ch-ch-ch-ch-changes…

Meet the newest addition to our family,

A baby BOY arriving sometime at the end of January 2012 :)

He had the hiccups today during the ultrasound, it was so cute I started crying. 

I already can’t get enough of him!

I need a mom…

close to me.  Geographically.  I have been blessed by TWO (not one, but two!) of the greatest moms I EVER could have custom asked for.  Really – I’ve always know that my Mom was the best – the person I look up to, the advice I ask for, she is compassionate and generous, has character and integrity, she’s always serving other people, she loves with her whole heart, and she’s always there for me when I need her to be. For example, on a particularly bad day a few weeks ago, I called my mom.  She bought a plane ticket – that day, and I got to spend last weekend with her.  It was wonderful :)

And a few years ago, I got really lucky and married the man of my dreams, whose mother then became my amazing mom #2 – I really don’t know why my life is turning out so good!  I wrote down a list of words that describe my Mom Williams: crazy, open-hearted and open-minded, generous, adventurous, spontaneous, joyful, energetic, full of love.  She came to visit the weekend before my (original) mom, so I got two weekends of good momma TLC.  There are now 6 home-cooked frozen dinners in my freezer, not including leftovers.  My house is clean, and my shoulder/neck muscles are actually not sore OR tight.  Yes, I’m spoiled.  And I’m ok with that :)

  (really?  this is the last picture of my mom and I that I can find, it was taken almost 2 years ago!  We need to take more pictures!) 

Now I just need to actually live NEAR one of them, so all this goodness doesn’t have to be condensed into two weekends!

family

Last week Dusty and I got to spend some quality time with these munchkins,

and these ones too

(that’s my mom’s, “I thought I lost you in New York” face – it’s always good to be home!)  

PLUS a lot of other awesome people, like my Dad, Gee, Jen, Matt, Jenean and Derek…but…they didn’t squeeze into any pictures of Penelope or Piper so I’m sorry to say I don’t have so many of those guys! 

Matt and Jenean got in this one - we celebrated my birthday,

(there is a candle in that cup…25 of them, actually…)

And I already miss them like crazy.  Again.  Well…time to start planning my next trip!

local

Last week, I walked into our friendly neighborhood Food Lion (aka Lucky Tiger, whichever suits you best) to buy some treats for my mutual activity.  I came across one of the workers, who said, “Do you need any help, ma’am?” To which I replied, “no thanks.”  And she said, “Yeah I didn’t think so – you come here enough you should know where you’re goin’ by now.”  Then she yelled at me because I stepped on her clean floor.  I laughed after her first comment, but it turned into one of those 1/2 nervous laughs after the second…

Gotta love G’ville.

flying

I don’t know if the above video will work – if it doesn’t, go to: 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoMt-kDe_Ls

Next time – certification?  Thinking about it…. :)

I think great minds think alike, because my Mom and Dusty both suggested this great plan:  Dusty flies the plane up, and I jump out of it!  (quite the dramatic exit, I think)

Speaking of which – Dusty is (most likely) flying solo for the first time this weekend!  NOT that he needs it….but everyone maybe just send a few prayers this way… :)

(Sunshine update:  Sunny-girl seems to be doing much better  -the vet said that she (probably) has pemphigus, an auto-immune disease (rare, of course).  We figured this out after she didn’t respond at all to 2 weeks of antibiotics and antifungals (and a hefty bill).  And the vet STILL wants to do a skin biopsy to confirm the diagnosis, which costs about $300… our vet-school friend Judd said that the type of pemphigus she has is actually the most mild type, and we’ve been treating her with some OTC hydrocortisone, and we’re seeing our old Sunshine come back!  Now let’s hope it keeps working!!)

mangy cat

In my last post I said our cat is “broken” – I’ll explain! Broken probably isn’t the right word for it, “sick” is a better one. We actually have 2 cats, Sumo is hyper-allergenic to everything – she literally steps outside and comes back with hive-type scabs on her neck and back. But Sunshine has always been the healthy one, the cat that acts like a cat (the “I’ll come to you when I’m ready” type cat). But lately, she’s acting SUPER weird, and I THINK, according to pictures on the internet, that she has mange. She is breaking out in scabs all over her ears and some of them are filled with pus, and it’s spreading over her nose, chin and over her eyes. It’s really painful for her if we touch it (accidentally, it’s kind of gross), and more so, she is acting really somber, like if we move her she doesn’t even try to get away or fight it, she’ll just lay wherever we plop her down. And she’s shedding a LOT. And I’ve noticed during the days I’m home she just lays in the corner, which makes me feel like I have to check to make sure she’s not dead (because cats hide to die?). I would think maybe it was some type of bug, but Sumo doesn’t have any of the symptoms, plus they are both indoor cats. AND, according to the internet (if my research is right, and if any of you know more about cat illness I’d love your input!) cats don’t get mange unless their immune systems are weak..like they have cancer or something :(. So needless to say, I’m worried!! And our car being broken, it’s kind of hard to carry a cat on a bike…I’m thinking. BUT as of yesterday, our car is no longer broken! (knock on wood) Dusty replaced the starter – apparently he took it in to Advance Auto to have them test it and it blew up their testing machine…probably akin to what it’s been doing to our alternators and batteries!! So Dusty replaced the starter, and yesterday and today it hasn’t acted up. So this week I am taking Sunshine to a vet.

This is her right now, curled up against my leg, and although I love the snuggliness, she normally would not have any part of this. And if you’re wondering, that’s catnip all over her – Dusty’s way of comforting her (she perked up when he got it out but didn’t have the energy to actually go to it) - (and, I asked our vet student friend if maybe it’s an effect of too much catnip, like she’s a crack addict or something, he said that’s a negative).

broken

our car.

our dryer.

our dvd player.

our plants.

our cat.

Well that list doesn’t look so long when I write it down…I really do have a lot to be grateful for, huh? Plus, when our car is broken and I am stranded at home on my days off, I have been exploring some bike trails around our house.

AND, we are getting some extra exercise by riding our bikes to work. Lucky us :).

DOUBLE plus, I took this picture as Dusty was saying, “lucky me! I get to go spelunking under the car!” I was there for moral support.

I really have a great husband :)