I'm back!

This might be a long one. I haven't blogged in a while (for me) and feel like I have a lot to mention in this post. I should warn you, if you have a weak stomach - this post is not for you.

Thursday morning, Chappell and I were all set to make the trip over to Pensacola. I had everything packed and ready to go - outfits laid out - and we seemed to be running on schedule. Then I remembered it had been a day or so since lil' Chappy had gone potty. Numero dos...

{This is an issue we've been dealing with her entire life... it comes and it goes... and it isn't fun when it strikes}

Since I would be leaving Chappell with my mom overnight, I figured it was only fair to remedy the "problem" before dropping her off. So, I popped a handy-dandy glycerin suppository in her tiny fanny and waited for action. Isn't motherhood glamorous?? They usually work after a few minutes, but this time nothing.

We waited... and waited... and waited.

Of course being the first time mom that I am, I started freaking out... why wasn't the dang thing working? Crazy thoughts started running through my head... will this poop be stuck forever??

I mean, the box says to call the doctor if it doesn't work within an hour. That's scary!

After about 30 minutes of waiting, I decided to go ahead and get on the road. Things seemed fine (for about twenty minutes) until I looked (in my Safety 1st mirror) to see my baby's face about as red as a tomato. Then came the tears. I pulled over as fast as I could, realizing once I stepped out of the car that I had chosen an Alvin's Island as the scene for disaster. Perfect.

And here's how (probably) the worst 5 minutes of my life played out:

1) Lay Chappell down on front seat. Take diaper off. Baby sliding all over the place. Huge poo stuck. Screaming baby. 101 degrees.

2) Realize baby's head is banging seat belt holder-thingy. Realize must move to back seat. Realize back seat is full with luggage and hanging clothes.

3) Cover Chappell's bottom with old diaper and move luggage to trunk with screaming baby. Even better.

4) Lay Chappell down on back seat. Baby screaming louder and drenched with sweat. I'm drenched with sweat, it's 101 degrees. Baby continues to scream louder and giant poo starts to come out. Use old diaper to remove poo from baby's bottom. Diaper becomes saturated with poo. Meanwhile, poop still stuck. Have to use MY hand to remove pieces of poo. Loving it.

5) Tourists coming/going to buy airbrushed t-shirts. Tourists stop and stare at spectacle. Poop flung all over parking lot. Gnats swarming. 101 degrees. Wipe poop off of hands (with baby wipe) and return baby Chappell to her car seat.

Are any of you non-parents still considering reproduction? If that isn't birth control for any of you, I don't know what is! Just kidding Chappell. If you ever read this, I want you to know that I love you very much. However, this wasn't my most favorite parenting moment.

We eventually arrived in Pensacola. Thank the good Lord above.

Once I unpacked Chappell's things and got her settled, I drove over to Mary Hunter's bay house in Point Clear, AL.

{On the way over I realized that I miss Alabama. I don't know what it is, but as I crossed the state line, I felt sad. Maybe it's because that's where I went to college, lived after getting married, and had my first baby. So many great stages of life...}

Anywho, I can't tell you how relaxing the drive to Fairhope was... even though it was raining, it was so nice knowing that I wouldn't have another baby-diaper disaster.

Once I arrived, we drove into downtown Fairhope for a day of shopping. I think we hit every store there. It was so much fun. Hunter had to restrain me a few times. We went to this consignment store that had an incredible baby section... it really was incredible. Brand new Pixie Lily day gowns for $10-14. They had the cutest smocked outfits for little boys... again, $10-14. Hunter convinced me that it would be a little silly to buy baby clothes for a little boy that I don't even have... sad.

After shopping we returned to the house and poured a glass O' vino. At 3:30! 3:30 pm seemed pretty early to the loser that I have become. I have to admit it was nice. We hung out on the porch for the remainder of the afternoon and relaxed.

I love it there... the old trees and the view of the water... cannot be beat. Here's a picture of me after a walk on the boardwalk. I was expecting a casual stroll. Instead, it turned out to be one of Hunter's famous power-walks. Yeesh.

Friday morning came far too early. I packed up and rushed home to be my sister's slave.

The day was spent running errands with Smith and doing last minute preparations for her big debut party on Sunday. We met with her web designer over at Hail Studios - and the website went live Friday afternoon. That was pretty exciting...

Reed had a condo meeting on Saturday morning, and met us in Pensacola Saturday afternoon. My nephew (Alec) turned 7 on Saturday, so we had a birthday party for him Saturday night. Smith had 5 friends in town for the show. Our house was packed with 17 people Saturday night. Chappell stayed in my parents' closet (in her pack n play). It was crowded to say the least.

I must add, Smith's friends are hilarious - Reed and I enjoyed hangin' out with them Saturday night!

The debut party on Sunday went well, and Smith is officially selling clothing from her brand new line, Smitten by Smith! I was in charge of sales and held down the fort at the front desk. Reed was in charge of the music for the runway show. Never thought I'd see that. Good stuff.

Thank you to Mary Carolyn Rentz, Emily Leidner and Flower Magazine for the incredible floral arrangements!

Smith will soon be traveling around the Southeast selling her pieces to {high-end} boutiques. She will have a booth at the apparel mart in Atlanta this October. I will keep you posted on my sister's budding career as a professional fashionista. Let me know if you are interested in placing an order :)

I think that might be it for now. Once I got home this morning (around 10) I realized that I had left Chappell's bag in Pensacola. Awesome. I met my Mom in Fort Walton and just got home about an hour ago. Please excuse the lame-ness of this post.

Below: Isn't the best picture of me, but I wanted everyone to see my lil' assistant. We had to take turns with the calculator.

PS: We moved Chappell's crib to the bottom level today. Two days ago we found Chappy sitting up in her pack n play after her morning nap. Since then, we've found her sitting up in the crib. What a big girl!