You Know You're a Nurse's Kid. . .

The fact that our mom is a nurse has proven to be both helpful and harmful at times in our lives. Not harmful as in "we're all gonna die" but harmful as in "well, maybe we should have done something about that". If you have a parent in the medical field, I'm sure you can relate to one or two of these little tidbits. . .

You know you're a nurse's kid. . .

. . . if you can't make your own appointments

Straight up, I was spoiled. I didn't have to start making doctor's appointments for myself until I was 23 years old with an autoimmune disorder. My mama always used her connections across the greater Charlotte area to get us an appointment that day with the best of the best. That leads me to my next point. . .

. . . you're not good at waiting

If you follow me on Twitter you know for a fact I am not good at waiting for doctors. All my life I've just been whisked into the doctor's office without more than a minute wait. Now that I've been reduced to the life of a normal patient, I'm not sure I like it so much. Bring back my special treatment!

. . .you don't understand why you have to pay for a prescription

Don't these pharmacists know who you are?? Don't they know about all the free samples you grew up receiving??

. . .you rarely saw an actual doctor

 Whenever I felt I had an ailment of sorts I often heard "oh, you're fine" or "you think that's bad?" and "you should hear about what I saw today". Kind of made my throat tickle seem pathetic.

. . .you are a bit of a hypochondriac

This developed in part because of my previous point. I will admit that I am the first to go visit Dr. WebMD thanks to growing up hearing about everyone else's problems and how mine really weren't that bad. In fact my brother ran the mile-run in elementary school (more like hobbled) with a fractured foot. Needless to say I'm now convinced that if my arm so much as itches I should see a doctor.

Obviously I lived to tell the tales and was made stronger through my struggles, but life wasn't easy. Any other nurse's kids out there relate to my first world problems??

Beachin' It

One of the wonderful (because there are SO many!) perks about living in Raleigh is the close proximity to the beach. We are close enough now that a day trip isn't out of the question, and for this beach-loving Carolina girl that is a major win. Another perk about living in Raleigh is that with David's new job he works four days a week and has Fridays off. Another win! What do you do when you have this many wins? You schedule a beach trip and introduce your baby girl to the sand and salt water!

We originally planned on heading to Wrightsville Beach early Friday morning and coming back that same day, but with her still taking two naps a day we decided to stay overnight. Our trip was made even better when we discovered David had racked up enough points that we earned a free night AND they upgraded us to a suite with a separate room! We were so thankful for everything aligning so perfectly and allowing us a precious mini-vacation with our little family:-)

We hit the road on 1-40 East early Friday morning and after a quick pit stop for beer and Jersey Mike's (beach necessities) we headed for the coast. I have about 3 million pictures of the same thing because I was so excited to see Amelia Grace's reaction, so I'll spare y'all the craziness and just showcase a few of the cutest (because they were all pretty stinkin' cute)

What is this stuff? 

 This is fun!

Hey, mom, can we bring some home with us? 

Dad, let me help you with those. 

I think I like this place, Dad

After a few hours our little princess started reaching her limit so we headed back to the hotel for naps. She was a champ and took a great nap which allowed us to rest as well. Then we headed out for supper where we gorged ourselves on seafood. Amelia Grace took her first few bites of shrimp and decided she liked it so much she needed more. She ended up ending FIVE pieces of shrimp herself. And this was after she ate her full regular meal. We then picked up frozen custard (because what's a beach trip without a little frozen treat??) before heading back to the hotel and putting her to bed.

Mmm this is yummy 

 Sometimes eating is exhausting. . .

The next morning we hit the beach again for a nice stroll before hitting I-40 again. It was a fantastic trip and we can't wait to bring our baby girl back again!

Lovin' on my daddy

Workin' On Our Fitness

If you know us in any capacity you know we like to stay active. The past four years we have been fortunate enough to have had the equipment to work out in our garage. When we made the decision to move into an apartment for a bit we knew we couldn't bring our equipment with us, so with heavy hearts we sold our "gym".

On a scouting trip for a place to live we were driving down the road when I spotted a HUGE outdoor pool and slide. David quickly turned into the parking lot and we headed in for a tour. Turns out we had discovered the local Lifetime Fitness. Upon our official arrival in Raleigh we became members!

It's definitely not the same as being able to walk into your garage and do whatever kind of workout you want, but it does have a few benefits of its own. . .

The kid's watch is awesome! Lots to offer for kiddos of all ages.

The stellar outdoor pool I already mentioned, plus a great indoor pool as well.

Tons of group fitness classes including yoga (which I am totally addicted to now!).

Lots of functional fitness equipment so we are able to still do Crossfit style workouts.

ROWERS! David has always wanted one and I thought it was unnecessary, but I am a convert now!

A spa on site. I could get a pedicure and drop Amelia Grace off in the child watch. Score!

