Finally!

Well, I haven't bothered to post in a while because we were holding off on the public announcement until now and I didn't really have much else to share! Now that the secret is out, I figure I can share the journey with those near and far by posting on the blog! :-) I found this little 'form' and I am going to try using it to keep everyone updated...hopefully this will keep everyone in the loop without being too boring!

How far along? 16 weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: Still hovering at about 7 pounds - although after our 3 week eat-fest in Italy & Croatia in June, I don't think I ever really weighed myself until after we found out we were expecting, so I'm not quite sure but that's my best guess!
Maternity clothes? Oh yes - pants especially! I can't stand when things are too tight on my belly, it's incredibly uncomfortable.
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Not getting enough and feeling like I always need more
Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat on Wednesday and recording it to listen to all the time! :)
Movement: None that I feel yet but we've seen quite a bit of activity on previous ultrasounds!
Food cravings: Nothing specific - I'm just always hungry!
Gender: Don't know - something makes me think it's a boy, but God only knows
Labor Signs: Thankfully no!
Belly Button in or out? In...but I've noticed a bit of change already...yikes!
What I miss: Wine, my normal clothes, deli sandwiches, and being more active
What I am looking forward to: Being obviously pregnant, not in the "is she...?" stage where people wonder if I just need to lay off the cheetos! :-)
Weekly Wisdom: To let go and just ENJOY my pregnancy... courtesy of the great doctor I saw this week.
Milestones: Announcing the news to the world - aka Facebook!

Adventures From The Money Pit

Ok. So last week, we noticed a leak under the sink (small thankfully) and realized our garbage disposal had a little hole busted in the side and we knew it would need replacing. My very handy father is 400 miles south so we figure, we're in trouble. But Joel's parents said they had a handy man who was pretty cheap and did a great job for them. So we call up Tim the Handyman and he comes out to fix it. All we had to do was get a replacement at Home Depot. Sweet! $25 an hour - we are stoked! I had him also put up three sets of blinds that Joel (who admittedly suffers from a lack of handiness) had had a hard time trying to put up, and he also swapped out a light fixture for us on the patio. $63 out the door and we are thinking it's the best money we have ever spent.

After being gone for the weekend, we are cleaning up from dinner and I look under the sink to grab the counter cleaner. I see a drip of water. We have another leak. We email Tim the Handyman and he says he will come back the next day. Fabulous. We figure this will be free as it is probably his fault. He comes, and identifies the problem as the unit itself and that we need ANOTHER replacement. Awesome. He takes it apart and puts it back in the box. Well, partially - Joel has to take the sink part off himself for some reason, Tim deems this as not important to return in the whole REPLACEMENT concept. Whatever. He leaves after what I'm thinking was no more than an hour, hour and a half maybe.

So Joel goes to Home Depot, returns it, and deciding to be safe, gets the new one at Lowes. That night, I go to empty the dishwasher that I know I had started the day before. Except, there is water at the bottom and it hasn't completely cleaned the dishes. Ew. So I hit restart on the wash cycle and suddenly, there is a tsunami flowing out from under the sink. FRIGGIN AWESOME. I stop it and look only to see that the dishwasher hose is detached, obviously do to the fact that we have no garbage disposal for the night and it must connect to that. We mop up the floor and leave a fan on it for the night, but the damage is done. The floor boards of my pretty, indestructible laminate, are warped....... #@%*!

Tim comes the next morning and spends about 10 minutes chatting with me about the differences between here and the UK. (I'm thinking, that's fabulous buddy, now get to work - I pay you by the hour.) He installs the SECOND new disposal, and I say I want to start the dishwasher while he is still here so I can be sure all is well. He starts it, it makes noise, and I assume it is working fine. It's been maybe 30 minutes since Tim arrived and he's ready to go. I ask, "What do we owe you?" He says 90 bucks. I start calculating.....25, plus 25...plus MAYBE another 25...hmmmm now I am not a math major but I don't know how he is getting $90. So I question it and he starts doing math under his breath (which I now think is either incorrect or a bunch of bologna) and I start to stall more waiting for him to explain to me just how he gets to ninety and suddenly...he says $60...sixty is fine. Still, this is more than I think I really owe him, but I say fine and I hand him the cash. He leaves. See ya later Timmy.....

Today, I go to empty the dishwasher and there is still dirty water at the bottom and the dishes aren't clean. WTF??? So I try to start it and it doesn't work. It makes noise, but I realize it's not really running, it's just trying to. So I call my dad. Dad starts asking questions and I'm up under the sink explaining what I see. After a couple of minutes, Dad concludes that Tim the Handyman did not punch out a plug in the disposal where you connect it to the dishwasher. Apparently there is a plug built into the connection tube because you don't HAVE to use it with a dishwasher. In order to do so, you must punch out and retrieve the plug with a screwdriver. So the guy I paid to d the job, didn't freaking READ THE DAMN DIRECTIONS. So I'm beyond irritated that I have now paid $120 and I'm left to get it fixed AGAIN. So Dad tells me I can do it myself and I decide that yes, indeed I can.

