Baby John

Well, Baby John (as Ada calls him, never just John), continues to make me one sick woman. I am curious if this has anything to do with it being a boy pregnancy rather than girl...hmmm...it really has been so different than my pregnancy with Ada.

I was sick all day yesterday, and I eventually had to cancel a tutoring session, and then I woke up at 5 am this morning because I was so sick to my stomach. I went to a friend's baby shower, and once I got home I immediately climbed back into bed and promptly fell asleep for four hours. I didn't feel tons better when I woke up. Ada and I were supposed to go to a birthday party this afternoon, but I slept right through it.

I am guessing that this has something to do with indigestion? Maybe as John gets bigger, I get sicker? I don't know, but it's no fun.

What are happier things that I can tell you? Not so happy, of course, is the fact that Alabama is now the SEC champion. The good news is that Ada continued to scream "War Eagle, hey" throughout the game, and I certainly didn't tell her that Auburn wasn't actually playing. I am glad that she knows where her loyalty lies;)

Happy, positive, what do I want to say? A four hour nap is pretty positive. I am so thankful for Saturdays and Sundays when Scott lets me sleep for as long as I need to in the afternoons. And I am thankful that he is dealing with the dinner dishes as we speak. Thank you, husband, it is much appreciated.

Also good news--my mother made me the stockings and garland that I wanted from Etsy. She says the garland is not exactly like the Etsy one, but I am still excited!!! She is putting it in the mail on Monday.

And...Ada continues to keep me laughing. Though I spend much time praying for patience, she also makes my days so much fun. She is one big party--we spend much of the day dancing, singing, joking, laughing, and the list could go on and on and on. She truly never stops. In fact, I know it is nap time or bed time when she becomes even more wound up than usual. She has no off button--except for when she feels shy, then she becomes attached to me.

Anyway, nothing much to report here, but I felt like checking in. I hope you are all enjoying your Saturday night!!!

Cell Phone Issues

I am having serious cell phone issues--college friends, does this take you back to our days at Auburn?

Seriously, ya'll, one day after finally getting a new cell phone because my other one bit the dust, I dropped my brand new cell phone in a glass of diet coke. I was notorious for things like this.

Well, I have been needing to get a new cell phone for a while, and finally, it has made the decision for me.

So until this weekend, if you need to get in touch with me, call the house. I promise I will answer.

If you need the number, e-mail me--laura_rhodes@hotmail.com. I check my e-mail every five minutes;), so I will get the message.

Worth a Try

This morning's feeble attempt at potty training.
A Curious George Christmas special on PBS and chocolate milk in the sippy cup. Plus I have promised a treat if she actually uses the potty. So far, she jumps up every ten seconds and says, "all done. I want a treat." and then I have to explain that she has to use the potty, not just sit on it, in order to get the treat.She is still running around diaperless, so maybe this will result in a successful potty experience--we'll see.

Update: After an accident on the living room carpet, I have decided to put a diaper on Ada and try again tomorrow. I'll be honest with you, I have been dreading potty training since Ada was first born. It just seems so hard to me. Advice anyone? Too many more accidents, and this 30 week pregnant girl will be putting potty training on the back burner until May, when life has hopefully settled down again.

In the mean time, I have a long to do list, and I need to pry myself away from the computer and get to it.

Great Reminder

I am absolutely stealing this from another blog--one of my favorite blogs of all, in fact--but I really wanted to pass it on. It is such a good reminder of why I need to be in the word every single day--even when life is crazy and hectic in the midst of Holidays and preparing for a new baby and general grumpiness:) (this is when I especially need to be in the word, I suppose).


“Man does not live by bread alone,” God declares in Deuteronomy 8:3, “but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

Just as we can’t survive without physical food, neither can we thrive without spiritual food. We cannot live without God’s Word. As our bodies require daily physical nourishment, so our souls need daily spiritual nourishment.Our morning bowl of cereal won’t sustain us for three weeks. Neither can our souls subsist on one dose of God’s Word.

As D.L Moody explains:

“A man can no more take in a supply of grace for the future than he can eat enough for the next six months, or take sufficient air into his lungs at one time to sustain life for a week. We must draw upon God’s boundless store of grace from day to day as we need it.”

We can’t truly live unless we sit and listen. So let’s daily “take in a supply of grace” through God’s Word and prayer.

thank you, Girl Talk!!

More about the garland

I decided to peruse Etsy a bit to see what they had to offer in the way of Christmas decorations, and look at this fun garland that I found. I think it would be just the thing to decorate my fire place, especially if it was paired with these stockings!!I don't if Etsy has clearance sales after Christmas, but I am keeping my eyes open in hopes that next year these things will find themselves a part of my Christmas decor.

By the way, this little bit has been an extra big stinker lately. Yesterday she opted to not take a nap at all, and I prayed for patience all day long. Today we spent the morning at the library's story time, and she did, praise the Lord, take a two hour nap. I have been feeling first trimester nauseous combined with third trimester huge, and I just can't handle no nap days right now. One more week of tutoring, and then I am done (except for one student)--hallelujah. Only a few more weeks, and there is much to get done before John makes his appearance.

Who knows what Ada will think of John. Last night she was once again pretending to take John from my stomach, opening her arms and saying in a baby voice, "come here, John." Once she "had him in her arms," she proceeded to toss him up into the air, and she told us he was stuck in the sky. Oh dear. Let's hope that doesn't really happen once he's here;) There was another time that she "had him in her arms," and she tossed him down the stairs. I'm going to have to keep my eyes on this big sister or else John is in big trouble.

