Whirlwind, and oh yeah, We're Pregnant

This past week has been nonstop. No less than 1000 miles were added to my new truck, Brad turned 30, Kristen's grandfather passed, we announced to the world that we're having a baby (if you don't already know, feel free to skip to the next paragraph), etc. We finally spent a weekend at home relaxing, watching movies and playing in my shop. That was nice.

We're having a baby! We've known for about 2 or 3 weeks now. We're 7 weeks along we think. There seems to be a possibility that we're another month further along; I won't go into why, it's a girl thing. But if my math is right, then we'll be due February 14th. Which means, I'll have two birthdays and a valentines day to "celebrate" in February. Every year. But given the hell that Kristen seems to be going through at the moment, I've certainly got the better deal. She's having morning sickness like never talked about before. We're trying all the home remedies: sprite, saltines, vitamin b, etc... So far nothing's working... On the other hand, her boobs are huge. However, again, I get the longer end of the stick. Apparently, as pleasant as they are to look at, they are equally painful. I'm doing my part though: I'm cleaning the litter box twice daily, I'm cooking a lot more than ever, kitchen cleaning has become exclusively mine and trips to Hollywood Video is all me. She's usually either sleeping or vomiting. That's really all she does. Sleep, vomit, eat a little, vomit again, rinse, repeat. We have names picked out: Liam Clinton for our boy, and to humor Kristen we've chosen Ava Lynn in case we have a girl (it's a boy though, I can tell). We'll be seeing the gynecologist next Tuesday, hopefully then we'll have firm due dates (as firm as they ever are) and maybe even an ultrasound to post. Stay tuned!

Water - woah...

Two quick points about the water in STL:

1) It tastes freaking unbelievable. And even better, using our dishwasher doesn't leave a thick white residue all over our glassware. I can't say enough about the water. It's awesome... like really awesome...

2) Last Friday, K and I went down the Mississippi River and I'm probably exaggerating a little bit, but it's got to be at least 20 or 30 feet higher than the last time we walked along the river front. According some of the local news, all of the water from the Iowa flooding is headed our way, we could see another few feet.

By the way, we finally got our dry loop DSL (no dial tone, yay!) hooked up so we'll try to post a little more frequently.

Welcome to STL

Yesterday, Kristen, Pete and Larry drove the Neon, Lita and I drove truck. Pete took to the open road rather well. Larry on the other hand went into a hyperventilating fit. His mouth was wide open, all of his teeth showing, breath was fast and heavy and he was hissing at every move. I think Pete's companionship helped calm him down, eventually they both were crawling all over their mom. Lita did well, of course. Everytime Kristen passed on Lita's side of the truck Lita immediately began whimpering and wagging her tail. Even at 75 mph Lita recognizes her mommy.

I had romanced about the moment when the Indy skyline disappeared in my rear view mirror, and each time I passed a landmark in Indy on our way out of town, I'd think about some history I had at that landmark. I figured I'd be teared up all the way from Napoleon St. to Plainfield. But it wasn't all that dramatic. I seemed to only be focused on the road in front of me.

The first thing we noticed when we got to our new residence was that this place is so much bigger (and cooler) than we had remembered. The movers arrived to unload a few hours late. Apparently, with all of the road closes on I-70, their GPS suggested driving to Louisville and taking 64 over. Even with the detours, K and I made it in 4.5 hours, the movers took about 7. The first two pieces of furniture to come off the truck took some heavy damage: the mirror to K's really old vanity was broke and so was the frame around the mirror and there were gouges, scrapes and scratches all over my new enormous book cases. Two men and a truck will try to replace the damaged items (unlikely for several obvious reasons) or reimburse for estimated repairs. I'll believe it when it happens. The ugly unloaders both made negative comments about the quality of the loading of the truck. Let this be a lesson: take the hillbilly/white trash guys over the well formed Zeus looking dude with the blue eyes.

Today we spent nearly the entire day unpacking. Lita pretty much made her self at home. She's already barking fiercely at the landlord, gas man, electric man and just about anybody that walks by the front of the house. Pete and Larry are still smelling every square inch of the place and based on how much they are eating and sleeping, I'm guessing they are feeling a little bit better.

I, on the other hand, have become a little melancholy. I can't really call it home-sickness, I think that takes a little more time than just 24 hours. I think it's just the realization setting in that this place is home, or, if not, at the very least it's our house. Despite things like im, sms, email and blogs that purportedly make this world a lot smaller, it's still not small enough. There was great comfort in knowing that Hero practice is just a day away; Vanessa, Mel and Katie are just a couple doors down; derby is this weekend... We really only know two people in this densely populated city, and we have to pay them rent! It's really scary. I'm really happy we've made this decision, but as we both knew, it came with consequences.

Empty House

Last night, partly because I was thinking about the next few days and months, and partly because I was laying on our hardwood floors, I couldn't sleep. We have an empty house now. All that's left are a couple blankets, a packed suitcase, and some cleaning supplies. We'll get started on that shortly after our last Sunday breakfast with our neighborhood.

The movers came this afternoon. We woke up to Lita threatening to eat the man, one of our movers, on the front porch. Three well-built men hauled our stuff out and into the truck in under three hours. Apparently, one of them had gorgeous blue eyes. Kristina went on and on about how hot he was. So, rightfully, I doused her with the glass of water I was drinking. Of course, she returned the favor. And when the gorgeous, blue-eyed, well-built mover asked why my stomach and crotch were wet, I told him my wife threw water at me. He had a puzzled look on his face and I just left it at that. I'm pretty certain he left thinking Kristen was a raging devil of a wife. I'm ok with that.