24 Weeks Baby!

I guess if I went into labor, the chances of survival are there. But let's hope I don't. That'd be bad.

Anyway, here's a 24 week photo of 1) some crazy, psycho eyes, 2) how big my belly gets after dinner and 3) located somewhere in the smaller part of the big belly is an actual baby.



So you might have noticed the wonderful light switch missing it's plate and the thermostat (that I've programmed) hanging on by a thread. We're still working on the house. It was a wreck. I can prove it.



Oh, boy. Looking from the kitchen into the living room. That's Joe, he's puttying. Everything.



What complimentary colors, don't you think? Especially with the stencils!



Justin's favorite place to paint. The 2 story entry way. It's now "ultra white" and staying that way. We've also replaced the chandelier - much more up to date.



Looking down the hall, into the bathroom (another work in progress).



Looking into the baby's room. No, that's not an indication of the sex of baby. I think they ran out of color choices and just picked "painter's tape" blue. Looks great with the green carpet, eh?

Everything is primed so no more blue walls. The kitchen and our bedroom are painted and done. Stay tuned for after pics. It might be a while.

Not That Any of This is New To Some of You

I don't have time for all the social networks out there. Actually, I have the time, but I just hate them. Plus, I can only really keep track of one place - this blog. It's the same for t.v. shows; I really only have space in my life for 2, maybe 3 shows. There are more important things for me to be doing than be tied down to the drama of a t.v. show.

Where did I go wrong? That seems weird?

Anyway, I've been reading this couple's meme on other peoples blogs and I thought "what an easy way to post!" since I've been slacking - and I'm sure everyone is sick of me talking about being pregnant.

What are your middle names?
No middle name for me. Rex for Justin - totally awesome I think.

How long have you been together?
About 9 years.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
2 years? But I should really be counting in months because we met while Marching in Phantom Regiment, 3 months out of the year. Then we'd go home to our little lives and sorta talk to each other randomly. (More like, he'd email me when he was single...again.)

This reminds me: One time after we'd been home from tour for about 5 months, I decided to call him up and see how he was doing. I was on the phone with him for about 2 minutes before he said, "I don't mean to cut you short, but I just realized I leave for London in like 3 hours and I haven't even packed." The nice person I was, of course got off the phone with him but I thought, "What kind of guy doesn't know when he leaves for a trip like London?!?" What a dummy.

And that was the last time I spoke to him until the next summer. See, months, not years.

Who asked whom out?
Well, you don't really ask anyone out while on tour. You just hang out a lot. After tour, we were both going to the end of season banquet (months later), and since I was flying in and he was driving, I asked if he'd like to pick me up at the airport. So I guess, me?

How old are each of you?
Both 31, but not for long!

Whose siblings do you see the most?
At first, no ones. Now that we've moved to MN, his bro moved back too. So we see his brother.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
In my opinion, getting laid off. Not sure what he thinks is the hardest. But I'm sure it'll be parenting soon enough.

Did you go to the same school?
Nope.

Are you from the same hometown?
Nope. Me, Texas. Him, Minnesota

Who is smarter?
Some days I know it's him, but other days I know it's me. Depends on the topic.

Who is the most sensitive?
When it comes to animals, I'll cry and he knows it. I once was in a drive-thru line that took FOREVER. But while waiting, I could hear this yelping. Louder and louder. So I got out of the line and drove around until I could find it. In the back of a strip mall was a vets office and they had this caged area (for storage - NOT for dogs). There, caged was this little beagle dog, skinny (SUPER skinny) and howling. I was so upset by it, I drove around to the front of this vets office and barged in and said, "Do you know there's a sick dog in your storage area behind the office?!?!?!" The receptionist casually said, "Yes, we know. The dog has parvo and we have to quarantine it." Then the vet came into the lobby to let me know that was the only place for it or else it would have gotten every other animal sick.

Not satisfied by this answer, I left and drove back around and there was another couple out of their car, on the phone. I got out and spoke to them. They were calling the police (he was off duty). The couple called me later in the day to let me know the cops had the vet take the dog inside.

I was so upset by the way the dog looked and sounded, I went home crying like a baby. Justin had to calm me down.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?

No particular place but we do love Mexican food.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Around the world. Vegas to Thailand, Thailand to London, London to Vegas. The flight path over Iraq was interesting.

Who has the craziest exes?
Neither.

Who has the worst temper?
A temper to me means throwing stuff and abuse and we definitely don't have that going on. But we can get angry with each other.

Who does the cooking?
We share it for the most part. Unless he's found a recipe he wants to try.

Who is the neat-freak?
This is hard because we both have certain ways of doing things and keeping things in order. But as for a "neat-freak", I'd have to say neither.

Who is more stubborn?
We're both stubborn. Oh, let there be a little hope for our kid. Just a little. Please?

Who hogs the bed?

HIM

Who wakes up earlier?
Scully. Oh, Me.

Where was your first date?

I guess Rockford, Illinois (sexy, huh?). However, he did fly out to SLC for New Years Y2K. That was fun.

Who is more jealous?
Probably me, but as I get older, not so much anymore.

How long did it take to get serious?

After he decided that all the girls he dated after meeting me, weren't me, it didn't take long. But that took 2 years.

Who eats more?

I'm pregnant, so right now, me. But not by much.

Who does the laundry?
Me. But he's capable of doing it too. When I ask.

Who’s better with the computer?

Oh please.

Who drives when you are together?
We split this most of the time, especially if he knows where he's going. But if I do, then I'll drive.

Life in Bullet Points

- House is getting unpacked, slowly. We've had the kitchen done for a few days now and cooked our first dinner there last night. But for some reason, we've lost the can opener. No clue where it's at.

