PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE

ya, i've heard the saying before. i even agree with it... but right now i am getting really impatient for this baby to arrive. for one thing, i am totally uncomfortable with this huge thing sticking out from my mid-section. i have to pee about once an hour, which seems a bit much. i am up in the night A LOT, but fortunately i have been able to get right back to sleep.

most of all, i cannot wait to meet this baby! the anticipation is killing me!! there are still a few things we need to get ready, but i decided to relax tonight. i actually took a nap in the new recliner for an hour. we are just so excited to welcome her into the world. i'm sure parenthood is going to be a challenge, but it is also an amazing gift. i think we're ready...

EMBARASSING MOMENTS...

...yes, we've all had embarassing moments, and i've had my fair share as well. the other day i was thinking about carpooling with my friend Lindsay who teaches ESL at our school, then i started thinking about all the language barriers they must deal with, and then my mind wandered back to a terrible miscommunication with a woman from south africa and how it ended in a majorly embarassing moment.

i was in college and working at formative years day care. i got to know many of the families well, and even babysat for a few. there was one family in particular that i babysat for frequently, they hooked me up with friends of theirs and i also babysat their daughter. all of the parents were ISU employees, and the one mother was in charge of this "friends of foreign families" (something like that) committee. they were having a big celebration/meeting type thing and were offering free childcare. (this is the part where i enter) the first family knew that i performed spartan cheerleaders at comedy clubs, etc. and must have shared that with the foreign family. (who apparently didn't really get what i did) the foreign mother asked if i could come and do the childcare and they would pay me. (um, $$ in college-- yes, please) i agreed to do it.

we (foreign mom) and i continued to talk, and before i knew it there was talk of a rainbow fro wig, a painted face, and balloons. WHAT!?! apparently, i agreed to be a clown. now, there is no shame in being a clown, but honestly... it's not what i'm about. it's one thing to look like an idiot when there is someone else sharing your fun, but when it's just you- well, it's just you. i went to goodwill and got some freakin ugly striped pants, and a pair of suspenders. i put on some crazy shoes i had, and wore a wig. (it wasn't clown/freak wig, but a cute red bob that i bought in new zealand-- that's another story) i just couldn't paint my face, that white always makes your teeth look yellow anyway.

i got to the memorial union (at ISU) with my bunch of balloons, and my ridiculous outfit. i wanted to crawl in a hole, i wasn't getting paid enough to be put through this. oh, and it just so happens that there is a business fair going on that day at the union, too. so there are hords of people there. i found the room where i was supposed to be, and realized that i was going to be at the back of the room where this awards ceremony was going on. i don't know what they were thinking because it's really hard to entertain 15 children under the age of 6 in a silent room. to make matters worse, the newspaper was there and i panicked and prayed they didn't see any cute kids that they wanted to snap a pic for a local paper.

well, things got a little better. they ended up relocating us into an adjoining room, so that i could actually do some games with the kids. the quiet game lost its luster in about 30 seconds. i did get paid. and i can say that i unknowingly agreed to be a clown in college.

THIS IS NOT A PICTURE OF ME, I REPEAT... THIS IS NOT A PICTURE OF ME!! : )

'GREY MARKET' MINIVANS FROM CANADA

did you even know there was such thing as "grey market" minivans from canada? well, apparently there are, and apparently we have one. we bought this minivan after we found out that we were pregnant, knowing that with travel to eric's parents house and getting around, that minivans were super convenient. we have loved our honda odyssey, and have used it to travel and haul stuff. it's really been great, and we haven't even had the baby yet! little did we know that trouble was lurking around the corner. there was a problem with the transmission, but we were not worried, as it was still covered under warranty. well, eric takes it in only to discover that it's not covered because it's from CANADA!?! so basically someone purchased this vehicle in canada and brought it here to resell it for more money. they had to make some changes... miles vs. kilometers, something with the lights, etc. essentially, "americanizing it". we had no idea that we were buying a canadian vehicle. when eric first took it in, they told us we needed a new transmission and we were responsible for paying for it. YIKES!!! fortunately, we live in iowa and there are people here who actually care. both holmes honda and hummels nissan (where we bought the van) worked together, and made it possible for us to get a new transmission free of charge. (wow... now that is fortunate!)neither dealership HAD to help us out, but they felt bad for us. hummels paid for the new transmission, and holmes cut them a great deal. i still can't quite wrap my mind around the whole thing. crazy...

