Hello last day of May!

What a crazy, busy, fun week it's been!

1st - Only 17 days until Miss Thing's due date. That is hardly any time at all and we STILL do not have our crib and dresser/changing table... I'm calling on that first thing tomorrow morning.

2nd - We've been at a horse show for the last 5 days and I've had a blast. I'm exhausted but absolutely thrilled with the way the weekend turned out. I picked up a bunch of points, my horse did amazing with me and the trainer and we had a lot of fun with all the horse people. Oh, Teddy and I participated in the dog races (a fundraiser for the youth association which I'm the advisor for) and came in second! Teddy did so well:) It must be the more aerodynamic hair cut!!

3rd - We finished lamaze class and I am now to the weekly OB appts. My last appt was Thursday but I wouldn't let them check me internally as I didn't want things to get started yet as I was doing SO well at the horse show. The nurse laughed and said she's never had anyone not want to be checked. Ha Ha ha! I like to be different:) Let things begin now as I'm done with the show and ready to go! My next appt is Thursday at 38 weeks.

4th - On Tuesday I have a 2 hour pedicure scheduled in the afternoon. I can hardly wait! My feet need some major TLC. Ick!

5th - Lance is going to be working in the area from now on until Miss Thing blesses us with her presence. Yay for that!

I started packing our hospital bag this evening... it feels like I'm bringing a lot of stuff. Like I'm moving in for a couple of weeks. My bag w/ Lance's stuff, baby's bag, boppy, diaper bag, car seat and base, makeup bag. Lance is going to look like a pack mule! Does a hospital have those valet carts like a hotel?? I've been known to be a heavy packer... just in case packer... but I really want to have everything. What do you think?

Happy Memorial Day to all!

It's been a wonderful weekend of sun, fun, flowers, BBQs, a little work and now thunderstorms. I love to see all the people getting together for family fun at the lake or wherever it may be. Lance and I got a lot accomplished this weekend but didn't work too hard. Lance's wonderful family blessed us with 16 ~yes, 16~ lilies for Lily's garden! They are absolutely beautiful and will be a wonderful addition to her garden. We are going to have lilies coming out of our ears!! It will be great. I'm hoping to get them in the ground tomorrow as today is not a nice day for planting or being outside unless you are a duck!

We are on the home stretch with Miss Thing! 22 days left! Yikes!! Her crib and changing table should be here this week... fingers crossed. I can't wait to see what Miss Thing looks like and who. She's definitely growing like a weed as my innie belly button is now an "evenie" and on the verge of being an outtie! I'm starting to feel a lot of pressure "downstairs" so I'm hoping that means she's dropping and will be here soon. After June 1, of course, but soon:)

I need to get all my horse stuff rounded up and loaded into the trailer for the horse show this weekend. I'm so excited to be showing but a little nervous about how everything will work out. I'm not use to having to rely on the trainers for anything but they are totally going to have to take care of me for this show. I know that's what they are paid to do, but I really like to do it myself.

Tomorrow is a full day of appts, going to the barn and loading the trailer. Plus some baking for the youth bake sale at the horse show. I love to bake so that is definitely not a problem! :)

The fabulousness that is... + a naked dog!

The fabulous part is The Children's Place store! WOW! Could that store be anymore ~me~?? With all the bright fun colors and glittery accents... I was in heaven! Why don't they have a store like that for adults? Now, I've walked by this store several times but have not paid any attention to it along with all the other baby stores. It's just not my thing to ooh and aah over baby and little kids clothes. Now that I'm almost a mom, I decided to check it out since it was right across from Victo.ria Sec.ret where I was using my handy dandy coupon to get new undies. First I should mention that this is the 1st time I've been to the mall since before Christmas. I'm just not a ~mall~ girl. Now don't get me wrong... I LOVE to shop but just not at a mall. I prefer the trendy boutique type stores. So I decided to check out The Children's Place since I haven't been in there before + it was close + Miss Thing needs a baptism dress. I walked in and am immediately welcomed by an adorable purple outfit with lime and fuschia accents + a matching hat! Ummm, hello coming home outfit! Into my bag it went! Then I move on to the sale items... love them! More items are chucked into the bag. I finally managed to drag myself out of there with a huge bag and over $100 spent but completely missed the 4th of July outfits and a baptism dress didn't even cross my mind. The good news is I received a 15% off coupon so I am going back to hit what I missed next week or the week after;) Maybe the week after that way they can restock and have some new items in there!!!

