Mixed Emotions...

Well Elton ended up being offered both jobs. The pay is comperable, but the one he really wanted ended up offering 10% quarterly bonuses and a $2,000 sign on bonus. Sweet! He thinks he will be happier there, and sees room for advancement. The other plant is so small, and only the president and vice president would be over him. I hate the fact that his new job is 40 miles away! Traffic won't be an issue b/c its not towards Raleigh- but still... I guess the timing is right- next Friday is his last paycheck from Leiner. I have gotten so used to him being home all of the time, I'm really going to miss him! He took 2 1/2 weeks of vacation in December when we went to Florida, and then he only worked 3 days in January before they closed the plant. He is supposed to start next Monday. That still gives us Wednesday and Saturday to win the lottery! ;0) He was hoping that the baby would be here before he had to start back to work. I'm not holding my breath about Shawn cooperating! I think he's gotten comfortable. Dr. appt tomorrow- hoping he'll say "oh you're dilated to a 9" haha wishful thinking I guess. So not looking forward to labor and delivery- hoping he'll just fall out! Janet called yesterday to find out why I was not at the hospital- she had decided that the 28th @ 1:00 would be the time! Apparently Steve and Sue's daughter Cathy is due one day after me, and she's dilated to 1 1/2 centimeters. So sorry I'm not cooperating in this twisted grandparent race! ;0) I tried to reassure her that since they already had 5 grandkids and S&S only have 2 they automatically win.

Last weekend we had big plans about yard work. We decided to kill all of our existing yard, put down centipede seed and put in a garden. We bought the garden stuff b/c we read on the bottle that you can plant vegetables after 3 days. Elton sprayed everything down with the weedkiller when we got home and on closer examination of the bottle, you cannot mow or otherwise disturb the soil for 7 days! So much for renting a rototiller! Guess that will be our weekend project this week- if baby cooperates! Wish that we would have planned that out better and it was already done. Also read on the bottle that everything EXCEPT tomatoes could be planted after 3 days- 30 days for tomatoes! UHG! So now I have 9 tomato plants on the deck in pots. doesn't look bad now, but I imagine as time goes on it will become rather unattractive. Very excited about the whole garden thing- it will be small, but it will be our first official garden attempt. I usually just grow a few things in pots.

It rained so much yesterday- from one extreme to another- first we're in a severe year long drought and now everytime I turn around its raining. Brianna ended up having 3 baths yesterday! Showered with me before we ran errands, K. had spent the night with Doris, we picked her up and when we got home she went to shower, and B. wanted to shower with her. Elton cooked pork chops on the grill last night- we were having a little reprieve from the rain, and so we put towels on the chairs and were sitting on the deck. Brianna found a huge puddle out in the yard and proceeded to jump in it until she was covered with mud from head to foot! So into the tub she went! The pork chops were delicious! Boneless- I hate bones in my food. McCormicks Pork rub on them. Some kind of Pasta-roni- garlic and something else. crescent rolls- always a big hit with my family, and baked beans. Now I am not a baked bean fan- I just don't like them- don't ever eat them... But we were at Tracy and Bobby's Sat. night and Tracy had made some. And in typical Brantley woman fashion shoved a forkful in my face. (Brantley women get extremly offended if you don't eat their food, and you have to eat SOMETHING when you come over regardless of the time of day.) I was so surprised to find that they were really good! Elton really likes them and I am always looking for new things to cook, so when we went to the store Sunday night, I bought the stuff to make them. Figured if I waited I would forget. I used 3 cans of pork and beans, 1/2 bag of brown sugar, one med. onion diced, 1 good sized green pepper diced, and 1/2 pack of bacon (partially cooked- then chopped) Mix together and bake at 400 for about an hour. They turned out really good- except for I forgot to drain the pork and beans- oh well- I won't make that mistake again. I used a slotted spoon to serve- it was fine. It certainly wasn't disasterous- they were just a little soupy. We have enough left over for tonight too! :0)

