The Blackburn Family

Today I went to yet another consignment sale! I didn’t get as much this time since I really don’t need too many more clothes. There is another one this week so I went through my current stock to see what I really need. I went to today’s sale with a good friend of mine that is also pregnant and due 6 weeks after me. Today I found out if she is having a boy or girl… I won’t say because some of you out there know who I am talking about and she hasn’t told all her friends and family yet so I won’t say yet! I just wish she didn’t live in Charlotte!

The room is slowly coming together. I actually ordered a bunch of stuff last week for the room so I am waiting for all of it to get here. I ordered two prints, a couple baskets and the stencils. So far only the prints are here and they are so cute! Oh and mom found a crib skirt on super sale at Pottery Barn that matches really well with my set. It needs to be hemmed though. Hopefully next weekend we can get the roller shades and put up the curtains. Right now they are just hanging on the crib. I also started working some on the dresser. The drawers need some work and I am not sure yet what to do with them. I also need a way to organize them for tiny clothes so any tips are appreciated.

I have my next appointment this week so I will try to write up a bit later this week. I weighed myself twice yesterday and the first time I was up a pound or so and a few hours later I was up 4! I don’t know which is right, but I am guessing the 4! I did manage to find a pair of jeans that don’t fall down all day so I will probably wear them all the time now. I wouldn’t mind the weather warming up a tad (not too much) so I can get out my flip flops. I also have a few spring tops that I wouldn’t mind wearing for a change. Of course I am sure they will get old pretty quickly too. The acid reflux is better, but still comes and goes. Other than that I have no problems. Still sleeping really well and no pains yet. The sleep is thanks to my snoogle. Best money I have spent so far, but being super cheap I did get it used on Craig’s List. It was so worth it. It is so comfy and JD loves it. Casey actually likes it too! I did add an extra pillow at the end for my legs. I find that I sleep better with my whole leg elevated and not just the knee area. It really helps my hips and lower back. My sweet teeth is now in high gear and I really need to get it in control so I don’t end up with a 10 pound baby! He is sure to come out loving carbs, dairy and sugar because that is pretty much all he gets in there! He won’t have a clue what vegetables taste like and I hate eating meat so he doesn’t get much of that either.

In other news I picked up my newest foster rabbit from the SPCA Saturday. Someone dropped off three rabbits in various containers over the weekend. They just left them at the end of the road at the SPCA. A volunteer saw them on the way out one night and called to let them know there were some animals left outside. Poor little things. So cute. I ended up with the female and she is terrified of people. I am sure she was abused in some way. I haven’t seen one this scared in awhile. We have pretty much left her alone this weekend. We only reach in to give her food, hay and water. We never try to pet her so hopefully she will learn we aren’t here to hurt her. She explores and has a good time until we get too close. JD doesn’t scare her at all, just humans. I am still waiting for the domestic that is running wild too. He/she will be pretty scared of us too if we can catch him.

Here is a picture of JD enjoying my snoogle pillow. He likes to spend his days sleeping on it.

Here is my current belly picture. I added the hands on the belly to help define it a bit since I just kind of look like a blob now. Perhaps I will switch to a lighter shirt, but I like the slimming effect of the black ones!

So the weather refuses to co-operate with me! I was supposed to take Kaylee’s pictures last weekend, but it ended up being so cold and a bit rainy so we had to cancel. It was for the best because the leaves were much prettier this past weekend. I was planning to take Liam’s pictures on Saturday, but once again rain. So I took both on Sunday. The weather was supposed to be partly cloudy. I think wral had in their description, “some high clouds, but lots of blue skys”. Hmmm….. no sun all day. Yeah, clouds are actually better for pictures, but it was a bit dark for most of Liam’s.

Liam was my first attempt at photographing a moving baby. It is a bit more challenging, but I think with a bit more practice I can get it! Better light and a bit warmer temps would have helped some. It won’t be long until Kaylee is crawling so I better figure out how to occupy the movers. We took Liam’s pictures at Crowder Park in Apex and Kaylee’s at Historic Oakview Park in Raleigh.

I am trying to learn more about Elements so the processing is going a bit slow. I should be able to move through them a bit faster now, but here are my favorites so far of each.

