17 Week Update

Sorry, no "bump update" picture today.  I'll try to have Kyle take one tonight or early next week.  No doubt there will be BUMP overload next weekend after our trip to Mexico :)

How Far Along? 17 weeks and 2 days

Size? Baby is:

As my Momma says, "I just love sweet potatoes!"

Maternity Clothes? Same ole, same ole.  I told Kyle on Wednesday that I wasn't feeling well around lunch time...then I realized that my pants were too tight and were cutting off circulation.  Nothing that an unbuttoning couldn't fix.  I still have not had a chance to tell my Principal or students' families (I am not waiting on anything...it just hasn't come up) yet so I have been wearing lots of scarves, vests, and flow-y shirts to work...come to think of it though...those things are really staples in my outfits anyways so I guess not much has changed. 

Weight Gain? I went to the DR on Monday and, fully clothed with my boots on, I have gained 6 pounds since finding out that I was pregnant.  She said that was a good thing and that I was right on track.  Steady weight gain means Baby Mo is healthy! 

Stretch Marks? Nope, thank goodness.  I hear that this is mostly genetic too. Momma?? 

Gender? We just have no idea... Kyle and I will go for our sonogram on Friday, Nov. 1 and then we are celebrating with friends and family on the 2nd.  

I am beyond thrilled to see Baby Mo again---s/he, according to my app and other friends' sonograms, looks so much different than our sour patch kid sonogram at 8 weeks.  It is hard to believe that when we see him/her again s/he will LOOK like a baby!  I know it's going to be super emotional and I cannot wait!  We decided last night that Kyle and Geoff will be the only ones to know the gender...WAIT....Yeah, I know..."and Geoff"?!?!  

Kyle agreed to let me set up an iPad so that I can see his reaction to finding out but he said that he wants me to find out at the party (or else, he says, there is no point in having a party...)  Our sweet friends Geoff and Ashlee cannot join us for the  party so Geoff, not Ashlee (just yet), will know too.  I know that sounds ridiculous but this Baby has so many Chicago Aunts and Uncles that love him/her already that I am willing to let ole Geoff have a chance to celebrate with Kyle.  Uncle JohnJohn (Carlstedt) requested that he be the one to do the actual gender reveal (more on how we are doing this later...)
I decided to do evites instead of paper invites so that I could put my budget towards hiring a photographer and am really excited that a cute little up and coming photographer agreed to shoot this fun night!  You can check out some of her work here: http://jovanairene.com/ 

Sleep? I fall asleep easily and sleep through the night...may get up once some nights.  On the weekends I am up by 6:30 because my mind is RUNNING, RUNNING, RUNNING, about Baby Mo! AHH!!

Movement? Not yet.  My app says that it could start any day now or hold off until week 20 or after.  I have been really conscious of any and all tummy feelings in anticipation of Baby Mo's little jabs.

Food Cravings? Not really.  As I am typing this though I would really like some donuts from Glazed and Infused...but that's pretty normal for a weekend craving. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? No, thank goodness. 

Labor signs? No!  Still a LLLOOONNNGGG way to go. Well...about 23 weeks anyways.

Belly button in or out? Still in but, like I mentioned last week, different.

Wedding rings, on or off? On and fitting the same.  My right hand ring even seems a bit more loose. 

What I Miss? Deli meat?  I don't really miss it but sometimes when I walk by a cute little deli I just wish I could have cold deli meat.  (That sounds weird.)

Symptoms? Nothing new really.  It seems like my answers to these questions are about the same from last week.  It will be strange when they start to change.

Happy or Moody? SUPER happy!  I dream about this sweet child every single night and wake up in the morning thinking of the rest of our lives with this (and hopefully many more) little Moores!

Best Moment of the Week? On Monday, MA got to go with me to the Doctor.  I met a third doctor in the practice, Dr. Darrell, and fell more in love with my hospital!  She walked in with a huge smile, mirrored MA's and my excitement and noise level, and just had the sweetest spirit.  She poked on my tummy for a second and then found the heartbeat right away. MA was able to record our 140-147/minute heartbeat and the sound was even more glorious than the other times what we have heard it.  Baby Mo's heartbeat at 16 weeks 3 days:

After I sent the baby stats to our families on Monday, Mrs. Jeane went searching through Kyle's baby stuff and found Baby Kyle's heartbeat at around 6 months!  How wild! 

