At least someone had energy

What did I really cross off my list this past weekend you ask? I know there are only 2 days in the weekend but when my weekends aren’t pre-planned my mind goes a bit overboard. Thanks to my awesome husband the deep cleaning chore was crossed off my list before I stepped foot inside my house Friday night. I got wind of his accomplishments during our afternoon phone conversation when I interrupted him while he was moving the washer and dryer so he could vacuum behind it. Yes, he moved very heavy appliances to clean behind them. Something I haven’t even thought about for years. He didn’t start or stop there. When I got home I questioned his intake for the day…did he have a pot of coffee or five? Did he find some Ritalin and ingest the whole bottle? Nope, none of the above, besides a usual cup of morning joe. I can’t even remember everything he did but a few examples include removing our ugly outside light fixtures and replacing them with pretty new ones, buying a storm door, mowing the back and front yard, vacuuming the stairs and all the rooms upstairs, laundry, dusting, etc. The house was so pretty and in excellent condition when I came home from work. It was wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. I don’t really know how to convey my feelings about everything he did. I was jealous about his energy level that continued until after Lily’s bedtime when he crashed pretty hard. Which was fine since I crashed about the same time…ya know all his work sounded really laboring and wore me out just knowing everything he did.

Now I’ll re-visit my list and cross off a few pieces…happily. Knowing this coming weekend we don’t have any plans either. It’s so nice to have free weekends but I’m curious to see what my mind comes up with, in addition to the items remaining on my list.

Take Lily to the zoo-neither the zoo or rec center happened BUT I did take Lily to the children’s museum. I had to drive to South Denver and on the way back I figured out the stroller wasn’t in the van so opted for the children’s museum cuz Lily could run around without needing a stroller and my thinking brain knew all the other parents would be outside with their kids…freeing up the museum from the hoards of small people slobbering over all the blocks and kiddie kitchen utensils.

Take Lily to the rec center to swim—see above.

Attend yoga class-no, but I had to drive to South Denver during the scheduled class time. I will try for next Saturday.

Clean out spare room (move everything but bed to basement) –maybe next weekend.

Deep clean my house --okay, I didn’t actually do this but my amazing husband did.

Cook for the next week--yes, I cooked meatloaf, bbq ribs, ham & scalloped potatoes, spaghetti squash, asparagus & tofu stir fry (I managed to cook asparagus even though the smell has been overwhelming since being pregnant), blueberry muffins, & biscuits.

Make cinnamon rolls –thought about it but waiting for the yeast to rise is annoying.

Pick up doggie doodoo (to help when Randy mows)—didn’t need to do this cuz it was already done!

Clean out toy baskets-nope, didn’t do

Host a play date (haven't invited anyone though)—didn’t do but this was pretty much covered with the children's museum since I just want Lily to be around other kids besides the ones that hound her at daycare.

Scrap book—nope but I blame my friend Kris. :)

Watch movies-actually no, but that was due to some entertaining pro basketball games.

Sew a dress for Lily—haha, didn’t think that would happen. And it didn’t.

Gather clothes/shoes that haven't been worn in years to send to good will-yes, did this! Actually I'm currently in the process since about ½ of the clothes are still on my closet floor but I made sure to clear a path to the dresser for Randy.

Get a manicure and pedicure-actually yes, I feel a little bad saying because of everything Randy did but I used up the rest of my mother’s day gift certificate from last year.

Nap—never napped but rested when Lily was asleep. Yesterday I set up shop outside and read a book while soaking in the rays.

Grocery shopping-didn’t need to, crazy as that sounds. All the ingredients for my weekly cooking I had on hand. Weird.

Clip dog's nails-I completed ½ this task. If I finished the 2nd half it wouldn’t have been a pretty sight. I guess my male dog isn’t big on getting his nails done. And he’s even a prissy dog.

Organize my closet and dresser drawers-yes…I moved all my pre-prego jeans and tops to make my closet a bit easier to maneuver around and removed articles of clothing that I haven’t wore in years. Well, I kept a few pieces cuz I never know when I might want to wear it.

Visit friends that have newborn baby-didn’t happen but the baby is now 6-8 weeks old and it hasn’t happened yet so I’m not holding my breath.

Bring dairy ridden baby food to next door neighbors-tried but they weren’t home.

Return paint samples to other next door neighbors-didn’t happen but maybe this week.

Attend Randy's ultimate frisbee games on Sunday-yep, first game I peacefully enjoyed from the van while Lily napped and 2nd game I spent trying to watch but was actually entertaining a toddler.

