Look at that cute baby! Guess mom was right when she said everyone thinks their baby is super cute! ha Cause I saw him on that screen and Erik and I both were like "Dang he's a looker!" ha He was wild too! Lots of fist pumping, knee bends, bouncing around etc. The doctor was chasing him all over the place to get pics. The on screen images were much more clear and detailed, but knowing when to snap pictures was hard b.c. he was pretty busy in there. He weighs 1lb 3 oz currently and they said he is completely healthy and perfect which was great to hear since I passed on the amnio tests.


Today completes 21 weeks (5.25 months)for me. According to the doc I have gained 15 lbs, however real life is much closer to 20 or more because my first Doc appt wasn't until 8 or 10 weeks. I will have to say pregnancy is a lot less boring these days since I can feel him move now. Nothing fierce though, just feels like constant stomach growling!
I am currently trying to figure out how to get the video uploaded to the blog so you can see him dancing around and such.

I heard about this app on the Today In Iphone Podcast ( if you are an iphoner and don't listen you really are missing out). BillTracker has become one of my fav new apps!
You basically enter all of your bills in there, even ones that quarterly or annual like car tag renewals. It tells you when they are due so you can see your week or month at a glance. It also has a page where you can enter in payments with check # or confirmation number if you pay online.

Calendar View. Green = Already paid and Red = DUE
List View:

It is really a great way to stay organized! Bill Tracker 99Cents in the App store and worth every penny!

Bro ( Bubs brother Steven) and Shauna got married last night. We had a weekend full of wedding festivities and family!
Juliel and I in our bridesmaid dresses. Shauna had her makeup and hair girl come to the hotel and all the bridesmaids got airbrushes makeup which was super fun. I also had some pretend eyelashes that I loved! She did a great job. It looked better in person than in the pictures. My hair was not so cute :(
Erik's grandma, Aunt & Uncle
Steven's grooms cake was an IPHONE. How cool is that?
Erik , Uncle Louie and Little Bro a.k.a. Stevie
Erik looked so cute in his tux, and I looked like a hurricane threw me around! Ugh. I was kind of tired and that showed. crappers! I was counting on having some fabulous pictures with all that fun makeup!

Bride & Groom first dance!
and a really cool getaway car:

I recently learned about a site perfect for homeowners of old houses like ours! Old houses are all so individual and special that it takes a special person to work on them and a good bit of knowledge to get things done properly.
The Grizas just learned that lesson the hard way with our window replacement in the kitchen. Our good for nothing contractor, bought the cheapest windows he could and lied about them ( even thought I explicitly specified what we wanted) and he had no experience installing windows in old homes so we were double burned because not only are they not installed in an energy efficient manner, they also do not qualify for he energy star rating for tax credits! Rah to the RAH

I say all that to say, Go HERE and educate yourselves on your old homes so you can avoid such costly mistakes.

Yesterday marked the completion of 20 weeks for Fenn which means I am half way home! Due date is August 12th for those of you who have asked! Below is a pic of 19 weeks that I took in the hospital last week when Dad was gone to get xrays.
20 weeks also marks the time that I have started getting uncomfortable. Bending over is torture because I get immediate blood rushes to the head, squatting down not really an option if I wanna get back up. Putting on tennis shoes is especially challenging. Sleeping is interesting. My arms have started going to sleep which wakes me up. I have also caught myself waddling a couple of times! YIKES. Erik is quick to point that out though.
Last week, on the plane was the first time I felt Fenn move, that i was sure it was him. I kept expecting to feel "bubbles" but for me it feels more like vibrations or a continuous stomach growling right after i eat usually, or about 9pm. We get to do another Ultrasound Tuesday with my doctor so I am looking forward to that now that I can feel him jiggling around in there.


Life has been rather hectic lately and I have not gotten much accomplished with nursery and things like that so once we get Bro and Shauna all married and my dad all 100% then I will resume decorating! I will say that now that I am getting big enough to notice the uncomfortableness, I am very thankful we got a head start on that nursery! I cant imagine trying to do all that over this big hump!

Don't know if you all are aware of the new TV show Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution that will be debuting soon but you should totally watch.. and sign that petition.
Even if you don't give a hoot about eating right, you still would want to encourage this agenda as food directly effects health, which we are all currently responsible for now under new Health Care Reform.
You can see his website HERE

and if none of THAT gets you motivated... then keep in mind he has a cute accent!

It is time for Easter Decorations to be put out and I have some new fun to add! I noticed a trend when in Mobile on that 4,000 shuttles back and forth to the hospital that lots of houses down there make these elaborate door swags from colored mesh. It was really cool and neat looking. My aunt knew right away where I could purchase those supplies and my sweet Nonie got me some! 3 Easter color rolls! Arranging the swag was a little more challenging!

