Monday, July 30, 2012

What NOT to say to a pregnant woman


Well, here I am folks.  23 weeks…17 to go!  Since it's now clear that I'm pregnant and haven't just gained a few stones, I've gotten a whole new battery of experiences.  I had Sunday brunch yesterday with a few friends and one of our conversations was about how people love to give advice to pregnant woman.  It's like the apocalypse is coming when one sees a pregnant woman in the grocery buying brie and a bottle of white wine...throw in a pound of deli turkey and all hell breaks loose.  So in case you had any questions on the subject or just want a little enjoyment, I've compiled a list of what NOT to say to a pregnant woman.  



1.) "Get as much sleep as you can" So, you are basically telling me I'll never sleep again.  Oh and FYI pregnant sleeping really isn't as easy as it looks.  I now have to get up every three hours to pee, I can't sleep at all laying on my stomach anymore, and I have to reposition the body pillow every time I move. 

2.) "How is your husband is doing with all of this?" Say what?  She’s the one carrying the load.  Believe me, dude is fine.  Plus-plus for him---he's now got a full-time DD.  

3.) “When are you due?” Why shouldn't you ask this?  Because I'm saving you from the possibility of feeling like a total a-hole.  I had this happen to a friend of mine once...she had had the baby 3 weeks earlier.  

4.) "Well listen to what happened to me when I gave birth..." Unless she asks, don't speak a word of your story.  I was recently in the nail salon and this woman decided to tell me her horrific birthing story where she lost all of her blood and was then brought back from the dead.  She then promptly promised that it would never happen to me.  I almost died myself upon hearing this.  

5.) “Your boobs are gigantic!” I'm willing to bet a million bucks she's well aware. 

6.) Please don’t stare at a pregnant woman’s belly.  I mean, have you never seen a pregnant woman?  She really will notice your eyes zeroing in on her ginormous stomach.

7.) “Didn’t this go by fast?!?!?" Um, maybe for you. 

8.) "You look so small"...Even though you think you’re complimenting her, don’t tell a pregnant woman this. She’ll think that you’re saying that something is wrong.  Try saying, "You look great!"or "Aren't you just all belly."

9.) "Wow, you sure are eating for two!" In code you just told her she's eating enough to feed Zambia and that in fact she's a fat cow.  

10.) "Enjoy it while you can."  You mean once baby comes, I'll never enjoy anything?  C'mon people.  




Thursday, July 12, 2012

Half-Way Through 10 Months!



Here we are friends, 20 weeks and half-way through the 10 months needed to build a baby.  Our big ultrasound was yesterday and the tech said everything looks perfect...Baby's even already got some big cheeks!  I was pretty-sure baby was healthy, but it was a huge relief to get confirmation.



We also got the news baby is a she.  McConnell Grace---after my mom.  When we first got news I was pregnant, I hoped for a boy.  But as the weeks went on, I started to think about the relationship I had with my mom and how much I would love to have that with my daughter.  It'll be fun to see this little girl have Bryan wrapped around her finger---It'll make for great blog posts!  I can just imagine how a scene of him trying to do her hair will play out.  We have many laughs ahead---that's for sure.  Plus I now get to dress her up in a UGA cheerleading outfit!



The other day I came across this poem that reminded me so much of what my mom taught me and what I hope I can now in turn teach mine.  I think I may even get it framed for her room.
   

For My Daughter

By Sarah McMane
“Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be.” – Clementine Paddleford

Never play the princess when you can
be the queen:
rule the kingdom, swing a scepter,
wear a crown of gold.
Don’t dance in glass slippers,
crystal carving up your toes --
be a barefoot Amazon instead,
for those shoes will surely shatter on your feet.

Never wear only pink
when you can strut in crimson red,
sweat in heather grey, and
shimmer in sky blue,
claim the golden sun upon your hair.
Colors are for everyone,
boys and girls, men and women --
be a verdant garden, the landscape of Versailles,
not a pale primrose blindly pushed aside.

