Under the Spell...

So, the last two and a half days of my life have been almost completely devoted to the last Harry Potter book. I wanted to read 6 (Half-Blood Prince) again before I read 7, just to refamiliarize myself with the whole thing again. Once I picked up the last book, I found myself unable to put it down. I'm happy to say that I finished it this morning, and feel as if I can reclaim my last few days before school starts again.

On another thought, Little Guy's quilt is making me a little crazy. I've made a few quilts before (3 to be exact) and thought that I knew what I was getting into. I've been moderately rational about this, or so I thought. Apparently, I've chosen a rather difficult pattern with frustratingly small pieces. My mom has a theory on quilting that's kind of entertaining, if you think about it: it's the act (or art, depending on your take on it) of taking large pieces of fabric, cutting them into little pieces, then putting them back together into large pieces. However, I do find it rather comforting and theraputic. So, although this quilt is starting to frustrate me a bit, I do enjoy the challenge and like what it's looking like. Once I finish the top, I'll post a picture of it. This is my other chore for the week...which is why I'm starting to feel a crunch. Oh well...one piece at a time :)

Charley Barley

So, Charley got a haircut this week. He was getting a little warm (his stomach was getting upset from the heat and the hair...we were finding piles of cat puke all over) and stinky, so we decided that it was time for his bi-annual grooming. So, I'm putting up before and after pictures of him for your enjoyment.

In other news, Max and Jackie are back at school. We'll miss them, but they've got their school stuff to take care of.

I go back to school in about another week or so, too. And, I'm making progress on Little Guy's quilt. So, we're just keepin' on out here and getting our stuff done.

I hope that Charley makes you smile--he's really much happier with his haircut. He's chasing bugs and bouncing all over, where he was the resident dustmop. Perhaps he'll tone up his drowned-rat physique...probably not, but we love him anyway.

Baby Musings

Am I a bad almost-mom if I don't love being pregnant?

I seem to talk to so many women who just adore being pregnant: "I loved it!" "My hair and skin were wonderful!" "I never felt better!" 'n stuff like that. There's even that lady who just gave birth to her 17th kid! Don't get me wrong, I love my little boy and feeling him in there bouncing around and occasionally stomping on my bladder. I just won't feel bad at all when I can talk to him on the outside, although I understand that he's much easier to take care of where he is now. Oh well, the last 25 weeks have gone by quickly, and I'm sure that the next chunk will too. We've got a lot to take care of, but we'll get there...one day at a time.

One of those days last weekend we went and registered at Babies 'R Us. Talk about a totally overwhelming experience. That store is wonderful, in that it's a good "one stop shopping" place for all of your baby needs (what a commercial, eh?). However, for those of us first-timers who are a bit wide-eyed to begin with, it was a bit much for us to take. So, we picked out a few things that we know that we need, a few things that came highly recommended by other parents, and a few things that we think sound kind of neat. We didn't go crazy with the scanner, as we would like to retain some semblance of control over our home for a little while, anyway. If you know of something that we've missed, please let us know--we're basically clueless. But, we're grateful :)

So, that's about it for now. Max and Jackie head back to school next week. It's been a great summer with them and we'll miss them. Thanksgiving seems kind of far away :( Hopefully Little Guy will be here to be thankful for by then...if he's not, I'll be SO unhappy...we'll deal with that when we get there. One day at a time...