Halfway to a Life Changing Event

I know many of you blog followers are also friends on Facebook, but for those who are not on Facebook, or who missed the announcement, or merely want more details, this week's post is about the life-changing event that will affect the Millers around February.  After 7 years of marriage, we have finally decided to expand our family and are expecting our first child around February 10th.  If you don't want to do the math, that means I just started the 21st week of pregnancy.

It's interesting that pregnancy is determined to be 40 weeks, even though you aren't actually pregnant for the first two weeks.  Now that I am officially 19 weeks (out of 38), I can say I am at the halfway point.  Thankfully, I have little to complain about regarding the first half and hope I can look forward to an easy second half as well!

Our baby announcement was announced on 

 social media a few weeks ago 

The first trimester wasn't bad at all. I only occasionally felt queasy in the car or when it was time to eat.  I did notice that I would go from feeling fine to famished in no time at all.  People frequently ask if I've experienced cravings and I have been fortunate to want fresh fruits and veggies often. I've been going through lots of hummus with cut up veggies!  I have had some cravings for sweet foods too.

Since I wasn't sick, I was convinced I was having a boy. Just about all my friends were sick when pregnant with girls and fine with their boys.  I was very surprised when the anatomy scan at my 18 week ultrasound appointment revealed that the baby is a girl!  I can't say that we where disappointed since our main concern is that she is healthy.  We are just grateful to know that so far things appear to be progressing normally.

Darwin is already protecting his little sister

Our daughter at 11 weeks

Knowing that it is a girl, starting to feel her movement, and having my belly really start to pop has made the experience so much more real than it was in the first trimester.  We refer to the baby as her, or our daughter, and are making plans for her arrival.  We've been shopping at lots of yard sales and consignment shops and have had so many friends and family reach out to offer us baby items they no longer need.  It is amazing the number of products marketed for baby's needs and we are still trying to determine what items are actually necessary and what are not.

Being hippies at heart and hating to see so many products (both new and used) go to the landfill, we do know that we want to try and be as eco-friendly as possible. For us that means buying used products that are still in good/usable condition when possible and trying to extend the life of new products as much as possible (like with cloth diapers).  While having a baby is certainly not taking the "road less traveled," I do think that some of the choices we are trying to make about the pregnancy, birth, and care of our daughter are not mainstream.  It does seem like there is a trend towards be environmentally conscious among my friends and peers who are having children and I welcome any suggestions that will help us do things better.  I don't expect us to be perfect at any of it, but we are sure going to try our best

I'll leave you with a few "belly pictures" of the first half of the pregnancy...

Week 7

Week 14

Week 19

Week 20

For those who have experience with cloth diapers, I'd love to hear your opinion about what works best. I like the idea of one size diapers that can be adjusted to fit so we can use the same ones throughout, but I also want them to work! Also, if there are product lines that are especially good at using sustainable materials, please share. It seems everything is made of plastic from China!  The other topic I am struggling with is what to look for in a day care center.  If you have these, or other tips you want to share, I'm glad to hear about them!

Wedding Celebration Part 2

...continued from previous post

After the beautiful wedding ceremony and riding off on the groom's Harley, the bride and groom joined the guests on the beach for a group wedding photo.  Family and attendants stuck around a little longer to take some photos with the bride and groom before they took off to take photos on their own.  We had some time to kill between the photos and the cocktail hour, so several of us went back to the air conditioned house to cool off and put our feet up!  I later heard that the place to be was on the beach near the reception hall. Guests were able to enjoy a canoe filled with beer and ice-cold water, lounge in beach chairs, and/or play corn-hole with fancy "Mr & Mrs" boards!

Group photo of all the guests

Can you find Colin and me?

My photo with the bride!

I love jumping photos!

We made our way over to the reception hall just as the cocktail hour started with brushetta-type appetizers, goat cheese balls, and chicken kabobs - which were all delicious!

Candid of Colin and I at the cocktail hour

Janelle and I were the two Raleigh bridesmaids

We traveled and spent most of the weekend together

Soon after the bride and groom arrived from taking their photos, it was time for the reception festivities to begin!  It started with the attendants and bride/groom making our formal entrance, moved into the reception hall for the meal, and proceeded with traditional wedding details (speeches, toasts, dancing, cake cutting, and garter and bouquet toss).  

The venue was beautifully decorated with a "rustic" look and we had several buffet stations to choose from. There was a pasta-to-order station, a bacon station, a potato bar, and a salad bar. The bacon station was by far the most interesting. There were bacon donuts, bacon truffles, various seasonings on strips of bacon, and pork sliders! It was a tad bit too much bacon for me, so I opted for a sample from each of the stations.

