360 Degrees of Bed Head.

So awesome.

It must have been a good night! 

Well, This Feels Different.

Welcome, 13 weeks!

Yesterday I felt like doing something! Dave dragged the tree from the basement and while he and his "helper" put it together, I cleaned. Yes, I cleaned!

It felt so good! I vacuumed, steam mopped and straightened things up. I love clean floors and mine haven't been clean for a looooong time. 

 And then I got hungry! For lasagna! So I cooked!!

I was a fool and decided to make my own sauce, so things took longer than expected, but by golly it was good!

And then I wanted cookies! So I made cookies! I mean, do you see how much better I feel? My energy is (somewhat) back and I don't feel sick. It's a Christmas miracle.

Yes, I went to bed at 8:30, but what do you expect??

This Is What 12 Weeks Looks Like.

Yowzers. Time to put mama on a diet!

******************************************************

Last night we broke the news to Hallie that she would no longer be the sole recipient of our attention. Parents, never make the mistake of telling your child you "have a surprise," lest you run the risk of them thinking you got them a PUPPY or a KITTEN. Ah, geez.

We bought her a book and had a Big Sister shirt for her. She burst into tears when she saw that it was not a puppy, not a kitten, but a book and clothes. Oh the disappointment. She cried until I finally just said, "Hallie, you are going to be a big sister!!!"

Confusion, a hint of a smile and then absolute JUBILATION. I have never seen this kid happier. And my stomach has never recieved so much love. My belly has been kissed, rubbed, gently hugged, patted, etc since she found out. It's all she talks about. The baby. Oh, the baby. How much she loves the baby.

It's darling. I love that girl.

Yes, Today is a Good Day.

Today.

I am back after conferencing for three days - Wednesday thru Friday. It sucked, but that's okay.

I am back after seeing Harry Potter 7, Part I, with fellow nerdlings like myself. That was good.

I am back and was able to be very nice to Home Depot, hopefully smoothing over my husband, who called and yelled at them. Yikes.

I am back to a crazy office, lots of appointments, but

here's hoping for a GREAT DAY TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I Am Still Working On This List.

I know this has been going on for a million years. And to be honest, I can look at 9 and know they are not going to be done. I'm obviously super worried about it.

But at least the ding-dang-dong WINDOWS are installed. Do you know this saga yet? Brand new house, brand new windows. Extreme air infiltration. Jacksonville Home Depot traded us for top-of-the-line windows and they were finally installed last week.

Praise the Lord. You can seriously tell a difference.

My 30 Before 30

1. Successfully grow a garden

2. Purchase new drinking glasses (white polka dot from Target - love)

3. Sew a quilt

4. Print all past pictures since Hallie was born (making progress!)

5. Put #4 into albums.

6. Clean the basement

7. Re-size my super-cute moo-moo.

8. Get (and stay) pregnant (no pressure, right?).

9. Get my ears pieced!

10. Take a tour of Woodlawn Farm.

11. Give up soda.(I am actually making progress with this.)

12. Visit Kurt in Colorado. (September!!!)

13. Find and buy black and white striped cushions for porch swing/rockers. I changed my mind.

14. Eat hibatchi with Dave.

15. Go on a job with Dave. In the semi. (we leave August 1st!)

16. Lose 5 pounds. (changed from 10 to 5...let's be realistic)

17. Organize under the kitchen sink.

18. Take a trip with Hallie and Dave. (St. Louis - to the City Museum, Brewery and Neil!)


19. Hang up plate wall in dining room.

20. Make cinnamon rolls from scratch.

21. Buy nightstands for the master bedroom.

22. Buy lamps for the master bedroom.

23. Make a headboard for the master bedroom.

24. Have new windows installed in the house. Blah.
25. Host an outdoor movie night.

26. Host a bonfire.

27. Sew curtains for the laundry room.

28. Pay off sound loan.

29. Pay off my car loan.

30. Host a fish fry.

Well, That Was Disappointing.

We had an appointment with a pediatric allergist today. It was time once and for all to get Hallie tested to find out what was causing this

 to happen.

I mean, hello, obviously she is having a reaction to something. But she tested negative for everything in the panel today. Trees, grass, mold, dust, cats, dogs, etc. Negative. I am stunned. And totally disappointed. I mean, I don't want something to be wrong with her, but obviously something is wrong with her.

So it's not something easy. Of course. Poor kid.

Ah, Shutterfly.

So it's Christmas card time again. I usually try to do something funny, tie it into a Christmas carol and call it a day. Every year I use Shutterfly. They are super easy to use and there are tons of design choices. (http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery   ) I like that they are quick and since I usually scramble at the last minute...that works for me.

The first year it was a "Bah Humbug" with a picture of Hallie bawling.

