my leatherhead.

i know delana posted a picture of ellie with this, um, super stylish hat, but i had a couple so i decided to post too. this is the first time she did it. landon just put the diaper on her head, and she left it there. cheesy grin and all. i think she might be starting to like hats. i love the one where her teeth show. i love her teeth for some reason. random. and the last one is just her looking beautiful. man, i love that girl.

29 weeks.

today i'm 29 weeks. because i have a picture from this same point last time, i posted it. for comparison sake, you know. the one in the black sweater, belly skin boldly showing, is ellie. the one with the white shirt is gray. i took one with skin showing this morning, but the stretch marks are much too much for public consumption. take my word for it. if you come over to my house and really wanna see it, i'll show you.

i still feel pretty good. energetic. happy. definitely pregnant. my back hurts more this time around, but i sorta expected that - especially with his position. LOW. at least for me. and the other weird thing is my belly always, always feels tight. almost like i'm in a constant braxton hicks contraction. i mean, it relaxes sometimes, but not often. it's pretty irritating. and, like i've said before, gray kicks all the time. he has no schedule. scary.

only 11 weeks until we get to meet him! sweet boy. i can't wait.

baby gear survey.

i'm just thinking about grayson and what things will be like when he's here and what we will need. i'm playing on target.com, and thinking of what i should or shouldn't add to my registry. some fabulous friends of mine happen to be throwing a it's-really-nice-if-you-get-one second baby shower for gray and i. anyway, i don't imagine that it will be a huge affair so i'm trying to be picky. and even then, i know i'll most likely have to get at least a few of my own must-haves. besides her stroller and car seats, ellie didn't really get any new big stuff. her swing and bouncy seat were hand-me-downs. her exersaucer was purchased secondhand. her high chair is $22 from ikea, though i wouldn't trade it for any other. i imagine that will probably be the case for grayson as well, and i'm so OK with that.

all of that long-winded lead in to ask: what gear did/do your babies use and love? be specific. i'm curious, and i know there are plenty of you out there with experience and opinions. and we're talking all parents here, not just ones who've had babies in the past 5 years. you know, like my dad, who asked the other day, "do they still make teething rings?" and "those used to be great, but so did playpens so..." ha. 

anyway, i'm just having an obsessed mom-to-be moment.

and even though i know he doesn't really NEED anything except diapers and mama's milk, indulge me, OK?

summer and pregnant and emotional and stuff.

**warning: hormonal pregnant woman post. you will likely be exposed, 

without warning of the change, to several ridiculous, repetitive 

emotions that may or may not make you roll your eyes.**

the beginning of summer has always given me the blues.

i'm not quite sure why, though i believe it's just that part of me that insists on mourning the end of anything. summer always means the end of something so, i get the blues. even now.

i will gander a guess that my blues do have to do with several things that are legitimately ending and beginning in my life through the course of this summer.

casen is here for his last tuesday. his sweet baby smile made me sad this morning. it's the beginning of the first summer away from dallas, which will be a new experience. i think i've been missing my family a lot the past few days. and, quite possibly the biggest of them all, it's the beginning of the last 11 weeks of having ellie as my only child.

oh! i know you're groaning. me too! how many ways can a person write and rewrite that she is anxious about adding another child to her family? and how many ways can she write and rewrite that she knows how many other people have done it and that everything will be fine and yet still feel anxious? the kind with a big lump in your throat and the pit of your ever-bulging stomach that makes you wanna cry big, fat tears in bed all day long?

i'm sorry. freakin' unoriginal, boring blog material.

but i can't help it.

it isn't going to help that we're going to see the last of her baby story photos at ge today. i know they're great. they always are. and i'm just gonna bawl. crap.

i just really want to make our last weeks memorable. and then wanting that stresses me out. like i'm going to be expecting some monumental bonding experience when in all likeliness i'll be increasingly crabby, hot, irritated and just want to sit naked in front of a fan somewhere in total darkness.

i know i'm being neurotic and irrational.

but have you seen her? she's only the most beautiful child to have ever existed on planet earth. chubby cheeks and pouty lips and dark brown eyelashes that i could marvel at for hours.

