Back from the Near Dead

During the last 8 days I managed to bang out a few updates on FB about my current sickly status. Only today, day 8, no exaggerating, have I begun the day with a sense of hope instead of hopelessness.

Being pregnant is hard on your body. Being pregnant and chasing a 1 year old is even harder. Being pregnant, nursing a sick 1 year old for a few sleepless nights/days, then instantly catching the sickness yourself for EIGHT DAYS is the worst. Jason said I was pretty funny during that time. And to quote Bee Movie, "if I didnt laugh, I'd cry"...

My phone conversations with Jenalee usually started with "I dont know why we're still talking about this"-- it was just rediculous how many phone calls began with how sick I still was. Longest and worst cold EVER. That turned into a sinus infection, in case anyone needed the details. I am on the mend, antibiotics are doing their job so now I can finally do mine.

A very quick thanks to my husby for vacuuming around me while I was splayed across the recliner, with Sunnylee hot on his heels for attention. And for coming home early from work most of those days & moving his schedule around when I was at my worst. Very thankful  :)

The new baby--- I am 32 weeks along, 8 months officially. We are all guessing that this time around it is a boy, what with all the movement thats been going on in there and my recent sickliness- I blame the baby. Just today I began going through Sunny's old things to locate everything newborn. I have 2 stacks of newborn girl clothes ready to go, and another stack of neutral newborn clothes in case we have a little boy. I found lots of baby teethers and rattles that I cleaned and I have a pile of linens to be washed no matter what the baby is. Its getting exciting; I told Jason that on March 1 we'll officially "get ready for baby"- get things down from the attic, set up the carseat, etc. But I couldnt help pulling out the tiny clothes today with Sunnylee....

Finally a Use for This Pot

I've received a pot, accompanied with a matching lid & a metal holder/handles thingy, for our wedding. It sits under our kitchen table on a little shelf made just for it (not likely as we got the table first). It is a gold/brown color thats hard to describe, doesnt match a thing, and I'm not sure it was made in this century. It never had a job, anything to do, or any real use to me. Until now.

Jason entertained a couple of our neighbors tonight who enjoyed beers out on the finished deck (photos of the deck to follow soon). Beers turned into an offer to stay for dinner since I'd made a tortilla soup that was ready, & as soups go, overfilling the pot (no, this is not where The Pot got its use, its a different pot).

As we ate, our neighbor, The Hawaiian as we call him, told a story about how his brother was in a co-op with his neighbors. They had a pot, it was large and never previously used, made of clay or was pottery-ish, I dont know. They came up with this idea between a few families that whoever had The Pot in their possession was in charge of making a meal large enough for their family and for another, that filled The Pot. They'd then let the family know ahead of time they were making a meal and then drop off The Pot full of whatever and be on their way. One family didnt have to cook that day. The Hawaiian said it wasnt ever planned too much, not every Saturday or anything, not even a weekly event. Just a random night. The family that dropped it off didnt stay and eat, it wasnt like that (and this is why Jason isnt sold on the idea! He thought it was a social thing, apparently the only reason for him to do anything).

So, what makes me jump so fast at dinner tonight to The Pot that I have, The Pot that I want to immediately begin passing back and forth with the Hawaiian family, is that the Hawaiian is a chef in the number three country club in the nation, in Vero Beach. A club so exclusive I doubt his own mother could eat there. Of course I want to eat something he makes in this pot! I own the pot, its in my house, so Jason & I are the first to try it out.

Ps. It is intimidating feeding The Hawaiian. When I asked him what his plans were for dinner, trying to upload some of my soup onto him since I'm not a fan of leftovers or wastage (& I'm nice, he looked hungry, and I wanted company for me and Jase for dinner), I know full well that he's had a better meal, that my foodnetwork.com recipe of Santa Fe Tortilla soup is somehow not up to his standards and missing something key, and that he could make it better. But I still have fed him on more than one occasion and he is always grateful and praises whatever it is. Even offers me nice tips that are helpful and not condescending in the least bit. He doesnt have a Gordon Ramsey bone in his body.

Pps. Some of you may know have put this together that this Hawaiian is the same guy who drops off the delicious bread in our mailbox on a weekly basis. We informed him tonight, after receiving at least 8 loaves of bread last fall/this winter, that when we get his bread, we dont cook for days. Its toast in the morning, bread and cheese for lunch, and brushcetta for dinners. I specifically go out the next morning and buy the best mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil and eat bruschetta like a crazy craving pregnant lady... I predict a loaf this very week. 

