Animal Kingdom

Lately I feel like a bunch of animals. When I wash my face at night, I look like this as I get my face down to the faucet level of the sink:

At the end of the day, my ankles and legs look like this:

When I am trying to get out of bed, or out of a chair, or off the floor after doing stretches, I feel like this:

And in a few more weeks, I'll probably look like this - although not with multiples:

Just 4 1/2 weeks left . . . and if I'm lucky, Wazel will come sooner.

Random Ramblings

* All told, last week's storm dropped 5 feet of snow and 2-3 inches of rain from Monday night until Friday night. Amazingly, by Saturday afternoon, the roads were only wet, the sky was blue, and the snow looked beautiful. Doesn't it always look better after the shoveling and driving in it is done?

* I've decided that at this point in my pregnancy, I'd rather have people tell me I look big than what I keep hearing: "You're so small!" I may look small, but Wazel is way up in my ribs - making it uncomfortable to breathe, sing, talk, and sit . . . and according to the Dr., Wazel is growing just fine.

* I've reflected lately how grateful I am for prayer - to be able to pray for family and friends, for friend's children, for friends of friends . . . and to know that others are praying for me and Ken. Prayer is a powerful tool; I believe in the power of prayer and am grateful for that knowledge.

* Ken got Wazel's "nursery" set up this week. Hope she doesn't mind looking up her own dresses :)

Still snowing

Still snowing . . . freeways are closed . . . neighborhood roads aren't even being plowed . . . most businesses are shut down (especially those who's roofs caved in). I knew my work place wouldn't close, so I planned ahead and brought work home with me yesterday, so that I could work from home today. But before I started working, Ken and I went outside to take some pictures. I know these just won't do justice to the multiple feet of snow we've had within the last few days, but use your imagination. Also take into consideration that it rained for a few hours last night, which melted some of the snow . . . and caused more problems.

The wind blew a lot last night and created these cool drifts off of the roofs. I'm surprised that the trees didn't break from the weight of ice and snow.

Knee-deep on Ken.

They're doing a pretty good job of keeping our driveway plowed - it's a full time job though - and the piles are piling up.

Still more snow coming . . . and they say we could get another foot of snow before it's over (which I think makes about 4-5 feet by the time the storm passes through on Saturday afternoon). I haven't seen snow like this since I was a child in Utah.

On Again Off Again

On Monday, our weather forecast was for snow . . . a lot of snow . . . all week long.

I have cool Les Schwab car chains, which are super easy to put on, but I'm getting to the point where squatting is almost next to impossible. So, with verbal instructions from me, Ken put the chains on my tires on Monday afternoon so that I could drive to work on Tuesday morning. We had about 3-4 inches of snow on Tuesday morning, and with no concern, I headed to work.

But then - the sun came out, and dried up all the snow (at least on the roads anyway), and I didn't want to drive home on dry road with chains on, so I took the chains off. (My boss felt bad that I didn't let him help me, but they're even easier to take off then they are to put on - and hey, I'm an independent girl . . . even if I do waddle when I walk).

When I got home, Ken informs me that another, bigger storm is coming that night, so he goes outside and puts the chains back on my tires. This morning we had about 6-8 inches of snow, the roads were icy, and I was grateful for the chains.

But then - the sun came out, and dried up all the snow - oh wait - you've heard this all ready, so I'll skip ahead a bit. There is an even bigger storm coming tonight, and I didn't want Ken to have to put the chains on AGAIN, so instead, I drove home at 20 mph on dry road. I'm sure other drivers thought I was crazy - but at least I courteously pulled over so that they could pass me.

This next storm is supposed to bring 2-4 feet of snow over the next 2 days. I'm thinking chains probably won't help much in that case, and I should just stay home . . . don't ya think?

The Uneventful Birthday

"This month is such a special time, it's birthday time for [me]

[I'd] really like to celebrate this happy day . . . "

This year, the birthday celebration was a bit uneventful, but at least it didn't go unnoticed. Friends at work took me out to lunch, many friends and family sent cards and/or well wishes, and my husband took me out to dinner so that I didn't have to cook. Honestly, that was the best gift this year - I'm just getting too tired to do much and with Ken's leg, he can't do too much either.

The night before my brithday, Ken had a gig in Sedona - at the Oak Creek Brewery. It was short and sweet, and I considered that a pre-birthday celebration. I wish I had taken pictures of the band playing in front of all the beer vats.

I even received a present from Wazel. I woke up yesterday morning to find that I had "cankles" - calves and ankles swollen into one. Wow, thanks Wazel. It made me as gimpy as Ken.

Random thought and rants

* 33 weeks and counting down. I am so ready for this baby . . . and yet, I am so NOT ready. I'm not necessarily tired of being pregnant, just excited to start the next phase of motherhood. Ken and I started child birth classes - wahoo! But there is still so much to do, and my goal is to have it all done by 36 weeks - wish me luck.

* Ken and I made the executive decision that he should skip his 3rd internship, and do it after graduation. This decision has both positive and negative consequences. I love having Ken home (even though he's still a bit gimpy), and now I don't have to worry that he won't be around if I go into labor early. However, since the internship got pushed back, it throws my employment into a bit of an unknown. I just keep reminding myself to find "joy in the journey" and have "faith in the future".

* I decided today that I love the smell of toast - I don't know what it is about it, but it is so yummy. The only thing better than smelling toast is eating toast.

* I think one of the weirdest things about being pregnant is the fact that I am very rarely cold. My co-workers have coats on - in the office - and I'm wearing a short sleeved shirt. I've never been warm, and now I'm hardly ever cold.

* One of my friends gave me Lifesaver candy canes for Christmas (thanks Carol). I've never been a big fan of candy canes (don't care too much for peppermint) - but these are delicious. And when I eat them, I flash back to childhood - Lifesavers were one of my favorite candies . . . peeling the paper from the roll and seeing what color came up next, Lifesaver rolls or "books" in our Christmas stockings, and a Lifesaver sleeping bag. I bet Carol didn't know Lifesaver candy canes would be such a hit.

* My boss told me I can bring the baby to work with me when I'm ready to go back, so that I don't have to worry about day care. I think that's very generous of him, but I think he wants to play with Wazel more than anything.

What do you do?

What do you do when you're stuck at home and can't do much more than sit on the couch with your leg elevated?

I came home from work today to find that my husband had been practicing his swaddling techniques with the new receiving blankets we received. Ken is going to make such a great Dad!

I just hope Wazel's head isn't that big!

New Year's Eve Gig

Dr. approved . . . wife not so sure.

When Ken was in the Emergency Room a week ago, one of his first concerns was whether or not he'd be able to play the New Year's Eve gig at Charly's in Flagstaff. He figured out that he could play his bass drum with his left foot, instead of his right, while propping up his right foot, and all would be well. When we got back to Flagstaff, Ken's Dr. gave him an okay to play . . . wife still not so sure about it.

Here's the band - and if you look close, you can see Ken with his foot propped up while playing. He said the challenge was not hitting his leg with his drumsticks as he passed over his leg. They sounded awesome, and no one would have ever known Ken was gimpy.

Ken on a break - he didn't play with the pillow - just used it to rest his leg between sets.

I took a nap before the gig, but I still couldn't manage to stay up until midnight. I wished my sweetie "Happy New Year" at 11pm, then went home to bed.

Ken was in quite a bit of pain by the time he got home. Maybe I was right and the Dr. wasn't? The fun continues ;)