OK. i've just had a sip of diet dr. pepper, and i know i can choose my attitude toward this.

i know things will go wonderfully. i really think quite a bit about how unbelievably thrilled i am to be having a son, and how wonderfully complete i believe my family will be when he arrives. while i'm dreading the sharing of my affections, i CANNOT wait to touch his precious face. i'm really excited to nurse again. i know i'll fall further in love with ellie when i realize what an amazing big sister she can be. i know they're going to be great friends.

it's freakin' summer, OK? let's go to the pool. maybe the chlorine will soak into my idiot brain and straighten me out.

stairs: a whole new ballgame.

so i've been running around like a mad woman, emphasis on mad, today to get ready for the graduation reception after church this evening.

(you are reading the time stamp correctly. i am blogging about 10 minutes before services starts. because of my madness, i'll be lucky to make the reception tonight. service was just too much to ask. unless it's OK to go to service stinking, in sweatpants and with tear-stained cheeks.)

let's just say i found out a little bit late that i was to be in charge of the reception and what exactly i was required to do in order to prepare.

add in a 15 month old, a 3.5 month old and the fact that i'm 7 months pregnant, and the likeliness of a smooth-running day is nil.

anyway, we were tying balloons when i discovered that stairs are my new enemy.

ellie has just recently figured out how to crawl up (read: UP) stairs, but, until today, would just stand on the edge of said stairs and whine until someone came to rescue her. it was not yet an idea in her pretty little blond head to attempt going down stairs.

she was playing on the stage while we were tying balloons on the floor. it seems the temptation of balloons was enough to give her the courage to try down.

all i saw was a contorted body and flailing limbs followed by the sound of hysterical crying.

after letting out what i'm sure was a ridiculous, desperate-sounding "Jesus!" i scooped her off the floor and ran into the hallway. by the time i made it out the youth room doors, i was sobbing. harder than ellie. much harder.

i went to the sitting area where i checked her for any broken bones or bleeding through my tears. she calmed almost immediately while i continued to sob.

it was so scary and that combined with my exhaustion and frustration over the day was just too much. it was a bone fide breakdown.

she looked at me like i was nuts until delana came to remove her from the danger by taking her to the office.

i realize this is just the first of many tragic accidents, most of which she will undoubtedly survive with nothing more than a scrape. she does have a little one over her right eye from today, in fact.

but i'm gonna have to get tougher. it's that or a heart attack. i was terrified.

NO MORE STAIRS.

or mommy's gonna go into labor from stress.

what a stinkin' day.

calling all sahm and summer-sahm.

i need to know when we're going to the pool. after school is out, i'm seriously thinking i'll want to be in or near water from 10 a.m. to noon every day. i would say the late afternoons when it's the hottest, but i don't want to burn the daylights out of my baby girl for my comfort's sake. i don't know where this pool is or whether or not i'll be the only one there, but i must find out. i've ordered an on-sale maternity tankini from old navy. ellie has a bathing suit and a full bottle of spf 45 baby sunblock. i've been eye-balling beach towels. let's get this party started, people.

when i should be sleeping.

it seems like everyone has been slacking on blogging lately. at least a little. i think it's 'cause it's the end of school. that applies to me because i'm watching casen for only nine more days. i'm getting sad. but i'm not going to apologize for my lack of (meaningful) blogging since it seems to be a common issue in this circle. just wanted to make sure you know i know i'm slacking. or something.

