Wedding or Baby, I Love A Good Shower

Busy couple of weekends! I love it when we are busy and have lots to do, but I do miss sleeping. It has become one of my favorite things to do here lately. Growing a baby is a LOT harder than I thought it would be. I love it, but this belly just seems to get in the way of household chores. I can no longer carry a laundry basket the way I used to, getting on my hands and knees to clean the floors is a total event and I don’t even want to talk about scrubbing a bathtub. I think I am going to give up household chores for the next couple of months and let Derrick take over. It should get very interesting at our house…and dusty.


Anyway, I have been to two showers here lately and here they are…

My cousin, Rachel, is getting married to a great guy, Greg, this July. I was able to make it to her wedding shower and it was great! She got so many wonderful gifts and thankfully, she is moving to Louisville after she is married. The reason I am thankful is that I can already tell she is going to need me to come up and help her use all of her lovely gifts…ok, she really doesn’t need me to, but I am volunteering in a heart beat. I have never seen so many fabulous kitchen gifts. I really want to volunteer her to cook Thanksgiving dinner for the family.

I do LOVE watching people open gifts at showers. I know a lot of people hate to open them in front of everyone, but I seriously don’t mind if it takes hours…I want to see everything. Sadly, I didn’t get pictures of all of her goodies because I was a little distracted by these…

And these…

And several of these…

I did get some great “action” pics of Becky Jo. I like to pretend like she is singing here, but really she is just thanking everyone for coming. (But you can almost hear her...I think it looks sounds like Kumbaya complete with hand motions)

Such a good hostess, she was trying to talk to guests and smile in time for my camera flashes (almost)

Here is a great picture of both Rachel and Becky. They looked so pretty and I cannot wait to see them at the wedding.  I know they will both be stunning!

And here is my favorite picture of Rachel, Aunt Sue, Becky and our Granny…

And here is one of the ladies in our family that were able to make it. I would like to say that I did not hop up in the front. Granny pushed me. And I am not sure how Rachel managed to end up hiding  in the back...at her own shower. We will have to keep an eye out  for her on the big day.

And Greg showed up just in time...

Actually, he was a little early. I think he was really excited about all their gifts but you can tell he is wondering how he is going to get all of this home...

After all that fun, I had another one. I had to drive up to Evansville, IN, for a work meeting and they surprised me afterwards with a baby shower!

Baby Girl is going to love her new things! I already have them in the nursery (which I HAVE to get working on today!)

This little fluffy is so sweet! The little baby bunny is actually a rattle. I seriously want to hug on it all day long because it is so soft and cuddly.

And Elizabeth also gave me this nice blanket…GO HILLTOPPERS!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

My first Mother’s Day. Well, I am not really a “mother” yet, but we celebrated anyway. I absolutely cannot wait until next year when we actually have Baby Girl here and are able to thoroughly enjoy holidays like today. This is my first ultrasound when Baby Girl was just a sweet little pea…

This year we stayed in town and spent the afternoon with Derrick’s Mom, Mamaw, sister, brother-in-law and nephew. We also had an unexpected (but very welcomed) visit from our good friends, Wyatt and Lori, who were on their way home to Louisville from Nashville. We loved getting to spend today with family AND friends!

We were very low key. These days we love “simple” especially since every time we get about half way through ANY project, I seem to need a nap. Sometimes I will own it and admit that I need some down time. Other times, Derrick has to kindly tell me that I “seem to be getting a little tired and I should lay down for a bit” which is a nice way of saying “Hey, you ole nasty witch…Why don’t you go take a nap so I don’t have to be around your horrible hind end.” He denies that is what he means, but I know the truth. Sometimes I tend to get cranky and these hormones are just gasoline to a fire.

Anyway, we grilled out some steak sandwiches and they were tender! They were juicy! They were seasoned wonderfully!

