fill in the blank friday

I must apologize again for my lack of blogging.  My family was in town and then my mom had to leave earlier than expected for a meeting.  I am have been practicing my juggling.  I feel like the next 18 years  plus will be spent juggling my needs and Beckett's.  So far, he is winning in the priority contest.

1.  "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is..."   by remembering the reason for the season   .

2.  The holiday season is  even more exciting now that Beckett is here.  He's too young to fun things like Elf of the Shelf, but I am trying to establish traditions starting now.  I want him to look back on his childhood and see how special we tried to make it    .

3.  When it comes to holiday decorating...     it takes me a while to get motivated but I love it when I am done.  Last year I had a friend decorate for me and she did an amazing job.  I have continued her work and added a few more decorations.  I really love how sparkly everything is.   .

4. The thing I look forward to most about the holidays is   buying gifts.  It is no secret that I love to shop and I get a serious thrill out of finding the perfect gift for people.  I also like getting gifts if we're being honest  .

5. My favorite holiday tradition is  Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve.  My family has been doing this as long as I can remember and Beckett will get to enjoy this tradition .

6. This year my Christmas plans include  establishing new traditions.  In the past we have gone to my family's house or Daniel's but this year we are going to be staying local.  My family will be coming to town but we will be setting the expectation that Christmas day is about our little family.  I want Beckett to have memories of opening gifts at our home, not someone else's. 

7.  My favorite holiday food is  mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and all the sweets  .

Thankful

We have so much to be thankful for this year.  We have been blessed with the most precious baby boy. We are all happy and healthy.  My family is here to celebrate Beckett's birth and Thanksgiving with us. Our dogs have been amazing with the baby.  Daniel's business continues to grow and he works so hard to make sure our family wants for nothing.  We sure are lucky.

We hope that you all take time to count your blessings and wish you the happiest of Thanksgivings!

Happy due date!

Today was my due date and instead of waiting for our baby to arrive, we are celebrating Beckett's first four weeks of life.  While he did not have the most graceful entrance into the world and has been through more than most four-week-olds should, we would not trade the last four weeks for anything.  It has been stressful and very tiring but he has filled our home with so much JOY.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the past four weeks.

Getting to hold him for the first time

Watching his first Tech game

His first bath at home

Just hanging out

The little glo-worm

Looking like he is up to no good

Meeting his best friend Knox for the first time

And my favorite picture of all time.

I'm not sure what Daniel said to him, but he did not like it.  It's not the best picture of him, but his facial expression cracks me.  

Beckett's birth story (#1)

A fitting subtitle for this post would be: Hey idiot, you're in labor. I'm not kidding. Maybe it was shock but I didn't quite believe that I was going into labor four weeks early.  Or maybe I like to keep it interesting.

I woke up that Tuesday morning and had a feeling that something was not quite right. I quickly realized that I was in the process of losing my mucus plug. This should have caused some panic but I knew that it could be days before I went into labor but that it was probably approaching. I also started having some cramping but I knew that some people had contractions for weeks before the big show.

I called my doctor and they didn't seem overly excited, which is odd because they usually have you come in for any and everything. They told me that I needed to stay put and put me on bed rest. Since I was a day away from being 36 weeks, they wouldn't do anything to stop me from going into labor but wanted me to take it easy.

I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon having sporadic contractions and watching Dateline on Investigation Discovery. I even got two hour-long naps in.  I talked to my mom and she decided that she would fly in the next day, just in case.  This would prove to be a wise decision.

When I continued to have contractions, I decided to call my doctor again. They moved my appointment to 11:30 the next day and told me that they would see me then.

I decided that maybe I should so some last minute preparations just in case. We labeled bins in the closet, hung artwork, and had some extra furniture moved out of the house. I also double checked my hospital bag, which I just finished getting ready a few days earlier. I also had Daniel pack his bag too.

Around this time I started thinking that maybe we should go to Amarillo but my contractions weren't very organized and I still didn't think I was progressing as quickly as I was.  I had also heard that you can't talk through real contractions and I was talking away. We decided to get some sleep which was impossible for me but seemed to make my husband happy.