Now for the naked dog... Teddy got shaved today just like last year. He is so dang funny looking but it is so much nicer for him. Plus he loves to swim at Lance's parents lake so this keeps him nice and not matty. His head and tail are the only things that have any hair left on him so when his tail, which naturally curls over his back, touches his buzzed back he tweaks out. It is so funny! It's like he thinks something is attacking him. He did this last year for the first couple of hours but then he finally realized what was going on. I'll take some pictures and update this post with them when he wakes up.

Lance is heading home as we speak. We have our 2nd lamaze class tonight for 3.5 hrs. Why must they be so long? Tomorrow I have a dr's appt in the morning then my mom and I are going to go buy flowers at our favorite nursery and plant them in my pots and in Lily's garden. I will take pics of Lily's garden next week as it should be close to done by then. Hopefully! The lilies are growing like weeds (YAY!) and the hydrangea are sprouting too. I'm not sure what the rose bushes are doing but they look healthy. Yay for all that:)

Why is it...

that a dog (namely Teddy) will bring you a toy but then not give it to you?? He totally stands in front of me with his ball (or whatever toy of the moment) but will not give it up until you wrestle him for it. Why is that?? Do other dogs do this or is it just my dumb dog? I was sitting outside, taking a break from shoveling rock in Lily's garden, when Teddy comes flying up to me with his tennis ball. Uncle Lee has gotten Teddy addicted to tennis balls... thanks Uncle Lee:/ So I tell him to give me his ball and he turns and backs his butt up to me. First of all, Teddy is fixed so there is no confusion about what "ball" I'm talking about. He's only got the one and it's in his mouth. So I push his butt around and try to pry the ball out of his mouth. I finally wrestle it loose and chuck it. He's thrilled to go run after it. He comes running back and its a repeat of before. WHY??

I also added a poll on the right side of my blog as to when Miss Thing is going to arrive and what her size will be. Please feel free to add your guess:)

I LOVE...

Jamie Foxx! Grrrr!! I love his acting, his singing... really his everything! There's nothing on Jaime Foxx that I wouldn't like a piece of ;) tee hee hee With that being said, he's on Ellen today:) I'm not one to watch a lot of tv but when I saw the commercial that he was on today, I've been watching the clock as I go in and out of the house and cleaning so I don't miss it. He just finished performing "Blame It" which was fabulous plus Ellen interviewed him. ~sigh~ Whatta guy!
Apparently Miss Thing likes his singing too because she started bouncing around when he started singing. I then had to explain to her that while I appreciate her taste in music and the fact that we can jam to J. Foxx together later, he is much too old for her and Mommy saw him first so I have dibs! After Daddy of course:)
Now I can get back to my regularly scheduled life:) ~sigh~

1 Freaking Month!!!!

What the heck?!! We have 1 MONTH until Miss Thing's due date!!! Holy crap! How can that be? She could be here anytime. That just seems so inconceivable to me. We're extremely excited but it just seems like I'm really going to be pregnant forever instead.

Lance is off to WI for the next 2 days so I am under strict instructions to NOT have the baby! ha ha ha! I told him I'd see what I could do:) Like I have any control of it? I try not to lift too much or exercise/over-do-it, ect while he's that far away. The braxton hicks tend to come on when I do too much.

