Thursday, September 17, 2009
Couponing
My love for couponing was renewed last night. I scored $75 in groceries for a mere $6!! How great is that? My biggest score of the night was a free pack of diapers! I am going to get serious about couponing again. Tonight was too much fun. I'm glad Scarlett, Janae, and I were able to go together.
Monday, September 14, 2009
What's in a Name??
Apparently a lot!! We have been calling this little man Grady ever since we found out it was boy. Well, over the past couple weeks we have made a big change. We have changed the name completely. We are going to be naming him Brigham Joseph. We made this change for a variety of reasons. We feel a loyalty to the name Grady but Brigham Joseph is what he will be named. There is one stipulation that goes along with this name: The only nickname allowed is Briggs. So he can be called Briggs or Brigham but that is it. People keep trying to come up with all kinds of names to call him that aren't his name and we want him to be called one of these 2 that I have mentioned. We aren't sure why people try to come up with names that aren't even what you named your child but we are hoping to put a stop to that from the beginning. Hopefully this change will be received well. We are so excited and can't wait to meet the little man!!! He will definitely be here within the next 3 weeks but hopefully before then!
The Nursery and Progress
Here is a picture of the nursery:
The crib is full of stuff that I need to put in the closet but I have to wait to get 2 shelves put into the closet and some baskets to put some of the stuff in on the shelves but this pretty much shows the nursery. I also have to find something to put on the wall. I can't decide what I want on the walls.
Today's doctor's appointment wasn't completely depressing. We have progress!!! woooo hoooooo!!!
The crib is full of stuff that I need to put in the closet but I have to wait to get 2 shelves put into the closet and some baskets to put some of the stuff in on the shelves but this pretty much shows the nursery. I also have to find something to put on the wall. I can't decide what I want on the walls.Today's doctor's appointment wasn't completely depressing. We have progress!!! woooo hoooooo!!!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
NC Mountains
The NC mountains are so pretty! I've gained a new appreciation for them over the past couple weeks for our mountains. Last Friday night Mark and I went hiking in South Mountain because I have been wanting to go see waterfalls since July and we finally went. We chose South Mountain because it is close and we didn't even get to leave Charlotte until after 4:30. We brought the dogs with us and they seemed to enjoy hiking. It's a rather easy hike until you reach the 5 thousand steps that take you up to the waterfall. Now those were killer but it was totally worth it. We stayed up there for probably 20 minutes and then headed back down. We reached our car just as it was getting dark so it was perfectly timed. We loaded the car with the dogs and ourselves and headed home. We stopped in Gastonia and got pizza at Portofino's (we had never eaten here but I have heard great things about it so we tried it out and we were impressed. It's closer than our favorite pizza restaurant so we will definitely be going back.
Yesterday we visited another NC mountain. I'm not sure what the name of the area we were in is but it's in Brevard and it is beautiful. There are waterfalls you can see from the road. It is amazing. We made our way to a place called Sliding Rock. I never heard of Sliding Rock until last summer and I have wanted to go ever since. Mark and I were going to go earlier this summer but we discovered it was 2 1/2 hours away and we changed our mind about going. So anyways, yesterday we rode up there with Nate and Scarlett and met up with some friends of ours. We brought Reagan along with us and she seemed to enjoy herself and she kept me company while we watched everyone else play on sliding rock. I would have definitely gone on the rock but 1. I didn't even know we were going there so I didn't bring a bathing suit and 2. Mark didn't want me going on it because the water is so cold. So I was the videographer for the afternoon. I made them promise we would go back next year. Now, for those that are unfamiliar with what Sliding Rock is the video's I will post are self explanatory but it is basically a big rock waterslide that dumps you into a pool of water. The kicker is that the water is between 48 and 58 degrees year round! Here is avideos of Nate, Scarlett, and Mark. I can't wait to experience this for myself next year!!!
Here is Mark just before hitting the water
After we left Sliding Rock, we went to a picnic area and ate a delicious dinner courtesy mostly of Jason and Janae. We then headed over to the NC Mountain State Fair we passed on our way up to Sliding Rock and spent a couple of hours there. It was fun but it was no where near as good as the state fair in Raleigh. Mainly because they didn't have fried cheesecake. We left the fair at 11pm and headed home. We were all exhausted from a fun day in the mountains.
