Day of Bliss

Today is definitely a day of Bliss! I started my day by taking the boys to Chick-fil-A for free Breakfast. You can't beat that! We each had chicken minis and I had water too. I pre-packed the boys some milk and cut up apples. After eating the boys played on the playground for a little bit before we headed off to MOPS.

I LOVE MOPS!!! It is such a blessing to me and today was awesome. It was "spa day" and I began my time at MOPS by receiving a professional hand massage. Then I headed over to one of the craft stations where I made a rice heating/cooling pack. Isn't it so cute?

Everything was pretty much pre-sewn. I just added the rice and a few tablespoons of lavender to each section and sewed it shut. I love the smell of lavender and can't wait to try it out. How relaxing. Speaking of relaxing, I love nothing more than a nice hot bath. The next craft station was right up my alley....bath salts!

There were recipes for three different types: Relaxation, Sore Muscles, and Cold & Flu. I got to make two bags of each kind. These definitely will be put to good use. I enjoyed making them and smelling all the essential oils that went into each one. How fun!

After making the bath salts, I did a warm hand scrub and then sat down and enjoyed good conversation while having some brunch. I then put my name down for a cappuccino, but since I'm not a coffee fan of any sort, I requested just a hot chocolate. Yummy!

Oh, and did I mention that I got my car washed, for free, while all this relaxation was happening. The day is going to end off great too since it's Shrove Tuesday at church and we'll be feasting on a pancake supper tonight. These are the days!

One Month and Counting....

Today marks one month till my official due date of April 6th. It is coming quickly and yet the time is also dragging by. I am certainly getting excited. There is not much left on my "to do" list, so I'm going to have to come up with some mini projects to keep me busy.

I have packed for the new baby and the boys. All that is left is to pack what I need to take to the Birthing Center. I will also need to make and freeze Maverick's Birthday cake. I really should start doing my hypnosis on a more regular basis. I have to do this when I have at least 30 minutes of uninterrupted time, so it usually only comes once the boys are down for the night. By then, I'm ready for bed myself. I'm sure I'll do fine, but a little extra practice never hurt.

Tomorrow is my final day of antibiotics that I've been on for the sinus infection that left me feverish all last weekend. I'm hopeful that one good side effect of it will be that I do not test positive for group B Strep this Friday (3/11). I did not test positive with Chandler, but did with Brighton. If I am positive, it's not a big deal, but they will attempt to get an IV in me before this baby comes. I'd like to forgo that (but certainly will if needed).

Starting this week I will have weekly visits with my midwives. That certainly makes it more "real". I got a gift certificate for Christmas to a spa, that I should probably use now before the baby comes. I'll put that on my "to do" list. Sounds like a plan to me!

Coming Home Outfits

Here are the coming home outfits for outfits for our baby. Yes, it may seem silly to you, but I am bringing a "girl" outfit just in case!

Granted, I don't think it's a girl, but ultrasounds are not 100% accurate. Also, since a second opinion didn't confirm "boy" in February that leaves a little more doubt in my mind. We've had this outfit since we were pregnant with Chandler. We've never known what we were having before, so I've always been prepared for either way. It just seems natural to bring it.

Here's the boy outfit, and the most likely contender to be worn home. We always try to find an outfit with red in it since the babies have always worn the same NCSU booties and hat for coming home.

Here's Chandler:

Here's Brighton (with Midwife, Jewel):

35 Weeks

The belly is getting big! Here I am getting ready to go to our church's youth dinner theater. This is an annual event and we've gone for the past 5 years. We've actually been pregnant at 3 out of the last 5, which to me is even stranger. Hard to believe this little guy will be here soon. I can't wait!

Gifts from a Girl

Chandler came home from preschool on Wednesday and was very excited to show me what was in his bag. I pulled out this masterpiece and noted that his teacher had written "To: Chandler" at the top instead of just his name. I also noticed that "ALLY" was written in yellow towards the middle right of the picture. Upon questioning Chandler I got many different explanations as to how he got this picture, who made it, and what it was.

I think that his friend, Ally, made this picture for Chandler as a gift. I was also told that she made him a red snowflake (which I later found in his folder). Now my question is, does Ally make gifts for everybody in the class or just Chandler? Could this be his first crush? Chandler certainly likes playing with Ally and mentions her often. I will have to ask his teachers more about the picture and see what they say.

Updated Nursery Pictures

Over the weekend we decided to get the rest of the baby paraphernalia down from our attic. Well, at least the big things like the swing and the bouncer. Derek figured he better take some pictures of the completed nursery before more stuff got piled in there so here they are.

On the wall to the far right you will notice Chandler's and Brighton's framed birth announcements with a spot for Maverick left at the bottom. Although the company we have used for announcements in the past is out of business we are hopefully we can find something similar to use for this little guy. I was also very happy with the way the airplane decals on the walls turned out.

This picture shows above the changing table. It's a little hard to see in the picture, but there is a mobile hanging above that has vintage style airplanes on it. A gift from grandma that I saw in Restoration Hardware Baby. How cute!

Here is where the two Craig's list finds ended up. We actually moved our desk into the nursery for now to make more room in the greatroom for the baby swing. It fits nicely in this niche and will hopefully make it's way back to the greatroom in early 2012. Overall the nursery is complete and we are just missing one piece----MAVERICK!

Crazy Bee Lady

I'm going to be known as the Crazy Bee Lady because I'm now on a war-path to eliminate the ground bees in our yard. We have had this problem from 7 years (since we moved in) but it seems to keep getting worse each year. The bees mainly inhabit the grassy area on the other side of the sidewalk near the street, but they are creeping up our front hill and into the front yard. Here's a picture of one of these little buggers:

When I looked outside to check on the boys today I was horrified to see them running on the hill and the SWARMS of bees that were around them. I'm sure it was a little bit of my pregnancy craziness, but I immediately jumped into action and went and got some insecticide and started spraying like crazy. I'm hoping that it worked. I did see some dead bees on the ground after the killing spree stopped, so I'm hopeful :)

Here is what their lovely holes look like in the yard:

Now imagine about 1,000 or MORE of these stupid holes in a very small area. I wouldn't mind it so much if these holes weren't completely overtaking the front yard. There are tunnels underneath the holes, and walking in the front yard you'd think we had gophers or something. The bees usually are only active for about 6 weeks. I'm hoping to get them under control and at least get their numbers down from the thousands. We'll have to see if the first round of poison worked. Another strategy is to keep the ground soaked, but that seems like more work. Wish me luck!