Tired

I'm tired of being sick.
I'm tired of not getting enough sleep.
I'm tired of being pregnant.
I'm tired of bananas and applesauce and toast.
I'm tired of whining.
I'm tired of feeling behind.
I'm tired of doing laundry all the live-long day.
Just tired.

Okay, I feel better now. :)

Actually we are on the upswing and I'm thinking we'll be able to go to church tomorrow. Today I told Travis I just needed to get out of the house ... we've been here since Wednesday a.m. except for our run to the drs. on Thursday. I needed some sunshine and fresh air! So ... he takes us to Walmart! :) We picked up a few things he needed and then went for a drive in the sun which is what I needed. We made a stop at the Tractor Supply Co. (we live just on the edge of being rural) and N1 and Daddy were able to pet some rabbits, which she thought was oh-so-cool. N2, not so much ... she was quite freaked by them actually. Then we went and got ice cream at Marble Slab Creamery, which was new to us. Oh.My.Word. was it good. I had coffee ice cream with heath pieces mixed into it in a waffle cone. I can't tell you the last time we went out for ice cream ... it was so relaxing to sit outside and eat it with the wind breezing around, and a little sun beating down. (Just a note: N1 almost convinced us that she would eat the "pink" ice cream which was bubblegum flavored so we took a taste of it first. Eew. It tasted just like double bubble bubble gum.)

Anyway, we're settling in for a slow Saturday night, I hope. I'm going to try and find the top of my desk and make a list of those things that didn't get done this week that I need to fit in for the next ... oil change, haircut for N1, and oh yes, GROCERIES. Maybe I should tackle that list first. :)

This 'n That

Nothing too glamorous or exciting to write about as we wrap up this week. N2 and I both came down with a stomach virus on Wednesday (ick!) and had a long day and night. Just a note, nothing adds romance to your marriage like handing your husband a baby who has just thrown up while you RUN to the bathroom yourself. :) A Kodak moment to be sure.

Anyway, thankfully, N2 already had a recheck appointment with the pediatrician on Thursday for her latest ear infection so we staggered in to the drs. office, only to have the diagnosis of a stomach bug confirmed for both of us AND find out that her ear infection was still there and going strong. :-( She's had all the antibiotics that she can have this round, so she had to have a shot of antibiotics and then they wanted to watch her for a few minutes to make sure that she didn't have a reaction to it. The girls and I then popped into the grocery store to restock on bananas, applesauce, ginger ale, Pedialyte ... those necessities for tummy issues. N1 woke up with it this morning, but seems to have a lighter dose of it that we had, and so far Travis has been immune, lucky guy. Tonight looks like it will be our standard Friday pizza night for one. :)

A couple of cool links to leave you with...

• Scrapper Ali Edwards has been fundraising for Autism Speaks over the last several weeks. The fundraising wraps up this weekend and in conjunction with that she is having several cool give-aways and projects on her blog over the weekend. While the give-aways and projects are obviously cool, I would encourage you to contribute as you feel led. One of my close friends has a son with Asperger's Syndrome and a daughter who is severely autistic, so this is a cause I can back fully. (If you click where I have linked "Autism Speaks" you are taken to a place where you can donate and for more information).
• A blog that is brand new and I'm totally excited about: Deliciously Clean Reads. As I mentioned in my Spring Reading Thing reading list, I struggle with breaking out of my normal reading ruts and finding new authors that are worth reading but don't take me places I don't want to go with language or ste@my scenes. If I'm not going to watch that in a movie, I don't need to be reading in a book. Anyway, her blog looks like it will have LOTS o' potential!

Enter to Win!

The 5 Minutes for Mom women are hosting another amazing contest ... this time for a free Dyson Slim vacuum. Check it out and enter!

34.5 weeks...

Yet another checkup today and everything still looks good on the baby scene. I need to watch my sugar a bit ... we've been thoroughly enjoying fruit around here lately, but mama needs a few more carrot sticks and a few less grapes to help my sugar out. We don't have a due date scheduled yet as we can only schedule 30 days out with my hospital of choice. Even then, I'm not sure if I'll be posting the actual date - gotta have some surprise!

