Sunday, March 27, 2011

Krandy comes to town.

Kristy and Andy came to visit us over their spring break. Skylar was soooooo excited. She told everyone they were coming to see her. Actually she told everyone that "Uncle Dandy and Uncle Kristy" were coming. The uncle formerly known as "Uncle Deany" somehow morphed into "Uncle Dandy". We're still working on "Andy". Maybe next time. They came bearing cupcakes from Magnolia bakery in New York City. We love cupcakes around here.


They brought Skylar some snowshoes too. Unfortunately, we had just lost all of our snow, but she still had fun trying them out in the yard.
She especially liked to cuddle with them in their bed. It was hard to keep her from barging in there first thing every morning.
We decided to go to a popular breakfast place in a nearby town. The portions are HUGE.
Kristy got the chocolate chip cookie pancakes, and after she was done with it she had to cut it into four peices to get it to fit into the to-go box.
Then we decided to feed the ducks, because Skylar can't be that close to the water without at least checking on them.
She carried her bag of bread around hoping to find them, and then sadly Lake Ontario was still iced over, so she could see them but they were too far away to feed. So sad.

Even at 25 weeks pregnant, Aunt Kristy was still fun.

We made pizza one night for dinner and Uncle Andy made a deluxe, gourmet, 5-star homemade pizza. He was a culinary genious.
Skylar was so sad when they had to leave, but we had a great visit. Thanks for spending your spring break with us!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Momentum.

Today it got up to 50 degrees. Around here that means no coats! The last few days have been warm, so almost all of the snow is gone and spring fever has officially set in.

The sun was even shining this morning, and that definitely called for a sundress, even if you have to wear leggings and long sleeves under it. So I picked out a bright yellow one that I've been waiting to put on her.


We headed out to play in the sandbox this afternoon...then ended up cleaning up the yard and porch for awhile. It was nice just to be outside. Skylar keeps asking me if it's summer yet, because she knows when summer comes daddy is going to come home to visit her. I keep telling her Spring has to come first.


Then she made an exciting discovery--two flowers in the garden. She started yelling "Spring is here mama! Spring is here Sabot! Jack-Jack, Spring is here!!" and dancing in circles. Her enthusiasm was contagious. We're all ready for a new season. Then she asked, "is it summer now?"


It just so happens the little blooms were the exact color of her dress--a happy yellow.


The flowers are a welcome sight. We made it through the long winter without daddy, and it feels like we're picking up momentum.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Just put a fork in me.....

....because I am done.

Do you want to see how DONE I am???? (I went ahead and took a picture for Micah).

Behold my doneness......


See what I mean? This belly is no joke. Skylar is amazed by it. She thinks I look done too.

Except that I'm NOT done, I still have 3 1/2 weeks to go. Which sort of feels like forever when I'm this uncomfortable, but I know it will be over in the blink of an eye. I am fully aware that right now his every need is met without me doing anything, and life will never be easier than it is right now. Or at least, not for many years. Which is probably how long it will take me to lose this baby weight.

The midwife estimates he's already at least 6 1/2 pounds--a little less than Skylar was at birth. She also thinks he's going to come ahead of schedule. So let's hope she's right on both accounts....or wrong on both accounts.

Regardless, reality has started to set in. It's time to get some things done around here. I had done nothing until I finally ordered a carseat last week. Then I ordered some cradle bedding so he wouldn't have to sleep in a cloud of pink. I'm not doing a nursery yet because I need both guest bedrooms for awhile.

So the cradle isn't actually put together yet.....and the carseat is still in the box.....but I did pack three pairs of my socks in an overnight bag. That's a start, right?

Then I finally faced my fears and ventured into the attic. (Not fear of the attic itself, just all the junk. Avoidance is my mantra).Basically, the attic is 1200 square feet of stuff we don't want to deal with. It's completely unorganized, some of it still in boxes from our move....a total mess. And freezing cold.

I dug out some baby gear and started washing it. I put the swing together wrong and had to take it apart and start over. Same with the bouncer. I think those were Micah's jobs last time. Then I started washing and putting away baby clothes, which I think is the fun part. (By the way, he already has 8 pairs of shoes. I stock up on them for baby gifts, but I raided my gift box and kept them all).

