Baby Party - Oh how life has changed

Last year at this time we were enjoying our late 20's early 30's with backyard BBQ's that started at 9pm, lasting well into the next day. There was an occasional child here or there, but the "kids" were of the "furry variety" for most of us.

These are 3 of Matine's future boyfriends... She has wonderful prom date options!

Boy have times changed! It was a baby party this last weekend! Four new mama's hanging out, trying our darndest to NOT talk about babies the entire time, and showing off the cuteness of our new little friends.

The boys hung out around the grill while we sat in the living room, breastfeeding.

Soaking, Friends, and Baby Prep

Well, as you can see, I think I have finally "popped!" At 22.5 weeks it finally happened! Everyone said it would happen. I am now at 35 inches around! We feel like I literally woke up one morning with a belly. I am so happy. I still get some looks that feel like stares at my "beer gut" but at least to most I look pregnant now instead of "thick."
We went to the hardware store today and got paint for the baby's room. Joellyn is coming over on Wednesday to help me paint! My mother is recovering the Moses Basket that I slept in as a wee infant. I picked out some new fabric for it and can't wait to send that home for her to work on.
We picked out a jog stroller - my mother is insistent on getting us this useful item. We are requesting the Chariot Cougar - 2 seater (in anticipation of a sibling a few years down the road).

We signed up for our first baby class - it will be a 5 or 6 week Hypnobirthing class - deep breathing and relaxation. It will be taught here in Livingston and the great thing about a small town- ONE other couple and of course, we know them! Part of the joy of this baby is all the other friends that are due within the same 3 months as us. We already know how are kid will be friends with essentially - and we like their parents :)

A break down of the fertile town:
Leah and Russell - due yesterday - still pregnant
Madeleine and Mike - Due Jan 27
Emily and hubby - March sometime
Sally and Brian - due May 1
Us- May 4
Becca and Jeff - June

There are 4 other couples who just had babies these last few months - I think I need to invest in some sort of child service here in town.... hummmmm????? Any ideas?

My nesting is coming in waves - I just completed a 2 page "honey-do" list of things I want done before May (actually I want them done within the week, but I am trying to be reasonable and not act totally insane).

This is the fun fabric that will line my new moses basket! Much cuter in person even...

We have been very fortunate lately to get some catch up time with friends.
Saturday we spent the day with Madeleine, Mike and Logan - first coffee downtown, a little baby thrift store shopping and then a nice long evening soak at Chico Hotsprings and dinner at their yummy grill. Logan had never been in the hotsprings and until this day not really liked swimming all that much. Boy, has he changed his tune! He was a fish and hardly wanted to get out at the end of a 1.5 hour soak.

Madeleine is 8 months pregnant and due on the 27th - she and I LOVED the relaxation and felt like two rolly pollies in the water.
We also got to see my friends' Rachel and Kris from Great Falls! They were at Chico having an "adult weekend" sans kiddos and it was so great to see them after 5 years! Luckily, thanks to blogging, I (and probably you) know what goes on in their hilarious family through their blog. Can't wait to see them again soon!

Mike and Logan in the foggy hotsprings.

Logan literally LICKING up salt off the table... Sodium craving you think?

Madeleine looking cute and pregnant after our jumbo nachos and large pizza.

I also got to hang out with my friend Christina last night. Her mom is in town from South Carolina... We had yummy enchiladas and caught up on life. Christina slipped and fell on the treacherous ice in Livingston an is slowly nursing her butt back to health. While I was hanging with Christina, Pete went BACK to Chico for more soaking, this time with Mike Cox and his boys Brad and Caid. I think Pete is done soaking for a while... I however, am not. SICK of the cold and wind here in Livingston - YES I AM. Today we chased our trashcan and lawn furniture down the street before it hit a car- on ice!

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OH, and some of the biggest news . . . I am working on a Medical Transcription certification through Career Step. I will hopefully be a certified medical transcriptionist within 4-6 months and be closer to a viable career / work from home. I really want to be able to stay home with this baby, so for all you believers in speaking what you want into the Universe - that is what I want... I thought I should take a step in the right direction. So, during the days I will be doing training modules from the comfort of my own home (and bathrobe). It is a 640 hour curriculum... I am a fast learner - hopefully I will buzz right through and learn much more about anatomy, drugs and medical conditions.

