Friday, December 30, 2005

Post-Christmas Flu

We're back, but I haven't updated because I've been busy hosting Forrest's dad and brother, while taking care of my sick husband. It looks like he has the flu... Yeah, Merry Christmas Forrest! Poor thing... he IS feeling better this morning, and I think his fever is down. Last night was pretty rough. But we both got some good sleep (he's still sleeping) and today he's going to stay home from work to try to recover. We have plans for New Years that involved a concert at the Kennedy Center and a party afterwards. I've already talked my father-in-law out of eating out right before, and just having something here at the house. Next step? Talking him out of the party afterwards. Forrest (even if feeling a little better) doesn't need to be out and about all weekend, especially if this is the flu...but sometimes, people just don't understand these things.
Anyways... I really want to post pictures of our Christmas and tell y'all how wonderful it was to be home... but right now, I leave you with probably the most embarrasing picture of the holidays... (and I might add, Forrest and I had NOTHING to do with this).



(Yes, that's Forrest's other grandfather. Yes, that's his Christmas gift. and Yes, he's almost 80 years old. what you don't see is the Horny Goat Weed that Forrest's cousin gave him as well. Getting a picture of our family??? *grin*)

Thursday, December 22, 2005

A Christmas Photo Blog

Today, we leave for good ol' North Cackalacky. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this. First we travel to my parents house. I love Christmas morning here, because we literally lie around in our PJ's all morning (if not all day) and we don't care about bedhead... see?


we sleep all day...


and play games with the cutest dog in the world


and of course, act like the total goofballs we are...






Then, it's off to see Forrest's dad and that side of the familiy, where crazy brothers do crazy things....


and we decorate cookies...


and my wonderful father-in-law realizes with horror that his son married a Democrat...

(I joke, I joke! It's not that bad, but yeah... we definately don't see eye to eye on anything politically)

After that little jaunt to see his dad, we head to the mountains to visit his mom. I absolutely LOVE it here, not just because of Forrest's mom, but because I went to college here, met Forrest here... and "grew-up" here... The mountains have a special place in my heart, and everytime I go there, I fall in love with the sleepy little town all over again. I love walking through campus, driving through town, and remembering what life was like just a few years ago... remembering how far I've come, and how much I've changed since walking into my dorm Freshman year. It also helps that Appalachian State University won the National Championship for Division I-AA Football! :) Go Apps!!!!!


Back to Christmas... shall we? So it's here, at Forrest's mom's house that we relax by the glow of the wood stove...


we pig out on homemade goodies by Nanny and Cathy...


And I once again state my love for Papa, the most adorable grandpa anyone could have...


And after all of the fun has been had, the fudge has been eaten, and the gifts have all been given... we head back home. Once here... even MORE fun, as Forrest's dad, brother, and brother's-girlfriend come up for New Years....



:) Again... I jest! We're very much looking forward to this week and to New Years with all of our family.

To our family: We love you all SO much and cannot thank you enough for all the support and love you've given us over the years.
To our friends: You guys are the best. Thank you so much for being a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, and a laugh to share.
To our "blog-friends": Thank you so much for writing. You have kept me sane by allowing me to realize that so many other people go through exactly what I go through... that we are all so much alike, yet so different. I love your honesty, your transparency, and your support for other writers out there.

To Everyone: MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saddam... Crazy Man? or The Guy Making the Most Sense right now?

I came across this article on CNN.com this morning, and it really got me thinking.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/12/22/saddam.trial/index.html

Funny thing is... he doesn't sound like a crazy man. The president DID lie about weapons of mass destruction. He DID lie about the connection of Iraq and 9/11, and he probably DID know about torture in Iraq (whether or not Saddam was tortured is another thing, but with the white house pushing so hard agains McCain's Anti-Torture Bill, it kinda does make you wonder). Not that I think Saddam is at all innocent, or a good man... I'm just saying, our president doesn't look much better than he does at this point....

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Why else would I be awake at 4:30 am?

Yes, I'm awake. I've actually been awake since 4 am, but refused to get out of bed because... DADGUM! it's early! So you guess... Why am I up?


