I See You!!

This week something very, very cool happened! I was logging something into my Blackberry and holding my phone down near my lap when I saw a wave move across my stomach! And then a little kick! I didn't realize you could actually see the baby moving from the outside! It kinda looks like I am infested with aliens, but I remind myself that it's just Reid and it's cool again ;)

Happy Halloween!

Since I'm 6 months pregnant, I didn't want to go out for Halloween this year so we had a party here at our house! Ben and I dressed as white trash parents (my beer is just a prop! So are our tattoos and Ben's teeth "bling"!). Here are some party pictures!

Our white trash (fake) tattoos of each other's names

To My Husband:

I'm onto your game.... you know you can't keep a secret from me! I have known for quite a while that you're using my deodorant and toothbrush again. The curly hairs and chewing tobacco remnants gave you away. I don't mind so much, but please at least try to be sneaky and remove your armpit hairs and rinse my toothbrush a little better afterwards. Thank you.

Remember The Animals, Too!

The holidays are coming up soon and everyone should be thinking about how they can help those less fortunate. Since we don't have national holidays that really get people thinking about helping pets, I like to always include them in my holiday charities I participate in.

This list is a general idea of how you can help local animals by taking steps to prevent animal cruelty and pet overpopulation. It ranges from giving a little time or money to a lot. Everyone has something different they can offer. The list is from this post.

Here are some ways you can help:

1. Check with the local animal shelter before you buy a pet from a breeder. If you want a pure bred animal, you're in luck! Shelters have purebreds also, so you can get a good deal on one. If you are renting or don't have the neccessary time it takes to train a puppy, please visit the shelter and adopt an adult. MANY of the dogs have lived in homes before and are owner surrenders, so they know how to live inside. They also are the most in need of homes.

2. SPAY or NEUTER your pets! Even if you aren't planning on breeding, "accidents" happen all of the time. Even if your pet has only one litter, you are directly contributing to the sad overcrowding in our shelters today. Even if you find all of their offspring homes, those were homes that maybe could've gone to a shelter animal already in need.

*** If you are in the Hattiesburg, MS area, visit the Low Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic. These are everywhere, so just search for one in your area.

3. Use Goodsearch instead of Google to search the internet, and you can help donate money to local charities. Go to http://www.goodsearch.com/ and pick your charity. If you don't know your local shelter or they aren't listed, then search for animal shelters and just pick any random one! Everytime you search for a specified charity, the site donates money. You can even look to see how much you've raised.

4. If you have the extra time, money, and heart for it, become a foster. If you have a favorite breed, look up the national club and volunteer to be a foster for misplaced animals of that breed. If you don't have a specific breed you love, then you can volunteer to foster for a local shelter.

5. Donate your time or money to a local animal shelter. If you'd rather not give cash, all of them need dog food, cat food, blankets, paper towels, bath towels, light bulbs, garbage bags, 409, laundry detergent, etc.

**Click the "Help Prevent Animal Cruelty" link at the top of my blog for more info.

Blog Carnival Round-Up

One of my favorite things about blogging is participating in Blog Carnivals!

These require you to link your relevant post to their Mr. Linky (where other guests can view your link) on a certain day of the week, and link back to their original post. They are so useful either for getting great ideas, finding people w/ similar interests, getting traffic to your page, giving you an idea of what to blog about, etc.

Here is a list of the blog carnivals I know of (and I participate in most of them too). Just visit these blogs and if you like their carnival idea, subscribe to their blog so you know when to include your post on their page.

WORKS FOR ME WEDNESDAYS @ We Are That Family

RECIPE SWAP @ The Grocery Cart Challenge

TALK TO ME TUESDAY @ Tip Junkie

POST-IT NOTE TUESDAY @ Wanna Be SupahMommy

SHOPPING CART ROUNDUP @ The Grocery Cart Challenge

MENU PLAN MONDAY @ I'm An Organizing Junkie

If you have or know of another blog carnival, please leave a comment and let me know about it so I can add it to my list!

