An Overdue Update

We’ve been staying busy over here in our neck of the woods, but you wouldn’t know it from the blog. I’ve been a lazy writer these last several weeks and am ready to jump back on the bandwagon.

We got a new washer and dryer (thank you, tax return!) about a month ago and I’m in love with doing laundry. I can wash our sleeping bags at home! I don’t have to feel guilty about ignoring the washing instructions for our comforter! All our bath towels fit in a single load! However, I think our new machines might be smarter than me. I’ve been doing laundry for a lot of years now, but I had to read the manuals thoroughly before starting the first load. Now we’re all ready for baby clothes and cloth diapers. Bring it, baby!

Out with the old...

...in with the new

Our Memorial Day looked a bit different this year. For the past 5 years we’ve spent this long weekend up at Marmon Valley Farm camping with friends so it felt a bit odd to be home this year. On Saturday we hung out with a lot of those same friends we’d normally be camping with, plus a few more. We enjoyed the great hospitality of our friends Peter and Kim for their 6th annual Spring Fling. (Yes, usually it’s a bit earlier in the season.) Monday consisted of sleeping in, eating waffles, yard work before the heat got too unbearable, and working on projects for the nursery. We had plans to fire up the grill, but Jeff was too pooped from all his hard manual labor so we relaxed with a simple dinner and a movie instead.

This past weekend we jumped at the chance to watch some herding dogs in action. We stopped in at a training clinic and watched several dogs learning how to herd sheep. It was fun to see a group of border collies (our dogs’ predominant breed) and Australian shepherds all in one place. If we had the extra cash laying around, it would be fun to put our dogs through the instinct testing. We think they both show strong herding signs, but neither have been in a field with sheep before.

At long last, we are having our kitchen completely remodeled! The kitchen has by far been the weak point in our house and we’re stoked to be starting this project in just a few weeks. Our contractor friend who fixed our dining room ceiling will be doing the work, and we’ve been busy looking at cabinets, countertops, flooring, appliances, etc. No more drawers grinding or falling off their sliders, no more piecemeal cabinets and mismatched countertops. We’re saying yes to a dishwasher (other than me!) and garbage disposal, yes to a microwave with timed cooking, yes to a logical workflow and more countertop and cabinet space! We’re both excited to have saved up enough to get this done before the baby comes. It will be marvelous!

Speaking of our dining room ceiling, I did something dumb and we got more water in the ceiling again. No gaping holes this time, but one piece of drywall is bulging and will need fixing. We had the plumber out yesterday to fix our dripping tub faucet, which I may or may not have tried to sort of “fix” on my own… thus causing more damage. Live and learn, I guess.

And now, some baby/pregnancy updates…

Friends tell me I look noticeably bigger every week, and sometimes I feel like I’m growing by the hour. I’m really starting to feel cramped for space and there’s no pretending I don’t waddle now. I keep anticipating all the uncomfortable squished-ness people have told me to expect in the last month. Just a couple more weeks and I’ll be there!

My internal heater kicked in the same time as the mercury began to rise. I’m not one for heat anyway so I’m especially thankful for working air conditioning in the house and the car. 90+ degrees, go away, come again some other… no, just go away and stay away, okay? Really it hasn’t been too bad, but gardening, walking the dogs, or any outside activity just doesn’t sound appealing in this heat.

Call it nesting if you will, but I’ve been really focused on preparing the nursery. We finally got everything moved out, the dresser moved in, and the crib assembled. I’ve ordered fabric for the windows, closet, and crib skirt. Jeff started stripping the rocking chair and I started prepping the side table for painting. We’ve checked some other things off the list, but still have lots left on the list. My deadline is looming up quickly!

Jeff sweetly got me a chain so I can still wear my wedding rings even with swollen fingers. While my rings still fit, they are tight on some of these hot, humid days and I’ve started wearing them around my neck as a precaution. My good friend Kyna had to get her custom-made-by-her-sister wedding rings cut off by the fire department during her first pregnancy and I’m not about to risk that situation!

I’m officially signed up to be part of the MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers) group at our church for next year. I went to one of the monthly meetings this spring just to check things out and it seems like a pretty cool program. I’m continually thankful for the support infrastructure I have around me during this big life transition.

We haven’t taken this week’s belly picture yet, but here’s last week at 33 weeks:

I’m sure my pregnant brain is forgetting something, but I think that covers most of what’s gone unsaid and undocumented in the last few weeks. I do have a fun house project to share with you all soon though. Just as soon as I get those after pictures taken…