Caitlin's First Halloween Costume

This morning I made Caitlin's first Halloween costume.

She was a pumpkin. = )

Today was also my last day at school until February. Now let's just hope the little pumpkin decides to give me a few days off to rest up and finish things around the house!

Baby Face

The Irishman and I went for an ultrasound today. We got a few decent pictures of Caitlin.

They estimate that she is now about 8 pounds 2 ounces. (The margin of error is about 8 ounces.) She has almost 2 weeks to go. Now I know these things can be off...but my brother and I were both over 9 pounds. My mother-in-law had six babies in the 7-8 pound range. We'll see how it goes!

We were supposed to see the doctor after the ultrasound, but she had to rush off to deliver a baby. (Imagine that!) We stopped at Babies R Us on the way home to pick up some last minute items, and will head back to see the doctor tomorrow.

Pumpkin Patch 2009

Sunday we took advantage of the wonderful fall weather and heading to the pumpkin patch. They restocked the pumpkins as soon as we left, but we got some good pictures anyway.

A mom actually admitted to me that she'd told her daughter that I had a pumpkin up my shirt and was trying to steal it...and the little girl believed her!

The annual picture of the two of us...this time with one on the way!

This one (above) is the Irishman's favorite.

Finally Fall!

This morning I'd hoped to sleep in a little...7:30 or 8am...making the most of the weekends before the baby comes. That is until a certain someone decided to dig her head into my ribs. I would say she is still directionally challenged...and sleep was no longer an option. Ouch!


Thankfully we finally got our first cool front last night. I decided if I wasn't meant to sleep, the least I could do is enjoy the cooler weather! The cats are thrilled...I have all the windows open. My "fall" scented candles are lit. It is lovely!


(The Irishman is still in bed. He seems to have forgotten that he comes from a place with COLD weather. I have no doubt he will complain that it is too chilly...people this is a south FLORIDA cool front...the high today will likely still hit 80 degrees...so I left the windows in our bedroom closed for now!)


We have lots of odds and ends on the to do list for this weekend...but somehow it seems much nicer to work on those things when it is NOT 90 degrees outside! Yesterday we spent a fair bit of time watching college football. The Irishman discovered that our TV has picture-in-picture while flipping back and forth between the Arkansas game and the Notre Dame game...both were oh, so close!

It was a rough end of the week. Our AC was leaking from the ceiling of the newly redecorated Duck Bathroom. One very large bill from the AC repairman later, the poor Irishman is going to have to repair the ceiling...yet again. The same day this happened, I learned that the nice new doctor we met on Monday...is no longer with the practice. Add to that multiple hassles with my maternity leave...it was a week! On Friday I officially started counting down the days left at work.

But is is the weekend now. The weather is cooler. The house is coming together. It is all falling into place! I hope to have pictures to share soon!

So...I am off to work on the wall hangings for the duck bathroom before Mass. Happy fall! = )

Fortunate

The Irishman and I are so fortunate to have such generous friends and families. I have so many wonderful things to blog about...but right now I am exhausted. Morgan and I have both taken naps since coming home from work and are both heading to bed. So much for water aerobics tonight...

Quick update from Monday's appointment with the Dr:
We were waiting about an hour for my usual doctor when one of the nurses gave us the option to see the new doctor right away or wait for the other. They ask that you meet all the doctors in the practice, so we figured this was as good a time as any.

We really liked the new doctor. She was young and very nice...but the little one didn't cooperate. It seems she has gone from being oblique to transverse. She is way up in my ribs. From time to time we can see her head moving around...and not where it should be. Other than that though all looks good!

So instead of waiting for week 38 for the ultrasound, we are scheduled for one next week. (A week early) Now we just have to hope the little shamrock decides to cooperate. We are also praying that she decides to get into a more favorable position!

Feeling Ducky

This weekend the Irishman decided to tackle the bathroom attached to the baby's room. I have had a "Texas Bathroom" since college, but we decided it was time to move on. Here are the "before" and "in-progress" shots...

And here is the almost finished product:

We are thrilled with the way it has turned out! Thank you to everyone who helped contribute! (And to the Irishman for coming out of DIY retirement again!)

More Odds and Ends

* This morning the button on my shirt popped off as I was getting ready to leave for work. I've been really good about ironing a week's worth of clothes over the weekend...but that meant that due to casual Friday I had no back up ready. I found a twin set I haven't worn before and got it ironed. The only problem? It was 92 degrees today. A bit much for pants and a sweater!

* I have gotten so many not-so-nice e-mails from parents this week. I've thought about asking the OB for a letter excusing me from dealing with third grade parents for the next month.

* Tomorrow is "Family Fun Night" for third grade. I have my body guards ready. The Irishman and one of the teachers on my team have already said that they plan to ward off any maternity leave questions. The teacher in the room next to me had to leave the school suddenly as well, so we all plan to avoid questions like the plague.

* The Irishman has had a burst of DIY energy. I guess you could say the nesting thing is rubbing off on him! We got the new "ducky" shower curtain up in the bathroom attached to the baby's room. (Thank you to Leslie and Aunt Emily!) Now the Irishman thinks the bathroom could use a coat of blue paint. We'll see if this lasts into the weekend! Last weekend he tackled the garden...

* I am still going to water aerobics. My swimsuit just barely fits. I noticed Monday though that while I am still able for the exercises (and the doctor said I can keep doing it) it is getting harder to move....even in the pool. One of the ladies in the class just became a grandmother and is going to bring us some clothes her grand daughter has already outgrown. I kind of stand out in the class...more now than ever!

* Tonight though...I am going to crash! The little girl I was supposed to tutor this afternoon was sick so I got home early. I was too tired to even check my e-mail when I got home from work today. Thankfully we had left overs, ice cream, and good TV to watch.

Happy-almost-the-weekend!

When?

I met with my boss today to go over the details of my maternity leave. I sit down in her office and we start to talk.

"You are leaving in the middle of November, right?"

I think I almost fell out of the chair. I was not able to stop myself from saying, "Have you SEEN me lately?"

I told her that, no, the baby is due Nov. 7 and I am hoping to work up until Oct. 30.

"Wow...that's not that far away. I thought it was just a big baby. I was thinking we had until Thanksgiving."

Ummm...no. Pumpkins, not turkeys!

In other news, I started cleaning off my desk and tidying the area around my desk today. It is the one area of my classroom that I never quite get to...ever. It is kind of sad that I will clean it for someone else but not for myself. At least I have a couple of weeks now to enjoy it!

Red Dog

Saturday night I woke up for the third, fourth, fifth time to hear a cat crying. It was 4:30am and the poor animal was carrying on and on. I called out to him and of course got no answer...so I decided to get up for yet another potty break to go to the bathroom. This is what I found at the door of the bathroom:



It is Red Dog. Red Dog has been Rafa's favorite toy since he was tiny. (And he was a pretty scrawny kitten!)

When he was this size he used to try to tear apart Red Dog. The poor dog has had his throat slit and almost lost a paw. There have been multiple surgeries. He lost an ear somewhere along the way that we never found.

But that was Rafa in his younger days. Now he just carries Red Dog around the house. He cries and carries on as he does it. We find Red Dog in the oddest places...and at the oddest times!

35 Weeks

Please ignore the fact that I am stuck wearing my glasses and I need a hair cut...

But I figured this is the part you wanted to see anyway...

35 Weeks...it is getting closer!