Baby, oh baby.

Crazy how time flies and crawls at the same time when you're pregnant. Crazy how little else seems to matter except eating constantly, getting enough rest (impossible) and keeping TUMS within arms reach at all times. Crazy how I have actually turned crazy (stupid hormones). I saw pregnant people everywhere before I was pregnant. Watched them as their bellies slowly expanded and listened to their endless tirades about back pain and heartburn. Yet, as I witnessed the changes, I never thought about the daily things that a pregnant woman goes through. Until now. No one tells you about the constant heartburn, the inability to be around any odor, the uncomfortable feeling every time you lay down, the feeling when your stomach is stretching out....all the not so pleasant things about being an expectant mom. Yes, I knew morning sickness was a side effect, but no one told me I'd be sick ALL DAY LONG. Or that it would last this long....it's been like having the flu for 2 solid months. No one told me that I would be a crazy, hormonal psycho that cries at the drop of a hat and then is inexplicably angry the next. No one told me that I would feel so incredible guilty for feeling so miserable all the time and not being able to really ENJOY this pregnancy. I see all of these people on facebook gushing about their pregnancy like they really wouldn't mind being pregnant every day for the rest of their lives. Why am I not that excited? I feel like I was jipped! Why didn't I know about all these horrors before this little bun started baking in the oven? Because none of it really matters. Because I know that in 6 months, he or she will be here and all of the miserable moments of the entire 9 months will be completely forgotten. Because whenever I get weekly updates on what the baby is up to: "This week, baby is the size of a lemon and is sucking it's thumb!" I'm completely in awe that something like that is growing inside of me. That boy or girl, this baby is going to be a mix of Marty and I...and I, for one, cannot wait to see what our mini-me is going to look like. Because I can't wait to see my parents faces when I give them their first grandchild. Because I know (or at least I really, really, REALLY hope) that in a few weeks, the 1st trimester sickness will be fading away. And then I am told that energy will abound and I can focus on fun things like getting our house ready for the baby and buying all his/her clothes (oh my goodness, we are going to be so incredible broke). Because, no matter what I'm going through right now, I know it's going to be completely worth it. So, little baby Gaddie...you may be making me completely, 100% miserable right now, but I love you anyway. :)

Thank-full

Last season, I fell in love with a new show on TLC called "Quints by Surprise." Before you start moaning and groaning, let me tell you that I had a similar reaction when I first heard about the show. I just knew it was going to be another Jon and Kate, "we did in-vitro and now we have a million kids," cookie cutter kind of family of multiples show. I never quite got over the heartbreak of the outcome of Jon and Kate + 8, so I was reluctant to watch a show like theirs. But curiosity got the best of me and I tuned into the pilot episode. I was blown away. This family wasn't your typical, fame-loving couple that wanted to expose their kids for their personal benefits. It was immediately evident that this family loved each other. They weren't afraid to talk about their faith and how they give credit to God for everything that he's blessed them with in their lives. It was incredibly refreshing to hear a young couple talking about their faith and quoting Bible verses that were getting them through some difficult times. For those of you that haven't seen the show, I'll give you a quick rundown: Casey and Ethan Jones are a cute little couple in Texas that, for one reason or another, couldn't get pregnant on their own. So they turned to in-vitro and got pregnant with their first little girl, Eliot. After a few years, they decide they want a sibling (or two) for Eliot and go the in-vitro route once again. This time, they end up with 5...four girls, one boy (Britton, Brooklyn, Ryan, Lila and Jack). They go through the expected, scared-to-death, how are we going to support this many kids stage and then they turn to God and thank him for blessing them with 5 healthy babies. Now you should be caught up :)
Unfortunately, TLC is in limbo about renewing this show for a second season (oh, don't worry, I've already written them twice letting them know that they should bring it back) and the lack of the Jones family in my life sent me on a Google search to find out what they've been up to lately. And I found their family blog. Talk about inspirational. They have tabs about giving thanks, faith, a link to their church's homepage. I start browsing through a few of their recent posts and I came across one made on Thanksgiving by Ethan, the father of the quints. It moved me to tears.
http://www.joneslife.net/2010/11/thankful-for-being-thankful/
It made me re-evaluate how I look at things in my own life. Do I thank God enough (I think I know the answer...)? Do I thank people around me enough (unfortunately, I know the answer to that one too)? And why not? I like it when people thank me for doing things....not that I expect gratitude, but it's nice to be recognized for the work you're doing. So why not reciprocate the feeling? I love the paragraph where he talks about his friend that makes a "Gratitude List" everyday and sends it to all of her friends. What a wonderful idea! While I won't be clogging your inboxes with my daily list of things I'm thankful for, I do think it's an uplifting idea to do on my own, even if it's once a week. I know I tend to have bad days, where all I focus on is the negatives in my life instead of the wonderful things that the Lord has blessed me with. So today, I'd like to make my own gratitude list.
I'm thankful for:

• clean drinking water (since I've turned into a camel and am drinking my body weight in water a day)
• my mom
• the idea that, this week, my dad got to realize and live out one of his dreams
• the fact that my husband hasn't killed me yet as I go through the miserable, all day sickness stage
• this miracle growing inside me
• the family that we're bringing this baby into
• Pandora radio
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch
• the fact that I'm going to see a few of my state officer teammates tonight for the first time in a year
• my organized desk and office space
• space heaters

I hope you all have a grateful day. :)

Wrap me up in a bow :)

I'm not sure what caused it. Maybe it was the cute little pair of silver bow stud earrings I found the other day at Rue 21. Maybe it's my love for all things feminine and simple. Maybe it's the fact that the first girl in 14 years was born into my family recently. Whatever the reason, I have a newfound obsession with bows. My mother and I were shopping in Louisville earlier in the week and bows were everywhere! Sweaters, screenprinted tshirts, bow headbands. I was in heaven. It even inspired me to make my own "wish list" on etsy.com today. I hope you enjoy these bow-utiful selections as much as I do :)

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4cf8000e99648eefe4d9f312/bow-utiful?index=0

Living with purpose

I've been feeling very.....unsettled lately. I read books about finding your purpose in life, finding that one thing that lights you up and brings you alive. I heard a quote the other day--"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive." I love the quote, but with all due respect to the author, it's just not that easy. I know what makes me come alive: youth in agriculture, the FFA, painting, event planning. Yet getting a job in any of these have, what seems like, unsurmountable obstacles that I haven't been able to get past. Ag job after ag job comes open and I apply. And I'm always given the "You're great, but we went with someone better" speech. Okay, maybe not that harsh, but it always feels that way whenever you're on the receiving end of that message. I try to convey in my interviews that I have passion, drive, energy--everything I think a successful employee needs. But it seems that the job always goes to someone older, more experienced, with more connections. And I am left, yet again, to wonder how I'm supposed to get a job in the field I majored in. Did I make a mistake in my beginning college advising session? I feel like my major should have come with a warning label: "You're going to graduate college and feel invinceable, but this won't last. You'll be 2 years out of graduation, still looking for that mythical "perfect" job." Don't get me wrong, I'm not naive. I knew that I wasn't going to find "the job" as soon as I graduated college, but I thought I would at least get an entry level agriculture job and eventually be able to move my way up the ladder. But with every interview I have, the more discouraged I become. I wonder if I should give up on the agriculture idea all together, or at least until the economy picks up a little. So I go to my second passion: painting and creativity. As most of you know, I have a job on the side where I paint a variety of different things. When I've had a discouraging day, I think, "Is this something I could be doing as a career??" Then the reality hits: what if I fail? what if I don't make enough money? how would I get good health insurance? what about benefits that I would get from a normal 9-5 job? I say that I'd like a job that I feel passionate about, despite what the paycheck is, but the reality is a little different. Dreams and passion don't necessarily pay the bills. And how would I promote my business to be successful enough to make up for the paycheck that I would normally be getting? I can't afford to open a shop as of right now, as much as I'd love to do something like that. I have my "daydreaming days" where I think about opening my own craft store and offer event planning services. I think about days filled with handpainted signs and planning Disney-themed birthday parties and elegant weddings. I guess instead of focusing on the things I don't have, I need to find the good in the situation that I'm in. Maybe God is keeping me in my current job to teach me something....as hard as that lesson may be to understand. Rick Warren wrote in his book "The Purpose Drive Life" that "If you're alive, there's a purpose to your life." While I don't think my current situation is my purpose in life, I do think that there's a purpose to why I'm there. And maybe I'm not meant to know that purpose. Maybe I'm supposed to suck it up until God puts something better in front of me. So I guess my daydreams will have to do for now. At least until I figure a way to find the things that make me come alive into a full time job.

Labyrinth 2 on Table Connect for iPhone

We are currently testing Table Connect for iPhone with various games and are testing how far we can go :-)

Warning: Try only if you're fit, sore muscles guaranteed! (Still hurts ...)

Labyrinth 2 by Illusion Labs is great fun and available on the App Store!

Table Connect for iPhone - video demo launch!

Yesterday we had a short visit from a friend and he was lucky enough to be the first outsider to test our alpha firmware on the Table Connect for iPhone.

Check it out!

F.A.Q.

Due to the massive response and interest we decided to quickly set up a little FAQ section that may answer the most asked questions. Please be patient with us since we don't have any press inquiry manager or whatsoever. You can reach it via the site menu. Thanks for your patience!