How to Buy a Changing Table

1. Fall in love with and marry someone equally as opinionated and stubborn as you so that even after you've looked at every changing table known to man in a store and online, you still don't agree on anything!

2. Enlist your sister for help in finding a changing table because you're so tired of looking at them and are almost to the point of deciding the baby's diaper can be changed on the floor.

3. Open the first email your sister sends, look at the changing table and both declare in unison, "Oooooo! That's the one." Stare at each other in disbelief because you just agreed on something.

4. Debate for days about the correct color to choose that will match the crib you also ordered online. Decide on a color. Begin to place the changing table order online.

5. Find out the changing table cannot be shipped regularly due to its weight and can only be delivered by truck for a fee of $184, bringing the changing table to a grand total of $609. Declare in unison "No, way, Jose!"

6. Decide there's no way we will pay that much money for a changing table. Feel bummed for a few hours that something we actually agreed on is not going to work out. Make a decision to do something about it. Place a call to customer service.

7. Speak to a very nice, helpful lady who tries her darndest to find a way around the $184 delivery fee, because she also agrees it is ludicrous. Apologizes when she can't, but is able to find a different item number for the exact same changing table at the outlet store, which reduces the price by $100. Feel like we're making progress.

8. Think about it for a day or two and decide to email customer service to explain situation and find out if a supervisor or someone in charge could approve a different method of delivery.

9. Receive an email from customer service explaining we could call a catalog desk (and there is one in our town!) and get special permission to have it delivered there. Will still have to pay shipping but will greatly reduce the $184 truck delivery fee. Tells me to get permission, then call and place the order through customer service.

10. Call the local catalog desk. Explain situation to lady who answers the phone who also agrees truck delivery fee is ludicrous. Says, of course, it is OK to have the table delivered there, because they get baby furniture in all the time.

11. Call customer service to place order. Lady who answers the phone tells me in all of her years of working there (over a decade, she reminds me), she has never heard of a truck delivery fee being waived. Says she will have to check with her supervisor. Wait forever for supervisor to make a decision. Supervisor says they can't waive that fee, but I should place my order directly with the local catalog desk to have proof they have given me permission. Tells me it would be in my best interest to take my email with me.

12. Go to local catalog desk. Explain the whole story to the sweetest lady ever who, yet again, agrees the delivery fee is ludicrous. Says of course she will place the order. Calls to place the order and speaks to yet another person who says they cannot waive the delivery fee. They also talk with their supervisor who tells sweetest lady ever no. I ask for the phone and explain to supervisor two customer service reps have told me this CAN be done. She suggests we directly call the warehouse to place the order.

13. Sweetest lady ever calls warehouse and is FINALLY able to place the order plus score us FREE shipping!!! Table to arrive in 6-8 days, and I seriously consider kissing her feet before we leave the store.

14. Come home feeling completely victorious and within 5 minutes FedEx arrives to deliver our crib. Open the box, look at each other, and say in unison, "This color doesn't match the changing table."

15. Call back sweetest lady ever, beg her not to kill me, and ask her to call warehouse again to change the color of table we just ordered. Sweetest lady ever doesn't act bothered at all, and says she will be glad to change the color for us.

16. Don't hear anything back from sweetest lady ever so assume everything is OK. Phone rings almost an hour later. Sweetest lady ever says it took her FOREVER to get it changed and that she feels like she's been to Washington and back. But, it is DONE, it is ORDERED, and we paid almost $300 LESS than the original $609 it looked like we were going to have to pay for the table.

17. Husband suggests we should send sweetest lady ever an Edible Arrangement or something. This sends me into fits of giggles, which I'm not really sure is because his statement was so funny, or because my brain is so fried from this whole experience.

10 Things That Make Me Happy

1. Family date nights. We had the best time last Friday night eating cheesecake, shopping (yes, I did get a new shirt!), and laughing the whole way home at our little comedienne. I love family date nights!

2. Coupons! With coupons and Extra Care Bucks, I got 3 packages of Pampers Swaddlers at CVS this week for less than $10! Can't beat that!

3. Ultrasounds. I love peeking in on our little baby any time we get the chance. We have another ultrasound scheduled for Thursday, and I'm excited.

4. Chocolate chip cookies. Especially this yummy recipe that makes me feel like we are eating at least halfway decently when we're craving something sweet.

