Shower Pics part 2

Well, we have safely traveled to and returned from our second shower. It was very nice. Everyone had a good time and, once again, the baby returned home with several nice gifts.


As promised earlier, here is a picture of our crib (without mattress, seeing as we haven't purchased that yet!) The room should be getting painted this weekend and, hopefully, our dresser will be coming in within the next week so we can actually put the stuff away. Right now, it's just all sitting in bags in the corner of the room (stragically, not shown in this picture!)This is is the beautiful arrangement of presents, cake and assorted baby cuteness that Alicia's Aunts put together.

Alicia and I opening up a "France" present from her brother. It's actually a bib with "Nessie" (the Loch Ness Monster) on it from when he visited Scotland during his study abroad.
I guess that's about it. The trip was good, but we are happy to be able to stay home for a few weeks - not that those weeks will be boring seeing as we will be having various out-of-town guests, painting several areas of our house, installing new floors and suffering through my band camp. I'm sure more in depth posts on these things will follow!

Pictures...finally!

Hey! I finally got around to posting some shower pics from 2 weeks ago. (Just in time to head to another shower!) I didn't realize that I had loaded the last 2 as "large" so they are just extra big and y'all will have to deal with it. I'm too lazy to change it!


Me and my high school friends (Kristin, me, Nicole and Demery) at the shower.
Grandpa and Grandma Sharp, me, Alicia, Grandma and Grandpa LaMagdeleine (that's just weird to label our parents as grandparents.....the titles conjure up images of completely different people for me.)
The least obnoxious picture of Alicia and I opening up our presents. They were really all horrible (pretty funny, but not something I am willing to post on the internet!)

The cake that Stacy and Kimber disassembled and the decorated into this cute-ness after discovering that I kind of wanted a cake that they didn't have. I didn't know anything about it! I would have never asked them to go to the store at 10pm, buy an already decorated cake, undecorate and then redecorate! However, I appreciate their efforts tremendously and I think it turned out really well!!!!!!

Okay, so that's it. More pics to come of this weekend and maybe the crib once we get a mattress in it. (Does anyone really care about what our crib looks like????)

miscellaneous tidbits

Random stuff that has happened to us this week (in no particular order)

1. ANTS!!!!!! Our kitchen (well, specifically, the bottom of the pantry where we keep the cat food) has been invaded by ants. YUK! They have decided to make several homes for themselves right along the edge of the garage (which leads right into the kitchen). We have been spraying and stomping and cleaning extra hard. Nothing seems to be working. I am heading to the store soon to get some super strength stuff. Hopefully it will work. (Have I mentioned that I can't stand the smell of bug killer when I'm NOT pregnant?)

2. Doctor's Appointment - I'm still fine. The baby is still fine. We took the glucose test. Now, I do have to say that the orange stuff they have you drink wasn't nearly as bad as I had imagined, but it was really hard for me to drink that much of it in 5 minutes. I think, mostly, I had issues with the carbonation. It was fine though and, as long as I don't hear from them, we are glucose tolerant. I did, however, gain 8 pounds this month! Yikes! I have only gained like 10 the whole time. Way to nearly double your weight gain, fatty!!!! The doctor is not worried yet, I just shouldn't do it every month.

3. Crib - We came home from our doctor's appointment and found our crib sitting on our porch! Yea!!!! We managed to put it together (I really don't know what these people have against screwdrivers instead of crazy little wrenches) and I think it looks good. Now, we just need the other furniture, paint, decorate and to put everything away.....no problem......

4. Things actually got crossed off the to-do list! We finished emptying the filing cabinets, moved them out of the house (thanks Stu!) and moved all the furniture (and other junk) from the baby's room to their new homes in other parts of the house. We also managed to do smaller things like cleaning the refridgerator.

5. Alicia's birthday fun - We went to Comedy Sportz with Stu and Lauren on Friday, had a lazy day full of Nintendo on Saturday (after my wonderful brother moved all of our furniture) and Sunday, went to breakfast, spent some time with Alicia's brother and had dinner and played games with Amy and Ben. There was some unpleasantness (mulching) in there, but I think overall it was okay. Alicia is the best for putting up with me and my preggo self. I love you, baby!

Okay, I need to go run errands and do laundry before we leave for "shower: round 2" tomorrow.

Shower number 1 - check!

We're baaaaack! I really don't think I have ever been so happy to be home. This past week was really just exhausting - good, but exhausting. Here's the play-by-play.

Thursday - drive to Angola, IN to visit with my grandparents and to receive baby gift! (yea!!!!). Not too bad, but man can my grandma talk! Continue driving to MI, where we arrive at my brother's, visit for awhile and go to bed. A pretty easy first day.

