It's Go Time

Nope, no baby yet. I do have some updates for you, though.

I haven't felt very motivated to write my blog lately. I'm not sure why other than...well, there really isn't a reason. I'm enjoying my time at home...it's really been great not to have to wake up at 6am and drive in to work every day, pay $10 for parking and sit at my desk for 9 hours. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to have a job in this economy, but I am equally grateful to now be able to be at home polishing my housewifing skills. Really, it's "polishing my housewifing skills while switching between HGTV and The Food Network". A pregnant girl with swollen feet has to rest, you know.

*Warning: Childbirthing talk in the next 2 paragraphs*
Speaking of ze swollen feet, last week at my appointment I was not dilated at all. At bit disappointing, but quite honestly since I was expecting Amelia to make a tardy entrance into the world I wasn't all that surprised. However, at my appointment on Monday I was already at 2cm, 50% effaced and -1 station. If you don't know what that means, Google can help. Now, I don't know what exactly made that progress possible other than this little girl gearing up for delivery. Perhaps it was the 1 mile round trip to Dairy Queen that D and I walked on Saturday evening. You know a 39 week pregnant girl loves her some ice cream and Dairy Queen is good motivation for exercise. Along the way and back I had to stop a few times because those pesky round ligament pains wouldn't go away. But, if that was my body making progress I will not argue!

My blood pressure on Monday was high in the doctor's office, so after stripping my membranes (sorry, folks...this is also for posterity. My daughter should know this stuff eventually...I'm just documenting) my doctor sent me over to labor & delivery to be monitored. My bp was within normal ranges by then, but because of my swelling/bp in the past and how much it fluctuates and because of Amelia's estimated size my doctor suggested an induction for Thursday (my due date) after making sure my body was favorable for induction.

Tonight D & I went on a walk...this time to Walgreens to buy some milk since it's dirt cheap right now. I've been having some contractions but nothing timeable. I'm praying for progress so that the induction goes super smoothly on Thursday...or that I go into labor on my own before then. I'd LOVE to go into labor before then.

My mom, dad, sisters and their kids are coming up tomorrow evening. I'm really excited about that. My brothers-in-law will get here Thursday night.

So, there's your update. Hopefully I'll post at least a picture for you by Friday. But seriously, I've never been through this before so I could be putting unrealistic expectations on myself. Please keep Amelia, D, and me in your prayers for a safe, healthy, and (as a bonus) speedy delivery.

Have a great rest of the week & 4th of July!

I'm a blessed girl

Happy Father's Day! We had an enjoyable one.

First, I need to give a shout-out to my dad since we weren't able to spend today with him (the shot to the left is the night D & I got engaged...he asked me in a super creative way right smack dab in front of my family. No one knew he was going to do it except Dad. It was priceless). It's hard to know where to begin when talking about my dad since there are so many things I admire/respect/love about him. What I most remember about my childhood was that he was there all of the time. He worked 45 minutes from our house, but I don't ever remember an occasion when he wasn't actively involved...he never put work above his family although at his job he was always a very hard worker with a stellar work ethic. He coached (or assistant coached?) our little league softball team, the Sugarbabies, and was always there for any sport or hobby that we decided to involve ourselves. When we were little, my mom would bathe us and my dad always blow-dried our hair...I love that memory. When we lived in Michigan and had a ping pong table in the basement he would play ping pong with us tirelessly. Living in Michigan was tough at times because my dad got laid off at work. He went to the unemployment office every single day as if it was his full time job and at night he worked at a Meijer store - stocking shelves. I think about that often because that, to me, was the ultimate in sacrifice for his family. It was important to him that my mom stay home with us so he did what he felt he had to do to provide for his family - no job was "below" him. As a Christian, my dad is an amazing example of a spiritual leader of his family and now that he's an elder he's an excellent leader at church, too. I firmly believe that my sisters and I married such amazing Christian men because of the example my dad set for us when we were growing up. I can't remember my dad ever losing his temper with us when we were still at home. When I was a teenager filled with the normal amount of teen angst, I always felt like I could talk to my dad and he wouldn't get mad at me for expressing how I felt about things (although he had his way of gently reminding me why things were the way they were). He let me talk, and I'll never forget that. I love you, Dad...I feel like I didn't say enough, but what you've done to show us you love us hasn't been overlooked. For my wedding, since I was the last of his daughters to get married, he worked on this video to show at the reception. I wasn't allowed to see it before the wedding day, but I remember he would work on it in his office and come out of the room wiping his eyes...my dad who never cries. I had a great childhood with parents who loved each other deeply (and still do) and put God first...what a difference that makes!

