Sabrina’s newest word is “no” said in a very cute little voice.  She knows what it means when we tell her no but she doesn’t seem to completely grasp what it means when she says it.

This morning at breakfast

Me:  Do you want a banana for breakfast?

Sabrina:  No!  (Then begins furiously signing for banana.)

Me:   Are you done with your milk?

Sabrina:  No!

Me:  Okay, drink your milk.

Sabrina:  No!

Ahhh…the joys of having no one but an 18 month old to talk to in the morning.

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Had dinner with my some of my lovely local blogger friends again last night (the last 2 being new faces which were a pleasure to meet).  I just love that Mrs. Fussypants pulls us together for these dinners – and I hate that she will be moving away from us soon.  Whatever region gets her – the bloggers are lucky!

I was gone for a couple of hours and upon my return, Steve asked what we talked about for all of that time.  So I told him:  blogging, ads on blogs, the Johnson & Johnson and Disney brau-ha-has, mean comments, spam, the correct way to load a dishwasher (yes mom, I still have a scar from that knife and I showed it off – knives should be pointed down), polishing silver, how to fit 5 children and multiple car/booster seats in 1 vehicle without  buying a 12 passenger van, pregnancy (4 of the 5 of us are in various states of being knocked up), Doc Crazy, Catholics and birth control (or not), in laws, mothers, schools, homeschooling, etc.   His eyes started to glaze over quickly so I spared him the 327 other topics we touched on.

Okay…I heard you all loud and clear.  I need to shut up and pull over when I see a funeral procession.  I need my North to South handbook some days.  Things I’ve learned so far:

1.  Meat & 3 = some sort of cured, fried, or baked meat with 3 veggies (veggies meaning mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon, corn, applesauce, etc).

2.  Women are expected to look well groomed at all times in public.  This includes lipgloss or lipstick.  Men are considered well groomed if they are wearing a shirt.

3.  Shorts are for the beach or the back yard not the grocery store even when it is 106 degrees.

4.  The threat of snow is enough to close schools.

5.  Turn signals are for uptight Northerners.

6.  The standard ‘slower traffic keep right’ rule doesn’t apply here.

7.  When ordering iced tea, you must be very clear on wanting it ‘unsweet’.

8.  “Bless your heart” isn’t always meant as a nice thing.  Sometimes it means the person thinks you are dumb as a stump or incredibly rude but they are too polite to say so.

9.  Church is serious business down here.  There are many.  They are large.  And they are so well attended that many require police men to direct traffic before and after services.

10.  People don’t complain about the heat until the asphalt has reached an almost liquid consistency but they will complain about the cold once it dips below 50.

Just so we are clear, I ignore much of what I have learned but I will pull over for funeral processions if that is how people show their respect here.

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Now a little weekend cuteness.  Sabrina received this caterpillar from Aunt Rusty and Uncle Mike for Christmas.  She was a little small for it then.  We brought it back out and she is still a bit on the small side but has discovered it has a much better use than riding.

Running into and over the puppy.

My sister in law (SIL) and I were driving on a 2 lane road in a smallish ‘burb.  I’m gabbing (seriously didn’t stop talking the entire time she was here – poor woman shouldn’t visit a mommy starved for grown up conversation with someone other than hubby) and suddenly the car in front of me brakes and pulls to the side.  It was so sudden and unexpected that I came close to hitting him.  I refrained from honking but gave him a rather dirty look and went around him.  Then my SIL and I noticed that everyone ahead of us on both sides of the road were pulled over.  There was a funeral procession of cars coming on the other side of the road.  Peer pressure made me pull to the side as well.

My confusion was this:  we don’t do that in the north.  We don’t pass a funeral procession or break into it but the cars don’t stop and pull over as if it is an ambulance.  Funeral processions can run red lights and stop signs and traffic yields to it out of respect but no one pulls over.

So tell me dear readers – is this a southern thing?  Or was it a local thing?  I found it rather bizarre but I don’t want to be the rude Northerner flipping off the funeral procession (I kid…I didn’t flip anyone off…that time).  Who says blogging is a waste of time?  I’m educating myself here.

For those wondering about Miss Sabrina’s super cute apple sleeper – it is from Baby Gap.  I went to Baby Gap yesterday, armed with a Christmas gift card, to buy some new sleepers since she suddenly has out grown all of her sleepers (how does that happen in a week?).  I was shocked that a $50 gift card purchased 3 sleepers (2 of them were even on sale) and I still had to kick in $4.50 out of my pocket.  Very thankful for the gift card but I won’t be purchasing her future sleep wear there for those prices.  I must admit they fit great, are the perfect weight for her to be warm but not sweating, and wash really nicely.

