A Little Bored...

I promise I am not trying to set some sort of record like...."how many posts can I have in the month of June???" I'm just a little bored.

I am tired, and yet I can't sleep. I don't feel like painting anything at the moment and I just finished making Brian 2 little cakes to take to some hospital in the morning. Of course I made a tiny one for me to have tonight too... :)

There isn't much to report, but I did have a Dr. appt. today. It was my first appointment with an actual doctor in Ohio. It was also the first guy that I've seen. I don't care and he was super nice. He has long, grey hair and yet he is balding....a very strange combination, I know. He was also very tan and had on his scrub booties over his shoes. I'm not sure why I thought this was so odd, but I did...I was just in an office, not an actual hospital. Anyway, it was fun to get to hear Connor's heart beat again. Although he didn't time it exactly, the doc said it sounded great at about 120-125 bpm. I am also measuring 30-31 cm, which is great for being 31 weeks and 2 days pregnant. This alone proves to Brian that I am not "too small". I know that I am not huge and I don't claim to be. I eat when I am hungry, but have not been stuffing myself for the last 31 weeks, so what do you expect? As long as the doctors are pleased with my weight, size and general health of the baby, then I am a happy camper.

When Dr. Mitchell measured me, I mentioned that Connor really likes to hang out on the right side, but I couldn't tell what was what....head, butt, etc. So, after he finished doing all the stuff he needed to do, he poked and prodded to see if he could tell me what I was feeling. He agreed immediately that he is "all on the right" which is why I feel like my stomach looks lopsided most of the time! Of course I don't know if he is right, but doc gave me his best guess of how he was positioned: Connor's head was down, and then his back kind of goes across diagonally to the right. The pain I feel/felt when I slouched was likely knees under my right ribs. Anyway, I was tickled to hear anything like that. I've seen plenty of pictures, but how am I supposed to know how he is all scrunched up in there without an actual ultrasound? I don't think we are going to get a 3-D ultrasound. After my routine 20-week one I felt pretty weird for a while and almost like we somehow disturbed him, so I guess we'll just wait to see all of his little features in person....less than 9 weeks to go (hopefully)!

On a totally different note...house stuff:
We got our couches on Monday and I really love them. They are big and comfy and fit really well in the space. I was worried about how dark they are, but I actually think they are just perfect. We got our TV on Tuesday night. I am currently looking at it, sitting in front of our fireplace.....not even plugged in. The cable people will be here between 2:00-4:00 tomorrow. Woo-Hoo! Once we get it all hooked up, we'll figure out how to mount it above the fireplace. I found a great rug for this room at Lowes on clearance last night. It is a very big (almost 8'x11') modern looking, oriental rug that has lots of browns, some blue and green. The big size allows it to go completely in front of both couches which is great, but our coffee table just looks like it si floating a little. When my mom and dad drive up when the baby comes I think they are going to bring us one of their coffee tables....it should work well and won't be as much of a hazard to the baby as our glass-top. Anyway, the only glitch in the rug is that it was rolled up for a very long time and for some reason there was a band of plastic wrapped around the middle of it (not just the outside) and we can't seem to get all the fibers to go the same way...so it looks funny. Any ideas on getting these out? I really love it, but if they won't come out then I'm going to have to return it. They had a few others (of this same style) but they were packaged the same so I don't know why they'd be any different than this one. I also hung 3 valances across the windows in the family room. I really like the way they turned out, but now I've got to figure out something in the kitchen....wasn't so pleased with that attempt! Oh well. At least I'm developing good relationships with the Lowe's employees. :)

BEST PAINT AWARD: VALSPAR FLAT INTERIOR Paint (previously called "American Tradition", available at Lowe's)

I got 2 gallons of a medium quality ("Classic 99") paint from Sherwin Williams prior to my marathon paint excursion at Lowes and I am much more pleased with the Lowes paint....and it was a lot cheaper too! The Valspar has a thicker consistency (still like water compared to German paint...crazy!) and it covers extremely well. I bought 2 gallons of paint for our family room and now I've got about 1.25 gallons left. I never dreamed that a medium tan could cover a graphite gray color in one coat! I had to do a little touching up here and there, but I can't find any areas that need a full second coat. The color is exactly what I thought it was going to be and the flat finish looks smooth and almost a little like a suede or something similar. So, there ya go...my first product placement on this blog.

