Show Us Your Life: Wedding Party & Ceremony

It's Friday and Show us your Life at Kelly's Korner. This week theme is wedding party and ceremony week.

We were married in May 2006 at The Beachview Club on Jekyll Island in Georgia. We decided to have a destination wedding and had around 90 family and close friends come to celebrate with us. We tried to keep our wedding simple, but nice. We were married at 6pm overlooking the beach by our friend Andrew. Our ceremony was short and sweet. We told Andrew before hand that we only wanted it to last no longer than 15 minutes. It was the first and probably shortest wedding he's performed. We had the song "When God made you" by Newsong and Natalie Grant played (it still tears me up when I hear it). Since we wanted the focus to be on the beach in the background, we decided to not go for many decorations. We stuck with just a few Gerber daisies tied together at the end of the rows and rose petals lining the aisle. It all turned out beautiful.

A close up of my flowers. The bridesmaids carried smaller versions of my bouquet and we had the same flowers tied to the end of the aisle.

For some reason, none of the wedding party pictures turned out. Some reason, they all came out blurry. We decided to keep the wedding party small with only three to each side. My cousin Aubry was my maid of honor and my brother Josh and sister Liz stood by my side. While David's brother Joey was the best man and he asked his dad and friend Brandon to stand by him. Our flower girl was my baby cousin Savanna and the ring bearers were my nephews Brandon and Chase. Needless to say our wedding was definitely a family affair.

Now head over to Kelly's Korner and Show Us Your Life!

Another small town secret...

Yep, that is what you think it is. The hubby came home with it the other night. One of David's "regulars" evidently is in the moon shinning business and David evidently looked like he was having a rough day, so he asked David to meet him out back and slipped this to him. It even came with it's own unmarked little brown bag.

Yes, there is a swig missing from it. Of course David had to try it (when he got home). For the record, he said it was a little strong and one swig was all you needed.

Another perk of working for the waffle?

Random Wednesdays

• Today we were supposed to head to the pool with the Pope's, but it has ended up being a rainy day in Georgia. It has actually turned out to be nice just hanging out and being lazy together while the rain pours outside. The only downside is our yard gets cut on Wednesdays and now it will be a few days before the yard people get out here.
  

• I have started getting my hospital bag ready. I have my list the hospital gave me and a experienced mom list that Kameron sent me (I will be happy to send it along if anyone needs one). I have a few other things to pick up, but it's mostly together now and sitting next to Olivia's car seat.

• This weekend, my sister Liz asked how it feel being pregnant? One word...Uncomfortable. I am definitely at that point now that I'm tired of being pregnant. I don't want to rush her, but I'm ready for it to be over with. I now understand why women in the third trimester always look miserable...it's because they are. Plus, we are as ready as can be for her arrival, so I think that also adds to the eagerness.

• I've started working on my thank you notes from the shower. It has made me realize that I hate writing thank you notes. I always feel like what I'm writing sounds dorky.
  

• We're praying for some good news this week. Back in May, David learned that anyone in management would be taking a pay cut. Sadly, it ended up being a 35% pay cut. Luckily, for us we could still pay all our bills (with me staying home) and it just meant less money to be saved and not much money for fun stuff. There has been a big hoopla over this pay cut and last week a emergency meeting was called by the big wigs to fix this problem. We are supposed to find out the details of what the new pay will be this week. We're praying that things work out for the better.

• Between family in town, three birthdays to celebrate, and the shower, we have done nothing but eat out for the past week. I told David that I was to the point that absolutely nothing sounds good anymore. I finally made it to the store this morning and we'll finally be eating a home cooked meal tonight.
  

• I know I've said this already, but I am still overwhelmed with the generosity that was giving to us over the weekend. I could not believe how much stuff we received for Olivia Kate. We only had to pick up a few more things, but it was all covered with returned items or gift cards. We went yesterday to pick up the last few things and we even had some $ left on a gift card. That of course, will be saved for some needed things in the future. Thank you again everyone for all you did!
  

The rest of the weekend

Since it was baby shower weekend, of course my mom and sisters, Liz & Angela came down, but all the men decided to come down for the weekend too! This is the first time Angela and Bob have been down our way (besides our wedding) and it was exciting to have all them here. I only wish that we would have had more time to spend together.

