I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
album 12\30\2009 (47 photos), by jennifer skinner
I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
This is the most AMAZING farm I have ever been to!
We just returned on Sunday from our fun Christmas trip to Texas. Oh my gosh, we had a blast!!!!
We got there Wednesday night after an easy plane ride w/ Ellie. The flight wasn't full, so she got her own seat, and that was awesome. She did great during the takeof, took a nap, then hung out in her carrier/car seat the rest of the time. We were so relieved. MeMa & Tate came to pick us up at the airport!
Thursday morning, we got up and after Tate hogged/loved on Ellie for a while, Tate, Craig, Steve & I headed to their farm. It's about an hour and a half north of Dallas. We rode on the four wheelers (Tate's first time), explored, shot a rifle (Tate & I's first time shooting a gun), shot a sawed off shot gun (another first for Tate and I), and explored some more! We had a blast! Tate really had a great time... he kept saying how amazing it was :) The title of the post is a statement he made MANY times. He will definitely be going back up there w/ Papa this next year--especially next summer! After a drive through Dallas' HELLATIOUS traffic, we got back home (Ellie stayed home w/ Auntie Kim & MeMa) and headed to dinner. Of course, we got stuck in MORE hellatious traffic, so we couldn't even go eat where Craig wanted (we went about 5 miles in about 45 min--awesome)...so we ended up at Saltgrass steakhouse, which turned out to be really yummy.
Friday morning we got up and the Pollards (Terri, Macy, Derek & Kaden) were there (they got in late the night before)! We hung out w/ them all day and they loved on Miss Ellie. Carly came over too! Friday evening we headed out to Craig's Gram's for the Mitchen side's Christmas party...ate too much, opened presents, then it was time to get Ellie home!
Saturday was an absolute blast! All of the Clark's (Craig's mom's side) came over and we hung out all day, ate (of course), played Keno (family tradition), visited, opened too many presents and mostly: LAUGHED! I swear my tummy hurt the next day! And how Ellie slept through Terri's LOUD cackle is beyond me! We took a TON of family pictures--it was so much fun.
Sunday we got up and headed to the airport! Baby girl didn't do as well on the flight home, but we made it. Grandma & Grandpa picked us up from the airport and we got to hang out w/ them all day on Sunday. We were in SHOCK that the trip flew by so fast.
Here are some things I learned about Craig's family:
-Kaden does an awesome Michael Jackson impression. He gave me a run for my money.
-Aunt Terri loves cock. Rooster collectible items! Get your mind out of the gutter.
-Scherry's new nickname is Princess Fiona. You had to be there to get this one...
-Scherry & Kim don't like Christmas music and made me turn it off and put on 80's instead!!!
-Tate is now officially a redneck due to his love for shooting and four-wheeling (ok, I am too!!!)
-Craig's family is not good at following directions: "Please don't get us a bunch of stuff to bring back on the plane" :) We ended up hauling FOUR suitcases home :) We love it all though! Ellie got such awesome toys & Craig and I made out like bandits! Of course my favorite thing is the Coach Terri got me! I also LOVE our Elf on the Shelf from MeMa! Also, loved my Magic Bullet from Craig's Gram... but that couldn't make it back on the plane... Also Ellie got her first American Girl baby doll (thanks Helen & Carly!).
-D, D says D. Every letter makes a sound, D says D!
-The Clarks are CUT THROAT when it comes to playing Keno.
We hade such a good trip. I absolutely adore all of Craig's family and can't wait to go back! Love ya'll!
Here are the pics from the trip:
I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos
We got there Wednesday night after an easy plane ride w/ Ellie. The flight wasn't full, so she got her own seat, and that was awesome. She did great during the takeof, took a nap, then hung out in her carrier/car seat the rest of the time. We were so relieved. MeMa & Tate came to pick us up at the airport!
Thursday morning, we got up and after Tate hogged/loved on Ellie for a while, Tate, Craig, Steve & I headed to their farm. It's about an hour and a half north of Dallas. We rode on the four wheelers (Tate's first time), explored, shot a rifle (Tate & I's first time shooting a gun), shot a sawed off shot gun (another first for Tate and I), and explored some more! We had a blast! Tate really had a great time... he kept saying how amazing it was :) The title of the post is a statement he made MANY times. He will definitely be going back up there w/ Papa this next year--especially next summer! After a drive through Dallas' HELLATIOUS traffic, we got back home (Ellie stayed home w/ Auntie Kim & MeMa) and headed to dinner. Of course, we got stuck in MORE hellatious traffic, so we couldn't even go eat where Craig wanted (we went about 5 miles in about 45 min--awesome)...so we ended up at Saltgrass steakhouse, which turned out to be really yummy.
Friday morning we got up and the Pollards (Terri, Macy, Derek & Kaden) were there (they got in late the night before)! We hung out w/ them all day and they loved on Miss Ellie. Carly came over too! Friday evening we headed out to Craig's Gram's for the Mitchen side's Christmas party...ate too much, opened presents, then it was time to get Ellie home!
Saturday was an absolute blast! All of the Clark's (Craig's mom's side) came over and we hung out all day, ate (of course), played Keno (family tradition), visited, opened too many presents and mostly: LAUGHED! I swear my tummy hurt the next day! And how Ellie slept through Terri's LOUD cackle is beyond me! We took a TON of family pictures--it was so much fun.
Sunday we got up and headed to the airport! Baby girl didn't do as well on the flight home, but we made it. Grandma & Grandpa picked us up from the airport and we got to hang out w/ them all day on Sunday. We were in SHOCK that the trip flew by so fast.
Here are some things I learned about Craig's family:
-Kaden does an awesome Michael Jackson impression. He gave me a run for my money.
-Aunt Terri loves cock. Rooster collectible items! Get your mind out of the gutter.
-Scherry's new nickname is Princess Fiona. You had to be there to get this one...
-Scherry & Kim don't like Christmas music and made me turn it off and put on 80's instead!!!
-Tate is now officially a redneck due to his love for shooting and four-wheeling (ok, I am too!!!)
-Craig's family is not good at following directions: "Please don't get us a bunch of stuff to bring back on the plane" :) We ended up hauling FOUR suitcases home :) We love it all though! Ellie got such awesome toys & Craig and I made out like bandits! Of course my favorite thing is the Coach Terri got me! I also LOVE our Elf on the Shelf from MeMa! Also, loved my Magic Bullet from Craig's Gram... but that couldn't make it back on the plane... Also Ellie got her first American Girl baby doll (thanks Helen & Carly!).
-D, D says D. Every letter makes a sound, D says D!
-The Clarks are CUT THROAT when it comes to playing Keno.
We hade such a good trip. I absolutely adore all of Craig's family and can't wait to go back! Love ya'll!
Here are the pics from the trip:
I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Happy Holidays!
Hopefully you already received a Christmas card from us in the mail! We wanted to share the rest of Ellie's Xmas pics w/ ya'll.
Happy Holidays!
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1813514015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
Friday, December 11, 2009
album 12\11\2009 (16 photos), by jennifer skinner
I just discovered that there is a button on snapfish that lets you share pics directly to your blog. COOL.
So, this week was fun! Grandpa watched Ellie all week--they had a blast together! I'm sure she wore him out a bit, but overall she was really good for him. He took her all over the place--McDonalds, Costco, Mall, Best Buy--and that's just what I knew about! She even talked him into buying her toys and a new jacket at the mall! She's certainly got him wrapped around her finger...
We have a busy weekend. Tonight is my company Xmas party, so Grandma is watching Elza Belle, then tomorrow Craig is golfing and I'm getting my hair did (should I get bangs???). Sat night, dinner at McCormick & Shmicks w/ mom and dad for my Bday (HA I scammed 2 b-day dinners out of them this year! Since dad was staying w/ us, we went to Outback on Tuesday, but since Mom couldn't go, we are going out again). Sunday, Craig and I have some last minute shopping to do for our Texas trip--we leave Wednesday! YIPPEE!!! Then, I need to come home and pack. I'm an OCD list writer (in general, but ESPECIALLY when it comes to packing), so I want to lay everything out ahead of time. This is the first time I'll be packing for three!!! We are so excited to see all of Craig's family though, and introduce Ellie.
So, here are a few pics from the last week or two.
I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos
So, this week was fun! Grandpa watched Ellie all week--they had a blast together! I'm sure she wore him out a bit, but overall she was really good for him. He took her all over the place--McDonalds, Costco, Mall, Best Buy--and that's just what I knew about! She even talked him into buying her toys and a new jacket at the mall! She's certainly got him wrapped around her finger...
We have a busy weekend. Tonight is my company Xmas party, so Grandma is watching Elza Belle, then tomorrow Craig is golfing and I'm getting my hair did (should I get bangs???). Sat night, dinner at McCormick & Shmicks w/ mom and dad for my Bday (HA I scammed 2 b-day dinners out of them this year! Since dad was staying w/ us, we went to Outback on Tuesday, but since Mom couldn't go, we are going out again). Sunday, Craig and I have some last minute shopping to do for our Texas trip--we leave Wednesday! YIPPEE!!! Then, I need to come home and pack. I'm an OCD list writer (in general, but ESPECIALLY when it comes to packing), so I want to lay everything out ahead of time. This is the first time I'll be packing for three!!! We are so excited to see all of Craig's family though, and introduce Ellie.
So, here are a few pics from the last week or two.
I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Sorry!
Sorry I haven't posted in over a week... things are just a little hectic right now. We had lots of fun w/ all of our visitors... Aunt Julie was a big help w/ Ellie, then our friend Jeni came last weekend. We had a fun time.
This week, Grandpa is watching Ellie all week while mom and dad go to work! He said yesterday went great, but she didn't take a nap in the afternoon--bad girl.
Yesterday afternoon we went to the Dr. for Ellie's 4 month checkup. Dr. Letizia said she is a very healthy 4 month old baby girl! YAY! She is still in the 95 percentile for size, but we are glad for that! She gave us the ok to start introducing some solids. We tried rice cereal last night--she did OK...not quite a natural w/ the eating but being a product of Craig & I, she will probably catch RIGHT on to food. If she takes the rice cereal good for 3-4 days, Dr. L said we can start some other solids! EXCITING! What should we try!? I think I'm going to do avacado first!?! Other than that, the ONLY problem seems to be a slight case of excema on her belly... which seems to be coming and going with the weather (it's gotten COLD here!)
Which by the way, brings me to the point... how do we dress her for this weather? It's like 50 degress--which is cold here... but it's not THAT cold!
Here's a cute pic of her sucking her thumb in her stroller w/ her cow onesie on.
This week, Grandpa is watching Ellie all week while mom and dad go to work! He said yesterday went great, but she didn't take a nap in the afternoon--bad girl.
Yesterday afternoon we went to the Dr. for Ellie's 4 month checkup. Dr. Letizia said she is a very healthy 4 month old baby girl! YAY! She is still in the 95 percentile for size, but we are glad for that! She gave us the ok to start introducing some solids. We tried rice cereal last night--she did OK...not quite a natural w/ the eating but being a product of Craig & I, she will probably catch RIGHT on to food. If she takes the rice cereal good for 3-4 days, Dr. L said we can start some other solids! EXCITING! What should we try!? I think I'm going to do avacado first!?! Other than that, the ONLY problem seems to be a slight case of excema on her belly... which seems to be coming and going with the weather (it's gotten COLD here!)
Which by the way, brings me to the point... how do we dress her for this weather? It's like 50 degress--which is cold here... but it's not THAT cold!
Here's a cute pic of her sucking her thumb in her stroller w/ her cow onesie on.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Happy Happy Turkey Day
We had a great Thanksgiving this year!
Aunt Julie is in town, so we packed up and headed over to my parents house. We were joined by Larry, Lisa, Lisa's mom Deb, Corey, Erika, Erika's brother Tim, Hannah, Marcus, Aunt Patty, Cousin Heather, Roger Brackett & his wife... and of course, don't forget Ellie and Emma!
Here are pictures from the Straws visit, Turkey Day and some other fun ones!
Click here for pics!
We also got our tree up this weekend!
My dear friend Ally has a beautiful Thanksgiving post up at her blog: http://allysonwonderland.wordpress.com/. She is a wonderful writer and I wish I could be as eloquent as her. She wrote a list of everything she was thankful for, so I want to do the same!
My loving, silly, helpful husband.
