The Carpet is In!

The carpet is done! It actually happened quickly once we got off our bums and did it. First we took out a 6"x6" piece from our closet. Then went to various stores on Saturday to find something close. We had two contenders so we scheduled premeasuring for Thursday to get final price estimates. The much nicer carpet ended up only being about $100 more so we went with that. Even though the salesman warned us it could take up to two weeks to get our carpet in, they were able to come on Wednesday. It looks beautiful!
And of course, pictures!

So the ugly grey walls are gone and the horrible mustard yellow walls were covered up.

The room door and bathroom door. We're replacing the outlet covers too.

The nook area.

A better shot of the carpet.

And the current star of the room - the new carpet!

So we're almost done! But the exciting part is that we get to start moving things out of GV's room and into this room. Which means we can move GV's things into his room and out of the dining room. So we can start eating in the dining room again! Score!

Guest Room Office:
1. Get rid of the bed.
2. Put away bed rails.
3. Get rid of the headboard.
4. Get rid of the dresser.
5. Get rid of the nightstand.
6. Get rid of the current tacky $20 Ta.rget book shelves.
7. Replace the TV. — We've decided to hang on to this TV until closer to our moving date. Or when Kevin finds a new job.
8. Clean out my great-grandmother's armoire.
9. Paint.
10. Replace the carpet.
11. Figure out what to do with the PS2 and all the rock band/guitar hero stuff.
12. Move the office furniture & supplies into the room.
13. Buy a sleeper sofa. — Because we don't know what the third bedroom in any new place will be like we're not going to invest in any new furniture. We've already gotten rid of the bed (which was a must!) so any guest that comes to visit us between now and moving date will either be on an airbed in the office or the sleeper sofa in the living room. But at least they get a choice, right?
14. Install nice bookcases. — We're not doing this either. I know it only adds to the value of the house but I don't want to go through the hassle and expense of installing bookshelves in a house we're leaving in a few months.

32 Week OB Appt (and ultrasound!)

So at my 28w and 30w appts, Dr. P was a bit concerned about my uterus measuring a bit large. Especially since my weight gain (+16lbs and +18lbs) didn't correlate with me having an overly large baby. She also noted a growth spurt between those two appts. So she scheduled an ultrasound for the 32w appt to check the size of the GV and measure the fluid around him.

So I had Kevin go with me this morning (it was sooooo hard to convince him ;) ) and we got there slightly late. But then the tech came in and she told us she'd do the checking and measuring first and then would show us him and take some more pictures. Of course Kevin just leaned over so he could watch the screen the whole time. Once she was ready she confirmed that he was a boy (which was slightly hard because he had his legs crossed under him) and also told us that he was in breech position. That explains the number he's been doing on my innards the night before and that morning (and since). Because he was breech, we got a good profile shot of him.

We got to see his hair too!

It's the white stuff all around his head. Then we got to see his heart beating away (she told us the rate but I forgot) and his spine. And then his little feet!

She also showed us his face but the photo for that wasn't good. But we did get another profile shot!

Next was the regular OB appt. Everything is good, no more bloodwork needed. GV is measuring 4.5lbs which is right on target, the uterus is still measuring large so that's probably just me and fluid levels are normal. Next appt in 2 weeks!

BTW, I'm not sure if I said but I passed my GD test! Yay! So we celebrated by going to Col.dstone :).  Also thyroid levels are normal and Dr. P thinks I can come off them 6 weeks post birth.

32 Weeks

How far along: 32 Weeks 1 Day
Total weight gain/loss: +13.5 lbs. On track for a total 20lb weight gain! And because I'm a dork, I've done a graph...

