I'm ready to begin my first week as a stay at home mom, even though Caleb isn't here yet. I have errands to run tomorrow: bank, post office, grocery store, and laundry to catch up on. I need to get some of Caleb's clothes washed so that he'll have something to wear once he does get here.

For the rest of the week, I'll try and get the house picked up, pack my bag for the hospital (honestly I'm surprised I haven't already done that one), and get things in order around here.

Today Charles and I spent some time at the pool, which was so relaxing ( I think I'll be spending alot of time there between now and whenever Caleb gets here), and then Charles had a double header in softball. I went to watch, which I don't normally do, but we were in one car, so I didn't have much of a choice, and it was so hot. I mean even in the shade it was hot. But the games went well. They won both of them, and Charles only skinned up his leg a little bit. (He normally comes home with these huge scrapes on his legs from sliding).

I'm sure I'll enjoy my time off work although I hope that I don't get bored just sitting around before Caleb gets here, cause I don't have that much to do. Oh well, I'm sure it'll be nice. That's all for now.

It's been awhile since I've posted any pictures, but I'll try to post some tomorrow.

Bittersweet

Today was officially my last day of work. I am so excited to be done, and to be starting my life as a stay at home mom, but it was also sad. I didn't think I was really going to be sad because all week I've just been excited to be so close, but as the day drew to an end, it hit me. I won't see these kids every day anymore. I won't even see them every week. We spent the day at the pool and they had so much fun, which was great. They were exhausted by the time we got home, so I put them down for naps and then realized, their dad might be home before they woke up and I wouldn't get to say goodbye to them. So back into their rooms I went to tell them that I might be gone when they woke up but that I would see them soon, and that I loved them, and to get a big hug.

Hopefully they will make the adjustment well and in no time at all they will love their new nanny, and hopefully I'll still get to see them every once in awhile.

A bittersweet day...

ABC's of Me

For anyone who is interested to know a little more about myself, continue reading, if you don't care, then please save yourself some time and find some other blog to read because this post is all about me.

A - Age: 26
B - Bed size: queen, although honestly it's not big enough
C - Chore you hate: folding and putting away laundry
D - Dog's name: Avery and Smokey
E - Essential start your day item: some sort of caffine, although I promise I've tried to cut back
F - Favorite color: blue
G - Gold or Silver: silver
H - Height: 5'2..yes...I'm short...shut up
I - Instruments you play: piano...I could list a few others, but that's the only one I really play
J - Job title: up until this past week...nanny, now...stay at home mom :)
K - Kids: Caleb should be here in 30 days or less (I hope)
L - Living arrangements: my house with my hubby
M - Mom's name: Janice
N- Nicknames: lainey, laineypaige, lane
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: nope
P - Pet Peeve: I have so many...where to begin. ok, how about when people aren't paying attention at a red light, and it turns green and they just sit there...GO ALREADY!!!
Q - Quote from a movie: not sure about this one
R - Right or left handed: right handed
S - Siblings: a brother (david) and a sister (rachel)
T - Time you wake up: 6:30ish while I was working
U- Underwear: uh huh
V - Vegetable you dislike: most of them...I know...they are so good for me, dang it
W - Ways you run late: I do not run late...and if I am...then I'm mad about it
X - X-rays you've had: only at the dentist
Y - Yummy food you make: I'm not a great cook, but I can make Italian food pretty good
Z - Zoo favorite: monkeys, of course

Ok so I realize this didn't actually give you any real information about me, but still...it was fun wasn't it? I'll write a real "about me" post at some point...but not today.

Boys Will Be Boys

We took a trip to the park today (I'm trying to fill my last few days with these kids with fun things) and the boys of course, found the only puddle on the whole playground and stayed there the whole time. They dug, and buried their tractors and just had a great, dirty, wet time.

Doctors Appointment, Again

Well I'm down to my weekly appointments with the doctor so I went again today. Had my group B strep test, and my first "check". Fun stuff!! So far, nothing's going on so I think it'll at least be a couple of weeks before Caleb decides to join us. This was also my last appointment that I had to schedule around work, because I only have 2 days left and I'm officially a stay at home mom. Thank goodness, I'll finally be able to get some stuff done around here.

