Introducing.....

Ladies and Gentlemen or whomever actually reads my endless rambling, I would like to proudly introduce our "18 week old" baby BOY! The handsome little devil in the pictures to follow will be named Joseph Myer Klinge and is healthy and perfectly sized for his "age" and very, very active! Our little man will be called Myer on a daily basis, unless he is in big trouble! You see, Joe's dad, Frederick Rudolph, named his first born son Frederick Lincoln, and they call him Linc. Joe wanted to follow this fun tradition, thus giving you our sweet angel baby, Myer! We are ecstatic!

T-minus 53.5 Hours

Astronauts use the whole "T-minus" thing for their countdown to BlastOff, but what does it really mean? If the T is supposed to stand for TakeOff, then why the minus? Why wouldn't they just say T in 10, 9, 8.....you get it. Anywho, in 53.5 hours Joe, Kailyn and I will be "patient"ly waiting for our turn with the sonographer to see our little bambino. We definitely want to make sure we are growing properly and that all vital organs and bodyparts are accounted for and working. Then we are crossing our fingers that we may find out the sex! If all goes well, we will be celebrating our healthy baby with lots of new pink or blue.....oh, and a name! We'll get to put a name to our little baby and quit calling it an it. Sad little "it" baby. We haven't bought anything for this baby yet. It has some hand-me-downs from big sis, Kailyn, like toys, a crib, changing table/dresser, high chair, snugli and a few unisex items of clothing, but that's about it. Mimi bought baby a horsey pacifier holder, but no more. I just don't want any yellow or cream colored stuff. This is my last baby (agreed upon by Joe and I before we even started trying) and I want pink and purple for a girl and trucks and sports for a boy! So just know that if we do get to see any sexual organs, I'm buying that baby something color appropriate! I CAN'T WAIT! (And honestly, neither can Joe or Kailyn)

Kailyn was with her dad this weekend, so Joe and I rented some movies Saturday night. Obsessed, Bundy and 17 Again. I have been wanting to see Obsessed and 17 Again since they came out recently, and since Joe thought they were both going to be too feminine for his taste, he wanted a scary movie. Obsessed was really good. There was some good acting and a crazy, but believable plot. Joe and I both like it. Next we watched Bundy, since I wanted to save 17 Again for when Kailyn came home on Sunday (she loves some Zac Efron, and there are actually several other Disney characters in there too). Anyway, Bundy, is obviously the story of serial killer Ted Bundy; who, let me just tell you, is a flipping weirdo, psychopath. I've never seen anything like it. That dude was really out of control. I don't like scary movies, because I'm a scaredy cat, but the ones that are "based on a true story" are the worst. I mean, this man did not have one ounce of remorse for beating people to death and doing nasty, inhuman things to them. What a horrible man. We watched 17 Again as a family on Sunday night. Now, there is some bad language and some making out, so I don't know that it was probably a great decision to let our 5 year old watch it, but we made sure to say things like, "They don't use very nice words in this movie, do they?" or "Gross, you know if you really kiss your boyfriend at school, the principal will kick you out!". Other than that, it was a great movie. All three of us enjoyed it. Zac Efron definitely proved to be more than just eye candy, he is actually a dedicated actor (and a pretty good one at that!). Don't get me wrong, his shirtless scenes were much appreciated (I know, I know, he's young), but his emotion and his character were so believable. On behalf of my family and I, we give Obsessed and 17 Again each two thumbs up!!

Wow, what an interesting weekend we had! I don't mind, though, I got some major laundry and housecleaning done and relaxed. It was perfect! Before I go, my baby sister got her senior pics done by the ever-so-fabulous Kathy McCloy a couple weekends ago, and her gallery came up this past week. The above pic is one of my faves. Don't forget to check back with me Wednesday night or Thursday morning for hopefully a major Baby Klinge update! I will leave you with the baby-gaga 17 week cartoon. Happy Monday!

