Month: May 2009

  • Sales & Coupons

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  • Quick Post … too much in my head

    Well, I’ve managed to:
    Make the bed
    Fold the towels
    Get a shower (shaved my legs and all!!)
    Lathered down
    Dried my hair
    Ironed my clothes – I know… I never do that! Surprised myself.
    Got dressed
    Unloaded the dishwasher and put everything away
    Reloaded the dishwasher
    Wiped off the counter tops
    Emptied and rinsed out the coffee pot

    I am just watching the clock now for time to leave to go get my Momma. I now have to say that because I got a text message that my cousin who was coming is going to be unable to make it. She was sick all night. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t heart broken. She was unable to make the shower in Louisiana and I haven’t seen her in forever it seems. I don’t want to sound like an ass, I am really sorry to hear that she’s sick, but I was so looking forward to some time with her. I cried. There’s nothing to be done about it, I know… but I had to blog about it so that I can enjoy everyone else who will be here this weekend.

    I don’t have anything else in the house to get done before I leave for the airport… and I have another hour and some change before I can leave. Ugh! I don’t know what to do with myself. I am so excited I feel a little sick to my stomach. There’s still that sadness there too… but I can’t let that stop me from enjoying the time with my Mom. Timing just sucks.

    I might be able to leave about 15 minutes earlier than planned. I need to pick up a prescription for Tancy at some point today. Will probably be easier to do before going to the airport. After the airport is our “Spa Day” and then we will be ready to come home for sure!!

    I’ve talked to Mom three times this morning. She’s so excited and already having herself a good time laughing and cutting up. No doubt the people at the airport are enjoying her. She’s probably made a friend already and  is chatting them up about where they are headed, where she’s headed, etc. I just got a text message from her a bit ago and she’s already on the plane. I can’t wait to see her!!

    Well, I guess that’s all I’ve got. I hope you all have a fabulous day!

    Love to all!

  • It’s a skippity doo da day!

    Oh yes, I am the happiest girl in the world today!! Good morning and how the hell are ya on this fine Thursday morning?! I hope you are all doing well, probably most of you are still slumbering away, catching those last moments before the alarm clock screams at you to wake up!! I hope you are sleeping soundly. And I hope, the second you open your eyes you know it is going to be a great day.

    Wow, I can’t believe today is finally here. I have been counting down the days for a month, and a month before that trying not to think about how long before this day got here. It’s gonna be a fantastic weekend, I just know it.

    Yesterday you all know about my shopping excursion and getting it all home and put away. You also know how freakin’ tired I was for almost the entire remainder of the day. I managed to get the laundry done, dishes done and dinner cooked. Tancy walked in the door and we sat down to the table, I know… eating a meal at the table… CRAZY! Haha. Once we were done we started picking up everything from dinner and getting to the last items on the list. She took the stuff in the carport, and by the back door, out to the shed for me first. I cleaned the kitchen so that I didn’t have to contend with this morning. I also set the coffee pot for this morning so that it would be ready when I got up, I do so enjoy that.. .when I can remember. She came inside and put the curtains back up for me in the back bedroom. I took the trash out and set it on the landing. She got started on the floors. I cleaned our bathroom. Once I finished our bathroom I worked on cleaning the couch and love seat, removing dog hair… She wrapped up the floor and put the trash in the can (what would fit). She rested while I finished the furniture. Once I was done we headed to the back. We folded the clothes and put them all away and then we got baths. We were both exhausted and over it all. We watched the new episode of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey”, my newest favorite reality show. LOVE IT!! She was asleep before it was over. I was asleep shortly after.

    I woke at my usual times, 1:40 and 4:30. Aside from those times though I slept soundly. I actually woke feeling more rested than I have previous mornings. Not sure why. Probably the excitement about the day. No matter, I am thankful to not feel so worn down and exhausted. I made our coffee, let the pups out, did our normal routine. I talked to Mom briefly, she sounds great and really excited… I am too. I keep watching the clock to see if its time to get ready. LOL. I have a few things to complete this morning, just because I want to and it will help to kill time. Then I am getting a shower, getting ready and heading to the airport.

    The dogs new bed for the living room came in yesterday. So we’ve been working with them… keeping them off the couch and teaching them to get on their bed. I am tired of the hair all over the couch and subsequently on your clothes. Not to mention with guests its just a pain to have a dog think that’s their spot. So, they have a bed now… that’s their spot, a place they can go if they are feeling stressed or just want to chill and a place I don’t have to worry about hair and/or dirt for the time being. I have always worried about the hair on stuff, especially when we have people stay that don’t have inside dogs, but considering a baby makes me like it alot less. We’ll get it worked out though. After hundreds, I am not exaggerating, of “No’s” and “Off’s” this morning alone both dogs are actually laying on their new bed. Scout has been incredibly skittish of it. It makes unfamiliar noises and has a funny smell (new). I worked with them yesterday with treats… but they focus more on the treats and just get too excited. So the only way to teach them to go to their bed is to keep them off of the furniture and not pay attention past that. I was saying “Good boy Hemmi” if he got on the bed… but then he thought I wanted him to come to me. So that doesn’t work. I haven’t said one word and their are both chilled on their new bed, probably already sleeping. Good puppies. It’s really hard to teach them new things. It’s our own fault, but we learn as we go too. It’s definitely teaching me patience! And treats are great rewards for some things, but not when it ends up distracting them from what you want them to actually be doing.

    I will fold the towels and make our bed here in a minute and hope that helps time pass so I can get ready. The dogs will stay inside while I am gone. I’ll drag their new bed into the hall way, (usually put their old bed in the hall for them) which should help them get more comfortable with it, and put the gate up to keep them there while I am gone. They seem to actually do well with what ends up being a bit kennel. And from a safety perspective, they hear anything… if someone even drives up they are barking. It echoes down the hall way and they sound like they would tear your ass up! I don’t know if they actually would. Labs aren’t exactly known for being guard dogs, but she sure is protective. Terriers can be known for being aggressive, but he’s pretty skittish sometimes. I hope we never find out what they would do if someone broke in.

    After the shopping trip yesterday the fridge, freezer and pantry are so full it’s almost embarrassing. I was going to take a picture to post, just to give you an idea how much stuff I got yesterday, but that just didn’t seem right. I am very thankful to have so much. We don’t do without much of anything, thats for sure and we also have family that help out for things like this weekend… we didn’t foot the grocery bill alone. But its moments like yesterday, looking into our fridge that is crammed full, that I can’t help but feeling a little guilty to have that much when I know there are people who have nothing. I am not sure what to do with those feelings when they hit.

