Ultra sound pics

We had our ultrasound on July 6, and I almost forgot about posting it, or trying to. Tough to get a close up pic that is in focus and doesn't have a big flash bright spot. So here is a pic:

And a closer up pic: I totally think this baby has Dave's jawline, or at least Dave's Mom's jawline.

And here is Hobbes making himself at home in the bassinett we are borrowing from Dave's sister:

Birthday at Sea

Today is my birthday and we went with a maritime theme. Yesterday we went to Muskegon and I was treated to a great sail with cousin Frank (and then followed up with Chip Appreciation Day at the Marina). Today we saw "Pirates of the Caribbean II" and followed it up with dinner at Red Lobster. I liked the movie okay. As much as you can for a part II. I already knew 1) it was not a fully resolved ending as there is one more part to come and 2) there is a sci-fi aspect to it with crazy sea monster type stuff. So the chief complaints I heard from others are not mine. I thought it was just fine...I mean really, are you NOT going to see it? I did not, however, have a crazy experience with the popcorn and some dumb girl getting fired. That would have been more exciting.

There was a wonderful thunderstorm today and the temp dropped about 20 degrees (F). It was great, but Hobbes was scared out of his brain. He just crouched and slunk around hiding and didn't even want anyone petting him to comfort him.

Done! with the nursery

The final touches on the baby's room were completed yesterday. I did the curtains and tie-backs earlier this week. The curtains I was a little disappointed with; I really should have made them about 5 inches longer so that when they got pulled back they still looked nice. But they were easy to make and increased my sewing confidence. For the tie-backs I got some wooden discs from Hobby Lobby for $1 and put the monkey stamp on them. I think that is cute.


The other project was the bassinett ruffle/liner. This was more daunting for me even though my sister gave me the old one that a friend of hers made her so I could use it as a pattern. It turned out beautifully! Unfortunately, in the pictures, a certain somebody decided that this new baby thing needed to be taken for a test drive and Calvin is, once again, in the baby's bed. I'm not too worried about this- he seems to like novelty more than anything else. He's already stopped going into the crib.
All in all, I'm quite pleased with the nursery. I'm thankful to the help of especially Beth and Susan and their guidance in things I don't know about. I'm having a better relationship with my Husky (sewing maching). We had some real conflicts in the past, but yesterday I came home from Field's at about 11:30, had lunch, and started working and was done by 3:00. That includes fixing minor errors...not bad math, just stupidness. I wouldn't say I'm "good" as sewing, but I might use the word competent for uncomplicated items.

Now I have to concentrate on school stuff, which I don't want to do, but come September, I'll be so glad if I get lots done.

Say hello to my leetle friend

Last weekend I was unloading groceries from my trunk while my car was in the garage and out of the corner of my eye I saw a furry lump in the corner of the garage by the garage door. At first I thought it was a dead cat. So sad. But then I noticed that the tail was gross and rat-like. So it was an opossum. Dead? No, I saw it breathing slowly. At first I was afraid I'd scare him and he'd jump out and give me rabies or something. Then I realized that opossums are known for..."playing opossum". Then I felt better, but it was till gross. I had to close the big door since I went out of town for a few days, but I left the "people door" open a crack. He was, thankfully, gone when I returned home on Wednesday. I also looked up info about opossums (Dave wondered if he was hanging by his tail so I wondered if that was a myth) and learned all sorts. Apparently fully grown ones can't really support their weight with their tail, but they have been seen carrying things like bundled sticks with it. Also, they have a pretty low chance of rabies since their blood temp is really low. Anyway, here is my new friend, Opie.

On a completely unrelated note, I spent the day today with Laura and Jackson. We were going to go to the beach. We got rained on. We also got winded on. So we came home. I miss the beach.

Time flies when you're...having summer

I can't believe how far into the summer it is! It is downright depressing to think of going back to school. I unfortunately checked my school email and found a message from around the 4th of July from a parent regarding her daughter's math grade. Are you kidding?? You are going to ask me about what was turned in, etc. in the middle of the damn summer? Where were you in May? Even June? And add to that, that her problem seems to be that the daughter said she turned stuff in, but it isn't showing in my gradebook. Hmm...maybe your 7th grade daughter is lying? Did you think of that? Especially since these parents are in two weeks after every marking period to bail out thier kids. Filled with anger even though it isn't even worth it to think about.

In other news, last weekend Dave's mom came to visit (if you read his blog, then you know a bit about that). Now I know where he gets his bizzare taste from. I say bizzare because he doesn't like much variety of food or things with real flavor for that matter. Who would have thought that someone would NOT like Italian food? I mean, I thought we couldn't go wrong. What does she like? She said crab and lobster. Well, if that doesn't happen for me, she's out of luck too. We did have a wonderful sail with Frank. And we had a great, but too short, day at the beach on Saturday. Can't wait to go back and do a proper whole day affair.

This week I was staying with a friend, who shall remain nameless but probably guessable, to take care of her after she had a pilanidal (sp?) cyst removed. That is about the grossest thing I've ever seen. Imagine a hole where your ass crack is, about 1.5 inches top to bottom, a half inch wide left to right, and almost an inch deep. Just a big open wound. Poor thing was a real trooper about it. Though the vicadin helps. I'd post pictures if she let me...and she might.

