6 Months

Here are my 6 month pictures:

And what would the blog be without a photo montage of the past three months???? I can't believe I am only 14 weeks away from my due date!!!!!! Oh, just an FYI, the belly pictures are usually taken right before I go to bed. That is why my hair and eyes look the way they do. Well, my hair always looks like crap, but my eyes are particularly little because I am tired. Just wanted to throw that out there if it had ever crossed your mind.

Nats 2

To continue my story about Nats...I hadn't seen any in since the last time I had killed one. Until today...I was using the facilities and when I looked down there was a Nat on my leg!!!!!! I couldn't believe it. I swatted it off my leg and looked around to see where it was on the floor so I could kill it. I finally saw it and it was on the base of the toilet bowl. When I turned around to smoosh it...it was gone!!!!

Was it all my imagination? Am I being haunted by the ghosts of Nats that I have killed???? What does all this mean???

Happy Easter!!!!

For Easter Manni received two presents. One was from Grammie and Don Viejo (Roni and David). It is an elephant rattle that has the crinkle ears. It is super cute.

The second is from Grandma (Christy)...the crib set!!! It so cute and I am so excited I can't wait for Manni to see it.


You will notice that there is a blue teddy bear in the crib. Well, that teddy bear belongs to Teddy (no pun intended :) ) Teddy had that bear since he was little and actually took a picture with it. When Manni turns 1 we are going to have her wear pink cortezes and hold the bear just like Teddy did.

Nats

I have sent out a few twitters about this but I thought I would write about it. I have seen a million Nats around. It is the weirdest thing. There were only a few around the house because I had let a plant die and they came around before I had a chance to throw it away. Of course I have seen them outside with all the wonderful blooming plants and bushes. But the weirdest thing is that I see them in the bathroom at work. It is so weird. I ended up killing one and then another one showed up and I killed that one. To prove that I am not going insane, here is a picture of the Nat after I killed it.


What does it mean???????

Manni's Room

Here is another update of Manni's room. Teddy has done an amazing job!!!! Before I went to bed, the room looked like this.
















And when I woke up, it looked like this:
























Teddy bought a special tool that helps you make straight lines. It looks really good; however, we are getting a chair rail to go around the room, so this is the only time you will get to see how straight the line is.

The room is really coming together and it is looking super cute!!!!

Crumb

This past week Howard Stern was on vacation so I listened to Rosie O'Donnell's radio show on Sirius. Sometimes it is pretty weird, but for the most part it isn't that bad. For some reason, Rosie was giving away gift cards to this bakery in NY called Crumb. They are famous for their cupcakes and black and white cookies. It just so happened that my sister was in NY last week and she made a trip to Crumb, only to find out they were out of b&w cookies. I am not sure what my sister did, but I looked up the website and I am obsessed with the cupcakes. I spent my whole lunch hour today looking at all the different types. There is a reason for that later....You might find this odd, but Howard Stern has Cupcake Wednesdays where someone brings in treats from Crumb and people actually get in arguments over them I actually asked my sister to put in a special order to be shipped to my house. They only have a few locations and they are in CA, PA, NJ, and NY. So if I want something from Crumb, I would have to order it online. I am not sure I would be able to spin that to Teddy, even if the "baby" wanted the cupcakes...

Anyway, I was doing okay with the obsession until this morning. I picked out my outfit and looked in the mirror and realized that I look just like a cupcake myself. So all day all I could think about were the Crumb Cupcakes. That is why I spent my lunch hour eating a salad and looking at cupcakes. Well you take a look at the Crumb website http://www.crumb.com/ and then at what I wore and tell me that you wouldn't think of a Crumb cupcake every time you looked at me...

Swelling and San Francisco

This past weekend was my firt experience with swelling. I have been pretty lucky so far in my pregnancy, but I have a feeling that as it gets hotter I am going to swell more often. This past week it went to 80 degrees overnight. I am not complaining as it was very nice outside, but my body wasn't prepared. As Teddy and I were headed out on Friday to a game night I looked down to put my shoes on and I realized that I didn' have ankles. It was the craziest thing to see. As the weekend continued, the swelling moved up to my hands! It really hurt to have my rings on when I slept, so I would take them off to give my hands a break. I increased my water, I normally drink a minimum of 64 ounces of water a day, so I am not sure how much I had this weekend! When I woke up this morning, I had ankles and my hands looked normal!!! I just can't wait for the pool to get a little warmer so I can start floating in the water when get home from work ;)

You are probably wondering what the heck San Francisco is about in the title. Well, I am going to tell you; however, not without a explanation. I read once that you should be careful what you tell people about your pregnancy. Mainly because people don't want to know everything. Even if they ask you, it is usually just to be nice. So I generally try to be discreat with information, unless you are my mom, Teddy's mom, or my sister. Well this next story isn't that bad...but might make you look at me and hopefully laugh.

The one side affect that I have noticed it this pregnancy is that my feet sweat so much more than they ever have beore. Even when I wear sandles they sweat. And with sweaty feet come stinky feet. It is something that I have been trying to control. I really wash my feet almost twice a day. At night when I get home and in the morning when I am in the shower. But that isn't even the worst or explain San Francisco.

For Christmas my mom gave me a pair of flat black shoes from Payless. They are so comfortable and versitable. I just love them. The only problem is that I wore them without socks and Payless shoes are not made to be worn without socks. Once you do it, they are damaged goods and there is no way to fix them...So that is how San Francisco came about...

Tonight, my cousin Michelle brought me a pregnancy pillow that she used when she was pregnant with the twins. I got to the house a little before Michelle did and I took my black shoes off in the garage because they stink by the end of the day. I was very appreciative that Michelle drove all the way over to bring me the pillow, but I didn't have time to wash my feet. It was dinner time for Molly and Nicholas so we all decided to go to Gallaghers for dinner. It was a lot of fun hanging out with Michelle and the twins...but when Teddy and I got back in the car it smelled like my feet. I know, I know...it's bad. I apologized to Teddy and he only replied with "It's just San Francisco." I asked him what that meant, and he said that he would call me San Francisco for SF aka Stinky Feet...