A.) Baby was doing sommersaults in my stomach, which turned into punches into the kidneys.
B.) I started dreaming about food, then woke up only to realize I was absolutely starving
C.) I have awful gas, that won't go away
D.) All of the above

If you guessed D.) all of the above you'd be absolutely correct. Now... what am I supposed to do the rest of this morning? Try to go back to sleep? There's not a thing on TV... just infomercials. Oh well, I'll figure something out.

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

TMI (consider yourself warned)

The other night, while watching one of our childbirth videos (we opted for the DVD option for classes since we really can't afford to pay to go to classes, and none of the classes are taught at a convenient time for Forrest and I both to attend), I realized I felt "cold" in my boobies. Kinda like it feels when someone gives you a wet willie in your ear, and then blows in it... that kind of cold. I look down, and low and behold... COLOSTRUM!!!!!!!! Seriously... between Forrest's horrified EWWWWSSSS and my fascinated, "COOOLLLLS!" it was a sight to behold. I probably shouldn't admit this online, but what the heck... I"m sure there are those of you out there like me, because in a world full of crazy people, I can't be the only one.... But... I enjoy popping zits. I don't enjoy getting them (they leave unsightly blemishes) but I really, REALLY enjoy squeezing the heck out of them, and watching them explode. My fascination is so bad that it's all I can do to not pop OTHER people's zits. This isn't just limited to zits. Anything that oozes just fascinates me. My fascination probably started as a child, because I've never been the slightest bit squeamish (I was the girl who poured glue on her hand so she could peel it off... who liked sunburns because they peeled... who would put straight pins through all of my fingers). So the other night, when low and behold, COLOSTRUM! I was in awe.... I cannot describe how cool it was to see this substance that will give much needed antibodies to my son... that my son will NEED this oozing goo... that just fascinates the heck out of me.

The human body is completely fascinating. I realized the other day how amazing it is that occasionally I can feel an elbow or a knee in my belly, and feel it move across my stomach. That we can sustain life WITHIN our bodies blows my mind... that I can feed my child through my breasts... AMAZING! That all of this started with a simple expression of love between two people, and that fact that my son is my son, and not my daughter is a result of a race of life between competing sperm?! Takes my breath away. How incredibly fragile life is, but how incredibly strong it can be continues to stretch my mind to the point where I cannot think anymore... How nature functions the way it does, on a daily basis, with each breath in and each breath out, boggles me. I know a lot of this can be explained scientifically, but to me? I enjoy the ambiguity of it all... I enjoy trying to figure it out... not scientifically, but spiritually/magically/philosophically. I enjoy the unknown... because it gives me hope that no matter how smart I am.... I can't know it all... and for some reason, that gives me comfort. I can't explain God to someone, but I can believe in Him. Sometimes that's all I need... just a belief in something... even when I don't know how to explain it. Like love... I believe in love, but trying to explain all of it's complexities, I just can't... I believe in the good in people, no matter how rotten they are... even when it doesn't seem like they harbor any good in them at all, I HAVE to believe in a spark... a tiny speck of hope... that there, inside of them, is some good... and on days when I find myself frustrated at people I'm supposed to love, when I find myself wanting to hate someone... I have to force my belief back into the picture that there is good in that person...

Sooooo... anyways, that started out as one thing, and ended up being completely different.... but I guess that's the nature of blogging... You never know where a little bit of Colostrum will lead you *grin*

Dreams

While it's still fresh in my mind (and my heart) I figured I'd type out and possibly blog my latest dream that really, REALLY bothered me.
The dream seemed to be a continuance of an earlier dream that I had in my pregnancy. That dream involved me engaged to be married to the guy who wasn't Forrest. I was really torn because this guy really loved me, but I knew I couldn't marry him because I loved Forrest. In short, by the end of the dream, I left him to marry Forrest. Good happy dream.

