So it's 1:00 here now and I am sitting on the couch, once again. I have been busy though, it isn't like I have been here the whole time.

I got moving shortly after daylight. I got the laundry cranked up again. I headed outside before it got too hot and cleaned up the carport, swept and then took the hose to all the dirt and cob webs that needed to come down. I washed the landing down at the carport door and even managed to wash up the sweet tea that we spilled yesterday. I washed all the soil away that ended up all over the drive way and sidewalk while we worked on flowers yesterday. I moved the bird feeder that was over the front flower bed, the feed has millet in it and that grows this really huge grain looking stalk. Can't have that, Tancy worked too hard to get rid of all the weeds in there. So I moved that one out on to a tree on the other side of the drive way. I hung the third basket up on the front porch after moving the wind chime where the feeder was. Tancy has to put up the correct eye bolts for me, I tried but don't have enough lead in my pencil (yes, I know I don't have a pencil, but I heard that all my life and it still rings true) to do it myself. Once I got all that done, I filled all of the bird feeders with seed, they were ALL empty!

I came inside for a bit, out of breath and feeling a bit tired. I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher. I called Maw-Maw, I had been missing her and I know I don't call her nearly enough. I ended up reading her my letter to Lillie, I knew she would enjoy it and that it would mean something to her. She now wants me to send her a copy to keep. I will type it up and send it to her some time in the next couple of days. I enjoyed talking to her, told her about all I had been doing, she tickles me... if I am doing it, there's no reason I shouldn't. If I say I didn't do it because I don't think I should, she agrees. I can't imagine what being pregnant was like for her, there was lots of physical, manual labor to be done, pregnant or not. Then she had all of them without any pain meds... three of them at home!! Jeeze! When I think about being uncomfortable I think about how it was 50+ years ago and figure I've got it pretty damn good... central air, no fields to tend, no clothes that have to be scrubbed on a wash board and a wonderful little thing called an epidural! Haha.

I talked to Pops after I talked to Maw-Maw. It's good to talk to him when I can, he doesn't often have time while he's at work, so I was surprised to get him on the phone. We didn't talk long, I asked him about the doors leaking and what it might be. He said there was a foam kinda thing (my words, not his) that went around the door between it and the frame that might need replaced. We just chatted a bit, he had things going on and I didn't want to keep him. Just having a few minutes to talk was good enough for me. I miss him a bunch.

I called Casie after I talked to Pops. I almost never talk to her on the phone. I usually don't call her at work because there are days when she's usually slammed and I don't know if she can talk much or not. Getting in touch with her outside of work is pretty tough too. So I did get her, our conversation was mostly me asking her questions and her giving me "Brent" answers... meaning one word indicating she's busy, side tracked or just not interested. LOL. I figured I should let her get back to it, so we didn't really talk too long, but it was good to hear her voice. I have been missing her, I tell her all the time, but somehow we don't seem to make any more time for each other. That breaks my heart. At one point we were so close... now I honestly can feel very disconnected and don't know much about what's going on with her, outside of the surface level stuff. That's not to say its anyone's fault, I don't want her reading this and thinking I am saying its all her fault (cause I'm not Case), we both contribute to that. I do miss her terribly. I feel tears burning my eyes just thinking about my sister and how much I miss her.

Once I got off the phone I grabbed something to eat, cottage cheese, and was going to get back to work and then the phone rang. It was a friend of ours calling to see about coming by to get some of the wood we just cut up. I told her I was always home. LOL. She'll probably come by on Saturday to get it. I have no plans, so that works out just fine. We chatted for a bit about work, home, babies, money, friends, etc. It was a good conversation. I think I am feeling a bit isolated today, disconnected or something. Talking to those who are important to me is always great, but today it has meant the world to talk to my family especially. I guess it's being pregnant and the hormones. I miss everyone so much more right now than I ever remember missing them. Don't get me wrong, I always miss them, but it can be really hard lately.

So while I was on the phone I stripped the back bed. I took out the trash in our bathroom. I collected our rugs to wash and put them on after moving the throw blankets into the dryer. I picked up our bedroom a bit and cleared some of the stuff off of the kitchen table. I must admit that my emotions have gotten to me a bit today and I just don't feel like doing much. I decided that fresh air was a good thing for me and headed back outside. I washed off the front porch, moved the plants around and washed off the whole porch, I washed down the siding which gets dusty under there since no rain rinses it off. I washed the windows down. I washed off the porch steps and the side walk leading to the steps as well. I washed down any spider webs I saw and pretty much anything that looked like it needed a good rinse. I came back inside at that point and wandered around the house looking for something to do, not because there's a shortage but because I don't want to do much.

I thought about packing my hospital bag, but for what ever reason that hasn't seemed to be a big thing for me to get done at this point. I hope I get motivated to do it soon after the shower... if not I'm liable to be packing it while I am in labor! Haha. Wouldn't that be something, Ms. OCD, anal retentive packing her hospital bag whilst running out the door to get to the hospital?! Now that makes me laugh!

And I am telling you, I have felt so big lately, I don't care about "dressing" to go to the grocery store. I throw on one of my old t-shirts with paint and stains all over it and a pair of shorts (lucky for me all of my "regular" clothes still fit) and just go. I waddle myself up in the Food Lion, grab a buggy and get what I need. I know I look like a ragamuffin, but I don't care. Hell, I can't catch a good breath half the time, I am not overly concerned with being cute on an every day level. Now, if we are going somewhere, I do put on the maternity stuff and look presentable. Otherwise, to hell with it. LOL. That must mean I am getting close to being "ready". Haha.

So I need to get things ready to get dinner going soon. I am just waiting on Tancy to tell me if she prefers pork chops or chicken fried steak. Then I'll know I either have to go to the store or to the freezer. I don't have a preference, but I told her I need Italian one night soon, maybe Monday night. I have been craving it baked ziti!! That's probably my new favorite, just tomato sauce, not meat sauce... yummmy! I need a good ziti recipe, anyone??

Alright kids. I need to wrap this up. No telling what else I will do today. Seems like as soon as I decide to just chill out for the rest of the day I am up and doing 10 things... so there's just no way to know what will happen between now and bedtime. I love you all, very much. Have a great rest of the day!

Good morning all. Wow. I can't believe I haven't blogged since Sunday... but then again, Tancy's been off of work and we have been busy little bees.

Sunday was fairly uneventful so that was good. I felt decent, no real discomfort but no great energy level either. I managed to make Tancy lunch when she got up, I really enjoy being able to do that for her when she works nights. It's so important too because she rarely has time, in a 12 hour shift, to eat once she gets there. Then again, there are the nights where they are slow and cook, eat, etc. Those seem to be fewer and farther between lately for them, they are soooo under manned. Anyway, she ate and then got ready for work. I sent an email (and left voice mail) to the lady that gave the puppy training class we took for Scout. We want to make sure we are doing what we should be doing to ready the dogs, and ourselves for life with baby and pups. We got caught up on the night before, like we usually do and before either of us knew it, it was time for her to go. I stayed at home, watched some TV, surfed the web and got in bed around 9:00 I guess. I didn't sleep well at all. Not sure why, but it was that light, restless sleep. I think it was around 3:00 before I even started to doze. I hate nights like that.