Stretch marks: I'm not sure. Under my belly I have these four little red marks (two on each side of the belly) that were skin irritations and now kind of look like stretch marks but Kevin says they're not indented so I don't know if they're stretch marks.
Belly Button: Still in.
Maternity clothes: Nothing new.
Sleep: After a really painful night (which was also bad because Kevin and Les bedrailed me) I was ready to go back to the couch. But since that night it's been good.
Food cravings/aversions: None.
Gender: Boy!!! Because of the job situation we're not going to paint his room or put up the wall border that matches his set. I want to save it for the new place.
Movement: Everyday! I can tell the difference between him moving around and kicking/punching. Also I think he's turned inward because he's regularly making my innards feel beat up on.
Best moment this week: Well the nicest was being invited to join a mom's group by one of the bunco ladies that apparently is by invite only. Also I ordered our diapers from Amazo.n at a great deal. Things are happening!
What I miss: My normal lunch spot (a grocery store)! It's closed for refurbishment and I'm lost w/o it!
I am looking forward to: Ultrasound this week! Kevin is going with me. Also the carpet is going in this Wednesday!
Weekly Wisdom: Stock up on diapers!
Milestones: 80% downloaded! Also we got two after birth baby books from the library - What to Expect in the First Year (which I got at the shower but somehow didn't end up in my suitcase) and the first Babyw.ise book.

31 Weeks

How far along: 31 Weeks 1 Day
Total weight gain/loss: +12 lbs. I weighed myself four times today and got four different weights. Arg that bathroom tile. It's so un-even.
Stretch marks: Nope.
Belly Button: Still in, but Kevin has said it's looking rounder. It feels shallower.
Maternity clothes: Nothing new.
Sleep: Only 9 more weeks and then I can at least sleep on my back.
Food cravings/aversions: None.
Gender: Boy!!!
Movement: Everyday! One morning "Ice Ice Baby" came on the radio and I turned it up. GV then started punching and kicking. I wonder if he liked it or not?
Best moment this week: Finally going to the carpet stores to pick something out! Oh and hearing GV's heartbeat :)!
What I miss: Having a full appetite at dinner. I think I'm just so tired from the day, I just don't have the energy to eat.
I am looking forward to: Bunco is finally back after a month and a half. Also carpet premeasuring is this Thursday!
Weekly Wisdom: Everything is done in small steps, but they add up fast!
Milestones: First bi-weekly appt! Also because Kevin's agility schedule has changed I think we can actually do the hospital tour during the 6-8 week window they want you to do it in.

More Changes

A couple of weeks ago I put in a prayer request because Kevin had a job interview. He ended up not getting that position. But there was still hope. There was going to be a retained position in the organization that was very similar to what he is currently doing. Kevin was very positive about this position. His interview was 3/31. On Tuesday we found out that he didn't get the position. That means that as of 7/31 my husband no longer has a job. This has been a huge shake-up for both of us. One of Kevin's characteristics is that he likes taking care of people. This impacts his ability to do that. Yeah, he might complain about the things he does but he really does love taking care of everyone. For instance, everyday he makes sure to hand me my synthroid and prenatal vitamin. It's his part of making sure GV is taken care of.

So what does this mean for us? Right now it means that we're mostly likely moving this summer. Kevin has a very specialized job in a very specialized industry. So much so that he's doubtful anyone else in RVA would have the same job need. So we would need to move to wherever the next job is.

Our biggest dilemma is our house. See we bought our house in the peak of the boom in 2006. Since then house prices have plummeted in our area. Since we were planning on living here for at least 3-4 more years (until we ran out of bedrooms) it wasn't a big deal to us. Well, now it is. We can't sell the house. We're not underwater or anything, I just refuse to sell if we can't even break even.

A sort of melancholy has come over the house. I'm praying that Kevin is able to find a job soon and that we don't have to move too far away. A few months ago when this was all hypothetical I told Kevin that I didn't want to move farther north or back to the mid-west. I'm still holding out hope that we can stick to it, but the closer it gets to 7/31 I know those areas become possibilities. We've got 113 days.

Generosity & Progress!

I forgot to mention that Sunday evening (while I was at the airport) our neighbor K came by with two brown paper bags full of baby clothes and a "My Br.est Friend" pillow. This is the neighbor that had a boy last April. The clothes were so cute. I talked to her a few days later and she also mentioned that they had a swing, excersaucer, baby hangers and a hanging baby jumper that they were done using. After two boys, they're not going to have any more kids so she's clearing things out. Oh, and she said that she'd give us their breast pump and leave it to us to decide if we wanted to keep it or not. I guess once you get to that stage you just want things out.

