Occasional Genius

3 weeks of fun.

2012-02-11T21:36:00.003-05:00

3 weeks little lovebug.

This week we've finally started to make some headway. I hate to write this down as a memory, but week 1 was a bit of a disaster; week 2 was spent overcoming & healing from week 1. And now on week 3 I feel like we're finally back on track, and it's nice!

We got rid of thrush & worked on breastfeeding. You're still pretty fickle, but we've made a lot of progress this week. You also gained 12 oz this week! Much of that is because we've been supplementing with formula, so I promise not to freak out if you don't gain as much (or any) during this time of switching to all breastmilk.

You've gotten more alert this week, but you're still a sleepy little girl. At your check-up the doctor had to turn the lights on & off and mess with you for several minutes before you were awake enough that he could do his milestone checks.

We love reading you books & singing to you. Usually you fall asleep pretty quickly, but hey, it's fun anyway.

Also? Your first snow this week! We bundled you up & took you out for a picture!

Product Review: gDiapers

2012-02-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

I have to admit, I never saw it coming. I'd bought up cloth diapers on sale & was super excited to start using them. I knew that it would be a trial & error experience, but I never saw myself falling totally in love with gDiapers. Never saw that one coming!

I'd bought this package 2nd hand from a mom on Craigslist who'd used them for approximately 3 hours. I know that because 2 of them had stains on them, and the rest hadn't been used. It had 12 tinypants (newborn size) & 6 gPants in size small.

The downside is that Hazelnut outgrew the newborn size in less than a week, with her weighing barely over 7 lbs. The good news is, 12 was plenty. And now we're in the size small gPants... and guess what?? 6 is plenty!! Yes, you heard that right, I'm using 6 diapers for my child, and I'm not doing laundry twice a day.

How?

Most of the time, the actual diaper doesn't get wet or dirty. Maybe once or twice a day one will get messed up. I'll rinse it in the toilet & throw it in the wetbag for the next batch of laundry. I'm doing diaper laundry about every other day.

Let me rephrase that... my mom has been doing diaper laundry about every other day. But she's back in the real world now, so I'm going to have to start actually doing stuff myself now! :)

So if you're considering cloth diapers, I absolutely recommend gDiapers. I'm considering selling my brand new never-been-used stash of one size diapers so that I can go buy more gPants! If I can recoup most of my costs (which I should be able to, considering they've never been used & have pretty good resale value), then I think I might just do it!

My suggestion to the mom interested in using these:

Buy 6 size small (or medium, or large, if you don't have a newborn). You can choose either the cloth inserts or the disposable inserts. The disposable inserts are awesome, but for longevity & cost savings (over disposable), I'd go for cloth.

Spring for the extra snap-in liners-- they will get dirty before the covers will, and it's worth the $20.

Extra cloth inserts: these are the things that will get dirty, so you'll want enough to do laundry about every other day (another 2 packs should do).

Yup... that's my review! And in case you need to be tipped over the edge, I'm pretty sure there's nothing cuter than this!

'nuff said

2012-02-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Ummmm.... only my absolute favorite times in gym class! Gym classes were not fun for pudgy kids. But parachute day was awesome!! I think we got to do it for 3 whole days, actually. Not sure why we couldn't have just done that every day... I would have been cool with it!

Oh, and playing popcorn on it until the ball fell through the middle. Fun times indeed!

2 weeks.

2012-02-04T11:03:00.000-05:00

A lot has happened in another week! I've contemplated updating more about our Hazelnut, but I figure I have two choices: spend time documenting everything, or spend time enjoying everything. I chose the latter of the two. Life is too short, and she's not going to be this little for long, so I need to enjoy it!

Last Saturday, on her one week birthday, we made a visit to the ER. The lactation consultant (LC) showed concern for the little amount she was eating, and the long amount she was sleeping, and asked if she was at a risk for group B strep. She was! I had it during pregnancy, and although I had antibiotics during labor, there's still a tiny possibility that it could have passed on to her. After calling our doctor's on-call service, they suggested we go to the ER. Despite the stuff they had to do to her there, it was actually a great experience. The medical side really stunk, but the doctors and nurses that worked with us were amazing! The doctor even called us the next night to make sure she was still doing well! Who does that?

Also, Hazelnut was quite the celebrity in the ER. I was so thankful that they got us right in, and when we normally would have had to go back to the waiting room, they put us in a separate, private waiting room because she was so tiny. Then all the doctors & nurses kept commenting on how beautiful she was.

Let me tell you, a mom never gets tired of hearing how beautiful her child is!

Other than that she is just growing, growing, growing. She was 7 lbs 3 oz when she was born, and lost down to 7 lbs by the time we left the hospital. And by a week and a half, she'd already made it back up to her birth weight! That's my little overachiever!

My mom has also been here this week, and it's been so wonderful! She has pretty much played maid all week and although I feel really guilty about it, it's truly been such a blessing. I've been able to focus on Hazel & her growth. Hazel also has thrush, so I've been able to work on getting rid of that, and going to the LC to get help & guidance for breastfeeding.

LC's are wonderful! They really have a bag full of tricks to help you breastfeed & troubleshoot when things aren't going well. Without them, I would be a hot mess... well, a bigger mess than I already am!

Overall, Hazel is doing fabulous now. On Friday she started to be more awake & alert, and she's spitting up a little less than before. Jigsaw is enjoying getting to know her, and he's pretty protective of her! When we had Barb Spencer here for newborn pictures, I had to end up putting him in the kennel because he got so nervous! He kept looking at Barb & looking at Hazel & looked a little distraught because he didn't know what Barb was doing.

Speaking of newborn pictures...

How amazing is that? We told her that we wanted as girlie as possible... and I think she hit the nail on the head! Now we are going to have to restrain ourselves from turning her images into wallpaper to cover every square inch of our apartment!

Nicknames: Hazelnut; Hazelcat. And all the baby books said that it's a nickname proof name. I submit that it has the best nicknames!

Welcome to the World, Hazelnut.

2012-01-28T09:21:00.001-05:00

A week ago we welcomed our little girl into the world. Words can't describe how awesome this week has been. All the cliches are true-- I can't imagine loving anything more. Josh & I were trying to describe it to each other the other day. It's a lot like the love we have for each other. It doesn't matter what the other person does... we still love them with everything we've got.

Looking at her grow over this past week it makes me really sad. I don't want her to grow up-- I want her to stay a newborn forever! But grow up is what she must do, so we are soaking up every single second with her.

Labor was long... started around 1:30pm on Friday, January 20th, and our little Hazelnut was born at 9:41pm on Saturday, January 21st. 32 hours and I felt every single contraction. The pain... well, it's really indescribable. And unlike what a lot of people say, I haven't forgotten it. But she was definitely worth it.

I have, of course, turned into an emotional mess. Anything and everything makes me tear up lately. She's just so tiny & innocent that I don't want anything in this world to mess with her. She is perfect. Completely perfect. Not to mention absolutely adorable!

I may write more about the birth later, I may not. We had a photographer there, which was out of this world amazing. She captured moments that we will never be able to re-take. First moments of life... and it is so amazing!

Also, we had a doula there. I truly don't even want to think about what our labor & birth experience would have been like without her there. She was amazing to help & show us what was normal & what was not. I am totally unfamiliar with hospital situations & birth... but it's everyday for her. She was a huge source of support & took a lot of pressure off of Josh. He doesn't know how to be a labor coach, but he does know how to be my husband. So our doula allowed him to be just that-- my husband. He didn't have to make sure I was comfy or any of the other things that come up in labor. He was just able to be there to support me in whatever way he could.

Finally, our doctor. It was a long, hard road with our doctor, but in the end I couldn't have imagined a better outcome. He was amazing. He showed that he cared. So much, in fact, that we may very well go to him for our next child. I know that sounds crazy considering the things that went on (most weren't written about on this blog, though). But Josh & I, as well as our doula agree... he truly cares & worked hard to learn a different way of looking at things-- a way that would be beneficial to us and our baby. And for that, I am incredibly thankful. I am doubly thankful because his name is all over documentation, and when I look at that, I smile instead of cringe. I smile because it reminds me that we worked really hard to have the birth experience we wanted. To have the medical care we desired... and we got it. In a way, we paved the way for others to be able to get the birth experience they want as well.

I look back on these pictures and I can't believe I've had her in my arms for almost a week now. I can't believe that a week ago I was in the most unbearable pain of my life. They kept reminding me that at the end of it I was going to get a baby, but if I'm going to be very honest, I really didn't care at that point. I didn't truly understand what wonderful things awaited me.

She is perfect. She is wonderful. She has the cutest little chubby cheeks and button nose. She is a mixture of both her mom & dad. And she sleeps like... well, she sleeps like us! She sleeps like a champ and doesn't wake up for much.

Things I want to remember:
You weighed 7 lbs 3 oz at birth, and 7 lbs even when we left the hospital. 20 inches long, and born at 9:41pm. You sleep with your mouth open just like your daddy, and your chubby cheeks are definitely from me. I love the steel gray of your eyes right now. I know they'll change, but I really enjoy the mystery that is within them. I love it when you look at me, when you snuggle with your daddy, and when you make the most adorable little faces. I was scared before... scared that you may take away from the amazing marriage that me & your daddy have worked so hard for. But I've learned that you have only added to the awesomeness. You are absolutely amazing & wonderful and I am so thankful that God trusted us to be your parents!

Welcome to the world, Hazelnut!

Who is HOW old?

2012-01-20T08:30:00.000-05:00

Saw this the other day on Failbook.

I have to say... forget the bigger issue... that dude is 34?!?!

To be fair, he was probably only in his late twenties when the picture below was taken:

Yup... I'm not over it yet.

Pregnancy Confession

2012-01-19T08:30:00.000-05:00

I carry a bottle of Maalox in my purse. When I get heartburn, I shake it up & take a swig. I must look ridiculous, but hey, I'm pregnant... it's one of the few times in life you can do pretty much anything & people won't question it.

I prefer the mint flavor. It's instant relief.

A peek into the nursery...

2012-01-16T08:30:00.000-05:00

Nope, no baby yet. Not even so much as a hint of a contraction on Friday! Oh well... I guess this could be a sign that she's stubborn (or always late) like her momma. Or... it could mean that she's a baby & isn't fully developed yet, therefore not ready to be born. You know... one of those!

Happy to report that things are going better with our doctor & we feel more comfortable about everything now. I didn't write much about it on here, but it has been quite a wild ride with our doctor's office. My #1 piece of advice to those planning to get pregnant, or who are newly pregnant... think about where & how you want to give birth. Read up on some stuff, educate yourself, and then actually seek out a care provider that thinks along the same lines. It seems so silly to think about your birth plan before you even get pregnant, but trust me, it will be worth it, as it is very difficult to change providers once you go with one. Just like everything else in life, begin with the end in mind!

And finally... we are almost done decorating the nursery! Wahoo!! My nesting urge hit around the 6 month mark & hasn't been back since, which is unfortunate since we moved into a new apartment & everything I worked to organize before is completely useless & gone now. But we are making progress in the new place & it sure is a lot easier to make things look nice when they are nice to start with! Going from all white walls to cream colored walls is just awesome! It makes everything look better!

Here are some shots of the nursery:

We have truly been so blessed! I love how everything is coming together!

The mobile was really hard for me to decide on. I wanted something with black & white & red, as well as music. Those were the qualities that seemed to really make a mobile effective in encouraging Hazel to learn & respond. But I couldn't find any mobiles that had the black & white on them that matched... and of course red wouldn't really match either. So I found this at a consignment shop for $8 or $15 (can't remember). It plays classical tunes, has the black & white that moves around to pique her interest, and also perfectly matches the colors in her room! I snatched it up so quick it would make your head spin!

Also, above the crib will be a wall decal with Hazel's name on it. Some friends got it for us at our baby shower & I can't wait to put it up!

Josh & I made this canvas together. It's close to being finished. The lyrics are some of our favorite Cat Stevens lyrics, and the music notes are to remind her to be lively, and the musical rest is to remind her to rest. The music notes were Josh's idea, and I love it!

Our diaper stash. On the left are all the smaller cloth diapers, and on the right are the gDiaper refills (we'll use until they run out-- especially helpful for the newborn stage!) and our wetbag. I figure we'll adjust the flow of things as we go!

And finally, the closet! I picked up these hanging organizers at Wal-Mart for $7 each. The green one is a shoe organizer and I think it was more like $5! They all have side mesh pockets as well- lots of places to store things! Then the canvas bins are from Ross for $6 each. I'm still working on the organization in here, but I like the direction it's headed so far.

So that's our nursery to date. There are a few things still left to add, but I'm pretty pumped about it finally coming together, hanging things on the walls... it's making it all very real!

It's that day again!

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

January, April, July... all have a Friday the 13th this year!

I wrote about it before here, but I really want a Friday the 13th baby. It just feels right. 10 days before my due date-- that would be perfect timing!

So here's to hoping I have some pictures to share of my newborn baby soon! Please send some baby-having mojo vibes!

Maybe she's born with it... No, I'm pretty sure it's 'Fotoshop'

2012-01-11T08:30:00.000-05:00

So well done... I'll let this speak for itself. :)

Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

What's your take?

38 weeks.

2012-01-10T13:44:00.003-05:00

Yup, I've hit that part where I'm over the whole pregnancy thing.

Things I'll miss:
-feeling her move in my belly
-showing my belly off
-not having to deal with all the newborn stuff-- worrying, changing diapers, cleaning up poop/spit-up/etc, feeding, etc

Things I will enjoy:
-not being a stranded turtle in bed every morning (also in this category- getting up off the couch; sitting, standing, & laying down comfortably)
-having feeling in my hands
-not dealing with my OB

I know it looks like the "things I will enjoy" is a shorter list, but let me tell you, having feeling in my hands again will be really awesome. Really, really awesome.

Also? I'm used to being flexible... I'll often sit on the ground, or scrunch up in a ball-- but now I can't and I hate that! I'll go to do something I've always done & suddenly, it's a big deal. When I drop something on the ground, I really consider how much I need it before I go to pick it up.

We moved last week... good grief-- moving at 37.5 weeks pregnant is quite the adventure! The good news is Josh & I did not get a divorce during that process, and we have a lot of really awesome friends that went over & beyond to help us! Like, we moved from a 2nd floor apartment to a 3rd floor apartment across town-- they REALLY went over & beyond!

And we finally went shopping for all the final stuff for Hazel. I was trying to be practical & hold off until after the move. I still have a few things to exchange, but overall we're mostly ready!

I also have a really short attention span these days. I'm not tired, but I'm not fully alert. Kind of in a fog all the time.

And with that, I'm going to end this post. I wanted to write about baby's development, but all I can come up with is, "She's getting plumper... and probably has chubby cheeks."

A message we can all support.

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

You've seen it, I've seen it... Girl Scout Cookie season is upon us! I love genius marketing stuff... and this shirt just really made me smile!

Now that's a message I bet all my reader can get behind!

Also? I have a question. You know those people who buy a bunch of boxes & then freeze them so they'll have GS cookies all year long? How do they actually last all year? I get so jealous when I'm at someone's house and I see some Thin Mints in their freezer around Christmas time. Really? I'd need to buy an extra freezer to even attempt that because, let's face it... if I bought 10 boxes, it would last a good 2 weeks.

Never Say to a Pregnant Woman...

2012-01-07T10:49:00.002-05:00

One thing I've been super surprised about is the push-back I've gotten about attempting an unmedicated birth. I never imagined that people would try to talk me out of doing something that is perfectly natural.

"Why would you go through pain if you don't have to?" -my doctor

Seriously? If I don't want to go through pain, I probably never should have gotten pregnant in the first place.

If I were on the fence about it, that would be one thing, but once someone has made a decision regarding their child's birth, then unless it's truly harmful, let them be.

The blurb below really sums it up well: "Questioning her decision to do something you didn't gives her zero credit for making an educated decision."

Part of it is being nearly 38 weeks pregnant (therefore everything annoys me), and part of it is just wanting to be respected as a human being. But seriously, I'm tired of hearing how wonderful the epidural was. I'm not saying I won't get it... I'm just saying I have other plans & methods in place so that hopefully I'll be able to work through the pain without it. Everyone is different.

