29 weeks

There is a very good reason why the blog has not yet been updated. Who really cares? Well, I’ll have to say once you embark on a remodeling project, much is put to the wayside. Blogs, cleaning and cooking are a few things that instantly come to mind…but I’m sure I’m missing a bunch of important daily routine tasks that fail to exist when you don’t have a kitchen or dining room. Everything from those rooms are now located in our very dusty basement or in our overcrowded upstairs bedrooms. No rhyme or reason was used in storing these items, so I’ll admit I just don’t think of the things that are out of sight.

Good reason not to blog!? I’ve been feeling guilty so I’m going to post a few photos baby bartz. While visiting the doc last week, I mentioned I wasn’t feeling much movement (or compared to all of my pregnant friends) so I was lucky enough (being an optimist) to have the chance to get another 4D ultrasound. Everything turned out perfectly fine, Baby Bartz passed with flying colors. There was a thought I may have a little too much amniotic fluid, but just turns out I'm just on the high end of normal. This thought suggests I can't feel every movement baby makes. Oh well!

Of course I’m bias, but what a cutie pie all snuggled up in there! Enjoy the photos (I tried my hardest to scan them in...and I did...it just didn't work too well) and we’ll try to keep up on this better….
If Kel just could do more than four things at once….

Nesting????

Go Team Bartz!!!!! The baby is also wearing a respirator, don't worry!

The desire to get rid of the cream carpet in our living and dining room was overwhelming last Thursday evening. Kelly and I didn't have time to really think out what we may be living in for the next three months once we began pulling up the carpet. One might say we were blinded from the workload by the solid oak flooring we saw hiding under the layers of carpet, pad, cork, tarpaper, and endless amounts of glue. Not knowing the condition of the floors, we continued to keep our hopes high and pull, scrape, grind, and bust our butts all weekend long. Spotless oak floors were found and we couldn't be happier. I can't take much credit for scraping, but I was here sweeping and dragging cork, tar, and glue away from the work area. Because I was somewhat left out of the floor project weekend (it ended up turning into a 'dude festival'), I chose to begin my own very important task. Like it wasn't enough we currently had three other projects in progress, I decided to add another to the list and rid our kitchen of the lovely hunter green ivy wallpaper we've been living with since we moved here. I'm sure in 1982 the choice was perfect, but times have changed and hunter green and ivy are no longer 'cool'. BUT i obviously had NO idea the can of worms I was opening, even though Kel's momma had just done the same thing to her kitchen and warned me over and over again. Some call it 'stubborn', I call it learning through doing it yourself. Plus, there is really no way around removing the wallpaper if we want to get down to bare walls. Timing is the problem here. Our plan for quite some time has been to remodel our kitchen, but we've now added a few other projects on the way. Living in our bedroom is not too bad, small, but it's the only somewhat clean and cozy environment left. The goal is to have our home back by June...???!!! Is this too much to ask? My sister thought this was an over the top form of nesting, I'll go with that!

I'll leave you with the stunning photos of the new floors that Kelly has revealed through an entire day of sanding. Tomorrow he will lightly stain and poly coat them...which again I'll be out and about for the sake of the little tyke!

The project's beginning!

Old cream carpet, the carpet pad, cork underlayment, tarpaper under that followed by black glue! We were not as ambitious right away, thinking if we discovered poor flooring underneath we would keep the living room carpet and redo the dining room with some type of flooring.

Dustin was so kind to donate hands and knee time to scrape the glue off. Eventually a neighbor came over and told us about the Rip R Stripper, a powered floor stripper which Kelly is using in the photo to the right. Kelly's boss, Tony, also helped in the work while Brenda, Coco, and I hung out on our deck.

The floors after one weekend of power and hand stripping. The next step is to sand and poly. We were not sure if we'd hire a professional or if Kelly would take this on....but after the quote...we were left with little option other than to do it ourselves.

Beautiful white oak floors . . . our final destination! Thanks for everyone that helped along the way!

And for all who care to see the belly and button grow!

Helloo...Baby Blog

So anyway, baby's fine in case you were wondering. Not that everyone who checks this was wondering how we fared in the blizzard of '07, or as I like to call it: Normal, but I thought i'd put in a little ditty about our unborn child. Court is sitting at a even 24 weeks (and counting), feeling a little sick right now but baby Bartz is feisty. We sit on the couch with my hand on her belly and the little one practices their best Bruce Lee "Enter the Dragon" technique. I havn't contemplated the destiny of our child but I would be alright with a karate grand master (if that is an actual karate title I have no idea but it sounds very official....and very karate). They don't really have the history to fall into the karate profession, though I must say I did stay in my karate class long enough to break a board with my foot. I had the official outfit that I was ever so proud of with a gleaming white belt. For all of you creating this mental image I was 7, this was not a college elective or anything.