    It’s raining cats and dogs here. Suppose to stop today or tomorrow? I can’t remember right now. We have gotten so much rain in the last week… its really been alot. Not just rain, not even steady rain for a week, we have had some real gulley washers. They hit hard and fast and then it’ll stop for a bit. Then it’ll rain constant for a while, then another gulley washer. It’s been so humid, I think that’s another thing that made yesterday so difficult for me… the air was so thick. I have enough trouble catching a breath with Lillie in my lungs, add that much moisture to the air and it feels like breathing soup. I am hoping that Saturday is a nice day. I know it isn’t suppose to rain, the high is 84, I am just hoping that the humidity will not be bad. We’ll be basically on the water and should have a good breeze, so I am hopeful.

    Well kids, I think I am going to wrap this up and get those few small things done. It is 6:00 here and I have decided to get in the shower at 8:00. I have plenty of time, but I am ready to get moving in one way or another. I hope you all have a fantastic day today. Don’t be surprised if I don’t blog again until Monday, I will be very busy soaking it all up. Today is spa day, tomorrow is doctor and then everyone here, Saturday is the shower and then everyone here and then Sunday everyone leaves (I am trying not to think about that because I anticipate it being a very difficult day for me). Monday Tancy’s back to day shift and I’ll be by myself again. Maybe Lillie will decide to make her appearance soon.

    Anyway, have a wonderful day. You can reach out and touch the weekend from here! I hope you enjoy yours as much as I plan to enjoy mine!

    Love to all!

  • Wednesday afternoon – Worn the hell out!

    Hello all. I hope this finds you all doing well today. It’s Wednesday, hump day. Yay! Tomorrow my Mom, cousin (Larisa) & Aunt (Jan-E-Poo) all arrive. I don’t know if I will see my Aunt or not tomorrow. I’ll expect not to and be pleasantly surprised if I do. I’ll pick Mom up first and about an hour and a half later we snag Larisa. Then the three of us head for some time at the spa to relax and beautify! Haha! I am looking forward to that too!

    Yesterday, believe it or not, I did manage to dust the living room!! It really took alot to muster enough energy to get it done. I don’t know what my problem is… I have go no juice left in my battery these last few days. So I got that done and had to sit down. LOL. Ridiculous when I think about it, but very true. Tancy got in around 6:15 I guess, we had just long enough to take the puppies out to potty, freshen up and head out to meet friends for dinner. We got there just minutes before them and got a table.That was entertaining, the girl sat us at a booth, which is fine (although scooting my rotund self in has become a task), I actually prefer to sit at a booth usually. However, when I went to sit down I quickly noticed that my belly was NOT going to squeeze in and the table was bolted so there was no moving it one direction or the other. I managed to catch the girl before she left and explained the issue, whilst rubbing my belly. She kindly moved us to another table. We just laughed.

    So they got there just behind us and we said our hellos. It’s always great to see Gary and now we got to meet his new love interest. Very nice guy, good looking, personable and easy to talk to… no shockers there, that’s just what I would expect for and from Gary. We had a great dinner, we laughed, we talked, we got to know each other better. It was a good visit for certain. Sadly our new friend will be unable to attend the baby shower… luckily for him I am guessing. Haha! Before we knew it, it was after 9:00 and we started making our way to the door. I think we all could have stayed and talked much longer… but we all had early mornings ahead and they were cleaning up the restaurant around us. Tancy and I made a bee line home and were both exhausted beyond words. My eyes were literally rolling back in my head on the drive home.

    When we got home we got our pajamas on and crawled into bed. I was ready for sleep immediately, Tancy was about a half a second behind me. I slept hard. I guess it was right at 10:00 by the time we got in bed, I woke up just after 1:00 for a potty run. I woke up again just before Tancy’s alarm clock went off. I did NOT want to get up. But I did. Normal routine, coffee, pups out, pups in, pups fed, made sandwich. I really could have gone back to bed… but since the two days prior were completely unproductive I decided against that. Instead I thought I would hit it early. When Tancy left I went to the back to get dressed. I was out the door by 6:15.

    I went to the Wal-Mart closest to the house and got the things that I wasn’t going to get at Sam’s. I had everything on my list and was home by 7:20! Not bad. I unloaded everything and put it all away. I made another potty stop and headed out for The Sam’s Club. I was in Hickory for 8:00, incredibly proud of myself and my early start. I would probably have time to go home, unload everything and put it away and even, maybe, take a nap before moving on to the next task at this rate. Then came the hiccup… Sam’s doesn’t open till 10:00 unless you have a business membership! Ok, so I head over to Target just to kill some time. I find something for both Dad’s for Father’s Day. I pick up a few things and a magazine to occupy me during my wait and I check out. I go to Sam’s and see that people are coming in and out, what seems like alot of people, so I decide to see if I can get in. I ask the lady and she says “It’s business only from 7:00 – 10:00. You can only get in if you have a business membership.” I thank her and turn to leave and this is when my feathers get ruffled… She says to me, as I am turning to walk out “That’s what the sign outside is for!” If she hadn’t been a senior citizen I might have said something ugly to her… but I refrained. I don’t know why that rubbed me so wrong, but it definitely did. I even contemplated getting what I needed elsewhere… trouble with that was that I would pay alot more some place else… that’s why I was there. So I silently stewed in my car while I read the People magazine I had picked up at Target. I saw many, many people do the same thing I had done… only instead of waiting, they left.

    Finally at 10:00 they let us in, and not a second before 10:00 Buddy, you can believe that! It seems silly to me, why wouldn’t they want to make everyone’s money any time the doors are open?! It’s a week day morning for crying out loud, how many nonbusiness people are getting in the way of the business people?! Anyway, I started on my list, making my way down the appropriate isles and steering clear of the isles that didn’t have something on my list (this is how I spend more money than I need to… by going down every isle).There were a few items that they didn’t have, so once I had gotten everything I needed there I headed to check out. I was tired, ready for a nap, hot, sweaty and just ready to be done. But next I had to go to the Wal-Mart next door and get the items that they didn’t have at Sam’s, only because they were key items…. otherwise I would have scratched them off and gotten them later. I piled everything into the back of the car, all the cold stuff in the cooler and off I went.

    I went through Wal-Mart like a sprinter! I just wanted to get what I needed, get the hell out and get home. I was dreading unloading everything and putting it all away on my own. I was having some Braxton Hicks, I was sweating and having trouble catching my breath. I got everything I needed and got to check out. Somehow I picked the worlds oldest check out lady. I am serious, she had to be in her 80′s! She was sweet (unlike that old bitty at Sam’s), but bless her heart, she just had trouble with that new fangled technology. We got through it, luckily I only had a few items. I got out to the car to find a bit pick up truck parked to close (on the drivers side of course) to my car. Ugh. There was someone in the passenger seat and I almost asked him to move the damn thing over. Pregnancy hormones must be making me irritable cause my threshold for bullshit is not very big! I kept my mouth shut and just put my stuff in the car. I left out of there and hit a drive thru for something to eat and was on my way home.

