THREE Generations!

As a last minute surprise, my mom and sister flew down to Florida for a few days. What a treat!!! Ann hadn't even been back in Michigan for 48-hours, and she hopped back on a plane to come spend time with her prego sister. I was SO HAPPY to have them here, and we enjoyed a few great days together. For some crazy reason, we decided to have a yard sale. I was under the false impression that it would be an easy undertaking, but I was WRONG. It took a lot of time, energy, and helping hands. I definitely couldn't have done it without my mom and sister, but it ended up being a success. The best part was that we it forced me to clean through some closets and old boxes, and now we have some extra room for our little squirt.
My helper girls...THANKS mom and Ann. I could NOT have done it without your help. They suffered through the Florida heat because of my crazy whim.
I love it when Ann is back in the United States. She is coming back down at the beginning of August so that she can meet her first niece and help take care of her 9-month pregnant sister.
Auntie Ann had a special effect on our Little Thumper. For some reason, she always moved around when Ann had her hand on my belly. It was neat to share the experience with my dearest sister...especially since I hadn't seen her since December. :) Come back soon, Ann!

34 Weeks...6 to go!

Parenthood is just around the corner. We're enjoying every stage of this journey, but we're growing quite anxious for the arrival of our little girl. She's been VERY active, and we've been learning more about the final weeks of pregnancy. We had a nine hour birthing class last week, have we have our hospital tour this evening. She'll be here before we know it. :)

June showers bring back the flowers!

The months of April and May were incredibly dry, but we're officially in the rainy (which also means hurricane) season now. Our grass is starting to look green again, and the flowers have returned to bright blooms. Even though we stay inside to avoid the heat, I love knowing that we're surrounded by such beauty. This plant blooms every day. The flower only lasts for the day, but tomorrow always brings new life. :)
Phil's pineapple garden is thriving. I think there are currently 11 pineapples (all throughout the yard) on their way to full maturity. They take a LONG time (at least a year) to grow, but the patient waiting will soon pay off.

Our FOUND Fund

Phil and I are goof balls. I think that needed to be said before writing this post. I am 100% FRUGAL, and I stop at nothing when it comes to saving money or getting a deal. Phil and I have always picked up spare change that we find on the ground, but we've recently made a game out of it. We started recording the amount that we collect each month, and it's amazing to see how quickly it adds up. From May 17th until June 17th, this was our loot: one dollar bill, $2.86 in change (LOTS of pennies), one car wash token, one arcade token, and one University of Phoenix pendant. Just imagine twelve months of that. We could have $46.32, a free car wash, a rip roarin' good time at the arcade, and a necklace full of pendants. WOW!
Give it a try. See how much you find in one month. If a 7.5 month preggo lady can bend over to pick up a penny, so can YOU! Have fun, and share your results! :)

Happy "Father-To-Be" Day!!!

Phil is going to be the GREATEST daddy to our little daughter. We've both had amazing examples of parenthood, and our fathers are among the greatest men that we know (we LOVE you, Dad Durham and Dad Hillary). Even though Phil wasn't able to literally hold/see/experience his daughter on this Father's Day, he is still a daddy. I love watching him prepare to become a father, and I know that I am going to fall even deeper in love with him as I watch him cherish our daughter the way he does me. What a guy! Happy "Father-to-Be" Day, my dearest husband! We celebrated with some sushi, and I made a photo collage for Phil. His daughter gave him some candy. She already knows him well. :)
"Every good and perfect gift is from above." ~James 1:17

Mother Goose

Phil and I went out for a little stroll in our neighborhood, and we ended up with an unexpected surprise along the way. My dearest husband, the BIRD MAN, attracted these two geese. He started "talking" to them, and then they followed us ALL THE WAY HOME! It was hilarious to watch them nip at the heels of Phil...so as not to get too far away.


Clearly, they were smart birds because they latched on to the best looking thing in the neighborhood... MY HUSBAND! Phil had fun with them for a few minutes, and then he took them for a walk to find their home. It turns out that they belonged to some neighbors down the street, and they were happy to see that Phil was taking care of their birds.

The three of us had a similar waddle. Mine is the PREGNANT LADY WALK, and theirs was the natural big bird waddle. I think they would have followed me right inside the house had it not been for Phil enticing them with his bird whispers. :)

Discovery Toys

For those of you who don't know, I started selling Discovery Toys at the beginning of the year. It has been a great experience thus far, and we're hoping that it helps make it possible for me to stay home with our Little Squirt. In addition to adding AMAZING educational products to our home (at NO cost to us), we've earned some extra money along the way.

I know that some of you are in similar situations to us in that you want to STAY HOME with your child(ren). I would LOVE to tell you about the incredible opportunities with Discovery Toys, and I really think that this is a great adventure for you and your family!

