The Rocket in Tampa and moving lessons

Me at 34 weeks pregnant... 6 weeks to go!!
Ty and I at a baseball game
Roger Clemens in Tampa
The Rocket in perfect form

Ty and I have been attending lots of baseball games lately. Roger Clemens was in town playing for the minor league Tampa Yankees (the Yankees A ball club). We got awesome tickets for $5 a piece pretty much right by home plate! Ty spent most of Roger's 4 innings heckling him for selling out and moving to the Yankees from the Astros. I gotta say... for $15 million over 6 months, I'd probably do the same thing! How come social workers don't get an opportunity to make that kind of money??? Anyway, despite the fact that we are saddened the Rocket is no longer playing for our beloved Astros, it was great to see this baseball legend in what could be his last year.

In other news... our stuff from Austin FINALLY arrived and we are getting settled into our new house in Tampa! Yea!! Moving has been such a hassle and the moving company did not help make it any easier. We have learned many lessons from this experience. The company packed up our belongings in Austin, unpacked them in a warehouse in Dallas, then spent 2 weeks stringing us along - promising us unfulfilled delivery dates before reloading our stuff on a semi! When our things finally did show up, the movers were pressuring us to sign paperwork stating our belongings were all in good condition, when we hadn't had time to inspect everything yet. For the most part our stuff was in good condition... nothing those furniture markers can't touch up. A few of our glass pieces were broken... but nothing sentimental.

Here are a few of our moving lessons learned:

1) Hire a company who will come to your house and give you an estimate after looking at your furniture. Don't hire a company who has an online checklist of furniture. (We did the online version... but when they got to our house to pack they started saying our furniture was too big so counted as two or three pieces of furniture, instead of the one piece option listed on the website). Then our quoted price went up significantly.

2) In the contract with the moving company, state a delivery date. For every day they are late, make sure there is a penalty they will pay.

3) Make sure the movers mark any unpacked objects on the inventory list. We had a really nice ladder that wouldn't fit in a box. They conveniently didn't write it on the inventory list and somehow it didn't make it to Tampa! The same with our dolly.

4) Make sure you have plenty of help on delivery day. Have one person take the inventory sheet and check off the objects as they come off of the truck. Have someone else inspect all furniture, and open up any boxes with glass in them to see if anything broke. Maybe a third person to direct the movers to the proper rooms with your furniture and boxes.

5th anniversary, 1st mother's day

Last weekend was our 5th wedding anniversary. We celebrated in style at the Rusty Pelican, on the coast. The food was really good and our server was entertaining, which always makes for a good night out. The view was beautiful, except for this big white dam that was erected since someone is building on the property next to the restaurant. You can see it vaguely in the photo. But it turned out okay b/c lots of birds would come sit on the dam, so they entertained us for most of the dinner. Anyway... it's hard to believe we've been married 5 years already!! I remember on the day we married I didn't think I could love Ty any more than I did at that time. But love is amazing and it is strange how much it has grown over the years to be much deeper and more mature. I look forward to how our love will continue to grow over the next 5 years and to see where else the Lord will lead our family!

This weekend was also my first Mother's Day! Even though Colt isn't born yet, every thing I do already affects him! Ty was so sweet and bought me a print from an artist we both really like. A copy is below. We used to go to the artist's gallery in Union Station in St. Louis after Cardinals/Astros games. If you want to see more of his work, it's at www.baseballfineart.com.

"Please, let it be a slugger."

Fires in FL

So there are like 250+ fires in the state of Florida right now!! Most mornings when we wake up it is all smoky outside and smells like burning trees. They keep issuing health warnings... saying not to spend too much time outside because of all the smoke and toxins in the air! Molly hates it because we either forego her daily walk, or cut them really short. Because of the strong breeze in FL, we are getting smoke all the way from some fires in Georgia and the fires in Florida. Crazy! Parents - there is no need to worry, the fires aren't really close to us.... yet.

