I was done. My solution to the guy problem? Buy a dog. A really frackin' expensive dog at that. I thought all I needed in life at that moment was Jack. 2 months later I met...

20 year old Ben. He was a junior at Ole Miss and a pharmacy major. My friend Melissa was dating his roommate & best friend, Collin. We sat in this horrible social studies lecture class 3 days a week and throughout the class she BEGGED me to meet Collin's roommate. I said no probably a gazillion times. I had Jack, remember?! Finally, after weeks of this, I agreed. Begrudgingly. 

One Friday night {in November of 2004...makes me feel old} Mel and I got ready together & headed over to their apartment. I was wearing my pink converse (very UN-Ole Miss), carrying my 4 month old chihuahua puppy, and a Newk's cup full of some fruity adult beverage. Just keepin' real. 

I remember feeling very awkward since this was an arranged meetup, multiple guys calling my sweet dog a "rat" throughout the night, spilling my large drink all over the carpet in true Laura fashion, AND being intrigued by the cute shaggy boy who was really quiet because he had to "study."

After we officially met, Ben asked me out on a date 2 weeks later. Before that date, I went home for Thanksgiving and told all my girls about him. I told them that I had just met Ben once but I had a feeling something would happen between us. 

For our first date we ordered Chili's takeout and ate at his place. We really talked and got to know one another. That first date was all I needed to be hooked. I knew he was different.

Ben totally balanced me out. He made me feel special & loved. He loved my dog...THAT was a huge deal. His mathematical ways helped me survive every single college math class I ever took. Ben wasn't your average crazy frat boy. He was actually the opposite and I loved that! 

We started officially dating in December 2004. I knew I loved him in January. I am now a believer of the saying "when you know, you know." So true!

In the 3 years we dated: we went to lots of Ole Miss football games, spent lots of time in the Grove, watched lots & lots of LOST on dvd, had many fun nights on the Oxford square, spent tons of time playing with the kids I babysat, drove back and forth between Atlanta & North Alabama a bunch, went to the beach, & I heard more sports talk than I ever thought possible. 

Ben proposed in March of 2007. Best surprise ever! We had gone to a Lakers game in Memphis, gone on a carriage ride through downtown Memphis, and then walked to the top of the Peabody Hotel. He asked me to marry him as we were looking out over the city and it completely took me by surprise! I pretty much freaked out & it took me about 5 minutes to realize he was serious...then I of course said "YES!" 

We got married on July 19, 2008 in front of a beautiful historic home in my hometown. *sigh* It was perfect. You can read more about our wedding here. I wish we could relive our wedding day every year...would that be a bit much?! 

It has been a crazy 7 years but I have loved every minute of it! We've moved to a new city, built a house, started new jobs, acquired 3 dogs, found a church family, and had a baby! I love that I get to share this adventure of life with my best friend by my side. When I am a spaz, Ben calms me down. When I don't want to stand up for myself, Ben pushes me to be brave. When I am feeling like a huge pregnant whale, Ben knows what to say to make me feel pretty. Ben is the hardest worker I've ever known & is SUCH a great dad. I fell in love with him all over again when Grayson was born. 

Our love has changed and grown a lot in the past 7 years. But? It just keeps getting better. 

a fun little game of tag!

My sweet bbf (best bloggy friend) and soon to RLBBF (real life best bloggy friend), Jen, tagged me in a fun little Q & A game! Here's how it works:

1. You must post the rules
2. Post 12 fun facts about yourself in the blog post
3.Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and then create 12 new questions for the people you tagged.
4. Tag 12 people & link them on your post. (or as many as you like)
5. Let them know you've tagged them.

Facts about yours truly:

1. I'm an only child. I didn't like being an only child; I think this is why I now want a whole house full of kids. 
2. I love ridiculous reality shows: Hoarders, Intervention, Storage Wars, SWAMP PEOPLE. 
3. My crazy dream that probably will never happen is living on lots of land with some llamas, alpacas, and mini horses. I'm not kidding. Have you seen the Kristen Bell sloth video? Well, I would react the SAME WAY for all 3 of those animals. 
4. I bought Jack when I was 19 after a bad string of stupid guys. Basically, I bought a dog because I was giving up on guys...Jack was going to my guy. I met Ben 1 month later. 
5. I don't really enjoy pedicures. My feet are too ticklish.
6. I'm a Diet Coke addict. I've tried to kick the habit & fail each time. Nothing is better than a big ol' fountain Diet Coke with crushed ice! 
7. I am not a homebody. I laugh when people ask me if I get bored staying home with G. We are not "sit in the house all day long" people...we are "get out of the house, play outside, do fun things" people. No, I don't get bored:) 
8. I'm currently watching the season finale of Tori & Dean and I am crying during the birth of their daughter. See also: hormonal pregnancy tears. 
9. I still carry my SkipHop diaper bag everywhere I go & I swear it weighs the same amount as Grayson. 
10. I will not be sad if I am a mama to all boys, but I think it would be SO fun to have a little girl. SO FUN. I mean, we have a girl name ready and the clothes? Oh, don't get me started. 
11. I hate confrontation. 
12. I hate running. It's my least favorite thing in the world. I have horrible knees, horrible hips, AND my ankle is still wonky after I sprained it post-baby delivery. Me running? It's not pretty.

