I'm Leeeeeeeavin..

on a jet plane!!!

I'm going home to Idaho, yahoooooo!!!! I'm really looking forward to it. With the crazy events of this year, every single trip I planned to take home got cancelled - either because of a medical issue or bad timing.

Thankfully, my OB said I could fly home for Turkey Day - the conversation went something like this:

Me: "Dr. S, I really want to go home for Turkey Day"

Dr. S: "Well go then....how long of a drive is it, two, three hours?" (She's from the South and came up here after Katrina)

Me: "Ummm, no - it's 9 hours driving in the winter, I'd like to fly, it's only an hour flight"

Dr. S: "And who exactly will be taking you to the airport?"

Me: "My honey, of course"

Dr. S: "And who will be picking you up?"

Me: "My dad, probably"

Dr. S: "And you promise not to life a single bag....and no carry ons except your purse?"

Me: "Absolutely"

Dr. S: "And you'll go to the local hospital and have them call me if a single thing even seems strange?"

Me: "Of course..."

Dr. S: "Well....okay then...but this is it, little lady - after this, I don't want you more than an hour from the hospital, in traffic!"

And with that....I'm off!!!!! And I'm especially excited that I'll get to see my BFF from high school. It's been YEARS since we've actually been in Idaho at the same time and were there long enough at the same time to be able to see each other! Although, I think it entirely unfair that we see each other when she's looking all hot (she's been working out like a fiend with her own personal trainer...as chronicled in her heeeeeeelairous blog) and I'm 8 freakin months pregnant (and the only hot look I've got is the one I get when I'm having a hot flash).

She better not bail on me for our 20th High School reunion, she owes me now.

At any rate....Happy Thanksgiving my friends - despite the economy and the events of the world, we have a lot to be thankful for!

32 Weeks...

That's 8 months people.

That's astonishing to me - where has the time gone?!?! And Maddy keeps growing and growing (and letting me know aaaaaaall about how much room she has in there).

This week she's the size of a Jicama...

And for an upclose and personal look at her little face during my 28 (4 weeks ago!!!!) week ultrasound...here's her face. I must put a disclaimer that my husband hates these pictures, they weird him out, so I promised him I wouldn't post tons of them. I personally think she has an adorable nose and tiny cute little lips!

Maddy's Room!!!!!

Goofball Moves

Well howdy there dear readers…. I know I’ve been the silent blogger as of late. Things have continued to be a little hectic in my world and by the time I have time to blog, I’m exhausted and it’s not part of what I want to be doing. I’m lame, I know.

On the home front, I had my baby shower a week ago. It was AMAZING! We have so many cute outfits for our little munchkin…we can’t wait to have her here (not early…on time would be fine…even late…yes, I’m still saying I could go a week or two late and be okay) to dress up. I’ll post more about it when I have some pictures – I’m waiting for some wonderful friends who took tons of photos to get some to me J But mostly, it’s amazing to have such a network of women that you know are going to love your little girl. It makes a pregnant mama sniffle back a few tears.

George has gotten some good news… Jim and I had noticed that he was walking pretty tenderly these days, and rarely joining us upstairs. So, my wonderful husband (he’s been SO helpful around the house lately, I honestly don’t know what I’d do without him and I’m really dreading him going back to work in January….I’ll miss his companionship and help when he goes back to a hard core work schedule) took Georgie to the vet. She gave him some medicine we’ve been trying and it’s like a whole new kitty! His joints obviously aren’t hurting his as much; he’s much more playful, coming up stairs, acting like his normal Georgie self.

The BEST news is that the heart murmur she heard about a year ago is non-existent!!!!! YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jim acted like he was disappointed, he always likes to tease me that he’s anti-cat…but I know how much he loves Georgie….so whatever J
We’ve finally finished Maddy’s nursery!!! I’ll be taking pictures to post tonight, but it’s done! Well…one proviso – the shades we ordered were cut incorrectly – so the manufacturer is resending them – but all the hardware is up, so we just have to pop them in. And…we’re thinking about changing out the light fixture – it’s a big room with one itty bitty light in the ceiling – drives me nuts – but floor lamps used in a toddler’s room are a bad idea. We’ll see if that gets changed out or not.

But the event that causes the title of the post – oiy – thank goodness for AAA.
Yesterday, Jimmy and I were out running errands and stopped for gas. He got out; put the keys in the middle console. He needed my help, so I got out; shut the door, with my purse inside. SOMEHOW (and we don’t know if I hit the lock button or when he tossed the keys in the console he hit the lock button) we got locked out. At the gas station. In the cold. With no jackets. With no phone. And I’m 8 months pregnant. Luckily, Jim had his wallet in his back pocket, so we had our AAA card. We asked the store if we could use their phone and called them. 45 minutes (and about 2 seconds to get in) later, we were back in our car…little icicles…..and headed for home. I was supposed to go to a party, but with that little side line, I wasn’t able to go – I was frozen and would have been an hour late.

