Weekend Adventures

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to get to spend time with family again, starting with my mom. We had made plans to go yard sailing and then visit her antique mall booth, but when I woke up on Saturday it was already 10am. I called to let her know I was running late and she gave me the upsetting news that she'd either lost her wallet or it was stolen. She had been yard sailing all morning and spent all the cash in it so if someone took it they wouldn't get far, but the important documents that were in there (her EMT certification, DL and SS card, etc) would be a pain to replace. She was pretty sure she'd just left it on the top of her car and driven away, but she'd also given a ride to a hitch-hiker and offered him breakfast, only to discover she had no wallet to pay with.
Well, I was fortunate enough to be in the green zone, so I drove up to meet her at the antique mall anyway and we got lunch and I gave her some cash to last the weekend until she could get to the bank today. We cleaned up her booth and ate at this crazy diner that felt like we were back in the 70s. Mom said she'd been there 20 years ago and I thought about how it might be 20 years until I return! It was a lovely place though. While she dusted and sorted the booth I called the sheriff's department to check if anyone had turned in her wallet and gave them some info to get it back in case anyone did return it.
When I got home, Gavin and I got packed up to go to Charlotte and visit his parents, kissed the pups and cats goodbye and hit the road. My friend Allison would be by to feed, water and take the dogs out later on.
The drive to Charlotte was a smooth one. Other than my butt falling asleep, we had no problems. It only took us two and a half hours and on the way down, I got prodded from the inside by little baby Maxfield!
We spent Saturday night out in the backyard around the fire pit, conversing about fireworks, wedding photos, baby things and the new house. I didn't get to sleep until close to 2am but I have to say, sleeping in a feathery-soft bed thats high up off the floor and has a ceiling fan above, no dogs crowding me and the A/C set at a comfortable 65f was like sleeping in heaven. I woke up feeling very refreshed and got an uninterrupted nine hours of sleep. Not even a full bladder could get this lil mama out of bed!
Sunday was spent checking out the Goodwills of Charlotte (which, by the way, are like going to the mall because it's still really nice stuff that people just decided to get nicer versions of), and then we went to...


drum roll


IKEA! :D :D :D

I had never been to IKEA so I didn't really know what to expect, but it was amazing! I was hangry (hungry + angry because of said hunger) so I demanded we eat at the Ikea restaurant first. I got swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy and the best tomato and feta soup ever. I felt like a balloon when I got up to put my dishes in the bins. But it was so worth it.
We followed the map provided and made our way through all of Ikea, stopping at the beds and mattresses to pick out a frame for the guest room and a new mattress for our bed. They had some $70 mattresses that were less comfortable than concrete and some $700 ones that felt equally terrible, but we found a ~$300 mattress that felt perfect. I can't remember which bed frame we settled on, but since I wont be using it, I don't think it matters, haha.
The best part of Ikea, I think, is pretending that each of the "rooms" they have set up, are apartments. Everything on display, basically, is for sale and they have some prop electronics to make things look homey. They're all empty inside. The toilets on display have paper glued over the openings so no one decides to be funny and pee or god forbid POO in the toilets.
We ended up actually purchasing a nursing chair with cushion, a rug with polka dots, a bamboo salad bowl and can opener and a box of band-aids and a little stuffed white rat. The total was only $112 but they have a deal where if you spend over $100 in store they take off your meal purchase from the total, so since Gavin, his brother and I all ate, we ended up spending only $86! Well worth it.
My hunger was sated and I was no longer grumpy, but walking around that HUGE store left my feet swollen and sore so we decided to get on the road after Ikea. We said our goodbyes and headed back to Apex.
The ride home was much more turbulent. There was rain from outside of Charlotte all the way to Apex and for some reason, a lot of people didn't have their lights on. My wipers decided to cut out every few minutes and I realized I haven't driven in night rain in forever. I guess I don't really go out at night? And we haven't had a lot of rain until recently.
We finally made it back home and all the animals were super excited to see us. It felt good to be home even though a little mini-vacation was much-needed.

Oh yeah! And my mom texted me when we got back to say someone HAD turned in her wallet and nothing was missing! She'd already cancelled her debit card and ordered a new ID but at least she didn't have to get a new social security card. :)

Baby shower and doctor visit #3

I am excited to say that this past weekend was one of the best so far! I didn't have too much nausea and other than the heat making me a melty person I had all my energy and stamina back!

First things first, the baby shower:

Gavin and I drove up to my mom's house on Sunday afternoon. It's about an hour's drive, but its a beautiful hour and passes quickly with the scenery changing from country to city and back to country again with sprawling hills and farms and a sparkling view of the lake. 

We got there a little early so I could help my mom set up anything she hadn't gotten to yet. A couple of our friends also came early so we got to catch up before the excitement began. 

When the shower began, we were each given a clothespin to wear on our shirts. If we said 'baby' or any variation of the word we had it confiscated. Whoever had the last clothespin was the winner. I think I was third to lose mine. 

We decorated onesies, made up baby names and guessed for a due date and the weight/sex of the baby. I got a huge calendar with everyone's guesses written on it to take home. 

We ate cupcakes and my mom had made baby quiches and ham & cheese fingerprints for us to snack on. When the mingling settled I moved over to a picnic table to open the gifts. We got a bunch of stuff! My top favorites so far:

-raccoon pjs with a raccoon on the butt (so cute, I squealed as I opened it)

-baby carrying sling (I have already tried it on my cats and it's so perfect, I can't wait to use it!)

-Little tiny socks in different characters like Batman (so tiny)

-gift card to target which has been stowed away for after the baby is born so we can pick up any last-minute forgotten items

Loading it all into the car was craziness. Luckily we didn't have to give my friend a ride back so it all fit fine. 

I spent most of the evening post-shower going through everything and marveling at how much STUFF there is. And we haven't even gotten a real crib or nursery furniture yet!

Doctor Visit #3

Honestly, there's not a lot to say here. Gavin had to work an overnight shift after the shower from midnight to 10:30am and he was exhausted. He laid down for about an hour and a half before the appointment but claims not to have gotten any sleep. So I know he was a sleepy mess when we got to the appointment. 

They asked us if we were going to do the blood tests to check for downs syndrome and spinal defects, things like that. I wasn't really feeling it because I know that a false positive would throw me into a tailspin of worry and anxiety and that is just not what I need right now. We decided to talk it over while waiting for the doctor and we decided that it was not going to make a difference since we wouldn't be ending the pregnancy either way. So we declined the tests. 

Since no bloodwork was to be done, the only thing we did at this visit other than a discussion with the doctor was listen to the heartbeat. It was still in the 140s range and sounded completely healthy. 

I was a little disappointed that we weren't able to find out the sex this visit, but I am all the more excited to know that August 4th will be the FOR SURE discovery date. And I can't wait to see what my little baby looks like.

I've been googling ultrasounds at 17 weeks to see what others' babies look like and I'm just so excited to see ours.