Thought I would share a few pics of us getting ready ... this is the Moses basket that was a gift before N2's birth. It's set up in our bedroom and ready to go with clean sheets and such.



Going home outfit for baby ... we've bought each girlie their own outfit to go home in. (Actually, I think Travis' mom may have sent us the one we used for N2). But they each have their own.



Hospital necessities ... a handmade flannel blanket from one of the "grannys" at our church.



From Miss Maria for our first bath ...

Picture Post

We had a Woman at Home informal gathering today here in middle Tennessee. Hosted by sweet Lauren, several of us gathered for a yummy lunch and time of conversation, which sometimes was more yelling over the noise of all the children than actual talking. :)

The Munchkins ... one of mine is prominently in the middle in the arms of a very responsible young lady, and the other one is hiding on the arm of the couch off to the right. You can slightly see her legs.



The Grown-Ups ... I'm the pregnant one. :-) LOL

Spring Reading Thing - The List

I've had a terrible time coming up with a list this time for the Spring Reading Thing, hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days. I don't know if it's the last stages of pregnancy that are coloring my indecisiveness or what, but I can't make up my mind. That said, I fully expect this post to be edited at some point with substitutions or additions. :-)

Fiction
I'm trying to broaden my horizons in my fiction reading. I'm a sucker for clean Christian fiction, but sadly, it's starting to bore me some. It all seems too predictable and/or unrealistic anymore. However, I'm not sure where to go. I'm VERY picky about fiction that I read ... I don't do lots of language or steamy scenes, no thank you. I try to stick to no more than PG in my reading (usually John Grisham, Mary Higgins Clark fall in this category). So any suggestions for good clean fiction that's out there - throw it my way! That said, here's what I have so far:

• White Chocolate Moments by Lori Wick. I know I just said that I'm burnt out on Christian fiction, and truthfully, the review on Amazon doesn't look great for this one. But my Mom had it and it's free and usually I enjoy her stand-alone books more. We'll see.
• Emma by Jane Austin. I thoroughly enjoyed Pride and Prejudice last summer and this is already on my bookshelf.
• Elsie's Endless Wait by Martha Findley. Yes, this is a young girl's book. I've been wanting to check this series out as possible gifts for my neice and two of our youth girls have the entire series and nicely loaned me book one.
• The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Caught by Neta Jackson. Love me some Yada Yada.

Non-Fiction

• Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss. I have heard so many good things about this book, it's time to read it.
• A Place of Quiet Rest: Finding Intimacy with God Through a Daily Devotional Life by Nancy DeMoss.
• Hospitality Commands by Alexander Strauch. This is an area I want to work on developing in my life.
• Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God by Mary E. DeMuth. A birthday gift that I haven't read yet.
• Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook. Yes, I'll be reading a cookbook. I love my crockpot. :-)
• Daniel (as in the Bible) It looks like our Women's Bible study will be doing an inductive study of Daniel this fall (probably using Kay Arthur/Precept material) and I want to read it in its entirety ahead of time.

Children's Reading
In continuing with the progress that we've made during the Read to Me Challenge, I have several books that I'm going to hopefully read through with N1, specifically.

• The Complete Adventures of Curious George by Margret & H.A. Rey. We are in a massive Curious George phase and when she saw the ginormous CG book in our library back, she said, "Dat's a BIG George!"
• We are going to spend next week reading several books about gardens and spring time.

Now that I've typed it all out, my list looks better than I thought! :-) Hop over to Katrina's to see what other's are reading or to participate yourself.

Sore but Successful

Yesterday was the Spring Fling party! Much fun was had, much food was consumed, and much eggs were decorated! We had 12 kids and 6 adults at the party ... it was crazy and loud and every one had a great time. I thought I would be more tired when it was all over, but it wasn't too bad - I was mostly sore! My legs and feet were aching from standing so much all morning and by the time I sat down late afternoon, I think I could see them swelling. :-)

The menu (for the kids) ended up including pb & j's and ham & cheese sandwiches, fruit kabobs (thanks to an idea from Leah!) and veggies and dip. And, the bunny cake, which was so easy to make! (It actually called for a butter-cream frosting, but I went with chocolate instead). :-)

And, while I had originally had some hesitations over how the egg decorating was going to to with all the kids, it went surprisingly well. We used our big coffee table in our play room and COVERED it with newspaper. Surprisingly, other than a couple sleeves that inadvertently made it into the dye, there were no big spills or messes!



