Baby stuff

We painted more of the baby's room yesterday and I love how it turned out! No pictures this time because it's not done, but once we get it finished, I'll definitely post them! It's a really light blue on top, with a darker turquoise blue on the bottom. We're going to put a crisp white railing around the room which will tie in very nicely with the white crib. We ordered the crib and dresser last Saturday and I can't wait till it arrives at the store for us to pick up and put together! 

Ironically, Seth loved this crib and dresser set from the first time we went to Babies R Us to look at things but I didn't want white furniture. It seems kinda girly to me and I wanted an espresso colored crib. After a long time researching cribs, we settled on one and went to order it in the store. We had decided then that the "french vanilla" color of the crib would match best with the bedding. However, when we got there, we were told that the dresser no longer was made in the "french vanilla" color. I don't like mismatching furniture - it would drive me crazy to have a dark dresser and a vanilla colored crib in the same room. So back to the drawing board. (Mind you, this was after a long day of volunteering for Armed Forces day - I was exhausted and was excited to finally order the crib, only to be very disappointed that it wasn't possible). We wandered around for a little while and looked at our choices, looked up reviews online and then finally settled on this one. 

This is the bedding we got to go with it. Oh I can't wait to set it up!

In other important baby news, he's been moving around quite a bit. Last night we were watching TV and he was moving around so much you could see my stomach moving all over the place while I was sitting still. It's a pretty bizarre feeling. Last night, I was laying on my right side (I know, I know, you're supposed to lay on your left side...I toss and turn all night long) and I kept getting sharp pains in my uterus. If I rolled over, he would calm down and I wouldn't get the sharp pains. I read in one of my books that he's getting so big and the amniotic fluid is diminishing so I'll start having more painful kicks and punches (because the fluid isn't there to cushion the blow, so to speak). I woke up this morning with really sore hips. My buttocks hurt pretty bad too, like I had done 20390 too many squats. I had this same feeling frequently during the first and second trimesters and it was just him going through growth spurts. I get up to go pee 3-4 times during the night and when I sit up, there is an intense pressure on my bladder and I feel like I'm going to pee the bed right then and there. Luckily, I haven't done that, but it feels like I can. Sometimes right around my belly button (which is going to pop any day now, I think...) it gets reallllly hard and it's a little tiny foot or heel or knee or something right now. I can't make out body parts yet, but hopefully soon we'll be able to! I pushed back on it a few times and then it moved away. 


I'd like to go on record right now saying that I plan on going into this delivery (in 7ish weeks, holy crap) intending to do it natural. I want to give it my best shot without pain meds. We aren't taking birthing classes (they're not covered under TriCare and they don't offer any classes of any sort at the hospital). I bought a few books and DVDs on Amazon and we're going to start watching and reading those in the evenings. My mom said all the women in our family have had really fast births, and haven't even had time for an epidural. Here's to hoping I can keep with that tradition! 


We're going to be cloth diapering (I really need to order those...gah, so much to buy!!!) and I will be breastfeeding. I'm getting more and more excited each day to meet this little guy and I know Seth is too. 


Now, I must go tend to a pathetic dog (Woody) who got neutered today and is still pretty high on drugs. Poor Patrick, he so badly wants to play with his big brother, but he can't. Patrick has been in his cage for a few hours now and has been crying the whole time. I let him out and held him to Woody's face so they could  kiss each other (like they always do) but I know if I let Patrick run free, he'll be on Woody's back, biting his neck, wanting to wrestle. And poor Woody is in no mood (or shape) for that yet. 


I wonder if we have another boy if they'll be like the dogs and just wrestle all day. 

The Best...

This is usually my daily lunch. It's my new favorite thing of all time. It tastes best on toasted sourdough bread with some mayo. Add fresh avocado and tomato and voila...a heavenly lunch just like that! 

31.5 weeks, Updates and Pictures

It’s been a crazy busy few weeks.

Let's see...