Here are the questions Jen asked! 

  1. What's your favorite movie? Now & Then
2. How do you relax? You should know, I suck at relaxing. I was told this during my massage last week. I try to relax by sitting on the couch, reading blogs, & watching mindless tv.
3. Do you workout? If so what's your favorite? HA! No, not consistently. I need to. I like doing hip hop dance workouts and using the elliptical...but only if I can listen to rap!
4. Describe yourself in one word. sensitive
5. What would I find it your handbag right now? my wallet, checkbook, chapstick, lip gloss, diapers, wipes, diaper throw away bags, MY LIFE PLANNER, coupons, G's socks & shoes that he took off in the car, & a toy train. I swear my bag weighs 20lbs.
6. What would your dream job be? I don't know...would love to do something with rescuing animals or working with inner-city kids. The kids I worked with when I did my student teaching are always still in the back of my mind & I would love to start some type of mentoring program for kids in need that have a bad home life.
7. How many hours of sleep do you get a night? usually 8-9
8. Do you like Walmart? Be honest! Hate it. I rarely go there. It's way to big of a cluster-you-know-what all the time.
9. What's the last meal you cooked? Sweet and sour chicken from Trader Joes and fried rice
10. What's your favorite vacation destination? anywhere that has a beach!
11. Who's your favorite musician of all time? Um, easy. Justin Timberlake. Don't tell me he isn't a legit musician...that boy can beat box like crazy!
12. What one item would you pack if you were on Survivor? deodorant

Here are the questions I came up with! 

1. What is your absolute favorite meal?

2. Coke, Pop, or Soda? 

3. What kind of car do you drive?

4. Have you ever traveled out of the country?

5. Where is your favorite place to shop for clothes? 

6. If you could live anywhere, where would you live?

7. How did you meet your husband?

8. Do you have any nicknames?

9. Why did you start your blog/How long have you been blogging?

10. What were you like in high school?
11. How tall are you?

12. What is your favorite book? 

Okay, girls, play along if you want!

1. Melissa @ Where your treasure is...

2. Mallorie @ A Happy Home

3. Savannah @ Making Memories

4. Shelli @ Beauties and the Baseball Coach

5. Natalie @ Guffey Love

brain dumpity dump.

You'll have to excuse me, but my brain is not working properly today. My mom and I were in Louisiana all weekend and left yesterday at 3:30 in the morning and drove 10 hours back to Tennessee. Yep. 3:30 in the morning. Understand why my brain is not really functioning? 

• I have been on a fruity candy eating spree lately. I've been begging Ben to bring home some goodies from work and he went over and above. He went to the mall candy store and stocked up on all my favorites! I'm in heaven...and currently eating swedish fish while writing this. 
• I am way behind on my 12 week post. It was supposed to be done on Sunday. I like schedules and the fact that it will be late is driving me crazy.
• My newest TV obsession is Hoarders. It's now on my dvr. I am SO fascinated by these people and can't for the life of me figure out why they can't just throw things away. I'm the opposite. I probably get rid of things too easily. Goodwill is my friend. 
• While we were in Louisiana it was almost 80 degrees. Grayson got to wear shorts and tshirts...in January!! We came back to cold, rainy weather in Tennessee. Body shock! 
• I'm going to try to get Grayson to drink smoothies. He hasn't had a vegetable since July. I'm hoping this may be the trick! Does anyone have any good websites with smoothie recipes?
• Grayson has gotten so much more attached to his froggy lovies over the past month or so. He has always slept with them, but he has just started asking for them when he is not napping/going to bed. As soon as he gets them in his arms, he snuggles them so tight in his arms. It is SO sweet. Call  me crazy, but I am happy that he finally has something he is attached to that can comfort him. My boy was never a thumb sucker & never really cared for pacifiers...I'm glad he loves his froggy! Remind me that I said this when we are fighting about bringing froggy to kindergarten.

You asked, I answered (part 2)

Here are the rest of the answers from my q & a post. Again, thanks for asking a girl some questions and not making me feel like a loser!

Jen asked...

