28 Weeks, 6 Days

It is hard to believe that it is 78 days until my due date, now when I have the baby is another story, but it is hard to believe how close it is.
My parents come today to help with the attic bedroom. Today some wiring will be finished and then I believe the insulation will be going in and a heating duct. I think the hope is that by Sunday night/Monday morning we will be able to cut the hole in the floor and make a real set of stairs for upstairs and downstairs.
I can still navigate the pull down staircase fairly well, but that isn't going to last much longer. Don't worry, I am very careful and have help.
I should be mucking out the office right now, I will in a few minutes. It has to be clear enough to cut the hole and well, right now, it is not.
I have sooooo much to do today, but last night, it seems I ran out of motivation.
Yesterday was supposed to be my big cleaning and organizing day at home and I was barely home and got nothing done. We had the truck to get repaired. They diagnosed the problem wrong, so while we got to bring it home and now know we can drive it if we limit 4x4 use, parts won't be in until Tuesday. I'm guessing that they won't be in because the parts dept has been awful. With the first diagnosis, parts had taken two weeks and still hadn't had the part, so I picked it up in Fargo. Now...i have to bring the part back! I'm so annoyed.
My Toyota 4Runner, officially needs a new engine. The block in very likely cracked. So, a very large bill for that. We'll have them start that work on Monday.
I am postponing my tax appointment for this week. We have a funeral, my parents here, class. I can't fit in one more thing, so I need an extra week. No big deal, I hope. Something has got to give. I just need to make sure we have enough time to get them done by March 15. (you April people are lucky, I miss being one of those) With the office going to be down, I'm not sure where I will do this work, but I guess I will figure it out when the time comes.
We found our next bed last Tuesday. We were in Fargo, while in the mall we stopped and tried out the sleep number beds. That is it. We really liked it and it will prevent the fights because I like firmer mattresses and Dustin likes softer. Very excited about that.
Well, I better got to getting the office picked up.
later

Monday Morning! Not so bad!

I was up at 7:15 a.m. this morning, let out the puppy, let the puppy play for a bit and now she is back in her kennel for a bit. I need a shower and she can't be left unsupervised while I'm in the shower.
Before that, I need to wait for the car dealer to call on parts for our F250. They were ordering a new wheel bearing and it's been almost a week since then and they haven't called. We really need the truck and with the wheel the way it is, we are not driving it.
My Toyota is still at the dealer and we're trying to decide what to do about it yet. The bodyshop is saying they are not responsible and there is nothing we can do about it. They said, they put in the right stuff and that we probably had a leak and added water. Since I don't even know where the radiator cap is to add water, I'm sure that is very unlikely. I traced the service records and any place that worked on it, never checked the radiator, so it has to be a mistake on their part. I can't prove it...so...we are SOL on that and have to pay for it ourselves. If it is in the $1100 range, I won't be really upset, I can deal. If it is in the $5500 range, (we won't know until they take the engine apart) I will be torn. It's a 1995. I owe just a little more than that on it. Is it worth that much? nope. We'll see.
We have had more trouble with vehicles this year. So, currently, we are driving Harriet's Cadillac. Dustin has it at work. I don't think, other than church and my in-laws, I have been anywhere in over week. I am going completely stircrazy. Dustin has needed the car to get to town and he never knows how long it will be.
I am missing my independence...A LOT!
It is not so bad this morning because...The sun is coming out. I'm warm. I may go to Fargo if we can get the truck today or tomorrow and...last night...I got all my reading done for my EMT-I Class, so I am ahead of the game for Tuesday. We will go to Fargo on Thursday, my mom and dad are there for a dr. appointment, so we'll meet them for lunch.
I also feel good because I started my list. I keep a list and if I get anything on the list done this early, it's a good day. I think I may polish off a few more of the phonecalls on the list before my shower...
Today feels like it could be a good day.
Optimism...it may be my downfall.

28 Weeks! And lots of remodeling

I am sorry to be missing. The internet hasn't been working. Sadly, I can't blame anyone but myself. I accidentally reconnected the wireless router wrong when I was moving some stuff and well. I am the reason that the internet was down. Finally looked at things this afternoon and went, hmmmm, I'm the idiot who did this, can't even blame Dustin or the dogs.
I think I will be taking a nap shortly. I am sleepy.
We are in the process of remodeling the attic. We have finally gotten a good start. All the insulation is down. We cleaned up that mess. Last night Eric came out and helped Dustin with electrical boxes and stuff. I simply watched Clarissa and told them where to put some of the outlets.
We are getting there.
We are hoping to get new windows in on the south side. It is supposed to be above zero on Tuesday, so that would be the day to get started.
We need ductwork done and now that a lot of the electrical wiring has gone in, we are going to be ready to put the new insulation in.
This is all a lot of work, but it's going faster than I thought it would.
Today, after church, Dustin had to go to work at the ambulance, so the attic is on hold for the day and I am taking it easy.
I also hope to get some work done on our taxes. It would be nice to wave a wand and have it done, but I don't. It will get there...eventually. Our appointment is quickly approaching, so I need to work on it. I also need to get a jump on 2009. It is not going to be as awful in 2009 as it was in 2008. I refuse to live that way again. It's too stressful. I would like to have a handle on a system by the time the baby gets here, that way it will be easier to catch up when I get behind.
I didn't want anyone to worry, so there's the big update.
Exciting news.
The baby is kicking hard enough now that Dustin can feel it. It's pretty cool and I think it has made it a little more real for him too. Wow, there's someone in there.
Off for my nap.