I actually think that Kyle's sound from 20 some-odd years ago is more clear than the one that MA did on the iPhone of Baby Mo...thanks Apple.

My Momma says that she has Baby B (MA),C (Rob), and D (Duff) but cannot seem to find Baby A (me).

This seems to have become the longest section but we had a lot going on this week...

Another favorite was this "pink vote" that came in from our dear New York friends, Will and Samantha. 

Kyle and Will played soccer together at NU and has been a precious friend to both of us for 10 years.  He was even in our wedding.  Samantha is my unofficial Australian cousin and also a SUPER talented jewelry designer.  Check out her beautiful collections here: Samantha Wills  

Senior Year Halloween.  Left to Right, Will, Justin (Stewy), MA, Pat, Me, Kyle, Uncle JohnJohn.

Needless to say, 6 years has done us well!   While I am pretty positive that both Will and Kyle had on those spandex shorts under their wedding suits, I think it's safe to say that they both "out punted their coverage."

Also this week, I got to have a fun night out on the town with my good ole Sumner teacher friends.  

Many of us have gone our separate ways from Sumner but I am glad that we have remained close.  Baby, baby, baby was the hot topic of the night as we were able to meet Josy's little guy, Luke, for the first time and we celebrated Susan's and my recent baby news!  Sweet Susan has recently been notified that she and her husband will become the proud parents of a PRECIOUS little guy from Korea in the next few months...maybe even around the same time that Baby Mo arrives!  Play dates?!  Yes, please!  We talked at length about how amazing GOD's plans are for our lives.  HE led us both away from our old school and into places that we LOVE because HE knew that we needed that stability and additional happiness in our lives before we expanded our families.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, GOD IS GOOD! 

My heart is SO full, y'all!   

Looking forward to..NOV. 2 and finding out if this sweet baby is a "red headed soccer player or a blue eyed queen"!  Thank heavens my mother has finished a boy, girl, and gender neutral smocked outfit for the celebration.  It would be a Southern tragedy to not have some piece of smocked clothing ready upon the announcement  of the gender. Goodness.  Kyle is super worried about HIS boy being raised by "women who would put their sons in dresses."  By the way, they are day gowns and I believe I recall hearing a story about one Tyler Rosamond who asked that his newborn boy be put back in the dress during one very late night/early morning diaper changing session.  You'll see Kyle...

Little Brother Rob told MA that he has been smocking for weeks now too..

Bless him.

We are also heading to Mexico for the Napper wedding on Thursday and we cannot wait!!!  5 days of fun in the sun with sweet friends!  Hooray!!

Well, this has turned into a short story.  Sorry!  

Thanks for your prayers for our family and this sweet child.  We feel them everyday!

16 Week Update

That's not Kyle in the mirror this time.  It's an NU football player.  Kyle is worried about the type of boy I will raise (lace and such mostly) and since the baby can now hear he thinks that he should be surrounded by all things sports and tough.  Plus, we watched "The Book of Manning" and are hoping that this baby will somehow come out ready to be an NFL QB.  Archie, Olivia, call me ;)

I learned this week that showing off/being able to see any bump at all comes down the hand placement.  For some reason the two handed hold really makes it pop!  That, coupled with and a little bit of a back arch.

How Far Along? 16 weeks and 1 day

Size? The baby's or Mine?  Baby is:

This app just amazes me!  I cannot get over how much the baby grows each week.  S/he looks like a BABY now!  The last time we saw him/her she looked more like a sour patch kid than anything else and now s/he can suck her thumb, move, and hear me!  Y'all, GOD is good.
Mine: By the end of the day, I look a little pregnant.  Some day are different than others and some clothes show it off more than others too.  Right now, I am wearing my same clothes. :)  When I walked into Toes' house last weekend for the NU Homecoming game all of our boys gave me the once over before Pat exclaimed, "Well you don't look pregnant..." I'm not sure how one goes about accepting this statement.  Do you say, "Why thank you..." or "Oh, it's still early..." or "I hope that you continue with the kind words for the next 6 months (wink, wink)..."

Maternity Clothes? The black dress that I am wearing in the picture is actually maternity but I only bought it because I wanted a black maxi dress--this one was on sale and the regular one wasn't.  Saving up for that Bugaboo stroller, right?!  Right now, I am just wearing my regular clothes and maybe unbuttoning my jeans after dinner...

