Uh-oh

PTL for big trucks. The damage doesn't look that bad considering the impact we encountered as someone decided to pull out right in front of us a few days ago. Their little sedan doesn't look quite as good. This resulted in our 3rd, yes 3rd, trip to the hospital. The doctor wanted me to go just to make sure everything was ok and for some extra monitoring. By the time we got there I was contracting every 3-7 minutes. I'm a pro at contractions-labor will be nothing! Ha!! After 6 hours of monitoring and medicine to stop the contractions we were sent home. Only 4 more weeks of bed rest to go! Next time we go to the hospital we're coming home with Ruby in our arms!

Christmas Eve Deliciousness

Are you drooling yet? This is the amazing Christmas Eve feast that we eat every year. Its the ultimate showcase of gluttony. My parents neighbors have invited us each year for as long as I can remember to their Feast of Seven Fishes. They spend days baking and cooking. Everything is made from scratch including the pasta and it is amazing!! The plate of small iced cookies was probably eaten entirely by me over the course of the weekend. They are my favorite! We eat entirely too much and enjoy being with each other. I couldn't think of a better Christmas tradition to be a part of! I'm already looking forward to next year!

Merry Christmas from the Mobbs

Bed rest prevented us from getting a holiday photo card out this year. So here's the virtual card-just pretend you got it out of your mailbox today!

Call me crazy

I ordered these today and I can't wait for them to come! I've decided to use cloth diapers for RJ(one of Ruby's many nicknames-we'll cover that another day). My hubby, as awesome as he is, has not yet been convinced but I am certain that he will convert. If I dont buy any disposable diapers, he'll have to use them. That's my plan for now.

I know most, or maybe all, of you will think I'm absolutely crazy. And please don't be afraid to tell me. I can take it. I'm confident in my decision! Afterall, Korey and myself were both put in cloth diapers as babies and we survived. And these are much cuter than the plain white cloth with safety pins and plastic covers that our parents had!

Half way!!!

I'm officially 32 days in with 32 days to go!! I think I'll make it. Especially if my mom keeps making me eggs benedict for breakfast. Can't beat that. Well, actually you can. Last time I had eggs benedict it was sitting on the back deck of a cruise ship somewhere in the Caribbean with my friends the Whitlocks. It was amazing! But I can't have that now, so I'll take mom's. And finally, here's the picture everyone is asking for. I'm 31 weeks. Please excuse the dog cage, horrible background, ponytail and no make-up. And despite the bow, we are not hoping for Ruby to be a Christmas present. Its just an accessory-I do what I can to entertain myself these days!

#2 and #3

Two weekends ago my sweet sister-in-laws, best friend Kelly and my sister hosted a brunch for little Ruby. We decided to go ahead and have it even though I was on bedrest so Korey just dropped me off and I sat down the rest of the time. Trust me, if I so much as stood up to change seats, someone told me sit down. And Ruby racked up!! We got a bunch of the essential baby stuff but she also got some pretty cute clothes and accessories! Her closet is quickly filling up!

This weekend, the football coaching staff and their wives brought the party to our house. It was a surprise, but Korey had to tell me about it that morning in order to make me look presentable. Otherwise I would have been in my bed rest uniform which consists of pajamas or sweats and my uggs. Unfortunately no pictures, but again Ruby got some great stuff!

Shower #1

Shower #1 was technically a brunch with 6 of my favorite girls, which could be the best kind of shower. It took place pre-bed rest in early November but I haven't gotten around to loading pictures. Ashleigh was in town from Memphis, Kate came thru Atlanta on her way back home to Chattanooga, and then Kathleen, Rachel, Kelly and my mom were there. We had a delicious meal at Murphy's and had a great time just hanging out and catching up. And to top it all off the best cupcakes I think I've ever had!!

Mom and her fancy coffee, me with the boring decaf!

Yummy and very cute cupcakes!

All my best friends!

Mom bought about 25 pacifiers, all different kinds. She says it's important for Ruby to choose what kind she likes. Ha! That's what's wrong with kids these days!

