Lump-On-A-Log-itis

I feel like a ton of bricks today. My mind is slow, my body slower. Ugh. Thankfully, it is cooled down to the low 90's, so the heat is bearable with the breeze going through our house today. I go back to work on Wednesday and will hit the ground running with 3 days straight of inservices. While it will be great to go back and get to see people I haven't seen in months, I shudder at the thought of having to actually move quickly in the mornings again. Routine? What's that?

Enough complaining...there have been several REALLY POSITIVE and EXCITING happenings lately!

1) WE ARE GETTING AIR CONDITIONING!!!!!!!! Thanks to the generosity of our dads and the excuse of a soon-to-be bundle of joy, the AC is coming in just a few days! "Holy hot" days will soon be a thing of the past. :)

2) Our couches have potential buyers and we have been able to make our first large home purchase...a beautiful red microsuade sectional!! We giggled like little kids when it arrived.

3) With just 2 problem sheets, a literary critique and a research proposal to go, my last class for my masters degree is almost done!! Please keep my energy level in your prayers as I have some serious crankin' out of work to get finished before school officially gets started.

That's all for now. Sausage fingers out.

Move over Zoolander

Zoolander - a model idiot


Meglander - a model mom to be

Oh how beautiful she is. She was such an easy subject to work with. The camera just followed her every move. I wish all of my photo shoots were this easy. Meglander is what reminds me why I got into this business, shear beauty and creativity. I mean, there is more to life than being really, really, really ridiculously good looking. Meglander is here to show the beauty of the pregnant woman. Thank you! Life-size posters and action figures will follow. Stay tuned!

Doc Update

Just a quick post today about my 6 month check-up:

Baby's Heartbeat: 153 beats/min (Constant flipping is keeping this kid healthy!)
Belly Length: 25 cm (At 24 1/2 weeks, right on track)
Weight Gain: 12 pounds (A little below normal, but the doc said the weight will come...GREAT!)
Sleep Remedy: Benedryl (Who knew? I slept like a baby for the first time in weeks last night!)
Glucose Test: Should be normal. (Glucose drink was like orange pop gone psycho.)
Sausage Fingers and Toes: Normal. (No toxemia here...just chubby fingers and toes that have swollen up with summer.)

Many of you have asked for an updated side view photo. Don't worry, I will get one up. We are waiting on a new power cord for my Mac to come in before I post any more photos...I have to wean myself off of personal stuff on my work computer before I turn it back in next week.

P.S. I had to look up how to spell wean.

March On, Penguins. March On.

In sticking with our arctic movie theme of the past few weeks, we finally caught up with the rest of the world and rented March of the Penguins yesterday. Chris and I found ourselves completely enthralled by these emporer penguins as they marched more than 70 miles (in a straight line nonetheless) to bear the Antarctic winter, find love and create life. With adventure, triumph and tragedy, this movie had it all. It was great and thoroughly cooling! :) A definite must-see if you haven't already done so.

Speaking of movies...I always forget that living in such a large city often presents itself with odd movie making/modeling moments that one wouldn't typically see. Living right downtown for the past year, there were lots of these moments - an entire chunk of an independent film was filmed just one block from us in late fall!

Living just outside the city, however, I figured that those moments had long passed us by. This was until I remembered that our eerily-perfect-design-of-a-neighborhood was designed by the same people who developed Seaside, Florida, home of the Jim Carey movie The Truman Show. Every detail of this neighborhood was very clearly thought out and executed. There is a fountain just where one would look great, parks, paths, the right color house, and so on. Creepy yet very cool at the same time. Needless to say, I have seen countless modeling and filmmaking moments thus far in our few months in Stapleton. Just this morning as I headed to the coffee shop to "work on my research class homework" I passed yet another modeling moment: A perfect looking couple in front of the perfect looking house. My hair is wet, curly, messy and I'm not quite sure if my outfit matches. Hmmm. I don't think I will be asked on a walk-by to stand in for one of the beauties any of these days.

That's it for now, I suppose. I have effectively wasted 32 minutes since I arrived at Einstein Bros. Cafe where I came to do homework. Hey, at least the name on the door is associated with academia, right?

Holy HOT!!!