For those not sure what this will mean - I will be transcribing Dr Notes / Charts. They see a patient, they take notes into a voice recorder, they are uploaded to the net, sent to me, I type them and upload them back to the patient's electronic files. I can work from home in the evenings, daytime, whenever I can. I work as much or as little as I want. There are many people who are able to do this full time and still make their kids lunches and pick them up from school - I am pumped! Think happy thoughts for my impending employment in 4-6 months :)

Job Perk

The obvious perks to Pete's job and my new line of work can often be obvious -- fishing, outside, Montana, mountains, sun . . . blah blah blah.

But the greatest moments are when he gets terrific clients that we truly enjoy getting to know. It's amazing the bonding that can go on with a fly rod in hand on a beautiful trout stream.

There have been a number or really special and interesting people Pete has met over the years - a few of whom are not not clients, but now dear friends. Jim and Jim are a good example - started out as fishing clients years ago and now talk to Pete every single morning- likely to be traveling buddies and soulmates until they can't lift a fly rod any longer. Jim Wofford even performed our nuptials.

We just got back from a very nice evening, sharing drinks with a lovely couple from New York. They too were married just last October, had great stories of love and family, and we felt honored to share some time with them- delving in a bit deeper into their journey together and to Montana. Peter and I have often driven home from dinner or drinks with people and seen things in them that we'd like to be or hold on to as we go through our lives. I hope we never stop admiring grace and love in other people. We can sure learn a lot through taking time to talk and listen.

Thanks Paul and Robin for a great night. Lots of love and happiness to you.

I'm not lazy, Just Busy

Since Jacqueline did such a great job re-capping our fabulous evening on her blog, I decided to just let you read about it there.

And, it saves me about 10 minutes of precious time that I need to brush my teeth and change my clothes before heading out for the very long day ahead.

Matt and Jeannette get married tonight! I have to do some work / landscaping at the Ranch, and I just got back from a nice morning run.

Thanks Jacq for being so cool and having such a fun blog to read....

Sporting Weekend - Part II

Don't you hate it when you type up a whole entire post and then it doesn't save and you lose it all? Well, here goes my second attempt at Part II of our weekend.
After leaving Cooke City at dark on Sunday night we rushed home, re-arranged the truck for fishing the next morning, changed our clothes and went to sleep with dreams of fishing the Missouri River.
We met our friend Billy in the Walmart parking lot at 6:30 am and chattered like little kids for our entire 2 hour drive about how great the fishing was going to be! Peter and Billy were glad that it was overcast, rainy and cloudy - better fishing. I was a bit skeptical and admit that I really like warm sunny days in a a boat as opposed to being cold and wet - but hey, that's just me!
It wasn't just a bit overcast - we had golf ball size snowflakes (literally) covering our windshield. The temperature gauge in the car held steady at 38 degrees, and the snow woudl occasionally stop only be be replaced by RAIN. It did this all day. Oh, I forgot the wind. That came along with the "fun on the river package" as well.


Despite the frigid temperatures, soaking wet hands, and convulsing shivers, it was a fun day of fishing. The big "hatch" that was hoped for never happened but we caught some great fish on streamers and buggers and went home still laughing.



It is amazing to be out on a river all day - especially one like the Missouri. It is quite beautiful. Canyons and rock walls, big corners, clear water, green grass and unique mountains all around you. We saw one other boat with two gentlemen. When we pulled under our "cave" in a rock wall to get out of the 30 degree blowing rain for a while, they had anchored up their boat and gone to the bar up the road from a take-out. I was secretly willing my fellow boat passengers into the warm bar too - I settled for the cave.

We fished from 10am to 6pm, still have our fingers, thawed our frozen bodies out and headed to Sir Scott's Oasis in Manhattan (MT not NYC) and met John and Joellyn for a nice dinner (a somewhat belated mothers day / john's b-day celebration).

IT was a great weekend! Skiing one day at 11,000 feet and fishing for big beautiful trout the next - IN MAY! Only in Paradise.