Random Tag

Hey everyone! Lindsey over at Learning to be a Wife sent out a random tag for anyone to do it. It was to open your Pictures folder, go to the 4th folder, and post the 4th picture... I thought this sounded interesting, so I figured why not!!! And the picture... it's a B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L one if you ask me!!!! This is the Golden Band from TIGER LAND getting ready to welcome those amazing LSU Tigers onto the field to kick some boo-tay!!!

Now I tag anyone else who feels like doing it too!!!

Gotta love Louisiana

One week ago...

Today's Weather

(which is wrong, cause our thermometer says it's 81 outside)

I know, I know...

... I'm a slacker! It's been forever since I've written, and I do apologize. So let me update you on some things. Yesterday was my first day back at work since the bedrest, and I LOVED getting out of the house!!!! I'm still on pelvic rest till I'm 18 weeks, then they will re-do the ultrasound and see if I can get off of pelvic rest. Today is also my last day of these progesterone supplement pills which make me soooooo nauseated, so I'm VERY excited. 

Other than that I'm just busy at work catching up with everything and getting back to normal. Hopefully I'll have some more exciting stuff to post later on, but right now it's just work work work!!!

Good News... Bad News...

Well, the good news... there's only ONE baby in my tummy!!!!

We have like 5 sets of twins in the families between the two of us... so that was always in the back of our minds!

The bad news, I had some bleeding again yesterday. Went to the doc and they said my progesterone level is a bit low, and they're worried my placenta may be a little low as well. So they put me on bed rest for a week. Did some blood work yesterday, and I have to go to the hospital tomorrow to get some more done. Put me on some medicine to increase my progesterone level, and I have a follow-up appointment next Thursday morning... Joyful huh. But they said that the baby looked ok!!! It's hearbeat was really strong and they didn't see any more blood in the ultrasound.

So if anyone has any bed-rest ideas for me, please let me know. I'm already bored out of my mind and really sick of TV!!

NAMES!!!!

Here are our baby names!!! You already knew the girls name, but I wanted to make it cute so I added it here anyways. The boys name was Josh's favorite (and of course I like it too). I figure since I picked out the girl's name, he should get to pick out the boy's... Now we just have to wait till February to see which one we get to use!!!

Opinions Needed

Ok, so as you've read before, we have a little girl's name picked out...

Addison Kelci Banks

Now we need a little boy's name! For some reason I'm favoring names that end in the letter "n". Anyways, here's the names I have picked out so far... And I need some opinions! The middle name will be David, no matter what the first name is, so keep that in mind too. Here they are:

Aidan

Landon

Grayson

Hayden

Let me know what you think!!!!

8 weeks

Ok so I'm completely fascinated reading all of this stuff and seeing what is growing inside of me. My FAVORITE website is Baby Center and they email me weekly. I'm gonna share with you what's going on week by week (if I remember), so here's what's going on this week!
Ok, so this little one looks a little creepy right now - but they get cuter!!! 

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone (thank goodness, cause it kinda creeped me out!)

In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby -about the size of a kidney bean - is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Ok so I don't know what I'm having yet, they alternate with "him" and "her" weekly... but trust me, as soon as I know, you will know!!!!

THANK GOODNESS!!!

So I've been nauseated, pretty much 24/7 for the last few weeks. This past weekend was especially bad. I've tried everything... Crackers, dry toast, sprite, ginger ale, peppermints, lemon drops, etc... NO RELIEF :-( 

Then I talked to my friend Ashley M. who just had her baby girl, and she said something that worked for her were Preggy Pop Drops. So the search began, and I found them at a store here called Motherhood Maternity. SO FAR - SO GOOD! Now granted I'm eating one about every other hour, and the top on my mouth is sore from having candy in there so much... but I don't care cause I'm not nauseated!!!!

So if there's any pregnant ladies out there looking for some relief, give these a try!!!

Funny Preggy Story

Once there were 4 girls; Brittany, Ashley M., Ashley B., and Girl #4 (she will remain nameless for now, you will see why in a minute!)

Brittany was pregnant, and Ashley M. was trying to get pregnant. One day they decided that Brittany should rub her belly on Ashley M's for good luck. A few weeks later, Ashley M. was pregnant!

So Ashley M. is pregnant and Ashley B. (that's me!) was trying to get pregnant. In October, Ashley M. rubbed her belly on Ashley B's belly, hoping for the same outcome. Well, come to find out, Ashley B. got pregnant too!!! 