So here I am...proving that I am in fact my father's daughter. Forget Tim the Handyman. I want my money back!

Practicing what I preach in my classroom every day.... reading and following directions carefully:

Holding the little plug that the handyman didn't remove but I easily did by FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS.....

Joel helped with some of the heavy lifting. He says he's proud of his handy-wife.

Tahoe with the Fam...both sides!

Last weekend, we got to spend time in Tahoe with not only Joel's cousins, but some of mine, too! We loved having my cousin Justin and Krys De and their two kiddos Brooke and JT with us for some typical Tahoe summer fun. :-)

Riley, Brooke, & JT dressing up at Living History Day at Sugarpine.

JT, Brooke, Allison, & Owen coloring in the kid zone.

Georgia & Owen playing on the beach at Meeks.

Brooke, Allison, and Sara play together at Meeks for our BBQ.

Joel, Brooke, JT, and Justin take out the kayaks.

Brooke waits for Joel to do the grunt work. ;-)

Me & Joel with Krys De, Justin, Brooke, & JT.

Jack Loves Lisa - & so do we!

While we were in Italy, Jack and Bridget stayed at the Animal Den in Sacramento (we highly recommend it!!!). The owner, Lisa, is a friend of ours that we met through the Aussie MeetUp group that we participate in. Lisa is the organizer of the group and we have been attending MeetUps since it began in April of 2008. We get together for monthly activities with our Aussies and love how Lisa always takes the time to make these fun plans to enjoy with our dogs. From camping to snowshoeing to hikes and general dog park visits - Lisa is always coming up with great ideas to keep our Aussies busy!

When we went to Italy, Lisa made sure that Jack and Bridget were well taken care of (read: downright spoiled!) in our absence! To thank her and sneak in a non-MeetUp visit, we had her over for dinner recently. Jack loves to cuddle so he crawled right up and claimed his spot as oversized lap dog. (We love Lisa just as much Jack, but she'd probably look at us funny if WE crawled into her lap to say thanks for all she does!)

Thanks for everything Lisa! You're the best!

The Newest Aymeric Cousin

On June 27, 2009 - we celebrated the addition of the newest Aymeric cousin at Mike and Georgia's wedding in Atherton, CA.  Mike and Georgia have been dating since their days at UC Davis 7 years ago.  Mike is one of Joel's many cousins, so we have been fortunate to spend a lot of time with them at Tahoe or for other holidays over the years.  Mike & Georgia even came to stay with us when we lived in El Segundo for one of their Disneyland trips!  I am really excited to add another "Aymeric-by-marriage" cousin to the bunch and I couldn't be happier that Georgia is finally a permanent fixture in the family.  Of course, we always knew she would be, but still... :)

Allison getting ready to star as the Flower Girl...

From Mike & Georgia's Wedding

The tallest bridal party I have ever seen....

From Mike & Georgia's Wedding

Riley & Allison make their way up the aisle...

From Mike & Georgia's Wedding

Mike seeing Georgia come up the aisle - always my favorite part!

From Mike & Georgia's Wedding

Saying their vows...

From Mike & Georgia's Wedding

Introducing....Mr. & Mrs. Walton!

From Mike & Georgia's Wedding

Me & Joel at the wedding - about 22 hours after returning from Italy ;-) 

From Mike & Georgia's Wedding

Arguably the cutest Aymeric cousin, Sara, with our nephew Owen, Kelly & Joe's youngest.  

From Mike & Georgia's Wedding

Wait..these kids look like they've done this before....(not that they hardly remember!)

From Mike & Georgia's Wedding

The Aymeric & Kleeman-Keller families all together

From Mike & Georgia's Wedding

The beautiful centerpieces done by Georgia's brother's girlfriend - gorgeous!

From Mike & Georgia's Wedding

Tim's Best Man speech

From Mike & Georgia's Wedding

Ken & Owen with Grandpa Ray in the background. 

From Mike & Georgia's Wedding

Welcome home?

This is what we were welcomed home to when we returned from our big trip....

We are still sorting and digging through the mess we left when we got home.  When we get that done, I will send out pictures to show you all more about our trip!  

Another Fourth of July in Tahoe!

Jack plays navigator on the way up to Tahoe.  He usually paces the backseat, but today he was pretty set on watching over Joel's shoulder.  

Morning hike in Tahoma to wear the dogs out. Mission accomplished!

Another day at the beach in Meeks Bay - my idea of the perfect summer day! 

Jenn & Melissa on the beach in Meeks Bay

Our friends Melissa & Brian came up to join us for the weekend. We love having friends come to Tahoe with us! 

Melissa strikes a pose!

Since the 4th is my favorite holiday, I made cupcakes!  Who doesn't lick the bowl? 

At the Meeks Bay Fireman's Pancake breakfast...where else would we be???

We love kayaking in Meeks Bay - it's always fun to be out on the water!

Our nephew Owen just hanging out ;-) 

A typical day at the beach - Sara, Allison, Owen, and Riley

After the Tahoe City firework show - Happy Birthday Allison! 

The whole clan before heading home - Joel, Jenn, Bridget, Jack, Bruce, Brian, & Melissa