Arithmetic

I was doing some math and thought... if Jason only works about 6 hours in a reg workday, and Sunny keeps up these 3 hour naps she's taking, and Jason comes home and has daddy time with his daughter for another 3 hours.... it adds up to a nice little number that I'm smiling about.

Keep it up Sunnylee.

rant.

Two things that these 2 women did today that make me mad (now that I'm a mom):

-hoisting around a 40lb nine month old in Target who is chopping down Cheetos. If you didnt know, 9mo olds should weigh less than half that and Cheetos are the devil. Not good for adults, def not made for babies (clearly).

-a middle aged (and I'm assuming single and jobless by appearance and time of day) lady thinking that our nice playground across the street with children's slides and swings in it is an appropriate place for taking her dogS off-leash to... ya know, do their business. This is where babies learning to walk, put leaves in their mouths, and roll around in the grass. It is not a dog park.

You both disgust me.

Why...

can't I meet cool moms & dads at the park like I did today, all the time? This little family of 6 was from Sweden on holiday and leaving Sunday. Boo. 

They had 1 1/2 year old twin girls as well. Perfect family to chat with and play with. So frustrating that all I meet are... not. I've had so many first dates with moms who had potential, until we met and the kids are wearing _______, eating ________, and throwing tantrums so awful I shield Sunny's eyes (she's a self-taught tantrum thrower as it is, she doesnt need inspiration).

Jason & I went to the river this afternoon for a walk along the water with Sunnylee in her stroller. It was exactly what I needed after a morning of scrubbing the floors on my hands and knees, making laundry soap, sewing, learning another language... and other housewifey things. We entertained ourselves without food and/or drinks! Amazing! Then we met the Swedish family at the park after our walk and passed the afternoon away exactly how I wish most afternoons would unfold. I didnt even dread the return to the homestead since the only thing waiting for me there was turning the oven to 375* and throwing in a Sam's pizza. Yum. If only I'd had my credit card on me for the driveby RedBox so I couldve rented Twilight... hmm. Thinking of sending Jase there after pizza. Or now.

I've realized I've been slacking with photos and videos. Its a new year, I'm ready now. Not actually right now, since I dont have a picture of our glorious afternoon, but I'll be ready in the morning. I'll go charge my cameras and upload pics. I bet I even have xmas pictures somewhere....

New Year morning

Planted pansies in my hanging pots sitting on our new deck, in the sunshine.
Long shower.
Blew hair dry.
Put on makeup.
Commenced to eat my moms homemade cornbread and black eyed peas.

Feeling normal now.

I plan on feeding Sunnylee the very same meal when she wakes, followed by an afternoon spent at our tiki bar on the water we like to frequent. I am looking forward to a real Corona with 2 limes. Today. & then sushi tonight in Vero. All things that make me happy on the first day of 2011.

Cold Offspring

Sunny sometimes wakes up periodically throughout the night, usually after 4a, and we let her shuffle around and cry a little until she goes back to sleep. But when its cold like it has been here in Florida, we lay awake and wonder aloud if she's cold, too. We have the heater on and she is layered up with a singlet, socks, and her warmest feety jammies- and still she's cold.

We cant be the only parents who worry that their kids are cold, and rightfully so- Jason usually goes and gets her and they sleep the rest of the morning, warm, under our comforter, & on the recliner.

There are many more months of winter and I just cant stand it any longer. I bought Sunny this today:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W8PZ0A/ref=ox_ya_os_product

I found it originally on Halo's website under Sleep Sacks for Early Walkers. It would've been over $36 to order one there. On amazon.com it is $20 (with shipping) and will be here by Friday. Not that we will really need it Friday night; I think we will use it during the really cold nights. It is basically a blanket worn over the pajamas. The reason this is needed is because Sunny has never kept a blanket on. She is too young to pull one over herself. We also put her in her crib awake each night, but sleepy. She sometimes stands and moves around before nodding off, thus throwing off any blankets. I creep in there before bed to cover her once for the night... & that must get thrown off about 4a.