Dumpster Diving

So please let me explain before you have my child taken away from me. My husband mows several residential lawns in Marshall, as I'm sure everyone knows. He bags all the lawns, and when his bag fills, he dumps the clippings into the back of his truck. At the end of the day, his truck bed is usual super full, so he takes it to the Marshall Landfill or "Dump" to empty it. This past Saturday, he did just that, just like every other Saturday of the mowing season. But this one was different. A little four legged terrier mix of some kind was also at the dump and was instantly glued to Joe. Unfortunately, Joe and I are both soft-hearts for dogs. He opened his truck door, and the little guy jumped right in. (By the way, it was raining like crazy, so that made it even worse!) Joe went to all the houses up and down from the dump and the dog didn't belong to anyone. One woman said she sees people dump dogs in front of her house all the time. So of course, armed with his own best puppy face and a little male dog that looks just like Missy (a little taller, a little longer hair, and black instead of brown), Joe brought the little guy home. I gave him a bath and clipped his toenails and Joe put some Advantix on him for safety. He's a nice little fella. The fur around his neck looks like he's been wearing a collar. So today I am going to e-mail the kind people at KMMO and see what I can do about advertising a Found Dog. We started calling him Jack because "dog", "dude" and "buddy" just weren't working. The last thing we need is another dog. We just recently decided that we aren't giving Marli everything she needs. When I bent down to pet Jack for the first time, Marli ran at me full force, and when she tried to skid to a stop, she rammed me. I fell on my rear with a thud! Joe was really upset.....we both were. She has knocked Kailyn over several times in excitement, but we have always blamed that on Marli's age. The realism is, she is almost 4 years old and has been spade for 2 years. We know it's not her fault that she has so much energy, but we just don't have enough time to exercise her like she needs. I also think she doesn't understand why the little dogs can get on our laps or on the furniture, but she can't. We have failed her. We have both decided that no matter what happens with Jack, we will have to find Marli a new home before the baby is born.

Enough sad stuff.....yeah right. My baby started kindergarten this morning. We picked out her clothes last night and went over a few last minute reminders about starting school. This morning we were up bright and early! Kailyn had breakfast and watched t.v. while I got ready, then I got her ready and took some pictures, and we were out. I walked her in this morning, (although, she says tomorrow she will walk in alone) and we met her teacher, Mrs. Davis in the hallway. Mrs. Davis asked if she could take Kailyn and show her where she will go in the mornings, and Kailyn just let go of my hand and went. I had to stop them just to get a kiss goodbye and tell her to have a great day! What a grown up girl. Not me, of course, but I did save the tears until I got out to the car. I was proud of both of us, her for being so grown up and me for not bawling like a baby in front of everyone at her school! They get out at 12:30pm today and tomorrow, so I am going to pick her up very soon and take her to my Gma's house for a playdate. What a day!

Well, people, it's the Nooner, and that's means lunchtime for this prego, so please have a great Monday. And if you're interested in a small mall terrier or a brindle female bull mastiff, or know anyone who is, please let me know! Thanks!

Changes

Come on women, I'm talking about "the change". You know, menopause. Not me silly people.....my dog. That's right, my dog, Missy, just turned 8 this past July is apparently going through the change. She has been having accidents in her sleep which Dr Tom says is from a lack of estrogen. So yesterday he prescribed our Missy some estrogen. She has to take two pills per day for a week and then he will reevaluate according to our home report. Poor Missy, she's already pretty testy, so hopefully the mood swings don't hit her full force! Hee, hee!

I was whining on here on my last post about how Kailyn has grown so fast, but as Kailyn steps into a new adventure in her life by beginning kindergarten, so does my baby sister. Jordan, my itty bitty baby sister, will begin her senior year in high school on the same day my itty bitty baby girl starts kindergarten. Crazy, huh? Haven't you heard the saying, "As one chapter ends a new one begins". So it will be, my baby sister will end her public school days as my baby girl is starting hers. WAH, WAH, WAH! Do you think Baby Klinge will stay a teeny, tiny, wrinkly skinned, sweet smelling newborn forever?

Speaking of Baby Klinge, he/she has become quite active lately. Baby seems to like to play around 12:30 or 1:00 in the afternoon for about 30-45 minutes and again around 10:00 at night! Pretty exciting. I tried to let Joe feel the other night, but the movements are still pretty soft, so his hand just ended up falling asleep under my ever growing belly. How about that belly anyway? I am officially a little over 16 weeks, which would be showing on any pregnant woman, but mind you, this is my third pregnancy and so I'm obviously going to show a bit quicker. The reason I bring this up is because I experienced some criticism the other day about my size. A woman I know said to a friend and myself, "Can you imagine how big she's going to be by the time that baby's ready? When are you due again?" I said, "The end of January." She said, "Oh gosh! Have you and your doctor discussed the possibility of multiples?" I said, "If there's multiples in there, they're really hiding good, because we didn't see them on the sonogram and don't hear them on the doppler." The woman wasn't trying to be rude, she is just very blunt, but my friend and I laughed for quite a while about her utter forwardness. Hopefully she comes up with some really good comments for later in this pregnancy when I'm a full out blimp! Now when I see my friend, she tells me to "sit down and take a load off"!

