Big News x 2!

1.  Well, here we are at week 36 and we have decided on a name and want to share it with the world!  Originally we had planned to wait until Baby E was born to reveal his name, but we can't hold it in any longer.  Drumroll please.....

Turner Marion English

The funny thing is... all of my coworkers have been calling him Turner all along because that was their favorite of our name choices.  Little have they known that they have really been calling him by his name the whole time.

Both "Turner" and "Marion" are family names on Jesse's side.  We discovered "Turner" at a family reunion this summer in a family geneology book and really liked it.  "Marion" was Jesse's grandfather's middle name, whom he was named after.  Originally, I thought Marion was a girl name (bc I knew a girl named Marion) until Kyle Lynch corrected me by saying that Marion is actually John Wayne's real name.  Ok. Kyle wins. Marion is a guys' name.

We are so excited for Turner to get here!  I go to the doctor Thursday, my final nursing class is Thursday night, my friends are throwing a baby shower this Saturday (!), then our final childbirthing class is Monday night.  So, anytime after Monday, we are ready for Baby Turner to get here!  Or, so we think.  I'm not sure if you are ever ready for a baby, but we are definitely excited to become parents!



2.  We found out today that Jesse got Finalist for Presidential Management Fellows (PMF)!  This is a program that takes graduate students and accelerates their experience in order for them to take on leadership/management roles more quickly in the federal government...sort of like injecting young blood into the higher ranks...which we all know would be good for everybody.  There were originally 9,000 applicants, which were then cut down to 1,200, and then 600 of these were named as finalists.  These cuts were made from a test and an interview process.  I am SO PROUD of Jesse for being named Finalist!  What does that mean for us? This will open up many doors for him in applying for jobs.  He would love to go into public service (with the National Park Service, Forest Service, or another agency like that), so this opportunity (hopefully) allows him a much greater chance of getting a position with one of these agencies.

This has been a long road from the day he applied and got nominated back in early fall, but so rewarding.  We are so thankful to the Lord for providing this opportunity to us.  We have learned a lot about trusting God in a time where we want to be in control of our future.  We are excited to see what doors this opens up to our new little family!

Anniversary Trip + Babymoon

"A babymoon is a vacation taken by a couple that is expecting a baby in order to allow the couple to enjoy a final trip together before the many sleepless nights that usually accompany a newborn baby."


Sounds nice, huh?  This past fall, Jesse and I really wanted to take a babymoon but due to the busyness of the semester, we weren't able to find the time to go on a vacation.  Time was quickly ticking by and this upcoming weekend is the last one that my doctor will let me travel since we are one month away from Baby English!  We also wanted to go somewhere to celebrate 3 years of our marriage. Our first anniversary was spent in Memphis and our second we were snowed in with no power in Starkville!  We wanted to combine an anniversary trip and a babymoon this year and started thinking about nearby cities that we could visit, but we also don't have a lot of money to spend on a vacation...  


We ended up receiving a HUGE blessing from the McDonnells, a very dear family from home.  I have been close with this family since 9th grade and babysat their girls throughout high school.  They are such a special family to me and I have so much to thank them for. They have a BEAUTIFUL cabin in Madison where they let us stay for our anniversary + babymoon trip.  This is also the same place that we stayed on our wedding night, so it was so special to be able to go back for our trip.  


Going back home doesn't really seem like the most fun for a trip like this, but we treated it as a getaway... and it really was!  One of my favorite things about this cabin is when you are there, it doesn't feel like you are in Madison... although it is only about 10 minutes from the I-55 Madison exit.  You would NEVER know it. It is tucked away on a private drive which turns into a dirt road through the woods.  It is situated far back in the woods by a small lake/pond... beautifully surrounded by nature.  Over the weekend we saw so many birds, deer, ducks, and even turkeys! 


We were able to sleep in, relax, read, watch movies and Breaking Bad (the TV show that we are HOOKED on right now), and again RELAX.  We did go into town for dinners and a little shopping, but most of the weekend was spent at the cabin. We really enjoyed having this time together, just the two of us, before life changes more than we know.  I was sad when Monday came and it was time to leave, but I am so thankful that we were able to spend the long weekend here. We are so blessed to have been able to go here for free and get away for the weekend.


Now for the tour!

Thank you again, McDonnells, for sharing your beautiful cabin with us!  For my last weekend of travel we are so excited to go to Memphis and celebrate with Alan Sweet and Jill Horton as they get hitched!  Only 3 days away!