Today's dream, however, wasn't happy at all. It doesn't all fit together nicely and make a whole lot of sense, but the end of the dream is what ripped my heart out. The dream started off in a hotel of sorts, where there's some sort of conference or competition going on. I'm there, and I'm performing a gymnastics piece for some reason (this is hilarious, because I have the grace and talent of a slightly drunk elephant). Suddenly at last minute, I'm trying to convince my partner (a guy, and I can't figure out if it's Forrest or someone else) to practice with me, and he walks off with some other girl. So I'm left without a partner. I frantically search my mind for someone who knows SOME gymnastics, or who can at least hold me over their head (a la Dirty Dancing). I call one of my best guy friends, Owen, to get our other friend Craig's number. For some reason, in this dream, Craig had taken dance lessons at some point, and worked out a lot, so he could lift me up. I tried calling him, but his cell phone wasn't working... so I was left without a partner. At this point, the dream gets foggy, but I'm on a street with lots of people, and there are park benches. During this time I find out that Forrest is having an affair with a very famous actress, and it's all over the news. Turns out I'm sorta famous too, but she's a lot more famous than I am. Forrest and I aren't married yet, but we're planning our wedding. So, everyone on the street is talking about this, and they have their magazines, and their looking at me, and pointing, and sort of giving me that look that says I'm sorry. I'm still worried about the gymnastics thing, so it hasn't quite hit me yet. I'm sitting on a bench, and turn around just in time to see my friend from college Tyson walk into this... (I'm quite serious about this)... prosthetic shop, where they sell... all sorts of prosthetics. I run in after him, thinking I might ask him about the gymnastics thing, but when I get in there, I've totally forgotten about that, and we start talking about the dorm we lived in Freshman year. Another one of my friends, Kyle, who also lived in that dorm freshman year, walked in, and gave me a huge hug... he said he was so sorry about the news w/ Forrest... and gave me a picture of himself to cheer me up.

I leave the shop, and start heading down to the dress shop, where I'm having a dress made (I think it's my bridal gown?!). As I walk in the door, the woman Forrest is cheating on me with walks out. And I promptly have a panic attack. The lady has been making her a dress too. Everything starts spinning, as people start telling me how long this has been going on, how they didn't know from the start that it was Forrest, and how they're sorry I'm the last to find out. I remember them joking with the lady at the dress shop that she should sell her story to Lifetime, because it'd make a great made-for-tv movie. The whole time, I'm just sitting there numb. The shop was located in some kind of covered ally, and when I walk out of the ally, it's raining. So I just stand there in the rain, thinking about how Forrest could do this to me. I didn't understand... at this point, the dress shop lady walks out to comfort me. I'm soaking wet, and I proceed to tell her about how awful this is. How I turned down one wedding already to marry Forrest because I loved him, and then he does this. She asks if I could go back to the other guy, and I say no, because Forrest is the love of my life. And at that moment, I realize how incredibly crushed I am, how I could never love another person as much as I love Forrest, and the pain of the "cheating" sets in. This is when I start crying, and my tears mix with the rain, and then I wake up.

I woke up with such a strong feeling of hurt and pain, that I immediately tried calling Forrest, but remembered he's working on a project at work that keeps him from his desk. So... I haven't had a chance to tell him yet, but really... I was deeply saddened, and still feel sad about the dream right now. Have you ever experienced that? Where you had a dream, and you know it was only a dream, yet when you woke up, you couldn't shake the feelings that the dream made you feel? Hopefully I'll be able to shake them... and hopefully, Forrest will get the message I left him and call me back so I can tell him how much I love him, how he truely is the love of my life, and how I never, EVER want us to end. And so I can just hear him say "I love you".

Monday, December 19, 2005

Wow, what a day!

I've been gone most of the day, finishing up some last minute shopping for grandparents and such, so I haven't been paying much attention to a lot of the bloggers I read daily. However, when I got home, I began surfing around, and my, what a busy day it's been in the blogging world.

-Amalah made most of us tear up, and nod our heads in unison with her post on going back to work. I cannot imagine what she's going through right now, but I do know that she's making the best choice for her son (because isn't it so obvious how much she loves that boy?! I mean who couldn't!) Her post is here: http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/3881427

-VHM Princess had her second little son on Saturday, and just got home from the hospital. Congrats to her!!! http://vhmprincess.blogspot.com/2005/12/new-family-member.html

-Beth, at Sothefishsaid, posted a picture of herself, and touched on the very issues I deal with about picture taking. I hate pictures of me, because I don't feel like they look like me. Also? She has a beautiful, ADORABLE, little girl... :) http://www.sothefishsaid.com/archives/000600.php