My healthy, chunky, beautiful baby girl.
My family!!!
My in-laws!!!
My amazing friends.
Jobs, bank accounts & money. We don't have a lot and we work hard for what we have, but we have more than a lot of people out there. I thank God everyday for this.
Our sweet doggies. They are part of our family and make us laugh every day. Even though they stink :)
Our health. We weigh too much and eat Mexican food too much, but overall we are healthy and that is a true blessing.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Craig blesses the rains down in Africa...
The cat's out of the bag. Craig finally admitted his undying love for Toto to someone outside of the family circle. Lucky for us, Sara, Ian, Erika & Corey didn't run away screaming. In fact, Ian wasn't really all that shocked. Either way, we all had a blast rocking out to some Toto on Saturday night!
We had such a fun weekend w/ Sara, Ian & Kyla! They arrived Fri evening and we immediately jumped in the car and headed to Los Dos Molinos. Ian's fave Mexican restaurant in Phoenix. I was actually the DD since the other adults all shared a pitcher of frozen strawberry margs :) Saturday, the Daddies let Sara and I go see New Moon. LOVED IT. Ate In & Out burger for lunch. Sat evening we had some friends over for dinner, playing (The Straws & The Feldpauschs were playing Euchre & Kyla was "playing" too, laying down cards, etc... it was too cute!) wii & 80's music jamming :) Sunday we went to the Phoenix Zoo & relaxed!
Kyla was so cute w/ Baby Ellie (as she calls her). And also had a blast playing w/ all of Ellie's baby "stuff" around the house. Ellie thought Kyla was HILARIOUS!
Pics soon to come.
Yesterday, Aunt Julie got to meet Ellie for the first time! OF course, she's either got a little cold or is just teething but she was a little snotty, drooly & cranky. We are just praying that she is a good girl today for her!!! Julie is babysitting her by herself all day!
We had such a fun weekend w/ Sara, Ian & Kyla! They arrived Fri evening and we immediately jumped in the car and headed to Los Dos Molinos. Ian's fave Mexican restaurant in Phoenix. I was actually the DD since the other adults all shared a pitcher of frozen strawberry margs :) Saturday, the Daddies let Sara and I go see New Moon. LOVED IT. Ate In & Out burger for lunch. Sat evening we had some friends over for dinner, playing (The Straws & The Feldpauschs were playing Euchre & Kyla was "playing" too, laying down cards, etc... it was too cute!) wii & 80's music jamming :) Sunday we went to the Phoenix Zoo & relaxed!
Kyla was so cute w/ Baby Ellie (as she calls her). And also had a blast playing w/ all of Ellie's baby "stuff" around the house. Ellie thought Kyla was HILARIOUS!
Pics soon to come.
Yesterday, Aunt Julie got to meet Ellie for the first time! OF course, she's either got a little cold or is just teething but she was a little snotty, drooly & cranky. We are just praying that she is a good girl today for her!!! Julie is babysitting her by herself all day!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Happy Veterans Day!
I'd like to give a shout out to all our military! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY!!!! You are truly my heroes. I'm so proud to live in the USA and it's you we have to thank for our freedom.
In other news, I uploaded the pictures from this weekend, along w/ some other randoms from the past few weeks! Like I said, we had a ball in Jerome & Sedona. I didn't really take many pics of Sedona, as we just did a "drive by". I put captions on the pics for once!
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1715264015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
Here's one of my faves.
In other news, I uploaded the pictures from this weekend, along w/ some other randoms from the past few weeks! Like I said, we had a ball in Jerome & Sedona. I didn't really take many pics of Sedona, as we just did a "drive by". I put captions on the pics for once!
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1715264015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
Here's one of my faves.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Monday Monday.........
So it's my third week back at work... and it's not getting easier. It's getting HARDER to go back to work each Monday!
I haven't had a chance to upload our pics from our road trip yet, as Craig's dad is still in town. Last night we had a special treat. Cousin David is in town, so he (and my parents) came over for dinner! Scherry made us a Texas Feast--Mexican Cornbread, beans, fried okra & cherry pie. None of my family had ever had fried okra before. David liked it but I'm not sure about mom & dad. Everyone loves Mexican cornbread though (think cornbread w/ ground beef, onion, jalepeno, cream style corn & LOTS of cheddar!) YUM. Thanks Scherry!!!!
Our road trip Saturday was a blast... We went to Jerome & Sedona. Then came back to Phoenix & met up w/ my dad for dinner at our favorite Italian place, Roma Gardens. I'll post the pics soon...
I haven't had a chance to upload our pics from our road trip yet, as Craig's dad is still in town. Last night we had a special treat. Cousin David is in town, so he (and my parents) came over for dinner! Scherry made us a Texas Feast--Mexican Cornbread, beans, fried okra & cherry pie. None of my family had ever had fried okra before. David liked it but I'm not sure about mom & dad. Everyone loves Mexican cornbread though (think cornbread w/ ground beef, onion, jalepeno, cream style corn & LOTS of cheddar!) YUM. Thanks Scherry!!!!
Our road trip Saturday was a blast... We went to Jerome & Sedona. Then came back to Phoenix & met up w/ my dad for dinner at our favorite Italian place, Roma Gardens. I'll post the pics soon...
Friday, November 6, 2009
NEW BLOG LOOK!!!
Hi all!
Please take notice of the FABULOUS new look of the Mitchens Blog! I worked w/ a local web designer to help me update the look of our blog. She did such a wonderful job!!! I absolutely love it.
PaPaw (Steve-Craig's dad) arrived late last night for a visit, so Daddy has the day off today! We are going out to dinner tonight for Craig's Birthday (which is today!), then tomorrow taking a road trip to Jerome & Sedona. Hopefully I'll get some good pics.
Everything has been going good w/ MeMaw! She is spoiling all of us rotten, that's for sure. We love having her here and truly appreciate the help she is providing us.
Happy Friday to you!
Please take notice of the FABULOUS new look of the Mitchens Blog! I worked w/ a local web designer to help me update the look of our blog. She did such a wonderful job!!! I absolutely love it.
PaPaw (Steve-Craig's dad) arrived late last night for a visit, so Daddy has the day off today! We are going out to dinner tonight for Craig's Birthday (which is today!), then tomorrow taking a road trip to Jerome & Sedona. Hopefully I'll get some good pics.
Everything has been going good w/ MeMaw! She is spoiling all of us rotten, that's for sure. We love having her here and truly appreciate the help she is providing us.
Happy Friday to you!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Happy Halloween
Here are some pics from the last couple of days!
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1655786015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Mom's Pics
I forgot, I did have some pics!
Here is an album of my mom's trip back to Indy, as well as some randoms of Ellie! Mom thinks she's HOT STUFF now that she has a digital camera :)
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1608593015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
Here is what fall is SUPPOSED to look like (as opposed to what it looks like in AZ-100 degrees!)...
Archie & Judy's Lake in Versailles, IN
Here is an album of my mom's trip back to Indy, as well as some randoms of Ellie! Mom thinks she's HOT STUFF now that she has a digital camera :)
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1608593015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
Here is what fall is SUPPOSED to look like (as opposed to what it looks like in AZ-100 degrees!)...
Archie & Judy's Lake in Versailles, IN
Updates!
The first week back to work seems to be going pretty good so far! Ellie and MeMaw are getting along just fine. I have been feeding her before work, so it's nice to get a little cuddle in before I have to go... Not too many tears were shed. It's honestly nice to go back to work at a job you LIKE with co-workers who are friends and truly care when they ask how you are doing, etc. It's also nice that it's all women and I can pump right in my office :) I guess they survived w/out me, but I have a lot to do, so being busy is a good thing!! Especially in today's job market.
Ellie is starting to grab and grasp! She loves pulling on the things on her playmat, as well as Mommy's hair. She also loves to pull her paci out, but always wants it back in, of course.
We had a fun time last night visiting w/ Kristin McClellan (Julie's BFF from childhood), who was in town on business. She is one of the sweetest people ever. It was so nice catching up w/ her... Her and her hubby Jason are expecting their 2nd baby! YAY!
I could rattle on here about the weather, Halloween, etc but I suppose that is a bit boring.
I also don't really have any new pics to post, except one of Monday evening. After I got home from work, I took Miss E for a walk... and she talked to me the ENTIRE time. It was too cute. Like she was telling me all about her first day w/ MeMaw.
Ellie is starting to grab and grasp! She loves pulling on the things on her playmat, as well as Mommy's hair. She also loves to pull her paci out, but always wants it back in, of course.
We had a fun time last night visiting w/ Kristin McClellan (Julie's BFF from childhood), who was in town on business. She is one of the sweetest people ever. It was so nice catching up w/ her... Her and her hubby Jason are expecting their 2nd baby! YAY!
I could rattle on here about the weather, Halloween, etc but I suppose that is a bit boring.
I also don't really have any new pics to post, except one of Monday evening. After I got home from work, I took Miss E for a walk... and she talked to me the ENTIRE time. It was too cute. Like she was telling me all about her first day w/ MeMaw.
Friday, October 23, 2009
12 Weeks Old
Dear Ellie,
You are 12 weeks old today. I absolutely, positively can’t believe it! All parents say this, but it just seems like yesterday that we brought you home from the hospital! Not that I am saying I want to go back to that day… It was one of the scariest, although happy, days of our life. First of all, we were dying to get you out of the hospital. We were so uncomfortable there and we just knew you would love to come home. And you did! Grandma and Grandpa came over and you settled in very easily. Of course you had to meet the doggies first. We got some good pictures of that. I’m sure you’ll get a kick out of those some day. You did sleep pretty good from the beginning, but I can not begin to explain to you the anxiety Mommy had for the first week or so. Every time you made a sound, I had to check on you--day or night! Of course, you were just fine, I was just being paranoid, but between hormones, lack of sleep and pain killers, Mommy was a wreck… I still check on you a lot. But you are now sleeping about 10-12 hours at a time! It’s fabulous and we really appreciate it! Thanks!
I did eventually calm down--slowly but surely. By the time you were one month old, I was feeling much better. Now-a-days, I really feel like I have a new confidence about me. I would tell any first time mom to just hang in there--it will come! But it’s so hard at first. Each day seems so long. On one hand, I couldn’t wait for you to get a little bigger, but on the other hand, I was sad at night time because I didn’t want you to ever even get one day older. Needless to say, a few tears were shed in those days. You’ll have to ask Daddy the “Big Lots” story sometime. Luckily, he was patient and sweet and let mommy act like an idiot in those first couple of weeks. Now, sometimes even when you cry daddy and I don’t even stress (we might even occasionally make fun of you for being dramatic). We know you are just mad for a minute and we are trying to hurry up! For example, you LOVE taking baths in the sink with the faucet spraying you. But, you get so mad when we get you out of the bath and try to get you dressed in your jammies. I think it’s a combination of you being cold and just mad that your bath is over! We especially like it when you stick your bottom lip out.
Do you know what “12 weeks old” means to mommy? It means I have to go back to work on Monday! OH NO! Honestly in a lot of ways, I’m ready, but for the most part, this has to be one of the hardest things moms go through. As much as Daddy loves you, I don’t think he quite struggled with it as much. I think it’s a “Caveman” instinct thing… they have to get back out in the world and provide for their families. He stayed home with us for 2 weeks and that was plenty for all of us. As for Mommy, my instincts are all telling me that I am crazy to even leave you for one minute! Although, we don’t mind leaving you with your grandparents here and there so Mommy and Daddy can go do some things. So, I am going to get up Monday morning, feed you, then say bye to you for the first time in what seems like a never-ending stream of day after day. And it’s going to kill me. It’s not fair that we need two incomes today! But, it’s what is best for our family right now, and it will be nice having a little more money in the bank account.
Lucky for you, I doubt you will mind too much that Mommy won’t be with you all day, because MeMaw is coming out for 3 and ½ weeks. You will have so much fun with her! We are so lucky to have parents that are willing and able to help out with you. It makes it much easier on so many levels. It’s hard not living closer to more friends and family, but at least we have Grandma & Grandpa Skinner here part of the time and MeMaw & PaPaw are willing to come see you any time we ask! I’m sure you’ll have a blast w/ MeMaw. I’m guessing you’ll do lots of shopping and visit your first (of many to come!) antique store. She’ll be glad to just hold you and hang out too. After she goes back to Texas, your Aunt Julie is coming to see you. She could not be more excited! Then, we only have a few more weeks until Grandma will be retiring and watching you 3-4 days a week, and Mommy is going to work from home 1-2 days a week. You also have some friends coming to see you! The Straws are coming in November (you will just love Kyla!) and Auntie Jeni is coming in December. Mike & Lynn in January.
