Trip Update #1

Well I am finally in a place where I have some internet access for longer than 5 minutes. So here is my update on our College Trip with the youth group.

Day #1: Leave the church at about 8:30am and head out. Drive to Newport where I begged Scott to stop at Dunkin Donuts because I was already hungry. We went through the drive through and I ordered a bagel with cream cheese on the side and a decaf coffee with sugar (no cream). I tried to tell Scott not to drive away yet so that I could make sure the order was correct, but it was too late. I got 2 donuts instead of my bagel. So, we pulled out into traffic and back into DD where I went inside to get my correct order. I did this, and then went back out to the van, where I realized that they gave me my order with NO knife (how will I spread the cream cheese???) and NO napkin!!! URGH! So I went back inside and got those items and determined that the customer service at Newport Dunkin Donuts was pretty sucky. They did not even apologize for all the things they did wrong! Ok, after that we picked up one of the students at the next exit. Then we drove for a while and had to stop and get gas. After that we stopped to pick up my mini co-sleeper that I bought for $65 (a total steal)!! The guy also had a very good quality car seat which new costs $200, and he sold it to us for $35. So even though we already have a car seat, we decided to get it so that we would have two - one for each vehicle. Plus the fact that it was so cheap for such a good quality...
Anyway, we arrived at Gordon around 1:30pm and got settled there. It was such a beautiful day and it was great to be back at Gordon. After the info session, the teens all got to go to a class. Then after that, we ditched the kids and Scott and I went to a local beach and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Plus it was my b-day so it was nice to just relax a bit. Then Scott and I went to Bertucci's for dinner to celebrate my birthday. YUMMM! Scott and I then went to stay at our friend's Kellie & Justin's in Gloucester. It was so sweet of them to open their home to us and we had a great time hanging out, even though it was for a short time. Kellie gave me some great advice on cloth diapers, which was very helpful!
Day #2: Breakfast at Gordon followed by an info session and then a tour. After that we headed out to Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, MA. It was a small campus and we weren't there for long. Most of the kids decided they didn't really like ENC too much, but it was still good to visit for comparison sake. One bad thing was that we got a parking ticket there because we parked on the street and apparently we weren't supposed to. After this we began driving and that continued for the ENTIRE day! Lots of traffic jams in Hartford, past Hartford, in New York, then in New Jersey, etc. Oh boy. Plus it poured much of the drive which made the driving a bit more challenging. Scott and I took turns but it was still a long drive. We did not get to our hotel until 11:45pm. I was extremely ready for bed and a bit grumpy at that point, so I was thankful to lay down and rest. The girls all slept in one room and the boys were in the next room over.
Day #3: Breakfast at the Comfort Inn and getting ready for the day. Then we headed to Eastern University where we had a great tour with a fun tour guide named Nick. The campus was just beautiful and we had a great day weatherwise. Then we met up with Amy from church for a few minutes. After that we headed to the King of Prussia mall for lunch and shopping. I found a WAAAY cute baby clothing shop called Janie & Jack. If I were rich, I would definitely buy some clothes there!!! After the mall we came back to my sister's apartment where we have been hanging ever since. The kids all played Nintendo wii and the boys played with their new Nerf guns, which was quite loud and annoying. We had pizza for dinner and all chilled out afterwards. Then the boys left to go to where they are staying tonight, and now us girls are just hanging and talking and laughing a lot!

So there you have it. The first 3 days are done, and we have 3 more to go!

Yes, we really are having a baby

As I spent the past few days sorting through MOUNDS of baby clothing, the reality of having a baby became even more real. I looked at all the little onesies, dresses, shoes, and blankets, and I realized that soon my little girl will be needing to wear these things in less than 2 months! It was honestly a little overwhelming as I sat there - mostly because of the shear amount of clothing that I was surrounded by! I determined just to get through the pile so that I could pass on what I didn't want to some friends. Then I decided to wash the rest of it and sort it according to approximate sizes so that when we get a dresser, I can organize it that way. Suffice it to say, we are not in need of any clothes! I feel like even if the baby was born tomorrow, we'd have clothes to last us at least 2 years : ) However, I did give in and buy just one cute outfit that I had been eying at Target. It was on sale today, and there were not many left. So I went ahead and spent the $10. However, I won't be buying anything else! Here's a photo of that cute outfit, and one other dress that I absolutely love that I received at my shower.
In addition to the clothing, we also have received many other items so far. Some of it is new and some is used. Here is the list of what we have so far:

• Crib - thanks Matt & Elisha!!
• Glider rocking chair - thanks Holly & Gary!
• Baby swing - thanks Holly & Gary!
• High chair - thanks Doug & Lori!
• Bounce in Comfort seat - thanks Aunt Brenda & Uncle Norman!
• Car Seat & Stroller set - thanks Mom & Grandma!
• Swing for a tree - thanks Doug & Lori!

Here's an updated photo of me at 31 weeks - not my favorite photo but I'll still post it.

An Update - Finally!!!

Well I will start with an apology first for my lack of updates. Let me just summarize the past few weeks and you'll understand why. On August 20th we flew out to Salt Lake City where we attended my business convention. I could do an entire post about that, which hopefully I will do in a few days. It was a wonderful trip and I am so thankful that we were able to go. We returned on Sunday night. Then I had my next midwife appointment on Monday, tried to get unpacked, and also get back to work with my business. On Tuesday it was back to work, followed by my first baby shower that night. My mom and sister threw me a great shower held at my grandmother's home. It was really nice, and I got some fun gifts. Then on Wednesday I had to work and then had youth group that night. Thursday was another work day, followed by a business event that night, then a phone call after that. On Friday it was all about getting prepared to go camping for the weekend. We left that afternoon for Mt. Blue State Park, where we stayed until Monday. Then it was back to work yesterday, followed by a meeting with someone last night. Today it was working again, home for a phone call, and then back to youth group tonight!

So, that gives you an idea of just what has been going on in my life in the past few weeks. And, it's not slowing down anytime soon. Next Thursday we leave for the youth group college trip and will be returning the following Tuesday. Hopefully after that, things will slow down a bit!!

So out of all the things I could possibly blog about, I wanted to share a big relief which I experienced today. I met with my boss today about various things since we both had been on vacation recently and hadn't talked in a couple weeks. In the midst of the conversation, we ended up talking about my maternity leave as well as my plans to return (or not return) to work. This has been something I've been thinking and praying a lot about, but I hadn't made any decision yet. Part of it depends on where my income is at with my business, and part of it depends on just what Scott and I feel would be best for us and our baby. So anyway, I ended up breaking down and crying while talking to my supervisor (seems to be a frequent occurance lately). But it turned out to be a very good conversation. Basically it sounds like they will be willing to do whatever it takes to keep me there, but they will also understand if I choose not to return. One of my thoughts had been that I might possibly want to go back at less than 20 hours at first (maybe just 10 hours), and my boss said she would be totally fine with that. So it was just a huge relief to get to talk with her about that and find out that there will be many options. She just asked that I let her know if I don't think I'm going to return, which of course I would do.

Well now that it's 11:30pm, I should really be in bed! So good night for now. I will attempt to update on some of the other goings on sometime in the next few days.