Baby Stuff

So I got a shipment from Target today containing all the baby goodies I ordered last Thursday. It contained C.J.'s high chair, pack 'n play, Pooh bedding, Pooh wall decor, and my bobby cover. I think that's it. Doesn't sound like much, but it adds up quickly. We just purchased his travel system about a week ago too, so he's almost set. Sorta...we still have to buy the changing table, changing table pad, a swing and/or bouncer, jogging stroller, diaper genie, a few more toys, diapers, bath stuff and lotions, and nick nack stuff like a thermometer and baby grooming kit. But I didn't have the guts to put that all on one bill. Maybe next week...

Thank goodness my parents bought us the crib and mattress and my grandma Phyl bought us the glider/rocker!!!

So tonight I will go home and make Brett some quick spaghetti with jar sauce instead of homemade and then it's off to the nursery to set up this kid's room the right way. Pictures coming soon!

New Toys

I don't think I mentioned the fact that I sold Brett's car this past weekend, so we were free to buy something different. Of course I was going to take advantage of one of the biggest perks of working for an auto dealer and that is the fact that I can shop at the dealer only car auction. Which in turn means....saving thousands of dollars on a vehicle. So my dad took me up to the Manheim auction and we got to pick and choose from the almost 2,000 cars they had running yesterday. Of course, Brett and I had already decided on a 06-07 Chevy Trailblazer, so I just had to narrow our choices down once we got up there. Well 3 of my top choices were pulled out of the auction, but my very top choice was still there. We waited patiently for it to run through one of the lanes and I was ready to bid on it. Unfortunately it went well over wholesale value within seconds and I didn't bother submitting a single bid. Disappointing, yes, but there was an '06 right behind it that I hadn't had a chance to really look at it. It had a few more miles but had the leather package and everything we were looking for. The bids started so low on it, I just found myself raising my hand for it. I was a little nervous about bidding on something I hadn't looked over real well, but I couldn't help it because it was going so cheap. Well long story short, I won the bid and bought the truck for about $1,000 or so under wholesale and several thousand under retail. Woo hoo!!! It turns out the truck was really nice too. Best thing of all is that we came out $2,000 ahead from selling Brett's car to buying this Trailblazer. So here is what we got (stock photo of course, not actual vehicle).Oh and let me not forget to mention that my dad made a couple purchases as well. He bought a golf cart to ride around on at his farm, because he didn't have enough toys. No, the 4 wheelers, dirt bikes, Harleys, side-by-side, boat, and John-Deere tractor would not be complete without a golf cart. Now don't assume it has no use around the farm, of course my parents need something to drive down the 1/4 mile long driveway to the mailbox.

So if you think that's bad, get a load of this. Grandpa bought his yet-to-be-born grandson, Carter, a brand new 4 wheeler!! No, I don't think that's silly because I plan on putting him on it at about age 3. Plus it was only a few hundred dollars, so it was a pretty good deal. I will be sure to post pictures of it as soon as I get some. If it helps build a mental image, no one over 145lbs is supposed to ride on it. I broke that rule once we got it back to my parents' house. My dad told me to "punch it" and I had to remind him that I was "punching it", but I'm also almost 7 months pregnant and over the weight limit. All I have to say is, this little boy is already spoiled rotten and he's not even here yet. Geez....

Baby Shower

So as I promised yesterday, I will resume the topic of my baby shower. Moving on from stolen trucks to cute, adorable baby stuff.

My mom was gracious enough to throw me a baby shower this past Saturday and I must say it was a delight. I didn't have a bridal shower and I've never been to a baby shower, so I really didn't know what to expect. I was just a little nervous about sitting in front of everyone and opening gifts; but it turns out it wasn't that awkward afterall. My mom hosted it at her house and she did a really great job of planning fun games and great food. She even got me a Baby Einstein cake from Publix which was sooooooo delicious!! My friend, Christine, also made a really cute blue and white cake that said "It's a Boy" on it and I loved it as well. Here is a little snapshot of me and the cakes.

Once everyone got there, we started in on some games. The first game we started was the pacifier game that went on throughout the whole shower. Everyone got a pacifier and whoever crossed their arms or legs, got theirs taken away and given to the person that called them out on it. I tried to hold out, but I was wearing a dress and trying to hold my legs together with this big ol' belly just got painful so I gave up and Christine got my pacifier. She ended up winning that game and got a nice bottle of wine as a prize.

We also played the Ultrasound game. This is where you pass around various ultrasound pictures and try to identify what body part is in the image. I ended up getting 10 out of 12 correct and won the game. I was pretty surprised, because some of the images are really hard to tell what they are. But they looked a lot like the ones I have of Carter, so I had an advantage I think. We then played a baby trivia game, which I didn't participate a whole lot in because Brett's mom was standing right next to me with the answer cards where I could see them and I thought it would be unfair of me to answer many of the questions. Natalie won that game, of course. She has an 18 month old afterall. Did you know the average newborn goes through 7,500 diapers in the first year? Crazy!!!

