Bumbos and Boppys and Bibs, oh my!

I was so blessed to have such an amazing long (and last one for a while) weekend back home in Greenville. I arrived on Thursday and left on Monday. Thursday, my Mama and I hung out for a while and then I was able to get a massage!...so nice! On Friday, my Mama and I hung out again...it was so nice! On Saturday, my Uncle Mike, Aunt Sandy, and Cousin Allison brought my Nanny up, and my Mother-in-law, Ginny flew in from Baltimore, my sister Kristen came in from Newberry and my Mama and I all met at Panera Bread for lunch. Then, Nanny, Ginny, Kristen, Mama and I left to go to my 1st baby shower of the weekend, hosted by Anna, Annie, Jessica, and Linda. It was so beautiful and so much fun! We played a few shower games, and of course opened presents. It was such a great chance to hang out with ALL of my close girlfriends for one last time and just celebrate and chat and be together...not that I won't ever see them again, but it will never quite be the same. I won't be coming home to Greenville again without our little girl, Grace. I didn't really think about my "last" trip to Greenville because I always had another trip to look forward to. I'm not going to lie, it really hit me that afternoon and I had a little meltdown. That night, Mama, Daddy, Nanny, Kristen and I went to dinner and enjoyed our time together...what special memories. Sunday, we got up and went to church and came back to my parents' house. Aunt Sandy, Allison, Nanny, Aunt Susan, Ginny, Kristen, Mama, Daddy and I all enjoyed a little lunch made by my Mama, and then the women headed out to my 2nd shower out our church, hosted by my best friend Sarah Ellen and her mom Ellen. They had the most amazing Pooh cake, it was so amazing! We fellowshipped with church members, family members, and friends. What a great time. Paul, Grace, and I were very blessed this weekend with such wonderful goodies! It was a good thing I brought the Pilot!...my Mama and Daddy loaded it for me. I had to put down the back seats and they filled the WHOLE back (to window level, because I want to make sure I can see out). I had to put my suitcase in the front seat. It was a good thing I didn't bring our dog Jasper. I would have had to leave him there!...lol.

I love my hometown...with my church, friends, and family...and I miss it greatly. But, I am so thankful that I have started to make such wonderful friends here in Raleigh!

There is an app for that

So apparently, there is an app for just about anything!...including Blogger.  If you know me, you know that I just love my smart phone and my apps. It is AMAZING how much these phones can do!...(and sadly, how much we rely on them.) I have apps for Christmas shopping, healthy eating, navigation, movies, couponing, Facebook, Google talk, several games, and more...I even have have an easy uninstaller app...to make it easier to get rid of an app I don't like or find useful. So when I saw an app for Blogger, I just had to try it. How nice will it be to just be able to blog on the go...especially with my pregnancy brain...lol. If I don't blog it when I think about it, I may not blog it at all. I can't wait to see if it works...so here goes!

Thanks for reading,
Carolyn

My adventures with Meg

So today, I picked up my friend Meg and took her to lunch and to run some errands. (I will have to ask her if I can share her background medical information as to why I have to pick her up...I will keep you posted.) We went to our usual dining establishment, Los Tres (there is another word that comes after, but I can never remember the word, let alone spell it...so, we call it Los Tres), a great Mexican restaurant with people who don't laugh at us (anymore) with our special requests. We usually get there around 1:00 or so, after the lunch crowd so that we can take our time and enjoy our food and fellowship. I always offer to take her to run errands or to do anything she might need to do while we're out and she has never accepted my offer before. I was pleased to hear that she needed to go to Bed, Bath and Beyond. I took her, with no intention of buying anything myself of course, and ended up buying a few goodies (mostly off the clearance tables...my favorite place to shop!) We were there about an hour and a half while Meg tackled her to-do list...and she did!