5. NCAA Basketball Tournament brackets. I love randomly filling out brackets when I have no idea what I'm doing and still winning (for now at least!)

6. Spring weather. Yesterday did not make me happy. I want the sunshine back!

7. Getting a zillion kisses on the forehead from my precious 4 year old when I have a headache, because she truly believes if she kisses my head enough times, the headache will go away.

8. That our sweet little baby girl almost has a name. We got serious about choosing some names we liked last week, consulted with our most trusted advisers (otherwise known as our sisters), and now we actually have some options that we just need to think a little longer about!

9. Oak Island. Which is where I will be in exactly 17 days!

10. Dave Ramsey. Financial Peace University has really changed the way we view our money. I think we started the class just in time, because between buying baby necessities like a crib and changing table and paying for doctor bills, lab fees, etc., I can only imagine what kind of debt we would have gotten ourselves into if we weren't working on the Financial Peace principles. As it stands right now, we are working on paying off a small amount on the credit card that we already had before the class started and are paying for all of our baby/doctor needs in cash - no debt whatsoever! I am excited about the next few Baby Steps (investing, college savings, etc) that are to come!

Size What?

Do you like Camryn's new outfit?



Guess what size it is.


Can you read what this says?




Yep ... that's right. 24 MONTHS! She's 4 years old and finally able to wear this 24 month outfit I bought on sale at Belk when she was around 18 months old. I've tried it on every Spring since then waiting for it to fit, and this year was finally the year. Crazy, huh? I know the sizing on kids' clothing can be a little off sometimes, but I'm thinking surely they mislabeled this one!

Pregnancy: 25 weeks

Saw this outline on a cute blog I read and thought I would borrow it!

How far along? 25 weeks and 1 day

Total weight gain: Only 8 pounds as of my last visit. Let's just go ahead and put it out there that this next visit won't be so pretty.

Maternity clothes? Of course. And, soooooo ready for Spring, b/c I'm already tired of my winter wardrobe. Have a date night next week with J and Cam for Destination Maternity and Cheesecake Factory. Even if I walk out with just one new shirt, I'll be a happy girl.

Meltdown of the week: Hmmmm ... no major ones this week that I can think of. Now last week was a doozy!!! Just ask my husband because he had to live through my snippiness and constant crying. No need to go into detail about why I was melting down, but let's just say I created this whole crazy, made-up scenario in my head and spent the entire week fretting about something that was not going to happen and crying at the drop of a hat.

Cravings: I haven't had a lot of cravings, really. Now, I'll eat anything Mexican or Chinese that you put in front of my face, but I think that goes for when I'm not pregnant, too! There's no particular food I've felt like I just HAD to have at any given point. I did get my pregnant lady feathers ruffled at Bi-Lo this week because Klondike bars were buy one get one free, and they were OUT! I had to get a raincheck, which just doesn't fill my tummy at 9 pm when I'm watching my DVRed episode of Chuck!

Labor Signs: None so far. Of course, as I was doing my Non-Stress Test with Camryn when I was 5 days past my due date, the nurses had to tell me I was having contractions. Never felt them.

What I am loving: Feeling her kick and move all the time. I don't know if this baby more active than Camryn or if I'm just more in tune with what's going on b/c this is my second pregnancy, but this little baby is a mover and a shaker, and I love it! We also registered last week for our upcoming baby shower in May. We made it a family event, so that was definitely something I loved until the thought hit me that this may be the last time I ever do this. Then it was definitely a not love situation.

What I am not loving: That this week I started having a less restful sleep at night. I didn't experience this at all with Camryn, but I wake up in the middle of the night with my hips just aaaccchhhhing from sleeping on my side. When they both start hurting at the same time, I end up sitting up in bed to sleep, which thankfully I can pull off. I do miss sleeping on my tummy and back. I also do not love that this baby does not have a name yet and that I haven't even started putting her nursery in order.

What I am looking forward to: Spring Break! Not only do I get to rest and step away from my oh-too-stressful job for a week, but I plan to take at least two days to pull out all of Camryn's baby clothes and toys, get everything organized, and get a jump start on the nursery.

What I am not looking forward to: My glucose test in a few weeks. I didn't have any problem passing the one I took during my first pregnancy, but who knows this time around. And, really, who actually looks forward to having their blood drawn?? Also not looking forward to uncomfortable sleep for the next 15 or so weeks.

Camryn's 4th Birthday Party