Pretty Princess Pedicure Time!

Last night as I lay half-awake, I created about 3 blog entries in my head. I don't remember what they were about entirely, but I do remember thinking, "I wish I was awake enough to write these, I'm pretty funny right now." There was probably some good stuff in there! Anyway, I'm awake now (and was from 4-5 a.m.--what the heck?!) so I'll enter a bit.

Despite my weird dream [see last post] I did go get a long-awaited and needed pedicure yesterday with Heidi, my "roommate"/gracious host. We went into the fancy Wal-mart salon and walked right in. Since I'm a little pregnant, I didn't get the massage-y stuff turned on in my massage chair, so I had two things poking the same spot in my back the whole time while my feet were soaking...whatev.

Anyway, my nail technician (formal title, anyone?) did a decent job, but lacked a bit of "I'm happy to be doing this for you"-ness. I get it, lady: you scrape and paint people's feet for a living amidst a bajillion awful fumes and intoxicating smells. Plus, I dislike feet, so I try not to be too picky with anyone who has to mess with mine. (Oh, and for part of it she lotioned up my legs to my calves; pretty sure she commented to her co-worker about how un-shaven they were. He he. I have since remedied that issue.) So, I'm not really watching her work--I have better things to look at than my feet--and she's putting on the top coat and points out that the nail on my big toe is crooked/chipped because I have "weak nails." She also kind of said it like I should be ashamed; like unto a cavity at the dentist. And I'm thinking, "Well, duh. It's a wonder I can even SEE my toes. Do you really think I'm bending over long enough to do something about fixing them? Why do you think I'm here?" Since it was top coat time, she didn't file it out. Why? I don't know and at this point, I don't care.

In the end, I ended up with labor and delivery-worthy feet with little BLUE flowers on them because I'm having a boy. :) And if you made it this far reading my lame-o post about a pedicure, good for you. I'll reward you will some future posts of a cute baby. :)

Strange Dream...

I had a dream last night that I was in some kind of performing camp and at the last meeting before we all left and went home, I was standing up and all of a sudden there was a pair of legs--my baby's legs--coming out of my side. The feet were kind of cold, too, so I thought that I should warm them up and then got the idea to paint the baby's toes. Somebody had already beat me to the punch; his toes were sparkly brown. Then I woke up.

What does this all mean? It probably means that I'm jealous that the baby had a pedicure before I did.

P.S. I'll try to come up with something unrelated to babies to post sometime. It could be a refreshing change...

On second thought, it'll probably be a whole lot more exciting to post pictures and such about the baby instead of just pregnancy, so things might still be very baby-related.

Eviction Notice

No, we haven't been kicked out of our residence, which would be really hard for me to do since I don't really have a permanent home at the time, anyway. (Big fat thank you, Higley fam!) I had another appointment with the doc today. Minor weight gain, normal blood pressure, yada yada. Basically, things are looking fine...if by fine we mean no noticeable progress toward labor. Whatever--I'm not worried because your official last day has been set, baby! If dude doesn't come out on his own by July 23rd, we're going in to get him. (And of course by "going in to get him" I mean that we are going to coax him out ever so carefully and hopefully cooperation will be had by all.) This makes Russell and me very happy because we can purchase a flight for Russell to come up a little sooner than absolute last minute, and at this point I feel I can definitely last until then. Secretly, I hope I go into labor on my own as soon as I get into the hospital to be induced--that'd be awesome--but I'm a wee bit too nervous to hope for things to be early, not to mention that I still have my (s)crapbook to work on and catch up. So, come July 23rd (or 24th if he's slow...my child? slow? yeah, probably) be prepared. I'll work on that, too.

Our last TRUE Independence Day...

Happy 4th of July! I am super lucky that I have a husband who is nice enough to drive all the way up boring Nevada...the drive is relatively boring (relative to everything), not necessarily the state. Anyway, I loved being able to just kick it with Russell and do what we wanted to do, which amounted to not much except for hanging around and having fun. Our independence as a couple (oxymoron?) is ending soon, so one last "hurrah" was perfect.

Anyway, here are 3 reasons that I'm happy to end this child-less independence:

Funny stuff, like wearing a viking helmet and pajamas

Sweet little sleeping

General Cuteness

Here are 3 reasons NOT to be incredibly excited:

Messes
Crying

Mischief...seriously, this is Carl here. I'm pretty sure 2 minutes after this picture was taken he was all up in some bushes in the neighbor's yard...

I'm grateful to have fun little nephews who are all very different, but make me excited to add another boy to the bunch! So, happy Independence Day, everyone. Go celebrate something.

Wait--July already?!?

