this is a true story

This morning Sherman and I woke up at 5am to go on our morning walk.

Like every single walk we go on, he chased a few bunnies and barked at a few squirrels and sniffed around 25 yards and ditches until he finally found what he was looking for.

Trash.

As we were walking home, a car pulled up next to us.

But not just any ole' car. A cop car. With a real live police officer in it.

My heart started beating fast because I thought we had done something wrong.

"Excuse me, ma'am. I don't mean to bother you, but I think I've seen your dog before walking with an empty milk jug in his mouth."

"Yes, sir. That was the same dog. He likes to pick up trash."

And then the cop said ... 

"Well he deserves a medal or something."

Yes.

Yes he does.

a little happy

I just found these photos today, which were taken a few weeks back. I'm pretty sure this is the moment I told Sherman that he's going to be a big brother. He looks pretty excited, don't ya think? 

So I've been hiding. From blog feeds and facebook and the news. From sad posts and devastating stories about the Oklahoma tornado. I'm all for supporting and loving and caring for others, but my overly hormonal self just can't risk hearing any more about those sweet, innocent kids and pets and the wonderful lives that were lost. And although I may not be reading the stories quite yet, I am praying for the people. And giving to the organizations.

And I'm also spending some extra fun time with Dan and the Sherm Dog. Because it was is a gorgeous 70 degree day here in Kansas and there is so much to be grateful for.

And I'm reading amazing stories like this one.

And looking at funny things like this.

And those are just a few things that have given me a little happy today.

the lazy craving

I've had 21 people (yes, I counted) ask me lately if I've had any strange cravings, so I thought I'd better address this. 

Yes. I'm having one. 

I call it the "lazy craving". 

I crave movies. I crave television. I crave afternoon naps (naps!). 

I crave sitting on the couch while watching the thunderstorms roll in. 

I crave sitting outside with Sherman and staring at flowers for 30 minutes. 

I crave sitting in the sunroom while eating 92 bing cherries from a bowl. 

I crave sitting. Period. 

This is a new craving for me. I never used to enjoy sitting still and doing absolutely nothing. But lately it's all I want to do. So that is exactly what I did on Saturday. Oh and on Sunday. And thank goodness I got that craving out of the way, because at 7pm that crazy thunderstorm I was lazily watching caused our power to go out, which forced me to read a book and actually learn something. Lucky for me, I was able to remain seated. 

P.S. I'll get to the real cravings soon. Just have to pick out my top 15 first.

meet my friend progesterone

Back at 6 weeks. 

Back at 11 weeks (although this picture was taken at 9pm rather than 9am ... stomachs look quite different after 3 meals and 4 snacks and 94 ounces of water. Just fyi).

Back at 13 weeks. 

Yesterday.

I am currently 16 weeks pregnant.
My babe is the size of an avocado.
Does that look like an avocado to you?!

I think I'm having twins.
My doctor thinks I'm having "freakishly high levels of progesterone".
But what do doctors know ...

P.S. I know I skipped about nine weeks in there and I know random bathroom photos could always be better, but this is the best I can do. Dan's really not a huge fan of taking pictures of me (he's so different than most other guys, huh?) and I kind of want to keep him around since I'm having his baby and all. And Sherman still refuses to learn how to use a Canon T2i. Oh but don't worry, we only have about five more months of self portrait bathroom bump pics to get through. Plus now you know where I pee every day at work.

country livin'

Although Dan and I currently live in the city, we both adore the country and our dream is to own some land one of these days. I grew up swimming in muddy creeks (pronounced "cricks"), playing with frogs and turtles and attaching leeches to my skin for fun. Yes, for fun. I built forts and climbed trees and dug in the dirt and mud and had more ticks in my hair than any little girl should ever have. 

And although I still love going out to the country every now and then, I will be the first to admit that I've become quite the baby. I now shriek when I run through a spiderweb and I'd prefer not to have snakes slither across my shiny Hunter boots. Frogs and turtles are okay, but I really just prefer dogs now. :)

However ... I will say that seeing Sherman run up the hills and around the trees and through the water makes my heart ache to be out in the country again. Watching the kids use their imagination outside (outside!) to build forts and castles and make branches and rocks come to life is the best thing ever. To wade through muddy water and breathe in that country air ... it truly makes me want to move out to the country tomorrow. But for now I must go to bed so that I can wake up early and take yet another extra long, extra hot shower to make sure there are no ticks on me. Ewwww. ;)

A very happy {belated} Mother's Day to all the amazing moms out there!

And a very special thanks to my mom for a fun weekend out in the country. That and about 22 million other things. I love you mom! 

best reaction ever

Ok, so your reactions to my recent news were kind of awesome. Seriously brought tears to my eyes. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your sweet comments. And although I can't seem to find the time or energy to type up 90 emails, please know that I want to. I want to quit work and not sleep and literally write you all back and make sure you know how much I appreciate each and every comment. And I read every single one of them. Twice.
Ok, fine. Three times.

But, as much as I loved your reactions, I have to tell you that you are still tied (it was close) for "the best reaction ever". You can't blame me. Just look at my sweet nephew's face up there! When Jack pulled out his "I'm going to be a big cousin" shirt from his Easter basket when he came to visit last month, it was seriously the highlight of his life. I'm kidding. He was just laughing because I was poking him in the belly. BUT, I still think he's pretty psyched to be a big cousin.

Oh Jack. 

You make me laugh. 

Happy Friday everyone!

Get ready for some serious baby talk next week.

And somewhere between 4 and 44 ridiculous self portrait bump pics.

Or ... maybe I'll just blog about Sherman. :)

nine years later ...

And I'm not talking about the length between my blog posts now-a-days, although the same could be said. :) So the last time I wrote I was celebrating the fact that Dan and I have been "together" for nine years. And what an awesome nine years it has been. We graduated from college and grad school, we traveled to Mexico six times (and yet my Spanish vocabulary still only consists of about three words, two of which are vino and cerveza), Hawaii, Turks & Caicos, Honduras, Vegas, Chicago too many times to count, Colorado just as many times as Chicago; we've been snow skiing, water skiing, skydiving and scuba diving. We got engaged and even followed through with getting married. ;) We bought a house, we renovated a house, oh and we got the dog of our dreams.

And now ... nine years later ...

It's finally time!  

We are so happy to announce that we are expecting our first baby (second "kid"- can't forget the Sherm dog) in early November! Or October. Whenever the babe decides to show up. Due date is November 4th, so my guess is Halloween. I can't sleep at night because I'm so gosh darn excited. Or maybe that's because they make you sleep on your left side and I am a right side sleeper. Oh the horror! But honestly, we could not be happier and I am just over the moon about being pregnant. I'm also over the moon about getting to eat for two. Whoever said you only need 300 additional calories a day was clearly never pregnant. ;)