Preggars Post Part 1

Yay! I'm so excited to finally be blogging about our little adventure!  It feels like time has flown since we found out we were pregnant, but on the flip side, it feels like I was keeping it a secret FOREVER!  So I'll start from the beginning.....

Jeremie and I found out we were expecting on Thursday, February 20th! I really didn't think I was pregnant because I was feeling the usual "crumminess", but after a couple days of waiting, I picked up a box of tests.(The makers of these things must know shocked a positive result makes you because they come in a 2 pack.) I had decided to wait until J got home before I took it, and I tried SO HARD not to think about it all day.  He finally got home and didn't even change clothes. I got everything set up and told him to be the timekeeper. (Test results take 3 minutes.) So I took it....and we waited...it was the longest and most awkward 3 minutes of our marriage. What in the world do you do/talk about while you wait to see if you're gonna have a child? Oddly enough, we nervously talked about my pantry makeover, what we were having for supper, etc. The timer went off and I bolted to the bathroom! When I saw the two lines I started screaming/crying/freaking out and J joined me. (Well, maybe not AS dramatic as me.)  I made him look at the test like 50 times to make sure I wasn't crazy! (I still took the backup the next day to make sure I was "still pregnant".  

JUST FOR FUN...I took my first "belly" picture that night. I can't decide if I love myself or hate myself for taking this...look at that flat belly.......that ship has already sailed....

That weekend, I immediately went out and bought these 2 books.  What to Expect is like the Bible for pregnant women. I have heard a lot of gals say this book was overwhelming to them, but I just read a little at a time about what stage I'm in.  I feel like it really helps to "affirm" some of the pregnancy symptoms without freaking you out about every little thing. I ONLY refer to this book because it covers everything. I do NOT Google. Because we all know what happens when you Google a symptom. So I highly recommend this book.  The other book is more girly and fun with lots of colors and fun facts. A quick but informational read. 

Now the hard part began! Since it is my first pregnancy, I wanted to wait until our first appointment to tell our families and close friends. Unfortunately, what should have been a 2.5 week wait was a 3.5 week wait because my doctor was out on Spring Break for a week.  When I called to make the appointment the little teeny-bopper receptionist was like "Okay! Got you on the calendar! We'll see you in 3 weeks!"  And I was like "Wait just a second....I'm pregnant. I've never been pregnant. What do I do between now and then? Isn't there some kind of Starter Kit?!!"  I know she rolled her eyes like she does at every first time mom, but she graciously had the doctor call me to answer my questions. 

I immediately started a countdown on our chalkboard at 22 days! I was SO EXCITED when it said "0" on Monday, March 17th! 

Our first appointment was a whirlwind. I was a mix of frozen/emotional mess. The FIRST thing that kicked off the appointment was the sonogram! No weight, blood pressure, etc, to warm us up.....we immediately walked into this room with the big chair, big machine, and big monitor on the wall and I about had a heart attack! I started crying before I even got in the chair! About 30 seconds later, we saw this......and we were both amazed....we got to meet our 8.5 week old little Nugget! (Oh, we also found out on this day that our due date is October 26th.)

And now the REALLY hard part began! We wanted to tell our parents, but my dad was on a business trip all week and I just couldn't tell them separately. And we didn't want J's parents to have to keep the secret all week.  So on Friday, we FINALLY got to share the news with our families!  We used this picture to break the news. We actually got to Facetime my parents (I made up a reason I needed both of them in front of the screen) and it was a hoot.  I could hear my mom scream from Mississippi.  

And when SHE got to break the news to her friends (after our 12 week appointment) she sported this shirt.  Really wish she was more excited.  ; )

In regards to the pregnancy itself, it has actually been really good.  I only got sick 3 times one day when I was about 7 weeks and that was it! (I am totally fine with the one and done method.) I have had some general nausea, but nothing a Ginger Ale didn't fix. Other than that, I have experienced the exhaustion that everyone talks about. I turn into a pumpkin about 5:30 every day. (This has resulted in lots of grilled cheese sandwiches for supper.) As far as food, I pretty much want to eat everything in sight. At this point, I crave savory/hearty/carb-filled stuff like pizza, Mexican, french toast, concession stand nachos, bread, chips, etc. I actually find myself dreaming about food. (I sorta think I did that before I was pregnant though; I love food.) Jeremie has done an incredible job of taking me to the restaurant/craving of my choice each week. (Let's face it, I'm sure it's not torture for him to go eat pizza and hamburgers) These items have especially made the A++ list: 

Even though we don't know the gender yet, I of course have indulged in some baby shopping. I sorta have a crib and nursery chair picked out. The chair was so comfortable that I spent like 25 minutes in it the other day while chatting with another pregnant mama at Babies R Us. And I couldn't resist these little items; they were like $5....if it's a girl, I'll just give away the little outfit on the right.  (For those wondering, we will find out the gender in June.) 

