This is My Forties

Here's our first sonogram pictures. I'm already 15 weeks along. They tried to determine the gender for us, but said it was still a bit too early. We all agreed we saw what looked like a little boy, but no one wanted to make a surefire call on that... still too early. At least now I have "boy" in my head so if one comes out I won't be slightly disappointed (however bad that sounds). Of course I'd be happy with either one... ah you all know what I mean. Anyway... here he is :)

Josh couldn't get the earlier flight. What am I supposed to do until 9:30?! I have an hour to kill. I've been killing time all day and I've run out of ideas. So you all get to be graced with my random rambling (all 3 of you haha). We went to Lowe's right after Josh informed us he didn't get the earlier flight. Noah grabbed a tape measure from one of the end caps and started measuring the shelves, chatting to me (I assume) about the measurements he was taking. So I just HAD to buy him his very own tape measure. I got my own tape measure too, a circumference one. I am happy to announce my once 30" waist is now a 36" waist. Not bad for only 14 weeks pregnant. Right now Noah is measuring the circumference of my arms... my waist... my chair... his head. I forgot he watched me measure earlier. I also bought a year's supply of air filters. Earlier today I opened the air duct to check the size... never took the filter out or anything, just checked...

Today has been a freakin' great day!! I had two 12x18 posters printed of castles in Germany which came today. My printer ribbon and paper for the photo printer came today so I was able to finish the photo projects I started. I received an "all clear" letter from the doctor about my OB tests... for the first time in my life. Josh is going to be so totally happy about that, by the way. He always worries about my health. I found the perfect present for Josh for our anniversary and it was on sale. I expect my new free upgraded printer to come today as well. The old one just stopped printing in black and is still under warranty. They stopped making my model so I'm getting the better one. Yay for HP! I tried this free sample shampoo and conditioner I got from Aveda and my hair is fluffy and beautimous. I feel pregnant, but sexy. I found a pair of shorts that I can button! This of course will not last... not even if I eat something. I am having a tough time sitting. ...

I know I've posted before about my thoughts on Dora the Explorer (don't really like her, thanks). So, needless to say this little TV Funhouse recut had me cracking up. There's a bit of vulgarity in it, but what can you expect from SNL :)

Josh is coming home today. I'm excited. I wasn't able to sleep too well last night. Did I mention Josh is coming home today? He's coming hooooooome. I get to see my baby :D Lalalalalalalala home diddly home home home. Doo doo bee bop de doo home-a-liciousness. Look at this sexy man of mine. Rowr. ;) Hey there sweet thang. A whole 9 days with my baby. 2 of which will be completely alone. Dang. WOOOOOOHOOOO! Now that the surprise is over I can spill it on here. Josh flew down to GA first to surprise his little brother and attend his graduation from basic combat training (another Army guy). He also surprised his dad and mom, who weren't expecting him to show up. He was a huge hit and everyone was definitely shocked to see him. Logan (brother) was beyond happy and that makes me happy. I have 6 siblings, Josh has one. They moved around a lot (military brats) so it was always just he and Logan. They went through some tough times together and I'm really glad w...

The Spring Cleaning/Nesting bug definitely hit me this weekend. I spent all day Saturday cleaning house. I believe it all started with a cup of coffee and an unexpected phonecall from my mom. Usually calls from mom put me in a cheerful mood and this time I was especially happy after hanging up. She said so many nice things :) ... it just motivated the crap out of me! I ground up some beans and started a little pot of coffee, something I haven't done in at least 3 months. I started chugging down a cup as I swept and mopped my huge tile floor. Right after that I jumped right into cleaning the garage. That's right, people... I cleaned my dang garage! Well, Noah helped a lot. He swept the floor with a bike helmet on. He loves all kinds of headgear. Then the rest of the time he was kind enough to play in the crapped out car we have in the garage. I tried jumping it on Saturday, but it's been sitting so long there's no hope for it. We're going to have to bu...

