So....

Tell me your thoughts on pregnancy pictures. You know, the pictures people take when they are pregnant.
Oh, and I know I need to update the pic. I will soon. I just need to download it off my sucky camera.

Coughing out the Baby Worm...

I have no voice and am about to cough up a lung. I actually feel guilty for all my coughing because of all the shaking the baby is having to endure. I don't think you realize how much stomach muscles you use until you have a little human living in there. Is is possible to cough so hard the baby falls out??

I had a dream last night that I had the baby yet she was so early she looked like a worm. Then, she morphed into a little baby and started talking in full sentences. The weird thing is that, in the dream, I was more weirded out about the fact that my newborn was speaking in full sentences then I was about the fact that I gave birth to a worm...

I know. I KNOW. I don't want to hear it. I haven't blogged since August and my facbooking skills are still to be desired. Life is different in Texas than it was in Georgia. My time goes somewhere and blogging just isn't making my "to do list." I want to get back into it so hopefully you will all stick with me. Ok, so people have been asking for preggo pics so let's start there:
6 Weeks

11 Weeks

13 Weeks

16 Weeks

19 Weeks

21 Weeks

And... It's a GIRL!!!




I haven't posted the most recent pictures on Facebook. I feel weird posting pictures of my bare stomach where all my old random high school friends can see them. Is that weird?

Well, my boobs are offically a 36DD. My mom bought me a bra from the Dolly Parton collection when I was barely pregnant and I laughed when I saw it. I mean, boobage is not really where my gift lies. I said "no way will I ever be able to wear this thing!!" 20 weeks in, the tags from Dolly's hand me down were off and it's really all I can wear. My B cups just aren't really doin' it for me anymore. DD half way through the pregnancy. Where will I be at 40 weeks?? I don't even know what comes after DD!!

Let's see...what else? Oh, Ben passed the Bar!! We are so thankful that he passed the first time around. Ben worked so hard all summer and studied harder than I ever would have. I am very proud of the work he put in and it is paying off. We know quite a few people who graduated law school and still haven't found jobs and than we hear people you would never think didn't pass the bar. Ben has a great job and did well on the bar, healthy baby, easy pregnancy. God is so good.



Random I know. I found this picture a while back and died when I saw it. When Ben and I were dating, we went on a cruise with my mom and dad and this was the picture that was taken when we boarded the ship. Love my dad's flip glasses.

Ok, that is all I have for now. I have to ease back into the blogging world. I vow to do better. Maybe this should be a lesson to those out there who said my Palm Beach blog was bad...

Well, this year at Palm Beach was a little different than last year. It was supposed to be very relaxing for many reasons:
1. Ben finished the bar the day before we left.
2. I had been freakin busy at work and was looking forward to not dealing with other people's problems.
3. We knew this would be our last vacay with no children.

I laxed, big time, on my picture taking. I don't even think I got a picture of Ben and I together. This irritates me because long time loyal reader, Heather S., has challenged Taylor and I to a 2nd annual "Best Palm Beach Post" contest and I really don't have anything to back it up. I didn't see any 70 year old men in a red Speedo with matching Crocs, no ladies tried to run me over on a motorized scooter by the pool, and I didn't even come close to getting "Steve Irwin'd" by a gang of stingrays. And if that isn't bad enough, Ben and I left 2 days early. With all this in mind, here is my attempt at a second win (if you don't remember last years contest let me refresh your memory; I beat Taylor so badly he re-did his blog and STILL lost). Pitiful, just pitiful.

Day 1
Ben and I traveled and waited in airports all day. We flew out of Abilene at like 9 in the morning and got to Miami at about midnight. Luckily for us, Taylor and mom were feeling hospitable and picked us up from the airport.

Day 2
Sunday, August 2, was my 30th birthday. I cried. I told myself I was actually turning 29. I threw up a little. But alas, I could not deny any longer that I am no longer a coveted 20-something. The magazine articles for 30, 40, and 50 year olds, where they tell you how to take care of your skin and what clothes are now "too young for you," now apply to me. Heather and Taylor took the day very serious and decided to prepare a fabulous, gourmet dinner fit only for a mature lady such as myself. Ok... So I actually thought I had a picture of the meal but I don't. Anyway, it was hotdogs. Heather did get me a birthday cake and I have a picture believe it or not:


Day 3
We chartered a fishing boat and Paul, Taylor, Mitchell (my nephew), dad, Ben and I went out fishing with a guide. It was really fun and something I had never done before. Mitchell was sea sick pretty much 10 minutes into the trip and laid in the back of the boat most of the time. Dad seemed to be doing ok until he threw up over the side of the boat. Paul started to get queezy but held it together. Taylor, Ben and I felt fine for the whole 4 hours and we decided they got sick because they all ate bananas for breakfast. It was the only sensible conclusion...
Ok, I found one picture of Ben and I.





