a looooonnng post.

don’t say you weren’t warned.

Today is Thanksgiving and I’ll be the cliché and just make this post about what I’m thankful for…which will also tell you what we’ve been up to for the past 6 months…

I am thankful for Wright Truman Allen.

So, I have a kid now. I know, right? Not only do I have a kid, but I have a 5 1/2 month old chub of baby! He’s the most wonderful thing in the world as far as I’m concerned! We are smitten beyond belief. I don’t really know what I did with my time before having him, but give me an hour now, and I’ll get some major things accomplished.

The Birth Story

I’ll try to give you the cliff’s notes version…On Wednesday, June 6th, I was chilling on the couch. I was having contractions, but that was fairly normal and didn’t think much about it until they started getting pretty close together and I started having to breathe through them. I figured I was just having Braxton Hicks, and knew if I called they would tell me to drink water and lay down, but went ahead and called anyway. When the on-call Dr. called me back I explained what was happening and he advised me to come on in. Holy crap. Are you kidding me? I hadn’t planned for this. If you know me, you know I’m a planner and going into labor wasn’t part of the plan. My c-section was scheduled for the following Tuesday, darn it! So, I tell Lane, who had a few cocktails and was grilling burgers. He scarfed down his burger and threw a bunch of random things in a bag (clearly my bag was packed and the check-list was completed).

So, we hopped in the car and drove the 30 minutes to the hospital and I was apologizing the whole way. I knew they were going to take one look at me and send me home. When we arrived I was shaking because I was so scared. I apologized to the nurses for wasting their time. We got into a room and they hooked me up to confirm that I was indeed having contractions and had begun to dilate. Holy crap. I’m having a baby. Sweet Lane prayed for us and we decided not to tell our parents until we knew what was really going on. So, fast forward about 4 hours….My labor had stopped progressing, however, my blood pressure had a different idea. Every time it took my pressure, the alarm went off. It just kept rising and rising. Thus, we were stuck in the hospital. I was kept over night for observation with the intention of delivering the next day, Thursday. Well, wouldn’t you know that my OB/GYN (whom I’m obsessed with, by the way) is off on Thursdays. AND, the on-call Dr. is the one dr. in the practice that we just didn’t like. So, being the huge brat that I am, I begged for them to let me go home on bed rest and come back the next day, when my dr. was available. Somehow, they agreed. (There were some WONDERFUL L&D nurses that night whom I can thank for taking my side…they didn’t like the on-call dr. either!) So, home we went, where I stayed in bed and prepared my mind for having a baby the next day. It’s amazing how that 24 hours really helped us get things settled, including our heads and hearts.

38 weeks, 6 days pregnant. Headed to the hospital!

Our last picture as a family of two.

So, Friday morning, I waltz into L&D feeling great. We were prepared and all was going according to plan. My parents met us in the OR triage room, where again my blood pressure was sky rocketing. The triage nurse looked at me and said, “We gotta go!” So off we went. It was a little scary being rolled into the OR. Actually, I walked into the OR. I met the anesthesiologist and joked around with the assisting surgeon. The entire atmosphere, while utterly sterile, was fun. Yep. I said it was fun.  The anesthesiologist was one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met. She was so nice and sweet and described everything she was doing. I was more scared about the epidural than the surgery, to be honest. Since Lane couldn’t be in there during this, I was thankful to have a sweet nurse to hold on to. Soon enough, my Dr. came in, and we all sang “I’m sexy and I know it!” and Lane was brought in soon after. Before we knew it, the surgery had begun. The entire time, we were all laughing and telling stories and jokes, which, oddly enough, was exactly what I needed. If it had been a quiet, dull, typical operating room, I would have panicked.

13 minutes in, I remember seeing my body pulled around (My Dr. told the assisting surgeon that his grandmother could pull harder and to keep pulling!) and a few second later I heard the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard…Wright’s wailing cry! He was perfect. He had so much hair that Dr. G gave him a mokawk. We were able to see him and very quickly hold him. It was such a wonderful time in our lives.

Our first picture as a family of three!

His sweet SCREAM and the mohawk. My perfect baby.

I’ll fast forward to say that I am beyond blessed to have had such an easy recovery and a wonderful experience. Plano Presbyterian Hospital is incredible and the nurses were wonderful. We were there for 3 nights and having nothing but amazing things to say about our experience.

