BRRRRRR and EEEEEWWW

I'm sure that our past weekend at Virginia Tech did plenty to support Rocky's growth and development. I mean, how could it not? I stayed up til 2AM on Friday night (I KNOW!! I didn't know I could still do that, either!). I got Rocky groovin to a loud rendition of "Who Let the Dogs Out" on Saturday morning - I never realized that outside stimuli had such an effect on the boy til then - he was seriously wiggling around when all that bass was booming up through the floor. I squished him in long underwear, turtleneck, wool sweater, fleece jacket, and windbreaker, none of which were cut to fit over a giant pregnant belly. John's poor windbreaker was thisclose to not zipping at all. What am I going to do when I run out of jackets that fit? My belly was EXTREMELY grateful to be released from all its bondage on Saturday night. And I am positive that a day spent eating 17 tons of cheese dip, chili, seven layer dip, and brownies, along with consistant shivering by the fire pit, was completely good for the growing boy. If not good for him, it at least makes him tough!

Tailgating, even in the cold, was good fun. The game itself was pretty lame. But Tech managed to pull out a victory against a really bad Duke football team, and somehow has managed to put themselves in a spot to win their division and go to the ACC Championship game, if they beat UVA this weekend. GO HOKIES!! It's a noon game on Saturday on ESPN. I'll miss it - baby shower this weekend. But the boys will have something good to watch while we are off showering.

Monday night was "watch how babies are born" night in baby class. An hour long video showing different comfort techniques, showing a birth story, and actually showing a birth. Tastefully. But still. Eeeewww. And, really - OWWWW! Poor John. As we were heading to the car he asked if it was ok if he stayed at the bar while I was giving birth. :-) I asked him if it was the blood and ickiness that bothered him. Nope. He said he wasn't sure if he could deal with seeing me be in that much pain for that long. I KNOW! Awwwwww. He's a sweet boy. His momma did some good child raising. But still - the answer is no, babe. You get to come right in and help me out with the pain. If you'd like, I'd happily hit you a few times to let you experience a bit of pain, yourself...

We're off to New York this weekend for Thanksgiving. It's been eons since I was in NY for Turkey Day. We've tended to stay here in Maryland. Or I've had to work at Sweet Briar. Regardless, it will be weird being home in the Arctic Circle in November. But fun, as we'll get to see John's family and my family both, plus lots of friends and relatives at my baby shower on Saturday.

We're thinking of our good friends the Telescos this weekend, as they move from Louisiana to Florida. We are SO psyched for them, as they both got awesome new jobs with the State of Florida's wildlife division. Which is HUGE!!! Having a secure state job, with benefits, full time, is such a relief for any wildlife person. The fact they landed TWO of these awesome jobs? Miraculous. But they do, of course, kick ass. So it's not at all surprising they were hired for the jobs. Anyway - good luck to the Telesco family in their move!

Have a happy Turkey Day!

Paint. Lots of paint.

Mom and Dad came down this weekend to help John paint (Dad) and to go shopping (Mom). We had a pretty productive weekend - I got some new fat, pregnant clothes so I don't have to wear the same shirt to work twice in a week. We got a crib mattress for Rocky, and his crib is on order. We got plenty of Bomboy's chocolate and ice cream. And most of the house got painted. Thanks, Mom and Dad! You guys rock!

John paints while we watch the Penn State football game
Maggie got some paint on her today. I think she was trying to be the next Norman Rockwell...
Check it out! The walls are painted ALL THE WAY up to the ceiling! Hasn't been like that since we moved in here!
Who needs a ladder when you have a big long stick?
What's CoCo looking at, way up there?
Ah, she's gazing adoringly at her dad. Or wondering why his crazy butt is up there SO HIGH.

Changes you can actually SEE

So after a couple months of detail work, we're getting down to some big projects at the house that you can actually SEE. Darn Dad came down a few weeks ago to help John do a few things, and I asked him if he could tell any difference in the kitchen that we painted. Nope, he said. Can't tell at all. Thanks, Dad. Thanks a lot! :-)

Difference #1:

Removed the wallpaper in the hallway upstairs. We were sick of it, and a visiting kitten had already ripped holes in part of it. So, off it came. We'll paint the hallway the same color as the living room.

Hallway with wallpaper
And hallway without wallpaper

Difference #2:

The old dog is doing MUCH better these days. She has been on Cosequin's joint supplement for dogs, called Dasuquin. Never before have I been a believer in oral joint supplements. Now, seeing the old girl hop up in the mornings and trot right down the stairs... I am definitely a convert. It's great stuff!

CoCo and John on Halloween night

Difference #3

My gigantic belly. John shall soon be without clothes, as I keep stealing his sweaters, and will soon be stealing his winter coat. I can still zip mine, if I suck in my baby... But that won't last for long.

Difference #4

It's finally fall! The weather has been great, the leaves are changing, and some time next month we might actually have to rake the yard.

Difference #5

Lots of crap in the storage unit. No, you can't tell one bit of difference at the house. But the storage unit is filling up fast! John thought at first that he got too big a unit, but after seeing me pull tons and tons of boxes out of the closets, he's reconsidering and thinking he chose wisely. It's not ALL my crap - John's bike is in there for the winter, too!

Storage? We don't need no stinkin storage...
Fortunately Rocky is small and won't really need a lot of space in his bedroom. Right?

My parents are coming down this weekend to help paint, buy a crib, etc. There's no room in Rocky's room right now for a crib - some time John needs to move his computer, but that might not happen til next month. But we'll make the quick trip up to tax-free Delaware to buy the crib now, while Mom's down here.

I think the difference in the living room, after it's painted, will be noticeable as well. But who knows. When it's done I'll post some photos and you can decide. Here's some quick shots of the edges with the new paint. Look different?