Busy, busy, busy bees....

So, obviously I've been a super bad blogger and haven't posted anything in, oh my goodness, like 10 days. What is wrong with me?! Loyal readers (all 4 of you) I do apologize. But fear not, for not one, but 2 posts await you this blustery, rainy, craptastic day.

I must first tell you about our recent acquisition, a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe. Mike and I have been a one-car family since before our wedding (when we sold Mike's beloved Jeep Wrangler in order to pay for our honeymoon. Sweet husband.) Mike would generally ride his motorcycle to and from work, but between the recent cold spells that have forced us to carpool and the belly girth that will soon hinder my ability to get in and out of the Stratus unassisted, a second car seemed to be in order. We got a great deal on the Santa Fe, and it's only got 65,000 miles on it! We're quite pleased with the purchase, especially since we can now pull our kayaks, use our bike rack, and load up dogs in more space than a measly backseat (oh, and it'll run over curbs at tailgates with more ease too. Whew!)

On February 2nd, we had our first ultrasound! I am happy to report that there is just one Sprout currently shacked up in my belly, and that he/she has a loud heartbeat and is very active for their size, which was estimated at 9 weeks, 1 day at that point. Our official due date based on the sonogram is September 6th- which is, quite fittingly, Labor Day. I understandably had some serious concerns about this due date- Labor Day Weekend? And all surrounding weekends are Gameday weekends? When on earth am I going to hold birthday parties?! This kid had better get used to Birthday Tailgates.... and I guess Mama's got to get used to that idea too, seeing as all my dreams of theme parties for years to come are dashed by this inconvenient due date. (Easy to see where my priorities lie!)

I know all the ultrasound pics in the world look exactly the same, but I was pretty impressed that he/she already had a little baby-shape and isn't merely a blob- and that we were getting to see so much movement! So here you are, Sprout's photographic debut, with helpful arrow. I personally think that he/she is awfully cute!

And speaking of pronouns- I had only been thinking of boy names since we found out I was pregnant- I was simply obsessed with coming up with a boy name that we agreed on! Well the second I saw the little wiggle worm up on the screen, I started saying "She." No idea why, just out of the blue... er, pink. We still aren't going to find out, and hopefully our 20 week US won't make it too easy for us to tell, but I just think it's interesting what my instincts are telling me. In the meantime, we've come to an agreement about names- that I can pick the girl name, and Mike can pick the boy name- but we each have veto power. Honestly, this has been a lot less stressful for me only having to think of one name! I know I'd said before we'd agreed that part of the girl name would be Rose, and that's still a possibility; current contenders are Ava Rae, Ava Rose, and Celia Rose. Mike does not like how Southern Ava Rae sounds, which is precisely why I like it... And here's where that veto power can kick me in the booty. He did agree, however, that should I pick Ava Rose, we can call her Ava Rose, and the whole two-name thing is awfully appealing to me for some reason. Stay tuned, because in true Libra form I'm certain to change my mind at least a dozen more times!

After the excitement of the ultrasound on Tuesday, leaving for Savannah to attend the Southern Women's Show was admittedly a little anticlimactic.  However, I ended up having an INCREDIBLY awesome time! Visit Gainesville had a booth set up in the travel section, and it was just my lucky week that Morgan from the Florida Museum of Natural History was able to join me. Morgan is one of my new fave people, and I'm not just saying that on the off chance that she's reading this! We shared a love of yummy food and cute accessories, and she was such a blessing to have on board to share the show responsibilities with me. We had a prize wheel that attracted so many people, the line wrapped around the adjacent booth, and just keeping up with it was exhausting! Luckily there were the Southside Firemen to look forward to each evening- performing a fashion show in between selling tee shirts and calendars, these guys in uniform were raising money for their burn victim foundation- and raising the temps of all the Red Hat Ladies in the audience too! A special nod goes to Hottie McHotterson, who was clearly their ringer- they had this poor guy selling tote bags in the morning, tee-shirts in the afternoon, calendars during the show... and then he was the grand finale on stage each evening! I broke down and bought a calendar for my momma, who I'd have loved to have seen up there next to the stage getting her hug from a fireman. Too funny!

When Morgan and I weren't preaching the gospel of Gainesville or laughing at the firemen, we were indulging in our love of all things tasty. The first night we had dinner at The Lady and Sons, Paula Deen's restaurant in Downtown Savannah. I had crab-stuffed bacon-wrapped shrimp in a basil cream sauce (and yes, the recipe is online, here.)

We also visited Molly MacPherson's, a Scottish pub that delighted us with their shepherd's pie and maple butter- not to mention a free round of drinkie-drinks (don't worry, mine was but a fruity concoction of juices, sprite, and grenadine- Sprout's too young to drink!)  And on Saturday afternoon, after a desperate struggle to locate the cupcake bakery that was twice suggested to us, I finally obtained two perfect vanilla cupcakes from Back in the Day Bakery. Despite the hassle of finding them in midtown Savannah, the pink buttercream frosting and heart-shaped sprinkles were, quite literally, icing on the cupcake. Yummers.

All that, combined with my 500+ consumer sales leads, resulted in a very successful and enjoyable weekend in Savannah. Of course, having eaten my way through the city, I have no idea if now my dress khakis aren't buttoning because of Sprout or as a result of my own bad eating habits, but I am trying to combat weight gain of any kind with personal training sessions. I started at the YMCA on Thursday just before I left for my trip, and my wonderful trainer, Deanne, will be working with me once a week to keep me up on my strength training. She's worked with pregnant clients before, and I am so excited to have her on Team Tammy.  I'll still be keeping my membership to GHFC, but even with the membership fees AND PT fees, it was cheaper to go to the Y than to get a trainer from Gainesville Health. Yeesh!

This week I am looking forward to Thursday when my Sissa arrives to scout baby shower locations with me and give me lots of hugs! Also looking forward to a quiet Valentine's Day with Mike Baby- it was 4 years ago on Valentines Day that we were hanging out and realized maybe we had something more than friendship going on. And look at us now! After all that time, he's still my fave person to get wings and beer with, and that's gotta be worth something. :) I love you, Babe!