~A XMAS STORY~decorations, crowds, pixies..AND A BLOODY NOSE~ACTUAL UPDATE 11/9 p190

[lmillercrew]

Hope you enjoy your weekend in Nashville! I'm definately not going to be enjoying mine here in TOLEDO! Who ever says that they're going to take an extended vacation weekend in Toledo?

 

[scottny]

all caught up. way to much to comment on. Looks like a great time and great move to go relax.

Sad it is the last day.

 

[punkin413]

looked like a very fun birthday goodvibes
thanks for sharing

you're welcome! it was a great party.

thats my kind of roughing it with a computer

Too cute of the dogs sleeping! And a sundae bar is a great idea...i need to remember that in 3 mos...not so much for Caleb as he won;t notice but his older cousins will it!

i hear ya! and i agree! the sundae toppings bar was really great for the kids. they loved it.

What a great party! It looks like such a fun time!

it was a blast!

I'm sorry to hear about Lucy. It's so hard to lose a pet.
Luke's party looked like a lot of fun! Such a "dude" party. Out in the woods, doing manly camping things.

thanks. yeah, that was a total "luke" party....he had a great time!

Sorry about Lucy, but the butterfly bush is such a wonderful idea!

Luke's party looks like so much fun! I love the Luke's Clues idea!

Eli standing up and sleeping is too funny!

thanks. i thought the luke's clues was really cute too!

SO CUTE!

that pic of luke in the water...he is like a mirror image of his dad!

Looks like a fun party. Were you taking notes? Your turn will come sooner than later! lol! Great update :O)

i know! he looks just like chris but he acts just like anna.

 

[punkin413]

These are just precious! They were worn out!

i know....they're so sweet! eli has done that before when he's been really tired. he's one crazy doggie!

Thank you for sharing about your dog.....we, too, will be losing our first dog soon (vet said 2 weeks to 2 months) and though we know, it won't make it any easier!

oh, i'm so sorry! i will be thinking of you over the next few weeks/months.

I'm behind again. So sorry to hear about Lucy. I remember the story about her when you got Zolo. The old pics of you guys are so cute

Luke's birthday looks so fun! That pic of Eli sleeping standing up is so funny

Oh, and the vitamins - sounds wierd, but put them in a cup of apple cider vinegar - if they dissolve in 20-30 minutes, you are absorbing them just right. If it's shorther than 20, they are dissolving too fast and end up in your urine, longer than 30, they are coming out the other end. They say porta-potty workers don't believe in vitamins because they see so many of them - gross! Sorry for the TMI. Just that alot of people spend way to much $$ on vitamins that aren't even working for them.

oh, no apologies necessary since i'm SO behind on your TR! and this weekend away didn't help. i will try the apple cider vinegar trick - thanks!

Aww, Luke looks so grown up!! Looks like a very fun party!!

Thinking about it... you make everything sound fun, Dawn!! When I read this last chapter, I was thinking to myself, "Hmmm, camping would be fun! And sausages for breakfast!! Yay!"

Then I realised.... actually, I don't like camping or sausages!! You just make it sound so fun!!

On a side note, I have a pink version of the Crocs you were wearing at Luke's party. They're great, aren't they!?

i know - he's getting so big! makes me feel old. you are so silly.....i'm glad i make everything sound fun though! and yes, i LOVE those crocs. i want to get them in black soon!

Thanks for sharing Luke's birthday party! Great photos! I heart the one with your babies sleeping in your backseat, Luke in his carseat!
Adorable pics!

thanks! we had a great time.

THAT WAS A FANTASTIC IDEA FOR A BDAY!

Looked like alot of fun, and very cool.

I like how she had decorated the pavillion with the lanterns and little torches.

Cute idea to have the kids go on a hunt.....for the cake!

The water looked so clear and sandy.

Luke seemed to enjoy it all, I'm sure he will remember this bday for sure.

Awww, the pic of your pups asleep in the car is so adorable.

Are you going to have enough room for a carseat and your furbabies next year?

anna has always been really creative with her ideas. she always goes above and beyond. he did have a great time!

the furbabies won't be in the new car because i have leather seats and their nails would wreak havoc. but i did buy one of those pads that you put OVER the seat that connects to it in case i ever need to take one of them to the vet and ray's not here to use his car. but yes, we'll have room for them with a car seat. we have a pretty big back area in both cars so i'm sure they will be happy laying back there on a sleeping bag!

