25 week belly...sooooooo big.

Ugh, it just keeps getting bigger!!! I have 15w to go...I may burst before I get there :( I went to Dr. appt last week and found out that I'm measuring 1 week ahead, so here's hoping by next appt. it's 2 weeks and I can end this whole thing a little early ;) In a couple of weeks we go back for another ultra sound and the whole gestational diabetes screening...fun, fun!!

Blue is unisex, right?!

Steve went out of town, so Alix and I decided to get crazy and do some nursery painting. Our nursery will be far from traditional with lots of bright colors. Our walls are getting painted a light aquaish-blue (which Alix thinks is too boy-y...although when asked what color she would like her room painted next, her answer is, "blue" ;) And there will be lime green and orange paint accents... with lots of other colors in the bedding. Anyway,that's the long version of me saying... the painting has begun!! One wall done and 3 to go (a big fat pregnant lady and a 10 year old can only move so fast you know.) Here are the first pix of baby Lou-lu's soon to be new digs.


Alix on roller duty

You can't read it in the picture, but Alix painted, "by your big sis Alix" on the wall.


Danger--middle heavy lady on a ladder trying to paint up high...watch out below!!

"Soul Fluffer"

At my dad's retirement the other night, we ran into an old family friend whose daughter I had gone to HS with. She was the kind of girl that should've been born in the 60's...she was extremely popular...a friend to everyone...an intellectual...sporty...a real role model when it came to being your own self...a great friend...an INDIVIDUAL (which is sometimes hard to find in HS.) Anyway, her dad said that she was living in Sedona. I asked what she was doing there and he replied, "she's a SOUL FLUFFER". I chuckled. He said for a "small fee"...which didn't sound so small, she would do things like go out to the red rocks and do a private meditation for you...you know, fluff your soul when it seemed that it was a little deflated. Well, first off I thought...I love that term...i need to find a way to work that into my life! Secondly, I thought, "That is not something I would be good at." I wish I was always the sunny side up kind of gal, but most of the time I'd probaby be better at soul stomping than soul fluffing. Still it seemed like the kind of job my friend would be awesome at...and once again I was amazed at what an individual she has remained throughout the years. I guess I was jealous...a bit. My life sometimes seem so "normal", so "run of the mill", and although I am extremely happy at this moment, I do often wonder why it is so easy for some to find, and live, their individuality...while for me it seems like such an ongoing struggle. Well, I guess as long as it remains a struggle and I do not give up creating who I am that all is not lost.

Retirement!!

I wish I was talking about my own, but no such luck. This week my dad retires...it was a long time coming and he is finally taking the plunge to stay home full time with my mom. Watch out world! He deserves it though, so I am glad the day has finally come when he can play golf full time without resorting to calling it a "business meeting."

Seriously though, I admire my pops for numerous reasons...one of which is the great work ethic and ambition he has (and has tried to instill in me.) A man from truly humble beginnings, he was the first person in his family to go to college...and then to graduate school! But he didn't stop there... he went on to become a city planner and hold senior level positions in local government. I still have found memories of taking the bus downtown St. Paul for lunch with Dad and being in awe of City Hall and captivated by the gentle kind nature of Mayor Latimer when he popped in to say hi as I visited my dad's office. When I was little it seemed like such an important place to be, such important people to be surrounded by, and such an important job to hold...and it was. For these were the jobs that built connections as well as an ambition for even great accomplishments. In the end he ended up working at Piper Jaffrey where he was managing director in the public finance group. For 10 years he has specialized in special tax and revenue supported financings for governmental units, special purpose developments and nonprofit organizations (can you tell I stole that from their website--I have no idea what that actually means ;) And through it all...his probably greatest accomplishment was never losing sight of his family. For despite his busy schedule and many obligations, I can't recall him ever missing one of my sporting events, or not being there for a family function. It is from Piper Jaffrey that he will retire this week. They are losing a dedicated worker, a role model, and a great man!! Lucky for me I am not losing anything...quite the opposite. If anything I am gaining more time with a great man--my dad!

