A and A Hughes

It's that time of year again...

2011-11-25T18:58:00.000-08:00

for Christmas Cards!!!
I get so excited to coordinate our family and take pictures for our Christmas Card. The last few years have been to easy to coordinate as it was just hubby and I *the dogs didn't need accessories*. Now, we have a way cute baby girl with a way cute jammie outfit that I can't seem to coordinate with. Not that it really matters...

Hopefully we will be able to get a couple good ones so that we can have a card with more than one picture, such as http://www.tinyprints.com/product/25788/christmas_cards_collage.html. They have so many to choose from, I am not sure what we are going to end up doing. Here are some of my favorites: http://www.tinyprints.com/product/27595/christmas_cards_wreathed_charm.htmlhttp://www.tinyprints.com/product/28782/christmas_cards_elegant_noel.html

I can't show you what I am really going to choose, but these were some of the contenders. We will be taking our picture in front of the tree this year *I'm hoping* with coordinating jammes! HOPE IT WORKS OUT!BTW-I just spent several minutes going through the Christmas Card basket. I looked at all the old cards and who they were from. It is fun looking at the kids from last year and knowing how big they are now. Can't wait to add this year's cards to the basket!Go here to browse the Christmas Cards-can't wait for you to show up in my basket. http://www.tinyprints.com/shop/picture-christmas-cards.htm

Tiny Prints Photo Contest

2011-11-16T15:39:00.000-08:00

Think your kiddo is the cutest ever!?! Think your family is precious!?! How about your pet for those without kids?

Go to tinyprints.com or find them on facebook and enter their Talent Contest.

I entered Elsie and it was easy peasy.

Go ahead and enter away:)

She pulls up on everything!

2011-11-08T18:42:00.001-08:00

A whole month has passed...

2011-10-18T13:33:00.001-07:00

Elsie is 6 months old today! Where has time gone??

She is sitting up pretty well (as the picture shows)
She has 2 teeth on the bottom (which you can see in the pic as well)
She is generally a VERY happy baby.
She has been getting up 3/4 times a night still. (I'm ready for this to be over)
She pulled up on her daddy and I a couple of times last night. (Is she really this big?)

I am absolutely loving being her mommy!!! Elsie and I have had lots of bonding time with Andrew being gone on a couple trips in the past month.

5 months

2011-09-20T19:18:00.001-07:00

Our sweet baby girl is 5 months already!!! Time sure does fly...I kinda thought people were crazy when they told us this, but boy were they right.
Elsie is developing quite the personality. She loves to roll all over the floor. She has started scooting. She crawls by getting her hands and knees then falling to her chest and getting back up again. She will sit with assistance but would much rather be moving on the floor. She can definitely get where she wants to go. She loves her Little People Zoo and toys that make music and light up. She will sit on my lap and cuddle for some Baby Noah. I also have a couple baby apps on my phone and she will watch and smile at them.

She will belly laugh when daddy plays with her. She is just so much fun!! She is now eating cereal in the morning and a veggie in the evening. So far she has had butternut squash, carrots, peas and avacados. She is still nursing 4-5 times a day. She had been getting up 3-4 times at night, but only got up once last night. We have no schedule...lol...we just go with the flow.

We survived our first weekend without dadddy while he was in China. He will be going back in Oct. and we will be alone for a week. I already have a few dinner dates lined up, so we will stay busy.

enough about us. I am loving being a mommy and life in good on Aplomado Dr:)

Labor day weekend

2011-09-08T19:28:00.001-07:00

Elsie and I had a great weekend. Andrew was in china for work, so
Elsie and I headed camping with my family.

We took a short break from Camping to visit my dear friend, Kayla and her daughter emmalyn.

Yes, in the first few pics we are wearing tanks and shorts and by the end of the weekend we needed pants and sweatshirts:-)

Outside

2011-08-29T13:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we spent some time outside...Elsie loves to be outside! We pulled out a blanket, a few toys and set up shop in the front yard.

Sweet mail day!!

2011-08-26T09:47:00.001-07:00

The mailman was very good to me today!!! I love a good mail day. I got beach towels from lands end, clothes from carters, free piece of pizza, a birth announcement, coffee samples, newsletter from our old church, and a check for a mattress topper we sold. So fun!!

Post 100 full of cuteness...

2011-08-09T16:45:00.000-07:00

This is my 100th post...how about that?

Now for the good stuff.

Serious Elsie

Smiling Elsie

My fave

and we wouldn't go without a family photo

Another target trip

2011-08-04T19:06:00.001-07:00

I got some mommy time tonight, so I went to target(surprise I know!)

Here is what I got:
Taco seasoning: .87 with .50 coupon=.37

Handsoap: 1.24 with 1.00 coupon=.24

Floss: .97 with .75 coupon=.22

Makeup: 5.99 on clearance for 2.98 with 2.00 coupon=.98

Pantene: 3.79 with free coupon= free and target lady typed in the coupon for 4.99 :-)

Not pictured: 20 lb bag of dog food 12.29 with 2.00 coupon = 10.29

Total after coupons: 12.32 plus $5 gift card from previous trip

I paid...$7.32

Weekend in the BG

2011-07-31T18:17:00.001-07:00

We had a very busy yet very fun visit to Bowling Green this weekend.

When we got to town Friday, we went to see Adam, Em, and Bella. Our friends Andrew, Lindsay, and jackson came over to see us. Bad momma didn't get a pic of Elsie and Bella together:-(

Saturday morning we went to Andrews parents house for breakfast with the crew. After that we headed to swim and hang out with some families from our small group we used to be in (so sad I didn't take any pics!!)

Elsie took a nap with daddy, mommy went to target...then we headed to the Crosby's to get fresh eggs. Dinner with the sweet Gilliam family was next.

Luckily, we were able to see lots of friends at church on Sunday!!

Another target trip

2011-07-19T18:31:00.001-07:00

Elsie and I needed to get out of the house this evening. We had been home for a couple of days and daddy was playing softball. So here is what we got:

TGIF meals 2.50 each with a target coupon for $1 off 2 and 2 $1 manufactures coupons = $1 each

Ziploc containers 2.27 each with a target coupon for a $1 off 2 and 2 $1 manufactures coupons = 1.25 each

Yogurt .53 cents each with a $1 off 4 = .28 cents each

Shower curtain liner 2.34 with $1 off = 1.34 (we needed a new one bad!)

Total bill: a little over $7
Not too bad. I don't know exactly how much I saved because the prices for the TGIF meals, containers, and yogurt were all sale prices.

3 months...

2011-07-18T18:56:00.001-07:00

Elsie is SOOO much fun!!! During play time, she will talk to us, smile, watch her toys, try to grab the toys, when she gets a toy she puts it in her mouth, rolls all over the place, scoots a little...She is all over the place.

She is rolling back to belly and belly to back proficiently, which means she only gets swaddled with her arms out. We will be moving to the sleep sack soon.

She loves her playmat, even tho she rolls off of it. She tried to roll out of her bouncy seat. The jumper is a favorite and the swing is still a relaxtion/nap go to.

We have been going out in the evenings and letting Elsie roll around on a blanket in the grass and she LOVES her cuddle dog.

Elsie went to an Otters game and met some of the people her daddy works with. She went to Dale Hollow Lake with Andrew's family and went on her first boat ride. We have been swimming a couple of times and she loves the water. Elsie celebrated her first 4th of July. She had a cookout and got to meet the neighborhood kids that are her age. Watched Daddy play softball. Elsie watched her first parade at the Haubstadt Somerfest:)
MOST IMPORTANTLY-Elsie got to meet her cousin, Madelyn, that is one week older than her.

Goal for the next month-making a schedule for feeding and naps, sleeping in her bed at naptimes, and goig to sleep without being rocked or her swing.

Elsie on a roll...

2011-07-15T19:23:00.001-07:00

My almost 3 month old (on Monday) has been rolling over and scooting all over the place. She tries to roll out of her bouncy seat, gets on her belly on her playmat and gets mad, tries to arch her back out of her bumbo....she keeps me busy already.

Here is how she moves in a less than 5 minute time frame.

Target couponing

2011-07-11T11:49:00.001-07:00

I ventured out to Target, baby in tow this afternoon. I had several coupons and I wanted to see if it was worth hubby bringing home his work computer for me to print more...

This is no TLC Extreme Couponing, but I think I did pretty good.

Here is what I got:
2 packs of M and M's .79 each with a .75 off of 2......84 cents

Coffee creamer.....free (sample coupon I got in the mail)

Digiorno pizza $6 with $2 coupon (Facebook).....$4

Nail polish remover .97 with .50 coupon.....47 cents

Pantiliners .89 with .75 coupon.....14 cents

Bandages .97 with .75 coupon.....22 cents

Sharpies on sale for $1 with $1 coupon.....free

Pens 1.24 with a $1 coupon.....24 cents

Tape $1 with a $1 times 3.....free

The nutella, powered sugar, and nail clippers were just things we needed at home...$6

I had a $5 gift card from detergent and toilet paper this weekend. So I paid.....

6.65 out of my pocket:-)
(had I not needed the few things for home, it would have been less than $1 out of my pocket)

My next goal is to be a CVS couponer as well.

A weekend at the lake

2011-07-07T17:58:00.000-07:00

We spent 4th of July weekend at the lake. Andrew's Aunt and Uncle have a house on Dale Hollow Lake. We were excited to get out of town and relax a little.

The weekend started when Andrew got off at noon on Friday:) We headed to Bowling Green, stopped at Auntie Em's house to feed Elsie, headed over to Amy and Charlie's and hit the road to the lake. Sounds easy right? haha...a flat tire made for an interesting trip. Friday night 6pm Glasgow KY...where to get a new tire? of course...Wal mart! With a 2 1/2 hour wait. By the time we got there Elsie was SCREAMING and STARVING, so I fed her in the parking lot. Elsie and I got in the car with someone else causing a re-arrangement of luggage. A MESS. Everyone but Andrew headed to the lake and Andrew came when the tire was fixed.

Saturday, we hung out at the house until the evening. Then, Melanie (andrew's cousin) and us took our girls out on the boat. It was WAY too hott during the day to take the girls out.

Sunday, same thing, lots of chatting, relaxing, games played, food ate, etc.

We left early Monday morning and stopped in BG to feed Elsie again. We stopped at her boyfriend, Jackson's house. The got to play for maybe 5 minutes before Elsie ate and Jackson went to sleep. We are very grateful for such awesome friends! We headed to Aunt Janet's 4th of July bash right away. We went home early because we were all pooped. Elsie had a VERY busy weekend meeting family, hanging out, boating, and driving.

Here are a few pics from the weekend

Elsie meets her cousin Madelyn

2011-07-05T11:56:00.001-07:00

Andrew's cousin Melanie and I were due 3 days apart. She had her baby, Madelyn, exactly one week before I had Elsie. Here are the girls getting to know each other.

More about our weekend together coming soon.

A few of her favorite things...

2011-06-30T14:15:00.001-07:00

Elsie loves to sit up on my legs and sing or just chat with momma.

She also loves her bouncy seat:-)

Her newest love is for her cuddle dog. A teacher I worked with gave it to me soon after I told that I was expecting. Since she won't really take a paci, her dog has come in handy. She will get it in her mouth and it will calm her down.

Green thumb or not??

2011-06-25T07:48:00.001-07:00

Plants like this in my landscaping make me think that I have a green thumb.

But then we have green shrubs that should take barely any attention and they look like this.

Yes...there is a gaping whole in the middle. It puts a damper on our nice landscaping.

Might I add that last summer was HOT and I think my poor shrubs burnt in the hot sun...or it could just be me.

Continued...

