Is the world ending?

This morning on the way in I passed three gas stations selling gas for $2.35 per gallon. (well technically 2.36.. why is everything 2.359, 2.589??? Do they think we don't notice the 9/10 of a cent??)

Anyhow, since I filled up on Saturday when it was 2.49 and I thought that was a good deal a 15 cent drop in one week makes me think something is up.

Is an asteroid headed for the earth and no one has told me yet?

And the OCD sets in....

My morning....

Up at 5:52 to pee. No, I can't wait any longer, yes I know my alarm goes off in less than 1/2 an hour. Yes, this pisses me off...

Alarm goes off at 6:21, hit snooze (I was just out of bed after all...)

Alarm goes off at 6:30, hit snooze

Alarm goes off at 6:39, hit snooze

6:42, alright... I'm getting up already. Stumble down stairs. Undress, weigh self, notice that I have gained a pound. Ponder whether I am okay with this as I get in the shower....

Turn on the water, pull lever to move water to pull down shower head, attempt to drown the gnat, then the other gnat, oh yeah... and that one over there too. (Where the hell did all these little winged creatures come from?)

Put shower head back in holder, begin to wash hair when I notice a moth on the back wall. Ponder for a few seconds whether I am okay with this. Decide I am not as it starts to crawl towards me... attempt to drown the moth.

7:02... finally make it out of the shower, 3 out of 4 bugs successfully annihilated. Head upstairs. While picking out clothes notice that Jake has left a glass and a container from his frozen dinner on the headboard. Pretty sure I'm not okay with this. Decide to empty dishwasher and then come back for them.

Head downstairs. While applying toner and moisturizer to my face solve problem at work. So that account is used for this... and that's why we don't make an adjustment... Ahhh...

Head to kitchen. Get distracted by grocery sacks lying on floor from grocery trip on Saturday. Put away remaining groceries husband promised to put away and has obviously not gotten to. Grab plastic sack to put pop cans in that I had rinsed out. Begin to rinse out the rest of the pop & beer cans that are sitting on the table.

7:20 Jake gets out of the shower. "So what have you accomplished this morning?"

Receive stare of death as he, in his half awake condition, shoves food into a sack for lunch.

7:25.. start emptying dishwasher as Jake enters our ONE bathroom. (Yes, there may have to be a port-a-potty invested in come November or so!!)

7:30... Jake... I need to go to work.... he exits bathroom as I begin to make my lunch. Pack lunch then head to bathroom to curl bangs. Remember that I need to grab my computer, head to living room to get computer. Shut off TV, shut off lamp, feed fish, grab pizza box off of stove to take outside and throw away.

Remember that I didn't brush my teeth. Put computer down, brush teeth, feed other fish, remember that the glass and plastic container are still upstairs on the headboard. Fight HUGE urge to go upstairs and get them as it is now 7:40 and I will be late enough as it is.

Grab lunch, keys, computer, and pizza box. Slip on shoes and notice that there is a cupboard in the kitchen that did not get shut. Head into kitchen, shut cupboard and head to car.

So, how was your morning?

Luxury or Necessity?

The following is an e-mail conversation I had with a friend on Monday:

"So, how was shopping on Saturday?"

"Well, I ended up spending $150 on Saturday. But I bought a lot for that (I think). I bought: 1 pair of Tommy capri’s, 1 pair of Tommy shorts, 1 pair of Jones New York capri’s, 1 long sleeve zip up, 1 pair of jean capri’s, 2 jean skirts: one long and one short, 1 pair of khaki pants, 1 plain red shirt, and some gap khaki shorts for my husband. I think I am going to go back and buy these khaki capri’s that I saw but didn’t buy. I am pretty happy with my buy’s. I bought a purse a couple of weeks ago and then I decided I just didn’t need it so I returned it and decided I needed all of these clothes instead and I even had over $100.00 left over."

Gasping for air and almost falling out of my chair....

"YOU SPENT OVER $250 ON A PURSE???"