So Ashley B. goes out to eat with Girl #4 in November and is telling her the story. Girl #4 has been trying to get pregnant as well. We decide to see just how well this works! Ashley B. rubs her belly on Girl #4... and Girl #4 called me this morning to tell me she's pregnant!!!!! 

I've been calling her Girl #4 so to make sure that she gets to spread the good news herself :-)

So if you or someone you know is trying to get pregnant... go find a pregnant person and have them rub their belly on  yours!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

I am so grateful to have all of you in my lives on this Thanksgiving Day

May your hearts and homes be full of wonderful blessings

Here's wishing you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving

All our love, 

Josh, Ashley, Kujeaux, & Baby Banks

SO EXCITED!

So my cell phone I have right now is a MAJOR PIECE OF SH*T. I now have 3 broken keys, and it's the second one. The first one was exchanged through the warranty. Well come to find out, no one I know has been satisfied with the phone, so I'm not the only one.

Well, tonight after many, many text messages to my Beautiful friend Kassie who works for AT&T, Josh & I ordered new cell phones!!!! We went with the Samsung Blackjack II.

I got the wine red one and he got black. Figured it was just easier to get 2 different colors so that we didn't grab the other's phone on the way out. Trust me, I don't want to deal with some of the calls he has to for his job... and he probably doesn't want to have to answer the phone when one of my girlfriends calls to talk about babies!!! We chose to have them overnighted, and they said they would be here on Friday. But then when we got the email confirmation, it said our order will ship in 2 to 5 days... that kinda defeats the whole purpose of overnighting something, but oh well. I'm just thankful to be rid of my crappy phone... before it breaks on me!!!

And, one more big... HUGE

to Kassie... YOU'RE THE BEST!!!!

Too Cute!

My friend Erica gave me this sticker on MySpace,

and it was just too cute not to share!

Apology & Baby Names

I haven't written in a while, and for this I apologize. I got a little scare last Thursday - some spotting and cramps, but they said it was normal and to just take it easy for a bit and I'd be fine. But of course I was still freaked out. Stayed home from work on Friday, and since Josh went hunting, I went on to Baton Rouge to stay with my parents. It was a great relaxing weekend. Laid around the house Friday & watched movies with Dad Friday night. Saturday me & Mom watched the LSU game (tear) and that night me, Mom, and LP watched movies. Sunday we went shopping and I got some cute maternity shirts (THANKS MOM & LP!) and we went and looked at baby furniture too. Found a really comfy glider to rock Baby to sleep in, and I think I found Baby's room furniture too!!!

Now on to the fun stuff... BABY NAMES!!!!

GIRL: Addison Kelci Banks

BOY: ______ David Banks

HELP!!!! We need a first name for our baby boy :-) Josh just says that we will figure it out when we find out if it's a girl or a boy, but I like to have one now! So any suggestions, comments, ideas, etc are greatly appreciated!!!

Birthday Night...

Can I just start off by saying I LOVE MY HUBBY!!!!

Yesterday I had dreams of going to eat at this Fabulous Italian Restaurant for my Bday dinner. Well, then I got home from work and laid down on the couch... it was all over after that. No part of me wanted to move off of the couch much less go out in public...

Josh got home and surprised me with the BEST birthday present... 

A Prenatal Massage from

I plan on holding on to this till I'm too big to reach my toes... then I will love it even more!

Then I told him what my original plans were for dinner... and that I just didn't feel that was happening tonight. ( I will be SO happy when my first trimester is OVER) So he told me we could do whatever I wanted since it was my birthday... told you I was spoiled :-) So my decision for the best, most relaxing birthday dinner ever...

AND

I feel Spoiled!

Today was AWESOME! My momma came over to Covington and surprised me to take me out for a Birthday lunch. With her she brought a beautiful plant for my office and some YUMMY goodies... Snickerdoodle Cookies, Oatmeal Cookies, and Pralines!!! My mom is the BEST cook in the world, and she knows just how to make my pregnant belly smile! Then we went out to Acme Oyster House for some lunch... 

THANK YOU MOMMY!!!!

Oh, and I had to share this pic too... 

Kujeaux was trying so hard to get into my bag of cookies!

Then this afternoon at work I was surprised with cupcakes and song :-) 

And also a gift certificate to

I can't wait to go shopping!!!!!

Mystery Solved!!!

