Babies Wish List and a peek into his new room!

Many of you have asked where we are registered so we've taken the plunge and created a baby registry.

This is only a wish list of the little guy to come. Hopefully, it can serve as a guide to our friends and family wanting to help us get started being parents! We appreciate the support you have all shown for our new baby, although gifts are not expected.

Babies R Us.

Registry Number:44722562

Here's the link:

http://www.toysrus.com/registry/search/index.jsp?_flowExecutionKey=_c352A8735-F3C0-70CF-90B8-04A647D25F02_k5A19FB9D-22DF-2FA5-98CE-21637BF618C9&overrideStore=TRUS

Also, many have asked about how the baby room will be decorated so I tried taking some pictures.

I should have believed all the photographers that say never take pictures at night- the colors DO become all distorted!

The nursery colors are a whimsy green (" lemongrass" by Behr), chocolate brown and baby blue.

The chocolate tiger striped fabric will be paired with the baby blue polka dot and trimmed with a green. This combo is planned for the crib bedding and curtains. I know...it sounds a little out there but it paints a wonderful picture in my pregnant lady head - if I can just get it to transpose into real life!

It will hopefully all blend great with the already finished 'sky' ceiling and all of the white built-ins!

It'll make this little boy the coolest thing to hit Rural Hall; next to his Daddy!

21.5 Week Update

Daddy felt little man kick last night for the first time! WooHoo!

Here's my info:

By the way...no that's not a bruise just more bad photography :)

Weight gain thus far on the home scales: 14lbs

Belly circumference: 39inches at the navel

Stretch marks: None

Feeling the baby: Everyday- mostly after I eat or when relaxing

Belly button: Itchy sometimes but still in & holding strong

Swelling: None unless I work like a man renovating the kitchen

Heartburn: No real heart "burn" - just some un settling

Varicose veins/skin tags/other nasties: a couple of little skin tags - NOT GOOD!

Overall comfort level: Pretty dang good!

Where We've Been.....

We recently took on the larger than expected task of replacing our kitchen counter tops. This started around mid November- or the time of the last blog post- and is just now coming to an end. We had old 4x4 white ceramic tiles that had yellowed and became brittle. We both hated them and after much deliberation we chose to replace with granite tile.

Our weekends have gone something like this...

It started out with tear out and replacement of the old stuff. We left our mark...

In more ways than one!

Ha! We tried to cut a corner and not empty out the cabinets and drawers below. Ooops - more work made or us by us! Saw dust is EVERYWHERE!

To spare you all of more bad photography skills I'll jump to the good stuff; the way it looks today. There's still more work to be done but we are just thankful that we survived our first major renovation!

2009 has brought all new appliances to our kitchen, including the "Mac-Daddy" new stove I bought last week. Last week also included installation of the new sink, faucet and finally a disposal. I just -HEART- it! I'll love it even more when it's 100% finished. Speacial thanks to Mr. Kettering Cottage for bringing all of his A Game handy man skills.

So Slack....

Just thought I'd drop in...I am really bad about blogging right now; however there are new post coming I promise. It's just the art of getting of the couch to download photos!

Gender Reveal, Kitchen Project, Belly Pic's, all coming soon.... hold your horses.

Leaf Patrol

This past weekend was the first time the leaves were tackled this year at the Kettering Cottage. It is a HUGE undertaking that we dread and I feel really bad that I'm not out there helping this year like usual. Allergies and the baby put a hault to my leaf work this year...can I say I am almost happy about that? MK is the greatest leaf man I know and I thank the "Lawd" for that!!! Not only does he get up our leaves- he also manages to pick up my parents leaves and the ones at his mother's house near by. So while I was sanding and priming here's what my hubby was doing. We are busy folks around the Kettering Cottage! Here are just a few examples of leaf day.

We have to blow them out of all the natural areas before we can use this beast of a contraption.

Our front and side yard before leaf day began...

