Catch-Up

I'm a completely awful blogger I know. I realized today that it's been almost 2 months since my last post! So I really need to update but at the same time, this all hit me a few minutes ago and I need to go to bed as I have to work in the morning. So I'll try to make this fast :)

Of course the most important update is about and for the baby. We found out last month at the 19 week ultrasound that it's...a GIRL!!! Yes, all that time of me swearing it was a boy and Jereme was right all along, she was a girl to spite me. The teenage years should be interesting! But in all seriousness, it was a great ultrasound and she is perfectly healthy. Wasn't overly cooperative with the tech as she was comfortable laying on her head on top of my bladder and didn't want to move or show us her gender, but the tech was marvelous and crazy persistent getting our little girl to move around. The only picture we couldn't get was of her face as it was the last measurement to be taken and she had had enough and absolutely refused to let us see and just hid behind her hands. It was actually pretty adorable. But our little girl id certainly full of personality already. During the hour long ultrasound, she gave a "thumbs up" for dad right after he was talking about how cool it would be and then got exasperated with the tech trying to see her gender that she struck a southern belle pose with her hand to her forehead like she was going to faint. It was adorable and Jereme and I were laughing hysterically with the tech.

Picture-wise, we didn't get nearly as good of shots as we did at the first ultrasound, but we have a good profile picture where you can see each vertebrae in her spine, which was really cool, the thumbs up picture and the gender photo of course, and some miscellaneous photos the tech took while taking measurements. I must say, the amount of detail in the ultrasound was amazing. Because the baby was holding still, we were able to count all five fingers on each hand (toes are still too small), the two hemispheres of her brain, all the bones in her arms and legs...it was incredibly reassuring to actually be able to tell what things were and see that she is developing perfectly. She's still measuring a few days small so our true due date is actually probably three or four days later than March 23rd, but it's not enough of a difference for our official due date to be changed.

Now for her name, which I'm sure you're just dying to know. :) We decided on Adriana Pauline. Adriana because it's important to me that I pass on my Italian heritage and, as she won't be receiving my very unique maiden name, Adriana was listed as a strong Italian name (originally Latin but used more in Italy than anywhere else). Jereme and I had a debate after finding out she was a girl about whether to spell her name with 1 n or 2 (Adriana or Adrianna), but settled on 1 as Adrianna is the more common spelling used today and Adriana is a little more unique today and it's also the original Latin spelling. Her middle name, Pauline, was Jereme's grandmother's name which we decided to use after ruling out dozens upon dozens of potential middle names because Jereme had an epiphany for one, and for two, he was really close with his Grandma Pauline and we decided it was a perfect way to honor her memory since our Addie will never meet her.

Other than that, we've just been working on getting Adriana's room together and ready. We have the crib all set up and made and most of the furniture bought. I've managed to get a lot of clothes on amazing sales so the most I've paid for any one item was around $1.50 and even then all but about 5-6 items I paid under $0.50 each for. I'm amazingly proud of myself for that. We decided a long while back to use cloth diapers, thanks largely to a friend of mine's influence and encouragement. We have quite a few stashed already that I've gotten second-hand or at sales but we still need to get some more prefolds as the ones I have aren't very good and we definitely don't have enough to get through a day, and we need to get several more covers to go over top of them to make sure she doesn't leak. But we'll figure it out. I'm hoping some of the cloth diaper stores I've been watching will have Black Friday sales so I can add to my stash without spending a fortune.

Health-wise, Adriana and I are both good. Other than measuring a few days smaller, she's right on track for where she should be developmentally even though I haven't gained any weight and have actually lost over 17 pounds since I got pregnant. Since I'm eating plenty and making sure I eat lots of the right foods and take my vitamins, my doctor's not worried about it. She said it's probably a combination of my eating better than I did pre-pregnancy and a higher metabolism than I usually have. I don't feel like my belly's gotten much bigger, but I need to take some more recent belly photos as I'll be 23 weeks along tomorrow and even though I don't *feel* bigger, I know I *am* bigger because my stretch marks have definitely changed and widened (which no one but Jereme and my mother will ever see!). I'm also starting to feel Adriana moving around more, especially when she decides to stretch out and do somersaults.

