The Village Idiots

We didn't win the costume contest last night. However, it took two other teams to beat us. One team dressed up as old people, complete with walkers and "I Love Bingo" hats. The other team totally rocked as The Addams Family. So they tied, and we came in second. Oh well. Those two teams have tried really hard in the past and been beaten by us, so it's okay that we didn't win. Plus, Vicky said we could have a pizza party anyway. We had an extra person, and he hates dressing up. So we decided that Richard is the newest member of the Village People.....The Banker. Denise is The Cowboy. Monique is The Indian (or The Native American, if you prefer). Vicky is The Biker. I'm The Sailor. Eva is The Construction Worker. And our CFO who's only been with us since May is The Policeman. (Kelly had to stay home with her little one....)

Christmas Party!

We just got our invites at work for the annual Christmas party. I am so excited! Jason & I have gone the last two years and had a lot of fun. This year it's going to be at The Henry Clay in Louisville. We're getting ballroom dance instruction, too. That should be interesting. My mouth is already watering for the food: carved beef and turkey, bourbon bbq meatballs, sliced country ham on mini buns, cajun chicken bits with Louisiana hot sauce, vegetable quesadillas, assorted cheeses and fruits, totellini salad, crudites and dip, bread, lavosh and crackers, and miniature desserts. I think I'll be eating more than dancing! Now let's see if I can find a dress that will fit...

It will also be my last Christmas party with the company (unless something changes down the road). I gave my five-month notice today. That's right, friends, I have the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom. I'm kind of nervous about it. I keep grilling Jason about how secure his job is. He assures me that nobody else wants to do it. It's hard not to be nervous with the economy the way it is! However, if I continued to work, all I would be accomplishing is making enough money to pay some strangers to watch Lambchop. So I may as well watch the little one myself. Besides, it's been getting harder and harder to go to work in the last year or two. I got burnt out and have never recovered. (Re-winding a bit to the long notice- my boss was very happy that I can stay at home, but she was also really happy for the long notice. She said my job is "very hard" and "it will take awhile for a new person to learn how to do it all". At first, I was glowing that she noticed that what I do is not easy, and then I got kinda ticked that I get paid so little for all that hard work. Grr. Well, only slightly grr because I really love my boss.)

I started knitting the baby sweaters again. This time I'm using a vintage pattern from one of Mom's books. I've knit the pattern a couple of times before, but I hate that it requires so much making up after the fun part is over. So during one of my increasing moments of insomnia, I decided to alter the pattern. I'm trying to knit it all in one piece until the armpits and go from there. I hope it works!

I Like Glass. I Like Brass.

Jason & I watched a show on TLC today, and this old lady was talking about her decorating style. She said, "I like glass. I like brass. I like wood. I like the carpet on the wall." What? Oh, yes, she had carpet on her walls. It even went up the stairway!

I'm very happy to say that the tile work is almost finished in the bathroom. Jason can do the grout tomorrow. He thinks the whole the thing will be finished this weekend. How exciting! Unfortunately for the old lady there's no glass, no brass, no wood, and no carpet on the walls.

Hello Mrs McB, Goodbye Samantha

Yesterday I wiggled in my seat at work all day long. Barb had emailed me to expect a little something from UPS. I couldn't wait to get home and see what waited for me. I got home, grabbed the box and the mail and immediately tripped over the cats. They couldn't wait for me to get home, either. I debated whether or not to wait for Jason to open the package. It was addressed to Lambchop in care of Jason & me (how cute!). I considered just perusing the newest American Girl catalog until he got home (to shop for Christmas presents for my neices, not me). Naturally I couldn't stand the suspense, so I ripped open the box to find......And inside the bag, I found.....

Aww! Thanks, Barb! We've named her Mrs McB.

After the opening and picture taking and phone picture taking and texting pics to Meli & Barb, I curled up with the American Girl catalog. To my utter shock, I found out they are retiring the Samantha doll- my doll- on January 1, 2009. I can't believe how upset I got. I was in tears on the phone with my mom (who said that most of the tears were probably due to pregnancy, which made me feel slightly better) and is now planning on buying me some of Samantha's things for Christmas. I've had my doll since I was 10, for nearly two-thirds of my life! I guess I always thought that I'd have plenty of time to collect the rest of her stuff. Jason has been so sweet about the whole thing. He's agreed to get me her trunk for Christmas, and this morning he sat through me showing him my doll and all of the stuff I already have and telling him in detail about all of her other things. (My husband deserves a medal.)

