Sharpen Those #2s

My blog haunts me. I have so many half-written entries and countless stories whirling around in my head that I always want to dedicate keystrokes to - and yet here I am with a last ditch quick update to keep with my one-a-month average entry and less than an hour to spare before I miss the month of May. *sigh*

This is a post I've been putting off because I wanted to dedicate more time to share details, and I will eventually. I hope. It's best explained with a photo and since that's all I'm capable of right now since I was nearly asleep when I realized it's basically June and I've yet to blog. SO, here's my tease of an update:

.I'm upgrading from a  Golden Tornado to a Golden Flash.

Since I clearly have all the time in the world (pretty please catch the sarcasm), I'm starting grad school on Monday at Kent State University for a Masters in School Counseling. It's time to add "student" on my About Me page, and update my list of 30 Things. That list, unfortunately, is for sure not going to be complete by my birthday, but I have made some decent progress and will have to be yet another post for another day. I hope.

SOS! A Trip Down Memory Lane

Thinking that I saw Titanic for the first time FOURTEEN years ago makes me feel incredibly old. However, remembering so many details surrounding it at the very least encourages me that I may have a good memory in my old age.  Fingers crossed.

I went with a couple of my girlfriends to go see Titanic in 3D tonight. On the drive to dinner to meet them I was reminiscing about how my girlfriend Erin and I loved the movie when it was first released. While I was never as insane as most 15 year-olds (I only saw it in the theaters twice and never had a poster of Leonardo DiCaprio in my room – although I may get one now) I was caught up in the romance of Jack and Rose and was really excited to go see it… especially since I went on my first date [ever] with a brand new boyfriend.

After all the hype of figuring out what to wear I remember sitting with Erin on my bed in the room I shared with my sister waiting for him to pick me up (I think, my parents may have dropped me off, but regardless I was sitting and waiting). I was nervously trying to figure out how this was all going to play out with holding hands for the first time: make sure to keep my hand available on my knee just in case his hand was on his knee and our pinkies would brush *gasp* …when someone brought up the boobie scene. I’d forgotten all about it. 14 years ago it was a big deal for an entire breast to be shown on a movie screen, especially for it to only be rated PG13, and I’d certainly never seen it before. I was such a prude I quickly became completely panicked about looking at a boob with a boy next to me. After all, how incredibly inappropriate and awkward!

True story: together, Erin, Andrea and I devised a plan of attack so I wouldn’t have to look at the screen when Rose disrobed. Leaving to go to the bathroom, while understandable in a three-hour movie, would be too obvious so we settled on a drink. I would buy a drink at concessions and leave it be until that scene where I would casually become incredibly preoccupied with how thirsty I was and drink my pop for the next three minutes. Disaster averted.

Or my plan had the same destiny as the ship itself because at the movies you buy a drink in a cup with a straw and not a can where you have the object in front of your face when you’re drinking so not only did I see everything, but I must have looked even more nervous and uncomfortable than I actually was when I frantically realized it wasn’t going to work. I don’t remember anything after that - I’m not sure if we held hands, I don’t know if he drove me home, I don’t even remember if we had our first kiss, I just remember feeling super awkward and slurping my Sprite incredibly quickly and having to pee the remainder of the ridiculously long movie. This was the stuff dreams are made of.

The second time I saw it in the theaters was actually a lot better because I went with my church youth group (stay with me… it wasn’t scandalous). The leaders were trying to teach the guys the importance of creative dating so they decked out a school bus to look like a boat, complete with life preservers hanging in some of the windows, rented out a screen at the $2 theater and served us McDonalds hamburgers while we watched the movie and the youth pastor threw a hand up over the projector during all the questionable parts. My kind of movie. HA! It was though one of my favorite events with that youth group, I felt so special and it wasn’t lost on me that a different boy was going out of his way to make sure I knew I was thought of, but that’s another story for another day. but maybe not.

Anyway, in neither of those trips to the movies do I remember leaving feeling so depressed! Sweet Moses that’s a sad movie! Apparently in my old age the image of Jack turning around at the staircase and taking Rose’s hand was no longer enough to carry me through the final 90 minutes of the movie with all the death and destruction and drowning. and death. with drowning.

