Shorty

Its not really debatable that I am considered "short". Sometimes I forget that I am super short and feel like a true adult, but other times I catch myself looking down and thinking, well...I'm really not that far from the ground...

As my pregnancy progresses, I have found it more and more awkward to get into bed. Our bed is pretty tall anyway, so with the added burden of being a shorty, sometimes after a long day (or painting my nails) I have to perform a jump/sloth-roll combo and hope that my whole body makes it.

We have joked about getting me one of those doggy stair cases for when I am super preg, but that makes me feel like an actual dwarf and I just can't have that. So, my thoughtful husband found a cutesy little stepstool on a recent trip to Home Depot. He proudly set it up before I got home from work and took me back to introduce me to the newest part of my bedtime routine. Its small and folds up when I'm not using it, so I can hide it from judgey guests. Best part of all is that it holds up to 300 pounds! Bring on the girl scout cookies!

Up early

I didn't sleep good at all last night...and by 4am I was too annoyed to keep on pretending like sleep was right around the corner, so I got up and watched a weird movie (Happy Endings...anyone??)  I was annoyed because I am known for being an excellent sleeper, and my weekends are when I reallllllly get in the good sleep and wake up to my body's alarm clock.  My heart sinks when I know I don't get to sleep in again for 5 days.  Boo hoo.

So after my weird movie ended and I had watched 2 episodes of Friends and 1 of Cougartown (I need to watch that show more, I love it!) the sun had come up and I decided to walk to get coffee.  I am still discovering what is nearby in our new neighborhood, so I was delighted to find that there are a few coffee shops within a mile of our house.  I wanted to try this new little Sojo coffee but something in my scientist brain told me to check their hours of operation, and sure enough, they were closed on Sundays.  So off to Starbucks I went.  Frost was still on the grass and sidewalks, but it felt so good to stretch my legs.

I want to become one of those people who take a trash bag on walks with them and pick up litter.  That would be a sweet workout, with all the bending and lunging.  Maybe I'll get one of the picker-upper things, if this becomes something I really do?  But seriously, to the person who disposed of their large electronic device on the side of the road...really??  That was something you needed to toss out your window, not take home and throw away??

(if you are wondering where this post is coming, here comes the point...)

Once at Starbucks, I sat down with the paper for a bit...rummaged through the coupons (I also want to become a couponer...someday) and comics, then stumbled across an article about an author who got a call one day from a soldier who had found his book while deployed, and had really enjoyed how the book made him forget where he was and what he was doing.  This author was so touched that he decided to call his publisher and see if they could donate 10,000 books to the troops.  Many years and donated books later, the author got in touch with the soldier again, to say thank you for the idea, etc.  The soldier told the author that his mother had just passed away from breast cancer a few days later, so he really appreciated the call.  The author was stunned, as his own mother had just passed away recently from the same disease.  He was so amazed at how an opportunity to express gratitude had brought two men together with a very similar and powerful connection.  The author then realized, and mentioned to the solider, 'Our mothers never leave us.  Ever.'

That was just the line I needed to hear this morning.  I want to be the kind of mom that, long after I'm gone, I am still present in my children's lives through traditions and silly songs and board games, etc.  I was so touched by the idea that a mother's impact can be so powerful that her spirit never leaves.  I want to be that mom!

I guess that is motivation worth being up early for =)

I love weekends

Yesterday my boots ripped a hole in my maternity tights. Ah shucks!! I also realized about 30 minutes into my day that the dress I was wearing is no longer acceptable to wear and needed to be retired immediately. The problem being that I still had about 7 hours to go in it.

Living in the city is making me get honked at more too. I think I am a good driver, I think I just have issues with staying in my lane. Every time I get honked at I think, should I take my GoKickball magnet off of my car? Is that bad PR? Hopefully not.

I still am surprised by strangers who call out my pregnancy. It still seems like a risky question, but I guess the reality is I am for the reals pregnant and it's no longer something I can hide, nor do I want to! I just spent so much time keeping it a secret, now that it's out in the open I just get surprised by people's boldness. Isn't that everyone's worst nightmare, asking someone who isn't pregnant when they are due?