*********************************************

On another note, I bought a new computer about a month ago and have been trying to sell my old one, without much luck. But today, being the wonderful wife that I am (haha), I made a trade. I traded my old computer for a playstation 3 for my hubby. What was I thinking? I have now had the pleasure of sitting and watching him play for most of the evening. It's actually not a big deal because I'd just being doing this (blogging) whether he was playing games or not.

*********************************************

On a final note, I have not been taking pictures like I said I was going to. I just don't know what to take pictures of. I don't want to fill my blog with pictures of the kids that I nanny, because they're not my kids, and that's where I spend my days, so I don't see much else. But I did get some new photo software that I really like. I'm still trying to figure out how to use it, but I'm getting better. So for now, I'll post a few "old" pictures that I have edited, and made look much better in my opinion.

Yes, it's a grasshopper, I know...why am I taking pictures of bugs you may ask...
because it was there, and I had my camera...enough said



just lovely



don't you just love the smell of honeysuckle in the summer??

What's For Dinner?

This is the question that was just posed to me by my husband, who just got home from work. Hhmm...decisions, decisions...I don't know. I'm thinking Mexican, maybe quesadillas, or maybe breakfast (french toast, bacon, eggs), or maybe grilled cheese sandwiches. So many choices, and they all sound good to me. Maybe I'll let Charles decide...

the decision has been made...it's going to be...

quesadillas

Quick and easy, it'll only take me a few minutes to make them and it'll be very tasty.

Time to cook!!

Memorial Day Fun

A mostly sunny day off work. What more could you ask for??
Charles and I had a fun filled day filled with lots of great food.
We started the day off by sleeping late...well...I slept late.
Then we headed to my in-laws house for lunch.
Ribs, burgers, corn, potatoes, watermelon and
home made ice cream.
Doesn't that sound good? Trust me...it was.


Then we headed to a fish fry some friends
of ours were having. There we had fish, fries, hush puppies,
fruit and once again, home made ice cream.
Can you tell I'm focused on food?
Well... I can't help it, I'm pregnant and it was good.
My sister (you made it in a post) will appreciate the
detail I've given on what we ate today :)

It was a great day, and now off to bed and onto my
LAST 4 days of work.

Nutrition???

I've been thinking a lot lately about nutrition and healthy eating. You see, Charles and I do not necessarily eat the healthiest foods. Alright, we eat horribly. And I am a very picky eater, thanks mom and dad :) But seriously, my eating habits are more in line with your average 6 year old than 26 year old. I do not want Caleb to end up the same way, so I decided Charles and I need to start now to try and change our eating habits. Then even if Caleb ends up being a picky eater, he'll still be getting healthy foods instead of junk.

A big part of this healthy eating thing concerns the whole organic, non-organic issue. I've always thought, "oh who cares? I'm not paying all that extra money". But it's different when I'm thinking about people other than myself. I did a little research and found this and decided that organic is the way to go, and if I had an unlimited supply of money, would probably buy ALL organic, but I don't...so I can't. In the meantime I think I'll buy as much organic as I can, and not worry about the rest.

Now just eating organic food is not going to make Charles and I healthier eaters. There will have to be some other changes, one of which will include planning on my part. Working full-time I end up buying quick and easy meals that I can fix without much effort once I get home from work. These end up being processed (often frozen) junk that probably has no nutritional value, but all that can change too, because after this week, I'm no longer working. I will have the time to plan out our weekly meals, grocery shop, and cook.

I don't know about you but I'd rather have this

than this

So hopefully, with some planning and careful shopping on my part, Charles and I will be able to eat healthier, get healthier and eventually encourage Caleb to eat healthy foods.

Forgetful, Forgetful

Ok, so I am trying to post daily on this blog, but twice now, I have completely forgotten to post until the next day when I think to myself, "Did I post anything yesterday? I don't think I did!" I'm apparently becoming more and more forgetful during this last month of pregnancy. For instance, forgetting that H gets out of school early on Wednesdays, and for the first time in 3 years, showing up like 25 minutes late to pick him up. And I only made it there that quickly because his teacher called me to find out where I was after I was 10 minutes late. Anyways, I'll try to keep a better handle on things, and make sure to post every day, more for myself than for anyone reading this, because honestly, I'm still not convinced anyone looks at this other than me, my husband, and my mom.

By the way, 5 weeks to go, or acccording to gestational age, 4 weeks and 6 days (I think I'll go with that one)!

