Way back when I first started this blog, I made a post about church. I loved going as a kid, but as an adult (especially with children) I find it very hard to get there and do so in a way that doesn’t involve me yelling or getting stressed because someone isn’t getting ready or the clothes we need aren’t clean or whatever. So we have been churchless for several years. Some of it’s due to our nomadic lifestyle, some of it’s due to my social anxiety, some of it is our slightly liberal belief system, and some of it is just pure laziness.

But with the new stresses in our life, I’m feeling the pull for spiritual fulfillment, as well as a social outlet. I really have very few friends here, and absolutely nobody I can just call up and say “Hey, I had a bad day…want to go grab some coffee and chill out for a little while?” It’s wearing me down and I just feel like I really need all of the stuff that goes with finding a church home.

I have been intrigued by Brickcity Community Church ever since we moved here. It seemed like it had what we were looking for, but walking into new social settings literally terrifies me. I’ve had panic attacks over it before and have been known to go back to my car and leave if I can’t handle it. I’m starting to feel queasy and shaky now just thinking about trying to do this on Sunday. So does anyone attend that church? Can you tell me a little more? Like, if we all show up in jeans are people going to look at us funny? What types of service do you do in the community? If my beliefs are a little different than others, is that going to be a problem? (And truly, my beliefs may be like everyone else’s there…but I’ve had bad experiences with Christians before when I have spoken up and said I feel that God calls us to love everyone and that judging is His job, not ours. Apparently that only extends to people who are “like us.”) I love that their services are at 10AM and 11:30. An 8:30 contemporary service (which is what many churches seem to offer) is not going to work for us…we just can’t get out the door in time! I’ve never understood why so many churches have their contemporary services so early. With 3 kids to get dressed and ready, as well as getting ourselves together, it is not feasible for us.

If I can get up the courage and convince my husband, we’re going to try to go on Sunday. I need this! And if you attend a church that you think has what we’re looking for, let me know. I attended a “traditional” church as a kid, but I think the contemporary services seem to be more my style these days. Even a traditional church with a contemporary service would work as long as the opportunities to serve and worship suit us.

I’m super bored and still in a lot of pain from my back, so I thought I’d start a guessing pool for the baby! If you’re just dying to throw your guesses out there, click on the banner below and go for it!

The winner will get…my highest esteem? Bragging rights? The chance to babysit if the baby is colicy and I need a night off? Diaper changing duties for the first week? I don’t know, but something fabulous for sure!

I grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee. I loved it there, and I’d give just about anything to have the opportunity to move back. It is my home. It will always be my home.

So when I saw an RSS feed article about a church shooting in Tennessee, I clicked on it, holding my breath, knowing that it’s a big state and there are literally thousands of churches across the state. And when the article came up, and the first thing I saw was that it was a church in West Knoxville, my heart stopped. I attended a great church there and I’ve often said I wish I could transplant it every time I move, because we’ve found nothing that even compares.

I read further and was relieved to find out that it wasn’t “my” church. But it was a church I knew well…one I drove past every day on my way to work, one that my friends attended, and one that I could see myself attending if “my” church wasn’t so awesome. I am absolutely heartbroken for the congregation there. The gunman walked in and opened fire during a children’s theatrical production during the regular service, so there were a lot of kids there who witnessed everything. Over 200 people in the sanctuary at the time. When he stopped to reload, he was tackled by several parishioners and the police department was able to arrest him 4 minutes after they got the initial report of the shooting. Thank God for those quick thinking men who managed to stop him from doing more damage.

One person is confirmed dead right now. Several more are in critical condition. Please, if you believe in prayer, pray for the victims of this tragedy. There is a lot of speculation as to why he did this…the most likely reason seems to be the ambiguous term “hate” crime. This was a very accepting church and it sounds like they’ve recently had a sign up letting homosexuals know that they were welcome there. Regardless of the reasons, it’s a terrible tragedy and there’s a lot of confusion and grief in my hometown today. People should feel safe in their places of worship, no matter their beliefs.