-Chris, Beth's husband, at Rude Cactus, posts a startling admission about hating the Charlie Brown Christmas special. We all have that one holiday special that we hate, yet none of us have the guts to share which one it is... I for one, will keep mine a secret... if only for the sake of my marriage :) http://www.rudecactus.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/1633

And many, many, many more good blog reads today. So... Instead of contributing to the awesome blogging going out there, I'm going to post this, go on with my evening, and see what inspires me tomorrow. :) (or later tonight... My mind is a blank slate as of right now, with no good topics for posting). So go on... enjoy my friends and their wonderful writings... :)

Friday, December 16, 2005

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't.Hardly.Type.Am.Too.Excited.My.College.Just.Won.The.National.Championship.For.Division.I-AA.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/scoreboard?confId=81&weekNumber=16&seasonYear=2005

WOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Revenge of the Idiot Brain

Sooooo.... my brain is completely worthless. Seriously. I'm contemplating a brain transplant, because the child has sucked my brains dry. This isn't your "I forgot to flush the toilet" kind of thing, or the "I forgot to pick something up at the grocery store" kinda of thing. This is more like, "What's my name again?!"

For starters, I didn't sleep very well last night. Let's correct that, I only slept for 2 hours. And that wasn't in a row. So this morning, I decided I'd had enough of the trying to sleep, and got up when Forrest did at 6 to eat some breakfast. After he left for work, I decided to lay back down and try one last time. I promptly snoozed for a good hour, and then woke up in a panic at 8:45. "CRAP!!!!!" I thought to myself. I have a doctors appointment at 9:30!!!!!! (Keep in mind, our doctor is in Fairfax, we live in Woodbridge.... a good 30-45 minute drive). So I sprung out of bed (ha! more like, flailed around, and finally rolled out of bed), got dressed, brushed my hair, and ran out the door. I flew up I-95 to the doctors office, ran in in a huff at 9:45 and apologized to the lady at the counter for being late. She looked at me blankly... I looked back at her. What time was my appointment, she asked. 9:30, I said... and slowly began to panic. I was at the right place, right? *looks around* Yes... this is my doctors office.... She asks if I have my appointment card, so I frantically thumb through my purse, and find the card... pull it out... and then, it dawns on me.

Today.Is.Not.Friday.

Yes, I had driven a good 45 minutes to a doctors appointment that was scheduled for tomorrow... I slowly put my head in my hands, and sighed deeply. The beautiful nurse smiled at me, and said the most glorious words I could ever hear. "Don't worry, we'll squeeze you in since you're here" and winked at me. I wanted to marry her right there... I was so glad that I wouldn't have to go through this again, and said I'd wait as long as it took. It only took them 45 minutes to see me (which considering I was "squeezed in", is amazing.

So the baby is doing great! Measuring perfectly at 30 weeks, heartbeat is strong at 145/bpm, and kicking up a storm! As I left, I apologized profusely to the doctor, the nurses, the check-out lady, the pregnant lady behind me in line, to the janitor.... everyone, because, I felt THAT.BAD. about coming early. But they all just smiled, and politely said they understood... Which I am so incredibly thankful for. I'm also thankful that I don't have to drive tomorrow morning in the snow/ice/freezing rain mess that's going on outside right now. So in a way... my idiot brain seems to have paid off... now if only I could remember to flush the toilet when I'm done (I promise, I've never, EVER in my life forgotten to flush... it's just plain gross). :)

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

30 weeks, and 1 day

Wow... 9 weeks, 6 days until our little boy arrives. I CANNOT believe how fast time has passed. It honestly seems like just yesterday we were at my husband's grandfather's house, and I was sitting on the floor of the bathroom thinking, "Holy, *bleep*! There are two lines" We hadn't planned on getting pregnant so soon, but it wasn't an "accident" (as I'm sick of people refering to it as or asking if it was). Thank goodness for my sweet, wonderful, adorable, loving husband, who, the minute I told him of our news, asked if I was serious, then when he realized I was, broke into the biggest smile I have ever seen him smile, and said, "Wow!" in a way that only told me he was very, very excited about this. Then of course, he forced me to pee on another stick just to "make sure".