We also registered for our birthing class this week. we start February 2nd and have class every Wednesday until the first or second week of March and the day after our last class I have a Breastfeeding class/seminar which should be really interesting and helpful. Jereme's started asking for a "Coach" sweatshirt or t-shirt to wear to class. Silly man...hmm...that would be a cute stocking stuffer though. Shh...don't tell.

It's interesting that this year is our last holiday season without a little one to chase around and play Santa for. It's a little surreal and more than a little nerve-wracking. This time next year, our daughter will be around eight months old. It's kinda scary. Our whole world is about to change in more ways than we can even know. Poor Titan knows something's up, but he's still deciding what to think of all the baby toys and tools that have suddenly overrun our house. It took him a bit to figure out that he doesn't fit in her swing (although goodness knows he tried!) and the crib is not his own personal dog bed so he should stop begging to be put in it. He's been a very good snuggler for his mom though and has been incredibly smart. He seems to be able to tell whenever I'm stressed or getting myself worked up and upset and immediately starts begging to be held so I'll calm down. He knows if I'm holding him, I stay much calmer and just cling to him. Which is good considering my anxiety attacks are becoming much more frequent the further I get in my pregnancy, but I'm trying to go as long as I can with natural ways for dealing with them so I don't have to resort to medication to help control them. The thought of taking anti-anxiety medication while pregnant, even the "safe" ones, makes me nervous. Anti-nausea was one thing because I needed the nutrients I was losing, but anti-anxiety I'd like to avoid if I can.

Well, this has turned into quite the long-winded post. I'll wrap up as I need to get to bed for work in the morning. I'll try to remind myself to get back on in the next few days to post pictures from the ultrasound and Adriana's room and tell you about my current projects. Learning to sew, planning a "family garden" with mom for next year (thankfully mom and Burg are going to do the prep work this winter and get the compost in as I'm not supposed to be digging around in it while pregnant), and trying to get my house "baby-ready."

Until next time, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Pictures!

Yes, that's right, I FINALLY took belly pictures. I meant to do this at 5 weeks when we found out we were pregnant, then at 10 weeks right before our first OB appointment and ultrasound and then each subsequent week I felt guiltier and guiltier for forgetting something important for the baby book that I'll eventually buy when I find a good sale (I'm cheap and refuse to pay full price lol). Now, before I post said pictures, a brief disclaimer. If you notice the funny look on my face, it's Jereme's fault. He kept snapping the camera and saying "Show me sexy!" and being a general dork...so I couldn't keep a straight face or hold still from laughing. But I love him anyway. Silly man. So without further ado (drumroll please!), belly pictures!

Again...funny look = Jereme being a dork. And speaking of him being a dork, the baby is just as ornery. He (we don't actually know the gender, but I really think he's a boy) steals all my water so even though I'm drinking like a fish, when I eat any fruit, I react to it. Last week I was craving salads and tomatoes and green olives and apples so lo and behold, baby takes all the water and my allergy to citric acid is now a hyper allergy and I broke out in my normal reaction in 7 places!!! UGH! But hopefully it will go away soon. I'm also getting a taste of Jereme's weird melon allergy somehow (maybe the baby's allergic and shared?) I ate cantaloupe the other day and my neck got all red and itchy. So no more melon for the Trinity :( That's ok, it's all out of season now anyway.

And now for the side picture, where you can actually see the start of the baby belly...

So this is me and baby Tadpole at 15 weeks. While I'm remembering to post baby pictures, here's the ultrasound pictures from 10 weeks 2 days:

And even though this makes me sound like a crazy mommy-to-be, if you look really close at the second one you can see his face and he looks like he's smiling for the camera :) See, our little guy's got lots of personality already!

