For Sale

Yes, our house is on the market. Are we crazy? Yes. We actually were listed on the MLS last Wednesday and have had two showings during our first week. I'm praying that we are able to move before September. That would be ideal. If not, I want to stay put until after Christmas. We are praying that whatever is meant to be will happen. We originally planned on moving prior to starting our family. However, life got in the way and we never really got around to listing our home before I got pregnant. I love our town home. I was very sad when I saw it on the internet for sale. I know that we need more room. We need space for my family from north Alabama to use when they stay and visit with us and baby Jackson. Baby Jackson needs a yard to play in and mom needs a spot in the garage for the mom-mobile. (fyi... mom-mobile still to be determined...another post for another day)

Looking at homes (on the internet only) is so frustrating. Brent and I have varying opinions about style and location. We don't plan on touring any homes until we feel like we may get an offer. We are priced to sale... and have a great realtor. I just hope this is as stress free a process as possible.

Doo Wop Show

Today I went to see a Doo Wop show with my grandmother. I had no idea what to expect but I really liked it. I was one of approximately 10 people under the age of 50 but had a great time. The singers were groups from the late 50's thru the 60's.

Here's a link to a playlist I created from some of the songs that were performed today.

Hope you all enjoy :)

Craft Day

Today has been productive on the decorative side of Jackson's nursery. I wanted to have some wooden letters made to spell out "Jackson" and hang above his crib. My sister-in-law did the math and showed me how much I would save if we did it ourselves... so that's just what we've started. So far we have painted our letters a shade of taupe that way if they hang from the wall any or the scrapbook paper doesn't cover them completely you won't be able to tell. The only thing left to paint is the back which I will tackle later on tonight when the front dries.

Next we will trace our letters onto the 2 cute patterns of scrapbook paper we found at Hobby Lobby. Both patterns match the general theme I'm using for the nursery. I'd call the theme baby colors but sophisticated patterns... Let's hope baby Jackson get a lot of toys to stimulate his mind because mommy's blah nursery colors won't do much for him :)

We plan on tracing and modge-podgeing the paper to the letters on Monday while the Thomas Family enjoys the 4th of July together.

The last step will be adding burlap ribbon to the letters and figuring out how to tie a cute burlap bow on top of the letter to cover whatever contraption we use to hang them on the wall. I plan on hanging the letters over the crib.

The wooden letters, scrapbook paper and modge podge cost me approximately $20.00. Hopefully we can complete the entire project for under $30. This will definitely save me some cash and add a touch of homemade love to Jackson's nursery.

I also picked up two 16x20 canvases so my sister can get started on the two wall art pieces. She is painting me a lion & monkey (both in a safari/cartoonish pattern/style). I'm so excited that she is doing this for us. She's actually doing the artwork and I'm painting the canvas... hopefully we will make a good team and it will look nice.

My grandfather will be building Jackson a storage bench. The bench will have 4 cubbies on the bottom. I found two baskets today to use for my measurements and also some fabric to create basket-liners with. Oh the tasks we have to complete in the next 4 months.... but it will be worth it. I can't wait to see how it all comes together.

Yard Sale Update

The yard sale last weekend in Hartselle went great! We made over $1000 :) I was (and still am) ecstatic. I gave my sister a bit of the share and put the rest in savings. I plan on using it towards daycare expenses when I return to work next year (post maternity leave). It will really come in handy since I'll be going around 3 months without any income on my end. It took me a few days to physically recover from how tired I got after going non-stop for two days. Thanks again to all the family who helped me out. Even though yard sales are a tremendous amount of work I still love having them. Something about the bargaining and how clean the house feels after the sale gives me enough energy and will to want to have one every few years.

22 Week Mugshot

This picture doesn't do the belly justice. I swear it expanded while I slept last night. Every person I ran in to at work today (strangers included) commented on the bump. 4 more months :)

Feeling HUGE

Tomorrow marks 22 weeks down with 18 to go. Seriously...18 more weeks? I'm going to be a WHALE of a woman before this is all said and done. I've been feeling great. Sleeping good (on my side) and starting to knock things off my to-do list. Today I ordered the bedding from Polkatotdesigns.com. Baby Jackson is getting this gift from his Memaw (Thanks!!) I almost scored an awesome deal on Craigslist for our Britax infant car seat and b ready stroller. But like always I was a day late and a dollar short...whatever the saying is. No worries...baby Jackson will be getting that as a gift from his "G'Ma" aka My grandmother Carol. Dad & Lori are planning on coming to pick up our glider in the next few weeks. I've looked online and found several at babies r us that I like. I've just got to find time to go sit and swivel in them and decide which one I want to spend countless nights in. Brent and I also finally decided on a day care. If all goes as planned I will head there Thursday after work to pay our deposit and officially put Jackson on the list. Oh the things I still need to do before baby....

I am starting to look forward to upcoming events to help get this journey on it's way. I'm already anxious to meet Jackson. I'm not a patient person. It's hard to know that I'm only a little over half way there. I've heard the 2nd half goes faster so fingers crossed that information is true.

