Two Months = Too Fast!

How crazy is it that little Clara is already 2 months old? I feel like it was 100 degrees just yesterday and all of the sudden it is so cold and my baby is getting so big! She weighed 12 pounds, 7 ounces at her 2 month appointment and she didn't even cry for her shot.

She loves to be held and cuddled all of the time, but she enjoys lots of playtime on her own and is so strong! She pushes her head and chest all the way up on her tummy and even rolls over onto her back. She holds her head up anytime she is upright with no help (she has been doing that for awhile). She is outgrowing so many clothes already and talking up a storm! Her favorite words are "Aah-oo," "ah-goo," and lots of shrieks and coos. She thinks our dog Stanley is hilarious.

It is really so much fun to be home with her, and I know how lucky we are be able to have me stay away from work for the time being. I wish she liked her carseat a little more (that is an understatement) but really, she is such a good girl. I love our baby!

Clara's Birth Announcement!

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Baptism

This is our baby after her baptism, stuffed into her carseat because she was already sleeping (and she screams in the car unless she's asleep) and in her dress. This dress is over 100 years old!


This is our baby with her parents and grandparents! So sweet.


She is growing and growing and growing! She is almost 7 weeks old and she weighs almost 12 pounds (according to Charlie's veterinary scale, haha!) We just got her pictures from the photographer so there will be lots more to come.

Clara's (very long) Birth Story

This is a long story - but it was a long birth! I really enjoyed reading people's stories when I was pregnant, so maybe someone will enjoy reading ours. :-)

