Turkey Day in West Bend

Scott and I spent our second turkey day away from our own immediate families yesterday (his first was when he was in Europe - my first was during my Peace Corp stint). Since we already celebrated an early Thanksgiving in Ohio in October (cheaper flights then), this year we packed the car and headed to West Bend, WI where Scott's aunt lives.

It was YUMMY. Thank you Tolly, Steve, Jenn, Jim, Brad, Bailey, Sadie, and Sequel for some GREAT memories. We did NOT leave the house all day (with the exception of Scott and Steve picking up a movie - Tropic Thunder - do NOT recommend it :). Otherwise, we talked, cooked, ate, read, napped, drank, talked, ate, played cards, ate, and then ultimately slept. Great day.

By Thursday...

... I'm tired. And, even though I could do without TV every other night of the week, Thursday is a TV treat night to myself... Just bundle up in some PJs, get horizontal, and plan on some no-thinking-no-hassle-no-conversation drama-watching. Last year The Office was how I spoiled myself. This year Grey's Anatomy snuck right up and bumped The Office out of its position.

Speaking of which... 8:00 central, 9:00 eastern is ticking closer.

FYI, if the phone rings, I won't answer it tonight.

Where Jackson's Socks Go

Every few days, I have to use this "sock fetcher" (a used wrapping paper roll) to collect all of Jman's socks. EVERY nap starts with socked feet and ends with bare feet. And this is where they go: between the wall and the crib rail. Heaven forbid he do his sock-tossing over the outer edge of the crib, where retrieval is much less of a hassle. It's his thing, God love him.

Jackson-man smiling with sunglasses (even though we don't need them here at the moment) and experimenting with play-doh

Hope

I had been told by a slew of folks back in Ohio who originally were from or visited frequently to Minnesota that I would be delightfully surprised at how much more sunny and blue-skied the winters in Minnesota were compared to those in OH.

So I got myself all pumped up, thinking: "I can handle this! I've always said, sunny is just as if not MORE important than warm. Sunny skies, HERE WE COME!"

The past two weeks, grey, overcast, dreary skies have been Mother Nature's choice here in Rochester. I was just beginning to think that those encouraging words from folks back in Ohio were just hollow warm-fuzzies to keep my psychi positive.

But in the past two days, I have found that the Minnesotans around here have begun complaining and griping and seem all-out TICKED about the grey-ness. Ahhhh. I find this to be VERY comforting. Complaints = Hope, as far as I'm concerned! It's convincing evidence that, although I am intimately familiar with several, several days in a row of drear (got trained well in Cleveland and Columbus), Minnesotans are NOT. And they want their skies back.

Thank you, Minnesotans for vocalizing your impatience with Mother Nature. My hope is restored.

Half Way There!

20 weeks pregnant today.

"Sesame" is half way cooked!

I love him/her so much.

Tonight when I was rocking with Jackson right before laying him down, we were snuggling so closely that Sesame's kicking HAD to be penetrating into Jackson's side. If he weren't SO EXHAUSTED, he may have actually noticed (note: tiredness due not only to a short afternoon nap but also to Family Night at House of Bounce, a new when-winter-is-making-you-stir-crazy option here in Rochester which involves LOTS of inflatables...).

Can you believe Jackson is gonna have a sibling? It still doesn't seem real. As I told KK today, I am practicing with Jackson on the task of holding his mother's hand (without protest or handcuffs necessary) when walking from the car to a store or across the street or in a parking lot, instead of just hauling him around on my hip (the more convenient time-wise way yet more physically inconvenient way.) Cuz when I have an infant carrier in the crook of one elbow, I'd imagine Jackson is gonna be walking on his own two feet if we're going anywhere out and about!

Imagine this:

My husband retracing his steps through Hyvee (comparable to Kroger here in MN) last night in an effort to reclaim a coupon he dropped.

So cute.

I had purchased the WAY-generic diapers the last time I picked them up, and the darn things ripped like crazy and the tabs lost their sticky tabs and the whole thing was a mess. So I spent some tedious time reporting this dissatisfaction to their customer service line (expecting to get a couple packs free, mind you), only to be offered a $2 off coupon in the mail. Whoopdeedoo.