Ok, I guess that is all for now. Sorry there are no pictures of the house. If you want to see it...COME VISIT!! The doors are always open...frequently literally.

Baby Bump Progression: 15, 19, 23, 27, & 31

(click on the image to see it larger)

Obviously the background changed since we moved, but I am still in front of the same cubby/bookcase thing. Sorry about the lighting behind me. Oh well.

This shirt is getting tighter and tighter. I'm afraid the cable knit will be stretched out for good! Only 2 more pictures in the series and Connor should be here!

Moving — New "Friends" — Bow Wow Beach

I finally uploaded pictures from the move, some of our new "friends" that have helped welcome us at our new home, and the coolest dog park ever: Bow Wow Beach!

MOVING — pictures are from days ago...everything is better now!
At this point, all of the boxes are unpacked, and things are starting to look a little more organized...thank goodness. The first few days are always chaotic and a bit overwhelming. Leslie and Ann really manned the kitchen. They couldn't believe it as more and more "dish packs" were being brought into the house. We managed to find a place for everything eventually. I didn't get our bedroom stuff completely organized for 3 days, so we were sleeping on our couch in the basement. It was no problem for me because during this pregnancy I've found myself ending up on that couch a lot anyway. Since this picture, the room is completely organized and functioning as it should.

As if moving all of our old stuff wasn't enough last Friday, Brian, Matt and Dockett went to pick up all of our new patio furniture from Sears as well. It required 2 trips because the boxes were HUGE, but I really love it and now we have nice places to sit on our deck and patio.

NEW FRIENDS
Before I get to the part about feeling like we live straight out of Snow White, I'd like to mention that our neighborhood is fantastic. We met almost everyone on our street on day 1. Marsha and Bill brought us a tray of homemade chocolate chip-banana muffins (Brian's new favorite) and Connie and Paige (back-door, diagonal neighbors) brought us a potted Gerber Daisey and a welcome to the neighborhood card that Paige drew for us...she is an upcoming first grader....the card is now on the fridge. We've also had neighbors offer to give us a lake tour. Anyway, I love being surrounded by good people.

Now, to our woodland "friends". We are now getting to fully utilize our bird feeders and American birds are MUCH brighter than German birds....found the feeders right away. We just put them up a few days ago and Brian has already had to refill them with bird seed. We also have tons of chipmunks and bunnies! Brian has been making fun of Toonces and telling her she isn't fast enough to catch a chipmunk...I think she is now taking it on as a challenge! They sure are fascinated by all the activity outside. When we came in from Bow Wow Beach yesterday Brian quickly noticed that although our cage feeder (thank you Nanny & Hal!) is squirrel proof, it is not chipmunk proof! How funny is that?!

Two days ago, we let both of the kitties out, unsupervised, for the first time ever. They love it. Toonce came and chirped at the screen door to be let back in and Mitsy eventually pawed at the garage door to come in as well. They are actually outside right now (I should probably go check on them). Of course, now when Toonces is inside and the feeders are covered up in birds, she has found a great place to hide out and watch from inside...hours of entertainment! I still don't think we would ever leave them "out" if we both left the house, but I'm proud of us for letting go a little bit and being less protective of our strictly indoor cats. Another positive note is that since moving here, I think Mitsy has lost some weight. Having lots of stairs to climb and an outside to explore, she has shed at few a few ounces...great news for our overweight kitty that eats when she gets bored!