Aw...the party looked great. Looks like a party Dave would plan for Amelia. He can't wait until she gets older so he can take her camping. Not me I'm an inside girl! Earlier in the week we took Amelia to the park to play in that hour I got like 15 bug bites! I told him we could go camping if he could get rid of the bugs, and have running water!

Love the pics of the boys sleeping!

i like camping for about 24 hours then i'm done. i like having a toilet and a shower and running water to brush my teeth with!

 

[punkin413]

Okay Dawn I just got all caught up. I just took the Target brand prenatals with both girls. I think it was like $10 for 200 or something like that. I will also comment on those August babies (Brooklynn's birthday is August 16th) It was definitely hot and slightly uncomfortable, but so totally worth it! I was actually more impatient with Isabella in April then I was with Brooklynn. Congrats on the new vehicle as well. Happy belated birthday to Luke! So sorry to hear about Lucy. She was adorable and the story of how she came to be a part of the family was precious. I of course loved your update with the Jungle Parade as that is one of our favorites and the pics Anna took at WL are gorgeous. I think that is all I had to catch up on. Hope to see you Saturday evening!

yeah, i got some at the vitamin shoppe that were $21 for a two-month supply so that was much better! i've been taking them for several days now and they've been fine.

me and erica were talking about the baby thing at dinner the other night. you know, it's really just as wide as it is long. if you have a baby in the fall, winter or spring then you're just gonna have a little space heater clinging to you in the summertime anyway. so i don't think it really matters!

i will tell luke you said happy birthday! glad you enjoyed the parade.

LOVE the birthday update!! such a cool kid...LOVED the Luke's clues idea....
BUT..those darn dogs steal the show for me..it seriously looks like they are smiling in the "family pic" with you and Ray...TOO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!! and eli sleeping!!! love it!!!

thanks! yeah, anna rocks when it comes to coming up with creative ideas for parties. glad you love my babies' pictures. they are so sweet!!!

Luke is such a doll thanks for sharing his birthday!

So sorry about Lucy it is never easy to lose a beloved member of your family.
I somehow missed that Ray's Mom had taken Zolo I'm happy to hear that, I seriously considered emailing you about taking him, but knew getting a dog just wasn't a good idea at the time.

Eli sleeping standing up is just precious, I'm so in love with him right now

you're welcome! yeah, ray's mom ended up keeping zolo which i'm happy about because we get to see him a good bit. he's such a sweet boy! he's crazy though. he jumps up HIGH when he wants your attention and ray's mom said he attacked the meter man the other day so now they have to get a "beware of dog" sign.

Aw, that picture of Eli sleeping standing up is sooooo cute!!!!

Evelyn looks just like my cousin Jessica when she was little to a scary degree!

What a fun idea for a birthday party. It looks like everyone had a great time!

yeah, he's a cutie! we had a great time at the party. it was hot but there was lots of shade so it wasn't too bad.

What a great idea for a birthday party! The Lukes Clues game was really cool, especially that thumbs up picture

Your dogs are so freakin adorable! My dog falls asleep standing up sometimes too but thats just because shes dumb and wont lay down LOL

i thought the luke's clues was cute, too! eli only does the standing up while sleeping thing when he's REALLY tired. it's so funny!

It looks like Luke had an awesome birthday! Luke's Clue's - what a great idea! And don't worry - you and Ray will know ALL about Blue's Clue's soon enough Maddie started watching it around 18 months old and still will watch it if she finds it on TV - it's a cute show though, so I don't mind.

yeah, i know we'll be quoting kids stuff pretty soon! i remember when luke was a baby he LOVED baby einsteins and whenever i babysat him we'd watch it. i knew that one almost by heart!

Have a great weekend Dawn! We'll still be here when you come back!

thanks!

I was going to tell you that my first and second pregnancy I took prescription prenatal's but with my third I did over the counter ones. Just show them to your doctor. As long as the percents of what your getting are the same, you're good.

That's a great story. Sorry to hear about your loss.

Happy Belated Birthday Luke! That camping party looked awesome, great idea Anna!

