decorating ideas

If you were to look around my house, you'd quickly discover that I'm not a decorating fanatic. It took me almost a year and a half before I put a single thing on the walls in our bedroom, there are only a few pics in the living room, and that is about it for my decorating. Ok, so with the baby coming, I'd like to decorate her room, at least a little! I attempted to videotape the room so you all could get an idea of what I have to work with. Of course, the carseat won't stay there, the bed will be cleaned off, and the black box things on the floor are shadow boxes that will go on the wall somewhere (wedding present, again, havent hung them yet and I've been married since may 06)

So any advice, opinions, etc are appreciated!

Big things

I was cleaning up the kitchen while my husband was working in the garage this morning when he hollered at me. There was a really large praying mantis in there with him. So with camera in hand, I went to check it out. Why I needed a picture of a really large praying mantis is something I will probably never know, but since I took it, I'm going to share it with you. It has also been two weeks since I've posted any pics of my growing belly, and it has definitely been growing! I have been cleaning house all day, so don't pay any attention to the way I look as far as hair goes!

Funny stories

The first one could easily be titled, Lost Cat. Yesterday I had gotten up ridiculously early in order to be at work about 630. Therefore, I'd had to feed Bootskitty over an hour earlier than he's used to. He likes to be fed early so he was all for it. So then last night when I got home and was cooking my dinner, he was begging to be fed. It was earlier than normal, but well within the time frame he needed to be fed so I went ahead and fed him. Meanwhile, my husband and Kendall (the schnauzer) were asleep on the couch. Dinner got ready and we ate. After dinner, Kendall went into Lassie mode. She was definitely trying to tell me something although I couldnt figure out what it was. I followed her and she ended up taking me downstairs and she looked in all of Bootskitty's favorite spots down there. I finally convinced her he was upstairs (I'd just seen him asleep in the bedroom floor) and we went back up. When I showed her where he was, she just ran to him, like There you are, I thought something was wrong and you'd forgot to come get dinner. (Remember the cat weighs 21 pounds, he rarely misses dinner!) Anyway, it was really funny that she seemed so concerned about whether the cat had been taken care of.

The other funny story could be titled, Fish Stories. I had a program today for 3-6 year olds where we went fishing with cane poles. Granted they have fairly small hooks, with the idea that they will catch fairly small fish, but the first fish caught this morning was funny. There was a three year old that had never caught a fish before and they'd been fishing about 5 minutes when he caught a fish. Honestly, I think I've seen minnows that are bigger! It was a largemouth bass, mostly mouth, very little rest of bass. Anyway, this kid was SOOO excited to catch his fish. He was wearing a tricorn hat (George Washington style). We got the hook off for him and he wanted to throw the fish back in. So we carefully give him the fish, although we couldnt show him how to hold it in the mouth, even with three year old fingers and a fish with a very large mouth, it wasn't working, so we just handed it to him. He takes it and tosses it. Somehow, this fish lands right on top of his hat, and since it has the rim on it, it just sorta flops there. So the kid takes his hat off and flings the fish, sending it flying and landing in the mud more than water. We helped it out and it did swim away. I only wish we'd had a video because it was really cute!

Why Didn't I Think of That?

There are some very simple inventions on the market today. I know I've gone on about our disposable society, and I bought something today that is disposable. I purchased a Mr. Clean Maximum reach bathroom cleaner. Honestly this had nothing to do with the disposable aspect, but my bathtub and shower needed to be cleaned and getting down on hands and knees to clean them just didnt sound at all like fun. And the handle on the scrubber made it much easier to clean at this point.

I am going to either take some pictures or video of the nursery soon so you all can see how I am progressing there and you can give me suggestions on decorating (I haven't got a ton of decorating talent, I need all the help I can get!)

I went to the store today and got a roast because my mom kept talking about it and it sounded good. It should be ready to eat in a few minutes.