Chase green dragons and one-eyed zombies,
fierce and fiery toothy monsters,
not merely lazy butterflies,
sweet and slow on summer days.
For you can tame the most brutish beasts
with your wily wits and charm,
and lizard scales feel just as smooth
as gossamer insect wings.

Tramp muddy through the house in
a purple tutu and cowboy boots.
Have a tea party in your overalls.
Build a fort of birch branches,
a zoo of Legos, a rocketship of
Queen Anne chairs and coverlets,
first stop on the moon.

Dream of dinosaurs and baby dolls,
bold brontosaurus and bookish Belle,
not Barbie on the runway or
Disney damsels in distress --
you are much too strong to play
the simpering waif.

Don a baseball cap, dance with Daddy,
paint your toenails, climb a cottonwood.
Learn to speak with both your mind and heart.
For the ground beneath will hold you, dear --
know that you are free.

And never grow a wishbone, daughter,
where your backbone ought to be.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Bailey and Bunny

My sweet little pup Bailey has many relationships that have many dimensions.  She is truly one-of-a-kind to say the least.  I'm planning to write a few posts about her relationships and will document them so you know I'm not making this up.  This first post will be about "Bunny".

When Bryan and I were dating he bought me this giant Easter bunny for the holiday.  It was a sweet thought.  For the next few years Bunny sat comfortably in an old rocking chair up in my childhood bedroom.

By the time Bailey came along, Bryan and I had already moved out and settled in our condo palace.  As a puppy she was quite a mischievous little thing.  Many times we would come home to pillow stuffing thrown about the place, chewed shoes, or ripped carpet.

One day Bailey was spending the night over at my parents house as we were out of town.  Mom and Dad were downstairs sitting by the fire and Bailey was roaming the house looking for something or "someone" to play with.  The next thing they knew, this little dog had dragged a stuffed bunny that was twice the size of her down 2 flights of stairs to show them what she found.  Bailey decided that Bunny deserved some extra special and very UN-ladylike attention, which brings us to today.

Bunny now has a home in our living room that Bailey likes to bring out to play on a regular basis---especially when we have guests over.  Please see video of the two of them below:





Next up: Bailey and Heidi.  The best frienemies ever. 

Monday, July 9, 2012

Things Bryan Never Appreciated Til He Met Me

Today's little post is devoted to my dear sweet husband Bryan.  We've been together 10 years now and married for almost 5---Wow, time flies!  We met our junior year at The University of Georgia during which my girlfriends and I used to play a little game we called "Clark Gable-ing".  Ever since then, I've had him in my claws!

With that, I thought I would share with you the 10 things in life Bryan never truly appreciated until he met me:

1.) Closet Space- He has a slither of closet real estate in our quaint little condo.  Even less when baby comes.
2.) Shaved Legs verses Not Shaved- Enough said there.
3.) Style- No, honey.  Brown shoes do NOT go with your black slacks. 
4.) Knowing how to peel shrimp- It's a very valuable trait in our household. 
5.) The words "I'm sorry" and "you're right"- Especially when your wife uses the words: “you’re not pregnant” with “so you can’t possibly imagine what it’s like to be me.”
6.) Jewelry- It can undo many wrongs.
7.) Directions- Because his wife never knows which way she's headed.
8.) Wine- Its magical powers will make even the worst of days better.
9.) A well-written paragraph.
10.) Country music- Scratch that, there isn't an iceberg's chance he will ever appreciate someone singing about sitting with his dog on the front porch. 

Go Dawgs! 

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Gibralter- Wasabi

Regina was never picky with what she ate and was willing to try almost anything once.  One day my sister and I had gone out for sushi and we brought home leftovers.  Mom and Dad had just gotten home from a Home Depot run and she was famished.  There was nothing else left in the fridge except the sushi, so we told her to feel free to have the rest.  It was the first time she had ever tried sushi and we thought it would be fun to see how she liked it.  After all those rolls were relatively harmless...just a California Roll and a Shrimp Tempura Roll.       