And last but not least, here is one of the cutest baby gifts to date. My sister Jenn bought him a little Baby Phat suit.
Now all he needs is a name. In the meantime I think I'll call him "phatty".

Friday, March 11, 2011

Consider the lilies.

One of the best things about deployment is seeing how the Lord provides. Some days are bearable, and some days are not. The messes pile up, and then they all somehow work out in such a way that you know it can only be a God thing.

Lately I have been in survival mode. Just trying to keep up our normal schedule and maintain some kind of order in the house. The list of "things to do before the baby comes" sits untouched.

A few months ago I started loosing water pressure in my shower. It just kept getting worse until it was at the point where I could barely rinse my hair. I was afraid there was a leaky pipe in a wall somewhere, so I stopped using it and just started showering in the guest bathroom. Then the drain in my bathroom sink, which has always been a little slow, kept getting worse to the point where just brushing my teeth was a pain.

If the atrocious pink tile is any indication of the condition of the plumbing, then I was scared to know what was wrong. I just knew it would require ripping out walls and thousands of dollars. After all, home ownership has been too easy so far, something has to go wrong in an old house eventually, right? So I just put it off and put it off.

Oh what the heck, since I'm talking about it I'll just show you our "dirty pink secret". Behold the one room in the house that is completely uncharming and none of the previous owners got around to renovating, the Master Bath:
Yikes. Not sure what decade this was, but it's hard to imagine someone choosing to do that. When we looked at this house and it actually HAD a master bathroom, I could have kissed that pink tile I was so excited. But it would be nice to update it and a girl can dream.
Anyway....

Then the cap blew off our lamp post and I added that to my to-do list. I hate going to Home Depot almost as much as I hate going to the dentist. Plus the lamp was all filled with snow, and I needed it to dry out before I put a cap on it. At least that was my excuse.

Then this week we had two days of crazy, Colorado-style wind. I was talking to Micah one night and telling him that it sounded like the wind was going to tear a shutter off the house. Sure enough, the next morning I went to PWOC where a friend told me she noticed a shutter had blown off our house when she was driving by. I hadn't even noticed it as I was rushing out of the house 15 minutes late. Thankfully, it was still dangling and not halfway across the golf course like it would have been in Colorado. These aren't the kind of shutters you can find in stores, I would have had to have one made to match.

These days I'm exhausted. I mean....tired beyond reason. I wake up tired, I'm tired all day, I go to the Y and trudge through my 4 miles which gives me a much needed energy boost for about 2 hours and then I'm tired again. (Mostly I just work-out to get a break from Skylar, I'm not going to lie). Everything feels like it takes gigantic amounts of effort. I could barely even cut my toe nails a few days ago. It annoys me that everything has to be so hard.

I get tired just thinking about what to feed Skylar for dinner every night and she would be happy eating noodles with a side of noodles three times a day, so all of this accumulating house maintenance was stressing me out. One perk of living in military housing is the free, 24 hour maintenance at hand. I was seriously wishing I had that. Anyway, the shutter was the last straw. I couldn't have the house falling apart and looking trashy, and the missing lamp post cap combined with a dangling shutter was more than I could take.

So as soon as I got home from PWOC I called my snow removal guy, who I know also does contracting work, and asked him if he could come by and fix it. Then it was time to find a plumber. Last December I called someone to fix the garbage disposal who ended up being the sweetest old man. He could have charged me anything, but he was very reasonable and told me to call him for recommendations and he would make sure I didn't get taken advantage of. Sadly, there are quite a few places in town that take advantage of military families. So I called him and he recommended a plumber.

This morning at 8:00, my snow removal guy came and fixed the shutter and was about to drive away when I ran out there and caught him to pay him. I wouldn't have even known he was there if the dogs hadn't been freaking out. He wouldn't let me pay him. He doesn't know that Micah is deployed, and until that moment didn't even know I was pregnant. The last time we talked face to face was in September. He was just being nice.

Then the plumber came today. When he walked into the house he said "When I pulled up, I couldn't believe it. I know this house well". He had previously replaced plumbing, and installed many of the fixtures, a new toilet, and a new sink for the previous owner. There are dozens of plumbers in town, so I knew getting this guy was no accident.

