MARCHing Along

Grandma and Grandpa Rich came to visit us this last weekend. Hooray! We had a such a nice visit with them and enjoyed their company. Thank you so much for coming to be with us.
Tessa is always so happy to have any of her grandparents around. She honestly could have cared less if Jake and I were there or not. And I cannot mention this last weekend without mention how much they spoiled us. After spending the day out and about, Gma and Gpa Rich helped us pick some living room paint color swatches I could happily live with (remember this?) and then said, "Well, let's do it. Let's paint." So we did. Do I think they are insane for wanting to spend vacation time painting my living room and hallway? Yes I do. And we love them all the more for it. I feel so much calmer in my living room and haven't looked up once to hate the color, which was becoming a nightly ritual before. Plus, they helped us do a WAY better job than we would have been able to do on our own. Believe me.

Then later in the week, Tessa and I went with a friend and her boys to the Children's Museum. There was so much to do. I was impressed. We will certainly be returning one day.

The dinosaurs were the hit of the day, but we also had fun checking out the light/shadow room, the animal displays, the turtle pond, the dress up area, the fire engine slide, the miniature house, the bug room, the water play area, etcetera, etcetera.

And lastly, Jake thought it would be a good to remember to take pictures of this pregnancy. He's right. So, here I am today, just a little into my 6th month of growing a baby boy.

Honest Scrap

Tagged by Mrs. Allred-
It is called the honest scrap award and these are the rules...
A) First list 10 honest things about yourself--and make it interesting even if you have to dig deep. That "make it interesting" sure adds some stress. I used to HATE it when a school class would make you stand and say "something interesting" about yourself.
B) Pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of Honest Scrap...

1. I am terrified of team sports (I'm not counting dance). I think it's fun to watch and cheer on people I know, but that's where it ends. I can't aim, I throw like a girl, and most of all, I can't deal with the pressure of doing well for everyone else who CAN aim and throw. (This excludes the occasional playing sports with my family since they are completely aware that I suck and could care less.) I love all kinds of activities, but I've got to keep it where it's just me for me so I can focus on my own expectations and not worry about messing anyone else up or making them irritated. I think Young Women church sports gave me an ulcer back in the day.
2. I love words. Reading has always been enjoyable to me, minus some boring college assignments and instruction manuals. I love stories and the details that make the story. If you know me well at all, you know I can get a little, um, wordy. I give way too many useless details and have to try to remember whether I'm talking to someone who appreciates that or not. Because to me, the details make the story. Feel free to include them when chatting with me.
3. I tend to overanalyze people and situations. I think it's kind of fun to try to figure people out -their motivations, why they are the way they are and such. However, this can be a real downfall at times, since I don't really know what everyone's story is. I actually like being proved wrong (when it's a positive twist) about a person or situation. It reminds me how much I really don't have a clue.
4. I would like to get my Master's Degree one day. This will be after we pay for Jakey's monstrous schooling. I'm still leaning toward being Maren the Librarian. I'd like to get my master's in library science and one day step foot again into that crazy middle school world and be a librarian there.
5. I can be a social reject. I usually don't have a problem when it comes to outgoing people (if they talk to me), but if somebody gets shy with me, I shut down. I have the most difficult time. I have no idea what to say and immediately decide that the other person thinks I'm a total moron. I used to really struggle with looking people in the eye when I spoke to them. Now I find that I can look them in the eye if I know them really well or if I don't know them at all. But those in betweeners..... It's a good thing I married a man who has very few social fears. He forces me to push outside of my comfort zone, but also understands when I need to back away a bit.
6. Although I like a lot of movies, these are the movies I've watched numerous times and I don't get sick of them: Singin' In The Rain, The Wedding Singer, Hope Floats, Romeo and Juliet (Luhrmann's).
Also, there are only a few CDs I can listen to in their entirety at any given time. Some others had their time in the sun, but these have lasted in my haven't-gotten-sick-of-it pile: Counting Crows' August and Everything After, John Mayer's Continuum, Deanna Carter's Did I Shave My Legs For This?, Maroon 5's Songs About Jane. They aren't even all necessarily some of my favorite musicians, and maybe they're my picks for sentimental reasons...dunno.
7. Great smell = rain on warm cement. Terrible smell = rotten teeth breath
Great sound = the cello played well. Terrible sound = when people snort back snot in their throat to swallow it.
Great taste = fresh, ripe fruit. Terrible taste = any food where you pull a hair from your mouth and it isn't yours. (Mom's hairs are okay. And inevitable.)
Great view = water and trees. Terrible view = a man's hands with long fingernails
Great feeling = sunshine and a light breeze. Irritating feeling = someone you've never met rubbing your pregnant belly.
8. I don't do well with loud people. Never have.
9. It takes me a while to formulate my opinion on serious matters. I want to know what I'm talking about and why I believe the way I do on a subject before I take a stand on it. I also think that opinions, as strong as they can be, can also change over time along with your experiences, or they can just be strengthened. Depending on who I am with, and what the situation calls for, I will sit back and just listen to people express their strong opinions and decide it isn't my venue or desire to share, or I'll let it loose. Unless I'm really comfortable though, it's usually the former. However, if someone straight up asks me, I've got no problem sharing.
10. I love trying new things. I love adventures. I love learning from trying new things and having adventures.