It also seems like yesterday that I still somehow didn't believe I was pregnant, and felt like I must be making it all up because I was a crazy lady. Never mind the lack of normal monthly "cycles", never mind the morning-sickness, never mind our first sonogram that showed that indeed there was a little life inside of me... I was convinced that I had imagined the whole thing up, until of course, I felt the baby move. And then he wouldn't stop moving. :) I am convinced that our son will inherit the hyperactivity of my youth... I had hoped that he would be like Forrest, calm, relaxed, chill... but given the amount of activity going on in there, the hours upon hours of bouncing around, I have come to the realization that I will be paid back for all of the trouble I caused my parents. Not that I wasn't a good kid, I was just extremely talkative, bossy, hyper, and always... ALWAYS on the go.

What I can't believe is that in less that 10 weeks now... there will be three of us. No longer will Forrest and I be alone, but we will have a son. A son who demands attention, care, love, nurturing, and much much more. Don't get me wrong, I am incredibly excited about this, but there is a part of me that is beginning to realize what we're giving up. No longer will I be able to cuddle with Forrest late on Saturday mornings. Late night movies will be replaced with late night feedings. Laundry (that I hate doing anyways) will double in size. Things are about to change. That said, I have noticed lately that Forrest and I have been extra-close... in that, I mean that we've snuggled more, we've held each other more, we've kissed more... and generally, we have been acting like we did when we were dating. It is WONDERFUL! :) And I'm enjoying being close to my husband, enjoying spending time with him, and enjoying giving him my undivided attention. All because I know that will change.

And when it does change? I'll be excited to welcome our baby boy into our lives... and I'm sure that my relationship with Forrest will only grow stronger. It may not be like it is now, but I have no doubt that our love will be deeper, and our commitment to one another will be stronger.

Anyways... enough of the sappy stuff. :) As to how I'm feeling at 30 weeks? I'm tired... make that exhausted... from the lack of sleep. My ribs hurt from the little feet that somehow always find little holes to tuck into. I've got new stretch marks on my belly that scare me. But there is one good thing. I am absolutely in love with my little baby... he kicks back when I poke my belly. When his daddy comes home, and starts talking, the baby really gets to moving around. He is actually responding to things, and that makes my heart melt!!! And those times make me forget all the pain, sleepiness, nausea that I may be going through... because I know in the end..... It's gonna be worth it :)

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Complaints 101

*PHEW* I just got back from trying to finish up my Christmas shopping. We have one person left on our list (my father-in-law) and he is incredibly difficult to buy for. I just spent 3 hours on my feet shopping, and MAN, am I tired. Not so much the normal, "my feet hurt from walking in the mall tired" (which, I do have a little of) but more of the, "Holy Crap! This child is heavy, and my entire body is sagging forward from the weight of carrying this child!" I have also never been so overjoyed to find a bathroom in my life (it took me 30 minutes to find out where one was and to get there). I seriously almost hugged the toilet, but thought twice about that and decided it would probably be poor taste (GAH! my humor! horrible! sick!)

So, 3 hours out, and do I have a thing to show for it? Nope! I take that back, I did manage to get Forrest's stocking stuff out of the way, but that doesn't count... that only took a mere 30 minutes (if that). So now what? I have no earthly idea what to buy the man, and my husband is even more clueless than I... the only thing I can think to do is to make a basket full of chocolates and goodies. But that just doesn't seem original enough. And DANGIT! I'm a good gift-giver... I give great gifts! Original! Thoughtful! Good Gifts! and now? Since my brain has turned to mush and slowly sunk into my belly, I cannot think of ONE.ORIGINAL.IDEA! I am at a loss of words to explain to you, my friends, how much this troubles me. I have never... ever... in 24 years of life... not known what to get someone (or at least had SOME vague idea). I am officially stumped.