Then after the games were done, it was on to gifts. Just so you know, I didn't read the card out loud. Instead I said who the gift was from and then passed them around for everyone to see. I got some cute stuff and now I have to better organize Carter's closet to fit everything. This boy has enough clothes to last him a year without ever wearing anything twice. And he has 3 of the same exact ND outfit with slight differences. I bought him a 3-6 mos size of the outfit, Sarah (Brett's sister) gave us the same one that was 6-9mos and then our great friends Gary and Kasey gave us the same outfit but in Blue and Green instead of Blue and Gold like we already had. Needless to say, Brett is thrilled!! He can't wait to dress his little guy up and turn him into a Domer. Anyway, here are some pics from the gift opening.

And this one is for my grandma. What's better than pregnant ladies and tomato plants?

What A Day!!

Well I was going to get on here and blog about the baby shower my mom threw me on Saturday, but something a little more interesting has come up in the meantime. I promise though, I will return to the baby shower topic.

This morning as I was flying off the exit ramp of I-24 right by my work, I turned my head to the right and noticed cop cars sitting outside our truck lot with their lights on. At first I just thought someone had been pulled over, but I noticed our gate was still closed and Tom was parked outside of it. This was strange and I almost didn't want to ask what was going on. Well I parked in the middle lane in front of the lot and turned on my 4 ways and got out to ask what was going on. That's when Tom turned around and told me when he got there this morning, that he couldn't get his key in the lock (because someone had changed it) and that our 2006 Pete 379EXHD flattop was gone. I said "WHAT?!?!" Inside my head I was really saying, "What the @&%*?! Who the !@#$? How the *$&#?!...oh @#$%!" But good thing I have some self control and didn't let any of that nasty language flow out of my mouth. I then got back in my car and drove it to the business next door and parked it and walked back. The CSI lady was dusting for finger prints, but had no luck of finding any. She also took pictures of the tire tracks in the gravel, but that's not gonna do much, considering we have trucks in and out of our place all day long.

After the initial shock wore off, I figured I'd better post a stolen truck listing on our advertisers website ASAP if we wanted any chance of getting it back. We racked our brains to think of any suspects that may want to take this truck, but we couldn't think of any. Not that it's not a desirable truck, it's just that we couldn't think of any suspicious characters that have called on it or come by and looked at it. I've said a prayer about it and I just asked God to help us find this truck in one piece and find the people that are responsible for stealing it. More than anything, I just want to see somebody do some time for this crime.

Now, you would think a semi truck would be a pretty hard vehicle to steal, but i guess it's really not for someone that knows what they're doing. These people cut our gate lock, came and hot wired the truck, and drove out with it and replaced the gate lock with a new one. Had they left the gate open, we may have been aware of it sooner, but no one is going to suspect anything with the gate closed back up. Since this is a family business, my parents are the ones that have to take this loss and it just makes it even more bitter tasting. It was a $75,000 truck and now it's nothing but lost profit and increased insurance expense. Not to mention the huge deductible to make a claim on it. If someone had stolen this truck for a trailer load that was attached to it, they probably would have dumped the truck somewhere nearby, but since this was just a tractor sitting for sale, the chances are they're gonna hide it good and we'll never see it again.

Anyway, here's a pic for your curiosity. Can you imagine stealing one of these?

This is Starting to Hurt

So as I draw nearer to the third trimester of my pregnancy (I'm at 26 weeks today), I'm starting to feel the aches and pains that one usually associates with the third trimester. While I look back at the last 26 weeks and think about how fast it has flown by, I am also beginning to wonder how I am going to be able to handle another 14. Sleeping is beginning to get a little more uncomfortable as well as sitting, walking, standing, etc. One may think that the most comfortable sleeping position would be on your back, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I feel like my uterus is weighing down on everything else and I have to roll to my side to get some relief. I try to tuck a pillow between my legs and underneath my belly, but that has seemed to become bothersome recently as well. I have never been a stomach sleeper, but all of a sudden I have the urge to roll over on my belly and sleep, which we all know is a big no no. So what should I do? I mean I have 3 more months of this and I know it's only going to get worse. At my last checkup I had only gained 1 lb. in a 4 week duration, but the last two visits before that were horrible as far as the scale is concerned. So now I'm wishing I hadn't gained so much weight so fast, because I don't think that's helping my situation any. Everything is just beginning to ache!!! And let's not even talk about my poor little feet. I'll have to make it up to them once this baby arrives.