Baby Room

Here we are at week 34 as well as mine and Jesse's 3rd wedding anniversary.  I can't believe it.  For those of you who aren't up on the weeks of pregnancy, 40 weeks is full term, but they say any time from 36 or 37 weeks on, it is ok to have the baby. Let's be honest, unless you have been pregnant or are currently pregnant, the weekly count can be annoying. I remember having to do the math in my head to figure out how many months that means.  My doctor says that I am still right on track for my due date of February 22, so most likely we have 6 more weeks to go! So for those of you who prefer counting in months, I am 2 weeks away from being 8 months preggers. I need to take some pictures so everyone can see the baby bump, which is more like a basketball these days.

It's crazy while being pregnant, how easy it can be to give in to all of the marketing of baby products.  It's like they make you think that if you don't buy ALL of these things for your baby, then you aren't being a good parent or you aren't providing for your child.  We have had to take a step back and think about our wants and our needs.  Do we really need all of these things?  The question we try to ask ourselves is, "Did our grandmothers need this?"  If the answer is no, then we usually feel that we don't either.  Granted, there are definitely a few things, thanks to technology that we definitely want and will probably purchase, but overall we are trying to keep it simple.  I have a feeling that this is something we will have to remind ourselves about for the rest of our children's lives... and our own for that matter! 

We are getting very excited and anxious about the arrival of this baby bundle!  "The Lodge" (which is what we sometimes call our guest room at the "English Bed and Breakfast") has now been turned from guest room/Jesse's office to baby room/guest room!  My parents came in town last weekend to bring the goodies!  Our main goal with the nursery was to reuse things that we already had. The only thing that was bought was the glider and the bedding (thanks Mom and Dad!).  The crib was mine as a baby, the chest of drawers were at my parents house and the changing table is my grandfather's desk.  The window above the crib was picked up 2 years ago for free and the curtains and lamps were already in the room. There are a few more things to go on the walls, but the room is mostly done!  (And yes, the guest bed is still in here in case anyone wants to come visit!)

Here is a little sneak peak of his room! Maggie wanted to be in some of the pictures.. really, I couldn't get her to move.  :)  She has been extra clingy to me recently... we think she knows.  She will be a great big sister. These two will grow up together! 

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

I love a clean house.

Merry Christmas readers!  Today was my first day of my "Winter Holiday" thanks to Mississippi State!  This is one of the biggest perks of my job - 2 weeks off of paid vacation at Christmas.  So thankful for the time off after a VERY busy fall semester.  I have so enjoyed being home... sleeping in, cleaning house, doing laundry, wrapping Christmas presents, running errands, and hanging out with the hubs and pup. While I was cleaning today, I thought I should share some recipes with you... however, they are not recipes that will make your tummy happy, but your wallet!

1.  About 2 years ago we started making our own laundry detergent. If you follow the blog, you know this isn't the first time I have raved about making your own detergent! It is amazing how much money you save. By making your own detergent, you end up spending roughly 3 cents a load.  I never realized how much laundry detergent cost until I started making my own.  There has been one time that I had to buy some at the store because we were out and didn't have the time to make some, and it was shocking to me how much I had been paying before and had never thought twice about it.  I have posted this on the blog before, but here is the recipe again in case you missed it!


Laundry Detergent
- 1 bar of soap (whatever kind you like, keeping in mind this is the scent your clothes will have)
- 1 box of washing soda (look for it in the laundry detergent aisle at the store - I bought the Arm & Hammer Washing Soda and found it at Kroger)
- 1 box of borax (i also found this in the laundry detergent aisle at Kroger.  The brand I bought was called 20 Mule Team)
- 5 gallon bucker with a lid
- 3 gallons of tap water


Step one:  Grab your cheese grater and grate the entire bar of soup into a bowl.  While grating, bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a small pot.  Stir the grated soap into the boiling water and continue to stir until the soap is completely dissolved. 


Step two:  Put 3 gallons of hot water into the 5 gallon bucket (the easiest way is to fill up a gallon milk jug 3 times).  Then stir in the hot soapy water from step one and add 1 cup of the washing soda.  Keep stirring for another minute or two, then add 1/2 cup of borax.  Stir for another couple of minutes, then cover and let the mixture sit overnight to cool.

Tada!  You are done. When you get up in the morning, you will have a bucket of gelatinous slime.  The consistency will be a mixture of watery gel.  I usually stir it again in the morning.  We use 1 cup of the detergent per load, sometimes a little more or less depending on the load size.  According to the website where we found this recipe, you should get about 48 loads of laundry.