Aunt Rachel getting some practice with sweet Jack!

I know I said I would be better at updating the blog while on bed rest. I guess I lied. But not intentionally. I just seem to always find other things to do. Like work, online Christmas shop, watch TV, read everyone else's blogs, or read my book or latest magazine. So to bring everyone (all 4 of you that read the blog) here's what's been happening.

Thanksgiving-The pre-bed rest plans were to go to middle-of-no-whereVirginia to celebrate at my Aunt and Uncle's. When I was growing up we always spent Thanksgiving up there. It usually included a little bit of snow, a big huge meal then jumping on the trampoline, and driving an hour and half to civilization on Friday to shop. We haven't been to Virginia since college so I was looking forward to it. But then bed rest happened. So my parents stayed in town and we joined the Stern family table next door. Korey was sick with a 24 hr stomach bug so no turkey for him on Thursday. On Friday, he was feeling better so we went to best friend Kelly's parents house for deep-fried turkey and marshmallow roasting. The picture below is the only one I will allow others to see (all others are horrible and point out the fact that my belly is huge and the my face is trying to catch up!).

Monday after Thanksgiving=night at Northside Hospital #2. Monday night I started having contractions every 2-3 minutes again which bought me, Korey and my mom another uncomfortable, sleepless night at the hospital. But after fluids and medication we were sent home the next morning. Everything checks out fine, my body just likes to contract. I'm hoping that by the time Ruby is allowed to make her way out, I'll be so used to contractions that it will be no big deal and she'll just come on out!!

Nursery-The picture posted on the previous post is not our nursery, only a picture of the furniture we ordered. I wish ours looked like that! But the furniture did come in and Korey put the crib together. Being put together and in the room is about as far as we've gotten. Here's the proud dad in action. Sorry for the poor quality but my camera battery was dead so I had to use the iphone(Merry Christmas, Ko).

No, thank you!

First-I’m sorry Kelly for having to take back your birthday present. But don’t worry I will soon replace with something even better during one of my online shopping trips. This is why:

This AM I got on ticketmaster.com to get tix for probably the best concert to hit Atlanta ever. (Besides Celine Dion). Reba McEntire and George Strait are coming to town on Feb 25, 2010. I was pretty darn excited, but my smile was soon turned upside down! The ticket prices are RIDICULOUS!!!!! They are either $94 or $74 plus the $13.50 surcharge per ticket. So I thought I might could justify buying the $74 ones if they were half way decent seats. But the best available were section 409, row R(Kelly, think Tim McGraw a few years ago). So then I thought ok, even if it’s crazy to pay over 100 bucks for a concert ticket, if they were way up close it would be awesome and maybe worth it. Nope. This time the best available was section 313. I don’t think so!! Seriously! These two artists have been doing this for 25 years each and have all the money they could ever need, plus they have me as a number one fan. But not anymore. I’m stepping down. I haven't missed either one of their shows in Atlanta since I was a kid. But I will not pay that to sit in the rafters!!! I’m working on my complaint letter to their tour managers right now!!! And then I’m going to delete all the episodes of Reba’s tv show on my DVR.

And Kelly,
You, me and Ruby can just have our own little concert at the house that night. Please remember to bring your black Reba tshirt, circa 1993.

Day 10

While I worked from the couch all day, Korey was sent on a few errands since I haven't been able to do them. I think he did more shopping today than he usually does in a year. He went to the bank, to Sam's to make a return and pick up a few things, to the mall to exchange some clothes, to Brands-mart to get us a new phone and to Wal-mart. Very impressive!! I was sure that once he saw the traffic and the crowds at Sam's he'd be back home in a hurry. But he completed the list without complaining! I'm pretty sure that by the end of the next 9 weeks he's going to be more ready than me for all this to be over!!