So Monday morning Tancy got in around 6:30, I got up and sent the puppies out to her so they could potty. I could hear her making something to eat, so I drug my sorry butt into the kitchen to see what she was doing. She was starving, hadn't had time to eat dinner that night. I told her what time we had to leave for the doctors appointment and she said she would just stay up, so I stayed up with her, though I would have loved to crawl into bed. So she made us a pot of coffee and we chatted till time for me to get ready for my appointment. We got there right on time and went back fairly quickly. We got to see our favorite doctor in the group. My blood pressure was good, 118/80. I didn't gain any weight. Her heart rate was good, 135 I believe. They did my Strep B swab and I got a pelvic exam. I don't mean to be crude, but I swear she was checking my tonsils!! My cervix is that high. No change, still high and not dilated or softening. No surprise. We talked about the Braxton Hicks, breathlessness, nausea, etc. All is normal, as I suspected and what we want to be happening. The clusters of Braxton Hicks help to encourage her to move down and into place and ready my uterus for the "real deal". We told our doctor that we really want her to deliver for us, so we schedule our week 39 appointment with her (that's the first Friday in June). So, she signed off on my kick count and we were on our way.
We left the doctors office and got a bite for lunch, it was about noon and Tancy was starving. We had canceled her physical therapy appointment, she just didn't think she could make it, I am sure she was right. So the game plan was lunch on the go and then home for a nap before the class with our pediatrician. That's just what we did too. Neither of us slept long, about an hour and a half. I woke up with headache, but caffeine quickly remedied that problem.
The dog trainer (or more accurately people trainer) called and we set a time and date for her to come out and give us an assessment on the puppies, give us pointers and just make sure we are on a good path. We really liked her when we took her class and are happy that she'll be able to come out and see how things are going. We also have a few issues, unrelated to baby, that we'd like her input on, so it all works out. I talked to Mom for a bit, who had stayed home from work not feeling too well, and then it was time to get ready for our class. Wow, the day was so full already it seemed and now we had a 2 hour class. We left out a bit too early as it turned out, but it all worked out well. We were the first, and only, ones there for the class. So we won the door prize by default, a bag full of baby goodies!! There was food too and it was pretty good. We ended up with a 2 hour one on one about baby care, appointments, common issues with newborns, vaccinations, etc. It was great. If we weren't sure about him being our pediatrician before we certainly were after the class was over. He's also able to help with breastfeeding should I need assistance, and, because he's family practice, address post-partum care with me as well. That's handy, taking the baby in for a check-up and having the opportunity to talk to him about my concerns without needing a separate appointment.
We left there feeling really good about our decision to have him care for Lillie. We also got to meet his three children, cute! There's something to be said about choosing doctors who you feel that comfort with. Anyway. We left there and got dinner. We've been trying to do better about not eating out, and we've done a good job. But at this point it was 8:15 and we were both too hungry to think about coming home and cooking something. So we had japanese hibachi for dinner. It was pretty good. From there we headed home and got directly into pajamas. The day had been very long and exhausting for both of us. It was all worth it, but we were ready to sink into bed and veg out. I think we watched some TV and were probably up too late anyway, but I think we both slept alright.

Tuesday morning I had to get up earlier than I would have liked. I had a dentist appointment, just a cleaning, that was at 9:00. Ugh. I left Tancy in the bed and headed out. The cleaning went well, the girl who does it at our dentist office is thorough and gentle. No real changes from the last time I was there, but good to get in another cleaning before the baby gets here. They want me to get a night guard, both for my TMJ and because I am apparently grinding my teeth at night to the point of sharpening one of my lower "eye" teeth. But the guard costs $275 after insurance and I just can't see spending that. So, we will see. When I got home Tancy was up, hadn't been for long though. She talked to her Mom & Dad and then we were on our way to Mandy's.
Tancy was going to work on the Durango and get it back up and running. Mandy was going to cook dinner for us that night. Tylor was also coming over to help Tancy. We got there around noon I guess. Tancy started to work pretty quickly and I decided to cut the grass for Mandy. Wow, the wind was terrible and I can't even tell you how much grass I breathed in, had in my ears, down my shirt, in my hair, etc. I itched all over! But I got the grass cut and enjoyed doing it, so I wont bitch too much. By the time I got done with that Tancy had done about all she was going to do on her on so we both took a break. Lauren called to let us know she was going to Wal-Mart and then would be home. Tylor arrived before too long. I started cutting up the onions and tomatoes once Lauren got there. Mandy called on her way home soon as well. The evening was moving right along. By the time Mandy got home it was 5:30 or 6:00 and the truck was done, they just were waiting on the keys to crank it and see how it ran. It ran well! Mandy and I started on dinner, greasy tacos. Now, for those of you who don't know about greasy tacos, they are a real treat. First you fry corn tortillas and fold them in the shape of tacos. Then you stuff them with shredded spam and cheese. You fry them a second time to melt the cheese and once they are all done you add your favorite taco toppings and eat. Greasy tacos is a very appropriate name! I can't eat them, tears my stomach up. I eat ground meat, I actually had a taco salad this particular night. But these tacos are a Dean family favorite. So everyone ate and visited. Tylor left shortly after dinner. Lauren left a little while later to take the kids home (she'd brought some of the little girls she sometimes baby sits for over to spend some time with Hemmi, part of his training). We left around 9:00? Got home, fed the dogs, I got a shower, Tancy got a bath. I took some medicine for my allergies and we both we sacked out by 10:30 I guess. I slept like a rock. I woke up at 4:30 with a full bladder and again at 8:30.