Thing is, this man isn't your typical type of guy, who would appreciate a football jersey, a tool, a gadget, or something like that. No... my father-in-law is very, VERY unique. He collects china, crystal, silver, antiques... he's a traveling salesman, so he doesn't have much time to read. You might suggest books on tape... we've done that before, but he's even stopped listening to that because he calls his dealers when he's on the road driving. As far as I know, he doesn't have any hobbies (aside from his collections) and doesn't have much time to do anything. Gift cards won't work, because he doesn't normally shop at your regular run-of-the-mill places or eat at the regular restaurants. Thankfully, I was able to pull of the "worlds best birthday gift" this year (according to him) when I found a Christmas cd by Chicago (his favorite band). (His birthday is during thanksgiving, so it made sense to get a Christmas cd). He hasn't stopped talking about it since... so now? I feel like I've got to do better than that... because that was just his birthday!

ANY.WAYS. Now that I'm home, I feel a good nap coming on... hopefully the baby will nap with me (because last night, he decided since mommy was sleeping, it must be party time). If you guys have any sort of solution to my delimma I will give you a BIG SPECIAL SURPRISE! (my undying devotion and loyalty... *grin*)

Monday, December 12, 2005

For all of you Pregnant Ladies out there (and those who just hate to wait)

THIS, has got to be the most wonderful website ever....

http://www.paulenglish.com/ivr/

Somehow, this doesn't seem right...

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Very Brady Christmas

For you, it's all about sharing times with family.
Even if you all get a bit cheesy at times.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Artistic Liberties


Artistic Liberties
Originally uploaded by meandscreech.
Forrest had just a wee bit too much fun tonight with the pen, don't ya think? I can't believe how big my belly has gotten, it's quite funny :) Just thought I'd share what Forrest had fun doing tonight....

Friday, December 09, 2005

29 weeks, 4 days

Last night was the first night that I was able to really sleep well. The previous two nights were horrible, as Shepherd had discovered my ribcage, and was having fun burrowing his little feet up in there. Whether or not he did that last night, I have no idea, because I slept like a rock.
This week has simply flown by. I can't believe there are only 2 weeks until Christmas!!! I've gotten most of my shopping done, and I just have to figure out what to get my father-in-law. Forrest gave me one of my Christmas gifts early last night, but only because I needed it. He bought me a double boiler pan... and I know that sounds totally unromantic, but if you knew me, and how much I enjoy cooking, and if you knew Forrest and how much time he spends trying to find special gifts, you'd realize how special this is. I think I said something 2 months ago about needing a double boiler pan, and he remembered!!! The reason he gave it to me early is because I needed it to make some of the candies I'm making for folks for Christmas. I was gonna go buy one last night, and he was like, no wait!!! :) and gave me the double boiler. So hooray!!! :)
I think I'm over the whole losing the auction thing. Forrest and I talked about it, and I think we're gonna try to find another bedding set that's cheaper. Mom could get the set at retail, but $300 for a bedding set??? I just can't justify that when you can buy sets for $150... half the cost, that are just as good of quality, if not better.
More rambling... Today is Forrest's work Christmas Party. I'm really excited about it, because... 1) I don't get out much, 2) The people he works with/for are soooo nice and cool, and 3) did I mention I don't get out much? :) Only thing is that the party happens during the BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR!!!!!! (well... to me at least). Appalachian State University (my alma mater) is playing Furman University... one of the biggest rivalries in the Southern Conference. They're actually on TV now (ESPN2)... so I gotta run... GO APPS!!!!!!!

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

HATE.EBAY.HATE.MUST.KILL.EBAY

Seriously y'all... mom was 19 seconds away from winning the auction, and some idiot woman swooped in... who hadn't bid ONCE on the freakin' auction, and placed a higher bid... by that point, our computer wasn't fast enough to get in a higher bid, and I just sat here screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" into the computer. That, and I pondered sending death-threats to the woman/person who won. Seriously... You do.not.mess with a pregnant woman!!! Soooo.... Back to square one, and we'll see what we can find now in our price range... *pout* I'm totally gonna pout this one out.... for a loooong time *pout*

New Mommy Blog

VHM Princess has been added to my list of links to the right... She is seriously on the verge of having her second baby (man, I wish it was Feb already and I was her!!) so keep an eye on her blog to see if any good news comes out of the VHM Princess household in the near future. Her link is:

http://vhmprincess.blogspot.com/

(I apologize for the stupid html editor not working... I seriously think it's b/c I own a Mac, and the world is run by Windows... and they hate Macs, so they punish us Mac owners for having cute lil' computer that ACTUALLY WORK!!! by creating programs that don't FULLY work in Macs... *sigh*)