You seem to be such a go with the flow momma-what are your secrets for "not sweating the small stuff"? This made me laugh because I don't feel like a "go with the flow" type person. I have to tell myself to relax over silly things all the time! (see also: my child throws food all over the floor and it stresses me out to the max..ha!) One thing I really didn't do is read a ton of parenting books before I had Grayson. I actually didn't read any. I only read Jenny McCarthy's "Belly Laughs"...mature, right? All of the parenting books contradict one another. I'm more of a "stick to your gut" mama. I just try to do what feels right & not worry about milestones/what other parents & kids are doing. Does that even answer that question?

Describe your favorite/ideal day-in detail. My favorite days are the ones in the middle of the week when Ben is off work. I love just having my whole little family in one place hanging out. Those are the days that we do fun things like the zoo, farmers markets, park, etc. Since Ben works a lot of weekends I cherish those days during the week that we have together! .....a spa day wouldn't be so bad either:)

What's your favorite food-the one thing you could eat every day and not get tired of? MEXICAN!I could literally eat mexican food every single day. Favorite meal: chips & queso, cheese enchiladas, and a diet coke. Makes my dieting mouth water just thinking about it!!

What's one thing you would do differently with a baby next time around? Jen asked this on HeyTell..that counts too, right? Grayson slept in his rock & play sleeper or pack-n-play in our bedroom for the first 6ish weeks. He was a LOUD sleeper and I would wake up every time he made a noise. We also have 3 dogs that will randomly shake and make noise that would wake him up. Baby Deux will go straight to the crib...thank the Lord for video monitors!

Marci asked...

If you could only drink one type of drink for a year, what would you pick? a route 44 Diet Coke from Sonic!

Do you have a favorite brand of pens? I love the sharpie pens...that's what I use in the Life Planner so you know I'm serious about them! The 1st grade teacher in me prefers Mr. Sketch markers though!

If you had a month to drive anywhere you wanted, where would you go? I would go see my best friend, Carly, in Los Angeles! She moved out to California after college and I still haven't gone to visit her. I'm dying to get out there, meet her man, and experience LA!

What made you start blogging? I started blogging in January 2009 when Ben & I were newlyweds. I had a Xanga in the early college years & liked the whole online journal thing. This blog started as a way to keep track of progress on the house we were bulding & to just record the things that were going on in our lives. We moved away from our families so this was a way for them to keep up with us! I had no idea that people I had never met would start reading this or that I would meet great friends!

Melissa asked...

If you go out for a drink, what do you order? either a Blue Moon on tap or a vodka tonic with lots of lime!

If you had $1 million to donate to charity, what charity would you choose?

the ASPCA. It makes me sick that people abuse and neglect animals. I would rescue every stray & abused dog if I could!

#1 celebrity crush? easy. Justin Timberlake. He's been my celeb love since 8th grade. He only gets better with age:)

What size shoe do you wear? 9.5...I've always wanted to wear a 6!

Were you in a sorority in college? I pledged Phi Mu during my freshman year at Ole Miss but I dropped out right before rush practice started during my sophomore year. It was so expensive & most of my friends were either Tri Delts or DGs. I didn't miss it when I dropped out!

Another Melissa asked...

Do you love living so close to Nashville? Absolutely! I love everything about living here. It's such a fun downtown area but then you drive 15 minutes out and you have beautiful Tennessee hills. That's actually my favorite part...I will never get used to the beautiful countryside!

What are some of your favorite stars you've run into in the area? Gah. I never see anybody. I saw Six from Blossom (remember her?!) at a bar in Franklin, I've seen Kimberly Paisley at a froyo place in downtown Franklin (you KNOW I love her!), and I've seen Kix Brooks at his winery. Don't get me wrong, I am always on the look out; I just never get lucky. My husband however? He's seen & talked to Faith Hill, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, blah blah blah. rude.

Y'all asked some great questions! Thanks for playing along!

You asked, I answered (part 1)

Y'all asked some good questions! Thanks for not making me feel lame...ha! I appreciate it! Alright, here you go!

Becca asked....

Why did you move away from Atlanta? Ben and I had originally planned to live in Atlanta. It was something we talked about right after got engaged. He looked into jobs around the Atlanta area but other cities offered more. We narrowed it down to Birmingham & Nashville but in the end decided we wanted to try Nashville! Financially it made sense for us to move here. I did the ugly cry when I realized Atlanta wouldn't work for us, but I have loved living in Tennessee. I'm so glad we ended up here!

Are you planning on staying home indefinitely? I would love to stay home while all of our kids are little! Obviously, if I have to go back before then, I will...but I love being a stay at home mama!