So I noticed that each of my posts about Disney World is getting shorter than the last! I guess that is what happens when you write about your trip weeks after you get back! I was really excited about Epcot mostly because it is more of an adult park and one that I didn’t really appreciate the last time I was in Disney. We spent our first day exploring the front section called Future World. Future world has a lot of science type rides and exhibits. The back section is the World Showcase which is where we went for lunch our first day. We went to Norway to have lunch with the princesses! I was so excited to see that Belle was greeting everyone. However after walking in the heat and standing outside waiting to get in I was soaked in sweat and water form some kids water fan. So the picture is pretty bad and I refuse to post it. Don’t worry b/c the next day I ran into Belle in France and got a picture with her. She wasn’t in her yellow dress though, this was the pre-princess Belle. Anyway, the boys weren’t too excited about eating with the princesses, but I think they all got a bit excited when they came over to the table to talk to us (the young boys, not the adults although I am sure they liked the princesses too). Ariel, Snow White and Princess Aurora (better known as Sleeping Beauty) each came to our table and took a picture with Karley who was also dressed as a princess. That evening Casey and walked around the world showcase enjoying the food from the Food and Wine Festival. The best part was we could use our snack credits to try the various meals. We ended the night with the fireworks show – Illuminations.

The second day at Epcot Casey and I explored the World Showcase spending some time at each country. We also took a boat over to the Boardwalk area and then walked back. Nothing too exciting. For dinner we went Mexcio and ate under the stars and the ruins. Casey really enjoyed his steak. He still talks about it.

HERE is my Epcot Album.

We spent one day at Hollywood Studios, but we could have used another day there. There aren’t as many rides there, but there are lots of shows so you have to plan your day around them and wait for them to start. The big rollercoaster at HS is the Aerosmith Rockin’ Rollercoaster, but Karley was too short to ride. So I watched the kids and Casey, Melanie and Richard rode it. I think it was everyone’s favorite of the week. The only ones brave enough for the Tower of Terror were Karley and Casey. There was no stopping Karley! It was another very hot day and most of the shows were outdoors so there was little relief from the heat. At the end of the night we went to see the Fantasmic show which was awesome.

HERE is my Hollywood Studios album. It is a pretty small album.

The seven of us went to Animal Kingdom on the 5th and Casey and I went back on our last day for a few hours. There aren’t many indoor things to do or places to eat in Animal Kingdom so it was a pretty hot day. There are a few rides and a couple trails that you can walk to see various animals. In Asia the big ride is Expedition Everest which the rollercoaster lovers really enjoyed. Karley was the only young one that would ride it and she loved it. She actually rode it twice! I stayed behind with Cooper and Jackson. We tried to get a picture of them, but they were moving so fast their faces were blurs! My favorite ride was the Kali River Rapids. I love those kinds of rides. For some reason they don’t really make me sick.. weird. I also really enjoyed the Safari ride too and several of my pictures are from that ride.

Animal Kingdom also had two shows – Finding Nemo and The Lion King. We made it to both although we almost missed The Lion King thanks to the parade. After our day at Animal Kingdom we went to Rainforest Cafe for dinner. We were planning to check out Downtown Disney, but we were all so tired so we called it a night after dinner.

Check out my Animal Kingdom pictures HERE.

I am trying to get the Disney World pictures done as quickly as possible so I think I will do a post for each park. Don’t expect a post daily! It takes a long time to go through and upload all these pictures.

So for those of you that don’t know Casey and I got back on Saturday from a week in Disney World! I started talking about going last year when I found out they were doing the free on your birthday promotion. I kept hinting about going to Casey since my birthday was on a Sunday. Well, a few months ago he mentioned to his sister Melanie that I wanted to go to Disney World and she told him they were thinking of going too. So it began. We decided to all go together and after much debate decided on the first week of October for several reasons, but the bonus was we would be there for not only my birthday, but also the twins 6th birthday! We were a bit worried it would be too hot, but it was October so the temp should be around 85….. yeah right. Try 94 with a heat index of 104. Yuck. Double Yuck. Heat wave that never went away! What luck! We had a great time, but it would have been a bit better with a little less heat and humidity.