Attend niece's soccer game on Saturday-didn’t happen but I do try and go to as many games as possible.

Cuddle and hang with Lily and Randy (no need to list this really since this happens before anything else)—of course this happened. Sunday morning Randy brought Lily into our bed where she proceeded to entertain us…or the wall since she faced away from us. She stood up between us and starting “singing” and “dancing.” Not sure what she was singing but she didn’t appear to breath for some time cuz she was constantly “singing” and her “dancing” included keeping her left leg still to help balance on the bed while her right leg twitched away and her arms where moving back and forth. Randy wasn’t happy when I told him she was practicing for her future as a dancer/waitress at Coyote Ugly.

Weekend List

Take Lily to the zoo
Take Lily to the rec center to swim
Attend yoga class
Clean out spare room (move everything but bed to basement)
Deep clean my house
Cook for the next week
Make cinnamon rolls (to prove I can make darn good ones since I burned some last weekend)
Pick up doggie doodoo (to help when Randy mows)
Clean out toy baskets
Host a play date (haven't invited anyone though)
Scrap book
Watch movies
Sew a dress for Lily
Gather clothes/shoes that haven't been worn in years to send to good will
Get a manicure and pedicure
Nap
Grocery shopping
Clip dog's nails
Organize my closet and dresser drawers
Visit friends that have newborn baby
Bring dairy ridden baby food to next door neighbors
Return paint samples to other next door neighbors
Attend Randy's ultimate frisbee games on Sunday
Attend niece's soccer game on Saturday
Cuddle and hang with Lily and Randy (no need to list this really since this happens before anything else)


Maybe identifying my list for all to see will help me get things done. Now I have to answer to you all on Monday. Wish I could leave work to get a head start.

I'm not creative enough for a title today

Not too much to report lately. My in-laws left last Tuesday and now we are getting back to our schedules. It's amazing the necessity of a schedule for a 18 month old. Our life thrives on a schedule. Even putting Lily to bed 20-30 minutes late can mess her up. And her parents.

I think we have decided on a name. Or at least have it narrowed down to 2 names. Aren't you just dying to know? Maybe someday, like August 18th. Or if little man is anything like his sister then August 29th. As long as this kid is born IN August I don't care. But if he knocks on September we might have issues. I don't mind sharing my birthday month but he has plenty of time to make his grand appearance in the month of August. IF he is born in August then we will have our family birthdays in August, September, October and November. That is pretty cool.

I'm still thinking about using cloth diapers. I have done quite a bit of research and they only drawback is the extra work to put on the diapers. I don't mind the extra laundry while I'm home on maternity leave---hahaha, I say that NOW. Hopefully by the time I return to work I will be in a dirty diaper washing/drying routine and it won't make for a huge problem. We haven't fully commited yet but I'm getting closer. Just have to make sure the husband is on board...I wouldn't want to be stuck with ALL the diaper changes. And no, Randy wouldn't do that to me. He changes just as many diapers as I do and gags just like I do.

In an effort to bring Lily's scrap book into present times I printed off a ton of pictures yesterday. It's amazing to see the change in just a year. I know that year was filled with huge events like crawling, walking and talking but a year ago she was a tiny, little baby. Now she's a growing toddler. Check her out from April 2006...

no or NO!!!!!

I feel like I'm rebelling against my blog. I swear I'm not but it's been almost a week since my last post. During the week I typically have time to write but for some reason I didn't want to last week. Hopefully I will get past my blog fog and write, write, write.

My in-laws arrived last Thursday for a visit. Most of our time has been filled with family, including my sister-in-law, her husband and 3 kids. We have eaten a lot of yummy food including Mexican yesterday. Oh it was delicious. We did manage to squeeze in some quiet time and watch two movies...Children of Men and Babel. Both were good movies, I would actually see Children of Men again to make sure I absorbed it all. Babel wasn't exactly everything I expected, although it was still a decent movie.

Lily is enjoying all the attention. Well, maybe not all the attention. Her cousins enjoy "taunting" her to a certain extent. Lily is a kid who needs her personal space. She needs a few minutes to warm up to someone new before they hold and hug and kiss her. Although she's only 18 months and is lacking the necessary verbal skills to communicate her disdane for invasion of personal space, it's clear to her parents when enough is enough. She is very good about saying NO. Sometimes she will say no but might actually mean yes. For instance if you ask her if she wants something to eat and she may reply "no" but start eating the food. This falls under the simple "no" category. But the other category belongs to "NO!!!!!" and she means this when she really doesn't want to do something and if you push her, she will get even more pissed. This is the point where her father and I stop. Others haven't quite learned that yet. The "taunting" that my nieces and nephew do is basically to elicit the "NO!!!!!" response and then they continue to do it, laughing as she gets louder and forcefully shrugs them off. Soon enough they will be sorry and she will be able to stand up for herself.

