Does Size Really Matter?

It's another Monday morning. The only thing that got me going this morning was thinking there are only 4 more weeks of school....WRONG....there are 5 more weeks....grumble, grumble. Oh well, we still have one bad weather day and our last 3 days are only 1/2 days anyway since we have finals!

2 weeks and 2 days until we can find out what this little banana fish is. It gets old calling it an 'IT'.

This whole no exercising thing is making my butt big...ok so maybe it is really the eating part that is making my butt big! I'm just hungry all the time. It is a good thing that I like fruits, vegetables, and yogurt otherwise I'd be a whale already!

I am growing out of some of my smaller maternity clothes so I decided to wear a new skirt today. It's pretty cute-right above the knee length denim with some embroidery on it. I took 2 tags off of the skirt and assumed that I was done (YEP, you see where this is going don't you!). I guess at 6:45 I didn't inspect the garment as properly as I should have because 2nd period (oh yes I had already walked around the school and gone through 1st period) one of my girls said "Mrs. Howell, I think you still have a tag on your skirt!"....OH YES I DID! It couldn't have been just a little price tag hanging out from under my shirt, it was the long stick on tag that boldly tells what size the skirt is about ten times!!! I guess that the up side is that in most maternity clothes I wear a small....at least it wasn't XX-LARGE plastered across my butt!

An Easter to Remember

Ok...my grandmother has never really been the comedian of the family. I'm not sure that she really intended to be this weekend, but she definitely stole the show! We all sat down for a lovely Easter lunch. We ate, talked, ate, laughed, and ate some more. Between dinner and dessert my grandmother proclaimed that she had an announcement!

(PAUSE: let's remember her condition shall we....she's 82 years old, on 24/7 oxygen, not real stable on her feet, incontinent often, and has Alzheimers. About a year ago we took all of her panties away and put depends in her panty drawer so that when she messed all over herself we could just throw them away. At the time she didn't even realize that we had done it, or just didn't care.)

Back to the announcement.... She stood up and declared that while the whole family was at their house over New Years for their anniversary, someone stole her panties and she wanted them back!

(PAUSE: She's told us this before. She has actually called each family member previously and accused them of taking her panties....the scary part is that a couple of us have honestly confessed to her and she doesn't remember that either! We might as well tell her it was Colonel Mustard in the ballroom with the candle stick!)

As she is making her announcement she stands up and says. "Until someone confesses and brings me my panties, or y'all take up a collection to buy me new panties this is what I am wearing!"

SHE IS WEARING MY GRANDDADS UNDERWEAR! YES....she REALLY is! I'm pretty sure there wasn't a dry eye at the table from laughing so hard! Is this the appropriate time to discuss table etiquette! DON'T DROP TROU AT THE DINNER TABLE GRANNY!

All of this never even phased my granddad. I think he is so use to her....oddness...lately that he doesn't even pay attention! Kind of like when she feeds their birds scrambled eggs. He says nothing, and cleans all of the eggs out of their cage later. Granny, birds don't like to eat eggs, that’s cannibalism!

Getting to see everyone, and the kids is always a highlight. However, this Easter will always be remembered as the one when granny dropped trou!

Strange things...

1. The first and probably strangest is my tongue. no it is not an odd shape and I have no earthly idea how to roll it. When I get stressed my tongue...well...kinda sheds...in patches! It is the weirdest looking thing. It is called geographia. Last week when everything was so nuts around our house...this is what my tongue looked like by the end of the week! Yeah...gross huh....

2. I don't believe in feeding dogs people food. I never have. However, I eat my breakfast on the way to school every morning and I never eat the last bite. Why, you ask? It is because I save it for our superintendent’s dog that greets everyone as they walk in the school doors. Yes I guess that makes me a hypocrite, I would scream if someone fed Annie people food but I give Oreo some everyday! I guess there IS a difference since Oreo is an outside dog...if he gets sick no one has to clean it up!

3. I know that my tummy is growing, and that people think it is cute...but do they have to ask me to lift my shirt up...somehow that seems a little private to me! My mom and I talked about this a couple of months ago because people at her office want to see and feel. I'm too the point that feeling is ok (it wasn't when my pooch was just fat)...but really...can you just look at it through the shirt? For family I don't mind lifting the shirt and giving you a gander, that's ok...but do you have to take a picture? It is just so weird to me. Under MUCH duress do I raise my shirt for my mother to take a picture every week...and if you notice there are few that I smile in. I know, I know I will enjoy looking at them later...but it just bothers me. The pic to the right is @ 16 weeks. Yes my boobs are still bigger than my belly!