    I think lunch was a good idea, it seemed to give me the energy I needed to get everything unloaded. I managed to get everything packed in without passing out. Yay me! LOL. You know, if you have ever been to Sam’s, everything is packaged big, so I basically packed everything in one item at a time. Ugh. And the steps suck!! I got it all in though. Then I had to start putting it all away. Little by little I managed it. I put the cold stuff up first. Then I started on the pantry items. Lastly I put away toiletry stuff. I didn’t think I was going to find room for all of it… but I did. I was pretty proud of myself to be honest. And just as I finished getting it all put away a wave of sit down and be still hit so hard I thought I’d have to sit down in the floor right where I was. Thankfully I made it to the couch. I balanced the check book (cause I just spent ALOT of money) and then made sure I didn’t go over Mom’s budget (as per her request… but can she trust me is the question? Haha!). Then I typed up address labels for thank you notes. My hand goes numb and/or hurts so quickly that I don’t think I can hand write all the addresses after the baby shower. So I first printed labels with our address on them for the return labels. Then I took all the addresses that I had for the invitation list and put them in the label format. I didn’t print them because I don’t know if I will have to add or remove people, but its all there. I just have to make any necessary adjustments and hit print. That will make it go alot faster this time than it did for Louisiana. Pretty proud of myself for that one!

    I talked to Mom for a minute. But honestly I am so tired my brains just wouldn’t focus on our conversation. So we wrapped it up and said our bye’s… She’ll be here in less than 24 hours! I can’t wait. I am hoping to get our bathroom cleaned this evening. Right now I am not moving off the couch though. I took out some ground meat for dinner, thinking about a throw-together spaghetti. Sounds good to me. I don’t have anything else on my agenda. I was hoping the rain would stop long enough to get the stuff out to the shed… but again… even if it did, I don’t think I could summon enough energy to make it happen.

    Tomorrow I’ll get up with Tancy like usual and get ready, once she leaves, to go to the airport. I’ll have plenty of time. I’ll get them, we’ll have some pamper us time and after we all get home we will leave for dinner out. No sense in ruining a good relaxing evening with cooking at that point. Then Friday morning is my doctors appointment. Mom wants to go. I haven’t talked to Larisa. Tancy’s going to stay home though, so I figure Larisa will hang out till we get back. Then we’ll come home and Aunt Jan and Britt should be getting to the house to hang out, paint on the wall, etc. Tancy has PT at 3:00. We will be cooking and hanging out and I am just really excited!!

    I think that’s all I got kids. I just wanted to give you a quick update on yesterday and today. I’m gonna put this computer away and clear my brains for a bit. I hope you all have a great day and a wonderful evening at home.

    Love to all!

  • Tuesday afternoon

    Wow. I have been incredibly unproductive today… what is that about?!

    I got up and got dressed, got the puppies loaded up and headed out to take them to the groomer. I tried a new approach getting them ready… Hemmi gets incredibly excited about leaving. He coo’s like a dove, it’s the weirdest thing you have ever heard. So, in all our “conditioning” of the dogs to all types of things I decided to try something to help him settle down. I got their leashes out of the pantry and instantly he started. And it’s the kind of sound that makes you want to laugh and irritates you at the same time. I just walked around the house doing this and that with the leashes in my hand until he settled a bit. Then I put their leashes on them. He kicked it back up a notch, so I continued to move about the house doing things and letting them just walk around with the leashes on them. Just letting him settle in and calm down some. Not until he does do we start for the door. Now comes the real fun! I have to calm myself at this point, be ready for him to just go absolutely ape shit. As soon as I pick up the leash the cooing picks up again. When I touch the door knob, it gets even worse and he absolutely CANNOT sit still. I have to keep telling him to sit and stay. He listens, good boy. I open the door and have to continue with the “sit”, “stay”, “wait”. I step outside the door and he listens and stays put. Scout is just chillin’ waiting for the que. She’s much more relaxed about it, until she gets her nose to the ground. So I say “ok” and they head out. I tell them “easy” so they don’t pull me slap down the steps. They do very well and go gently down the steps. We get to the truck and Hemmi wants in before the door is even open. The process starts again, “sit”, “stay”, “no”. This is a bigger challenge than getting out of the door. I get the door open and after a few reminders I manage to get a few things moved from the back seat into the front to make room for them. Not until I give them the “ok” do they actually get in the truck. Ok, we are getting there.

    Hemmi wouldn’t sit down in the truck. This bothers me because if I had to slam on my breaks he could possibly be thrown into the front seat. I ask him repeatedly to sit. He, of course, does not. I start to get pissed and decide that wont help his attitude and its probably not going to make him sit either. So I just stop trying and drive on. I stop at BiLo before the groomer so I can get some more coffee. I can’t run out of that while everyone is here… and if I stock up now I’ll have enough through Lillie’s arrival and all the family coming in. They were really good for that stop as well. They didn’t try to get out, they didn’t jump into the front seat, they just chilled in the truck. I was starting to relax a little more, thinking, maybe they are getting it.

    We get to the groomers, a little shop down by the town square, parallel parking might I add! I feel my anxiety pick up, so they are going to pick up on that. I try to remain calm. I get out and tell them to wait. I come around to the passenger side, away from the traffic, and open the passenger door. They instantly want out. But I want them to wait and get out of the back half door. So I give them proper commands, grab their leashes and make them wait on me. At this point I am so proud of myself for using the right words, reinforcing what they already know and working so hard at it myself. I am also proud of them, they didn’t pull me down the stairs, they didn’t jump out into traffic, they really are doing pretty good. And in a second, that second where I tell them “ok”, how I feel about it all changes!

    They both jump out of the truck, pulling me in an instant. Scout has her nose to the ground and she’s ready to be off to explore (typical lab). Hemmi, however, seems to have caught a case of the flying shits! It is truly terrible. Thankfully there’s grass there cause it would have run out into the street otherwise. He got it on himself. They are both pulling leashes in opposite directions, so he also manages to get it on Scout as well. It’s on Scout’s leash and I manage to narrowly avoid getting it all over me my standing on the leash so she pulls it through the grass. OMG! I am mortified. I tell myself that all dogs poop, especially when they are nervous. But I can’t help but feel irriatated with them pulling me and not listening. There are so many smells and sounds. I am sure they are freaked out. I just want them to stop pulling me, slow down and listen. I do manage to make it to the door and get them inside, at least I don’t have traffic to worry about. I tell the girl at the counter that Hemmi had a nervous stomach and I think it’s on both of them! She says no problem and takes them back. I am relieved to just not have their leashes in my hand, to not be in control at this point. I have to give yet another lady my information and tell her exactly what we want done. She is very nice. I can see the work space, it’s just a gutted old building. I leave out and just want to get the truck away from the mud pie that Hemmi left before someone associates me with it and expects me to pick it up. I know I shouldn’t feel that way, but its practically liquid and there’s no way to “pick” it up!