The puppies finally got us up at 9:45, good thing too, Tancy had physical therapy at 11:00! I felt groggy from the medicine I had taken to allow me to breath and subsequently sleep. I hung out on the couch. I finally got motivated to put on some clothes, start the laundry and balance the check book. I got some bills paid too! Yay me! By the time Tancy called on her way home I had a game plan. We needed to finish up the front of the house which meant working in the flower bed... that was going to be a real bugger. I had some hanging baskets I wanted to put some flowers in and put up also. So, I first ordered the dogs new beds, yes plural. One for our bedroom, the one that is in there has seen much better days... and another for the living room. We will start teaching them that their "bed" is their space, hoping to keep them of the couch and love seat as much. Part of this is their "training" and part of it is because I am over all the hair that ends up on the couch and subsequently on our clothes. I love our dogs and I enjoy having them in the house, but I don't enjoy all the hair. The "bed" thing will also allow them their own space to go to if they are feeling stressed or don't want to be bothered. This works out well for everyone. Once that was done we lit out to first get Tancy some new bras and then to Lowe's. We made short order of the first errand and were soon on our way! We got to Lowe's and got the first items on our list fairly quickly: preen, grass & weed killer, weed eater string, and a hand tiller. But then we started looking for the flowers for the flower bed and hanging baskets. That took us a while. We had picked out flowers last time and couldn't find them this time. So we had to start all over. We finally found the original ones and decided against them, luckily there was one by them that we really liked, so that wrapped itself up nicely. Next the flowers for the hanging baskets. Wow, that took way too long. I needed something that wouldn't get too tall, something that would trail or be vine like, something that would flower and be ok with a fair amount of sun. Of course color was ALSO an issue. After walking the flower selection I don't know how many times we finally found the one we wanted and were out of there. I was having Braxton Hicks and having trouble with that so I was glad to be getting out to the car where I could sit down.
We got back home and Tancy started working on clearing out the flower bed. It was full of grass (unintentional and seemingly the only place we can grow grass) and my bulbs. I cut the back yard and then the front yard. Riding mowers are wonderful things! The yard looked great! I then started helping her by cutting the bulbs back and silently hoping we weren't killing them. I love my gladiola's. Before we knew it, it was time to leave for our hair cuts (just after 4:00), we had worked right up until time and she would just have to be ok with us being dirty and smelly. There was no way around that with so much to do. We got there a bit early and she was working on someone else, but before long she was ready to start on me. Hair washed, eye brows waxed and moving on over to the chair to get my hair cut. I opted to have a bit more cut off than I had been, I had just a little bit of the yuck color left on the ends from where I stopped coloring my hair and I was ready for it to be gone. My hair cut took no time at all and then she was on to Tancy. I went to one of the other "stations" and blew my hair dry myself, no point in her fixing it, we were headed home to finish our yard work. But truth be told, I always dry my own hair. Tancy got her hair washed, eye brows waxed and on over to the chair. Tancy's hair cut always takes longer, she's got so much freakin' hair!! Cut it, thin it, check it, cut and/or thin some more... jeeze. But soon Tancy was done. We headed next door to get a bite to eat, not doing so good with not eating out, but we were busy girls and starving too! I got a burger, Tancy got a bar-b-que sandwich. We ate and headed back home.
Once we got home I grabbed the shovel to dig a hole near one of my bird feeders to plant the bulbs... I wanted to get them back in the ground in hopes of not killing them. I don't think they will come back up this year, but I hope to keep them alive. Wow, that was alot of work. Our ground is pretty hard in places and rocky every where else. I finally got past the rocks and the roots and had a pretty good sized, u shaped, hole. I put some of the bulbs in... have a ton left and have to figure out what to do with them... and worked just as hard to get the dirt back in the hole. We have alot of clay, so it packs itself down pretty good. I finally got that done and went to help Tancy who had been planting the flowers (ground cover with pretty red flowers) in the flower bed. I was already pretty worn out and was having trouble being so low to the ground and having to bend even more. I wasn't alot of help, but I did the best I could. Once the flower bed was done we had a few flowers left so Tancy put them in with the butterfly bushes. I watered the flowers on the back deck and packed my Lily out to the front, Hemmi ate all the f'n flowers off of it, little bastard. Tancy watered the newly planted flowers while I was doing that. We sat for a minute on the back deck, I had to catch my breath before I could think about getting in the shower. I felt like I had run a marathon uphill!
Soon we headed in and got showers... we were both WAY too grubby to get baths. It always amazes me how truly wonderful a good shower feels when you are that grimey. You are almost too tired to get one, but too filthy not to... you don't have any more energy after the shower, but you feel human again. It's great. Tancy grabbed the clothes out of the dryer for me and I put her uniform shirts and blue jeans in the dryer. We headed to the back. I had cookies and milk (I was hungry believe it or not) and she folded clothes for me... such a good woman. I folded socks once I finished my cookies and milk and she started putting it all away. Normally this isn't how it goes, so I was incredibly thankful to her for doing it, I was wiped out. I took some tylenol and some benadryl to help with the sneezing, itching, general allergy misery. We watched some TV, including the newest installation of the UFC house, awesome. Tancy had trouble going to sleep for some reason. I was tired and started to fall asleep, but to be honest didn't sleep much or very well. I was up often going to the bathroom. I was already sore, my back, belly, hands, legs... everything that I had used while cutting grass, digging the hole and planting flowers was revolting against me. Not to mention that getting out of bed is increasingly more difficult. I told Tancy if Lillie didn't come before night shift started again I was going to have to have someone come stay with me to get me out of bed in the middle of the night to pee, or I was going to have to get some "piddle pads" from pet smart to put in the bed in case of accidents! LOL.

The clock went off at 4:30, Tancy hit snooze till 4:45, I laid there awake and unhappy about it (I had already given myself permission to sleep in). I finally got up and let the puppies out. The coffee was already made, yay me, and made Tancy a sandwich to take. After getting our coffee cups fixed I sat down on the couch and here I remain. I have a long to do list just for today, some work in the house, some more work outside... though I don't know how much I will accomplish from a labor perspective. My body is not real pleased with me today. I'll probably just take it easy and do things inside that don't require alot of physical exertion. Finish the laundry, get the dishes done, strip the back bed and remake it, dust, etc. That kind of stuff.

I have something going  most days from today through next Sunday, it goes like this:
Tomorrow - OB appointment
Saturday - work on getting the house ready for all our company
Sunday - work on getting the house ready for all our company (This will take more than one day b/c I can't get it all done in one any more.) Hemmi turns 3 years old.
Monday - Tancy has off and I am sure there will be a list of things that I need her help with in the house before company arrives.
Tuesday - take the dogs to get them groomed. Hopefully have dinner with Gary.
Wednesday - grocery shopping
Thursday - Mom and Larisa arrive and we have an afternoon at the spa
Friday - OB appointment for me, Physical Therapy for Tancy, everyone at the house visiting and working on Lillie's room.
Saturday - Jeanette and Luca get in, the baby shower, everyone at the house visiting (Tancy's folks probably wont make it in in time on Friday to visit).
Sunday - everyone leaves, just spread out, so the day will be spent running people to the airport more than likely. (Not looking forward to everyone leaving so soon.) Britt & Ryan's 1 year wedding anniversary - Congrats!!

Once the baby shower is over little Miss Lillie can get here as whenever she likes. I will probably start to get anxious about it at that point. Right now, I am good with her not being here yet.... but I will more than likely be "ready" once the shower is done. Don't ask me how that makes sense... it is what it is.

