Make sure you scroll all the way down and keep clicking "older posts" (you have to do that twice) until you get to the Swimming Graduation video...it's amazing!
Thank you all for loving our family and for caring about what is going on in our lives!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
My apologies, Bloggers!
My apologies, bloggers for the late updates! If you are reading this, thank you for not giving up on me after over one month with no new posts. I have been beyond overwhelmed with work lately (expect a post on that soon) and we've had a lot going on but I think I am pretty close to being caught up to date! I added 15 new posts over the past 2 days with a lot of fun pics and videos.
Goodpasture Game
We played our big rivals, Goodpasture on Friday night. It was a close game and we lost 28-27 in the last minute of the game. There were a few really questionable calls by the refs that had major implications on the game...it was so disheartening. Overall the guys played well though they definitely made some mistakes. At one point during the 3rd quarter, I had been paying attention to Ryan and then went back to watching the game and all of a sudden I hear him screaming at the top of his lungs to the defensive players. My head snapped back around to him and he was saying "GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME. WE ARE WALKING AROUND LIKE WE'VE LOST THIS GAME." The next defensive series we got a safety! That's what I call "players are scared of Ryan yelling" :).
Madison Claire saying "TOUCHDOWN CPA" in her sleep
Peanut allergy - RUH RO!
After such a great afternoon with Madison Claire, we finished off with dinner. I had asked our doctor at the game on Friday night if I could give her some peanut butter because she had eaten a bite of Keatyn's at the Ft. Campbell game and didn't have any reaction. He said it would be okay so I made a little peanut butter sandwich and cut it into small pieces. She ate one piece...which she didn't even fully eat, she just sucked on it for a minute and then spit it out. I assumed she didn't like peanut butter so didn't give her anymore. Well, not 5 minutes later her sweet little face started breaking out in hives. At first they just looked like little bug bites and since we had been playing outside, I thought that was what it was. Then, as time passed, they got bigger and bigger and redder and redder. Poor little thing :(.
Ryan was at football practice so I called our Dr. on his cell phone (the first time I've ever done that) and asked if I had any Children's benadryl. I didn't have any so he told me I needed to IMMEDIATELY get in my car and go get some. Keep in mind that we had just been playing outside with the Nemo Slide so I'm still in my bathing suit! I threw on some clothes and put her in the car and went to CVS. Of course there was no cashier up at the front so I just opened the box and gave her that benadryl sitting right there on the counter at the cash register!
I was still trying to reach Ryan because Dr. Heil had said that if her mouth or tongue started swelling I needed to take her to the ER. Well, she had taken a bad fall over the weekend while with the McSwains so her mouth and lips were already swollen to the max. It was so scary because I couldn't tell if they were swelling more and if the swelling was from the fall or from the peanut butter. I had called every coach on the football team to try to reach Ryan and he finally called me back as I was pulling out of CVS. *Note - he was calling me to ask me to DVR the Boise State game, not because he knew I was in a crisis with Madison Claire! As soon as I answered I just started crying and told him I had been trying to reach him and explained what happened and told him I was driving to CPA so he could look at her.
Once we made it CPA, Ryan thought she looked okay (the benadryl had kicked in by then and she looked a lot better!) but recommended we take her to our good friends the Mowery's to have Dr. Greg look at her. Greg is an ENT physician and he came out to the rescue, looked in her mouth with his little light and reassured us that the swelling appeared to be from the fall and not from the peanut butter. Crisis adverted!
Following doctors orders, I did check on her every hour until about midnight to make sure she was breathing okay and give her another dose of benadryl. So - it seems that a trip to the allergist is in order, but we are going to wait until her 18 month appointment next month before we go. In the meantime - NO PEANUTS for Madison Claire!
Girls afternoon out!
When we got back to Nashville on Monday afternoon, Ryan had football practice so Madison Claire and I had a fun girls day out! It started with a trip to the grocery store, then to Sweet CeCes for her first Sweet CeCes ice cream (you can tell from the pictures, she LOVED it!), then playing in the Nemo slide outside! I love my sweet time with Madison Claire and work has been so busy lately that I haven't gotten much of it. This was a MUCH NEEDED special afternoon together.
Trip to Atlanta
After a tough loss to East Literature on Friday night, Ryan and I headed out Saturday morning for Atlanta with some of the other coaches from CPA. We had been offered sideline tickets and club level seats to the Chick-fil-A Kick off bowl, LSU vs. UNC at the Georgia Dome, by one of the coaches, Jim Ward. We rode down with the Mathews - Lisa and I in the front talking work and babies and Ryan & Jay in the back watching football film to prepare for the Goodpasture game.