A Nicol(l)e sandwich making our official entrance to the cocktail hour

The beautifully decorated Sanderling reception hall

All credit is due to Laural's florist for this look

Once our bellies were full, the toasts/speeches delivered, and the music started, we were all ready to head outside.  Colin spent most of his time enjoying the firepit while the girls did our thing on the dance floor.  Speaking of the dance floor, I think the highlight of the night was the choreographed performance delivered by the bride and groom.  It was fantastic and they both nailed it!

Colin hanging out by the fire pit with me taking a picture of the setting

(as the photographer takes a picture back) 

A snapshot of the wonderfully choreographed first dance

The day did not feel nearly as long as it was - until I got into my pajamas and into bed!  But being part of such a wonderful day was worth every last ounce of energy.  There is nothing quite like a wedding celebration between two people who really love each other.  And I'm grateful to have been a part of it.  

Labor Day Wedding Festivities at the Beach - Part 1

We took a break from travel for most of August since we did so much traveling in July.  All together, Colin had three work trips to Pittsburgh, each one between 4-5 days and one trip each summer month (June, July and August).  The weather was not nearly as hot as it's been the past 3 summers I've spent in North Carolina and we had a lot of rain.  But, there was also enough sun and hot days to take advantage of the neighborhood pool. We found ourselves there most nights after work and would spend 3-4 hours there on weekend days.

The summer culminated with a beautiful wedding at the beach.  While we have taken more beach trips in the past, we were able to take more quality beach trips to the Outer Banks this summer.  In July, we spent a week in the 4x4 area north of Corolla and then we got to spend the long Labor Day weekend in Duck celebrating my friend Laural's wedding.

With a Labor Day weekend wedding at the beach, you sometimes worry about things like hurricanes, but thankfully it was (and hopefully continues to be) a quiet year in the tropics.  The weekend weather was pretty hot, but it was perfect for a beach wedding.  We had only a few moments of showers that brought the reception indoors, but it was certainly not enough to dampen anyone's spirits.

Here's a recap of the wedding weekend!

On Friday after work, we said goodbye to our beloved Darwin, knowing he would be in good hands with our friends and drove the 4 hours to Duck, NC.  Traffic was light and we made pretty good time, which allowed us to meet and get to know our weekend housemates, the bride's family.

After a fairly comfortable night's sleep on the pull-out couch in the loft, we spent much of the day on Saturday enjoying the comforts of the Sanderling Resort - the location of the wedding and our 10-person house.  The best way I could describe the resort is that it is the closest thing I've experienced to a Caribbean all-inclusive resort in North Carolina.  There are two pools - one for adults only and one for families, they have several dining options, there are hotel rooms and houses to rent on the complex, and the staff put out lounge chairs and umbrellas for you.

Colin and I joined the wedding party on the beach for a few hours and then made our way to the pool for a little while longer.  We probably would have stayed at the beach all day, but I had to prepare for the wedding rehearsal.

The adults-only pool at the Sanderling - right next to the grassy wedding site

During the rehearsal, we got to experience how awesome the wedding was going to be, and I had no doubt it was going to be a memorable event.  The bride and groom are a perfect match, their families are amazing, and I got to be an intimate part of it all.  From the moment the rehearsal began until we said our goodbyes on Monday morning, you could just sense the love in the air and it was contagious.

After practicing our roles for the wedding, we all were able to enjoy a delicious rehearsal dinner at the Lifesaving Station loft venue on the Sanderling's property.  I wish someone took a picture of the meal because it was beautiful and delicious! We had halibut and steak with asparagus and both entrees were divine. The evening culminated with a sweet speech by the groom's father, some gifts from the bride and groom for their attendants, and a slideshow trip down memory lane for the happy couple. The groom's sister and her husband did a fantastic job putting together the slideshow.  The boys continued the night with some poker, but us girls (and a few non-poker players) spent the night at the beach house catching up and preparing for the big day.

 Bridesmaids at the Rehearsal Dinner

On Sunday, September 1st the big day arrived early for me with a 9am hair appointment at the Sanderling Spa.  Knowing it was going to be a hot day, I opted for an up-do and let the hair expert do her thing.  The end result was impressive - with twists of my hair fastened securely with lots of bobby pins! Normally, having my hair up and secured tightly leaves me with a headache, but this actually felt fairly loose.

The updo from the back

We clean up okay

I hung around the spa as all the girls got their hair done and then got my makeup done as the bride was getting her hair done. It was fun to have a "girls morning at the spa" but we then had to rush back to the house to get dressed for the main event!  The "event" started with the photo shoots - first helping the bride get into her dress, then with the girls outside the house, and finally making our entrance onto the "stage." It all felt like a blur - no wonder actors and actresses have a hard time being normal!