***

we had a baby shower here on saturday for christal and baby addi. i think it went quite well, despite the fact that it rained and it was a garden shower. it was just a little shower - ha! - so i don't think it dampened (boy, i'm full of them) our fun too much. i was quite proud of our shower team. i think we did the best job thus far on judging food and cake portions. we did have a large amount of pomegranate-peach and mango lemonade left over. but besides that, the leftovers were minimal. quite the miracle, i'll tell you.

post-shower thoughts: 1.) i really hope i don't let my plants die now that no one is going to be seeing them at any formal gatherings and 2.) i CANNOT WAIT for addi to get here. it will be so soon. i just wanna see her pretty face.

i told myself i was going to be more maintenance-minded when it came to cleaning for this shower. you know, so i wasn't up until 2 a.m. the night before. well, i cannot shake my obsession with pushing the deadline, apparently. i was up until 2 on friday (saturday morning), and my back and feet are still speaking to me sternly about it.

after the shower, we had a girls' night. it was the greatest. good movie. good friends. good conversation. just what the doctor ordered.

***

i do only have casen for nine more days, and that does make me sad. but i also think it will be a nice 2.5 months to have ellie alone before gray arrives. i think watching casen has has quite a few positive effects on my life, not to mention the extra cash and the fact that he's got the cutest laugh and flirty face ever. i think it's helped me see that, even though it's hard, i am capable of caring for two children at once. yes, i realize that having one 24/7 that i have to nurse and recover from birthing and stay up with all night will be different. but it's at least given me a taste. and not only has it given me a taste, it's given ellie a taste. she really wants to sit in your lap EVERY TIME you change the baby's diaper, which is quite inconvenient, but other than that, she's not shown very much jealousy. we'll also have to keep working on being gentle and not stealing blankets, bottles, pacifiers, etc. when mommy is not there to watch like a hawk. but i really think she, like millions of other first-born children, will not pack up and move out when her younger sibling arrives. and finally, casen has helped me realize how much work it will be to have two children. and the 2.5 months i have left with just ellie will be cherished all the more, i do believe. i'm planning quite a bit of park, pool, mommy-loves-you-so-much time. and we'll move her from her room to the much bigger extra room. i'm super attached to rooms for some odd reason, so i'm pretty sure i'll more more traumatized than she will with the big-girl room transition.

***

grayson is growing like a weed and kicking like pele, let me tell you. i'll be 28 weeks this week, and everything is going along as it should. i'm having an equally boring pregnancy this time around, which i know is the goal for all pregnant women. gray kicks at all hours of the day and night, something his sister didn't do. she was much more scheduled in her activity; he kicks constantly. i wonder if this is telling of their personalities. i guess we'll see. i still have no idea what his middle name will be, and it's so funny how i'm not in that big of a hurry to figure it out. with ellie, it was a constant point of discussion. naming conversations did not cease until a decision was made. this time, i randomly remember that my kid doesn't have a middle name yet. "hmm.. i wonder what we'll decide.." so funny. landon and i were joking a couple weeks ago about how obsessive i was about ellie's nursery. oh, how i pondered and planned. for gray, i looked at a few things, found one i liked (that is very affordable) and haven't looked back. poor gray. i don't think he'll be half as fussed over as ellie was and will likely continue to be. i can see it unfolding now...ellie is throwing a crazy temper tantrum in target while gray looks idly on. "what the heck is her problem?" he'll wonder in his laid-back, baby mind. or i could be dead wrong. it's fun to imagine though. all i know is i love him so much already. a photographer from ge told me the other day while we were getting ellie's picture taken: "you'll never love another man the same way you love your son." i can only imagine how true that is.

***

OK. i could keep rambling, but i should go to bed. this is why i haven't blogged. i have no coherent thoughts. only ramble.

but what more can you ask from a pregnant woman?

garage sale part III or so.

i may be rescheduling the garage sale. something to do with when people get paid, needing a weekend off, mug & muffin, etc. etc.

stay tuned.

i no longer want a bassinet or a cradle.

now i want this!