Dinner Saturday night at Buffalo's

Here is Liz & I in our own little world, while Angela is being a complete poser.

Visiting with my Grandparents


Breakfast Sunday morning at the waffle house


And guess what David had to do all weekend...work! So here is our way of including him in on the family pictures.

Looking at the photos now, it looks like all we did all weekend was eat. While the ladies attended the baby shower, the guys went and played golf and we did get a little bit of shopping in. I don't want y'all to think all we did all weekend was eat. Though it was exciting to have them all here, it was also exhausting. I was worn out by Sunday night, but being 8 months pregnant, it doesn't take much.

Sunday night we also celebrated David's mom and dad's birthday. There birthday's were last Thursday and Friday. Unfortunately, due to the shower, they kinda got the shaft on celebrating this weekend. So, Happy Birthday again to two of them! They are the best in-laws a person could have and I love them like my own parents. I'm so thankful to be blessed with the two of them. We will definitely be celebrating big next year when they turn the big 5-0!

We're ready!

It's funny that one day last week, I had a pregnant lady emotional breakdown because I was worried about not getting the stuff we needed for Olivia and not being ready for her to come. Fortunately, I was proved very wrong over the weekend.

Some of our awesome family threw us a baby shower over the weekend. We are only having one shower since I hate any type of shower (wedding or baby) and I convinced the people who were all talking about throwing me a shower, to combine and have one big shower. I hate going to them and I hate even more having one in my honor. I had three wedding showers and it was torture. Why you ask? I seriously hate opening gifts in front of people.

I was amazed at the turn out (there were close to 40 people) and was excited to see some people I haven't seen for years. I didn't know I was so loved or maybe it's Olivia? Either way, Olivia received everything she needed plus much more. I couldn't believe the sea of gifts. It really meant so much that people were so generous to us. We got all the major stuff like a car seat/stroller, a pack-in-play, a highchair, etc. Plus we got a ton of the small things babies need (which is the stuff that adds up). We even got doubles on some things which will just be returned for the few items we still need.

After sleeping till only 3:30am on Sunday morning, I got up and worked on organizing all her new stuff in her room. So, it's official....we're ready for her arrival!!!

Thank you again to all those who attended. I enjoyed seeing everyone and only wish I had more time to socialize with everyone. Words cannot express how grateful we are for every one's generosity. This little girl is truly loved. Here are a few pics from the shower.

The gift everyone was talking about that Nicole made. She also posted about the shower and has more cute pics. Plus, pics of the other cute outfit she made.

Me in the "sea of pink"

Aubry has a friend at school who is starting to get into the cake business. She did the luau themed cake and it turned out super cute.

The Cake Topper

My sisters, who won the award for who traveled the farthest to be there.

KP & me

My Grandy who I haven't seen in years. I was so excited she came.

Olivia's Four Great-Grandmothers

Alison & Me
Alison is my oldest friend. We have known each other since the first grade. She use to throw pencils in my hair when I had a fro (aka: a perm) but seriously she has also been a friend that has always been there. I'm so grateful for our friendship.

And you know who this lady is...my Aubs!
She is one of several who hosted the shower. Y'all already know what this girl means to me. I love her so much and so thankful for all she did this weekend (and every other day).

And I'm sure you didn't notice (yeah right), but I am officially big now. I seriously woke up one day last week and just looked big. Those who see me on a daily basis even noticed it. But, only 8 weeks left! I cannot believe that she is going to be here so soon. I cannot wait for her arrival! The best part is that we're now officially ready for her!

Show us Your Life: Wedding Dress Edition

Every Friday, Kelly's Korner hosts Show us your Life and today is Show us your Wedding Dress. Here are a few pictures of my dress from our wedding in May 2006. I tell everyone that my wedding dress shopping was the least stressful part of my whole wedding. In April 2005, I headed up to Nashville, TN to look at bridesmaid dresses with my sister and cousin. My mom told me about this store a friend of hers had told her about. We just stopped by to see what they had and ended up walking out with a dress. I ended up with a dress before we had even picked out a venue to be married at.

