Gotta love a good deal

Ok - so I got this awesome gift card for Christmas to Target. I had planned on saving it to buy baby stuff - I was very, VERY stubborn about it. Scott even tried to talk me into buying an MP3 player with it but I held on and I'm glad. Today we went to a different Target and I found some great baby items on clearance. When I say great - I mean AWESOME!!!

First off - got our swing.



Got a killer deal on it! Almost half the price! Then I found the exersaucer that we registered for and it was half price, too! So, I was able to get both for less than what one would cost. Talk about excited! We almost bought our high-chair, too, but the box was open and we were worried that there might be parts missing. I'm going to be heading to some more Targets in the area to see what they have. :) I still have some money on the gift card plus some cash that Scott's grandparents gave us, so I'm waiting to see if the high chair is at another store. I guess it's sad when you get overly excited over baby gear deals. LOL!

Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve everyone! We're heading over to my cousin's to play Tripoley and eat chocolate!

The Phantom, names and more....

Ok - so I'm going to try to make an effort to blog more consistently. I just don't have a lot to talk about - my life is rather boring. :) But, I did do something cool yesterday.

Scott and I went downtown to see Phantom of the Opera. It's an amazing story, breathtaking music, etc. But, in all of it's glory I was left feeling rather "eh" about it.



I loved being down there with my husband. (Yes - Earl is back in the good graces) I enjoyed the buzz of downtown. I miss it considering I worked there for three years. I even enjoyed 90% of the show but it was like something was missing. It wasn't as breathtaking as it was the last time I saw it. Not sure why. The only thing that I could think of (with Scott's help) is that the Phantom just wasn't the same - of course each Phantom has his own following and this one was not one for me. The music was "choppy" if that makes sense. His lyrics didn't flow like the last one. It was almost too dramatic. But, it's still worth seeing- especially if you've never been.

Then - there is the ever present name debate rearing it's ugly head again. I'm not sure I'm 100% sold on Addison. I love it - LOVE it dearly, but there are other names I like as well. Thinking of doing a poll. LOL! Of course, every family member has their opinion on what it should be. Here are some that I've narrowed down:

Addison
Meredith
Sadie
Samantha

Scott's dad and I both like Samantha (which is a miracle considering we NEVER agree on anything). I actually like all of them and Mallory was my favorite but Scott vetoed that immediately. Sadie is one my mom likes. Meredith is all mine - I love that name. And, Addison is a favorite among most friends. We originally thought we were set with Addison but now comes the rethinking part. At this point - I'm thinking we need to wait until she's born and then go from there.

So, I'm welcoming any suggestions. :)

28 Weeks, 7 Months, however you count it!

I always crack up when watching Mr. Mom and Michael Keeton is "rewiring" or something and Martin Mull goes "Using 220?" and Michael Keeton goes "220, 221 - whatever it takes". LOL! So, people always ask how far along I am. If I say 28 weeks, they say "how many months" and if I say 7 months, they ask "how many weeks". Sometimes even I can't keep it straight - I just know when my next appointment is. :)

So, here we are - in the home stretch. It seems like time has FLOWN by. With Maggie - it was all I could do to wait - I was so impatient. So bad that I begged for an induction starting at 36 weeks. With this one it seems like just yesterday that I found out - and now we're in our final stages. Amazing.

I got my weekly Babycenter e-mail - she should be measuring around 15 inches in length and about 2+ lbs.



It's just amazing to think about how big she's getting. I wonder if she'll be as big as Maggie (8lbs 14 oz) or if they'll look alike, etc. I begged Scott for the 4D ultrasound but he nixed that idea pretty quickly. He said we only have 12 weeks to wait - why worry about it. After some pouting, I agreed. I guess he's right. (Although I RARELY tell him that!) Plus, we have LOTS of baby equipment to buy. After being told we'd never have another, I got rid of EVERYTHING! I didn't want anything in my house to remind me of it. Then, we got our miracle. So, now we have to get everything again. The nice thing is that his parents bought us the stroller/car seat combo for Christmas. One down - many to go. LOL! I got a Target gift card that I'll be buying something with - either the high chair, swing or monitor. Haven't decided, yet. I'm trying to maximize what I get and waiting for a Target sale. :)

I guess I'm just on cloud 9 today. Dr's appointment went well (passed glucose and I'm down 8 lbs - that's right - I'm LOSING weight!) and I'm finalizing some CHA stuff. Feeling pretty good!

It's that time again....

The first sneak peek for CHA 2006... :)



Hope you like...

I don't even know what to title this....

Most of the time I love him. Other times - this is who I am married to...



That's right - EARL! Grrr.....

Venting today....

Date Night...

with two awesome men! How often can you say that? Ok - so maybe I went with my husband (awesome man #1) but then I got to see another one. On Friday we saw "Walk the Line". I can't even BEGIN to tell you how awesome this movie is. Scott and I both really liked it a lot - not sure if it was the music, the story or the actors. Both Reese and Joaquin were mind-blowing in their performance. I gained a whole new appreciation for Joaquin Phoenix.



Not only did he portray Johnny Cash in the most amazing way, he also gave off this sexiness that I never saw in him before. Definitely worth watching - that's for sure! Plus, to know that he sang all of the parts himself. I could gush over it for hours. As a matter of fact, Scott downloaded the soundtrack for me. (LOVE that man!) LOVE the soundtrack. I've got it on now - gotta get it if you don't have it. $10 on itunes. :)



Oh - and before I forget - the Bengals clinched the divison. Who Dey baby!!!