Alright kids. It is daylight out and I think I am going to get up off the couch and get moving. I might be able to get a few things done today if I don't stay stuck to the couch. I hope you all have a great day today. For some the weekend starts at quitting time today, I hope you enjoy your extended weekend. For others, it starts tomorrow... still a long weekend. Aunt Judy & Daniele will be headed to Georgia tomorrow, I am wishing them a safe trip. I hope that they all have a great time. I know Casie is looking forward to it! I am sure I'll blog again before the weekend is up, hell, I'll probably blog again before the day is up! Haha! So, be good kids! Smile! Makes 'em wonder what you're up to!

Love to all!

Hello all. I hope this finds you all doing well. Soaking up the last bits of the weekend time, trying not to think about work... that's what I used to do anyway.

Let's see, the last time I blogged was Friday, right? I haven't had a whole bunch of excitement since then, but I will catch you up anyway. Friday night I got some sleep, but I had alot of trouble with my left hip... feels like it came out of socket and the tissue is inflamed and possibly a ligament is torn or something like that. I can't describe it, but it is completely different than my sciatic issues on my right side. So I slept in fits... and when I wasn't sleeping, I could have thrown a fit. LOL. Tancy got home and we went through our usual "hey baby", "how was your night", and quick catch up. I didn't think I'd ever go back to sleep once she was asleep. I finally did and slept nearly solidly till 10:30. That was probably the most sleep I got all night, about 2 hours. I always sleep better when she's home, I know... I can't help it. I am sure that'll change over time, but for now its the facts jack!

So I got up at 10:30 and made coffee, normal morning routine. Then parked it on the couch. Honestly my hip is what woke me up, hurting something terrible and I just couldn't take it. I can only guess that those ligaments are loosening up in preparation for the "big day", everything I've read and even in talking to the doctors, these things happen and you want them to!! I had my coffee and talked to Mom on the phone and then Mandy. I decided that I needed to run a couple of errands before Tancy got up, so I went to the back to get ready. It was about 12:30 at this point. I guess the blow drier woke her up. I felt terrible. She usually doesn't wake up from that, blends with the white noise. Anyway, I finished getting ready and headed out to gas up the truck and get a few staples from the store.
When I got out of the truck at Wal-Mart to get a few odds and ends another discomfort was added to my list for the day. I was having tenderness in my belly low. I had it the night before as well, but it was more intense now. The best I can compare it to is having a belly full of gas (not under your ribs, but low in your belly) that just wont move. Or being terribly constipated. It's tender and feels distended even though its not. Now, I'll answer the question, it isn't gas or constipation, but thats the closest thing I can relate it to for everyone. I white knuckled the buggy all through Wal-Mart, to be standing upright seemed to make that pressure worse. Tancy called when I was half way through getting what I needed and had a horrendous head ache, her typical after the first night of nights, she couldn't go back to sleep. I headed home, got everything unloaded (with Tancy's help) and started cooking lunch. Sloppy Joes!! Yummy. Once I was sitting down the discomfort in my belly wasn't as bad, but my hip was worse. Can't win for losing. LOL.
After eating lunch we caught up on each others nights and then it was time for Tancy to get her bath. She had a good night, I had an uneventful night... basically transforming into a Maw-Maw, sewing my night gowns and having pancakes for dinner. Oh well, what can you do? I am who I am. We caught up on some DVR shows and just hung out. Poor Tancy, her head hurt her so badly and she didn't get nearly enough sleep. Thankfully this is a short run of nights. She got ready for work and at 5:30 we both hit the door. Her to work and me to Mandy's.

Mandy and I were going to have a girls night. We were both looking forward to it. It's been a while since the two of us spent time together just the two of us. I got there and plans had changed. Steve was still home, working on the durango. I spoke, asked how it was going, asked if his trip was put off. He was leaving, just not till 9:00. Ok, well, we can work around that. Mandy and I sat inside and visited for quite a while. But Steve asked that we come outside and visit so he could have some company, so we did. Even though it wasn't the "girls night" we had planned on, we still had a good visit. Mandy was back to the Mandy that I love and appreciate soo much. Before terribly long we were getting Steve ready to leave out. I think we might have both been pushing him a bit in our excitement for some time together. We got him to the yard and all his stuff loaded in the truck just before 10:00. He's a pokey puppy! We stopped at the dairy queen and got some ice cream and then headed home. I stayed and visited a while with her, but once we both started yawning I decided it was probably time to head home. I'd been struggling with my hip, lower belly and braxton hicks all day and I was really starting to feel exhausted.
By the time I got home it was midnight. I fed the dogs, got a snack and counted kicks, I hadn't stopped long enough all day to count them and I wasn't happy about that. Once she kicked up a storm, and boy did she, I felt better. I even sat my cell phone on my belly and watched what looked like her trying to move it, she was that active! After all that I decided that Tylenol was going to be necessary. I was having trouble finding comfort in the bed and knew that if I didn't get some relief I wouldn't get any sleep. So I took 1 Tylenol PM and 1 regular Tylenol. (2 Tylenol PM are too much for me). By 1:30 I was passed out! I woke up at 2:30, bathroom break. I woke up at 3:00 with the TV tuning itself. I didn't wake up again until 6:45!! Very unusual for me. I turned off the TV (I was that out of it before that I didn't turn it off) and went back to sleep. I woke up when Tancy got home and went back to sleep when she got to bed. We did talk a bit, but I felt completely drugged... Tylenol PM just messes me up! I slept from 7:30 till 11:00! Unheard of!

I got up, ran the usual paces and got online to research bringing home a new baby and the introduction to the puppies. Once I had that done I started this blog. I still feel kinda foggy and sluggish. I don't have any plans for the day, I want to cook lunch for Tancy today. I feel better about sending her off to work if she's had something good to eat... though that doesn't always work out like I plan. It's ugly looking outside and fairly dark as well, so that doesn't help me to get moving or feel any more awake. But there's not much to be done about that. I have no plans for tonight, just hang out and relax. So far, today, my belly isn't hurting like it was yesterday. I haven't had any Braxton Hicks yet. My hip isn't even bothering me at the moment. I am thankful for that!! I'll take it for as long as it lasts and when it doesn't last any more I'll deal with that too.

Tomorrow is another OB check up. I have to bring in my kick count sheet when I go. Then tomorrow evening is the seminar with our planned pediatrician. It will be about breast feeding, bottle feeding, inoculations... alot of things that pertain to a new baby. We are looking forward to it. For tomorrow I don't think we have much else planned. I still haven't packed a hospital bag. What's the time line most people do that? Anyone?? Maybe I'll do that tonight. I have a sneaky suspicion that I probably wont. LOL. I'll probably be packing it the day I go into labor. Haha!

Next weekend I'll be scrubbing the house down to get ready for all our company... and it'll probably be the last good scrubbing I can do before Lillie comes! I can't wait to have everyone here, I am so looking forward to it. I am missing all our family lately. So, bring it on ladies!!

Well, that's all I've got today... I told ya I haven't had much interesting going on. I need to clean up the kitchen and try to shake loose the cob webs in my head. I do hope that Tancy gets to sleep late today, she needs it. Ya'll enjoy your day today. I hope the weather is really nice where you are.

