Baby Thoughts

The reality that I am having a baby is starting to set in. There is a crib in my dining room, I've started to feel the baby moving (woohoo!), and people are always asking me how I'm feeling. For a while, I didn't really feel pregnant. I knew it in my head, but it just didn't seem real. Now, with the expanding waistline and the fact that I can feel the baby from time to time, things are setting in.

As I have read on my friend Amy's blog lately, it is important that we be honest with ourselves and others on these issues. So I have to say, the whole concept of motherhood is quite scary to me. I have, for a long time, loved working and playing with kids in the 2-4 year old age range. And even now, those ages are much more appealing to me than newborns. While I love newborns and they are so cute, I have never been the person to run over and oooh and ahhh over newborns. So the fact that I am going to have one on my own is a little scary. I know everyone says, "Oh, it'll be different when it's your own," and I know that is true. But the fact is, I will still be dealing with the screaming in the middle of the night, changing diapers, nursing, and needing to watch the baby every waking moment (and probably many sleeping moments as well).

I am thankful that God built in 9 months to prepare us for motherhood. I don't think I could do it if it was just 2 or 3 months. At this point, though, I am almost half-way there - 18 weeks now! So I still have time to adjust to this whole idea - but not that much time. I am thankful that I don't have to be perfect and that God will give us grace as we learn.

A Hiking Adventure

Earlier in the week, I asked Scott if we could go somewhere today. So, we agreed that we would go somewhere, do something fun today. It was supposed to be 75 degrees according to the weather reports earlier in the week, but it turns out it was about 65, if that. We overslept so we had a slow start, but we finally left our house around 10:15 or so. We had to stop in Ellsworth to get some food, since I am completely low on groceries. But finally we were at Acadia National Park in Southwest Harbor area. We decided to climb Beech Mountain, because it looked like a short enough hike. When we got there, we let the dogs out to to go the bathroom and they met another dog, which they were excited about. Right about then, it started to pour. Oh, lovely. So we got into the car and decided to have lunch. It is interesting trying to make PB&J in a car with two dogs and plastic utensils. But finally we were able to eat and then the rain lightened up enough for us to start out on the hike. We gave the dogs some food and water, and got ready to go. Scott let go of Mia's leash to get his backpack ready, so I let go of Moxie so that I could get my sweatshirt on, etc. Well Moxie decided to get a head start on the trail, and Mia took off after him. No amount of whistling, yelling "food" or "treat", or their names caused them to turn around. I headed up the trail after them, and Scott was still at the car. At one point the trail split but I was pretty sure the dogs went up. Finally Mia came back to meet me, but Moxie was still no where to be seen or heard. Scott caught up with me and we went on up the trail. About 10 minutes later, we finally caught up with Moxie. I was relieved because I just keep picturing us going the whole trail and Moxie being way off in the woods somewhere and us not finding him.

Anyway, after that we tried holding their leashes, but Mia was basically pulling me up the slippery rocks. So I decided to let go of her because she is usually really good about coming back to us. Then a little later, Scott decided to try it with Moxie again. The first time, he took a very long time to come back. But then we just kept giving treats every time they came back to us, and by the end of our hike, Moxie was hardly going ahead of us at all. Once we finally reached the top, we met a few other people, but the dogs were good after the initial barking episode. Scott started up the fire tower, and the dogs with him, until the both realized they could look down and go scared. But a second try with some treats allowed them to go up as far as we could (it was closed at the top). It was so funny watching them, because they were still nervous but they did it.

Overall it was a great trip with some pretty views, despite the intermittent rain. After the hike, I convinced Scott (with some arm twisting) to go to Seawall. Seawall is one of my favorite places in the state, but today's stop was a short one. One of my favorite parts was when Moxie slipped and fell right into the ocean! So funny!

On the way home, we stopped at LLBean and Cadillac Mtn Sports, at Scott's request. Then we stopped in Hampden at McLaughlin's for lobster rolls. I was so craving lobster after driving by all the lobster pounds, so I was very happy when we got home and ate our lobster rolls. Yum!

A good day. Very tiring, but good.

New Crib!!!

We went to our friends' Matt & Elisha's house on Thursday night. It was great fun, especially to see their two daughters be so funny and entertaining. Their youngest, almost 3, has recently transitioned out of her crib. So, they decided to give us their crib! Wow, what a huge blessing. Here are some photos. It is in practically perfect condition, and it is pretty much what I would have picked out myself.

Movie & Play Reviews

I realize it's been too long since my last update, and I do have many things to share. First I will start with reviews of movies & a play I recently saw.