It was so simple because it was honestly the first and only wedding dress I tried on. Once I got in the dress and went to look in the mirror I just started bawling because it seemed to make everything so real. I loved my dress and would probably pick the same one today. It was the perfect dress for me. Plus, the only alterations it had to have was to be hemmed. I am still in love with it today!

Our Official Wedding Picture

A close up of the front & me squinting my eyes as usual

Maid-of-honor lacing me up

Now, head over to Kelly's Korner and show us your wedding dress!

Ranting...

Sorry, this has been bothering me all day and I had to get it off my chest...

One of our shows we watch is Toddlers and Tiaras. Most people probably think this show is sick, but majority of the time to us it's just funny to watch because it's usually the parents just making a fool of themselves. We usually just laugh at how stupid and in denial the parents are. This past Wednesday night was the season 2 premiere and for the first time, I just got mad while watching it.

There was a mom on there that was a mother to five girls. The oldest were six and twins. They claimed they were fraternal, but to be honest, I could not tell the two apart. One of the twins is obviously favored more than the other by the mom and the mom did not fail to let the other know it. She continuously throughout the show told the one twin that the other was better than her. She called even called the one twin's nose "bigger!" This little girl was six years old and I can say there was nothing "bigger" on this poor child. I was sitting there and seriously could not believe the mom was saying the things she was. The other part was that the dad just sat there and said nothing. The whole situation was just sad. Throughout the entire show the mother was just putting down this poor child and constantly comparing her to her sister and doing it to her face. Of course, this poor child seemed to be the sweetest child and her "better" sister was a brat.

I don't live in denial and I believe people can say what they want but, I think majority of the time parents do favor one child over another. I don't think that the parent loves the other any less, I believe that due to interests and personalities, it naturally happens. I do think it is another thing to bluntly show this favoritism to your child. This mother was wrong on so many levels. I was appalled at the things she was saying to this six year old child. Sadly, this poor girl was only six and will more than likely live with this the rest of her life.

As the show went on, the bratty twin had to be pulled out of the contest due to temper tantrums. The "bigger nose" twin ended up winning the director's choice award, meaning she was the pageant director's favorite contestant in the entire pageant. This little girl was so excited she had finally won something and the mother barley acknowledged her. I wanted to slap the mother in the face with the way she was acting towards this child. This little girl was so excited and even tried to give her balloons she had won to her twin because she didn't get anything. All the mother could say was that she was shocked the little girl won anything.

All this bothered me for several different reasons. First, like I said earlier, I feel like you shouldn't compare your children the way this mother was. Even though they both came from you, they are still their own people and with that comes different strengths and weaknesses and of course personalities. I could not believe the things she was saying to her 6 year old. I know my child is not here yet, but I've spent years working with young kids and I know you don't say the things she was saying to any child. I don't think you should baby your kids, but the world is hard enough, as their parent you should be the first in line to have something positive to say to them. Which leads to the second reason it bothered me so much.

All women are aware of the society we live in, a society that focuses way too much on looks. I will admit there are many times I look at magazine covers of celebrities or see others in the store and wish I had her legs or was as skinny as she is. There have been plenty of times I've looked in the mirror and complained about my big butt or the permanent dark circles under my eyes. Luckily, I have a husband who is always standing behind me telling me how beautiful I am. With knowing I'm going to be a mother to a little girl, I am scared to pass on these bad habits to her. This is seriously something I have thought about since I found out I was going to have a little girl. How can I teach my daughter to love herself when I don't always love myself? I couldn't imagine telling my six year old daughter that her nose was "bigger." What is that going to do to her self esteem? This poor child is going to be so screwed by the time she is a teenager. I would not be surprised if she is asking for a nose job on her thirteen birthday.

For the record, I don't necessary have a problem with pageants. I think if your kid enjoys it and wants to do it, go for it. I have seen enough episodes of the show to see a few parents who I think handle the pageants the correct way. Of course for every one of those parents, there are three who take it to the extreme and give the pageants the bad rap they have. I do think if handled the correct way, pageants can be a good thing and be a learning experience to the child. That being said, no, I'm not running out to put Olivia Kate in a pageant two weeks after she is born.