2011-06-23T17:40:00.001-07:00

I added the blogger app to my phone in hopes that I will be a better blogger and I will be able to add pics a little easier.

I am very excited about my time at home to spend more time with this little lady!

I am also excited to make more of our food from scratch such as this pound cake. (which I haven't tried yet)
I am loving pound cake with nutella and bananas but I can't bring myself to pay $6 anymore!

Change of Plans

2011-06-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

So, the plan was for me to go back to work July 18 at Lincoln Elementary in a Special Education classroom. July 18 was the first day I technically had to report, but add a week of training before that and setting up a brand new classroom and essentially I would be going to back to work within the next week or so. This made me very sad and the amount of hours I would spend at work when the school year started had me freaking out. I would sit and think about it the entire time during Elsie's middle of the night feedings.

Thus, I started looking for part time jobs. Andrew and I looked at our budget and things worked out. Since we have been debt free for a few months, we were able to financially support this decision.

I interviewed for one Pre-K position, but did not get the job. I e-mailed the pre-school at our church just asking if they had an opening. Well...they did!! So after I e-mailed my resume the director called and asked if we could talk. We arranged a meeting in which she said I could bring Elsie (How awesome is that?) However, I left Elsie with her papaw and went to meet. I was there an hour and a half and it was awesome. I felt like this is where God wanted me when I left. SO, the only thing I could do was pray that this really was where God wanted me.

Side note-a lady we know very well from church had suggested me for this position before I e-mailed about it. Talk about God having his hand on all of this...yeah...

The director called Monday, I called back and accepted Tuesday and sent my resignation to the EVSC yesterday. I worked with some AMAZING people the past two years and I am very thankful for facebook in order to keep in touch with them.

I will be teaching Pre-K M/W/F 11:30-3 and 3 year olds T/Th 8-11:30. My mom will be keeping Elsie (another HUGE blessing)

I am very excited to spend more time with my little lady!

I was VERY close!!

2011-06-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I guess that Elsie would be 11 lbs 3 oz and 23 inches long....and she was 11 lbs 1 oz and 24 inches long. That puts her at the 55th percentile in weight and 95th for height.

2 months

2011-06-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

Baby girl is ALREADY 2 months old!!! Time flies when you are having fun and being a mommy is SOO much fun!!

So, we go to the doctor tomorrow for our 2 month check up. I am going to guess that she weighs 11 lbs. 3 oz. and will be 23 inches long. I really have no idea if I am even in the ball park, but we will see. I'll post tomorrow night for those of you who are curious.

Month 2 has kept us busy...
We went to Cincinnati with mamaw, papaw, Uncle Adam, Aunt Em, and Bella. Elsie was awesome in the car and everywhere we went, which was a huge museum, PF Changs, IKEA, and Jungle Jim's. Elsie also swam for the firs time and liked it. The very next weekend, she went camping for the first time and was also a champ. She slept in her travel bed next to our air mattress in the tent. The next weekend was the huge family yard sale to raise money for MS. Once again, baby girl was so good. We had our first night with Daddy out of town, but luckily Aunt Em and Bella were at our house. We went to BG to help Adam and Em at their yard sale to bring home another cousin for Elsie. Elsie got to experience the Somerfest in Haubstadt, but didn't get to swim due to the weather:*(

We have spent TONS of time with Emily and Bella (and a little with Adam). It has been soo much fun to watch Bella interact with Elsie. She will say her name every time she sees her. It is so special to me that she knows her cousin so well already. She got to meet lots of new friends.

We spend our days hanging out at home. Elsie's schedule is eat, play, sleep, with play time becoming longer and sleeping becoming a little shorter. We go for walks in the neighborhood and spend mornings playing with the crew from across the street.

She has been sleeping around 5 hours at night, but will occassionally go 7 hours. We like those nights:) We are also working on a bedtime routine, but it hasn't been completely successful yet, but we are still trying.

Did I mention that we are loving being parents???

and now she would like her last feeding before bed...so off I go:)

Bad Blogger!

2011-06-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry Ladies and Gentlemen that read my blog-I have been slacking on the blog posts like crazy.

When E is not sleeping, we are playing on the playmat, in the bouncy, chillin' in the bumbo, doing tummy time, reading books, eating, outside with the neighbos all kinds of fun stuff. So, when she is sleeping, mommy is sleeping, eating, cleaning, laundry, watering flowers, etc.

As you can see, we stay busy around here. It's hard to believe that on Saturday Little Miss will be 2 months old. I will most definitely blog about that with pictures. It may be Sunday before I have time to blog. We have swimming, Bella, Adam, Em, Haubstadt Sommerfest, food, friends on our agenda this weekend.

Here are some newborn pics that we just got back yesterday. It took 2 1/2 hours and me holding her with a backdrop draped over me to get anything decent. Baby girl did NOT want her pic taken that day.

1 month

2011-05-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

How can it be that my baby is 1 month old? I am not looking forward to how fast time is going to fly by. But, I am looking forward to watching Elsie grow and develop:)

Last month at this time, our sweet baby was in the NICU and we were really not sure what was going on. We had just gone into visit her and many many tears were shed and LOTS of prayers were said. My mom, dad, brother, sis in law, and niece kept us company for most of the day. Andrew's parents came later in the evenings and we had a few family/friends come to visit.

Here is our lovely lady today:

I am not sure exactly how much she weighs or how long she is, but I am thinking about running up to the hospital for a weight check.

What Elsie has been up to the past month:
She LOVES her swing!! She would stay in there forever if we would let her. After her first morning feed, she hangs out in there while mommy gets things done around the house and gets ready for the day.

If she is fussy, you can swing her in her car seat or put her in the swing. The baby loves to swing. We are going to by a travel swing for when we camp, go to BG, etc.

After she eats, she is wide awake and alert. This is when we do tummy time and play on her play mat.

She is more and more alert each day and in the past week has started making noises and "talking" to us when we talk to her.

She will smile when she is being talked to, when she is falling asleep or is all the way asleep. I love her see her sweet smile.

Elsie most definitely recognizes mine and Andrew's voice, and it makes us feel so special.

She is eating at 10, 2:30, and 7 most nights. Which means mommy and daddy get around 7 hours of sleep each night (daddy gets more because he sleeps through the feedings and only wakes to change a diaper or burp her)

She is nursing most of the day every 3 hours and gets 3 oz bottle of breastmilk right before bed. That's Elsie and Daddy bonding time.

We try to get out of the house once a day, whether it be a trip to Target, meeting daddy for lunch, going for a walk, running a random errand, small group, etc.

Big Events the past month:
Easter (seems so long ago)
Newborn pics/Family pics
First trip to Bowling Green (stayed with Grandma and Granddaddy)
Mommy's cousin, Kim's, wedding reception
Adam, Em, and Bella came to Evansville a couple time
Met Mommy's teacher and student friends at Tekoppel

I am sure I am forgetting some important things, so I will have to try to come back and fill in as I think of things throughout the day.

GAS...o, how I dislike you!!

2011-05-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

So, let me start with the title of this blog post...GAS-

GAS came into our lives about a week ago. Actually it came in 2 1/2 weeks ago, but didn't cause us any issues until about a week ago. Baby E has been the champion of tooting and burping after feeding. There is no doubt when she toots, it is loud and occassionally stinky. However, about a week ago, I could not get my sweet baby girl to calm down. My first moment of HOLY COW WHAT HAVE I DONE!!!! I was getting frustrated and I even cried with her for a few minutes. Then, I got her calmed down and sleeping. When Andrew got home, she did the same thing, then we remembered we had Mylicon drops and decided to try those. They were AMAZING!!! Almost instantly, she started tooting and life was good.

To this point, she is a very content baby. The only reasons she cries are if she is hungry and if she has gas. With gas, MOST of the time the Mylicon will work, but not always.

Now-what most of our days look like-

Elsie usually eats between 5 and 6:30, some days, she stays awake after that, other days she goes back to sleep (like today!!)

She eats again 3 1/2 to 4 hours later and is awake after that feeding. She may lay under her play mat, lay in her boppy lounger, or swing (she LOVES the swing).

After she plays for a bit, she is ready to nap again. Sometimes in her swing, boppy lounger or mommy's chest (my fav!)

We usually repeat this a couple times until daddy gets home.

She eats again between 9-11 and we put her to bed for the night. She will get up once in the middle of the night to eat around 4 1/2 hours after her last feeding. We swaddle her then swaddle her ever moving legs with another blanket. Sometimes she will take a paci to help her calm herself down, but sometimes she just goes right to sleep.

I am LOVING being a mommy and I am so grateful that she is such a good baby. I have been able to clean house, eat meals (maybe not at the right times), and do other things around the house between feedings.

First few days at home...

2011-04-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

I am typing this post hunt and peck style as I have a sleeping babe in my arms and a jealous dog on my lap.

We came home Wednesday at lunch time. We got settled and E's rockstar daddy unpacked (he gets his own post later). My parents came over that evening since they had not seen her yet. Our first night was about what we expected it to be.

Thursday we laid in bed as a family of 3 plus 2 dogs and just enjoyed relaxing at home. We chilled around the house and had more company that evening.

Friday morning Elsie wanted to eat at 8, 9, and 10, but then napped until 2. She slept throught the trip to Target, woke up for her weight check (6 lbs 15 oz), then slept while we got lunch and went to the bank. Friday night was rough, I'm not gonna lie.

Saturday, she ate 3 times in the morning again and slept through Babies R Us, Sprout and only woke for her weight check. (7 lbs) She also got to meet her other grandparents and both of her great grandparents on my side. We got 3 2 hour increments of sleep! woo hoo!

more to come...dinner is done...

And so her story begins...

2011-04-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

Elsie Ann has been with us since Monday morning at 7:03 am. She has been nothing but an absolute blessing in our lives. She was born weighing in at 7 lbs. 8 oz. and was 21 inches long.

The story begins on Sunday afternoon. Andrew and I were enjoying our last Sunday with just the two of us when I noticed something different going on. I thought it might be my water breaking, but I wasn't sure. I consulted some friends that recently had babies and made the decision to call the doctor on call. She sent me to the hospital to "test" the fluid, and it was in fact my water. I was only 1 1/2 cm dialated at that point, so I knew I had a long night ahead.

I got admitted and went to my room where they started an IV and pitocin. My parents came to see me, along with Emily, since she and Bella had just drove in from BG when I called. Around 10 or so (I completely lost track of time), I was only 3 cm with some crazy painful contractions, so I asked for my epidural. That thing was cake!! I highly recommend it. After that, I was able to nap for 15 mins here and there between vitals, checks, etc.

At about 4:30 am, I started pushing. Yes, I pushed for 2 1/2 hours. We had lots of people in the room when she came out because it was the middle of the shift change for the nurses and my doctor made it in time along with the on call doctor.

It was amazing seeing Elsie for the first time. No words can ever describe the emotion that Andrew and I felt seeing her. We continuously talk about how only God could create some an amazing being. After seeing her all wrapped up and me getting to hold her, and us take a family pic, she was taken to the NICU. She cried when she came out, but her cry was not very powerful. Her cord was also wrapped around her neck. So, baby girl had a very tough delivery and ended up getting a lot of my fluid in her lungs.

The story of her in the NICU can not be put into words. The only words to describe this time are GOD IN POWER!! Our sweet baby girl had so many people praying for her and so many people checking in on her. Andrew and I have never ever felt more loved! We can never ever thank everyone enough for their love and caring support for our baby girl. It was a very tough 36+ hours and God definitely tested us. We prayed for our baby girl in my hospital room, we prayed over her in the NICU, we knew people everywhere were praying for her. Now, she lays in her cradle next to me sleeping soundly.