1. Dan in Real Life starring Steve Carell was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I laughed, I cried, and I just really enjoyed the entire movie. Steve Carell (from "The Office") is a great actor, and in this movie he is a widower and single father of 3 girls. He is also a writer and writes a column called "Dan in Real Life." I don't want to give away the plot, but the movie is basically about family, love, and what's really important in life. The daughters are at times completely mad at their father for various reasons, and one even screams out "You are a murderer of love!" which is one of my favorite parts of the movie. But they also love him deeply, and they are truly a family. As for family friendliness, the movie is rated PG-13 and is a lot "cleaner" than most other movies with that rating. There is some sexual innuendo, and a bit of minor language, but overall I felt it was good. You can check out PluggedIn for a more comprehensive review. This will definitely be a movie I will purchase.

2. Expelled with Ben Stein was a documentary showing how the concept of Intelligent Design is not allowed into the "scientific" circles of how the world began. Ben goes through many examples of scientists with more letters after their name than you can imagine who have been "expelled" from the scientific arena because of their openness to even discussing Intelligent Design. It is informative and actually funny in some parts, especially at the end when one of the top "experts" on evolution and a self-proclaimed athiest tries to explain why he doesn't believe there is a God. Or, I should say, he's somewhere between 50 and 99% sure there's not a God - he knows it's higher than 49%, but he's not willing to put a number on it. Hmmmm isn't he going to be surprised someday? Anyway, this was an excellent film. I recommend it to anyone who wants to be informed on how closed minded our academia is in the US. Whether you believe in evolution, creation, or intelligent design, this is worth watching.

3. Alice in Wonderland, a play starring Kelsey Burt, was a fabulous production. We saw this in Brooks, Maine, and the theater was packed out. The costumes, the music, the singing, and the actors were all fabulous. Kelsey did a wonderful job as Alice, and was quite entertaining to watch. The many other students who played the other roles were also great, all using facial expression as well as creative costumes to play their parts. Definitely the highlight of last weekend!

Well there will be more to come, as I have much more to update, but I wanted to start with this.

Wow, wow, wow, what a weekend

This has been a tiring weekend, and I'm about to go to bed so this will be short. Friday night we went to the church to be there with 18 teenagers for the 30 Hour Famine. The famine started at 12:30pm on Friday and went through 6:30pm Saturday. We met at the church at 7pm Friday night and had 24 hours full of "Tribe Games", free time, devotions, movies, etc. The one thing that was missing from the weekend that is usually present in all youth activities was FOOD! (I did eat, of course, since I am growing a baby).

It was a great weekend, but it was very tiring! We finished off the weekend on Saturday night with a big feast which all the parents brought. After cleaning up, Scott and I were finally able to come home and crash. This morning we went to Sunday School and 2nd service, since we were so tired. Then we stopped at the store on the way home and got some food for lunch. We had my mom, Paul, and my gram over for lunch. We had salmon, burgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, potatoes on the grill, salad, and more! It was delish.

After lunch, I spent time planting my flowers that I got at the perennial swap at church (oh yeah, that was also part of Saturday morning). While I was outside planting, I heard a beep and looked up and saw my wonderful friends Amy & Kevin!!! They drove in our driveway for a mere 5 minutes to say hi. It was SO wonderful to see them, even for a few minutes. Hopefully they'll be moving back to Maine sometime soon and maybe even live near us : )

So now, I've been totally relaxing, took a nap, and watched some mindless television. Although, Extreme Home Makeover was a real tear jerker tonight. Maybe I'm just more emotional...

Ok, now I'm saying goodnight.

Creative Memories FINAL Sale

Ok folks, I am truly getting rid of my inventory. All prices you see listed here are my cost - I'm not making a profit on selling these! Prices are negotiable, so I am even willing to go lower. This will be my final sale before they go on ebay or craig's list. This is a LONG list, and items will be first-come, first served.

12x12 Albums & Pages
Evergreen with Foil Wreath $26.60
Gold Dust Pages (2) $11.90
Natural Pages (2) $11.90
Baby Pages $16.80

8 ½ x 11 Albums & Pages
Cranberry Album $19.60
White Pages (2) $8.40

7x7 Albums & Pages
Bloomin’ Pink Album $14.00
Enchantment Coverset in lily pad (2) $11.90
Petal Coverset $10.50
Sky Coverset $10.50
Amore Coverset $14.00
Gold Dust Pages $7.35
Spargo Pages $7.35
Black Pages $7.35
Black ‘n Blue Pages (2) $5.00

PicFolio Albums
Cream Milestones (11x14) $30.80
Triumph Memory Chest (with tan $21.00
Minutes Album [6x7], Storybox
Metro, and storage box)

Organizers & Totes (40% off retail price)
12-inch DecoFile Organizer $10.80
File Mate $6.00
File Mate Folders (2) $4.80
DecoFile Decorative Supply Organizer with Folders $12.00
Makers Pocket $3.60
PowerSort Dividers (2) $2.80
NegCare Envelopes $4.80

Tools
Personal Trimmer (3) $13.65
12” Straight Trimmer (2) $13.65
Custom Cutting System (CCS) Mat & Blades (2) $16.80
Oval Patterns $9.80
Square Maker $14.00
Geometric Multi-Maker $18.20
Mini Square Maker $11.20
Corner Rounders (3) $5.60
Scissors $3.00