I guess I could have a worse nickname ;)

Nursery

This blog should hopefully be funny and falls within an incident category which is the point of the blog :)

Last week Teddy and I started working on the nursery. He was pulling nails out of the wall where pictures were hung and I was organizing the closet. It started off good, but I guess Teddy was having a bad day.

Before I started with the closet I noticed that the window sill was really dirty. I made a comment like "Why doesn't the window sill get cleaned?" I really wasn't implying anything. It was just a comment and more of a joke...Teddy responded with "Because I don't clean it." If you can imagine, that conversation did start or end very well. In the end, we both learned that we need to be careful how we word things. They can be taken the completely wrong way.

Once we moved on from our discussion we continued with the room. Since my belly is getting bigger my breathing has become a little different and somewhat noticeable. It is really noticeable when I try to sit on the ground. I don't feel like I am that big, but it is a little harder to bend over to sit down on the floor. I was organizing some picture frames that we are going to put up with our wedding pictures. Anyway, Teddy turns around and asks "What is making you breathe that way." It was kind of a shock because I figured it was fairly obvious but I just pointed out that it was the baby growing inside of me.

It is just kind of funny how the tables have turned. Teddy's snoring really bothers me, I mean really bothers me. But now, he can hear me breathe and it kind of bothers him :O)

I hope people don't think that I am bashing Teddy, because I am not. He has been really good through the pregnancy. I am really luck to have a husband that is willing to help me out. There are a lot out there that won't help at all. I just thought this story was kind of funny as we are just married and having a baby. There are a lot of adjustments being made ;)

During

Teddy started putting the primer on this weekend :) I am so excited!!! Teddy is going to do such a great job! First we had to figure out where the chair rail will go...Once that was decided Teddy was able to start taping up the room :) Here is where he is so far....

Before

Here are some pictures of what the baby's room looks like now. A friend of mine was more than generous by giving us their crib. They are done having kids and offered to Teddy and I at no charge. We couldn't say no as cribs are expensive and it is good condition. There are a few dings in it, but we are going to sand those down and just repaint those spots. It is black and can turn into a sleigh bed when the baby is older :) I really like it :)

This is the South wall, the changing table is going to go to the left of the window.

This is the North wall and the crib. :)

This the wall with the closet.

Before Teddy's sister Lauren moved into the condo, Teddy's dad added more to the closet. This is the right side that has two sections to hang and little shoe racks on the bottom. We are going to paint the closet a darker pink :) If you look closer you can see a little jacket that Grandma Roni and Don Viejo (that is what Teddy's dad wants the baby to call him :) )bought the baby :) It is super cute.

This is the left side of the closet. Those shelves are really going to come in handy and we are going to register for another set of hanging shelves to put on that left side....

More pictures to follow!!!!

Baby Names

Well, I am sure that there are going to be more entries like this one. We are having a hard time picking a name. It is funny because if the baby was going to be a boy we had that name picked out. But now that is is a girl it is so much harder...It also doesn't help that Teddy doesn't have an opinion on the names until we narrow it down to two :) But that is why I love him...he keeps it interesting.

So, now we have 4 names: Amelia, Sophia, Olivia, or Brooklyn. Teddy says he likes Brooklyn for more reasons, but the one he keeps bringing up is the song by JZ that goes "where Brooklyn, where Brooklyn at?" He said he wants to have that song playing when she is born...That is still under discussion...

5 Months

Here are pictures of me at 5 months...I feel like I woke up one morning and my belly was there to great me :)

Names

Now that people know we are having a girl, we are getting questions on the name. So far, we have Amelia Christine or Sophia Terese. We are going to wait until she is born and we can see her before we make a decision. It might not be those two!!!!



We have also picked out her bedroom set!!! It is little lady bugs!!! It is so cute. I can't wait for everyone to see the room decorated. Teddy is going to start putting the chair rail on the walls and painting.



I am so excited; however, I have learned that Babies-R-Us and are not meant to be friends. I am really glad that they have recliners that you can sit in at the store because I usually come close to a melt down at the store and I need to sit down and relax.



I have registered Teddy and I for our Childbirth Preparation Classes. Those aren't scheduled until June but they recommended that you schedule early so I did. We are also going to be taking some classes through our hospital.



We have also started our baptism classes. Luckily, we only have an interview and one class and that's it. We don't have to take 6 months of classes like we did to get married!!!! Teddy and I asked his Aunt Robyn and Uncle Steve to be the babies god parents. We are so happy that they accepted!!!! The baptisms are the first Saturday of every month. So, depending on if she is born around her due date, the baptism will be August 7th!!!



Stay tuned for this month's belly pictures!!!!

She Moves!!!!

I have been able to feel the baby move a little more now. It isn't all the time, but every now and then she will move around. When I came home from work on tonight she was really moving. Teddy tried to feel her and he thinks he did, but he isn't sure. It is the best and weirdest feeling when she moves. I get so excited!!! So far, she likes to move a little in the morning, when I take a bath, and right before I go to bed. I can't wait for Teddy to be able to feel her. He is very concerned that she doesn't know he is around.

That's spelled M-A-N-N-I

That is right ladies and gentlemen, we are having a little girl!!!!! We are so excited.

When I sent out a text to everyone that it is a girl, Aunt Cay wrote back that we can still call the baby Manny, but we just have to spell it with an "I".

Here is a profile picture of Manni :) You can see her mouth is open :)

The next picture confirms that one of my biggest fears with the baby is not true. I was very scared that the baby was only going to have one arm. In all all the profile pictures you can usually only see one arm and it made me nervous. I had mentioned it to the Nurse Practitioner once before and she took a look but confirmede that everything was fine. However, my pregnancy imagination got the best of me and I started having nightmares. It was a light joke amongst the family...but I really was scared about it. So when we went for the appointment I made a comment to the Nurse and she gave us a picture of both arms!!!!