Baby boy is reminding me of his presence frequently throughout the day. And I'm loving it. He is predictable, kicking after meals or when I sit down. My 2 nieces both felt him kicking this past weekend. My younger niece, Syd, removed her hand quickly after feeling him. I think he scared her. My other niece, Kelsey, is very interested in my pregnancy. She remembered our ultrasound date when others didn't. She always asks how I am feeling and notices my growing belly. Kelsey has also taken an interest in Lily that the other kids don't. She likes to try to entertain her, like a little babysitter. I'm looking forward to the day when she can really babysit. She's a bit young now but in a few years she's all mine!

Pregnancy rocks

My belly grows...

My baby boy kicks more and more...

We have 4 boy names that we like...

I purchased one boy shirt (on sale, size 12 months)...

Lily kissed my belly the other day...

17 weeks left...

Internet addictions

I have been absent from writing because I am addicted to this...


I have posted it on my side bar so check it out. I'll add the dad confessions after that site launches, possibly next week.

She's all mine

I was able to capture our new evening routine. Playing and nothing else. Well, I DO feed my child but then it's all about playing. We get a little goofy and sometimes it's hard to tell who is more goofy...














Her favorite hiding spot is next to the couch. Usually she is standing and you can see her head and hair in the corner (not much of a hiding spot--but she'll learn someday)








I made a little fort and she obviously enjoyed hiding out in it...












Somehow momma always knows where she's at...













This picture is a little blurry but it captures her big smile as she was finding my hiding spot...

















We had a lot of fun, playing and enjoying our time together. The night ended with a different bed time routine. I decided to hold onto her for as long as she would let me. She fell asleep as I rocked her and I couldn't let her go. I know she is growing up and I wanted to savor that precious time. Watching her breathing, examining her facial features and holding her sleepy body was the perfect ending to a perfect evening.

Check out the Lily update again

I posted a couple pictures to match what I was talking about. You can't miss the photo of the green glasses.

I think I've been here before

This is a bit late but whatever, it's my blog and I call the shots. My Chicago weekend was spent in the company of my 2 best friends, Kerry & Melissa. Melissa was actually "working" and had her dance team in a competition. They pretty much blew away the competitors...there wasn't too many competitors but they still blew them away.

In between dance practice and competition we did what was expected. We shopped. We ate. We talked like we have never talked before. Shopping, eating, talking...imagine that. The first piece of evidence was taken in a store (can't recall the name) but it was awesome...and obviously we were having fun...
















Of course with eating came drinking...some pretty drinks if I do say so myself...

















My drinks tended to be clear and on the rocks. Occasionally I got crazy and had something caffeinated...


















A few weeks ago Randy laughed when I suggested we eat at the Denver Chop House. It's a bit pricey and the upcoming baby means we SHOULD be saving money. But...when you are in Chicago you have to eat and when you're not with your significant other...it's cheaper! Sorry Randy. Baby likes prime rib.

















This photo was taken well before alcohol became involved. By the look of it you would think Melissa was drunk--she's the one that did this to me!






















Cab ride to Bulls game = $13.00
Cab ride from Bulls game because tickets were sold out = $13.00
Shopping at H&M = $100's
Tip for our favorite hotel attendant = $5.00
Our only dessert from the Cheesecake Factory = $7.50
Spending a weekend with your 2 best friends = priceless

Spring..where are you??

I’m looking forward to spring because…

I want to go on walks with Lily and talk to her about birds, trees, flowers, grass. Her mind is a sponge right now and it’s up to me to help her absorb life.

Lily can wear skirts or shorts. I like to see her little, chubby, toddler legs.

Our due date will be closer (okay, this also makes me freak a little- 2 kids!! Clean out the spare room!! Wash baby clothes!!!)

Saturdays are spent watching my 9 year old niece play soccer. Sundays are spent watching my 31 year old husband play ultimate frisbee likes he’s 9 years old.

The smell of food on the BBQ. This is good for multiple reasons, mainly cuz Randy does the grilling.

Leaving windows open and smelling the fresh, crisp Colorado air.

Not needing to scrape my van windows in the morning. I’m already late to work and when I see that layer of ice…well, it really pisses me off.

