Storm

We had a pretty bad storm last night. Straight winds took down a branch at my neighbor's house and then also took down a smaller branch in our yard. This storm also brought water in our basement which we didn't find until it was too late. We have some lovely (note the sarcasm there) window wells that are located at the back of our house in our garden area where the rocks in the window well were built up a little too high and sloped toward the window. So when we got the heavy rain, the rain poured off our roof (gutters had been taken down when we re-sided the house) and pooled up in the garden area and also pooled in the window wells which pooled in our basement. The sad news on this is that we are missing the 4th of July weekend up at the cabin and we also miss seeing Jerad's cousin and family who live in Georgia. We rarely see them so it was really upsetting, but we had to take care of the carpet and get it out of the basement so there was no mold growing down there. Our neighbor's branch.

Our branch...after Jerad had already moved it to the side of the house.

Baby Shower with my wonderful neighbors!!

Tonight my neighbors Jess and Robyn threw a neighborhood baby shower for me. I do have to say that I love my neighbors. One thing that is great about them is that they are from different generations so I have been able to learn from all of them in different ways. The majority of us live on Raleigh Drive, but there are a few others that live off of River Hills or neighboring streets. It has been great to get to know each and every one of them. For this shower we played some team games that really brought out the competitiveness. Luckily we split the games so everyone went home with with a little present, not just mama and baby. Tonight I received some more great gifts but this one seemed to have more stuff for me to decorate and organize the nursery. We got some hangers for baby clothes (I can stop using my own), a bumbo chair, clothes, bottle warmer for the house and the car, wall decorations, blanket with nursery theme, toys, gift card, diaper genie and so much more. I really think women love shopping for baby stuff since everyone was so generous. Thank you so much to Robyn for opening her home and to Jessica for hosting the shower with Robyn. And also a big thank you to my neighbor ladies as I love when I get the chance to see you all together. And I'm glad I was also able to introduce a couple of you that didn't know each other before. As you all know, I am a social butterfly!

BABY SHOWER!!

Today was my very first baby shower and I have to say that it was also a stress relief for me. Lately I had been feeling very unprepared and as many of you know, I like to plan ahead for things and have stuff ready to go, but I didn't feel like I had a single thing ready for our little Zeus. Sure we have the crib, the dresser, the rocking chair, and a few clothes, but what about bottles, blankets, mattress, changing pad, diapers etc?!! Well this weekend my great friend Kristine threw a shower for us at her house and it was so much fun. Among the guests were some friends from work and Jerad's family. When I arrived I got to see my cake and I had the best laugh - I thought it was hilarious and so cute! I do hope when the time comes that my tummy does go "bye bye"! Another friend of mine, Becca, from work also helped get some things set up and organized some activities. There was a piggy bank that was passed around where everyone made a well wish for us and the baby as they deposited some money into the bank, all the while being recorded by Jon (Kristine's husband) so we could have a little video memory of it. They also had all the guests fill out cards with name suggestions for us since we don't have one picked out yet. Some where serious and others more humorous. As we opened gifts, I would read them out loud to everyone. We received and abundance of gifts. Everyone was so thoughtful and generous. We got a number of books -which was part of the shower, instead of a card, guests were to bring a book with a message to us and Zeus so we would remember them. We also got our changing pad, bottles, clothes, toys and so much more that I felt more prepared after. Thank you so much to Kristine for opening her home and putting on such a fun and memorable shower and to Becca for assisting and to all the friends and family that were able to make it.

Could it be....a functional kitchen???

Today my stove and dishwasher arrived!! Jerad's uncle Jeff came over to help move them into place as I am getting a little too big to be lifting these items with Jerad.

Aren't they pretty?? Even though they were put into place tonight, they will not be functional yet. First, Jerad has to re-run the gas line to make it up to code and he is not able to do that quite yet, but it looks nice. Second, the dishwasher will not be functional until we get the sink and garbage disposal hooked up....which won't be until our countertops are installed...which won't be until our counters are measured. The guy is coming soon - June 14th - to measure and we were told it would take 2 weeks. But we HAD to have the stove and dishwasher in place prior to them coming to measure. They never said they had to be hooked up.

Still to do on the kitchen: put microwave up, organize cupboards and cabinets, countertops - with sink and disposal, hook up stove and dishwasher.

31 weeks

Today I am just a couple days over 31 weeks. Hasn't little Zeus just sprouted? I am really starting to feel the little guy take up more and more room. I have been lucky so far as I haven't been kept up at night with any heartburn or kicking or moving around. Just the occasional trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

It is also coming to the stage where my feet are starting to swell more and more during the day. so I have started to just wear sandals or flip flops to work as that is all my feet will fit into. I really need to go find some dressier ones. Lucky for me, I have a very understanding boss.

I am still attending yoga about once a week which really helps me stretch out and relax. But as we are moving forward on different jobs on the kitchen and I have a couple of showers coming up and Jerad is traveling for work, I have a feeling that my yoga will be put on the back burner. But at least I still have my walks at lunch time with a good friend and a dog at home that needs her walks also. The stretching after those aren't quite up to par in comparison to yoga, but I will take what I can get in this busy schedule.