18 weeks and counting

Since I had not done a post like this for awhile, I figured it is long overdue.

I am currently in my 18th week of pregnancy and in some ways it feels as if it has flown by, but at the same time...it seems like it has and will go on forever (I know that is not true, but it has crossed my mind). Things are going well, I am feeling good. I am anxious about my next appointment which is on Tuesday of next week, I want to see the little one again and hear the heart beat again (and getting to know the gender of the child is just an added bonus for me!)
The nursery is coming along slowly. As you can see in the above picture (aside from my ever expanding belly) we have a couch, and a bookshelf in the nursery and seeing that I am a librarian it is not shocking to find out that the bookshelf already has multiple books on it for the baby.

The glider rocker has found a perfect home (in fact that has already become my favorite place to curl up with a book during the day).
And finally the bumble bee valances are done! They make the room very bright and cheery (as if the paint job did not do that for the room in the first place :)
Sometime this week, I am going to have to convince Matt to go up in the attic and pull down some of our newborn items that we inherited. Then I can continue to work on my sewing projects. Next on my list is recovering a bumper pad for an inherited crib that is not even set up yet! I know that I am getting an early start on many of these projects but I figure that the more that I can get done early, the less I will have to worry and stress about as the birthday gets closer.
That is all for now, you will certainly hear more about this topic next week.


*SIDE NOTE* If you are reading this blog and desire to comment to it using the "anonymous" setting. If you feel comfortable, please add your name at the end of your comment (or at least an initial or two). I would love to know who is reading and desiring to comment on what I have written.

Spoke Too Soon

About 15 minutes after I wrote my last blog...The internet was gone again until about 30 minutes ago when my wonderful husband worked his technological magic and has it going again. Maybe now I can blog some more.

Back Online

For most of this past week Matt and I have been having a challenging time with our internet connection. Things are still not perfect, but they are a lot better than they were! So now that I can get on line, I am hoping to write more posts. Oh, the posts that were going through my head while I was unable to write....

Celebrate!

Quick Post:

Last two classes were taken this summer.
Last assignment for my computer class was finished and sent in on Saturday.
Last exam was taken and turned in about 10 minutes ago.
Last days being filled with homework are done.
Last worries of grades are done.
Last travels for my classes are done.
At last it is all over!

I Love This Season

I realize that there are positives and negatives to each season, but at this moment in time summer seems to be treating me very well. There are not many other seasons where a person can do all of the following in one day:

1. Wash and hang out on the clothes line 2 loads of clothes

2. Go for a very slow and relaxing one mile run

3. Play for a bit out in my flower beds

4. Pick more cucumbers than I can imagine from the garden and can them into a quart of dill pickle (we will find out in 2 weeks about how the pickle actually turned out)

5. Wander through my vegetable garden ohhing and ahhing over all of the new veggies growing

6. Make the most wonderful tomato, cucumber, snow pea salad that came straight from the garden

7. Bring in all of the clothes and fold them while watching a beautiful sunset beyond the mountains

Yeah, summer is good.

Back In The Hosting Saddle Again

Starting back in June of 2008...

Matt and I had just bought our house and he was getting settled into the place, one of his friends at work decided to throw a bachelor party at our house. The bachelor party involved of about 20 individuals (both guys and girls), grilling, lots of music, talking and just fun getting to know people. That was our first party and it was so much fun!

After that we might have had one or two hosting events before Halloween. On Halloween we decided to have our first holiday party. We invited pretty much the same people that came to our first party, but this time only one person came. It was still a fun time, but it was kind of a disappointment that it was such a low turnout. And I think that made us lose our confidence in hosting largish parties anymore.

After Halloween we did keep hosting on a small scale, usually only one couple at a time were coming over for dinner. We tried to do that about once a month. That was good, but we still did not have as much confidence in our hosting abilities as we used to.

Last night we had two couples over for dinner. I knew Matt was a bit nervous about how it would all turn out. Both couples that we invited showed up right on time and we had a wonderful meal of manicotti, salad, bread, and coffee cake with blueberries. Afterward the guys played soccer, the girls talked, and eventually we all just relaxed and had fun.

Before we knew it, the time was 10:30 and it was time us all to go our separate ways. Matt and I finished out the night with big contented smiles on our faces due to a successful attempt at hosting a dinner party for a somewhat larger group. I think that this might have given us enough confidence to try hosting a larger grilling/potluck party soon.... :)

Anniversary Events

Last weekend was our first wedding anniversary. And what is the best way to spend your first married year together?