We've had record breaking temperatures the last few days out here. Needless to say, we're HOT! Argh. Without air conditioning in our place, we've been forced to become creative in our ways to keep cool. Here's a glimpse into our lives the past few days:

1) Drink like 25 glasses of water. (This of course requires then about 40 trips to the bathroom.)
2) Open all windows at night and promptly shut with blinds around 8 a.m. This traps the cool air for at least 3 more hours before a breeze is a definite must again.
3) Go to Bass Pro Shop/Outdoor World to stare at fish tank and the biggest lures one could imagine for 2 hours.
4) Go to Target and look at items we will never need to buy.
5) Sit in coffee shop for 4 hours working on homework for last master's class. (Very atypical level of concentration. AC is definite motivation!)
6) Grocery shop and walk up and down EVERY isle to extend time in store.
7) Watch movies like Vertical Limit, Aspen Extreme, and other snowy, arctic attractions.
8) Sit directly in front of fan with bowl of ice piled up for "make-shift AC". My hubby is so smart!!
9) Wear as few clothes as possible. Potential problem when blinds and windows have to be open.
10) Sit in car outside house with AC on.

I apologize if it sounds like I am complaining. I am really trying not to. It's just that 103 degrees isn't cutting it for this prego.

When does winter come again?

Whoa Nelly! What a Week!

We just got back from dropping Kristen and the boys off at the airport. It is oddly quiet and a huge wave of tiredness just came over us. We had a fantastic week together though. We filled our time at the Denver Zoo, the pool, Water World (the ultimate favorite) and 16th Street Mall. Chris and I were so impressed how well the boys did being away from Rose and Dad for an entire week. Not once did either one throw an "I want Mom" fit. We took a ton of pictures to document the trip. I don't have any with me or Chris in them, but they are on their way soon when my sister sends them. :) Enjoy what we have so far!

Kristen and Q at the zoo.

Q and Walker sitting on the break wall of the tidal wave pool at Water World..this particular pool provided hours of fun!!

Pool Party for the penguins at the zoo! We watched them for nearly 20 minutes because they were so hilarious.

This ape was very curious about Walker.

Unfortunately, I was too far along to be able to go on any of the rides at Water World. Kristen, braved the lines and carried the tubes so that they could go on this big one. :)

Here We Go!

We have been having so much fun since the brothers and sister arrived. Yesterday, we hit up the pool for the first time and Mexican food for dinner. Today, it's the zoo and back to the pool. Here are a few pics!

A seasoned traveler, Q greeted me at the airport with all smiles.

Pool time!

Ready to jump!

Stupid adult swim time! What's the point anyway?

Projects , Projects Everywhere!

With 17 1/2 weeks and counting until the little one arrives, we have been gotten down to business with projects around the house. The first task: the garage work bench.

We are fortunate to have a garage (not so standard in Denver). And what garage would be complete without a workbench? As soon as we decided to buy our place, I started putting money away to surprise Chris on our anniversary with the supplies to build his very own workbench. He had already designed his dreambench, so I had the easy part of just getting the gift card to Home Depot. :) Needless to say, his design turned out beautifully and made for an excellent organizational addition to our garage.

Project #2: Shelving in Baby's Room
As you have probably seen, we have to be creative with our storage space here. Our closets, while a good size, needed some work to make them optimum storage containers. Yet again, my engineer of a husband went hard to work at designing a way to create more storage for the abundance of baby items we have accumulated in the last few months. He came up with a great design and off to Home Depot we went again! We found all the materials we needed and had the shelving in the closet cut, sanded, painted, and put up by the end of the day!

Project #3: The Nursery
While the whole of this project is yet to get underway, we definintely have our ideas in place of what this room will look like. On the list, paint, wayne's coating, chair railing and assembly of rocker and crib. This project is on hold, however, until our last group of summer visitors comes this week. My sister and two younger brothers (22, 10, and 4) will be here until Saturday! We are so excited and can't wait to spend time together. I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures to post from their visit here.

Until then, here are some of the pictures from our two complete projects!

Chris, hard at work!

Workbench finished and ready for tools and storage!

Jack, a little confused about his new role in the family.

Shelving in the closet of the baby's room. Almost there!

Finished and ready for storage.

My Little Gold Medalist

About two weeks ago, I felt the first inkling of our little one's movement with fluttering and Mexican jumping bean-style sensations in my stomach. Just the other morning however, Chris and I got a huge surprise as we actually felt these kicks and punches on the OUTSIDE of my skin. It was the most incredible moment to share together and we celebrated by calling our families.

Since then, Baby D has apprently decided to take up aquatic gymnastics as an occupation- tossing, turning, punching, kicking, flipping and maybe even the pummel horse. These olympic events seem to be taking place as soon as I wake up, sit down, drive, watch tv, read, and lie down for bed. While I do enjoy the movements and giggle as I feel an elbow or foot, I can't help but wonder where this kid thinks s/he is going? I mean, really, there isn't a whole lot of a room in there.