We are so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Little Scare

Teddy and I had a little scare last night. I was having some pains on my lower left side that started on Tuesday morning. It hurt so bad to walk, move, even use the restroom. I am trying not to freak out about things that happen during my pregnancy so I have made a promise to myself that I will monitor what happens and call my Dr. depending on how long something lasts and how bad the pain is. Anyway, I went to bed that night and around 3 a.m. I was woken up by the worst pain in my side and my back that I have ever felt in my life. I woke up Teddy and called the triage nurse my Dr.'s office has for after hour emergencies. She told me to take some Tylenol, drink 3 16 oz. of water, and wait three hours. If the pains get worse during that time or I see any blood I would need to go to the emergency room. Needless to say I was a little scared.

So I did what the nurse said and laid back down. I was able to get back up to sleep and woke up a little after 7. The pain was there just not that bad. I called the Nurse again and she said that I should call my Dr. when they open at 8 and see if they can squeeze me in. So I did, and they had availability. I didn't go in to work that day because of the pain.

Teddy met me at the Dr. later that afternoon and we waited to see what the Dr. had to say. Basically they said it was ligaments stretching. They ran all different kinds of tests and did a scan to see if a cyst on my left ovary was getting bigger. Good thing, the cyst looks like it has dissolved. So they told me that I needed to continue taking the Tylenol, rest, and basically deal with the pain as there was nothing they could do.

The reason this is even more scarier is that when I was in Show Low we decided to go sledding. I went down this hill three times. And I swear to everyone that it wasn't bad at all. I didn't go in the air, I didn't fall, and I never, ever, ever, ever, land on my stomach. It was just that these pains just happened to come right after the sledding and I freaked out. I had a breakdown about how if anything happened to the baby it would be my fault...Poor Teddy not only had to deal with me in pain, but he also had to deal with the fact that I was so scared something bad had happened to the baby. Teddy did a very good job at soothing me. I was very glad to hear that the baby was fine and the pain was just related to me getting bigger. Apparently others were worried about it also. When I called my sister she confessed that she was stressed about something happening to the baby too. This was a lesson that I think every woman learns when she is pregnant for the first time, it is better to sit things out than deal with the stress of something happening after. And if no other pregnant woman has ever done anything stupid during their pregnancy then you are very rare...

On a lighter note, we were, however, given a sneak peak at the sex of the baby...but it wasn't a very good shot, so you will have to wait until Friday.

Show Low 2010

This past Summer me, Alyssa, Lindsay, Stephanie, and Courtney decided that we were going to take a girl's trip to Show Low for skiing. I have a friend that has a condo up there and when I babysit for him and his wife, they will let me have a free night stay in the condo. It actually works out pretty good!!! I know I can't ski, but I decided to go anyway. To see the snow, watch the other girls ski and relax in the lodge. Stephanie wasn't able to come with us, but hopefuly next year.

Courtney had to work until 3 that Friday, but me, Alyssa, and Lindsay started out at 10 a.m.!!! We were very excited!!!

On the drive up to Show Low we went through a town called Globe that has this awesome antique shop called the Pickle Barrel. They sell sculputers for your yard that are super cute. I don't have a picture of the sculpture I got, but it should be on Lindsay's blog. Mine is named pickle :) Anyway, while we were walking around the shop Lindsay spotted this doll that we thought would look just like Manny when he is older...well, kind of I guess...you tell me ;)

I decided that I am going to dress Manny up like this for Halloween. Broken sandle and all. You think I'm kidding, just wait!!!! My cousin Courtney better get back in to sewing because I am going to need her services :)

All in all we had a good laugh with Manny the doll. He is perched on the counter of the condo we were staying at in Show Low. We are not positive, but each of us heard something making noise in the kitchen area on Friday and Saturday night. Is it possible that Manny came to life????????

On the way out of the shop I noticed this giant horse....I am not kidding this horse is huge!!! And I instantly fell in love with it!!!! Here is a picture of me and the horse, you can see my belly in the picture too ;)

I have vowed that when Teddy and I purchase a house with a yard, right now we are in a condo, I will by this horse for my backyard. His name will be Monty...

The rest of the way to Show Low was pretty fun. We talked, listened to music, and ate Munkins. Yes, I purchased Munchkins for our trip up there. It was a nice treat. I allow myself one coffee in the morning so I bought one for Alyssa and I, but I didn't know Lindsay liked coffee. Apparently this trip was also for me to get to know Lindsay a little more too :)

It took 3 hours to get to the condo in Show Low. It was cold and a little cloudy. Snow was on the ground and on the side of the roads. We were all excited!!! Once we got to the condo walked around and got settled in. Then we went to the patio to check out the view.

Once we were settled, we decided to hit the "town" to get something to eat. Lindsay and I suggested that we eat Native New Yorker, but Alyssa felt we should eat somewhere that we can't have back home. So we decided on the Branding Iron. It was a steak house that was actually pretty cozy. The hostess was an older cowboy, who took a liking to us. :) He put a hand on Lindsay's shoulder, joked with Alyssa and when I got up to visit the salad bar he asked me if I was going to the Out House. Yes, that would be the same as the restroom. I told him no, I was going to get a salad. We all had a good laugh. But this is also incident No. 4 involving a restroom. Make it to 10 and I might start a blog on just bad things that happen to me in and/or around bathrooms. Anyway, on the way out Alyssa snapped a picture of the Out House sign...

There was also an issue of french fries, but I will leave that to Lindsay since it happened to her. But just so everyone knows, french fries are cut up potatoes. ha ha ha ha ha.

When we got back to the condo we decided to play a great game of Uno. But not just any Uno, SpongeBob Uno. Now for anyone that loves Uno I highly recommend this game. It is so much fun and it adds a few different rules and advantages that the regular game. The best part of the game was when Alyssa and I learned Lindsay didn't know you had to say Uno when you only had one card left. We had a few good laughs and finally called it quits and went back inside. But not before we took a few pictures.

Here are the three of us on the patio....fyi I was not drinking...Those beers are Alyssa's and Lindsay's.

Here I am in the snow :)

Here is Alyssa and Lindsay and then me and Alyssa ;)

When Courtney got up to the Condo we hung out for a few more minutes that went to a good Mexican restaraunt in Show Low called Fiesta Mexicana. It was very good and wasn't that expensive. We had to get to Sunrise Ski Resort by 8 a.m. the next morning, so that meant we had to leave by 6:30 a.m.!!!! We actually ended up leaving by 6:45, which isn't so bad.