"The one I am carrying right now is a $250+ purse and you went bonkers when I bought it too. You think I am bad, my mom is carrying a Louis Vuitton that was $1000 and no I didn’t accidentally add one to many zero’s. The only up side to that is my uncle bought it for her as a gift because he knows that she has wanted one for a long time. My husband spends an assload on his golf clubs and golf and his truck accessories so my thing is purses. Besides, I don’t spend money on things that most woman do, like salon visits or manicure’s and pedicure’s and my vehicle is paid off. $250.00 isn’t even a car payment. I told you I am a purse snob! You can’t say that you weren’t warned."

"Dear lord... you are giving me heart palpations just thinking about it!!!"

"Oh come on! I am sure that you have let Jake spend that kind of money on something similar because I know that you wouldn’t! Well maybe you would for 50 movies or something."

"Jake has spent that kind of money on two things. A gun and a bow and arrow. ONE time purchases. Not re-occurring like you need a purse every year type of things. I think once... a long time ago... my mom bought me a purse for $70 and I about shit a brick...

This one I think I got for $30 or $40 and I thought that was EXPENSIVE!! I need a new one... but I just can't justify it..."

"Well deary guns and bows are not always so “one time purchases” they break, or get lost/stolen, and they need all of these accessories to make them work. I spend a little more on a purse and it could last me years. Although it never does because I am sick of it way before then.

I don’t think that I spend money foolishly on things I see my friends spending money on. I don’t have hobbies or other expensive likings so I justify it. Although I am becoming a Pottery Barn snob too."

So, in the effort of fairness, I went back and looked. I did a search for everything that we have spent more than $200 on in the last 4 years. (Yes, I'm a geek and I have all of my finances in Quickbooks. It comes in handy for situations like this!! :-)

A Lawn Mower.... Um... not thinking that counts....

Movies... see... she was right about the movies. Although I bought about 50 movies last Christmas, so individually... not even close to the $200 mark

Jake's Bow...

Jake's Gun...

Power Tools...

Jake's Scent Blocker Suit...

Shall I continue?? I'm back to 2004... I know, we are boring people...

So, what is your weakness? (Or are you cheap like me?) Designer Shoes? Name brand clothing? Expensive toys (that would be Jake's)? French perfume?

Mine? I pay $100 every year for a new pair of tennis shoes. Living dangerously aren't I?

Old McDonald... I am not...

I have come to the regrettable decision that I am just not cut out to be a farmer. In fact, I fear for the safety of livestock were they to permanently live at my house. Why is this you ask?

Last night I got up at 12:45 and I could hear the cows making all kinds of noise. Wanting to avoid a repeat roundup situation I slipped on my sandals and traipsed outside to see what the problem was.

You want to know what the problem was?

Huh?

Huh?

Do ya?

Well join the club because I'm still wondering the same damn thing!! All that tromping through wet grass at 1:00 in the morning and the only thing I could find was a bunch of cows screaming at each other from different sides of the fence.

Makes you want to throw objects at their heads doesn't it?? (See, I told you I would fear for their safety!)

So back inside I went to remove my wet socks and stumble through our darkened bedroom trying not to wake up Jake in my quest for new, dry socks all the while cursing those stupid cows and their stupid noise making.

This morning when I got up there were still four or five of them standing on the feeder cow side of the fence bawling at the other cows. So, I counted. All 14 that belong with the bull are with him. So, best I can figure these feeder cows are in heat and were calling to the bull for some sweet midnight loving. (Crap... family site... kids, that just means.. well hell.. I don't know, ask your parents!!)

Speaking of parents, hey Mom & Dad, you can come get your #$^& cows now!!

Skywalk ramblings...

When I got into work today after my doctor's appointment (I'll post about it on the baby's site..) I rode down in the elevator with some woman. She seemed normal enough when I got into the elevator. Here's the conversation that followed...

"Hi, how are you today?"

"Good"

"So how did you decide to wear that heart necklace today?"

Noticing that she is also wearing a heart necklace it seems like a normal enough question, "I have warn it every day for 10 years. My husband gave it to me."

"Oh really. So, are you from Iowa."

"Yes."

"Is your husband from Iowa?"

"Yes"

"So, does he beat you?"

What?? Huh?? Did I just hear her right?? "Um... no."

