It's not too much food. This is what we've been training for our whole lives. This is our destiny, this is our finest hour.

Happy Thanksgiving! This year we spent Thanksgiving at home. Since Ellie is still super tiny, we decided that would be best. It was supposed to be our turn going to Washington to spend it with Jeremy's family. Instead, they came to us! It was really fun having everyone here to celebrate.

For dinner we went to Marie Callender's. It was insanely busy! We had to wait for over two hours just to get in. The food was alright, but I felt it was overpriced. They basically give you a menu that you can pick turkey or ham. It's understandable, but I wasn't super impressed. We then went to Mitch and Brittany's house to watch the Turkey Bowl. All in all, it was a pretty good Thanksgiving. It was fun to hangout with family.

Maureen told me that Howard Stern said that if you squat it makes the baby come out faster.

 We have ourselves a baby!  We are beyond thrilled that Ellie decided to show up, and I was completely ecstatic that she came a couple days early. She's adorable and oh so sweet. We love her to pieces.  Here's the story of how our lovey came into our lives:

Ellie was due on October 19th.  On October 16th I had a doctor's appointment to check to see how things were going.  When I got there the doctor told me I was showing some signs of Preeclampsia. He also told me that if I were a little further along he would take me straight to the hospital and deliver my baby right then and there. However, since I was only dilated to a one I would most likely be in labor for 30 hours and end up having a c-section anyway. He wanted me to go to the hospital the following day so they could monitor me for stress and give me blood pressure tests.

The next day, I headed to the hospital to be monitored.  After my first blood pressure test the nurse told me that I would be having my baby that night. She asked me if I wanted to try to deliver Ellie, or if I wanted to have a c-section.  I opted for the c-section since I figured I would end up having one anyway.  The nurse then asked me how soon my husband could be there (it was around 5:30 at the time).   I called Jeremy to see where he was, and told him to grab our bags and to meet me at the hospital.

Jeremy made it to the hospital by 6:00, they handed him his operation room garb, and rushed me to get my epidural.  My first epidural didn't take, and the anesthesiologist didn't want to believe me when I told him that I could still feel everything.  The doctor kept pinching my stomach with tweezers, which felt delightful.  I pleaded with them to understand that my stomach wasn't numb, and to please, please not cut into it.  Finally, they decided to give me another epidural.   This time it took, and I was numb within minutes.  The anesthesiologist was worried that the numbness would go up too far.  He told me to make sure to let him know if my fingers went numb (too bad they were already numb since I had carpal tunnel from being pregnant).

The curtain went up and the next thing I knew I heard Ellie crying.  The nurses swept Jeremy away.  He came running back exclaiming, "She has so much hair!"  Ellie had a pretty wet cry when she came out.  I later found out it was because she had 8 tablespoons of fluid in her lungs that they had to pump out, and they had to pump out an additional 3 tablespoons in the nursery.  On their way to the nursery, Jeremy brought Ellie over to me so I could see her.  She was so beautiful.  The moment didn't last nearly long enough.  She was whisked away to the nursery to be weighed and such.  The doctor sewed me up quite quickly, took the curtain down, and congratulated me while still wearing my blood on his gloves.

They moved me over to a bed and wheeled me to the room where they had monitored my blood pressure. Within about ten minutes Jeremy showed up, and Ellie came not far after.  We didn't have a name for Ellie at the time.  We had a list of names, but we had a hard time deciding on the right one.  Together we decided on Ellie Anne before they even had a chance to bring her in.  As soon as they brought her in the nurse wanted me to feed her.  I was so nervous.  I had heard that nursing is hard, and I didn't know what I was doing.  Luckily, Ellie ate like a champ.  While I was feeding her they wheeled me to my room that I would stay in for the next 2.5 days.  Ellie was born at 6:59 p.m.  She weighed 8 lbs. 11 oz. and was 19 inches long.

Ellie's Up & Away Nursery

All summer I have been driving Jeremy crazy about getting the nursery set up.  He keeps reminding me that our baby girl isn't showing up until October. He is right, but he let me win anyway.  Here are some pictures of the nursery.

The changing table and baskets are from Ikea. I made the artwork on the walls. We got the mirror from Tai-Pan awhile ago, but I thought it would look great in the nursery.

Jeremy owned that giant chair before we got married.  Words cannot describe how comfortable that chair is.  I'll tell you right now though, it is really hard to get out of when you have a giant stomach that likes to get in the way.

I bought the mobile on Amazon.  It was my big splurge.  I couldn't help it though; it is simply adorable.  I made the pennant banner out of left over fabric from the crib quilt.

I put my sewing skills to the test with this room.  I made the crib quilt and the elephant pillow.

This cute rocking chair was given to us by Jeremy's mom.  It was her's when she was a little girl.  I absolutely love it, and I know that baby girl will too!

The rocking chair was a garage sale find for only $8.  I spray painted it because it had definitely seen better days. The hamper I got from TJ Maxx, and the elephant mask I made in high school.

I love how the nursery turned out!  Now I just need my little girl to show up and we will be good to go.  Only 2 months left!

To see how I painted the stripes on the walls check out this post!