I searched for a video clip of the twin's mom, but I could not find one that showed her actions towards her child. Here is a overall preview of last nights episode. The mom to look out for is the Sterling's. Oh...is it just me or does the little blond girl look like a four year old Anna Nicole Smith?



Thanks for listening to me rant...it's been bothering me all day.

A small town secret

Tuesday morning, we ventured out to see what kinda trouble we could get into. We had no plans, we just got in the car and started driving around our small town.

I mentioned to David that I was in the mood to go to a museum. I am a museum junkie. I love them. Big or small and regardless of what they house, I eat it up. But, a). I didn't want to drive to Atlanta and b). I didn't want to go somewhere that would cost a lot to get in. David mentioned a billboard advertising a museum that we often pass by, we weren't sure exactly what it was, but we decided to turn around and go check it out.


Back in the day, our town was a mill town. There use to be several major mills in which everyone in town worked at or had a family member that did. Sadly, like most mills in our country, the mills were shut down and the work shipped to other countries. That was of course the decline of this small town we live in and now there are a bunch of empty mills that are sitting around.

We pull up to one of these old mills which is surrounded by a tall fence with barb wire on top. We weren't sure if it was open, closed or what, but we notice the gate to the fence is open so we go ahead and drive in. Even from the outside the place looked interesting. There are a several dozen old cars, firetrucks, a trolley, and a fighter plane sitting around. The door to the mill was open but no one was around so, David decided to go in and see if he could find anyone. I of course sit in the car and wait for the go ahead. After a few minutes, he comes out and says it's not open but one of the guys who work there eats at one of his stores everyday and said we were welcomed to come in and look around. He then says "your not going to believe it."


We walked in and to my surprise, there is a ton of stuff sitting inside this warehouse. I was in amazement. There were seriously over a hundred cars sitting inside this place. They had everything you could think of, from old 50's cars, to Lamborghini's, to cars that I have never even seen or heard of before. David of course was in his element. He loves cars. Plus, they had three different classic Porsche's which is his dream car. The place also had a ton of antiques sitting around. They had huge fountains, statues of famous people, and a ton of other random stuff. The place had stuff from floor to ceiling. Like he said, I couldn't believe it.

We walked around the mill for about an hour trying to take in everything. It was cool because no one else was there but us and the two guys who work there. Come to find out, the guy who owns it has other business ventures in our town but, his hobby is a collector of most everything, especially cars. This is where he houses his hobby, a old 20,000 square foot mill. He did tell David that most everything in the place, cars included, were for sale. But unfortunately, we didn't have the money to afford any of them.


This post could have been more interesting, but I took my camera in and didn't take any pictures. I wasn't sure if they might say anything since the place is not open to the public. I'm one of those people who sometimes feels funny about pulling my camera out in certain places. I really wish I would have though. David wants to go back and take John (my step-dad) since he loves classic cars, so I will definitely take pictures the next time.

Fast forward a few hours later and we stopped by my favorite bookstore. While there I picked up a local magazine that has all the what's going on and who's who in our small town. I open it up and guess what I find, an article about this place and the guy who owns it. Come to find out the guy is trying to retire and that is why everything is for sale and the place is no longer open on a daily basis, but anyone can call for an appointment to view the place.

David is later looking at the article, points to a picture in the article and says "that's the guy who eats at my store everyday." The guy who "works there" is actually the guy who owns it all.

The perks of working for Waffle House.

Here is the link if you can afford any of those classic cars.
http://www.brandonclassics.com/

Harry Potter & The Oreo

Well, we made it to see Harry Potter yesterday afternoon. I have to be honest, I have mixed feelings on it. The movie was a good movie, but I felt like it was lacking something....an ending maybe? I have read all the books and I know how everything plays out. I know that each book leads up to the next, but I felt like the movie had no ending, it seemed like it was just a lead up to the last two movies (the 7th book will be divided into two movies I've heard) which will not come out for at least another two years or more. This is probably making no sense, but the first five movies to me seemed like they had some kinda ending to them and lead up to the next movie all at the same time. I'm sure y'all are all completely confused now. The hubby agreed with me on this, so at least someone gets my point. Thankfully we're cheap and only paid matinee price.

