Sick Day

We had a busy weekend. Keri had a couple of doctors appointments on Friday and a marathon NST again. I think it was 2 and a half hours this time. We met with Dr. Dickey and everything is still on track for Oct 9th. Keri's hanging in there. Her itchies are pretty bad. I can't wait until she has the baby just so she can get rid of that awful rash. I feel so bad for her.

Keri is still supposed to be on 'bed rest' but she didn't do much of that this weekend. She spent most of her time watching me work around the house. Saturday and Sunday were pretty much filled up refinishing the front and back decks. They were in sad shape. I cleaned both of them on Friday and Saturday and stained/sealed them on Sunday. Cleaning them wasn't much fun but they both turned out really nice. Tip: using a garden sprayer (pump type) really cuts down on staining time. I'd still be doing it if I'd used a brush or a roller. I painted the posts on the front porch too. It seems I got a bit carried away with my pressure washer when I cleaned up all the moss and mildew in the spring. I'd been meaning to stain the decks and paint the posts all summer. I think this is the last of the nice weather so I took advantage of it.

I called in 'well' yesterday and worked harder at home than I would have at work :) I washed the truck, Yukon and my Trans Am. I got the Trans Am all covered up for the winter which was actually pretty sad. I didn't even get to drive it this year. Speaking of cars, I also fixed the Accord on Friday. The overheating thing was my fault. I pinched the hose going to the heater core so it was spewing coolant into the inside of the car. I wondered where all that antifreeze was going :) The carpets were soaked. I got it all fixed up though. It's nice to be driving the Accord again today since I burned through $75 worth of gas in two days last week driving the truck. I'm also really glad the problem with the Accord didn't turn out to the the heater core like I suspected. I had a bit of a panic "uh oh" moment on Friday when I noticed all the coolant on the floor. That only means one thing... "bad heater core". I love how modern cars have the heater core tucked so far up under the dash that the only way you can replace them is to remove the entire dash! Yikes! In my panic I got an online estimate from a repair shop to replace the heater core and it was $1200! I'm so glad it didn't turn out to be that drastic. I wonder what would have happened if I'd have taken it in with what was really wrong with it. I bet they still would have replaced the heater core and charged me the $1200 even though it didn't need to be done. That would have been a good 'Dateline' investigation.

Riley's room is 100% done. Yay! We got that organized this weekend too. Now we just need a baby. Anyone know where we can get one?

Let's see, what else exciting happened this weekend? Oh, I mowed the yard last night just to top off the weekend. Chores, chores, chores. Did I mention that I did the laundry too? Anyone know where I can clone myself?

Writing this blog really brings to light how domesticated my life really is. The most interesting things I can write about are staining my deck and fixing my car. Wow. I'm a 30-something, suburbanite, family guy...

No more work for Keri

Well, we had another NST last night and it wasn't a short one. Keri was having some contractions while we were there and her blood pressure was a bit elevated. When the nurse came in and put an arm band on Keri's arm we thought we were in for an overnighter for sure. It turns out Keri just needs to be off of her feet and resting. The doctor's orders were no more work and lots of rest. I always joke around and call Keri a weanie but she's been a trooper through this pregnancy. She's had lots of hurdles in front of her and she's cleared every single one. Gestational diabetes, PUPPS, blood pressure, swollen ankles, NST's and now an estimated 9 lb baby girl and a scheduled C-section. Way to go Care Bear! I'm so proud of you!!!

17 Days to Go!

Only 17 more days before the wittle girl arrives! Keri had an appointment with Dr. Dickey on Friday. Riley's still breech and the doc said "this is a big baby!" after she measured Keri. She's pretty sure she's gonna be 9 lbs. Wow. Everyone on both sides of our families were in the 7-8 lb range so we're not quite sure where this came from. At least she's healthy. Keri's glad she doesn't have to push her out :)

Keri worked on getting all of Riley's clothes straightened out this weekend. It's a work in progress. I think we bought WAYYY too much stuff but of course Keri thinks it's fine. A kid that isn't even born yet has filled up a walk in closet. We'll have to work on that 'spoiled rotten' thing I think. Daddy will have to be the bad guy.

I worked on the Accord pretty much all day Sat and Sun replacing the motor mounts. It had a lot of vibration when you came to a stop with the car in gear. Replacing the mounts was an absolute nightmare. Not fun at all. We started off for work this morning and it overheated. Doh! I don't think I got all of the air out of the cooling system. At least I hope that's all it is. It was quite interesting trying to make it back from the gas station across the Hwy 2 tressle with the temp gauge pegged. At least it was 6:00 am and hardly anyone was on the roads. Keri hasn't had a Craig induced adventure in a while. She was over due. We're going to take the Yukon and the truck to work from here on out anyway. Keri's starting to have a difficult time getting in and out of the Accord.

Sequim Baby Shower

Heather threw a baby shower for Keri in Sequim on Saturday. Keri had a great time! A BIG THANK YOU to Heather for throwing a wonderful shower with lots of fun games! Tanya was the winner of the 'pass the prize' story'and Shirley won the 'draw a baby on a paper plate while holding it on top of your head' game. Let me tell you, there were some very interesting baby drawings. I hope Riley comes out in better shape than those babies. We got lots and lots of wonderful gifts for baby. Thank you to everyone for coming and your generosity. We got lots of diapers as well. We know we'll need them! Keri got to cheat and eat some yummy cake so that made her happy as well. We also want to say thank you to all of you that traveled from afar to attend the shower.