I am so in love with this little lady. I am not good at writing and putting my feelings into words, but if I was able to put my feelings into words, this post would be a mile longer than it already is.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE who prayed and is praying for our baby girl. We could never ever thank you enough.
THANK YOU to mine and Andrew's parents for being so supportive and being at the hospital with us even tho Elsie wasn't there.
THANK YOU to Adam for letting Emily and Bella stay in Evansville with us. We needed them more than he will ever know.
THANK YOU Em and Bella for being a distraction during this time of trial for us.

WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Taken yesterday

First time seeing her in the NICU

Immediately after birth

40 weeks

2011-04-14T06:51:00.000-07:00

So Friends-I never thought that I would actually be writing this post. I don't know why I have had it in my mind since this all began that Elsie would come early. Not like a week or two, but at least a couple days. We had 3 friends/family members that had babies in the past month and ALL came at least a couple days early. That fact alone is making me more ready than ever for Elsie to be here. However, I called and talked to my dear friend, Keila, this morning and she made me feel much better. Her son, Nehemiah, was a week late and he has been a great baby with no problems breastfeeding, not sick, sleeps at night, etc. She also shared a bible verse with me from when she was at the same stage I am.

: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything present your request to God." Phil 4:6.

As hard as it is, and as much as I want to meet my baby girl, I have to remember who is in control and who's plan this is...NOT mine:)

•How far along: 40 Weeks
•Total Weight Gained: 12 pounds (Gained 4 2 weeks ago, then lost 3 on Tuesday) My guess is water weight
•Maternity Clothes: ALL the time! I have been able to wear my normal shorts for MOST of the pregnancy, but now, they are all too short and thus, I have minimal attire at this point.
•Sleep: UGH!!! Last night was great (only 2 pee breaks), the past few nights tho...NOT GOOD!!! Laying there pondering/worrying for 2 hours is not my idea of fun. If I am going to wake up in the middle of the night, I want a baby to feed/change/hold.
•Best Moment of the Week(s): Andrew's Cousin, Melanie, had her baby Madelyn. LOVE seeing all the pictures!
•Movement: Yes! and sometimes she feels like she is going to push her way out, but obviously, she hasn't. I can tell she is getting bigger. When she is in my ribs and pushing down low, makes me think she is HUGE.
•Food Cravings: Pizza...I'm a freak. Why is this all I want?
•Food Aversions: anything healthy...Terrible! I know! and meat with bones. YUCK!
•Symptoms: Finally having some Braxton Hicks Contractions, even though at this point, they should be REAL!
•What I miss: having some clothes to wear...
•What I'm looking forward to: WEDNESDAY!!!! I will be induced Wednesday if she doesn't come before then, so instead of getting my hopes up, I am just couting down. 6 days!
•Other news: Andrew and I are so ready to meet our baby girl. I have a really cute Easter outfit for her, but she is most likely going to be like 3 or 4 days old for Easter and probably won't be able to wear it because she will be too small. I am off work until August. I don't have a job for next year yet (I have a job, just not a specific location). I get to meet Emmalyn this week. (my friend, Kayla's month old daughter). I think that's it.

Productive Day

2011-04-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

Andrew and I have had a very productive day to this point. I am loving the sense of accompishment and knowing we are more ready now for our baby girl to come.

Today, we slept in, made breakfast (skipped church on accident, time got away from us), cooked breakfast/dinner meals to freeze, worked in the yard, cleaned up the house, and I think that's it.

As Andrew finishes mowing/weed eating, I have my feet propped up as they are HUGE and SWOLLEN from standing in the kitchen for 3 hours. Here are some photos from our cooking day.

tex mex chicken baking

kept some goodies out for this week

muffins and granola bars/lasagna ready for the freezer

We also cooked turkey thighs, chicken enchiladas, and taco meat.

COME ON ELSIE!

CHECK, CHECK, CHECK

2011-04-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

Andrew and I spent most of today finishing up the to-do list. Here are a few things we accomplished...

-Oil Changed in both cars...CHECK (Andrew does this all by himself, he rocks)
-Grass seed spread over the yard...CHECK
-Landscaping "fluffed" and "cleaned out"...CHECK
-Target run...CHECK (We had a big list here!!)
-Piece for the back of the Escape bought and installed...CHECK
-Kitchen, Living Room, bathrooms cleaned...CHECK
-Couches vacuumed...CHECK
-Dogs bathed...CHECK
-Grass cut...CHECK

I might have forgotten a few things, but the bags are still packed, and her room is ready...Now all we need is our sweet baby girl!

What's been going on??

2011-03-29T16:54:00.000-07:00

So, Emily told me that I needed a new blog post and I don't have the patience tonight to put up pictures...so my friends, you great an exciting blog post with only words...

What's been going on at the Hughes' House? LOTS!!!

-Last week was Spring Break-I cleaned, packed my hospital bag, packed Elsie's bag, ran errands, cleaned some more, and sat in my recliner LOTS

-We went to a breast feeding class on Saturday. I think I am ready, even though it seemed like a lot of work.

-We got a tour of the hospital last week also. I will be in the same room the whole time I am there. Which means, I will deliver Elsie in the same bed I will be hanging out in for the next 48 hours (unless a c-section occurs).

-We also pre-registered for the hospital. Answered lots of questions and signed my life away.

-We have someone on call to watch our dogs while we are in the hospital...THANKS TRAVIS!!

-My job for next year will not be funded, so I got an excess letter. Transfer postings came open today, so I will have to decide what to do. PRAY will be the first thing because I am feeling VERY overwhelmed right now!!

-Elsie weighs about 6.5 lbs, had long legs, and a small head. I am NOT complaining about this.

-I have progressed a "soft" 1 cm. (she seems to be in no hurry to get out) But she is head down.

-I will be getting a neice or nephew from the Congo in the somewhat near future...check out my bro and sis in law's blog at jochimsjoys.blogspot.com

-I AM SOOO ready for Spring and to meet our baby girl!!!

Bella Joy turns 1

2011-03-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

My sweet niece, Bella Joy, turned one last week. Rememeber, we have the same birthday, so that baby girl will always be EXTRA special to her Auntie Manda. We celebrated with her this weekend at her Lady Bug themed party. Enjoy the picture from the day.

35 weeks

2011-03-09T19:27:00.001-08:00

**note the non-cuteness of this picture. I always change out of my work clothes as soon as I get home. This day, I had taken the dogs for a walk, made dinner, and cleaned up the house a little, thus the rough look!

How far along: 35 Weeks
Total Weight Gained: 9 lbs....Goal is to stay less than 20:)
Maternity Clothes: Yes! Pants all the time and I can still wear a few of my regular shirts.
Sleep: Last night was up an hour or so a couple of different times. I hope this is NOT a trend!
Best Moment of the Week(s): 2 more showers! Our baby girl is BEYOND blessed. Being able to see my tummy move when I lay in the recliner.
Movement: LOTS! The recliner is her favorite. She will move the most with my feet propped up and leaning back. She also loves to play in my ribs when sitting at work.
Food Cravings: ummm..nothing I can really thing of.
Food Aversions: Nothing really...
Symptoms: Swollen fingers and toes by the end of the day. I can't wear my rings anymore....
What I miss: A tummy with no stretch marks...
What I'm looking forward to: Seeing more pictures of Jackson and Emmalyn. Two of our really good couple friends had babies today and yesterday.
Other news: Met with a pediatrician yesterday. He was very nice and we are going to be going to him. Thanks to the neighbor for the recommendation.
I go back to the doctor Monday for my "check up" and Andrew leaves Monday for a work trip for 3 nights. Bella Joy turns 1 and I turn 26 on Tuesday!

The nursery...ALMOST finished

2011-03-07T17:24:00.000-08:00

So, after spending lots of time in the nursery on Sunday cleaning up from the most recent showers, I do believe the room is pretty much finished. The only thing left to do is take pictures of Andrew and I and the dogs to add to the frames. So, here ya go...

Stay Tuned

2011-03-02T15:50:00.000-08:00

Coming up sometime soon on the blog...
-Baby Shower #3 with Andrew's family
-Baby Shower #4 at work
-Nursery all put together
-34 week update
-hopefully (if I can figure it out) a new header:)

I will be working on these posts soon:-) For now, it's off to small group after a busy day at work.

32 weeks

2011-02-17T16:52:00.000-08:00

How far along: 32 Weeks
Total Weight Gained: 5 lbs...however, I go to the doc tomorrow and I expect to be a little higher
Maternity Clothes: Yes! Pants all the time, and my regular shirts are slowly becoming too short. With only 8 weeks left, I am putting off buying more clothes
Sleep: Annoying! I LOVE sleep, but I have been congested lately and that is making sleep difficult. I have nasal spray and sudafed which have worked wonders.
Best Moment of the Week(s): Feeling our baby girl moving ALL day long! It is very hard to concentrate at work with her moving. AND having a shower this weekend and getting to see so many sweet friends and family.
Movement: Lots!! When I am sitting, she is so up in my ribs. Much more comfortable when laying back in the recliner where she can move lower and more freely.
Food Cravings: I just want pizza all the time...and last night I REALLY wanted Olive Garden 5 cheese ziti, so hubby stopped on his way home and got him. He pretty much rocks!
Food Aversions: Nothing really...
Symptoms: My lower back hurts by the end of the day. Congestion...other than that, I'm doing great!
What I miss: Sleeping all night on my belly
What I'm looking forward to: Getting to hear baby girl's heartbeat tomorrow at the doctor and a shower with Andrew's family next weekend. His cousin from Philly is coming down and she is due 3 days after me!
Other news: We have 2 very good friends due in March. One is not going to go that long and could have her baby SOON. So excited to be doing this with great friends.

Family Update

2011-02-17T16:35:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I have blogged...SORRY! Things have been hectic around here. We have been out of town the past couple of weekends and I have had something every day after work for the past several days. I'll try to keep this post short; however, we have lots of fun things to share.

BABYMOON/DEBT FREE weekend

Andrew and I left for Nashville Friday morning and went to Dave Ramsey's studio. We were there for 2 reasons.
#1: To SCREAM: "WE'RE DEBT FREE"
#2: To meet Dave himself
We got to do both:) We paid off the rest of Andrew's school loans right before Christmas! We got to do our debt free scream from the lobby of the building. DEFINITELY a wonderful experience.

After we left the studio and checked into the hotel, we treated ourselves to dinner at the Melting Pot. It was a super experience and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!!

Saturday, we slept in and met our friends, Alex and Katie, to go to his live event. After the event, we went to dinner and relaxed at the hotel. VERY fun and VERY relaxing!

BOWLING GREEN SHOWER with AMAZING FRIENDS

My Sis-in-law and a couple of ladies I used to babysit for threw Elsie and I a shower in Bowling Green on Sunday. It is an understatement to say that this baby girl is blessed. I am continually amazed at the love for my unborn baby!! It was a great time to see friends that we don't get to see very often. Old Small Group friends, kiddos and families I used to babysit for, college friends, a few family members...a great time all around.

One super cute 11 month old that I got to see all weekend!

