Third Month - November

Between 1900 and 1920, Tug of War was an Olympic event. Found Here 

Today’s Exploit:

Slight panicking at the fact that I have to tell everyone NOW. Crap. I wanted to wait at least 3 more months. 

I had planned on waiting until after the next appointment to tell anyone, so we would hopefully have some good pictures of the baby. However, the plan to have Klay be the one to tell everyone and the timing of Thanksmas put a rush on things. It all turned out okay, but I was a bit of a wreck leading up to our Skype date. 

This is what Klay read to everyone:

A Family Story

 

I, Klay, am going to be a big brother.

 Baby Kerry is due 3 May 2017.

Kevin (otherwise known as Dad or Honey) hopes the baby will wait until 12 May, so that they can share a birthday.

  

Chukie Bug thinks that this is a joke, and that Dad (Honey) should go play with him.

Stelly Belly is so excited she can’t contain herself; although she might not know just what she is excited about.

Baby is healthy and ornery and about the size of a turnip this week.

 Mikah (Mama) has a big surprise for when you visit.

  

You are invited to attend the official sonogram

appointment on 15 December at 3:00pm.

Second Month - October

The other day I put my seat belt on. Then I reached back for my seat belt and was confused when I couldn’t find it hanging in its retracted position.

Today’s Exploit:

The doctor had told me that being relatively thin and in shape I should be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat on the doppler at this visit. 

First we did the standard questions: no blood, no pain, everything’s normal, please don’t eat the entire house to avoid feeling slightly queazy. 

Then we looked again at the ultrasound. Monkey was much larger, lounging like it had a couch just like Daddy’s. I can already see the family resemblance between Monkey and H. After sufficient ogling of the heartbeat and teeny limbs we moved on to the doppler.

We listened, and listened, and listened. Nothing. My entire stomach was covered in goo. The doctor tried checking the location with the ultra sound agin. All clear, lounging away.

Back to the doppler. Nothing. 

So she tried a fast switch. Found Monkey with the ultrasound and rolled it out of the way just enough to place the doppler. We heard maybe 3.01 heartbeats before the rotten little stinker was moving away.

Definitely just like Daddy. Anything that can get a reaction out of me…

Group Laziness

H. and Chuk were there for the fire, Stella was there for the pets.

A New Year

This week’s recommended reading:

Image from here.

Today’s Exploit:

I have suddenly come into a profusion of books. I was showered with them for Thanksmas and Christmas. My family finally listened to me… They never get me books anymore, so it was quite exciting. I am working on number 4 right now. Yay.

This one comes with high recommendations. H has read one book since we met, and it’s this one. Not only that, he’s read it twice.

So I am delighted to enter a new year with so many new books to read, to distract me from my continued joblessness (and the fact that I haven’t heard anything about a recent interview), and that H. is back at work on a schedule that I don’t particularly like.

Happy Belated New Year. (You can hear the noisemakers, right? And the 73025 fireworks that had Stella and Chuk driving me nuts with their shivers and need to be ON my lap.) 

Painting Some More

 This week’s recommended reading:

Today’s Exploit:

I have finally gotten back to painting my house. I have been neglecting it for about 5 months, give or take.

We had someone come and do the main living area of the house last November, but I had only done the upstairs bedrooms and part of our bedroom. So I had a half done bathroom for months and months.

Well, I finished the bathroom, and took down the light fixtures. So now I have a fresh painted, albeit, dark bathroom. It is nice during the day when you can see what you’re tripping over.

Next I started working on the media room. It is basically a bedroom, but has some recessed lighting. At least that’s why I think they called it that. It was a charming yellow, like my kitchen and dining rooms. But I wanted it white to be better for watching movies with the projector, and H. goes with it because it’s easier than arguing. Also, the furniture will be gray, not brown. Also, because it is easier to agree than argue.

While I was at it, I decided to paint my kitchen since the removal of the nasty plastic backsplash left a mismatch of yellow and tan in addition to some charming gashes. They were kind enough to use foam glue to secure the plastic stuff. Naturally it tore the layers of paint and speckling off when I took it down.

Now I just need to paint some cabinets and vanities and we’ll be off to the next project.

Yay.

Frio Weekend

Q: What did one wall say to the other wall? 

A: I'll meet you at the corner. 

Today’s Exploit:

We went to the Frio River last weekend. It was lovely and chaotic.

We stayed in a house with 12.2 people. 7 Adults (They claim), 1 Almost Adult, 5 Kids and 1 newborn (hence the .2). Plus two crazy dogs that thought 5 kids was AMAZING.

The weekend was a waterlogged adventure of too much alcohol, too much food and manic kids on a Tarzan swing. 

Friday night was beer pong and lots of drunken hugs and “I love you”s. Letting kids stay up too late and eating too many cookies.

Saturday was enough food to feed 87, an afternoon at the Frio itself and a bazillion tubers. 

