Finally! Another post!

I have been waiting and waiting for a chance to actually sign on to my computer and write a post!  My friend Becca now has a blog and I see her updates all the time!  If I didn't have vacation pictures to post...I would've already gotten something up!  Ok, well most of this blog post will be pictures...with captions...

 This is a clock at the Pirate House. I just thought it was cool...so I took a couple pics...

 More clock...

 It is said that The Pirate House is haunted...here's a creepy staircase leading to nowhere - if you look closely at the top step - you can see the ceiling...odd.

 Here's the room with the staircase - quaint and creepy at the same time...there's one thing not quite right about this picture...anyone??  ???  Yep - the ketchup bottle on the shelf.

 This staircase leads to the tunnels...that lead to the river.  Pirates were recruited by a rather unorthodox method...get some random guy drunk till he passes out...carry him to the ship through the tunnels and he wakes up a pirate!

 The River Front!  Too bad we didn't go on one of those cool riverboats!  It was windy and chilly that day!

 Savannah candy factory! YUM!  I could spend a lot of time here!  Loved it!  Brian had to drag me out.  Here they put the taffy in wrappers and throw it at you!  Fresh Salt water taffy!  So good!

 You can pick out a tin and fill it with taffy for free!

 Many tourist shops to choose from!

 This is my freezing husband - who gets a little antsy when I spend too much time taking pictures.

 LOVED this place!  It was great - create your own pizza - brilliant!  We left here stuffed!

 YA...so this is the flea market we checked out.  WOW there's not many words for this.  VHS tapes, Giant worthless TVs, guns, arrows, other people's junk - you name it - if it's junk - it was here!  That's what happens when you can buy a table for $20 and sell whatever ya want!

 This was a "boutique" at the flea market. 

 The cow - welcomes you to the flea market.

 The husband and I waiting for a table at Ye Olde Pink House!

 Wow...I'm looking huge!  I must have looked really uncomfy because after 40 minutes they came and offered us a dining spot IN the actual restaurant!  When we got there - they said it was a 2.5 hour wait!

 Our candle lit dining room!  It was called "the office".

 Sorbet for dessert! Perfect ending to a perfect meal.

 Brian posed for an obligatory picture.  I love you!

 I snuck this one in there!  I was merely trying to get a picture of the front of the house - when the guy at the door offered to take our picture together...how could I refuse???

In the airport on the way to get McDonalds, return the car, and fly back home.  

Overall it was a lovely vacation!  We spent a lot of quality time together and had a wonderful time.  We both wish it was longer, but are really grateful for the time spent together!

Baby moon

This might end up being a 2 part blog session. It's after 9pm and my preggo body is fading fast. I am excited to share my wonderful vacation though, so I just had to post!

Friday Brian and I flew off to Georgia for our long weekend together. We really didn't have much of a plan, just to sleep in and eat well! That we did!

Our adventure began a little delayed at O'hare. There were storms in Chicago and storms in Atlanta. We ended up taking off (a little bumpy) an hour late and arriving at 1am local time. The flight was by far the bumpiest flight ever! Even Brian got a little woosie in the last minutes of our descent! Thankfully, I had already taken my morning sickness drug, so I just tried to keep my head laying down and my breathing calm! We picked up our sweet car at the airport...and both of us had a "duuuuh" moment! The agent asked us if we wanted GPS in the vehicle...we both looked at each other and remembered how awesome it was when visited Denver. She said with the car upgrade we could get it for like $20! We jumped on the opportunity! While walking to our shiny Jeep Liberty Brian checked his text messages...on his phone...on his iPhone! You know, the one with Siri?! The one we've had for months now?! The one that gives play by play directions if needed!! Oops! $20 mistake! Oh well.

Ok...well...I didn't get very far with this post because I really want to post pictures and my app isn't allowing me to right now! I will need to figure this out...more to come!

Next stop, Savannah!

 

Caught up in the moment.

 Ever been there?  It's very easy for me to get excited about something in want to take to the nth degree.  I think one of the best examples of being susceptible to "in the moment" is during the wedding planning days.  You are planning for the "most special ONE day of your life.  A sales person's dream!  Everything must be magical and perfect!  The bridal mags make it worse because you are inundated with scores of designer dresses, gourmet meals, and party favors that will leave the guests oohing and aaaahing at your extreme thoughtfulness.  Somewhere along the line most brides have to make some tough decisions.  What to let go of and what to she'll out the dollars for.

