70 Questions

I was tagged by Amy, and because I don't want to be nagged, tortured, and judged for the rest of eternity - I'm doing this stinkin' survey.

1. The phone rings. Who do you want it to be? Amy says that I nag her, but she nags just as good as me - sometimes better! Bryan doesn't usually call me from work, so if not Amy it would be my sisters or my mom.

2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart? Sometimes. Not always.

3. In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener? I talk and listen. I can multi-task!

4. Do you take compliments well? I don't think I do.

5. Do you play Sudoku? Ew. No.

6. If abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive? If there is plenty of music to listen to and food to ration out. Sure!

7. What is your favorite number? Right now, it is 20 because that is the number of days I have left to carry this bowling ball around!

8. Did you ever go to camp as a kid? Yes, Girl Scout camp and camping with family.

9. What was your favorite game as a kid? Uno with my cousins

10. Would you slow dance with someone that you knew was married? It depends

11. What is the best/worst movie you have ever seen? I am very much a movie fanatic, so I've seen my fair share of bad ones. But there have also been some good ones! Too many to name.

12. Could you date someone with different religious beliefs than you? I think I could date someone, but I don't know about making a lifelong commitment with someone who had different beliefs.

13. Do you like to pursue or be pursued? Amy calls me a lot. Does that count as pursuing someone in a non-romantic way? She only calls because she'd be lost without me.

14. Use three words to describe yourself? sarcastic, caring, PREGNANT!

15. Do any songs make you cry? Right now? I can cry at a TV commercial.

16. Are you continuing your education? nope

17. Do you know how to shoot a gun? No. I don't want to know how.

18. If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you grabbed? If Bryan and the kids are already out, photo albums.

19. How often do you read books? I'm hoping to read a few more while out on maternity leave! (Foolish, I know)

20. Do you think more about the past, present or future? I think about the future.

21. What is your favorite children's book? Goodnight Moon

22.What color are your eyes? Brown

23. How tall are you? 5'9-10''

24. Where is your dream house located? I don't have one.

25. If you had to be an animal, what would you be? A hippo. I feel like one today.

26. What is your favorite type of food? This week, french fries. A couple of weeks ago, it was Moe's. Surveys should not be given to pregnant women.

27. Have you ever taken pictures in a photo booth? yes

28. When was the last time you were at Olive Garden? A few weeks ago. Bryan and I went for lunch when he was off on a Tuesday (it doesn't happen often that we're both off the same day).

29. Where was the furthest place you traveled today? To Karen's house to clean

30. Any weird habits? If I drink soda from a can, I swish it in my mouth before I swallow it. Bryan pointed this out years ago.

31. Worst food you ever ate? a pig ear sandwich. DON'T ask.

32. Do you like mustard? sometimes.

33. Do you prefer to sleep or eat? Both

34. Do you look like your mom or dad? Most people say my mom, but if you've seen my dad - I am the spitting image of him.

35. How long does it take you in the shower? 10-15 minutes

36. Can you do the splits? No.

37. What movie do you want to see right now? The Ugly Truth

38. What was the last movie you saw in the theater? My Sister's Keeper

39. Worst song on the radio right now? I hate mainstream radio - same garbage over and over.

40. Do you think The Grudge was scary?I haven't seen it.

41. Do you have a tattoo? I have four that I regret.

42. Do you own a camera phone? Yes

43. What is your favorite color? pink

44. Was your mom a cheerleader? Yes she was.

45. What's the last letter of your middle name? H

46. How many letters in your entire name? 18

47. How many hours of sleep do you get a night? Between just being uncomfortable and getting up to pee every other hour, not enough. I almost crashed at 7:30 last night.

48. Do you like care bears? sure

49. What do you buy at the movies? Popcorn and a drink

50. Do you know how to play poker? nope

51. Do you wear your seat belt? always

52. What do you wear to sleep? these baggy black capri pants and some kind of t-shirt

53. Anything big ever happen in your hometown? Parts of Big Fish (?) were filmed in Wetumpka. Nothing in Millbrook though.

