The In-Laws Are Coming... The In-Laws Are Coming....

I feel like Paul Revere has been running through my head for the past 6 days telling me "The In-Laws are coming... The In-Laws are coming..." and I haven't much heeded to the council he has given me and pretty soon the massacre will begin (okay, maybe that is a little to dramatic)....



Maybe I feel more like the 10 virgins from the New Testament (you know 5 had oil and 5 didn't...) and halfway through the journey to meet the bridegroom I run out of oil.... (maybe, I should have cleaned the shower last night.... or taken something out for dinner this morning before going to work)!

Or maybe, my feelings don't spawn from total unpreparedness but the fact that I totally started going through every dresser, closet, shoebox and pit of darkness where stuff could get shoved about a week ago to try to make room for this child of mine. It was one of those times where you start cleaning and things look worse (a lot worse) before they look better and I have been trying to get things done but, have mainly ended up with stuff in bags. I know what's what and how the bags are organized.... some bags go to good will, some things we will try to sell on e-bay/craigslist and others will kindly be stored at my parents house until we have more room (does that ever happen after you have kids?)

Anyhow -- the In-Laws are coming and "there is sunshine in my soul today"... (What?)

Why We Keep Our Cat Around

We love Sumo (our cat). She's spoiled. She's a handful. She's moody. She's perfect for Dan and I... Oh, and she plays fetch... with hair ties.

What are sisters for?

Typically, I nanny one 3 year old little boy who makes me laugh.
This week, I am watching him and his two older sisters (6 & 9).

Here is the conversation I heard this morning.

Katie (6) is playing the piano.
Jacey (9) comes in and says, "I can teach you how to play the piano.
Katie & Jacey sit and the piano and play for about 30-40 minutes.

When they got done Katie was pretty excited and came up to me to report that, "Jacey said that if I gave her my lip gloss I got from Santa I didn't have to pay her for my piano lesson."

Hilarious.

My Sweet Husband

I went home to Raleigh last weekend without Dan. He had 2 finals on Saturday and was going to be busy from 11 am - 6 pm. I don't know anyone in Charlotte well enough to say, "Wanna hang out ALL day"? So... I went home. The trip isn't bad and I actually had a great visit with my family and my bestest. It was fun.

On the drive home I thought of what Dan would have waiting for me. When we first got married he used to bring me home flowers every couple of months or watermelons (if they were is season. I love watermelon so, it was very sweet of him). Anyhow, I figured it out. When I got home Dan would have flowers and chocolate waiting for me.



And guess what! I was absolutely, 100% WRONG. What did I actually come home too? How about a dirty pan on the stove (not even in the sink), an unmade bed and a husband who hadn't shaved or done his hair for two days.

However, he was watching for me out the window and when I pulled into our apartment complex he did jump on the windshield of my car....

I love him.... even if there wasn't any Chocolate or Flowers.

I'm learning so much...

Sidenote: I love school! If there was one thing I could just do for the rest of my life -- I would pick school. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I am a really great student (not that I am the smartest) and I make amazing grades. I have been known to freak out over assignments and cry over grades that I felt were "unfair" but, today... my knowledge has reached a whole new level.

Let me share:

As I was walking to class today I noticed something written in sidewalk chalk (this is not uncommon but, I actually read it this time). I felt like my eyes had been open to the world and this is what it said....

"MONSTERS ARE NOT AS SCARY AS STD'S."

I don't know why I laughed -- but, the thought of it still being entertained in my mind and hopefully one day I can instill that fear in our children....(or not).

Happy early Halloween and remember -- if a monster comes knocking on your door tomorrow don't worry -- it could be worse.

Scarowinds

So, as many of our readers know Dan and I have season passes to Carowinds ( a local theme park here in Charlotte). We bought them with our friends Peter and Sofia and (most likely) made our last trip of the year on Saturday.

For Halloween the "scary it up" and add about 11 haunted housed. The four of us hit up about 5 or 6 haunted "things" and it was -- fun... but, not scary. So, overall we had a great time trying to scare everyone else at the park. Sofia does the BEST scary/psycho voice and every time she walked passed a unsuspected person -- she would say something in that voice and then we would all laugh. (Not nice - -but, funny. )

Happy to Announce....

That Dan and I are .... (drum roll)...





EXPECTING... (something).

Dan and I are a little more than 12 weeks pregnant and the baby is doing great. We had a Dr. appointment last Thursday and the heartbeat was 164 (which is good). We wont know what we are having until the first couple weeks of November but, are excited for either. Actually, Dan has already coined this baby as a boy -- but, we will have to wait and see. I go back and forth so, I'm not hep with guessing the gender.

With all of that going on, life is crazy. Making an 8 o'clock class and working 10 hour work days kill me but, soon enough we should be done with the whole "feeling sick thing" and moving on to the better part of our pregnancy.

In other news, Dan got promoted with UPS and will be working as a supervisor starting on Monday. We have truly been blessed as we moved to Charlotte and look forward to the exciting adventure that we have ahead of us.

When I was in middle school...

I remember Nirvana singing a song about "...sex and candy".



I never got that but, it was a catchy song. Anyhow, why do you need to reminisce about the past? To understand the present, of course.


We have an ice cream truck the lives in our apartment complex named Lil' Rina. It leaves around 3 or 4 and always stops in the neighborhood and is frequented by big men with no kids. I mean, I like ice cream as well as other big people... but, I just thought-- if I ever start dealing drugs -- I may have to take that idea.


This is not an actual picture of Lil' Rina.

Do you know...?

Who they call the "King" of Nascar?

Who also played "the King" is Disney/Pixar's Film Cars?