Here's the video Dad made. Turn up your sound and grab a tissue or 9:



Here's the link in case the video doesn't work for you. I love you, Dad. Happy Father's Day.

We spent Father's Day with D's parents, sister and brother-in-law. Jake grilled hamburgers and we had potato salad (that D's mom made - mmmm), potato chips, and watermelon. Really yummy meal. I decided to try a dessert I saw recently for Father's Day. They were a big hit! My father-in-law really enjoyed them so I consider them a success! Here are photos of the "hamburgers" I made. It's pretty much a cupcake with brownie and frosting inside. The "fries" are sugar cookies with sugar sprinkled on them:

I wish D wrote a blog so he could talk about his childhood with his dad. I mean, I know what an amazing man his dad is but it would be fun to hear some stories of D growing up. Anyway, I really do feel fortunate for marrying in to the family I did. D's dad gave such a moving speech at our wedding reception - I'll never forget it! Love you, Papa B! Happy Father's Day!

Just to say - I do consider this D's first Father's Day but only slightly. He deserves recognition for putting up with/bending over backwards for me as I carry our little girl. He's a great dad already because he's taking such great care of our little girl's mom, thus taking care of our little girl. I can't tell you how excited I am to see D with our little girl...I think the second he sees her he'll be a goner. That's if he's not passed out on the floor from the whole labor/delivery experience (I'm kidding - kind of. He doesn't like to see people in pain and isn't a fan of blood). Love you, D.

A couple of sweet girls and their husbands got into town on Saturday morning. They arrived shortly after D left to attend a wedding in Portland. I had so much fun just sitting and chatting with Jenn & Sarah...it made me wish I had girls around my age who lived close that I could just sit around and chat with! They really were a delight to have around. Sarah took some shots of me in all my bellied glory on Saturday afternoon in our backyard and I think they turned out well...she does such an amazing job. I do not feel pretty at all right now (what is with my nose?!) but she took pictures of me that I actually like. That's a feat! Sarah - you rock. And Jenn, thanks for the comedic relief :) Here's a sampling of the photos Sarah took:

Tomorrow I start on thank you notes for baby gifts. I figure if I start tomorrow I can be done by mid-September. :)

Have a happy Monday. Go hug your dad.

Feline Drama

Haaaaalcy.
You've met Halcy. She's one of D's two (fat) cats.

Lately, D has been leaving the french doors to the back deck open so that the cats can wander in and out freely. They've always been indoor cats but, when allowed to, they've loved going on to the front porch or back deck and sitting in the open air. Swatting at bugs is an added bonus. D decided it was time to gradually introduce them to more of the outdoor living, thus leaving open the french doors. Hailey usually stays close to the door but Halcy is the more brave of the two and will creep farther and farther away, although she has always stayed on the deck.

Last night D went to lock up the french doors and didn't see the cats on the deck so he shut everything down and we went to bed. He always brushes Hailey before bed and sometimes Halcy will wander in and either want to be brushed or just hang out, but it's not unusual for Halcy to be MIA before we go to bed. I was home all day today but it's also not unusual for me to not notice the cats while I'm here. They meander about and sometimes just stay under the bed all day. So when D asked if I'd seen Halcy and I said "No", that wasn't too unusual. But when he called for her several times and she didn't appear, we got suspicious.

D wandered the house looking for her while I put dinner on the table, thinking he'd find her right away, no problem. I knew it wouldn't be a quick thing when he left to check outdoors. Right about then is when he put it all together and realized she had probably wandered off the deck the night before and he had locked her out. We both thought this was a bit ironic because D had scheduled to get Halcy declawed tomorrow morning at 7am and then all of a sudden she was missing.

Our back yard is fenced, but since it's sloped there are gaps under it where a cat could easily slide under. Before you go thinking our back yard is a typical back yard with some grass and a few plants, let me show you what it looks like.


It gets more "jungley" as it slopes down toward the wetlands in back. I just saw a racoon the size of a yellow lab wandering around on our deck a few nights ago and I know they roam the wetlands so that's what I was most concerned about.

D left because he was meeting his dad at the gun range for target practice. I guess I felt guilty in a way because I had never made it a secret that I did not like the cats. Granted, I never wished them harm in any way but I just didn't want them in my house. During the last few weeks they were wearing on D's nerves, too. Halcy would claw at our new furniture and for some reason Hailey became deathly afraid of the garage where the litter box was so our house became her litter box. I know, say it with me: "EWWWWWWWW!!!" D had gone so far as to email people that we know and ask if anyone wanted the cats, and he called the vet to ask for recommendations for no-kill shelters. So, the cats have not been on our "warm fuzzies" list lately.