And I promise to do the same for others. My sister, for example, is due in April & plans on getting and epidural. And my sister-in-law? Due in March & will probably have to get a c-section (her first was a c-section). I would never dream of trying to convince my sister-in-law to get a VBAC... or convincing my sister to not get an epidural. It's their bodies & I'm pretty certain they are both capable of making the best decision for their bodies on their own.

So yes, I plan to have an unmedicated birth. Can things go awry? Of course, but I've gone to classes, researched, planned ahead, and even hired a doula to help me reach my goal.

2 Cor. 12:9 - “My grace is enough; it is all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become!” (NLT)

Disappearing Act.

2012-01-06T09:15:00.000-05:00

Here's what I've been doing rather than posting lately... I hope to get back to posting regularly very soon!

Getting awesome presents from great friends & family... this is an adorable owl hat for Hazel!

Packed up most of our belongings in December, then went to visit family for a week after Christmas... then came back & had even more stuff to pack!

Almost done packing...

And moving into the new place! This was actually after we'd started putting things away... it's been busy around here! I'm in love with the vaulted ceilings, though, and the cream colored walls (as opposed to boring white...). Not to mention we have 400 more square feet now!

But that doesn't mean I get a break from work! Been plugging away at both jobs & enjoying it!

Oh yes, and there's that little detail where I'm 8.5 months pregnant. It's getting really hard to be mobile, but with living on the 3rd floor now, I'm getting my work outs for sure!

Newness.

2012-01-01T08:52:00.004-05:00

There's something awesome about newness. A clean slate, a fresh start.

Like on the first day of school when you have crisp, new notebooks, fresh pencils & pens, and a backpack without an applesauce spill in the bottom. You just feel like you can take on the world at that moment.

We get a lot of chances at newness. Every morning is a new day. Every Monday is a new week. And every year is like one big chance to change something, should you like.

I'm not one for New Years resolutions. When I do make a resolution, I like to start a few days/weeks/months early. I mean, if I make a decision to lose weight after the new year, why not start immediately & not have the extra weight to lose that I could potentially gain in the time leading up to the new year?

But this year is a bit different. The new year doesn't have the freshness that it normally does for me. Instead, I feel like I'm in the final stretch. And, I am. I have 3 weeks left until my due date & there are a million things to do. In effect, my "newness" is starting in 3(ish) weeks. And even then, everything is unpredictable. I have no idea how I'll adjust to life with a newborn. I want to be one of those moms who has the baby out, strolling around the mall after just a week (or less!). But will I be? Who knows?

So this year is all about taking it slow & learning.

What is the new year to you?

Googling

2011-12-26T09:30:00.000-05:00

I'm a big fan of Googling your child's name before giving it to them. You know, before you find out on your kids first birthday that they have the same name as a nudist colony or something.

So what comes up when you Google Hazel? Of course a Wikipedia page about the color Hazel. And some info on the old TV show Hazel (I watched an episode, too!).

But also? Hazel is a pretty trendy kiddo. There are several clothing stores named Hazel, with pretty awesome clothes! Check them out:

<-- Love this logo!

You know what's awesome? These outfits perfectly match what I imagine a clothing line named Hazel would look like. :)

And you know... everyone needs a Hazel. I love this! It's a place where you can create postcards online & they'll print & mail them out for you!

It's also a restaurante in Minnesota that has a pretty cool back story.

There is also a Hazel, Kentucky-- a town with a population of 440 people over 4/10 of a square mile. Wow! Is that the tiniest town in America, or something? It is known for its small town charm & antique stores. And every 1st Saturday in October, they celebrate Hazel Day.

Such a fun Google search! I suggest doing it with your name!

Now you see her... now you don't!

2011-12-23T09:38:00.000-05:00

I have to admit-- the vain side of me has always wanted a cute bump during pregnancy. I haven't worked out as much as I'd hoped to, but seriously by the grace of God, I still managed to get a cute bump! What can I say... my kid is cute! ;)

Also... I really dig that I still don't look very pregnant from the front or back. I'm sure those days are numbered as we go through this last month, though.

But for now it's the symptoms you can't see in these pictures... the swollen feet & ankles, the carpal tunnel (oh my!), the heartburn, the facial swelling...

You know what, though? After being so ridiculously nauseous & sick for the first 25ish weeks of this pregnancy, this other stuff just doesn't seem so bad!

Guilt-Trip God?

2011-12-20T08:30:00.000-05:00

1) 97% of statistics are made up on the spot. Kind of like the one I just gave you.

2) God is not a guy in the sky trying to guilt trip you into sharing things on Facebook. Or email. His demands are more along the lines of love one another & such... not "repost if you love [me]."

If you've ever found yourself reposting something like this, I encourage you to reconsider. It's not that I don't want God's love shared... I just don't see how this is showing God's love. It's a guilt trip to try & get other Christians to repost it.

Instead, why don't we go out, find someone who doesn't know God's love, & show it to them?

I include myself at the top of the list of those who need to work on this. Sure, I may not repost things like this on Facebook or email, but how often do I purposefully go out to show God's love to another person? I think there's no better time to start than now!

Magical 35

2011-12-19T08:30:00.000-05:00

35 weeks pregnant... 35 days to go until my due date. Wowza... I have a lot to do before then!

I remember when I hit the 5 month mark & finally felt legitimately pregnant. Now 5 months seems like a distant memory! And pretty soon, 35 weeks will be a distant memory, too!

This week I'll hit the official 8 month mark. I've started getting stretch marks... I only had 2 for awhile, but then on Saturday it went from 2 to 11! I told Josh he needs to have a serious talk with his little girl about that junk...

Let's see... what else?

And update from last week-- we will be staying with our original doctor. Not because we want to, but because the way our insurance works, it's hundreds of dollars less to stay in the same place. Don't get me wrong, our insurance is great. We've been blessed to pay very little throughout this pregnancy-- so little it's laughable! But switching completely forfeits many of the benefits of that & we'd be shelling out quite a bit of cash to do so. With only a month left, we figure it's a sign that we should just tough it out where we're at. Life will go on. :) And hopefully we'll be able to work through all the issues with our doctors.

Reindeer... Male or Female?

2011-12-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

Obviously there are some of both, but here's a little insight into Santa's reindeer!

34 weeks.

2011-12-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hazel is about 4 3/4 pounds now (about the weight of an average cantaloupe) & roughly 18 inches long. Overall I'm feeling pretty good. Sure, it's difficult to pick things up off the ground, and rolling over in bed takes a little while, but overall, it's much better than it could be! I just keep thinking back to the first 23 weeks or so when I was sick as a dog the entire time & I'm counting all of my blessings now!

We finally took a birthing class at the hospital. Man, those are hard to sign up for! I probably made about 10 calls overall to get signed up for the class. Quite annoying, but I did find the class helpful. Also annoying that the lady on the phone described the class much differently than it actually was. I wanted to sign up for the Comfort Measures class at the same time & she discouraged me from doing so, saying they basically taught the same thing & other moms found the 2nd one to be repetitive. Well... they didn't really go over comfort measures in this class other than a breathing exercise. :/ And now, of course, it's too late to sign up for one! Guess I'll be doing more internet research with that one.

In other big news, we're looking for a new OB. Very disheartening to do so right at the last 6 weeks of pregnancy, and I'm not even sure we'll be able to find another one to take us in so late, but we were very discouraged with the last few visits, and I no longer feel comfortable continuing on with the doctors we've been working with. After our last appointment on Friday, Josh & I both felt the same way. :/

Every question we ask is met with a negative response. They usually seem annoyed that we're asking a question & act like it's a huge inconvenience to take the time to answer it. While I was asking the first question in our last appointment, the midwife actually got up and walked across the room & put her hand on the doorknob to leave! She gave me a half-hearted answer, to which I re-asked the question in a different way to hopefully get a full answer/explanation. At that point, she said, "I don't know how to explain it any more, so go to the CDC's website & search for it." Then she went over to the sink, got a paper towel out of the holder, and wrote the web address on there.

I can't even make that up! I still have the napkin! So sadly, after many situations like that (thinking back, it's happened more than we realized), we've decided that we just need to look elsewhere. Sure, I hired a doula, but it's not her job to be my doctor. I should be able to trust my doctor. And I feel that if I went into labor right now, it'd be a constant battle between us & the doctors. In fact, I'd rather go into the hospital & get whichever random doctor happens to be there at the time than get one of our current doctors. I don't expect butterflies & unicorns during labor, but I also don't expect a constant battle between myself & the doctors. Wish us luck!

Laugh & Cry-- I promise this clip is worth a few seconds!

2011-12-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

Y'all, this is the funniest, saddest, cutest, thing I've seen in awhile. If you don't laugh, you're not human. If you don't get a little sad, you're also not human. Enjoy!

33 & change.

2011-12-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

I know I say this every week, but really? 33 weeks? Where has the time gone? The first trimester went sooo slow, and the 2nd went pretty fast, but the 3rd? Zoom! It doesn't help that this is the busiest time of year for Josh & I. He has the preparations for Christmas Eve services at church, and I have my marketing job (hello, December sales at the mall!), & photography (Christmas cards, anyone?).

So what does a couple do when they've already got a jam-packed schedule? They decide to move into a bigger apartment, of course!

Well, it wasn't quite like that. Our current apartment gave us some unexpected pricing on our month-to-month lease-- $100 more per month than what they had originally said. So during the few days that we had to wait to see if they would work with us or not, we found a much larger apartment in a more central location that was the same price that our old complex was wanting.

Long story short, our current complex agreed to work with us... some. But at that point, the extra cost in the new apartment just seemed worth it. So after seeking a lot of wise counsel (seriously, we asked everyone!), we decided to move to the larger apartment.

The perks? Completely renovated inside & out. 400 square feet more. The biggest closet I've ever seen in an apartment! Vaulted ceilings. A 3rd bedroom. More central location.

The downside? More money. It's do-able, but will cut into our savings for a house. And it's on the 3rd floor.

It was the only non-ground level apartment available that would be finished with renovations by the time the baby is born. But we decided that the extra space will truly be worth the extra costs, and hey- an extra flight of stairs means more exercise!

In other news, I'm fairly certain that Hazel spent the better part of last week laying sideways in my tummy, which was incredibly uncomfortable! She's started to move more vertical now, thankfully! And according to the doctor, I'm measuring right on track for growth, so we're looking at a 7-8 pound little girl!

Wraps & such.

2011-12-01T09:20:00.000-05:00

So this whole baby carrying thing is quite interesting to me. As far as I can tell, it's kind of like a stroller. In some ways, it's easier to transport a kid that way, and in some ways, it's harder. So it just depends on the situation as to what you'd like to use.

One of my friends uses her carrier all the time when they're out and about. Her husband mostly carries it, which is kind of my plan-- he's stronger anyway!

But for around the house? I'm considering this one. It's called a Sasha Wrap. I don't know the woman who makes them, but my sister in law does, and she entered a contest to win one for free!

So this is a two-fold post.

1) I want to know your thoughts, experiences, etc on the whole wrap thing.

2) Please vote for my sister-in-law so she can win a free one! It's really easy to vote-- just CLICK HERE & vote for 'ChristyBoydPressley.' You don't have to sign up or anything. Right now she has 4 votes... so... help a girl out! And they're planning to do more of those giveaways-- maybe one a month? So I'd check back to see if you can get in on that!

My biggest thing with the wraps was that they never looked sturdy enough to hold a kid. Like, the kid could just fall out & onto the floor at any moment! So if that's you, then watch one of the videos HERE to see a little more about how they are wrapped on, and it makes more sense as to how it actually holds a baby in there!

I'm not receiving anything cool off of this post, by the way. My sister-in-law wanted some help with votes & hey... I didn't have anything else to write about today! Also? The whole wrap thing is pretty darn interesting, and I've watched this particular website grow over the past few months, so I'd love to know everyone else's experience with wraps.

Thrifty Nursery.

2011-11-30T08:30:00.000-05:00

We are likely going to be moving into a new apartment before Hazel is born, but I'd already worked on this nursery, so I'm going to share it anyway! I know I'm a photographer & all, but cell phone pictures are what you're getting. :) We got a lot of really great deals on our larger items, so I wanted to share our finds!

We started with this idea:

And here's what we've got so far. There's a lot less color in it right now because we don't have all the decorations up, but you get the idea.

Crib, mattress, white dresser: $150 from a consignment shop. We got the info off of the crib & researched it to make sure it had good reviews & wasn't recalled or anything. We also got a bedding set with it that's adorable, but just didn't fit in our color scheme, so we're selling it for $20.
Mobile: $15 (or was it $10?) at the same consignment shop. It plays about 10 different songs & spins around. I love that it has the black & white swirls as well, since that's what they suggest for mobiles.
Rug: $5 at a different consignment shop
Canvas with lyrics: $60 We bought the canvas at Michaels' for $40 (was 60% off) & the paints & paintbrushes (what I didn't already have) was about $20. We had the idea & painted it ourselves. It's not quite done yet, but more on that later.

Guitar Lamp: $30 at Burke's Outlet. You can't see it in the first picture because it's beaming a bright light, but it's on the white dresser.
Music = Love small canvas: $5 at Burke's Outlet

Dry Erase Wall Dots: $5 for a 2 pack I run a photography business out of my home, and it takes a lot of space to set everything up! I quarantined most of it to the closet with some careful organization, but I still needed some space for the printer & such, so I used this little corner, which you can't really see from the door. The two blue wall dots are removable dry-erase wall decals. I keep a list of to-do's on one, and other notes about clients on the other. Super helpful!

Large bookcase: This used to be in our living room with China & books on it. I love the cubby organization systems and almost bought a cubby shelf just for this room. But space is an issue in this apartment, so I took the bookshelf that was already in the nursery & moved it to the living room, and brought the large one from the living room into the nursery! There wasn't enough room for all the books, even after giving many to Goodwill, so I double layered them-- there is another complete row of books behind each row you see! The bottom right hand cubby of books is all our baby/kids books.

Canvas Bins: $9 each This was not a cheap purchase, but thankfully, I had enough in Wal-Mart gift cards to more than cover the cost! I can decorate them if I like, and they hide a lot of junk that I know won't always be organized once the baby is here. They will also make moving much easier, and even collapse down to a flat square if needed.

Yikes... I never said the nursery was finished! Here is the closet & changing table/baby armoir (which needs to be refinished & get new knobs). Cloth diapers are in the baby armoir... for now.

Bassinet: Free! It's our friend's bassinet. We knew storage was an issue, but also knew a bassinet would be super helpful that first month or so. So a friend offered to let us borrow theirs they aren't currently using (& they needed the extra space!). Works perfectly-- we don't have to waste money on buying one that we'll just turn around & sell, and they don't have to look at it for a few months. :)

And we've come full circle! Like I said, the decorations are definitely not all up yet (nor will they be until we move). A friend bought us a wall decal with Hazel's name on it, too, and I can't wait to decide where to put it in our new place!

32 weeks: My daughter is just like me.

2011-11-29T08:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday marked 32 weeks. Out of 40ish. Yowza... where did the time go?

I keep waiting for one of those magical moments where my husband talks to my belly & Hazel suddenly starts moving all around.

She doesn't do that.

Or for the day when I learn her schedule & can tell you when she's most active & when she likes to take naps.

It's not working like that, either.

Playing music? Does my baby love some country music? Does she leap around in my tummy when she hears her daddy sing on stage every Sunday?

Seems to be more coincidental if she moves...

But there is one thing that you can absolutely 100% count on. Put your hand on my stomach & she will not move. You can keep your hand there for 5 minutes & she'll take a nap. Move your hand away & she'll do the tango.

It took me awhile to figure it out. At first I thought it was because she's more active when I'm still, & especially when I'm scrunched up. So on Thanksgiving, I sat still & scrunched my body up-- usually she starts moving like crazy. She started kicking a little, so I let a friend touch my belly (she'd been wanting to feel her kick). Nothing. I nudged around my belly trying to get her to react or something. Nada.

Then I started thinking back... she always does that. Half of the time she does it to Josh, too, but I think she's getting used to him.

She's my little touch-me-not. That's what my mom always called me. I'm not a hugger, I wasn't the kid that crawled up in her lap or anything like that. I'm not even a big fan of high fives.

I just hope she doesn't cry when other people hold her... that could be exhausting.

Turning a $6 pizza into $8,000.

2011-11-28T08:30:00.000-05:00

Many people underestimate the little things. It's evidenced by their spending habits. I include myself in this.

