March forward

My daughters

Dora jammies are the only acceptable pajamas in the house, luckily she has two pair. All other pajamas are "too nubby" or "too silly". In fact, Dora pajamas are the only acceptable clothes, short of tutus and dresses. After a few impressive tantrums, Norelle is starting to mellow and return to the sweetheart we are used to. Can't deny her independent spirit...

Nori came to the midwife with me and helped listen to the heartbeat which clocked in at 142...still waiting to hear if I passed the glucose test. We got the nursery 85% done this weekend so now we just need some shelves, closet storage, and decor. We made chicken enchiladas, dined with friends, and tasted chocolate from famed Mast Brothers Chocolate (one of the brothers was Jake's college roommate, Ricky). Not bad... all green, organic chocolate imported on sail boats. Gearing up for another work week and then a long cabin weekend with our Life Group to eat, play games, and commune with nature from the comfort of the indoors.

I broke 150lbs by .4 (all boobs, I'm sure).

8 years ago today...

was 03-03-03, my mom's last chemo treatment to cure her Diffuse B-Cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Grateful to celebrate this milestone!

feisty as she wanna be

Upon returning home from a tropical vacation it is only natural that your perceptive three-year-old, who by all accounts was an angel while you were gone, may have some behavioral issues readjusting to real life. It's called payback. While we have been processing the emotions of us being apart for a week, she gives no overt signs of feeling sad that we left her, saying things to us like, "it broke your heart when I was gone in Winona, but now I came back!". Or vice versa? She is a self-proclaimed "feisty little shyster" as tantrums and yelling have peaked this week. So, as we regain consistency and structure in our daily routine, I am being extra loving and patient. A moment for the highlight reel included her demanding "ten Smarties!!" in tantrum instead of the typical one Smartie for going tink on the potty. Oh, child.

Honey McBear's (yes, we will have a Tootie McBootie and a Honey McBear, get over it) bedroom was painted today! Colors? Raspberry and pale blue/turquoise! It was painted by a Santa Claus impersonator who was a Catholic, then a Lutheran, but now attends the Free Evangelical church and goes to weekly bible study. He also happens to have a girlfriend, but don't worry, there is no "hanky panky" because he wants to get her know first (unlike his last wife who started drinking like a fish two years into their marriage, sloppy drunk in the middle of the day)! BTB, he has two dogs, a yellow lab and black lab/pittbull mix. Luckily, the pittbull has never bitten anyone. Santa was recommended to me by Missy whom he says is a "social butterfly" and he is also currently working on my other friend "Angel's" house. Angel who?

Honey Don't

Not to complain as Lord knows I am not a whiner. Okay, I am! But this whole pregnancy thing is getting old, 27 weeks old to be exact which translates into 2 pounds of baby the size of a head of cauliflower. I am lucky, you don't have to tell me that. But still.

I was going to make list of all my ailments but it might be shorter to just say what's not wrong: I don't have hemorrhoids, varicose veins or stretch marks, yet. And my feet feel amazing! But, I do have everything almost else including: nausea, heartburn, motion sickness, backaches, muscle cramps, permanent stuffy nose, inability to bend over and fat arms, back, & legs (remember when cellulite used to stay on the back of thighs where it belonged?). You know it's true when people stop denying it and say things like "well, you are pregnant" or "your face is still skinny". I have officially gained 20 lbs, almost cracking the sound barrier of 150 lbs. Maybe next week? I have my 1 hour gestational diabetes test on Friday which is another ailment I can do without.

The one cool thing is the feeling the baby kick and punch which happens several times a day now! It reminds me why these discomforts are worth it and that in only 13 short weeks (only 91 short days of nausea, heartburn, motion sickness, backaches, muscle cramps, permanent stuffy nose, inability to bend over and fat arms, back, & legs), we will have another baby girl to light up our lives and this time, chafe my nipples.