54. How many meals do you eat a day? usually 3.

55. Is your tongue pierced? no.

56. Do you always read MySpace bulletins? I don't use myspace anymore.

57. Best place you've ever visited? Florida. I love it.

58. Do you like funny or serious people better? funny people.

59. Ever been to L.A.? Yes I have! Not as "Hollywood" as I expected!

60. Did you eat a cookie today? no. I have some though.

61. Do you use cuss words in other languages? No. I don't know very many anyway.

62. Do you steal or pay for your music downloads? I pay for it through iTunes.

63. Do you hate chocolate? I love chocolate.

64. What do you and your parents fight about the most? My dad and I don't have a relationship. My mom and I fight over silly things, mostly. Nothing major.

65. Are you a gullible person? I don't think so.

66. Do you need a boyfriend/girlfriend to be happy? nope. I have a husband and 1.5 children.

67. If you could have any job (assuming you have the skills) what would it be? an advertising exec. I like coming up with jingles. It's a secret passion I've had since high school.

68. Are you easy to get along with? I think so.

69. What is your favorite time of day? When I get to pick Gracie up from school.

70. If you could do anything by yourself for a day what would it be? I would get a massage, get a pedicure, and curl up on the beach with a good book.

36 Weeks

Wow. I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted last. I apologize. For those of you who come to my blog frequently, you probably already know why I haven't blogged - this pregnancy is kicking my butt! I don't remember having this much pain/discomfort toward the end of my pregnancy with Gracie. On top of that, I'm not sleeping well either - which is not a good sign! I should be loading up on sleep to prepare myself for when Baby James finally gets here. Apparently, he has other ideas. And so does my bladder!

I start my leave from work on August 3rd, which I am very excited about. I'm just tired and exhausted and wondering if I can make it the next two weeks. I think I can. Right?

My baby shower is this Sunday at church, and I'm VERY excited. We've been members of this church since April 2006, and while I've been to a few baby showers and bridal showers I've never had one myself. This will probably be my only baby shower, but I'm still excited. I'm excited to have the room ready when we get to bring my little man home. I'm excited about seeing who he looks like - Bryan or me. A lot of people go back and forth about who Gracie resembles more. I don't really pay much attention - I think she's a good combination of both of us.

I guess the exhaustion is causing my post to be kind of scattered and pretty random. Please keep me in your prayers. I plan on breast feeding exclusively when James comes (I breast and formula fed Gracie - breast feeding only lasted a month). I am hopeful that this attempt will turn out better, but also terrified about not taking a certain prescription medication that helps with a chronic stomach problem I have. So these last few weeks (while I'm still on the medication) I'm loading up on foods I enjoy that I know I won't be allowed when I'm breast feeding. It's very nerve wracking for me, but I am hopeful.

Now I'm off to be nosy and see if anybody bought anything else from my Target registry. Then it's an early bedtime for me!

The post that is NOT about Michael Jackson

I thought you might all enjoy an update on Baby James. I went for my most recent OBGYN appointment yesterday afternoon, and have (thus far) only gained eighteen pounds this pregnancy. My goal is twenty-five (what I gained with Gracie) so please pray that I will reach my goal. That said, I am totally okay with gaining thirty pounds. But I'm shooting for twenty-five.

I am scheduled for a c-section on August 10th. This was a decision my doctor and I discussed at great length. I know some people who have a c-section the first time around opt to do it for repeat pregnancies just because. I made my decision based on the unbelievable heat we've been experiencing lately, and some other medical problems I'm having. Speaking of....

So for the last week, my right foot has been bothering me. To the point that I'm limping and can't really bend my foot in certain directions. But because I was going to my OB appointment Thursday, I thought I'd just let him take a look. Well he did, and suggested that I see a podiatrist - for what might possibly be a stress fracture. Confused? Yeah, I don't know how I got a stress fracture either. My appointment is Tuesday and aside from some slightly bad pain from long periods of standing, I am alternating cold packs and hot soaks to help ease the pain.