I unrolled it and swirled it all out, and after all that is when I realized that I would be attaching it to BRICK around our front door. Not sure how to do that, so it has not been hung up yet :(
Here is the lonely door before:
Also, I am OBSESSED with flags on the front of houses! It is not easy to find cute ones either unless you fork out $45 , BUT Target just recently started carrying them, and they mark down the past holiday ones. $9.99 regular price and St. Patty's Day flag marked down to $6. They are the appliqued ones too, and not screen printed so they look really nice !
Once I get all the decor out and CB helps me with my dining room table I will post more pics!

Hey guys! The dudes who created PrayerJournal app have offered some free promo codes to those of you who win this giveaway!
All you have to do to win is comment! First and last commenter wins!

Hooray for App GiveAways!

Here is a LINK to the App in Itunes

Anyone who knows me knows I have issues with my memory. When all this stuff with my dad was going on, someone said to me she was gonna call her "Praying friends" to request they pray for my dad, the ones who ACTUALLY pray for you and not just say they would. That made me think, I need to work on keeping my prayers organized so I can be someone who ACTUALLY prays when I say I will, instead of someone with good intentions and no follow through.
What else would help me with but an IPHONE app! So now after my devotion I whip this out and make sure I have included everyone on my list. It is 99cents in the app store.

Once my dad started feeling better, Nonie and I hit up Hudson's salvage to find some Liz Lange Maternity wear from Target 70% off so all these wound up being $3-6 each. Exciting since I hate spending money on clothes I am not wild about wearing anyway!
Stretch pants are my new besties so I was excited to get some Spring ones.

Belated post! A few weeks ago sweet Mel ( Mrs. Wiggs) scored an Early shopper pass for me AND for CB and we went to check out what BUMC had to offer for their Kids Consignment sale. These ladies DO not joke around ! See that line.. and all those laundry baskets?


That is why I felt pretty cool rolling in this bad boy:
That is my Flea Market cart my dad gave me. Wheels are a great advantage and they all kind of scowled at it! Below are some shots of the sale:

and then a week later, Mel goes and has her baby! Brayden Wiggs Thompson. Isn't he so cute!
I went to a few more sales as well. Jennifer Graham got me an early shopper pass to the BIGGEST sale I have ever seen In.My.LIFE! It was over 32,000 sq ft of baby stuff. Insano! Unfortch all that square footage comes with an equally gargantuan line!
My scores from BUMC were one of my Fav Kissy Kissy Outfits, a bumbo, and twilight turtle.

My dad is doing SO MUCH BETTER and we are out of the woods! He has had most of his tubes removed and now just has the IV for nutrients and a wound vac. He also finally is able to have some food for the first time in weeks, clear liquids as in chicken broth, gross green jello etc.
Everything is healing properly and his pain is down considerably! Now just to get him out of that ugly boring hospital and home!
Thanks to everyone for all the prayers, support, food, text, flowers, visits etc. It was unbelievable how Monroeville was all over taking care of him and checking on him. His hospital was 1.5 hours away from Monroeville and they still drove to see about him. SO sweet. Ree Smith, I would like to thank you for the extra 5 lbs I gained from all those Brownies you sent. I am sure Fenn appreciates the extra swimming room. Julie Bray, Thanks for educating me on the wound vac. Having all these nursing friends and family really came in handy!
Up until this point in life, I have really not spent much time in the hospital, so all of that was new to me and I learned a lot, while my dad just about gained a medical degree. I also learned enough to know, if I was picky about our food and diet before, I am about to be a food nazi. I don't ever want to spend any time in the hospital if I can help it. My dad is a very tough, strong, and active dude, and I believe that made his recovery MUCH easier. It is good to be healthy so that in the event of some crazy accident like this, your body has what it takes to fight, heal and recover.
God is Good!
Erik and I are back in Nashville now, reunited with the dog children and getting ready for Bro ( Steven Graham's) wedding this weekend.

Hey Guys! Just wanted to tell you all I am taking a small bloggy break. I am down in Mobile with my family tending to my dad. For those that don't know, he has had a lot of major surgery lately from what started as an appendicitis. It started when they were in Nashville in Feb, and after a few days of pain he went to the ER in Monroeville where they did an emergency appendectomy. Two weeks after surgery he was still not getting better and had fever and throwing up and they started treating him for an infection from surgery. More BS for several days and finally he came to a different hospital in Mobile with a new Doctor who had to do a 2nd surgery, and a very intense one. The first surgery never removed his appendix and it had ruptured. His 2nd surgery was to remove it and repair damage to colon and intestines. He has been in ICU in Mobile ever since.
We have all been getting a lot of phone calls and stuff and its really hard to be responsive to that right now so please don't take offense. We appreciate all the support and concern and are using all our energy to stay strong for him right now. No one is really to to phone calls or visits at this time.
We are staying with my Aunt in Mobile so that is very nice to have family here and CC has been taking us back and forth to the hospital and feeding us etc.
I know that when my dad is better he will really appreciate all of the comments on facebook and stuff so thanks for doing that!
If you are a prayer warrior, please pray specifically for him to grow stronger, to have some form of improvement that will provide him with the encouragement that he desperately needs right now, and for him to recover enough to take out his nose tubes. Those would make him much more comfortable for sure.
Thanks again for all the support and I will blog again once things settle down

