I LOVE a good bargain!

Hi guys! I got the best bargain this morning and just had to tell you about it! :-)

For some crazy reason, I can't sleep anymore. Last night I fell asleep somewhere around midnight and I was bright eyed again at 4 a.m. GRRRR!! Anyway, to help with my insomnia, I figured there was no better way to waste time than to look around online. I've been tossing around the idea of getting a new carseat/stroller combo for Elliott. I loved my Graco Quattro system that I had with Evan and I still have it, but it's pretty worn and honestly, I just wanted a new one, but hated to pay $250 for one. So, anyway, I was looking on Babies R Us this morning when I found a Graco Quattro Travel System that was listed for $99.98. Since I was wanting to be asleep at this time, I figured I was seeing things, so I looked again. Sure enough, $99.98. I start reading the description, figuring that even though the title says travel system, it must only be the stroller. Nope. The description says stroller, carseat, and base included. I was still skeptical. I thought I'd add it to my cart and see what the shipping would cost...that had to be where they were going to get me. Nope. A little box popped up that said I had qualified for free shipping! At this point, I know I've missed something, so I go back into the site to look it up again. It was still $99.98, but this time I notice a little icon that says "Take 15% off." Surely it won't let me do that, I'm thinking. But, I was wrong again. It did! So, now I have this $250 stroller in my cart and it has been reduced to $84.96 with free shipping! YAY! Needless to say, I had to fumble around in the dark kitchen trying to get Shaun's debit card out of his wallet without waking anyone, but managed to order this awesome stroller/carseat set for nearly 60% off!

I must say that finding this bargain makes me feel like my friend Alicia. She's always finding the best bargains! Yay for me! Okay, that's all. Just had to share!

A Wonderful Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend! On Friday, Shaun and I took Evan and his best buddy, Jarrett, to see Thomas the Train: Live on Stage in Nashville. We've had the tickets forever, and I'm usually more-than-organized when it comes to things like this. We left in plenty of time to park downtown, walk to and eat at the Spaghetti Factory, and then make it back to the Sommet Center in plenty of time to take pictures and use the bathroom before the show started! We picked Jarrett up at 3:30 and made it all the way to US Bank on Louisville Road before I realized that I HAD FORGOTTEN THE TICKETS AT HOME!!!!!!!!! The pregnancy brain has finally set in; I'm just not as "with it" as I once was. Thankfully, I'm married to a wonderfully understanding husband, so he didn't even yell at me as he had to turn around and drive all the way back home to get the tickets. Thankfully, we had built in enough extra time that we still had time to stop and eat at Chick-fil-A before heading downtown to park and go straight to the show!

I wish I had a picture of the boys' faces when they saw Thomas for the first time. They both almost fainted! It was just priceless. The show really was cute. There were lots of music and dancing, but the best part was, of course, the engines themselves. Thomas, Percy, James, Gordon, Trevor, Harold, and Cranky were all there, along with Sir Topham Hatt. Evan could not have been more thrilled! I'm so glad we had the opportunity to take him to something he loved so much. His little face was worth every single penny that we spent to take them!

Gordon, James, Percy, and Thomas!

Evan and Jarrett! There was a very strict, "You MUST hold someone's hand at all times when we get out of this car" rule! A special thanks to Aunt Stacy for their cute shirts!

By the way, for all you sports buffs out there, Eddie George (former Titans player) and his wife, Taj (former Survivor contestant) came in and sat in front of us! Shaun was so excited to see Eddie George. I was more excited to see Taj! :-) I took this picture of Eddie during intermission. Taj had gone to the concession stand, so I didn't get one of her. The funniest part was that I was trying to be very inconspicuous about taking it, but he looked straight at me the minute my camera flashed! :-) Oh well, I'm sure I'll never see him again!

On Saturday, I got to have lunch with my dear friend, Rose. Rose and I taught 4th grade together until she and her husband moved to Somerset. Now they live in Jackson, Tennessee and it had been many months since we'd actually seen each other. We talk on the phone or Facebook often, but there's just nothing to replace a face-to-face chat, and best of all, a hug! We both LOVE Shogun, so we met there! I thought they were going to have to kick us out before we were finally finished talking!

So, as you can see, we had a busy weekend, but it was so much fun! Add church in on Saturday night and Sunday, baptizing Sunday afternoon, and prayer meeting Sunday night, and it really seems busy! :-) The best part of it all...spending it with my two (almost 3) favorite guys! I don't know what it is, but I swear, I love them more every single day!

