Satan Must Be Cold

NBC Nightly News just did a positive story on Iraq and all the good our soldiers are doing over there. I about crapped my pants.

Of course, though, since I'm trying to find the story to link it on the blog, I can't find it anywhere. What the heck??

The story ran under the line "Local Assist" on tonight's (6-9-2008) NBC Nightly News. If you find it, please let me know.

Cheap Baby Booty

Yesterday morning, my sister, Jessi, and I went garage sale hunting. A girl that works with Jessi and Ben was holding one at her house, and she informed Ben that she had a bunch of baby stuff for sale. So I decided to go check it out. I am SO glad I did! I got a Graco Eddie Bauer baby carrier, stroller and car seat base for $50! That stuff retails for about $200!!! I got a second car seat base for $15 (retail for $40), a Snugli (baby carrier) for $6, a sheepskin for $3, bunch of bottles and various nipple sizes for $7, a car window shade for $.50, baggie of baby spoons and medicine droppers for $2, a baby memory book for $.25, a brand new, totally unopened baby Boppy for $5 (retails for about $35!!), a couple of traveling formula containers for about $2 total, and a baby carrier cover (for winter time) for $1! In all, I saved about $300 and the environment! Yay!

Then we found another garage sale where they were selling a wooden cradle, in perfect condition, for $25. It's so cute! The gal had two little girls that she had helping her with the sale, and they were kind of sad to see it go; they enjoyed letting their dollies "sleep" in it. So I thanked them for letting my baby use it. That made them happy to know that another baby would love this cradle as much as they did.

So anyone interested in saving a little money when starting a family, go garage sale hunting!

Here's some pictures off all my baby booty:

Folded stroller, baby carrier and stacked car seat bases (from left to right)

Baby Boppy, Snugli (green), Sheepskin, car window shade, carrier cover (forest green), pink cereal container, blue formula container, multicolored spoons and medicine droppers, two bags of bottles and one bag of nipples of various sizes

Cradle with booty inside (to keep the cat from jumping in)

Tickled!

I'm tickled because I just finished my very first stamping project that I designed and created all by myself with all my own supplies. Check it out:

Card Front (rub-on flowers colored by ink marker)

Card Insert (Flower rub-on and "Sweet little one" stamp)

Card pieces side by side

Back signed by me!

Dumb Rain

Today there was some serious downpouring here in the St. Louis area. Which has unfortunately led to a leak in our basement. Grrr. So Ben is now downstairs using the ShopVac to suck up as much water as possible. Last he checked, the tank had about two to three inches of water. The diameter of the tank is about 15 inches. I can't believe that there is that much water in the basement.

Crap. And it's supposed to rain more tomorrow. Dumb.

Bump Watch 2008

I finally got around to taking a baby bump picture! I know, I know, it's been a really long time coming, but oh well, here it is!

Me at 16 weeks

Sea foam green baby blanket Aunt Sher knit and sent to us within a couple weeks of announcing the pregnancy!

Detailing on the blanket

White blanket we received from Aunt Sher a few weeks ago

Detailing on the white blanket (isn't it pretty?)

I'll try to post more often, but things are going to be crazy busy this month. For some reason, June always seems to be super busy for us. Weird.

Moving Moments

On my way home from work tonight, I was singing along with the radio, and I started noticing this weird feeling in my belly. I stopped singing and the feeling lessened then stopped. So I started singing again, and it started up again. The feeling moved around a little bit from front to a little to the right and then a little to the left.

I think I'm feeling the baby moving. I think it likes to dance to music. Now, as I type, I'm listening to music and the movement is happening again. I wonder if this baby will be a little dancer...

I know, I know...

It's been forever since I blogged. Well, remember in my last post where I mentioned I was getting tired??? I wasn't kidding. I'd get home from work and fall asleep on the couch until dinner. This happened for about two or three weeks. And I do sometimes still nap when I get home, but not everyday like before.

So what's happened since I last blogged?

• Another OB appointment, heard the baby's heartbeat using a Doppler machine, everything is going well, I've gained one pound since my last appointment.
• I'm now wearing maternity clothes (yes, even though I've only gained one pound!). My hips have opened up and gotten wider, so my pants don't fit as well.

hmmmm.... I can't think of anything else, but I'm sure that someone will remind me of something that has happened...

Anyway, I've found our digital camera, so I will begin taking baby bump pictures (trust me, I don't have much of a bump at all, when I lay on my back, it disappears completely). I also want to take before and after pictures of the baby nursery. I want to have it cleaned out and painted by the end of June. We'll see if that actually happens. To have that happen, we'll probably need some help from friends and family... hint hint. :)

I'll post again by the end of the week with a baby bump pic and maybe the before pictures for the nursery.