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Several posts ago, some of you asked about my orange purse.  Sorry to say it isn’t made any longer.  It is a Dooney & Bourke from several years ago (purchased on a whim when we had 2 incomes and no children – kind of a last hurrah before the adoption started).  I’ve browsed D&B purses in the last few years and they don’t make anything quite like it now.  Perhaps again someday – maybe check out e-bay.

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I am continually amazed at how this pregnancy has effected me.  My emotions run to such extremes these days.  If I find something funny, I laugh until tears are running down my face.  If I find something frustrating, I end up sobbing.

I’ve made the decision to break up with my crazy doctor.  I won’t go into all of the reasons – let’s just say there are plenty which I haven’t even shared here.  I spent the morning trying to find another MFM who is part of my insurance network and less than 30 miles from my home.  HA!  (M – the name you so graciously got for me – she wasn’t part of the network.  But thanks again for your help my friend.)  The insurance website and then the provider referral line gave me inaccurate information about doctors that don’t exist in the locations listed.  After calling several offices, spending 45 collective minutes on hold, and speaking with countless confused receptionists, I’ve determined my crazy lady is the only MFM short of going downtown (which would 40 minutes without traffic from our new house).  I’m left with either sticking with the crazy woman who makes me dread my appointments or driving too far for convenience or downgrading to a regular OB who may consult with a specialist if needed.  I’m thinking door number 3 is the winner here.  But my frustration ended up with me sobbing at my dining room table for 15 minutes and feeling ridiculous about it.  Not how I would handle such a thing pre-pregnancy.

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Pet peeve:  If you are going to offer to shake someone’s hand, don’t be a dead fish about it.  Put a little effort into it or don’t put your hand out to initiate.

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I haven’t packed a box in 5 days.  Yes, we are moving in 23 days and I have about 9 boxes packed at this point.  Denial is a lovely thing.  When does this nesting thing kick in?

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Does anyone watch Days?  I catch it once or twice a week usually.  (Don’t judge me…I started watching when I was 13 or 14 – what did I know?)  Is anyone else a little icked out with the crazy Ava and Steve supposedly having a history that took place years ago and lasted for years?  She looks way too young to have a history with anyone (not much older than his kid).  For whatever reason, this bugs me.

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Another stupid TV observation.  Sabrina watches Word World on PBS once a week or so.  It really bugs me that all of the animals (duck, sheep, bear, bug, ant, frog, etc) talk except the dog.  The dog only barks.  Why is he a second class citizen?  And man, I need to get out more.

I can’t be a rebel rouser all of the time I guess…so I’ll throw some cuteness your way so you can forget about my radical ideals if they were offensive to you.

For some reason, Sabrina emptied her toy basket and decided her shopping cart needed to join her in the basket. She struggled for quite awhile trying to make it work. It ended in frustrated tears.

I have to give her credit for effort though.

Trying to charm some pistachios out of momma. When can she have nuts? I’m still telling her no.

She has been crazy for Aunt Lulu the past 2 days. She would seriously trade momma in if she could. She has spent the last 2 days playing hard, sweating her cute little butt off, and squealing in delight at a register my ears wish only dogs could hear. She is going to be bummed when Aunt Lulu leaves on Wednesday and she is stuck with boring mommy again.

And finally, I took some photos of the house we will be renting because several people have asked us about it. However, I realized that photos of empty rooms really aren’t very interesting. So I’ll leave you with a glimpse of the kitchen (high hats in the kitchen LOVE that – fluorescent lighting should be outlawed) and fenced in back yard which has our dog drooling. (And the grass isn’t in great shape so no one can blame the dog for tearing up the yard.) Not very exciting but mostly meant for family who are curious.

I really enjoyed hearing from everyone yesterday.  I was surprised by the number of people on the left side of the fence with me on some of the issues…most days I feel like I am one of the only liberals out here in the adoption corner of blog world.  Nice to know there are a few like thinkers.  But I also appreciated the respectful way that everyone else disagreed.  I enjoyed the change of topic – some days my brain starts to feel a little mushy.  I love sharing Sabrina’s cuteness but I miss grown up conversations.  My sister in law is here and I don’t think I stopped talking yesterday – it was awesome to talk to a grown up!

Yesterday, we took Aunt Lulu for some great Greek food for lunch and to see our new rental house and dragged her to look at dresser at a consignment shop (bonus – also found a well priced toy box…but Steve doesn’t want to buy anything until we move and I fear they will be gone).  I took photos of the house and also have a few of Miss Sabrina but still no decent photo editing software on my laptop so I can’t post any yet.