Hurry Home Eric!

I know it has been FOREVER since I last blogged, and these pictures are way over due. To catch everyone up, I have been back in Texas now for 9 weeks. I worked ~ 3 weeks at St. Joseph's in Bryan, until I was recently instructed by my OB to no longer work secondary to the physical demands it placed on my body and the distance it is from where I will deliver in Beaumont. So now I am just hanging out, enjoying the holiday season, and taking it easy until Eric gets home.

Eric has 11 more days on the island, meaning this is his last week of class and finals will start on Monday. He had a quiz today and an exam tomorrow, then four finals next week. Everyone please keep him in your prayers!

I am close to 4 weeks away from my due date, but am thinking that our little girl could possibly make an early debut! We can't wait to meet our baby, and I can't WAIT to finally reveal her name so everyone will quit trying to guess or sneak it out of us! As of now, she has acquired the names Peanut, Ruby and Ruth Anne.

Here are some pictures dating back to Mom, Aunt Nita, Macey and Torey's visit to St. Kitts in October, before flying back to Texas with me. We had a wonderful time, and Miss Torey Teal is the cutest beach baby ever!

Macey and Aunt Nita brought the baby outfits to wear in St. Kitts.

Momma & Daughter

Beach babes

Ni Ni & Torey

GG & Torey

Trying on Aunt KoKo's shoes.

Torey was NOT scared of the monkeys!

I don't think she is scared of anything.

I miss him.

I've been Tagged!

Our dear friend, Blaine Fisher, tagged me in a post on her wonderful blog a few days ago. She has given me an assignment to present to all you faithful viewers of ours. :)

I am just now getting back to the blogging world after relocating back to Texas for my 3rd trimester. Yes, I miss my husband VERY much already, but I am enjoying being home again because...the locals are friendly here, the weather is nice and cool, there is wonderful/yummy food all around me, there are minimal potholes on the road and I can drive over 30 mph, I am surrounded by friends and family, I will be back to work soon, home for the holidays, I am under the care of a great OB/GYN, and so on. We had a wonderful time in St. Kitts with Mom, Aunt Nita, Macey and Torey. I will update pictures soon from their trip once I get more settled.

Now, on to my task that brought me to this post in the first place. This will be fun!

8 Questions from Mrs. Blaine Fisher:

1. What is your favorite activity to do in the whole, wide world?

This is a tough one, so I am going to go with snow skiing (wish I could do everyday, but regional location prohibits this) AND reading (which I do on a daily basis).

2. If you could be any place in history, at any time, where and when would it be?

I would have to say back in the 1950s, in Liberty/Winnie Texas, when my mother's mother, Doris, was still alive. She passed away when my mom was only 9, but I have heard many stories of what a wonderful woman she was. I wish I could have met her.

3. What is your favorite food?

Mexican food, duh.

4. Who is your hero?

My mom & dad. They made me who I am today, have set examples I will follow and cherish for a lifetime, and have supported me & my brother through EVERYTHING, good & bad, never losing love or faith in us.

5. What is the best thing anyone has ever said to you?

"I DO". ~by Eric Allen Metteauer

6. What is your favorite thing to wear?

Jogging suits when it's cold and t-shirt/workout shorts when it's hot. I like to be comfy.

7. What is the best time of day?

The evenings, when we are home from a long day, and I can cook and visit with Eric. No matter how my day goes, I always find peace and happiness when I am at home with him.

8. What is something you've been meaning to do, but have chickened out or haven't made time for?

I would like to take the time to learn to sew more than just a single line with my sewing machine. I want to be a fancy-smancy mom that can hem pants, sew patches on Eric's holy jeans, and make pillows and cute little outfits for our baby girl. I think this is the perfect time in my life to tackle and accomplish this task. I will keep you posted on my successes, or lack thereof.

OK, if you are a fellow blogger, copy and paste these questions to your blog so I can take a dip into your personal unknowns!

Hiccups

Today marks my 27th week of pregnancy...my, my how time flies when you're growing a baby. I may not be saying that these last 3 months though as I really start to expand (while praying my hips do not!)! According to my go-to online source, she weighs ~ 2 lbs ("like a head of cauliflower") and is about 14 1/2 inches long with legs extended. Here lately she has been getting the hiccups which is simply amazing to me! Her kicks & movement are getting stronger by the day, and I am so thankful that Eric has had the chance to see and feel these movements before I leave the island next week. Which transitions me right into my next thought to share with all of you...

Mom, Aunt Nita, Macey & Torey will be arriving to St. Kitts in less than 48 hours! We will pick them up from the airport on Friday and then whisk them away to the beach! I hope this weather that we have been getting from TS Otto has cleared out by then. Spending these last few days on the island with Eric will be bittersweet. It will be so hard to be away from him, but we will be re-united before we know ...with a little infant in tow. And this will give me peace in my heart until we are back together as a family in the spring. Goodnight family and friends. Sending love to you all. ♥

2 Kilometers & Turtle Jewelry

This past weekend, while Eric studied for his two tests this week, I participated in a 2K walk. This was a charity event for the St. Kitts Children Home (orphanage), who recently lost federal funding to pay for the home, utilities, food, etc., which is really sad. My walkers in crime were two other Vet spouses, Erin & Jessie plus her son, Beau. The 5K run/2K walk took place at the Marriott golf course, and offered activities for the kiddos (balloons, face painting, & a jump/jump) plus a dinner that followed the walk. The weather was overcast (which was a lifesaver!) and the 2K trailed the golf course cart path, offering beautiful scenery. We had a great time and I am so glad that I was able to make the whole 2K without falling out!