We stopped and got some coffee and gas and then headed out. We passed a photo radar and were officially off. That was until a Show Low Police Officer came driving past us. Apparently after I passed the photo radar I decided to speed. I won't say how fast I was going, because that is not important. What is important is that the Officer pulled us over and only gave me a warning. Again, I was very nice and didn't argue or give an attitude to the Officer. I admitted to what I did and was willing to take the punishment. Of course we joked about what would happen if he found a warrant that I didn't know about took me in. The vote in the car was that they would continue to ski and come and get me on their way back. Also, no one was willing to pay the $2 service charge to use a different bank's ATM to bail me out. But if no one bailed me out, someone was going to call Teddy to tell him both me and Manny were stuck in a Show Low jail. Then that is when the Officer came with the warning. I was very lucky!!!!

I am going to let Lindsay blog about actually skiing as I couldn't do it :*( Maybe next year. I am however, going to show you a picture of the four of us before Alyssa, Lindsay, and Courtney went to ski some more. While they all went skiing I hung out in the lodge and read. I have to give a shout out to Alyssa and Courtney how went down the actual mountain 2 times. This was even Courtney's first time skiing!!! And there was a snow storm!!!!!

P.S. This was the only photo I had where the snow flake didn't completely cover Lindsay's face!!!!

4 Months

Well, now I am roughly 18 weeks and Manny is getting bigger, so that means my belly is getting bigger. I am really excited. To be honest, I am still a little self-conscience because it is still hard to tell between the donut belly and the Manny belly. But as my sister Alyssa said "you are just in the awkward stage and it is beautiful." So it is now or never.

Honeymoon

I have come to realize that I cancelled our wedding website premature. I never update it with pictures of our honeymoon before it was deleted. So...here they are....Teddy's parents sent us to Cancun, Mexico. It was amazing!!!!Here we are in the car on the way to the hotel. It was a long flight and we are full of smiles even though we are so tired!!!

This picture we are in the hotel lobby checking in. They treat with you a complimentary glass of champagne. Teddy doesn't really like champagne so I finished his!!!

Teddy and I used some of our gift money to have a romantic dinner on the beach. Teddy had steak and I had lobster. It was a great experience. How often can you have a private, romantic and intimate dinner on the beach??????
As it turns out, Teddy doesn't drink wine either. I did know this wine isn't his favorite, but he tried it and didn't particularly care for it. So, since we had paid for the wine there was nothing left for me to do but drink it. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I drank a whole bottle of wine on my own...Teddy actually ended up getting sick so we ended up going back up to the room. Wait...was that Teddy's plan all along?

The rest of the pictures are from the beach in front of the hotel. Which was so blue and clear I couldn't believe it. There are a few pictures where we were eating at one of the restaurants right on the water. I loved it, they had the best shrimp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This picture is actually pretty funny. For my bridal shower gift, Alyssa gave Teddy and I the t-shirts. My shirt said honey and Teddy's said mooner. We wore them on the way home and received a few compliments. Anyway, we came back on Halloween and decided to go to a party at Teddy's Aunt's house. We went as "Honeymooners". My mom was at the condo before we left and she helped us with our costume. She made a hickey on my neck and I kissed Teddy all over his face. It was pretty cute :)

Well...Manny is in there...

I felt Manny move for the first time today!!! It was so exciting!!!! I was at my desk eating some breakfast when I felt this spinning in my stomach. Now, I have felt somethings before that I thought were Manny, but they turned out to be just flatulence :) (I thought it would be easier to read instead of the other version) Anyway, this time it was different. It lasted longer and it felt like something spinning rather that bubbles or flutters. I felt it again this afternoon and it was so exciting!!! All the ladies at work were so excited when I told them.

Later, when I got home, Adam was saying hello to the baby and was asking Manny to move for him. He was a little sad when I told him that he won't be able to feel Manny move for probably another month. But he will get to feel Manny soon enough!!!!!

Birthday 2

Today I celebrated my birthday with my sister, her bf Andy, my mom, brother, niece, and Teddy. We had a lot of fun!!! My mom and sister picked-up Nello's pizza which is amazing. I actually only requested that because of this great salad with the most delicious salad dressing. I didn't have any pizza as Manny sometimes doesn't like it and punishes me with heartburn. Actually, Manny always punishes me with heartburn no matter what I eat or do...hmmmm....Anyway, I digress....After dinner we all played a few rounds of Sponge Bob Uno. Now for those of you who have children, this is a great game. And for those of you don't, it is a great game for all ages. There are special little surprises that aren't in the regularl Uno and keep the game interesting.

After games I opened presents. And was my family generous!!! My sister gave me some new hair clips which I desperately needed along with this great book called Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy. Now, I am reading What to Expect When Expecting but this book is so much better. It is really like talking to your girlfriends...where as the other book is good for some of the medical stuff related to pregnancy. That is my opinion anyway. Andy gave me a Mother Hood gift card, which I am excited to go and see what they have to offer. My brother gave me a gift card to Einstein Bagels (which is perfect and both me and Manny enjoy) and an Old Navy gift card. I can't wait to pick out a bathing suit!!!!!

My mom was of course more than generous. She gave me so many new maternity clothes!!! I will tell you, I better start sprouting a belly soon so I can have a chance to wear all this stuff I have. She also gave me this pregnancy keep sake calendar so I can write down all the cool things that happen daily or monthly with my pregnancy. It is going to be really cool to go back and read everything that happened :)

After presents we enjoyed some brownies for dessert and Alyssa and I challenged each other to a great game of Critter Crunch. It is a new game on the PS3, which again may be aimed at children, but whatever, I have fun.

I do have pictures from my birthday and I will post them when I can. :)

Birthday

Well I turned 27 today and it started out pretty good! Teddy first surprised me on Monday with the new Verizon Droid. It is very awesome. Then this morning Teddy came in around 6:30 with a chocolate muffin, candle, and sang Happy Birthday. Which is a family tradition that my mom started when we were kids. He also bought me two new maternity shirts!