Love to all!

Hello all. It is currently 9:22 on Friday night. Tonight is the first night of the second round of nights, there are three in this shift, then we have three weeks of days before she goes back to nights. So far tonight is going fine...

The last time I blogged was Thursday night, but that was essentially a photo blog. Prior to that my last blog was Thursday morning. Not too much has happened since then to be honest. I went to physical therapy with Tancy yesterday. I think she got her money's worth out of that session! From there we went to an aquarium place in Cherryville, not our normal "fish guy". We liked him though and he had some good information and advice. From there we came home and did a water change on the tank. The nitrates tested right at the level that indicates it is time for a water change. Don't ask me what that is, I don't know. I just know the guy said when their tanks test at that level is when they do a water change and Tancy's going to stick to that standard. We waited till about 7:00 and headed outside. I watered the plants on the deck and Tancy watered the garden. I came inside then and watered all the plants in the house. Then Tancy and I packed ALL of the aloe vera plants (there are about a dozen and they need to be divided out again) and my peace lilys out to the front porch, they need light, but not full sun.. so the front porch is the perfect place. I took the christmas cactus to the back deck and put it on the table under the umbrella. Again, this plant doesn't need full sun, so under the umbrella is a good spot. I am especially protective about this plant. After all that we came inside and caught up on DVR shows and just hanging out. By midnight we were both exhausted and headed to the back. I tried, but midnight was all I could do. We watched some TV and talked, I tried to help her stay awake as long as I possibly could. But 1:00 we were both passed out.

So this morning I am up around 10:00, it was a long night. It gets harder and harder to get up every hour and a half to pee. It gets more and more frustrating to be up so often and to hurt all night long, to not be able to get comfortable, to have the numbness in my arms and hands wake me up, to have the sound of my sinus drip either wake me up or keep me awake, to wake up feeling like I can't breathe, to wake up sweating my ass off.... ok, I've fussed enough about it all. Needless to say, even though I was asleep at 1:00 and slept till 10:00 that does NOT mean I slept 9:00 hours. LOL. I went through my regular morning routine, as always puppies and coffee. I talked to Mom for a bit, that was nice. I miss her bunches and lately she's been so busy at work we don't get to talk like we used to, so I am thankful for times like this morning. After our conversation I called Maw-Maw to wish her a happy birthday. We had a good conversation too. I miss Maw-Maw and wish I got to see her more. I still try to talk her in to coming up here to see us, it'll probably never happen, but ya can't blame me for trying. About the time I was getting off the phone with Maw-Maw, Tancy drug out of bed. It was probably 10:30ish. Up waaaay too early, but nothing I can do about it. Tylor had already called wanting her to come play softball with them. They were short and he really just wants her to play.

So she gets her coffee and gets on the phone to Tylor, tells him we will come watch but she doesn't know about playing (which means she will because just like she could talk him into anything, he can talk her into just about anything... and its softball, she doesn't need her arm twisted!). So we finish watching the show we are watching "Bringing Home Baby", the lesbian version... and the one not giving birth is a total nut case. Wow! It was ALL about her. This made me incredibly thankful that I have the partner that I have. We get dressed and head out to the ball field. Tancy heads for the doug out... of course... and Tylor basically tells her that he knew she would play! They do pretty good actually. Right up until the guy comes up and tells them all that its a private ball field and they don't have permission to be there. The guy (and his wife) who set it up tell him that they do and who they talked to... it basically becomes a pissing contest between this 60+ year old man and these younger guys... it ends with a "Thanks Asshole" and the game breaks up. Oh well. I know Tancy was disappointed but there wasn't anything to be done about it.

We head home and I get lunch going for us. If she can't sleep enough she can at least eat something good before work. She sweeps and mops the floor for me. I talk to Mom again on the phone while I am cooking. Mom and I get off the phone about the time that I am done cooking and Tancy and I eat our pork chops, rice-a-roni and corn. It was pretty delicious if I do say so myself. We both get baths after we eat and just hang out. One of the guys she works with stops by to pick up some tools for laying hard wood flooring. He picks that stuff up and we chat with him for a bit. When he leaves theres like an hour left before Tancy has to leave and it seems to go by in a blink.

I sent Mandy a text to see what they were up to tonight, she calls me when she gets off of work. They have a ton of stuff to do tonight. The durango is not working again, the sink in their bathroom was clogged and now needs repaired after Steve took it apart, I don't even know what all they had to do once she got home from work. We both lamented on finances and recent struggles and agreed to get together tomorrow night one way or the other. So I played around on the computer a bit and then decided to do something more productive... I go to the back and get the gowns I got for the hospital and once I get home, they will be handy for breastfeeding which was the main objective. I get my sewing kit and park it on the couch. I get to sewing, wow, its been a long time since I sewed by hand and I'm not so great at it. I called Pops while I was sewing, just to check in with him. We don't talk on the phone often, and I like to hear his voice occasionally, so I called. He was already tired, he sounded like he was about asleep already. We talked for a bit, not about much of anything and then I let him go so that he could take his tired self to bed! I got all three gowns sewn and am glad to have it done. I put the gowns away (reminding myself I do need to pack that hospital bag soon) and my sewing kit and do just what I told Pops I was going to do.... I make myself pancakes for dinner!! Good, not as good as I had hoped, not sure why... but tasty enough. I am now all out of milk and will have to go get some in the morning probably.

So now I am sitting on the couch, full belly, dogs are sleeping. Scouts on the love seat and Hemmi is on the other end of the couch from me. I think I just heard some thunder, not really sure though. It's looked like rain all day but we managed to avoid it. I don't have any other plans for tonight. I am thinking before too long I'll head to the back and crawl into bed. For the last few days I have been having Braxton Hicks. They don't hurt, but sometimes they make me feel like I can't breathe. I am not sure how or why that would be... but it is. I have been doing my "kick counts" each evening. I usually have counted 10 within just a couple of minutes. I mark it down so that I can take it in for my next visit to the doctor. I am not sure if I have to do it from here on out or not, but I know its common practice for our doctors office. Tonight my lower back is giving me some trouble, that's another thing that's been happening lately as well. I figure all that is just my body getting "warmed up" for the real deal, whenever that happens.

Well kids... I don't know what tonight will hold when it is all said and done, but I have been writing this for about 30 minutes now and that's all I got! So, I hope ya'll are having a good Friday night and also that you enjoy your weekend. Tomorrow is liable to be a quiet day for me. I hope that Tancy gets to sleep well tomorrow. OH! I almost forgot, Brady got to come home from the hospital today. Missy says he's ornery as ever and doing good.

Love to all!

I just posted this pool play widget from Starwood aloft for 500 credits. You can earn free credits too!

The Tanc Cave! And our pups checking it out.

