Let It Snow...No More!

Just thought I would give you a glimpse into our winter wonderland! Remember to say a quick prayer for all of those people who have to work out in it to keep our power on and roads clear!!Andy's refusal to get rid of his Blazer comes in handy sometimes!!

Andy chaining up the cars...I plan to not leave the driveway until there it is about 50 degrees outside and the snow and ice are back in Alaska where they belong...so the chains were helpful for me to get back into the garage with! :)

A boxwood covered with ice

Merry Christmas to all of you!!
I hope that you enjoy a warm and peaceful day, and that God's Blessings are all around!

Two Months to Go!

Well folks, I would say the countdown has officially begun, atleast around here it has. Eight weeks from tomorrow (Monday, Dec. 22nd), "Tiny" as we refer to him as, should hopefully (knock on wood that he doesn't camp out another 2 weeks) show up! We have emergency phone numbers together, the nursery 98% done, birthing classes completed (how come nobody makes you watch those horrible videos BEFORE you decided to enter the world of parenthood???) and Andy is chomping at the bit to pack our hospital bags...not to mention nagging me almost hourly to have good posture so that the kid isn't breach (he apparently read that somewhere and it stuck...shoot, I better quit slouching while I type this).

Views of the nursery...

I plan to put block letters of his name above the crib...

if we ever decide on a name that is!!

Needless to say, we can't wait to meet our little guy, and officially start our little family of 3!! (Plus, it's getting tough to put on my socks and tie my shoes!!)

Preggo Update

Since this blog is supposed to be about my adventures in pregnancy, I thought I would give you an update! As of Sunday, November 31st, I am 28 weeks along. I can't believe I am already that far, it is amazing how fast it has gone, and insanely terrifying!! Although I am still a little in denial, I think I am definitely officially "showing", but, thanks to the amazing invention of rubberbands, I can still wear one pair of pre-preggo jeans! He (sorry no names yet!) is rather rambunctious, making me think I have a true mini-Andy on my hands...no chuckling Nancy & Joan!

Yesterday (Thursday) I had another prenatal appointment, and it just happened to be the one where I had to drink the glucose stuff (it tasted like a combo between flat Sprite and a really sugary snow cone...gross!) to find out if I had gestational diabetes. And, an hour and one finger prick later, I didn't pass the test!! So, this morning at 7:30am, Andy (my moral support) and I (and one hungry stomach) drove over to the hospital and made ourselves at home for 1 more yummy glucose drink and a series of 4 blood draws over 3 hours to find out if I really had gestational diabetes. Luckily, we didn't have to stay at the hospital in between blood draws, so we drove up to my office to check in, went and saw Andy's sister Kelly for a little while, and poked around Silverton to kill time. And, I am happy to report that my test results were normal, and I am diabetes free! Yahoo!! What a HUGE relief!!

Tonight and tomorrow we have our child birth classes...

don't worry, I promise to fill you in on all the scary details!

Have a great weekend!

Slow & Steady Wins the Race!

ANLI Ornamentals has made it's first sale!! Incase you didn't know, ANLI Ornamentals is the name of our little nursery that consists of 99.9% expenses and now, .01% income! I know it will be a long road ahead making those percentages switch, but for now, we'll take what we can get! In all honesty though, most of the credit goes to Andy, since it is he who does most of the actual physical labor, I just mostly provide the food to keep him working!

Good work Andy!

How to Carve a Giant Pumpkin!

Haven't you always wondered how to carve a pumpkin that weights 200+ pounds?

Well, wonder no more!

My dad got 1, single, solitary seed for a gianormous pumpkin plant, which he lovingly watered and fertilized (and probably fed beer and wine to) all summer long, producing 4 pumpkins, too heavy to even roll. A pallet and tractor later, they wound up in my parent's front yard, just waiting for someone to come and carve them. So, on October 31st, we set out to carve them. And carve we did...with a small chain saw, and thanks to DeWalt's lovely invention, we also employeed a "sawsall".

And there you have it...a pictoral lesson on how to carve pumpkins so mighty that even when carved, hollowed out, and degutted, Andy and my dad could barely lift them ...

(thus the hand cart).

And, my appologies for being so delinquent in posting...I was in Kansas City over the weekend, enjoying the 75 degree weather, but learning to appreciate the beauty of Oregon's multi-leveled landscape...man that place is flat!!Until next time, Happy November!

So Long Chateau...

Some of you may know, that my goal (crazy or not) is to have the nursery completely done by Thanksgiving. My thought process being that Thanksgiving and Christmas are basically one giant blur, and that by the time January 1 rolls around, February 22nd will practically be here, and I will probably be big as a house! So, on Saturday, Andy and I started in...

Currently, well, until last friday, our guest bedroom was lovingly referred to as "The Chateau", our own little guest oasis for the many folks that travel great distances to be entertained and to relax on the Schaecher Estate. Okay, maybe that is a bit of an exageration, because really, it was just our friends Katie & Cameron that would come from Portland for long weekends of The Office marathons, french toast, and costco trips, and trust me, this place is pretty far from what I would consider an "estate"! Anyway, back to the story. But, our most heartfelt appologies to K&C, your oasis has been moved upstairs to the lodge.

So, on Saturday, Andy and I dismantled The Chateau, and prepared for what would be 7 long, knee torturing, brain taxing hours of putting together 4 pieces of baby furniture.

Victory!! Well...over the first 2 of 4 pieces!!






Now isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen??

So, at about 8:30 Saturday night, we finished!! I can't say we were both happy campers, but at least we were done! Our next step in this glorious process is to refinish a rocking chair...well, I say "our", really it is Andy's, as he has refused to let me come within 25 feet of anything that may or may not be malodorous....I'll keep you posted on that project as well, as it is sure to produce some great pictures, probably primarily of Andy's growling face :)

Until next time!

Liz

Thanks For Stopping!

Hello Blogland!

At the urging of my inner-nag, I have decided to start a blog to keep our family and friends up-to-date on the goings on of the Schaecher Household, and the activities surrounding the anticipated arrival of Andy Junior (don't get excited now, we aren't naming him Andy...)! Hopefully I will be on top of things enough to keep this regularly updated, but if I don't, kindly give me a kick in the rear so I don't become one of those annoying bloggers who never updates and then wonders "why doesn't anyone read my blog?".

At any rate, thanks for stopping by, come again soon!

Liz