BOW WOW BEACH
Brian found this dog park when we were here house-hunting about 6 weeks ago and it is so fun to go to! We might be the only ones that go there without owning a dog of our own, but I could easily sit on a bench and watch all the dogs for hours. Apparently, this lake used to be for people to swim in, but no one used it. So, about a year ago, the city of Stow converted it into a dog park. It is fantastic. All the dogs get so excited to come and then they just go nuts and get absolutely filthy! There are communal tennis balls to throw/retrieve out of the lake and many owners bring their own toys. Of course there is also a bathing area near the entrance/exit so no one has to put absolutely filthy dogs into their cars. Yesterday, Jill Nealon came to visit and we took her to the park and even though it had just rained, there were still tons of dogs; big and small, running around and swimming. To top it all off, as we were about to leave, a huge hot air balloon appeared from over the trees!

Tired....Decisions (very random post)

All of our stuff was delivered to us on Friday, the 13th. Fortunately, the "unlucky" day proved to be harmless for us as far as moving goes. I had a Dr. appt. at 8:00 for my second glucose test (I failed the first one by 3 points....URG) and thankfully, they allowed me to go home between each of the 4 times they drew my blood. Otherwise I would have had to sit there from 8:00-11:00 in the waiting room! Good thing we only life 1.5 miles from the Dr. office. They told me I'd hear something on Monday if my test results came back problematic, so I'm assuming I'm in the clear on that one.

Anyway, Leslie was gracious enough to offer her assistance and Matt & Ann Hagedorn also came over to help with the unloading. As expected, the most difficult part of the whole process was trying to figure out what room to put stuff in because we were going from a large, 2 bedroom apartment to a decent sized house with a lot more room options. The movers were disheartened to discover that other than all of our kitchen stuff and a 2 bookcases, everything coming into the house either had to go upstairs or down into the basement.

We are getting new living room furniture, so that room now has accent tables only. We are trying to figure out exactly what we want for couches now. Brian has pretty much given me the clear to get whatever I want that I think will look nice, but that is a lot of pressure! We also want it pretty quick.....don't want to have to wait 10 weeks to be able to utilize the main floor of our house! I'm leaning toward leather because it is so easy to keep clean....especially with a new baby on the way and it is ultra durable.

We ordered some online, and then got a call an hour later that even though the website said they were "quick ship" it would take up to 10 weeks....order canceled...back to square one.

So, after dinner last night since we have no TV we decided to go out furniture shopping. We weren't sure of many places to go, but we found a couple (a few were closed...didn't realize we didn't even leave the house until after 7:00!) Anyway, I think we've found another winner. The picture doesn't do it justice. It is NOT nearly that shiny...and the tuffed back cushions are just that, tuffed, but there isn't a button there or anything like that. The legs also don't stand out nearly as much....I guess that is what a stark white background will do to a picture. They are very very dark brown, licorice, to be exact. (the super dark color was my only hesitation...I don't want them to look black) My favorite thing about them is that each couch is 96 inches long and are super comfy! I laid down on it at the store and my feet reached the middle of the third cushion! Again, although it is difficult to tell from the picture, I appreciate the fact that in person, the couches don't have that inflated, puffy look that a lot of soft leather ones have. So, basically I'm saying that the picture is complete crap, but you at least get a very general idea! We came home and measured again to make sure they would fit and I think we'll order them today. Another big bonus is that we should get them in a matter of days....not weeks. So, we'll see how these work. We ordered 2 full-sized couches, so even if we have a houseful of guests, come anyway...you can sleep on a comfy couch!

The other decision that we have to make is which TV we are going to get to put over the fireplace in the living room. We were originally going to put our other TV in there, but opted for it to go in the basement instead. Brian would really like a big TV (and I don't blame him....he's never been one of those guys that has to have the biggest and best of electronic things....I am very thankful for this) but I don't want a really big TV to dwarf the size of the room. We will also have to hire someone to wire it because there is not an electrical outlet behind the picture. Here is where the TV will go. (previous owner's stuff)
I'm also trying to figure out of there is a way to extend the mantle a little bit so we won't have to actually mount the TV on the wall. I'd like to be able to leave it on its stand if possible. Yet something else that needs to be figured out.

Anyway, sorry to bore you with my decision making process.
There are a lot of other decisions too about paint colors, etc., but I'll spare you. I guess you will just have to come visit to see how it all turns out!