My Pops and Tanc bonding with cigars. Love this!

"O"

"H"

"I"

My beautiful Mom laughing

Marlie rockin' the sun glasses!! Yeah baby!

Marlie & Nana J. She couldn't love that baby more!
Cut trees everywhere!

Our work crew. That's Heather in the green shirt in the back and Ty's friend Brandon without the shirt on. They worked their asses off!
End of the day - TI-RED! Tylor in the grey, Brandon in the back (giving Scout some love) and Tancy checking out her gloves.
Hell, I can't remember the name... it's a Lily. Haha!
Yeah, don't remember the names of these either.
Or these

These are the same

So is this

These are the flowers in the three hanging baskets you already saw.
Same flower, just purple in a hanging basket on the deck.
Mint... ah, I love mint

Lavender, another of my favorites

  The right side of the deck... NO GRASS! 

The left side of the deck, notice, grass is sparse. You can see the three hanging baskets in the background.
The center of the deck (there was a previous picture from this angle with trees across the yard). Again, you can see the three hanging baskets in the background.
The deck, view from the yard. So the hanging basket with the white flowers in it. The two tall flowers on either side of the rail we are facing are the tall purple ones, the planter in the middle is holding my mint. The blue pot on the deck in the right front corner (as you are looking at it) is the Lily. The lavender, which  you can't see, is in a tan pot on the deck in the back left corner near the door.
My Christmas Cactus - Maw-Maw gave me cuttings from her's and I have been babying it hoping it will grow well. I love my plants. I think my heart would break if this particular plant died.
My own corny picture of my belly in the mirror in our bathroom. Have had so many requests for "belly" pictures. Here ya go! 
Another belly pic. Oh, and by the way, THANK YOU to everyone who says I look like I have lost weight and look great. That is a great ego booster! (And don't tell anyone, this is me in my night gown still!!) Haha!
Poor Brady, he was admitted to the hospital for Facial Cellulitis (spelling?). From what Missy said, this was the worst of it. We are sending him bunches of love, hopefully he'll get to come home tomorrow.
This is once it started to come down after the antibiotics. He's a champ! Poor baby.
  I am thinking that he didn't want his picture taken... but he's looking much better here.
Now there's our wild man! Again, what a champ!! He's a cutie too!!  We love you Brady, feel better buddy.
And this is Bella, Missy's daughter. She lost a tooth, obviously. She's a cutie. Missy sure makes pretty babies.
Our second favorite nephew, only cause he's the second nephew... Zachy! He really racked up on the Easter candy. Love that face too. LOL. Sun must have been in his eyes?? Nah, he always makes that face for pics! We sure love the toe head anyway!
LoLo ready for prom. Thank goodness she was smiling at this point. Wow, so looking forward to a teenage girl! Haha. Nah, she's a good kid.
Marlie and Popa. She's absolutely the apple of his eye!
Tancy and Gary putting Lillie's quote up on the wall. We love Gary and he seems to LOVE some Lillie already. How wonderful that we have so many people excited about our baby!! We are incredibly fortunate.

Ok kids.... that's enough of the pics with captions. I could do this all night long. I love looking over the recent events we have captured in photographs. Wanna see more, just go look at the photos I have posted.

Love to all!

Good morning all. I hope this finds you all doing well. I haven't blogged in a few, not much exciting to report... that and Tancy's been home, so I have been enjoying my time with her.

So Monday was the last time I posted anything. We have been very excited about Ms. Lillie since we saw her. It seems like she could actually be here soon. Knowing she's already big enough, size wise, puts me at ease should she come early. I don't want her to come before its time, and honestly I just want her to be healthy. The idea of a chubby baby makes my heart flutter! Monday night we went to our last Birth & Beyond class. It was just as good as the three before. We even got to go back over the previous class that Tancy missed. I was appreciative for that since it was the "coaches" class and really wanted her to have that information. We loved the girl who gave the class, Amy, she's been at this particular hospital for 3 years, but has been labor and delivery for 13 years if I remember the numbers correctly. We would be delighted to have her as our nurse when I go into labor. We came home and practiced some of the massage techniques that they taught us in class and I worked on communicating what felt best, what didn't feel good at all, etc.

Let's see. Tuesday morning we slept in a bit. We have been doing that this week. When Tancy is off work is about the only time I get "extra" sleep. So we got up, Tancy got ready to go to physical therapy and I hung out at the house. I wish I could say I did something productive, but I didn't... I sat on the couch for a while and then I decided to soak in the tub. Now there I did do something productive!! Haha. Not really. I just soaked in the tub and tried to find ways to lay in the tub that took the pressure off my back and didn't make my belly feel so heavy. It's really the small things in life. Tancy came in and I was in the tub on my side, resting my head on the back of the tub with a wash rag under my face. That's the first time in quite a while that I couldn't feel the weight of my belly. Of course, the side view of my belly is quite a sight! Tancy thought something was wrong. I told her I was just relaxing and finding what was comfortable in our tub should I be in early labor for a while at home. (They wont admit you till you are 4 centimeters, I am preparing myself for a pretty decent wait at home.) I got out of the tub and we just hung out.
Before long it was time to get ready for our Breast feeding class at the hospital. I have looked forward to all of the classes we have taken for different reasons. The Birth & Beyond because it covers possible complications, interventions, medical treatments, risks, etc. It covers the things you do know and don't know, plus you get to see the methods of interventions, forceps, vacuum, monitors, catheters, etc. Makes them less scary in that environment than if I were seeing them for the first time in an emergent situation. I loved CPR because it gives me a confidence that I now know the basics of what to do should Lillie stop breathing or choke on something. Enough to give me time to get an ambulance here at the very least. And knowledge is a wonderful thing to have. And I loved the Breast feeding class because, once again, it arms me with knowledge about this thing that I have never done before, that can be very intimidating and that so many women struggle with. I am prepared for the struggle, but I want to know what my resources are when I am in the middle of the battle. It was a great class. Lots of information. Honestly, it could probably be broken up into two classes even. But I know where to turn if I am having alot of trouble. I know some tricks for the issues that are common to new Moms trying to breast feed. I know what NOT to do. Now if I can just remember it all. LMAO!
We left from class and went to see some friends who had just received good news about a better job. We stopped in to congratulate them both. Only one got the job, but to a couple, it means so much for both. We visited for a bit and then headed home. I think we might have watched a bit of TV and then off to sleep ourselves.