Sunday, September 25
We went to eat at YC’s Mongolian Grill because I thought maybe eating spicy foods would help her come. That night we started watching the movie “Morning Glory” and I started having mild contractions at 8pm. I knew they were contractions because they wrapped around my back as well as front. I practiced breathing through them, and each time they would start, Charlie would pause the movie as I lay on the couch.
After awhile, it got to be too much to sit on the couch and I went upstairs to take a bath. I know at some point we went downstairs again and finished watching the movie, and we tried to sleep in between contractions. What happened that night is kind of fuzzy, but between 8pm and 5am I had contractions, ranging from 3-8 minutes apart. They seemed to get farther apart near the morning time, and at some point we both drifted off to sleep as the contractions stopped completely. Between 5-9am, there were no contractions and we both slept.
Monday, September 26
I was so disappointed when I finally woke up and realized nothing had happened! Charlie was exhausted (as was I) and thought he should take a rest as he had to work that day at 11am. I decided to take our dog Stanley for a walk. I could feel that the baby was low and I am pretty sure I was walking way too slowly for our dog to be getting any exercise, but I was hoping the contractions would start up again.
When I got back home, I lay down on the couch and watched TV and after a few minutes, felt a contraction. They were 10 minutes apart this time. I debated whether or not to wake Charlie. I wondered if I should call the midwife, especially since last night nothing had actually progressed to the point of going to the hospital.
I eventually woke Charlie and he called for a labor check appointment at Valley Women for Women with Belinda since she was on call. We went in at 11am and she said I was still in the early stages of labor (dilated a 2.5) so we could go have a nice lunch somewhere and labor at home some more. Well, I felt pretty yucky, but we drove to mail a package and then had lunch at Brio at the San Tan Mall.
It was still pretty hot outside and the walk to the restaurant seemed to take forever, but somehow we made it to our table. Seated at the table, I was having contractions and would close my eyes and just breathe. It was very uncomfortable to be sitting upright but we tried to look over the menu and have one last “nice meal” together. Well, it ended up that we ordered our food to go because I felt so nauseous and out of place in a fancy place with my eyes closed, ignoring the waitress. So we started walking back to the car. We had a contraction standing outside the restaurant, and then Charlie decided to bring the car to me as I waited on a bench. I wondered what the people walking by me thought seeing a pregnant lady “asleep” on a bench in the middle of the day, ha!
We drove back home and Charlie ate his to-go lunch on the floor of our bathroom, as I lay in the tub. I felt too hot after awhile and got into bed. Charlie started fixing the “go bag” with the last minute items like toothbrushes and sandwiches in between my contractions. Around 2pm, I was really focusing on “giving in” to a contraction and picturing my cervix opening when I heard a “pop!” and felt like a cork had popped inside me! Then I felt water rushing out, and I called for Charlie to come. He called Belinda again and we eventually got in the car and drove for another labor check – we really wanted to make sure we were not going to the hospital too soon.
The second drive for the labor check was so intense. I threw up on the outside of Charlie’s car midway through the 2-mile drive, and I know I was a frightening sight in my wet nightgown and unkempt hair when we walked into the office again! It seemed like we had to wait forever to be called back, and I eventually convinced Charlie to ask if we could just lie down on any old bed in a room while we waited. I know I threw up again in an ultrasound room, but that time was also fuzzy in my mind. I was just focusing on breathing and relaxing as much as I could.
Belinda checked me again and said “you’re a 4-“ and before she could recommend us to go back home, I jumped in and told her I thought I was at my limit, whatever that meant, and that I just wanted to go to the hospital to labor. No more driving back and forth. She called and got us cleared for a delivery room – no triage! – and we drove straight to the hospital and parked in the very closest spot to the emergency room.
I threw up in the parking lot, in the lovely flower pot outside the door of the emergency room, and then proceeded to heave and heave, looking for a trash can that I could hold. Once we got one, Charlie went to check us in. I had my eyes closed the whole time we waited, and it was the worst feeling sitting alone having bad contractions by myself, knowing strangers were probably staring at me after my lovely entrance. About 10 minutes later, Charlie finished with the paperwork (we had already preregistered – silly hospital paperwork!) and they brought a wheelchair to take us up. It was about 4pm.
They mistakenly wheeled us to triage and then Charlie explained we were bypassing that part, before they brought us to our room. It literally felt like I was on a rollercoaster, it seemed like we were going so fast! When we got to our labor room, our first nurse Jill was working on filling the enormous labor tub, so I lay on my side and Charlie coached me through contractions.
Around this point, and upon entering the labor tub (fully naked – I guess my modesty disappeared fairly quickly!), I was seriously doubting my ability to handle the rest of labor with no drugs. Maybe it was the stress of getting checked twice and coming to the hospital, but I just felt like I was really at my limit of pain. I mentioned that I might have to have an epidural to Charlie, and he calmly told me that we had discussed the fact that I might say this, and reminded me of why we were having a natural birth. That was really all it took for me to feel almost completely reassured. That, and when midwife Diane came to help us before Belinda arrived. We had been told that we had to get out of the tub because they had found meconium in my water, and although I felt like crying, Charlie guided me out of the tub and into the shower.
I could not stand at that point, so I just sat in the shower floor and let Charlie shower hot water on my back. Diane peeked her face through the curtain and commended us for our great work. She asked me how I was feeling and I told her honestly, “I am really doubting myself right now.” I will never forget the look on her face as she told me that I was not doubting myself and that I was doing it. Her eyes were like lasers into mine and it honestly felt like the Word of God coming from her mouth!! I wonder if they take drama classes in midwifery school just for this purpose of reassuring women.
I was so happy when Belinda arrived. We had plugged the drain of the shower (Diane and Charlie’s idea!) to make it a small tub, and I was getting too hot, so we went back to the bed. The new nurse was Lynda, and although she was a very nice person, I came to associate her with the intermittent monitoring that made me so uncomfortable. Around 7pm, I told Belinda it would help my spirits if I knew how much I was dilated now, and she determined that I was an “uneven 7,” whatever that meant. I wondered if Clara was going to be born the next day, since only 5 hours were left of the 26th.
The timeline of laboring techniques that Charlie and Belinda helped me with gets fuzzy between 7 and midnight. We tried the ball, but I found it so hard to keep balanced and relaxed during contractions. Lying on my side was no longer comfortable, either. One of my favorite positions was hanging my arms over the back of the bed, my head resting on the very top of the bed, with the bed in an upright-sitting position. They encouraged me to spread my knees nice and wide and relax into each contraction. Charlie and Belinda would rub my back and rock my hips during contractions. At first, this felt scary, but the more I did it, the better it felt. They also took extremely hot water and wrung washcloths in it to give super-deep pressure and heat on my back, which hurt a lot at this point. The washcloths were the only thing that really got rid of the back pain during and in between contractions. I remember Charlie and Belinda discussing Gate-Control Theory and how pressure and heat occupy the pain receptors first, hence the amazing power of the hot cloths.
I got back in the shower at some point and stood up as Charlie poured more extremely hot water on my back. I think we decided that this was transition, as I was shaking so hard. More hot washcloths and pressure in bed, and at some point, I started feeling the urge to push, little by little. I wanted to know if I could push safely (Belinda never pressured me to get checked – it was my own curiosity) and at that point I was declared a 10!! I felt so happy and proud of Charlie and I for making it all the way to 10 with no drugs, I felt like celebrating already.
It was around midnight when I started pushing. We tried 2 positions. The first was squatting, using the bar. I would rest gingerly on my back between contractions. I kind of sensed that Clara was not coming out very fast. The contractions slowed way down (about 6 minutes apart) during pushing, but Belinda was not worried. Clara had been doing fabulously during the entire labor, according to the annoying monitoring, and Belinda told the nurse basically to “chill out” even though they were far apart, because my body knew what it was doing. (She did this without me hearing, but she told us later what she had said to the nurse.) The next hour of pushing was in a sitting up position, with my feet pushing on the squatting bar. I kept asking what was going on down there, and they brought me a mirror, even though I was a little scared at first to see what was happening to my body!
Eventually the contractions made me want to push, push, push, and it felt so good. Even though I felt the “ring of fire” it was totally manageable. Belinda called for the baby nurse to come, and I started getting excited. I could see the whole circumference of Clara’s head in the mirror. It was so surreal! She said something that really motivated me on the next contraction – “let’s really surprise ‘em and have this baby before they get here!” and sure enough, the next contraction pushed her head and her body all the way out. Charlie caught her, and they plopped her right on my chest. She was crying and her eyes were already open. She was very alert. I couldn’t believe I was looking at our own baby!!

