Pleased as punch

The nursery, my friends, is finished. I am thrilled with the completed product. In fact, I often find myself wandering down the hall just so I can stand in the doorway and bask in its beauty.

Given that litany of boastful statements, I'm sure you are thinking, "My, but pregnancy has certainly given Debbie not only a big belly, but a big head. How lovely." Well, pregnancy has certainly made a lot of my body parts big, but any swelling about the head results from the fact that I fully realize how fortunate I am to have a mother and friend with limitless talents, as well as a father and husband with limitless amounts of patience.

My mom, saint that she is, made every fabric item you see in the nursery. I'm talking curtains, bed skirt, crib sheet, bumper pad, quilt, pillow, and, of course, a coordinating collar for Buddy, Jr., the non-shedding, stationary version of our beloved pup.

Our friend Anne, in addition to knitting the most precious sweater and booties you ever did see, designed and painted the canvases hanging over the cribs. (Yes, I still call her a friend, despite the fact that her daughter Clare asked, "Is Debbie a diva?" after Anne recounted tale #53 about how this nursery has brought out the worst in Detail-Oriented Debbie. Clearly, the slight OCD behaviors Chip and I exhibit are a source of great entertainment to the Fleming family.)

My dad, conditioned by many years of living with three women (four, if you count the dog), spent one Saturday helping Chip disassemble, assemble and move furniture to and fro. The following Saturday was spent hanging and rehanging various items while my mom and I added tasks to his never-ending to-do list.

Last, but not least, I have my husband, who endured even more than all three of the previously mentioned people combined. After withstanding a ridiculous number of Debbie-led design discussions, Chip then moved large pieces of furniture by fractions of inches until they were just so. Of course everything ended up right back where it started, but how would I have known the dresser and crib were in the right places if I didn't see them in every wrong place first?

Like I said, I'm lucky. And that's why my head is so big. And why Baby Lindh will have such a swank nursery. Now I just have to finish reading, "The OCD Mother's Guide to Having a Neat & Tidy Newborn," and I should be good to go.

Click here to see the full set of photos, and be sure to roll over each image for notes. I just cannot get enough of that particular Flickr feature.

Well, if you really think I need it

Brennan received his first haircut on his first birthday. Such a big boy. Gone is the baby chick-like mullet, as well as the fine little locks of hair that would find their way over Brennan's ears. Now that he's all growed up, I guess I need to get him some product. It's what all the suave one-year-olds have on their Christmas lists.

Click here to see more pictures from the big event. You'll notice that Brian, not Brennan, is the more nervous of the two.

The pump and the bump

Most of my shoes have heels and pointy toes. The pointier, the better. Sure, sure, this might all change once the baby arrives, but for now, I'm sticking with my heels. My reasons are two-fold: One, I am lazy and find it easier to buy shoes of varying heel heights rather than alter all of my pants to the same length; two, I think pointy-toed shoes make my legs look longer, which therefore makes me feel skinnier. I am, my friends, not above playing mind games with myself.

Since I've been pregnant, my shoes have received quite a bit of negative attention. Several coworkers are completely distraught that I am not wearing flats every day; even the lowest of heels is a source of distress for them. Strangers look at me, shake their heads and make comments like, "I don't know how you can wear those ... even if you weren't pregnant."

The comments get a little old at times, but I know that everyone means well, especially since I have a reputation for tripping and falling on a fairly regular basis. Oh, and just so you know, people are not reassured by a pregnant woman who says, "Well, the good thing about having a history of falling a lot is that you learn how to tuck and roll so you don't hurt yourself."

I truly appreciate the concern, but the comments and pleas are falling on deaf ears. Pregnancy shall not come between me and my heels. Motherhood, maybe, but not pregnancy. He hasn't said as much, but I'm sure Chip wouldn't be thrilled if I took a spill with our child in hand simply because I refused to stop wearing ridiculously high heels.

This weekend I hit Macy's to buy Chip even more navy and black dress socks. While there, I happened upon a pair of shoes I had to have. Never mind that the men's sock section is on the complete opposite side of the store as the women's shoe section. I'm telling you, I just happened upon them. Shoes in hand, I trotted my pleased pregnant self over to the register and plunked the shoe box on the counter. As the Macy's sales person started ringing up my purchase, she took one look at the pumps, glanced at me, raised an eyebrow and said, "Mmmhmm." First, I am confused.

Me: Too sparkly?

Mother Macy: (another raised eyebrow)

Me: The heel height? It's not that bad.

Mother Macy: Mmmhmm. (followed by a pointed look at my stomach)

Me: Oh, because I'm pregnant? It's okay, I always wear heels.

Mother Macy: Mmmhmm. I'm pretty sure that's what got you into this situation.

Me: (laugh) You think? Anyway, it's fine. I probably won't wear them until after the baby is here.

Mother Macy: Well, you better watch it, or you might just end up in the same situation again.

Gimme, gimme more

The birthday set is complete. Click here or go to the original post to view all the present-climbing and cake-destroying pictures you can handle.

Little chief squawks-a-lot

Brian and Sherri took Brennan to his first Kansas City Chiefs game this weekend. Thanks to our cousin Monica -- the lone Chiefs fan in the family -- Brennan was appropriately attired for the event. Word on the street is that Brennan liked all of the action, and was charming the pants off of their seatmates. I'm certain that involved a fair amount of squawking and nose crinkling. Well, that's what works on me, at least.

Click here for two more pics from the game.

The big one

It's hard to believe, but my sweet little nephew is one year old today. It's just like everyone says -- the time flies by. And that's just from an aunt's perspective. I can't imagine what it's been like for Sherri and Brian.

The Jones and Thole families celebrated the little lad's birthday last weekend, and Sherri and Brian have a small celebration planned for him today. As long as there's cake and something to climb, Brennan will be the consummate host.

There are - surprise! - many more photos to share, but I need to sort through them first. (Yes, Brian, your greatest fear has come true: Baby Lindh is already cutting into Brennan's time.)

Happy first birthday, B. It should come as no surprise that we all love you very much.

UPDATE: Being the CAD that I am, I worked tirelessly through the night to edit B's birthday photos. Click here for the full set.

Two whole years

Dear Husband,

Well, here we are. Two years into this marriage thing, and gosh darn it, I think it's going pretty well.

Sometimes I'm struck by how fortunate we are to have one another, and what great things life has brought us, both individually and together. Sometimes, I even go so far as to tell you how thankful I am to have you. And I mean it. (No, really. It's not just a ploy to get you to agree to whatever big-ticket purchase caught my eye that day.)

I know it seems like I can ask for a lot, but I couldn't ask for a better husband. Here's to many more years of wedded bliss.

Loves you,
The Wife

A house divided can stand

For those of you who don't know, Team Botanical is a house divided. Each time there's an election -- be it a primary or a big one like yesterday -- Chip and I make it a point to get to the polls. We both like to keep up on politics and current issues, but when it comes down to it, we're really just performing our civic duty so we can cancel out the other's vote. Yep, we're all about the big picture.

Nevertheless, when Chip and I do get into political discussions -- usually after I quote something from "that leftist rag," Time magazine -- we remain respectful of one another's views. The key, I think, is that I'm a Democrat (a "Fem Dem," according to Chip's dad) mostly for social reasons, and Chip is a Republican mostly for tax reasons. We're willing to see both sides of the picture, and as long as Chip agrees with me on certain social issues and I agree with him about certain monetary issues, we're all good. Right in the middle, we are.

So, all of this respectful talk aside, I have to tell you ... it feels really good to win one for once.