What 2011 Brings

Things I Want to do in 2011:

Send out New Years cards instead of a holiday card. I think this will be the new "in" thing to do. And I have a few unique ideas. And I'm sick of the same 'ole Christmas poses, you know what they are: I saw a lot of yours this year.

Save my pennies each month for a bigger Christmas tree. Jason totally got the upper hand this season with the tree height decisions and next year its my turn. No less than 8 feet to make up for 2010's slack.

Not get pregnant.

Run a half-marathon with my dad. This has many goals in mind, including the actual distance would be a first- plus the Gligs are planning an Aussie Christmas down unduh and I want to be able to wear a tank top and shorts (in their dead of summer) and, I know this is pushing it, a bikini.

Find a decent Christmas parade. Sebastians was dismal.com/letdown for me and Sunny, and even Jason couldnt finish a drink in the amount of time the parade lasted. Boooooo. I've heard Vero's is nice.

Finish learning German before we actually go there in June. I've got many many hours to log in, I'm loving it, but finishing is key.

Thats all I can think of right now. I just ran every month through my mind and it is insane the amount of things we have to accomplish this year. I keep repeating this each year, but it really will be our most eventful year to date.

I'll be 28 this year, celebrating our 2 year anniversary of being married, applying for Jasons permanent residency (he's conditional at the moment. On condition that I sign, as his wife, that he is aloud to stay, hehehe), applying for a real-persons mortgage at a bank (thats a long story....), oh, I forgot- have Baby Glig #2 somewhere in there, then host Jasons parents at our place for awhile, then follow them to Germany!, train for half-marathon in between all this, celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary (this will be the only year or it will just be too many anniversaries for us)... Jason turns 33 or something up-there like that, and we'll conclude our busy 2011 in Oz. See, told ya it was a lot. VERY hopeful and excited for 2011. Lets do it!

Happy List

What makes the Gligs happy: (since Brooke told me to do it at http://www.ohbeau.wordpress.com/)

Not being sick (which we never are, but I do not take this for granted).
Cleaning day (equalling a pleasently smelling house thats also nice to look at).
Babies kicking inside me.
A wagon ride.
Mail.
Etsy.com
Traveling the world.
A good photo, usually with Sunny in it.
Meme & Papa.
Weekly Skyping with the Original Glig(orov)s.
Gardening.
Sewing projects.
Online poker (can you guess who's favorites these items belong to?)
Lambie.
Three Lambies.
My weekly meal plan & the results (a new dinner every night!)
Coffee & GMA
A tan (this was hard to remember since its so cold right now and I'm really liking Uggs over a tan).
Running (also hard to remember).
18 holes of golf.
Evo. & Bluetooth. I decided yesterday that I need to wean myself off things (aftermath of Christmas). Mmmm but I love my Evo.
Popcorn and butter at the theater.
Getting my hair done.
Bathtime.
Learning another language.

Most things in my life make me happy. I love my life.

& like Brooke told me to, go make your own list. Its refreshing.

26 weeks and Pre-Christmas Festivities

I had my first doctor's appointment in Jupiter this week. Once, I was looking forward to delivering Baby Glig #2 fifteen minutes away from my house, in Vero Beach. Now I am back to driving over an hour, like we did with Sunnylee. Upsides: same Drs who delivered Sunny and a hospital that has the most amazing delivery suites.... Ahh.... cant wait.

We are 26 weeks along in this pregnancy, about 6 1/2 months and depending on where you look, in the 3rd trimester apparently, though I think I'll announce that at 28 weeks. Seems more appropriate. Baby is kicking often and other than extreme allergies, I am doing fine.

Our family has been nice and busy, making December fly by. There have been Christmas parties, parades, a moms meeting, Dr & hair appointments (both equally important), & Aussies visiting to pass the time. Jason and Sunny and I had a great week entertaining his mates from Sydney. I mostly enjoyed all the dining out we did. I realized today we didnt take one photo of the entire week... dissapointing!

The Gligs Repeatedly Run Into Famous Situations

Look at this photo from our wedding very closely, then watch the following Modern Family clip  :) 

hint: the wedding officiator (ok, so that was the entire clue but I didnt

wanna make this difficult for some)

How cool?

