Monograms, Appliques & More

As most of you know, I never had a middle name until I got married. I always loved things that were monogrammed, but without that middle intial, my monogram, just didn't look right. Now I am obsessed with monograms! And of course I am passing this obsession on to James Bradford. (He will prob. look back and think he had a crazy mother for always putting him in monogrammed outfits and having everything with his name on it!)

Anyways - I wanted to pass on some great websites for purchasing monogrammed and appliqued items and gifts. I have some really great friends that are entrapenuers and I am so proud of them!!

1 - http://www.fivefrenchhens.com/ - My friend Emily has been sewing and monogramming for years. She recently just started an online store full of precious monogrammed and appliqued gifts. She does beautfiul work and has done numerous things for our family. Burp Clothes, Bibs, towels, blankets - she has it all! Plus great prices and fast turn around time - just order away and she has all the supplies. If you live in the Birmingham area, she will reimburse you for the shipping. Best of all - All items come wrapped in a cello bag with ribbon - perfect for gift giving and accepts PayPal as payment!


2 - www.sewmanydesigns.blogspot.com - If you are looking for someone in the Birmingham area to monogram or applique - check out my friend Lindsey's blog. She too does beautiful work and has done numerous things for our family. I have had her monogram hostess gifts, daygowns, and my mom has used her numerous times for appliqued shirts and burp clothes. She has lots of cute designs to choose from. She too has great prices.

3 - www.themonogramswap.com - Lauren, one of my friends from college, started this business awhile back. Its a great concept - you can sell your monogrammed items on there and/or purchase monogrammed items. It's sort of like ebay, without the bidding, but only for monogrammed items. This website has even been featured on some famous bloggers blogs - other then mine of course! Ha!

37 Weeks & Some Projects

It's official. Today we reach a milestone of James Bradford being full term. Woohoo!! I am officially 37 weeks today! His lungs should be fully developed and be able to live outside of the womb with no problems. At 37 weeks, baby center says that he should weigh approximately 6 1/3 lbs and be a little over 19 inches long.

I apologize for not updating yall on my 37 week appointment last week. It was so disappointing and felt almost like a waste of time. I was on my last Dr. rotation and so he didn't give me an internal exam to see if i had progressed any. They said that my regular Dr. would do one this week at my 38 week appt. So we just have to wait and see. (Going by the poll, we have 5 votes for this week!) The good thing about our appt. last week was that we finished our hospital registration - so are all in the computer, and all we have to do is show up and have a baby! No forms, no papers!

Cory is heading out of town to Atlanta for work this week (I can say that, because this is a private blog, right?!) But he has a conference that he is unable to miss. He is fully accessible by blackberry and can be ready to jump in the car at any time!

People often ask doesn't it bother you that Cory travels out of town so much?! Right now I can say, it doesn't bother me at all (maybe it will change after baby though!) I keep busy while he is gone. Either enjoying time catching up with friends, running errands or working on a project. Here are two recent projects I have done over the past weeks while he has been out of town.

My friend Emily helped me and inspired me for this cornice board window treatment. She is so creative and talented. One evening, when our husbands were out of town together, we had a "craft night" at her house. It was so much fun. I brought over my sewing machine and all my materials and we just played. This was the finished product from that evening. Sweet Cory hung it for me yesterday. I was really pleased with how it turned out. Its kinda hard to see in the picture - but its of the same material as his crib bedding, and has little white pom poms hanging from the bottom. And of course it had to be monogrammed!
Here is a smocked day gown I did for James Bradford another time Cory was out of town. It's the same as the other day gowns I mentioned I had made in a previous post, but this one ties at the bottom to keep him all in!

Projects may be few and far between after James Bradford comes. But I'm glad that I got these 2 done before he arrives!

Another Class & Another Early Morning!

