Time for a break! Noel's watching "The Children of Dune" in the living room... three videos 2 hours each. I've been taking care of getting dinner ready for tonight. McKenna is up in her crib napping (I hope) and that's about it. We're meeting a woman tomorrow who might watch McKenna this coming wednesday. Her name is Linda and she sounded nice on the phone, but I'll reserve judgement until we actually meet her. Tomorrow at eleven. Well, since I don't want to be in front of the TV all day long, I'm going to work on finishing my Thomas Kincade puzzle.

I've been having worries about leaving McKenna with someone I don't know while I'm at work... I've been leaving her with my friend Patty, who has so kindly offered to watch her now and then, but I don't want to feel like I'm abusing our friendship, so I've been contemplating another individual or day care to use if I need to. There's a lady Noel knows... actually the wife of his trainer, and she's older and does a little day care on the side. I might check her out. Thing is, as of the 25th or so of February, I'll be a stay-at-home mom and won't have to use day care at all. I'll be vested in the pension plan and can quit and start living on a budget that hubby and I came up with. I've already started getting the house cleaned up and stuff from our move put away.

Anyway, I updated our family webpage today and got some more pics up. McKenna has grown! I weighed her on our scale at home and it looks like she's around 13 pounds now... getting chunky! We went out to breakfast today to Elmers and she was fussing at one point. Noel put a tiny bit of maple syrup on his finger and stuck it in her mouth... she made some sucking motions, then broke out with a huge grin. Guess she liked it! :D

Well, time to relax for awhile... more to come later.

First post since McKenna was born... eventually I'll tell my birth story, but now's not the time. She was born one day beyond my due date, on the 3rd of October at 8:10am in the morning. She was born via C-section due to complications.

I'm going to stay at home full time, but for now I'm working part-time at Idaho Power... by the 22nd of February I'll be vested in the pension plan (5 years of service) and I wanted to get that before I quit. I'm really looking forward to being a full-time homemaker. And McKenna is quite the incentive. For pics of her go to http://myweb.cableone.net/leprechaun-gold and check her out. Right now she's almost able to get onto her side from her back by arching her back a bit. She's smiling and I coaxed a little laugh out of her on the 26th of December... her first one! Well, I hear her crying, and it's time to feed her, so gotta go. I'll be writing again soon!

Well, I'm still at work and will be going home in an hour or so. I've had lots of Braxton Hicks tonight as well... I recorded 12 in one hour and 11 in the next hour, then stopped keeping track so I could take a nap. Woke up with them a few times. At least they're not painful, just uncomfortable. I do have a bit of a backache now which hasn't been a problem before, (except for my lower left hip pain) and anyways this backache is a kind of all over thing. I'll go home and try to sleep until at least 1 or 2pm... Noel works today, so we'll see if I have to call him later. If my contractions are still hanging on when I get up, I'll call mom and hang out with her today. How exciting! Even if labor doesn't start, I have the satisfaction of knowing that they are getting my body ready for labor.

So I've had lots of Braxton Hicks lately... last Friday we almost went to the hospital because they were 3 to 5 minutes apart, but never stayed consistent. Eventually they went away. Then last night at work, I had on average 12 an hour, which I kept track of, but again, not consistent. I went to an appointment today where he checked me and I'm dilated almost a finger width and effaced to about a 1/2 inch. So all these contractions are doing some good! It's nice that they aren't too painful... just uncomfortable at this point. I'm on night shift now, so since it's nice and slow I'll have plenty of time to record contractions again tonight! Anyway, just wanted to give everyone a heads up. My due date is the 2nd of October, and the doc says he'll give me until the 11th or 12th and if no baby by then, he'll induce. I'm praying not to get induced... I want to do this all on my own. Okay, later everyone! Thanks for the support!

