Our Weekend Away

Earlier this year Andrew was asked to usher a wedding in Wisconsin for a college friend. In our naivete as new parents we thought we'd take Julianne and make it a fun filled family weekend in the Midwest. Thankfully this year has been packed full of weddings and we have learned the hard way that quiet churches filled with lovely people trying to enjoy the nuptials of friends is not the place for our baby. Not only to we spend the entire time trying not to disturb others, but our girl ends up exhausted and on edge for sometime afterward. All this to say, we elected not to take Julianne on the 6 hour trip and asked Gran and Gramps (Andrew's parents) to babysit instead.

They were eager to oblige us and came to our house for the weekend. I feel like I was supposed to feel sick about leaving and anxious about someone else taking care of Julianne for 2 nights, but honestly I was super excited over the idea! Getting some alone time with Andrew, going through airport security with just my stuff, sitting on a plane without breastfeeding, eating meals without worrying about when and what Julianne would eat, and waking up whenever I wanted, was all very appealing to me. I knew we would miss her, but knew also that it is good for our marriage to leave every now and then. She has been much easier to care for lately too and I had gallons of milk stored up in the freezer, so I knew Gran and Gramps could handle it. 

We had never been to Wisconsin and I have to say it is beautiful there in the fall! My goodness the colors were amazing! The wedding was lovely too and it was also fun to catch up with old friends. We had a nice time, but were ready to get back after all the festivities were over. Turns out we missed Julianne more than we thought! I also didn't sleep all that well so the whole wake up when I wanted thing was not realized. All in all though a nice time, and a good exercise in leaving our baby in capable hands in order to spend time together. We will be better parents if we are good spouses first.

Colorado or Bust!

**all photos in this post courtesy of Maria Sims (aunt Maria)

Last month my sister and I took Julianne to Colorado for a visit. Andrew stayed home since he has still not accumulated enough time off to join us on any kind of vacation. Stink...we missed him dearly and I realized how much I need that man! Not only is he a huge help with the baby, but he grounds me and helps me see when things are not a big deal. I tend to overreact and this tendency is something I constantly take to the Lord.

For example, during our stay we were parted with our dear friend Wubbs at the wedding we attended there. You may recall that Wubbs is the pacifier thing Julianne loves to bits and helps her get the best sleep, calms fussiness, and keeps her company in the car seat, therefore critical to our operation. We don't have Wubbs, we don't have sleep, and if we don't have sleep everyone is cranky and the world basically ends. At least that was how I felt in my state of panic. It is a long story but basically he was MIA and even after retracing my steps I could not locate that darn giraffe. So there I was in Denver without our beloved Wubbs who took 3 weeks to arrive when we ordered him 2 months ago. It is not like you can get these things at Walmart or something. They are a specialty item. During the crisis I texted Andrew, "there has been a loss in our family....Wubbs is gone!". He called me laughing and suggested we order a new one. This was an unacceptable solution since I knew it would be 3 weeks until a new one arrived. How could he think this was funny? I hung up shortly after he said, "it will be OK babe" because I just knew there was no way that statement could be true.

Well it turned out he was right after all. Someone picked it up and took it to the reception where my mom was asking everyone she encountered if they had seen the missing giraffe. About an hour into the party she finally asked the right person who saw it at the church and had planned to reunite it with its rightful owner at the reception. I can honestly say I have never been so happy to see a stuffed animal in my life! After we got Wubbs back I felt silly for how worked up I got over the whole thing. I mean it was tragic but Andrew was right to laugh about it. How I wish I could be more like that!

the reunion...

All this to say when Andrew is around I am more like that because he rubs off on me somehow in a beautiful married way that God probably intended by making Andrew my husband. Thank you Lord! However, when he is not around my ugliness in this area shines out a lot more and everyone misses him a lot. I plan on working on this and avoid leaving town without him as much as possible.

Overall it was a ver nice time though and wonderful to be in the cooler climate! Here are some highlights:

 J's first plane ride. She was a champ...just a little fussy on the way up and down and slight meltdown when she was ready for her nap. Most people were really nice and patient with us.

traveling through the airport in the Moby. She loves this thing and I do too! Was the perfect way to tote her and we used the stroller to tote all of our gear. Worked great!

We saw lots of family and friends:

 Uncle Matt Dillon 

 Opa

 Aunt Suzanne and cousin Esther

(Aunt) Rene. We aren't technically related but close enough

We also got to wear our hats and long pants. What a treat in June!

Because of this we spent lots of time outside enjoying the weather!

Nathalie

Babymoon and other updates

Dear Blog-

I am sorry for the neglect...things have been busy and frankly I just haven't felt like updating you lately. Please forgive me...I still love you.

