Drew's Room!

I've had several people who have asked for pics of Drew's room, and I FINALLY got it to a point where I can post pictures. Just in time, because I'm 37 weeks today!



Room from the Door



So the mobile was a labor of love.  Mom and I painted the boats, and Dad and Rob hung the thing.  Love it!  I have ordered some letters for this wall that are backordered and supposed to be shipped 10/20.  I'm hoping they arrive before he does.

Changing Table- The artwork is a Dee Dee Fincher original.  I was pretty impressed.

I probably won't keep the "andrew" on the window sill, but I like having it there while I wait for the other letters.



I LOVE that little green chair.  I'm waiting on a book case for this wall as well....

A HUGE thanks to my mom, who made all the bedding in this room.  I was a picky customer and may not have chosen the easiest materials to work with.  I think some things were re-made 2 or 3 times, but it is absolutely perfect.  Thanks mom!!

My First Baby

Two and a half years ago Rob and I went to Town Lake Animal Center "just to look" at puppies.  I think he knew that "just looking" was a fiction (as was  my promise of not begging at all while we were there).

But I saw a weakness in him, and knew we were on track for a puppy.  A couple of days later a 6 week old black lab went on the website, and I went down to stake my claim.  Without ever meeting her.  I just knew she was mine.  The day she turned 8 weeks old, Rob and I came back and took this baby home:

Sophie stole my heart that day, and still has it.  People tell me that your first "baby" turns back into a dog once you have a son or daughter to hold in your arms, but I just can't imagine it.  This dog means too much to me to ever be "just a dog."

She protects me, cuddles up with me, and follows me around the house.  She can wake me up out of a dead sleep with her wet nose under the covers.  If I sit on the floor, she is sitting in my lap within 2 minutes.  She knew before I did that I was pregnant.  

She knows something is up these days, but can't quite figure out why we have been spending so much time in the guest room we were never in, and why there is this new monstrosity (pack and play) in the bedroom.  She doesn't understand why there are new toys in her house that she can't play with.

"What IS all this stuff?"

But don't you worry- while I don't have a bag packed for the hospital yet, I have already bought "presents" for Drew to give to big sister Sophie when he comes home from the hospital. :)

Become Aware.

This time last year I was flying home from one of the. best. events. I ever took part in- the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.

Friday, October 9, 2010 I woke up at 4AM, took a hot shower, put on as much pink as I could find, and headed to the lobby of the Hotel Palomar in Washington D.C to meet about 300 others who had done the exact same thing.  We boarded several buses and were whisked to the Washington Nationals stadium for the start of the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk, now renamed the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. 

The 3 Day is a simple concept that has far from simple results.  Men and women sign up to walk one of the 15 events across the country.  They spend months fundraising and just as long training to walk 60 miles over three days.  Another group of strong men and women sign on to be the crew and do everything from cooking meals, setting up rest stops, acting as medical help, and making sure no one gets hit when crossing the street.  All in all a LOT of people pour heart and soul into this event.  And for good reason.

Opening Ceremonies

The opening ceremony began with several flag processions to remind everyone why they were there.  What everyone had come together to fight against.

Survivors Circle

After the ceremonies were over (and the sun had finally started to come up), we were off.  There were lots of friends and families of walkers there to cheer us on as we left.  These same people lined the walking routes every day.  They handed out candy, homemade cookies, pink flowers, buttons or beads.  Children held signs that said "Thanks for helping my Mommy."  People we passed by who had no idea what we were doing thanked us for what we were doing because their wife/sister/friend had breast cancer, and they appreciated everyone coming together to fight it.  Those individuals made it so easy to keep walking even when I was completely exhausted.

So during the 3- Day, stopping for photos (or food, coffee, or a little shopping) is totally fine and encouraged.  It's 100% the opposite of running a marathon.  

Nation's Capitol?  Bunny Ears?  Why not.

Because we were walking through the middle of D.C. on a Friday morning during rush hour, each major intersection had at least two (usually dressed in some sort of theme) Harley riders to help us cross.  It was not at all unusual to see a man in a pink bra and a tutu on top of his motorcycle dancing to The Village People.

Like I said, this wasn't a marathon, so riding in a "sweep van" if you needed it was also encouraged.  We were given specific signals to wave one of these down as they passed by.  As you might expect, they weren't hard to spot on the streets of D.C.

Save a Horse, Ride a Sweep Van

 Rest Stops. Amazing.  Also themed out like "Save Second Base."  The rest stops each had "bathrooms," food, Gatorade and water.  On the 3 Day I found out that I actually had a love for Smuckers Uncrustables.  Delish.  Many of the rest stops also had medics to help with blisters, charlie horses, or whatever else we might be dealing with.

Rest Stop #1, Day 1

Once we walked through D.C., we made it out to Georgetown and were able to walk along the water some.  Beautiful, but much more hilly than D.C. proper!

The Texas girls loved the Cowgirl themed rest stop, and decided to take a picture.... :)

So at the end of the day we didn't make it back to the Hotel Palomar, but instead slept in camp in pink, 2 person tents.  Once we arrived at camp for the night we were given a bag with a tent and our tent "address" and told to have-at-it.  That might have been the most challenging part for this non-camping gal!  But the tent went up and stayed water proof that night as it POURED on us, so I can't complain.