Random Thoughts

I have loved the last few days of sunny weather after weeks, it seems, of rain. I hope it keeps it up, although according to the weather report it's not supposed to be sunny again until next Thursday. But we all know they're never right, so who knows. Something about rainy weather just makes me tired and grumpy, unless I am lying down to take a nap or something, which, by the way, I could do every single day at this point.

Don't you just love naps? It's crazy how as kids we HATE taking naps, I know the boys I keep beg not to take naps daily, but as adults we crave them. I would love nothing more than to take a nap every afternoon, and very soon (8 days) I'll have that luxury (at least for a few weeks). My (hopeful) plan is to have time to get everything done around the house, get everything ready for Caleb, and still have time for lying by the pool. napping, reading, and who knows what else. This may be very wishful thinking on my part, but I don't care...let me wish.

For those of you who are interested in seeing Caleb's room, here are a few pictures. I posted these on my old blog, but some of you may have never seen them, so here ya go...let me know what you think...unless you don't like it, and then, keep your mouth shut :)





I've hung some pictures that my mother-in-law painted, which I'll post pictures of later. And there are 2 end tables, a bookcase, complete with white wicker baskets, and an amoire. It's really a cute room, cuter than any other room in our house, and I do realize that he will not even know how much time and effort was put into making it cute, but I still have to look at it every day, and I love it.

Last random thought: My sweet, sweet husband called me today to let me know that there was a consignment sale going on at work and they had alot of baby clothes. I told him I wouldn't be able to make it, so he, without any prompting from me, went and picked out a few things for Caleb, isn't that so cute? He did a good job too, the clothes he picked are all super cute. Just thought I'd share.

Doctor's Appointment

Well I had a doctors appointment today, which went very well. He said everything looked good. I'm measuring 34 weeks and I'm 34 weeks and 4 days, so that's right on track. I've been gaining about a pound a week, which is also right on track, at least according to my doctor. So my grand total (not quite sure why I'm blogging this out there for everyone to see) is 23 pounds so far, which I think is pretty good. I'm supposed to stay between 25-35 pounds which I should be able to do at the rate I'm going.

I start going every week now, and get "checked" at every appointment. Doesn't that sound like fun? Oh well, at least he'll be able to give me a little more information besides "everything looks good" once he's actually checking for things. I could have up to 5 more appointments, if I go every week and Caleb doesn't decide to come early, but hopefully having an appointment every week will make the time go by a little faster.

I feel like I still have so much to do before Caleb get's here. I should have plenty of time once I'm done working, but with my personality, I'd really like to have everything ready now. I still have to pack a bag for the hospital, install the carseat, wash his clothes/sheets/blankets, buy the few items we still need, along with diapers/wipes, and my biggest chore: finish cleaning the house. It's been "picked up" for several weeks now, but I want it to be really clean before we bring him home. Hopefully I'll have plenty of time to get all of that done and spend some time relaxing once I'm done with work..

It's hard...

It's hard to get a good picture with three small kids.

So you just have to take what you can get.

And if the baby doesn't want to look at the camera, ever...

oh well.

Who Needs Sleep??

I am being prepared very well for life with a baby, particularly sleepless nights. I don't think I've gotten a good nights sleep in about 2 months and to be honest, imagining getting 2 full hours of sleep several times a night once Caleb gets here, sounds glorious.

An example of a typical night:

Charles curls up under the blankets and falls asleep quickly, while I lay there with a fan blowing straight into my face, and I'm still hot. I eventually fall asleep, on either my left or right side, because heaven forbid I should be able to sleep on my back or stomach, the only comfortable positions there are. Every 30-45 minutes I painfully rotate to my other side, because my back is hurting. By the way, at this point, I'm sweating because it's so freakin hot.

At this point, Charles is still sleeping peacefully without a care in the world.

After several hours of turning from side to side, while getting approximately 5 seconds of sleep, I have to get up to go to the bathroom. I fight the urge to move around making tons of noise, just to wake up Charles because it is NOT FAIR that he gets normal amounts of sleep every night. But...I'm not that mean, so I quietly go to the bathroom and then back to bed for more tossing and turning. Still hot!!!

Charles wakes up nice and refreshed, while it seems that I finally get comfortable and fall into a good sleep, only to be awakened by my alarm clock, and it's time for work.


Caleb needs to get here soon, because as far as my sleep schedule goes, it can't get much worse.

