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June 28, 2008
my dad rocks.
so does my mom.
but they call me a slave driver. i don't understand why? i only had a list of 23 things for them to help with. and we (i mean they) made it through #14. i was pretty sure that anything beyond #15 was going to be a pipe dream, but hey - a girl can dream, right?
dan came down with the good old fashioned flu bug on Monday, coupled with a viral gastro enteritis and even today isn't back to 100%. he hasn't worked since Wednesday morning, and pancakes this morning was the first solid food he's had, unless you count saltine crackers or jello! then yesterday i didn't work a full day b/c i was getting the same yucky tummy feeling. i slept 3 1/2 hours and spent most of the rest of the day on the couch.
read about and see where we were in April. since then, we've just been whittling away at it. mostly because of excessive exhaustion on my part b/c of Tiger's growth spurts, but also due to the departure of various friends...
dan, earlier this month, insulating behind the tile backer, and the old window hole/new framing
dan, last weekend, on his way into the attic to install the evacuator fan and light in the shower
where we were with the shower last weekend, before mom and dad arrived
so while dan and i were either at work or sick, mom and dad did all this:
(the b's and c's were what They added to my initial list)
1. remove and store screen door off back entry and remove entry door trim
2. move mud room contents to garage/basement/living room
3. remove and store insulation from mud room
4. remove old siding from mud room and bathroom
5. build new stud wall in mud room (the bathroom already has a stud wall)
6. hang new siding (4x8 sheets are pre-primed in the garage)
here dad is holding a trim piece that says "DAVE HEERES I WAS HERE 6/25/08" but you probably can't read that...
-6b. painted new siding and trim
-6c. caulked edges where the new siding meets the brickwork
-6d. installed "shoe molding" trim around perimeter of siding
7. install new window (glass block), including install of durock inside frame
8. hang new door (we already bought it and it's the same size but a different orientation), use existing lockset.
-8b. rehung old screen door
9. insulate mud room, using insulation from #3
-9b. used extra siding from exterior on interior of mud room
-9c. painted, caulked
10. hang durock in shower
11. build cubbie in shower above knobs using thin durock
12. finesse the floor - pour a skim-coat of concrete to make the water flow Towards the drain
13. tape/mud durock seams
14. build threshold into shower
And they cleaned the Garage. and washed the bike. and did a Bunch of laundry, dishes, and nurse-maiding.
#15 was to lay the floor tile in the shower, and we didn't get there because the concrete was (and is still) drying/curing. we thought finessing the floor might entail sanding down around the drain, but instead of knocking Down the high spots, dad brought Up the low spots. maybe, just Maybe, later today i can lay that floor tile and then grout it monday. and seriously, we thought getting to #11 would be phenomenal.
and here's the top of the cubbies and the header where we've left Some brick exposed, and the other side of the shower entrance where you can see the old porch ceiling, and the faucet knobs, a mop bucket spigot and the threshold.
beautiful isn't it?
so how to thank them? i hardly know where to begin.
your host for this episode : carrie; 10:16 AM | Comments (0)
the Tiger widget
i just figured out how to get the widget to work - and so now you can see our progress. you can click there on the link to the side and read all about the pregnancy, week by week. there's a different 3D graphic each week and the weekly news gets delivered to my inbox on Thursday for the next week (which starts on Sunday for us). the widget updates automatically.
and no we don't know if we're having a boy or a girl. we don't mind either way and hope that you don't either. and even if the ultrasound tech doesn't heed our wishes to not know and she waves the wand over the parts that would let us know - we're not gonna tell you! so there ;-) if you see something really cute that's gender specific, you can buy it for us, but please get a receipt so it can be exchanged if it's the "wrong" gender. and remember we like orange...
i'm happy to report that all queasiness has ceased, the extreme exhaustion has subsided, and i'm in maternity clothes almost all the time. i have one pair of (low-rise) jeans that still fit, and a couple of non-maternity shirts that i can still pull off, but the belly is starting to peak out. i suppose soon we should start taking pictures of it, what do you think?
next on the docket is to write an entry about this past week: my mom and dad came down monday and were here until friday morning, slaving away on our back entrance and bathroom... stay tuned.
your host for this episode : carrie; 09:52 AM | Comments (3)
June 01, 2008
there's a new star of our show...
we've been on pins and needles for weeks to tell you... we are pregnant!!!
God has blessed us with another child - Tiger is our third, if you count the two that we've lost.
today marks twelve weeks and it was completely unaided. we had just started investigating fertility treatments and trying to figure out "what's wrong with us", gotten the test back that, while possible, our chances of a natural conception were low, and then three days later i ovulated and we conceived. praise God! we know so many people were in prayer for us for this, and we really feel like He has answered. i must say, the last year had been quite hard on me and i wasn't owning up to the grief that i was going through over the first two losses. when i started to own up to it and process through it, things really started to get better. we find it kind of amusing that our conception occurred on Easter, the day celebrated as Jesus' resurrection and triumph over death and sin. maybe "amusing" isn't the right word... fitting? ironic? such a blessing anyway.
12 weeks is the furthest we've made it, and this time we've had 2 ultrasounds already, one at 7 weeks and 1 day, and we saw the tiniest little fluttering heartbeat and already little nubs of arms and legs, and the second at 10w1d and those little nubs had turned into full-on arms and legs with hands and feet and even fingers waving :) doc says everything looks great, baby is healthy and well, and we have "no reason to not believe that this is the one!" yippee!! i'm so giddy.
from what i'm reading 12 weeks is when you can determine by ultrasound whether it's a boy or girl - but i don't want to know!!! we've taken to calling him Tiger, so as to avoid the "it" that so many use. and frankly with the english language, the gender neutral is "he" but if i do that people will start to suspect that i know! and i don't... i'm suspecting that this one is a boy. but i'll be happy with a boy Or a girl. as long as he (or she) comes out breathing. healthy and well would be good too...
based on the doctor's read of the situation, coupled with the fact that this is the furthest we've made it, we are now confident that by Christmas we will be cradling our little Tiger in our arms. and no, Tiger will not be his (or her) name but i refuse to call my child an "It"! so, for now - and maybe always - his nickname is Tiger.
please continue in prayer with us that Tiger will indeed be born healthy and well, and that i would regain some level of energy (the first trimester has been really difficult), and that daddy dan would be able to handle all my emotional, hormonal swings!
check this out, from babycenter.com
12 Weeks:
Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.
Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over two inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.
your host for this episode : carrie; 08:09 AM | Comments (9)