Since we hardly ever see each other, when we finally do it's always some kind of celebration. This time we're celebrating our 4th anniversary so we're going to do a whole weekend. This is where we'll be spending our weekend alone :) It's the perfect place to get away from everyone and just be together. We don't even have to find someplace to cook! Even though the full kitchen looks more like a stove and a sink and no counter space. We'll make do. We're bringing a lot of games, some food, and ourselves. We might also bring along our fishing gear. We've already decided the TV is not going to be turned on (unless the Daily Show is on because we really miss Jon Stewart). Most likely we just won't turn it on. There are places to hike and the cabins are right next to the river. We've gotten so much rain lately it's probably pretty full. I'm very excited! I haven't been away from Noah for more than a day since he was born....

Spring officially hath sprung. I didn't realize it until just now when I looked at the calendar, but maybe my body did because I was a cleaning fool all day. For the first time in my life I mowed a lawn... the entire lawn. I love my new inhalers. I was able to breathe just fine and even went further and trimmed a bunch of overhang from our trees in the front and back yards. I used to get shortness of breath from just walking past someone who was mowing. I also did some laundry and dishes, of course... all day long. I hate dishes. Tomorrow I guess I can do the inside spring cleaning crap :P So cometh the brush pickup and garage sales. Oh and I killed 2 large disgusting roaches in my garage with my trusty spray bleach without squealing like a girl! Another reason to dislike San Antonio: everything really is bigger in Texas. I am going to sprawl out on the couch with Emma (my friend's dog) and get ready to watch LOST :) Happy spring, y'all!

We had a nice windy day yesterday so I thought we would try flying a kite. We went to Target and all they had were $9.99 kites but I figured... hey... why not splurge this once. I should have gone to the dollar store! The kite would NOT fly. It was just not happening. I started to get frustrated with it and then just put it away. So we played with the kite tails instead. I tied them to sticks and let Noah play "rhythmic ribbon" with some. Other ones I tied to the deck to fly in the wind. Another one I tied to a stick and threw up into the air so it would wiggle in the air. A dollar kite would have been made entirely of that lousy kite tail material. Next time I will know better.

I just thought we were all overdue for some Noah shots. Josh has been playing soccer since he was 5 years old and is quite good at it. He can play any position, but he has 15 years experience as a goal keeper. Look at that form, babe! He's a natural :) This is the best I can do to illustrate Noah's obsession with me. He climbs all over me constantly. In this picture he's digging his eye socket into my chin. You know, because he loves me. He always grabs my face and gives me kisses, plays with my hair, sticks his fingers in my ears. He is very touchy-feely.

It's humid as all hell today so I am already having enough difficulty breathing, but I decided the ferret cage needed to be cleaned as well. So now I am sitting here, all mad and itchy because I have allergies and I HATE them. I've had them my entire life but I am still dumb enough to do crazy things like... dust. When I was little I started allergy shots, 2 a week for awhile there and then the serum got thicker and the time between the shots got longer. I made it to the last level and it was like getting 2 tetanus shots every month which would take about two weeks to heal. I decided it wasn't worth it. I think they did me some good, but this town has got to be the worst place I have ever lived for my allergies. I was nicknamed Allie Allergy after my first allergy test back when I was... 8? I remember laying there on my stomach, looking for Waldo while they pricked little holes in my back and dripped nasty allergens into them. My allergy doctor said he couldn't...

I am a much happier person today. I think it's due to adult interaction. My eldest niece Rachel is in town visiting her boyfriend over spring break and we all went to the zoo. Also I was able to help them out just by showing them around San Antonio and being their chauffeur since they didn't have a car. I love being able to help people, especially family. They are only 5 years younger than me, but because Rach is family it's sometimes hard to see her as an adult. It's definitely gotten easier and this visit I think it really sunk in for me. She's all grown up and she's wonderful. I've been an aunt since I was 5 years old so I have plenty of young adults in my family that have never called me aunt except when they were making a joke. I prefer it that way, actually. The first 2 nephews and 2 nieces are all old enough to be peers to me. We basically grew up together. Rachel is 20, going to college away from home. She's never had anything han...

