Monday, May 11, 2009

Happy Mother's Day

We had a really fun weekend. We hit the road for Athens on Friday around noon and made it JUST IN TIME for her English Department graduation. I'll post more pictures some other time. Friday night we went to dinner with the entire family (minus John who is apparently a workaholic) to Olive Garden. A good time was had by all.

We got Anna these for graduation:

They are nesting doll measuring cups from Anthropologie. She collects nesting dolls. I saw them and fell in love.

On Friday night we spent the evening with Chris and Amy who live just down the road in Monroe. Chris and Eddie went to college together and we try to all get together any time we're in or around Athens. They're a lot of fun!

Saturday morning came early and (as usual) I was running late when it was time to go. After a quick stop at Chick-fil-A to get the baby some breakfast, we were off! We realized later there was no need to hurry, as the University graduation took FOR-E-VER.

We got to the stadium JUST as the graduates began to process from their seats in the stands to their seats on the field. This took no less than one hour. I think Georgia needs to re-think this part of graduation. You can't even see who anyone is, they don't call the students names, why can't they just be seated in their SEAT??? *Sigh* I got some good pictures, though.

Let me just interject here a moment about how much I love Athens. And how much I'd forgotten. Athens is, and always will be, one of my favorite places. I think the city is bea-u-tiful and there's so much to do and see. When Eddie asked where he should park, I just told him to park on North Campus. It wasclose to everywhere we needed to be, and North Campus is just so dang pretty! Well...if you park on North Campus, must walk to the stadium, and are 4 months pregnant, it is wise NOT to wear wedge-heeled sandals that are 3 inches high. BIG mistake. My legs may never forgive me. One thing I DON'T like about Athens, when on foot, is those hills! Major workout! I'm out of shape!

After graduation (and after I'd walked UP hill to the parking deck - barefoot), the family all departed in different directions. Dad and Laura went back to their house, Mom and Sonny headed South, Anna and Lance went to her apartment to pack up, and Eddie and I headed to The Mall of Georgia. I thought it was a good idea.

Our goal was twofold: Old Navy Maternity and Babies 'R Us. First on the list was lunch at On the Border, because sometimes you just need good old American Mexican food. Yum. Second, we typed Babies R Us into the Garmin and do you know what came up? Nothing within 26 miles. Crap. There isn't a Babies 'R Us near the Mall of Georgia. Huh? (For the record, there IS one, Mr. Garmin!). We never found it so we just ventured into the mall instead. We went directly to Old Navy where I was able to look at the 10 items they have for pregnant women. Why are maternity clothes so incredibly hard to find? I see pregnant women all the time, it's not like there isn't a market for those clothes. Arghh. I bought two t-shirts and we walked to Mimi Maternity where everything is over $100. I promptly left. I refuse to buy an item of clothing that is over about $30 that I'll wear approximately 5 times before putting it in a box for several years.

When we left The Mall of Georgia we decided to just head straight on to Dad's house and go to their Babies 'R Us on Sunday. We grilled out with the Smith family on Saturday night and had lots of fun laughing at Lindsey and Jake - they never fail to entertain us.

On Sunday everyone got up for Round Two of "Find Lauren Some Maternity Clothes" and we all headed to Target. Target's maternity clothes leave a lot to be desired and are sort of pricey which I think is ridiculous. I did buy 3 pairs of shorts and 2 bathing suit tops, though.

Kohl's was next on the list and they had very little as well, but what they did have was Buy One, Get One Free. Very nice. I bought two shirts.

After the shopping expedition we headed for lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. CPK is currently not feeling the economic crisis because my parents single-handedly keep them afloat. Seriously. We eat there at least once each time we visit and the waiters and waitresses know them by name. Ha!

Eddie and I began to head home after lunch. We made a quick stop at Babies 'R Us, which was not nearly as bad as Eddie thought it would be. We did, however, quickly realize that there is a LOT of stuff out there that we don't know how to use. We also made a stop at Dick's Sporting Goods for some new running shoes for Eddie. He's ONLY going to wear them to run (but they got packed in his suitcase this morning when he left - and I guarantee there will be no running while he's out of town).

When we got home last night Eddie gave me a Mother's Day card which I completely didn't expect. He hadn't said a word all day about Mother's Day and I sort of felt like this year we wouldn't acknowledge it since basically all I'm doing as a mother right now is eating and taking my vitamins. However, he and Baby Fresh went all out and each got me a gift card for Old Navy. Woohoo! I've spent them already on clothes that they DO have on the internet. Very nice, very excited that I won't have to suck in my tummy anymore!

I certainly don't feel like I "get" Mother's Day this year. I know that next year will be totally different. However, this year was for our own moms and grandmothers. We are so appreciative of our mamas and how much they do for us. They really go above and beyond to take care of us! I'm ready to join the ranks!

Hope everyone had a great weekend and a fantastic Mother's Day as well!

1 comment:

Anna Catherine said...

I love my nesting dolls and I am proudly displaying them in my room right now! When I get a house of my very own, I need to get all of them from Daddy's house and display them in a cabinet! Thanks again for coming! I'm going to need some new running shoes too now that I won't live in the Athens hills anymore!