Happy Halloween!

BOO TO YOU!

Have a Happy & Safe Halloween

from

The Branscomes

Help!

I need help from some of my fellow bloggers. Recently, I have been unable to post in paragraph form. When I type my post, I skip a couple of spaces between each paragraph. I post my writing to Jack's site and when I view the site, all of my paragraphs are meshed together. I will go back into the post and try to fix it and post again. And again they are all meshed together. How do I fix this? This problem only started about a month ago. If you have any suggestions, please e-mail me or leave me a message in the comment section of this post. Thanks!!

Getting Ready

Things are really starting to hop around here. If all goes as planned, our December 16, delivery is 7 weeks from Tuesday. I am happy to report that we have a room full of baby furniture scattered around our house - just no baby room. Our painter is due a week from tomorrow. John told him his life would be on the line if he didn't show up and he promised he would.

My mom has been busy sewing for Jack. She made the great cowboy pillow for the rocking chair that is going in the nursery. I love the way the fringe looks just like the fringe on a cowboy's chaps and it's made out of suede. My sister makes beautiful burp rags and sales them every where! Nicole has been very busy lately, so my mom made these and did a great job. To our Ole Miss friends, please do not be offended by the MSU burp rag. As all of you know, we (i.e. my husband and his family) are MSU through and through. (I graduated from DSU, so I try to remain neutral. Although John reminds me that his MSU education is what puts the roof over my head!) But I have to say, I really love that particular rag. My mom made it just for John. She made many more, but I thought I would highlight a few. I had a doctor's appointment last week and things look good. They took a lot of blood, but were so backed up in the lab that we had to leave without the results. They said they would call if there were any problems. I never heard from them, so I guess all is well. I go back next week. I hope everyone has a great, safe week!

Book Reviews

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I can't wait! This is one year I can eat all I want and not feel guilty or care what people think. My mom must realize this too, because she is planning a big traditional feast! Thanks mom! If you want to teach your little one about this holiday and the family traditions that go along with it, or you feel the need to buy a really great Thanksgiving book, then The Night Before Thanksgiving by Natasha Wing is the one you must buy. I've already told you how much I love the Night Before books and this one does not disappoint. It is beautifully illustrated with a sweet family story. It reminds me a lot of the Thanksgivings we had when I was growing up. It's perfect for a boy or girl, any age.

Now, I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff. I love this book also. It mainly caters to little boys and is written in an unique style. The main character, Alex, wants to get an iguana from his friend Stinky. So, to ask his mother for permission, he writes her a letter. She responds in a letter. The entire book is cute Dear Mom and Dear Alex notes passed back and forth about the iguana. Most of the really cute books I've come across have been geared toward little girls, so I was excited when I found this one. It would be the perfect Christmas gift!



Well, that's it for me. John and I are going to Jackson for a routine doctor's visit tomorrow. I know my mom will be happy for the break since I am going every two weeks now. I hope everyone has a great week!

A Must Have

I came across a treasure today in Wal-Mart, the new Food Network Magazine! And when I tell you this is a "Must Have", I really mean - RUN DON'T WALK - to your local magazine stand and pick up a copy. It is wonderful!! It is full of easy recipes, decorating tips and gift ideas. It's not a skimpy issue, it's a nice full issue. Even if you're not that into cooking, you will enjoy this magazine and be able to find something easy to try. Great recipes for the up-coming holidays. I love to give magazine subscriptions for birthday and Christmas gifts. The receiver gets a happy every month or two throughout the year and if they don't want to hang on to it, they can throw it away and it doesn't take up precious space in their home. And, most importantly, who doesn't love getting "Happy Mail"? A subscription to this new magazine will definitely be what I give to all of the cooks on my Christmas list this year. Check it out.

New Stockings for Christmas

I have been debating about buying new Christmas stockings for the past two or three years. While the ones we've been using are beautiful, they're dressy and not very personal. Since this will be Jack's first Christmas, I figured this was the year to buy new ones. (I don't plan to retire our old ones, I believe I will use them in another part of the house.) They arrived last week and as soon as I opened the box, I told John that I wished we could go ahead and decorate for Christmas, at least on the inside so I could hang our stockings. Now I'm in the mood for Christmas!

Maroon and White

The talk at church this morning was about MSU's surprising win over Vandy yesterday. I started thinking that I better go ahead and blog my maroon and white post while the country is still in shock. (John said I better post this before next weekend.) My mom found the bib and couldn't resist getting it for Jack. The same thing happened to my Aunt Christi when she saw the MSU pacifier, she knew she had to get it for our little Bulldog. I knitted him the cap and the booties to complete his little outfit. And now he's ready to cheer on the Dogs in style. Although we are a little less football and a little more baseball.