These were OVER ankle deep...the dogs LOVED it!

Our front and side yard after hours of leaf patrol...

Not even a quarter of the leaves that we get up EACH WEEK from our yard!!!

As you can tell my photography skills are lacking greatly but I just wanted you to get an idea of what the phrase "getting up leaves" means to us! MK is such a trooper and a great handy man husband- Good Job Honey!

I'm sure it makes him sick to look at the yard again and see that it's already covered and waiting on another leaf day!

Refinishing the Baby Crib

This past weekend I spent 2 full days working on the baby crib. We have decided to use the Bassett crib that I had as a child since it still meets today's safety standards. I guess it is considered antique now- just like me. We chose to change it from stained wood to a crisp white. I started out by sanding. Don't look at our messy garage... that's another post.
I sanded...

and sanded...

And then Sanded some more...My fingers were almost bleeding- since I sanded them to the bone! As you can see I'm pretty stubborn when it comes to gloves.

Day 2 I cleaned all of the crib pieces free of sanding dust and began priming. I did try to be as safe as possible by using " green" Kilz primer and I wore the respirator mask the whole time- lovely- it reminded me of my OR days.

Not sure of how much paint it would take I originally bought 2 cans---WHAT? was I thinking? So far I've gone through 6 primer cans! I don't have many pictures of the painting process but I got everything covered once really good and plan to start the top coat soon.

Stay tuned for the finished product....

Old Friends & Having Babies = Good Times

We aren't the only ones that are going to be parents soon.

Jesse & Danielle Keever should be bringing a little joy into this world any minute! Last weekend friends hosted a "Bewitching Baby Bash" for the couple. Foofie and I attended, Ashley was scheduled to go too but due to a last minute work commitment she had to cancel. Here are the only photos from the night; too bad there aren't any of Danielle- she looked great!!!

By the way...these are the only pictures I have of me displaying my new "round" style.

Jesse & I

Me & Foofie

Bring on the Wal-Mart Buggies!

I got my H1N1 vaccine today! It hurt, stings worse than the influenza vaccine I had in September but it had to be done. Now the baby and I are as protected as we can get outside of living in a bubble. Don't worry Momma, I'll still continue to wipe all store buggies I come in contact with down with sanitizer or if I'm with you - improvise - and wrap them in paper towels from the bathroom. (No telling what germs were picked up just getting the towels from the bathroom---Ha!!!)

4th Annual Kettering Karvin'! Happy Halloween to All!

The weekend before Halloween we host an annual pumpkin carving for family and close friends. It's always a blast and this year was no different just a bit more chaotic with out wine for me!

MK and I usually try to provide spooky treats to munch on..here's just one of this years delights.

We had around 22 people and roughly 9 of them carved a Jack O' Lantern. This is always the highlight, people become secretive and the competitiveness comes out! They are all wanting to take home the prize. Here's a look at some of this years beauties....Just to name a few.

Happy, Itsy, Hot Dog, The Headless Horseman, Square Eyes and Witches Brew

The carving winner takes home a door prize each year. By the end of this years carving guest and the hostess had become very tired so instead of voting on pumpkin carving winners names were drawn from a hat. Itsy took home the prize; knocking out the Crafty Pants Riggs Family who really brought their "A" game this year. Too bad there isn't a photo that does Hootie and Lil Hoot justice!

We really love having everyone including the kids and dogs over for this annual event and can't wait to introduce Baby Kettering to pumpkin carving next year.

We hope you all have a safe and Happy Halloween!!!

16 Week Belly

5 inches have been added to my belly and about 7-8lbs to the scales since week 5.

Not sure if it's baby or cheeseburgers but things are quickly changing in the mid section.

The Kettering Cottage is a bit quieter this week as the stand alone male in the house has gone fishin'. MK leaves today for a long weekend of tall tales and long nights in Atlantic Beach. I'm sure they'll be lots of male bonding going on with a bunch of "me time" going on back at home.