Tent City

Ready for the rain

 "Camp" also consisted of a huge tent for eating and entertainment, the Post Office tent (thanks to my husband and parents for sending me letters to pick up at the post office!  LOTS of tears there!) and some gear tents.

Hygiene needs were met by more port-o-potties, a trough-like sink, and about 4 trailers filled with the tiniest shower stalls you could imagine.  When you went to pick up your towel for the night, you were also given a snack.  I had no idea, but after such physical exhaustion from 20 miles of walking, if you get right in a hot shower without getting your blood sugar up, you tend to pass out.  Tired of dragging wet, naked women from the showers, those passing out the towels would remind you to EAT before you got in.

I had no problem with those instructions.  I think I could have eaten a horse those couple of days.

Post Office

I have no pictures from the second day because it was overcast and drizzly and rainy.  We walked through Bethesda and Chevy Chase, Maryland.  Beautiful part of the country (LOTS of houses I wanted!), but not such a beautiful day for taking pictures.

The third day put us back in D.C. proper.  We ended up walking with a man who worked in D.C., and he was able to give us a play-by-play on what all the buildings were and other interesting tidbits about the city, so that really helped the miles go by.  As much as I loved the experience, we were really happy to see the signs that let us know that we were one mile from finishing.  I think that last mile may have been one of the quickest, despite the fact that we were all hurting quite a bit at that point.

Done!

Should you ever have the opportunity to participate in one of these events, I would highly encourage it.  Just a month ago I was driving through Austin and saw a pack of women who were clearly on a mission, but carrying much to much gear to be runners.  And wearing quite a bit of pink.  I rolled down my window and asked them if they were training for the 3 Day, and sure enough, they were.  Though participating in the event at 8.5 months pregnant would have been impossible, I so wished I was out there training with those ladies.

Please continue to remember all the women (and men!) who are battling breast cancer during October.

ONE Month

Dear darling Drew,

Though I'm still hoping you decide to grace us with your presence earlier, we cannot believe that we should be meeting you about a month from today.  This has been the fastest 9 months of our lives and we can't wait to find out what the years ahead will bring.

We love you buddy.

Mom and Dad

If credit cards could talk

mine would give a pretty accurate impression of what is going on in my life.  Charges from the month:

Petco (1)
Hobby Lobby (3)
Floor and Decor (1)
Home Depot (2)
Babies R Us (2)
Lowes (5)

I haven't seen it yet, but Rob tells me the cabinets are out and the hot water heater is in.  I'm going home to chaos, but at least I'll have a hot shower.

When it rains, it pours.

The rain got us into this mess, and now the idiom is proving to be true.

So I posted about the Great Flood of 2010, and how that led to us needing to replace the back french doors and a couple of planks of hardwood flooring.  That lead to getting an estimate and bid on some kitchen work.  That lead to purchasing new granite countertops for the kitchen.  That to a need for a new cooktop.  That lead to the "well, might as well do this once" mentality, which lead to new ovens and a new microwave.  And the "might as well do this once" mentality also led us to re-do the 1/2 bathroom downstairs.  Typical home remodel story.

So the appliances are on the truck, the granite is being fabricated for the kitchen and 1/2 bath, and I have paint waiting for pick up at Sherwin Williams.  We start ripping everything out bright and early tomorrow morning.

But as fate would have it, it's not enough to just make our 32-year-old house pretty on the surface. 

Sunday before Rob got home I took a shower and noticed it was a little cold, but chalked it up to the fact the bathroom doors were open, the fan in the bedroom was still on, and the AC was still set to"subartic" (Thanks, pregnancy hormones).  But Sunday night I went to take another shower and realized it just wasn't warm.  At all.  We tried every sink in the house- no hot water.

Apparently, our hot water heater went out.  Luckily it didn't go out by busting a hole and spilling 50 gallons of water into my garage, but it still meant an ice cold shower this morning.  And probably tomorrow.

If you are counting, that means, since May, we have purchased a new AC system, double ovens, microwave, cooktop and now water heater.

One more good rainstorm and we might just put the house on the market.

Patience is (not my) Virtue

We had our 34 week appointment yesterday.  Dr. Meritt said everything was looking good and Drew was measuring "about 5 lbs." (How she can tell that with a tape measure I will never know.) Since I'm not having any major issues or Braxton-Hicks contractions right now she is still estimating his arrival at his due date of November 6th.  I was hoping for something more along the lines of October 16th (37 weeks exactly).  Rob and I were 3 and 2 weeks early, respectively, and I'm afraid I have convinced myself that trait is genetic and there is no way our child makes it to 40 weeks.  I probably need to stop thinking that way ASAP.

Conversation from this morning:
L: It's October!  Our baby could be born in October!!
R: (Face runs through a gamut of emotions including shock, panic and horror) Let's let him wait until November.

If I'm going this crazy on October 1, I'm going to be certifiable by November 1....

The good news is the kitchen and 1/2 bath remodel starts next week, so that should take my mind of the fact that I'm both gaining weight and losing sleep at an incredible pace.  This pregnancy hasn't been bad in the least, but I'm ready to meet this little man!