Erin, Me, Jessie & Beau

Beau having fun before the race. He is just precious!

Beau & his Mommy

Beginning of the trail.

Recently, I have begun helping out the St. Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Project. As I have mentioned before, this project is a community based nonprofit organization founded in January 2003 which monitors nesting sea turtle populations & acts as an advocate for the strengthening of sea turtle protection laws. The project has a fundraising committee that utilizes local resources such as recycled glass and sea glass, in which it is manipulated to make beautiful jewelry and accessories. The recycled glass is locally fired and made into gorgeous beads for keychains, necklaces, etc., and the washed up sea glass is used to make beautiful necklace pendants, earrings, & wine glass tags. I have made a few necklace pendants and keychains, but can hardly take credit for the beautiful craftmanship of the jewelry collection. This past Sunday, a few of us gathered at our place (while Eric was studying on campus) to work on pieces for our upcoming sale this Thursday. I am looking forward to helping out with this project more when I return to the island in the spring.

The following pictures were taken courtesy of Kate Ackerson (3rd semester vet student) and her husband, Ryan Kibbee. For more pictures or info, check out the jewelry facebook page!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saint-Kitts-Sea-Turtle-Monitoring-Network-Fundraiser/113555978705568

Sea Glass Wine Glass Tags

Sea Glass Pendant (I made this one!)

Sea Glass Pendant

Sea Glass Earrings

Sea Glass Pendant

Sea Glass Earrings and Pendant

Italian Bead Pendant (recycled glass)

Sea Glass Pendants

Keychains Made from Recycled Glass

Keychains I made!

Nesting...Take One

Last night, on a complete whim, Eric and I purchased our baby girl this crib set & accessories. We love, love, love this pattern! Because the baby and I will be in Texas for a few weeks once she is born, then back here in St. Kitts for less than a year with Eric, it has been hard for me to really get excited about looking for baby apparel. The reason being, I am not setting up a "complete" nursery at our home in CS or my parent's, plus we will be limited on what we can bring back to the island. So the nesting phase of my pregnancy has been non-existent thus far...But we just couldn't pass up this beautiful collection and great deal! Looks like we will be bringing a little western to the Caribbean. Yee Haw!

Eric's Island Birthday

HAPPY 28th BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAR HUSBAND, ERIC ALLEN!

Today Eric celebrated another birthday here in St. Kitts. Because it fell on a Tuesday, we decided to celebrate with friends Sunday night at our place. We cooked two pots of taco soup, jalapeno & cheese beer bread, and baked potato dip. I also made Eric a Cake from Hell, which is a very sinful chocolate chip cake topped with homemade chocolate chip icing. Our friend Louisa made yummy chicken enchiladas and others brought Mexican influenced sides and appetizers. We had a great turnout as well as a fun time with our friends. Thanks everyone for coming to help Eric celebrate 28 years!

And one of my favorite b-day quotes...

"Birthdays are nature's way of telling us to eat more cake."

Or wait, is that just my pregnancy? Can I get an Amen?

(click on picture to view in larger format)

Matt & Lindsay's bday gift to Eric- 2, 40 oz. bottles of Colt 45

Weekend Ramblings

Eric & I enjoyed a long weekend together. Yesterday was St. Kitt's Independence day, so campus was closed and there were no classes. Friday, semester volleyball kicked-off, and Eric played with the VIPERs. On Saturday, we watched college football ALL day! We are so happy the Aggies pulled out a win in the last quarter against FIU. Whoop! Sunday, we attended Bratfest at Elvis' and had a great time. There was beach volleyball, corn hole, brats, line dancing, two-stepping, cupid shuffling and more! We ended our enjoyable weekend at the Marriott casino, with a mixture of video roulette & Monday night football. WHO DAT!

Three weeks from today, I head home to finish out my 3rd trimester of pregnancy. Our baby girl has been very active lately, and we can't wait until her arrival! Her movements/kicks have become a lot stronger and you can now actually see my belly move when she does. I will start my 25th week of pregnancy tomorrow. According to babycenter.com, she is now 13 1/2 inches long and weighs about a 1.5 lbs.

Another topic of conversation that keeps us on our toes is the weather here in St. Kitts. We have been fortunate to dodge a few hurricanes since we have been back from break, but have endured some effects from these storms (wind, rain, oceanic swells). We are still in the rainy season, and some of these storms have brought in cooler weather. It looks like Tropical Storm Lisa just formed this morning. Hopefully she will take a turn to the north like the others have. Here's to another great week of vet school and life on a caribbean island! Cheers my friends.

Storm over the Caribbean Sea

Storm over the Atlantic

A storm rolling in to Timothy Beach while we were at Bratfest

Us at Bratfest