Bella Band

I have a wee baby bump going on. It's just big enough that my pants don't want to button anymore but not enough to either buy bigger pants or maternity pants. I've tried on a couple of those and boy, are they huge! Lucky for me, a new store has opened in Etown called Supermommy Superstore. I stopped in there yesterday and found a product called Bella Band. It's a lycra tube that goes over the top of your pants so you can leave them unbuttoned but they won't fall down or look like they're unbottoned. Oh my goodness! Super belly relief! The store owner said she wore one even in her third trimester to cover her belly once her shirts started getting too short to cover it. Dad was really happy to hear about that. He's already made me promise that I won't wear any belly tight shirts. Because we all know how apt I am to wear skintight clothes......

Today during lunch I stopped by the party store to get a mustache and sideburns for my work Halloween costume. I can't say what my department is going as because it has to be a surprise. I can't wait to post pictures. We've won the costume contest the last two years, and we're hoping for a three-peat. Last year we went as Snow White & the 7 Dwarfs. All the women were the dwarfs, Greg was Snow White and Richard was the Evil Queen. The year before that we were nerds. (That was such a huge success because we're the Accounting Dept.) I think we have good chances of winning again. Check back after October 28 for the big reveal.

Lambchop's Woobie

On the monday after the baby pageant (which was Sept 29 for those of you with no calendar), Jason and I went to Dr Moorman for a regular check up and to hopefully hear the baby's heartbeat. Hearing the heartbeat was a huge milestone for us because no baby formed with the pregnancy last spring, so there was no heartbeat to hear. As a matter of fact, when I started spotting last spring, the first think Dr Moorman did was try to find the heartbeat. (Which resulted in not finding a heartbeat, having an ultrasound, not finding a baby in the pregancy sack, and going through a miscarriage and D&C.) So for us, this appointment was HUGE. I'd been counting down the weeks for 5 whole weeks, and then Dr Moorman was behind schedule so we saw the new woman to the practice, Dr Preen. She was really awesome. I had lost some weight, and she was concerned with that. But other than that she said I'm super healthy. Then we got down to business. She squirted some goo on my belly and started moving the thingy around the area where the baby should be. And we waited. And waited. And waited. And I stopped breathing; I was getting a little scared. Then all of a sudden, there it was- a really loud, quick, strong, healthy heartbeat. I started crying, and I stopped breathing again. Dr Preen asked me to please resume breathing so I wouldn't pass out. Jason and I were on cloud 9 the rest of the day!

Lincoln Days was the following Saturday and Sunday (the first weekend in October). The whole week leading up was cool, in the 60s. I like a cold, dry Lincoln Days. (Last year, no joke, it was about 100 degrees in the shade, blazing sun and high humidity.) I was very happy to wake up to a chilly morning. It wasn't cold, but cool enough for a long sleeve t, fleece, jeans, and hiking boots. We strolled downtown to the Hodgenville Women's Club for their annual breakfast. Jason had to go to a parade meeting, so I hooked up with Dad, Aunt Anna, and my cousin Katey on the Square. Katey was doing a sound check, and she and Anna were freezing. Anna grew up in Kentucky. She even lived in Hodgenville for a bit. She knows how the weather is here, but I guess she had a brain fart, so neither she nor Katey had jackets with them. I went home and got jackets for them and a scarf for the songbird. Katey hasn't spent a lot of time in colder weather (not that it was all that cold), and she put the scarf on in the most ineffective way possible. Big cousin had to teach her. She learned quickly.

After the sound check, I wanted to walk to the gas station (about 1 mile away) to get a caffeine free soda. I took Katey with me. We picked up a golf cart for Dad along the way and drove the rest of the distance to the gas station and then back to the Square. Katey and Anna split after a bit. I grabbed a pork burger and followed Dad around for a while helping him until it started getting hot, and I hoofed it home again to change. On the way home, I kept getting stopped. "Do this. Do that. Tell so and so to get such and such." Not to mention the phone olympics that I endured about the parade judges. Why Dad & Phil couldn't talk to each other directly, I don't know. At that point, I changed into my Lincoln Days polo & running shoes and decided to quit pretending that I wasn't working at Lincoln Days. The rest of the day until the parade was a very hot, sweaty blur. Lots of walking. Lots of trouble shooting. Lots of me cursing the weather for turning from chilly to hot-hot-hot. I found my visiting family members a little bit before the parade, which caused me another trip up the hill to my house to get big brimmed hats and sunscreen for Great-Aunt Esta and Aunt Mary Bess.

I briefly caught up with Emily & Kristy towards the end of the parade. I had hoped to watch the parade with them and Jennifer this year, but that didn't happen. Jennifer was battling a cold all week, and she left the parade right before I escaped my post to find them. I wish I had taken off my radio for the picture!

