SURPRISE!!!

I had decided a couple months back that I wanted to do something fun for Dallas' 30th birthday. Number 1, he's turning friggin 30! Number 2, his birthday is exactly one month before Severin's due date, so life will change very shortly. Number 3, I love him and wanted to celebrate him.

Trouble is... He's not one to celebrate himself. I'd considered keeping him in the loop of the party planning but felt pretty sure that if he knew about it in advance, he wouldn't show up. A surprise it must be! But to tell you the truth, I was a little nervous about that too. I could totally envision the scenario where he walks in, gets "SURPRISE" yelled at him, and walks right back out. But fingers crossed, I forged ahead.

It's very hard to get things done without his knowledge, because for better or worse, we are "that couple". We do everything together. So I had to use lunch hours and other people to get the cake ordered, buy decorations, and send invitations.

Step one: Invitations were my first order of business, and also the trickiest. I didn't have every one's address, or know how to get in touch with all his buddies. So I'd been eyeballing his phone in stealth mode for a few days waiting for my opportunity to hack it and steal some numbers. He's more dependent on that thing than he lets on - FYI. But luckily for me, he decided he could shower without it one night and left it unattended on the couch. I waited till I heard the shower turn on... then I waited till I heard the curtain pull back... then - I knew it - he comes hopping out of the bathroom. "Forgot a towel" Runs back in. I hear the curtain again. I wait to hear some banging around and finally, what I'd been waiting for - the whistling and singing! Yes! He's in full on shower mode now, and therefore its safe to gank his phone! I hum the theme to Mission Impossible to myself as I tip-toe around and listen carefully to his bellowing of "AND IT'S ALLLLMOOOOSSSTTTT LIIIIIIIKKKEEEEE, whistle, whistle, la la la..." because I know I'm safe till the singing ceases. Sweating, I get the numbers I need, enter them into my own phone and make sure I place his exactly as he'd left it so he wouldn't get suspicious. Success! Shower over with, he be-bops around the house like nothings wrong and I secretly pat myself on the back for being such an excellent sneak.

Step two: Obtain addresses. Thank goodness for Facebook and Sharon! I sent out a mass message, and Sharon helped me track down any scragglers.

Step three: Mail invitations. This was relatively uneventful except for the fact that one of the invitations got returned. And wouldn't you know it? It got returned on a day that Dallas actually got off work on time and checked the mail first.
Dallas: Why is my aunt mailing you stuff?
Amy: ~snatches envelope~ It's, um, baby shower stuff. Just don't you worry about it, you boy!

Step four: Wait an exorbitant amount of time for people to RSVP. Begin to get very worried that this will be a party for two. Finally get two RSVP's - one from my grandma, and one from his aunt. Begin to get very worried that this will be a very unusual party of four. Finally send out another mass message and texts asking for head count. Breathe sigh of relief that almost everyone will be in attendance!

Step five: Tell the lie. Dad's birthday is a week before Dallas' so I thought it would be perfect to tell him exactly when and where we were going, but to let him think the party was for Dad. This didn't go as smoothly as I'd thought it would for two reasons. #1 - I'd unknowingly scheduled his party smack in the middle of the Daytona 500. "AMY! What was your mother thinking?! EVERYONE knows when the Daytona 500 is, and you. don't. make. plans. unless. its. for. a. watch. PARTY!" #2 - We'd just had a get together for dad (see previous post). "Jeeeeeeeeeez! How many parties does Barb think Terry needs?! Spoiled..."

Step six: Keep all the balls in the air, placate cranky husband by telling him we'll have the race on TV at the party, all while praying he'll be at least somewhat happy about the freakin party... if I can get him there.

So Sunday arrived and I left Dallas perched on the couch, happily watching the race, to go "help mom set up for dad's party". He said he'd just meet me there, but I didn't trust him to tear himself away from the race at the agreed upon time so after we got everything all set up I went back home to retrieve the little booger.

Dallas: Commercial! Let's go! ~runs out to car~
Amy: ~Doesn't get car put in reverse quick enough for Dallas, so he does it for her.~
Dallas: Step on it, lady! ~Pushes on Amy's leg to trigger accellerator~

We arrive at the coffee shop where Dallas immediately spots his cousin's bright yellow hummer and gets suspicious. But then when he sees his little cousin sprint across the parking lot he said "Hey, that belongs to me!" and put two and two together. Even so, he still walked in, took the "surprise" like a champ, and if I do say so myself... had a jolly good time!

