let it snow! let it snow! let it snow!

yes! let it snow! it's so beautiful and i've been dreaming of a white christmas! ok, ok. so i wouldn't be nearly as excited about all this white stuff if i had to, say, drive to work or go christmas shopping. but lucky for me, i've got the weekend off and thanks to the internet, a visit to the mall is not in my future (which makes me happy no matter what the weather is)!

sitting here in my warm and cozy home i am so content with cats meowing at my feet, tea on the stove and a dateline murder mystery on the television. ahhh, tis the season. can't wait to see all the members of both sides of our family over the holidays; lot's of laughing and happiness, home cooking and relaxing. have i mentioned that i love this season?

riding my winter sleigh into the third trimester of my pregnancy (officially in my 28th week now and starting the home stretch), i have had no time to do any decorating around here. i've barely had time even to keep up on the dishes! tony and i do what we can, but with times being tight we've been trying to work a little extra here and there. i still feel great (except for the heartburn!!! this kid better be a hairy ape for all the suffering i'm doing!) and am almost feeling a little sad about having to share her with other people in a few months. but all the happiness she will bring is worth it and though i'll miss feeling all these kicks in belly, by week 38 i'll probably be begging for an induction.

the latest picture of pregnancy...

24 weeks.

ok. at this point, my husband should really know that food is an integral part of my day. as in, if i don't have breakfast within a half hour of waking up i'll either a) barf, b) tear into him like an angry ferret or c) both. luckily (for me anyway) i chose b today. too bad for him. but that's what he gets for talking on the phone 22 out of 24 hours a day. ok, so it's not totally his fault. first, if my friends called me as often as his do, i might think they were stalking me. also, his shut off valve for ending conversations has a leak (and he looooves to claim that everyone else gabs too much; please). also, i suppose it would be just as easy to take the breakfast reigns myself, but some mornings the idea of making an eggo waffle sounds resembles the building of the pyramids. besides, if i can't use this pregnancy to demand breakfast service, well what good is it? long story short, i did finally get to eat, but only after getting crabby enough to make eggs myself (did not go well). much better now. and tony's over the tongue lashing i gave him. his injuries will heal...eventually.

in my 24th week at this point. feeling big as a house and i know, i know...it's only going to get worse. i hope i don't have to listen to one more person tell me that, because I KNOW. but sometimes i just feel like commenting on my current girth, ok? without people telling me that i'm only going to get bigger. oh really? you mean the my baby won't weigh 1.5 pounds when she's born? and will be longer than a standard envelope? wow. maybe i should buy a book or something. thanks for the heads up.

we have another level II ultrasound on monday. yay! i can't wait because the last one was so awesome and cool and fun to watch. now, six weeks later, i can't imagine all the changes! i think i have been feeling her move around, especially mid-morning. crazy little kid. maybe she'll have tony's energy. heaven help me. maybe she'll have his energy level and my stubborn side. heaven help us all if that's the case...

23 weeks.

currently 23 weeks (until wednesday) and feeling great! tired though i may be, i'm totally enjoying being pregnant; i think it suits me. it's the labor i'm not too excited about! today tony and i went to my ob appointment and all the news was good, of course. my ob doctor (she rocks!) always makes me feel at ease. she met tony for the first time today and was surprised to find that he really does exist! my weight is right on track (hallelujah, because losing it when all is said and done will be hard enough), and my uterus is, well, big. i love hearing that heartbeat; sounds so strong!

coffee and scones after the appointment with my hubby (yes! you can drink coffee while your pregnant, now leave me alone!). it was fun going out with him, even if it was only for a half hour; we get so busy and stuck in our schedules that we forget what it was like to be "dating". why do i feel like that's going to become an even more distant memory in the not too far away future?

it's good to have tony back; he had gone hunting up north for a few days and it's always a little too quiet around here without him. he brought back no venison this time, which is probably a good thing since we are still eating last year's deer. tony was hoping to get one though with the economy being like it is; i think he was hoping to live off a deer carcass for many months. his loss is my gain!

maybe they're better at photography than they are at hunting!

watch out defenseless forest creatures! this bunch is not one to mess with!

stylish in camo!