Today is my Aunt Brenda's birthday! Happy Birthday B.K.! B.K. is my Mom's sister, and what is funny is that today is also my Uncle Wayne's birthday, my Dad's brother! Happy Birthday Uncle Wayne! There is a fish fry at my cousin's house tonight for B.K.'s birthday celebration, and while I made a quite tasty looking cornbread layered salad, Joe, Kailyn and I won't be staying for supper. Not that the food won't be great (actually I hate fish and can't eat anything fried), but I've got a greater purpose tonight! Jordan and I really thought since Dad's favorite band has always been Heart, that we would recruit our brother, Aaron, and get him tickets to the State Fair for him and Penny for Father's Day. Great idea, they are both very excited to go to the concert, one problem. Tonight is Meet the Owls at the high school.....conveniently at the same time as B.K.'s birthday dinner. While Jordan said it was "no big deal" if no one came, Penny and I both disagreed. You see, Jordan is very laid back, and doesn't want to be a "bother", so she would just be disappointed on the inside and get over it on her own. Not on my watch! Being so laid back, Jordan also doesn't appear passionate about much, except volleyball. Now that girl plays one sport at MHS and it's volleyball, and she's damn good at it. It has been so amazing watching her grow from eighth grade until now, and you can really see her love for the game. Therefore, no one coming to support her at her very last Meet the Owls for the ONLY sport she plays - I think NOT! We are the reason Dad and Penny will be gone, and I will be the "athletic supporter" (lol) this evening. Woo Hoo, Go OWLS! As a matter of fact, Kailyn and I are both sporting our MHS Volleyball tshirts today. We're ready!

This has been a pretty busy week at work and at home. I actually have a big 'ol list that I need to be doing at work right now, but I seem to be spilling my life out through this keyboard. Poor Kailyn has been a busy body this week too, between dance camp and school open house. Now that's an experience, my first school open house. There were kids and parents everywhere! We got to put all of Kailyn's supplies away and meet her teacher, Wendy Davis. We are very excited about this school year and all that it will entail! Kailyn only knew a couple of kids in her class, but she is quick to make friends, so she should know several more in a matter of days! Miss Karsyn King and Mr Hadyn King are both in the kindergarten class across the hall, so there's a few more people she knows! Tonight, Papa and Mimi are going to take Kailyn to the lake. They are staying tonight and tomorrow and going to the fair for a bit on their way home Sunday morning. My sweet girl's last "vacation" before all innocence is lost and she is all grown up. I know, I know, a bit dramatic again!

Wow, honestly this list is not doing itself, so I guess I had better do some more work! Have a great weekend all!

Only One More Week

Wah, wah, wah! Exactly one week from today, my precious, 7 lb baby girl will be in kindergarten. How the he** did that happen? Wah, wah, wah! After tax-free weekend, she is clothes and school supplies ready to go out into the real world. (Dramatic, right? But my BABY is going to SCHOOL!) Wow, I know people always say, "Kids grow up so fast", but I never thought it would be like this. It's really fast. *tear*

Kailyn and I have been trying to do some fun stuff since her summer is almost over. We went to the pool Saturday and Sunday afternoon this past weekend. Whew, it was HOT, but the water was nice. Saturday, I was a nervous wreck because there were so many people there, but Sunday wasn't quite so bad. I feel bad for Kailyn because I'm always telling her she has to stay right next to me, but with all of the parents who don't give a crap about where their children are, I would rather be safe than sorry.

