Labor Day

I don't know about y'all, but I'm sure looking forward to this three day weekend. It will be nice to have Neal home from work for three days straight. I'm hoping that we can get some stuff cleaned up around the house. In the next few weeks, we are starting some renovations on our bonus room, turning it into the boys bedroom, so we need to do some major cleaning up there. Most of it is stuff that Neal has to go through to make the call on keeping it or throwing it away. I've worn myself out today cleaning bathrooms, washing sheets and getting all the laundry done before the weekend. I even got dinner ready this afternoon, so all I have to do is throw it in the oven here in a minute, which is good because I can hardly get up off the couch right now, I'm so tired. I'm not big yet, but my belly is starting to get in the way a little bit, just making normal movements a little more awkward and uncomfortable.

Hope you all have a fun weekend!

Meet Wendy!

Two introductions in one day!

My friend Wendy Thomas - Shilleci is now blogging! I worked with Wendy when Neal and I lived in Houston our second year of marriage. She had a photography studio in Cypress and hired me on to be her assistant. It was the best job I ever had! I loved working with Wendy, not only is she an amazing photographer who I learned so much from, but she became a great friend as well. When I was working for her, her son, Chase was just starting elementary school, so I would hear tales of his days at school. It was in her office that I realized having babies is not just about having babies, they really do grow up and do stuff like go to school! I literally remember sitting in my desk chair, listening to her tell me something about his day and realizing that! I think I learned how to be more adult when I was around her, partly because she treated me like one (I was only 22!) and partly because I thought she was so cool, I wanted to be like her! I remember going to Chase's soccer practice with her, going to eat at Willies after, going on numerous photo shoots in her white expedition and just enjoying being with her. Aside from having a great eye for photography, part of why she is so good at what she does is because she is so good with people and making them feel comfortable. She's one of those people who you spend 30 minutes with and feel like you've known her awhile. We also frequented a yummy Mexican place on the corner and both always got Taco's al Carbon with Queso...is that place still there? I can't remember the name! (surprise!). We have touched base through out the years and when we do I'm always so glad to hear what is going on in her life and to catch up...

Becoming Jane

Has anyone seen this yet? My friend Christy and I had a girls night out (yes, it's 10 and I'm already home, but she has a newborn!!!) tonight. We couldn't decide which movie to see...Becoming Jane or No Reservations. At the ticket counter, Christy made the call on Becoming Jane because she figured it would be a more aesthetically pleasing movie to watch on the big screen. I'd heard mixed reviews, enough to go into the movie not expecting it to be tied into a pretty bow at the end, and I'm so glad I knew that going in. I LOVED it! Of course, I have read and loved most of her books and the movies made after them. They just make me happy...there is something deep within me that just delights in that era, the clothes, the language, the imagery...I love it. The movie was alot like the others we've seen, but it should be since it was based on Jane Austen's life and how she came to write what she did. It was great...I cried...and cried...I even started crying when she started reading excerpts from Pride and Prejudice. I probably would have cried, even if I wasn't pregnant, so don't go blaming it on that!

So, if you love her books and the other movies, I suggest going to see this one. Just keep in mind that it might not end the way you would want it to end...

By the way, James McAvoy, the actor who plays Tom LaFroy, was Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. We got half way through the movie wondering where else we had seen him when Christy remembered it was Mr. Tumnus. Then is was hard to not imagine him with goat legs and funny ears, but I got past it!

Meet Julie

Meet my friend Julie Riggins! We go way back with the Riggins, starting at OBU. She and Brad had a singing thing going and signed Neal on to play drums with them. Long stories short, they became Nobleman's Son and started travelling, leading worship at camps and such. I went along for the ride as official Power Point Girl. The four of us, plus Nathan, travelled all over the place in a little red Nissan Rodeo with a trailer hooked on the back. We got engaged on the same day and got married a few weeks apart. We spent the first year of married life living in the same apartment complex a few doors down, living on...something? I think we were getting by on $1000 a month, or something crazy like that. We didn't know any different! I remember going to their apartment and Julie feeding us Taco Salad, driving to El Reno to rehearse at some building and then eating hamburgers at a yummy little hamburger joint. I remember Julie buying me a super cute t-shirt from American Eagle and I thought it was so cool. I probably still have it! We would paint our nails a really dark purple color from OPI. One trip to Colorado, we got a hotel room with 2 double beds, each married couple got a bed and Nathan slept on the floor in the middle on a bed spread! There are some crazy, funny memories of that time...Anyway, band life on the road ended and we all went our separate ways. Julie and Brad now live in Texas (near Dallas??) with their 2 boys, Olsen and Bennett. I'm glad to reconnect with her in blogger land. Go check out her blog! ****I forgot to add that she has a photograhy business as well!

