Welcome Banks!

I have been terrible about blogging, but I really want to do better so that I have Banks' milestones documented.  I know that one day, when life slows down a bit, I will appreciate having this to look back on!
So, without further ado, let's meet the newest member of the Griffith family: Banks Blaxton Griffith.

Banks was born on Wednesday, December 18th 2013 at 4:20 in the afternoon.  He weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.  He was born with lots of dark brown hair, dark blue eyes, and a darker complexion than I've ever had in my entire life.
Due to my small frame, the size the doctors predicted Banks to be, and the way he was positioned, I had a scheduled c-section on the 18th.  I had been experiencing lots and lots of pain for several weeks prior to that day, and the doctors finally did an ultrasound, only to discover that his head would not fit through the birth canal.  Basically, he had been trying to drop for quite some time, but could not fit and was not reaching my cervix to begin the dilation process.  Quite painful, to say the least!  I was a bit nervous about the c-section (I had never even had an IV before, let alone surgery), but was happy to finally have an end in sight.
I didn't have to be at the hospital until 2:00 that afternoon, so that morning I tried to keep myself busy by doing last minute chores around the house, triple-checking my hospital bag, etc.  I couldn't eat or drink anything at all that day, which was extremely hard for me, even with my nerves.  My parents arrived in Memphis around lunchtime, so I went and watched them and Alex eat lunch (at one of my favorite lunch spots, of course!) before we finally headed to the hospital.
We arrived just before 2:00, got admitted, and were so excited because we had been told that my c-section would begin around 3:00.  After getting to the "preparation room", we were told that my surgery had gotten pushed back to 4:00.  Great.  Another hour for nerves to build up.  Another hour of no food or drink.  Another hour before I could meet my sweet boy.  However, time really did fly by with all of the nurses coming in and out of my room, giving me fluids, starting my IV (which turned out to be the worst part of my c-section experience), pumping me with anti-nausea meds, etc.  Finally, it was go-time, and I don't think I've ever been more scared in my entire life.
I wasn't scared about the actual c-section.  I wasn't nervous about becoming a parent.  I was scared because the anesthesiologist completely freaked me out while going through the list of things that I will experience, things that could go wrong, things I may or may not feel during the procedure, etc.  Like I mentioned above, I had never had any type of surgery before and I panicked while getting the little IV in my hand, and now I was being told that due to being so short, that I would probably be numb all the way up to my neck?  That I could get a bad pain shooting up my shoulder?  That I may or may not start throwing up during the surgery?  That I would be completely strapped down to the table and would not be able to move at all?  Great! Let's do this!
I told all of my family goodbye, and got wheeled into the operating room.  I, very shakily, sat on the edge of the bed and got my epidural (which turned out to be a breeze for me).  They strapped me in, got me ready, and finally allowed Alex to come into the room.  That made me happy.  Except that he was smiling, and just about the time I saw him, a huge wave a nausea hit me like a ton of bricks and all I could say to him was "why are you smiling right now?".  He knew something was wrong with me, and I told him I was about to be sick.  I did, and they immediately gave me more anti-nausea meds and I felt so much better.  From then on, everything went as planned.
It was so quick, so simple, so perfect.  Alex was able to video Banks being pulled out, which I am so thankful for since my view was completely blocked by a huge sheet.  I have watched that video countless times since he was born.  While the nurses got him all cleaned up, the doctors finished stitching me up.  I was getting super antsy (back to typical impatient Kristen by this point) because the only thing I wanted was to see what my son looked like!  Alex was over watching him get bathed and weighed, and no one ever brought him over my way!
Finally, the moment arrived when Alex brought him over for me to see.  Such a special moment.  One that I wish we could have had documented (but I was still strapped in and being stitched up).  He was perfect.  Absolutely perfect.
After an hour in the recovery room with just Alex, Banks, and I, we were finally taken to the room I lived in for the next three days and were reunited with all of our family.  It was such an awesome experience watching our family members take turns holding Banks, making memories that I will never ever forget.
It was such a great day.

---KPG

Baby Griff

Big news for the Griffith family: we are growing! Alex and I are so excited to announce that we are expecting our first little one in December!  And oh what a Christmas it will be!  We could not be more thrilled, and cannot wait to meet the little guy or girl. 