Went to Target and took back a basket I had bought, that ended up being too big, and a couple of post shower gifts that were duplicates. I had no idea that the concept of a registry was such a difficult one! I ended up getting a boppy pillow- something I had registered for and didn't get. I've heard really good reviews about them. It looks like an oversized neck pillow. U-shaped and is designed to put around your waist, and the baby rests on it while nursing. You can also use it to prop the baby up on when its little to reduce gas after feeding, when the baby is older you can use it to prop them up for "tummy time". It was voted "best baby product" for the last 4 years. So I decided to try it. I kept the package and the receipt so I'll be able to return it if it doesn't work for us. It was $35! ICK! My friends Jessica and Kelly swear by theirs, so maybe I'll love it too. I remember upper back pain from nursing with the first 3 from kind of slumping over- hopefully this will alleviate that. I washed up the cover and put it in my hospital bag. Packed Brianna's overnight bag- that was kind of an afterthought. Realized that while I was reviewing the contents of my bag, that Brianna would more than likely be spending the night at Dad and Janets while I was in the hospital, and she doesn't have a stash of stuff over there like Chris and Katherine do. I guess we're ready! Still hasn't fully sunk it that we're having another baby! Seems kind of surreal. Can't wait to meet him, hopefully he'll make his Daddy happy and make his appearance soon! Hopefully he'll make ME happy and come quickly and painlessly! LOL!

Less than 3 weeks to go!

37 week checkup yesterday. Still 1 centimeter... My friend Jessica had her baby yesterday- Hunter Michael Austin. 7 lbs 13 oz. I can't wait to meet him, but I'm not sure that traveling to VA. right now would be the best idea.

I'm pretty much ready for Shawn to make his entrance into the world. It would be nice if we could skip the whole labor and delivery thing! I have a couple of things left to return to Target. The whole point of having a registry is so people know what you want, and if it has already been purchased. Obviously some people have difficulty in grasping this concept! There are 2 items that I have recieved 3 of! ;0) Oh well, it gives me an exscuse to go back and admire all of the baby stuff!

Took the kids to the mall yesterday- Katherine won a drawing for some Webkinz lipgloss, so she has been chomping at the bit to get to Sue's Country Store. Whoever came up with this whole Webkinz idea must be a bazillionaire by now! That little tube of mango flavored lipgloss sells for $5! She got some in her Christmas stocking last year, generally I frown on spending so much on junk- but hey it was Christmas! Chris found a T-shirt at Dixie Outfitters that he HAD to have, he has promised to be my slave for a week. Conveniently he got sick immediatly upon returning home. He has been banished to the upstairs- I definatly don't need a stomach virus going around right now! Since Wilson County Schools are out tomorrow for a teacher workday, I'm expecting a speedy recovery! Who wants to be sick on a 3 day weekend? I'm hoping to get him to clean out my gutters- that will be worth the T-shirt!

Found some super cute candles at the Dollar Store for my patio table candleabra. LOVE them, and they only had 5- I think they were waiting for me! Katherine got some cute fake fingernails with pink flowers on them, and Brianna got a Noah's Ark snowglobe. She is obsessed with snowglobes!

Stopped by the Goodwill, dropped off 2 bags that I had cleaned out of our room that morning. Elton has lost so much weight and had so many clothes that no longer fit. The closet and dressers are much improved! I'm very proud of myself- I hadn't planned on doing that yesterday, but the mood struck so I went with it! Thank God for nesting instincts! Wish I could bottle them! I found Elton a pair of really nice dark olive green shorts with cargo pockets- they still had the tags on them, and I got them for $1.39! I love the Goodwill! Katherine got some cute pajama pants (purple with butterflies of course!) and I got a really nice winter top for Shawn, and some cute pink flip flops for Brianna. She has plenty of flip flops thanks to The Children's Place, but they were adorable, brand new and only 99 cents... So- shorts, pj pants, a shirt, and shoes for $5.30- SCORE!

