"What to Expect When You're Expecting" - The movie.
Life.
Let's start with the weather.
It's finally going to start feeling like spring.
Today was a high of 40 degrees. Tomorrow's high is 60 - and sunny.
The weekend is forecasting 70s.
Finally.
I love spring.
I love watching the world come to life again.
Animals come back out.
People come back out.
The sun comes back out.
Everything turns green and blue and pink and all sorts of beautiful.
The world comes alive.
Thomas' schooling.
It's almost done.
Thank. Goodness.
Three weeks from tomorrow is his last day.
THREE WEEKS.
Then these weeks can be over.
No more Monday through Fridays of me home alone.
We actually get to eat dinner together every night.
We get to talk about each other's days in person instead of over texts.
We get to SEE each other.
I am so excited.
There are no words to describe it.
THEN! He gets to get a big-boy job too!
He gets to help me bring in the dough!
And our finances will be a little looser, and our savings will grow at a faster rate.
I'm excited for that part!
Our apartment.
We're looking to upgrade to a two bedroom.
Either that our start house shopping.
And by house shopping I mean townhouse.
We'll be looking mostly at foreclosure and short sales.
But it all depends on where Thomas ends up for work in a month or so.
The baby.
Oh goodness, the baby.
I think about it always.
And yet, it still doesn't feel real sometimes.
I have another appointment tomorrow, and can't wait to hear the little peanut's heartbeat again! It's been too long!
I am also aching to start feeling it move.
I am so anxious for that day!
Three weeks from Friday we'll be finding out if it's a boy or a girl!
We both would like a boy first (to protect his little sisters) but we both think it's going to be a girl. Mostly because I can't eat enough sugar.
Biggest cravings so far:
Strawberry milkshakes & Ice Cream
Chocolate covered raisins
Snickers
Vanilla Oreos
I'm eating dinner right now.
Yummy chicken drummies.
While watching "What to Expect When You're Expecting" (a hilarious movie ya'll should see). And enjoying a night of relaxation.
Laundry is folded.
Apartment vaccuumed.
Dishwasher running.
Pots and pans soaking from dinner.
I have a night where I can relax and breathe for the first time in too many weeks (work's been crazy lately - so much, actually, that my wonderful husband surprised me with a massage at a spa last Saturday!).
Because I am about to gush my heart out about my wonderful husband.
You see, this time of year is a big deal.
April 14 is our anniversary.
The day we started "officially" dating.
Now, Thomas says that our wedding anniversary is the most important date.
But to me, it will always be April 14: The day I first became his girl.
This year will be our seven year anniversary.
Seven. Years.
I can't believe it.
Never in a million years did I imagine that 7 years ago, at the ripe young age of 17, a 16 year old boy would play such an amazing role in my life's story.
And what a fairy tale my story has turned into because of him.
Our marriage is hard and annoying at times.
Since day one, we've been running on opposite schedules: I've been either student teaching or working the preschool job I have now.
Which has always left me up early in the morning and down early at night.
Thomas has been working during the day and going to school at night.
I'm up and outta the house before his eyes see the sun, and I'm fast asleep well before he gets home.
It's just how it works.
But even though we really only see each other on the weekends,
I absolutely love this wonderful life we're living.
And what do I love the most?
Those few minutes at the end of every night when Thomas and I are awake together for a brief fleeting moment.
You see, every single night when Thomas comes home (usually somewhere near 11), he comes straight to me.
He comes into our bedroom, crawls over to me on the bed, and wakes me up with kisses, cuddling me for a few minutes before he goes and gets his dinner.
Every. Single. Night.
It's the best feeling.
I don't care that he's waking me when I need to be sleeping.
I love those moments.
When he reminds me I'm always his first priority, always first on his mind.
And then he goes and gets his dinner, heats it up, and brings it into bed to eat.
My second favorite thing.
He comes back as soon as possible.
I don't care if he leaves the dishes in the bedroom sometimes, or gets crumbs in our bed.
I love that he wants to be with me as much as possible.
I then get to snuggle up to him, our legs entwined, cold toes playing footsie, and drift back into sleep with best friend by my side,
knowing I'm in the safest place in the world.
Seven years ago, I had no idea that cute little British kid would become the most important person in my life.
I had no idea I had just found someone would love me so fiercely, so devotedly, so deeply. Someone who would remind me every day that I am his world, and he loves me dearly.
I had no idea what laid ahead of me...
This life, I tell ya.
We live pay check to pay check.
We have a small one bedroom apartment.
That's about to become crowded with our sweet little peanut.
We don't own flashy things.
We shop clearance and coupon like crazy.
But this life is perfect.
We spend our Sunday nights together folding laundry while watching the Food Network.
We spend our Saturday mornings laying in bed together.
We support each other.
We respect each other.
We tease each other.
We grow with each other.
We flirt with each other.
We pray with each other.
We hurt with each other.
We share joy with each other.
We don't have much, but we have everything.
This life, this beautiful wonderful life is everything I could ever want.
I have my very best friend to call my husband, and we're about to have a baby and start our family. I couldn't ask for anything more.
Thomas and I awoke at 4am to head out to the MN State Fair grounds to stand in line for some Tim McGraw tickets!!