I will post my belly progress pictures in the next post. I am not really "showing" yet (to the general public) but I can definitely tell and feel my belly rounding! Some stretchy pants are already just not stretchy enough! We are SO excited about our little nugget and the blessing it will be to be parents. Thanks to all who have been praying us and our little one through this first trimester! 

(This was Baby Wells' first baseball game where I indulged in above mentioned nachos.)

The Birthday Boy!

We celebrated Mr. Well's birthday on February 28th!!! As usual, J does not ask for pomp and circumstance....he would much rather get away to the middle of nowhere! So that we did! I was happy to oblige. We found a great cabin in Broken Bow, Oklahoma which was pet friendly and about 3 hours north....so away we went!!! 

The name of our cabin was "Whisperwind"...it was so cozy and cute! 

There was a huge state park down the road, so we went hiking. Of course, the trail we chose was STRAIGHT up a mountain. But the view was worth it. Manny had a grand time.

Manny always loves to jump in water.....he saw the river below and was about to pull a Geronimo on us, so we quickly snapped on the leash. I don't think his depth perception was working here.....

We also rode an adorable little steam engine through the woods with all the other 3 year olds....but hey, we had a great time.

Jeremie put all his manly man skills to work and built us a bonfire in the fire pit each night and grilled us up some fantastic birthday dinners!  We may be in the woods...but we will not go hungry.

And each year.....Sweetness requests his cookie cake....but it MUST be from "the place in the mall". I really think that 3 cans of rolled out Pillsbury cookie dough would do the same thing, but he's the birthday boy......

We had a great time on our getaway.  I have never been to Oklahoma, so I can check that one off the list.  Always a great time to see something new and get away with my little family!

Lately....

Happy February!!! Crazy that it's February right!? And the END of February for that fact! The Mr.'s birthday is coming up at the end of the week already! Life is going well in the Big D; contrary to the pictures below, we've had a touch of Spring this past week which makes me CRAZY for some sunshine and warm weather! Although we haven't had near a brutal winter as other parts of the country, it has still been a tough one. I like it just cold enough to warrant a fire, but let's face it, at the end of the day, I'm from Mississippi.

A few weeks ago we did get a legitimate snow flurry (as opposed to ice storm) and Manny and I had ourselves a good ole time. He loved the fluffy snow!

Valentine's has come and gone as well and we had a good one. We spent that day and the following at the Linger Conference at our church which was filled with amazing speakers and worship leaders about how to "linger/abide" with God constantly.  (A concept that blows our human "to-do-list-loving" minds!) It was an incredible conference!  We squeezed in some Shipley's donuts for Valentine's breakfast and ate homemade strawberry cake when we got back at night.

This cake has been a monkey on my back for years. About 7 years ago, when J and I were dating, I decided I would make him this cake which has been perfected by my mom and grandmother for years. (I should have realized a loooong time that good cooking is NOT genetic.) I went to a mixin' and bakin' and ran out of a couple [key] ingredients but decided it wouldn't make a big difference to substitute them with something else. Another false concept. The layers of the cake were literally sliding off one another and the icing wouldn't even stick! It looked like the cake on Sleeping Beauty that the Fairy Godmothers tried to make!!!  Remember this?

J has messed with me for so long about my failed attempt that I was always scared to try it again. But, hey.....the boy married me now, so what's he gonna do? Plus...my cooking skills have come a LOOOONG way since 2007 when my one hit wonder was a corn casserole. The cake turned out delish and J's words were "one of the best strawberry cakes I've ever had." That's right! Boom!

Another noteable accomplishment this month has been my pantry renovation. I'm almost embarrassed to post the before picture, but I'm trying to be authentic here. Our pantry is long and narrow, so everything is just right there in front of you. Thirty-One came out with some great organizing bins, so I took advantage and got to work......

BEFORE:

AFTER:

All I have to say about this AMEN. SISTER. I don't GROAN when I open this thing up anymore!  

Well, that's about all for now. Hope everyone is having a wonderful February!  

