It's Fo Real, Ya'll - There's a Baby Martin on the Way!

For those of you who haven't already heard our good news....(You must be living under a rock if you haven't - because I believe my mother and father took out full page ads in the News and Observer, The Hickory Daily Record, the Charlotte Observer, and are negotiating a small spread in People) Michael and I are officially going to be parents to a wee little Martin!

We are over the moon excited!! Little Martin will be here on October 1st, and we cannot wait for her/ him to get here!

Speaking of her/ him - I'm totally convinced its a girl and Michael is willing to bet the farm on boy. I don't know why, but this entire time I keep thinking girl. I dream about the baby being a girl - I keep referring to the baby as "she" and I keep jotting down really cute girl names. So many people have said that the momma just knows... and clearly - I think I've got this one nailed. We'll find out for sure on April 27th - so I'll keep ya'll posted.

So far- everything in the pregnancy is going GREAT! I feel fantastic, and Michael says I'm an absolute DREAM to live with. (I'm positive that he's not saying that to be sarcastic at all!)

I can promise you this - even though I'll be doing occasional blog posts about all things baby - it WILL NOT be the main focus of this blog. There are too many other funny things that happen to us on a daily basis for it to be a baby central blog. And anyway - if you want to know anything about babies - I'm totally the wrong person to ask. I have no clue what I'm doing, and the more books I read the more over-stimulated I get. I think I'm just gonna wing this one. You know what they say about ignorance being bliss!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Luck 'o the Irish to all of you! (Maggie's thinking she's not so lucky because her stupid momma dresses her up and makes her have photo shoots like this lame one all the time!)

Hope everyone has a GREAT St. Pat's! It's my FAVORITE holiday of the year, so everyone please drink a shot of Jameson's and drink a big fat green beer in honor of the most awesome holiday ever!! I mean really, what other holiday celebrates drunken debauchery quite like St. Pattys??!!!

Erin Go Braugh!

The Martins Been Busy, Ya'll!

So sorry for my neglect of the Holler lately. We have been soooooo very busy. Busy with the new dog, busy with our chaotic lives, and oh yeah - busy with this mortgage business that we're in!

I don't know if you guys watch the news, but it's been a crazy couple of months for lenders, and we are so grateful to have interest rates hovering at an all time low - we've been doing tons of refi's, lots of purchase business, and my hubby has got me working like a DAWG - dawg! (I kinda feel like I'm back in the advertising business what with all the late nights and weekend work - only it's just like I'm working on a realllllllly lame account)

Speaking of the hubby... check out this spot on the local news. (You've gotta click on the link - I can't get the dang video to upload on Blogger cause it SUCKS!) We're actually thinking of going on a media tour. Please give me a call to set up speaking engagements - HAHAHAHAHA!!


http://www.news14.com/content/top_stories/605928/struggling-homeowners-may-find-relief-in-plan/Default.aspx?ap=1&Flash

Happy V-D!

Yeah, That's Valentine's Day! Valentines was pretty laid back for us this year, but a great holiday nonetheless. I remember back a few years ago when Valentine's was like the biggest deal for Michael and me - we treated each other to weekend getaways, spa treatments, exceptional dinners at fancy restaurants, etc. BOY - how times have changed! Not that it's not a big deal, but I kinda feel like we treat each other to great things throughout the year, so there's not a huge focus on this one day anymore.

Oh, well, it was still a pretty awesome day. Especially since it fell on a Saturday, which meant we could wake up whenever we wanted (ahem, as late as Miss Maggie would let us sleep, that is... so, I think we were up around 7:30), go get our gym on, and pretty much stay in our workout clothes for the biggest part of the day!

The chef of the house fixed a special Valentine breakfast of heart shaped pancakes! Dude, I really, really, really love my husband. Who else makes heart shaped pancakes??!

Then I took off for the laundromat to wash all of our comforters and pillows. Now that, my friend, is a blog post all on its own. Have any of you been to a laundromat in the last decade? It is freaking BRUTAL! But anyway, that's for another post. I'm still trying to process the visual stimulation I was treated to while spending 2 hours at the local laundromat!

We had made plans to take Bryce to paint pottery on Saturday afternoon, so we picked him up and headed over to Clay Funk in Wake Forest. This has got to be one of the most fun activities for kids and adults! We had a blast! Here we are, working on our Masterpieces.