Dates I'm looking forward to.....
Late July- Destin Beach Trip
Late August- 1st Baby Shower
Labor Day- Thomas Family Beach Trip
FOOTBALL season starts!!!
then it's all downhill... 2 months left...

Let's pray that Brent does not kill Me :)

Yard Sale

I'll thoroughly enjoy my maternity leave next fall but as soon as it's over I'll be heading back to the daily work grind. Needless to say baby Jackson will be a daycare baby. Brent and I have toured several facilities and are leaning towards one in particular. The only hard thing is determining how we will arrange our schedules to make sure baby Jackson gets there on time (as do we) each and every day.

The bad thing about a good day care in our area is the MONEY!! Seriously?!?! How does a momma-to-be get ready for the sticker shock of an added expense? Have a yard sale!

I'm really excited about the yard sale. It's this Friday and Saturday at my Memaw's house. My wonderful grandmothers and Lori are supplying me with extra goods to sale. I guess it's all hands on deck to make sure our baby is taken care of. Hopefully the drought will continue and the rain will stay away. I've got a feeling it will be hot but hopefully worth it.

Wish me luck... let's hope I don't take anything Brent didn't really mean for me to sale! All proceeds go to baby Jackson's daycare fund :)

Baby Bag & Saturday update

Today's been relatively productive. We knocked out a Father's Day gift and got my windshield repaired. A truck threw a rock on me a few days back and I had a bad chip. Luckily insurance covered the repair and I didn't have to pay a dime! I made it back to worship guide team finally today. It felt good to go. I hate that I've been a slacker and missed out on the past few Saturdays.

I found baby Jackson's diaper bag! We will receive it at our shower in late August. Here's a picture...

I love all things Vera Bradley so I knew I'd end up with a diaper bag from this collection. I chose this pattern because it really is gender neutral. Maybe one day down the road a baby girl could use the bag too :)

My Dad scared us all this week by being admitted to the hospital. They were worried it was a heart problem but it turns out he had a fluid build up that was causing him pains. He goes back this upcoming week to find out why he was retaining fluid. He says he literally feels 10lbs lighter. Apparently he's already lost that much weight in fluid alone! 

Brent's been cleaning our bathroom for the past 2 hours. I guess he's "nesting". I'm trying to rid our office of clutter so we can prepare to condense it down to boxes. I can't wait to start on baby Jackson's nursery. We have most of the furniture ordered but it won't be in for at least 6 more weeks. I can't wait to start placing, organizing & preparing.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. 

Dad's 50th Birthday Party

On Saturday we were able to head to Hartselle to help celebrate my dad's 50th birthday. It was a night filled with fun and laughter. I'm so glad that my dad was able to spend the night surrounded by friends and family. A big thanks to everyone who helped pull it together. Fortunately I was able to just show up and enjoy the fun. Here are a few pictures from the night...

Family Photo

Dad having fun

Grandpa, Dad & Uncle Carol

Brent & Preggo at the party

Dad & Lori

Dad & his cake

Andy, Pawpaw & Dad

Leslie, Lizzie & Lily

my Papaw coming down the slide

Nicole, Ella & Andy

slide weigh limit exceeded...

Twins...Uncle Carol & Grandpa

Ocean helping play the guitar

Group Pic

Memaw, Me & Em

Lizzie sliding down

The kids loved the big blow-ups that Lori rented for the day. I asked if Baby Jackson would have parties like this in the future. Can't wait to see 5 big blow-ups out in the yard one day :)  Brent and I both gave the slide a try before the party got started. Brent then spent the rest of the time playing horse shoes and washers while I played with kids and snapped pictures. Thanks to everyone who came out to help my dad celebrate his big day! Here's to many more... LOVE YOU DAD!

Reveal Dinner

We have a huge family and are so blessed that everyone is as involved in our lives as they are. We knew when we found out the baby's gender that we needed a way to tell everyone at once. We couldn't make all those phone calls and miss out on everyone's excitement.

The very first time we went to the Dr. we saw a family that had all came on the day of the big ultrasound. It was like watching clowns climb out of a tiny car. I told Brent that there was no way we could have everyone there with us at the doctor... He agreed.

I decided to invite the whole family down for dinner. In my head it all worked out easily. I tend to forget how small the downstairs of our town house is and that 16 people really have a hard time fitting. With the help of all my grandmothers, Lori and Mrs. Melinda we were able to supply enough food and keep everyone comfortable. I am so glad that everyone took the time out of their busy schedules to come and visit with us on the special day. It was so great and meant so much to Brent and I to see how happy everyone is about baby Jackson.

we revealed the gender with a cookie cake... I love everyone's expressions in this photo :)

Brent didn't wear blue on purpose...

Baby Jackson's first blue gifts... Charlie's very interested int he squeak toys

My immediate family...apparently they all wore blue too!

We had a few members of Brent's family missing. Justin & Jennifer were at a goat show in Louisiana. We used face-time on my iphone and her ipad to share the news with them. I hope they were able to see everything okay! Moriah also missed because she was busy at work nursing sick kids back to health. Thank you again to everyone for coming over. It really meant the world to us! Love you guys!!!!!