To me an anonymous comment must be approached with the same etiquette as interrupting someone elses conversation. If you wouldn't butt in and say what you comment, don't post it. Anonymous commenters are just intruding strangers. When I blog I am talking to friends... other people are around and can hear, but it's not your business if I'm not talking to you. I don't mind accepting newcomers, but rude people really piss me off. You can become part of the conversation or rudely interrupt it and offend the people talking. If you want to be part of the conversation ease yourself into it and realize you have to be accepted by those already involved. Imagine sitting at a coffee shop, discussing a book with someone and a random guy interrupts you to correct something you said and then walks away. How does it make you feel? It won't happen again. The internet is a contributing cause for a lot of our lost manners I think. Just a reminder, we're all still r...

This is an interesting article. I find the scientific explanation of the differences between men and women to be extremely fascinating. It's so true! It must be why I find doing dishes or laundry with Noah to be so relaxing, almost therapeutic. Here's an excerpt. Tend and Befriend, Fight or Flight While most people are familiar with the fight or flight theory (when confronted with stress, do you stay and fight or turn tail and run?), there's a new theory in town tailored just for women. An influential study published in the July 2000 issue of Psychological Review reported that females were more likely to deal with stress by "tending and befriending" -- that is, nurturing those around them and reaching out to others. "Tending involves nurturant activities designed to protect the self and offspring that promote safety and reduce distress; befriending is the creation and maintenance of social networks that may aid in this process," write res...

I think March is my favorite month. It's full of surprises and excitement. It seems like no matter where you live, March will bring some kind of unpredictability. We get thunderstorms, heat waves, random snow flurries, hurricane winds, tropical storms, tornadoes, blizzards... why it just doesn't make sense!! This week is going to be perfect weather, upper 60's - lower 70's for the next few days, partly cloudy and windy. It's perfect kite-flying weather! Noah has flown a kite before, but I bet this time he would really enjoy holding the string and watching it flap all around. He's a lot older now and can stay focused longer. Thus far my allergies have been driving me crazy (like that's anything new). However, it seems as though my new steroid inhaler is keeping my asthma under control. YAY! :D I haven't had to use my emergency Albuterol yet. I am supposed to take 2 puffs a day of the steroid one, but I have yet to remember the 2nd puff. Also, ...

Today started off real slow. I was tired pretty much all day, even after a nap. I admittedly was not patient with Noah at all during the morning. I was sorta ignoring him and I would yell at him over little things that don't usually make me mad... like accidentally spilling malt-o-meal all over the carpet. Maybe that's why the day sucked, it started off with me running the rug cleaner before I even got to eat my breakfast (or at least the half that wasn't in the rug). One of the hardest things about being a "single mom" has to be the inability to escape. As much as I love Noah I can totally understand how 19yr old single moms end up abusing their children. It's not for lack of love, it's the total frustration of never having a moment alone and no help. Even when people help, it's really not that much of a relief because the help is used to perfom responsible acts like... appointments. And the people who help sometimes just end up making me fe...

I feel like I've posted too much today, but oh well! I forgot to mention that I have already gained 10 pounds :P I told the doctor my stomach popped out really fast this time and she made the comment that maybe I'm having twins. She would be the 4th person who has wished twins upon me. Could I handle twins? Of course... do I want to? Not particularly. Maybe if I knew for sure Josh would be home for the first year. I also didn't post any cuteness yet today!! :O Noah and I had some fun outside after naptime. The weather has finally cleared up and the sun already dried a lot of the puddles. We found a huge grasshopper and I trapped it in a vase so Noah could get a real close look. He was a little too scared to not have that glass between them. We also played with the water tub for a couple hours. Noah was throwing big rocks into it to entertain me... and make splashes for himself.