The Great Pumpkin Debacle...

Liquid gold....

I love fall.....  And OH MY - The morning temp in Southern Louisiana was in the 60's this morning with ZERO humidity!  HOLY COW..... Can I get an AMEN!  It was glorious....  I love everything about fall.....  The temperatures, the colors, the Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks, and best of all the pumpkins!

Well, pumpkins are not my best friends anymore.  Here we go:  I decided that I wanted to do a fun, fall, porch arrangement with a variety of pumpkins and gourds since we are now settled into our new home.  You name it; Cinderella pumpkins, small ones, large ones, white pumpkins, and white mums...I was on a MISSION!  I set out on Saturday afternoon to find my prized fall gems, while the hubs was consumed with more football than any girl would ever want to be a part of....

Home Depot, Lowe's, Rouses, Winn-Dixie, etc....  You name it!  I was there.  I finally found the perfect, little jewels at Fresh Market (Kind of like a mini, I mean mini Central Market/Market Street/Whole Foods!)  They were sitting outside the entrance and I started picking them out.  I picked up some and loaded them into my basket, went inside and paid for them all, including two EXTREMELY LARGE ones that I left outside.  So I wheeled my car up to the front of the store, and proceeded to load one in the trunk.  The sweet manager saw the poor, sweet PREGO lady load one pumpkin into the trunk and he immediately rushed out to help me load up the other one!  Home it was to spruce them up a tad....

I found a great glaze on Pinterest that added so much sparkle and sheen, so I decided to glaze the two large ones.  SO......  Instead of walking upstairs or texting (yes we text each other from other parts of the house:) the hubs to come help me unload them, I stubbornly did it myself!  I am very independent, and had a brief lapse of judgment forgetting that I am nearly 6 months PREG with a baby.....

 The perfect glaze... $8

So I glazed the two large ones and VOILA - They were ready to be moved to the front porch.

 Here is the smaller of the two...  So shiny and perfect!

Sooooooo.... Yes I moved them all to the front porch and starting situating the pumpkins and gourds into their perfect places!  WOOHOO - They looked great and the only thing left to find are the perfect mums for my sunny, front porch!

Sunday morning we woke up early to be at church by 9:00 am, and I could barely WALK!  Brad probably thought I was being a baby, and I thought I was just stiff or slept wrong, and off we went.  I was fine until after brunch, and it was downhill from there people.    And I am talking DOWNHILL.....  So, I made the ever-so smart decision to lay on the heating pad for 5+ hours Sunday afternoon while I watched movies and worked on graduate school.  BAD, BAD DECISION folks......  

That is when my mom so nicely said through the phone..."Honey, I think you are supposed to use ice, and not heat!"   Well, nothing like 5 hours too late.....

So Monday I was MISERABLE....  Tears were flowing all morning long.  It was pathetic and it was my own fault.  My speech therapist's husband is a chiropractor here in town, and she graciously made me an appointment to go see him Monday afternoon  (After practically chasing her down on campus - Well, let's be honest....I wasn't chasing anyone...hobbling and waddling was more like it).  

SO, off I was to see the Doc.  He was so informative, listened to my pumpkin fiasco, and about died when I told him about the heating pad.   Dr. Sellers was AMAZING!  After icing all night last night, I felt a tad better today.  I had another adjustment this afternoon, and I am nearly back to normal.....  One more on Thurs., and then next Monday and I should be back to "normal walking Heather" and not "Eileen" as I have been called by more than one person.  Real funny!

My kids were wondering if the baby's head had moved to my left side since I was leaning that way for the entire 8 hours at school today.  I politely told them it had nothing to do with the baby, and it was my poor choice that caused the excruciating pain. A good lesson for all!  Then one of them asked, "Did Brad ground you?"  Now that is comical. 

So the moral of the story....  Don't try and be Superwoman and lift pumpkins when you are 6 months pregnant...

Happy Tuesday All!

Love,



~H

Football, Friends and Fun...

This past weekend, Brad and I traveled to Lubbock, mainly to see some of our closest friends and for the Texas Tech vs. Arkansas football game FIASCO.  Oh Lordie - It was UGLY, but we sure had a great time.  It will probably our last time to see a football game pre Baby Wainscott, so we booked this weekend in July and at last it was here (And I was more than DELIGHTED to have a 4-day week).

 Ugly loss...  But at least we have this eye-candy of a coach to look at when the score goes south...

