Zune

John's parents got me a "Zune" for Christmas. What is this you ask? It's some kind of mp3 player that plays songs, videos,and you can store your pictures on it. It's similar to the ipod concept except you pay a monthly fee of $14.99 and get unlimited downloads---which is SO much better than paying a dollar a song. You just download whatever you want and as long as you have the membership, you can play them on your Zune. You can also purchase songs to keep forever (for 79 cents a song and as low as $8 an album) You get to 'keep' 10 songs a month to your permanent list. So in other words, it's like you're buying a cd every month to keep forever and you also get to download whatever you want as long as you have the membership. The awesome thing is that the monthly fee pays for up to 4 zune devices. John's mom and dad got one and they got one for me and John's brother. They're paying the fee so that's even awesomer! (did I just write 'awesomer'?) I know I sound like a kid over this, but I'm really excited. I had an mp3 player but it bit the bucket this summer and I've been lost without getting to listen to my music. So, I've been on this website and I'm trying to see what I want to put on my Zune and I've been out of the loop on good music since I've had kids. I'm totally unaware of anything new within the past probably 6 years or so. I've mostly listened to Sarah McLachlan, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews within the past 10 years. I need your help. I like a variety of music as long as it's not death metal or old whiny country. Other than that, I'm up for just some good tunes and good bands. I learn about a few artists from songs heard on One Tree Hill, the Hills, and Grey's Anatomy. The songs I've downloaded the lastest Coldplay album, OneRepublic, and songs by Brooke Fraser (I just found out about her). What do you advise? I'm telling you, I need some help! I need some "MUST HAVES" dating anywhere from the 20s until now!

15 Random Things I've Realized/Thought Lately

1. The "Santa Baby" song we are probably familiar with is sung by Madonna.

2. I long for alone time but when I get it, I feel uncomfortable with silence. I get ansy and just want to call someone or have company over. I'm just now realizing this about myself. Wow.

3. The correct way to spell what we call "Pedifores" is "Petit Fours" and it means "little ovens".

4. Why do you hear of SO many marriages breaking up around the holidays? Isn't that the happiest time of the year?

5. I don't take enough pictures of Ava.

6. There's a little voice in my head that gives me this weird feeling when I'm about to take on too much. Then, when I do it anyways,things go wrong and I lose things and I get all stressed out. I think that little voice is the Holy Spirit! :)

7. I can still do my Britany Spears inpersonation....vocally that is;
I do NOT have her moves.

8. Black Friday has gotten out of control. People are shooting each other in Toys R Us and trampling people to death just to shop early for Christmas? Seriously?

9. Taking your little girl's 9 month old Christmas dress and adding black leggings saves money and makes a cute outfit!

10. Clay Aiken has a baby? I am just learning of this......

11. Bonnie and Ava's kids will be my grandkids.....crazy to think about if you sit
and think about it. I wonder what it will be like?

13. I've never seen "It's a Wonderful Life."

14. We are SO blessed.

15. "Baby It's Cold Outside" is such a cute little song! Anybody up for a duet?

The Mom Test

The Mom Test:
I was out walking with my 4 year old daughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that. 'Why?' my daughter asked. 'Because it's been o n the ground, you don't know where it's been, it's dirty, and probably has germs.' I replied.
At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, 'Momma, how do you know all this stuff, you are so smart?' I was thinking quickly. 'All moms know this stuff. It's o n the Mom Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mom.'
We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information. 'OHHH. . . I get it!' She beamed, 'So if you don't pass the test you have to be the dad?'
'Exactly' I replied back with a big smile on my face.

I thought some of you might enjoy this email I just received!!

Snow White and Sleepy the 'Dorf' (as Bonnie called her)

The Beginning of the Night



The End of the Night

Pay it Forward

I got involved in this little fun game from www.a1sweetlife.blogspot.com


THE RULES: The main focus is doing an act of kindness without expecting anything in return other than that the recipient will, in their turn, pass the kindness along and pay it forward. I will send a small, fun gift to the first 3 bloggers who post a comment on this entry. In turn, those three will post this information and pick 3 people they want to send something to and then the game will continue!! If you are interested in participating, be one of the first 3 bloggers to leave a comment!! The little something you send can be something you made, bought, were given or found, anything you want!! Just a gift that will make the person's day!! You have to promise that you will then post about this on your blog, link back to me, and then send something to the first three people who sign up to play along through your blog. Doesn't this sound like fun!!??

Responsibilities

I don't want Bonnie to be one of those kids who thinks that money grows on trees and that she can have whatever she wants whenever she wants it. I think those principles need to be taught early. We already live in what I call an 'instant society' with everything being so accessible. We have instant food, instant text messaging, ATMs, etc. etc. The thing that gets me is that when you make a trip to a public restroom, a machine flushes the toilet for you, dispenses instant soap, turns the water on for you, and gives you a paper towel at the wave of a hand. It seems like we don't have to do anything anymore for ourselves!!! It's all wonderfully convenient but I think we're raising a lazy, impatient society!

Anyways, I think Bonnie's ready to have some responsibilities around the house. Last year, when she helped me do something around the house I gave her a penny, dime, quarter.....whatever coin I happened to find first. Sometimes she made a lot for the chore she did. Other times, she just got a penny but it didn't matter to her. She doesn't know the value of the coins and she just wanted to get one to put in her piggy bank. Poor thing!

I want Bonnie to earn a little allowance and learn that we give part of it to God. I usually give her all of the change from my wallet to put in the plate but I think she's old enough to teach her that we give part of our money to God each week. She puts her "money to help the people" in the plate and is so glad to do so. Yesterday, I only had a dime in my wallet and she took it and held onto it until that plate came around!!! Well, actually, she dropped it in the floor at one point and had it almost in her mouth at another point but it made it into the plate when it came around! :)


I just wonder what I could put on her job chart. I don't know if I'm gonna give her daily jobs or weekly jobs or what. Anybody got any ideas on some good jobs for an almost 3 year old? Here's what I've come up with so far:

1. Help me throw the washed clothes into the dryer.
2. Take her clothes and put them away in her drawers (She started doing this on her own)
3. Wash off the table after dinner with a washcloth.
4. Clean up her playroom.
5. Set the table.
6. Pull weeds (just kidding--although she'd love it)

Anybody got any ideas that they've used with their kids or any other advice on the matter?

Overwhelmed Mom Forever Changed (Long Post)

Did any of you see Oprah on Wednesday? I usually just check the Tivo to see if anything interesting is on her show and only watch the good ones. My life was forever changed after that episode.

Oprah said something like, "If you are overwhelmed mom and are watching this show, you're doing so for a reason. This is a reminder to Sllloooowwww Dooowwwnnn"

Does anyone remember this story about a year ago?

A mother of two little girls was the vice principal of a school and the dad always took the girls to preschool and the sitter's house. On this particular morning, she was out of her routine. The dad had a dentist appointment and the mom had to take the 2 year old to the sitter. She left her house about 6 that morning and drove down the road and realized that it was too early to drop the little girl off. Cecelia was sound asleep in the car. She went on to the bakery like she always does to get doughnuts for the teachers. She pulled in the parking lot of the school, unloaded her car, and went inside. Throughout the day, she talked about her girls like normal and just went through her day. That afternoon, she decided to leave early and announced over the loudspeaker that she was leaving and shortly afterwards a co-worker of hers went into her office and said, "Brenda, your baby is in the car. Did you pick her up earlier this afternoon?" Brenda said, "No" and she realized what she had done and ran outside with no shoes on and opened the car. She said she jerked her little girl out so fast that the carseat came with her. She was screaming and running around with her and a crowd was gathered around her. She said she knew her little girl was gone when she saw her. She had accidentally left her in the hot car for 8 hours that day and little Cecelia died of a heat stroke.