Last night Cory and I attended another class through the hospital. My mom and our friend, Meg also attended. The class was "Child Safety and Infant CPR." Cory was really hoping for a certificate for this one - since he didn't receive one from either of the other classes. Dad joked with mom before we left that she could frame her certificate next to his "professional painter" certificate. Much to their dissapointment - no certificate was rewarded! - Oh Well!


Although there was no certificate - It was a great class and we learned a lot. I highly recommend this class for anyone taking care of a child or just wanting to learn CPR. We learned both CPR and the Heimlich for an infant, child & adult. (I hadn't had CPR since Health class in 10th grade - so it was good to brush up on my skills!) We got to practice on these really cool manikins - Just like these:



They were really neat - their chests even moved up and down while performing CPR. I don't think the manikins were this advanced in my health class 12 years ago!!

We really enjoyed the class and definitely feel more confident that we would be able to help James Bradford or anyone else in an emergency situation.



On another note, I have perfected the art of sleeping. Only problem is that it takes Tylenol pm and I don't like the way it makes me feel the next day and that James Bradford doesn't become active until the following afternoon. So I try not to take it unless I am just completely exhausted and can't go on without it! - So I have been saving it for mostly just weekends when I know I can rest and not have to worry about how I feel at work.

Anyways, this morning came bright and early. I woke up at 3:30am - Of course I couldn't go back to sleep, so I got up. (I'm sure Sabrina thinks I'm crazy when I arise at these odd hours! - she usually lays in her bed and rests her head on one of her stuffed animals and stares at me!) So what did I do at 3:30am?! - I had an extremely productive morning. I washed the rest of James Bradford's clothes, sheets and my clothes for the hospital and then I put together these:

The Space Saver High Chair (tilts back for an infant so James Bradford can sit with us at the table when we have dinner - eating dinner at the table is going to be made a priority after he arrives - no longer will we have TV dinners every night!) We had several people recommend this to us, and its going to be so great in our little home.

AND

And the My Little Lamb Infant Swing - Another highly recommended product by friends. - Aren't the lamb ears adorable?! Both of these were gifts that I know that we are going to get so much great use out of them and that James Bradford is going to love them.
So, even though I may be exhausted today - I feel so much better that we now have EVERYTHING put together and ready for James Bradford to use!

36 weeks & Showered Once More!!

Today I am officially 36 weeks pregnant! Woohoo! I have to admit, this pregnancy has flown by. When we found out January 4th that we would be expecting on September 20th - wow! - that felt forever away. And our Dr. even told us it would prob. be a long pregnancy because we found out so early!
BabyCenter's update for the 36 weeks says that he should weigh approximately 6 lbs (size of a crenshaw melon) and is 18.5 inches long! At the end of this week, he will be considered full term. Whoohoo! We go for our 37 week appointment on Thursday. Can't wait to see if there has been an progression since Friday!
I am feeling pretty good. But I still feel like there is so much to do before James Bradford arrives. The nursery is just about ready - just have to hang my window treatment and get a few more decorative things for the walls. Nothing that is an absolute has to be done though. I am continuing to wash all of his little clothes. He has more clothes then I do, and is definitely more fashionable!

This past weekend I had ANOTHER baby shower. YES, another! This was number 4! We have been so blessed and everyone has been so extremely generous.
This shower was in Nashville and hosted by my sister in law, Megan and my mother in law. It was wonderful and we all had a great time.

The decorations were adorable. Megan's sister is studying to be a graphic designer. She designed these precious elephants and sign and also the invitations. She is great at what she does!



And the food was fabulous - check out this awesome strawberry cake Megan made - it was amazing!! And all the special touches - every Bama baby has got to be surrounded by cute elephants!!

I had the cutest helper to assist me with opening gifts. Thanks for all your help Trevor!!


Our sweet friend, Kim and her son (Cory's Godson) came all the way from South Carolina. It was so much fun to see them!

Thanks for making that long trip, Kim & Aiden. It was so special to have you there!

