Daycare Dilemma

We are having a bit of a daycare dilemma. We have a full time daycare that we would be very happy with and Hannah would even have a little friend there (yea, Mary Alice!); however, both moms really want to keep her. We REALLY want to give them that opportunity, yet between the two of them we only have 3 days covered. It is difficult to find somewhere/somebody to watch her for the other 2 days. At a full time daycare or even a private person at their house, they want to charge us for the whole week and for holidays, etc...

So we found someone willing to keep Hannah for two days a week. A teacher at school uses her and loves her and gave me her number. She lives literally 2 miles from the school (if that). I met with her today to ask some questions and get to know her. She is all set to keep Hannah. I really did like her. She's very nice and the little boys she was keeping while I was there obviously love her. Her house was clean and she had a great playroom for the kids. She answered all my questions to my satisfaction.

Here's the dilemma. She smokes. I walked in and smelled it right away. It wasn't overwhelming, but with my heightened sense of smell, it was obvious to me. I figured there was a smoker, but possibly an outside one. I asked her about it. She said that she indeed smokes, but only in the garage or on the porch. When I left, I didn't smell like smoke myself (hair or clothing) but I was only there for 3o minutes. I felt completely let down. I apologize if you or your loved one(s) smoke, really I do. I'm not condemning anyone at all. Hannah will just not be exposed to that at all. None of our family or close friends smoke. We do have some time to decide about it and pray on it. The lady doesn't require a deposit and is holding Hannah's spot, but we would have to do something about the full time daycare spot pretty soon so they will hold a spot for us. Am I being too picky? How will it affect Hannah at 3 1/2 months old? It's only two days a week...but...

We would really appreciate your prayers (and thoughts/advice) on this. (And of course, any recommendations of daycares if you're in the area and know anyone!!!!!)

New Car!!!

After talking about it for more than 2 years, we finally have a new car! We've been actively looking for several months and narrowed it down to a Toyota Highlander. It's amazing how difficult it has been to find a used one with lower mileage and a third row seat. Justin finally found one at a Carmax in Greenville. They transferred it here (for free, yippee) and we checked it out today. Amazingly enough, it passed the Justin test and we drove it home. It's in pretty good shape. There are plenty of little stains/scratches that remind you that it is indeed used; however, it is perfect for us. My wonderful husband is out giving it the "Justin treatment". I'd imagine he'll be out there for many more hours to come with his rag and bucket of water! Another HUGE items scratched off the list :)

The Last of the Showers

Within the last 3 days I had the last 2 of my showers. We've been so blessed with wonderful friends to host all of our showers and people who already love Hannah who and have showered her with beautiful gifts.

On Thursday I had a shower at school. This one wasn't a surprise and it was for the teachers. My fellow second grade teachers did an amazing job. The food was wonderful and the teachers enjoyed a little break after school, staying only as long as they could spare. Hannah got some beautiful things, including her very first monogrammed items! It was so special to see her name embroidered on items. Thank you so much Karen, Angie, Amy and Stephanie! Also, thanks to our fantastic student teachers, (Amanda, Emily and Honey) for all of their help as well. As uncomfortable as I was in front of all those people, it was still a wonderfully, special time and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart!



On Saturday Judy's friends, Mrs. Parrish, Mrs. Pierce, and Mrs. Endress threw Hannah a shower. Judy got to invite all of her friends from Archers Court, the old and the current neighbors, and her church friends. We had a great time. The ladies showered us with some wonderful gifts (tons of beautiful clothes) and they had a good time measuring/guessing the circumference of my belly. The funny thing is that Judy won the game again! She won at my first shower and she won at my last shower. It would be interesting to see how the two lengths compare. I'm sure this one was quite a bit longer than the first.

All of the gifts we got were special, but there were a few handmade ones that I'd love to show you all. First, Mimi (Justin's mom) made Hannah a wonderful blanket. I didn't manage to get a picture of it, but I'm sure there will be plenty in the future with Hannah all wrapped up in it. Taylor painted us a picture based on the colors and theme of our room. She did an amazing job, without ever seeing our room or bedding! Aunt Llora also made a very speical blanket. She has some wonderful pictures of it posted on her blog.

Thank you ladies for a wonderful shower. I know I've said it before, but we are so blessed with such wonderful people in our lives!

Wonderful 30th Birthday

I promised myself when I started this blog that it would be just for Hannah, and not me. Well I'm breaking my promise. I have to tell the blogging world how wonderful my husband, family and friends are...