Catch Up

Well, it's been a very long time and long past time for an update.

1. Jereme and I hit our one year mark. Some days it feels there's no way we've been together this long...other times it feels like it's been much longer (in a good way lol).

2. Mom and Burgundi are living with us now. They packed up and moved to Oregon in August and are living with us until they get on their feet and can get their own place. Mom started a new job about a week or two ago that she seems to really like so far, which is definitely good.

3. We're PREGNANT!!! We're 14 weeks and 2 days now and incredibly excited. We've started collecting clothes and blankets and diapers (we're cloth diapering) for the new baby and trying to figure out names. We've decided on a girl name but can't decide on a boy's. Which could be interesting because I'm almost positive it's a boy.

Tonight's dilemma however is the what-we-need-for-baby list. I'm trying to figure out what all we need for the baby so I know what to register for and what we need to try to get over the next few months before he gets here. Here's what I've got so far, let me know if you can think of anything I'm missing. I divided it into categories to help me keep track and try to think of things I'm missing.

Sleeping:

crib sheets

receiving blankets

crib skirt

mobile

heavier type blanket

mattress protector

crib teething guard

Changing

changing pad for home

changing pad for travel

baby wipes

hand sanitizer (travel)

wet bag for home

wet bag for travel

bleach wipes

disinfectant spray

diaper rash ointment

baby lotion

cloth diapers

detergent

diaper bag

Feeding

breast pump

bottles

nipples

pacifers

burp cloths

nursing pillow

Safety

baby monitor

outlet/power strip covers

baby gates

ear thermometer

nasal aspirator

Bathing

bath tub

rubber ducky

baby shampoo

tub thermometer

tub spout cover

hooded towels

wash cloths

storage basket for tub

Clothing

onesies

gowns/layettes

pajamas with footies

mitten covers

jackets

socks

carrier - wrap, sling, etc

Playing

educational toys (birth+)

swing

bouncer

toy box

Furniture/Big Items

crib

mattress

changing table

stroller

car seat

glider

high chair

Miscellaneous

moses basket

curtains

Jereme Has a New Toy

So when we bought our house and were getting ready to move, Jereme and I agreed to throw away our bbq as it had been rained on and used as an ashtray and generally abused. Between the rust and the broken shelf, we agreed it wasn't worth salvaging or moving.

Which of course means we didn't have a bbq for this year. Since we have air conditioning now, it wasn't a huge deal but Jereme likes to bbq and I love to let him since it means I don't have to cook!

Anyway, since I'm going back to school (next week! eek!) and my loan disbursal would more than cover tuition, we started looking at bbq's while we were at Walmart. We were going to get a propane bbq so it would cost less money to run, but Jereme found a bbq/smoker that he really liked, so we decided to go with that one. It's pretty solidly built which is definitely good and since we have a concrete covered patio, it should last several years at the very least. So dinner tomorrow night is on Jereme! No cooking for Trin! Woo-hoo!!

Projects...Lots and Lots of Projects

So I know I've been slacking in the blogging department lately, but this time I really do have an excuse. Promise. I've been jumping from project to project and trying to keep myself busy and mind too occupied to think too much. Some days I wish I could just snap my fingers and magically get what I want.

I've had some ups and downs and some days are easier or harder than others, but I'm managing. Jereme's being wonderfully supportive and trying to help as best he can when I have a bad day or hour. But anyway, my projects...

The first one I decided to tackle with part of our tax returns. I haven't liked the color of the living room since we moved in back in October. Jereme didn't mind it but I really didn't like it. It was an odd salmon, pink color. See?

It could have been worse, but I still didn't like it and wanted to change it. So I did. Our living room was chaos for about 36 to 48 hours, but I think the end result was worth it. How about you?

It was a lot of blue and I felt like we lived in a sailboat for a while but now that everything is back in place it looks much better.

