More home remodel, Bloomington, and NEW CAMERA!

I's had so much going on in the past 2 weeks I don't even know where to begin.

Let's start with little Miss Danni - since this blog is supposed to be about her development anyway.  So far she is doing great at almost 24 weeks!!  Lots of kicks and punches.  I love it when I have a full bladder and she decides to wake up and start playing around on top of it.  LOVELY!  I can no longer see my toes.  Which isn't a big deal.  But...I can hardly see the area "down there" anymore either, which is a big deal.  Grooming is of utmost importance.  And our shower isn't really grooming friendly.  I need to move this party to the bath tub, but it's pretty stopped up and I don't even want to speculate as to why.  Also, after running the water for about 10 seconds, the water turns orange for a minute before returning to clear. So the plumber is coming tomorrow morning for the new kitchen sink (to me this is a baby tub - I aint bending over in the bathroom every night!) and he will hopefully be fixing my bathtub as well.  Yea!  I have also noticed that my bend radius is diminishing more and more...  more so after I eat breakfast.  When I first wake up I'm fine.  I can drop things and pick them up fine.  But not so much after I eat.  Strange! 

The next item on the update agenda is my trip to Bloomington, IL this past week.  It's a pilgrimage I try to do in the summer to visit my best friend Laura.  I have mentioned her several times in this blog.  We roomed together at Illinois State University together our senior year and in the 12 years that have followed she has become a member of my family.  She has been down to see me and my family several times in the past year, but it's been 2 years since I've seen her 2 sweet babies.  We had a great time together!  We shopped til we dropped, had a  "party" (it's not REALLY a party unless I can consume adult beverages to the point of embarrassing myself and the people around me), celebrated Laura's 34th birthday and had a photo shoot (she's a kick ass free lance photographer!).  I've posted all my favs! It's important to note that this was a very impromptu shoot - and look how amazing the photos turned out!!  She only did minor touch ups!

My stylist - Riley Books with Books Photography

Laura let me borrow her sweet little girl Riley for these photos.  She was the assistant photographer and she was in charge of my hair.  I think she did an excellent job! 

Ode to the Red Pants!

I also inherited Laura's infamous red pants.  Apparently she lived in these things during her 2 pregnancies and I'm sure her husband BJ is eternally grateful that I took them off her hands.  They ARE great pants - let's see what Tom thinks about them in about 2 months! 

I loved going places with these 2 beautiful children...  they looked like they belonged to me and I appeared to be very fertile to the general public.  I felt like such a mommy! 

I love going to Bloomington.  Out of all of the places I lived in IL, Blooington was my favorite and I always feel like I'm going back home in a way.  And the weather was gorgeous!  It was nice to get out of the swamp heat in Louisiana AND out of the dust that is my remodeled house in progress. 

Me and Laura partying at her house.  Riley accessorized me with the Donald Duck sticker.

Home Remodel:  I CAN SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL!!  As I type this blog update, the granite guys are installing my new counter tops!  YEA!  YEA YEA YEA.  I have spent so long living in dust and disorganization that I just simply cannot wait for this to be DONE.  And so far, everything looks great.  The new paint, the new carpet, removal of the fireplace, and I'm especially in love with the new hardwood floors.  My best friend from AL is on her way to visit me right now and I'm so excited for her to use my new kitchen to prepare Sunday dinner (fried chicken, greens, mashed potatoes, and whatever else we can think of!!) - note that I said excited for HER to prepare...not me  :O)  As I mentioned before, the plumber will be here in the morning to hook up the sink and then we are good to go!!!  

Tomorrow is my birthday, so this morning Tom and Dillon hooked me up with an awesome new Nikon Cool Pix camera.  Quadruple YEAs!!   It's amazing.  I've already played with it and here are some of the pics I shot.  

Dillon ready for school - and bored because his friends are not at the bus stop

Still waiting for the bus

I love this pic!  Photo bombed by the Roo!

This camera is so quick - I can actually get decent shots of the animals!

I'm so happy they are finally snuggling.  The cat would die if she knew I was posting this. 

I also have before and after photos of the home remodel project to share - so maybe on the next update!  This is of course thanks to my wonderful husband and sweet stepson for my birthday present.  And Tiffany will be here so we'll take some pics of her visit. 

I sure hope that one day Danni appreciates all of these things we are doing to prepare for her arrival!  I am counting the days until we finally meet her - literally thanks to the WTE app!

22 Weeks and Home Improvement Con't

22 weeks and 2 days today!  Pregnancy time is flying by...home remodeling time is wading through a river of molasses. 

Someone needs to poke me in the eyeballs with hot needles so I'll remember that home remodeling really isn't such a bad thing.  I'm just tired of it...  we were supposed to be finished last Friday, before Labor Day.  I even had my cleaning service scheduled for Friday so that we could enjoy the labor day weekend.  Not so much.  The damn hurricane (which really was just a regular old storm as far as I could tell) has royally screwed the schedule.  The day before the work was to start, we had moved the washer, dryer, and fridge to the garage.  Then the "hurricane" took a turn towards us and everyone lost their minds.  So we had to cancel the work, but our appliances have remained in the garage.  I hate going out to the garage to get a bottle of water or some ketchup.  And the laundry is getting out of control!!  I am leaving in 2 days for Illinois to visit Laura (IL BFF) and I'm going to have to take dirty clothes and wash them when I get there. But the good news is...after 2 days of prep (scraping tile and leveling the floor), the living room and eating area of the kitchen now have new wood flooring and it looks amazing!  I hate that I have no camera.  The installers left at about 8 pm so it's too dark for the crappy camera on my phone to capture the results.  Maybe tomorrow...

I had my normal OB appointment yesterday.  I was a little concerned because I had experienced a little "fluid" leakage the day before.  I can't explain it and have no idea what it was, but Dr. Tydings did a amnio test strip and it was negative.  And it has not happened since.  Like I said, no clue what that was and I really don't want to venture to guess.  I also have a lump in my right breast that I needed him to check.  I felt it a couple of years ago and it was diagnosed via a mammogram as a cyst.  But now it's larger than it was when I first found it.  I had my routine mammogram last January so I'm sure it's just some strange mammary thing. But to be sure I'm going to have a boob ultrasound tomorrow.  Danni's heartrate was 153 and she is kicking (or punching?) away in there. 

2 weeks ago Tom and I painted the kitchen and living room.  I did most of the taping and really didn't have too many problems with it.  But in the past week I've noticed my bend radius isn't what it was 2 weeks ago.  It's crazy how all that changes so quickly!  And I just feel bigger.  So today, in the middle of Home Depot when Tom announced he was going to paint the master bedroom, I BEGGED him to hold off.  I can't help him do it - not like 2 weeks ago.  And this is the only room in the house that I have to sit or rest or work from since the rest of our house is turned up side down!  As much as I'm getting tired of staring at these 4 walls, I need my little sanctuary!  I'm hoping he has dropped this idea.  I like the idea of painting the bedroom and I like the paints he picked out...just not right now.  Mama needs the rest of the house to be completed and a little R&R before we tackle another project. 

Friday I'm off to Bloomington, IL to visit with good friends.  Looking forward to getting away from the house madness for a few days and seeing some good friends!  If Tom would like to paint the bedroom at this time, he has my blessing...as long as my room is put together when I return on Tuesday!

Until next time...(and sorry no pics...  I may purchase a new camera while I'm with the expert Laura in a few days).