Love thy Neighbor

I know this is one of the commandments in life that we are supposed to live by, but my neighbor has made this very difficult for me. Our neighbors are quirky but this keeps things interesting. He is a typical type A engineer. He spends all weekend in his yard ensuring that every blade of grass is exactly the same height. Once this is done, he suits up in his eye and ear protection and then straps the jet engine propelled leaf blower to his back to ensure there isn’t a single grass clipping on his sidewalk. And if you are outside doing any type of yard work, you can guarantee that he’ll be out there in 5 minutes to see what’s going on and to start piddling around. He was a huge help when we decided to put down sod in 100 degree heat and to replace all our plumbing—he’s always willing to pitch in just to have something to do.
We’ll they recently sold their house and are in the process of moving. Hate to see them go because they have been really good neighbors and there is no telling what the new neighbors will be like. We get a knock on the door the other day not 10 minutes after the U-Haul pulled away and there stands our neighbor. He forgot something at the house and had to come back and in the process ripped the bumper off my car with the U-Haul truck! I had a fender bender over the Christmas holiday (my fault, I'll admit it) and had to replace the fender, bumper and the light fixture and now he has managed to do $849.36 worth of damage to my beloved car where I just had it fixed a few months ago! At least this time I don’t have to file it under my insurance and pay a deductible.
Now we have to wait and see what the new neighbors will be like! Stay tuned!

Annabelle Lynn Smith has arrived!

Congratulations to Kathi and Rob Smith on the birth of their daughter, Annabelle Lynn. She was born on Thursday, 10 July 2008 at 4:49pm. She weighs 7 pounds 12 ounces and is 19 1/2 inches long.

New Babies!

Congratulations to Courtney and Matt Atnip on the arrival of Elizabeth Sadie "Lizzie" who was born on Tuesday, July 1st at 10:40 am by c-section and weighed 5 lbs 8 oz. Be sure to check out all their adventures on her blog!

We are anticipating the arrival of Annabelle Lynn at any moment to Kathi & Rob Smith! She went to the hospital early this morning to be induced. Baby Carter is scheduled to arrive next week to Allison & Justin Carter!

This fall/winter will be exciting with arrival of babies to Scooter & Katherine, Stine & Julie, Lacey & Chad Looser, Patti & Brad Bohan, Karen Bertiger & Tom Diggers, and Stuart & Rupi Robinson. (Sorry if I left anyone out!)

Congratulations to all the new parents and parents to be!

Old Wives' Tales

Went to the OB/GYN on 27 June 08 and this time Jason went with me just so he could hear the heartbeat. He missed out the last time and wasn’t going to miss out again! According to old wives' tales, if your baby's heart rate is high, above 140 beats per minute, that means you're carrying a girl. A lower heart rate below 140 bpm means you're having a boy. The first time we heard the heartbeat is was in the 170 range and today is was in the 150s—so the signs point to a girl. But if we listen to the one about the Dad gaining weight then you’re having a boy and if he’s not you’re having a girl—then we are having a boy! And no, we are not having fraternal twins. I’m just at the point where I am ready to know the sex of Baby Dilocker so we can start doing fun stuff like decorating the nursery!
I’ve developed a new pregnancy related symptom—heart burn. This just started, but nothing that Tums can’t take care of. I can’t complain since I was lucky enough to make it into my second trimester with no morning sickness!