Visions of this incident have been haunting me. I think, "How long was she in there before she woke up?" "What was she thinking when she couldn't get out of her carseat?".."Did she call for her mommy?"..etc. etc....My heart breaks for this family and sweet precious child. I just kept thinking about my sweet Bonnie because Cecelia was her age. I would just die if something happened to one of my baby girls.

I have been sick to my stomach since I watched this show. I cried the entire time. I cried on the way to church Wednesday night and off and on during Peak of the Week. I cried last night. I can't get this story out of my head.

You may be thinking, "Oh, my goodness......I would NEVER do that" and I hope and pray that none of us EVER go through what this mom and dad are going through, BUT I've been there and am there now-----where Brenda was in her head around the time this happened. She was talking about how she always tried to be everything to everybody....she wanted to be supermom.....she was always trying to multi-task....she was tired....and just ran around in circles all day trying to get stuff done. This could happen to anyone. When Bonnie was about 6-8 weeks old I guess, I took her in the car to drop something off at the accountant's office for John's mom and completely forgot I had a child. I was tired, busy, and Bonnie was sound asleep in the car not making a sound and I was not used to having a child with me. I just parked, got out, and walked inside for just a few minutes (I should add) and then I realized, OH my goodness, Bonnie's in the car. I forgot I had a child! I have driven down the road and forgot to strap Bonnie in the carseat. I did it the other day with Ava. You just get so wrapped up in everything all at once that you get sidetracked. I accidentally threw away a $250 check the day before yesterday just trying to straighten everything up. About a month ago, I started running the water in the utility sink to soak some clothes and I was just gonna go back in there after a few minutes and turn it off and I got distracted and took a shower, got ready, and fed Ava. About 40 minutes passed and my laundry room and closet was flooded up to the wood floors of the hallway and I had to call John home from work with a shop vac to rescue me.

A man came on the Oprah show later in the episode and said that the reason we feel like we have to do everything is because we have a lot of things and activities that we CAN do and somehow we translate that into things that we HAVE TO DO. No more, girls. This is a wake-up call. We have to slow down and realize that everything doesn't have to get done. Laundry will wait a day. Dishes will wait a day. Driving fast trying to get somewhere on time isn't worth it. Texting or putting on make-up while driving with kids in the car is insane. You don't have to check your email, Facebook, or Blogs every few hours to see who's updated their status or posted new pictures. It just doesn't matter. I have made things priorities that don't even matter. I will never forget this woman. I'm sure I will slip back into taking life for granted many times, but I'm gonna do my best to slow down and put the attention of my children and family at the top of my priority list.

Bonnie has been acting horrible lately---all last week she was having meltdowns, temper tantrums, and crying fits. She has refused to obey me all day long. She pinches me and sings in her loudest highest pitch Bonnie voice when I'm on the phone. I feel like I'm yelling at her all day long and I'm mentally and emotionally exhausted. It's affecting everything including my marriage because I'm not taking care of me. I want to be the perfect wife, mother, and friend, look perfect, keep the house perfect, and have perfectly behaved, well-rounded darling children. No, not really---I know that's not realistic, but you get my drift. Sometimes I get scared about what the future will bring and I'm afraid of making the same mistakes with my children as my parents did with me and my sister. I'm trying to teach Bonnie that it's okay to make mistakes. I need to remember that myself. Maybe it would help me to understand that I don't have to get "it" all done everyday--whatever "it" may be. One funny story: I keep telling her that when she acts ugly it makes mommy, daddy, and God sad and that we have to try to do the right thing and obey but that we mess up sometimes and just have to try to do better and ask God to help us do better. She said, "Yeah, we mess up our rooms and then everything's all messy like our toys are everywhere!" I changed "we all mess up" to "we all make mistakes" after that conversation! :)

Yesterday morning, I tried to do just that: "do better". I decided not to answer the phone or check email or anything and cook beef stew with Bonnie. Ava took a nap and I let Bonnie put all of the chopped vegetables in the pot. She used a carrot to 'stir' the vegetables. She called it "Beef Stang". I think she heard me wrong! :) We both had on our aprons and she had her own little step stool. I created a playlist of her favorite pop/oldie songs on myplaylist.com and hit play. The hits included songs like "Ring of Fire", "Bubbly" "Say" and her favorite "Funkytown". I had so much fun singing with her and cooking with her and I did not have one behavioral problem out of her yesterday. She is starving for my attention and I'm not giving her what she needs. I'm gonna work really hard to do special things with her often. I never realized how hard it is after the 2nd one comes along. It's hard to juggle everything but these days will be over before we know it and they'll be in school. I want to breathe in every moment with my girls. I realize how many times God has protected me from something tragic happening because I haven't been focused. Let's all just try to "do better" and not get so overwhelmed and discouraged. Maybe you all don't struggle with that, but it's a big struggle of mine. Thanks for listening (or reading that is).

"Um...mom? This isn't a bathtub."

Bonnie's 1st day at Early Arts Preschool

I can't believe Bonnie has started to preschool already! She was so excited and just walked in with one of the teachers and didn't look back--kind of made me sad that she's so independent now. They told us that they didn't want us walking them in due to traffic and parking issues, so I followed the rules. After I let her out, I took a picture of her walking in and noticed that another mom had walked her child in and I felt like a bad mom for half a sec. for following the rules instead of walking my baby in for her first day. Oh well.....I had a hard time going to sleep last night because I was a little anxious. I didn't cry although it would have been okay if I had I guess. I took her backpack and lunchbox shopping yesterday--just me and her. I found her backpack at Walmart for $5.00! It may not last us all year for that bargain! After going 3 places, this is the one we decided to get and it was the smallest one they had! It's as big as she is! She needed one to put her artwork and stuff in so it had to be a little big. She looked hilarious walking in lugging that thing behind her! I felt a little empty while she was gone but I got some stuff done for John so it was a pretty productive half-day!

Church Visiting Experience

I've been meaning to blog about this a while but haven't gotten the chance to so here goes:

A few Sundays ago, John's entire family on his dad's side(minus 2)got together for the weekend. We all went to church that Sunday with Memaw at Jackson Heights. She had 18 visitors with her and we filled up 2 rows! I told her she should've gotten a sticker for the most visitors like kids get at vacation bible school! Anyways, Bonnie is usually good in church but this particular Sunday, she was acting up. I was trying to let her look at a book and I was gonna turn a page for her or something and she got mad and tore the page and was starting to be really defiant. I was so MAD and embarrassed! I jerked her up to take her out and was trying to get out of the pew holding her on one hip and the massive diaper bag on the other shoulder--trying not to hit the person's head in front of me with the bag. I don't know why I even brought the diaper bag with me to take her out. I guess I was confused at which kid I had with me. As I picked her up and put her on my hip, I noticed that she had snuck and put her Elmo pajama shorts on under her dress before we left. Oh well. It was pretty funny to see but I had to stay focused--she was getting a spanking for acting so ugly. So I walk down the stairs trying not to stomp b/c I was so mad at her. I had on 2 1/2 inch heels(first time I'd worn them in a year)and felt like with every step I took, everybody could hear the clunk clunk of them trying to get her down the stairs and to the bathroom so I could spank her.

