Well, Hello.

We are BACK! Cable guy came out yesterday and we are, once again, fully connected to the outside world. It was a long 24 hours but we made it. We went with AT&T U-Verse and let me tell you - I wasn't prepared for such a change. Mainly with the TV. We got the 200 channel package, however the "guide" lists every single channel available to mankind so you spend 20 minutes trying to find PBS.

(Seriously -- 200 channels?! Sounds ridiculous and I kinda think it is, but if we went with just 100 channels I wouldn't get my beloved TLC or Food Network. And I just wasn't sure what I'd do all day if I couldn't watch 15 episodes of  a Baby Story.) 

Anyways, on to my real reason for this post. 

Wednesday night was our last night in our first house. It was a rough night anyways because Drew had an overnight maintenance project at work so he was gone from 10pm - 4am. Even though we had a security system, I'm what some may call a chicken and HATE being home by myself...especially at night when all kinds of evil ensues. So my fear of some crazy stalker breaking in, raping me, and hurting my child overshadowed the reality of us moving the next day. I woke up on Thursday, went to my OB appt (everything looks good - I'll post about that soon enough) and then the moving commenced. Tony & Drew got 95% of the rest of the stuff out of our old house and into the new. I did a final walk-through that night to make sure we had what we needed for the evening and did not expect the tidal wave of tears that came almost immediately. It was just so weird seeing that house so empty. It was like a video montage of all the memories of that house playing in my mind: painting our room with Zach & Lilly the weekend after we closed on it, opening our wedding presents in the living room after returning from our honeymoon, hosting Thanksgiving and Easter dinners for my family, our first Christmas as a married couple, and then Cash's first Christmas. The tears really came when I walked by Cash's room and saw his "I am a child of God" on the wall above where his crib was. So many fantastic memories in that house and we were leaving it all behind.  

(Ok, so my in-laws will be living there and I'm sure we'll be back there on a semi-regular basis. So its not that bad. I realize this. But still.) 

For a split-second I was sad that we were going to be living in this fabulous, almost too-good-to-be-true new house. But I kept telling myself we'd make new memories. And since we plan on being here until Cash and Corinne both graduate from high school (at least) I'm sure the memories will be innumerable. (whoa. SAT word.) 

I was made certain of this when we pulled into the new driveway that same night. I was wearing my (ahem, maternity) swimsuit with nothing but a towel over me and had tear-stained cheeks and very puffy eyes when I noticed our new neighbor walking over to greet us! He's a really nice guy (and a cop, who parks his patrol car right in front of our house. Fine by me!) and introduced us to his 2 sons and wife. I just wish I hadn't been sporting a towel. That barely covered my belly. The only sigh of relief was that we hadn't seen our other neighbor that night - the pastor. 

Well I took care of making that encounter embarrassing as well when our neighbor "The Pastor" and his young family came by to drop off cookies last night. We welcomed them in, invited them to sit down and chat for awhile. Which was a very nice conversation...except that due to the extreme heat (as mentioned in a previous blog) I was wearing a tank top that mostly covered my pregnant bosoms. Normally I'm not a cleavage girl, but when its 90 degrees outside and "the girls" are ever-growing, its hard to contain them. It didn't help that when I asked Drew if I looked inappropriate his response was, "sometimes". Awesome.

"Welcome, Pastor Kip. Don't mind my cleavage." 

Thoughts from today. In list form:

1. Spaghetti sauce isn't easy to get out of eyebrows. Please note that none of the sauce actually entered Cash's mouth...it was used merely as a facial mask of some sort and/or finger paint. 

And while we're on the subject, can I just say that when once I thought feeding Cash was difficult during the infant (6-9 month) stage - because of all the restrictions, choking, etc - I was wrong. Totally wrong. My child lives on cheez-its, yogurt, cheerios, french toast sticks, and milk. Sometimes he'll wow us by eating some chicken or grilled cheese. I'll be thankful if he sees his 2nd birthday...

2. I knew being pregnant during the summer would be different...but holy NIGHT! Its horrible. I sweat walking to the car. Yesterday, I was actually sweating INSIDE my house where the AC was blasting. Its like the scene from Father of the Bride Part II up in here. Cash & Drew wear their christmas jammies each night while I'm trying to figure out how I can wear the least amount of clothing without showing off any accentuated body parts. I just might start wearing my bathing suit everyday. For real. 