I think his parents took pity on our lame V-day plans and asked us to have dinner with them. I'm so glad they did, because Pat made an awesome, awesome dinner of snapper piccatta, pasta, and mixed veggies. It was a great dinner, and I'm serious when I say that it was better than what we would have gotten at any restaurant around town! He even made fresh pesto for the pasta! Mad props to you, Pat, mad, mad props!

Bryce was super pumped that we were there for dinner!

Dinner with the Polsons also meant that we got to spend time with Bryce and his baby sister, Trinity. (Yep- she's the one that I made wear the diaper backwards all day the last time I babysat.) She doesn't seem too traumatized by my lack of parenting skills - she still lets me hold her and bounce her all around!

It's really clear that Michael is her favorite. Babies absolutely love him! I'm not sure what it is, but babies love for him to hold them and it is absolutely precious!

We absolutely love these two little ones. If the Polsons ever wake up to find their babies missing, it'll be pretty clear that I've got them over at my house. Such cute, cute kids and soooo well behaved! I only hope that Michael and I can be that lucky one day!

Mags-a-Million has a Slumber Party!

Michael and I are pretty cool parents, and we decided that even though Maggie had only been with us for a little less than a week, we would let her host her very first slumber party!

She invited her best friend Bailey, and showed how much she loved him by stealing his dog bed, taking all of his really cool toys and generally just annoying the total shizz right out of him.

Bailey was cool though, and took it all in stride. Especially when the grandparents came for a visit and spent all day and night making sure that each dog had equal playtoys, equal treat consumption, and round the clock belly rubs.

By Saturday night, Maggie had completely worn herself out. She and Bailey had been partying all day - and she passed out in her dog bed.

Bailey took this opportunity to capitalize on some one-on-one time with Nana Vickie - she's the main supplier of the chew toys and rawhide treats.

AND - did I mention that Maggie already has a boyfriend? Oh, yes. It's a long distance romance with Higgins - a boxer from Hickory. He is so sweet on Mags that he sent her a doggie bed and a stuffed animal for her to cuddle with! Dude - Higs is a total playa! He really knows how to work it with the ladies! Heres Maggie snuggling with her valentine gift in her sweet new bed!

Spoiled Rotten. Yes, she sure is!

Welcome Home, Maggie Belle Martin!

Look at what we just brought home!

Maggie Belle Martin was born on December 1st and we just brought her home last night. She's a little wiggleworm, and we are spoiling her rotten as fast as we can.

She loves hanging out in her "redneck condo"

And she loves playing with Mary in the snow!

She even digs riding in Mary's sweet sled! Thanks for the ride, Mary!

Stay tuned for more cute pics! You know I'll be snapping pictures until I completely KILL this camera battery!

The Cutest Little Girls in the Whole Wide World!

We are truly blessed with great friends who all have great kids - and sometimes, they even get brave enough to let us watch those kids!!

Here's some pictures of some of the cutest little girls in the whole wide world! I swear, their daddies better get ready, these girls are gonna be heartbreakers one day!

Here's Mary, she looks just like a little doll. We watched Mary one night while her parents went to the movies. I think she may have been a little traumatized by the fact that the Beaudog was barking his head off, I burned dinner, and the smoke alarm started going off and wouldn't stop for about 10 minutes. This child was probably soooo ready to get back to her own house!

The very next day, I babysat all day for Michael's goddaughter, Trinity. She is such a cutie pie, and I spent the first couple hours of the day walking her around the house and propping her up for pictures everywhere. She would just grin and laugh, but as soon as I snapped a picture, she would stop smiling and look at me like I was crazy. I love this little Christmas outfit!

The funniest part about me babysitting for her was that all day long, I had put her diaper on backwards. Her poor Mom had to pull me aside and let me know that the tabs go in the front, not in the back. I was so freaking embarrassed. Clearly, I have no business having a child of my own. I don't even know how to work a diaper!! I bet all day, that poor baby was like - "Dude! I'm so uncomfortable!!! Can you please get my drawers on right??!?"

Oh well, doesn't look like my lack of parenting skills kept her from snoozing the day away - look how SWEET!!!

And here's our newest little neighbor, Reese. So sweet, and she doesn't even mind if Michael holds her!

Absolutely PRECIOUS!! I can't wait for us to have a house full of our own!