I got to the bathroom that was in front of the auditorium (the only one I know of) and I see this sign immediately as I go in the door:


I think I said out loud: "Are you seriously kidding me?!!!!???!!!!???!!!" Oh my goodness. Now I couldn't even spank her....where else was I gonna go. I should have gone in the auditorium and interrupted the preacher and asked them where the elders suggested that I go to spank my child in this building. Just kidding... I could've taken her outside but the doors to the church are on a main road and I didn't think I should take her out front and spank her on the steps! :) I calmed down and just talked to Bonnie sternly and thought, 'I've got to take a picture of this sign and blog about it. It's just too hilarious not to.' So, I had my camera in the diaper bag and looked around to make sure nobody was gonna walk in and then a lady did! I held on to it for a few seconds until she got in the stall and then I got the camera ready fast and snapped a picture and RAN out of there. Man, if she heard the camera or saw the flash, I'm sure she was freaking out at who was taking a picture in the women's bathroom! I guess she'll never know.

I talked to the preacher afterwards and we laughed about the sign. I know him well enough to kid about it for those of you who are thinking 'I can't believe she talked to the preacher about it'. I was like, "Where am I supposed to spank my unruly child during church?" It was a pretty funny day! I'm sure God knew that sign would bring a little laughter into the situation so that I wouldn't be too hard on Bonnie!

Just giving you new moms something to look forward to. Man, it's so hard not to laugh when you're having to discipline....I've got some stories about that for another time...................

2 month shots and checkup

The first picture is of Ava after I undressed her and we were waiting on the nurse. The second picture is after I told her why she was there today.

My poor sweet little Ava had her 1st shots today--3 in her little thighs! She cried the most pityful cry, but she's not the breath-holder like Bonnie was, thank goodness! She's been sleeping almost all day and is okay until I change her diaper and I have to move her little legs. They must be really sore! They also gave her another vaccination by mouth for rotovirus. It's a relatively new (2 years) vaccine and I'm glad they have it b/c it would be awful if she got that!

She weighed 9 pounds 2 ounces and is in the 10th percentile. She is 21 1/2 inches long (25th percentile) and her head circumference is 14. She didn't even make the chart for that but John's mom has a little head and so does Bonnie, so nothing to worry about there. She's growing every day and beginning to notice more. She smiles now and Bonnie just absolutely loves it when she smiles at her. Bonnie went up to Ava's carrier when we got back from the doctor and she said, "It's okay Ava. I'm here." I could cry just thinking about it! Bonnie really cares for Ava and she's starting to be a little mommy to her. We have not had any scary raisin incidents lately or anything else potentially dangerous--I'm relaxing a bit more although I don't leave them alone together if I can help it. Bonnie hasn't been given raisins to eat since then--I probably should give her back her raisin privileges (with supervision of course!)

Here are some more pictures from today:

Sleeping through the night!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ava has slept through the night for the past 3 nights! I've been afraid to say anything about it in fears that I may be jinxed! (is that how you spell that?) This is how I found her yesterday morning at 5:30 a.m. Her little gown was all the way up to her belly!


She has eaten around 10:30 or 11 p.m. and slept until around 5:30 a.m. Although this is SO early for me to get up, I still consider it sleeping through the night! She goes right back to sleep after she eats too for another 2-3 hours. We are so blessed. The only downfall is feeling so engorged by morning. Hopefully, my body will adjust to a new schedule and this will pass. Bonnie slept through the night at 7 weeks too. I was hoping Ava would do the same but I didn't want to ask for too much! I'm so excited and hope this continues!

Things you'll do when you're sleep deprived with a newborn

I am trying to really multi-task these days. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything that needs to be done. I'm trying to be a mother to a 2 year old and a newborn, a wife, and pick out all of the stuff for John's next house he's working on. He is putting it in the Parade of Homes in October and it's GOT to be done! I've got to decide on tile by tomorrow and do a biography write up for John to put in the Parade of Homes booklet. I'm SO busy I can't think straight sometimes. I didn't eat until 1 today! But, I really do better when I keep busy. I don't think I've cooked all week (except for Bunco) but my family has been eating leftovers all week! I don't cook again usually unless all of the leftovers are gone. I hate wasting food! John asked me this morning what we were doing tonight. I told him, "Going out to eat!" John said, "Good...and going to bed at 8:30?" He is exhausted too.I am SOOO tired today!

I think I stayed up all night last night. The other night, Ava slept for 6 hours before waking up to eat. I was so excited. Bonnie started sleeping through the night at 7 weeks so I'm hoping Ava will follow in her footsteps. I think I got my hopes up a little too soon b/c last night, she woke up about every 2 hours to eat. Maybe she's going through a growth spurt? Anyways, I was up a lot. When I have laundry to do, I usually put in a load before I go to bed. That way the washing machine can do the work while I'm sleeping. When I get up sometime in the night to feed Ava or pump, I put that load in the dryer and do another load. Great multi-tasking, right? Last night, I went to put Ava's and Bonnie's clothes in the dryer and I felt something really squishy and nasty on the clothes. I looked and thought, "Oh my goodness. I have washed one of those disposable breast pads and it has busted all over the clothes." You see, I actually did that 3 days ago. I guess I put my nursing bra in to wash and forgot to throw the pads away. Well, that's not even what happened this time. I actually washed on of Bonnie's Pull-ups! The gooey stuff inside the Pull-up that absorbs the pee had busted out and got all inside the washing machine and all over the clothes. I had to take each garmet and rinse it thoroughly in the utility sink and then run an empty hot cycle in the washing machine to get all of the stuff out of it! Then, I had to rewash the clothes. I HAD to go ahead and wash them again b/c Bonnie was completely out of clean panties. She would have freaked out if she didn't have any of her 'special big-girl-panties' to wear when she woke up this morning. She's completely potty trained now by the way! YAY!! I think the whole washing process took about an hour, no lie! Just be careful when you're tired and trying to do something productive when you've had no sleep! Since I was up, I went ahead and washed the dishes in the sink too. I seriously think I stayed up all night! John took Bonnie to Heather's house (my sister) and let her play with John-Parker and I slept until 1. I'm feeling a little more revived now!

Oh, and just another little 'funny' about Bonnie:

Yesterday, Heather called and I let Bonnie answer the phone. I'm assuming Heather asked Bonnie what mommy was doing b/c Bonnie said, "Um....she's pumping her breasts and then she's feeding Ava!" She knows that they're called breasts or boobs b/c I had to tell her when she asked. I also was just honest with her about pumping b/c I thought it's better to tell her in a mature, age appropriate way that mommy's make milk for their babies to eat and that I had to pump mine out to feed to baby Ava. I'm really nervous about the other conversations I'm gonna have to have with her along the road...seriously...VERY nervous! Let me tell you: When they say that "kids are like sponges" and "they repeat everything they hear" and "out of the mouth of babes", they are RIGHT!

Ava at 6 weeks old

Ava will actually be 7 weeks old on Thursday but I'm just now getting a picture posted from last week. My camera or computer has been doing something weird when I try to upload my pictures and this afternoon, I actually lost almost all of the ones I'd taken and not uploaded (about 2 weeks worth). I was so upset about it but I'm trying to remain calm b/c there's nothing I can do to get the pictures back. Anyway, here's the one picture I got of her. She is changing so quickly. I need to make sure I take lots of pictures of her each week. It's hard to do that with the 2nd one!