Longer days. It’s so sad when I take a morning shower and see only darkness out the bathroom window. It only makes me want to crawl back to bed where my sleepy husband is nice and warm.

Blowing bubbles, playing ring around the rosey. We did this a lot for approximately 2 weeks when the weather hinted at spring. Frozen bubbles and wet pants don’t make either of these activities enjoyable.

Lily Update

Lily is one determined little girl. She loves to put things together. She can sit in her high chair and buckle herself in over and over. Of course we have to unbuckle her but she is entertained by this for a long time (yes, 8-10 minutes is a long time when it comes to 18 month olds). Last night she went back and forth between her high chair and her travel booster seat putting together each buckle but somehow they kept coming undone (momma is sneaky). We have to distract her with a cool new game to get her to stop buckling things cuz her ADD parents are bored.

Grandma and Grandpa McE. bought her some Easter presents and included was a Mr. Potato head family. They have these teeny, green glasses that Lily loves to wear. Of course they don’t fit her but she requests that we put them on her and she clearly gets a kick out of it.















Lily has turned into quite a momma’s helper. Last weekend when I was preparing my big Easter dinner she was entertained for a very long time (over 30 minutes) by stirring her mixture (a few spoonfuls of whatever I was mixing) and transferring it over to a smaller bowl. Of course she and the table were a bit messy but she loved it. A few nights ago she decided to help me vacuum. This meant she held the vacuum in the same place until it was too heavy for her to hold anymore.















This morning I dropped Lily off at daycare since Randy is crazy busy with work. The daycare lady and her 2 kids were watching as Lily would walk away from me, look at me, I would ask her for a hug, and she would waddle over to me with a big grin on her face. She would give me a big hug and kiss and then repeated this about 5 more times. She definitely knew she had an audience and enjoyed every minute of it.

Most of our evenings seem so rushed. I rush from work to pick her up at daycare, rush home to let the dogs out and get her dinner ready. Feed her, play for a while, either continue playing for a bit or bathe her, then it’s bedtime. Some nights during playtime I try to do laundry or clean up the kitchen. Last night I decided to put the house chores aside and focus solely on Lily. I even left work a little early (per my boss of course) and was able to let the dogs out, change into comfortable clothes and mentally prepare her dinner. Our evening was a blast. Nothing was rushed, we had FUN. Part of the fun time included me lying on my back to stretch to which Lily decided to put her shoes on my feet. This lasted longer than I expected so I had to stretch or change positions occasionally to which she would freak out (in a cute way) and say “No, no, no” and when I would laugh at her she would laugh too. After she went to bed, I even managed to stay awake long enough to finish the laundry and pick up the house a bit. Overall it was a great night and I can’t wait for work to end so I can start another fun evening with her.

Jennifers rule the world

Mom 101’s blog entry was hilarious. She is due in 4 weeks and has yet to decide a name for her 2nd daughter. To say she is freaking out is an understatement. Today she brought up a great point about the name Jennifer…

http://mom-101.blogspot.com/

I am a Jennifer. My name was chosen because it sounded great with my middle name, Gail. Gail is after my Pa, Gale, who is my maternal grandpa. I don’t mind being a Jennifer but I have had to make some life changes due to my name.

In 3rd grade at a very small Catholic elementary school, I was one of 3 Jennifers in a class of 10 students. Two of us were Jenny’s and one was Jennifer. At the rip age of 9 I changed the spelling of my name to Jenni. I had to be different. It didn’t change the fact when someone yelled Jenni on the playground I still looked cuz they didn’t say Jenni with an I.

I am laid back with my crazy unusual spelling and don’t force it on anyone. When a receptionist or insurance person is taking my information I don’t care if they spell my name wrong. If they ask I will happily guide them to the right ending of an I instead of a Y.

Because of my oh-so-popular name and deciding names for offspring, I try to avoid the top 10 and even top 15 names if possible. It makes me a little sad that Lily is creeping up on the list and currently sits at #14. But it’s still pretty and I love it and have no plans to freak the child out by changing her name at 18 months of age. If we had to we could always change it to Silly or Billy cuz she is already familiar with those monikers. Lily Billy Lemon Squeezy is a name given to her by my nieces and nephew if you hadn’t already guessed.