I remember getting caught up in the moment during wedding planning. I'm sure it happened a few times, but one particular time it was during the purchase of the dress.  You know THE DRESS.  The one you put on that will most assuredly determine the couples happiness for the rest of your lives?!  Pick the wrong dress and you will forever be punished...pick the right one and you will have years of bliss ahead.  Well, it wasn't the dress so much that they got me on...it was thenTWO veils I purchased.  Those sales peeps are trained to spot a weak area and go in for the kill!  Looking back, I know I could've made it down the aisle without any veil from the pricey wedding shop.  I loved the look, but in my heart know it was a symbol of "the moment."

We have arrived in another "the moment."

The nursery.  You know. The one that we will bring our new daughter home to.  Where everything needs to be perfect and explicitly for her.  The one that looks like something straight out of Better Homes and Gardens!  The one that you step into and just can't help but say, "Awwwwwwwwe".  Yep, a darling little room that screams of months of preparation and thought.  The one I happened to post a picture of last week was all that to me.

Sigh

After another trip to the baby store I have come to grips that this child does not need a bedroom set worth more than her parents' entire bedroom (clothing included).  So after just a few short lived tears we left the picture perfect store and hauled ourselves right over to Ikea.  Nothing like a trip to Ikea to get the creative juices flowing. 

 We brainstormed, measured, talked and looked...

And came out excited with a new plan!  I don't have a picture of a possible whole room yet but I do have a couple pieces to share with you!

 

 

 

 Above you see the elements of the room.  We are pretty pumped to get this all together!  The crib shown is the actual crib we ordered from Target!  I can't wait to see it together!  

Well...stay tuned for more updates!

So many decisions to be made!

Brian and I have entered the stage of pre-parenting where you make all the decisions regarding where she will sleep, eat, play, what she will play with....what the room will look like etc...  It's both fun and stressful at the same time. I have enlisted my friend Shannon to help with decor of the baby room.  Some of me just wants a super feminine room, but not super "baby".  The other part of me wants to be ridiculous and just go "all baby".  Brian is for sure on the more "baby" side. 

Here is a picture of the crib that we like the best. The picture is slightly different than then one we are actually getting.  I do wish that ours came with that cool storage drawer underneath the crib, but it doesn't.  We probably won't get the changing table you see in the background.  It's terribly small and has a limited time use I'm afraid.  There is a matching longer and deeper dresser that will be more appropriate for clothing storage as she grows up.

Naming this child is a task!  Brian is more of a traditional name person and I tend to like more creative fun names for girls.  We both seem to like Claire, however are bothered there is no short version of Claire for a good nickname.  Brian's mom assures us that no matter what she will have a name other than her real one, ha, which is good!  I'm trying to at least come up with initials that will assist with the nickname. So far all I can think of is CC or CJ...I'm pretty sure those are the only good ones.  Brian really likes Claire Marie, which is a cute sounding name for sure....but not completely sold on it.  The search goes on!  I have a list of about 7 middle names starting with C or J to run by Brian when he gets up.

 

 

 

 

Sunday, January 22, 2012

20 weeks and counting...

So, I'm a little behind in my blogging, but am still proud that I've been updating this on a regular basis!  This is going to make such a great memory book some day!  Hopefully as time goes on I will get better at posting pictures, but for now I'm really happy about the somewhat regular updates!

Ok so on to the actual update.  We had the ultrasound and found out what the baby was!!  The good news is that I have pictures of the baby GIRL that's growing in my tummy!!!  That not-great news is that we really don't have any clue what to call this little nugget.  Knowing it's a girl does help us focus though.  I've gone back and forth on whether or not to share the names we are considering.  It tends to welcome everyone's opinion on the name process...but at the same time I always thought it odd when the parents wouldn't share what the name was. (no offense to those of you who do this...who knows maybe I will want to do this in the future?)

Below you will find 3 pictures.  2 of which look like a normal ultra sound...1 of which is a little creepy honestly. It's one of those 3D ones.  Neither Brian or I like this one, but since we only have 3 I'm posting them!  OH actually you will see 4 because I wanted to post the FIRST ultrasound that was done 8 weeks or so in. 

 Above is the 1st ultrasound image.  There's really not much to see - that little blob you see in the midst of the black abyss is our little baby.

 Here we have 20 weeks!  MUCH different!  I can't even believe it really. You can see a distinct head and nose, that little bump around her tummy area is a hand.