Thanks to everyone who came and helped me celebrate my precious Dallas! It meant a lot to both of us.

That was on Sunday. His actual birthday was on Wednesday, so I waited till then to give him his gifts and took him to dinner here. It was very delicious.

Funny side note: The restaurant is in the casino, and we went in the wrong doors, so the little old security guard stopped us and asked for ID. I handed him mine and he squinted at it, saying "Says 1987, right?" I fluffed my hair and batted my eyelashes at him, but did correct him that it in fact says 1981. Then Dallas stepped up to hand him his ID as well, to which the old guy replied "Oh, want me to check yours too?" HA! Nothing like a kick to the gems on your 30th birthday. :)

Just one more month!

Fabulous 56

Hey! My dad had a birthday last week.



Isn't he fabuloussssssss?

Grandma hosted, we all showed up in our sweats and hurled jokes and unwrapped gift cards at him. It was a true Stearman celebration.

Pregnancy brain... fo ril...

When we first found out we were expecting, and truthfully, even before that point, I swore to myself that I wouldn't be one of those girls who do nothing but complain about being pregnant, blame everything on the pregnancy, or talk incessantly about what it's like to be pregnant. You know the type... I've always feared becoming "that girl".

Now, you know that saying, "you never know a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes?" Now that I've walked almost the full mile in my orthopaedic pregnant girl shoes.. I understand why pregnant girls constantly want to talk about being pregnant! It changes and affects EVERYTHING! I've had a ridiculously easy go so far - no sickness, no side effects or crazy weight gain, healthy baby and healthy mommy - but the fact that I'm pregnant still seems to seep into every facet of my thoughts and every day life.

On cleaning the bathroom:
Dallas: Are you supposed to be around those bleach fumes?
Amy: Uhhhmm... I dunno.

On having a headache:
Amy: I have a headache!
Dallas: Here are two, regular strength non-coated tylenol. Good luck.

On getting dressed:
Dallas: Dang, cleave.
Amy: I can't help it, yo! This is a maternity bra AND shirt! *tries to further tamp down boobs*

On eating/drinking:
Amy: I would enjoy some sushi, feta cheese, and a glass of wine, please.
Dallas: HA! Dream on, sister.

On the baby's movements:
Amy: Dang! Kid is building a birdhouse on my bladder and using my rib as leverage. And PS, he is (insert size here) and (insert developmental stage here) and (insert what he can be expected to do by this time next week here).

See?! It just happens! I can't even help it. People talk and complain about this stuff because it happens fo ril. Whowouldathunk??

But you know what maybe the worst part of it is for me? That mythical creature, pregnancy brain. (dun, dun, DUNNNNNN) Turns out this is A REAL THING!!! I feel addled and confused most of the time, and I forever have that nagging feeling that I'm forgetting something - probably because I actually have. This is a doubly bad thing because Dallas' mind tends to work 100mph and he can't be bothered with remembering the mundane so I'm required to remember things like making sure his house keys aren't in the door all night, where his wallet is at all times, and when his next dentist appointment is. *sigh* We're in a bad state.

Me, yesterday:

~Driving along, minding my own business, decide I want to change radio stations.~
Me: Boo, I hate this song. I will just push this button to change the... Why isn't the station changing? Why is this awful song just getting louder? Dang you, Katy Perry! Ah, turning up the volume doesn't change stations. That's why.

~Driving along, minding my own business, need to pass car in front of me.~
Me: This fool is too slow. I will just apply my blinker, and.. wait - why did the station just change? Ah. Because that's the station changer button, not the blinker. Attempts blinker again. Washes windshield instead.

~Realizes I still haven't purchased thank-you cards for wonderful showers.~
Me: I will stop at this here Target to get cute thank-you's. Oh! Dallas needs ibuprofen. Oh! I want a new toothbrush. What! This maternity dress is on sale?! Score! Leaves Target with armload of goodies, minus thank-you's.

~Realizes I still haven't purchased thank-you cards for wonderful showers.~
Me: Crap, must stop at stupid, hated Walmart instead. Obtains cute thank-you's, walks to door and waits for it to open. Why isn't this effing door opening? Waves hand, kicks foot at the door. Nothing. Fails to notice big, giant "PUSH" sign posted until fellow shopper pushes door open and walks through. Jeeeeez...

