Thursday Thoughts - First Plane Ride and Pool Parties

this picture just cracks me up!

Linking up with Jen over at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for  today's Thursday Thoughts!

Tonight EM and I are heading to Long Island! The main purpose of the trip is to attend my Cousin's baby shower, but since almost ALL of my mom and dad's family still live up there, I'd feel bad not trying to see as many people as possible during my 3 days there. This results in us driving all around Long Island, which means it will not be relaxing at all but it'll be nice to see a lot of people and introduce Emily to them since many have not met her yet. My cousin is having a very unique baby shower, unique in the sense that it is also going to be her gender reveal.. to herself and her boyfriend! I don't know how she has waited this long nor how everyone who knows kept it a secret (the invites told us all what the baby was but to keep it hush hush). I think it's a really unique way to find out, although I just can't believe no one slipped. (or she's really good at keeping it a secret if someone did slip!) Can't wait to see her reaction on Sunday when she walks in and finds out if it's a boy or a girl based on the decor of the shower! 

This will be EM's first time on a plane. Since the flight leaves a good hour after she normally goes to bed, I'm hoping she'll sleep on it. Otherwise, I'm nervous how she'll be, espeically since she's a "lap child" and doesn't have a seat. Since we are flying Southwest and we pick our own seats, I'm hoping it's not a full flight and no one wants to sit next to us so we can have more space. A lap child on a 5 month pregnant belly doesn't sound enjoyable (sometimes I wonder what I was thinking booking this flight without G coming along). EM also has very little interest in movies or technology so if she doesn't sleep, keeping her entertained for 2.5 hours will be interesting. I've brought snacks, her favorite books, and her favorite stacking cups. Wish us luck!

Let's see, what else have we been up to? Other than feeling like crap the last few weeks on and off (preggo related I believe) we haven't done too much. Our 2nd shot of EM's 18 month shoot went much better - well once G showed up -  and other than the fact that it was 90+ degrees outside and I learned EM does NOT like sand or the grass, this makes me very sad, I need her to like the sand, how else can we go to the beach?? The photographer gave us all of the pictures - over 100 - (even the not so good ones) and overall we are happy with how many good ones we got between the two shoots.  Here are a few collages of my favorites:

Last weekend, G's parents had a pool opening party. When we built our new house and then had EM, they decided 40 minutes was too far away and built a house down the street. We love having them so close and they put in an awesome pool and had a big party to celebrate the grand opening of the pool, complete with ribbon cutting!. My parents (they get along awesomely with G's family) came up for the party as well and we all had a great time at the party! G's sister was in town as well which was nice to spend some time with her since EM and I haven't seen her (besides facetime) since EM was a few months old. I wish I took pictures of all the cute pool party themed things my mother-in-law made like nutter butter flip flop cookies, center pieces that were sand pails filled with "life savers" and "pool noodles" (candy!) The pool has a swim up pool bar complete with 4 barstools and an awesome "beach" area where the water is only a few inches deep which is perfect for lounging (and for young ones to play!) There are also fun "extras" like lights, bubblers and water spouts which you can't really see in the pictures since they weren't on. They have a few fun mosaics including one that say "It's 5 o'clock somewhere' on the wall, fishes and turtles (you can see the turtles in the pictures).

EM had a blast in the pool!

kind of blurry but EM enjoyed her first lollipop!

the ribbon cutting, complete with jumbo scissors

EM and her Aunt Christie - FaceTime does help with being far away, EM ran straight to her!

Since I last posted, we've continued swim lesson, didn't see a Triple Crown win, celebrated Father's Day (just hung out at my in-laws, playing in the pool and having dinner) and the US won their first game in the World Cup! 

Playing while we watched the Belmont Stakes

Ready to cheer on the USA!!

Thursday Thoughts - Random Ramblings

Linking up with Jen over at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for Thursday Thoughts today!