Bargain

Have you ever wandered into a store to buy something and left with something totally different in a deal you just couldn't pass up? I was on a mission...to buy an infant car seat with the money my grandparents had given us for the baby. That is something I knew we would have to have before being allowed to leave the hospital with our little girl, so I had looked online, found one I liked, but thought I would look in the store in case they had one I liked that I wouldnt have to have shipped. I didn't find one. I had enough time before my doctor's appointment to wander through the rest of the store (babies r us) too, and since i hadn't found a car seat I liked, I still had a 20% off coupon I hated to see waste when there were so many things I'd lik to have there. So...I'm passing by one of the end caps and it is has the swing that I'd fallen in love with when I had registered. Usual price...$99.99. It had been one of their summer displays and they recently put out a new design, so the ones that had been on display were now $79.00. Remember that 20% off coupon? Ok, so now the swing I really liked, was only going to cost $65. You can't even get one I didnt like that much at Walmart for that. Quick phone call to mom. No answer. Still pondering because there are a lot of things I could use more than a swing. That is still a lot of money. Wander around for a while longer, looking at random other items. Double check to make sure my coupon would be good. Wander around more. Still can't decide. Have about 10 minutes before I need to be heading to the doctor. Decide to try mom again. This time she answers and tells me that yes, a swing is something I will definitely need. Confirms I have found a good bargain. Hang up the phone, manage to get swing (no box) through the checkout. Leave happy with my purchase. Get home, and husband is happy I found a good deal. Dog thinks she would like to try it out. Havent let her.

What Happens When We Pray

A week or so ago I received this email from a friend and forwarded it to many friends. I know I wasnt the only one to do this, and people all over the country were praying for this young man.

PLEASE PRAY specifically for our youngest staff pilot, John VanWormer. He was taken from our staging airstrip by the federal police to their headquarters in Sonora state. The federal police have also taken control of our UIM airplane. We are drawing upon all possible resources to help us deal with this situation. At this point prayer is our most effective weapon since there are so many unknowns.Due to the sensitivity of this situation we will not give details but will try keep you informed.John is married with four small children. His wife Maria and children are in Chihuahua.

Yesterday I received this email

GOD'S ANSWERS:The lawyer called from Hermosillo this afternoon and said that the federal judge dismissed the charge against John and the case is closed. THANK THE LORD!!!After some concluding paperwork we can reclaim the airplane as well. THANK THE LORD !!! Thank you so much for your prayers during this very difficult situation.

Yes, God does answer prayer, sometimes in a way that we don't expect, sometimes not in the way we hoped for, but always God hears and answers prayer.

Baby

This week I start taking some of the pre-baby classes that I signed up for. The first one is tomorrow night, the only one that my husband refuses to go to. It is a class on breastfeeding. I'm hoping to get some good information so that when the baby gets here, I know as much as I can to make breastfeeding a little easier. I have heard way too many horror stories to think that it is something that just "comes naturally" but it is also something I think will be good for the baby. Then next Friday we are taking a Baby Basics class, the following week we have our preadmission appointment at the hospital, the week after that is the childbirth class and immediately following that I am having a shower at church and at work. By that time it'll only be a couple weeks until she gets here. Wording it that way, the baby will be here before we know it!

I think she took a growth spurt the last two days because I feel rather large for once. I no longer have a belly button...although it isn't sticking out either. Its just kinda flat (which I'm sure every one of you reading was concerned about!)

Now my furry children need my attention. One needs his insulin the other says she needs to go outside to go potty.

Baby Shower

I had my first baby shower on Saturday. It was a lot of fun and we got a ton of things...and actually made them all fit in our car to bring home along with our suitcase, firearms, puppy and kitty. I was able to fit everything into about five of the very large gift bags. She will have lots of clothes 0-3 months, and then not nearly as many. I got a lot of blankets, too! I got hooded towels, washcloths, hairbows, wipes, diapers, laundry hamper, lotions and soaps, hairbrush, comb, nail clippers, nursing pillow, and many more things that if I name thme all no one will actually read:) My best friend Emily did a phenomenal job with the shower and I am very thankful to have her for a friend. I think there were about 25 people there although I'm not sure anyone actually counted.

I'm attaching a picture from the shower of my cousin Megan, me and my cousin Amanda. Amanda is due first about October 8, Megan is due October 27, and I am due November 6. I'm being lazy and just attaching the one my mom sent me that she took instead of hooking my camera up to the computer right now. We didn't move from the same position, so the pictures are all going to be the same.

Fun Fest...more like Rain Fest

The forecast for today...over two inches of rain expected.
My plans for today...go sit at a booth at the Fall Fun Fest.
The value of being able to cover myself head to toe in goretex...Priceless.

