I think Martha Stewart is taking over my body...

OK... so I am SUPER-DUPER EXCITED!!!!... I've decided I am going to try to crochet Little Baby Anniston a blanket!


I have been wanting to try to do this from the beginning of my pregnancy, but just kept putting it off... My mom taught me how to crochet a long time ago in middle school, but its been so long that I forgot already... so I bought myself a little "teach yourself crochet" kit and some really pretty yarn to get started! :)



This may turn out to be a dissaster and all Little Anniston will end up with is a sorry excuse for a pot-holder or something... OR this may be the beginning of one of my new "stay-at-home mom hobbies"!!!... :) and soon everyone will get crocheted gifts from me! {wouldn't that just be delightful!!!} :)



Other "stay-at-home mom hobbies" on my to do list include planting a veggie garden & making my own baby food!!!... I CAN'T WAIT! :) ...

So the veggie garden will have to wait til next spring/summer before it will be planted because...


#1. I will not be going outside to dig in the ground & water the plants in 90 degree weather while I am 7 months pregnant... and


#2. I still have to convince Sweet Wormie into letting me have a garden! - and that might take a while to talk him into that idea :)... My track record for all things green & living has been a little tarnished in the past couple years because every year I talk Jeremy into spending a whole bunch of money on flowers & herbs and he's the one that ends up planting & watering them... and they eventually die anyway, so he's got me figured out by now and won't let me get anymore plants :( ... {this is also why he won't get me a dog, but that's another story}... it's all about baby steps right?!

I have day dreams about me & Little Anniston going out to the garden with our matching gardening aprons, gardening boots, & hats to pick fresh produce from the backyard...{Aaahhh, what sweet dreams they are!}... and yes, in my dreams I have a gardening apron on- of course! :) ... something very "Bre VanDecamp" from Desperate Housewives, with the matching gardening gloves too!! That's one of the best parts to having a garden isn't it~ to wear the outfit?! - I'm a believer that there's a perfect apron for every household occasion! :) {Wow! I think I just wrote a jinlge!} :)

As for the baby food making, there is this FABULOUS appliance at Williams Sonoma called the Beaba Babycook...





I have wanted this thing even before I was pregnant! It does it all!!... its a steamer, blender, warmer, & defroster all in one!!! All you basically have to do is cut up the veggies!...


So watch out Martha Stewart, I'm coming up your rearview! >=)... before you know it, I'll be crafting handbags out of coconuts or something crazy like that!! ...

Nursery Update...

Hey all... Sorry it took so long for me to put up the latest pictures of the progress Wormie is making on Little Baby Anniston's room...

The walls are finally painted and the chair rail is up... I LOVE how the colors turned out!! I was a little concerned while he was painting that the taupe was going to be too light, but I think it's perfect & works so well with the pink!!! I know Anniston is going to love it!!...

Jeremy & his brother Chris also started on the built-in changing table/dresser/bookshelf this past Saturday. They worked on it for about 5 hours and have already gotten this far... pretty impressive... They are going to work on it some more this Saturday... They just need to put on the drawers, put together the top part, & paint it...

Also, the crib we ordered is in so Wormie will be going to pick that up soon and start putting that together! :) It's all starting to come together nicely!!...

Maternity pictures...

So I asked my super talented sister-in-law, Melissa, to take a few maternity shots of Jeremy and I a couple weeks ago... She is a stay-at-home mom that is thinking about starting a side photography business... I totally think she should go for it... :)

She's also gonna do our Birth Story for us! I'm so excited!

Here are a few of the ones she's taken so far... (P.S. I requested shots AWAY from my face cause apparently its as swollen as my ankles these days... :)

This was taken in her backyard... Melissa got Baby Anniston her 1st pair of pink ballerina shoes...

My working days are numbered...

Well I had an interesting day at work today...


Jeremy and I finally made the BIG decision that I was going to quit my job and be a stay-at-home mom when Baby Anniston arrives... and today was the day that I told my boss about our decision. I had no idea how hard it was going to be for me to walk away from my career or how scary it was going to be!