All in all, I think this may become a family tradition for us ... a few things that I'll do differently next year - the first and most important is that I want Travis to be here for the party next time. It just happened that it fit for us to do it while he was out of town on business this week - and I don't really regret that we went ahead and had the party - it was a good distraction for the girls and having their little friends over broke up the monotony of a week with just mama. I just know that he would have also enjoyed being here and watching N1 color eggs and hang out with us.

Today's agenda is going to be super-easy in comparison to yesterday! I have some church work to take care of this a.m., and some house straightening, and when N2 wakes up from her morning nap, we're going to the library for a bit and out for a drive to enjoy some of this beautiful spring weather. My folks have kindly invited me and the girls over for dinner tonight, too, so I'm looking forward to heading over there late this afternoon and letting the grandparents stuff my kids with chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese and I just may get to put my feet up for a few minutes. :-)

The Book Meme

Seen round the blogosphere ... officially stolen from Snapshot.

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?
Hardback is probably my first-choice ... I feel very literary and scholarly when I read them. LOL! But budgetarily, I like trade paperbacks if I have to pay for it.

Amazon or brick and mortar?
Amazon all the way, baby. We even splurged last year around tax time and signed up for the prime shipping deal. (Something like for a flat fee we get free two-day shipping on most thing). Pretty fabulous. I love that I can look at lots of different books, throw them on my wishlist, and then when I can actually afford to buy, I have several to choose from already drooled over.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Probably Borders because it's closer to our house, but I don't really care. My favorite is one called Davis Kidd, but it's a good distance from my house now and I don't get to that part of town very often.

Bookmark or dogear?
Shhh .... I am the world's WORST about dog-earing. Shame, shame, shame. I even have a very cool bookmark that my friend bought me and I forget to use it most of the time. Does it count if it is sitting next to the book instead of in it?

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?
Non-fiction is alphabatized by author. Fiction is grouped by author, and then books are shelved in the order that they were written (especially if it's a series). I try to group by subject and probably by size within that grouping.

Keep, throw away, or sell?
I try to only buy books that I want to keep (and use the library for others). When it's time to pass them on I usually start with them on Paperbackswap.com ... if they don't get snagged in a reasonable amount of time, they go to Goodwill or in the trash.

Keep dustjacket or toss it?
Depends on the book ... if it's a cool hardback underneath I pitch it.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
I use the flap as a bookmark so I usually leave it on (the only time I don't dog-ear)! But usually it just annoys me so I may start taking it off...

Short story or novel?
Novel. Short stories are just too .... short!

Short story collection (short stories by the same author) or anthology (short stories by a different author?
Neither.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
Harry Potter! I read a couple of the LS books last year but they are too depressing for me. :-) (However, I did enjoy the movie - it was worth getting it from Netflix).

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
I generally try to make it to the end of the chapter, but hey, I'm pregnant. I've been known to nod off in mid-sentence lately. :-)

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
Either works for me if the story is good. :-)

Buy or Borrow?
Borrow from the library or from a friend? I rarely seem to borrow from friends, but yes to the library. But I definitely like to buy books, especially after I've thought long and hard about whether it's worth it to add it to my library ... or it's a favorite author and I know I will waer out the book reading it.

New or used?
Either is fine.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?
All of the above!

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Generally, tidy ending unless it's part of a series and I know that I'm not going to be left hanging indefinitely!

Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading?
Mostly evening, but if I can get the both girls to rest in the afternoon then I might read a bit then.

Standalone or series?
Both.

Favorite series?
Jan Karon's Mitford. Anne of Green Gables series. Little House series. Lake Emily series by Tracy Dupree. The O'Malley series by Dee Henderson. (I hope I wasn't supposed to pick just one).

Favorite books read last year?
SAHM I Am by Meredith Efkin. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austin). The Yada Yada Prayer Group Series by Neta Jackson (I think I read 3-4 of them last year). Ambassador Families by Mitali Perkins. Created to Be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl.