We have had a fun time in the past three months! During the days, we would listen & dance to music (mostly songs that Daddy would never let us listen to if he was home), watch TV (mostly HGTV and we never missed an Ellen!), go for walks, talk on the phone to friends & family, go to our “moms group”, run errands, go shopping and visit with friends! Some of your first outings were to visit with Julia & Howie, Kristina, Jamie & Sam, Cara & Liam, Gail, Maja, Jennifer F… When daddy would get home, we sometimes would go out to eat and walk around. You LOVE being on the go, that’s for sure! Everyone says you look like Daddy, but you certainly get that from Mommy. We also took you to your first parties! Labor Day weekend you go to go to Kristine & Jon’s and in October you got to go to Larry’s surprise party! You weren’t even scared when everyone yelled! You impressed everyone by being such a good girl all night. In your first months, we also had a lot of visitors. Kristine & Jon, Larry & Lisa, Hannah & Marcus, Erika & Corey to name a few. Grandma S even took a few days off of work to come hang out with us.
You are already getting to be such a big girl. You have been holding your neck up better and better each day. You can even sit in your bumbo seat for a few minutes at a time. You love watching Baby Einstein DVD’s and sitting in your bouncy chairs kicking! OH the kicking! You just love to kick your legs! You have been smiling and giggling for weeks now and it’s the cutest thing we’ve ever seen. Yesterday, you even did your first belly laugh! Of course, mommy was being silly and you thought it was hilarious. You’ve also started sucking your thumb, which we think has started to help you sleep better. You are sleeping (usually) 8-9 hours and then you even go back to be for a few hours. You are awesome.
It’s amazing to be a parent. All of the cliché things people tell you are so true. We love you more than anything…EVER! You have brought Daddy and I closer. You have your grandparents wrapped around your tiny little fingers. You are getting so big, so quickly, in some ways it’s sad, yet it’s so much fun to watch you grow. My heart is already breaking thinking of your first day of school, getting your drivers license or leaving for college. Our lives are changed forever and we have only one person to thank for that. YOU.
Love,
Mama
You are 12 weeks old today. I absolutely, positively can’t believe it! All parents say this, but it just seems like yesterday that we brought you home from the hospital! Not that I am saying I want to go back to that day… It was one of the scariest, although happy, days of our life. First of all, we were dying to get you out of the hospital. We were so uncomfortable there and we just knew you would love to come home. And you did! Grandma and Grandpa came over and you settled in very easily. Of course you had to meet the doggies first. We got some good pictures of that. I’m sure you’ll get a kick out of those some day. You did sleep pretty good from the beginning, but I can not begin to explain to you the anxiety Mommy had for the first week or so. Every time you made a sound, I had to check on you--day or night! Of course, you were just fine, I was just being paranoid, but between hormones, lack of sleep and pain killers, Mommy was a wreck… I still check on you a lot. But you are now sleeping about 10-12 hours at a time! It’s fabulous and we really appreciate it! Thanks!
I did eventually calm down--slowly but surely. By the time you were one month old, I was feeling much better. Now-a-days, I really feel like I have a new confidence about me. I would tell any first time mom to just hang in there--it will come! But it’s so hard at first. Each day seems so long. On one hand, I couldn’t wait for you to get a little bigger, but on the other hand, I was sad at night time because I didn’t want you to ever even get one day older. Needless to say, a few tears were shed in those days. You’ll have to ask Daddy the “Big Lots” story sometime. Luckily, he was patient and sweet and let mommy act like an idiot in those first couple of weeks. Now, sometimes even when you cry daddy and I don’t even stress (we might even occasionally make fun of you for being dramatic). We know you are just mad for a minute and we are trying to hurry up! For example, you LOVE taking baths in the sink with the faucet spraying you. But, you get so mad when we get you out of the bath and try to get you dressed in your jammies. I think it’s a combination of you being cold and just mad that your bath is over! We especially like it when you stick your bottom lip out.
Do you know what “12 weeks old” means to mommy? It means I have to go back to work on Monday! OH NO! Honestly in a lot of ways, I’m ready, but for the most part, this has to be one of the hardest things moms go through. As much as Daddy loves you, I don’t think he quite struggled with it as much. I think it’s a “Caveman” instinct thing… they have to get back out in the world and provide for their families. He stayed home with us for 2 weeks and that was plenty for all of us. As for Mommy, my instincts are all telling me that I am crazy to even leave you for one minute! Although, we don’t mind leaving you with your grandparents here and there so Mommy and Daddy can go do some things. So, I am going to get up Monday morning, feed you, then say bye to you for the first time in what seems like a never-ending stream of day after day. And it’s going to kill me. It’s not fair that we need two incomes today! But, it’s what is best for our family right now, and it will be nice having a little more money in the bank account.
Lucky for you, I doubt you will mind too much that Mommy won’t be with you all day, because MeMaw is coming out for 3 and ½ weeks. You will have so much fun with her! We are so lucky to have parents that are willing and able to help out with you. It makes it much easier on so many levels. It’s hard not living closer to more friends and family, but at least we have Grandma & Grandpa Skinner here part of the time and MeMaw & PaPaw are willing to come see you any time we ask! I’m sure you’ll have a blast w/ MeMaw. I’m guessing you’ll do lots of shopping and visit your first (of many to come!) antique store. She’ll be glad to just hold you and hang out too. After she goes back to Texas, your Aunt Julie is coming to see you. She could not be more excited! Then, we only have a few more weeks until Grandma will be retiring and watching you 3-4 days a week, and Mommy is going to work from home 1-2 days a week. You also have some friends coming to see you! The Straws are coming in November (you will just love Kyla!) and Auntie Jeni is coming in December. Mike & Lynn in January.
We have had a fun time in the past three months! During the days, we would listen & dance to music (mostly songs that Daddy would never let us listen to if he was home), watch TV (mostly HGTV and we never missed an Ellen!), go for walks, talk on the phone to friends & family, go to our “moms group”, run errands, go shopping and visit with friends! Some of your first outings were to visit with Julia & Howie, Kristina, Jamie & Sam, Cara & Liam, Gail, Maja, Jennifer F… When daddy would get home, we sometimes would go out to eat and walk around. You LOVE being on the go, that’s for sure! Everyone says you look like Daddy, but you certainly get that from Mommy. We also took you to your first parties! Labor Day weekend you go to go to Kristine & Jon’s and in October you got to go to Larry’s surprise party! You weren’t even scared when everyone yelled! You impressed everyone by being such a good girl all night. In your first months, we also had a lot of visitors. Kristine & Jon, Larry & Lisa, Hannah & Marcus, Erika & Corey to name a few. Grandma S even took a few days off of work to come hang out with us.
You are already getting to be such a big girl. You have been holding your neck up better and better each day. You can even sit in your bumbo seat for a few minutes at a time. You love watching Baby Einstein DVD’s and sitting in your bouncy chairs kicking! OH the kicking! You just love to kick your legs! You have been smiling and giggling for weeks now and it’s the cutest thing we’ve ever seen. Yesterday, you even did your first belly laugh! Of course, mommy was being silly and you thought it was hilarious. You’ve also started sucking your thumb, which we think has started to help you sleep better. You are sleeping (usually) 8-9 hours and then you even go back to be for a few hours. You are awesome.
It’s amazing to be a parent. All of the cliché things people tell you are so true. We love you more than anything…EVER! You have brought Daddy and I closer. You have your grandparents wrapped around your tiny little fingers. You are getting so big, so quickly, in some ways it’s sad, yet it’s so much fun to watch you grow. My heart is already breaking thinking of your first day of school, getting your drivers license or leaving for college. Our lives are changed forever and we have only one person to thank for that. YOU.
Love,
Mama
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
It's Official....
She's a thumb sucker!!!! YAY for self-soothing!!!! We'll worry about the weaning later :)
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Dear Ellie
Dear Ellie,
Your momma is a person who LOVES lists (maybe a little too much...). I'm always having random thoughts about you, so here are a couple of lists for you! I'm sure you'll get many more from me in the future :)
Ten Things I Absolutely ADORE About You:
(aside from the obvious, of course!)
1) The look on your face when we are giving you a bath. You love it so much--the only way I can describe it that you just look completely CHILL.
2) The way your bottom lip sticks out when you are about to cry.
3) Your CHEEKS.
4) Your Flock of Seagulls hair. Also, the fact that it's turning redder by the day.
5) The way you are a limp noodle after your last feeding of the day and just so ready to hit the sack. After I feed you, I always rock you a little longer than necessary--for me, not for you...
6) Your smile.
7) Your giggle. Sometimes Daddy and I crack up because you laugh like (sorry) Butthead from Beavis & Butthead.
8) The fact that you love to be out and about! You may look like Daddy (everyone says so), but you seem to be a social butterfly already--just like Mommy!
9) When you are pissed off/fake crying and get distracted for a minute by Mommy or Daddy and laugh, then remember that you are mad and go back to fake crying...
10) Your GORGEOUS, long fingers.
Ten Things I'm Looking Forward To:
(No rush!!!! And in no particular order... There are many, many milestones I'm looking forward to. These are just a few that will hopefully happen in the next year or so.)
1) Taking you to the beach.
2) Dancing around the living room with you to music that Daddy doesn't like! (Ok, we already do this, but I want you to dance too!)
3) Your "1st" Birthday Party.
4) You picking out books for us to read to you!
5) Watching Sesame Street with you.
6) Introducing you to all your friends/cousins back in Indy and Dallas.
7) Taking family pictures by the Christmas Tree in your pretty red dress from Gram Mitchen.
8) You sleeping consistently through the night!
9) Saying MAMA and DADA.
10) You finally noticing the dogs and hopefully being entertained by them.
Love you!!!!!!!!!!!
Your momma is a person who LOVES lists (maybe a little too much...). I'm always having random thoughts about you, so here are a couple of lists for you! I'm sure you'll get many more from me in the future :)
Ten Things I Absolutely ADORE About You:
(aside from the obvious, of course!)
1) The look on your face when we are giving you a bath. You love it so much--the only way I can describe it that you just look completely CHILL.
2) The way your bottom lip sticks out when you are about to cry.
3) Your CHEEKS.
4) Your Flock of Seagulls hair. Also, the fact that it's turning redder by the day.
5) The way you are a limp noodle after your last feeding of the day and just so ready to hit the sack. After I feed you, I always rock you a little longer than necessary--for me, not for you...
6) Your smile.
7) Your giggle. Sometimes Daddy and I crack up because you laugh like (sorry) Butthead from Beavis & Butthead.
8) The fact that you love to be out and about! You may look like Daddy (everyone says so), but you seem to be a social butterfly already--just like Mommy!
9) When you are pissed off/fake crying and get distracted for a minute by Mommy or Daddy and laugh, then remember that you are mad and go back to fake crying...
10) Your GORGEOUS, long fingers.
Ten Things I'm Looking Forward To:
(No rush!!!! And in no particular order... There are many, many milestones I'm looking forward to. These are just a few that will hopefully happen in the next year or so.)
1) Taking you to the beach.
2) Dancing around the living room with you to music that Daddy doesn't like! (Ok, we already do this, but I want you to dance too!)
3) Your "1st" Birthday Party.
4) You picking out books for us to read to you!
5) Watching Sesame Street with you.
6) Introducing you to all your friends/cousins back in Indy and Dallas.
7) Taking family pictures by the Christmas Tree in your pretty red dress from Gram Mitchen.
8) You sleeping consistently through the night!
9) Saying MAMA and DADA.
10) You finally noticing the dogs and hopefully being entertained by them.
Love you!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Some new pics
We had a great weekend... Craig and I celebrated our anniversary w/ a nice dinner out at the Keg (compliments of Grandma and Grandpa Skinner!! THANKS!!!) and our first night away from Ellie! She had a lovely evening at Gma and Gpa's... and slept for 6+ hours in her pack & play, got up and ate and went back to bed! GOOD GIRL! Saturday afternoon we spent celebrating w/ Hannah & Marcus at their baby shower that Eric and I threw (see post below). Let me just say that the hardest part of the shower was finding myself something to wear! UGH! Nothing fits yet! And the maternity clothes are a bit too big. I'm working hard on eating right and exercising but I know it's going to be a while...... Good thing cooler weather is here :)
Here are some new pics:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1530782015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
Hannah & Marcus' Shower (Sat Oct 3rd)
Eric and I hosted a fun shower for my cousin Hannah on Saturday! She's due at the beginning of December, with a baby girl! YAY!