• Last weekend was pretty low key. We went to our friend’s condo for a BBQ and swimming but the weather was pretty crappy so the only swimming that was done was in the hot tub. It wasn’t too hot and EM loved being in there, especially since she was able to walk around the whole perimeter’s seats without going under the water.
• 

• This weekend will be pretty low key as well. No real plans besides EM’s swim lessons. EM “graduated” from Infant School - Part 1 of Swim Lessons last weekend (she’s doing pretty good and seems to enjoy it!) and Part 2 starts Saturday. I won’t lie though, when these lessons are over in August, I’ll be one happy Momma,8am lessons – every single Saturday AND Sunday for 3 months, sucks! I take her Saturdays and G takes her Sundays but it still sucks to set an alarm on the weekend, especially when EM would normally sleep till after 8. 

•  I’m getting my monthly pre-natal massage tomorrow, and I still stand that they are NO WHERE as good as regular massages, but I still look forward to it each month! I just REALLY look forward to my first post-natal massage after the baby is born and I can lay on my back/stomach and have my favorite masseuse again (she’s not certified for pre-natal so I have to use someone else). I love getting every other Friday off!

• We are attempting EM’s 18 month photos again tomorrow. The photographer didn’t like how they came out when we took some a few weeks ago although she did post one really good one,  but since she didn't like them overall, we’re going someplace else and trying again. Hopefully since it’s earlier in the day, EM will be in a better mood too. Speaking of photos, we won a free photo shoot (by a different photographer) from a Facebook contest I entered. Thanks to everyone who voted!

• I’ve been watching way too much TV lately. I’ve seriously had dreams related to 19 Kids and Counting twice this week! I don’t really recall the dreams, but I know they were related. Since I’ve been marathoning through their current season, it really has me thinking… what is wrong with a front –hug and hand holding? (and kissing for that matter)? You’d think their values are so strong and they are such good kids (well adults) that they could be trusted to practice self-control and stay pure (and I don’t think hand holding and kissing makes you impure) without a chaperone. I mean these kids are in their 20’s! I think a lot of their beliefs are way too extreme and a little “crazy” – BUT I do think they are good people, with good hearts, that do a lot of good things for the community. My friend and I was discussing this yesterday and she said “They’re good people and contribute to the world in a positive way. If anyone is having 19 kids, I’m glad it’s them” and I couldn’t agree more. There are plenty of people who are recklessly having children, living off the government, etc  and whereas I think 19 Kids is too many (remember I think 2 is good lol), I’d much rather have people like the Duggers doing it. They also live debt-free which many people with ZERO kids can maintain, so that is something to be praised for (although at THIS point they are probably making a ton of money from the TV series, but that wasn’t always the case).

• On the TV topic, I just can’t seem to really get into the Bachelorette yet this season. The last two seasons (Juan Pablo and Des) we did our own Fantasy League and it was a ton of fun, but this season we are using a website for the Fantasy League and it works a little differently (saves us a lot of time though so we don’t have to manually do anything) and I’ve already lost my 3 guys, so I’m stuck in last place. The way we did it on our own, even if you lost your team, you could still earn points other ways (although would still be hard to win, but at least you could move up in the rankings). I’m hoping once the group of guys dwindles down a little more, than I’ll be more “into it”. I also think they did a very good job with acknowledging and honoring Eric Hill’s death. This was certainly a “first” for ABC and if I was his family, I would have been happy with the way they handled it. It seems like ABC put a lot of thought into what would be the “right thing to do” and succeeded. He seemed like a genuinely good guy (not the RIGHT guy for Andi though, hence his exit) and it’s a shame he lost his life so young and tragically.

What are you up to this weekend? Doing anything exciting?

Thursday Thoughts

~Today, May 1^st begins sales tax being added to Amazon orders for us Floridians. Boo! I know it’s actually a good thing, because that means the Amazon facilities are opened up and many jobs have become available for others, but still doesn’t make me happy to start paying. Although, it really won’t change much, Amazon is still wayyy more convenient than most other shipping and still usually cheaper. The only store that usually compares is Target and since I always had to pay tax at Target, even after my 5% RedCard discount, Amazon would end up being cheaper and had faster free shipping (since we are Prime). According to a random article I read today,  Floridians are supposed to pay sales tax themselves when they buy from online retailers. I never knew this, wouldn’t even know HOW to do it, nor do I know anyone who has ever done that, guess I don’t have to worry about that anymore since Amazon was the only place I was getting stuff tax-free.