Favorite books of all time?
Anne of Green Gables!!! Also, L.M. Montgomery's Emily of New Moon series. Mitford series by Jan Karon comes a close second. Pretense by Lori Wick (most of Lori Wick, in my opinion, is general Christian fluff reading, but Pretense is fairly intense and I think it's her best work). Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express ... brilliant.

A Little Fun

Make your own.

Read to Me - A Review and Report

The Read-to-Me Challenge over at Jennifer Snapshot's is winding down this week and it's time to give a little report on how we did. I have to say that it was sooooo helpful to take part in this challenge as it made me VERY aware of how often my girls were asking me to read to them (or in the case of N2 bringing me books) and that there were so many opportunities to sit right then and read something. I wasn't even aware of all the reading opportunities that were right under my nose!

I can't say that we read a huge variety of books over the last month ... N1 has recently discovered Dora and so we read several Dora story books over and over. We also made a trip to the library and checked out some new to us books: Rainbow Fish, and Rainbow Fish and the Sea Monster's Cave were both new to us and much enjoyed. We also enjoyed No Spots for Gilda the Giraffe and several Winnie the Pooh books. I think the main thing with N1 was that when she wanted to read, I made every effort to take the time to do so. I would like to get better about our "set-time" for reading in the afternoons after lunch, so that's an area that I still want to work on. :-)

Also, with regarding to my 3-year old, I finally bit the bullet and purchased Picture Book Preschool. I've been eyeing this very informal preschool curriculum for at least a year now, and decided that the Read to Me Challenge was just the prompt to purchase it. I'm enough removed from toddler books that the suggestions she gives me are most helpful, as are the simple prompts for an activity if/when we want to take our reading further. (I have a copy of Before Five in a Row and while I also like that preschool curriculum, it's a bit much right now for my BUSY three-year old ... I think it will be a better fit in another year and a half or so).

With my little N2, we looked at lots and lots of books. She loves turning the pages so we pulled out a couple of our board books that have little interactive things for her (fuzzy fur on bunnies, soft kitty fur, etc.) and looked at those again and again. She also listened somewhat when I read to N1, but her desire to turn pages was somewhat frustrating to N1 so she need to be strategically pinned somehow next to me, or be playing by us as we read for a pleasant experience for all. :-)

We will definitely be continuing our reading together and be working towards some structured time with books ... specifically after lunch for our 3 year old and before bed for the 1 year old. We definitely made our book quota of two a day for the most part so I want to keep that up and add to it and make it a regular part of our day. :-)

Much thanks to Jennifer for hosting this fun reading challenge. Click on over to her site to see how others did on their Read to Me challenge. :-)

Monday Plan!

We put T on a plane last night for his last business trip before baby so it's just me and the girlies this week. Today, we have HUGE plans. They involve several loads of laundry and possibly staying in our pajamas ALL DAY LONG. After the last week and a half or so of lots of errands, we are going to relax today. :-) Not that we won't be being productive, of course. I have a little list of things I want to try and get done, or at least start on, for the week.

• Vacuum the whole house!
• Laundry (but I mentioned that already...)
• Work on my list of books for the Spring Reading Challenge
• Make a list of all those little things that I need to pick up before the baby comes ... a few nursing items, order the paper for the birth annoucements (I think I've finally decided what I'm doing there), etc.
• Work on/plan the Easter service for church ... pick music, figure out where the special music will fit, etc.
• Drink large quantities of Diet Root Beer
• Maybe some scrapbooking??
• Read with the girls a bunch
• Maybe even make it to the library this week.
• And, oh yes, our First-Day-of-Spring festivities!!

And I'm sure there will be more. :-) Happy Monday!

Menu Plan, March 17-24

Posting this here so I won't lose it! :-)

Saturday: Hawaiian Haystacks (crockpot)
Sunday: (lunch) hot dogs, bbq chips, potato salad
Monday: chicken broccoli lo mein
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: First-Day-of-Spring-Party, dinner (for me) will be leftover chicken ceasar pasta salad & french onion soup that I'm serving the moms that come
Thursday: breakfast dinner - french toast, grits, fruit
Friday: pizza
Saturday: slow cooked tamale cassarole (crockpot), from Taste of Home's Slow Cooker special edition, p. 92.