Grains of Gratitude

what am I thankful for?

I'm thankful for the sunshine and the chance to hang out at my parents
house, by the pool.

I'm thankful for a day to rest and relax.

I'm thankful that I only have 5 weeks and 4 days left until my due date.

I'm thankful that I got caught up with laundry this weekend.

And finally, I'm thankful for my sweet husband, and for him putting up
with my craziness for the past few months.


Take a few minutes to think about what you're thankful for.

Random Picture Challenge

hosted by

Time for the random picture challenge once again.

9th folder or September 2008
18th picture

This is the first dove hunt of the year, with my husband Charles
and our Boykin Spaniel, Avery. Charles loves hunting, and Avery
loves it almost as much.

Wrapping Up the Week

Another good week.

Another week closer to meeting Caleb.

It was my last week with my normal work schedule, because J had his last day of school last week. So for this week, I'll have the two younger ones all day, every day, and the oldest one still has school for another 2 weeks.

We spent the afternoon at my parents' pool, which was very nice and hopefully we'll get to spend some more time at the pool tomorrow. It's always fun at the beginning of summer, when you get to hang out at the pool for the first few times. I, of course, had to get a maternity swimsuit, which I hated spending money on, since I only have 6 more weeks. But I have to be able to swim, and I'll probably be able to wear it for the whole summer, and I had a gift card, so technically I didn't spend any money.

Time is still moving very slowly, but hopefully these last few weeks of work will go by quickly, and then I'll be able to spend some time getting all the last minute things ready for Caleb.

Tomorrow starts the beginning of my 34th week of pregnancy. I can't believe it's been that long, but I'm also very ready to be done. I can't wait for Caleb to get here so we can meet him.

Finally, the weekend. The closer I get to Caleb getting here, the slower time seems to go, and while I am so looking forward to him being here and being a mom, I am still slightly dreading the process that makes that happen.

I only have 10 more days of work until I'm done for good. And it's just now hit me how much I'm going to miss those kids. Seeing them every day for over 3 years almost makes me feel like they're my own, so it's going to be hard to go from seeing them daily to seeing them only occasionally. I'll still keep in touch with them, but I know I'll be busy, so hopefully I can make time to spend some time with them too.

I have alot to do this weekend: laundry, house cleaning, thank you notes and working on a little project I'm making for the family I work for, but for tonight, I'm not going to worry about it. Charles and I are going out to dinner and to use a gift card I got back in January (for my birthday) to a maternity store. I guess technically, I'm using the gift card, not Charles, but I'm going to try and find a swimsuit because I am so hot, ALL the time, and nothing sounds better than spending some time in the pool, and I only have another 6 weeks to use the card or it'll pretty much be useless ( at least I hope I won't still be wearing maternity clothes for too long after Caleb gets here).

Happy Weekend Everyone!!

All About Breastfeeding

This was the topic of discussion for our childbirth class on Monday night. Other than the completely inappropriate video that showed women who are way too comfortable with their bodies, and having them filmed and touched by people, it was pretty informative.

I don't think Charles liked being there very much, as several times I looked at him and he was playing with his phone rather than listening :) But it was rather uncomfortable and awkward at points so I don't blame him. (I won't go into detail for your sake.)

They were very pro breastfeeding, which I was fine with because that's what I'm planning on doing anyways. And other than the technique and different ways to hold the baby and stuff, I would say the most important thing I learned was that it is really important to go for 3 or 4 weeks feeding very often and not using bottles or pacifiers in order for the baby to really learn what he is doing. Supposedly this is the reason alot of moms have such a hard time with breastfeeding. They introduce bottles and pacifiers too early and the baby has a hard time transitioning between those, and "the real thing". I'm not sure about all this. I know that alot of times they give babies pacifiers in the nursery at the hospital so it must not be that big of a deal, but according to our childbirth teacher, it is.

I suppose we'll just have to wait and see. If he seems to figure it out quickly, then great, and if it takes him a little longer then we may hold off on bottles ( Charles wants to be able to feed him too, and I'm fine with pumping some) and pacifiers.

