shower #2: my side family shower

girl family reunion! i had a great time at my shower saturday. there were 11 guests and a bajillion presents. i was so overwhelmed. everyone must have spent a fortune. all on a person they've never even met!:) jacky, you don't know how blessed you are... but i do.

this is my beloved stroller and car seat combo. isn't it beeee-u-ti-ful? i am so attached to it and i don't know why. i told my fam that i didn't care if it was the only gift i received, i wanted it!

the food was so good at the shower that i am super surprised i only gained 1/2 a pound these last two weeks according to my dr's visit today. hmmm, i guess i will go upstairs and have another piece of leftover shower cake in a bit.:) it is a white cake with 1/2 fudge and 1/2 raspberry filling. yum. good girl that i am i already plowed through the leftover fruit sent home with me. my cousin-in-law said it would last me a week! i finished off the strawberries in my cereal this morn.

jack's furniture

last night dan and i started putting jack's armoire together! i am so excited. the armoire is in a bajillion pieces, each with a letter sticker. it is very much like an ikea project.

while we worked we (mostly me) watched "tori and dean inn love". is it just me, or do you love tori spelling too? i don't care much for her ugly dog, but the name is cute. i am so glad tori got another show. i used to watch her show "so noTORIous" all the time. it was a riot. i think i am a lot like tori, a cheerful ditz who talks A LOT.

anyhow, we got the drawers together last night. i got to screw the knobs on.:) that was my biggest contribution. dan got to use the power tool. i plan to cut up this retro cowboy print tablecloth for drawer liners. it should look really cute. i can't wait to wash up all his little outfits and put them away!

what's up with me and the bump

not much up. i have been working, cleaning and resting. i scrubbed the shower and cleaned the bathroom and dusted the house yesterday. and rested.:) and then i went to work for 4 hours. oh, and i made cupcakes! i saw an mtv cribs show recently where the dude had 2 boxes of "sprinkles" cupcakes on his coffee table. he showed them to the camera and i was like, "i gotta have cupcakes". so, i made chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing and... sprinkles.

today i worked 8-2. i hung out with the boys. i walked over to my grandparent's house and chatted a bit. i discovered my transplanted mayflowers were blooming next to the house and i dug up half the plant to put in my breakfast nook. they will be right between basil and parsely.

my sis-in-law also stopped over tonight. she asked what food i wanted at the baby shower she is throwing me next weekend. since it will be cinco de mayo, i told her: refried beans, chiles rellenos and salsa! :) not kidding. that would be good. she's not going for it, though. !que lastima!

6 week old kitties

the kittens are 6 weeks old today. i have already given away 2 of the 6. i put cat food in their house for puma so the chickens wouldn't get it. i went to put water in their other dish and when i came back i heard all this crunching. the little beasts were attempting dried cat food! it was hilarious to watch them get the kibble in their tiny mouths and work on it with their miniscule teeth. where there is a will... there is a way.

bottoms up!

jack's been hanging upside down now for awhile. last visit i asked my dr how jack was situated. the head was down and the butt was up. jack gets the hiccups every so often. while i still find them unsettling, i like them because i can tell that the head is still down. if he goes head up, breech, i might have to have a c-section. my goal is to avoid one. so, bottom's up!

last night jack had the hiccups. this morn i felt this pushing at the top of my tummy. his butt! i could have given him a little spank, but i didn't think of it. i did rub it, though.:) i don't know where my stomach is these days, but it seems to soothe my insides to rub the old belly.

'78 mercury zepher

my husband is a very hard worker. he is working five 10hr shifts right now, and two 8hr saturdays a month. when he gets home he puts wood in the wood boiler. then he fixes things. then he plays with his son for a bit and puts him to bed. then he goes downstairs and works on finishing andy's basement bedroom. then he goes to bed.

except... lately he's been "scrapping". the price of scrap metal has gone up. that means a nice price at the recycling place. so, dan has been cruising the area looking for junk cars to take in for cash! really, who thinks of these things? he got one car and 4 hours later he had it sold to the recycling place for more than triple what he paid.

what is really cool is that the other day he got this "junk" car for $20. it is a '78 mercury zepher. it is red with a white hardtop and white pinstripes. he got it running and washed it and i am totally in love. i am hoping he lets me drive it for the summer. andy and i took turns driving it up and down the driveway. i was doing burnouts by my grandparent's house.

here is a photo of dan... working of course. this was after a big snowstorm this spring. i took this photo right out the kitchen door.

my buns

i went grocery shopping again yesterday. i am trying to stock up on supplies for when jack comes... and for the 6 weeks i will be off without pay. it looks like sam's club in my cupboard.

when i got home i parked the car in the driveway and popped the trunk. i heard some soft thuds and knew that puma must have jumped in. "curious kitty", i fondly thought. i gathered up my stuff and went back to the trunk... where i found a ravenous cat tearing into a bag of a dozen bakery hamburger buns. she was half-way through 2 of them. augh! i threw her out of the trunk. then i threw the 2 ruined buns on the ground. puma immediately tore into a bun. i spanked her. i did. she didn't budge from that bun. i figured "oh dear, is that how hungry i'm going to be when i'm nursing?" so i left her to her bun. i guess she needed it more than we did.

but i will never feel safe popping the trunk with groceries in it again. darn cat.

