Sunday, September 30, 2007
The word is out!
Tonight was the big announcement letting my parents know the exciting news. Mom & Dad...if you are reading this post first, stop now. You should always read a blog like this from oldest to newest so that you read in chronological order. This probably means you'll have to start with page 2 first.
That being said...on with the news. I know no one wants to hear about my week long adventure to Franklin, TN, so I'll start with the exciting stuff first. Bill and I came up with the idea of a little scavenger hunt when they got here to lead them to the surprise. Since mom's birthday was last week, we were getting together to celebrate. She was under the impression she had a present to find, so we started her off with the first clue. One brilliant, witty clue led to the next and each clue had a brown bag with it that had an object inside related to the "present". Mom and dad could read the clues and only feel what was in the bag. They had five clues that eventually led them to....the soon to be nursery. We had the door shut and the last clue led them to a "bedroom with no bed". Well, it didn't have a bed in it until now. We had it all set up with the crib and furniture - bought the mattress just today. Mom walks in with her clue in mind and says, "there's a crib in here!" and I nudge her to go on in so dad can see. And then she gets it and asks if I'm pregnant.
They were very much thrilled to hear the news and somewhat surprised. Dad was for sure. Mom had been suspecting it. So mom enjoyed her present even though she has to wait another 6 months or so for it.
Franklin
______
I made it through my week long training with Kim this past week. I shadowed her at her job Mon-Fri, 8 hours a day, 5 days and I actually got up at 6:20 each morning to do this!!! In case you didn't know, she's a web designer and she showed me a lot of things to help get me up and running to do the same. My goal is to do freelance work and work from home (especially after the kid arrives). I learned a lot and am very glad to be back home in the mountains with the cooler weather. I missed the cats....oh, and I missed Bill too :).
I know you all are dying to see what everything looks like, so I'll go right now and take some pics of the new nursery - which has a ways to go and furniture needs painting - and get those posted for you.
That being said...on with the news. I know no one wants to hear about my week long adventure to Franklin, TN, so I'll start with the exciting stuff first. Bill and I came up with the idea of a little scavenger hunt when they got here to lead them to the surprise. Since mom's birthday was last week, we were getting together to celebrate. She was under the impression she had a present to find, so we started her off with the first clue. One brilliant, witty clue led to the next and each clue had a brown bag with it that had an object inside related to the "present". Mom and dad could read the clues and only feel what was in the bag. They had five clues that eventually led them to....the soon to be nursery. We had the door shut and the last clue led them to a "bedroom with no bed". Well, it didn't have a bed in it until now. We had it all set up with the crib and furniture - bought the mattress just today. Mom walks in with her clue in mind and says, "there's a crib in here!" and I nudge her to go on in so dad can see. And then she gets it and asks if I'm pregnant.
They were very much thrilled to hear the news and somewhat surprised. Dad was for sure. Mom had been suspecting it. So mom enjoyed her present even though she has to wait another 6 months or so for it.
Franklin
______
I made it through my week long training with Kim this past week. I shadowed her at her job Mon-Fri, 8 hours a day, 5 days and I actually got up at 6:20 each morning to do this!!! In case you didn't know, she's a web designer and she showed me a lot of things to help get me up and running to do the same. My goal is to do freelance work and work from home (especially after the kid arrives). I learned a lot and am very glad to be back home in the mountains with the cooler weather. I missed the cats....oh, and I missed Bill too :).
I know you all are dying to see what everything looks like, so I'll go right now and take some pics of the new nursery - which has a ways to go and furniture needs painting - and get those posted for you.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Wednesday's 2nd Visit
My apologies, I've been a little slow at getting this post up.
Wednesday's visit was very reassuring in one aspect and kind of daunting in another. We got to hear the heartbeat for the first time! The nurse practitioner said it was 160 beats per minute. It was a little nerve racking that it took a little while to find, but it's there, beating very healthy! My due date was discussed and is officially set at April 10th. We were told not to listen to the advice given from ultrasound techs on when they say the due date should be....
The other part of the visit was discussing the financials. They want to make sure you're going to pay for this! They've got it worked out to a science. You get 13 visits, you pay everything by the 7th month, ultrasounds and lab work are extra...and that doesn't even cover the hospital charges. So, the fun is just beginning!
Bill has been hard at work getting the vintage crib rebuilt/finished. He and his dad have worked long and hard sanding, staining, & gluing. We decided to get new decorative toy pieces to replace the old ones which meant that Bill would have to redrill a hole so the dowel would fit. There was a little boo boo on the drilling which but Mr. Bill in a bit of a self induced frenzy, but I think everything will be OK and soon, we'll look back on the situation and laugh.
We took a trip to the big baby store - Babies R Us - to see what we were in for. I believe all new parents share a mutual feeling of being just a bit overwhelmed by it all, looking at everything for the first time from a new perspective. Not the same one you have when you're just in there "buying a gift for someone". We're starting to get an idea of all the things we need to get and - once again - how much it's all going to cost!