Did I hear someone say COUNTY FAIR? Yep! That is right. We went to the Salem County Fair. Friday night I got into my overalls (yes mom, I am wearing them), put my hair in pigtails and we went off to the fair.

We arrived at the GE parking lot and took a school bus into the fair. I loved using the shuttle because there was no fighting with the traffic and parking getting in or going out.

We got to the fair and wandered around, but amazingly enough there were three reasons we were at the fair. 1) Funnel Cake! 2) Turkey Leg :) and 3) to watch a demonstration on the cookware that Matt purchased 2 years earlier at the same fair.

I think that the best part of the fair was the cooking demonstration. Now I know a little better of how our cookware can and should be used. It was fun because there was no pressure to purchase anything because the demonstrator already knew that we owned most of the pieces.

So, how can you top a county fair? The next day (Saturday, July 4th) we went to downtown Roanoke's celebration for Independence Day. Once again, can I say that I love shuttles? We parked at a huge parking lot downtown and boarded a bus to be taken to a local park downtown.

At the park there were food vendors, games, and large areas for kids to run around in and throw balls (people who walk by need to make sure they do not get a football to the head!). So it was fun to watch all of the people around and my there were a lot of people. We found a spot to set up our chairs and sat down to relax and read. Soon before the concert began it started to drizzle but all in all it was not too bad. During the course of the evening we listening to the Big Lick Brass Band and Abbey Road (a Beatles tribute band from GA). Both bands were wonderful.

Finally we got to see THE SHOW!





















Around 10 pm we packed up and headed home while humming many wonderful Beatles tunes.

So how do you top a night like that? Well with TRANSFORMERS of course!















Sunday we decided to celebrate our actual Anniversary by going to the movies and watch Transformers 2. It was a great movie!

One wonderful year with a terrific man. I am looking forward to many, many more!

Appointment #3

Today I had my third doctor's appointment, but this time it was with a doctor named Dr. Harding. My regular doctor thought it would be good that I get to meet each of the doctors in the practice (there are three of them) so that when the time comes any of them will be able to deliver me and I will at least have met them before.

I really like Dr. Harding, and I also really like Dr. Keeley so life is pretty good right now.

The baby's heart beat is a strong 150 beats per minute (mom thinks I am having a girl because of the heart beat...I will not believe it till I see it).

I gained 1 pound from my weight of my very first meeting (so I have gained from my last meeting, which in my mind is good). Last time I had lost weight and that did not seem right to me, so this seemed a little better in my mind.

So things are going very well, and we will have our next appointment along with the detailed sonogram (to see the baby again and find out if it is a boy or a girl) on August 4th. I also thought that I would post my very first belly pic (15 weeks along) and you can also see a better picture of the painting of the nursery.

I am feeling good...no complaints...so I will just stop the blog here!

Anniversary #1 (Then by Brad Paisley)

*****WARNING TO ALL...THIS IS A SAPPY POST*****

I do not know if anyone who reads this listens to country music...well, I do and this song made me sit up and listen and want to hear it again because it was almost the exact story of Matt and I from our first date on...read it and see for yourself.

Then

I remember, trying not to stare the night that I first met you
You had me mesmerized
And three weeks later, in the front porch light
taking forty-five minutes to kiss goodnight
I hadn't told you yet
but I thought I loved you then

Chorus

And now you're my whole life
now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
Like a river meets the sea,
stronger than it's ever been.
We've come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then

And I remember, taking you back to right where I first met you,
You were so surprised
There were people around, but I didn't care
Got down on one knee right there once again,
I thought I loved you then

Chorus

And now you're my whole life
now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
Like a river meets the sea,
stronger than it's ever been.
We've come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then

I could just see you, with a baby on the way
And I could just see you, when your hair is turning gray
What I can't see is how I'm ever gonna love you more
But I've said that before

And now you're my whole life
now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
We'll look back someday, at this moment that we're in
And I'll look at you and say
And I thought I loved you then
And I thought I loved you then

When we did meet at least I know I was mesmerized. Five months after our first meeting he took me to the same place that we met to ask me to marry him (he got down on one knee in the middle of a restaurant). Yes, a baby is on the way, but for those interested...No, my hair is not going gray (yet). But I think that the important part of this song is that he is so true that at each stage of our relationship I thought I loved him about as much I as I could, but I end up loving him so much more with each step in life that we take together.

Happy First Anniversary (a day early) Matt! Love You!

Taking Back The House

I have been feeling better this past week, and had more energy. So I have cleaned the living room and the dining room among other rooms in the house.

I was talking to Matt last night as said "I feel like we are taking back our house."

He responded with..."What are we taking it back from? The first trimester?"

How true that is!