NURSERY UPDATE

The nursery is pretty much complete. The last thing we need to do is put pictures into the frames. I am putting up some pics, but please beware of the mess. I have NOT had to time to clean up after the shower gifts this weekend. I am trying to organize as I go.

bella abc

2011-01-23T16:30:00.001-08:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

28 weeks

2011-01-21T11:48:00.000-08:00

How far along: 28 Weeks
Total Weight Gained: 3 lbs...expected it to be much more!
Maternity Clothes: Yes! Pants all the time, but I can still wear my regular shirts for the most part.
Sleep: Annoying! I am trying really hard to sleep on my left side, but I wake up a lot on my back. I can't wait to be able to sleep on my belly again!
Best Moment of the Week(s): Andrew has been able to feel her moving some. We are having a 3-d ultrasound tomorrow! Passed my glucose test!!
Movement: Lots!! Sometimes it feels like she is going to jump out of my belly.
Food Cravings: Not any really
Food Aversions: Chocolate never sounds good. I made chili this week and haven't eaten any of it. Doesn't look appetizing.
Symptoms: Feet and Back aches after a long day at work or staying busy on the weekends. I pee A LOT...other than that. I feel great!
What I miss: Sleeping all night on my belly
What I'm looking forward to: 3-d/4-d ultrasound tomorrow. Getting to hear baby girls heartbeat every other week.
Other news: Spending the weekend in BG. Have to finish Bella's birthday present so I can order it. More on that later...

E's first shower

2011-01-20T14:51:00.000-08:00

We had a shower this weekend hosted by my Aunt Pam, SIL Emily, and my mom. It was amazing!! It just reminded me how blessed I am to have such loving and caring family and friends. The dining room became full of people and the shower wasn't set to start for 15 more minutes. Soon...the dining room, kitchen, and living room had people in them. It was SO much fun to catch up with all of the family and friends that I don't get to see all the time. Here are some pictures from the day...

The YUMMO cake!

SOME of the guests

this still amazes me!

\
sweet outfit made by auntie em

I am LOVING the girlie things! This from my friend Kayla

her first quilt made by my momma!

Two of the youngest and cutest guests!

E's nursery

2011-01-12T13:37:00.000-08:00

When we first found out we were expecting, I immediately got online and started looking at bedding and nursery items. WOW! There is a lot out there. I knew that I didn't want anything with animals (ladybugs, butterflies, etc.) and not too many flowers. Don't get me wrong, I like these things, but I didn't want them in E's nursery.

So...here is what we got...

Paisley..now, there were some other Paisley prints that I liked a ton more than this, but I couldn't bring myself to pay the prices for them. Now, that I have this one, I love it.

I decided that instead of trying to find tubs to go under the changing table, I would just get the ones that matched the bedding perfectly. I didn't think that would make the room "too matchy".

A dear friend is painting a bible verse on a canvas to go above the dresser. Then, we are putting picture frames on both sides of it hung with ribbon. I want to get some good pictures of both sides of the family to put in the frames.

I also ordered her name from Uppercase Living to put above the crib. Didn't want anything that could fall on her.

We also bought a rocker/recliner this weekend. We sat in several gliders and looked up reviews in my handy dandy book (I'll post on that later or tomorrow). We found that we were going to be paying $300 for a good glider and no promises that my tall hubby would be comfy in it. So, we decided on a rocker and we got it for less than $250.

The last thing that has caused me more grief that I would have liked, is CURTAINS!! UGH! We have no selection in Evansville, and I was a little nervous about getting them off the internet in case they were the wrong color.

So, we found some at Big Lots, got a rod at Menards (after I bought the wrong size, Andrew helped me and we got the right stuff).

The shelves on the right have 2 books that my cousins got for E. They were their favorite books when they were little, so they wanted to buy them for her. HOW SWEET! The other book is a bible from Aunt Em, Adam, and B. They wrote a super sweet note in it and made me cry on Christmas:)

The last for thing *really last this time* is the closet...I am glad my hubby is handy.

I am glad we started on the nursery early, I am terrible at making decision. I bought a lot, returned a lot, then would finally make a decision. This room is almost ready for our sweet baby girl.

I have decided that every time I walk into this room, I will say a quick prayer for E. That she will continue to grow and be healthy, that she will love Jesus, and that we will be great parents to her.

A year in Review

2011-01-03T16:25:00.001-08:00

January
Rang in the New Year with Kayla and Matt in Atlanta-
Bella Joy's first shower at my house-

Little bro Cory got his Eagle Scout-

February
It snowed in Evansville-
that's all I got...sorry...don't remember much of February (I am doing this by the seat of my pants, I could be forgetting something very important.)
March
I became an aunt for the first time on my birthday!! HOW FUN!! Bella Joy, Auntie Manda loves you more than you could ever imagine!

April
Springtime is here-

May
Sam and Samantha get hitched-
Cory graduated high school-
Went to Cincinnati with Adam, Emily, and Bella

June
Andrew and I played mommy and daddy for a week to a 4 and 6 year old-
Went to Gatlinburg with 30 family members-

July
Andrew's cousin, Mandy, got hitched-
Went to St. Louis with the in-laws-
Christmas in July painting party with Emily and Keila-
Travis started playing for the Evansville Otters-spent LOTS of evenings at the ball park-

August
Found out Andrew and I would be having a sweet baby of our own!! Due April 14, 2011.
The new school year began-my 4th year of teaching-

September
Celebrated 3 years of marriage to my amazing husband-
Went to Philly and NYC-

October
Baby Hughes will be a girl and Elsie Ann will be her name-
Annual Fall Camping trip with the family-

November
starting painting the nursery-
shower for my sweet friend Kayla and her baby girl, Emmalyn-
Annual Family Reunion and MS walk-

December
2 snow days-
Christmas celebrations-

24 1/2 weeks

2010-12-28T12:52:00.001-08:00

how far along: 24 weeks last Thursday

total weight gain/loss: EVEN...Lost 7 in the beginning, but had gained it back as of my appt. last Monday

maternity clothes: sometimes, but only because I can't stand my pants tight. And most of the time, they are too big, so I have to pull them up ALL day.---same as 20 weeks except I am wearing them more frequently.

stretch marks: nope. But still putting lotion on all the time!

sleep: great, but annoying. I hate not being able to sleep on my stomach. I roll from side to side and have to move by body pillow with me each time...a process to say the least.

best moment this week: Christmas presents for our baby girl

movement: LOTS!! She is stubborn and not very active in the evenings when Andrew is home with me. So, he has not felt her yet.

food cravings: pizza...so lame, I know

gender: GIRL!!!

name: Elsie Ann Hughes

labor signs: nada

belly button in or out? in

what i miss: sleeping on my stomach!

weekly wisdom: I am not very full of wisdom these days

milestones: none that I can think of....I'm lame I know!

I went out shopping yesterday and found some great deals for little bit. Target had lots on clearance.

We are going out tonight to try to find shelves for her room. We are also putting the closet organizer in tonight.

Stay tuned for some super cute stuff Elsie got for Christmas.

a burden lifted

2010-12-20T14:42:00.001-08:00

The few of you that read this blog probably already know this, but I want to shout it from the mountain tops...
WE ARE DEBT FREE!!!!

We took the Financial Peace University class just before we got married (We actually got married in the middle of the class). We completed the class almost 3 years ago to date.

In 3 years, we have paid off LOTS and LOTS of debt to Sallie Mae and Kentucky Student Loans. We bought a house and had a little down payment (not the full 20%, more like 8%). Of course, stuff came up along the way. Dr. bills, car repairs, house issues, etc.

Now, we are ready to save, save, save, and work on our mortgage. We have PMI on our house that we would like to get taken off ASAP. So, that is our next goal. We also want to start saving for Elsie and of course our cars will need to be replaced (andrew's probably soon). BUT for now...we are rejoicing that we not longer OWE people money!! YAY!

A pleasantly nice day...

2010-12-14T18:16:00.000-08:00

I had a great day. Nothing spectacular or extravagant, just a wonderful day and here is why...

-2 hour delay

-Professional Development that has a great presenter and wonderful content

-Chick-fil-A for lunch with a fun co-worker

-picking up my plate from Fired Up that I painted last week

-NOTHING BUT good mail!!! Stuff I ordered for Elsie, Christmas Cards, and a rebate check.

-Healthy dinner of pork chops, broccoli, and brown rice

-went with Andrew to register at Babies R Us

-and lastly, BIGGEST LOSER SEASON FINALE!!!

What a wonderful day!!

O what a weekend...

2010-11-29T18:25:00.000-08:00

WOW...It's Monday night, and I am one tired puppy. My bed is calling my name VERY loudly. Here are my last 5 days in a nutshell.

-Movie with the family (Morning Glory)

-Company at my house (In-laws)

-Thanksgiving Lunch at my house

-Thanksgiving Left Overs at my aunt's house

-3:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m. shopping, lunch, then out one more time

-nap

-Painting Party (thank goodness Mom brought dinner)

-Christmas card pictures

-Start decorating for Christmas

-Baby Shower

-Shopping/Returns

-Hanging out with Emily and Bella in Haubstadt

-church

-teach Sunday School

-finish decorating inside, do all of the outside

-back to work today, meeting after school, grocery, and wrapping presents

-The rest of the week, I will be cleaning because Christmas celebration #1 is at my house on Saturday. We also have to clean out the garage, because that is where we are going to eat. Wednesday night, we are serving dinner with our small group at the Ronald McDonald House. I am tired just thinking about this week.

don't peek:)

2010-11-27T20:48:00.000-08:00

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0IctGLdu2YsnNA

Funky Christmas Wishes Christmas 5x7 folded card

Shop Shutterfly for elegant custom Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

2010-11-25T08:52:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T08:49:00.000-08:00

Andrew and I are so thankful for many many things this year.

-Jesus' love for us

-family

-time to spend together

-friends

-each other

We are especially thankful after a year and a half of trying, for our sweet baby girl. We are also thankful for our fun and adorable niece, Bella. Andrew got a new job, so we are very thankful for that as well. I mean, there is just so much to be thankful for.

-shopping on Friday with the bestest driver EVER, Aunt Barbie! GO TEAM ODYSSEY!!

-food!! Grandma's dumplings

-the pups that slept with us last night:)

I mean, I could go on forever, SO VERY GRATEFUL!

Half way there

2010-11-23T17:13:00.000-08:00

how far along: 20 weeks on Thanksgiving!! 1/2 way done cookin'

total weight gain/loss: I lost 7, then yesterday gained back 1, so I am at -6.

maternity clothes: sometimes, but only because I can't stand my pants tight. And most of the time, they are too big, so I have to pull them up ALL day.

stretch marks: nope. But still putting lotion on all the time!

sleep: ehh, minus the getting up to use the bathroom a couple times a night, it's pretty good.

best moment this week: getting furniture and painting this weekend!

movement: I think maybe, but not 100% for sure.

food cravings: NO! Most of the time NOTHING sounds good!!! It is so annoying at times!

gender: GIRL!!!

name: Elsie Ann Hughes

labor signs: nada

belly button in or out? in

what i miss: sleeping on my stomach!

weekly wisdom: Man, this is such a blessing. I am going to be thankful since it is so close to Thanksgiving and I am so thankful for this baby girl and my fab hubby!

milestones: none that I can think of....I'm lame I know!

Total Cuteness!!

2010-11-21T17:16:00.001-08:00

I mean seriously, could my precious niece be any cuter!?!?

Christmas cards....and many more

2010-11-13T07:46:00.000-08:00

If you have ever gotten a Christmas Card from the Hughes' household, you know that I love to put pictures on my cards. And most of the time, it's not just Andrew and I, but also Addie and Dopey since they are part of the family too. My favorite place to get Christmas cards is Shutterfly, but they not only have Christmas cards, but many other types of card and even stationary. Come with me as I take you on a tour of the things I love on Shutterfly.