On to Christmas

What you are looking at is the first ever Moore family real Christmas tree. In fact, this is the first time that Scott has ever had a real tree. We are fairly excited about this.

You see, our first Christmas together, we were living in our tiny basement apartment, and we bought the smallest artificial tree known to man.

The next Christmas, we were packing up the apartment to move to this house, and I planned to not even decorate. At the last minute I put up the tiny artificial tree.

And last Christmas, our first Christmas in this house, mom gave us her old artificial tree. We were excited to put that one together because we knew it was a nice tree as far as artificial ones go, but when we were halfway through putting it up, an essential piece broke, and we were once again treeless.

This year we decided, that's it, Ada is old enough to "get" Christmas, it's time to buy a real tree. And when I saw Home Depot advertising a 19.99 black Friday special, we jumped on it. And we couldn't be happier.

It's amazing how festive a house feels when that slight scent of pine fills the air. Don't you agree? And Ada loves it. She is having a really hard time not taking all of the ornaments off though.

Here, she is sharing the joy of the tree with her baby doll.

And after all of that tree excitement, it was clearly time for the baby to go "night-night."Each year that I have been married, I try to stock up on new Christmas items during the after Christmas clearance sales when things are 75% off. The first couple of years I focused on buying ornaments and last year I bought different items to sit around the house. This year my goal is to find very real looking artificial garland. Where do I find this? Please advise. My current garland, bought at the same time as the first artificial tree is oh so puny.
Do you have a favorite place to shop for Christmas decor? After Christmas Pier 1 is a go to for me, but I need some ideas for nice wreaths and garland. Really, help me.Besides getting my house decorated for the Holidays, I also ordered and picked up our Christmas cards. I am so glad to have these two things done. I so wanted to enjoy Christmas this year despite the long to-do list, and this weekend we are making it happen.

Merry Christmas to all!!

And now for Thanksgiving

First things first--what a game, right? Oh my word. I thought I was going to die. Ada finally did get alarmed at the end when her mother was on her knees talking to the television like a crazy person. She ran into my arms and said, "it's okay, mommy." I laughed and gave her a big hug and told her that I was just having a fun, and then she smiled, relieved, and shouted, "touchdown."

I also turned to Scott at the very end, when I knew only a miracle would allow us to win (and oh was I hoping for a miracle), and I said, "I think I might cry. I really might cry." What a game!!

Scott was gracious in the midst of Alabama's victory, and we survived watching the most intense Iron Bowl game ever together in the same room. (I don't think that sentence structure is exactly correct. Forgive me.)

I drowned my sorrows by immediately heading to Home Depot with Scott and Ada, where we picked out our 19.99 Frasier Fur'. What a deal. It is about 6 ft. tall, which is the perfect height for our ceilings (unlike most people, our high ceilings are upstairs, not down), and after putting Ada to bed, Scott and I decorated the tree and the rest of the house with Christmas music playing in the background.

But, I need to blog about Thanksgiving before I talk about Christmas. Of course I am thankful for so many things, this little stinker being one of the main things, but what stood out to me this week was rest. I was so thankful for rest. Because I was away from home with no projects calling my name, I napped every afternoon. As soon as Ada lay down for a nap, I lay down for a nap, and I felt so good all week. What a difference in the evening when I have two hours of deep sleep under my belt!!

Here is Ada on Thanksgiving day (which was Wednesday night for us). She loved this baby doll--Bitty Baby. Do ya'll know American Girl Dolls? As a child I had two dolls--Samantha and Molly--and they were like real little girls to me. Anyway, we are thinking that Ada might get Bitty Baby for Christmas. We have not had to spend any money out of pocket for her Christmas gifts, so we thought we might splurge on this one gift, and it will still come out to be a very inexpensive Christmas.

While the kids waited for dinner to be ready, "Cake" graciously played barbie games with Ellie and Ada. Apparently you can design your own barbie, and Ellie loved it. Every five minutes a little girl was requesting that one of the aunts play a game on the computer. Ada decided to start eating early. As soon as she saw food on that plate, she went to it. She loved her carrots.My favorite dishes? The green beans, the dressing (my absolute favorite!!), the sweet potatoes, and the spiced peaches. Really, I loved it all.And my big pregnant belly didn't stop me from enjoying seconds!! Here is the "sister's and husbands" table.The grandparents' table. My dad's mother joins us for Thanksgiving each year. My grandmother is 86 years old and in insanely good health. It never ceases to amaze me. She is as sharp as ever, and she loves her Auburn football!! She is also up to date on current events and pop culture--she even knows what facebook is. Crazy.This little guy got his own individual seat right next to "Near." I can't resist him and that precious face. If you look at his mouth you will see that sweet potatoes were one of his favorite dishes. And the kid's table. Complete with a table cloth underneath, just in case;)So another Thanksgiving is behind us. And how thankful I am. For so many things. Two of the things I am most thankful for are cuddled up on the couch right now watching cartoons. I am warm and cozy in my house, and my stomach never feels empty for long. The list could go on and on and on.

And now I have a grocery list to make. In all seriousness, I am super thankful for couponing. It has saved our family so much money over the past couple of years. The Lord has been good to show me so many ways to make that pay check stretch. He has provided in abundance!!