Farmville

Last Saturday, we took a little detour and drove through Farmville on our way to Tennessee.

Yes, there were farms...

and hay bales...

and a beautiful stone church.

Josiah (9) in front of the Farmville UMC stone sign.  The church is now known as The Farmville Church according to the sign in the background.

We didn't see a single mansion, or any of the several people we know on Facebook who live in Farmville, but we can point you in the right direction if you're looking for custom cabinets...just head down Farmville Road a little ways.

Who, me? Stylish?

My imaginary friend* Kathleen at Treasured Chapters recently awarded me the Stylish Blog Award.

And then I got sick, we traveled to be with family for Christmas, yada yada yada, and now it's more than a couple of weeks later. Which makes me look ungrateful. Which I'm not.

To accept this award, I have to list 7 random things about me and then pass it on. (And hopefully not within a certain number of days...because, if so, I've likely blown that.)

1. I don't really say "yada yada yada" in conversation; I only say it in my mind...and, apparently, on my blog.

2. I think it's laughable that I've been awarded the Stylish Blog award. It's safe to say that I am anything but stylish. That's why I typically ask my sister-in-law Cindy for a sweater for Christmas, because she can pick out stylish clothes.

3. I am perfectly happy shopping at Goodwill or consignment stores/sales, which is why I am saddened that my favorite local consignment store closed this month. Now I will have to find a new favorite consignment store.

4. I'm not particularly fond of change.

5. Or shopping.

6. Or conflict. (Can you say "middle child"?)

7. But I like making lists. They help me think and plan, and clear my mind of the details. The more conflict (or shopping...or change) going on in my life, the more detailed the lists become. Which is probably why I became downright obsessive with my list-making during my last two pregnancies. ;)

So, there you have 7 random facts about me. And now I'm passing on the award to Julie at From Inmates to Playdates, Elizabeth at Yes They're All Ours, and Suzy at The Winter Blahg.


*"Imaginary friend" is the term my husband uses for people I have met online but have never met in person or talked to on the phone...and they may or may not even know that I exist. :) I am happy to say that Kathleen, Julie, Elizabeth, and Suzy all do indeed know that I exist, and I am thankful to count them as friends!

Waking up is hard to do

If the video doesn't appear above, you can click here to see it.

And, yes, these are actual anesthesiologists--you can learn more about them here. And here's Mister Gasman, and Breathe if you want more videos. :)

I think I'm going to be singing my own version of this in the morning, 'cause it's in my head now...

Don't take my cloth away from me*
Don't you leave me here in misery
She didn't sleep
Nor did I, too,
So waking up is hard to do.

*I sleep with a cloth over my eyes, like this:

Grace at 18 months old, imitating Mommy's sleeping habits

(Thank you, Kirsten, for sharing this YouTube link!)

~~~~~

Click here to enter to win 250 FREE custom stickers or labels! This giveaway ends March 2nd at 9:00 p.m.

The way popcorn was meant to be eaten

I'm starting to think I take too many pictures of food...especially since there are photos of lasagna and enchiladas that I haven't even shared yet...but I had to share this.

This is how popcorn was meant to be eaten.

With chocolate.


I apparently have the very best Secret Sister in the world because who thought of this? It's pure genius! This particular flavor is called Zebra and it is as close to perfection as popcorn will ever be, but Popcornopolis has many more flavors of gourmet popcorn to choose from if you don't love chocolate as much as I do.

The Zebra popcorn is long gone, and I'm working on the caramel popcorn now, which is the best caramel popcorn I've ever had. I still have the cheese popcorn left, and if it's as good as the other two flavors, it'll be fantastic.

So, thank you to my Secret Sister, for the gourmet popcorn as well as the chocolates and earrings! (I have no idea if you are one of my readers, of course, but wanted to thank you regardless!)

~~~~~

Click here to enter to win 250 FREE custom stickers or labels! This giveaway ends March 2nd at 9:00 p.m.

A Furry, Happy Confession

We heard R.E.M.'s song Shiny Happy People during lunch today, and I have a confession to make.

This is what I think of every single time I hear that song now...



(If the video doesn't appear for you, you can click here to see it on YouTube.)

Randomness

Random bits, in a handy list format:

1. The winner of my first giveaway is K. Davis! Congratulations! I'll bring the books to you tomorrow at church. :)

2. My husband informed that he, too, would like a blog name "since the kids get one.” (See # 20). So from now on, Jason will be known as Slade. And, yes, he picked the name himself. He went to high school with a boy named Slade and still remembers how cool he and his friends thought it would be to have that name. I am still amazed (and relieved) that (to my recollection) he never suggested this name when we were considering names for the boys.

3. Jason Slade reigns in the useless information department. However, with my own meager supply of useless information, I informed him that Bobby Jindal has a son named Slade.




4. It takes the better part of two days in an ever-so-slightly heated oven to dry out a soaked baseball glove to the point where it no longer feels like it absorbed a cup or two of water.

5. If you take that same nearly-normal-weight baseball glove anywhere with the six year old who left it out in the rain, he will accidentally leave it there and you will have to go back for it.