Photo shoot before the ceremony

Making my entrance

Once I was positioned at my place on the stage, I was able to take it all in - the rustic display where we were standing with beautiful pink flowers, the motorcycle the groom rode in on, the friends and family seated on both sides of the aisle, my husband sitting near the back with our nice camera in hand, and the beach and pool-goers who stopped basking in the sun to watch this spectacular event.  The bride was beautiful, her entrance with her brother, transition to her father and then to her husband was seamless, and the vows were endearing.  Even the storm clouds, which brought us a little relief from the hot sun, stayed far enough away to pose any threat during the 20 minute ceremony.  And at the end, after the balloons had been tossed, all eyes followed the couple as they mounted the groom's Harley Davidson and drove off.  Every last detail was ... perfect.

To be continued...

Stay tuned for more details about the celebration!

Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party in DC

The weekend following our trip to the Outer Banks, I was off again on another adventure!  This time it was a weekend all about girls gearing up for a wedding!  My friend, former colleague, and former roommate is getting married Labor Day weekend and I am honored to be one of the bridesmaids.

Another bridesmaid lives here in Raleigh, so we were able to drive up to DC together to join Laural, her family, and her future in-laws for the weekend celebration.  With all of us getting in at various times of the afternoon and evening on Friday, and needing to rest up for a busy Saturday, we kept it low key with a relaxing dinner in the Maryland suburbs of DC.

Waking up Saturday morning, it was all hands on deck to prepare for a day of festivities.  The bridal shower started around 1pm, so we did have time to enjoy a leisure breakfast before setting up the house for the event and getting ourselves ready.  It helped that most of us stayed at Laural's sister's house together, and several family members arrived early to get things in order.

The intimate gathering of about 15 people was perfect, allowing us all to celebrate with the bride and "oh" and "ah" over all the wonderful gifts she received.  There were some very sweet moments that brought Laural to tears and few surprises to keep her off-guard.  The event was a wonderful reminder of all the love and support that family and friends can bring each other.

The bridesmaids (minus 1) hosting the bridal shower

After the bridal shower, we had just an hour or so to get ready before our driver showed up for the evening bachelorette festivities. The first stop of the night was the Mexican restaurant Bandolero.  The restaurant was a bit pricey (small tapas), but the food was very good and very filling.  Their guacamole, fish and pork tacos were the highlights of the meal. 

At Bandolero with the bride-to-be

I'm glad we decided to go to a lounge after dinner because it gave us places to sit and play some fun bachelorette games before it got crowded.  We heard good recommendations about the Eighteenth Street Lounge and the place was pretty awesome. There weren't any signs outside, and the we had to ask to make sure we were in the right place, but the inside was huge and felt like a Victorian-era home. There were 3-4 separate rooms with DJs spinning different music and a patio area. We enjoyed the music in the patio, but had to move out of the area when it filled with people smoking.

Playing bachelorette games in the lounge

The crew at the club

As the evening came to an end, the bride decided she wanted to see some of DC's monuments before going home.  Our driver, Sonny, served as our photographer for some of those end-of-the-night pictures!

One final picture in front of the Washington Monument 

While we were tempted to stop for some late-night grub (one of the three dietitians recommended it), we decided to go back to Laural's sister's house instead. There we indulged in some of the "healthy" leftovers from the bridal shower.  The highlight for me was taking off my high heels and getting into pajamas before our feast!

Overall it was was a very fun, albeit long day.  With all of us bridesmaids living all over the east coast and the bride working on her PhD, it was difficult to find a weekend that worked for everyone.  I think we all would have loved to take a bachelorette party trip to a beach location, but we'll get to celebrate the wedding at the beach instead.  I know it's going to be fabulous and I can't wait to share it on the blog!

What's the best thing you've done or the best place you've gone, for a bachelorette party?

Dining Out in Kitty Hawk, NC

On our way back from spending the week in Corolla, we decided to have one meal at a restaurant before we returned.  After enjoying a beautiful sunny day at the beach, we slowly made our way south to Kitty Hawk.  There, we decided to stop at the Black Pelican.  We became aware of the restaurant by watching the Food Network before we left the beach house.

One of the best features of the restaurant is its location. It is as close to the ocean as you can get in this part of Kitty Hawk, with the water only slightly covered by the sand dunes.  With Darwin in tow, we were seated in a covered, outdoor patio area (which was awesome except for the one guy smoking for part of our visit!).

Our patio seats had an amazing view

The food was pretty good.  We had been eating so much all week that we weren't in the mood for a big meal, so we opted to share a bowl of clam chowder, a salmon "popeye" salad, and a chocolate cheesecake dessert.  The soup was merely ok, not meeting my high chowder expectations. It was a bit watery and should have been filled with potatoes and clams.  

The salad was very tasty with the warm mushroom bacon vinaigrette giving it a lot of flavor.  The fish was also nicely cooked.