NOTHIN' LIKE SPRING BREAK

spring break has always been something to look forward to, and something that you dread ending. as each day passes, it seems that the week just flies by in the blink of an eye. well, this spring break is a little different. first of all, there are things that we HAVE to get done to be ready for this baby. we have dedicated today as "baby extravaganza" day. we are getting EVERYTHING ready for this little tyke TODAY. bag packed, clothes washed, room cleaned, name picked, etc. it's a gloomy day, so a good opportunity to stay inside and get these things done. we've got the house pretty much clean, and i've got everything done for school that i need to do. i'm feeling pretty good that after today, pretzel can arrive and we'll be ready. (well, as ready as we'll ever be!)my partner in pregnancy, temple, just delivered her little bundle of joy yesterday... finley arrived weighing 9 pounds 12 ounces, and was 21 inches long. how exciting!!

SPRING FEVER!

yes, i've got it... spring fever is in the air. after 2 major blizzards, a day in the 60's was like heaven!! it's supposed to reach (dramatic pause) the 70's tomorrow. in my last post it was 47... IN OUR HOUSE! we grilled pork chops for dinner- delicious! spring means so many wonderful things, especially that beautiful baby girl joining our family. i am 1cm dialated, and her head is where it's supposed to be. i am at 36 weeks right now. i can't believe that the time is closing in. i can't wait!! (although- YIKES- labor kind of freaks me out!) we are 3 days away from spring break. YES! i have a long list of things to do over break... clean the house, get all the baby clothes washed, get our hospital bag packed, finish up things at school, and PICK THE BABY NAME! wish us luck!!

HOW I LOVE HEAT!

good news, the heat is on and running! no more frozen fingers, no more sleeping under thousands of blankets, and no more sitting motionless in front of the fire wrapped in blankets because it's too cold to move anywhere else. apparently our furnace just had its 31st birthday, which means that it was installed before either eric or i were born. when we purchased the house they said, "it's about 20 years old, and the average life expectancy is 30 years." well the real story is that it's 31 years old, and the REAL life expectancy is 17 years. (we are such suckers!) let's just add a new furnace to our debt! :) it's amazing how suddenly 66 degrees feels like a sauna.

IT'S 47 DEGREES..

..in our house!! we discovered last night that our furnace quit working sometime yesterday. go figure. :( our house was 56 degrees last night. i took a shower just to warm my extremities back up. we slept with multiple layers, and multiple blankets. surprisingly enough it was the best sleep i've had in two weeks! we received calls last night that school was cancelled for today, so we both slept in until (drum roll please) 8! that's impressive for me. i came downstairs to see what the current temp was, the thermostat read 47. and yes, that's in fahrenheit. we made cinnamon rolls just to warm up the house with the oven, and eric attempted to start a fire (unsuccessfully). we were out of those duraflame logs, and all of our wood from out back was obviously wet. he made the trek out to wal-mart to get a starter log, and we now have fire. (the temp has risen to 49 degrees, so it's like a heat wave.) there's a guy in the basement right now looking at our furnace, it only took 5 hours to get someone out here. i'm hoping for good news! we are planning to head over to clint & al's after the guy leaves. it is just too freakin' cold! eric's outfit currently includes: 2 pairs of socks, warm pants, a t-shirt, a long-sleeved shirt, a turtleneck sweatshirt, a hooded sweatshirt, and a stocking cap. i am looking just as foxy in 2 pairs of socks, slippers, fleece pants, a tank top, cuddle-dud, and hooded sweatshirt. how did laura ingalls wilder do it?? especially in those prairie dresses!?! i'm baffled! i best stop, as my fingers have lost all feeling in them, and typing is becoming almost impossible. think warm thought!

OH THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL...

... so we're at home this afternoon!! WOO-HOO! there is just nothing like a snow day, or at least part of one. growing up going to Ballard, we had a ton of snow days, but now that I teach in Waukee those snow days are virtually non-existent. we are a "metro" school now, so they think that we'll be fine to risk life and limb to attend school. (trying to hang with the big dogs.) we got out at noon, so our day was pretty short. not a whole lot accomplished between the time constraints and the level of excitement in the room. the kids had to eat lunch in the room-- which i really feared because it was tacos. yucky, stinky meat that had the potential of finding it's way off their trays and onto desks, chairs, and the carpeted floor. (sick!) amazingly enough, we were successful. i turned on IPTV and Thomas the Train Engine was on. i never expected them to watch it silently. go figure- i wasn't going to stop them! i left when the kids did, and stopped at Hy-Vee with every other WDM citizen. oh well, i'm home now and have some yummy meals to fix if we're stuck inside for a few days. three cheers for snow days... hip, hip, hooray!