About to pop.....

I meant to blog about this last week after it happened, but got busy with our company and forgot. I passed one of our IT guys at the office on Friday and he said, "Boy, it looks like you're about to pop!" Really, dude?? I have 2 more months left. I can only imagine what he'll say come mid-September!

Have a great week, all!
Cheers,
Lindley

Katy Perry!!!

So, Heather and I went to see Katy Perry last Thursday night. Yes, yes we did. I love Katy Perry and Heather agreed to go with me. Don't judge :) I've seen Christina Aguilera, Britney, and now Katy! I'm sure Lady Gaga is next. HA! We were more into the 'people' there than Katy, though. Katy was good, don't get me wrong, but oh my heavens! Some of THE BEST people-watching I've ever seen. There were basically 4 types of people there: 12 year olds dressed up like 25 year olds, 28 year olds dressed up like 14 year olds, gay guys, and COUGARS! Lots and lots of cougars actually dressed up like Cougars so at least they were dressed like their age. I've never seen more wigs, homosexuals, butt cheeks, 5 in' heels, and cleavage, all in the same place at the same time, in all of my life. WOW! But, like I said: Katy was excellent and put on a great show! Her crew/dancers were really really good and she changed outfits probably 15 times. She was so cute and talked a lot which is pretty rare w/ these teeny bopper singers. And, my fav part of the show??? She lip-sanc ZERO songs, which I thought was brilliant! Thanks for going with me, Heather! :o)

I mean.... what is this?!?!?!?!?

And this???

And, here she is singing my favorite song, of which she happened to open the show, "Teenage Dream"

In case you're wondering, or couldn't tell by the above photos...I got us pretty bad seats. Sorry Heather. thanks for being a trooper. The crazy thing is: Her tickets went as high at $200! we got the $80 ones thinking those would be pretty good, but we were almost to the top. Oh well... we got to see some awesome things that night! :)

Cheers,
Lindley

Houseguests, Surprise Houseguests, and a Girls' Weekend!

Friday night we had some house guests that were long overdue as well as some surprise house guests and friends all at the house. I haven't seen my friend, Lindsay, and her family in a long time so on their way to Austin for a wedding they made a pit-stop at Casa de Herring for the night and I am so glad they did! Their little boy, Miles, is absolutely one of the most precious little boys I've ever seen. He's getting so big and growing up way too fast, though :( While we were all visiting out by the pool, my sister texts and said she and her family are on their way to our house so our party of 5 soon became a party of 9. Then, Heather came over to spice things up a bit, then around 7:30, my friend Jennifer Millar showed up from Austin! Fun huh?? Heather, Jenn, and I had planned to do a little girls weekend this weekend so we just packed it all into one weekend! I love random, spontaneous weekends like this :) I have to brag on my sister really quick though: she's in CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) school right now and got an A for this last summer session!! She was uber stressed out, but did great! She always does. So, I was glad she got to come celebrate her A as well as see Lindsay, Joey, and Miles. So glad ya'll came, sis!

My little fishies... Ian and London (Ages 6 and 3, almost 4 and 7!! Talk about growing up too fast! )

Baby Miles...he wouldn't look at the camera for me! Nixie loves all the kiddos around and is really sweet with them. She just lays down on her back and wants them to scratch her belly and likes to give kisses.

Jenn, Heather, and I getting pedis on Saturday afternoon. We went to Nail Boutik on Lovers and the Toll Rd and they had these AH-mayzing lazy boy recliners instead of those regular pedi chairs and I am not sure I'll go anywhere else now. Plus, my pedi was only $28! That's the cheapest pedi I've ever gotten in Dallas and it was one of the best so I'm totally sold!

Brunch Saturday morning at Nick and Sam's Grill. BLT w/ fries served in the cutest little fry-daddy pan I've ever seen!

Such a fun weekend, girls! My sis had just woken up or else she would have been in this picture too!