We went by Lowes and I bought 4 Sweet 100 tomato plants. I love the way they smell- very earthy, and remind me of home. Katherine and I were standing in line to pay for them ( Chris took Brianna to look at the fountains- apparently everyone in Wilson decided to take advantage of the weather and were at Lowes!) I was smelling the plants, and told Katherine to do the same. The man behind me said "Arent' those tomato plants?" I was mildly embarressed since tomato plants are not generally renowned for their aroma, but he was very nice and started a discussion about gardening. When I got home, Elton was disappointed that I had only bought cherry tomato plants. I honestly didn't think he cared! He mentioned it would be nice to have larger ones for sandwiches, and maybe some lettuce, and something else. I told him that if he would till up a garden I would be happy to plant them! We'll see! I wish he would till up the whole yard- I desperatly need to plant some grass- my yard looks pathetic! POSSIBLY a weekend project???

I imagine that depends on what happens today- he has 2 job interveiws today. One for a Quality Control Supervisor in Wilson, and one for a Warehouse Manager in Roberson. He has only recently begun looking for a job, I know he really doesn't want to go back to work until after the baby is born. We've all gotten so used to him being home, its going to be really hard when he does have to go back to work. I've got my fingers crossed for the Lottery. It's 100 and some million now! ;0) He looked so cute this morning. We opted for a blue shirt and khaki pants, Katherine picked out the tie. It's yellow and blue. He wouldn't let me take his picture this morning. Maybe I'll get him when he gets home- depends on his mood I guess. He hates job interviews.

I've been trying to get all of my school work done for the semester. I'm pretty much done, I have a 2 page essay left (which will take no time at all) and I have to post all of my work to my website. Counting on Elton to help out with that! He's much better with stuff like that. I got my term paper back and only had to make minor revisions- thank God! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Especially since I did it all in one day- research and everything. I'm such a procrastinator! My instructor said he enjoyed reading it, thats a good sign! It only had to be 6 pages, but mine ended up being 10, I used a lot of quotes, and didn't want to take a chance on being marked down for lack of original content. I'm so looking forward to having this semester over and being free free free for the summer! I only wish that Leiner would have shut down now instead of in January. It would be perfect if he was home this summer and Chris was out of school.

My mom emailed me yesterday, she has finalized the dates for her visit. May 20-29. I wish it could be longer, but I'm just happy she's coming. Visits have been few and far between in recent years. We've been fortunate enough to be able to go to Washington twice in the past 3 years. Wish we could make it an annual thing. It's so far away! We really enjoy our visits there. Elton has yet to make it to the West coast- hopefully one day soon. I know he would love it.

Baby Shower!

Yesterday was the Baby Shower and I'm so pleased with how everything turned out! The decorations were beautiful, the food was great, and we got some really cute stuff! However, that being said- it was a LOT of work! I still have tons of stuff to clean up, I will tackle that after I finish this blog. Tracy, Mary, Chelsey, and Ashley made the CUTEST baby shower favors ever! I was very impressed! They made little baby booties, out of blue kleenex, little plastic cups, cotton balls, and ribbon- they were adorable. They also made diapers and stuffed them with candy, and gum ball, lifesaver and pipe cleaner pacifiers. They came over yesterday and helped set out the food, the favors, and all the last minute stuff. I had a panic moment over the chocolate fountain but it turns out that one piece just wasn't locked into place. Tracy seemed to spend a lot of time running after me cleaning up my messes! I spilled chocolate on the tablecloth while trying to pour the melted chocolate into the fountain. Thankfully the table cloth was plastic not fabric! She mopped my kitchen floor. I had already done it, but ended up dumping watermelon juice on it while trying to carve the baby carriage! :-( It was rather sticky! I was pretty happy with how the watermelon thing turned out. I would only do it again with a seedless melon- it took forever to pick out all of the seeds! I definatly am lacking in skills with a melon baller- who would have thought it would be that hard??? some of them were great, some ended up looking like curls... I think next time I would forego the melon baller all together and just cut into chunks. We had a pretty good turnout at the shower, and got lots of really cute stuff. I'm going to Target this afternoon to spend my cash and gift cards. ;0) Elton was supposed to take pictures during the shower- but he planted himself on the deck- I don't think he ever even came inside! He did his host job though- lots of people were outside- the weather was beautiful! Sunny & 80's. A little hot for me, but that's just a combination of being pregnant and running around so much... It has been POURING down rain all night and this morning. So thankful it held off until after the shower! Went to Bobby & Tracy's last night, Chris has been dying to cook the shark he caught at the beach. Bobby fried it, and everyone loved it- apparently it is really firm and doesn't have a fishy taste at all. I'll take their word for it... We ended up staying until about 11:30- Katherine wasn't ready to come home- but I was so tired- enough partying for me!