~I’m sooo anxious for a cruise. I know we “just” went on one in February, but going on one while pregnant isn’t as exciting which is why I refuse to go on another one anytime soon. Plus, the cruise lines won’t allow  you to go after 24 weeks anyways, so that’s not too far away and with G traveling for work, we wouldn’t be able to go on one in the near future even if I revoked my self-imposed “no-cruising while pregnant” rule.  I’m used to going on at least 2 or 3 a year (yes, I’m obsessed) so knowing we didn’t have ANY booked was killing me. #firstworldproblems So, then today Royal Caribbean puts out a special for Buy One, Get One Half Off most sailings in 2015 and 2016, and we all know I can't pass up a deal, especially a cruise deal so G and I booked a short weekend one for our anniversary in February. Since I’m saving all my extra 2014 vacation time for an extended maternity leave and all my 2015 vacation time for a 3-week, 30^th birthday surprise, I won’t have any extra vacation time for anything more than a weekend cruise. Not complaining though, need my fix. Even if it is SOOO far away!

~This past weekend, I ended up sleeping most of I. I had a 3 day headache and it completely ruined my weekend. We did get out of the house for a little on Saturday to go to my old work team’s cookout (my bike never got fixed so we skipped the bike ride portion) and then took G’s grandmother to dinner on Saturday night but other than that, I did a ton of sleeping and laying around. On a positive note, I haven’t felt better (in months!) than these last 4 days! Hoping this continues!

~Our patio extension/screen installation is finally underway! and we got our gutters put up yesterday too! Never thought I'd be so excited for things like this, really shows you I'm a full-blown adult! 

Day 1

Day 2

~We’re getting EM’s 18 month photos done on Saturday (weather permitting – the shoot is going to be outside) – it’s a little early since she’s still a few weeks shy of 18 months but it worked for my and the photographer’s schedule. We are using a new photographer who is starting out as the one we were using increased her prices SIGNIFICANTLY so we figured we’d try someone new. I’m sure she’ll do a great job and she lives in the neighborhood so it makes it easier than driving 40 minutes to the other photographer's location.

~Apparently, EM has been walking great at school. Like, she will just stand up and walk across the classroom and if she falls while in process, she just stands right back up and continues. At home, I am luckily if I can get 5 steps out of her every few days! The teachers did say they don’t acknowledge the fact that she’s walking until she gets to where she is going and then they praise her, as they’ve realized if they praise her while in process, she’ll just sit and crawl the rest of the way. I tried this at home, but she’s still never done it for me. It’s driving me nuts. Please walk for ME! More so, when we go back to the doctor in a few weeks for your 18 month appointment, please walk for the doctor so she doesn’t think I’m lying, ok EM? Thanks! 

but isn't she so cute?

~And finally, next week (Wednesday) I will get my script to get my next ultrasound, which will be our gender ultrasound! I can’t freaking wait! I wish my OB did ultrasounds in his office, but since he’s a small, one doctor, office he sends us to the hospital to get them done. Here’s hoping they have an appointment available two days later on that Friday (obviously G wants to be there for the ultrasound and since he’s out of town Mon-Thursday, I have to wait until a Friday appointment is available. REALLY hoping the 9^th works, although that might be too “early” for the real purpose of the ultrasound since it’s supposed to be around 20 weeks since it’s the “20 week anomaly scan” and I’ll only be 17+4 on May 9^th. Guess I’ll just have to see what my OB says and when the appointment is actually available.  I’m sure I was just as anxious about this when I was pregnant with EM but I feel like it’s worse this time. 

getting big!

Linking up with Jen at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for today's Thursday Thoughts! 

2 Weeks Later

Well it’s been 2 weeks since I’ve really posted about what’s been going on.. let’s see if I can sum it up without making this post super long!