It's not as great as having a gym in your house, but it certainly will do for now;-)

Settling In

Happy Monday from Raleigh! We are officially here and as unpacked as we're going to be for now. It's been a bit of a whirlwind week so I'll do my best to fill y'all in quickly. . .

Monday

The fabulous packers arrived and refused to let me help do anything. I begged and pleaded but they told me just to hang out. So, I did.

 Hey, they told me to relax. . .

Tuesday

Much the same except this time they were loading up the truck. Imagine the biggest 18-wheeler you've ever seen-that's what they packed our junk in. I picked Amelia Grace from my parent's house in Winston and we hit the road to Raleigh!

Adios, Ravenscroft Lane. . .  thanks for the memories!

Wednesday

The movers arrive (by this point we were BFF's) and start cramming 2600 square feet worth of stuff into 1100 square feet. We chose to go with an apartment for the time being while we get a feel for the area and housing market. Things go like CRAZY around here (I looked at a house in Cary the day it went on the market and less than 24 hours later it was under contract!) and we wanted some time to find the perfect house for our family. I also snuck away from the unloading for a bit to go see a few houses. 

We have an entire room devoted to stuff that won't fit elsewhere. . . I think we need to re-read Seven and do some more purging!

Thursday

Amelia Grace and I were officially residents of Raleigh so obviously we had to find the closest Target. I also took the time to unpack the NINE boxes it took to pack up our kitchen. This was also the day AG decided to spike a 102 fever and introduce us to the local urgent care. The good news is I think we found a great doctor for us to visit!

Friday

Breathe. 

With David's new job he is working four, ten-hour days so he is home on Fridays with us! We took the time to explore the area a little bit.

Here, Dad, let me help you with that beer

*No, we did not let her sip of the beer!*

Nachos and beer-I'm in heaven.

Saturday

We hit up our first two Raleigh breweries with some of our sweet friends! David actually went to high school with Christine and Ashley and I lived with each of them at different times. Can't wait to continue our Raleigh brew tour with them!

Sunday

David woke up feeling super icky so he laid low most of the day, but I got a chance to visit a satellite campus of Vintage and loved it! It reminded me a lot of our church in Charlotte, Hope Church. Amelia Grace and I also hit up the gym (more on that later) where I participated in my first hot yoga class. Needless to say I'm hooked!

As you can tell, things have been kind of crazy in our world. We're trying to figure out our new normal and find a groove that works best for us. We're praying big prayers for what God has in store for us here and where he wants it to happen. I'm really hoping his plan doesn't include us staying in this apartment long-term, though i think AG is digging all the new things to explore ;-)

Health Update-June 8, 2015

Just a brief update to let y'all know how I'm doing. . . 

I had labs done with the nephrologist last week and everything looks good! No protein in the urine and (in her words) "no new recommendations"-whoooooo! So what does that mean? I'm going to continue slowly tapering off the steroids and follow up with her in a few weeks. It will be my last official appointment with her before I start seeing the doctors at Chapel Hill. 

Thank you all for the wonderful wishes and support! Hopefully my next post includes news of no steroids;-)

Discovery Place Kids

This past week we were invited by some dear friends of ours to join them at Discovery Place Kids for a morning of play. David was working in Raleigh so I jumped at the chance to talk to an adult-even if it meant being surrounded by zillions of littles, haha. My only regret is that we didn't visit sooner!

We spent most of our time in a special section dedicated to the younger crowd (babies-3 years) and Amelia Grace loved it! She had a blast at the water table and crawling around the floor inspecting all the neat toys. She also crawled around a foam pit and took a gander at herself in their giant mirrors. She then capped off the morning by getting in her friend Hans' cool-dude car for a hot date;-)

What do you mean they have a giant area for me to crawl in? 

Love the water! 

That's a big flower...it's not going on my head too, is it? 

Biker chick 

I can help Daddy with the lawn now 

Hey, girl, heyyyyy 

Neither of them looked very excited about their date-haha!

It was a fabulous morning that I wish we could repeat sooner! Guess we'll just have to sneak in a visit next time we're in Charlotte!

Preparing for Departure

One week from today a team of packers will be descending upon our home and packing up four years of memories. A week from tomorrow we will be pulling out of our driveway for the very last time. 

Cue the tears

Don't get me wrong, we know that God is guiding us to Raleigh and has wonderful plans for our family there, but the ache of leaving our first house is pretty raw right now. This is the house we pinched pennies and saved for. This is the house we sought for months. This is the house we watched come together from the bare bones. This is the house we hosted countless community groups and family gatherings. This is the house I healed in after Emerson and the same house we brought Amelia Grace home to a year and a half later. 

Our first house.

I know it's only a house and there will be others, but this house will forever be our first.