Hannah Montana Dance Camp starts today. Kailyn had so much fun at Fairy Tale Princess Camp, so she is really stoked about Hannah Camp too! Shapes Dance Open House is tonight too, from 4pm - 7pm for anyone who's interested in registering their little dancers. Believe me, I put Kailyn in two other dance studios before Shapes, and I honestly regret the time we lost. Tracey Wozny and all of her instructors are just fabulous. They are all so hands on with EVERY child so that they can learn all they can about dance. Tracey even knows every child's name and their abilities, she is amazing! Please visit http://www.shapesdance.com/, I mean, if you are considering dance class (they also have specialty dance classes and musical lessons at the studio in Carrollton) for your child, Shapes is the BEST!!!!! By the way, if you visit the website, the first picture on the Home page is Kailyn's Combo group from the 2009 Latin Tormenta Production, and my baby is in the middle on the top row. If you don't make it to Open House tonight at the First United Methodist Church in Marshall, you can also register online.

So our last week before school starts is looking to be a busy one. Hannah Montana Camp today through Wednesday, Dance Open House tonight after camp, School Open House Thursday, Birthday Party Friday, and Kailyn is going to the lake with her Mimi and Papa Friday night and coming home Sunday after a visit to the State Fair Sunday morning. Yikes! Speaking of busy, time seems to be just flying by! Did you know Christmas is in only 4 1/2 months? Guess I should maybe start thinking about starting shopping.....BOO!

I guess that's all I have on this tired Monday. That was one heck of a house shaking storm last night, darn it, and I didn't get but about 4 1/2 hours of sleep last night! (which wouldn't work for me even if I wasn't pregnant) Enjoy your week!

And The Award Goes To:

Wait for it.....hold your breath.....it could be you.....the "Mother of the Year" Award WINNER is.....ME! Oh sorry, you really thought you had that in the bag, huh? Fortunately, I'll let you in on the secret of my success: Yesterday I called my OB/GYN's office to have a prescription filled. The woman said, "You said Aimee Klinge, right?" I said, "Yes," She said, "Did you know you missed your appointment this morning?" WTH? Anyone reading this who knows me on a personal level, go ahead, let your jaw hit your keyboard. I am one organized son of a gun! Anyway, I told the woman I had my appointment written down for the 11th, and she said, "Sorry, we had you down for today, do you want to come in at 3:20pm today?" So I called Joe and after he reassured me that the card in his wallet (filled out by the same secretary lady that was just a second before telling me I missed my appointment) said August 11th at 8:40am. (Thank you very much!) We did go to the doctor yesterday, though, at 3:20pm. We discovered why we always make morning appointments while we were sitting in the waiting room for an hour!!!!! Wow, no more afternoons for us, thanks! Once we did finally get in we heard our bambino's heartbeat, still strong at 157, and talked to Dr McCoy. We made our next appointment for September 1st at 8:00am, that's right, as soon as they open, and we will be going for our sonogram on August 26th at 3:30pm. Now that one we made for when Kailyn got out of school so she could go. So I registered my itty bitty baby for kindergarten today. WAH! She will attend Benton Elementary School (see above). Here's where I guaranteed my "Mother of the Year" Award. I, obviously, have never registered a child for school and had no idea where to go. Thinking that I could figure this out from the signs, I went to the table labeled BENTON. As I stood there and was ignored by the lady for a solid 5 minutes while she chatted it up with the woman next to her, I felt a slight tap on my rear. It was Becca, thank goodness. At that point, the woman found it necessary to speak to me and ask me if I had copies of Kailyn's birth certificate, shot record and eye exam. I told her I had turned those in at the end of last year, and she said, "Well then, here's a copy of our medication policy and you just need to go and register her in the gymnasium". Oh you got it, I was talking to the nurse. I felt better, though, after Becca said she stood there for ten minutes too, before finding out that she was at the wrong table. A sign when you first walk in saying, "GO HERE FIRST" with an arrow pointing to the gym would be nice, especially for first timers or parents new to the area. Not only can I not figure out when my prenatal appointments are for my unborn baby, but I can also not figure out the correct way to register my 5 year old for kindergarten. Hence, my "Mom of the Year" award! Thank you, thank you (as I curtsy for the crowd). Someone please tell me that my brain will come back when this baby is born.....PLEASE!?

Kailyn, Joe, my mom and I went to messy night at the park last night. They had so much fun stuff! Seperate pools filled with macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and sauce, mud, oatmeal, wet paper, cereal and so much more. They also had finger painting and sponge painting and a chocolate pudding slip n' slide! Want to know what Kailyn did? She ran through the sprinklers. Yep, she thought the other stuff was gross. Not Aubrey and Karsyn! They were all over that slip n' slide and covered in ketchup and mustard. Kailyn and Adi did run up to me once and show me how messy they had gotten because they had grass bits stuck to their wet feet!