Also, the doctor told me I have gestational diabetes. I had to go in for a 3 hour blood glucose test and then to a class with a dietician. They taught me how to test my blood which I have to do 4 times a day and gave me a meal plan to follow! The meal plan actually isn't too different than my normal eating plan, except it has less fruit and typically one less dessert per day. The good news is that since the class, my blood sugars have been well in the "normal" range, even on the lower side of normal. It's just kinda scary cause one of the potential complications can be a really big baby (over 9 lbs)! I want to give birth vaginally and know it will be harder the bigger the baby is! The good news is that the diabetes goes away after the birth, so I can eventually begin eating good (aka sugary) foods again shortly :)

Bacon at the Bar

Fort DeSoto beach...voted top U.S. beach 2005

Since being back in Tampa, we've been up to alot. I've ordered baby furniture (the Wing Park style of Westwood Design). www.westwoodbaby.com It's kinda boyish so if we have a girl ever, then I'll have to get new furniture, but I figure Colt will need his own furniture anyway (chest of drawers, bookshelves, etc) and the crib can be used for boys or girls. It should arrive in 7 weeks, and he's due in 10, so hopefully everything will be set up by the time Colt enters this world.

I went to the doctor again today for my 30 week check up (I have to go every two weeks from now on). GOOD NEWS!!! Colt has turned and is no longer breech!! Thanks for everybody's prayers on the matter. For those of you who may want info on breech babies... I found a website www.spinningbabies.com that gives exercises and positions that are supposed to encourage the baby to turn on their own. Don't know if that's what worked for us, but it was interesting info to look at anyways.
30 weeks pregnant!

Ty and I spent last weekend at the beach. We went to Ft. DeSoto State Park to begin a weekend of early 5 year anniversary celebration. We toured the old fort, ate lunch, and went on a 2 hour kayak expedition of this bay that goes between 5 islands off the coast. We saw several manatees that swam right next to our kayak! It was tons of fun! Then we went and ate at Grille One Sixteen. We had to sit at the bar because we weren't dressed up enough to sit in the restaurant. At the bar, instead of peanuts or crackers or whatever, they served BACON! They had these tall glasses like you get a pina colada in, and had bacon sticking out of it for a snack. How weird! They were SO proud of their Newski bacon, all the way from Wisconsin. But, despite being served bacon at a bar, this restaurant has quickly become our favorite in Tampa. The best thing about the restaurant was their desserts... they make their own donuts drizzled in yummy caramel and white chocolate. Scrumptious!! The perfect snack for a pregnancy craving :)


Me through the eye of a cannon, and Ty behind bars (at the fort, what other kinds of adventures do you think we've been having?)


Our kayak adventures.... do you see the manatee in the water beneath the oar?

Another weird thing I've noticed about Florida is the inordinate number of handicapped parking spaces. Ty and I went to a movie at a Mega theatre and there was a whole row of handicapped parking spaces (at least 80+) but the crazy part is that EVERY SINGLE ONE was parked in! I guess it's a good thing that elderly people can come to Florida and be so active in the community, but it is strange to look around the mall, restaurants, movie theaters, the beach, etc and see so many older adults. And this coming from the girl who used to work in nursing homes!!

Now touch your toes to your nose!

This weekend I flew to Austin for a wonderful baby shower. Thank you to everyone who came and to all the hostesses (Kendal Esteves, Sara Hejl, Kari Schemmel, Courtney Bates, Alethea Dillman, and Sunee Conly) for your hard work!! To my regret, we didn't all get a pic together!! (I'll upload the pics that Ty's mom took soon). Anyway, the shower was so much fun and Colt will have lots of nice things when he is born. He got lots of baseball stuff (b/c I registered for most of it) so I hope he likes the sport!! Also, his Aunt Chez made him a beautiful little blanket. I had fun in Austin visiting friends and family, eating good Mexican food, and walking Town Lake. I was very sad to come back to Tampa, but it had to be done. Hopefully one day God will let us move back to Austin!!!

Also, I had my 28 week appointment on Wednesday. I had a sonogram and they showed us a 4D image. You can see Colt's little foot up by his forhead in the pic! His eyes and nose are basically in the middle of the pic. His ear is at the rightmost side of the image. So... he is in a Frank breech position right now. It's nothing really to worry about, b/c he has plenty of time and room to turn before he gets "stuck" in that position. I've looked up some exercises I can do to get him to turn on his own... so hopefully he'll cooperate. If anyone knows any tricks to get him to move, please let me know! Other than that, no big news here. We found a house to rent and will move in around May 7th... so I'm kinda just in limbo till then!