(right.)

scones.

i have officially eaten all the leftover scones from my mother-daughter tea table. complete with devonshire cream and blackberry or raspberry preserves slathered on top.

i'm thinking of making more. just so i can keep eating them for a snack.

mmm. mmm. mmm.

mother's day.

i'm a mother. this is my second mother's day, but i still can't really believe it. you see that kid over there (looking adorable during our mother's-day-cook-out at the lake)? she's mine. and there's another one coming. it feels incredibly natural to me to be a mom. but then i stop and think about the monumental gravity of the responsibility, and i wonder if i'm fit.

i have several examples of amazing mothers in my life - first and foremost, my own. the challenges and heartache she has faced in the past few years have been overwhelming. i cannot imagine being in her position. i don't think i could make it. her continued persistence to get up and face each new day - no matter how she feels - is an inspiration. she is stubborn and determined not to give up. i hope i've inherited those traits from her.

and not only am i lucky to have an incredible natural mother, i have the most wonderful mother-in-law on the planet. i often wonder what i did to deserve delana. she is one of the hardest working women i know, and is most definitely one of the most generous and self-sacrificing. there isn't anything you could ask from her that she wouldn't do. she is my role model in the often-stressful position of being a pastor's wife.

my moms are very different, but their individual personalities, knowledge and wisdom encourage me because, even if i'm not fit to raise these two incredible children, they'll always be there to help me fill in the gaps.

happy mother's day, mommy.

happy mother's day, mama.

i love you guys so much. you bless me every second of my life.

bathroom wall art for $2.97.

i mentioned the fact that my hall bath seems to be decorating itself in the past week or so.

here's the latest addition. the two mirrors were gold leaf as was the "H," and the frame was a dusty blue color. everything but the "H" was in the garage sale pile until i got this bug.

if you can't tell in the pictures, the walls are pale blue and the wall decor is bright, cherry red.

that's a can of spray paint from wal-mart for $2.97, folks. no menos, no mas.

thoughts?

on the mend? and bird feeder placement.

so i got some medicine yesterday. without even having to go into the doctor, i might add, which is a lovely arrangement.

unfortunately, the antibiotics, though i'm certain they are doing their work on my infection, are not the type of thing that make me feel any better immediately.

it's really a wonder that i made it through yesterday on the amount of sleep i did. poor baby casen has an ear infection, and his daddy came to pick him up at noon. otherwise, i really don't know if i would've made it. sleeping only three hours, being sick and running around town with your energetic 14-month-old does not bode well in combination with exhaustion.

i was with maggie and delana for most of the afternoon to help find things for the mother-daughter tea at the church on saturday. we went to the dollar store, which i SO love, and to west end collectibles.

i'd never been there before. i want to go back today.

i'm pretty weird when it comes to antiques/old-fashioned stuff. some of it i LOVE. most of it i don't. i don't really even know how to describe what is required of something i love. it's usually things that could be described as retro that i like. things from the 50s, 60s and 70s are usually my gig. not to say that things from the 70s are antiques... the old glass baby bottles jenny found for $1 at a garage sale? LOVE those. love some old kid puzzles that i saw yesterday. love lots of old dishes and china i saw. love several pieces of furniture i saw. love a $15, orange and blue label for pears with a duck on it that i want to buy and frame really badly. love the *erased* that i bought my dad for father's day. (ha, ha.) love the white tea pot i bought (for $15!) to match my i'm-obsessed-with-all-white-dishes pottery barn things.

it was way cool. i really didn't mean to write that much about west end collectibles, but if anyone ever wants to go, please call me.

anyway, after walking around there for quite sometime in the oppressive heat (their a/c was out), i was done for. (side note on that heat: did i move to houston without my knowledge yesterday? that humidity was KIL-LING me! luckily, it's let up some today.)

then we went to kirkland's and ross! :) guess not totally done for. i bought a set of three apothecary jars from ross for $11! i'm gonna put them in my hall bathroom, which, without any sort of plan, seems to be coming together and looking actually decorated lately. don't they have those jars for $20 or so EACH at target? and we won't even get into how much they cost at pottery barn.

i'm proud.

finally, we quit shopping. delana came over and made us chicken quesadillas and chicken soup for tomorrow (which is actually today). then she cleaned my kitchen! it was so worth the speech about how, if i'd just empty my dishwasher every morning, my life would be so much easier. :) thanks, mama!