The highlight was the dessert. The rich chocolate top layer met Colin's preference and the soft moist cake layer met my preference. The layer of cheesecake in the middle and the peanut butter chunks were very complimentary and provided some delicious flavor.

I would definitely stop here again for dessert, and maybe to try an actual entree in the future.

Do you have a favorite restaurant in or near Kitty Hawk?

Away From It All in the Outer Banks

During the 4th of July holiday week, Colin, Darwin and I were able to join some of his friends at a beach house in the Outer Banks.  It was a little nerve-wracking because we had to rent a 4x4 vehicle for the week since the house was located off the beach road north of Corolla, NC.  When the car rental offices told me they couldn't guarantee a 4x4 in an SUV category, I freaked out a little bit, but thankfully it all worked out. It's good that you can reserve vehicles from multiple locations without putting down a credit card.

On Saturday morning, we packed up the Ford Escape rental and set out on the 4 hour drive. Well, the drive should have taken about 4 hours, but once we got to the northern beaches in the Outer Banks (or OBX), we were at a crawl for the 20+ miles to the very northern tip.  Since the weather was crappy (raining), we didn't feel too bad for the delay. And, we can't complain considering our friends hit that same traffic after driving over 16 hours from upstate New York!

As we drove on the sand (hoping not to get stuck), and made our way to the house, we were instantly greeted by a bunch of wild horses. They were just walking around, grazing on the grass around the house like people didn't bother them.  I didn't get any great pictures of them the first day, be we say them throughout the week and managed to get pictures later on.

View of the horses on the beach from the patio

Horses making their way towards the house

Horses almost trampling the kids!

The house was moderately sized for our group and nicely laid out. All 4 bedrooms were on the lower level and the upper level contained the living room, kitchen, and patio.  The best part, was the amazing view to the ocean from the patio. It was nice to be situated slightly away from the beach, especially with all the 4x4 trucks passing back and forth, while still being able to see and hear the ocean.

Our house was the second from the left (blue)

Our first two days at the beach weren't that great. It was cloudy most of the day and we had some rain on and off.  The first day was fine because most needed the day to recover from the long drive the previous day, but everyone was ready for the beach by day 2.  Thankfully, the middle of the week brought better weather with only scattered clouds and storms. By the end of the week, we had clear blue skies and lots of sun!  It was actually really nice to have a mix of weather. It forced Colin and I to relax and allowed us to not get burned by being in the sun all week.  I'm sure Darwin also appreciated the not-so-hot weather early in the week.  Even on the cloudy days we managed to get two long walks in on the beach.  Darwin had the experience of being good, but also not being a push-over with Colin's friends two pitbulls (one male, one female). There were a few times they got a bit aggressive with each other, and we kept them separate from each other a lot, but by mid-week they seemed to be able to hang out in the same room without bothering each other.

6 adults, 4 kids, 3 dogs couped up together for the first few days

Darwin, Luke, and Cooper getting along

One of the things that surprised me the most was that everyone was into cooking and eating good meals all week.  Our dinner menus included chicken kabobs pork, ribs steak, grouper, shrimp and lobster. We pretty much made a full course dinner every night. It helped that the guys liked to grill and the ladies helped with the sides. It also would have taken too long to drive to town, especially on the sand in the dark! I wish I had taken pictures of our dinners because they were so impressive.

One of the several beautiful sunsets

The guys grilling chicken kabobs

The only down side of the trip was that we did manage to get stuck in the sand in our 4x4. By the end of the week, the sand was really dry and some spots had really deep tire tracks. Colin wanted me to practice driving on the sand and it was pretty nerve-wracking on the way to town (we needed some groceries).  I tried the same route on the way back and managed to get stuck! The $165 tow was pretty steep, and it was a hot and miserable 45 minutes of waiting to get pulled out, but it was better than being left stranded.  Next time we will take the advice of the locals and deflate our tires to almost half and we'll drive closer to the water where the sand is packed down!

This is where we should have been driving!

I'll leave you with some pictures of our fun in the sun. I don't know who had more fun running around at the water's edge - Colin or Darwin. I will tell you that Darwin still doesn't think the waves at the ocean are fun at all.  And unfortunately, the water was pretty cold where we were for the week (in the 60's).  We'd been to the beach in southern NC earlier this summer and the water was much warmer. I don't know if we were just in a pocket of cold water, but I only went in on the last two days when it was really hot on the beach!

Colin and Darwin sprinting

Darwin fears for his life!

Darwin paddling for dear life

Taking out aggression on his leash

Happy to be back on solid group and coming to me for protection

We were close to Kitty Hawk - temps there (a little south) "low 60's"

Too cold for me!

Have you ever driven a 4x4 on the beach? If so, did you ever get stuck like me!??!