Friday night we took Granny to the pool on campus. Having been in San Antonio that whole week she was well-acquainted with the heat and needed only to cool down with her Poppy in the pool. We discovered that 8pm is the perfect time to go swimming: you’re in perfect position to watch the sun set and the air is starting to cool down (slightly).

Saturday morning, after I played soccer with a group of MKs at 7am (!), we headed into the city to visit the aquarium. The name aquarium though doesn’t quite get at all this place as to offer. It’s three floors of indoor jungle, with sloths, birds, snakes and monkeys swinging, flying and slothing all around you. In fact, at one point a bird flew right in front of Emily and Granny C, just missing their noses. Granny was a bit concerned when she read in the brochure that anacondas can be seen hanging from overhead branches. “Do they keep tabs on everyone who comes in to make sure they make it back out alive?”

Well, at least we made it back out alive. Click the pics to enlarge.

Look at this mammoth itinerary we’ve got planned for the coming weeks.* With gas prices at an all-time low this is bound to be a treat! We’ll leave Wake Forest on June 28 and head to my parents’ in Pennsylvania where all sorts of delights await (Fourth of July at the Maust Cabin and the beach just to name two). Later in July we’ll set out for Dallas, stopping in Louisville to see the ever-awesome Chris & Rhea before arriving in Dallas via Little Rock on July 15. We are aware that Wake Forest to Dallas via PA and KY isn’t the most direct route; but there are warm-welcoming friends and family there who cause us to deviate gladly.

This works out to driving 1,684 miles in about 28 hours if Google Maps has any idea what it’s talking about, which I don’t think it does because there was no place to note that one passenger is pregnant and the other is two.

Of the states we’re traveling through the only one I’ve never visited is Arkansas. My parents claim it is the land of love. That is where they first met after all.

*Plans subject to change!

Unlike the Wright Brothers, however, Poppy only flies in style. She’s not subject to the normal baggage limits with her “assistance devices” (diaper bag, stroller, car seat, etc). Very sneaky, Pops! She doesn’t have to run to her terminal or gate. Instead she has a dedicated servant (Mummy) who pushes her briskly in her own personal carriage (stroller). She can bring as much food and drink on board as she likes. She boards first. She rides free (until age two). And when she needs the toilet, she doesn’t actually need a toilet, especially not the small, cramped ones people often wait for on a plane. She just goes whenever and wherever she wants and her above-mentioned servant cleans everything up. And she still gets the “complimentary” peanuts (which of course she’s not allowed to eat but that doesn’t matter because she’s content staring at the red packet). How about that action, Wright Brothers?! Boo yah.

Poppy’s personal photographer (Mummy again) snapped nearly 500 pictures, 285 of which have made the final cut and found a home in our photo gallery to document Miss Poppy’s journey to Pennsylvania and Ohio. After meeting her second cousins, great aunties and uncles, great grandma and great grandpa, and numerous passersby at Atlanta, RDU, and Pittsburgh airports, Poppy’s already asking when she can jet set again, possibly to England, Africa or Hawaii. Next year, darling!

An Angel Named Jessica

22166So where to start.  Nursery furniture an be so expensive new and there was just no way Drew and I could afford it on a student’s budget, so the next option was second hand….still people would ask $100 maybe more, maybe slightly less but when you think about 4-5 pieces of furniture in one room it all adds up to a crazy amount that we just don’t have lying around right now.  Then one day an angel popped onto my computer screen in the form of a facebook message from Jessica (Drew’s lovely cousin who was actually present at our wedding in England, too!).  She was writing to ask if we wanted the crib and changer that her daughter had been using but was now ready to transition into a big girl’s bed so had no need of the nursery furniture anymore!  Oh you could not imagine the relief that swept over my soul when I read that message.  Jessica also graciously wanted to give us a whole bunch of her daughter Lauren’s old clothes which were in fantastic condition and super super cute!!!  I think Jessica may have a special place in my heart, not only for her generosity and kindness but for the fact that she thought of us and realized what a huge blessing giving us all those things would be!  We love you Jessica, all 3 of us!!!

Ikea Mom

With that taken care of we were then able to look at other pieces that would match the color of the crib and changer.  Where to look…IKEA of course!  One of mine and Drew’s favourite stores.  Its not the highest of quality but its cool, funky, affordable and modern.  So with only about 10 Ikea stores in the whole of the USA we had to make some calls!  I found a good 4-drawer dresser on the website and knew that my mother-in-law was going to be visiting a store in Pittsburgh really soon.  So I contacted her and asked her to see what the display one looked like and if she thought it was cute enough for her first grand-daughter’s room, then to go ahead and buy it and we’d pick it up when visiting them next.  So then we had a crib, a changer and a 4-drawer dresser, none of which was actually in our house or in our hands.

