37 weeks

I'm officially "full term" so if Eleina comes early (HA HA HA) they won't stop labor.  I had my checkup today and all is well, no real serious progress or anything, so I don't expect her anytime super soon.  She is still head down, luckily. 

My next appointment next week is during preschool time, so I'm nervous about getting out in time to pick up Karina.  Bill is on-call as backup, but he works a good 20-30 minutes from preschool, so it's not a good backup.  Hopefully there won't be any delays and I can get in and out quickly.  I never know, and there have been times I've waited a looong time to see the doctor.  I usually don't care because I love the doctors there and they are just awesome (which is why they sometimes have backups; they actually talk to and listen to their patients), but it does make me a little nervous when I have to be walking out the door in one hour from my appointment time. 

Otherwise, same old same old around here.  We finally finished Christmas yesterday, visiting my mom at her house.  Karina behaved as I had originally expected her to on Christmas morning, had she not been sick:  "Wow!  This is awesome!  Where's my next present?"  And yes, she does use the word "awesome".  (She also says "cool", "no problem", and "I can't believe this").  Her family birthday celebration thingy will be Saturday.  My awesome dad is bringing pizza (now you know why she says that word, he he) and Karina and I are baking a cake or cupcakes tomorrow. 

But mostly I'm thinking of New Baby things...now that Christmas is pretty much over, and I'm usually too tired to do more than change my calendar for New Year's.  I can't believe Eleina will be here in less than a month.  (I say that because I don't think they'll let me go overly late, considering how big Karina was for me and the fact that Eleina is also on the bigger side). 

More to come later, and hopefully pictures soon.

Made it through the day

What a holiday this has been!  Karina came down with some little bug yesterday and was sick all day.  We weren't able to go to the Christmas Eve service, but I was hoping she'd feel better today.  She was up and kept me up half the night feeling bad, but then seemed to perk up this morning when Bill mentioned blueberry muffins.  She was able to look at, open, and play with about half of what Santa left her--two princess dolls (Barbie size), some clothes, a marble run, a car, and a few other things, but by 10am she was winding down.  Coughing and crying and afraid she would throw up.  At 1130 my dad and his wife stopped by, and she promptly fell asleep in my lap, and slept through their entire visit.  Bummer.  But, when they were leaving she woke up and after that seemed to have a second wind.  I canceled going to my mom's today, so they brought dinner to us around 4, as well as a couple of gifts for each of us.  We will finish Christmas with them on Wednesday.  I have postponed family birthday plans for Karina until Saturday (instead of tomorrow) so she can have a quiet day, because Tuesday we're supposed to go up to Richmond to see the extended family.  I'm hoping we'll make it to that.  It has been a crazy day.  By about 330, I was feeling so bummed out because we hadn't even made a dent in the presents, and the let-down of Christmas not going the way it traditionally has was getting to me.  But then I ate the food Nana brought and felt much better after that and opening some stuff with my family.  Karina seemed more into it, too, which was great. 

She still hasn't opened everything.  We probably got her too much, but this was her last year being the only one; next year the gifts will be split between her and her sister, so I justify it that way.  I did get a few nice things; a Nook, which I got early and have been enjoying, some new cooking pots, and an awesome lap desk to use in bed when I'm doing my night time email and such.  I'm using it now.  It's awesome--and it's real wood so it smells good, too!

Karina got a marble run, some princess dolls, some Cars figures, a huge car garage that she really likes a lot, and quite a few other things.  She was excited that Santa came and ate his cookies and milk.  She also got a purple tutu/pettiskirt thing from Santa that she wore all day.  That was pretty cute. 

We're going to do more Christmas tomorrow.  She hasn't even touched her stocking, plus she has a stack of presents under the tree still, some from us, some from other people. 

I gave Bill a purple stuffed turtle.  He had mentioned once that it was the special stuffed animal he'd had as a kid, but of course it was thrown out.  His parents were weird about throwing things out when they moved.  I gave it to him and he was really surprised that I had remembered him mentioning that, but frustrated that he couldn't remember what its name had been.  Then he got all teary eyed during the movie Cars, reminiscing about riding his bike cross country in 1976 with his grandfather during Bikecentennial, and thinking of his mom.  (Karina got Cars for Christmas)

David got a fake beard, some glasses, and some movies.  Mom gave me a border punch system I've been wanting and Nana gave me a yard stake for hanging flags on.  I'm so excited.  Our yard may be overgrown, but by golly, it's going to have a pretty flag out in it! 

Aside from Karina being sick and missing out on a lot of things, it was still a good day.  Karina's feeling better and I still got to see my mom and my dad.  David spent most of the day hanging out with us, too, which was really great.  He'll probably be moving out in the next few months now that he's employed, so I'm happy to have him around while he can still be.  Plus he was really helpful with putting together Karina's garage. 

I hope that whatever you all did today that you were able to spend some time with family and friends.  That was really the best part of the day. 

Christmas Eve

Well, we should be getting ready for our Christmas Eve service.  Karina was going to be a shepherd and take Lambkin up with her when all the little kids get to participate.  However, she woke up this morning sick.  Fever.  Puking.  Figures.  We have three days of holidays and birthday to get through, and I can't believe she's sick.  Keep your fingers crossed she feels better tomorrow.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Quick update

Just quick, holidays are wiping me out.  I had a doctor's appointment Monday, and all is well.  Baby Eleina is head down finally and I'm 1cm.  I'm all cleared to make the 2 hour trip to my aunt's for Christmas with the extended family, and I have started my weekly appointments.  Won't be long now!

In case I don't write again til after the holidays, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!  If you don't celebrate Christmas, then I wish you a happy, relaxing, and restful season of peace. 

Karina's stress

I think Karina is really stressed out about the new baby and all the things Mommy can't do with her right now, like sit on the floor.  She has started to get really cranky about things and is taking out her frustration on her poor Lambkin.  We are trying to keep things calm and stable for her, but I know it's hard for her.  I just hope that as things get closer it doesn't get worse.  Hopefully, once Eleina is here and she can see that the only thing that's different is this whiny kid is around, she'll feel better.  I tried explaining things to her some, but I don't know if it was helping so I stopped.  She finally said something nice about the baby coming the other day, about how she would teach Eleina how to do things and she also asked if Eleina would talk to her.  She said, "Baby Leina kicks if I talk to her" and of course I told her yes, she does. 

We are keeping as many of her routines the same as much as possible.  I'm just not sure what else to do.  I'm open to advice.  You know how I love my girl and I can't stand for her to be unhappy like this.  So any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Decorating, Caroling, and Baby Shower?