The second it was a super cute picture of her with food on her face and a phrase from "Twas the Night Before Christmas," "She had a round face and a little round belly that shook when she laughed like a bowl full of jelly." That was my favorite for sure.

Last year was not my favorite. It was a series of crying pictures (again) with the "He knows if you've been bad or  good" caption.  Boring. Predictable.

This time I'm struggling!! My creative juices are not flowing. I am not doing a crying one again. I refuse to do the professional cards. I am too cheap and everyone does them. I like being weird. Shocker! Maybe I'll do some Hanukkah (http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/hanukkah-cards ) for a shout out to my Jews for Jesus peeps.

Blah.

Hmm.

Something sucks about today, but I can't put my finger on it.

I'm tired, but not overly tired (yet).

Hallie was in a great mood this morning and slept all night long.

My car is getting its oil changed and breaks checked, so I'm driving the Caddy today (thanks, Barb!).

My boss is out this morning.

My coffee/creamer/sugar ratio is spot on.

So what gives?

It might be my impending conference next week.

It might be the thought of traveling again this weekend.

It might be how dirty/gross my house is from the construction of new windows.

It might be feeling sorry for myself for not having a husband for the past 30 days, having to ask every family member for help with my daughter because work is so busy in the evenings, dealing solo on all of the construction stuff, single parenting and feeling guilty about not spending enough time with my kiddo.

Yeah, I think that's it. Today I am feeling sort of sorry for myself and I'm working on snapping out of it.

Snap.

Snap.

*sigh*

Beep.

Last night I had a scary dream.

I dreamt that I was dust-busting my floor by the basement stairs and noticed there was a light on in the basement. I threw my dust-buster down the stairs (huh?) and a man poked his head up to see what was going on. So there was a man in my basement - scary! I grabbed Hallie and ran for the door, and the man kept saying, "I'm from Illinois Power! I'm from Illinois Power!" Middle of the night? I don't think so.

So I woke up all scared and out of sorts. And then,

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! BEEP! BEEEP!! BEEEPBEEEP!

Smoke Detector.

I thought my heart was going to leap out of my chest it was pounding so hard. I jumped out of bed but there were no red lights on anything and it didn't beep again.

I called Dave immediately. Did I mention it was 2 o'clock in the morning? The first thing he said was to check the geothermal unit....in the basement.

I have never been so scared.

Everything looked fine. So time to check the batteries.

One smoke detector had a red light, so yep - it needed a new 9-volt. Back to the basement for batteries. Again, I am such a wimp. So scared of the basement.

Put a battery in - Beep. Beep. Beep. Okay, apparently that was an old battery. GREAT. Thank goodness I am a genius and brought up a few more just in case.

Battery was finally changed. I said good night to Dave, and then it took me another 8 hours to fall asleep.

Long story, but it was a scary night.

Dear Bloomington, Indiana.

Dear Bloomington, IN,

I hate you.

You are lucky my darling husband was there to make the trip a success. Otherwise, you would have ruined my weekend. You, with your stupid traffic cones and one-way-only main street. Yes, I realize a huge football game was going on (plus parents weekend), but to make your main street, like the MAIN street only one-way is not very helpful for the out-of-towners. Especially those who could give a flip about Iowa vs IU. Seriously.

And did you really also need to block any left-hand turns? Honestly. Thank goodness there were groups of policemen on every corner to not be helpful and just look annoyed when I asked for alternate directions.

Now if you ask my 4-year old daughter about her weekend in Bloomington, she starts talking about stupid cones, cops and one-way streets. And mommy screaming in frustration when she had to drive up and down the main street 10 times only to have her way blocked by cones that weren't there five minutes before. We will not be back.

Unless Dave is there, of course. But otherwise, you can bite me, Bloomington, Indiana. Bite me.

No Love,

Keri

The Coldest Field Trip Ever.

It was only 45 degrees, but the wind was gusting like crazy.

It was miserable and outside.

Really, really cold.

One More About Halloween.

Guts.



 Not my best work. I accidentally gave my pumpkin a cleft lip.

And then we forgot to EVER light them.

I am not too worried about it.

The Obligatory Halloween Post.

I'm back.

Feeling more motivated. Work is crazy, but at least the days go by fast. Dave was home for his 36-hour break and is now back on the road. Two more weeks and he will be home for awhile.

We are ready, but I'm not sure he's ready for the craziness that has become our lives.

Hallie was a ballerina for Halloween. This was the original plan. She changed her mind 87 billion times, and I didn't care at all. As long as we had the costume components already at our house, go for it. She made a darn cute ballerina though.

 

 

 



Soon Enough.

Soon enough I will post again. It's been busy at work and home both. I'm not motivated to download the pictures of the coldest fieldtrip ever, Halloween or the gorgeous purple sunset this morning.

Sometime, yes. Today, no.