The Plan

It may not seem like it to those to see us regularly, but there is a plan for our coming adventure. Life is still pretty chaotic, trying to get everything ready. We are scheduled to be at the hospital by 5:30am on Monday for a 7:30am C-section. Needless to say, you may not hear much from us for the next little while. I'm sure Baby J's auntie will post pictures if Wil doesn't have time, so check here for updates.

"Cakes and Sauce"

After reading all of the comments on Amy's post about ice cream with a berry sauce, I couldn't resist. So when I was trying to figure out what to do for dinner tonight, I decided that pancakes were the perfect quick and easy solution. Of course what goes better with pancakes than a homemade berry sauce! The whipped cream on top made it even better and Little Man was so happy with his "cakes" and "sauce".

Baby Bellies

A friend of mine from church is having a baby too. She's only a couple of weeks behind me but has had a lot of complications. She's been on bed rest for almost 6 months and they are going to induce the baby on next week. Saturday we went to her baby shower and had to compare how big our bellies have gotten. Keep in mind that I've only gained 6 pounds, so this is ALL baby. It makes me a little nervous about how big he's going to be.
Anne and Lauren

Yesterday in our new kitchen wearing the dress Sister Rodgers made.

The Dilemma, Part 2

Since I posted this back in June, I've been pretty happy with my hair. I realized when I got it trimmed in December that it was getting too short to pull back and with Baby J's arrival coming quickly I was hoping to let it grow out a bit. So I waited until this week to get it trimmed again, plus I had decided that I needed my bangs back. I missed them and after nine months the side swept look still didn't feel like me.

I couldn't get an appointment with my regular girl, but Zizi had someone that she liked so I made an appointment there. I wasn't too worried about it - I had my picture ready so she would know exactly what I wanted and I was VERY specific in saying that I wanted a TRIM, keep the length and I needed to be able to pull it back.

So this is the picture I took with me:


This is the haircut that I feel like I walked out with:


It isn't quite that drastic, but pulling it back won't be an option for a while. It's shorter than it was when I got it cut in December. So much for a trim. I am VERY happy to have my bangs back though. I feel like I see me when I look in the mirror (minus the brady bunch flip on the bottom).

My very own day spa

After 6 months of living with the world's smallest shower and then spending 2 months sharing a bathroom with way too many people, I have the BEST shower in the whole wide world. Seriously! I need to get my camera up here so I can try to show you how amazing it is. The tile work is beautiful with built in shelves for all our shower stuff - serious props to Dad on that one. Plus they are up high enough that Little Man can't reach them. There's a window that lets in a ton of light and a curved shower curtain rod that makes the whole space feel huge. Thank goodness for well water that allows for really LONG showers.

Our "New House"

We are working on day 4 at our new apartment. It's very slow going, with Wil working and trying to get time in for school and me being very limited on what I can do. Moving in has been a lot like having a brand new house, but without a builder that we can bother to finish things. There are definite ups and downs to having your parents as landlords. They have been feeding us all weekend while everything is in chaos, but we've had to go down there to shower while the tile was being sealed. We are also working on the kinks that pop up with a new addition to an older home and I think we are going to find those for a while. There are other things that didn't quite get finished...baseboards, touch-up painting and window trim - luckily the curtains hide most of it and we can deal with it this summer when things have calmed down a bit. Baby J is cooperating nicely by letting me spend more time on my feet and getting 6 or 7 hours of sleep. I'm hoping that if he does decide to come early, he will wait until at least Sunday to join our family. Little Man is struggling with so many changes. He loves the new place and running from the kitchen down the hall to his room saying, "Look, mama, running!" But his sleep schedule is off again while he's getting used to everything. Hopefully we can use the next week or so to get us all on a schedule that we can handle.

I better stop procrastinating... I've got to get the tub rinsed out so my boys can get a shower when they get home from haircuts. I will get some pictures up sometime this week, so you can see how fabulous the place is turning out!

