Happy Mother's Day

I love my mom, and so I thought I'd do a short tribute to her today.

I love that my mom made a lot of sacrifices to send my sister and me to private schools because she thought it would be better for us (academically, spiritually, socially).

I love that my mom is the first person I call when I have some news. She (besides Bob) is just about the only person I like talking to on the phone. And we talk every day, sometimes more than once.

I love that of all the people in the world, the people I would most trust with my children are my parents. My mom might not do things exactly the way I would, but our goals and motives are the same.

I love that my mom is doing some things now that she's always wanted to do, like taking a yoga class. You go, Mom! And she recently acquired a cool bicycle, and she and Dad are having a blast exploring their town on bikes.

I love that my mom is proud of me. And I think of her whenever I hear the country song that goes, "I am Rosemary's granddaughter, the spitting image of my father, and when the day is done my momma's still my biggest fan..." I'm pretty sure she is my biggest fan.

I love that my mom, who seemed surprised when we told her we were expecting our third child, recovered quickly with genuine excitement.

I love that my mom is able to find good deals anywhere. She is the only person with whom I would shop at Goodwill. Turn her loose in a big store, and she'll find the top-quality but bottom-dollar steals.

I love that my mom drops everything to be with me when I have babies every 18 months. Bob's scheduled to be out of town this fall for two weeks, within a week of my due date. I called Mom and said, "I need you!" And she said she'd be there.

I love that sometimes on the phone, we get tickled and just laugh and laugh, uncontrollably. And that Caroline will join in, even though she has no idea why we're laughing. What fun!


Mom, I love you. Happy Mother's Day!

Confessions

I didn't go to church this morning, and that makes two Sundays in a row. I'm pretty sure that's never happened before in my life. But... last week, Lucy had a bad cough, and this week, Bob and I stayed up late preparing for his week-long trip to PA, and then I was up early, folding clothes for him, proofreading his papers, and trying to find our missing garment bag. We never found it, and I swear we searched everywhere, which must mean that it's in the Corolla, back at the Collision Repair Shop (where we would be having it repaired ... if we were having it repaired. But we're not.). Anyway, by the time we finally had everything together and the car packed, it was 10:30, and church started at 9:30. I put the girls down for a nap, and then I took one myself. Don't tell.

I fell in love with a chair someone had set out at the curb. It was old, upholstered with terrible fabric, and incredibly sweetly-shaped. I asked Bob to drive by it yesterday, but he "forgot." He gave me his blessing today to go lug it home and put it in the garage 'til we can have it reupholstered. I'm still a little sad about this: when I actually got out of the car to look it over, I really did love it. But the fabric had burrs in it, and there were big moisture stains under the seat cushion. I just wasn't up for it. But it was so cute...

Today, I was driving down the road (very carefully, since some kind folks lent us their nice minivan for the week Bob's gone), and as I was crossing some railroad tracks, I heard (I thought) a train honking, really loudly, really close. I don't think I visibly panicked, but I was freaked out for the three seconds before I realized that an ambulance was a car or two behind me, warning us to get out of the way. I'm still a little shaky, thinking about what I thought was happening at that moment.

We bought a car yesterday. I've told a couple people, and everyone's reaction changes once I describe the car a bit. I love cars, and I enjoy shopping for them, and getting a good deal, and driving them... but this was not an exciting car purchase. It just wasn't. It totally met our goals, and I imagine it will probably be a good little car for us, but: it's old. It's not pretty. It has a lot of miles on it. The paint's really dull. I'm not excited about driving it. Etc. However, as we progress with our Total Money Makeover, we're committed to not taking on any new debt, even a tiny car loan. So we paid cash for the little car, and it feels good. It's a Toyota Corolla, if you're curious, which is what we're replacing, ironically. But this one is a LOT older. A lot. Which is fine. I guess.

Living Green, Living Locally

This morning I went to the Farmers' Market with the girls, and we had a great time! I didn't know what to expect this early in the season, and though there were some vegetables to be had (fresh lettuces, fresh asparagus), I ended up getting some local honey, maple syrup, and eggs. Oh, it was fun! And I feel good about supporting local farmers.

Poor Caroline thought we were going to come straight home and have pancakes, since obviously maple syrup=pancakes...

On another note, Bob and I are going to go look at a car in a half-hour. In light of our Total Money Makeover, we're just going to buy a beater with cash, and then save for a better car, rather than finance a car. We're both excited about getting rid of a car payment. And it won't be too much longer before we eliminate the second one.