Ok so some of you may have already known this... but when I saw the article below on Yahoo! I was just thrilled... it's the little things that make me smile :-)

Why Does Everything Taste Bad 

After You Brush Your Teeth? 

If you have no idea why we’re pondering that question today, go brush your teeth real quick and grab a drink (orange juice, iced tea, coke—anything except water). Awful, isn’t it?

You can thank sodium laureth sulfate, also known as sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES), or sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) for ruining your drink, depending on which toothpaste you use. Both of these chemicals are surfactants – wetting agents that lower the surface tension of a liquid – that are added to toothpastes to create foam and make the paste easier to spread around your mouth (they’re also important ingredients in detergents, fabric softeners, paints, laxatives, surfboard waxes and insecticides).

While surfactants make brushing our teeth a lot easier, they do more than make foam. Both SLES and SLS mess with our taste buds in two ways. One, they suppress the receptors on our taste buds that perceive sweetness, inhibiting our ability to pick up the sweet notes of food and drink. And, as if that wasn’t enough, they break up the phospholipids on our tongue. These fatty molecules inhibit our receptors for bitterness and keep bitter tastes from overwhelming us, but when they’re broken down by the surfactants in toothpaste, bitter tastes get enhanced.

So, anything you eat or drink after you brush is going to have less sweetness and more bitterness than it normally would. Is there any end to this torture? Yes. You don’t need foam for good toothpaste, and there are plenty out there that are SLES/SLS-free. You won’t get that rabid dog look that makes oral hygiene so much fun, but your breakfast won’t be ruined.

Welcome Baby!!!

Congratulations Blaine, Ashley, and Cameron Melancon... and a BIG welcome to 

Kailey Nicole Melancon

Born: November 16, 2008 @ 1:58am

Weight: 6lb 7oz

Length: 18 inches

All About my Hubby!

This is a quiz about your hubby! Let's see how much you know, and then pass it on to learn more about your friend's Hubbys!!!!

Here we go...

1. He's sitting in front of the TV; what is on the screen? CSI MIAMI... LAW & ORDER... THE UNIT... ETC

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?  RANCH

3. What's one food he doesn't like? CHICKEN

4. You go to a bar. What does he order? BUD SELECT

5. Where did he go to high school? OUACHITA HIGH SCHOOL

6. What size shoe does he wear? UMMM.... 12?

7. If he was to collect anything what would it be?  SHOT GUNS

8. What is his favorite kind of sandwich? BOLOGNA & CHEESE

9. What would this person eat every day if he could? HAMBURGERS

10. What is his favorite cereal? CAPTAIN CRUNCH

11. What would he never wear? A PINK SHIRT

12. What is his favorite sports team? HUMMM.... LSU TIGERS

13. Who is his best friend?  JOSH... MATT... JEFF... NOT SURE HE HAS JUST ONE

14. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? WORRY SO MUCH

15. How many states has he lived in? ONE (STAYED IN MANY OTHERS FOR SHORT AMOUNTS OF TIME WITH THE ARMY)

16. What is his heritage? HE'S A MUTT... BUT ENGLISH AND INDIAN FROM WHAT I GATHER

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? BROWNIES, NOT A CAKE PERSON

18. Did he play sports in high school? HHAAAA HAAAA... OH I HAVE TO ANSWER.... RODEO BABY!

19. What could he spend hours doing? HUNTING

20. What's his worst habit? HE DIPS.... YUCK!

Now it's your turn... I'm only gonna tag a few people... so here it goes!

Tracie @ Coffee with the Crains

Brandy @ Not Quite the Brady Bunch

Melissa @ New Girl on Post

An Amazing Article

This is one ESPN reporter's review of last Saturday's LSU game vs. Alabama... It's beautiful. He writes so descriptively... I'll post a small part, but if you want to check it out for your self, CLICK HERE!

The Tiger Bait Walk
Hundreds of fans line barricades, waiting on the Alabama busses. Immediately visible are five state troopers, eight sheriff's deputies and a crowd of prison guards. Two more cops are undercover, dressed as LSU fans. There are about 40 nine-millimeters around gate 12. One marshal has an earpiece, and he gets the word: Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide have left the hotel, with two Alabama troopers and three Louisiana troopers leading them in, lights shining and sirens blaring. A police helicopter circles above. Last night, LSU fans burned Saban in effigy at a pep rally. Nobody with a badge is taking any chances.

Finally, the busses pull up and cops rush Saban into the bowels of Tiger Stadium. LSU fans yell, "Tiger Bait." Alabama fans yell, "Roll Tide."