Yesterday was the greening of our church, which just means putting up the trees and greenery.  I didn't go to that because there was nothing I could do to help out, being as big as I am.  I can't get on the floor to sort the ornaments and I can't reach up to hang greens.  So I skipped that.  But I did go caroling.  The youth group carols to several homebound church members each year, and it really brightens their day.  We love doing it and seeing their smiles and having a chance to talk to them.  We bring a little gift, too.  Then we have our youth group Christmas party.  This year it was scheduled at Pastor G's house, but she ended up having a wire go down in her neighborhood, so we moved it to Kelly's house.  PG went home to get all the food and stuff, and when she got to Kelly's, finally, with the pizza, finally (can you tell I was a hungry lady?), I was told to Sit and Stay.  So I sat and stayed in the rocker/recliner until I was "allowed" to get up.  I had some suspicion that something might be going on, mainly because we threw a surprise shower for Kelly once before.  So finally Kelly released me and lo and behold, they had done a shower for me!  I was so appreciative, I can't tell you, because being my second child, and second girl no less, I have not been given an opportunity for a shower.  I don't need much, really, just a few things need replacing, but still, I feel bad that Eleina isn't getting all the cutesy new baby stuff like Karina did.  But this was SO nice--PG baked 2 cakes!  One was chocolate with chocolate icing (my absolute favorite) and the other was vanilla with pink icing (but not strawberry, I don't like that--no, she dyed white icing just for me!).  She also made pink Rice Crispy treats and found pink "it's a girl" Hershey's Kisses.  Unreal!  Kelly did games with prizes, and even the two boys present at the event seemed to have fun.  I got some nice things, things I really wanted, but honestly the best part was just being made to feel special for a little while.  It was so nice of them to do that and it was so much fun.  I have said a thousand times today in thank you notes and things how lucky I am to be part of such a caring and thoughtful group of people. 

I hope everyone else had a nice weekend too!

Successful Party!!!

Karina's birthday party was a great success!  It went so much better than I ever could have dreamed, even though a few people couldn't make it.  Unfortunately, one of my friends was sick and another's daughter was overly tired from being kept out a little too late the night before.  But we had 5 wonderful friends of Karina's attend, and the whole day was just so much fun.  Karina was very excited to see everyone, although she was a little shy at first. 

I should back up.  First, she got 3 presents from me and Bill.  I gave her a special birthday shirt with Holley the purple car on it, and Bill gave her a toy truck and a book with pictures of outer space (she is really interested in the shuttle and how it "goes to the moon").  Just before her friends arrived, she decided she really needed to color this little wooden car I had gotten for the kids to have a craft in case we needed something like that.  So she and her first two guests, little girls M and C, sat at the table and colored.  When my friend Kelly arrived with her boys N and A, they wanted to play in the living room with the trucks, so that finally drew the girls out.  They played a little while and then Bill cooked the hot dogs for lunch.  They were delicious. and I learned that 16 hot dogs for 8 kids and parents is not nearly enough.  It turned out to be a good thing a few people couldn't make it!  We only had 4 hot dogs left over!  Then after lunch they played while we cleaned up the table.  Then Karina opened her presents, which she loved, and then they ate cupcakes and ice cream.  I thought everyone would leave, but they stayed a little while and let the kids play some more, which was so nice!  They all kind of took turns playing with each other in different little pairs, and even the shiest kids started to play and have fun. 

Karina loved her presents.  She got two stuffed Cars characters, a 3-inch Rapunzel doll with two dresses (who immediately had to play with the 3-inch Cinderella she already had), a Princess stories book, a vinyl cling "sticker" book, a magnetic wooden doll (like a paper doll) with about 8 different princess outfits to mix and match, and a toddler Cinderella doll that's about 15 inches.  I would have never even thought of something like that for her, but she LOVES it!  She kept saying, "She's huge!"  She loved everything, it was so perfect!

I had a good time, I know Karina did, and I think her friends had fun, too.  More than anything else, I just feel so lucky to have such wonderful friends who made this party nice for Karina.  I wanted her to have a fun party this year, since it's the last year she's an only child and her first ever friend-party.  And it was, it was just so much fun.  I wasn't even tired afterwards!  Now that's got to be a sign of a good party!  I even managed to put the Christmas tree together (no lights on or anything yet, but it's set up and ready to go tomorrow!). 

I did have one terrible failing today, and that is I did not take any pictures during the party!  I don't know what my problem was.  I do have some pictures to share, of the setup and stuff, but ugh, I can't believe I didn't take any during the party!  So I'm sorry.  I will post some pictures soon but now I am going to bed.   Another busy day tomorrow!

Birthday party tomorrow

Just to let you all know, this past week has been pretty hectic as we finalized everything for Karina's birthday party tomorrow (Saturday).  Plus I've been fighting a cold, so that has not helped much.  Sometime next week I hope to post a few pictures and let you all know how it goes, but til then I just wanted to make sure you knew I was still hanging around!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Gourmet Gift Baskets

You all know that I'm not a giveaway or review blog, just personal, but I recently found out that there is a great way to give back to our hard-working military folks, just by writing a review.  So that is what I am doing, happily, because I know lots of military people and living where I do, there are many more men and women in the service beyond my circle of friends.  I appreciate all that they do and sacrifice (and boy, do they ever sacrifice a lot!), and while my husband and I are not in the military, I know through friends how tough it can be when loved ones are deployed.  So when I saw this opportunity, I jumped on it.

Gourmet Gift Baskets (gourmetgiftbaskets.com) has a huge array of different kinds of gift baskets, which you can browse by occasion or theme or even price.  I found one link to "chocolate" and of course I had to check that one out, too!  They also have a really big selection of holiday gift baskets, which is the first section I looked at.  I was really surprised how many different options there are for the baskets.  They even have MLB themed baskets, for select teams such as the Phillies or Cubs (no White Sox, though, poor hubby!).

There are baskets for just about anyone you can think of, too, including ones with brownies, fruit, or wine. 

I don't really drink wine, but many people do, and there were lots of labels to choose from.  I liked the look of this one because it has horses on it.  But check out all the other stuff that comes with the wine (three bottles!):
Wild Horse - Cabernet Sauvignon
· Wild Horse - Chardonnay
· Wild Horse - Merlot
· Hors D'oeuvre Deli Style Crackers by Partners
· Hickory & Maple Smoked Cheese by Sugarbush Farm
· Butcher Wrapped Summer Sausage by Sparrer Sausage Co.
· Tomato Bruschetta by Elki
· Red Wine Biscuit by American Vintage
· White Wine Biscuit by American Vintage
· Nicoise Olives by Barnier
· Cashews by GourmetGiftBaskets.com
· Boulder's Mixed Nuts by GourmetGiftbaskets.com

I was also drawn to the breakfast gift basket I saw, because I am a sucker for tea and pancakes and things like that.

