Update and New Baby Pic

So the good news is that Billy and Bob did go pay the back taxes and we have a closing date! Wahoo! Tuesday at 3:30! The bad news is that the trailer will be moved Wed. hopefully and won't be all set up for us to be in it by the time my next work shift rolls around. So there will be just one more week of sleeping at friend's houses or commuting. Now that I type that I think I can deal with it, but when I came home from this last week after getting little to no sleep in 3 nights the thought of another week like that seemed unbearable.

With all of this madness going on, we haven't taken any baby belly pictures lately. The time has just slipped us by and I realized it's been like 5 weeks since we last took or posted a picture. Now that I look at the pictures side by side I realize there's been quite the difference!

We were just treated to a DELISCIOUS lobster lunch at Jason's parent's house and his mom took this baby belly picture. This is 26 weeks. Enjoy!

Jason Redeemed

So Jason found out that this whole thing isn't actually all his fault. While he did neglect to see that the title search was done on time, this whole lien thing didn't even show up in the title search. That came back totally clean. The only way anyone found out about this is because our mortgage company called the town office to get the tax bill info as standard procedure to figure out all the final closing details. So Jason feels better, I don't have to try not to be really really angry, and our child still has a chance of entering the world with parents who love each other.

After much waiting it finally seems we have a solution. Guy who owes the taxes (we'll call him Billy) and guy who currently owns the land (we'll call him Bob) are going to pay the taxes. Bob was trying like mad to get a hold of Billy. Billy finally called back Bob and Billy is going to pay a litle more than half of the money and Bob and his realestated partner are going to split the remaning money. Billy and Bob are supposed to take care of this tomorrow. Then Bob is supposed to have the proof of that faxed to our mortgage company and we are supposed to close Tues. at 3:30pm.

Please pray that that happens! I don't know if I just love my husband more and more or if it can be attributed to pregnancy hormones, but I've been away from him since Wed morning and won't see him again until Sat. afternoon (because I'm staying with friends on my worknights) and there have been numerous times when I've fought back tears because I'm so sad, and I really don't want to do this again next week. If we close on Tues, I hope and pray that the trailer can be moved on Wed. and then I will sleep on a matress on the floor with my hubby even though there will be no electricity.

So that's that. I'll keep you updated!

Another Minor (Okay maybe major) hiccup...

Well, the plan was to close on everything on Wednesday and then have the trailer moved on Thursday, then get down to carpet, paint and electricity and have that all done by Wednesday when I go back to work.

Ummm, not so much. Shortly before we were supposed to close we got the news from our mortgage company that we could not close because the land we were trying to buy turned out not to have a clean title because there is a bank lien on it.

(Let me explain the madness...) We made the contract contingent on a clean title and the person selling it to us guaranteed it had a clean title. The person who owned it before apparently got into financial trouble, couldn't afford the land and so signed it over to the person selling it to us. Well, there were back taxes on the land that he had no paid and apparently he failed to mention that to the man he signed it over to and apparently that man failed to have a title search done. Apparently that's the way things are done in back woods Etna!

So our bum is covered because we made the contract contingent on a clean title right? Right...well not really. Because my wonderful husband went ahead and had our contractor do all the land work before the title search came back. (It was decided on between us that NO work would be started until that search came back clean and I voiced very strong concern and opinion on that so I'm trying not to hate him right now.) So yeah, we can always let go of the land but we've already done all this work and still need to pay the contractor.

Well, can you just pay the back taxes and get the lein released? you ask. Oh, that's a great idea! But, ummm NO. Here's why. This man owes back taxes on three pieces of property. The town of Etna decided to add up all the back taxes, combine them together and put one giant lein on ALL the properties.

Can't the town just split up the lein and allow you to pay the back taxes on your parcel so the deal can go through? Oh my gosh! That makes so much sense. But apparently no. The town of Etna is saying that they don' think it would be legal to do that and it would be really hard etc. etc. However, the town manager has agreed to try so between the man selling us the land and the town there are apparently like 4 lawyers working to split this lien up so that the man selling us the land can pay the back taxes and the deal can go through. But how long that will take? Who knows.

So that leaves us still on the lake which is nice, but I am no longer doing live in shifts at work so that means I either work 7am-9pm days while commuting 1 hr and 15 minutes each way or I pack a suitcase to house hop from friend to friend 4 days a week and don't get to see my husband ever. NOT happy!