Suggestions, please!

Next weekend, the girls and I are hosting a small "first-day-of-spring" party here at our house for some of their little friends from church and their moms. Right now, the agenda is set to include a indoor picnic lunch, followed by the coloring of large quantities of eggs. :-) I could use some suggestions for fun, kid-friendly food for the lunch. I've got some ideas - crustless pb & j's, raw veggies, but because this is a party, I wanted some extra special ideas (or at least out of the norm for us) that don't break the bank.

I already know that I'm going to make this for the moms, maybe with some fun breadsticks. And the insane side of me is DYING to make this bunny cake because it looks like so much fun!

But, what I really need are fun kid ideas that does not involve chicken nuggets a.k.a. our lunch o' choice. Thoughts? :-)

One of Those Weeks

And, I'm not necessarily saying that to elicit great quantities of sympathy ... it just has been. I feel like I've gotten little to nothing accomplished or so it feels like and we have been running in every direction.

Monday: spent a good chunk of the morning on the phone figuring out why our internet was not working and another chunk of time looking for a lost dog that got out while I was on the phone. Topped off with a trip to Walmart for Easter shoes.
Tuesday: I had my 32 week check-up and by the time I was there and back, had dropped the girls off with friends for the morning and picked them up, and grabbed lunch, it was after 3 p.m. by the time we got home. Where did the day go???
Wednesday: Bible study at church in the morning, and Awana for N1 and T in the evening. Start to notice that N2's runny nose has taken a drastic turn for the worse, complete with nasty runny, swollen eyes. :-(
Thursday: Off to the dr. for a diagnosis of ear infection #3 for N2 AND pink-eye, poor baby. Add one trip to pick up a prescription and we're back home again.

And, I've been trying to make a grocery store run almost every day ... guess that will have to happen tomorrow.

I really am trying to look at weeks like this without complaining. Other than my doctor appointment and our Wednesday Bible study, most events were out of my control, but they still succeeded in contributing to my barely staying on top of the housework and laundry this week. And, as those are two things that overwhelm me easily, that keeps me feeling like I'm in a perpetual state of behind-ness.

Oh well, sometimes weeks are just like that. But tomorrow, I get to restock my pantry and freezer, and Saturday has NOTHING on the calendar that I have to do and I am thrilled about that.

Weekend Pics (...but no belly shot!)

You'll have to make due with cute girls. We never did get a photo of us at the wedding so no belly pic to bare. :-) This was N2's first bubble blowing experience ... needs a little work!

And they're off!

I'm about to sign off the computer for the weekend (other than a little church work that I need to wrap up). A dear friend of mine is getting married this weekend and his fiance is one of the most fabulous gals I've met thus far in life. (And not just because she and I have so stinkin' much in common that it's scary!) :-) Anyway, I have known the groom since he was about 13 and it's just surreal to be attending his wedding tomorrow ... I would appreciate prayers for the wedding if you think of it. I'm singing in the wedding, and at 32 weeks pregnant, there's not much extra room for good breath support for singing! I'm singing the Doxology (All People That on Earth Do Dwell) by The Martins with two other girls, so there will be others up there with me (thank goodness!), but as I'm the high part/melody, it will be somewhat noticable if I'm gasping for air. LOL

Anyway, a few links to leave you with and then, really, I'm done!!

• Lindsay of Enjoy the Journey has started a new blog about Finding Contentment in the Suburbs. I'm looking forward to that "journey" with her.
• Meridith @ Like Merchant Ships has entered a grocery challenge with The Aldi Queen as to who can save more money on their groceries ... by shopping either exclusively at Aldi's or clipping coupons. I admit to being biased in one direction, so I'm going to be following this next week!
• Pop over and say hi to a college friend of mine ... and one time roommate our senior year! ... Leah. She's entered blogdom and is a wonderful woman. I'm thrilled to be able to catch up with her more!