Side note: While walking around, I got a text from a number I didn't recognize saying, "We just had an earthquake. I'm OK." I responded, "That is great! Who is this?" The response was, "Mom." Mom is what we call my mother-in-law. I was so mortified! I know I have her cell number programmed...or I did. The only thing I can think of is that when I got my phone fixed, they had to set it back to factory settings...I must of lost it then. A few minutes later, Meg got a call from her mother who asked if we felt the earthquake. Meg and I were confused...we must of missed something! Turns out, Richmond, VA (ish) had an earthquake that was felt as far south as Georgia...including Baltimore (where my inlaws live), Raleigh (where Meg's mom lives), and DC (where Paul's brother lives). How crazy!

Anyways, back to my adventures with Meg: After we left BB&B, we rode over to Buy Buy Baby. Meg had never been there before. I explained that it is a Bed, Bath and Beyond for baby stuff (which really is owned by BB&B, just in case you are not familiar with it...you can also use BB&B coupons there). I was not successful in my endeavor there, but it was still fun. Random, I know.

Thanks for reading,

Carolyn

The Sabbath Day

Prayer requests:

- My Mama, Debbie, and her continued healing from pancreatitus. She is home from the hospital (Praise God!), but still on a soft food/low fat diet until her re-check appointment. Also, this is her first week back to school with the kiddos.

- My Daddy, Randy, and safe travels during his business trip to Chicago.

- My sister, Kristen, and her move back to NC and the beginning of her Junior year.

- Me and my safe travels back to Greenville this weekend for my baby showers. Also for safe travels for friends and family who will be traveling to them as well.

- Me and Grace and our OB appointment this coming week.

- Paul, and not working too much while I am gone.

- Unspoken

- My friends, family, and followers.

Praises:

- New friends!

- Old friends and their generosity to host baby showers to celebrate little Miss Grace!

- Loving family!

- Good reports from my blood work from the OB last week.

Keep praying! :)

Thanks for reading,

Carolyn

Date nights

So tonight, Paul and I decided at the last minute (9:00pm, to be exact) to have a little date night and go over to Frankies Fun Park. We decided to get an Icee (which, bless his heat, Paul had NEVER had until long after we were married...again, he's a yankee), and play a little putt-putt...he won. It was Grace's fault. She is making my belly stick so far out that it kinda got in the way of me putting, which I didn't think about until the first hole...lol. I'm just kidding, we are just VERY competitive! After we played putt-putt, we walked around and people watched; people riding go-carts on the different tracks, people climbing up the metal "ropes course," people riding the drop zone, people playing laser tag and people playing the games. Sound exciting, huh? (I am a firm believer that date nights are so important in any relationship, but don't have to break the bank!)

When we got home, I got a little sad. I think it is the first time that I thought about the fact that in about 10 weeks, things will change. I am so excited about little Miss Grace's debut, but a little saddened at the same time. I love my hubby so much and I enjoy our little date nights and adventures and our time (alone) together. I know that when she comes we won't be able to just decide at 9:00 to go play putt-putt or grab ice cream or a movie. I know that we can still "date" each other, we will just have to PLAN AHEAD to have date nights...which, is sometimes hard to do with Paul's job. People keep telling me that everything changes when you have kids, I guess this is just one of those things.

Thanks for reading,

Carolyn

It's all mine!...officially

So, I am VERY excited to report that I FINALLY got my car title in the mail! I know this may seem trivial, but it is quite an exciting time for me! I kinda feel like an adult...lol.