"are you threatening me?"

i'm having a beavis moment. i have been threatened! "are you threatening me?" threatened with "collection"! i opened my mail today and there it was.

i tried to subscribe to "fit pregnancy" magazine back in december. i sent off the reply postcard so they could sign me up right away and figured they would bill me. months passed and i never received a word from them. o well, i'm only 6 weeks from being done and i guess i don't really need their silly mag after all. then i get this "final notice". right. final for whom? not me. it was the first notice for me.

i am being threatened with collection for a whopping $5.97. they aren't getting any money from me, just a strongly worded letter. i think. after all, they said they wanted my "attention in this serious matter".

Easter '07!

this was from the day we had early Easter at my parent's house. the kids had an egg hunt. the little girls are my sis's girls: ele, eme, noly. the big guy is my step-son. he was excited... some of the eggs contained money.:)

krispy me

hurrah! this photo turned out! i was worried. not that i wouldn't get a shot of me preggers at the krispy kreme store in maple grove, mn... i was worried i had ruined my camera. right after this shot i dropped my camera on the tile floor and the back popped open! augh!

last photo of lula

i just got 6 rolls of film developed. this is the last photo i took of my lula. her eyes aren't as gold in this photo as they were in real life. she was absolutely charming, and very naughty.

road trip for jack

the reason i was glad i had a laid-back-relaxed Easter was that the next day i was going to be at the mercy of some crazy shopaholics.:) monday my mom-in-law, sis-in-law, niece, my mom (they were so sweet to invite her!) and i went to maple grove, mn in search of nursery furniture. we stopped at a super target along the way. i registered for a few more items, then realized that i was all alone. they ditched me! i found them in the baby clothes clearance aisle. they were about to buy jack some totally bogus vintage pooh clothes. gag. i instead showed them the cool fringy cowboy boots and hightop camo sneakers i was going to buy jack. they put down the bogus pooh and grabbed jack's shoes instead. whew! that was a close one!

we finally made it to babies-r-us. i started getting terrible "braxton hicks" contractions. that's where your tummy (uterus) turns hard as a rock. these were the worst ones yet. jack decided he needed to start squirming against this rock hard belly like he was doing a cardio class or something. this kept up for the next 3-4 hours. you hurt mommy! but i forgive you.

the moms were very generous. my mom bought jack a lovely white crib. mom-in-law bought him a white armoir and a changing table! gorgeous furniture! jack is going to have the nicest room in the house. even if i don't get to the murals in the nursery. hope i do.

at "pottery barn kids" i bought jack a melmac pirate ship plate. ahoy captain jack.

at "the children's place" i bought jack the sweetest light blue collared romper with sail boats, anchors and little stars. i also got him a pair of white leather wingtips and light blue socks with a navy oxford pattern on the cuff part. preppy baby! it is going to be his first Church outfit.

mother insisted on buying him a pair of truly heinous red plaid pants with built in suspenders on clearance. i told her not to, but "grown ups" don't listen. fine. i am going to let jack wear them with his "mom" tee and a mohawk. my punky little sid vicious.

the highlight of this road trip? (from which i am still recooperating. traveling while preggers is totally exhausting.) besides the expensive furniture... a stop at the krispy kreme doughnut shop! "hot doughnuts now" were rolling off the conveyor belt. we all got a free one and ordered a dozen to go.:) my fave are the lemon. they don't usually stock those in the gas stations (where rural minnesotans get their k.k. fix), so it was truly a treat. good thing i can't get them easily, that is toooo tempting.

i ran out of doughnuts today and i switched back to pineapple.:)

hippity hoppity Easter, hooray!

this was a great Easter. i can't remember a better "adult" Easter. Easter is my favorite holiday. why? besides the fact that it is a holiday commemorating the grooviest event of all, Christ rising from the dead in victory, it is the holiday with the annual Church breakfast buffet. bacon! the king of meats. i love breakfast buffets. and this year... I'M PREGNANT! piles of food without the embarrassment! no one looks twice at a pregnant lady pigging out. i had bacon, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, pancakes, strawberries, and topped it off with a waffle. then i sat back, took a deep breath, and radiated happiness. it was like a good coffee buzz. the "glow" today was not due to jack. it was probably bacon grease. bacon!