Cheers,

Lindley

Brian meets "The Strange One"

Mike and Lindsay Hale gave Brian Mike Leach's book for his birthday and he got it signed tonight at Barnes & Noble.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Kimbell Ranch

Is this not one of the most fascinating things you've ever seen?!?!?! That, my friends, is a wind turbine.

Matt and Sarah Pitts (Matt and Brian went to dental school together and they live in Wichita Falls) invited us and one other couple to their ranch up near Lawton, OK this past weekend and we had a blast! I didn't take near enough photos, and the below doesn't do this place justice, but they're better than nothin'. We met at Meers Hamburgers, home of the "Best Burger in Oklahoma" in Meers OK for lunch and yes--that's a mean hamburger! We then headed out to the ranch and got settled in for a relaxing day in the spring pool.



Matt took us on what he likes to call a 'booze cruise' in his Dodge Ram truck that evening right before sunset and THAT was cool! A little bumpy, especially with 'roadies', but overall, freaking awesome! Mind you--we didn't cover much ground considering they have about 118 acres out there but he took us to some of the highlights. And, the views were breathtaking. OK does have a few hills/small mountains, believe it or not! The below 2 pics are "The Bat Cave." This little crevice drops down about 120 feet into this huge cave full of bats! Ask my husband about it next time you see him. Bless his heart... he and a bunch of other guys went out here for Matt's bachelor party several years ago and being the 'brave' soul he is, he volunteered to be lowered down there via this winch and wouldn't you know...the thing broke once he got down there! He was trapped down there for almost 2 hours! And, this was in the middle of the afternoon, in.the.heat.of.the.summer, but he said was it was rather chilly down there so that helped. Anyway, one of the guys just got pissed and started beating on the winch and got it working again, thank goodness! Poor guy....he said he couldn't even sit or lay there was so much bat poop down there, and you can only imagine how dark it was down there!! I would have been scarred for life!

Jennie checking it out!

Me and the Mr. It was super windy up there!

Our new friends, Dave Lilley and Jennie Gerdes. Yes, that's a bottle of Boone's Farm. Love these people!


They are so peaceful until you get underneath them and man, are they noisy!?!?! Wow!

The Spring Pool--this pool was the community swimming pool back in the 1920's. The Spring house, where we stayed, is attached to the Spring Pool, and has pics inside from when it his was in operation. How cool is that?!?! That red thing is a merry-go-round that has been out there for a very long time. Sarah wasn't sure if it's been there since the 20's, but it's been a long time. This pool is fed by a natural spring and SUPER cold! It took us all about 20 minutes to get officially 'in' it was so cold, but after that, we were in heaven! My 95 degree pool at home sucks compared to this thing! It was probably 60 degrees, but when it's 108 degrees out, 60 degrees is a beautiful thing! Those steps are off the house and lead into the pool. It's so cool and been around for years....if you can't tell, I was fascinated by the history here!

Looking out off the master bedroom deck. Matt, Sarah, and their kids stayed at The Ranch House while Dave and Jennie stayed at The Spring House with us. They gave us the master b/c they said I needed the King bed since I was prego. That was so nice, ya'll. Thank you for thinking of me! :)

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Master Bath Shower

The Master bath

Thanks, again, Matt and Sarah, for the invite and great weekend. We look forward to many more memories with you guys out there.

Next up.... 31+ week photo and update!

Cheers,

Lindley

A night of firsts.....