So, life at home with a newborn was a little crazy. I cried every day for the first 2 weeks. Most of the time I was crying about absolutely nothing. My sweet husband put up with it and was wonderful. He deserves and extra jewel in his crown for those two weeks! But, something kicked in at 2 weeks and it was all ok. I guess it was that motherly instinct. I don’t know. Of course I still question things and freak out, but we just take it all in stride and learn as we go. We are also incredibly blessed with a very, very good baby. He really only cries if he’s sleepy or hungry. Which, Mr. Chubs, as I like to call him, is hungry quite a lot! My sweet boy is growing and growing. We are beyond obsessed with him. I’m pretty sure he’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen…and I’m not biased at all. I do, however, understand what all of my mom friends have said…Time flies. Literally. I can’t believe he’ll be 6 months old in a few weeks. SLOOOOOWWWW DOOOOWWWWWNNN.

 

I am thankful for my new job.

I am beyond thankful that I am able to stay at home with Wright. After a lot of thought and prayer, Lane and I made the decision that I should be home with the baby, but I still needed some sort of income. Thankfully, I was given the opportunity to work as an account executive at a small, yet incredibly amazing, promotional products company. I am so, so thankful for my best friend Erin’s dad for connecting me with this opportunity. My bosses are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met and they have invested in me and I hope I can be successful for them. So, if you know anyone needing any branded items, I’m your girl!! (wink, wink!)I am still trying to figure it all out and learning something new every day, but I love it. I love that I can be creative and meet with people. I love that every day is different. And I especially love that I work from home. It’s hard. Don’t get me wrong. I am full time mommy, full time wife, and full-ish time employee, but I love it. I love experiencing every second of Wright’s day with him…and Lane! We both work from home and value the chance to see him learn and grow every single day.

www.ideasnmotion.com

I am thankful for our new house.

Yay! Freaking finally. Our old house, while quaint and charming for the three years we lived there, got very small and old when we were expecting a child. There was no way we were going to make  a 70 year old, 1200 sq. ft, no dishwasher, 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom house work with a newborn. That little house was great to us for the first part of our marriage and we certainly loved the location, but it was time to move on. The perk of your husband being a realtor is that we looked at LOTS of houses and did LOTS of research on what areas we wanted to live in. After one failed contract on a house that needed complete renovation in the 6 weeks before the baby came (Amen to that falling through!!!!), we found our current home and fell in love. Well, it wasn’t really love at first sight… we went into the house planning all of the things we would do to change it. But, we loved the neighborhood, the quiet street and the huge lot. While the progress to change the house has been slow, we truly love it. We love that it’s ours and that we have TWO bathrooms and..wait for it.. A BUILT IN DISHWASHER! It’s life-changing. We’re positive our marriage will last because we made it three years in our old house.

No pictures yet. It still needs lots of love…

I am thankful for my late father-in-law.

Four weeks after Wright was born, we got a phone call that I’ll never forget. Lane’s dad had died suddenly. It was devastating. My heart aches every day over his loss. But, as heartbroken as we are, it’s incredible to see God’s faithfulness and love through his death. We were able to spend several weeks with Roger before Wright was born (which we wouldn’t been able to do had we not just moved and had I not been pregnant). He came to our new house before we moved in and did lots of projects for us. It’s fun to see a little bit of him around our house as we live our daily lives. My favorite thing in the nursery is a giant wooden monogram that Roger made. He also got to meet Wright, which was one of his biggest “goals”…to have a grandchild. I praise God for the time we got to spend with him. He truly was one of the best, most loving, genuine, smartest men I knew. I can still hear his chuckle and it makes me chuckle. I am thankful that Lane has SO many of his father’s qualities. He is an incredible father and I know it’s because of the example his father set before him.

2012. You’ve rocked our world in so many ways. But I am so thankful. So, so, so thankful.

emotional roller coaster

annnnnnnnnndddddddddddd here we are. 11 days from the birth of our child. I’ve been overcome with lots of different emotions in the past two weeks. Extreme joy, overwhelming love, gratitude, frustration, scared sh*tless, unbelievable excitement…. sometimes all of these emotions come in a matter of minutes of each other. Aren’t I a ball of fun??

Let’s start with the extreme joy and overwhelming love…. This is what I feel when I think of Lane. I could not be luckier to call him my husband, best friend and father of my child. He is the most selfless, dedicated, hard working, thoughtful and incredible person I know. He always puts me first. Hell, he even puts the needs of our dogs before his own, as evidenced by his strange sleep positions to be able to accommodate my 394 pillows (clearly all necessary when you’re 9 months pregnant!) and the two dogs who find it impossible to sleep anywhere except in our bed.

Here’s example A: Lucy. Asleep with her head on my pillow, her body half under the comforter, between me and Lane…

I am so excited to share this new adventure of parenthood with Lane and can’t imagine doing it with anyone else. He is going to be one unbelievable father and our son is already so lucky because of who his daddy is.

