Showered

I had my one and only baby shower for Hunter yesterday at church. Our church gives baby showers no matter what number baby you are on, which some people think is crazy but I think is really nice, especially if you have several years between babies, or they are different genders. I have nothing against buying someone I am friends with a second or fourth baby present. I did tell them I didn't need anything but they weren't having it.

I was really happy that mom was able to come with me to partake in the festivities and take notes of who got what for when I send out thank-you cards. Everyone made delicious food and we got some really great stuff! I was amazed at some of the really cute clothes we got - I seriously have always thought cute boy clothes are much harder to find than cute boy clothes. That still may be true but at least now I have a good pile of cute boy clothes.

Lots of people got me diapers, baby wipes, nursing supplies and gift cards which are the main things I knew I would need! Anyway, it was fun and it really wasn't as bad as I remembered - sitting up there in front of everyone being the center of attention. It was very laid back. Plus, at one point Brianna spotted mom and ran to her from the back of the church, so for several minutes people were focused on her instead of me. That's always nice, as long as they're focused on her for being cute and not throwing a fit!!

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Saturday was a really busy day. Although normally on the weekends Stephen tends to take over with Brianna while I do whatever I didn't get done during the week, this weekend was the first he'd had off in August that we'd been home. So he had a lot to catch up on too, namely painting Hunter's room. It is definitely Carolina blue and don't let him tell you anything different! It looks really good and he's worked on it in his spare time all week. So I kept tabs on Bri in the morning while he painted and rearranged the room. In exchange, he watched Bri in the afternoon while I went to my friend Lora's house for a jewelry show and much needed adult conversation! That evening we went to Olive Garden as a treat with Steve and Kathy. Unfortunately, Stephen didn't have much luck getting Bri to nap that afternoon so she wasn't in the best mood ever. She was definitely happiest running from Olive Garden to Steinmart and back, greeting people with her loud "HEY!!" and when they drove away, she would wave and say, "Buh-bye!" Olive Garden turned out to be extremely busy - so busy that we made plans to meet at 6:00 and at 8:00 we had to tell our waiter just to box up our uneaten meals that had just come out so we could take them home. Bri ended up eating half my meal when we got home, which was a crab-stuffed pasta with diced tomatoes and shrimp, so bad news for her daddy - she has expensive taste!! I was glad she liked something that was kind of a not normal food. She's so good about trying new things!
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Friday was a busy day because I had several errands I was supposed to run. I had a Fed By Faith delivery and dad was so kind to offer to go with me to deliver! Everyone was joking that they didn't want me to lift so much that I went into labor in Candor. :) Don't worry, I didn't lift too much, plus the parents we were donating to also helped unload things. We got back to mom and dad's (mom babysat Bri while dad and I were in Candor) much earlier than expected, so I decided to hang out there until our mystery shop that afternoon. Unexpectedly, Granny and Granddaddy stopped by!! They performed for Bri, or she performed for them, I'm not sure which, but we definitely had a great time seeing them! After they left, mom and dad accompanied me and Brianna to Panera Bread for lunch. Yum! The rest of the afternoon was spent doing the usual everyday chores, errands, playing, etc!
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Thursday was another busy day because I had a mystery shop in Seven Lakes and then I had to go load the truck for the delivery we were making on Friday. I was a bit nervous about loading the truck while trying to watch Bri, because I'd never done that. I didn't want to call mom and dad to watch her because although they say they are always happy to watch her (and I know they truly are) I don't want to abuse that either. There may come a day when I need them much more than I do right now!! Now that Brianna's following directions it was much easier to keep an eye on her. I could carry a load to the truck and she would toddle along behind me, and then come right back inside with me to get another load. When there were only a couple of loads left, I have to admit, I had to coax her to quit fussing (she wanted me to carry her instead of the boxes) by giving her chocolate Teddy Grahams. This is something our preacher has started her on - see, he bribes children to like him :) Now whenever she sees him she runs straight to him with her arms outstretched. Everyone "Awwww!"'s when she does it but she always immediately points to the kitchen. Haha! She is using him. Anyway, the loading of the truck went much better than expected. Bri can be really good when she tries. :)
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Over the summer, Leila offered to watch Brianna over our anniversary weekend so that we could have a weekend away to ourselves. Great idea, but only one small problem - at this point in the pregnancy you are supposed to stay within two hours of your doctor/hospital. Well, do you know how hard it is to find something of interest within two hours of here!?!? With a little help from friends, Facebook, and Google Maps, we think we have decided on Huntersville which is near Lake Norman. There is a Country Inn & Suites there (I am addicted to this chain of hotels!!), it's near Charlotte, it's semi-close to Old Salem which we've heard lots about (and I just discovered our friend Sally can get us tickets for some of the places around there!), and it's about 10 minutes from a bluegrass concert Saturday night which will make Stephen very happy. It's free, which makes me very happy. Plus, if I do go into labor (uh, doubtful) I will just call Lib! I'm sure she'd be happy to be my midwife!

So I think that is pretty much everything from the last few days. Something is always going on around here even if it isn't breaking news. Today involves post office runs, maybe a Fifi's run, figuring out my recipes for the week, possible grocery store, lots of book reading and playing with Bri, and who knows what else!? Every day is something new.