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!