Hard Day's NIght

I've never really listened to what the Beatles are singing about in the song "A Hard Day's Night", but I assume they are talking about the kind of night you would want to have after you had a hard day. My vision of a perfect Hard Day's Night right now includes some dessert, a long soak in the tub, and being in bed by 10PM.

My mom got here early this morning and we have packed stuff all day. At one point, we considered just cutting our losses and walking out and leaving all of it. I have really learned a lesson about purchasing things. Most of us are really concerned with having the newest thing and we don't think about what we will do with the old thing that we are replacing or why we want the new thing or even what the upkeep will be on the new thing. Hopefully, I am learning the lessons from this move that God would have me learn.

The good news is that we were able to pack about 20 boxes today. The bad news is that we have about 80 more to go. We will work again tomorrow afternoon, and then Monday morning, we will start moving to the new house.

Please pray for us as we transition! Also, please pray for our health. Hubby and I were both very sick with sinus infections for the previous two weeks and we are finally getting back to normal. III and Rosy's little brother on their mom's side and their stepsister on their mom's side both have influenza. We think that they were kept apart enough that III and Rosy should be okay.

Cat Scratch Fever

I wish that I was a better photographer so that you could get a really clear idea of what has happened in these photos.

Our cat, Twinkle, is a carpet scratcher. Hubby would have her declawed, but I subscribe to the theory that it is not good for the cat to have that procedure done. So, we have been arguing for 4 years now about cat discipline techniques and about poor training in her formative years and lots of other nonsense. However, now that we are renting a house, we had to stop the clawing. I would not agree to declawing or whopping with magazines, so we decided that I needed to find an alternative. I researched online and found "Soft Paws".

These are little rubber sleeves for her claws. Essentially you Super Glue little sheaths over her claws. She is still able to extend and retract her claws, but they are now covered and she is not able to hurt anything with them.

Of course the real treat is in applying these little tiny sheaths to your cat. The directions suggest that you clip each claw and clean it with alcohol before applying the sheaths. Apparently these people are working on sedated cats. We changed into work clothes and I held Twinkle while Hubby clipped the claws. After that ordeal, we decided that they were clean enough and it was time to proceed. At this point I already had one big scratch on my chest and one on my belly (Don't forget that I am 7 months pregnant!). You have to then take each sheath and fill it 1/3 full of Soft Paw Glue and slip it onto the claw. After you have done this to all 10 front claws, you have to hold the cat for 5 minutes. It is never easy to hold Twinkle for 5 minutes, much less when she is cussing and growling with every breath.

When we were done, we gave her some tuna as a reward and let her go. She spent the next 2 hours licking her new "nails" and then trying to pull them off. Finally she has given up and gone to sulk on the bed.

So, mark it as another sign that we've gone crazy - Twinkle has fake nails!

Free Willy (or make your own "Whale" joke)

Several of you who don't live near me have asked for pics of me with Baby Boy. Well, here they are! Now you see why complete strangers stop me in Wal-Mart and ask when "they" are due. Am I sure there's only one? Do I think that I could be a month or two earlier than what the doctor predicted?

I've learned alot about my physiology with this pregnancy. Here's the bottom line - if you are short between the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hip bone, there's no where for a baby to go but straight out. I was bigger than I should have been when I got pregnant, but I've only gained 13 pounds so far and I'm carrying all of it right there on the front side. I read somewhere the other day that my uterus is the size of a basketball now. I believe it - it looks like I've swallowed at least 1 basketball.

My two dear friends in Tennessee have been clamoring for pictures and I decided that Saturday would be a good afternoon to take a snapshot or two. I was actually feeling pretty. My toenails were polished, my clothes were clean, my hair was fixed, my make-up was on, and I thought that the way this shirt fit disguished the giantness of my belly. This is my only maternity outfit that has any "fashion" according to Rosy. Hubby and I decided to take the kids to Happy Hour at Sonic (1/2 price slushies from 2PM to 4PM) so everyone was in a good mood. I am hoping that these pics just don't show the pregnancy "glow" that you hear so much about, because they didn't turn out as good as I felt. I have learned from this that you should always find some way to compliment a pregnant woman because her self-esteem may be faltering. Likening her to a celebrity might work, as long as it's not Shamu or Willy!