What is your favorite thing to splurge on? That's tough! I like hunting for bargains. However, before I had a baby and actually carried around a real big girl purse, I loved my Michael Kors & Coach bags. I still flock to them when I'm at the mall & then I sadly remember that my SkipHop bag is the only thing I carry. For now ;)

What is your all time favorite movie? Can I have more than one? okay. thanks.

Now and Then

Dazed and Confused

Closer

The Help

Elf

Man on Fire

Have you started Christmas shopping? Yes! I do most of it online thanks to Amazon & Zulily. I despise the mall & major shopping centers during November & December. ick.

What is Grayson's favorite thing to say right now? He says "bye" and blows kisses all.the.time. The mailman drove by? "Bye" *blows kiss* The construction workers in the neighborhood are working next door? "Bye" *blows kiss*

Any more children...? (Okay, I know this is totally inappropriate but I know you won't be mad at me for asking!) Not inappropriate! I ask it...ha! Or maybe I'm inappropriate? I have always wanted a big family. The only child in me yearns for a house full of kids. I've always said I wanted 4. Okay, that's a lie. I used to say I wanted 5. However, I came to my senses my husband said I was crazy and I settled on 4. He says 3. Whatever, minor details. But yes, definitely more kids! We made 1 cute one...why stop there?!

Natalie asked...

Yeah, I wanna know about baby #2, also! Plans? I would love to have kids close in age! I wouldn't mind having a 2012 baby!

I also wanna know your next baby boy name:) ...promise I won't steal... unless it's already on our list! We had Grayson's name picked out before we were even pregnant. We don't have another boy name picked out! I have a couple family names I would like to incorporate but nothing set in stone. I'll keep those in my brain just because that's part of the fun when announcing a new baby! Haha...sorry!

What kind of car are you toting G man around in? a 2006 navy blue Nissan Pathfinder

my very own swagger wagon.

What does Ben do for a livin'? He's a pharmacy manager for a Walgreens in Nashville. AND he works at a store that lots of country music stars frequent. I'll pretend I'm not extremely jealous.



How in the world do we know so many of the same people?! I have no idea how we're connected! Shoot girl. If we could figure out this whole email thing we could discuss this!  

Shelli asked...

What's your favorite ludacris song? This question cracks me up. I am partial to "Welcome to Atlanta" because I made sure to play it every time I went home from Ole Miss as soon as I saw the ATL skyline!

If G has a sister what would her name be? Very few know the answer to this. Again, I love the fun of announcing a name! I will say that it is a family name and not a common name:)

Where did you and your hubby go on your first date? We actually didn't got out on a date. We ordered take out (Chili's) and watched a movie (The Sweetest Thing) at his apartment! ...with Jack of course:)

I'll be back with the rest of the answers later this week!

Got a question?

I love reading Q & A posts from other bloggers. I think I'm nosy by nature and love to find out random things about people.

{Yep. I own footie pajamas WITH sock monkey feet.}

SO, today I am putting the ball in your court. You get to ask me any question you want...and I am 99% sure I will answer them all. Unless, you know, they are totally awkward or inappropriate.

Surely there is something that you want to know, right?! (I'll flatter myself and think that there is, anyway) And if you people don't ask me anything then I will just have to get my trusty pal Jen to ask me a bunch of questions so I don't feel like a loser. Deal? Deal.

Ready, set, GO!

You can find me...

in St. Louis rollin' on dubs guest blogging over at The Smitten Mintons today!

Come check it out!

...and you will be my new best friend if you know what song I was referring to up there! 

a nursery in progress

Putting together a nursery is a lot of work. Every time I think we are almost finished, I look at the changing table/dresser and see a pile of things that are unorganized...driving me nuts!! Here are a couple of new things we added recently to little guy's room:

...and he has a name! I knew I wanted his name over the crib, but I wanted it to look a little bit different than what everyone else seems to be doing lately. Ben was also clear on one thing: no ribbon in his room!!! Haha...seriously...he insisted that ribbons are too girly for a little boy. We bought the circular pieces of wood & the letters at Michael's. Oh, and those circles? They came from 3 stores in 2 different states. Little suckers were hard to come by! I just painted them with the leftover nursery paint and think they turned out cute!
I had said that my mom came up after our baby shower to hang out AND make curtains. Here they are!! I am in love with them. Seriously, I love love love them!! They are even lined with blackout fabric...we want this baby to sleep!!

Mom & Robyn found the perfect ribbon to tie in the blue from the room and the dark furniture.

They turned out great! Thanks Mom! :) I told her she should start a sewing business...don't think she was a fan of that idea!

Woohoo--I love making progress! Now, if you could see the room from the opposite angle you would probably have a panic attack from the lack of organization. Perhaps I will tackle that next week...