Tea Party!

And no, not the kind where you dump tea into the harbor or where conservative folks all get together.  This was a royal wedding tea party!  My friend Jennifer, the master baker and crafty lady extraordinaire, had a few people over to watch the William and Kate nuptials (sidebar: still can't figure out how it's Kate with a "K" but her real name is Catherine with a "C."  Kind of strange when you think about it.).  We headed to her place at about 10:00 this morning after going to a few yards sales.  As luck would have it, it was a slow week as far as baby/toddler clothes so we didn't miss out any bargains.  I got up at 7:00, before the girls, so I could get in a shower.  I can't remember the last time I was up like that!  I almost felt like I was getting ready to go to work.  But alas, it was thankfully not the case.  Unbelievably, I actually managed to get out the door by 8:05 so that we could go to a few sales before heading over for the festivities.  I picked up a few things for Calleigh so it worked out well.  The girls had a splendid time playing, running around, and generally making an enormous mess.  As I've said, you can always tell when Calleigh has had a good time because she takes a nap.  The downside being that she's still awake right now and being somewhat of a pest.  Anyway, Jennifer outdid herself with all the treats as I'm sure you'll be able to tell from the pictures.  It was delicious and I'm sure I ate WAY more than I should have.  I swear I'm going to hold her personally responsible when I exceed my weight goal for this pregnancy!!  As far as the wedding itself, I thought it was beautiful and it was fascinating to see all the things they do differently than we do (for example, I can't believe the maid of honor, Pippa, wore white.  You just don't do that here!).

Scones.  Note the cake pops in the background designed to look like wedding dresses and tuxedos!

Calleigh selected a crown as her choice of cookie.

A coloring/activity book made by Jennifer.  Oh, if only I had her energy!

Aubree and her new little friend ate their treats under the table...for whatever reason.

After nap time (I even wrapped up work a little early and caught a few Z's myself...must have crashed after the sugar high), Duncan took the girls to the mall so that I could go to Publix by myself which truly was a pleasure.  I had a giant stack of coupons and even with Duncan there watching the girls, it can still be a little stressful.  All went well except that they changed their policy a bit on a particular coupon so I wasn't too happy.  But...still much better than Walmart so I'm not complaining.  By the way, to any of my northern ladies who might be doing Walgreen's, make sure you check out the great deal on toilet paper starting Sunday!

Let's see...what else have we been up to this week?  I can't recall the early part of it so I'll start with Wednesday.  Aunt Sherrie and Uncle Kevin volunteered to take the girls for a little adventure.  After some consideration, I directed them to Downey Park which has the little lake, beach area, and splash playground.  Unfortunately the lake ended up being closed but they still had a swell time in the splash playground.  I had sent along a picnic lunch so all in all, they were gone for a few hours.  This gave me plenty of time to go to some thrift stores which was a truly pleasurable experience.  I found some items to add to "baby no-name's," as Calleigh calls him, wardrobe.  Oh, that reminds me that on Monday we had gone to Walmart and gotten some bins to organize his clothes.  I now have his clothes separated out by size and for whatever reason, I have a lot of 6 - 9 months, much less 3 - 6 months, and a fair amount of NB and 0 - 3 although I would not call it a complete wardrobe for those sizes by any means.  I have no preemie yet which I'm thinking I will need if he is similar size to Aubree (6 lbs, 9 oz).  Interestingly enough, I have not bought, nor received, a single pair of brand new clothes for this child.  Perhaps I will see if I can get away with dressing him completely in second hand clothes!

Wednesday evening Duncan got home at a reasonable hour and felt like getting out and doing something.  It was incredibly hot on Wednesday (and Thursday) and believe it or not, I felt like going for a swim.  So after a quick stop at TJ Maxx (first time we've been to the new store that opened a few months ago next to Publix) and a stop to pick up some salad and pizza, we scooted over to Ron & Elaine's for a dip in the pool and some supper.  Yes, I went in the pool!  It felt a little chilly but was nice once you got in.  Calleigh, of course, has no problems getting in but getting out, oh yes indeed there are problems.  She wanted to go in again after she ate and had a fit about it.  What can I say...she loves the water.  Aubree, per her usual, refused to even go near it.  

Yesterday morning I had a 9:00 doctor's appointment.  I'm sure not crazy about appointments to early but the schedule was filled up and that's all there was.  Plus, it was with the nurse practitioner, Kate, rather than a doctor but she was incredibly nice so I almost wish I had her every time.  The nice thing about the early hour is that they aren't all backed up yet so we were in and out in less than 20 minutes.  As fas as my weight, I'm up to 28 pounds and I think I'm now off track with my personal goal of 32 pounds.  I tell you, too many cookies and cupcakes!  As far as the appointment itself, all was well.  She felt around my belly and thinks he's head down.  Of course, it doesn't matter because of the c-section but I'm still curious on it.

After my appointment, Emma and Yolanda came over so I could watch Emma while Yolanda went to Centra Care.  She's had a soar throat for the last four days and wanted to get it checked out.  The girls had a good time except for when it came to sharing the two Publix balloons amongst three girls.  Makes for some interesting times!  I'm sure this is what I have to look forward to as the kids get older and I pop out more of them.

In other news, I've scheduled Calleigh for swimming lessons.  I bit the bullet and am paying the "big" bucks to have a teacher come to Ron and Elaine's pool for private lessons.  It's twice what you pay to go to the Y but you obviously get WAY more attention.  She'll have eight 30-minute lessons and I figure by the end of it, she should be able to swim (fingers crossed).  The teacher, Zoe, will come and do an orientation next Friday and then I already have the rest of the lessons scheduled after that.  Let's just say that between swimming lessons, numerous doctor and dentist appointments for me, a wedding, two birthdays, and a trip to St. Pete, May is shaping up to be a very busy month.  Anyway, it was cute after I told her about her lessons with Zoe.  The next day she asked me about Chloe coming to the pool and then the day after that, she asked when Rosie would start the lessons.  Apparently "Zoe" is a hard name to remember.

Another accomplishment this week is that I booked our airfare to fly to Boston for Nova Scotia.  I've been really putting it off because I had seen the prices about a month ago and it was very, very ugly.  Not surprising considering it's the summer and the gas prices are bonkers.  I had it set in my mind that we would be ponying up around $1,600 for the four tickets (yup, four tickets now).  Well, what a pleasant surprise I got when I was able to get four tickets on Southwest into Providence for $837.  Yippee!  I'm sure flying on Wednesdays both ways helps.  Anyway, we love JetBlue but Southwest really works best because we get two free bags each and plus, we'll have the baby, obviously, and we can bring the car seat on the plane as long as it's not full.  So a win-win all around.

In closing news, Aubree is getting two new teeth.  This will bring her total up to 13.  She's still "missing" some key teeth.  It's interesting how she has been so "behind" on the teeth front.  Oh well.  Duncan and I were discussing this the other day, from a completely biased standpoint mind you, that we feel like she's gotten cuter the last few weeks.  When she stands in front of the mirror and goes through her repertoire of songs (Old Time Religion, Jesus Love Me, Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock, Peace Like a River), all the while moving her head from side to side, you just can't help but want to squeeze her.

On that note, I'll sign off for the evening.  The hubby is already in bed and that's sounding like a good idea.  Too many late nights this week reading.  Throw in one of my Friendly's dream/nightmares, and there were a few nights there with not quite enough sleep!  Have a Happy Sabbath.