In the curtain department, I think that I've decided to simply choose the easiest path. No patterns, no extra tools, just a plain tabbed thing. I mostly just want to get it (and my other projects) done as soon as I can so I can maybe relax for a couple of weeks this summer.

In health news, I am feeling good pregnancy-wise. I have a bit of a cold, though. It peaked on Tuesday and Wednesday and I just "took it easy" today. Taking it easy is hard...I'm sick of laying around. Today was pretty lazy. I managed a two hour nap, but awoke due to Hobbe's snoring (he's so loud!). I finally left the house at 4pm and ran some errands. Now I just have to clean and put the house in order before Dave gets home. But I"m feeling much better tonight. And this baby...I decided to give it the Native American name "Kicking Bird".

I registered for baby stuff on Sunday and was quite fortunate to have my sister's help. There are alot of decisions to make. I hope we get alot of stuff because I had no idea so much was needed! I'm fortunate to have big family and great friends, so I probably will be all set by the time November comes around.

Baby Baker is here!

Okay, well maybe not the real baby, but someone who thinks he is. He's pretty much in the crib for all naps now. And Hobbes? He likes the crib, too, but underneath.

Ok! I'm pretty much done. Just the curtains left to do. Here are the pics. You can see the how the window is too close to the wall to do regular curtain rod. I sort of put the crib together, but not really. We don't have directions (this came from my sister), nor do we have the actualy screws. The lamp is not supposed to go on the dresser; the plan is for the dresser to become the changing table.
I really like those blue drawers, who would have thought?? Thanks, Beth! I plan on getting a glider rocker for the space where just the plain chair is, you can see it to the right of the cabinets.

The life of cats

Today I was going about my business and wondered where the cats were. I went upstairs and found this:

Then, later on, I once again wondered where they were. I found this, Calvin, but no Hobbes. Or is there?

Oh, his little white feet are sticking out. Here is a better picture:

And they remained in those exact positions for the next 5 hours!

Almost done with baby Baker's room

I finally got my password from photobucket so that I can put up some pics!

I got a lamp shade for $0.79 and decorations for 5 bucks. Oops, I forgot to rotate it. Turn your heads.










Here is the crib quilt with a very small sample of the material for curtains:

And here is the two colors, Mantis and Mariposa, unfortunately with the tape still up. There is a faint green glow from the room in the hallway. But I really do like it.

So, Susan of all Trades. I have 3.5 yards of stripey material, a matching amount of light blocking material, and only the idea that I definately want curtains that are functional (as opposed to stupid valences that are just for looks). I did buy a curtain rod, but it is the wrong size and I have to return it anyway. Oh, one problem, on the right side of the window there is the frame and then about a cenitmeter of wall before the corner of the room. So the right side of any curtain rod will pretty much have to dead-end into the wall. Please tell me any ideas you might have.

I will have the drawers all painted by tonight and then let them dry for a day or so then I'll show the (almost) final result.

After much haranguing from my husband, I am once again ready to post. Actually, I had plenty to say, but once school gets out, I start "projects". I love my summer projects. Here is what I have been doing.

I have not done anything in my garden.

I went to "math camp" for a week. This was at MSU and I learned about the 8th grade curriculum that I'll be teaching next year. This was good, I felt inspired at the time and there is lots that I could do before school...we'll see if that happens.

I cut, put up, and painted the trim around the doors downstairs.

I painted the AMH. It went from a hideous skin tone to a calm and lovely blue.

I cut, put up, and painted the baseboards in the basement.

I cut, put up, and painted the molding around the windows in the basement.

I assisted my husband with putting up the drop ceiling downstairs.

I cleaned out the guest bedroom. This entailed details like mopping under the bed. It looks great and is ready for guests (especially because we got a new mattress to replace the one affectionately called "the noodle").

I cleared out what will be the baby's room. THis was mostly teaching stuff and even some stuff from high school that I haven't known what to do with. Everything is now in boxes and in the attic. WE'll probably throw it all out in a few years.

I started painting the baby's room. Three walls are a light lime and the fourth (which curves into the ceiling) is a bright lime. OR will be. Haven't painted that yet. I plan on white trim and my sister suggested a turquoise for the cabinet doors. That seemed too much, but after running it into microsoft paint (a high tech design guide, indeed) it looks pretty good, so I think I'll try it.

I also found out the baby's gender :-) which Dave and I are not planning on sharing with others until the baby is here. THis is very difficult. Especially for a blabbermouth like me! It is kind of fun knowing, a little secret for us. But it is also sort of sad. You think about life with a little boy and life with a little girl and when you find out, well, you lose one of those. That probably sounds weird, but it is a little sad.

For the baby's room I still have to: Paint trim, paint the fourth wall/ceiling, paint dresser to turn into changing table, get a curtain rod, buy material for curtains and make them [this is where I need Susan's help with ideas], also get material and make a little thing for the bassinet, and put the crib together.

Other stuff on my list: Pack up non-maternity clothes to make room for the stuff that actually fits me, label Laura and Mary's clothes so I can get them back to the proper owner, actually work in my garden, prepare materials for teaching next year. That last one is a doozy- there is lots to do there.

I think I"m working harder now than when I "had a job". I worked froms 7:30 until 7:30 today. Not even a nap, which I usually manage about 45 min of per day. I haven't been exercising, so I hope just doing "stuff around the house" counts.

So, my apologies to friends who have checked for a post and have probably given up on me. I'll try to be better and I'll post some pictures.