September 21...

Mom (Autumn) has procured a law office

Yes, it's true. The Avatar of Litigation has hung out her own shingle once again. With Chris McNally in the office, the small, but very fashionable office in the rear of the Pillow-McIntyre House will be very busy! Speaking of busy, that is where we were ALL WEEKEND. Saturday, we got up early, really early, and went up to the office to clean and paint. Autumn found a faux finish that took the bulk of the day to finish. It looks really great and even makes the green carpet look a little better. There is still some work to do, but it won't be as much as the painting. I have to put some bars up on the windows. Any of you that have any knowledge of the Victorian Village area know that bars on the window are a necessity. So, we worked into the night Saturday to get things done in the office and left just in time to get home and catch SNL - although I didn't make it to Sum41 and Ludacris's performance. We got up and out of the house Sunday by 8:30, Bacon Egg and Cheese Biscuit from McD's, and back to the office. Desks should be put in this week, bars up on the windows, and the locks on the doors fixed. We are both excited about the new office. Lots of great opportunity!

This weekend is the Little Rock marathon. I will be going over there to let the hills and gravity do their damage. The good news is that Autumn bought me a sports massage for my birthday last year and it will be used next week for sure! I will go take some pictures of the office and the office building this week and post them.

2 in one day, no way

Well, I am officially going crazy staying in bed. Those of you who know me, know I cannot sit still. This is torture, but should be over tomorrow, I hope. One thing that staying in bed all day does for you, is catch you up on all the random things you can search on the internet. Amazing! It also means that I now join Chris is posting. Sorry to subject you to it all, but....
The most productive searching was the creation of my new highly desired car. Er, I mean, the car the baby wants. No more Benz glacier white, ash interior as had been the object of desire. No, my friends, "baby" wants the Volvo SUV. Now, before you laugh, here is some info on it, but perhaps the most interesting aspect is that it is advertised that it can take a bullet. Hmmm... safety first. Anyway, here are details on "baby's"wishes and even a pic.
Volvo XC90 in Crystal Green Metallic with Graphite Leather Seating and a Versatility Package that includes the 7 seater third row seat and integrated center booster seat in the second row.
Again, remember takes a bullet.

The really tough decisions...

Alright, our due date is September 21. On September 18, Motley Crue is going to be playing less than 15 miles from my house. Yes, Vince, Tommy, Nikki, and Mick all on the same stage together singing the songs that "The Get-Along-Gang" grew up to. How cool would it be to tell my kid that we had to leave a Crue show because mom went into labor! That's pretty red, I guess, but what a story. At least it wasn't CONCEIVED at a Motley Crue concert...

More importantly, Autumn has been in bed since Saturday - besides the trip to the ER Sunday and the doctor's office Monday - and she is ready to move to the couch. We thought we might have felt the baby move last night, but most websites (Thanks, Al!) tell me that it doesn't normally happen for another month or so.

No results (proof) are up, yet, for the Sylamore run this last weekend. I will let you know when and maybe a pic.

He's the one they call Dr. Feelgood and he wishes you a rockin' day...

Weekend Update - SNL Style, sort of...

Well, we had a little scare and went to the hospital emergency room on Sunday. Monday we were still freaked out so we went to the OBGYN. They said everything looks fine. There was a little place where the placenta had come away from the uterus but our doctor said it wasn't enough to be alarmed about. SO, after another ultrasound and a VERY strong heartbeat - 197 bpm! - we feel much better about the situation. Autumn is still going to take some time to be off her feet. I will be up and down the stairs a lot getting tea, but I don't mind.

On another note, we took Sadie to the vet today to get spayed and de-clawed! No more shredding the leather chairs...

On another note... The nursery floor is dry and shiny. I can take a picture soon, for those that are really interested. I figure Joe will be - type a and all!

Alright, to make it a "Weekend Update," the race on the Sylamore Trail (Mountain Home, AR) was a great success! I finished the 31+ miles in 6:46. It was an absolutely beautiful run. The weather was perfect and the scenery couldn't have been better. Cliche as it may seem, there really are stretches of trail that are on the edge of the mountain with a 300 foot drop striaght down to the Sylamore Creek. Just beautiful. We even saw a bald eagle in a tree at the first of the run. Maybe some pictures of that later, but it was just enough to finish the 50k. I am now an ultramarathoner!!!

I wonder what my kids will look like?

Two in one day...

A couple of years ago, Autumn and I thought it would be "funny" to see what our kids would look like, according to the little picture booth at Jillian's. Well, we got these pictures. I had forgotten about them until Autumn brought it back up and mentioned that we should put them up for everyone to see. See for yourself - we got these and still decided it would be alright to have kids...