So, us and 2 other couples had dinner plans this past Friday night at Red Fork. We picked The Hales' up at 6:45 and headed to the restaurant to meet The Jones'. Red Fork is a brand new restaurant in Dallas that's been open about 2 months so we thought that would be a fun place to try. The Jones' ended up not coming as their daughter was sick so it ended up just being us and The Hales'. Uuummm... Red Fork was sooo disappointing. We got there at 7:20 and there were about 6 people in the entire place! We thought that was a little odd but sat down at our table and didn't think any more of it. Well, we noticed there was this limited menu printed out on each of the place settings on the table and when I say limited I mean 2 apps, 2 salads, 3 entrees, and a warm brownie or chocolate Chip cookies for dessert. We thought.... Surely these were 'additions' to the regular menu, right?? Nope! That was THE menu for the night! Hummus & something else for an app, mixed greens or a beet salad for the salads, and salmon, burger, or spaghetti/meatballs for the main course. That's it! Is that not crazy?? Lindsay had just checked their website earlier that day to see what was on the menu and it mentioned nothing about a 'limited' menu or chef change. I was shocked this place had already changed chefs considering it just opened, but apparently that's the case and once we confirmed that, and their limited menu being all they were offering, we left. I have to say that was a first for me. I've never up and left a restaurant due to the menu before in my life, but due to the poor selections, there was no way we were eating there. We went to St. Martins Wine Bistro instead http://www.stmartinswinebistro.com/ and had a fabulous meal so it worked out in the end. A few more firsts for me were that I had brie soup, escargot, and a souffle for the very 1st time! Amazingly good food at this old, classic restaurant and we will definitely be going back! It's a little close to my heart as this is where Brian and I were supposed to eat the night he proposed to me but due to all my 1, 473 phone calls I had to make it was too late to go all the way down to Greenville Ave for dinner so we just went to Mi Piaci, which is a lovey Italian food restaurant only about 3 miles from our house. Just for reminiscent purposes, I thought I would attach a photo from the night Brian asked me to marry him. This was actually after he asked me to marry him. We were at home when he proposed, then we stopped at Mike and Lindsay's for a champagne toast, then came to Mi Piaci. What a wonderful day. My how things have changed since then! :o)

Then, after dinner last Friday night we went back over to Mike and Lindsay's for my last first of the night, which was Brian and I getting our a**es handed to us in Trivial Pursuit! We have NEVER lost that bad to them before in our lives and I was sober! What the heck?!? Nice job, team Hale. We are ready for a rematch ASAP! We still love ya'll though....thanks for a super fun night!

Cheers,

Lindley

30+ weeks!

A few pregnancy highlights...

How far along: 30+ weeks!!!
Size of baby: head of cabbage, 17 in., 3 lbs 10 oz
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 21.5 lbs.
Gender: It's a surprise!!!!!Names: Girl: Cameron Elizabeth Boy: Pierce Ballard.
Movement: Little Red is VERY active! Like, I think Little Red may be a circus baby. It's still doing flips!

He/she does, at least, still let me sleep at night though so that's good.
Sleep: I'm still sleeping really good at night!

What I miss: my memory, my mary&guido jeans, being able to walk up a flight of stairs without sounding like I just ran a marathon, wine, my heels, iced tea, being able to paint my toes comfortably, sushi, and lime Diet Dr. Peppers from Sonic.
Cravings: still craving hot dogs and fruit, of which watermelon and nectarinesand are my fav. I can seriously eat an entire seedless watermelon in one weekend. I am also still loving me some donuts, mac and cheese, and Jimmy Dean McGriddles.
Symptoms: heart burn, minor lower abnominal pain due to stretching I guess, and my belly button is now an 'outie.' Yep, it happened. Lovely

Have a great Thursday, all!
Cheers, Lindley

a little of this, a little of that.....

Before I forget: Little Red--I want you to know I'm carrying you in the below temps! That 108 was what I looked at every.single.day last week on my drive home from work! Who has temps like this?!?!?!? Oh yea. Dallas. Where we live. Awesome. I still love you sweet Nemo and am happy to carry you regardless how hot it is outside. I am sure you'll be worth it! ;o)

Brian and I had our Prepared childbirth class this past Saturday at the hospital of which we're delivering and although it was 7 hours, it was actually pretty informative and we both learned some things we didn't already know. It totally could have been condensed down to about 3 hours, but oh well. We were glad we went. And, one of the expecting moms in our class went into labor! It was nuts! We were taking a tour of the hospital at the end and noticed the dad on the L&D unit! He said she started having contractions right before lunch hence the reason they didn't return. We all hope she's ok as she's only about 33 weeks along.