Needless to say, I am exhausted. I've been able to sleep pretty well, but the gerbil in my head just keeps running and running. So, if I have anything pressing on my mind that I want to get done, it usually involves me getting up at 3:00 am or so and just pressing on with it (as long as it doesn't involve the room where Brian is sleeping or hammering, etc.) My legs and feet have been really sore. I should have worn tennis shoes all day on Friday when the movers were here..big mistake wearing flip flops. I think my body is just now starting to really feel the effects of the extra baby weight I'm carrying right now.

Without going into any details, I'll share a lesson I learned on Monday: By law, a person has 72 hours to get out of any kind of contract. I'll just tell you that learning this lesson involved about 4 hours on the phone with DirectTV and a customer service angel from Time Warner Cable. Although we have had TV for the last 2 days, we don't have it anymore and we'll have to wait for our own internet and cable until the 27th. That is a ridiculously long time away, but at this point I'm so thankful to not be under contract with DirectTV that I don't care. However, Gabe (at DirectTV) gets a big gold star for being helpful...I just wish I'd gotten to talk to him the first time I called! So, lesson learned.

Our master bedroom (not bathroom) are all put together as well as the basement and for the most part the office (except it needs to be painted). So, progress is being made....still lots of rooms to go!

Oh, for those of you that have expressed concern....a cyst update. I thought it went away during all of the commotion and moving stuff on Friday/Saturday. The knot went down considerably and the pain stopped. But it is back now. Grant called (got home from honeymoon last night) and he said he had 1 on the other side of his wrist for about 4 weeks until he finally got Carrie to hit it with a pot! I'm not quite there yet because this time I have more finger function, but if it continues to be persistent perhaps I will have to ask for Brian's services with a pot/pan as well....geez, you'd think we were a bunch of barbarians!

Sorry for the randomness of this post...I know I jumped around a lot!

Come visit...I promise I won't make you work!

My First Baby Shower! June 8, 2008

I am so blessed to have so many wonderful friends. Despite my crazy hectic schedule with moving and Grant & Carrie's wedding, etc., Nikki and Meg still wanted to throw a baby shower for me and Connor. The event took place on Sunday at Nikki's beautiful home. The timing was especially nice because not only was I able to see old friends, but many of the women in my family (all the way from Texas) were able to come because they were already in town for the wedding.

All the food and presentation was outstanding. Nikki and Meg thought of everything! We played 2 baby shower games: one was a word scramble and my cousin-in-law, Annette won big time! Hopefully my ability to descramble words like "pacifier" is not an indicator of my mothering ability! Everyone also guessed how big around I was at 28.5 weeks. As usual, most of my "friends" thought I was huge! :) Elisa came in a very close second to my Granny, who was within a centimeter of complete accuracy! I've never seen anyone come so close! Then there was my dear mother....she was a good 11-12 inches short....God bless her! :)

Connor is well on his way to being completely set. He got lots of adorable clothes, a Bumbo and tray, crib sheets, blankets, baby monitors, etc. etc. Everyone was beyond generous. Of course the greatest gift that anyone could give was just their presence at the shower itself. After living away for so many years, you guys have no idea how much it means to me to know that I still have so many close girl friends that I can count on for anything. Although this baby will be born in Ohio, I can already feel a loving embrace all the way from Georgia.Love you guys...thanks again!
(You'll get your thank you notes soon....writing is a little tough right now with my gimp wrist...)

A Ganglion Cyst...awesome

I know I still have one more day of festivities to blog about, but I thought I'd add a little update that is happening now.

First of all, Brian and I are homeowners again. We closed on our new house yesterday and will take possession on Friday. The truck will hopefully be there bright and early and we can start to really get settled. YAY! In the meantime, we are staying at the Nealon's for a few days and the kitties have been exploring the basement (Mitsy likes all doors to be open....very annoying in the middle of the night.)

