Baby Bump

I can no longer see my feet. As of this morning, in the shower I could no longer see to tidy my bikini line properly. At church today I heard such things as, "Whoa! You've popped!" and "No more hiding that bump any longer!". My own husband spied me and the bulging tummy in the bathroom as I blew dry my hair this morning. As I was already dressed he remarked, "Well, when you cinch in your dress with the belt like that, your belly looks really huge!" Awesome. I know. Thank you very much Husband of mine. I'm not even half way through this pregnancy, unless, unless, unless - by the grace of the Above, the babies will be sufficiently cooked and pop out a few weeks early... Have I mentioned I have all my fingers and toes crossed against the possibility of a c-section? My chances are 50/50 for the time being. I've been hearing stories of women prego with twins who carried the babes the full 40 weeks and the babies each weighed in at 8 lbs once birthed! This is frightening news to my ears, my knees, the skin of my belly and my nether regions.

Goggles, Floats and a Sunburn

We had a fabulous time at the pool with Things 1 - 4 yesterday! Beautiful sunny skies, yummy snacks and chats with a good friend is always a winning combination in my book. The downside of the day was that I got sunburned. My legs are stiff as boards at the moment. I did use sunscreen but you'd never guess that I had. I read online last night that pregnant women's skin is more susceptible to the rays of the sun. I'm here to testify that this is true. Hugo's back and arms were a little pink last night, today he's brown as a berry. After his bath, I rubbed him up good with lotion. He was sweet and wanted to put lotion on my pink shoulders and nose. Once Hugo was tucked in for the night, I drank lots of water and gorged myself on watermelon, or gorged on watermelon as much as my smooshed stomach would allow!


Hugo wanted these goggles real bad. He asked for them by name, que my surprise. He also wanted the snorkle - I put my foot down and said no way to the snorkle. Next year, there is always next year at the pool. I'm sharing a bunch of goggle wearing photos because they crack me up!





The big pool floats returned and huge waves were created! Hugo just peeked at the computer and told me he was splashing in these photos.

Pool Time

Last night during our walk with Ms Sheri we discovered that the kiddie pool had water in it finally. What a fantastic discovery! Kenny's mom wanted to come over for a day of potty training today but, I had other ideas. . . "Leave the potty training till our next rainy, dismal day." I said. "Let's phone up Jin and the girls and have us some pool fun!" The coolers were packed and sunscreen, swim diapers (no swim diapers for us this year!!) beach towels and pool toys dug out from the back recesses of the linen closet.






Within the fence surrounding the kiddie pool I spotted Hugo's favorite pool toy from last summer - the blue bucket, uh-oh. Remember how he spent a good half of each day underneath or inside the blue bucket? A woman who runs a small daycare brings the bucket which is loaded with all sorts of floating toys each day. She got my attention mid afternoon and wanted to chat about how tall Hugo had grown over the winter and how he hadn't climbed into or under the blue bucket once so far! I think he forgot all about his turtle days, but I haven't.



We had sunshine for most of the day with spots of giant passing clouds. When the clouds covered the sun it was a comfortable temp but, cool if you were in the water. Skinny boy Hugo had blue lips and shivered and shivered. He would jump into the water and play and splash and then climb out and want me to wrap him tightly in his towel for warmth. The cycle of jumping in and climbing out for warmth and food was repeated over and over. I was glad I had brought extra towels.

Finished Project

Cesar finished up the kitchen pantry for me this weekend. Yeah! I wish I could roll back the clock and take a true "before" photo but... that's not happening. These first two photos still show the room in its rough form, just not as rough as it had been. The ceiling used to be open to the elements, and critters, along the eves, there had been a strange board attached to the wall, a jimmyed electrical light and a long before our ownership oddly sealed entrance to the house over on the left (remember my post about our house having eight doors leading to the outside?). It was a strange little room beside our front door which we've never made any sense of. I wondered for a long time if we should change the front door one way or another to incorporate the room into the entrance of the house and gain a much needed coat closet and mud room. Cesar wasn't keen on the idea. So, in the end, a pantry made the most sense. The room is still missing a proper floor but that will not be changed until we redo the entry and the short hall leading to the kitchen which flows into the pantry. It will all blend together. Patience my friends. If I have had patience this long, so can you!


We painted the walls in a Martha color called Otter and I chose some fabric from Joann's for the back wall. We weren't sure how to stick the fabric to the wall. Cesar wanted me to search the internet for flour paste ideas, I thought maybe Mod Podge would work but didn't have any. In the end, I suggested some good ole Elmer's glue. The husband picked up 4 bottles of the stuff and it worked like a charm! We simply dumped it into a sacrificed tupperware container and used a paint brush which had seen better days. Cesar did the majority of the fabric hanging and he did it beautifully. Where was Hugo during this time you might possibly be wondering?? Little Hugo was glued to the television watching Season 1 of Batman and eating animal crackers straight out of their storage container on the couch. He barely moved. He's a total superhero junkie. Cesar is proud that the kid already appreciates the "good stuff"! We picked up the shelving unit and deep freeze at Lowe's on sale. I can hardly believe that we finally own a second freezer. I will no longer have to beg off freezer space from my girlfriend Shara for our Thanksgiving turkey. Hip hip hooray for a pantry! Now on the list of scores for the pantry are a flour mill, a Kitchen Aid mixer and a dehydrator. Remember earlier when I mentioned the word patience...

Playdate Thursday

Our monsoon season held its breath long enough for us to enjoy a beautiful day at the park. Woo hoo! I am a person who likes rain but, boy oh boy, have we ever been experiencing rainy weather. Thoughts have been wandering through my mind of the possibility that we would never see the sun this summer, or experience any heat. Since I'm pregnant, the cool temps have been nice. On the other hand, I want to wear my cute maternity bathing suits! I've been all prepared for another summer at our kiddie pool but, I'm not sure if they are even opening this year. This morning calls were made and a trip to the park was planned while the sun shone.

We have missed this darling face! Amy and Hannah beat us to the park. Hugo could-not-wait for me to unbuckle him from his car seat so he could greet the girls! They ran up to us and hugged and helloed, it was very sweet.


Jan and Kenny soon arrived. We learned that their plans of traveling home to Korea have fallen through due to the swine flu scare. Sad for them, more friends for us!


The kids spied a Sheriff's speed boat pulling up to the dock. We all held hands and walked over to the cliff edge for a closer look. We waved and gawked and then ran back to the slides. Without our realizing it, the man who had been driving the boat followed close behind us. He produced a small bag from his pocket and began handing out Junior Deputy Sheriff's badges to the kids. Their grins stretched from ear to ear as one by one the mom's pinned on their new police badge.

Miss Amy and Hugo posed so sweetly together.

Who knew a sewer grate would offer up so much fun and occupy so very much of their attention? Tales were overheard of man eating crocodiles and sharks down in the hole. Have I mentioned the loveliness of my son's blossoming imagination? I love to listen in on his new make believe games and feed them with tales of bear hunts and other fun things while preparing for bedtime. Bear hunts before bedtime?? You might be thinking me mad but... My little boy believes we must be very, very quiet you see, so that the bear cannot hear us. We tip toe up the creaky stairs and talk only in hushed whispers with one another. We must change out of our stinky clothes and scrub our stinky teeth and empty our stinky bladders so that the bear cannot smell us. Last but not least, we must say our prayer and turn out the lights so that the bear cannot see us. It is a true simple pleasure and it works for my little boy.

The End