Last Day

Today is the last day that I will look like this. No, there are not two in there. I was on the fence on whether or not to take this picture but Kevin thinks at some point I will want to look back and remember. I'm not so sure. I didn't know it was possible to defy gravity in this way.

The good news is tomorrow at 5:30 am, I get admitted to the hospital to evict Ethan. :) I love him and can't want to meet him but being pregnant is not fun! I didn't know it was possible to have so many aches and pains. It is probably more my fault for gaining more weight than my doctor wanted but I figured there are not many times in your life where you can eat whatever you want and no one can say anything! I'm going to pay of that on the treadmill in the coming months but the ice cream was worth it.

I'm sure next week, I will have a different opinion but right now I am ready to be a mom and not that huge pregnant woman!

6 Days

I cannot believe that I am still pregnant. I am the size of a house and move about as slowly. I love coming into work and everyone looks at me like I am completely insane for walking in the door. I love the questions about the number of children in my belly. The way people just stare and say, WOW, that is huge. Yes, these are the comments that I have always strived for. On the other hand, no one wants me in thier meetings or thier office for fear that my water will break. So, I have gotten out of a lot of work!

I have resigned myself to the fact that there is no way for me to get this baby out without the doctor's help. I have tried everything, exept for the things Kevin will not let me try (castor oil, rasberry leaf tea). I actually got on the treadmill since my doctor said walking would help speed things along. I looked up labor inducing pressure points and used them but they just gave me contractions and no baby. Apparently, Ethan wants to start his life being stubborn. Not so surprising given his genes.

It seems very strange that in less than a week, we will have a baby. I am happy to have this last weekend to do some more cleaning and eat some more not-so-healthy food. As Kevin continues to remind me, I can only do for 6 more days then I get to go back to dieting. It has been nice to not have to be concerned about the number of calories, just giving the baby what he wants :)

Hopefully soon I will have baby pictures to post!

Thank you Hurricane Gustav!

There are many things in my life that I can thank hurricanes for. I am sure there there are many people out there who do not feel this way, but for me these natural disasters have always brought me good fortune.

The latest is the wonderful awning that the previous owners had installed. The boat cover/patio was an eyesore you could see from miles away. If it did house a boat, it may not be so bad. But alas, we have no boat.

Thankfully, due to wind and rain, the cover has finally given way and is no more. Now Kevin just needs to figure out how to build a pergula, extend concrete, tile and install a spa and a little landscaping and it will be perfect :)

New Guest Room

Since Syneca has moved to North Richland Hills, we got to remove the orange paint and the Longhorns logo. As much as I love my nephew, I am so glad to see that color gone!

And of course, we couldn't just paint the walls. Not after all the home improvement shows we have been watching.

Next task - the laundry room! It will be a ray of sunshine (literally). But since Ethan will be here soon, I will wait until later for that one.

Construction Complete!

Construction on the master bath is complete. Painting, tiling and new decor has transformed this once purple bathroom into a beautiful oasis.

There are still Kevin's favorite shell shapped sinks but the faux brick flooring is gone! YEAH!

I can't say how much I love the new floors!

And because we did such a great job on our own with that one, we decided to do the other bathroom. I love it!

Ethan's Room

Baby Ethan's room is now complete (unless I get bored and paint it). We have unpacked all his things and I have rearranged it for the 100th time. I think we are ready. Now we just need him to come and join us. 12 days!! Everyday it feels like I cannot wait another day. I am hoping for an early appearance but it seems that he is a bit stubborn and too comfy inside.

Kevin has been practicing putting the baby to bed using Chloe instead. He puts her in the crib and covers her in blankets. Thank goodness she doesn't shed!

Ethan also has quite a collection of hot wheels stacking up. I am not quite sure who they are for :)

Summer Camp

Syneca is off to camp today. I just dropped him off for summer camp and he will be gone for 20 days. I know I should be sad but I am thrilled to have a quite house once again, even if it is only for 20 days. This pregnancy has left me little patience with him, actually as I told Kevin today, I have negative patience. I start out the day out of patience with him. I try but it just isn't there. So, he too, is also happy to be going off to camp. I have determined that starting at 10 is a hard thing to do with a kid for one main reason. The first 10 years are for bonding over all the cute things they do and training them on the things that annoy you, then you get the next 10 where they want to be thier own person and refuse to listen to anything you have to say but you can go back to those 10 years of cuteness and reflect on how they grow up so fast. You can teach them to brush thier teeth don't look fuzzy after a week at Grandma's. You can teach them that, just getting wet doesn't equal a shower and that smell coming from thier room is not how "all boys smell". You can spend those 10 years teaching them how to play outside with friends, and that poop is never something that should be played with.

I love my nephew, I really do. But some days, I wonder if all 11 year olds feel that they are a genious trapped in a kids body. I wonder why the 11 year old that I have is obsessed with never being wrong and refuses to take responsibility for any of his actions. Everything is "someone" else's fault and he had absolutly nothing to do with it. These are the things that drive me nuts. I feel myself falling into arguments with an 11 year old and trying to apply logic when there isn't any. It doesn't help that we are both stubborn but doesn't it count that I am the adult??? Some days, I think not.

It will be a miracle if I survive long enough to send him away to college. But at least for now, I can send him away to camp. It is a small price to pay (ok, not so small) for our sanity. I am tired of yelling at him and Kevin is tired of listening to us argue.

Is it bad that I am thinking about searching the internet for winter camp? Ok, maybe just spring camp? I am going to enjoy my 20 days, of those I will probably start missing him tomorrow. But for today we can enjoy the peace and quite, at least until Chloe starts barking :)