Meet Carrie

Carrie is back in blogger land, so go check out her blog. This is a picture from Shana's wedding 3 years ago (sad that this is one of the most recent pics of us!) Carrie and I met our Sophomore, or Junior year (I have a terrible memory...what year was it?) in High School in Geography class. To this day I bet neither of us could tell you anything about Geography! We found out that first day that we had both lived in Tulsa, went to the same church and that our dad's worked together! We became fast friends and have stayed that way for 12 years. We have suffered through Algebra and Speech Class together and I'm proud to say that my D was better than her D in both those classes, although I have to give her credit for the fact that I even passed Spanish in HS and College. Carrie moved back to Tulsa for her senior year, but then we met up at OBU and were roommates for our first year there. We got engaged within 3 weeks of each other and then married within two. I talk to her every morning, and check in with each other at least another 2 or 3 times a day. She lives in Tulsa, yet I always know her schedule and what she is going to do tomorrow. We know everything that is going on in each others lives. She is always honest with me and never beats around the bush, I know I will get a straight answer from her when I ask a hard question. And, she can be quite feisty! So don't go messin' with her! Probably another reason we get along so well is that we are both planners...we love to plan anything and everything. And, we are both always early everywhere we go, which is probably why we do most of our chatting when one of us is sitting in the school parking lot at 2:15 for a 2:3o pick up! She and Scott (who is a lawyer and went to OBU with us) have 3 kids...Sydney just turned 4, Tyler is 2.5 and Lydia just hit 5 months. It's hard to believe that I've actually only met Sydney and that was about 3 years ago! Oh, she is also super skinny! :) Anyway, that's Carrie...go meet her!

Kandice, Carly and I

Recipes????

Come on girls....get your cook books out and post some recipes on the recipe blog...

A little bit of everything

Can you tell I got bored? I was sick of the polka dots...so I thought I would try something a little more simple!

Carly was in town this weekend for a friends baby shower. It was so much fun to hang out with her. Usually, when I got to Houston, we only get a few hours to spend together. When she comes here, she stays with me and we get alot of time together. The boys loved having her around. On Saturday morning, I made the boys come in my room while I was getting ready to give her a break. She had been playing with them since 6:30am! Sam kept telling me that Carly needed him, that she wanted to play Superfriends with him. She taught him how to play Go Fish, had puppet shows with them, taught them both some fun new games and played airplane and bicycle with Gabe. Now she is gone and they want me to play with them! :) I'm just not as fun as Carly! When we had a break from the boys, we went to eat at our favorite little burger joint - Cheeseburger Charlies. When we were pregnant with Sam and Maggie (when Carly still lived here), we would make frequent trips to Cheeseburger Charlies for yummy burgers, fries and Oreo milkshakes. We did that Saturday afternoon and did a little shopping. That night, Kandice and Sara joined us to eat at another favorite restaurant, J Alexanders and then went to see The Nanny Diaries. It was good...not amazing, but good. We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out, eating and playing games. It is always sad to see her go, but we always manage to see each other as much as we can. And, the distance doesn't seem as huge because we talk so frequently. Here are a few pictures. There is one more coming, but it's on Carly's camera...I'll post it when I get it...

Game night

Post puppet show

Preggos - Carly is 15 weeks and I'm 19 weeks.

Meet Jaime

My friend Jaime has joined the blog world. She lives in the Austin area now, but used to live a house away from me. Kandice and Mike actually bought that house from them! So, I've had 2 friends that have lived in the same house...weird! We met when I was out working in the yard and she was taking a walk. We got to be really good friends...I was so sad when they moved away! Anyway, Jaime has 2 kids...Olivia and Reece, go check her blog out!

