March, it is

First let me brag about my wonderful husband/babydaddy.

We have a pregnancy journal called The Belly Book. It's a week by week journal of my pregnancy. Almost every week, we've taken a picture of me and the bump and I've written a little summary of the week. Craig sometimes contributes.

This morning, I get out The Belly Book and turn to Week 38 and here is what I see:

"So, I know I haven't been writing in the book as much as I should have but I have been thinking about you constantly. We're all really excited to meet you. Not too long to go now! Love Dad"

Commence crying. AGAIN. I don't say it enough and when you hear us talk, we are so sarcastic to each other that some people have sat and stared at us, but, I really have married such an amazing man and sometimes I just can't believe my luck.

Onto Baby news. I don't think I've mentioned this before, but my doctor is going out of town on my due date. This is not new to us--the doc let us know on our first visit this was going to happen (well, sort of. He first said it was the week I was due, then he said it was the week after, then he reconfirmed that it WAS the week I was due). At the time, I really didn't think it was a big deal because the baby has always measured ahead of time, so I have convinced myself he's coming early. No need to worry about it, doc, he'll come before then!!!

Fast forward to now. Well, it's getting to be crunch time and the doctor has given me the option of elective induction or just wait until I go into labor spontaneously. I may watch too many movies, but I was looking forward to the whole, "Honey, let's go. I'm in labor" drive to the hospital. So, induction wasn't REALLY what I wanted. But, the practical, planner, Type A side of me says fantastic!! If we have an induction, we are prepared for it.

Right now, I'm really hoping I DO go into labor on my own, but I think I've wrapped my head around an induction as well. You may be wondering why it matters. Well, with all the changes that we have had during this pregnancy (the move to Cincy, the house hunt, first baby, little support system in town), I think it would mean a lot of me to have the doctor that I have established a relationship with to deliver the baby. It may not mean a lot to HIM, but I think I would be more comfortable and relaxed knowing who was going to deliver, rather than just some stranger coming in. **I should add that my OB is a single practice. It's just him--he's not part of a group.

I know there are risks involved, but the people I know personally who have been induced have had great experiences.

Craig is coming with me to my appointment on Monday, so we'll be able to ask all the questions we have right now and if we feel comfortable with induction, then D-Day begins March 18 at 7 a.m. For those of you who do not have immediate access to a calendar, THAT IS ONE WEEK EXACTLY FROM TODAY.

I'm still hoping that I do go into labor on my own, but if nothing else, we will have a baby in one week. Wow.

A 38 week picture:

In other news, we're making friends!!!!! Our next door neighbors have been utterly fantastic in welcoming us to the area and really making us feel so comfortable here. They are the kind of neighbors you hope to get when you move into a new house. Last night, we had another couple over for dinner as well and they were very nice, too!! I am just so happy that we've started to meet people!

Happy Birthday!!!

Today is Craig's 33rd birthday!!!

Here he is in all of his 3 year old glory
I absolutely LOVE this picture of him!!!

I am Thankful

Craig, me, and The Bean were able to travel to Arkansas for Thanksgiving with my family. It was a much needed break!

Even though it's a brand new house, Craig and I wanted to put our stamp on it before our furniture arrived. So, from Thursday to Sunday night, we worked late adding to the house--I was painting (common areas--Sherwin Williams Latte; study and dining room Svelte Sage; master bedroom Techno Gray, if you are interested) and Craig set to tiling the laundry room (it was a vinyl covering before). YES, I PAINTED. Don't freak out on me please. I did my research and we picked a low/no VOC (the Harmony line from SW), was always in a well ventilated room, and took lots of breaks.

Monday was Moving Day!!! Even though all of our stuff is in boxes, it's nice to have it here finally! We spent one night in our new home and the next morning, we were off again.

My sister and my mom threw me a baby shower on Tuesday night--it was wonderful and we got a lot of really nice things for The Baby!!

Ah...my parents' home. I can (and do) say a lot of things about my parents and their habits, but one thing for sure--they certainly let you relax. And relaxation was definitely one thing Craig needed. Last week at work was a difficult one for him, on top of the hours after work he spent on the house. The poor man was exhausted and needed somewhere to completely veg out. We got here on Tuesday and haven't left the house since. We've barely gotten out of our pjs. It's been lovely.

And my puppies are doing great, as I knew they would. They love it at Nonnie and Poppie's house and I think the four of them are going to be sad to leave.

So, from my family to yours, I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and you were surrounded by loved ones.

14 week ultrasound!!

Again, PERFECT!!!!! Baby is measuring fantastic, right on time!!! I am growing such a winner here, folks! Heartbeat strong (149 bpm, down from 160 at 10 weeks, but doc says that's normal for hb to slow down as baby grows). We got to see the little heart again AND the brain. Awesome!!!

As far as gender predictions go, the doc says he could make a guess as to the gender right now, but nothing is definite. We have the Gender Ultrasound on Oct 23. Until then, you all will just have to wait. But, I can narrow it down to two choices for you. As I have said before, we can't lose either way.

If it's a girl, my side of the family will be estastic for its first granddaughter (who will be THE most spoiled baby girl ever--and I am not kidding) and my mom and my sister will probably not let a day go by without changing her outfit at least three times because girl clothes are SO MUCH FUN. Unfortunately, if it is a wee lass, she kind of looks like Skeletor right now, so the chances of her having a prom date are slim. **Yes, yes, she is the cutest Skeletor I have ever seen, but still, homegirl has got some major eye sockets going on.

Now, if it's a boy, my babydaddy's side of the family will be estastic because it will be the first grandson on THAT side of the family and I will have carried the heir (and little prince) and carried on the family name. Plus, my two nephews will have a little boy cousin to play around with AND I can steal my sister's clothes and toys (WOO HOO--she doesn't know that yet, but she will as soon as she reads this post). Sister has been incredibly, incredibly gracious and let me HAVE her baby furniture (crib and dresser). Do you know how much that shizzle costs??? My god--seriously, expensive.