Here you can search any of their Christmas Cards: BEWARE: Their are A LOT TO choose from, the decision may not be easy, but you will LOVE so many.
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards

Here is one that is at the top of my list: If you get a Christmas Card from me, this might just be the one.
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/with-love-chartreuse-christmas-5x7-folded-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93476

Here is the link to something I have ordered in the past: I am a kid in a candy shop when it comes to notepads and stationary.
http://www.shutterfly.com/ssc/viewPreview.sfly?fid=6d2681ef200bdede328a6b68bbcad23c5625c431369d420afd12f45bbad520eada27fa73774b895d0c48c55b300ddd96

While the Christmas cards may seem like the most popular, Shutterfly has TONS of cards for other seasons as well:

Is there a better way to show those you love how much you love them:
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/valentines-day-cards-and-stationery

Here is a favorite of mine:

You can see here just some of the variety in Shutterfly cards. I recently got a Thanksgiving day card from my bro, sis-in-law, and niece. It was adorable. I am going to definitely get my Christmas cards at Shutterfly, you should check it out
too!

the best part is, you can get 50 photo cards for free!! shutterfly is giving bloggers the chance to share and save! you will have to pay tax and shipping, but what a steal! i can't wait to see our finished product!

*bloggers are eligible to receive 50 free holiday cards. free cards are for 5x7 folded or flat stationary cards. offer ends december 31, 2010. taxes, shipping and handling will apply.

Already so loved...

2010-11-06T07:02:00.001-07:00

Our baby girl is already so loved. We found out we were having a girl and ran to Heartstrings in Bowling Green to buy an outfit. We were successful:) Then, we got WKU gear from Andrew's parents. Later, when we got to Adam and Emily's, we were greeted with a bag of girlie goodies. I walked into work yesterday, a teacher gives me another gift!

Elsie Ann Hughes is already so loved and will only be loved more as time goes on. We ordered furniture for her nursery today!!!! Can't wait for it to come!

Elsie's WKU gear. We will have to pair the jersey with a denim skirt and big ol' hair bow!

Elsie's first girlie outfit. As soon we we found out the gender, we drove as fast as we could to the store. Shopping for a girl is addicting!! Bella (Elsie's cousin) found this out the right way:)

The sweet snuggle that a teacher I work with got for Elsie. It is SOOO soft!!!!

Our bag of goodies from Uncle Adam, Aunt Emily, and big cousin Bella. I already started writing in the baby book. I better get ahead now, because later, I won't have as much time.

Thank you everyone for the gifts so far, we have an amazing family and friends!!!! God has truly blessed us with all of them!

We are such mean doggie parents....

2010-10-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

I always get the dogs a costume at Target after Halloween for like 2 or 3 bucks. Last year, I couldn't decide on just 2, so I got 3. Today, after church, we tried them on the dogs....here is the product

Rooster Dopey...He was MUCH MORE cooperative than Addie.

Turtle Dopey

Addie is NOT a happy doctor :-(

Week 16

2010-10-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

how far along: 16 weeks as of tomorrow. I have an appointment Monday morning.

total weight gain/loss: not yet, actually from 8-12 weeks I lost 4 lbs. NO idea how I did that, but I did. On my scale at home, I haven't gained, but we'll see.

maternity clothes: nope...but they are getting a little tighter.

stretch marks: nope.

sleep: got a body pillow and it has been great, except now that I am congested and can't breathe through my nose at night

best moment this week: looking at car seats, strollers, pack and plays, etc.

movement: not that I know of...

food cravings: NO! Most of the time NOTHING sounds good!!! It is so annoying at times!

gender: 1 week and we will know!! WOO HOO!

name: We have some ideas for a girl, but NONE for a boy, suggestions welcome!

labor signs: thankfully, no.

belly button in or out? in

what i miss: sleeping on my stomach!

weekly wisdom: ummm...I'm not very full of wisdom on Saturday morning

milestones: none that I can think of....I'm lame I know!

Meet Little H

2010-10-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

I had an ultrasound at 12 weeks (which was almost 3 weeks ago). We have been trying to scan it, but it wouldn't work, FINALLY I decided to take a picture of it. However, it looks horrible. I went ahead and posted it and hopefully you can make it out.

BIG News!!

2010-09-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

So, I am sure that the 5 of you that read my blog have heard by now that Andrew and I are having a baby!!!!!

Little Hughes will make his/her debut sometime around April 10. We should be able to find out the sex around Thanksgiving. So, YES, we will be finding out if we are having a boy or a girl. If you know me, I HATE surprises and I am a HUGE planner. So, for my nerves and Andrew's Sanity, we will be finding out.

We are definitely excited and this has been a long road coming...Here is our timeline...

November 2008...decided we wanted to try to have kids, so I got off of birth control (which later, I feel was a waste of money)

January 2009...really started trying

July 2009...still nothing, but we found out that my little bro Adam and his wife Emily were expecting. This hurt at first, as I always thought I would be the first. After talking to God and realizing that was MY plan not his, and talking to Emily...I started shopping and getting super excited for Baby J's debut.

December 2009...went to the doctor and so began a series of testing. I had an ultrasound (which I had NO idea what was about to happen...if you know what I mean...) Also, had some bloodwork done. Everything was normal.

January 2010...Had an HSG done, painful and NOT FUN...everything normal

February or March 2010...started taking clomid to help me ovulate. NOTHING happened. So, they upped my dosage the next month...STILL nothing happened. So at this point, I know my body has issues with ovulation.

June 2010...the dr. decides that we should try an HCG shot in addition to the Clomid. So, I had to take Clomid for 5 days at the exact same time every day. Then I had to go in for an ultrasound and get an injection....FIRST time DIDN'T work.

July 2010...try the same process... AND IT WORKED!!!!!

When I took a test the first week of August, I didn't believe it. The line wasn't dark enough. The next day, tested again, the line wasn't much darker. The third day...same thing. So, I decided I was going to go get a digital test that either said PREGNANT or NOT. So, I did and it said pregnant.

WOO HOO! I called the dr. and had to wait a month to go, then when I did go, they don't do ultrasounds, or blood work to confirm. So, I insisted on extra blood work to confirm (I'm a freak...sorry). She called to let me know it was definitely positive blood work.

So here we are. Today marks week 10. I go to the dr. in 2 weeks and we should get to hear the heartbeat:)

My favorite Evansville Otter

2010-07-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

My younger cousin, Travis, and I grew up together. My mom babysat him several summers when we were younger. When I was a senior in high school, he was a freshman, and I picked him up every morning for school. I have been watching him play baseball for YEARS! (along with football and basketball). When he went to college, I didn't get to see him play nearly as much, esp. since he is a relief pitcher and doesn't play every game.

Now, he is an Evansville Otter. I am very proud of him and love to go watch him play in the evenings at Bosse Field!
Here are some pics of him pitching last night and me with my favorite Otter.

New look in our bedroom

2010-07-20T13:48:00.000-07:00

We recently got new bedroom furniture from IKEA. We had an older duvet set (which I was sick of), so we decided to get new bedding and finally put curtains up in our room and make it start to look decorated.

After looking EVERYwhere for a duvet in town, I went online and found one at Target.com:)

Here is the finished bed (I'm not sure why, but the shams on the back grey aren't quite right...

Crazy Busy!

2010-07-13T06:25:00.001-07:00

Andrew and I have been so stinkin' busy this summer. It has been so fun and exciting for us. Last summer, I sat at home bored after like 1 week of summer. BUT this summer, I have yet to be bored. The pics below are just some of the things we have been up to lately!

-met this sweet baby and her parents, along with my parents and bro for a nice lunch

-went to Gatlinburg with 29 family members and stayed in a 10 bedroom/bathroom cabin. Hiked 2.5 miles to a waterfall and 2.5 miles back.

-Ripley's Aquarium

-Ripley's Believe it or Not museum

-played with face game with Uncle Chris and Aunt Barbie on the way to Dixie Stampede.

-I LOVE having house guests, esp. these two ladies:)

-had some family and friends over for some smoked pork butt. Andrew sat in the garage for 8 hours watching movies and checking on the meat. Emily, well, she played with her food, even though we told her not to.

-Went swimming at Tim and Carolyns

-went to Aunt Janet's 4th of July party and played corn hole all day!

-Hung out with the most adorable baby girl ever!!

-Made burpies with Valerie and embroidered with Aunt Janet.

-Hung out with Andrew's relatives visiting from Philly. Aunt Carla, Uncle Dan, Melanie, Dom, and Rachel. Since we were visiting in Bowling Green, Andrew got out his gun to shot. Here are Mel and Rachel getting their instructions.

-Celebrated with Andrew's cousin, Mandy and her new husband, Jeff

A week with 2 Children

2010-06-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

I am still learning the art of uploading pictures on my blog. Below are pictures of Andrew and I's week with 2 children. We went swimming twice, fishing, splash park, Gattitown, McDonalds, Ice skating, gymnastics, "camp", played pinball, Wii, hung out with the neighbors. We stayed VERY busy!!

Emily in the pool

We went swimming a couple times, but I only got pictures from last night. Tim and Carolyn were very welcoming to us. And boy o boy did we have fun!

Bryce and his fish

Fishing fun!!! Andrew and his friend Chris took Bryce fishing. Emily and I didn't stay, but were there long enough to snap a picture.

Emily didn't LOVE the water, but she still had a great time.

Bryce LOVING the water!!

We went to the Splash Park in Henderson and had a picnic. I lathered the kids with sunscreen and forgot myself. So, I got toasty red...OOPS

Fab 5 Friday

2010-06-11T06:11:00.001-07:00

I am a little slow these days not being in school and all...but I finally figured out how to get my pictures quickly to my blog. Last week, I had some issues with trying to download/upload them quickly. This week, I also cheated and used some of the same ones that jochimsjoys.blogspot.com used last week:)

1. HGTV...it is usually always on in the background, even though most of the time I am not really watching it. However, Andrew does like to watch it as well, so it is a channel we actually agree on AND Design Star starts Sunday night and it's one of my favorite shows.

2. My handy little SUV. She tried to die on me on the way to small group the other night, but Andrew and a dear friend Chris, fixed her up and she drove me to Bowling Green yesterday. This year at work, my car was also known as my office. It had plenty of room and served it's purpose well. We'll see how she does this week with 2 car seats.

3. READ, READ, READ!!! I have been reading Karen Kingsbury books like they are going out of print. I hardly ever watch TV, or play on facebook...I have always got my nose in a book. I am even going to a Baxter Family Renunion (based on her books) at the end of June with my friend Valerie.

4. PF Changs!! For being a picky eater, I LOVE this place, lettuce wraps, lo mein, honey crusted chicken, sweet and sour chicken...YUMMO!!

5. IKEA...we went last weekend with Adam and Emily. Spent more money than we expected, but also came home with a new bed, bedside tables, bookshelf, drawer organizers, couch side table, kitchen gadgets, etc. SO FUN!

What are your FAB 5?

Fab 5 Friday...help!

2010-05-28T06:18:00.000-07:00

I decided I was going to try FAB 5 Friday this week...only to get a little aggravated at trying to get the pictures on here.

1. My rice cooker/steamer. We use this handy $15 Target steal at least 2 times a week. Mostly broccoli or cauliflower on top and sometimes rice on bottom. I thought that it was so fabulous that I bought one for my mother in law and sister in law for Christmas:)

NOW is where I NEED your help. When I am trying to get pictures for my Fab 5, what is the best way to do it. I would really like to just copy and paste them in, but that wouldn't work. I had to save the above picture to my desktop and upload it...is that the only way to do it?

Company

2010-05-15T20:38:00.000-07:00

In preparation for our week long babysitting excursion in June. We had Emily and Bryce over for one night to see how things would go. They did great, minus the 4am wake up call because Emily was gone. She decided to go upstairs to the bed and Bryce couldn't find her. So, we slept on the couch together from 4-7.

We had all kinds of fun! Went to the park, played Chutes and Ladders, played Hyper Dash, drew with chalk, went for a walk, rescued a snapping turtle (andrew did, we watched), caught a toad, read books, watched movies...we did a lot in 1 night:)

I'm excited to keep them this summer. We are going to have one full and fun week!