 

I don't think the computer knew what to do with my beard but it looks like our daughter might already have a little 5 o'clock shadow. Maybe I will get to teach my son AND daughter how to shave! Go ahead and have all the fun you want with these.

And It Begins...

The "morning" sickness has struck our household. It isn't really morning sickness as much as just "sickness" in general. Anything bland is good for dinner and I have to remember that even thought I think it is cute, it ain't funny to Autumn.

The second coat of polyurethane is going on the floor tonight. Then trim will be reinstalled and painted. Pictures to come soon enough. Not much news, sorry. Oh, the cat will be getting those cute little claws out! Oh, happy day...

Rambling a little

I won't let this turn into a running blog, but it is a big part of my life so...

I am heading out this weekend to Mountain Home, AR to run the Sylamore 50k Trail Run with a big group of the Warthogs - who are the friends I run with here in Memphis. 50k is roughly 31 miles so I expect it to be just a day in the woods with my friends having fun, telling stories and, once again, seeing how far I can go. Then, March 6 is the Little Rock Marathon. Autumn and I are going over to stay with Candace and Terry so if you're in the area, come watch the hills of Little Rock teach me about gravity! Anyway, I wonder if all this running and training will give me some kind of insight or more patience in helping me raise a child. I am not a person with a tremendous amount of patience nor can I sit still very long. I am a fidgeter, big time - ask Autumn and the people who sit on the same church pew as we do... Old church, shaky pew! Anyway, what does all this have to do with anything? Is it my impatience with the process? I don't think I am Type-A at all, but apparently I am showing some of those tendencies. I think if I can just keep my focus on the finish line, the process will take care of itself, right? Of course, like my running, there really isn't a finish line, but always a new "race" to run if you will. A new one starts September 21st. I am sure, just like Saturday and March 6, the months and years to come will show me new things about myself, Autumn, and all of you, that I never knew. Good and bad, but we are who we are and that is what makes the journey so much fun, yeah? Finding out who you are, who I am and maybe get another chance to be the person I almost am. I do kinda get to start over - this person has no idea what I have done - so DON'T TELL!

Peace

Baby Room

I reminded myself maybe 100 times during my run Sunday morning to take a picture of the baby's room before I started doing anything to it. Then, on the way to Home Depot to get the floor sander, I reminded myself, again, to take a picture of the room before I started sanding. Then, on my way back to Home Depot to return the sander, I reminded myself to take a picture before I put the stain down. At least I took the picture before the finish is down!

We may keep the yellow, we haven't decided on a color, yet. I replaced all the electrical outlets so the little kid plugs will fit in there, but you can't see those in the picture. Also, here is a picture of the changing table/dresser I am thinking of building. Don't know about a color on it, yet, either.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Information Age

Great news! We are in what they have dubbed "The Information Age." You can find anything you want on the internet. About anything.

Bad news! Do you know how many internet articles you can search about being an expecting father? Just Google "Expecting father." You have to be kidding me - did I see the number 1,580,000 matches up there? My dad didn't have Google and 1.5 million articles to freak him out - why would someone do that? I guess I can blame Al Gore for creating the internet... I am of the sound belief that too many choices make things worse. So, what is this about banking cord blood? What about all these rules about how big the space between the crib bars can and can't be? I can't buy a second-hand crib? I live in a house that was built in 1922 - do you know , apparently, how much lead paint is in my house? So not only do I have to "prepare" a nursery, now I have to primer and paint my entire house so my child doesn't eat any paint chips when I am not looking. Diaper SYSTEMS?! What the...  I would venture to guess that my dad didn't use any diaper system. I would say he did a pretty good job - no comments from the peanut gallery, please. What is this Ferber guy telling me about getting a newborn to sleep?

I wonder if I ever ate any paint chips...

Getting the word out

So, Autumn has an appointment in four weeks for what I would call the first checkup. Telling people has made it real and kept me up for a while last night. Speaking of telling people, I got a chance to talk to our neighbors, Chris & Lisa, to tell them there will be a playmate for their daughter, Lilly, coming in September. Chris was excited for us and let me tell him all the details. Then, in a really great way, he said, "Well, I don't mean to trump your good news, but we are due on September 11!" How cool is that. We laughed about it a little and he shared that of all the books he and his wife read, "What to Expect When You're Expecting" has been the one that answered all of their questions. He then let me borrow their copy - which was great. I am sure I will have to go get our own copy, but it really is full of answers and things that I didn't think about asking but wanted to know. So, that was good news. Autumn is going to St. Louis with the mock trial team this weekend. I have a class Saturday morning, but will probably spend most of the weekend working on the baby's room.

Did I really just say that?

Chris