I went home to Michigan for a few days and saw friends and family for the surprise baby shower Seth had planned!  Two families that I used to babysit for when I was a teenager were invited, but unfortunately, they weren’t able to make it to the shower. I still saw one family though and we hung out till almost 1 AM! It was awesome. We all cried when we said bye. I hate seeing their little broken hearts when I leave. It kills me. Each of the girls (13 and 8) picked out a gift for our new baby that would remind us of them whenever we used it. The older girl has had a little blue elephant since the day she was born that has a blanket attached to it (it looks more like a cape with an elephant head. That might sound weird and creepy, but it’s actually a really cute toy). Anyway, she has taken that thing with her everywhere since she was born and still sleeps with it now, even as a teenager. After not being able to find a replica for our baby, she settled on a little blue elephant teether toy! If our baby doesn’t automatically like it, I’m going to force it upon him until he loves it! I’m kidding. Sort of.  The younger girl LOVES soccer and picked out an orange soccer outfit. Seth also loves soccer so this was a perfect gift. Also, I learned while I was in MI that when Seth was younger, he would only wear orange colored clothes, so it was even more appropriate :) We got a lot of gift cards and I only had to mail back a few boxes of stuff. I went shopping and got the baby a lot of Detroit Tigers baseball clothes per Seth’s request. He’ll be decked out for the end of the season and hopefully the Tigers make it to the play offs this year!!!

I think the baby liked the plane rides; he was very active on the flights! He’s only 7 months old (in my uterus) and he’s already been on a plane to Michigan twice! He’s a little traveler already! Seth splurged on the seats with extended leg room, and they just so happened to be right in front of the bathroom, which was an added bonus. They were really good flights (minus the first flight where I was seated next to an off duty flight attendant who was on stand by. He was a jerk…I was texting Seth as we started pushing back from the terminal that we were getting ready to take off and the guy asked me if I knew I was committing a federal crime by continuing to text after they said phones needed to be turned off. I told him yes, and he shook his head no at me, and then continued to read my text over my shoulder. Then I silently cried because I was mad at him. Ironically the on duty flight attendant who was seated directly across from me didn’t seem to care at all and didn’t ask me to turn off my phone).

We started painting the nursery last weekend. We’re going with two colors – a dark bluish/turquoise color on the bottom and a light blue almost gray color on the top. The colors match the bedding and it’s going to be sooo cute once we get it done. We’re going to put chair railing in the middle to separate the colors (that's why it's all uneven right now). Hopefully we can finish up the painting this weekend. We just settled on which crib we’re getting, so we’ll be getting that this week or next weekend. I’m excited to get furniture in there and start washing his little clothes and making it look like a REAL nursery!

Since I have yet to post a picture of myself, here you go. This picture is from last week when I was 31 weeks and 2 days. I can’t believe in about 9ish weeks, he’ll be here. It’s CRAZY to think about.  

These two are crazy together. Patrick stands underneath Woody and pretends he's one of those little Russian stacking dolls, and Woody tries to move every which way to get him. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. We're working on training Woody right now; he's developed some not so great habits that need to stop immediately. They love each other though.

Seth planted gardens in our backyard the other weekend and they're doing really well! The dogs were getting into them and digging stuff up so we had to get the little fences to keep them out. We have a bunch of stuff: lettuce (a few varieties), spinach, carrots, red onions, celery, garlic, brussel sprouts, lots of different tomatoes, bell peppers, a few types of squash, carrots and jalapeno peppers (I think that's all of them!) We also have two blueberry plants and one thornless blackberry bush. They're in planters behind the gardens. We also have tons of blackberry bushes coming up along the bottom of our fence. Hopefully they produce lots of fruit this year and we'll be able to can some.
     

(ever since he was a puppy, he's loved "working" in the garden. and by "working," I mean "digging")

And because I'm obsessed with Mt. Rainier and take pictures of it ALL the time, here's a pretty picture from today. Ahhh, I love it so much. The last several weekends we've had great weather. I LOVE it. It makes me look forward to the summer, big time. I can't wait- it's definitely going to be the best summer yet  :)

Meet Woodhouse

We got a new dog last weekend. I should say Seth got a new dog last weekend. I wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea of a new dog, because I'm the one home all day taking care of Patrick as is, and soon a little baby, but Seth has been wanting a big dog to run with since we moved to Washington. I kept telling him no because we lived in the townhome, didn't have a backyard and I was not going to be responsible for walking a small dog, a big dog and loading up an infant multiple times a day to go for potty breaks (likely in the rain). I was perfectly content with it being me, Patrick and soon to be baby. It was quiet, we cuddled a lot, everything was going fine and dandy and Patrick is well behaved.