Mom thought the rolls were strange, but she was starving and ate on.  As we all sat chatting around in the kitchen we saw mom eyeball the green wasabi in the styrofoam container.  Before we could get the "don't eat that!!" words out of our mouths, she had already popped the gumball size dollop of what she thought was guacamole in her mouth.  Next thing we knew we had a 10 minute tear-inducing, coughing-fit on our hands.  Mom didn't know what hit her.  All the 3 of us just looked at each other and burst out laughing.  Of course that was after we grabbed her a water pitcher.   

Oh, I'd give a million bucks to go back to that day. 

Monday, July 2, 2012

"Over-Sharing"

My sister-in-law sent me a facebook message yesterday telling me to post a belly picture for her to see.  Instead of sharing my ever expanding belly with 700 of my closest friends on facebook, I think I may just share on here instead.  Maybe as time goes on I'll get bold enough to post on fb.  But let me tell you the buck stops there.  There will be no ultrasound shots where you see the inside of my uterus with my unborn baby's face smushed up next to it.  I call that over-sharing.

With that being said, I've come up with a few more ways that I've deemed "over-sharing" when it comes to the unborn bundle of joy so please take note:

1.) Making your ultrasound picture your baby shower invite, complete with the over-sized fetus's head hanging out in the momma-to-be's silhouette.  



2.) Making the ultrasound picture your Christmas card.  Don't you just love baby fetus wearing a red Santa hat? 



3.) Creating your own stamps in order to bring new meaning to "Special Delivery".
 
 4.) The Belly-Tee. Yes, a mama may be anxious to start showing off her baby-to-be before she starts showing, but this is not a good idea.

And as for me, here I am at almost 19weeks.  Still not showing too much.  It turned out kinda blurry and my elbows look abnormally large, but whatevs.



Saturday, June 30, 2012

Fun things to do while you're pregnant

Folks I must admit I miss my daily glass or so of sauvignon blanc.  I am also finding that I miss a good old fashioned ham and cheese sandwich as well as raw oysters over crackers, horseradish, and cocktail sauce.  Just those facts alone make for a VERY long 10 months.  Yes, 10.  What you come to quickly realize when you become pregnant, is that the "it takes 9 months to build a baby" thing is a sham.  Do the math. 40 weeks actually equals 10 months.

So now that you've got 10 months of this, the question is now what.  You can't exactly have a night out on the town with the girls or enjoy the pool with a few or 6 adult beverages.  Don't judge, but I must confess that I partake in a glass of wine or so every once in a while.  Heck they do it in Europe and it's not like our parents and grandparents didn't do it.  We didn't come out with 2 heads right?  Plus my doctor sad it was okay do so every once-in-a-while.

Anyway, back to the question of what to do for fun.  Bryan and I are planning to fly out to California in August to visit our precious new baby niece Emilia.  I'll be about 24 weeks by then.  I was looking online for cute tankini's that I can wear at beach while out there and then an idea of funness came over me.  How about a bikini?  Yes, a bikini.  This would work particulary well since my stomach hasn't seen the light of day this summer (ususally by now I've got a nice tan going for me).  In a bikini I'll be able to entertain myself while joyfully watching others being blinded by the reflection of my pale baby belly.  Just wait, it get's even better.  Once I get board with that, I'll have Bryan dig a hold in the sand for me to lie on my stomach.  I'll then roll over when unsuspecting people walk by and scare them.  It'll make for even more fun if there are preteen boys walking by.  Oh how fun would it be to scar those tweens for life!  California- get ready.

September is our 5 year wedding anniversary and we're planning to go back Ocean Isle Beach where we got married.  I'll be in the 30+week range...let's hope for lots of tweens then too!

See?  Mini Driver likes to play the game too!



Friday, June 29, 2012

Gibraltar- Regina and Bryan

I heard Ali Wentworth make a joke once that if she and her husband were drowning in a lake, her mother would jump in to save him then the two of them would figure out who to call to save her.  Well that would be also true for Regina, Bryan, and myself.  She loved him that much and I am pretty sure that feeling was mutual. 