Ever since I wanted to have a children, I knew I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom... but when Jeremy and I finally got pregnant {it was a little sooner than we planned :) } ... I wrestled with my decision for months! I knew that's what we both still wanted for our sweet baby girl, but the decision was a lot harder than we thought it would be-for the both of us!

We went back and forth with our decision for a while because of so many different factors...
1. I have a really great job! I love my bank and really like the people I work with. Plus, at my age to have my position is not easy to do... I totally lucked out!
2. I just finished my Bachelor's degree in Business Management a few months ago, so the timing for me to put my career on hold for a few years was not ideal at this time.
3. On top of me just finishing my degree, I have my student loans that we need to start paying back right when Little Anniston arrives.
4. I am such a independent person & such a devoted worker... since I was 15 I have always had a job, sometimes two at a time, as well as gone to school!... so this is a HUGE change for me!
5. With the economy being the way it is now, its not the smartest time to walk away from a great job.
6. Even though we are very blessed to not have any credit card debt, we were still unsure what a comfortable amount of "left-over" money was going to be to get us through each month.
7. My mom is completely against me quiting!

But even with all of these things, we want the BEST that we can provide for our Sweet Little Anniston- and that BEST for her right now is to be with her mommy!!
When I went on a few tours of day care centers- no matter how nice they were, I kept finding myself thinking "No. I want her at home with her things! I want to be the one feeding her and changing her and playing with her everyday!"

So we are planning on me stopping work at the end of July... Baby Girl Anniston is due to arrive August 31st and now that we've gotten this part out of the way, I can truly say I am so excited for her to get here and for me to be nothing more than her mom & Jeremy's wife!

I know what a big change it is going to be living off one person's income (especially for a spoiled little girl like me- who has a little bit of a shopping habit) but I am willing to make sacrifices! ... REALLY!... Plus, with me not working, we are saving a lot of money on gas, eating out for lunch, dry cleaning, and my love of shopping at Ann Taylor & TJ Maxx for work clothes :)

So there you have it... in 8 short weeks the career I've worked so hard for will be on hold for now... but I know the new job I will be starting will be the MOST rewarding I'll ever have!!
So to end this post, I just want to say thank you to my sweet husband! Thank you for being so supportive of me and our growing family! I know you would have been behind either path we chose, but I am so happy about our decision and we are so blessed to have each other! I love you for everything you do for us and how hard you work to provide for our family! (P.S. - I promise to work real hard on staying within our budget! :)

My Favorite Things...

So my friend Beth does a "Favorite Things" blog every now and then and I LOVE it... so here is my version

These are a few of my favorite things...

Chapstick- I am ADDICTED to chapstick!!!... no really~ A-D-D-I-C-T-E-D!!... I have to have something on my lips at all times or I will freak out! I literally have about 30 different tubes/pots of chapstick hidden throughout the house in drawers, in purses, and make-up bags so one is never too far away. A few of my all time favorite brands are...

Rosebud Salve~ (retails for $6) Can be found at Sephora, Cosmetic Market, or other make-up specialty stores. This stuff is awesome! I normally don't like putting my fingers in stuff to apply it, but this is the one I keep close to me when I'm at home. Its been around since the 1800's and not only do I use it on my lips, but I use it on my cuticles too... the packaging says it can also be used on blemishes, burns, & diaper rash...Jane Mineral Lip Balm~ (retails for about $4) I get this at Walgreens... comes in several different colors, but my favorites are Toffee & Pink Quartz. Its tinted and leaves just a little hint of color on your lips and is totally moisturizing! I use this every day at work, alone or under lipstick... I heard these were getting discontinued :( so whenever I find them, I buy a few to try & stock up! :)

Aprons- I LOVE girlie, feminie, vintage-inspired aprons! I've been collecting them for over 3 years now!... kinda strange maybe, but its my thing... I have everyday aprons I wear when I cook and special "Holiday" or "Hostess" aprons for different occasions :) ... If you are a good girlfriend of mine & are getting married, you will probably get an apron from me as part of your bridal shower gift because its my favorite thing to give brides-to-be... My absolute favorite apron designer is Jesse Steele (yes- I have a favorite apron designer!)...

