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!

My hubby the rock star :o)

Unfortunately this is one of the best pictures I got all night. It was dark and I was sitting closer to the back. You'll notice that there is a microphone in his hand - that's right, Travis sang! Well, sort of. He sang the Beastie Boys song "Fight for your Right". I did have a funny video of Trav making his big debut in the band, but Blogger doesn't want to upload it.

The guys did great and we all had a great time. They're playing at a lodge on the Lake Vermilion that brings in a lot of local talent, and a fun crowd! I managed to make it all the way until 1am when they stopped playing on Friday night, but I definitely paid for it Saturday! Another friend who is pregnant came, so I managed not to feel like the only bump on log. Last night was a black light party, but this Cinderella has had enough of one night turning into a pumpkin!

Yesterday I went to a shower for one of our cousin's that is getting married this fall. They had it at a local Italian restaurant with awesome food. It was actually really nice going to someone else's shower and just being able to enjoy myself! The bride is the sweetest person ever and is going to look gorgeous on her big day. I can't wait!

Here's my latest bump picture at 32 weeks from today. Only 8 weeks left!

When it rains, it pours...

But inside my house? I'm not so sure about that. Last night after Trav went to band practice and I made myself dinner, I went to close the curtains in our living room and what did I see? Water, pouring down my family room wall. Two walls actually, since it was in a corner. Just. Freaking. Great.

So there I stood, for an hour, wiping drips as they came through the ceiling. Since Travis wasn't home, I didn't really know what to do! Eventually it stopped though. In the light of day, once Travis was home, he discovered that some of the tar had cracked (it's a flat roof, so just tar and peat gravel, no shingles here). Thankfully that was an easy enough fix for him today, but we'll definitely need to look into replacing the whole thing pretty soon here. Just what I wanted to deal with right before having a baby!

I was the lucky recipient of a second baby shower this week, hosted by a few of my real estate friends. It was amazing to see all the hard work they put into the details, such as mini-candy bars labeled "Alison's Baby Shower", balloons with Emily's name on them, hand-made invitations, and even hand-made thank-you's complete with stamped envelopes! It was amazing!
Here I am with the awesome diaper cake they made. It was decorated with onesies, wash cloths, socks, rattles and toys. So cool!
My amazing hosts - they even dressed in pink to keep the theme going!
Here's my 31 week picture. Only 9 more to go! This looks like I'm still carrying pretty high, but I know she's in the right position with her head down because she's been getting the hiccups every now and then, which always feels lower. Typically she pushes her butt out against my stomach, so the bulge is likely a little baby hiney! Travis has started getting worried that I can go into labor at any time now. If I make a weird noise or rub my belly, he gets a little nervous look on his face. It's kind of funny! So for his sake I started packing my hospital bag - which is a little ridiculous since we only live two blocks from the hospital. He can always come home to get stuff! But if it makes him feel better, then we'll just be prepared!

Spring has finally decided to show up in our neck of the woods. Last weekend Travis mowed the grass for the first time, just to see if the mower worked. Well, in a weeks time our grass has nearly grown a foot! Plus our chive bushes are growing like crazy!

In other news, I registered for my first two classes for my MLIS degree. I tried to only take one, but found out that I needed 4 credits for my financial aid so I found a 1 credit genealogy research class to go along with my core intro class. I start the first week of September - so here goes nothing! Next weekend is Trav's big gig with the band - stay tuned for pictures!

Sweet Freedom

If you know my husband, you know that one of his passions in life (after me of course!) is music. He plays guitar and loves to jam out whenever he's given the chance. Such a chance came along a few weeks ago when a friend from work invited him to come jam with their band, and maybe be the sound/lighting guy. Through a succession of events, Travis became a member rather than being behind the scenes. The name of the band is, you guessed it, Sweet Freedom. They're a local country band that plays quite a bit around here.

*Crickets*

Uh, yea, that's right - I said country. Yes, I'm still talking about my husband. Being in a country band. Does anyone else think this is funny? I sure do! For the entire time I've known Travis, he has always hated my country love affair, saying that country music puts him to sleep. But hey, when opportunity calls then you answer, right? So he's been having fun going to practices, and they're having their first gig on Memorial Day weekend at a lodge up north from here.

Of course that means that they needed to take publicity photos, right? Of course! Actually they'll be playing at the local fair this summer and the fair people wanted a photo to put in ads. So that makes a little more sense. Since they did this on a Sunday afternoon, I decided to go along and meet everyone. The lead singer also happens to have a bunch of horses and we were going to his house - bonus!

Lead singer's wife was actually doing the photographing, but I figured I'd bring my camera along to take a few for our own personal use. I got a bunch of shots, but it was so bright and sunny that a lot of them were washed out or just poor lighting. Here's a favorite with decent lighting:
And a great blackmail photo if ever I need one:
I have no idea why they were making smoochy faces at each other, but this is hilarious! That's Sonny with Travis, he works with us as well. He can be quite a ham!

The idea was to take pictures of them by the waterfall that we went to, which was pretty cool. Unfortunately not many of those came out, but here's the waterfall.
It's hard to see, but there is a big one in the back left that is original. The falls on the right were created by a log dam.
And here's me in front of them! It was quite windy, and this was after traipsing all over the area to get good shots. I was a little pooped at this point!

In other news, today is Trav's 27th birthday! I can't believe he's that old, considering we met when we were 20! (I know 27 is not old, just go with it) It feels like just yesterday we were celebrating birthdays in the typical college style - a la a cheap dinner and too much booze! Instead we BBQ'd and had his family over. Tonight we're just going out for dinner. Here's Trav with his new video camera for lots of baby videos!
Thanks Mom and Dad!

So that's all the fun and exciting stuff we've been up to lately. I leave you with my 30 week bump picture. Only 10 weeks left!