This Unfamiliar Road

September 17, 2011

Birthday Fun

I woke up on the morning of my birthday determined to follow Ben's instructions to "relax, and NO CLEANING!" But after my 2 cups of coffee, I got a little stir crazy and decided it would be a great idea to work on packing the house! Needless to say, when the hubby got home at 11am and most of our office was in boxes, he was a little irritated, although impressed with my progress. I think I would have been miserable sitting around staring at empty boxes-I'm much happier when I'm productive!
We planned a dinner at La Parilla with close friends and family. I had a great time celebrating with these folks. I also had the honor of sharing a birthday with Rowen! (and her brother Jack). After dinner, we moved the party to our house to celebrate with the four-legged kiddos.

Laurel made me a "bouquet" of flowers-'nilla wafers with peanut butter, dipped in chocolate and decorated. She put them in a "vase" of jelly beans. So creative!

Sister & Brother-in-Law (and future niece/nephew!)

Ugh, these people and gorgeous olive-toned skin. I look ghostly!

BFF's Dad and sister-I have grown up with these people!

First picture together...love!

My birthday cake with the ~~pumpkin vine~~ Happy 25!

My wish came true!

Jack & Rowen's cake: ground beef layered with mashed potatoes. : )

They loved it!

Playing with their new toy!

We have celebrated so many birthdays together!

He did such a great job coordinating it all!

September 16, 2011

Best Wishes for the Soon to Be MRS!

Andrea 10:07 PM 0 Comments

Over Labor Day weekend, I had a great time celebrating with my BFF and soon to be MRS! We kicked off the weekend with a bridal shower at Olde Blind Dog Irish Pub, a nod to Christa's heritage. Although a bit warm, we enjoyed the outdoor patio area and some delicious food! Our hostesses did an awesome job with decor and fun games, including a Spanish multiple choice quiz (Christa taught middle school Spanish).

Picture board of the bride & groom

Our beautiful bride-to-be. We were served champagne with ROCK CANDY in it-yum!

I had to capture the feather boa

Christa with her Mom and future Mother-in-Law

Ok, it was GameDay...I had to capture my UT spirit!

After the shower, we dropped gifts off, then headed to Lake Lanier for a bachelorette weekend! A few months ago, I asked Christa what type of bachelorette party she wanted, and she described a relaxing weekend on the lake with good music, food, and company.

I dedicated an entire post to the details just because I loved putting it all together!

I must admit, I was a terrible photographer that weekend. I intended to use my Mom's Nikon D90, but soon realized she needs a better flash for indoors, and my camera battery died...so I did the best I could!

Ok, long day and sans makeup (can't believe I am posting these!)

Cheers!

I don't think she liked it

We were singing MmmBop. Yup

Christa opted for a "Spice Up Their Night" shower rather than a lingerie shower...it was fun to see everyone's interpretation of the theme!

Breath drops? ...something like that!

Fun indeed

Her special blanket

We had such a fun & relaxing weekend. Christa said it was perfect and just what she needed to help her unwind and spend some quality time with the girls before the big day. It will be here before you know it!

# Friends # Parties

Bachelorette Details

Andrea 9:43 PM 0 Comments

I had SO much fun planning the decor and food for Christa's bachelorette party. I just had to document all of it!

Invitations: via Paper Affair

Thank goodness for stencils!

I made a picture banner that stretched the whole length of the house

All pictures of the bride with her bridesmaids!

We discovered Kendal's hidden talent-baking! She made these cupcakes!

What Bachelorette party would be complete without bride & groom bottle covers?!

A picture frame with some pretty scrapbook paper behind it-instant dry-erase board

(Thank you Pinterest!)

So, coming from someone who can barely draw a stick person, this was a stretch, but I'm pretty happy with how our details turned out, and I think Christa loved the decor!

# Parties # Projects

August 25, 2011

Prayers Answered

Andrea 9:33 AM 0 Comments

Everyone has been SO supportive of my friend Ashley so I thought I should give you a little update! (Ok, BIG update!)
Mac & Paisley were born Friday, August 19th-at 35 weeks exactly!
Ashley did an amazing job and was able to avoid a C-section (can you believe it?!) Of course, I wanted to jump in my car and head to Chattanooga the minute she sent me the text, "My water broke" but I know they need their family time, so I am waiting patiently (kind of).
Both babies and Momma are doing well, and everyone went home together on Sunday!

(I had to steal these pictures from Ashley)

Image by Studio D Photography

Congratulations Ashley & Jordan!!

# Family # Friends

August 21, 2011

Rowen Eats a Staple

Andrea 10:46 AM 0 Comments

<Warning: graphic content>
Well, what an exciting week we have had! Two weeks ago, Rowen began experiencing some GI symptoms, including vomiting. We kept a close eye on her and figured she may have eaten something. We continued to feed her small amounts of a bland diet-sometimes it stayed down, and other times it did not. However, when we returned home one evening to a bed full of vomit and bile (sorry...told you it would be graphic) we knew something was wrong. I also found a little plastic piece of something in the middle of all of it. I collected it and we made plans to go to the vet the next morning.
She became significantly more lethargic and dehydrated during the night and I knew we had a sick pup on our hands. At the vet, everything checked out physically so Dr. Jan decided we needed to do an XRay to figure out why she was so sick.

She called me back to look at it, and I fully expected to see this:

Not exactly what we found...but what we did see was a tiny staple-as in, to staple your papers with. Gah, I couldn't believe all of this could be caused by something as small as a staple. But, Dr. Jan said whatever is in there needs to come out. I decided against a scope to remove the objects because we didn't know how sharp the stuff was.

So, back to surgery she went (of course, after a panicked call to my mortgage lender...) and a few hours later, we got the call that Rowen was out of surgery.

When I went to pick her up, Dr. Jan wanted her to stay on some IV fluids. "Are you comfortable taking her home on an IV?" Well, how much different could it be than humans?

We had to bring her out via stretcher

At home, recovering

My house turned into a hospital

<Graphic Picture> This is what was embedded in her belly : (

Hair, yarn, grass, plastic pieces (?), rubber...and a staple

Trying to get her to eat..she loved the ground beef, but not the rice

Meds 3 times daily

So now..only about a week after major abdominal surgery-Rowen is back to her old self. We even arranged a supervised play date with brother Jack because she was so bored and had so much energy. Her incision is healing nicely and she is eating normally again. The one major thing that has changed is that Ben and I are now locking her in "her room" when we leave. She doesn't typically chew or eat random objects, but we can't take the chance again!

Thanks to everyone for checking in on her!

# Pets

This Unfamiliar Road

September 17, 2011

Birthday Fun

September 16, 2011

Best Wishes for the Soon to Be MRS!

Bachelorette Details

August 25, 2011

Prayers Answered

August 21, 2011

Rowen Eats a Staple

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