I keep watching this slideshow that I made for Lane for our anniversary and the tears keep flowing. I’m overcome with joy and love because of the man that chose to spend his life with me.

Gratitude has come in the form of our parents and friends helping us get moved into our new house. We are so excited to finally have two bathrooms. I know, right? It’s the small things in life that really make a difference. We were sad to leave our old neighborhood behind (my Kroger especially), but absolutely love our new neighborhood and how everyone has welcomed us. We’ve met more neighbors in the 3 weeks we’ve been here than in the 3 years we were at the old house.

Lane’s parents came for a few weeks and really helped get things started at the house...painting, constructing, cleaning. It was amazing. We are so thankful that they are retired and are able to pick up and go anytime they’d please… Especially when it’s to come perform manual labor for us!

My parents, who are renovating their lake house, helping out a friend in a highly competitive political race and running a business that is beyond crazy busy, have spent their last two weekends (their only “free” time) in Dallas with us helping unpack, organize and get ready for the baby.  My best friend, Mary C., a mother of two who leads a very busy life, even took time out of her schedule to come unpack boxes with me. I just can’t help but think how lucky we are to have incredible parents and friends who are willing to put their lives on hold to help us do tedious tasks and annoying housework.

One of my main priorities was to get the nursery complete. While the rest of the house is in complete disarray (see: Frustrated) the nursery is done, thanks to all of our helpers! It’s better than I imagined it would be and I’m so excited for Wright to be here in it!

The monogram over the crib is probably my favorite thing… Lane’s good friend, Brandon, designed it for us and my super talented father-in-law made it. I love it so much!

Aside from all the joy and excitement of a new house and new baby, I also get so frustrated. Frustrated that I can’t do much when there’s so much to do. The last few weeks have been really tough for me physically. I just can’t move around like I used to and my feet look like elephant feet at the end of the day. All I want to do when I come home from work is put my feet up and take a nap. So, I say this for those of you that plan to visit us. Please know that our house is a disaster. Truly. Whatever image you have in your head, make it ten times worse and that might compare. We still have boxes to unpack, furniture to buy and arrange (our coffee table is currently serving as our TV stand and our dining room is currently serving as the box black hole) and lots of organization to do. I have high hopes that I can get a lot accomplished in the next 11 days, but I’m not superwoman. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Finally, the scared sh*tless and unbelievable excitement come when I think of being a mommy in 11 days. I am going to go from being pregnant to not in a matter of minutes. I still can’t wrap my brain around it. All I can think about is how I want to snuggle with him. I’m afraid I won’t let anyone else hold him. I know it’s going to be the most challenging thing we’ve ever done, but I am so excited. I pray constantly for a safe delivery, healthy baby and quick recovery so that I can spend every precious second getting to know my son. My son. I’m going to have a son. See? It’s crazy. Here come the tears again.

scratch one off the ‘ol bucket list…

Two weeks ago, Lane and I had the opportunity to scratch an item off of our bucket lists… We were able to go to Augusta National for the Masters. It was beyond incredible. Even if you don’t like golf, there’s something to be said about being at this magical place during such a renowned sports event.

Before we made it to Augusta, we spent some time in Charleston and Columbia. We were shown around by such great hosts, Amy and Aaron Dupree, and are sooo thankful for their hospitality. They are expecting their fourth child and so it was really great to not only be the only pregnant girl, but also getting Amy’s advice and input was wonderful. 

Charleston was such a great town. There’s so much history and charm…and food. So much great food. When we arrived, we walked from our hotel and were told to go to Market Pavilion for  drinks and appetizers on their rooftop patio. Even though it was kind of rainy, we enjoyed seeing the city and being on vacation. Afterwards, we walked around Charleston and Aaron was a great tour guide! (PS. This became the start of the sausage feet!)

 

Just one of the many beautiful churches in Charleston.

 

Who knew a whole store devoted to moon pies existed!?

Precious street in downtown Charleston.

I loved all the history and architecture. I felt like I was stepping back in time.

That evening, we started our food filled trip with a visit to FIG.

It’s kind of an unassuming little restaurant in an older corner building in Charleston. It was not pretentious at all, yet the food was unbelievable. The wait staff was so friendly and knowledgeable. They made us feel like regulars, but at the same time providing 5 star service. We had the most amazing gnocchi as an appetizer. I could have had a giant plate of it for my entree and been perfectly happy for the night. But we didn’t stop there. Amy and I both had the flounder, which was so light and delicate and Lane and Aaron had the soft shell crab. All were ridiculously good. Amy and I also had a fancy mocktail made with “drinking vinegars”. It was so tasty. I am craving one now. For dessert I had a salted chocolate and caramel mousse-type dessert. It could have fallen on the floor and I would have liked the floor clean. I’m salivating just thinking of it. mmmm. Oh how the thought of a good meal makes this fat girl so happy!