Mommy your belly's big and mine is 'yittle'

Yep...that's what Bonnie said to me yesterday after I couldn't find any pants to wear to church. Stupid me goes out last week a(only 5 weeks postpartum)and buys 2 bathing suits and takes them home to try them on. One of them made me look like a big fat hoochie mama. The other one was so tight that when I finally got it on, I couldn't get it off. I thought I was gonna have to wake John up to help me remove the thing plastered to my thighs. It was so low cut that the bottom of the cut in between my boobs went almost to my belly button. Is that the style these days? Oh, and for those of you who are wondering why in the world I even bought a bathing suit: Bonnie is swimming by herself now and I want to swim with her. I haven't gotten to do that yet. I think it's a t-shirt and shirts for the remainder of swimming season! Who cares! Anyways, I had lost 13 pounds within 2 weeks from coming home from the hospital and now I've gained 6 of it back. I'm starving when I am breastfeeding and I crave sweets like no tomorrow. I made a blueberry cobbler and a banana pudding within 24 hours of each other! I've got to get some self-control. My ultimate weight loss goal is 30-40 pounds but I think 25-30 is more realistic. I am now 40 pounds heavier than the day we got married. UGGHHH! Patience, patience, Scarlett.

Last week after girls night out, I went to Target and bought a Wii! We didn't want to wait until Christmas to get one. We haven't bought each other presents for birthdays or Mother's Day/Father's Day because of the new house, so I thought this purchase was justified. I've been waiting ever since to get a Wii Fit so that I can work all of this baby fat off. They are sold out everywhere in the United States and online because they can't make them fast enough. They are $89.99 which is cheap for an exercise program. The guy at GameStop in the mall told me to call every day from 11-1 to see if they have gotten a shipment. He said that we could call and there'd be one and by the time we got there it would be gone! So, Monday I called them and they had one in and they DID. I told them my husband would be there in 5 minutes and I called John and told him to go to the mall. Well, we got one and I LOVE it! I've been hula hooping and jogging and can tell it's really working my body. The Wii Fit weighs you and keeps up with your progress on a chart. It's really neat to see it. It encourages you on the screen to keep it up....I just love it! I can't wait to see if I lose weight this way. If I take the time to do it every day, I know I will! It will be easier and cheaper than getting a membership to the YMCA and lugging 2 kids there just to exercise for 30 minutes to an hour!

John sold his first home!

Yesterday at 5:00 p.m., John closed on his first house! Actually, our house was the first one he built, but we didn't see profits from that one! HA! It's different because it's the first one he's sold. I am SO proud of him and his accomplishments. Tonight, we're going out to celebrate. He has been working so hard and it's really been worth it. I forget to tell him how much he means to me and how much I admire him as a husband, father, and businessman. You know, you get so busy being a mom that you forget that they have crazy stuff going on with their jobs too. I need to try to ask him how his day has gone more often. He comes home and I'm so frustrated about my day that I forget about him. It's hard to balance everything. I feel like I'm juggling 1000 things these day! Through it all, I know I am so blessed! The house he's working on now does not have a buyer yet, so I will be picking out the stuff for it. I know it will be a LOT easier then when I picked out stuff for our house. I made big deals out of things that were SO NOT big deals. If anybody knows of anyone looking for a new home and wants to be my neighbor, send them our way!

Diaper Surprise

Today, Ava had a major blowout--something she's great at these days. I changed her diaper and found what appears to be a raisin. I'm assuming that Bonnie gave her a raisin and had to have forced it down her mouth. I can't figure out any other reason that she'd having something like that in her diaper. I thought about posting a photo but didn't want to gross y'all out. I thought maybe Bonnie took her raisins and dumped one into the pack and play that has a spot for Ava's diapers and that maybe one of them fell into a diaper and I just didn't notice it until I changed her. However, it definitely looked like it had to have gone through her system. I've told Bonnie a hundred times that Ava can't have anything to eat or drink until she's older except for mommy's milk. She knows that. I just don't know what to think. I'm a nervous wreck now. She's fine so that's all that matters, but she could've choked on it! John said I could take it to Dr. Freeman to make sure it was a raisin, but I think he'd laugh at me for doing that. I guess I can't even go to the bathroom and leave Bonnie alone with Ava. Bonnie's napping now, so when she wakes up, I'm gonna ask her about it. What am I gonna do? Lug Ava around with me ALL DAY LONG? Ava has been fussy lately....this could explain it. Poor thing, her little bootie hole is not even as big as a raisin. I bet she was in awful pain trying to get that thing out! She's sleeping calmly now and hasn't been as fussy since she pooped. Go figure.

Blog Security

After watching Dr. Phil's show the other day about child abductions, I have gotten a little freaked out about having my whole family with their names and photos on my blog. I just don't have a lot of faith in the motives of the people in this world these days, so I'm making my blog more secure. Email me at: 2littleblessings@gmail.com (my alternate email address that I use for sign-ups,junk email, and catalogs) if you wish to keep reading it and if I know you or know you through somebody I trust, I'll give you access to my blog. I've tried to add my readers' email addresses that I already know, so you may not have to do anything else to read the blog.....I may have forgotten somebody unintentionally.

Rockabye Baby.....or something else

I've got so much to say but no time for that post yet......I thought I'd leave you with a picture of Bonnie to laugh at in the meantime. A few days after we came home with Ava from the hospital, I saw Bonnie rocking something in her arms. She was standing up holding a lap pad(for changing babies' diapers)that was all wrapped up around something. She was singing "Rockabye Baby" and swaying back and forth. I thought she had one of her little baby dolls in it. Nope! I peeled back the wrapped up lap pad and she was rocking........get this: a remote control! It was so hilarious! I grabbed the camera and made her say cheese so I could capture the moment!

4th of July Fun

The first picture is my newest favorite picture of the girls. We had John's company's 4th of July picnic on Thursday and we all got dressed up for the occasion. I had John a red with blue stripes polo shirt laid out to wear, but he conveniently forgot to wear it. No, seriously...I really think he forgot, but he wasn't begging to change clothes once we got there! Oh Well! We got a candid shot....I guess we're gonna have a lot of those. I'm gonna have to get used to not having those posed family pictures for a while, but the candid shots make for the memories, right? Bonnie was looking away with her finger in front of her mouth and Ava was making an Elvis lip face. How funny! I hope everyone had a good and safe 4th of July! We just rested inside as usual!

The Story of Ava....longest post ever

Hello all! I'm a little behind posting this, but you understand..........It's been a week now since this wonderful experience.

Wednesday night, June 18th I went just about crazy trying to decide whether or not to let Dr. Woodford induce me or not the next morning. He was going to be going out of town for the weekend and I KNEW I was gonna have my baby before then or when he'd be gone, so I cried about it, had anxiety about it, debated, etc. and decided to let him induce me. If I chickened out the next morning, that was okay too.

