It's Officially Over

Matt and I have had our last golden day of summer together. Today, he started teaching again, new students, new school year, new polo shirts. And as I got ready to start my day, I realized that this was the end of our last summer together that was just US.
Is it selfish of me to mourn this a little bit? I feel very torn. I can't wait to meet our child, I can't wait to introduce them to the glorious days of summer, to teach them to make mud-pie's and to slather their little body in sunscreen. But, at the same time, I know that I will miss the long evenings Matt and I spent just sitting on the porch and talking as the shadows lengthened. I'm going to miss the days where we just decided to go out on a little day trip together, our picnics, our hikes.
Life is changing, and while I am excited for that change, I am a little sad to see it come. I will forever treasure this last summer together.
I am still head over heels, giddy, and breathlessly in love with my husband, and I guess a part of me fears losing this feeling as we progress on this road called life. I know our relationship is changing, will always BE changing, but is it wrong to be a little sad right now? I feel so selfish.

Dog-Tired

Please excuse my absence, I find myself so tired lately, almost like the exhaustion of the first trimester (but without all the morning sickness - Thank you Lord!).
We have been up to quite a bit here in the land of Country Mouse, and I have missed sharing it all with you. Yesterday, for example, Matt and I began planning Phase 1 of our deck. Oh yes, folks, it have PHASES! You know why? 'cause we are just THAT organized. (HA...not so, it is actually in two phases because it will be HUGE, and we only have the wood to finish one part of it right now).

In roof news -- We are in the process of getting it worked on. Amazingly, the seller of the house (who is awesome) felt that since the leak was a pre-existing condition with the house, he would have it fixed. Can you say "blessing"!!?? He had one guy out to fix it, but that night it stormed and the leak was worse than ever. Tomorrow there will be someone else here to look inside the roof and see the extent of the damage (eeeek! I'm scared!). Regardless of what he finds, I am still overcome by the generosity of our seller, although Matt and I would have figured something out with the roof, we aren't necessarily in the financial position to do so. What an answer to prayer!

Our house is slowly being overrun with baby stuff, and I gotta tell you...I LOVE IT! We are 87 days away from our due date, and I cannot wait to meet this person in me! Boy? Girl? WHO ARE YOU!!??

I have been hitting up yardsales and Craigslist like a mad woman, because although I know I could register for this stuff and get a good deal of it at my baby shower, there is something about an amazing deal that I just can't pass up. For example...you see all of this stuff? Total cost? $33.
$33? I know! The Boppy (c-shaped pillow) alone retails for more than that!

There is nothing like the thrill of a good score and an early morning yard-sale. The dew fresh on my flip-flops as my mom, sister, and I lug our treasures into the mini-van. Ahh...success!

Are you a bargain shopper? If you are...may I recommend Craigslist and Freecycle to you? Where do you find your bargains?

Urinal Etiquette

Being female, the need to know the basics of urinal etiquette has never really been pressing. However, from conversations with male friends and family I have gathered that there are unspoken rules that men are expected to follow when using public restrooms.

Rules like:

-Don't stand directly next to another man.
-No peeking.
-Don't actually drop your pants to your ankles.

You know...just rules.

Well, last night at family dinner the subject was "what's the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you in a bathroom?" I know...weird topic for family night.

My step-dad Tim took the contest hands-down, and he wasn't even there to tell his own story, my mom filled us in on all the sordid details...which I will now share with you!

A few years ago after attending a church program, Tim availed himself of the facilities. As he stood there and um, did his, um, business, he was struck by the thought that the program this year had not been as long as the year before.

So, without giving any context, he turned to the man next to him(picture this in your head if you will) and remarked...

Man, these things just keep getting shorter and shorter every year!

Can you top that story? I certainly can't!

When It Rains, It Pours

Drip, drip, drip.

Do you hear that? That's the sound of our roof leaking. In two separate places. Ironically, we just had a guy out to look at the roof two days ago, and according to him, our roof is in 'great shape!"

Liar, liar, pants on fire. I'm so horribly frustrated right now. I was going to post a before and after picture of the room that we just redid, but since there is now a leak in said room, I am slightly less excited about anything and everything house related.

Every time we try to get a little head start on a savings account for the baby, something comes up. And a new roof ain't exactly cheap if you know what I mean.

I know that it sounds trivial in times like this, when people are losing their jobs, losing family members, battling illnesses, and I am trying really hard to keep things in perspective, but can I bother you all for some prayers, not only for the roof, but also for my attitude? Me being sullen and grouchy is not going to help this process in any way, but for some reason I am having trouble shaking it off this time.

We have several people coming out to do estimates in the next few days, and we are concerned with finding an honest, reliable company. If any of you have had experience with something like this (and I'm sure many of you have) I would really appreciate any advice or insight you may have.

Squawk Box: Caption This Picture

I don't know what this poor bird did to deserve a public dressing down of this magnitude.
But she went after him for a good 10 minutes one day at the beach.
Maybe he insulted her mother? Forgot to bring home the milk?
Stayed out 'til morning and came home stinking of another gull?!
What do you think she is saying here? Leave your captions in the comment box!

I'm Baaaaack!

Did you even notice I was gone? For over a week? No?! Okay...forget that I even asked that question! In my head I'll pretend you have been losing sleep at night over my absence! I was going to let you know before we left, but recently there have been two families I know in the area whose homes have been burglarized while they were on vacation, and the guess at the time is that the thieves may have learned they were gone from Facebook. Facebook? FACEBOOK. So...I kept our plans on the down-low.

We have just recently returned from a wonderful week in Cape May with my Mom's side of our family! 11 of us in one house, and you know what? It was awesome! It was a large beach house, but still...11 is a lot of people. I think the closeness of our quarters really helped us bond.

Did I mention I shared a bathroom with 4 boys? I did. THAT'S an eyeopener. Air freshener boys, air freshener!

I took well over 300 photos, but have yet to sort through them...so for now this one will have to do.
And if you will excuse me...I have a mountain of sandy laundry to wash.