A Happy Number 3

Warning: PICTURE OVERLOAD!

This past week, Eric and I celebrated our three year anniversary! I can't believe how fast time has flown, and it's even harder to believe we are going to be parents. I admit that sometimes I freak out inside, just a bit. I mean, ME?! Be a parent?! I'm just a kid! And then I remember that 14 years old was the child-bearing age back in the day. 

In honor of our three years, we decided to mix business with pleasure. Actually, it wasn't much of a choice, we had to. Since Eric has a new job, he couldn't really take much time off and had to make a business trip to Virginia Beach, so I decided to go with him. He flew in from NY on Wednesday (for business), I picked him up from the airport and we headed to Virginia. Wednesday was our actual anniversary but since we (Eric especially) had been traveling all day, we decided to celebrate on Friday with a stay at a Bed and Breakfast. Since we didn't actually celebrate on Wednesday, we decided to grab dinner with Katie and Haskell. Katie is my friend from college who recently moved out to Virginia Beach area with her new hubby. It was so fun to catch up and have a chance to see them while we were in the area. Sadly, I forgot to take a pic!

Eric worked all day on Thursday, and I just hung out at the hotel. I had breakfast in bed- in that I walked down to the lobby to the continental breakfast, took food back to our room, and ate in bed. I went on a walk to the mall, read, and watched a couple of shows. Needless to say I was READY for Eric to get back from work. Thursday evening we went on a nice date to The Broken Egg.

Eric ordered the all-you-can-eat pasta bowls.

And Eric is palming my stomach like a basketball...

After our fun dinner at The Broken Egg, there just happened to be a Coldstone next door. So of course we split Cake Batter with a brownie and hot fudge mixed in...YUM!

Thursday Eric worked a later day so on Friday he could work half a day and we could head to Cape Charles and stay at the Bed and Breakfast. We both had never heard of Cape Charles, but it is a historical little fishing town on the Eastern Shore about 45 minutes from where we were staying for work.  The Bed and Breakfast was an old plantation home, restored into a  bed and breakfast about 10 years ago.

To get to Cape Charles we had to travel over a 19 mile tunnel-bridge (yes it is on top and under the water). 

The B & B had 4 floors...Eric and I stayed on the 4th.

Our room

                             

Our bathroom

Main Entrance

On the bottom floor the B & B had a restaurant/bar. It was so charming, people from all over the area come in the evening for dinner. Some even ride their boats- the house is on the water.

After we checked in, we drove a couple of miles into Cape Charles. There isn't much there. There are a few cute shops, the beach, but that's about it!

That afternoon we were told about a restaurant called Aqua by one of the locals. It was a nice restaurant on the water, at the Marina, so we decided to eat there that evening.

The view from the porch of Aqua was BEAUTIFUL. 

After dinner, I ordered a virgin :) Pina Colada, was entertained by a crazy wedding party,  and enjoyed the sunset with my husband of three years. Then, when the sun was down, we drove back to the B & B where we enjoyed a yummy piece of chocolate mousse pie and coffee 

We had such a sweet time and I am so thankful for a husband that is so kind, thoughtful, and loving. 

Happy Anniversary, I love you!

Summer!!!

Life has been SO busy lately! Work finished up (for me) and that same week we headed down to Columbus, GA for the wedding of Ashley and Austin. It was such a fun weekend. We left on Wednesday to spend the night in Greensboro then seven of us made the 8 hour trek down 85 South to Georgia. We had a great time, wedding was perfect, and bride was beautiful. Thursday night all seven of us stayed at Ashley's dad's house so we could save a little money. Then Friday and Saturday night we stayed at the Hilton...and we definitely shared a room with Luke and Caroline (and Todd crashed Friday night). We are all about cutting financial corners. 

The beautiful bride and myself at the bridesmaid luncheon

Handing us our bridesmaid gifts

After the luncheon we headed back to Ashley's dad's house for a little pool action

Silly faces- a must

Before hair makeovers

After hair!

Final product! BEAUTIFUL!

Ashley ordered a gazillion signs (such as this "I DO") off of Etsy . You could find such signs throughout the entire ceremony and reception

Caroline and I- she and her husband Luke were apart of our road trip group/& that couple who shared our hotel room :)

Grooms cake- although he went to State he is a huge UNC fan (hence the dean dome) and he is a police officer (hence the badge)

Reception was BEAUTIFUL!

After we got back to Raleigh we took it easy the next week, Eric did some traveling for work, and I killed some time sleeping, reading, eating, babysitting, coffee/lunch/walking dates, and watching a few shows. 

We then headed down to Wilmington/Wrightsville beach for Eric's work and it just so happened that Ashley and Austin were back from their honeymoon and on family vacation at the SAME beach! (Not that we planned that or anything hehe). It was so fun to hang out with them as a married couple and hear all about their fun trip to the Dominican. Eric and I also went on a date one evening to the Atlantic. It was good but pretty pricey. 