i got two sweet gifts today. the first was a coloring book page colored especially for me by one of my sunday school students. sarah is a sweet, redheaded second grader. she had rolled it up and tied it with a ribbon. awwww! she's always making me things.

the second gift was from a lady in my church named tedi. for those of you reading this who grew up with me here in rural mn-land, you remember tedi. she used to own the "oasis" drive-in and i bet you still reminisce about the oasis burgers (with or without "goop". make mine without goop.) and the frosty mugs of root beer. tedi has noticed my frantic fanning every blooming sunday with whatever is available... usually a church bulletin. so, she got me a personal fan! she didn't even know i have been searching for one! how thoughtful! she even included batteries. bless her. i told her i had been getting thumb cramps from fanning with the bulletins. true! it's a little loud for use during the service, but i used it during singing and music specials. i am totally bringing it to work.

the Easter message was great. it was on "what does Easter mean to you?". it was a packed house. it was pretty cool when dr. rosenbaum sang "it is finished". he "moved" jack.:) literally. i will have to tell him; he'll be so pleased.

after church i came home and went right to business... a two hour nap. we celebrated Easter at home this year, just the 4 of us! hooray! how relaxing. after my nap i got up and boiled eggs and potatoes. i made deviled eggs, potato salad and mashed baby red potatoes. as soon as i think my husband has had a long enough nap on the couch i will go put the steaks on the grill. (first brushing away any snow accumulation on the lid).

eventually we will put our church clothes back on and head back to church for evening service at 6pm. dan and i are scheduled for nursery duty tonight. it's dan's first time.:) i bet he'll be fabulous at building block towers with the toddlers. i want to cuddle some babies.

my baby's daddy's half-brother

this is jake, my husband's half-brother. he is exactly 34 1/2 years younger. cute! jake was born last july. lucky jack gets all his hand-me-downs! it will keep him humble.

my baby's baby daddy

this is a photo of my husband, dan, on the first day he was born. i had it on my last blog and thought i would put it on here, too. so, when jack comes you can all debate who he looks like. check out his awesome hair!

scooters...?

i was just labeling my last post and i noticed that blogger's post label examples are: "scooters, vacation, fall". huh? did they just come up with that off the top of their heads, or have they been reading posts from my friends and friendly acquaintances? i have frequently read posts from lauren, marian and patrick about scooters. pretty soon maybe something from my blog will end up on blogger post label examples. if you see "e.g. scooters, vacation, fall, FAUX HAWKS" you will know i am not just being paranoid.:)

tasseled tappy kilt-y loafers

ah, yes, heather does pose an interesting question in her comment from prior post. do they make tasseled, tappy, kilt-y loafers for babies? maybe robeez should produce a pair. i actually did register for a very preppy pair of robeez baby shoes. they are light blue leather with a preppy navy diamond pattern on the top.:)

i have also registered for some very preppy clothes for jack. i registered at khol's for some really preppy striped polo rompers. they are killer! i can see jack now in a collared shirt and a faux hawk. maybe a little temporary tattoo that says, "mom". you go, boy.

oh! speaking of the infamous shoe... hey, you people out in blog land, is everyone aware that tim keenan (the original gangster of tasseled, tappy, kilt-y loafers) is married? i saw his engagement photo and his bride is too cute! yeah for tim! i am wondering if we wore his signature shoe to his wedding. if so, did he go tap-tap-tapping down the aisle? i would have totally cracked up. it would have been fabulous to see. congrats, tim-bob.

also, did he have ensemble members sing specials? maybe dave thompson! andy cole! i wonder.

8 months preggers

yesterday i reached 8 months preggers. woo hoo! and i still fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans. that tells me two things: 1. i am not gaining too terribly much weight 2. those jeans were way too stinking big! fat mama jeans. i am hoping to come out of this pregnancy smaller than when i got in. also... NO MORE DOUBLE CHINS! ever. amen.

today's second breakfast

dan had to work today, on a saturday! poor guy. he was all bummed for the past few months because work was so slow and he was afraid of layoffs. a few days ago he tells me that they now have orders for about 3 or so new machines and everyone has to work mandatory 10 hour shifts and 2 saturdays a month!!! he was equally bummed. oh well. i told him that he was for sure to get a nice week long vacation around the start of june.:) thanks jack!

so, we had to get up this moring at 5am. it was "cereal day". every other day is cereal day. the opposite days i make a hot breakfast. i had corn pops.:) i usually buy healthier cereal, but on a whim i decided to buy a whole bunch of sugary kid brands this last shopping trip. so, instead of a cupboard full of corn flakes, rice crispies and cheerios we have corn pops, cocoa crispies, the ever present cinnamon toast crunch (andy's fave), and lucky charms. woo! i feel like a kid again.

