The Great Outdoors

Wow, what a babymoon! Jason and I took the long route to Eureka Springs, stopping first in Muskogee, Oklahoma for a quick work conference. It was totally worth the drive though. We had over 12 hours round trip of one-on-one time in the car, with the occasional NCAA commentator riding along.

After a few hours of curvy roads through rustic farmland, we arrived at the Ridge Top Resorts and Cabins in Eureka Springs. We stopped first at Mike and Debra's home (the owners) to pick up the key and chat a little while. They told us that our cabin has a possessed squirrel that has been gnawing away at the outside of the cabin for months. They said there is a bounty on his head and we would get a discount on rent if we were able to kill it! They told us about a big black bear they had seen roaming the property a few days before, but not to worry...

When we actually got to our cabin, it was totally dark, so of course every rustle in the woods sounded like a bear to me. I kept my pepper spray on hand, only to be made fun of by my sweet husband. Anyhow, we never did have an encounter with the bear, but Jason sure had a lot of fun teasing me about it. We did, however, hear that crazy squirrel now and again. He's apparently a super survivor, because they painted part of the cabin with some poisonous paint to try and kill the little booger, but to no avail!

The rest of the trip was pretty relaxing. We visited downtown Eureka Springs for half of a day. Its the oddest little town! It has sort of a hippie/old western feel to it. They had all of these nick-knack shops and they went on forever and ever! We ate breakfast at Local Flavor (we tried to eat at Mud Street, but sadly it was closed), and then we at lunch at this awesome hot dog place called The Big Dog. After walking, we had a 1:00 reservation to ride the tram tour around Eureka Springs. I think everyone on the tram was over 80, and having a very difficult time hearing the tour guide :)

Afterward, we took a quick trip to Lake Leatherwood where we planned to return to the next day, weather permitting (sadly, it did not permit). They had people out on paddle boats, kayaks, and canoes, a little beach, and lots of room to throw a Frisbee or fly a kite! On the lake, we noticed this sad little goose with one leg. We had a conversation about what may have happened to him. And then he woke up and another leg suddenly appeared! I thought only flamingos did that!

Over the next couple of days we visited the Thorncrown Chapel, Christ of the Ozarks, ate at the Pied Piper, Bubba's BBQ, and Ermilio's, grilled out at the cabin, took a quick trip to Branson, MO to see the New Shanghai Circus (pretty fab), traveled to Berryville for a pedicure (that's right, Jason got one too!), made use of the awesome indoor jacuzzi in our cabin, and got car sick. That about covers it for now!

On another quick note, we have a name for baby boy! Brady Quinn Carmichael (we nixed James for a middle name because I really don't like the nick name B.J.). Hopefully, in the next post, I'll be able to post photos of the nursery in progress!

Much love, Erin, Jason, and Brady :)

Make Like a Baby...

While I am still required to take it easy, I am finding easy things to do to stay productive and entertain myself. For example, today I finally finished researching and purchased our infant carrier/car seat online! It takes a lot of time when you are trying to consider safety, weight, comfort, and aesthetics! Anyhow, I can't wait to drive around with this little booger in my back seat. Other than just being adorable, it will be a constant reminder that we are about to have a kid move in with us!

Other than shopping online, I've been doing research for our "babymoon" that we plan to take in late March. We are going to head to Eureka Springs for several days and stay in a cabin near Beaver Lake. If you know of something we must-do or must-see, shoot me a message.

Anyhow, I have placed another physical reminder that a kiddo is about to arrive in our kitchen. Our bumbo! I'm fairly certain baby boy won't be able to use this for a while, but its super fun to look at. I'm kind of hoping for chubby legs to put in it :)

So talk about a serious, "Head Up, This Kid is Coming Soon" day. Jason and I took the all day Birthing Class at Baptist on Saturday. Lets just say they don't leave much to the imagination. I was grateful though, because they covered everything from where to park when you arrive, to how to install your car seat when you leave. They also gave us a tour of the hospital so we would know what to expect, and hopefully the daddy's-to-be won't get lost when they wheel us up there!

Days Gone By

I can't believe its been an entire week since my last post! The days have flown by now that I am not super glued to the recliner. I suppose if they had kept me on bed rest, I would have been boring everyone with crazy random things that happen around the house every day. For example, there is this the crazy bird outside our living room window that has spent every moment of daylight over the last two weeks ramming his head into the neighbor's window. No joke. He's driving me nuts. I see him in my periphery all day long, no matter where I sit in the house. Somebody has got to put him out of his misery...

In other news, baby boy seems to be doing very well! He's kicking and stretching all day and night long. We are fairly certain we are going to have a hyperactive little dude on our hands come June! ADHD anybody? At least he'll come by it honestly.