For those of you who have NO interest in selling, you should at least check out these SALES!!! This is a GREAT time to stock up on baby gifts, birthday gifts, summer fun activities, etc. Check out the Discovery Toys website (http://www.discoverytoysinc.com/) or view this link: Super SunSations Sale. Let me know if anything catches your eye or if you have any questions.

31 Weeks...Goodwill...Craig's List

We just passed the 31-week mark. Only nine more to go. Our little squirt is due TWO months from TODAY, and that is pretty hard to believe. Phil and I grow (both literally and figuratively) more and more excited with every passing day. We've been enjoying our sparkling pool (which Phil works VERY hard to maintain) a lot lately because the Florida heat has taken over! This dresser was one of our exciting finds in the search for good deals for the nursery. We wanted to have a changing table that would be functional after the changing table days were over. After searching high and low through countless antique stores, we found this diamond in the rough at our local Goodwill. Phil could tell that it was a really good piece of furniture, and the price was too good to pass up. As soon as we brought it home, he did some research on the furniture company, and we discovered that it was from Grand Rapids, Michigan. What are the chances? Our "new" glider was a jackpot from Craig's List. Until this purchase, we had never used Craig's List before. We ended up finding exactly what we were looking for at a MUCH BETTER price than what we would have paid at Babies 'R' Us. I think we might be hooked.
All is well, and we love hearing from you. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!! :)

Our day on Tampa Bay!

We woke up early this morning for a day of fishing on The Bay. Our hope was to get on the water before the weather got too hot (it ended up reaching 101 degrees today) and the water too rough. What started off as a flood of Murphy's Law (one bad thing after another) ended up being quite a successful afternoon. STRIKE ONE was when Phil's little net (used for retrieving bait fish from the livewell) flew out of the boat. I couldn't resist taking a picture of him searching for it like a needle in a haystack. Clearly, I wasn't too distraught as I sat there with our baby girl in one hand and a magazine in the other. That is my style of fishing. :)
STRIKE TWO was when Phil's cast net got caught on the piling, which resulted in a large tear and a useless net. On top of that, we only had six bait fish at that point. My hubby wasn't a happy camper, yet he somehow knew that another strike was on its way.
Finally, some ACTION...Phil caught a shark. It was just a small guy, but he put up a good fight. Phil smiled at the thought that our luck was turning around, but then we encountered STRIKE THREE. The boat wouldn't start. Uh oh! Thankfully, Phil used his magic touch, and we were on our way again.

HOLY MACKERAL! Check out that beautiful Spanish Mackeral. Other than the minor detail of getting bit by the 24-inch fish (which resulted in a bloody hand that was frequently "washed out" with salt water), Phil was excited about the first great catch of the day. At this point, Murphy's Law was a distant memory.

I didn't catch anything but one bait fish and some UVA rays (although I kept myself protected with my stylin' hat). Our little girl enjoyed the water, and she kicked all around as we bounced through the water. :)
What's for dinner? Fresh SPANISH MACKERAL from Tampa Bay would be the correct answer to that question. We (and by "we," I really mean Phil) ended up catching one shark, two lady fish, and two mackerals. Phil cleaned the fish and grilled them for dinner. It's hard to beat freshly caught fish, a beautiful adventure on the water, and a day with my hubby! :)
If my first day off of school is any indication of what we have ahead, it's going to be a GREAT summer!

Farewell Friends!

These are some of my teacher friends from school. Our staff enjoyed a "last day luncheon," and we all filled our bellies from the delicious buffet at the local restaurant. The end of a school year is always a strange feeling, and it usually takes a few days for "summer vacation" to sink in. More so than ever before, I was ready for this day. No more school!!! :

Last day of school!!! YEAH!!!

Today was my last day with students. It's hard to believe that I just finished my fifth year of teaching. Even stranger than that is the realization that I don't know if/when I'll go back. Phil and I both grew up with mothers who stayed home with us, and that is a huge priority for our soon-to-be family. Since I couldn't commit to going back after twelve weeks, I had to resign. These are some of my dear students from my 8th grade language arts class. As anxious as I was to say goodbye to the school year, I wasn't anxious to say farewell to these special girls.

Ann's NEW BLOG!!!

My dearest sister, Ann, just started a blog. YEAH!

She is such a special person in my life, and I am

inspired by her life full of travel and adventures.

Check out her new blog (http://anndurham.blogspot.com/)

to follow her journey. I love you, Ann!!!

Baby Shower at School!!!

I was absolutely HONORED today by my staff at school. They threw a WONDERFUL baby shower, and Phil was there to join in the fun. The theme, which was perfectly suited for us, was animals, jungle, and BRIGHT colors. I was ALL SMILES as I enjoyed the special afternoon.