    I leave and head for home. In my brains I am thinking about what to do when I get home. Too many things, I can’t focus on what I need to actually do. I get home, take all the CRAP out of the truck that shouldn’t be in there, pack it in and put it all away. I think “Do I dust first or go clean the bath room?… Or do I take the stuff that goes out to the shed out first to get it out of my way?…. Or do I make my Wal-Mart run first?… Or how about laundry?… Strip the bed?” and I am exhausted! So I get something to eat because I am hungry. I try to refocus and decide where to start. No luck, I could go sound to sleep. Finally I give in and head for the back. I lay across the bed and try to catch a little cat nap. Maybe that will help me get moving. Just as I am feeling like I might sleep some the phone rings. It’s Tancy. I tell her never again do I want to be left to take both dogs anywhere by myself. I tell her what happened and she of course thinks its hilarious. I do, at this point, but it wasn’t this morning when it was happening. We talk for a bit and then she’s got to go. While we are on the phone my Mom texts me to call her. So as soon as Tancy and I get off the phone I call Mom. We talk about groceries that I need to get. I have actually made one decision… that is while I am gone to get our groceries I am just going to get what we need for the weekend. So I need to make sure I have a complete list. We have a great conversation. We laugh. I have Mom laughing so much that she’s fussing at me and telling me I’m going to get her into trouble. That doesn’t stop the laughter and that just makes me want her here more. While we are on the phone I get the call from the groomer that the pups are ready to be picked up. I am both happy and apprehensive.

    Ok, I have two stops to make before picking up the dogs. I need to go by GNC and take back the Glucosamine and Condroitin that I got for Tancy and get Ginko, which is apparently what I was suppose to get. I do that and then head to BiLo (Yes, I was just there this morning getting coffee) to get cream of shrimp soup for our weekend menu. Like the coffee, this is the only place in North Carolina, that I know of, where I can get cream of shrimp soup. I run in there right quick, and since they have buy one get one free on dressing I go ahead and get the italian dressing we need for our menu. Ok, I’m outta here! Off to get the pups. I get there, park at the scene of the crime and go in. I don’t even know how bad they might have been or if Hemmi shit a mess all over the place after I left. Scout normally leaves her mark at the counter before she ever goes back… so I don’t even know if she shit on them too! However, much to my delight as soon as I walk in they begin to tell me that they LOVE both dogs and would take them in a heart beat… that they were incredibly well behaved. Hemmi was a bit shaky while they did his nails… but gave in to licking the lady trimming them before it was all said and done. He was also, apparently, a little Houdini and let himself out of the kennel! But they went on and on about how well behaved they were and how much they just loved them both! Whew! I was so pleased to hear this. I just can’t even tell ya!

    The trouble started when they brought them out to me and they both proceeded to pull me around the front of the shop. I got out as quickly as I could for fear that one of the them would leave a present in the floor before we could get outside. When we get outside they both pee, but no shi-tastrophe! Yay! They do try to drag me to the truck. Again, so many sites, smells and sounds that they are unfamiliar with. I try to be understanding of what a challenge it must be for them… but it is incredibly irritating to me. I don’t like being pushed, pulled, shoved or anything of the like by anyone or anything. It results in me being instantly pissed! We get to the truck, I take them around the drivers side, in traffic, to prevent them from getting in the poop. It’s a bit of a challenge, but I don’t get them or me hit by a car and finally we are all in the truck! Home James!

    We get home and now we go through the same routine as we did leaving, only, obviously, in reverse. I make them wait till I say “ok” to get out of the truck. I make them sit for me to get a few things out of the truck. I take them to the front yard to potty because there’s some grass there and they wont, hopefully, get muddy. Then we head inside. I tell them “easy” going up the stairs so they don’t pull me up the stairs. They lsiten. We get to the door and they are made to wait to come in until I give them the signal. They have to sit once they are inside so I can take the leashes off of them. They move about the house and Scout plops herself down in the living room floor while Hemmi follows me around. I go back outside and get the rest of the stuff out of the truck that I couldn’t get with them. The cream of shrimp soup, the Ginko and the trash in the truck. I pack it all in and put everything away. Hemmi just wants to be right under me, which also aggravates me. I finally settle down, ready to pass out just from that little bit and both dogs settle down and PASS OUT!

    So here I sit, on the couch, Hemmi at the other end of this couch sleeping and Scout on the love seat sleeping… and I am wishing I was sleeping. I am exceedingly tired. That’s the only way I know to explain it. I want so badly to get up and finish up what I have to do here. It’s an hour, hour and a half worth of work max. But I just can’t seem to muster up enough energy to make it happen. And the thought just occured to me that I need to figure out something for dinner tonight. I am tired of eating fast food… but I am tired in general and don’t really want to cook. Ugh.

    Ok, now it’s time for the lessons that I have learned today. I am looking at today and seeing the lessons it has provided me for what is to come. A dog pooping in the grass is what dogs do. If a little poop bothers me I have such a rude awakening coming. If I am embarassed by a dog doing what it naturally does, I am going to have an even harder time with a kid! Getting frustrated isn’t going to do anything but make it all worse, my attitude will only get worse and the dogs (or kids) will only feel that tension and their behavior will only get worse. To surmise, my lessons are, today and probably for many days to come, in what is truly embarassing, in my own behavior (it is possible to look like a jackass over something small) and in patience.

    I am sure once Lillie is born some of my feelings on this subject will change. But I firmly believe that having pets, especially dogs, especially inside dogs, teaches you great lessons and prepares you for having a kid. I know there’s someone reading this right now who disagrees so vehemently they are debating a response… but we are all entitled to our own opinions. I’ll get back with you when Lillie is about a year old. But I can tell you, I experienced today what I know I have watched parents go through… to me the dogs were behaving horribly, I was trying to correct them. I ended up looking a bit like an asshole and to anyone else, the puppies were just being puppies. And at the end of it all, the people I left them with loved them and said how well behaved they were. The real problem was my reaction to them.

    I don’t know if that makes any sense to anyone but me… but I am trying, not only to train the dogs, but to learn more about myself each and every day. There are wonderful examples of places I could improve each and every day… the trick is me being able to see it.

    Well, my dinner dilemna has been solved. We are having dinner with some friends of ours who we have been planning on having dinner with tonight for more than a week… I just wasn’t sure if it would work out. It will work out. So, I am thinking I have about 3 hours till Tancy gets home and I would be happier to knock out at least one task before we go. Plus I need to freshen up a bit so I don’t look so tired, knocked up and frumpish when we go to dinner. That means I need to get off of here!

    With that said, let me wish you all a great evening. I am sure it’s been a hellish day back to work after a long weekend. So I really hope that you can leave work shortly and head home for a great evening, relaxing, quiet and just exactly whatever it is that you need. I am sending each and every one of you all the positive energy I can muster… just send me your energy (so I can get my butt up off the couch). Haha!