I did however mow the lawn yesterday. Lance was doing the front yard so I did the back and side. We have 2 mowers so I always do the easy part. Luckily it was cool out so I had a big sweatshirt on. I really don't look pregnant unless you look closely... at least in a huge sweatshirt that is:) I also forgot how sensitive my skin is to the sun when I'm pregnant so my face is a little pink today. It is turning tan as the day goes on though. I really feel bad for people that burn all the time. I have olive skin so I brown from hot water basically... except when I'm pregnant. Oops!

Lamaze class

I just have to say that the hospital we're going to puts on fabulous baby classes! We haven't had a bad one yet. Our Lamaze class is 3 weeks long with each class being 3.5 hours long. I wasn't too sure if I wanted to take it or not as I've already been through the birthing process just not at full term. I'm so glad that we're taking it as I feel like I'm even better equipped and more confident that I can go through labor and delivery naturally. I'm not ~opposed~ to having an epidural if my doctor wants me too or if I have horrible back labor with my already bad back but I just don't feel like I have to have one. We'll see when the actual time comes.
We have exactly 1 month left as of tomorrow!! Can you believe that? We are pretty much ready for Miss Thing to get here except for the whole crib and dresser/changing table issue. We're now working on cleaning the house and doing yard work. For anyone that lives by us, yes we are going to mow our lawn but it rains EVERY TIME Lance is home. I would mow but he wants the special blades on the mower and that is something I don't do. So lawn mowing is on the agenda for today along with shrub trimming, ect. I just wish it wasn't so cool out. What happened to spring?? 33 degrees (this morning) is NOT spring!

Getting it in writing.

I want to remember what exactly it is that I love about being pregnant along with the things that I can do without. That way when Miss Thing is older, she can have some documentation about what it was like to be pregnant with her. Due to pregnancy brain and then new mom brain, I'm going to blog about it so I've got it down.

Things I love:

• every u/s where I see that little heart fluttering like crazy.
• every appt when I hear her heartbeat and Dr. R saying that everything looks perfect.
• her movement from the first tickle to the now huge tummy shaking jabs and pokes. It's so interesting to feel an elbow or knee poking out of my stomach... as long as they are gentle pokes!
• watching my belly grow.
• loving how Miss Thing interacts with her daddy. This is definitely going to be a Daddy's Girl! I have absolutely no doubt about that.
• all the baby items that have suddenly taken over our house.
• my new thick hair
• the fact that I don't have to shave my legs hardly ever (I'm not sure why, but I love it!)
• my wonderful hubby and how he takes care of me even though it sometimes drives me crazy that I have to ask for so much help with the lifting and carrying and anything that involves bending over for long periods of time:)

Things I could really do without:

• the heartburn
• peeing all the time
• the swelling, puffing and bloating (I haven't worn my rings in months)
• not sleeping well or often
• the ache that has come to live in my hips and nether regions
• Miss Thing jabbing my ribs
• the sciatica nerve pain which has disappeared for awhile
• not being able to ride or jog or bike especially as the weather is getting so nice
• the significant lack of Diet Dew and BEER! Oh what I wouldn't give for a nice tall ice cold Bud Lite with olives or a Mike's Lime. Yummy!!
• not being able to bend over as well or long when tying my shoes or lotioning my legs, ect.

OK, this list is looking a little lopsided as I really have had a very easy pregnancy this time around. The enjoyment has far exceeded the ~do withouts~ even though the list doesn't look that way. I've been very comfortable all throughout the pregnancy until just the last couple of weeks. With only a month or so to go, I'm not surprised that things are going to get increasingly uncomfortable. I'm fine with that. It also means that Miss Thing could arrive at anytime or she could wait until her due date & after. Again I'm fine with either as long as she waits until after 37 weeks and after the crib and changing table arrive! That's really all I ask;)

Picture post!

Here are the promised shower and tulip festival pics!

This afghan was made by my grandma!!

This quilt was made by my mom!!

This is my 2nd cousin and I. Everyone always thought we were sisters when we were little.

Betsy is due the end of July with their 2nd.

This is Lee enjoying Miss Thing's prayer bunny.
Lance enjoying the cake:)

Pella, IA's Tulip Time

The RV Lance rented for us. What a nice way to travel:)

Tulips, shower, RV and more!