There was only you and me - we were young and wild and free...

As I was driving in this morning, "Heaven" by Bryan Adams came on the radio. I immediately thought of Scott and I. It's so us - I met him when I was 19, married him at 22 and never looked back. (Warning - sappy post ahead) I can't even imagine what my life would be like without him. I wouldn't WANT to imagine life without him. We've had our ups and downs, goodness knows that, but in the end, it's always been US. It will always be us.

I did this layout a few weeks ago because I just LOVED the big photo of the two of us. Maggie had a fit because I was doing a layout without her in it, so I added the smaller photo at the bottom :) She definitely has a jealousy streak when it comes to her daddy and I.



When I first met Scott, I wasn't sure if he was the one for me. He was quiet (those of you that know me know I'm not), we came from different family backgrounds, I was in college and he was working full-time, etc. Part of me felt like I didn't deserve him - he was too good for me. But, he kept coming around - he was persistant. It was then that I realized that he was the one for me. I had went out of town on vacation without him and missed him terribly. I couldn't wait to get home and when I did - there he was with a dozen roses. He probably doesn't even remember that, but I do.

There are lots of little stories like that. Turning points in our relationship that make me love him even more. Or, as Bryan Adams would say "once in your life you find someone, who will turn your world around, bring you up when you're feelin' down". Yes - I found that someone. It's cheesy but heck - I'm pregnant and hormonal. And, he's the one. :)

I see dumb people

Ok - I'll preface this by saying that I by no means feel like I'm the brightest crayon in the box. However - have you ever had that kind of Monday where you feel like you've run into every stupid person on the planet? This could be a vent - I'm not denying that - but I just had to get it out. (By the way - dumb people mask themselves as really bright members of society!)



First things first - I'm taking my daughter to school. It's like Mr. Mom- enter from the north - exit from the south. There are two lanes - the drop off lane and then another lane where you park in the side lot to walk your child into the school. I walked Maggie in today (as most days) because she's five and she likes me to. So, the guard who directs traffic waves me on and I stop before turning into the lot because there is a PEDESTRIAN crossing the street and a crossing guard is out there. No brainer, right?

Well - low and behold, psycho chick in the Xterra behind me decides she's going to go AROUND me and go into the lot. Mind you - it's taking all of 10 seconds for this poor guy to walk across the street. But, by golly - she's in a hurry. She realizes she can't fit her car through - not before nearly clipping my car AND the PEDESTRIAN! OMG! What a total idiot! So, I'm like WTH? and I look over at her. I'm embarrassed to admit this - she's RELATED to my husband. It's his cousin. UGH!

She realizes it's me that she's made a complete fool in front of not to mention the poor pedestrian and crossing guard who have by now turned into full-blown "deers in headlights". But, does she apologize or try to make herself look like less of an idiot? NO - she pulls into a spot and gets out. It took all I had not to say something. But, for the sake of keeping peace in the family (those of you who know me know I do this a lot) I just merely stare her down. That could have been a CHILD that she hit - although hitting anyone is NOT GOOD. What a goofball.

Wasn't even 10 minutes later that I call the insurance company to follow-up on one of Maggie's claims from her October stint with the breathing issue. So, I call the hospital first to find out what claims haven't been processed. The guy tells me he can't talk to me. WHAT? Because I'm not the guarantor - Scott is. Well, I'm his wife and I signed all the paperwork. Still no dice - he can't talk to me. Ok - so, I'm not saying he is stupid, but whoever came up with the privacy act where a WIFE can't even discuss the bill because her SPOUSE holds the insurance is STUPID. It was our DAUGHTER that I was calling about. In the end, Scott called them, told them to talk to me and I handled it. Come to find out - it was the stupidity of someone in the hospital that caused the whole bill to be denyed anyway. At least it's being taken care of. My insurance company was GREAT about it. But, I just can't believe that there are laws governing which spouse can be talked to. At least there was signs of intelligent life at the insurance company.

There it is - my Monday morning rant. Feel free to comment about the dumb people in your life. I think that there should be a class in high school titled "Common Sense". I wonder how some make it in society.

Why did you even HAVE kids if you weren't going to raise them?

Alright - let's discuss this. Last night on Desperate Housewives, Lynette's bosses wife (follow that?) says this to Lynette because she's trying to convince her to put her child in the office daycare. Now first - let me preface what I'm about to say with the notion that not all SAHM's are this way. I KNOW that. But, I had to talk about our former neighbor who said basically the same thing to me. She told me "Well, I invest MY time in MY daughter."



WTH? I just stared at her in amazement that she could be THAT insensitive. I've never been insensitive to SAHM's - I respect them and even to some degree envy them. When I went back to work after Maggie was six weeks old, I cried at my desk. I felt like the worst mother on the planet. But, these days, my daughter is proud of what I do and who I am. She tells her friends that her mommy "Scrapbooks" for a job. Fortunately, my bosses also understand work/family balance and they're wonderful about it.

Even though Desperate Housewives is just a show, the comment that she made went right through me. Why? Because I know it happens. On more than one occasion I've been made to feel like less of a mother because I work 40+ hours a week. However, those that criticize should also know that my daughter's teacher complimented my husband and I for working with our child and spending a lot of time with her. She said it shows. Thank goodness for observant teachers. Oh, and for Lynette's bosses wife - I AM a GREAT mother.