4. I don't care what we are having, and I am not really that anxious to find out (yes, I know this is weird). Yes I want to know, don't get me wrong, and I will love whatever it is. But, at this point the biggest reason I want to know is so that I can decorate (my favorite past time!). My sweet husband wants to know tomorrow! Tomorrow would be fine with me, but a few weeks would be too. I guess maybe because it isn't all real to me yet (when does it get real?) even after 2 sonograms. Maybe because I've only gained 6 1/2 pounds, maybe because it isn't kicking me to death yet, maybe because I can't hold it.......I DON'T KNOW...but this whole thing has to get real before the baby gets here right? RIGHT? I certainly hope so!

5. My stomach has literally grown in the last 36 hours! It is the weirdest thing...just poof and it was there! There was just a small little bump....now it is a little larger bump. This pic is 17 1/2 weeks (the color is all screwey when I upload it...) Now maybe I'll actually look pregnant not just over weight! My boobs are still bigger than my belly though....

Aaaaahhhhh.....

It is amazing how much better you feel when you accomplish things! We worked in the yard all day yesterday and it looks sooooo much nicer...15 bags of leaves and grass later...how could it not look better!!! All we have to do now is fertilize and sit back and watch it grow! (I'm not going to mention the fact that once it grows then you have to mow it again! I'm not bursting that bubble today!)Now our yard looks kinda like all the neighbors that hire lawn companies! MY yard guy was pretty tired though...having to do most of the tough stuff by himself!

Ya know it must be hard being the only boy around here in the fam'...you have to do all the guy stuff for the grandparents, parents, and our house all by yourself! Even if we do have a boy, it will be a long time before he's much help!

Please and Thank You!

What are we teaching our children? Are please and thank you that hard to say! Does it just not roll off the tongue as nicely as F#$@ and S#!%! They can apparently say those words REAL well(they are such potty mouths!). What happened to a little bit of manners...common courtesy?

I'm not just talking about students....It goes all the way up to people my age! How hard is this! Their mothers should be ashamed! When you ask someone to do something for you, say PLEASE. When they do something for you say, Thank You! I realize that this day in age chivalry is almost dead... but common courtesy? It makes me not want to do nice things for certain people. It is almost like they EXPECT it when they don't say it....and even if they do, can they not be sweet? It's not that hard to say the words and give a small smile...or even no smile...I could handle that!

I hope that my children are polite and courteous to other people. I know that there will be days that they mess up, but overall they WILL say please and thank you!

WARNING....Kleenax may be needed to read this post

Ok you know I talked about how Alex was on her last leg yesterday....well apparently she really was. She wound up having some kind of seizure or stroke yesterday afternoon. I took her to the vet and he recommended that we put her to sleep, so we did. WE ARE SOOOO SAD.

Ya’ know, I have NEVER in my life been so attached to an animal before. She was such a wonderful, sweet, calm, thoughtful dog. Yes thoughtful....she came and checked on me every morning while I was in the bathroom getting ready (she's done this her whole life)... not expecting to get petted just to check on me...she always let Annie(the other dog) go first...she always knew when we felt bad and needed some attention. Her favorite spot to lay was usually under Koby's feet at our breakfast bar. In our grieving last night we quietly joked at how we were sitting at the bar...both of us had our feet up off the ground out of her way, since that was her spot.

Annie is sad too. She is 11 years old and has been with Alex all her life. Poor girl, doesn't know what's going on. We tried to get her to come and sleep with us last night and she wouldn't. She was laying behind the dinning table this morning and wouldn't come out from there either. I'm going to go get her some bones and treats this afternoon. Eating always makes ME feel better when I'm sad.

She was the best dog EVER. We're gonna miss her a lot.

I think I have learned not to say the phrase "what else can happen this week". HOPEFULLY it will get better!

....

I couldn't decide on a title for this entry:

What Tha!
One More Thing...
Who needs a Refrigerator Anyway?
When it Rains it Pours
As Dead as a Doornail
Game Off (PLEASE!)