I spent the end of the week working on some last minute church projects and getting ready for my week long trip to Franklin, TN to visit with my friend, Kim. She'll be mentoring me on her work in web design. I'll be going to work with her each day and taking in as much as possible. My goal is to work from home one day, doing freelance projects. Today is the 2nd leg of my trip to get me from Knoxville to Franklin. Right now, I'm sitting at Christy and Andy's house alone waiting for Kim and Brian to wake up from their late night at the UT game. Christy and Andy flew out this morning for a 5 day trip to NYC!
So until I have access to the Internet again, bon voyage!
Wednesday's visit was very reassuring in one aspect and kind of daunting in another. We got to hear the heartbeat for the first time! The nurse practitioner said it was 160 beats per minute. It was a little nerve racking that it took a little while to find, but it's there, beating very healthy! My due date was discussed and is officially set at April 10th. We were told not to listen to the advice given from ultrasound techs on when they say the due date should be....
The other part of the visit was discussing the financials. They want to make sure you're going to pay for this! They've got it worked out to a science. You get 13 visits, you pay everything by the 7th month, ultrasounds and lab work are extra...and that doesn't even cover the hospital charges. So, the fun is just beginning!
Bill has been hard at work getting the vintage crib rebuilt/finished. He and his dad have worked long and hard sanding, staining, & gluing. We decided to get new decorative toy pieces to replace the old ones which meant that Bill would have to redrill a hole so the dowel would fit. There was a little boo boo on the drilling which but Mr. Bill in a bit of a self induced frenzy, but I think everything will be OK and soon, we'll look back on the situation and laugh.
We took a trip to the big baby store - Babies R Us - to see what we were in for. I believe all new parents share a mutual feeling of being just a bit overwhelmed by it all, looking at everything for the first time from a new perspective. Not the same one you have when you're just in there "buying a gift for someone". We're starting to get an idea of all the things we need to get and - once again - how much it's all going to cost!
I spent the end of the week working on some last minute church projects and getting ready for my week long trip to Franklin, TN to visit with my friend, Kim. She'll be mentoring me on her work in web design. I'll be going to work with her each day and taking in as much as possible. My goal is to work from home one day, doing freelance projects. Today is the 2nd leg of my trip to get me from Knoxville to Franklin. Right now, I'm sitting at Christy and Andy's house alone waiting for Kim and Brian to wake up from their late night at the UT game. Christy and Andy flew out this morning for a 5 day trip to NYC!
So until I have access to the Internet again, bon voyage!
Monday, September 17, 2007
2nd Appointment....Coming Soon!
Reassurance is just around the corner. My next OB appointment is a day and a half away now. I'm very excited b/c I hear we get to hear the heartbeat. I've naturally been a little worried and concerned since I've been feeling so well and not really pregnant at all. This is the fun one too - where we get to talk about all the financial stuff. Can't wait for that.
Fall is in the air now. Finally the days of 90+ degrees seem to be gone. It's been so nice that we skipped from days on end of the A/C running to ceiling fans and windows up. That's one of the nice things about living in the mountains. Wait, what is that I smell......is that.....a......a skunk!!!! Oh no! Oh well. Too late to put the windows down now. Cooler weather also means I am closer to being able to wear some of the cute colder weather maternity clothes we bought recently.
Scout & Vixen seem to have caught on to the fact that change is on the way. They'll be busy in the coming months sniffing all the new items coming into the house. Some of which is a boppy pillow and front carrier bought this weekend at the Munchkin Market - a upscale rummage sale of sorts held twice a year in Biltmore Village. The cats have been a sore topic of lately so I must tiptoe around their mention.
Guess I'll save all the exciting stuff to post on Wednesday.
Until then....
Fall is in the air now. Finally the days of 90+ degrees seem to be gone. It's been so nice that we skipped from days on end of the A/C running to ceiling fans and windows up. That's one of the nice things about living in the mountains. Wait, what is that I smell......is that.....a......a skunk!!!! Oh no! Oh well. Too late to put the windows down now. Cooler weather also means I am closer to being able to wear some of the cute colder weather maternity clothes we bought recently.
Scout & Vixen seem to have caught on to the fact that change is on the way. They'll be busy in the coming months sniffing all the new items coming into the house. Some of which is a boppy pillow and front carrier bought this weekend at the Munchkin Market - a upscale rummage sale of sorts held twice a year in Biltmore Village. The cats have been a sore topic of lately so I must tiptoe around their mention.
Guess I'll save all the exciting stuff to post on Wednesday.
Until then....
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge
Bill and I took a nice, relaxing mini-vacation to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge this weekend. Mainly because we had free tickets to Splash Country and this was the last weekend they were open for the year. We got one of those Nissan Altimas for a rental car - no Mustang this time...bummer! One cool feature on the Nissan though, it had one of those push to start/stop buttons instead of a key! Fascinating!
It was a good weekend all and all. One major surprise, there was a rod run happening in Pig Forge! I hadn't been to one there before. Lot's and lots of people and traffic. Would you believe we didn't take a single picture?? We ate at the BullFish Grill the first night. Awesome place to eat and good service.
