Sweet Child of Mine

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted anything here. Well, there has been quite a lot going on but nothing I could really talk about because we felt it would be best to wait.

I'm pregnant :)

Yuppers, that's right. Baby #2 is on the way. And it has been super hard not talking about it for the last 3 months (I'm 3 months along now). We had a lot of difficulties with Keller with premature labor and 3 months of bed rest and we have already started having some issues with this one as well. So, we felt we wouldn't announce it to the world until we at least got out of the first trimester. There it is.

We're not completely out of the woods. I have to have surgery in a couple of weeks where they literally sew things up (internally, of course) to prevent the premature labor thing. Sorry to those that feel this is too much information. But it is what it is. It's called a cerclage in case you want to learn about it. It is pretty routine, though there are risks involved. Needless to say, I'm worried. Which is why we haven't told Keller yet. Though we think he probably already has an idea since my ever-expanding middle is quite noticeable.

The surgery is July 8th and I'll be on bed rest for the week afterward. Hopefully it will be the only week of the pregnancy, though we shouldn't get our hopes up.

We've already had like 7 sonograms, so I'm pretty familiar with this baby already. I had one today and it's looking so much like a baby now. It's weird because it's only just over 2 inches long, and it looks like a baby. It was stretching it's little legs out and rubbing its face with a little hand. It's getting in shape to start its marathon career. Or to at least keep up with Keller.

Keller, our boy wonder, has started in a new classroom last week. It's the preK room and he's doing well. Granted, it's only been a week, but he's gotten less reluctant each day. Today he even walked in there excitedly. Good sign! He continues to amaze us with the things he says and does. He spelled 'butterfly' on the way to swim lessons yesterday. We're hoping next year he can help us with our taxes.

I promise to post more frequently now that I'm allowed to talk about what's going on. You know I like to talk. A lot. So imagine how hard it's been for me to be silent. It's been torture, quite frankly. Be prepared for me to make up for lost time. :) And look out for next week when I'm on bed rest and have lots of time to pass...

Pour Some Sugar on Me

So, lately I've been on an 80s kick. I've been playing my theme song quite a bit (Don't Stop Believing by Journey). I've been playing it so much that Keller now requests it EVERY time we're in the car. And I have to sing. It's awesome. We were even rocking out to Bon Jovi and Cheap Trick over the weekend. My kid is cool.

Anyway, I'm in the car this afternoon and Def Leopard comes on. Every time I hear Def Leopard I am instantly reminded of my Oma. This is my dad's mother (Oma is German for 'grandma'). Oma was quite the lady. We have many funny stories about Oma. So, why would a band like Def Leopard remind me of my Oma?

Well, I guess I need to give some background here. Oma lived with us from when I was about six until I graduated high school. She was a special lady and by that I mean she drove us all crazy. Don't get me wrong, we loved her dearly, but the woman was interesting, to say the least. She had a hearing aid (which she called her 'ear') and couldn't hear a darn thing without it. Her room was next to mine, which was a lot of fun for me. She had her own phone line which rang off the hook day and night. And she would yell into the phone because she couldn't hear half the time.

Again, what does this have to do with Def Leopard? Well, one afternoon I was minding my own business watching some MTV. Def Leopard was on, though I don't remember what video it was. Oma comes into the den to see what I'm doing, trying really hard to be a part of my life (God bless her). Anyway, she asked me what I was watching and I told her it was a band named Def Leopard. Here is kind of how the conversation went:

Oma: What are you watching?
Me: MTV
Oma: What is that?
Me: It shows music videos.
Oma: Oh. Who is that?
Me: Def Leopard.
Oma: Who?
Me: Def Leopard.
Oma: What?
Me: Def Leopard (I'm seriously getting annoyed at this point).
Oma: Dead who?
Me: DEF LEOPARD
Oma: Dead Lovebirds? Who would name their band Dead Lovebirds?
Me: I don't know, them I guess.

I laugh every time I hear Def Leopard and I think of my Oma. What a character.

I Dreamed a Dream

So, it's Thursday, which means it's jury duty day. So, as you can imagine, I'm not in the best of moods. The day didn't start out right, with some BS I had to deal with all before 8:00 AM. I won't go into it, but I basically think some people in this world just don't give a rat's behind about how they treat people. Needless to say, I was on the receiving end of someone's lack of compassion.

Then I spend a glorious day in jury duty hearing about all the wonderful residents of Montgomery County. I mean, really. We have some real prize citizens here. UGH.

When I'm done today, I drown my sorrows at DSW. Yes, I know, it's not the healthiest of things to do. But I did pick up some cute Spring/Summer shoes! I do feel a little better. :)

I also wanted to share this lovely video. Last night we saw this video of Susan Boyle, who competed in Britain's Most Talented show. She walks onstage to laughs and snickers. The audience thinks she's a joke. And then she sings. Oh man. I cried like a baby. This woman epitomizes the notion of never giving up your dream. Just stick with it, stay positive, and someday you will have your moment. And a moment she had. So, please watch this video and believe that you can have all you want in life too.

Here's the link

Baby Got Back

Whew. Home from a great weekend in NY. We didn't do a darn thing other than hang out with my family, eat a lot, and watch movies. It was wonderful.

Friday we colored Easter eggs, which was lots of fun. Keller and my dad did most of the coloring. Saturday it rained most of the day, so we weren't able to go to the Easter egg hunt in the park we were planning on attending. We had our own egg hunt Sunday morning. In fact, we had about 20 of them. And we continue to have them at home. It's Keller's new favorite past time. You can see all of our Easter weekend pictures here.

Sunday was nice. All the rain stopped, so after our egg hunts and Easter morning bread, we flew our kite. It gets crazy windy behind my parents' house, so it's a prime kite flying area. Keller was having some trouble keeping the kite in the air, but he loved the loops it would do. After that, we had a great meal with family we hadn't seen in a while. We left to come home at about 7:00 PM, which was the time most people decided to go wherever they were going. It took us about 3 hours to get to New Jersey, which is normally an hour and a half drive. It was miserable. The only bright spot was this billboard we saw a couple of times as we were leaving Brooklyn, before the Verrazano bridge. It said "Got Hemorrhoids?" And underneath this was the name of the clinic: the Proctology Clinic. And while this isn't especially funny, the second 'O' in Proctology was a butt. A big old butt. It's hilarious. See here:

We saw these particular billboards on the BQE. However, there is another one we see on the Belt Parkway. It doesn't have the butt-as-an-'O' but it does still have the butt. Here's this one:

I have to say, that's pretty effective advertising. I wonder who's butt it is?

Bullet the Blue Sky

I was on the way to work yesterday morning and the car in front of my had those little bullet hole stickers all over the back. You know, those stickers that make the car look like it's been riddled with bullets. Why would one put those idiotic things on their car? What does it really say? That you're a bad ass? Because, to me, it just says that you're an ass.

Because I'm deep in a rant, when did Easter become so commercialized? I know it's always been an opportunity to sell candies and stuffed bunnies, but it's getting out of hand. I was at Target and it was a little overwhelming. All the different types of Easter baskets, toys, clothes, candy, decorations, etc. I mean, we give Keller an Easter basket and do the egg coloring and hunting, but it's not like it's prime present opening time. It's ridiculous.

Now I feel better.