JUANuary...The Bachelor Review

Okay people...I literally started a list of disclaimers to defend myself on watching The Bachelor. But at the end of the day....if you are a Twilight or Hunger Games fan or pretty much watch ANY show on any major network right now, you can't judge me. I watch this show purely for entertainment. (Jeremie has already earmarked this show as one our children will NOT watch.) But boy is it entertaining....here are my thoughts on this week....

• If I were on this show.....and you asked me to go jump off a bridge....I would politely say no thank you. I am  A LOT of things, and the fact that I won't jump off a bridge doesn't make me any less of a fun person.  Jeremie and I are living proof that most couples have one person that is jumping off the bridge and the other who holds the video camera, slaps the other on the rear and says, "Good luck, baby, Love you!" 
• Soccer group date: Yet another date that would make me look like an idiot. I do agree everyone wants to marry someone who is a "good sport", but last time I tried to involved myself with an athletic activity, I ended up with a black eye. I would probably ask where the nacho stand is and PEACE.OUT.
• I love the way Juan Pablo said pajamas this episode....Pee-Yamas.
• In regards to girls coming downstairs to JP cooking breakfast...they all looked WAY too cute in their "pee-yamas"....Jeremie is always AMAZED at how messy I can make my hair after being still for 7 hours...and however hard I try, my "pee-yamas" never match....and not in a cute way....
• Proof that the some contestants are planted for entertainment: the "Free Sprirt" that was barefoot the first episode carried out her red-soled Christian Louboutins when she got eliminated this week....
• "Free-Spirit is also obviously in incredible shape, so I'm thinking there's a gym membership somewhere, and last time I checked, hostels did not offer those.....
• The Opera singer...oh so much to say about her...mainly I feel like she is boring and awkward. But I also got tickled that someone who probably sings songs in many languages acted like she was having a hard time with some of the Spanish words JP was trying to teach her. Of course we all know that men love to "teach" a girl something...but there's a difference from playing dumb.
• I also get so tickled that the 27 year old blonde talks about "what a baby" another 24 year old blonde is and they totally miss the fact that JP is falling for the 21 YEAR OLD? Personally, I met Jeremie when I was 20, knew I wanted to marry him 8 weeks later and married him at 24. I think everyone matures at different ages, so it's hard to gauge what people are ready for by just a number. And let me just say.....you're NEVER mature enough for marriage....I still throw 8 year old hissy fits over totally useless things sometimes. And I'm sure J thinks: OMG, who did I marry???
• The private concerts are KILLING me.....half the time I have NO idea who the artist is, so I'd probably embarrass myself and have to ask one of the producers so I could act excited. 
• At the end of the day, if we were all videoed during our courtships, we'd ALL be embarrassed to no end.  Here's to another season of fun!

Christmas Fun Part II

Oh goodness.....Christmas seems like it is a million miles away now....even though I just dragged our lighted Snowman out of the front yard this week.....#he'llbebackagainsomeday

We were so excited to host one of our favorite events this year, The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. Dallas actually has a Ugly Christmas Sweater STORE, but I did my own thrifting and found some pretty ugly ones myself. (Now to Ebay they go!)  Our small group from church got in the spirit too; we had so much fun!  

Jeremie has a "Go big or go home" attitude about any type of dress up parties. He didn't limit himself to an ugly sweater. He also sported a blue bow tie, snowflake suspenders, and green corduroy pants. He won the contest hands down! Apparently, people didn't think my sweater with Christmas puppies was tacky enough. Because everybody has a sweater with Christmas puppies on it..... 

Stephen, in the red, came in second place. This was the 80's style sweatshirt, with so much going on on 1 piece of fabric. An ice rink, a covered bridge, horses, a barn, carolers, it really "told a story".....

Sweet Chelsea (on the left) sported Christmas cows and Erin had light up earrings and necklace in the shape of Christmas bulbs.....

We added an element this year, which was "Re-gifting" and it was hilarious. The purpose was to find something in your house that is ugly or that you don't want anymore. (In our friend Joe's eyes, it was just to randomly grab whatever was on the kitchen counter, which were very nice items...his wife was not too happy.....)  Anyway, we had some great gifts show up like John Wayne movies and a Shake weight. (Shown above.) I found a REAL mounted squirrel head with a cowboy hat and red handkerchief around its neck at Goodwill for 99 cents. It was a hot item and got stolen many times. I also pulled a fast one on Jeremie, which I wish I would've videoed now.  If you've read my blog before, you know how I despise dislike the styrofoam snowman head topper that was a gift to us years ago. Erin even commented that my tree was so elegant, but that the topper was "interesting".  Jeremie LOVES Frosty, and loves even more that I don't like him. But he adorns the tree every year, and every year I joke that he might just get lost one day. So I decided to include Frosty in the re-gifting portion of the party to see how Jeremie would react. While Erin distracted J in the kitchen, (Chelsea, my daring and taller friend) swiped Frosty off the tree and I wrapped him up and put it with the rest of the gifts. J had no idea! Erin purposefully unwrapped Frosty herself and I saw J look at it curiously, then look at the tree, then snap his head back to me and give me the UGLIEST look I have seen from my husband!!! He seriously thought I was trying to give Frosty away.  After a good laugh, I assured him he was just a part of a good set-up. Took him a few minutes to calm down....I loved it!  