**Side Note: I LOVE my new camera! There was no flash photography allowed at the Thomas show, and it still took great pictures! Just wanted to throw that in.**

This and That

I realize that I am a blogging slacker! Sorry about that. I wish I could say that I had a bunch of pictures of all the things we've been doing that have kept me so busy for the last two weeks, but I don't. Last week we were in a wonderful revival at Beaver Dam. We had day and night service, so we laughed and said that all we did all week was eat, sleep, and go to church...literally. Since then, we have done absolutely nothing but work on Evan's new room. In case you don't know, we are going to make Evan's current room back into a nursery for Elliott, and Evan is getting a new room across the hall. I wish I had taken before pictures, but I'm sure I would have been too embarrassed to show them to anyone anyway. I don't mean to make it sound like we live like savages here at the Stice house, but our spare room has been the catch-all for 5 years now. In addition to the junk we can't seem to help but accumulate, the closet had also broken, so every article of clothing that Shaun owns had been laying on the bed or dresser. I am happy to report that 20 bags of garbage and a new closet later, we are well on our way to having this room done. We sold the bedroom suit last night. They are picking it up tomorrow night. Hopefully by Monday we will have the carpet ripped up and maybe (just maybe) by next weekend, the new floor will be down and we can start painting. (I am aware that that seems like the reverse order. Why wouldn't we paint while the old carpet is down, right? Wrong. Shaun had decided differently, so I'll just keep my mouth closed and let him do it his way.) Either way, hopefully Evan will be in his new room just in time for school to start. I can't believe this summer has gone by so quickly and that my sweet baby will start Kindergarten! Part of me is excited because he'll be at school with me all the time and we'll finally be on the same schedule. But, the teacher in me knows that each school year goes by faster and faster and that in no time homework and all that fun stuff will start! I have enjoyed him being little for so long that I really hate to say goodbye to that phase of his life. Am I the only one that feels that way?

Baby Tucker

On a brighter note, we are so happy that Tucker Webb Brantley has arrived to our wonderful friends, Robbie and Andrea. We got to visit with them for a while last night, and I must say that holding Tucker makes me want Elliott to get here even more! He is just beautiful, and even though I had to take an oath that I wouldn't take a picture with Andrea in it, she looks great too! Tucker is like looking at a miniature Trace when he was born. I can't wait to watch him and Elliott grow up together. I'm sure they will be best buddies!

Practicing!

I guess that's it for now! I hope everyone enjoys these last couple of weeks of summer break. I'm trying to be as lazy as I can be and keep my feet up as much as possible. I know that starting back to school means lots of hot days and swollen ankles. Oh well, the sooner we start, the sooner our little peanut will be here! :-)

I should have some pictures to post after this weekend. We are taking Evan and Jarrett to see Thomas on Stage tomorrow night in Nashville and then I am having lunch with my dear, dear friend Rose on Saturday. Yay!

Cincinnati

We went to Cincinnati this weekend with our great friends, the Cassadys and the Spainhowards. On Friday night we went to see the Cincinnati Reds play baseball. Afterwards, there was an AWESOME fireworks show. We also had a very interesting cab ride back to the hotel, but that is a blog post all on its own.

Evan and Daddy before the game

Evan and Mommy before the game

Macy, Evan, and Mollie waiting for our cab

Me, Lesley, and Stephanie

Eric and Sawyer

Shaun and Marty

Griffin and Macy

Evan and Mollie

On Saturday, we got up and ate breakfast at the hotel. The kids swam for a while after that, and then we went to a really neat kids' museum. The best part was that it had air conditioning and a Pizza Hut...two favorites for a pregnant girl. :-) The kids had a blast playing (and so did the adults). Saturday night we ate dinner at Eric's favorite restaurant, Buca di Beppo. It was delicious! We finished the night (along with half of the Cincinnati population) at Graeter's Ice Cream. Marty just sent me an article that said it was rated as one of America's top 9 ice cream parlors...pretty neat, huh?

Ellie Claire, Shaun, and Evan at breakfast

Evan, Mollie, Sawyer, Griffin, and Macy at the museum

Our family at the museum (the last picture we took before I dropped my camera and broke it)

Griffin, Eric, Sawyer, Lesley, and Ellie Claire

Marty, Macy, Mollie, Stephanie, and Maggie

The whole gang!