Saturday evening was spent at the creek by the house with kids on the Tarzan swing. I went to the pool with them to make sure no one drowned. H. went with me and a couple others came for a while. I managed to be in the water when one of the kiddies let go at the wrong time and got a knee stuck between a rock and a pretty big root, shrieking his head off making people think he severed his leg rather than being stuck. Later on, when all the adults deserted me, another kiddie decided not to let go at all and smacked into the tree with the back of his head.

But overall it was a good weekend and everyone had fun and no one got seriously hurt.

Supposedly we’re supposed to go on a cruise next year…

I Have Doggies!

I need to make some more marshmallows. And chocolate mousse. And probably some salad.

Today’s Exploit:

I have adopted. (Really it should say "we" but I'm selfish today, and home alone.)

Twice.

First we got a boy.

He is energetic and lovey and pretty.

He is mostly a lab.

Klay named him Chuk.

Chuk has never ending energy.

Then we got a girl.

She is timid and affectionate and slightly irritated with Chuk, although who can blame her?

Klay also named her, he just doesn’t know it yet.

Her name is Stella.

Stella is a German Shepard and Hound mix.  

Chuk and Stella, the two crazies.

Here’s a picture of them fighting over my lap:

 

Stella likes to stay close. 

Chuk is too busy killing all the toys to take pictures.

Tractor Parts

It snowed yesterday. And the window leaked, so now my sleeping bag is wet.

Today’s Exploit:

We got a tractor. 

A small tractor that is not much bigger than the lawn mower, but it has 4 wheel drive and lots of attachments.

H is really excited.

Except the first thing he did when we got it home was to break the clutch.

So he spent the day under the tractor trying to fix the broken part, only to find that it was fixed incorrectly last time and needs a whole new mechanism.

So he decided to work without it. It just means that he can’t back up or change gears very easily.

Then he spent a day driving to a used tractor dealership to find spare parts, only to arrive after they closed (on a Saturday) and had to come back empty handed.

He messed with it a bit more, but was unable to rig a solution.

So he gave up for a minute and went back to making circles in my garden, to level out the ground.

He started going along the fence, when…

A tie rod slipped and he crashed into the fence.

He had to spend about 4.6328 minutes getting untangled.

Not pleased…

He got of the tractor and stomped over to his truck. I’m pretty sure he would have killed the tractor with some large blunt instrument if I hadn’t intervened and made him drink some tea.

He was mad enough he wouldn’t even give me a hug.

And I spent the whole time trying not to laugh.

The Challenge

This was December, but it looks Valentine-ish.

Today’s Exploit:

In the spirit of making new resolutions, last month, I came up with a challenge for my sister.

She has been trying to get more fit with swimming and running and being attacked by her pets. So I decided that I would give her a bit more motivation to keep doing those things, and maybe fighting back when the pets attack.

My challenge - 

Task: Hike 7 miles

Duration: 4 hours

Terrain: Mountains

Caveat: Carry a 25-30 lb pack

Deadline: End of June

If she wins the challenge she gets a prize, like a new pair of hiking shoes, or a weekend getaway, or a massage.

If she doesn’t make it I get to come up with something dreadful that she has to do for me. Like clean all my toilets, or smell H’s socks, or give me all her peaches from her awesome peach tree. 

Anyway, she had a total of six months to get going on this, and so far she has swum a lot and made 1 running goal (of 2) and gotten attacked by the super-excitable Eda. 

I think she’d better get ready to give me head massages every time she visits for 2 years.

Whoa

The "I-can't-believe-they're-actually-doing-it" Look

Changing a Toilet Seat

I painted my first bedroom last week. It went from pink and black to blue. I think Klay will prefer the blue. 

In related news. I have pale blue spots in my hair, and my toes are dark blue. And edging corners between dark and light colors is hard. 

Today’s Exploit:

When I go to work I leave a list of things I would like H. to do while I’m gone. 

Usually it’s not long and it’s things we’ve talked about changing or updating or something I can’t/won’t do that needs done.

The list includes:

-Mow (Because it’s hot out there and I don’t like the sun)

-Put together the table on the porch (I had to take it apart to fit in Starla for the move, also I ended up doing this one)

-Have Klay pick a color for the bedroom

-Change the upstairs toilet seat

That last one? That was because all 3 toilet seats were plastic and a half inch too small for the toilet bowl. And I think that’s not fun at all.

I got the seats, because I’m picky and H. didn’t want to get the wrong one. I changed out the two downstairs ones because I see them a lot. And I use the one in the bedroom.

This particular item was on the list for 5 times, that’s 5 work cycles or 10 weeks, before it was finally completed. 

Sometimes it was the only thing on the list.

But it is finished now, and I can heave a sigh of relief. And I might have to throw a party to celebrate that it is no longer on my list.