Last week our pastor talked about money & being on a spending plan. If you've read this blog for any period of time, you're probably aware that money management & being debt free is a huge part of my life. Four & a half years ago we decided to get out of debt forever. It took us 3 years and we absolutely worked our butts off.

But after that? Truthfully, we took a break. I'm not proud of it, and it's pretty hard to admit.

No, we didn't go crazy spending. We still put money in savings, & tried to make smart financial decisions. But we also did fun things, like buy new clothes, go out to eat. We bought a new mattress, a 40" TV (on a Black Friday sale, but quite the upgrade from our 21" that was given to us!). But after sitting down & taking a hard look at our finances this week, we realized that we could have saved $8,000 more than we did this past year.

$8,000.

I immediately thought, What could we have done with $8,000? That's a hard pill to swallow.

Chances are, though, if someone gave you $8,000 you probably know exactly what you'd do with it... or at least have a good idea. It's easy to see when you have it all in front of you, all at once.

But what about if you have to earn it, little by little?

It's all in making the little decisions. Saturday, Josh was recovering from food poisoning & I had a coupon for a $6 large pizza from Dominos right next to our house. Hello, I'm pregnant, & pizza sounded delicious! Plus, Josh was eating very little, so that pizza could last me for 3 days! Added benefits-- we'd be rushing out to church on Sunday & I could just heat up some pizza to eat on the way... see how beneficial it would be to spend just $6 on a pizza? It's quite practical!

But no... it has to start somewhere. And like Dave Ramsey says with The Great Recovery... it starts with me.

So instead I scrounged around the house, where we have plenty of food. $6 pizza is no longer just a great convenience, it's now a reward.

I have to change my way of thinking if we ever want to save to our full potential. Save that $6 pizza for a day when I really need it. And as time goes on, I'm going to start seeing what I need and what I want a lot more clearly.

Would I have missed $6 in my bank account? Not at all. But now, I am satisfied knowing that I'm now $6 richer because of a smart decision. I just need to make that decision 1,334 more times, which actually feels a lot easier than it sounds because really... I didn't miss out on anything.

Priceless.

2011-11-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I decided to put on a little Pandora while getting ready for the day. Looks like the last time I listened to it was Halloween so I went to look for a different channel. This is what Pandora suggested:

Hmmm... we'll mark that under "things you never think you'd see."

At least I've got some variety? Flo Rida confuses me, though... don't know any of his (his?) songs!

What would Pandora throw out for your musical taste?

Thankful Beyond what I can even Comprehend.

2011-11-24T10:30:00.001-05:00

Since it's Thanksgiving, I'm pretty much required to write about what I'm thankful for. I tried to do a neat spin on it, but there's something awesome about just being truly thankful for all the boring things in life. Except, you know, my life isn't boring and all. ;)

Last year I was ~~a little~~ emotional on this day. Everything in our house was packed up and it was the last holiday that we were certain we would see our family. I mean, we knew that we'd see our family on future holidays, but we didn't know which ones, or how it would work out. An 8 hour drive is much further than a 1-3 hour drive!

But still, I was thankful for the new adventure in life. We knew that this was the final step for us. The final move (at least for a long time), and I'm thankful that we still feel that way after a year.

I'm thankful for our amazing God. He is incredible! I mean, we aren't that great of people, and still... we have an absolutely ridiculous amount of blessings.

If you'd told us last year we'd be expecting a little one in January, I'm not sure we would have believed you. Truly, we would have squealed in excitement, but wouldn't have ever guessed it. Don't get me wrong, she wasn't a surprise... we had planned & hoped for a little one... but truly didn't think we'd be at a point financially & emotionally to have children yet.

So last night as I stayed up until 2:30am furiously cleaning the nursery, I was thankful. Thankful that maintenance fixed our closet so I could begin to hang items in there again. Thankful that I had the energy to clean that much for that long. I am not the type of person that has to have everything clean, but thankfully that nesting urge kicked in around the 6.5 month mark! And oh-so-thankful to have my amazing husband by my side. His nesting urge wasn't quite as much, but he stayed up with me (he's not a night owl at all!), and helped move large pieces of furniture around the house-- and put the stroller together!

Looking through archives, I found this picture. I'd put song lyrics on it... and I think it sums up today perfectly. "You only have on life to try to find out what it means to be alive." That, my friends, is the key to thankfulness... knowing what it means to be alive.

What are you thankful for this year?

The universe does not want me to start nesting!

2011-11-23T19:29:00.001-05:00

I know, here I am again being a slacker. Life has really been busy lately! We're now at 31 weeks & I can't even believe it!

Why haven't I posted lately? Well... this, for starters.

That is the closet in the nursery. There are 4 closets in our house, and this closet is the size of the other 3 put together (although, really, it's about the size of a normal small bedroom closet). At any rate, the entire shelving unit collapsed. This is, of course, after I had worked to organize it all. It was actually really helpful that I had because it made sorting through everything go much quicker!

In order for maintenance to replace the closet shelving, we had to take everything out of the closet. So every piece of floor space in the nursery was covered with items except for a small strip of carpet where you could walk from the door to the closet.

Then, come Monday, we were having guests at our house! We had no choice but to leave a few baby items out in the living room-- mainly the swing & bouncer.

And finally, today we got our stroller & car seat. And now our living room & dining room look like this!

It's like an I Spy game for baby items!

So if you'll excuse me, I have some more cleaning to do! And yes... I'm nesting, in case you didn't notice. :)

Finding a doula.

2011-11-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

A few years ago a friend of mine raved about her doula. Her what?

Her doula. Similar to a mid-wife-- a person who is there to assist & support you during labor. Different doulas take on different roles.

At any rate, I checked into it when we first got pregnant & found it to be a bit pricey- around $1,000. Not that it was overpriced, just out of our comfortable price range. Well, I'm not sure where I was looking, but yesterday I started to search again after some encouragement from my old friend. Instead of the previous $1,000 price tags, I found $300-600 being about the average. For someone who is trained & certified, as well as has experience, that's not too bad! I mean, for real, they're on call for our birth-- and who knows what day or time that will be?

So it begins... I emailed a few for more information... talked to two already. One was a definite 'no.' Aside from a personality quirk & talking really slowly (which I would not be able to handle during labor) she pretty much told me how inexperienced she was, & described herself as "like a sister during labor." Well, that's cool & all, but I have a lot of friends who are "like a sister" to me that would probably be willing to be there for free... Also? Saying things like, "I've been at a few births & decided it's just so neat that I'd like to do that all the time" is not very encouraging. Again, I have plenty of friends who 'have been at a few births.' Reminds me of when people say, "I just love taking pictures, so I decided to be a photographer."

But the 2nd doula I talked to... well, we meshed a lot better together. She seemed to understand that there can be a balance between natural childbirth & modern science, and knows that I really dig having someone there who is down to earth & knows all the medical stuff to give us a 2nd opinion should any situation arise that requires us to make a decision. Also? To talk me through labor, and be there for Josh.

Josh is totally my rock & I know he is going to be my biggest source of support, but if there is one thing that really throws him off his game, it's seeing me in pain. He hates it, and he'll do anything to make my pain go away. And seeing how labor promises to be painful, I think having a doula there will be helpful to let him know that the pain is okay & to calm any fears he has.

So... we'll see how this turns out! We're meeting with the 2nd doula this weekend, and will hopefully decide by Thanksgiving.

Nobody loves my quite like my dog does.

2011-11-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

I wonder how many seething arguments this song will cause in America. I laughed pretty hard when I first heard it, but I can only imagine how many wives will want to slug their husbands over it. :)

Enjoy!

How we chose Hazel...

2011-11-16T08:08:00.001-05:00

I admit, it's been a week since I last posted. It's really unlike me not to post, but sometimes life gets in the way & *gasp* there are other things more important, y'know?

At any rate, we finally decided on a name for our little girl...

A little info about the name Hazel:

-It was somewhat common back in the 1880s & 1890s, then pretty much dropped off the face of the planet until Julia Roberts named one of her twins Hazel. That's why you mostly only see great grandmothers & kindergardeners with the name. :)

-It's a tree. It's also a nut. And an eye color. I figure she will probably be a nut. :)

-It's a Bob Dylan song (who knew?)

-It was a main character on a sitcom before I was born. This bothers my mom quite a bit! :) But she doesn't mention it much.

-It was used for boys some from 1900-1940.

It's an older name, which is kind of funny because I grew up with what I considered an older name. But mine was only old by one generation... Hazel is old by, like, 3 or 4 generations! And I have a feeling it will become more popular. I also like that it's kind of a southern thing. Not overwhelmingly, but just a hint of southern. Bonus? I went to Hazelwood Elementary. That's not why we named her that, but when we were looking for a meaningful name, I went through things in my hometown, family members, etc, and Hazel was one of the names that I dug up from that.

Did we name her after anyone? Yes & no. The Hazel part is just because we really like the name... even though we both have family members named Hazel. Catherine is definitely after Josh's great aunt. She passed away nearly 2 years ago & had a profound impact on his life. He mentioned it one day, and I think the name is pretty anyway, plus, I like his aunt, so why not? I also like that it's a pretty common, traditional middle name. My middle name is Elizabeth, and they seem in the same category for me. In case she absolutely hates her first name later on, she at least has a name that has been common for centuries to fall back on!

Picking a name was not an easy task for us. I imagine it isn't for any parent. It's a huge responsibility... a name that will follow the child for their entire life. So Josh & I had some criteria for picking a name:

1) Easy so spell

2) Easy to pronounce

3) Easily recognizeable

4) Not overly common

Why were these so important to us? Well, we both have pretty common names, and we like that people don't have to constantly ask us how to spell our names... or just misspell/mispronounce them. We didn't want her to be stuck with an out-there name that 'sounded cool at the time.' But we also didn't want the world's most popular name because we kind of like to march to the beat of a different drum a bit.

We went through a ton of names! Some of the front runners were:

Madison - too common

Madelyn - too common

Katelynn Julianne - funny spelling & too common (I realize we could just change the spelling, but Anne & Lynn are our mother's middle names, so the spelling was important to us on this one)

Isla (pronounced eye-luh) - don't think I need to explain why this one didn't make the cut

Ella

Elodie - a little too uncommon, making it questionable to pronounce

Willow

According to our 'criteria,' the only 2 names that could possibly survive are Ella & Willow. Which is kind of cool because both of those could be great sister names for Hazel.

We also dealt with the perfect name with a perfect nickname (not that I'm all about nicknames, but if it's a good one, that's a bonus)... but a blaring reason why we can't name our child by that name. We have someone close to us that lost someone very close to them... who had exactly the same name. Truthfully, if we asked this person about it, s/he would say that it's totally fine & not to worry about it... but I know that this person would think about it all the time & it would open up old wounds... so why even go there?

And why was Willow not my fave? It certainly was a favorite with most people we asked. I just have one thing to say (because I haven't seen the movie-- I'm certain I'd have more to say if I had):

I whip my hair back and forth!

Missing Dog? Not quite.

2011-11-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I question our ability to raise a child.

Last night I locked my dog in the bathroom, then wandered the neighborhood in the dark looking for him because I thought he was lost. We'd left the door open for a few minutes to air out the apartment & then couldn't find him. I notified all my neighbors & the apartment complex & even went so far as to put a Missing Dog post on Facebook before I found him.

I'm still not sure how long he was in the bathroom for... maybe an hour? He never barked or whined... even when I was calling his name.

Then Josh & I were both doing work on our laptops for about an hour. When I finally looked up, the house looked kind of smoky. Sure enough... there was a candle on the bar in our kitchen & it was burning the piece of wall overhang that was about 18 inches above it! It wasn't an actual fire, just a smoke stain on my white wall... I think the magic eraser will take care of it.

But really? We're both functioning adults... yet we can't manage simple tasks... a baby may just do us in!

29 weeks. A somber look back, and pictures!!

2011-11-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

I've thought a lot about this particular week. Two and a half years ago, I was in Brunswick, GA & got a call from my mom. It was the end of a business trip & Josh and I were about to head to my parents house in NC to pick up our doggies & take them back to Atlanta, where we lived.

My mom was calling to tell me that my oldest brother's twins were born. It confused me at first... they weren't due until the end of September, and last I'd checked, it was the beginning of July. Sure enough, they were 11 weeks early.

If that means nothing to you, I'll give you an overview. A pregnancy is typically 40 weeks. So that's not even 3/4 way through the pregnancy-- she had nearly 3 months left to go! That's a whole different season!!

I wrote about that weekend here.

Looking back over those pictures, it's hard to imagine that one of those is in my belly right now! It amazed me how normal Sunaura looked... until you put your hand next to her... and realized she was tiny! She was such a fighter, too. The first time I saw her in the NICU, she had pulled the tube out of her nose. The nurse walked by & stopped to put it back, saying, "She keeps pulling her oxygen off of her nose!"

And look at her now...

Goodness, I love that kid!

My baby should be right around 2.5 lbs & about 15 inches long now. She's soaking up a lot of calcium & other nutrients from my body these days, too, which explains why I've been downing milk like it's going out of style! Seriously, I used to hardly drink milk at all... and now? Well, yesterday I just bought two gallons at the store because I'm sick of running out of milk before the week is up.

I love how things like that work. I researched a lot when I first got pregnant about what to eat, what not to eat, etc. And the conclusion I kind of came to was that listening to your body is a pretty powerful thing! And so that's mostly what I've done. I don't count every calorie. I find myself wanting salads sometimes, and milk at other times. It also helped me power through morning sickness. And when it came to prenatal vitamins, I haven't taken them religiously because, well... there's no use in taking them if I'm just going to vomit them back up! So I take them when I know my body is strong enough to handle them. And when I'm not? Well, I better try to eat super nutrient rich foods!

Okay, enough rambling for today... here's a picture from our maternity session this weekend by this lovely lady! I'm in love with how she perfectly captured our family!

And yes... my hair is darker now... I'm loving it!

I have the memory of a gnat.

2011-11-07T08:30:00.000-05:00

At Panera the yesterday, one lady went around letting people know that someone left their keys and cell phone in the restroom. My first thought? "Whew, glad I didn't use the restroom, or that definitely would've been me!"

Then I realized that I couldn't find my keys or cell phone.

So to recap, not only did I forget my keys & cell phone in the restroom, but I'd forgotten altogether that I even WENT to the restroom!

This has pretty much been the theme of my life lately. I can't remember anything. And I didn't really have a good memory to start with!

And I can't even begin to tell you how many times I looked at the clock in my car yesterday (which hadn't been switched yet from the time change) & thought I was running an hour behind. Serious freak-out time! Like one of those bad dreams where even though you know you have a mid-term at 1:00pm & you can't make it up, you still manage to be an hour late & miss it, therefore failing the class.

Did I mention I dream about school a lot? I graduated college four years ago. Four years since I've sat in a classroom & taken a test. And now I dream about it roughly 5 times a week.

Whew... concentrate, Susan, concentrate.

Yes, I have the memory of a gnat.

Fascinating Friday: the 13th

2011-11-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, so it's not Friday the 13th today, but that doesn't make this any less fascinating.

I was born on Friday the 13th.

My maternal grandfather's lucky number was 13 & it kept popping up throughout his life (much like it has in mine).

I met Josh on April 13, 2004 (Can't choose when you meet someone!).

2 of my brothers have this tattoo! I like to think it's
because they love me so much... & not because they love
the tattoo artist that much.

Josh proposed on June 13, 2005 (okay, so it was planned, and it was on my birthday).

Josh & I got married on May 13, 2006. We'd planned & hoped for May 6th- our official 2 year anniversary- but I had my last exam for school on May 5th, so we decided to push it back a week. And then we realized it would land on the 13th, so we knew it was perfect that way!

We always said we'd wait about 7 or 8 years to have kids... well, that leaves us at the year 2013. Looked perfect to me. Honestly, when we decided to try starting a family earlier this year, I pretty much fully expected that we wouldn't get pregnant until we'd have a due date in 2013. So I was a little shocked when everything happened so quickly.

But yesterday? Yesterday I think I figured out why.

January 13, 2012 is... you guessed it! On a Friday. Friday the 13th.

10 days before my due date.

I mean, how can she not come on the 13th?

I mentioned it to my brother on Facebook, and my cousin chimed in reminding my that January 13 is also my (paternal) grandfather's birthday.