Tonight B and I rode bikes after work and sadly enough, that was my last ride. My belly is way too big to crouch over to grab the handle bars like that so I'm afraid I'm done until Baby H makes his/her debut. It's been fun 'cruiser'...until next time.

And, lastly: Can you see Nixie on my belly in the below pic? Sorry it's so small--Brian took it from across the room w/ his iPhone as I wanted to catch it before she moved. She LOVES to lay on my stomach like that and listen to the baby. I totally think she knows there's something growing in there. Crazy!

Hope everyone has a nice week....

Cheers, Lindley

Little Red Update

Well, we had our 28.5 wk appt on Tuesday of this week.... We got to have another sonogram and not that we're biased or anything, but we seriously have the cutest baby ever!!! ;) it's measuring one week ahead so I'm technically 29 wks & 4 days, but Dr. W said we're not going to move my due date up just yet as sonographers can be wrong sometimes, so we're just saying I'm 29+ weeks along. Nemo weighs 3 lb 5 oz...the sonographer said it's measuring pretty big but that it will probably slow down. It's in the 86th percentile on growth and the baby did move out of the birth canal so I'm no longer placenta previa, thank goodness! It will only move up from here so it cant go back to blocking the birth canal so that was very good news. They checked all organs again.... heart, all 4 chambers are functioning properly, the bladder, kidneys, stomach, lungs, mouth, head, & measured the thigh bone. Yes, it's still long like it's mommy's. :o) She and Dr. Watkins said everything looks great. ;) Also, I just got a call from Dr. Watkins' nurse, Leslie, and I do NOT have gestational diabetes, nor am I anemic so MORE good news! WOO HOO! Such a relief hearing all of this. God is good.

We now start going to the Dr every 2 weeks, and once I hit 36 weeks, I'll start going once/wk. It's all happening so fast, I can't believe it! We are going to a prepared childbirth class at Plano Presby, where I'll be delivering, this Saturday from 9 - 4 and Brian is having a hard time sleeping at night he's so excited. I kid, I kid. I did poll several moms and all agreed some course is better than none so I thought we would take this basic, one day, class to get a tour of the maternity unit, L&D, meet nurses and staff, learn the basics of childbirth since clearly, neither of us have had a child , etc. etc. I shouldn't be too bad. There were some 3 & 4 day classes offered! I think we'll stick w/ just the one, thanks! I'll keep you guys posted...we may be leaving after lunch. HA!

Cheers, Lindley



Cheers,
Lindley

29+ Weeks

A few pregnancy highlights....

How far along: 29+ weeks!!! I am putting 29+ weeks because, according to the sonographer, I'm measuring a week ahead, yet Dr. Watkins doesn't wanna get too excited and move my due date up just yet so I'm putting a "+" there to appease me for the time being :o)

Size of baby: butternut squash, 17 in., 3 lbs 5 oz

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 20 lbs.

Gender: It's a surprise!!!!!
Names: Girl: Cameron Elizabeth Boy: Pierce Ballard. ***HOWEVER***, my mom heard a name the other day that we both kindof like! Cannon for a boy! Cannon Ballard Herring. Nice, huh? And, he would have the same initials as Brian that way. Let me know your thoughts....

Movement: Little Red is VERY active! Like, I think Little Red may be a circus baby. It was doing flips yesterday! He/she does, at least, let me sleep at night though so I'm thankful for that.

Sleep: I'm still sleeping really good at night and it's amazing how little sleep I require now compared to when I was first pregnant. Dr. W told me I would feel that way, but I never dreamed I would ever get over that tiredness, but I did.
What I miss: my memory, my mary&guido jeans, being able to walk up a flight of stairs without sounding like I just ran a marathon, wine, my heels, iced tea, being able to paint my toes comfortably, sushi, and lime Diet Dr. Peppers from Sonic.

Cravings: still craving hot dogs and fruit, and my new fav fruit is watermelon. I can seriously eat an entire seedless watermelon in one weekend. I am also still loving me some donuts and Jimmy Dean McGriddles.