Wednesday we got up late again. I must admit, I've only had one morning off...that sucks... but I've been able to sleep in some, so I wont complain too much. We've split the coffee/puppy morning routine for the most part. Anyway, I had 2 cups of coffee just to get moving. We had worked around the house some earlier in the week, but we didn't do anything on Tuesday and I needed to get some stuff done... however, I wasn't feeling motivated at all. I finally drug my ass off the couch and got dressed. Tancy followed suit. I picked up around the house, Tancy took the trash to the dump. When she got back she went to work in the back yard. I opened the windows for some fresh air in the house. I got the laundry going and the dishes too. I made the bed and just generally picked up and put things back where they go. Tancy was trying to find a place to put the new fire pit... and before it was all said and done, we decided to leave the fire pit and make a garden in the clearing she was looking at. I worked on the carport, loading everything under there in the back of the truck to take it around back to the shed or under the house. I was sick of looking at all that crap under there. So I got it all loaded up and took it around back. Tancy unloaded most of it and in doing so we started talking about the planter boxes, hanging baskets and plant pots we had and what we would do with them. Last year they were full of plants. This year they were empty. So we set those things to the side for some plants. We talked more about the garden and decided to go to Lowe's and get some plants. And wouldn't ya know, we came back with a load of garden plants, flowers and potting soil. I started working on the plants for the deck and Tancy got to work on the garden. We were both proud and happy to be working on these projects. I love my plants. It brings me great joy to bring in new plants and to take care of them. I managed to get some mint, some lavender and even a Lily for my Lillie. Tancy was tickled shitless to have a garden since we both had figured it wasn't possible this year. Tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, squash and cucumbers. We are starting small. Since most everything will be giving us food in the next few months (which will already be busy). We wrapped up around 6:00 and just put all our stuff away, sat back and enjoyed all our hard work. We ordered pizza, both too tired to cook, and ate outside. It was so nice. The weather was cool enough to be outside and it was just really nice. To sit outside and see all that you accomplished is a great feeling. Next week we plan on working on the front flower beds. So we came inside, got baths (cause we were funky!) and caught up on some shows we had on DVR. We went to bed around midnight I guess. We were both tired, but trying to help Tancy roll back to nights.

So this morning we slept in again. I was up every hour/hour and half last night for potty runs. That's so frustrating. Especially when I have a hard time turning over to get out of bed. I try not to wake Tancy, but lately I've been very near asking her to give me a push to help me. I've been diligently drinking lots and lots of water these last days. I'd had some cramping and during the Birth & Beyond class they said if you have any cramping the very first action is water, water, water. That being even a little dehydrated can cause cramping... which can also trigger labor... which is usually stopped the second they give you a fluid bag. So I have been a very good girl and drinking my water and more water and more water. Plus I worked hard yesterday so water was very important.

I just got off the phone with Missy, at the start of the week they admitted her little boy to the Children's Hospital near them. He has cellulitis of the face. They aren't sure of its original start, but he should get to come home tomorrow. It sounds like it was quite scary for her. I can't imagine. His whole face was swollen by the time they got the IV meds in him. He's better now, ready to set the world on fire... he's been in bed for too long. She'll keep us posted on when he gets out of the hospital. Please keep them in your thoughts.

Well, we finally got my night gowns pinned. Today I need to sew them. But I'll probably go with Tancy to physical therapy first and then we'll ride around some. We've been hanging close to the house and today we probably both need a break. I need to pack our hospital bag in the next week I guess. I haven't done that yet. I don't know how early most people pack them... but I haven't been overly eager to pack ours for whatever reason. I guess I just haven't felt the need to get it done too soon. I also really need to get some food in the freezer. So much to get done it seems and although time has felt like it was moving in slow motion at some points, recently it's felt like it's flying by! 13 days and a wake-up till my Mom is here and I am absolutely beside myself I am so excited!!

Alright kids. I need to get dressed and unload the dishwasher. Before I know it we'll need to be leaving for Tancy's physical therapy session.So, with that said, I hope you all have a great day today. The weekend is upon us! Enjoy it. Tancy will be working nights... so my weekend will probably be fairly quiet, literally.

Love to all!

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So today was our doctors visit, one day prior to the start of week 35. Here's what they told us:
I only gained a pound since I was there two weeks ago. My blood pressure was 112/80, so good. The ultrasound show she's still really high, her head is at my waist if that gives you an idea. She's changed position. She was head down on my left side and feet up on my right side; she's now head down on my right side and feet up on my left. She's still face down, so that's good at least. They put her at 6 pounds 4 ounces currently and guestimate, given her growth up to this point (and the "average" growth per week here on out) that she'll be about 8 and a half pounds at 40 weeks. No way to gauge her length, she's all curled up in there. Her feet, however are 3" long!! The length for a full term baby... so who knows how long they will be when she comes out! She's got a round little belly, so she's getting plenty of nutrients and some fat little thighs too! I've attached some pics and will do my best to describe them for ya since they are sometimes hard to make out.

Her foot. Ready for flip flops! Look at the gap between that big toe and her second toe!!

This is her thigh, you can see the bones, the grayish white around it is fluffyness!

her pretty little profile. She was pouting we think. Haha.

Her nose and lips. She looks gangsta, head covered and all you can see is the bottom part of her face.

These are both of her hands. Imagine them curled, not quite into fists, knuckles together.

This is a picture of her hair, I honestly can't make it out, so good luck!

Another picture of hair... the lady doing the ultrasound said it was pretty long in places... again, I don't see it.

Her foot again. Girls got a great foundation already! 3" long.

Here she is making a fist. That's her face to the right, she's turned a bit so it looks funky.

My baby's fat little face. Look at those cheeks!

This is her ear. Right where it should be.

So, we go to the doctor once a week now. Fun stuff. They gave me a paper to keep a "kick count" for my visits from here on out. Gives them an idea of how active she is each time we go in. So, my fingers are crossed that she'll drop soon... I get out of breath very easily and feel like she's clear up in my lungs most of the time. Not to mention, turned all crooked like she is, she'd have more room if she'd just get right. She's all curled up in there right now.

My sciatic and my hand are still giving me trouble, but that's nothing new and nothing that's gonna change until it does. I've been having cramps for the last few days, so I asked the doctor about it today. He said that it's just my uterus cramping a bit. Nothing to be concerned about, par for the course. No complaints really, just starting to get anxious for her to get here. I don't want to go into labor before the shower (can't explain that, just how I feel), but anytime after that I'd be happy to go!

Last time I wrote about the pregnancy specifically, 6 weeks seemed like an eternity. Today I am looking at 5 and it doesn't seem too bad. So, that just goes to show ya how feelings (emotional and physical) change just that quickly. I do know that I'll be happy not to have to pee every 10 minutes, to be able to sleep on my stomach again, and to be able to poop normally again! TMI I am sure, but oh well, that's just the way my blog is.

Alright, I am going to relax a bit before time to leave for our last Birth & Beyond class tonight. Tomorrow we have PT for Tancy and then our Breast feeding class at the hospital tomorrow night. I am very much looking forward to the Breast feeding class and hopeful that we'll get lots of good tips.

Later kids! Love to all!

Hello all. It is just after noon here and we've been busy this morning! I sure hope this finds you doing well and less productive than us! Haha.