Open House

Tonight was open house for the boy's school. We got to meet their teachers, see old friends, play in their rooms AND....we got their school supplies list! You know what that means? Instead of just walking down the school supply aisle at Target and breathing in all the supplies...I actually get to buy stuff from those coveted aisles! Crayons, markers, scissors, glue sticks, pencil boxes...all of those things will be going in my cart. School supplies make me very happy. Of course, with each year of school, the lists will only get better. The pre-k list doesn't include any paper products, no 3 subject spiral notebooks with those plastic covers, no binders, no fun folders, no packs of lined notebook paper (I remember when I would buy packs of COLORED, lined paper, which is even better), no ink pens...those will come. I haven't even mentioned backpacks and lunch boxes! The only bad thing about the supplies list getting better is that means that my baby is getting older. Let's not go there quite yet! I'm going to enjoy this year that he is in pre-k, when he doesn't care a hoot about his school supplies, so that means I can go to Target alone and pick it out all by myself! :)

School doesn't start for another week and a half, but, after my trip to Target, I'll be ready! Sam will go 3 days a week and Gabe will go 2 of those days. Their teachers seemed really nice and they both seemed excited about meeting them and getting to play in their rooms.

On another note...Carly is coming into town from Houston for the weekend! Hopefully, we will be good about taking pictures and take some of our pregnant bellies together.

Bath time fun

it's so hot outside, we had a little bathtime fun earlier this afternoon, Sam and Gabe were in rare form and I couldn't resist taking some pictures...

Let me introduce you to...

my friends in the blogs I love column. I got this great idea from one of them, Liz Seay, and had to steal it! I've so enjoyed keeping up with these friends through blog world and getting to know them better in funny little ways...

Beth Moore - we all know who she is! I love her blog and her daughters contribute as well.

Carly O'Quinn - Carly and I have known each other forever, we grew up at the same church in Houston, but it wasn't until we both came to Nashville and had no friends that we realized we really liked each other and became the best of friends. Our kids are from 2 weeks to 2 months apart and we are both preggers with our 3rd, 5 weeks apart. We've gone through pregnancies, miscarriages, moves, babies, trips to NYC and everyday life together. If you ever want to know anything about any actress or entertainment trivia - just ask Carly, she knows everything! She and her husband Casey live in Houston with their kiddos Maggie (4.5), Rory (2.5) and a baby (boy, girl????) due in February.

Sharla Marler - I met Sharla through Carly. They go to the same church in The Woodlands, Sharla loves Nashville, and we have some mutual friends, so we had a lot to talk about. She and her husband Brandon came to Nashville last fall for a visit and we got to hang out with them and get to know each other better. She is so sweet and has 3 girls under the age of 4 and all with really cool names...Carson, Chole and Campbell. She also knows Liz Seay. She and her husband Brandon live in The Woodlands. They also know...

Kathryn Aylor - Kathryn is married to Steve, who Neal and I grew up with at CFBC in Houston. His mom was both of our 6th grade Sunday School teacher. Neal and Steve were roommates at OBU, where Steve and Kathryn met. Steve's parents used to live in Nashville, so we got to see them once a year when they came to visit, but not as often as we would like! They are the kind of friends that you can not talk to for a long time, but then when you get together, it's as if you saw them yesterday. They are familiar and comfortable to us and we love them and miss them tons. They live in the Dallas area with their boys Braxton and Nash.

Cassidy Lundgren - we have known each other since 6th Grade at Strack, she is a lifelong friend, talented actress, singer and photographer. We got to see each other for the first time in a LONG time last summer when we spent a weekend together in Houston for our 10 year HS reunion! She and her husband Grant live in the Milwaukee area with their 3 kids, Claire, Cole and Ava.

Cindy Seay - works with my mom at New Life Children's Services in Cypress. I've known her since my mom started working there when I was 16. She is one of those women who you will learn something from, just from being around (or reading her blog)! She has 16 grandchildren!

Liz Seay - she is married to one of Cindy's 5 kids, Robbie. We met one time, years ago, but I've heard about her and known all about her for years! I don't think I've even met Robbie, but it feels like I have! We have communicated more in the past few months via our blogs than ever! We also share some mutual friends, Sharla being one of them. She and Robbie live in the Houston area with 3 of Cindy's 16 grandkids. Ethan, Elliana and Ezra.