I once made the mistake of telling mom that I went to my 8am classes in sweats.  She was horrified.  How would boys ever want to pursue me looking like that?  She told me the least I could do was put on some lipstick.  I rolled my eyes and told her that in finding a boy, I wanted them to appreciate my inner-self first.  She flatly said they'll never have the chance to appreciate that part when they see me looking like that.

See Regina was hilarious, even though she wasn't trying to be.  She saw things in black and white, because the gray just didn't make sense to her.  When she made comments about the gray parts of life, it was plain hysterical.  I think that's one of the reasons Bryan loved her so much.  He loved to be around her and wait for her one liners to come out.  Bryan is a big joker and pushing her buttons made for many-many laughs and fun wine nights by the fire pit.

The relationship Bryan and Regina had was one that you don't see often between a son-in-law and mother-in-law.  They would always gang up on me and I would typically be on the losing end of that stick.  Bryan thought my mom was the best cook and she took such pride in that.  Every time we would come for dinner she would make sure she had his favorite dishes on the menu.  Rosemary potatoes, mushroom rice, Thanksgiving turkey and gravy were just a few of his favorites.  

I always knew that I was lucky when it came to the husband I snagged, but didn't 100% realize that until Mom got sick.  He never once complained that I was never home, that the laundry was a mile high, that our place was a wreck, or that I wasn't "working".  And he wasn't being this understanding because of me---he wanted her to have the best care.  What really "got me" was one Saturday when he came to see her at the hospital.  I think I stepped out for a few moments to get something to eat.  When I got back I saw him at the foot of her bed with his hands all lotioned up giving her the ultimate foot massage.  No one asked him.  He just did it because he loved her and he had no doubt she felt the same way.

Regina and Bryan---Turkey Day 2008
 


Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Happy Birthday Amanda!

It's my sister Amanda's 27th Birthday today. So please add her to your wishes!  To celebrate, I've got an Amanda top 10 list for you.

10.) She always "borrows" stuff without asking and somehow for the past 27 years she has found a way to prevent me from strangling her. 
9.)  She taught me how to put on make-up.  Usually it's the big sister who teaches the sibling this rite of passing.  Not here folks.  Amanda’s fine, fresh, fierce and has always had a lock on it.
8.)  She can do anything on the computer.  I can't count the number of times she's done a power point or fixed an excel sheet for me when I was in a pinch. 
7.) She can sleep though anything.  And I mean anything.  You can blow a trumpet in her ear and she'll sleep like a baby. 
6.) She knows how to throw a great party. Oh, yes.  My freshman year in college Amanda called proudly to say she was throwing a party while our parents were at the beach.  What she failed to do was to watch the weather report for that weekend.  A  hurricane ran them off the beach and they came home to a house full of over served teenagers.  Good stuff.   
5.) She's got a heart of gold.  Amanda would give you the shirt off her back.
4.)  She's had a Mercedes since she was 18.  I don't know how she pulled this off.  I can remember coming home to celebrate her 18th birthday.  To my astonishment, I see a shiny new CLK in the driveway with Amanda right next to it, grinning from ear to ear.  I could have killed her (and my dad) that day.  And yes my friends, she just got another one...but dad says she's making payments this time.   
3.) She is perhaps the only person that drives worse than I do.  When I ride in the car with her my life is constantly flashing before my eyes.
2.) She's a great Auntie to Bailey.  I can only imagine how wonderful she'll be to her new niece or nephew.
1.) She's free babysitting come November.  Enough said. 



Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Gibraltar: The Cake

Regina had this famous sour cream pound cake that she made for almost every occasion...birthdays, holidays, teacher appreciation week at school, vacations, whatever.  I think it may have been her mother's recipe.  That cake was so good we would even eat it for breakfast.  It was filled with lots of butter, sugar, and all around goodness.  I can remember when I was little sitting in our harvest gold kitchen (think kitchen design from the 1970's) and watching her make it.  She'd pour the batter into this avocado green bunt pan (again think circa 1975 style) and throw it in the oven.  Now the key for a pretty Sour Cream Cake is to put Crisco all in the pan then douse it with flour.  That way it won't stick and will come out brown and beautiful. 