The light at the end of the tunnel

We are moving into the apartment tomorrow! I've been thinking that I should take pictures of our before and after living situations so you guys could see, but I think the before might be too depressing to share. The after on the other hand is magnificent! There are still some cosmetic things that need to be done (floor molding, closet doors, knobs on the cabinets, closet systems...) but I have a feeling that will take a while. And I'm ok with that. I'm so dang excited about having my own space, I don't know how to express it. So here's a list of things I'm most looking forward to:

* Only sharing a bathroom with Wil!
* Granite tile kitchen counters and the coolest kitchen sink I have ever seen.
* a purple and cream bedroom
* getting my stuff out of storage for the first time in 4 (maybe 5) years. I'm guessing there's stuff in there that I don't even remember having.
* our super cool dishes with the square plates
* a bedroom door that closes
* washer and dryer in the apartment that we don't have to share
* hanging our own pictures on the walls
* and did I mention - PRIVACY!

It's still going to be a lot of work and chaos, getting things moved and unpacked, helping Little Man get used to his new space and a new baby coming soon. I'm sure we'll still be finding our stuff mixed in with my parents' months from now. But in the meantime, we have our own space to call home.

Brought to you by the number 10

My fears were well founded. I went to the doctor yesterday afternoon and as usual the first thing the nurse asked me to do was climb on the scale. I knew it was going to be bad. All the cards were stacked against me: all of my other appointments have been in the morning, a HUGE lunch with dessert, double the amount of clothes thanks to the crazy weather, and it wasn't the scale in room 4 (which runs 2-3 lbs. lighter than all of the other scales in the office). So I watched as the weight went higher and higher, finally landing TEN POUNDS above where it had been a week earlier. Thank goodness there are only 2 weeks to go.

I take it back

All those yucky things I thought about the electrical inspector... He was here just in time to call for our final inspection. The last inspector will hopefully come tomorrow and we will be able to move in on SATURDAY!!!!

I can't tell you how hard I'm praying, how tightly my fingers are crossed - you name it.

A few other thoughts...

* Having a doctors appointment on the same day as a lunch date with your husband - not so smart. I'm a little bit afraid of what the scale will say.

* Various flavors of chocolate ice cream definitely counts as "chocolates" for Valentines Day.

* Pistachio ice cream and strawberries sounds crazy, but tastes AMAZING. As does the Dark Chocolate Peppermint.

* It's a REALLY good thing that the closest Coldstone is 40 minutes away. Otherwise I would have gained 50 more pounds with this pregnancy.

* Wil should not be surprised if I beg him to make an unplanned trip to above mentioned ice cream shop between now and March 3rd. The hard part will be deciding on a flavor.

* I do not heart the county electrical inspector.

I heart you!

I was single until I was 31 and my relationship with February 14th has never been a good one... Until today! Wil has taken it upon himself to make sure bad holidays become good ones and he's doing a great job. He took his flex day today so he could take me out to lunch to avoid the dinner crowds. But so far, he's played with Little Man so I could sleep until 8am (a rare feat)! Now he's keeping him occupied in the shower while I take care of some things for my calling. Later, we are doing lunch and then dessert at Cold Stone (YUM!!!).

The only thing that could put a damper on this day is the Electrical Inspector. If he doesn't come today, we can't move in on Saturday. Keep your fingers crossed!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

All by myself

Today is my nephew's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. I've been struggling all week with taking Little Man. I want him to be involved with his cousins, to have chances to play with them and have fun. I'm also 37 weeks pregnant and ready to pop. Friday, I took Little Man to his Mommy and Me class and ended up with contractions all afternoon. But Baby J CANNOT come until we've moved up into the apartment, so I knew that there was no way I could risk going. Then Uncle Matt stepped into the picture and offered to take Little Man to the party. They left about an hour ago and I'm still a little worried. I know once they get to the party Leah will make sure all is well, there's just something about sending your 2 year old with your 28 year old single brother that makes a mom worry.

What surprises me even more is how much I miss my Little Man in just the last hour. I'm sure it has something to do with all the crazy hormones. I go back and forth between feeling like I can't handle his energy and not wanting him out of my sight. We both know things are going to change in the next few weeks, but have no idea of what that really means.... and I thought he was the only one struggling with that. I guess not. So today, while I have a "quiet" house, I'm determined to get some laundry done (it's in the basement - yuck), get some things ready for Baby J and a real dinner made. It doesn't sound like a big list, but it sure does feel daunting.

The Sweet Sound

Living in a house with 5 adults and a 2 year old, with ongoing construction and an office in the basement Silence is a rare thing. But today someone is watching out for me. Little Man is actually taking a nap. It's 70 degrees outside, so the guys are all at work. All I hear are the ocean waves coming from Little Man's clock radio. I'm going to enjoy my special treat and take a nap too!