Friday, April 30, 2010

Fab Five Friday

My friend Jenny started posting her Fab Five each week because her friend, Emily, started it up on her blog. Then, our friend Sabrina and now even Nat joined in on the fun. I've taken a hiatus for a week or two, but this week I've managed it!

The point is to highlight the five tangible things that made your week/life fabulous. Here is my list:

1.) Jenny's Chocolate Chip Cheeseball - Had it at my shower over the weekend and have wanted some more ever since! Jenny, you really need to post this recipe on your blog or at least email it to me!

2.) Magic Bean Plant - This was a Christmas gift from my sister that I am just now making use of. Apparently it's a bean plant that grows to have beans that say messages on them. I am not really sure if it will work or not, but definitely hope it does! (The picture below is definitely encouraging!) She actually bought it for Jacob, so I planted it in hopes that it will have sprouted by the time he arrives. You can check out their website here


3.) Caffeine Free Mountain Dew - I know I have included this in my Fab Five posts before, but they have been super on sale lately and I haven't been able to resist! Luckily I have been good at limiting myself to just one a day (most days, that is!).


4.) Fantastik Cleaner - This is my cleaner of choice for anything and everything. It works wonders, people! I use this to clean up sticky stuff and then follow with one of those magic eraser things. (Ooo - I'll have to remember to put those on the list next week!)


5.) Pictures of Jacob - Of course I will save the best for last! You can see more pics and read about our 3D/4D Ultrasound here. Just in the past day or two I have heard so many stories of babies and mommies who are having problems - some big, some small. It really makes me feel so blessed that as far as I know, the Lord has given us a healthy, strong baby boy. I can never take that for granted.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

3D/4D Ultrasound - 32 Weeks

Here are some beautiful pictures of our 3D/4D Ultrasound. At first I was hesitant to have one of these. It is best if you wait until 28-32 weeks to have one of these done because the baby needs to have some fat on them. And I kind of figured that if I could wait that long, I kind of wanted to wait the extra time and just be surprised at what he looked like when he got here. (Even though I know I will still be so surprised no matter what!) But then my super-awesome in-laws offered it to us as a gift. I still wasn't completely on board until Jeff reminded me that this would be a good opportunity to make sure everything was still okay and to let us know if there was anything we needed to prepare for. (I sometimes forget how smart the man I married is!)

So Saturday after my shower, we headed off to have the ultrasound done. Here are some highlights:
  • Jeff, his mom, his dad, my mom, and my sister all got to be there! They project it up onto a big screen and it is so neat!
  • Our boy is still a boy and is estimated to be a healthy 4 pounds 3 ounces!! No wonder my back hurts!
  • He has his daddy's nose. : ) 
  • He has the cutest little lips.
  • We got to see him yawn and suck on his hand.
  • His adorable little foot was next to his face - he's starting to get super squished in there!
  • He already has a little bit of hair. 
  • He got upset with us and started throwing his head backward into my hip - his first witnessed temper tantrum. 
  • The lady who did it was awesome! I would recommend PreciousView to anyone in and around the Bowling Green area!


















Tuesday, April 27, 2010

BG "Misfit" Shower

This weekend we had our first baby shower, given by my good friends Jenny and Tiffany, along with Paula, Jeff's mom. Tiffany playfully coined this my "misfit" shower since it was for the people in Bowling Green who love me, but do not fit into any other "shower group." The shower was awesome and so much fun! I wish I had taken some more pictures of the food since it was A-mazing and the cake since it was too cute! (Jenny - pretty sure when Jacob gets here and I start to have (more) mental breakdowns, I'm gonna want some of that Chocolate Chip Cheeseball to help get me through!) Anyway, it was great to get together with people who love and care for me and my growing family. Check out some pics...


Lots of fun books from Amanda!


Hysterical onesie from Brooke. Auntie Brooke and Auntie Andrea have a war going on as to who will be Jacob's favorite. The back says "Sorry Auntie Andrea."

With Aunt Heather : )

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Spring Reading Thing 2010 - Progress Week 5 (1/3 of the Way Through!)

For my complete list, click HERE.

Week 5: April 24th
* Finished this week:
Number the Stars
* Currently reading:
The Graveyard Book (86/307)
The Happiest Baby on the Block (1/260)
* Total Books Read:11
* Total Pages Read: 1695 pages

Week 4: April 17th - Lots of cleaning : ) = Not so much reading : /
* Finished this week:
The Book Thief
Get Out of That Pit
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
* Currently reading:
The Graveyard Book (10/307)
* Total Books Read: 10
* Total Pages Read: 1482 pages

Friday, April 23, 2010

Fab Five Friday

My friend Jenny started posting her Fab Five each week because her friend, Emily, started it up on her blog. Then, our friend Sabrina and now even Nat joined in on the fun. I've taken a hiatus for a week or two, but this week I've managed it!