I am dealing with one other nuisance. Some of you are probably aware that 13 days ago, while Mitsy was in Macon, she got startled and my hand was the closest thing she could bite. I got a pretty decent puncture wound in the top of my hand. It was very painful at first, but the swelling went down after a few days and I never got infectious symptoms (cat bites can potentially be VERY serious). I thought it was all behind me, but when I woke up on Monday morning, ready to hit the road heading north, it felt like I'd slept on it wrong. During our trek north, I noticed that I was getting a mass between where the wound was and my right wrist joint. It is very tender and I can't bend my hand back or forward very far without it hurting a great deal. It didn't get any better yesterday, so I decided to "dial-a-doc" our good friend, Dr. Mary Frey. As soon as I said "cat bite" she recommended that I go to an urgent care facility and get it checked out today.

I did. I sat there waiting on the Dr. for what seemed like forever. He barely spoke any English, but I believe what I got out of his 30 second diagnosis is as follows: It is a Ganglion Cyst. It probably has nothing to do with the cat bite (I find that to be very strange). There is nothing I can do because I'm pregnant. I should take some Tylenol and if it doesn't hurt too bad, I can try massaging it repeatedly to see if it might go away. If not, I'll have to have is surgically removed in 11 weeks after the baby is born. SHEESH! I don't think I can deal with this kind of pain and restricted movement for another 11 weeks. I did a little internet research and apparently these cysts are not harmful unless they are painful (like mine) and it is just a nuisance...it won't turn into anything. They used to be called "Bible Bumps" because it is a fluid that is collected and sometimes by slamming a Bible or a heavy book on the cyst it could rupture and get better. However, that method is no loner recommended because they usually just come back. The only sure-fire way to get rid of it is surgically. If the pain keeps up, I'm going to go see an ortopedist to get it taken care of BEFORE the baby is born. I can't imagine having/getting to hold a newborn with it in its current state, but I also can't fathom doing the same thing right after having my hand worked on surgically.

from "Hand University" online:

The wrist may ache or feel tender. The ganglion may also interfere with activities. A volar wrist ganglion may compress the median or ulnar nerve, causing trouble with sensation and movement. An occult dorsal wrist ganglion may be quite painful and tender, even though it is smaller than other ganglions. Typically the symptoms from a ganglion are not harmful and do not grow worse. These cysts will not turn into cancer.

I know it will all work out, but I can't believe the drama that tends to surround my life! I swear I don't bring it on myself!

On a more fun note, I think Connor had the hiccups for the first time this evening. They lasted a good 3-5 minutes and Brian got to feel it too! :) They were pretty low and I just felt a consistent little bump every 4-5 seconds...hehehe. I like it.

Panter/Trotter Festivities — June 7, 2008

Ok, I'm adding this after the fact, but is it not the cutest picture ever?! Sums up the fun of the entire event's festivities!

SATURDAY — June 7, 2008

First thing Saturday morning, Carrie arranged for the bridal party to have our hair and makeup professionally done. Ivey picked up me and Michelle from the hotel and we met Carrie at the church where we dropped off our dresses and other stuff for later. I was happy mine was barely long enough to be put "up" so I didn't have to mess with it all day. Ivey brought a tray of Chicken Minis and mimosas to enjoy during the pampering. Of course I had champagne-less mimosas (aka OJ). :) We got our makeup done in shifts so we could all be fit in. Carrie's hair and makeup turned out absolutely beautifully! I've never seen a more stunning bride!

While the girls were getting pampered, Grant arranged for a bunch of guys to go skeet shooting. He'd only done it a few times and several of the guys had never shot skeet before (Brian and Christian included). Although I wasn't there to witness the event, my mom was there to capture the experience with a few snapshots. I believe everyone had a good time and Christian's freakishly good skeet shooting abilities were revealed. All the guys were sporting some lovely bruises from the shot-guns the following day.

Susan Panter was gracious enough to drop me off at Scott's Walk-Up Bar-b-que there in Cartersville. Carrie's dad is Scott and they opened the place last year. Lots of family met up there for lunch, after all the skeet shooting...yum.



