Well these past couple of weeks have been an absolute whirlwind! I feel like I have so much to catch ya up on. I will keep this one short and add some more later in the week. Since I wrote last I have a survived a lay off with the company…Praise be to God! What a stressful week that was...but as of now, I am still dealing drugs (legally) for Abbott!
I have also been quite busy with Junior League of Kingsport too. We had an event at a school here in Kingsport recently called “Kids in the Kitchen” where we helped to promote healthy eating and active lifestyles to children. It was an absolute BLAST and the kids had such a fun time! We had different stations for the kids to come around too….a Veggie Station, an Exercise Station, a Food Pyramid station, a Fast food station, and then I was in charge of the Trail Mix station and Fruit Face Station---to promote healthy snacks after school! Oh we had a ball with this…here are a few pics from the event.
Last week I was in DALLAS for training. I had never been there before and I must say I WILL BE RETURNING to this city! I was only able to venture around “Grapevine” one night and what a “swanky” little area this was. We ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Esperazas and then finished with dessert at the Melting Pot….look at this delicious dessert....The saying "Everything is Bigger in Texas" is TRUE.....PURE SWEETNESS-ZERO CALORIES!!!!
They had a Crate and Barrell right across the street from the Melting Pot. Oh how I dream Kingsport gets one, ha, yeah right, you read how I said dream. I just love their contemporary furniture and housewares! Oh my wish list consist of this...Look at this beautiful patio furniture, cant wait to get a house. And these plates are just too adorable to pass up, Precious!
I have also been quite busy with Junior League of Kingsport too. We had an event at a school here in Kingsport recently called “Kids in the Kitchen” where we helped to promote healthy eating and active lifestyles to children. It was an absolute BLAST and the kids had such a fun time! We had different stations for the kids to come around too….a Veggie Station, an Exercise Station, a Food Pyramid station, a Fast food station, and then I was in charge of the Trail Mix station and Fruit Face Station---to promote healthy snacks after school! Oh we had a ball with this…here are a few pics from the event.
Last week I was in DALLAS for training. I had never been there before and I must say I WILL BE RETURNING to this city! I was only able to venture around “Grapevine” one night and what a “swanky” little area this was. We ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Esperazas and then finished with dessert at the Melting Pot….look at this delicious dessert....The saying "Everything is Bigger in Texas" is TRUE.....PURE SWEETNESS-ZERO CALORIES!!!!They had a Crate and Barrell right across the street from the Melting Pot. Oh how I dream Kingsport gets one, ha, yeah right, you read how I said dream. I just love their contemporary furniture and housewares! Oh my wish list consist of this...Look at this beautiful patio furniture, cant wait to get a house. And these plates are just too adorable to pass up, Precious!
So for a quick preggers update I am now 15 weeks along! WOW, I will be halfway there in no time—man has it flown by! I went shopping a few weeks ago and there was a Motherhood Maternity shop at this mall so we went in just to “look”…well $250 later (OUCH)….I had some new preggers clothes! I know you are thinking the same thing I was thinking, “How will I know if they are going to fit me once I get my belly”? Well they took care of that worry for ya…they had a BELLY for me to try on with my clothes. Yes, a fake belly to velcro on around my tummy as I tried clothes on. It was absolutely hysterical! My friend Amy was with me and was able to capture this “fake belly”…..here are a few pics from the dressing room! We laughed and laughed and laughed!
This made it seem so REAL!!!!
And here is a Real Belly Pic at 15 weeks! The BUMP is starting to form! Now I am just waiting to feel Baby MAC move around. Everything has been great so far…Im getting my energy back, oh how I have missed my get-up-and-go "ooomph"!!! My wonderful husband got me a “pregnancy massage” that I am SO looking forward to getting sometime soon… Thank You Houston! Update sooner next time, I promise!!! So much for a short post:-)
I advise anyone that gets preggers to have your doctor prescribe this to you, it has been an absolute lifesaver for me. So that was one of the “bad”experiences that has happened…. as for the good…we have seen our precious Baby Mac on several ultrasounds and man is this precious baby is growing rapidly!? From gummy bear size to the size of a lime now is how our ultrasound tech described it best.