I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Ellie's First Internet Video
(ok, that post title sounds a little off, huh?)
I just took this video this morning while she was in a cute mood! Of course, she was talking a ton more before the camera came out. Her cute little PJ's were a gift from Pam & David Skinner.
Ellie Giggling and Talking from Jennifer Skinner on href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo.
I just took this video this morning while she was in a cute mood! Of course, she was talking a ton more before the camera came out. Her cute little PJ's were a gift from Pam & David Skinner.
Monday, September 28, 2009
September...
Well, September is almost over and as of today, our girl is 8 weeks and 3 days old!
She seems to be feeling much better and happier since she has been on her medication.
Other than that, we have had some fun weekends! Craig and I went to the COLTS game on Sunday against the Cardinals. Grandma and Grandpa had a fun time babysitting. Daddy enjoyed a GIANT margarita before the game, so the result of that was quite entertaining... We took Ellie to her first Happy Hour at Four Peaks last Friday night with my friends from Tempe Leadership. She did great and we enjoyed our company (and beer!).
Mommy and Ellie are really enjoying her maternity leave now, especially since she is smiling and laughing now :) Also screaming... mostly for fun but not always! Her main goal in life right now is to either get her entire fist or maybe just her thumb in her mouth... it's hard to tell at this point.
Here are some pictures from September:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1498445015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
This is Ellie and her friend Sam Olson! Sorry Sammy is a little blurry... my camera was on some stupid setting and he's not one to sit still :)
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Reflux!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Poor Baby Ellie!
I haven't had much of a chance to blog about Ellie lately! As you other moms know, the days seem to crawl AND fly by at the same time... Suddenly it's 9:00 and you have NO idea what you did all day! It's finally getting a little easier since Ellie has been feeling better.
You see, last Monday, she got diagnosed w/ reflux and put on medication (zantac) for it! About 3-4 days on the meds and she is a new girl! She was a pretty easy baby for the first 3-4 weeks, then slowly something started to change. She was getting fussier and fussier, mostly in the evenings, but then all the time. She was vomiting more, choking occasionally and BARELY EVER sleeping! We finally put 2 and 2 together and called the Dr. to see if she thought it might be reflux. She said the symptoms were textbook and immediately called in an Rx. We go in for our 2 month appt pretty soon, so we will follow up w/ her then. But, I'm telling ya right now, she is feeling so much better and is SO MUCH HAPPIER!
YAY!!!!
Other than that, we have had some fun visits w/ friends (Cara/Liam, Julia/Howie, Maja) and of course some fun visits w/ Grandma & Grandpa. They watched her for a bit on Sat night and Craig and I went out to dinner.
This coming Sunday they are watching her while we go to the Colts vs. Cardinals game!!!!
Ellie & Liam (he was SO cute trying to entertain her--of course she loved it!)
I haven't had much of a chance to blog about Ellie lately! As you other moms know, the days seem to crawl AND fly by at the same time... Suddenly it's 9:00 and you have NO idea what you did all day! It's finally getting a little easier since Ellie has been feeling better.
You see, last Monday, she got diagnosed w/ reflux and put on medication (zantac) for it! About 3-4 days on the meds and she is a new girl! She was a pretty easy baby for the first 3-4 weeks, then slowly something started to change. She was getting fussier and fussier, mostly in the evenings, but then all the time. She was vomiting more, choking occasionally and BARELY EVER sleeping! We finally put 2 and 2 together and called the Dr. to see if she thought it might be reflux. She said the symptoms were textbook and immediately called in an Rx. We go in for our 2 month appt pretty soon, so we will follow up w/ her then. But, I'm telling ya right now, she is feeling so much better and is SO MUCH HAPPIER!
YAY!!!!
Other than that, we have had some fun visits w/ friends (Cara/Liam, Julia/Howie, Maja) and of course some fun visits w/ Grandma & Grandpa. They watched her for a bit on Sat night and Craig and I went out to dinner.
This coming Sunday they are watching her while we go to the Colts vs. Cardinals game!!!!
Ellie & Liam (he was SO cute trying to entertain her--of course she loved it!)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sending My Regrets to Target
Ellie defiled a Target dressing room today...
We were out running errands this morning then leisurly strolling through my favorite Target (it's a Super Target w/ an amazing grocery store--they have lots of healthy option foods like vegan/vegetarian stuff, lots of baked stuff, and actual decent produce--although we had already been at the farmers market, but I digress). Ellie decided to have a FREAK OUT moment, clearly telling me: I. NEED. TO. EAT. RIGHT. NOW. MOTHER.
Let me just say, I had fed her approx. an hour and a half earlier and was hoping we would have another hour or so but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. Let's just say momma hasn't been following "Baby Wise" as of yet and we are not really on any kind of schedule for feeding.
SO, I figure that I can just go in a changing room, feed & change her and we are golden! The feeding went fine but not so much the changing. Let's just say she probably had the NASTIEST diaper that I have had to change (as of yet--i know...). As I'm removing it and literally trying to figure out where to even set it down, she decided to take a pee pee on her changing pad. USUALLY I throw the new diaper down immediately but I was a little thrown off by the massive poo... of course it was not just a little tinkle, but more like a monsoon. All over her outfit too.
SO, after changing her, using a blankie AND my hooter hider (along w/ a package of wipes) to clean everything up, we finally get ourselves together, head to the actual bathroom to throw away all evidence, we commence shopping.
However, the little princess was still not pleased (meaning: practically screaming in the chip aisle), so we promptly run to the checkout and head home. I only made it half way through the store, so I have only 1/2 of the ingredients of all of the dinners for this week... Mind you, by the time we get to the car, she's completely fine!
Ahhhhhh the joys of motherhood!!!!!
We were out running errands this morning then leisurly strolling through my favorite Target (it's a Super Target w/ an amazing grocery store--they have lots of healthy option foods like vegan/vegetarian stuff, lots of baked stuff, and actual decent produce--although we had already been at the farmers market, but I digress). Ellie decided to have a FREAK OUT moment, clearly telling me: I. NEED. TO. EAT. RIGHT. NOW. MOTHER.
Let me just say, I had fed her approx. an hour and a half earlier and was hoping we would have another hour or so but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. Let's just say momma hasn't been following "Baby Wise" as of yet and we are not really on any kind of schedule for feeding.
SO, I figure that I can just go in a changing room, feed & change her and we are golden! The feeding went fine but not so much the changing. Let's just say she probably had the NASTIEST diaper that I have had to change (as of yet--i know...). As I'm removing it and literally trying to figure out where to even set it down, she decided to take a pee pee on her changing pad. USUALLY I throw the new diaper down immediately but I was a little thrown off by the massive poo... of course it was not just a little tinkle, but more like a monsoon. All over her outfit too.
SO, after changing her, using a blankie AND my hooter hider (along w/ a package of wipes) to clean everything up, we finally get ourselves together, head to the actual bathroom to throw away all evidence, we commence shopping.
However, the little princess was still not pleased (meaning: practically screaming in the chip aisle), so we promptly run to the checkout and head home. I only made it half way through the store, so I have only 1/2 of the ingredients of all of the dinners for this week... Mind you, by the time we get to the car, she's completely fine!
Ahhhhhh the joys of motherhood!!!!!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Daddy & Ellie
Here is a pic of Craig his first day in the hospital in 1975:
Here is a pic of Ellie on her first day in 2009:
Think they look alike???
Here is a pic of Ellie on her first day in 2009:
Think they look alike???
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
One Month Old
As I mentioned, we have been completely spoiled for the last 2 weeks. Craig's mom was here visiting and just spoiled Ellie and I rotten. It was awesome. We also spent time w/ my parents each weekend and they are spoiling us, too!
So, today is my first day w/ Ellie by myself and it has gone great so far! It's so unbelievable w/ a newborn how quickly your days go by... and you realize you have accomplished nothing of great importance. Well, except feeding and bonding w/ your gorgeous, amazing new daughter!
When Ellie was 4 days old we did a photo shoot w/ Amy Fraughton, the one who did our prego pics. We got the pics back last week and immediately ordered our announcements, which came today and will be going back out in the mail today: so check your mail later this week! The pictures are amazing and we are so proud of them. YOU CAN'T IMAGINE HOW HARD IT HAS BEEN FOR ME NOT TO EMAIL THEM OUT! But, we paid a pretty penny for our announcements and I want to wait until you have seen them there first!
Ellie is a MONTH OLD!!!!!!!! Can you believe it??? I can't. She's a great baby. She's good at eating, pooping and sleeping. All of the things
Since she is now a month old, we celebrated this weekend by actually leaving the house! She went to the mall for her first time (spending most of that time at the Apple store getting daddy's new iPhone) and by going out to eat at Roma Gardens w/ Grandpa and Grandma. She has been a little fussy in the evenings but we are chalking it up to a growth spurt and gas... Two things I'm told are pretty common.
We went to our first Breastfeeding support group meeting last week too, and are excited to go again this week. I'm telling you this because we got to weigh her and she's already almost 11 lbs!!!!
Speaking of that... someone is hungry!!!
So, today is my first day w/ Ellie by myself and it has gone great so far! It's so unbelievable w/ a newborn how quickly your days go by... and you realize you have accomplished nothing of great importance. Well, except feeding and bonding w/ your gorgeous, amazing new daughter!
When Ellie was 4 days old we did a photo shoot w/ Amy Fraughton, the one who did our prego pics. We got the pics back last week and immediately ordered our announcements, which came today and will be going back out in the mail today: so check your mail later this week! The pictures are amazing and we are so proud of them. YOU CAN'T IMAGINE HOW HARD IT HAS BEEN FOR ME NOT TO EMAIL THEM OUT! But, we paid a pretty penny for our announcements and I want to wait until you have seen them there first!
Ellie is a MONTH OLD!!!!!!!! Can you believe it??? I can't. She's a great baby. She's good at eating, pooping and sleeping. All of the things
Since she is now a month old, we celebrated this weekend by actually leaving the house! She went to the mall for her first time (spending most of that time at the Apple store getting daddy's new iPhone) and by going out to eat at Roma Gardens w/ Grandpa and Grandma. She has been a little fussy in the evenings but we are chalking it up to a growth spurt and gas... Two things I'm told are pretty common.
We went to our first Breastfeeding support group meeting last week too, and are excited to go again this week. I'm telling you this because we got to weigh her and she's already almost 11 lbs!!!!
Speaking of that... someone is hungry!!!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Hey ya'll!
Quick shout out to my sister Julie, it's her 30th Birthday!!!!!
Things are going well here!!! Memaw is still spoiling us ROTTEN!
Ellie slept in her own crib last night! Mommy didn't sleep much, but Ellie slept fine, of course :) Hopefully it will get a little easier each night.
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1276162015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
We wore our IU Cheerleader outfit over to Grandma and Grandpa's on Saturday. We were saving it for football season to start but our newborn clothes are already getting small!!!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Memaw is here!
Well, we've made it over 2 weeks! Ellie is doing so great, and so are we! Daddy went back to work this morning and Memaw is here! Grandma and Grandpa came over yesterday for a nice visit and today we are relaxing.
We have to admit something: Ellie is a GREAT baby! She doesn't fuss much and is a great eater, sleeper and of course, pooper! We are so blessed and lucky.
We got her newborn pics taken 2 weeks ago and are DYING to get those back. Stay tuned. Here are some new ones:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1233669015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
And from last week (in case you didn't see them yet):
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1184406015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
We have to admit something: Ellie is a GREAT baby! She doesn't fuss much and is a great eater, sleeper and of course, pooper! We are so blessed and lucky.
We got her newborn pics taken 2 weeks ago and are DYING to get those back. Stay tuned. Here are some new ones:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1233669015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
And from last week (in case you didn't see them yet):
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1184406015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Birth Story
Short Version:
July 30, 2009
11:00 am: 40 week check up (40 week and 3 day check up, actually). Dr. stripped my membranes (for the second time) and said he was able to dilate me to 2, but went ahead and scheduled the induction for Monday morning. We were super frustrated. The end. So we thought.