27 weeks

I met my friend Reyna in Fargo yesterday and we went baby shopping. It was so much fun. A big thanks to Reyna for making it soooo much fun and helping me pick stuff out. It was so fun to have a girlfriend with to look at stuff.
I bought the travel system/infant car seat I wanted. So now I have a carseat and a stroller. I found a better bedding set than the one i picked out on line and so I bought it. Reyna then bought the cow nightlight and the matching lightswitch cover. Thank you Reyna. I can't wait until Dustin gets home to show him. We also found two great stuffed animals, a cow and a horse, so we each bought one of them. they will be adorable with the nursery set. The set was even on sale, so even better. We also found another store that had the original set I thought I wanted. It was great online, but seeing it live, it was absolutely hideous, I hated it. So, I feel really good about the one I bought.
I picked up a great diaper bag. It is really fun and I won't get sick of it. It is red lined. And had an ivory outside with black, read, aqua polka dots. It is great. I love it. Totally me. Totally washable/ wipe offable (yes, I know that is not a word).
I had baby coupons for a bottle and a two pack of pacifiers. the coupon expires in February, so I picked up those too. I love the baby coupons.
After all the baby shopping, we went to Menard's. I picked up the door for our new bedroom. We'll hopefully get to drywall this week, and we will need to put the door in as part of the process of framing. We picked it out last time we were in Fargo and I bought it today.
All in all, it was a pretty great day.
This morning, I was awaken by the puppy. She had to go out, she was not happy when she came in and went back in her kennel, but it was 4:45 in the morning. Forget staying up and forget me playing with you, I'm going back to bed. Eventually, I got up and got ready for church.
Now, I am home and relaxing a bit. Dustin will be done at 2:00, but I don't know when he will be home and where I will have to get him from. We'll see.
I took a little nap when I got home and now just want to get the kitchen and living room picked up a bit. Maybe a load of laundry.
I like Sunday's to myself once in awhile. It was nice to have a weekend, just for me. YAY ME!
Did anyone happen to notice my ticker at the top. In less than 100 days, I will be a mom. How did that happen? I know I have been getting ready for it, but now it feels like I should really be getting ready. Crazy.

26 weeks, 5 days

I am so tired today. I have been taking the wise Carol Aimee's advice and have put my feet up and sat and done nothing, but something may have to be done soon.
My washing machine is on the fritz, so at least I don't have to do laundry. Better news. I have enough done to get us through the weekend.
Dustin is gone for the weekend. He'll come back Sunday afternoon. He is helping with a paramedic class in MN.
On Saturday, I am going to Fargo to meet the lovely Reyna for the day. I am so excited to see her. We both need some good girl time.
I am also hoping to get some baby shopping done.
The attic is progressing slowly. We will get the insulation inside today and hopefully the warm weather will hold out, that way when Dustin gets home we can make a push.
Baby is really active today. Baby has also apparently moved. The kicking is in my lower right side now. It has predominantly been on the left. Someone must be dancing.
I will eventually write down the skunk story, bear with me.

A rough week!

I am sorry to be MIA. I was chased out of my house on Friday morning until Tuesday. A skunk got in my basement.
I will tell the whole story later. Tonight, I am tired. I wrote every day, so I can recount it day by day. I just didn't have internet access at my inlaws.
We caught the skunk in a live trap on Tuesday morning and he was removed without incident and my house doesn't stink.
Those are the important details.
Later

Kicking Baby!

I am about to go to bed. The weather is very cold out and very windy and on a night like tonight, I am reminded that our house is very drafty! Brrrr.
I am in the office and if I knew where the cool breeze was coming from, I would do my best to take care of it. I can't find it.
The puppy has been put in for the night. I'll wake up to take her out in about 3 hours, I'm sure.
Molly the older dog is on my lap getting some much needed attention. She's actually trying to get me to come to bed. She likes sleeping on the bed with her people close by.
The baby is kicking up a storm right now, more like jumping up and down...so, I think I'll be up for a little while. I will have trouble settling down with the aerobics going on in my tummy. Good night.