At about 1 am, I had the strongest contraction yet and I decided that we needed to go. We were out of the house in 30 minutes and on our way. However, during the ride I started to doubt that I was really in labor because I could still talk through my contractions and I didn't want to go to the hospital just to be sent home.  We decided to go to Daniel's brother's house which is close to the hospital.

Daniel went to sleep when we got there and I paced. I couldn't get comfortable and I couldn't sleep, so I paced and timed contractions.  They never really became organized but every once in a while I would have a contraction that made me feel like I was splitting in half.  All I wanted to do was cry.

I thought maybe I could try to lay down but at this point I realized that I was having a hard time sitting because the baby felt so low.  I had a feeling this wasn't good.  I woke Daniel up and told him that we were going to the hospital.  The problem was that we had no idea where to go.  We had tried to pre-admit two weeks earlier but the L&D floor wouldn't allow me to complete their paperwork until I was 36 weeks.  I was actually scheduled to pre-admit that day.  I called the hospital and talked to the L&D floor.  They told me to come straight to their floor.

We left immediately and then proceeded to hit every light on the way.  Then we valet parked at the hospital and it took forever.  Next, the greeter decided to walk us to the L&D floor but didn't offer me a wheelchair.  We were at the elevator before she asked if I needed one and that point I wanted to keep moving forward.  She tried to stop and talk to me several times and I have a feeling that I wasn't very nice.  I was starting to feel like it was not my day.

The admissions clerk had me fill out some paperwork and I quickly realized that I had made a huge mistake.  We got to the hospital at 7, also known as shift change.  I waited for about thirty minutes before a nurse came to triage me.  I probably had about four or more contractions during that time and I am pretty sure I scared the couple waiting to be induced.  I was pretty sure that it was not my day.

All that changed when I finally got taken back to be triaged.  The nurse informed me that my doctor was in the hospital and he would do my exam.  Then I noticed that my pediatrician was in the room next to ours because her sister was having a baby.  It was like everything was coming together.

My doctor arrived to check me and this is when I realized that I came dangerously close to having my baby in a toilet.  I was an 8.  I repeat an 8.  My actual words when he told me were, "Son of a bitch.  I'm a what?" and my next question was when could I get my epidural.

After that things started happening really fast.  I was wheeled into a room and four nurses came in to start IVs, collect blood, and admit me.  They all commended me on my high pain tolerance.  I think I started to panic at this point because my contractions started feeling much worse.  The nurses told me that there were two c-sections happening and I wouldn't be able to get my epidural until they were done.  I was not happy.  Daniel didn't help by looking at my monitor and stating that my contractions were closer together than anyone else they had hooked up.

My doctor came back to check me and break my water.  At this point, I was a 9 and my water had broken.  And I still had no epidural.  My doctor told me that I could do it without one, but I kindly informed him that this would be my first and last child if that happened.  Thankfully,  one of the anesthesiologists got done in his c-section and I got my juice.  It was the best hour of my life.

After an hour, my epidural started to wear off.  They didn't put me on a pump because they thought that   I would go fast and I did.  My mom got there right before I started pushing and after half an hour of pushing, Beckett Oliver arrived at 11:28am.  He weighed 6 pounds even and was 19.5 inches long and was perfect.
   

Swollen but still pretty cute

Dad and lad

Under the oxygen hood

I am ending this blog here but this is not where the excitement ended.  I'll post about Beckett's stint in the NICU on my next blog.  Us Browns like to keep it interesting.

fill in the blank saturday

Breaking news, babies keep you busy.  But really, they do.  Between feeding Beckett, doing his laundry, doing our laundry (which I would have to do less often if he didn't insist on spitting up on our sheets), taking care of the dogs, and all the other obligations I still have, I feel like I barely have time to breathe.  So these blanks are a day late and I have a blog about Beckett's birth half written.  I hope to post it tomorrow but I'm not making any promises.  Blanks are from the little things we do.