Pancakes, syrup, fruit, coffee assortments, jam, even a dish towel!  There was no tea in this one, but that's okay for me since I only drink one kind anyway and am not generally a fan of flavored tea.  The pancake mix and syrup alone make my mouth water over this one.

And candy.  Oh, do I love candy, so I saw this basket and had to check it out of course.

I mean, do you see the candy just leaping out of this box??  Mmmmmmm.  And this is just a very very few of the baskets they have.  A gift like this is great for anyone, because there's bound to be many things in it that they will like.  Plus, it's a great gift for someone to share!  Gourmet Gift Baskets has so many choices that it would really take a while to choose, but I just know anyone would appreciate something like this.  Plus, they have taken all the legwork out of it by building the baskets for you.  You don't have to go hunting up things to put in it, it's already done!  Check out gourmetgiftbaskets.com and see their large selection for yourself. 

(Truffles!   Cheesecake!    Pet baskets!   There are just so many choices!)

And if you have a blog and are interested in doing a review such as this, go here to learn more about what to do.

I wrote this post of my own free will, received no compensation of any kind, and everything I wrote is my own opinion. 

Craft Fair--Unusual Sighting

On Friday, my friends Stephanie and Janice and I went to a big craft fair about two hours away.  The thing is huge, with over 500 vendors selling almost anything you can imagine.  We have been going just about every year, and we always have a great time.  Stephanie likes to drive, so she and Janice met at my house and picked me up about 830 in the morning.  Karina was not at all happy about me leaving for the day, but she endured.  It kills me to watch her standing at the door waving good bye.  Ugh, rip my heart out, child.  (and she was NOT happy with me when I got home!)

Anyway, we set off for the craft fair, chatting away, and as we got onto the interstate I noticed a pickup truck some ways ahead of us in our lane.  In the back of his truck was a port-a-potty, which was kind of leaning to the side.  I warned Stephanie about traveling behind him because that just didn't look good.  So she got in the middle lane and off we went.  Just as we started to pull up alongside him, Janice shouted, "Look, it's going!" and sure enough, that port-a-potty was flying out of the back of the pickup!  Splat, right onto the interstate (luckily, there was not a lot of traffic and no one was directly behind him, so no one was hurt).  Since all was well, we could laugh without guilt, because that was funny to see.  Who expects to go to a craft fair and see a flying port-a-potty? 

The craft fair itself was fun, I got some things for Bill, my brother's girlfriend, Karina, my cousin, and fudge for me!  Then we had lunch/dinner at Cracker Barrel (I love their breakfast menu, but we almost never go there) and did a little shopping in their store, too.  I got two cute little 4-inch dolls for Karina that reminded me of the old Kelly dolls that were Barbie's littlest sister back when I was a kid. 

Overall, it was a wonderful and fun day, great company, and a funny story to go with it.  I only wish I had had a camera, not that I would have been fast enough to catch that potty go flying, but still.  I'm sure you can imagine!

Maternity Belt and another story

I feel like I have a watermelon growing out of my stomach.  I feel HUGE!  I know the baby is a little on the big side, but I am carrying her all in front, which is not how I carried Karina.  So I have been using my old maternity belt for a while now, but it just hasn't been working well for me.  It is basically a 3-inch wide, long piece of sturdy elastic with some velcro strategically placed so that it's adjustable.  Well, if I was a little smaller it would be more adjustable.  That was only part of the problem--that it wasn't long enough anymore.  It also sat across my lower abdomen, and after a while, it would feel like the belt itself was hurting, and I'd yank it off, only to have my big ol' baby belly start to sag and I'd be sore no matter what.  Last night was it.  I was in so much discomfort, I decided I was getting a new one.  So today, I headed out to the one store I could think of that carries these things, Motherhood Maternity.  They did have them.  Lots of the kind I already had and didn't want, and only one of another kind, which was what I wanted.  It was size Small.  Not going to work, not by a long shot.  I was so bummed!  The girl working there was really nice though and after chatting for a few minutes with her, she suggested I try Babies R Us.  I would never have thought to look there.  I know that was sending business away from her store, but I can certainly say that it makes me more likely to recommend them since she obviously was more concerned with helping me than making a sale.  Off I went to Babies R Us.  Success!  They had plenty, and they had the kind I wanted, with a wider strappy thing and better support and larger sizes.  I stood there debating over medium (supposed to fit prepregnancy dress size up to 16) or large.  Sometimes the sizes are accurate and sometimes they aren't.  A saleslady was standing nearby doing something else and I asked her if she knew if the sizes ran true or not.  She said she had no idea and said I should just open the package and try one on.  That's exactly what I wanted to hear.  I tried the medium first, and decided it was too close and might not last the next two months (during which time I'm sure my little watermelon will get even bigger, sigh), so I got the large and left a happy camper.  I drove back to preschool to get Karina and put it on in the bathroom there.  What a relief!!  Bliss!  Happiness beyond compare and I wore that thing all the rest of the day.  I can tell you, I am not sore tonight.  Not even a little.  I am so happy because I'm going to a big craft fair on Friday and it will be tons of walking.  I was almost dreading it, knowing how uncomfortable and sore I was going to be, and now I can just look forward to it again! 

PS Motherhood and Babies R Us had nothing to do with my post.  They didn't give me anything and my opinions are mine alone and based on my experiences.  

The other story I have is a short one, about Karina tonight.  First, some background information:  her light switch doesn't control her ceiling light, it controls an outlet that we do not use.  So we have a touch lamp next to her bed so she can at least turn on a light herself when she goes in there in the dark.  Usually she leaves it alone though.  She sleeps in a toddler bed with half-rails and since she loves her books so much there are always several shoved in the crack between the rail and mattress.  Now the story.  After tucking her in for the night, I turned on the TV in my bedroom, and Bill came in and we were chatting about her.  She was muttering a little to herself, and Bill asked if I thought she ever turned that light on.  I told him I didn't think so, since I've never gone in there in the night and found it on.  After he left and went downstairs, I turned on the computer and after a few minutes, I heard her say something I couldn't understand.  She sounded upset, but didn't repeat herself like she usually does when she's calling me.  I decided to go make sure she was all right, and there she was, sitting up in her bed, the little lamp was on and she was trying to shove her books back in the crack of the mattress after she had finished reading them.  Little turkey, after I just said she doesn't turn the lamp on.  But you saw that coming, didn't you?

I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving!  (We did, twice.)