Fishing on Sunday

Monty and I went fishing on Sunday. We didn't get a bite all day but it was a beautiful day to be on the water. These pictures are when we were heading out. Sunrise over the Cascades. I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures.

Rya is so cute!

Ness sent us these pictures of our little niece Rya. Ahhh, she so darn cute!!! Rya can't wait for her little cousin to be born. They're gonna be adorable together. We miss you guys so much and can't wait to see you!

Another NST

It's been a while since we posted. Not too much new to report. We went for our Tuesday NST last night. Riley was in her usual form... bouncing around everywhere. The top graph is movement. As you can tell by the peaks she doesn't sit still for very long. It was another marathon, an hour and a half. It seems that whenever Dr. Dickey is on duty we have to wait around forever. I think they finally gave up on finding time for her to come and see us so they came in and said "the doctor said you can go home now." Wonderful. We just LOVE to sit here for nothing for an hour and a half. We're getting really close now! Keri's been such a trooper!

On another note I got the promotion at work. It's 'official' beginning next week but has already been announced. I'm going to be splitting time between Bellevue and Auburn for a while and then we'll see what happens. We're not going to rush things but that long commute might drive me crazy in a hurry. We'll see how things pan out.

Riley at 34 Weeks

We went for an ultrasound last night. Of course Riley was a little stinker just like she always is at the ultrasounds. We were trying to get a good picture of her face but she wouldn't move her hands away. Little bugger! If you look closely you can see her right arm in front of her. Then you should be able to make out her little face. Rod's first comment "she has a really big nose". Gotta love Rod's subtlety :) She's doing great but she is a couple of weeks ahead of schedule. She weighs 5 lbs 15 ozs right now. We have a feeling she might be arriving a little bit early. We'll find out more info tomorrow when Keri and Judy go to see the doc. Me and Monty have more important things go do like going to look at hoochies! Yee haa! How many guys get to say they're going to look at hoochies with their father-in-law?

New Toy

Yes, I'm spoiled rotten. I'm getting a new toy this weekend. I have such an understanding wife who puts up with all my juvenile whims! I love you Care Bear! Hey, I work hard - I deserve it.... at least that's what I tell myself :) I've had my 'project' YZ490s for quite a while now (4+ years?) and only ridden the completed one a handful of times. They're actually quite tortuous to ride. I was all excited to go on a ride with Monty in Sequim a few weeks ago only to be thoroughly disappointed. The YZ had a flat tire. No big deal really but it was the last straw. I was so sick of working on them and not being able to ride them. Not to mention the starting ritual that in itself should be its own Olympic event. I said right then and there "I'm selling both of these things and getting something newer." So here I am. I sold the completed YZ a few weeks ago. I'm having a difficult time selling the other one but I just have to be patient and wait for the right bike to come along. Patience hasn't ever really been one of my strong suits unless I am fishing. Being the obsessive person I am I couldn't stop scouring the web researching bikes and looking for bikes for sale. One of the top priorities was that it had to be street legal. From my research I had a really difficult time deciding between a Suzuki DRZ400s or the Honda XR650s. Both Honda and Suzuki have street legal versions of their 4-stroke "thumper" off road bikes. Trouble is, the street versions of both are sub-standard offroad bikes. I couldn't bring myself to spend more money on a lesser bike. The DOL and the WSP have a standing policy at this time that they will not allow an 'offroad' bike to be plated. It's legal in our state but the WSP are being problem children and not performing the inspections. Long story. So I found a street legal XR650R (that is grandfathered in) right around the corner and went and looked at it last night. Its the badass offroad bike and not the weanie street version. I'm gonna pick it up this Saturday. Wooo hooo!!! Monty, get ready to show me around the trails!

Smile!

Romey got his teefers cleaned a few weeks ago. They were nasty! Now he's got pearly whites.

Belly Shots

Here's a 8 month belly shot of Keri. I'm trying really hard to keep up as you can tell...

Kiba

Random shot of Kiba - just incase you were wondering who the red-headed step child is...

Labor Day Weekend

Our 2008 Labor Day weekend is almost over. Back to work tomorrow. Fun! We did a bunch of stuff around the house and didn't do anything exciting. First up was cleaning the carpets. Romey has developed amnesia lately when it comes to where he is supposed to pee. I think it has a lot to do with Riley on the way. Romey's no dummy. He's been taking his frustration out on us by pissing all over place when we're not watching him like a hawk. So we broke out the ol' Bissel and cleaned the carpets. The rug was a lost cause. It smelled awful even after cleaning it. We're still going to need to get the carpets done professionally before the babe arrives but I took care of the area rug redneck style. I busted out the pressure washer in the driveway. I got a few odd looks from the neighbors but who cares. That sucker is squeeky clean now. I think I might start my own rug cleaning service :) We got some new furniture for the living room as well. Walmart specials but it looks really nice. Keri was sick of the coffee and end tables and we also got a new entertainment thingy to keep all the TV stuff in. It looks much nicer. Cleaned up the garage hoping to get the Trans Am in there this winter. We'll see. I can't bear the thought of another winter keeping it outside. Traci came over to visit Keri yesterday. It was really good to see her. Hopefully we can see her an Aaron more often. It seems like we only see them twice a year these days. We picked up a new camcorder for steal as well (LOVE eBay) so we'll be posting some videos here as soon as we have anything post worthy. Here are some shots of Riley's room. It's almost 100f% done. Lots of work but we had fun doing. I sure hope Riley likes pink :)