Two weekends ago was full of birthday parties and visiting friends while G was on his cruise and me getting super sick (I believe pregnancy related or maybe a 24 hour virus, but it wasn’t pretty, thankfully my in-laws came to my rescue and helped with EM that Sunday night!) Other than me being sick, EM and I had a great weekend spending time with friends!

playing at the party!

Meeting Baby Scott for the first time! She did so well with him!

That week I went to West Virginia on a business trip – well we stayed in Cumberland, Maryland but worked across the Potomac River in WV. Cumberland actually was more than just the small Podunk town that I thought it was. We went “exploring” the one night after we were done working and saw some beautiful churches and learned about George Washington’s Headquarters that was there during the Civil War. There is a ton of history there. The last night we stayed by the airport in Baltimore and went out to eat at Phillips Seafood. It was sooo good and I even splurged and got dessert! Oh yea, and it was SUPER cold while we were there and I didn’t pack appropriately, so glad/surprised I didn’t get sick from being in 30 degree weather with only a light sweater!

The Potomac River

George Washington's Headquaters

Such pretty trees!

my delicious desset at Phillips

Last weekend was Easter Weekend and on Saturday our community had an egg hunt/pot luck with all the neighborhood kiddos. The event was thrown together in like a week and a half and we weren’t sure how many people would actually show up. We were pleasantly surprised of the outcome. I’d say there were at least 40 kids who participated and plenty of food/snacks to go around. I think all the kids really enjoyed themselves. We even had 10 kids in EM’s 0-3 age group, I’d say they were the cutest to watch! We also went to see the Easter Bunny!

Community Egg Hunt

Easter Basket from Nan and Pap

Meeting the FREE Easter Bunny! (no charge/nolines = my kind of bunny!)

On Sunday, we went to my brother’s house for Easter Dinner and to spend time with my side of the Family for the day. We did an egg hunt with the cousins and they played all afternoon and were sooo cute together! I’ve probably said it before but it seriously melts my heart watching them interact. They get along so well! EM got 5 Easter baskets (from school, us, both sets of grandparents, and my brother and his family) and I’m not going to lie, I’m enjoying eating her candy. If I wasn’t pregnant, I’d probably be cringing at the temptation of having it in the house, but this particular Easter I’m loving it!

playing with cousins!

the coolest doll house ever, totally want one for EM, hint hint Aunt Diana!

Easter Baskets from Grandma and Paca

playing with her eggs after the hunt

The kid's table for Easter Dinner

This week started my “part-time single mom life”. For at least the next 6 weeks, with potential to be much longer, G will be traveling for work. He’ll be gone Monday through Thursday (or Friday depending on flights) and so it’ll just be EM and Mommy during the week. We’re on day 4 and other than worrying about doing both pick up and drop off with daycare, it has been more than fine. After work there is really only about 1-2 hours before EM goes to bed and some of that time is spent eating dinner, taking baths, and doing the nighttime routine of teeth brushing and story time. The rest of the time is spent playing. G is really helpful around the house though and was usually the one to drop EM off in the mornings (which also included getting her up and dressed) so I’m already missing that help (and of course him too!) I am however enjoying parking in the middle of the garage haha!

G will be home tomorrow, and we really don’t have much planned for the weekend and I’m looking forward to that as the last two weekends have been very busy! I’ve also not been feeling that great most days, so I’m hoping it’s a weekend that I feel good too so that I can enjoy being with my husband and daughter and not just wanting to sleep it away. We do have a bike ride/cook out planned with my old work team for Saturday morning, but not sure if we’re going to participate in the bike ride portion or just go to the cookout and let EM play on the playground there. Depends how I feel. I also haven’t rode a bike while pregnant, so that may be a challenge. Maybe I’ll try it out on Friday first to see how I do before committing to the ride portion. It’ll be good to see all my old work friends, I miss not seeing them every day.  So cheers to my weekend, which starts tonight, since it’s an off-Friday for me tomorrow!

