Memorial Day

Because I'm incredibly pregnant and the size of a house, we decided to stay close to home for Memorial Day.  It ended up being the perfect decision.

We began by sleeping in and then heading to lunch at an Asian fusion restaurant we haven't been to before.  I had Mongolian beef and it was divine.  Michael sprang for the filet mignon and shrimp stir fry.  I thought to myself, "Who puts filet mignon in stir fry?  What a waste!"

Turns out I was wrong.  It was amazing.  (Not being wrong, the food.)

We then headed to watch the live action Little Mermaid in 3D.  Upon our arrival to the theater, Mykey announced that he had left his phone at the house and it was harboring our digital tickets.  We poked around on the kiosk trying to retrieve our tickets but had zero success.  I momentarily considered yelling at him.  But I didn't.  I was mature, curbed my annoyance, and instead asked an employee for help.  She looked up our tickets with no problem.

Turns out I was right not to yell at him.  

Our final adventure was hover boarding at the park.  I walked while the nerds zipped around.  Well, Kitty zipped around....Mykey putted.  He blamed his lack of speed on the fact that I had shattered a glass on the kitchen floor and a piece had embedded into his foot.  It apparently was uncomfortable to ride.

(I think he's just old.)  

We concluded our day at home on the couch where I could elevate my swollen ankles while we played Nintendo.  And Kitty could eat the homemade bread a girl in our ward made for us.

What a wonderful way to spend the day!

 

Pregnancy News

We're getting close, people.  Really, really close.

Close enough that this happened.

And I'm down to my final few appointments before the induction.  

GULP.  

Here is how it's going at 37-ish weeks:

• Baby is measuring at approximately 6 pounds, 12 oz. That seems like a real live baby now!
• My ankles are swollen and my back hurts.  A lot.
• I've stopped wearing my rings.  My sausage link fingers are now bratwursts.  Probably the cheddar kind.
• I'm feeling a bit sad that I won't be pregnant much longer.  Even though I whine about the aches and pains, I love being pregnant.  

In a mere 2 weeks, we'll meet our baby.  

So exciting!

School's Out

We made it to the end of 4th grade!  

I'm amazed at how quickly the year flew by.  But I'm also glad it's over...I'm sick of packing my kid's lunch everyday. And getting up early.  Bring on the summertime sleeping in!

Kitty had a wonderfully successful year.  Her teacher was incredibly encouraging and aware of her strengths and potential.  It was great.  Kitty excelled in all of her subjects and won an abundance of awards. She had the most A/R points in the entire 4th grade, won the principal's award, made the honor roll, and received a T-shirt, water bottle, book bag, and a trophy.

It's a lot of swag when you're that amazing. 

Now we're on to our final year of elementary school.

I'm already crying about it.

We celebrated the end of 4th grade with dinner at Olive Garden and a rendezvous with Zelda.

Happy summer to us!

Mama's Day

This year on Mother's Day I felt an enormous amount of gratitude - grateful to be the mother of one amazing girl already, and grateful for the new baby that will make me a mother of two. 

I also felt gratitude for the gifts. And for the opportunity to be treated like a queen by hanging it over my family's heads that they needed to wait on me. Because it's Mother's Day afterall. Can you please get me another soda?  And don't forget the ice.   

Michael was in Michigan for work the week leading up to Mother's Day.  He didn't mention the upcoming holiday at all and I was concerned he didn't actually realize it was approaching.  So I took matters into my own hands and purchased a chicken pot pie for my dinner.

And then I dropped it on the ground while extracting it from the trunk.

I nearly wept.

But don't worry...my dear husband awoke early on Saturday morning after a long day of travel the night before and purchased a replacement.  He even cooked it on Mother's Day.  It was delicious and I ate like a horse.

Much to my delight, he also bought me a surprise.  And Kitty made me the best drawing of the Northern Lights.  And she answered questions about me at church.  We won't dwell on the fact that she thinks I'm 47.  When I told her that it's actually her father who is that ancient, she replied, "Well, I knew it was one of you." It's always Michael who is the geezer.  Always.

We had a delightful day of games and relaxing.  Kitty even braved touching my swollen feet and painted my toenails.

It was bliss.

And next year I'll get double the love because I'll have 2 kids.  2!

Happy Mother's Day to me!

Pregnancy News

We've made it to 34 weeks of pregnancy.  I'm beginning to have those nervous feelings of, "Oh, crap.  I have to actually deliver this baby," and "Oh, crap.  I have to actually be up at night with this baby," and "Oh, crap.  I have to stop eating like a horse once this baby arrives."

There are a lot of emotions at once.

So here is how it's going at 34-ish weeks:

• I decided to stop going to the high risk OB.  I didn't love that he made me feel anxious and nervous about all the "what-if's." Everything has been normal so far and I don't think it's necessary to monitor everything as closely as they desired.  For crying out loud, let me just enjoy being pregnant!  I had a long conversation with my medically-trained sissy about it first. Once I nixed all that excess noise I felt empowered and more calm.  It was absolutely the correct decision.
• Baby measured at approximately 4 pounds, 14 ounces at our most recent ultrasound and was active.  Baby's growth slowed a bit and is now measuring a week behind schedule, but it's not anything to be concerned about.  (I'm certain that I just need to eat more food.  More Shire horse portion and less Clydesdale portion.)  
• I'm feeling very pressurized in the lower abdomen and restful sleep evades me.
• My ministering sisters threw me a baby shower.  The women in my ward were so generous that it brought tears to my eyes.  I'm grateful for the sisterhood of the gospel and that I have an army of good women behind me. The stack of thank-you cards I wrote was humbling.
• My sissy made the baby a bubble quilt and my niece made a romper.  I cherish their gifts crafted with love.
• I think we've finally picked out names.  I think.  I need to let them simmer a bit more before I'm certain they are the ones.  I'll get back to you on that.

