Neighbor Relations

So, when we bought our new house, we had heard about a few neighbors who were nosy. Maybe they were just trying to be helpful, but we'll never know. Apparently, this particular piece of property has been a campground to some folks and a dog poop park for others. We didn't know we would be changing peoples routines by building a house here. Pretty quickly, we put up a Fiddler Island, Private sign. Just in case. Our driveway is sort of hidden, but we wanted wanderers to know that we were living there now.

One day I was driving out the driveway and our neighbor was standing with her dog. There's a spot of land, right before the little bridge, that is perfect for dog poop. So, I stopped and talked to her. She's my age and expecting her 2nd. Very friendly. She asked if we were living here now and I responded very politely, Yes. She hasn't come back with her dog since.

Another day, I looked out the window and saw another lady with her little dog in the same area. We had cars in the driveway, so it's not as though the house looked vacant. Anyways, I wanted to run out and talk to her, but the dog finished her business and they went along.

So, i got to thinking about things to say, should I see it happen again.
1. Hi! I think it's great that we're all allowed to let our dogs poop in each other's yard. Which house is yours?
2. Hi! Next time, please bring a bag to pick up the poop. (This is ironic because if they wanted to pick up their mess, they would do it in their own yard).

But after I discussed with Alex, he didn't think it would be good for neighbor relations.

But this really got to me, I was walking out of the house with the boys and there on our bridge was a couple with 2 large dogs. They were just walking along and probably gonna let their big ol' dogs go in our yard too. But they saw me, stopped, pretended to point to something and turned around. I mean, who just goes for walks on other peoples properties????

Anyways, I think the Private sign is working because I haven't seen any visitors lately.

Baby Olivia - probably

So, the only name we are in agreement on is Olivia Marie. I never thought Olivia would be a name I'd consider, but it just sort of fits. Unless some other name strikes us, this will probably be her name. We opted this time to do a 3D ultrasound. Well, I opted for it. Alex could do without it. I figured, this is our last time to do it. The first time around, she didn't cooperate and wouldn't turn her head for a full facial. She kept her feet and hands up around her face, so it was a little difficult to see. So, they brought us in again to try again. They'll try up to 29 or 30 weeks, but after then the baby's head is harder to move. So, at 28.5 weeks, this was my last chance.

We were able to confirm due dates, gender and size. And also that she has legs. She's given us really good shots of those. I guess I can understand because the ladies in my family have nice legs and are camera shy. Or stubborn. Anyways, less than 3 months away and our lives will change, again. We are excited to see her and see what new dimension she brings to our lives.

I love my OB-GYN

I can say for sure that that was not always the case. Going to "those" appointments is not something that makes a woman happy or even excited. Sometimes I'm excited to go to the regular doctor if I'm really sick, because I anticipate being healed. That's not the case with OB-GYN's. But my Dr is really great. She was able to deliver both my boys and the experience was great, both times. But recently, I asked her about due dates. I'm due May 6, a week after my birthday. My brother-in-law, Bobby, has his birthday the day after mine. So, I'd like to keep that one day all to myself. You might be thinking, 'You have Mother's Day'. Well, not really. Because I celebrate it with my mothers, so it's more of a global celebration.

So, I asked my Dr what she was thinking. I said I didn't want to be induced a week early, but a few days.....would probably be okay. She looked at the calendar and said, Okay, Pick a day...

I really couldn't believe I heard her right. I mean, I could pick a day? So, I think I'll pick May 4.

i-yi did it

That's what James calls Ryan. " I-Yi" aka Ry-Ry. Whenever there's a broken toy, missing battery, torn page, something out of sort, "I-yi" did it. As cute as it is in a 3 year old, he has figured out how to pass blame. But really, it's not a big deal. For example, a car is missing batteries, no reason to blame anyone, it just happens. Sometimes, it happens when James takes them out. Or a torn page, no need for spanking, it's a book. It happens when little hands are grabby. Anyways, when does passing blame become a truth and lie issue? Or is little James just figuring life out? I don't know, but I think I'll recognize it when James starts intentionally lying. Parents usually do.

The Time in Between

Wow, a lot has happened since James' birthday. For one, we found out we were having a girl, we moved, we hosted Christmas and New Year's at our new house, we've been sick 2 times around and I think that's the most of it. We moved fairly quickly into our new house, although it took about 4 full days to get everything out of the old house. I hadn't done any packing because I wasn't sure when we'd be moving. So, Monday, Alex says, the guys are coming to move tomorrow. So, that was that. The old house is cleaned out and waiting on some finishing touches so we can get it on the market.

The move was uneventful, for the most part. We rented a van from Uhaul and when we were asked whether we wanted insurance for the van for $14 we said No. Then the salesman said that even if it was someone else's fault, we'd have to pay. I got a weird feeling, so said Okay. After we were done with the van and driving out of our driveway, we popped a tire on a nail from the bridge. $14 is a lot cheaper than new tires :)