I LOVE my family!!

2010-05-12T17:05:00.000-07:00

The first picture is at my cousin Samantha's wedding.
We wanted to take a cute picture of all the kiddos for Mother's Day.

The second picture is at a park in Bowling Green. Bella was dedicated at church and it was mother's day.

I was so glad to spend the weekend with my family. I had not spent a ton of time with Adam, Emily and Bella since she was born, but this weekend I got to love on her a lot. It was awesome!!!! I am amazed when I look at this pictures and how blessed I am to have such an amazing family.

Fab 5 Friday

2010-04-23T13:40:00.001-07:00

So, I am putting off cleaning my house by.....

trying out this Fab 5 Friday thing!

1. Tuesday, I went and bought a storm door to go on the front door of our house. Andrew spent 4 hours (3 with my dad helping) putting it in. I LOVE having my front door open and letting the light in!!!!

2. Childrens Books of any size, shape or kind. I have an obsession with Scholastic Book Order forms and have to restrain myself or I would be a SUPER poor teacher with way too many books.

3. Retractable dog leashes: For those of you that don't know. We have 2 beagle mix dogs. They used to be allowed to go out back to potty without leashes, but after chasing them one too many times, they have to go out on a leash. So, I stand on the patio and they go to the yard to do their business. Well, Monday, one of them broke (while the neighbor girl had Dopey). I didn't realize how much I liked them, until one of them was gone.

4. my sewing machine: Andrew told me to get a hobby...(due to me being bored so often), So I did. I have made burpies, dresses, onsies and I hope to try a little outfit this summer.

5. A kitchen disinfectant that smells good:)

I guess I am off to clean now...

Spring in the Hughes' yard

2010-04-05T18:14:00.001-07:00

The first sign of Spring in the Hughes' house is the open windows. Luckily, neither Andrew or I suffer from allergies, so we have our windows open ALL spring. I get super excited when the electric bill comes and it's smaller. Addie also LOVES the windows are open because she gets to be super nosey and stare out the window.
We got these hostas from my mom. They are growing so quickly and look amazing!
We bought this tree in the fall, they planted it in the winter, and we finally get to see how it looks in our yard. I'm excited to watch it continue to bloom.
I planted tulips last year by the mailbox and about 1/2 of them came back this year. So beautiful!

Isabella Joy Elizabeth Jochim

2010-03-16T17:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome Bella Joy!!!! You are so stinkin' cute and as I sit at home tonight I am missin' you. You are my first niece and we share a birthday. You have the most wonderful parents ever and are so very lucky to have so many people that love and are praying for you. I am counting down the days until I get to love on you again (3 days BTW). I LOVE YOU BELLA JOY!
The first picture of Bella yawning is when she was just about 15/20 minutes old. As we were about to leave, I was able to get a bow in her hair for just a couple minutes. She is BEAUTIFUL!
The family...How cute are they?
The birthday girls!!! I could not have asked for a better day!

Coming Soon...My very first niece!

2010-03-12T16:51:00.000-08:00

I got a phone call Wednesday afternoon from Emily, my sister in law. She said that she had good news and bad news. Of course I wanted the bad news first, then the good news.

Bad News: She has to have a c-section because Bella Joy is breech and she already weighs over 8 lbs.

Good News: It is scheduled for Monday morning which is MY BIRTHDAY!!!

I have been teasing her since I found out her due date was March 24, but I never imagined it would actually happen. I am so excited!

So please join me in praying for everything to go smoothly. Words can not explain how excited I am for my little brother and Emily!!

Why I love this Week!

2010-03-01T15:13:00.000-08:00

I got this idea from someone else, but I thought I would try it this week:)

Things are switched up a little bit at work. I am working at my M/Tu schools on W/Th and my W/Th school on M/Tu. It will keep things exciting I'm sure.
Biggest Loser comes back on tomorrow and the Bachelor tonight (I don't know why I watch this show, but I do)
At the end of the week, we will be heading to Indy to see Andrew's grandparents. His grandfather broke his hips a few weeks ago, so we are going to help out for a couple days.
I don't have a ton planned in the evenings, so I will be able to do some sewing!!!
My sweet unborn neice is one week closer to being born!!

I could come up with many more, but I won't bore you:)

Learning the Blog World

2010-02-26T14:03:00.000-08:00

There are a few things that I want to learn about the Blog World.
So, if you are reading this blog (although I'm not sure how many people actually do) please help.

1.) Posting pictures to me is a nighmare. I can't ever get them to line up properly and I can never type before I post pics. I have to put the pics up THEN type in my text around the pictures and hope it works out.

2.) I did a MckLinky (I think) the other day. I linked and was supposed to write a blog post, and I just saw where I linked but didn't write about what I was supposed write about...is that okay?

3.) I just don't think I'm all that interesting. Just a girl, working, living life, Loving God, trying a new hobby....Do you think about what to write about or does it just come to you?

Trying to be crafty

2010-02-07T14:12:00.001-08:00

So, as you can see, I am terrible at arranging pictures on this blog! I have been working on these burp cloths since I saw some at a craft show at on etsy.com. I started working on them at my mom's house on her sewing machine. I soon realized that I enjoyed making them and wanted to be able to to work on them at home. SO, I bought a sewing machine. I am working on it. I took them out to my Aunt Janet's house after I sewed the ribbon on for her to embroider them. I also helped in the process:)

My next projects will hopefully be a pillowcase dress and a "taggie" blanket. We'll see though. Andrew is going out of town in a couple of weeks for work and we have a day off school soon.

Bowling Green Visit/Snow Day

2010-01-31T15:34:00.001-08:00

Last weekend, we headed down to Bowling Green for a visit. We made our first stop at the Snyder's house. We were able to have some of Jill's YUMMO speghatti and hang out. It was most definitely a great time and they suprised us with having Ann Marie over to visit also. We made home base at Andrew's parents house and they woke us both mornings with a delicious breakfast. Saturday morning we made our way to Emma G's ball game and to hang out with the Gilliam Family. Emma and I played the face game while Megan was horseback riding and Andrew was talking.
Then, we headed to a WKU game with Lindsay and Andrew Bragg and Andrew's parents. WKU did not impress us, but it was a great time non the less. Later in the evening, we met up with our friends Katie and Alex for some dinner. After some Wii with the 'rents, we went to bed to get up early for church. We got to see a lot of friends at church before we headed home. When we go to Bowling Green, it's always SUPER busy trying to see everyone. We miss everyone there and only have so much time to visit. God has truly blessed us with such great friends and family. FAST FORWARD............................................

This weekend, we hung out with friends from our small group Friday night and drove home in a winter wonderland. We thought we were getting 1-2 inches of snow and woke up to 7!!! YAY!! We took the dogs for a walk and played with the neighbors outside. Then, Chris and Mindy made us dinner! We have awesome friends remember. Below is our house in the snow.

I am looking forward to a great week. I got some new books delivered Friday from Barnes and Noble, so I have some reading to do! YAY!

weekend painting project

2010-01-07T15:06:00.001-08:00

Yes, we painted our bathroom. Since our house is new, we have very little color...so, I decided to start with the bathroom. I have been looking for a shower curtain for quite some time now. As soon as I found one, I was going to paint and decorated around that. I usually don't frequent Wal-Mart, but last week, I ventured in and found THE ONE! Later that night, I went to Kohl's and spend an hour looking at towels to match. I had $40 in gift cards, so I didn't have to "pay" for the towels. Then, I ran over to Home Depot and spend LOTS of time trying to find just the right color. The poor man working didn't know what he was going to encounter when I came in that night. So, about an hour later and other gift card purchase (the gift card here was a VERY late wedding gift, always a nice surprise).

When we got home from Atlanta at 8 pm on Friday night, I was SOOOO excited and wanted to paint right away. Andrew had different ideas...."game time" was on the top of his list. But, being the amazing husband that he is, we painted coat #1. Saturday night, we ran by Kirklands to look for something to put on the wall. I left Andrew in the car (for a good reason) I was like a kid in a candy store. I found SO much stuff, I finally deicded and spend less than $30 on all of the decor in here!! Then, we went to mom's to play some games. We stayed until 10pm and guess what we did when we got home...Coat #2. Then, Sunday, all we had to do was a little touching up next to the ceiling and putting up the curtain, pictures, etc. and TAA DAA...it's done.

more Christmas Celebrations

2009-12-29T17:57:00.001-08:00

Here are some picture to capture the rest of our Christmas celebrations...

family getting presents, Zachary hamming it up for the camera, grandma's cooking!!

dirty Santa, lots of people, good times hanging out, new puppies (not for us), family love,

matching presents, lots of presents, giving and receiving, loving and sharing, rock band playing,

more matching presents, WKU attire, more giving and loving, fun times all around!

O yeah! I learned how to shoot a gun, rifle and shot gun mind you, AND I learned a clay pigeon is not at all a pigeon.

Christmas Fun

2009-12-27T13:03:00.000-08:00

As I am sure everyone else has the same story, we have been VERY busy the last few days. It has been great to be home today and able to relax and clean up the train wreck that came through our house (I can't imagine what it is like if you have kids). I'm going to try to capture it all in a couple blog posts. I would do it all at once, but I am terrible at uploading pictures onto this thing!

We started off having my dad's side of the family over to our house for the Jochim Family Christmas. We, of course, ate too much food, but enjoyed the company. The next day, Andrew's family came up from Bowling Green and down from Indy to have the Cohron Christmas. We once again hosted, and ate warm chili. After watching the Titans pull out a win, we ate, opened presents and played The Office trivia. It was so great to have a home and to have family over!

Andrew's mom and grandmom.

please pray for this sweet boy

2009-12-15T19:22:00.000-08:00

This is a story that was on the news about a kiddo at one of my schools. The young man and his family need your prayers! He is the sweetest little boy!

http://tristatehomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=117072

Most parents have high hopes for their children.They want to see them succeed in life and be as happy as possible.But for one local family, that dream became a nightmare when their son was diagnosed with a rare and deadly disease.In this weeks Family First we meet nine year old Alex HuckHe was good at sports and did well in school, but all of that changed last school year, when Alex started acting out in class.At first school officials and family members attributed it to ADHD, but as the symptoms got worse, so did the fears there was something seriously wrong with Alex.After a visit to Riley's Children's Hospital last fall, Alex was diagnosed with Adreno leukodystrophy, a deadly disease affecting boys between the ages of four and ten.Alex's little brother has a fifty-fifty chance of getting the disease as well.He's getting tested later this week.A fund for Alex has been set up at Integra Bank to help family members cope with the mounting medical bills.The PTA will be holding fundraisers for Alex in the coming months.

Halloween Weekend

2009-11-01T18:39:00.000-08:00

We stayed pretty busy this weekend, but had TONS of fun at the same time!

-Friday Night- Autumn Fest at CFC. Putt-Putt volunteers. busy. lots of candy. lots of kids dressed up. Andrew and Chris bull riding. interesting. missed it though. late night. house guests.

-Saturday-Family pictures. crazy dogs. Family reunion. family. food. friends. fun. FINALLY...IT'S A GIRL!! Bella. March 24. WOO HOO. Trick or Treat. Costumes. more fun. more food. house guest.

-Sunday- MS walk. church. 4/5 Sunday School. hacienda. Mud Slide. Baby Registry. Target. evening at home.

His Love

2009-09-27T15:43:00.001-07:00

This morning at church, pastor David spoke about love. He spoke of God's unending love for us. It was a very emotional service and one that touched me in a way I wasn't expecting when I went to church this morning.

Click the following link to see the music video we watched.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUiW-zC8qNo

WOW! I hope it was able to touch you the way it touched me. There are so many children that I work with on a daily basis that don't come from the warmest and loving home life that I did. I hope they realize that in the darkest of times that they have someone that loves them.

