Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Back in Brown

My hair is brown again. It feels good to be back.


In other news, I entertained myself at the salon by imagining what it would be like to lose these cankles I've had going on for awhile now. These are my imaginary feet (aka- some unsuspecting woman's feet). They made me feel pretty.


Photobucket

Monday, August 30, 2010

Clean House

After a month of lots of this:


I can't stop staring at this:


It's the floor. I can see it. And it is good.

Mike and I spent the weekend getting things back in order around here, and it's starting to feel more like a house again. And less like a garage sale. I'll post some pictures of the new upstairs space later, but in the meantime...you need to see this. We had to re-do our closet after the reno, and this is what happened.


Mike hung his shirts by type and color. I've never been more proud of him in my life.

Photobucket

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

One Month to Go!

I've been a little MIA this week, but I figure you can only say "I'm still pregnant" and "There are still construction workers in my house" so many times.

Today is an exciting day, though, because it marks one month until my due date! I can't believe we are getting so close. I am really excited but kinda nervous too. Not so much about Max being here but about the fact that he could come early and my house still resembles an episode of Hoarders. It's getting better, though, and they expect to be done by Friday! I can't wait to have everything back in place and to really be able to prepare for a baby to come home with us!

So...until things get a little more interesting around here, here's a 35 week picture. Because everyone needs maternity pictures in front of a stained glass window. Especially one with what looks like a serpent tail above my head. I think it detracts a little from the puffiness. But that's just me.

Photobucket

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Etta Boy

I have told you before about my new found love of Etta B Pottery. Well, my fabulous friend Kim bought Max (well, me) a new piece yesterday.



I LOVE it! Apparently, the woman behind Etta B (who's name isn't Etta) was trying something new and made one It's a Girl and one It's a Boy ornament to see if people would like them. I am so excited to have the It's a Boy one! It will definitely be going in the nursery...in a very safe place. I figure the nursery can have safe places for about a year and then everything is fair game for a roving boy!

Photobucket

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Sheetrock is Dirty

Things are getting messy around here, but luckily not nearly as messy as I thought. The good news: we get our closet back by this weekend! Whoo hoo! Here are a few pictures for the few who are curious how things are going...





We think everything should be done by the end of next week, which is perfect because I'll be pushing 36 weeks. That gives me a little bit to get things ready and back in order before the big day. And if not...well, we'll figure that out later.

Photobucket

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Donuts and Veggies

We're winding down the weekend here in good ol' Mississippi, and it's been a hot one! Unless you live in Alaska, I'm sure it's been a hot one for you too. Despite the heat, we managed to have a great time and I'm sad it went so fast...

Thursday I ran some errands and went to lunch with Mike. By the end of lunch, I was fairly nervous that I was about to go into labor at any moment. I followed that up with either breaking or severely bruising my toe, so overall it was a great day. Ha! I spent Thursday night worrying that I was going to end up at the hospital with no bags packed and toes in need of a pedicure (and most importantly a due date more than 6 weeks away), but eventually I decided that if my toe hurt worse than anything else I probably wasn't in labor. They should tell girls that in childbirth class. It's a good rule of thumb.

Friday night my mother came into town, which is always exciting! I think she was a little shocked at how messy our house actually is at the moment, but we can't do anything about it until construction ends. So...no getting things back in order this weekend. Instead we ate donuts. But we followed that up with a trip to the Farmer's Market, so that evened everything out. I even had a salad with avocado in it for dinner. Everyone knows that's the sign of a super healthy person.

By the end of the day, my mom had helped me get a lot of things marked off my to-do list, packing being the most important thing! It's still early, but you just never know. I keep hearing stories about people going into labor a month early, which would be just two weeks away. That makes me super excited, but it also scares me to death! Really, though, we could still be waiting in October, so who knows? As long as he stays in as long as he needs to and is ready, he can do whatever he wants! Well, unless we really do get to October. Then he may need a talking to.

Photobucket

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Casa McD

Construction has been a little slow at Casa McD this week, but it is picking up and should be busy the rest of the week. I kind of got used to having people in and out all day, and it's kind of quiet around here without them! Tomorrow is sheetrock day, so I'm a little worried about dust and dirt invading every inch of our house, but that's why my mom's coming this weekend...right mom???

Here are a few pics of what's already done. I know these aren't very exciting, but here it goes!


The back of the room

The front of the room and down the stairs

The door, down the stairs, and the hallway to the bathroom to the right

The bathroom...clearly
Photobucket

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

How Mississippi Lied

Okay, maybe calling Mississippi a liar is a bit strong. I've always been taught that calling someone a liar is rude, and I'm guessing calling an entire state a liar is taking rudeness to a whole level I don't want to go to. Probably the same level as people who speed up just to prove that they are way too important to pass on the highway. Or people who cut in lines. But I digress.

Instead, why don't we say that Mississippi didn't tell me the whole truth. When we were interviewing and visiting last summer, don't get me wrong. It was hot. But we always took great comfort in checking the weather back home in Texas and seeing that it was a good 5 to 10 degrees hotter. We would giggle when people asked us if we were going to be able to handle the heat here. Are you kidding? This is nothing. We're from Texas! An extra cold winter even confirmed what we already knew. It just doesn't get as hot here. Or so we thought.

