What's Shakin....

Not too much shakin in the Fort household these days.....other than my ever-growing belly....or the "nesting" that seems to have kicked into a different gear.  I'm not focusing solely on the nursery, but in every other part of the house I'm trying to organize, label and make what has always been easy, just a little easier.  Weird.  Instead of boring you with words, I'll post some recent pictures that I've either taken on my phone or my camera.....so excuse the quality.  Sometimes the camera on your phone and the ability to email/text/post it immediately get the best of me.

First, of all, the above picture was taken yesterday when I was working at my computer.  I had the door open to allow the dogs to go in and out as they please.  Jackson was out for a while and came up and so proudly dropped this little squirrel right there.  He was SO PROUD and wanted me to be so happy for his find.  All I could say was, "No, no, no, no Jackson".  I didn't quite know what to do but knew I had to get a picture of his proud moment before I discarded the poor animal.  

So, my crafty moments over the last two weeks consisted of making Maddie a new dog bed and totally destroying an almost-finished-homemade ornament wreath.  The dog bed idea came when I was home (Southern Pines) the last time and since my parents put another couch in the TV room and thankfully the dogs aren't allowed on it, I took them an extra dog bed that we had.  It happens to be a bed that is sort of small for them to share, so one of the dogs gets the shaft.  I decided to try my hand at making Maddie her own special girly dog bed and it turned out cute!  Not sure how long the "M" will last as she is a "scraper" and rubs her paws along the bed to make the perfect nest for herself.  She really enjoys this bed and since it's still here in my house, she's gotten used to going to it instead of the larger bed that she and Jackson normally share.  

The ornament wreath was a pure tragedy.  I worked for a couple hours on this and really liked where it was going.  I had probably 30 more minutes of work left to do.  It had become rather cumbersome to work with so I was going to hang it on the hanger present in the picture.  Fumbling with securing the wreath to the hanger and the hanger to a hook.....the whole project came crashing down at my feet.  I stood there a good minute trying to figure out if it was real or a dream.  Unfortunately, the next 30 minutes devoted to sweeping, vacuuming and making sure shards of ornaments were thrown away made me realize that yes, it did in fact happen.  I'll give that project another try once I've forgotten how annoying it was to clean this mess up.  

MY BELLY:

26 weeks

26 weeks front view.....my belly button is half way in half way out....the body is weird.

THE NURSERY:

This was Lib's chair (David's grandma) that we had recovered....it rocks, swivels and is just plain comfy.  

This dresser used to be black and I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (Thanks Bekah!) to repaint it....handles are from Anthropologie.  The top of the dresser will be a changing table but is now currently home to random objects (animals, boats) and fabric.  

These are two of my choices for a light pendant that I found either at a consignment store or on clearance.  David's next project is to take down the ceiling fan and replace it with one of these.  

Twin bed that was Soo Soo's bed as a child (I think).  The anchor is wire and was a recent purchase from Pottery Barn on clearance.  That isn't the anchor's final resting place and I will eventually have a mattress in the twin bed.....thinking of setting it up more as a day bed.

Other than all that, work is fine.  It wears me out, but that is okay.  We have our first meet in a month and I'm hoping that my next two doc appointments go well enough that I'll be able to travel to the first meet.  All levels EXCEPT 9 & 10 will be competing at our home gym.  But, because of my pregnancy, we decided to try and get our "team trip" done before it was too late for me to travel.  So we found a meet in the Bahamas (Atlantis).  I've booked the flights, hotels, transportation and am looking into the fun, non-gymnastics activities we can partake in.

I'm also on the hunt for a place to rent for the Cooper River Bridge Run.  I know I'll have a little one by then and it's crazy for me to think that I'll actually run this year (I've never run it because of other events or meets going on).....but I do plan on being down in Charleston that weekend.  I've found some cool places and am hoping to put down a deposit on one of them soon.  Two places are downtown and the third is an ocean front house on Sulllivans.....oh the choices!

This weekend we are heading to Raleigh for the annual South In Yo Mouth Pig Pickin.....it happens to coincide with the NCSU/Clemson game.....I'm not real sure I'll even make it into the game.  But stranger things have happened.  Either way, if you are in raleigh and want some outstanding pig, stop by the "red deck"....it's in Stadium East, at the pine tree line....and near the port-o-johns.....which is where all foul mouths and drinking liquor straight out of the bottles should occur.

Oh, and we had pictures taken this past Sunday....so fun.  Fuller Royal, from Whiteville spent Sunday afternoon with us and the dogs at Soo Soo's house.  We spent all of our time near the barn, ponds or along the fence line.  At the end, we did get into the soybean fields.  They are fun mixture of maternity pics and the four of us, before we become five.  The dogs had a ball....Maddie lasted all of about 5 pictures before running and diving into the pond, swimming around for nothing and coming back......so most pictures, she is wet, but that is our little Maddie!  Jackson loved it but paid for all the rompin' around the next day when his hip was a little sore.  Poor fella......

Thanksgiving is next week and I cannot believe it.  Time flies.  We will be around the beach with the exception of the probable trip to Clinton for lunch on Thursday.  We all have a lot to be thankful for and although we shouldn't concentrate our thankfulness to just one week a year, it is nice to have a reason to get together with those you love and share in the gratitude.  Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because there is nothing else attached.....family, food, football, and fun.....sounds great to me.