Fun Friday with Friends

Please excuse the quality of these iPhone pics, but I wanted to document our fun day spent in Shreveport today with friends! We started off our morning with a visit to baby Hayden James Horvath, born to Leslie and Ryan just 8 days ago! Leslie looked WONDERFUL and baby Hayden slept our entire hour long visit. I am so excited that Leslie is back in Shreveport as she has been in Dallas the past couple of years--hope to make some playdates for John Cole and Hayden in the future. Preston was ALL ABOUT holding the baby, and this picture just makes my heart leap when I think that in a few short weeks he will be holding his baby brother :)

After a couple of quick errands we then headed to my FAVORITE Mexican restaurant--Tacomania--to meet up with Lindsay and Caroline Smith. We had originally planned on meeting at Chick-fil-A, but Lindsay has heard through the mommy grapevine that there is a nasty stomach bug that seems to show up after a trip to the Shreveport Chick-fil-A :( Just thought I would share that just in case anyone was planning a trip any time soon....I digress. Lindsay and I had a great lunch and visit, and Preston and Caroline really had fun! Now, they barely ate, but what can you do? We made a quick trip to Ellis then headed back to Ruston. All in all it was a perfect day!

Isn't this weather beautiful? Can't wait for some football weather tommorrow night! Have a great weekend and GO DAWGS!

Sweetness!

Although I know in my heart that John Cole is perfectly healthy, when Dr. LeBleu said he was "measuring small" two weeks ago I think I would not be human (or a mom-to-be) if I did not have a brief moment of concern. However, today when both Jeff and I (wasn't it sweet of him to come!) got to get a sneak peek of this little bundle of joy, all concern was put to rest. You see, not only is this baby NOT SMALL, he's gonna be big! Preston weighed 7 lbs 15 oz and John Cole is right on track to be around 8 lbs...because he already weighs 3 1/2 lbs! I ask A LOT of questions when I am having an ultrasound--can you see heart valves (no, not at this time but all four chambers are there), is the heart on the left (yes it is), is his cord in danger of wrapping around his neck (no, I have a lot of fluid so that is usually not an issue when there is plenty of amniotic fluid), is his head down (YES! His head is camping out way down in my pelvis--that's why I seem small--he's getting ready to go!), does his spine look healthy (perfect!). You get the drift....I am probably a little bit annoying but I just CAN'T help it! It's my BABY!!!

Don't you just LOVE this 4D picture??? I think he looks just like Preston...but Preston thinks he looks like Mommy :) Hope you are having a good week! More later...

Battle of the Bulldogs

As I sit here, I feel like I need something to prop my eyelids open, but I am so glad that we decided to take a Parker family outing to Starkville yesterday to see the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs play the Mississippi State Bulldogs :) We left yesterday around 9:30 and headed straight to Starkvegas. We got to the alumni tailgate tent with plenty of time to hang out with our family that had also made the trip. We headed into the game and were VERY excited to see that Nana and Pop had seats that were so close to ours...that REALLY helped us with Preston. He was a TROOPER and we got to watch the whole game...even into the devastating overtime loss that I just can't talk about right now. After the game, we drove about an hour to a Holiday Inn Express in Winona to peel off clothes, put on jammies and put a VERY tired little boy to bed. I was almost congragulating myself on how EASY this all was until litle man sleeping between Jeff and me started tossing, and turning, and kicking me in the back...etc. WHEW! We didn't get much sleep but it was a family adventure that's for sure. The definite low point was Preston's insisting at 2:30 in the morning he was "really hungry" that was fixed by animal crackers and water All in all, it was a super fun time and I am so glad we decided to go. After all, Preston needed to get started on checking off all of the stadiums he's been to...and technically John Cole went with us too! Hope you have a great week!

Hard Fought Loss

I've said it before, and I am sure I will say it again: It's HARD to be a Louisiana Tech Fan!! It is not for the faint of heart, and will test your loyalty almost weekly, but I continue to be TRUE BLUE even after heartbreakers like last night!! The loss at the end of the game was a bad ending to a just about perfect day. Yes, it was still a little warm, but all in all we had a great time tailgating and watching the game. Preston did great for the most part--it's HARD for him to sit still for that whole game--but with EVERYONE's help we get through. Thanks fam for helping me with him :) Love the pic of P "tailgating"....he looks like a little man. Also, thanks to Gran-Gran for the cool new Tech shirt! There's always next week DAWGS!


***Pregnancy Update***
I passed my glucose tolerance test this week-YAY!- and had a good appointment. BP still 90/60, have gained 14 lbs. feeling good. Dr. Lebleu was a little concerned that John Cole is "measuring small" and wants to do an ultrasound on the 28th to make sure he is still growing as he should. I am really not worried though, as I think I'm just long-waisted and don't carry as "far out" as some people do. I can't wait to get a peek at him though :) IT'S ALMOST TIME!

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

I'm not the craftiest cook out there, but I LOVE this easy recipe and it can be changed to celebrate most any occasion just by changing M & M colors! I just whipped up this batch for Louisiana TECH tailgating tommorrow, but you can pick your team colors, or fall colors, or Christmas colors...you get the drift, and it's a CAN'T miss. This recipe is found in Mardi Gras to Mistletoe-Junior League of Shreveport. Happy Birthday Pop and GO DAWGS!


"Everything But the Kitchen Sink" Bar Cookies

1 roll refrigerator chocolate chip cookie cough
1 7oz jar marshmallow creme
1/2 c creamy peanut butter (I think I use more than this-too lazy to measure!)
1 1/2 c corn Chex (again, I may use more/less, just eyeball)
1/2 c M & M's (pick your colors, no need to measure here either)

Pat the cookie dough over the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 13 minutes. Drop teaspoonfuls of the marshmallow creme and peanut butter over the top of the baked layer and bake for 1 minute.

Carefully spread the melted marshmallow creme and peanut butter over the top. Sprinkle with the cereal and chocolate candies and bake for 7 minutes longer. Cool in the pan on a wire rack and cut into 2-inch bars.

ENJOY!!

Spidey Suit

Oh, the simple joy of spending the morning in your Spiderman Suit :) Turning out to be a pretty day...hope to get in one more pool day after nap. Happy Labor Day!

Rainy Game Day

Jeff and I both knew yesterday that it was not looking good for our trip to Hattiesburg today. I was keeping a positive attitude, drug out all of our raingear, and went to bed last night still planning to go. We woke up this morning, however, and realized that even IF the game gets played, it sure won't be much fun sitting in 25-35 MPH winds. We are SO GRATEFUL to K-K and Kevin for offering to keep P while we went to the game, and for the date night last night, but do feel like we made the right call cancelling our room and trip. I guess we'll just consider our game tickets a donation to the cause of getting Tech's traveling fan numbers up:)

When K-K brought P back today from a big day spent in Bossier, he INSISTED on putting on his TECH jersey for "gameday." He told me he was the quarterback, I was the cheerleader and he was going to tackle Daddy. As you can see, he is definitely getting his tackling practice....and he has really gotten STRONG! We've really had to hammer in "no tackling girls or mommies" because he packs a whallop when he comes at you :)

Hope all of your teams do well today...and GO DAWGS!!