John's parents came in town about 7:00 p.m. that night. They came to pick Bonnie up around 9:00 that evening to spend the night. John and I went on a short walk while I freaked out about being induced. We came in; I called John's cousin Jennifer and talked to her about it and had just said a few minutes prior, " I don't want to have to make that decision about whether or not to be induced. I shouldn't have to decide that....I want Dr. Woodford to deliver my baby and I know if he doesn't induce me in the morning, I'll have to let a doctor I've never seen deliver the baby. I just want to go into labor on my own. God knows me and knows I have trouble making the smallest of decisions. I can't decide this....." I promise you a few minutes later while Jen was still on the phone, my water broke at 10:30 p.m. while I was sitting in the chair and a half! :) We went ahead and went to the hospital to make sure it was amniotic fluid that I had lost, and they checked and came back in and said, "Yep....you're not going anywhere!"

I kept staying at 6-7 cm. dilated for FOREVER!!!! They gave me multiple rounds of Pitocin to try to get my contractions regular and finally, I progressed a little. They had to sit me up to try to get the baby's head to come down b/c she was trying to go back up! That made the epidural medicine run mainly to the nerves in my toes and legs. I started feeling contractions and they were so hard and came every 30 seconds. The epidural guy had to come back in there and give me a mega dose of the stuff to get me through the rest of the delivery. I was thinking, 'There's no way I should have to breathe through these contractions when I've already had the epidural'. It took some of the pain away so that was good, but it was not the total bliss like I had with Bonnie. Then the power at the hospital went out and was out for a couple of hours and they had to run on the generator. So, there was a little back light in the room. Dr. Woodford came in to check me and said I was FINALLY there. A nurse came in with the cart of equipment for the birth and said, "Well, I guess we will just have to get some candles and romantic music for this..." They had a flashlight that they were gonna have to hold up to me for Dr. Woodford to use. John said it looked like a regular flashlight that used D batteries and was not very big. Dr. Woodford stood in front of me and the lights mysteriously and miraculously just powered on like 2 huge spotlights. Dr. Woodford asked me, "Do you have some connections up there or something?" I was like WOW! Thank you God! I only had about 3 rounds of pushing lasting 10 minutes at the most! After 13 hours of labor, my little angel was born at 11:18 a.m. on Thursday, June 19th 2008. Dr. Woodford was so wrong when he said it would go faster and easier being already dilated so much before labor began! It was SO worth it! The little 'boy' I just KNEW I was having turned out to be a beautiful 6 lb. 12 ounce, 20 inch long little girl with black fuzz on her head, the chubbiest cheeks I've ever seen, and the most beautiful and perfect little body. She favors Bonnie but doesn't look exactly like her. She looked exactly like me when she came out. SCARY! She didn't have a name for a day, but I expected that would happen! It was either Hensley Grace, Morgan Hensley, Ava Hensley, or Claire Hensley. John won't do double names so Hensley Grace was out. I liked Ava and Claire but wasn't sure Claire was her first name. Mom suggested, "You could name her Ava Claire" I thought that was so cute, classic, and fit her appropriately. John was so tired from being up all night that he said he didn't want to make a decision until tomorrow, so I understood. A sleep deprived couple + major decision does not equal anything positive! :) The next morning, we decided on Ava Claire Thompson. Ava means "like a bird" or it's a derivative of Eve meaning "breath or life" Its Persian meaning is "voice and sound". Claire means "clear, bright, brilliant" Bonnie Elizabeth means "Beautiful; God's promise or consectrated to God" I love name meanings and names that sound classic and I think we have 2 winners that fit our girls perfectly.

Speaking of Bonnie...........she came into the labor and delivery remove as I was recovering and said very proudly, "I'm a big sister now! :)" She was extatic! She looked at Ava and said, "AWE....how cute!" Then after John unwrapped Ava for Bonnie to look at her, Bonnie pointed and said, "She's got one boob.....two boobs!" Oh my...are we in for something! Everybody laughed and of course we got it on video. The odd thing is that she has not made a huge deal out of me breastfeeding Ava. I thought she'd giggle or ask a lot of questions but she hasn't. I had told her when I was still pregnant that when the baby got here, Mommy's body would make special milk just for the baby to drink and that it couldn't have any food or anything else to eat or drink beside Mommy's milk until it got older. She understood as much as she was capable of doing. I'm sure the questions are just around the corner though!

Things have been going very well here with exception to being busy and tired. My physical recovery has been much better and less painful than when I had Bonnie. Ava is a dream baby who only sleeps and eats. I have trouble waking her to nurse which is hard sometimes. She went on a 4 1/2 hour stretch the other night b/c I didn't hear my alarm to wake her up to eat. That is SUCH a blessing. She might go longer but she's not supposed to go over 4 hours at the most without nursing. Bonnie has had some trouble transitioning. She loves Ava but she's really competing for attention and she gets bent out of shape over nothing, cries more often then usual, and is a whole lot louder than I remember her being before and my nerves can't handle it right now. I'm trying to spend as much individual time with her as I can, but it's hard. I missed Bonnie terribly while I was in the hospital and there have been times at home when I have wanted her to go away to visit someone else for a while. My nerves were really shot the first few days we were at home. I cried every day for the first 4 days of being home, but that has stopped now and I'm doing better. I love my little girls and am so glad Bonnie got a sister. We are truly blessed! I'll post more pictures soon.....gotta go now; Ava just had a major bootie explosion on me! Those of you nursing moms understand!

I am 4-5 Cm !

I'm 4-5 centimeters dilated! YEAH! Dr. Woodford said he could induce me in the morning if I wanted and that it would be easy to induce me b/c I'm so far along, but I really want things to happen naturally. However, he is going out of town on Friday for the weekend and Dr. Allen would have to deliver---I've met him one time,(at church) but have never seen him as my doctor, so that makes me a little nervous. I know he is a really nice man, but I don't know about his philosophies or whatever....I really think I'll have the baby today or tomorrow so it may not even be an issue at all anyway. I just feel comfortable with Dr. Woodford and know how he works so.......I don't know. He just said to come in when my contractions are 5-7 minutes apart, so that's what I'll do unless I decide to do the induction tomorrow morning. I'll keep y'all posted.........Oh, Dr. Woodford said my labor would probably go quicker and easier since I've progressed this far. That's always great news if that's the case! :)

Anticipation and the Waiting Game

Thanks everyone for your baby name inputs. We may have it narrowed down now. I hope that when we see this precious little angel we will automatically know for sure what its name is. I told John yesterday that we were gonna have this baby today or tomorrow and he said, "You don't know that for sure." Well, he's right but my body is definately getting ready and I'm pretty sure it's gonna be today or tomorrow. It is also a full moon today---supposedly more people go into labor and the crazies come into the emergency room on the full moon---. I go to the doctor at 9:40 this morning so if you don't hear back from me later on today, I may be in the hospital. I had halfway painful/uncomfortable contractions in the night that woke me up and they were exactly 10-11 minutes apart. That lasted from 3:41 until 5:15 or so and then I finally went back to sleep. It started again at 6 something this morning......pretty much: I didn't sleep hardly at all last night. I've decided I'm not gonna sleep until this baby comes (not by my own choice--I guess the baby has decided that for me). I just can't for some reason. So, we'll see what Dr. Woodford says this morning. Maybe I'm dilated to 4 or 5 already on my own before the real labor pains kick in. How awesome would that be!

John's parents were not gonna get to be here until the 25th at the earliest, but they're scared they're gonna miss it so they're flying in at 5:15 today in Huntsville. John's going to pick them up supposedly, but I really don't want him to go anywhere. If I call somebody around that time, answer your phone b/c I may need you to take me to the hospital! :)HA! Just kidding! He's probably gonna get somebody else to pick them up. Anyways, I'm getting really excited and trying not to be impatient. I can't wait to see my little baby! I'll let y'all know what Dr. Woodford says.........