I'm a Hobbit

Sorry that it's been so long sine I last posted, but I've been busy and exhausted. Luckily, the morning sickness is mostly gone, but has been replaced by being unbelievably tired all the time. There are times that I swear I could go fall asleep on one of the benches in the lobby at my work. The benches are not cushioned.

Anyway, the reason that I believe I'm becoming a hobbit is because I eat like two of every meal. Seriously! I have first breakfast right when I wake up each day. Then I eat second breakfast when I get to work. Then I have first lunch between the two missions, and second lunch after the second mission of the day. Then I have a mini-dinner at about 3:30 to get me through the drive home at 4. When I get home, I have a small snack and fall asleep on the couch until Ben gets home. Then I make real dinner (or we get real dinner delivered since I'm having trouble standing the smell of stuff cooking sometimes). It's crazy how many times I eat a day! And I've lost two pounds in the past couple of weeks. Weird.

Today I got to go maternity clothes shopping since I have two pairs of pants that fit me for work. Even though I've lost weight, my hips are opening up and my belly is getting a little rounder, so I need looser, more supportive pants. Now I just need to find work pants to accompany all the cute work capris that I ended up buying today! :)

Nighty-night!

P.S. Thank goodness my little baby ticker is showing my baby looking more like a baby now, it looked way weird when I first posted it!! :) My baby is now a little bigger than a strawberry and is making a quarter of a million neurons EVERY MINUTE! That just blows my mind. But it also explains why I'm so dang hungry all the time!

I Pity the Fool

Morgan, this one's for you:

Mr. T Belongs in the Bible

New Kids on the Block are BACK!

This is NO April Fools joke. The New Kids on the Block are staging a reunion.

Hang Tough on this...

Seriously. Who woulda thunk it?

Thank Morgan for the heads up. I'm SO there. April 4th, Today show on NBC.

Notice Anything New?

I'm pregnant!! Yay!!!!!!!!! I'm over 6 weeks pregnant, and I can't believe this happened so quickly. I super excited.

For the first couple of weeks after we found out, it seemed surreal, but now that the morning sickness has hit full force, it's not so surreal anymore! I've been lucky and haven't actually gotten sick, yet, but the nausea has been pretty bad from time to time. But my aunt suggested something that has seemed to help. Her friend said that keeping saltines by her bed and eating a few before even getting out of bed helped her get through morning sickness. So for the past week now, as soon as my alarm goes off, I eat a few saltines, let my stomach settle, then I get up and go eat oatmeal right away (and take my prenatal vitamin).

I'm due November 18. I'm going to be a mom. Weird. But good. :)

Two Whole Years

Happy 2nd Anniversary to Aunt Sher and Lefty! Lefty became a part of Aunt Sher's life exactly two years ago today. Lefty has turned Sher's life around. Before Lefty, Sher was tired, lethargic, and just all around not the woman I knew when I was a little girl. Since Lefty came around, Sher has been peppy, motivated, and wrinkle free (apparently she irons a lot since Lefty came around). Congrats on two year together! I couldn't be happier for you both!

BTW: For those of you who don't know, Lefty was my kidney. Two years ago at this moment, I was still groggy and pushing my morphine button repeatedly. The nurses explained the morphine button to me while I was still in the Recovery Room, so I thought that every time I hit the button, I got a bit of morphine. But you really only get it every ten minutes. A couple of days later, Percocet became my best friend. But if I had to do it all again, I would do it in a millisecond.

So what do you think this is about?

Ben said: "I better get some in my Easter basket!"

Jennie said: "That better be a big Easter basket."

Lefty is Famous!

OK, so Lefty may not be truly famous, but she's being spotlighted on Illinois' Donor Registry website, go check it out: Donor Diary

For those of you who don't know, Lefty is my left kidney who now resides in my Aunt Sher's right hip.

BTW: I will post about the cruise later.... I'm still playing catch-up at work and at home.

Wednesday Funny Pick-me-up

In case you're all depressed that I'm at a resort and you're not, here's something that had me laughing so hard, I darn near peed my pants in the public lobby of a hotel while reading it:

How Did You Get Here Blog

Now I just need to find out how I can look up how people find MY blog. Not that anyone else ever reads my blog except my husband, my sister and various friends and family members.

I swear, just to get more people to my blog via Google, I'm just going to start adding random words at the end of each blog just to get a new reader.

Apparently, butt crack, butt hair, or anything with butt in it is a great way to attract people. I also like getting the Transformers fans who randomly stumble upon my blog thanks to the one (now two!) reference to BotCon that I went to a year and a half ago.