Clara Juliet

Born on September 27, 2011 at 1:59 am. She weighed 8 lbs. 3 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches. She is an absolute precious gift from God and we love her sooo much. I will write her birth story soon - it was a pretty amazing experience - but in the meantime we are just soaking every bit of parenthood up.

Waiting

The countdown is in the single digits now!! Since Thursday was my last day, of work, I have been home this week. I am vacuuming my house like every other day, obsessively cleaning the kitchen, and going to Hobby Lobby and Michaels way too much after staring at the walls and dreaming of new ways to decorate.

Last night I had Braxton Hicks for about 4 hours, although they were not at regular intervals. Every morning Charlie and I wake up and say, "another full night of sleep!" because there won't be many more left. Although I get the feeling that this baby is very comfy where she is and maybe I will just stay pregnant for the rest of my life. If that is the case, I'm definitely going to have to buy some more maternity pants. I keep wearing my favorites over and over and they are starting to come apart at the waist. I can't remember the last time I wore something so often that happened!

37 weeks!

We had fun today with an ultra-professional maternity photoshoot in our house. Ha! Not really. We just used our camera timer and did it ourselves. But we did have alot of fun and enjoyed the substantially lower price. :-)

The countdown: 35 weeks

I have been taking a picture every week for fun. This was last week!

We went to look at a bunch of giant model homes (also just for fun - we are definitely not moving again). This was one of the garages we saw. I am normally not interested in garages, but this was pretty amazing!

Lizard Invasion!