xoxo

Click HERE to download the Promo Code

BADOW!! ( I feel like this pic needs a caption lol)
YIKES! I am a little nervous about the fact that I'm only half way home, cause that means I'm gonna get ALOT bigger. Someone told me the other day that "tall skinny girls always get HUGE, so you're gonna gain a lot of weight"! Uplifting, no?
Anyway So far I've gained about 15 lbs.
My dress for Bro & Shauna's wedding is currently being altered, and I really hope I can keep this bubble under control till after the wedding so that dress will fit!
If I was a smart girl, I would have taken some pictures of my BACK early on, because that has stored up fat almost as much as my belly!

Lee Dewyze - I really like him, but didn't love the song choice! Dang! I want him to stay so I hope he makes better choices! ( MGE I felt like you just now saying that " Make good Choices" lol)

Mullet guy - was good, great song choice but I agreed with Kara about how he needed to get down in that song!

Tim _ i think he looks like a high school kid from South Alabama! I am still with Ellen on what she said last week. If he was on Glee that would be awesome, but Idol... I'm not convinced. he did better this week though! Jgraham I know you love him ha ...

Garcia I enjoyed. I just really like him, period. I like him doing acoustic fun songs, and I think he did it well. Kara was right about him fighting with the rhythm of the guitar a little. dang!

Casey - I do think he is very good, and very good lookin, but that song was boring to me.

Todrick - I LOVE that song so I was happy about it but I didn't think he was as awesome as the judges thought

BIG mike - WAS THE BEST. OMG. I love Maxwell. I love This woman's work. ( I really really love R&B) but that was just so fantastic. Delivery , vocals the whole shabam! Gave me chill bumps!

What did you guys think? Who did you vote for?

I found this antique Armoir at Salvation Army today and scooped it right up! I have been looking everywhere for one, because there is no closet in his room, and this totally fit the bill, and the budget. These pics are of it as I found it, but I shall be making a few changes and for sure cleaning it up!


Perfect Color Wood:

Nice detail. I will be removing those wheels
Perfect insides. I took it all apart in the store and inspected. Erik saw me from the car and called to see what was going on ha..
I have drawn on this one to show some changes I plan to make. I am gonna have bubs hang some dowels in there so that I can maximize the hanging space instead of using that one provided in the top.

I used to have 2 shirts just like this from Juicy Couture that I loved and wore All.the.time! They are now too little, and the white one is all dingy so I was stoked to see these in Target. They are Tissue T's 3/4 length sleeves and long which works perfectly with my new belly ( for now anyway). $9.99 Also comes in Black, White & Heather Grey.


Also, Don't forget that Liberty of London line for Target launches in 4 more days! Below are some sample patterns meant to be used for Iphone wallpapers. Droid versions are also available HERE



You can see the commercial HERE.

I am still shedding tears over not having found any of these in my dollar bin :( I would totally have ordered monograms for them from Etsy like she suggests!

Katie Stevens - Bless her heart. She needs to go home. Too young, too confused.

DiDi - Fleetwood Mac Rhianon. Boy was I scared of what she would do to this song cause I LOVE Fleetwood. I was actually impressed. It was a neat version and the only bad part was the chorus. I am SO.OVER.HER.CRYING though. If she cries again I will just start FF through her performances. People who try out for Idol should be emotionally equipped.

Siohban - The Animals -House of the Rising Sun. I love her, but this was just OK for me.

Katelyn - Carol King - blehk. I didn't like it. I thought that was a terrible song choice.

Lacey - Brandi Carlile. I have never heard of Brandi Carlile and after some itunes research realize that I love her. Must get some albums. So I liked the song and her but it was slightly boring.

Paige - Smile BORING. I bet she goes home.

Momma Sox - She was made for a stage. She picks great songs for her voice and performs well. Love her. She will be a top contender.

Lily Scott - Patsy Cline. What a weird song choice for her! Didn't love it but I do really like her. I can see her having a band like the TingTings!

Momma Sox was by far the best of the night! I think Paige and Katie are going home. What do you guys think? CB you have to weigh in now that you watch Idol! Tonya? Mary Alice?