So I've kind of decided that this baby is definitely going to be born on January 13th.

Truthfully, I've only felt so sure of one other thing in my life (other than God), and that's when I knew I was going to marry Josh. It was the beginning of July 2004 and he'd made a CD for me with 2 songs on it. Right as the 2nd song came on, I was driving through a church parking lot & I hit my brakes & thought, "God, I'm going to marry this guy, aren't I?" It was such a big & scary thought, especially since I was 18 and had just met him 2.5 months earlier. But somehow, in an unexplainable way, I just knew. I'm not even sure that I was in love with him yet... but I just knew that we'd get married.

So I could very well be wrong... this baby could be so overdue she's born in February... but don't think I won't be trying every labor-inducing suggestion on the afternoon of Thursday the 12th!

I dream like a psychopath.

2011-11-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

I've always had crazy & wildly vivid dreams. Pregnancy has slightly stepped up their game, but overall, they were pretty psychotic to begin with.

Usually it involves ridiculous, unimaginable things being commonplace. Like when one of my college classes was on the 42nd floor of a building that I had to use a glass elevator (on the outside of the building) to get to. And then there were no floors below it-- it was just a classroom up in the air at the top of the elevator shaft. I could take the stairs, but let's face it, 42 floors is a lot. So I sucked it up, and on the first day of class, I stepped out during a 5 minute pop quiz to talk my friends into not dropping the class. It didn't work, and I failed my pop quiz because I ran out of time.

Or the night before that when I was in the [happy] graveyard where my headstone was. It said, "Susan K_______" and had an H below it. The K was actually a Russian last name I can't remember. The 'H' below it was so that people who saw the gravestone knew I spoke English & wasn't Russian. My dad was there, combing his hair, and my pastor walked up and told him, "You know, you're a lucky son of a gun." There was also a small ditch between my dad & pastor that, for some reason, really sticks out in my mind even though any of us could have easily walked over it.

So yes, my dreams are a little odd.

Oh, and then there was the one (well before I was pregnant) where I kept having to clean up the mess after Josh was stabbing people to death. He'd started to do it in public & I had to finally sit down with him and have a tough conversation about how it was getting harder & harder to cover them up now that he kills them in broad daylight, and maybe we should reevaluate some decisions. He agreed, and then he walked across a bridge over a small pond, and accidentally dropped the entire contents of his briefcase in the hole in the bridge. There were electronics, so I was furiously trying to clean it up & dry everything out.

Do you remember your dreams? Are they vivid? Are they crazy, or are they just normal everyday life? Do you have recurring patterns or dreams?

28 & counting...

2011-11-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

I'm now a little over 28 weeks pregnant. I've been fighting off being sick for a week, and I have never been so tired in my entire life! Like, you know that moment where you're soooo exhausted, but you're also kind of hyped up & it's only 6pm so you don't want to go to sleep? And you also feel like a Mack Truck just hit you?

Yeah... that's the feeling.

I have to say, it's better than morning sickness-- definitely better than that. But wow...

And for the stats... about 2.25 lbs, and almost 15 inches! She has eyelashes, and can blink her eyes-- which means she sees light that filters in through the womb! Although, it can't possibly be much since I usually have a few layers covering my tummy, and now the added coat!

I love feeling her move-- little nudges reminding me that she's there. Believe it or not, I forget quite often that I'm pregnant. I remember when I try to bend in a certain way, or take a deep breath. I find myself sighing a lot more & taking deep breaths lately. I'm not sad-- just need some extra air in my lungs!

As far as names, we're still debating our top two & going back & forth. My parents named me from a dream one of them had, so I was kind of hoping for the same thing. And then... I had a dream about a little baby I had & her name way... Norah. Specifically, Norah with an 'h.'

Really odd name choice for me to dream about. I woke up feeling a little funny, to tell you the truth. I really kind of thought if I had a dream, that would be the end of the name quest. But Norah? Norah is not something I would normally choose. But was I supposed to now use that name? When I first mentioned it to Josh, he immediately said, "Like Norah Jones?" I hadn't thought of it... but yes. Spelled just like that.

Why does Norah strike me as sooo odd? When we were little, we had a black & white short haired cat named Kitty. My sister was up in the woods playing one day & found a long haired black & white cat. Other than the colors, these cats looked nothing alike. I mean, one had this silky slick short coat, and the other had this wildly long, dull hair. So my sister, thinking it was our cat, brought it home, and named it Nora. Without an 'h.' I remember thinking, "What kind of name is that? And why would a kid her age choose to name a cat Nora of all things? Why not Jingles or something?"

So that's my experience with the name Nora/h. But strangely, when I woke up, I started to love the name. It means "light." That loving feeling has since worn off, and I don't think we'll be naming our little girl Norah, but it was interesting to entertain for a bit!

Best Halloween Costume Ever!

2011-10-31T09:00:00.001-04:00

This is just totally awesome! This guy made a Nikon camera costume, and it takes pictures & shows them on a screen on the back! Even the flash works! You can see more about it here, as well as a video of it in action!

Fascinating Friday: Wonderland. (You are really going to want to see this!)

2011-10-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

I stayed up way too late last night looking over all these photos... truly in awe of a most beautiful story and amazing creativity. All I could think of was, this is absolutely fascinating... a true wonderland! So I had to share it with you.

Passion, creativity, and excellence are three words to describe this artist.

She began this project "Wonderland" after her mother died & it's been a way of coping for her.

What a beautiful, magnificent tribute to her mother. She describes it as

"a very personal tribute to the memory of my mother, and the stories she read to me as a child. The plan was to create a storybook without words – an unexplained collection of strange and magical characters, set in the woodlands and landscapes that surrounded my home."

And let me tell you, Alice in Wonderland-- as great as the recent movie was-- needs to be checking out these pictures for inspiration!

You can also see the behind the scenes pictures (which were way awesome) here!

There's no way to share part of a picture and do it justice-- you're just going to have to go check them out and truly soak it in! Let me know what you think! Were you sucked in to the magical world like I was?

On Being a Britney Fan.

2011-10-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

What is it about Britney Spears that makes me want to pull for her no matter what?

She was the pop princess for my generation. In 8th grade, she was the bomb y'all. By the end of 8th grade I was cutting my hair in long layers like hers. Unfortunately, I was a greasy 8th grader without stylists to follow me around, so I ended up cutting my losses (literally-- cutting my hair to chin length) and realizing that I was not a pop princess myself. It was a tough break.

Then she came out with an edgier video (for the time) like 'Crazy.' After all, her fan base was growing older-- we were at least 3 months older by this point-- and we needed something to reflect our more grown-up lives.

Then there was the time when it was no longer cool to be a Britney fan. This was the same time it wasn't cool to be a N*Sync or Backstreet Boys fan... and don't even get me started on Hanson. just. not. cool.

But finally, thankfully, Britney has come full circle. She went off the deep end, and then swam back to the shallow end. I only caught about 20 seconds of the VMA's this year, but it happened to be the 20 seconds that Britney won & started her acceptance speech for Best Pop Video. I wanted to cry, I was so happy for her!

I mean, really, she's come a long way over the past 12 years, and has done a ton of growing up-- all while the whole US... and sometimes world... were watching. She's certainly not perfect, but she'll always hold a special spot in my heart.

Barbie gets Tatted Up!

2011-10-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

Barbie's got some tattoos these days & everyone has an opinion. I figure I'm on quite a roll with the opinion posts lately, so why not go for it?

I think the tattoos are the most realistic thing about Barbie. And I'd much rather my little girl aspire to get one of the big honkin' ugly tattoos that this Barbie has across her entire back than to try to imitate anything else on Barbie.

Why? Because if she chooses to get a big ugly tattoo, it's a lot less dangerous than her developing an eating disorder or getting plastic surgery.

And while we're at it, I'd even rather her dye her hair pink & wear those leopard print leggings & dress her dog up as a cactus.

In reading up on this new Barbie & everyone's opinions, my thoughts were confirmed:

One blogger describes Barbie as "the pretty girl I've always wanted to aspire to be... simply because she always got her man."

Before it's asked, no, I don't want my daughter to get a tattoo of a tiger up the side of her neck. I can't stand large tattoos, especially on women.

But I do maintain that if it came between that & having an eating disorder or a drug problem or getting plastic surgery, sure...

And I say that from experience... not my own, as I don't have any tattoos... but I've seen people I love go through really rough times in life & get tattoos as a way of coping with it. Is it classy? Not really. But is it worlds better than turning to drugs or alcohol or something even worse? Absolutely.

I guess my point is, there are a million things wrong with Barbie... her obnoxious new tattoos being the least of them.

27 weeks?!

2011-10-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

Somewhere around week 17, I lost track of how far along I am. Since then, I ask Josh every week, or look it up in the app on my phone.

This week I thought I was probably somewhere around 25... so I almost peed my pants when Josh said 27! Okay, so maybe that had more to do with where the baby is laying than how far along I am...

At any rate... 27 weeks. 2 pounds. 14.5 inches. Her brain is very active now, and her lungs are still way immature, but could function with the use of medical intervention.

That makes me smile. :) My baby is getting ever closer to being ready to make her appearance! Yikes!

We worked on the nursery more this week & got many items put away. We have a lot of clothes. An entire dresser full right now! Especially onesies. I'm amazed at how much there is!

Other than that, everything is pretty much the same. Our dogs have been on their very best behavior, which gives me a sigh or relief. A few months ago they were doing doggie things that they shouldn't have been doing & it scared me. I mean... it was hard enough to take care of the situations while pregnant & all I could think of was, "I can't do this with a newborn!" But they've really calmed down & become my little buddies again & I'm so thankful!

My Kids Won't Have a College Fund

2011-10-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

This is sort of a continuation from Friday's obnoxiously long post. Enjoy!

-------------

The other day Josh & I started talking about college funds for our kids. It's an interesting thing, and truthfully, I hadn't given it much thought before. I mean, you want your kids to go to college, and you want them to be successful, so the responsible thing to do as a parent is to plan for that and make that happen, right?

I'm not so sure.

Let me start with this disclaimer: I'm not saying one way is right or wrong. We haven't fully decided what we will do. And I am not talking about any certain type of account or savings plan.

When I was in kindergarten I knew that I had to make good grades so I could go to college on a scholarship. And I had to go to college. As much as I've tried to figure out how I knew that, I just don't know. But I think my oldest brother was graduating high school around that time, so maybe that led to it?

At any rate, my parents were definitely not the type to push us into going to a particular school or choosing a certain career path. Unless you consider my dad's construction business which all three of my brothers worked at. But me? Let's just say it was clear from an early age that I would not be a good fit for the family business.

So, I worked at school. I made excellent grades. I missed exactly 10 days of school from kindergarten to senior year... and 5 of those were in kindergarten because I went to my grandpa's funeral in Florida & then I got chicken pox. I got to 11th grade & learned that colleges don't look back any further than 11th grade grades. What a bummer! But I knew I was fine... with my weighted grade point average, I'd be well above a 4.0. And sure enough, I graduated in the top 5% of my class.

Admittedly, I was a scaredy cat when I came to moving away, so I went to the closest university, which happened to be a state school. Compared to the other schools, it was pretty inexpensive. I got several merit based scholarships which covered everything but my room & board.

Who picked up the rest of the tab? My parents. I can't explain how mega-cool that was! I didn't really fully understand or appreciate it at that point in time, but that saved me from having loans to pay back after I graduated. Loans I would have blindly walked into without a second thought.

My parents didn't have an official "well pay for this much of college" stance. It was an unspoken thing that I was expected to do my very best. I didn't know that once I did my best, they'd cover the rest, but it was wonderful that they were careful enough with their finances to do so.

So do I plan to have a dedicated college fund for our little kiddo? I don't actually. I'm not against saving to help them out in life. But it could be for college, or for their first house, or for when they call me to bail them out of jail.

I really hope it's not the last one, though.

The point is, I want our kid(s) to work hard. To expect great things of themselves. Whether that's going to Harvard, a state school, community college, or not going to college at all. Admittedly, it would be hard to watch the last one in this day & age, but I know a few people who are wildly driven & are successful in life without a college degree.

I don't want to pay for their college... I want them to work hard & earn it themselves. And because I'm not sure if it's even possible to get the entire amount of college paid (books, at least, usually aren't covered), we hope to be there to pick up the tab & congratulate them on their hard work.

I'm still working on the plan of what to do if we have a kid who plans to party in college. :/ I'll let you know when I figure the whole world out perfectly! lol *sarcasm, people, calm down*

Your thoughts?

Entitlement, Hard Work, and AFAB

2011-10-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

Admittedly, I haven't kept up with the whole Wall Street protest thing. As I researched to find out what it was all about, it seems to me that the actual movement may have something to it, but 99% of the people involved probably aren't smart enough to understand the intricacies of it. I know I'm not.

So this post isn't really about the whole Occupy Wall Street thing because I can't really make an informed statement about it.

This post is more about entitlement. My generation is often called 'the generation of entitlement' and that is not in a good context. I admit, I have a sense of entitlement that I have to keep in check. I feel that I've worked hard, made good grades, done the right things, made wise choices, and therefore I should be able to afford to buy a house instead of live in this tiny apartment. I mean, I have a lot of friends that didn't work as hard or make as good of grades. They partied through college & they already have houses...

But the thing is, we can't afford a house right now. We're saving up, and although we feel like we should be at a point where we can buy a house, we just aren't yet. The end.

Whose fault is it? Well, it's not anyone's fault... it's just a fact. It's not the government's fault, and it's not the bank's fault. It's just not in the cards yet. Big whoop. I still have a roof over my head & money to pay the rent every month, so life really isn't all that bad! Yes, I want better than what I have right now, but I'm very grateful for what I have.

I've seen this flying around Facebook & it really struck me:

I could have written this myself. Other than a few minor details, this is my story. I still can't figure it out, but somehow I knew from kindergarten that I needed to make good grades to get a scholarship to go to college. There were 5 kids in my family & I was expected to go to college ('cause Lord knows I wasn't going to cut it in the family construction business!). In order to go to college, I had to get scholarships. I was terrible at sports, so everything was riding on my good grades. Luckily, I was good in school, formed good study habits, and graduated in the top 5% of my senior class.

All but my room & board were covered in scholarships at the modest state school I went to. It was a university & provided a fine (although quite liberal) education. My parents were able to (& gladly) covered my room & board. I maintained a 3.8 throughout college & graduated a semester early. I also got married after my sophomore year, so my parents no longer paid room & board because Josh & I were paying rent instead.

By the time I graduated I was making much better than minimum wage. I started at a counseling center filing paperwork & worked my way up until they trained me to actually work with clients to reach their therapy goals. We did have debt, so Josh & I both took to working nights at Domino's delivering pizzas.

Then? Then God called us to move to Atlanta & we both pretty much started over job-wise. And did you know that between delivering pizza's & working as a nanny for 20 hours a week, you can live in Alpharetta, GA? You can. We barely made ends meet, but we made it happen.

My point is, there's no replacement for hard work. You can be given all the money in the world, but unless you're responsible, it won't last for long.

Did we 'make it' on our own? Absolutely not. As my dad always says, "No one makes it in this world on their own." Remember how my parents covered my room & board those first two years? And that job at the counseling center? My boss hired me & put a lot of faith into me. And when we moved to Atlanta, the church we were leaving totally rallied around us & many members gave us money & gift cards out of the goodness of their hearts.

And that's not even giving any credit to God, which really... He gets all the credit for anything we're able to accomplish.

So yes, no one makes it on their own, but at the same time, you can't expect things to be handed to you. Nothing replaces hard work.

Aspect Ratio & a Personal Vendetta.

2011-10-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

All the time I want to make something like this, but on different subjects-- a quick and easy explanation of something. It's usually photography related, and I usually don't have time. But this week I made time to make just one.

When I show clients proofs, I show them a 4x6 proof. 90% of the time, there is enough room around the edges of an image to allow for cropping to different sizes. But sometimes I snap a shot so quick, I either forget about it, or I'm far more concerned with catching the moment in action (usually with kids!).

In the 2:3 ratio image above, you can see that there is plenty of room on the sides-- that's on purpose, and quite handy. Let's say this sweet little family wants to print an 8x10 of this image? Well, those sides are going to be cropped right off... and you'll be left with the image on the right. In this scenario it's not big deal because I left plenty of room in the image.

