A Big Day

Our latest family adventure has reached the halfway mark. Saturday we reached 20 weeks. Woo-Hoo!!!



It's a little hard to believe we're here. Sometimes it feels like we've got a long way to go, and sometimes it feels like it's going by so fast.


The belly is definitely getting bigger and rounder. While this is all such a new experience for me, I find it odd that when I look in the mirror that this growing body seems so natural. It doesn't seem foreign or weird - which in a way is weird.


I'm still waiting to feel those first baby kicks. I wondered if I felt a little last night, but didn't really think I did. Jim says I get to say that what I felt were baby kicks, so I'll take it.


The big news for today was finding out the sex of our little one. Jim and I have both been very excited about this day. We played around with different scenarios of finding out (at the doctor office; in a secret envelope at a romantic dinner; buying baby clothes to indicate; having a baby-guessing party), but when it came down to it, we just wanted to find out during the ultrasound. Plus I have had a huge fear of the technician being wrong and I wanted to have everything pointed out to me.

Here is a picture of the Enterprise for your enjoyment...



Unfortunately, we didn't get any GREAT pictures to bring home. This little peanut was being shy. To my surprise they did do the 3-D view so we got to get a little bit of a better idea. Still a little blobby, and the poor baby's head looks like it's missing the top. But you should be able to see the nose and figure out the rest of the head from there. The arm is clear as day and, to me, looks like it's resting on the knee.


So what did we learn we're having...?

It's...
a...

BOY!!!!

Place Your Bets

June 8th is the big day we will (hopefully) find out the gender of our little bundle. Hopefully he or she is not too shy to let us know.

So, place your bets on what you think our little one will be. I would love to get a tally of your guesses.

My Watermelon Quest

I haven’t really had any cravings. But when I think of something I want, I gotta have it. Gotta make it happen.

If anything has come close to being a craving, it would have to be watermelon in the last two weeks. I love summer because I really do like watermelon. It is the perfect, juicy, sweet, refreshing treat for a hot summer day.

About two weeks ago I bought a wedge of watermelon from the grocery store. I cut it up into chunks, threw it in a bowl, and Jim and I devoured it. Yum! Yum!

A few days later I decided to buy a full watermelon so that it could last a few days. This melon, from Fresh & Easy, had to have been the toughest piece of fruit I have ever tried to cut in my life. Just getting the first cut through the mass was a monumental feat of its own. But the task was accomplished and I threw all the pieces in a container. I was surprised and a little concerned that there really wasn’t any juice on my cutting board. Tasting the fruit only confirmed my fears – it was DRY and bitter and gross! Blech!

This past weekend I bought another wedge. Now we’ve gone to the other extreme – overripe, over-juicy, over-icky. It was edible, but not the perfect watermelon I had been seeking.

I was getting desperate.

Today we had a potluck with some girls at work to celebrate a birthday. I signed up for fruit – still needing my watermelon fix. I went to a farmer’s market type of store as they usually have better fruit. I bought a full watermelon and strawberries (I wanted raspberries too, but they were incredibly expensive). Last night I cut up my much anticipated watermelon…and…

DING! DING! DING!
WE HAVE A WINNER!

I just stood in the kitchen eating my wonderful watermelon. I probably could have eaten the whole thing right then and there. But I didn’t. I told Jim I was sorry to inform him that I was leaving him to marry watermelon. There is nothing like satisfying a long-suffering need.

Now, please excuse me, I’m off to spend some one-on-one time with my watermelon.

Day Laborers

Since Jim and I bought our house in August 2006, we have slowly been redecorating every room. This house had every wall covered in either wallpaper or wood paneling. It's been a slow process, but enjoyable for the most part. We've had our surprises and they always lead to learning something new.

With a new member of our family on the way, it is finally time to tackle the last room - previously known as the guest room or junk room. The photo below gives the general idea of what the room looked like before the deconstruction started. This photo already has the room moved from "junk room" status back to "guest room" status (sorta).


We were able give some items to our church's rummage sale and purged a lot of stuff we just didn't need*.

*Anyone wanna buy some luau stuff?

Those few items that still remain started huddling together in fear of being "next".


The cats have never been allowed in this room - it's been our fuzz-free zone. But we're letting them explore (with a chaperon) while we work on the room.

They're a little shocked...

...and a little cautious.

My mom came over to help tear down the last of the wood paneling. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to be rid of this stuff. It's like putting bandaids over owies and leaving them there to rot. Ick! Ack! Just say "no" to wood paneling. There were at least two coats of paint on this stuff.
There's mom. She's a trooper.

It's so messy to pull down that we had to cover the room in plastic. The plaster falls of the walls and the ceiling rains its popcorn.

And if you look on the wall just to the left of the window, you'll see kind of a white patchiness. This is faded evidence of a wall hanging from BEFORE the paneling was put up. Owie + Bandaid = ICK!!

Not to mention, nailing in wood paneling takes - obviously - nails. Lots and lots of nails. What do nails do? They make holes. Lots and lots of holes.

Holes that have to be spackled. Jim and I have become pros at this process and have the system down. Our new recruit (above) is being trained in the art of spackling an overabundance of wood-paneling-nail-holes. It will look good on her resume.

Windows are also fun. The trim on all our windows needs to be redone, but we haven't cared enough to do anything about it. I don't know how it started this time, but Jim really started inspecting the window in the new baby's room. Inspecting led to removing pieces. Removing pieces led to discovery. Discovery led to "new project."

Evidently the window is smaller than the window hole and the way it was jimmied by previous owners was - not surprisingly - wacky. So Jim is going to make it better. Not put a bandaid on it, but surgically repair the problem - cure the disease. It will make it possible to hang the blinds back up the way they are supposed to be hung.

Unfortunately, this means the room will take longer. I don't think there's much more I can do until the window is done, then he has to finish the walls. Then I get to paint. Luckily by then we should know the gender of Pudge so we can have a more specific plan.

Here's my crew. My day laborers.

They work for food...

And love...

Ode to the Bathroom

Ode to the bathroom
You are my friend
On you I know
I can depend

No matter how still
I want to be
One thing's for sure
I gotta pee