A Very Glig Christmas Letter

The Gligorov Adventures Continue… 2010

The short version of our Christmas letter this year is that we found someone foolish enough to give us a mortgage and we moved to Sebastian Florida, everyone is fine and/or pregnant, we had a great summer where it was too hot to even think about going outside, there was a wedding, nothing tragic that we couldn’t expertly deal with occurred since last Christmas, & we are not yet rich and will be less so after the 25th. For those of you with stamina, a more detailed account follows:


In January we traveled to Australia where Sunnylee met our friends and family for the first time. In April we bought our first home. We have a guest bedroom (& grass to mow and carpet to vacuum) so feel free to visit anytime. In September, twenty five friends and family members from the US, Australia, and Germany all traveled to Maui for a Very Gligorov Wedding. Jason and I said vows to stay together ‘til the bitter end. It was gold.

Jason is still at his job; it appears that his bosses love him! And since his job directly involves beer, I don’t see the two parting ways any time soon. Thank goodness for that, my paycheck has been quite small since, well, since I met Jason is really when it all started... He’s taken up golf with a Tiger-like fervor, hasn’t lost to anyone in table tennis since moving here, and I quote him, “I continued my career as a father.” That’s gonna be a long stressful career. But most fulfilling.

I’ve returned to my job, which is baby-maker. It doesn’t offer too many benefits: in fact, insurance is out of the question. Its temporary, I only have through March. But seriously, the pregnancy’s been a breeze thankfully, or maybe I just have other things on my mind, like “I haven’t heard Sunny for a bit…Are the baby gates up?” We’ve kept the gender a surprise like the first time, loving the reactions of others. Oh, and we do it for an easier time during labor, its life’s only surprise … & tradition. But really to ^#&@ off our friends. Yes, I just used salty language in our Baby Jesus’ Birthday letter.


Sunny can already say about 500 words, six of which are in English. Maybe she’s learning German faster than I am? Since we don’t have a dog it’s also fun to teach her sign language. She can sign you right off the farm, as animals are her obsession currently. Her other interests include eating while staying in size 6 month clothing for over a year (I think she’s doing Pilates in her crib) and training to be a metal detector by finding all the screws her daddy leaves laying about the deck construction going on out our back door. She’s managed to keep us fearful in 2010 by falling face first out of her wagon onto the road, keeping one fever at 105 for a few days, and most recently, jumping into the [full of water] bathtub when bath time was clearly over. At Thanksgiving dinner this year, when it was my turn to give thanks, I said, “We are thankful that Sunny’s nose is slightly bigger or it never would’ve stuck above the surface for air that night.”

Love from us: Jason, Abby, Sunnylee, Baby Glig #2, Rudolph, Dancer, Prancer, etc . . .

P.S. If a yearly review of the Gligorovs just isn’t good enough, visit www.thegliglife.com

 

Cute Calendar

Real quick- made this today. Got the idea from Young House Love & whipped it up during Sunny's naptime on Microsoft Publisher.

Custom 2011 calendar for the Glig family.

Each month is a phrase of individual happenins' in our lives & anniversarys of amazing dates of the past. Kinda neat. Although my 3mo whiteboard calendar wall [inspired by Pottery Barn] trumps it always, this cute paper calendar makes me smile.

The Gligs Thanksgiving Week Accomplishments

-Went to Meme & Papa's house for Thanksgiving, a few days early to get in the right festive mood.
-Had a playdate with Beau, 2 days in a row, AKA happy hour (beer & oysters for the mama's! minus beer for me)

- Went on a 3 mile walk with Beau's mom. I regret it since I was a train wreck the following day, T-Day, with exhaustion and general crabbiness.

-I almost became the first person ever to die of allergies, if there is such a thing.

-Whipped up a Thanksgiving leftover specialty back in Sebastian- an impromptu turkey pot-pie ala Paula D which was scarfed faster than Thanksgiving the day before. Recipe here.

-Jason put up Xmas lights outside of our house once we came back from Okeechobee- before any other house in the neighborhood! Our first time decorating as well for our first Xmas at our first house. It is actually our 3rd Christmas together, but it feels brand new this year!