Last night after dinner, we had a lazy night of watching tv and like any 7 & 1/2 month pregnant woman, I started craving something chocolate. Last week at the grocery store, I broke down and bought a package of oreos. This is a big deal because I usually NEVER buy stuff like this. I always believe in theory that if it's not in the house, then we won't eat it, so I hardly ever buy any junk food. I have even been pretty good and stuck to this while pregnant. So, last night at 9pm when I start thinking about these wonderful oreos in the cabinet, I eventually pull myself off the couch (not an easy task now) to get some. I go in kitchen, pour me a glass of milk, and open up the oreo package....there is only ONE freakin oreo in the package!!!!!!!!! Only One!!! Who would be so mean to eat the entire package of oreo's and leave one? I was so mad at David. He claims he didn't eat them all but there are only two people in this house. I thought back and in the last week, I had only seven cookies, he ate the rest of the double stuffed goodness. Talk about depressing, but I ate my one single oreo and drank my glass of milk. It wasn't so much the fact he ate all the oreo's, I was more upset about the fact he ate all but one. It was nothing but a tease. Seriously, who leaves just one?

Weekend Review

I could tell you that we had a exciting weekend, but I would be lying. My Saturday was BORING. I had spent almost pretty much three days straight in the house and was about to go crazy. I sent David a text and told him to hurry up and come home from work so that I could have something to do. When he got off, we rode thirty minutes to a nearby town to walk around an outdoor shopping center. Basically, we hung out at the bookstore. That is one of the cool things we do. I did get a surprise though later that night when my Aunt & Cousin Aubry called to say they were in my town and wanted to stop by to see Olivia Kate's room. I love those two and always have fun with them. They made my night!

I did have one exciting part of the weekend. On Sunday we went to celebrate my Aunt Sylvia's birthday. Like most cities, Atlanta has several restaurants that are must-eat-at's when your here in Atlanta. One of those, is Mary Mac's Tea Room. I know where it is, what it is, what they serve, etc. but I have never been there in my 26 years of living in the area. Luckily for me, that is where my Aunt Syl decided to go eat for her birthday. All I can say was that it was delicious!!!! It greatly lived up to all the talk I've heard over the years. If your in Atlanta...it is a must! David (fortunately) had to work, so it gives us a reason to go back soon. In case your wondering, they serve southern food and it's one of those places you don't go to if your on a diet.

My Aunt Sylvia & Uncle George

In other news, I have given up on sleeping. I have come to terms that my body is officially started to condition me for when Olivia comes. I usually don't go to bed till after 12am and 4:30am is my magic wake up time. Sometimes I can go back to sleep a little later, but most mornings now (like today) I'm up and ready to go. There is good news though. Several people have asked if she keeps me up at night kicking and so far the answer is no. I have been told by a few people that is a good sign because that means she doesn't have her days and nights mixed up. The funny thing is that usually she starts kicking around 4 or 5am, so that is why I'm convinced she is already trying to get me on her schedule. Last night while we were sitting around watching tv, she did get the hiccups and she had them for a good twenty minutes. I don't know why, but it was cracking me up. Only 9 weeks and she will be here!!!!

We do have an exciting week this week. David is off today and tomorrow. We're planning on going to see Harry Potter sometime this afternoon. We are cheap now and only go to the matinees. Plus, I have a baby shower this weekend!!! The most exciting thing is that there are many people that I haven't seen in years that are coming. I am so excited to get to see everyone and of course get baby stuff. I'm in love with all baby things right now. Plus, my mom and sisters from Tennessee and Kentucky are coming down. I'm excited to spend the weekend with them!!! Usually it is hard for all of us to get together, so this will be a rare weekend.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!

I cannot wait....

I cannot wait to wear non-maternity clothes again!!!!

It's funny because at first I was so excited to wear them because it was something new, but that is now so over. It also doesn't help that for most of my "cute" maternity clothes no longer fit. I am tired of wearing the same thing over and over again.

Oh, September, please come fast....

I did break down and buy some shoes yesterday. I had a pair like them a few years ago and wore them till they fell apart. I finally threw them away last year. When I saw these, I had to have them.

