What a weekend!

Another fun filled weekend here...

Saturday morning I went home decor shopping with some girls from church and found some great things - a mirror for above the fireplace, a cool scrolled wrought iron votive holder for the wall and an elephant head (not a real one!) for our semi - jungle motif living room. While I was gone, Elmer peed on the new carpet in the basement (even with Aaron right there, so Elmer just must have felt like it needed to be done) and the playhouse was delivered 4 hours early (so now there is a HUGE pile of playhouse in the driveway).

As if that wasn't enough fun for one day, we had some friends over to help move some of the bigger items to the basement and Aaron missed a step and did something bad to his ankle. It is nice and swollen and purple and he goes in today to make sure it isn't broken. I figure he was just tired fo me putting him to work and he was looking for an easy out...he assures me that doing his ankle in is not the out he would opt for.

So we missed our childbirth class on Sunday (since we were both so looking forward to it, that was a real tear jerking time) and Aaron's parents came up to help move a few more things downstairs. We now have a couch, loveseat, fridge and cable DVR box (waiting to be hooked up) downstairs so we are about all set.

We didn't have any baby excitement (thank goodness!) and I am now almost 34 weeks and still mostly healthy and not on bedrest - hard to believe, but I am so very thankful!

Big day

We had an exciting day around here...

First of all, the basement is finished! Hooray! The carpet is in, the checks have been written and the stuff is beginning its migration to new living quarters on the lower level! We will be in a state of disarray for a while as we try to find a place for everything and get it all arranged the way we want it, but it is so very nice to have it done.

Secondly, we have a potential birth date for baby boy...I have a c-section scheduled for March 26th. Of course anything can happen between now and then (my blood pressure becomes problematic, I go into labor), but if all is still well on that date then our new family member will join us then. I was kind of hoping to avoid another section, but my doc won't induce since I had a c-section before and she doesn't want me to go past 38 to 39 weeks due to my history of being such a fabulous pregnant person so here we are. Let the countdown begin!

We have another busy weekend planned. I am going to lunch and shopping with the girls tomorrow, Bryn has a birthday party to go to, we have friends coming over tomorrow night to help us move stuff and eat pizza and Bryn's playhouse should be delivered sometime tomorrow. On Sunday we have our all day childbirth class (which Aaron and I are both dreading for some reason). I suspect I'll be taking a long nap on Monday!

News (of not much importance)

Not much exciting happening here this week. Bryn was off of school for President's Day on Monday, so we had a quiet day. Played a bunch of games and took a few things down to the new shelves in the basement. We went to the second to last doggy obedience class, got the last of our stuff together for the accountant to do our taxes, took Bryn to the kids bible study at church and said goodbye to Ralph as he packed up the last of his things in the basement (he'll be back when they put the carpet in on Friday, but besides that the basement is done!). Bryn's playhouse was loaded on the truck today and should be here soon. Then we'll just have to figure out how to get it moved to the backyard...

So that's it for news his week...

Book Review - YA Challenge

I finished my first book for the YA Challenge, so here goes a quick review...

I enjoyed reading Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. It covers the basic traumas of being a kid and brings in some deeper life lessons...

Roy is the new kid in middle school - a role he is used to as his family moves around a lot with his dad's federal job. Roy is being picked on by the bus bully when he notices a kid running like the wind past the bus stop. Roy's curiosity gets the best of him and he ends up tracking the mysterious kid down to a camp in the woods. He finds out that the mystery runner is on a mission to save a local population of burrowing owls from being bulldozed to make way for a new pancake house.

Roy goes through many of the typical trials of young adulthood - being picked on, trying to fit in and make friends, walking the fine line between truth and lies with his parents, learning when to take a stand and when to back down and learning when to follow your heart to distinguish between right and wrong. And in the end, Roy and his friends learn how rewarding it can be to stand up for what you believe in.

Night out

Aaron and I just had a nice dinner out and got some shopping done...I think we are all set for Bryn's birthday in a couple of weeks and we got her Easter stuff done, too. We are both still in denial that this pregnancy could actually go to term without me on bedrest or something else happening, so we're all about getting things done ahead of time at this point!

I just enjoyed a nonfat, decaf, sugar free vanilla latte from Starbucks - boy it was yummy! The guy behind the counter told me he would just give me a glass of water for free...it does seem pretty pointless to order a latte with none of the good stuff in it! But considering my current diet, it was a real treat!

My new view

Pretend there is a picture of my shattered windshield here (I can't seem to upload pics from my camera at the moment).

So I was driving home from my doc appt today (which went very well - my BP is back down to 120/80) - O.K. I admit, I was actually driving out of Mr. Gyros after picking up my lunch after my appointment - when the left edge of my windshield was smacked REALLY hard by something and it shattered a lot of the left side. Whatever it was didn't come all the way through, but I can feel the glass broken and cracked even on the inside. Fortunately I could see enough to drive and the laminate held the glass together long enough for me to get home. The repair people are coming out Monday to fix it (goodbye $250 for our deductible). Kind of freaky as I have had chips and small cracks, but nothing near this magnitude. I am just glad whatever it was hit the edge of the windshield/car or I feel like it may have come on through and hit me instead.

On a happier note, a friend who lost a daughter (their only child) in a car wreck last Valentine's Day has been working hard to get a bill passed in the Kansas House to have mandatory drug/alcohol testing at the scene of accidents if someone is killed. The bill passed today, and although it obviously doesn't take away all of their pain, they feel like it is something positive that honors her memory.