I will leave you with some inspiring genius from my husband. I looked back at my old blog posts and couldn't believe I forgot to tell you about our first baby appointment. While we were waiting that morning, Joe picked up a magazine to look cool. As he was reading, he stopped, turned to me and said, "What's an OB/GYN?". I said, "An Obstetrician/Gynecologist, and we're in his office right now". Honestly, how does any man not know what a gynecologist is? Hasn't everyone seen Kindergarten Cop? "My dad's a gynecologist, he looks at vaginas all day!" Proving that men absolutely DO NOT retain information that comes from their wives, I bring to you our appointment yesterday. While we were waiting (for a flipping hour, mind you), my husband turns to me and says, "Now what are we doing here?" I said, "We're going to the doctor." He said, "I know, but on the phone you said something about an obstetrician, who's that?" Seriously? You know I can't make this stuff up. I said, "An obstetrician is a doctor who delivers babies and Dr McCoy is ours." Last night he decided that he would like to only refer to our OB as Dr McCoy, so he doesn't get confused. We shook on it.

Happy Hump Day, people!!

August Already?

Well, it's officially August. Summer just flew on by, didn't it? Kailyn got home last night from her last 2 week session with her dad, and so starts the busy month! Our dog, Morgan, is at the vet today for her yearly shots, I have to register my sweet wittle baby girl for kindergarten on Wednesday and Kailyn's Fairy Princess Dance Camp is Wednesday through Friday. Also on Friday, my mom, Kailyn and I are heading to Columbia for some shopping after mom's treatment. While Columbia as a city doesn't participate in Tax Free Weekend, we will still get a nice discount from not having to pay Missouri state tax! The next week, Kailyn's Hannah Montana Dance Camp is Monday through Wednesday, we have our OB appointment on Tuesday and my Aunt BK's birthday is Friday. The following Sunday (the 23rd) are Fred and Hanna's birthdays and our sonogram should be the week after that. Remember, keep your fingers crossed that Baby Klinge will leave his/her legs uncrossed!

Speaking of that...Joe and I got on the internet yesterday and took 4 different "old wives tale" quizzes to determine the baby's sex. 3 of them said we were having a girl (one of them was the Chinese Lunar Calendar, which is supposed to be 93% accurate) and the 4th said there was a 50% chance we were having a boy. No kidding? I wonder how they came up with those odds? Anyway, I keep telling Joe that I really feel like it's a girl, but who knows!? Hopefully we'll find out later this month.

I'd say the fish fry Saturday night at Luke's was a success! We hung out for quite a while with some great people and had some great food too. I made corn casserole and it was a hit, woo hoo! I hate taking a ton of food back home. Luke and his dad were supposed to fly out @ 7am this morning. I can't wait for him to start blogging again. Good Luck, Luke!

I finished my book, Chasing Justice by Kerry Max Cook, on Friday. It was really good. It has always been amazing to me how many people get in trouble, some repeat offenders, and never pay any consequences because they can pay "the right people". I mean, I've seen it happen repeatedly; athletes, musicians, actors, politicians, even people from our small town. But I've never heard of it at this level. I mean, this man was falsely accused and sent to death row, for heaven's sake! The man who really committed the crime put his money where it needed to be and the prosecution turned their head and coached their witnesses to lie on the stand to incriminate an innocent man. Absolutely shameful. I was embarrassed of our justice system while reading this book. And Kerry Max Cook is by far not the first person to suffer this injustice, although, not all of them get saved. Honestly, some of them aren't educated enough to know which route to take to even begin getting the help they need, especially with no money. The statistics are out of this world.

I think I'll wait until school starts to start reading another book, so that Kailyn and I can stay up a little later and hang out as much as possible just the two of us, before she is a kindergartener and before there are 2 babies in the house. What a good big sister she will be! (I mean, she is one already, but for a second time.) I think my next book will be The Summer I Dared by Barbara Delinsky, I've had it for a while and not read it. There are several books I saw on http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ that I think look interesting too, so I may pick up a couple on Friday!

While it is only Monday, I think this week will fly by. I hope it does for you too! Have a great week!