Springcroft Shower

I'm firmly convinced we live on the best street in Houston! If you are house hunting, you should be looking in Inverness Estates ... that's all I'm saying :)

Our sweet neighbors threw Bryan & I a block party baby shower style this weekend. It was fun!

One of our neighbors, Kristin, has crazy crafty skills and I will definitely use this idea at any future baby shower I throw. So cute! Watermelon baby:

Crazy, fun people :)

Games: Spin the "bottle" + word scramble + clips + decorate the onsie

So many generous (and practical!) gifts

We so enjoy all of these people :) Thanks for hosting, Heather!

Goofy ladies - and this is PRE-crawfish boil & shots, which I did not participate in :)

Yummy cake, mmm

It was so much fun! All the gents, ladies & kiddos had a great time. Thank you so much!
Oh, and we loved the onsies each family decorated!

Baby-Related Update

Because we have been SO generously showered with gifts for the baby, we've had a lot to set up and get ready! I've got the last load of tiny clothes in the wash, and finished washing little sheets and blankets earlier so that the cradle Ronnie built for us is made, and the crib in her bedroom is all made too. This child has no shortage of comfy places to sleep :)

While watching Captain America with Bryan this evening (he's ready to see the Avengers movie - do you think I could get through a whole movie at the theatre??) we set up the Rock'n'Play and Swing. Our home is starting to look invaded by a baby and she isn't even here yet!! 

Maverick finds all of this very interesting, and enjoys sniffing the new items in his territory and rolling on the soft blankets. We tried to explain to him that the incredibly soft lion mat does not go in his kennel for his sleeping enjoyment, it's for the baby. I think he remains unconvinced, but has reluctantly agreed to leave it in the nursery for now. I won't be shocked if he tries to find another home for it again in the future :) Thankfully he doesn't destroy or chew anything up! He just wants to sniff it out or lay on it. And who can blame him? Everything smells so good and feels so soft. 

I've been having lots of contractions, nothing too regular, so we're not ready yet, but I just feel better getting everything ready to go at home in case this little one does decide she's had enough of the cramped space and is ready to see the world. She's officially past full term, so I say we're ready for her whenever she wants to make her debut!

My achy breaky family?

The medical field has been making their money off of the Cunninghams/Meloys/Evans recently!!

As you may have just read, Goose just had her puppies. That involved one emergency vet trip pre-pups being born, when we found out she had inflamed tonsils and a bad allergy problem. After IV fluids & an antibiotic, she was as good as new. I did think it was funny the way the vet kept referring to all women with pregnancy as having a "debilitating disease" as both my dog and I were very clearly pregnant :)

Then Maverick somehow got a yeast infection in his ear, and NOW has a very badly torn pad on his paw and will need to go in tomorrow to get lots of stitches. Good grief. It looks like it hurts really bad though. I wish I knew how it happened?! (I can't believe I will one day be adding what happened to my child to this list of crazy accidents ...)

My Grandma (Jessica) has Stage IV Lymphoma, and Cervical & Uterine Cancers, and has been living with my parents for over 3 months now. Constantly rushing her to the ER, taking her to chemos, blood treatments, nutrionists, and all matter of other things is making life a little (a lot?) crazy. My Mom is carrying the hugest portion of this burden, but I've been trying to help out as much as I can on weekends and my days off. She is currently in the hospital again (since this past Wednesday) for blood clots in her legs (scary), a UTI, and pain caused by the Kidney stent they put in (which unfortunately developed an infection.) Many rounds of plasma, antibiotics, saline with magnesium, etc etc etc etc and she's starting to do better, but they don't anticipate her being discharged until Monday. Hopefully they'll still be able to get her chemo done on Wednesday so they can do CT scans to determine progress. Please, please pray for Grandma - for healing, for a positive attitude, increased appetite and increased drinking. Please also pray for my Mom - for patience, grace and fortitude. You rock Mom.

My sister-in-law, Marissa, developed a kidney stone, which was horribly painful for her and has thankfully passed. My brother developed an infection in his lymph-nodes - how is that going by the way, Grady? Are you feeling better?

And now I've got several signs of minor pre-eclampsia: swelling, elevated blood pressure (I usually have a below-average blood pressure), traces of protein in urine, crazy miserable headaches, light-headenedness and fatigue. Hey, baby, calm down! You've only got a teensy bit of time left to go. Let's finish up on a positive note, okay?

Our family needs to take a break from all this mess!! phew.

Mother Goose

Very pregnant Goose the night before the puppies were born

My sweet Goosey girl is a Mommy! Many of you already know that we are a "guardian home" for Miss Goose. When we originally got our first pup, Maverick, we fell in LOVE with Doodles - and especially Goldendoodles (Golden Retriever & Poodle Mix). These dogs enable people like me with truly severe allergies to be able to have a dog, and even one that lives in the house and functions as a member of the family. If you've met Maverick, you know he's an extra-special puppy :) You may even know that we jokingly refer to him as my personal therapist (which is not very far from the truth).

As friendly as Maverick is, he had a really hard time only having Bryan & I for his best friends. I take him to the dog park at least twice (many times more) a week, he gets daily walks, and we let him hang out with our neighbor dogs regularly, but there was still a lot of time when it was just him while we were at work, out of the house, or just hanging out at home when he really didn't have anyone to "play with." That's when we decided to get Pup #2. 