Aaron and I have big plans for Valentine's Day - bacon and eggs for dinner and I am hoping to crawl into bed early to watch a little TV and try to get rid of this humdinger of a headache I have had all day. Who says romance is dead!?!?!

Crazy busy

We have been busy around here since I posted last. We had yet another snow storm and school was cancelled on Wednesday (even the University closed) so Aaron, Bryn and I had a nice day at home. Bryn finished swimming lessons, passed Level 2 and is chomping at the bit to start more swimming lessons. Unfortunately for her, I am not feeling energetic enough for that at the moment! Bryn had her sibling prep class at the hopsital on Thursday night. It was a cute little class - they learned to hold a baby, got to see a newborn and wrapped a little gift that was left at the hospital so the baby can get his first gift from his big sister. Last night I went out to dinner with a bunch of girls and even managed to keep my blood sugar under control at an Italian restaurant!

Bryn went to Grandma and Grandpa's this weekend so Aaron and I could go to a mystery dinner with our Sunday School group. It was a lot of fun - the foods you get for each course and the utensils (or lack of) that you get to eat with are based on numbers you pick without knowing what any of the numbers actually represent. So for one course you might get jello, ice cream, green beans a piece of chicken and a toothpick...needless to say, it was good for a few laughs and fun to see how everyone managed to eat the foods they picked with their chosen utensils.

Aaron and I also went shopping today for various things for the house and found a refrigerator and a
couch and loveseat that will actually fit down into the basement (we have some issues due to the fact that the door to the basement is in the hallway, therefore limiting the size couch that can go down). The caveat is that the furniture is chocolate brown - probably not a good color with two light colored cats around. Aaron promised to be the designated daily lint roller...

I had another sonogram on Friday and everything still looks good. And even though I had a few issues with some high blood sugar readings last week, all is still well and I have been instructed to continue what I have been doing. I am just so excited that I am 31 weeks and everyhting is still going well - hooray!

I have a baby shower to go to tomorrow and then I will likely go shopping for the last few baby items we need. And if all goes well with the basement over the next week or so, I should actually have that room to go with all of the baby stuff we have! Then we'll just need the baby to go in it!

Showered with gifts

Just for Debi, here is a picture of all of the wonderful gifts I received at my shower plus some items purchased with gift cards from the shower (I went a little shoe crazy!). Doesn't leave any doubt about how wonderfully generous my friends and family are, huh? Looks like this baby won't be stuck in pink hand-me-downs after all!

Book Review - What's in a Name Challenge

I finished my second book for Annie's reading challenge - Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg (Color in title - this was not my original color title pick, but it still worked!). I read this book (and saw the movie) years ago and had forgotten how great it is.

Whistle Stop, Alabama is a stereotypical small American town, but this story is not simply fluff. Alternating between the past (1920's and 30's) and the 1980's, Cleo Threadgoode tells the story of Whistle Stop and its inhabitants. In doing so, she essentially saves the life of Evelyn who is suffering from a mid-life crisis of sorts. As Cleo remembers it, the Whistle Stop Cafe is the glue that somehow holds the town together as the owners feed not only the townspeople, but go against societal norms by feeding the homeless and blacks as well. We meet a number of crazy characters throughout the story, each endearing in his/her own way.

Fried Green Tomatoes touches on many subjects, making it both uplifting and heartbreaking. It is a story of love and friendship, loyalty and bigotry, the Depression, secrets and survival. I loved it and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a realtively quick read with some substance...

Shower - the baby kind!

I had a very fun baby shower yesterday...my friends Stephanie and Monica did a great job! There were a lot of people there and I got all kinds of cool stuff...lots of clothes and diapers and other good things! I think we are pretty much all set except for having a room...and as long as the basement is done on time we should be able to have that done before baby comes.

My friend Nikki that I grew up with flew in to suprise me and come to the shower. It was great to see her and we had a really good time catching up. It is hard to believe she and I have know each other for almost 29 years - how did that much time pass this fast?

Aaron, Bryn and I all have a nice little cold and cough. Hopefully it will be short-lived and we will all be feeling healthy soon.

My doctor's appointment on Friday went well and everything still looks good. My blood sugars have been a little whacked for the past few days - hopefully it's not an indication that things are getting shaky. I'm going to assume it is a combo of not as careful diet and this darn cold. And lack of exercise - I better get myself off the couch tomorrow! Although I think I'll keep Bryn home from school, so it will be awfully tempting to just have a jammie day...

Another Reading Challenge

I've decided to join another reading challenge...The YA Challenge 2008 hosted by Joy. The challenge is to read 12 Young Adult books in 2008. Since I already had some YA books in my pile and Debi (who never met a reading challenge she didn't join!) was participating, I decided to make my own list...

Treasure Island Robert Loius Stevenson

The Goose Girl Shannon Hale

Midnight for Charlie Bone Jenny Nimmo

Charlie Bone and the Time Twister Jenny Nimmo

Looking for Alaska John Green

Fat Camp Deborah Blumenthal

Hoot Carl Hiassen

Tale of Despereaux Kate Dicamillo

The Penderwicks Jeanne Birdsall

Tithe Holly Black

Princess Academy Shannon Hale

A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine L'Engle