Gobble Gobble!!!

I hope you all had a fantastic holiday weekend! I know we did! Of course it came with all the stress excitement of both sides of family in town and having to cook an entire Thanksgiving meal for 9 people...but still, it was fun!
I was able to wiggle my way into a vacation day on Wednesday so Tyler stayed home from school and Ben worked from home! Meanwhile...I prepped food. By prepping, I mean chopping and chopping and more chopping...

Wednesday afternoon, Ben's parents arrived. Ben had a conference call so Tyler and I headed to the Marta station to go pick them up.
That evening we took them to our favorite Alpharetta spot Sip for dinner. They loved it! If you live in North Atlanta or are ever in the area, I HIGHLY recommend it for good eats (and drinks when you're not preggers).
Wednesday night, Ben's sis Kate and her hubby Matt arrived, but they didn't get in until late and Tyler and I were both in our respective beds by then.
Then it was THANKSGIVING DAY! We woke up with a breakfast of bagels and then back to cooking. Tyler amused himself with the grandparents and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Around 10am, my parents arrived, so Tyler got to spend a good portion of the morning playing with both sets of grandparents! How fun!
At 12:30pm, it was time to eat...check out our spread!

I have to give myself props by saying that everything was pretty freaking amazeballs!!! The only thing I wasn't too happy with was the deviled eggs...I think I may have put in a little too much mayo...but it's an art (better luck next year). But the dressing was to die for! My mom's secret (or not too secret) recipe.
And I tried a new dish this year... Creamed Corn Casserole. It was devoured in about 5 minutes...the whole dang dish! Another Pinterest win (and now a staple in our Thanksgiving rotation).
We ended the meal with Gooey Butter cake and Pecan Pie...mmmmmmm!!!

After lunch we all did this...

And then Thanksgiving night, My parents and I headed to Walmart for the 8pm Black Thursday craziness. I was really only after one thing...a car for Tyler. Santa is bringing him a 12 volt Jeep for Christmas and Walmart had them for only $149 (retail $300). I wasn't passing up that deal! The funniest part of the whole thing was trying to the get the huge ass box in my parent's SUV. It would only lie horizontally, so we had to push down both back seats to get it in. That left no room for me. So my dad told me to drive home (being a protective father...can't have a pregnant woman without a seat belt) and he literally laid on top of the box for the entire trip home (imagine superman style) facing the windshield. It was quite hysterical.
We ended Thanksgiving night with a Beer Pong Tourney at our Neighbors the O's house!
What a great holiday!

Friday morning, I went with my mom and mother-in-law to Target where we did a little Black Friday/Tyler Christmas shopping! Meanwhile, all the men (and Aunt Kate) took Tyler to park. We said goodbye to my parents and then spent the afternoon at mini golf. It was GORGEOUS outside and Tyler had a ball! Friday night we decided to go check out the lights at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens with the in laws and our friends Jared and Melanie (utter fail..it was sold out) but the kids ran around in Piedmont park and then we went to Cafe Intermezzo for hot chocolate and dessert! Great times!

Saturday afternoon, Matt, Kate and Dwight (my father-in-law) headed back to DC, and Jan stayed behind to get additional Tyler time. Ben and I took full advantage and decided to have a date night! We met Jared and Melanie at Hudson Grille to watch the Gamecocks play...Wait, I'm sorry...we went to Hudson Grille to watch the Gamecocks kick some Clemson ASS!!! Oh yeah!

Sunday, we went to church, sent Jan on her flight back to DC and decorated the house for Christmas! It was a great way to kick off the holiday season!

On the Road Again!!!

The past couple of weeks have been fun and exciting around the Sullivan house!
Let's start with Election Day shall we??? It was INSANE!!! I got up butt ass early to get my voting spot and of course it was pouring down rain and the line was long. Luckily, they had it strategically wrapped so that no one had to stand outside. Took me 1hr & 20 min total to vote...not terrible, but I've heard of better. I ended up only being 10 minutes late to work though so that rocked!

Note: While this is my blog, and I can say whatever the hell I want, I won't use this as a forum to discuss who should or should not have won the election. I'm just glad it's over!

That Thursday, Ben took Tyler to our "halfway" meeting spot between ATL and Spartanburg to meet my parents. They took Tyler for the weekend and he had a ball as usual. They also bought him a Spiderman and now he's officially obsessed with superheroes. Specifically all things Spiderman!