OK, enough (and no, I am not just sucking up b/c I will need a sitter very soon ;) I truly admire my dad's accomplishments. But more importantly I truly admire the man he is today...and always has been. I wish him the best on this new adventure called retirement and know he will tackle it with the same vigor he did his numerous jobs the past 40 years.

Congrats Dad!!

OK...this is the only picture I have of my dad on my work computer. He looks pretty good, but if you could just imagine I'm not there I would greatly appreciate it!

24w down...and counting

I have been pregnant for longer than winter has been around...and that seems like forever! To top it off...my stomach is huge, my feet hurt when I wear my heeled boots all day (and they aren't even tall heels), apparently I breathe heavy and am ginormous (info that I learned thanks to my big sis Amy)...and I have 16 weeks left to go. I guess I'll just keep in mind that very soon good things are on the way... it's suppose to be in the 40's next week, spring break is coming soon, summer vacation is right around the corner, and to top it off in 16weeks I'll have a precious little one in my arms.


What is happening to baby Lou-lu:
Fetal development in pregnancy week 24:fetus in sixth month This is another big week for your magical growing baby! Just take a look at the checklist for this week: 1) ears: done; 2) fingernails: done; 3) (if you have a boy) testicles: taking their 3-4 day trip from the abdominal wall to the scrotum; and 4) lungs walls: secreting “surfactant”. What’s that? Well, surfactant is sort of what it sounds like: a surface-activated fat whose main purpose is to assist the your baby's little lungs during inflation (as in, filling with air, not getting more expensive). Just in case you’re curious, your submerged baby is still breathing in amniotic fluid, preparing and rehearsing the lungs an oxygen-filled life outside the womb. By the end of this week, your child will be weighing around 2 lbs and 14 inches long. Your cutie-patootie may even be a little more plump, but isn't anywhere near their full baby-fatted cute-self. Most of the “filling out” is coming up in that long awaited (and slightly dreaded?) third trimester. Woo-hoo! Get ready!

My first NEW car

So, a mere 35 years into my life I have bought (ok, Steve and I have bought) my (ok, our)first truly new car! Sure I've had "new to me" cars, but this is the first one that has 0 miles on it and is all mine (ok, and Steve's ;) I don't know why that excites me, since I know it just depreciates as soon as it is driven off the lot, but yet it does. I guess it's like the passing of some life milestone that I can now check off my list.

Anyway, after weeks and weeks of looking and changing our minds and rethinking and looking--mitsubishi outlander...santa fe...crv...forester...crv...outlander...ugh...we ended up right where we first started, looking at a Subaru Forester. We kept getting drawn back to the more car-like feel and well-known reputation, but we were ultimately sucked in with the affordable price-tag. We were thrilled that they had decided to come up with a newly restyled model for '09 and were looking to get rid of the '08's in a hurry. Sure that meant we didn't end up with the color we wanted (*sigh* no silver left in stock and no more orders going out), but we gladly traded the color choice for killer financing for the term of our loan and huge rebate...not to mention the rear cargo mat we made them thow in for Dino ;) Quite a deal that left our monthly payments at a price we could not only afford, but that were thrilled with! If there is one thing my parents have taught me well (and I think Steve would say the same for his parents), it is that practicality is the best bet in the long run...and this car was truly the most practical(albeit not the fanciest)of our choices. Thanks mom and dad (and Ed and Sharron), it is lesson that is sure to treat us right throughout our lives.

The Passing of a Generation

It is always hard when a family member passes away. It is somewhat easier when you are thankful that it was a quick passing with much less suffering than can sometimes be the case when a prolonged cancer illness is involved. So, I have mixed emotions as I talk about the death and remember the life of my Grandma Bellus. Although we were never close, as is often the case when you live in different states and get to visit a relative once a year (at most), I always held a strong admiration for the woman she was. I won't go as far as to say that we shared much in common, different generations often do not, but I do like to think we shared one thing...being a strong woman. I will remember Grandma Bellus as... a strong personality...a war veteran...a mother if 4, grandmother to 11 (hope I am counting correctly!), and great grandmother to 2.5...a widow who survived, and more importantly continued to thrive, for many many years after the death of her husband...a clog dancer...an active woman. I am so very grateful to have had the opportunity to share so many moments with her. She will be missed.