Big Bruise

My husband gives blood every time he is able to.  He has been doing this forever, and has never had anything like this happen to him.  This is what his arm looks like 2 days after giving blood.  He said when he was giving blood, it hurt a little, but nothing serious, and he thought afterwards maybe the bandage was just too tight.  The next day, I saw his arm.  He hadn't even realized what had happened.  He says it doesn't hurt, is just a little bit sore now, and neither of us can figure out what in the world happened.  The bruise is pretty much the length of his arm.  Gross, huh? 

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, I don't have any amazing stories to post about or fun anecdotes, I just wanted to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving.  I am thankful for so many things, it is impossible for me to list them all.  First among them are my family and friends, though, and I definitely include you all in the latter category!

I hope that tomorrow you are all able to spend time with special people in your lives and also to eat something delicious!

We'll be with family and some of them haven't seen Karina since last Christmas, so I'm sure they'll be surprised at how much she's grown. 

Now, bring on the green bean casserole!!

Random stuff, with pictures

 Above, Karina and I did some crafting one day and made some cute fake cupcakes inspired by some I saw in an Etsy shop.  We used this new craft stuff I found at Toys R Us called Whipple.  I think it's a lot like lightweight spackle, but in an icing bag.  It was fun and easy (Karina couldn't do that part).  When you first put the stuff on, it's kind of tacky so things stick to it.  It's kind of like real icing.  But it gets hard, and then everything is glued into it.  We're going to be giving some of these to family and friends, as well as Karina's teachers at preschool.  I got some more supplies to make more of them, it was so fun!  PS I wasn't paid or compensated by Toys R Us or Whipple.  It's just where I happened to find the stuff, and it just happens I did find it, used it, and liked it.

Here below is David's surprise party I threw for him.  My mom brought over this singing and dancing skeleton guy that Karina is really enjoying.  I labeled the food as things like "Flat Bones", "Deformed Bones", or "Elbows in Cheese".  That would be our bone-shaped sandwiches (thank you Mom for helping me cut them all!), Cheetos, and macaroni and cheese (thank you Nana for making that).

 And finally, here is my enormous, humongous, gigantic belly.  My mom swears that I only look pregnant from the side or front.  I think Karina laid sideways more, and this baby seems to be going straight out.  Nice to not look so heavy, but man, she is killing my back!  People, I am ONLY 31 weeks!!!  Can you imagine what I'm going to look like in about 2 more months?? 

Wildest thing I ever saw

This was the scene in the parking lot of my local big box store today as Karina and I loaded groceries into the car.  I know the picture isn't that great, but I'm sure you can understand why.  I was pretty far away.  It's about 50 police cars and they have stopped that blue car and all the people inside were put into police cars in handcuffs.  It was like watching that show COPS but in real life!  They used the megaphone thing and everything.  As we drove out of the parking lot, another police car came speeding down the road, and I thought he was going so fast he must be going somewhere else, but no, at the last second he turned across three (empty) lanes and into the parking lot.  I was just happy he didn't hit us as we were waiting to turn right.  It was the most incredible sight I think I ever saw.

My brother graduated!

 That's my brother David and his girlfriend after he graduated last Wednesday night from his radiography (x-ray tech) program.  Mom, Nana, and I went and met Erin there with her two roommates (also friends of Dave's) to watch him get his diploma and possibly an award.

 Erin and her roommates made these signs to hold up for David during the ceremony.  Ceremony is really too formal a word though.  There were only 17 in his class, and it was a small group of guests as well.  David's teachers spoke briefly and I could see why he liked them so much, especially Mr. A. 

 Mr. A read the names of each student, and Mr. P gave them their certificates. 

 I'm sorry the pictures are so bad.  I was sitting too far away for the flash on my little camera to do much good.

 Then they handed out three awards to students and a few of the cooperating techs at the sites where the students went to learn.  As Mr. A pointed out, most of the learning was done at the cooperating sites (there are a ton of them).  David was hoping to get the highest award--he had awesome grades and was well-liked by all his classmates and cooperating techs.

 Unfortunately, another student (David had said he thought W might get the award instead of him) got the highest award.  I know David was really bummed out, but he did get another award, for excellence as a student.

 Once David had gotten the other award, he knew he wasn't getting the big one.  Mom and Nana and I just sat so bummed out.  When Mr. A announced that W had gotten the other award, David was the first on his feet to applaud him.  I was so proud of him at that moment, I can't even tell you.  I knew just how much he wanted that award, and he totally deserved it (so did W).

Yesterday David took his registry exam to be licensed and passed with flying colors.  He did great.  He's now a registered technician in radiography, which means he is permitted by the state to take x-rays as a profession.  His job is to take them, not read them; for that you have to go to med school for a billion years and get a medical degree as a radiologist.  There is another step though, which is a radiologist's assistant, which doesn't require the medical degree and does also pay more, so he may go for that in a few years.  Either way, I'm so proud of him.  He's been applying for jobs all week and has a phone interview with a nearby hospital this week.  I will let you know when he gets a job!

Blowing Bubbles

Recently we had some phenomenally nice weather (right before the temps plunged literally 35 degrees overnight) and Karina wanted to blow some bubbles.  Her preschool teachers had given each of the kids a small bubble wand in a test-tube like thing for Halloween.  Karina thought it was awesome.  So I pulled out a bottle of bubble mix we had and this crazy huge wand Bill had bought her months ago (and which laid on my dining room table untouched) and took her outside.  You would have thought I had just roped the moon for her, she had so much fun!  We used up all the bubble solution and I had to try to quickly mix up some homemade stuff (not as easy as it sounds).  She must have played for 2 hours.  AND the best part?  I have pictures! 

Halloween Parade Pictures

These are pictures from the Halloween parade at Karina's preschool.  I don't have more because literally every picture has her friend M in it, holding her hand, so I just gave you a little selection.  They were so cute together though!

Halloween at Preschool

Karina goes to preschool twice a week now, as some of you may remember.  I love her preschool and I am so happy we decided to put her in.  She is becoming more social, learning lots of things, and most importantly having a lot of fun.  She's really shy (like I actually am) and didn't seem to have a clue how to play with other kids, so having her in school a few hours twice a week has been helping.  She is very proud of herself for going to preschool.

They do lots of neat things there, like painting and craft projects.  She's always bringing home something cute and clever.  The school is accredited, so everything they do has a learning basis, although that is not primarily why we enrolled her in preschool.  Still it's good to know they are thinking about the projects and not just playing around. 

It's so hard to leave her still, even though she loves it and goes right in without even saying goodbye to me most days.  I used to hug her and tell her I'd see her after the Teddy Bear song, but now I don't even get to do that!  She's ready to go.  She has a friend from church who also is in her class and they have become closer since being in class together.  When M sees her at church or Musikgarten, she wants to hold Karina's hand and hang out with her.  I love it.  Karina is still adjusting to it I think, but she definitely enjoys M's company and told me one day that M was her best friend.  Very cute.