22 weeks.

ok, so i'm not the best at keeping up on this blog. but really, only about 2 people (hi mom and dad!) check it anyway, so...

however, being that i'm pregnant (yay!) i should probably be a little more diligent at jotting down my thoughts and observations. someday, when paper no longer exists and we all have a microchip in the back of our necks, i'll be able to access my thoughts via the world wide web. scary.

currently i'm 22 weeks into gestation. at least that's what the perinatologist said, though i think she's wrong (what does she know anyway!). when we went in for my level 2 ultrasound, they thought the size of the baby was more befitting of that due date than of my previous one. so, easy as that, they pushed my progress back a week. i'm not complaining though; the more mommy and me time i get (before i have share this little sea monkey with the rest of the world) the better! yep, i'm kind of selfish like that.

otherwise, it seems that everything is moving along as planned. did i mention? it's a girl. A GIRL! needless to say, there were tears in my husband's eyes when he first found out, and not the tears of joy one might expect. it took him about a day to get over the news that the skeletal image on the screen had labia (the tech actually said "see these three lines? this one's the labia!" with real enthusiasm, just to add insult to injury).

now, though, he's happy, excited, and oh so cute when he talks to her through my ever expanding belly. he calls her by name (nope, not mentioning that here yet) and sings to to her too. he acts like a total goofball and i'm loving it.

our little girl is healthy and growing normally, based on the ultrasound results, and we have a follow-up u/s the week of thanksgiving just to make sure the little bipper stays on track. because i'm a type 1 diabetic, there's a very good chance that she's growing a little faster and bigger than your average baby, so we'll probably be meeting her in person a couple weeks earlier than expected. who needs a due date anyway!

the training was worth it...

thank god for labor marathons. i mean, it's not like i have anything else to do. you know, like unpack the hundreds of boxes still leftover from moving, no need to do the dishes, wash the car, water the garden. no need to clean the litter boxes, vacuum the carpets, do the laundry, exercise, go outside, get groceries, eat, go to the bathroom, blink...no need for any of that when i've got, like, 18 hours of crime scene investigating to do. it's a dirty job, but some one's gotta do it.

13 weeks

just finishing up my 1st trimester and here's what's developed...

okay, okay, i know i need a tan. but i'm trying to preserve my youthful skin tone so that i can be one hot mama.

holy crap, i'm going to be a mom. a mother. how did this happen?

oh ya, that's right.

yep, i'm nervous. you betcha. but do i doubt our decision to make a little tony jr. or mini me? not a chance. this is, by far, the best thing either of us has ever done. period.

grow baby grow!

so...what's new with you?

i met someone new yesterday.

who was it?

oh, no one special. just the HUMAN BEING THAT I'VE BEEN GROWING IN MY UTERUS.

i didn't mention? i'm 13 weeks pregnant. i know, i'm having trouble believing it too.

but yesterday, after i saw that little alien and verified that the 'flicker' on the screen was indeed a beating heart, well...i guess it seems pretty real now.

we're very excited. in fact my husband is so excited that he WENT GOLFING INSTEAD OF GOING TO THE APPOINTMENT. ya know, the one where the miracle of life is first documented?

at least it was a tournament. and he did tie for first after all.

anyway...that's all that's new around here.

so...what's new with you?

behind the times

tonight i joined facebook for the first time. and no, i'm not a freshman in college. it simply turns out that i know a good amount of people who keep in touch through this magical rabbit hole and apparently i can't spy on them unless i join the cult, er club, too. yay for me! and hi to all the people i'm about to pester.

hi. i've been gone for a while, but i'm back now. i'm sure everyone has been just dying to hear from me *wink*... just got back from visiting my family in colorado. mom and dad are moved into a new place and are loving life on the golf course (their back door is about ten feet from the 9th hole!). had a ball in the few short days i was there. here are some pics of the highlight of my trip...he's getting too big and too smart. i'm pretty sure i couldn't recite the preamble to the constitution at a mere 2 1/2 years old! and let me tell you about his golf technique!

no doubt, he will probably be the next tiger woods...

spring in minnesota.

it's coming from inside the house!

so i'm babysitting for my niece, and though i've had so much fun (she's one year old and nearly perfect) it's hard to be in a different house...especially at night when there are so many noises that i'm not used to. plus, it's windy as heck and i swear someone is knocking on the window about every ten minutes. yikes. but i'll be fine in the end, i'm sure (knock on wood) and watching their bazillion inch t.v. screen makes the time go by nicely.

wargames, ala matthew broderick (looking about 15 years old, i might add) is on and boy, does it bring back memories. i remember seeing this movie with my mom, dad and brother. i can't exactly remember where we were living at the time, i just remember that when i saw it, i though it was so cool and that it was one of the first movies i remember seeing with cuss words. the other being the toy, starring richard pryor (total classic). now that one was full of dirty words and i remember repeating lines from it for weeks.

anyway, not much to report. haven't written much for just that reason.

ok, just heard a loud noise upstairs and considering the fact that the only person who should be up there is a sleeping one-year-old, i think i'll grab a butcher's knife and go check it out. wish me luck and cross your fingers that this isn't my last post.just kidding...insert nervous and forced laughter here.

craft show.

yesterday at work, my good friend jay gave me my birthday presents (only about 24 days early, he's not good at keeping secrets...) and i was very happy with what i got! two books (one can never go wrong with books of any kind), and all about photography and crafting, no less! i am very excited to read them and put the information in them to good use.