Then I opened some presents that my wonderful in-laws sent me. They also gave me new maternity shirts, gift card to Mother Hood, and a new elephant charm for my bracelet.


As I left that morning I was feeling pretty good, it has started out to be a great day. Then it went down hill. As I was backing out of my garage, I ran into the side of the garage causing the plastic cover on my left mirror to break off. I was so upset....I just sat there and started to cry. Now I know I cry at everything, but this time it was legitimate. First, I am hormonal so I am sure I cried harder than necessary; Second, I had to walk all the way upstairs to tell Teddy what I did. He didn't get "mad" necessarily. I think because I am pregnant, it was birthday, and I was crying like someone had died he didn't vocalise how mad he was. I was also upset because this was my first brand new car. only 10 miles on it when we bought it and it is only a year old. The only thing Teddy asked me was if I was playing with my phone. I wasn't, I swear, I would admit it if I did. I felt so guilty because I knew it was going to expensive to fix the mirror and Teddy just bought me the phone. I offered for him to take the phone back, but he said no and walked away.


Later that day I met my BFF Lizzie for lunch. She had a pregnancy appointment over in my neck of the woods, so it worked out perfectly. Only, she forgot it was my birthday and told the waitress we were just getting together to celebrate a late Christmas. Which was true...but we were also celebrating my birthday. I was quick to remind her that it was in fact my birthday and we told the waitress who just stared at us like we were idiots. Then Lizzie told her that she was the pregnant one at the table and her mind wasn't working. I also had to jump in and explain that we were both pregnant and that the waitress should just take out order so she could leave. Lizzie gave me two ASU shirts and some nice and comfy ASU pants. I gave her a wedding album. She never ordered pictures or an album because they were too expensive for her. Well I just ordered a copy of the c.d. and made the album online. I am pretty excited about the album and the shirts too. I don't have any maroon ASU shirts!


That afternoon my mom sent me the most beautiful flowers. They were all pink and pretty :) All of the ladies at my office loved them.
That night I went up to the bowling alley to watch my dad bowl in his league. It was a lot of fun. My sister-in-law Lauren and my Grandma Brown joined us. Then we headed off to Denny's. (Shout out to my cousin Cameron for both of us having birthday dinners at Denny's). It worked out perfectly because my sister was able to meet up with us for dinner. However, before we sat at our table Lauren and I had to use the little girl's room.

Well, when I tried to lock my stall door it wouldn't lock. So I hung my purse on the door to hold it closed. Lauren left the restroom and then someone just opened up my stall door!!!! It was crazy!!!!!!!!!!!! When I got out I was very nice and told the girl, who kept apologizing, that it was okay but the door doesn't lock so be careful. As I was washing my hands she got the door to lock. Well good for her. I wasn't so lucky. Then she proceded to tell me how to lock a bathroom stall door. That is when the "hormones" kicked in and I said "You know, I'm not an idiot. I know how to lock doors it wouldn't lock for me." And then I left the bathroom and headed for our table. As Lauren and I laughed about what happened, the girls from the bathroom were seated right next to us and kept staring at me. By golly, if my Grandma wasn't there I would have said something to them again!!!!! Sheesh, how many incidents with the bathroom can one girl have.

When we got home, Teddy was able to attach the plastic piece back on my mirror. The only things that don't work are the blinker and the electric part to move the mirror. Hopefully it won't cost as much to fix the rest.

3 Tomatoes And A Mozzarella Stick

No I didn't make this up and it isn't a new movie or sitcom. It is a name of a restaurant here in Phoenix and we are representing them. I only blogged about this because I love this name. Every time I see it I crack up laughing....

Manny Update

It has been a few weeks since my last update about Manny. Things have been pretty up and down. I went in for genetic testing and the results for downsyndrome came back in the low percentile.

The Dr.'s say I am 15 weeks pregnant, but they always add two weeks. I have heard different versions as to why, but by my calculations I am 13 weeks. I know this becuase I know the first day I could have conceived...Anyway, maybe if Aunt Cay reads my blog she can explain???? Everything that it says I should experience in my 15th weeks I am or have. I am forgetfull, clumsy, my clothes don't fit right, I go to the bathroom more. Those are all good signs that my pregnancy is moving right along :)

I am in my second trimester now and the books and everyone who has been pregnant has said that it gets easier in the second trimester. However, I have gotten sick two times and my body hurts all the time. It was not like this the first three months!!!! I have more energy, but when I do anything "normal" by body aches for days.

My appetite has gotten better; however, I need to learn to not gorge but graze...That is my goal for the second trimester. Not to overindulge myself. I am gaining the normal amount of weight, which is good. I was also given a whole wardrobe of maternity clothes from a family friend. It was so nice of her to give them to me. And they are the cutest clothes ever!!! I am going to dress better now that I am pregnant than I did before!!! Holla!!!!

I haven't felt Manny move yet...I can't wait for that. Teddy has started talking to the baby :) It is pretty cute...Sometimes he whispers so I can't hear what he says...

I went to the store yesterday and purchased the cutest onesies and pants for Manny. They are gender neutral, so they will work if Manny is a girl or a boy. I am not going to tell you what they are in case someone buys them for me. I will just take the ones I bought back :) hee hee hee...

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the update :)

2010 Olympic Games

Since the Winter games are starting in February and the Summer games will shortly follow, I thought I would show you how the Brown Family competes in a Summer game classic....gymnastics...

COMPETITORS

Devyn Brown seems to be the only competitor that actually practiced the events. She will hesitate from time-to-time, but always finishes with 100% perfection and is looking forward to walking away with the Gold.

Stacey Wright apparently didn't practice much for the competitions. It almost appears as though she can't remember how to do the routines at all. Stacey will be lucky to make it to the finals.

Lindsay Brown managed to fit the competition in to her busy schedule and her form is perfection. You will find Lindsay encourages her competitor's on from the side as she is happy to see anyone win...or make a mistake to cost them the Gold.