    Love to all!

  • 37 weeks today – Everyone will be here in just a couple days!

    Good morning everyone. It’s Tuesday morning at 5:45. I slept pretty good last night, thankfully. That doesn’t mean I want to be awake, but I am, so that’s that. I hope that everyone had a fantastic holiday weekend. It rained here almost all weekend, but I do hope you all had better weather. I am sure that no one was ready to head back to work this morning… but it’s a short week luckily.

    Sunday evening I didn’t do much of anything after my last blog post. Mandy came by and visited for a bit. She left and I got my bath before Tancy got home. Tancy brought whoppers home for us, I was just too tired to cook anything and wasn’t near about to be on my feet any more that day. We had dinner and chatted each other up about our days. That’s always sure to bring a few laughs! I showed off all my hard work and Tancy, of course, responded as she should have “Wow!”, “That looks great babe”, “You’ve really been working hard”. All of which is true, but I love her for stroking my ego every now and then… not that I typically need it, but sometimes, when you’ve been busting your ass, it’s really nice to have it recognized. Anyway, she got her bath before long and we were in bed. We watched some TV, but were both asleep fairly early. I slept hard, waking up every few hours at the call of my bladder. I even woke up at the usual “day shift” alarm time. Ugh! Thankfully I went back to sleep. I guess we slept till about 8:00 – 8:30.

    Tancy made coffee and took care of the puppies. I didn’t feel too bad, just tired still. I enjoyed not having to do much of anything. Around 10:00 she fixed us something to eat. I had  grilled cheese sandwich and she had a egg fajita. Yummy. We then worked on putting “treats” for the dogs in the common areas of the house for our training with them now and once Lillie comes. After that we decided to go to the pet store to get a few things, also in preparation. So we both got dressed and headed out. We got to Petco and got training treats first, small, soft bite sized treats that are easy for them to eat and also will help us with the “easy” command that will be so important in months to come. We also got them some compressed bones which are just great to either keep them occupied for a while or just reward them in a bigger way. We got them both congs, great chew toys for dogs who are power chewers, to be able to stuff treats in them and keep the puppies occupied for a much longer time and reward them with less treats, even though it takes them a long time to get them all. Additionally we got them each a new toy to give them the day we come home from the hospital. All of this to assist with training from this point forward. Tancy’s been reading a book that the trainer we have used sent to us, so far we are doing everything we should be, it just gave us some additional tools to help us make it happen. The treats everywhere is one of those things. They should get treats as much as possible when Lillie is around so that they associate her with good. It’s a common mistake to treat the dogs or give them attention when the baby is sleeping, etc., this teaches them that when the baby is around is bad for them.

    Anyway, we were almost done and my right hand felt really tight, I look at it and it looks funny. I call Tancy’s attention and she doesn’t react well. I think her exact words were “Oh honey, that swelling is really bad, we’ve got to get  you home!” I guess I didn’t realize how bad it looked cause it caught me off guard. She looked at both hands and started moving alot faster to finish up what we were doing. Kept holding my hand to my chest, above my heart. We left out and stopped at the first gas station to get me some water. Tancy checked my ankles and said she could tell by looking at them I was swollen. It was pretty bad she said. On the way home she told me that I was just going to have to slow down and take it easy. That the swelling was probably partially a product of having done too much in the last few days. I started to cry. I know this seems silly, but I have been really proud of myself for not just sitting on my butt and doing nothing cause “I’m pregnant” and “I can’t” or whatever… I know there are women who do much more than I have done while pregnant… but I also know the flip side exists. I am happy to be in the middle, but I am not ready to give that up yet. I don’t want to be sitting with my feet up. I like being in the yard digging a hole for my flowers at 36 weeks pregnant, or giving the house a complete scrub down at nearly 37 weeks pregnant. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and pride. It also helps me to know that I truly can do anything, including the inevitable labor that will be tough. I have had no complications and I would like to keep it that way. She tried to reword what she’d said… that if I was swelling I should take a break, that she too was very proud of me and all that I still do even as the pregnancy progresses. I’ve worked hard at learning my limits and stopping just before I’ve pushed too far… I don’t like thinking that “too far” just got alot close.

    Once we got home I got a big glass of water and put my feet up. Sandy was already here when we got back home, so we just sat in the living room and hung out. The swelling went down pretty quickly and I was pleased with that. I only got up to go to the bathroom and get more water. At 4:00 we loaded up and headed out for dinner. I had been craving Italian food, baked ziti to be exact. So that’s what we had. I didn’t add any salt and I had water with lots of lemon. I was pleased with my dinner. Tancy’s dinner made her sick… wont be getting that again. Sandy seemed to like her dinner pretty good. When we left there we stopped at Wal-Mart so I could get some lemons to add to my water at home. Then we headed home. Sandy stayed and visited a while longer. I was so full and sleepy it was ridiculous. I guess it was 7:15 when Sandy left out. Tancy swept the living room floor for me, moving all the furniture. She’ll do a scrub on the floors probably Wednesday night. She sat down for a minute to rest after finishing the floor. But before long we headed to the back for baths and to settle down for the night. I think Tancy was asleep by 9:00. I was up till about 10:15 or so. We were both tired and quite honestly need alot more sleep than we have been getting. I was up at 12:15 and 2:40. Then, of course, when the alarm went off at 4:30 (though I didn’t get up till after Tancy had gotten up and was already getting ready).

    I had, thankfully, set the coffee pot last night, so it was already ready. Pups out to potty, stuff out to make Tancy’s sandwich, let the puppies in, make sandwich, feed pups, fix coffee, put away sandwich fixin’s. We had some of our coffee together. I don’t think either of us wanted her to have to go to work this morning, but she’s only got three days this week… normally it would be 4, but she wont be doing the normal “training” this week. Instead she’ll work 3, 12 hour days and try to get some quals worked on. That’ll give her a three day weekend, instead of what would have been a 2 day weekend, so that will be good.

    So far, this morning, I haven’t noticed swelling. I intend to keep up the water push and to just pay attention to my body. I honestly do not want to be sitting with my feet up while everyone is here! That would upset me so very much!

    Today I take the puppies to the groomer. We found one here by the house that’s super cheap and will do everything we need/want done. I’ll be glad to get them cleaned up and smelling nicely. With everyone coming it’s also important that their nails are trimmed well. Today my goals are to dust the living room (last room to be dusted) and possibly clean our bath room (the last room to actually be “cleaned”).  I’d have to look at my list to see if there’s anything else, cleaning wise, that still needs to be done. I know the floors need scrubbing, which Tancy is going to do and the couch/love seat needs to be de-haired (I don’t think that’s a real word!), but I think she’ll do that for me as well. The curtains in the back bedroom have to go back up, but Tancy will have to do that for me. Most everything, other than the floors, will take just a few minutes to complete. She assures me that she’ll take care of things tonight and tomorrow night.

