Weekend in Wilmington, Part I

Harry and I have been in Wilmington visiting my family for the past few days. Yesterday, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to the beach.

Harry and I at Wrightsville Beach.


After the beach, we headed to Southport to eat at Provisions Company, a favorite local fish restaurant.

The view from the parking lot.


We watched the sun set while we waited for our table; it was beautiful.

Nursery Art

Finding the perfect nursery art can be difficult so I decided to make my own. A little left-over paint, an $8 canvas, lyrics borrowed from The Beatles, and viola! Nursery Art!

Sleep, AC, and Bunnies

As our pregnancy progresses (I'm now at 30 weeks... only 69 days to go!) I am finding that certain things evade me... namely sleep and comfort. It is amazing how many things you can get done when you get up at 5:30 on a Monday; but since it is summer vacation I'd kind of like to sleep. Oh well, there are always naps!

On another note, our Air Conditioning in both Harry's car and the house seem to have gone out/slowed this weekend. So this morning (after I folded laundry, wrote a first grade technology curriculum map, cleaned the heck out of the coffee pot and then made coffee) Harry and I took his car in to the dealer; we think he has a faulty fan. Our house AC might just be a little low on freon so we are awaiting a visit from our favorite HV/AC guys at Parks tomorrow afternoon.

Finally, so this whole post doesn't sound like a complaint, we are getting our summer visits from our favorite woodland creatures... bunnies. This little guy hopped out of our garden last night and he was so small I thought he was a bird. Harry was able to get really close and get a picture before he scampered off into the woods. I was really excited to see him.

Happy Father's Day

Thanks to the men who always have our backs...

and Happy soon-to-be Father's Day to my wonderful husband.

29 Weeks

Today, Harry, Baby Girl, and I had our 29th week doctor's appointment. I also got to take that wonderful glucose test (I think I'm finally coming down off my sugar high). Our little lady is measuring exactly 29 weeks, way to go little one! Her heart rate was 141 beats per minute and her current hobbies are kicking... a lot. Her little feet are right up under my right rib cage and she has been getting in quite a few good kicks. Today, at the doctor's office, Harry got to feel a really good one; one where my entire stomach moves just because of 1 kick.

My doctor assured me that our little lady would have plenty of room to grow still despite my small stature. He said very soon my stomach muscles would stretch and separate (even more) and she will move out. I can't imagine what that is going to look like, or feel like, but I'm happy that our little girl will have all the room she needs. Only 81 more days; we can't wait.

Four Corners

No, I'm not posting about that popular indoor recess game, "Four Corners", in which someone always gets hurt; I'm posting pictures taken from the four corners of our nursery. The room continues to be a work in progress. This past weekend, Harry and I moved the crib and dresser again trying to find the right arrangement. We don't have anything hanging on the walls yet; we are currently searching for the perfect mirror to hang over the changing table and shelves to match our furniture but I think the nursery is turning out pretty cute.

the view from the door

moving counter-clockwise, the view from the crib corner
Joey just had to slip in for a cameo.

the closet corner (The stroller is currently standing in for a rocking chair we are searching high and low for... apparently regular, wood rocking chairs are no longer fashionable.)

finally, the view from the rocking chair corner

Spiders and Scallops

I know, it's a weird title and a weird combination but my day has involved both of those things and so I thought I would blog about it. First... spiders! Harry and I were working in our gardens this afternoon when I encountered the largest black widow I've ever seen. She was living in our garden hose reel and she was gigantic!

Those are needle nose pliers she is hanging on.

Still hanging on there! You can see the red hourglass on her stomach from this angle.

Yuck, I know.

Second, the scallops. I've been craving scallops for the past few days so today Harry and I decided to whip up a tasty dinner. We breaded and pan seared the scallops, made a white wine sauce including roma tomatoes, fresh basil, oregano, and parsley from our garden. We mixed it all together with angel hair pasta and our scallops and viola! We had a delicious dinner.