When the credits were rolling at the end of the movie and Celine Dion was bringing more tears to the lady behind us with her ballad, my friends and I looked at each other and felt like we finally exhaled from holding our breath through the sadness! The old people in their bed, the mom putting her kids to sleep, the floating girl, and I literally threw up in my mouth a little when they showed a mother bobbing in the ocean with her baby clutched tightly in her arms. It was too much! Geez James Cameron you laid it on thick! Well played, great story-telling, but Sweet Moses.

As oddly awake as I am right now from being so sad for so long, I am at the very least really happy to remember the ridiculousness of my friendship with Erin and how she was, and still is, a kindred spirit and as much of a soul-mate as I think you can have with a friend. We spent every waking moment together that year, and I absolutely wouldn’t have survived 15 without her.  To this day I can call her to share a struggle or a celebration and I know that she’s going to not only relate to what I’m talking about, but laugh with me through it and provide an amazing support that I’ve come to depend on. So, to you, Mrs. Green, I will never let go.

Ch Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes

Throughout my adult life I’ve found that when concerning change – when it rains it pours. The last couple months have certainly not been the exception to the rule. Outside the best and most obvious change rocking our sense of normalcy in the form of Layla, I feel like I’ve been in a game of dodgeball and I'm either constantly avoiding the red rubber balls of change, or seeing one that appears catchable, only to have it rock me in the face and seemingly knock me out of the game.

Fortunately for me, God is graceFULL and when I was dodging the wrong ball, he’d lob it at me again – this time slowly and underhand making it completely obvious which ones I’m supposed to grasp on to. I’ll never claim to be the smartest person ever, sometimes it works best to speak slowly and use small words… Silly analogy aside, life looks a lot different now than it did eight weeks ago. Most of it’s good, some of it’s just requires adjustment as we continue to try to settle into us.

We learned a couple weeks before Layla was born that Justin didn’t get the job in Colorado with the wind energy company. It was disappointing news for all of us – it goes without saying I took it the hardest because the opportunity was such a tease – but I’m still extremely proud of my husband for getting as far as he did and dedicating so much time to the process of getting us to Colorado. It will happen eventually, now’s just not the time.

Alanis may find it ironic, but it wasn’t lost on me that days after we found out Colorado was out of the picture, Justin got a call from a different recruiter about a job opportunity in Cleveland with another aerospace company. I went ahead and took the house off the market before he even interviewed – I just knew he was going to get it. Sure enough, the day before Layla was born Justin got the official offer. This job answers all the prayers and meets our financial needs, it just lacks a few mountains in the distance, but that's okay. I'm bummed I can't brag that my husband works for NASA anymore, but he's got a lot more responsibility with this new position and I can't stress enough about the answered prayer financially. So he signed a 12 month contract and I'm now in the process of making our house "ours" instead of the neutered house we had for showings.

Bella's started preschool in September and absolutely loves it. She's thrilled every morning she realizes it's a school day and is very serious about the time we spend going through her school folder as she empties her backpack at night. Still, she's very much a three year-old and each wrap-up of the school day starts and ends with what they had for snack until I prod for details about the letter of the week or what she picked up from story time. Every day it both warms my heart and breaks it a little when I watch her walk hand in hand with her teacher into school. Even though she's only gone a couple (glorious) hours twice a week, I can't get over how much she's already grown and they don't lie... time flies.

Austin has really started coming into his own the last few weeks. He's not that interested in Layla, but it's like the addition of an infant triggered something in him to start making the merge from baby to toddler. *sigh* This has come with tantrums (his I think will eventually put Bella's to shame) but mostly a love of learning new words and small phrases along with following directions (YAY!) and playtime with Bella. He's still all boy and gets into everything with no intention or curiosity outside of just making a mess. And you know those moms that are so embarrassing and have their child on a leash that they've tricked them into thinking was a backpack? Hello, nice to meet you. Aint no shame in keeping track of my son, he's a flight risk.

Just to make sure I'm completely overwhelming myself I'm trying to throw a quality 30th birthday party for Justin. Usually for his birthday we go to dinner or have the backyard bbq with family and friends. Since this is really the first milestone oh-my-gosh-you're-old birthday I really want to make a big deal out of it for him. He deserves to know he's loved and appreciated - and celebrated accordingly. I've decided on a "Nerdy Thirty" theme and along with help from his mom I think this should be pretty legit. The party is Saturday though and there's still lots to do for it, so excuse me while I go breathe in a paper bag to keep the anxiety attack at bay.