Notice the excitement as I opened a swing for our little girl.

This was from my 8th grade team.
The hostesses (Jill Benjamin and Jenny Gloer) of the special shower.

They thought of everything!
The honored parents.
The jungle "throne" created especially to fit the theme!

The Nursery in Progress

We recently started working on the nursery, and we realized that we haven't posted any pictures of our little babe's room. The vibrant yellow goes with the other bright rooms in our house, but we're hoping it doesn't cause blindness for a newborn. :) She may go outside and look directly at the sun because it reminds her of her bedroom. [Zwemer Girls...do these bright colors remind you of Kim's and my room in Gilmore? Oh, the good old days!] Doesn't Phil look like a natural? He's going to be such a good daddy.

He's still adjusting to the blue and yellow theme (U of M colors) and hoping that he doesn't lose his MSU (green and white) alumni status.

We still have some pictures to hang, clothes to sort, and a few other things like that before it's all done. With 11 weeks to go, I think we'll be fine! :) We just need our little girl!!!

29 Weeks...transitioning to motherhood!

Friday marked our 29th week, and it was an interesting day for Mama Corrie. I had a mini panic attack about lack of movement and "fetal activity." After days of feeling her on a very regular basis, I thought that something must be wrong. I debated on whether or not to call the doctor, and I finally broke down (in more ways than one) as I explained my concerns over the phone. To make a long story short, everything was okay. I had to find a comfortable/relaxed position (which was difficult at school) to sit and count movements. Someone covered my classroom as I settled down, and everything worked itself out. I share this story only because I feel like yesterday was a defining moment for me in the journey of motherhood. I felt like something was wrong, and all I could think about was finding a way to make it better. I prayed for our little girl, and I felt such a connection with our daughter whom we haven't even met. I thought about my mom and the millions of ways that she has provided for me over the years, and I wanted nothing more than the assurance that our little squirt was okay. Even though this "ordeal" was "small" on the scale of what we have to come, it gave me such a deeper understanding of what it means to be a mother.

The Magic Pillow

After nights of tossing and turning, my dearest husband took me on a shopping spree for a body pillow. I was very resistant to this purchase because we are trying to save, save, save our money. Millions of "more important" purchases ran through my mind as we perused the aisles of Target/Babies 'R' Us in search of some bedtime relief. Phil was INSISTENT that I try one of these pillows, and that is when I truly realized how my lack of quality sleep was impacting him as well. Go figure, huh?! Well, the good news is that these pricey pillows are infused with magic, and I've been sleeping much better since it joined us in bed. I think Phil would say the same for his sleep because his wifey isn't huffing, puffing, tossing and turning anymore.
It's kind of like a snake. I LOVE it for sleeping, but it's a bit tricky finding my way out of the maze when I wake up to go to the bathroom every few hours.
For all of our pregnant friends, we recommend this magic pillow if you're having difficulty sleeping amidst the unfamiliar bump in your belly and aches throughout your body. :)

Lisa and Joe blew in from the desert!

We had a wonderful evening with Lisa and Joe. They live in Arizona, but they were in Tampa for a work trip. Phil made a tasty dinner, we played games, and we had great "catch-up" conversation.

It's always fun seeing "old" friends. :)Phil carefully setting up the tripod for our group picture.

Goofy picture...but cute nonetheless.

Baby Shower from the Ladies at Mann

I was honored to have a beautiful baby shower this afternoon. Some of the ladies from my school organized a special get-together, and I was blessed by their thoughtfulness. They also created the shirt I'm wearing, which says, "BODY BY BABY."

These bibs say, "My Daddy Rocks" and "My Dad's a Hottie!"

I ABSOULTELY AGREE.

Our little girl has the hottest daddy on the planet. :)

Another adorable outfit for our little squirt. She will be the best dressed girl in town.
These are the wonderful women from Mann Middle School. I will REALLY miss seeing them on a daily basis next year. (From left to right...top: Faith Evans, Norelle Silati, Lauren Douglas, Jenny Prong, bottom: Jenny Gloer, Mama Hillary, Jill Benjamin). Thank you ladies!

Our Pet Owl

This owl, and one of his buddies, frequent out backyard. Phil usually hears them before we see them, and then he calls out to them. Phil and the owls hoot back and forth, and then they have a stare down. On this day, Phil won.

Celebrating Pregnancy

These are some of our favorite pictures from Stacey Clack's pregnancy photo shoot. Isn't she amazing? We drove down to Anna Maria Island again because Stacey wanted to take some pregnant pictures for her new photography business. Of course, we didn't mind acting as "models" for an evening. The weather was perfect, and she captured over 200 amazing photos. These are just a few, and you can see more on her website (http://staceyclackphotography.blogspot.com/).