Friday after work, Ben and I headed to Columbia to see the Gamecocks play! We met everyone out at the Ale House on Friday night and then were up bright and early on Saturday morning for Tailgating! We crushed Arkansas so it was a great day to be a Gamecock!!! That evening everyone went out, but I was wiped out (being preggers will do that to you). So Ben and I crashed at the hotel and ordered pizza.
Sunday morning, we met my parents at Riverbank Zoo to pick up T. We had a great time! Overall, a great weekend and so glad I got to see my girls!!! Enjoy the pics!!!

This weekend was also a lot of fun! Highlights included a Girls Night out to see the new Twilight (AH-MAZING), Tyler's BFF's bday party (Monkey Joe's and Chick Fil A, what more could a 2 year old want), Buying Tyler's Big Boy Furniture, and trip to the ride the Pink Pig at Macy's in downtown ATL with Steph and Dylan! It's a holiday tradition in Atlanta and a first for Tyler and me!
We finished up the weekend with a massive shopping spree at Kroger to get everything we needed for Thanksgiving! We'll be hosting both of our families on Thursday!
Happy Turkey Day Ya'll!!!

Where did my brain go?

According to WebMD, Pregnanacy Brain is REAL! See below!

Pregnancy Brain Is Real

Pregnancy does not change a woman's brain, though some women don't feel as sharp as usual when they're pregnant.

"If you read pregnancy manuals and listen to pregnant mothers – yes, there is such a thing as pregnancy brain or momnesia, and there is also evidence from research showing deficits in memory," says Helen Christensen, PhD, of The Australian National University.

But "the evidence from our study shows that the capacity of the brain is unaltered in pregnancy," Christensen tells WebMD in an email.

Reasons for Pregnancy Brain

If you're busy, or stressed, or short on sleep, it's 100% normal to have memory lapses or be forgetful, Christenson says.

"When you are not getting enough sleep and are multitasking, nobody's memory is good," says Jane Martin, MD, director of the Neuropsychological Testing and Evaluation Center at New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center.  "You are not cognitively sharp when you haven't slept well."

Surging hormone levels and new priorities may explain why pregnancy brain happens.

"There are 15 to 40 times more progesterone and estrogen marinating the brain during pregnancy, and these hormones affect all kinds of neurons in the brain," says Louann Brizendine, MD, director of the Women's Mood and Hormone Clinic at the University of California, San Francisco.

"By the time the woman delivers, there are huge surges of oxytocin that cause the uterus to contract and the body to produce milk -- and they also affect the brain circuits."

Pregnancy also shuffles what gets your attention. Your IQ doesn't change, but your priorities do.

"You only have so many shelves in your brain so the top three are filled with baby stuff," Brizendine says.

Hormones may also affect spatial memory -- which includes remembering where things are -- in pregnant women and new moms, a recent British study shows.

According to Kristen Sullivan, Pregnancy Brain SUCKS!!!!! Seriously, I feel like I have a WAYYYYYY worse case of it this time than last. Or at least last time, it waited til the 3rd trimester to show up.

Recent examples: 

- I made Pizza Dip for a girls night. Everyone loves my Pizza Dip. I put it into the oven until it was bubbly and golden brown...then realized, I left off the pizza sauce

- The following Sunday after girls night, we did make your own Pizzas for dinner. I was helping Tyler with his and was about to put it in the oven...when again, I left off the pizza sauce.

-Our 12 week sonogram was at a different location than our normal OB's office.

I texted Ben that I had arrived for our appt. He said that he was here too but didn't see my car. That's when I realized that I never told him about the location change. Was he PISSED? Yes! Did I feel guilty? Horribly! 

- I ordered our Christmas cards which I was so excited about! They are printed and on their way to me as we speak...and TODAY...I realize there is a typo! $75 down the drain for a reprint! 

Please help...I need my brain back. This is so against this TYPE A girl's way of doing things!

Baby #2 Update

Hey All! We had our 12 week sonogram last week. The baby looked great! The doctor said that the nose bone and neck measurements were accurate (all signs of no genetic defects)....And, we are scheduled to find out the sex on December 13th!
The first trimester was over on Friday 11/9...HOORAY!!! I could get my hair highlighted in time for my college reunion road trip to South Carolina!
I'll post pics and tell you all about that in tomorrow's blog post!
In the meantime, enjoy this adorable pic that we posted of Tyler to announce Baby 2 to the social media world!!!

Halloween 2012

Oh my goodness! Where do I begin, SOOOO much to fill you all in on! Can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I updated my blog!
But it's been a bit cray-cray if you can believe it.