Alyssa Brown performs the events with grace and poise. However, her fear of the routines shows tremendously. Hopefully that doesn't cost her points in the end.

EVENTS

1st Event: Cartwheel - Competitors In Order: Devyn, Stacey, Lindsay.

2nd Event: Handstands - Competitors In Order: Alyssa, Lindsay, Stacey

Okay, okay. Incase you didn't figure it out...we were not competing in the realy Olympics. We are in my Grandma's backyard. A few of us got together to visit with our Iowa cousins Jim and Marlene Meyer and went outside to play.

I really believe we could have gone to the Olympics...I hope you enjoyed...

Little Manny

Per a request, here is my update about little Manny. Adam found out that we are expecting our first child around July 19th. We actually knew when we got back from our honeymoon...how we knew that is not appropriate for the blog....This is an ultrasound picture from our first appointment. Manny was moving and dancing around...it was really funny and even funnier to watch Adam reenact it!!!!

Oh, we are not naming the child Manny. Officially anyway. There is a show called Modern Family, and there is a character named Manny who is the funniest and cutest thing ever!!! He is short, chunky, and hilarious. Well I have such high expectations for my children, that I want my son to be called Manny and be just like the Manny on t.v. So for now, and probably forever, the baby in my bell is called Manny :) Even if it is a girl it will probably still be called Manny.

Bathrooms

I have recently started at a new law firm and obviously use the restroom throughout the day. The one thing I have noticed is that I use the same stall every time I use the bathroom. Generally, I am the first to use it everyday and I get pretty excited that no one else has tainted that stall. I have figured out that the stall is far enough away from the door it is unlikely that someone will use the stall on either side of me and it is in between the sinks so there isn't a high chance that someone will look through the cracks in the stall...Hey, we have seen someone do it from time to time.

However, during my course of employment and bathroom runs I wonder if I subconsciously chose the stall for those reasons above. Is my bathroom experience so important that I have to layout which stall best fits my "requirements"? I have yet to have an experience where my stall has already been taken and I wonder how I will feel when that happens...I will keep you updated...

Wedding

My co-worker Jacob gave me this video from the wedding...It is pretty cool :)

Black Friday and Circle K Bathrooms

This year, Teddy and I drove to Gold Canyon for Thanksgiving dessert and to do some Black Friday shopping. Last year we attempted the mall, and it was the worst experience ever. Never mind the fact that what I went there for wasn't even on sale. We made it out to Shawn's house around 9 p.m. and hit the hay around 11 p.m. Then we woke up at 3 a.m. to stand in line at Kohl's and Walmart. I know many of you will say that we are silly and crazy, but we got great deals and Teddy and I are done with our shopping. Well except for a few, we are done.

The shopping wasn't as bad as I had expected. Some lady at Kohl's ran into me with a huge box and I hit myself in the face with some wrapping paper, but other than that it was smooth sailing. Up until I had to use the bathroom...

After we hit Kohl's and Walmart I wanted to swing by Ulta but they didn't open until 7 a.m. Well it was 6 a.m. and this point. So Shawn wanted to go a few blocks to another store to get a few things. Well, why Teddy and I were waiting for Shawn I had to go to the bathroom. So I walked down to Bashas, but they don't open the doors to the public until 7 a.m....it was 6:55 a.m. When Shawn got back to the car we were trying to figure out where I could go and we found a Circle K. I figured that was better than a Filiberto's 24 hour Mexican place. For those of you not familiar, the bathrooms are usually pretty gross....

Anyway, as I am using the facilities something strikes me as odd....why would they have a full size mirror right in front of the toilet? It just struck me as something sneaky or perverted was going on because they had three other walls the mirror could have been on. I tried to cover myself as much as I could, but it was too late. I guess waking up at 3 a.m. leaves my senses a little behind. I did walk up to the mirror to see if it would come off the wall and it looked like it would...but then I just stood there and thought...can I really be the first woman who went to the bathroom here and wondered if there was a camera behind the mirror. Then I thought....what would happen when I run out to the car and tell Teddy and Shawn that someone video taped me going to the bathroom...

Well I decided to leave the mirror and remind myself to never to that restroom again. However, now I can't remember where the stupid place is to warn the rest of you. So the best I can do warn you to never use the Circle K women's restroom across from a Filiberto's in Gold Canyon, Arizona. It might have even been on Signal Butte.

Also, if you happen to see me on one of those Dateline specials can you please tell me?

Douche x Infinite

So today my cousin Courtney and I went out for lunch at this place called Two Hippies. Her dad recommended it and as it turned out it was delicious. But let me get to the douche of the story....

We get to the place and find a parking spot. For those of you who have eaten Indian Fry Bread, this parking lot is smaller. We were lucky because someone was leaving right as we pulled in and we got the parking spot right next a garbage can and the wall.

Since Courtney and I had never been there before, we needed to look over the menu. While we were making our selection a guy walked in and placed his order. Then Courtney and I walked up and placed our order, after which the guy apologized for cutting. Courtney and I told him not to worry because we needed to look over the menu anyway. Then we had to wait for our order.

Mind you the place is a little small and there isn't a lot of room to stand or sit. So I found the seat next to our little friend, but on my way I bumped him, then another guy on the other side of the chair, then our little friend again. Needless to say I felt like a bull in a china shop.

Then my name was called and then our little friend's order was called. It turns out his name is Zach. As Courtney and I are walking to the car we and laughing about Zach, we notice that some Douche parked diagonal behind me. The first thing that comes out of my mouth was "What a douche. Who would park like that in a parking lot like this?" Then we turned around to see if anyone was behind us and low and behold it was Zach. When he realized that we were walking to my car he turned right around and walked back to the restaurant. That is when Courtney and I realized that it must be his car!!! But it wasn't confirmed until I backed out of the spot we saw Zach hiding in the bushes. He didn't get out and officially walk to his car until we pulled out of the parking lot!!!

That is why he is an infinite douche!!!

Hello Nemesis #430

By now I feel like I should change the direction of my blog to all the nemeses I seem to have. This past weekend, I was introduced to yet another nemesis of mine. I never would have thought this object would become a nemesis but I guess that is what the element of surprise is all about.