 I have to make sure that I point out how yummy the steak was, seeing how it was one of the things that had me all tore up today. I laid down for a little nap and when I woke up Derrick had cut the steak in a different way than what I had planned on cutting it. You would have thought the world was coming to an end. I threw a major hissy fit. It was BAD. Mom ended up calling right in the middle of it and calmed me down. How about that for a “Happy Mother’s Day” phone call. She is a keeper. Whenever I overreact she usually just asks if she needs to mail Derrick some Band-Aides…since she figures I just ripped his head off. Although that is an awful thing to admit about myself, it is the truth and I am always sorry. Thankfully, he is always forgiving.

So on with the meal….

These are actually a new recipe for me. They are Zucchini Patties. They were really good but I think I may change up the recipe some before I make them again...

For dessert I made these little jars. One is fruit and pound cake and the other is brownies and chocolate chips. I made enough for everyone to have one of each but apparently I am the only (pregnant) one that thinks 2 (pint size) desserts are completely normal after a meal (disgusting display of over-eating). They ended up being really cute and tasty. I am sure Derrick and I will manage to polish off the left overs within the next day or so….

As for the babies I currently have in my life, they are tuckered out from having guests and table scraps. Maggie...

Annie...

Charlie...

And Winks...

Another quick note, Derrick and I were in the nursery showing his Mom and Mamaw Baby Girl’s wardrobe when we heard a noise. We were sure that someone had helped themselves to a bite of steak or two but we were wrong. Charlie actually ate a pound cake. The whole thing. Well, almost the whole thing…

Happy Mother’s Day!!!

The Poet Laureate of Dogwood Lane

One of my all time favorite movies is Steel Magnolias and one of my all time favorite quotes is when Shelby tells M’Lynn, “Remember what Daddy always says, an ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure.” And My’Lynn responds with, “The Poet Laureate of Dogwood Lane.”

I was on the phone this morning with my Papaw and I am totally convinced that he is the Poet Laureate of Mt. Savage Drive. We were talking about church and what is considered the “right” way to live your life (we were talking about mine in particular). He kindly said, “Kel, don’t ever forget that Heaven is far away and Hell can’t wait to get you.” I do believe this to be true and I want to make sure that I live my life for the right reasons and that I live my life for Him. Just a thought I wanted to share.


P.S. Even more reasoning why Papaw is the Poet Laureate is after he told me this, he followed it with “At least that is what they always tell me.” And then I heard one of the deepest, full body laughs I have ever heard from him. He knows he has a spot in Heaven :)

The Boss Lady and Her Garden Patch

Today I had a total realization that I was going to have my own child and I was going to have to become a “Boss Lady”. I was on the phone with Katie when Little Miss Amelia Kate had done something bad (I am not sure what – I think she had dumped out a glass of sweet tea on the floor and was proceeding to take the ice cubes and kindly put them inside of one of her books). Anyway, she of course was told “No” and then I believe she stuck her tongue out at her Momma. This of course led to her getting into more trouble. Lots more.

I remember getting in trouble quite often when Katie and I were young. Our poor Momma. I don’t think we ever gave her a moments rest. And of course when we got spankings she told us it hurt her more than it did us. At the time you never believe it, but now I do. The first time I ever swatted Amelia it almost killed me. It was actually the first time she had ever spent the night with us at our house. I do not have a childproof home and there is zero of those nice little electric safety plugs for our outlets. So I thought I should do a quick fix on the room she was sleeping in, which meant I covered all the outlets with painter’s tape (it was all I could find in a pinch). Well, tell me what two-year-old wouldn’t be highly attracted to big blue tape on the wall? She proceeded to go around picking it off and smiling. I kindly told her it was a “No”, and bless her heart, she just kept on picking away. So, I swatted her hand. Her little face was so confused. She had no clue what in the world had just happened and why on earth I would ever swat at her. Her eyes swelled up with big crocodile tears and I have never seen a child stick their bottom lip out so far. It broke my heart. I always feel bad for the little bug every time she gets in trouble, but I know you have to do it. I decided Katie needed a little “happy” since she has to give out discipline to both of her babies. I would have gotten some of this for my own Momma, but Lord knows her spanking days are over. She has become quite soft now that she is a Grandma. She even promotes jumping on beds which screams that she is no longer a Boss Lady.