So I'm bigger now... having gained 15 pounds throughout the pregnancy. I've got an aching groin and hips, and a lovely waddle, but other than that not doing too bad. The last week or so I've been REALLY tired. Just mentally and physically wiped out. The physical therapy probably isn't helping that, but it's helping my pain (which really isn't a problem at all anymore) and soon I'll be done with the PT. McKenna isn't moving as much anymore since it's getting cramped in there. The one thing I can really feel is a little heel or knee poking me on the right mid part of my belly occasionally. We had the last ultrasound last week and she's head down facing to the right side of me, so hopefully she'll turn the right way when I go into labor. I want to avoid a posterior presentation (face up) and back pain. I've got a therapy ball that I've been using for exercises and have been taking it to work to sit on. It's gotten a few comments and raised eyebrows, but most everyone thinks it's neat! It certainly is comfy, anyway. I go back and forth between it and a regular chair.

So mom and dad are up in the area now, and have been hanging out at the house; dad doing internet and mom making some curtains for the babys room. We're also going to learn to sew some baby/kid clothes and we've been doing some beading too. Pretty cool. For my birthday on the 22nd Noel and I got full body massages, which was AWESOME and then went to dinner at a Basque restaurant (that culture is located in northern Spain/southern France) and the food was just exquisite. Dad and I had Lingostinos, which is are tiny lobster tails, mixed with pimento, garlic, and mushrooms... and somekind of whitish sauce. Mom and Noel had filet medallions with a bernaise sauce. They also brought out tons of other stuff, we had bread, salad, and two side dishes that just appeared, one being a few long sweet green peppers that were flash fried and sprinkled with salt. They were very good. Lot's of garlic in the food though, so beware is you ever decide to try it. The hostess said they had a good track record for their food causing full-term pregnant women to go into labor because of the spices. She really wasn't joking, either! So it's been fun. It'll be even better when I can see my daughters face here soon... I can't wait! :D

Okay, well I'm starting to offically feel pretty tired and achey. This last month I've had a ache in my groin that's really not TOO terrible yet but it still a bit irritating. My Physical Therapist gave me exercises to do with Noel that will help that, but they don't help. I've got my therapy ball that I bounce on and do some exercises on, but that's more or less for my sacroiliac joint dysfunction which I've picked up from carrying this load! haha... but actually the pain from that is pretty much gone except when I lay flat on my back on a hard surface. But other than that, everythings pretty rosy. I did start getting some brief sharp vertical pains running through my belly button but they were very short, and I'm thinking it might just be due to all this stretching that my belly is being subjected to! Luckily, no stretch marks though! And no hemrrhoids, swelling ankles, or back aches! Plus not a lot of weight gain, so I'm hoping to lose it pretty quickly once McKenna is born. I am having a lot of Braxton Hicks lately, but not enough to send me to the hospital. The last couple of days I've had roughly 4 an hour. And they are getting stronger. Some say that means I'll have an easy labor. Hmm, if that is so, then I'll be pretty happy! Okay, well I'm starting to repeat myself, so I'll move on.

Noel finally got the hutch part of his computer into the computer room. He had to do it via an outside window, and we now have a broken pane which will need fixing, but that shouldn't be too expensive. We also have a lot of empty boxes cleared out of the living room, so we can actually walk in that room now!

Well, I've got an ultrasound coming up this next thursday so I'm hoping to get some pics of that to send out to people... I'm realizing that many can't access my photos for some reason in their email accounts, so I'll try attaching here on my blog. Later!

Hello all! So what's new? Well, I'm just getting over a severe head cold. Didn't get much sleep the last couple days due to 1) a sore throat and 2) a drippy nose. I finally gave in and called the doc (due to Noel telling me in a not so nice way I was being stubborn!) Actually, it was kind of cute... but I hate bothering people for such a little thing. Anyway, I was told to take regular Sudafed and to come into the hospital if I spiked a fever. No fever... but today I'm feeling better... still congested and starting to cough, though. I hope it doesn't go to my chest because I have missed already half a week of work plus my friend Patty is planning a get-together on Saturday that I REALLY don't want to miss. I also wouldn't want to get her kids sick, so I'm crossing my fingers.