So this past weekend here in Phoenix, Arizona is was 60 degrees, cloudy, and rainy when I woke up. I was so excited as we haven't had a day like this in so long!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well since last year really. But I was even more excited that I was finally able to turn the air conditioner off and open all the windows in the condo for some fresh air.



I started with our bedroom first. Teddy slept soundly while I struggled with the windows in the room, but hey, what are husbands for right? Then I moved on to the spare bedroom and then to the living room. I was feeling pretty good about the weather and just really excited....Little did I know disaster was waiting in the other room. For those of you who don't know, Teddy and I have a rather large window in our living room. Well I think it is a big window...anyway, I am pulling on the string to pull the blinds up when all a sudden I hear a snap and the blinds come flying off the wall and land on my head, shoulder, and hand.



I am standing right by the window holding my head because it hurt so bad and I was trying not to cry when Teddy comes running down the hallway to see what happened. Remember, he was sleeping when all this happened. When I saw him I started crying and he came running over because he thought I had really hurt myself. I just keep saying that I was sorry and asking if I broke them. Teddy kept saying for me to stop apologize and move your hands I need to see if you are bleeding.



After the excitement died down and I relaxed a little I asked Teddy if he liked how he woke up. He said no because he really thought I had hurt myself, but he thought it was something in the kitchen. I guess when I hurt myself I usually have some sort of reaction that follows the loud noise. But this time, he only heard the noise and thought I was seriously hurt. Poor Teddy :(

Dirty Feet, Dirty Looks, Pretty Nails

Tonight, after my car situation was worked out, I went to get my nails done and a pedicure. I decided to try this new nail place by my "new" house. Well, apparently my feet were really bad. The guy that was working on my feet kept looking up at me and down at my feet then back up at me with this disgusted look on his face. It was very uncomfortable....I didn't know what else to do but smile at him. Then he would return it with a snooty smile...I was so embarrassed that he thought my feet were so gross, but I swear they weren't that bad. But hey, I wore open toed shoes all day...what did he expect????

In the end, my feet feel amazing and my nails look great. The store was very nice and I do plan on going there again. I will just have to make sure that I clean and scrub my feet before I go...

One Car Garage Part II

Because my car was dead and Courtney drove me to work, Adam had to pick me up from work. When we got home he tried to push my car out of the garage so he could jump it; however, my garage is only a one car garage. So he really had to push my car all the way out. If only it were that easy...my car was so dead that the gear shifter wouldn't move to to neutral...so we had to call AAA to get a tow truck company to come out and tow my car out of the garage. Luckily, they only needed extra long jumper cables to jump start my car.....oh how great you are Downtown Towing...

Hello My "New" Nemesis....

Apparently I had a fight with a blue pen today and it looks like it won....now the only issue is how long I walked around the office with the markings from the fight....

One Car Garage

This morning started out like any other morning....Adam woke up and started getting ready for work. Then while he was eating his breakfast I got up and started getting ready for work. Adam left for work and I got a few snacks ready for me to eat during the day. I went downstairs to the garage and my wonderful car...but when I turned the key to hear the gentle pure of my car I heard nothing. I tried again but still nothing. Then I remembered back to a few months ago when my battery was dead and reached down to my headlight switch. And yes, I had left them on again. The last time I left them all on day while I was at work and my car was dead when I got in my car to go home.

Well, I called my dad to see if he could come and jump my car as he works only five minutes away but he didn't answer. Then I remembered my cousin Courtney. She works with me and would have to pass my house on her way to work anyway. So, I called her she saved the day. She even stopped by Circle K for me to get a soda in a Styrofoam cup!!!!

Alicia, Are You Out There?

Dear new best friend Alicia,

I know it is has been several weeks since we last spoke and saw each other, but I wanted to tell you that I will be going to the ASU game this weekend and hopefuly the one on 11/28. Is there a chance of a reunion? If so, please have your mom e-mail me your phone number so we can meet up?

Does that sound like we are 12? Have your mom call my mom for a play date? ha ha ha ha ha ha....

Incidents 260-268

I hope everyone enjoyed my sister's guest entry. The night began lovely, just as Alyssa described it; however, there were a few things she left out that lead up to Incident 268. It is my duty to address them one by one. Please start with Incident #260 further down to learn the story from the beginning.

Also note, Incidents 260-269 all happened between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Incident 269

After Alyssa and I composed ourselves, we headed up to see our niece. The day before, the nurse showed me where Shawn and Mindi would be staying for recovery. So when we got to the floor we went straight to the room. I stopped real quick to get cupcakes I had bought for said niece's birthday.

When I met Alyssa at the door she knocked and no one answered.

She knocked again…no answer.

Knocked again and added "housekeeping, want me fluff your pillow?"…no answer.

Then I opened the door to look in and the room was empty. Apparently, they had changed rooms and didn't tell us. When we headed back down the hall to the Nurses station, we saw our dad standing there. Apparently he had been there the whole time and we never saw each other….

Incident 268 Rebuttal

The only thing that I am going to rebut regarding my sisters outline of Incident 268 is that after I smashed the bag in her face I was really concerned that I had hurt her. She kept mumbling something about her lip and I couldn't understand her, so I thought I had cut her lip, pushed to hard, or that something was seriously wrong with her. I like how she left that part out of the story. I only smashed the bag in her face as a joke and I didn't even really mean for it to make contact…

The funniest part about the bag incident is that the spot of liquid was so small. We really had to search the bag to find it…

Incident 267

After we finished eating, I drove us back to the hospital and accidently went in a turn lane that I believe was just for U-Turns. Apparently that was all Alyssa needed to start telling me how to drive and find a parking spot at the hospital. Can you see why Incident 268 happened?

Incident 266

This next part I don't quite understand, but while we were sitting there eating Alyssa turned on my overheard lights in the car. When I turned them off, she replied that she likes to have the light on when she eats. The reason I don't understand that is because her house is really dark, even with the lights on. So I didn't know why she would need to the light on in the car. Needless to say she lost.