This past week the Tuesday/Thursday classes had their costume parade.  All the kids dressed up in their costumes and paraded around the outside of the playground fence for parents and other classes to see them.  Karina's class went on Thursday.  She and M were both Cinderella, although I don't think they conspired in it at all.  M was planning to be Cinderella for a long time, and I don't know what brought on Karina's desire to be a princess in the first place.  Way back when I was giving her suggestions and ideas, I really thought she'd want to be a ladybug or a car, but she said princess and stuck to it.  Then one day it wasn't just any princess, it had to be Cinderella.  I searched for a Cinderella dress but they all seemed kind of cheap or expensive, or cheap AND expensive, until one day I was in Toys R Us and went through their regular dress-up section.  I found the most beautiful dress--blue and silver, like Cinderella, with flowing sleeves and some details on it.  And it was cheaper than most of the Halloween dresses!  Score!  I had Karina try it on and she loved it!  Then she informed me that she needed glass slippers.  Got some cheap ones at KMart and she wore them to Grandma's house the first day I showed them to her!

I have pictures of the parade to share with you, but of course, they are on my desktop and I am in bed on my laptop writing this.  But I promise I will put them in a new post tomorrow or Monday for you all to see. 

I just have to say another good word about her teachers.  She has a teacher and an assistant, and we call them both her teachers.  There is also always a parent helper in the classroom, so 3 adults with a maximum of 10 kids is good.  Anyway, Tuesday the kids were all going to the little pumpkin patch there at the church that's connected to the preschool, but Karina had woken up with this bad cough and I couldn't be sure she wasn't sick.  I thought it was probably allergies or the remnants of the cold she'd been fighting all weekend, but I figured if I sent her, she'd end up being sick and miss Thursday, the parade, and of course if I kept her home she'd be fine (which she was, but that's okay).  Anyway, she missed the pumpkin patch.  I figured they might pick out a pumpkin for her and have it on Thursday but no--they took her over there during playground time and let her pick her own!  I just thought that was so thoughtful and kind of them, and I just love her teachers.  Mrs. W and Mrs. C, you rock!!!

Pictures, I've got pictures!

Here are some random pictures from the last couple months.  I hope you enjoy!
First, here I am in all my 28 weeks pregnant glory.  Bill was on the floor when he took this so I'm sorry it's such poor quality.

 Karina has one of her pinwheels stuffed down the neck of her shirt.  She thinks it is hilarious.

 I came home from shopping one day and she was outside with Bill and this is what she was wearing.

 Dressed up for the birthday party.

 Playing with E's dress up shoes at the party.

 At last!  She was free to climb on E's swingset!  She can go up the fake rock wall by herself.

 And learned to go down headfirst, too!

 At my church there's a little garden in the courtyard with a fountain.  You have to go out separate doors to get to it, but I let her go out and touch the water.

 Her own style of swinging.

 This is the contraption at the playground that I hate: I am so afraid she'll fall through.  But she can do it.  I stand under her the whole time holding my breath!

I'll have more later, some bubble blowing and a Halloween parade, but for now, you're all caught up!

Amusement Park!

Oh what a day we had today!  Karina and I went to the local amusement park with my friend Kelly and her sons A and N.  It was fantastic but it almost didn't happen.  Our schedules are so crazy and right now the park is only open Friday through Sunday since it's fall.  Then this weekend, Karina seemed to be getting sick.  This morning she was crying because her nose was stuffy.  But she wasn't running a fever, and once her nose cleared up each morning she'd be fine the rest of the day.  So we went and I'm so glad we did!

But you will never believe what I left in the car.  MY CAMERA.  Ugh!  I was so mad!  Luckily Kelly had hers and took a bunch of pictures and I will share some once I get them from her.  I was just kicking myself all day.

The first thing we did was stop at the stables where they keep some horses.  Karina has never seen a horse up close (she did see a pony in Arkansas) so she was pretty surprised by how huge they were.  But she liked them.  Then she and the boys rode Karina's first ride ever:  it was a little horse ride that went in a circle.  The horses were in pairs so she rode next to N who is older and who she just loves to death.  They get buckled in really nice and snug, and then they hold on as the ride goes around and slightly up and down.  I was so scared she'd hate it and cry or try to get off, but she smiled and seemed to love it, so I was quite relieved!  Then Kelly took N on a big roller coaster while A and Karina and I went back to see the horses and then A rode the ride again. 

Next we went to an area where they have a bunch of Sesame Street things.  There are some rides and a playground type area and there's a show in the afternoons.  There are also character meet and greets, and she got to see The Count and Bert.  She was a little afraid but I went with her and she did give them both a high five at the end.  She said she liked seeing them.  The kids played on the little playground for a while and then we decided to go over to another section and ride the teacups.  Karina didn't really want to go on them, but I told her she would get to ride with me.  We chose a cup on the outside that was not on one of the moving platforms (it's a big circle with circles inside that move and then the cups themselves move, if you aren't familiar) and I of course was not about to turn the cup.  When it started up she got scared and wanted it to end.  I just told her to hide her face so she did, and then it was over pretty quickly and she was fine.  She said it was too fast.  She skipped the next ride while Kelly and I planned out lunch, and then we rode a train (a real choo choo train!) over to another section to get lunch.  She loved the train!  We saw some sheep grazing and a place where they're building a new roller coaster, and she talked the whole time. 

We got off at the next stop and got lunch.  Karina had a hot dog, fries, a huge cup of strawberries, and some chocolate cake.  She didn't eat all of any of it (except her share of the cake we shared!) but she did finish the strawberries by the end of the day so I was happy.  N played a silly game of "I'm eating my finger" with her, where he had wrapped his fruit rollup around his finger and was eating the fruit.  She didn't seem into it when it happened, but she remembered it and talked about it later at home. 

We went on the Merry Go Round next, and again, Karina was a little nervous.  She had to choose a horse in the middle of the three rows for safety reasons and of course I stood next to her.  She wanted to go on a purple one, but the little girl in front of us got that one.  So she rode a pink one, and as soon as it started, she got really upset and said she didn't like it.  I just held on tight and reassured her that it wasn't going to go any faster or do anything else, and then poof, it was over.  She said she liked it, but I think at that point she was just saying it.  She did like the horses and petted several before we got off, including a really fancy purple one that was on the outside, that she wanted to ride but couldn't. 

