Happy Turkey Day!

I have so much to be thankful for this year. A mix of the ever-important constants -- family and friends, the most notable -- and some new blessings as well. Now that the physical part of the move is finally over (although the settling in process has just begun), I can say I am grateful for a relatively smooth relocation. After spending much of the past week wading through moving boxes and rain puddles, we are largely up and running in the new place. There were a few annoyances to get straightened out (we nearly had to provide DNA samples to get our garbage service started), but nothing that doesn't come with the territory of a transition like this. Sanity check: so far, still here.

Despite days of clouds and rain, Seattle is an incredibly gorgeous place. Especially when the sun shines, as it did today, it's impossible not to be in awe of nature. There is so much to see and do, from watching the salmon run to digging for clams. I snapped this pick of Mount Rainier as seen in our neighborhood when we were walking the dog earlier today. (There are better views of it I wish I could share, but it's not usually convenient to stop traffic and grab the camera. Even now that I am driving with my Missouri watch-it-I'm-an-out-of-state-menace license plates.)


As is evident by the fact that we were walking her earlier today, yes, our sweet little Evey pooch is with us once again. We love having our family reunited! She's adjusting well to the new house so far. The first morning, she did get up at 4 am (which was 7 am Eastern Time to her) and sounded a wake-up call by batting the door stop spring in the master bedroom. BOING! BOING! BOING! She's not really a subtle dog. Evey has also somehow acquired mountain goat climbing skills. Our couch now backs up to a pass-through to the kitchen, and she likes to jump on the counter to see what goodies she can snatch. Actual food is prefered, but she'll give it a shot and consume paper products if that's the best there is. The following pics show two of her favorite perches: the window sill in the family room and the pillows on the guest bed. She likes to survey the house, inside and out.

DH is enjoying his work so far. He is surprised to find that there is no belligerent cursing or door slamming at meetings. Guess it really was time for him to leave that last department! The work itself is new and challenging, and his coworkers seem friendly. We went out with a group of young couples for dinner last weekend, all of them being transplants as well. They have invited us to their weekly Friday night poker games, even Evey and Bean are welcome. (I confirmed that they meant after he's born too, not just while he's gestating and can't be left behind.) Although poker is not my game -- I prefer Go Fish -- I'm willing to learn. If celebrities can do it, it can't really be that hard, right?

Overall, I am still feeling pretty good as a preggo. 25.5 weeks and counting! The belly continues to expand of course, meaning extra weight to carry around all day. My feet and calves are extremely sore by bedtime (aka 8 pm), sometimes I wake up at night with cramps. And it's very difficult to adjust to my ever-changing dimensions -- I am constantly bumping Bean on the edges of boxes and doors and countertops. As revenge, he spends a lot of time kicking and rolling around, especially when I am trying to rest or sleep. Practicing, no doubt! I'm doing my best to enjoy the relative ease of this stage of pregnancy, though, because in less than 3 weeks, I'm hitting the dreaded third trimester. From what I hear, it's going to get ugly pretty quickly. The home stretch... or should I say stretchmarks... here I come.

Next on the agenda: Finish organizing "stuff" around the house, meet with the new OB/GYN to make sure we’re a good fit (i.e. make sure insurance clears), and order baby furniture. I start work again on Monday, too… but I'm going to blissfully remain in denial about that until Sunday afternoon, at the earliest. Maybe until Monday at 7:59 am. On the bright side, I know that either way I'll be wearing DH's sweats, hair a mess, and sans make-up when 8 am rolls around. Maybe I will like working from home.