Let's see, I think I posted last on Wednesday... I made Tancy some baked chicken with Allegro and onions, I also opened a can (that's right, you read that right) of spinach. The chicken was yummy if I do say so myself. I am not a fan of the spinach, but there's this one brand that comes all seasoned and such and Tancy really likes it. Anyway, she was up fairly early, I guess around 1:00 or so. She ate and we got caught up on the events since we had a chance to talk last. Before long it was time for her to start getting ready and head out for work.
After she left for work I bummed around the house. Did some dishes and some laundry, nothing terribly exciting. I posted a blog for you all about the important women in my life. Before I knew it, it was 10:00 and I was still in the living room, uncommon for me on a night that she's at work, I typically retire to the bedroom early if I am home. So I headed to the back and got a bath and then settled in to bed for the night. Fairly uneventful and definitely nothing exciting!

Thursday morning was the usual. Let the dogs out, make coffee, feed the dogs, fix my cup of coffee and try to be quiet so Tancy can sleep. I decided to fry some potatoes with onions and do a breakfast burrito type thing. So I started getting all that going. Before long Tancy was up and I made her a cup of coffee. We ate till we were full and then both got baths. We got fairly caught up, as we do between her waking and heading off to work, while we got ready. She had work, I had my Infant CPR class. I was looking forward to it. Before hand I was going to stop by a friends house to make plans for Friday night. So I left the house when Tancy left.
I didn't stay long at the friends house, she was mowing grass and I didn't want to keep her from it. I got to the CPR class, at the hospital, a bit early, but not too bad. It was a good class. The instructor was humorous and informative at the same time. She gave us all the information we needed without scaring us worse than we were before we got there. I was pleased that I decided to take the class. It was over around 9:00, right on schedule, and I got a shake at Cookout! From there I came directly home. I piddled around in the house, took care of the clothes that I hadn't finished earlier and got in my jammies and ready for bed. For the first night since Tancy went back to night shift, and possibly since she's been on nights period, definitely for the first time in the third trimester, I slept well. I woke up twice, that was it! I was asleep by midnight, which sounds late, but given how late I have been up... and what all I got done before going to bed (after getting home at about 10:00) it really isn't that late. And I slept so well. I think I slept till about 8:30. So a full nights sleep. Yay me!

Friday morning I got up with the puppies. As soon as my feet hit the floor I was in pain. First thing I noticed what the tightness and tenderness in my belly low. I had to brace myself on the bed and catch my breath. This woke Tancy up "what's wrong?!". I told her nothing that my belly was just sore, round ligament pain I assumed. Once I caught my breath I went through the usual routine. I had to get Tancy up for around 11:00 and I really wanted to get some things done in the house before I got her up... but that didn't happen. I hadn't even gotten the water and the grounds in the coffee pot when my sciatic jumped up and bitch slapped me. My back was burning from the bottom of my right butt cheek, clear up my right side. Oh my, this is not good. I got my cup of coffee and parked it on the couch, trying to find a comfortable position... very elusive. And before long my lower back started to hurt. Like the way your lower back hurts when you are on your period, not like it hurts when you have pulled something. It seems like it was just a minute before it was time to wake Tancy up. I had talked to Mom on the phone, her and Dad were having a great time and that made me soo very happy. The both needed a break!
Anyway, I headed in to get Tancy up and, poor thing, it took her a bit to rouse. The first day off of nights is always hard on her. I came back in the kitchen and made her a cup of coffee, before long she was in here sipping on it. I forget all the details of the morning but she got a bath and I got a shower and we were ready just in time to head out for her physical therapy.
We got half way there and I was really wishing I had stayed home, I hurt so badly. I was trying not to limp or crip around, but man, it was really tough. Therapy went well, I got to sit, so it wasn't too bad but I was sure ready to be home. It was after 2:00 when we got back home and we grabbed a quick bite... ok, I'll admit it Tancy made me a sandwich, brought me a drink and got me a Tylox to take. She's good to me. Before long it was time to head out, we had to stop by the bank on our way to dinner with Heather. The Tylox had taken the edge off (now ya'll know how bad I must have been hurting to take that) but the pain was far from gone. We stopped by to see the "fish guy" for a bit cause we were too early to go to Heather's. I couldn't take the standing, so before long we left. We rode around Belmont a bit, just killing time, I was glad to be sitting again.
By the time we got to Heather's it had drastically reduced from an 8 to a 3. We left and went to this hole in the wall greek/italian restaraunt. It was yummy. Really, it hit the spot. We hung out there for a while, just cuttin' up and laughing. Then we headed back to the house. We sat out on their back porch till dark. It was so nice out. This makes Tancy really, really, really want to cover our back deck. We had a great visit. Lots of laughs. I hope Heather enjoyed the company as much as we did. We were a fairly boring group, dinner and then the back porch, lol... but I just couldn't do much else.
We headed home around 9:00 and were both exhausted. We changed into jammers and crawled into bed. Tancy had been snoozing off and on during the drive home. We were up about 20 minutes once we got in bed. Tancy started to drift off to sleep, but Lillie was kicking and moving so much I was having trouble, that and my sinuses were draining and making that water dripping noise that makes me insane! Finally though I did get to sleep. I woke up around midnight to go to the bathroom. I made so much racket getting up and getting back in bed that I woke Tancy up. She thought something was wrong, nothing, just takes alot of work and is usually an uncomfortable feat to get out and back in bed and find a comfy position to fall back to sleep. Sorry honey. It certainly wasn't a full, pleasant or sound nights sleep... but it was sleep.

We were both up at 7:20, dogs cutting up and carrying on. Ugh! Tancy went through the paces this morning, coffee, dogs, fed, etc. I had a whole cup of coffee and could not keep my eyes open, so by 8:00 I went back to bed. I fell asleep fairly quickly, though lightly at first because the dogs wouldn't settle down, then because Tancy came in to get dressed to go cut the grass. I was SOUND asleep when the mower passed our bedroom window and the dogs barked so loud I thought I'd shit the bed!! This made me grumpy. A warning would have been nice. I layed there till my heart settled back down into my chest, beating at a normal rate, and back in its proper location. I got up and let the puppies out and sat on the couch and tried not to be an asshole. Tancy was inside in just a minute or two, asking if I was crabby, I nodded yes and she didn't ask anything more. She headed out to do the trim work with the push mower.
Before long I got up and got dressed myself. I started cleaning the bathrooms. Then I moved on to the kitchen. By now Tancy was inside and she started on the floors. I was thankful for the help and to be getting less crabby. She finished the floor, I finished the kitchen. She took a break, I wiped down the mirrors, the trash can in the kitchen and got the laundry going. She caulked the tub in our bathroom and we have both decided to take a break.

Now Heather and Adreanne are here. I need to move the clothes around and then visit with them some. So I'll close this out for now. I hope you all have a great day today. The weather is gorgeous here. I hope it lasts all day!!

Love to all!