Nathalie

OK now that that is out of the way.....Andrew and I have been keeping busy lately. I really should start with telling you all about the beautiful baby shower we had at the beginning of November. I don't have any pics with me today from the event though so I will have to postpone my remarks from the evening to a later post.

For now, please enjoy some recent shots from our latest adventures and projects.

Adventure #1: A&M vs. Baylor football game. Location: Waco Texas

This is always a fun event for us since Andrew attended Texas A&M and I attended Baylor University. It was an exciting match up...well the first half was anyway. A&M came back in the 2nd half and ended up with the win. I was sad but it made for a more pleasant ride home with my Aggie.

Adventure #2: Colorado Babymoon and Thanksgiving  Location: Colorado

The week of Thanksgiving was spent in the lovely mountains of Colorado where I grew up and my family still lives. We saw deer, snow, and ate like kings (I am dreading my OB appointment tomorrow for fear I gained 12 pounds)! During our visit with my family Andrew and I took a couple of days for an official "babymoon". If you are not familiar with this term, it means one last hoorah before a couple becomes parents thus ending time alone forever. We got countless advice that one last trip "just the two of us" would not be regretted and cherished for years to come. We chose to visit the little town of Buena Vista Colorado and spent our time exploring and enjoying the mountains and time together. It was awesome.

Lovely river we walked along....

30 weeks on this day! It snowed while we were there which sadly covered the mountain views, but it was still really pretty!

I imagine this will be one of our last "just the two of us" photos....crazy!

Adventure #3: Nursery Art Project. Location: Julianne's room 

I have been slowly working on a few things for our girl's room. I found a tutorial online for this and thought it was such a great idea. My inspiration came from the quilt I had made for her and loving the fabrics that were used.

I love that it is unusual and custom made

Another view...I decided to order 3 of the fabrics in the quilt online and use it as artwork on the wall.

First I went to Hobby Lobby and chose some plain wooden frames in the size I desired. These cost me a total of $10 (made 3 frames)

Next I cut the fabric slightly larger than the frame

Then I ironed the cut piece..

gathered my supplies....not pictured here, but a husband is also nice to have around to operate the stapler while the wife holds the fabric tight

I started on one side pulling the fabric tight as I went and then did the same on the opposite end. Saved the corners for last....again...Andrew was very helpful for this part. Thanks babe!

For the corners I tried to wrap it like a gift. Seemed to work well....

 And Done! I am going to be changing the way they are hung...going for something more A-symmetrical I think. I didn't want to not show the finished product though. I am very pleased with how they turned out! Total cost: $25

I also now have some extra fabric to use for other things in the room as well. I don't really consider myself a crafty person, but this was so easy I would totally do it again or recommend others trying it.

Thus concludes this ridiculously long and random post. Thank you for reading....assuming you still are.

Nathalie

Weekend at the Lake

I am about a week late in posting this, but last weekend we had the great privilege of visiting Possum Kingdom Lake! Andrew's brother's wife Amy spent her childhood weekends on this reservoir, and her parents recently bought a second lake home right on the water. They invited us to their lovely place for a weekend of fun and sun. We had a great time! Since I am with child I was unable to partake in the tubing/skiing/jet ski fun but very much enjoyed watching the others from the boat and taking quite a few dips in the lake! It was so refreshing to get away and some relief from the heat in the water. I have concluded riding on speed boats is one of my favorite activities in this world.

Humm...this is not our best together shot but the only one I have of both of us. Notice I wore my lap swimming suit. It did the job but was not the cutest thing on the lake for sure. I have a variety of lovely 2 piece swim wear options, however I personally feel totally uncomfortable wearing them at 17 weeks pregnant. Some girls can totally pull this off....I am just not one of them.

Oh well...me and Baby M had a great time totally covered up in our 1 piece lap suit. Very fun weekend indeed!

On the pregnancy front, I am just about 18 weeks along now and feeling awesome. I don't think I have ever felt this hungry in my whole life though! Food has also never tasted so good! For the first time I always know exactly what I want and feel completely satisfied when I get it. Our baby also apparently loves some spice. I have been craving all kinds of spicy food, the greater the kick the better. My current favorite are sandwiches from Potbelly with their famous hot peppers. If you don't know what I am talking about you are seriously missing out. Oh man that is a good sandwich! I also am cooking with a lot of jalapenos and Asian hot sauce...yumm! This Thursday we have our "big" ultrasound where they will measure and look at all of his/her parts and tell us with certainty if Baby M is a he or a she. We are super excited and anxious for Thursday to arrive!

Nathalie and Baby M

Last NY Post

I was on a roll there for awhile documenting our trip out east. Then the weekend came and I didn’t feel like blogging, and now it is almost too far in the past to keep talking about. However, because Pat McClish (Andrew’s mom) has patiently been awaiting this post, I must share. After all, she was the first and is still the most diligent reader of “Those McClish’s”.