Go have fun and catch lots - you deserve a break; Daddy!!!

Da daa da da da...I'm Lovin' It!

McDonalds that is! Double Cheeseburger to be exact!

Lovin' it so much that I left my desk at 2:46pm to make a drive thru run at our local Hanes Mall location.

Was back sitting at my desk by 2:57...no cheeseburger in sight.

I inhaled it before I could even pull out of their parking lot.

I don't even like fast food...?

I also called my husband to tell him I've lost my mind.

Something has definitely possessed me & I think it's this baby!!!

God Loooouuurvvee it!

Photo courtesy of McDonald's :)

Random things ... Week 15

We went to Boone for a day trip on Saturday and saw our first snow flakes of the season.

I had a craving for Nerds candy.

MK said he may have to chew the umbilical cord into with his teeth after all is said and done.

(It was a big time funny, to me.)

Strangers routinely notice I'm pregnant.

We learned how to use bbm.

We made out first trip to Babies R Us without passing out.

I bought the baby it's first piggy bank.

I also bought myself a gift. New cowboy boots. Been wanting them forreevvveeerrr.

People say---Wow- your belly sure has popped!

I made an appointment for a painter to give us an estimate on freshening up the nursery.

I was very happy to find Philosophy 3 in 1 bath wash at TJMaxx. My new scents are Fresh Cream & Blackberry Sauce.

No much else happening....We'll be sure to keep you posted!

A Happenin' Tuesday Night

I am so thankful that Mike made dinner tonight. He said he heard me mention steak several times lately so he grilled steak and made stovetop. Steak & Stovetop- YUM, that's poor folk gourmet! Ruth's Chris ain't got shiiit on the Kettering Cottage.
(At least I know he does get my hints--good thing with a birthday coming! Ha!)

Meanwhile, since my man made us dinner I had a few extra mintues to accomplish one of this weeks goals. Organize this mess in our pantry cabinet!

Stuff was piled in there on top of everything else. A little bit of everything- half used and out of date. I now have a full belly (with my steak craving satisfied), I'm down for the count and 2 hour TV specials and our little pantry looks like this - labels and all! You may not be able to tell that big of a difference but it's great for me. We only have a little room to work with so I feel the need to make the best of it. I'm happy.

What we're doing.....

Last weekend we built a low landscape wall with palomino rock to make a defined edge between our stone drive and landscaping. Hopefully as we get new rock & pine needles or mulch it will help keep those materials where they belong instead of all through out the driveway. You can see in the photo how it used to just keep on going -thanks to the dogs and us walking there daily.


This week attention shifted to the yard. We have planned for years to rip out over grown brush that had never been taken care of along the property border--- well things are now in motion. We'll hate seeing the neighbor all winter but the greenery would've died back anyhow. Our plan it to put in all new plants in the spring after we work on killing undergrowth and removing stumps this winter. Here are some work in progress photos.









Unfortunately, Mike has been left to do most of this himself other than the rock wall. This isn't normal because any other time I'd be right in there with him. I really appreciate him manning up to work so hard in the evenings after his true "work" is done. Meanwhile... today I was barefoot and preggers in the kitchen!

Don't look close--no pedicure in weeks!

After an idea to bake some homemade cookies and a scavenger hunt thru our way to un- organized pantry I decided on Oatmeal Raisin. YUM! As I turned my back to my fresh made little bundles of warm heaven...Kia & Kadie made their appearance. Oh was I mad - they ate 1/2 the darn cookies. Nothing but crumbs under the cooling rack where they could reach! Oh well- Mike and I really don't need more than 9 cookies.


That's what's happening around here...What about you?

14 Weeks

The pants are getting tight; and I'm not quite as light...but it will all be alright!

Welcome to 14 weeks & the 2nd trimester.

The Dixie Classic Fair---YUM!