Baby Update

I had my 36 week appointment yesterday. I lost weight (again) but since the baby is definatly growing- the Dr. is not concerned... In fact I measure at 37 weeks. Another big baby like C & K, or a small (6 lb. 10 oz.) shrimp like B??? Guess we'll just have to wait and see. I had my strep B test yesterday, and an internal exam. I have dialated to 1 cm. Which basically means nothing, but its nice to know that progress is being made. Sunday is a full moon, I wonder if that will kick start anything? The big buzz on the I am Pregnant website is the upcoming full moon. I found a website that will tell you the moon phase for any given date. I checked the phase for Katherine and Brianna's births (Chris was induced- so that doesn't count) They were both born within 2-4 days of a full moon. Probably just coincidence... K. was 8 days late, and B. was a day early. As long as the baby waits until after the baby shower on Sat. I am ready anytime. I wouldn't mind an early arrival. I saw my friend Buffy at Target the other day, and she was really surprised how much bigger I had gotten in the week or so since I had last seen her.

I am furiously preparing for the baby shower. I'm very happy that we decided to go ahead and have it here (both of my g/f's who are hosting live in other towns). This gives me a reason to get everything "perfect". I have pulled out all of my serving pieces, washed them up. Laid out and organized all the decorations, cleaned the carpets and the furniture in the living room and dining room. Tracy and Mary are coming tomorrow evening to help with the decorating and do ahead food prep. and they'll be here early on Sat. I'm a little nervous about the watermelon baby carriage carving, but I saw it in a magazine years ago, loved it, cut out the picture and saved it. Although I have hosted several baby showers, I have yet to actually attempt it. Since this is my shower, I want everything to be perfect, and don't mind the extra hassle! ;0) LOL! Katherine and I made a diaper cake (something else I've never wanted to attempt! ) I'm VERY pleased with how it turned out! They sell for at least $100 on the internet. It wasn't as hard as I expected it to be, and much more cost effective to do it yourself. There is maybe $10-$12 worth of diapers, and some toys, and baby supplies (pacifiers, brush and comb set etc.) It is all stuff that would have been purchased anyway- so the only "extra" cost is the curling ribbon, which was maybe $2! ;0) and it is SOOOOO cute. I will definatly keep it in mind when deciding on future baby shower gifts. It makes quite the statement, and everyone who has seen it loves it. We made a diaper wreath for the front door. I already had the grapevine wreath and the diapers, and used the same curling ribbon from the diaper cake. Cost = Free! I didn't put any decorations on it, I think its fine the way it is... It's going on the front door and there will be other decorations around...

I bought some ferns for the front porch, and some flowers for my window boxes. The azaleas are so pretty, quite confident they will still look good Sat. Scrubbed all the winter ick and pollen off of the patio furniture. The weather is supposed to be in the high 70's and partly cloudy. Hopefully we'll get a couple hours of sunshine! Since we have so much seating on the back porch it will be nice to have that option.

Loving this gorgeous spring weather! Doris (MIL) got out of the hospital yesterday. The girls and I went to Greenville to go pick her up. Chris had an orthodontist appt. in Raleigh at the same time, so Elton took him there. I don't drive in Raleigh... I don't know where I'm going... Maybe if I had GPS??? She seems to be doing really good, on oral meds for kidneys. She came over to our house, and sat on the front porch while we visited. I watered the plants, and K. and I trimmed up some Ivy. It grows like crazy this time of year! Elton got home, we moved to the back deck, and when Chris got home (he was mowing Dad and Janet's yard) we went out to eat at Mayflower. I had never eaten there. I hate seafood, but I got the popcorn chicken platter, it came with hushpuppies (the kids love them- not my thing) a baked potato (yum!) and coleslaw. The portion sizes were huge- the girls kids meals were normal adult size portions. We have tons of leftover chicken and hushpuppies to eat for lunch today.

