Housing Painting - Day One

So the week we are having our house painted has finally arrived. I am so excited I had trouble sleeping last night! Today was just the pressure washing day, but it really does look nice and clean. They took the old shutters off because we have new ones to be installed after the painting is done. I guess the house was white before it was blue!

Tomorrow, when it is dry, they will caulk and scrape the peeling paint. Then finally Wednesday they will start the actual painting.

We did a lot in preparation for this, including massive bush trimming (because things looked crazy and so they can get to the wall better), moving everything out of the carport, and closing all our storm windows (which is a big project in this house because of their age and poor design). I also trimmed the monkey grass in the front so it would look neater in the after pictures.

The back of the house still looks chaotic even though the bushes are trimmed and thinned.

 

And a before and current picture of the front porch. I removed the mailbox and house numbers, and doormat because I've bought new ones - in waiting to accessorize the house once repainted! I think you an get a sense of how clean the white trim is in the after shot here.

Here is just a nice picture of the carport looking so nice with nothing in it - not its usual messy state of affairs.

And finally, this isn't really related to the painting projcet, but her is a picture of the very big, very dead tree in our front yard that we are hoping the city will remove soon (before it falls on us our our house or the neighbors cars).

14.5 weeks

We were a little late taking the picture this time so this is really 14.5 weeks, not 14. I definitely feel like my body is changing. I went maternity clothes shopping today for the first time and bought a couple tops.

We also got a heartbeat monitor this week so we can check on the baby any time we want. So that is fun. Especially Miran loves looking for and listening to it.

We also toured two maternity wards at two hospitals in the past few weeks. I went to one on my own and we both went to the other. Medically speaking they were pretty comparable, so we settled on the one that is already within the same records system as my endocrinologist, prenatal testing center, and the obstetrician with whom I've been trying to get an appointment. They final got my records from REACH this week so as soon as the doctor reviews them I'll finally be able to schedule an appointment.

12 Weeks

I am now over 12 weeks pregnant - here is the bump shot. I don't think it has changed too much since 10 weeks.

I'm still feeling a bit queasy - in fact this past week was one of the worst, but I hear it should end soon so that is good news. That is my only real symptom, other than still getting tired more easily. On Friday I took my last injection, which was pretty exciting. I got a shot (or two) every day from May 7 to August 7 - so for exactly three months! I'm very glad to be done with that phase. Here are five full "sharps" containers that need to be disposed of:

To prepare for the second trimester, which begins next week, today I did a big closet switcharoo. Mommy passed through town for a few hours and we went through all the maternity clothes from Cecilia and Margaret. I tried everything on and chose what to keep and washed it all and hung it in my closet. That of course required removing a whole lot of stuff that is already a little tight and that I probably wont wear for another 8 or 9 months! So I really feel pregnant with a closet full of pregnancy clothes!

Staunton 2015, part 2 - party day!

The last day I was in Staunton all the DeRoche's came over and it was wonderful to spend the afternoon catching up with everyone and getting to know Megan and Patrick's children. Here is a random shot of the general chaos of the day.

Here was an attempt to take a picture of the all the second cousins - the little ones weren't having it!

 Mom and Dad on their 29th anniversary!

 Mom and Lee!

 The guests of honor posing with the 4-layer lemon cake I made!

Uncle Patrick admiring Megan's newest arrival, Kenji.

 Megan and Patrick with their families.

 A panorama of us all enjoying the wonderful weather hanging out outside.

Staunton 2015

Last week I spent the week at Mom and Dad's in Staunton as I do every summer when Margaret and Cecilia are both there with their kids.

We went to a fun natural playground in Lexington, where we had a picnic, and stopped to see Robert E. Lee's grave on the way home.

One afternoon Cecilia, Margaret and I went to Megan's to meet baby Kenji. Here is a nice shot of Lee and Jim with Megan and her children.

 There was a lot of playing on the porch, playing Uno, and playing in the hammock going on all week.

Mommy, Cecilia, Margaret, and I had a spa day, 18th-century style - meaning we went for a swim in a bath house designed by Thomas Jefferson and which has been in use since 1761.

And a few other random shots - of Ingrid reading to the other kids, of Maggie knitting socks for our baby, and of Ingrid and I taking a selfie.