Last Week

I probably should have posted this before our big news, seeing as it all happened over a week ago, but I had 3 finals last week so I'm behind. Jordan and I got to hold sweet baby Jemma the day she came home from the hospital. She is beautiful and so good! With my crazy schedule I haven't been able to go back over there, so hopefully I can sometime this week.

Now for my trip pics. My grandpa turned 80 on April 18, so my family threw him a big party in Greenville, SC. My brother and I flew out there and surprised him- it was awesome! The Biltmore is just an hour from my aunt's house, so we went there first. It was amazing!!! I had been wanting to go forever b/c my parents have been several times and this was the first time I had been out there. I didn't get a lot of pics on my camera, but my mom has a million. Here are just a few. The ones of the whole house and the room inside aren't mine, but everything else is.

My favorite thing about the house was that they had hydrangeas everywhere (which are my favorite)! It was the Festival of Flowers, so every room had fresh arrangements that were ridiculously beautiful. This is a pic in the conservatory.

They have a winery on the property with wine tasting. It was so fun to try all the different wines! This is a room in the conservatory with a wine theme.

We were so fortunate to come when we did! Back home, my parents and I used to go to the Dallas Arboretum every year to see the tulips, and it happened to be the time that the tulips were in bloom at the Biltmore. It was breathtaking!

I made my family go to this McDonalds afterward. It was on the Travel Channel as being one of the most extreme fast food places in America. It has a fireplace and a grand piano.

On Saturday our whole family went to the zoo before Papaw's party. These are my

dad's sisters, Sonia and Deigh, Deigh's husband, David, his son Clayton, Deigh's kids, Emilee and Spencer, and Em's boyfriend, Andrew. (That's a lot of names, sorry!) My parents, Trey, and I also went to downtown Greenville where they have a really cool waterfall with a bridge spanning it and the most amazing landscaping I've ever seen in a downtown area. I'll for sure post pics of that when I get them. The cousins.

Papaw opening his presents.

The whole family!!

I had so much fun seeing my family since I hadn't seen most of them since our wedding. I can't wait to take Jordan back there and show him all the sites. Plus they are just a few hours from Charleston and Savannah, so we'll hit those up, too. Thank you so much Sonia for everything!

wir gehen nach Deutschland!!

What does that mean? It means

We're going to Germany!!!

We've been keeping it a secret because we weren't sure, but tonight was our big night! We finally booked our plane tickets! How and why are we going there?

How... the most amazing family is stationed at Ramstein AFB and has offered to be our tour guides. Remember the junior bridesmaid in my wedding? Or the other ring bearer (besides Beck)? That's them! The Sims. I've written all about Sophie before and how much I love her. I am SOOOO excited to go and see her and the rest of the family!

Why... because we need to celebrate! This year has been the hardest of my entire life. School has just sucked the life right out of me and it doesn't end until after my National Boards part 1 are over. We're also celebrating Jordan's acceptance to UTSA for his Masters. And also because thanks to Obama (ha! yea right..) we got a pretty hefty tax return. Apparently my $140,000 dental education earns $2,000 in an 'education' tax credit. Thanks.... We are getting to have this amazing vacation for only a few bucks, and we decided we'll never get to have the opportunity like this again. We don't have to pay for a hotel or a rental car or train fair, so it would be a waste not to go. And of course all history teachers should see something historic!

So we're packing our bags and heading over the big blue ocean June 16-25. My tummy is a little uneasy... so nerve-racking! But so exciting!!!

Jemma Jane

Jemma inside Jaime's belly yesterday...

Jemma in the real world!!
She is absolutely beautiful! Look at all that hair! 7.8lbs, born at 3:45pm. Jordan and I can't wait to hold her soon!

Easter Weekend

This last weekend was great! My parents came in town and finally got to see our house... I took tons of naps... I got Easter candy... what more could a girl want? Thankfully my parents were just as worn out as Jordan and I were. Friday morning I had a test and then I came home and all 4 of us slept until 12 or 1pm. Then we went shopping and I got tons of great deals at Macy's and had some delicious Mexican food. Saturday I laid out to try and get some sun before Sunday b/c I was wearing a yellow skirt. Yellow skirt + pasty legs = nasty.... so I slathered on the self-tanner all last week and laid out a lot. I think it turned out well. We cooked out hot dogs and sat around all day doing nothing (ahh... so nice) until later when my mom had a hair appointment and my dad and I went and saw 'Clash of the Titans' (sub-par). Then we ate at Maggiano's for dinner- yum!

Anywho, Paisley wanted to lay out, too, and she picked this spot:

Silly girl.

Here are some pics of Sunday. We went to church and then had a delicious lunch at the in-laws beautiful remodeled house.