Gotta have a baby's name ASAP!

Okay, so I just have this feeling that it's just gonna be just a few days before baby Thompson arrives. We MUST have a baby name narrowed down. I like having a unique name but one that's not so weird that it's made fun of or anything. I liked being the only Scarlett in the whole school. Bonnie's name is classic but not common......I like that. Anyways, John has trouble venturing outside the box, but he's trying. I just don't want our child to be the 9th person in its class with the same name like our generation of Courtney, Jennifer, Christy, David, Matt, etc.........love the names but you get the picture. I went to school with about 6-7 Courtneys! :) We also want a name that will sound appropriate for a baby, teenager, and grown up. John doesn't particularly like last names for first names, but it really just depends on the last name. We've looked into family names and definitely want to use the Hensley somewhere in there, so that helps some. The initials can't spell any cuss words or rhyme with any. John's Memaw that I'm so close to-----her maiden name was Tucker---NOT an option! John said they'd call him Mother Tucker! How wreched! Also, having taught preschool for 7 years really narrows down the list of names you'd NEVER name your kid! (I know---the list of possibilities is narrowing by the millisecond) John's full name is John Hensley Thompson. Mine is Scarlett Dawn (Wilkins) Thompson. Bonnie is Bonnie Elizabeth Thompson.

Here are the possibilities:

Boys: Jude Hensley (John has completely vetoed that one--he says it sounds
like "Jew" and is too hard to say.....whatever...Jude is
biblical and means "praise" or "thanks" LOVE IT but I'm trying
to grieve over that one!)
Ryan Hensley (Strong possibility...I just don't want the southern version of
the pronounciation)
Cade Hensley (John said last night he's leaning towards this one, but would
people say, "Kate"?)
Rhett Hensley (always loved that name--John says too much Gone with the
Wind, although that's not why I love it)
Samuel Hensley
Jacob Ryan or Jacob Hensley (Jacob is the #1 name though)
William Hensley (call him Will) (lots of Williams or derivatives in his family)
Ray Hensley (one of John's grandad's was Billy Ray)
Ethan Hensley (becoming pretty common)

Girls: Hensley Grace (Hensley for a first name for a girl?)
Kate Hensley
Morgan Grace (John's grandmother's maiden name is Morgan)
Ava Hensley (pretty common name now although I don't know of any Avas)
Claire Hensley
Caroline?
Eden Grace (I love it, but John doesn't)


HELP! What do y'all think? I need some other opinions. Please don't worry about hurting my feelings but any suggestions would help tremendously! :) Oh my goodness.....I'm afraid this baby's not gonna ever have a name! My mom works for the state at the Medicaid office and said there's someone on file somewhere that she ran across with the name "Nameless" I kid you not! Now, THAT is an option! :) AHHHHH!!!!

Insomnia Moment, Baby Update, and Liar Liar Pants on Fire

Not so moody anymore........I guess I just needed a cry! :) I am posting this at 4 in the morning though! The week I have the most going on and need the most rest is the time when my insomnia hits again. God has been preparing me for those sleepless nights coming up soon and I guess that's okay if it's really possible to 'prepare' yourself for that! :)

I went to the doctor Wedesday and I'm 2-3 cm dilated and 60-70% effaced. Dr. Woodford said it could be tomorrow or 2 weeks from now. No rush but I really am getting that feeling like I did with Bonnie that it's gonna be pretty soon--like no longer than a week from now. I just have to sing in a wedding Saturday and after that, any day will be fine. Please pray that I don't go into labor at the wedding. How funny or not so funny should I say that would be! The baby has dropped even lower now......I am definately waddling. It really feels like it's gonna fall out. Every few days Bonnie looks at me and asks, "Your baby's coming out now?" She's getting excited and she talks to the baby a lot and shows it the stuff that's gonna be it's. (Man I can't wait until I can stop saying "it" Is that even the way you write the posessive?) She points to stuff and says, "You see that, baby? That's your sock monkey and that one is mine." Man I love her! :) She's hilarious!

Oh, speaking of my hilarious, sweet, precious little angel, Bonnie told her first flat-out lie yesterday. I was hoping she'd wait another year or two to do that but oh well. We made 7 stepping stones for John for Father's Day yesterday---I know--crazy idea but they turned out so cute! John's Memaw helped and she took Bonnie inside afterwards and gave her a bath. When John came home from work, I was exhausted and decided to take a hot 'coozie' bath (as Bonnie calls it). Bonnie came in there shortly after she realized the water was running and took her clothes off and I told her that I was gonna take a bath by myself for once. I said, "You have already taken a bath. Didn't Memaw give you a bath already?" She looked at me dead in the face and said plainly, "No, Memaw did NOT give me a bath." I just looked at her with that disappointed mom look and said, "Bonnie......tell me the truth (as if she actually can comprehend that word at her age).....did Memaw give you a bath today?" She replied, "No, she did NOT give me a bath today." I thought for sure if I asked her again and again and worded it differently each time that she would understand. Oh, she understood....she was just flat out lying. I told her that she told me a lie. She said, "I told you alive?" "No, Bonnie, a LIE." "Alive?" etc. etc. I went on to tell her that she told her mommy a lie, that Memaw DID give her a bath today and that she told me that Memaw did NOT when she really did. I told her that it makes God sad when we tell lies and that we cannot do that. We have to tell the truth. Then I asked her again, "Now, did Memaw give you a bath?" She said, "Yeah, she gived me a bath." I praised her for telling me the truth and as soon as she did she stuck her little leg all the way over into the tub and proceeded to get in as if that was her reward! She said, "Now I can get in now?" She has gotten really good at raising the pitch of her voice in a long, drawn out fashion at the end of a question when she wants something. As if saying it that way will make her get what she wants! Evidently that is true! I just thought forget it....just let her take another one. She did get playdough in her hair after the first bath anyways. For those of you who have kids: Isn't 2 1/2 too young to start lying? Maybe not. I have to say the whole situation made me have to keep myself from laughing b/c as she kept lying she'd cock her little head over to the side and give me this look--can't explain it--almost like she thought I'd believe her or something.......Why did we think our parents were dumb until we got older? The trend still goes on...........

Mood Swing or Crazy

Is it normal to have a complete crying break down about a month before you have your baby? I lost it last night. It's like I had to just get it all out....everything that's getting on my nerves, my intolerance for John playing his stupid computer game every second he has free, frustration of not having a baby name yet and knowing that everybody is gonna be telling me what to do and how to do it after the baby gets here, and fears of a repeat of what happened when Bonnie was born (about 1,000 people with their ears cupped to the door of my labor and delivery room listening to me push and almost breaking the door down with their impatience while I was trying to nurse Bonnie and bond with her for the first time.....almost demanding that we let them in) I guess I'm just gonna have to get a backbone this time and stand up for myself. Anybody know where to get one of those? I haven't been able to find one at Walmart or anything.....I swear I'd rather buy one if than speak up because I'm so afraid of hurting anybody's feelings or having conflict......possibly my biggest weakness......Sorry to vent....I just have to get it all out! I got 3 hours of sleep last night. Bonnie wakes up all night long now either needing to give us a hug or kiss, pee-pee in the potty, or wanting crackers or water. I think God's trying to prepare me for not sleeping through the night again so I'm not in shock when the baby gets here, which is fine. I'm just tired. Insomnia is no fun! But on a positive note, it did give me the opportunity to cook John a homecooked breakfast for once in a long time! I figure if I've been awake since 2 in the morning, I need to make the most of it and be somewhat productive. I've only had probably 2 or 3 complete break-down crying spells this pregnancy, so that's probably pretty good compared to the average woman, so I guess it's just a mood swing. I think I'll try to nap when Bonnie does today and maybe make something good and chocolate to make me in a better mood. I don't like feeling so emotional and crabby but sometimes when the tears start flowing you can't stop them until they all run out! I know you've all probably experienced that too! :) Please don't think I'm crazy!