Dawn guess what my dates for next year are? November 25th through Dec 7th. Do you think we might be actually able to meet in REAL life?!

yeah, i got some at the vitamin shoppe that were way cheaper and so far they're fine. i talked to my doc's nurse and she said that was fine with her.

thanks about lucy. i will tell luke you said happy birthday!

i'm so excited about your dates!!!!!!! that's so awesome. we will be there i'm guessing the first sunday of december through the next saturday so i'm sure that will overlap there somewhere. i actually want to drive down on friday and spend the night near sea world friday and saturday and go there on saturday, then check in at VWL on sunday. we will have to at least meet up somewhere if we can!!!!!

 

[punkin413]

Have a great weekend Dawn. Are you going to the mini dis meet with MeMom and friends?

thanks! memom already answered and soon you'll see pics.

Luke's birthday looks like it was a blast. He is lucky to have a mom and dad who would make his birthday such a special event. I am sure he will always remember it.

yes, he's a very lucky little boy!

Since she may be in transit, I'll answer for her.
She said she was going to try, but she has to see Margot whenever Brett has her, so that takes priority, of course.
I hope it works out that she'll be able to spend lots of time with Margot and make it to the Hippo Meet!

thanks for answering, memom!

Thanks MeMom. I don't blame her one bit. Here some so that she may be able to spend some quality time with Margot and go to the Hippo meet.

your pixie dust worked!

Party looked fun! Hopefully you'll have some of those planning events in your near future. Hope the deposition went well. Have a fabulous weekend!

yeah, it was fun! he's getting so old though....time flies!

Flat Luke

that's hilarious! i didn't even think of that. i have to call anna and tell her! she's fully aware of the flat celebrities on the disboards.

awesome pix!!!!!

Too funny!

Classic.

Hope you have a good weekend..listen to that song when u get a chance.

thanks! i will definitely check out that song soon!

I hope you can see your little niece today! I'm sure you are very excitted!

I hope everyone can make it to the Hippo meet!

update with pics comin up!

I'm so sorry about Lucy but what a lovely idea planting a plant in her memory!

Lukes party looked fantastic and he looked as though he thoroughly enjoyed it

thank you.

yes, he had a blast! and so did we!

Hope you enjoy your weekend in Nashville! I'm definately not going to be enjoying mine here in TOLEDO! Who ever says that they're going to take an extended vacation weekend in Toledo?

thanks! i'm very lucky that my family lives in nashville so when i go home to see them i also get to go to a pretty cool little town. i'm sure toledo has its charms.

all caught up. way to much to comment on. Looks like a great time and great move to go relax.

Sad it is the last day.

thanks! i hear ya - when i get behind it's so hard to comment on everything!

 

[joy13]

yeah, i know we'll be quoting kids stuff pretty soon! i remember when luke was a baby he LOVED baby einsteins and whenever i babysat him we'd watch it. i knew that one almost by heart!

Baby Einstein videos were the best I never would have been able to get ready for work without them

 

[punkin413]

hey, everyone! i'm home and trying to catch up on life. i promise i'm going to continue writing the actual TR soon. i have lots of video to upload for the next installment so that may take a few days.

i thought i'd share some pics from my trip to nashville this weekend. i've decided to call this trip, "invasion of the babies," as i met THREE new babies for the first time (well, i'd met margot before but you guys know what i mean) and it seems like all my pictures are of babies! maybe it's a sign.

i got to nashville friday night around 8:00 and went to my grandparents' house for awhile before going to my mom's and hitting the hay. saturday i met my dad and brother for lunch, then we met jordan near her house so brett could go with her to her brother and sister's baseball game (she's the oldest and has 5 brothers and sisters, the two youngest being between 6 and 10 and so they play rec league sports). i saw margot for about 10 minutes at that point and took a couple of pictures but i don't like them because the sun was in her eyes and she's squinting up her pretty little face.

while they were at the game dad and i went to see "year one" which was really dumb. save your money and rent it when it comes out on DVD. i wanted to see "up" but dad didn't. would've been a better way to spend 2 hours of my life! after the movie dad went home to clean up and i did a little shopping on my own, then i headed to opry mills around 5:30 to do some more shopping before the hippo meet!

i headed over to rainforest cafe around 6:15 and i saw jill and brooklynn first. i came up behind brooklynn and said something to her and i think she sort of recognized me. next i saw little bella with memom. bella was soooooooo precious!!!! i got to hold her then and she's such a good baby! she just looked around at everything.