Symptoms: I am still hotttttt! We've had like 14+ days in a row in the triple digits and....really...I AM OVER T! :) But, I can't complain too much seeing how I work in an ice box! My office, I swear, is ridiculously cold! I have to turn my heater on every single day it's so cold. But, don't get me wrong...I would much rather be cold than hot, that's for sure. I just get hot walking from my car in the parking garage to the office, which takes about 45 seconds so its really not too bad.

Have a great Thursday, all!

Cheers, Lindley

Horrible Bosses

Last night Brian and I went to Studio Movie Grill to see Horrible Bosses and I laughed and laughed and laughed. Don't get me wrong....the language is not pleasant, nor is some of the content, but I still found it hilarious! We sat next to, probably a 17 year old kid, and his parents, and although I would not advise you see it in those conditions, I do recommend it. Again, I laughed and laughed. Plus, my brother-in-law reminds me so much of Jason Bateman it's scary! See the resemblence above for yourself! Jus, yes Jason Bateman's hot but don't go on and get a big head now! Love you :o)

Cheers, Lindley

A weekend with The Pitts', The Coleman's, and The Jones'

Brian and I had a great weekend! Friday night, Matt and Sarah Pitts, (Matt and B went to dental school together) who live in Wichita Falls, came to Dallas for a date weekend and asked us to dinner at Cafe on the Green at The Four Seasons. Matt's sister, Holly, and her boyfriend Barrett, who live in Argyle joined us so there were 6 of us total. I have been to Cafe on the Green before for lunch but not for dinner and oh.my.word! That is probably one of the nicest restaurants I've ever been to. It was lovely....we all got fabulous entrees, appetizers, soup, dessert, wine.... we definitely didn't hold back. It was great and so fun catching up with The Pitts. Thanks for inviting us, Matt and Sarah! We're going to their ranch for the weekend in a few weeks so we're looking forward to seeing them again as we don't get to hang out as much as we'd all like.

Brian played golf with Matt at The Four Seasons the next morning and I went and watched Ian play T-ball in N. Richland Hills. They didn't win either game but I was still proud of my nugget. He looks so grown up out there... I cannot believe he'll be 7 in September!!! Below is London and I cheering on her brother as he crosses home plate... go Ian! So proud of you, buddy!

They came back over to our house for some pool time and ended up spending the night with us, which was so fun. Heather came over too, for a little bit, to get some rays and catch up. Thx for stopping by HH! Great seeing you! Brian's co-worker and mentor at Baylor, Dr. Coleman, invited us over for dinner last night so we left my Sis, Justin, and the kids in our pool while we went and had dinner with The Coleman's. They made a delicious meal... Rao's (the famous NYC restaurant: http://www.raos.com/) pork chops and homemade gnocchi that were to die for!!!! They also had this baked tomato, basil, and mozarella dish that was excellent, then Pat's famous cantaloupe with prosciutto that I love, and homemade focaccia bread, specially prepared and baked by the one and only Dr. Coleman himself. His baked breads are unbelievably good! They asked us to bring a side green veggie so we brought prosciutto-wrapped asparagus that's served chilled. First time we've ever made that and it was pretty good. It's a good summer side dish when temps are in the 100+'s. I still think Gary and Pat went all out and way outdid themselves! They even had my favorite non-alcoholic beer--Beck's! You guys are the best! The 'tiramisu' and cognac were a perfect end to the evening... thank you both for a fun and much needed night with dear friends we don't see near enough. Our treat, in our home, next time! Let's plan on after the baby so I can partake in the cognac. :o) I didn't take any pics of this food and am kicking myself now. It really is quite sad how excited I get about food these days. Oh well... that will all change in September when Little red gets here so I might as well enjoy it now while I can. We stayed over at the Coleman's until around 10, then came home to everyone asleep except my sis so we sat up and visited until 2 am. I love having my sister around when she has the time. School has really kept her busy, and will continue to keep her busy for another year & 1/2 so I cherish every minute I get with her. So glad ya'll stayed Mel. I loved having you guys and love you dearly, sis. XOXOX

Hope everyone has a fabulous week...