Incident 265

After we ordered, I drove to the JITB parking lot for us to eat. Alyssa didn't understand why we didn't just drive over to the hospital parking lot and that is when I told her that she was now on her second strike. The third strike she was going to walk home.

Incident 264

After QT Alyssa and I headed over to JITB so we could get some food. Now Alyssa hadn't been to this JITB before, but I had gone the night before to get my dad and brother some food so I knew how to get to the drive-thru. So as I turn into the parking lot Alyssa gets so upset that I didn't make the first turn and went a long way which actually gave me a better turning radius. What happened while we were ordering is unclear, but I can tell you that Alyssa placed her order and I was not given a chance. So I had to order when we got to the window.

Incident 263

After I went to the bathroom I didn't see Alyssa in the store, so I thought she went back to the car. Which was odd because I had the keys. When I got to the car I saw that the headlights were on but no one was in the car and I thought Alyssa was trying to play a trick on me. I get in the car start it and sit there. A few minutes go by and no Alyssa. I start to panic because her purse is in the car and it was unlocked with the headlights on….initially I thought she had been kidnapped. I started to look around the whole parking lot. And to be honest, I really was scared. But then I thought, just go look inside one more time before you say anything to anybody. Good thing I did, because when I walked back up to the door and saw she was paying for the items. I was really relieved to learn she hadn't been kidnapped.

Incident 262

During that whole ordeal, I had to go potty really bad. (I am sorry I said potty, but I felt that if I said I had to go to the bathroom really bad you would have thought something else.) When we get to QT we get out and are welcomed in the store. I go straight to the bathroom and Alyssa went to get Mindi's request…tootsie rolls. Well, when I went to the restroom there was a sign on the door that said "Closed for Cleaning" and a mop bucket outside the door. So I turned around and went to help Alyssa where we learned that neither of us pay attention to each other and we had two different conversations at the same time. Here is what was said:

Alyssa - Why didn't you get Shawn's soda

Stacey - Because some guy was cleaning it.

Then Alyssa ventured over to the soda and saw that no one was cleaning the soda machines and I headed back to the bathroom as I saw someone coming out which meant it was good to go.

Incident 261

Once the fitting was over, we ventured out to the hospital. It just so happened that it was around dinner time. That is always a touchy subject as my sister and I have a hard time agreeing on what things to eat. Anyway, as we get closer Alyssa calls my brother to see if he and Mind need anything and we get their request. As you read, he wanted something from QT but we hadn't decided on what we wanted to do. I suggested that we get a snack from QT and then stop for something with more substance on the way home. Well Alyssa did not like that at all and wasn't shy about expressing it. After I asked her a million times if she wanted me to stop at JITB with only being told no, I headed straight for QT.

Incident 260

My annoyance began before we were even in the same vehicle. That night my bridesmaids' had their first dress fitting. Alyssa and I had decided that we would meet at the bowling alley on Rural and I-60 to carpool to the bridal shop and then the hospital. Well, of course leaving work at 5 o'clock can have its hiccups. I can't remember what time I suppose to meet her, but I was late. She called and we "discussed" our options and then decided to meet at the bridal store and then carpool to the hospital. I arrived only minutes after everyone else, so it worked out great.

Guest Incident #268

Hi everyone this is Stacey’s sister Alyssa, aka poohead/aka abroblogstalker. I have the unique opportunity to be a guest blogger on Stacey’s blog!

I wanted to write about incident #268 in which I was the victim of one of Stacey’s incidents.

It was a lovely Thursday night, a great night really because my niece had been born the day before. Stacey and I were heading to the hospital to visit said niece and we ended up making a few pit stops on the way to kill time (baby niece was practicing eating and she needed her privacy!) We stopped at QT to get our brother a soda and there was an incident with Stacey and the bathroom (I’ll let her tell that one) and there was an incident with Stacey getting to the car earlier than me (again, I’ll leave that one to her) but the one I want to focus on is the incident that took place with the Jack-in-the-Box bag from dinner.

To set the stage, we were both very tired. We clearly had sympathy fatigue for the new parents-waiting for text messages at odd hours of the night and for babies to be born is very hard work! We were both a little irritable (mostly Stacey) and short-tempered (again Stacey)…

Ok, so we arrive at the hospital. We’re in the car gathering our things to take up with us. We grab our purses and drinks. The bag from Jack is in the center of the console so I push it towards Stacey for her to grab.

We laugh.

She pushes it back at me.

We laugh.

I threw it at her.

We’re laughing harder.

And then she chose to RAM IT IN MY FACE.

After the brutal attack I realize there is something on my lip…all I know is it feels wet. I start screaming (while laughing my butt off) that I have something on my lip. “What’s on my lip??” “What’s on my lip??” But I’m trying not to move my mouth because I don’t know what is there so it sounds more like “wup on ma lip?” I’m imagining the worst that maybe my lip was cut from the bag or something gross is on there!! Finally after we compose ourselves (sort of) from laughing Stacey looks and says “IT IS JUST WATER”. Somehow the bottom of the bag got wet (maybe condensation from a drink?)

This started our laughing again and we kept laughing until our tummies hurt and we had tears running down our faces. I don’t know which is funnier, her ramming it in my face or me thinking I had a busted lip from it.

Thanks, Stacey, for letting me blog!

Peace out!

Headbands

After reading the comments on my "Famous" blog, I realized that I forgot to tell a very funny and embarrassing story that happened at the Mary Kay party. If you haven't been to a MK party before, you usually sit around a table at what would be a "station" to try out the different product. Generally, you wash your face with their product and then follow with their make-up. It is actually pretty fun if you haven't every tried it before. Anyway...the consultant gives you headbands to hold your hair back while you are testing the product....well at the end of the night, I asked her if I could keep my headband. She responded with "No, I take them home and wash them so I can reuse them." Well she said this with a smile on her face, so I thought she was joking. But she wasn't. Everyone started laughing and telling the MK lady to hurry and get the headband before I steel it and they are super cheep at Walmart.

I looked and sounded like a psycho...but she was smiling!!! How as I suppose to know she was serious?????