Weight Gain? We will find out about weight gain on Monday at my DR appointment. I am guessing a few pounds, which I am very happy about because it means Baby Mo is healthy!  We do not have a scale at our house and I am not planning on really keeping up with this.  Just going off of how I feel. :)
Stretch Marks? No, but my sweet friends Michelle and Sarah have both compiled a "Being pregnant with, birthing, and raising a city baby Guide" for me and I am planning on getting some of the anti-stretch mark cream they recommended this weekend. 

Gender? We just have no idea... I will schedule the gender sonogram once I go on Monday.  We are planning a gender reveal for our friends and family on Nov. 2 so we are getting close!  As I have said before, I want a mini-me (well two actually because she'll need a sister) but I will be overwhelmed with joy to find out that we are having a boy or a girl.  Kyle is positive that it's a boy and is planning on finding out before the actual gender reveal party.  Our dear friend Geoff asked if he could find out with Kyle before the gender reveal out of fear that he might SIGH loudly if it's not a boy. Clarkie pointed out that they are all just scared of how a baby girl will steal their hearts...very true.  (As MA observed at our friends supper club on Friday, our guy friends really talk about the baby so much and it makes my heart so happy.)

Sleep? Varies.  Kyle says that if being tired is a sign of pregnancy then I have been pregnant since he has known me. ;)  I get super tired in the afternoon and then usually fall asleep by 9:30 or so...this isn't too unusual though.  I also cat napped during our card game Friday at supper club.  Honestly, I probably would have done that pregnant or not, but because I am, no one judges me.  Thanks y'all. 

Movement? Not yet, but my friend Kate Templin who is about a month ahead of me said last weekend that she thought that she felt something.  I am anxiously awaiting the day!  Maybe another month or so?

Food Cravings? Not really.  I have tried to cut out caffeine during the week but need a coke icee by Saturday.  I also had to stop cleaning out the 2nd bedroom yesterday to make some sweet iced tea.  Nothing crazy though.  Again, my love for candy is not a pregnancy thing unless, as Kyle says, I have been pregnant my whole life.  

Anything making you queasy or sick? No, thank goodness. 

Labor signs? No!  Still a LLLOOONNNGGG way to go.  

Belly button in or out? This is funny.  My belly button is still IN but it has changed. No one could possibly understand or even see the change but it looks different to me. 

Wedding rings, on or off? On and fitting the same.  Went to look at and try on "push present" 3rd bands this weekend (hint, hint...)

What I Miss? Nothing really.  I do not even crave a sip of wine or beer (now...) and have actually been telling our friends how productive, healthy, and clear minded I feel now that I am not drinking and am eating, somewhat, more consciously.

Symptoms? I have NEVER had heartburn before but have been getting it a little over the past week or so.  Pregnancy....

Happy or Moody? SUPER happy!  I dream about this sweet child every single night and wake up in the morning thinking of the rest of our lives with this (and hopefully many more) little Moores!

Best Moment of the Week? Mary Agnes came into town on Thursday and we have been on the move since I picked her up from the airport!  I'll post more on her visit later but the best moment has been cleaning out the second bedroom and making room for a new daybed, crib, and glider!  AHH!  This is getting real!!
Looking forward to..Oh so much!  We go to Mexico for the Napper wedding in two weekends and then when we get back we have our gender reveal party!  At this point, each day has it's own exciting event.  Really looking forward to ordering the crib and glider too! 

Funny Things Men Say About Pregnancy and Babies

Boys/Men, bless them.  Pregnancy is so foreign to them and for many dads-to-be it is hard for them to understand what the new momma is going through.  Goodness, I sometimes don't even know what I am going through.  I have laughed over and over at the things that Kyle, our dads, and even our friends have had to say throughout this pregnancy...and its only been 3 months. I am sure that there will be many more updates to this list.

1. Kyle: 

• Upon sharing the big news, "So is it a boy or a girl?"  My response was that all I knew was that the rabbit had died...http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=the%20rabbit%20died (This has surprisingly been the first question that every boy/man has asked...)

Sweet MBA student and Daddy-to-Be, Kyle squeezing in every second to study. ..even at the DR office before our first sonogram.