The point is to highlight the five tangible things that made your week/life fabulous. Here is my list:

1.) Post-Its - Who doesn't love 'em??

2.) My Mini-Accordian File - The best way to keep all of my coupons and cash envelopes straight in my purse. (And no, this is not mine!)

3.) Pocket Dockets from SimpleMom - She has a lot of useful downloads on this page. I use the Pocket Docket and use one side for school and one side for home.

4.) Chocolate Ice Cream - Need I say more??

5.) Sunglasses - I FINALLY made it back to the eye doctor and now have contact lenses. Pretty much the whole reason I wear contacts in the summer is just so I can wear sunglasses! (And no, these also are not mine.)

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Birth Record Choices



Jacob's room is being done in kind of a baby animals theme, so the first one really doesn't match too closely with the theme, but that's not extremely important. I think the second one is really cute, but I really like the colors in the third one. Are any too girly??? Any comments???

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

How Was I Supposed to Know??

WARNING - This post may prove to be TMI!

I know I posted yesterday that my doctor's appointment was pretty uneventful, however, that turned out to be untrue. I did mention something to my doctor that I did not mention to the entire blog world...

During my frequent trips to the bathroom, I've noticed some pretty weird color changes lately. I mean, I drink sooo much water that when I go, it's usually clear and copious (I know you've been dying to know that, right??). So when it is not, I notice. So even though I thought it was silly and that my doctor would just laugh and tell me to drink more water, I decided to mention it. He did tell me to drink more water, but luckily he decided to be cautious and order some tests just in case. 

It is such a good thing that I did not let my feelings of stupidity stand in the way because, lo and behold, I had a urinary tract infection! I have no idea how you can have one without suffering from immense pain, but apparently you can. And actually, I HAD been experiencing some lower stomach and back pain, but I just chalked it up to being pregnant. I mean, how am I supposed to know what is normal for me now and what is not??? 

But the good news is that now that I have had a few doses of antibiotic (which my doc assures me is safe), I can already tell a huge difference!! I am not having near as much pain in my back and don't feel as much pressure in my lower stomach. I also don't feel like I have to run to the bathroom every 10 minutes (no exaggeration - every 10 minutes!). 

So the moral of the story?? Even though I may not really know exactly what is normal and what is not normal for a woman who is 31 weeks pregnant, it is more than okay to trust my instincts when something changes and it is definitely worth mentioning to the doctor, even if it may seem silly at first! 

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Baby Borland Update - 31 Weeks

I cannot believe I am 31 weeks along!! Jacob is due 2 months from today! That is so crazy! He could be hear anytime from 7-10 weeks from now!

I am starting to feel that third-semester tiredness. I feel a little sluggish during the day and at night I am usually conked out on the couch by 9:30. My belly is also getting in my way a lot more! Jacob moves a lot and can even nudge me in weird and uncomfortable ways. His favorite place to do this is church, I guess because I am still for so long and in a sitting position. All throughout the sermon Sunday he entertained himself by kneeing his momma in the ribs

Operation Get-Ready-for-Baby is in full swing around Apartment 17. In fact, we just finished a weekend FULL of baby stuff. And this was just a taste of the things to come as our next few weekends are booked with showers and more fun baby stuff.

Saturday we took a four hour birthing class at the hospital. I was really kinda nervous about it! I thought they would make me watch a bunch of horrible videos that I did NOT want to watch and make me feel like a big baby for being scared of labor. Praise the Lord this was not the case at all! The lady who taught the class was really laid back and super sweet. We did watch a few videos and while some did get a little bit graphic, they were nothing compared to the full on birth videos I was expecting. Don't get me wrong, I know I have to go through it, but that doesn't mean I want to watch it happening. I thought I would leave the class scared out of my mind, but I actually felt a little bit better about the whole idea when I left. I mean, my body and the baby's body were actually made to do this. And it's gonna happen one way or the other whether I like it or not, so there's really no point in worrying about it any more than necessary. We also had to practice breathing and relaxation techniques. I have the best husband in the world and I would not trade him in for anyone or anything, but let's just say that breathing and relaxation techniques are not his forte.

After our birthing class, we (and by we, I definitely do not mean ME) hauled the baby's dresser over to Jeff's parents' house to work on. Jeff and his dad sanded it down and got it all ready to be primed and painted. Jeff and I went to Lowes and picked out colors. Who knew there were so many shades of red and off-white?? We went with "Quite Red" and "Quail Egg." Sunday the Borland Men primed and painted. It looks great so far, but will need a second coat this weekend and then probably a finish of some kind. Jacob is going to have the best looking dresser around! Pictures to come once it is completely finished!