Crib Bedding, Part II

Mom is still the highest bidder (thank goodness), so here's to hoping that she wins.... As to who the maker of the bedding is... It's Glenna Jean. You can see her products (at the lowest prices on the internet) at:

http://www.babysupermall.com/main/browse/by-brand-glenna-jean.html

For those of you interested in contemporary patterns for the baby... and if you have family buying, there are more modern pieces over at design public.

http://www.designpublic.com/shop/bedding/dwellbaby

I've been reading my Baby Bargains book religiously (I'd link to it, but my html editor is down for some reason) and looking at who they rate. Our three top brands that we were looking at were:

Kimberly Grant (A-)
Glenna Jean (B-, for price)
Brandee Danielle (A-)

If you go to that first site, you can look at all three brands... :) I'll keep you posted on the ebay auction too... (if you're having a girl there are some INCREDIBLY cute crib sets out there... I'm so jealous!)

Things that have made me cry in the last 48 hours...


- Feeling really fat/huge because I can no longer bend all the way over without tipping over

-Realizing that I have a little bit of acne scarring from early pregnancy when my face decided it no longer wanted to be a face, but a pizza!! I had never, ever had acne, and now... I have acne scars to prove that I had it...

-Looking in the mirror, and swearing to myself that my nose is bigger. This... was the motherload. I cried buckets over this one, because I have always, ALWAYS, loved my nose... when I could find no other redeeming quality about myself, I would say... at least I have a cute nose. Well... I now have a much larger nose... that is no longer cute... and which I HATE.HATE.HATE.

-Having to eat.... again. I know, you're thinking I'm crazy on this one. But seriously... I'm tired of eating. I eat ALL.THE.DANG.TIME!!! And I've run out of ideas for what to eat... so I'm standing in the kitchen, hungry, but cannot for the life of me find a thing that I want to eat. It's like torture!! I have always loved eating (which showed on my pre-pregnancy frame), and now? I dread getting hungry, because I must decide on something to eat..... don't worry, I am eating, it's just a very emotional experience for me.

-Watching the snow melt....

-The Learning Channel's "A Baby Story".... but only because the two they showed yesterday? The women were screaming their heads off... and I cried because I was worried that'd be me, and people would look at me with the same expression I was looking at them... horror.

-Plenty of other silly things have reduced me to tears... but those are the main ones..... I must be having a surge of horomones because up until now, I've been relatively okay... but now, it seems no holds are barred, and the free-for-all has begun... commence weeping and gnashing of teeth... :)

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Crib Bedding


What we thought we would never get (simply because of the cost), Shepherd's wonderful grandparents are going to purchase for him!!!! Mom called last night to ask if we'd picked out the bedding. I hesitated and said we liked a few options, but they were just too expensive, and we felt awful adding them to our registry (we tried to keep everything under $100, and lower than that if possible.. and if you know crib bedding, you know you can't keep that stuff under $100)

She said to send her the links to the ones we liked... and she'd get us what we wanted. (or try to at least) Then I came across an e-bay auction of one of the bedding sets. Brand-new, "second" meaning minor defects in stiching (I'm not nit-picky about that kind of stuff)... so mom is currently bidding on that, hoping to get it. :) Y'all wanna see the picture of the set don't ya???

Here 'tis!

Monday, December 05, 2005

Snow!!!


Snow!!!
Originally uploaded by meandscreech.
It really is snowing!!! It really is snowing!!!! I can't believe it, it's snowing!!! I'm so excited, it's been for-e-ver since I saw snow (we got none in Raleigh last year). So I'm cuddled up on the sofa, reading blogs, watching the snow fall from the sky :)

Onesie by Forrest


Onesie by Forrest
Originally uploaded by meandscreech.
Saturday, Forrest attended a screenprinting workshop in which he learned more about screenprinting. He was allowed to take several items to screenprint. He took this onsie and it turned out BEAUTIFULLY!!! Seriously, I was so excited when he got home to show me. Our little man will have a unique, one of a kind designed onsie, that his daddy made him. Isn't that special? :)