Ugh, Leap Year

So all day I've been thinking...who the heck decided to put the extra day in the leap year during the month of February?! Does it really matter when we get the extra day? Couldn't it have been in July? Whoever in the world decided this must not have lived in MN!!

January went so slow for me...ugh, I hate to even think about it. Luckily February went whizzing by...even with the extra day! Now,I can hardly wait for March and what it will bring. Alix will be headed to Mexico for a fun vacation, Steve and I will be buying a new car (or so we hope!!), we will also be painting the baby's room, week 27 will arrive (and I'll be on to the third trimester--woohooo!), and ...only time will tell the rest! Hopefully it will be all good.

Happy March Everyone...hopefully yours will be good too!!

My Talented "Little" Girl!

Here is an excerpt from Alix's wonderful talent show...unluckily blogger will only let me put up a small portion of it. It was an outstanding performance of "I Don't Think About It" by Emily Osmet. Alix and her 3 friends performed it twice (the first time the mics didn't work...so sad!) Luckily for everyone we got an encore presentation at the end of the show and everything went smoothly...whew! I will say that I was pretty psyched when I first found out that the girls were set to perform 13th of the 43 acts (so I could sneak out at intermission...who doesn't love kids talent shows?! Well, I guess me...I can only take so much singing, dancing and playing by 6-11 year olds...I know, i know, I'm a bad mommy ;) Anyway, after the debacle of the first performance we found out that they'd get another chance to go on...as the grand finale of the show...act number 44! Well, despite the fact that I felt great that they'd get a second chance, I will admit that the idea of sitting another hour and a half was a bit of a *sigh* causing moment. It was all worth it in the end though (and I shouldn't lie...I did sneak home quickly and missed 10 or so acts ;) as the girls rocked the stage and ended the 2008 Groveland Elemntary Talent Show with a bang!!

22 week belly

here's some wonderful shots of my 22w pregnant belly. Unfortunately, I think it looks bigger in person...Oh well, what can a girl do?! I took them myself, so sorry about the poor quality.

Easy come, Easy go

Where oh where did my energy go?! It was here, then I went to sleep one night and I guess it got tired of the cold weather becuase the next thing I knew...it was gone. It's probably hanging out in Mexico right now...without me! I guess they say, easy come easy go.

an update to my last post on our burst radiator...$150, whew...that's not so bad! oh wait a minute...it was only $150 to take the raditor out and dump it on our front step, but it was another $80 when a couple of days later the sealed up valve that was left over in the room started to leak from a crack, drenched our wood floor, and needed to be removed. They say this should take care of it...I sure hope so!

Live and Learn

We are idiots...it is our own fault...um, now that I think about it, it actually makes sense that you can't just turn off a radiator on an outside porch (why would we do this anyway? well, b/c who wants to heat an outside porch in MN?!). Why can't you just turn it off you ask? Well, b/c now I realize there is still water in a radiator when you turn it off, and that water is bound to freeze when it's -10 degrees for a good length of time...especially when the radiator sits on an outside wall. Then one day you will come home to a radiator with icicles hanging from it b/c it has cracked in numerous places and the water has been dripping and draining for a while, the wood floor will be all wet, dirty water will be spattered across the room, and you will have to call an emergency plumber who will charge you hundreds of dollars an hour to come out and probably tell you that it will cost you much more than that to replace the radiator so you can once again start to heat your outside porch in MN. Ugh...live and learn.

Ummm, maybe I should quit posting about our stupidity...does it make us sound even stupider than you thought we were?!

