Getting There

We have new carpet! It's kind of like walking on new socks all the time. Ahhh. The baby room is all ready now except for the closet doors being put back on and pictures being hung. We painted the family room yesterday and moved the furniture back in, and we got a coat of primer on the office walls. We're getting there!

Walt had the very creative idea of painting two walls in the office deep red and two walls dark blue. He was so excited about it. I, on the other hand, was not excited about it. But I had told him earlier that, since the office is primarily his domain, he could choose the wall color. My veto powers seemed to have little effect, and he insisted I would love it and it would make him happy. So what is a wife to do? In the eternal scheme of things, the color of paint on the office walls makes no difference, right? So I gave the (reluctant) go-ahead. Yesterday when we went to Home Depot to get the paint, he pulled out only the red sample, said, "Happy Mothers Day", and proceeded to order only red paint. What a sweet boy! I always know he loves me, but there are certain times when the proof is undeniable. This was one of them. :) (Another is when he washes my flexible cutting boards for me. He hates washing those.)

Chaos - the first step to order

Sometimes things have to get pretty chaotic before they can be effectively organized. That's what I keep telling myself about our house these days. With the exception of the bathrooms, our bed, and the kitchen, there is no usable space in our house until the carpet gets installed this week. At least, no space with either no furniture and no flooring or all the furniture piled up. Just 2 more days. Yay! There is method in this madness. I can handle it pretty well if I just remind myself that all this chaos is just the first step to more order. It'll feel great!

This baby is getting big. When he moves I feel bad that he seems so cramped. I've officially gained 50 pounds (gasp!), and it must be going somewhere besides my legs, so I'm guessing he'll be a big boy. Please take my poll and let me know what your guess is! :)

Also, I'm wondering what things I'll really wish I had with me at the hospital when the time comes. If you have any input, I'd love to hear it.

Walt took the Varsity/Venturer scouts on a mountain biking trip to Moab this week. They had a great time!

Our new son, Hot Wheels

The neighbor boy, Keith (4 years old), stopped by on his bicycle the other day to chat. I was in the garage and he wanted to know why I had put our flag out for Memorial Day and which of our bikes was Walt's and whether it had a kickstand, and if my dad had the same truck as his dad, and if he could see our backyard, etc. It was very cute. It reminded me of a statistic I'd seen earlier in the week about how the average 4 year old asks 437 questions a day. So then I had a question for him: "What do you think we should name our baby?" He didn't have to think long: "Hot Wheels. My friend named her cat that, and I think it's a good name." Why I didn't ask him sooner is beyond me. Any kid would want a friend named Hot Wheels.

Yesterday we hired 7 youth from our ward to come over and work for us for 3 hours. They moved LOTS of furniture, pulled up carpet and padding, washed and painted baseboard, took off and painted doors, etc., etc. I was so impressed with how hard they worked! We got soooo much done. Our baby room is entirely painted, all the baseboards and door trim in the hallway, office, and family room are painted, the doors are almost all painted, and with the exception of the master bedroom the floors are ready for new carpet. My brothers and sisters-in-law and nieces also came and helped so much. It was such a blessing to get so much done in one day. We also posted Rocky online again, this time for free since we weren't getting any takers, and he was picked up and gone within 2 hours. I miss him.



Friday was my last day of work. One chapter of my life is over and another is about to begin. I've had some mixed feelings about it, but mostly I look forward to being a full-time mom.

Farewell, Rocky!

We're selling Rocky. I haven't given him the attention he needs the last few months (I've been a little distracted), and he deserves better! So if you know of anyone who is in the market for a guinea pig, send them our way! We're selling him for $50 including his cage, house, water bottle, food dish, brush, nail clippers, extra bedding, extra food, and LOTS of extra hay.

I feel like we're hurtling towards my due date! There's no stopping this now! I know it can really drag on the last few weeks for some women, but I haven't felt that "get this baby out of me now" feeling yet. I love being pregnant - swollen feet and all. And besides, I'm not ready! We are painting the baby room on Saturday and then getting new carpet the next week. Yay!

I have one more week of work left, which means 3 days, since I'm part-time. I already cleaned my office out and brought all my things home. I have to turn my laptop back in to work in a few days (sniff, sniff - I love my mac!), so we bought a Dell desktop computer that arrived yesterday, and I'm re-learning windows.

I hope everyone has a lovely Memorial Day with fond memories of loved ones who have passed on and gratitude for those who gave their lives protecting our country. Walt and I are looking forward to visiting the gravesites of both our moms. Thanks for loving me, mom!

Crystal is Coming!!!

Breaking News: My college roommate and wonderful friend Crystal is coming to visit in the Fall!! Her thoughtful husband is getting her a plane ticket to come see me sometime after her baby is born, which would be October/November. We don't get to see each other nearly enough since they live in New Jersey. I can't wait! Yippee! It's so great to have something to look forward to for the next months. Anticipation is half the fun, right? Well, I don't know. I think we're going to have LOTS of fun. Can't wait to see you, Crystal! (p.s. Surprise! :)

Happy Mother's Day

It's so exciting to really feel like a mother today. Our little guy is moving and kicking around regularly, reminding me that it won't be long until I'll be carrying him around in my arms instead of my belly. Just 6 1/2 weeks left! Walt is making breakfast for me right now - scrambled eggs, cinnamon cake, and fruit shakes. Yum!! This evening we are having Dad and Julia, Heather and Jon, and Alan, Liz and Lilli over for dinner. Julia requested homemade chicken noodle soup, homemade wheat rolls, and salad for dinner, and we're throwing in homemade strawberry ice cream for dessert. Why is it that food is such a central part of all celebrations in our culture? I think that is true for most cultures. One of the first things I think of when I consider a holiday or gathering of any size is "what will we eat?" And of course there are so many traditional foods for different holidays and different families. I love food!

Yesterday we planted our garden. We're a little late on this, but I think it will turn out. We ended up buying our tomato plants this year instead of doing starts in the garage like we usually do. We also bought some corn, which we've never done, so that'll be fun. Our rhubarb has been growing really well on its own, and we transplanted onions, carrots, green peppers, butternut squash, and zucchini from the starts we did. I keep going out to look at it. It's so fun to grow things!

Full Life

The past month has been so full and fun. Conference weekend we spent with family in Provo and Salt Lake, Easter weekend we had family friends staying with us for a few nights and had a wonderful family gathering at my dad's. The next week we took a road trip to Phoenix to visit Walt's siblings and my aunt for 4 days. The next week was BYU graduation. My two sisters-in-law graduated, and Liz's mom and sister stayed with us for the four days they were here. The next week was BYU Womens Conference, which I attended on Thursday with my aunts and cousin, and Friday I was helping put on a School Psychology conference in Salt Lake, and my sister threw me a family baby shower that night. Her family spent the night and next day with us so they could attend a local wedding. The next few weeks should be slower at home, and crazy at work trying to set up all the end of year meetings for the students we serve.

I'm starting to get really excited about this baby. There is a lot to do to prepare still - paint the baby room, buy supplies, freeze some dinners, do a hospital tour, etc. I'm banking on having at least a couple weeks in June after work ends to do most of that.

Yesterday we walked to the church for a potluck, and on the way we saw a cow that had just given birth to a calf. The calf was curled up behind it in the grass, and the cow was eating her placenta! It was so neat! I felt like I was on the nature channel. I didn't realize cows did that, and I've definitely never seen it before. I wish I'd had my camera. I would have posted a picture. :)