If you want to know my honest opinion, though, I hate 8x10 prints. I don't find them useful at all. I wouldn't want to put anything smaller than an 11x14 on a wall, and 8x10 is usually too big for a desk. So maybe to take up an entire scrapbook page? Again, I'd rather use a 5x7 and frame it up nicely on the page instead. So for most scenarios, I'd like to rip an 8x10 from someone's hands and tear it into tiny pieces.

But to each their own. :) I sell 8x10 prints because, well... not everyone has a vendetta against them, and I like to make people happy! Also, I'm pretty certain I've sold at least one 8x10 to every one of my clients. Sooo... clearly people are finding uses for them!

The President Comes to Visit!

2011-10-19T09:00:00.000-04:00

After moving away from my hometown 3 years ago, I've learned that:

A) It's a very small town

B) I grew up on a farm

I truly didn't know either of these until others told me, and I began comparing things. I assumed that since my town had 10+ stop lights, then it wasn't a small town at all. I also assumed that since my parents didn't name 'our farm' and we didn't make money off of it, then it wasn't a farm. Turns out, when you say your parents have goats, donkeys, a pig, a garden, and 3 small barns, people say, "Yes, Susan, that's a farm."

Anywho... in our small town we have a store called Mast General Store. It's set up like an old General Store, and there are several of them in the mountains of North Carolina.

And well, who should visit the other day than the President of the US... Barack Obama.

No really... he's picking up some candy at the general store. Not the one in my hometown, but not too far away.

So I'm dying to know the reactions of my friends & family back home. President Obama has visited this area once or twice before... it's apparently one of his favorite areas. I know why-- it's a pretty awesome area! And what better time to visit it than in October when the leaves are falling?

And I have to admit... fan or not, if I saw the President getting some candy, I'd be gawking like all these other people!

26 weeks & more pictures.

2011-10-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

26 weeks... 6 months... and my third trimester!

What??!!

I find myself putting things off now. As if they'll just go away if I don't pay attention to them. Decorate the nursery? Nah... Put together the stroller? Not yet... Birthing classes at the hospital? Sure... I'll get right on that.

Some of these aren't a huge deal yet... but some I really need to get on top of. Like... I should probably choose which hospital I'm going to. :) We lived smack dab between 2 hospitals who each have their merits, and our doctors deliver at both of them. When it comes down to it, we don't have a strong opinion about either, but we are leaning in one direction.

And we did get the car seat out of the box... but after a few minutes of staring at it in the living room, we put it right back in the box!

Yes, a teensy bit of denial. Also a bit overwhelmed because we got so many awesome things at our showers a few weeks ago. It's hard to know where to start!

At any rate, she's now about 1 pound 13 ounces, and 14 inches long. And her little ears are picking up a lot of sounds now! I was thinking about that at church the other day. It's so cool that in the womb, she gets to hear her daddy sing such amazing songs! Not to mention it was a totally rockin' worship set-- I wonder what she was thinking? Does she really think yet? Who knows, but she does hear it.

I do have some pictures of cute baby stuff we've gotten lately. I can't possibly post it all, and I'm way to lazy right now to upload pictures from my camera, so pictures from my Mac will have to do. :)

Since we decided to do the nursery in a music theme, we've gotten several music-related items! These onesies are both from my mom-- the white one is handmade at a store in her town-- it's material sewn on-- sooo cute! The red one has a black skirt & red tights to go with it.

I'm a part of a message board with some wonderful ladies who are all due in January. Many of us signed up to exchange onesies in the mail before the babies were born, and I got mine in the mail today! The woman who drew my name made this adorable (& very durable) burp cloth as well as the onesie (like the guitar onesie, it's material sewn onto the onesie).

Yeah... it doesn't get much cuter than that!

Then today I was shopping at Baby Gap because, you know... they had a sale. I'm trying not to buy many clothes because we have so many already, but most of them are onesies, so when I saw this cute dress for $8, I couldn't resist! It has a diaper cover to match.

And... we can't forget shoes! Despite my slight shoe fetish, I have not bought any for our little miss yet. So when these were on sale for $3.50, I really couldn't say no!

Whew, and trust me, this is just the very tip of the iceberg on all the cute things our little girl has!

Me? Absent? What?!

2011-10-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

So yes, I admit, I was quite absent from this little blog last week. After a year an a half of 5+ posts a week, I totally slacked off. I can explain:

2 weeks ago I was on vacation. Like a good little blogger, I had posts prepped & ready to go!

Then I got back from vacation & totally lost my mind catching up on all the work I had to do.

Oh, and that sweet little baby growing inside my tummy? She has totally sucked me dry from what was left of my brain. It's really a miracle I can type right now.

Truthfully, this week isn't any better. I just sat down and wrote out my 'To Do' list for this week, broken into 3 columns: Business #1; Business #2; Personal. Personal is by far the shortest one... and each item in each column is a task that will take 15 minutes minimum.

What I'm trying to say is, I have a crazy week coming up!

But you know what? I thrive off of crazy weeks.

This past weekend I did 5 photography sessions, 1 wedding, a proofing session, and a wedding consultation.

But I'm loving it. Every single minute! Work is busy busy busy, and personal is pretty much a whirlwind. But I feel productive... a little bit like my old life before I moved to Virginia. Apparently I need to work 50+ hours a week in order to feel productive. And growing a baby doesn't count.

Okay, I'm done rambling... see you a lot more this week!

How to put 300,000 miles on a car.

2011-10-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

Last year I made a bucket list. I've learned though, that there are some things that you don't even realize are on your bucket list, until you've done them. Like, driving through a bridge-tunnel. For some, that's no big deal. For me, that's a huge, scary deal! But I did it! And now I can't even count how many times I've done it... even beside a tractor trailer!

Yesterday marked another milestone that I didn't really want to admit how bad I wanted to reach it. It's one of those that is somewhat in my control, but also somewhat out of my control.

My car hit 300,000 miles.

No, really.

How do you do that?

1) Buy either a Nissan, Toyota, or Honda (this happens to be a 1997 Nissan Sentra).
2) Give it to a teenager who dates a guy in the next town.
3) Now have that teenager go to college 30 minutes in the opposite direction from said guy, making the trip twice as long.
4) Have that same teenager move back to her hometown, but still go to college 30 minutes away.
5) Have the now 20-something move to Atlanta & get a job in sales where she drives her car all day long.
6) Then have the husband wreck his car, sell it, and make the Nissan their 'family car.'
7) Give husband the same job.

So yes, I've had the car since I was 16. My dad bought it for me in the fall of 2002 & it has 73,000 miles on it. It's a straight drive, and it has only been in one wreck. It was pouring rain, and despite going about 25mph, I still hydroplaned into a ditch. A few years later my dad backed his truck into the side of it as well.

We've replace the basics on it, and bigger things as it hit 150K & 250K miles, but overall, we haven't replaced anything unexpected. Biggest repair was $1200 for the clutch. Ouch... but really... it was around 200K miles at that point, and it should have only lasted 120K.

Why do we still have the car? Well, why not? Honestly, if we had anything else, it'd be beyond our means. We saved up and came across a ~~great~~ fabulous deal for our 2nd car. And now we're saving for a car to replace this one when it breaks down beyond reasonable repair. Honestly, I feel like that may be right around the corner... but I've said that before... many times... a couple hundred thousand miles ago!

25 weeks & more pictures!

2011-10-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

13.5 inches long

1.5 lbs

And she's starting to fatten up a little!

Our little girl continues to grow, and so does the amount of stuff we have for her! We had baby showers in our hometowns this past weekend and well... it was quite a miracle that we were able to get everything back in the car with us! There were a few things that we had to return & re-purchase the same thing once we got back home-- there just wasn't room in the car!

We are totally blown away with all the friends & family that came out to celebrate with us! And the gifts-- my oh my-- I am rarely speechless, but I was at these showers. Let's just say that this little girl is far more loved that we could have even imagined! I have never seen so many beautiful handmade quilts & blankets, and so many truly thoughtful gifts. Here are two of my favorite pictures from our showers:

Lori (in pink) & me: both having girls, and she's due 6 weeks before me. She reminded me of a conversation we had last year-- she had said they wanted to start having kids somewhat soon, and I had said we wanted to wait for quite awhile! My oh my how things change! It made me realize how Josh & my perspectives have changed over the past 2 years. Sure, we've always wanted kids, we just didn't think we'd be ready for them so soon! That all seems like such a distant memory now, and now we can't wait for her to get here!

And here is at my shower in my hometown... with all the pregnant ladies! We're in order of how far along we are... 10 weeks to 39.5 weeks! My cousin (orange shirt) is due on Friday! She's going to be cloth diapering as well, so I'll get the scoop on newborn diapers from her! Also, all 4 of us on the right are related! This is all our first babies, except for Christy (purple shirt)... it's her second.

L to R: Krissy (close family friend), my sister Angel, sister-in-law Christy, me, 1st cousin Ella.

So yes, quite the exciting weekend, and I'm totally exhausted today! But I'm glad we got to go visit our families!

One last picture... of the gorgeous mountain I grew up on. This is the driveway to my parents house!

Fascinating Friday 2.0

2011-10-07T09:00:00.000-04:00

There is really no telling where this picture originated from, or whether it's real or artwork. But who cares? It's fascinating!

On a completely unrelated note, I also find this terribly fascinating.

Yes, it's circulated around Facebook and emails for years now. According to Snopes.com, it is an actual surgery from 1999. The woman was 21 weeks pregnant and the baby, Samuel, had spina bifida, which was why they performed surgery while still in the womb. The baby & mother were both under anesthesia, so the baby wasn't moving around, or actually 'grasping the doctors hand' as stories suggest-- but isn't it just amazing?

I'm nearly 25 weeks pregnant now. Sometimes it feels like I'm not even pregnant... hard to connect with the little one inside of me. But seeing this... it just makes it all so much more real! My baby has tiny hands like that! Except, to me, those don't look tiny-- those things are punching around inside my tummy!

So yes, Fascinating Friday. Totally fascinating. :) I hope you enjoyed!

The Craziest Frickin' Day of your Life!

2011-10-06T09:00:00.000-04:00

Back in... ~~February?~~ January Josh sent me an email that he was running this race called the Warrior Dash in October. Mmmmkay... I looked it up online and wow-- it was certainly crazy looking, but it was also only 3 miles, so my logic said, in the next 9 months, I can manage to get fit enough to run 3 miles & hit a couple of obstacles. Worst case scenario, you can walk around (most of) the obstacles.

So I signed up, too.

Then a couple of months later we decided, what the hay, let's have kids!

So that kind of disqualified me from the race (although they don't ban pregnant women, just have you sign something saying you did, or should have, gotten clearance from your doctor beforehand).

In the end, quite a few people from Josh's office signed up for the race. Here's the before picture:

We even came prepared with our own church tattoos!

What? Your church doesn't have temporary tattoos of it's logo? And if you did, you wouldn't put them randomly on your legs? And you also wouldn't be running in this crazy race? Well don't look at me, I didn't run, and I didn't put on a tattoo... lol.

And here's the after picture. Don't worry, the people that are missing weren't actually missing- they were just washing all that mud off of them!

But for real, it was quite the fun race. Heck, I had fun just watching them! It turned out to be a 3.5 mile race with 12 obstacles... and a lot of interesting characters!

I was excited to see my husband be the first from the group to hit the finish line! ~~Okay, so maybe he left the rest of the pack behind because they were running together-- he still made great time!~~ Below, he's at the top of the ropes in the black shirt.

And jumping over fire...

Yes, there were two lines of fire!

Oh, and that whole crawling-through-a-mud-pit-under-barbed-wire thing there at the end. Which, I suppose is kind of nice if you manage to catch yourself on fire from the last obstacle.

Overall, it was a fun day! And I even made a special shirt for the occasion:

I got quite a few comments on the shirt-- everyone loved it!

At the end of the race, you could donate your old shoes & they recycle them for affordable footwear for people in need around the world. Kinda cool, especially since most racers wore the oldest dirtiest pair of shoes they had anyway!

One final picture-- I snapped it on my way out, but truthfully, all I wanted to do was see what this dude looked like at the end of the race! Also, I wanted to ask him logistical questions like, "Did you paint your body green before or after you got here?" "If before, is your car seat totally green?"

A Happy Middle between Cloth & Disposable Diapers

2011-10-05T09:00:00.000-04:00

Cloth diapers are something I've always been fascinated with since I was a little girl and saw the cute pins that my mom used to fasten them with on my little sister. As odd as it sounds, I've always wanted to use them. And now that they're easier than ever (read: no sharp pins!), it was a no-brainer for me. Thankfully, Josh was agreeable as well.

But that doesn't change that many people think they are absolutely disgusting. To each their own. I have my reasons & I won't get offended if you think it's gross (or heck, I'd be offended all the time!). I think diapers in general are disgusting, whether they're cloth or disposable!

But if you're looking for a mid-way point-- something with the ease of disposable, but the environmentally friendly advantage of cloth... then I have something for you!

Yes, SNL is to credit for this amazing product. And thanks to Hulu for the link!

24 weeks... She's tickling me!

2011-10-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

11 inches long. Weighs over a pound. Her lungs are busy developing, she has a sense of movement now, and she's still hearing more and more of what's going on.

And she tickles. I'd never heard of anyone describing baby kicks as tickles, but let me tell you... she's tickling me! It'll be a normal day, I'm driving down the road and all of the sudden, tickle fight! Thankfully, she stops as quickly as she starts, but it doesn't keep me from laughing a little each time. It feels different from kicks, rolls, or jabs. Maybe it's all those times Josh has been whispering to my belly-- maybe that's what he's been telling her... "Tickle your mom... she hates it."

Except, for the first time in my life, I like being tickled! Growing up with 3 brothers, I got tickled a lot. They thought it was really funny but I hated it. So when we got married, I learned that Josh apparently loves to tickle me as well. When he learned that I didn't like it, it just made it that much more enticing to him! Thankfully, we now have a code- if I can manage to say the words, "Please stop!" then he'll stop.

So maybe this is Josh's passive aggressive way of getting back at me with more tickles?

I don't know, but I certainly don't mind her little tickles. They truly make me laugh!

And because I haven't posted a picture in, ah, forever, here's one from the Warrior Dash the other day! More on that later this week. Please excuse the craziness of my hair... it's what happens when you wake up a pregnant woman early on a Saturday morning!

Good to Know!

2011-10-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

Well, that's good to know, I suppose.

Happy Monday!

The Craziest Frickin' Day of your Life

2011-10-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

Today my husband & many of my friends are running in the Warrior Dash. At the beginning of this year a zillion of us signed up for this race. I ended up selling my ticket because, well, pregnancy is a really good excuse to not do it! From what I read in the rules, they won't ban you if you're pregnant, but truthfully, even an extremely fit pregnant woman probably shouldn't be doing these obstacles.

The least scary obstacles appear to be jumping over fire, crawling through a mud pit under barbed wire, & dashing down a river. There is also the 'Deadweight Drifter' where you walk through waist deep water & go over logs as your obstacles (because apparently waist deep muddy water with 1,000 diseases in it isn't enough of an obstacle). And the hardest (to me) it looks like is crawling across tangled nets. As in, don't fall, or you're screwed.

In 3.56 miles there are 12 obstacles. Twelve. And it appears that 10 of them are in the last half of the race.

Click on the race map below to see more about the obstacles! It is dubbed 'The Craziest Frickin' Day of your Life' for a reason!

So wish him luck, and please say a prayer that he makes it out okay without needing medical attention!

Fascinating Friday

2011-09-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I likely won't actually keep up with posting something fascinating each Friday, but it definitely has a killer ring to it, doesn't it? I thought it up all on my own! Although... I'm sure it's in existence elsewhere as well. Nothing new under the sun, eh?

At any rate, I didn't have any other category to put this in, so Fascinating Friday it is.

On Pintrest the other day (Are you on Pintrest? How do you pronounce Pintrest? P-intrest? Pin-trest?) I found where a friend pinned this shirt:

I find it totally fascinating because, well, I am not a hugger. I'm about as far away from a hugger as you can possibly get. I tried to find a "I'm NOT a hugger" t-shirt, but apparently they don't make them? Go figure.

Another fascinating item? A zebra cake. More on that next week (or the next) when I'll devote a whole post to it. Bottom line? I tried it, I succeeded. Yummy. It took me 3 days to clean up the mess I made in my kitchen.