Anyway, I didn't want Halcy to be in danger and I felt sick with her being gone because I knew that D would be upset even if he wasn't acting like it. So, while he was at the gun range I got in my car and roamed the neighborhood a bit. THen I walked from our house around the block to the other side of the wetlands and tried calling for her. I was having pretty consistent Braxton Hicks contractions while I was out walking around so I headed back to the house. I stood in the back yard for a while but eventually came inside.

D called on his way home saying that he was going to stop by Lowe's. I was pretty surprised that he was willing to kill daylight that he could be looking for Halcy so I convinced him to come home and spend the evening light looking for her. I guess he'd been thinking of places she might be, because right when he got home he looked here:

Under our hot tub.

And he saw this (look directly to the right of the pole that's in the light):


For some reason the many times we were outside calling for her before this she wasn't meowing. Now, when D was looking at her under the hot tub deck and saying her name she started meowing. D gave her some food and was able to pet her from under the deck, but since there's only one way in and one way out, it was obvious that Halcy either didn't want to come out or didn't know how to come out. She would even hiss at D when he was petting her from the entrance:


She would. not. come. out.

So, we left her there. I mean, D tried getting her out for at least a good 45 minutes but when it became obvious that she didn't want to leave we weren't going to lasso her and drag her out so there she still stays. D left some food for her but I think we're both past the point of feeling sorry for her. She had ample time to get out of there and didn't. Think she knows English and figured out that she was headed to the vet tomorrow?

Anyway, that's our feline drama for this evening. I had some mint chocolate ice cream and some chocolate ice cream so I feel better now. D doesn't work tomorrow so we have a movie date with Netflix tonight. He's playing Call of Duty right now but says he's just waiting on me to finish my blog before he quits his game. Yeah, right. :)

I said it on Facebook, but it bears repeating....it's a little crazy to me that I will have this baby girl before the sour cream in our refrigerator expires.

Probably should get another belly picture tonight, but I decided makeup was entirely unnecessary today so I'm going to rebel against the belly shot. Plus, I have a [sweet friend|starryfish] coming in to town this weekend who takes amazing pictures and she mentioned wanting to get some more belly pictures of me. Does she really know what she's in for? I mean, I've got the belly...I got a lot of belly. Bring the wide angle lense, Sarah!

I'm rambling. You'd think that since I'm not working anymore I'd be more diligent about updating my blog but the truth is that I'm not. I'm lazy about it. I think that's because I like posting pictures when I post a new blog and that takes effort and a subject.

Ok, for real. Signing out.

EDIT: D tried again for 30 minutes and was finally able to coax Halcy out enough so that he could grab her and bring her indoors. So, the cat is now safe and sound...



I'm sorry for my lack of writing skills...I mean really sorry. They're BAD

Shower & Colors of the RainBOW

Blood work came back normal - yay! My next appointment is Tuesday afternoon so I'll have another update for you then. I think I've been having Braxton Hicks the last couple of days. Right now I've got my feet up and I'm watching a chick flick on Netflix instant watch. We're getting rid of Netflix this month and I think I'm going to miss it. Especially since I'm off work until the baby's born. But hopefully I'll have more important things to occupy my time...or at least more demanding things, like cleaning or reorganizing my pantry.

A good friend of David's from high school wanted to throw us a baby shower, so she invited a few friends of David's from high school/college that we get together with regularly. It was sooo nice - she did a really amazing job planning everything. She thought it would be nice to have it at our house so people could see the nursery. Here's a few pictures...



Today I got asked if I was carrying twins. Yeah. I'm going to give you a tip. Never ask a pregnant woman if she's carrying twins. If she is and she wants you to know, she'll volunteer that information. I'm pretty sure you can only stick your foot in your mouth if you have to ask a pregnant woman if she's carrying twins...because more often than not, she's not carrying twins. I wasn't offended - I know I'm swollen and huge. I really understand that people just don't seem to know what to say to pregnant women, so I'm using this blog to spread the word about things not to say to a pregnant woman. You're welcome! I'll narrow it down for you. The only thing you should say to a pregnant woman: "You look great/beautiful/fantastic".

There. See? Easy.

I have a very talented, very sweet friend named Liz who used to have a business making/selling bows and headbands. She's since had a beautiful little boy and set her business aside but she pulls out her ribbons to make headbands and bows for friends who have baby girls. She recently surprised me by sending a huge bag full of her wonderful headbands. I'm SO excited to put these on my baby girl's head.

