S t R i P e S

We are doing some serious room rearranging in preparation for this new baby boy. Philip's room is going to be the nursery, Anne's room is going to be Philip's, James' room is going to be Anne's, and Michael and James are going to share Michael's room. Whew! That's a lot of furniture to move...especially when stairs are involved.

I have started with the nursery. Here is the before...sorry it is a little dark.

It was a pale mint green and I was ready for a change.

I also wanted to do some custom painting, but I didn't want to spend the money on a custom paint job. So, I borrowed a laser level from a friend and started taping. Then I taped and taped and taped some more.




Here is my practice strip to make sure that all of the taping was really going to work. Notice the lack of light outside. I started this wall at 8:30 am and finished it at 1:00am the next morning. Mind you, I have small children that needed my help throughout the day, but still...it was a LOT of work.

The tricky thing about taping is that when you paint over the top of the tape, the paint tends to leak underneath leaving teeny tiny imperfections in the line.
In order to minimize these leaks:
1. I painted the color I wanted the stripe to be
2. I taped over said color
3. I repainted the same color over the tape
4. I then painted the new color that I wanted to butt up next to the stripe...two coats for good measure
5. I peeled the tape off to see my beautiful new stripes...make sure you do this as soon as possible or else the tape doesn't come off the wall very easily. Trust me...
6. I touched up said stripes with a foam brush because some paint still leaked under the tape...and because I am a little anal retentive that way :)



The finished product. I absolutely LOVE it!!!

My Coupon Deal This Week

This week I bought the four packs of Hunt's Snack Pack Pudding for 27 cents each. Hopefully they will be enjoyed as much as this one was last August.

Cruise Extravaganza: Part 2 or Carol's Modesty and Decorum Go Out the Window

Day 3: Grand Cayman

We decided to spend the day in Grand Cayman at a little known beach called Cemetery Beach. It is on the very north side of Seven Mile Beach, but it has no facilities and therefore very few people...just our kind of place. The snorkeling was supposed to be fabulous, so we packed up our gear and met our friends for a beautiful day in the sun...at least that was the plan.

I caught a picture of Matt before he had a chance to do one of his silly poses...ummm yummy.

Always the goof ball...work it baby, work it.

Grand Cayman turned out to be a very windy day, which stirred up the waves enough to create little to no visibility in the way of snorkeling. Matt went out with the guys, but all of the stirred up dirt and sand in the water made snorkeling very disorienting and not fun at all. I stayed on the beach with the other wives during this time and enjoyed the sun.

When the guys got back, Matt and I were feeling like today had kind of been a bust because of the wind. That's when we realized that the wind was creating some really fun waves that were crashing against the beach. We headed out into the ocean and enjoyed natures own "wave pool".

It was so. much. fun!

We laughed and laughed as we tried to time the waves correctly and jump them so that they wouldn't bury over our heads. I, being the thrill seeker in the group, headed over to an area of beach that consistently got bigger waves. I had a grand time and was grateful for the wind.

After a while, we decided to get out and head back into town. I went to exit the ocean as well, but since I was in the rougher area, a wave caught me just right and I ended up being pummeled into the ground instead. I wasn't hurt at all, but every time I tried to stand up another wave would crash me into the ground. We were with our friends Mike and Cassie and they had four other friends with them as well, so I had quite the audience to my misfortune/embarrassment.

Matt came over by me and kept saying, "Just stand up." I was laughing so hard at myself because I knew that I looked ridiculous, but I just couldn't get my balance long enough to heave my pregnant self out of the water. At some point in the pounding it became very clear that all of me was not inside of my swimsuit. So, a wave would hit me, I would try to put myself back into my suit and stand up, but another wave would crash into me before I could do it. I finally had to let go of my modesty and just stand up as soon as I was finished being pummeled. Well, stand up I did and weren't all of my onlookers surprised when they got an eyeful of me.

The left side of my swimsuit bottoms were completely lodged in my hiney, giving the lovely illusion of a thong, while my top was twisted into oblivion above my big pregnant belly. Luckily, my boobs did not come out... I don't think that I have ever laughed so hard at myself before. I am just grateful that no one had a camera out to capture my moment of "hotness".

