Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Just a few of my disjointed thoughts.

Swine flu is the flu. In case you've never had the flu (the real-deal influenza, not the bad cold that everyone says is the flu), you don't want any kind of it. Panic is not in order here, however. Wash your hands (a lot) and avoid people who are hacking/coughing/sneezing. Same thing I do every year to keep from getting sick.

It's very hot in Virginia (90+ for several days), and I'm thankful for air conditioning. But in case you were wondering, hot flashes can definitely be felt through high heat and humidity.

Every house I've ever owned has odd-sized windows. This one is no exception. All the shades in Lowe's and Home Depot are 48" wide. My windows are 46.

Marvelous.

And, lest I sound all complain-y, my grandbaby should be here sometime in the next few weeks. The due date is now May 5th, and my heart skips a beat every time the phone rings.

(Back to hot flashes now) I've been reading lists of things you can do to help alleviate hot flashes. All the lists agree that you should avoid caffeine and spicy foods and get plenty of exercise.

So now I get no coffee and have to go for 2-mile walks in the 90 degree heat. That'll be fun.

Arlen Specter is switching to the Democrat party. No surprise there. He's been one all along.

I love to hear my kids play their guitars and sing. And I love when my grass is freshly cut. And the peas and spinach are coming up. And I'm healthy enough to go for a 2-mile walk. (Talking myself out of complaining.) And I have a great neighbor who lets me borrow her vacuum every time mine breaks, which is a lot.

OK, now I'm really going for that walk.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

She lives!

Yes, I'm still here, just busier than a one-armed paper hanger (no offense to one-armed paper hangers, it's just a really good expression).

So we went to Tennessee last week for Deb's baby shower and it was a ball. It's really nice having three other drivers--I think I only drove about five of the twelve hours going down. Deb cooked us great food (pretzel chicken) and we had fun just hanging out and eating. Are you sensing a theme here? We were all eating for two. Abbie discovered that Ben & Jerry's ice cream is made from milk and cream that comes from cows who are not given bovine growth hormone, so she can eat it without getting food poisoning. What a great excuse to buy really good, really expensive ice cream!

Here's the pregnant lady sitting on her birthing ball, which she says is the most comfortable seat in the house. Isn't she adorable?

Leah and I at Maggie Moo's. After we'd had a Jersey Mike's sub. They all said I eat ice cream faster than anybody they'd ever seen. I've had practice.

Abbie and Deb. Abbie got her non-hormone-laced ice cream at WalMart and brought it with her. Deb was eating dark chocolate ice cream with strawberries mixed in. Must be a pregnant thing.

Here are the two amigos (Nathan, Deb's brother-in-law, and Elijah) going to play soccer. They played two full games and Elijah said he could barely walk the next day.
At the shower, Deb using her belly as a table.
Gifts at the shower. The crib was made by Deb's father-in-law, and has only three sides on purpose. It fits up against the side of Deb's bed so she doesn't have to get out of bed to nurse the baby in the middle of the night. He also made a fourth side that can be attached later. It's pretty awesome. And Deb's belly is the big white blur in the lower left corner. She got really sick of me taking belly pictures.
And there you have it. I would never have gotten these pictures up here except that Abbie made it really easy and posted them on her facebook. Thanks, Ab.

Be thankful ~

Karen (Grammy)

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

On the road again.

Tomorrow is the big day when I finally get to see my little-bitty daughter with a huge, due-in-3-weeks belly. I can't wait! Ben just asked when we were leaving in the morning and when I said, "We're getting up at 4," he laughed hysterically.

"What??" I asked defensively.

He's laughing because I haven't seen this child (she really is just a child) since January when she didn't have much of a belly, but we all took pictures of it anyway. By now she's I-can't-paint-my-own-toenails BIG. On that tiny frame, it will look adorable.

Unlike my last pregnancy when I was three weeks and a day overdue. After 43+ weeks and 60 pounds, I finally delivered a 9 lb 13 oz man-child. I can sympathize with elephants.

Deb was asking me last week how she would know when she was in labor. I told her that when she had to stop functioning to concentrate on not screaming, that was a sure sign. There's really no mistaking it. Your body just sort of takes over and does its thing, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. In a small (albeit very small) way, I envy her. I loved being pregnant and even giving birth. But at least this time I won't have to feed another teenager or put another kid through college.

Ah, the joys of grandparenthood.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Monday, April 13, 2009

This post doesn't even rate a title.

OK, so I'm a lousy blogger.

Yesterday we went to see my brother and his family and my mom and dad. Had a great day, ate great food, came home tired.

Today it's back to the grind. Elijah's been working on a yard job, Abbie and I had school, Mike went to work, and Ben and Leah are in SC for her master's audition and interview. Busy, busy, busy.

My only thought of consequence for the day is that Navy snipers rock. We need a sniper on every American vessel. THAT's how you stop piracy.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Monday, April 6, 2009

Random randomness of the random sort.

1. There are many things in life that I love, namely my husband and children, but in addition to those pretty important people, I love International Delight French Vanilla coffee creamer and Word's autosave function.

2. I realized today I have been much too busy to take care of my family properly when I came home from class and saw that my 15 year old son had made a cake. I think he's feeling neglected.

3. Abbie found out the hard way yesterday that some antibiotics cause sun-sensitivity. 20 minutes on the deck and she was red and splotchy. She's still itching.

4. Printer ink is really expensive. So is organic milk.

5. I would settle for being a mediocre photographer. Sadly, I think I will never attain that lofty goal.

6. A dog chasing a squirrel is deaf.

Be thankful ~

Karen