-I happened to capture this video & decided Sunnylee had had enough of Okeechobee & its rascals so we went back home.

gDiapers

As my friend from this blog one-ups us all by skipping the mauling crowd at Target on Black Friday while she sits home and sews beautiful aprons for her friends this Christmas (I imagine her sitting by the fire in hand knitted wool socks while her content 16mo old reads quietly at her feet... in a rocking chair), I thought of how my family's own carbon footprint was affecting this planet. I only thought of that for a minute, and then I thought more about our savings account (who am I kidding, there isn't one) and finally bit the bullet and bought these cloth diapers for Sunnylee: www.gdiapers.com This same friend is the one who convinced me to cloth to begin with; she cloth diapers her one year old every few days, or whenever they stay home, or when its convenient for her. That schedule sounds very manageable to me. It cuts down on how often she has to buy disposables.

I am discovering cloth diapers with my friend, from this blog, who actually turned me on to this brand, gDiapers, awhile ago; she researched cloth for her upcoming arrival who is due this month. Since my own Baby #2 is on its way soon, and with that has already started with me purchasing two different sized disposable diapers, it kills me to spend so much $$ on something we just throw away when I am home most of my life right now, & in close proximity to the washing machine. One of my jobs as a stay-at-home-mom, a mom who's business degree shouldn't just be put on hold for years and years, is to save this family money. I do this in a million brilliant ways :) & this is the beginning of a new way. I am not against 'sposies, as disposables are cutely called on mommy-blogs, and will continue to use them when the Gligs are on the go. And when babysitters are... in our lives. One day. When we find one. Where is she?

I am testing out Sunnylee before the next Glig arrives. Since we know Sunny pretty well, and we know her diapering schedule very well, then the transition should be easy. And if we like cloth, then we can easily cloth baby #2 as well. When that time comes. gDiapers are in transit right now to the Glig House. We cant wait to put these cute diapies on Sunny.

Bad Parenting

Baby Glig #2 is entering its 21st week of existence this week. We had a huge ultrasound last Thursday where every organ is accounted for and each limb is measured. Seeing this baby kick and squirm on the monitor for 45 minutes makes the entire pregnancy and all its consequences more real.

The ultrasound tech said the baby was in a perfect position for every 'photo' she needed, so when I got a call the next day that they needed more pictures of the baby's spine, I was pretty anxious. It stems from Sunnylee's 20 week ultrasound- they couldnt get a good angle of her heart and told me so AT the appointment and I scheduled to come back again. But since the Tech said she got every photo, and a good one it seemed, I thought the worst. When I talked to my Dr though they reassured me they expect the best from the Tech's and the spine photos were not the best. Basically, I was paying for these photos and hadnt got my money's worth. So without hesitations, I am going back to the Dr today for a few more photos of the spine. The baby's perfect tiny little spine.

A Sunnylee catastrophe:
I dont want to admit an event like this, but hey, I learned from it, and more importantly, Jason learned even more! After Sunny's bath last night, we pajama'd her and commenced to rush into the dining room (with Jason's parent's on Skype) where Jason was opening his birthday presents. Sunny was interested for about a minute then decided to ride around on her ladybug pushie thing. We could hear her scooting up and down the hallway.

Then I heard a loud crash in the bathtub and I thought she'd thrown her ladybug into the tub- her favorite thing to do if we leave the bathroom door open is to throw random objects into her tub. I'd even forgotten to let the water out of the tub, so I was thinking of this ladybug (which was quite expensive and not waterproof) floating around in her tub now.... I sent Jason off to rescue it at once, with Sunnylee crying in the background. She cries whenever she throws her toys out of reach, which makes me wonder why she would throw it in the first place....? One year olds...

SO- Sunny's crying, Jason's blundering from room to room looking for the commotion (ok, didnt we JUST hear the bathtub-crashing noise? Did he not hear that?), then I hear him yelling and carrying on and water splashing. I investigate and there she is- standing in the middle of the bathroom now, soaking wet from head to toe, in her nightclothes. Crying. I bundle her up once he undresses her as he explains in pure freak-out mode, that he found her on her back, in the tub, with her nose and mouth barely surfacing above the water. Sunny does this "turtle" pose as I call it, where anytime she falls down she gracefully turns to her back until rescued. And thats what she did. She wont try to get up on her own though! You have to rescue her.
All night Jason talked about how, "If the water had been a little deeper," and other scary thoughts, but everything is fine now. I wasnt, and am still not, too worried- I am very safe with Sunny. Baby gates are up, doors are all shut, no bathroom accessibility, etc (ok, except for maybe last night, when we got distracted from all the Skype/birthday ruckus). I am not thinking about future traumatic events like this occuring often because they wont- we're baby-proofed over here and I keep it that way when I'm with Sunny...
But Jason and I did learn the following:

1. Not to let distractions keep you from keeping the babies safe.
2.a. The door to the bathroom should actually be shut after every pee, every bath because life isnt always "That'll never happen to us, what are the chances?" (2.b---and as the mother, my suggestions are not nagging or off-the-wall theories I've heard on 20/20 last night- thats what Jase learned).
3. The water should be let out each night (he blamed this on himself, when really I was the one who gave Sunny a bath that night... I corrected him, didnt want him to feel too guilty).
4. And babies, who you've invested 9mo "making" inside, 16mo raising on the outside, could all be over in less than a minute. Something that would affect you for as long as you lived.

And that is a scary lesson.

So... how was everyone's weekend?   ;)

Christmas Cards

I plan to gift these free holiday cards to my mom- there are 50 of them! (do we even know 50 families to send these to?) Shutterfly, for anyone who doesnt know, is an excellent resource for most of your photo-printing and photo-gift giving needs. We here at the Glig house make photo books of special events and send them to other Glig's across the world, as they cannot be here for all of our special events. I only do my printing of regular snapshots online as well. I gather up all my photos from the past few months (I just did this last week! I had to skip the Hawaii/Wedding photos, since who has the time to go through all those thousands of pictures???) and send them off to the printers! Shutterfly Fed'Exs them to you in snip-snappy time and then there you are, with hundreds of perfect prints to now organize in terms of how many months your child is... This ain't how your momma did it, but it sure is easy.

Here are a few samples of what Shutterfly has to offer this season:
· Christmas cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards
· photo cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery
· holiday cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

Ciao!

Food and Cold Weather

Sunny thinks wearing my grandma's watch on

her foot is funny, or where its supposed to be.

Week 19- Baby ? is moving, kicking, zapping me of energy at times, and poking out enough that strangers are regularly mentioning our newest Glig. THIS stage is nice. Anything before 5mo is just ______. 5mo to the end its real, it feels real, and everyone else knows its real!

My dad and Jason are building a deck at our house. We've made a lot of progress which makes me think we'll actually see it out to the end, and in time to still enjoy the cooler season.

Sunny loves to help:

When the slightest cool breeze blew through Sebastian I ran out and bought a giant silo of plain 'ole oatmeal like my mom used to make. Its cooked on the stove with milk then served- Sunny's with honey, mine with brown sugar. Yum yum, anyone else feed there little ones oatmeal in the morning? Sunnylee LOVES it, its her most favorite breakie right now:

Speaking of warm toasty meals, how much chili was made for dinner over the weekend? Jason whipped up a batch Sunday night that we're still eating (as of Tuesday!). What makes it different- its made with buffalo mince instead of beef. I'd like to say how different it was, but it tastes the same. Sunny loves to eat chili, just how it is, but this bowl of chili I rinsed off with water in a strainer first since we made it extra spicy. If I HAVE to give Sunny fast-food, then its usually Wendy's chili. She likes beans!

I've only realized last night why its essential to go out for dinners sometimes- not only do I not have to cook, which is obvious to me, I also dont have to clean up. No rice covering the floor, no dishes piled in the sink since the dishwasher is still full of clean dishes.... We went out last night [to avoid those cleaning-up tasks] to our newest fav sushi place. Sunny eats well at this restaurant, and if you have a little one then you know what I mean. Some places just dont cater to babies! As Jason and I ate miso soup, the waitress brought Sunny her own bowl of rice with soup mixed in. She devoured edemame, opening them herself to find the beans inside. After a full 45 minutes of eating, our plates had been cleared away, except for Sunny's. She was still scarfing rice. And beans. And random fruit that had come on our plate. Sushi joints= great for babies. Not always the first place you think of (I usually think of mexican places- everything is similar and smushed together in different ways, perfect for babies!).

I sent this picture to my sis-in-law-to-be, Amanda, and told her to show it to my brother Matt. Apparently Matt eats edemame whole (or did one time and thats all it took!), unknowing that there is a bean inside that you eat! I told Amanda that even Sunnylee knows there's a prize inside this pod:

Sunnylee's two favorites: the always popular Lambie and her baby

(popular for 5 months now- she received it for her birthday). She signs "Baby" now and says it clearly. She even pokes my tummy and says "baby" but she does that to Jason too so... I told her Jason has a Beer Baby in his tummy so she was right.