I'm NOT ready for my close-up

I've had a great time the last few days. My mom came to see me and to help me get organized and ready to move. I am finally old enough that it is a great pleasure when my parents come to visit. I'm glad that I can enjoy them and I hope they enjoy me and my little family.

Yesterday was Rosy's 7th birthday and for the first time ever she wanted to go to a big-girl lunch rather than visit an ice cream shop after her brother got out of school. We made a big deal out of it and told her to choose whatever restaurant she wanted. She didn't hesitate a second before she announced "Fire Mountain". For those of you who don't know, "Fire Mountain" is one of those buffet places where there are tons of items, but none of them are particularly good and probably not particularly clean since people serve themselves. Also, our local "Fire Mountain" changed to a "Ryans" a few months ago. That wouldn't be such a big deal, but Rosy is a good reader now and likes to read signs. We explained the situation and she decided that Ryan's would be fine. We had a good time and they even brought her a strawberry shortcake and sang "Happy Birthday". It was a perfect "big girl" birthday for a 7 year old.

The new baby was not as well behaved yesterday. We have an Ultrasound school here in the Florida panhandle and I had scheduled an Ultrasound for yesterday morning so that my mom could see Baby Boy. The students are the ones running the Ultrasound equipment, so it is much rougher than when you get an Ultrasound at your OB office. Sometimes they have trouble finding the baby, and there will be several students discussing where certain body parts are. For instance, "Well, if that blinky part is his heart, shouldn't his legs be below that?" Then an instructor might have to mention that the baby is probably not standing upright and that perhaps they should identify the head and the heart and they would be able to tell which way the baby was positioned. Well, apparently my baby is not tolerant of foolishness. He participated for about 20 minutes and then he rolled over and put his back to them and tucked his chin down and refused to give up any good pics. He also shook his fist at them. He has done that move at the last 3 ultrasounds, so I'm beginning to think that he may have somewhat of a temper. Either way, he has apparently inherited my father and my brother's dislike for having his picture made.

Home Sweet Home

The last few days have been crazy while we searched for the right house. Yesterday afternoon we thought we had narrowed it down and were making the correct (Godly) decision. We decided to really cut back to the basics for a year to save money. When we got to the leasing office to turn in our applicaton and application fee ($45 non-refundable!), we were upset to find out that 2 other people had already put in applications ahead of us. I was crushed! We had decided to forgo some conveniences in order to be better stewards and it felt like God was closing the door faster than we could get it opened. We decided to go ahead and put in the application because the receptionist told us that if one of the first people worked out, she wouldn't process our application and she would be able to return our fee. I am amazed to tell you that we got a call around lunch today to let us know that there were problems with both of the other applicants and we got the house! We signed our lease this afternoon and we will start moving next Friday!

This was an amazing act of God and it reminded me that human barriers do not block His will. We thought we knew which house God would have us choose, but as soon as an obstacle came up, I gave up. I'm sorry for that and thankful for a God who doesn't give up!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

Size Does Matter

Well, we went out house looking again this afternoon. We looked at 4 houses today. One was really easy to eliminate. It is out of our price range and I hated it on sight. My husband liked it. I thought it was really overgrown. There was a fishless fish pond in the front flower bed. I think that is Realtor code for "abandoned hobby from previous owner". It had the kind of landscaping where they purposely planted things that you would have to swat out of your way to walk up the sidewalk. Hubby thought it looked nice. I thought it looked like the Everglades. Also, there were two ceramic frogs beside the "fish" pond and a dead squished frog in the driveway. I HATE FROGS! Seeing those things gave me the willies - it was like Amityville Horror.