I did have to push him quite a bit to go with me...
But he came!
You see, a couple of weeks ago, I received an email from the Fair about three concerts that had been announced: Depeche Mode, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and the one and only Tim McGraw!
Tim McGraw is their showcase concert this year, closing the Fair on it's last day, Labor Day, September 2.
Now, I have been an avid Fair goer my entire life.
I have such fond memories of these times!
Back when I was a wee little child, my whole family would pack up the van and off we'd go bright and early (like, we're talking 6am or so) and get our front row seats at "Kare at the Fair."
(If you're not a Minnesotan, Kare 11 is a local news station).
We'd watch their morning program, interact with the show (one year they interviewed our family because we were so big, and always sitting in the front every year! They gave us a recording of the episode! :) )
My family would then stay at the Fair from sun up till sun down!
Oh what fun!
Sky rides with my dad!
Food galore (the cheese curds have always been my absolute favorite)!
The Lumberjack show!
So much to do and see!
So, naturally, as I got older, I continued to be an avid Fair goer.
Because, let's face it, it's almost a law: If you live in Minnesota, you must go to the Fair at least once a year.
As the second biggest fair in the country (Texas is the first), how can you not?!
Now me, sometimes I go a couple times during those twelve days it's open!
I just can't get enough!
So anywho, Thomas and I already knew we'd be going to the Fair at least once at some point at the end of the summer.
So when they announced Tim McGraw as their closing concert on Labor Day,
Um, yeah. I needed tickets.
If there's anything I love as much as the State Fair, it's country music and country life!
I had made up my mind: I was camping out to get front row (or as close as possible!) seats to an amazingly awesome country singer.
Thomas, making the comment, "the music sounds the same no matter where you sit..." was not so eager to sit out for hours on end with me.
But, after several weeks of begging (and playing the pregnant card a couple of times...) he finally agreed!
(Which left my mom off the hook from having to go with me!)
Now, in the email, they had explained how to get these coveted tickets:
Now, doesn't this email make it sound like the box office will have a special in-person pre-sale for tickets before the go online?
It says online sales start at noon, or a special limited time opening from 10am to 1pm.
So! I wanted to get in line bright and early to be ready for that 10:00 pre-sale!
I woke up at 4.
Packed some snacks, sleeping bags, ipad, book, all that jazz.
Woke Thomas up about 4:15.
By the time he was up and ready, we were out the door about 4:45.
Stopped at McDonald's for some breakfast on the way.
Got to the fairgrounds and in line at about 5:30am.
Alright! That meant only about 4 and a half hours waiting!
It was freezing!
At least the rain had stopped (thank goodness!).
But we were actually quite cozy huddled up in our sleeping bags!
Thomas much more so than I:
Things were going great!
We were chairs 13 and 14 in line!
I was feeling sooo good about this!
Now, one thing I should mention: those three concerts they had announced were all going on sale that same day.
So the people in line ahead of us (and behind us) were all there for different concerts.
Which put us even closer to the front!
We were happy!
Until about 9:30am...
The security officer started passing out flyers for how the distribution of the tickets were going to go:
They were going to sell the three concerts in three different one hour increments:
Depeche Mode: 10-11.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis: 11-12
Tim McGraw: 12-1
I was devastated.
Thomas was pissed.
This meant that when we had thought were finished standing in line for five hours when it was only 30 degrees and windy, we actually had another two hours to go...
AND that the box office was actually selling the tickets at the same time as they went on sale online.
We had zero advantage for going to the box office instead of doing it at home...aside from avoiding convenience fees...
Oh dear...
On the bright side, it was at the point of day where it was starting to warm up.
So Thomas, to blow off some steam and to feed his extremely hungry preggo wife, went to Subway and got us some lunch to tide us over for a couple more hours.
Well, the moment had arrived!!
It was 11:45!
We packed up all our stuff.
And waited.
They opened the doors five minutes early.
I was the sixth person in line, Thomas seventh.
We had decided to split up and each get two tickets, in the hopes of bettering our chances for great seats.
In the previous concerts, people in line in front of us were getting like row 40 for their tickets!
I was praying we'd get something better...
I got the window, told the young lady I wanted two tickets on the plaza (on the floor seating).
She fiddled with her computer, looking bored, then smiled coyly at me and said: "Dear, I just got you row two!"
I literally squealed (made the person at the window next to me jump!) and my eyes welled up!
We got row two!
I was ecstatic.
The lady helping me laughed and said, "Thank you for making my boring job a little more rewarding and fun this morning," because I could not stop ranting about how awesome it was and how excited I was!
ROW TWO!
Thomas and I (and our 8 month old fetus ready to pop!) will be enjoying the awesome music of Tim McGraw on a sweet summer night at the Great Minnesota Get Together from only the second row.
Oh yeah, and we are on the Plaza, section C.
Wanna know what that means??
Here's the seating map:
Literally front and center.
I could not be more excited!!
It will most likely be our last big event before the baby, and what a fun one! What a great way to end the summer! I am just ecstatic!
I can just picture Thomas and I rocking out to "Felt Good on my Lips" and swaying together to "One of Those Nights." Gah!!
September 2 is going to be a day I'll remember for a long, long time.