Another kids' area with dragons was next, and that was a hit.  There was this very tame boat ride that she went on with both of the boys--they got to ride all together--and she loved it!  She was so excited about that one.  Next they did one with ladybugs, but it was a little bumpy (the ladybug cars went in a circle over some small hills but the ride was very bumpy; she didn't like it much).  She passed on the next ride and ate strawberries instead.  Then the kids climbed around in this other play area that was like a treehouse.  There was a great slide in another section of it, so we went over there.  Karina loves slides but at first wouldn't go on it.  Then she did and she loved it and the kids all went on it several times.  It was a lot of stairs to go up and down though!


Let's see...after that we went over to another section where they had some more great tame rides for kids, like mini swings (she loved them), airplanes (skipped), balloons (didn't like it til N held her hand and talked to her, and then she did like it--they were fake hot air balloons that could hold 4 kids, and they went in a circle and up and down), and a pretzel shop where she and I got some ice cream bars.  By that time, it was late, A and Karina were way past a nap and he was really having a rough time holding it together.  He was so tired, poor little guy!  So we went back to the little train station and rode it through two stops back to the park entrance/exit.  We figured it was a great way to end the day, doing something they all really liked a lot. 

She fell asleep only 15 minutes from home so she didn't have a real nap today.  When she saw her dad to tell him about it (he was at the store when we got home) the first thing she talked about was the train!  We told him all about her adventures, and she had to build the park with her blocks. I'm sure I'll be hearing about it til next summer when it reopens!  She told me she wants to go on the huge roller coasters with her dad when she's bigger (I tell her of course, but in my head I'm thinking, "The merry go round was too fast but you want to go on THAT??").  When I tucked her in to bed tonight, she talked about it some more. 

I'm so glad Kelly went and we were able to coordinate our schedules so the kids could all go together.  I really wanted to go with her the first time I took Karina because of the stroller issues and because I knew Karina would love having the boys there with her.  Plus it worked out so great having N to hold her hand and ride with her.  A is younger than Karina by 4 months, but they go to the park all the time (Kelly lives a good 20 minutes closer to it than I do and the whole family has season passes) so he is used to the rides.  Karina had never been on any rides before and had never been to this park.  It was just such a great day (and the weather was perfect!) but I am wiped out!

Just a couple pictures from the birthday party

Here are a few pictures (I can't take credit for them--I did not take them my friends S or B did) from Karina's friend E's birthday party.  I haven't posted pics for you guys in soooooo long, and I'm just on my laptop (where I do not have any photo editing software, so I literally used Paint.  Yes, that program that comes on every computer) so I apologize if they are super awful.  You can see me in the first one, but you can't tell how huge I am.  In that picture I am attempting to get Karina to eat something, anything.  The rest are just of her playing.  Anyway, here they are for what they're worth!

A Birthday Party

Over the weekend, Karina got to go to a birthday party for a friend of hers from church. E just turned 4, so she's about a year older than Karina.  She is just the cutest sweetest little girl.  Karina has known her ever since she started going to Musikgarten classes, when she was about 6 months old or so. 

It was a Barbie tea party, and she was invited to come in a pretty dress and bring play clothes.  We've been to E's house before so we knew there was a ton of fun to be had in the backyard on their great swingset.  Karina loves the slide, and she learned how to climb up the fake rock wall to get up to the top, so she was really looking forward to going to E's house.

We got her all dolled up, including painting her nails (all 20) purple (yes, really purple; would you expect anything less from my purple-loving girl?) and she wore a beautiful dress that is one of 4 my sister in law had sent her last Christmas and were too big yet.  When we arrived, we were some of the first guests, so Karina got to play outside a little and in E's room.  She got to check out E's play makeup and dress up shoes, things Karina knows pretty much nothing about, being a car/truck girl. 

Once everyone else arrived, the girls were seated for tea (and E told Karina that she should sit next to her, which I thought was really special, since E had a bunch of friends there).  Tea was really pink lemonade, but it was served in a real teapot which I thought was such a cool idea.  Makes me want more teapots, but that's another story.  They had little sandwiches, sugar wafer cookies, cute little cups of fruit, cheese cubes, and some Jello cups.  There was other food too, like spinach cups and some other things for the adults.  Karina tried several of the things she'd never had before, but wasn't crazy about them.  So she had water, fruit, cheese, and one bite of a mini hot dog in crescent roll (I forgot those when I was listing the food just now).  After the food, the girls all put on play clothes and went outside.  Karina was ecstatic.  She was up that swingset faster than I could follow her out the door!  She had the best time playing outside.  The weather was just perfect, mid 70s and sunny with a nice breeze.

After a little while, E came out and told us it was time for cake.  You should have seen Karina make a beeline for that kitchen table!  It was hysterical!  She was the first one in the door!  E's mom had made a Barbie cake herself, and it was great.  She made it look like a beautiful yellow dress with pink ruffles.  E was so cute while everyone sang Happy Birthday to her.  Her dad told her to make a wish, and she told him emphatically, "NO!"  That was pretty funny, and then she blew out the candles.  Karina devoured the cake.  The adults got to have some too, and it was really delicious.  After cake, they went back out to play for a few minutes and then E was ready to open presents.  When they came in to do that, Karina went straight to the kitchen table.  We had to go get her and tell her E was opening presents in another room.  All the girls went in and sat down in a little row next to her.  I thought Karina was going to cry when E opened the gift from her, because she had wanted to keep the princess stickers for herself, even though that was what she had specifically told me to get for E!  But she was fine, just tired. 

After presents it was time to go home, and E's mom gave Karina her party favor.  This was the most amazing thing:  the favors were tea party Barbies!  She got them on sale a while back, and swears she would have spent double if she'd done a pinata or goody bags, but still, it seemed like such an extravagant favor.  Karina loved it; the first thing she said was, "She needs to meet Green Truck.  She will like Green Truck."  In the car she told me her name was Pink Doll but she later changed it to Alice. 

Overall, it was a really fun time and she was pretty wiped out.  I think it was a special day for E, too. 

I feel so lucky to have friends with children who are so sweet and who are so kind to my daughter.  I hope that this family will be able to stay in our area for a very long time.  I would love to see the girls all grow up together (they have a younger daughter as well, who is about 18 months).  Later I'll let you all know about Karina's birthday party plans and some other things we have going on around here, too.

The worst part about my pregnancy

I read a blog post the other day that had a similar title.  She talked about the horrific pain she had from gall bladder attacks, and I thanked my lucky stars that nothing like that happened to me with Karina and has not happened with this baby.

Then today it hit me.

Pain is not the worst part.

The worst part for me is knowing I have friends and family who desperately want babies and can't have them, for various reasons.

I realized that I am beyond lucky, beyond blessed, beyond fortunate.  Being able to feel this baby and Karina growing and be part of their lives from the very first second is a miracle.  Cliche, yes, but I don't care.  It's true.