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Proud, Proud Sister


(You can see my brother really blurry in the background behind the Star of David)

My brother, as I have posted before, has been working for People of Faith against the Death Penalty in Chapel Hill, NC. Through his work, I've learned a lot about the issue, and my opinions have dramatically changed. It's amazing how differently we feel about issues once they have a personal face to them. Through many of our conversations, Justin has taught me about the lives these men have lead. Real lives, real people, not just some monster rotting in prison. How easy it is for us to turn our heads, and ignore that the United States, one of the last remaining free democracies to use the death penalty, just executed the 1000th person since 1976. The 1000th execution was scheduled for Virginia, but Mark Warner granted clemency to that guy, so Justin and his group had their work cut out for him. You can read a little more about it over at my brothers blog:

http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=wolfinthebend

Several people were arrested for protesting the event (either they were lacking permits or acted in civil disobedience). I spoke with my father about the arrests yesterday, and he was questioning the impact that it had. I said that I believed it did have a purpose, and that they did have an impact... the people arrested made National News (CNN). Thankfully, my brother wasn't arrested, but had he been, I would still have been proud of him for taking a stand. I am proud of him for taking a stand where I can only voice my opinion. I'm not sitting outside a prison until 2 am, quietly protesting another execution of a person who deserves to live... even if behind bars for life. As Ghandi once said, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

Friday, December 02, 2005

And THIS is why I love the National Weather Service




"A MORE SIGNIFICANT SNOW EVENT IS LIKELY SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY
AS A SECOND AREA OF LOW PRESSURE CROSSES THE CAROLINAS.
PRECIPITATION MOST LIKELY WILL BE IN THE FORM OF SNOW...ALTHOUGH
A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW IS POSSIBLE ACROSS CENTRAL VIRGINIA AND
LOWER SOUTHERN MARYLAND. AT THIS TIME...THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR
SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW CAPABLE OF CAUSING TRAVEL PROBLEMS AND
SCHOOL CANCELLATIONS."


*grinning with delight!*

Cribs

We finally got our crib ordered (the one in the picture, except in black). We thought we'd already gotten one ordered, as Forrest's dad is a furniture salesman. But he called us last week to tell us that the crib we picked out was being discontinued. So, we had to start all over and pick a new crib out. Why is it that every crib out there looks exactly the same to me?! Finally we found a great store that had an AWESOME collection of cribs (seriously, I almost wet myself with excitement when I saw the selection). Not only were there lots of cribs, but they were GOOD cribs. Cribs that our Baby Bargains book rated very highly, and were very safe. We found one that we absolutely loved, but alas, they didn't have it in stock. And it takes 8-12 weeks to deliver. Great I thought... just when we find the one we want, it won't be here in time for the baby. But Forrest made a good point, that it'd be better to order the one we want, and have the baby sleep in a bassinet initially (we weren't going to invest in a bassinet) than to order something we didn't like, and end up hating it. Plus, this bed converts into a double later on. The nice thing about this bed, is it has a drop-gate. Now, I've heard bad things about drop-gates on cribs, mainly about babies getting fingers caught, but this brand has come up with a way around that. The hinge actually never closes. Hard to explain, but there's no way the baby can catch his little fingers... AND it gives you some more room to lean over (compared to the other cribs that convert that don't have drop sides).
The other thing we have yet to pick out is the crib bedding. We're going to go with something Unisex (even though we know it's a boy) because we totally plan on having more kids, and with some of those bedding sets costing upwards of $160-200, I'd rather get my money's worth this time around (even if someone else buys it). I'll look up a few I like, and post their pictures and see what y'all think.
So with the crib and changing table ordered, things are slowly beginning to take place. I actually have a shower planned!!! I seriously thought I wouldn't have one since we moved out of state away from all my friends. My aunt is throwing one with my family in January here in VA, so that should be a lot of fun. :)
Well, my time is almost up at the library (Forrest had to borrow the laptop for work today, so I'm computer-less at home), so I'd better get going... Hope y'all have a great day!!!

New Link

Hey guys,

I came across Cathy's site through Reese at 2pinklines . Cathy's site is My First Pregnancy . Y'all go check her out! :) She's due around the same time Avorie and I are due