When we first moved in to our new house, I posted a picture of our friendly neighborhood peacocks, but promised a better one to come... well here it is! My mom hadn't seen them so we went hunting for them on Sunday. We got a treat! He is so beautiful! (the males are the pretty ones) I love driving to and from school and getting to see them.

Home Sweet Home

My mom and dad are coming here for Easter, and I want our place to look amazing. My mom hasn't been here since the weekend we moved in, so she hasn't seen any of my decorating, which is crazy ridiculous. We are BFF and she usually is always the one to help me shop for decorating items. I had a really hard time without her. I had originally bought some plants for our front porch that were part shade, thinking we got some sun in the morning. It quickly became apparent that we don't get any sun, and my flowers were dying. I had to move all of them to our back yard, and they are doing great. Our porch has been bare for the last couple of weeks, and even my landlord noticed my missing flowers, so I thought it was time to spruce it up again. I also realized while I was outside that I never posted a picture of the front of our place, so here it is. Eventually we want to get something to go in that random space to the left of the stairs, but we just can't figure out what. Any ideas? That are cheap....

I know it's only March (almost April!!), but I am already excited about decorating it for Christmas!! Anybody else see garland wrapping up the railings?!

Shabby Chic

I've always loved decorating, even as a kid. Until my senior year of high school I thought I was going to be an interior designer, and then realized the school I wanted to go to (Hardin-Simmons) didn't have an interior design program. That's when I decided to look into other careers. I know, lame reason for being a Biology major, but that's how it all started.

I have always had a very firm belief that there are too many beautiful colors to have white walls and white accessories. But lately, I've been looking at a ton of blogs and am loving what I see! There are so many gorgeous houses that are 'shabby chic' and I can't get enough. I don't think I could ever do it in my own house, but I sure wish I could. I just don't have the right personality or something... I don't know. But here are some pics of the amazing houses I've been keeping up with.



Check out Lola B's & Flea Market Trixie for more amazingness.

Poor, Pitiful Paisley

Some people think I am stupid or ridiculous for thinking of Paisley like my kid, but since I consider myself a pseudo-adult, she is my pseudo-child. We have gone through so much with this crazy 4 lb dog, and things got even worse last night. Let's start from the beginning and recap: she has a liver condition and has to take medication, has to be tested every 3-4 months, and even has had an ultrasound (which needs to be redone soon). She has separation anxiety in a bad way. She wakes me up 3-5 times a night (literally) because she sleeps all day and has a tiny bladder.

This brings us up to date this week. Thursday when I got home from school she threw up a couple of times and was just all around pitiful. You know she doesn't feel good when her huge ears are tucked so far back you can't tell how big they are. Then, she started having loose stools (I'm being polite), thankfully, outside. Jordan ended up having to sleep down on the couch with her so she could go in and out all night. She felt fine yesterday, until about 1 and then it all started back up. I ended up having to stay home with her all evening b/c she was so sick. I called the vet and they said if it continued I needed to take her to the Emergency Clinic. Having worked for a vet and knowing how ridiculously expensive that is, I decided that was the absolute last resort.

However, at about 10, she went and I thought I saw blood (sorry for the details). I kind of freaked out, but decided I wasn't 100% sure and she was playing and acting normal, so I would wait it out. Bad idea. 2:30 am rolls around and I get a stool sample (gross) and see there really is blood, so we pack up and go to the Emergency Clinic.

Oh.

My.

Gosh.

One vet + one vet tech + 3 dogs = a long wait at 3 am.

After the proposed $700 testing was widdled down to $400, we were ready to leave. Oh wait, that doesn't include the $75 worth of medications she has that I have to give 3 times a day (at different times of course, so really at 5 different times a day).

And that definitely doesn't include the trauma to Paisley or myself. Remembering that she's my kid, think of how it is when your kids are really really sick and you can't do anything to help them. Then add in them screaming/crying in a back room b/c the doc is poking them - - at 5:30am. I'm not a big cryer, but that just sent me over the edge.

We finally got to go home at about 6:00am and didn't get home until when I would normally be waking up for school. As soon as we got home it started storming like crazy! That kept us up another hour! So sad. My alarm went off at 7:30 b/c that was the time I was supposed to get up to go have breakfast with Jaime and Jill, my sister-in-laws, and have pedicures.

*sigh*

I really could have used some R&R after last night, but instead I slept until noon. I definitely got some practice in for being a real mom. Boo!

And even after all that, I still love her and feel so bad that she's sick, just like a mommy. So don't ever make fun of me for thinking she is a child, b/c she really sort of is one... At least until I have kids, and then she'll probably be a dog that is loved a whole heck of a lot.

Heating pads even make doggies feel better! So pitiful.