Learning

I'm learning a lot right now. See?

-I'm learning that taking care of our house is a lot of work.
-I'm learning that pregnant bodies make for difficult sleeping.
-I'm learning that some pain is good. When I get a big pain in my stomach and I touch it and feel a foot, then push until he moves, I don't mind the pain. I know baby, it's cramped in there.
-I'm learning that Prilosec is the best invention ever.
-I'm learning that there is a lot of STUFF needed to take care of babies.
-I'm learning how to use Photoshop Elements by watching video clips on line.
-I'm learning how to use my camera with the awesome book my dad bought.
-I'm learning that my husband can be handy. He took apart our string trimmer the other night...and put it back together...correctly.
-I'm learning that it's really hard to ignore negative behaviors in my classroom in order to not give attention to the students who are seeking it in a negative way. Super hard. I mess up a lot.
-I'm learning that having a garden is going to be harder than I thought.
-I'm learning that having a yard is a lot of work...or money. TruGreen will be visiting any time now.
-I'm learning that the more time you spend fixing things in your yard, the more things you find to fix.
-I'm learning that I am so lucky to be able to not work the month before Jackson is born or the WHOLE YEAR AFTER!

Thank you God for all of my learning.

Garden Woes

I have a lot to be thankful for if a garden (or lack thereof) is what has me the most upset right now! I had big dreams for this spring and my garden. I have wanted a vegetable and herb garden for several years and have attempted containers but was always looking forward to a yard. Now, I have the yard but am having trouble with the garden.

My original plan was to put it on the side of the house but after a couple minutes of digging, found really hard clay. Plan B was to move it to the back yard and put it in an existing bed. Then, while working out there, I realized it didn't get any sun after 12:30. Plan C was to build a raised bed next to the house. It was the perfect spot and gets sooo much sun. I still wanted a raised bed and had plans to build one.

Bryan and I went to Menards (a home store) and priced some wood and bricks. We came home to measure and think some more about our options. Then, in what had to be a holy intervention, we got an ad from Home Depot that had raised garden beds for 39.00!!! Perfect.

We went to look at them after church and decided to come home and re-measure. We went back a few hours later and they were gone. It seems that everyone loved the idea of this!

We had them call another location and we were told they had 8. Perfect. So, we drove to Oswego only to find that they did indeed have 8....of the wrong, more expensive, type of bed. So, we left empty handed and I was sad. It seems as though this garden is just not meant to be. :(

More Nursery Updates

Not only did Dick and Sharon come for Easter, but they brought baby goodies with them. And goodies they were! Here is the evidence of our expanding baby room.

Bryan and Dick getting the cradle set up. It's home will be in our room for those early weeks. (Oh my!)

This is the matching lamp that Baw Baw got us.

This was Bryan's cradle made by Grandpa Clark. The bedding is from Grandma and Grandpa Clark as well.

Playing around with more wall decorations.

Bryan was being a good daddy and getting the crib set up for Jackson.

I just stood around and looked at all the gifts and supplies we need to put away.

Fixing the bedding is the fun part!

I am trying really hard to be organized. This is a basket in our laundry room filled with Dreft supplies!

We don't have any plans for the weekend so hopefully we can get the room in control a little more. We'll see. My hopes are usually much better than the reality.

A Cincinnati Baby Shower

This weekend we headed to Cincinnati for our first baby shower. It was a lot of fun and good to see everyone again. The hostesses did a great job with it all!

Baby Cake
Cake

Cookies

Gifts

The Wonderful World of Boys book

Jackson's bear/blankie

Teeny, tiny clothes. The red one says "Little Firecracker".

Thank you P&G for making Dreft. It smells amazing.A snuggly bunting from Baw Baw.

Reading books from the Joneses. Such a personal and meaninful gift.

Cutting the cake

Feeding baby Steven!

Thank you to all who helped organize and plan, attended, and sent gifts for the shower. We are very appreciative.

The next shower is scheduled for April 25th in Kansas City.

Happy Easter!

We had a relaxing yet productive weekend with Mom and Dad Clark and enjoyed Easter Sunday.



While Bryan worked on Friday, the rest of us were left coming up with ideas to pass the day. Dick said that demolition of the swing set looked fun. It was a beautiful day and, as you can see, the set had seen better days. So, down it came and we will get a new one with the time is right? Who knows, Jackson may be more interested in getting a skate park set up in the back yard than a swing set. We'll have to wait and see I guess. Luckily, I just took pictures, enjoyed the weather, and played with Claire.

Bryan got home late on Friday night and we went to our small group for church while Dick and Sharon went out for a dinner on their own at Key Wester, a yummy restaurant in Naperville.

Saturday we ate WAY too many (actually it was just me) cinnamon rolls and sat around the house a bit. We headed out to enjoy more nice weather and lunch and a movie. When we got back, it was time for some baby gifts. Lily was bored.

We got some appliques for the nursery walls, a valance, and THE BEDDING SET from Mimi and Grandpa. I think those are the official names now! My parents will be Nana and Papa.

Grandpa Clark made Bryan a cradle when he was a baby and we have it at our house now. Grandma and Grandpa Clark got us (I mean Jackson) a bedding set for his cradle. We will get pictures up AS SOON AS IT'S SET UP!

Baw Baw got the lamp for Jackson's room. I will really enjoy seeing Jackson in the dim light of the lamp when I am awake with him at 1am, 2am, 3am, 4am, 5am, and 6am.

Luckily my cooking turned out okay on Easter because everything I made, I made for the first time. These were for breakfast. We had bacon and egg bundles and french toast sticks

For dinner we had a ham, au gratin potatoes (from scratch, I have made the box before :) ), green bean bundles, bunny bread, and strawberry pretzel salad. I also made chocolate chip coffee cake but we haven't tried that yet. Before dinner, I realized it was going to be a while before dinner so I whipped up some deviled eggs, cheese and crackers, and carrots and dip to stave off our hunger until the food was ready. This was what our eggs looked like before they became deviled!So, Spring Break is over and now I have to get back to the real world. It was a great break!

The Construction is Done!

Sunday morning we were up and at 'em getting the nursery going. My dad used this sprayer thing to get the top coats on the dresser/changing table. I trust my dad but when he told me it was safe for me to be in the room while he was spraying it but then he put on that scary mask contraption, I had to laugh. We both agreed I would just stay for a quick picture and then head out.
These are the boards that we had to paint to get up on the wall.

My mom did a lot of internet surfing as she was recovering from her surgery.

Mike did a lot of sleeping because, well, he's Mike.

I finally finished painting the mural on the wall. I am planning on putting a book shelf between the two trees.Here is the AWESOME shelf after it was installed. It's perfect. Just what I wanted. Thanks Dad!

Bryan has dreams of lots of trophies along the shelf.

This is one of the valances for the room. I bought it so I could match paint colors.

A weekend worth of work in one picture. The crib headboard should be in soon so we can put that under the shelf.

My parents ended up staying an extra day so we had some "fun" time too. All work and no play is no fun at all. It's looking great in the nursery.