We made it to Atlanta and had a great time at the game! Ryan got to go down on the sidelines before the game and watch the teams warm up and us girls stayed up in the club level being harassed by drunk UNC fraternity boys. It was quite amusing to watch them not say another word once our hubbys came back! It ended up being a great game and we are so thankful to have been invited. THANK YOU WARDS!
We stayed Saturday night and Sunday night at my parents house so we could spend time on Sunday with Meredith & Ben. It was the first time we had seen them since the proposal! We also got to spend the day with my parents and Sarah & Ryan...we missed Patrick! It was so much fun - we went to church together, had lunch out at Windemere Country Club and then the girls went to Bridals by Lori to try on wedding dresses! Meredith was of course BEAUTIFUL in every single one! Madison Claire stayed in Nashville with the McSwains so while we were sad to leave Atlanta, we were excited to get back and see the punkie brewster.
Showers, Showers!
One of my best friends from high school, Heidi, is getting married next month so Lauren & I along with our moms hosted a bridal shower for her on Sunday, August 22nd! We had it at Mrs. Ehrhart's house and it was so much fun!
Let me take a step back and say that the Thursday before this trip, I started feeling sick. On the Saturday during the drive down to Atlanta, I thought I was going to pass out. I had the sweats and felt awful. It was my Mama Howard's birthday so we stopped in Chattanooga to have lunch with her and let her spend some time with Madison Claire. I was able to go lay down and take a nap in Chattanooga while they watched Madison Claire. Once we got back on the road I felt a little better but it was still touch and go. Lauren, Heidi and I had made plans to get together for dinner that night and I didn't want to miss the time with them, so I went anyway and we had fun talking about the wedding and reminiscing about old times. By the time we left, I already felt better!!
The next day was the shower, and I got up early so mom could teach me how to make her signature fruit centerpiece. I have seen her make it for so many different events but have never learned myself and decided it was about time! Madison Claire loved eating all of the grapes...maybe one day she'll want to learn how to make it from me.
We made it to the shower and it went perfectly. Heidi looked gorgeous and is going to be a perfect bride! Lauren and I had so much fun doing this together - coming up with all of the details and planing..what a blast!
I left on Monday to go to Portland for conference and Madison Claire stayed with my parents in Atlanta all week. They had a big time with her...they took her to work, to ride the carousel in the mall, and to see all of their friends. Impressively, the kept her on her schedule the whole week!!!
I made it back on Friday night in time to watch the second half of Ryan's football game online. The won for the second week in a row! YAY - GO LIONS!!! Saturday, we took Madison Claire up to the outlet malls in North Georgia to look for Sarah a diaper bag. We got her a great one from the Coach outlet!
Sunday was Sarah's shower. It was just beautiful and I have NEVER SEEN SO MANY PRESENTS IN MY LIFE!!! I had to write them all down and I'm not joking when I say it took 3 full pages! She and Ryan are so blessed by friends and family! It has been so fun to go through my sisters pregnancy with her...she is stunningly beautiful pregnant and is going to be the best mom! I know that I'm going to learn a lot from her!! I somehow managed to not get one single picture from the actual shower, but I did get this one of the 2 of us on Saturday night at my parents house.
After the shower, Madison Claire and I started the trek back to Nashville. She hadn't napped at all on Sunday so the car ride was rough. She had a full on melt down around South Pittsburgh, TN and I stopped at McDonalds thinking that an ice cream cone might just do the trick. Oh no...big mistake! She had the worst tantrum I have ever seen in that McDonalds. Everyone, and I mean everyone, in the store was staring at us. I felt so bad for her because that isn't her personality and she wasn't intentionally throwing a tantrum because she didn't get what she wanted....she was just so beyond tired she couldn't even function. It was pitiful. I don't know how we made it home but somehow we did and Ryan was BEYOND excited to see us since we had been gone for 10 days!
Meredith is Engaged!!!
Friday night, during the middle of the Ft. Campbell game, Cheryl's phone rang and it was my mom trying to reach me. She said, "have you looked at your phone? Someone is trying to reach you!". At that point, I looked at my phone and saw I had missed a call from a phone number I didn't recognize and I had a text from that same number saying:
"Lauren, this is terrible that I'm not calling. I tried to call Ryan since I didn't have your number. But, I asked your dad, patrick and sarah and now I wanted to ask you. Can I have your permission and blessing to marry your sister? I would call but she is sitting next to me in the car as we drive back to Atlanta. And, if I get your blessing I'm going to propose to her tonight. Your parents are going to help me too! Just for the record...I love you sister with all of my heart and I love your family with all of my heart!"