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church

Local newspaper’s coverage

Edited to add this info: It seems that the church’s policy of acceptance was not the reason this man targeted the church. Instead, one of his neighbors says he has a hatred for Christianity.   Ironically, I’d say that Unitarians are not generally considered a Christian denomination. Regardless, it was a senseless tragedy and now 2 people have passed away. So unnecessary.

A friend recently emailed me a link to this blog, which is a hilarious collection of real estate photos gone bad. What blows my mind is just how expensive some of these homes are…yes, half a million for places that look like they should be condemned! I know we’ve been lucky to live in places where we could get nice homes for less than $150k, but I am not sure I realized just HOW lucky we’ve been. Actually, this is the first place we’ve spent more than $110k on a house…we’ve even had 2 (very nice houses) that we bought for less than $100k. It just blows my mind sometimes.

Anyway, it prompted me to go looking for bad real estate photos for Sanford and I DID find them. I was actually going to post some, but I’m really trying not to be too snarky here or alienate anyone. I did find out that the house next door to us is listed for well over $200k. Really??? Maybe property values in this neighborhood are better than I thought!

And as an aside, if you’re a local Realtor and are having trouble getting good photos, (and by good, I mean *in focus* and attractive angles!) would you consider hiring me on a trial basis to see if we can get some good photos for you? I’m also willing to do websites for real estate agents. In fact, I may set up a sample site over the next few days…I was kind of shocked when I realized that most of the local Realtors didn’t even have their own sites, at least not that I could find. These can be a great source of info, especially if you have your website printed on your signs. I often drive by houses and wish there was an easy way to get info about them!

I just discovered a cool contest where you can win several types of baby carriers to try out and use with your little one. I am desperate to find some new options for this baby, so this is right up my alley…I love wearing my babies and being able to keep them snuggly and close when they’re small. So here’s the link, if you’re interested. Several of these are on my wish list already, and this package is a great mixture of the different options available for babywearing.

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

(Just an FYI, I do earn extra entries every time someone uses this link…I just want to be clear! But it is a nice package, especially for a new mom who’s eager to try out several different things to figure out what works best for her and her baby!)

I had my nuchal translucency scan today and all looks beautiful and perfect. I have been very anxious about trisomies and other defects this time, so it was a load off my mind to hear that everything looked good so far. So, without further ado, here is a picture of my uterus. (I won’t be embarrassed if you’re not!)

If you’re not quite sure what you’re looking at, I’ll try to lay it out for you.  (If you want a bigger image, just click on it!)  First of all, the amniotic fluid is the blackish stuff in the center. Inside this floats Kicky the Wonder Fetus, who moved the entire time we were trying to get measurements. Luckily s/he was still enough to get the important stuff done! To the left is the head, which is that roundish shape. To the right of this is the body, which is an oval-ish shape. On either side of the body are dots that will become arms. And that’s about it! It was amazing to see this tiny little thing moving around so much. I love getting ultrasounds and seeing the baby grow. If you are curious what’s going on at this stage and what the actual size is and what s/he actually looks like, this site is a good reference.

The midwife did make a prediction on gender, but I’m not telling yet. Not based on anything seen on ultrasound, but based on symptoms. Most of that stuff is old wives tales, but apparently there is some truth to a few of them. I still have 6-8 weeks before the big ultrasound and we do plan to find out then, so I’ll share at that point. Until then, it’s all speculation! For the record, I am happy either way. A girl would be great, because it would bring *some* balance to the house. But boys are familiar at this point. And I am not a fan of guns in the house, so my husband’s promise of buying a shotgun if we have a girl kind of makes me hope for another boy…

I know my excitement has been palpable, but I truly haven’t been able to let myself believe that things are going to be OK. Practically as soon as we confirmed viability, my husband got laid off and everything went into a tailspin. But now that all of the news, both good and bad, has had a chance to sink in and I’m starting to feel movement (Yes, already! It sounds crazy, but I’m about 99% positive that’s what I’ve been feeling for a few days now.) the reality is setting in.