- Because we have no living room furniture, that room has been pretty easy to put away. We set up the projector last night to play WII (a birthday gift from Justin). And since the walls are freshly primed, we didn't bother with the screen. It's a fun, temporary solution until we get furniture. I won at bowling.

- Scully LOVES the new house. I think because it's a "skye free zone", Justin thinks she's bored and can't see the neighborhood (no windows are low enough for her). Either way, last night was the first time she's played with Cletis in a long time.

- Apparently, the word got out at work that I'm pregnant. Even though I announced it to my department the first of January.

- I'm loving coupons right now. And CVS. If you're interested in a few sites that I use to gather info on great deals, click here and here.

- The sun was shining early this morning and it looked awesome outside. Until I went out. Three degrees again. I knew this was a joke! Damn you Minnesota!

- My hair. It's long. BUT, it doesn't fall out anymore. I guess I can thank pregnancy for that.

- Does anyone have a steam mop like a shark? I swear the floors in the kitchen have NEVER been mopped and they are so dirty, nothing will clean them. I was thinking of getting one, any recommendations or advice?

Temporary Dumbness

Wow. I've been really dumb lately and I think yesterday's post reflects that. My writing sucked! I'm embarrassed. I'm sorry.

I blame it on everything that's going on. The move, appointments, broken cars, pregnancy, work, this thirst I can't quench. Needless to say, I'm dumb but I know it's only temporary.

Perhaps the only non-dumb thing I've done is fix our new/old dryer. The house came with all appliances and we were warned that the dryer "doesn't keep warm" - whatever that means. We found out after trying to dry a load of clothes. It not only "doesn't keep warm" but it doesn't have any heat! At all. How the heck did these people dry their clothes?

So I turned to the internet and did some research. I came up with 2 possibilities and after some poking around with my Father-in-law and Justin, we determined it was the fuse (a $12 part). Ha! And I was about to buy another dryer!

I'm wearing pre-pregnancy pants today. Luckily the sweater is long (gotta love maternity sweaters...and a bella band) because my zipper, it's down. All the way. Justin is amazed at how pants manage to stay up without the zipper. Hips, Justin. And I've got plenty to keep pants up. I guess this could be the one time I'm glad I've got them.

The 30's

It's a warm front, everyone. Look out, here come the 30's. When we moved on Saturday (all of 3 hours), it was upper 30's. And Justin was sweating. I wasn't doing too bad considering I didn't lift anything heavy, but still. 50 trips up and down stairs can make you sweat. Everything is wet, however, because of all the melting snow.

So, to re-cap: It's in the 30's, 80% of the snow has melted, wearing scarf and gloves feel funny, Scully wants to be outside all the time, and I might bust out my fall jacket. But, I'm sure this is all a cruel joke.

The move went well. It's easy when everything you own is already packed up. But we're still living at the parents house until the internet is hooked up. Now that the carpets have been professionally cleaned and the walls painted, it doesn't smell like... Anyway, it smelled bad. And sometimes, I think, "Did they NEVER clean this kitchen or mop this floor?" Because it looks that way. Out of all the places we've rented or purchased, this is the worst when it comes to cleaning. But, it could have been worse. Much worse.

So there's still a lot of work to be done but good thing we sold/got rid of a bunch of stuff before we left Vegas. It looks like we have nothing now. And I like that. I imagine we'll purge again as we open boxes.

22 weeks and counting. Do the weeks seem to fly or what?

Baby news first: I had the "big" ultrasound Monday. I told her upfront we didn't want to know the sex. Even if she was in the area, we wouldn't know what to look for. These people are seriously trained to see things we'd just take for a big tumor - with hands.

Justin thinks it's a girl. I think it's a boy. We've got a 50/50 shot. I'm measuring 21 weeks (which is actually today), baby weighs 14 oz and all the parts were there and looked good. Weight gain is surprisingly good ("surprisingly" because I haven't gained much based on the lack of physical movement - and when I do walk I get winded easily. Maybe Wii Fit Yoga is helping?) and said the baby was chilling on the right side. Ah, yes, make sense since that's where I feel the most "discomfort" and movement. Oh labor will be fun!

House update: We've been painting like mad. Must.get.rid.of.blue! Primer, primer, primer! Actually, the one room they didn't paint blue (bedroom), we did. If you've ever been to our Vegas house, we painted our bedroom blue/gray. It's a very nice shade. Basically I'm trying to recreate it because it was so nice and calming and I loved our bedroom in Vegas.

Justin is still working in the foyer. It's 2 stories so it's taking him a long time. I finished our bedroom and kitchen last night. (Yes I painted, it's ok. It's latex paint - no harm to baby.)

Once we finish painting the vital rooms, carpets will be cleaned, house will be cleaned thoroughly and we move in Saturday. It'll be nice to have our own place again.

Bargain updates: We scored an old style push mower off craigslist for $30. We used to have one in SLC and Justin really liked it so I started looking for one again. Even though we won't get to use it for another 4 months, the blades were recently sharpened, so it was a great deal.

Over the course of two weeks, I've managed to get $67 worth of merchandise for $32 all from CVS (and it's stuff we use! That's like 1/2 off!). Justin was really impressed with my shopping skills. Not only do I have to anticipate for a new baby, but I have to anticipate not getting paid for part of my maternity leave. Saving now is the way to go.

So, there's a lot going on up here in the tundra. Don't forget us up here, cause it's still cold. COLD! Good thing the weather will be in the 30's this weekend for our move. Woo hoo! The 30's!

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The best commercial, in my opinion.