connected!

By some miracle our internet is working today! *knock on wood* Who knows for how long... but it has been up and running for about an hour. Clint was getting ready to head to the office to do his school work. He's on vacation this week, but still has to turn in an assignment for class by Saturday. Two service techs came out yesterday to see what was wrong. Apparently, someone down the street planted trees around one of the main connections. They've grown around the cables or something. SO they have to send a crew to mark where the lines are burried. Then send another crew to dig it up and replace the line pretty much from one end of our street to the other. And ironically, we are the ONLY cable internet customers on our street. No telling how long it will take to fix. At least it is working... for now.

Hopefully Clint gets his school work finished. Saturday Halliburton is having this big family Christmas party at the zoo. I really wanna take Valerie! Oh and BTW ~ I mailed her birthday party invitations yesterday!

Monday we went shopping in New Orleans. I was hoping to find a crib for Veronica, but no such luck. We paid about $250 for Valerie's crib. It seems most are $300-400 (plus delivery) now. I really don't want to spend that much, even for a convertible crib. So... we will keep looking around. My mom has a brand new crib that someone gave her that we can use if needed.

I DID finally buy new living room furniture from Rooms to Go!!! We needed it bad. The set we have was purchased from my cousin for $225. We were going to keep it a year or two and then get something new. Well, that was 4 years ago! lol The new set will be delivered Tuesday. I already have someone lined up to buy the old stuff. It was crazy expensive since we opted to get the sofa sleeper and loveseat sleeper. We did get interest free financing until 2011 though - it will be paid off well before then!! Since we're losing our guestroom, having 2 extra beds won't hurt. I was going to get a daybed or futon whenever we close in our porch, but we won't need that now. Made more sense to just spend $200 now to get the loveseat sleeper and avoid buying a futon later. It's a lighter green in person. Probably lighter than I would have liked, but I can't find anything else, so it will do.

Yesterday was my 24 week doctor's appointment. Routine stuff. Everything looks fine. I'm measuring right on target. I wanted to die when I got on the scale though. In 4 weeks I gained 8lbs! *gulp* I'm up about 18 lbs now, which is WAY more than I was with Valerie at this point. I need to stop eating so much junk and walk when I can. I don't want to end up gaining 40 lbs!!

Today we are working in Val's new room. We got all the junk out of the closet and took down the bed. Clint started painting. I decided on the butterflies afterall, and we're painting the bottom half of the wall a pretty pink. So far I'm liking how it is coming out! We still have a lot to do, but I think it will be really cute. My parents were supposed to come help today, but of course at the last minute my mom tells me they are just coming to visit later on. They do that all the time -- volunteer to come "help" then change their minds.

So... that's about it for what has been going on!!

No Net

Our internet has been on the blink. It connects for a few minutes, then dies. My IM's are not going through and I'm not receiving those sent to me. Same goes for email! Finally someone came to check it today, and it turns out there is a problem with the main line. Way down the street there is some kind of box that someone planted trees around.... they think one of the trees may have affected the underground wiring. So... it will probably be a while before it's fixed. They have to dig up and replace the cable line... *sigh* So no telling when we'll be back online!! Gotta go before I get kicked off again....

I hope everyone in the USA had a nice Thanksgiving. Ours was quiet. Clint did most of the cooking and my parents came over. We all ate too much and did pretty much nothing else all day. For the third year in a row I did NO shopping on Black Friday! Last year I didn't want to drag Valerie out that early in the morning. The year before I was pregnant with her. There wasn't really anything on sale that we absolutely needed anyway.

Dropping off a few pictures. The family pic is for our Christmas cards. There will be more eventually. Val has 4 holiday dresses and I want pics of her in all of them!

Let us give Thanks

1. I am thankful for Valerie! She has brought so much meaning to my life. There's nothing that compares to the feeling of joy watching her grow and learn.

2. I am thankful for Clint, the best husband and friend I could have ever asked for.

3. I am thankful for carrying Veronica! Even though pregnancy is hard on me, I am lucky that (so far) everything has been normal.

4. I am thankful for my health. I know I've been really sick and haven't felt well, but it will pass and there are others worse off than me.

5. I am thankful that Clint has a job that provides well enough for us so I am able to be a SAHM.

6. I am thankful to have a decent roof over our heads, money in the bank, and food on the table.

7. I am thankful for my parents, who have always done their best and give us way more than we could ever give them in return.

8. I am thankful for all of my wonderful friends! Both online and IRL. With out all of you, I would still feel lost and lonely.

9. I am thankful to have my sweet, lovable Sassy Cat! (even though it's a pain when she wakes me up for some kitty lovin' in the middle of the night.)

10. I am thankful for the LIFE I live!! Years ago I wondered if I would ever reach the point of being happily married, building a house, and having children of my own.