Brad and I both went to Texas Tech, but oddly enough did not know each other during our time in Lubbock.  I lived there for 9 years and Brad was there for 3.  I guess God knew the timing wasn't right, and made us wait a little longer (like 6 more years to be exact).  Thank the Lord...I was in no place to meet my husband at that point in my life...  Wild, care-free, and girlfriends....WHEW - Brad would have ran for the hills:)

We stayed with our friends Brian and Lindley!  We love Team Herring and they were my first friends to meet Brad in Dallas; an awesome double date just one week in to be exact.  Didn't waste anytime introducing B to everyone.  Six months before we made the trek to Louisiana, they moved back to good old "Hub City."

 Can I get an AMEN?!?!  You have no idea until you live in Southeast Louisiana... 

Sweet lil Cameron

Tess ready to cheer on the Red Raiders!  Obviously she didn't cheer loud enough:)

A glimpse of our future Saturday mornings; Gameday on ESPN with all the plethora of kid contraptions spread clear across the living room. 

 This chick is definitely the hostess with the mostess.

Saturday morning some of my closest girlfriends threw me a brunch at the Lubbock Country Club.  What a nice surpise!  So we headed out to the LCC, while the guys went and started tailgating early.  

They even ordered a gorgeous centerpiece for our table...

 Love these ladies so much!  Talk about non-stop laughter... I thought I might go into labor.

It  became super real unwrapping these darling outfits and some of my things that I have registered for.  HOLY.COW.  All this fun stuff plus my car seat and base, sound machine, and one of my play mats for Baby W will be shipped to LA this week!  Completely overjoyed and so thankful.  

Our Dallas buds Joe and Danna

Two of the best ever!

Quick girl pic at the tailgate

One twin and Christy...

REUNITED at last with both twins and both "sisters"....  Always fun hanging with the "Six!"

And yes, had to hit up my favorite Lubbock eateries before leaving on Sunday....  Dear lord, I think I gained 10 lbs.  

 Frozen heaven...

There are just no words of my love for this establishment...

 One more sad goodbye at the airport!  Love this sweet and FUNNY girl.

What an amazing weekend with friends and family....  So happy to have another city to call  "home" that Brad and I love so dearly...  

Next stop Dallas in October!

Happy Monday All...  

Love,

~H

 

 

Hard to Follow....

Well, yes it is true.....  The "B" on the HOT PINK PIECE OF PAPER was right!

Baby Wainscott is a BOY!  Brad and I are elated and glad we can say with 100% clarity that we now know the sex of our little baby.

On a side note.....  I did speak Donna (grrr.....) and that wonderfully, pleasant conversation led me to speak with the office manager, Vicki (since my Dr. was at the hospital last Monday in labor and delivery). Let me just give Vicki some PROPS!  She was amazing.  Wanted to know the entire story, listened intently, and was very sweet about the whole ordeal (debacle).  Let's just say I am getting a 4-D sonogram on the house come 28-32 weeks!  WOOHOO people...  Couldn't be happier about not having to pay for that....  And she ensured me that Donna would not be my sonogram tech.  Win win situation for all!  (I am sure Donna would be less than thrilled to see Mrs. Wainscott walk through her door!)  

So this weekend was spent getting some work done on the nursery...

 The crib is done! I bet Brad it would take him over an hour to get this thing together, and he completed it in 48 minutes.  Woohoo!

Saturday I spent a good chunk of time at this gem....  Babies R Us.  In all seriousness, it wasn't as bad as I had planned it out to be.  They were super helpful and I had about 10 pages of emails from all my besties helping me to register for the best stuff!  I really have ZERO idea what I am doing. Notta...

21 Weeks and GROWING by the second it seems like...  I showed my "bump" to my nephew last night on Facetime and his response.... "Well isn't THAT big!"  Yep pretty much!:)

 And the last "preg" stop was here....  Yep it's about to be that time.  Super cute stuff!  AND maternity jeans.  OH MY!  I may have just found my new favorite article of clothing.ever!  COMFY!

Well, that's about it!  Super exciting around here.  Next Saturday morning is our hospital tour.  Brad is so ecstatic he can hardly contain himself.  I think he can spare an hour and a half without football....  "It's for your baby" - I keep telling him!:)

Have a great 4-day week!  I could get used to these...

Love, 

~H 

 

IT'S A ...

Well, it's never a dull day in the Wainscott household.  So why did I expect the "reveal" of Baby W to be any different?!?!  Here is a story that one simply CANNOT make up folks....

I knew our sonogram was on Thursday, August 21st and that Donna (remember that name), would be able to tell the gender of Baby W.  I was so excited that I could hardly stand it.  Time crept by....  and finally Thursday was among us!  WOOHOO.