There you have it! A weird combination of spiders and scallops. (Hey, they both start with S, right?)

Double Digits

Yesterday was a big milestone (at least in my opinion) in our pregnancy; we are down to double digits. Yep, the pregnancy counter is ticking away and our little girl is growing stronger and healthier every day. Baby girl now weighs about 2 pounds and is about 14 inches long from head to rump (not including legs)! I can feel her all the time now; she's quite the kicker. It is amazing to watch my stomach change shape completely as she moves and watch it bounce as she kicks. Today somebody asked me if I was ready to have her out yet; while I'm getting uncomfortable (my back is hurting more and more and it's getting harder to breath, especially when I sit) but I wouldn't trade it for the world. We have had quite a few friends that have given birth to their bundles of joy early. I'm grateful for every day our little girl can grow stronger and healthier inside.

Harry and I welcoming a new member to our group of friends, Liam Joseph. He was born 4 weeks early weighing only 5 lbs 3 oz but he is healthy and so is his mom. What a blessing.

Biltmore

Today, Baby Thompson and I (along with 60 fifth graders) visited Biltmore Estate. I showed her where Harry proposed. We had a great day.

Do What the Sign Says...

and nobody gets hurt!

On my way home today, I saw a RV (no doubt in town for the big race weekend we are soon facing) with a stolen "Caution: Alligator! Do not touch or molest!" sign attached to the back; it made me laugh. Now, Harry and I are not big on stealing signs, like the RV owners, but we do enjoy taking pictures of silly signs. I thought I would share a few that we've collected over the years so you, our readers, could also get a laugh.

This is my all-time favorite. We really had to resist teasing the cougars... "Hey cougars, who stinks? You do, that's right!"
(Taken at Grandfather Mountain, NC)

"Licklog Ridge" I'm just doing what I'm told!
(Taken at Mt. Mitchell, NC)

I really love how graphic this one is! Stay off the rocks!!
(Taken at Mt. Ranier, WA)

We did not "GitchaSum" but at only $5.00, we should have.
(Taken at the Stumptown Tractor Club Show, Denver, NC)

Meredith: "Should we stop at the next exit?"
Harry: "No!! Keep driving!!! Dinosaurs!!!"
(Even the sign has an exclamation mark!)
At least the dinosaur exit also has a hospital.
(Taken near Hickory, NC)

Finally, you can bet Harry and I didn't wander too far off the beaten path here.
(Taken at a rest stop between Phoenix and Yuma, AZ)

Sanity Stop

Friday evening Karen, Weston, and Lucy stopped by our house on their way home from Georgia. The stop was much needed; when I called Karen a few hours before their arrival both Wes and Lucy were crying. I'm not sure Karen could have driven the additional 2.5 hours home and retained her sanity. We enjoyed it because we got to see the whole gang and get a few snapshots our our growing nephew.

Weston and Harry holding hands while Wes eats.

Weston showing off 2 of his teeth.

24 Weeks

Friday Harry and I had our 24 week doctor's appointment. Baby girl's heart rate was 152 beats per minute and she was measuring 25 weeks; almost right on schedule!

Happy Mother's Day!

Thanks, Moms, for always being there for us!

Love, Harry and Meredith

22 Weeks...

... 18 to go!

New River Retreat

On Friday evening, Harry and I traveled a couple of hours north to spend the weekend on the New River in a quaint little cabin.

Our cabin as seen from the road... Shaman's Cure.

Our cabin as viewed from the river.


Us upon arrival

The view to the right of our cabin.

The view to the left.

On Saturday morning, after a delicious breakfast, we decided to try out the kayaks stored under the cabin.




After kayaking, Harry did some fishing while I relaxed and watched the river.






This morning after a breakfast of coffee and a muffin, we got ready to leave.

Two little visitors came to see us off.

We had a relaxing and fun-filled weekend.