I can finally see the tape stretched across the finish line!

May the 4th

You know the nerds didn't let May 4th pass by uncelebrated.  You know they had already made plans for the important day a month in advance. It was a "May the 4th be With You" celebration sponsored by the town of Jonesborough. You know they brought their light sabers and Kitty dressed up as Rey.  

You also know that despite Booney's lukewarm attitude, it was actually a good time.  There is something endearing about nerds and their fervor.  The majority of people were dressed up and these strangers all milled around and chatted as if they were old friends.  Old, nerd friends.  Yes, the 4th was definitely with us that day.      

We couldn't stay for the entire event because Kitty had a soccer game, but we played for a couple of hours and had fun regardless.  Kitty completed a Jedi training course, we enjoyed arcade games, mined for precious stones, had pizza from another galaxy, pet a Tauntaun, and tried to shake a semi-annoying Mickey Mouse that kept photobombing us.  My favorite part of the event was the green sherbet drink.  I've been on a sherbet kick ever since.  

We lost track of time and Kitty had to frantically switch from Rey to soccer star in the backseat of the car as we drove to her match.  But they won the game so it was a successful day all around.

Happy Nerd Day!

May the sherbet be with you. 

Final Hurrah

My niece came to visit.  She's been doing this every year since she was 10.  Now she's 21.  Her initial visit those many years ago was to help me with Kitty when we first moved to Oregon and I was trying to unpack with a 5-month-old.  I loved having her around so much that it morphed into an annual tradition.  

I have cherished every minute of those precious weeks with her through the years.

This trip was a milestone.  You see, Britta is getting married soon.  She's also beginning nursing school in the fall and life is moving into a different phase for her.  That phase won't include summertime trips to Booney's house - at least not in the same way.  It makes me teary to think about life changing. But I'm also teary with joy when I think of the life that she has awaiting her.  I have watched her grow from a child into a remarkable adult, and that is a marvelous blessing. 

My week with Britta was everything I hoped it would be.  She is a pleasure to be around.  She makes me laugh.  She catches me up on all the gossip and helps me understand her generation.  We have open and honest conversations about life.  She makes me feel loved.  She's my buddy for binge-watching TV shows that no one in my family will indulge in with me.  She makes my heart light up in the most wonderful way and I love her dearly.

So what did we do with Britta?  Well, unfortunately she was sick for a couple of days and her 14-year streak of not vomiting was ruined.  She also had 3 final exams to take and that ate up some of our time together.  But! We had a great time nonetheless.  We went to Dollywood and Britta was a good sport about riding the big coasters with Michael even though her stomach was still iffy.  The day was fun and wore out our 2 little lambs.

On another day we stuffed our faces with donuts.

And we celebrated her 21st birthday with sushi and cotton candy ice cream.

We also spent a few hours searching for face serums and potions at TJ Maxx and Ulta Beauty so Britta can look 30 when she turns 50.  I, on the other hand, will probably look 90 when I turn 50.

The week was over too quickly but I'm incredibly grateful for our one last hurrah.

I sure love that girl.

Older Still

Michael had another birthday this year.  It seems to happen every year.  This time he decided to turn 47.

Let that sink in for a moment.

So what do you buy for a 47-year-old man who has expensive taste and operates in a world you largely don't understand?  Why, you get him a knife forging experience!  Be sure to make it a surprise though.  Be advised...when he awakes in the morning complaining that his back hurts, you will feel nervous that he won't actually be able to make a knife.  Forge ahead anyway. 

But first you should make him Mandalorian-shaped waffles for breakfast so he has energy to swing that hammer.

It was an incredibly clever and well-received gift!  Despite his agony over the amount of strength it took to make a railroad tie into a knife, he and Kitty had a marvelous time.  Did I mention that you should include Kitty in this adventure?  Well, you should. 

After my bladesmiths successfully finished their creations, we hit up the salt water taffy store and then went to lunch at a mighty tasty restaurant.  I guess it's alright for an old man to fill his arteries with grease on his birfday.

We then drove to the airport to pick up my niece and spent the evening watching a movie.  It was a good day all around.

The next morning was Michael's actual day of birth.

I made biscuits and gravy to further cement his arteries.  Kitty used her new knife to cut open the biscuits for her dad.

Then I gave him ice cream that I had shipped from that place in Chattanooga he's fond of.  And THEN I gave him his very own hoverboard.  An old man on a motorized toy...nothing could possibly go wrong.

After church we dined on steak and artichokes, and enjoyed the ice cream in homemade waffle bowls.  Kitty also surprised the ol' guy with an electronic Harry Potter themed card that she coded herself.  Her father beamed with pride.

Man!  I'm pretty good at this whole birthday thing.

Happy 47th to Mykey!