She made one for each holiday...


And every color of the rainbow!

Thank you, Liz, for another very sweet and thoughtful gift!

Work has been slightly stressful this week. I'm trying to train the woman who will fill in for me while I'm on maternity leave and it's a long story but it's a rough road. Only 2 more days! Tomorrow is my work baby shower so that should be fun!

Have a great Thursday!

36w4d Appointment

I have other things to post about but they'll have to wait until tomorrow. This will just be about my doctor appointment yesterday because I'm short on time.

We were really excited for our ultrasound since it's been 17 weeks since our last one. Amelia was drinking the fluid/sucking her fingers as she has done for almost every ultrasound we've had where we can see her mouth movement. Her head is way down and the ultrasound tech had to press very firmly on my pubic bone just to get a good shot of Amelia's head/face.

We have several pictures, but this one turned out the best. When I say "best", I mean "creepy". Ha. I have a feeling that if the machine had 3D capabilities this could have been a great shot. It's still pretty neat to see her chubby cheeks and cute little nose.

The purpose of this ultrasound was to measure her head and guess her weight. I have a disclaimer here. First, I'm not worried about having a big baby...I'm just not. I'm not telling you what they guessed on her weight so you can reassure me that my body will still birth this baby. I know it's capable. Also, I know that the ultrasound guesses can be off by 10% or even up to 1lb at this point. Having said all of that, based on the ultrasound measurements my child is already 7lbs, 6oz. And I have 3 1/2 weeks to go. Basically, if the measurements are correct I am on the road to a 9 1/2 pound kid. Anyone want some cute newborn outfits? I don't think I'll need them! According to her weight, she's in the 87th percentile right now. I love chunky babies.

My doctor appointment didn't go so well. My swelling, rapid weight gain, blood pressure, and protein in my urine all pointed to preeclampsia/toxemia. The nurse took my blood pressure, didn't tell me what it was, left the room and came back about 5 minutes later and took it again. Still high. I think it was 147/98...I can't remember. The doctor ordered lab work and I'm pretty confident everything will come back okay. The reason I say that is because when I take my blood pressure at home it's relatively normal. Then again, I've been taking it after I've had my feet up for a while. I was told to take it easy last night and then rest this morning. He wanted me to take the day off work today but since it's my last week he agreed that going in late after resting in the morning would be okay. I should have my blood test results back today and that will determine if I need to go back to the doctor to get my blood pressure checked again on Wednesday.

Whew.

More interesting post to come tomorrow!

36 down, 4 to go!

It's hard to get off the couch. If you've ever been 36+ weeks pregnant you know exactly what I'm talking about. I feel like a lazy slob, but if I can avoid getting off the couch once I'm sitting there, I will. No more hopping up because I forgot to grab my water bottle. The water bottle will either stay where it is until I have to use the restroom for the 10th time that evening, or I'll solicit the help of my agile husband to grab it for me. Usually it's the latter. This also goes for things that are outside of my reach which pretty much includes everything these days. Lest you think I sit around like 3rd base and do nothing, I do get up and get things done it's just that when my rump finds the couch at the end of the day it generally does not like to move. Oh, I need a tissue. "Honey...?"

36 weeks today and here is the obligatory picture. I just realized that I haven't taken a belly picture since week 31. Oops. That's probably as long as it's been since I filled out my pregnancy journal, too. My belly button is making its great escape slowly but surely.

So I've talked about how badly I'm retaining water. I won't go in to that again, don't worry - I just have to brag on my sweet husband. The other night he put the end of our bed up on car stands so that my feet would be elevated while I slept. He thought of it himself and I was very impressed and touched, especially considering what he's given up so far in the sleeping depeartment. His wife has a body pillow the size of 2 grown men, plus she sleeps with the fan blowing directly on her and if it's directly on her it's probably blowing on him, too. Now he gets a blood rush to the head every time he goes to bed. What a guy.
Tonight while D was grilling out hot dogs (for him) and a hamburger (for me), I went downstairs to try to get a picture of the freshly painted french doors in the entertainment room. It was too bright outside to get a good picture, so I walked out on to the porch and took some pictures. The first is of D watering the flowers...uh, I mean "the jungle". Then I thought that the white flowers were so pretty with the water on them that I took a few pictures.

Amelia has been moving like crazy tonight. D put his hand on my belly and she practically kung fu'd it several times...he was pretty amazed. Apparently she weighs around 6 pounds now and is 18" long. We go in for an ultrasound on Monday so we'll know more then about how big she is, hopefully.