We had so much fun. We played several games. One of the games was a name that baby game. The guests were divided up in teams and everyone was shown a picture of a baby. The teams would pick a name for each baby, and from their answers, I would have to choose the name I would choose for that particular baby. The last baby that was shown Cory had seen it and had been asked what he would name it. Guess what he chose?! "Jamal Lee Hall" Are you kidding me, can you see me with a Jamal?! Nothing wrong with the name, but from James Bradford to Jamal Lee - doesn't really sound like something we would choose! HA! Made for some good laughs!

Thank you so much everyone for everything! It was such a fun day!! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. James Bradford has already been so spoiled by everyones love and generosity.

36 Week Appointment

Just wanted to give an update from my 36 week appointment this morning. (although, I'm not officially 36 weeks until Monday). I was really excited about going and to see how James Bradford has progressed.
I am 50% effaced and almost 1cm dilated. And measuring 38 weeks. She said he is still high. I mentioned that we were heading to Nashville in the morning for a baby shower. Oh - I don't think she was to happy! Opps, but I didn't realize that they preferred you not travel after 34 weeks! But she said it would be ok, if it was a short trip, because I haven't been having any contractions.
She asked me how much I weighed when I was born. I told her 6 lbs something (I couldn't remember my exact weight), but I was born at 36.5 weeks. She said, "Well I think your going to have a big baby, maybe he will be born at 36 weeks!" I said, "I hope not, that's on Monday!" and she said "well hopefully he will stay in a little longer then."
So we'll see what happens. All I know is that he will be here in the next 4.5 weeks! Loving the poll responses - thanks for participating!!! Have a great weekend!!

(Oh - and sorry for the lack of Fabulous Friday Finds - I need to get out there and find some!)

Setting the Bar . . .

So I have to confess, I love watching MTV's Teen Mom. I have heard some people say that it glamorizes teen pregnancy. (Those people must have never seen the show) It does not glamorize it at all. It really shows how difficult it is and the struggles they will face. - Relationship, Financial, School and everything. I actually think it's a decent abstinence tool.
Now, It does come on past my bedtime though, but the DVR records it each week. Yesterday when I woke up at 3:30am - I decided that was one of the things I would watch.
On Tuesday's new episode, Gary set the bar for James Bradford's first Easter!

MTV Shows

(Sorry, I wish I knew how to edit it to make it shorter) Yes! He dressed up like the Easter Bunny!! Now I just need to find a suit like this for Cory! (Oh - and Cory will be much cuter and much more attentive and a way better dancing bunny!)

When will he get here?!

My entire family is anxious about James Bradford's arrival. I am on pins and needles wondering when he will arrive. So I decided to add a poll to the blog for fun. Cast your vote on when you think he will be born.

Here is a little Grinnell women Birth history:

My Mom's Baby Births:

Ellen: 40 Weeks

Anne: 36.5 Weeks

David: 38 Weeks

My Sister's Baby Births:

Davis: 37 Weeks

Isaac: 36 Weeks

Wonder what mine will be?! Would love to hear your guess!

1 more year . . .

Yesterday officially began the last year of my 20's. I turned 29 yesterday! Looking back, so much has happened during my 20s - turning 21, graduating from college, purchasing my first home, meeting my husband and getting married and then finding out we are expecting! (Oh and can't forget going to see the Tide win a National Championship!) Wow! And there is still so much to happen in the upcoming year. So much excitement and love for this new precious life that will enter this world in just a few short weeks!

Yesterday was a great day! Of course I had to work, but I took a long lunch hour (well 2.5 hours to be exact -oops!) and mom took me to lunch and we went shopping. We had such a fun time. We were on the hunt of some cute hospital pajamas. Mission accomplished!

That afternoon I came home to find that my husband had been slaving in the house! - Laundry done, fresh linens on the bed (if you have a dog that sheds and that likes to get in the bed - you know how wonderful that is!), hall closet cleaned out and organized with all of our diapers in it, and he even cleaned out under the bathroom sink - making room for all of James Bradford's bathroom essentials! What a wonderful gift of love!