Here's the story: In high school, my parents bought me a green 1995 Nissan Sentra, complete with power windows, power locks, and a sunroof...I thought I was hot stuff! Let me be clear though, it was not really MY car. It was made quite clear to me from the very beginning that it was my parents' 3rd car that I was given the privilege to be able to drive. I had VERY strict rules as to where I could drive, with who, with how many people, when, etc. It was also made very evident to me when one of my parents' cars would break down (or if I made a C on my report card...which only happened once, they made a believer out of me!) and they would take "my" car to drive. My dad would even graciously let me take him to work (very early in the morning) to allow me the possibility of driving it to school, softball practice, etc., and then pick him up that evening. I was able to drive my "little green go cart" from my Junior year in high school through college and graduate school. I got my first teaching job at BA in 2007, and along with a new job, my parent's informed me that I needed to purchase my own car so that my sister, Kristen, could use their 3rd car for the start of her Junior year of high school that year (she is 8 1/2 years younger than me). At first, I was a little upset, but I started looking. One day, on my way to the mall, I just happened to be driving by Dick Smith automotive on Conagree Road (I should get some kind of perk for mentioning their name...lol) and saw it...parked right on the street...a Honda Civic Hybrid. The car that I had decided that I was going to purchase...well, I wanted some kind of hybrid and I knew a Honda would last forever, as well as their value. I called my aunt, Becky (who at the time worked at the Dick Smith in Columbia) and told her about my car. She had them deliver the car to her store, and after enjoying a week at the beach with Paul's family, Paul and I stopped by Becky's store to check out the car. We test drove it, and I fell in love! That day, in June of 2007, 2 months before I started my first teaching job, (when the gas prices rose...and never really came back down), I purchased my very own silver 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid. Paul and I were getting married that coming November and I was starting my first "real" job, so I had NO money to put down. I had to finance everything, including tax, tags, and title. I took out a 6 year loan, and was able to pay it off in a little less than 4 years! Paying it off was the easy part, getting the bank to send me my title...not so much. After 4 months of getting the run-around, they informed me that they never had the title, so they sent me a letter of release of lien and told me that I needed to go to the DMV to apply for a second title. Now remember, we've moved to NC now...the car was purchased in SC. I have to go to SC to apply for the title. FRUSTRATING! Thankfully, I had a trip planned for my sister's birthday, so I went on down to the DMV to apply for the title. Here is some advice, keep EVERY piece of paper that you get regarding ANY large purchase!...you never know when you might need it!! After a lovely trip to the DMV, which thankfully, my friend Nicole was working that day and was able to help me, I filed for a second title. Exactly 2 weeks later, here it is! If I needed to go through that whole process, I wish the bank would have told me that 4 months ago!!! I will say, even after all of that, I am very grateful that my parents did what they did in regards to having a car in high school and how they did it...so much so, that Paul and I will probably do the same for our own children.

Well, all of that being said...I am super duper excited that my little silver Honda Civic Hybrid is really ALL MINE!...OFFICIALLY!! (even if Paul is the one who drives it!)

Thanks for reading,

Carolyn

Couponing!...another new adventure

Tonight, I tried couponing.

This past Wednesday, my friend Krista was very kind to teach me the inner workings of couponing. After listening to and looking at her impressive set up, I decided to try my hand at it. I started small, the Lowes Foods circular (the double up to $0.99, just so you know). I made my list of the things that were on sale and that Paul and I use on a regular basis, added any items that I had coupons for (especially if they were about to expire), and added any additional items I needed (after making my meal plan for the week). After buying ONLY what was on my list (another tip...stick to the list), I saved $54.50 and only spent $60.49. How exciting!

I am no extreme couponer by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a start!

Thanks for reading,

Carolyn

To blog or not to blog...

I've decided to try this whole blogging thing...after much persuasion from my best friend, Sarah Ellen (she will be so proud!), and after learning that many of the other moms (or mom-to-be, as in my case) in my Life class at church do the same.

