Noellle counts Sissy's fingers

Back by popular demand...more Sydney pics.

Happy and content until...


Noelle displayed her vocal skills.

Sydney Rae Albertsen!

Here's Rachel happy that she didn't have to drink caster oil in order to get admitted into the hospital.

Can't tell who looks more like they just came out of the womb. It was a long night.

Very proud and excited big sister!

Anticipointment

The act of anticipation only to be disappointed.

That is the highlight of our most recent days. Note to self, when they say induction and you don't have high blood pressure or any other medical problems, you get to wait until the hospital has a bed for you. Apparently everyone else is having babies and we're not. So 36 hours of twiddling our thumbs and we'll just keep our fingers crossed that the hospital calls.

I am going to try not to be to hostile once I get there.

Its Always Fun When Grandma Comes

Grandma Nay came in May to help us pack up our house. While she was here she let Noelle put on her make-up, all by herself. Noelle thought it was great, however when it came time to show me what she had done, she knew that I wouldn't be as excited about it as Grandma was. I could tell she thought she was in trouble.

It took a lot to convince her that she was indeed not in trouble and that she should smile for a picture.

We later washed the mask portion off and just let her have the eyes done. I really hope she doesn't think she can play in my make-up the way she can play in Grandma's. (Note to Mom: If she does indeed get into my make-up, you're dead meat.)

The Guest Room

Really the only room that makes sense and looks cute. Come visit!

P.S. Look how soft my carpet looks in this picture. I love our new carpet.

Lunch Date with Noelle

Today Noelle and I ventured out for a not so fun and exciting eye appointment (you know, one of those last minute things you do before you have a baby?) I promised her that we could get a cookie afterwards at Paradise Bakery. Of course she had to go pee and making her hold it isn't as easy as we adults all think it should be. So yes after being so, so good (which she can also be so, so terrible) we headed over. Since it was lunch time I figured we might as well eat a sandwich while we at it and make a date of the day.
As usual the sandwich was good, we made it to the bathroom fine, cookies are always delightful, etc. Then all of a sudden I had that feeling, the one where you feel like you have tunnel vision (which I didn't really because the eye doc would have told me if I did) but that feeling when you look at your one and only child and think, this is not going to last much longer. Not even a week in our case. Then I thought this might be the last time we actually sit down and have a nice little lunch, eating cookies and not needing to talk, but just watch her be. She's big. She says funny things and she has a memory like Horton. I wish I could have preserved that moment. I was tempted to get the camera out of my purse and take her picture with sugar cookie all over her face. She was so content. Little does she know she's about to have her world rocked. I sure hope she loves her sister.

Car Seats

Nine or less days and "baby sister" can now officially come, because we now have a car seat in which to bring her home in.

I agonized over this stupid thing for so long that it seems ridiculous to me. I loved the one we had for Noelle and it served its purpose well. However thanks to one of the major airlines for hurling it through the air and snapping the handle in two. We compensated by duct taping it back together for the remaining months of use and then stored it wondering what we should do with our almost perfect car seat. When we finally moved I told Boo it was time to stop storing junk and we parted ways with our beloved car seat.

Fast forward three years and that car seat has been modified. Whaaa! No! Although it still has a decent consumer rating, it had been changed just enough to make it a little inefficient. Or if we found one that operated the same it came in a grotesquely pink motif or something with small animal type characters, neither of which I could imagine using. I must have looked at car seats for more than a life's worth of time, going back and forth, reading user ratings and even making Boo run around town looking for a store that carried enough car seats that we could compare them to each other. He became apathetic towards the whole thing and made me decide, since ultimately I'd be the one hauling it to and from the car. Oh the agony.

So we ended up with beauty. I hope I still love it in five months. I hope "baby sister" loves it too. I know Consumer Reports gives it two thumbs way up.

The Ten Day Count Down

This weekend has been loaded with all things nesting. Before Noelle was born I didn't do the cleaning kind of nesting. I quilted for friends mostly and then before I knew it she was here. This time however I feel I need to scrub the filth off of everything and have become much more persnickety with the clothes and the whole set up. It could also be that for once in our lives we are permanent. There is no looking to the future of getting out of a rental, or possibilities of having our lease be up and being asked to move. We're here for a long period of time. That being said I've been trying to make things a little more organized, because we can't live in chaos forever.
So for the next ten or less days we'll continue to get settled and be ready for "baby sister."

And for all of you just itching to come and see how hot it really is in Arizona during the summer, we now have a guest room ready for all things visitors. Boo says it looks like something from Palm Beach.

Life in the Slow Lane

I'd love to post something witty and exciting, but I've resorted to being a hermit on all days except Tuesdays. That is one day I'm committed to getting out. Its the day of the weekly doctor's appointment which we then tack ourselves on to playgroup in our old neighborhood since we're in that general area already. The rest of the week I sit around looking at things on the floor that will take too much energy to bend over and pick up. Noelle has started imitating the way I do this, which looks like she's getting down into a tackle position for football, legs spread apart, one arm down for balance. I'm sure its looks ridiculous to a three year old.
I'm also sure life feels like we're just moving along slowly because I sit around twiddling my thumbs waiting to get this baby out. It really not reassuring when the doctor says you could have this baby today or you might go until your induction date. Personally, I'm totally pulling for sooner rather than later. Life also might be in slow gear because its like we're living in the real life version of the movie Ground Hog's Day. The same thing over and over again. Starts with cereal, watch a few movies throughout the day, ends with Noelle in panties and tap shoes, clicking around on the tile in our house.
Maybe tomorrow I'll break up the monotony and be glad to have easy going days.