July is when I used to tell people my baby is coming and now I have to be a whole lot more specific! I have heard many a pregnant lady bemoan the fact that their baby is still in their stomach as their due date draws closer. While I'm not suggesting the little guy sets up camp permanently, I'm not yet anxiously anticipating this birth. I was thinking, "How did we get here?" I very clearly know the literal answer to that question, but I mean it in more of an "I'm almost a parent and there's no turning back/everything will change" sort of way. Am I excited? Yes. Am I nervous? I guess so, and perhaps my lack of "get-him-out-of-me-ness" shows that. Whatever emotions I do have will probably change tomorrow. As for now, let's see a few highlights of this journey from where we last left off:

Leslie and I were 10 weeks apart in due date--fun times. Now her cute little guy is here!
28 weeks along...

I had a fun 25th birthday/baby party from my good friends at Swope. Seriously, I am very lucky to have worked with such a great group of people.

34 weeks

This has very little to do with being pregnant and very much to do with eating at the GSR buffet. I'm finding that I'll eat until I feel full, but when the food settles in my stomach, I feel way full-er.
36 weeks for the both of us. Russell's baby seems somewhat stagnant...

I wish you could see how excited Russell really is. He's the best "nest-sitting" pre-father I've ever been married to. Only about 3 more weeks until the due date!

In case you haven't heard...

...We moved! Russell started the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at UNLV in June, so we looked for and found a place to live in May. We live in a quaint apartment in Henderson. It actually has about 200 sq. ft. more than our last place, so it's great. It would have been real easy to just move on down to So. Nevada, but we would rather complicate things, so we did. Check this "moving schedule" out:
-May 21st: Russell moves main stuff down in truck and trailer, C.J. stays with a friend to finish the school year in Reno
-May 27th: C.J. flies down for the 1st half of Memorial day weekend to set some things up in the new place, flies up to Fairf for the 2nd half, gets a ride back to Reno from Kai.
-June 1st: Russell officially starts school
-June 11th: C.J.'s school year ends, so Russell drives up in truck which is loaded up with remaining things (classroom boxes, baby stuff, etc.) and we drive back down the next day. C.J.
and Russell in Henderson together (hooray!), things get put away and more settled in

(Big grins=end of school year)

My roommate/buddy Julie

Russell was serious about this crib set up. He did a perfect job!
I was serious about sorting through baby stuff and make Russell stop and look at the cute shoes/outfits/doo-haws all of the time. :) So happy that it's now in a closet and not in bins.

-June 24th: Drive to UT with Tina and Soren in the truck for cousin Jacob's wedding
-June 27th: Russell drives back down to Henderson on account of having classes the next day
-June 28th: C.J. rides out with G'ma and G'pa to Reno and stays with a friend again; will switch staying-with-friend at the end of the week.
-CURRENTLY: Russell in Henderson, C.J. in Reno until baby comes and she sends him a text to get the heck off his atrium and fly to the hospital!

Sound crazy? Yeah, I know. Our schedule of when we all can finally settle down in Henderson will be another story which depends entirely on when our little dude arrives. I know you're jealous of our living situation. Don't be. While this may not seem to make a whole lot of sense, we know that this is right for our family at this time. I am grateful for the confirmation received through prayer that although things might not always make the most logical sense, if we do what's right, we'll be happy. I'm essited for all kinds of happiness in the near future!

Trippin' out East

Thanks, Russell, for that last lovely update. I realize that the blog has received some neglect and has probably lost all possible readers, but I will begin the catch-up nonetheless.

SO, in April, we took a trip to Pryor, Oklahoma to visit with Kelly (Russell's mom) and Jim (stepdad) during my Spring break. It was the perfect break from our "everyday." All of the days sort of blurred together because we did so much relaxing and hanging out. We visited a few consignment shops--there were so many good ones!--spent some time outside, played with the animals (dogs, horses, the duck, etc.) rode on some horsies, and really had a good time visiting. I have no idea when we'll go out again, but I hope it's not too far away!

Gettin' a feel for the animals. Check out the beautiful landscape! It's not all "Grapes of Wrath/dust bowl" at all! Judge not, folks.

Going through Russell trunk o' memories that his mom had with things like report cards, school assignments, pictures, and baby things. He wrote some funny stuff as a kid! Nice to know he was (is) smart, though.

Russell let me wear his jacket...I think that means we're finally officially going steady.
The Horse Whisperer


Riding horses: C.J. on Poopsie, Russell on Rusty, Daisy in the background
My mom saw these pictures and said, "You look kind of lumpy, not pregnant." That's probably why pregnant people shouldn't ride horses: not attractive. (Not to mention that falling off is extra bad and it kind of hurt my stomach muscles after a while...my dr. did approve, though.)
At one of the second-hand store. It's a good thing we had limited suitcase space or I would have brought back far too many things.
Kelly, Russell, and Jim. :)
On our way back from the airport, we stopped in Sacramento area for the blessing of cousin Matt and Courtney's baby, Luke. Cute little guy and cute little great aunt! :)