Have a fabulous & fascinating Friday! What do you find fascinating today?

ABC's about Moi.

2011-09-29T09:00:00.000-04:00

Oh hello there! I stole this from a friend's blog-- feel free to do it on yours as well! And let me know in the comments a few of these answers for yourself!

A. Age: 25
B. Bed size: Queen-- our new mattress! Which I'll need a stool to get up on the bed pretty soon...

C. Chore that you hate: All. of. them. But for the sake of the blog post, let's say... it's a tie between folding & putting away laundry, and cleaning the kitchen.
D. Dogs: Jigsaw (Jack Russell ~~Terror~~ Terrier) & Max (~~Dauschund~~. Weiner dog.)
E. Essential start to your day: Checking FB & emails for personal & work.
F. Favorite color: uhhh... errmmmm... well, let's just say that the nursery I'm decorating has orange, yellow, bright blue, grass green, and watermelon pink. :) I'm indecisive, what can I say?
G. Gold or Silver: Silver
H. Height: 5' 3" or 5' 4" I haven't measured my height in awhile.
I. Instruments you play: Flute & recorder. I know, I'm talented like that. I guess I can technically play guitar, but I'm not great at it. And I can play a C scale on piano with either hand, for several octaves, and even at the same time (although, that's not really as impressive as it sounds...).
J. Job title: I have two: Owner/Photographer at Fowler Photo. Marketing Director at a local Chick-fil-A (yum! Please 'like' us on Facebook-- pretty please?)
K. Kids: We're working on it! Due January 23, 2012
L. Live: Hampton Roads, Virginia
M. Mother’s name: Debbie
N. Nicknames: Scusan, SuFow, Squeege(e)
O. Overnight hospital stays: None-- not even when I was born! I was born at 6:00am & was home for dinner. I did sleep in the recliner for a few nights when Josh had his shoulder surgery a few years ago. A few months ago I had to go to the ER for the baby & it was the first time (since birth) that I even had a hospital bracelet!
P. Pet peeves: Oh I just have so many...
Q. Quote from a movie: hmmm... I'm not a big movie quoter.
R. Right or left handed: Right
S. Siblings: 3 older brothers, 1 younger sister-- all full siblings!
T. Time you wake up: between 7 & 9am, depending on the day.
U. Underwear: Cotton undies please!
V. Vegetable you hate: All of them? Josh has to puree them in a smoothie for me to get much beyond lettuce.
W. What makes you run late: Um, everything. It's 99% my fault, though.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Just my teeth at the dentist.
Y. Yummy food that you make: Mac & Cheese? I'm not much of a cook...
Z. Zoo animal: huh? What zoo animal am I? Do I like them? Which is my fave? I don't know the answer to any of these.

You Probably Thought this Deer was Alive... Nope, just Chuck Testa

2011-09-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

Now this is a way to start your Monday! Unless you're an avid member of PETA. Then I would suggest watching something else. Otherwise, please enjoy this totally awesome commercial!

I have to say, the guy is good at his taxidermy! Not so much at commercials... or is he? I mean, I'm a chick on the east coast watching & sharing his commercial.

Perhaps he's just a marketing genius.

23 weeks.

2011-09-27T14:22:00.002-04:00

I had my first 'she's growing up too fast!' moment while reading through this weeks developmental milestones. Our little bit is now 11 inches long & weighs over a pound! What? When did this junk happen?

She can hear things a lot better now, and sounds that she hears a lot now won't phase her as much after she's born. Great news, considering our dogs have taken up a newfound love for barking their heads off when anyone knocks on or opens our front door. That also encourages me to vacuum more! I would love it if she's the kind of baby that can sleep through anything. And truthfully, she has good genes for it... Josh & I can both sleep through pretty much anything!

Josh & I are super excited for the week ahead. We are busily cleaning the house from top to bottom & organizing everything in the nursery! This weekend we're heading to North Carolina. Josh will be in Atlanta for a few days for a church conference, and then next weekend we're having our first baby showers! So that's the need for all the cleaning. I know when we get back I'll want to start working on the nursery more than ever... so I need to have it organized now! And if the rest of the house is clean, then I won't have to worry about that. :)

This is also starting the busy season with photography-- all those holiday pictures! I'm truly pumped-- I am ready to take it on!

IHF: People's Choice

2011-09-26T08:08:00.000-04:00

Oh my, I haven't done an entry for I Heart Faces in quite awhile! I suppose now is as good a time as ever to jump back in! This week is People's Choice... and I think this little cutie is the perfect image!

Which Camera Should I Buy?

2011-09-23T09:00:00.000-04:00

I get tons of emails and Facebook messages asking me about a variety of photography related things. It's flattering, and I try to answer each one individually. But I also know that I was way too shy to approach most people with questions like these when I was starting out, so I thought I'd just share some on here.

Do you shoot with Canon or Nikon? I shoot with a Nikon. I'd like to say there were a ton of reasons why, but really, it was because my dad had a Nikon D40. And well, why not? I have played around with a Canon for a bit while teaching a friend how to use hers. I think it really all depends on what you start on. I started with a Nikon, so that's what I felt comfortable with. But I bet my friend prefers Canon-- because she's used to it!

So... what should I choose? When going to buy a new camera, as yourself a few questions:

1) What am I using it for?

2) How does it feel when I hold it?

3) How accesible are the buttons I want to use the most?

-If you're wanting to learn the art of photography (things like aperture, ISO, and shutter speed to start with), then you'll want a DSLR (the big camera with an interchangeable lens). These are also good if you have money to throw around & want really good pictures of your kids without knowing anything. :)

Taken with my Nikon. I'm not much into nature photography, but I almost stepped on this flower walking into my apartment after a session one day. Couldn't help but stop to take a picture!

-If you're wanting good pictures of your kids but don't really care to learn all the ins and outs of photography, then a good point & shoot will do. I have one of these myself, as well. I use it for almost everything other than my business. If I'm going to the zoo, I take my Kodak Easyshare. The beach? Hanging out with friends? My Easyshare fits snugly in my purse and has a wrist bracelet to hang on to all day easily. It's all I need!

Taken with my dear ol' point & shoot Kodak Easyshare. It's ALL I used on our cruise to the Bahamas. Sure, I took my Nikon with me, but who wants to lug around an expensive & bulky camera on vacation? I still have the memories! And no, this wasn't my bottle cap-- it was laying on the ground in Nassau.

-If your teenager is really into photography & wants to learn more about it, by all means, get them an entry level DSLR. You can pick them up for less than $1000, including a lens & a battery, get them a memory card or two, and also a photography class. Or a book, or there are plenty of websites that teach the basics of photography. I mention this specifically because there were several moms emailing me last year at Christmas. If you think your kid will truly enjoy it, go ahead and get that killer deal-- if it's Canon or Nikon, it's a good camera. If it's others, I can't vouch, but it's probably at least decent.

Feel free to leave any questions you have in the comments! I'll try to answer them in future posts!

I'm such a slacker!

2011-09-22T09:23:00.001-04:00

I'm a slacker today. So I thought I'd point you in the direction of internet humor. Ain't that nice of me? :)

Hyperbole and a Half is one of the funniest blogs I've ever seen. I have to warn you-- some of the posts are obnoxiously long... and you won't be able to pull your eyes away from it! Many of the posts are about her 2 dogs-- the simple dog & the helper dog. Perhaps that's why I like it so much... I kind of have my own simple dog & helper dog in my house.

Don't want to scroll through & find your favorite post? You can read one of my new faves: Wild Animal (The Simple Dog goes for a Joy Ride).

Enjoy!

Don't do junk like that to a pregnant woman!

2011-09-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

Last week my husband sent me an email. It went something like this:

[Insert one of my favorite pastors] just confessed to a 3 year affair. Wow. I'm just kidding. I needed to do something to get your attention though. Please watch this video. It's stars [same pastor], and it's amazing, and you will love it.

I edited out the pastor's name so a google search doesn't start a rumor.

Let me just tell you. In the first line of that email, my heart sank. I wanted to throw my computer against the wall and cry. Thankfully I'm the type of person that reads all the details before outwardly reacting.

So once I read all the details, I reacted. I drafted up a snappy response, which included this... times 10.

Don't do junk like that to a pregnant woman.

The Name Game @ 22 weeks.

2011-09-20T09:00:00.001-04:00

22 weeks... it would figure that the fun part of pregnancy flies by quickly! I am enjoying every second of it-- especially now that I'm starting to show a bit more! I grabbed the camera & made my adoring & sweet husband take pictures to commemorate it the other day. Right now, she's about 11 inches long and weighs almost a pound. Funny... I think I've gained a little more than a pound.

Naming our little one has proven to be a difficult decision. Names are a very big deal to both of us. Heck, I have a tag here on my blog dedicated just to names. It sets the stage for our child's entire life, and I want to give her a good name.

We've gone through several names that we liked, but now aren't so sure about.

Katelynn Julianne. ... I love the name. Lynn is my mother in law's middle name. Anne is my mom's middle name. But when it came down to it, I wasn't naming my baby that. It's a perfectly good name, but just not my kid's name. No good reason, it's just not.

Adelaide. ... I love this name, but I don't have a strong reason why. For me, I have to have a reason to name my baby a certain name. It has to have some sort of meaning to me, and this just doesn't cut it in my mind.

Then Josh started singing 'Adalida' by George Strait. Somehow I made it through life without hearing this song so far. I'm a little sad about it, too, because I like the song! But no, as much as I love the song, I've never heard of a person actually named Adalida, and spelling would be a nightmare for the poor little thing. But here's the song in case you're wondering about it's awesomeness.

We've learned that every name has a downside to it, whether it's the spelling, how common it is (or isn't), or how easy it is to be made fun of. Our biggest problem is that many of our very favorite names are also names of other family members. At first I thought it was weird, but the more I get into the naming process, the more I realize that I just can't help it if our families have great names! This naming thing is hard, and that's one of the things that I'm just going to have to overlook in the process.

That being said... we have decided on a middle name. After several weeks, we have kept to it, so I'm pretty confident that we'll stick with it. I will throw this disclaimer out, though... we are two individuals who don't mind to change something at the last minute... after she's born, there's no telling what her name will be!

But without further ado... we've chosen the middle name of Catherine!

Schick Intuition

2011-09-19T09:00:00.000-04:00

Every now and then I use a product that really makes me go, "Wow!" It rarely happens, especially with all the commercials these days where companies promise you the world if you would just use their product.

Schick Intuition is a totally awesome product though. It's a razor that already has the shaving cream with it. You don't have to put the shaving cream on... it's on a solid stick that turns to... umm.... a non-solid... after it hits the water. And it's so smooth that you can't even feel the razor. I had to check to make sure it was actually making contact with my skin!

I don't know, but all I have to say is, pregnant lady shaving is possible thanks to this handy little product!

Schick sends me some sort of razor in the mail every year saying "Happy Birthday." It's kind of confusing, but who am I to turn down a free razor? I'd forgotten about it for, oh, 3 months, and found it the other day. After using it, I was pretty confident that it was going to be a more expensive product. While it's totally awesome, I doubt it would last more than 2 shaves... if that. It looks like it's around $8-$9 at Wal-Mart, with a 6 count of refills being almost $19. That's about $4 for the first 2 shaves, and $1.60 per shave after that.

So yes, definitely more expensive than the average razor (at least for me), but it does include the shaving cream. All I have to say is, if you're pregnant and the thought of juggling a razor and shaving cream in the shower is just a bit too much to handle... this product was made for you! :)

The end of an era.

2011-09-16T09:00:00.000-04:00

When we first moved to Virginia we learned that some of our neighbors get milk delivered weekly to their house. How cool is that? They had a milkman!

I'm not a huge milk drinker, but Josh was all about it, so we tried it out for a little while. I admit, it was fun to have milk delivered in glass half-gallon bottles to our front door every week.

And the milk was good. It was tasty.

The night before the milkman arrived, we made sure to have our glass bottles rinsed out and back in the cooler to be reused. Love that part.

And this was all that was thrown away from each half gallon of milk. Just the lid!

But for now, we'll have to say goodbye to this wonderful milk. It's tasty, but we're looking to save money and this is one big way to save.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to have my last glass of this milk!

Raw Review: Bare Minerals

2011-09-15T09:00:00.001-04:00

Another review post! There are so many items I've bought lately that I wanted to review and just haven't taken the time to do it. This is a product I've been wanting for years. I remember when Josh & I were first married and I would see infomercials for Bare Minerals. I'm pretty sure there was drool coming out of the corners of my mouth. I wanted it so bad. But the cost just wasn't in our budget.

And truthfully, the cost still isn't in our budget. But they had a $20 trial pack at Ulta a few months ago and I couldn't resist!

In the trial pack I got:

Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush

SPF 20 Concealer

Original SPF 15 Foundation

Matte SPF 15 Foundation

Mineral Veil

Flawless Face Brush

Let me tell you-- $20 is a killer deal. It claimed it was a one month trial, but it's lasted much longer-- I think I'm going on 2 months now. And guess what? When I run out, I'm going to buy some more. Heck, I've already got the brushes!

So here's a before and after comparison for you, with explanations of where I was in the process below.

The picture above is the 'before' picture. I have eye makeup on, but nothing on the rest of my face. Sadly, I wish I had a big zit on my face-- I swear it would cover it up! That is my favorite part!

Slightly hard to see in this image, but I have a lot of red/pink areas that bother me. I hate that ruddiness.

-----------

Here I put on the concealer. I put it underneath my eyes, around the bottom of my nose (red lines, anyone?) and on my chin. I have uneven coloring on my chin due to a pigment issue, so I like to touch it up a bit. :)

-------------

Aha- now we're making progress. Look very closely-- the right side of my face (your left as you are reading this) has the foundation covering it. The left side of my face (your right as you are reading this) still just has the concealer. I especially love how it takes away the pink ruddiness in my cheeks and really smooths out underneath my eyes.

------------

And here we are-- finished! This is with the concealer, matte foundation, and mineral veil. Sorry for the scary eyes... I think this is the point where Josh was saying, "Susan, are you ready yet?"

And while we're on the topic, all my eye makeup is also from Ulta. I just checked their site and they totally have a sale going on right now! Sadly, it's because they're changing the brand, but that's okay, I stocked up last time I was in the store!

Automatic Eyeliner in Black- $2 each right now! Oh this eyeliner is so creamy and awesome! It doesn't hurt my eyes and I never need a sharpener! I've tried them in Olive & Raisin as well, but I'm just not a fan-- I love my black eyeliner!

Ulta Eyeshadow in Sage- $4 each right now. I think this is the color I have. I also used an old yellow-gold eyeshadow I got from Avon as the light color I use all the way up to my browbone.

Lash Icon Mascara- $4 each right now. Not too big of a fan of this stuff-- I feel like I have to put on 90 layers to get volume and length! But at least it's not goopy or too thin-- that would be much worse.

I should be embarrassed about this picture, but I'm not.

2011-09-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

I'm a little behind the times, but losing the internet for a day will do that to a girl! And we just happened to lose internet on the same day that I was part of a blog party! I guest posted over on shannon*bear with a fun photography tip, as well as an embarrassing picture of me.

And hello, who doesn't want to see an embarrassing picture of me? And for the record, you can see this picture in real life when you book me for a photo session (aw snap, did I throw out a shameless self promote there?)

So head on over to shannon*bear and see what you missed!

*PS: I'm not really embarrassed... because sometimes you have to do what it takes to get the shot!

21 Weeks.

2011-09-13T09:00:00.000-04:00

21 weeks & the math nerd in me says we're officially halfway there. Little known fact for those who have never been pregnant: you are not actually pregnant the first 2 weeks... it's just a time frame that they use to count back & give you an estimated due date. So pregnancy is actually more like a suggested 38 weeks.

For the non math people:
38 weeks divided by 2 = 19 weeks
Since I wasn't actually pregnant the first 2 weeks, then they don't count. So 21 weeks is my mid-way point!

Oh yes... did I not tell you I'm a total math nerd? Too bad I don't use it more in everyday life. I'm confident that if I had grown up where I live now, I would have become an engineer. There just weren't many engineers where I grew up, and it wasn't anything anyone ever mentioned in school.

