Yay for the Fall!!!!

Although I have enjoyed sewing since before I was making clothes for Par, I do recognize that it is part of the nesting process of pregnancy--and it can be quite exhausting. I am unable to stop for fear that I won't have any time to make anything once the baby is here--especially since this precious little guy is making his debut in the throws of the holiday season! And if you know me really well (or have read my blog for any length of time) you know that I usually have a good bit of my Christmas shopping done by now...and while I have put a good dent in it--I'm not even close to being finished and I'm getting a little nervous...

We've been pretty busy around here...Par's potty training comes and goes--he will potty on command to earn his M&M...and his most recent bargaining tactit is to ask me for "just 2 m&m's" and when I say no he then asks for "one?" and then I say no again and he asks for "just three or five?" No! "Three or five mama!!!!" No! Okay...you can't have 3 or 5, but you can have 2!" Seriously? I thought you couldn't sell a salesman? He totally got what he wanted and I felt guilty for not giving him 5! He may look like Rusty--but he definitely has my thought process! (I'm secretly very proud yet scared of what will happen when he is much older!)

I have been very emotional lately. It has been so bad that I'm not sure what would happen if a Christmas Folgers' commercial came on TV--I might just loose it completely! I guess I've just been really sensitive--to everything and everyone--but I do realize the "craziness" of it so I have tried to resist telling people when they have hurt my feelings.

One such occasion happened at Par's Storytime. We always go on Wednesday at 10:30--but this past Wednesday I had a luncheon at 11am and I had to make a concession so I signed us up for the 9:30 class. An entire new set of moms and toddlers--but not a big deal--until nametag time. Par's favorite part of Storytime is running up to get his nametag from Moe Moe the monkey. We all sing a song to each child with their name as they retrieve their nametag--"Where is Par? Where is Par?" is the first line--Par promptly popped up out of my lap excited about his turn...and then the second line "There she is! There she is!"....I was in shock...the song continues..."We're so glad you're here! We're so glad you're here! We see you, Peek-a-boo!" I was so upset! He looked pretty darn cute--but he clearly is a boy! He had on a boy outfit (pants and shirt)--he wasn't even wearing a baby bubble--he was dressed as a toddler boy! And my goodness--he was totally acting like a boy! I wanted to cry! (I realize this is ridiculous to get so worked up about--but I tell you, I am emotional these days). Thankfully Rusty has solved the problem. He told Par that the next time someone calls him a girl he has permission to pull down his pants to prove otherwise. I'll let you know if it happens, don't worry.

With such a traumatic event at the library--I didn't notice that I left my day planner when we ran out after Storytime. Now, I am not the type to live by my day planner as some people are--but I do always have it with me and I do write down doctor appointments, work, parties, etc--you know, the normal stuff. I also sometimes keep loose things in there--like coupons that I know I'm about to use--and most recently I had stuck a piece of mail in the back pages. I didn't know I had left it until Saturday night (three days later) when I went to retrieve the piece of mail I had stuck in the book. To my surprise (shock) my day planner was missing--but what was most upsetting is the piece of mail I was getting was a certain surprise for Rusty.
For the past 9 days I had been emailing Rusty clues about a big surprise I had planned for him. The surprise was to occur that Sunday and the piece of mail was a voucher to drive our own car around the Talladega race track (which is a big deal around the Rich house!). And this voucher--it couldn't be replaced/purchased--I was a wreck! I couldn't think of where I could have left my day planner and I had Rusty drive downtown to our church at 10pm to see if I had left it there. Long story short--I never found my day planner until after the surprise was over, but we did drive to Talladega anyway in hopes they would feel sorry for the crazy pregnant person. Thankfully, not having the voucher wasn't a big deal. Unfortunately about 2,000 other people (according to the Bham News) showed up to drive around the track too--so we waited in line for FOUR HOURS!!!! Yep..Rusty, Par and me--in a car---in a line--for a really really long time. Rusty wasn't very chipper about his surprise...until he got to drive...

I loved watching the excitement on his face--it was priceless--granted, I was screaming "slow down! we're going to flip over!" the entire time--but he kept his foot to the pedal and a big grin on his face!

Needless to say, we hope to do it again next year. For one reason, it was pretty cool to have our own car on the famous race track...but also, our little boy--he was awake the ENTIRE time--but for the 10 minutes that we drove around the track--he was out. Yep, he slept through it! Ironic, huh! We enjoyed the Fan Appreciation festivities--Par got a smiley face on his hand and got to jump in the bounce house. He had a great time!

We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch last weekend!



Unfortunately, they didn't have a very strong opening weekend--but that was okay for us--we got the place to ourselves! Par loved picking the pumpkins--and of course, really enjoyed the petting zoo--especially the horses! (hint hint--if any of the grandparents want to get him a pony for his birthday).

I am so happy that fall is officially here...the weather is great for playing outside--which we have been doing a lot of lately now that the rain is gone finally! We've managed to stay well--yet, as I type this Par has developed a little bit of a runny nose and I have been sneezing most of the day--I'm hoping it is just fall allergies.
We are getting REALLY REALLY close to choosing the baby's name! We will post it on the blog when it is decided! I've been feeling good--but very pregnant. For the record, I think I will be going into labor on November 16th. But that is an entire other post for later.

And finally, for those of you who noticed that Par is wearing the same thing in the pictures--it was just a coincidence--it was two separate weekends and in no way implies that the Dinosaurs are his favorite--he loves the dinosaurs, puppies and scissors equally.