70 to 41. Yes, 70.

This past Saturday, our East Carolina University Pirates spanked the University of North Carolina Tarheels 70 to 41. At one point our stadium was actually chanting "we want 70" before we brought the score up.

Sawyer joined us in tailgating (me and him came at 12:30p while everyone else started around 9:30a).

John's parents got a life-size Pirate and Sawyer was obsessed with it!

We also taught Sawyer the art of flip cup (with Sprite) #parentsoftheyear.

I tried two new recipes and they were awesome. I made Skinny Banana Nutella Dip with pie-crust dippers (next time, I'd probably just use Nilla Wafers) and Taco Crescents, however I did the taco crescents a little differently, so I'll be posting about that recipe soon!

Once we got into Dowdy Ficklen, Sawyer really enjoyed the pre-game show, watching the band, cheering for Pee Dee the Pirate and singing the fight song... but about 10 minutes into the first quarter he was done. I tried my best to get him to just go out with me and let Josh stay in and enjoy the game, but ohhh nooo homie was not about leaving his daddy.

Josh has a weird new tradition where he takes his shoes off during the warm-ups, such a weirdo

So, we got to see ECU's first touch-down, UNC's answering touch-down and then in the truck we went. Thankfully the first quarter lasted forever so when we made it home we got to watch the rest of the game on TV (which totally isn't the same) but better a Pirate at home than not a Pirate at all.

so many wins.

This weekend was full of winning moments. Not only did my ECU Pirates beat Virginia Tech, but I also had 2 baby showers and finished up my last craft for the nursery!

Bright and early Saturday morning (aka at 7am when Sawyer decided to get up), I finally got to work on re-covering Sawyer's old pirate bumper using this tutorial. I have been putting off making the bumpers because I was so scared to actually cut huge hunks from the fabric I ordered, I bet I measured each strip 10 times! No pics of the finished product yet because I ran out of the stupid ribbon I was using for the ties, so come back tomorrow for a full nursery & name reveal.

Saturday afternoon we went to Raleigh for a shower with our tailgate crew. Saturday also happened to be the ECU vs. Virginia Tech game, so even though the shower was supposed to start at 2pm, we ended up not opening gifts until 4:30-ish because we were so busy watching the game!

too busy watching the game for shower business

I did get some great gifts from our friends though and it was wonderful getting to watch such a high-stress game together. We managed to not get any pictures because we were so caught up with the Pirate win!

Sunday we had another shower, this one was at my church hosted by two of my best friends, Dana & Hope and Dana's mom, Mrs. Teresa. While we were calling the shower a "sprinkle" since we don't expect much with this being our second baby and the same gender as our first, our church family, family & friends were too sweet and loaded us with gifts! I spent several hours in the nursery last night putting away diapers, wipes, outfits & bottles! Forgive the quality of the pictures below, they were stolen from Facebook or taken with my horrible phone camera (note to self: stop forgetting your actual camera!)

my MIL, Vivian (with my niece Karlie), Hope, Mrs. Teresa, Me, Dana & my mama

Hope feeling me up putting on my corsage

so much food

the whole driver-side backseat was filled, even with the seat folded down! #blessed

seriously.

Now that we've got the nursery basically done and all the stuff we could possibly need (save for a few things I need to pick up thanks to some awesome Target gift cards) we are ready for baby. Well ready, but not wanting him to come out for at least 7 weeks!

the first one.

My pregnant self spent 10 hours in crazy high temperatures on Saturday and I couldn't be happier about it. We tailgated, cheered and celebrated for our first home game against NC Central this weekend, and despite 92 degree temps and 300% humidity (okay, that one might be an exaggeration), we had an absolute blast.

me & Dee

Our tailgate lot opened at 2pm for the 8pm game, so naturally we got there at 12:30 to line up to get in. The girls hung out in the shade while we waited for the staff to let us in and then claimed "our spot" when it got closer to tailgate time. It's funny, our lot (Elmhurst Lot) is the last tailgate lot that doesn't have numbered spots, while you pay to be able to park in the lot, the spots are actually first come first serve. We have the spot that we always park in so we have to go "claim" it fairly early on to avoid any newbies trying to take it.

I supervised several games of Flip Cup and cornhole from my chair and ate all I wanted (because carbs don't count on gameday... just don't tell my OB). I made a kind of hybrid version of the Lucky Rainbow Chex Mix & Confetti Cake Muddy Buddy mix by using the vanilla coating version (including the butter & almond extract and heavy cream) of the confetti cake recipe with the cereal/marshmallow guts of the Lucky Rainbow recipe. Then I also roasted some potatoes & made my favorite fruit salsa with homemade cinnamon tortilla chips. Of course, I also brought a giant bag of grapes because I've been craving those like crazy.

The biggest surprise of the day was the weird looks I got from a TON of people. At first, I thought I was just being paranoid and self-conscious about looking so pregnant (and about my belly button poking out a good inch), but then my friend started noticing too. What, is a pregnant girl supposed to just sit at home and not enjoy tailgating or a football game?

me and our "famous" cousin Kasey (who recently sang with Keith Urban!!)

I was so happy to be back in our stadium, cheering on our team. We had a great game with an AMAZING play that involved our quarterback Sean Carden passing the ball to a running back Breon Allen who then passed it to (my favorite) receiver who threw a 41 yard pass to another receiver, Isaiah Jones for a touchdown. It was unbelievable.