So yeah, who's the dummy now? The girl who swore she'd be the cool, happy, appreciative pregnant girl, only to fall into every cliched pregnancy trap instead? *points to self*

And what's next, I ask myself? Having this here kid and forgetting anything else in the world even exists? Pretty sure that's the next step, but oddly enough... I'm ok with that. :)

A very McCarter Valentines Day

I want to start off by saying, once again, that I have the best husband EVER. He really is the best person I know, and I am so extremely blessed to have him in my life. Happy Valentines, Love!

This year, we both decided that neither of us had any interest in celebrating Valentines Day. It's not something we give a poop about in general, and I know this is going to make you want to puke, but we really do make conscious attempts to show and tell each other how much we love one another every day. I know, I know, *gag*. So we decided we'd stay in and make dinner and have a quiet evening, just the two of us.

What did we have for dinner, you ask? Lobster! ROCK LOBSTA!!!



Yes, we sang this at each other the entire night.

I got home first, so I got in the fridge to get the little boogers out and OHHH NOOOO!!! They had leaked through their plastic baggie all over the shelf they were on and then dripped down to the shelf below, and then leaked into the bins holding our fruits and veggies. Stunk up the place something awful. So I threw away stuff, wiped everything off, and lysoled and bleached the fridge, and then Dallas got home and could still smell them and so did it all over again.

Then he started making delicious chowda to go with the ROCK LOBSTA.



Oh, and talked to his second best valentine - Nate.

Don't they look delicious?



He did such a nice job with everything and I could already taste the buttery goodness. (Except I didn't want to touch them because they still had their eyeballs and claws, but since I have the best husband EVER, he said he'd break it apart for me). So he broke the first one open... and EWWWWWW!!! She was full of eggs! Millions of bright red little balls spilling out of her guts. That did us in. After the stink of the spill, and their eyeballs staring out of the cauldron at me, and one leg floating in the chowder, and now the gross little eggs all over the plate, we couldn't do it.

We didn't eat either of the ROCK LOBSTAS.

But the chowder was still delicious! And we wrapped up the evening nicely with a trip to Dairy Queen. Perfect!

Toby even got a Valentines treat in the form of some peanut butter in his kong. :)

One heck of a weekend!

Friday we were blessed with another very sweet and thoughtful shower put on by my co-workers. They even invited Mom and Dallas to be a part of the celebrations. I was mighty surprised, but Dallas' work schedule allowed him to be there and he even helped me open the gifts and holler "thank you" at those gathered around the room. Mom brought another ridiculous display of baby gear, and we got to bring home some more very cute things including his first piggy bank (from the ladies in the finance department - HA!) a pig n' a blanket, and our pack n' play! Awesoooome!







I got a call that afternoon from a guy wanting to bring his gal pal over to look at the house - ASAP. So we ran home to make sure the bed was made and a candle was lit (which reminds me, I need to buy a green candle. A psychic once told me that's how you sell houses. Burn a green candle whilst visualizing how many dollars you want. hmmm...). My fingers are crossed, but my breath is not being held.

Then we ate freakin delicious Thai food.

Saturday, Dallas had some work to do up in Atchison so Toby and I rode along and after he was done, we hit their little museum. You know, Amelia Earhart wasn't actually there all that much. Interesting. They have some of the neatest architecture, so we drove around admiring and then hit Nell Hills.

This is a neat old church Dallas took me to see.




That night, the baby got the hiccups for the first time! (Yes, I took video. No, it won't upload.) It took me a minute to realize what was happening, and had I not just recently read an article about them I may not have understood what was going on. It was precious! I laughed and laughed, and Dallas could see/feel them. So neat! Then he got them when I was trying to fall asleep last night and it wasn't quite as neat. And now he has them again as I type this and it's really neat again! :)

Saturday was a gorgeous day, and we went to eat breakfast at Dallas' favorite haunt. While we were there, we got a phone call from a kid about the boat. He said he had cash in hand if we could meet him up there. Heck yes we can meet you up there! So the boat is sold, which is awesooooome. Sure was not expecting that in the middle of February, but I think people are getting spring fever and tax returns at the same time. ;)

On our way back, we got a call from a lady wanting to see the house. So we hurried home again to make sure the bed was made and a (sadly, not green) candle was lit. But wait! The scent in my scentsy is green! Wonder if that counts?? I'll have to plug it in tonight and think of dollars.