I was actually on the phone with Kevin when she came by. He had called me because he had just started re-painting the guest room and realized the color was really really close to white. We had been thinking that some of the butterscotch color would bleed through to make it look darker, but nope. The new paint went on really thick. So he stopped and called to confirm that I wanted him to keep painting. Since I was hundreds of miles away I told him to stop. When I did get home it was really light. My solution? Go back to Low.e's and get the darker color on the swatch card and mix them up. Then this past Sunday he painted. It's done! Finally! The color is beige. I'm so glad that's over.

Guest Room:
1. Get rid of the bed.
2. Put away bed rails.
3. Get rid of the headboard.
4. Get rid of the dresser.
5. Get rid of the nightstand.
6. Get rid of the current tacky $20 Ta.rget book shelves. — These are in the attic awaiting the neighborhood garage sale on May 15th. If I can get someone to sell it for me since I've got a game. Or Kevin agrees to do it.
7. Replace the TV. — Still have the old TV. I got a few interests in it but our schedule has been so crazy that I couldn't ever meet up with people. I'll relist it for this weekend.
8. Clean out my great-grandmother's armoire.
9. Paint.
10. Replace the carpet. — The owner before us replaced the carpet in the master, current office and landing. But not the GR for some unknown reason. Now that we're replacing it, we want it to match the other rooms. But according to all the carpet places we've called, in order to do that they would need at least a 6"x6" sample of our current carpet. They want me to rip up my nice carpet! I'm struggling making myself do it. But I know I've got to this weekend or this room is never going to get done.
11. Figure out what to do with the PS2 and all the rock band/guitar hero stuff.
12. Move the office furniture & supplies into the room.
13. Buy a sleeper sofa.
14. Install nice bookcases.

Sunday Shopping

Wow, I know, I've been slow in getting posts up. But eventually I'll catch up. Or at least give up. Today it's try to catch up.  Okay so day 3 of Florida trip:

Sunday

Woke up bright and early to get ready for church. myDad had to work Sunday so he was gone by the time I had gotten up. Kind of a bummer but that's what you get when your dad works in a hospital. Anyways as soon as we arrived for church, I saw J walking towards us. After mass we went to Crack.er Barre.l. Not really my favorite place but as it's the only "breakfasty" restaurant between church and the house that's where we usually end up. Brunch lasted about two hours and was really great. The last time I saw J was right before she moved to NO - March 2008 or so..

Afterwards myMom, Wiki and I made a quick trip to Bu.yBuyBa.by. That place is huge! It's got everything you could possibly need! Too bad there's not one in RVA. Anyways we then went across town to Chicken's dress fitting. After about half an hour, I picked this dress (Chicken picked the color).

It looks a lot different on me than the model but she's not nearly 7 months pregnant so I think I'm excused. I have to wear this dress two weeks after GV's due date so it should be interesting. The remaining hour and a half at David's was spent giving advice to the other 4 bridesmaids on their dresses. Finally at 3:30 we were all done and I was off to the airport.

We had one last meal together (in which I ruined my printed boarding pass and had to run around the airport to get another one) and then I was back on a plane RVA-bound.

All in all a great trip home but a LOT of running around. I don't think I had the chance to rest really. One huge side effect though!

Monday

So I noticed Sunday night that my ankles were looking a little pudgy. I didn't think anything of it until Monday morning. Yeah, I bypassed the cankle stage and went directly to the huge huge ankles connecting my calves and feet. It was so bad that walking in shoes felt off. So at lunch time I went to C.VS to buy some compression socks. Dude they are expensive! It was $17 to buy one pair! I got these:

It took two days of wearing them from as soon as I got up till I went to bed but eventually I got my ankles back. Chicken has warned me that closer to delivery I will probably have to say good bye to my ankles until up to two weeks after delivery. That I'm not looking forward to.