    Pregnancy wise, outside of swelling hands and feet yesterday, I am doing well. I am not miserable. I have uncomfortable moments, sure, but not miserable. My right leg still goes a bit numb, standing to cook, for example really tears me up, but if I am moving, I can be on my feet for much longer without any real issues. My sciatic hasn’t been burning like it was before… very thankful for that. My left hip still bothers me here and there, but nothing constant. My right hand, at least two of my finger tips, stays numb and even hurts depending on the time of day and activity. Holding a utensil, tooth brush or anything small like that makes my hand hurt and go fully numb. I’ll be glad when that’s gone. My bladder seems to hold less than a teaspoon lately… I spend more time in the bathroom than doing anything else I think. At night that’s especially irritating. Braxton Hicks haven’t been as frequent in the last two days as they were the two prior to that. I don’t know if that’s specific to my activity level or what… I also know that her activity level has certainly changed, she’s still moving around, just not as much as before… maybe that means she’s getting ready to “head out” soon?! My knees have been bothering me, I assume its from subtle changes in my hips as my body prepares for the big day. Of course, there’s the horrific heart burn that hits in the middle of the night as well. But, outside of those things, I am well. I feel pretty good most of the time. Emotionally and mentally I have felt fantastic. The physical stuff comes and goes and thankfully usually isn’t here for long when it does hit. I feel very fortunate to have such an uneventful pregnancy, no complications, no health concerns, no real complaints. Very fortunate!

    So, it’s about 6:30 here now. I need to get dressed here directly and get ready to get the day going. I doubt I’ll be overly ambitious but I am sure I will check one or two things off the list today. That’s the great thing about planning on not being very ambitious, it frees you up to do whatever you want, which is usually fairly productive (for me at least).

    I can’t wait for everyone to be here!! Mom will be here Thursday morning. Larisa will touch down right behind her. I am so excited. Tancy’s Mom, younger sister, nephew and cousin will be here Friday sometime. I can’t remember when Aunt Jan gets here… she’ll go to her daughter, Britt’s first. And Jeanette and Luca will be here Saturday. We are so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends! I can’t wait to get some time with them, though I know it wont be nearly enough. (1 day and a wake-up!!)

    I am wishing you all a fantastic Tuesday. It’s a short week, so as hard as it has to be to return to work today, remember it’s only 4 days. I hope the weather is whatever you need it to be. I, personally, am hoping for nice weather today (though I’ve already seen the local radar and know better). I am also practicing being an optimist! I am sending each and every one of you lots of positive energy today!

    Love to all!

  • Done for the day (3:00) – Wooped!

    I am trying to remember where I left off and what I’ve done since my last post.

    • I swept the back bedroom, moved all the furniture. Don’t fuss, it’s all light.. and again, all moves easily on the wood floor. 
    • I dusted the furniture in there and moved a few things around. In the process I pulled down the curtains. I will have to get Tancy to help me get them back up. Something about putting my hands up over my head just isn’t working for me presently. My arms go weak and I feel like I can’t breathe… go figure!
    • I got the step stool out from the pantry and got up in the top of the closet to arrange the spare blankets. I also moved the stuff in the bottom of the closet around. I needed to make room for our guests clothes.
    • I took the stool into our bedroom and straightened the top of our closet while I was at it. I took down some of the stuffed animals we had and brought them into Lillie’s room.
    • I picked the dog bed up out of the hall (where I had put it to sweep our bedroom) and put it back in its place. Then I swept the hallway and Lillie’s room and the rest of the hallway.
    • I went back into the back bedroom and made the bed.
    • I also wiped down the walls were there were marks from I have no idea what since it is only a guest bed room that is almost never used.
    • I moved the paint cans out of Lillie’s room (the big ones, I wont move the little ones until everyone puts their touch on her room). And straightened up.
    • Lastly I made our bed. Very anticlimactic I know!

    I thought about sweeping the living room floor… that’s the only floor I haven’t swept in all this work, but I just don’t have it in me. It also happens to be the room that needs it the absolute most…. but I can’t do what I can’t do. I considered it for a long time before making that decision though. See, if I sweep, I can dust (which isn’t very strenuous and I really want to get done). But, chances are, if I sweep I am past done for the day. Basically, I am done. I’ve hit my wall. Thankfully I am smart enough to know that I have done enough for the day.

    Mandy just called. She’s on her way. I explained to her that I am done… an eight hour day of cleaning is enough. She still intends to come by and work on whatever is left on my list. I told her not to worry about it, what is left I can do on Tuesday. But she insists. I told her that I feel bad about sitting on my ass while she works, that’s a pet peeve of mine… but, again, she insists that she really wants to help.. So! So be it.

    Tancy has tomorrow off and we hope to sleep in some. Then we’ll get up and get a few things done around here that I need her to do. She’s been great about helping out and doing what I need her to do. She doesn’t even fuss much. Haha!

    On a really positive note, the puppies have been inside all day. I was worried about this, the rain sucks (although, honestly I am glad to see it… means I don’t have to water everything this evening) for cleaning house, it means the pups have to stay inside. Normally, when they are inside all day they get rambunctious and get into trouble. Today, however, they have been on their best behavior. They laid on their bed while I worked in our bath room. They laid on their bed while I worked in our bed room. They laid on their bed in the hallway when I moved it. When I haven’t been in the back of the house, they have laid on the couch. They have been exceptional. However, they probably wont sleep tonight… they’ve slept all day today.

    I really have got to get back to posting about things other than cleaning house and doctors appointment. Unfortunately I am thinking, as a Mom, this is my future. LOL! Oh well, I don’t even know how is reading my posts anymore. I am sure, before long, I will have a bitch of some sort! Haha!

    Later taters. Have a great rest of your Sunday and enjoy your Holiday!

  • Progress Report (1:30)

    Ok, lets see, what have I gotten done today.