So babywise, nothing new. I'm in my 9th month... had a couple of infections that the doc cleared up for me, and I've noticed something else weird. I've never had a problem with drooling in my sleep, but this last month, I've been doing a lot of it in my sleep... it's pretty disgusting and I'm hoping it doesn't continue after the baby is born. I think I read somewhere that pregnant women produce more saliva, so that might be it.

Okay, other, more interesting, things... hmmm... oh, I've gained 13 pounds in this pregnancy. I talked to the nurse and asked if that wasn't a bit low and she said, "no, because you've still got a month to go and will put on a few more" So I'm eating as well as I can, (excluding the maple sugar that I picked up at Cracker Barrel)!! and hopefully, our daughter will want to pay us a visit here soon. But not until mom and dad get back into the state... Mom said she'd be back to Idaho by my birthday which is the 22nd, and last I knew they were in the Dakotas (that was last Tuesday) Noel and I have also got the nursery pretty much ready to go. The bassinett will go in our room, and we've got a crib, dresser/chaning table, rocking chair with ottoman, and all other other little things so necessary to raising a baby.

So that's the long-winded version. Sorry for the bad punctuation, but I've got a Physical therapy appointment to get to and then on to work for a couple hours... mainly I need to get my time in so I can get paid next week!

Well, two nights ago I was sitting on our sofa reading, and after about 15 minutes realized that I'd had quite a few Braxton Hicks contractions, so I started timing them. From start to start they were about 3 to 5 minutes apart lasting 45 to 60 seconds each. The doc had said to come in if I got more than 6 an hour for two hours, so when Noel got home (one hour later - and appx 25 contractions later) we went out for dinner, where I told him (after we ordered) that I was having contractions and we decided to just go to the hospital after we ate. (I knew if I was going into pre-term labor that I'd better get something on my stomach since I knew they wouldn't feed me at the hospital) So anyway, we got there and they hooked my up to the external fetal moniter and Noel and I watched my contractions. We noticed that they subsided considerably once we got to the hospital. I hope that's not a prelude of things to come! I mean, I hear so much about women that go into labor and get to the hospital and their contractions just peter out and then they go home and they start back up again. Anyway, they did give me a shot of terbutaline to stop the contractions I was still having (they did do an internal and found I wasn't dilated at all) which caused the shakes to come on. Wow, not something I'd like to have again. Anyway, we were there for 2 hours and then they let us go, so luckily no cause for concern. Well, that's the latest...

Well, Noel brought a flashlight to bed last night... trying to see the baby. When I asked if he could see anything, he said "no, just some big veins" It was interesting, anyway!

I chatted with my doctor about my birth plan... like no episiotomy. He basically told me if he thought I needed one, he'd give me one. I'm hoping to avoid it. I'd rather tear... from everything I've gotten my hands on, the healing time is quicker. And there ARE ways to avoid an episiotomy, although if you listened to my doctor you wouldn't think so. Hmph, well anyway. Other stuff on my birth plan I think will go okay. I don't want a C-section, but I've read up on them to get prepared, just in case. I'm hoping to go with no pain meds, and when I mentioned my birth plan to the nurse, she said it will probably end up (most if not all of it) going out the window when the time comes... her attitude was a little discouraging. Maybe I'll use a nurse midwife at a birthing center for the next baby. It's a little late now to switch, probably. That's it for now.

It seems I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions and didn't know it! I just thought it was the baby pushing her butt up hard into me, but I've recently discovered that that's just not it. It's a tightening all over my belly and my whole uterus gets really hard. I've been marking down the times each one comes and as of last count, (since 7am this morning - it's 2:40 right now) I've had 20 of them. They come sometimes as much as an hour apart and as close as 10 minutes together. It seems like a lot, but I think I read somewhere that you shouldn't be concerned unless you have more than 4 an hour. So far I've had 4 an hour at some points, but no more than that. They don't hurt at all, just make me feel a little uncomfortable. And they are all really irregular in length and time between contractions.