Okay, back on task. I think the babe has been usurping a bit more energy from the host than it used to. Court has been getting tired lately and the walks wear her out more than normal. I'm sure most can relate to Court insatiable walking, running, moving appetite and so this is a noticeable change. In response, I have been diligently posting up on the couch to make Court not feel bad or lazy, this is what makes us a team. We go in next Thursday for the next check-up and it seems everything is going smoothly. We are starting to discuss our "birthing environment" lately which brings up a lot more questions than I realized. There are some pretty important decisions we need to make and my roll as a wide-eyed ineffective coach (e.g. Minnesota Vikings) is going to change to one of a wide-eyed useful cheerleader. I intend to learn more so I can be an advocate in the heat of the moment for my wife and I am becoming more comfortable with notion of confronting doctors/nurses and am ready to use any or all of the afore mentioned karate techniques... if necessary, because grand masters only use force when necessary. WWCND

Parting thoughts:

Hope all is well and I heard this quote at the end of a movie I would like to share with you all to show my sentiment of recent local politics and, of course, the ongoing international stage.

"Politicians are like diapers; they should be changed frequently and for the same reason."

My Sunshine Sick Day

Ahhhhh, look at this day! Sunshine, blue sky, and snow. For all that know me, ya'll know I'm being tortured right now.
I've been so very lucky this entire fall/winter season dodging the 'illness' bullet. However, yesterday morning I awoke to a scratchy throat and a nose stuffed with boogs. Sorry for the details, but I'm sharing it because it truly caught me off gaurd. Call it karma, but the day before I was bragging to someone how my immune system was made of gold and I was above getting sick. I suppose, though, spending everyday with two little dudes in my face and one with a runny faucet for a nose, I am bound to catch something sooner or later. Today is my day to recover. Today is my 'sick day' to mend the sore throat and feel better. Although I'll admit I am itching to get outside in the beautiful sunshine Duluth is sporting today. Yesterday we had a blustery snow day and today is quite the opposite, lending this town to natural beauty full of snow and sunshine. If I had it my way I'd be cross-country skiing, but can't do that on a 'sick day', can I?

Kel and I forgot to mention Eddy's ailments this past month. Our pooch went 'under the knife' February 16th to curb her progressing left shoulder limp. The vet told us she had major inflammation in her shoulder joint which connects to her bicep muscle. Synovial tendonitis can become a debilitating disease if not cared for properly. An injection of corticosteroids provides the quickest symptomatic relief. About 50 ml- 100 ml of cortisone went directly into her shoulder joint. Most dogs who suffer from this are retrievers who chase balls, go figure. The motion of running as hard as you can and sliding to a screeching halt wears and tears on the shoulder area. Yes, this makes a lot of sense! The great news is surgery has been successful thus far. Ask Eddy and I bet you'll hear a different tune, but the time really went fast. Poor girl had to stay inside ALL day and ALL night, no exercise for a month. Mom (me) weakened this past Tuesday and walked her..a few days early..as it was about 60 degrees and sunny...AND still light outside after 6pm. So far she's had two on-leash walks and has loved it. Part of me wanted to remove the leash and just let her run, but then the month would be wasted and that would be naughty and irresponsible of me. I will say this much, a walk/run/hike without watching Eddy bound through the forest is just not the same. I've never appreciated my four-legged canine companion as much as I did on Wednesday on our walk through Chester Park. I'm so glad she's back and gonna be fine!

These photos show scenes from Blizzard 2007. Our car was almost covered from all the snow. Grand totals were around 39". The streets were all just as full of snow.

In the Belly of the Beast..or.. What's she buiding in there?

Today was the big ultrasound/checkout the baby move around/ be amazed by technology/ flip out at the reality of the child in CJ's belly day. It went well. The play by play went as follows: Got to sleep in a bit, got up and had a great b-fast (oatmeal, smoothie, coffee for me) headed to the hospital and court peed in a cup. Gripping, I know.


When we went into the sonographer's office she didn't waist any time. Court had her pants at her knees faster than a dress is off on prom night (an apt simile I feel). The goo was applied and the machine was doing its thing in a matter of minutes. It didn't take time to find the babe but it was a challenge keeping up with it. Apparently, we have a feisty little one agrowin' in her belly. The ultrasound showed a little person this time. We saw fingers, toes, a face, then she focused in and we saw bones, where the stomach is, a brain! Our little baby has a brain! It was amazing.






OK, pretty cool, like the first time we saw the babe but much more defined much more of a little person in there. Personally, I would have come home elated and all excited about the pics like this one to show. But it didn't stop there. Technology played its card today and we got to see the 4D image of the short-round.