1.  My best quality is   that I am insanely organized and my memory.  I am great on committees because I make a mean list and I remember everything (well, most everything.  Having a baby has made things a little more fuzzy)   .

2.  One of my less flattering qualities is  that I can be too trusting and want to see the good in everyone even when they have shown their true colors.  I had a friend that was going around town saying really horrible things about me and I kept wanting to give her second and third and fourth chances.  She didn't stop and by trying to save our friendship, I gave her more insight into my life which she then turned into more lies about me.  We are no longer friends    .

3.  I'd rather be    sleeping.  I used to be able to sleep all day and then Beckett came along   .

4. Something I have been challenged with lately is   letting Daniel do things his way when it comes to the baby.  I am type A and it is hard for me to give up control.  I want help but at the same time I want things done my way.  I have had to accept help and the fact that sometimes it's easier to look away if it means I get a break  .

5. I am looking forward to  Thanksgiving!  My family will be in town and it's the first time my dad and sister have seen Beckett since he was discharged from the NICU.  Plus Thanksgiving means lots of food and decorating for Christmas.

6. A super random factoid about me is  that I have to be walking or moving around when I brush my teeth.  I cannot stand still and brush my teeth.  Maybe I feel like it is more affective if I am moving  .

7.  I want to  plan our anniversary trip, which will be our first trip sans baby.  I am completely unprepared for how hard it will be to leave him, but I now that vacations are good for both my soul and sanity.  I have an idea of where we are going to go but I need to start doing my research  .

Recipe round up: sweets edition

Before I was pregnant, I was not much of a sweets eater.  I am a carb lover.  I've always said I would rather eat a plate of mashed potatoes than a piece of cake.  Well, all that changed during my pregnancy. I couldn't get enough sweets.  They were all I thought about and I had to have at least one serving of ice cream a day.

This new found love of sweets caused me to spend a lot of time exploring the sweets board on my Pinterest.  I tried many new recipes and I thought I would share my thoughts with you.  This way you can skip the bad and head straight for the good.

Sweet and Salty Candy Bar Blondies

Shockingly, I have been cooking since Beckett has arrived and last weekend, I even baked.  What could have motivated me to get so wild?  This recipe.  I give it an A+ (so does Daniel and my mom).  It was pretty easy and contains three different types of candy.  Apparently I am still hooked on sweets.

Sopapilla Cheesecake

This is a very popular recipe in our part of the world.  I had never made it until this summer and let me tell you, it is easy.  There are only a handful of ingredients and it takes about 5 minutes to put together.  I give it an A.  It's not my personal favorite, but if you need a quick dessert for a group, this is a solid bet.

Macadamia Nut White Chip Pumpkin Cookies

There was a lot of excitement when I made this recipe.  It was the Olympics opening ceremony and Jack's stitches started to bleed while I was waiting for the cookies to bake.  Maybe all the excitement tainted my experience with the cookies.  I give them a B-.  They were soft, too soft.  I like cookies with a little more firmness.  I was definitely disappointed because I love pumpkin and I love macadamia nut cookies.

Perrini Ranch Bread Pudding

I love this recipe.  Let me repeat, love.  We had this at a dinner at our local country club and I was hooked.  I lived near the Perrini Ranch restaurant and this recipe made me sad that I have never eaten there.  I give it an A++.  My one tip is to make sure you have a good loaf of sourdough bread.  We did not and had to use pre-sliced packaged bread and it wasn't quite the same.  It was almost too thin.

No-Bake Cake Batter Truffles

I like cake balls and this was my first attempt at making them.  They were a lot of work, but I think they were worth it.  Dipping them and not making a mess is a challenge and a half but one day I will figure it out.  I give this recipe an A and think it would be great for a party where you don't want to make a whole cake.

