Saturday, May 28, 2011

Reason number 56: Why I should own stock in Kleenex

Mark's oldest brother got remarried Mother's Day weekend to a really great lady.  I have never been to a wedding for someone older than 35, and this might have been my favorite wedding yet.  They're such a sweet couple, and watching how happy they were at the wedding was so neat.  My brother-in-law was giddy.  He gave his wife-to-be the sweetest hug when she met him at the altar.  Once they embraced, it was over for me. I didn't stop pulling tissues from the box until the ceremony was 100% certainly no doubt about it done.  I'm a sucker for weddings, but this one really touched me.

Courtesy of local photographer

Sigh.  Just look at them! That's what I call love. 

Excuse me while I go grab another tissue now. Sniff.

The girls absolutely love their new Auntie.  She is so sweet. No wonder my brother-in-law is so in love with her.  I'm kind of in love with her too.

Courtesy of local photographer

Courtesy of me

Courtesy of me

Courtesy of me

Never mind all of the stuff above.  This post is really just to prove that sometimes we really do clean up.

Courtesy of local photographer


Just kidding. (Sort of.)  Congratulations guys! We're so happy for you!

Courtesy of local photographer



Thursday, May 26, 2011

36 weeks

Last week as I was walking into a store a random stranger -- a man, mind you -- passed by and yelled "Any day now, eh?"  Uh, no, I technically still have 5 weeks left, but thanks for pointing out how huge I must look.


I don't look THAT big, do I? I mean, if this minus one week is what "any day now" looks like, what does 39 weeks look like?

I guess we'll find out soon enough!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

untitled


Taken on a recent weekend getaway in Galena, IL

34 weeks

Elisabeth, who just announced that she'd like to be a professional photographer when she grows up, took this picture for us yesterday.   Our crabapple tree is in full bloom so this was a perfect way to preserve the beauty of my favorite tree.  We're getting rain this weekend which means these blooms will last us about 24 hours. Unless we look at this photo!


We're also trying to preserve this pregnancy. I'm uncomfortable. I can't sleep, I'm swelling like a balloon, I'm sore, blah blah blah, but I'm savoring every moment of this knowing it's probably the last for us.  I'm sure I'm going to miss this.  But in less than 5 weeks we will have a beautiful little baby in this house, and we're excited!

I have some other great pregnancy photos that Elisabeth took. I might backtrack and add them in here so we can go back and remember what this baby boy looked like.  Looking forward to meeting you little boy!


Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Apparently we had hail?

And apparently when you get hail, it can dent aluminum siding.   Which ultimately leads to many strange people knocking on your door offering to fix your siding for free.  They look even more strange when they stick their faces right up to the siding to look for what to me can only be invisible dents. 

They've always been a bit sketchy to me and eventually I stopped answering the door and just hid in my office until I was sure they had moved onto the next house.

But one guy came to our door wearing an Indiana Jones hat and was the nicest guy I have ever met.  His name was Guy.  And he didn't stick his nose up to my walls like the other guys did.  Well maybe he did, but I didn't see it happen, fortunately. 

Anyway, we really did have some hail damage!  Which amazingly, insurance companies are willing to pay for.

And that is how the journey started.

Being pregnant, I can't make a decision to save my life. 

And that is how the even longer journey of deciding on a house color started.

It was agony.

For everyone involved. 

Which was a lot of people.  Polls on facebook. Going over and over color choices with  my dear friends and trying to figure out how the trim color would impact it.

Looking at a bazillion houses that had been done by this company.  Realizing that after the 10th house, they all look the same. 

It's like when you're trying to decide on a new scent at Bath and Body Works and they all start to run together so the lady tells you to sniff your sleeve to clear out your senses. And then you start wondering when was the last time you washed your jacket. 

I wonder if I had sniffed my sleeve in between houses I would have had an easier time deciding on a color?

Anyway, here are some pictures of our house! They started precisely at 7am and I didn't have time to go out and get a true "before" shot.  This is the best I can do:


After about an hour, it looked like a tornado had ripped through the area.  Siding was everywhere! Seeing it on the ground was the first realization that yes, it was okay to let go of the blue color that I hated but somehow pregnancy hormones made me cry when I realized my house wouldn't be blue anymore.

I don't recommend pregnancy hormones to anyone. 

They make you do and think crazy things.


And then the new color started to go up! And I secretly watched them.  And dreaded that the color was going to be very very light which was the opposite of what I wanted.

I kept thinking "what have I done?"


But then I stepped outside and realized that it's not nearly as light as I thought. 

And that I actually (gasp) liked it!


So, here is the finished product:


Complete with red star on the front door to get me thinking about painting it red. 

At the rate we went with the siding, I figure it should only take us about 3 years to decide on a door color.


All work was completed by Cornerstone Exteriors.  I highly recommend them! And if you're pregnant, go with Guy.  Very patient man. With a super cool hat.

The end.