8:00 pm: Started timing contractions… 8 minutes apart! Guess this is going to happen
10:30 pm: Had to wake Craig up (since he took an Ambien right before I told him I thought I was having contractions) to get me to the hospital! My contractions were coming on top of each other and were already getting to be REALLY painful.
11:30 pm: We were in triage and almost checked in… I was already dilated to 6 and contractions were beyond horrible at this point
July 31, 2009
Midnight: EPIDURAL (yay!) and around this time Craig’s nurse had to come in too, since he almost passed out! We think it was a combination of the Ambien and Rockstar energy drink--nothing gross was even going on yet J And he made it through the entire rest of the birth like a champ! Still, funny he had to have his own nurse com in.
2:00 - 4:00 am: NAP TIME! Epidurals rock.
8:00 am: Check up-- 9 ½ cm! Dr. broke my water.
8:30 am: Started pushing
10:20 am: Episiotomy
10:29 am: WELCOME ELEANOR BLANCHE MITCHEN!!!!!!!!!
Long Version
Birth Story
Thursday, July 30th was our 40+ week check up w/ Dr. Holmes (our due date was the 28th). We were hoping that we had made some progress, but we were frustrated to find out that we had not made any. We decided to have the Dr. strip my membranes again. He was able to do this and make a little progress (dilated me to 2) but he went ahead and scheduled an induction for Monday morning. Needless to say, we were pretty disappointed and frustrated.
You see… we thought for sure she would come even a little early! Everyone told me that first babies are notoriously late, but we were just SO READY to meet her! Starting at our 36 week check up, every day and every night we thought I’d go into labor. Of course, we know we were being unrealistic and impatient but it was so hard not to!
At our 39 week check up, the Dr. “stripped my membranes” (ouch!) and we were dilated to one! What great news! We thought for sure we would go that weekend… that night, we walked the mall, drank the herbal tea, ate spicy food… all of the things that we were supposed to do to help Ellie come out. That night, I was cramping really bad. The next day, same thing… and I even lost my mucus plug! But no baby. I went back to work the next week and was just miserable. By the time our 40 week check up rolled around, we were practically in disbelief that we didn‘t have a baby yet!
I was in tears by the time we left the Dr. office that day… since we had to schedule her induction for the following Monday. I really didn’t want to have to take Pitocin and we were just really, really, really (did I say really?) ready to meet her! I was down and out and basically MAD that afternoon. I guess positive thinking doesn’t always work! Since Dr. Holmes had stripped my membranes again (DOUBLE OUCH!) I was having some more cramping that evening but we knew how stubborn she was, so we prepared ourselves to have to wait until Monday. Ellie had other plans…
Around 8:00 PM, we went to bed (still frustrated), after a dinner of Pinto Beans (a Texas dish I make for Craig sometimes--beans, Rotel tomatoes & spices--ummm, bad idea?). After I laid down and relaxed, I started realizing that something was going on. Could it possible? Yes, yes, I do think I might be having contractions! We timed them and they were about 7-8 minutes apart… Uh oh! I guess this is really going to happen now J At this point, we figured I’d be in labor all night, so I sent Craig to bed in the guest room to get some rest…. SINCE HE HAD TAKEN AN AMBIEN EARLIER--previous to me mentioning that I thought I might be having contractions!
The next hour and a half are kind of a blur. I remember that I took a bath, did some laundry, finished packing, sat on my yoga ball and called my mom… However, before I knew it, my contractions were getting steadily harder, more painful and closer together. I better wake up the husband.
I woke Craig up around 10:30--this wasn’t an easy task believe me! He immediately went to the fridge and got a Rockstar energy drink to help wake him up. We were out the door in about 15 minutes. The car ride is also a blur, but I remember not being able to talk and being scared to death because my contractions were coming RIGHT ON TOP of one another. I know everyone’s labor is different… My labor pains were all in my lower abdomen/groin area shooting down the tops of my legs. By the time we got to the hospital and into triage, I couldn’t breathe, sit, lean on something or do ANYTHING during a contraction (again--most of them were right on top of one another with maybe a 30 second break after 3 or 4). I finally managed to get up on the table, the nurse checked me and I was 6 cm. She didn’t even finish the rest of the tests that they do, since it was a done deal that I was getting admitted!
In case you don’t already know this, I was planning on trying to have a “natural” childbirth experience. I learned so much throughout my pregnancy from my Yoga teacher Lisette, as well as doing my own research. I thought this was something I could do. Mind over matter right? We even had a private coaching sesison w/ Listette. We had religiously been doing our perenial massage every night, practicing breathing, doing yoga, visualization, relaxation techniques, you name it. HOWEVER, at this point, Craig and I had a quick conversation that went a little something like this:
Jennifer (picture a CRAZY look in her eyes--much like a cartoon character w/ the black and white swirlies going around): “Craig, I’m getting an epidural”
Craig (reciting the speech we had practiced): “Are you sure hunny? I think you can do it with out! You are already 6 cm! I know you can do this!”
Jennifer: “This is NOT up for discussion. I’m getting an epidural, so just drop it!”
Craig: “Um, ok!”
Later, he told me that he really wanted me to get one all along but was going along w/ my wishes to have the natural childbirth. He was really glad when I finally “gave in” and decided to have one.
Let me just say now that I am perfectly fine w/ this decision! I don’t feel bad at all. It was just a decision I had to make and am really happy that I did. I still have it in my head that IF I ever decide to have a second child, I will still try the natural route, but for this birth, this is what I had to do! I also do not judge anyone else either way for whatever they decide to do. Everyone has a different idea of how their birth should go. I am, however, REALLY grateful and happy that I did have ALL of the information at hand to make the decision I needed to. I think it would be really frustrating to someone who was “talked into” having an epidural or really hadn’t researched the entire process on their own.
Ok, so now it’s about midnight and we are getting checked into our room and the Anesthesiologist shows up immediately and gives me the epidural! I was one of those lucky folks who have to have it TWICE since the first one didn’t take properly. It’s not really a big deal at the time, but there are some side effects that can happen later. Again, luckily, I already knew that this was one of the risks and consequences of having an epidural, so it didn’t upset me too bad. It kicked in almost immediately and the pain relief was GLORIOUS!!!!!!!!! Angels were singing!!!!
The next several hours were all a blur of being frequently checked by nurses, turned from side to side to make sure the epidural was spreading evenly and the best part, NAPPING. Craig and I were both able to get a couple hours of rest! Around 8:00 am, they checked me and I was 9 ½ cm. The Dr. came in, broke my water (ask Craig some day for a graphic description of that!) and I started pushing at 8:30.
I ended up pushing for about 2 hours. Around 10:00, our progress was slowing down, so I had a quick dose of Pitocin, around 10:20 an episiotomy (the only point the Dr. told Craig NOT to look!) and it seemed as if she “popped” right out! I must admit pushing was not necessarily as hard as I thought it would be. But I had 2 awesome coaches. My nurse Brian and Craig! They both were so positive and supportive. It was so fun to watch the look on Craig’s face when her head would inch down. He was so excited.
Craig cut the umbilical cord and hung out w/ the Dr while I delivered the placenta (and the Dr. showed Craig all of the intricacies of the placenta). She came out and immediately was sucking her thumb. They weren’t able to put her on my chest immediately, since I had the risk of Strep B, so they had to check her out and went ahead and cleaned her up. They gave her to me and of course it was love at first sight! I don’t remember the next couple of hours exactly, but we were able to get her to nurse right away--she latched on and hasn’t stopped! I feel VERY blessed for this. At some point when we had 30 seconds of privacy, Craig slipped me a “Push Present”! He got me a ruby ring which is Ellie’s birthstone. He wanted to get me something I could give to her some day. It’s gorgeous and so thoughtful. Although he was SWEATING that he would have to go exchange it for the August birthstone J
They took us upstairs to the 5th floor for my recovery room and the nurses helped us get settled. She continued to eat every couple hours and Grandma and Grandpa Skinner were able to FINALLY come see us (they had been waiting patiently ALL DAY!). We will always remember the view of the mountains from our room.
Although the hospital was very nice, we did have to stay for a full 48 hours so they could make sure she didn’t have the Strep B virus and believe me: we were SO READY to come home on Sunday morning. Once we got home, we were able to start relaxing a little more (thanks to my parents coming over to help, of course!).
Overall, it was, no doubt, the most intense, wonderful, scary, painful, fun, exciting and joyous experience of my entire life…
July 30, 2009
11:00 am: 40 week check up (40 week and 3 day check up, actually). Dr. stripped my membranes (for the second time) and said he was able to dilate me to 2, but went ahead and scheduled the induction for Monday morning. We were super frustrated. The end. So we thought.
8:00 pm: Started timing contractions… 8 minutes apart! Guess this is going to happen
10:30 pm: Had to wake Craig up (since he took an Ambien right before I told him I thought I was having contractions) to get me to the hospital! My contractions were coming on top of each other and were already getting to be REALLY painful.
11:30 pm: We were in triage and almost checked in… I was already dilated to 6 and contractions were beyond horrible at this point
July 31, 2009
Midnight: EPIDURAL (yay!) and around this time Craig’s nurse had to come in too, since he almost passed out! We think it was a combination of the Ambien and Rockstar energy drink--nothing gross was even going on yet J And he made it through the entire rest of the birth like a champ! Still, funny he had to have his own nurse com in.
2:00 - 4:00 am: NAP TIME! Epidurals rock.
8:00 am: Check up-- 9 ½ cm! Dr. broke my water.
8:30 am: Started pushing
10:20 am: Episiotomy
10:29 am: WELCOME ELEANOR BLANCHE MITCHEN!!!!!!!!!
Long Version
Birth Story
Thursday, July 30th was our 40+ week check up w/ Dr. Holmes (our due date was the 28th). We were hoping that we had made some progress, but we were frustrated to find out that we had not made any. We decided to have the Dr. strip my membranes again. He was able to do this and make a little progress (dilated me to 2) but he went ahead and scheduled an induction for Monday morning. Needless to say, we were pretty disappointed and frustrated.
You see… we thought for sure she would come even a little early! Everyone told me that first babies are notoriously late, but we were just SO READY to meet her! Starting at our 36 week check up, every day and every night we thought I’d go into labor. Of course, we know we were being unrealistic and impatient but it was so hard not to!
At our 39 week check up, the Dr. “stripped my membranes” (ouch!) and we were dilated to one! What great news! We thought for sure we would go that weekend… that night, we walked the mall, drank the herbal tea, ate spicy food… all of the things that we were supposed to do to help Ellie come out. That night, I was cramping really bad. The next day, same thing… and I even lost my mucus plug! But no baby. I went back to work the next week and was just miserable. By the time our 40 week check up rolled around, we were practically in disbelief that we didn‘t have a baby yet!
I was in tears by the time we left the Dr. office that day… since we had to schedule her induction for the following Monday. I really didn’t want to have to take Pitocin and we were just really, really, really (did I say really?) ready to meet her! I was down and out and basically MAD that afternoon. I guess positive thinking doesn’t always work! Since Dr. Holmes had stripped my membranes again (DOUBLE OUCH!) I was having some more cramping that evening but we knew how stubborn she was, so we prepared ourselves to have to wait until Monday. Ellie had other plans…
Around 8:00 PM, we went to bed (still frustrated), after a dinner of Pinto Beans (a Texas dish I make for Craig sometimes--beans, Rotel tomatoes & spices--ummm, bad idea?). After I laid down and relaxed, I started realizing that something was going on. Could it possible? Yes, yes, I do think I might be having contractions! We timed them and they were about 7-8 minutes apart… Uh oh! I guess this is really going to happen now J At this point, we figured I’d be in labor all night, so I sent Craig to bed in the guest room to get some rest…. SINCE HE HAD TAKEN AN AMBIEN EARLIER--previous to me mentioning that I thought I might be having contractions!
The next hour and a half are kind of a blur. I remember that I took a bath, did some laundry, finished packing, sat on my yoga ball and called my mom… However, before I knew it, my contractions were getting steadily harder, more painful and closer together. I better wake up the husband.