Jesse Steele Aprons~ (retails for around $30-40) I get most of mine online on Ebay but can also be found at boutique stores around Nashville like The Dotted Line, Social Graces or Anthropologie... Here are a few pics of the ones in my collection :)

** These also come in matching child-sizes so you know Baby Anniston will have some to match mommy when she is old enough!!... I CAN'T WAIT!! Its gonna be so cute I might die! :)**

Reusable Grocery Bags- Okay folks... get with the times... "GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK"... if you're not taking your own reuseable bags to the grocery store then we can't be friends anymore!!! >=[ ... Seriously!... Shame on you! According to reusablebags.com, over 1 MILLION plastic bags are used EVERY MINUTE!!!! That comes out to 1 TRILLION (that's trillion with a "T") plastic bags consumed worldwide!! Plastic bags do not biodegrade so they end up in our landfills and in our oceans! When a plastic bag breaks down, it breaks down into smaller and smaller toxic pieces that end up contaminating our soil & water... Plus, a reusable bag holds so much more than a regular plastic bag. You could probably fit the things that would go in 3-4 plastic bags into 1 reusable bag! And if you need even more convincing, some grocery stores even give you a small discount off your grocery bill for every reusable bag you bring in!... That's all I'll preach about that for now...

Whole Foods Reusable Bags~ (retails for $0.99) I get mine at Whole Foods Market because they will replace them if they tear & they also have different styles... This one below is designed by Sheryl Crow and is made from recycled plastic water bottles...

And last by not least of my favorite things is...

my iPhone 3G - (retails for $199) Sold at the Apple store & AT&T cellular stores... {I have a confession.. "Hello. My name is Jayne, and I am an iPhone Snob"}... So I never thought a cell phone could change my life so much! Crazy to say, but SO true! This phone is GENIUS and Steve Jobs (CEO & co-founder of Apple) is my hero!!! I think only the people that have iPhones understand the addiction and see where I'm coming from- we should have some kind of support group!... Sweet Wormie is the one that talked me into getting the iPhone. (He bought it for me as a graduation gift) I originally planned on getting a Blackberry instead, but I'm so glad he made me see the light!... and sorry- but no other phone compares! (there are many iPhone imitators, but the others just don't match up!)... The Apps that you can download are endless!! This phone can do it all- it shouldn't even be referred to as just a "phone"!! Plus, the service & support that you get at the Apple store is unbeatable! Love it!!...
That's it for now, but stay tuned for "My Favorite Things: Kitchen Edition" and "My Favorite Things: Health & Beauty Edition" coming soon!!! :)

My doctor's appointment...

Well my doctor's appt went well yesterday... for the most part.


We started out with getting an ultra sound to check Little Baby Anniston's heart rate, bladder, weight, etc. and to check my cervix, placenta, & uterus. Then we saw the doctor for my regular 2 week check-up & for him to go over the ultra sound with us. The doctor was very pleased with the way things were looking and how Baby Anniston was progressing. He said she weighs just a little over 2lbs now and is in the 50th percentile... :) so everything is right on track & she's doing perfect! (the extra 38lbs I've put on must be all her "accessories & purses" as Wormie & I like to think of it :)


Anyhoo... I have been having some really bad menstrual-like cramps for the past few days or so and told the dr about that... he said that I needed to start keeping track of how long they last and how far apart they are... he said the cramping is normal, but if they get to where they are 5 minutes apart or last longer than an hour, then he wants me to go straight to labor & delivery & he would meet me there! WOW!... that really scared me!... I'm only 6 1/2 months preggers so it was just a shock that he said that...


**SIDE NOTE** For those that don't know, I have to see my dr every 2 weeks (instead of every month like normal pregnant moms) because I have a bicornuate uterus... which means my uterus is mis-shapped. A normal uterus is shaped kinda like a balloon, but mine is more heart-shaped... which puts me at risk for preterm labor, cervical insufficiency, late-term miscarriages, as well as the baby being breached at time of birth which means I'll probably have to have a C-section... On the bright side, we found out about my uterus a long time ago during an ultra sound I had for a car accident Jeremy & I were in, so from the very beginning of my pregnancy the dr was aware of it & has been able to keep a close eye on me, which has been such a blessing... there are also lots of women who have this issue and go on to have completely healthy pregnancies... we just have to be really cautious and pay close attention to how my body is feeling...