    • Well, I cleaned the mirrors in all the rooms: Lillie’s mirror, the hall bath,
      the mirror in the back bedroom, the mirror on our dresser and the
      mirror in our bedroom.
    • I “shined” the sink and tub faucets in the hall bath room.
    • I wiped down the rest of the windows: Lillie’s room, the back bedroom, our bedroom, our bathroom and the living room. That means the glass is cleaned and so is the window seal and the window frame, even the outside, top ledge that collects funky dust. Gross!
    • Also, the front glass door has been wiped down (inside of the glass only).
    • I cleaned the screens of the TV in the living room and in our bedroom also.
    • I finished wiping down all the remaining doors: Our bathroom, our bedroom, our closet, the living room, the pantry, the carport and the pantry. So not only are all the little grooves in the WHITE doors clean on both sides (well, I haven’t done the outside of the main doors), but so are the door frames, again, so is that top ledge that no one sees but holds so much dust. Yuck!
    • I dusted the top of the mirror in our room. It’s only about 6 inches from the ceiling, but I knew it needed to be done.
    • I swept the pantry & utility room.
    • I took out the trash in both bathrooms.
    • I swept our bathroom floor.
    • I cleaned out and organized the cabinets in our bathroom. I wiped
      them out on the inside and I wiped the doors of the cabinets down too.
      They look so much better!
    • I wiped down the deep freeze, washer and dryer in the utility room.
    • I dusted off my butterfly box in the living room.
    • Then I moved into our bedroom. I swept it, but I moved all the furniture… well, not the bed. We have really heavy furniture, but before you fuss at me, it slides very easily across the hard wood floor. The bed doesn’t slide so I didn’t move it. Wow, it’s really disgusting what collects under furniture in such a short amount of time. I don’t even think it’s been 3 months since I did that… but I guess maybe I should be doing it more often. Oh well!
    • I hooked the VCR/DVD combo back up to our TV and the ear phones Mom & Dad got Tancy for Christmas. I am thinking those are going to come in handy here pretty soon. 
    • I took the trash out. I had one of those 30 gallon trash bags in the kitchen for all the trash that surfaces when you clean and I filled it between cleaning yesterday and today. I have a new one ready. It’s embarassing really, to have that much trash.
    • I RE-organized the shoes in our closet… seems like I do that once a week. It’s frustrating sometimes to keep doing the same things over and over when it seems so avoidable.
    • Then I swept the closet floor. 
    • Lastly I dusted our bed room. 

    I am moving on to the back bed room when I wrap this up. I also did get the paper, but it didn’t have the manufacturers coupons in it… which I didn’t find until I got home! And yes, I did have breakfast this morning. I even managed a lunch break around 11:30, I had my left overs from last night. So, not only am I moving right along with the “To Do” list I am managing to eat and drink plenty of water!! Are you so proud of me?!

    Ok, this list wont finish itself, so I’d better get to it. Mandy had unknowingly also promised to take Lauren shopping with a friend of hers and that friends Mom today for graduation dresses. So, I’ll be long done with everything (that I intend to finish today) before she gets here… She’ll be lucky to be done by 5:00!! I laughed at her… she wasn’t looking forward to it and thinks she’ll be done “early”. Hahahahaha!

    Later kids. Love to all!

  • Sunday morning television sucks!

    Good morning all. I hope that no one is awake to read this for quite some time this morning. No one should be up this early on a Sunday morning. And can I tell you that there is absolutely nothing worth watching on TV! Even the few music videos that are playing are crap! What is that about?! Church, news and info-mercials… that’s all that’s on.

    Yesterday was a full day! You all know about everything I did right up to getting my bath at 5:00. To be honest, there isn’t much else to report. I had some pretty good Braxton Hicks before getting in the tub. I got in the tub and just soaked and enjoyed feeling a little less weighty. Getting clean is always a bonus too of course. I had at least one Braxton Hicks in the tub. Such a strange feeling. They were fairly frequent yesterday evening, I must admit. I finally decided I needed to get out of the tub and put on my night gown. I trudged into the living room and parked it on the couch. I was exhausted. I think I might have gotten a snack and some more water, but honestly, I don’t remember doing much other than just sitting on the couch with my feet up.

    Tancy called at 6:30 to say she was on her way home and see what I wanted for dinner. I wanted chicken tenders from ShoMar’s… that was the only thing that sounded good to me. We talked for a bit, but I was so tired I was having trouble focusing on what she was saying. I was honestly about to fall asleep sitting upright on the couch when she called. It wasn’t long before she was at ShoMar’s and we got off the phone. It seemed like she was home in a blink… though I know it took another 30 minutes. Strange how that happens.

    She was very sweet, making sure to tell me how good things looked. She brought my food to me and even got me some more water. We ate and chatted and watched some of our DVR’d shows. After dinner she picked everything up (put it away where it belonged) and got us some more water. We stayed on the couch for the rest of the evening really. At about 8:30, after watching the Survivor finale that I had recorded for her, we headed to the back. I was so happy to be getting in bed. My biggest physical complaint was trying to stand up fully. I could get part of the way up, but straightening up all the way was a big tough… So imagine a hunched over pregnant lady, that’s me!

    We watched a bit of TV in the bed. For me, mostly, I just looked for a comfortable position to be in so I could fall asleep. I was so tired. I finally settled on what seemed to be most comfortable, though still not as wonderful as I had hoped for. It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep. I had my usual 2 hour schedule of bathroom trips. I woke up at one point with the worst heart burn… I’ve had it for the last two nights now, it wakes me up and it really is a special kind of hell in the middle of the night. I tried to elevate my upper body a bit to help, but didn’t sit up in the bed like I did the night before. It finally eased off enough to go back to sleep. The last time my bladder woke me up, I looked at the clock and it was almost time for Tancy’s alarm clock to go off. I went to the bathroom, had trouble getting in though, I couldn’t get my right hand to close enough around the knob to open the door… I wasn’t pleased. I finally used my left hand. I did get back in bed and lay down cause why wouldn’t I?! I didn’t go back to sleep, I just wasn’t ready to be upright yet.

    Before her alarm went off I could smell the coffee. Yumm! I got up, let the pups out, made Tancy’s sandwich for lunch today, let the puppies in and fed them, made our coffee and put the toaster away. I then parked it on the couch and here I sit. Tancy just left for work a bit ago and Lillie has been kicking up a storm this morning. I know I had at least one Braxton Hicks last night, it woke me up. I have been having them at night for the past 2 or 3 nights now. I wonder if the intensity and frequency of Braxton Hicks indicates anything about impending labor? I mean, I don’t think I’ll go into labor today or even in the next several days, I just wonder if how those are going tells you anything about how far away labor might be. Probably not.

    Today I am not much worse for the wear from yesterday, just my right hand and hopefully that will loosen up as the day goes on. It’s almost 6:00 now. It’s daylight between 6:30 & 7:00 here, so that’s when I will get up and get moving. Until then I am going to finish my coffee and mentally prepare myself for the task at hand today. I want to finish the other half of my “To Do” list today. Next week, say Wednesday, there will still be a few things to do… but mostly the “polishing” stuff, taking the trash out, giving the toilets another good cleaning (just not necessary to scrub them again), the floor again… you know the kind of stuff that you like to do just before people actually arrive. Yesterday and today are more deep cleaning days.

    I think it’s suppose to rain today, that’s always fun, cleaning house with the dogs under foot… they actually didn’t do too badly yesterday. They are fine with just me at home, mostly lay on the couch and sleep. Lazy pups! But if Mandy comes over today there’s no guarantee that they will be that good. We will just have to wait and see.