We ventured out to the county fair last night. Oh My ~ What good food! We met up with some friends and ate... that's it. Like 8 times! We didn't even make a trip around the midway.

Our list of items consumed goes someting like this:

Chicken & Dumplings

Foot Long Corn Dog

Roasted Corn on the Cob

London Broil Steak Sandwich w/All the Fixin's

Peanut Butter Fudge

Hot Dog

Funnel Cake French Fries

Deep Fried Brownie Bites

Deep Fried Cheese Cake

2 Candy Apples w/ Nuts

And are you ready for the kicker...
The BIG thing at the NC fair this year?

DEEP FRIED BUTTER!

That's right, you read correctly-

DEEP FRIED BUTTER!

I swore I wouldn't try it- it sounded nasty. Once I saw it I had to and...

It's was way yummier that I ever thought it would be, even MK loved it!

Salty & Sweet.

It's a "Southern Thing", I guess. Where's Paula Deen?

So....I hope you all have as good of time eating at the fair as we did. You should have seen the smiles and funny looks from all the people watching the pregnant girl chow down- it was great.

It's once a year so dig in and make up for it later - it's worth it!

Happy Eating!

Photo: online source

Mama is Resting...

It may have taken quite a bit to get me there (a bad allergy "attack", 2 Benadryl, a crying spell, pizza and no bake cookies just to name a few) but I DID IT!!! I slept from (get this...) 7:45pm until 6am this morning!!! I woke up only twice and actually went back to sleep in a timely fashion both times. Thank You Benadryl. I knew you had my back! I am now waiting on the doctors office to begin taking calls so that we can discuss allergy options. Happy Tuesday, People!

My dedication to marriage...

I am guilty of not always telling those around me how much they truly mean to me; especially in my marriage. So today's post is dedicated to my beautiful husband.

To me, Marriage is a like delicate flower-- beautiful in every sense. Something God has created. In marriage you have to be careful not to bruise petals; taking special care to always give your partner the love, care and support you've promised.

Sometimes in the Kettering Cottage life takes over and we may take each other for granted, forgetting to create the warm & fuzzy moments we both need.

So this is my reminder to myself, and anyone else who may need a moment of reflection:

Memorize the reasons you feel in love for at any moment they could be taken away.

LOVE like there is nothing else to do and do not let life get in the way.

Tell your spouses how much they really mean to you and mean it.

Touch their hand before they touch yours.

Smile at them when you've had a bad day.

Commit daily to the vows you took together and honor Gods word.

Hold your tongue at times being sure to never scrutinize your loved one.

Care for your marriage as you would a delicate flower; giving it the care and nutrition it demands.

I pray that we are never too caught up in daily life to pause and reflect on our marriage and show it the respect that it deserves. When you have let your guard down your marriage has ways letting you know. I pray that we will always be strong enough to see these signs and have the ability to mend any frayed edges. Thank you God for providing me with a husband who loves me for who I am and who we make together. I am grateful.

I Love you, MK!

She's Still Got it...

The need to keep her mind busy and hands dirty that is!!!

The last 12 weeks or so have just been well...you know. I am happy to say my self proclaimed DIY Friday fun has returned - WATCH OUT KETTERING COTTAGE!

This week started with an idea & trip to Michael's for styrofoam and moss.

Then "Gussy the Glue Gun" got involved.

Suddendly styrofoam and moss were flying everywhere!

Now we have this sweet little square mossy wreath hanging above our kitchen sink.

sorry about the glare--not a self proclaimed photographer :)

I could easily see it hanging on a wall, propped on a shelf or plate easle or just hanging out in the Kettering Cottage. Be sure to keep your eye out for it as I'm sure it won't be still long!

Happy Fall Y'all!!!

Here's a sneak peek at how things are starting to transform around the Kettering Cottage. Autumn is our favorite time of year so we've started to cozy up the nest and get settled for the cool fall nights and warm chicken stew to come! Even the boxer babies are loving it!
More to come soon...