Progress

Today I went to my doctor's appointment and Dr. Woodford said the baby is head down (what a relief) and is very low. To all who care or understand what all this means, my cervix is thinning out and I'm 60% effaced and 1 cm dilated. I was 2 cm dilated with Bonnie for a couple of weeks before I had her, so we'll see. The fact that I'm already dilated really doesn't mean I'll have the baby early, but I'm excited about it because the more I progress before true labor sets in, the better! :) I go back every week now, so we'll see if things have changed any more next week.

5 Weeks and 2 days left!

I officially have 5 weeks and 2 days until my due date! I began freak-out mode last week and went bananas getting everything ready that I could. I bought the boy and girl outfits for the first picture and going home from the hospital. I'll exchange the ones I don't need after the baby gets here. I am so anxious to know what we're having!

So, I'm packing my hospital bag and trying to remember what all I need to bring. I took too much with Bonnie so I'm trying to consolodate. I packed snacks for John and money for the parking deck and vending machines. I brought a terry cloth rice thing that you warm up in the microwave to help with pain and it helped a LOT during those painful after birth contractions that you have for hours after delivering. I also brought a long white sock filled with tennis balls that is supposed to be good for massaging the woman's back during labor. I never used that! What a joke! I was going to do all natural childbirth with Bonnie and that went down the toilet at 7 cm dilated. I won't wait that long this time for an epidural. When I decided to get the epidural, my mother in law said, "You can just try natural on the next baby..." WHATEVER lady! Once you have found "a way out", you're an idiot to chose another direction the next time you're in that situation!

Sorry, I get off track sometimes..........I need your help. What were some of your "must haves" for your hospital bag? Do I really NEED to bring my nursing pump this time? I didn't use it before. What about something cute and comfortable for me to go home in? Do I even get a baby book for this child if I haven't even filled out Bonnie's? I'm bringing shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, toothpaste, but do I need to bring soap/body wash too or will they provide that? I know it's only been 2 1/2 years since I've done this, but you really forget the details.....

Much Better....

Thanks everyone for their advice on Bonnie's napping situation. Things are much better now. It's so hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you're going through something RIGHT THEN. It seems like the trial or stage or whatever you want to call it has been lasting forever and will never end. However, when it does pass, you realize it was a small thing to overcome. When a mom is stuck in that hard time, it's hard to see that.

I started making Bonnie lay down in her bed. I told her it was "Rest Nap Time" and that she did not have to go to sleep but that she had to rest. I told her she would not get off her bed. I gave her some books to look at and she rested for 2 hours. Her mood that afternoon was better just from resting even though she didn't actually sleep. Sure enough, after having that set time of 1:30 to 3:30 for a few days, she actually went to sleep while reading her books. She goes to bed earlier esp. on the days she doesn't actually nap, which has been a blessing to John and me. We actually have time for adult conversation and that makes me feel more like a wife again and not just a mom...does that make sense? Some days, I feel like I'm just a mom. So, anyways, Bonnie is resting....I'm trying to stop what I'm doing during that time and rest myself....and Bonnie goes to bed between 8 and 8:30 and sleeps all night. I think she was just going through a little stage. She's STILL teething (crazy I know)and that may have something to do with it. One of her eye teeth has just come through and after that one, she'll have a full smile in the front! :)

Based on the blogs I've read lately, I am feeling really blessed. These little things that seem to get me all bent out of shape are not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. I am going really try to count my blessings instead of my hardships although that's difficult to do sometimes. Maybe that would be a good blog topic to do every few weeks or months. We have it better than we think.

"This too shall pass." How true that is..........

Momma said there'd be days like this.......

Well, my momma never told me that, but when I'd disrespect her or tell her things I wish she'd done differently, she'd say, "Your time's a comin'..." I guess she was right. I need some help and prayers. Bonnie has been refusing to take a nap for the last 3 weeks or so. I'm exhausted and she is too. She's too young to give up naps. She's not getting enough hours of sleep total. She's not eating hardly anything and I'm surprised she's still walking around with any energy. I feel like I've tried everything. She NEEDS a nap still b/c around 5:00 she's horrible if she hasn't had one. I'm at my wits end b/c I need a nap or a rest time too or I'm gonna fall over. It just makes me so nervous that she's not resting or eating well. Last Wednesday, I told her if she didn't take a nap, she wouldn't get to go to church b/c I knew she'd be ill as a hornet, but that didn't seem to bother her at all. She stayed home with John and told me bye with a little smile on her face. She loves her class and I thought it would devestate her if she didn't get to go, but I guess I was wrong. A few minutes ago, I went in there and she was rolling her clock around on the nightstand and when she looked up at me and realized she'd been caught, she said, "The clock says it's time to get up from nap!" I told her she hadn't even taken a nap yet. John thought maybe her room was too bright, so I'm trying to figure out how to darken her room. We've got plantation shutters and there's no room for darkening shades behind those, so I guess I'm just gonna have to redneck it and pin a couple of old comforters over her windows at naptime. Those would look great with her white and pink shabby chic decor! I know this will all pass but the baby's gonna be here in 9 weeks and I want her to have a good schedule so she'll function at her best. And, I'm nesting so badly that I'm not taking time to rest b/c there's so much to get done! Should I wake her up at 5:30 in the morning so she'll be exhausted by naptime--and make me grumpy in the morning b/c I've had to get up that early? Or should I just make her run laps in the front yard before naptime? Any ideas or advice?

An Elephant Ride at the Circus

Well, the baby can offically tell people (later that is) that it rode an elephant at 30 weeks gestation! :) I can't believe I did this! The circus that came to Crosspoint this past weekend was a blast! (except for the pouring down rain on the way to our car with no umbrella) Bonnie and I rode an elephant and I have to say I barely got my leg flung over the wet and smelly thing! I honestly felt like the circus people wouldn't let me get on there once they saw how huge I am, but they were all about making some money and didn't seem to mind! A guy from Times Daily took our picture. It didn't make the paper but it's on the online photo gallery at www.timesdaily.com! Bonnie loved petting the goats and seeing the camels and elephants. She's been talking about the elephants ever since! That's the short and sweet news from this weekend!

Belly Fat , the Playdough Chef, and Baby Names

Alright. I had an appt. with Dr. Woodford today. I have had trouble gaining weight this pregnancy due to chasing Bonnie around and a lack of that big pregnancy appetite people always talk about. I'd only gained 6 pounds in 27 weeks of pregnancy. Well, today, I asked the nurse if I had gained any weight and she said 7 pounds! I said, "Like 7 pounds total or 7 pounds since the last visit?" 7 pounds in 4weeks? I was wearing heavy shoes that I usually take off but that would only account for 1-2 pounds. I was pretty excited I'd finally gained more. I was a little worried about not gaining enough. I have been on a strawberry pie making frenzy and have eaten 2 pieces before bed almost every night so that could account for most of the weight gain...or it could just be because the baby is getting bigger by the millisecond. I'm serious...my stomach feels so pulled and stretched out that I'm not sure my skin will continue to make room for it!