I'm not sure what it was like to walk into the Coliseum, but I bet it was something like this.

"The sun has found its home in the western sky, and it is now Saturday night in Death Valley."

SO BeAuTiFuL!!!

Driving home tonight I saw the following sign and like to drove OFF OF THE ROAD!

I honestly never thought I would see gas under $2/gallon ever again... I filled up at lunch today and it was $1.95 - then on my way home it had gone down again... WOW-WOW-WOW!!!

In other events of tonight... I've done about 3 loads of laundry, dishes, and showered as soon as I got home so I'd be all ready in time to watch the CMA Awards! Love them :-) I always wanted to be a country music singer... some of my friends even love me enough to tell me that they think I can sing... personally I just think that they're tone deaf and can't tell that I'm really not that great. But it's still fun to belt it out like I think I'm Kellie Pickler or something!!!

Oh, and not that this is interesting, but I think that I got my first attempted "sickness" tonight. Guess I can't call it morning sickness cause it was at like 7:00 at night. I was eating supper, got about 4 bites into it, and realized that it just wasn't happening tonight. I didn't get sick, just REALLY felt like I would if I didn't stop eating... which sucked because it was my FAVORITE - Mom's Potato Soup - but no fear, I have some left that I can attempt again tomorrow night. Wierd cause I've eaten it since I've been prego and this didn't happen... maybe it's just a bad night!

Well, the commercial is over, so I'm off to finish watching the CMA's! Hope y'all have a GREAT NIGHT!!!

Tonight

So this is what I did tongiht...

And this is what Kujeaux did tonight...

I know, I know... it's only November 11th. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas, and if I wait till the day after Thanksgiving to decorate like usual, then I would only get to have the decorations up for about a month. So I decided to start early!!! Unfortunately the tree is as far as I got. Everything else is up in the attic, and our builder doesn't install staircases where the attic openings are... don't ask. Josh is out of town, and being prego and all I didn't figure it was the brightest idea to back my Jeep up to the attic & climb on top. Knowing my coordinated self, I'd fall off. So my friend and awesome neighbor Dionne is coming over to help me get everything out of the attic Friday - with a ladder!

Yummy Cake!!!

My wonderful mommy got me this cake... and it's my FAVORITE kind too... Red Velvet with Cream Cheese icing... YUMMMM! 

THANK YOU MOMMY! I can only hope I do half as good of a job as you did with me :-)

Happy Veterans Day!!!

For the first time ever...

... I agree with Obama! It's nothing detrimental, like about taxes, policies, etc. Oh no, it's about college football. And his comment goes like this...

“I think it is about time that we had playoffs in college football,” Obama said Monday on ESPN. “I’m fed up with these computer rankings and this and that and the other. Get eight teams – the top eight teams right at the end. You got a playoff. Decide on a national champion.”

Amen!!! Wonder if he can make that change being president??? Can he MAKE the BCS do this?? Hey, I know it's not an important issue, but you have to start somewhere when it comes to liking someone, right!

News!!! News!!! News!!!

Guess what we'll look like in 9 months....

Due date is July 17th!!!! Yes, I know... I'm only 2 weeks along. Lots of people have different theories about when you should tell everyone and stuff... Hell, I don't care... I'm freakin ecstatic!!!!

All I have to say is...

I'm a DoRk!

As many times in my life that I have cooked (or watched my mom cook in the old days) Drunk Chicken... For some reason when I get to this point, it just makes me chuckle!!!

It just looks so silly - like it should start fussing at me for cooking it or something!

Just thought we could all use a laugh during all this seriousness tonight... so I decided to share!

I'm voting for...

I'm tired of all the waiting... I just wish it was 8:00 so we could get some kind of reslults... UGH!

VOTE!!!

GO ROCK THE VOTE TODAY!!!

Here's some random interesting facts for you about voting...

• In Minnesota, people can register to vote on election day. This greatly increases turnout and was widely credited with Gov. Jesse Ventura's 1998 electoral victory.
• In Oregon, all voting is conducted by mail. In many other states, absentee voters must sign a statement that they were unable to get to the polls on election day. Removing restrictions against absentee and mail-in voting are coming in several states.
  
• Several communities with high immigrant populations allow Green Card holders (non-citizens) to vote in municipal elections. Municipal immigrant voting increases civic participation at a level that matters to residents, whether citizens or not.
  