Ok, I just couldnt help myself as I'm sitting here listening to the rain coming down, anticipating a fun filled day, ok, maybe not, but I am going to have a good corn dog from the fair (as in good I mean tasty, not good for me) and possibly a caramel apple and lets see what other junk food entices me when there is no one at the fair except for the other suckers that are there to visit with the public:)

But at three I get to go home. And that will be nice. I may require a hot shower, depending on how cold of a rain it actually is. Then I can go to my moms and hopefully they dont get so much rain that we can't have my baby shower tomorrow:)

Eating Cereal

I'm sure most everyone reading this probably remembers that exact moment when they heard about the terrorist attacks. I was eating cereal, watching the today show before classes, my senior year of college. My roommate (and best friend then) had just gotten her cereal and walked out of the kitchen into the living room as the second plane hit the twin towers.

I'm not going to say a lot today, it just seemed like a good time to remind everyone of how thankful we were seven years ago to be an American and how thankful we should still be today. Remember all the people that died in the attacks, but also remember all of our soldiers who have died since the attacks, defending the freedoms that so often we take for granted. I encourage you to do something nice for a soldier today, whether you know them personally or not. It doesnt have to be anything major, for instance, I sold some old kitty stuff on craigslist to a lady who through email I discovered she was a Sargeant in the Marines, so instead of taking her money, I told her she could have the stuff becuase we really appreciated her service. Do something nice, whether it is an email thank you or simply saying thank you to a soldier you see in Walmart. They are why we are free.

In other notes, I know I havent updated the picture in a while, but I will this weekend, I promise! My sister also started a blog of her own....http://blainencameronsmommy.blogspot.com/ check it out and discover why I am the normal one:)

Dreams

Do you ever wake up really mad at someone before you realize it was only a dream? I was furious at Neal when I woke up this morning. In my dream, I had wanted to go geocaching and had looked some up so we could go. But then, my parents, his parents, and his sister and her kids all convinced him that the best ones to do were ones that you would have to take four wheelers to get to. So they loaded up all the fourwheelers (there were 6 not sure where we got the others from) and set out, leaving me behind. I didn't appreciate that. But it was just a dream so I forgave him, although I did tell him that it made me really mad:)

Other things, I am looking forward to my shower on Saturday. I'm hoping it isn't pouring rain--during the shower itself I dont care, but afterwards it would make it nicer if it werent raining. I remember it was so windy it almost literally blew people over after my wedding shower, so would a nice couple hours be too much to ask??

I have one more day off, my house isnt a complete disaster (not completely clean either but I'm working on it) so I don't have to go at things too hard. I keep making the pile in my basement bigger of stuff to get rid of....gonna have to figure out exactly what to do with that stuff!

Things to Do

It seems like the closer it gets to time for the baby to arrive the more things I can think of that I need to do. Instead of marking things off my list and making it shorter, I keep adding to it and it gets longer and longer instead of shorter, meanwhile, my time to get everything done just keeps disappearing. I did finally get some under bed storage containers so that I can put the stuff in the dresser that I want to use for the baby in the storage containers and figure out how I'm going to organize the baby's dresser. Actually that will about take care of furniture for her room so I can start doing a little more decorating. Of course, since we moved into the house I've been going to decorate and so far I've put about 10 pictures on the walls and that has been the extent of my decorating. At least maybe I can get the important stuff done. I might get more done if I stopped typing and actually did something......

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Grandad!

4-Wheelin Puppy

This was just her first ride. Everytime they went out to the 4wheelers after that, guess who thought she should get to go too? I thought it needed video taped. I was watching another video of the dog on the computer a few minutes ago and she had to come stick her nose in front of the screen to see what I was doing. She knew I was talking to her, but she also seemed to know that it was her on the screen. It was really funny.

A Wet Wednesday

I live absolutely nowhere near the gulf coast, however the remnants of the hurricane arrived this morning, promising to bring rainfall for the next two days. We were actually starting to need a little rain, but I think it might almost get carried away. My parents might come by tonight...depends on if they could get here a lot quicker than they could get home. Remember, they are on the motorcycle, now at the end of their vacation. And I'm hoping it doesnt rain tomorrow evening. I have a program scheduled at work for 7 pm, outside. It is my living history presentation of Elizabeth Walker, the wife of one of the men that rode with Quantrill during the Civil War. I can't even imagine having to live through what they did in the 1860s, and it wasn't usually on battlefields in this part of the country. Terrifying to think about. So anyway, it will be my last living history presentation and I would love for it to be well attended. And I hope I can concentrate on practice today because I seem to be easily distracted these days (yes I admit, even at work, I think more about the baby than about the fish, forest and wildlife resources...occassionally I do think about how I can use those resources when the baby comes).