The next morning we woke up and headed to our brunch reservations at Husk.

Aaron called three months ahead for this reservation! Husk was recently voted America’s Best New Restaurant, so we certainly were excited about the meal ahead of us! The waiter kind of gave us the side eye when we ordered 3 appetizers (including a cheeseburger!) just for the four of us, but was beyond impressed when we downed them all!

Our appetizers included a cheeseburger (which is apparently the chef’s favorite menu item), black pepper biscuits and jowl gravy, and crispy pig ear lettuce wraps. All were beyond delicious. We continued our gluttony by ordering four entrees, which were all glorious and eaten entirely!

Outside of Husk after our gluttonous meal.

After that meal, there was no way we were going to be able to walk our way around Charleston, so we hopped on a horse drawn carriage tour!

Ike was our tour guide. He did a great job! His driver, Mike, however, had the personality of a brick, but it made for some fun commentary from us heathens in the back row! This tour was a great way to see a lot of Charleston in a little bit of time.

Rainbow Row

The bridge to Charleston

Perfection

Alright, I realize this post is getting a little long, so I’ll skip ahead to the pièce de résistance…First I do have to give a huge shout out to Amy’s family. Every Sunday night they have their entire family and even some neighbors over for “Sunday Night Dinner”. They welcomed us into their home and we are beyond grateful!

The Masters

Augusta National is everything you’ve heard about it and more. The grounds are impeccable, it seems like there are 3 workers/volunteers for every guest and it’s every bit as charming in person as it seems on TV. Even though we only had tickets to Monday’s practice round, we didn’t want to miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity. (Although now we’re trying to figure out how to make it an annual trip!) Once you step on the property, the air feels a little different. It’s an air of greatness. We first got there and walked around a bit, but the two preggos needed to sit. So, we are now the proud owners of a Masters emblazoned camping chair!

   

Amy and I posted up at Amen Corner and the boys were able to walk around. It was great to talk with Amy about babies and life and really get to know her. The guys would bring back water and pimento cheese sandwiches, which was glorious. Around noon, we picked up and moved locations to the 16th hole and watched the players skip balls over the water. It was really fun and relaxing. We were able to get up close and personal with several players, which was fun. Lane told me that if I lifted up my shirt to expose my pregnant belly and asked Miguel Angel Jimenez to sign it, he would immediately buy my the new purse I’ve been wanting. While it was tempting, I am afraid I would have gotten kicked out of Augusta National!

We are so, so thankful that we had this opportunity before baby Wright came. I felt great for the entire trip (minus some wicked cankles after a day at the Masters and a day of flying) and we really enjoyed the time spent together.

Hopefully one day we’ll take Wright back and he’ll appreciate it (and appreciate me carrying his large body around a golf course!!).

There’s more than cupcakes in my oven…

 

Yep, there’s a bun in my oven! Lane and I are expecting a little boy in June!

While it was a HUGE surprise to us, we are thrilled. We are excited that this is part of God’s plan for us. I’d be lying if I said we weren’t a tiny bit scared, (well, I can’t speak for Lane, but sometimes I’m scared out of my mind…) but we pray daily that God continues to guide us in His plan.

I have to share the story of how we found out I was pregnant, if only to have a place for me to journal it… Basically, I went out for a movie and came back with a pregnancy test. The only reason I bought it was because my body is ridiculously predictable and regular, so when I was four days late, I knew something was up. When I walked in the door with a CVS bag, Lane asked me what was in it. I told him and he strongly suggested that I immediately take it. I said I’d do it the next morning and it wasn’t a big deal..I was sure it was negative and that I was just unusually late. He won the argument and I took the test. I didn’t have the guts to look at the results because I was starting to get a strange feeling at this point. I made him look.

When I left the test, it was blinking a clock…It was one of those digital ones that says “Pregnant” or “Not Pregnant” when it’s finished. When Lane went in to the bathroom, he yelled, “What’s it supposed to be doing?” I told him that I left it blinking and it should be still blinking or saying a message. He was kind of quiet and I said, “Maybe I did it wrong…” Another long pause and he said, “No, you did it right. It says you’re pregnant.” Long story short…I PANICKED. Full on freak out. Luckily, I have an AMAZING husband and he calmed me down and told me it would all be ok… and so far, he’s right.