Day 9

Ruby's crib and furniture has now been ordered! Yay!! Now I don't have to worry that if she makes her way into this world a little ahead of schedule that she won't have a place to sleep. I know, I know. She won't even sleep in the crib at first. All of you keep telling me this, but I bet you had your nursery ready before the baby came. Also-kind of cool that we bought the baby furniture from the same exact place that my parents bought my crib 28 years ago. Here's a little preview:

Day 8-Massages are awesome!

So if you're pregnant or if you're going to be pregnant ever-you need a prenatal massage. I think it's a must, right up there with prenatal vitamins. And the more I think about it, even if you're not pregnant or never will be, you should probably have one too. The end.

First Weekend

The first weekend wasn't so bad, but the days are definitely longer since I'm not working. Saturday I did something illegal when on bedrest. I went to my nephew's 1st Birthday party. Tyler would have been really, really upset if Aunt Mary hadn't been there. Ok, probably not, but it was nice to get out so I just went from my couch to theirs. Here are a few pictures:

Luke and Uncle Ko

The boys enjoying lunch. They won't know what to do when 2 girls arrive to the family in February!

Tyler thoroughly enjoying his birthday cake!

Sunday:Christmas shopping has begun!! Five Christmas presents, one birthday present and four hostess gifts will be arriving at my front door shortly!!

Day 5

Today I got this yummy treat:

And got to see this precious little face:

Isn't she amazing? Yes, those are her feet up at her head (and she does have all her toes, they're just cut off by the 4-D field) She's breech right now, but doc says she has plenty of time to change positions.

Day 4

Today I read, not just flipped through the pages, of the December issue of Elle magazine. Here's what I learned:
-Elle actually has articles and good writers
-According to Woody Harrelson who prefers organic clothing, cotton accounts for 50% of all pesticide use. I guess I'm not as green as I thought in my cotton tshirt and sweat pants. Bummer!
-The editor told me to be kind to others and myself by shopping. Ok.
-Elle Jet Setter feature was about Biarritz, France. I've been there. Not quite in Elle style, but I think it makes me cool either way.
-I've been thinking that since I'm naming child Ruby which is a precious gem I should get some jewelry as a result of having her. I found the perfect peice on page 167. Its Chopard and has 255 rubies and 57-carats of diamonds(price upon request).
-Apparently someone in the world will pay 400 bucks for underwear. Otherwise why would they market it?
-I want to see the movies The Private lives of Pippa Lee and Up in Air.
-And last-my horoscope reveals that this month is ideal to reflect on what I'd like to bring into my new birthday year (hmmm....a baby?) These people are good!

Day 3

Today I think it started to hit me that life on the couch will be life as I know it for the next 9 weeks and 4 days. And it's not real fun. I lay here thinking about all the things that need to be done that I can't do. And even though everyone around me has been super supportive and has offered to help, and I'm greatly appreciative, its just not the same as when I get to cross the next item off the to do list. But I will survive. Instead of rushing through the day as usual, I have all the time in the world to stare at my growing belly and watch as Ruby uses me as her punching bag. This little life inside of me is truly amazing!

Today also marks a major milestone. My mom roasted a chicken for the first time ever! I love roasting chicken. There's something so Martha-ish and homey about it. So this weekend when the December issue of Food & Wine came in the mail, I drooled over the Tangerine, garlic and rosemary chicken. I kept giving mom a hard time about making it for me and tonight she did. I'm not sure how many times she had to call my grandmother or friends to ask questions, but it ended up delicious!! And pretty!! All we were missing was the recommended Chardonnay to go with it!

(shhhh...don't tell her. She's so proud, but she roasted it upside down!)

And a few words about Prozac Puppy. Does this look like rehab? I don't think so!

Bed Rest is for the birds!