So, I hung at home with my honey – which is honestly my favorite thing to do – outside of shopping with my Sisters-in-Law (which I did this weekend….I so big pink puffy heart them).

And on the topic of people I big pink puffy heart….I want to mention how much I am in love with my husband. He is so supportive and so wonderful and it’s really an amazing feeling to know that there is someone who loves you most in the world and will always be there to take care of you. We still have our issues that we work with - and I’m probably more vocal about those things these days…these damn hormones are something wicked (not that they’re not valid points of things we need to work on…but I get more emotional about things quicker) – but all in all…he just warms up my heart and I think the best decision I’ve ever made in my life was to marry him.

Sweet Oliver

It's no secret my sister and I love our animals. Our father often thinks we're absolutely insane - but we understand that about each other. Our animals have been our babies when we weren't able to have babies in our lives. My cats have been every where with me - and to this day, I still feel guilty that I wasn't able to afford to do more for Cassie at the end of her life. And George...I would scale mountains for that cat. He is my constant companion and has been for the last 14 years. He's even won my husband over - and that's saying something...

So - when my sister contacted me in tears yesterday, it broke my heart to know she was going to have to put her sweet Oliver down. He's just a baby, only five years old....but he developed a very, very rapid tumor on his spine that left him in severe pain and completely disabled within a matter of a week of it's discovery.

So, to honor that sweet boy - and all of us who love our pets, I want to show you pictures of Mister Oliver.

"You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us" ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

I'm Behind!

It's been a hetic two weeks around the Clark household...I've been working some crazy hours trying to keep up with everything going on at work and we've been doing our best to get the nursery all put together (at least...mainly put together, not counting the little decorating touches).
I'll be 30 weeks on Tuesday (HELLO....how did that come up so fast!?!?!) but I wanted to share some of the great photos my husband took two weeks ago when I was 28 weeks.
The complete selection of them is at this site: http://jimandheatherclark.shutterfly.com/babypictures

Tired Tuesday

I haven't been a very good blogger lately - things have just been so hectic at home and at work....I haven't had the energy by the time I have a few minutes. So, today's version of Tuesday's Ten will be 10 things that have happened in the last couple of weeks.

1. We let someone go at work and I am training the replacement. It's all good, but it makes me tired and wasn't *exactly* what I was planning on accomplishing at work in my last three months before maternity leave. :(

2. I seriously love my husband...he has been so wonderful in the last several months. I wasn't sure he was really into playing the role of "supportive husband" during pregnancy - he's been there, done that before. But he's been amazing. Absolutely amazing... Year two of marriage can be much better than year one, sometimes....and it just keeps getting better.

3. I spent last Saturday with my sister in law at a baby fair at our local hospital. It was fun to look at all the little treats and we listened to some awesome speakers. I am really blessed in the sister in law department, I have some really amazing ones.

4. Speaking of sisters in law, we've figured out our child care for when I go back to work. My other sister in law will be watching Maddy every day. I'm so excited on so many levels. I now have a good excuse to see my sister in law every day. Yea! My little girl will be cared for by an aunt that will absolutely adore and cherish her. Yea! Maddy will grow really close to her cousins, which is really, really important to me. I'm really looking forward to watching the kids grow up together. What fun!

5. If I were a stock buying sort of girl, I'd buy stock in milk right now. It's about the only thing that calms the acid in the tummy these days. Tums are okay, but milk reeeeeally helps.

6. I am now officially in my third trimester. That's just weird to me....I'm no longer the newly pregnant girl on the maternity block. Where did the time go?!?!?!

7. I'm starting to learn the finer details of rules and penalties in football. It makes watching the games so much more fun.

8. Jim and I have been working feverishly on the nursery. We're pretty good at it, even with me being pregnant and him having a lame wing. The paint is done - I'm just waiting for one of my mothers in law to help me with the chair rail. Yea :) We actually may be done before the baby shower! That'd be awesome!

9. I'll be reeeeeeally glad when elections are over. I'm more politically interested than a lot of people, but I'm super sick of the commercials at this point. They all lie. They all cheat. They all tell stories that are exaggerated....some are just less evil than others.

10. I only have to wake up three more times before I can sleep in, and for that, I'm grateful.