"Oh really, because I've noticed that there seems to be a trend of violence among Iowa men."

"Well, I guess that depends on where you are in the state. We do have some hicks here..."

"No, I think it's pretty much all men here. So how did you get so lucky not to have yours beat you in 10 years."

Thinking maybe I can just joke with her to lighten the mood I try out this line, "Well, I started early. Beat some sense into him starting when he was 15."

She didn't laugh. I think she thought I was serious. "And he didn't beat you back?"

"Um... no." By this point I was beginning to be very uncomfortable. I just wanted to get away from her but she kept walking right beside me.

"Well you must have gotten really lucky. I've just been really un-impressed with the quality of Iowa men. They seem to all be very violent here. Maybe it's your culture."

"Um... maybe."

By this point maybe she got the hint that I didn't really want to talk to her so she started to speed up. As she walked away this was her parting comment, "Well, have a nice day. Good luck not getting beaten by your Iowa husband!!"

As soon as she was out of earshot I called my friend Katie. "So did you say anything back to her."

"I couldn't. She was OBVIOUSLY crazy. I was afraid if I angered her she would attack me!!"

So.... how was your morning??

What is the strangest random comment or conversation you have ever had from a total stranger?

Money Matters

First and foremost I must say... Effing Blogger and their Effing comments!! I was reading a friend's blog and I decided to comment. So I typed up this comment, which became a novel, a big one... like the one that you take on the 12 hour flight overseas and read the WHOLE way there and the WHOLE way back. Think Harry Potter in 6 point type. Yeah... it was kind of like that. Anyway, I finally finished up this catchy comment and when I went to push publish poof... it was gone!! GONE I tell you!! 45 minutes of my life that I will NEVER get back!! EVER...

So, instead of re-create it there, I decided since I had so much to say on the topic I might as well take up my own space, instead of hers and believe me when I tell you, that is just what I did. This could quite possibly be the longest post on this site so you may want to grab a beverage and a comfy seat and settle in.

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start, when you count you... oh... sorry I got kind of carried away there. Anyhow, just so you are not totally lost start here and then come back and read my response. Well... what are you waiting for... get going!!

Oh, I see, you think that I will just tell you the gist of it anyway and you can save yourself the trouble, well... maybe I will and maybe I won't. Don't blame me if you get to the bottom of this post and are sitting there scratching your head going what the hell is she talking about? I tried...

So, now that we are all back together again, the financial list. Basically the three financial goals my friend feels are absolutely essential before committing to having a child:

1. Employment-Possess secure employment, that could mean long standing with your company or having credentials that will make employment readily accessible.

2. A Savings (and still be able to contribute to savings after children) and 401K plan.

3. Responsible Loans: Responsible Credit Card debt and/or open lines of credit (if you can’t afford to make a payment on a $20,000 line of credit then you should not have that high of limits, reduce your open line of credit, in most cases it will help better your credit score anyways) AND College Loans (If you have $100,000 in student loans but only make $20,000, and will only make $20,000 – YIKES).

What? You can't read that? Really? Because when I first read it that is exactly what it looked like to me. It seemed greek to me to be concerned about such things... Alright... different font... here try this one....

1. Employment-Possess secure employment, that could mean long standing with your company or having credentials that will make employment readily accessible.

2. A Savings (and still be able to contribute to savings after children) and 401K plan.

3. Responsible Loans: Responsible Credit Card debt and/or open lines of credit (if you can’t afford to make a payment on a $20,000 line of credit then you should not have that high of limits, reduce your open line of credit, in most cases it will help better your credit score anyways) AND College Loans (If you have $100,000 in student loans but only make $20,000, and will only make $20,000 – YIKES).

Better?? Okay then... moving on. My response? I stepped away from the computer and breathed. Deep Breaths... (Let me tell you, these pregnancy hormones are a bitch!!) Why the need for all of this Lamaze breathing? Am I having pre-term labor? Why no, actually when I first read her post my gut reaction was that I couldn't help but feel attacked.

However, after sitting down and thinking about it for a moment I came to the decision that she was listing what she needed to feel comfortable with having a child (Okay, with the thought of being a parent, no one is really comfortable with the actual HAVING of the child) not what she thought EVERYONE needed to feel comfortable with.