I thought the sonogram brought to reality that there is a REAL baby inside of me...this definitely takes the cake!

Have a great 4th!

Back In The Game

I feel as if the blood has finally returned to my fingers! Ahhh cyberspace! How I missed you!

In my absence, I have had quite the adventure traveling across the country and back, visiting family and friends, being overwhelmed by the generousity of gifts at a baby shower and spending time back in Denver with Mom and Aunt Judy. Because so much has happened, it is almost impossible for me to give a complete update. So, in quick review, here is the past few weeks:

Visit to Dayton:
Had tons of fun hanging out with my brothers, dad, step-mom, aunt, cousin and yia yia. I realized how quickly time can pass without the bat of an eye as I went to visit Yia Yia (grandma) and found her Alzheimer's had kicked into high gear. She no longer remembered who I was, just knew that she was supposed to know me. We had lovely conversations despite her memory loss and it just felt good to be in her presence. Rose, Aunt Marya and my cousins threw me a Michaels's family baby shower which wouldnt' have been complete with out my 4-year-old brother's help in opening the gifts! :) It was a great weekend!!

Visit to Michigan:
Family, friends, food - awesome! This trip allowed the luxery of traveling to visit friends and family in their own element and cities. Trips to Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Gun Lake ended up providing priceless moments of laughter and cherished updates. I am truly blessed to have some many wonderful friends and family! The visit ended with the best-planned baby shower I have ever seen! Long time friends and family gathered together at my parent's home and basically set our soon-to-be bundle of joy up for the it's entire first year of life! I was overwhelmed by the generosity of gifts and love.

Visit in Denver:
With my tetris skills working at their premium degree, Mom, Aunt Judy and I packed up a rented Ford Explorer and headed back out west. The drive was filled with the typical corn-filled scenery that Iowa and Nebraska have to offer and an interesting experience at a Holiday Inn in Grand Island, NE with moldy candy. In the end however, we made it to Denver just fine. Once here, I was surpised with my handyman of a husband's work on our house. He had painted the stairwell and kitchen as well as installed a beautiful ceiling fan in our living room that reminds me of being in the Caribbean. During the week, we women spent time in Boulder shopping, unpacking all the gifts, hanging out downtown and even had a barbeque with friends. It was a great week!

This week has brought the reality that school is finally out. I still wake up early, but getting dressed often takes place hours later rather than the usual minutes. It has been nice kind of moving at my own pace and hanging out at home. Jack and Layla can't quite figure the whole thing out. Jack seriously looks peeved that I have invaded on his napping schedule. Boy is he going to be surprised when the baby arrives and I am home for another three months!

This week, we also celebrated our 2nd anniversary! Because of the whirl-wind of events lately, we took it easy on Monday and I made dinner, which, as most of you know, is an ocassion in itself! Regardless, we had a great time just hanging out an enjoying each other's company. We decided on a get-away weekend in the next few months to celebrate before the baby arrives.

Speaking of babies, the pregnancy is continuing to go well. We had the BIG ultrasound last week Friday where we got to see the little hands, feet and the face of our little one to be. It was so amazing and a huge reality check that it isn't just bad food making my stomach expand but a real person! At just over 21 weeks, a new body pillow, called a Snoogle, has become a must as my rapidly expanding midsection has kept me from sleeping well at night. Chris's t-shirts for night wear are also a must as my own no longer stretch over this belly of mine. As soon as I can find a quality scanner, I will post the pics from the ultrasound. Until then, check out some of the pics from the baby shower and back in Denver.

Love to all!

Present everywhere!

My secret is definitely out now! And in my college colors.....Thanks, Christie!

Kristen, one of the hot aunt's-to-be (my sis).


Hottie and Aunt-to-be Lindsey (Chris's sis).


It's hard to believe we have grown up together! Peggy, Christie, me and Andrea

Let's just get to the point....no more brand names for diaper rash cream. Let's just go for what it is....Butt Paste! Gotta love it!

It so was special to have so many generations at the shower! Chris's Mom and Grandma were in attendance. I guess that makes them now Grandma and Great-Grandma!

A double rainbow outside our house.

Mom and Chris deep in thought over chicken parmesan. It turned out to be delicious!

Hanging out with Lee-Ann and Stacey at our barbeque on Friday night while Mom and Aunt Judy were in town.