However, as soon as we made this decision, we found out we had a wee complication - I was pregnant! As enjoyable as Maverick was as a tiny puppy, there is much that isn't fun about potty training, teething, and all those other little things that come with getting a newborn puppy. Bryan & I decided that getting another tiny puppy was not the answer when we would have a newborn human in the house in the near-ish future. We knew we wanted another Doodle - so what were we doing to do?

I contacted Safari Doodles (where Maverick came from) and explained that we really wanted another Doodle, but would prefer one that was a little older, ideally already potty trained and with adult teeth (priorities!). I thought there may be a family that had one of their dogs for a while but either didn't have enough time or energy to keep up with it, and would be looking for a re-home situation. It turns out we didn't have to look very far because Alicia (one of the co-owners of Safari Doodles) had a almost-2-yr-old dog that she was wanting to use for breeding future puppies, but didn't have the space or time to keep her to do. She said we could have her for free if we would allow her to occasionally have a litter of puppies, and then after a few years we would spay her and she'd live permanently with us. Thus we became "Pink's" - now known as Goose - parents.

We love this little lady and Maverick LOVES his sister/best friend. Recently he's been very sad because we took her to Austin to live with someone else while she has her puppies. I DEFINITELY don't want a new Mommy dog and 6 brand new pups around while I'm a few weeks away from having a baby myself. Goose adjusted very easily, but Maverick really misses her.

Yesterday (Wednesday, May 9) Goose had her puppies!

First puppy out - a little boy!

Still coming; Goose did AWESOME

Almost all of them out now

 

4 hours later, Goose is worn out but almost done

 

"Mother Goose" with all of her puppies! 6 total: 4 boys, 2 girls

Way to go Goose! Everyone is happy and healthy. Apparently she's a "natural" and was a trooper through the whole thing. As much as she loves to lick, I'm sure she's having a ball with those little balls of fluff.

I think the thing that makes me laugh the most is those people that ask "did Goose & I plan to be pregnant at the same time?" .... Seriously? Did my dog and I PLAN to be pregnant and due around the same time? .... no. I can honestly say that our family planning had absolutely nothing to do with a dog's gestational period, but thanks for asking, haha. Thankfully both Maverick & Bryan have been troopers having TWO pregnant females in the house :)

Beth & Janie's Baby Shower

This past Saturday, April 28th, two of my dearest friends - Janie & Beth - threw me a baby shower. Janie even flew in from Denver to do so!! In fact, it was absolutely wonderful because Bryan & I got to have dinner and hang out with Janie & Tyler (who also flew in!) Friday night, Bryan & Tyler drove to College Station for the Maroon & White Game on Saturday while I saw Janie at the shower, and then Saturday evening Tyler came over to our house to visit some more. I miss these guys so much that it is SUCH a joy to be able to visit in person!

Margarita cupcakes, chocolate spice cake, light sandwiches & fruit - yummmmy

First things first, some munchies & visiting

Making sure everyone was introduced

Once folks arrived they filled out a card with advice for the new mommy (which I will treasure). Janie read them aloud (I am particularly adept at recognizing handwriting) and I was supposed to guess who gave what advice. It was fun to try to figure out who would give practical, who would give emotional, and who would give funny advice :) Nailed it most of the time! Although there were a few tricky ones :)

Beautiful blanket created by hand by Janie!  We were given so many sweet, thoughtful, and generous gifts. Thank you so much everyone!!

With my grandmothers - My Meemaw on the left, my Grandma in the chair, and Bryan's MeMaw standing by me. I love all three of these women so much. This is the 1st great-grandbaby for 2 of them, and Grandma's 15th!

With Cousin Emily and the ADORABLE elephant hamper.

The two fabulous hostesses. Thank you, THANK YOU!

Bryan's step-mom, Celina, his Aunt Lety, & MeMaw Evans

With my Momma - next photo we have together should be with 3 generations!

Two of our fabulous Aberdeen, Scotland friends - Nina & Debbie

My Papaw swung by at the end to pick Meemaw up right around the time Bryan showed up to see and thank everyone himself

Three of my FAVORITE people: Bryan, Janie & Tyler

This shower was so sweet!! Thank you so much everyone! This little baby has no idea how loved and celebrated she is yet!

Legacy Diapers

Today the fabulous staff at Legacy generously gifted Bryan & I with so many diapers!! (and wipes, shampoo, and a few cute monkey onesies with pants). Many of the givers were from our wonderful administrative team, fellow high school teachers, and other teachers I've had the chance to get to know and love this year. Some of it I'm not sure who it came from! 

The piles of diapers that showed up in my classroom this morning!

Bryan is going to be so excited and surprised when he comes home later :) How amazing is it that we both work at places where we feel respected, useful, and cared for as a person? Even more crazy, both places recognize how important family is too. We've both served time working for employers that didn't believe a person's family was (or should be) as important as their job, and viewed employees as a means to getting to the bottom line or as individuals that could be bullied and threatened into better performance. Now that we both have a job that we enjoy - thank you LPCA & Anadarko! - I realize how rare and special it is that we both like going to work and seeing our coworkers (and in my case my students and parents as well) in and outside of work.

I have been dragging for a few weeks because of the sinus infection, insane lack of sleep, and general discomfort I've been feeling, but even with all of that going on, I want to be at school with my students and I want to see my coworkers. There will be plenty of time this summer when it'll be just me, baby, puppies - yikes! :)

I'm so grateful for such a loving and generous gesture from the Legacy family!

If the Old Wives' Tale ...

... regarding insane heartburn and hair is true, this daughter of mine is going to look like a:

Highland "Coo"!

It's MAY, people! Get ready! Only 4 more weeks :)