So the week of the 22nd wasn't super busy. We were just leading up to a Halloween filled weekend.
Friday, the 26th, I went with a bunch of our friends and neighbors to the Roswell Mother/Son Halloween dance. SO FUN! Tyler had a blast (besides a minor incident with a kid dressed as the dude from Scream) and my mother in law arrived at the end of the dance to hang out with us! Jan was scheduled to come for the weekend so Ben went to the airport to pick her up and brought her to the dance.

Saturday morning was Tyler's preschool Fallfest. He had a great time playing games, riding the choo choo with Grandma, eating hot dogs, and seeing all of his friends!

Saturday night, Grandma babysat so Ben and I could to the movies. We saw Argo and it was AMAZEFEST! Seriously, if you haven't seen it, GO!
Sunday morning Tyler woke up with croup...yuck. So we booked it to Urgent Care and got him medicated and ready to roll. He felt great after the medicine kicked in, so we decided to go to the pumpkin patch after all!

Jan (my mother in law) was scheduled to fly back to Baltimore on Monday but Sandy hit...and hit hard. So she was stranded with us for a few extra days. This actually turned out to be a good thing, because Tyler got hit with a little cold/virus after the croup wore off and we had to keep him out of school. So it was great that we had a built in babysitter.
Plus Tyler liked spending time with Grandma!
Wednesday was HALLOWEEN!!!! My FAVORITE holiday!
After work, (Tyler went to the doctor that morning and was feeling much better) we got all dressed up and went to our neighborhood block party! We had a chili bar this year and got some great family pics. From there it was off to trick or treat with all of our friends and neighbors ! Tyler was so into it this year, and scored a ton of candy.
Have I mentioned how much I love my neighborhood at Halloween???...it seriously can't be beat!

By Friday, I was WORN Down! I think being preggers, coupled with company in town and Halloween just made me feel down right crappy. So Friday I took a sick day. I really needed some rest! Friday night we ordered Chinese and watched Friday Night Lights...just what the doctor ordered!

Saturday, we hit the gym, had a beautiful outdoor lunch at one of our fave places in Alpharetta and had an awesome Game Night with the neighbors!
Sunday, we met up with Steph and Pat and headed to Cagle's Farm for fun in the Corn Maze with Tyler and Dylan!!!! It was a great day and weekend!!!

I love Fall best of All!

So now that the cat's out of the bag about my pregnancy I can show you the cake that my hubby had made for my bday! I've been asking for a pink cake from a REAL Bakery for 4 years, and this year he finally came through. What a smart ass, right? But I love him!

Now for the weekend update...it was both busy and relaxing at the same time. There was no traveling and no big plans on the books, but I feel like we didn't have time to sit still for more than a few minutes!
Friday night our old next door neighbor Jared (Melanie was out of town on business) came over with the kids and we ordered pizza.
Tyler and Maddie had a ball together as usual, and I got some new mommy practice time in with Baby Gabe.
Saturday morning, we hit the gym and then Taste of Roswell for lunch. It was a lot of fun.
Late afternoon, we headed over to our neighbors, the Schmidts, to watch Florida completely crush my Gamecocks. Needless to say, I wasn't happy with our performance. I'm hoping for a strong showing against Tennessee this weekend.
Saturday evening, we went over to our other neighbors, the Smithers, for dinner.
Tyler's BFF is the Smither's oldest little boy Jack. They HEART each other...good thing the adults all heart each other too!

Sunday morning we went to church, and then we spent the afternoon cooking, cleaning and playing.
Ben made crockpot chicken soup for dinner (it's one of his specialties and REALLY good) and I baked candy corn cookies! They turned out so much cuter than I thought they would. Check it out!  Not that easy...but super yummy!

Tyler got to spend a lot of time outdoors playing with the neighbors and Sunday evening, we decorated our first pumpkin...Elmo style!

Have a great week everyone!!!

Another BIG BIG BIG Announcement

Ben and I are SUPER excited to announce that we are having another BABY!!!!
Yes, you heard it right! 
A second addition to the Sullivan Family will be arriving in May 2013!
FYI, we haven't announced anything to the various "social media" outlets yet. The blogger world is the first to know. 
Please keep any comments limited to my personal email or this blog post until we post it on the Facebook world! Thanks!!! 