So I decided that instead I needed to give my reaction to her list asrelatesltes to my own life and my own comfort level and maybe suggest a few other things that I feel are important. The decision to have a child is a VERY personal one and as you can tell one that strikes many deep emotions in peopObviouslyulsy there are MANY factors to consider when deciding whether you are at the right stage in your life to bring a child into your relationship but since she only touched on the financial aspects, that is what I will stick to. Also, since she is working in utopia format we are going to assume that this child is planned and not a product of oh shit the condom broke or holy hell I didn't take my pill.

#1) This is the one that struck the hardest with me. For those of you who know me you will know that Jake is nothing if he is not insecure in his employment. I am on my 1st job since I graduated college. I have been at my job over 4 years (but may be looking for something new soon if they find my blog :-) and plan to be there much longer. Jake is on his 7th job in the same four year period. (No, that is NOT a typo) 2 Floorcovering, 1 cooking (I know... it was a finding himself stage), 1 residential construction, 1 commercial construction, and 2 framing (one commercial and one residential). However, to his credit he has always had income coming in from some source.

So, on the money front this does concern me a little. Is it enough to keep me from having a child. Obviously not!! I don't think this will affect his ability to be a good dad and I think he has a LOT of great things to offer a child. If sometime down the road he is on his 20th job and I can't take it anymore then we will havereevaluateuate things but for now I knew who he was when I married him and I know that this is not on the top of my worry list right now.

#2) A savings? We were supposed to have a savings? Well Shit!! I knew we forgot something. Um God... it's me... are you listening? Could you take this baby back a few months... I've got some SERIOUS saving catching up to do!! Okay really, I put money into my 401(k) {I'm not getting any younger you know... and I don't want to work forever} and we have a small amount in our savings account, most of which is what I inherited from my grandma not that which we managed to save on our own account.

Look, I know in a perfect world it would be nice to have all of our debt paid off and to be putting awacertaintian amount each month but realistically for us, and for A LOT of people I know, that just isn't going to happen. If that is a requirement to have children someone needs to hightail it down to that hospital and start stuffing back some 70-80% of those babies!! :-)

Realistically I think savings comes with age and sometimes people are at a place in their lives where they are ready to expand their families but have not expandednned their bank accounts. My sister in-law just had a baby in February. She's 22 and I think the balance in their savings account is close to $0. We are due in in January. Jake and I will both be 26. The balance in our savings account is more than $0 but only because there was some inheritance and a little bit of self control on our part. Then there is my friend. She is 35 and considering having her first child. She has been working for over 10 years and the balance in her savings account is significantly more than mine. Is one of us more ready for this next step in our lives than the other? I don't think so. My guess is that at the age of 55 or 60 it will probably all even it's self out. Those of us who didn't save as much in our younger years will do so in our later and vice versa.

Finally #3) This is the one and only point which I do have to say had some merit on our decision making. People... honestly... if you are living in a van down by the river and you are making the decision to have a family please... just say no. However, if you can pay your bills and are not cooking cockroaches and earthworms for dinner then more power to you. Three years ago Jake and I were on the latter side rather than the former. We never actually ate bugs mind you, but I was floating checks EVERY week just hoping to make it so that we could buy food and pay our rent.

Obviously at that point in our lives making consciousious decision to have a child would have been irresponsible. However at the point we are at now we have manageable debt and are always able to do a little extra each month. I think once you get to that point it is really up to you what your comfort level becomes. Babies are EXPENSIVE!! You've got daycare, diapers, formula, clothes, etc. Everytime I think about it I have a mild panic attack BUT like everyone says, if you wait until you can afford children, you may never have them.

Okay, so I'm done with the list. Can I be excused now? Actually, somewhere in all of this I did speak to miss Jessica and as it turns out the answer she was trying to get is not one she will get by asking the questions she has. She knows that there is more to deciding to start a family than just money she's just not sure what it is. How big of a role should money have? When she looks around her it seems as if the money factor is not even entering some people's radars.