And I’m realizing that a) I gave away almost all of my maternity clothes, b) most of the baby stuff, and c) I have to either re-purchase or somehow manage to beg, borrow, or steal (not really!) all of this stuff again. I do think the maternity clothes are going to work themselves out. I managed to get some pants on eBay and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that some stuff comes through on FreeCycle. I will still take whatever people throw at me, though!

The baby stuff is harder, because the safety information is constantly changing and recalls happen ALL the time, so getting this stuff used is a pain. I’m really not a snob, but it’s a gamble. For instance, a week or so before I realized I was pregnant, I’d thrown away all of my bottles and breast pump parts because I had no idea which of them contained BPA. With my first son, we used Avent bottles exclusively. I completely failed at breastfeeding and he was mostly bottle fed with formula. With #2, he rarely took a bottle but when he did, we used Avent. Now I know they’re not safe and with my plans to do a mixture of breastfeeding and bottlefeeding (using pumped milk, not formula) this time it seems like I have a lot of research to do on what is safe and what isn’t. I’m disappointed that Avent, my go-to bottle of choice seems to not have a lot of BPA free options. Luckily my Medela Pump in Style seems to only use BPA free attachments, so that does ease my mind. Now I just need to find a good hand pump and some bottles that I like and trust. Unfortunately, glass is out. I am truly the clumsiest person you will ever meet and I just know I’ll manage to break every single one of them. So I’ve been avoiding the work I needed to do this morning and researching bottles and breastpumps. My head is spinning with information and I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed right now, but I did find a few sites with good info and recommendations:

Nature Moms Blog, including info on things like BPA free pacifiers, teethers, lunchboxes, and plates, in addition to bottles. Lots of other good info on this site, as well!

Information straight from Avent regarding their use of BPA and info on the upcoming introduction of BPA free bottles.

And perhaps the most comprehensive, the Z report. That link is for their 3rd edition of BPA info, and they have nifty things like a mobile system where you can get info on the go, a wallet card you can print out and carry with you, and more.

As for the rest of the stuff we’ll need, I’m slowly trying to figure out what we’ll have to get. Definitely a new car seat (Which I absolutely will not get used…safety in the car is very important and used car seats are way too iffy…has it been in a wreck? Is it expired? Stored correctly? There are just too many questions there to take a risk.) and possibly a swing. A nursing pillow (old one is destroyed) and probably some clothes, even if it’s a boy. With all 3 being born in different seasons, not everything can be re-used. I also want to do some exploring into different babywearing options this time, so I’m on the lookout for pouch slings and a wrap or 2 to try, as well as coveting a Beco carrier for months now. Who would have thought I’d need so much for a 3rd baby???

Saturday night, as my husband and I were strolling aimlessly through Gatlinburg and trying not to miss our kids (yes, we’re lame…we get 24 hours away from them and that’s all we think about!) we decided to buy each of them a small gift. My youngest was easy…we found a sippy cup with his name on it. We couldn’t find anything personalized with my oldest son’s name, at least nothing he would want. So we bought the sippy for my toddler and headed to another store where we encountered a huge selection of Webkinz. I’d heard about them from friends of kids his age, so I knew what they were. He had never mentioned them so I wasn’t sure if it was a “girl” thing or if he had friends with them or anything. But last week at a b-day party for a classmate, one of the gifts was a Webkinz and it seemed like they were all excited over it so I figured it was just a matter of time before Webkinz mania hit our house.

So here we were, faced with this Webkinz display. After much debate, we chose the black bear (Since black bears, both real and fake are all over the Smoky Mtns) and paid for our purchase. Today we finally had the time to sit down and register his new Webkinz friend at the website and were introduced to the entire Webkinz world. We had fun outfitting his bear’s house, buying food, dressing it, etc. It looks like a fun little site. And this gives us an easy “collectible” type item to tell people if they ask what he wants for b-day or Christmas!

