Fall Break Fashion

Or...
On Holidays I Will Let You Wear Whatever You Want In Public So Long As We Don't Have to Discuss (Argue About) It.

25 weeks

More than halfway there!

All my jeans still fit fine, if I can just keep them on my hips where they belong. I'm considering suspenders. I'm starting to grow out of regular t-shirts though, which is really frustrating. A few years ago I loaned my maternity clothes to a few friends and every single piece of clothing got lost. Sheesh. I borrowed a few shirts from my sister-in-law that will last a while. At least I have lots of pajama pants that are still comfy.

I've been managing to get to the gym at least once a week and I've gained 17 pounds. The extra weight makes running harder and those stupid ligaments in my lower abdomen are starting to stretch and hurt.

Baby moves around a ton and everyone can feel him. He gets really excited when the kids talk to him.

The art of procrastination

I've been meaning to post pictures of the finished floors for several weeks, but something always gets in the way. First it took a while to get the carpet in... and then the furniture put back in place... then a few more weeks to get the nose of the stairs finished... then I had furniture ordered that wasn't here yet... pretty soon months have gone by and I never took pictures of the result.

BUT I FINALLY DID!

OK, remember the before?

The pictures never quite captured its stained, worn, 1991 pinkness and we took down all the hunter-green curtains that went with the color scheme. If you never saw the house in person, rest assured that it was awful.

Linoleum and wallpaper... I never want to see a scrap of it again.

Jessica had the oh-so-fabulous idea of doing crime-scene body-outlines on the floor but I read the comment AFTER most of the flooring was in. We had to settle for this under the carpet in the formal living room.

OK here we go!


Finally the wood trim looks like it's here on purpose and not just a leftover from the 70's. Wood trim is back in style, right? I'm still debating over that big black chair in the corner.

We got rid of the big white couch that was in the bay window and I really wanted an oversized story-time chair in its place. It took a long time to find what I wanted but I'm really really happy with this chair and ottoman. I haven't gotten Joe to put the legs on yet and I'm still trying to decide if I even want them, or if it's just another place to lose toys. Also, should I paint the front door?

So there you go. It's not 100% done because the laundry room still needs a closet ripped out and tile put in and the kitchen is not painted and the toy room is not done and the basement is still in its state of post-flood-disaster... no one tells you that owning a home is this much work! But this is huge progress and I'm so SO happy with it.

In denial

This pregnancy has gone by in weird chunks. There's the first bit, where you're convinced that you're going to be sick for the rest of eternity (because that's just how long the first trimester lasts). Then time lurched its way along to now - 24 weeks. Sprinkle/Baby Star Wars/Nameless Fetus is apparently the size of a Chicago dog... at least according to the last 'this week in your pregnancy' update I read with Minnie, who is obsessed with knowing how big the baby is. So there you go.

Mmmmm, Chicago dog...

Anyway, I'm more than halfway through this pregnancy and I'm still waiting to feel excited. Forget excited, I'm willing to settle for one day without intense baby-related stress. Where is the call-in show or helpful newspaper advice column for my questions?

Dear Addie - My oldest daughter had terrible colic and didn't sleep a full night until she was two years old. If we repeat this trend, how will I keep from throwing myself off the deck? And what will I do with the two sprained wrists that is all that will result from throwing myself off the deck?

Dear Addie - There is a juvenile Labrador retriever masquerading as my four-year-old son. How will I keep this oversized, energetic, slobbering animal from tackling a newborn baby?

And speaking of two older children, dear Addie, how will I keep them from feeling neglected, forgetting to do their homework, going to school dressed like street urchins, eating nothing but Pop Tarts and eventually sinking into a life of crime and door-to-door alarm sales?

Maybe this seems excessive, but these are the kinds of worries that keep me from sleeping at night and from doing absolutely anything to prepare for the baby during the day. I have a big box of boy clothes waiting to go through - it sits. People are asking if there are things that we need - I pretty much don't think about it. Eventually I need to move the two existing children into one room to get the other ready for baby - I don't. I can't figure out what is wrong with me.

I have issues. That's what blogs are for, right?