Don't call our son a Tampon...(A Guest Author's Blog)

Yep, ever since we've moved here, we've foreseen a problem developing that could not be ignored. When we announced that we were moving out of the family-friendly confines of the Great State of Texas, right smack in the middle of Charis's 2nd trimester of our first-born, we knew that he would have to be born a Floridian. : (
As any good Texan knows, that basically repudiates you in the all important categories of ability to consume spicy foods and identify good barbecue. To boot, your state flag is unable to fly at an equal height of Old Glory.
But, "Hey," we thought, "Charis wasn't born in Texas, and she turned out to be alright." So, hope remained in spite of the sad realization.
Then, the real horror of the situation started to sink in. Not only would our son be a Floridian, but he will also be born in the city of Tampa. This begs The Question.
What do you call someone from Tampa?
Someone from Houston is a Houstonian. A man from Austin is an Austinite. But what is someone from Tampa called? Let's just say the answer seemed more than obvious.
We immediately began to search far and wide for an answer that would disconfirm what our hearts knew to be true. Yet, it seemed that every person we ran into and asked had come to the same conclusion we had. A person from Tampa was labeled a "Tampon."
Of course, they usually said it with a big smile on their faces. It was just a big joke to them. They weren't from Tampa. They were from somewhere up North. yankees. They didn't realize the years of ridicule our son would undoubtedly be subjected to on our future trips to the Great Lone Star State.
Texan 1: "Hey, kid, where ya from?
Our son: "Tampa, sir."
Texan 2: (With an incredulous look) You're a Floridian?!?!?
Our son: (Face filled with shame) "Yes , ma'am."
Texan 1: (Guffawing) " Not just that, he's a TAMPON, too!!!
All but our son: "hahahahahahahahhahahahahahahhahahahahahha!"
That's a pretty horrible fate for the poor little guy.
One glimmer of a chance remained. We had yet to run into a single person who advertised themselves as Tampa born, Tampa raised.
Tonight, our son was vindicated.
We showed up innocently enough to the local Ford dealership to have a small scratch on our Expedition painted since the dealer we recently bought it from had been gracious enough to say they would pay for it.
Rainier (like the Mount...seriously) was the only person left in the office. He met us at the door. Everyone else had left to try to avoid all the rush hour traffic that was gnarled out in front of the dealership. The daily grind of the traffic was further aggravated by the hostage situation a few blocks north (at a gun range...seriously). It was there, in the empty office, with the SWAT helicopters buzzing continuously overhead, that Rainier confided in us that he was born and raised here. In Tampa.
With trepidation in our voices, we asked him The Question. Initially, he gave us the same joshing smile as all the others and told us what his yankee brother called him. Our hearts sank.
And then he said the word that was like a sweet oasis in the middle of the Sahara. Tampanian. The word rang strong and true across the empty walls of the body shop.
"Tampanian," we said together with relief. Our son would never be a tampon. He might not be a Texan. He may even be a Floridian. But he will definitely be a Tampanian.

A whole new Molly!

After Molly's great escape last week, Ty and I decided to break down and take her to dog training. We hired a company called Bark Busters, who came out to our house on Saturday for 3 hours and trained us to train Molly. IMMEDIATELY, we saw a huge change in her!! They taught us how dogs speak and their ways of communicating, so we can be the big dog in the relationship. It's funny because the main tool is that you have to growl at your dog when they are doing something wrong. It took us a bit to get used to it (and we sound funny when we are around neighbors), but it works, so who cares!? We used to have problems with Molly pulling on our walks, going upstairs and in/out doors before us, jumping up, whining, getting on the couch uninvited, etc. Well, not anymore! I really am very impressed that after one 3 hour session, she has completely changed!! Of course, we have to do our homework everyday to reinforce her new behavior, and we still have some problems when we see squirrels on our walks, but overall she has done great in the 4 days since her initial training session. If you are debating taking your dog to obedience school, I definitely can recommend Bark Busters (they are nationwide)! We did this just in time for her new baby brother to show up and she be on her best behavior!