Before the "event"

Needless to say, I don't think we will ever forget this day in Grand Cayman.

Thank You Uncle Sam

I finished our taxes...the lure of a possible return was too much for me and I finally got the desire to do them. I finished them on Sunday night, e-filed them for free, and our return was in our bank account on Friday. Can you say Woohoo!!?


I LOVE how efficient the process has become.


Our return is paying for something that I have wanted for a VERY long time.

Pictures to come very soon! I promise.

Measuring Big

So, I had my routine exam yesterday with my OBGYN and I am measuring big. I was 30 weeks 6 days yesterday and I measured 34 cm. This has never happened to me before. Should I be freaking out?

Have any of you ever measured big? If so, when did you deliver and how big was your baby?

Me at 31 weeks.

Have You Seen This?

You should.

When Your Gall Bladder Attacks for the First Time

Do: Go to the ER just to have them tell you they can't really do anything when you're pregnant.
Do: Have your neighbor drive you even though this hurts your pride.
Do: Call your out-of-town husband after all is said and done so that he won't have to worry.

Don't: Cry too hard or loudly in front of your kids...it scares them.
Don't: Assume you must be taking crazy pills when the pain goes away almost as quickly as it came.
Don't: Plan on being pain free until the end of the pregnancy...Gall Bladders are tricky that way.

While You Were Flying to San Juan

Anne lost her first tooth....twice.




After eating an apple, her bottom front tooth became very loose and she decided she wanted me to help her remove it. We used the floss and she was very brave. She then stored it in her little tooth container for safe keeping. Later, she wanted to show Philip and when she opened her container in the den, the tooth flew out and we couldn't find it within the carpet. Needless to say, she was devestated because her daddy didn't get to see it. Maybe you will find it with a bare foot when you get home. :)



James earned his Wolf.




He was as proud as can be of himself and he can't wait to show you his arrow points, beads, and accompanying wolf badge.



Michael watched Philip for me so that I could run some errands. I may or may not have let him play his new game as a reward.



I don't like being without you. Now, come home to me.


Love,
Me

Cruise Extravaganza: Part 1

Day 1: Fort Lauderdale

After an uneventful (meaning good) day of traveling, we arrived in Fort Lauderdale at midnight just in time to catch our free shuttle to our hotel. It was the perfect place for us...clean, cheap ($70 on Priceline), comfortable, and convenient. The hotel offered a free shuttle from the airport and a free shuttle to the ship, as well as a yummy free breakfast.

Here we go...Tony, Krishel, Brian, Anna, Me and Matt

On the deck at the Sailaway party. Matt forgot to pack day clothes for our trip...he was a little preoccupied with work before we left...so we found a local Ross and bought him this new outfit. Carol in her please-don't-notice-how-pregnant-I-am (and therefore let me board this ship) shirt and Matt in his new duds.

Matt, Carol, Janeal, Joachim, Cassie, and Mike

The Spa always does a free giveaway on the day of sailing. This year, if you won, you had to dance in front of everyone. Brian won a free scalp massage, but he was not so enthusiastic about showing his dancing skills in front of an audience. The compromise...he had to show us his muscles instead. If you know Brian at all, then you know that this picture is hilarious and rare.

Day 2: At Sea
We started the morning off great with a workout in the gym. I ran two and a half miles, though I didn't think I still had it in me at this point in the pregnancy and my running shirt kept riding up over my big belly...very sexy. :) Then, after a yummy breakfast, we spent a very relaxing day reading, listening to music, and napping in our comfy loungers in the Sanctuary on deck.

That night was formal night and I got to dress up like a princess...harder to do, I must say, when you are six months pregnant. But we clean up nice...no?

Thank you Anna for lending me your beautiful gown and jewelry.

All in all, it was a great start to our vacation together.

To see pictures of our Cruise from 2009...and a much skinnier me...please go here. It's sad, I know, but I just posted them.

Procrastinating the Inevitable

I do our taxes.

I really like to do our taxes.

I know, it's wierd.

This year I am NOT in the mood to crunch the numbers and I keep procrastinating. Something about organizing all of those statements and tallying all of those numbers just has me in a slump.

Do you do your taxes?

Are they already done?

I need some motivation!