24 hours!

Tomorrow at this time I'll be checked in and counting down the minutes. I'm nervous and excited and all the things that you'd expect.

Last weekend Bruce and the girls were out of town at a family event. I was so sad that I couldn't go but there was just no way. I can barely handle being in the car to go to the store around the corner right now. Eight+ hours would be torture. I felt so miserable and nervous about their trip and being home alone all weekend at this point but the weekend turned out so much better than I ever imagined.

My friends called and visited and got me out of the house all weekend. I felt so loved and taken care of. It was just wonderful to be reminded that I really do have the best friends anyone could ever ask for.

Next time I write here I will no longer be huge and hopefully I'll have nothing but good news to report.

Softball, softball, softball

As you may imagine, there is actually quite a lot going on around my house but sometimes it feels like softball, softball, softball. For my anniversary weekend Stinkette played in the All Star game for her league and, like any good mom, I watched every minute. I thought that would be it for the season.

Then we got the notice that she was selected to represent the league in the All Star tournament where the different house leagues played against each other. That was this past weekend - all weekend long! They played 2 games Saturday and 2 on Sunday. They weren't the Tournament Champs but they did come out on top of the loser bracket and that was no small feat. Stink made some really good plays. She's improving all the time.

And just because we hadn't gotten enough softball yet, she's now been chosen to play on a select team for the summer so my future still reads "softball, softball, softball". It's a good thing that I like to watch her play and even better that I like the other parents in the stands with me.

So what else are we up to? Well, I've been taking DQ out for semi-regular driving practice and so far, so good. We went to the county fair a week ago and saw Third Eye Blind play. I got the final stamp of approval on a family matter that has been stressing me for ages. We've been straightening up and streamlining all the stuff and generally getting our house - literally and figuratively - in order.



Last week we also marked a bit of a milestone as Stinkette graduated from elementary school. We were all thrilled when her name was called for making the Honor Roll. I think that she was as surprised as we were - in the best possible way. Above is a picture of my girl that duplicates one I took of her on her first day of school all those years ago. How time flies!

As if that wasn't enough, we're preparing for the arrival of Peanut. Talk about time flying! In just over a week we'll be a family of 5. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one.

ECF - TubaGuy Edition

I think that Eye Candy, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Today's eye candy for me is something that brings a smile to the faces of people all around my area - TubaGuy! Last night, by chance, I saw him walking up our street, went out to get a picture and actually met the local legend. Such a great end to a day.



So who is TubaGuy? He's just a guy who lives in our neighborhood I think and for exercise he walks miles up and down the roads around our town playing the tuba. When you're out running errands or you're sitting in traffic and you see him it just makes you smile. One of those quirky, fun, things that makes me love where I live. And now he's got a FB page too for fans like me.

Happy Friday.

Car Seats

So, as you might expect, things are changing around our house in big ways. Reality has set in and we are finally going through the stuff we saved from way back when our girls were little. All I can say about that is "what was I thinking?" The years have not been kind to a lot of it so out it goes.

Happily, not all of the stuff we've uncovered is awful. I found the dress that DQ wore in her first real baby portrait - the one that hangs in our house. It's still in good shape and it's totally a keeper.

We also found Max the Moose and last night we put him to work in exactly the same way we did over 15 years ago. Then, as now, the only thing we bought to prepare for the baby we expected was a car seat. Max was just the right size for the seat and Bruce and I used him to make sure we knew how to work the seat and then Max kept it warm until we needed it for DQ. This time it was DQ who installed Max in the seat for her new sibling. Kind of cool.



The title of this post was car seats plural for a reason. I took DQ to the DMV last Friday to participate in a teen right of passage - the taking of her permit test. Those of you who are FB friends know that she passed and now posesses a newly minted learner's permit. You can see that she's kind of excited about it and can't wait to get behind the wheel and on the road for real.



Of course in this picture she's in my car and that is not what she'll be learning in. Heck no! As excited as I am for her I have not completely lost my mind. We've got the perfect car for her to learn on - much older, bigger, and with a few dings already. She's just happy to drive anything at this point.

It Floated!

I sent out an email this morning to the parents of the girls in the Girl Scout troop that I lead with Exceeding Expectations as the subject and it was such a good feeling. It was truly the only way to describe the event we took part in yesterday. The annual Cardboard Boat Regatta.



No this was not our boat. It was built by another group and we all looked at it in disbelief but it really was cardboard. It was also kind of unstable which led to us referring to it as flipper - 'cuz it flipped to one side in one race and the other in the next.

Anyway, after building the event up for my girls for a very long time, we started building our boat about 6-8 weeks ago and it was anything but smooth sailing. We struggled with design and adhesives and then came the push to get it painted. We wanted to get as much paint on the boat as possible to prevent water from getting to the cardboard. In the end, this was our boat.



Note: no Girl Scout cookies were wasted in this effort - those boxes were empty.

Yesterday was the big day and most of the parents and the girls were convinced that we'd sink like a stone. However, you should never underestimate girl power (or the determination of their moms). Our boat floated!



We were able to participate in the 2 races that I had entered us into and - wonder of wonders - we were still in good enough shape to enter the Survivor's race where all of the boats that were still standing race for bragging rights at the end. We sank midway through that one but by then nobody was upset about it at all. In fact, we cheered when our boat went down. It served us well.



It was such a great day and all of the girls present had a chance to crew the boat. It couldn't have been a better day... except if we had won one of our races. That would've been nice. But sometimes just making a good showing really is a victory in itself and this was one of those times.

ECF - Lollipop Flowers Edition

Positive Thoughts

As the title of this post should indicate, I'm feeling more positive today than I was last week. It's not that I don't have stuff to complain about - broken TVs, rude people, stress, an overly busy schedule to name a few - but thanks to a recent flurry of activity I'm feeling like I've gotten a lot accomplished.

This picture was taken at a local event space. It's so pretty. There were tons of flowers and green space - all the things I love. But there was another site that spoke to all of us clearly and decisively. Our next huge event is still a year away but with a small human joining the mix that includes 2 teen/preteens who are super busy all the time I feel better doing my planning way in advance. But I did take a few pictures of this place just to pretty up the blog.



Other things that are making me happy right now include softball. Stinkerbelle's team really came together in the end of the season to win the last 2 games. One of them ended with an amazing double-play. There really is nothing better than seeing your child doing well and smiling broadly in victory. Tonight is the first playoff game. I really hope that they do well.

We also got a bunch of shopping done so that I am prepared with gifts for the 3 Bar/Bat Mitzvah's we'll attend in the next month. Yay! No last minute panic. Not only that but I got Stinkette dresses for the events and one of them is killer! My girl, the same one who was very tomboyish until recently, was primping and posing in front of the mirror and told me that she felt pretty. I melt.

I also got ton's of other stuff done but the bottom line is that I feel a little more in control - like this all might come together and work after all. Which is not to say that I'm ready for this baby right now. Oh no! I've still got lot's to do but I'm getting there.