My feet haven't seemed to have gotten too much bigger. But since they are swollen right now, I pretty much stick to flip flops. I decided to go with a 1/2 size bigger just in case. I hope they fit!





And I bought these, but they were only $7.

Now that OK's room is done, my focus has shifted to getting my hospital bag ready. On the list they gave me it says to bring comfy clothes to wear home. I had been debating on what I wanted to bring. When I saw these I thought they would be perfect! They are wide leg stretchy pants. They look pretty comfy to me. Plus, I thought they might be good to wear around the house while recovering.


And then I got these to wear around the house too that first week or so.


So, that is my first purchase for clothes after pregnancy...YAY!!!!

Hopefully, the hubby will not be to mad when he reads this post. He would love to get rid of my Old Navy credit card. But I've been extremely good about not buying myself anything the past few months. I'm sorry honey! At least I didn't just hide them from you like I normally do! : )

I'm in trouble...

I am a horrible wife (not really), but last week Nicole posted about Andrew winning an award and I failed to post about David's award.

Sorry Hubby...I love you!

David got the award for The Best Target Overall. What that means is that every week they have several numbers they have to hit and when those numbers are averaged together, that is your target. If you hit your target or lower than that's a good thing, anything above is bad. David's average is -1.94% below his target. Which is awesome in Waffle House world.

I have to brag a little more...in the waffle house pyramid, he is in a area with 30 stores, he runs three of those stores. Since he was placed in his district a year ago, he has remained the #1 or #2 district in his area for the entire year. There is only one other lady that he keeps battling with and every few weeks they just seem to switch the #1 spot. So out of ten other districts, he is always #1 or #2.

Congrats Dave! You work every hard and deserve the recognition. I'm so proud of you!!!

The Charmer strikes again!

You would not believe the conversation that we just had.

We have become addicted to the tv show 16 and pregnant. Yes, it's sad, we're 27 and watching MTV. Anyways...

We're watching 16 and pregnant and the midwife is describing labor to the young girl who is about to have a baby. She describes it like this "pushing out a baby is like pushing out poop."

Of course, this sets the hubby off. Anything relating to poop or farts is hilarious to my husband. So he informs me "I know something about that, I might be a better coach than you think."

I have to start laughing at that. Then he goes to open his mouth and I already know what is going to come out.

All I'm going to say is that if he even attempts to scream "Who does #2 work for?" in the delivery room, that I will pick up the nearest needle and stab him.



I told y'all my husband was a charmer.

As promised....

As promised....here are pictures from Olivia Kate's (OK) Nursery. The pictures aren't the best because my camera sucks, but I can say that I am in love!!!

There are a few finishing touches that need to be done. The curtains will be done in a few weeks when my mom comes down and I am looking for a few other things to hang on the walls. Other than that, it's done!





The room turned out very calming. I really like it because it has color in it, but it's calming at the same time. Especially at night with just the lamp on. The chair is so comfy!!! David wanted to move it into the living room already. I told him OK gets it for a little bit. There are also feet that go on the bottom of the dresser/changing table, but of course, they need to be painted.

I mentioned before that the only furniture that is brand new is the glider and the crib, everything else is been in the family. The bookshelf is one my grandfather made for me when I was a kid and was in my room growing up. Also, the child's table and chairs also belong to me when I was a kid. The dresser/changing table belonged to David's great-grandmother who past away a few years ago. We inherited it then and it has just been sitting around the last few years. The furniture turned out great. It took a lot of time and paint, but we ended up saving a lot of money.

So after a straight week of work, it's done. Its amazing to think that a week ago, it looked nothing like a baby's room. Once we started last Thursday, I was on a rampage to get it done and have worked on it everyday this past week. I'm so glad it's finally done!

Questions & Answers

I know there has been a lot of baby talk this week, but let's face it, since leaving my job, I have nothing else to talk about. I have found that once your pregnant, you get asked the same questions a lot. So here is my attempt to maybe answer some of those questions.