At any rate, our little babe is about the length of a carrot now and about 3/4 of a lb. She's not much for kicking (at least not yet) but she does enjoy rolling around a lot!

There are certain things that Josh & I are opposites on, and we say that we'll be able to tell who she takes after easily on those things. So far, she is taking after me with her sleep patterns. In the morning, she must be snoozing like crazy, but come nighttime, she is rolling around like there's no tomorrow! All I can say is, that is definitely my kid!

We're still stuck on the whole name thing. We have a middle name picked out that we're very confident on, but a first name is still just an idea. There were 2 we were bouncing between, then 3, and now about 5. We hope to have a name picked out by Christmas, but even if we do, and even if we announce it, I must warn everyone... nothing is set in stone until it's on the birth certificate!

Why do I have the feeling this little girl will have one name before she's born, and a different name by the time she's released from the hospital?

This week we also bought a large canvas that I'll paint for the nursery. I am super excited about this project!

Mac or PC?

2011-09-12T09:00:00.000-04:00

I feel like there's a M(a)cDonalds joke in here somewhere...

This is awesome. Although not really true, because both Windows (from what I hear) and Mac are pretty easy to get online these days, I find it hilarious that this is the McDonald's brochure.

I'm pretty sure that somewhere, Mac user is laughing because s/he created this monstrosity of a brochure & they decided to actually print it!

Truthfully, this reflects how I feel about PCs vs. Macs. My days of using a PC were so much more complicated, but since getting a Mac, things have mostly been smooth sailing. They're not for everyone, but they are for me!

So, are you a Mac or a PC? Or do you give a care?

What Really Changed?

2011-09-09T09:00:00.000-04:00

For the sake of blog writing/reading ease, I'm referring to the attacks on the World Trade Center & The Pentagon & all the other stuff that happened on 9/11/2001 as '9/11' in today's post.

In my attempt to watch to the news more often (I was missing major global events like earthquakes & tsunamis & space aliens), I've started turning it on in the evenings while I clean. Earlier this week the question was posed, "How much has your life changed since 9/11/2001?"

The response was about like mine... quiet... thinking. I mean, I know things have changed, but so much in my life would have changed anyway... what is a result of 9/11? I was in 10th grade when it happened. I now drive a car, am married, have a kid on the way, have a college degree, live in another state... but I'm pretty sure those aren't a direct result of 9/11.

So what changed? The news definitely helped remind me of just how much has changed... and reading my blog post from last year reminded me even more.

Airport security. Seeing someone of middle eastern descent. Military. Jobs. Presidents.

For me, a complete paradigm shift.

No, every time I see someone of middle eastern descent I don't automatically think of 9/11. But something deep inside of me does feel different than when I see anyone else on the street. Before 9/11, I'm not even sure I knew anyone of middle eastern descent. I would almost go as far as to say that I'd never seen anyone in that category, but I'm sure I did somewhere along the way. I just didn't live in an area where that was prevalent.

But I think for many it was a complete paradigm shift. In last year's blog post about 9/11, I wrote that we assumed it was a horrific accident until the 2nd tower was hit. At that point we were confused, and then quickly, a bigger story unravelled.

Today, if there is an accident, one of our first thoughts is an attack or potential attack. A pilot on a plane is asleep and overshoots his landing... and we freak out because we assume it's an attack. Why wouldn't we?

I wonder what my daughter will read about 9/11 in her history books. Will she ask me about it? Wonder how crazy it was that I was alive back then? How old will she be when she learns about it?

As I babysat a 4 year old last week a commercial came on TV about remembering 9/11. I wondered if she would ask about it, but she didn't. It seemed to be just another commercial to her. Might as well have been a commercial about Pearl Harbor or Independence Day (the 4th or July, not the movie). It's inevitable. As time goes on, we will forget the sting, that feeling. And our kids will never fully understand it like the ones of us who lived through it.

So for you... what has changed? What has stayed the same?

Nursery Project

2011-09-08T09:01:00.000-04:00

Some people are amazing at nursery decorating, or very creative in home decorating. I am not one of those people. Occasionally I can put something together that looks nice, but it's not often. That's why my house has looked relatively the same over the past 3 years, despite living in 3 different apartments in 3 different states. When I find something that works, I keep it that way.

But now we're introducing a new member to the family, and this one will need more than a kennel or a litter box. So I figure that while I'm up at all hours of the night, I might as well have a pretty room to enjoy it in. Here's a basic idea of things we like that we want to match the room. I love the colors, I love the lyrics... I love the mix of styles: Ikea, eclectic, new, and old.

This will prove to be our biggest project. It is a dresser we hope to use as a changing table. My uncle made it for me for Christmas when I was 6 months old. There were lots of perks of being the first girl after 3 boys! But... this thing has seen better days. It's almost 25 years old, so that's to be expected. Construction wise, it's dead on-- hinges are great, shelves are sturdy-- the entire thing is built with incredible craftsmanship.

But clearly we're going to need some new knobs! And a refinish.

I'll give you one guess as to what my little sister's name is. ................ Angel! I don't know if I was writing something to her, or if she was claiming it as her own. :) Adds character, as I'm sure our little one will add her own artwork when I'm not looking!

The inside. Basically set up like a mini-armoire! A bar to hang little dresses, some shelves (I'm thinking for cloth diapers?) and some drawers at the bottom.

It's super hard to read, even in real life, but here's the back, with a note from my uncle written in pencil.

To: Susan
Merry Christmas
1986
From: Uncle Jerry

Did I explain who Uncle Jerry is? He's my dad's twin brother. :) He has a daughter who is expecting her first child very soon, and he made her a crib. I love seeing family heirlooms begin!

Made By Jerry Pressley

Nov 1986 (and a drawing of a Christmas tree)

Many thanks to my parents who hauled it up here from North Carolina (and for keeping it in the house all those years!). I'm excited to get some new knobs and get it looking in tip-top shape again!

Didn't you know? Temporary tattoos are in vogue.

2011-09-07T09:00:00.000-04:00

Last night my husband came home from work dressed quite differently than he left that morning. I really wish I had a before picture, but I don't typically make a habit of taking a picture of my husband before he leaves for work.

At first glance, he looks pretty normal. He works at a church, and he does love his church (so do I!), so what's so different about it?

He had a temporary tattoo of the church logo on the inside of his arm. Yes. Let that soak in for a sec.

After laughing for a bit about it, I informed him that I can't pass up this "photo opportunity." So we hopped outside for a bit to do a mock fashion shoot.

Yet another reason why I love my husband. He's a kid at heart!

Half baked!

2011-09-06T06:00:00.000-04:00

20 weeks along-- we are halfway there! Time is starting to fly, but I'm enjoying it. :)

Still getting nauseous & sick from time to time, but it's less and less. Also, I'm starting to feel her move around in there! I wasn't sure it was her at first, but now I know-- and it's so cool! I can't wait for Josh to feel her, too!

For people that know me, they can tell I have a pregnant belly now. For those that don't know me, most have no idea I'm pregnant! This weekend at a party a girl heard me talking and asked when I had the baby. She was outright shocked to find out that I was 20 weeks!

We also started our registry yesterday. Whew, what a task!

I thought I'd share a few things we've gotten for our little one. This is about half of the stuff we have so far (other than furniture).

From top to bottom:
5 onesies for $4 at a consignment store
Polkadot dress- $5 at same store - but c'mon-- so worth it!
Books- some from my mom, some I bought- all from yard sales & consignment.
Duckies for bathtime- present from my grandma.
Panda shirt & 2 pairs matching pants- present from my mom.
Rug- $5.98 at a consignment store.

I've really tried not to go overboard. We live in a small apartment and want to keep our minimalist theme going as much as possible. Other than these items, we have a Bumbo, a breast pump, some cloth diapers, a baby book, and a bag of goodies a sweet friend has already gifted us with (adorable clothes, a blanket, and a stuffed animal! I don't even like stuffed animals, but this one is darn cute!).

In other words, I'm proud of myself! I haven't gone overboard!

I know everyone says not to buy clothes-- she'll end up with more than she can possibly wear, but you know what? I avoided buying clothes for nearly every single baby shower that I've ever been to (there are 2 exceptions to this) because I feel like the parents would probably rather buy the cutesy things like clothes. So I usually buy diapers, wipes, washcloths, mattress pads... the not so exciting stuff. So this time, it's my kid, and I want to buy her clothes! But I'm a tightwad, so I really haven't bought much. :)

And so it begins...

2011-09-05T13:02:00.000-04:00

We look like we've done a lot more to our nursery than we actually have. Truth is, we have done 3 things:

1) Got rid of the bed.

2) Spent 15 minutes at a consignment store & bought a crib, mattress, bedding set, and chest of drawers

3) Put the crib together (okay, Josh went solo on this one) because we had an actual baby we were taking care of that needed to sleep in there!

But hey- it looks like we've done a ton! Truth is, we're not keeping this bedding set. It came with the crib. At first we thought we might keep it, but the more I look at it, the less I want to have a pink & brown room. I was going for more orange, green, blue, yellow, and a touch of pink--- and this bedding set just isn't going to work. In fact, we're probably not going to get a traditional bedding set at all.

That's not the point of this post. The point is the problem we're going to have to deal with in about 5 months! Check out these shots-- all taken within about 30 seconds of each other. Pay attention to the activities going on with the animals. In every picture, there is at least 1 animal underneath the crib, or on his/her way out from under the crib.

Look closely-- it's not just that black blur-- look on the left side of the crib at the little bottom going underneath!

Ahh- the cat bolts from under the crib, dashes out of the room, then comes back to taunt Jigsaw, who is still under the crib!

Yes... it will be quite interesting! It wouldn't be such a huge problem if Jigsaw fit better under the crib. When he walks underneath it, he bumps up the mattress, and then the entire crib comes off the ground when he gets out from under it.

I don't think crib skirts are for this family!

My dog likes to dress up.

2011-09-02T12:43:00.000-04:00

Our dogs love to play in our laundry piles on laundry day, which is fine, since we're about to wash them anyway. But the other day, Jigsaw decided to dress up. If I didn't know better, I swear he did it to get a laugh out of me, because he acted as if everything was perfectly normal... and even let me run, grab my camera, and walked to where lighting was bright enough to take a picture.

Is he... was he... posing for me?

I love that my dog & I have the same sense of humor. :)

Revisit 2005 with Katie Holmes & Tom Cruise!

2011-09-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

Can we revisit something for a moment? Remember when Katie Holmes & Tom Cruise started dating?

I do.

~~Many~~ I wondered what on earth was going on... was it just a publicity stunt? Surely it was a publicity stunt...

And now, 6 years later, they're still together.

And we were all waiting for an announcement that she was off her rocker & going into rehab or something.

On a side note... Katie supposedly used to have posters of Tom hanging on her wall, dreaming of marrying him someday. Talk about making your dreams come true!

Did you have posters on your wall growing up? Who were they of? Who was your celebrity crush growing up?

'Cause we're two cool kids like that.

2011-08-31T09:00:00.026-04:00

Yesterday morning I decided I would go to the gym at some point in the day. So before I headed out to work I packed a gym bag & set out on my merry way.

6pm rolls around and I tell Josh to meet me at the gym around 7pm.

I get to the gym, change, and head towards the treadmill, which is pretty much the only piece of cardio equipment that I can do while keeping my heart rate at or below 140 (doctor's rule).

And right when I walk out of the locker room, I round the corner to see my dear sweet husband wearing the exact same outfit.

It's not like we were wearing white shirts and black pants to the gym. Oh no... we had to go all out in our thinking alike. We had to pick the most stand-out shirts we own and wear them together!

Please excuse our faces in this pic... we just got back from the gym!

So yes, in case anyone at the gym was wondering tonight, we love our church! We no doubt looked like lunatics that tried to hard, and were probably the topic of some dinner table discussions tonight.

"How was your day, honey?"

"Well, work was fine. I saw these two crazy people at the gym tonight wearing matching t-shirts that said, 'I <3 My Church.'"

"They were wearing what??"

Yeah, that's right... never underestimate the power of the Fowler's. This is also the most comfy t-shirt I own. And I do, in fact, love my church.

Healthy at 19 weeks!

2011-08-30T09:00:00.047-04:00

Say what? 19 weeks? We're almost halfway there! Little one is about the size of a mango-- 6 inches long, and around 8.5 ounces. She can hear, which is cool, and her hair is starting to grow.

I'm assuming that means if she's going to have hair when she's born. I hope so!

We had our anatomy scan yesterday. It's an ultrasound where they check all sorts of measurements to make sure baby is on track with her growth-- and she is! We also met with a genetic counselor to discuss a few family genetics that our doctor was concerned about. The genetic counselor was great and asked us a ton of questions, and then gave us great explanations about what everything meant! We also got test results back from a blood test we did a few weeks ago. Our little girl has extremely low risk of most all birth defects, which was great news!

We do have roughly a 50% risk that any of our children will have pyloric stenosis. We were aware of it before-- Josh had it as a baby-- and it can be corrected with surgery. Is it ideal? No. But there's also a 50% chance that she doesn't have it. And if she does, we'll know what to look for, and know that there is a solution (surgery) that will allow her to live a completely full & happy life. For that, I am extremely thankful!

I know I joke around about our sweet baby a lot, but I really am so thankful to have her. I know too many women who have gone to this very same appointment and left with broken hearts. You ladies know who you are, and I thought of you (as well as Whitney, Lucy, and Kyah) today. :) Much love to each of you.

As a final note, morning sickness is nearly gone! Oh how glorious the days are now that I'm not nauseous every single minute! The weather is starting to cool down, too! I think it's just a dirty trick mother nature is playing, and it'll turn scorching hot later, but I'll take what I can get!

Hurricane Irene.

2011-08-29T09:00:00.001-04:00

Well folks, Hurricane Irene hit this weekend. It wasn't as bad here as we originally expected, which was nice! Afterwards, my mom asked if it was scary. I replied that compared to how the wind howls through the trees where they live, it wasn't that bad & I didn't really get scared. That threw her off a bit, but really, compared to living in a trailer with trees surrounding you and the wind whipping down the opposite side of the mountain towards your house, it wasn't bad at all.

I was expecting a hurricane to end all hurricanes. There were evacuations everywhere and I'd never seen anyone board up a house or business before in my life. It was craziness! But thankfully the hurricane didn't destroy as much as expected, and people stayed out of it's way.

I do have to say-- people staying off the roads & being smart sure did help a lot. I'm sure the police & fire departments had plenty to deal with, but the fewer idiots out and about, the better!

At any rate, I'm tired & power goes on & off lately, so I'll leave you with this for now. This was my Facebook status from a year ago & I think it's worth a second look since it brought a smile to my face!

Have a great day/week/month!

There's a storm a brewin'!

2011-08-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

So hurricane Irene. If you haven't heard, then I'd like to know how you managed to be on the internet & not hear. Are you living in China or Korea? Perhaps England?

Irene is a large hurricane heading straight for just about every shoreline from NC on up. Quite an impressive little lady.

This is our first real hurricane preparation. I remember 2 hurricanes that actually affected me before. One, we lost power for about a week or so, and a tree smashed our fort, yet miraculously, none hit our house. Quite miraculous, considering we were completely surrounded by trees, but they all fell uphill or downhill-- away from the house! That was 1995.

The second hurricane to affect us in the North Carolina mountains was Francis back in 2004. Caused a 100 year flood and then some in the mountains. We'd really never seen anything like it-- except for a few really old people (not kidding) who were alive for the last 100 year flood. All of them were over 100, of course & it was wild to hear their stories. It was also wild to go clean out houses that were totally caked in mud. Definitely something I'd never experienced before, but I also loved seeing a neighbor who missed the flood by a few yards grilling out and providing food for the whole neighborhood & the workers. Some helped with clean up-- others helped with food-- and everyone worked together to overcome it.

I'd never even heard of a 100 year flood before that!

So tell me... what are your hurricane stories?

Probably the most useful advice I've been given to date.

2011-08-25T09:00:00.001-04:00

Being pregnant, everyone has advice. Sometimes it's helpful, most of the time I've already heard it, and sometimes it's downright annoying.

For example, if one more person tells me to try ginger ale to help with morning sickness, I will throw something at them. After 3 months of being nauseous, don't you think I've tried everything?!

At any rate, I was given some awesome advice that had never crossed my mind & I have never heard before. And although it's not foolproof (is anything?) I'm pretty sure it'll save me hours in the middle of the night.