i also met maroo, lauren and all7ofus while we were there. it was so nice to meet you ladies!!!! i hope i see you around the disboards often in the future!

of course erica was there too! and then a few minutes later we met tinkgurl and her family. she was so sweet and cute - just like i imagined! her dad was soooooo nice and took like 2 dozen pictures for us with everyone's camera. he was so sweet!

from left to right: tinkgurl, jill (brooklynnsmommy), brooklynn, memom (not hidden!), bella, erica (vandyfan10), me, all7ofus, maroo and lauren.

i think brooklynn was begging jill for something here - not sure what!

yep, there's that creepy hippo!

brooklynn was throwing in a penny here.

after that we said our goodbyes to everyone and me, erica, memom, jill, brooklynn and bella headed to the disney store. brooklynn was doing some sort of strut that was so cute with her hands on her hips and she turned around right when i took the picture!

disney store, here i come!

check out sweet little bella....

we saw tinkgurl and her family at the disney store and talked some more. then we "officially" said goodbye to them and headed towards the carousel. brett called me at some point during all that and wanted me to meet him outside because i had an extra shirt of his in my car and he had gotten all gross outside at the park. so i said goodbye to memom, jill, brooklynn and bella and went to meet him. erica was meeting us for dinner but had a return to make herself at the crocs store so she went to go do that.

i had made reservations for our party at macaroni grill for 8:00 and it was around 7:15 at that point. brett, jordan, margot and madi (jordan's 5yo DD) had been outside in the heat all day and so we all went into barnes & noble to sit down and relax until it was time to eat. i got lots of pics of margot there! she's changed so much and she's just PRECIOUS!!!!! she's got brett's eyes and shape (she's LONG!) and she has jordan's nose.

oh, and just so not everyone asks me, brett and jordan are spending time together with margot. whether or not they are thinking of pursuing a relationship again, i don't know. i don't ask those questions because i feel like if i can't say anything nice, i shouldn't say anything at all.

the proud new daddy and his little princess....

grandpa with his first-born grandchild.....

a very excited aunt dawn with miss margot!

how awesome is this picture?

hi, daddy!

this is my favorite picture! brett said when she lays on her stomach she starts "talking" so he had her on his lap on her belly. i bent down and was talking to her and she was just cooing away....it was so cute!

continued in next post: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32391341&postcount=2209

 

[punkin413]

erica came back right as we got called to our table so it was perfect timing! margot fell asleep not long after we sat down. look at her little head!

i have to say i was really impressed with how margot would fall asleep. she doesn't fuss hardly at all, just sort of closes her eyes and drifts off. she did it twice while i was with them.

dinner was great and it was so nice to sit and talk with erica and enjoy the entertainment that is my family.

margot woke up at some point during dinner and i snapped this of her and brett. he's such a dork!

after dinner i said goodbye to erica and we all went bowling.

margot's first time at the bowling alley! check out the painted toenails. jordan said she was sick of people saying, "how old is HE?"

this is madi, jordan's 5yo DD. she's SUCH a sweet girl and so cute and she LOVES my brother. she and margot had on matching outfits.

someone had a stinky diaper and daddy got to change it. it was so funny - he was gagging!

madi would always run up the side of the lane when we bowled. it was so funny! oh, and check out her socks. none of us were wearing socks and we had to buy them from the bowling alley. they were all adult sizes and madi's were a tad bit too big!

i took a video of madi bowling. watch dad run up on the side like she does.



after bowling it was around midnight so it was time to say goodbye to margot and head back to my mom's house. i'm so glad i got to see her for a little while on saturday night! she's sooooooooo precious and i'm looking forward to watching her grow up.

on sunday after breakfast with my grandparents and mom, i went to my friend melanie's mom's house to hang out by her mom's pool. it was SO HOT this weekend! this is her 8yo DD megan. she had on her mom's shoes and was being silly.

this is her 2yo DS maddox. his uncle was treating him like a rag doll!

we were trying to get maddox to raise himself up with a stomach crunch. before i started filming he was doing it and grunting really hard and it was hilarious! but then when i started filming of course he stopped.



this is maddox and his cousin, emma, relaxing in the pool. such cuties!

after that i went with my mom and my stepdad to my stepbrother kris's house for a cookout. my other stepbrother, corey, and his wife misty had a baby last january and this is the first time i'd seen him. his name is conner and he's adorable!

this is my mom and conner.

aunt dawn and conner....

this is conner with my stepbrothers kris and corey. kris is on the left and corey is on the right. corey is conner's dad and they were trying to confuse the poor little guy because they look so much alike!

this is carl, my stepdad, with all his grandkids. on the left are noah and madison, kris's kids. on the right are conner (snoozing away) and cayla, corey's kids.

so that was pretty much my weekend in nashville in a nutshell. i can't wait to see margot again! i was so excited to get to spend some time with her. thanks for any pixie dust you guys sent my way on that!