3. Tomorrow is the last day I will wake up and go to sleep in this house. Its a weird feeling. While we haven't lived here a really long time, we still have had some major milestones in this house: This is the house Drew and I started out in... This is where we spent our wedding night (blushing!!! don't read this Dad or Grandpa), This is where we brought Cash home from the hospital...we painted this house together, we planted flowers together. We made it ours. And I know we'll do that at this next house and surprisingly, when we're there it feels sort of like "home" to us already. And we'll bring Corinne home to that house in just a few short weeks, so we're already making memories there. 

4. We bought Corinne's bedding this morning. I got a killer deal on it too! Love amazon.com and their free shipping! This is what we've chosen for our little lady's room.  

5. I ate an entire carton of strawberries in one sitting tonight. Sorry, Drew. 

...and that pretty much sums up today for ya! 

I would've said something about how I watched the one hour Jon & Kate +8 episode where they announced their divorce tonight and how it really saddens me. It does. And I can't stop thinking about it. 

So I guess I did mention it.

SOLD...to the lady with a big belly!

Its official - we have a new adddress! We got a couple loads of boxes and furniture moved over last night, but probably won't be living there until the middle of next week since we have jobs and stuff. (Geez...working is so annoying!). 

We are SO excited and thankful for this house. We both feel its a tremendous blessing and still can't believe its ours! Once we get some good pictures of it I'll post 'em. 

PS - Happy Father's Day! :)

Never Say Never...

Yesterday was a strange day for me. I did two things I never thought I'd do in my life...

1. I chose my daughter's birthday. Since Cash ended up a c-section baby and I'd rather not put myself (or the baby) through any added risk by attempting a VBAC (which, in my dr's opinion would end in c-section anyway) we decided to go with the scheduled repeat section route. The whole "scheduled c-section" just seems too easy to be for real - we go in at 8am, get prepped, baby's here in an hour and we're done for the day. Well, Dr. Davidson is done for the day...I think my shifts a little longer. Like 18 years...or forever. 

(Drew and I haven't decided if we're sharing her birth date with anyone outside of family just yet or if we'll wait till closer to time, so sorry. Not gonna find out today! MWAHAHA!)

2. This is the real kicker. I lost Cash's beloved "blankie". The perfect, adorable, soft, light blue blankie he sleeps with EVERYDAY! He has it for every nap and every night when he goes to bed. How could a responsible, loving mother such as myself do something so heinous you ask?! I DON'T KNOW!!!!! All I know is we had it at the food court in the mall and I thought I saw it when we got in the car. But when I got home and went to lay him down for his nap...it was missing.  Thank goodness he has a back-up blankie that seems to be working just fine. But still. I need to get another one. 

"Don't forget to take me with you!"

In case you haven't talked to us in the last 6 weeks or so - we're moving! Thats right...we didn't feel adding a second child 15 months after the first one was hectic enough for our lives so we decided to throw another humongous life change in just for the fun of it. So, Lord willing, as of next Friday (June 19th) we will be the proud new owners of a beautiful, 2-story house. I don't have any pictures right now, but as soon I do you can expect a post! Lets just say its a major upgrade in house for minimal upgrade in payment -- which is what I call a beautiful thing.

We were able to move because Drew's parents decided last summer they'd like to move out here and take advantage of the low cost of living. That, and there's this adorable little boy by the name of Cash they'd kind of like to hang out with. Oh, and their son lives here too. :) So we worked out a deal with them and they're actually purchasing our current home and will be taking care of that for us - God really worked it out for everyone's best interest. 

As if thats not enough excitement Drew's sister, Laura and her family are moving out too! We're really excited about adding the other branch of our family to the area and getting our kids together. Growing up, I didn't have cousins close to my age so I'm really excited that our kids will be able to take advantage of that and have both sets of Grandparents nearby. 

Keep us in your prayers over the next few weeks as we go through several transitions - all good, but slightly stressful. :)

Notes from the Under-belly: Week 30

How far along? 30 weeks 5 days
Total weight gain/loss: 22 lbs. I'd like to add that I'm less than 10 wks from D-day and have only gained HALF of what I gained with Cash. There is hope!  