Shop 'Til You Drop at Duds For Doodlebugs

If you will be in Hattiesburg this Thursday, Friday, or Saturday be sure to head to the Duds for Doodlebugs consignment sale! I spent 4 1/2 hours there tonight, and boy did I get some great deals!

Allow me to brag...

PLAY CENTER (originally $29)- $10!

UMBRELLA STROLLER (originally $20)- $5!

LION WALK & RIDE (originally $39.97)- $12!
BOPPY PILLOW W/ COVER (originally $31)- $10!
BABY EINSTEIN DVD'S (originally $13-$15 each)- $3.50 & $5 each!

KICK N' CRAWL PLAY MAT & CONV. TUNNEL (originally $30)- $5!

POTTERY BARN CHILDREN'S FROG CHAIR (originally $129) - $12!


I also got 25 items of infant boy's clothes (all outfits- mostly fall & winter), 7 pairs of shoes ($2-$8), blankets, 4 Dr. Brown bottles (50 cents each!), an Evenflo infant carseat base (originally $35, I got it for $12), disposable children's spoons & forks, a travel formula container ($1), an Eddie Bauer infant head & neck rest ($2), a Pottery Barn lamp w/ matching night light ($15), infant tub ($1.50), an Eddie Bauer car seat mirror ($1.50), a Munchkin wipes warmer ($5), and lots of baby toys!!


Everything in GREAT condition. Oh yeah, and I got out of there for under $220!! Jealous? Then take yourself over there this week!

Children's Consignment in Hattiesburg, MS

Here is the complete list to my knowledge. If you know of any other consignment shops near the Hattiesburg, MS area please let me know so I can update my list. I LOVE consignment shopping for children- it's the best thing ever :)

This large consignment sale comes every Spring and Fall to the Mult Purpose Center on Hwy 49. This sale pays you 60% of all items you sell (and even more if you volunteer for them). Visit the DUDS FOR DOODLEBUGS website for all the info.

This consignment shop is open in the shopping center at the intersection of Hwy 98 and Old Hwy 11 (behind McDonald's and Seattle Drip). This shop pays you 60% of all boutique clothing you consign, and 50% of all other items and clothing. Visit the 2CUTE CONSIGNMENT SHOPPE website for all the info.

This new consignment store is located in The Village shopping center (across from Turtle Creek Mall and Pier 1). This store pays you 40% of all items you sell and concentrates on boutique clothing. Visit the BANANA PEEL website for all the info.

This large consignment sale is located on Old Hwy 11 every Spring and Fall at The Legacy Town Hall. The last sale day of each season is 50% off! This sale pays you 70% of all items you sell. Visit the KIDS MARKET website for all the info.

Cutest Little Hotdog Ever :)

Things I've Learned While Pregnant (So Far!)....

I still have almost 4 months to go and I'm sure I will learn all sorts of lovely things between now and then, but here are the highlights so far:

-If you have at least a decent spouse, he will try to make your life as easy as possible. Even if he is not always the most attentive, he will notice how much more difficult it is for you to get around and will offer to help. You don't have to milk it- it really will be more difficult.

-When you hit that 5 1/2 month mark, it is difficult to get the last few items out of the very back of the dryer. Or the dishwasher. It's also difficult to bend down and shave your legs, or put on a pair of panties! Oh, and you can wave goodbye temporarily to some body parts b/c you won't be seeing them again for quite a few more months ;)

-Having a little baby jumping around in my belly feels different than I thought it would. It is almost like it tickles most of the time, but sometimes is more forceful. I don't understand how a pregnant mother's organs don't get bruised at the very least. If I can feel him bumping around both towards my belly and back and in between, doesn't he have to also be hitting some of the stuff around him? Maybe this doesn't count as something I learned.

-You can pee on yourself and not even know it if the baby kicks you just right. Yep. See a few posts below for all my embarassing details.