As you can see, Charlie is pretty pumped about being a big brother as well.  So far, I have enjoyed the "signs and symptoms" of pregnancy... all except for the dreaded sickness.  I have had a pretty terrible dose of morning sickness, which typically has lasted all day, and which makes getting up for school and acting overly chipper to 19 five year-old boys a real challenge!  Zofran, ginger ale, and saltines have been my best friends the past few weeks, but I have made it through it and am trying to "look on the bright side!"  It is pretty easy to do... just keep reminding myself that the little nugget will all be worth it!
Alex has been quite the champ dealing with everything.  I have not had any food cravings; however, finding something that I can eat has been quite the challenge.  Between NOTHING sounding appetizing and having limitations to what I can eat, every dinner has been... well, interesting.  Meats are pretty much out of the question, the thought of fruits and veggies nauseates me, and things that are typically my favorites cannot even be mentioned to me right now (Mexican food, shrimp, grilled chicken, etc.)  I am hoping that I am almost finished with this stage, since I am nearing the end of the first trimester.  Only time will tell! :)

To say we were surprised would be an understatement.  I took 18 (yes, 18) pregnancy tests until I was finally convinced that this was the real deal and not just a tease.  I kept telling Alex that every time I got a positive, I felt like I was acing the test! Seriously, it was the craziest thing in the world to take that first test, just for the heck of it, and see a + sign instantly pop up!  I mean, we had NO reason to suspect this, and I had NO reason to take a test that morning... I honestly don't know what made me take it!  But I am so glad I did!
This will be the first grandchild for both of our families, so everyone is super excited and cannot wait for December to hurry up and get here.  Baby Griff, you are already loved by so many!

---KPG

Hello, May!

I am not quite sure how it is possible to already be May 1st, but we sure are enjoying this beautiful weather!  Time is flying by- seriously, it is zooming- and I cannot seem to keep up! :)  The Griffith family has been SOOOOO busy the last few months.  Most importantly, Alex's company recently purchased a new building, and we have been remodeling and moving for several months now.  It is almost finished, and we had the grand opening and ribbon cutting this past weekend.  It looks AWESOME inside!  They are now able to to offer retail flooring as well as multi-family flooring.  The company also has a new name- Artisent Floors.  If you need flooring of any kind, please go see them! :)

Alex and I also had the opportunity to visit Charleston, SC in March.  We went with a few of our friends and had an amazing trip!  Charleston is such a beautiful town, and I hope that we are able to go back in the future.  We ate ALOT on this trip!!! If you ever get the opportunity to go, we have lots of good restaurant recommendations! Coast, Blossom, The Kickin' Chicken, Red's, Peninsula Grill, Glazed, Magnolia's... the list goes on and on!  I was a bit disappointed due to the fact that there are not a lot of restaurants with patios (I LOVE PATIOS).  However, we found several amazing rooftop bars that made up for it! The views of the harbor are amazing from the rooftops!  The Peninsula Hotel has a wonderful rooftop, along with a place simply called Rooftop.  But our FAVORITE find of the entire trip was a hidden treasure called The Cocktail Club.  This old-school bar has amazing vintage, one-of-a-kind drinks, a rooftop patio, live music, and relaxing atmosphere.  We did not find it until our last day, and when asked why it wasn't advertised, the bartender told us they liked to keep that low-key, non-touristy feel.  This place was so awesome that we went twice in one day! 

I am wrapping up the last few weeks of the school year as well.  This year has FLOWN by!! We only have 16 days of school left, but they are jam-packed with fun, end of the year events.  I love this time of year! We are able to have outdoor recess, eat lunch outside on the patio, and the boys have grown up SO much!  So fun! :)  I will be so sad to see these sweet boys go, but I know they are all ready for SK and that I will have another group of precious ones again next year! :) 

Until next time,

---KPG

Hello World!