The three of us (me, Koby, and Mom) have worked our butts off for the past week, and all weekend. REALLY I SWEAR MINE IS SMALLER! The hunters were supposed to leave yesterday morning after the morning hunt. They wound up staying not only through lunch (and eating all the leftovers in the lodge's fridge) but through dinner too! My mom and I took them pizza...we weren't about to cook another meal! We finally get home last night a little before 9:00, Koby was closer to 9:30 (hoping for a little rest) and our refrigerator is dead....and apparently had been for MANY days! Everything on the freezer side especially was not only completely thawed, but warm too. It was nasty and the LAST thing any of us wanted to deal with. (Thanks mom for helping).

Now maybe we can get a little rest after Koby gets home at 8 and after I go to Bunco. I know, I know, I could miss Bunco...but it is REALLY hard to miss! We only get together once a month and I might miss some really good gossip! Important stuff! I am not worried about our group not having enough people to play Bunco....because we don't play anyway and haven't in probably over a year!

Oh- and as if we don't have enough on our plate, time wise and financially. Koby wants another dog! I love dogs, especially golden retriever or lab puppies they are soo sweet! But, we have 2 dogs already and a baby on the way...is that not enough!(love you babe- don't agree on this one) I realize that Alex is on her last leg...but she has been for for2 years! We don't need ANOTHER dog that poops, pees, and pukes on the floor right now! 3 dogs and a baby...YIKES! It sounds like we could have our own sitcom!

And (one more thing) the Dr.'s office called and said that my cervix is on the small side of normal. They will repeat the sonogram in 6 weeks to make sure it is not thinning. If I start having contractions I should call immediately.

The Wild, WILD, West...

Ok...I've always been one of those people that starts in the middle of a story. So, lets go back a bit.

Koby is managing a taxidermy shop now, but he is doing hunts on the side. The ranch that he is hunting on is a 5000 acre high fence ranch about 30 min or less from our house. Koby wasn't going to do turkey hunts this year but about a month ago some hunters call and wanted to book one, so of coarse Koby said yes.(side note: we also have another hunt the weekend after Easter)

The rancher says he is going to build a lodge for the hunters and guides to stay in for next year. For now they are using a fairly nice double wide trailer. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 beds in each room.(there were 6 hunters this trip so Koby, Wayne(guide) and I stayed at our house)

I forgot to mention that this house was NAKED when we got there. ABSOLUTELY nothing in it!! We furnished everything! Soooo since Koby works until 8 every night that means I did A LOT of running around town, worrying, and list making last week trying to make sure everything got done.

Another side note....but a BIG part of the weekend: I took Friday off to help get everything ready for the hunt. At about 11:00 I realized that I was spotting, and soon after started cramping. I called my Dr. and immediately got off my feet. We wound up having to go to the hospital for a sonogram mid afternoon. Thank goodness everything turned out ok. They said that there were no holes in the walls, and that my cervix was not trying to dilate. But that I was putting too much strain on my body and I am not superwoman and to take it easier. ( I was only walking 2 miles at lunch, working out at 4, and running errands until 8!)

On a little bit lighter note it looks like our kiddo is going to be a thumb sucker! It is pretty cool the things you can see with a sonogram! We did try to find out the sex of the baby but it sat there with it's legs crossed the whole time! Having this sonogram means that we probably won't have the 18 week sonogram so the next one will be at 22 or 24 weeks! Which means that we won't find out what the baby is until then. I'm just glad that everything is ok.

On with the hunt: Koby had asked me to cook for this hunt. That means out of bed at 3:30 and back in bed anywhere between 10 and 12. There were 8 men that had to be fed 3 good sized meals a day with dessert! With all that had gone on I was suppose to take it easy for the weekend....This is where I am glad that I live close to my Mom.....SuperMom to the rescue! I cooked breakfast, the guys left by 5ish (that's AM), I cleaned up and then took a little nap! My mom was there by midmorning and helped get lunch together, serve lunch, clean up from lunch, start cooking dinner, and Sunday night she even stayed through dinner to help serve and clean up....even then we didn't get home and in bed until 11 and I couldn't tell you when Koby got home. THANKS MOM!

So, here I am back at school on Monday morning. Koby had to cook breakfast for the hunters this morning (can't cook and get to school) and then they went out one more time to try to kill some turkeys. They had already killed 5, hopefully they got a few more today.

I'll try to post a tummy picture later this week. I thought I would be bigger than this at 4 months....I'M NOT COMPLAINING THOUGH! Soon enough I will be as big as a house!