Cheers, Lindley

Staff Care has a new team member!

Well, I come into the office this morning to an email from a co-worker who sits over by where I used to sit when I used to be with the Med/Surg division. She said the below was just hanging out about 10 feet from where I used to sit! You've got to be kidding me! This is on the 2nd floor for Pete's sake! How in the heck did it make it upstairs and more importantly, are there more?!!?!? She said it measured over 18 inches long!!!!!! Just a garden snake, but still!!!!!

28 Weeks!

A few pregnancy highlights....
How far along: 28 weeks!!!
Size of baby: small cabbage, 17 in., 2.9 lbs
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 18.7 lbs.
Gender: It's a surprise!!!!!

Names: Girl: Cameron Elizabeth Boy: Pierce Ballard
Movement: Little Red is VERY active - especially after I eat. It likes food like it's parents! Thankfully, Little Red hasn't scared us again and has been very active in there! I mean, VERY active. It's like it's been making up for that one day of no movement this week. He/she does, at least, let me sleep at night though so thanks baby.
Sleep: I've been sleeping really good lately! This body pillow is still the best thing that ever happened to me!!
What I miss: my memory, my mary&guido jeans, being able to walk up a flight of stairs without sounding like I just ran a marathon, wine, my heels, iced tea, being able to paint my toes comfortably, sushi, and lime Diet Dr. Peppers from Sonic.
Cravings: still craving hot dogs and fruit, and my new fav fruit is watermelon. I can seriously eat an entire seedless watermelon in one weekend. I am also loving me some donuts. Thanks mom! I knew my time would come. Just a little FYI for those who don't know: My mom ate lots of donuts when she was prego with my sister. Like, SIX a day! :) She worked in the Sears Tower in Chicago and would stop in the mornings, get her 6 donuts, eat 2 on the train to her office, 2 on the elevator up to the 52nd floor where her office was, and 2 in her office. I have to give it to her for having such a brilliant plan though: you see: by the time she got to her office, she only had 2 left so her co-workers thought she was only eating 2 like every other normal person, but little did they know.... HA! Genius mom. Genius! Love you!

Symptoms: I am just so hot! These 108 degree temps are rough! But, I'm hanging in there. I just stay inside a lot! I'll get in the pool occasionally, but by the time I get my suit and sunscreen on I'm too tired to get in the pool. HA! But, otherwise, I'm doing and feeling great thank goodness.

We go to our 28.5 week appt this Tuesday so stay tuned for an update. I am having my glucose/gestational diabetes test so here's hopin' I pass and don't have to deal w/ that this last trimester.

Cheers,

Lindley

Baby Carter!

Our friends Tami and Carlos have a beautiful 4th of July baby, Carter Brooke Keating. I can't wait to meet you, sweet girl.

Wow... what a weekend!

TOP GOLF! Brian's impressive swing! I learned, just this past weekend, that my husband has never had a golf lesson, one! I have to say I was shocked b/c he's a good little golfer! Proud of you babe. His wife? Uumm...not so much! :) I try though....

Dr. Boothe and her impressive swing below! :) No golf lessons for her either! She can hit the ball, that's for sure!



Fun times at The Hale's

ready for my gender test.

Captain Ollinger. Lookin' good, hot stuff!

Herring 4th of July Sunday Funday

Kayla trying to surf. Heat and alcohol combined makes for a very interesting and entertaining day :)

Too much Sangria to surf, but sure was a fun day :o)

Well, I'm not sure I have enough strength to type this post, but I'm sure gonna try because, boy did we have an eventful weekend. And, just when I thought it was eventful enough to go and ahead and blog about it, Brian and I hear this loud BOOM in our backyard, like the transformer blew, followed by a power outage seconds later. Awesome. It's 100 degrees outside. This should be fun. I mean, it sounded like an explosion it was so loud! Not good. We ran out front to find our neighbors outside as well...all with no power. We just called TXU and yep! The transformer blew and they are estimating the power will be back on around 10 PM. It's 7:30 now. Here's hoping it comes on lots sooner than that. I have a little juice left on my laptop so we'll see how long I can go before my battery dies. I just tried to upload photos, but have no internet since the power is out so all I can do it type.