And he had already given me a gift:

A 50mm lens for my camera. I was totally pumped! By several recommendations from friends, who I admire their photography, I had told Cory that this would be a good investment for when the baby comes. And much to my surprise - he got me one! Unfortunately, I haven't had much time to play with it yet. But I cant wait to have some fun with it and take some pictures. (if anyone has any tips on using this lens, let me know!)

To conclude my special day, Cory & I celebrated by going to dinner. We dined at a newer restaurant here in town called Zea Rotisserie Grill. And even better - we had a buy one get one free coupon! It was fantastic! Cory had the duck and I had the salmon. Cory said that it was his new favorite restaurant. Highly recommend it! Then we headed over to Mtn Brook Creamery for Ice Cream (had another BOGO coupon! - we love our coupons!). It was the perfect ending to the perfect day!

Here's to living it up, the last year of my 20's!! I already know it's going to be a great year!

35 weeks & Showered Again!

Today I am officially 35 weeks! Only 5 more weeks / 35 days to go! Hard to believe that this is it! He is growing, growing, growing! Babycenter says that at 35 weeks he should be approx. 18 inches and 5 1/4 lbs! - The size of honeydew melon! James Bradford is going to spend the next few weeks aka the rest of the pregnancy putting on weight! It's so fun and exciting! Can't wait to squeeze his chubby little cheeks and love on him!

We have our 36 week appointment on Friday. I can't wait!! And will continue going to weekly until James Bradford decides to make his grand entrance into the world!

This past Saturday James Bradford and I were blessed & Showered once again. We feel so loved that our friends and family are so generous and have spoiled us so much. And we still have one more shower this upcoming weekend in Nashville!

This past Saturday was so much fun! The shower was hosted by several of my closest and dearest friends at the home of Emily Jensen. Everything was perfect and beautiful. And so many special touches! Cory and Jeff even got in on the shower - they were the shuttle drivers! Everyone parked at a nearby church and Cory & Jeff shuttled everyone to and from the house. They were so cute (and hilarious, on their walkie talkies - calling each other by their Jersey Shore names)

Beautiful table, including my favorite cake from Olexa's and delicious cookies from Icing on the Cookie - YUM!

Look at those cute napkins - "Welcome James Bradford!"

My sweet and beautiful hostesses. Katie, Sarah, Lisa, Leslie Emily & Beth. Thank yall so much!

The Grinnell Girls!

Nanna & DeDe - we missed you Megan! Look forward to seeing you this weekend!

Cute, Cute Favors!




Thank You all so much!! We are so blessed to have such wonderful and generous friends! Can't wait for all of you to meet James Bradford!! He is already so loved!

"I love it when we're cruisin' together . . ."

Just thought I had been lacking in my posts about Sabrina. She's still our first baby! And she is such a wonderful companion! On cooler days, she goes just about everywhere with me. But on these hot days, sometimes we just get out to go for a ride or to run our drive-thru errands! (She loves the drive thrus in our neighborhood - most of them have dog treats!) Little does she know there is another baby about to enter her world and she is no longer going to have reign over the entire car! Gotta make room for baby & carseat - but of course there will be still plenty of room for her to ride! She is going to be such a great big sister! We love you Sabrina!

Next best thing to moving . . .

A STORAGE UNIT!!!

Finally a work storage unit. May not look like much - but all those boxes (all 19 of them plus a plastic storage bin) are filled with vending samples. A couple boxes with tshirts and cling stickers for vending machines. But all of this has been in our house. Yesterday morning our dining room was stacked with these boxes, plus James Bradford's stroller and carseat. And don't forget the dining room table and the hutch! That's a lot of stuff in one room. This morning - NO MORE BOXES - WOOHOO!