So when Scott volunteered last night to go grocery shopping for me (LOVE HIM FOR THAT!), I was thrilled to accompany my list with that diaper coupon along with one for a free bottle of Kraft dressing (nearly $3!). I was so proud of myself for saving our family almost 5 buckaroonees!

He came home giggling at himself, reporting that about 3/4 of the way through the grocery trip, he realized the coupons in his hand were missing. The typical Scott- in an effort to get the job DONE and get it done QUICKLY - would have let it go and proceeded with the task at hand without thinking twice about it. But, knowing how the diaper debocle had become a matter of principle to me and how excited I was to get a free bottle of dressing, he retraced his steps, head down, combing each of the previous aisles he had been down. He probably let out a victorious yelp when he found them, all the while thinking how funny it would be to tell me.

Good husband award for yesterday, earned by Scott Gibson Arthur.

Winnter Wonderland to Slushy Wonderland

We awoke yesterday morning to a snow-blanketed Rochester. Simply beautiful. I love that feeling (regardless of age) when I first wake up in the morning and note the blinds are letting more brightness through than the time of morning warrants. And then , to open them and find that, indeed, it was not sunlight causing the brightness but a fresh coat of snow! In yesterday's case, the coat was VERY VERY thin, and melted rapidly But the ambiance of snow falling lasted all day long. When slush resulted, Jackson decided to put on his new rubber boots from Gma Lynette and stumble around in the yard (stumble is the best you can do when your shoes come up to your knees!). I tried to get a shot of one last remaining leaf pile with snow atop it!

Kicking...

...and a kicking and a kicking. Somebody is a little ramunctious tonight. It's SESAME! Sesame is our in-utero name for the soccer pro inside me. We got it from a description in week like 5 or 6 of the size of the fetus being that of a "sesame seed."

Do you think the hyper nature of Sesame tonight could be the result of the left-over-Halloween-candy-sugar-rush I am feeding him/her?

Wait. Hold the train. That reminds me... Have I mentioned that during the ultra sound last week, Scott and I asked to NOT know the gender? And that we (or rather "I" as the next sentence details) did an ultra-disciplinary job of looking away when the technician told us she was going "down there?" And that Scott claims he "SAW SOMETHING" during a mini peak session? Hmmm. Clearly, still no guarantees (who is my husband now, DR. Arthur?). But let's just say Scott feels confident enough that he's been focusing his name-hunting efforts on the "BOY'S" lists. We'll find out on the day of delivery if Scott's siting was accurate! The anticipation is great, ain't it?

Trick or Treat, Tree Planting, and Adopted Mom in Action

My adopted Mom, Becky, came for a visit this weekend. She reminds me a lot of Mom, in that she jumps right into whatever we are doing. So when I called her on last Thursday, the night before she arrived, and asked her to pack any safari tour guide kind of clothing she could dig up, she arrived without disappointing!

Jackson was the cutest giraffe ever. Scott was the most handsome elephant ever. I was a pretty knock-out lion. And Becky was leading the pack in her tour guide attire. We were quite the Motley Crew on Halloween night. (Bare in mind, Scott and my Halloween costumes were purchased only hours before-hand and consisted of those cheap plastic noses. We tried!).

Becky even was a good enough sport to accompany us to a small little Halloween party that night, hosted by Troy and Marie, friends of Scott and mine from his work. The picture with the kids below is the whole bunch. As you can tell, the house was full of energy, as we ate, chatted, and the kids asked every few minutes, "So, again, how many pieces of candy am I allowed to eat tonight???" It was awesome.

We also got the chance to plant Duncan's tree, a dogwood similar to the one planted by my girlfriends in Columbus at the Park of Roses. It was a GORGEOUS day here on Saturday, and Becky was such a spirited contribution to the whole process. We blew bubbles and sprinkled fun rose petals (with Becky's inspiration) as we silently dedicated the tree. It was really nice.

I will spare you the long list of REALLY GREAT things that got done in and around our home with Super Becky in action. Let's just say that when I puled in the driveway from work Monday (she didn't fly out that morning till 12:30, so she had the morning on her own in our house), Becky was outside raking leaves and when I entered the house, it felt like a cleaning lady had been through. There's the phrase "outstaying your welcome." With those kind of selfless services, Becky can outstay her welcome whenever she wants to! Ha.

Below is a smorgasboard (sp?) of pics from the weekend. Good times.