What a week! I have a ton of pictures to share but I don't have any ready yet. I am currently, as we speak, uploading my pics... all bazillion of them. Look for a big picture filled post tomorrow including pics of my ever expanding waistline!! It's growing by leaps and bounds but I'm STILL stretch mark free!!! I'm knocking on wood and moisturizing like crazy! I do believe it's mainly genetic though.
We survived Tulip Time in Pella, IA and loved it! The flowers were amazing! My wonderful hubby rented a RV so I could travel in comfort and NOT have Miss Thing during that trip! Technically I'm not suppose to be traveling several states away for work and fun trips this late in the pregnancy but my OB checked to make sure everything was still "sealed up" before we went so no worries! It was officially a work trip but we had so much fun that it certainly didn't seem like work. We got home at 1am Friday because I had a dr's appt Friday morning. That appt went great as well except Miss Thing did not appreciate her space being invaded when Dr. R tried to find her heartbeat so she kicked him a couple times. He just laughed and said that's quite a strong girl in there:) I also gained 2 more lbs which I solely attribute to all the Dutch pastries I ~had~ to try while in Pella.
We had my side of the family's baby shower on Saturday. It was so much fun to see all the relatives and friends! Lance and I were both extremely overwelmed by all the generosity and love that was poured on us and Miss Thing! I think I opened gifts for a couple of hours. We received so many beautiful and useful items. I'm currently washing everything so I can put it away (as long as it resides on a hanger as we STILL don't have our nursery furniture).
I am officially done with all work travel that takes me farther than a hour away. Lance is in SD this week but he's only a few hours away so he can get home if anything happens. I'm pretty sure Miss Thing is enjoying her surroundings and is planning on staying in there for a while longer.
This week, I'm nesting, cleaning and trying to get this house in tiptop shape for spring/summer and Miss Thing's arrival. I'm going to get a prenatal massage, go shopping for a coming home outfit and think about packing a bag for the hossy. I'm going to start arranging my scraproom into it's new form (there will be pics to follow), take some naps, walks and dig in Lily's garden. I'm going to enjoy these next quiet weeks! We also start Lamaze class on thursday. It's going to be a great week!

Love the garage sales!

My mom and I got up early and went garage saling this morning. We love to garage sale. It's always interesting to see what you can find. I found an adorable brand new duck chair for Miss Thing's room. It is big and plush! I've been looking at them in the Pottery Barn Kids magazine but couldn't justify spending that much. I got it for $5! YAY! We also picked up a cute little rocking chair that I'm going to paint and a plush paint rocking horse that whinnies and makes hoof noises when you push the buttons on it's ears. Very cute! We got some other stuff too but now I can't remember what. It was perfect weather for garage saling too. Cool with a warm sun. So nice:)
Then we came back to my house, unloaded all the loot and went to the best little drive-in in the area which happens to be about 5 miles from our house. Apparently everyone else had the same idea as it was packed. They have great food there!
Tonight we're watching Nascar and putting together the pack-n-play as our crib is still ~in route~ and won't be here until the end of the month. Hopefully it will get here before Miss Thing does! Oh, I'm doing laundry too.
I did take some belly pics but I haven't got them uploaded to my computer yet. My scraproom/office is all ripped apart since we're doing a little remodel in there so access to my cords and computer are currently not as handy as usual. I'll try to get them on tomorrow. I've grown quite a bit!! I don't know how men can stand to have a beer belly all the time?? This baby belly really gets in the way of bending over, putting on my shoes, putting on pants, ect.

You'll also notice from the comments from the last post that my brother has found my blog again. He always adds a little color with his comments and smart #ss wit. You would think that since we share blood and possibly eventually my liver, that he would be on my side but alas he sides with Lance all the time! ~sigh~ He better hope Lance's liver is as ~nice~ as mine is... when/if that time comes....
Mine could come with a lot of strings attached! tee hee hee