Sugar high

So no surprise here, but I failed the 1 hour glucose test that I took last week.  Even though I knew it was coming, I cried and cried when the nurse called to tell me that I needed to come in for the 3 hour test.  Now that I've thought about it - I really don't understand why they are having me come in for the 3 hour test.  I failed both the 1 hour and the 3 hour last pregnancy and I've failed the one hour this time.  Shouldn't we save everyone's time and money (and my blood) by going ahead and sending me to the nutritionist and calling it a day?

Other than that, my appointment last week went well and we'll find out what Baby Mason is on Valentine's Day, which I thought was quite appropriate.

Happy New Year

2010 flew by.  I really think time has started going much faster since Kendall was born.  It always flew by, but now it's like crazy super warp speed or something.

Unfortunately James had to work on New Year's Eve...until 2 a.m.  What is it about these rich folks that they feel they can't celebrate major holidays inside their 10,000 square foot, million dollar homes?  No - they'd rather be stressing my poor hubs out at the country club.  Actually, he never, never, EVER complains...he's one of the few people that I can honestly say loves his job.  And I usually don't complain about it (anymore), but dag - can a girl kiss her husband on NYE?  Anyway - Kendall and I had a most excellent time having game night with family and close friends.  We hosted my parents and grandmother (Ronnie's mom), Rena Bena (who has become a fast family friend in the last few months) and my BFF Melissa, Dean, Courtney, and Alex.  It was honestly one of the best nights of 2010, which is fitting as the year came to a close.  We played Apples to Apples (best. game. ever) and Loaded Questions (not as fun as when we played on Thanksgiving...you've gotta have people willing to say some crazy stuff to make it funny).  Then we watched the ball drop and I sat here shaking my head and the "artists" on Dick Clark's NYE show.  I guess I'm old because they just made my forehead wrinkle up more than usual...I didn't even bob my head.

Kendall and I got in the bed way late, but I was up pretty early to get things ready for my sweet girl's princess birthday party.  I was raised to have small, intimate family parties and so far that's what we've done with Kendall.  Only 10 people total.  I find that I'm able to splurge more on the party supplies when it's a smaller number and she doesn't get overwhelmed.  I decked out the kitchen in purple - Princess Tiana plates and napkins, purple forks and cups, loads of confetti, princess wands, necklaces, rings with bling, etc.  My sister in law brought tiaras for all of us girls to wear, too.  I did finger foods that turned out really cute - cream cheese/strawberry jam sandwiches cut out into cute shapes, fruit kabob "wands" with a pink yogurt dip, popcorn (Kendall's favorite), pink lemonade, etc.  Then I sat out little dishes of all sorts of candy in purple and green to match the decor.  Truly - I embraced what teeny weeny bit of creativity I have and it turned out really great.

Kendall got a bike from Mommy and Daddy and because it was 60 degrees, we were able to go ride some.  We finished up the day by taking her to see the Yogi Bear movie and to eat at the "peanut place" aka Lone Star.  It was a perfect, perfect day.

It still amazes me that I've been a parent for 3 years.  James, too...he said that very thing about 10 times on her birthday.  She is such a joy...I am so grateful that God chose me to be her mom.  She actually left for the mountains with my parents on Sunday and I know I'm supposed to enjoy "me" time when she's not here, but I don't like it.  I'd rather be with her, no doubt about it.  James and I are headed to the mountains tomorrow after work and I'll be so glad to kiss her sweet lips.

New baby

Hard to believe that I kept my pregnancy pretty much a secret for almost an entire trimester!  We are very excited to finally announce that we are expecting Little Mason #2 in July 2011.  I'll be 12 weeks in a couple of days and am feeling great.  Still hormonal and tired, but not sickly anymore and happy that we've seen and heard the little heartbeat and my doctor's visits so far have been good!  I will have to take the glucose test next doctor appointment - since I had gestational diabetes last time, she wants to make sure I don't have early onset this time.  She is pretty sure I'll have it, just not sure if it will have shown up already.  Boo on that, but it's not the end of the world and in fact, forces me to eat much, much better - which is a good thing.

Kendall is beyond excited - she talks about her baby brother or baby sister all the time.  She walks around with baby dolls up her shirt and pretends she has a baby in her belly.  She gives my belly zerberts all the time.  It's such a cool time for her and I'm glad we made the choice to wait 3 years.  She'll be 3 1/2 when the baby arrives.

Christmas was fabulous and now we're snowed in together - James did have to work today, but thankfully they decided to close, so we're about to head outside to build a snowwoman (Kendall wants it to have a girl necklace, so I'm assuming it's a snowwoman, not a snowman).

I don't suck at posting on purpose...