Another of the houses was great...if we had roommates to split the rent with us! It is on a couple of acres, has a beautiful custom pool, giant Florida room, and is about 3 minutes from Hubby's office. Too bad that we haven't won the Publisher's Clearinghouse yet!

The other two houses are our leading contenders right now. One is very small, but very cheap! It is also only 3 years old, so it is very clean and the fixtures are stylish. The kids would have a backyard, but not a good place to ride bikes and stuff. The other one is much larger, has a good area to ride bikes, and still a decent backyard. It is, however, $400 more each month. That's a pretty big chunk of change for us! We are hoping to negotiate with the owner of the more expensive home. We would be glad to sign a longer lease agreement for a lower monthly rent. We are hoping to hear back from the owner early tomorrow.

So, continue to pray for us as we try to make the decision God would have us make. He has a plan, a purpose, and a place for us. We are finding that it is hard for a pregnant woman when she feels homeless!

On the Road Again

Renting a house is probaby one of the most stressful things I've ever done. Our primary goal is to cut expenses for a few years, but it is so easy to find ways to validate spending extra money to get additional features in a rental home.

The house we looked at Sunday afternoon is not really a possibility. It has an extremely odd floorplan. We looked at two houses Monday and they each have pluses and minuses. It's really difficult to make the right decision. Please pray for us over the next 2 or 3 days as we try to find the right place!

Dora the Explorer

Hopefully this is the only post that you will ever see from me at 9AM on a Sunday. I should be at church now, but I have been battling a sinus infection for a week now. I feel much better, but the noises that periodically erupt from my nose and throat are disturbing and disgusting. I can't imagine that they would be conducive to a worshipful experience for those around me. So, Rosy and I are at home this morning. She is still in bed. I guess she is relishing this one chance in her life to be lazy on a Sunday morning.

Yesterday when we were out looking at rental houses that are listed on the MLS, we found one potentially great property that is "For Rent By Owner". We called on it last night and we are hopefully going to see it this afternoon. There are several really neat things about it.

1. They are installing all new carpet this week. That means that the baby (when he is born and when I let him touch the floor) would not be touching other people's floor dirt!

2. It sits on .45 acre and has a vacant lot beside it and a huge green area behind it. This would really give III some room outside to play. I would love for both of the kids to spend more time outside.

3. It's only about 10-15 minutes from the church and only about 5 minutes from CVS and Wendy's.

I like the looks of this house, but I'm going to hold out until the end of the week before I agree to anything. I'm still holding out for that perfect 4 bedroom house that has a pool and a neighborhood park. Oh, and cheap rent!

It's like everything else in life...God has a plan. Somewhere he has the right house with the right neighbors. I just wish that I could be like Dora the Explorer. I want to reach into "Backpack" and ask my talking "Map" where I'm supposed to go. It just hit me as I was typing this...maybe a Christian's equivilent to "Backpack" and "Map" are Bible study and prayer! So I guess that it is time to stop typing and go spend some time with my "Backpack" and "Map".

If you build it, they will come!

After two years of having our house on the market, we signed a contract on it this past Sunday. This is extremely exciting and extremely stressful! We have no idea where we are moving and we have to be out of the house by March 15th.

I had begun to think that the place would never sell, and then a good friend of mine gave me some great advice. She told me to go ahead and decorate my nursery (I'm due in late May) and as soon as I got the majority of it done, then my house would sell. She was right! In the last two weeks of January I bought the crib and the rocking chair and moved in the armoire and changing table. I bought all of the fabric for the bedding, window treatments, and pillows. On Thursday afternoon, I sat down to start sewing the bedding and I got the call from our Realtor. The family came to see the house on Friday and again on Saturday and we signed the contract on Sunday.

Ironically, the family that is buying our house is expecting a baby in late February! So maybe it's not "If you build it, they will come.", maybe it's "If you decorate it, they will buy it!" It may not always be true, but it's a good Southern girl motto. It also explains a lot of what passes for souveniers in Gulf Shores!