2.  More recently we found a recipe for making our own countertop cleaner... and my first thoughts while using it was "Man, I feel like an idiot."  Why?  Because it works just as good as any that you buy at the store for fractions of the cost.  If you are like me, you are constantly wiping down the counters after cooking dinner, or making any kind of mess. I love a to cook but I also love a clean kitchen (and house for that matter).

All-purpose Cleaner
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon borax
- squirt of dish detergent
- hot water
- spray bottle 


Combine the vinegar, baking soda, and borax with a little bit of hot water in a spray bottle.  Swish around until the baking soda and borax have dissolved.  (Be very careful to not create a "volcano eruption" like you did in 4th grade science with these same ingredients!) Add a few squirts of dish detergent and fill the rest of the bottle with warm water, and you are good to go!


We've learned that by keeping a few items around the house, it is very easy to make your own homemade cleaning solutions.  If you have vinegar, borax, and baking soda, you are pretty much good to go.  I'm interested in trying out more recipes for cleaning solutions, so if you have any recommendations, please comment and share!

Banana Nut Bread

It's been a while since I have posted a recipe on here... so here we go!  I had some bananas that were way too ripe to eat, so of course that means its time to make banana nut bread!  Other than how good it tastes, I think one of my favorite things about making banana nut bread is how the entire house smells AMAZING while it is baking.  And since it takes an hour to bake, you get to enjoy the aroma for a while!  After trying out multiple recipes, we have landed on this one and can't seem to try any others.  It is so. so. good. Try it for yourself and see what you think!

Banana Nut Bread
Makes 3 loaves

1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
3 cups white sugar
3 eggs
6 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 (16 oz) sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional, but why would you leave them out??)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Grease 3 loaf pans.  In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.  Dust pans lightly with cinnamon sugar mixture.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and 3 cups sugar.  Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Mix in salt, baking soda, and flour.  Stir in nuts.  Divide into prepared pans.

Bake 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Unless you "accidentally forget to eat 6 bananas" as I usually do,  you can always stock up in the freezer as you have ones too ripe to eat.  Just thaw before mashing!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Mississippi Delta!

Hello blog world!  It has been a while since I last posted... the semester is winding down, which means that travel season (for work) is over and that I graduate on Friday!  I have one stats test left and then I am done with grad school! Jesse has a final design project he is finishing up, as well as some projects for his grad assistant position and then we can wrap this semester in maroon and white. I decided that I am going to walk on Friday.  If you had told me in December 2008 that I would be back at December graduation in 2011 getting another degree I would have laughed in your face.  But, here we are!  All that Jesse has left next semester is his thesis... "all"... haha.  No classes (!), just thesis hours and his grad assistant position... oh and welcoming Baby English into the world, no biggie.  He will graduate in May and are very anxiously awaiting the Lord's timing to reveal where we will be come May.  Sweet home Starkville?  Somewhere else?  We shall see... 

We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving this year.  My parents, Kristian, George and Ashlyn, and Jesse and I went to the big city of Yazoo City on Thursday to celebrate Thanksgiving.  We have done this almost every year of my life... the years that we don't come to this house don't really feel like Thankgiving to me. 

This is my Aunt and Uncle's house on the farm in Yazoo...

...and this is my favorite room in the house.

 I love everything about this room.  The wood on the walls is from an old barn and I love the brick floors, wooden beams and big fireplace. Being in the delta, it is complete with a deer head on the wall.  In the first picture, you can see the net of a basketball goal.  I love that there is a basketball goal in this room.  I have many memories shooting hoops in here (with soft balls, of course).  You can see it better in this picture:

After Thanksgiving, Aunt Marie (affectionately known as "Gam") hides elves all over this room.  It is tradition to visit Yazoo City to go count elves.  If you get the number right, you get a prize!

And this is where the after lunch naps happen on Thanksgiving day.  I am especially thankful for the two men in this picture.  I wouldn't be who I am today without either one of them.

Every year, Aunt Marie (Gam) always has a beautiful table arranged.  She is on the left, here with my mom.  

Hands down, Thanksgiving Day could not happen without these two ladies!

Close up of the table:

Here is the beautiful place setting.  This is where my love for McCarty's pottery began. We always eat on this every year.  It will always remind me of my family, which is why I wanted to collect it.  This is what I got instead of china when Jesse and I got married.  I wanted to always have a piece of the Mississippi Delta with me no matter where we live.  From their website, "McCartys pottery can be identified by the trademarked "river," a small black wavy line representing the Mississippi River on most functional pieces, and by the trademarked McCartys signature which is hand signed on the bottom or back of each piece."