Friday - Apparently, there were horrible storms all night - I missed them. My sister gets her last day of school cancelled because of a power outage at the high school- Why did that never happen to me? Anyway, I got my hair cut, ate lunch with my brother, sister and sister-in-law, went shopping (new shoes!), visited with my mom for awhile and then trekked to the Costco and the Kroger with her to buy food for the shower. I love my mom, but the woman has the ability to just wander through grocery stores for hours, whereas I want to get in and out as quickly as humanly possible. We went without a list........3 hours later, we return to my parent's house. Soon the rest of my fam arrives (yea!) and we all hang out and eat pizza for a little then part ways for the "evening" (or my mother's version of evening which begins at 9:30pm). We return to Steven and Kimber's with Stacy. All members of my family prepare various shower things long into the night. (I believe that my mom and sister went to Meijer at 2am.) We go to bed at 11:00.

Saturday (Or as Kimber put it "Happy Baby Day!) - We were actually able to get up and enjoy a leisurely morning until we got kicked out around 11am. We went to Home Depot to get a Father's Day gift for Alicia's dad and then to the Bagels and Bites which Alicia LOVES!!!!!! Then we hang out at my parent's house while everyone is running around being crazy. We decide to play video games - Hey! It's our shower!!!!! We are then allowed to return to Steven and Kimber's for the shower.

Here's the part where I say that I sometimes doubt my family, but they pulled it off!!!!! There were balloons and a cake and cute little frogs and flowers and it was just awesome!!!! I love my family (crazy as they are!) The shower was great. The weather was perfect and the baby received a ridiculous number of gifts. A good time was had by all. Everyone leaves and we stay up past midnight playing games.

Sunday (Happy Father's Day!) - Alicia gets up to go to church with her family, I run to pick up food for brunch. We all "brunch" at Steven and Kimber's (can I say thanks again for giving us your house all weekend?). Alicia's parents depart leaving her brother who want to stay so that he can play games with us! :) My family celebrates Father's Day, Sally's birthday and my parents anniversary with cards and gifts. Stu and Lauren leave to return to Indy. :( The rest of us (all 9 of us) trek to the Home Depot to help my parents (or really my mom) pick out a faucet as part of their anniversary present. We find nothing at the Home Depot. 5 members of the party get bored (and hungry) and leave us to go buy food for dinner. My parents, Stacy and I go to Lowes where we find an acceptable faucet!!!!! YEA!!!! We return to Steven and Kimber's, Kimber's parents arrive - we eat. I get a yukky headache. My parents, Sally and Stacy leave. :( I take a huge nap. My parents and Sally return. :) (Stacy has begun her return trip to OH.) There is much gaming. I try to participate, but feel sick, so I sleep on the couch for awhile. I think I got in a game around midnight before dragging myself off to bed.

Monday- get up and pack the car!!! HA!!!!!! Too much baby booty. We are taking Sally back to my parents' and Eric back to IL, so we can't use the back seat very well. It's a little......tight. :) We manage. Drop Sal off at my parents'. Say goodbye. One last stop at the Bagels and Bites and hit the road for Chicago!!!!! Drive.....Drive......Drive......Drive.... Arrive in South Holland. Eat. Begin crazy packing as the movers come tomorrow and there are 2 boxes packed. Pack, see new house, eat, pack, pack, pack. SLEEP!!!!!!

Tuesday (Moving day) - get up too early, disassemble all beds, sit around and wait for movers. Alicia, her mom and I go to the new house to put back furniture that was purchased with the house and moved for carpet cleaning. I mostly supervise. Run to go get some lunch. Switch houses. I go back to the old house with Alicia's mom to continue packing....pack, pack, pack... Oh - we are out of boxes and newspaper. I guess we are done packing!!!! Drive boxes to new house. Unload boxes, order dinner!!!! YEA!!!!! Eat. There is much obnoxiousness on the intercom system and discussion about the placement of small tables. This continues late into the night. I am completely wiped out and fall asleep.

Wednesday - Get up too early (my own fault because I couldn't sleep), go out to buy a new mop and some flowers for Alicia's mom. Upon return I clean many pieces of glass in various curios and hutches while the rest unpack the kitchen and put the treasured items in aforementioned curios. Alicia's dad returns with her Grandma Mary who gets an extensive tour of the house. I sit in a chair. We all go to eat. Upon return, Alicia and I leave for home. There is the world's largest accident involving beer all over the expressway. The drive takes much longer than expected. We finally get to Brownsburg. But, wait! We have forgotten that they have blown up every road in B-burg and we can't get anywhere. We decide to get Dairy Queen since we have to drive past anyway. I enjoy my Dairy Queen on the way home. Once home, I begin to feel very sick. I do not enjoy my Dairy Queen (or my lunch) on its "return trip." Since I am sick I fall asleep on the couch, leaving Alicia to bring in all the baby stuff. (Have I mentioned she is great?) I finally wake up, we go through and sort of put away the baby stuff and, finally, go to bed.

Whew! Once we figure out our new camera (hopefully tonight) I can post some pictures.

Road Trip

For all my blog stalkers (all three of you) out there, I have decided to get in one last post before I leave for the land of dial-up-internet (aka my mother's house). In a few short hours, Alicia and I will be embarking on what will, no doubt, end up being a ridiculous, exhausting week full of crazy mother antics. However, I am kind of excited....but also a little nervous.