Also, speaking of change, a big shout out to my friend Jenn for the much-needed facelift she gave my blog! I've been staring at the same design for about four years, so I was seriously excited for something different. You can check out all her awesome work here.

catching up with bullets

• My sister and I are thinking of starting an online store on etsy to sell rag quilts. They've become a sort of hobby of ours (and awesome gifts that we get to make) and I'm obsessed with etsy, but a quick search showed really not many people are selling them. They make awesome gifts so hopefully we can be successful with it... but we can't come up with a name for our store or the time to make some for stock that aren't already predetermined as gifts.
• With the exciting news of our pregnancy comes the sad realization that I'll miss out on pomegranate margaritas this summer... a small price to pay I'm aware, but since our weekend in Chicago last September I've oh so been looking forward to sharing a pitcher of margs and some chips and dip on the patio with anyone willing to throw a few back. meh.
• Although I love winter, my recent SAHM status is giving me serious cabin fever and I'm ready to get out with the babies to enjoy a little sunshine, should Cleveland ever provide it. We went on a walk around the block yesterday and Bella was completely in her element pedaling her little heart out on the tricycle my parents gave her last year. I think she'll be more well behaved when she can spend her extra energy outside... and I need a better behaved toddler. (I'm well aware of the irony of that statement - but a girl can dream)
• I don't regret my decision to quit my job and be home with the babies, in every way it was the best decision for our family, but I can't pretend to have rose colored glasses and say this hasn't been really hard. My mommy dating has been a bust so no play dates for this mama. We get out of the house plenty going to the gym, story time at the library or just running errands, but J just started tutoring after work (surprisingly good money, and a huge blessing) so I'm home alone even longer each day. I just need to figure a way to have a better heart about this - I understand it's a fleeting time in my life where life is simply not about me - but it's a challenge all the same. Some days just feels like my day is meant to keep babies from crying and clean up the same mess over and over. I can't say I've had an entire good day, but I've had enough of the moments from them that melt my heart.
• I absolutely love hearing Justin play with the babies... Bella has this deep belly laugh that is guarenteed to come out when they play, and Austin laughs in delight to just be a small part of whatever their little adventure or game is. It is literally the sweetest sound I can think of and I'm hooked.
• I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to continue going to the gym with my pregnancy (or at least how long it will be worth the cost since I can only get my heart rate so high and am not supposed to lift more than 15 pounds) but I've enjoyed it for the time being. I can't say that Zumba is my favorite class, but it is the class I attend most. It is the most embarrassing thing ever. I always thought I had an ounce of rhythm in me (I'm a quarter Puerto Rican for goodness sake, it has to be in me somewhere) but it turns out, not so much. I've set a few rules in place for reach time I go: avoid looking in the mirror at all cost, find someone who knows less what they're doing than you do, never ever go with anyone you know, don't take yourself too seriously and laugh freely, openly and with no abandon. I would go ahead and take that last one to heart and apply it to all aspects of life... I'm going to go back to that, finding joy in the little things.

you've got a friend in me... please.

I'm entirely aware of the necessity of finding other moms in the area to network with. As it stands I'm sincerely happy with the decision I've made to stay at home with the babies but if I'm not speaking in baby-talk I'm alone in my thoughts all. day. long. Turns out I'm not entirely all that interesting and I'm bored with myself. SO I've started mommy-dating.

I kind of thought it wouldn't be all that hard to meet other moms since I'm relatively outgoing and am willing to start a conversation with a stranger even if the thought that they wouldn't like me, or will be a teacher-sweater, still makes me want to throw up. Knowing I needed to be on the prowl and meet some mamas, I took advantage of an opportunity when I was at Starbucks a couple months ago and there was a woman who commented a few times on how cute Bella and Austin are (please know you can absolutely buy my love) and she mentioned she had a son about Austin's age at home. On a closer nonchalant look I saw she was doing a bible study and my gaze drifted to her side to notice, to my delight, she had a really cute purse... this, I thought, could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Justin and I have been together for over nine years (we dated for four years before we got married five years ago) so it's been awhile since I've been in the dating game so I was ridic nervous when, as I was leaving, I stopped by and gave her my phone number. and then I peed myself. so nervous. With good reason beause a week passed and nothing. I reminded myself it was the week before Thanksgiving - who calls a newbie in the midst of holiday fun? Then, the week after Thanksgiving my phone rang with a call from my new maybe-friend to meet for coffee and a play date at the mall. It was as awkward as a first date is supposed to be, but we did manage to have good conversation, she was really nice and by all accounts she seems to be a relatable mom. Thumbs up!

