Baby, It’s Cold Outside

SO today is January 24^th, if I type through the night and the Sprint PCS aircard works, I will actually have my journal in EARLY!

This will freak our illustrious webmaster right out. "Freak his Chili" as the very colorful "magic Mike" once said. I like this plan. It helps that this month all I have really done (other than drive here from Kansas City) is sit quietly at home and wait for our baby to arrive.

We timed our trip pretty well, we arrived in KC right before a snowstorm, we delayed our departure by not one but two days to avoid a storm, and STILL got socked with snow. Look at all the ice on my satellite dish! There was much preparation for our eventual departure; climbing on roofs and scraping ice off of awnings for example.

But as the weather worsened we departed.

After the preparations we bundled up, loaded two cats, one old dog, and one super-wife - smuggling a person inside her belly - and headed out of the great arctic north.

 

The important thing to de-ice

Bundled up warmly for the drive

Let me take this opportunity to once again thank Riki for driving Heather's car to phoenix so we could take just the one, man the trips are so much easier this way and it looks like Heather and I will be trading in her car, my paid-off truck, and some years of our lives: for a much newer, swankier truck (we got Frankie-D workin' on THAT one) and eventually a newer, larger trailer for three.

We timed things pretty well: there was some mildly scary weather for the Florida boy, but only one REALLY scary patch. (More on that later). The only down-side to travel with Heather is that she messes with my travel-radio schedule. I love XM Satellite radio, and I have my weekday listening down to a schedule. Early morning is Air America, these days it's a show called "The Lionel Show" followed by "Ed Schultz", so I can get my left wing propaganda for the day. Big Eddie Schultz broadcasts out of Minnesota by the way. Then my financial hero Dave Ramsey broadcasts his three hour show for four hours... I then switch over to Fox news for my first hour of Right Wing Propaganda, Sheppard Smith handles the news (Yes, I get TV channels on my radio) then I switch to CNN's Nancy grace for my dose of crazed hysteria. Back to Fox for Hannity and Colmes, Greta Van Susteren (who I think is STILL milking the "girl missing in Aruba" story) and Finally, Pappa-Bear Bill O'Reilly.

But Heather expects me to actually TALK to her!

Actually this is so much easier, more fun, and far more pleasant than all of that solo driving I've done over the years, and certainly easier than trying to use the damn walkie-talkies. SO like I said, we're going to get a bigger, newer truck... and actually go back into debt to do it. (Don't tell Dave Ramsey!)

The trip was mostly uneventful, with all of the standard stuff. I've mapped this route out before, so we knew where all of the casinos (we stopped in one in New Mexico for a buffet), Wal-Mart (we stayed in the parking lots of TWO different ones this trip), and all our favorite restaurants... I never DID get to stop at a Denny's, though I was craving one voraciously. We saw some pretty sights, including one of the most beautiful things in the world to me... miles of Wind Farm!

As I said we timed things well, and just missed the crappy weather. Even though I was scared, it went pretty smoothly, except for one patch along the road. One scary patch. One scary, slick, icy, death-dealing patch.

Literally - as we crossed the Texas state line from Oklahoma, the road maintenance vanished, and our formally smooth drive suddenly turned into an agonizing twenty-mile-an-hour (or less) creep along with thousands of our dearest friends trapped on the roads with us. It was nerve wracking, especially the one point where my House-laden truck struggled to make it up the icy hill. We actually broke the cardinal rule of travel due to this winter-slicked death-trap.

Let me explain: You know how when you're watching a horror movie and the young heroine goes up into the scary attic and you're screaming at her "... Don't go in the attic!" the only rule more cut and dried than that is NEVER LEAVE THE INTERSTATE! But running parallel to the interstate all over Texas are service roads and this one, as is often the case, was serviceable, ice free, and unfettered by traffic.

 

I LOVE windfarms!

Linear ice skating!

Mommy is home base

After about three hours (and maybe 40 miles) The Bauman Household (and house, for that matter) exited and travelled un-constrained down the service road... the only unpleasant part of the experience was when the service road left the interstate, and became the famed Route 66... and drove us through a Route 66 ghost town. A little creepy. We found the interstate again (frustrating a legion of serial killers, I'm sure) and continued down its suddenly ice-free expanse towards our destination. The shivering members of our family climbed into mommy's lap for warmth and safety.

We arrived in Phoenix safe and sound, parked and leveled our house, and... relaxed!

We celebrated a wonderfully quiet and sweet New Year's Eve. Blissfully alone. Champagne, just a little, a little boom-boom, (she's nine months pregnant but you just can't stop her!)

Two days later I spoiled my baby for her birthday at one of our favourite romantic restaurants (mmmmm melting pot) I got her some swanky gifts and coupons good for spoiling and pampering her... you know, back rubs, foot massages... and more stuff I'm just too modest to relate.

We bought a few more of the necessities we didn't receive from our very generous friends (and you fans) at our baby showers... including a brand new crib. Assembling it was a blast, despite the dire warning from my mother. What was surreal was when I stumbled out of bed the next morning... (Okay, afternoon... Our sleep schedule is completely screwed-up and bedtime seems to be four AM or later) and There was a crib in our living room!

I mean, I KNOW we're having a baby... but this was really for real!

 

Bed for baby!

(Ronn picked this comic from MarriedToTheSea.com)

A few days after that was dinner with our sweet, dear friends Nancy. Her Mom pitched in, homemade bread, salmon, talk about our overly-furry cats (she has two as shaggy as London!) and... Oh you notice that there just aren't that many photos of Heather this journal? She has put her foot down on having her photo taken when she's this pregnant. And then... more relaxing.

To be truthful, the past few weeks has been all about getting lots of non-Twin work crossed off my list. Everything from taking care of my books for the drum business, to checking my trailer battery for charge, organizing all of my notes, to vacuuming the car. Of course I've been doing my fair share of Tortuga work too, maybe more since Riki has been out of the country and Jef's been taking some time off in Florida.

I've also been trying to pamper my very pregnant wife... watching movies with her, rubbing her ankles, and trying to give her all of my attention... but sometimes also playing Halo 3 late at night while Heather's asleep.

So as I am now finishing this journal, I'm fully clothed, watching The Goonies, and perched on the edge of my chair. Heather is dilated to a 3, her due date is tomorrow, and she could drop this baby at any freakin' moment.

 

Nancy, her mom, and damned good food

Ronn & Heather's home for baby Tortugas

I think we're physically ready, but am very terrified about what Heather must endure in the near future, and how powerless I am to help her.

As soon as this weekend I could be cuddling with my daughter... I wonder what I'll write about in my next journal?