So please pray that the town of Etna will QUICKLY figure out how to split this lien up, the taxes will get paid, we can set up a closing so that we can get the trailer to the land ASAP and I won't have to commute 2 1/2 hours a day on top of 14 hour work days and/or spend the better part of me weeks away from Jason for very much longer.

You Are Getting Very Sleepy

We had our second Hypnobirthing class. It was very cool. She did a hypnosis session on all of us and it was VERY cool.

So first of all, the thing to understand is that in hypnosis no one can make you do something that you don't want to do or that is against your morals or beliefs. You are completely in control. Those are just some common misconceptions.

At first it didn't seem to be working because she was guiding us into our subconcious mind but my consious mind was totally still in control because she was like "You will not be able to move your finger with your conscious mind." And I was all, "Yes I will be." And she was all "Go ahead and try to move your finger with your conscious mind." And then I would.

But as she guided us further into relaxation and relaxing every part of our body it was very neat. She guided us to imagine being wrapped in our favorite blanket and I could totally picture it and then she told us that we were feeling the warmth of that blanket and my body definitely got warmer. Then she told us that that warmth was turning into tingling relaxation and described how that tingling moved over our body. And I felt that tingling in a very real way. It was suprising to me that I felt it that strongly and it made me laugh almost in disbelief. The craziest thing was when she guided us to make our right hand go numb. I mean seriously people. My hand was NUMB. I could not feel the other finers touching eachother and then she had us reach up and touch our cheek with the numb hand it was insane! I mean my cheek could totally feel my hand touching it but my hand could not feel anything! Then she brought us out and asked us how long we had been in hypnosis. I was sure it had been just 10 minutes and said so. But in actuality it had been 30 minutes! Anyway. Very cool and further solidified my belief that this is THE way to go!

Update

So I got out of work yesterday and went by the land. A lot has been done. The pad where the trailer will go is made, a lot of the giant hole is filled in, the well septic and leach field are all done and they think they'll be finished in a few days! It's still quite rough but it's a lot easier to envision. The trailer should be moved there by beginning of the next week. Then we just have to hook up the oil tank and wait for someone to come hook up electricity.

Meanwhile I've actually been able to begin relaxing. One day I layed in the sun on the dock for an hour and other than that I've been reading and visiting friends and family and hanging out with Jason. I will enjoy it while it lasts as it is the calm before the storm of painting, moving, unpacking and organizing!

However, decorating (especially the baby's room) and organizing are my forte and they make me happy! So once we hit that stage I'll be in my element and I can already visualize when it is all done and I walk through each beautiful room and then plop down on the couch, tired but relaxed, take a deep breath and soak it all in! It will be grand!

Meat Wagon

Why my husband waited until Saturday to tell me this story I’ll never know because it’s hilariously unbelievable to me. I must share.

Saturday, after we moved and said good-bye and got all settled in at “camp”, we went out to dinner for a little belated anniversary celebration. (We found a trendy little tavern on Main St. in Waterville that served some out of the ordinary semi-gourmet dishes. It was fantabulous.) Anyhoo, as we were enjoying each other and the atmosphere, Jason busts outta nowhere and says, “Oh! I forgot to tell you what happened the Thursday!”

The following story ensued:

I was finishing packing up the house and this old Ford Ranger goes driving by. It had one of those GIANT chest freezers like strapped down in the bed of the truck and it was so big it was hanging out over the tailgate. Well, it drove up to the end of the road and turned around and came back by. It slowed down and stopped next to our house and then I saw that there was this homemade sign taped to the chest freezer that said something like “Joe’s Meat Company”. Anyway, a woman got out and walks over and starts trying to sell me meat out of this chest freezer strapped in the back of her Ford Ranger. She was all like “Hey we’ve got some great meat and it’s all a really good price. We’ve even got rib eye for like 3.99/lb. So do you want some?”

At this point I think I might have said something like, “Hey crazy meat lady. You’re crazy. Do you understand how sketchy it is to go door to door and try to sell meat out of the bed of your pick up? I’m sure there are regulations against that and you’re breaking some kind of food law. Please leave. You scare me.”

But my husband? No. Nope. He acted like this person was not crazy and gave a polite excuse about how we were moving and all of our kitchen stuff was packed and we wouldn’t have any way to cook meat right now!

Oh my gosh. It sounded like something out of the twilight zone that would only happen to my friend Amy L. (Come to think of it Amy, you are the only person that popped into my head that I thought might have ACTUALLY bought some of that sketchy, sketchy meat ;)

We're Outta Here

I'm sitting on my bare living room floor right now typing this post. Yesterday was our 5 year anniversary! We celebrated with me working 7am-11pm, coming home going immediately to sleep and waking at 6am to finish the last of the packing. Yippee!