That technology is frickin' crazy, it actually gives your baby a face and personality.... well 50% of each anyway since its got that much more time to cook before its done. NOTE: I am reffering to our unborn child as "it" not because I cannot to relate to them as a person, but because we didn't find out the gender today. We're going to leave that surprise for the unveiling day, kind of like Christmas without digging in the closet to find your presents.


Here are some of those 4D shots






















Crazy huh, personally, I think this one looks like Han Solo frozen in carbonite in Jabba's Lair.





Pretty much a fact that Court actually has a baby in there and is not sneaking McD's when I'm sleeping. We are pretty excited about this whole thing. Court is doing great, feeling good ready to take care of the little chitlin and for it to be in her arms. She'll have to settle for the belly for a while longer (I don't think it is that bad of a sacrifice). She's been feeling the little one move around quite a bit and a few nights ago I too felt a flutter. It's great to have a visual of what is moving around in there.

How about another pic, they're too fun.



Now you can all put a face to the belly from the previous posts. Well there you have it everyone BabyBartz in person... or 50% in person, anyway. We will keep you posted as the babe grows.

The Crib and I

Ahhh.... the holiday of the heart, Valentine's day. Many couples spend today buying trinkets, flowers and candy to show their love and loyalty to each other. A nobel purpose for a holiday; no real socially imbedded traditions or politically controversial baggage. Just a reminder of the daily appreciation you have for your significant other. Cute.

Court and I spent the day waking in lovely Bismark, ND to a balmy -20 degrees. It was the last stretch of our trip to see Timm & Sarah in Bozeman. Driving home, we could not have been closer to each other for the entire day unless we stayed in bed. It was a long drive but good company makes the time go by fast (however, it does not make the butt feel any less numb).
The Bozeman trip was fantastic. We loved the town and it seems like T & S have a good thing going out there. Timm and I got a couple of good riding days in @ Moonlight Basin on the backside of Big Sky. A hidden gem of a resort where the snow is good and the lines are short. We were lucky enough to get 8" of fresh snow over Sunday night and it continued to snow all day. All totaled I think it was around 14" of fresh powder, or as some say: heaven. The big deal of the trip was our wedding gift from the AngstFord's. Sarah gave us an original print, "Timber Frear" named after a trip we did with them last summer. The photos do not do it justice but here is a little teaser of the print;

www.sarahangst.com

Ya'll will have to come and see it on our mantle. Eddy is getting a little bit of an ego being a model and all, she won't let us hear the end of it. We love it thanks Sarah and Timm.

Enough about us babybartz is the real star here. The babe is growing nicely and begging to give Court a little belly action in the evenings. We are excited about the 22nd where we do the big ultrasound to see the little one. Court is finding the bathroom and the ice cream a little more often and baby things are starting to accumulate. In our stark, soon to be filled, nursury there is an ominous presence of "the crib". My days are fairly regular and uneventful when I pass the partially opened door to the nursury and see the crib staring back at me. I am truly excited to become a father, but between you and me, that crib, sitting quietly in the corner is definately a premonition of what is to come. I don't want to compare it to the clown doll in Poltergeist but you get my drift.

I am excited about the babe and all of the acutraments that go along with it. The crib was a big one, and the reality is now moving in and setting up shop.

The Belly is ever growing and court is begging to move into the maternity outfits to cover the belly in the sub-zero temps. Personally, I like it when the belly peeks out under her shirt, but it is cold and its not my belly. We hope you all find yourself well and we will keep you posted. The parting shot:

I Popped!

Kelly playing sand volleyball with the locals

Sorry again it's been so long. We really have been busy, Kel with work and me with school, and both of us with vacationing.

We had another appointment to check on the baby, which is doing great thus far. My next appointment is the 'big' one, the 4D imaging ultrasound late February. My stomach has officially popped and my pants are officially tight. Today I went to the 'maternity shop' and found another pair of pants to wear. (I had one pair of early maternity pants from my thoughtful Di Di). Another exciting event...I have finally started to feel baby movement. Yesterday I was driving home to Duluth from class in Saint Paul, singing and dancing to Bruce Springsteen's folk album, and the baby started to dance along the inside of my belly! :) Apparently our baby takes after it's papa and obviously has an appreciation for good music!

The past three weeks Kelly has traveled extensively around the midwest (Iowa for four days and Chicago for five). He also had been requested to make a 'spur-of-the-moment' presentation for a very important skatepark prospect in MEXICO. Although Kel didn't WANT to go, he felt it would be somewhat rude to turn down the invitation and opportunity. (I'm being somewhat sarcastic here!) I thought it sounded like a dream come true, I would've gone if I were him, and quickly it became my reality TOO! Kelly called me immediately after the invitation from his rep in Mexico and asked if I could take a few days off of work. Fortunately, I have a pretty flexible and compassionate boss, so Kel and I were able to make it happen.