After the parade, my Uncle Jim, Aunt Anna, my cousin JoAnna and my little cousins- Joey, Becca, Tommy, and Jake- and I walked down to the Creekfront. While Anna and Jim watched the railsplitting contest, JoJo and I took the young cousins to play on the blow up bouncy things. Well, Joey didn't because he's too big for that stuff. He's 12 now. Plus he has a broken elbow. While we were in that area, Mr Phelps took off in his helo. I can't remember what kind it is, but it blew down three port-a-johns when he landed this year. The kids loved watching it take off.

Katey sang on the Square at 5 so we all walked back there. Esta, Mary Bess, Anna, and Katey found a shady area to sit until showtime. My cousin Chris and Carol were there, too. They drove up from Alabama, the others from Warner Robbins, GA. (Carol's having a baby in three weeks!) Jason found us at that point, and he got me a funnel cake and a blue sno-cone. Yeah, the sno-cone was a huge mistake. As you might remember, sugar + heat + me = a dire need to pray at the porcelain altar. After Katey's awesome perfomance, the out-of-towners went back to their hotel in Etown, and Jas & I headed to Mom & Dad's for showers. Then we picked up some pizza and hung out at the hotel with my cousins. We finally got into bed at 10:30 that night. What a long day!

The next morning we thought about sleeping until noon, but we got up, ate some breakfast, and walked back downtown for a community church service on the Square. I thought it would be nice if we went to church more than just at Christmas. It was excrutiatingly hot and miserable! So I think I got some mega church points for that one day. I don't know how the four preachers managed it in their suits. After the service we did some Christmas shopping from the craft booths, trying to support the local artists. We went into one of the stores on the Square that Jas hadn't been to before, and we bought the baby's first rattle and woobie. They're so cute. (If you're not familiar with the term woobie, go rent Mr Mom. And yes, I realize that my baby's first woobie is a lot smaller than the woobie in the movie.) Then we hung out at the Lincoln Days office for a couple hours, eating more funnel cakes, pork burgers, nachos, and ice cream.

By the time we got to my parents' house that night, I was very, very sick. I thought I had just overdone all the walking in the heat and all the junk food. Turns out I had a stomach bug. I made it to work the next day for all of 40 minutes. I feel great now, though. Lincoln Days is done for another year. (I'll not mention the Lincoln Luncheon coming up in Februrary....) Delayna and I don't have to do the Baby Pageant next year (b/c what if Lambchop is a cute baby and I want to enter her/him?). I'm almost finished with the 1st trimester (Tuesday is the 12 week mark). We have walls up in the bathroom. Just waiting on Dad to help Jas with the ceiling. Life is almost grand.

My mom had to go off of her MS meds. The scientists (FDA?) discovered that the one she's been on for, like, 10 years causes liver damage. I think we're all nervous how things are going to go for her until they pick out a new medicine for her. She has to be off of them for a full two weeks. Luckily, she has a slowly progressing form of MS. She's not in danger of being like Richard Pryor anytime soon, but it's advanced enough that she will never be able to pick my baby up out of the crib and carry him/her somewhere. We'll always have to hand the baby to her when she's sitting down. That's kinda sad, but thank God, she'll be here to at least be able to do that. We'll put her in charge of Lambchop's woobie.

Yeah, yeah

I'm still breathing. But still not showering at my house. There are walls up now. Not all of them, but enough to make it resemble a bathroom. Seriously, between the trips to my parents house, a full day of work, and my mandatory daily 3 hour naps, I barely have time to do laundry. So the blog has been at the bottom of the list. I hope to do a nice long blog this weekend. I have to tell you about Lincoln Days last weekend. And about the bun in the oven. (Yeah, I started drinking the magic water.)

Nothing Important

So.....obviously I'm still not on the computer very much anymore. I'm continuing to blame it on the bathroom thing.

I was going to write about the baby pageant on Sunday. But it was horrible, and I don't want to re-live it. The great part is that we don't have to do it again next year. Delayna's and my baby pageant days are over! No telling what we'll have to do next year instead.....

I'm definitely enjoying the new tv season so far. Jason and I watch way too much tv. We always vow to stop watching new shows, and I think this year, we will keep that vow. No new shows.

Sunday is for Amazing Race, Cold Case, Army Wives, Masterpiece Theater, and The Unit. (We have a dual-tuner DVR, so we don't watch everything on the same night it airs.) Monday is Dancing With the Stars. Tuesday is NCIS and Dancing With The Stars. Wednesday is Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money. Thursday is Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, CSI, and Survivor. Friday is for Monk and Psych, but those aren't on again until January. Same thing with Lost. That's not on until the winter. I get re-runs of Knitty Gritty on Fridays, but it's usually an episode I've already seen.

We might stop watching CSI after Grissom leaves the show. We used to really love it, but in the last 2 or 3 years it's started losing our attention. And if Grey's doesn't get better, I'll have to stop watching it. They should concentrate more on Bailey and Christina and much less on Meredith. She's so lame!