I'm drowing

No seriously. One drip at a time.

We've had rain for over a week, with only one day of reprieve. So naturally my family room roof has to start leaking. Right? Is it too hard to expect my roof to do it's job - stay dry and keep us dry? I guess not.

We had a leak a few weeks ago that Travis was able to fix. Now we have a new leak. Joy! The very special home owners that used to live here had a wood stove in our family room, which apparently was a bedroom at one time. They took the wood stove out, but left the stove-pipe opening and the whole pipe stack that sticks out of our roof. There is a bucket over it, but apparently there is some cracking going on down farther that is causing it to leak. The side that we actually see from the family room was filled in, so it looks like an upside down top-hat sticking into our family room. This is where the leak is.

Let me tell you: this makes our "special" house just that much more special.

So we're coming to grips with getting the roof replaced. At least it's only part of the roof, and not the main one. Plus it's a flat roof, so it should be relatively easy to replace, re-tar and throw some rock down. We had some guys come out last week to give us a quote. We asked about some different things, like even re-trussing it to put a slant on it and then put shingles on. The hard numbers? $4,000 to do that. $3000 to put rubber down. So I'm hoping when we get the actual quote, it's like $2000 just to re-tar. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

Oh yea, did I mention that my due date is less than a month away? Replacing a roof is exactly what I wanted to do one month before having a baby. So here's hoping that the bid comes in lower than I expected, they get it done quickly, and we figure out a way to pay for it!

Here's proof I'm about ready to pop!

36 weeks down, 4 more to go!

Happy Father's Day!

Today is the day that we all thank our Dad's for being who they are. My Dad is pretty awesome, I have to tell you. He's always there when I need him, even when he's 1500 miles away (give or take), with a shoulder to cry on, an ear for listening, and good advice when I need it. One of my favorite things about my Dad is that he kind of thinks he's Superman, and he's ready to do anything or help out in any way he can. But honestly, he's always been my hero so maybe that Superman thing is true. Here's one of my favorite pictures of us:
Love you Dad!

The other hero in my life, dearest Hubby, has been hard at work this weekend since it's Outside Project Weekend 2011. We do have plans to grill burgers and go see a movie, and he has yet to see the present on the dining room table for him. All in good time...

So here in northern MN, the hardy green thumb ladies usually start rolling out their flower beds and whatnot sometime in May. This year has sucked for weather though, and we've had cold and rain for more months than I care to count. I think we've all decided "screw it. I'm planting anyway!" Today was a balmy 63 degrees, and although the weekend has been overcast the rain has held off a bit so we went ahead with our plans.

We have a window well in between the house and garage that we cleared out sometime last year. Our intention was to fill it with rock and some landscape lights. These were very good intentions for upwards of a year or so. Well this weekend we finally decided to go for it! So we went from this ugliness:
To this!
Looking good! The lamps kind of blend in, but there are 4 on this side of the fence and 1 right on the other side. I originally wanted white rock, but the multicolored river pebbles were not only $1 cheaper per bag (x30 bags = saved us $30!), but they also got a little better with the overall "brown-ness" of our house. I did my part by weeding out most of the longer bed, which I have to tell you - not so much fun at 8 months pregnant. I also held the weed tarp (that goes underneath the rock to keep weeds from sprouting up), and I was an integral part in positioning the lights. Not to shabby when I'm feeling like a blimp! I let Travis do all the heavy moving and lifting of the actual rock, naturally. :o)

I also took the opportunity while at Lowe's to pick up a few flowers to dress up our front porch a little. It looks a little drab, and we really need a bench out there or something. But honestly, I think my true Minnesotan neighbor wives are ashamed of the lack of flowers our house has. So I needed to do something! Here's what I came up with:
Some hostas and impatients
and a pretty, red Salvia with some white impatients. There's also some "dusty miller" mixed in which is like a white, furry fern. I thought it looked pretty cool, so we'll see how it fares. Actually, I'm no green thumb at all, so fingers crossed that all of these do okay!

Here's my latest bump picture at 35 weeks:
Have a great week!

change, change, change

If you know me, there is one distinct thing that always presents itself first. I am a redhead. Classic redhead with freckles, light skin, the whole nine yards. And you would also know that I have long red hair. I've flirted with short hair now and then, but most people know me as the girl with long, red hair.

Until yesterday!
That's right folks
I took the plunge and had it all chopped off! My Dad said that now Emily can't pull my hair. I guess that's a plus as well. My main intention was to be quicker in the mornings. This hair cut definitely takes less time to wash and dry, although I'm still working with styling it with the straightener. One thing I love: it's abundantly cooler than the mop of hair I used to have. Lighter too! No more hair headaches!

Summer is slowly starting to peek out here. Our high today was a balmy 70 degrees. We're also having more sunny days that rain, so the weather is looking up! I'm looking forward to a few days at the lake before Emily gets here, big belly and all. Or at least getting a kiddie pool for the back yard. Our backyard is wide open for the whole world to see (putting up a fence is on our 'to-do' list), but no shame here! I'm carrying around 30 extra baby pounds, I will swim in a kiddie pool when it's hot if I want to! Travis may or may not be on board with this idea, so far he doesn't have much to say on the issue. But I think a pregnant, happy wife definitely equals a happy life!

Here I am at 34 weeks pre-haircut:

6 more weeks to go!

Not much of an update

I just have to complain and whine for a minute. On June 1st our heat was still kicking on. Today, June 6th, it was 85 degrees. I'm not sure why we went straight from winter to summer, but I'd like a little bit of spring! Having no A/C and being 8 months pregnant in this weather is a little like purgatory. Just waiting for whatever comes next, but you know it's not good!

This weekend we had glorious weather. It was only in the low 70's and sunny. A friend from work invited us over to their house on the lake for dinner and a "booze cruise" around the lake. Obviously I passed on the booze, but we had a great time! They have a very pretty house that sits up on a hill from the lake, so they have a very pretty view of the lake. Definitely convinced me that we need to buy a house on a lake....some day!

The only downside is the mosquitoes that come out at dusk. Between those suckers and the heat, my ankles are a little...larger...than normal. So I'll just keep them propped up for the time being!