Until I never saw her again. I think it was my turn to call to initiate another play date but the days got away from me and a couple weeks after coffee it was Christmas, then New Years, then no legitimate excuse other than it had been too long and I was embarrassed and feeling sheepish for not calling. On my drive home from the gym today I saw the church she mentioned she attends so I figured that was a good enough reason for a random text to say that I think I saw where she attends since it took nearly five minutes of our conversation at coffee explaining where it was. I didn't say we should get together again, there was something about leaving the ball in the other person's court rattling around in my head. When she wrote back she was consistantly nice and equally noncommital about making plans soon... frickin ball in my court! ...I think I'm supposed to wait 24 hours before texting back. I don't want to appear over-eager and scare her off. Dating is harder than I remember!

There was one other mom I hoped had promise that I met at Gymboree Play and Learn with Bella... her hair was styled and cute, they were dressed cute - sans poms or appliqued animal shapes - and our girls naturally played together so I thought maybe something. Until I saw her put her Uggs on (not knockin' Uggs, love 'em!) but when she slipped the baby Uggs on her daughter I figured we were on the verge of snooty and I wouldn't be able to keep up. The baby Uggs were enough to keep from talking after class, the nerd alert was ringing from high school, and I figured I'd wait until after the next class to see how it went. She never came back so that pretty well settled it.

In Jesus Name, amen.

Bella's bedtime routine consists of a few books, a couple songs, a rhyme to turn the lights out and usually ends with a prayer... we just recently started praying out loud with her, but I figure it's a good habit for her to start and I have hopes that she'll be better at it and more diligent than I.

I'm not sure she really understands at this point, but it still made my eyes tear up when she didn't wait for me to say something for her to recite and she started on her own with "thank you for Daddy, thank you for Mommy, thank you for Baby Austin". Especially the way she sings when she speaks quietly, it completely melted my heart.

Ghost Writer

Does anyone else remember that show? It was on PBS I think and was basically awesome. I'm seriously considering walking around with a pen tied 'round my neck like they did... anything to help my new occupation.

I'm branching out at work to find new ways to cover some of the Cavs community relations initiatives and thought to bring my passion for blogging to the mix... check it out to read about this truly awesome event we did with Flashes of Hope Wednesday night. The team participated in it last year as well, and it is by far my favorite event. I'd really like to volunteer with this organization in the future, such a fantastic thing they do for pediatric cancer patients. If you want to learn more about Flashes of Hope you can check it out here, and make sure you watch one of their videos with tissue near by. I haven't made it through one yet.

timeline of distraction

While it may seem like it goes without saying - while I'm home on maternity leave I'm determined to not only survive, but thrive as a stay at home mom, however temporary it may or may not be. Truthfully it's a pretty lofty goal because it's not my nature to cook or clean. or keep a house. Today has been my first official day by myself (my mom was here for almost two weeks and then my dad came the day after my mom left for a week). While my mom was visiting she made a really good chicken stew that even Justin liked, despite the fact that *gasp* it had vegetables in it, so I decided to give it a try during Bella’s nap...

1. Open chicken broth cans and figure out what the frick buillion is
1a. Spend 20 minutes like Indiana Jones searching for the right pot in the garage

2. Start carving the meat off the roasted chicken and quickly realize it’s much more effective to just rip it apart, discover it’s a stress reducer too!
2a. Pause because Austin woke up from his nap and needs to be fed
2b. Play Indiana Jones again looking for Austin’s bouncer in the garage
2c. Put Bella back to bed and make mental note to get one of those baby locks for her door

3. Finish cutting the chicken, start cutting the celery
3a. Admit defeat to Bella and call naptime 90 minutes early
3b. Empty the pantry for snacktime, the girl can put some food away!