Nursery in the Explorer

22043Being in nursing school really helps me to keep busy and distracted from getting crazy obsessed with baby stuff.  If I were sitting around at home or even doing a day job, I would just go crazy with wanting to buy everything now now now!  So forgetting about the nursery for a while was ok.  Until spring break arrived and we were able to take some time out to travel up to Pennsylvania to visit the in-laws and then take a day trip to Ohio to collect the furniture from Jessica.  Everything went really smoothly and we came driving back from PA with a nursery in the back of our Explorer!  Funnily and kinda freakishly enough on our way up to PA we passed Ikea, right there on the motorway!  So on the way home we stopped in to look around, we just love walking through the rooms imagining what we can do with our own place one day.  Well, while we were there we spotted a cute bookcase in one of the childrens’ rooms and with it being nice and big and under $100 we had to get it!  The funny thing was, as we walked through the rest of Ikea we wondered the whole time whether we had room in the car or not….we were determined to make it fit though.  By the time we got back in to Wake Forest we literally did have the whole nursery in the back of our explorer.  A crib, a changer, a dresser, a rocking chair (that we are borrowing from my in-laws. Matt, Drew and probably Justin too were all rocked and nursed in that rocking chair!) and finally we had a super cute bookshelf too.

Up in No Time

I think we had 75% of the furniture assembled and in position the night we got back from PA, we were so excited.  I moved the fake tree we had in our room into Poppy’s room and put some fairy lights on it to act as a night light.  And then used a shelf I already had that at one point was up in the bathroom but we kept knocking it off the wall so I took it down, now it looks perfect in Poppy’s room above the dresser.

A Match Made in Gingham

22221By the end of my 3 week spring break, we had the whole nursery set up. I also bought the bedding–that took me a long time to decide on and a whole other story!  Bedding can be incredibly expensive!  But with the savings we had made so far we really wanted to go ahead and get Poppy bedding that she would use for a few years.  So we went with a ladybird (for the British) ladybug (for the Americans) theme, with pale pink and apple green color for accents.  I did say I didn’t want to go over the top with pink: I like pink but I think its so typical with babies to just go over the top with the pink, so I wanted to use red seeing as Poppy has the same name as a red flower and apple green is a nice bright colour.   Oh, also while at the Ikea on the way home from PA we bought a lamp for Poppy’s room, I think its so pretty, its soft yet gets pretty bright once the bulb warms up and has these lovely flowers that stand out when the light is on.  The valances over the windows were a bargain, too.  I found them for $1.50 a piece on sale at Walmart, I got four panels to make sure I had enough to go across and I think it looks great with the extra length to be able to make the ruffles.  The green color pretty much matches exactly with the bedding and being gingham, too…..PERFECT MATCH!

Basket Cases

22209The baskets you see around the room are from various places.  The two big baskets on the changer shelves I found at Marshalls for $10 each which I thought was good for nice big baskets.  The three baskets on the wall I got from this big warehouse type place up in PA that we went to while visiting my in-laws. I thought they would be great for storing things like blankets and burp cloths and things you want handy; I think they look great as decoration too.  I added the ribbons which I got from Walmart and took a while to decide whether I should use three different ribbons or all the same or just two…..let me know what you think.

Gifts

22257There is a white basket on the bookshelf which I picked up in a Goodwill for a couple of dollars; works great to keep Poppy’s little toys in.  There are also bits and pieces around the room that are gifts people have already given us.  Drew’s Grandma bought Poppy the pink piggy bank, I think she even put a few pennies in it.  The Paddington Bear with mini passport was given to me years ago by my older sister Sally: I think she wanted me to take him to different places and take a photo of him at major landmarks….maybe we will get to do that with Poppy.  Drew’s Aunt Carol bought us the Anne Geddes baby record book–love it!  Its a very simple, straight forward baby book with cute photos, I’m excited to start writing in it!  The baby shoes also on the bookshelf were worn by Drew when he was a little boy and the Johnson’s baby bath gift set was given to us by a regular customer at the Tea Room.  Drew and I have just been blown away by our regular customers from the Tea Room.  Another couple gave us this BEAUTIFUL pale pink dress, its in one of the photos I took of clothes hanging on the crib, its a traditional style of dress. So precious. She’ll look like an angel in it.  The books on the bookshelf are a combination of books I already had that I’ve collected over the years, I have a few Dr. Seuss books, a mini book called The Queens Knickers and others I have found over the years and loved so much I wanted to buy them.  A whole bunch of the books came from my mother-in-law, some were Drew’s and I think some were Justin’s.  Last but not least there is a photo album on the windowsill with Poppies on the cover, this was given to us by a friend’s Mother who when heard that we had named our baby Poppy saw this gift and had to buy it.

An Adventure

As you can see the construction of our nursery has been an adventure!  We have been so blessed by so many people already and those are only the things you can see in the photos!  That dresser is full of clothes and bits and bobs that people have already given to us. It’s just awesome.  As I write this I feel a little body inside me stretching after a nice long sleep, and we are just so excited to meet her at the right time.