I woke Craig up around 10:30--this wasn’t an easy task believe me! He immediately went to the fridge and got a Rockstar energy drink to help wake him up. We were out the door in about 15 minutes. The car ride is also a blur, but I remember not being able to talk and being scared to death because my contractions were coming RIGHT ON TOP of one another. I know everyone’s labor is different… My labor pains were all in my lower abdomen/groin area shooting down the tops of my legs. By the time we got to the hospital and into triage, I couldn’t breathe, sit, lean on something or do ANYTHING during a contraction (again--most of them were right on top of one another with maybe a 30 second break after 3 or 4). I finally managed to get up on the table, the nurse checked me and I was 6 cm. She didn’t even finish the rest of the tests that they do, since it was a done deal that I was getting admitted!
In case you don’t already know this, I was planning on trying to have a “natural” childbirth experience. I learned so much throughout my pregnancy from my Yoga teacher Lisette, as well as doing my own research. I thought this was something I could do. Mind over matter right? We even had a private coaching sesison w/ Listette. We had religiously been doing our perenial massage every night, practicing breathing, doing yoga, visualization, relaxation techniques, you name it. HOWEVER, at this point, Craig and I had a quick conversation that went a little something like this:
Jennifer (picture a CRAZY look in her eyes--much like a cartoon character w/ the black and white swirlies going around): “Craig, I’m getting an epidural”
Craig (reciting the speech we had practiced): “Are you sure hunny? I think you can do it with out! You are already 6 cm! I know you can do this!”
Jennifer: “This is NOT up for discussion. I’m getting an epidural, so just drop it!”
Craig: “Um, ok!”
Later, he told me that he really wanted me to get one all along but was going along w/ my wishes to have the natural childbirth. He was really glad when I finally “gave in” and decided to have one.
Let me just say now that I am perfectly fine w/ this decision! I don’t feel bad at all. It was just a decision I had to make and am really happy that I did. I still have it in my head that IF I ever decide to have a second child, I will still try the natural route, but for this birth, this is what I had to do! I also do not judge anyone else either way for whatever they decide to do. Everyone has a different idea of how their birth should go. I am, however, REALLY grateful and happy that I did have ALL of the information at hand to make the decision I needed to. I think it would be really frustrating to someone who was “talked into” having an epidural or really hadn’t researched the entire process on their own.
Ok, so now it’s about midnight and we are getting checked into our room and the Anesthesiologist shows up immediately and gives me the epidural! I was one of those lucky folks who have to have it TWICE since the first one didn’t take properly. It’s not really a big deal at the time, but there are some side effects that can happen later. Again, luckily, I already knew that this was one of the risks and consequences of having an epidural, so it didn’t upset me too bad. It kicked in almost immediately and the pain relief was GLORIOUS!!!!!!!!! Angels were singing!!!!
The next several hours were all a blur of being frequently checked by nurses, turned from side to side to make sure the epidural was spreading evenly and the best part, NAPPING. Craig and I were both able to get a couple hours of rest! Around 8:00 am, they checked me and I was 9 ½ cm. The Dr. came in, broke my water (ask Craig some day for a graphic description of that!) and I started pushing at 8:30.
I ended up pushing for about 2 hours. Around 10:00, our progress was slowing down, so I had a quick dose of Pitocin, around 10:20 an episiotomy (the only point the Dr. told Craig NOT to look!) and it seemed as if she “popped” right out! I must admit pushing was not necessarily as hard as I thought it would be. But I had 2 awesome coaches. My nurse Brian and Craig! They both were so positive and supportive. It was so fun to watch the look on Craig’s face when her head would inch down. He was so excited.
Craig cut the umbilical cord and hung out w/ the Dr while I delivered the placenta (and the Dr. showed Craig all of the intricacies of the placenta). She came out and immediately was sucking her thumb. They weren’t able to put her on my chest immediately, since I had the risk of Strep B, so they had to check her out and went ahead and cleaned her up. They gave her to me and of course it was love at first sight! I don’t remember the next couple of hours exactly, but we were able to get her to nurse right away--she latched on and hasn’t stopped! I feel VERY blessed for this. At some point when we had 30 seconds of privacy, Craig slipped me a “Push Present”! He got me a ruby ring which is Ellie’s birthstone. He wanted to get me something I could give to her some day. It’s gorgeous and so thoughtful. Although he was SWEATING that he would have to go exchange it for the August birthstone J
They took us upstairs to the 5th floor for my recovery room and the nurses helped us get settled. She continued to eat every couple hours and Grandma and Grandpa Skinner were able to FINALLY come see us (they had been waiting patiently ALL DAY!). We will always remember the view of the mountains from our room.
Although the hospital was very nice, we did have to stay for a full 48 hours so they could make sure she didn’t have the Strep B virus and believe me: we were SO READY to come home on Sunday morning. Once we got home, we were able to start relaxing a little more (thanks to my parents coming over to help, of course!).
Overall, it was, no doubt, the most intense, wonderful, scary, painful, fun, exciting and joyous experience of my entire life…
Monday, August 3, 2009
Welcome Eleanor Blanche!
Please welcome Eleanor Blanche Mitchen!
Ellie was born on 7/31/09, 10:29 AM. 8 lbs 7 oz, 21 in. All her fingers and toes in place!
We are doing great...
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The post in which I try not to mention "she-who-must-not-be-named"!
I'm obviously on a Potter kick... we went to see Half Blood Prince a couple of weeks ago and it was really good, of course! My husband told me AFTER the movie that he had never seen any of the other movies! He still liked it though, but obviously had a lot of questions. So, now we are having a good time going back and watching 1-5. We are about to watch 3 as soon as blockbuster.com sends it. Craig thinks learning all of the British terms is hilarious. Things like "snogging" and "holy crickets"!
In other exciting news... My friend Lisa (and Scotty) Beier had their (2nd) baby yesterday! Macy Laine Beier! WHOO HOO! She weighed 7 lbs 8 oz. Mom and baby are doing great. Funny thing about that is it just dawned on me is that there is going to be a small GANG of girls around the same age in my circle of friends! Mine (maybe if I ever have she-who-must-not-be-named), Lisa's, Jade's, Kim's, and we still don't know what Becca and Nicole are having. Not to mention Olivia, Izzy, Kyla, and Avery who are already over a year old.
Talked to our friend Guchi yesterday and he told me he and Lynn are going to Hawaii (Kauai and Maui) in September. FOR 12 DAYS! ALL AIRFARE, HOTEL and CAR USING POINTS!!!! It just sunk in this morning that I am SUPER JEALOUS. I have realized that I don't think I'll be going on any sort of vacation for a long while!
Although, one thing I haven't mentioned on here yet (I'm a bit self-absorbed these days, I admit) is that my sister and Bob are getting married next year in Florida! YAY! As it stands now, it's looking like June 5th!!!!!!!!! So that will be a fun trip to South East FL--I think it will be in the West Palm Beach area. I do love it down there. Not a huge Miami fan, but Ft Lauderdale is one of my favorite places in Florida. Anyway, the wedding will be on the beach and be very small w/ just family. Although, there are a minimum of 13 Skinners that live in that area alone, so at this point, I'm not sure how small it will be!
I finished a great book this week called "Gone" by Michael Grant. It's also in the teen section (sadly my favorite books in the past years have mostly all been in this genre). I won't tell you the premise, but trust me, if you like Potter, Twilight, etc, you'll like it.
UMMMMMMMM has anyone seen "Knowing" w/ Nick Cage (I like to call him Nick)????? Ok, not the ending I thought it would be by any means!!! Although not typically my type of movie, it wasn't bad. Except that his character should have been in jail for child neglect. Even before he let his kid fly off with the aliens...
Any other good movies to recommend?
Another crazy thing I learned this week is that a friend of mine's parents (I won't mention names) found out that their house is infested w/ BED BUGS. Do you have any idea how big of a deal this is? They got them from a hotel they stayed at a few weeks ago. When this happens to you, you have to get RID of your mattresses, sheets, pillows and pretty much wash every single piece of linen in your house. AND pay to have an exterminator come and bomb! It's HORRIBLE! I feel so bad for them. I also really see no way that we couldn't all be susceptible to this at one point or another... 'cause believe me, this woman's house is probably cleaner, greener and neater than ANYONE we know!!!
My parents are back from Indy now! So far we've scammed dinner from PF Changs and Outback from them :) Which is nice because Craig and I have spent a small fortune on eating out (out of boredom and laziness) in the past few weeks! Just kidding though, it's nice to have them back in Phoenix!
In other exciting news... My friend Lisa (and Scotty) Beier had their (2nd) baby yesterday! Macy Laine Beier! WHOO HOO! She weighed 7 lbs 8 oz. Mom and baby are doing great. Funny thing about that is it just dawned on me is that there is going to be a small GANG of girls around the same age in my circle of friends! Mine (maybe if I ever have she-who-must-not-be-named), Lisa's, Jade's, Kim's, and we still don't know what Becca and Nicole are having. Not to mention Olivia, Izzy, Kyla, and Avery who are already over a year old.
Talked to our friend Guchi yesterday and he told me he and Lynn are going to Hawaii (Kauai and Maui) in September. FOR 12 DAYS! ALL AIRFARE, HOTEL and CAR USING POINTS!!!! It just sunk in this morning that I am SUPER JEALOUS. I have realized that I don't think I'll be going on any sort of vacation for a long while!
Although, one thing I haven't mentioned on here yet (I'm a bit self-absorbed these days, I admit) is that my sister and Bob are getting married next year in Florida! YAY! As it stands now, it's looking like June 5th!!!!!!!!! So that will be a fun trip to South East FL--I think it will be in the West Palm Beach area. I do love it down there. Not a huge Miami fan, but Ft Lauderdale is one of my favorite places in Florida. Anyway, the wedding will be on the beach and be very small w/ just family. Although, there are a minimum of 13 Skinners that live in that area alone, so at this point, I'm not sure how small it will be!
I finished a great book this week called "Gone" by Michael Grant. It's also in the teen section (sadly my favorite books in the past years have mostly all been in this genre). I won't tell you the premise, but trust me, if you like Potter, Twilight, etc, you'll like it.
UMMMMMMMM has anyone seen "Knowing" w/ Nick Cage (I like to call him Nick)????? Ok, not the ending I thought it would be by any means!!! Although not typically my type of movie, it wasn't bad. Except that his character should have been in jail for child neglect. Even before he let his kid fly off with the aliens...
Any other good movies to recommend?
Another crazy thing I learned this week is that a friend of mine's parents (I won't mention names) found out that their house is infested w/ BED BUGS. Do you have any idea how big of a deal this is? They got them from a hotel they stayed at a few weeks ago. When this happens to you, you have to get RID of your mattresses, sheets, pillows and pretty much wash every single piece of linen in your house. AND pay to have an exterminator come and bomb! It's HORRIBLE! I feel so bad for them. I also really see no way that we couldn't all be susceptible to this at one point or another... 'cause believe me, this woman's house is probably cleaner, greener and neater than ANYONE we know!!!
My parents are back from Indy now! So far we've scammed dinner from PF Changs and Outback from them :) Which is nice because Craig and I have spent a small fortune on eating out (out of boredom and laziness) in the past few weeks! Just kidding though, it's nice to have them back in Phoenix!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Time Goes By....... So Slowly
WOW. I know you've heard it before. Or even experienced it. But I have never in my life felt time dragging on so slowly before! I'm sure pregnant friends of mine told me about it, but there is no way I could have fully grasped what they were referring to.
First off, I do feel good, so I'm not complaining about that what-so-ever! In fact, I feel as good (in the baby area) as I have this whole month. Aside from a pinched nerve in my neck that is killing me...
It's just this crazy, mental mind-game that is driving us MAD!!!!
I am sure this is something a lot of first time parents battle with... I just had no idea it would be this hard.
One problem is that we have absolutely NOTHING left to do to get ready for the baby! We've had her room done since March and honestly been done "preparing" since I was probably around 36 weeks. We don't really even have any home projects to work on!
The other problem is the heat. Of course, yes, it makes me uncomfortable, but I can deal with that. I think the main problem is that there is seriously NOTHING TO DO this time of year in AZ. It is almost impossible to even go run errands going to and from your car. Of course, the other 9-10 months of the year we could be doing lots of fun things outdoors, but not now! We have walked several different malls, rented SO many movies, gone to several movies, are eating out like once a day and are just PLAIN BORED! It's so hot at even 8 in the morning it's not even fun to walk the doggies... I seriously should have picked up SOME sort of hobby, but then again, it just felt like I was going to have this baby ANY DAY!