Here is a breakdown:


Some body cream…

A mirror…

Some matches…

And a change purse (which I am sure will go to Amelia)…

I know this does not make discipline any easier, but I am hopeful that she will get a laugh at these trinkets. I found the goodies at one of my favorite places ever…The Garden Patch. I never walk out empty handed. I LOVE it there. It is without a doubt my happy place. I managed to find some candle stick holders and this sweet little duck (which will soon have a pink bow around her neck) for the nursery…

The duck reminds me of one of my own childhood treasures…

And I also grabbed these adorable seed tins.

I have several of these here at the house but they seemed to have been misplaced and I needed them immediately for a wedding shower for my cousin, Rachel. I was only looking for the “Wedding Sprinkles” (it grows into a white bouquet of flowers) but I thought the others might come in handy. She obviously needs “Good Luck” (Clover – hopefully at least one four leaf in there) and “Congratulations” (Four O’clock flowers) and a few “Thank You” tins (French Marigold). I think they are such a cute idea and I hope she likes them.

Retired and Gone Fishin'

Not me. Not yet. Not any time soon. I love working so it will be a long time before I ever think about retiring. But my heels are done! At least till after Baby Girl gets here. This Friday I had a little accident. I was carrying entirely too much (i.e. a computer, a purse, a can of caffeine free coca-cola, a work bag and a cell phone attached to my ear) and did a little tumble down our stairs. I have never been so scared in my life! I hit pretty much every stair on the way down, and I know this because Derrick saw the whole thing. I actually have a bad tailbone (which is an entirely different story) so I guess I must have instinctively turned my body and went down on what seemed to be the best thing…my hips. I had to rush over to the doctor and get a quick ultrasound and thankfully Baby Girl is just fine. Thank the Lord! I have never said so many prayers in my life! The tailbone is also fine. The hips, not so much. I am supposed to take it easy and keep ice on the area. I am developing a colorful bruise, but it’s in one of those areas that I will never photograph so all I have is a shot of the evil shoes...

As for the fishing, I think it is going to be possible in our side yard very soon…

There is actually a deck that is built up around these trees. It is a sink hole area and in some places, the deck is taller than I am. So needless to say, some of this water is over my head. We are praying that it stops raining here so that our walk out basement doesn’t get flooded…but it is steadily creeping towards us.

I will be honest though, if we did not have such bad weather conditions and if I wasn’t pregnant, I would probably take the dogs out there for a little swim. And I might even go for a swing if I could talk Derrick into wading through the water here to push me…

I made Derrick sleep in the basement with me last night. I usually NEVER watch the weather. I rely on my friend, Brooke, to call me and let me know if there is anything ugly headed my way. BUT, every since I have become pregnant, I have found an addiction to the weather channel. I turn it on when there is the hint of a slight breeze. I totally flipped out yesterday and sent Derrick to the store so we could have a survival basket in the event that we were trapped in the basement. It was a last minute list and I feel like I am leaving out essentials. This is what I have:

- Jugs of water
- Snack food
- Fresh plums (I think Baby Girl was having a craving)
- Candles/matches
- Flashlight
- Extra bedding
- Phones
- My billfold

What am I leaving out? Derrick didn’t think we needed any of this. And since I fell down the stairs, he insisted on taking everything down himself while I walked slowly down the steps with a death grip on the rail (per his instructions). He totally made fun of my list, but let me tell you, if something horrible was to happen and we crawled out of some ruble to find all of our worldly possesions gone he would have been pretty grateful. Here’s how I imagine it…
“Thanks for bringing the snacks. I never would have had the energy to unwrap myself from all those cozy blankets in order to find the phone and call the police to come help us. And those flashlights and candles were great to signal our location to the police. And if we wouldn’t have had the Visa, I am not quite sure how we would have checked into this warm, dry hotel. You’re the best wife ever and I will NEVER make fun of you getting hysterical about the weather again. ”

It’s a nice thought, but I am so relieved we don’t have to have that conversation. I know there are so many families who are devastated because of the rain and tornados and we will continue to send lots of prayers up on their behalf!