Bonnie's been really clingy lately, but John and I are trying to make a lot of special Bonnie time for her. We've all taken bubble baths and used the bubbles to make mustaches and beards on our faces. We've gone to feed the geese at Deibert park, and last night I was cooking and John was playing playdough with her. He was pretending like he was making something to eat out of the playdough. He'd kill me for posting this, but he was talking in a French chef accent to her. It was so cute! I didn't laugh b/c I didn't want to make him feel stupid, but I almost busted out laughing hysterically. He was like, "First, you take ze dough like zis and pound it..." For those of you who know John---and I'm assuming all of my readers do---you probably think I'm making this up. I promise I'm not. I wish y'all could see him at home. He's so quiet in public (maybe it's because he can't get a word in edgewise), but when you really get to know him and are around him a lot, he opens up and is pretty funny. I need to tell him more often how great of a dad he is. He's so great with her! You never know how your husband will melt in the arms of his little girl until it actually happens. Melodie--I'm sure you're already seeing this in action! Anyways, on to something else:

Baby names.....we talked about baby names very briefly last night before going to bed. John wants me to write down some and let him go through them and say yes or no. It's probably because he can't think of any good ones on his own. For example, he likes the name Winston for a boy. BARF (sorry to anyone this might offend). He said, "I had a really cool dog one time named Winston". I told him no way and that it reminded me of Winston Churchhill or a pack of cigarettes. I don't know what we'll do. We got on the internet and found some celebrity names that were insane. I think these people were on crack when they named their kids. Whatever names we cook up won't be near as bad as:

Seven Sirius Benjamin - Andre Benjamin & Eryka Badu
Zowie Bowie - David & Angela Bowie (remind anyone of "Woolly Bully"?)
Alabama Luella - Travis Barker & Shanna Moakler
Audio Science Clayton - Shannyn Sossamon & Dallas Clayton (future computer nerd or heavy metal band member?)
Fifi-Trixibelle Geldof - Bob Geldof & Paula Yates (reminds me of a miniature poodle dog)
Peaches Honeyblossom Geldof - Bob Geldof & Paula Yates
Little Pixie Geldof - Bob Geldof & Paula Yates (Tinkerbell would've been better)
Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence - Michael Hutchence & Paula Yates
Bluebell Madonna Haliwell - Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell (father not disclosed) (wonder what brand of ice cream is her favorite)
Kenya Julia Miambi Sarah Jones - Quincy Jones & Natassja Kinski (I know, let's take all the names we're trying to decide on and lump them all together into one name: Let's see the monogrammed initials would be: KJMSJ)
Pilot Inspektor Riesgraf Lee - Jason Lee & Beth Riesgraf (enough said)
Diva Muffin Zappa - Frank & Gail Zappa
Moon Unit Zappa - Frank & Gail Zappa


SERIOUSLY???????? I was stunned! I had to add some of my 2 cents worth after some of those names. Poor kids! Peaches Honeyblossom? Little Pixie? Oh, I've got it! How about Sassafrass Lilypad for a girl or Hubert Humperdink for a boy? We'll decide at some point........any suggestions?

Let's Play Catch-Up

I'm Back!!!! Finally! My last post was almost 4 months ago due to my lack of a computer by my side at all times like I used to have! So, needlesstosay (is that one word?) a lot has happened that you may have missed or have been wanting to know or just don't care at all. Whatever the case may be, I'm gonna try to play catch-up on all the blogging I've missed and BOY have I missed it! Here's a RANDOM catch up of my collection of thoughts and events over the past few months.

1. NOVEMBER: Bonnie turned 2 on November 27th. She is obsessed with Dora and Boots so I made her a Boots birthday cake. It turned out so much better than her first year's cake. However, somehow when I went to put the pictures of her birthday event onto the computer, I lost all of her precious 2 year old party pictures. I was so upset but I took another picture of the Boots cake after we'd cut into it. Here's the photo:


2. DECEMBER: The Eve of Christmas Eve, the doctor put Bonnie in the hospital for 24 hours b/c her temperature was 104.4 when we got to the office. She was lethargic and would not eat or drink anything. They catherized her and did the IV and it was hard on both of us of course. They thought it was possibly a bad kidney infection or something but all the tests came back okay. Christmas Eve morning, Dr. Freeman came in and listened to her and said she had early pneumonia. We got to go home but she was pitiful for Christmas. I'm just glad we caught it in time and she got better. Here's a photo of her Christmas picture before she was sick and one in the hospital:



3. JANUARY: Hmmm.........John turned 29 on Jan. 25 and I turned 27 on Jan. 28. I'm sure something else interesting happened, but I can't remember what.

4. FEBRUARY: 20 week ultrasound....everything looks good so far, but we remained patient and stuck with our plan of not finding out the sex of the baby. I still think it's a boy though. We moved in the house FINALLY and spent our first night there on Friday night the 29th. It was so nice to live just the 3 1/2 of us again after 7 months of living with John's family. I directed the children's play "POWER" at church this same weekend and planned and hosted John-Parker's (my sister's baby's) entire 1st birthday party also this same weekend. (She gets overwhelmed too easily and was just not gonna have him a party at all, so I took over). I almost had a nervous breakdown that weekend b/c I took on so much but it was all a lot of fun! Here are some pictures of John-Parker at his party. He's a cutie pie! Here's some pictures of him and the cake I made him:



5. MARCH: We've just been moving in/unpacking boxes/organizing stuff from the move and I'll just say that moving while being in a nesting stage of pregnancy can be a dangerous combination. John has sold his first house. He began the foundation on 2 houses on our street at the time our house was being finally completed and he got a contract on one of them. I am so proud of him and I hope the building business does well for him. He's learned a lot from doing our house and I think he's really enjoying the business. Maybe the other houses will sell as well also. Bonnie got her first real hair cut a couple of weeks ago. John wouldn't let me cut her hair, but I just finally had it with her mullet and Susan Puryear cut it anyways into a cute little bob. John got over it. It will grow better this way I have assured him. Bonnie enjoyed the Easter Bunny this year, but she ran a fever all day Easter and has tonsilitis at the moment. We like to get sick on and around holidays for some reason.

Well, that's the 'jist' of it all. I am feeling good this pregnancy with the exception of some acid reflux, but all is going well. I am feeling really blessed with all the opportunities God is placing in our lives right now. We've never lived in a neighborhood together before and it will be interesting to see how God can work through us in getting to know the families around us. John's gaining more contacts with the business and I just sense the vast number of opportunities we will have to show Jesus in our everyday interactions with new people. I'm scared but excited at all the things that are coming our way. I can't wait to meet my new little baby. I can't wait to know whether I'll need pink or blue things and whether or not he/she will look like me this time. FAT CHANCE! I'm enjoying being at home with Bonnie and seeing her grow up before my eyes. I just love that little girl so much that I miss her when we have to go to sleep at night. Great, now I'm all hormonal pregnant emotional. I'd better stop before she wakes up from her nap seeing me cry.

I'll be writing more often. I look forward to reading about everybody else's lives again. I feel so close to all of you when I read about your inner thoughts and just what's going on with all of you. Love you all!