Getting Impatient

To avoid going into labor, Dr's orders: No strenuous excercise, no heavy lifting, drink plenty of water, blah, blah, blah
My plan: go on long walks, add some squats if I think I can get back up; do irrational amounts of cleaning including blinds, ceiling fans, mattress flipping, behind fridge and baseboard scrubbing.

I don't think the doctor understands that at this point I WANT to go into labor. Hasn't she ever heard of reverse psychology?

Children As Self-Esteem Boosters

Sophie was laying down next to me last night feeling the baby kicking. She felt a particulary soft part of my stomach (thanks twins...) and said, "Ooh, squishy!"

I wacked her hand away and in my most menacing voice told her, "Don't ever say that again!"

She resumed and ammended her previous observation, "How incredibly hard and firm!" at which I rolled my eyes and made a face.

"You know," I told her, "If you think that's squishy, you should wait till after the baby is born. It's like bread dough after you punch it down."

"Ooh! Can I bury my fist in it?"

"Uh, no. Not unless you want to get kicked out of the house forever." (and I might have just enough vanity to carry that threat out)

Janelle, who witnessed the whole conversation, chimed in thoughtfully, "Yeah, I think it's worth it."

Overheard

Janelle: Brooke, we hit the jackpot on laundry today!!!
Brooke: What do you mean?
Janelle: Mom just did a bunch of laundry and there's tons of jeans and shirts and we can wear underwear without holes in them...

8 months down - 1 (hopefully a little less) to go!

These may be the last two pregnancy pictures, depending on how far into this last month I make it...This baby can't get too much bigger though. I'm starting to look cartoonish:

7 months

8 months

As evidenced by month 8, black is not always slimming.
(first 6 months)

The Princess and the Pea

I didn't get great pictures of it, but the girls had an opportunity to be in a play (loosely) based on the story "The Princess and the Pea". It was a good experience for them, and while it was intense with scheduling, it was a short-term commitment (6 days from auditions to performance!). The Missoula Children's Theater put it on, and a friend was in charge of hiring them to run it so she let me know about it. A few pictures from the experience:

Todd R. Bevans: Attorney at Law

Week one of the switch in careers has passed, and while we've made great progress on getting the office ready, we haven't had a steady stream of clients to appreciate our efforts. I guess it's a little early to expect much, but suffice it to say that my extreme enthusiasm might've freaked out the kid who walked in to drop off a phone book.

Here are some pictures of our new digs (and possibly our future home if this thing doesn't start working out fast!):

Todd and Claire out front by our temporary sign

Front door

Todd's office - hopefully those client chairs will see some wear here soon...The front lobby. Found chairs at Goodwill for $10!

Claire "helping" to paint. I gave her a little watercolor brush and told her to get all the little dots we missed.

We had a sweet friend drop by flowers on our first day. We hope to have a case before the last petal falls


Shar cleaning the toilet in the bathroom while I watch, enjoying the fact that someone else is cleaning the toilet in the bathroom. What a great friend! I haven't got a picture of Maria helping us paint or Amanda watching Claire all day and making us dinner, but their help was invaluable as well.

Todd thinking (Michael Scott style): "The cup pretty much says it all."