I am so very thankful for the people that love me. Andrew, my parents, my brothers, sister-in-law, all of my in-laws, my grandparents, all of my family, my friends, but most of all my Godly Father loves me more than I could ever fathom. All that I do and have was given to me by god because he loves me.

I will update more about what we have been up to soon. *which is not much might I add* just the same - o, same - o.

Sorry, it's been a while!

2009-08-20T16:10:00.000-07:00

So since my last update, we have been to St. Louis, Cincinnati, Bowling Green, and we had company times 2. AND my pictures of the experiences are on my memory card, which we left in Bowling Green. :(

Andrew had never been to St. Louis. So we up and left Friday afternoon and went to the arch (but not up in it), got to go by the new Busch Stadium, and went to a concert in the park. Then, Saturday we got up early and went to the zoo, followed by lunch and the Science Center. We ended the day with the City Museum (which I suggest to anyone going to St. Louis). Finally, we were pooped and we drove back to Evansville.

The next weekend we went to Cincinnati with my parents and went to IKEA. Then, we ate dinner at P.F. Changs (YUMMO!!). After some time in the hot tub, we called it a night. Sunday, we went to the Newport Aquarium and then headed home.

Company was next. The sweetest Gilliam family came to visit. Andrew took a half day Friday and we went swimming *all the pics are on my camera in BG*. We came back to our house and cooked out, then went to walk on the river front. *the pics below* Saturday, we got up and hung out, Andrew made some pancakes and they were on their way. As they left, we headed out for Lake Barkley. Some friends have a house and my aunt and uncle have a pontoon. Andrew and I had the pleasure of sharing a twin bed, which we choose instead of the floor.

Bowling Green is next in the month of craziness. We were able to go in time Friday to eat dinner with the amazing Snyder game and went to see the Chamber Kentucky Concert featuring the Beatles. After babysitting for the show year after year, I finally got to experience it and it was great. We spent the night with the Snyders and got to hang out Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon, we headed to Hendersonville, TN to party with Andrew's cousin Michelle for the graduation from MTSU. Saturday night, we got the precious Crosby boys and headed to Andrew's parents house for dinner. Sunday was great to be back at Living HOpe and to see dear dear friends there. Then we went to lunchw ith Keila and Andy and got to hang out with them for the afternoon.

Last weekend, Andrew's friend Will and his g/f stopped by our house on their way from Bowling Green to Chicago. It was great to see Will and to meet his g/f and dog. Sunday, we were on the river all day with Uncle Paul. Now school is back in the full swing of things! I'll post on that some other time, it's a whole post in itself:)

YAY!!!

2009-07-15T13:02:00.000-07:00

First and foremost...

I GOT A JOB!!!! WOO HOOO!!!!!! Well it's pending board approval, but I accepted the position. I will be an Elementary School Special Ed. Achievement Coach. I will be going to a few elementary schools and getting their more involved sp. ed. students into the regular ed. classes. I will be there to help with the supports and meetings between teachers. I don't know where I will be yet, or where my "home" base will be. I should be finding out more soon in new future. For the 3rd year in a row, I have to go to new teacher training Aug. 6 and 7, then report for the teachers first day Aug. 10!!

Now, this past weekend, we went to Camp Carson for the Tri-State MS S'mores and More weekend. It was a great time as we spent the day at the camp in the water, doing crafts, playing cornhole, eating, etc. Then, we spent the night at a local hotel and went back for a few more fun activities Sunday. I was having a great time and decided to be brave and go on the BLOB!! http://www.campcarson.org/flash/main.html When I threw someone off the BLOB and moved down to the other end for someone else to "throw" me off, a little 50 lb. girl was behind me, but when it came time for the person to "3...2...1...BLOB me" I FLEW!!! Much higher than the girl in the picture! Andrew had snuck up and threw me off. Let's just say, it's a good thing I had my life jacket on and my legs are literally black, blue and purple because I landed on the back of my legs and IT HURT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now, I'm not baby, but it really did hurt. So, still hurting, I go to the zip line. I am not afraid of heights, but when I got up there, I couldn't make myself go, so the worker pushed me off! It was AWESOME! I loved it. I got a bit of a wedgie, but no biggie and I paddled myself to where I could touch and the worker came down to un-hook me. I am almost unhooked and I am standing up with water to my knees. AND my dad, who was taking pictures, says...Amanda, fix your suit...HOLY MOLY i just mooned EVERYONE!!! I was brave though and went 1 more time and remembered to fix myself before I stood up.

So yeah! That's been us for the last couple days!

VACATION!!

2009-07-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

We just spent a week camping at Turkey Run with the fam! It was super fun, but super hott! We spend as much time as possible in the creek or in the pool.

The dog's feel the same way we felt on the way home. We had a hott week out in the sun, sleeping in a tent (wasn't all too bad), it was muggy, and we all wanted to sleep on the way home. Only, Andrew had to drive and due to the AC not being fixed in the escape, it was TOO hott for me to sleep. As a matter of fact, I rode with one leg up on the dash and that leg was 2 shades darker after the 3 hour ride. Pathetic...I know!

This is one of the many covered bridges in the area. This is what we saw everytime we picked up people that were done kayaking. You can also drive in this bridge which is super neat.

We made it:) The girls, mom, myself, aunt pam, and monika were the 2nd group to kayak. It was tons of fun and relaxing.

Pictures like these make me thank God for this beautiful earth. WOW!

Family photo next to a tree that had been uprooted. The dogs were VERY uncooperative and tried running away. The blue thing I am carrying is to help us slide down a rock. Which was VERy fun, but it was way too foggy down in the cave area to get pictures...sad day.

A Busy Little Bee came to visit

2009-06-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

Once upon a Wednesday night, a busy little bee came to visit. The bee worked very hard and got a lot of things done. He meet me at Comb's nursery and helped pick up some shrubs for the landscaping out front, then he came home and planted them. He also dug up the sod that was positioned under the landscaping rocks that smelled of something awful. So awful the trash can is already next to the street and pickup is not until Monday.

and...the Busy Bee put up shelves in the garage and I am getting very frustrated putting up pictures. so take it as it is and tomorrow I will have more pictures of what the busy bee has done. He will be going to pick up a tree!! WOO HOO!

Lovin' my kitchen

2009-06-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

I LOVE my kitchen!! Not only do I love all the cabinets, new appliances, the island, but I also love that it is the only room in my house decorated exactly how I want it. O yeah, AND Andrew and I can cook in there without running into each other.

I LOVE trying new recipes. Last night I made a chicken lettuce wrap recipe from a Good Housekeeping Magazine. I think I used too much celery and it made it taste a little weird. I might try it again, but probably not.

I LOVE that Andrew made his own hamburger patty maker with PVC pipe and something else from the plumbing department at Menards. He made some good lookin' burgers that we froze for our camping trip next week. I wish I had taken a picture!

I LOVE that Aldi's had blueberries on sale for .99 cents and my mom told me about them. So I went out and bought some and here is the result.

The move and since...

2009-06-07T18:02:00.000-07:00

So as soon as school was out Friday the 29th, I headed up to Evansville. I didn't even make it to my house before Andrew and I were out of town again. We helped a cousin get the rest of her stuff up to Indy. So, Andrew drove the U-haul and I followed behind. We were exhausted when we got there and went to bed, got up early, unloaded and made a 45 minute trip to his grandmom and granddad's house. It was a very nice afternoon visit. We headed home and did laundry all day Sunday, cut grass (only in the back), weed-eated, went kayaking and played softball. So, Monday when I was FRIED, I got to clean! WOO HOO!!!

So, I am helping out my cousin and working with her daughter this summer. We learned short "a" and read a bunch of "at" words, it was fun and awesome to get to hang out with them.

Tuesday, WE GOT GRASS!! Woo Hoo!! They came and put sod in the front yard and it made the house look completely different. We are now obligated to keep it soaked for the next 2 weeks and try not to keil over when the water bill comes.

Wednesday the craziness started again. Every year my family has a HUGE rummage sale and ALL of the proceeds to go the Tri-State MS Association. Wednesday night, we set up tents and tables. Then Thursday, we unpack the semi trailer, all garages, and the mall storage. It takes ALL day, and at 5 the madness occurs. Check out the pictures below to see some of the madness.

The house with grass!!!

People were everywhere. It was the black friday of rummage sales.

There was this many people for at least 3 hours Thursday night.

This is the people lined up waiting to come in.

THE RESULT: Almost $6,000 raised!! Go Hirsch Fam!

So as soon as everything was cleaned up Saturday, we made the haul back to Bowling Green. Some friends from our small group had a daughter turning 1, so we went to her birthday party. We then, went to Andrew's parents for dinner with them and aunts and uncles. It was lots of fun, even though the boys beat us in PopCulture Trival Pursuit. Sunday, we made our way to the Hughes' family reunion, only to be greeted by tons of people I had never seen before, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated. They were all very sweet people.

Now, we are home for the evening. The dogs survived with my little brother and cousin. Addie got to cuddle with Nathan since I wasn't home. Tomorrow starts another week and hopefully landscaping will get done:)

Decorating ideas!!??!!

2009-05-18T18:02:00.000-07:00

The game room...WKU theme and I have some ideas for the huge walls, but it's still in the process of getting done, so offer suggestions...I might like your ideas too:)

Guest bedroom...obviously not much on the walls...I am not creative, so any cheap, cute ideas would be greatly appreciated!

The HUGE entertainment center that we got a HUGE deal on. I think I want to move the plate on the left and get a vase with fake flowers...suggestions?

The living room except we got a much bigger mirror and we are in the process of exchanging the ottoman...We are getting one with shorter legs and matches the color of the chair.

Maybe I will get better...

2009-05-15T10:31:00.001-07:00

I am not very good at keeping up to date on my blog. I will post pictures when I get them uploaded onto my computer. I am currently sitting on my new couch at the new house!! I had an interview at an elementary school Thursday morning, so I took Friday off too, so I didn't have to drive back and forth again. Please pray that I can find a job up here. The sooner the better so I can have a relaxing summer.

The dogs are both sleeping right now and Andy Griffith is in the background. I just finished laundry and I am getting ready to clean the bathroom. I am listening to the builders working on the other houses on the street. I am going crazy to find out who is going to live next door. I hope and pray we get awesome neighbors. I also hope we get grass soon. I am sick of driving up to a mudd pit as a front yard. I want to plant flowers, and put up my "H" sign, but I have to wait until we get grass.

8 more days of school left with kids, and 9 for teachers. WOO HOO!! but sad all at the same time. I LOVE my job right now and I am going to cry like a baby when I have to leave my kiddos. These kids have taught me to so much and my assistants have been so awesome to work with. My fellow teachers rock! I couldn't have asked for a better year.

We are going camping next weekend. We are going to put up our tent in the garage tomorrow to make sure it is all there. We usually sleep in the camper with my parents, but since we got another dog and Andrew snores so loudly, we have been kicked out of the camper. I hope all goes well sleeping in the tent with 2 dogs. I will post more pictures later tonight when I finally get them uploaded to the computer.

HOUSE PICTURES!

2009-03-08T19:40:00.001-07:00

MORE TO COME!!! My computer is about to die!

GOING CRAZY!!!!

2009-01-30T15:25:00.000-08:00

So, I have always thought that I wanted to be a stay at home mom. Now, after having 4 snow days in a row, I'm not really sure just what I want to do. The whole time I thought about how much school work I needed to be doing, but it is all still sitting out in my car and was only moved to allow room for the dog in the front seat. So, instead of doing school work, I thought I would read, only I finished my book on Tuesday and had 3 more days of "nothing" to do. So, I was totally addicted to facebook. I know, it's pathetic, but when the dog doesn't talk back and you live alone, there is nothing else to do. Especially Tuesday night when the cellular connection didn't work either. I mean, I went to the gym every day, but still there was not much interaction. I even went to the paint store, still not much human interaction.