Hi-lights and Low-lights of 2008 and Plans for 2009

Dustin has to work for the next 72 hours, so I have lots of free time at home by myself. Especially since I have no vehicle. I will be working on getting the truck towed to town this morning, but will have to wait until businesses open at 9:00 a.m.
Dustin took his parents' car, thankfully it started this morning.
I will work on getting my vehicle fixed after I can get his in because well, I am hoping for a warmer day to drive it to town without heat. Brrrr.
It seems like this is an appropriate time to look back and look ahead. I think we all do this in a new year, either that our our birthdays.
So here are some highlights.
I learned to drive the combine. I did some last year too, but I felt way more confident this year. I really enjoyed learning how to run the 9600. I really like the combine and ran it a lot in corn. But this is a picture of wheat. I just think the picture is pretty.
The low point of harvest. We aren't done. We won't get to finish corn until spring.
The first picture was taken August 24. This above picture was taken August 29. Dustin was sent to TX for hurricane response. He was gone for 10 days helping evacuate Orange County, TX. He didn't see anything even closely related to the hurricane, he got in on the hot weather and sleeping in a parking lot of a military base.
Reyna came to visit. Here we are in one of our sunflower fields. We got to visit Reyna in MN too. We don't get to see Reyna enough, hopefully 2009 will be different. Reyna will have to come see the baby and I think the baby needs a road trip.
This is Tara. Another highlight, going to see my friend Carol and her three kids in the Washington, DC area. I had fun helping with the kids and played some very fun games of dress up with Erin and played farming with Colin. Auntie Cinda is taught him the importance of green paint.
Of course a major highlight of 2008 was finding out we will be parents. We are still waiting to find out what our little bundle of joy will be. Hopefully Jan 7 we will know, if not, I think we'll just wait until the baby is born. We can't wait.
Of course, this is our biggest upcoming event of 2009. How exciting.
This is the beginning of our building project. We added this dormer to the house and will be making the attic into a functioning bedroom. It is part of our make room for baby, make room for us project. It is slow going and hopefully we'll get on the go this month and get it done by March.
This is a 2008/2009 project, but it will be well worth it. Even the flooding in my upstairs that came into my downstairs will be worth it.
Our new puppy. This is Gracie. We got her a week after my birthday. She's gotten bigger already, doubling her weight from 5lbs to 10lbs in just a few short weeks. She is a fun new addition to our family. We sadly had to say goodbye to Gus this year. Gus passed away in October. I took it really hard, he has been my constant companion since I came to the parish is 2002.
Other highlights. New washer and dryer. Painted the bathroom. Making the bed for two weeks in a row. My new treadmill. This was Dustin's Christmas present to me. It was way overboard because we had agreed not to go all out, but I love it and he's been using it too.
So, there is the year in review and a few of the plans for 2009.
Finish the attic. Work on our yard. Finish corn harvest. I will also be taking the Intermediate EMT class. I should be done by March, we'll see how it goes when I'm 8 months pregnant. Oy.
It's been a good 2008 and I hope 2009 is another good one. I'm sure it will be full of ups and downs. 2008 was, but life is full of ups and down. As long as we're in it together.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone!
I am happily doing nothing of importance today. Dustin and I are watching the Rose Parade and the dogs are sleeping.
We had a very stinky New Year visitor. I woke up at 5:50 this morning, Molly the dog did as well, to a smell. We looked out the window and there was a skunk. A skunk was skulking around my house. It hadn't sprayed, but they have a lingering smell anyway.
Dustin and I go Molly shut up before she scared it and made it spray. The puppy woke up in the bathroom and wanted to go out, which she couldn't. I got her to pee on a puppy pad, but she wanted to go outside. So...We waited it out and then I took both dogs out on leashes, as to not let them get away. Molly wanted to find the skunk...No, I don't think so.
I hope the stinky skunk is not a foretaste of the feast to come in 2009.
Dustin didn't dare shoot it so close to the house because if he missed we'd smell it the whole winter.
Last night we went out for prime rib dinner at the bar in Ypsi. It was soooooo good. I was so hungry, I ate my prime rib and my baked potato and Dustin's baked potato too. I figured it was one for me and one for the baby. (he doesn't eat potatoes anyway, so I might as well enjoy it.) The vegetable was brussel sprouts. I ate one, but traded them for the potato. It was a very yummy meal. I really haven't eaten like that during pregnancy. I have eaten mostly fruit and veg, chicken, some beef. But last night, I was all about big slab of red meat and starch.
Both our vehicles are out of commission. The fuel filters in dustin's pickup apparently have decided that even though we have been running winter fuel through them for months, now they are going to gel.
The Toyota, the blower went out, so no heat. both of these happened yesterday. Tomorrow I will start getting vehicles fixed.
Today, I will continue to enjoy my relaxing day. Happy New Year.