I can honestly say that I had a wonderful 30th birthday. Not only did my kids surprise me with a party (see previous post), but I had lots of surprises from my wonderful husband. I started the day with a very sentimental card that made me cry (I really don't cry as often as you'd think a pregnant woman would). Justin then ended up with the day off, so he was there waiting for me when I came home from my doctor's appointment (update soon, I promise!). He then gave me my gift, a video camera! He is such a good liar. He told me he was doing one thing Saturday, and I totally believed him. He picked a great camera (thanks for helping Gary!). I can't wait to use it when Hannah arrives. His parents then came and went out to dinner with us. They arrived with a cookie cake that Justin had ordered on Saturday. I mentioned a cookie cake once a few weeks ago and my fantastic husband remembered! It is was/is so yummy, and another great surprise.

I had so many e-cards and my voicemail inbox was full from all of my friends and family. Thank you so much for making my day so special. If I knew turning 30 would be so great, I would have done it before now :)

Surprise Baby Shower/Birthday Party

I got a big surprise yesterday at school! Thanks to the careful planning of my fantastic student teacher, Amanda, and my wonderful friend and co-worker (who also happens to be the mom of one of my students), Stephanie, my kids threw me a surprise baby shower/birthday party. They were so excited! I have to admit I wasn't that surprised, but it's hard for second graders to keep secrets. One of my little boys mentioned something about missing the "baby bath" (they can be so cute, can't they?) and there were little hints all day. What was so funny though was there reaction to the gifts. I got a TON of Usborn books (Stephanie is a consultant if you're interested!) that the kids chipped in to buy and then personalize with their signatures. Each time I opened a book, or one of the other cute gifts I got, the kids as a whole would say "AHHHHHHHHHH" They were worse than a room full of grown women! I even had to read every word of each baby card. You've never seen second graders so excited. It was amazing. They made me tons of birthday/baby cards and I had to read each one with the entire group surrounding me. They even had little pink cupcakes and pink juice to party with. It was so sweet and touching, and it was a memory I will never be able to forget.

The Month of Showers

The month of showers is more than half-way over now. Every Saturday in March there has been or will be a baby shower. One of them was the one we threw for Ali, but the rest are for Hannah.

Yesterday's shower was another huge success. My great friends Kelly and Amy joined forces to throw a fabulous shower. They thought of everything, even the smallest of details (like personalized m&ms). The decorations were beautiful, including the lovely corsages and flower center piece by Ashley. The food was amazing. There were lots of requests for the yummy recipes. And of course, the gifts were perfect. Every weekend we feel a little more prepared for Hannah's arrival and it wouldn't be possible without the thoughtfulness of our friends and family.

This group was the largest shower we've had yet, with a guest I was surprised to see! I was not expecting to see any of my Winthrop gals there, and I walked in and there was Carrington! She drove all the way from Richmond, VA to help us celebrate. It was so great to catch up with her and I can not adequately express my appreciation to her for coming!

Thank you so much Amy and Kelly and everyone who helped make our shower so special. We love you all!

A Beautiful Shower

Yesterday, we were blessed with another baby shower. Erin, her mother, and mother-in-law threw us a shower. Only 8 people were there altogether, but it was a fun and beautiful shower. I wish the others invited could have joined us, but it was wonderful just the way it was. Of course, there was yummy food (and coffee punch!) and Mrs. Harrelson's house was just perfect. We got some wonderful gifts. Some necessities and some fun things. Even Nana got a gift! Thank you so much Harrelson Gals! Here are some pictures...

33 Weeks (about)

checkup update

After waiting at the doctor's office for just about an hour (there was an emergency C-section that took the doctors away), I finally had my checkup. My blood pressure is great and everything else tested out fine. I am still measuring a little bit over but not much. The baby's heartbeat was another challenge. Hannah wouldn't stop moving so the doctor could get a good heartbeat (there seems to be a pattern here...). She was about to send me for an ultrasound (again) but tried one more time. This time she pushed on my stomach and practically held Hannah in place. She didn't stay put for long, but long enough to know that her heart rate is good. Then came the exam. The doctor checked my cervix and found that I am already 1 cm dilated! I was completely shocked. She wasn't worried as Hannah is still floating around in plenty of fluid, but I am going back in two weeks to be checked again and am supposed to call immediately if I start having contractions. She said I could drag it out to my due date or go very quickly. Who knows. My mom said she did the same thing. She dilated early and I came early (only about a week though). From beginning to end she was only in labor for 4 hours because she'd done some much ahead of time. Maybe I will follow in my mom's footsteps. I wouldn't complain!

