Surprises

So yeseterday I had sort of put two and two together about Steven's anniversary present to me after I couldn't get into the bank account on line and when I deposited my paycheck and we had too much extra money in the account- exactly enough to buy the car we had been looking at last week. I had hidden his present in our neighbors garage so when I got home and Steven's truck wasn't here, he had gone around the corner to get his hair cut, I went over to get his present - a smoker that he's been asking for... Well there in the garage was this...

Nice huh? So now we have three cars! We are selling the Altima - so sad! But with 169,000 miles its time has come. Steven did this all on his own, got the loan from the bank, did the paperwork with insurance etc. Pretty nice. He had no clue about my present - he had also been talking about getting an outdoor fireplace and thought that I went to get that on Monday. But at least I got a little more creative. Anyway - when he got back from his haircut I had to tell him that I had already seen his little surprise because I had gone to get his - then we walked over to the neighbors garage and got both presents. Went to a nice dinner at a place we had never gone before, came home and watched a movie. Exciting! But I was exhausted. Played tennis yesterday morning and have pilates today and tennis again tomorrow morning. Busy busy.

Its Tuesday...

And I didn't want to come back to work! It was a nice weekend - we had the club party on Saturday which went really well. We BBQd on Friday and Sunday with Debbi and Peter - sausages and a mix of stuff on Friday night and beef kabobs and burgers and a few different sides on Sunday - followed both nights by some serious croquet playing. I outright won one game - it was nice let me tell you! Steven one another and I think Peter won the rest. But we are all improving. Some of Liana's friends from her soccer team went out and bought a croquet set because they liked playing it at her house. Pretty soon there could be a Bethel league! I'm leaving in a bit because Steven's brother is here this evening - he had business in White Plains and is coming for the night. StinkyMain (Steven's new nickname) is going to do some chicken on the grill with this new rub he invented.

Tomorrow - three year anniversary - present time! I couldn't get it out of him what he got - and he'll never guess what he's getting from me - Colleen is the only one I told when we emailed this morning. Lucky her!

Memorial Day!

So this is a nice three day weekend - for me - not Steven! The last time he had Memorial Day off was when we got married. They even have their club BBQ on Saturday - why they don't do Monday when he has to work anyway is beyond me. So that is where we will be tomorrow afternoon. Sunday will be around the house and who knows what I will do Monday. That's it from here - nothing else new!

Pink or Blue - we just don't know!

Well - this week has flown by - I was gone Thurs to Sunday for a conference for work which was why nothing was posted this week. But I'm back now. Just in time for the Memorial Day parade in Bethel on Sunday which has the firetrucks lining up on our street. We videoed our neighbor's son marching with the high school ROTC and made him laugh (something he's not supposed to do) while carrying the flag. Once we get the cord to connect the camera to the computer we will have video to share.

Monday morning bright and early we had the ultrasound appointment at 8:30 AM. We were excited to finally find out if baby St. Germain is a boy or girl. Well- we found out that he or she is measuring more like 18 weeks than 20 and is quite active in there. The best picture was from the first few seconds of the ultrasound- here it is... I think the kid has Steven's profile...


So- the woman running the ultrasound sent everything up to the doctor right away - my appointment was right after with her. She examined me and listened for the heartbeat and said she would look at the charts again and see if she would change the due date. Originally she said Oct 9th but if you go two weeks beyond your due date they typically induce you. So we left the appointment with more questions than answers - don't know boy or girl, when I'm due etc... oh well! We got to see the little guy moving and he or she is active in there. Remember originally I thought I would be about two weeks later anyway and thought Oct 9th was early. We went off for the day (we both took it off) and had a good day - Steven fished, I walked the park we were at and enjoyed the sun. We went to the Cookhouse in New Milford for BBQ, got home and played some quite rounds of croquet with the neighbors, and when we went into the house at 10 PM there was a message from the doctor changing my due date to the 23rd! Yea! I was right! So - I have this feeling its a boy- I'd place money on my instincts at this point. But - don't go rushing to get blue things yet - hopefully we will have another ultrasound in a couple months and be able to tell more.