4. Finish the celery, quickly empty some frozen corn into the pot, feverishly try to cut some carrots before the next interrupt...
4a. Dance with Bella
4b. Continue with the carrots
4c. Dance Bella downstairs for some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so I can finish

5. Finish the carrots, call Pops and ask if the ginormous veggie is indeed a leek
5a. Decide against the leek (wtf?!) and prepare to cut the potatoes
5b. Notice Austin has exploded from both ends while in his bouncer
5c. Cry a little
5d. Impromptu bath time - Austin cries a lot
5e. Notice Bella’s fallen asleep during Mickey Mouse, send up a quick “thank you”

6. Peel and cut the potatoes, turn the burner on and get the stew going
6a. Take a minute to myself to get back to blogging so I feel like me again
6b. Realize the “soft boil” I was supposed to bring it to is now like a raging hot tub - meh

SO needless to say, this won’t come naturally… not sure that was supposed to take three hours, but I’ll be alright. I can handle this. at least here’s hoping!

until next time

Today is my last day of work before B2's arrival. (I was so sure he was going to be early, but apparently, once again I'm not nearly as smart as I thought I was.) It's kind of surreal because I feel like it's the last day of school - but no one else is clearing out their locker. It's pretty unceremonious, not that it should be any different or I have these crazy expectations, but it's just a little Twilight Zone for me right now... kind of like when I graduated college a semester early and the real graduation date was still five months away and I was the only one packed. just a little bizarre.

one of my girlfriends did make some really cute cookies though, which was really nice!I like the one that says Bella + ??? because apparently we need a name for him. We have two we're considering and I don't feel awesome about either. That's alright, I like the hourly visits from the Birth Certificate lady asking for updates... :)

OB Oh My

For those of you who know me well, or have spent all of five minutes with me, know that patience is a virtue I simply don't have, which is why I absolutley dread going to my OB appointments for baby mama check ups. Without fail when I go I sit in the waiting room for at least 30 minutes before being taken to the back where I have to wait an additional 15-20 minutes after the nurse leaves with nothing to look at but the giant diagram poster of a vajayjay. Twice I've started walking out ready to go all Norma Rae on their office, and turned the corner into my doctor who makes me go back to the room head hunched and sulking to wait on her a little longer. When I'm finally graced with her presence she never apologizes for the wait, spends all of five minute with me and then I'm on my merry way with instructions to set up another appointment. I've gotten so annoyed a couple times I've canceled an appointment and just skipped it - ha, that'll show them! crap.

This last time though was nearly the final straw: after waiting over an hour she finally came in and I brought up the fact that I'm carrying a ginormous bobblehead baby and she looks at my measurements and says that she doesn't think he's that big (ummm my last ultrasound showed he's in the 67th percentile with an abnormally big head and expected to be bigger than Bella, who was 8 lbs 15 oz) but that I had in fact gained a little more weight than she'd like and suggested I lay off the sweets. If bobblebaby wasn't weighing me down I would have leapt across the room and tackled her labcoat ass! I understand that I measure normally, that just means I house very cramped babies - my body literally doesn't make enough room for them and I'm totally feeling it this pregnancy. he's. not. happy. UGH, I would find another OB, but I have less than five weeks to go so it doesn't really make sense.

AND I'm still trying to figure out how Justin and I end up with bigger babies - I like to think I did my homework, it's not like I'm carrying a football player's baby... I picked a cross country runner for goodness sake (love you J!)

Picture Post

Bella's first trip out to play in the snow... she mostly enjoyed it til Justin took off running while he was pulling her and unbeknownst to him he was kicking snow in her face the whole time, poor kid! Here's hoping she's not scarred. (how this story gets better: I googled "unbenounced" to figure out how the frick you actually spell it - do it, seriously - and J and I are still laughing at the first link that explains it. snap!)

rosy cheeks after a snowy afternoon...

absolutely couldn't resist buying these for Baby Boy! Like father like son?!

burglers beware: our guard dog may not be overly impressive, but our insulation sucks. yeah, take that!!

Molls, you'll feel me on this one: I asked Justin to scrape the freezer burn from the top of the icecream... his solution was to just cut it in half. why wouldn't that be his first instinct?! I love that my husband literally makes me laugh every day, it's such a blessing!

feeling fat and fugly I went to have my hair colored - I've always wanted to try darker - and asked for some additional layers. that translated into bangs... still trying to figure out what happened. it's almost growing on me. If I win the battle of the bangs, I can get them to look a little cleaner and swept than this, but usually I lose. This should come as a surprise to no one.

saving the best for last... best. picture. ever.
as it turns out Bella isn't a huge fan of pigtails, haha!!

