What Not To Wear

During a summer pregnancy, that is...

Please be warned and don't let this happen to you.

I should have known better. But no...
I've been wearing my wedding rings all during this second pregnancy, as I did with my first one, (and I am one of those that never, ever removes the bands so as not to lose them) and foolishly, so foolishly, I did not take into account that during the summer I may swell. And swell I did...

On Sunday it ocurred to me that I maybe should go ahead and take my 3 wedding bands off...I quickly found that I could not. I began trying all previously helpful methods that I knew: soap and water, lotion, twisting like crazy, icing my hand for a while. When futility set in, I turned to the internet for new ideas. Chlorox, Windex, hand above head for 10min, then icing for 5min, then using the aforementioned products. Still no results. I turned to Lee...

Having a husband who has spent much time in the ER dealing with fantastical injuries can prove to be quite fairytale-esque, as he can calmly and effectively handle almost any medical situation with a striking coolness and come in and be my real-life "knight in shining armor". With his typical calm-as-a-cucumber way, he quickly assured me that he has seen this many times and he can remove the bands. However, after all my attempts to remove the rings, at this point my finger was even more inflamed and the pain was excruciating.

To conclude, it took a 2 inch syringe of numbing medicine, 3 injections of said medicine and 20 minutes of a very tired Lee patiently wrapping, twisting, prying and pulling to remove my 3 lovely wedding bands and free my finger from peril.

Sigh.....

Now the diamonds dangle gently from a chain around my neck and will remain that way for an undecided amount of time. And I am even more in love with my knight in shining armor.

More summer fun

Katie Agnew ( a college friend) and her husband Lewis stopped by for lunch last Saturday as they were driving home from vacation. So nice to see them...

Me and Shane pose with our baby bumps...err...baby mountains???

Jen McAdory, Laurie Koch and me after our Mom's Night at Nantucket.

Below, Lee and Sullivan hanging out at the new courtyard downtown.

Shane and me again...

Kristen Hawley (a dear college friend who visited last week) and me at a delicious dinner at Nantucket.

Sullivan gets her hair trimmed by the sketchy tatooed girl...yikes!

Sullivan at the zoo with her favorite "ellies".

It has been a busy last few weeks up here! We've had even more summer visitors, a great birthday party and a Mom's Night Out, just to name a few events. Add in some great family time and priceless toddler moments with Sullivan, and you have an excellent late summer set of memories. How thankful I am for this as I am hugely pregnant and very ready to have this baby!!!

Booglybly

Can you think of anything more precious than a small child's voice?
Right now Sullivan melts us daily with her darling utterances as she pieces together language. Our favorite word of hers at the moment is the title of this post, "booglybly", aka "butterfly". Here are a few other favorite words/phrases and a recent video of her "singing".

Poca mas > (Spanish for "un poco mas" = a little bit more) She loves to ask for "poca mas" on just about everything these days...

Happy Burrday> A favorite saying these days...

Reedy book! > How can we ever refuse this request!

Baby Luga > "Baby Baluga"= lullaby time

Where go go? > "Where did it go?

Sully do it, kay? > Her request for independence, with a careful "ok?" at the end.

Uh oh, mommy! Careful! Otro coche> Sullivan telling me to be careful while driving as there is "another car".

Baby Shower

Many thanks to all my dear friends here in Greenville who were gracious in participating in a second baby shower dinner last Monday night for me and Shane Foret! (Shane and I are due the same week with our second baby girls!) A special thank you to Beth Hollenbeck who organized, planned and executed the whole event! Thank you, thank you! It was a very special dinner at PF Changs where the girls gave us a lovely meal, a delicious cake and a generous gift card to BabiesRus. We are so lucky to be surrounded by such great friends. Thank you, girls!

Unexpected visitors

Over the last two weeks, we have had 3 very welcome, very unexpected guests: Honey (Lee's Mom), Gigi (my Mom) and Baby Bob the pint-sized Orangutang. Let me explain...

Firstly, Honey decided to come visit us and help with baby preparations, cleaning and organizing and to get some good snuggle-time with Sullivan. And man did she bring her energy! I was enthralled with her "can do" attitude and vigor at attacking major projects at our house like replacing our microwave (that had a broken door handle and required pliers to open...) and cleaning out our garage. Honey single-handedly moved and organized tons of firewood, debri, lawn equipment, outdoor gear and toys all after a long day of keeping up with a busy two year-old. Amazing! After she left, we felt as though we had a new house in many ways! Thank you, Honey, for such a wonderful visit!

Secondly, my Mama decided spur of the moment to come up the next week as well! From cleaning and mopping all of our floors, doing our laundry, caring for Sullivan, "sponsoring" us in many new baby purchases and sending us out on a date night, Gigi was truly a gift to us! Wow. We had many good times last week with her...playing at the fountain downtown, crawling through tunnels at the McDonald's playplace (yes! She really got in there with Sull!), relishing in her gift of our "new" vintage Fisher Price dollhouse and playing outside in the baby pool. Such a great time!

And finally, I took Sullivan to our lovely little zoo here in town this past Monday and it seemed as though the darling of the place, Baby Bob the Orangutang, had been waiting just for her to arrive and visit him! I kid you not, he came right up to her at the window and began jumping up to reach her as if to give her a hug and communicate with her. I was thrilled to have my camera on hand as of course, I felt that I was witnessing something worthy of National Geographic. :)

Here are a few of the highlights of my photos from these memorable unexpected visits.
All my best to you!

Fourth Years!

This July 1st marks the beginning of our fourth year here in Greenville, as well as Lee's onset as a fourth year chief in his orthopedic residency. I can hardly believe so much time has past! We honestly began mourning the thought of leaving this great town and amazing family-oriented residency experience from the very beginning...and now the end is truly in sight! Here you see the 8 of us within our fourth year class. From L to R, we have Kristin and Austin Hill, Gillian and Wes Lackey, Shane and Jonathan Foret and me and Lee. (Shane and I are both pregnant at present and due the 14th and 15th of September, respectively.) We feel so grateful to have this "family away from family" and the friends that we have made here! So, here's to making our last two years here in Greenville the most that they can be!

Adventures in...

Potty training...home ownership...you name it and we might have a story to tell these days! We have had quite a week here at the Murphy homefront! Complete with highs and lows, I'll stick to a list form to keep concise and to the point. We hope that this finds you doing well!

In one week the following occurs:

1. AC goes out. Home is a balmy 78 for a few long days.
2. Sullivan teetees on the floor daily, too busy to sit on her potty.
3. Water under the sink. Lee replaces disposal and all plumbing.
4. While working under the sink, Lee drops a full beer bottle on the floor.
5. More teetee on the floor.
6. Catie and a screaming Sullivan abandon home for an hour or so...picking up bbq for dinner.
7. Lee fixes all that he can. A plumber is needed.
8. While Catie showers at 9pm, Smokey the dog eats 13 of the 24 chocolate cupcakes Catie has made for a friend.
8. Plumber comes. Problem fixed. Smokey still alive.
9. Dishwasher is backed up. Lee fumes...
10. Sullivan shows vampire-like tendencies and is biting any child who comes near her toys.
11. Lee fixes dishwasher.
12. 1000 unexpected dollars later, kitchen and home function.
13. Catie's 28wk OB appointment goes flawlessly.
14. Catie enjoys a Mom's Night Out.
15. Family goes to park and zoo. Smiles abound.
16. Family goes to ortho picnic. Food and company are comforting.