I can't speak for anyone else as coming to that decision is very personal and different for everyone. Growing up I have been on both sides of the money issue. When we were little my dad was a farmer and my mom worked as an accountant at Firestone. Most of the clothes we owned she made or they came from a garage sale. However I don't have any ill effects from the fact that for Christmas my sister and I got a Fisher Price kitchen set to share instead of our own power wheels. Heck, we had big wheels... who needed power wheels?

As we got older my mom quit her job and we started a family feed business. As the business grew, so did the expendable income that we had. Suddenly all the clothes were new and the Burger King was readily flowing. But my happiness quotient? It didn't change one bit. In fact I was actually more unhappy with more money... or maybe that was just the teenangstanxt!!

Either way, I think money should be a consideration but it is in no way the deciding factor. When your children get ready to have children of their own chances are they are going to remember how much you loved them and how much time you spent with them, not whether you lived in a 1 bedroom apartment or a 10 bedroom mansion. Most of the people I know are concerned with how they are going to raise their children not what they are going to buy for them.

So, what was it for us? What considerations did we have when deciding to take this step? I can't pin point it really. We wanted to make sure we were in a good financial and mental place but even when we got there, or thought we had gotten there, jumping off that cliff was a lot like it sounds. For a month it was this is my last month of pills, are we sure we are ready for this? This is my last week of pills, are we still sure? Okay, it's Sunday I can take the new pack now are we absolutCERTAINTIAN this is what we want to do? The first time I knew that we were having unprotected sex the freaking out was just as great....

BUT... then it took awhile and every month found us realizing how ready we were and how hard it was not to be there. And at that moment, it didn't have to do with money or the marriage or the stuff, it had to do with the look I saw in Jake's eyes when he would see a baby or the look I know he saw in mine. We were just ready and we just knew. How did we get that way? I suppose only God will ever know the answer to that one.
trulyuely believe in a phrase my good friend uses quite a lot. God will give you your children when he feels you are ready not when you tell him you are ready. If there is some planning that you can do before hand, great. If you are blessed with an unexpected surprise, great. Somehow, for those of us who try these things have a way of working themselves out. Sometimes it is with a second job or a little bit of credit card debt but as long as you love your children and show them that you are there for them whenever they need you 30 years down the road they may not even remember that you took them to school in an Oldsmobilebile. (With T-tops none the less. Hey, they were a special order!!)

Hamilton Family Roundup

Edited: 1:10 p.m. CST

Apparently this baby is destined to be a cowboy/cowgirl, which considering the family history is not really all that far fetched. For the third time since I have been pregnant I have had to chase livestock. This time it was cows. (Oh, and in case you were wondering in the four years that we have lived in our house BEFORE I got pregnant I chased livestock a total of oh.... ZERO times!!)

Anyhow, on Monday night we opened our windows because it was supposed to be in the 50's and our house is old, and it doesn't cool properly so the upstairs is always 10 degrees warmer. About 3:30 on Tuesday morning I heard the cows making quite a ruckus. For a moment, a brief moment mind you, I considered getting out of bed and seeing what the problem was.

However, since they had been known to bawl before at early hours because the self feeder was empty I decided against it, popped in my ear plugs and tried to go back to sleep. About 4:00 instead of visions of sugar plums I had visions of smacking the cows upside the head with a bucket. At that point I once again briefly, every so briefly entertained the idea of crawling out of my nice warm bed to see what the problem was.

About 4:15 they quieted down and so I drifted back into dream land. This state did not last long. At about 5:30 I heard what I thought was the dog itching his ear. It sounded like a thump, thump, thump on the floor. However, Sadie started to bark, which she normally doesn't do if it is just Jack making the noise.

I told her to quiet down assuming maybe he'd startled her. When she yipped again I decided maybe I should investigate. I looked out the one window and didn't see anything but when I looked out the second window I saw a man with a flashlight walking up our driveway to his car on the road. The first thing that went through my head was that he'd hit one of our cats, the second thing was that the horses were out again. However, it quickly dawned on me that with all of that noise I heard, it was probably the cows.