Anyway, on another note, I'm doing some physical therapy for my back/hip pains and have exercises to do. Noel helps with some of them. I've got another appointment PT next Monday and another baby appointment Tuesday. I think they'll do the Group B Strep test then, but I'm not sure... I know we've got another ultrasound appointment coming up, too. I've been thinking that I'm going to want as natural a birth as possible... it seems like if your water breaks and you don't start labor in 12 hours, then the docs want to induce because of risk of infection. So you get put on pitocin, which causes HARD, PAINFUL, FREQUENT contractions that most women can't handle, so then you get put on an epidural which tends to slow down labor, and then if you haven't delivered in 24 hours, it's C-section time. Ugh, I'm going to try like heck to go w/out any inductions. (At least not Pitocin - I've also heard it causes a delay with your milk coming in) I'll take prostoglandins if I qualify! I've written up a birth plan that I'm going to give to the nurses and doctor. It's all worded very nicely.
Okay, that's it for now...

Well, we had our childbirth education class this past Saturday. We did an all-day class, so it was long, but we brought snacks, blankets and pillows and got a bit of a lunch break.
The class was given in a birthing center, not a hospital, and we took a quick tour. The place was small, but decorated like a home. It had 5 birthing rooms that were done up like fancy hotel rooms, with one having a LARGE old-fashioned claw foot tub for hydrotherapy and giving birth in water. All the others also had large tubs with jets and plenty of room for visiting friends and family. They were nice, but the rooms over at the hospital where I'll give birth were nice, too. They were larger and were similar to a large hotel room with pictures on the wall, and nice cabinets and comfy chairs and one room had a cot for someone to sleep or nap on. Most of the rooms have jacuzzi tubs, but some just have showers... we have to remember to request a room with a jacuzzi tub upon admittance. I guess it's not first come first serve, but first "ask". hehe

So, back to the class... there were videos... one of 3 different birth scenarios. One with no pain med's, one with a narcotic given, and one with an epidural. They also had differing coaching methods. One couple had a doula, for instance. Which for those who don't know is like a trained birthing partner that helps you through the whole process. We saw a video on breastfeeding that was pretty good since I will go that route, if all works well. There was some lecture time and we practiced wrapping a baby snugly in a blanket as well as saw how to diaper a baby. We were taught a couple of different labor positions, which is why we brought our blankies and pillows, and were taught some breathing techniques... the guys got to learn how to count with us through a contraction when we get to the pushing phase and how to bring us out of a possible panic scenario if our contractions suddenly start to double. Noel did really well... we both did, I think, and we've got some exercises to practice, so I think we'll be a good team for when the time comes.

We also went through some massages and different ways for the coaches to hold us to relieve some tension. It was pretty informative all in all... I just wish there was a little more spent on the breathing technicques... we didn't go over panting or Lamaze or the Bradley method, just taking deep breathes to get through contractions, and using some visual imagery as a focal point during the active phase of labor.
I've decided I'm going to try to go natural the whole way. I understand that the pushing phase can be longer with an epidural, plus you have to be catheterized (yuck, don't want to go there) although that's probably going to be a minor deal when compared with the relief I'd get. If I do an epidural, I'd probably try to time it so that it would wear off right as I'm about the start pushing so I could feel everything and have a shorter pushing time. But who knows what will happen when the time comes...

I've drawn up a birth plan for what my ideal labor and delivery scenario would entail. Noel and I are flexible, and we understand that not everything will happen as we want, but I've been informed that it's a nice way to let everyone know beforehand some of the things that are important to you. For instance, I don't want an episiotomoy unless there's a chance of extensive tearing... I want to delay the use of an IV for as long as possible. I want Noel to be able to cut the cord... I want to be able to hold the baby after birth unless there's complications, and I want to go natural and not have pain med's pushed on me unless I ask for them or I'm just getting totally exhausted. That's the bare bones of it. Oh, and since I want to breastfeed, I don't want bottles or pacifiers give to the baby.