Maternity clothes? : Enjoying them more and more. I'm embracing my pregnant body a lot easier this time around. 

Stretch marks? Not any new ones...

Sleep: has been better the last few weeks. Still can't get enough, but I don't think that'll ever change.

Best moment this week: Enjoying an entire weekend with my husband and son! Drew and I somehow managed to BOTH have Saturday and Sunday off this weekend and we spent the majority of together. Absolutely LOVED it! 

Movement: Lots of it, and the kicks are getting harder! I think she's doing tae-bo in there!!!

Food cravings: carrots, pears, salad, and cherry limeade from Sonic.

Gender: hopefully she's still a girl ;) 

Labor Signs: More and more Braxton Hicks contractions...even when I'm just sitting around.
Belly Button in or out? still in, but pretty shallow! 

What I miss: being able to bend over and pick Cash up without grunting (really attractive), being able to bend without squatting, and I seem to have lost my love for Mt. Dew. But the jury's still out on whether we miss that or not...

What I am looking forward to: getting moved into our new house so we can finally get things set up for the little lady

Weekly Wisdom: Try to move when you're REALLY pregnant. That way your husband wont question why you're sitting down while he's working. (This also comes in handy when painting.)

Milestones: We are less than 10 wks from D-Day and she weighs approximately 4 lbs and is 16 inches long! Time is a'flyin!

Really deep for a Tuesday morning

All 3 of us (well, if we're being REALLY accurate - all 4 of us) were up early this morning so I suggested we go on a  breakfast date. For those of you know don't know  - breakfast is one of my favorite meals to eat out. Drew and I used to have "Krispy Kreme dates" on Saturdays when we were dating and first married. Its a luxury that faded slightly when a newborn entered the picture but has returned occasionally since he's gotten a little older. I love it! So this morning I promised Drew I could be ready in 35 minutes (it was actually more like 38 minutes...close enough!). So we set out to Bob Evans...

We were seated around the corner from a table of all women, probably in their late 50's, some mid-60's. They were having a lot of fun. From time to time we'd hear them laugh about something and then go on chatting. I wasn't really paying a whole lot of attention to them until at one point I heard one of them giggle and it sounded just like my Grandma Dunaway. And for a split second I had forgotten that Grandma isn't here anymore. 

Its just weird to me because it'll be four years ago in August that she died. But not only do I still have moments where I forget that she's gone, but I this morning I still teared up at the thought of her in the middle of Bob Evans. Of course I don't cry over missing her as much as I did the first year or so...but even now, as I write this, there are tears. I don't think the hurt will ever go away. 

It hurts because she never met Drew. We started dating the March after she died. I tell myself she got to have a little window into our wedding ceremony and hope that I'm right. I also tell myself she held Cash before I did and knew him before we even knew he was on his way. And the same with Corinne. But there's still a piece of me that aches because she'll never hold them physically here on Earth for me to see and enjoy. Grandma had a special way with babies.

I'm told I have her hands, feet, laugh, and stature. (Several of those are qualities I hated about myself previously. Sorry, Grandma. ha!) I'm also told that I sound like her when I sing sometimes. Which, don't get me wrong, I love remembering the sound of Grandma's vibrato but don't necessarily want to sound like a 70 year old woman when I'm only 26. ;)  Someday I'll appreciate that more I guess. 

After she died I asked my dad if we'll know each other in Heaven as we do on earth. Obviously he's never been to Heaven so can't answer me for certain. But he said he thinks we'll know everyone the same. Which kind of makes me sad because in my human mind I want to think that "the great reunion in the sky" will literally be like a giant family reunion and Drew and I will just go on enjoying life together as husband and wife, etc. 

(Dad reminded me that we'll be in constant communion with God, so the side relationships probably won't matter as much. Which I guess is true, but I'm still thinking with my fleshly mind here. So that kinda hurts.) 

I do know that there are no tears or sadness in Heaven, so chances are she's partying it up big time with all her new friends...and Jesus, so she's probably not thinking much of us down here. But every once in awhile, like this morning, I whisper a little "Hi, Grandma. I miss you." and hope that God tells her for me.