• Look at a blurring first sonogram, I asked the tech what all of the blurry lines were.  Kyle, in a you're dumb/matter of fact way, announced "that's the umbilical cord..." The tech then proceeded to wipe off the partial of dust/"umbilical cord" from the screen.  Apparently that early on there isn't even an umbilical cord. Thank you Dr. Kyle.  To his defense, as you can see below...Baby Mo really just looked like a nice size engagement ring at this point so I can see how he might have been confused. 

• At our first Supper Club of the year, Kyle got cocky and decided that he too could handle pregnancy.  I told him that in a few months we'd replace that down pillow with a watermelon and a few 5 lb. weights. 

•  I need a little mini-me at some point...this won't be our one and only go around so I am willing to wait but Kyle says that he NEEDS a boy for fear that will have no clue what to do.  I'm not sure that he'll really know what to do with a boy either but at least they will have a  few things in common.  I have been trying to get used to the fact that I may be a mother of boys...and have been doing some researching and daydreaming.  That Kyle...he's funny.  

                           ^^^^^This makes me laugh out loud every single time!

2. Timmy, while checking out all of the precious smocked outfits that my momma has already washed, pressed, and has hanging in my bedroom at home,

 "Will the baby have any casual clothes?"  

                                              The answer...yes, and he/she will sleep in them. 

3.  Our sweet friend Keith (Renee's husband):

"We're having a CPS golden baby!" Keith hears, "We're getting a golden retriever!" I'm not sure which he was more excited about.

4. Our guy friends picked up on me being pregnant from nearly the first day that I found out.  I say all the time that our "family" up here is so very special and close, so I am not surprised by this at all.  The week before we started telling everyone, Kyle was in the burbs with the NU soccer boys for a golf weekend and I guess me being pregnant was the talk of the town.  Of course when I ask Kyle he saids that they talked about nothing substantial, yet I later found out that all of the boys were texting their wives asking what I was doing...and sweet Geoff was even investigating by calling one of my best friends Amanda Fallon.  Bless them. We love them all so much. What wonderful Chicago Aunts and Uncles Baby Mo will have!

5. My Daddy (aka Daddy B):

• After our second sonogram when we got to hear the heartbeat I sent a mass text to our parents and siblings with Baby MO's stats:

                                          
My sweet daddy, at the time, still had a flip phone with a screen of approximately 1.5 inches.  First of all he could not receive picture texts and then once the group texts started coming back his phone started blowing up.  He said that it buzzed and rang and buzzed and rang and by the time everyone had replied the phone had lost all of its battery life and died.  He had no idea what was going on and called my mom to tell her to call the phone company.  He was certain that someone had signed him up for unwanted texts and that his phone had been compromised.  Needless to say, we got him an iPhone a few days later.

6. Big Jim

• "Is is a boy or girl?" has been the question that every male that I know has asked nearly immediately after finding out that I was expecting.  Even those males who have had multiple babies throughout their lives.  I had to start being very careful with my early gender references after our first sonogram:

as Big Jim immediately called Mrs. Jeane (Sissy) to ask if we were really able to tell that the embryo was going to be a girl.

Well folks, that's it for today.  I am certain that I have left a few of our "funnies" out but will go ahead and start a new entry that I will add to over the course of the next few months.  I love all of these men dearly and it makes my heart so full to know how excited they are for us.  None of these "call outs" are meant to be ugly, rather they are to help me remember all of the love that was shown to Baby Moore during his OR her first few weeks.

Much Love,

Lies I've told My Friends

I found out that I was pregnant on the morning of Wednesday, July 17.  I had already planned plenty of summer activities with friends and knew that I would have to find a way to hide the fact that I wasn't drinking...Starting with my first lie I began to question how much I actually had been drinking based on the responses from folks about abstaining. Hummmm.

Lie #1 July 17:

Sorry Toes and Epstein,

When you asked me why I wasn't drinking on the boat I told you that I had a meeting the next day. That was a lie. I had found out 5 hours earlier that I would be bringing a new life into our group of friends and was already concerned by what this meant. Epstein, you then point blank asked me if I was pregnant. Thanks a lot. Don't you know that you should never ask that question. Goodness. ;) I giggled, looked off into the distance, and said that we were waiting for Kyle to get out of school. I lingered in the conversation hoping that ending it quickly wouldn't give me away. Toes shared that his brother and sister in law are expecting and Epstein blew my go to "vodka and water (hold all vodka)" plan by telling a story of how he outed another friend's pregnancy when she used the trick.