Enter Easter weekend when we go visit my aunt and gramma. They had found a stray puppy a few weeks prior. My aunt had contacted the animal shelters around her to see if anyone reported a missing dog. No one had. He's pretty young, probably 4-5 months, looks to be a mix of Australian Shepherd and Collie, very clumsy, still has baby teeth and is potty trained. Seth fell in love with him immediately and spent most of the day playing with him. He even named him Woodhouse shortly (we call him Woody for short) after meeting him when he wasn't even "our" dog yet. My aunt knew Seth wanted him badly. The Friday after Easter, we drove to my aunt's house and oh hi, we have a new dog. YAYYYYY.


Today, all I've done is listened to the dogs bark (3 solid hours this morning), shut the office door to tune them out, but it's not nearly enough. I give them treats to reward them for being quiet, and then they resume barking. The neighbors are installing a fence today so there is a lot of extra, new noises and that's what's causing all this commotion with them. They get along well about 85% of the time, but Woody knows Patrick HATES his ears nipped at, so that's the first place he goes and it gets Patrick riled up. Then Patrick gets all feisty and snarls and chases after him, but Woody likes it. Deep down Patrick loves it too, and he loves a playmate, but frequently I hear a little yelp from Patrick and have to tell them to calm down. Then they don't. And I get frustrated. Woody gets running so fast in the house, they chase each other up the stairs, down the stairs, around the table, in circles in the living room, in and out of the office into the hallway, up on the couch...I'm just waiting for Woody to fly through the living room window (he runs so fast he can't stop in time so he jumps on top of the couch which is right in front of the window) or for something to crash and break to the floor.


I would be lying if I said I didn't miss the quiet days of Patrick napping and quietly playing with his toys all by himself and being all cute and quiet and calm.They don't share toys too well right now so toys are off limits and I'm slowly incorporating them back. (I gave them one over the weekend and Woody broke it within seconds).


I hope this dog turns out to be good for our family. I have no idea what he's like with kids, but I hope he is good with them, especially infants. We definitely have to work on his rambunctiousness, because he certainly can't be running around the house like he currently does when a baby is playing on the floor. He seems like he'll be protective, but I don't want him to be too protective that no one can get near us or the baby without him getting angry. He is definitely Seth's dog (he usually pees an excited pee when Seth gets home from work), but he doesn't leave my side throughout the day. He lays right by my computer chair, if I go to the bathroom, him and Patrick follow me and watch me pee and when I shower, he's on the bathroom floor. 


There is so much testosterone running through our house these days, Lord help me.

 (don't let these pictures of them being calm fool you. they are very rambunctious together)

Husband of the Year

Can I just say I have the best husband and if I knew where to nominate him as husband of the year, I would?! He is always so full of surprises. I like to think I usually know when he’s got something planned, but I was pretty damn clueless this time. However, looking back, there were a few signs between him and my parents and I didn’t really think too much into them. Silly me!

So it’s no surprise that I really haven’t made any friends here (yet). He kept asking me if I was going to have a baby shower here and I kept telling him I really don’t have friends to have a baby shower with.

Back in February (FEBRUARY!!!!!), he emailed one of my best friends from home, Molli, and asked if she would want to help plan/coordinate a surprise baby shower and he would buy me a ticket. Being the super good friend that she is, she agreed to take on this task! (She started a new job in the fall and has been insanely busy with that AND she’s planning her own wedding for July, so I know she’s super busy). I don’t know if it was her or Seth that got my two other favorite coworkers/friends involved in the planning of this, but the same girls that threw me the wedding shower last year are now throwing me a baby shower!! I am soooo excited and literally cry…like right now…when I think of all of them planning this for me. I get to go home to see all of my favorite people in about 2 weeks to have a baby shower.