Craig has been sooooo good and supportive!! He's been to both prenatal appointments and he can't wait to get into a new (to us) house so he can begin on the nursery. We already have a theme and colors picked out and he has some grand ideas about wall decor. :) He also has been very understanding when, over the weekend, I was so tired I started crying. At Oktoberfest, the biggest beerfest of the year for Cincinnati and the biggest Oktoberfest outside Germany. **Which, if you have met Craig for more than 5 seconds, you know that beer is one of his favorite things in the whole wide world.** We had already walked up and down the festival, Craig had tried the major beers offered, out of his Oktoberfest 2009 neon orange mug, of course. We ate bratwurst, roasted corn (not German, but still way delicious), pretzels, and something called Goetta balls. Strange name, but very tasty. They are deep fried sausage with rice or oats or something. Sounds gross. So not. Now, we were finished with Oktoberfest and Craig asked what I wanted to do. What I WANTED to do was go home, curl up in bed, and sleep because I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep until after dawn. But, what I said was "What do you want to do?" Craig then suggested we go to a park and walk around. At that point, I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes and, if you know me at all, you know that I can not help crying. I started crying because I am forever suggesting that we go for a walk and explore the parks and now that he wanted to that, I had no energy whatsoever and felt really guilty. So, there we were, in the downtown streets of our new city--me crying, Craig looking at me like I have lost my mind.

Pregnancy hormones. You gotta love them. Would you like to guess what we did--the park or the hotel??

The house hunt. We've spent the last two weekends house hunting with our realtor, Polly. We've seen some good houses and a couple that we could see ourselves in, but nothing has smacked us in the face and shouted "MOVE IN! NOW!! Bring your baby and your dogs home to me!" So, the search continues!

The ball is rolling

Our house is officially on the market. We signed the paperwork last night.

AND, the Weed Killers came on Tuesday. Debbie (you remember her) told me they would be at the house before 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Having explained to her yet again that I would not be at the house, she repeated they would be there before 10 a.m.

I pick up Craig'ums at the airport, we head to Starbucks for a bacon sandwich (OMG, have you had one of these? They are completely addictive), then head on home. We pull into the driveway at 9:59 a.m. And who comes right after us??? The Weed Killers. To their credit, the weeds are dying off already.

It's so nice having Craig home again. I've missed him!!! Of course, he leaves again on Monday for another week away, but still I get him for this week.

Lucky Duck

Okay, so perhaps "lucky" is not the correct term to describe Craig and the (almost) three straight weeks he has been away from home, but some positive DID happen to him today, the day of his grandfather's memorial service.

We were on the phone while Craig was at Heathrow and he heard his name being called over the intercom at his gate. He told me he would call me right back.

A few minutes later....he calls back and says, "You will never believe this. The flight has been oversold."

.....Flashback, flashback, flashback.... (wave your fingers in front of your eyes for full flashback effect)


to when I was at the airport and my flight to Cincinnati was oversold. I got bumped from the f)(*&*ng flight and had to get one the next day.

Craig continues on...

"The flight has been oversold and I've been bumped...to business class."

Man, if I were a lesser person (as in green with envy because I have ALWAYS wanted to take the flight from USA to UK or vice versa in something other than coach), I would not be happy for him. But, considering the past few weeks he's had and the week with his family under unhappy circumstances, I will be happy for him. He needs a nice flight home.

Today, I have spent all day waiting for a landscaper to come by and kill the weeds that have overtaken our front garden. At first I was hopeful that the weeds would pass for some sort of landscaping because some of them were flowering. But, no. It just looks crappy out there now. Last week, when I met with Joseph, the landscaper, he told me he would be here on Monday morning to take care of the weeds. This morning, I call Landscaping Company at 8 am because I wasn't sure time ol' Joseph would put in an appearance. No one answers so I leave a message. Four hours later, there is no call back (this from the Landscaping Company who last week called me about three times to confirm the estimate). So, I call back and leave another message at noon. Because I, despite popular belief, DO. HAVE.THINGS.TO.DO (like getting more boxes to pack up some of our clutter so we can get our house on the market and "show" worthy, which is why I need Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Weed Killer to come pronto). Apparently, this weed killer is special because it somehow knows what to kill and what to save (we do have some landscaping with bushes and stuff in there that we would like to keep alive).

I finally get a hold of Debbie, receptionist/office manager/unimpressive customer service representative. She says it's very hard to get a hold of Joseph because he is always doing estimates and busy. Well, Debbie, Joseph said he was coming by today and I just need to know When so I can kinda plan the rest of my day. She says she will get back to me.

Debbie gets back to me later--"Joseph said he told you he'd be by Monday or Tuesday morning."

Um, no, my sistah, he most certainly made no mention of Tuesday. Because I knew LAST week when Joseph was over that Tuesday morning was the one day that I had Stuff To Do, namely picking up my husband whom I have barely seen in three weeks from the airport and a lunch date planned with some of my former co-workers.

Debbie: "Well, if no one is there by 3:00 this (Monday) afternoon, they will come Tuesday morning."

Me: "Do you happen to know what time Tuesday morning? Do you think they could come before 9?" (Because I have a honey to pick up at 9:15)

Debbie: "I don't know."

Me: "Well, can you give Joseph my number and have him call me, please? I have been waiting for him today and I am not available tomorrow morning."

It is now 3:37 p.m. and no sign of Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Weed Killer. And no phone call. And I am not happy.

I have devised a poll for my readers (all 6 of you). Please see right.

Aww!!

The hubs. He's a keeper.

To brag just a little more....here's the card.