-Am I going to breastfeed?
After many months of going back and forth, I have decided to not go for it. I just don't get the warm and fuzzy feelings most women get when thinking about it and have decided it's just not for me. I felt guilty for a period of time, but thanks to two friends (Alison & Renee) who both decided to go the same route I am, talking to them about it has helped me get over my guilt and be at peace with my decision. Luckily, I have a husband who supports me with whatever I want to do and to be honest I think when he found out the nitty gritty of it, he really didn't want me to either.

-Where did we come up with the name Olivia Kate?
I have always liked the name Olivia. It's kinda old school, but nothing too out there. David wasn't a huge fan of it at first, but for some reason when I put it with Kate, he went for it. Kate is short for Katherine. Katherine happens to be a family name for both of us, but David's great grandmother was named & called Katherine. David was always close to her and I was fortunate to become close to her in the years David & I were dating. Sadly, she past away the day after we married. We decided to go with Kate because it just seemed to flow better with Olivia.

-Am I going to go for a natural birth?
To be honest, I so far have no opinion on this. Some people close to me say epidural all the way and others say you can do it naturally. Since I have never given birth, I have no idea how much I can take or how I will react to it all. I have honestly never had to deal with any surgeries or major amounts of pain in my life, so I honestly don't know what my pain tolerance is. It's one of those things we'll find out when we get there. Next go round I'll have an opinion.

-What does it feel like to have a baby inside you?
I actually get asked this one a lot. To me the best way to describe it is that it feels just like that, a baby inside you moving around. There is no other way to describe what it feels like and to me it feels like nothing else. So sorry to all the guys that have asked me that...but unless you carry a baby inside you or another human for whatever reason, there is no other feeling to compare it to.

-Who am I going to have in the delivery room with me?
Obviously, David will be in there and more than likely the only one in there. I feel like this is a private moment (there is a reason why I didn't sign up for A Baby Story) and a moment I want to share with just the two of us. We have to share Olivia with everyone else for the rest of her life, so we want to have the first few moments of her life to belong to just the two of us (and the doctors & nurses). One thing I like about the hospital we are delivering at is that they don't like a lot of fuss & people around. They feel its not good for the mom or baby and they are very strict with their rules and not afraid to tell people to leave. During labor only three people are allowed in the room (that includes dad) and during delivery only two people are allowed in the room (that includes dad also). So the only reason we would have anyone else would be if something was to go wrong, in which I have asked David's mom if that is case, to stay in the room. She has been a nurse for 25 years and has spent the last 20 years at the hospital I will deliver at. Needless to say, she knows people. She is who has honestly made sure that I have gotten the best care so far. She has even gone to the labor and delivery floor to talk to the nurses and they are aware of who I am. Though, the main reason being that if something were to go wrong, she could keep up better with what is going on. Other than that it will be just David and I. Or unless David decides to not answer his phone that day, then it will be my friend Renee who is my designated ride to the hospital if I cannot get a hold of the hubby. Then it will be Renee & I, but hopefully that won't happen.

-Are we keeping the dogs after the baby is born?
Yes, we are keeping the dogs unless it just doesn't work out. I would like to get rid of the dog hair, but since they are both older we feel it's not right to them to be given away. Biscuit is now 9 or 10 years old and before we got her she had a pretty rough life. In the beginning we weren't sure about having her around kids, but she has changed into the sweetest dog since. She's been around kids several times and has had no problems so right now we're hoping it stays that way. Buddy is now 6 or 7 and we have had him pretty much his whole life. He is a big baby and very sensitive and it would seriously break his heart if we ever gave him away. Of course, he is wonderful with kids and always has been. They are both good dogs and they will have a time adjusting since they have been our babies the past few years. So unless anything major happens they are staying in the Mabrey household.

-Is David taking vacation when the baby is born?
The answer to this is yes & no. He has a ten day vacation left and he has worked it out to were he can take a few days from it but he is not going to take the whole ten days. Two reasons...1. if he had to stay around the house for ten days he would drive me insane and 2. since he would have to use it in September, then he would have to go till at least February without another vacation and we have learned that makes for one grumpy husband/daddy. So I asked him to take about three or four days off and then save the vacation till November. Daivid's mom has already asked off for the week after Olivia's birth and is planning on coming down to help me. So we will be a much happier household if daddy goes back to work. Those who know my husband know what I'm talking about.