Yesterday we visited another NC mountain. I'm not sure what the name of the area we were in is but it's in Brevard and it is beautiful. There are waterfalls you can see from the road. It is amazing. We made our way to a place called Sliding Rock. I never heard of Sliding Rock until last summer and I have wanted to go ever since. Mark and I were going to go earlier this summer but we discovered it was 2 1/2 hours away and we changed our mind about going. So anyways, yesterday we rode up there with Nate and Scarlett and met up with some friends of ours. We brought Reagan along with us and she seemed to enjoy herself and she kept me company while we watched everyone else play on sliding rock. I would have definitely gone on the rock but 1. I didn't even know we were going there so I didn't bring a bathing suit and 2. Mark didn't want me going on it because the water is so cold. So I was the videographer for the afternoon. I made them promise we would go back next year. Now, for those that are unfamiliar with what Sliding Rock is the video's I will post are self explanatory but it is basically a big rock waterslide that dumps you into a pool of water. The kicker is that the water is between 48 and 58 degrees year round! Here is avideos of Nate, Scarlett, and Mark. I can't wait to experience this for myself next year!!!
Here is Mark just before hitting the water
After we left Sliding Rock, we went to a picnic area and ate a delicious dinner courtesy mostly of Jason and Janae. We then headed over to the NC Mountain State Fair we passed on our way up to Sliding Rock and spent a couple of hours there. It was fun but it was no where near as good as the state fair in Raleigh. Mainly because they didn't have fried cheesecake. We left the fair at 11pm and headed home. We were all exhausted from a fun day in the mountains.
The Wood Family Reunion
So Mark's family on his dad's side has a family reunion the 2nd Sunday in August at Dan Nicholas Park in Salisbury every year. There is a President of the family reunion and last year the president retired and Mark was the only person that volunteered to be president and so he was voted in as the new president. Next, the treasurer retired and Scarlett was the only person to volunteer to be the new treasurer. So since they were able to work together easily, there were some changes made to the 2009 Wood Family Reunion.
First of all, the people that attend the reunion are mostly really old people so they were doing the bare minimum each year. It's a potluck reunion and people mostly pick up something from a fast food restaurant and bring that as their contribution. There is a prayer, people eat, there is a review of the previous years minutes, review of births and deaths, and that is about it. People then leave. They are there for all of an hour. It is actually kind of pathetic and almost a waste of time. This year we brought Bag-O (a.k.a. Bean Bag Game), had an egg race, had festive table cloths, awarded prizes for the best dessert and best side dish, decorated the shelter with balloons, took pictures of families that wanted them and also captured some candid shots that will be put on cd's and mailed to each family, and had music playing in the background. It was a big turn around and we received great feedback. Here are some pictures from the egg race, egg toss (resulted from the result have extra eggs from the egg race) and then some of us enjoying the park after the reunion was over.
Ok, these pictures aren't uploading right now so I will have to add them later.
First of all, the people that attend the reunion are mostly really old people so they were doing the bare minimum each year. It's a potluck reunion and people mostly pick up something from a fast food restaurant and bring that as their contribution. There is a prayer, people eat, there is a review of the previous years minutes, review of births and deaths, and that is about it. People then leave. They are there for all of an hour. It is actually kind of pathetic and almost a waste of time. This year we brought Bag-O (a.k.a. Bean Bag Game), had an egg race, had festive table cloths, awarded prizes for the best dessert and best side dish, decorated the shelter with balloons, took pictures of families that wanted them and also captured some candid shots that will be put on cd's and mailed to each family, and had music playing in the background. It was a big turn around and we received great feedback. Here are some pictures from the egg race, egg toss (resulted from the result have extra eggs from the egg race) and then some of us enjoying the park after the reunion was over.
Ok, these pictures aren't uploading right now so I will have to add them later.
Weekly Doctor's Appointments
These have been somewhat disapointing. I say this because I am not dilated AT ALL. Zero. Zilch. Nada. There are no signs of this baby coming any time soon. I'm not miserable or anything. I feel fine. My back hurts at some point in the day on most days but it is always in the same spot and that has been going on since February or March.
One thing I don't understand is that people keep telling me "get as much sleep now as you can because you will never get to sleep again" for 2 reasons. First of all, sleeping is the worst part of every day. It is nothing but uncomfortable and painful. My back hurts, my leg goes numb, it hurts really bad just moving my legs when I am lying down, and every time I move positions I wake up and have to move extremely slow to try and avoid it being extremely painful. I think the only reason I get any sleep at all is because my doctor told me to take Tylenol PM to help me sleep. The Tylenol doesn't do anything for the pain I am in each night but the PM part helps me sleep somewhat. I'm guessing other people don't have this problem or they forget how bad trying to sleep when you are pregnant is.