And then Toes threw himself over his handlebars in his bike which resulted in us making an ER visit.  Newly pregnant me, dislocated shoulder Toes...and an unknowing Daddy to be Kyle on his way home from a business trip to surprise himself with all of the "I'm Pregnant" stuff laying out at home.   More on that later...

July 18: Dinner with Renee and Cherianne at The Taco Joint

Sorry ladies,

I went by this amazing joint earlier in the day to tell them my plan.  Our waiter knew me and when I ordered a margarita he brought me a limeade...over and over...Got ya!  Of course Renee now says that she knew something must have been up since I was early to the dinner.  So early in fact that I already had my first drink.  This coming from the girl who's always 15 minutes late for everything...me.  Sorry!

July 19: Fake drinking on the boat with Toes, Lauren, Mike, and Nerve
We even played a drinking game...for several hours.  I just "sipped" the same beer and then awkwardly dumped a full can of beer over the side of the boat when we got off.

July 20: Flask full of "vodka" aka water
I did this on the boat with a large crew and at the Jason Aldean concert with Toes.  Each time I refilled I simply found my Cubs flask and dumped in some more water. Bryson, bless his "I only have brothers" heart, even tried a sip and quickly exclaimed... "it just tastes really watered down..." Well, yup, it probably does considering its water and lemonade.  Later that night I went to the Jason Aldean concert with Toes and brought in a "surprise" for us so that he did not try to buy us beers all night.  I had a flask of "vodka" for me and whiskey for him.  Needless to say by the end of the night and several "You getting after it Georgie"'s later, Toes was cross eyed and I was really well hydrated.

Monday, July 21:- Both Moore brothers were in town for the whole weekend and never asked one question.  On our last day together I took the boys back to the Taco Joint and the same sweet waiter spotted me and asked it I would like "my usual."  Bryson and Ryan were a little concerned with how often I went to The Taco Joint if they knew "my usual." HAHA. I left a large tip.

Tues, July 23: Keifer's with Momma and MA
I did not tell my own mother for a week after finding out!  I was even in Madison with her!  Crazy I know, but Kyle wanted to be there too.  We stopped by Keifers to grab lunch and I went in to secretly ask the wait staff if the feta was pasteurized.  I whispered and told them it was hush, hush and the waiter, clearly a man, wasn't paying attention.  As soon as I sat back down he runs out the door and yells, "Who's pregnant and asking About feta cheese?!?!"  I buried by head in the menu, MA says that she blacked out, and my sweet Momma looked around and exclaimed, "It's not me!"  Thanks for taking one for the team Suzzy and never asking either of us about it again.  Bless you.

Friday, July 26- The Ray siblings and spouses headed to the beach towards the end of the week and since we were waiting to have both sets of parents with us, I bought lots of "juices" for mock-tails.  We had a red wine bottle full of grape juice...the real stuff was actually hidden in the closet for MA to drink.






 I thought that surely since the Moore brothers had no clue that my brothers would follow suit and that I would not have to even pretend to drink.  Sure enough though, brothers of sisters know and within hours of them being around me the rumor mill had started and both were asking MA if I was pregnant.  So I ordered a "vodka" water at Cobalt and blamed Kyle and Timmy's good time for my not heavily drinking.



























Friday-Sunday, August 2-4: John and Meg's wedding in Lincoln, NE. Sorry Kate but when you poured me that glass of wine at the nail salon I fake drank it and then left it. Oops...Before each event (both the rehearsal and the reception), I paid off the bartender and asked them to only serve me vodka and water, hold the vodka. They did. Kate called me out (in private) and my awkward wink let her know that I was lying.  Michelle also called me out to John, who proceeded to call me out in front of all of the NU soccer boys. Luckily Samantha came to my rescue and spoke out that I was a bridesmaid and couldn't continue drinking all night. Thanks girl. John didn't let up though and continued to talk about it, and baby John Kyle Jr., for the remainder of the wedding weekend. He even send a thanks for coming to the wedding note that thanked "the three" of us for coming.