So let's get started: My name is Carolyn Rutherford and I have been married to my sweet hubby, Paul Rutherford, for 4 years this November. Paul and I officially moved to Raleigh, NC in June, 2011. I say "officially" because that was when we started living together full-time again. We had quite the interesting living arrangement for about 6 months. Let me explain. Paul and I met, got married, and lived in Greenville, SC, where he worked for a company (we will keep it anonymous...you just never know). After earning his Master's degree, he (we) felt that it was time for him to move on and find something different, something both more challenging and rewarding. After about a year of searching in the Greenville area, Paul and I decided that maybe it was time to widen our search. We prayed about it and came up with the decision that we would feel comfortable with him searching within a 6 hour radius of Greenville. It was amazing, as soon as we made that decision, job interview opportunities started coming in...and all from the Raleigh area. After a few phone interviews, face-to-face interviews, and prayerful consideration (and some tears), we decided that Paul would take the job at BCCC (again with the anonymous thing...but if you figure it out, that's OK) in Raleigh, NC. Now, I am a school teacher, and if you know anything about the teaching profession, you know that teaching positions seem to be few and far between right now. Districts seem to be "excessing" more teachers than they are hiring. So with that being said, we made the decision that I would finish out the school year teaching at my (then) current school, while we tried to sell or rent our house in Greenville, and I would join Paul in Raleigh in the summer. Paul was very blessed to find a wonderful roommate, Joe, in Raleigh (well, Durham), someone that he and I both felt comfortable being around together or alone. (We had a whole escape plan the day with met Joe for the first time...different story for a different day.) Paul moved in with Joe on December 4, 2010 and started his new job on December 5. Thankfully, Paul and I were able to see each other every weekend, either he would drive to Greenville, or I would drive to Raleigh. After about 2 months of me living in our house on a daily basis by myself, I lost it. I just couldn't stand coming home to an empty house and going to bed by myself anymore. I wasn't eating well. I wasn't sleeping. I was miserable. So, we decided to see if we could rent our house. It rented in less than 2 weeks!...so I moved in with one of my dear friends, Meghan. Oh, and I failed to mention that the week before we moved all of our stuff out of our house, I found out that I was pregnant! We had been trying to get pregnant since May the year before, so I was so incredibly excited and a little in shock at the same time. Us getting pregnant during all of this craziness HAD to be God's plan...I mean, I only saw my husband on the weekends. Anyway, March, April and May were quite interesting months. Paul and I lived apart during the week and together on the weekends...with one or the other of our roommates. I am not going to lie, I was ready to move into a cardboard box, ANYTHING as long as it was with my husband! I am so thankful for Joe and Meghan allowing us to live with them, but it was great to find a place with my hubby! We decided to rent a place in the neighborhood where my husband works for a year until we can figure out his (our) next career move. My last day at BA was on Friday, June 3rd and we moved to Raleigh on Saturday, June 4th. The move was bittersweet. I really miss my family (Mama, Daddy and Squirt...Kristen, my 20 year old sister), my friends, my job, and my home church. I didn't realize how hard it would be to leave the place where I have lived my whole life, 28 years.

So far, Raleigh has been great! We were blessed to know a few people before we moved here, so that has really helped. We were able to find a church to get plugged into, which was a huge thing for me and Paul, since after all, we both not only grew up in church, but MET each other in church. Jasper (our 9 pound miniature poodle) and I walk Paul to work everyday, well almost everyday. I have graciously taken over all of the household responsibilities, now that I have more time on my hands, and I have even started couponing (if you have any tips, I would LOVE to hear them) and cooking more! These last 2 weeks, however, have been difficult. Last week, my mom, Debbie, was admitted to the hospital with Pancreatitus. It was really the first time that I felt as if I don't live close to my family anymore, which was hard. I felt guilty for not being there, and I felt guilty for not wanting to go since driving by myself is getting more difficult and takes longer the further along in my pregnancy I get. This week school started, and I didn't. I feel as though a little part of my identity has been taken away, but I know that once little Grace is born, it will all be worth it.

I am excited that on Saturday, I will be 29 weeks!...so only 11(ish) weeks left to go until miss Grace Pennington Rutherford makes her grand debut! It's funny how Paul and I seem to count everything by weeks now.

Well, I better run. I think that I've done a pretty good job for my first post...feel free to say otherwise.

Thanks for reading,

Carolyn