We celebrated my sister Amanda's birthday this weekend (Happy 27th sissy) and she wanted Mom's cake.  Amanda has become a pro at making that cake...well except for the first time when she thought it was a good idea to substitute Splenda for real sugar.  Note: when you are making this cake don't try to cut calories anywhere---it won't work.  Use real sugar, real butter, real eggs.

This time the cake Man made was fantastic.  She forgot to use Crisco, but it still tasted the same as it always did with Mom. She follows a recipe card filled out in Mom's chicken scratch that gives step by step directions.  I asked Man to email me the directions as I still don't think I'm ready to read that recipe in her writing...maybe reading it through email will better.

This weekend I plan to go out to Home Goods and buy my own bunt pan.  I'll start my Sour Cream Cake tradition, and let the smell of that baking cake bring back so many wonderful memories.

In case you want to enjoy pure goodness, here you go!  Try it with a few scoops of vanilla ice cream. 

Here's what the Sour Cream Cake looks like
 
Regina's Sour Cream Cake
2 Sticks Butter
3 Cups Sugar
3 Cups Plain Flour
1 tsp Salt
6 Eggs
1/4 tsp Soda
1 tsp Vanilla (mom always added 2 or 3)
1/2 pint Sour Cream

Sift and measure flour.  Sift again with salt and soda.

Let butter get a little soft.  Put eggs out to get to room temperature.  Cream butter and sugar and then add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.  

Add dry ingredients, alternating with sour cream (1/3 flour, 1/2 sour cream).  Mix well.

Bake in lightly greased 10" tube pan at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.


Monday, June 25, 2012

My Take on "Why Women Still Can't Have it All"

Last Thursday I read the news making article in The Atlantic Magazine: Why Women Still Can't Have It All by Anne-Marie Slaughter.  It got me to thinking over the weekend and I wanted to give my take.  

Several years ago I read the book: Seducing the Boys Club by Nina DiSesa.  Nina DiSesa was the first female Chairman and Chief Creative Officer at McCann Erickson, a world-wide advertising conglomerate.  In her book she talked about how she worked in the "quintessential boys club" of advertising and how she got ahead.  Nina was one of those who really broke the mold for us women.  She did the dirty work.  And now 15 years after Nina's successes and 30+ years after the feminist movement, having it all it should be easy right?  The answer is sadly no.

Shortly after reading Nina's book I was headed up to NYC for work.  I figured what the heck...I'm going to email her and maybe she'll meet with me.  Nina emailed me back while she was on a plane to Switzerland and said she could host me for coffee in her office.  I was floored.  I had all these questions for her and was yearning for advice in how I could get to the top.

I came away from that coffee with an epiphany.  Nina's point was really clear---in this day and time, we are doing this to ourselves.  As women we are our own worst enemy.  Women in the workplace should be bringing each other up---not down.  How many of you have you ever worked for a women and said you'll never do it again?  I once had a much older female boss.  She would send me emails at 5am, expecting responses immediately.  She didn't like my ideas just because they were mine.  I tried so many "managing-up" tactics.  I sent weekly reports, I tried to be helpful, I tried to "kill her with kindness", I tried to be a good worker bee, etc.  Problem was that it didn't matter and back then I couldn't understand why.  She resented me in ways I didn't know possible.  She hated the fact that I was young, had fresh ideas, and had a different way of thinking than she did.  It had taken her 35+ years to get to where she was and here I was on par with her at only 27.  She didn't think I had earned my street cred and was damn well going to put me in my place.  In looking back with all that I know now, in some ways I can't blame her because that's what she was taught.  She clawed her way up there and felt I should have to do the same.  In her mind there were no passes. 

Nina made it clear that women in senior positions should be setting the precedent in the support of their female subordinates.  Women should NOT be so judgmental of each other, which we so often are. If a woman needs to work from home or has to leave early because their child is sick or has a baseball game---LET THEM.  If you have an ambitious young woman working for you, see that as an asset to you and mentor her.  She went on to say that if we don't start supporting each other, then we will lose even more of the few and far between female superstars left in working America.  As women we will find a way to get the work done. We are just inherent like that.

