Birthday Weekending

This is a long post about my birthday. Long. Very long.

As I mentioned in my last post, Thursday was my birthday. I'm the type who has no shame when it comes to celebrating that particular event. Apart from Christian holidays, it's my favorite. As such, I took the day off because I could think of nothing more fun than a lunch date and pushing trucks around the floor with my sweet kiddo all afternoon.

With a short pause for a dental appointment, I picked Jack up and headed to my favorite tea room, the Rose Garden, a small hole in the wall place in The Fort Worth Mercantile where he and I split a very delicate dish known as "the sampler." You know, chicken salad, fruit, a cup of soup, and quiche, plus a small tea sandwich on their deliiiiiiicious pumpkin bread. These are the things birthdays are made of.

My handsome escort for the day was an absolute angel. He sat up at the table with great manners, ate his food with the appropriate "yum" for the pumpkin bread, and generally charmed all the ladies in the room. I really couldn't have asked for better behavior and was such a proud mom. He is usually good, but he was just over the top great that day.


We went home and napped and played, then headed to Reata for supper that night. All I wanted was chicken fried steak (a baby craving--had not had one in years!), and that was the only place I could think of that served it. We dined early since Jack was with us and it's a little more upscale, but he was great there too. A little more wound up since he was with Daddy, but really good.


What is better than birthday cake?

Pink birthday cake!
As I was also off on Friday, we set out for Northpark Center to meet my friend Sherry and her children for lunch and an Anthropologie personal shopping appointment to address my rapidly thickening waist. (Another post on that coming soon. I have loved Anthro personal shopping for years now.) (Also, poor Jack--if he knew what a sister was, he would probably be praying for one.) We had a great time, and it had been far too long since I'd gotten to visit with my friend! We headed back to Fort Worth for naps, Pride and Prejudice, and leftover cold pink birthday cake from Bluebonnet Bakery, not necessarily in that order.


Later that night, we met my parents and my college roommate/BFF/maid of honor plus her guy and her parents at Joe T. Garcia's for fajitas and--let us pause to remember--the guacamole. The weather was amazing for such a late August night, so Joe T's patio was a great party.

I spent the rest of the weekend hosting a baby shower, doing laundry, making cinnamon rolls for church, going to church, and reading a P&P "continuing story" type book.

In sum:

days off + favorite tearoom + Reata + pink cake + lunch w/ friends + supper w/ friends + Northpark + new clothes + naps + Pride & Prejudice + time spent with family + Joe T's + guacamole = my perfect 32nd birthday!

So here's what I've really been up to.

We're expecting a new baby on March 1st!
As you can imagine, we are overjoyed that our family is growing!

I'm 13 weeks along, and just turned a major corner (I hope!) from the nausea, fatigue, and otherwise general listlessness of the first trimester. We've seen several pics of our little one, and he or she sounds strong and is growing right on track, praise the Lord. We'll find out in a little over a month if it is a Miss or Master Gentry kicking Mama's rear in there.

This pregnancy so far has been completely different than Jack's. With him, I was just tired and ate a lot of pizza and hamburgers in the first tri. This time, all I want is chicken. Chicken tacos, fried chicken sandwiches (here's lookin' at you, Chick fi a), and honestly, for about 6 weeks, the thought of diet coke made me immediately ill. After taking 2 sick days in a row, I called the doctor, and she prescribed me some very interesting relief, but that is a post for another day. (It wasn't Zofran.)

Anyway, today is my birthday, and I just had to get on here and share the news that I am so very grateful for. I'm having a wonderful day so far, starting with a dental appointment (oh yes, I really do know how to party, don't I?) followed by a great lunch with my sweet boy.

Now that I'm feeling better, I really do hope to be back on more often!

Back to Life!

Hello and howdy! I have missed being on here so much! I have a million starred posts in my Reader to go back and leave comments on. But let me tell you that I now know a ton of Olympic trivia and have barely missed a US gold medal ceremony while all the radio silence has been going on here.


Jack's usual caregiver was on vacation last week, so we had grandparents in to save the day. My mom showed up with this cozy coupe, and my sweet boy has climbed in and climbed out. And climbed in. And climbed out. So far he has mastered reverse, and we're working on forward. He loves being pushed in it, for sure. As soon as we stop he says (in a darling, can hardly-say-no-to-voice) "'gin?"

He is super, super sweet these days. Even Mr. G has added the word "adorable" to his vocabulary.

But anyway, to what I've been up to! Working. Parenting. Keeping my house clean. Olympic watching. Trying to stay cool in 100 degree heat. Playing with friends. Planning out the rest of my vacation days for 2012. Meeting high school...nay, church nursery friends for lunch and introducing them to my boy, and visiting family. It has been a lazy, blessed summer, and one that I'm not likely to forget anytime soon.

And it just so happens to be my birthday month, which I have been celebrating pretty much since August 1st. I love birthdays!

Hi! I'm still here!

Despite the fact that I am obviously having some weird issues with my header and pictures, I'm still here, and the blog isn't going anywhere.

I'll be back next Monday to catch you up on some of my goings-on. It's been a busy few weeks around my house.

Have a great Thursday!