I also registered at Amazon and Babies R Us! YAY! Load off my shoulders :). Thanks for all the moms out there who gave me some great advice!

This weekend, we have FINALLY been making steps towards purchasing the nursery. All of the old furniture is out and ready for for the new furniture that has yet to be purchased (or picked out!). 

I have also come to the realization about how bad I am about blogging. I have decided that in order to be better I need to do the following:

             -Take more pictures

             -Blog more often

             -Update little bits at a time

I wait weeks before blogging another post, so therefore, I fail to blog the details of what we have been up to.  For example, I just talked about the overall "big" things that we have been doing but I haven't mentioned we have had supper club (did you even know we had one of those?!), small group, double date to Pams (YES!!) and flea market with Caroline and Luke, and other sweet time with friends. I want to remember these times before the baby but yet I am so bad at writing them down! Maybe if someone could tell me if there is an easier way to upload phone pics to the blog without having to emailing them to myself?!

Anyways, I am currently 2 days away from a full 27 weeks! Almost in 3rd trimester! Here are a few belly pics...I completely forgot to take one for week 24. 

25 Weeks

26 Weeks

I had a doctors appointment on Monday. I heard Addie's heartbeat and I am measuring exactly as I am supposed to be for an Oct. 1 due date. Can't wait to meet you Addie Grace :)

Nesting and Growing

School is ALMOST DONE!!! I can't believe it. I am officially finished on Tuesday and have cannot wait for my summer to get rolling. We have SO MUCH to do around here in prep for the little one's arrival. We still have not bought 1 thing for her and have been trying to hold out until after I finish work. We have, however, entered the nesting phase and cleaned out her nursery (kind of), to the point where we ended up hauling 6 bags of shirts/pants/shoes/belts/purses to Goodwill. It. Felt. Good. Last Saturday we also cleaned out our trainwreck of a garage. When we first moved into this house, we stuffed everything into crates and boxes and peaced out of our apartment. For two years we never went through half of the stuff and it just sat in the garage- unorganized and looking like a disaster. Finally we took EVERYTHING out, went through all of it, took another bag of junk to Goodwill, made a trip to Lowes, bought utility shelves and crates, made a label explaining what was in each crate and organized it all. Organizing, cleaning, and throwing out things makes me feel so much better. You should try it sometime.

Addie is still kicking, punching, flipping, and who knows what else in there. Sometimes I think she's tap dancing because it feels so crazy. Eric got freaked out the other night when he felt her kick because she did it so hard. It seriously scared him and he jerked his hand away so fast. Of course it made me laugh. at him. real hard. I can even see her outside of my belly now. That is really cool. And crazy! I am growing a human being. And I can't get over it.

FINALLY someone who didn't already know that I was pregnant asked me if I was.  He proceeded to ask me in this manner, "Either your sluggin some beer or your expecting." Okay, I guess that really isn't a question, more like a statement, but I just laughed and said, "actually, both." Okay, okay, no I didn't say that (and I'm NOT doing that), but sometimes getting a reaction is a little fun.

I went to my hair dresser (whom I haven't seen since I was pregnant) the other day, and he was one of the "polite, confused" ones who just tried not to stare at my belly and keep the mouth shut. He sat me down and said, "so what's new with you?" I ended up telling him I was pregnant, just to save him the awkwardness of having to beat around the bush.

Anyways, many of you have been asking for some belly pics, sorry I have kept you waiting on weeks 22 and 23. Almost to 24!

22ish Weeks

23 Weeks



Welp, that was long, but there ya go folks! The next time you see me I will be DONE with school for the summer! :)

Life Lately

The past couple of weeks have been super busy, hence the absence from the blog world. Last weekend Abby and I went to surprise our mom for Mother's Day. My dad was in on it but mom had no idea and was very surprised. We had a relaxing time with our parents and I haven't seen them since we told them we were pregnant. Mom, of course, was excited to see "The Bump."

This past weekend Eric went out of town for Austin's bachelor weekend at the beach. The boys had a blast! While he was gone, I got to spend some time with a great friend who was in town. She has moved away so it was so much fun to spend the day with her. She got into town and I picked her up after school and we headed to Mebane. You know what's in Mebane...the OUTLETS. We ate dinner then met up with a few girls for dessert at the Angus Barn. It was such a fun day!

Other exciting news...Eric got a new job! He is now the North Carolina Market Development Manager for a company based out of Michigan. What does that mean? Just a fancy name for sales. He started yesterday (Monday) and will have a busy next couple of months learning the products and territory. The new job requires traveling every now and then so he will be making trips to the coast, and when I don't have school, I will be going with him :)

AND now for the updated belly pics...