But we forgot about the heat index. And a little thing called humidity. Oh my sweet goodness, the humidity. The kind of humidity that makes you wonder if a swimsuit is proper Sunday morning church attire. It's not by the way. Not that I tried it. But I did in my head, and it didn't go well.

The moral of this story? I'm not super sure. But I do know one thing. Whether you live in Mississippi, Texas, or anywhere else in the south, hot is hot when it comes to the summer months. So just get yourself a swimsuit and kiddie pool and stick it out. Just change before you go to church.

Photobucket

Monday, August 09, 2010

Birthin' Class

This weekend we took a break from construction and mayhem to attend our childbirth class. We decided to do the all day class instead of the weekly classes, because the hospital is actually up in Tennessee. And yes, that fact has left me in fear of delivering a child on the side of the highway, but I don't think that's likely to happen. It's only about 30 minutes away, and I don't think it's likely to be a short and simple process. That's not how I like to do things.

Anywho, the class was actually a lot more informative and helpful than I thought it would be. Nor was it as frightening as I thought it was going to be. They did play "the video," but they saved it for the end. Smart. Very smart. I only saw one guy that looked like he may pass out, but there were lots of head shakes of disbelief around the room. By that time, we had been talking childbirth for 7 hours, so you had to cut the guys some slack. I felt kinda faint myself! Much worse than "the video" though: the epidural video. There's a reason they put it in your back where you can't see it!

In other news, since I can't clean up a lot around here I have taken to cleaning out drawers and whatever else I can think of. When the mess starts to stress me out, I just go stand in my newly organized pantry. It works wonders I tell you. I'm thinking about moving the bed in there. Bonus: midnight snacks at my fingertips!


33 Weeks. I get the urge to shout, "Thar she blows!" everytime I see this picture. 7 weeks to go!

Photobucket

Friday, August 06, 2010

The Hottest Week Ever

Well, the work is coming along here in good ol' Mississippi. Except for a massive PVC pipe glue spill (the strongest thing I have ever smelled, but it got me out of making dinner!) the construction hasn't been bad at all. It hasn't exactly been business as usual around here with random teams of men coming and going all day, but they have all been really nice. Probably because they are afraid of the belly.

PS: Mike doesn't believe me, but I was walking this morning, and I passed a group of workers down the street. I promise you I heard the word "gordo." Just saying...

Anyways, I bought a couple things this week that I wanted to share really fast. None of these are original to me. I have seen friends or family buy them, and I feel like I'm finally at the point where I can buy them for Max!

1. Picky Sticky These are really neat! There are 12 stickers (one for each month until a baby turns one), and they look like iron-on transfers. Every month you just get a white onesie or whatever you want, stick, and take pictures. I love this, because it's a much cheaper solution that really having iron-ons. They have them for other things, too, not just the first year.

2. Orbit Labels My mom got these for us for Christmas when Will was going to come home with us, and I finally got around to ordering them for Max. They are stretchy, round labels for bottles, sippy cups, etc. I don't know how else to describe them, so just check them out!

Well, that's about it. I am still debating a few more small purchases, like the Wubba Nub. I am sure you'll be at the edge of your seat wondering if I do it. This is what you get when my house it torn up and it's too hot to go anywhere. If you get lucky I'll post pictures of my newly organized pantry!

Photobucket

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Under Construction

We are under construction here at The McLife! When we bought our house, we knew that eventually we would have to finish out the unfinished bonus room upstairs. So, we just decided to go ahead and bite the bullet. Is it weird that I want to explain that idiom to you? Must be a product of my elementary teacher days...

Since we know our family will grow by at least two kids in the next couple of years and we expect to have lots of visitors once grandkids arrive, we decided there was no time like the present just to get it done! Of course...we like to do things at the best time possible:


Yes, that says FEELS LIKE 117! Construction workers are brave souls I tell you. They have been up there (no air conditioning, but there are windows) all week, and I am so worried about them! They assure me they are used to it and they would just be working somewhere else if they weren't here, but it must feel like 140 degrees up there!

Here are a few before pictures:


We shall see how it ends up when it's all done! And just for the record...this is our master closet right now. Which doesn't stress me out at all. Not even a little. Especially when you have to visit three separate rooms in the house just to get dressed. I should have planned that one out a little better.



Photobucket

Sunday, August 01, 2010

32 Weeks

Things are really starting to grow around here! Mainly my midsection. And my need to drink large amounts of chocolate milk. It's an addiction I'm working on. Here are a few 32 week pics:




The ever expanding belly is getting a lot of attention these days. Mike and I have really noticed a growth spurt in the past week or so. Apparently other people have, too, as evidenced by the fact that I totally got called "fat lady" today at church. By an adult. I was also informed that my face was a lot puffier and given this professional advice: "If the nose starts spreading, start packing." Will do, ma'am. Will do.

Photobucket