And on the topic of pacifiers, I have for years thought, "why in the world would you rather your child suck their thumb than have a pacifier?" You can't take their thumb away when they get too old to do it anymore, but a pacifier you can. But in taking care of a newborn in the last few months, I've begun to understand. The baby I take care of MUST have her pacifier in order to go to sleep, and if she is falling asleep and her paci falls out of her mouth, you better get it back in really fast or she will wake up and cry. Also her mom has told me that at night, if she's not good and asleep when it falls out, she just cries until someone comes upstairs and puts it back in for her. A baby who sucks their thumb doesn't have these issues. Even when they are tiny they can get their thumb or finger into their mouth, so its not as big of a deal. But when they are 4 and still sucking their thumb you might have issues.

I'm going to have to do some thinking about this in the next few weeks. Does anyone have an opinion one way or another?

Darth Vader stands no chance against these two

Shortly after a lightsaber fight in the front yard.
I'm not sure how they determine who wins.

Sweet Girl

The Pups

I spent a little time this weekend taking pictures of the dogs. Like I said, I am going to try and start taking more pictures and since we don't have any children to photograph as of yet, I figured the dogs were the next best thing.

I'm still working on figuring out the different functions on my camera as well as the different editing options on my photo software. I think they turned out great, pretty good, ok, but hopefully they'll get better and better.

This is Smokey, our black lab. He's about 10 years old and I think he looks very perplexed in this picture, almost as if he's saying, "What the heck are you doing with that thing pointed at me?". He must be very smart.

This little guy is Avery, our 1.5 year old Boykin Spaniel. He is wild and crazy and has alot more energy than Smokey, but he behaves well. He behaves well for Charles, that is, I'm a different story.

Charles likes to spend time working with them in the backyard, and as you can see they pretty much do whatever he tells them to. In case you can't see it, that is a tennis ball Charles is tempting Avery with, but Avery will not take it until he is told to. What a good boy!

Look at that focus. And Smokey patiently waits his turn in the background.

Their eyes are locked on something, can you guess what it is? Yep, it's the tennis ball again. They are just hoping that Charles will decide to throw it so they can race each other into the yard and play a game of keep away.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.


I DID NOT scream and almost cry when Charles caught one of those bugs with wings and really long legs and then held it in my face while laughing...funny. I just love it when he does sweet little things like that.

I absolutely DID NOT have a slightly awkward moment when getting my massage on Friday, upon entering the room and being told to hop up onto the table, I DID NOT, with much effort, hoist my pregnant self onto the table only to have the massage therapist enter the room and say, "Hhhmm...It would really work better if you didn't have clothes on". I DID NOT then maneuver myself into a strange position in order to try and undress while lying on the massage table.

I DID NOT drag my husband outside as a "prop" in order to try out some new functions on my camera, and force him to pose in the front yard as if I was a real photographer. He DID NOT then make me promise not to post those pictures on my blog.

And finally I DID NOT just enter our bedroom to find a huge, and I mean HUGE, spider sitting casually on the floor. I DID NOT then hit the spider really hard with my tennis shoe and then just leave his squished body on the floor for Charles to pick up when he gets home. That's what husbands are for, right?

Grains of Gratitude

Once again, I want to focus on some of the things that I am thankful for...

I am thankful for my wonderful mom, and for everything
she has done for me.

I am thankful that my doctors appointment went well this
week, and that Caleb is still healthy and right on track.

I am thankful for my sweet husband, who got me a
great first Mother's Day present.

Take a few minutes and think about some of the things you are thankful for today.

Just testing out some of the functions on my camera.
It's alot more complicated when you have no idea what you're doing.
But I think I'm slowly getting the hang of it.

Photos

No this post doesn't actually contain any photos, it just talks about them.

I really enjoy taking pictures, but don't really feel like I'm very good at it. I decided that I am going to get past that and start taking pictures like crazy. Well, maybe not like crazy, but alot. I know I'll be glad of it once Caleb gets here and I am in the habit of taking pictures of everything, but I only have 2 months, or actually, 7 weeks to create that habit.

I carry my camera in my purse so I always have it with me, I just rarely pull it out, but all that will change. The more pictures I take the more good pictures I'll have, so be prepared for alot more pictures on this blog. I don't have anything in particular to take pictures of at this point, at least until Caleb gets here, so it will probably be random things, but oh well.

I also don't have a great camera right now, it's nice, but not great. But part of the problem is that I don't exactly know how to use it. Oh I can point it and take a picture, but other than that I'm pretty clueless, so I'm going to spend some time figuring out how to use it as well.