Kel left Tuesday, January 23, for a tradeshow in Chicago. The plan was to meet up in Minneapolis late Saturday night and we would fly out 4 a.m. Sunday to Manzanillo, Mexico. I know, the meeting just happened to be on the coast, in beautiful and sunny Manzanillo, Mexico. Truly we lead a rough life, don't we???? However, I was very ready to feel the warmth of the sun, play in the ocean, and eat all of the delicious Mexican food I could.

While Kel was at his trade show, I packed us up for this meeting/vacation. We were prepared to travel all day, get picked up by a taxi cab, shuttled to a futbol game to meet up with the interested party, and then go out to dinner where Kel would present the information to these guys. Usually I am not much of a planner, but my husband reminded me that the passport law had changed and since my last name is now Bartz and I should be prepared to show a marriage license. Smarty pants! I packed that in my carry-on (backpack), along with a change of clothes for when I arrived in Mexico. When we left Minnesota, it was -10 degrees. We knew it was going to be close to +90 degrees when we arrived to Mexico, so I also packed a change of clothes with sandals and my marriage license in the backpack. The rest of our luggage (including all of the presentation materials) were checked cargo.

Our first flight left at 4 ish (in the morning) and got into Phoenix at 7 ish. Both Kelly and I fell asleep on this flight and were woken up by the flight attendant when we landed. We got off quickly and went to find our next departure gate to Los Angeles. This flight was postponed, so we sat down and rested. Suddenly Kelly looked at me and asked me where the backpack was. Ummmm, I looked all around and then remembered I didn't remember it in the overhead compartment. SHIT! Someone told me about this 'mooshy brain/mommy brain' thing a while back, could it really be happening???? I'll use it for this one...I would never admit this is the real me! I ran to the help desk to have the lady call back to the gate to find the backpack, but our previous aircraft JUST departed five minutes ago to Charlotte. Now this is what I don't understand, because I too thought it procedural to go through the plane and clean it out before every flight, but this unhelpful lady said they didn't have to and the backpack was NO longer in Phoenix. This trip was off to an interesting start. At LEAST I had my suitcase full of summer clothes to change into when we arrived, since I had dressed myself in my ski pants, wool sweater, and boots to travel down south. (Hey, it was cold outside in MN!)

We finally arrived in Manzanillo with a few near misses of flights, but after much traveling we were quickly smiling in the beautiful sunshine of Mexico. We made it through customs and then went to pick up our luggage. We waited and waited....and waited some more. I was getting very warm in my boots and 'sweats', Kel was also really hot, anticipating the moment to feel the warm air on our skin in our shorts and t-shirts. BUT to our good fortune, our luggage never showed up. The lovely Alaska Airlines attendant, Adriana, called up to California Alaska Airlines and found them for us. Good News! The bad news was there was not a flight coming into Mazanillo until Tuesday NIGHT, it was only Sunday afternoon...we left Wednesday evening. Fortunately, Adriana let me know the airline would reinburse us both up to $75.00 so we were to get suimsuits and more comfortable attire. BUT we were currently in a hurry and shopping would not happen until Monday. I was going to have to suck it up and smile in my warm duds.

Our cab was patiently waiting for us throughout this situation (about an hour) which made us incredibly late to the futbol game. Ooopsy. We showed up with NOTHING but my purse and our winter gear. Actually, Kel dressed in nice Khakis and a short-sleeve button up just to be ready for action when we arrived. Me, I didn't. At that point I wished I had too!

But you know what, I was in Mexico. Did I really have any right to complain? I just sat back in the rickety nissan sentra and enjoyed the warm humid air on my face... and after a very adventurous (aka scary) drive to the game, we met up with the business men. We all went to dinner at this incredible restaurant on the shore of the ocean. We were told by Jerry (the rep from Mexico who set up this meeting with the 'money' for the operation) that we would absolutely love these guys and Mexicans are very social when it comes to business. They have to like you to spend money. Most of these men owned resorts, owned futbol (soccer) teams, etc. They too could sure eat, drink, and party like no other! Jerry had brought some TrueRide samples so Kel could still hold a presentation, the men LOVED Kelly (of course!), and the food and company was amazing! Although I was very HOT, the experience was wonderful and I had a blast.

The next days we enjoyed each other and played in the ocean until we left! Now, I HAVE to apologize for these photos because the swimsuit IS a size small. My boobs are size enormous. You get the point! The funny thing is, I fit in with most women on the beach. Ughh! Still the photos aren't put on here to offend, but to show the growth of baby Bartz....I am still embarassed and don't mean to put any of you off! Truly, choices were few and far between for swimmy suits..and there was NO maternity section at the fashion shop at Club Maeva!