This is my House

This is my house. I am shellfish and call it mine, but I do share it.
And I'm trying really hard not to be too bossy about changes we make.

Excited for a House

Working nights when I have a qualified person working days is SOOOO nice, and I don’t have to worry about paperwork!

Today’s Exploit:

So far, so good on the house. 

We had an inspection, and it went much, much better than the last one. The house had normal maintenance issues for a 15 year old house, instead of neglect problems from a 115 year old house after being ignored for 20 years.

We still have a couple of weeks before we close, but everything is looking promising and I am getting pretty excited. 

The house has 4 bedrooms and a media room, which looks like a bedroom. All of the bedrooms are big and bright, although one of them is hot pink. And, to my mother’s dismay, the second bathroom is blue. I am looking forward to so much space for storage, after packing everything for 3 people into a single bedroom apartment. Also, since we will have so many rooms, Cupcake says we have to have Christmas at our house now. 

The kitchen is nice and open, and has an island, and window that looks out on the back porch/yard/property.  It has so much counter space that even I won’t be able to fill it with all my kitchen stuff. Also, it has a gas stove, and I am ridiculously excited about that. I have big plans for taking the cupboards out to replace with shelves, and changing the countertops from it’s current green rock to butcher-block. 

The back porch is truly amazing, and gigantic, and will be perfect with some strings of party lights and an outdoor kitchen area. There’s even a fire pit already in place and an amazing view up into the little hills behind the house. I have plenty of space for gardens and maybe some fruit trees, and H. has space for a shop and is excited about getting to buy a tractor to mow the grass. We just need some marshmallow roasting sticks and some fresh marshmallows (This time I’ll make them thicker!). 

Lost in the Woods

I lost my fitbit. 

I thought it was gone forever and I gave up on ever winning a prize.

But then it came back today and I was happy.

The end.

Today’s Exploit:

I went for a run the other day. And H. decided to be nice and go with me. 

He is a little faster than I am, so I said he could go ahead if he wanted.

Then he said that he would run with me.

And he did for a little.

But then he decided to go on ahead, and didn’t tell me that he decided to do this.

I came to an intersection after he’d left me in the dust. I picked a way and trudged on, yelling for him every few minutes, with no response. And grumbling and worrying that I took the wrong path.

So I went back, and went down the other path for a ways, before deciding that we had missed each other when going back and looking, so I went home to see if he was there.  

Turns out he wasn’t, so I went back to the trails and did another loop and went miles and miles up the original trail I chose. I stopped to ask everyone I met if they’d seen him, but no one had.

Finally I gave up and went back down the trail to get some more water. I got back, after about a 9.9889 mile run to find him walking back from the house to find me. 

He’d gone all the way to the top of the trail, 9.5 miles round trip, and back. He must have come down while I was doing the other loop. And he waited and waited and waited for me to come back, because he didn’t have a key to go home. 

In the future, if he runs with me, I will make sure to specify that going ahead is fine just as long as you make triply sure that I know you are going ahead. 

I’M BUYING A HOUSE!

Have you ever had chocolate cherry frozen greek yogurt?  

It is amazing. I have been slightly obsessed lately.

Today’s Exploit:

I am buying a house.

Finally.

I have been looking for one for 8.4 months now. It took so long partly because I am NEVER home, even less at the same time as H. And I am slightly picky. I want space, and a KITCHEN and nice rooms and WINDOWS and all the things. 

I have looked at a gazillion houses online and about 50.2 houses around San Marcos and New Braunfels. But nothing was right, or if it was right it was sold by the time I got a chance to ask about it. 

After a slightly disappointing bout of home viewings with one feasible option I decided I wanted to build a house so it had what I want and H wen t back to searching the internet. 

And he found it.

The one.

The coolest house in the history of our house searching.

It is a monstrous Victorian with a HUGE kitchen, a bazillion windows and a very large yard.

I WANT IT SO MUCH!

So we put in an offer and started a contract and loan proceedings. And now we wait. 

Please cross your fingers that they accept the offer and things go smoothly. Because I think I might have to fall apart if they say no. 

It will require a lot of work to fix it up, but it will be the most perfect house ever when it is done. And I think part of the appeal is that I don’t have to live with the “new granite countertops and tile floors”. It will be the way I want and I won’t have to feel bad about ditching something that has just been modified.

This will be my new kitchen. 

12' ceilings. I didn't even dare to dream that it could be possible.

That window? It is so deep I need a step stool to reach the back.
Perfect for an herb garden.

It is so big, and bright. And it has 12’ ceilings. I jumped up and down like an excited 2 year old when I walked into that room. It is incredibly dated, and might need leveled, needs new countertops and requires some tile removal, but it is the right size and shape and has so many counters. Oh the excitement!

I’m hoping I’ll be home in time for the inspection so that I can take more pictures. 

I have so many plans and hopes and SO MUCH EXCITEMENT!

Wish me luck.