Love this picture. Dad looks like some rando who stepped into the picture.

Day 4
This day was like most. Beach, pool, food, fun with some random activity and not much else. I love days like that.
Anna's head. If you can enlarge this picture, do it. Her face is hilarious.

Heather doing her "High School Musical Jump." I didn't take the picture correctly. If you want to see the complete "High School Musical Jump Competition" between Heather, Anna, and myself go to Taylor's blog (you can link there on the right side of my blog). I think I clearly won.


Making Tie Die shirts



Day 5, 6, 7
What a little jerk...


So here are your instructions: Read Taylor's post and then come back and vote by leaving a comment.

The Mover and the Shaker

I would like to thank all my loyal "Macon Fun of The Grants" readers for their comments on my blog. I appreciate the excitement over the baby and the sympathy for my lack of blog comments. I have good readers. I had 10 comments and none of them were from me!! Now that is exciting.

I went to the doctor today and everything was great. I love my doctor. My due date is March 7th. After seeing the sonogram, I am more excited. I think I was anxious about what the doctor would find and, I know it sounds crazy, but I wondered if I was even pregnant!! I mean, I haven't been sick and other than having two positive preggo tests, being really tired, and all of a sudden having HUGE boobies, I had no indications. I know, I sound crazy but we all knew that. Anyway, he/she moved tons which Ben and I were both surprised about. The doctor laughed at one point because he/she looked like they were shaking their butt. That's my kind of kid.


I know I promised Palm Beach pictures and I know you are all on the edge of your seats waiting for them but I am freakin tired. Next time.

Our Little Juvenile Delinquent...

So, our parents have bigger mouths than we do which is why, for many, this announcement doesn't exactly put the "new" in "news." I was wanting to wait and announce this with a picture or something else big but I guess I will just have to settle with: I'm preggos. I think I forget sometimes that yes, I am 30 years old and can't continue to say "hey, what's the rush? I'm still young, I've got plenty of time to have kids!" No ma'am. Not no mo'. The time has come. Ben and I are both very excited.

I go to the doctor next week so hopefully, everything will be ok. I have this fear that something will go wrong since I am only 10 weeks and now, since everyone is starting to know, there will be a problem that I will have to then announce to the masses. I know, I know, I am weird and have some serious hang ups but that's what makes me so awesome. I will update after the doctor's appointment next week.

This story is something only an animal lover could truly understand:
Well, Ben and I had an awesome vacation in Palm Beach, FL with my entire family. This has started to become a tradition since this was our second summer and we have already booked the condos for the next summer thanks to my dad's timeshares. We have two condos every year that are ocean front and only steps from the beach. Really, I should still be in Palm Beach and not sitting here in Abilene typing this post but this year was a little different. Heather and Taylor hired a housesitter to stay at their house and watch their dog and cat. Eleanor, our chihuahua, was also going to stay with them for the week. Wednesday night, Taylor tells Ben that he has some bad news. The housesitter's called and said Eleanor is missing and has been since 9:00 that morning. He said they have been all over the neighborhood and called the pound but have not been able to find her. Well, I seriously freak out. If you haven't figured out yet, Eleanor is my child. I think when you don't have children of your own your pets tend to take over that role so this was more then just some dog missing. This was my baby missing. I start to cry like a little baby and can't stop. Heather lives in a nice neighborhood but over the past year, all the cats in the hood have gone missing and, on numerous occasions, there have been very large paw prints on her driveway from some sort of wildcat. Eleanor is a typical chihuahua and only likes 1 or 2 people so I knew, even if she is being called, she would not come to anyone but Ben or myself. I felt like, in my heart, I had to at least try to find her and comb the neighborhood or else I would never forgive myself if she was never seen again. Ben talked to a woman at American Airlines who told us we either had to pay $480.00 per ticket or use 12,500 points per ticket in order to move up the flight. He then called again later and talked to another woman who said she was an animal lover and has put her job on the line but will move up our flight for free. Anyway, we cut our incredible vacation short by two days and come home. I cried all night and all morning. We to DFW and Ben calls the housesitter who says they went to the pound and found her there. We were relieved. When we got to Abilene, we got her rabies tags, went to the pound and after doing the all the paperwork they told us which holding tank she was in and sent us back. Eleanor was sitting on a concrete floor and looked at us like she couldn't believe we were actually there. I noticed a red sign on her cage door that read "WILL BITE! DO NOT TOUCH!!" She slowly got up and came to us when Ben opened the cage but when we picked her up she started licking and waggin her tail. The worker came over and I told him we went ahead and pulled out and asked if that was ok. He said "I would have needed you to get her out anyway. She bites me!" Needless to say, she was dirtier then she has ever been, she was shedding really bad and her butt showed serious signs of diarrea. It is a complete bummer we had to come home early but we are just so thankful to God that she is safe and alive. Hmmm, coming home early from vaca to bail out our child...I hope this isn't a preview of what's to come.