In the Atlantic Article Why Women Still Can't Have It All, Anne-Marie Slaughter talks about how her feminist beliefs started shifting.  When she initially took that prestigious White House job, she said she thought was going to be this Big Time Charlie State Department Woman for as long as the President was in office.  But after two years she left because she needed to shift her focus to her family.

I don't think you can blame our current problem on feminism.  So many women think that feminism means we need to keep up with our male counterparts in every aspect.  If they are pulling an 80 hour work week---than we should too.  If they are missing their little girl's ballet recital for something work related---than we should too.  In my opinion, what feminism tells us is that we don't have to chose between being a career woman or a good mom.  It's also not telling you to not focus on your family.  Last and most importantly it's not telling you that you can't and shouldn't compromise.  But again, I think it all comes down to us.  Women need to be the ones leading the way and we aren't---plain and simple.  We don't need a female President or a 50% female Congress to change that way of thinking.  What we need is for women to pull each other up and support each other.

With all that being said, I do have some pretty fantastic professional female role models in my life.  I'll leave that for another post. 


  

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

My Rock of Gibraltar

When people describe me there are a lot of things they mention: lover of wine, overly obsessed with her dog, teases her hair too much, has a short attention span, etc.  But the most important thing I would say that defines me is that I am a daughter to an amazing woman.

A little over two years ago I lost her to a beast known as Ovarian Cancer. I still can't fathom the fact that she's gone and I'm still angry as hell about it. We still had so much more to do and to see together.  Not to mention, she couldn't wait to be a grandmother.    

I was on the phone with one of her best friends just the other day and she kept saying I can't believe we lost our Rock of Gibraltar.  I looked up Rock of Gibraltar in Wikipedia and it reads that it was one of the Pillars of Hercules and despite long sieges it seemed that there was nothing that could destroy the Rock or its people. This history has inspired the saying "solid as the Rock of Gibraltar", which is used to describe a person or situation that cannot be overcome and does not fail. 

In thinking about it, Rock of Gibraltar describes my mom to a "T".  My mother was a true original, a trailblazer, a firecracker.  She was the hero, confidant, supporter and, “go to girl” for everyone around her.

As I continue to write on the blog, I was thinking I would mix in posts about her.  Funny stories that I want to remember or what I want people to know about her, or just reasons why I love her.  

Here's Gibraltar: She Did It All With Grace

Regina did everything with grace.  Whether it was making sure she had my husband's favorite foods always on the menu, setting the Thanksgiving table 3 weeks early, or when we brought her home with a terminal diagnosis and her insistence that her bed be positioned in front of the Christmas Tree so she could enjoy the lights.  

When I was little I can remember my mom bringing home 2 sisters from time to time who were in her 3rd grade class to spend the weekend with us.  The girls were poor and lived in a bad neighborhood...I'm talking they would hear bullets at night.  My mom gave them one-on-one tutoring and made sure they were fed with some "new" outfits and toys to take home by the time the weekend was over. 

She planned my wedding from start to finish and loved every second of it.  She learned how to cut corners and DIY in order to stay on budget, yet still make it look as elegant as ever.  She was especially proud of the cake lady she found that agreed to design and make a sandcastle inspired cake for only $250.  She was also so proud of my wedding dress, which she found for me.  She watched the JCrew online catalog like a hawk and we ended up getting a steal of a deal on it.  Marked down to $75 from $1500.  It was just perfect.

I must say her voicemails were not as graceful though.  When I missed her call she would leave a message stating that this was my mother (as if I didn't realize it was her by the sound of her voice or her cell number) and would ramble on about whatever it was she was calling about.  She'd say about 8 goodbyes and I love you's then I'd hear a thunk because she'd accidentally dropped the phone in her car.

From the way she raised me and my sister, to the way she loved my dad, to the way she left this world---she did it all with grace.  



The perfect beach wedding--note $75 dress



The Cake
Vanilla cake with raspberry filling. Shells were white chocolate.


   

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Are Pregnant Women Smug?