Tax Rebate, Tax Schmebate and...today I'm oficially closer to 40 than 30!

what a scam...I seriously should have known better. Am I the only sucker?! I thought rebate meant...

rebate ( ) n. A deduction from an amount to be paid or a return of part of an amount given in payment.

I didn't know it really meant...cash advance to be repaid later.

"The checks are an advance on next year's refunds, and most, if not all of the money, will be deducted from taxpayers' refunds in 12 months' time."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/08/economic.stimulus/index.html

Nice...

And to top it off, today I am officially closer to 40 than I am to 30...what kind of birthday present is that?! To celebrate I plan to eat a 750 calorie banana chocolate chip muffin for breakfast, a bar (or 6) from the teacher's lounge with lunch, and have pizza for dinner. It should be all right though, I've heard your metabolism speeds up after you turn 35, right?! ;)

5 fingers, 6 toes, and maybe a nose?!

We had our "big ultrasound" yesterday!! We aren't finding out Lou-lu's sex, so this was really just an opportunity for us to see how things were going in htere. It was great to be able to see growing Lou-lu and know that once again all is going well. This u/s is considered the "big" one because it comes at a time when they tech is able to see that development is progressing as scheduled (hopefully.) The u/s tech looked for the 4 chambers of the heart, 2 sides to the brain, all the important organs, counted the fingers (5!) and toes (I thought I counted 6, but the tech swore there were just 5--even counted them on the screen for me...but I still saw something a little extra there. He is the expert though. I figure better too many than not enough, so either way we're covered ;) And measured everything--leg bones, head circumference, rump to head, etc. All checked out as normal. Little Lou-lu was less than cooperative when it came to seeing his/her face though (so we could check for cleft palatte), so I will have to stop back for another quick look-see during my next appt...I'm secretly happy about this as I'll be able to see him/her again ;) If we learned anything from this u/s we know that much like Alix, this baby is not a mover and a shaker (Lou-lou sat still the entire time...I rarely felt alix move through my pregnancy with her)...and does not like to be aroused when sleeping...could it be as sign of another girl?! (Alix sure hopes so!) Or perhaps it just shows us that Lou-lu is it has inherited a little family stubbornness (from Steve of course ;)

Not much else is new in the Bellus-Penz household. I am busy with conferences this week Tues/Thurs evenings until 8 (YUK!) Nothing annoys me more than conferences!!!!! I hate that people come when they aren't scheduled (you are not my only conference you cannot just show up and expect me to bump someone who did come at their scheduled time), people who act helpless about their child who doesn't do HW/school work (ummm, hello...take something away...TV/Video Games/Computer...your child doesn't NEED these things, especially if they can't do what they NEED to do), people who don't come at all, people who do not follow through at home....need I go on?! I'm sure glad I have a nice dinner to look forward to on Saturday though--Cafe Maude here I come (it better be good Lammers or you're in big trouble ;)

catch up

I know what you're thinking...What, Christmas pictures when it was a month ago?! And my answer is...Yeah, I'm a BIG slacker! BUT, I did just go TODAY with our friends (Chad, Nicole and Ben) to the Winter Carnival in St. Paul to check out the ice-sculptures and that picture is here today as well...how is that for promptness?! Now quit your whinin' and look at my cute pictures!

The kids at Christmas--Alix, Matt, Abby, Libby (at Sharon and Ed's)


Alix opening her stocking from Santa


We were thrilled to have my brother Mike, Sister-in-law Lindsay, and our beautiful nephew/cousin Marek join us for the holidays all the way from Colorado. Here is Marek with his fire engine.


Alix got the one present she really wanted...an i-pod. It was really a gift for all of us...she gets to enjoy listening to Hannah Montana and the Jonas Bros. and I get to enjoy NOT listening to Hannah Montana and the Jonas Bros!


Alix and Ben at the Winter Carnival...they are quite the pair of cuties!

bell peppers and forehead tattoos

Baby Lu-lu is now 18 weeks old! It seems like just last week she was only 17 weeks old ;) ...how time flies! Ha...I wish! Maybe it's because it's winter and below zero, maybe it's because nightfall seems to start right after lunch, but most likely it's because I am counting down every day until Lu-lu arrives, but whatever the reason-- time seems to be crawling by at a snails pace these days. Still it's hard to believe that in two more weeks I will be halfway through this pregnancy.

