What We Did This Week (and are doing this weekend)

Birthday Celebrations

On Sunday, we celebrated my husband's birthday (a week and a half later...) with a party. It was supposed to be a surprise, but of course my secret-keeping is fantastic around my beloved (not) so he knew there was a party... he just didn't know what the meal plans were or who all was coming. So it was still kind of a surprise.

My family (siblings and parents) were the first to show up, and supplied us with lunch: pizza. Of course, this went well because my sweetie loves pizza!

Later on in the afternoon, people began drifting in, and hung around for a little while until they had to go. The party didn't really get into gear until 4 or 5, and in the meantime D was working on plumbing for the bathroom sink and also working on a black-powder rifle. Neither project actually got done, much to his chagrin, but there was progress made.

One of D's second cousins brought a fruit tray and a veggie tray, which actually got eaten out of! I also had chocolate chip cookies ready and my parents had brought chips, but somehow my cookies were in much less demand than usual. We still had a lot by Monday morning. D then took some to work.

Cookie had fun coming in and out and hanging out with everybody, but Kelly, who trusts me and only me (and even then barely), was nowhere to be found by 2pm.

About 5:30, D's parents showed up, and the cooking began. For the third time since August, the attempt for homemade ice cream was made, and it actually worked! During the cooking time, the ice cream maker sat out on the back step, and the door was opened a crack for the extension cord to reach it, so Cookie was in... and out... and in again. He loved to come in and sit on the heater by the counter, which fortunately was off since it (finally) was a warmer evening.

Dad and Rowdy, D's dad, made chicken fried steak and potatoes and gravy, and it made a delicious supper. We drank sweet tea and lemonade (both of which I had made), and my parents had brought 12 can cases of Mountain Dew (throwback), A&W Root Beer, and A&W Cream Soda. And of course there was water, which I did see people drinking a time or two.

D got a couple presents from my family, and it also happened that Sunday was A's birthday (A being Tana's boyfriend and one of D's best friends), so he got a gift from us: a duck call.

The cake was a two-tier (each tier being double-layered) chocolate-frosted vanilla cake, made by our best man's wife. She did an impressive job with it! It was served with the fresh homemade ice cream.

Then my family left, having over three hours to drive. His parents had already left, having to finish packing for a trip back to the clinic in Tennessee for more treatment. The rest of us, A, Tana, our best man, his wife, and her brother, and us, sat around (or stood around...) and enjoyed listening to stories that my sweetie and his best man told of the previous weekend's reenactment.

Finally, at 10pm, they all headed out, and we had the house to ourselves. I had been doing a little cleanup here and there for the past hour, so we didn't have much to do before calling it a night. In all, it was actually a pretty good party, and I loved it.

My sweetheart is a year older, and so much has changed in the last year for him and me. On his last birthday, he still lived with his parents and we were engaged, looking for our first house, while he worked for his grandfather. A year later, we're married, living in our own house, he has an actual job and two raises already, and we have a baby on the way. By his next birthday we will have the baby, the house will be improved. And who knows what else we will have done.

Busy Week and Weekend

Monday was a bit of wind down from Sunday, and then Tuesday and Wednesday Tana and I were in town for our parents' businesses. D got Thursday off, and we went to the midwife appointment. Since it was my 28wk appointment, she drew my blood. This was for three reasons: to make sure my blood isn't producing antibodies against a possibly Rh positive baby's blood; to check my blood sugar to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes; and to check my iron levels. This went a lot better than it did at my first appointment, at 12 weeks.

We are right on track with this little one, and so far I have recorded a 24 pound weight gain. It's a very, very active child, and no doubt will be fun to watch grow!

On Friday, I was busy packing and cleaning for the weekend, which we are spending at my parents' place. It is our last trip of the year. We also brought my sister her birthday present (her birthday is Christmas Eve), and KitMarie her Christmas presents. Also, Tana and I were back in town for a little while taking care of business for our fathers. Finally, at quarter to six, my sweetheart and I hit the road for my parents. It is our first weekend at my parents' new home, and it's fun! My mother and I have expanded my wardrobe a little bit, and looked through baby stuff as I enter my third trimester. We also toured the property today, and I love it.

I'm sorry this post is up so late: the internet is running low at home, so I've been conserving it.