Baby Ruby decided to cause a little bit of excitement last Thursday which has now resulted in 10 weeks of bed rest. On Thursday afternoon on my way home from work, I kept what I thought might be contractions. I tried not to freak out, so came home and layed on the couch for a while. When the contractions didn't stop after about 45 minutes I called the doctor. He told me to wait another 30 minutes then come to the hospital. My mom, aunt and grandmother were on their way to my house for dinner so I kept waiting. My mom thought I was being overly dramatic and kept telling me to lay down and not worry about it(she now feels really bad). I ended up waiting about an hour and half more until Korey got home to go to the hospital. I really was hoping I was imagining the contractions and they would just call me crazy and send me home, but no such luck. They hooked me up to the monitor and I was having contractions every 2 minutes. So we got to do a trial run night at Northside hospital while they monitored me, ran some tests and gave me medication to stop the contractions. They sent me home Friday morning with more medication to take as needed and told me rest for the weekend. Unfortunately the contractions didn't stop over the weekend, so Monday morning I was officially put on bed rest until I'm 36 weeks. Awesome, huh?

So begins the bed rest blog. My friend Ashleigh and best friend Kelly have made requests for daily blog entries for the next 10 weeks. And really I have no excuse not to. Besides working from my couch or bed for 8 hours during the day, the rest of my time is free. And I think this time of bed rest will be a learning experience in spite or sounding like the most miserable 10 weeks of my life. And anything that I need to do to keep little Ruby incubating and healthy will be done. So each day I'll try to post something new in efforts to voice my boredom, frustration, gratitude, or comic relief as the weeks go by.

Day 1: (Yesterday) For right now, the hospital is allowing me to work from home and I'm so grateful. Not only does it mean that I don't have to take leave, but it gives me 8 hours a day of purpose. Also, lesson learned from the weekend. When you are pregnant and on bed rest, don't look at food magazines or blogs. Everything looks good and I can't make it. But best friend Kelly and my mom came to my rescue and made me these pumpkin cheesecake swirl brownies I'd been wanting. (Yes, it took both of them to make an 8x8 dish). Delicious!

Day 2: Tonight I got to lay on the sofa and just watch Korey vaccuum. Although I feel useless, there was something slightly rewarding about that! And thank you to our friends, the Dudish's, who brought over a yummy dinner and the most adorable handmade crocheted beanie for Ruby! Can't wait for Ashleigh to take her newborn pics wearing it!

Prozac Puppy Update

She's in Rehab. Seriously. She's officially living at Mama Libby and Daddy Don's rehab facility for the next 3 months with very strict behavior modification taking place. She does have weekend visitation privelages. And even weekend passes to come home. But she still has to take her medication and follow rehab rules. Care packages are being accepted.

Archives

This past weekend I was doing some major cleaning out of out of our office and the room that will be baby Ruby's. In the process of course, I came across some good mementos and photos. One such photo is seen below. (you can laugh now) Korey is always threatening to shave his head and I always insist that he doesn't and below you can see why. Although he's so cute (and young!), this is not my favorite look for Mr.Mobbs. It could be the nasty goatee he has going on at the time too, but I don't think so. For now, I'll keep begging him not to shave his head.
FYI-this was my senior year of college, Chi Omega semi-formal night. We went with old school attire and I do still have the amazing burgandy velvet and gold dress that I got at Goodwill. I don't think I'll be fitting into it for this years holiday festivities so it is available to be borrowed and worn with pride.

Its official

My dog is crazy and on prozac. Yes, prozac. I took her to the vet today for routine shots and to talk to the vet about her crazy behaivor recently. She's always been slightly psychopathic, but recently its gotten much worse. She eats through dryer cords like it's her job, has torn up my laundry room door from scratching and has gotten her way out of any cage we put her in. When we're home-she's the sweetest, calmest pup ever. According to the vet its separation anxiety!!! What?? Who knew that was such a diagnosis for dogs? Here's the take home message: When you see the cutest little mutt puppy being given away on the side of the road-walk away. Because once you give in there is no turning back. You'll end up at the emergency vet on a Saturday because a fat kid in the neighborhood sat on her, you'll end up paying a mortgage payment in surgery bills when she eats aluminum foil and has a bowel obstruction and then you'll end up putting her on psychiatric drugs and love her inspite of it all.