And since this post is NOT about Michael Jackson, I wanted to share two of my favorite Michael Jackson related videos:

Jennifer Garner - 13 Going on 30 - "Thriller"

Jackson 5 - "I'll Be There" (acapella)

I am shocked by his death, and yet not shocked by the speculation about what might have really happened. What difference does that make? We have lost a musical legend just the same. Michael's music was timeless and awesome and his presence in the music industry will be missed.

Big News & Baby Anniston

Ahem. If you haven't noticed the Baby Ticker to the left side of my blog, please pay special attention to it today.

TWO MONTHS (or less) UNTIL BABY JAMES GETS HERE!!!

Not that we're excited about that or anything.

Moving on! Okay so I know I'm slacking in the blog department and I just keep apologizing for it. I noticed today on my camera that I have Mother's Day pictures, VBS pictures, and some random photos that haven't been posted here yet. But I thought you'd find new photos of my adorable niece way more fun!


I asked Bryan not to include me in the pictures. Men apparently don't listen well.


This is the only shot where Gracie's hand is not in front of Anniston's face.

Anniston's full name is actually Elizabeth Anniston. The story behind that is Bryan's Nanny (his mom's mom) was named Doris Elizabeth. Bryan's mom is Elizabeth Kay, and Tara is Tara Elizabeth. So in order to keep Elizabeth a family name, that is where the first name comes from. The second name has just as much sentiment as the first. Tara's father-in-law passed away suddenly not long after she found out she was pregnant, and Anniston would have been his first grandchild. They wanted to make part of her name somewhat of a tribute to him, but it was hard for them to relate something feminine to John. Apparently Mr. John grew up in Anniston, and it has a very nice ring to it so after some thought they decided on Elizabeth Anniston and will be calling her Anniston.Isn't she a cutie?

Happy News Abounds!

Okay so my last post about Preston? I have good news to share! Preston was returned to my cousin (the family who had him for the last two years plus) the day after he was surrendered back to DHR. Apparently my other cousin (his biological mother) has made her decision to surrender her rights. All we are waiting on is the lawyers to draw up the paperwork. Continue to pray for Preston and for his family, and for my family in general. This whole struggle with him and the custody situation has caused alot of tension and strain.

And in other exciting news...by the next time I post, I'LL BE AN AUNT!!! My mother-in-law called me this afternoon (around three) to let me know that Tara's water had broke and they were at the hospital. So we are patiently sitting on pins and needles waiting for Baby Anniston to make her arrival.

And speaking of babies arriving, I have eight weeks or less to go now! WOO HOO! Gracie tells me at least once a day that she is READY for Baby James to be here. She's not the only one!

Preston

Please be in prayer for a little boy named Preston, who I have posted about previously. To make a long story short, he is part of our extended family and was in Gracie's preschool class at Victory. To keep his story short and simple, his mother is one of my cousins. She has had five children since the age of 15 and is pregnant with her sixth. The courts will not make her surrender her maternal rights to Preston, and she will not voluntarily give them up - although she voluntarily gave up all but one of her children.
Another cousin within my family has had custody of Preston for over two years, and had to surrender him to the custody of DHR today. She has three other children and needless to say this family is absolutely heartbroken. Please be in prayer for them but especially for Preston.

Introducing....JAMES EDWARD!!!

In no particular order, here are the photo results from the 4D Ultrasound this morning. Apparently, James likes to put his hand up near his face and is a tad bit camera shy. I think he has Gracie's chin and nose (which would technically be MY chin and nose) but anyway. She had fun watching her brother on the screen, and "Up" actually turned out to be a pretty decent movie.
DID I MENTION I PASSED MY THREE HOUR GLUCOSE TEST?!?! Not that I'm excited. Enjoy the photos!