then i took two teaspoons of my codeine cough syrup and hit the sack, fully expecting a restful night's sleep.

not so much.

i couldn't breath out of either nostril and breathing through my mouth hurt my chest. i woke up literally panicked because of feeling like i couldn't breathe. it felt like a drunk night's sleep. and if you know what that's like, it's anything but restful.

i do feel a little better today though. i think the antibiotic is starting to take effect. my nose seems to be drying up. lovely, i know. but the snot drips on the keyboard were getting old, so this is really a good thing.

and.... yeah. i think that's it.

oh. i have a little $2 bird feeder i added to my patio decor the other day. the pound of seed is pretty much gone already - two days later. in addition to the attention of birds, i have gained an impressive smattering of mysterious droppings on my new patio pillows ($8 at big lots!). i am thinking of moving the feeder to a tree out in the yard. but the red bird eating there was so pretty to watch up close this morning.

oh, the decisions i face.

thank you for enduring tuesday's random ramble. come back and see us.

garage sale. for real.

i'm officially going to have a garage sale on saturday, may 24.

i would love to have anyone and everyone join with their treasures to give our buyers more options. i have a random assortment of things - lots of clothes, a mattress, a couple pieces of furniture and lots of random things that someone, somewhere must need. if you have baby things that would probably be especially profitable.

i'm not quite ready to part with my girl stuff so i don't have a ton. : )

i have casen on friday and church on sunday so i'm making it a one-day thing this time. if we have lots of good stuff left over i may schedule another one-day sale in june sometime.

come on guys! it'll be fun! we'll have happy hour sonic drinks and get farmer's tans and money for our emergency funds! yeah!

besides, i'm really excited about pricing things with different color-coded dots.

yes, i am that dorky.

misery is mine.

it started wednesday night with an achy throat. i had drainage running, and figured it was just an allergy thing. thursday things were about the same. friday, they kicked it up a notch to full-blown sinus pressure, painful glands, watering eyes, really hurting throat, rapid, violent sneezing and a dripping-while-also-stuffy nose.

i thought yesterday was unbearable.

but now it's today.

i feel like i've been hit by a truck, and my chest is all tight and wheezy now too. i got up at 4 a.m. to sit in the shower for 30 minutes because i felt like i was drowning. after setting up the vaporizer and slathering my raw nose and lips with vaseline, i did manage to sleep for a few hours.

no tylenol, sudafed, benadryl or vicks has made much of a dent.

i'm going to call the doctor tomorrow so i can go see if it's a sinus infection. that's sorta my hunch. i guess we'll see.

grayson doesn't seem to be bothered a bit. as i was laying awake all through the night last night, he never stopped kicking. i hope he realizes there will be time for sleeping when he arrives into the henry household.

it was nice to have a little company though.

OK, the drips of snot on the keyboard are too many to ignore now.

must stop typing to wipe.

free shipping for blog readers! : )

oh, mercy. it is too late to have stayed up to list all this stuff.

i already told jenny i had to go home because i am drunk on benadryl.

but i'm dumb, and i started listing all the things i washed and ironed and photographed this afternoon.

you wouldn't believe how long it takes to do all of it.

i really promise i won't blog any more about ebay.

i just thought some of you might want to see the non-maternity stuff. i'll be adding more if i don't die before tomorrow. this is only the best of two boxes. i still have at least three boxes of clothes to go through.

feedback on presentation would also be appreciated.

good-stinkin-night already.

oh, and don't ask when in h-e-double-hockey-sticks did i wear size 4, 6 or small and extra small. it's a mystery to me too. and to think the clothes are still in style!!

for la.

because you wrote something strangely cryptic in my comments about maternity clothes, i'm linking you.. also, because you are the ebay master, i thought you could critique my listings.

here's the skirt, the shirt, the tank top, the dress, and the pbk changing pad cover.

i plan to go through some more things in my garage sale pile to see what else i can list today or tomorrow.

selling on ebay is fun!