Catching up!

So it's been 2 weeks. Sorry - I was doing good for awhile, then the thought of loading State Fair pictures on here overwhelmed me. I'm not really sure why, beings there's only a few pictures, but whatever. I think I'll stop "previewing" my next blog at the end of my blogs. There's just less pressure that way. Now that we're clear on that, I'm stealing the idea from a friend to update you through pictures that I've taken since my last blog.

So technically this was before the last blog, but whatever, it's from September 8th - right after I started using the new needles. I'm 13w2d in this pic.

Ira with the Verizon car at the state fair.

The thrill of the century for Ira. He got to ride on the train at the fair! He'll probably still be talking about it next year!

The other really cool thing that Ira got to do at the fair. The bungee-trampoliney-bouncy thing. He really liked that too!

Our "before" front lawn picture. It actually doesn't look that bad in the picture, but it's Bermuda grass (really it's mainly weeds) and it won't grow in the shade (which our yard has a lot of) So we were planning on re-seeding it with Fescue at some point. Well, at the new building that Andy is starting, they were going to have to dig through a bunch of Fescue for the building pad, so Andy, being the resourceful guy that he is, checked with his boss to see if it was okay for us to take the Fescue out as sod instead. He said it was fine, so Andy rented a sod-cutter and spent the better part of a weekend with his dad cutting and installing sod.

Here's the new grass. It covered a good 1800 sq ft. probably. And the best part was - it was free! Because of the cost of sod usually, we will definitely be seeding the rest of the lawn, but this gave us a good start!

I'm not really sure what it is about my sister and I that makes us such laundry detergent freaks, but it seems like we are both constantly trying out new detergents. As we've both said before, our laundry cabinets look like the detergent aisle at the store. So my latest experiment was with "Cheer Bright Clean" I tell you what, I'm impressed! The sock on the left was washed in it. The sock on the right was washed in "Arm & Hammer" powder with Borax added as a booster. I can't believe how well the cheer worked. I've started using it on all our stuff now. I think it's less harsh than the "Arm & Hammer" but still gets stuff really clean and gets the stinkies out too.

My parents ran a half-marathon on Sunday the 20th. I can't tell you how proud I am of both of them. I only run when I'm being chased.

Ira and I made Play-Doh people the other day. They didn't last very long because he tried to actually play with them.

Andy and Ira (and our neighbor) rode the Dune Buggy in the Fall Fest parade on Saturday. From Andy's telling, apparently Ira said "Dad, I don't want to ride in the parade" just about the entire time. He didn't mind so much after it was over and he realized that Mom and Grandma and Grandpa had caught a whole bunch of candy for him.

My stomach today (at 16w 1d). The new needles are SO much better. I don't know what happened with that bruise on the right - I think I must've hit scar tissue or something. It takes a LONG time for the bruises to heal (as you can see by the ones in the middle that are like 2 months old), but I've been told that they do eventually heal all the way and you're left with no sign of doing the shots. We'll see, I guess!

Kinda sorta starting to show. I never got very big with Ira, but I'm hoping I'll show more this time. I love how pregnant women look!