In between putting the coats on the dresser, Jeff and I went to an Expectant Parent Fair at the hospital. The main reason we wanted to go was because we were supposed to be allowed to tour through labor and delivery and meet some of the staff. Needless to say, we didn't get to. Labor and Delivery, as well as the rooms you recover in after, were all FULL! So no tours for us. We did go around to a lot of tables and pick up some freebies and a lot of information. Hopefully some of it will prove useful. If not, the event will have turned out to be a complete waste of time for us. : /

Monday I had my 31 week appointment. Because my regular doctor had to cancel, I got to meet one of the other doctors in the practice. This was nice since if he is on call, he may be the one that actually delivers our baby. Jacob's heartbeat was solid and strong as ever. : ) My blood pressure was even down from 3 weeks ago! I guess abandoning the salt shaker was good for me after all. I will go back in two weeks this time, at 33 weeks. 

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Some Things the Lord Promises

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6




4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.




Psalm 37:4


6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.



Philippians 4:6-7


Warning - Rambling Follows. I am not trying to preach at anyone, I just want to share some things I have been meditating on recently.

Lately I have been making more of an effort to incorporate Scripture into my prayers. I have found that the more intentional I am about it, the easier it gets. Sometimes verses pop into my head (or rather, my heart) while I am praying and I know it has to be the LORD because they are sometimes verses that I do not know very well or have not thought about for quite a while.

I will not unload on you all of the things that I have been struggling with lately, but let's just say that I have been kind of anxious lately. As I was praying about some of these things, the Lord really laid Proverbs 3:5 right out in front of me. I couldn't even remember where exactly it came from and had to look it up. The next day I was praying through that verse again, when I felt the other two verses laid on my heart.

To me it pretty much breaks down like this.
The Lord asks us to do some things, and promises us things in return.
1.) Trust in Him, not your own measly thoughts, submit to him in every area = He will make your paths straight. Notice how it doesn't say he will make your paths easy. The Lord never promises us an easy road, but I for sure want to be on his straight path!
2.) Delight in Him and you will have what your heart desires. I have heard people twist this one around A LOT. About 99.9% of the time, my heart of flesh desires things that are ABSOLUTELY not good for me. But that's the problem. When I truly delight in the Lord, the desires of my heart will be his desires, not the fleshly ones that bring destruction.
3.) Don't be anxious! Pray with thanksgiving and give it over to him. In return, he will give us this awesome peace that we cannot even comprehend! This is one of those verses that pretty much explains itself. And I don't know about you, but I want some of that peace!!

So here's what I'm praying for right now:
  • That the Lord would help me trust in him completely and help me to stop trying to think my own way through things.
  • That he will help me seek him in all my ways (everything I do).
  • That he will show me how to truly delight in him.
  • That he will help me be obedient by being anxious over nothing
  • That he will help me to remember to submit my requests to him and to do so with thanksgiving.
  • Above all to know that I cannot do any of this on my own and need his strength to work miracles in little old me every step of the way.
  • That he will give me patience to know that all of this happens on his timetable - not mine.

And because of his Word, here's what I know I will get in return:

  • He will make my paths straight.
  • He will give me the desires of my heart.
  • My heart and mind will be guarded by a peace so awesome that I cannot even understand it!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Finding Time to Read

I have had several people ask me how I find time to read so much. This question always makes me laugh, because there are so many people who are able to read WAY more than I can and I myself wonder how they do it. I mean, I LOVE to read, but I don't think there is anyway I could sit for long enough to read as much as some of the other bloggers I follow! I just get too antsy!

Anyway, the answer to the question is I really am not sure how I find time to read. Some weeks I feel like I have a lot of time and am able to read a lot, but then some weeks I feel like I barely had any time at all. What the difference is, I have no idea. So here are some thoughts about how I manage to find the time to read...

  • I ALWAYS have a book with me. I usually carry a big purse so that I am able to stick a book in it. Even if I am reading a big, thick book I will still carry a smaller one with me that I read whenever I can. This allows me to read in places like the bank drive-thru line, waiting rooms, and yes, even the checkout line at WalMart.
  • By the time I get home in the afternoons, get the car unloaded, get any groceries put away, and get the dogs out, I need a break! I find that even if I have a lot of work to do, giving myself 20-30 minutes to just sit and do something I enjoy actually makes me more productive when that time is over. If I try and just work straight through, my body complains and my mind whines and I'm grumpy and just not very productive. Granted, some days I get home too late or have something important to do and don't get this much-needed time. I loathe those days. (And yes, I do know that once Jacob arrives and grows up I may not get this time either. Just let me enjoy it while it lasts!)
  • Jeff and I do watch a lot of TV together, but some shows are just a little to much for me (i.e. 24) or I am just not into them like he is. While he watches these shows, I usually clean or read.
  • AM - I try to make it a priority to take a few minutes before I leave the house in the morning to spend some time in Scripture. Sometimes if I am reading a good Faith-Building book, I will read some of it here too. Most days we're talking just a few minutes here though.
  • PM - On nights when I don't fall asleep on the couch, I have to unwind before bed. I do spend time in Scripture/Faith-Building books, but some days my brain will just not turn off and I have to read for 30 minutes or more.
So there you have it. It's not a master plan or anything. Really it just comes down to the fact that reading is something I love to do and I just make time for it. Even if it's just a little bit here and there, it adds up.