Linking up with Jen at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for Thursday Thoughts!

Thursday Thoughts

It's been awhile since I've done a Thursday Thoughts post, so figured I'd give a little update. 

Valentine's Day!

On Sunday, we had a houseful as my Aunt and grand parents from NY were visiting so they plus my parents and my sister and her husband all came over to spend the afternoon. I haven't seen the NY family since my sister's wedding in March last year. We all had a great time visiting. We took a Four Generations picture with my Grandfather, Mom, me, and EM. We took one last year as well, it's so neat to see the changes (mostly in EM) but overall the 2014 picture is such a better picture of us all!

March 2013

February 2014

"Devastated" / "You're Lying" / "NO WAY" - just a few of the reactions I've received when I told the people I work with that I'm being rotated off my current program at work. I'm pretty sad about it as I've been on the same program for almost 8 years (including my internship) and really love my "work family" and I think it's pretty obvious they value me the same. I've received some of the nicest compliments about my job performance and how they are going to miss me and my new program is lucky to have me. I know it's going to be a great opportunity for me to learn something new but doesn't make leaving any easier. I start my new role on March 17th. I'll be doing the same job, just on a different program, with different people, and a different supplier(s). I also don't know which suppliers I'll be managing yet and that's frustrating me, but I have a meeting set up with my new manager for Monday to hopefully learn more. 

EM was home from daycare on Monday and Tuesday with "Pink Eye" - I use that term lightly because her eye has never actually been pink when she gets sent home for pink eye. Although, this time it actually was slightly pink so she's on the pink eye meds (which are next to impossible to give her) but now her cough is back so I'm thinking her eye was actually just all goopy and nasty because she was getting a cold again (which is what happened in the past during all her other "pink eye" cases. Two weeks ago  she has a fever for two days and was just miserable but this time she's acting more than fine and was probably enjoying having some extra Mommy time. She's back on the nebulizer for her cough/congestion and is taking it like a champ. She no longer screams like a banshee or tries to rip the mask off her face, she just sits there like a good little girl for her entire treatment. I even had her smiling under the mask! 

EM kept escaping to our home gym while she was home sick and I was trying to get some work done and I'd find her playing on the treadmill, maybe she'll be a runner one day after all (you know, once she actually walks!)

And that concludes my Thursday Thoughts for today, a link-up with Jen @ Ramblings of a Suburban Mom.

Thursday Thoughts

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Starting this week (last night) - every other Wednesday, G and I are going to have date night. My wonderful MIL has agreed to watch EM 2x a month (schedule permitting) so that he and I can go out or do something, just the two of us. Once it warms up again (which I'm sure it will soon), we'll do something more active, maybe play tennis or something. Last night, we planned to go bowling. I even checked the website for the local bowling ally to see what time leagues were (make sure lanes would be open), cost of games/shoes, etc. Well, we went to dinner at Tijuana Flats and then headed over to the ally, and was surprised to see it closed down :( we never went there before and I hadn't  called in advance since all the info was on their website,so we arrived to an empty parking lot. It was too cold outside to do much of anything else, so we decided to go see a movie instead. Can you believe there are no romantic comedies playing?? We didn't want anything too serious, like Lone Survivor (which I DO want to see eventually). We ended up seeing Anchorman 2. I never saw the 1st one but G filled me in on the jist of it. It was alright. Stupid but funny and we were 2 of 4 total people in the theater. It served its purpose I guess but I would have preferred a Ronantic Comedy or a fun drama over that but there wasn't anything else playing that really struck my interest. EM was a good girl for her Nan and I'm happy to report we had a great Date Night. (Just need to make better plans next time and make sure places are open lol).

It's going to be a busy next few days/week at work as I finish up something I've been working on for quite a few months that is finally coming to a close. I love being busy at work (makes the day fly bye!)!