So that's it, I'm going to try and take at least a few pictures every day and we'll see what comes of it.

Cleaning 101

After 3 days of cleaning I decided to share my cleaning strategies with you.

First and foremost, I am an avid list maker so nothing starts until the list is made. It helps me to stay on track and feel like I'm getting things accomplished, even when there is so much left to do.

I divide my list up by rooms. I think its easier to clean a single room at a time, for example the den, rather than do a single job at a time, like vacuuming the whole house. Because then, regardless of how far I get at that particular time, at least some rooms are clean, and I can keep them that way.

So, at my house, we have the kitchen, laundry room, den/dining room, office, bedroom, Caleb's room, bathroom and 1/2 bath. Thankfully, the house isn't very big :)

In each room, I have the normal stuff to do, floors, dusting, you know the drill...and I use Green Works Natural Cleaners by Clorox for just about everything. They have a glass cleaner, multi-purpose cleaner, bathroom cleaner, pretty much everything I need. I use Pledge Multi-Surface Wipes for dusting, because in case you missed my last post, I HATE cleaning, and this just makes it that must faster, although more expensive, I realize. And for the floors ( we have all hardwood) I vacuum instead of sweeping. ( It works better and is much faster) And then use Pledge Hardwood Floor Cleaner, although honestly, I only use this about once every few months. Typically, just the vacuuming is enough for me.

So there you have it. I move from room to room and clean as I go. A few jobs, like laundry and dishes, I do as I clean the rest of the house, but other than that, I do not leave a room until it is clean.

So far this week, I have done the laundry room, bathroom and den. Along with part of the kitchen. The rest of the house is picked up, but not cleaned yet, and on this particular list, I have included organizing closets, drawers, and cabinets, so it's taking a little longer than usual.

This morning, I cleaned out my car, which if you've never seen my car, you just do not understand. I think I could realistically, live out of my car for a good week with no problems. But not anymore. It's empty, all trash is thrown away, and clean (floors vacuumed and everything). I just have to keep it that way for another 3 weeks while I'm still keeping the kids, and then it should be much easier to keep clean.

I HATE don't like cleaning

I really do not like cleaning, but it's something that has to be done, and apparently I'm the one who's supposed to do it. So, while I have these few days off of work, I'm attempting to tackle some of the cleaning jobs around this place.

Now, typically, when I talk about cleaning, I really mean "picking up". I'm not talking about getting out the cleaning supplies and vacuum and going at it, I'm talking about picking up the things that are not where they are supposed to be and putting them away. This time...I mean cleaning, getting out the furniture polish, cleaning.

For two days now I've been working on my list of cleaning things to do. Did I mention I'm a list maker? Perhaps, I'll share my cleaning strategy with you later, but for now, just know that it's getting done, slowly but surely and that I'm certain ...fairly certain ...pretty sure that this house will be spic and span before the little man gets here.

Wordless Wednesday

I wish I was there...

Mother's Day

My sweet husband just called and told me that he scheduled me a massage for a whole hour on Friday for Mother's Day. Isn't he so sweet? My back has been bothering me lately so he came up with this idea all on his own.

I just wanted everyone to know how sweet he is and how much I appreciate and love him.

Childbirth Class #5

Only two more weeks of this class and we are officially "prepared" to be parents. We'll see how accurate that actually is. This week we finally moved out of the childbirth part of the class (thank goodness; I've heard about enough) to the baby basics part of the class.

On Monday we learned about newborns, what they look like, how they act, and how to take care of them, as well as what to make sure we have before we bring him home. Charles even got to give a sponge bath to a really weird looking doll, that was much to big to be a newborn in the first place (at least Caleb better not be that big).

We also got to enjoy a ridiculous video ( ok, so the information wasn't ridiculous, but the rest was) about newborns, in which they act as if a 28 day old baby (apparently that is when they switch from newborns to infants) is giving advice to a baby that has just been born. It seemed to be fashioned after the movie "Look Who's Talking". Remember that movie?

Anyways, I feel like I pretty much have the newborn/infant care stuff down because I've been doing it for the past 4 months with the little girl I take care of during the day. I know it won't be exactly the same with Caleb, because all babies are different, but I think I'll have a pretty good idea of what I'm doing. And Charles is really great with babies. This may come as a surprise, to be honest, I was a little surprised myself, but he's great. So I'm sure he'll be able to figure out what he's doing pretty quick too.