My dad and Julia came over today to see our new house and we had a delightful lunch in Wash Park. They are such a funny, relaxed couple. Time with them is always much enjoyed. They make me excited to grow older with their stories of vacation adventures and silly shenanigans.

Welp, gonna try to take a nap so that I don't eat the rest of the cinnamon sticks from our Pizza Hut order last night!

Do you ever?

Do you ever pop a Tums because you need something sweet and that's all you have?

Do you ever think you need to stop reading stay-at-home mom blogs, because that will prevent post-maternity leave breakdowns?

Do you ever force yourself to drink plain ol' green tea, and with every sip you think...if only this had honey...and ice...and maybe some mint...

Do you ever start a new job, and one of the default settings on your new computer is to have Bing set your desktop background image each day, and one day the image is a nasty turtle staring at you, and you google how to get rid of it because you don't like reptiles perping on you, but can't figure it out, so you open a billion windows so you won't have to look at said turtle?

Unpaid vacation

I am in the midst of a lot of transition, but it's all good transition. New city. New job. New house.

With a delay in background checks, I am having an unexpected week off in between my old job and my new job. Every couple of hours I panic about this week of "unpaid vacation", but this morning, I am living a dream life. Waking up early to see Miiiiiike off to a meeting, then lounging around with a leisurely cup of coffee, having the time to slice up a juicy grapefruit, catching up on Revenge, thinking about potential goals for 2013 (thanks for the motivation Erinbear!) and trying to decide if this little baby boy has the hiccups or if he is just practicing karate. All of these simple pleasures, all while waiting for the plumber to arrive so I can take a shower without our storage room flooding. I can't remember the last time I washed my hair...was it friday? saturday? I don't even care!

This is the good life :)

What I should be doing...

What I should be doing today:

Cleaning paint off of the carpet in the nursery
Organizing the office
Taking the trash to the garage

What I will actually be doing today:

Eating an Oreo every time I walk by the pantry, as I walk in circles around the house pretending to look for projects to do.

Letter to my girlies

Dear Addyson, Brynn and Reese,

We now live an hour apart. Why does this make my heart hurt so much?

Maybe it's because we have just spent the last few weeks being temporary roommates, and it makes not seeing you every day that much harder! When Addy sneaks down after Brynn is in bed for a slumber party in the basement and we talk about what we are thankful for and pick our wedgies and giggle before snuggling in to sleep, when Brynn fights her nap so hard but crashes into a deep sleep on Mike and lets him carry her to her bed, when Reese shares some more of her first laughs with her mama and I get to be there to observe...these are the sweet little moments that I treasure with you darling little girls, and I don't ever want these moments to become less frequent or less special or less important.

I worry about the day that you don't think I'm super cool and you'll cringe at the attention i give you. But even more, I worry about the day you leave for college, or move to a new city, because if I am this attached already, how will it be after hanging with you for that many years?

Your mom and I joke about moving our families to the farm and living a compound life. It's only partly a joke. Because we have these people in our lives that we love so much that all we want to do is protect them and be with them uninterrupted until the end of time!

You girls have captured my heart in a way that I didn't expect. And I wonder how my love will transform as we bring our little boy into this family in a few months. I can't wait to watch you gobble him up and make him feel so loved (and outnumbered). I laugh when I think about the girly torture you'll put him through...and I won't stop it, because your mom and I did the exact same nonsense to Tyson and he turned out just fine.

So now we live an hour away, but as I write this, I lose some of my heartache because I am reminded of how change is inevitable, and if we just move forward and adapt, instead of turn it into a sob story, then we open the door for even more fun and memories and possibilities and all of those other mushy words that I want to associate with you girlies. So, instead of being sad, I will explore for new places to take you girls to and new sights to see and make our own.

It was Addyson's birth that brought me back to Colorado, it was Brynn's birth that rejuvenated me at a time when I needed it most, and it was Reese's birth that is still reminding me how important our families are.

Love you all so very much!
Your Ashey

Morning walk

I went for a walk today in our new neighborhood and it was so much fun to picture strolling around with a little baby in tow in a few months! There is a big park with a little creek running through it and I just can't wait for spring to come with all of the lush colors and fresh smells.

Lots of geese poop along this walk...that could be an issue.

Now, onto laundry and more organizing! (And sneaking in a few of my trashy Netflix shows...) Happy Monday everyone!