Catch up

I just uploaded a ton of pictures that I took on my mom's camera so I'll play blog catch up for a while. This summer my sweet cousin Jenn got married at Reynolds Plantation. It was beautiful and sweet and touching-everything a wedding should be!! She was absolutely beautiful and the wedding was a great party!

The bride and her dad walking down the aisle:

Ko and I on the dance floor. He's really excited about-can't you tell? So excited that later on in the evening when I was dancing like a fool he actually left the reception without me.

Ko and Mama Jackie-love them both so much!!

My dad, my cousin Dan and Ko. No, Dan is not gay.

Best friend Kelly and the Cardina girls. Hard to believe we've known each other 20 years!!One of the pictures I got of the bride. Sorry Jenn, but I love this picture. It really captures how much fun we were having on the dance floor.
And sweaty BFF's on the dance floor.

Jenn and Jason-great wedding and I'm so happy for you both!!

Game night

Last night we got to babysit our nephews Luke and Tyler while their mom and dad were in Knoxville at the game. We couldn't resist some game night photos while we were all dressed up to cheer on our Vols. Besides my other two nephews that we went to watch the game with, kids don't get much cuter than these!!

$134 gone in 5 minutes

When baby Mobbs doesn't have paint on the walls or diapers to wear she can thank her mommy and the mutt that lives with us. This morning I stopped at QuikTrip to get gas and had Piper in the car with me. I got out to pump the gas and left the keys in the car like I always do (but won't do anymore). When my tank was full I went to get back in the car only to realize that Piper, a.k.a. "Stupid" most of the time, had stepped on the lock button and locked herself and the keys inside the car, along with my cell phone. I spent the next few minutes trying to get her to step on the unlock button with no success. Yes, I looked and felt like an idiot. QT let me use their phone to call my parents who were 5 minutes away. My mom laughed hysterically the whole time I was talking to her which didnt' help the ego much. For the next hour we sat waiting on the locksmith to come. When he got there it took him all of 5 minutes to unlock the door and he charged me $134. So the money is gone and I learned a few lessons: Do not leave your keys in the car, own more than one key to your car(I dont' now, but will soon), and look into a AAA membership.

And another note on Stupid. Two nights ago she decided to eat the beautiful gold diaper bag seen below. Korey and I woke up to find it in a million little peices. Awesome. So my half price diaper bag is no longer such a deal because I've purchased two.

September 1st-Best day of 2009!

Today was great for 2 reasons.

First we went to the doctor for my 16 weeks visit. They don't normally do an ultrasound at this point, but our doctor is great and knows that I see kids with crazy things all day so I worry a lot! So he threw in an extra ultrasound. And.......it's a GIRL!!! Yay!!! On Korey's side of the family, Baby Mobbs already has 4 boy cousins so its very exciting to be having the first girl. Another cousin is due a few days after us so we're hoping its a girl too but we have to wait a few weeks to find out. We registered today too and this is the first BabiesRUs purchase. What little girl doesn't need a gold diaper bag?!

Second reason that today was great: Pumpkin Spice lattes(decaf of course) are now available at your local Starbucks through December 31. I will probably have too many to count between now and then. Enjoy!

Sacrifice #1

I know that being a mom will include sacrifices. And I'm slowly preparing myself for those that will come after Baby Mobbs gets here in February. But yesterday I wasn't ready. I was at TJ Maxx and was browsing the shoe aisle. The shoes I had on had officially broken at work and needed a replacement. I suppose I could have taken them to be repaired, but that's no fun. New shoes are more fun. So I'm perusing the size 8s and my eyes see the coveted "Frye" tag hanging from the shelf. My heart began to race a little. I love Frye shoes. I bought my Frye boots almost 7 years ago and still wear them. However, Frye thinks a lot of their shoes too and exhibit their love on the price tag. So its not too often I get the joy of buying them. But yesterday I fell in love with these:

I know, they aren't exactly practical, but I still loved them and could already picture the skirts, dresses, and jeans I'd wear them with. Then it hit me. I'm 15 weeks preggo. In a few months(maybe weeks at the rate I'm growing), I won't be able to see my shoes much less balance on the 3.5 inch heel. My mom who is always the encourager said to get them because I won't always be pregnant. So I wore them up and down the aisle a few more times congratulating myself on finding such a great deal on great shoes. (Retail price $232, TJ Maxx price $49.99). Then my conscience kicked in. No, I won't be preggo and fat forever, but from February on I will be toting around a baby. 3.5 inch heels aren't exactly the best mode of transportation for baby carrying for a klutz like me. Sadly, I removed the booties and set them back on the shelf for someone else to enjoy. Nice of me, huh?

Don't worry, I don't plan on resorting to sweat suits and flats for the rest of my life, so I compromised and bought another Steve Madden bootie with a 2 inch heel for an even cheaper price. And I'm slowly reaching a happy place after settling for second best.*

*This does not mean that I will not make every other day trips to TJ Maxx to see if the Fryes have been moved to the super clearance rack so that I can justify their impracticality.

Check this out!

My sister has a blog! Yes!!!!!! She just posted pics from the honeymoon and wedding pics are coming soon, right Rach? If you're looking for an awesome place to vacation-go where they went. Playa Mujeres, Mexico. It's beautiful! Go see for yourself @ http://amarriagecelebration.blogspot.com/

I hate it when:

People make their blog private. Here is why:
1) That means one less blog to surf over to and see if it's been updated every night or two
2) I think I'm really good friends with these people even though I've never met them or I haven't seen them in years because I read their blogs
3) I'm usually too embarassed to tell them that I stalk them so that I can get the log-in
4) The reason for blogs is so that random people can read about your life (ex. My parents, sibiling and best friends already know what's happening In the Mobb)

Let's make it official

It's not official until it's on facebook AND the blog, right? Nevermind the nausea, growing belly and heartbeat that we saw and heard. So here he/she is:
Baby Mobbs will be making an entrance mid-February. We are beyond excited!!

Yesterday, I lost my husband

Yesterday was August 1st which marks the official start of football season. In the Mobbs house this means that Korey will now devote every waking minute to Collins Hill football. So if you're the parent on the sidelines yelling at my husband-chill out. He puts a LOT of time and effort into coaching your kid. And if you want to hang out, call me. More than likely I'm at home alone. From now until December-Go Eagles!!

Sewing 101

Last night best friend Kelly and I took our first sewing class. We signed up a few weeks ago at our local JoAnn's and weren't sure what to expect. But it was great!! We both brought our mom's sewing machines that were a little dusty and still in the boxes(no fancy carrying cases for us). Our mom's probably bought the machines on Walmart special a few ago compared to some other class participants with mac-daddy machines. But our stitches were just as crooked as theirs. Don't be looking for any masterpieces in the near future, but they will come people, they will come.

This time last year:

This is what I was doing:

I was in France with my parents. We stayed in Marseille, but found out that the Tour de France was coming through a small town not too far away. Or at least we thought it wasn't far. I researched on the internet and Dad and I took off early one morning to catch the Tour. After an hour train ride we started looking for signs and buses to take us to our destination of St.Remy. No signs and no buses. We finally found someone that had heard of the town and pointed us in the right direction and said we could walk. So we started walking. After about 2 hours of walking along side the road of rural France, we saw a sign that said 17km. We were determined to make it but could not make it 17 more km. So Dad put his thumb up and we hitch-hiked. I have never hitch-hiked before and I probably won't ever again, but it was worth it. We made it to town with about 30 minutes to spare. After hours of traveling in the hot sun, the cyclists came thru town in about 30 seconds and it was over. Well worth it though! Definitely a once in a lifetime experience! To treat our hard work, we had a late lunch at this amazing little restaurant:

And if you're ever in the South of France, find St.Remy. It's a beautiful little boutique city with great hotels, shops, artwork and countryside! I wish I was there now!

-sorry the pics are small, I need my graphic designer sister here to help me when I blog