Did you know lizards can hiss? Leopard geckos can. How do I know this? Because WE HAD ONE IN OUR HOUSE. It was so scary (to me) it was ridiculous. I caught it behind the garbage can, it hissed at our dog Stanley, then it ran under the fridge, where I thought I was doing a pretty good job of a stakeout until Charlie came home, moved the fridge, and it was nowhere to be found. Until the next morning when we found it in the dining room and finally asked it to leave. The funny thing is, my description of the lizard to Charlie was something like this: "Well, it looked almost like a turtle, with a round body and a short tail... what could it be??" Apparently I would not make a good eyewitness because after we took it outside, we took a picture of it.



It is not a turtle. It just lost its tail.

Since then, we have caught another small lizard. We think they come in the garage when the door opens, and then when we open the door to the house, they are poised and ready for their day at the spa. (Don't you think that's what it must feel like for them to be in air conditioning?)

Baby Shower

I had a somewhat-early baby shower given by family and friends in June - the date kept getting pushed up because everyone was going to be on vacation or moving in July! However, I did not mind at all, because I got to see almost everyone and also I was not too large for people to look at yet. Ha. These pictures area all from other nice people who sent them to me, because I didn't take a single picture all weekend, despite having my family here from out of town.

As I look at these pictures again, I am realizing two common themes.

1: The hand on the belly pose
2: I am not looking at the camera






So fun! I want to do it again!

The Wild Side

So this morning I was taking Stanley for a walk before my water aerobics class (it is the best exercise ever and so fun and refreshing) and we were walking by a house that has see-through backyard fence. Background: they have 3 yappy dogs that bark constantly, and they even have this high-pitched alarm that goes off when they bark - I guess to try to get them to stop, but it never seems to work. But we love walking that way anyway because it is so nice and shady.

Anyway, we walk by their house, the dogs start barking, the alarm goes off, and then this incredibly loud screeching begins. I think to myself, "Wow, they got a new alarm sound." Then I look up and see a very realistic owl attached to the top of the fence. I think to myself again, "Wow, they really invested in a realistic alarm." Then before I can realize what is happening, the owl starts FLYING, circling just above Stanley. In about .05 seconds I have this discussion with myself:

"Self, do owls eat dogs?"
"Well, I'm not sure."
"I think they might eat something like small rodents."
"I think you are overreacting. Maybe you should just relax and keep going."
"The owl is still circling. Pick up the dog."

Hah! So I picked Stanley up and walked away from the house. As we were walking along the street, a large dog started barking from another house. When I looked up, the entire front half of the dog was over the fence. What is going on today??

As I walk the other direction back home, I look back to make sure Stanley is not being selected again by Mr. or Mrs. Owl for dinner and I see off in the distance beside the canal (we live kind of next to a canal) 5 or 6 little figures. Then I realize they are baby owls!! I think they are adorable of course, and so I no longer fear their mother. Or maybe Stanley was going to be their dinner. We will never know.

Being Productive

This was the back of Charlie's trailblazer after our Saturday shopping extravaganza to IKEA, Babies R Us, Home Depot, Staples, Target, and Costco. It was actually really fun to go to that many stores in a row, and it just got more and more funny as the boxes piled up in the car. Then later this weekend, Charlie's parents came over and helped us install a ceiling fan, paint the baby's room, and put together a filing cabinet. Then Charlie and I put together the crib and IKEA furniture for the entertainment center. It seems impossible the amount of things we got done.



Me at 23 weeks! Things are going great; it is getting harder to keep up physically at work, as I feel tired way faster after bending over/jumping/walking backwards/running/playing the guitar while walking backwards all day during my clients' music therapy sessions. Sometimes I think I must have one of the most interesting jobs physically. I kind of wish for the next few months I could have a job where I just sit down and stand up, haha. I am starting a water aerobics class on Wednesday morning so that should be fun or relaxing (hopefully?) or at least entertaining. Also, our Bradley birth classes are starting this Friday, which I cannot wait for!