So, here we are. 15 weeks pregnant. We found out two weeks ago that our little cupcake is a healthy boy! We both (along with several friends) were totally convinced that it was a girl, so when the initial shock wore off, I immediately went to Strasburg Children and bought a little boy outfit. And, in the past two weeks, baby boy has acquired about 20 articles of clothing! He’s going to be very well dressed! 

Both my parents and Lane’s parents are beyond thrilled, hence the massive amounts of clothing already purchased! We can’t wait to meet this little guy in about 5 months! In the meantime, I’ve got to get a nursery together, take some classes, read some books, oh, and you know, figure out how to take care of another human being!!! Any and all advice is welcome.

And, I can’t write this post without completely bragging on Lane. I’ve been pretty sick. If I’m not in the bathroom puking, I’m probably asleep on the couch or in the bed. He has stepped up as cook, maid, laundry washer, nurse and dog caregiver. He does it all without complaint or asking for anything in return. I could not be more proud of him and I know that he will be the most wonderful father. I am beyond lucky to share my life with him.

So, let’s raise a glass (non-alcoholic for me, of course) to 2012…It will surely be a year to remember!

“daddy, I met a boy and we’re getting maaaaarrried!”

Father of the Bride is one of my all time favorite movies. It really is genius. Steve Martin and Martin Short rock my world. I especially  love it because it reminds me of one of my very best friends... Erin and I met in junior high and our friendship really started growing from there. By the time we graduated college, we were close enough to spend over a month backpacking around Europe together. Some of my favorite memories in my life are shared with Erin, so I was beyond thrilled when she asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding and share that moment with her. I’m actually getting teary thinking about how special our friendship is…

The wedding was this past weekend, and I’ll save that for another post, but it was magical. Erin and Reed have this amazing love that I wish I could capture in a bottle and pass around. The wedding was perfect. The bride was perfect.  It was all perfect.

A few weeks before the wedding, her other bridesmaids and I threw them a couples shower. Thanks to the gloriousness of Pinterest, we decided on a “rustic fall” theme. We really had a ton of fun planning this party. It was part Pinterest inspired and partly inspired from our brains. The best part is that Erin said it was everything she could have hoped for. And little did we know, it matched the theme of her wedding perfectly!

The girls and I bought burlap and made some ruffled squares for the center of the table. And thanks to Linen Tablecloths for some amazingly cheap white linens!

I also have to give major props to my daddy. I told him I needed some wooden disks for the tables, so he spent one Sunday afternoon cutting down a tree at the lake for us (it was already halfway cut down and needed to be removed, just so you know.)

Mason jars really were the main component to the theme. I found some vintage jars at Canton and they were the perfect addition.

Working part time at a winery has lots of perks, as you can imagine, but one is that I get a great discount on some wonderful wine! For the party we had Grenache and Sauvignon Blanc. We just wrapped them in their brown bags and tied labels around them with twine! Such an easy, cute detail!

This was one of my favorite parts of the night. Jill thought of this and we certainly had a ton of fun with it! I won’t post the pictures yet, since the bride and groom haven’t seen them, but they’re awesome. Sooooo awesome!

I wish I had a better picture of this, but for dessert we did little packets of s’mores to cook over our bonfire! They were precious. Jill and Jonathan worked hard putting them together and their hardwork paid off! They were a hit! The little tags said, “Eat, Drink and have S’more fun!”

Our wicked awesome bonfire!

The bride and groom enjoying their s’mores!

We were lucky enough to have an “in” at Woody B’s catering and had the most delicious food! Smoked chicken mac and cheese, beans, pulled pork sandwiches….mmmmmm. It was so good! (Also notice the candle holder in the center of the table..thanks again to Daddy!)

And finally, I would be remiss without saying that I am so truly lucky to have some of the best friends in the entire world. Really. You should be jealous. They are encouragers, prayer warriors, comedians, stylists, listeners, entertainers and so much more. In the words of my Gran-Gran, God is good.

the blog post about nothing

karen, this is for you. :-)

well, i have nothing to say other than yes, I’m still alive and yes, I’ve been cooking and  have plenty to blog about, but with the start of school, I just haven’t had time to sit down and type. I don’t know where the past month has gone, but it’s been jam packed. So, all of that to say, I’m still here and I’ll be back soon.

To compensate, here’s a few pictures:

We picked grapes at Cathedral Mountain Vineyard in Alpine.

Lucy’s sleep position

Lucy meets Chunk!

Knox steals Lucy’s pink cupcake bed