Food Network's Got Nothin' On Us

mine and Justin's conversation after I got home from a movie night with my girlfriends:

Justin: Bella was in a really good mood tonight
Dana: What'd you guys do? What'd she have for dinner?
Justin: We were playing all night, she threw everything I gave her to eat on the floor but I think she was full because they were giving out a lot of those samples of the tofu or soy chicken nuggets and I might have given her a lot. she really liked the meatloaf.
Dana: Wait a minute, our daughter's dinner was samples at the grocery store?
Justin: *chuckles*

not that I can really say anything, me and B2 had movie-butter popcorn for dinner. yikes. clearly I need to pay some attention to this:

Ms. Tollhouse

Ever since Bella's first birthday and her interest in my ridiculously sweet baking skills, I've been trying to think of things she and I could do together in the kitchen. Since her ability in the kitchen is probably already pretty equivalent to mine, I figured we'd start with some chocolate chip cookies - brace yourselves - not the break apart ones either. I'm talking old school, from scratch. I remember when I was younger I used to love helping my mom bake and my sisters and I would stand on a stool or chair to help knead the bread dough (we'd chant over and over "push roll over push roll over" and then made it a song, I'm sure it couldn't have been more annoying) or stir the cookie mix and always fight over who got to lick the spoon.

So I have these high hopes of memories and traditions Bell and I are going to start together. I quickly realized that I was probably at least five years-old in my memories, and my baby girl... is a baby girl. 18 months wasn't quite old enough to grasp what was going on and completely freaked out when I let her stand on a chair to reach the counter. The girl wasn't feeling it. at. all. lesson learned, we'll try again in a couple months... I'll stay out of the kitchen for a few months if I have to. *sigh*

All in all, it was still a good afternoon and Justin's already eaten a good amount of the batch - and it reminded me of one of my favorite Friends episodes that still makes me laugh thinking about it... so if you have three minutes of your life to waste, check it out!

such a good show, I need to get the seasons and watch them all like I have time.

make it a grande!

Rushing to be on time to my OB appointment only to find out they need to reschedule (again) makes me VERY crabby. The first peppermint hot chocolate from $tarbucks of the season more than makes up for it. ((yum!)) Happy Monday!

22 Weeks, etc.

I specifically chose this picture because it doesn't so much show that my belly is as big as my backside... both are growing exponentially quicker than last time! Since my sisters have a history of following me around the house chanting "ghetto booty" in my best of days, I'm okay living a couple thousand miles away this time. haha!

clearly ready to quit having my picture taken...

In other, less awkward for family reading news - Bella and I each had our H1N1 flu shots this week. Friends at work had an over/under going for who would cry more, me or Bell (they've seen how completely absurd I am getting regular flu shots at work) but I was a total champ. Didn't even tear up when I got my shot - no exaggeration that was the first time I didn't even tear up since I was probably seven - but then I cried along with Bella when she got hers. eh.

Nerd Alert: I bought a ticket online a few weeks go see New Moon with a group of friends at work when it comes out on Friday... and then when I heard a local radio station was giving tickets away for a sneak peek on Wednesday, I asked my producer friend and got a pass to see it Wednesday as well. That's right - bring on the judgement - I'm seeing the same teenybopper movie twice in three days. AND I re-read the first and second book in the Twilight series in the last two weeks. *whew* I feel better letting that out. while I'm at it: I like Britney Spears too. THERE I said it. haha!

my big fat swederican self

old wives tale - you know you're carrying a boy because you carry the baby everywhere. I must be having the most boy of boys because I am carrying this child everywhere. seriously... all frickin over. for example, I'm sitting on my couch and can barely concentrate on the keystrokes because my back fat is pinching to the point of nearly painful. back fat? seriously?! the stretch marks not on my stomach last time was bad enough last time. UGH.

I'm not allowed to workout either because of the scare before - so clearly this can only get better. frick. the fact that this baby's favorite food includes Dr. Pepper, nachos and chips has absolutely nothing to do with it, I'm quite certain.

it starts...

yesterday I wore my shirt inside out throughout the entire day at work... I noticed about half way through, but figured I'd just roll with it since it was a totally different pattern inside than out. already multiple times I've stared blankly at someone as I think of the word that's on the tip of my tongue... usually it's in the middle of a meeting too so it's incredibly convenient. ugh, my mind is already gone.