you may have noticed, as i did, that the one book is for people without a "creative bone" in their body. anyone who knows me will tell you that i have at least one, possibly located in my inner ear, which may account for the dizziness i sometime experience when working on a really good craft project.

to prove that i have experienced creativity and craftiness before owning this book, i thought i'd show you a couple of things i've done in the past. remember, i'm only claiming to have the one creative bone, no talent or skill...

this is a fleece "no-sew" blanket i made one year for myself at the same time that i made one for my parents for christmas. you may think that a "no-sew" blanket equals "no work", but you'd be wrong, as it is very hard work scooting around on the hardwood floor for hours on end tying hundreds of little fleece fringes just right so they don't tug too much one way or the other, making the whole effect lopsided. plus i had to measure and cut all the little fringes in the first place and after a while, your eyes, neck and back are really screaming at you. i'm not complaining though, it's by far the most comfy and warm thing in my house (as is demonstrated by the fact that one or both of the cats is on it at all times of the day and night. they are the true measure of the quality of many of the things i make.)



this is one of many towels that i have or am in the process of embroidering. i'm starting a pillow case too. i love to embroider, even though i only know like two stitches off the top of my head. but my mom bought me a book that will help me become as good of an embroidery pro as she is. this is the first one i ever did, and the pattern is from sublime stitching. they have the most delightful iron-on patterns there and i will definitely be getting more. in the future, i hope also to get some patterns from subversive cross stich, but i probably won't be giving those out as christmas gifts. well, maybe to jay and sam. i think they could appreciate the subtlety of the designs...

lastly, here are a couple of "draft dodgers". no pattern used, just made these off the top of my head out of scrap material i had. filled them with kitty litter (unused, of course). impressed? ok, so impressed might be a bit much, but they do keep the drafts out. i'm going to make more, my husband wants one on every window sill too. too much? now...what are some crafts you all are working on? please share...

primary colors.

a pirate's life for me!

my incredibly creative and disgustingly talented sister-in-law beth (go away green monster of jealousy!) has started a web company with her cousin. it's called citrus and they sell very cute and clever t-shirts and tank tops for the little ones. on top of being annoyingly talented, she has also given birth to the most adorable little fashion model, a.k.a my nephew griffin. ok, i may be a little bit swayed on that opinion since we share the same genes, (nice job brother!) but come on...have you ever seen such an impish little creature? doesn't he just scream "i'm a heart breaker! point the way to trouble!".i mean look at him, he's eating a dinosaur for goodness sake! (though he's also sporting a bemidji, minnesota t-shirt, so he's got that going for him.) he's got quite the fashion sense you see. he gets that from me. well, he got the t-shirt from me anyway.he's pretty much my favorite thing on the face of the planet, but i won't envy my brother and his wife during the preteen and teen years...better not get too used to those bars, buddy...(ok, it should be noted that he's a totally pleasant child; very giggly, full of smiles and really no trouble at all. yet. muahahaha.)

classic beauty.

ramona, goddess of relaxation.

bippity boppity boo!

yesterday i became a fairy godmother. ok, just a godmother, but it's an honor all the same. little anne was born last summer and is a total doll. tony is godfather to one of her sisters, liza, who is now three years old. i told annie yesterday, as she lay on the floor getting some 'tummy time', that this is a competition now. we're going to see which kid turns out better. muah-ha-ha. oh, and i granted her a couple of wishes. the glass slippers look adorable.

getting to know me...

(...with a little help from bella dia. thanks for the great idea!)

on my bedside table:

alarm clock...the dream machine! (christmas gift circa 1986)

a squirt bottle. anyone with a noisy cat knows this is a complete necessity.

tums

new year resolutions:

exercise and eat healthier diet.

get my blood sugars in better control.

get knocked up.

latest interests:

photography.

my blog.

networking.

on my mind:

baby. baby. baby. (tick tock)

cleaning out the clutter.

job hunting with relation to my newly earned degree. yay!

learning:

that marriage takes more work than i thought (but it's so worth it).

politics can be interesting.

less is more.

making:

draft stopper for kitchen door.

a list of craft ideas for next christmas.

rough draft of possible children's book.

looking forward to:

staying up late and sleeping in.

spring cleaning.

buying a house.

enjoying:

non-alcoholic beer mixed with bloody mary mix.

'sinnerman' by nina simone ala felix da housecat .

sweat pants.

amused by:

the cats, of course.

out west...

off to colorado to celebrate christmas and the new year with my family. some pics to reflect on our time in "berthood". all in all, i'd say this whole "spending the holidays with my husband" went pretty well. however, thanks to my nephew, my new soundtrack to life is the theme song to thomas the train. bugger!