Today I need to get upstairs, vacuum, clean the bathroom etc. I rarely ever even go up there- I just get annoyed...

Atlantic Beach

Elton decided to be spontaneous today at about 12:30- decided we should drive to Atlantic Beach and surprise Dad and Chris. I am NOT a spontaneous person- I like to plan things out... But I cooperated and packed a suitcase, our intention was to get a room and spend the night- tomorrow we (not 100% sure I was going to participate) were going on a fishing charter. We've done the half day tours with Captain Stacy's before and they are so much fun! However, seeings as I'm having a baby in a month, it may not be the wisest thing to be 20 miles from shore! We had also planned on going to the newly remodeled aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. Captain Stacy's was not having 1/2 day charters tomorrow, and the cheapest rooms we could find that were half way decent were $125/night :0(- ridiculous prices for the off season, but most of the cheaper hotels were closed for the season. Upon arriving at the Oceana pier we found Dad and Chris exhausted and sunburnt. In fact Chris was asleep on a bench- Elton shook him and said "Hey boy you're in my seat, hey I said get up!" Typical Chris would have gotten up swinging, but poor thing he was like "huh? whats going on???" Too much sun and too little sleep! We hung out on the pier for a while, but the wind was blowing and the fishing was bad. In fact they hadn't been catching anything but sharks. We played on the beach for a couple hours and had a ball- the kids had a great time- especially Brianna. We had to admire every shell on the beach!
We decided just to come home. I think Dad was VERY relieved that Chris was ready to go home- he would have just sucked it up and suffered... Katherine & Chris rode home with Grandpa. They're spending the night and going to the lake tomorrow. Elton, Bri, & I stopped at The Channel Marker (restaurant) on the way home. Elton loves seafood, but I hate it and he rarely gets to eat it. He LOVED his oysters and flounder, and Bri was scarfing down her spaghetti! I had a stuffed baked potato and some french onion soup au gratin. It was decent- certainly nothing to write home about. I'd have been happier with Taco Bell, but they enjoyed it, and the atmosphere was nice, we ate outside, overlooking the sound. It was dark by then, but the lights across the sound were beautiful. I tried to stay awake on the way home and keep Elton company (it was almost midnight when we got home) but that of course was futile, I think I only napped about 1/2 an hour though, then Tracy called and the phone woke me up. Now its 1:30 am and I am wide awake- thanks to my "power nap" ;0) I wish the beach trip would have worked out the way we wanted, but we still had a really good time. I am so happy to be sleeping in my own bed though! ;0)

Spring has sprung!