Thank you PepsiCo for the nice surprise of a storage unit! What a great and helpful baby gift!!

34 Weeks and VHHS Class of 2000 Reunion!

Today I am 34 weeks! 6 weeks or 42 days until James Bradford enters our life! It's so for real! Last week we took a tour or the hospital which concluded our 4 week course on "Prepared Child Birth" Cory asked if we would be receiving a certificate / diploma for now being a certified parent. But he was denied! No certificate of completion! Ha! We also completed our "Breastfeeding" class - no certificate for that either. We are enrolled to take a "Child Safety / CPR" class in 2 weeks - maybe they will surprise Cory with a certificate for that class!

I am continuing to overall feel great! Other then being hot all the time. - Which you know is so unlike me. I am no longer using my heater at work, and taking my shoes off and putting them on the slate floor is just an amazing feeling these days!

I have discovered the secret to great sleep. - Lots of pillows set up in a fort like fashion & Tylenol PM (don't worry, I have ok'ed this with my Dr!)
This past Saturday was my 10 year high school reunion! Hard to believe it has been 10years!! I loved High School - Especially, my senior year! So I have been anticipating our reunion for 10 years now! Hard to believe the night has come and gone.

We go in tomorrow to see the Dr. for our 34 week appt. Can't wait to hear his heart beat and see what the Dr. has to say. Yippee!

Cory had been out of town all week so he opted not to go. So one of my best friends since 5th grade, Leslie, and I and went together.

When we arrived at the Museum of Art, I don't know why, but I was actually a little nervous - WHY?! Who knows! We walked in and this is what we received:

Name tags with our senior portrait. Ha - Just in case you didn't recognize me or forgot my name! It was fun looking at peoples pictures on their name tags to see how people had changed over the past 10 years.

And walking into a room of everyone you recognize - all nervousness disappeared!

It was so fun catching up with everyone. Some people who I hadn't seen since High School, others that I hadn't seen much since college. (We had a pretty good size group from our class attend Samford) and then others who I just occasionally bump into since a lot of us still live in the Vestavia area. All night they played music from our high school years. Wasn't much dancing going on though!

I think the world of facebook has honestly killed reunions. There weren't any surprises. I already knew who was married, who had kids, who was divorced, what people looked like and who else was going to show up to the reunion pregnant! But it was still fun!

The after party: A Keg Party at someones parents house! (someones house they used to have parties at in high school in our old neighborhood - it was for old times sake - for the record - he no longer lives at home and is now married!) Leslie & I chose not to attend, But we got a good laugh out of it.

I was a little disappointed in the overall attendance of the reunion. I keep saying - I don't understand why people wouldn't come. And Cory keeps telling me "Not everyone loved high school and wants to go back!" But I did understand that it could be expensive, especially for those who live out of town.

Overall though - A great fun night of catching up with old friends, reminiscing about old memories and our awful fashion style from 1o years ago! Counting down the years till the 20th reunion. 10 more years to go!!!

Fabulous Friday Finds - Toy Chest

I know, I know . . . Once again I have been a slacker in the world of blogging! And several of you have made me aware of it! (Man, Yall have high expectations of my blog updates!)

It's another Fabulous Friday! And I am so thankful - all day yesterday I thought it felt like Friday, wish it had been. I'm ready for a fun weekend - it is my 10 year High School Reunion. I have been waiting 10 years for it and am so excited! More to come on that next week!

Today's Fabulous Find is James Bradford's toy chest.

Several months ago I was doing shift work for Junior League's Bargain Carousel. I was helping Emily out in the book department - getting ready for the big sale. She didn't crack the whip on me to bad, so I decided I would take a look around and see if there was anything I couldn't live without and needed to purchase at the upcoming preview party. As I wandered through all the departments, I finally stumbled into the heirloom department and came across the toy chest.