All of the boy names we are contemplating do not currently stand on the top 15 list. Very reassuring. I love the name Aidan (anyone that watched Sex and the City would love the name Aidan…he was so sweet) but it’s the #1 name and I won’t go through that again. According to the social security website, Jennifer was the top name of the 1970’s, counting for 581, 467 girls with this name. The runner up???? Amy…with less than half that at 268, 932. To me, as a Jennifer, that is significant. If you don’t know someone’s name and they are around 30 years old, it’s fairly safe to call them Jennifer. At all of my places of work, it’s always a funny, funny joke that the new girl will be named Jenny to add to the Jenny group. Yes, at my current job we actually have a “Jenny Gang” that sponsored a Jenny bake sale. Sad in some ways, hilarious in many others.

Snakes and Snails

All I can think about these days is the little boy growing inside me. I have tried to buy things for him. Yes, I said “tried” but I haven’t made one purchase. Buying boy clothes doesn’t bring the excitement that girl clothes bring. I’ve seen a few boyishly cute items but overall nothing that I’m too excited about. My checkbook and husband are thrilled.

I am feeling baby boy move at least a few times a day. Before it was a rolling sensation with a few nudges but now its pokes, punches, and light kicks. Randy felt him move for the first time last night. He was surprised at how strong the movement was. We know what position his head and legs are in so I have an idea if I’m feeling hands or feet. Of course he might be doing somersaults preparing to be a circus boy and ending up in positions I couldn’t imagine.

We briefly discussed names last night but didn’t get far. I made a list today of names I liked and now Randy has to give his yay or nay. We seem to have one name we keep coming back to but haven’t made the life-long commitment to it yet. Aside from Randall Jr. (Randy isn’t down with it) and Mick Mack, if anyone has super cute boy name suggestions, let us know.

Here is one of the ultrasound pictures. Here he is looking at the camera. I refrained from posting the money shot so I don't start the embarrassing mom stuff already. I'm the cool, hip mom don't ya know. Anyhow, the money shot was good and eases our mind he won't come out a she.

No more waiting...it's a.......

Our little boy is healthy and quite a show off. There isn't much doubt that he's a boy. The ultrasound was very detailed, taking measurements of his arms and legs, head, abdomen, etc. His heart was beating at 146 beats per minute and you could see all 4 chambers and the mitral and bicuspid valves. We saw his bladder, kidneys and umbilical cord. Everything was normal and functioning as expected. He was moving his arms and hands a lot. He is a big boy, measuring a week ahead. I don't believe it will change our due date but might indicate a bigger baby come August. Yes, this scares me. It was great to see our little baby...doing what he's supposed to be doing...growing and preparing for August.

Boy names...haha. We don't do well with boy names. Going to the hospital to deliver Lily we had about 5 boy names. Luckily we had a girl and used the one name we had decided on. Now we are in trouble. Hopefully something will come along that we will love like we love the name Lily Joy.

It's a..........

BOY!!!





No wait....





It's a girl!!!




No wait...


we don't know! Sorry for all the suspense...I'm having fun with it! As we arrived at our doctor appointment my OB was called to emergency surgery so we had to reschedule. Lucky for the staff, we have our appointment later this afternoon. A little suspense won't hurt anyone, right?

Quickie

I'm back from Chicago and will post more about my awesome girl weekend later.

Tomorrow is the BIG day...hopefully we find out the gender of our little one. Thanks for all the comments about the gender! It's always fun to hear everyone's gender prediction. Keep your fingers crossed that he/she shows the goods. I'll post as soon as I can!!

April Fool's Day

Grandma Sherry caught on to the last post. She's been tricked too many times in the past and was on alert this year (not from my little bro though, he got her good). We did get Grandma Kim though. Randy just got off the phone with her after he convinced her it wasn't true. My nose piercing and Lily's ear piercings were just a fun, little, April Fool's Day joke. Heeheehaha. Not that there is anything wrong with getting ears or noses pierced. If I was 20ish and had the guts I would get my nose pierced, or more likely my tongue, cuz that is cool. I never had the guts in college and I definitely don't now. We will wait until Lily is older to get her ears pierced, if she wants them pierced. But no ear piercing for babies in this house.

After a long discussion with Randy, I finally got him to agree to something I've been wanting to do for a while. We got Lily's ears pierced. She only cried for about an hour but since she has been fine. One appears to be infected but we are keeping an eye on it. Hopefully it will heal just fine. She looks absolutely adorable...check her out with her new bling bling...

















I also decided to finally get a piercing I've been wanting to do for a long time. Maybe it was something about turning 30, leaving my 20's behind, and trying to stay young at heart. My doctor gave me the approval so I did it...finally! I got my nose pierced. I wanted a tiny piercing and I'm liking it. It definitely hurt but I'm happy I did it. Check it out...