As of Friday morning, I was in some pain. After having my membranes stripped on Thursday, I was SERIOUSLY cramping and thought I might be having some contractions. I felt weak and lousy and truly thought that we'd be having this baby this weekend! Then, of course, started feeling better :) But then, on Friday evening, I lost my mucus plug (GROSS!) so we were back to being confident that we'd be having this baby this weekend... but it's Sunday afternoon and I'm feeling fine. (again, not a bad thing)
I can't believe we are both going back to work tomorrow! It seems impossible...
First off, I do feel good, so I'm not complaining about that what-so-ever! In fact, I feel as good (in the baby area) as I have this whole month. Aside from a pinched nerve in my neck that is killing me...
It's just this crazy, mental mind-game that is driving us MAD!!!!
I am sure this is something a lot of first time parents battle with... I just had no idea it would be this hard.
One problem is that we have absolutely NOTHING left to do to get ready for the baby! We've had her room done since March and honestly been done "preparing" since I was probably around 36 weeks. We don't really even have any home projects to work on!
The other problem is the heat. Of course, yes, it makes me uncomfortable, but I can deal with that. I think the main problem is that there is seriously NOTHING TO DO this time of year in AZ. It is almost impossible to even go run errands going to and from your car. Of course, the other 9-10 months of the year we could be doing lots of fun things outdoors, but not now! We have walked several different malls, rented SO many movies, gone to several movies, are eating out like once a day and are just PLAIN BORED! It's so hot at even 8 in the morning it's not even fun to walk the doggies... I seriously should have picked up SOME sort of hobby, but then again, it just felt like I was going to have this baby ANY DAY!
As of Friday morning, I was in some pain. After having my membranes stripped on Thursday, I was SERIOUSLY cramping and thought I might be having some contractions. I felt weak and lousy and truly thought that we'd be having this baby this weekend! Then, of course, started feeling better :) But then, on Friday evening, I lost my mucus plug (GROSS!) so we were back to being confident that we'd be having this baby this weekend... but it's Sunday afternoon and I'm feeling fine. (again, not a bad thing)
I can't believe we are both going back to work tomorrow! It seems impossible...
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Pics
Here are some pics of Lily and my big, fat, pregnant self!
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1012765015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
Monday, July 20, 2009
Countdown
I guess the countdown is on... 8 days until my due date. However, I feel like I have been counting down for MONTHS! Oh, I HAVE! Geez... this whole pregnancy thing tends to drag on, doesn't it!
I get the feeling from friends and family that they are annoyed with me for complaining about the baby not being here yet. I honestly don't mean to complain, it's really more of just a statement letting them know what's going on. I know for a fact that they are going to ask the proverbial, "Isn't that baby here yet" quesiton (which according to every mother I've met is the world's most annoying question), so I'm just trying to give period updates! However, I have received many short but sweet responses such as, "she'll come when she's ready" and "you are only 37 weeks", etc... :)
So, what else is new w/ us? Besides the elephant in the room...
Lily is doing GREAT! She has made herself part of the family, no ifs, ands or buts about that! She is so sweet and seems to really like it at the Mitchen house. She loves going for walks, and even though it's hotter than you-know-what, I have managed to take the 3 dogs on several walks. We did have to buy some new leashes and what not at Petsmart this weekend, though. Walking 3 is a CHORE! She loves to cuddle on the couch or in bed when we are watching TV but is so good about getting down and sleeping in her bed when it's time. She got her hair cut on Friday and looks so pretty! Rosco and Skippy are also adjusting to her just fine. Rosco and her have been playing on and off. They aren't 100% buddies yet, but they are getting there.
I've been really craving seafood, so Craig and I went to the store and splurged on some scallops, shrimp and crabcakes on Saturdya and had a feast! YUM! I still am craving it though--I really want some good ol' fried stuff!!! The problem being there really isn't any good seafood place in AZ!
Last night, Larry and Lisa came over to see Lily (and Rosco and Skippy of course) and we went out and grubbed on some Mexican food.... it was fun catching up w/ them. Craig and Larry (and Lisa and I are pretty guilty of it too) could talk about DIY and home improvments 24/7! They both admitted their LOVE for Amy Matthews too. Lisa and I wish we could live in some older homes with some character--the boys agree w/ that too, but it's probably more so they have a never-ending stream of projects to work on!
Other than that, we saw Harry Potter last week (awesome) and rented Gran Torino over the weekend... has anyone seen Gran Torino? Good movie... and I cracked up at all of the racial slangs used in a 2 hour period! Someone should make a drinking game out of that movie! I didn't even know what some of them meant!
I get the feeling from friends and family that they are annoyed with me for complaining about the baby not being here yet. I honestly don't mean to complain, it's really more of just a statement letting them know what's going on. I know for a fact that they are going to ask the proverbial, "Isn't that baby here yet" quesiton (which according to every mother I've met is the world's most annoying question), so I'm just trying to give period updates! However, I have received many short but sweet responses such as, "she'll come when she's ready" and "you are only 37 weeks", etc... :)
So, what else is new w/ us? Besides the elephant in the room...
Lily is doing GREAT! She has made herself part of the family, no ifs, ands or buts about that! She is so sweet and seems to really like it at the Mitchen house. She loves going for walks, and even though it's hotter than you-know-what, I have managed to take the 3 dogs on several walks. We did have to buy some new leashes and what not at Petsmart this weekend, though. Walking 3 is a CHORE! She loves to cuddle on the couch or in bed when we are watching TV but is so good about getting down and sleeping in her bed when it's time. She got her hair cut on Friday and looks so pretty! Rosco and Skippy are also adjusting to her just fine. Rosco and her have been playing on and off. They aren't 100% buddies yet, but they are getting there.
I've been really craving seafood, so Craig and I went to the store and splurged on some scallops, shrimp and crabcakes on Saturdya and had a feast! YUM! I still am craving it though--I really want some good ol' fried stuff!!! The problem being there really isn't any good seafood place in AZ!
Last night, Larry and Lisa came over to see Lily (and Rosco and Skippy of course) and we went out and grubbed on some Mexican food.... it was fun catching up w/ them. Craig and Larry (and Lisa and I are pretty guilty of it too) could talk about DIY and home improvments 24/7! They both admitted their LOVE for Amy Matthews too. Lisa and I wish we could live in some older homes with some character--the boys agree w/ that too, but it's probably more so they have a never-ending stream of projects to work on!
Other than that, we saw Harry Potter last week (awesome) and rented Gran Torino over the weekend... has anyone seen Gran Torino? Good movie... and I cracked up at all of the racial slangs used in a 2 hour period! Someone should make a drinking game out of that movie! I didn't even know what some of them meant!
Monday, July 13, 2009
New Edition
You might think this post is about a BABY coming into our family?
Or maybe about an awesome 80's R&B group?
You probably wouldn't think it would be about the fact that the CRAZY Mitchen family has adopted another dog?? Would you?
Well, it's true!!! And her name is Lily.
It's a long story but here's the recap:
-Mini-schnauzer
-Only NINE LBS!!!!
-She's almost 5 years old
-Totally housebroken
-Doggy door trained
-Very well behaved
-Loves walking on the leash
-Likes other dogs (once she gets used to them)
-Sleeps all night on a doggy bed on the floor (just like our other 2)
-Rosco & Skippy think she's pretty cool
-Her and Rosco have already been playing/chasing!
-Already protecting our house/backyard by barking at other dogs
Her mommy and daddy are getting divorced :( and she has been being shuttled between a couple of places for a long time now. She needs a good, stable home. Her mommy is a good friend of mine from Tempe Leadership. It's a long, drawn out story but we've been talking and thinking about this forever!
If Buford hadn't passed away, there is no way we could have handled this but like so many people have reminded me: we were already planning on having 3 dogs w/ the baby anyway and this little girl is a LOT lower maintenance than Buford was (not that we don't miss him!)
Speaking of Buford--why do I see Bulldogs EVERYWHERE these days???? On every TV show, commercial, etc! We saw the cutest video on America's Funniest Home Videos last night w/ a little girl (probably 12-15 months) talking gibberish to her bulldog. She was going on and on like she was telling him some really important story and he was just listening intently! That's why dogs rule.
Really this is a horrid picture of me, but I thought I'd post it because this is where she LOVES to lay and also a decent belly shot. Luckily the lighting is horrible, otherwise I would NOT have posted it! I am SO FREAKING LARGE! I know a lot of it is from being swollen... but UGH! Can you see how puffy my hand is?
We are going to work this weekend on getting one of the three of them together!
It's too funny how HUGE Skippy looks compared to Lily now :)
Or maybe about an awesome 80's R&B group?
You probably wouldn't think it would be about the fact that the CRAZY Mitchen family has adopted another dog?? Would you?
Well, it's true!!! And her name is Lily.
It's a long story but here's the recap:
-Mini-schnauzer
-Only NINE LBS!!!!
-She's almost 5 years old
-Totally housebroken
-Doggy door trained
-Very well behaved
-Loves walking on the leash
-Likes other dogs (once she gets used to them)
-Sleeps all night on a doggy bed on the floor (just like our other 2)
-Rosco & Skippy think she's pretty cool
-Her and Rosco have already been playing/chasing!
-Already protecting our house/backyard by barking at other dogs
Her mommy and daddy are getting divorced :( and she has been being shuttled between a couple of places for a long time now. She needs a good, stable home. Her mommy is a good friend of mine from Tempe Leadership. It's a long, drawn out story but we've been talking and thinking about this forever!
If Buford hadn't passed away, there is no way we could have handled this but like so many people have reminded me: we were already planning on having 3 dogs w/ the baby anyway and this little girl is a LOT lower maintenance than Buford was (not that we don't miss him!)
Speaking of Buford--why do I see Bulldogs EVERYWHERE these days???? On every TV show, commercial, etc! We saw the cutest video on America's Funniest Home Videos last night w/ a little girl (probably 12-15 months) talking gibberish to her bulldog. She was going on and on like she was telling him some really important story and he was just listening intently! That's why dogs rule.
Really this is a horrid picture of me, but I thought I'd post it because this is where she LOVES to lay and also a decent belly shot. Luckily the lighting is horrible, otherwise I would NOT have posted it! I am SO FREAKING LARGE! I know a lot of it is from being swollen... but UGH! Can you see how puffy my hand is?
We are going to work this weekend on getting one of the three of them together!
It's too funny how HUGE Skippy looks compared to Lily now :)
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Feeling Better!
FINALLY I'm feeling better! The cold is still slightly lingering but I think I'll make it...
We are just counting down the days, minutes, seconds... time seems to be going by SO SLOWLY!!!!!!!
We are just counting down the days, minutes, seconds... time seems to be going by SO SLOWLY!!!!!!!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Jinx
I jinxed myself.
I know what is worse than eing 36 weeks pregnant in the middle of the summer in Phoenix with a SICK HUSBAND.
Being 36 weeks pregnant in the middle of the summer in Phoenix with a sick husband and CONTRACTING THE SICKNESS YOURSELF! UGH!
Not to mention, going in for your 36 week check up and having the Dr. tell you that you have ZERO progress! Awesome. I'm not too bummed about that as I have a good attitude about about letting things happen on their own, but DANG!
I know what is worse than eing 36 weeks pregnant in the middle of the summer in Phoenix with a SICK HUSBAND.
Being 36 weeks pregnant in the middle of the summer in Phoenix with a sick husband and CONTRACTING THE SICKNESS YOURSELF! UGH!
Not to mention, going in for your 36 week check up and having the Dr. tell you that you have ZERO progress! Awesome. I'm not too bummed about that as I have a good attitude about about letting things happen on their own, but DANG!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
SICKO
What is more fun than being 36 weeks pregnant in the middle of the summer in Phoenix?
Being 36 weeks pregnant in the middle of the summer in Phoenix with a SICK HUSBAND!!!
I'm dying a slow, painful death as it is: trying to work (2-3 appointments a day, still selling cases, wrapping up files, handing projects over to my boss, sitting in an office chair (ouch!), my office is about 85 degrees all day long--I have 2 fans going which really just blow papers around, and fielding customer service calls since our account mgr is out this week--JUST A FEW ITEMS THINGS I'M DEALING WITH), trying to maintain some semblance of dinner in the evenings, buying groceries HA!, finishing up last minute baby stuff, pretending to not be slightly freaking out, all the while really just spending all day WILLING this baby to come! Oh yes, do not forget that all of these things are being done in 110 degree weather. AWESOME. Even getting gas is exhausting!