Next post: Palm Beach recap with pictures. Stay tuned all 2 of you loyal "Macon Fun of the Grants" readers. Just out of curiousity, does anyone read this thing? I have gotten like 2 comments on my last 3 posts and I think one of those was actually written by me.

Cheri, is this Better?

Can you read this better?



Quote of the week:

Heather, Mom, Dad, Holly (sitting at the kitchen table): So what do we want to do for dinners in Palm Beach?
Dad: Let's do something easy, like **thinks for a few seconds**...tortilla soup.
**Strange looks between everyone**
Holly: Torti....what??
Mom: Soup at the beach?
Heather: We aren't eating soup at the beach, dad.

What About Grandma?

I died when I saw this. Read the caption below the picture. Makes it even funnier.

What About Grandma?


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What a Slacker

I know, I know. I have been a complete blogging slacker. I just can't seem to get motivated to post on this thing. Ok, so here goes:
Since we left off, Ben has graduated law school, moved back to Texas, lived in Austin for 7 weeks taking a prep course for the Bar exam and, as of Thursday (his birthday) he has officially moved to Abilene and into our new house. I can't tell you how happy this makes me.
We celebrated Ben's birthday at the swim club. I forgot my camera so just take my word for it. Ben, you went from:
This cute little thing

To this... little thing

To this handsome thing. Happy 27th birthday and I love you very much!


Just a cute picture of Eleanor



While Ben was gone, Penelope decided to catch some poor little bird and then bring it in the house for no other reason than bragging rights. It was still alive and I was screaming and sweating profusely (I don't handle rodents or other wild animals in my house well) with my broom trying to sweep it out of the house. It would move everytime my broom would hit it and when I would jump back and scream, 3 cats would pounce causing a blood bath which I really wanted to avoid in my house. Penelope finally got the bird away from me, took it into my bedroom and proceeded to eat it under Ben's bedside table.



I have been keeping our work cat at my house for nights and weekends. We have a new kitty for our farm at work but it is just too hot to keep it in the workshop. Fitz doesn't want anything to do with him but Penelope sees him as the son she'll never have. My clients decided the name "Midnight Rodeo" fit him perfectly. I refuse to call him that so he's just "Midnight" for short.




Early this afternoon, Ben was in our office studying and I was in the living room watching "Ms. Pettigrew Lives for a Day" on HBO. He comes out of the office and says "Ummm...I think we have a mouse in the office." Midnight and Penelope were in there so he shuts the door. I become frantic. At one point, I made Ben put a towel at the threshold of the closed door just in case the mouse flattened his body and escaped out the bottom of the door and then I went to sit on the kitchen table with all the chairs pushed up really close to the table so the mouse couldn't use them to climb up and kill me. While Ben and I were trying to figure out what to do, we hear the mouse scream (remember, he is locked in the office with two cats) and we are hoping they got him. Ben puts his boots on and goes back in. At one point he is holding the desk up and Midnight goes under it. He is calling for me to come in and move the cat so he can put the desk back down but I told him that is just NOT going to happen and that I was very sorry I could not help him. Midnight is the only cat with claws but has the attention span of a...cat. Penelope, as you can see above, can catch just about anything without claws but couldn't concentrate since Midnight was trying to play with her. I could hear Ben saying to Midnight "Ok, get ready. When I move this back, you go in and get him." It just wasnt' working. We call around to see if anyone has a bb gun. My nephews had theirs with them at the river so that was out. Finally, after all ideas had failed Ben went in with... a golf club. He walked out 10 minutes later and said "Holly, I'm a changed man."

As tradition, every July 4th we go to Leakey with Paul and Susan to their cabin on the Frio river. It is always really fun and this year Heather and Taylor joined us. Here is our weekend in pictures. I took a lot of pictures but for some reason I didn't get any of us at the river or at the parade. I suck.

