Our princess is a fighter pilot.

"I show loyalty when I do what is best for my family."

*happysigh*

Sometimes I think that my heart will just burst.

Loyalty - it's what's up, y'all.

100 days!

100 days to go! (aka 25 weeks)

Baby Bo, according to a mash up of various emails that I receive, is probably between 1.5 and 2 pounds.  He is running a little short on space, which makes his bumps and turns more noticable - and I'm still loving every second.  I feel good, and I accomplished a couple of things this weekend that made me feel slightly more ready.

In not quite unrelated news, if anyone knows anyone at TLC or a similar network, please inform them that my household could probably be the basis for a new program called Air Conditioning Wars.  There is currently a debate going on about the appropriate temperature for life in general.  So far, it's been civil.  The bigger Bo gets in the incubator that is my midsection and the more the temperature rises outside, the less civil it may be.  Check your local listings.

I picked up two excited kiddos on Friday afternoon.  After a quick stop at Daddy's work, we made our way to one of my new favorite weekly affairs, Farm Fridays at Jackson Lowe Vegetable Farm. 

I could have taken photos of their delicious veggies or awesome new facility, but I opted for a shot of these two instead.  You can hardly blame me.

We picked out broccoli and kale and squash.  C cooked the kale tonight - it was a new veggie for me, and I am typically not a huge fan of greens in general, but these went so quickly that I didn't even get a chance to take a photo of them. 

Here's a shot of the squash instead - my sweet mama cooked these up for us.  (I fried the pickles myself... to redeem myself from last week's deviled egg fiasco.)



Speaking of deviled eggs - guess who came to the rescue and had some for me on Friday night when we got there for dinner?  Yeah - my sweet mama.  She's the best.

Moving on from the food...  there was actually more to the weekend.  Saturday, the kiddos spent some one-on-one time with their daddy while I spent some one on one time with my mama.  We worked together on my registry, and I really only hit a couple of snags.

I solicited advice from mommies that I know about complex issues such as bottles and baby monitors.  After considering all the advice, I decided that in our small house with a baby sleeping mostly in our room, a basic audio monitor will work just fine.  I appreciate the need to not be confined inside the house because of a napping baby.  There are other kiddos to think of, plants to be watered, and sunshine that I need.

Sunday was a big day for us. 

Swimming with the boys at Nana and Pop's house after church.

Followed by the devouring of chili dogs.  (Not pictured is the followup trip to Dairy Queen for ice cream or the kiddo bellies that actually might have rivaled mine by the time all was said and done.)

As a special treat, the kiddos each got to stay up a little bit late and watch TV with Daddy.

It was a great Memorial Day weekend.  Thank you to the vets.  You are the reason that we live the life that we do.  May God bless and keep all of our soldiers, vets, and their families.  Amen.

How Horrifying Was The Land Before Time, Really??

"Hey beautiful girl ... where are you registered?"

This text message - short, sweet, well-intentioned though it may have been sent me into a spiral of guilt and shame.  I have not yet registered.  I know that I am halfway through this pregnancy.  I know that people want to buy things - not just for me... for Bo.  

Here's the thing.  Our house is small - relatively speaking, of course.  Realistically, it functions pretty well as the three bedroom, two bathroom house that it is.  Here's the thing - even though I have never birthed a child of my own, all of our bedrooms are currently allocated.  C and I share, obviously.  Des has her own room, and Tyler will be sharing his room with Bo.  When I see photos on Pinterest and Facebook of all the cutesy nurseries that I'd love to be able to replicate, I have to stop and remind myself that this baby, adored though he may be, will not actually know the luxury of having a room of his own.  (Not yet, anyway.)

If I'm being completely honest, the thought of being separated from this child is fairly paralyzing.  I understand that there will come a time when I will want to have my own space again, but seriously, you want me to put him to bed in a different room?  There are two doors between us!  What if a rift opens up in the ground (Land Before Time style), and we were separated by a huge crevasse and Bo had to crawl by himself to the Great Valley to be reunited with us??  

{Short intermission as I get myself together - ridiculous though it may seem, the scene I just described actually did make me cry.}

Where were we?  Oh - registries.  I should really make outlines for these posts. I have limited space for all-things-baby.  I have read and read various articles about what you actually will need and what will collect dust.  Most of my friends, having had their own children or even just a whole heck of a lot more experience with babies than I have must know better than I do what I need.  Besides - what if I pick cute pacifiers out and then he refuses to suck on anything except the ones you get at the hospital?  What if I get the CUTEST manicure set ever and then C (who WILL be in charge of nail clipping) decides that it's easier to just bite them off??  I won't point fingers here, but YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

Most importantly, at the end of the day, it just feels wrong to invite a whole buncha people over for snacks and ask them to give up a Saturday afternoon and BUY ME SOMETHING.  When I got married, I was reprimanded by several people for NOT inviting them to a shower of any sort.  In my heart of hearts, I believed that I was doing them a favor.  I am trying very hard to GET OVER IT.  