I read this while I'm on the phone with mom and say to mom, "WHAT?! Ben is proposing to Meredith?!" I was so definitely 100% surprised and shocked. I knew they would get married but thought that they would get engaged sometime next summer, not get married sometime next summer!! I hung up with mom and called Ben to tell him that I was excited and of course would give him my blessing.
He had mom & dad go buy some flowers & wedding magazines and had them waiting in Meredith's room when they arrived. Apparently he had asked my parents a week or so before when they were all down at One Water Place in Florida. He told them then that he was going to propose in mid-September but I guess he just couldn't wait so he decided to do it that night, in Meredith's room. Here are some pictures my parents took right after it happened. We are so excited for Ben & Meredith! They are planning a wedding for Sunday, May 29th 2011 in Atlanta!
One last note - Ryan found out the next morning and he sent Ben a text saying a bunch of nice things and then said "If you ever hurt her, I will find you and kill you". That about sums it up :)
It's Football Time!
It's hard to believe that it is football time in Tennessee! Ryan's first game was against Ft. Campbell, a team that won the state championship in Class AA in Kentucky last year and a team that had won 40 of their last 41 games. I was really nervous about how Madison Claire was going to do at the game this year given that she is so much more mobile and has an independent mind of her own! Luckily we had some friends join us at the game so Madison Claire had some friends to play with. Thanks to Dustin, Tasha, Keatyn, Shawn & Amelia! Gary wasn't able to make it because he was out of town, but Cheryl & I somehow managed to successfully control Madison Claire and to top it all off CPA won 23-21!!!
PRECIOUS video of Madison Claire dancing with the music during the game...
Stomping her feet with the crowd to make noise for the Lions!
Finding Daddy after the game...look how cute when she starts clapping when everyone else claps. Precious!
My new do
If you know me well, you know I've had my hair done the same way for as long as I can remember. Point in case - if you look at my drivers license from 2000 & 2006, my hair is exactly the same and it's exactly the same as it is in 2010. SO, I decided I was ready for a change and went to my friends stylist who a) colored my hair differently than it ever has been...it's kind of hard to tell in these pictures, but it is different in person and b) changed the style. I really like it a lot so it will be interesting to see if it stays or if I go back to my signature style (a.k.a. - no style!).
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Beach Trip
Annie and I took Madison Claire down to Destin for the first week of August. We had such a great time shopping, eating, watching movies, playing in the pool, laying out, and having fun with Madison Claire. I had to work a few days while we were there, but it was still a great trip! We stayed at the McSwains condo in Panama City Beach for the first 4 nights and then stayed at my parents place for the last 4 nights. Madison Claire was a little fish...she LOVED the water! She would jump right in to me or Annie and would be happy as can be swimming for 30 mintues! Enjoy the pics!
We stopped in Birmingham to eat at FLIP and see my good friend Whitney who moved there a few weeks ago
Madison Claire ate Natural Cheetos in her car seat...lets just say there was Cheeto dust EVERYWHERE! SOOO nasty!!! We had to wash the car seat cover when we made it to Florida. Lesson learned!
We finally made it to Panama City Beach and stopped at Carabbas for dinner
Playing at the Mushroom at the McSwain's condo. She LOVED it!
Of course she wanted my Diet Coke
View from the McSwains condo...you can see the water was NASTY with all of the seaweed. Annie actually took Madison Claire down to the beach and let her put her feet in an area that didn't have a lot of seaweed...I was way to grossed out! The seaweed started to move out our last day there...had we been there a week later it would have been absolutely clear & beautiful!
My Americas Next Top Model striking a pose
Getting some Vitamin D
At the Sugar Shak in Rosemary Beach...she loved it!
Getting ready for her beach portraits...how sweet!!
This is the man who took her pictures. Once I get my copies, I will take a picture and post one for everyone...they turned out AMAZING!!! It was quite the experience though - he kept saying, "cross your feet, cross your feet" and I was like "she doesn't know what that means!!!". He also had Annie come crouching around the camera making faces to get MC to smile. It had me about peeing in my pants!!
She loved this little spot at the One Water Place pool...so precious.
Madison Claire's first time in up in a play place at Chick-fil-A during the ride home...she was mesmerized!
Swimming with Annie
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