-People are a lot more interested in your overall well-being. This can make you feel great of course. However, as my wise sister-in-law pointed out, this is only because there is a baby inside of you and as soon as he pops out the attention all goes to him, so don't get used to it now.

-People are going to assume that it is okay to touch/rub/pat your belly just because it is sticking out. They seem to have forgotten that this is still a part of your body, and not a normal "touch zone". Even partial (or total) strangers will forget this fact. You can start out slapping people's hands like I did, but eventually you should probably just accept it and pretend that it's okay.

-Watching movies like "Knocked Up" will not be all laughs anymore. Especially once you see that crowning shot that they surprise you with out of nowhere. Close your eyes.

-Buying things for yourself loses its appeal. I am definitely going to be one of those moms who stop shopping for myself and only shop for my kids (and I really, really enjoy shopping for myself). It really is more fun to shop for your child!

My House Smells Better Than Yours ;)

WFMW- Making Your House Smell Good Edition
This post reminds me that I need to run to the store- I've been slacking

With two large dogs running in and out all day and a husband who loves the outdoors, I get a lot of bad smells in my house! I try to cope with it by using Febreeze Noticeables plug-in oil warmers in every room of the house, and also use a Claire Burke simmering pot on the stove in the kitchen. My favorite scents are Original and Applejack & Peel. I've tried a lot of smell-good techniques and brands, but these are the ones I've found to be the best! (Keeping so many air fresheners sometimes gets expensive. Just unplug them if nobody is home throughout the day and plug them back in when you come home to save a little energy. This is definitely an area that I feel free to "splurge" on though because I enjoy a nice smelling home so much.)

Another tip is to use great-smelling cleaners. I pour extra laundry detergent into every load, I use Swiffer wet mops (LOVE the smell of all of their cleaners), and I bleach my bathrooms. I happen to like all of those smells and they definitely linger in your home for days.

Linked to Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family

I Have A Lot To Be Thankful For Today!

So, apparently leaking amniotic fluid is a very bad thing and you should monitor it regularly to make sure you aren't leaking.

I thought that maybe I was yesterday so I called my ob/gyn. He said I should go to the emergency room immediately. I didn't think it was a big deal, so I was going to go eat and watch my little sister's game first! Ben convinced me to go on to the emergency room so I did (by the way, the emergency room at River Oaks is HIDDEN behind the hospital and there are no big flashing lights pointing to it! I drove around for about 10 minutes and went into the wrong building before I finally found it! Good thing I wasn't on my death bed! It's ridiculous that they stick it back there out of sight!) and was calm as a cucumber until a tech told me that there would be nothing they could do to save the baby this early along and that she was "just telling me the cold hard truth"! Then I got up to my room- which was a REAL hospital room (that was another tip that maybe this wasn't going to be a check-and-go like I had imagined) and they prepped my stomach for an emergency c-section "just in case".

This was all too much to take in, so I got a little emotional and told the nurses in a matter-of-fact way that I can still feel my baby kicking so they are NOT giving me a c-section no matter what! That would basically be an abortion because he's too little to live without me right now. The nurses were wonderful and told me that if I was leaking amniotic fluid I would just be hospitalized for the rest of my pregnancy and put on heavy antibiotics and hope that I carry the baby long enough for him to survive.

This was the scariest time in my entire life. It is amazing how much you can love someone that you haven't even met yet. My little brother was with me, and my sister-in-law and mother-in-law came up to the hospital. My sister-in-law came back in the room with me and I think I would have had a breakdown if she wasn't there.

It turned out that since I drank a lot of water earlier that day, Reid just decided to kick some of it out! I learned that you can pee on yourself while pregnant and have no clue! That's fine with me though; he can kick me all he wants as long as he is okay. I will NEVER be one of those mothers that complain about how much/when/where/how hard their baby kicks them... there is nothing sweeter than knowing he is alive and well and kicking around. God is so good.

Wal-Mart Parking Lot Note From Today...

This is the digitized version, but you get the point.

I left the real one on their car window.