Brian's brother and wife didn't end up coming to town so it was just Mandie and Chris who stayed with us this weekend. They came in on Friday and we had the best time with them. The Porch for dinner Friday night, then brunch at The Original Pancake House on Saturday morning followed up by a little Top Golf action then a stop at our friend's, Mike and Lindsay Hale's house, for some pool time and fajitas. Fun day! While we were there, both Lindsay and Mandie did the 'needle' test on me, where you dangle a needle, pencil, or ring over your belly or wrist to see what the gender of your baby is 'supposed' to be. If it moves in a circle you're having a girl and if it moves in a line, you're having a boy. Well, we got a cirle first then a line so looks like we're having a girl, then a boy. Who knows, but it was sure fun. Supposedly, you can have this test done on you if you already have kids and it's supposed to reveal what you currently have. Well, I'll be darn if it wasn't spot on with Lindsay Hale and Lauren Meyer. It was so accurate it was scary! Maybe we are having a little girl!?!? Who knows? Only 3 more months until we know for sure! :)

Power just came back on! WOO HOO! Only 1 hour...not bad, TXU!

Sunday we had about 20 people over for the 4th and had an absolute blast! Brian smoked a huge brisket and pork shoulder and it was dee-lish, as always! He most certainly knows how to roll some BBQ! Everyone brought something and we had plenty of food. Kayla, the jalapeno/cilantro slaw was a hit, Bridget, those brownie bites were delicious, Andrea, thanks so much for bringing all that fresh fruit, Linds, thanks for the cake, and K. Waters, I need your grandmother's pumpkin bread recipe. So good! My girls even cleaned my kitchen for me before I realized what they were doing. Mandie asked Andrea to "help her move something in the garage" and the next thing I know, I walk inside to a spotless kitchen. Those stinkers! :) Thank ya'll so much! Love you guys.

Back up about 4 hours....At about 5 PM that day I noticed I hadn't felt the baby move. Granted, I was running around all day trying to get ready for the party, on my feet 24/7, etc., so I never really thought anything about it, but I realized I should probably take a load off and see if I can't feel my Little Red move. I didn't wanna make a big deal out of it as I had 20 people at my house, but did think it was strange that I hadn't felt it move all day, when I normally do. Well, after about 4 hours of no movement and talking with Brad Andrews' wife, Kayla, who's had 2 babies, I decided to call the Dr. just to see what she had to say. I left a message w/ the answering service and Dr. Watkins called me back in like 45 seconds. When I called I really thought she would just tell me to sleep on it and see if I feel it move tomorrow but she didn't. She was pretty adamant about me going into the L&D unit at the hospital, which made me a little nervous, but I needed to have peace of mind, u know? The Addison Kaboom town traffic was horrific (took us 1.5 hours to get to my hospital, which is only about 7 miles from my house!) but we made it. Bridget took me while B stayed back with our company. I am so thankful she was with me because had I gotten bad news it would have been horrible to be alone. Anyway, I got all checked in and before I knew it I was eating ice cream, Popsicles, drinking apple juice, etc in the maternity suite to try to get the baby to move and not only did it move, it ended up getting the hiccups!!! So funny! I've never experienced those before so it really was kindof neat. ;). Needless to say, everything was fine, Nemo just wasn't wanting to be active yesterday, I guess. I had a good, stern 'talking-to' to Little Red and asked that he not scare its mommy, daddy, and friends like that again! I will be sure, from now on, to make sure I pay much better attention to the movement of the baby throughout the day as Dr. Watkins said that's VERY important.

I hope everyone had a fabulous 4th. Thanks to all our wonderful friends who had us over and came to our party this weekend. Brian and I had a great weekend, but we are T-I-R-E-D! :) So worth is though! I'm off to bed.

Cheers, Lindley