Now it's your turn. :-)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

It seems like no matter which way way I turn I am letting someone down. Someone needs me for something, and I can't follow through. I can't keep up with normal life. I wish so badly that I was one of those glowing, happy, pregnant women. There's so much I want to do. We have so many fun holiday things coming up, and I have no idea if I'll be able to go. Every day I wake up with all these ideas and places I want to go. I was on the verge of tears walking around Wal-Mart yesterday. I wanted to be there. I wanted to do our Thanksgiving shopping and knock out some gifts. I felt so awful and was hurting so bad from being on my feet that I ended up sitting in the car while Clint did it. I cried and cried last night because yet again I had to watch Valerie so Clint could do some work. I felt bad and just wanted to lie down and rest! Val has not been sleeping well, so neither have I. I already watched her Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night, on top of the 10 days Clint was in Canada. I was looking forward to a night off. At 5:00 Clint springs it on me that he has ALL this work and school work (that was due Saturday) still left to finish. I don't get why he played around all day Saturday and Sunday instead of using that time to finish his work. Anyway, that's another story.

Tomorrow will be a first... I managed to convince my parents to keep Valerie ALL DAY for me. I'm going to drop her off over there early in the morning. Clint will pick her up on his way home. I am hoping to get some shopping done. Hoping.

We put up most of our Christmas decorations over the weekend. We still have a few things left to do. I ended up running to the dollar store to pick up some more unbreakable ornaments for our tree. I have a feeling Valerie is going to be all over the tree this year. She's already pulled off several things. Clint hung most of the lights on the house. Poor Valerie though! I bought one of those 7ft inflatable Santas for our yard. Poor darlin' was SO scared of the thing! It must be a giant to her. She screamed and screamed when she saw it. I kept her far far away and pointed out over and over Santa's arm up meant he was waving "HI"! And I gave him a "high five" a few times. Now she says "hi Santa! High five!" when she sees him. LOL!

I am not going anywhere or doing anything today... so hopefully we will have a better (good?) day....

TMX Elmo

http://cgi.ebay.com/TMX-Elmo-Tmx_W0QQitemZ250050493672QQihZ015QQcategoryZ95267QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Now, why didn't I think of this?? Actually, I wonder who
in their right mind would pay $45 for a
PHOTOGRAPH of a TMX Elmo??????????

Finally....

Clint IS home.

I have no idea how single moms do it. The past few days have not been the easiest. I couldn't imagine doing this 24/7 by myself. Sure, I've been on my own for weeks before and things were just fine. It was tough, but I managed to handle it. Now though is another story. I can't keep up. I'm struggling to keep up the bare minimum and it is exhausting me. Valerie never stops! I'm tending to her as best as I can. I'm trying to rest when I can, but there is always something that needs to be done. And I move so slowly everything takes twice as long as it normally would. If I do too much... ouch ... I hurt so bad. I'm doing what I can as best as I can.... it's all I can do. It's so lonely. Today I neither saw nor talked to anyone. Clint normally works long hours, but I so look forward to him coming home every night. Even if I just see him for a few hours, it's better than not at all.

My mom totally freaked yesterday because I didn't answer her IM right away. Then she called and there was no answer. She even bothered Clint in Canada, who told her I had mentioned going grocery shopping. That wasn't good enough. They hopped in the car and drove 40 miles to my house to check on me. I had just gotten home from the store when they drove up. Then she was mad because I had gone to Wal-Mart and didn't tell them. I wasn't aware that I had to report my every move! Geez. I know she was just worried, but that is a bit extreme.

Here's what Clint is seeing in Canada! Check out the snow...

Well, Clint left about 5:30 this morning. I've been up since 4:30! Clint needed to print his boarding passes, and the printer kept jamming. Valerie had shoved a plastic letter in it. Clint didn't have time to mess with it, so I got up to print them for him. And I've been up ever since. I don't plan on doing much of anything today!!

I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping! I only have my parents left to buy for, which I am clueless about. Clint got his big gift yesterday - a new bbq grill. It's one of those professional huge stainless grills. It was on clearance at Lowe's, so I told him if that's what he wanted to go get it. So he did! I have a few other surprise things for him. Valerie is done - I think! We got her a toy kitchen, a tea set, a shopping cart with groceries, a doll, another newborn doll with accessories, a drum, and a bouncing Tigger. I'll probably end up picking up a few more small things for her. I haven't decided what will be birthday and what will be Christmas just yet!

Well, I just found the cute butterfly border on ebay!! It's a bit cheaper than anywhere else I've seen. So this is probably going to be what we go with. I just love all the colors.

Thanks for all the input on the wallpaper!! I have a feeling I'll end up going with butterflies. I actually found a few others that I like. I think I'll stop looking. LOL! The butterfly one is the cheapest, and still will cost $50. That's a lot considering I did the other room for about $21! As long as it's good until Val is 10 or so, I think it'll work.

Clint is leaving tomorrow morning for Canada. I know it's not the end of the world and it's just for 10 days, but I'll still be sad to see him go. I'll deal with it. It's going to be so cold up there!! Clint should get lots of snow pics.

Today I had an appointment to get the prenatal massage some friends had given me for my birthday in August. Niiiiice! I had gotten one when I was PG with Valerie, but this one was so much better. She pin pointed exactly where my back aches from time to time saying she could feel the ligaments. No doubt it will probably get worse as I get bigger. The therapist kept saying how tiny I was and she couldn't believe I'm 5 months along! Weird, because I am SO much bigger at this point than I was with Val. And I'm already SO uncomfortable. I feel HUGE! Even my maternity jeans are almost too tight.