The basic premis of the trip: travel to MI to spend Friday with my youngest sister, family baby shower Saturday, group family time (Happy Father's Day!) Sunday, then leave for Chicago Monday to visit with and help move Alicia's family. (Yes, the pregnant woman and the one with the bad back are helping people with basically no other help move... Don't worry - I won't be stupid and I will do the best I can to keep Alicia on the path of sanity.)

Now, that doesn't sound so bad, right? Have any of you ever actually met my mother???? She is a little crazy. (And it's a good thing she doesn't know this blog exists!) Nothing with her is simple. When we have get togethers, she always does everything at the last second. I believe it was the LATE night (midnight-ish)before my brother's graduation party when we were painting the living room and making a billion pounds of potato salad. (We literally had to pull the furniture away from the walls and tell guests not to touch them because they were still drying!!!!!) She is a procrastinator and I think, secretly, likes the drama of having to pull all nighters because things aren't done. Her house is also VERY messy. Thank heaven for my brother and sister-in-law who graciously agreed to host. (There is some talk of a Sunday brunch at my mom's house.....we are trying to get her to move it to Steven's.....I'll let you know.)

In talking with my sister and sister-in-law it appears that this shower is already on the same page - I'm so excited!

Let's also throw into the mix that Alicia's parents and brother are coming. I am excited and worried about this. My mom and her dad are not always a good mix, plus it's just a little awkward. I think they have only met during one of our many moves. I'm hoping that a cookout will be less stressful than packing a moving truck.

Additionally, I don't particularly like being the center of attention - I know this will come as a shock to some of you who. I guess I don't mind it on my terms, but it's already been weird having people ask me how I am EVERY time they see me. Having a whole afternoon devoted to me, Alicia and the baby might just be uncomfortable. We have never had a shower or any kind or a wedding, so we have never had that kind of attention paid to us and it just makes me a little nervous. I suppose I had better get used to it. (I do love that people want to this for us though!)

So, anyway, I have to go get everything ready for this week long excursion. Wish us luck. I will let you know how it goes when we get back.

I like Fridays.

Woo-hoo! It's Friday! I get excited about Friday even during the summer....not sure why.



1. Idle hands are just relaxing! It's summer - your hands deserve a break too! :)

2. I love lots of hot water in the shower. I hate lukewarm showers!

3. My favorite time of the day is when it's summer, early morning and I'm actually awake. I really do like the morning when I don't have anything stressful to do and when I am not woken by an alarm!

4. The last tea I drank was not tea! I hate tea. I think it tastes like dirty water.

5. I like to do nothing in the Summer. I say that as we have a two page long list of things that we have to do around the house this summer and have already booked all but about 3 weekends before school starts.

6. My mother always said "It's just so......you know......." My mother has a habit of not finishing her sentences. It was a toss up between that and "I know I set a Coke down somewhere."

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to hopefully buying a new camera and maybe even getting the guest bed moved, tomorrow my plans include UHS graduation and way too many parties for kids I sort of know and Sunday, I want to keep crossing things off our to do list and maybe actually spend some time with Alicia.

Grateful

I just got an e-mail from my mom saying that the last of my extended relatives who were invited to my Michigan shower has rsvp'd - no. None of them are coming. I will excuse two who have legitimate excuses....I do not expect my Aunt and cousins to drive/fly from North Carolina for a baby shower. I also do not expect my grandmother who is desperately trying to recover from the shingles and has had a really miserable time for the last 6 months, to travel to attend. She could not physically do it. However, the others are offering lame or no excuses at all.

Originally, this made me very, very sad. (Okay, I had bit of a break-down...) I suppose that I am reading more into it than there may be. However, usually, my family is really good at attending the major events. This is as major as it gets for me. I just get the feeling that they are not coming because they are uncomfortable or do not approve and that just makes me sad.

While I am still sad, this whole thing got me to thinking about the wonderful people we DO have in our lives. When I was trying to come out to my parents, my brothers and sisters were right there behind me. They were supporting me no matter what happened. The same is true with this baby - they have been so loving and awesome. I never would have thought when I was growing up and we were, quite literally, beating on each other that someday I would be leaning on them soooo much.

Alicia's family - who I was orignially so worried about - has been complete wonderful. Everyone is happy and excited, wanting to throw showers and constantly asking how I am doing. I expected them to be the apprehensive ones, but they have completely surprised me and I am forever grateful to them for being so open and accepting.

Last but not least - our "family" here in Indy (and other places across the country). We have so many friends who are counting our blessings as their blessings, who were with us through every SINGLE doctor's appointment, who sat through many a graphic discussion of.....procedure and who rejoiced with us when we finally were able to announce that we were pregnant! You all made the process so much easier and I am so excited that when our baby arrives you will all be a part of her life.

So, I guess although I am sad that my extended family is not embracing this as much as I would like, I am extremely grateful to everyone else in our lives who loves us and this baby. She is surely not going to exist in the world without plenty of people to love her.

Thank you.