At breakfast this morning, Caroline kept yakking away about the roofers, and I thought, wow, she's really interested in this whole process -- until I realized that they were there, working, and she could see them out the window behind me! I think they'll be done today; they're hanging new gutters, replacing the missing siding, and finishing the flashing around the new chimney. I'm pleased with the shingles we chose, and I think the roof is looking really nice. Boy oh boy, it feels good to actually be making progress with this house!

Long Time, No See.

I've been away from my blogging lately... probably because my basement computer set-up is increasingly uncomfortable for me these days, and because I'm still having camera-to-computer issues. I went out and bought a pack of DVD's to start storing all my pictures on, but I must be doing something wrong. Bob asked me if I'd programmed them first, but of course, I don't know how to do that! Hmm. So I'm stuck with a full hard drive and a full camera card. And no new pictures.

I did paint the area over the fireplace, and I've waffled a couple times already on the color I chose, but I think Bob doesn't like it, so we'll keep looking.

The chimney's done, and we'd burn a fire in it (the fireplace, that is) ... if we had firewood cut to size, and fireplace tools, and a screen. We're both pretty pleased with how it turned out.

We're getting close to having the roof done. In fact, it may be done already, but it's drizzling, and I haven't gone out to check. The roofers seem like good guys, which is good, since I don't really like having ladders set up outside all the windows.

The siding repairs come next, and I can't wait. A little bonus with the siding repairs is that our basement will be a bit brighter. Two of the windows on the east side of the basement are covered by that piece of plywood that covers the area missing siding. So once the plywood is gone, let there be light!

On the family front: Lucy's personality is just busting out these days. She cracks us up all the time, and despite the fact that she's very, very passionate, she's also pretty easy-going. Caroline's vocabulary continues to grow, and her favorite thing these days is to help Bob and me. "Humpy dishes, Momma?" means, "Help with the dishes, Momma?" "Humpy cook?" is the equivalent with cooking. Bob's favorite Caroline-ism is the Pack-n-Play. She calls it the "cwap-n-pway."

I love cars.

I really do. And I enjoy shopping for cars. And driving them. Particularly if they're on the small side, have a manual transmission, and feel zippy.

But Bob and I were pretty committed to our current cars until their respective deaths, so no car shopping for me. Until Bob's accident a week and a half ago. A guy (in a full-size truck) pulled out in front of Bob (in a Toyota Corolla), and Bob hit him. Hard. He said if he hadn't been wearing his seatbelt, he would have ended up in the hospital. I'm glad he was wearing his seatbelt.

So he's fine! Which is wonderful! And they thought they could fix the car until they started the "light tear-down" (I think that's what they called it) and discovered frame damage, etc.

We're now in the position of deciding what to do with the insurance proceeds: fix the car? get a different car? go down to one car? (that one's probably not going to happen)...

But I've spent a bit of time online today, looking at cars, and I'm reminded of something: I love shopping for cars!

Here are the criteria: relatively cheap, high mpg, not too old, not too high mileage, manual transmission, MUST HAVE FOUR DOORS ('cause we'll have three kids, and all...), and the color can't offend my husband.

What car would you buy right now if you were in the market for one?

We're leaning toward a Ford Focus.

Pink or Blue?

The ultrasound tech had a heck of a time figuring out the sex of the baby; its legs were crossed, and the umbilical cord was in the way. She kept encouraging it, saying, "Come on baby, are you a pink baby or a blue baby? Let us see!" And finally, she got a couple of shots that were good enough. Had I been the only one "interpreting" the ultrasound, I would still have had no clue. But she was totally completely convinced that it's a boy. So, a boy it is!

I immediately ran to Target to buy some sheets I'd seen a couple weeks ago (they were adorable, and I'd told Bob that if the baby was a boy, I was going to go right away and buy those sheets!). Too bad they didn't seem to have them any more. They're available online, and I suppose I'll probably decide it's worth it to me to pay the shipping and buy them online.

Last night we fell asleep discussing boys' names. Bob's definitely got a favorite, but it's not even close to decided yet. And not to be a tease, but we will keep the name a secret until he arrives...

Whoa. I can't believe it's a boy!

The Suspense...

is killing me.

In an hour and a half, give or take, we'll find out if the baby's a boy or a girl. I've been fine for about fifteen weeks, and now I HAVE TO KNOW. Even this morning, I was feeling totally patient. Not any more.

I need to get moving, and be productive, or I'll go crazy.

So I'm going to go wash some dishes and straighten up the living room.

I'm meeting Bob at the doctor's office in an hour and a half. I'm sure I can come up with an hour and a half's worth of work...

Maybe I'll go check the status of the chimney rebuild, or water in (again) my newly transplanted peonies. Or drive myself crazy online by looking up girls' and boys' names, and girls' and boys' bed sheets, etc.