Holy Movement!

Let me preface by catching up since Saturday...Saturday was Adam's last class of his month of weekend MBA classes. I decided to "celebrate" the day by ceasing the severe neglect of the floors and just do an overall clean of the house. It wasn't too bad (save the floors) to begin with, but it took me the morning and an hour or so in the afternoon...and this didn't include the floors. Adam got home about an hour early so we spent some time outside while the girls/dogs ran all over the place getting their energy out. We then met friends in the QCs at Olive Garden since the baby heard a commercial on TV earlier that morning/day and thought it was a good idea. It was the best idea. We got home and did a few more things around the house which included Adam working on the landscaping rehab out by the front of the driveway and me vacuuming the floors before super-mopping! It felt sooooo good to get the floors that clean (yes, it's been a while...I'm not a chronic mopper) so we went to get ice cream at Culver's per Adam's suggestion. Just one good thing after another, I tell ya. :)

Sunday morning we got up and went to church. LONG church. It was a good message and all, but we must have been there for an hour & 20 minutes at least (Adam will add an hour to that total). Then came breakfast at our favorite mom & pop place in town before heading to Menards for rock to fill in the open spots in Adam's landscaping project. I ran to get groceries, cards, and other things before we went to Adam's softball game (that lasted 2 innings b/c they won by so much). Adam then needed to stop and get 10 more bags of rock on our way home. Who'd of thought it would take 20 bags of rock to even out an area that looked like it really didn't need that much? Needless to say, the project is finished and looks amazing. I am no longer embarrassed when people enter our driveway. We then hung out the rest of the night and relaxed after Adam changed the oil in the lawnmower...a daunting first-time task since the filter was all but super-glued onto the engine in a peculiar place.

As for the baby...MOVING!! I've been feeling kicks/punches lightly here and there for some time now. But since the weekend, it's a SURE bet that I'll feel him/her every day and likely several times a day. Yesterday (Sunday), s/he really started doing somersaults (which I had felt very sporadically up until that point) which actually feels really weird and sometimes makes me want to be sick. Not sick really, but it's this odd feeling in the pit of my stomach that makes me feel like my stomach is about to drop out from under me or something - and that's not even an accurate description. Let's just say it's really weird, but at the same time I like it b/c it means s/he's moving around, growing, and being healthy (hopefully). As for the punches and kicks, they happen more often later at night when I'm relaxing on the couch (normal at this stage of the game to feel them only when I'm still/sitting/quiet) or sitting at my desk at work. I notice the baby rolling easily no matter what activity I'm doing be it walking, sitting, riding in a bumpy husband's truck whereas the kicks/punches are lighter and only noticeable when I'm relatively still. However, I've noticed that the punches and kicks are getting stronger and I really don't question if I'm feeling the baby or air bubbles any more. I definitely know the difference.

Only 8 more days until our 4th and perhaps second-biggest DAY of this whole adventure so far. Pending cooperation (which might not happen since he has half of Adam's DNA...jk), we find out who's swimming in my belly! Adam informed me yesterday that I have a baseball player in my belly no matter what s/he thinks or likes. I told him not to be THAT dad, to which he smiled and just said, "baseball player." I laughed and said he's asking for an artist. :) Most of you know we're a rather sports-oriented family.

Today was also an expensive day in the Schmidt household. We had our new water heater installed ($175 - reasonable but money spent just the same) and the Murano went in for its 100K mile tune up that was 8K miles overdue. That also ended up being hundreds less than we had anticipated so while we spent a lot of money today, it was almost half of what I had expected. YAY!!! More money for baby!!

Well, the dogs are BEGGING me to go outside and even though Jessie is pretty good at being outside and staying in her e-fence on her own for short periods of time, I'd like to let them both run for a bit longer with me out there. The countdown to Gender Day continues! :)