We went to the Olive Mill with our friends on Saturday night and it was just gorgeous weather. We ate in the olive grove with the twinkle lights and semi-live music. So relaxing. Now back to the workweek!

Baby Girl!!!

On Cinco de Mayo we went for our 20 week ultrasound thinking we would see a little boy on the screen. At 12 weeks, they had hinted that they thought it was a boy. Well, apparently that is way too early to tell anything for sure, because it turns out we are having a little girl!!!

Charlie's face was priceless - he was pretty shocked. Actually, so was I, but I reacted by crying (no surprise). :-) We are so happy and excited, and we are gradually wrapping our brains around the idea that a little lady will be coming to meet us in 4 months. And it's going to be a long 4 months. I just hope I am not too complainey about being super pregnant in 120 degrees. Things could be worse, right?



This is a picture of me at 20 weeks. It is getting harder to take a picture of myself in the mirror, because I always take it right before I leave for work, and our little dog Stanley starts freaking out (aka jumping like a circus dog) and wants me to pick him up. As a result, the pictures are looking pretty blurry these days. As you can see, he made it into this picture!



Then last weekend, I went hiking for 2 hours with my parents in the desert of Picacho Peak. We have this picture from when I was 4 or 5, posing with my dad, wearing his hat in a lovely background there, and we were on a quest to find it. This quest took us off the beaten path. To be exact, we were hiking in spots where a pregnant lady should probably not be going. But we had plenty of water, and I packed a big picnic lunch, so after a 2 hour nap later, I felt slightly recovered!



We also had a nice Mother's Day lunch with both our families. I'm not sure if this one counts for me, since I have not been slaving away taking care of a baby, but it felt special anyway. :-)

Seattle!

We had a great time in Seattle! We had never been before. It was about 40 degrees cooler than Phoenix the whole time we were there. Loved it!


At the Experience Music Project. This actually plays music in addition to looking very cool. We were there for about 6 days and we saw so much it is hard to remember all that we did. We went to the Underground, the Aquarium, the Science Center, the EMP, the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, the waterfront, Bainbridge Island, the Locks Cruise, and lots of yummy restaurants. Fish, mmm. But even with all that fun it was a very relaxing trip, which we wanted. We loved that our hotel had this shuttle that would take you places for free. We did a ton of walking, and uphill walking, so I feel like we got pretty good exercise too.




Lovely pic of a lighthouse with Mt. Ranier in the background. Our camera was running out of batteries so we had to ration our pictures - just like the old days of actual camera film! It's hard to remember, ha.


There was a Star Wars exhibit so this is Charlie with the real Darth Vader suit!


At the science center, they had a table and chairs that would make you feel small. I love giant things so of course I loved this.


Two days til we find out the gender of our little baby!!

Spring Fun

Stanley got a haircut! He still has ears, don't worry, I guess he was just holding them back in this picture. His ears are very expressive, kind of like a cartoon character. He is hard to take pictures of now, because he is wary of the camera whenever I get it out.



I planted flowers and herbs and pretended to be a gardener for a day! We made fresh pesto from the basil plant because it grows so fast. It makes me feel a little better that the plants are doing so well here, because I tried several times when we lived in Colorado and nothing ever lasted long.

I have always wanted flower boxes on our balcony, so I got these from Home Depot before I realized that our balcony gets maybe 5 minutes of sun a day, which is not good for the flowers I picked. So now the flower boxes are hanging off the railing on our front porch, and I am wondering if next year I can find flowers that don't need sun. Do those exist? Would they be some exotic rainforest flower or something? Ha.

In baby news, our little mystery baby is growing nicely, I suppose - since I have absolutely nothing to compare this to, and my midwife says everything is going well. Yes, I am seeing a midwife. I am not going to have my baby at home though!! Much safer at the hospital. I go to this practice where there are about 7 doctors and two midwives, and they tell you that you get more time to ask questions and such if you see the midwife. And then if they attend your birth, they stay with you throughout the whole labor. Which sounds nice to me because I have absolutely no idea how to give birth. Obviously.