If anyone knows where I can find Delta State baby items, please let me know. I keep telling John that Jack may want to follow in my footsteps and be a Fighting Okra!

Passing The Time This Summer

Happy Sunday everyone! I thought I would try to get in a post before I started getting ready for church. That's the one good thing about not being able to sleep, I can get so much done before most people are getting up.

As most of you know, I was put on pelvic rest at week 7. So instead of spending my summer working in the yard, like I normally do, I had to give my flower beds over to the weeds and find something else to do inside, sitting down. I got on- line and found some cute and easy knitting patterns for baby. I started with a blanket (not pictured). I made this blanket to bring Jack home from the hospital in. It is a white blanket knit in a basket weave pattern. I'll try taking a picture of it later, but I'm not sure if the picture will be able to capture the basket weave detail. It's medium weight and very soft.

I also made the two knit caps pictured below. There is some detail to the pattern, but there again - my camera didn't pick it up very well. I won't be getting Jack out much this winter, but I thought if he had a doctor's appointment or in early Spring if we could get out for a stroll on a sunny day, he might need a warm hat. (I also made one in maroon and white that I will show a little later.) John wasn't so sure about the big Pom-Pom on top of the caps. But I will be able to get by with these type of cutsie things for only so long, so I did it! The yarn is so soft. If any of you, who read my blog, also knit and want to exchange patterns, let me know, I have a notebook full! I know the caps look huge in this picture, but I think it's because I took a close up.

A couple of weeks ago, I got out my smocking supplies. It had been a while since the last time I smocked, but thankfully it all came back to me pretty quick. I know I might not have a lot of time to smock once Jack arrives, so I decided to get a few pieces made before hand. Smocking is really quick and easy. The slowest part is the prep work. You have to smock the back of each row before you get started and that is such a pain. Once I decide on my pattern, I'm ready to get started on the picture. But it really does pay to be patient and prepare the back first.

The picture below is of my border, water and the bottom part of my first whale.

This is a picture of my pattern. I've always thought

these little whales were so cute. I plan to have a little

John-John (or short-all) made for Jack to wear this summer.

Once it's all put together, I 'll be sure to post a picture.

Jack and the Girls

No, my Jack doesn't have any girls yet. I hope it will be a very long time before we have to worry about him and girls. Jack and the Girls is a blog created by one of my very best childhood friends, Ashley Gaines Bauch. Jack is her three year old son and his girls are his twin one year old sisters, Ella and Kate. Ashley is the daughter Wayne and Clair Gaines of Winona. I guess I have known Ashley since pre-school. Her mom was my dancing teacher and so many of my best childhood memories include Ashley. I'll never forget the time her dad drove us way out past the Moorman's house on Highway 82 East and we had to WALK a horse back to their house, in the middle of town, for her sister Heather. We had to be in about the 6th grade and we walked a horse down Highway 82 with her dad riding in his car, behind us, with his flashers on.

Please be sure to check out Ashley's blog http://www.jackbauch.blogspot.com/

and see her beautiful children. I still can't believe she has a little boy and twins!

*Note to Ashley - I got your sweet note the other day and I have been meaning to write back, but the past week has been crazy! Getting back to you is at the top of my list. I was so excited to hear from you and see your beautiful children!

Long Time, No Post

I can't believe I haven't added a new post in almost a week! I've been going through withdrawls. Since Wednesday, October 1, I have spent everyday in either Tupelo, Winona or Jackson and I am worn out. I've wanted to blog so bad, but just haven't had the energy. However, I have been keeping notes about everything I want to blog about. I want to do it all tonight, but I think I will space it out over the next few days.

First things first - Tuesday I had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Breeland and everything looks good. She also said my weight and stomach size looked good. She said the size of my stomach is exactly where she likes for her patients to be at this point - not to small, not too big. I was very excited that she was pleased with my weight. Jack's little heartbeat was perfect again. Hearing that is always the very best part. It's what I always hold my breath for. He is also growing. His kicks are getting stronger. I could visibly see him make my stomach move this morning. I couldn't make out a hand or foot, but I could see my skin jump. I was so excited. She did not do another iron test at this visit. She said it was to soon to see any real results. She wants to wait until my next visit, which is a week from Tuesday (October 21). John is going with me for that one. He hasn't been in a while and just wanted to take me this time.