My mom and dad bought tickets to the Boothe Western Art Museum for anyone that was interested. The museum itself is a very extensive collection of western art and artifacts. The only odd part to me was that it is all about the west and yet it is in Cartersville, Georgia. Regardless, it was a great place to cool down since it was over 95ºF and we learned a little in the process too. There was an outstanding interactive area for little kids that was a big hit with the Allen kids as well as the Brad Haralson bunch....horses, puppet shows, a western dress-up trunk and lots more.

I made it back to the church to meet up with the girls and continue getting ready in the bridal suite. Panter pictures were scheduled for around 3:00, followed by bridesmaids pictures, then Trotter pictures around 4:00. Grant and Carrie did not want to see one another before the ceremony, so all of the couple pictures were taken as husband and wife.

At this point in the evening my camera was officially out of batteries...pooh. Thankfully, mom's was still loaded and she was able to capture some great memories at the reception. The main bummer here is that neither of us were able to get any newly-married pictures of the beautiful couple. And obviously since I was in the wedding I wasn't able to get any of the ceremony itself. I'm sure the photographer did a fantastic job and can't wait to see the pics!

The reception was held at the Brookstone Country Club in Acworth, Georgia. The setting was beautiful and I can't wait to see our "jumping" pictures taken by the fountain at the entrance to the club. The wedding party was introduced and Grant and Carrie followed with their first dance as husband and wife to James Taylor's "Your Smiling Face". The food was all outside on the patio and there were tons of tables and chairs both inside and out. The little kids were able to play around on the golf course (hopefully there wasn't too much damage to the green!) and everyone had a fun time drinking and dancing.

Panter/Trotter Festivities — June 6, 2008

What an amazingly fun, beautiful, special weekend. It is now Tuesday and I am just getting a chance to write and post a few pictures from the festivities.

FRIDAY — June, 6, 2008
My mom and I headed up to Atlanta to pick Elisa Beth up at her mom & dad's house and then headed to the bridesmaid's luncheon. It was at a beautiful location at a restaurant called "Canoe". The food was plentiful and delicious and it was a great chance for a bunch of girls to get together. Carrie also gave her bridesmaids our gifts and let me tell you, she went above and beyond. She and her mom thought of everything and the presentation was beautiful. I will treasure all the goodies in my basket for years to come.

While the girls were enjoying lunch, Brian, Christian, Grant, Spencer, John & Brac went out on Spencer's boat and wake boarded. I think they all had a good time, but Brian got a little fried in the process (despite the fact that I put sunscreen on him in the morning). He is now peeling like crazy. (no pictures because I wasn't there...Christian, if you want to send me a video file, I'd love to upload it!)

Carrie and I got manicures and pedicures on Friday afternoon before the rehearsal & dinner so that was one less thing to do on the big day. It was fun to be pampered and my feet really needed some extra treatment! Thanks Carrie! :)

The rehearsal itself went quite well. Short and sweet and we all felt like we knew what we were supposed to do the next day. I knew I'd probably be especially "pooly" on the actual wedding day because I found myself getting all choked up just during the rehearsal. Although I think I kept it together pretty well, this was certainly foreshadowing to emotions I would express on Saturday.

Mom and Dad hosted the rehearsal dinner at the Governor's House in Kingston, Georgia. It was a little bit out of the way, but what a beautiful place. The food was great and it was a treat to spend some extra time with lots of out-of-towners in addition to members of the wedding party. Mom created a looped slide-show of pictures of Carrie and Grant from baby to present that lots of people were able to enjoy. Some also shared stories and passed on well-wishes to the couple.



Most of the out-of-towners (including all of the Trotter family) stayed at the Hampton Inn in Cartersville on Friday and Saturday nights. Although the pool was supposed to close at 10:00, I think the staff preferred us to have our late night conversations out there instead of bothering other guests by gathering in the lobby. I don't know that anyone swam, but it was fun to gather, talk and drink (nothing alcoholic for me) out by the pool....despite the sweltering heat.

Ok, I'm tired now....I'll do Saturday and Sunday later. :)