Nothing Specific

Life here goes on without much new excitement - which is probaby a good thing when you're eight months pregnant! The kids are settling into their routines, doing a GREAT job of staying on top of homework and mostly getting into their activities. We have playdates after school, Sydney went to a slumber party this past weekend, and we've got some things going on with our volunteer work and church.

I am feeling a bit grumpy (ok, maybe more than a bit), in part because the baby seems to be displacing one of my ribs and it hurts a lot of the time. I'm not comfortable standing because my feet get tired carrying the extra weight and I'm not comfortable sitting because of the rib, so it kinda stinks. I may try to go back to the chiropractor this week. I'm tired of not being able to exercise, but even a walk around the block or going up the stairs at home triggers contractions which have gotten more painful as the weeks go on. Plus, I think hormones are kicking in and not helping matters. Martin, being the smart man he is, is focusing on helping around the house and keeping a low profile :). We're seeing the Dr. weekly now and go again tomorrow. I'll post if there's anything new but so far so good - the baby is still freakishly active, but everyone says that is just fine and means she's healthy. Supposedly as she starts to run out of room in the coming weeks she will move less but I'll believe it when it happens! She has a couple of funny habits or things she does. She gets the hiccups pretty much every day, and when I lie on my right side, she moves her feet up and down against the pillow or mattress. It's pretty funny and cute. Martin sometimes lies by my tummy or rests his hand on it when I'm sleeping and wonders how I can possibly sleep through all the activity going on in there.

My aunt was here from Corpus Christi this weekend - thankfully Ike missed Corpus and she headed home today, but it gave us a chance to celebrate a BIG birthday with her that we missed in August. I guess I can say it - she's about as likely to see anything online as I am to sprout a 3rd eye :) - she turned 80 in August! She's my Dad's only living relative except for maybe some distant cousins with whom neither she nor we have any contact. Anyway, it was nice to see her and get to celebrate with her.

I found a couple of random pictures that I thought were cute... one is our 'puppy' Brownie. I use the term loosely, as he is almost three years old, but full bred Lab and just about as cute and playful as they come. The other is Jake working on the legos he got for his birthday. They were really complex and he was so into building them. If only they held as much excitement once they were complete as they did when they were made up of thousands of loose pieces!