A day of adulting!

Spine and head, profile

Foot

Grandma (Eric's Mom) took Kaylee this morning, leaving Eric and I a blissfully childfree day. We started things off with a trip down to the hospital for the anatomy scan for Babydos! Things went well, though I do find I'm constantly comparing experiences between pregnancies. This ultrasound was much more business like and we really didn't get as many images as we did with Kaylee.

We had an excellent view of the heart beating and my placenta is nice and high, in a perfect position! So no previa for me!

Babydos was HIGHLY uncooperative. S/he had her legs crossed nearly the whole time AND had both hands up by his face, effectively blocking the awesome voldemort view. We did finally get an in between the legs shot for hopefully definitive sex announcement, which will happen Saturday, so no spoilers :P

Afterwards, we went to Buy Buy Baby and picked out the appropriate Little Sister/Little Brother onesie as well as some blank ones for our name announcement party this Saturday.

Then we headed out to one of the malls in the area and grabbed lunch at a Hibachi steakhouse, walked around the mall, and caught "The Martian" in theatres before it left. We were the only ones in the theatre, which was awesome. I had read the novel, Eric had not but had expressed significant interest. We thoroughly enjoyed our private showing and agreed it reminded us of when we lived in Florida.

We took back roads home because I was hoping to catch the local bakery before it closed but alas, it was not to be. I'll go first thing tomorrow.

Eric has been feeling a bit down about Michigan, but declared that he was feeling much better. I think we really needed this all day date. It was one of the things we were hoping to have by moving here, more child care from family and that just hasn't happened until now. It was sorely needed. We are in such good spirits for having 'us' time as a couple where we don't have to be Mom or Dad.

So now I have a party to get ready for! My mom will be flying in Thursday to do her consulting work for the textbook company in Lapeer, a nearby town. This gig was entirely random and she jumped at the chance to have someone else pay to fly her out to see me. She'll leave Sunday. It's not going to be a baby shower, I've expressly stated it's just for fun to decorate onesies and have cake and announce name and sex of Babydos. Just an excuse to have everyone get together.

But as for babydos? Kaylee is going to be thrilled!

NaNoWriMo

Technically I opted in to participate in NaNoWriMo this year, to write 50,000 words within the 30 day month of November.

To give you an idea of how well I'm doing with that goal, the dashboard on my profile page has a ticker that estimates your date of completion based on your progress thus far.

My estimated date of completion is May 18, 2018.

So yeah. That went well this year. Not.

It just wasn't in the cards for me. I am making a last ditch effort to help my team for a weekend word war on the nanoljers website because of a remarkably persistent team leader who has been really following up. I admire his/her determination. And I am ever loyal to Team Clio, so write I've been doing.

Plus, I needed to do that anyway since I've got a Kickstarter reward to redeem that involves an author doing a decent edit of my novel and I need to have something to send him that won't be embarrassing and will actually be productive.

Writing since we moved to Michigan has been nonexistent, which is a little frustrating, but honestly something I only just realized. I have NO inspiration, no drive, to write creatively. It's a depressing thought. I want to write, I just... can't. Either I can't find the time or I have no idea what I want to say or how to say it. Maybe I need to work it back in as an every day chore to do, like cleaning the barn and feeding the critters.

I do wish I had done more this November. But looking back I don't know when I would have done it.

Catch up in pictures

I was a bridesmaid in my sister in law's wedding at the end of October. Observe my ridiculous bulbous bouffant and make up.  (macademia... gazebo!)

Kaylee was the most adorable flower girl ever.

I got a serger and my first project was making underwear for Kaylee

Since I reopened my right ear I decided to buy earrings to keep them open. Awesome funky purple earrings.

I voted in our local primary!

Kaylee demonstrated how good of a helper she is with feeding the critters.

She got her first ear infection. 

We had unseasonably warm November days to play outside.

I went for a hike at the local nature center and enjoyed myself immensely.

I worked on my adult coloring

On chilly weekend mornings I enjoyed a hot cup of coffee and watching my critters.

We totally jumped the gun and reassembled the crib for Babydos. Note the future nursery mess.

We cleaned and slightly rearranged Kaylee's room.

I started sanding a changing table for the nursery that I found on a facebook swap page.

More adult coloring from my mandala book.

Kaylee wanted me to draw our family.

The cats steal my snoogle. Also proof that they get along for when they don't.

Eric entombed Kaylee in wood blocks, much to her delight.

I've been making leotards for Kaylee.

Gwyn oversees Eric's work on some organizational modifications we're making to the barn.

Like a spot to store plastic t-posts that I don't need in the winter.

And new shelving to keep the feed room part of my tack room better organized.

I took Gwyn for a walk and just about died from the effort of hiking through sand. Gwyn enjoyed getting out with other horses for our trail 'ride' with friends.

I got a huge blister for my efforts. I suspect hiking boots that no longer fit.

I got awesome fabric to make more clothes that are all about girl empowerment in STEM fields.  This panel shown says "Experiment Like a Girl" and has a picture of Marie Curie. It will be for me. I have smaller ones for Kaylee as well as coordinating fabric.

The deer are cleaning up our windfall apples.

Kaylee fits in her locker at school.

She also insists on brushing her own hair after swimming in the 'inside pool'

We got our first snow storm of the season. Almost a foot of snow eventually fell!

Eric cleans my truck off for me.

Kaylee gives the baby hugs.

I enjoyed a cup of jesus hate (peppermint mocha, actually)

Selfies with Gwyn today

Kaylee wears her "Yeti Crab Sweater" 

Selfie with Saffron

Nommy lunch

More selfies with my fuzzy beast

New, WARM boots!

Christmas decorating today

Lights in the window

That darn procrastination demon strikes...

I put off/completely forgot about Kaylee's health form that needed to be filled out for preschool. Partly because it was rather involved in getting filled out and things with lots of steps sort of intimidate me into not doing anything and partly because I really don't like talking on the phone.

BUT! I finally got it done (her pretty much getting an exclusion from school kicked my butt into gear, I'm so bad at adulting)

Things I had to do to fill out a form:

Find a primary care doctor, set up appointment for weeks out because new patient appointments were booked up
Call her old pediatrician to get her vaccination records
Learn that I can't just verbally release those, I had to fax a medical release form
Get annoyed
Contemplate just getting a moral exemption to make the form simpler but feel morally opposed to taking that route when the child is FULLY vaccinated
Call old pediatrician -again- and ask about medical release, learn a doctor's office will acquire records sooner, WTF, and even if you have the appointment, you still need to wait for records to arrive to fill out vaccine history
Ask old office if they will verbally recite vaccine history so you can have the form completed, office tells you they'll call you back
Office calls back and gladly verbally gives you vaccine history, you thank them profusely and fill out the form


Still to do:

Take Kaylee to her new appointment tomorrow where she will get her flu shot and have her form filled out. This will also be her VERY belated 3 year check up. Oops.  Moving screws you up, yo.

Turn in form next week and pray to the flying spaghetti monster that she can still be enrolled now that her form is complete.



I did have coffee today, which might explain how this all got done. And Eric worked from home so I felt like I was under observation to be productive. Guess it worked.