Dear Wal-mart....

Dear Wal-mart of Gtown,

I would have to ask that you please remove Janice from the register. She literally is the slowest person I have ever seen. A person has to try to move that slow. She moves at a pace that she would be much better at the fitting rooms returning items that are out of place rather than at a cash register in which a 7 and 1/2 month pregnant lady has to stand in line for over 3o minutes with only one person in front of her (its not good for the cankles). Yes, she moves that slow. Also, I believe that Janice was absent on the day that the cashiers were trained on coupons. Please advise her that with today's technology, she doesn't have to read and study every coupon. All she has to do is scan the coupon and if its no good, then the register will reject it. Please explain this to her, I think the fact she felt the need to study all 20 coupons, one by one, contributed to the fact of why her line was not moving.

Thanks!

30 Weeks

It's here...the final 10 weeks. I cannot believe I am at the point where I can say I'm 30 weeks. It seems strange saying your in the 30's. This whole pregnancy has seemed to go by fast and slow all at the same time. It's crazy to think that at this time last year I wasn't thinking to much about babies, but of course now, that is all our talk seems to be about.

According to the pregnancy book, Olivia Kate is about 17 inches long and weighs about 3 lbs. It's crazy to think she weighs more now than my brother did when he was born. It's even crazier to think we only have ten weeks left. I am in no way trying to rush her, but I am so excited for her to get here. I cannot wait to hold her in my arms. We want her here but praying she stays there until she's ready to come out. We just want a healthy baby girl.

We're wrapping things up in preparing her room and our shower is a weekend away. There are a lot of people coming that I haven't seen in forever and I am so excited to get to see everybody. Of course, I also cannot wait to see what Olivia Kate gets. I am anxious to make sure we have everything we need for when she gets here. Right now my main concern is not labor or anything, I'm more worried about having everything we need. But, like my mom keeps reminding me, it will all work out.

I owe a great big thanks to my friend Amy. When she came over to help paint last Thursday she brought me three boxes of clothes and diapers. She just had her daughter Matalie last March and luckily had a bunch of winter stuff for 0/3 months. Everything Matalie wears is adorable and luckily since our friend Sheena found out she is having a boy, the clothes were past down to Olivia Kate. Thanks to Amy, Olivia Kate will be a stylish baby!

These are just the clothes that Amy brought me!!!
The rubbermaid container at top is full of 6-12 month clothes. This girl already has more clothes than me!

The Nursery Nightmare

I posted earlier that if you wanted part 1 of the painting of Olivia Kate's nursery, head over to Nicole's. Thankfully, she took pictures throughout the day and posted about it. The paint party went wonderfully and we got way more accomplished than I ever thought we would with five kids under the age of five. I am so grateful to my friends for all their help. I owe them a lot more than lunch, a 3 & 1/2 hour nap, and five poopie diapers (they know what I'm talking about).

I could write a loooonnnngggg post of what all happened in the 48 hours after the paint party but I will spare you all the details. Let's just say it contained a husband walking in and saying "oh shit," three emotional breakdowns, three coats of primer, and a total of 48 hours of painting.

Obviously, when the paint went on the walls the first time, I wasn't happy with the result. The idea was green the bottom half of the wall, pink the top half, and a stripe of brown in the middle. The result ended up looking like a big bowl of spumoni ice cream. The green turned out way to bright and as my mother put it "glowed beneath the doors." It wasn't going to work so we decided to repaint. The end result turned out much better than the original idea. I honestly wasn't feeling it at first, but I am in love with it now. I can't wait to have the whole thing done and the final pictures up.

Here are a few pics from the beginning to end of the painting...

Thursday @ 3:30pm

A big bowl of spumoni ice cream!
Thursday @ 9:30pm

The end result
Friday @ 11:30pm

A close up of the stripe

Before I get comments saying the green wasn't that bad...the pictures DO NOT do it justice!!! It was bright!!! Plus, the friends who helped paint agreed that the pink looked better than the green. So there is part II of the nursery sneak peek. I am still working on the furniture and still need to finish my wall art. I will post a few more pics as we go along, but I want to wait to post pics of the whole room until I'm done.