Now, adios y'all. Off to clean the house, pack bags for the girls, and get a move on it. The N's are spending the night with their aunt and uncle tonight while we attend the rehearsal dinner ... it's the first time N2 will not be at home overnight. *sniffle* Really, I'm not hormonal or anything. *snifflesniffle*

Little Bits

I've actually scrapped 3 pages this week ... and they are 8 1/2 x 11 layouts! The first that I've ever done. Now that I've switched to a binder system of storing my photos (like an American Crafts 3-ring album), as long as I have page protectors in both sizes, I can do layouts in either 8 1/2 x 11 or 12 x 12 and put them in the same album. I love that flexibility.

My Dad took these pictures of the baby lambs and the girls. A couple weekends ago, my folks borrowed the girls for a morning and went out to a farm that was covered in baby lambs. My Dad is a photography acquaintence of the owner and so they could get UP CLOSE to the babies. The one in the top picture on the left side was only 1 hour old when that picture was taken! The girls were not very impressed with the lambs ... I think they were a little freaked out, but my folks said it was very cool.

These are some invitations that I did for a 1st Day of Spring Party that the girls and I are going to have with Travis is out of town in a few weeks. We have decided to not go the route of Easter baskets and goodies on Easter morning with the girls, but still want to do some of the fun activities that you normally associate with Easter like coloring eggs.


It's not going to be a huge crazy blow-out - I hope not anyway! :) We are having some (little) friends and their Mamas over for lunch and then we'll all color Easter eggs. (A note: one thing I learned from last year's first-time experience of coloring Easter eggs with N1 is that it is a project best done several days before Easter if you don't want to go to church with colored hands on Easter Sunday!) I need to start making a list of what we're going to eat and need ... We haven't done birthday parties for the girls yet so this is my first attempt at entertaining a bunch of littles. :-)

Last Night

8:00 p.m. - Husband and N1 home from Awana
8:45 p.m. - N1 to bed
9:00 p.m. - Relax on respective couches with husband and watch a little TV on DVD to wind down
11:30 p.m. - Wake up off couch and go to bed
1:12 a.m. - Woken up by sick hubby.
1:45 a.m. - N1 joins the party needed to go to the bathroom. It's occupied.
1:46 a.m. - N2 wakes up to see what is going on.
2:00 a.m. - N1 gets a turn and goes back to bed.
2:10-ish a.m. - Hubby goes back to bed.
2:11 a.m. - N2 still awake and ready to PARTY!
3:30 a.m. - N2 finally goes back to bed.
4:15 a.m. - N2 wonders if it is time to get up now?
4:45 a.m. - N2 goes back to bed again.
7:00 a.m. - N1 and N2 wake up to greet the day.

Running on fumes here, people.

It's About That Time...

I'm so there.

Head on over to Katrina's for the details...

Heard 'Round These Parts

On Monday night, I was recovering from stomach unpleasantries, so I made homemade beef vegetable soup for dinner. Yum. N1 wanted to see what I was making on the stove so I lifted her up so she could see inside the pot. This is the resulting coversation:

N1: What's that?

Me: Vegetable soup. It's yummy.

N1: Eeew, that's yucky. Gross.

Me: It's not gross, it's really good.

N1 (to N2): N2? Can you say "gross?"

She's already taking her responsibilities as a big sister very seriously in the intructions of what is and isn't gross! :-) Not to mention, I didn't even know that she KNEW the word "gross."

(Party people, my intro post is right here!)

Pregnancy Update

(If you are visiting from the party, my intro post is here!)

Nancy asked me for a pregnancy update so I thought I would try and oblige ... not sure about posting a pregnancy photo right now. The last one I took wasn't that great (N1 took it!), but as I'm singing in a wedding this weekend, I'm sure there will be pictures. If one is fairly decent I'll post one later. :-)

Right now, I'm 31 1/2 weeks, and starting to get a glimpse that the end is in sight. My next appointment is a week from today and as far as I know, just a routine check up for the most part. I had my 1-hour glucose as my February appointment and passed (yeah!) for which I was very thankful. I had to do the 3-hour test with N2, and didn't want to have to deal with trying to schedule that again.

