17 Flowers for 17 Years

These were delivered to our front door today.  The card read "Happy 17th!" and the vase contains 17 gerbera daisies.  We met the summer before our senior years in high school at The Governor's School for Science and Technology held at the College of William and Mary.  While we lived at opposite ends of the state, we stayed in touch throughout that year by writing letters and talking on the phone (what was email?).  I still have all the letters and cards he sent throughout that year.  Anyway, we both ended up at Virginia Tech and rest is, as "they" say, history.  The really crazy thing is that we have now known each other for half of our lives.  I love you, hon, and I'm so glad you almost fell into the orchestra pit 17 years ago!

Rambling about the last 4 weeks

I went to the doctor today for a regular check up.  I'm now going weekly.  During my first pregnancy, I used to think this was so exciting.  Now, it's kind of a burden to pack up the kids and take them all with me.  Anyway, the good news is everything is well.  Baby is head down; I'm measuring right on track; my blood pressure, iron levels, and sugar levels are "normal."  My official due date is one month from tomorrow; however, they've mentioned an induction to me a few times.  So, at my 37 week check up, we'll probably start the process of scheduling one for sometime during my 39th week. 

I'm still feeling pretty well, although, I'm noticing more ankle swelling with the increase in the humidity and temperature outside.  Plus, I'm on my feet a little more since all the kids are home all the time.  We're trying our best to stay cool.  I'm so thankful for the pool!  The kids start swim lessons next week.  I wanted to get those in before the baby came.  I still have a few more things to do in the baby's room, and we need to get the infant carrier ready (washed), and we need to bring the swing and bassinet up from the garage and get those cleaned off as well.  I feel like I'm sort of in denial about having another baby in the house, but I think part of it is that I've been so busy that I haven't had time to think about it as much.  I'm praying she'll have a quiet, gentle spirit and be more of a go with the flow baby.   We've never had one of those, so maybe God will bless us that way this time.  Although, last night at Bible study, one of the ladies asked how I was sitting still with the baby "kicking the snot" out of me.  I asked if she could see her moving, and she told me she had been watching for a few minutes.  So, I got to show off my party trick to everyone and all were entertained my watching my stomach dance.  Not sure how that coincides with my hopes of that quiet, GENTLE spirit.

Oh, and we still need a name for this baby girl.  I think that not having a name goes in line with being a bit in denial.  So, that's it from here.  All the other kids are doing well and love hearing the baby's heart beat.  I hope they are as excited about her when she comes out as they are about her right now.

Happy Father's Day

What can I say to a guy, who in the last 8 months, has taken me on the trip of a lifetime to Italy, dealt with numerous pregnancy hormonal changes, installed new shutters, done a partial bathroom renovation, hauled his family of five to New York City and maintained a cheery disposition on little sleep while staying in the smallest hotel rooms known to man, exhibited extreme patience while dealing with bunk bed assembly drama, and humored me while I insisted on getting the baby's room painted, and for the last 7 years, has worked incredibly hard at providing for our family which has allowed me the privilege of staying home with our kids, and through all of this and more, finds the  time to play with and parent our children in a way that only he can? 

Thanks for all you do, babe!  I love you and can't imagine doing this life without you.  Happy Father's Day!

Home Makeover: Master Bathroom Edition

 We'd been talking about doing "minor" renovations to our master bathroom since we moved last summer.  We decided it was time to do it this spring.  The main thing was removing the large, ugly mirror hanging above the vanity.  JD tried to get it off without demolishing it, but that proved impossible, so we duct taped the mirror to prevent major shattering.

Then, JD went to work:

 We still did quite a bit of damage to the mirror:

 

 JD then removed the strip of seven lights that was above the mirror:

The mess:

JD then had to do some rewiring and install junction boxes for our new light fixtures:

JD added new drywall and I painted the bathroom a light blue color.  It had been a light cream color.  We didn't install any new plumbing or change the sinks or tub/tiling, so it was far from a complete bathroom reno., but we love the results.

Here is the finished product:

Our dressing area had the same style mirror, but it came off the wall very easily and in one piece.  It also had the same light strip, so we replaced the mirror and light fixture:

Other projects lately have been painting the baby's room and assembling a bunk bed in Madelyn's room so that Isabel can move in with her.  We started that transition tonight.  We'll see how it goes.