We put in a whole 5 hours Saturday at Splash Country. It was pretty hot, but that's what you want when you're going to a water park! I did pretty well with energy and the water rides. The only major annoyance was all those trips to the little girls room. But it was important to stay hydrated. I was pretty limited to just the Lazy River and the Wave Pool, but I did manage to make it down the Raging River Rapids. That's the one with the big raft that everyone sits in and you slosh up the walls of the slide as you go down. Trust me, that was plenty adventure for me.
Other than that, Bill allowed me some shopping at Motherhood. I got some cute clothes for the cooler weather. Can't wait to wear them! We also did the usual browsing of the Gatlinburg strip shops, rode the Sky Lift and drove the Nature Trail.
Might I recommend not immersing oneself in another traffic snarl by driving back through Cherokee the same weekend as a rod run and a motorcycle rally. You might just think leaf looking season started early this year.
We made it back all in one piece. I decided to turn in my resignation at my job Monday. I'm going to pursue head-on this thing of web design/freelance work and try to get it to where I can work from home. Please pray for me (and Bill) as we pull all of this together.
Appropriately today, I would like to pause to remember the victims and their families of 9/11.
It was a good weekend all and all. One major surprise, there was a rod run happening in Pig Forge! I hadn't been to one there before. Lot's and lots of people and traffic. Would you believe we didn't take a single picture?? We ate at the BullFish Grill the first night. Awesome place to eat and good service.
We put in a whole 5 hours Saturday at Splash Country. It was pretty hot, but that's what you want when you're going to a water park! I did pretty well with energy and the water rides. The only major annoyance was all those trips to the little girls room. But it was important to stay hydrated. I was pretty limited to just the Lazy River and the Wave Pool, but I did manage to make it down the Raging River Rapids. That's the one with the big raft that everyone sits in and you slosh up the walls of the slide as you go down. Trust me, that was plenty adventure for me.
Other than that, Bill allowed me some shopping at Motherhood. I got some cute clothes for the cooler weather. Can't wait to wear them! We also did the usual browsing of the Gatlinburg strip shops, rode the Sky Lift and drove the Nature Trail.
Might I recommend not immersing oneself in another traffic snarl by driving back through Cherokee the same weekend as a rod run and a motorcycle rally. You might just think leaf looking season started early this year.
We made it back all in one piece. I decided to turn in my resignation at my job Monday. I'm going to pursue head-on this thing of web design/freelance work and try to get it to where I can work from home. Please pray for me (and Bill) as we pull all of this together.
Appropriately today, I would like to pause to remember the victims and their families of 9/11.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Labor Day Weekend
I haven't found a whole lot to write about yet as not a lot of big events have been happening, but I'll try to cover the latest.
We have finally located all of the parts to the vintage crib that we will be using. Not all of them are in the same location yet, but we're working on it. This is the same crib that the four Quade boys were in when they were infants. As Bill and Alan were looking for some of the parts in the attic of the shed, the news slipped to some friends of theirs as Sam toted along to "help look for whatever it was they were looking for". I guess these things are bound to happen. Bill and Alan are going to rework the crib slots as they currently don't meet up with safety specifications on spacing.
Bill was hard at work on the past few days on sanding down the dresser and drawers that once stored all of his work clothes and such. This dresser is going to be used in the nursery. Bill is anxious for me to pick out paint colors so that he can get started painting it and the bookcase. Patience, my dear, patience. We're planning on finding out the sex of the baby, but that is still a few weeks away. Then I will be better able to pick out a color scheme.
We finally got part of the landscape lights up around the front of our house on Monday. We've had these lights unopened in the box for almost 6 years! We received them as a wedding present. So it seems we just keep doting the place up a bit as time and money allow.
Other than that, my plate is full with trying to find a decent paying full time job with good benefits. I have some leads, so keep praying!
We have finally located all of the parts to the vintage crib that we will be using. Not all of them are in the same location yet, but we're working on it. This is the same crib that the four Quade boys were in when they were infants. As Bill and Alan were looking for some of the parts in the attic of the shed, the news slipped to some friends of theirs as Sam toted along to "help look for whatever it was they were looking for". I guess these things are bound to happen. Bill and Alan are going to rework the crib slots as they currently don't meet up with safety specifications on spacing.
Bill was hard at work on the past few days on sanding down the dresser and drawers that once stored all of his work clothes and such. This dresser is going to be used in the nursery. Bill is anxious for me to pick out paint colors so that he can get started painting it and the bookcase. Patience, my dear, patience. We're planning on finding out the sex of the baby, but that is still a few weeks away. Then I will be better able to pick out a color scheme.
We finally got part of the landscape lights up around the front of our house on Monday. We've had these lights unopened in the box for almost 6 years! We received them as a wedding present. So it seems we just keep doting the place up a bit as time and money allow.
Other than that, my plate is full with trying to find a decent paying full time job with good benefits. I have some leads, so keep praying!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