I watched this video by Garfunkle and Oates recently and it got me to thinking...Are pregnant women really smug?  YES.



Before becoming with child, I would listen to pregnant and mommy friends with interest…for a little bit. And after that, I would glaze over and start thinking about when I could flag down the waiter for my next glass of wine. While I was always happy for my friends and the lifetime of joy they had in-store, there was nothing I could really relate to for very long, and thus became uninterested. 

Now that I'm on the boat I've watched this hilarious video over and over.  I've come to the conclusion that pregnant woman are pretty damn smug.  And I can say that, because of the sheer fact that I am now one of them.  So now I want to bring up the smug topic of gender reveal cakes.  (I apologize to my friends who like this practice in advance.  If you invite me to yours, I'll come and pretend to think it's neat-o-mosquito then down several glasses of sauvignon blanc.) 

I don't understand it.  Is the whole world really in that much suspense on what you're having?  (Side bar---names.  If I ask you what you are naming your baby and you refuse to tell me out of fear that I will steal YOUR name, fret not.  I really am just trying to be nice---I don't care that much.)  Getting back to cakes.  Cake is what we eat on a BIRTHDAY people!!!  When we found out I was pregnant my husband signed me up for weekly baby updates from Baby Center.  Each week I get an email telling me how big my baby (or uterus) is by likening it to a fruit of vegetable.  Each week I hope it's a produce that I don't like because I don't particularly like associating my food to fetal analogs. I do like eating cake, but you know what I'm not too keen on eating is? Babies. 

This week baby is the size of a turnip.  Thankfully I don't like turnips. But, heck I'm not one to cast stones.  If you like eating cake and babies---have at it!


Look how many people care!!!! I must confess I'd be in the corner drinking if you made me go to this.

Monday, June 18, 2012

A little about me and my pup Bailey...

Never in my life did I ever think I'd ever enter the world of blogging and here I am.  I'm too busy, not creative or savvy enough, don't care enough, don't have enough interesting things to say unlike my blogger friends, etc.  BUT- I'm going to be a new mom and I figure that's what all "good" moms do right?  The good moms post pictures, talk about the cute things their babies did or did not do. Well if you become a regular of this or already know me maybe I'll do some of that or just make fun of them. But whatever it may be, you'll probably find  I'm just little bit different than the rest.

A little about me.  I'm a lover of wine and inseparable with my dog Bailey.  I have a wonderful husband with a baby on the way (end of November see here:What to Expect When You're Not Expecting).  I tend to fudge the details on a regular basis, drive too fast, and think reading directions is a waste of time.  

A little about Bailey.  Bailey is my 6 year old Miniature Schnauzer.  She is the greatest.  Bailey is considered our first born to my husband and me and we have promised her that this new edition will not effect her one bit in the pecking order.  You may be saying to yourself "yeah right and everyone says their dog is the greatest". But this is my blog and my rules, so I win.   Bailey's birthday was just the other day and I did a post on Facebook that listed the top 10 reasons as to why she rocks.  Here you go:


June 7 2012: Today is my sweet Bailey's 6th birthday. She has saved me more times than I can remember...Rin Tin Tin would be jealous! To celebrate, I'm listing the Top 10 Reasons why Bailey Rocks:

10. She's always happy to see me. No matter what mood
I come home in. I walk out of the room and come back five minutes later and it is as though I was gone for a year.

9. She has a short memory (for the most part). We could all benefit from that skill.

8. She has been with me through some great times and some really tough times. There have been times that I don't know what I would have done without the quiet support and devotion of my Bailey.

7. She sings on command.

6. She has a best frenemy named Heidi.

5. She doesn't have to wear clothes…awesome.

4. She is accepting of nearly anyone---note the word nearly.

3. She runs in her dreams…what a blast! You’ve got to believe that squirrel at Murphy Candler Park doesn’t stand a chance.

2. When I talk to her she pretends to understand.

1. She has the ability to love and accept me unconditionally. I hope someday to see myself as Bailey sees me.  


Bryan surprised me with this little scruff-monster back in 2006