When we found out that we were expecting Tyler, I did a little Q&A for everyone. So I figured, why not do it again? 
So below are some answers to what I'm sure are your "burning" questions!!! LOL :)


Q: Are you guys excited and when did you guys start trying?
Answer: Yes!!! We were ecstatic to learn that we were preggers!! But I do have to admit that the first couple of weeks I was in pure shock. The honest truth? (sorry Baby #2 if you read this in 20 years) We were NOT trying. We weren't even planning on trying until the new year. Turns out that I'm part of that 2% that get knocked up on the pill...go figure. (I swear on my life that I only missed one pill)
The story goes as follows: It was September 20th and I was in the break room at work. My coworker comes in and says, "I'm sorry if I'm cranky this week ya'll, it's that time of the month for me." 
I said, "How weird, it's that time of the month for me too....but wait, I haven't gotten my period yet"
Coworker said, "Girl, you might be pregnant"
Me: "No I can't be pregnant, I'm on the pill"
As soon as I got home (left early), I took a test. It was BLAZING positive.
I drove straight to Ben's work to tell him. On the way there I thought "I read this thing wrong...the plus sign was really a minus, I MUST have been confused!" So I stopped at Kroger, Bought a digital test...peed in the Kroger bathroom and waited while the little test blinked...and blinked...and blinked. Result = Pregnant.
At that point, there was no denying it. I drove to Ben's office and told him. He was just as shocked as I was.
But both of us were giggling like little giddy high schoolers.
Truth is...we are ecstatic.
I still can't believe it...but we are both SO excited for the baby!!!

Q: How are you feeling?
Answer: Not Great...Nauseous, Bloated, Sore Boobs (my GOD they are sore) Peeing every 5 minutes, EXHAUSTED Irritable, & Emotional! How fun! My husband is loving life right now! 

Q: Is that your "injury" that kept you from doing the triathlon?
Answer: You bet your sweet ass it was. I was SO ready for that triathlon and wouldn't let anything stand in my way of finishing it. But 4 days before the race I experienced some first trimester bleeding (I had it with Tyler too) and decided to play it safe rather than sorry. So I guess there was ONE thing that could stand in my way of competing...the thought of hurting Baby #2. 

Q: What about your big "weight loss/weight watchers" journey?
Answer: Well that's obviously been put on hold for now. And weight watchers makes you quit if you are preggers. I'm trying to be more healthy this time around, but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Late night chocolate cravings and zero energy to work out aren't helping much either. But as soon as this baby is born, it's back on track! And I'm doing that triathlon next year dang it!!!!

Q: Are you going to find out the sex?
Answer: Yes absolutely we want to find out the sex! We will find out sometime right before Christmas and we'll be sure to let you all know!!!! Honestly (and I can say this without hesitation) I would be happy with a little girl or another boy just like my sweet Tyler. 

Q: Wait, your not out of your first trimester...should you be announcing this on your blog already?
Answer: I'm a horrible liar...so anyone that asks me anything or questions my motives ultimately gets the truth.
Because of this, a LOT of people already know about baby #2. I figure why not just go ahead and let the rest of the world in on our little secret. 
My doctor has assured me that things are going well and I trust that God will keep an eye on Baby #2 and make everything go smoothly!

Q: But all of your previous blog posts have talked about partying...were you drinking at all those events?
Answer: I have not had any kind of alcohol since I found out I was pregnant on 9/20. 

Q: Are you keeping the name a secret?
Answer: No...as soon as we find out the sex we will announce the name! I want my kid to have as much personalized stuff as people will buy for him/her :) We really like Haley for a girl and Jacob for a boy. But who knows what the ultimate decision will be. 

Q: Any weird cravings?
Answer: Yes...Chicken Salad and Cereal (not at the same sitting thank god) 

Q: How far along are you?
Answer: I'm in my 10th week this week! Technical Due Date: May 23rd 

Q: Is your child going to be super spoiled?
Answer: If his/her grandparents have anything to do with it...yes! 

Q: Did you see how big your baby's head was in that ultrasound? Are you going to push that sucker out? 
Answer: Yes, I saw. The Sullivan Children (well the one so far) are known for their rather large head circumference. LOL! 
I had a Csection with Tyler (he was tilted to the right and wouldn't drop) but am still trying to decide if I want another Csection or try for the VBAC. We will be weighing our options over the next few months. I'm in no rush to decide. 

Q: Are you having anymore kids?
Answer: I can say with 99.9999999%...correction 100% certainty that 2 is enough for us! Ben will be sprinting to the vasectomy clinic after this kid is born! 

Q: Is Tyler excited?
Answer: Oh my God YES!!! He kisses my belly and asks to hug the sonogram picture. He wants a little sister (yes sister...he's insistent on this) SO Bad! It's really the cutest thing in the world! 

Well that's all the questions I can think of right now but if you have any other ones feel free to leave a comment and I'll post a follow up!!!

Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers during the next 7 months!!!
Love to you all!!!