As far as how I'm feeling ... overall, I have nothing to complain about! I'm sleeping about as well as can be expected (which isn't as much as I would like), but occasionally I'll have nights like last night where I sleep like a rock and end up feeling more rested than normal. I'm starting to have some pinching in my sciatic nerve which is a first for me. The baby is definitely not as active as my other girls. N2 was all over the place, but at 11+ lbs., I have to assume that she didn't have much room in there and was just trying to be comfortable. I remember N1 as more of a kicker, but then again, she was my first and so, like a true first-ime mother, I breathlessly waiting for every. single. movement. and would spend my evenings watching my stomach shift with her rolls. This little munchkin isn't not as busy and her movements, even now, are more fluttery than deliberate pokes and jabs. :-)

Did I leave anything out? :-) If so, don't hesitate to ask! You know about those pregnancy brain cells!

If you are stopping by from the party ...

I'm sorry I have nothing more interesting for you. (My party intro can be found here.) We are in the just-getting-by-pattern today, as I have a VERY upset stomach (I think due to something I've eaten) and am moving s-l-o-w-l-y and just getting the bare minimum done. Also, after sharing my idea with my husband, am working on a no-TV week here with N1 so that means I need to be more focused with her. Normally if you were coming to visit, you would find my exciting Menu Plan Monday, but as the thought of food is abhorent, that will come later this week. And, I heard a powerful sermon yesterday about fear and anxiety that I would like to share some stuff on, but it ain't happening.

Blessings on your Monday if you stop by! I'll be over on the couch if you need me. :-)

Welcome to the Party!!

Welcome! If this is your first time here, via the Ultimate Blog Party, then double-welcome! :-) A little bit about myself...

• I'm Stephanie, *cough36cough*, and living in the beautiful state of Tennessee.
• Most importantly, I'm a child of the King, a sinner saved by grace, and ambassador for Christ.
• I'm married to Travis, my favorite person in the whole world, and we will celebrate 5 years of marriage this August ('07).
• I'm a stay-at-home-mama to two beautiful (busy!) little girls who go by N1 and N2 here in internet-land. You can see some recent pics of them here.
• N1 is 3 years old, super-duper active, and recently potty-trained. (Can I get an Amen!?) She has JUST discovered the joy of reading books, and I am thrilled.
• N2 just turned 1, just started walking, can say "mama" and "daaaa", and can sign "milk", "more", and occasionally "please." She is my mellow one and adores laptime snuggles and sleeping.
• I'm also expecting our 3rd little girl and she will arrive late April or early May ... depending on how big she is. I have BIG babies. (Like over 11 lbs. big with N2!)
• When pregnant, I crave diet root beer, over LOTS of ice, and peanut butter - especially peanut butter and cheese sandwiches.
• I am thankful every. single. day. that I have the privilege of staying home with my girls and taking care of our home. I really do enjoy almost every part of it ... except cleaning the bathroom. :-)
• And keeping up with our dogs. Two of them. Siberian Huskies. Can we say "shed"?!
• I love to read and am a sucker for Christian Fiction. However, I am slowly developing a love for non-fiction and am trying to work more of that into my reading diet, as well as more classic literature. (I read Pride and Prejudice this summer for the first time this summer and fell in love).
• I work part-time for my church from home - as the church administrator and music coordinator. I do everything from print the bulletins, buy the toilet paper, and pick the music for Sunday mornings. When I'm not in the end-stages of being pregnant, I serve on the music team one to two weeks a month, thanks to an in-town Grandma who loves to come stay with my girls so I can go to music rehearsals and be at church early on Sunday mornings for last-minute run-throughs. Another benefit to being on the music team is that it's something I can do with my husband, a professional musician who came to Nashville to play guitar.
• A few of my favorite things would be: Diet Coke, purses (current favorites), pens, scrapbooking and card making, organizing, Sunday afternoon drives in the sunshine, Sonic drinks, Target, good popcorn, Netflix, practicing my handwriting/handwritten journaling, West Wing, iTunes, new recipes, making lists, my minivan, real letters (in the mail!), Greek gyros, making invitations/cards/notepads, road trips, good coffee ... and this list really could keep on going.
• Life isn't perfect here, but God has blessed exceedingly and abundantly beyond more than I could ever ask or imagine.

I look forward to taking the blog party tour and coming by to visit y'all. Thanks for coming by and commenting!