Celebrity Soulmate

OK, so I got this from Jessica who got this from Stacy (who??).


Take the Quiz

I'm a little iffy on this... I wish I knew what other choices I had for a celebrity soulmate. Brad is not my favorite... but I guess he's not bad. I liked him in the Ocean's trilogy (HA, he made a trilogy) and he was sexy as hell in Legends of the Fall.

Go take the quiz, see who your celebrity soulmate is!

Resorts and Cruises

OK, so poor me has to attend a conference at Tan-Tar-A Resort this week, then I head off to Florida to sail away on the Norwegian Dawn.

Dang, my life sucks... hehehehehehehehehe.

So if I don't post for a while, don't take it personally. :)

Organ Donation

OK, so I'm not in bed yet... I wanted to finish the Oprah I was watching when I got the Snow Day call.

The show is about medical miracles. One of the stories featured was a story about a young man, Jason Ray, who decided to become an organ donor. Unfortunately, he was hit by a car and was declared brain dead shortly thereafter. His family was asked if they would donate his organs, and because of a conversation he had with his mother, his heart, kidneys and pancreas among many other organs, are helping more than three people live their lives.

Now, many of you know that I am already an organ donor. But just in case you were to ever wonder if I want to be one again after I'm gone from this world, my answer is a resounding "YES!" If my heart, lungs, pancreas, remaining kidney, liver, eyes, skin, etc. could be of use to another human being, then they should have what they need. I'd also be OK with them taking my brain, but I've already used so much of it, I can't imagine how much will be left when I die. :)

Seriously, though. If you are not an organ donor, please consider signing your driver's license and talking with your family members about your decision. In the state of Illinois, signing your driver's license no longer is a guarantee that your organs will be donated. If you live in Illinois, you can go to THIS SITE and be registered in less than 30 seconds! If you do not live in Illinois, go to OPRAH'S website and click on your state to become a registered organ donor.

You should still talk wit your family and friends about your decision to donate, though. That will make their ability to deal with your choice a little easier. Please, please, please become an organ donor, you could literally save a life (or two, or more!).

Snow Day!!

I just got the call from my boss that we are not going in to work tomorrow due to snow. Yay! Right now there's at least 3 inches on my back porch. I haven't seen this much snow in a really long time. If I can find my camera, I'll post a picture later.

I'm SO sleeping in tomorrow. Then, I'm going to do some work from home, then I'll clean my house for our SuperBowl party this Sunday. I honestly don't care who wins, I like both teams. So, off to bed I go so I can make the most of my day off.

Nighty night!

Celebration and Words of Remembrance

Wow, these past few months have been a real kick in the gut for me and my family. In August, I lost my grandfather to skin cancer. In September, I lost my mother-in-law to uterine cancer. Two weeks ago, a friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer. Last week, my grandmother passed due to old age.

My grandmother's memorial service was this past Sunday. During the service, I got up and said a few words of remembrance. Here they are:

As a military brat, there was a lot of change in my life. One of the few things that stayed constant was Gramma. You could always count on certain things when going to visit Gramma:

· You were going to be fed. From the moment you walked in the door, she was offering to make a sandwich, heat up some leftovers or get out some Fig Newtons and milk.

· You should not walk around the house without shoes. With all her sewing, needles always seemed to find their way to the floor.

· You were going to be fed. When mealtimes came around, there was barely enough room for plates, glasses, and utensils on the table. It was often filled with enough food to feed an army even though there were only 6 to 10 people to feed.

· If you got in trouble (which we rarely did when she was around), she would take your hand in hers and slap her hand as if she was punishing you.

· You were going to be fed (are you noticing a pattern here?). She always had five or more pies baking or cooling at any given time. Pumpkin, lemon meringue, blueberry, Boston cream, cherry, and her specialty, apple. If not pies, she had crème puffs, pistachio pudding or homemade cookies. It’s amazing our family isn’t in the running for the reality show, “The Biggest Loser.”

I kid about Gramma and food, but you always knew she loved you. The twinkle in her eye as she pseudo-punished you was enough to tell you that she wasn’t really mad, she really loved you enough to teach you how to be better.

Gramma also shared her love of learning. She was such a voracious reader; you never saw her without a book nearby. She impressed upon me at an early age how important education was. I’d like to believe that I teach much in the same way she did, with a twinkle in her eye and a passion for the subject.

I’m so lucky that I knew her for 30 years. I know that she’s happier now; she’s with Grampa and she’s free from a body that no longer allowed her to live as she wanted. I can’t wait to tell my kids one day about their Great-Gramma McCarthy.