So, Sunday morning Craig comes down w/ a summer cold deal... he feels like crap and I hate that for him! But I think everyone knows what having a sick man is like! H to the M! (that is HIGH MAINTENANCE in case you didn't get that).... For example, who had to sleep in the guest room last night? ME! The bed in there is really comfy--for a non-prego! But I am so used to my tempurpedic bed, that I could not sleep and my back is killing me today.
Hopefully he's feeling better by tomorrow!
Other news: Today I'm officially 36 weeks and tomorrow is our 36 week checkup!
Let's get this show on the road!
Being 36 weeks pregnant in the middle of the summer in Phoenix with a SICK HUSBAND!!!
I'm dying a slow, painful death as it is: trying to work (2-3 appointments a day, still selling cases, wrapping up files, handing projects over to my boss, sitting in an office chair (ouch!), my office is about 85 degrees all day long--I have 2 fans going which really just blow papers around, and fielding customer service calls since our account mgr is out this week--JUST A FEW ITEMS THINGS I'M DEALING WITH), trying to maintain some semblance of dinner in the evenings, buying groceries HA!, finishing up last minute baby stuff, pretending to not be slightly freaking out, all the while really just spending all day WILLING this baby to come! Oh yes, do not forget that all of these things are being done in 110 degree weather. AWESOME. Even getting gas is exhausting!
So, Sunday morning Craig comes down w/ a summer cold deal... he feels like crap and I hate that for him! But I think everyone knows what having a sick man is like! H to the M! (that is HIGH MAINTENANCE in case you didn't get that).... For example, who had to sleep in the guest room last night? ME! The bed in there is really comfy--for a non-prego! But I am so used to my tempurpedic bed, that I could not sleep and my back is killing me today.
Hopefully he's feeling better by tomorrow!
Other news: Today I'm officially 36 weeks and tomorrow is our 36 week checkup!
Let's get this show on the road!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Blog Link
I'm excited that I made it up on our Photographer's blog :)
http://amyfraughtonphotography.blogspot.com/2009/06/blog-post.html
If you have time, check out some of her other pics... she is so awesome. You wish you lived here so she could take pics of your family. Also? Her prices are very reasonable...
http://amyfraughtonphotography.blogspot.com/2009/06/blog-post.html
If you have time, check out some of her other pics... she is so awesome. You wish you lived here so she could take pics of your family. Also? Her prices are very reasonable...
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Buford T. Justice
Our English Bulldog Buford passed away today :(
Long story short, but he has been fine... actually better lately, due to the Glucosamine we've had him on, but Fri night he woke us up in the middle of the night w/ an awful howl/cry/scream--
nothing we had ever heard before. We couldn't figure out the cause, so we took him to the emergency vet. They diagnosed it as his knee (which had long term issues I won't go into now) and the fact that he probably had shooting pains or something. Gave him painkillers and he seemed to be fine... seemed to be fine all day Saturday, too but woke us about this morning about 4 am w/ the same crying. This time we gave him another painkiller and tried to go back to sleep but around 7 am, he seemed to be feeling pretty bad (lots of symptoms). We took him to this regular vet which opened at 9:00. He was acting pretty strange by now. They took him back to do blood work, etc and around 10:00 they came out and said he had stopped breathing and they had to inti bate him!
At least an hour later he still would not breathe on his own and was totally unconscious, probably enduring brain damage as he was not getting any oxygen through his system... The vet advised us to euthanize. He has seen the same thing happen 100's of times in bulldogs.
Essentially, it was probably something genetic that caused it and it is very common w/ English bulldogs to have horrible respiratory problems (hence the breathing & snoring, etc). We got to be w/ him when he went and we got to say goodbye, but he was not responding to us at all. I'm sure he heard us at least.
We are obviously heartbroken, but very glad he went quickly. We also spent all day Saturday laying around watching movies so he had a great day! Usually we are running all around on Saturdays... he of course, liked for us to be home, so he had a good last day. He was only 4 years old, though.
Keep us in your thoughts this week...along w/ Rosco. We aren't sure how he's going to adjust... then add a baby in the picture in a couple of weeks! He's going to have some serious life changes to deal with. Skippy kind of goes w/ the flow, so she'll be fine.
Here is a picture I just took of him yesterday cuddled up in his chair watching movies w/ us...
Long story short, but he has been fine... actually better lately, due to the Glucosamine we've had him on, but Fri night he woke us up in the middle of the night w/ an awful howl/cry/scream--
nothing we had ever heard before. We couldn't figure out the cause, so we took him to the emergency vet. They diagnosed it as his knee (which had long term issues I won't go into now) and the fact that he probably had shooting pains or something. Gave him painkillers and he seemed to be fine... seemed to be fine all day Saturday, too but woke us about this morning about 4 am w/ the same crying. This time we gave him another painkiller and tried to go back to sleep but around 7 am, he seemed to be feeling pretty bad (lots of symptoms). We took him to this regular vet which opened at 9:00. He was acting pretty strange by now. They took him back to do blood work, etc and around 10:00 they came out and said he had stopped breathing and they had to inti bate him!
At least an hour later he still would not breathe on his own and was totally unconscious, probably enduring brain damage as he was not getting any oxygen through his system... The vet advised us to euthanize. He has seen the same thing happen 100's of times in bulldogs.
Essentially, it was probably something genetic that caused it and it is very common w/ English bulldogs to have horrible respiratory problems (hence the breathing & snoring, etc). We got to be w/ him when he went and we got to say goodbye, but he was not responding to us at all. I'm sure he heard us at least.
We are obviously heartbroken, but very glad he went quickly. We also spent all day Saturday laying around watching movies so he had a great day! Usually we are running all around on Saturdays... he of course, liked for us to be home, so he had a good last day. He was only 4 years old, though.
Keep us in your thoughts this week...along w/ Rosco. We aren't sure how he's going to adjust... then add a baby in the picture in a couple of weeks! He's going to have some serious life changes to deal with. Skippy kind of goes w/ the flow, so she'll be fine.
Here is a picture I just took of him yesterday cuddled up in his chair watching movies w/ us...
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Could someone please explain the Crocs phenomenon to me?
I know I know............ they are comfortable, right?
But did you know they have ENDLESS sytles and colors of shoes, sandals and flipflops? I'm not sure why I am a target consumer of theirs but I just got an email from Amazon.com w/ a special offer for "free shipping on new styles of crocs!" So out of sheer curiousity, I clicked on it and there are FIVE pages of different sytles of crocs! Aren't these plastic/rubber/spaceage material shoes? They have mary janes and high heels and wedge sandals! Who knew!?!?!?
I thought I'd take this opportunity to find out what the big deal is?
Personally I think ALL OF THEM are pretty horrendous! And it's not like I am a fashionista. I personally have a dress from Banana on today w/ a pair of flip flops (mainly due to the fact that my feet do not fit in ANY other shoes currently). The ones most people wear are so strange looking to me... why do you want to look like a Garden Gnome?
Are these supposed to be stylish? Would you throw these on w/ a new dress from Anthropologie and hit happy hour at a trendy restaurant??? I'm so confused.
I understand if you are a nurse or a teacher that you want comfy shoes, but what is wrong w/ tennis shoes? Or some cute sketchers??? Or regular flip flops for that matter?
Do they have some magical powers that I am not aware of? If so, please do share!
I must admit, I did buy a pair in Hawaii (Walmart's version anyway) to wear on the beach and they gave me blisters... so I'm not buying most of the comfort argument... but maybe because they were Walmart brand. Must one spend $35 for them to be worthy?
Could someone please help?
But did you know they have ENDLESS sytles and colors of shoes, sandals and flipflops? I'm not sure why I am a target consumer of theirs but I just got an email from Amazon.com w/ a special offer for "free shipping on new styles of crocs!" So out of sheer curiousity, I clicked on it and there are FIVE pages of different sytles of crocs! Aren't these plastic/rubber/spaceage material shoes? They have mary janes and high heels and wedge sandals! Who knew!?!?!?
I thought I'd take this opportunity to find out what the big deal is?
Personally I think ALL OF THEM are pretty horrendous! And it's not like I am a fashionista. I personally have a dress from Banana on today w/ a pair of flip flops (mainly due to the fact that my feet do not fit in ANY other shoes currently). The ones most people wear are so strange looking to me... why do you want to look like a Garden Gnome?
Are these supposed to be stylish? Would you throw these on w/ a new dress from Anthropologie and hit happy hour at a trendy restaurant??? I'm so confused.
I understand if you are a nurse or a teacher that you want comfy shoes, but what is wrong w/ tennis shoes? Or some cute sketchers??? Or regular flip flops for that matter?
Do they have some magical powers that I am not aware of? If so, please do share!
I must admit, I did buy a pair in Hawaii (Walmart's version anyway) to wear on the beach and they gave me blisters... so I'm not buying most of the comfort argument... but maybe because they were Walmart brand. Must one spend $35 for them to be worthy?
Could someone please help?
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Craig's New Love...
I've been replaced!
I just typed a couple of paragraphs here and it got erased!!!! Due to my clumsiness w/ the new, sensitive mouse pad thingie on the new lap top.
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
For now, let me just say this:
NESTING IS EXPENSIVE YA'LL!!!
I just typed a couple of paragraphs here and it got erased!!!! Due to my clumsiness w/ the new, sensitive mouse pad thingie on the new lap top.
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
For now, let me just say this:
NESTING IS EXPENSIVE YA'LL!!!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Belly Pics
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We had our pics taken a couple of weeks ago by Amy Fraughton. We just got them back today...
Here's a link to all of them: http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=659516015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
We had so much fun. She took us to an old farm in Gilbert, hence the scenery. She didn't even know that Craig loves farms, so it worked out perfect.
.jpg)
The only thing is I really need to work on my BLUE STEEL. I guess I'm much better at smiling!
PS Fellow blogspot users: does it take forever to upload pics here? I have cable internet and a brand new 'puter, so I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong?
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
San Diego
First of all: big shout out to my friends (who shall remain un-named until further notice) who just found out they are having TWINS!!!! I'm so happy & excited for them! YAHOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Craig and I ventured over to San Diego for the weekend. It was a blast. We drove over Friday afternoon/evening and returned to the desert Monday afternoon. For those of you midwesterners who have not been there before: it's LOVELY! Of course the beaches are gorgeous, but it's such a fun town with so much to do. The reason that EVERYONE in Arizona goes there during the summer is it's actually chilly there too. Highs were in the low 70's, lows in the 60's... So if you are on the beach in the direct sunlight it is warm, but other than that, it's chilly. That, however, is a wonderful feeling to have after living w/ temps hovering around 100 for a month already! We stayed on Shelter Island thanks to cousin Hannah who hooked us up w/ a nice room at the BW for a price we couldn't have gotten ANYWHERE! Thanks again!
Here's what we did:
Saturday: Mission Beach, rented/rode beach cruisers for 4 hours, hit the beach, hit the pool, went to Coronado Island for dinner
Sunday: Mission Beach in the AM--watched the surfers, Ocean Beach in the PM--watched the hippies & shopped in the cool little shops and of course, MOST IMPORTANTLY: ate fish tacos at the best fish taco place EVER: South Beach Bar & Grill, Sunday evening picked up Pete (friend from home who lives in SD) and headed to The Skinner's place in Pacific Beach (my cousin Steve's family) for a BBQ.
Monday: Drove through La Jolla and saw the seals--headed home!
6 hours in the car pregnant is NOT easy! But it was a great trip.
Here's some pics: http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=603764015/a=5766466_5766466/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Baby Bag
My AWESOME mother in law just bought me this:
It took me FOREVER to pick out which diaper bag I wanted! This one is from Fleurville... they sell them at Nordstrom, but I got it on their website (along with the matching wrist bag!). LOVE IT. The company's products have great design, as well as functionality. They are also very environmentally friendly ("green").
It took me FOREVER to pick out which diaper bag I wanted! This one is from Fleurville... they sell them at Nordstrom, but I got it on their website (along with the matching wrist bag!). LOVE IT. The company's products have great design, as well as functionality. They are also very environmentally friendly ("green").
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