Meeting Mary Alice

I got to meet Mary Alice today. I stopped by to visit the new family since I was already there for my doctor's appointment. Mary Alice is precious and perfect. It's amazing how little she is. All of the babies I've held in the last year were big. I can't believe how just a pound makes such a difference big difference. Ali looked great and was moving around. Patrick had gone home to get some much needed sleep, and returned while I was visiting, and Nana and Aunt Kelly were hanging out and helping the new mom. I was able to get about half of the million questions I have answered. It's nice because Ali goes to the same doctors that we do, so she can really answer my questions. I'll ask her the other 1/2 in a few weeks!

Mary Alice is here!

Well, at least she waited until the shower was over! Justin and I were going to go to Hudson's BBQ Saturday night with Ali and Patrick and then hang out at their house afterwards, but Patrick called Justin to cancel since Ali was having some pretty bad contractions. On Sunday, I told Justin that I seriously doubted that Mary Alice would wait until the scheduled time on Thursday. I was right! Ali's water broke in the middle of the night and they were at the hospital early Monday morning. Mary Alice was still breech at 6cm so they delivered her by C-Section. Keep the Graham family in your prayers!

Mary Alice Graham
born 7:39am, March 9
6.5 lbs.
18 (plus some change) inches

Here is a picture I stole from Kelly's (Ali's sister) blog. Check her blog out for the latest updates and pictures!

Ali's Shower

March is the month of showers for me. This weekend, the shower wasn't for me and Hannah, it was for Ali, but it was at our house. It was hosted by the girls in Sunday School. It was a success! Mary Alice hung in there and allowed Ali to make it to the shower. We were concerned for a while that we would be packing up the gifts and delivering them to a new baby! However, Ali was a trooper and made it, even though she probably would have rather been at home.

Thank you to everyone who helped with the shower. We were expecting 15-17 women, so food was a major factor (especially for brunch). Not that many showed up, but we divided the food up and enjoyed it ourselves!

Thanks Cass for the apples, fruit dip and apple dumplings. Don't forget to send me the recipe!

Thanks Katy for providing the veggie tray, even though you weren't able to stay and enjoy it!

Thanks for the mini quiches Breana! I know I ate my fair share :)

The peanut butter cups were amazing Llora, and I want that recipe too! Also, thanks for all of your helping setting up and cleaning up. I couldn't have made it without you.

And again, Heather made the invitations and the wonderful muffin cake. Thanks for all you did Heather and for your help!

For more pictures, you can visit my Picasa website.

Look What I Did

It is currently our 2nd snow day since January. This time "they" started off by predicting several inches of snow and were actually making a big deal of it. I got the phone call yesterday around 4:20 that school was canceled for today. I think they jumped the gun quite a bit. By yesterday evening "they" had decided that the snow would not affect Columbia much at all. It is currently 40 degrees and sunny. Not a drop of snow. At least on our last "snow day" we actually saw some of the white stuff.

I have decided to be productive this morning, since I'm not so productive during the week after school. I have already done several things around the house and then decided to tackle the stroller. Justin talked about getting it done last night, but it didn't happen (we hung pictures in the guest room and Hannah's butterfly mobile - see picture- instead). I looked at the stroller directions and decided it wasn't too much of a challenge and not terribly heavy, so I set out and conquered it. After I got it put together, I played with it for a little while. It seems very easy to use. Thanks again Mimi and Papa John!

Almost Finished Products

I've been slack this week and haven't posted the latest updates. Last weekend while I was at the shower with the girls, some of the boys were at my house hanging out with Justin while he put together the changing table. Yippee! One box down.

Then instead of going to the basketball game (we tried, but it was sold out and we couldn't get tickets) we sat in Hannah's room and Justin put the crib together while I read the directions. The metal part was not easy. The directions were extremely vague. It's up and ready but I'm not sure we're going to be able to lower the mattress very easily. It's set up, it's out of the box. We have no mattress or bed skirt yet, (we registered for both at Babies R Us) or crib sheets but with the bumper set in the crib, it looks pretty good. Another box down.

The only box left is the travel system. I think it would take up less room out of the box. Justin doesn't agree.