I worded it in a really nice way so it wouldn't come off sounding like a list of demands, because of course I don't want any disgruntled nurses thinking I'm telling them how to do their job. They are they for my safety and health and if for some reason most of my requests can't be met, then that's fine as long as everyone comes out safe and sound.

Well, time to adios. Gotta get to work.

Seems I'm writing less and less as time goes by, but recently there hasn't been too much new going on. I'm getting bigger... I've gained 12 pounds and the doc seems to think that's right on. I'm two months away from my delivery date and I'm 31 weeks now. It seems as though my belly has gotten a bit more translucent. There's a darkish circle that I can see around my belly button, too. I've also got the start of that line that travels vertically through the belly button.

Recently (as of 3 days ago) I started having extreme pain in my left lower back and hip area... I would step down on my left foot and that would trigger the pain. It was so bad Noel had to carry me to the car as we were coming out of a movie. I had to use a wheelchair when we wanted to go through Home Depot and afterwards I decided to rent a pair of crutches, because what happens if he's not around and I'm stranded in the middle of a parking lot because this nerve seizes up? Anyway, I mentioned it to the doc and they advised physical therapy. The nurse thinks it's the Sciatic nerve. I've heard about that nerve, too... but usually in the context of actually labor, where the baby is pressing on it and it's so painful that it distracts from the need to push. Usually, right away in the morning I'm fine, but after I've been walking a bit, it will get irritated and start hurting. So, I've got my crutches and I'm looking at 10 weeks of physical therpy - less if the therapy takes care of it.

So, the new house is still a mess... we're still unpacking and we got a new bed, so the old mattress and box springs are in the babies room... preventing me from doing anything further decorating wise. I'll be glad when that stuff it out of there. We've got a stove and dishwasher to sell, since we've upgraded, so I need to put that stuff in the newspaper classifieds.

Well, that's it for now. I'll try to post a bit more frequently... we've got a childbirth education class coming up this Saturday, so I'll try to remember to post and let everyone know how it went.

More hiccups as I write... they get a bit stronger every time. She's really moving a lot now, and seems to press up hard at times. It might be a head or maybe her back and butt, not sure. I had to gently move her back down the other day cause she was just killing me! Nothing that's caused shortness of breath yet, though... so that's good.

Noel and I are into our new house and are still unpacking. I took it upon myself to paint the nursery. I've always wanted a yellow room, and since Noel wouldn't let me do the master bedroom in that color, then the nursery is the room that got chosen. It's a pretty pale yellow, too... I'll get some lacy white curtains to go with it hopefully.
Speaking of curtains, we've ordered blinds for some of our windows and they will look really nice! We chose the valencia kind for the family room... they're like a typical vertical or horizontal slat style blind, except they've got a white mesh like material in front and back and the actual slat is fabric, not plastic. We did some cellular blinds for the other windows... should look good. They'll be here in about 2 weeks.

Noel and I have gotten some dates for the childbirth education classes and will be attending those in either August or early September. I'll let everyone know how those go. They should be fun... and educational, of course!
Well, gotta go. That's about it for now!

Hiccups! For the first time, I'm feeling them this morning. They're not as annoying as some people say they are... pretty cool, in fact. You know I made the mistake of looking at our credit card statement earlier this morning and got pretty depressed. We won't go into debt or anything, but I was still worried... and now feeling the hiccups, my mood has turned right around. Yay! I'm happy.