Anyhoo... so the dr tells me this about going straight to labor & delivery if my cramps/contractions get to this point and he would run some tests to see if I am in preterm labor. If that's the case, he said he might be able to delay it and the next step would be to put me on steroids to help Baby Anniston's lungs develop faster in case we wouldn't be able to delay her birth any longer...so here we are... I'M TERRIFIED!!! <=[... which is a good thing for me, because I have a tendency of disregarding the way I feel because I don't want to make a big deal about it...

I've kept a log today of all my cramps and there really hasn't been a pattern so that's good! I've noticed they usually come on when I'm standing or walking so I've been getting them a lot during work- which makes for a really crappy day at work! :( ... The dr said to take it easy and just be careful because uncomfortable positions, standing, walking, and bending over tend to bring it on... When I'm at home, I'm normally fine because I can sit with my feet up and Sweet Wormie takes care of us :) ...[he's making us dinner right now as I blog!... I JUST LOVE HIM TO PIECES!!]...

Everyone please just pray for us as we go throughout this pregnancy!

In other bad news- Baby girl Anniston wasn't really in the mood for pictures yesterday at her photo shoot {errr- I mean ultra sound}... she had her little arm covering her sweet face for most of the time so we couldn't get a good picture yesterday... She must have had a bad hair day or something... Oh well...

To end this blog on a bright note... Sweet Wormie took me and Baby Anniston for a cherry coke Icee and a Slim Jim after the dr so that made me & baby happy! :)... it's the little things...

Memorial Day weekend & Nursery Update...

Well Sweet Wormie & I had a busy Memorial Day Weekend...

We spent all day & night Saturday and half the day Sunday watching our 18 month old nephew, Owen. We have watched him a couple times before while Chris & Melissa went out to dinner, but this was our first overnight with him. We were really excited about getting to spend time with him and especially excited about getting some practice in for our little princess on the way.

Honestly, Owen is such an angel... EXTREMELY active, but still a little angel! He is such a good boy & we had a fun time with him, but boy was it a wake-up call for how hard & tiring it can be! (Thank GOD for nap time! :) Here are a few pics from our time with the "Owenator"...

This little boy LOVES being outside!

One of these boys let a little "bottom burp" slip :)... You can tell in the picture Owen didn't appreciate it too much! HA :)

I just love this... you can tell Owen has been hanging with "Uncle Wormie" a little too long... he's got his "collar popped" on his little polo shirt and is cleaning EVERYTHING!!!... Jeremy was SO proud! He followed Owen around with his iPhone and took 30 pictures I think!...

Jeremy pushed him around like this forever! I got tired just watching the two of them... Jeremy had sound effects & everything!...

Somebody cleaned his plate! What a good little eater he is!...

Our time with Owen also made me see even more what great a father Jeremy is going to be! He just loves spending time with Owen and is so good with him it just melts my heart! He even changed ALL the diapers- even the poopy ones!! Man, is this guy a keeper or what! :)

Nursery Update:

When we got home from our time with Owen, Jeremy continued to work on the nursery... Since my last update, Jeremy finished painting the walls.

His brother, Chris (aka Bob Vila), came over on Monday and they installed the chair rail...

As I type, Sweet Wormie is upstairs putting the final coats of paint on the chair rail and doing some final touch-ups on the walls... It looks AMAZING in there!!! I can't wait for it to be done! Every time I go in her room, I just get so excited. I absolutely LOVE the wall colors! It's so cheery! :)... I just want to get all her furniture and bedding in and sit in her rocker and just wait for her little arrival!!

I'll post some more pics of the finished walls soon... Wormie should have it all done by tonight...

We also ordered her crib and curtains so those should be arriving in the next week or two... Chris and Jeremy are also going to start working on the built-in we have planned for in there. So things are just moving right along...

Anyhoo... I have a doctor's appt tomorrow with an ultrasound, so I'll be sure to let you all know how that goes and post some more pics of Little Baby Anniston...