19 weeks

20 weeks

21 weeks

 Addie is a very active baby. Since about 16-17 weeks I have felt her move, and Eric felt her around 19 weeks. She flips/kicks/punches all the time and it is so fun to consistently feel her inside of me. I have also started having these wonderful things called Braxton Hicks. I can tell when I am having a contraction because my stomach tightens up and becomes rock hard. It doesn't hurt but I can definitely feel when it is happening.

Recent cravings: Sweets. One evening I craved S'mores. Eric and I made a trip to the grocery store just for ingredients :)
Aversions: The only aversion I still have is Chipotle. I really don't know why. I'm fine eating chicken, rice, veggies...but Chipotle just has not been doing it for me lately.
Symptoms: I feel great! Still a little tired, but it may just be from my alarm going off every morning at 5 am.
Weight Gain: Between 11-14 lbs depending on the time of day.

We have done nothing to the nursery yet. In fact, we have not purchased one thing for her yet. This summer we plan to buckle down, clean out the nursery, buy furniture and get everything ready.

I have been so blessed to have such a good pregnancy so far. I cannot WAIT to meet this little girl! If you ever think about us, please pray for Addie. Pray for her to meet Christ, and pray that she loves and serves Christ all the days of her life.

Introducing Addie

By now I'm sure you have heard that we are having a GIRL! We are so excited and cannot wait to meet her sweet face. Her name is Addie Grace Hovis and it is so fun that we can call her by name. Addie cooperated during the ultrasound and it only took 30 minutes! Thanks baby girl! Of course, knowing me, I wanted to go immediately and buy her first outfit. We went to the mall, and I found cute things but not anything that jumped out at me. Nothing "fallish" is out so I was debating on getting her an outfit for next summer or if I should just wait and buy a newborn size when the fall line comes out. Then I remembered. I found it. About a month ago. It is the cutest thing but it would be for next summer...but the store was closed. Oh well, tomorrow it is :)

 

Addie at 17 weeks

Addie at 18 weeks (today)

Since I've been teaching

Since I have been teaching:

In World HISTORY class
Student: "Mrs. Hovis, what kind of teacher are you?"
Me: "I'm not understanding your question."
Student: "Like, what kind of teacher are you? Like...English?"
Me: "Umm. Well. What class is this? World History...I'm a History teacher."


Student: "What's your name?"
Me: "Mrs. Hovis."
Student: "Like Ho?"
Me: "No, like Hovis."
Student: "Yeah, yeah, like Ho."


Class was doing an assignment where they looked up information on the WRAL website.
Student: "Mrs. Hovis?"
Me: "Yes?"
Student: "How do you spell WRAL?"
Me: "W....R...A...L"


First day of class I tell the students about myself. Show them pictures of my family, Eric, etc.
After showing them a picture of Eric and myself, one of my Hispanic student yells out:
Student: "Mrs Hovis! You married a Latino!!"


Since I have been pregnant:

I was at David's Bridal picking up a bridesmaids dress. I was asked if I was there for a prom dress.


Male Student: Looks at me then decides to say, "Why are you pregnant?"
What I wanted to say: "Maybe you should talk to your mom..."
What I actually said, " Because I want a baby."
Same student on another day, "Mrs. Hovis, you are going to get fat."
Me: "Yup. Probably."


Male Student: "Mrs. Hovis! What's up with your outfit?"
Me: "What do you mean? What's wrong with it?"
He stares at me for a few seconds. "What's up with your stomach?!"
Me: "I'm pregnant, did you not know?"
Student: "NO! You just killed my dreams!"
As if him being 16 and me being married wasn't already a dream killer?!


Same student (from above conversation) on another day: Stares at me and shakes his head.
Me: "Why are you so shocked I am pregnant?"
Student: "Because! I thought you was a nice woman. I didn't think you be doing all that"
Me: "I am MARRIED!! Go away."


Female students constantly look at me, say AWWW, and then walk away. Sometimes they even touch my belly.


Teaching is very entertaining if you are wondering...sometimes there is just no filter.

The Maxi Skirt



Source


Yesterday, I bought my first "new" outfit for this belly I'm growing. After several mornings of frustration from my shirts and pants feeling too tight, I began feeling fat more then pregnant. I thought that if I just get some clothes that fit, I will feel much better. Well, how true that turned out to be! All this brings me to say, I am so thankful for the Maxi skirt trend this summer. I'm pretty sure they had pregnant women in mind, because these skirts are comfy, stretchy, gives me room to grow, and cute! Maxi skirts are seen on all sorts of celebrities (from pregnant, to super skinny) and you can find them in most stores. I'm sure I will purchase many more and a maxi skirt will probably end up being a staple for me during this pregnancy.