With the score at 38 to 7 at the end of the 3rd quarter, we decided to call it a night (it was 10:30pm and we'd been in the sunshine since 12:30pm, woof). The Pirates won 52 to 7 against Central and our next game is away in Columbia, SC against the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. Josh is making the trip to watch the game and I am super jealous!

Your first home football game might be tomorrow if...

• You had to legit make a list of when to start prepping food, just so you have ample time to have it all ready, yet still tasting fresh while allowing yourself enough time to get ready for the game in the morning. It's a process, y'all. 

• After gulping down your morning orange juice quickly because you were running late, you had the sudden urge to put the empty cup on the edge of the table and flip it at lightning speed.

just your average 9am game of flipcup last year...

• Your first text message of the morning was this:

• You have checked the clock all morning willing it to say 5pm so you can go home and get this party started. 

• You've known what game day outfit you're going to wear since forever (or since you ordered it offline/bought it at a local boutique), but you found yourself laying it out on the bed this morning just to make sure it still looks awesome (which it totally does). 

28 weeks pregnant + 92 degrees = maxi dress

• You've been stalking your athletics/equipment/college radio social media sites for updates. 

• You're dressed in game day colors today (which is basically every Friday around here since we always #paintitpurple). 

• You and your friends have texted all morning, finalizing plans even though they've been decided on for months. 

• Your/your husband's/your boyfriend's truck is already packed with the tent, chairs, grill and charcoal and the tailgate lot hang-tang is already in place. 

also....

How I feel when inviting people to an East Carolina University tailgate:

Linking up with Sarah @ Venus Trapped in Mars!

Football Friday - Tailgate Recipe Favorites

I am not only excited that our first ECU Pirate Football home game is one week and one day away, but also excited that the Football Friday link-up is back with Erin @ Love, Fun & Football!

My husband and I (along with a lot of our friends) are proud ECU alumni and Pirate Club members so we don't miss a home game (or a close away game if possible). This year's tailgate will be a little different since I will be beginning the season at 28 weeks pregnant and will probably be missing the last two home games with baby number 2 due in November.

our very Pirate-y announcement of our future member of the Pirate Nation.

But it's okay, I've done pregnant tailgating before in 2010 (just not quite as pregnant).

Football season makes me so happy not only because I love cheering on my team but also because it is almost three whole months of guaranteed weekend time with our friends who live about an hour away.

This year, all of Pirate Nation is super pumped because our first home game is at 8pm. This means we get to start tailgating at 2 p.m. (we are only allowed to tailgate 6 hours prior to kick-off/not before 8am in Pirate Club lots because they legit worry for our well being) and get to avoid the horrible heat of a summer mid-afternoon game. This also means more time to eat!

While I might not be looking forward to endless games of flip-cup this season, I am looking forward to all the yumminess that comes along with a good tailgate. Here are a few of my favorite recipes, and a few I can't wait to try!

Cheesy Sausage Crescent Roll

Sorry for the horrible picture, but it is quite delicious for early morning breakfast tailgates.

Fruit & Angle Food Cake Kabobs 

(I made mine without the chocolate drizzle to reduce the mess)

via

Bacon Wrapped Tater Tots

yes, they are just as good as they sound.

via

S'Mores Layer Bars

When Ashley @ Sweet Carolina Belle posted this recipe I knew I had to try it this upcoming season! I can hardly wait for that chocolate, marshmallow goodness.

via

Fruit Salsa with Baked Cinnamon Pita Chips 

(we can pretend it's healthy, because "fruit" is in the dish title)

via

Lucky Rainbow Chex Mix

I have yet to try this one yet but can you really go wrong with white chocolate, Lucky Charms, Chex Mix, and sprinkles?

via

What's your favorite tailgating recipe?

Weekend Update: Peanuts & Pirates

Happy Monday Friends! We had a pretty busy weekend accomplishing some nursery tasks, attending the local Peanut Festival and hitting up Meet the Pirates!

Josh's cousin Kasey (who, as I mentioned Friday, is an amazing singer/songwriter/guitarist) performed at the Peanut Festival in the little, teeny town of Fountain, NC. She did amazing, Sawyer ate more sugar than I thought possible, and we just about sweat to death.

Kasey jamming

who doesn't love being held and hand-fed Italian ice?

...and Cotton Candy

 and you can't go to the Peanut Festival without eating some boiled peanuts.

hot and sweaty and off to Meet the Pirates

Meet the Pirates is an annual event held at our football stadium (Dowdy-Ficklen) where they have fun stuff for kids, photo and autograph opportunities with the soccer, volleyball and football players along with the cheerleaders and Coach Ruffin McNeil. The lines for the autographs get crazy long so we usually just enjoy letting Sawyer play on the field and bounce around in the inflatable stuff. It felt so good to be back in the stadium and I can hardly wait until Aug. 30 for our first home game of the season!!

"driving" Daddy's truck while waiting for the gates to open, please note how tired Josh looks haha

climbing the obstacle course

cotton candy, Italian ice, popcorn, someone certainly didn't go hungry.

sign him up coach, he's fast.

our friend Chris Mitchell and his sister, bro-in-law and nieces came just as we were leaving, but too late for us to get a great pic