Shamu & The Fam!

This week was JAM packed with pure goodness!! Wednesday, we found out we're expecting. Thursday, we saw Chris Tomlin in concert  (that's an entirely different post).  And Friday, we headed to San Antonio for the weekend! 

We left kinda late, thanks to me, and this not so lovely tiredness. BLAH! I just feel so lethargic, and prenatal's aren't exactly helping.  I'm not used to do nothing, and to "resting".  I need to be active and taking care of business. SO, basically nothing was packed until about 20 minutes before we headed out the door.... which was the beginning of our Griswald trip.  Of course, it wouldn't be a trip without some Griswald drama! ha!

On the way there, we could have made a list of stuff we had forgotten, it was horrible.  Soooo, as usual, we made a trip to Wal-Mart as soon as we checked into our hotel. 

Now, now... I love Houston, but I don't LOVE Houston.  The traffic and the heat; 'nough said.  But San Antonio... wow.  Major major change of pace.  As some of you know, half of my family lives in NC, and its like night and day between here in Houston and there in Dunn, NC.  However, I LOVE it, and I'm used to it.  I expect it when I go to visit... I expect to not be in a rush, and to well... stop and smell the roses.  But on our trip to San Antonio + my new raging hormones, it wasn't pleasant, and it was rather annoying, really.  I couldn't believe we sat in the drive-thru line at McDonald's for 20 mins for a mere 3 Happy Meals.  And the traffic lights... oh geez.  So yes, moral of the story.... We are spoiled Houstonians. ha!

Except we don't have Sea World, or really, anything close to Sea World.  Yeah, our Zoo rocks, but I love marine life, and I literally could sit in an aquarium the entire day in amazement. Call me a dork, but its true.


So, we got to Sea World, and it was a GORGEOUS day!!  BEAUTIFUL! The sun was shinning, and the wind blowing!  Shamu was happy, and so was Miss A! 

ps. I will say, the last time we went was about 3 years ago... Yeah, we've gotten older since then, because we were BEAT when we left.  Plus, strolling around a 50+ child up and down mini slopes wasn't exactly a "walk in the park". hehe

At the hotel. 

The Shamu you see in the bottom left hand corner isn't real (lol), its the elevator doors.

 

 Arriving at Sea World!

 When we rented this stroller, I immediately thought "recession" and that thing had gotten smaller, but then I remembered "yes, recession, but yes, Aislynn DOES indeed GROW." ha

 The Ayala's. <3

Trick or Treating! 

Miss A got extra goodies bc it was her birthday weekend!

 Sea World and Halloween!! 

I wonder what's its like for Christmas!

Shamu show: "One Ocean"

Disclaimer: These were all taken with my point and shoot.  If they look "unprofessional", its because the "professional" took a weekend off.  hehe

Faith, Love, and Shamu!

Casey

A Pinterest Kind'a Surprise!

Since we planned for Cupcake, and since Pinterest in my new BFF, I figured.... hmm, let me browse the preggo world, and see what's new!  And um wow... Everything "new" these days, make Miss A seem like she's a century old!  I kid you not, I saw an ipad looking baby monitor at Target!  My jaw literally dropped, and my eyes went "cha-ching!"

After discovering Cupcake was baking in this oven, I knew EXACTLY how I wanted to tell Jr, only thing was, I'd actually have to keep it a secret for almost 12 entire whole hours!  Geez.   I can't keep anything from that man, and he's the same way with me.  We just love to share our excitement, even if its over how much we paid for gas that day. ha!  I made a promise to myself, and asked God to put His hand over my big mouth, and to give me patience and agility.  Yes, agility!  I had to make a bee-line to the store in between all of my errands for the day in order to get exactly what I needed and put it all together before baby-daddy arrived.

It HAD to be SPECIAL.  A phone call? No.  Text? No.  Trip to his job? Tempting, but no.
All I knew was that this may (and very may) well be our last baby, and I wanted to go out with a BANG! When first finding out Miss A was "Coming Soon", it wasn't exactly a scene from a Lifetime movie... or maybe it was... maybe Juno?? Yeah... Juno.

We looked at each other like this (picture it with me, now):

 

{Excuse the language, but I'm pretty sure this is exactly what we both said.

It was a scary time, and very surreal.  Obviously, we knew the consequences of not using protection, but we were two dumb kids in love, and obviously, nothing else mattered.  These days, we look back, and that was THE best "Oh Sh*t" EVER!}

SO yes!, Back to the SURPRISE! While browsing Pinterest, I came across this piece of brilliance:

And this is pretty much exactly what I did.  I really wish I had taken pictures, but I was in such a rush, I barely had time to even wrap the box. Boo.

The first piece to the surprise: 
Earlier that morning, my sister and I went painting with Miss A in honor of her birthday celebrations.
See?