Monday, April 12, 2010

The War is (Still) On

I posted here about my Spring Break Battle Plan to get my whole house clean. Needless to say... it didn't happen. I did get a lot of work done, though, even if it was not as much as I wanted. Here are some things I did get done:
  • A LOT of laundry

  • A LOT of clothes sorted to donate to Hope House

  • All of my clothes out of the baby's room

  • All of my books out of the baby's room

  • Our bedroom cleaned

  • The laundry closet clean/organized

  • The living room and kitchen straightened

I do plan on finishing up the rest of my battle plan. Slowly, but surely I will get it all done. I found my biggest problem was that I had to keep resting because I got pretty tired and my back would start to ache. I think stopping for plenty of rest is acceptable - I am 30 weeks pregnant now!



Also taken care of on my break - a lot of work to my poor Jetta!

The week before Spring Break, my car started doing this thing where it would periodically die on me at stoplights. I knew it was something to get taken care of, but I wasn't that worried about it because it always restarted and some days it wouldn't even do it at all! But then, it died on me while driving down the road! Luckily I was on my way to meet Jeff somewhere so he was able to come and get me.

To make a long story short, my car was towed to one place and then driven to two others over the span of four days to have the following done:
  • oil added

  • oil pan screw replaced

  • oil changed

  • sensor on crank shaft replaced

  • lug stud replaced

  • new tire

There are still a few more things that need to be taken care of, but they are going to have to wait! At least my car was able to make the trip to see my beautiful new nephew! But that's a whole other post...

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

My Nephew's Here!




Isaac James Riley


8 lbs, 21 inches


April 05, 2010 at 9:25am


Here he is with my dad. More pictures to come after our visit : )

Monday, April 5, 2010

The War is On

There is a war waging in Apartment 17. And right now I am losing. Big time. But all that is about to change...

I have a Spring Break Battle Plan. I've broken down each room of my house into a to-do list. If each item is completed, my house should be CLEAN. Not just clean, CLEAN.

Now I am not one of those women who gets all torn up over the state of my house. I want people to feel comfortable when they come over, not as if they are afraid to get something dirty. And most days I choose time with my husband sitting in front of the tv than cleaning up something that will just get dirty again. And most of the time I don't even feel too guilty about it. But with a baby on the way, I feel as though some things may have to change. For one, the time will come quicker than I realize when I will have an almost-toddler in the house. A boy who will crawl all over the place and put anything and everything in his mouth. For two, I will probably have frequent visitors for a while. And no one wants visitors if their house looks like mine does right now!

So wish me luck on my massive to-do list. (It actually does fit in two columns all on one page. And when I make a list, I like to feel successful by marking things off so some of the items will be marked off fairly easily.) Updates to come!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Fab Five Friday

My friend Jenny started posting her Fab Five each week because her friend, Emily, started it up on her blog. Then, our friend Sabrina joined in on the fun. So now yours truly cannot take it anymore - I'm jumping on the bandwagon!

The point is to highlight the five tangible things that made your week/life fabulous. For some reason though, I have had a lot of trouble thinking of any this week. I am just kinda in survival mode just trying to make it to Spring Break, ya know? So anyway, this week I am going to list the five websites I visit most often, because let's face it, they make my life a lot easier and Fabulous too!


  1. Facebook - Let's face facts here - I'm pretty much a cyber-stalker. I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. Sometimes I feel like it allows me to be way too lazy in my relationships. No need to call and check on so-and-so, just check her status updates! Plus, this week I have run into some problems with cyber-bullying and the kids in my class. Yes, that's right - ten year olds who are not even supposed to be on social networking sites anyway! But then I remember that I love Facebook because it does allow me to stay so connected to my friends who live all over the place, not just the local ones. 
  2. GoogleReader - Another site that allows me to cyber-stalk! Plus, I do read a lot of blogs for strictly informational purposes too.
  3. My School Email - Seriously, how did teachers survive without it??
  4. FoxNews - Just my way of feeling like an informed citizen. 
  5. Online Banking - So much easier than trying to remember to write down every single cent spent!