10x12 Paper Packs
Shades of Red, Orange, Amber, $4.20
Yellow, Green, Olive, Blue,
Purple, Pink, Black & White
Earthly Elegance $4.20
Garden Illusions $4.20
Coffeehouse $4.20
Rainbow $4.20
Asian Myabi $4.20
Ruled Paper - Black $.70

12x12 Perfect Fit Paper Packs
Perfect Fit… Oranges, $5.60
Blues, Purples,
Perfect Fit Baby Boy $5.60
Perfect Fit Baby Girl $5.60

Other Paper Packs
Short Cuts Cool $4.90
Groovy Girl Album Kit $4.20
Gizmos ‘N Gadgets Album Kit $4.20
Cottage Power Palette (Includes $41.97
2 packs Perfect Fit paper, 10 Jumbo
Great Lengths sticker strips,
4 Title sticker strips, Storybox set,
And Power Palette Book Volume 1)
Chalet Power Palette (minus $34.97
Storybox set)
Jewel Snap Pack $7.00
Neutral Snap Pack $7.00
Done With One Holiday $2.45
Done With One Party Time $2.45
Calendar Paper $2.45
Storybox Metro, or Paradise $7.00
Idea Books, Etc. (40% off)
Page Patterns Organizer & Tabs $5.25
Page Patterns Spring ‘02 (3), $3.30
Fall ‘03, Fall ‘05, Spring ‘06,
Summer ‘06
Color Confidence Fall ‘05, $3.30
Winter ‘05, Spring ‘06, Summer ‘06
Fast Formulas 4th Ed., 5th Ed., $6.00
Product Collection Ed.

Journaling Supplies
Basic Round Tip Pens (2) $7.42
Basic Fine Tip (2) $7.42
Classic Round Tip $7.42
Bright Fine Tip $7.42
Clarifeye Pet Eye Reduction Pen (2) $3.15
Clarifeye Red Eye Reduction Pen $3.15
Black Round Tip Pen (3) $1.96
Black Fine Tip Pen (5) $1.96
Photo Labeling Pencil (4) $1.35
Precious Element Round Tip Pen in
Patina, Copper, or Silver $2.10
Precious Element Fine Tip Pen in
Silver or Copper $1.96
Write Again Correction Paper in natural $.84

Adhesives
Tape Runner (3) $5.25
Mini Tape Refill (3) $2.60
Medium Photo Mounting Corners $5.25
Large Photo Mounting Corners (2) $5.25

Stickers
Kaleidoscope Arctic or Radiance $2.45
Holiday Tree Decoration $2.45
Fundamentals (4) $3.85
Festivities $3.85
Elegant Laser Letters $4.73
Heritage $3.85
This & That Sprinkle $3.85
Sun & Fun Sprinkle $3.85
Harvest Orchard Laser $3.85
Winter Medley $2.45
Baseball (2) $2.45
Wheels & Whistles $2.45
Soccer $2.45
United Kingdom Outdoors $3.85
Outback & Rainforest Fun $2.45
Sightseeing Europe $3.85
Australia Down Under $3.85
Jumbo Great Lengths Cabana $1.75
Spring, Birthday, Celebration,
Kids, Autumn, or Travel
Jumbo GL Blue & Aqua (4), $3.15
Red & Pink (3), Orange & Amber,
Yellow & Chamois, Green & Olive,
Purple & Eggplant, Neutral, Party
Time, Best Wishes, Holiday Sparkle
Holiday Fanciful Trimmings $3.85
Getaway Travel $2.45
Las Americas (3) $2.45
Decades 50s $2.45
Decades 60s $2.45
Pastel Dimensions $3.85
Rainbow Dimensions $3.85
Asian Myabi Great Lengths $3.85
Jewel Great Lengths $2.45
Bright Great Lengths $2.45
Lazy Days Album Kit (stickers & $4.20
Paper) (2)
HUGE Assortment of ABC/123 Stickers - Large and Small

Die Cuts
Bib, Bottle & Pacifier $.10
Baby, Buggy & Booties $.10
Pets $.10
Turkey & Acorns $.10
Pumpkins $.10
Scarecrows $.10
Apples $.10

Cool Discovery in the Garden

Yesterday as I was finishing up putting some organic soil in my flower garden when I encountered the strangest thing. I dug up a section of soil, and with it came a huge bee! This was seriously the biggest bee I've seen in a long time. It couldn't fly, so I managed to get it onto my shovel to take over and show Scott. Then I put it out on the grass. I went back to digging, and when I did, I found 2 more bees! Crazy! They were down under the dirt. I've never seen this before. That time, Scott was nearby so he came over and looked, and I ran in to get my camera. I am now trying to figure out what kind of bees these are. I think it's between a bumblebee and a carpenter bee. If anyone knows based on these photos, feel free to let me know!