My parents and brother came up last week from CA and my sister came up from Oregon and spent a few days at our house. We had a bbq with some family friends and my cousin on Saturday and little did I know, it was also a little baby shower then too! They both brought gifts, which I wasn’t expecting. We got a baby bouncy seat (that Patrick just loves!!!!) and a baby swing (which Patrick sooo doesn’t love!!), some clothes, socks and other little toys!

On Saturday night, we all drove down to Oregon for Easter. I was adamant on having an Easter egg hunt with my siblings and our significant others – we colored eggs and stuffed plastic ones with candy. My dad and Seth hid the eggs and off we went to hunt for them. After they were mostly found, Seth was patrolling the yard to see if we missed any and he gave me a plastic one. I figured it had the wrappers of the Cadberry Crème Eggs that I bought specially for him, and didn’t open it right away because I thought it was trash. He told me to open it and I saw it was a piece of folded up white paper and then I figured it was the hotel receipt from the night before. I unfolded it and it was a plane ticket itinerary to go home to Michigan. I was very confused because it was for two weeks away and I didn’t know why I was going…I was seriously clueless. Then he told me that he had been planning a baby shower with Molli and Sarah’s help and he bought me the plane ticket to go home! Damn pregnancy hormones, I’m literally bawling right now! I’m so so so excited that I get to go home and see all these people AND it just so happens to also be a baby shower for me (us). After the Easter egg hunt, we went inside and there was another mini-baby shower with more gifts from my parents, brother and sister, aunt and gramma. And we had delicious cake that I may have had a few bites too many of. 

It was a very good Easter and nothing at all of what I expecting. I'm a very, very lucky girl. :)

Updates and stuff

A quick update on the house: they apparently found the issue with the wet insulation. It was with the siding; there was a small tear in some sheeth (plastic stuff used for keeping water out) under the actual siding that water was leaking in through. With all the rain we have, and the wind we had the last few weeks, it was seeping in from every which way the rain was blowing. They tore siding down off the house, caulked the tears, replaced the siding and it was re-painted yesterday. The holes are still above our master bedroom window and those are supposed to get fixed next Monday. They referred to this as a "freak accident" and said they've never seen this before. I hope they're right, because I'll be pissed if we find more of these issues. And unfortunately, they can't do anything to check to see if this is a problem elsewhere without tearing off the siding on the entire house. The little device they use to check moisture levels didn't even pick up the soaking wet insulation the first day they were here because it was so far back in the wall. So now we just wait and see...and hope to God that dark patches don't start appearing on the walls (that's a sign of water damage soaking through). Luckily though, they are considering this a warranty issue and we don't have have to pay for this and is covered in the 10 year warranty. So IF we should find more of these issues, it will be covered as a structural issue for the next 10 years. But lets hope we don't have anymore issues.

In other house news, we've been having problems with a circuit tripping. I work from home and have to have a good set up for work. Long story short, when the printer is plugged in and turned on, if the upstairs guest bathroom light is turned on, it trips the circuit and kills the power to my office (losing any of my unsaved work!!!) and electricity in the bathroom. I thought I noticed that it happened when I flush the toilet in that bathroom, but toilets aren't connected to the electric, so I thought it was just a weird coincident that it happened twice. Well it happened again yesterday and I am absolutely positive it happened after I flushed the toilet. A guy came out here on Tuesday to look at it and replaced the breaker box, but that didn't fix it. So I'll be calling them again after I do some more testing this weekend. Oy vey.

In GOOD news, tomorrow is a chili cook off for Seth's battalion and I'm making a white chicken chili! My dad made this chili once for a chili cook off at work and he won, so I'm hoping it has winning powers and I win tomorrow. Seth has been getting into making cutting boards and has been making a lot of them for family and selling them to co-workers, and the prizes are his cutting boards. Last I heard, there were 6 entries for the chili cook off and there are prizes for the top 3 chili. I so badly want to win - because I never win ANYTHING!!! - but I can get a custom made cutting board any day of the week! (If you want a custom cutting board, let me know and I'll send you pictures!!!) There is also a silent auction for donated baked goods for a formal that's taking place in August after the deployment is over. I'm baking cookies and also these lemon blueberry cupcakes!!! Oh they look so heavenly!