At this point he is supposed to be around 15 inches long, and 2.2 pounds. Speaking of which, I am growing and growing and also eating like a teenage boy! I'm not the only one who is having to deal with the changes that are going on. Lyddy is a lap cat if I've ever met one, and she is having trouble staying on this lap of mine. She has to hold on with one paw. She has also begun to notice slight movements on my tummy and seems curious. Pretty soon baby boy is going to be kicking her clean off my lap! Oh, and I've begun to hold Lyddy upside down to try and get her used to a future toddler. :D

Okay, now for an amazing invention that I had never heard of. Our friends Steve and Bennie sent me the cutest teddy bear (have heard of this invention) and something called a Wubbanub. It's a tiny little stuffed animal that has a pacifier sewn into its mouth. This allows Baby to keep the pacifier in his mouth all by himself! I can't wait to try it out! When you get a chance, look it up on google images and you will see all sorts of adorable newborn babies clinging to these guys. Not sure why I didn't think of this one!

Up and at 'em!

I was biting my nails the first half of yesterday. My doctor appointment wasn't until 1:00, and I had been up since before dawn in anticipation of getting to leave the house. I worked for a few hours, and then tried on several outfits for the date night Jason and I would get to have if the doc posted my bail. Jason came home around lunch time to find me painting my nails. He said I was being seriously optimistic! I didn't mind :)

Anyhow, this is me at 12:00. I left an entire hour before my appointment to head to the doctor's office. Thankfully I only had a short wait, and then they pulled me back for an ultrasound. Baby boy looked great (I actually asked the tech to double check that it was a boy for me on this visit - he is :), and they said I looked good to go! The doc took me off bed rest, with a few restrictions (no exercising, lifting, etc). Woohoo! So I celebrated by driving myself to Kroger to pick up a bag of chips and one bunch of bananas. Seriously :P

So last night was a fabulous date night with Jason. We went to the Orpheum for the World Premiere of The Grace Card. The movie was wonderful and they had a fun question and answer time with the actor's afterward. Definitely a memorable evening! But by the end of it I was exhausted and happy to get home and in bed!

Molly Maid Moms

Its been one week, almost to the hour, since Jason rushed me (and baby boy) to the hospital. This means I've been sitting insanely still for over 168 hours. This means that Spalding and Lyddy have had every opportunity to shed and spread enough hair and dander to fill a cat bed. Ugh! It doesn't help that normally I like to vacuum every few days, and use my handy swiffer almost as often.

Anyhow, my fabulous mother, and my sister's mother-in-law (Linda) came by today and did some extreme cleaning! They came bearing the gift of food, the gift of socializing, and the gift of cleaning. I feel incredibly blessed!

We even had some entertainment during the cleaning. Mom got her groove on while vacuuming, and then a piece that I didn't even know existed on the vacuum just fell off. Its apparently the filter that was just tired of filtering. It was pretty funny watching the two of them reassemble it (from my recliner of course).

 

After they finished cleaning, Linda pulled the best chicken salad I have ever had... by far. I will post the recipe the moment I receive it from her! I had way too many servings. In addition, she brought an entire bag of home made snicker doodles and ginger snaps. If I have to remain on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy, I'm going to have to nix their visits to my house with such amazing food!

After lunch, Jason dropped by with a beautiful basket full of goodies that were sent by Clay and Tabitha! It includes a Sudoku book, word puzzles, Good Housekeeping, Better Homes, The Home Journal, fruit, chocolates, and a drink. The most awesome bed rest gift ever! Thanks Clay and Tabitha!

The rest of the day, the kiddos kept me company while I worked on my laptop (which has been wonderful to be able to do). They seem to want to get out of the house as much as I do!

And We're Off!

A graphic designer who hasn't entered the blog world?! Craziness! Well now that I'm here, its a whole other challenge to figure out where to start. Do I cover the last 20-some-odd years of life, begin with my engagement, my marriage, or this pregnancy? I guess I'll begin with the present-day and hope to fill in some of the craters as I go along :)

Well it took the doctor's orders to keep me home long enough to set up a blog. Yep, that's right. We are on bed rest and home bound for now, but it may not be such a bad thing. They want to keep this little bun in the oven for at least 12 more weeks, so I may have some time on my hands for a while. I'm catching up on all the reading I've been planning to do (Happiest Baby on the Block, Baby Wise, What to Expect, Bradley Method, etc and so on). Hopefully I'll have an idea of what to do when this kiddo (still to be named) gets here!

In other events, I got to observe my hubby assemble the Bob today. I'm dying to take it out for a test run! Maybe Spalding, our border collie, wouldn't mind being strapped in sometime. Treat?


Now that we have the stroller, I need to find a carrier that we like (and hopefully matches the chocolate and blue). Any thoughts?

Well that's all for now! Back to resting (and watching the hubby take out the trash, change the kitty litter, and vacuum). Boy I feel like a bump on a log!