I immediately saw this and immediately new I had to paint it:

Before:

That little opening, there?? What the heck is that for?? Any ideas?? 

Well, I used it to place my positive preggo stick.

Of course, I had to put my Picasso skills to use (ahem).
The result?

ps. please excuse my poor quality camera pix.  I have a Blackberry, and no, not the new ones.  

<<<--- Wishful iphone user. =(

My original idea for a box came from the Baby aisle at CVS in the shape of a pack of diapers, however, $25 for a present (or really, the box alone) just didn't seem wise.  Plus, the big bold HUGGIES lettering would probably give it away before the box was even opened.  Needing to improvise, I scoured my dad's office for a box.  Found one.  Headed to our local Dollar Tree, and grabbed some yellow wrapping paper as well as crumbled tissue paper in yellow, brown, and white (I now, regret the brown, but at the time, I thought it looked pretty)  I also scoured the balloon wall for the perfect "Baby" balloon.  Found one, had someone pump some helium in the sucker, and was out the door in a matter of minutes.

The clock was ticking, and Jr would be getting off work in 20 minutes, and it only takes him 3 minutes to get home, so time was of.the.essence.  PLUS, I had to explain and re-explain (or try to) why on earth we bought a "Baby" balloon when "there is no baby", said Aislynn.  This was tricky, because I knew the second Jr were to walk in the front door, Miss A would open her mouth, and spill the beans before I could even tell daddy I had a bean growing inside of my belly. {this was a task in itself}

I put together the box, thew in the tissues paper, tied the balloon ribbon around my painted baby bottle, carefully placed the balloon inside, making sure it would float to a nice distance, preferably eye level to Jr (I know. I know, I'm so thoughtful), closed the box, taped it, and wrapped it.

DANG! Forgot the pretty bow! Oh well!

Okay, now, let's make it look like I was doing something important... 

doodeedooodeeeedoooo.

Jr walked in, showered, changed, and with minutes to spare before we had to all head back out the door, Jr opened the box, and it happened just like I imagined (that hardly ever happens, so I was pretty giddy).  We laughed, we cried, we hugged.  And then REPEAT. 

It was a good day. 

A good day, indeed. 

Faith, Love, and a Pinterest Surprise, 

Casey

First Response.

Yes.

Let me tell you.


This test.
HA!



You see when I was in Preggersville with Miss A, we took about 20 at home pregnancy test... Okay, maybe not 20, but def more than 5.  I even had Jr take one to see how it worked.  Fail. ha!  So we took the test, and anxiously waited.  I read the directions and re-read the directions, and still, I do not think my brain of crazy comprehended what I saw before my eyes.  SO, I made up my mind, that test was indeed BROKEN; it was FAULTY, a dud... whatever you want to call it.  It just simply didn't work.  I wanted to see TWO CLEAR lines. CLEAR! So we headed to the store and bought the rest of our pregnancy test supply.  We took yet another one, and immediately that sucker read, "PREGNANT".  And as you all know, the rest is history. =]


Now, mind you, it has been 5+ years since I've taken a pregnancy test, and I really honestly didn't expect myself to remember EXACTLY what brand I originally took with Aislynn, so I just grabbed the one that was able to read hormones earlier than the next test.  Plus, there was an extra test in the pack FO FREE.

I waited a few days after purchase, and took the test.


waiting.... waiting...

NEGATIVE.  (one line)

hmm... okay... it still may be too early to tell.  So I waited until early Wednesday, morning.  I woke up, let my dogs out, fed them, and sat on the royal throne, preggo test in hand... still half asleep, but whatever.

A little tinkle here. A little tinkle there.

waiting... waiting...

ONE line.... OKAY!

Another....ehhhh... hmmm... what is that?? IS that a line??? I dunno... (half asleep still)


Geez... What the heck is that thing??

::searches YouTube::
Finds live pregnancy test! YES!! Exactly what I'm looking for!!!  Watches about 5-6 of the same videos!

hmmm...

::comparing test::

Geez!! Am I going to have to go out and buy another test, but this time one that reads "Pregnant" or "Not Pregnant"??  WAIT!! OMG! THIS is THE test I took with Aislynn!! No friggin' way! Way to go Casey! Way to go!

::compares again::


Googles, "First Response test results"

THERE WE GO!


::reads::

PREGNANT TWO PINK LINES in the Result Window. One line may be lighter than the other.  Appearance of the results may vary.

NOT PREGNANT ONE PINK LINE in the Result Window.

"One line may be lighter than the other."

OH.

I'm pregnant.  That's what it says!!

PREGNANT!


EEEEK!!!
And there ya go! I'm a preggo! A one way trip back to Preggersville!
Legggggooooo!

 ps. I then later read that I could have saved $2 on the test! Ayyyooo!  You can too... just sayin'.

pss. one of the videos I watched... I cried with her! Get a tissue ready!





Faith, Love, and First Response,
Casey