However, I was lucky enough to have lunch with some friends yesterday who also went to the gym with me. Then last night, I got to go to a MaryKay/Tastefully Simply party and my Ester Bible Study. The few days off, I was able to without any rush spend some time in the Bible with Ester in my Beth Moore study. I have not been very consistant in my quiet time and devotionals. I had strayed away with the expection of my Wednesday afternoon date with Romans. Even then, I didn't have as much time as I would have liked. So, hopefully the past 4 days have helped in developing the love of reading the Bible. I am excited to get my Ester book out tonight and dig into it again.

On a funny note...I hung out with Ann Marie McDonald today (who was not happy that I forgot her birthday was Wednesday). She was so funny. She said (after Addie would not lay with her on her black couch) "How about, we change places and I live in this compartment and I lay on your red couch not my black couch". I mean I love my compartment...but yeah.

Andrew is now on his way to BG, and this is awesome since he did not oget to come due to the weather in Evansville Wednesday night. YEAH!!!!! HUMAN INTERACTION all weekend:)

^^Please pray for my family up in Evansville. My parents, one set of grandparents, and brother are staying with another aunt and uncle while the rest of the family is spread amongst other places. My cousin had a lot of family staying with her, then she lost her power today. So, that is even more people misplaced. Her sister, who has 2 small children also lost her power. My parents, like most parents, had a freezer in the basement with all kinds of meat, that now has to be cooked. It's 46 degrees in my parents house. It's not pretty up there and it could be weeks. So please pray for God to grant patience to those without and those with that are housing other people. Pray for the Utility workers who are working around the clock to get this fixed. Pray for things to get better soon.

The house!!!

2009-01-24T15:15:00.001-08:00

Here are updated pictures of our house. It is so exciting to think that it will be done in less than 2 months. We got a refrigerator a couple weeks ago. It is the kind with the freezer on the bottom and the fridge on the top. I am excited about that too!! I can't wait for some of the walls to have color on them. We are planning on painting a wall in our room choc. brown and a wall upstairs red:) YAY! Everyday being here in Bowling Green, I want to start packing, but then I realize how much longer I am going to have to live here and I don't think I am ready to live out of boxes yet. I am going to attempt to explain what the pictures are, but it's going to be hard to visualize since it is all just drywall.

There is a little brick up, but it got SUPER cold
and they had put a hold on the brick.

the garage, and yes there is a furance and hot
water heater now...

This is looking from the kitchen into the living
room. You can see the front door and the view
from the front window.

Looking from the kitchen into the dining room. Our bedroom is the left door and the laundry room is the right door. The laundry room leads to the garage.

This is the kitchen. The window looks into the

back yard and the sink will be in front of that.

The dishwasher will be to the right of the window

and the microwave/range will be in the middle of

the left wall. The fridge right next to the wood wall

that currently has no drywall. There will also be

an islandout in the middle.

Christmas Part 1

2008-12-24T11:02:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!

So, it's been a while since I have posted and we have been busy going from Evansville to Bowling Green. The next few pictures kind of show our time. Enjoy:)

Addie trying to get her present out. She was
so funny!

Dopey really loved his chew!

Dopey and I taking a good ol' Christmas Eve nap

The dogs napping on Mom's couch during

Christmas Break.

The super sweet Vanderpool Children got to come

to my house and hang out one Friday evening. These

kids are so awesome as well as their family! They have

a special place in mine and Andrew's hearts!

This was going to be the Christmas Card photo,

but notice the dog's freaky eyes!

A video of Addie with her new toys from Andrew's

parents!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2008-11-30T19:01:00.000-08:00

WOW! We were crazy busy this weekend!!

Tuesday, I got to spend some special time driving with my dear friend Kayla (who now lives in Atlanta) to Evansville. It was great to get to spend 2 hours with her with no inturruptions! I also was able to met her, and her parents for lunch on Wednesday.

Wednesday night, the family went to see Bolt. A pretty cute movie if I must say so myself.

Thursday, we went to check on the progress of the house. See pictures below. We now have bathtubs, windows, electric and plumbing. Then, it was off to Aunt Janet's for Thanksgiving dinner.

Friday, we got up at 4:30 to shop! HOLY COW! We are crazy! After 8 1/2 hours of shopping, we went home to nap. Emily and I hogged the couch for a couple hours. I got bar stools, and a washer and dryer for the new house! ALong with LOTS of other things.

Saturday, we went to pick up the newest addition to the family. We got Dopey from the Vanderburgh County Humane Society. He is going to be staying with Andrew in Evansville and Addie will stay with me in Bowling Green. They are getting along great. We came back to bowling Green and got our Christmas tree and went to dinner with Andrew's parents.

Sunday, we stayed home and decorated! More pictures to come with our trees.

WE HAVE A HOUSE!!!!

2008-11-13T19:36:00.000-08:00

The buyer accepted our offer, so we have a house friends!!! We will close on the house March 16th. Happy Birthday to me. On Sunday, we will be driving to Evansville to pick out siding and brick. The two pictures attached are our house (the not done one) and what the front will look similiar to when it is done. we are so excited and God has blessed us in so many ways!! Notice the sold sign in the front yard!

EXCITING NEWS!!!

2008-11-11T19:33:00.000-08:00

SOOOO......First, I spent the night all by myself last night. AND nothing happened!! I'm a big girl now:) Mind you, I am still super excited for Andrew to be here tomorrow night!

Next, my battery died yesteday morning, but good thing one my best friends works at Natcher with me. She came to get me and we discovered after school that I needed a new battery. So, I went to the auto shop and got myself a free battery! O yeah! Not really to sure how I did that, but I saved myself 85 dollars.

Lastly, we are putting an offer on a house tomorrow. It is in Evansville, I know that will upset some of you, but it's exactly what we wanted. It is in the framing process and won't be done for a while. So, it would be done a little over a month before I am out of school. It's 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, and a bonus room. We get to pick out all of the "accessories", so we are excited. Please pray that God will lead us in decisions regarding time, financing, etc. God has blessed us so far with so many things. Friends to keep my mind off of Andrew being gone, an amazing sister-in-law that I can go to for anything and everything, Andrew's new job, this house, and I could go on forever. None of this would have happened without Him. It is through Him from whom all blessings flow!

Please say a prayer for us as we continue this journey apart.

Wedding Time!!

2008-11-09T12:35:00.001-08:00

So, Adam and Emily got married Saturday at Living Hope. It was a beautiful day. Enjoy the pics! Adam and Emily are in Jekell Island, GA until Friday night. What will I do without them for a week?

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2163264&l=f403e&id=41102933

Go to this link for more pictures.

It's been a little while....and a lot has gone on...

2008-11-05T19:26:00.000-08:00

So, it's been a little while since I have posted. Since that time, we have been very busy!! Adam and Emily are getting married Saturday!!!!! My little brother will no longer be a single man, but will be marrying a beautiful, God loving, woman. I am super excited about her being a part of the family. So, the WHOLE family will be in Bowling Green, which means I need to clean, since they want to see where I live.

But, the past few weeks...This past weekend was Trunk or Treat at church. See the picture! Adam was a lightening bug, even though you can't really tell in the pic. Addie (the dog) was the inspiration for the "bug" theme of the trunk. Friday night we all drove to Evansville. Saturday morning meant breakfast with the family and the grandparents. We also looked at like 12 houses. The reality is that we will be moving to Evansville in May. Andrew is already there, but I will be moving up as soon as my school year is over. After looking at lots of houses and lots of discussion, we have decided that we want to build a house. We are looking at a subdivision out of town on the north side. It's a 4 bedroom, 3 bath with a bonus room, whirlpool bathtub, everything I have ever dreamed of in a house. It is something we should not grow out of. After the houses was the annual Hirsch Family Renunion. Sunday was busy as well, with church and breakfast. Then our family walks for the Tri-State MS Fundraiser Walk. We are there early to volunteer and stay late to help clean up. It's a lot of fun and a special time for our family. Monday night Emily had her personal shower. So, it has been busy, but so much fun all at the same time.

I just got home from small group and kind of got sad on my way home. Our small group is a bunch of special people that mean so much to Andrew and I. We have learned so much from them and they are such dear friends. Something about being with people and talking about God, and reading the Bible with them, gives you a special connection. The thought of moving to Evansville and leaving this wondering group of poeple behind is mind boggleing. I can only pray that we will continue to grow with God as we start this journey and that these friends in Christ will never fade.

This coming Monday, is my night to become a big girl and stay the night by myself. I am doing fine with it now, but don't ask Monday nighth when it is bed time. I might tell you otherwise. As of now, Adam is not here when I go to bed and he is gone by the time I get up, so it's like he's not even here now. Enjoy the couple of pictures and I will definitely post more after the wedding!!

Long Night

2008-10-20T17:33:00.001-07:00

So, Andrew is in Evansville. Adam and Emily are packing to move. The plan to work out, didn't work out. Addie is chewing on her bone and I am bored out of my misery! If you know me at all, you should know that I do NOT do well sitting around with nothing to do. I got done at school around 4:45, and even left my bag there (which I never do). So, I came home and ran to the grocery and had dinner. Now, I am sitting here checking facebook every 2 minutes and nothing is changing. I was going to work on figuring out my health insurance, but I left all the information at school, in my bag. I made my plate with my Uppercase Living stuff I bought, but I messed it up, so I don't want to work on the other one.
It is times like this when I really miss Andrew!! Well, Addie is ringing the bell to go out, so I guess I will take her out and see what my bed has to offer!

Been a while

2008-10-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

So, it has been a while since I posted last. It has been pretty crazy in the life of Andrew and Amanda lately. We had the surprise 50th birthday party a couple of weekends ago. It was a lot of fun and went over well. Then, we were the laziest people ever on Saturday. Sunday, we made the trip to Evansville where I would spend the week since it was my fall break. Monday, I cleaned my mom's house, then tuesday I did nothing, Wednesday I subbed at my old elementary school, then Thursday I went camping. Andrew came camping Friday along with LOTS of other family memebers! I wish I had some pictures to post, but I didn't have my camera.
Coming back to school Monday was not fun especially since I had just spent a week with Andrew and my allergies were in full kick! Then I had a field trip scheduled and I put the wrong date on the bus request. So, after getting everything ready to go and the kids prepared, I found out the error! So, that's how the week started and it is finally starting to get better...This weekend Adam is having his man shower/bachelor party, so I am going to Evansville Friday with Adam and Emily, then Andrew and I are coming back Saturday evening. We are going to look at a house in Evansville Saturday. We are not ready to buy, but we want to look at see what is out there, so when we are ready, we know what we want.

I think that's enough updating for now. Night.

Our Weekend

2008-09-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

Andrew and I enjoyed our weekend together in Bowling Green! Friday night, we worked at Natcher's Fall Festival, WOW, there were a TON of people there. Then, we went to watch some Friday Night Football. Saturday was nothing but LAZY! It was fabulous! Today, we went to church, lunch, and hung out with Ann Marie. We did some shopping and went to dinner with Emily.

Now, Adam, my brother who is living with me, just left for Washington, DC. He is going to be working there through the weeks. So, I am at my house alone. Well, Emily will be with me alot! Both of our loves are working out of town, so we much stick together. I still have yet to stay the night by myself, but I think that time in my life might be coming to a close. I am sure you will hear all about it when I finally do stay by myself. I'll leave you with a super cute picture.