I'll register for gifts.  I'll invite people to showers.  I'll remind myself that it is normal and NOT tacky and most importantly, all about Bo.  I am blessed that people love me and my unborn son.  I will write thank you notes, and as he grows, I will tell him who got him which gifts - so that he will always know that we are blessed with the best family and friends in the world.

{In the meantime, if you have suggestions as to what you CANNOTLIVEWITHOUT, please share.  I'd very much appreciate it.}

Crazy is as crazy does.

The absolute last thing that I intended to do tonight was cry over deviled eggs - and yet somehow, that's exactly what ended up happening.  I'm not exactly what you might call proficient in the kitchen - I'm not a bad baker - cookies and biscuits and the like are well within my abilities.  Outside of the oven - I'm kind of a wreck.  Luckily, my husband likes to cook - likes it and is good at it.

I've wanted deviled eggs for about 6 weeks now.  Finally, tonight, I was going to make them.  How hard could they really be anyway?  I started cooking while C mowed the grass.  Boiled eggs.  Sounds simple enough.  Inept though I may be, I can boil water with eggs in it.  (I should mention that while all this was going on, I did successfully manage a couple of pans of chocolate cookies - don't judge me.  Or do - I'm beyond caring at this point.)  As I peeled the first egg, it became obvious that it was not actually hard boiled.  So I put them back on the stove and tried again.  After bringing them to a boil the second time, I was convinced that they MUST be hard boiled now.  So I peeled them all... and as I sliced them in half, dreaming of the deviled eggs that I had waited soooo long for, I noticed that they were all STILL soft boiled.  C came into the kitchen and started telling me what he would have done differently - and driving me crazy because he was about one pot of boiling water and 12 peeled eggs too late.  The filling for the eggs was completely liquid.  He blames my soft boiled eggs.  I blame his heavy handed use of pickle juice.  The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. 

He suggested that we make egg salad... EGG SALAD.  I didn't want EGG SALAD.  I wanted a FRAKKING DEVILED EGG.  So I stubbornly poured the yellow egg water into 4 of the white shells.  And I cried egg sized tears as I ate them.  And C made egg salad.

I should just go to bed.

Weekend Review

I've had my IPhone for 4 days now.  I'm obsessed.  It's official.  I'd love to say that it has made me the model of productivity, but really, I've just played a lot of Words With Friends.  I was really looking forward to downloading the FlyLady application, but it turns out that there isn't one!!  Seriously, FlyLady - I need you on the bandwagon.  There is an app that apparently works well with the system, but as of now, I can't convince myself to actually pay for an application. 

I came home on Friday to find a package from my dear friend and old roommate, One Rad Mother.  It contained a tshirt which I immediately donned for picture purposes... have I mentioned that I have a new IPhone??  ;)

This photo was met with cries of, "Really? Booty shot but no bump shot!?! DENIED"

So, of course, I had Cameron take another shot.  I had kept the belly in hiding long enough.  I had intended to put on makeup or any of the amazing maternity clothes that have been passed on to me.  None of this happened. 

There it is.  All 24 weeks of pregnant belly.  As C said, "Time flies when you're having crazy."  He's so supportive.

Being pregnant seems like such an invasion of space.  You get fatter and feel awkward, and people want to talk about your body.. what you are doing - or not doing... they want to see the belly and touch the belly, and suddenly, you are the center of attention.  It takes some getting used to.  Maybe it's best to take advantage of the time... no one is going to pay any attention to me once Bo gets here.  I'm okay with it.

Sunday was a win.  C got baptised - only fair to outwardly recommit your life when you are embarking on a new journey.  The icing on the cake was that the preacher was wearing an Avengers shirt.

It's not a GREAT photo.  I should have turned on the flash.  The old blackberry didn't have one.

After an afternoon nap, we spent the evening at Mom's house.  C grilled lamb steaks and we had creamed corn and an awesome salad with veggies from Jackson Lowe Vegetable Farm.  After coming home, while playing Words With Friends, I felt the first external bump from Baby Bo.  I can't wait for C to get a kick.  It's coming, honey!  Don't worry!



SHINYSHINYSHINY!!!

My new IPhone was delivered today - should have been yesterday, but I'm not complaining.

If it doesn't actually make me a more reliable, better organized, and all around more fantastic person, I may send it back.  Think they have a return code for that?

Just For Starters

1. I'm going to be a mommy - about 2 weeks before my one year anniversary.


2. I'm mostly excited - with a sprinkling of panic and sheer terror.


3. I have taken exactly one picture of my pregnant belly.  It was texted to my sister with a death threat if she dared show anyone.  {She probably showed her husband.}


4. I'm pretty behind on this whole 'prepping for baby' thing.  It just didn't seem real to me until Baby Obi-Wan started kicking around in there.


5. I have an amazing husband who came to me complete with two beautiful children.  He's got experience, so I worry less than I would otherwise.