 Here she is on her tummy, which provides a great shot of her spine!  Her legs are all tucked up under her.  It's so crazy how you can see bones and all that through the ultrasound.  I never really thought about being able to see those.  She sure loves being curled up in a little ball though!

 This one is slightly on the creepy side. It's the 3D one.  I mean...it's not all bad, but just really different than what we are used to.  She was not really cooperating with this at all.  She had both of her hands over her face. (lol I used to do this as a child when I didn't want my picture taken) Finally the technician got her to take 1 hand down - and took the shot.

 

 After finding out what the baby was, Brian and I were hungry, so we checked out Meatheads...and loved it! Definite repeat!  I also got Red Mango for a treat!  Brian reluctantly let me go, but set his phone timer saying I only had 12 minutes to go, order, and eat it!  He totally cheated to because he reset the timer when I wasn't looking for LESS time!!!  He later redeemed himself and visited pottery barn with me.

 After visiting 2 day cares we were worn out! What a big day, more on that later...we went home and crashed for a bit.  Later that evening my friends Becca and Stef came over and made little cake-batter truffles with me! They are SO special to me, I can't even express how important their friendship is to me.  Anyway, so Becca was super excited and took a quick pic of Stef and I!  Stef is 5 days "ahead" of me!

I really am not fond of my hair in this photo...and feel I look terribly awkward, buuuuut it's a milestone and it MUST be recorded! THANK you Becca for making us do this! ha!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Week 19: new clothes

The first thing you notice is the placement of said lingerie in the department.  They are all in the back, you know, by the clearance items that no one wants anymore?  The second thing you notice very quickly is that you walk by all the cute sexy stuff only to find frumpy, non-imaginative, and limited color selection.  I sue the term "limited color selection" generously.  You can choose from white or nude.  Yeah, they do have black but only in ridiculously HUGE sizes.  The "smaller" sizes are all gone.

Once you get past finding them and the hideousness of them, you can begin to guess your size.  Stef and I had a really hard time with this.  Oh and they also have these jersey-like ones.  Hello?!? Can we say pointless?  I mean really!!  Who in their right mind would sport one of those pieces? Clearly no one living in a cold climate!!

We found a few and darted to the fitting room.  Changed, out on our tank tops...stepped out of the dressing rooms and burst into laughter.  THIS is what we have become!  I can't say I am used to needing much support, so this is all new to me.  There must be a better way!  The only thing I can say is that I did feel like the girls were safer-kept, you know?

I gave my new purchase a go today at work.  At first, things started out great.  As the day wore on I noticed some irritation feelings right in the middle of my chest, just above where my belly starts.  By the end of the day I didn't want to move at all!  The fabric was digging into my skin.  Ugh!  All ugly bras must be comfy! That's the rule! Otherwise, what good are they?  I'm going to adjust some straps and all that, I really hope this works!  

I also picked up some stretchy-top jeans. Not the cutest numbers, but at least I will be comfy!

Next week...we find out what we are having! Yay!

Friday, January 6, 2012

Babymoon Plans!

Ok, so I've been told that before I know it I will be aching to set up the nursery, clean, and get things all ready for the little bundle on its way.  Right now...I'm not really in that mode.  The mode I find myself in right now is planning to GET AWAY!  Vacation!!!  Ha - which is rather pathetic because we just got back from Christmas and New Year time off.

The vacation is more about Brian and I getting away alone though.  It's been a while since just him and I took a trip alone together.  Well, before this baby pops out - it's going to happen! 

We've decided on Savannah, GA!  I have been busy busy researching, planning, looking, and exploring the great deals online.  So far I have planned a great little getaway for a great price!  Get this - We have a flight to and from Atlanta (we're going to rent a car and drive to Savannah), 2 hotel nights in Atlanta and 2 hotel nights in Savannah and I've only spent $344.00.  What's UP!  The only thing I have left to book is the rental car!  Thanks to Priceline.com and our credit card reward points, this will be the cheapest vacation we've been on in a long time...possibly EVER! 

I am really looking forward to exploring Savannah, possibly Charleston (only a 2 hour drive) with the hubs!  We will have such a laid back time - it will be great!  As I figure out what we are doing I will write about it, but for now we just know when we are flying and where we are staying.  We are staying TWO nights in a 4 STAR hotel for under under $70/night.  4 starts, people!  Amazing!  I am ALL about the 'name your own price' option!  YES!

Ok - that's my update for today!  Back to work for me!  It's only 3:30pm and I just had to take a mini-break from recruiting to brag about my amazing deals!