There are a few things I believe vinegar should be used for…

• Salad dressing
• Dying Easter eggs
• Neutralizing jellyfish stings
• Making model volcanoes for elementary school science fairs
• Eastern NC chopped pork BBQ (Ya’ll come enjoy it with us here in NC!)
• Heartburn

Yep, you read that last one right.  The plague of pregnancy, the throat burning affliction of acid reflux.  I was on Prevacid or Prilosec for a number of years to treat my GERD.  I stopped taking those and stuck with the more fetus-friendly Zantac and Tums since I got pregnant.  But these days, I’m having to pull out the belly-soothing-big-gun…Apple Cider Vinegar.  

I know.  It’s acidic.  It’s freakin vinegar!  It has to have like the lowest ph of any other food for human consumption.  Don’t ask me how it works.  I discovered this remedy before I got pregnant during a long night of feeling the burn when I ran out of medicine.  Here’s an article.  I had forgotten all about it until a few days ago when I swear my esophagus laughed at the Zantac on the way down.

I take a spoonful in one shot.  I don’t dilute it in water like some of the websites suggest.  It burns, but it works.  The doctor said it was totally fine and completely harmless.  Well…maybe not completely…

Oh, did I forget to tell you it tastes like crap?  It does.  I would SO rather eat BBQ.

I’m coming to realize the amount of agonizing I did over furniture for my child’s room was a bit much.  I knew a finger-severing drop-side crib was out.  I made that clear in my register rants.  We went to a half-a-dozen local furniture stores and baby specialty shops to find furniture good enough suitable for my kid.

My standards dropped with each store visit and online search.  A 15-year-old-made-in-China-stained-finger-severer on Craig’s List was starting to look great compared to paying what it cost for a new freakin crib.

I got incredibly lucky with SmartMomma here in Raleigh.  She has her fantastic new location right by our house and had to unload some fancy pants furniture at clearance.  

The room is not finished so I don’t want to reveal too much.  (Yep, I’m truly that self-centered that I think people care how I’m decorating my child’s room.  But, you knew that because I actively participate in the world’s most self-centered activity…blogging.  So indulge me.)   

Obviously all the bedding hasn’t arrived yet, but you get the idea. After all the shopping and all the money we spent, we got our crib, dresser, and armoire.  The delivery company was very honest with me about the scratches on the dresser.  Scratches?!  I could’ve scratched someones eyes out!

Surely no one can move a child into a room with this abomination!

Seriously, this is the last baby shower post.

Everyone knows what shower is for.  I mean, you get stuff.  Even more than just three days worth of blog posts. (Cha-ching!)  We got some amazing things we really love.  We were overwhelmed by how generous our family and friends were.

My mom’s gifts weren’t expensive.  They weren’t from the registry.  They weren’t new.  That’s why they were great.

It took me a second when I opened the first one to realize what it was…

Sorry Grey, I’m covering your face!  He he!

Okay, so yesterday I joking about how silly I am to do 2 posts on the baby shower.  Guess what.  I can’t even fit it all today without making an obnoxiously long post.  So, as obnoxious as it is, I’m writing 3 posts (yep, 3 posts) on the shower.
At this weekend’s shower, my sister Julie read some funny stories our families had written about us.  She used the dress theme from our nursery to compile a book after painstakingly making these little pages decorated with dresses.

On the first page of the book she wrote this…

Julie and I in late summer/early fall dresses for the shower.

I know you may be thinking, “Really Amy.  A two-part post on the baby shower?”  Yep, it was that great of a  weekend and my family and friends went above and beyond anything I ever imagined. They deserve two posts.  We’ll just do some pictures today…

Greyson’s sister Alison came from CO.  She is the sweetest, most thoughtful person I know.  We were so glad she came.

33 weeks and growing in my purple dress. (I love how we always pose in front of the bar.  I wonder how many pictures of our kid we’ll take in front of the bar.)

This was the tent outside mom’s house.  Look at all the booze we had at the baby shower!  (I really wanted a Heineken Light, but I didn’t)

Sweet centerpieces made by my aunts.

Beautiful paper lanterns hung by my step-brother and step-sister Bryce and Tahlia.  They were up with the sun  to help out with everything.  (I heard only some slave labor was forced by my mom.  Just kidding Mama!)

My sister made the diaper cake and wreath even though she’s an MBA student.  (More on her hard work in Part 2.)

Look at these cupcakes!  My Aunt Wanda and Aunt Pam made each of these individually to look like baby rattles. Greyson’s bib.   He hates it when I use knives.  (Please note I sacrificed my own personal vanity for humor and put this terrible “double chin” photo of myself on the Internet.) The traditional “Couples-Shower-Doll-Diapering Challenge.”  Please note how “in-the-zone” my step-dad Jeff is. (left)  He wasn’t about to lose to Greyson’s team after their epic Wii battles.   The Daddy-to-be struggled.  In his defense he did have the more difficult doll.  Let’s hope we don’t have a difficult daughter to change.   Seriously, I have like a million more pictures of us with our awesome friends and family but, I’ll stop.  More on the unbelievable thoughtfulness that went into this shower tomorrow.