I sent Jake after him, as I am not going outside to meet a strange man at 5:30 in my condition. (Send Jake out to see if it's safe, call the police if it's not... that's my motto!!) As it turns out he was an off duty Prairie City officer who quickly informed us that there were three cows in the road.

So, Jake called them and they came running. We opened a gate to let them in and that is when we noticed that two of the fence panels were down. At this point I realized that this was not just a case of three cows jumping the fence, but instead all 15 were probably out wandering somewhere.

I went inside to call my parents, after all they are their cows and why should we have all the fun, while Jake located the others. They were across the street making a mess of the farmer's corn field. Ooops!! But, at least they were contained for the moment, and we didn't have to worry about them getting hit.

The officer waited with us while we waited on my parents and so we were chit chatting. We mentioned to him how we had also had to put some horses in about a month ago and how we were kind of amazed how many officer's knew nothing about livestock. (Assuming that he's from Prairie City, he must know SOMETHING.) To which he says, I'm a city boy. All I do is just knock on the door of the nearest farmer and then direct traffic.

I was just amazed. Miss Sonya... don't you have livestock out there in the sticks?? :-) Really though, I would think that any officer that is going to be working in a district that is even remotely in the country should have at least a basic knowledge of animals. After all, they are bound to get out at some point.

Anyhow, once my parents arrived we opened the fence and slowly herded the cows back across the road and into the pasture. Of course we only got to cross the road after the inconsiderate S.O.B. in the blue SUV swerved out past the Polk County officer (with his lights on) and almost took the nose off of one of the heffers just starting to step into traffic... but that's a story for another day.

By 6:30 we had the fence fixed and my parents were on their way home. When we got into the house I could hear my alarm going off upstairs.

"So dear, do you think we should get up now?"

Got Nail?

Warning: At the bottom of this post is a picture. If you have a weak stomach you may not want to look. There is no blood, but some people just don't like anything even remotely gory!! There you go... you have been warned. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

On Friday at around 11:30 I came back from the ATM to find that my cell phone was ringing. It was Jake which is not unusual as he sometimes calls around lunch. When I answered, I could tell from the tone of his voice that something was just not right.

"Hi, I wanted to tell you I'm alright...."

Oh dear lord... what did he do? Earlier in the week he stepped off the plywood that covers the basement and fell bruising his tailbone and shin so my first thought was what did he fall from now.

"...but I have a 16 penny nail through my finger."

"You have a WHAT?"

"Yeah, I was framing and I shot the nail gun once and when I pulled it back it fired again and the nail went right through my finger."

"So where are you going?"

"Well, I tried to pull it out with pliers and I couldn't get it so my boss is taking me to urgent care"

"You tried to do what? Oh never mind, do I need to come there and get you?"

As it turns out it was only a 12 penny nail (still looks painful) and his boss took him to urgent care and then picked him up. Unfortunately he had ridden with a co-worker and was pretty much useless for the day so I went and picked him up around 1:00.

Today he is back to work for the second day and the holes seem to have closed up. (They had to leave them open and let them drain and close on their own.) He's still on antibiotics but the nail just grazed the bone and didn't break it, so he's pretty lucky.

AND even better and more lucky for you.... he had the presence of mind to take pictures so that I could share with all of you the glory that is the nail. (Which he kept... don't ask me why!!) No, that is not blood on the nail. It went through so fast it didn't have a chance to bleed. That is the red from the stripping that holds the nails together in the nail gun.Unfortunately, it rained on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so he was already short on hours and this made it impossible for him to make some up this weekend. The fun never ends at the Hamilton household does it??

New Pictures

Okay, I figured since it has been two weeks I will post new pictures. For those of you with a keen eye, yes, I am wearing the same outfit that I was wearing two weeks ago. The strange part is I just did laundry last night and so I have not worn this outfit in two weeks... but it seems fitting just the same.

Here are the belly pictures from 17w3d.















I have felt somehow bigger all day but when I look down I don't really "see" a difference. So, just for fun I did this..... I think I have finally reached that stage that everyone has been telling me would happen. I have finally "popped." Next step, loosing sight of my feet!!

UPDATE: 8/11/06 - I tried on the dress... it still fits, but it also still looks like a tent. Hopefully some magical altering in a couple of weeks will fix that!!