Goodness gracious! It has been a LONG time since I have posted.  I didn't mean to be so MIA, but the Griffiths have been BUSY!!!!
Let's see....
Since my last post I have graduated with my Master's degree, taken a girl's trip to the beach, taken a girl's trip to NYC, traveled to China for two weeks for my job, celebrated my 2nd anniversary, taken a week-long course at Harvard for my job, vacationed in the Dominican Republic, began my 3rd year at PDS, turned 25, spent the holidays with our amazing families, traveled to L.A. for Christmas with Alex's family, traveled to Las Vegas for a flooring convention, and so much more! Whew! I'm tired just recapping it all!
I am so thankful that I was able to finish my Master's degree, especially is such a short time.  Let me tell ya, folks, working full-time and going to school full-time is not easy (and is for the birds!).  For the majority of my graduate school experience, I was working from 7:30-4:00 each day, then going to class at night from 5:00-10:00, three nights a week.  It was a lot, and at times I wanted to slow down my pace and not take so many classes at once, but I am SO happy that I kept going.  What a relief to be completely finished with everything!
My trip to China was truly an amazing experience.  I traveled with 6 other people from the United States, but I did not know any of them! This was only my SECOND time to fly anywhere alone (with my first being just two weeks before this trip), and I felt like it went extremely well.  I was definitely way more adventurous with the food than I had anticipated, but I am so glad I tried everything I did! I ate some crazy things, but most of it was absolutely delicious! I kept telling myself... you are probably only going to be in China one time in your lifetime... enjoy it while you can! And I did! I loved every minute of my trip! I wish that Alex could have gone with me..... I know he would have loved the history in China, but maybe someday we can return together for a leisure trip.
Our trip to the Dominican Republic was so relaxing and much-needed.  Alex had such a busy summer with Carpet Tech and I had been gone so much that we barely even saw each other.  It was so nice to have a week with no internet, TV, work, distractions, etc. to just enjoy each other.  It didn't hurt that the Dominican was insanely beautiful.... literally the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen!
We have had some wonderful times these past few months and look forward to an even greater 2013! I will do my best to keep the blog more up-to-date.

---KPG

Hello Bloggers!

It's been a while! Finishing my last semester of grad school and last few weeks of teaching has kept me super busy! Good thing I reaaaaaally enjoy being super busy. :)
Since I haven't posted a picture of my husband and I in about 6 months, I thought I was way overdue.  So here you go! One from a date night a couple of months ago and the other from Easter Sunday.

We have another busy month ahead of us in May.  Let's just face it... this summer is cram-packed with fun events, travels, and activities.  August will be here before I even know it! But I know, without a single doubt, that this summer will be much better than the last.  I cannot wait!
First up, a girl's trip to the beach.  From the beach, I head to NYC for a few days.  In the middle of June, I will be traveling to China for work.  In July, I will spend a week in Boston doing a work study program at Harvard, and then a week with my hubs in the Dominican Republic.  A little 2nd anniversary/end of summer/congrats on grad school vacay for the both of us! :)
In between all of those trips, we have weddings, showers, and birthdays galore! I love it!  So hopefully,  I will be much better about taking pictures and posting.  Hopefully! :)

---KPG

China Bound!

To say that I am on cloud nine is an absolute understatement. Why? Because this girl is going to China!

That's right. I have been selected to represent my school on a 15 day journey across China. I will be visiting Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Xian, and Shenzen. At those stops, my group will be visiting and touring independent schools, meeting with school administrators, and touring the cities.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I simply work at the most fabulous school in the world. This place rocks my socks right off my feet. Just when I think I have them figured out, they amaze me with something new! So anyway, we have started focusing on teaching with a global purpose. This trip will further that purpose and allow us to have some new teaching opportunities. I AM SO EXCITED to be a part of this and to come back and share what I learn with my fellow teachers!

There is a small group from the United States participating in this amazing journey. I am the only one from my school going. This is a big step for me since I have never even flown by myself! :)

I will keep you posted on this as the times draws nearer! :)

---KPG

And the Biggest Loser (Round 2) is......

ME!!! Again!

I absolutely cannot believe it! For the second month in a row, I have been the biggest loser! This month I lost 3.48% body fat. Extremely low compared to last month's loss, but I'm back to where I want to be.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words and motivation.... it really does encourage me to keep going and to PUT DOWN THAT DOUGHNUT!!!! :)

---KPG