I have only seen her once, and they took me to this special room that was like having a doctor's appointment in Pier One. Mood lighting, art, furniture, decorative pillows, a fountain (ok, there was no fountain, I am kidding). Next time when I go back (on Cinco de Mayo!) we will find out for sure if it is a boy or girl. :-) I can't wait!!

Stanley

What did we get ourselves into? Well, we have been talking about getting a dog since before we were married. Now 3 1/2 years later, we do have a house, a yard, even a dog door! And finally a dog. It all started when one of the teachers where I work found a little poodle mix about week ago. She posted signs and no one responded. She was about to give him to the pound because her other dog didn't really like him. Then I heard the story of "Stanley" (that's what she named him) and begged Charlie to let us get him. So yesterday we did. He needs a haircut badly. These are his faults: he will escape if he can find a way, and he likes to chew on sheets and blankets, and he begs at the table. We are working on those, ha. But he has many good qualities as well: he is incredibly friendly to everyone, he greets you at the door, he is the perfect size for our small yard (he weighs like 8 pounds), and he likes riding in the car. I hope we can figure out this little guy before the next one comes along!!

New Countdown

Spring Break last week was lots of fun - I got to see my cousins in Texas, my mom, aunt, uncle, and grandma! It was absolutely beautiful weather, except the day we went to the zoo and it was literally like standing in a wind tunnel. This picture does not adequately show how windy it was.



But during all the fun of spring break, the crazy information about Japan's nuclear situation started coming out on the news, and I was pretty worried for our friends Eric and Melissa who were living in Japan to teach English. Then, on Wednesday night, they called and told me they were coming back to the US!! Sure enough, they are here now, already figuring out what to do for the next few months, and what they can do to help their friends back there. Life is an adventure!

Which brings me to the news: we are not going to Japan in April anymore (obviously), although we might take another trip somewhere else. But we have a new date to look forward to: September 23!! The secret (ok, not really a secret to anyone) is out - we're having a baby!!!

We're so excited, and so are our families. I wish that September was next month. Especially so that summer would be over already. But then there's alot to do still. For example, we have about a zillion books from the 4 degrees we earned that are all sitting in lovely bookshelves, that neither of us will probably ever read, but we don't want to get rid of just yet. And we have a stealth pile of boxes that sits quietly in the closet which we have never unpacked. And we want to tile the spare bathroom. But I guess all those things are pretty insignificant, really - compared to the big shocker that is coming our way in 6 months!

Feel the Burn

Of my hand, that is. Saturday night will remain one of the most memorable nights in my life, I am sure. I will be telling this story someday when I am a grandma, over and over again. Because. it. hurt. so. badly.

Backing up, I invited my mom over for dinner and we were making homemade macaroni and cheese with broccoli. It was coming along well, and we put it in the 350 degree oven to do whatever a pasta does. Charlie came home from work, and took it out of the oven (using an oven mitt, like a normal person would). He lifted it out holding it only by the long handle - that thing was seriously heavy - and said "ouch, that hurt my wrist" or something like that. Then I said, "Really, you hurt your wrist? Let me try-" and proceeded to grab the handle and lift. Later I heard Charlie's voice saying "Noooooo" right before I did.

Everything seemed like it was in slow motion. I know I was screaming and I know that they put it under cold ice water, and I thought someone else was screaming too. It turns out the dogs were howling with me, which now seems funny. It was seriously the worst pain ever. And I was crying, oh was I crying. "Is this what childbirth feels like?" "I can't go to work and play the guitar with my left hand only" "Is my hand dying?" Then after I started to calm down (I'm sure Charlie and my mom would laugh at my use of that phrase) Charlie told me that I needed to take my hand out because I was going to get frostbite. Seriously??? So I reluctantly tried, and immediately started crying again because the pain came back "just (sob) like (sob) it (sob) felt (sob) like when I (sob) burned it (sob sob sob)." Finally, they convinced me I could do it, I bit down on a towel and breathed like I was in labor, and Charlie wrapped my hand up.