Jenn Seay Bacak - Cindy's daughter, again, I've met her once, but know all about her from her mom! Funny story on how I found Jenn's blog. I ran across some one's blog from a friend of a friend (you know how it works) and start reading about this girl who is SO familiar to me. It was really freaking me out because I knew I knew her from somewhere, thought maybe we had gone to HS together. Then I see her links list and saw Robbie and Liz's blog link and realized it was Jennifer Seay I was reading about. I've enjoyed reading her blog and getting caught up on her life. She and her husband live in the Bryan College Station area with their 4 kids...and she is friends with...

Heather Hendrick - It was Heather's blog that led me to Jenn's. I came across her blog when she was issuing a 7 day challenge on how to be a better wife, I was totally convicted by some of the things she was challenging and kept coming back for more. She is hysterical and very thought provoking. She and Jenn go to the same church in B/CS, she has 3 boys and they are in the process of adopting through New Life. Go check her blog out, I promise you will laugh or need to go pray through something!

Laura Watson - my sister-in-law. She is married to Neal's little brother, Adam. I'm thankful that Adam picked a wife that I love dearly and consider a sister. She is so encouraging and joyful, very refreshing and fun to be around. We have so much in common and can't talk on the phone less than an hour, even when we try! Adam is the Associate Music Minister at Champion Forest Baptist, the church we grew up in. He and Laura keep busy with their ministry there.

Nicki - one of Laura's friends from Waco. I started reading her blog when she was pregnant and awaiting the arrival of her first baby. I have enjoyed reading about her experiences as a first time mom and am often reminded of the sweet time in my life when I was a first time mom, experiencing all those precious mom feelings and moments for the first time...takes me back!

Suzanne - she just had QUADS - FOUR babies! They are 2ish weeks old. Her story is so amazing. I found her blog through Laura's and spent at least 2 hours one night reading from the beginning of her journey - it's fascinating!

Recipe blog - this is because I love to cook and love to trade recipes and try out new stuff...go check it out...please add some of your own favorite recipes for us all to try!

Those are my friends...

Ahhh, HSM2!!

I just finished watching it and can't stop laughing. I know this is for little tweens, but I'm glad they finally kissed at the end! If I was 13, I would totally have posters of Zac Efron all over my bedroom. I'm watching it thinking I can't believe I'm 30 and these movies are for a whole other generation that I'm not a part of...makes me feel young and old all at the same time. You've got to see both of them if you haven't yet, they are adorable!

I can't turn it off...

My boys are in bed, I should be doing a number of things, taking a nap, paying bills, cleaning out the upstairs room that the boys are moving into, reading a book...I'm not doing any of that. I'm frozen to my chair, my eyes glued to the TV...what am I watching you ask? I would usually only admit this to my closest friends, not to the blog world, but I know I'm not the only one who can't turn it off. Here is a hint..."What Time is it?"..."You are the Music in me"..."You know, right now, with you, it's finally starting to feel like summer."...I'm doing a little dance in my head. I really want to turn it off, I can't! Guesses anyone?

Belly Pics

Here I am at 18 weeks...

Our Weekend

We had a fun weekend with my parents. They flew in from Houston on Saturday morning and left this afternoon. The boys had so much fun with Grandma and Grandpa, they got lots of attention and playing time. My mom brought a Lillian Vernon catalog with Halloween costumes in it and the boys couldn't stop looking through it and telling us each and every costume that they wanted. Here are a few pictures...

Mom and Gabe

Grandma and the boys looking through the catalog.

Grandpa and the boys

For Heather

Here is a picture of Carrie. This was almost 3 years ago, so she'll probably be mad for posting an old picture, but she has been pregnant for the last 3 years and I know she wouldn't want a pregnant picture floating around the web! :)

Carrie is on the left, then our best friend Shana (her wedding, obviously) and me.

So You Think You can Dance?

I LOVE this show and am so sad it's over for another season. I was so glad Sabra won, she was one of my favorites all season. I love it so much that I would actually pay money to go see them on tour!