30 Weeks

How far along: 30 Weeks 2 Days
Total weight gain/loss: +11.5 lbs. Yeah I lost a bit of weight this week so I was concerned. According to the doctor's scale I've gained 1 1/2 lbs since my 28w appt. Dr. P says I'm still ideal though so I'll go with that.
Stretch marks: Nope.
Belly Button: Still in.
Maternity clothes: Nothing new.
Sleep: The only thing that seems to help has been sleeping on the couch once. I still tossed and turned just as much but there was no hip pain. But Kevin doesn't like this arrangement though so I've not repeated it.
Food cravings/aversions: None.
Gender: Boy!!! We might start working on his room this weekend!
Movement: Everyday! I've been concerned that they don't feel any stronger, but I can see them on the outside. Kevin has taken to telling the baby to wake up so that he can feel him move. And the other day GV responded! Kevin just had the biggest smile on his face.
Best moment this week: GV reacting to Kevin's voice.
What I miss: Sitting at my desk comfortably. I think GV is positioned so that his feet(?) are right next to my rib cage. It can hurt if I start to slouch!
I am looking forward to: Finishing up the office/guest room.
Weekly Wisdom: I swear GV has a personality already!
Milestones: 75% downloaded!! Time to start getting the big stuff!

Saturday Running Around

Thursday night before I left my friend J emailed me to tell me that she was going to be in Florida this weekend. She lives in NO but her in-laws and stepson's mom live there. She asked if I wanted to get together for an lunch on Saturday and I told her that it would be kind of tight but that I would try. We texted back and forth Friday night and had tentative plans for an early lunch.

Saturday morning I got up bright and early for breakfast with Chicken, Chicklet and fiance J. Then Chicken and I went to get facials. It was okay, but like a professional massage it's something I never have to do again. We also got manicures at the same place. But they only had one manicurist and one facial(ist?) so we had to alternate instead of doing them together. That was kind of a bummer.

One of the reason Kevin didn't come with me on this trip was because he was running a 10K Saturday morning. It was his first road race ever and I was kind of bummed out that I didn't get to be there. But I had knew it was a possiblity since he decided to run in it. Anyways his wave was suppose to take off at 8:42 and he called me at 8:30 saying that he was in touching distance of the parking garage but had been stuck in race traffic for over an hour. So he missed his flight. Luckily they allow you to drop down in waves so as long as he made it to the start line by 10am he would be okay.

Right as I was going in for my manicure J texted me to say that they got in really late (like 3am!) so could we reschedule lunch to the Sunday. Which was good because there's no way I was going to make it out of the salon before 11am.

Kevin had signed me up for race notification to be texted to my phone when he reached the half way point and finish line. They didn't come through so I got more and more worried during the manicure that he didn't make it to the start line. But while I was waiting for the facial to start he called and left me a message letting me know that he had finished with a time of 46:29. Pretty good for his first race! Even though I had warned him about the other people running the race, he was surprised by how much it affected his run.

After we were done at the salon we went back to Chicken's and I hung out there till it was time to leave for the shower. It wouldn't have been worth it to drive all the way back home. The shower was held at a beautiful park on a hill next to a lake. More food (Yay!) and more games. Of which we won two of them! We being me, Wiki and myMom. We got to use our phones for one of the games to get answers and my ipho.ne worked better than Wiki's iphon.e 3GS!

When we got home I laid down on the couch for a rest and then GV started moving and kicking. I called myMom over to feel and we waited. After a few seconds GV gave her a good kick. As soon as myDad walked in the door (from a church function) she boasted about being able to feel GV. So then my sister and then myDad tried. Luckily GV cooperated for all of them and wasn't his usual stubborn self. I guess only Kevin has the hands of calmness. Hope that's true after GV is born!

That evening Wiki and I went back to Chicken's for a hair and makeup party. Chicken is wanting to do both herself (or have a friend do it). So we got together for some pizza and experimentation. Friday night I had gone through all the gifts and figured out which ones I would need right away and which could wait a month (when myMom and myDad drive up for their visit). While we were at the party myMom got everything to fit into one suitcase. And it was under 50 lbs!

So another 11:30 bedtime. But I did get to talk to J and we decided to go to mass together and then brunch the next day.