Thanksgiving corn:  In the picture above, you can see three kernels of corn just above the plate.  This is a big tradition of the Cato family.  Each year, three kernels are placed at each place setting.  Once we are stuffed with the wonderful family recipes, we make room for dessert and coffee and gather around the table again.  As we feel led, we all take turns saying three things that we are thankful for from the year.  Each year, I usually get emotional, simply because it is so special to hear how the Lord has blessed my family.  We remember family members that are no longer with us, who used to have a seat around this very same table... we remember the good times and the hard times of the year... we remember how amazing the Lord's presence is in our lives... and how if we didn't have His salvation, we would have nothing.  I am so very thankful and blessed to have a family that takes the time to recognize and verbalize these things... and especially one that is so open to share how the Lord has worked in their lives.  For some reason, Uncle Bob (affectionately known as "Pop") thought that this year Jesse and I might have something we were especially thankful for and asked us to go first.  :)  He was very right.  We are so thankful for this baby.  It's crazy to think that at Thanksgiving next year, we will have another person at the table! 

Here's the Cato family!  The group was actually small this year... we missed everyone who could not make it! The original Cato's in this picture are my Mom and her brother, Uncle Bob (Pop) who are both seated in the middle.  The rest of us wouldn't be here without these two!

It looks like my Mom, Dad, and I are dressed for gameday. We were just getting ready for Egg Bowl, that's all.  :)  Here we are with my sister Kristian, her husband George, and their daughter Ashlyn.  

After our late lunch, Jesse went hunting with the guys and I joined my parents in picking up pecans in the front yard.  For some reason, we thought we were hungry again that night and had taco soup and turkey sandwhiches on homemade bread.  Yum.  All in all, it was a wonderful day on the farm. 

On Friday, Mom, Kristian and I did some shopping and made a big purchase for Baby English's nursery!  Jesse and I headed back to Starkville by way of Tupelo (what???) and picked up another big purchase along the way for the baby and a special happy for Maggie (no, we haven't forgotten about her).  We originally had no intentions on participating in Black Friday, but ended up getting three great deals - all in the afternoon.  Who says you have to get up early to get a good deal?  Once the semster ends, I will share the latest on preparations for Baby E!

I think everyone knows what happened on Saturday.  The Dawgs whooped up on the Black Bears and kept the Egg Bowl trophy in Starkville!  3 years in a row!  Even in the pouring rain, the game was so much fun.  GO DAWGS!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and that you are getting ready for Christmas!  We are planning on putting up our tree on Monday.  Can't wait!

Baby English

Saturday was MSU's Homecoming as well as the day of the big reveal of Baby English!  In case you don't know, Jesse and I chose to not find out the gender of our baby at the doctor's office. The day that we could have found out the gender, we asked for the results to be placed in an envelope, rather than finding out the news at the doctor.  I took the envelope to the State Fountain Bakery on campus and ordered a cake - pink on the inside if it was a girl and blue if it was a boy.  We really wanted to do something special with our friends and family all together.  This past weekend was the first chance we had to get both of our parents together.  

As you can imagine, there was MUCH anticipation leading up to this day. In the weeks that passed, there were so many times that I wished I already knew the gender... especially with everyone and their momma asking me if I knew what I was having. Even though we knew we wanted to find out the gender prior to the baby being born, I can definitely see why some couples choose to not find out.  It was special to have a little mystery inside of me. As we got closer and closer to the big day, however, I was SO READY to know!  The reveal was set for 3:00 at our tailgate.  Time surprisingly flew by until about 2:30 and then it felt like 3:00 would never get here. 

THE CAKE which teased us all at the tailgate for about 3 hours.  

My mom made these tissue paper flowers at work on Friday, since she couldn't focus on anything else but baby. She surprised us with pink and blue cowbells Saturday morning.

The last few moments of mystery baby!

So excited!  A baby BOY!

There was no mistaking the color of the cake.

This makes 5 grandchildren for my parents.  They already have 3 boys and a girl. This makes grandchild number 1 for Jesse's parents.  

Disclaimer:  I have NEVER in my whole life seen my Dad eat dessert.  Even he had a piece of cake to celebrate!

Price Family (We missed you Kristian, George, and Ashlyn!)

English Family

Friends!

Needless to say, it was a VERY memorable day and we are so glad that we waited to find out the news this way!  Thank you so much to everyone that was able to make it.  We were very overwhelmed by the love and support of our friends and family.  This little baby boy has a lot of people who love him already! 

Proud parents!