The back of the semi that is parking in our driveway is packed to the hilt. We're loading up my car with the items we need to take with us and praying they all fit because it's raining and we cannot utilize the bed of Jason's truck as we had hoped. And there will still be a pile of stuff for J to take to my moms Monday morning before the closing! Joy. This is why I love moving SOOooo much!

Then we're off to the interim house on China Lake where I don't think we'll have internet for a while. The land should be ready for the trailer by Thursday if all goes as planned. Then it will probably be a few days and the trailer can be moved up. Then we'll have to get the oil tank and electricity hooked up. The electricity might take the longest but hopefully it'll go lickety split. Then we'll carpet and paint and move in. How long that whole process will all take is anyones guess, but I'm praying for a few weeks! How exciting to think we could be in our new place on our new land in a matter of two or three weeks!

Please pray for all to go smoothly and for few tears as I say goodbye to my home! :(

Hypnobirthing!

Yes that's right people, Hypnobirthing. We had our first class last Tuesday. The doula who teaches it reminds me of Rosie O'Donnell. (But not like the went all crazy Rosie O'Donnell. The cute, funny Rosie O'Donnell like when she used to host her talk show.) Check out her website at www.yourbirthconnection.com

Anyhoo, I'm super psyched about this whole hypnobirthing thing. Here's the premise. Women's body's are made to give birth. It is is natural, healthy and beautiful and a woman has all that she needs within in her to birth her own baby. The medical community treats moms like patients and birth like surgery or a major medical issue when it is not. The medical community also rushes births. Society has created fear surrounding birth. Fear leads to tension, tension leads to your muscles and body not working the way they need to and leads to pain.

So, you begin the classes sooner than regular birthing classes in order to reprogram and prepare your mind and body. Through hypnosis, deep relaxation and visualization, you reprogram your subconcious mind to believe all of the things you want for your birth which will allow it to physically happen. By the time you birth your child you are a pro and going into deep relaxation and using the techniques that you labor in this state. You aren't zoned out, you don't cluck like a chicken, you are present through the whole thing.

And man alive! You should see the women who have used this in labor. We watched videos. They look like they're taking a bubble bath or something. No moaning, yelling, screaming. Just breathing and relaxing. It's indescribable. I want THAT!

It may seem very new agey but I'm loving it! They have all these terms that they use instead of the medical model. Contractions, no uterine surges yes. Pushing no, breathing the baby down yes. Etc. Etc. (And I'm not frickin' kidding you, these women are not pushing in the typical way that you think of pushing, they are very much more breathing the baby down.)

Also, from this point on, I am only to think of and focus on what I WANT for my birth. I'm not to think about what I don't want and I'm not to listen to other's horrific birth experiences. So no more bad stories and all you skeptics out there...I don't want to hear it! I feel very fortunate that most of the birth experiences I've heard have been positive. My mother, my co-worker, and three of my friends have had all positive ALL NATURAL births with multiple children. So anyhoo. I'm very excited!

Now I will go listen to my birth affirmations, look at the picture of my baby perfectly positioned to come down through the birth path and envision it, and fall asleep to my hypnosis CD! :)

My Best Friends Wedding

So the last of my best friends got married this Saturday. It was AWESOME. Everything went off without a hitch. They are an amazing, Godly couple and we couldn't love her new hubby more! The family that she married into is also an amazing Godly family who adores her and that is such a blessing! I am praying for them to have a FABULOUS honeymoon! (I pretty much think I look ginormous and horrible in this picture as I have a hard time getting bigger and I had to wear a different dress than all the others but it wasn't about me, it was about her and that's what I kept telling myself.)We were down there for Fri, Sat, and then left Sun Morning. We stopped at the Carters outlet in Freeport on the way back through where I had an infinitely hard time deciding what to buy because I wanted it all! But I went practical and bought a few items that I could not find to register for. I got two gender neutral gowns that have the built in mitties. (built in mitties I could not find on anything that I registed for!) And I also got a ULTRA soft sleep sac that has polka dots on it and is adorable!

My last days of packing are today and tomorrow then I'm off to work for Wed, Thurs, Friday and Jason says he'll have the house all packed up by the time I get home late Fri. night! Saturday morning we'll say goodbye to the house and head out to stay at the camp on the lake until our new place is ready. It really has all happened so fast. It still hasn't hit me!