ETA: i totally forgot to tell you guys what happened saturday night. after bowling i took brett home. he lives in downtown nashville and instead of going down broadway with all the cruisers we were going down side streets with lots of stop signs. well, we're having a conversation and brett goes, "this guy is totally gonna pull you over." i was like, "what? i didn't even know there was a cop behind me! what did i do?" right about that time he flipped his lights on. so he comes up to my window and goes, "hi there. can i please see your license and registration?" i said, "i don't have a registration. this is a new car and i have temporary tags." duh. you'd think he would've noticed that. anyway, he said, "okay. well, do you have your paperwork?" i told him i did and he asked to see it. so i gave him all my paperwork that the dealer gave me and my license. he started to walk off and i said, "can you tell me what i did?" he goes, "yeah. you're supposed to stop at stop signs." knowing that it does one no good to argue with a police officer, all i allowed myself to say was, "i wasn't aware that i didn't." so he goes back to his car and returns after a few minutes to say, "well, ms. ____ (insert my last name here), you seem to have all your paperwork here and so i'm gonna let you go tonight. have a good evening." i was thankful that he let me go because i haven't gotten a ticket in almost 14 years but i really don't think i ran any stop signs. anyway, just had to share that.

 

[hlrababy]

Hmmm, it must be a sign because WHOAAAAA thats a lot of babies you saw this weekend!!!!!
They were all so adorable!!!!!!

Okay, the next hippo/dis meet I am so jumping in your trunk and you will have a stowaway!!!!!

 

[joy13]

I'm glad to see that Jordan has come around - little girl's (and big ones too) need their Daddies! Looks like a really nice weekend

 

[VandyFan10]

I had a great time seeing you and thanks again for inviting me to dinner!!

One of my FAVORITE places and a favorite friend

Great pics!!

** I guess it was Metro that pulled you over?? They can be weird sometimes. I had one pull me over for 41 in a 35 (which I could have sworn was a 40 anyway) and took my info and let me go. I've never been so mad, usually I'm nervous thinking of getting a ticket.

 

[KristinAnne]

Great pictures from your weekend! Love all the babies! You and I are at the same place in life as far as babies are concerned. I've been getting lots of information lately. I'm sure you've been doing your own research, but I found a couple of good websites. I'll PM you if you're interested.
On a separate note, I love Nashville too. One of my best friends got her PhD from Vanderbilt, so I had the opportunity to visit her a few times. It's such a great city and so much different from Boston.

 

[arkie]

Dawn, Margot is beautiful. Glad you got to spend time with her and the rest of your family.
I wish I could have made the hippo meet. I told MeMom I'm coming to the next one and bringing Ty. Ya'll look like you had such a good time.

 

[shannon47142]

Margot, conner, bella all precious babies!!
sounds like you had a busy but fun weekend with family

 

[KatGarcia]

Look at you surrounded by all the babies...good practice huh? Sounds like a great weekend!

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

Oh, I think it's a sign....babies everywhere!

I'm glad you made it to the Hippo meet. What a good looking group of ladies!
It's fun to see you all together.

Brooklynn and Bella looked adorable.

I'm envious of your visit to the Disney Store, mine closes this week.

Margot is sweet, she looks like a babydoll. She had a cute little outfit on.
It's so wonderful that your brother is getting to spend time with her. She sure is Daddy's little girl.

You had a very full weekend and managed to spend time with all of your family and some friends too.

Good to hear you are back home safely!

 

[scottny]

Looks like you had a great weekend.

 

[MeMom]

Busy, fun, happy times this weekend and then you went home to a loving husband and two sweet doggies. You're a lucky girl!

 

[Charleston Princess]

All those babies are just precious!!! Glad you had fun in Tennessee!