Strawberry Shortcake Cake

And speaking of cakes, meet the first real cake recipe I have ever attempted.  I've made box cakes before, but I had never made a cake from scratch until this beauty.  It was a lot of work and time consuming, but the results were so worth it.  I knew it was good when Daniel said he wanted to have it for his birthday cake next year.  Obviously this recipe is another A+.

And here are a few of the recipes that I plan on trying next.

Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark

Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread

Caramel Pretzel Magic Bars

I'll let you know how they turn out!

Savannah

It was important to both my husband and I to go on one last trip before Baby Brown arrived.  If you know me, you know that I am constantly planning my next vacation and will use just about any excuse to take one.  Having a baby seemed like the perfect reason.  This was our last trip where we could be completely worry-free and we decided to take full advantage.

My husband chose our destination.  We had been talking about taking a trip to Savannah for a while but I was actually leaning towards going to Chicago.  However, we wanted to go somewhere where we could relax and not feel like we were missing anything so Savannah seemed like the better fit.

It wouldn't be a Brown family trip without a horrible travel story.  Maybe it has more to do with the airline we always fly than us?  Our first flight was delayed and our flight from Houston to Savannah was cancelled.  By some miracle we got booked on the last flight of the day to Savannah.  Originally they told us that we would have to stay overnight in Houston.  Our new flight to Savannah was delayed and when we got there, we had no bags.  The lovely gate agents had forgotten to remark our bags for our new flight.  Oh and the flight our bags were supposed to be on the next day got cancelled.

So we arrived to Savannah feeling exhausted, gross, and we didn't have any of our belongings.  We went to Walmart to try and find a few things and the next day had to go to Target to get some clothes.  Nothing like being 20 weeks pregnant and not having all your stuff.  Needless to say, there were tears.
Thankfully the trip did get better.  We stayed at a bed and breakfast, which was a first for us, called the Hamilton-Turner Inn.  Each room is named after a famous citizen of Savannah and we were in the room named after Juliette Gordon Low, who founded the Girl Scouts.  The home was beautiful and breakfast was amazing.  They made a different dish every day and they were all good.

The Inn

Our room

Our view

The church across the street

Savannah is just as beautiful as you think it will be.  I loved the old trees and architecture.  My only complaint was that it was hot.  And not just hot, hot and humid.  Pregnant and sweaty was not a good look.  We went on a trolley tour of the city, which I highly recommend.  It helped us figure out what we wanted to see and it was hop on and off, so it helped us get around the city.

Tree-lined streets

Cute shops

Juliette Gordon Low's house

The old Cotton Exchange

Leopold's, which has some of the best ice cream in the country

There are lots of graveyards

Sadly, we did not see Paula

I loved this home

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Lafayette Square

The film set for the movie CBGB

We decided to go to Tybee Island since we had a rental car and Daniel loves the beach.  I imagine the beach is usually super nice, but it was very windy the day we went.  We saw lots of people being taken down by the waves.  We also saw a man who didn't quite understand the concept of boogie boarding.

It was a little rough

Whiteness

One of my favorite things about traveling is the food and since I was pregnant I decided that I could eat as much as I wanted.  So we ate a lot.  We had the best salad ever at Alligator Soul.  The croutons were grits that were breaded and fried.  Amazing.  We also had a lot of seafood which made me so happy.

I think we did a pretty good job of eating at all the top restaurants.  We waited in line for an hour or so to eat at Mrs. Wilkes' Boarding House.  Supposedly they have the best fried chicken in the South.  Now, I know fried chicken and while it was good, it needed a little more flavor.  However, all the sides made the wait (and the sweating) worth while.  On a side note, just because you are pregnant does not mean anyone will offer you a place to sit while waiting in said line.  We also had ice cream at Leopold's.  The pistachio ice cream was delish.    

Lunch at the Crystal Beer Parlor

I love a BLT

Scallops at the Olde Pink House

Huge slices of pizza at Vinnie Van Go-Go's

He was excited

I should have taken a picture of the hellacious line

We loved Savannah!

I think Daniel made an excellent choice for our baby moon but I would like to go back in the fall when it isn't quite so hot and humid.