Baby LOOKED GREAT!  No concerns at all.  4 chambers to the heart, stomach closed, spinal cord developed, 10 fingers 10 toes....  You get the point!  Brad and I were thrilled and relived we had received such great news.  Well, we knew we did not want to find out the gender in the Dr.'s office.  Brad and I wanted to do some sort of "reveal" and video it for all our families and friends back in Texas.  So "DONNA" (I get heated every time I say that name), the sonogram tech, writes the gender on a scratch piece of paper and seals it tightly in an envelope!  Off we go...

I then took the envelope to a local bakery (it was so hard not to peek, but I refrained) and they were going to decorate the tops of the cupcakes with either pink or blue icing, seal them up tightly in a box, and I was picking them up after school on Friday to enjoy that night with our friends, David and Rachel!

I WAS BEYOND READY.....  IT WAS GO TIME!

Dinner was FABULOUS!  Baked brie, shrimp and grits, pecan crusted salmon, wine for the boys, lots of laughs, etc....  

 We love our LA friends...

After dinner, it was off to open the BOX!  

 Pre-Opening....  Little did we know what the next 30-40 minutes would entail.

David got the video ready to go....  Here we go:

It's A GIRL!  I was in SHOCK....  Lots of happy tears.  I have thought boy from day one, and at that moment, good lord was I WRONG!!!

The video was DARLING and off it was hurriedly sent to my family, Brad's family and all of Brad's buddies.  (I was so stunned and still an emotional, hormonal mess that I forgot to send it to my girl's! - And I had to call Mom first, of course!)

About 15-20 minutes later, Rachel, David, Brad and I are all sitting in the living room just talking about both Rachel and I having girls, laughing and relishing in "this moment" that Brad and I had long awaited for.  

I walked into the kitchen, and the envelope that I had given the bakery was sitting right there on the counter-top.  PERFECT - I was dying to see how Donna wrote out girl on the slip of paper....  I opened it up while the others were still in the living room...

I ABOUT DIED.  SERIOUSLY....  (I may have been told I can be dramatic at times by several people, but this was SERIOUS people....)

WHAT?!?!?!?!  B on a pink slip of paper????  What IS THIS?  I have no idea what I said, but the look on my face when I rounded the corner back into the living room must have said it all.  YEP......  If my thinking is correct, we were having a BOY!

I think there was a good minute or two that no one said anything.  Complete and utter shock.  Then Brad's says....  "Well y'all, I think B stands for BOY!"  So calls and texts were sent, saying to ignore the video, and we think it is a BOY.   I called my family back and yes, that's when the tears started flowing to my Mom....  It was UGLY!  Not because we are having a boy, because the whole reveal was BOTCHED.  No video, no fun pics of BLUE cupcakes, notta.  I was so disappointed, sad, emotional and the hormones were raging!  Three questions/thoughts were racing through my brilliant mind:

• WHO the HECK writes "B" on a hot pink slip of paper?  No plain, white paper around the office?  SHEESH.  (DONNA - GRRRRRRRRR!)
• DID the bakery just see pink and not even open up the folded paper and assume girl?
• IS THIS A JOKE?

WHAT a night to remember!  Wasn't the way that I hoped or planned  it would go, but now two days out, it is starting to be comical, well starting too, a little...

And FYI - The bakery did get a little visit from Mrs. Wainscott yesterday, and Donna will be receiving a call first thing tomorrow morning. 

So there it is......  Brad and I are about 98.7% sure that Baby W is a beautiful, healthy baby boy and we couldn't be more excited.   SOOOOOOOO.....

 

 

 Baby W... Due date:  January 18th, 2015

Should be a fun day tomorrow with my students.  They drew pictures, named the baby, took guesses on the gender and wrote some STELLAR advice for Baby W on Friday.

 Gorgeous little babies.  One even comes with a cap!:)

Priceless....

And my 19 young friends and I will enjoy "blue" cupcakes tomorrow in honor of Baby W.

What a whirlwind of a weekend...  But such a "memorable" story to tell him when he grows up!  Still confirming with Dr.'s office first thing tomorrow morning.  Just need a little more confirmation than that "B" on the slip of hot pink paper....

Have a great week!  And all of besties in Texas - Happy First Day of School Tomorrow!  Praying that this year goes smoothly and that 2014-2015 is an amazing year for all!

Love,

~H

Some Firsts...

Well, this week I have had a couple of "firsts". Especially some since being pregnant!  Nearly half way there.  About 19 weeks and feeling good.  Just tired, but who isn't this time of year?