Brad Napper-Even though you gave me one of the worst and longest call outs by monitoring my alcohol intake for the entire weekend and sharing your theory with Leslie, I still thought it was funny. I also appreciate your "apology" that consisted of you saying that even though you were quite positive that I was pregnant, you felt bad for calling me out and that you would be really excited for me when I finally told you...in a few weeks. You're a silly man.

And the lies went on and on throughout the summer.  We continued with our active lives and I "drank" my way through very social interaction that we had.  I was introduced to "Fre" wine by my sweet friend Ellen Fritts and was even able to host a girls night out because of it.  While the soccer boys/our husbands and boyfriends were away playing soccer we were enjoying talking about them over several bottles of wine...it just so happened that mine was coming from my hiding spot under the sink and included sparkling grape juice and Fre wine.  Needless to say, no one knew...and I found out that drinking a bottle of anything...real or fake will still make you feel sick.

We were so excited to be able to share our news with all of our sweet friends.  We started telling our Chicago friends during week 11 and told the final folks in our Chicago family at supper club and my "teachers" friends turned stay at home moms at our girls night at week 12.  Since were were able to hear that sweet heartbeat again at week 13 we decided to make it "official" with a silly social media announcement right before week 14.

Oh how nice it is to be honest again.  Sorry to everyone who may have have their trust in me tested.  I hope that this news was well worth it. :)

Side Note:  While I have every intention of keeping this up to date, I am really just trying to make sure that I have something to put into a baby book for sweet Baby Moore.  I have lots of post in draft form and will be adding to them and publishing as much as possible.  This is a goal...not a promise :)

The "How I told Kyle" and "How we told our Family and Friends" stories are being drafted right now!

What My Kids Say Wednesday--a post that never made it...

Now that I am attempting to "clean up" and reorganize my blog...really I am just trying to finish SG's 1 year Blog book and catch up on the last 6 months of being pregnant with #2...I am finding some posts that just never made it to being published.  Most were not worth publishing but this one was.  I taught on the west side of Chicago for 6 of the 8 years that we lived in Chicago.  These kids were my first babies and I keep up with many of them to this day...

Here is the post that never made it:



I laugh every day at the things that come out of my students' mouths. They are an endless means of entertainment, wisdom, and wit. This post includes a variety of sayings and doings that I found on my computer but I'll try to get better at keeping up with them and sharing on a weekly basis...or at least until school gets out.

Last year after a series of unfortunate events that included this sweet soul getting in trouble more times than I can count he was finally banned from our year of the year field trip. A few days before the trip he asked if there was any way that he could regain the privilege. I explained that he would have to do something really impressive if that was going to happen...we'll this petition and all of his friends' signatures proved to be enough to win this teacher over...I signed too.

PS-One of his promises was to share his extensive knowledge of all of the zoo animals with his classmates.

I especially love that "Julia" has a heart shaped upper body and a mini-skirt while "James" has on no clothes and has only one eye. 

The comment about weave is funny...but the explanation for admiration is pretty sweet.

Well...this isn't quite the definition for weave that I anticipated students learning while reading Charlotte's Web but this does show a great understanding...I especially love the synonym and antonym.

Kyle says the best part about this one is that the kid knows who Rey Mysterio is...I don't know. I enjoy adding word bubbles to all of this student's drawings. I think that together we'd make a pretty legit comic book.

After a long afternoon sitting in a 98 degree classroom, tensions were high and this sweet soul was having a hard time staying focused and not arguing with a student in another group...his friends created these blinders for him to wear...he's looking at a computer screen...not through the eyes. Now that's problem solving.

                                           
                                               I laugh every time. "She will be broke..." Yup.

                                                                        Bless him.

I screamed in terror when these "little people" came to our ISAT pep rally too. Apparently they are a "big attraction" at many west side weddings and parties.

Stay tuned for What My Kids Say Wednesday next week! We've got plenty of field trips coming up too so this should get interesting. :)

A challenge to "give back to the blogging world" and Double Decker

I talk nonstop about all of the fabulous Blogs that I stalk on a daily basis but before now I kind of thought that they were reserved for mommas with babies or design folks...both of which do not apply to me. I mean lets be honest I have a zillion kid stories from my little west side darlings but if I started taking selfies and tagging where my not so designer clothes came from I might make myself depressed/become the laughing stock between friends. I say these things to get to my main point in updating this ole blog...Kyle says it's really not "fair" (whatever that means) that I take from the blog community but never give back. I do sometimes post comments anonymously (mostly because I'm not sure how to change that setting) but I don't guess that counts.