Did I mention that I have a low pain tolerance? But seriously, it was not your average burn. And I did have to miss work a few days this week. But I am happy to report that "the claw" is healing well. And that's the story! The End.

Birthday!

Birthday cake! I got his cake from the bakery where they made our wedding cake, and they really like to have a theme for their cakes. They kept asking me what they could put on it, and I finally realized - duh - animals! This is what they put on the cake. So funny.


Then later last week we embarassed Charlie by taking him to Texas Roadhouse and accidentally telling the waiter it was his birthday, which of course meant that he was forced to sit on this saddle as everyone said happy birthday. :-)

He got a surprise present from Eric and Melissa in Japan - a box full of ties! Many of them have animals on them, in a subtle, small yet adorable way. He absolutely loves them and has been wearing one each day. Today he wore the elephants.

We also managed to visit Oregano's on his acutal birthday, which is one of our favorite things to do, as there is a free pizza cookie dessert on your birthday. Who doesn't love a soft-baked chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream? Mmm.

27

Happy Birthday Charlie!!! I love you so much. It's going to be an amazing 27th year!

V-Day

Last weekend was so fun! More shopping with my mom, discovering a new delicious Greek restaurant (I have been there twice already!), going to see the ballet Don Quixote with Charlie, decorating cookies for our families and work. Plus, on Tuesday it was 81 degrees!! But it's only a teaser, since it's supposed to rain and be cold again this weekend.
Next week is Charlie's birthday . . . fun times ahead!

Purse-nabbing

"Oh look, there's Fiesta Mall. I haven't been there in years. I bet it's totally empty, want to go?" Rachel asked last weekend. "It will remind me of my childhood- how quaint."

"Sure, ok," agreed my mother.

Pulling into the parking lot...walking up to the door of the mall...fast forward to...

PURSE-NABBING INCIDENT! Right in front of us, a young man races out of the mall, holding a purse as a young woman screams "my purse, my purse!" He drops the purse on the asphalt and keeps running through the parking lot. She drops to her knees and sobs.

Now I remember why nobody goes to Fiesta Mall.

Whoa, it's February

Last week kind of didn't hold much for me except lying in bed, staring at my bedroom ceiling, drifting in and out of sleep. I was sick 4 out of 5 workdays. Blech. All it was, as far as I could tell, was a terrible cold, but it zapped all of my energy (and some brain cells too) and I felt awful. I definitely knew I could not run around chasing kids like that.

Charlie was so sweet and helpful though, and he even had last Thursday off, so he played doctor/butler to me, bringing me everything I needed and wanted - including lemons and limes. The strange thing is that after I ate a lime and almost a whole lemon, I started feeling much better. My ability to think about things returned (ha) and by Saturday I was 100% improved.

I even got to help judge the regional choir sightreading auditions last weekend! 16 hours of musical bliss. Or something. I'd say about 15% of the kids were good sightreaders, and the others were ... still learning. The first night after I judged, I definitely dreamed the music they had been singing all day. But anyway, it was a fun experience and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I got to see some old music school friends again.

So now that I've recovered, low and behold, it is February, which means:
1. Valentine's Day
2. Charlie's birthday
3. Renaissance festival (free tickets from work!)
4. I'm going to blink and it will be March.

And I can't believe that at this moment there are only 83 days until we go to Japan. How did that happen?

Curtain Pics!

It has been so fun learning to sew from my mom! This weekend she showed me how to bond two fabrics with this special webbing. That's how the brown curtains have white stripes on them.



Kitchen




Family room (Charlie modeling the comfy couch)



More kitchen



Dining room




Laundry Room




Not finished yet - next up, Master bedroom!