1.  The first full week of school is over!  Can I get a WOOHOO!

I know some people might be rolling their eyes, but go ahead!  You have no idea....  The daily 12,481 questions that are being asked (or yelled across the room), the large amount of anxious tears and bathroom trips, the 21+ new personalities you must study and master in a day or two, and getting back into a routine where a teacher's bathroom breaks are like one a day and your leisurely lunches are approximately 10-15 minutes long!  Exhausting!  Well worth it, but a WHIP!

This always seems to help on a Thursday afternoon!

BUT..... WE MADE IT!

 

2.  Well, hello old lova....

 

I did.it.  I broke down...  Call it a moment of weakness.  My first Starbuck's with child.  It tasted like a million bucks!  I went from going 4-5 days a week to NONE at all.  But that was OK.  The first three months the thought and smell of Starbucks made me want to seriously GAG.  But not so much now.  Lordie it was good!

 

3.  The "Stuffed Pillow"

I have been eying this little gem for a while now.  Every time Brad and I go into this little brunch/lunch spot here in Mandeville, I intensely stare at this jewel through the glass of the pastry showcase. It has been calling my name.  LOUDLY.  After a fun-filled day of furniture shopping in New Orleans yesterday, I decided the time had come.  Time to purchase the "stuffed pillow."  It did not disappoint one bit.  Angel food cake, stuffed with a cream cheese/bavarian cream mixture, covered heavily with powdered sugar and sprinkles.  Quite nutritious I might add.  Holy.Mother.of.Pearl.  Simply divine...

 

 

4.  The first Saints Pre-Season Game...

 

That's my good, old fun bottle of water.  The Saints were victorious and the water was refreshing.  But the wine sure looked mighty tasty.  Soon, soon (I keep telling myself!)

 

5.  AND last but certainly not least,  the first asinine, and might I add dead-serious, wonderful idea that came straight from the mouth of my lovely husband:

 

Him: "Hey babe, what do you think about a "football watching room" since we are in the new house and since this is my last football season before the baby comes?  I can put two of the  flat screens, side by side upstairs, and be out of your hair during all the games."

 

Me:  "Hmmm.  Ok - So where do you think this 'football room' should be?

Him:  "Well, in the nursery.  I mean the baby will not be here until January."

Me:  Sigh......  An an eye-roll.... And a heavier sigh...... -  "Um, not only NO, but HECK no."

 

Gotta love him.  Kudos for trying, I guess!

 

 Have a great week everyone!  

 

Love,

 

 

~H

Busy, Busy, Busy...

WOW - The past two weeks have been a whirlwind.....  I feel as though my head is spinning!  All good things though; finishing up a grad school class (3 more to go - WOOHOO!), setting up my classroom, and packing/moving...

First thing first, we have moved!  The apartment served it's purpose for a year; for us to get settled in a new city and learn about the area.  BUT......  It was a "tad" a lot cramped.  It was like getting married all over, when we finally got to go through all of our wedding gifts that were in storage!  Woohoo!  We moved about 10 minutes away, and we LOVE it.  

 Our cute street - aka Magnolia Alley.

It is PERFECT for us.  New, modern, spacious, and it takes me 8 minutes to get to my school...  We have gotten into selling our old furniture on a local Facebook "Swap Page".  Don't ask why, there is not a good reason at all.  And luckily it has all sold like hotcakes.  Yes crazy....  So the new house is quite empty, but slowly and surely we will fill it.   

We may not have any furniture, but by golly we have a 64 inch TV that is waiting to get hung above the fireplace.  Sigh....  

 And a ladder...

Let me just tell you, nothing says "Marriage is work" quite like moving.  Holy Moly....  I will spare you the details, but Brad and I made it through 3 grueling days of moving "stuff"!  We had help with the big items, so that was a blessing.  It's just the little things and 1,654 boxes that about killed us.  

Banana boxes....  Not my friend.  And that wine box, such a tease!

 

Still smiling... 

Late night treat for a successful move...

Secondly, SCHOOL STARTED!  What you might ask?  Well, when you get out May 22nd, that is what happens.  I can't gripe, but geeze where did the summer go?  Teachers started Monday, we had "Meet Your Teacher" tonight and kids come Thursday.  I have a great group of kids I met tonight.  It is going to be a great year, I can just tell.

 Our theme is "Western" this year.  

Part of the great 3rd grade team!  Had a fun "Selfie" activity one afternoon.  This selfie was "Find two or more friends that want to be divas."  Not sure why the boa is wrapped around Cali's head while she dons a perplexed look?  Haha!

So that is in a nutshell what I have been doing...  All FABULOUS things, just tiring things!:)  

Hope everyone is having an amazing week and for all my LA co-workers a great first week back!  

Here We Go....

Love, 

~H