Then we ate more food, and went to the grocery store to buy additional food, and then I was tired and, of course, uncomfortable so I was in bed pretty early reading my book. I know I fell asleep with Dallas, but vaguely remember him vacating the bed with his pillow, and sure enough, this morning instead of Dallas, I woke to Toby. I sniffed my armpit.. No, that's not the problem... Foot? No, that's good too. Ohhhhh... I remember... I snore now. I even remember falling asleep and going "snoooorrrTTTT" and waking myself up. And then going "snooooorrrrTTTT" and waking myself up again. If it's bad enough I can't sleep through it, I can hardly expect that poor man to. But he was his usual sweet self this morning. (he's surprisingly chipper in the mornings) and didn't hold a grudge for me keeping him awake.

He's pretty swell.

Oh! Look what just arrived!



That mom of mine is pretty swell too.

OM NOM NOM....

I've reached the point of being uncomfortable...

...And I'm not being very gracious about it. Take last night for example.

Me: Whine, moan.
Dallas: What's wrong?
Me: I'm real pregnant!

~10 minutes later~

Me: Whine, complain.
Dallas: Whatcha need?
Me: Chocolate chip pancakes with strawberry syrup!
Dallas: Ok, we can do that.
Me: No! It's cold and dark outside!
Dallas: O... K...

~10 minutes later~

Me: Sigh, whine.
Dallas: Yes?
Me: Complain, whine.
Dallas: Use your words, punkin.
Me: I'm real pregnant and real uncomfortable!
Dallas: *pats Amy*

~10 minutes later~

Me: *sigh* I guess I'll get in the tub to ease all these aches and pains. *waits for show of sympathy*
Dallas: Ok, love, I'll be right here.
Me: *grumbles on the way to the tub*

~30 minutes later~

Me: I'm out of the tub! Have you seen this thing lately? *points to belly* I'm at max capacity!
Dallas: You don't have too much longer to go...
Me: *snorts* Easy for you to say!

~10 minutes later~

Me: Whine, sigh. That's it. I'm going to lay down with my book.
Dallas: OK punkin.
Me: *grumbles on the way to the bedroom*

~10 minutes later~

Me: Whines and moans to myself.
Me: DAL-LAS!!
Dallas: Yeah?
Me: Will you rub my back, please? *bats eyelashes*
Dallas: *rubs Amy's back*

~10 minutes later~

Me: Snoring.

~4:00 am~

Dallas: Gets called into work, and doesn't even complain at all, as per usual.

Amy: Grumbles and whines about the disruption, not being able to get comfortable again, and Toby's insistence that he sleep directly on top of me.

Dallas: Gives Amy a smooch, tells me he loves me.

Amy: Is reminded yet again how blessed I am to have my boy, my soon-to-be boy, and even my puppy boy, and vows to whine about all of it less.

~6:30 am, alarm goes off~

Amy: Grumble, complain.

OH WHOOPS!

Yessssss.....

Have you guys checked the forecast for next week?!

This is better than the 2 degree high we had yesterday! It is also better than the snow we got last night!

Do you happen to remember the first day of spring last year? That date is March 20. My due date is March 23.

Pray we don't have a repeat of this!

Best shower EVER!!!

In case I had needed a reminder, I got one yesterday. I do indeed have the best family and friends in the world.

We had our first baby shower and we were very thoroughly showered with gifts, love, and thoughtfulness.

I won't repeat all the pictures of the shower I shared on Facebook, but wanted to show you a bit of the aftermath.

Our haul took up the entire rear end of my filthy Hummer.



We were overwhelmed for a bit by all the piles of loot.




But we had fun looking through everything and sorting out all the goodies. And pretty soon, what had been an empty and lifeless room, suddenly began to feel cozy and full of new life.





The transformation happened on its own, as I've been reluctant to put much effort into a room that won't be ours for much longer, but now that it's started.. I can't stop it. I fiddled with his things the rest of the night and got teary every time I played the lullaby on his new mobile.

We got much needed things like his mattress, bath time stuff, and even his car seat! (Thanks, Gma and Gpa Stearman!!!)



And we also got lots of fun and adorable things like the softest blankies you've ever felt in your life, onesies embroidered with his name, books to read to him, and yes, we finally got his COWBOY BOOTS!!! And those boots came along with the cutest stinking outfit you've ever seen in your life. (Thanks Gma and Gpa McCarter!!!)



Sidenote: I've always described Dallas as a sort of "Cowboy Rocker". I don't know what else to call him, with his tattoos and fauxhawk paired with cowboy boots and giant diesel truck. And it looks like his little buddy is already following in his footsteps... :)



We've still got a lot of organizing and putting-away to do... but I'm really enjoying this phase of getting prepared for March 23rd!

THANK YOU to everyone involved!!!