To Grandmother's House We Went!

Thanks to all of my amazing friends and family, I had a very memorable weekend in Nebraska. The musical was awesome and both baby showers were wonderful! THANK YOU to everyone who helped plan them and to everyone who attended. We received so many precious gifts that we can't wait to share with our little Sugar Weenie.

I put together a slideshow highlighting the weekend. It might take a second, but it should show up momentarily. I wrote captions for all the pictures, however they only show up if you click "View All" below, then "View as Slideshow" once you get to the site. There are about 45 pictures and the last one is my favorite. :)

Last Chance: The Psychic Deli Man, Part 2

Well, we're all moved into our new house and loving it! Jonathan's dad Joe and his wife Cherrie were gracious enough to come help us move last weekend, and boy were we glad to have them here. We couldn't have done it without them (at least not in two days). Jonathan and I got our old apartment all cleaned yesterday - it only took us SEVEN HOURS...ug! - but at least that's no longer hanging over our head. Now I can fully focus on decorating - my favorite! I was hoping to be able to snap some pictures for this post, but I'm pooped and it just isn't gonna happen tonight.

Sugar Weenie seems to like to new house. He/She has been movin' and groovin' more and more these past few days. You can now see very distinctive movements from the outside of my belly, so if you have the time and patience to stare at my belly for a few minutes at time, you'll be in for a treat! SW and I are heading home to Grand Island on Thursday and will be there until Sunday night. I can't wait to introduce everyone to my bump!

Last, but not least, I must share a little story. A few days before we moved, I went to our neighborhood Walmart for one last grocery trip. My first stop was the deli counter, and I was thrilled when I noticed that my friend, the psychic deli man, was working. After I placed my order, he began making small talk and I thought Ok, this is your last chance to tell him. It's now or never. Even if you totally embarrass yourself, who cares? You'll probably never see him again...

Deli Man: When's your baby due?
Me: June
Deli Man: Very cool.
Me: I don't know if you remember this or not, but I was in here about six months ago and you asked me how far along I was. I told you I was two months along because I didn't know what to say, but I actually didn't even know I was pregnant yet. I didn't find out until a few days after I talked to you.
Deli Man: (Cocks his head and stares at me for a second) Oh yeah, I remember. You weren't even showing yet.
Me: Yeah! So how did you know?
Deli Man: I have five sisters. I just knew.
Me: (Dumbfounded) You just knew?!
Deli Man: Yep. I could just tell.
Me: Huh. What's your name, by the way?
Deli Man: Nicholas.
Me: What do you think - a boy or a girl?
At that point, the gentleman in line behind me piped in and said that it's a girl for sure.
Nicholas: Nope, it's definitely a boy.

I guess we'll see if he's right. And no, we're not naming our baby after him if it is a boy, in case you were wondering.    

  

An Excited Daddy-to-Be

All You Gotta Do Is Ask

Last night I had a craving for pizza. But not just any pizza. Oggi's Pizza. Oggi's has become one of our favorite pizza places in the valley. There are only two locations, one just a few minutes from our house, and Jonathan gets a discount for being a Midwestern student. Lucky us! If you ever come to visit, we promise to take you there.

With the upcoming move, we've been trying to save money by not going out to eat very often. We hadn't been to Oggi's in months, so it was pure joy when we each had our first bite. At the end of the meal, I got up to go to the bathroom. On my way back to our table our waitress, Wendy, gave me a sweet smile as we passed one another. I sat back down and Jonathan told me that he asked Wendy the waitress if they gave free chocolate lava cake a la mode to pregnant women. I laughed in disbelief. A minute later, she appeared with one! Jonathan and I hardly ever order dessert at restaurants, let alone the most decadent one on the menu. But let me tell you, I was in heaven. And the fact that it was free made it even better. I smiled and thanked him. "You know my motto," Jonathan said. "All you gotta do is ask."

In the past 9 days...

I have been busy, busy, busy and so has Baby Rouse.

• SW has been packing on the pounds. I officially graduated from my shorts to Jonathan's. Men's gym shorts are so comfy!
• I felt his/her hiccups for the first time. It was fun and cute...for about the first minute.
• I found out what it's like to be a single working mother of three girls (and a dog) at 6 months pregnant. One word: exhausting! And that was only for five days. God Bless single mothers (and all mothers) everywhere. (Side note: I was taking care of Jonathan's cousin's kids while she and her husband were out of town. My brother Dominic was confused and thought I meant we're having triplets. No way!!!)
• I realized that it's basically a part-time job shopping for, preparing, and eating healthy food when you have a growing baby depending on you for all the nutrients it needs. If I won the lottery tomorrow, which I won't considering that I don't buy lottery tickets, but if I did, the first thing I'd do is hire a personal chef. How sweet would that be?! Then I'd pay off our student loans. Yes, I value good food over debt reduction. Sorry, Dad.
• Jonathan and I have been trying to come up with the perfect girl name. We thought we decided on one, but it just doesn't seem quite right. Part of the problem is that Jonathan keeps referring to the baby as Bruce, so that's all I can ever think of! We have 99 days, give or take a few, to find the perfect one, so we're not stressing about it too much yet. Maybe it will come to me in one of my wacky dreams.