• In Cambridge, Massachusetts, the voters approved immigrant voting rights, but the State Legislature declined to enact the approved bill.

Hooked...

I didn't get to start this book till late last night, and I only got about 60 pages into it... but it's all I've been thinking about all day!!! She's so descriptive in her writing, like I can vividly picture what's going on with everything. This book is FANTASTIC and I can't wait to cozy up in bed with it tonight :-)

Cold Puppy

I know this picture is a little blurry... but this is Kujeaux's back paws and his tail sticking out from under the covers last night... He was cold, poor baby!!! Didn't move from that spot for a few hours :-)

I'm sorry...

... but this scares me, and I have to put it out there. I'm not a fan of Howard Stern, but these interviews just show that some people should not vote. I'm not saying that Obama supporters should not vote, but that people should be informed and not ignorant when they want to stand up for someone. They need to be voting on the issues, and not the name.



People need to be educated... you know what - if someone likes Obama for his policies and ideas, then more power to them - PLEASE, go rock the vote. But if they're just being ignorant (like the people in the interviews) and want to vote for him because he's black or because some celebrity says they should... they just need to stay home on Nov. 4th...

Twilight

Well, I decided to go ahead and buy this book... I've heard lots about it so I decided I needed to see for myself! If anyone's heard about this, leave me some opinions :-)

WOW...

Now I've seen it all... There's a guy in Baton Rouge who will come and hang up your Christmas lights for you. Seriously, I don't know whether to laugh or what... I would love to know how much money this guy makes, and does he come to take them down too!?!?!? Here's the info (ps - by posting this, I am in no way recommending or endorsing him, I don't even know who he is. I just found it too unique not to pass along!)

Holiday Lighting by Beau!

225-278-7523

You buy.... he installs! HOW EASY IS THAT!!!!

Monday Funny!

... because sometimes you just need a laugh to get your week started right!

Tag... I'm it!!!

Tracie from Coffee with the Crains tagged me today! I've been sitting here trying to think of 6 interesting things about myself... but most of them just turned our as random facts, so here it goes!

Here are the rules:
1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Write 6 random things about yourself.
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post(or as many as you want)
4. If you are tagged, do it and pass the tag along.
5. Enjoy

Here are some random facts about me.........

1. I've wanted to be a Teacher since I was like 5. I started college as an Elementary Education major, but changed to Marketing when I was a Sophomore. I'm going to go back one of these days and get my teaching certificate!

2. I've only gotten fired from 1 job in my lifetime... I was 18 and working at Smoothie King. I forgot to turn on the ice maker at the end of the night and we had to go buy bags of ice in the morning so we could make smoothies. I got fired at the end of my shift :-(

3. When I was about 17 some friends and I got into a wreck. The car that rear ended us hit us so hard that it spun around and ended up in the parking lot of a restaurant on the side of the road. We get out to see what's going on and all of a sudden we hear gun shots and we all hit the ground. The car that rear ended us was actually running from the cops. Just my luck... So instead of a fun night with friends, we all ended up downtown at the police station, being quesioned and having our statements taped cause, lets just say, things didn't turn out so great for the guy running from the cops.

4. My family used to have a house on in Pensacola Beach, FL (which is where #3 took place). We'd go there 3 weeks out of the summer and I miss those times terribly to this day. Even now I want nothing more than to move back there and live forever! (and take my mom with me of course!)

5. I was the BIGGEST dork in grade school & high school... seriously, I was the one that got picked on... but it's all cool now cause I think I had a pretty amazing college journey and I met some amazing people along the way!!!

6. Josh and I are trying to get pregnant... we've both always wanted boys... I say boys because twins run in both of our family's! My dad is a twin and his grandfather is a twin... lovely right!!! Well after going to Disney World and seeing all the little girls in their Princess dresses and getting all excited about Cinderella... Now I want girls! I haven't even told Josh yet, not that it matters because it's not like we get to choose what God gives us!

Ok so that was mind racking... and now it's my turn to tag!!!! So, I tag

Kassie @ The Fabuluous Life of Kassie & Bryan

Brandy @ Not Quite the Brady Bunch

Melissa @ Hanging with the Lapsley's

Jen @ Keep it Classy

Lindsey @ Learning to be a Wife

Melissa @ New Girl on Post

Welcome to the addiction...

Just wanted to post a little note to welcome my old pal Brandy to the world of Blogging! I know she'll be hooked just like the rest of us all are!!! Go check her out and leave her some bloggy love at Not Quite the Brady Bunch