Toys

About a month ago we did a huge toy purge, for the reason you are seeing in the pictures above. My boys hardly play with their toys. They have more fun getting every pillow and blanket in the house and burying each other in them, then busting out. They will line up pillows on the floor from the front door to the Living Room and walk on them, do rolls on them, or pretend they are on Crocodile Lake trying to run from the Crocs. They get their Pottery Barn mini chairs and build a fort and make doors, roofs and windows with the pillows. Or, they will make the chairs slides, or put them at the bottom of the stairs and jump onto them. Right now, they are upstairs playing in the pack and play. They've hardly touched a toy today. When we did the massive clean up, they weren't even upset at the toys we got rid of. I'm the one that feels like we have to hold on to them, and I certainly don't play with them! I did put a few baskets away, thinking I would take them out later for them to play with and when I did, they had fun for a few minutes and they were back to the pillows. So, now I'm going to get rid of those. I finally wised up and put all their toys with little pieces (leggos, magtastix, train stuff) in boxes in their closet and bring it out every once in awhile. When those were out in the play room available for them to play with whenever they wanted, they would just dump it all over the room and then walk all over it. I'm determined to be more practical about what I buy them, especially this Christmas, when I tend to go WAY overboard. It's such an easy trap to get caught up in.

I am Batgirl

Today was a normal, average day in Nashville. We went to Panerra for lunch for a friends birthday. I got the Portabella and Mozzarella Pannini and told the boys to be quiet 50 times. I did bribe them by telling them if they were extra good at lunch that I would get them a little treat at Target. They were really good, other than being a little loud, so they each got a little Batman dude, we are so into the superhero stage right now. All day today, I was Batgirl, Sam was Batman and Gabe was Wolverine (they don't even know who he is, but whatever!) That was how we had to refer to each other. When one of my friends said my name at lunch, Sam would say, no, she's Batgirl.

Then we went to Target and I got in a bad mood walking from the parking lot to the store because it's so HOT! I got halfway through the store and the constant talking and demanding finally wore me down, so I actually told both of them no more talking! That lasted a few aisles, and then they were back to their constant banter. I do love that they love talking to each other so much though. They have the funniest conversations.

The Weavers and us are trading babysitting this week so we can each go see The Bourne Ultimatum and have a date night, tonight was their night to go, so we got to watch Eli again. He was a little angel. He smiled and would babble at me when I said the word Gizuntite (how in the heck do you spell that? You know what I'm talking about though, right? I sneezed and told myself Giz-un-tite). Tomorrow night, they get the boys and we get to go out! We haven't been to a movie together in forever. I'm going to be thinking all day about where I want to go for dinner. Has anyone else seen Bourne? I've heard it's really good...

Recipe Blog

Go check it out...recipe blog. I was cooking dinner tonight thinking it would be cool if we had a recipe blog going, so I just started one. I'm not sure exactly how it will work, but I think we can do it. You just have to email me if you want to add a recipe and I'll send you and "invitation" to post it on the blog.

Yummy snack

Have y'all tried these yet? They are my new favorite snack AND they have NINE grams of Fiber in just one bar! My grocery store had a buy one get one free sale this week, I bought 4 boxes and they will probably be gone in a week because Neal and the boys like them too. They are especially great treat for the kids...Go get a box, they are in the granola bar/breakfast bar section at the grocery store.

Doctor's Appointment and...

...Carly has a blog now too!!!

I just got back from my Doctor's appointment and everything is looking good. We heard the baby's heartbeat and Dr. P told me I was "blossoming", which really means I'm just getting bigger, but whatever! It will be interesting to see if I get any bigger with this one than I did with the boys, since it's my third. My friend Stacey watched the boys for me, and we all had lunch together. She made this really great vegetable salad...she just cut up tomatoes, cucumber, fresh corn and mixed it with some balsamic vinaigrette. It was so good, I couldn't stop eating it. It will go really well with the Snickers I'm about to eat! :)

Another blogger

okay, Sharla is blogging now! Come on Carly and Ashley...join in on the fun!

I'm on a kick!