...it just seems to work out that way.  Life has been pretty busy lately.  Some fun stuff, some not so fun stuff.  Recaps:

- Kendall is fabulous - she tries my patience and gets her fair share of discipline (like last night when she thought it would be a good idea to throw a water bottle at my head after I asked her to put it down), but she's smart, funny, loving, curious and extremely cool to be around on most days.  She's doing 1/2 days of preschool twice a week at Grove Park and we love it.  I do find it odd that Mrs. Denise says she's one of the quiet students...she must save it all up for when she comes home or something because quiet she ain't. 

- James is enjoying the beginning of a slower winter season.  His business is always extremely busy during the summer and it slows way down in the winter and he's able to enjoy some time off.  As evidenced by his boy's getaway this weekend with his BFF (wait - do men say BFF?) in Charlotte, checking out the Bobcats and the Panthers.  I miss him when he's gone, but he is always so gracious about allowing me my girl's time that it's only fair that I return the favor.

- Work has calmed down now that the coworker that was on maternity leave has returned.  I almost kissed homegirl's feet when she came back because work has not been fun for Jennifer while she's been gone.  But I gained valuable knowledge and experience so it really was a good situation.  Plus, she and I are now solid work friends and I definitely needed another one...they are scarce for me at Quintiles for some reason.  Perhaps my charm just isn't welcome there??

- I'm enjoying couponing this holiday season.  I've caught some great retail deals and have done a large portion of my Christmas shopping online (with free shipping of course) using coupon codes that I've found.  It's been way less stressful to shop from my couch, that's for sure.

- I'm really looking foward to Thanksgiving this coming week.  I love Christmas for obvious reasons, but Thanksgiving is a fun, relaxing holiday.  We'll celebrate at mom's like usual...Kendall and I go over early on Thursday and look at the sale papers and drink coffee (well, Kendall doesn't do either of these, but you get the idea) and cook and just enjoy being together.  James has to work during the day, so we won't eat until dinner time.  Then Friday I'll say that I'm going to go shopping, but I won't.  Then Saturday - Monday, we're going to the beach with James' parents which will be very fun, too.

I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving!

Hilton Head Vacay

I have to thank my fabulous husband for introducing me to my favorite place on earth.  He first took me to Hilton Head back when we were dating and I fell in love with it then and we've been blessed to be able to go back every year since.  This year, my parents were able to join us, which was a super big deal because I can't remember the last time we've had a full week family vacation.  We headed down on a Saturday (6 hour drive...worst part of HH).  We rented bikes, which is like the thing to do down there.  The first bike ride almost killed me because we were riding to a restaurant and we really didn't know where it was and ended up going like 6 miles and I'm WAY out of shape.  While we were there we enjoyed the beach, the pool, more biking, Harbour Town, golf (for the men folk), shopping, lots of yummy food, and rest.  Meg ended up surprising us by coming down for a few days and it was so great to be laughing and relaxing with everyone.  I can't wait until next time!

Kendall had the absolute time of her life - she loved the petting zoo, the beach, the dance off she had with another little girl at the outlet mall (Kendall dominated of course), and uninteruppted time with her family.  Every single day since we got back, she's asked "What was your favorite part of Hilton Head".  She always says her favorite part was the beach, animals and pool.

We came from vacation and jumped right back into our busy, busy lives, but we love it and wouldn't have it any other way.

Best Soup Ever

I randomly stumbled upon a cool new blog that just so happened to have the BEST soup recipe.  Made it tonight and it a) tasted fabulous, b) had comfort food appeal and c) made a ton so I won't have to cook tomorrow night.  

The blog is here http://www.momadvice.com/blog/

 And here's the recipe:

Pesto Chicken Tortellini Soup



2 tablespoons olive oil


2 garlic cloves, minced


2 cans petite diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces)


8 cups chicken broth


1 pound chicken herb tortellini or tortellini of your choice (I used the refrigerated kind, but you can also use the dried pasta)


9 ounces spinach, chopped roughly


1/4 cup basil pesto






In a large pot, saute the garlic in the olive oil. After a minute or so, add the diced tomatoes and chicken broth to the pot. Bring the broth to a rolling boil and then add in your tortellini. Cook tortellini as directed on package. In the last minute of cooking time, mix in your roughly chopped spinach and stir in the 1/4 cup of basil pesto. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top. Side Note: When reheating, feel free to add some additional chicken broth to thin the soup, as the tortellini will absorb the liquid!

The Great Outdoors

Before this weekend, I definitely considered myself a beach only type of gal.  The mountains are cool every once in a while and I could be coerced into going to the lake if necessary.  However, I just got back from a 3 night-4 day camping trip at Kerr Lake and it was wonderful.  Peaceful and beautiful and just plain wonderful.  We went with the majority of our crew (one of our families couldn't come because of a sick little one) and we boated and played in the dirt and chased frogs and killed ants and admired the stars and made "shnores" and soaked up the sun.  It was a great weekend full of lots of memories.

We've got a short work week and then we head off to Hilton Head for a week.  I am extremely excited.  My favorite place on earth!