He spent over an hour fixing leaky faucets in the guest bathroom, restored water pressure in my shower, and then fixed my bathroom sink--even replacing part of a pipe, and only charged $75 for all of his parts and work. He doesn't know Micah is deployed either.

So feeling motivated, I grab my tape measure this afternoon to measure the top of the lamp post and get a new cap. We've had two days of warm rain, and the snow is melted for now. My jaw dropped when I saw the cap was back in place. Seriously. It wasn't there yesterday. One of my neighbors must have unearthed it and returned it for me. I have no idea who did it, but I am very grateful.

Everything fixed in one day, just like that, and all for $75.

So even in our less than ideal circumstances right now, and with all the uncertainty surrounding the birth of this baby, what do I have to worry about? Absolutely nothing. It's all going to be fine.

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the lillies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If this is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!" Luke 12:25-28

Monday, March 7, 2011

This and that.

So I have been struck with a bad case of spring fever. It warmed up to 40 for a day and most of the snow melted away. I could even see some grass. Then we got another 6 or 8 inches yesterday and today. March is my least favorite month for this very reason. It never really feels like Spring and it seems to drag on forever. Or maybe I just live in the wrong places.

It helps that I'm pregnant and can't fit into a sundress anyway. It's nice to hide under winter clothes when you are great with child. And since I'm on the subject, I know I need to post a belly picture because even Micah hasn't seen a picture since Christmas and I've done nothing to document this pregnancy. But I just can't bring myself to do it. It's not cute. I am bigger than I was when Skylar was born and I still have a month to go. I don't think I can stretch another centimeter.

There is hope though. I have noticed that extremely large earrings create an optical illusion that draws attention away from the belly thereby making one appear less pregnant. When I wear big earrings I get comments like "Oh your so small!" Or "What are you...about seven months?" And without enormous earrings I get comments like "Dang your about to pop!" or "I say this baby is definately coming in March". This has happened enough times to ensure the earrings are in place when leaving the house. I switched to big necklaces a couple of years ago and gave earrings a rest, but in light of my recent discovery big earrings are my priority again these days.

On a completely different note, gas here is almost $4 a gallon and every time I fill up I want to hurt somebody.

And one more thing. My friends, Nate and Angela Haddick are adopting a special needs child from Eastern Eurp[e and have set up an account for (tax deductible) donations to bring her home. As an added bonus you get to enter into a drawing for an I-pad. Go HERE to read their story and donate if you feel led. But hurry because you only have 4 days.

Okay, that's all for now. No pictures today.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Heaven in a bowl.

I just want my old Ft. Carson army wives to know I'm thinking about them today. I made our favorite dessert, introduced by Amy Armstrong during our husbands first deployment many years ago.

If you've never tried it, it's simple: one pan of brownies, one package of chocolate pudding (prepared), a tub of whipped cream and a bag of Heath bits. I'm not sure of the correct order, but I layered the brownies, pudding, heath bits then whipped cream.

Sadly, I got distracted and forgot a layer of whipped cream, so it didn't look as pretty. But it was still good and an easy dessert to feed the masses.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

When teachable moments go wrong.

Skylar was asking for a coconut in the commissary a few weeks ago. As a general rule, anytime she requests a fruit or vegetable--even things like kumquats and star fruit that I don't think are very good--I buy it for her. Even if it's ridiculously expensive. I know I get in a rut buying the same old things I like to eat, and I'd rather encourage a produce addiction then have her begging for french fries or candy. Plus I want to expand her horizons.

Anyway, this was her first coconut. We brought it home and she's pretty much been kicking it around like a soccer ball for a couple of weeks. Then today she had a little friend over and I thought it would be fun if they got to crack it open and try it together. First they listened to the coconut milk swishing around. Then the anticipation grew as we went and got a hammer and screw driver. By the time that sucker was open they were quivering with excitement.

I put two straws in the coconut milk and watched them eagerly take a swig....and then start gagging and choking and spitting and......crying?

Hmmmm. That wasn't supposed to happen. I have fond memories of drinking milk out of a coconut with a straw.

I decided to try a piece and OHMYGOSH it was nasty. Completely rotten.

Whoops.

Hopefully this hasn't turned them both off coconut forever. Sorry girls......

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