Project Number 2 was creating something to go in the little nook that, as shown in the picture, pretty much just held a mirror and the floor steamer since we moved in. Now it's useful and much more appealing to the eye:

Now we just need to stock that wine rack and get some more wine glasses, preferably ones that match. I'm contemplating putting a carafe or a decanter on the top shelf so it doesn't look as empty.

And my projects don't stop there. When I finished the living room and started getting restless, I made a trip to Bi-Mart and planted the front flowerbed so the house doesn't look empty and neglected anymore.

I like it. Speaking of flowers, does anyone know what these are? They're in our backyard and I've been trying to figure out what on earth they are.

Then after finishing that flowerbed, my new washer and dryer got here. Yay! Wanna see?

Aren't they pretty?? I absolutely love them. I've been finding every excuse in the book to do laundry. I'm washing everything. But now, I need to go eat lunch and then tackle the garden because apparently I started the seeds too soon inside because they're getting too big to stay in their little sections in the planter and I need to get them in the ground before they start to suffocate each other. They're all growing really well though which is good. I'll post some pictures of my pretty garden when I'm done :)

The Countdown Begins!

So last week our dryer died. Completely. I started the washer and dryer and walked away, came back an hour later and the washer was done but the clothes in the dryer were still wet. No biggie, the dryer's been known to act up and I've learned to deal with it. Set the timer, press start...nothing happens. Press it again...nothing. Open and close the door, reset the timer, try again...still nothing. At this point, I was pissed. It was late, my clothes for work were in the dryer and it refused to start! Jereme came to check on me due to the slamming and yelling coming from the back of the house and made me walk away to calm down. He spent about thirty minutes trying to make the dryer work with no luck. He eventually gave up and unplugged it.

Then the "conversation" began. Do we cave and buy a new dryer? Can we afford a new dryer? Do we try to find a laundromat to use? Am I willing to use a laundromat until we can afford a dryer? Not really. Then we actually looked...the nearest laundromat is in Corvallis. Not okay.

So we ordered a new washer and dryer. I like them. A lot. Here's the washer and here's the dryer.

Of course, after ordering the washer and dryer, we plugged the dryer in and pressed "Start" to see what would happen and lo and behold -- it started. Of course. After I strung ribbon across the living room to use as a clothesline (we don't own any rope).

The good news is that at least we have a working dryer until the new appliances get here. Well, semi-working. It's latest thing is either never stopping (the timer is broken now) and/or not drying at the right temperature so it takes two or more hours to dry a load of laundry. But I'm dealing. There's a light at the end of the tunnel. Thank God.

So...EIGHT days to delivery!! Woo-hoo!!!!!

Too Much Information - Not Enough Calm

So, although I'm relatively sure no one really wants to know what's going through my head lately, I'm going to share anyway because I've been trying to keep my head up for weeks now and right now is one of those times that I'm just trying to get through the next hour...or five minutes. I'll take either.

I've been having a hard time lately. Things seemed fine and a few people I know found out about pregnancies, but it wasn't a big deal for me. I was excited for them and looking forward to my turn and life was ok. I wasn't flipping out about it or crazy jealous, I was just happy for them and continued on with my life without too much of an issue. Then this month hit.

I fell like I've run into a brick wall. About six times. As hard as I tried not to get my hopes up, I did. Me, the girl who has never had an issue with her reproductive system (tmi I know) was three weeks late. Three WEEKS. And all the doctor would do was continue to have me come in once a week for a urine test. All of which were negative. Oh, and tell me that with my symptoms (nausea, vomiting, headaches, fatigue and heartburn), if I was indeed not pregnant then usually they would look for ovarian cancer but that I'm apparently too young for ovarian cancer. So apparently cancer has an age limit now?! I really like my doctor normally, but with this fiasco...I don't know. I'm still nauseous, dizzy at certain times and fatigued but I don't know what to do. Should I try to find an OB/GYN? I'm going to need one eventually but it's $40.00 a visit. Plus whatever insurance refuses to pay on whatever tests are run, if any.