Anyone out there??

For those of you wondering where the hell I have been... have no fear, I'm still here. I'm having some trouble finding the time to post, basically because they think I should work at work, and not blog. Some people!!

Anyhow, I've updated the baby's website for about a weeks worth of posts, although I fear that week 15 may be lost to me forever, which makes me sad!! Hopefully I can keep up from now on and not loose any more time!!

They are going to take blogger down in 5 minutes, for what I can only guess, so I will try (if I can keep my eyes open) to think of something THRILLING to say tonight!!

Pixie's New Do

There once was a cat named Pixie who lived with a wonderful family in Iowa. Unfortunately, Pixie decided that she didn't want to be friends with her family. So, she spent all of her days upstairs lying on the spare bed or under the dresser. When the family members would come up to see her she would not run away or hiss but she NEVER came to them to sit next to them or sit on their laps like the other suck up cats.

She was an independent woman damn it and she was going to prove it. Unfortunately all of this lying around had a bad consequence. Pixie gained weight and became unable to reach her tongue around to clean her back. Since she would not come to the family to have them pet and brush her regularly her fur became matted.

One morning the woman of the family noticed this mess and said no, no... this will not do. We will have to get the scissors and cut these mats off of you!! Pixie was less than thrilled and did not want the new haircut AT ALL!!

The woman, however was sneaky. She knew that Pixie came every morning for her one weakness... food. So one morning she cornered the kitty while she was eating and proceeded to brush and cut out mats all the way from the middle of her back to her stump tail.

It took two days of this (Pixie didn't learn the first time and came again for another "butchering" the second day) but finally Pixie was free from all the mats.

Pixie does not like her new haircut, she thinks she looks stupid. The woman... okay... she thinks she looks stupid too but hey you gotta do what you gotta do!!

Random Musings

When I wake up now I no longer wake up feeling ill. Now I wake up feeling hungry. Not, hmm I should get something to eat hungry. It's more of a feed me earthling before I gnaw off your arm and feed it to the alien child.

Since I'm kind of attached to my arm, my usual routine now consists of getting out of bed and heading straight for the kitchen. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Sit, stuff face, ask questions later.

--------------------------------------------------

On Monday Jake and I went to the grocery store. Yes he went with me. No it was not by choice. There are certain isles of the grocery store which have not been my friend in the past and so until I am certain that I feel better I need him to brave the smelly coffee isle to retrieve the lemonade. Things of such nature.

Anyhow, in the car I got the same lecture he always give me when I make him go to the store. Now no looking around. We go in, we get what we need and we get out. It's 7:15 and I want to be back in the car before 8:00.

I have NEVER been shopping with someone that SLOW in my entire life!! He must have taken 10 minutes to decide on what flavors of canned fruit he wanted to get to take for lunch. Every item was a major decision. Do I get the white string cheese or the white and yellow string cheese? Wait, what about this kind of cheese... do they have that anywhere? By the time we left I think we had been there an hour and a half and our total bill was close to $200.

I made it through every isle this time without gagging. Perhaps next time I shall go alone!!

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Last night I listened to the baby's heartbeat. Every time I have listened before it has been a woosh, woosh, woosh sound. Last night the heartbeat was REALLY loud at times and when it got really loud and I got the doppler in the right place his/her heartbeat changed.

I could now hear Ka-thunk, Ka-thunk, Ka-thunk, just like a regular heartbeat. I suppose that this means that my little munchkin is getting bigger. I'm not ready for bigger. What happened to my little peanut? I'm 16 weeks pregnant and already I'm wanting him/her to stop growing so fast. Why didn't anyone tell me it started this early?

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Speaking of growing up, I was reading a magazine yesterday and it was talking about talking to your children about sex. How kids don't always ask questions at the most appropriate times and how to deal with situations, etc.

Suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks. This baby is going to grow up. I'm responsible for shaping the development of an entire person. What if I screw it up? This little one isn't even here yet, they haven't even started crossing any milestones like say breathing AIR, and already I'm trying to make sure I'm prepared for their future.

I think I need more chocolate!!