It was pink and had wooden raised flowers on it. (at that time we didn't know if we were expecting a boy or a girl) But it was a great size for storage and it had locking hinges - no way of slamming precious little fingers in it. And we knew we could paint it to fit our future nursery decor.

Of course though I couldn't purchase it then. I had to wait for the preview party that was coming up in a couple weeks. But of course my mom and I stood in line and were some of the first to get into the party and walked straight up to it and it was a done deal for me (after Cory arrived and I had his approval a few minutes later - wanted to make sure he liked it)

We stored it at my parents for several months and kept our accumulating baby stuff in it. Then when we started making progress working in the nursery - Cory began making improvements to the toy chest.

He popped the wooden flowers off and painted and painted and painted. - It took numerous coats of white to cover the "baby girl pink" it was. Another labor of love!

We decided it needed some personality. So we decided to look for a vinyl decal on Etsy. I found a great person to work with for vinyl stickers - if you are in the market, check out Lola Decor on Etsy. Jamie of Lola Decor is so helpful and wants to get everything just right. She and I emailed back and forth numerous times getting the color, font and size just to my liking. And then less then a week later the decal arrived at our house! And this is what the toy chest now looks like:

Happy Fabulous Friday!!

Boys Weekend v Girls Weekend

This past weekend Cory spent the weekend with some of his good friends down at Lake Martin. I joked and said that it was a bachelor party for him before baby! They had a great time just hanging out, playing nintendo, boating, swimming, playing poker and of course lots of fun in the sun.

While he was away, the Grinnell girls (Mom, Ellen, Laura & I) had planned a weekend of our own. A much different girls weekend then that of Cory's boys weekend.

Friday night we went to go see the Sound of Music at the Virginia Samford Theatre. It was amazing. And it was our first time to see a show in this historic theatre. The size and intimacy of the theatre just made the show all the more impressive. (I wish we had taken a picture before we went - oh well!)

Ellen spent the night with me Friday night and it was so much fun staying up late and having girl / baby talk. She even helped me do some of James Bradford's laundry and helped me get organized! It was so nice to get to spend that one on one time with her.

Saturday morning we woke up early and hit up some garage sales. We bought a few things - but the most fun part was going to our old neighborhood and bumping into some of our old neighbors and friends and doing some catching up. After some early morning garage saling we headed over to Another Broken Egg Cafe for brunch - delicious! It was all such a fun special time with the Grinnell girls. Thank you Mommy!!

The rest of my weekend consisted of more girl stuff: Baby shower for a dear friend and then hours and hours of sewing projects with another friend and her niece. What a fun girl weekend!!

The boys arrived home early Sunday evening. Red faced and tired. Fun was had by all this weekend!

33 weeks & Showered Again!

Today I am 33 weeks - that is going off my original due date - Sept 20th. Since they haven't officially changed my due date, Im going to continue updating each with with that date. (Although going by last weeks ultrasound today I would actually be 34 weeks & 4 days - crazy!) Just 49 days to go and still feeling good! Although, today my rings seem a little tighter. Ugh! - Fingers beginning to swell. =( I don't want to take my rings off!! But I guess taking them off now, is better then having to cut them off later!!

I think I may of reached my nesting stage! I have been cleaning and washing all of James Bradford's clothes and just trying to get everything ready for his arrival. We are making progress though. His changing table /dresser and closet, are filled with cute clean clothes. And his bouncy seat, car seat and stroller are all put together - ready for his arrival! His diaper bag is all packed and ready for the hospital. Now if only Mom and Dad could get their bag together and ready!!

Yesterday we were very blessed to be showered by our Sunday School class. Another girl in our class and I were honored at a Diapers & Wipes shower hosted by the women of our class. It was such a sweet and special time - Great food and Great fellowship! And we spent time praying for the babies and for us mamas to be. All the prayers mean so much to our little growing family. It was so much fun! And check out all the loot:




We are stocked for awhile! Thank you Cornerstone Ladies!!!