Stay tuned for next weeks class: it's all about breastfeeding!

Take Me Back Tuesday

This time we're going back before my time, but only by 1 month.

December 29, 1982: My hubby Charles was born.

My mother-in-law recently gave me some pictures from that day and here they are.

We'll have to see if Caleb looks like his daddy once he gets here.

The little guy doesn't look very happy in this picture.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.


First of all, I DID NOT spend way too much money at the grocery store
just because I was hungry when I went. I know better than to go
grocery shopping when I'm hungry and would never make
such a mistake.

I also most definitely DID NOT get so far behind on laundry that we
were completely, and I mean completely, out of clothes to wear.
And we WERE NOT forced to send our laundry out to be done by
someone else, just in an attempt to get somewhat caught back up.

Finally, I DID NOT start several arguments with my husband,
over absolutely nothing, and then blame it on the fact that
I'm pregnant. I, of course, realize that I'm not thinking
quite clearly these days, and ALWAYS think before speaking.


One more...I DID NOT sit at my computer for a good 30 minutes
trying to think of what to type for this post. I kept up with it ALL
week, and knew exactly what I was going to type when I sat down.

Grains of Gratitude

It's that time again....

It's time to take a minute and focus on some of the things I'm thankful for right now.

I'm thankful that Richie Sessions is the new senior minister of
Independent Presbyterian Church!

I'm thankful that Caleb is still growing healthy and strong,
I can tell by the number of times he decides to kick me
during the day.

I'm thankful that the house is getting cleaner by the day,
and my sweet husband is being so helpful.

And finally, I'm thankful that I only have to work two
days this week.

Take a minute to think about some of the things you are thankful for.

Wrapping up the Week

So another week has gone by. We are one week closer to meeting Caleb and let me tell you, we are so excited about it. This week has been another good one; I don't think I ever have a bad week really, maybe a bad day, but not a bad week.

A couple of long days at work let me know that deciding to quit at the end of the month was definitely the right choice. I would like more time to spend with the kids that I nanny, but it's just too much for me to do. So another 3 weeks and 2 days and I'm outta there, although like I've said before, I'll keep in touch with them as much as I can.

My car trouble, which I posted about earlier, has been resolved. The rattling sound was taken care of, it was the skidplate that was hanging down on one side, in case you were wondering. And I got a much needed oil change, only a couple thousand miles overdue. Although, as a random side note, I read somewhere (don't ask me where, I don't remember) that only cars that are used to drive tons and tons ( like buses, cabs) need an oil change every 3000 miles. I'm not sure, but I'll go with it for the time being, cause oil changes are expensive. Anyways, the only problem I'm still having is the smell of dead animal...Isn't that pleasant? Ever since we hit the possum or whatever it was, my car has this lovely smell to it. I know it's surprising to know that my driving through big puddles instead of an actual car wash didn't take care of it, but I think I'm going to have to find an actual car wash, preferably one that has an undercarraige wash.

A couple of funny incidents with the kids kept things fun, one of which I posted about, the other might be a little inappropriate so I'll just let you wonder about it.

Overall, another good week. Next week will be even better because I only work Monday and Tuesday, and then have the rest of the week off. I'll hopefully spend that free time cleaning the house, but we'll see.

Lists, Lists, and more Lists

See, that's what I do. I make lists. I'm a list making procrastinator. I know of something I need to do, so I make a list to "help me stay organized" while doing it, and then I feel like I'm doing something productive without actually doing the thing that needs the doing.

My list today is for cleaning the house. I was in the mood earlier to do the actual cleaning; it didn't last. So I have my list...it's ridiculously long and incredibly detailed. I like making detailed lists, because then I can mark things off my list more often. I'm beginning to think this might make me sound a little crazy, but oh well...it's me.

So I have my list, complete with every little thing that needs to be done in order for the house to be clean and organized. This is hours and hours of work; you should see my house, but I'm giving myself until Caleb get's here to get it done. The only problem is I'm not exactly sure when he will decide he's ready to come. So I have anywhere from 4 weeks (in which I'm still working full time) to 8 weeks. Hopefully it'll be closer to 8.

So armed with my list, in which 5 things have already been marked off, I'm heading off for a night, or maybe just an hour or so, of cleaning.