So it's the day after the 4th. I was up watching fireworks at our neighbors place, and didn't get to sleep till 12:30am, then up for work at 4:30am, so I'm tired but it's worth it. It was the first 4th that Noel and I got to celebrate together in 4 years. So pretty cool.
We're in the house and it's very nice. I've been trying to take it easy, but the day of the move was killer on my feet. Once the bed and sofa were gone, there wasn't much to sit on except the kitchen table chairs, and they were taken out from under me at one point by the movers. Ah well... so much for a break. But Noel had his friend Sky help out and mom was over towards the afternoon to help out, too, so that was wonderful. We're now unpacking and mom again helped out and stayed over a night in the new place to help me get the basics (kitchen) set up.
We planned to put some of our own money into the down payment, but the papers were drawn up without it included, so we decided to use that money that we had set aside to put into home improvements... new stove (flat-top), new dishwasher (the one in the home just didn't get stuff clean, period) and of course we need blinds for all of the rooms. We're going with some of the cellular kinds that Noel likes, even though they're a bit more expensive. We also need a new mattress, but that's one of our "needs". It seems like we've spent a lot, and I'm worried that we're eating into the reserve that we've built up for the baby, but I think we'll be fine. I've got a few more paychecks that we're putting right into savings, so we'll be okay.
Baby-wise, I'm getting bigger. I apologize to those who had requested pics and haven't gotten them yet. I can't find the ultrasound pics, (I'm hoping Noel still has them on his computer) but if not hopefully someone can email them back to me if you still have them saved. I'm also trying to get pictures of my advancing pregnancy to send out, but with the move it's been hectic, plus I'm not sure where the camera is! Too bad I can't post pics here...

Well, our little girl has become quite regularly active. So active that I'm sometimes only aware of her when I haven't felt her move in awhile. Then of course the worries set in, but she always starts kicking again. I'll be starting to get the nursery up and going here soon. I'll have Noel get the heavy stuff up there and then I've got my friend Patty coming over on Wednesday to help me unpack, so we might tackle that room. It will be nice to see the crib set up and the walls painted.

I'll write more later...

Well, we're signing on the dotted line on the 30th... it's coming up quick. I managed to get that day off from work, so at least I can help move! It should be interesting...we've got lots of stuff already packed and we have movers coming to help with the large stuff. The only thing I'm worried about is sleep deprivation during this whole thing. I'm on nights this weekend and have to be bright-eyed and awake by 8am wednesday because that's when we sign. Then we move the whole day. I work the next day (night shift) but at least by that time I'll have a bed set up in the new house to take a nap in. The baby is growing more and more each day, it seems like. She already seems to have her nap times figured out. Like right now she's really quiet. Haven't felt a kick in awhile. My belly button is finally sticking out now, and I've got that faint vertical line that runs down the middle of my tummy starting to show. My abdominal muscles look strange now when I use them... popping out in a ridge-like way. Freaked me out the first time, because I was half leaning back in the sofa and was lifting my upper body to get up. The muscles just kind of popped up in this weird way... at first I thought it was the baby, but my mother reassured me. Anyway, she's really active and I can feel her head usually, especially when she's moving a lot. I was pressing in on my lower tummy the other day (not hard, don't worry) and I felt something move inside. I realized that I had shifted something. At first, when I didn't feel her move for awhile I was having these dread thoughts that I had broken her neck or some other horrific thing like that, but when she started moving with gusto, I quickly put those thoughts aside. So, I've made some "discoveries" along the way, and it's all cool. My pregnancy is going so well, I'm just hoping to get through this next weekend and get moved in quickly.

Okay, it's been awhile since I've written. But Noel and I have found a new house and are closing the same day as we close on our current home which will be the 30th of June. Both ourselves and the new owner will be moving out/in the same day. It's going to be a bit strange. He's got to be out of his apartment since his lease is up and we can't move in any earlier since we have to wait till the close date. (We bought a new home) So it'll be interesting.

Regarding the baby, all I can say is she's growing. I now weigh 134, so I've gained about 12 pounds from where I started out. She's moving a lot now, and I'm feeling more rolls and swishes rather than just kicks. I can tell when she's literally turning around. It's really neat. If Noel's around I have him feel, too. He's pretty into it.
We had a doc appt last Monday and he said everything is going well. They measured my belly this time, (can't remember the actual measurement) and the next time I go in I'll do the glucose test. That should be fun :{ I've heard that it's pretty nasty. Well, that's it for now. I'll chat again when I have time. Most of it will be taken up getting things boxed up for the move, though.