Anywho...I took my glucose tolerance test last week and passed it with flying colors! Score! Now I don't have to go back for the 3 hours test. I also asked my doctor about her thoughts on epidurals and she made it pretty obvious to me that she was a fan. She had one with all 3 of her children, so that was re-assuring to know. She also mentioned the words "larger tearing" with natural births and I just knew what I was going to do. I'll go as far along as possible naturally, but when it comes to the point that I'm nearly passing out from pain, I'll be getting myself an epidural.

My baby shower is this Saturday and I'm really looking forward to it. Some of my neighbor ladies and other friends of mine will be there, so it should be lots of fun. I'm just nervous about the whole idea of sitting in front of everyone and opening presents. How awkward. My question to the ladies that have been through baby showers before is, do I have to read each and every card out loud?

Okay, well I know this blog is pretty boring, but that's my life lately. The most entertainment I've had in a while is from reading the book "Twilight". I'm sure you've all heard of the movie. I saw the movie and liked it so much that I decided to read the 500 page book. If you know anything about me, you know that I'm not a reader, but this book is excellent! I'm about 250 pages in and it hasn't gotten boring yet. I'm definitely going to read the other 3 books and I recommend you read them too. Anyway, I'll catch ya later! Have a good one.

Why I like the Irish

The kick off to Notre Dame football is just about a month away and as much as I don't really care for that school, I'm looking forward to the football season. Why, you ask. Because it means several things. First and for most, it means there will be a solid 3 to 4 hours each Saturday in which my husband will be stuck to the television and I have a great excuse to not do any work around the house or the yard. Lately we both have been refusing to relax on our weekends and we always seem to spend the entire weekend cleaning the house or doing some type of yard work. It stinks!! Of course, I will still have to work every other Saturday and he will too, but it gives us a little relax time on the weekends we don't work.

Second, once September rolls around that means it's fall and November 24 will be right around the corner. I don't think I have ever wanted a summer to go by so fast as I have this summer. I can not wait for a little cooler weather and for this baby boy to show his face. When I mention the fact that the ND football season will probably be over by the time our baby arrives, Brett gets upset because I'm cutting out their chances at a bowl game.

Like previously stated in another blog, I purchased a really cute ND creeper set for Carter and I can't wait to dress him in it. As cute as I think that will be, I just hope Brett's family doesn't drown my child in ND apparel. An outfit or two is okay, but they will be sadly disappointed if they buy him loads and loads of ND stuff, because he won't be wearing it. How do you tell your in-laws to refrain from waisting there money on tons of ND clothing? I'll make Brett do it! But I won't feel too bad if they buy it and I don't dress him in it all the time, because when Natalie (my sis-in-law) had her baby boy, her family drowned him in ND stuff and I don't think I ever saw him wear a single outfit. Natalie and her husband Craig aren't big fans of ND either and probably found it unneccessary to dress Leland in all the apparel.

Anyway, I know it doesn't sound like it, but I really am looking forward to the football season. Last year was a blast because we watched every game with our apartment neighbors, Gary and Kasey, while munching down on some pretty tasty treats that Kasey and I would whip up. We have a bigger TV this year and a cool bonus room, so I'm hoping they'll come back to watch with us again this year. I just wish some of our new neighbors were into ND football so Brett had a guy to watch it with all the time. Anyway I'll wrap this up by saying, Let's Go Irish!!!! I don't like my husband's attitude when you lose, so please win every game!

Baby Wanted

Brett and I are in serious need of a child. Carter needs to hurry up and get here, before our dogs lose all patience with us.

Car for sale

So this car is for sale if anybody wants to buy it. Brett bought this lovely 2006 Honda Accord Coupe a few years ago and it has now become impractical for us. As you may notice, it's a 2 door which in turn means, not very easy to get a baby in and out of the back seat. We aren't looking to upgrade, down grade, just looking to even grade if that's a term. We just need two more doors!!! The great thing about our situation is that with my dad being a vehicle dealer, I have access to the dealer auctions in the area. Manheim is a huge car auction here in Nashville and has a great Nissan auction just about every Wednesday. So our hope is that we can sell this car quickly and get over to the auction and buy something like a 2006 Nissan Maxima with 4 doors!! I have listed Brett's car on Craigslist and am hoping I have the same luck I did when I sold my motorcycle. I sold my bike rather quickly and got every penny I was asking for it. The advantage we do have is that his car only has 29,000 miles on it, because he drives that beautiful looking truck you see in the background to and from work everyday. So cross your fingers folks, because we need a different car!!! Better yet, start praying because I don't believe crossing your fingers does anything. Prayer works much better!!! My lovely 2003 VW Jetta has 4 doors, but it also has 112,000 miles on it and is a stick shift (Brett's no good at driving stick). I love my car and it is super reliable and has never had any major problems, but I don't want that to be our main family car. So I guess now we'll sit back and wait for the first call and hopefully my great sales skills will get this thing gone!