I called my doctor's office today because when I told my dad last night about my feet turning purple he made me promise to call. So, I did. My doctor wants me to stay home tomorrow where I can put my feet up and hopefully alleviate the swelling. My feet/hands/face have been swollen for a while, but the last few days we've been having 85 - 90 ° weather which doesn't help water retention.

I'm exhausted so I'm going to head to bed. I promise the shower post is coming soon. This weekend I have to organize Amelia's room and start washing clothes. We have some friends who are having a barbecue for us at our house on Sunday afternoon and part of the reason it's here is so everyone can see the nursery. I wish it was more "done", but it's not. Oh well.

Have a great weekend!

28

So I misled you, but not intentionally. Today 28 years ago is the day my sister and I were born. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday weekend. Some ladies at church threw a baby shower for me yesterday and my mom and sister wanted to be here for it so my parents came up Thursday night and my sister and her little family came up on Friday night. My mom made me a german chocolate cake with homemade frosting on Friday and it was delicious. You know I had a great weekend when I don't have many pictures to show you. Normally I have my camera out at all times but I just forgot to break it out this weekend!

On Saturday I woke up at 7am for some reason and Carrie was already up with Anna. My dad was just getting back with donuts (YUM!), and Caleb was wanting to watch cartoons. I loved my Anna time this weekend - she's getting so big already. Before the girls left to go shopping on Saturday afternoon, my mom and dad let us open one of our birthday gifts. Carrie and I each got a pair of really cute Mary Jane Crocs. I know that doesn't sound like it would make a lot of sense, but they're VERY cute and super comfy. You don't want to see my feet right now, but here's what my pair looks like:

I'm wearing them now and love them. They're so roomy even though my feet are triple the size they usually are.

Anna slept for the entire 5 hour shopping trip...it was amazing. While we were at Nordstrom, my mom bought Carrie and me the cutest clips. I've worn mine 3 times just since Saturday...I love it! It's one of those clips that seems like it would be a great heirloom piece so I hope to pass it down to Amelia when she's 35 and can handle the responsibility. :) Before you're critical of my photo, try taking a picture of a little hairpiece while it's in your hair. It's not too easy!


Saturday evening we had our birthday dinner at Maggiano's. When we got there we were shown to a small banquet room with about 8 10-seater tables. We were the only ones in there and it was wonderful. Then a group with 2 young children was shown in. Then another group with about 5 young children was shown in. How did we get the "kids" section? Either way, it was a really yummy dinner even if we had to save our talking for when we got home so we could hear each other!

This is my cute twin with the dessert I made for her. You'll die when you find out what it's made out of. The bottom layer is chocolate chip cookie, then a layer of Cool Whip, cream cheese, and confectioners' sugar mixed together, then a layer of chocolate pudding, then a layer of Cool Whip to top it off. I added mini chocolate chips in lieu of nuts and chocolate shavings. I'll post better pictures and the recipe tomorrow. It was good, although not as good as the cake my mom made for me. Carrie would disagree...she wanted to take her dessert home with her and we tried to get her to borrow one of our coolers but she refused. She said she'd make it at home, so I hope she does. I'm sure D will polish off what's left of the one I made.

So, as I said, Sunday afternoon after church was my baby shower. People were so generous - it was amazing. We got a lot of great stuff and D is doubtful that it will all fit where it needs to go. I'll admit I have a lot of organizing to do, but I'm hoping to start getting Amelia's clothes washed this weekend so I can put things away where they will really go.

I am going to get the pictures from the shower from my sister-in-law and take photos of the gifts and I'll do a separate post about that soon.

Tonight after work I'll go pick up D from work and we'll head to PF Changs for my birthday dinner and then we have our last childbirth class tonight. I can't believe it's already over and that in 4 short weeks I'll be at the end of my 40 weeks growing this little girl. I can't wait to meet her. This morning, D woke me up with a birthday card and a wrapped gift. I used to wear Clinique Happy all of the time but in the last couple of years I just haven't thought to buy any more. I put it on my birthday wish list that I send to D and he bought it for me. I'm wearing it now and love it!

The next few weeks are going to be insane but I'll try to post often. Have a wonderful first week of June!

Doctor Appt & Baby Balooga

Here's the "mixed company" report on my doctor appointment yesterday.

First, since I'm on rotation with the doctors in that office I had a different doctor this time instead of my normal one. She is one Chatty Cathy! Our appt was at 3:15, we got shown into a room at about 3:20 or so, and then the doctor didn't get in there until almost 4!! We could hear her in the next room chit-chatting with patients then later taking a call in the hallway and talking to someone about a woman's induction. She was really nice and personable but I'm glad she's not my doctor. All that waiting at every appointment would probably drive me a little crazy.