It is pretty much crunch week at Casa Griza. We are hosting a shower for Shauna & Steven this Saturday and there is tons to be done. Part of all my nesting process is to first create huge messes and then sort through them. Well, I am better at creating the mess, than sorting sometimes and that is definitely the case now. One of my many current projects is to get the 15 bajillion paint cans in our basement organized and relevant. Below is a start. You can buy these plain paint quarts at Home Depot for like $2 and pour your remaining paint in them, and create a label. I am no where near finished but we are making some head way.

Then to pack up all my St. Patty's Day decor so that it does not detract from shower decor.
and we began hanging curtains in the nursery. You can see that they need to be steamed and perfected. I have not ordered the Valance yet because I am trying to figure out if I can make one rather than buy one.
We also did some spackling, patch painting, yard work and I had one mental meltdown. The hormones are a ragin' lately ( note previous post) and can go either way floods of tears or anger. Today was tears because my poor Daddy is still not well from his appendectomy 2 weeks ago, he has an infection and they re-admitted him to the hospital Saturday. This afternoon they were moving him to Mobile to a better hospital because he has not improved any. It is very frustrating being so far away when I feel like I should be with them. Bubs has to work and can't go, so I will likely drive myself tomorrow. Waiting to hear from my momma ( who did not want me to drive down today because I would be arriving so late) so anyway..
Internets: Please pray for my pops to feel better and to recover quickly.

Here I am with our firstborn, before the meltdown. Ralpy wanted to try out Fenn's carrier and so we took it for a spin. We supervised bubs hanging the curtains, danced to some MMJ, and took a walk, all of which he LOVED. The AC man was here working and probably thought I had lost my mind.

I have had tons of people asking if Erik and I have a name in mind for the baby, and we do. One of the reasons I wanted a boy child was because the only name we for sure loved was a boy name!
I remember lots of people who were having babies say they were gonna keep their name "secret" and I never really understood that, until now.
Let me just tell you, babies bring out the most opinionated, in your face type of commentators and life experts! All has been well up until now, because when people give you advice, they just wanna be helpful. Their intentions are good. However, when people just straight up tell you they don't like your baby name, there is nothing nice about it, no "good intention". Frankly, what it is, is rude and presumptuous. Presumptuous to think that Erik and I would give a hoot what somebody else thinks we should name OUR baby.
So I am saying all of this to say, I am not asking anyone's opinion or permission on what we will name our child. If you wanna know, that's cool and I will tell you, but don't ever mistake my answering the question, for permission to weigh in.
Names are what I have given more thought to than anything else for baby, because they are so permanent. I want a name that is groovy in case he is a little hipster, but I also want a name that can be more conservative in case he is a Vineyard Vines type of dude.
So with all of that being said we will probably name him Fennmore and call him "Fenn" for short. Fenn is his groovy name and Fennmore is his vineyard vines name. He can choose when he is older what he wants to go by. I also think it will be unlikely that he will have classmates with his same name, which is important to me.
Anyway, just wanted to put that out there before I punch somebody in the face I repeat myself 4 bajillion times.
Middle name is still under consideration, perhaps a family name of some sort. TBA....

Yesterday I went to another huge kids consignment sale with Jennifer Graham and it was SO.MUCH.FUN. Partly b.c I could finally purchase things now that I know for sure it is a boy, and also because they had some really nice stuff! Below are some Kissy Kissy things I got that are brand new for $7-$10. I got tons of little clothes and came right home and washed them up and then tagged them.


I have learned there is a great lender code amongst mommas and babies. You lend out your maternity clothes and baby clothes and gear etc. In preparation for that lending, I ordered these clothing tags from Mabel's Labels. They are tiny and go on the backside of the tags in clothes so you can mark your items for easy return ( they also come off easily if you want to sell). My mother generously loaned out all of my baby clothes that she SMOCKED to a woman, who instead of returning them SOLD them. What a jerk!
Example:
The thing about baby clothes, and baby stuff in general that I am learning is, it is all very printed and very busy. Finding plain stuff is not easy and definately not cheap. The one time in my life I am drawn to plain things, and they are outrageous! ha figures. So far the only plain clothes I can find are Ralph Lauren ( who I love , and Ralphie was named after), Kissy Kissy, & Restoration Hardware. Other suggestions mommas?

On another note:

Any of you that are fans of sites like One Kings Lane might enjoy these similar sites for Kids Stuff

TWSTY

GreenBabyBargains.com

Zulily

Is anyone else just So disappointed in American Idol this year? I don't feel like it is near as good, or has near the talent of past seasons. Several others I have talked to felt this way also. It amazes me some of these people are even at this point in the competition. Loved seeing Danny Goake back on the show.
I think the ones that got booted this week were good choices. What do you all think , or has everyone departed from The AI train?

We are super excited ! I was really hoping it was a boy! Names and all that jazz to be discussed later!