Then through all of this...a girl in my department at work is apparently five months pregnant, an old friend just had her baby and is speaking to me now so I hear about him on a regular basis, another friend of mine just found out she's seven months pregnant...it feels like I'm surrounded by pregnant women. And it's so hard. Here I am, terrified that something is wrong. Something that could cost me my hopes for ever having children of my own (without paying a fortune for fertility treatments). Yet seemingly every time I turn around, someone else is pregnant. Most of them are unmarried, unemployed or with a dead-end job, and on birth control. How is this fair?! I know it's only been four months, almost five now, but after everything that happened this month...I'm barely holding on.

Now, to try to distract myself and lower my stress level, I'm jumping from project to project and just trying to get through whatever period of time I can handle at once, be it 24 hours or 24 seconds. Right now is one of those 24 second times...

What's worse is I've now drained the budget I had set aside for projects so I'm trying to find project that keep me physically and mentally busy without costing anything. Rather difficult when so far all I've come up with is painting, decorating the house (finally), and establishing my garden. Even scrapbooking isn't keeping my mind occupied.

I'm at a loss. And no one really knows how to help me. I don't even know how to help me. I keep being told one of two things: 1. "Everything's fine. Your turn is coming. Maybe this month is the month." or 2. "Maybe this is just a sign you aren't fully ready yet. If you're stressed about money and everything now, then maybe you should take a break and stop trying to get pregnant for a while." Neither of these two lines of advice are helpful or in any way encouraging. I appreciate the thought but in this frame of mind, those things are the last things I need or want to hear.

Thank God for Jereme. Through all of this and all of my psychosis, he's been following my lead and doing what he can - even if it's just holding me while I sob...again.

Time for an Update - and a Promise

I've been neglectful of you lately blog. I'm very sorry. I've been thoroughly stressed out and not coping with it very well. I promise to do better. Well... try to do better anyway.

I do have good news though! The Mazda was indeed a cheap repair. Well, relatively cheap. Came out to $204.65. Apparently our transaxle had wiggled loose and let all of our transmission fluid drain. Good thing I had it towed to the mechanic. So our marvelous mechanic, whom I found by calling Oil Can Henry's and practically crying "Please help me! My car won't shift above second and we don't know a mechanic in this area," well, he replaced the transaxle and seals and refilled our transmission with fluid and Voila! It runs and shifts again. Yay! Plus, he noticed our brakes were very touchy, so he pulled those apart and cleaned them and now we have good, not overly touchy brakes. Hooray!! I like him. He's my favorite. Especially because they didn't actually charge us full price. They gave us a discount since we had to pay for labor and parts. Need a good mechanic in Lebanon? I now swear by Central Auto.

Now I'm just bracing for Thursday. Thursday around 8 a.m. I have to go to the doctor to have another test run, possibly two, then at 10 a.m. I have to have both Jereme to the dentist and the Mazda back to the shop (the timing belt needs replaced, and apparently the water pump). It'll be a very busy morning. I'm hoping Jereme doesn't need his medication on Thursday so we can drop the Mazda off on the way to the dentist and I'll just wait with him at the dentist. Please God. If that won't work then it's going to get a lot more complicated... Then after the hectic morning, we get to relax and go enjoy Jereme's Valentine's Day gift from me. I scheduled a private tour and wine tasting at 2 p.m. He's always wanted to go to a wine tasting so I decided to surprise him with it. Sunday I gave him a little homemade card telling him his surprise. He's excited.