One perk about getting pregnant, is that you recieve LOTS and LOTS of books to read. They are extremely helpful!I must share with you a book that I am reading now, Mom and Dad sent it to me for Valentines Day. Its Jenny McCarthy’s book “BELLY LAUGHS”. She was a "role model" of mine growing up, and I just loved her Fun, Outgoing, Real personality as well as her sense of humor. She was constantly making me laugh. Well this book does not let me down..she hasnt changed a bit!!! Its an absolute hoot! If you are looking for a hysterical, very frank, rated "R" book to read and you are pregnant than I advise you to pick this up! Actually if you have been pregnant its still a very funny book. Its Jennys adventure of pregnancy and she doesnt hold anything back. I will be sitting on the couch laughing outloud and Houston will walk in and say what is so funny? I belt out…THIS BOOK!!!Now I may need to tell you, you don’t want to tell your hubby everything it says…I think I have spooked Houston a bit! Definitely a great read. 
So I must end this post by saying I am already starting to have cravings! One of my favorites is MASHED POTATOES from KFC…yes I know if you know me Im 
Now for a more shocking change that has happened to me over the past few weeks is my zero desire for Coffee! Starbucks stock is definitely going to drop over the next 9 months. I just woke up around the 4 week of pregnancy and could not stand the smell. If you know me, you know that I have been drinking coff coff since I was in the 5th grade(maybe that has something to do with my hyper behavior)...Anyhow this has been a tremendous change for my body, however a healthy one for BABY MAC.
Dear Starbucks, Im sorry I will not be purchasing my tall black and white mocha from you for the next 6 months, I will return once I get my normal senses back. Love, Amanda
And now on to the newest news....our newest addition making their debut in September. You will hear me refer to the baby as "BABY MAC"---No thats not what we are going to name the little peanut but since our last name is McDowell, I have so many friends that call me "Amanda MAC"...and I do not like the thought of calling my baby an "it"...just a personal preference. Ha! So just a little back story of when we found out we were preggers. It was back in January and I had a feeling I was, normal symptoms here and there....so I went to the store and got not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 pregnancy tests! I know Im weird like that, as if the first 2 werent going to be accurate enough,right? So the test says that taking it in the morning is the best time to get the most precise results. So come Wednesday morning, January 6th I woke up at 5:45a.m. and darted into the bathroom to take the test....it felt like an hour before the results came up (in real life it was about 1 minute, loooooongest minute ever)...so after I saw that we were pregnant I went running into our room and Houston was in the other bathroom brushing his teeth. I knocked on the door and he opened it with a mouthfull of toothpaste and I yelled at the top of my lungs...You are going to be a DADDY!!!! (Let me remind you that it's now about 5:50a.m. and Houston is barely awake) Before he could even wash his poor mouth out I jumped up on him and screamed just like the day he proposed to me! We then spent the next few moments sitting their in our loft in pure excitement asking each other questions and commenting on how much our lives are about to change. It was the most amazing feeling! So then came the moment where we had to tell our family and friends....I have been told over and over again to wait till the first trimester is over but being this excited there was NO WAY I could hold back. We decided that we would tell everyone through a picture. Sounds random right? Well we took a picture of a "Bun in the Oven" and passed this along to everyone....the comments we recieved back were priceless. Here is the pic....
Our mothers both thought we had bought a new stove at first. My father on the other hand thought I was making fun of him for eating to many hamburgers...oh the comments were hysterical! So this is all for now....I will close today by saying, it is an absolutley amazing feeling knowing that God has trusted Houston and I to bring a child of his into this world. We are ecstatic! Thank You for stopping by and taking a look into our beautiful life! Cant wait to share with you all the funny "preggers" story's along the way as well as the humerous "McDowellisms" that happen on a daily basis!Have a HAPPY MONDAY!!!