    Tancy has off tomorrow. I have a couple of things I need her to do here tomorrow. Nothing major, its her only day off in an 8 day stretch (would be 9 but she actually does have off on Friday) and I don’t want to exhaust her more. Our game plan is to still get in bed at a reasonable time tonight, sleep in tomorrow and then just take it as it comes.

    Tuesday Tancy goes back to work and the puppies go to get groomed, nails done, a good bath, ears cleaned… they need it. And it’s good that it’ll be done before everyone gets here, they’ll still smell pretty! How long that will last, who knows?! Haha. I am not sure what else the day will hold for me, just getting the dogs to the groomer by myself and then back home will likely be exhausting for me. They can be a hand full when I have both of them by myself.

    Wednesday I am hoping to go get some groceries and do the polishing up around here. Nothing major though. Wednesday will be more about the last minute stuff and keeping myself occupied, its a long day when you are up at 4:45 in the morning and not headed out to work. So I have to have something to do.

    Thursday morning I will have to occupy myself somehow, but, luckily, Mom will get in around 10:30. We will have a short wait and then Larisa will touch down. From the airport we head to the spa for some pampering… that will be so wonderful. I am having a pregnancy massage and a mani/pedi. Mom is having a massage and so is Larisa. We should all be deliciously relaxed before it is all said and done.

    Friday morning I have an OB appointment. Mom is looking forward to that, she’ll get to hear Lillie’s heart beat. Then we will head back home and just hang out. Aunt Jan and Britt are going to come by and everyone who wants to will work on putting their touch on Lillie’s room. We’ll cook and listen to music and talk and laugh. In my head it’s like a great chick flick with a house full of wonderful women with great laughs and terrific insight. Tancy has physical therapy that afternoon, so she’ll be gone for a bit, but it wont be too bad. Some time Friday night Tancy’s Mom, younger sister, nephew and cousin will get in from Ohio. We aren’t sure of the time, we probably wont see them… which we are bummed about, but it can’t be helped.

    Saturday morning Jeanette gets in with her little girl, Luca. We are incredibly excited to see them, Luca is almost 2 (?) and we haven’t met her yet. We will have a little time, once they get here, before we head out to the shower. I hope the weather is nice that day. We will be outside… we’ll be under the pavilion, but I still hope the weather is nice. After the shower I think family is headed back to our house to hang out and spend some time. It will be the most time we get with Tancy’s family for certain that weekend. We are kinda bummed that we wont have more time with them, but again, there’s not much anyone can do about it.

    Sunday will be another full day. I have to get Larisa to the airport for around 10:00. I’ll have a bit of time with Mom and then take drop her off too. I am not looking forward to Mom leaving. After I get them both to the airport I’ll head home and try to get a little bit of time in with Tancy’s family, hopefully, before they leave. Then Jeanette and Luca leave around 2:00 I think. So, everyone staggers in, which is great… but they all leave at once basically, which sucks. It sucks because there’s no way we’ll have enough time with everyone and it sucks because we will go from having so many of the people we love here to watching them all leave. Makes me sad to think about it honestly.

    After that Tancy is back to days Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s gonna be a busy week.

    Well kids. It’s 6:18 and I am thinking that I’m gonna go ahead and get dressed. I want to go get a Sunday paper and then come back and clip my coupons before I get started on my “To Do” list again. Which means I need to get moving. I hope you all have a great day… and Hey! You’ve still got another day off!! Woo hoo! I hope you are enjoying your weekend. I can’t say that mine hasn’t at least been productive. I do miss my Tancy though. We’ve both been so tired it doesn’t even seem like we do much other than eat and go to bed when she gets in. But hey, at least I get to go to bed with her each night right now. Alright, enough, I am rambling. Have a great day!

    Love to all!

    Oh! I almost forgot. It’s Hemmi’s 3rd birthday today. Happy Birthday Hemmi!!

  • Accomplishments – Part 2 – The conclusion for today

    Wow, I am really tired at this moment. I got the hall bath all cleaned up and sparkling. I have a few things in there to do, the finishing touches if you will, but I am leaving that for tomorrow. I cleaned the counters, the cabinets, the shower (even wiped the top part of the shower, where there’s that little ledge that collects dust), the toilet, around the toilet, the baseboards and the door (both sides). I have done all I can do in there. I mean, I could probably find something else, but I don’t really want to do that.

    I swept the hall closet, the hall bathroom and the hall way itself. I also cleaned the air return at the end of the hall and changed out the filter. We’ve got to get better filters than what is in there now… they are crappy!

    I wiped down everything in the hall way, the smoke detector, the door belly thingy, the walls, the door frames, the doors (they are white… hate white) to the bedrooms and both closets. I also went into Lillie’s room and the back bedroom and wiped down the closet doors and the room side of the bedroom doors.

    Right now I am so tired. My ring finger and middle finger on my right hand are completely numb. My shoulders are feeling a bit tight and I am now (since I am still) having Braxton Hicks. I am sure my back is just waiting for me to stand up so it can kick me in the ass! I am not complaining, that would not be right, I have brought any aches and pains on myself at this point. I chose to stop because I didn’t think I had much more gas in the tank and figured I was pretty close to over doing it. As much as I want to accomplish everything I possibly can, I don’t want to push myself too hard.

    It is almost 5:00 right now and I am considering going to soak in the tub. I know that I have cleaned all I am going to clean and I have been putting things up (cleaning products, etc.) as I go along (thus is my nature), so there’s nothing else to really do till Tancy gets home. A soak in a warm tub and then lathered down with lotion might be just what I need… my hands are certainly dry from all the cleaning stuff they’ve been in today. I should probably also go ahead and take some Tylenol.

    Tancy agreed to bring home dinner tonight. I am so thankful. Not only because the kitchen is spotless and I’d like to keep it as close to spotless as possible, at least till everyone gets here… But also because I just don’t have it in me to cook tonight. I knew that much earlier in the day which is why I asked her to bring dinner home. She seemed to already been thinking along those lines.

    While I have been cleaning the house I have managed to keep in touch with Mom via text message. They seem to be enjoying themselves this weekend. I am so glad. They both needed some time away from everything. I love hearing from her, seeing her excitement about something they’ve seen. I love that she shares that. I can’t wait to see her. I wish Dad was coming too.

    Alright kids, the Braxton Hicks are fairly intense… I think I am going to go get in the tub and try to relax a bit, maybe even float my big ass and take some of the pressure off. It’ll be nice to just not smell like bleach at this point. I doubt I will be back on to blog before tomorrow. I probably wont have much interesting to report in the morning, though I will share my sleep or lack there of should that be the case. As well as my aches and pains. I got about half my list (maybe a tad more) done today… am really hoping to finish the rest of it tomorrow. Mandy is suppose to come over when Steve leaves, I can probably have half of what’s left before she gets here. I don’t do too bad for a pretty pregnant chick… I am sure there are those who do more… I am just proud of what I am still capable of accomplishing.

    Sending you all my love!