Less than a week until the DietBet I joined starts! There is still time to enter if you are interested... The pot is over $30k now!!! Click here if you want to join and/or learn more about it:  http://diet.bt/1at3Urm

Speaking of diets/fitness - I haven't exercised all week again (which means I didn't start my plan I created last week) BOO! I'm full of excuses and laziness. Need to get motivated so I can win some money!! Plus, we're going on our anniversary cruise in less than 2 wks (yes, during DietBet - luckily it's at the beginning of the bet and it's a short cruise, so I think I'll be ok)

I needed a new pair of running shoes, so I figured I'd replace the ones I already own since I love them. Well I found them on Amazon for like $44 - I paid $100+ for my current pair less than a year ago. (they are Saucony Ride 5's and apparently they came out with 6's so the 5's are super cheap which made me super happy since I love them). Well they came in the mail over the weekend, I tried them on, they felt a little tighter than normal but I figured they just weren't broken in yet. Well, something possessed me to look at tounge tags and they had different stock numbers! (Even though it was the same link I had ordered from previously!) I emailed Saucony and asked what the difference was and apparently I received the narrow version. Boo! So those are back in the mail for a refund - thank you Amazon for free returns! (Even though it is their fault since they didn't specify normal or narrow width - I would have never purposely ordered narrow for my chubby feet lol) Unfortunately though, they no longer have my size on any of the sites I can find so looks like I'm going to the running store after my 5k on Saturday to be fitted for a new shoe (not sure the Ride 6's are best for me b/c of the "changes" of a new version but I will see what the experts say). I also plan to get a good pair of supportive flip flops from there too (per my Doctor's orders). Not looking forward to having my old running shoes for the race this weekend b/c they are starting to give me blisters. Oh well, it's only one more run in them and then off to the donation box they go. 

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Other than the 5k (it's actually 5.2k since it's sponsored by Seasons 52), my only other plans for the weekend is my good friend's baby shower (my 3rd in 9 days!) on Saturday afternoon. 

And I'll eventually get my Bachelor Week 3 Recap / Fantasy Standings up, just been super busy all week!

Doesn't EM look like such a big girl at her table in school? She loves her new class!

And that concludes my Thursday Thoughts for today, a link-up with Jen @ Ramblings of a Suburban Mom.

What are your weekend plans? Anything exciting going on? 

Cars, Running, and Football - Thursday Thoughts

So after our amazing Fiesta Bowl Win (and the rest of the BCS Bowls finished up) UCF finished the season ranked #10 and #12, which is pretty flippin' awesome! Some people think we should be ranked higher but I'm more than happy with these rankings! The highest ever in school history!

I don’t think I ever posted about my new car! A few days after Christmas, G and I went car shopping and I came home with this beauty! 2014 Nissan Rogue SL – Fully Loaded! LOVE IT!

The same day I bought the car, I had gone to my orthopedist and I was diagnosed with Plantar Fasciitis, inflamed tissue in the foot/heel. I self diagnosed myself first via Dr. Google and then went to the doctor and he confirmed it. The remedy: cortisone shot (damn that shot hurt!), inserts for my shoes, and calf stretches 20x a day for about 4 weeks and then I should be good to go about the time the shot wore off. He said I could still run just not to do speed work (which is exactly what I was planning on working on in 2014 so I’m glad he told me that). I had been running even with the foot pain as it actually felt better once I started going (probably from getting stretched out) and hurt the MOST when I wore flip flops. He suggested not wearing flip flops but understands we live in Florida and I live in them and pretty much told me if I’m going to wear them then I need to get a good pair of flops from the running store. I plan to do that next time I venture to that side of town.

Tomorrow, I’m running the Inaugural Walt Disney World 10k! I haven’t ran since the day I got the cortisone shot – so 2 weeks from tomorrow. I probably should have got a few miles in this week but oh well, I guess this will be a good kick off to the year. G is crazy and is doing the Dopey Challenge, which is the 5k, 10k, ½ Marathon and Full Marathon, 4 races in 4 days – 48.6 miles! I’m just really hoping he doesn’t injury himself, he hasn’t trained at all and has ran even less than me the last few months.

And that concludes my Thursday Thoughts for today, a link-up with Jen @ Ramblings of a Suburban Mom.