Here's the data on the little one:
Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper), and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy , his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound

Speaking of babies...I was recently reading Eat, Pray, Love and there was a line that cracked me up. It said that having a baby is kind of like getting a tattoo on your forehead...you better really want it! What a great statement! I have two tattoos, but somehow I am not ready for one on my forehead...thank goodness I think I am ready for this little munchkin to be part of my/our life. Maybe the forehead tattoo will come next...do you think I would look good with a flower or lizard up there?

ohhhh, and this...

from wonderfulgraffiti.com...they are words/designs that you can create and they just stick to the wall. I am definitely going to try this...now if only I had a quote for the nursery. I am thinking..."I love you to the moon...and back!" from Guess How Much I Love You...that lovable nutbrown hare--he is just the cutest! This is a monogram, but I'd definitely get writing of some sort.

ohhhh, Baby Stuff!

I have become addicted to wanting fun baby stuff. I know, I know, you are probably thinking what my mom keeps saying, "you still have 5 months left"...but I see cute baby stuff and I want it. Maybe it's because we aren't finding out the sex, but unlike most mom's I don't see cute outfits and want them, I see cute carriers, bedding, slings, diaper bags...accessories more or less. Stuff, I probably don't really need, but sure looks cute! Or maybe it's because we are not buying a bunch of things new. Lu-lu is getting Alix's old dresser, a crib from craigslist (if we can ever find we like and doesn't have recalls on it ;), and borrowed almost everything else (bouncy chairs, swings, etc) I guess that doesn't leave me much to really need/dream of, so I've turned my focus to fun "extras". Here are some of my favorites!

Sorry, I haven't written, but...

I didn't want to interrupt my continual eating ;) I have made numerous attempts to get on here and update, but it is so hard to type and eat oranges (or oreos) at the same time. I will try to do better. At least now that my energy level allows me to stay up past 8:00 (it is 9:30 as I type) there will be more opportunities to eat...I mean... get on here and keep things up to date. Unfortunately, I have raisins waiting right now. I guess I will just have to bullet up the highlights of the new year for you, so I can back to my real priority...

*I cut my hair...pretty short. It's at the hairline in back and jawline in front. No more ponytails for me...at least for a while.
*Our holidays were wonderful. We enjoyed lots of time with family, including my brother, sister-in-law, and one year old nephew who came in from Colorado. Little Marek was such a cutie as we wowed us all with his impression of Santa Claus.
*Lu-lu is doing well as of last appt. I will go back next week for an update and On January 31 for our big ultrasound. We are not finding out the sex of LU-lu, but it will be nice to hopefully see that things are still progressing well.
*I am getting fat...duh...I don't stop eating, so it was inevitable really.
*I have started walking regularly again...3 miles has never seemed so long...I really must get a TV hooked up near the treadmill!
*Steve is still as patient as ever!
*Alix has stated that Lu-lu will have to live with one of you if he is just Lu...no more boys allowed I guess. I'm not sure how that all will work, but she seems to have her mind made up ;)

Happy Eating...I mean, New year... everyone!

baby LuLu update

We were lucky enough to head to the doctor yesterday (despite having a nasty stomach bug traveling around our family) and receive an update on little LuLu! Our 3rd u/s showed her/him measuring at 12w5d and as healthy as ever. We went to have our first trimester screen done for some chromosomal abnormalities and everything looked in the normal range...what a relief...of course there are no guarantees. All I know for sure is that everytime I see the little heart beating, and now the arms and feet waving, it makes it a little bit more real and excitinng. I truly feel blessed, despite the sickness and tiredness that come along with it, to have what seems to be a healthy little one wiggling around inside of me!! I know Steve feels the same...and Alix is just excited that I'll finally let her tell all her school mates about her new bro/sis!