Another reason I don't understand this advice of sleeping all you can now is that you can't build up a sleep reserve in your body. It seems like if I did sleep all the time now, when the baby gets here, adjusting would be even harder b/c I will be use to sleeping all the time.
I'm not all about sleeping anyways so maybe that makes me look at this differently. I hate napping and I don't need a lot of sleep to function.
So anyways, back to the topic at hand. Weekly doctor appointments. They have been disapointing but I'm hoping tomorrow will bring better news even though I haven't felt any braxton hicks, cramping, contractions, or nesting urges. NOTHING.
One thing I don't understand is that people keep telling me "get as much sleep now as you can because you will never get to sleep again" for 2 reasons. First of all, sleeping is the worst part of every day. It is nothing but uncomfortable and painful. My back hurts, my leg goes numb, it hurts really bad just moving my legs when I am lying down, and every time I move positions I wake up and have to move extremely slow to try and avoid it being extremely painful. I think the only reason I get any sleep at all is because my doctor told me to take Tylenol PM to help me sleep. The Tylenol doesn't do anything for the pain I am in each night but the PM part helps me sleep somewhat. I'm guessing other people don't have this problem or they forget how bad trying to sleep when you are pregnant is.
Another reason I don't understand this advice of sleeping all you can now is that you can't build up a sleep reserve in your body. It seems like if I did sleep all the time now, when the baby gets here, adjusting would be even harder b/c I will be use to sleeping all the time.
I'm not all about sleeping anyways so maybe that makes me look at this differently. I hate napping and I don't need a lot of sleep to function.
So anyways, back to the topic at hand. Weekly doctor appointments. They have been disapointing but I'm hoping tomorrow will bring better news even though I haven't felt any braxton hicks, cramping, contractions, or nesting urges. NOTHING.
My Baby Showers
Through the kindness and generosity of friends and family, I was given 2 baby showers.
Janae and Scarlett gave me my first one on Thursday, August 20th. It was at Janae's and it was great! They did a great job with the food and decorations and the turnout was great also, especially since it was a week night! We don't have any pictures from the shower but I loved it. It was a lot of fun. I am so grateful for the generosity of Janae and Scarlett for hosting a shower and for all the ladies that came.
My second shower was on Saturday, August 22nd. This one was at our house and it fabulous hostesses: Scarlett (yes she did both showers!!!! She is pretty awesome), Krystin (my sister), Emily, Jenn, and Deena. They did a wonderful job on this shower. It was seriously the best shower I had ever been to and I am not the only one who felt this way. They had good food, fun games, and great people in attendance.
I was totally surprised by the gifts I was given. We got a lot of really cute clothes, 2 bedding sets (I was hoping to just get enough gift cards to be able to buy one myself since Mark didn't agree with spending $80 on crib bedding), 3 whale baby baths (2 of these were from the 1st shower), the stroller frame that fits our carseat (this is different from a travel system. This was also something I was really hoping for because Mark thinks they are dumb and I would have had a hard time convincing him it was a necessity since we already had the travel system), and tons of other little things that we needed.
The number one surprise of the day was that Nate and Scarlett had finished refinishing our crib and they brought it over. They stained it dark brown, added dental molding, and casters! It looked like a totally different crib. I was amazed. They also got one of the sheets to match the bedding, a really cute fuzzy blanket that matched the bedding, and some curtains and additional fabric to add to the curtains so that they would look how I wanted them!! I could not believe it when I walked into the room. I was blown away at how hard Scarlett and Nate had worked. Like I said, Scarlett is awesome!!) They came over a little after 10 the morning of the shower and I was banished to our bedroom until the start of the shower at 12. During this time they (the other hostesses included) set up the crib, hung curtains, and set up and decorated for the shower.
Another big surprise was the diaper cake that my sister made. I could not believe she made it! I'm not normally a fan of diaper cakes but this one was so cute!!! I never want to take it apart. I hope I can get the shelf I want for the nursery and at least leave the diaper cake on display until I need the diapers. She also made a tag blanket. I didn't even know she could sew!! I love it!
I am so grateful for the kindness of my friends and sister. I could not believe all the hard work and time they put into the shower. I was truly amazed. I am actually still amazed. It really was the best shower ever!!! Seriously.
Here are some pictures of the day
The best diaper cake ever!!!!