For today, however, I'm being completely lazy. I should be doing yard work because I still need to finish weeding the flower beds and mow, but my right arm is still rather useless. That's my penalty for trying to avoid taking my anxiety medication I suppose. The muscles in my back all knot so I lose the full range of motion in my arm for a day or so. Although it would probably help if I actually put a heating pad on it... I really should do that. Maybe I'll do that now...mmm...and curl up with Titan and that show Jereme got me hooked on. Ooo...and the truffles I got for Valentine's. What a good way to wile away an afternoon and relax. I think I'll go do that. So long for now.

Thank God for Insurance

So for those who don't know, Jereme has these horrible debilitating migraines. He and his doctor have been working for ages now to find a medication that works and prevents them. It all started because his migraines became a daily occurrence instead of a rarity. He finally stopped telling me when he had them because I worry.

Anyway, back to today's shocker. Jereme's doctor had him try several different drugs, and listened to my hysterical rants (given through Jereme) when they weren't covered by our insurance, and recently switched him onto Topamax because his mom and sister are on it and it seems to be working for them. We fought with the insurance company a while back when the doctor tried to put him on a prescription that was over $100 per refill and insurance refused to cover it (and it was a generic!! the name brand was over $600 per refill). Well, obviously the first time the Topamax prescription was filled and picked up, I'm not the one who picked it up because to my surprise today when I picked up the refill, insurance paid over $250 for the prescription!! We paid $10.00. Thank God.

So our crazy insurance company won't pay $100 for one generic prescription, but they'll pay $250 for another. Who makes up this crazy system? Have to say though, at least they paid it and not us. Otherwise the doctor might need to go have her hearing checked after I yelled some more.

Now I just have to figure out why insurance isn't paying their share of one of Jereme's allergy medications when I'm almost positive they did in the past. Crazy insurance.

Oh by the way, anyone know a good mechanic in Lebanon? We went to Jennifer and Dane's for dinner tonight and had to turn around on the way there because the Mazda won't shift above second gear. So I have to find a mechanic tomorrow (on my birthday) to look at it and figure out what's going on. Hopefully, (please God) it'll be something stupid (i.e. cheap) and that'll be it. Cross your fingers. I really don't want to kiss our tax return goodbye that quickly. :(

True Baby

Well, Titan has a brother. And there is now a true baby in the house. No, I didn't have a baby. We got a little ten week old miniature pinscher tonight. He and Titan were fast friends. And my house has become a jungle gym, cause the little guy, for whom we've decided to keep his original name Bam-Bam, is small but able to climb to some remarkably high places. My two boys have had quite the time this evening wrestling and playing...

What was hysterical was when Bam decided Titan was being a bully (Titan figured out how to old Bam down with his butt so he could bite at him) and Bam proceeded to find a strategic hiding place where he could Titan, but Titan couldn't get him.

Bam is definitely a baby though. He's been crying for a while now. Poor thing's homesick and the only thing that calms him down is when I hold him and love on him. Although that makes it extremely difficult to eat (as I was doing when I figured out how to soothe him) or type. But he's so cute it's worth it :) I definitely foresee him being a mommy's pup. His favorite place has become my lap. And both he and Titan have been shadowing me everywhere.

Well, the crying started again. Time to snuggle with the new baby.

Oh, and might I add, every time Bam stops moving and looks at me or Titan I panic and jump up to check if he's peeing...oh the joys of potty training...

The Ball: Final Destruction

So, I was planning on blogging about the wonderful miracle of corn starch I recently discovered. But as I sat down to write, I look up to see my living room covered in tennis ball pieces.

Yes, our dear, adorable puppy destroyed yet another toy. This time? The tennis ball. He de-covered it days ago. It took him about two weeks, but he managed to pull all of the fuzzy covering off the tennis ball. And now? He decided there must be something inside the ball. No idea why he would have thought that, but he must have.