She is almost 100% sure that I have gall bladder issues and will most likely need to have it removed soon after the baby comes. She ordered some lab work to make sure my liver is functioning properly and also ordered other labwork that I wish I knew what it was exactly but I just know it's to make sure I'm not pre-eclamptic. My swelling is ridiculous and she was "troubled" by it when she looked/felt my feet. Really, she just had to look at my face - my nose usually doesn't spread out this way to take up half of it. Also, my fingers aren't usually the girth of sausage links and it used to be very common to be able to see the bone of my wrist. Baby Balooga.

Now, I know I'm a woman and women aren't typically the most forth-coming about their weight. Rest assured you won't be hearing any numbers, but my rapid weight gain was also a concern to the doctor...and I hope it's mostly water retention. Through week 18 I gained nothing. All of a sudden in 2 months I packed on 25 pounds. 25. 2-5. I have 5 weeks left...just sayin'.

The odd part is that my blood pressure is great. 110/70 yesterday. Hence, the bloodwork. Hopefully we'll figure out what's going on soon.

:::going to refill my water bottle:::
(that's for D since he said he doesn't see me drinking a lot at home. Honey, I've already had 24 oz today)

The doctor confirmed that Amelia is head down and low in my "nice, roomy" pelvis. Belly measured at 35/36 weeks and baby's heartbeat was 160bpm. Nice and healthy...good girl.

I've been playing the Oasis song "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" for Amelia in the car when I'm on the way to/from work. They say Classical music is good for the baby's brain development. I wonder what a little Oasis can do besides send her subliminal messages about her crying.

My parents will be in town around 5:30/6pm tonight. Very excited about that even though my house is a wreck. I don't think I've been nesting because I've had to force myself to organize, but I took all the junk out of my back guest room closet and now it's all over the floor. It's organized, but it's on the floor. So, I have to stick it all in plastic bins tonight as well as dust, vacuum (which, D actually does for me), clean bathrooms, make beds, etc, etc, etc. The nursery won't be ready completely but that's just the way it is.

My birthday completely snuck up on me this year. I've been so busy focusing on the birth of nieces and the impending birth of my own baby that all of a sudden my birthday was Monday. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, but when you have a twin sister and you forget about your birthday then that becomes a problem. But, I found a wonderful solution that I think she will love. She'll be up here with her hubby and their adorable kiddos tomorrow night. I'm going to try out a dessert recipe that she sent me. If it's a success, I'll post pictures.

I really need to get to work. I have a lot to do today. Happy Thursday!

Picture Time!

First, for the record, I'm so done being pregnant. I love this little girl like crazy but I'm ready for her to be on the outside of me. I feel like a blowfish. From my ginormous, swollen, keep-my-husband-awake-with-my-snoring nose to my aching, puffy hands and Miss Piggy feet....I'm done. I think I've decided that June 12th will be my last day of work. That's my hope, anyway. More on that later this week after I speak to my doctor.

We painted the downstairs entertainment room french doors last night. White. They were just plain wood with some water damage at the bottom, but D & I decided they should be white. I got finished with dinner after D because I actually chew my food instead of inhaling it. So I set my dishes down to quickly check on D to see what he was doing since he had been running around the house getting things done all day. Found him in the downstairs entertainment room painting. He asked if I wanted to help tape off some edges that he hadn't gotten to yet so I agreed and went about taping. There was a lot of taping to do...it was many moments of "Oh, yeah, I probably should tape that, too" and "I'm not going to take off the hardware here so let's tape over that". It was nice to work together on a project instead of D just doing it himself. I offered to help paint and he actually let me. He took off to Lowe's for one item that he needed and I finished the first coat and then started on the second. Finished the second and D waited a bit then did the 3rd. We're thinking they might even need a 4th coat.

Here's the "before", and I'll show you the "after" when we're finished. This was a picture I happened to find that was taken several months ago, obviously not for the purpose of showing the door.


Our trip down to Oregon was a lot of fun. We ended up coming back Sunday night but I wished the whole day that we had stayed through Monday. Oh, well. We got a lot accomplished yesterday at the house.

We drove down to Oregon on Thursday night around 7:30pm and had no traffic issues at all - it was great. On Friday we headed over to Lindsay & Craig's to meet baby Kate. Since they live about a block and a half away from my other sister, D dropped me off there first so I could walk with Carrie and the kids over to Craig & Lindsay's. It was so nice to see Anna and Caleb again - I got in a LOT of snuggle time with Anna this weekend and we weren't 20 minutes out of Portland when I told D "I miss Anna already".