Who has had their picture taken with President Bush and Amanda McEwen?

That's right...

Richard Petty

...Even if you don't like Nascar, this is neat!

Maybe Charlotte does have SOME perks.

The good, the bag and the U-G-L-Y....

A.K.A. Charlotte.

Charlotte has not panned out to be as bad as I first assumed. Here is the good.We live in a really amazing part of town and bike ride to 50% of the places we need to go. The shopping mall (which is basically our neighbor) has live music every Thursday night.... here. On the lake.






The lake is another amenities that we enjoy. There is this INSANE looking duck. We did our research though, it is a Muscovy duck, which is native to Mexico, Central & South America... the ones that live in the U.S. live in Texas. Although, it is neat to have so much "culture" around us -- we don't like it. Every time we feed the "normal" ducks this one actually comes out of the water and follows us ... acting more like one of the geese which we DON'T feed. Oh, and this bird is the ugly.






The bad... Well, Dan's transfer did not go through as soon as we had hoped and so he was out of work for about 2 weeks. Bummer. Me, I have a job.. and pretty great job being a nanny again but, this time it is for a lady who is a member of our church and divorced. I like the lady too. She is young, 31 and has 3 kids but, I'm only watching the 3 year old. It WILL be fun! Oh, but, it doesn't start until August 25th, so until then we will have a really clean house, no dirty laundry and Dan will probably have dinner on the table every night when he gets home from work.... yeah, I LOVE being a wife.


So, that right now is the fun of Charlotte. We did have Jericho (a friend from Raleigh) stop by twice this week-- it was nice because we don't really know anyone yet.... but, I'm still far away from my parents and I DO love them!

What? Amanda's going to update her blog...

Yes...I am.

So, some home time just seems to slip aways (expecially if you are constantly running from place to place with no where to be). It has been a while since a "real" update so... here goes.

As most of you know Dan and I are official residents of Charlotte. It has been a slow transition and I think we have been away from our apartments more than we have been at the apartment, but we like it.

Dan was suppose to transfer with UPS and they have done a really poor job of making that happen so, the last two weeks have been our time to catch up and enjoy each other a little before our lives get consumed with work and school. (Oh, the joys of being broke married students).

Also, another fun thing -- My sister came home to visit for the summer. She has actually been home for about 6 weeks now (she's an awesome high school Latin teacher in Texas) and she has stayed with us for a few nights. It is always fun to spend time with your siblings... especially when you are old.... and we are getting to that point.

And we blog...

It has been a while with ups & downs... but, we are pushing through and in only 3 short days will be relocated to Charlotte. (Are you kidding me?)

Well, since I last blogged Dan and I successfully Treked (only about 10 miles but... still ) with the youth of our church and had the most wonderful, uplifting experience. We were both really grateful that we took the time off work to spend with the youth and look forward to helping out again. It was a great blessing that with over 300 youth out tramping in the woods there was nothing more than a few falls, bug bites and bee stings. I was really proud of everyone when our "family" (the way we were grouped) made it to the end safely. But... the same couldn't be said for me. Apparently, I layed my face in some sort of poison ivy/oak. How do I get it on my face and no where else? That remains a mystery to all of us... but, here are the pictures. Notice the right side of my face? Cute, huh? The pictures are about a day after a visit to the ER on the 4th of July (nothing else is open) and a hefty dose of Prednozone (which they kindly gave a weeks worth of pills.

We officially have a place to live in Charlotte. It is is a small one bedroom close to school. We are happy... enough*.



*We are really happy with our apartment and preparing to go to Charlotte. There are just a billion and one other things in our life that are bringing us down right now. I am sure I will post about them soon enough... but, now isn't the time.

Just like Montell Jordan...

"THIS IS HOW WE DO IT..."

163 miles (one way)

I am really tired of driving to Charlotte.

It takes forever and is only slightly rewarding.

Okay, actually this weekend wasn't so bad. We got to spend the day with Jackie (LOVE HER) and Jericho which is was fun.

Here is my favourite picture from our trip to Carowinds (maybe I'll add more later).

Apartment hunting

5 hours, 32 phone calls and one lunch with a friend in Charlotte later -- we still have no apartment.

Why? Well-- while we were apartment searching Dan and I spoke to a group of officers who told us about CMPD.ORG - you can check out crime "hot spots*"...







*Aparently, Charlotte is a crime hot spot.

Over Due?

Yes, long over due. That is exactly what this entry is.

An interesting fact about Dan and I -- we really want kids. I like that. I mean, I like that Dan and I are on the same page when it comes to our family. Anyhow, that is just a little tangential and irrelevant.

I'm excited. I have one on-line exam left and them I will be done with classes for a few months. I feel like I haven't had a break in... forever! We have a lot of things coming up this summer. I think the schedule goes something like a week trip to Florida (with work) wedding, trek, wedding, moving, wedding, wedding... and then school starts. Gotta love those weddings. However, Dan and I did get Carowinds passes so, if anyone ever wants to go then we are totally up for the fun.

Besides the typical stress of life - we are really happy. I love being able to say that because for some reason people get married and seem like it is terrible. I reject all of those negative feelings and enjoy being with Dan... I mean, we have our moments but, typically end up laughing about them a few minutes later.

Ants in my....

pants?

I am not exactly sure where the ants are hibernating... but, they are near me. Ever since Dan and I both heard we were accepted to Charlotte, I've been ready to go. It seems like the day will never come when we will leave Raleigh (something that will make my whole body rejoice)! Now, don't get me wrong there are some wonderful things in Raleigh -- I am sure of it.
Let me move on -- literally.