i went back to sleep after dan went to work. around 10:30 i had second breakfast. it was cocoa crispies this time. isn't america great? chocolate for breakfast. andy really enjoys cocoa wheats. chocolate for breakfast again! i remember eating a lot of cocoa puffs as a kid. i don't eat them anymore because they are so rough on the roof of your mouth. geez. in the year 2007 you'd think they could do something about that. someone should write a letter.

mooshy

does pregnancy make your belly button more flexible? i understand that at a certain point my belly button might "pop out like a turkey timer". it is not quite there yet. i think my belly button feels mooshy.

snow!

if you happen to keep up with the weather you will know that we have snow again. it was like living in a snowglobe tuesday. big, fluffy flakes fell all day long. i had to shovel off my car. i even shoveled the path to the house. then i trudged through the snow in dan's tall snow boots and brought homemade cookies over to my grandparents house nextdoor, and some chai for me, and declared "coffee break". they, of course, dropped what they were doing and we all had a coffee break. gram had chocolate cupcakes and i had one of those, too. good neighbors.

i just had my first baby shower

i just had my first baby shower on march 18th. my former boss from my job at the paper threw it for me and a co-worker. it was so much fun! i got so many useful things for the baby. he is set for bathtime. poof! just like that! if this keeps up, having a baby will not be very expensive. except for diapers... hopefully i will receive lots more disposable diapers and the cloth diapers i registered for. i think i can be brave and do cloth. we'll see what i'm really made of.

i must post a photo of the diaper bag my mom got me. it is the hottest diaper bag, ever. it doesn't look "diaper bag". it is chic.

baby dad

this is a photo of my father as a baby. isn't he adorable? footy pajamas!!!

me on first day 2

this is another photo of me taken in the hospital on my first day alive. i will have to re-post that photo of dan, too. as a reminder of how hairy our baby most probably will be.:) i wonder... will dan let me give jack a faux hawk right away? or will i have to sneak it?

me on my first day

this is a photo of me on my first day. just wondering what jack will look like. i have tons of hair. note the curls. this photo was also posted on my last blog.

why "second breakfast"?

i suppose you are wondering why i am naming this "second breakfast". if you are a j.r.r.tolkein fan you would know that hobbits eat a lot. they even have "second breakfast". well, i am eating a lot of "second breakfasts" these days. i have breakfast at 5:15-ish with dan and andy and then i need another breakfast again about 10am. sometimes i have a bowl of cereal just before bedtime at 10pm. sometimes i get up with insomnia and hunger and have more cereal. breakfasts four and five? forget taco bell's fourth meal, when you are pregnant there are many many meals, my friend. thankfully these supplimental meals seem to consist of bowl of canned fruit or cereal.

good morning, jack

it is 2:26am. i have been up since about 1:15am. oh, jack, you are up to your old tricks again. he let me sleep through the night (except for 1-3 potty breaks a night) for awhile. now i guess i am going to have to get used to knocking around the house in the wee hours of the morn.

last night, just after i laid down in bed, jack got the hiccups. i am pretty positive it was hiccups. it was too rhythmic and lasted too long to be any thing else. it was weird. i did not like the sensation. i started to panic. what if he kept it up for hours? it only lasted a few minutes.

also, i think i irritated him last night with a starbucks frappucino mocha java bar. it has real coffee in it. maybe he is finally getting sensitive to caffeine. time to switch to decaf.

this is jack's latest ultrasound photo. it was taken on 3/6/07, at about 7 months preggers. it is hard to make out, but this is his face. i was surprised to see how cheek-y he is! he weighed about 3 pounds at this point. this is probably the last image i'll get of him before he is delivered.

i am 8 months preggers on friday.

about kittens... and a sad farewell to lula

i have kittens! so exciting. it has been a long time since i have seen a newborn kitten. they are so tiny! our cat, puma, had them about 2 weeks ago. there are 6 kittens. they are all grey tiger-striped. they are living in the dog house. they have kicked our dog, lucy, out.
sad news: my cat, lula, is dead. she was run over on the highway. i didn't see her; dan saw her and told me about it. i still feel like she's here. like one morning she will be standing on the deck railing looking in the glass on the door at me with her golden eyes. poor lula.
i am hoping dan will let me keep a kitten to be a new companion to puma. i want to name her "toulouse" after toulouse latrec, a famous french painter.
lula always reminded me of a certain french poster of a cat.

here is a photo of our new kittens when they were reeeeally new. this is how they were in the beginning, a huge mass of kittens. usually you could see more than one head. it is cute to see a mass of fur ball and 6 heads.:)

it is time for second breakfast

i can't be gypsy jean boo-teek anymore. it won't let me in! so, i give in.
here's to the birth of "second breakfast".