Before we head to Mississippi for the holidays, we usually like to open our family gifts, and the best part is watching Manny with his new little "friends"....

After heading to MS, everything after that is a blur!!! Every year, I'm so sad that I barely get ANY pictures of us with our families during Christmas, but by the time you eat, open gifts, and put on your stretchy pants, it's over! We had a great time at our traditional breakfast at J's grandparents', lunch at my parents' and then off to visit my grandparents. We are SO thankful that our families all live within 30 minutes of each other so we can see them all on Christmas Day! 

This is the only Christmas Day action picture that I got, and I think it's pretty funny....

As most dads do, they have their daughters wrap the gifts for the wives...my dad made a note on the bottom of this gift that proudly says: "I tied the bow myself"........love it!

The day after Christmas I hit the road for Alabama to visit BFF and new mama Mary Perry and Baby Emmaline...this was the first time to see that sweet thing, and boy was she sweet!!!  

We were just missing our Auntie Meg!

The Fourth Muskeeter!!! A new generation!

Back in MS, we squeezed in a wedding (what's a trip to MS without a wedding?) Jeremie's cousin, Madison was a gorgeous bride.  The reception was a J's parent's house, so I had to tapped into my Miss Hospitality roots and served punch and cut cake!

We were pretty tired by the time we got back to The Big D. New Year's was spent here at the house (with great food of course) and we were in bed by 12:30. I always watch the countdown and see people partying on FB and think "Should we be all dressed up doing something crazy?"...and then I think back to 2010 when we did just that and wished we were at home in our pj's. Ha! So I took another sip of my hot chocolate, kissed my hubby and didn't give it another thought! 

Happy New Year! And before we know it, it'll be February!

Christmas Fun Part I

Whew!!!  I'd better get this Christmas post done before it is mid-January!!! I imagine that needs to be one of my New Year's resolutions! Christmas season was so fun this year! I finally got to decorate the house this year, so it kinda felt like our first real Christmas in this house! Here's how everything looked at The Wells:

Oh I just love it! Now, if you wonder why that tacky snowman head is atop my elegant tree, you can read about it here. Bryan Lowe, just know that this is the gift that keeps on giving. 

Now is this a Texas Christmas pillow or what?

The mouse was my favorite ornament as a child....I named him "Mr. Mouse" (I never claimed to be creative) and I loved when he showed up every year!

This is our MSU theme tree that my mom made for me when I was in college, so it holds a lot of memories! I add a MSU ornament to it every year!

And one of my favorite parts of Christmas season is the cards! I love seeing everyone's little families!

Our own Christmas picture turned out pretty good. Don't let the calmness fool you. Manny hates taking pictures almost as much as Jeremie.  This shot took a good 7 tries.

Perhaps it's because I couldn't this one to quit fooling around.....

The ice storm sorta messed up my "lineup" of Christmas activities to attend, but we still managed to squeeze in some festivities.  One weekend, we headed downtown and stayed at the very historic and very snazzy Adolphus hotel. It was beautiful and we spent most of our time sitting around the lobby eating dessert, drinking hot chocolate, and listening to the grand piano.....big timers.

While downtown, we went on a trolley ride (J and I just can't pass up a good trolley ride), ate at Twisted Root Burger (oh dear, it's amazing) and just rode around looking at the lights.  So fun!

Look closely...this tree was actually made of car parts! 

We also went to an exhibit called the Chinese Lantern Festival. It was all these fabric lanterns in several different scenes!!!  It was beautiful!!!

On the way back to the 'burbs, we stopped in an area of town called The Bishop Arts District and had brunch at Tillman's Roadhouse.  If you live in Dallas-you must go here!!! It was delicious! After a stop at an antique store (what's a trip without an antique store?) we headed back home. It was a fun way to kick off our holiday! Stay tuned for Christmas Part 2!