So, of course I had to throw the tennis ball away finally, and he wandered around the house whining trying to find it. Eventually he gave up but now he's driving me nuts - of course. He wanted to go out side; I let him out. He walked outside and stood in the middle of the patio just looking around. I told him to come back inside; he walks part of the way back and stops. Looks at me and just stands there. I had to go pick him up and carry him back inside. So now he's pouting. He's like a toddler, I swear. And yet we're looking at getting another one, lol. If all goes according to plan, we'll have 2 puppies, a baby, and two full-time jobs within the next year. Why yes, yes we are crazy.

Oh speaking of a baby, I ran across something interesting today. First Response came out with an over-the-counter fertility test. Who knew? Not that I'm paranoid and going to go out and buy it (the doctor said considering my age and medical history, she wouldn't start worrying until we've been trying for at least two years), but I was still stunned. I've always assumed that determining a woman's fertility was far too complicated to use a simple test to determine. To each their own I suppose. That's why I'm not the doctor.

Well, Titan's now trying to climb in my lap so I must be forgiven for the traumatizing disappearance of his tennis ball. Time to snuggle with my puppy and make myself Chinese food for the third night in a row (nothing else seems to sound nearly as good).

Oh, nutritional thought for the day. Try edamame! Marvelous, delicious, wonderful health food. Throw a tiny bit of kosher salt on and bon appetit!

The Joys of Homeownership

You know, when we originally started looking to buy a house, I knew whichever one we picked would have its own little quirks, like any other, and we'd need to get used them. But it feels like there is far more that goes wrong when you own house than does when you rent one. How on Earth does that make sense??

Maybe it's because, when it's our house, we look for things that are wrong so we can fix them before they get worse, and when it's a rental, we try to ignore problems because there's nothing we can really do about them. But for heaven's sake, the list just keeps growing!

The "Honey Do/Fix" list currently contains the following:

- Lengthen washer drain pipe so the washer stops overflowing and I can finally do a load of laundry without supervising the behavior of said washer.

- Fix kitchen exhaust fan so it can be used (it needs extended to the roof and out so it doesn't just send all the moisture to the attic).

- Clean "mold-like substance" out of attic and spray area with bleach water to kill any future growth.

- Add insulation to attic.

- Fix gap in guest room window so the rain and wind will stop coming into the house.

- Look into replacing the heater vents in the living room, guest room, and master bedroom so the heat will circulate more evenly (and the rooms will all be warm consistently).

- Clean excess wood out from under house so the termites won't be tempted to make our home theirs.

And then there's my list:

- Clean spots from living room carpet (and try to figure out where they came from)

- Tear out bushes from behind the garage.

- Fill Titan's hole or fix the hole in the fence that allowed Titan into the neighbor's yard (again) behind the garage.

- Replant both flowerbeds - ideally with perennials this time.

- Replace swing set seat (and possibly chains).

- Clean off patio cover so mold won't start to grow there from the leaves and moisture.

The most recent additions? 1. Clean gutters and figure out why the drain next to the master bedroom drains funny and loudly. Fix. And 2. Fix drain in bathtub so it will actually drain (instead of filling with dirty, soapy water up to several inches above your ankles every time you shower).

And that's not even counting what I want to do. Like paint the living room and master bedroom. And paint the ceiling in the kitchen and master bedroom so you can't see the cracks in the sheet rock from the house settling. And put new carpet in the master bedroom instead of the hideous orange mock-shag that's currently in residence. And replace or fix the living room carpet so the hole by my desk will go away. And potentially replacing the shower head so it will actually aim where it's supposed to, instead of at the faucet. And replace all the windows (or at least the two big windows) with vinyl ones so those rooms can stay appropriately warm or cool depending on the season. And replace the front and back door with solid core doors. And being able to finally replace all four locks so we have one key to the house instead of three. And I could go on and on...

Slowly but surely. Eventually, the lists will be completed. Right? I certainly hope so; although odds are we'll just find more things to add. Jereme's supposed to fix the bathtub tonight (please God) so I can finally give Titan a bath, which he definitely needs. If all else fails, I guess there's the kitchen sink. He's small enough. Although that would mean I have to stop procrastinating on doing dishes...