Thursday morning we loaded up the minivan and hit the road for a mini-cation. It had been planned shortly before the job loss happened and we were unable to get our money back on the hotel. So we decided that it was better to take the trip and enjoy ourselves for a few days rather than lose the $300 we’d already paid. We headed to Gatlinburg, the incredibly trashy mountain tourist destination. (Myrtle Beach is the incredibly trashy beach tourist destination.) I do so enjoy embracing my trashy side once in a while…

Anyway, we spent basically the entire day taking our time in getting there. We drove through Cherokee and resisted stopping at the casino to take our shot at the jackpot. It was a really enjoyable drive. I loved that the street signs in Cherokee had the road names translated into the native language. I’d been there before but either didn’t notice it then or this is a relatively new feature. We talked to the boys about Sequoyah and other Cherokee history. Not sure how much they really listened, but I felt like it was good stuff to talk about while we had them held captive in their car seats.

We finally arrived at our hotel (Glenstone Lodge…great place to stay!) around dinner time and after unloading, we walked down to the “strip” and explored for a while. Had dinner at a nice little sandwich place and returned to the hotel. On Friday morning, we got up and headed to the hotel where my in-laws were waiting to spend the day with us. They had (of course!) many treats to spoil the boys with.

We walked around the area and my FIL insisted on lunch at Bennett’s, which is just OK. Typical chain restaurant food, IMO. Plus it’s got the whole “Tennessee BBQ” thing going on and we know how I feel about that. He also really wanted to eat dinner at Texas Roadhouse, which I just could not get behind. As much as I think Gatlinburg is a trashy tourist destination, there are some *really* good local places to eat and I hated the idea of eating somewhere that I could eat at here (well, surrounding area) anytime I wanted. So we went to Flying Horse Grill down in Pigeon Forge and it was really good…though that opinion was not shared by everyone in our party. I think the lone dissenter was just a case of sour grapes, though.

Saturday morning we got up and took the kids to stay with my mom in Knoxville. On the way back, we did some shopping because my maternity clothing situation was getting desperate. (Actually, it still is…if you know of anyone with maternity clothes they no longer need, I would LOVE to have them. I’m what’s euphemistically known as a “special size” so it’s hard to find things second-hand that fit. If you think you may be able to help out, please leave me a comment or shoot me an email. I’m happy to return anything you want back once I’m done!) I managed to get a couple of things that were marked way down, so that was helpful. We then returned to our hotel to rest a bit before our big dinner out sans children. We ate at Calhoun’s and had a delicious meal courtesy of the gift card my brother and his wife had given us at Christmas.

Sunday morning we headed back to Knoxville to pick up the kids and have a small family lunch/b-day party for my youngest. We got back on the road around 4:00 and finally made it home around 11PM last night. It took so long because we took a very long detour in Hickory to find a Backyard Burgers because I’ve had *major* cravings. I adore my husband because he was very patient through the entire ordeal…though I could tell he thought it was a wild goose chase. Still, we eventually found it and I indulged in a lemon chicken sandwich and some chili cheese fries. Just what this pregnant girl needed!

I was so sad first thing this morning when I saw the news that George Carlin had died. I think he was hilarious, even when I disagreed with what he had to say. I usually found myself watching him and laughing out loud…but being sure I was going to go to hell for being so amused. I was watching a video earlier on YouTube where he says his job is “thinking up goofy s**t.” What a fun job to have, and what a great job he did.

If you’re wanting to watch some funny stuff and bad language doesn’t offend you, check out this YouTube playlist. It’s old stuff (1978) but still funny and relevant. There is some discussion of the Seven Dirty Words, though it’s not the original bit. Still, it was a good laugh and I have a feeling George would be glad to know we’re still laughing.

Oh, and if you don’t know what the original Seven Dirty Words are, wikipedia has all the info you need. Again, if bad language offends you, don’t click.