Heather waiting for the fireworks to start

Ben making Will laugh

Nathan on the swing

Anna playing with fire

All the kids and grandkids

The girls (Susan, Heather and ME!)

Second Verse, Same as the First...

Well,the summer is upon us and, once again, Ben is gone for the summer taking a 7 week class in Austin that prepares him for the bar. So you know what that means. That's right. Chick Flicks. When Ben is gone for an extended period of time I watch all the movies I would otherwise never watch out of pure embarrassment. For example, last summer when he was in Texas and I was in Georgia, I Netflixed "Traveling Pants" (Ok, I can't for the life of me think of the full name of that movie but you know what I mean) and I actually really enjoyed it; which is embarrassing. So, when Traveling Pants 2 came out I wanted to see it but never could get the nerve to actually go to the theater, dragging Ben, request 2 tickets to Traveling Pants and than afterwards have to tell Ben that yes, I did enjoy the movie. So the better solution is to Netflix these movies in the privacy of my home so if they suck, yet I still enjoyed it Ben will never know. 1. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (I just remembered the full name): Good movie. That chick from Gossip Girl had a really boring story line. The chick from Gilmore Girls liked some black dude with a snaggle tooth which was kind of weird. The big Hispanic girl actually got some action in this one which I am sure she enjoyed. Overall, not as good as the first but still good. 2. Margot at the Wedding: Some indy movie with Nichole Kidman and Jack Black. Weird movie. I don't recommend it. I think I came to this conclusion when Nichole Kidman's character's pre-teen son told her he masturbated in the bathroom the night before. Too weird. Mom doesn't need to know these things and Holly doesn't need to watch a mom being told these things. Moving on... Ben had a graduation party thrown in his honor in Austin by his dad and Cheri. Since we could not be in Georgia on the day he was to actually walk, his parents threw a party on the same night which was very cool. There was a good turnout and Ben did his graduation walk around the pool which a bunch of idiots blowing the graduation song on kazoos while his dad read bad lawyer jokes. He wasn't missing much. It was basically the same as his graduation ceremony at Mercer University...
Amanda, Eleanor, and Me David, Daniel, and Ben Me, Ben and his cake Sam and Me Blake, Cal, and Hayden. Despite the looks on their faces, it really was a fun party I know what you're thinking, "Are they smoking joints?" Actually,those are little kazoo's which is very appropriate since the kazoo was invented in Macon. I have been meaning to take pictures of our house but I just haven't found the time to do it. I was very busy today going to church, eating Chinese food, sleeping, watching DVR'd "The Big Bang Theory" and now my blog... I will get those taken so you can all see our house! Which reminds me, let me tell you a little story which leads to the below pictures of our new front loading LG washers. One night, Ben and I came home to find my granny's dining room set, which I had just gotten into my house 2 days earlier, covered with water. Ben had gotten me some flowers and had put them in a vase on the table and Penelope had knocked it over. Not surprising knowing Penelope but still very upsetting. This dining room table is beautiful and was in my dad's home when he was a kid. It is in imaculate condition and after having it 2 days, I am thinking this thing is freakin ruined. So, Ben gets on the internet and reads that if you put vaseline on the table, it will help the water spots (the water spots were these HUGE white puddles all over the table). We worked on this table for over an hour and finally decided to put it in the garage since it had vaseline all over it and Penelope kept jumping on the table and sliding all over it because of the grease. We then walk into our bedroom tired from the table and find Eleanor sitting on our bed, ears back, with a big yellow pee stain right next to her. We run over and I pull up the sheet so it isn't sitting on the foam mattress top while Ben pulled the sheets off the bed. I then put the sheets in the washing machine and after a few minutes I go into the laundry and find the washing machine pouring water out the bottom. I start yelling for Ben and he says "GO GET TOWELS!" For some reason, I come back with a little mop and he just stands there looking at me. He then says "A MOP!!!??? Seriously? WE NEED TOWELS! LOOK AT ALL THIS WATER!" So we wipe up all we can but then realize we can't move the washing machine because it is FULL of water. So, we get a bucket and a cup and manually drain the washing machine that way. The only positive thing to happen from that night is seen below. This is the vase and flowers that were on the dining room table. I moved them to the bar in the kitchen and the little brat knocked them over again and shattered my vase. After killing birds and bringing them in the house, knocking over vases of flowers and cups of water, picking on Fitzgerald and somehow getting mud all over my walls, little Penelope is a tired little girl.