Maybe if we concentrate really hard our combined psychic powers will move it closer.

The summer months always call for the reunions of families. This year we had an extended family reunion on my mom's side of the family, and one with our immediate family a few weeks later. For the extended family reunion we watched the 4th of July parade and attended the rodeo.  It was a blast!

This was Jeremy's first rodeo.  I secretly got a kick out of his reactions to the different events.  He loved the bull riding (of course) and the mini show with BMX bikers going off jumps.  All in all, I don't think it'll be that hard to talk him into going to another rodeo.

For our immediate family reunion we went down to my parents' cabin and partied.  We rode 4-wheelers, went on hikes, ate good food, and played fun games.  We also got to celebrate this cutie's 1st birthday.

How to Paint Stripes on a Wall

I love the look of stripes.  I decided to try my hand at painting stripes on a wall.  I wanted them to be subtle though, so I used the same color, just a different finish. I had semi-gloss and flat stripes. Here's how I did the stripes:

First, I used a laser level to help me tape off my stripes.  To figure out how big to make the stripes I measured the height of the wall and divided it by how many stripes I wanted.  I rounded my answer to the nearest whole number.  I started at the top and taped off my stripes.  The bottom stripe ended up being about an inch wider that the rest (because of my rounding), but you can't tell at all!  I use small pieces of tape on the stripes that I didn't need to paint to help remind me.

Then I painted away!  I only bought a quart of the flat finish because I knew I wouldn't need a lot.  It turned out to be the perfect amount. I even have a little extra in case I ever need to do touch-ups.

Here's the finished result.  Sorry about the bad lighting.  I love how subtle the stripes are. It adds a little flair without being too loud.

How to Make Your Paint Job Look Good

When we moved into our house we knew without a doubt that there was at least one room that we would need to repaint.

See what I mean? I love purple just as much as the next person, but I'm a firm believer in having neutral walls, and adding color by using other decor in the room.  Jeremy and I decided that we (meaning I) were going to paint this room grey.  I love grey.  It is a great neutral that adds a little more excitement than white or cream.  The hard thing with grey paint is that it is hard to fine a truly grey color.  Most grey paints have a blue, green, or brown undertone.  I finally found one though.  The color I used is Behr Ultra's "Elephant Skin."  It was the perfect color for this room. I thought I would share with you my painting secrets.  Everyone has their preferences when it comes to painting walls, but this method has always worked well for me.

First, wipe the walls down.  It's amazing how dirty the walls get, and this is a great way to make sure that the paint sticks well to the walls.  I just mix some dish soap with hot water and use a sponge.

Next, take out any nails and screws, and fill in any holes in the wall.  If you are going to use the hole again after you paint the wall you don't need to fill it.

Once the mud has dried, use a sponge to wipe off the excess.  If you don't do so, you will be able to see the texture of it after you have painted over it. It doesn't take much, just rub a damp sponge or cloth over it.

Remove the face plates off of all outlets and light switches.  You can take them off with a screwdriver.  Make sure you find a safe place to put the screws so you can put them back on when you are done.

Now it is time to tape. A lot of people choose to forgo the taping and just use an edger. Edgers just don't do your paint job justice.  Tape all of the outlets and light switches.  Tape around the molding, the ceiling, and the floorboards.  This step is time consuming, but so, so, so worth it.

Lay down plastic.  This will save your carpet.  I like to attach my plastic to the tape around my floorboards.  This helps it stay put, and will save you a lot of headache while you paint.

Before you buy you gallon(s) of paint, buy a sample of your paint color (it only costs $3-$4 and it will ensure that you are getting the right color before you hand over the dough.

Now it is time to paint! You will need the paint, a roller, rolling pan, small brush, and a small container to hold paint in. I always have a damp paper towel handy just in case I get paint somewhere that I don't want it.

First, use the small brush and paint around all corners and small areas.  I paint around the ceiling, floorboards, molding, corners, and outlets/light switches.  These areas are hard to get to with the paint roller, and you will more than likely get paint on something you don't want paint on if you skip this step.  You'll thank yourself later, I promise.

Then get out the roller and paint the rest of the walls. This part will go much faster. I always do two coats of paint.  I've noticed that the color looks a lot more even if I do at least two coats.  If you use Behr Ultra (a paint and primer) you will more than likely only need to do two coats.  Also, because it is a paint and primer, you don't have to worry about priming your walls; you can just paint away. Take off the tape as soon as you are done with all of your coats. If you leave it on until the paint dries, it is much harder to peel off, and you risk the paint chipping when you pull the tape off. It's amazing the effect a new wall color can have on the feeling of a room. Have fun painting!

*This post is in no way affiliated with Behr paint. All views and opinions are my own.

I would like a cheeseburger, with a side of cheeseburger, and see if they can make me a cheeseburger smoothie.

So... we're pregnant.  We are extremely excited about it, by the way.  Go us!

October 19th is the due date.  It's going to be a long, hot summer, but boy will he/she be worth it!  I'm also so blessed to have a hard working husband with a great job, so I will be retiring.  Four years of teaching, and just like that I'm a stay-at-home mom.  It'll be really weird, but I'm super excited about it!