We Moved...

Well we sort of moved, into the garage. We officially live on the other side of town. But with a few things to do before we could put our furniture in we had to put EVERYTHING in the garage. But now we're slowly filtering through and trying to get it all put in its new place. I'd post some pictures but we don't have the office up and running and we're currently using our ghetto laptop that has limited abilities. Internet being one of its only.

Luckily reinforcement is coming in about an hour and will be here all weekend She'll do a good job making things look cute and making sense of the space I have. Plus, she can lift boxes and I can't.

If you didn't get our new address in an email and want it let me know. We'll get it to you without sharing with the entire world wide web.

Moving side note: The new post office wasn't as bad as it could have been today. Pros: it wasn't over run with old people shuffling through the parking lot and the workers were generally nice for a change. Cons: The customers, there were some interesting folks in there.

The Bitter End

Why is it that I feel like such a procrastinator? Why is it also that every time we move we wait until the bitter end? It seems like each move is the same. I've even observed this behavior and promised that I wouldn't repeat such actions. But here we are, closing the month and you better believe we'll be here cleaning at midnight on Sunday, well aware of our own foolishness.

If You Think You're Having a Bad Day...

Then think of this bird I found on my patio that had a growth on the side of his face that was as large as his head. Then imagine trying to fly straight. I imagine he has to over compensate.

**sorry the picture isn't top quality, but it was taken through the window as not to add any more stress to this poor bird.

A Cause for Celebration

There really doesn't need to be a cause to celebrate with these fine ladies, but thanks to them for a great evening of pedicures and dinner to celebrate the upcoming arrival of "baby sister." I love you all!

Here's a fun game...guess which one is mine.

Movin' On Up

Doo doo doo, to the East side. Just like the Jefferson's, we're movin' on up, or down depending on how you choose to look at it. We're actually going to see what that "American dream" is all about. No more shrugs of the shoulders blaming a lame landlord or apathy toward yard maintenance. I asked Boo if this was my ten year anniversary gift and he replied, "Well it is a diamond in the rough." (shoulders shrugged)

Its actually not bad at all because it will be mine and I don't do junky. So next week when I sign my life away for a realized dream, give us a hoop and a holler for jumping in feet first.

The best part is that the commute will be one third the distance for Boo and can all be done on surface streets if he wants. We can even meet him for lunch on occasion without making up an excuse for being in the neighborhood and having to pack snacks for the journey. We'll even get our dad for an extra hour or two a day! That is worth the nights I lay in bed thinking about all the walls to paint and better (meaning cuter/stylish, however function is all Boo needs) ceiling fans I'd install.

Come visit anytime...from October to March.

I've Hit A Wall

Stick a fork in me, I'm done. The flies are driving me insane, and I think the culprit is our little pool in the back yard. It doesn't help that the door is constantly left open and when you ask Noelle to close it she will look at you plainly and say "No thanks." I can't sit outside for long for two reasons, one I can't get up out of the chair to fulfill all of Noelle's requests and two its to damn hot! My clothes are so boring at this point in pregnancy that I'd almost rather go naked. I wandered about Target looking at possible solutions to my problem, but I can't bring myself to buy anything when I know the end is so close. I just kept telling myself that I'd be so much more happy buying myself something fun when this baby is out. I'm already sick of packing boxes. I figure a couple boxes a day is sufficient, however by the time I get that far I'm pooped. So cleaning goes out the window as does any parenting strategies I thought I had before now. Noelle has decided to launch a revolt and is no longer the nice, compliant child she was even two weeks ago. She calls us "bobbin heads," which I'm not sure what it is but I've threatened vinegar and soap and she doesn't care. That's her personal insult to me. Maybe I am a bobbin head and just don't realize it. Needless to say, if you see a post on here and I've spontaneously combusted, you'll know why. I just have to get through the next month or so and hopefully I'll be blissed out on the idea of a new house and preparing to give birth. (Personally I'd rather do that right now than anything.)

Self Portrait

Noelle is a great artist. She especially likes to draw pictures of people. After a very long day of waking early, running errands, no nap, and eating lots of stuff she drew this self portrait.

She was really sad about five minutes before because I had told her that she needed to go to bed, but she wanted to watch the "dancing show" also known as Dancing With the Stars. So I put her little weepy self on my bed and she told me that her feelings were really hurting. So this is what she says she looks like when she's sad. I'm not sure where her mouth is, but usually she does draw a mouth, but the tears are a new addition to her art. Very funny and expressive for a three year old.

Produce Mania

I know I go on and on about this great produce co-op that we participate in every other week, but seriously I love looking in my fridge to find it full of good things, that we even eat. I encourage my Utah friends to keep an eye out for one near them since they just started doing produce offerings in that area. Check http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/ to see how it all works.

Let me just tell you what I got for my $15 today. (This does not include the extra stuff I got for volunteering)
Broccoli - 2 crowns
Acorn Squash -2
Lettuce
Cucumbers - 2
Celery
Apples - 7
Grapes, lots of grapes - 2 bags, don't know in pounds.
Bananas - 7 or so
Cantaloupe - 1
Pineapple - 1
Blackberries - 1 pint

Here's a picture from one of my first baskets. Look at all that good stuff. Its cheap too!

Its That Time of Year

Welcome to Arizona! We can all pretty much assume that from here on out its going to be hot and just get hotter before a major cool down happens.

Time for popsicles.

Time for swimming in the pool.