Weekend update

It was a good weekend - but it flew by too quickly! Last night I said I needed another day off to recover. Again- lots of working around the house but nothing to show for it! Steven replaced some rotten wood yesterday but by the time we had it primed to go back up it was getting close to the time to leave for dinner with our neighbors. So the pieces are sitting in the basement ready to go. I planted my flowers in front - and have some more to grow a bit bigger before I plant them in the back. Its still a little cool out - in the mid sixties - so things are not growing that great. The lawn looks good though- Steven mowed it yesterday and as long as I keep on top of the weeds and spray each week I think it will be the best one in the neighborhood. Oh- and the people across the street have started building this stone wall - I'll have to take a picture of it and post it. It is the most ridiculous thing ever. They are building it around two trees right on the sidewalk. I keep saying don't they need a permit for it - geez- its ugly and we will have to stare at it. They always sit on their front lawn - weird - they are foreign but I can't tell where they are from. The grandmother is always out sweeping her lawn - yes sweeping it not raking. Its strange. No one on the street has a fence in front of their house - this just looks crappy if you want to really know what I think!

Lets see - Mother's Day - I received some well wishes and my husband surprised me after tennis with a card and flowers - a huge arrangement. I joked and said did he take the baby shopping... but that will be next year. Dinner with the neighbors came about because we've been BBQing alot with them lately and they wanted to repay the favor. Went to a place Steven and I never knew was there and it was pretty good - brick oven pizzas etc. Seriously I need a nap today - just finished reading and scoring over 120 applications for a scholarship that I am on the committee for. Its taken forever and I am sick of reading things off my computer screen. I'm off to lunch now...

First unwanted belly tap

I don't even think that I look like a pregnant lady yet - but today I got my first unwelcome belly tap. At tennis I was talking to a couple ladies and one reached right out and tapped my stomach! It was someone I sort of know - but still not really well. So strange. I guess this is what I have to look forward to in months to come...

New Garden Pictures

Here are some quick before and after pics of the garden that Steven created over the weekend. The befores are from when the patio was finished exactly a year ago.

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What will the weekend bring?

Nice weather for one. We are finally having spring time weather - but its cold at night and last night there was a frost warning. So we can't quite put the seedlings outside yet for the night. But the impatients might be planted this weekend - their roots are growing into the plastic tray - not good! So I have to get some dirt and get going. We are also going to dig out the new gardens in the backyard and plant my new azelea bush. There might be some BBQ and croquet happening! Sunday is the start of the croquet season on Elgin Ave... The trophy is up for grabs again this year. We might be adding new players as well. Check back for action shots of the game.

May 1st!

May Day - and its sunny - for now. Rain later on tonight. This is the fifth anniversary of my first date with Steven. Yes- five years ago after months of him saying "We should hang out sometime" I said, "When" and he had to do something with me. I met him for dinner at Chuck's Steakhouse in Danbury - how romantic! I swear that he had red Carhardt pants on - but he swears that he had brown cords on. Maybe it was a red shirt. And I still have what I wore - I fit into the black pants until about a month ago! When we were later deciding what to do for table names at the wedding I think my mom said at some point we could name them after significant places we'd started our relationship together. Who would we have sat at the Chuck's Steakhouse table? Anyway we went with numbers to make it easier all around because our second date consisted of driving around Danbury and Brookfield and Steven pointed out where I could dump any old motor oil should I have that need! That's why I married him... always thinking practical.

Let's see what else is happening. We had a busy weekend - well I did - Steven fished on Saturday. I volunteered at a craft fair that my alumnae group does in Fairfield. Sunday morning was a breakfast honoring this woman here in Danbury that my neighbor organized. I know the honoree from the Volunteer Center where she is the Executive Director. Sunday afternoon we puttered in the yard. We went to my favorite garden center here in Bethel and I got my plant of the year (I seem to get something once a year from there) - a really pretty azalea. Not really big flowers but smaller red ones. We just have to get it in the ground now. But its bubble down week at the club so Stergmain is busy. I have to move some hydrangeas too from the front to the back - but I really can't do it by myself. They are heavy enough without being pregnant.