I'll never forget you...

conch fritter

A lovely, sunny, relaxing week with Jake Seltz, husband extraordinaire, is coming to a close. We feel rejuvenated and de-stressed, almost ready for real life once again! We have it on good authority that Norelle is alive and well, saying the cutest things.

We read some good books, especially Open and The Help, hit the gym, visited the straw market where we got an adorable purse for Nori with her name sewn on it and a "beautiful shell necklace" which was her request. Did I mention they make the most wonderful non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiris here? Fresh fruit and so good! The Bahamas are known for their fried conch which is not only delicious, but also serves as a good swear word. As in "Oh conch fritter, I got sunburned again! When am I going to remember to reapply my "very water repellent" organic sunscreen?" Or, as a noun like, "Ouch!! The baby keeps kicking me in the conch fritter!".

While this was not a cultural trip by any stretch of the conch fritter, we did accidentally acquire some history when we ventured out to The Fish Fry for some conch and daiquiris. Did I tell you how wonderful they are? Turns out the famed Fish Fry is not a lone restaurant but rather a string of shack-au-rants along the beach. In the '80's the local fisherman used to sell their fresh catch there and sometime their wives and girlfriends would come down and cook the fresh fish. Over time, this turned in the place for locals to eat so the government made them get licenses and open up a legit establishments, hence the Fish Fry was born. Oh, and the daiquiris! Also seems like a good place to buy pot, if you are looking...

That's us (not pictured: Andre Agassi)

our balcony view

Da Daq Shack

local flora

Gilligan's Island

Jake snorkeled and later I swan with him, only after dancing to Baby Mama with the catamaran crew

Bahama Daddy and Bahama Mama

p.s. I left out the part about me puking in the hotel's flower planter. You are welcome.

Greetings from the Carribean

Ahoy! Land ho! No really, I feel like a land ho with this giant tummy. You might think this is an excellent time to rob our house and you would be right... could you please shovel while you are there?

We are relaxing and thoroughly enjoying this fabulous break together! Our flights here went smoothly and Customs was a breeze, for once. Yesterday we sat on the beach and walked to the "food store" to pick up some fresh fruit, yogurt, milk and beverages for the room before ordering room service and collapsing for a 12 hour slumber. Today we chilled by the pool, shared a club sammy (I forgot I shouldn't eat lunch meat!) and salad, worked out at the gym, and then went for a long walk. Now it's time to clean up and try the Asian place next door for dinner. Don't worry, I won't give you a daily play-by-play since this is basically what we will do everyday.

Yep, it's just the three of us here: myself, Jake, and Andre Agassi. I though that by getting Jake to leave his tennis rackets at home we would be free of the sport, however he is reading Open which thrills him to no end causing him to relieve his youth as Andre narrates his career. Things I have learned third-hand include: Andre's dad forced him to hit 2,500 balls a day and built him a tennis court, he was poor having to eat baked potatoes three times a day, the denim jeans shorts and image were made by Nike, his physical endurance was really bad until he hired his trainer Gil, Andre thought Pete Sampras was a joke at first, Andre's brother tried to make it as a pro but did not, his toupee almost fell off at the French Open, and his bike shorts were NOT hot pink rather "hot lava" colored. Later tonight Jake might learn about how it felt to start losing in the Grand Slams and to officially be okay with going bald (hi Case!). Personally, I am currently enjoying Mennonite In A Little Black Dress and am proud to say we have not even thought about turning the TV on. The free Internet access is another thing but we have a child to check on.

How is Nori doing? I mean it, does anyone know? The check-in emails have not yet arrived so I scanned the headlines of the Winona Daily News and no emergencies made the front page. I hope all is well. We miss her and talk about her constantly but remind ourselves of all the work we would be doing if she were here "relaxing" with us. Baby Honey is kicking up her heels and showing her dad how active she can be. We might have agreed on a name for her, but it's so much pressure to find the right not-too-common-not-too-weird-yet-beautiful name that we both love.

Miss you!