Here's baby Kate during one of the few times that weekend she actually had her eyes open. Normally she was either eating or still punch drunk from eating!


Lindsay was feeling up to getting out so we headed to the little park in their neighborhood. It was a beautiful, albeit warm, day so D & Craig played baseball with Caleb while the girls and babies sat on blankets on the grass.


That evening we got together at my parents' house for tacos. I used that opportunity to get a few more pictures of the babies. Here's Kate:

And here's Anna and Kate in the cradle that my great-uncle Glen made that my sisters and I used when we were babies.


Saturday, Lindsay & Craig stayed at home for most of the day while Carrie, Mom, Anna and I went shopping. I had some things I needed to do at the mall and they accompanied me. They bought nothing - I bought lots of great stuff - thankfully mostly with gift cards or returns. We got together on Saturday night again as a family - this time for hamburgers and hot dogs. The weather was still gorgeous and remained so throughout the weekend and through yesterday. Today looks promising, too.

Sunday was wonderful. Worship in the morning, then Happy Panda for lunch with my family and some great friends. During lunch, Carrie and Chris talked about how little Anna let them sleep the night before. I jokingly said "I'll take her for the afternoon so you guys can get some sleep," to which Carrie jokingly said "Ok sounds good, take her". Then she said "You know, you could if you really wanted to". So, that's what we did! D & I loaded her little carseat (that, oddly enough, weighs 75 lbs) into our car and took her to my parents' house for the afternoon. She was such a good girl. D & I played with her for quite a while and she was happy and smiley.

Here she is smiling at Uncle D:


I have video of her, too, but that will have to wait. This post is already out of control.

Sunday night we were thinking we'd head back home after evening worship services but Craig invited us over to see Kate one last time and I couldn't say no to that.
Kate & D (can you tell I'm the only one who ever thinks to grab the camera?), Caleb & Anna, and Chris with a very unhappy Anna.

We headed home Sunday night around 9:15 which means we got in around midnight. D unloaded the car then we both crashed. Yesterday was spent doing random things around the house. I think I should feel like I got a lot done but I dont' feel that way. My house still feels like a mess.

My parents, Chris, Carrie, and their kids are coming up this weekend since some of the ladies at church are throwing me a shower. I'm really looking forward to this weekend for both of those reasons.

This post is ridiculously long so I'm going to cut it off now. Hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend!

Back to the Grind

Happy Thursday!

I'm back in the office today after a wonderful day working from home yesterday. It was pouring outside all day long. I was so thankful to be on my couch, Miss Piggy feet propped up on several pillows, typing away on my laptop instead of sitting as I am now at my desk at work. I even treated myself to a 20-minute snooze fest...the sound of the rain outside was too inviting. I paused Paula Deen on the TV and drifted off...it was wonderful.

Can't do that today. Today I'm sitting in my cubicle with my feet resting on a metal bar under my desk that has been thoughtfully wrapped and taped with bubble wrap by a very sweet gal in HR. My feet are still swollen at the end of the day because, let's face it, to get my feet propped up at work so that they're above my heart would not be a sight people would want to see and frankly I wouldn't get any work done. At least I can see some blue sky peeking through the gray outside.

I got a very sweet gift from a friend yesterday. I took pictures but forgot my camera at home so I'll post those tonight or tomorrow.

It's cruise ship season once again. I can always tell who the newer employees are because when the first cruise ship docks right outside our window they're always the ones ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the size of the ship and how close it is to our building. I'd take a picture but, again, I left my camera at home.

Tonight, D buys and cuts the baseboards and chair rail for the baby's room. We won't be able to hang it until probably next week, but the fact that we're moving along on this nursery has me really excited. I wonder if D will consider assembling the furniture before putting in the baseboards and chair rail...

Well, Amelia's awake. I love to watch my belly distort as she squirms around in there. She had the hiccups again last night and, from what I can tell, she's still head-down. Good girl, stay that way, please!

I found a fake ring that D bought me off a website that he heard about through a coworker many moons ago. I think it was $3 or something. Anyway, since it was a size 7 it was always too big for my ring finger (or, really any other finger), but now it fits great! I don't know if I should be happy about that or really sad so I'm going to be happy about it. I will post pictures tonight/tomorrow. Be prepared for a picture post!

Wow, for not having anything to say I sure did say a lot!

Check out the giveaway on Stroller Patroller!

Happy Birthday, Granddad!

Why do I feel such guilt when I miss a day or two of posting? I think it must be residual from my March "I'll-post-every-day" stint, because I feel like I need to post every day.