Sisterhood Award

I received this award from my imaginary friend* Julie at From Inmates to Playdates a few days ago and, like a bad imaginary friend, I suddenly seemed to disappear from the bloggy world and didn't accept my award. My apologies, Julie! But I am back now, and I gratefully accept this Sisterhood award.

This award goes to those who display great attitude or gratitude in their blog. I am honored to have been chosen for this award by Julie! Thank you!


In order to accept this award, here are the rules:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs who you feel are worthy of this award by displaying great attitude or gratitude in their blog! OK, I don't have 10, but Julie didn't either! :)
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within this post.
4. Let your nominees know about the award by commenting on their blog.
5. Link back to the person who gave you this award.

Here are my 10 5 nominees, in no particular order.
1. Mama Ant at Ants on a Farm, who has a new baby I have not yet seen in person, I am sad to say. But he's adorable!!
2. Dawn at My Home Sweet Home.
3. Elizabeth, a.k.a. BusyMomof10, at Yes.they're.all.ours.
4. Donna at Life of Drama Mama.
5. Dannielle at 50 Fingers & 50 Toes.

And one of the things I am most grateful for is that all of these ladies are my SISTERS in Christ! Check out these blogs and see why I love reading them. :)

~~~~~

* "Imaginary friend" is the term my husband uses for people I have met online but have never met in person or talked to on the phone...and they may or may not even know that I exist. :)

~~~~~

My 100th blog post is approaching quickly, and along with the semi-traditional post of 100 things about myself, I will also have a giveaway at that time. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on my 100th post when I post it.

You can have another chance to win if you receive my blog posts by email (see the top of my sidebar to enter your email address) or if you are a follower (see my sidebar and click “Follow“). Leave an additional comment telling me that you receive my posts by email or that you are a follower. Comments will remain open until next Thursday at 10:00 p.m., at which time I will pick a winner using Random dot org.

* If I don’t know you in real life, please send me your email address by going to my profile and clicking on “Email” and I will be the only one to see it. Alternatively, you can leave your email address or website address within your comment.

* If you already receive my posts by email, click on the title of the post to go to my blog and leave your two comments by clicking on "Comments." Be sure to leave two comments, since you already receive my posts by email!

The Mommy Survey

My sister-in-law tagged me with this on Facebook a few days ago.

I have a confession to make. I don't "do" Facebook too well. I can blame it on my computer--it takes "fah-evah," as Grace would say, for everything to load when I click on any little thing, and I get frustrated with it. Grrrr...dial-up. (We also don't have cable, satellite, Caller ID, or even Call Waiting. Weird, I know.) However, the truth is that I'm just more at home here on my blog. :) But I liked this Mommy Survey, so I thought I'd respond here if not on Facebook.

If you are interested, please play along on your blog! You can copy and paste the link to your post in a comment if you'd like.

~~~~~

Here you go mommies - a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about your first born!

Just copy and paste it in a new note for yourself!
Let's see how much you remember!


1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
No, not exactly. :) But it was God's timing.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
Yes. We had celebrated our first anniversary shortly before we found out I was pregnant.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
We were very happy, excited, surprised...

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?
No

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
26

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
I knew I was exhausted all the time, but we were also in the process of moving to another state (from Georgia to North Carolina). After we got a little more settled, I took a pregnancy test early one morning before getting ready for work. I woke up Jason, who sat there and blinked when I told him the news. :)

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
My husband

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE S*EX?
Yes!

9. DUE DATE?
May 15, 1997

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Yes, and it lasted all day until I was 5 1/2 months along.

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
Ice cream and Arby's roast beef sandwiches. My co-worker at an after-school care program would occasionally stop by Arby's and get me a sandwich just because she cared. How sweet is that? Oh, and I certainly craved SLEEP, at least until the so-called "morning" sickness passed.

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
The sights and smells of grocery stores as well as cooking...ugh. I don't know how we survived without starving. :) There are only so many times you can eat Hardee's in a week, and that was the ONLY nearby fast food place/cheap eating out option that we had in our area.

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S S*EX?
Boy

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE S*EX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
No, but I remember being genuinely surprised to find I was carrying a boy!

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
30 pounds.

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
Yes

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
I knew. It was at one of my jobs (after-school care) and the kiddos were too excited to keep it a secret. The parents brought the gifts as they came to pick up their children.

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
Only that my baby was breech and could not be turned, which was thoroughly disappointing at the time after the multiple attempts by the doctor to turn him (ouch). The anesthesiologist had a very difficult time getting the epidural in place correctly, and on his last try (ouch) he was successful. If he had not been, I would not have been awake for the delivery.

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Community Memorial Hospital; South Hill, Virginia (and, yes, I had to look that up!)

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
My water broke first at 7 a.m.--this was a planned c-section since we knew he was breech, so we headed to the hospital.

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
My husband Jason. It was 30-35 miles away.

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Jason, the doctor, nurses, and anesthesiologist

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
Planned C-section

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
Yes. Was glad it stopped the back labor!

27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
6 lbs., 13 oz.

28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ?
May 5th at 12:10 p.m.

30. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Robert

31. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?
11