Melanie, Richard and the kids drove down on Friday and hit Magic Kingdom first thing Saturday morning. Casey and I decided to fly down Saturday morning. We had the Magical Express pick us up and it went very smoothly. We were at Disney by 10:30 (I think, maybe 11:00). We decided to meet the others at The Wilderness Lodge which was where we had booked our first meal at Whispering Canyon. Casey and I were expecting the kids to be surprised to see us because they didn’t know we were coming, but all our conversations with Melanie on the phone had made them aware of the fact we were there! They didn’t know we were staying the whole week so they were excited to find out we didn’t make a trip to Florida to see them for one day.

After lunch we went to Magic Kingdom and it was a long day. It was our only day to catch the SpectroMagic Parade and the Fireworks shows. We were lucky enough to see Tinkerbell fly down from the castle! It was awesome.

The next day was my birthday and we went to Magic Kingdom for the day. We got up early so we could see them open the park. Casey and I went back to the room mid-day for a little nap since we were planning to stay in the park until midnight for magic hours. We met up with the others for dinner at Boma in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Boma has African and American foods so it was fun trying some new things. We also had many desserts (this would continue for the whole week). They would bring out a dessert for all three of us birthday “kids” at each meal. Hey, at Disney you celebrate your birthday every day! This is my kind of birthday. Casey and I went back to the Magic Kingdom after dinner expecting the crowds to be a bit thinner, but no such luck. I couldn’t believe how many people had little kids out at midnight! I was able to get a few night shots and we rode a few rides.

Our last day at the Magic Kingdom was on the twin’s birthday, our second to last day of the vacation. They got up early and went to the Magic Kingdom to be transformed into a priness and a pirate. We met up with them and we all went to The Polynesian for breakfast at Ohana. It was a character meal with Pluto, Mickey, Lilo and Stitch. Lots of fun and a great breakfast. Casey and I didn’t stay at Magic Kingdom too long after breakfast because we were heading to Downtown Disney for the night. We had tickets for Cirque du Soleil and dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s. I really wanted to take the balloon ride at Downtown Disney, but by the time we got out of dinner the winds had picked up too much and the ride was closed. Maybe next time!

HERE is my Magic Kingdom album. Enjoy!

The Triangle House Rabbit Meetup group is selling bulbs this year as a fundraiser for Rabbit Day to be held February 2009. If you like to garden or want to try planting some bulbs in your yard this year please help support Rabbit Day by purchasing from our fundraiser! The money will be used to help cover the costs of Rabbit Day and any extra money will be donated to the participating rescues. For each purchase 50% will go to the Triangle House Rabbit Meetup group! If you don’t garden please pass on to any friends that do.

Check out our website HERE.

Rabbit Day is an adoption event held each year at Animall in Raleigh, NC. It is an all day adoption event featuring adoptable rabbits from several local rescues. Last year we had several rabbits find great new homes, raised money for the rescue groups and helped educate the public on proper care for rabbits.

In August I went to take some more pictures of Kaylee. The one month pictures went pretty well for my first photoshoot of a “newborn”. Although, in the world of photography she wasn’t really a newborn at that point. Most newborn shots are taking within the first 10 days. Anyway, 3 months was much harder! She had a bit more to say about how we positioned her and insisted that her hands be in her mouth at all times! I thought for sure I didn’t get any good pictures, but there were more I could work with than I thought. I am trying to learn as much as I can about photographing children and babies. Hopefully one day I can actually make a little money doing it. I really need to learn how to use my editing software so I can improve my pictures a bit. If I can ever find the time to sit down and learn it I will correct some of the old ones and repost them.

Here are a few of my favorites for Kalyee’s three month photoshoot.

Back in June on the morning we were leaving for the beach for a week I went down to feed the foster rabbits. Out of the corner of my eye I saw an orange cat on the deck staring at me through the door. My first instinct was to think JD got out, but I had just fed him so I knew it wasn’t JD. The cat just sat there and stared at me. We have a neighborhood cat that sometimes sits on the deck, but he/she always runs away when I go to the door. This cat didn’t. So I opened the door and he ran into the yard, but didn’t run away. He sat in the middle of the yard and cried at me. He was so skinny so I went in and brought out a can of food. He ran right up to me and started eating. Once I fed him he was my best friend. Now, what to do with him? We were going to be out of town for the week and he wasn’t neutered. I didn’t want him running around making more cats that no one wants. Having worked in animal rescue for 5 years has made me a bit jadded. I know how many unwanted animals there are and to me taking him to the shelter even if it meant he would be euthanize was the best option. I know that sounds bad, but I didn’t want him getting hit by a car or making a bunch more cats that will end up being euthanized. Well, Casey said no way. I spent the morning trying to find someplace to take the cat. Eventually we decided to let him live in the yard and have Allison and Jason feed him when they came over to feed the other animals.