Not much else to report. I have to save something for tomorrow. Below are a few pictures from our garage sale last weekend. It still feels good knowing that I was able to clear my house of all stuff.

This is a picture of Sam & Nicole's garage

before we started setting up.

And YES, Sam always keeps his garage

looking this neat and clean!

This is a picture of half of the space once we put everything out

Thursday afternoon.

This is the other half.

This is the garage about 9:00am Friday.

Almost everything is gone.

Great Success!

Well, just as I predicted - Tupelo did not disappoint! My mom and I rolled into Tupelo about 11:00am Thursday for the big garage sale. We ate lunch and rested a few minutes, then got busy setting up tables and putting out our sale items. Around 5:00pm we got our first customer, and what a great customer she was. She even brought her mother. They shopped for about 45 minutes and the daughter came back for round two about 8:30pm that same night and the mother came back the next day. They two of them bought all of the really good stuff (i.e. Gail Pittman, iron work, lamps, etc...).

The next day, our first customer rolled in a little after 7:00am and it was a steady stream from there on. By lunch we were sold out!!! And when I post the pictures of Nicole's garage right after we set up and you see how much stuff we had, you will be amazed! We sold out in less than 24 hours. Nicole had advertised the sale in the Tupelo paper for Friday & Saturday, so we put a Sold Out sign in her yard so no early birds would wake us up Saturday morning, because there was NOTHING left to sale!

I was so excited. We were able to spend the entire day Saturday in town shopping. We hit the baby stores and I bought Jack a stroller, car seat and pack-n-play. Mommy and Nicole bought clothes and I just watched their purses. Shopping for clothes at this point in my pregnancy is just to depressing! We hit Starbucks that morning and had a great lunch later in the day. Overall it was a great trip.

I did take pictures that I will post in a day or two. But please don't expect pictures of Jack's stroller and pack-n-play right away. They have to be assembled. We opened the boxes last night and both are in about a thousand pieces. This could take a while. However, the car seat came out of the box ready to go, so I'll take a picture of it for you to see!

Weekend Get-A-Way

Well, John and I are going out of town this weekend! Sounds romantic doesn't it? We're going out of town, just not together. As some of you may already know, this is the opening weekend of bow hunting season. John is packing up and staying at the farm this weekend. He is very excited. They all look forward to this weekend every year. I really don't mind him going as long as someone else is at the cabin with him. I don't want him staying down there by himself. I guess I watched to many scary movies when I was a teenager.

My mom and I are packing up and leaving for Tupelo tomorrow morning (Thursday). We are going to stay with my sister. It will be just the three of us! When Sam heard we were coming and what we were going to be doing, he found some where to go for the entire weekend.

A few months ago, my mom and I decided that we needed to de-clutter my house to make room for Jack and his things. She started coming up once a week, and we have been taking one room at a time and cleaning it from top to bottom. (Bless her heart, she has had to do most of the cleaning because I'm still on pelvic rest.) And that includes getting rid of a lot of junk. Over the last few months, we have collected A LOT of stuff that John and I do not need. Most of it we didn't even know we had. So, this weekend we are taking it all to Tupelo for a garage sale. (John and I have already taken one load in his truck.)

Why Tupelo you ask? Tupelo is the garage sale capital of the state. They take their garage sales very seriously. You have to buy a permit and have the permit posted where everyone can see it. You can only have one sale every three months. They start on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning is the busiest time of the sale. We had one at my sister's in April. I didn't take much that time. I was pregnant, but didn't know it yet and I really didn't feel well the week or two before the sale. (I thought I was coming down with the flu or a really bad cold. Little did I know.) We had a few people stop by that Thursday afternoon, but Friday morning was insane. People were parked outside my sister's house at 5:45 that morning and by lunch we had sold about 75% of our stuff. Oh, and it was pouring down rain, flooding and tornadoes had been spotted in the area. Like I said, Tupelo takes this stuff seriously.

Nicole has advertised in the Tupelo paper and has our permit. I think we are ready to sale some junk! But the visit won't be all work. There will be plenty of shopping. There always is. I plan on buying Jack's car seat and stroller while I'm there. Tupelo has a couple of great baby stores. And who knows what else we will get into. We will close the sale down each day around lunch to make sure we have time to shop.

John and I will meet back at home on Sunday. I will be sure to post about our big weekends. I hope John kills a big deer and I hope I make a lot of money. One thing I know for sure, I will not be bringing any of that stuff back home. Luckily, Tupelo also has a big, nice Salvation Army with a convenient drop-off.

I hope everyone has a fun, safe weekend!