NYC the Conclusion:

The last day in a half in New York we spent seeing more sights. To our disappointment and utter discomfort, there was a terrible hot spell the days we were there. Hot and muggy I might add. One news weather man called it “the dog days of summer in May…we are seeing unseasonably warm conditions”. I did not pack for such weather as I had heard New England is lovely this time of year for jeans and layers. Fortunately, Maria’s roommate lent me an airy sun dress so I could occasionally feel some of the nearly non-existent breeze. I am forever grateful to her and her generosity to a hot, sweaty, girl in need.

First stop: Grand Central Station

It really is neat and very pretty to look at

Where are the McClish’s? My sister tells me Andrew and I are both in this shot. I still can’t find Andrew though….can you?

We noticed a lot of people in NY refuse to comply with the local rules and regulations.

Kind of random, but since we are on the subject, another example of a non-enforced rule. I can’t say I saw anyone doing this while we were there…and we saw many dogs.

Next: Staten Island, Statue of Liberty, Little Italy, and Central Park

There is a free ferry that takes you out to Staten Island. Last week some people actually were injured on one of these vessels when it hit the dock or something. It seemed pretty safe at the time…thankfully our voyage was without incident

From here we could see Lady Liberty…pretty cool for a free thing

The boat trip gave us an appetite so we headed to Little Italy for lunch. Each restaurant has their menu outside and an Italian man who tries to convince you to eat there when you stop to check it out. Eventually we settled on this place. The Italian man was convincing and they had air conditioning…sold! We were more than pleased with our selection.

AMAZING!

The next morning before we flew back home, Andrew and I spent some time in Central Park. I think this was my favorite attraction of all. It is a beautiful oasis amongst crowded dirty streets and buildings. Somehow you felt alone in the park surrounded by natural beauty. I am so glad it exists for New York’s residents and dogs to retreat to.

so peaceful...

Apparently they also film things here. We couldn’t tell if this was a Law and Order episode or gum commercial. All I know is they made that girl you really can't see walk 20 feet over and over then smile into the camera. If you ever see this scene anywhere I would love to know…

And that is NYC for us in a nutshell. Honestly, I am not sure we will be back. It was a fun place to visit, but I think my heart longs to be outside the city. I am glad we experienced it though and I admire anyone who takes on the challenge of living there.

Nathalie

Maria's Recital and Avoiding Pathfinders in Times Square

 My sister Maria is the reason for our travels to the Big Apple. She has been attending NYU for the last two years earning her Masters in Musical Theater. In order to earn her degree, she had to perform a recital showcasing herself through singing and acting. We were in attendance and it was an EXCELLENT performance! We laughed, we cried...she is so talented.

Here was the program...a lot of work went into this document...and yes Maria, I read all of it!

Her performance was in here...very New York show business.

After the recital we headed back to Maria's place to eat and re-charge. Apparently this woman had also had a busy day. Poor girl missed her stop too...

oh..side note...see my new green bag? I got it on Canal street in one of those shady shops! It was so awesome...we asked if they had designer names and before we knew it the back wall of the shop opened and we were hurried into a secret room! Inside were walls of designer bags for the taking. After some indecisiveness, I selected the one shown above. The shop woman stuffed it into a black bag, we gave her cash, and she radioed her fellow shop keeper in an unknown dialect to verify there were "no cop" around. Then, as quickly as we came, the little woman hurried us out. It was crazy!

OK where was I, oh yes...after we took a short rest we decided to see some more sights as a family.

First stop: Bryant Park...this was a wishing fountain.

Mom made sure we had some money for wishes...thanks Mom.

Andrew eagerly making his wish....gotta love the man's passion here

Then we were on our way to the "Top of the Rock". Rockefeller Center for those of you not up on your NY lingo.

Inside we ran into NBC Studios...that was a nice coincidence....

Blurry...but you get the idea...$21 a piece later we were on our way to the best views of the city.

Going up...

The TOP! Maria didn't know you had to pay to use those...

View from the top! Maria took this...can you tell?

Another view

It really was one of the best things we did....well worth $21.

Oh no...someone is hungry...how about a cupcake?

 

These things are famous...and I can now attest to their deliciousness

Mine was the chocolate...

Yumm...hit the spot

Wanna try mine?

 Little did we know one block over a terrorism plot was unfolding...

Ignorantly we headed that direction to see if we could get tickets to a show

We didn't make it. The police had several blocks barricaded. The next day we discovered what was going on...scary indeed. Because these types of crowds are not something we enjoy as a family, we left this area and headed back to rest up for our last day in New York.

Nathalie