But at least the roof is good for another 13 years or so. And the foundation is solid. And no pipes are broken...that we know of anyway. And we're both gainfully employed. See? Quirks. Some little, some certainly not so little. We deal. And bang our heads against a wall...as long as we don't break the wall...

Why yes, I'm 29...again

I feel like an idiot. The last several months I've been talking about Jereme's birthday and in my head kept thinking it was his 29th birthday. Well, we were discussing what he wanted for dinner on his birthday and I asked if wanted candles for his cake. His response? "I don't really care. I'm turning thirty, so..." Which is about when I blanked and stared at him for a few seconds, "Shit, that's right." In theory, I knew we're eight years apart and that I'm turning 22 on the eighth, but I never connected that with him turning thirty.

The comical part is I started talking about his thirtieth birthday party last summer! I wanted to do a least a decent size party since it's a major birthday. Granted he didn't really want it cause he doesn't like the idea of turning thirty. (Really, who does at the time?) But I still had my heart set on doing it. So now I'm just sitting here, feeling like a dork because I forgot my husband can't turn 29 twice. Aren't I the genius one?

On the plus side, my thirtieth should go relatively smoothly because he won't have anything to pay me back for.

Dog + Bush = Lots of trouble with Mom

So one side of our yard (the side behind our tiny garage that's really only useful as a shed) is nothing but bushes. Well, since we've only lived here since October, and fall and winter in Oregon is cold and wet, I haven't had a chance to go crawling around in said bushes to make sure the fence is complete on that side of the yard and fully intact.

Well, it took him until about mid-December but Titan discovered those bushes and figured "hey, I can hide in those!" The first time I about had a heart attack when I walked outside and Titan was nowhere to be seen or heard. I thought he'd finally dug a hole under the fence. Oh no. The crazy pup was crawling around in the bushes. I'm just betting that's where he's started digging under the fence, because 1. I recently learned his friend from the other day, an adorable little black Yorkshire Terrier puppy is our next door neighbors on the bush side, and 2. Mom can't see the hole to cover it up before he gets under the fence. Smart little puppy. So we've been working on teaching him to stay away from the bushes. A month later and I swear the only thing he's learned is to look incredibly guilty when I catch him in the bushes or going near the bushes. Sheesh, he even hangs his head and pouts when he even thinks of going in the bushes. But does he stay out of the crazy bushes. No. Of course not.

Guess my summer plans to rip up that side of the yard, barricade it, and plant a garden just got bumped to my early spring plans. Oh the joy.

Project Day

I must say, there are times when my husband and my father-in-law are totally my heroes. Soon after moving in to our new house, we discovered that the laundry room pipes were problematic. Apparently, it was a do-it-yourself job and the plumbing was not done by a professional. Low and behold, none of it was up to code and the plumber couldn't even give us an estimate for what it would cost to bring it up to code (ironically, he told us to call a plumber...which told me he was definitely not who I wanted "fixing" our house). So we've been dealing with the drain pipe for the washer overflowing since week 1. Our temporary fix is that as soon as the washer starts draining, I race to the laundry room (usually followed by our puppy, Titan) to stand and listen to it drain. As soon as the water gets near the top of the pipe, I lift the lid so the washer stops and the pipe can drain, and then start it again. I do this until that drain cycle is done.

Well a month or so later, the pipe connecting the laundry room sink to the rest of the plumbing cracked. Happy, happy, joy, joy because the dishwasher drains through that pipe and the washer's drain pipe backs up into it when it's trying to drain...so my laundry room floor had a giant puddle. My temporary fix was this:

Well, last Thursday was Jereme's "Project Day." His dad drove up and the two of them tackled the cracked pipe and my kitchen (Jereme's parents bought me a garbage disposal for Christmas). After fighting with the pipes for an afternoon, we now have a marvelous garbage disposal and no more leaky pipe. Yay!