Tomorrow is the start of spring break and I can't wait. I have a long list of items to accomplish before my parents come up here next week and I'll definitely be using the extra day to do it. I'm so excited for a break from work!!! I hope the weather is decent!

On being homeowners

We're homeowners now. I've had better experiences. We bought this brand new house so it should be in tip top shape with no problems, right? Wrong.

Friday, Seth was over here doing stuff while I was at the old house working. He came home (to the old house) and told me he had some not so great news. He was putting an anchor in the wall to hang the blinds in our bedroom and the anchor came out slimy. He knew that meant wet insulation. Great. Wet insulation on the insides of our walls. Hello Holmes on Homes!!! So I've been dealing with that. Yesterday they were here for a good hour, today they've been back for pretty much the whole morning. It also annoys me big time that I was told they'd get here yesterday between 9:30 and 10:30 am. They come strolling up to my door at about 8:45ish. I was working, so I hadn't showered yet, no make up, no bra, teeth unbrushed. Great. As much as I want this fixed ASAP, I want them to give me accurate times of when they'll be here. Same thing today. A guy was going to come today to inspect the roof for leaks between 9:30 and 10:30 and the boss lady was going to be here between 10:30 and 11 to see what he found. She got here at about 8:30. I was in the bathroom, shower was on, I was naked and Patrick starts barking his little head off. Grrr. I threw on clothes, answered the door and she asked if it was OK if they looked at it now. Sure, why not. So...two ish hours later, bigger holes in the dry wall in our bedroom, she finds more soaking wet insulation, roofer checked out the roof and says nothing is wrong with it, he checks the attic and checks all the vents...all look fine and dandy. She was going to call a siding specialist to have him check the siding and said that would be done tomorrow. Seth had duty last night and was up 30+ hours and laid down in our room to sleep because she said the siding guy would be here tomorrow. About 30 minutes after he goes to bed, there's a knock on the door and it's her again with the siding guy. Seriously? Seth got up and went to the spare bedroom to sleep and there are no curtains in there yet and it's bright as hell in there. Poor guy. No leaks have been found (yet) and they're continuing to look for where the problem is coming from. I'll be damned if I have mold growing on the insides of our walls in a brand new house. Here's a picture of what our master bedroom window looked like this afternoon after they did their stuff. The wet insulation has been removed (and has been contained to this one area) and now the wood is drying out behind it.

Patrick LOVES the backyard though! He literally gets a huge smile (with his huge underbite) when he runs all around. There is a ton of mulch in the backyard and he tears it up back there. And since he's short, he kicks it up and he is covered in mulch in no time. And we have big gaps under the fence so he can easily sneak out (which he's done), so we can't leave him alone in the backyard yet. We bought chicken wire stuff to lay across the bottom of the fence, but he's a digger and has already sniffed out the neighbor dog and they both whine and stick their noses through the fence to smell each other. We were going to do railroad ties along the fence to block the holes, but they're expensive and we'd need quite a few. And it's been cold and very rainy and windy the last few days which make standing in the backyard while he runs around quite miserable. We need to do something with the amount of mulch too; it's on a steep slant that is a little too steep to grow grass (and mow it), so we want to put in terraces, but again, we're budgeting for this, along with all the baby stuff we need to buy.

We ordered blinds Friday night and I'm hoping they get here ASAP. My parents are coming up for spring break in early April. The blinds are supposed to get here on April 5th and my parents will be here April 4th. And they don't rush order blind orders. Perfect. Hello tacky sheets in the window until the real stuff gets here. Painting is done, but we still have touch ups to do (and the baby's room), and all of our stuff has been moved in. We still have to go back to the old house and clean it, which we're doing a few nights this week and this weekend.

So needless to say...being a home owner is time consuming and expensive. Welcome to adult hood, I guess.