Two new blogs in two days! My friend Kathryn is a new blogger and has inspired me to be better at blogging, for these two days at least! I decided I needed to share this funny story about Gabe. They love "Chicken-fila" (as Gabe calls it), especially their Oreo milkshakes (okay, include me in on that one too). I told them today that they had to eat all their nuggets before they could have any milkshake. Sam finished his, and got his milkshake, while Gabe still had 3 nuggets left. He realized what was happening, so he shoved all three nuggets in his mouth, and tries to tell me he is done, with huge chipmunk cheeks. I told him he had to swallow all the nuggets before he got his milkshake...then I waited. About 15 minutes later, he still has chipmunk cheeks and is starting to drool, chicken nugget drool. He has too much in his mouth to even chew it! I thought about seeing how much longer he would last, but then couldn't stand the drool, so he spit it out...looks at me and asks for his milkshake...I gave it to him...and he says "thanks Mommy, your welcome". Now I'm going to go have my milkshake!

P.S. Kathryn, we need to get Sharla and Ashley to jump on the blogging bandwagon...let's work on them.

Three kids...

I had a little practice today on what it is going to be like to have three kids to contend with. I got to watch precious, little Eli (my friend Kandice's 3.5 month old son) all day while she was in a meeting. I had already planned to take the boys to this fun little kid place and just brought Eli along with us. Kandice dropped him off, I got instructions on when he would need to be fed, we strapped him and the boys up in the van and took off. About 10 minutes down the road, Eli starts crying (he's not big on car rides, apparently). Before I let myself get too stressed out, I reminded myself that he was fine, there was nothing I could do to help him as I'm driving down a busy highway, except keep him safe. I knew that we we got to our destination, I would be able to calm him down. Well, my poor, sweet boys did not know all this. They didn't like that Eli was crying, they didn't know why, Sam couldn't put his paci in for him (he tried), it was a loud, weird noise and they just didn't understand, so they started crying! I'm driving down 24, with three kids in the backseat, crying, tears streaming down their cheeks, Sam's hands on his ears, crying, crying, crying. It was hysterical, I just drove and laughed, because really, what was I to do? I tried the radio, it just made things louder, I tried talking to them and finally that calmed my boys down. I just told them that babies cry, but that he was okay. They finally believed me and calmed down. Eli quit crying when I took him out of the blasted car seat! The rest of the day, he was a little angel. Such a sweetie, he's got these dimples that are killer and he stares. He stares you down, and never stops staring at you, it's so cute. When we got back in the car to leave, I prepared the boys that he might cry again and that he would be okay. He did cry, but just for about 15 minutes, then he squeaked his unhappiness the rest of the way home. When we got home and the boys went to take their naps, Eli and I had a little photo shoot and then he fell asleep to me rocking him, he stared me down until those little eyes couldn't stay open anymore. It was a fun day with three kids...although, I will say I'm going to bed as soon as I finish this...it's 9pm...I put the boys to bed at 7:30...I'm tired!

Tag, you're it!

I've been tagged by a friend named Liz!
Here is some life changing info about me...

The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (**if you’re a non-blogger, you can email them!)
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

8 Random Facts or Habits about me:
1. My name is Lindsay and I'm addicted to Dr. Pepper, although, since I've been pregnant, I've switched to Coke. I allow myself one a day. About every 2 months or so, I decide I need to quit, so I wean myself off for a few weeks, then treat myself to one and get hooked again!

2. I love to organize...anything

3. I love to read, it is my escape from life. I can read a good book in 4 hours if I don't do anything else, I can read freakishly fast and still soak it all in. Problem is, when I read, I completely check out from life, so I have to be careful.

4. I love fall, everything about it, the colors, the smells, the weather, Thanksgiving. Fall in Nashville is beautiful. There is this really fun little farm/pumpkin patch we go to every fall with the kids (it's free!) It's one of my favorite places to go.

5. I hated school, I only did 2 years of college. I was terrible at Math and barely passed each class.

6. I hate calling people I don't know to make appointments, like the A/C guy, the Direct TV guy, phone company, I don't even like to call and order pizza!

7. I can't carry on a conversation when the TV or radio is on in the background, or when the kids are chattering (which is all the time right now)!

8. I love the way my camera smells.

Now, tag you're it! Carrie, Cassidy, Laura, Carly, Loy, Nicole, and Kathryn.