This morning went as expected. Brandon woke up at 7 and John brought him in so we could get a tad bit more rest. About 35 minutes! Then John got up, turned on the shower and I put Brandon on the floor and laid in bed for a few more minutes. Then Brandon pushes the bathroom doors open and is headed for the shower, I figured since he had one with me and one with John yesterday, he wasn't due for another one until later tonight at the earliest. But who knows, he may just explode in his diaper or something and it's easier to just rinse him off then to waste 20 wipes and get a sore bottom... So I picked him up and changed his diaper then headed downstairs to get some breakfast. I noticed a couple of guys walking through our backyard, that seems to be a weekly occurrence  around here. Last week a couple walked through checking for drainage issues. And the week or so before the neighboring house had a fence installed and some landscaping done. Last night with out me knowing it we had some sod delivered and it was sitting in our driveway. John came home and said we had our lawn laying in our driveway. So this morning we are getting a backyard. I hope Brandon can go out and play in our new backyard he hasn't been on grass for a long time so this, I hope will be nice. I asked dad what types of plants would be good for our backyard as it doesn't get too much light. It faces the east but there is a fence there and it casts a shadow when the sun is hitting that side of the house. I would love a hydrangea, he suggested climbing roses for the fence and some irises, fox glove that he is going to donate to my worthy cause. I would love to have a little garden but until the fence goes up on the other side of our house I don't want to plant anything too close to the property line. So we'll just see, we are also planning on expanding our deck. It's an okay size for right now, if we don't plan on having company, but if we want to have room for more people and John's barbeques then it'll need to at least twice the size. John wants to have it run the length of the house, but I don't want it to take up too much of the yard. So we are just going to need to plan it out and see how much space we'll need for both. 

Brandon is going to be babysat for the second time in his life today. While I'm at the dentist mom or dad is going to be over here watching him. I'm glad that he does well with other adults. When we first started taking him the the nursery at church I was a little worried that he would miss us. But there are so many things to distract him there like other babies and nice ladies with crackers. He is walking now, but crawls mostly, it's faster and he won't fall down when he does it. But every once in a while I'll catch him risking it and walking to the couch or at least somewhere soft to land like to pillows on the floor.  I keep trying to move farther back so he will walk more, but if he feels like he can't do it then he'll just get down and crawl to me. 

I had my ultrasound last Thursday. The technician said the baby looks great, I think I saw boy parts, she asked us if she was supposed to be looking for something and we told her no. John said he didn't see anything. But I'm pretty certain he didn't know where we were looking. I have gained about 7 pounds at 20 weeks this pregnancy but I am also 20 pounds heavier to start out with. I am happy with the weight gain. I keep forgetting that it's supposed to happen and not to get upset. I would like to gain no more than 25 pounds. The doctor seems to be happy so I'm not going to worry. This pregnancy I have been a lot more constipated and that is annoying. I'm sure you'll agree that if you go a day with out "going" then you don't feel normal, especially seeing that I used to "go" at least twice a day. People think it's my prenatal vitamin, but I'm not so sure. I have been taking one everyday for two years straight so you would think that it wouldn't all of the sudden have an impact, but pregnancy does strange things to your body. So after this bottle of pills is finished I'm thinking of switching brands to one that has a stool softener in it. Sorry for all the info... this is just what I'm dealing with right now. 

So I should get going. I need a shower and the dishwasher needs emptying.

Happy Groundhogs Day! Does anyone know if Phil saw his shadow or not? If he were here in Gresham I doubt he would. It has been snowing pretty good for about 3 hours and has just started to stick. I just came home from the dentist and he said my wisdom tooth that has been working it's way down was just barely sticking out and the other one he couldn't even see.  He also gave me a complement of saying that since my mouth was so clean he wasn't worried about getting an infection on the tooth! I think that's a compliment right? I mean It's been at least 6 years since I've been to the dentist. I mentioned that I wanted to get the retainer taken out because it was causing a lot of plaque buildup and I didn't want to get tooth decay, gingavitis or anything nasty like that. He told me that we could probably take it out and make me a small plastic retainer that I would only have to wear for about 20 minutes a day. Wonderful! Where were those 20 minute retainers 14 years ago when I had my braces taken off??? I am truly thankful for my dad who was so active keeping our teeth clean. I would hear stories of how he would brush our teeth when we were babies and first got them and how much I liked going to the dentist. Hearing him tell us that it is easier to maintain good teeth than to fix teeth that are bad. Kind of like having a car, if you get it checked every three months it's easier to fix any problems before they get worse and more expensive. To this day I don't know how many of the four kids have cavities. I know I have one and it was so minor that Dr. Norton didn't even have to drill or numb my mouth. 

On to another subject, I have been very fortunate, like my older sister and mother, to have a room that I can keep and work on different projects, like sewing, scrapbooking and crafts. John went this morning and bought me three cabinets with drawers to use as a base for my work station. We are later on today going to get a countertop for it so I can actually use the room.  I asked him last night, on a lark, if I could get a scrapbooking tool, and without question to what it was or how much it was he said yes. I have been looking at getting a Cricut for a while and though they are expensive, I think in the long run they will be worth the investment. He told me that he likes seeing me have hobbies and doing things that I like to do. Dad is the same way with mom, I don't know how many sewing machines she has had in the last 10 years but he seems to know how much she really enjoys it and that, I think, in return makes him happy. Plus, think of all the things that mom can embroider Jeeps onto!!! Now I just have to decide which one I want and where to get it. I can go really basic and get the one that is $184 at Wal-mart, or go slightly more than that and spend $250 and get the same machine plus a bunch of extras that I would eventually need to have anyway. There is another machine that just came out and it's around $500 and the only difference that I really noticed is it will cut longer pieces of paper, it says there are a few more shortcuts on it, but for just starting out I don't think I'll need anything quite that fancy. It would be like for my first sewing machine. Instead of buying the refurbished one I bought for $300, getting something like mom has that hooks up to her computer and embroiders and has all the bells and whistles for over a thousand. So what I am saying is I am so excited to finally be getting a room that I can do my own thing in and be creative. 

In other news, my dear friend Lesa was due on the 25th of January with her third and last child. She has two boys and is finally having a little girl. Well as far as I know as of yesterday she still hasn't had her baby yet. I don't know what I would do with myself if I were that overdue. Please think about her in your prayers. Oh, and a bunch of you probably went to school with either her cousins or brothers, she's a Caudle. 

Hmmm What else? Brandon has slept through the night all the way for the last two nights. and that is such a switch from the week before where he would wake up at least 4 times and need something. He is supposed to be taking a nap but I can hear him talking to something. Probably the talking Napolean Dynomite doll Toni bought for me as a birthday present a few years ago. He thinks it's fascinating!!! Well I should go. I have a pork shoulder that I need to make and need to find a recipe for it. I've never made a whole pork shoulder before, ribs and loin yes, but this weighs 5 pounds. I'm thinking about just making a bunch of pulled pork, but haven't quite decided... I guess you'll just have to wait to find out!