Living with the Jetsons

I just paid a library fine online. I'm not entirely sure why, but it feels like I should be living in an age of space cars and dogs named Astro when you're paying library fines online. I feel old. I remember pushing nickels across the counter to the ladies when I was younger with a late fee...

pretending to be Martha

My mother-in-law and I took a cake decorating class awhile ago because I had these high hopes of a rocked out cake for Bella's 1st birthday... we decided to test our skills at my sister-in-law's baby shower and what started out as a complete disaster (may have had something to do with the bottle of wine we shared, oops?!) turned out to be the hit of the party if I do say so myself - and I do. ha!

we had three different types: strawberry, chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate - the strawberry was made from scratch with real strawberries... delish!

getting started - the first plan was a baby sleeping in a blanket all the pieces seperate...
not any better all pieced together! ((ugh))

Plan B = lady bug cupcakes for her lady bug themed nursery...
MUCH better!

Anyway, my big lesson with Bella's birthday party in four days: not there yet and not worth spending hours trying to figure it out. yet. here's hoping she'll be impressed for the next one... haha!

26 Things

- 26 Things You May Not Know About Me –

I’ve been tagged by a couple people, so here they are, 26 things you may not know about me (because apparently I’m so interesting I couldn’t keep it to 25, haha! seriously, I'm kidding with that.)

1. I used to collect bandaids and put them on my bedroom door – I’m guessing close to 100

2. I’m shy and kind of insecure – but once I’m comfortable, watch yourself!

3. My favorite time of every day is giving Bella her last bottle and rocking her to sleep. It’s 20 minutes that’s just me and her, and I love it.

4. Mine and my sisters’ names end in “a”: Dana, Andrea, Briana. So far we’re carrying on the tradition with cousins Liliana and Isabella.

5. I may feel the most confident and heeeyyyyy in jeans and a plaid shirt.

6. A recently bathed baby is my favorite scent.

7. I want to live overseas someday, and I’m going to. sometimes I think it will be through mission work – then I remember I can’t get my own spiritual life in check and probably shouldn’t be charged with the welfare of others.

8. The first date Justin took me to was “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back”. I married him anyway.

9. I was best friends with a boy from 5th grade until high school. a friend from work thinks that explains a lot.

10. According to Justin, my bark is louder than my bite. debatable.

11. I used to be really into photography. If I’m ever a stay-at-home, I want to pick it up again.

12. Writing and telling stories that happened throughout the day makes me feel good.

13. While I have one, I’m pretty sure I’m afraid of dogs – I don’t generally like them.

14. Every Wednesday night in high school consisted of attending youth group followed by watching Dawson’s Creek with Emily and a Dr. Pepper. She gave me the nickname Mrs. Jackson because I would have married Pacey in two seconds.

15. My favorite song ever is “Somewhere over the Rainbow”. I sing it to Bella nearly every night.

16. I cried watching Full House once. I cry in Hallmark commercials. I’ve even cried when watching American Idol auditions and the parents are super stoked for their kids. wow.

17. Tonight I found out my favorite sound is listening to Justin read out loud to Bella, and then his laugh as he has to read the story backward and forward again when she gets overly excited turning the pages…

18. My favorite praise song is “How Great is Our God”. it’s completely humbling.

19. I wear my heart on my sleeve. always have. I’m still trying to figure out if that’s good or bad…

20. All my best ideas come to me in the shower. So many go wasted, I need to write them on the bathroom wall or something.

21. In tenth grade I learned that a lot of baby girls are orphaned in China – it’s been on my heart ever since to adopt one of them someday.

22. One of my proudest moments was getting all first-place blue ribbons on field day in fifth grade – it was also the first (possibly only) time I tasted popularity.

23. I LOVE sports – playing them, watching them, talking about them, watching movies about them, arguing about them, working for them… as much as I love sports, I HATE bandwagon fans, they make my blood boil (*ahem* Boston)

24. I drive insanely fast, confuse which are my rules and which the state’s “suggestions”, get really mad when people cut me off, and end up yelling at other drivers frequently… I think there’s a chance I could’ve missed my calling to be a race car driver. (I also sometimes drive with my knees while typing an email and drinking a Dr. Pepper.) this was added by Justin when I was upstairs, but it’s not entirely inaccurate.

25. I’ve wanted a pair of cowboy boots for a long time, I can readily accept now that I’m a little bit country. the ones I’m lusting after are a pair from Steve Madden (so it’s not that country, quit judging me. judgment really should come from #16 if anything).

26. More than anything, when all is said and done and I’m standing in front of my heavenly Father, I want him to look at how Justin and I raised Bella and say “Well Done”