I wish with everything I have that I could do something and somehow let my loved ones experience this, too.  I really do, but there is nothing I can do other than offer them my love and support.  It doesn't seem like enough though when I'm one of the lucky ones.

Karina's baby

Karina loves cars, trucks, trains, and planes.  She treats them like little families and there are always mommies and babies and daddies and now sisters.  Sometimes she is their mommy, but usually the mommy is one of them.  She's not too interested in dolls or other "girly" toys, but she is very mothering in her play with her cars and things.  The other day, the weather was finally not raining and it was gorgeous, so she and I took a walk.  While we walked, she told me that her tummy was getting bigger and bigger.  It was because there was a baby car in it.  I asked her about her baby car and then she held her hand out to her tummy and pretended to take the baby car out of her tummy.  She showed me the baby car she had just given birth to, and told me it was named White Car (all her toys are named after colors).  Then we spent the rest of the walk walking to the baby car doctor while she carried her imaginary baby car in her hands. 

Disney on Ice

Sunday night, my friend Marie invited Karina and I to see the Disney on Ice show "Dare to Dream".  We were happy to go, and it was Karina's and my first time at any kind of ice show.  We went to a 5:30 matinee, so that I was hoping to avoid a bedtime drama.  Most of the other shows were at 7pm.  Marie got our tickets, and she scored a super deal--we paid less than the cheapest seats in the place and had row 9 seats!  We were one row behind the $45 seats and paid a third of the price!  That was really awesome.

When we got there, Karina noticed everything, from all the people to the big building to the generator-run lights on the sidewalk.  We found our seats pretty easily, after passing hundreds of stands and booths full of Disney princess products.  I wanted to get Karina a program but they were way too expensive.  Karina liked that the ice had star-shaped lights beamed down onto it.  She also liked finding the speakers high up in the rafters of the building. 

The show has 3 stories, The Princess and the Frog (Tiana), Cinderella, and Tangled (Rapunzel), in that order.  Karina did not like the first one at all.  She was afraid of the frog costumes and some of the effects.  She was so scared she wouldn't even turn around on my lap, where she had climbed.  Finally it ended and Cinderella came on.  She didn't want to turn and look, but I sort of made her, to show her Cinderella's dress and things like that.  As you may know, Karina isn't much of a princessy-girly-girl, but she does like their dresses and the skating was interesting to her.  So finally she watched some and then intermission was halfway through Cinderella.  I took her out to the bathroom where the line was enormous until I spied another Women's room just ten steps down that had no line at all.  Then we stood in line to get food, which was insanely expensive.  Why a bottle of water costs more than a hot dog is beyond me.  But my girl had to eat, and she won't drink anything but water (really, not even juice).  So we went back to our seats, she ate her hot dog in 5 seconds flat, and was fine after that.  She loved Cinderella, and really really loved the Rapunzel one.  They did a lot of high-flying in that one, which impressed me, too, and Karina was just enthralled.  Her little friend loved it, too.  I was so glad that she had finally enjoyed it.  I had never seen Tangled, even though I wanted to when it came out, so I was really into the storyline.  I am going to have to see this movie now. 

After the show, Marie and her husband walked us to our car, and then Karina and I sat in the car talking for a little bit waiting for the traffic to die down.  It's impossible to get out of those places in a hurry, so we just sat there.  Finally I thought I'd be able to back out but there were all these other people cutting in and no one was using any manners at all.  I was very frustrated.  Karina said she was making cupcakes for the other drivers and pretended to give them out and then made me some pretend chocolate ones.  After I pretended to eat it, we were able to move and get into the lane to leave.  Karina was very excited that her cupcakes were the reason we were able to leave!  Then on the way home she told me all about the show and the people who turned into frogs.  Then she started telling me about Lambkin (her special stuffed lamb) and his house and how it's a green house with a green door and porch and a pink roof.  He has a green bike and a pink bike and keeps one inside and one outside.  We got home around 8pm, and I was in no rush to put her to bed because I knew she needed to wind down.  About 8:30 we went upstairs, after she told her dad all about it, and then by 8:45 she finally went to bed.  It was such a fun night, and I am so glad that Marie invited us.  I have to say, Disney really knows what they're doing (except for the frogs--I heard other girls in the bathroom talking about how creepy they were and looked like aliens), and they put on a mighty fine show.


PS Disney didn't pay me or compensate me in any way, shape, or form to write any of this.  It's just a thing that happened to us and I wrote about it honestly.

Little Spider

Take a look at the little lady that was making a home right outside our kitchen window the last few days.

I know the pictures aren't the best, but no way was I going outside to snap her.  She was about an inch across, including legs.  Her web was beautiful though!

And the baby is a......

Some of you might have guessed along with me what gender this baby is going to be.  First, I thought girl.  Then I used Intelligender (an at-home gender predictor kit) and it said boy.  Then I was all confused.  Some people thought girl, some thought boy.  I was going crazy!  Finally I decided it was probably a boy, and started hunting for names and little boy things. 

On the 12th we finally had our big-deal ultrasound, where they look for lots of things, especially development of baby's organs and such.  They also tell you the sex of the baby if you want to know.

So we went in, Bill and I, all prepared to hear what the tech had to say.  This lady is the one who did our ultrasound for Karina, and told us she was a girl.  She's only been wrong 2 times in her career, and I know she's been at it for probably over 20 years. 

So, do you want to know what it is? 

It's.....







a....























GIRL!!!

Yes, Karina is going to have a little sister!  I was so shocked, I had gotten my head all into thinking boy, but I guess my first instinct was right all along.  Assuming this isn't our tech's third mistake, ha ha!  No, I'm kidding; I'm fully confident that she's right.  We have a middle name picked out, we've had it for a long time.  Just need a first name.  It's taken me a while to get back into the girl way of thinking, but I'm happy that she's healthy (oh yeah, that important part of the ultrasound--she looks great!).  Also happy I don't have to buy a new diaper bag because I really like mine!

Well I hope you had fun wondering and guessing.  It was fun for me, too, but I am beyond relieved to finally know and start planning and shopping.

Have a good weekend!

No Tears!

Karina did great going to preschool today!  She didn't cry at all, which means neither did I.  She was a little unsure, and she was dawdling over her breakfast, but other than that, she went willingly. 

When I picked her up, the first thing she said was, "Where's my backpack?" (They keep them in the hallway)


We went to Wendy's for a special lunch to celebrate, and now she's supposed to be sleeping, but I hear her in there talking.  Sleep, girly!

I'm so glad it went so well.  And I didn't cry!