Deena and I in the nursery
Emily and I
Jenn and I
Krystin, Arden, and I
Mark's mom under the crib and Janae. This was hilarious watching them put the bedding on!!
I still have to find a picture of Scarlett to include from this day.
Janae and Scarlett gave me my first one on Thursday, August 20th. It was at Janae's and it was great! They did a great job with the food and decorations and the turnout was great also, especially since it was a week night! We don't have any pictures from the shower but I loved it. It was a lot of fun. I am so grateful for the generosity of Janae and Scarlett for hosting a shower and for all the ladies that came.
My second shower was on Saturday, August 22nd. This one was at our house and it fabulous hostesses: Scarlett (yes she did both showers!!!! She is pretty awesome), Krystin (my sister), Emily, Jenn, and Deena. They did a wonderful job on this shower. It was seriously the best shower I had ever been to and I am not the only one who felt this way. They had good food, fun games, and great people in attendance.
I was totally surprised by the gifts I was given. We got a lot of really cute clothes, 2 bedding sets (I was hoping to just get enough gift cards to be able to buy one myself since Mark didn't agree with spending $80 on crib bedding), 3 whale baby baths (2 of these were from the 1st shower), the stroller frame that fits our carseat (this is different from a travel system. This was also something I was really hoping for because Mark thinks they are dumb and I would have had a hard time convincing him it was a necessity since we already had the travel system), and tons of other little things that we needed.
The number one surprise of the day was that Nate and Scarlett had finished refinishing our crib and they brought it over. They stained it dark brown, added dental molding, and casters! It looked like a totally different crib. I was amazed. They also got one of the sheets to match the bedding, a really cute fuzzy blanket that matched the bedding, and some curtains and additional fabric to add to the curtains so that they would look how I wanted them!! I could not believe it when I walked into the room. I was blown away at how hard Scarlett and Nate had worked. Like I said, Scarlett is awesome!!) They came over a little after 10 the morning of the shower and I was banished to our bedroom until the start of the shower at 12. During this time they (the other hostesses included) set up the crib, hung curtains, and set up and decorated for the shower.
Another big surprise was the diaper cake that my sister made. I could not believe she made it! I'm not normally a fan of diaper cakes but this one was so cute!!! I never want to take it apart. I hope I can get the shelf I want for the nursery and at least leave the diaper cake on display until I need the diapers. She also made a tag blanket. I didn't even know she could sew!! I love it!
I am so grateful for the kindness of my friends and sister. I could not believe all the hard work and time they put into the shower. I was truly amazed. I am actually still amazed. It really was the best shower ever!!! Seriously.
Here are some pictures of the day
The best diaper cake ever!!!!
Deena and I in the nursery
Emily and I
Jenn and I
Krystin, Arden, and I
Mark's mom under the crib and Janae. This was hilarious watching them put the bedding on!!
I still have to find a picture of Scarlett to include from this day.
Nauvoo
Mark, his mom, Albert (her husband), Reagan (a.k.a. Little White Dog) and I drove to Nauvoo at the end of July for the last weekend of the pageant. I had always wanted to go to Nauvoo and since Mark is my own personal Aladdin, he once again granted my wish.
We left July 30th at midnight. Mark drove the whole 15 hours there. He is really is the best. Anyways, we arrived at our hotel just after 2 in the afternoon and we all took a nap. We headed into Nauvoo around 4. We spent our evening seeing some of the shows and the 2nd half of the pageant (in case it was rained out on Saturday night).
On Saturday we spent the entire day in Nauvoo and we had Reagan with us. We started out on the carriage tour at 9am and then did the wagon tour. It was raining so it was a good time to be on a covered tour. Reagan wasn't allowed on the wagon and carriage tours so we had to leave her in the car for those. She was able to spend the rest of the day with us as long as we held her whenever we were inside any buildings. We spent the day touring homes and shops and eating in downtown Nauvoo. Then we rushed up to Carthage so we could tour the jail there. I think that was my favorite part of the trip. It was a great day. The rain cleared up around 1pm and it turned into a beautiful day. We were able to reserve great seats for the pageant that night and it was so beautiful. I'm so glad we were able to see at least half of the pageant twice.
We got back to our hotel at almost midnight and we all crashed. We got up Sunday morning and started our trip home. We had so many laughs on this trip and I am so glad we were able to go with Lynn and Albert.
Our traveling buddies
Outside Carthage Jail
Where the pioneers crossed the Mississippi to leave Nauvoo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)