I tag (only if you feel like it, of course): Andrea H., Melissa G., Lisa S., Wendels, My mama, and the two blogging Whicker women.

It's...... a.....

Boy!

--a very active and healthy one. I asked the ultrasound nurse if a kid can have ADHD in the womb. :) She was so great with us and said that she probably enjoyed our ultrasound as much as we did. We were able to get some fantastic views of our wiggly ....son. She also said that she's been doing this long enough to know that we are welcome to cut the tags and wash the clothes for this one, because it is 100% a boy. We are so excited to have a healthy child thus far and to know what gender to expect.
While we were in the doctor's office, Tessa kept lifting her shirt up to expose her belly because she wanted the doctor to listen to HER baby.

My Hair and My Evening

The hair --is gone. Weeeeell, a lot of it is gone. More than I'd planned on, that's for sure. I said I wanted it between my chin and shoulders. I think the guy heard lips and chin instead. He proudly suggested as he handed me the mirror, "Why don't you take a look at the new you!"
Augh! "That's a lot shorter than I thought it would be!" He made a remark about how when it dries it will be where I want it. I told him that I'd have to get home and mess around with it. Panic. It was still wet and looked like a slick bob chop to me. I got home, attempted to style it, .....and now I like it. My hair had been the longest it's been in ages and desperately needed to be cut, and I think I forgot what it was like to have it that short.
Pros:
I have to actually do my hair now --no outs with the usual bun or braid.
Shorter length makes my thin fine hair look slightly thicker.
It's fun to have something different.
I'll save on shampoo and conditioner?
Cons:
I have to actually do my hair now --no outs with the usual bun or braid.
People staring at me to figure out what is different.

When I got home, Tessa looked at me for a moment and then said, "Cute hair, Mom." Sweet girl. She also told me I had a cute jacket and cute earrings. She's so complimentary. I heard her playing with her princesses the other day, and one was telling the other that she had a "cute head." :)

The evening - We wanted to get out of dodge tonight. Jake has Spring Break next week and took a mean ol' ethics test this morning after studying, studying, and more studying, in the last few days --so he wanted out too. I had the idea of driving out to a random small town where we haven't been where we could find a mom and pop hamburger place to eat. I love places like that. We headed north. We finally chose Van Alstyne. I'd never heard of it. We ended up having an awesome barbeque sandwich at The Rib Joint in their old down town area after driving through a part of Melissa, Anna, and then of course, Van Alstyne. There were some quaint homes (one with chickens hanging out in the front yard) and the dilapidated but still incredible old homes you hope someone will buy and restore one day. We then went back to Anna for a milkshake at the Malt Shop (it's one of those serve out the window places) and ate it in their outside barn thing with picnic tables and no electricity as the sun was going down. Tessa got to have her own icecream, so she was in heaven. She's so like her mom.
He's usually game, but I'm especially happy Jake was game for tonight. I love exploring. And I needed it.