Input needed!

*Attention Everyone!!**

I need some input!! So everyone reading - even you lurkers - please post what you think or email me. melliemelo@gmail.com

I am having a hard time deciding what to do in Valerie's new room. I really want to put up a wallpaper border since I really liked what it added to Val's... um soon to be Veronica's room. Today we went to Lowe's and they have samples of my top picks, and I'm not entirely sure which one I like the best! I really want to fix up her room nice. I don't want to do "good for now". I want it done right so we won't have to do it over later!

The walls are sort of a neutral cream color with a teeny hint of pink. The pic is from when we were painting! I'd like to either paint one wall a different color (the one behind her bed), or paint the bottom half of the wall (below the border) a darker shade of pink.

Here's my fav borders so far: (if you click the pic you can see a larger version!)

1. I'm really leaning towards this one. Val loves butterflies. I like the colors in this one too. The green isn't as bright in person. I'm thinking this one would probably be easiest to find matching accessories.

2. This one is just SO cute! Val loves cats and meows whenever she sees one. She likes bees too.... and it has butterflies! But I'm not sure if it's something she'd outgrow faster than just the plain butterflies. I could still use butterfly accessories though... but I'm worried the cats all over might be a bit much.

3. This one is cute... I think I prefer the other two. I do like the colors in this one. And it has bugs, bees, flowers, and butterflies! It's not too baby-ish and it would be fine for when she's older too. I just sort of threw this one in to get opinions!

Clint is leaving for Canada in two days. And I'm just sitting here bawling about it. Stupid, I know. I'm just so tired. I am not looking forward to the days and nights ahead. Valerie is generally such a good girl, but she tires me out. I have no energy these days. I'm just thinking about having to take care of her, myself, the animals, and the house for almost two weeks ... *sigh* I could go to my mom's for a night or two. But I have to bring so much crap over there. By the time I pack my clothes, personal items, and Valerie's clothes... plus I have to bring Val's bath stuff, groceries (Yes, I have to bring snacks, juice, milk, sippy cups, etc.), diapers, a few toys, etc... I'm just worn out thinking about getting all of that together and loading the car. I just don't have the energy and it'd be easier to just stay here. I know I'll get through it. I always do somehow.

The name....

Still thinking... and it may change... but for now...

Veronica Leigh Galliano

secrets...

There are good secrets. There are bad secrets. There are secrets that are meant to be shared. There are hurtful secrets. There are deep dark secrets that should never see the light of day. (Everyone has a few skeletons in their closet, right?) But purposely keeping information from others... supposedly (?) the kind that could cause harm at some point.... what kind of secret is that? What's the point of flat out saying "I know something you might need to know but don't... and I'm keeping it from you." Why drop vague, mysterious hints that lead nowhere. Really though, what is there to gain by mentioning it at all... Why not keep it just that, a secret. A silent secret. Instead of upsetting me... leaving me wondering.... waiting... ?? I don't get it.

Who do you trust... really. Is it even about trust?? I've had many failed friendships. I won't lie and pretend I was the best friend possible to all of them. Or deny that some ended by no one's fault but my own. But then there are the ones who tried to steal your boyfriends. Or steal from you. Or the ones who were only your friends when it was convenient for them. The "friends" who called you as a last resort when no one else was available. The ones who talked behind your back. Or the best of all : a friend in need is your friend indeed! Eventually I'd get tired of making an effort and move on. Yes, there was always some hurt and disappointment. Some of it I will carry with me for life. I will NEVER forget what those two girls did/said to me in the sixth grade. But I'd always go back to being just me again, and do my own thing. You would think that at some point women would outgrow this stuff. Here I am at 34 years old, and I still see it. Maybe not directly involving me, but it happens. I just don't have time for games in my life anymore. And now that my child(ren) are involved, I really can't go there.

So, memo to everyone: be my friend all the time.... or not at all.

20 weeks!

Trick Or Treat!

After four non-stop days, today I am doing as little as possible!

Last night was fun. Valerie was being SO fussy while we were getting ready. She wanted outside, she wanted to be held, she wanted everything she couldn't have. Clint carved the pumpkin with a cat face on it, and she LOVED it. We had it sitting on the counter, and she threw a fit when we tried to leave the kitchen. LOL! She kept meowing at it... cute. Finally, it was time to trick-or-treat! We pulled her in the wagon from house to house. We just went around the block and skipped quite a few houses and she STILL got a ton of candy. She did great though and kept pointing out decorations and things along the street. She never did say trick-or-treat though, and I worked with her on that all month! We were back home about 6:40 and I sorted through her candy and re-gave what we didn't want. Val was so wired. She saw all the people walking and she wanted to walk too. I walked with her a bit down the street and back, and we stayed out in the yard for quite a while. I was exhausted!! I had to lure her inside to take a bath because I just couldn't keep up anymore. Clint gave out the rest of the candy and that was our night!