Are you ready for this?

Little ones will make a mess in the bed, whether it's puke, poop, or pee... it's going to happen. And it's going to happen in the middle of the night. So rather than having to change the sheets, sanitize everything, etc in the middle of the night, make the bed this way:

-waterproof mattress pad
-sheet
-waterproof mattress pad
-sheet

That way, in the middle of the night, you can strip one sheet & mattress pad & the other one is already made underneath!

Is it foolproof, surely not. But is it probably going to save a lot of time & frustration in the middle of the night? You bet!

Now I'm almost excited for my kid to have a middle of the night disaster. Almost.

So, have any advice that isn't common and may not have been suggested? And trust me, you'll have to go way out of the box to find something that hasn't been suggested-- but I'm all ears!

I'm not a lazy piece of loser after all!

2011-08-24T09:00:00.002-04:00

Thank you, Facebook, for reminding me that I'm not a lazy piece of loser. This was my status last year.

I also love that it reminded me that a year ago my life began to change in a big way-- a change that quickly led Josh & me to Virginia! A change that was better than anything I could have possibly imagined. Without going through that, I am pretty positive we wouldn't be expecting a child in January-- we would have put it off for yet another year.

Man, am I ever thankful!

18 weeks.

2011-08-23T09:00:00.002-04:00

Wow-- has it been 18 weeks already? Skeltie is about the size of a sweet potato now, and most all of her lady parts are fully formed.

Although we haven't even come close to picking out a name yet, I have found it much easier to bond with her knowing that she's a girl. It's easier to imagine life after she's born, and have an idea if we'll be paying for tap shoes or football cleats... although who knows, she may surprise us in the end!

Josh has been talking to my belly for a few weeks now, although I dare say it's not the conventional "talk to your child in the womb" type of thing. He leans down and whispers to my belly to where I can't hear. It drives me nutty! I make him tell me what he's saying, and he does, but then insists that he'll wake up in the middle of the night and whisper to her when I'm asleep.

It. totally. cracks. me. up.

He is going to be such a fabulous daddy!

You Spelled "Punching" Wrong, Chris Brown.

2011-08-22T09:00:00.001-04:00

Well, Chris Brown didn't think this was too funny, so Andy Levy... ummm... apologized? Classic. And completely worth the 2 minutes to watch it.

Evil Love.

2011-08-19T09:00:00.004-04:00

Growing up, and even now, there are few things as fun as hearing stories about your parents when they were younger. Knowing that they were real humans back then helps soften the teenage years!

My mom told us once about a musician that she dated for a little bit. Okay, maybe it was one date. At any rate, the name of his band was Evol (pronounced Evil)... because it was love spelled backwards.

In my opinion, things shouldn't be spelled backwards. Take Nevaeh, for example.

At any rate, when I was grocery shopping the other day, I couldn't resist taking a picture of this & sending it to my mom (& all my siblings because, you know I had to rub it in).

So mom... you think he started a burrito empire when the music thing didn't work out?

Sugar & Spice

2011-08-18T09:00:00.034-04:00

What are little girls made of? Sugar & spice & everything nice.

Yeah... that's the problem.

Although we weren't very vocal about it before (because we didn't want people to misunderstand us & think it was for the wrong reasons), Josh & I were kind of hoping for a boy. Of course, the important thing is that it's a healthy baby.

But we both know our limits. With a little boy, we knew we could easily do gender neutral items & not go gaga over baby items. We also knew that if we found out it was a little girl, we would turn to mush. One big pile of butter melted in her tiny little newborn hands.

And guess what? We were right! Within a week we are nothing but piles of mush oohing & ahhing over the cutest little girl things. We're still going gender neutral on the items that will carry over to the next child (furniture, cloth diapers, stroller, car seat, blankets, etc), but there is more pink than I would have imagined already filling our future nursery!

It isn't like we went out & searched for it... pink stuff just came to us. I found this crib the other day (thank you to my parents for buying it for us!), and when I asked the lady how much, she gave me a price & said that if I wanted the bedding, it was free.

Like I'm going to turn down something for free!

So that's how we ended up with pink bedding. Oops. At least it had a lot of brown in there as well. It is awfully cute!

But that brings me to my next picture. I found this dress at the same consignment shop! This is the style I want our little girl to have. I know she's not going to be wearing dresses every day, but I do want her to have a better sense of style than I do!

Best thing about this dress? Well, other than the neckline... it's not pink!

World's Largest Banjo Case!

2011-08-17T09:00:00.001-04:00

I know, sooo appealing, right? You've just been dying to see the world's largest banjo case & ladies & gents, here you go!

What that? You think this is a coffin? Why would one think that? Clearly it is a banjo case. Click here for more info on what a banjo case looks like.

Now see? Clearly, this is a banjo case.

And just in case you haven't had your coffee yet today, I'm totally kidding. Go look at the link, ~~it totally explains it.~~

So anywho, I wish I had a video of the people around us when we were taking this picture the other day. We were at a tourist spot- Colonial Williamsburg- and it caught my eye. I said, "Daddy, you've got to get your picture made next to the world's largest banjo case!"

The people near us looked at us like we had completely lost our minds. No one dared tell us that it was a coffin. Perhaps this is why my family gets called a 'cult' at times? Or maybe it's because when we're together, we totally lose touch with the outside world. :) Fun times, fun times!

It's a Gril!

2011-08-16T09:00:00.001-04:00

Yup, we have a gril on our hands. If you know what website that is very popular on, then you are my new best friend.

17 weeks & it's a girl! Her little skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and she's roughly the size of an onion. Another place says she's about 5 inches long... so maybe that 5 inches is including legs and the onion is just including crown to rump measurement? Or maybe I just haven't cooked with onions in awhile. Who knows, but she's growing, and that's good!

At the ultrasound the other day the lady said she is pretty squished in there-- in other words, my bump is about to grow! And boy has it... I started really showing this weekend, which is a nice change of pace from just looking kind of chunky!

Here are some pictures from our ultrasound! I know some people find them creepy, but really, what do you expect them to look like? A newborn? It's an image inside the womb, 23 weeks before it's a newborn... it's got a long way to go before it looks like that!

She... she's got a long way to go before she looks like a newborn.

At any rate, here's a profile of little Skeletor. She's got her hand on her head, and you can even see her tiny little ribs!

And we have no idea what to name her, so she's earned the name Skeletor, or Skeltie for now. We never could decide on 'peanut' or 'baby bean' before as a nickname, but now we have one! Hopefully we'll come up with a real name before she's born. ;) Not sure if the hospital will go for Skeletor on the birth certificate.

Here's a closer up shot of her face. She's facing down & to the left in this one. I know it's because I'm the mother, but I swear she's smiling in this one! I'm not even sure if she has the reflexes to smile yet, but it's a pleasant thought to have!

At every ultrasound so far, she's been really chilled out, moving around a bit, but not dancing or anything. She's also loved hanging out upside down. In the pictures above, they actually flipped the image so she is right side up.

I love this part about modern technology-- that we can see her now-- know that she's a girl and be able to prepare accordingly. It's such a blessing!

"What kind of bug is that?"

2011-08-15T09:00:00.002-04:00

The other night my mom noticed our cat looking pawing at the sliding glass door.

Mom: "Aww... how cute-- she's trying to get to that bug out there! What kind of bug is that, Susan?"

I look over & shake my head.

Me: "That's a roach... and it's sitting right beside our can of roach spray."

Sorry it's dark-- that black blob to the right of the can of roach spray is a roach!

For one, this proves how awesome the mountains of western North Carolina are-- that she doesn't even recognize a roach anymore.

And the second thing is... I live on the 2nd floor... and didn't realize roaches crawl up to such great heights.

I'm not outdoorsy. I don't like camping. Seeing too many bugs makes me itch non-stop. They need to get away from my house!

Let's hug it out. Or not.

2011-08-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

It's Friday, and my parents are in town! I'm so excited! We have made many really fabulous friends here, but none of them can replace my actual family... the people that have known me since the day I was born. They were there when I tried out for cheerleading in 7th grade, and they were there the day I graduated college a semester early.

In other words, they've seen me at my best times, and at my not-so-best times. But, funny enough, they still like me!

Oh, and they're not big huggers either.

Random fact about me: I'm not a fan of hugs. If you hug me, I'll hug you back, but I'll also turn it into a side hug so fast you won't even know what hit you. This complex with hugging may have some slight relation to my siblings & me being forced to "hug it out" as kids. When we'd get in arguments with each other, sometimes we had to stand on opposite corners of the room & walk towards each other and hug. Once we hugged, we could carry on.

Boy, it could take us an hour to walk across a 15 foot room!

So that's my story & I'm sticking to it.

Huh?

I have no idea.

Have a great Friday & a fabulous weekend!

Life after debt.

2011-08-11T09:00:00.001-04:00

I talk a lot about money management, getting out of debt, and all that fun stuff, but let's talk about what happens after getting out of debt. Life was still life and our car still broke down, but honestly, possibilities started to seem endless.

Suddenly, our bills were very streamlined & we quickly realized that we could now stop doing what we had to do and focus a little bit more on what we wanted to do. That led to Josh quitting his job to pursue music full time. This was a desire for both of us & a dream for him. And we were able to do it. Comfortably.

We weren't living paycheck to paycheck. We were living well below our means, even on one paycheck (we put all his earnings into savings)! And we even went out to eat sometimes. :)

It wasn't long into this journey when he got a call from a church in Virginia. Being out of debt allowed us to look at the opportunity & how we really felt about it, without putting a major focus on the money.

What would you be able to do if you didn't have to pay extra bills every month? With an extra $50, or $500?

2011-08-10T09:00:00.000-04:00

If you need a good laugh, this is for you! This was a video our pastor did for this past Sunday's sermon. If you'd like to hear the whole sermon, check it out here.

What is 'church' to you?

I think this calls for some guacamole!

2011-08-09T08:42:00.001-04:00

Or is that really, really bad? Our little one is the size of an avocado now.

16 beautiful weeks.

Okay, so they've been pretty full of morning sickness & exhaustion. But I have a feeling that things are about to change. Weeks keep flying by & I keep losing track of how far along I am. I like that.

I'm also trying to enjoy pregnancy more. :) And I think it's about to get more fun! At least, I really hope so! I always imagined myself as a happy go-lucky pregnant lady. That I'd have easy pregnancies and enjoy the growing little one inside of me. .... Not so many puppies & roses in real life, unfortunately.

Everything I read says that baby is about to go through a substantial growth spurt. The growth pattern for its hair has already begun. Oh little one, I hope you don't have the cowlicks that I do. S/he is starting to grow toenails & it's heart is pumping about 25 quarts of blood a day! Is it me, or is that a lot for this little champ?

Although I haven't felt any flutters in my tummy yet from baby movement (trust me, I'm on the lookout for it!), I do feel pressure on certain areas at certain times. I'm assuming it's our little one moving against my organs in there & causing some discomfort. Guess I better get used to that! It's a little uncomfortable, but it is nice to know why it feels that way. :)

I have an idea...

2011-08-08T09:00:00.003-04:00

This weekend I had a little down time and I wanted to start thinking about our little one & it's nursery. Now, I'm terrible with interior decorating, and our house decor is very 'play it safe.' Pretty much everything is related to photography & music-- and the color scheme is black, brown, white, & red.

I told you it was 'play it safe!'

But I want to do something a little different with this nursery, so I went on Polyvore.com & started randomly throwing together things I liked. Whatever color or product struck my fancy, I threw it on the palette to sort through later. In the end, I came up with this.

And no, I don't have any clue if it's a boy or a girl yet. :)

I will tell you that when I finished this little project, I fell in love. I love the colors, the simplicity of the designs... everything about it!

Then I showed it to Josh. Heh-- his reaction was priceless.

Josh: Well, I liked the other ideas we had better... we were talking about a more modern style & this is kind of... eclectic.

Me: *silence* Did you see the lyrics?

Josh: *walking back towards the computer* No... what are they?

Me: Cat Stevens!

Josh: Honestly, I like it a lot better now. Let's do it.

----

So we might-- I really dig this style and I'd love to pull our house into a mixture of modern & eclectic-- and I think this is a great mixture of those two! We also want to incorporate music into the nursery, and I love those lyrics! I tried other ways to incorporate music, but sticking music notes on the wall just doesn't suit my fancy & I can't seem to find anything I like other than this! It just seems perfect.

It's Friday, Friday... TGIF

2011-08-05T09:00:00.001-04:00

It's Friday! Or, as we like to call it in the Fowler household-- the weekend! Josh has off Fridays & Saturdays since he works all day on Sundays. Let me just say that it is a glorious schedule! We've always been super involved in church so it was a given that we'd be there all day on Sunday anyway. But now? We have a weekend again!

But back to Friday. Friday. Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend.

Is it stuck in your head yet?

If not, then watch this. That should do the trick.

But no! Don't leave! Then you'll miss this (actually) awesome video.

Have you seen Katy Perry's video for TGIF? Because it's awesome, and if you are older than me, than you'll enjoy it even more than I do. Hint: it's set up as an 80s movie, and has great cameos in it!

Love this video. Katy Perry's talent is just amazing. Not to mention where else are you going to find the following people all in one video?

Darren Criss (Glee)
Rebecca Black (see link above)
Kevin McHale (Glee)
Hanson (wow-- these guys are still around? I wanted to marry all of them about 14 years ago. Mmbop!)
Kenny G.
Corey Feldman
Debbie Gibson

Hope you enjoy-- and hope your Friday night isn't quite like theirs!

You know you're a Catamount when...

2011-08-04T07:00:00.001-04:00

The other day I found a hilarious Facebook group titled "You know your a Catamount at WCU..."

It's really unfortunate that the person used the wrong 'your,' but aside from that blaring issue, I really enjoyed reading the posts! Even though I didn't participate in a lot of the campus activities, there were many things about college that I just couldn't avoid. Here are some of my favorites:

-"When an umbrella is more harmful than helpful in the pouring rain." ---- ho. ly. cow. Not even kidding... it rained, or at least sprinkled, every single class day my freshman year. Monday - Friday. Not even missing one. Even if it was just a few sprinkles, it was guaranteed to rain a bit. One group made t-shirts that said:

Carry

Umbrellas

Get it? WCU... we carry umbrellas. Those shirts sold like hotcakes! So did umbrellas & rain boots. And the harmful aspect of it was that any substantial rain meant substantial winds, so not only did the umbrella not help unless it was turned sideways, but it usually blew inside out almost instantly & sent you toppling over into the street with its force. Quite exciting, I tell ya!

-"When quarters are like gold because there are no change machines in the laundry rooms." ---- no seriously-- no change machines anywhere on campus, so we had to go to the bank, which, if you were lucky, had a branch in the next town over.

-"When move-in day at Wal-Mart is like Christmas at the mall." --- Wal-Mart was in the next town over & was pretty much the only place to go for move-in stuff. No matter how prepared you were, you'd always end up at that Wal-Mart on move-in day. I was lucky & always moved a week early due to color guard or being an RA... but it was still craziness!

Walker- I lived on the 8th floor freshman year

-"When you have practice fire drills your Freshman year and every time there are at least 3 people standing in nothing but a towel." ---- ummm... one of my best friends was one of those! But to be fair, in high school they would always tell you it was a fire drill- this is the first time in life the alarms just go off.

-"When you have to stay an extra semester because you didn't go to class your first semester." -- This wasn't me, but this was roughly 90% of the student population. People take their sweet time to graduate there. I do think part of it, though, is that music is a very popular major, and it's nearly impossible to graduate in 4 years because many of the classes are 1 credit hour, but take up 8+ hours a week.

- And finally, to sum up about 15 of the posts-- the CatTran-- it was the bus system around the school. Not that the campus was big, but you may or may not have to scale a mountain in order to get to class. However, those buses were never where you needed them. Instead of hitting a stop every 15 minutes, they'd be back to back & you wouldn't see another one for 45 minutes. And riding up the mountain on one was a great time for prayer-- that the whole bus wouldn't fly off the mountain as it's careening around steep curves! I found a hilarious post about the ~~FatTran~~ CatTran & the weather in Cullowhee here. I have no idea who this blogger is, but that particular post is hilarious!

Altogether now.... na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na- CAT-TRAN! (sung to the Batman tune)

What was a fun quirk of your college campus?