Am I A Bird?

So I can tell I've entered the last bit of my pregnancy. It's a really simple indicator, one that Ralexwin finds incredibly odd (and I hope endearing). I've started nesting.

As I say that it makes me wonder if all of you know what nesting is. Well, a brief explanation would be a that it is a sudden uncontrollable urge to for a woman to prepare her house for the baby.

My particular form of this odd natural condition is fairly irrational. With baby #1 and 2 Ralexwin found me on my hands and knees scrubbing grout. Baby #3 I crocheted a mat for the baby to lay on (and received a very concerned look from my dear man).

Yesterday the urge to prepare hit me again and when Ralexwin walked through the door at 5:30 I felt a particular need to apologize. It had been my intention to vacuum, but when I couldn't find the vacuum bags in the closet I was overcome with a need to make sure I would be able to next time.

So when he got home the hallways and floors looked like this:



And the linen closet looked like this:



You might note the labels.

Yes... Nesting is almost comical in my house. The entire place may look like a tornado passed through but the tile will be sparkling and the closets spottless. I'm glad my husband sees it for what it is, an inevitable result of pregnancy.

Oh My Clan

We've got new neighbors. Have I mentioned this? They bought the house next door, and when I say next door I'm talking over the hedge next door. I'm talking they stay up late or have a fight and you know it-over the hedge-next door neighbors. I'm always nervous of these sorts of neighbors (which anyone whose read this blog for an entire year would understand). So you can imagine my despondency when I found out that it was not one family moving in but the entire CLAN. We're talking at least nine people--grandma, daughters, cousins and offspring, half of all of these being teenage boys.

Teenage boys with cars with bass. Heaven above! Why me?! I've had exactly one set of amiable neighbors in my entire married life (these being the previous tenants of over the hedge house).

There is a silver lining to this cloud however. It comes in the form of the next-next door neighbor, or rather the clan moving between me and him.

You see we've been tending this dog for a few months. She's a nice dog, we really like her and she causes next to no problems for us (well aside from her mad desire to dig a tunnel to China, but all dogs do that). She's quiet, nice, and playful... And she eats any rabbits dumb enough to enter her kennel.

So Star (the dog) went on vacation for a month and when she got back she was a little out of sorts. There was a little more barking than usual, but nothing excessive. At least that's what we thought. Next-next door neighbor thought otherwise and came over to tell us just how much... At 6 PM, not exactly the time of day you expect people to come tell you they are entitled to peace and quiet (especially when they live across the street from the baseball fields)... And rent their houses. I was a little perturbed.

Anyway, fast forward 24 hours and I (and Stars owners) received a vengeful blessing in the form of 'the clan.' That was the day the bass thumping cars pulled up, accompanied by their three (yes... three) dogs. *maniacal laugh of retribution* One of them is even a hound... A howling hound. I love it and whenever I hear those dogs wailing at the moon I think to myself 'take that Mr. 6PM entitled to my quiet.'

Hmm does that mean that maybe I'm not the best neighbor? If so I've had years of practice in getting here.