We had a wonderful time just getting away with our friends. Can't wait to do it again!

Baby Update

Hi friends! Today was my regularly scheduled doctor's appointment, and I'm happy to report that Elliott is still doing GREAT! When I walked in the office today, Dr. Gass was standing at the counter and said, "Look who looks like a pregnant girl now." Everyone laughed. The truth is I look like a REALLY pregnant girl now, but my weight gain is apparently exactly where it should be and I'm measuring right at 24 weeks. So, I'm going to quit being so hard on myself. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE the fact that I'm getting bigger by the day because a perfectly healthy baby boy is growing away inside my belly, but it just seems like I'm so much bigger so much faster than I was with Evan. I guess that's one of the perks of multiple pregnancies, right? I also got to have the very lovely glucose test today. I haven't heard back from those results yet, but am really hoping they turn out okay so I don't have to do the more intense 3 hour test. I had to do that one with Evan and it was no picnic. We go back to the doctor on July 17th. We get to have a 3D ultrasound done that day. Then, get this, we'll start going every two weeks. WOW!

In case you're wondering, some of you know that I've been having some fainting spells over the last couple of weeks. Dr. Gass had told me that it could be a variety of things from stress (which I've had a lot of lately) to my blood pressure dropping to my thyroid. He wasn't really sure but ordered a battery of tests to rule out everything, including my heart. He told me today that I am "a picture of health." My EKG, Echocardiogram, and blood work came back fine. He's not sure what has caused those spells, but is hopeful that with less stress we'll see fewer of them now.

So, I guess that's all. I just wanted to give you an update and thank you again for all the support you've been to my family and me over the last year. I thank God daily for giving us this opportunity again. I dream about what Elliott will look like and can't wait to hold him for the first time. I certainly don't want to wish the time away, but I can't wait for my baby boy to get here!

This Week In Review

Okay, I realize that I am a blogging slacker! Since school ended, it seems like I have been busier than ever! We've had a busy week, so I thought I'd give you a recap.

Last Sunday we met my sister and her husband at Mariah's to celebrate Father's Day early. We're all going to be out of town on the real Father's Day, so we celebrated early. Unfortunately, I have no pictures!

On Tuesdsay, Shaun and I had a much needed date night. He took me to the Grand Ole Opry. I had never been before, so he got tickets when he found out that Carrie Underwood was going to be there. We went early and shopped at Opry Mills before the show. The Opry was great! There were lots of acts there, but the best were Trace Adkins, Little Big Town, and Carrie Underwood. We had a blast...mostly just being together. My only complaint...it was HOT outside before we were able to go in. Shaun even told them about my "condition" to see if I could just get in the door where it was cool, and they wouldn't let me. Thankfully, a nice lady gave me a fan that did the trick!

I took a lot of pictures during the Opry but they need to be edited, so this one of Shaun and me will have to do!

On Thursday, Lesley and I had a girls' day out. We had lunch at Rafferty's (my current favorite) and then had pedicures. We had such a great time! We're together a lot, but it's usually with the rest of our families. It was nice to get some girl time in!

On Friday, I had lunch with some very special gal pals of mine, Valerie and Brittany. Valerie is my friend that I met at Chick-fil-A last year! We love to tell the story of how we met. It's so ironic, but she's turned out to be a great friend and I'm so glad our paths crossed. Brittany and I met via the blog world. She and I had both been through some hard times and found strength in each other. Shaun makes fun of me for blogging so much, but it has been a great way to make and build lasting friendships. Long story longer, Brittany and Valerie are friends from WKU. So, since I'm finally out of school, we got together and gabbed while the kiddos played. FUN times!

Today has been fairly uneventful. Evan and I did venture out to Hallie's birthday party this afternoon. I spent the remainder of the day cooking for homecoming tomorrow before heading to church tonight.

Sorry that this post is a little rambly. Nothing too exciting to talk about, but at least I can say I've posted something now! Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

My Toothless Wonder, Part 2

You guessed it...Evan lost his second tooth last night! Look at this sweet face. Where has my baby gone? One tooth was bad enough, but two? He looks like such a big boy now. Listening to him talk is HILARIOUS! He hasn't quite gotten used to that gaping hole in the front of his bottom teeth. He is so proud. Enjoy the pictures!