It's been a pretty laid back week- just staying around the house. Wish I could say that I've been super productive but I haven't. Nesting hormones have slackened off considerably. Either that or my overwhelming tiredness is getting the best of me. I'm good for a few frenzied hours a day. Tuesday I cleaned the house, washed and vaccumed out the van, pulled out both of Bri's car seats, washed the fabric covers, and the plastic frames. Such a disgusting assortment of old french fries and candies make their way under the cushions! UGH! Dr's appt. Wed. Just a normal checkup (Yeah!) Figured that he would want to do an internal- but he didn't mention it. Hate these weekly appointments. Only 34 days to go! Elton swears I won't make it that far, and Janet told me today that she thought the baby had dropped. We'll just have to wait and see I guess. I packed my hospital bag this week. Better safe than sorry I guess. One more thing checked off my list! Today we FINALLY put the border up in Brianna's room, it looks really good. Will try to post some pics tomorrow. She's quite proud of her big girl room and requested that I photograph it! ;0) She is too cute! We also put up the border I salvaged from disassembling the family room. We put it in the hallway and the one wall in our room that doesn't have pine paneling. I really love the border, and it seemed like a shame just to waste it. Dad and Chris are fishing at the beach, C. called tonight and said that they had caught some sharks, skates, and mullet. Fishing must be pretty good to keep his interest this long. Hopefully tomorrow we can tackle the mouldings in the downstairs guest bathroom. Trying to get everything right before the baby shower- running out of time- its next Sat. Doris is in the hospital- not really sure why. Guess she either took too many sleeping pills or had a bad reaction to them (new prescription) she's been kind of out of it ever since we got home from VA. The girls and I went to go visit her Sunday, Elton and Chris were working on Dad and Janet's bathroom remodel project. She seemed o.k. just kind of lethargic. Apparently the sleeping pills have affected her kidneys, but the Dr. seems to think the situation will right itself. She told Elton on the phone today to buy a baby shower present and take the money out of her bank account, she didn't think she would be able to make it to the shower. I wonder if she realizes that its 8 days away, E. seemed to think she understood that. Very odd behavior... I was supposed to take her to a baby shower in Goldsboro this weekend- perhaps she had it mixed up with that... Katherine has been quite the social butterfly this past week- spent 2 nights at Brianna McLawhorns, then a night at Graison's, then Graison spent the night with us, then she spent the night at Micahlynn's, now Micahlynn is spending the night with us. She loves it though, and Brianna loves it when sissy has friends over, but I know K. has to be exhausted- she hasn't had a decent nights sleep in almost a week! Oh well, it is Spring Break! Speaking of spring, we had a beautiful day today. Such a nice change after all the rain and clouds we've been having for the past two weeks. Sunny, 70's, not a cloud in the sky. We had one of the prettiest skies I've ever seen- a brilliant shade of blue. We spent quite a bit of time sitting out on the deck enjoying the weather. Brianna LOVES to play outside, so she was in 7th heaven. Dogwoods are blooming, so are the azaleas, and wisteria. The pecan trees in the backyard began showing some green today. They are always so slow to leaf, and they're one of my favorite trees. I just wish they would produce more- had a great harvest 3 years ago, but the last 2 years have been pathetic. So much for the one good year, one bad year saying...

Shawn Thomas's Nursery!


I've been slack about blogging the past few days- I have spent the past 4 painting Shawn's nursery. I'm so happy that it is finally done and am soooooo happy with the results! My friend Cathy finished the Baby Shower invitations, Tracy has them and is going to bring them by tomorrow so I can check them out, and give her the address list. Updated my Target registry this afternoon. Only 40 more days until the baby makes his appearance. Still hoping for May 11th. I think it would be cool to have babies born on Valentines Day, Halloween, and Mothers Day (even if the day does change every year.) It was also my Grandmother's B-day. :0) Speaking of Grandmother's- my dad told me today that my shower will be on what would be my other Grandmother's 101st B-day. How cool is that? Had every intention of finishing B's wallpaper today- didn't happen. Tomorrow is another day- really will feel better when that it done. It probably (hopefully) won't take too long- just need to do it I guess...

Nesting!

These nesting hormones are wonderful- I wish I could bottle them! I've been so productive since we've been home. I got Brianna and Shawn's closets cleaned out, took a trunkful to the Goodwill. Finished wallpapering B's room- still need to do the border, but with our 9 foot ceilings that is a two person job and I'm waiting on Elton... Finally started the paintings in the nursery. I'm so obsessed with Fisher Price's Animals of the Rainforest- I've bought or have registered for just about every single thing they make! Elton drew 2 palm trees on the walls, and I painted them. We borrowed an overhead projector from Dad's office, and we put a giraffe and a tiger on the wall. Tomorrow we'll do the parrot, the frog, and the monkeys. I was so nervous about how it was going to turn out, but so far I LOVE it! It is very time consuming though. Definatly back in the real world- football practices, Girl Scouts, taking Chris lunch money (3rd time I've had to do that this year- next time he forgets to tell me his account is empty he better fast and pray!), running other errands. So glad Cheerleading is over! Dr's appointment tomorrow afternoon- only 6 more weeks to go! Will post some nursery pics soon!