Well it's time for an update. I've just entered my 23rd week, which is officially (according to the books) the beginning of the 6th month. I'm feeling and looking bigger every day and Noel and I need to get another pic of me and and my ever-burgeoning belly! haha I'll be needing to get some more maternity clothes, because the jeans I bought are getting a wee bit tight and my skirts are starting to wear thin!

On another note, we've sold our house! We were offered $1000. less than what we wanted, which was 105,900. so we decided to take it. The only thing is we have to be in new quarters by the 1st of next month, so that means we need to find a house fast if we have any hope of avoiding having to go into an apartment temporarily. I think we can do it though. Tonight Noel and I are going out with our realtor after work to see some houses and we both have off next week Monday and Tuesday so we can look at more houses then, as well. Mom and Dad are up in the area and mom and I have been doing some quilting. I was mainly doing the top stitching on some charity quilts she's making. She's also been helping me box up some books, movies, and pictures and stuff on our mantle and entertainment center. So we've made a little bit of progress. I really want to get the majority of the stuff moved before I get too much bigger, or I fear I'll be no help at all! But we're planning on getting movers, so everything should work out all right!

Our little girl is very active. I haven't experienced the infamous hiccups yet, but I fully expect to! This morning I laid with my belly to Noel's back and we just both felt her kick for awhile. She's all over the place, too! My uterus is up even with my belly button now, and it's funny trying to guess which are knees, feet or elbows. Pretty cool! Well, that's all for now. I'll try to keep up with this blog best I can, though it might be a bit more hit and miss while we're finding a new house!

Yes, I haven't written in a while... but there's really not a whole lot different going on baby-wise. There's lots of movement now, and it's nice feeling her presence all the time. We've come up with the name McKenna, which was actually suggested by a co-worker of Noels... and lo and behold we actually both like the name! We've got it on our hot list of names (which is woefully tiny) but hey, we're getting there. We've decided if we name her that it will be McKenna Marie Noel, which I think is beautiful and ties in another family name, since Marie is used quite a bit on Noel's side. I told him the next kid will have to have some HUNT/HYNICK/SMITH in it! haha

Well, other than baby stuff, the house hunting is going well... We've seen lots of places that we really like but they always come short some way... either price or space or location. Right now we're looking at Corey Barton Homes... we like the Montico or the Tatom floorplans. They are both two-story so there would be extra backyard space, plus both homes are in either 1900 some or 2000 some square feet. One other bonus is that the washer/dryer are UPSTAIRS where all of the bedrooms are! And the space in the utility room is great for folding clothes... and the master bedrooms are large with really big walk in closets. But, we do have a great realtor who is keeping her eye out for other houses that we might like. We've decided if we go for Corey Barton, we're willing to pay more for the nicer subdivision. It's a lot closer to groceries, freeway, etc... the other subdivision is miles from the freeway and Noel's carpool buddy, and he really wants to be closer to amenities... and I just have this feeling that the area is going to explode in a really nice way. The subdivision has the nicer homes that he buids, too... which we like. If you go to www.coreybartonhomes.com and click on "floorplans" you can see the Montico and the Tatom. We also saw the Valencia, which has a master bedroom the size of our garage times two! It was huge, but at $158,000. it was out of our price range. So we'll see what happens. One thing I'd like is to put a fireplace in the wall between the living/family rooms, so you can see it from both sides. I think that would be really cool and they do that in some of their other models.

Okay, in regards to our own home, we've listed at 107,900. and have had one family see it so far (it's only been a week and a half) and the realtor that showed it said the only thing they didn't like was that the backyard wasn't big enough. Which, unfortunately we can't do anything about. And I'm still in the process of moving fish tanks. All of the them are empty except the large 80 gallon in the guest bedroom, which isn't in anyones way. I'll be able to move the entertainment center out from in front of the fireplace once I get some of the empty tanks moved. Man, I'll have to cut back on fish once baby is born.

Okay, well that's it for now.