First Day of Preschool, Report

Well, as I predicted, everything went fine today.  I was there with Karina at preschool the whole time, which is how they plan it, and Karina did just fine.  She colored, then played with trucks, then it was cleanup and snack time (ice cream!), and then books and we went home.  It helps, I think, that her little friend is in the class.  I know it's nice for me to see that familiar face (her mom) when I walk in.  Thursday will be different--Thursday I leave her in there alone, so I'll have more to report then.  Hopefully we'll have no tears!  Or there will be a LOT of tears coming from ME!!

First Day of Preschool

Tomorrow is the first day of school for kids in Virginia.  That includes Karina!  She is starting preschool.  Bill and I decided about a year ago that it would be good for her to go to preschool for the socializing aspect of it.  I knew of a certain school that I wanted her to go to, because not only is it a great school, my friends have their kids there and the mother of one of my friends is the head of school.  So I felt really comfortable sending her there.  At the time, they had one day a week 2 year old classes, but the teachers and staff decided that it basically wasn't worth the kids' time (or the teachers' time) so they went to a 2 day a week or 3 day a week class.  Karina is in the 2 day class.  I'm not that nervous, which really surprises me.  I thought I would be, but to be honest, I'm really kind of looking forward to it.  She will only be in class about 2 1/2 hours, and the school is far enough from our house that going home will be pretty much pointless and a waste of gas.  Luckily, there are tons of places near the school to shop.  I made a list one night of all the things I can do--by myself--while she's in school, like get a haircut, do grocery shopping, go to the craft store, or Target, or the mall.  There is a ton to do.  Of course, at some point I'll be pregnant enough that I won't want to wander around anywhere, but that's okay, I can still find something to do sitting down, possibly eating a Frosty...

On the other hand, I will miss her!  I'm so glad it's only twice a week (I really wanted the once a week class, but it'll be okay).  I love being with her.  I know a lot of parents who are fed up with their kids, or their kids are obnoxious or something, and I hear about how happy they are that school is starting up again, or they're so happy to get away from their kids.  Maybe it's just not happened for me yet, but I don't get it.  I love being with Karina.  Don't get me wrong, I need my Me time, too, but usually, I'm content to be with her and take her along with me.  So I will definitely miss her, but I think it will be so good for both of us.  We will also be doing Musikgarten again this year, YAY!!!!!  That will be on Wednesdays.  We had a bit of a scare when the teacher announced the class was on Tuesdays.  I told her I had specifically requested the Tuesday/Thursday preschool class so we could still attend, and she was able to work her schedule so that we could still have the Wednesday class.  I am SOOOOOO happy!!!  I love our Musikgarten classes, and if any of you read this are in a position to go to one, I HIGHLY recommend them.  It was the first thing Karina and I did as a class experience, and it was great not just for her, but for me as a first time stay-at-home-mom to get out and be around other grown ups who were in similar situations.  In fact, one of Karina's Musikgarten classmates is in her preschool class, too!

The preschool starts the twos off slowly, so I will be with Karina for the entire (shortened to one hour) class tomorrow.  There will also only be half the class there during our time, and the other half will come in after us.  Then on Thursday, she will go by herself for only 90 minutes.  Finally, next Tuesday, she will be there by herself for the full 2 1/2 hours.  I'll post a brief update after class tomorrow sometime, but I don't know how much there will be to report, since she won't be by herself.  We've already met her teacher and assistant, and they are great, so nice.  So, I think everything is going to go just fine. 

To all the kids out there starting school tomorrow, have a good first day!  Listen to your teachers!  Do your homework!  Pay attention in class!  Have fun!!!

Yes, We're Okay!

Sorry everyone, I forgot I posted about Hurricane Irene coming through. 

We're fine, totally fine!  Basically, we got a lot of wind, a bunch of rain, and that was it.  No flooding, no damage, all the family is safe.  We lost power for about 36 hours, cable and internet a little longer.  My relatives in Richmond are still without power and expect to be without it until at the very least Friday, probably longer.  Luckily, they have somewhere else to stay, so they are okay. 

We're very lucky, and reading reports about the damage in places like Vermont, where they are really not used to this type of weather is scary and sad.  I am counting my blessings every day to be safe and still have a home.  I kept imagining what would happen if the storm spawned a tornado--you know the paranoid daydreams of one's husband or child being ripped out of one's arms while cowering in a closet?  Yeah, those.  Not cool.  But no tornadoes came through luckily.

I sincerely hope all of you out there are okay as well.  I know at least some of you are local and some are NC state readers, so I hope you were not affected by the storm, or at least not severely.

Thanks Blueviolet for reminding me with your comment that I needed to update everyone!

Stupid Irene

We are in the path of Hurricane Irene, and it is annoying!!  I had things planned for this weekend, like FINALLY going to my friend's house for a 6-hour scrapbooking-fest, and now I can't go.  I haven't been there in over a year.  We had a picnic in the park at church planned for the weekend, too, and that's canceled.  Seriously, Irene is putting a major damper on a bunch of stuff.  Even the big sale at the consignment shop is postponed. 

On a serious note, the hurricane is indeed heading right for us, so all we can hope for at this point is that it either changes course abruptly and dramatically (not likely) or weakens (also not too likely) or magically disappears (least likely of all).  We are staying put, mainly because in order to evacuate we would have to pretty much go to Tennessee.  I don't want to go that far, plus my mother and grandmother are still here, so we are staying.  We have a 2-story house, so we've put the important stuff upstairs, and we do have a flood policy.  I'm hoping we won't need it though.  I'm kind of expecting some water in the garage, but hoping not; if our house floods then it means absolutely catastrophic damage to this area, so I'm not planning on my house flooding.  I was here for Isabelle, which wasn't fun, but we made it through okay.  They're saying it's going to be similar, slightly worse, but the same kind of stuff going on. 

My grandmother is a nervous wreck.  She worries about storms anyway, in fact, she worries about regular rain, clouds, a sudden breeze, you name it.  So she's been pretty much a wreck for the last week.  Today she was afraid to be home alone even though the weather today was perfect, although hot.  Sunny, no rain or wind to speak of, just kind of hot.  She was going to come over here to my house, but decided she couldn't drive here with the dog (even though she drove almost as far on Tuesday with the dog), so she was going to come later in the afternoon.  Then she called and told me it was too windy to come.  It was not windy today.  There was a slight breeze.  Anyway, I can't do anything about it.  All we do is try to keep her calm, and remind her that worrying isn't stopping the hurricane from coming, it's just making her life worse. 

Anyway, just keep the East Coast in mind the next few days.  If the forecasts are correct (which I always doubt til I see what it's really going to do), we're going to get seriously hammered.  Let's hope the weather people are WRONG and Irene changes her mind and makes a nice, sharp right turn back out to sea!