I know, I'm being very random today but there are about three more things I would like to add. My friend Cassie has cancer and the scan last week showed that the spots on her lungs were significantly smaller, the tumor on her hip hadn't grown, but there were a couple spots on her spine. This afternoon they are doing a bone scan to see if those spots are cancerous, so if everyone would say a prayer for Cassie, she really needs it right now.

If you live close to my parents and have received a shower invitation, Emily would love it if you would let her know whether or not you are able to come. You all know how much I plan things out...Emily does at least as much planning as me:)

And Deanne, thanks for the comments, I enjoy reading them! Others, you are welcome to comment too!

Finally, coming soon to a computer near you...Four-Wheelin Puppy. I'll explain in my next post so stay tuned!

Natural Baby

I am anticipating using my snooze button tomorrow and barely making it out the door for work on time, therefore, I thought I would do a rare evening post before I forget what I was actually going to say. Since I actually had a comment on my blog (comments are fun, you should try leaving one:) and it gave me an idea and reminded me while a few of you out there know me extremely well, some of you are reading this that don't know all of my quirks...so I thought I would explain a few of them that relate to the way we are going to raise our daughter. First off, diapers. Yes, I am in full belief that every child needs them:) However, since I do plan on staying home with her, therefore allowing me to be able to use them, I will be using cloth diapers. There are two big issues here, really. First off, I admit, I'm cheap. Diapers are not. Cloth diapers aren't really cheap either, but are wonderfully reusable. Yes, I realize that I will have to clean them and it will be work, gross work, but have you looked at the price of disposables? I was able to get a bunch of all-in-ones and prefolds and flat diapers, along with a few covers leftover from a garage sale, so I probably have close to as many as I'll need. I'm not really sure how many that will be. (Hint: If you want a really good bargain on something, look at garage sale ads. If they list something you would want, but don't want to pay what they are asking, contact them after the sale and if they still have the item, most people will make you an incredible deal. That's how I got the diapers.) So, yes, cloth diapers will be cheaper than disposables, but I also want to use them for other reasons as well. Do you realize how durable disposable diapers are, once they are used and gone and forgotten about? Landfills are full of such things and since I am in the field of conservation, I think about these things. The other option, they now make fully biodegradable, flushable diapers, if you can afford such a thing. Seems to me like you are asking for a clogged toilet, but I've never actually seen those so I'm not sure how they work. So, our child will be wearing cloth diapers, only using disposables if she is travelling and we dont want to have to spend days with a stinky diaper:)

Cloth diapers aren't the only thing that we've decided will be either healthier for the baby or healthier for the environment or healthier for our checkbook:) I will also be breastfeeding, hopefully exclusively at first. And when she starts eating baby food, have you ever thought about how that stuff is made? The kind you buy at the store is loaded with preservatives, comes in little plastic or glass jars (reusable but how many do you really need?) and isn't very cheap. Plus, anyone out there actually want to eat baby food? So I do plan on making my own baby food. You can buy cookbooks on the how, but mostly it boils down to take your normal food and smoosh it up. A small food processor is all that will be necessary, along with a little time to do it. Saves money, saves millions of tiny jars, and will be healthier. Sounds like a win-win situation to me. I also plan on teaching her about wilderness from the very beginning, hopefully giving her a good appreciation for all things wild.

When registering, I have already mentioned I had fun at babies r us but there was one thing that was extremely disappointing. They had all the necessities to breastfeed, all the stuff to make your own baby food, lots of organic things, but they didn't have hardly anything for using cloth diapers. They had a few diapers, a few vinyl pants, but not even a single diaper pin....hmmm....

So, I realize I'm looking at things from an idealist point of view and will occassionally buy food, give my baby a bottle (but hopefully it will be breastmilk) and sometimes use cloth diapers, but i'm hoping that I can manage to do many of these things.