I keep this cabinet empty since I got tired of cleaning

Tupperware off the kitchen floor 23x a day.

When I couldnt find Sunnylee,

I looked here and this is what I saw:

Hay Bale Gardening

I guess its Week 19... who's counting? :) I have a hay bale garden- filled with yummy vegetable plants that are presently threatening us with 15 ripening green tomatoes at once. I painsakingly water, stake, and... well thats all I do really because this garden is the easiest! I got the idea from this site, so I cant take all the credit. Basically I bought 6 hay bales from the feed store, the kind of hay that is in large rectangle-cubes (I know that is the wrong description but what is a 3-dimensional rectangle called?) that horses eat. Got that?

Then I bought already established vegetables plants from Home Depot since my attempt to grow seeds made me feel like I had to give up my Green Thumb membership. Stuffed the plants right into the top of the hay, then viola! Instant garden, no bending over to take care of, no weeds, super easy. I DID have to get the bales 'ready', something I learned from this site. Anyways, my point of all this was to say I found dirt on sale at Walmart over the weekend so cheap that I almost updated my FB account exclaiming how grown up I felt over my excitement over dirt. I didnt put it on FB, but it was a great deal: bags of Organic Choice Miracle Grow for $1. For the benefit of my garden, vegetables and flowers and everything, I bought all Walmart offered. Then spread it all over the tops of my hay bales to insure they were recieving nutrients as the hay doesnt offer any. Just something I felt like they needed. And my point of all THAT, was to say something incredible happened after I spread Organic Miracle Grow dirt... Incredible in a disgusting way, in a way made me wish I'd never gone to Walmart that day. There is serious 'organic' stuff in this dirt because it caused a fungus to grow on 2 of my plants that scared the &#%#& out of me when I saw it. Jason and I poked it with a stick, ready to run, imagining a swarm of somethings to fly out. When nothing did, I did what any of you would've done, I Googled it. I Googled "Orange puffy fungus" and found a plethora of sites dedicated to this fungus they so accurately and scientificaly call "Dog Vomit Fungus". Can you picture what I've seen now? Google it, I dont even want to put the sites on here. G-r-o-s-sness. From what I've read, its harmless and.... you just deal with it (its even gone now, the next day, since I didnt water my plants [and they are bone dry]-- which I am now scared to do). Anyone wanna come over and eat a fresh salad at my place? On a happy note, I can feel the baby kick for sure now. Its been a few weeks of tapping inside, but now it is confirmed, there is a moving thing alive inside of me.

Weeks 17 and 18

Week 17 passed with a blur. Jason had 'work stuff' over in Tampa for 3 days/3 nights (a training program to become certified to install draft beer lines). He was gone all day while Sunny and I shopped and swam in the hotel pool. He loved it, was a team leader, and was very involved in this hands-on opportunity. Here's Sunny dreaming of a better life outside of the hotel hallways:

When we drove back to the East Coast we went straight to the Sprint store to pick up my new Evo 4g phone (plus a new thing for Jase, although not as fancy as mine; he admits he isnt interested in learning the technology, plus he'd break this). Ive been checking the weather on it ever since.

This week we were building up to Halloween weekend. I 'love' this weekend because I just want it to arrive then PASS so we can get to the good stuff, like fall and the Christmas holidays. I am tired of shielding Sunny's eyes from the skeleton creeping out of a neighbors' lawn and dead screaming banchies in Walmart/ the library..... What's so cool about the dead scary stuff? Gross. Halloween I could forget, its autumn and cooler weather and pumpkins that I love. We didnt even carve our pumpkin this year; he is too nice to carve! I've saved him for the front porch for the rest of the fall season where he will sit gratefully (he is pictured below with the kiddies).

We will Trick or Treat this evening, though. I mean, I do want to eat chocolate and I've got the perfect little chicken who can get this for me:

*Update: Trick or Treating was a hit. Jason and I agreed it was the most fun we've ever had on Halloween. There's just something about seeing your kid eat the paper off a lollipop for the first time, find a stick from the end of that lollipop in her mouth after 10 minutes and wonder how she didnt choke?, and figure out that running to the front door with her pumpkin-bucket dragging behind her will reward her with more goodies.... it was priceless.