First, I want to give a big shout-out to my Granddad who is celebrating his ::mrrsphfphs:: birthday today! Happy birthday, Granddad! And while I'm at it, happy Cinco de Mayo!

I have to say that it's a nasty day here. Nasty, nasty. Windy, pelting rain, gray, dark, depressing. Plus the I-90 floating bridge has the carpool lanes closed for a few weeks so I got to sit in traffic for a bit today in the wind and pelting rain. I left my house at 6:15 to pick up my carpool partner so we could hopefully get a head start on the traffic. It only worked a little.

I should tell you that we picked a paint color for the nursery. I'm so excited about it, too, I can't wait for D to slap the paint on the wall tonight! It's none of the colors that I previously showed you and to save myself from opinions that might alter the newfound confidence I have in my decorating abilities, I'm going to reveal the color when I reveal the nursery. Hoping to have the nursery completely done by the first of June. Hoping to have the paint, baseboards, chair rail, and furniture done by next weekend. Hoping.

I should mention that Amelia has found my ribs. She doesn't really kick them, she just manages to lodge her knee or foot right underneath them. It really hurts. I'm able to massage that body part (whatever it is) away from my ribs and, like a good little girl, she stays away. She's only hurt me a few times so far.

Last night we took a tour with our childbirth class of the hospital where we'll deliver. It wasn't a fun tour. Mostly because I was embarassed the entire time of how loud some of the people in our class were being while we were walking through the halls. One woman's door was open and she was holding her new baby. Some people literally stopped in front of her door and gaped at her. SERIOUSLY!? Give the woman some privacy! Also, it was hot on the recovery room floor. Crowd 22 people (11 of them being pregnant and having hot flashes anyway) into a tiny, overheated recovery room and it's like a furnace. I just took a drink of water because I was getting overheated just thinking about it again. The remodeled rooms were nice and I'll definitely be using the jacuzzi tub when I'm there.

Could someone please be a lamb and bring me a decaf, grande, extra caramel sauce, extra hot caramel macchiato, please? I don't want to walk to Starbucks in the rain today. Okay, thanks.

Oh, and just because I can, here are my favorite kiddos:

Happy Tuesday!

Belly Progression & Nursery Paint (need opinions again)

Funny facts:

The other day I couldn't remember my personal email address (is it plural or singular?). Today I couldn't remember my work phone number (is 2072 really my extension?).

So I'm 31 weeks today. If you're reading this on Friday, pretend it's Thursday. I haven't been the absolute best at remembering to take belly pictures, but I think I have a pretty fair collection so far. I made up a little progression page to see how far I've come. I realize I didn't make a lot of progress between 29 and 31 weeks. Or maybe I did - I've gotten a lot of comments from people in the last few days about how pregnant I look. "Uh, thanks. I think."


I love how my rump is seemingly pushing the text out of the picture in the "31 weeks" slot. Nice. That picture was just taken this evening.

Moooo-ving on (Yes, I feel THAT big).

D & I went to Lowe's and bought some paint samples. 5, to be exact.

This is just "Berry Taffy"...I know it's hard to see.


This is "Spring Glow", "Berry Taffy" and "Spring Meadow".


This is "Berry Taffy" with "Spring Glow" and "Spring Meadow" stripes


This is my nightmare. Not the "Fragrant Lilac" - I love that color, actually. But, the "Peach Tea"...trust me when I say I sincerely believed it would be much, much lighter than that. I had to go with a more orangy yellow to match the bedding but I didn't realize it would be so dark! So, that's an automatic "no, thank you".

All of these paints are Valspar...we loooove Valspar.

So, imagine a white chair rail in the room and tell me what you think. Like? Hate? Any combinations you prefer? Do you like a single color by itself? Do you think I need a different shade of any of them? Am I WAY off?

Also, our walls aren't as heavily textured as I thought. Stripes would be fine. D just doesn't want to do them and is resisting with every ounce of effort he has...and that says something because usually his response to my every whim is "Whatever you want" (I say that with only the slightest exaggeration - he spoils me). He's a perfectionist and he's afraid the stripes will come out crooked and that the painters tape won't prevent bleeds so it will look terrible. If you have any stripe advice (if you think stripes are a good way to go), then please let me know!

Can you tell I have little confidence in my decorating ability? I heavily rely on the opinions of others in these matters because, while I know what I DON'T like, I always am afraid that I'm not thinking of everything and even if I find something I like I wonder if someone else could think of something I'd like better. So, offer away!

Have a wonderful weekend!