For Kyle's birthday I gave him a Moore Family Yearbook that has pictures, records of fun moments, etc. (Isn't that just like a good wife...gift something to your husband that you really want. I'm pretty sure that no husband wants anything that their wife pinned on Pintrest...unless it has something to do with hot wings...in which case my Kyle doesn't care where it comes from just as long as they're extra spicy.) Anyways, at the least, if I can get better about keeping up with our lives on something like this then maybe I'll also hold myself more accountable to documenting our lives in pictures.

Example A of why my "life moments" need to be better documented:

The only picture that I had to record Bryson's fall trip to Chicago was a "fat face" picture Leslie took while we drank champagne in someones company borrowed suburban at a NU football tailgate. At least it's funny...

I write all of this, in the longest and most round about way, to say that I hope to be better about posting and keeping at least one reader (Momma I know you'll be a follower) updated on our lives.

So without further rumblings...lets get to our first real post and photo dump.

                                Double Decker 2013

Lawd. Could the weekend have been more perfect? Kyle and I literally had the most perfect timing at the airport bright and early Friday morning, we enjoyed a fabulous day of visiting with our sweet GanGan (golf for the boys), and a "no rain" Double Decker day. I.LOVE.Oxford.

If you follow me on Instagram @georgiaanne or are friends with me on the good ole stalking machine of Facebook then you've already seen the annoyingly high number of pictures I uploaded. Honestly, I just think that a good "Nashville" edited Instagram makes everyone/thing look better--even after a long day of Double Decker-ing. (Can I get an a'men?)

So here's the run down:

Friday morning MA and Timmy picked us up in Memphis and we headed to Oxford. This precious lady met us there and MA, GanGan, and I enjoyed our yearly girls lunch at City Grocery.

                                              How precious is this lady? We love her.

 We drove GanGan back to Pontotoc and she encouraged me to take a look at her brandied fruit since my concoction didn't turn out so well in December. (Our 25 year old son/house guest at the time,Eamon, was pretty sure that I was just making something that would eventually kill us all either by exploding or when we actually consumed it. BTW it was sadly thrown out after a solid month of me trying various trick from GanGan in an attempt to salvage the friendship potion.)

The boys played a little golf and MA and I proceeded to make our way around to all of our Oxford favorites. Later that night, MA and I enjoyed spending some time with Rachel and Clay before their big engagement celebration. At approximately 9:30 (as predicted by Rachel herself) Kyle and I managed to make it over to see all of the girls and the husbands at Alicia's house. Oh how I enjoy our friends.

                                                      #thehigheryourhairthecloseryouaretogod


Saturday MA and I woke up early, grabbed tea and a muffin, and walked around Oxford. I love looking at all of the homes that surround the Square and walking my old college route made me wish that I still lived there! (PS-I actually LOVE living in Chicago and walking around here too...its just that it snowed here the weekend before DD and...its about 40 degrees here still...AHHH!!) Momma and Daddy arrived right before noon and we spent the rest of the day walking around and looking at all of the arts and crafts and listening to the bands. For a 95% chance of rain kind of day, there wasn't a single drop until we were finishing up dinner at Chef/Little Brother Rob's restaurant McEwens. If you haven't eaten there yet, I highly recommend it plus the Exec. Chef is pretty awesome if I do say so myself.

And...here's a photo dump of the day...

                 My Daddy, Kyle, and Timmy (MA's husband) solving the problems of the world.

                                                            Kyle, Yours Truly, and Bryson

                                 Sweet Kyle, celebrating one year since being accepted to Kellogg.

                                                 "Thanks for all that you do for me, Barry."

                                                        Missing the Moore parents

                                                    Bryson, Your Truly, Kyle, and Ryan

                                                 Executive Chef Rob "Danger" Ray

                                                     Proud Momma, Rob, and Daddy

                                                  Family picture minus Rob and Duff

(Of course, we missed Baby Brother Duff who was in Austin, TX for a wedding and Big Jim and Jeane who were in the BVI.)

Saturday Momma, Daddy, and I took another stroll around the Square before we all met up for pizza at Soulshine. We truly had the best time and could not have planned for anything better. The weather was wonderful and the company was even better. We are truly blessed.




Goodness gracious...that's a long first post.