When we got back from vacation he was still there. He would wonder off and sometimes was gone for a day or more at a time, but he always came back. We decided to take him to our vet and get all his shots, tests and neutered. We lucked out and the vet had a space for him so he stayed there. They usually have a cat or two there that are available for adoption. He was such a sweet cat that we knew he would get adopted quickly. Everyone at the vet’s office loved him. The receptionist said he was the most laid back cat she had ever seen. He never met a stranger and loved every person that came in the office. It only took about a month for him to find a home. The last we heard he was doing really well in his new home.

We miss the little guy. Most likely a family got him as a kitten and when he became too much work they dumped him in our neighborhood. They didn’t neuter him. This makes me so mad. Every animal should be fixed even if they are indoors only. There are so many unwanted animals. It is estimated the between 3-4 million animals were euthanized last year. Between 6-8 million were taken to shelters. That means that only half find homes. I don’t think people really realize how many animals are killed each year and we are to blame. Please spay/neuter your pet!!!

Here are some pictures of our stray cat. He had a happy ending, but so many don’t…..

To learn more about how you can help check out this site – www.spcawake.org/watchdogs

Okay, so I have neglected the blog again for a long time…. Bad me. There is so much that I need to share, but I just don’t make the time to post. I decided today to take a little time this week to go back and catch everyone up. That is if anyone is still checking. So today we are going to travel back to May, Mother’s Day weekend to be exact.

I wanted to take a little weekend vacation before it got too hot. I hadn’t been to the outer banks since high school and Casey had never been (or at least he doesn’t remember). I decided we would drive over to Nags Head and then continue down to Rodanthe and camp. You would think by now I would have learned that camping is not a good idea. Sure it is cheap (well, you would think), but it is not fun. At least not this type of camping. So we drove down and found a camp site. I pictured us on the beach with our little tent. We ended up in an RV park. What ever happened to tent camping? Everywhere you go there are only RV parks. Great. Nothing like putting up your tent in a parking lot surrounded by people in comfortable little homes complete with AC, TV and comfortable beds. To make it even better the winds were practically hurricane force, okay not that bad, but it was SO windy. I thought our cheap little Wal-Mart tent was surely going to collapse and fly away. We secured it and took of for Cape Hatteras. We also stopped at Bodie Island lighthouse, but I think that was actually before the campsite. It was a long time ago.

Cape Hatteras was interesting for me because the last time I was there it was on the water. At the time they were preparing to move it, but the move didn’t actually happen for another couple years. It was a little strange seeing the lighthouse in its new location. We watched the very long, but interesting video on how they moved the lighthouse. We walked around some and then went to check out the site where the lighthouse was before the big move. On the way back to the lighthouse we stopped to watch some wind surfers which was really cool. We got a not so great dinner and went back to the death trap, also known as our tent. It was still standing, but blowing around a lot. Great. I am a very light sleeper so I knew this wasn’t going to be good. I took a Benadryl in the hopes it would knock me out. I put my meditation sleepy music on the ipod and almost fell asleep. Then the wind would blow, the tent would almost collapse and wake me up. Replay this another 100 times and you have my night. I maybe got an hour or two of sleep at most. Finally at some point the wind slowed down and I got a little sleep before I had to pee. Again, why in the world do I ever suggest camping. I am not made for camping. We need a camper!!! Oh, Casey had no problem sleeping. Perhaps this is why camping doesn’t bother him.

The next day we drove back up to Nags Head and went to the Wright Brothers memorial and Jockey’s Ridge. I had been to both, but it was fun to visit again and Casey had never been. Then we came back home and I got some sleep. So here are a few pictures from our trip. To see the whole album click HERE.