Friday, May 28, 2010

She's Here!

Charlotte Marion Strebel was born May 24th at 2:20am! Birth story and pictures to come!

Monday, May 17, 2010

I break everything!

Not in labor! Broke both MacBooks in less than 48 hours. It's amazing how much gets accomplished when I don't have a computer!

The nursery is done but I can't seem to load pics from my phone so I will get those up when I can.

Also, might have mild preeclampsia and had to do a 24 hour urine collection. There is nothing like storing your own pee in your new fridge.

Miss you guys and be back soon!!!

Monday, May 10, 2010

This is no Cinderella Story

I was going to write you guys about this house and how we don't ever see bugs, and everyone warned us of mountain living and how you will see all sorts of crawly, creepy critters and I was like, IN YOUR FACE SUCKAHS. I mean, we saw two stink bug/beetle things and of course Geoff picked them up and threw them outside alive. Then we saw them again and he was like, "How are they getting in here?' Umm, because you pick them up lovingly and place them right outside our door. SMASH THEIR BRAINS OUT!

Then Saturday night, I'm using the bathroom, like I do a hundred times a night and what comes out to greet me?

A mouse.

A MOUSE!

I told you guys I was going to see them, remember? UGH, I tried not to freak, and the thing just looks at me, like, "Heyyyy gurl, how's it hangin'?"

And I was like, silently FREAKING!

So, the mouse runs back into the linen closet thing across from the toilet then back out to check on me, you know, make sure it's all coming out okay and then runs into our walk in closet.

It's like 3am and I don't know what to do and I don't want to wake Geoff because if he cares, he should get some sleep but most likely he won't and sleep anyway.

I on the other hand can not get to sleep. I imagine him crawling into our bed and making a nest in my hair.

I imagine me stepping on him barefoot in the middle of the night and poop squirting everywhere. I'm not sure why.

I imagine him pooping on all the floors I've cleaned over and over again on my hands and knees. He must die horribly.

At one point I remember dreaming about an airport and I as I woke to the sun rising and Sawyer screaming, I was happy I got a nap but the evil mouse eyes plotting my downfall was the only thing in my mind.

I head across our living room to get Sawyer and I see a mouse run from the fireplace, under the couch right toward my feet. I'm screaming and trying to lift myself onto furniture totally forgetting that I'm 30 pounds heavier and my body doesn't get off the ground like it used to. In fact, it didn't get off the ground one inch.

"A mouse, it's a mouse! It's heading right for me, help! Ahhhhh!!!!!!!"

Geoff gets up and closes the door so he can't hear my screaming. So heroic.

The mouse darts into the kitchen and I grab Sawyer and step back into the living room.

My heart is beating and Sawyer is saying, "Food! Food! Please, food!"

Child, do you know what is in the kitchen? Food is the LAST thing you are getting right now.

I'm still freaking out and I think I hear Geoff snoring. I sit in the dining room table and google Lowes to see what type of death traps they have and wonder if anyone there will be offended if I stop by 'as is', without my teeth brushed and some mismatched pajamas. This mouse must die. This mouse must die.

Lowes doesn't open for two hours. Sawyer REALLY is wanting food and I don't think I can function and WHY does Lowes not open at 6am every day?

I tip toe into the kitchen and grab him cereal and milk.

No mouse.

Breathe Holly, breathe.

Knowing I can't let this guy go free for another two hours, I put together my own mouse trap, a toilet paper roll, a piece of cardboard on a ramp and an empty waste basket. I put some peanut butter on the toilet paper roll and balance it just so hoping the mouse will run up the ramp, be enticed into the peanut butter tunnel and when he gets to the treat, topple along with the toilet paper roll into the trash can.

I have no daggers to paste at the bottom of the trashcan. It's like the nicest mouse trap ever, the last thing I had in mind was nice, but whatever.

We get dressed and I head to a grocery store instead of Lowes because this opens before 8am. Screw Lowes, where are they when you really need them.

Men are filing out of this store one by one with fresh flowers for their mommy wives.

My husband shut the door so he couldn't hear my death screams and could sleep in.

AND there is a mouse in the house.

Ugh, Happy Mother's Day to me.


But, who wants to see some pictures?!?!

The day we moved in:




Nursery is in progress now.




Of course it snows the weekend we move in.

We still have a lot to do, mostly painting and replacing hardware so here are some just settling in pictures but not really "afters" just yet.






When I get a free week, the cabinets are getting a creamy white makeover.


This is the bedding I sewed. It still needs to be ironed but I was too excited to see what it looked like in a crib. (A crib I set up all by myself in a room I painted all by myself... just thought I would add that part in.)


More detailed pictures to come as we slowly get things checked off our list. I can't believe how much work a house is! Hope you all had a critter free Mother's Day!

Love youuuuuu all!

me

Friday, May 7, 2010

37 Weeks Pregnant

I had a dream last night that I was a contestant on some Amazing Race type show but for Interior Designers. I kept slowing down my team because I HAD to stop at each grocery store along the way to buy thumbprint cookies. (Ahh, those sound so good right now!) Basically, my team lost because I had to stuff my face with cookies.

Not so far off from reality when I sit down eating chips and salsa and think I have a moment of clarity when I imagine just blending up the chips and salsa so I can get it down my throat quicker. I have a problem.

I'm officially full term now and things are still on the boring side. The only interesting news I have is my blood pressure is rising. I was sure it was due to all the house stuff but now that we are here and I can relax, the BP is still rising and they found trace protein in my urine. Soooo, I just hope my BP doesn't rise much more and this little lady can stay in for a few weeks.

Oh, I'm also getting shooting pain in my inner thigh which I read is my pelvic bone not being aligned right now. Lovely.

Besides THAT stuff, all else is normal. WE moved and I'm carrying heavy things and painting the nursery a pink that dried way brighter than expected and being busy trying to make this house our home meaning I've been sucking on the blogging front.

I can't believe that on Monday I have TWO weeks until my due date! Sawyer came a week early sooooo, yeah. Wow, time is flyin' and all the things I want done before she comes are not even close to finished.

The doctor said since I'm in no hurry to have her, she wasn't going to even check for dilation because she didn't want to speed anything up or distract me from all the stuff I said I had to do before she came. I really love my doctor, no matter what I tell her, she is cool with it. I do feel like I'm dilating though and tell Geoff that my vagina is falling off. He just shrugs and says not to grow a penis. Men.

Oh, and I lost half a pound in the last two weeks. Shocker, right?

Okay, my head is all over the place, I have to finish painting, get the kid in a tub, head to Denver for play group, the the store, and Lowes and then back here where it's SNOWING! (Someone tell Colorado it's MAY!)

Love you guys! The real Holly will be back soon, promise!