I shall be sure to post an updated photo when the wooden letters arrive!

In the Beginning

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In the beginning, it was a Wednesday morning. Drew, Emily and Poppy (the one in the womb) had risen early in the morning to drive north 8 hours to where Drew’s parents had fairly recently moved: Greensburg, PA.

Driving to Eat

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Waking up early and driving many hours multiplies fatigue. Luckily, dinner was waiting when we arrived safely in Pennsylvania. On the table: potato bread rolls, deviled eggs, Grandma Ella’s fried taters, mandarin jello salad, baked steak and a loving family of three: Justin, Mom, and Dad.

Going Out is Fun

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Driving is kinda fun. Eating is more fun. Hanging out at home is fun (for a while); but going out is super fun. To the theatre we go, “Amish Burlesque” on the bill.

Flowers & a Picnic

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Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the greenhouse is so delightful. Stepping into a greenhouse in the winter months is better than freezing outside. Food and family were waiting. Shout-outs to the familial attendees Barb, Jerry, Grandma Irene, Jessica, Lauren, Stephanie, Emily, Nathan, Andrea, Camden, Kylie, Addison, Yadira, Isabel, Nicole, Carol, Reuben, Monica, and Ethan.

Free Baby Stuff

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After the greenhouse get-together, we headed to Grandma’s thrift store for treasures galore. What stop next but the home of The Shrocks, Jessica, Joey, Dylan and Lauren where Lauren, the great and kind benefactress, bequeathed her crib, changer, and mounds of clothes to our precious Poppy.

Road Home

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On the way home there was barely room for Emily, Poppy, and I. Loaded to the gills as they say.

Watts School of Nursing honors the nursing students’ completion of their first year with a special ceremony called a Black Banding. Originally the Watts nurses wore caps to which could be added a colored band to desiginate their levels of seniority while still doing their clinicals, the primary way the students gain hospital experience.

Though their uniforms no longer include a cap, the same tradition of honoring and designating the student nurses continues. Today black banding is done with the pinning of a Watts pin to the students’ uniforms by a Registered Nurse (RN) whom the student has asked. Emily honored my mother as a nurse by asking her to participate in this special ceremony by pinning her.

Click on over to our videos page to see Emily’s introduction and exit from Mount Sylvan Methodist Church where the ceremony was hosted. There’s also bunches of pictures in our photo gallery.

Congratulations, Peanut, on the completion of your first year of nursing school! I am so proud of you! You’re half-way there!

What a privilege to be able to cook for family! Last night the abovementioned Dillers were here for dinner shortly after their arrival in Wake Forest. Leek and potato soup, one of our little family favorites, with crusty bread and sausage rolls, new territory for me: pork sausage and onion wrapped in flaky pastry. Everything turned out great and the ladies couldn’t get enough of the sausage rolls.

“This is the flakiest crust I’ve ever had.” “I’ll take another please.” “I need mustard for mine.” Mustard? No problem. Let me just get it from the fridge. No mustard. No mustard? No mustard. I’ll go grab some from the neighbors (one joy of the seminary community). I grabbed more than just mustard at the neighbor’s though. Do you know Grandma’s favorite board game? I’ll give you a hint: the goal is to match up rectangular pieces with corresponding number and color. Sounds technical, but it’s dominoes and might just be short for Carol dominates. I think I saw Grandma shed a tear when Carol owned us all for three rounds straight. Or, was it two? It’s a blur.

After dinner and Carol’s domination, I made mention of Goodberry’s Frozen Custard stand down the street. They were instantly sold on the idea. About an hour later, it was sleepy time. They’ll need the rest for everything we’ll be doing over their two day stay.

Does this make you want to visit? Come on down!

You may remember me mentioning that my parents were in the process of moving to Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Well, last week the movers came and packed ‘em up and they made the move. Everything was going smoothly until the wee hours of their first night in their new house. My mom emailed the story:

There was just one minor glitch the first night we slept here–two state troopers showed up and banged on the front door at 2:30 am. A neighbor, not knowing the house had been sold, saw a light on, got concerned and called them.  My first thought was that the tractor trailer containing all our worldly possessions had crashed and burned on the interstate!! But alas, everything was fine–the truck showed up bright and early that morning and by 6 pm everything was unloaded. The movers even unpacked quite a bit and took the boxes with them. It was great!

That’s what I love about my mom: she can go from nearly being arrested to being tickled that the movers took the empty boxes with them! Luckily, they were not arrested nor did they have a bunch of empty boxes to trip over when coming down the stairs at 2:30am. But that was only the first night so who knows what kinds of mischief they’ve been up to since then!

(Just to clarify: no Mausts were actually arrested…that my mom told me of.)

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