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Things are going pretty well these days.

We have no phone line for the house and my cell phone is out of comission until I buy a new one, so reaching me by phone, or me reaching anyone else, is tough.

My mom had her hip replacement a while back, she's still not sleeping in her own room. That's really the biggest issue going on at the house right now. She sleeps on the couch in the living room, and the way the house is laid out, there's no way to come in from the bar and not wake her up, also we cant get anything in the kitchen or use the bathroom without waking her either. She bitches, but doesnt go all godzilla on us, she knows she's in the way. Things will be good when she's back in her room on the third floor.

We want to put a rec room together for ourselves down in the basement. We cleaned out Greg's storage unit Memorial Day weekend. We've got recliners and shit down in the basement, and with the bathroom already down there, we just need a couch and a cable splicer. We got another TV coming in from my great-uncle Johnny. It's my gramma's tv that she gave to him when he was comitted, but he doesnt really watch it. He's all fruity in the head after coming back from the wars in former Czechoslavochia, when civil war broke out he flew back there to blow shit up, guess he saw a little too much action. Anyway, I'll be getting his tv soon and that way Greg will have a little room of his own to go to so he doesnt wake me up, and also we can have friends down there without waking up my mom. There's a door to the outside that can be used.

Things are great with Greg. It's been so long since I updated that I've forgotten anything I wanted to say on any subject. His job ended two Tuesdays ago. The first week he was drank all the time and acting like a jerk towards me. I told him it wasnt my fault, nor his own fault that he lost his job, that there were other people who lost their jobs who have even more kids and more bills and LESS of a chance at finding something else to do, and to stop being a jack ass. The next day he didnt drink hardly so much and his mood simmered down. I, myself, havent been working hardly at all. I figure it's because my maternity leave kicks in August 1 and the way I get paid for that is they average out the 8 weeks prior to leave and I get 60% of that average. So I went from 40-50 hours a week to 5-15. And it started RIGHT at 8 weeks out. I had 5 hours one week, 11 the next, 19 but only cuz someone called in and I worked half an overnight, then 11 hours this week. I work from 5 or 6 at night to 11 or midnight. It's a good shift, Im out by closing time to pick up Greg, and Im not hanging out at the bars all the time. I'm going to file for unemployment to make up for the lost wages seeing bossman told me it was due to "lack of work" why my hours dropped so significantly. I also got screwed out of my May bonus. Seems he decided not to start the bonuses until June, when I went to part-time....I cant wait till the new overnighters quit on him and I can tell him to go fuck himself.

Cassidy's doing ell. Very active most of the time. It's either an octopus or a ninja inside of me. I think I'll be having another ultrasound right before I go into labor so they can check positioning, but I think we're going to keep it a surprise. I havent had my baby shower yet. Mom wants to have it at the house, she got mad when I asked aunt shirl if I could have it there. I need to pick a date and get an invite list going. Candice and Cindi wanted to plan it. Greg wants guys to be able to come, so we'll need that basement room ready for all of them.

I got that broken tooth fixed a couple days ago, the one Harlan broke with that can of paint a year+ ago. The filling fell out last summer before I moved home from Houston, that was the only thing holding the tooth together. I cant believe it held together a year. The dentist, a cool really old guy who dug my NIRVANA tat and even knew who they were, said the tooth should hold and not rot away. He put some kind of antibiotic padding in the tooth before filling it. He made a joke about me not telling people how much silver is in that tooth cuz they'll rip my tooth out for it. 5 times the normal amount put in a filling. It was a big hole. I have a few other fillings that need to be redone, plus a cavity that's bugging me recently, and that dentist isnt going to be able to get everything done by the time my medicaid runs out so Im going to make an appointment with someone else.

I got to hold a ten day old baby this week. It had a full head of hair (tho full blooded italian, so who knows how hairy mine will be). It smelled so yummy, like cheese or the line Cobain nicked from Suskind's book "most babies smell like butter". It was yummy. I dont know if I found it an attractive smell because everyone does or just cuz I got some kind of babies smell good to a pregnant lady kind of instinct. Also after holding it an hour my boobs started to hurt and I think they were starting to get milk, or they were thinking about starting to get milk, just cuz I had the baby laying there the whole time. It was 8 pounds when born, and I kept feeling the head like putting both my hands around it and thinking, "well that's not THAT big... Ive seen pics on the net of things bigger than that...." so maybe I will be able to get through labor without having to get totally smacked out. I also like the idea of having bragging rights about giving birth totally natural. And really, once you see your own bones sticking out, pain gets a new definition. And I'll be prepared for birth, it's planned, the leg and knee explosion wasn't. Im getting excited about having the baby. The father of the baby I was holding said I had really good instincts already. I told him Id never held a baby, much less a newborn. I knew to support the neck and all that, but when I got up I made sure there wasnt anything I was going to trip over, he said I had a good grip too, that I was doing that right, then when I put it back down in the crib he said that was the perfect position too. Maybe I wont be such a fuck up after all.

Greg's hanging in there. He doesnt talk much about it to me, but he's been touching my belly more, especially when I tell it "settle down in there, Im not a frickin Moon Bounce!" He hasnt felt it yet though. My tummy's big, first time it's ever stuck out more than my boobies, but I finally look pregnant and not just super-fat. I bought new jeans and sexy undies and I dont feel all that bad about the weight gain. You burn like 3000 calories a day just breast feeding, I think I'll manage well in weight loss. I'd like to be a MILF by next summer.

Boggy and gramma are both in good health. Boggart's hind legs keep giving out underneath him when he doesnt stretch after getting up, but we remind him to go slow, to settle down etc. Some days are worse than others and we have to put a baby gate up in front of the stairs so he wont go up to drink out of the toilet and then fall down the stairs. He cant jump up on the couch or beds sometimes either but he's still gaining weight, still in good health other than that. At the last vet visit they did a diabetes test on him and that came out normal. There was a newborn baby in the waiting room when we were inside the exam room and Bog kept sniffing the door and cocking his head sideways, perking his ears up going "What the hell is that thing???" then he'd nudge me, go back to the door sniff some more, then come back and sniff me... "Yup, we'll have one of those soon enough." Im glad he wasnt barking at it when it was crying. Boggy's never been around babies either.

Pretty much right now Im just bored. We got satellite tv finally, so there's stuff to watch at home, but it's pretty much the same thing when Im not working. Greg doesnt spend all day and night at the bars but still, same people, same town, same conversations... it'll be nice when Cass comes out, that way I'll have somebody new to talk to. I did make a new friend though, we thought we hated each other at first but she's very smart and cynical and an ex-heroin user and a scorpio to boot, so I see why we hated each other at first. She doesnt drink or smoke weed now and is up my butt about me not doing the same while pregnant. Other than that she's pretty cool. Met her through Candice and her new sorta boyfriend. I guess they all work together. She's got a swimming pool Ive been wanting to take advantage of but it's been raining since I met her. We hang out most nights but none of them are old enough to hang out at the bars and Im too broke to hang with them.

OK Im almost out of my time here at the library, Ill try to get in more often to update. My mom's supposed to go computer shopping this weekend, so hopefully we'll have a working system/connection next week.

Always remember to quit while you're ahead.

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