Dear Baby

Your teeny tiny little movements are my #1 favorite thing in the world. Keep up the good work kiddo! :)

Love,

Momma

Weirdo Pregnancy Cravings

In the past 3 days, I have been unable to think about anything other than:

• Extra sharp white cheddar cheese cubes
• Shrimp Tempura Sushi rolls (with mountains of wasabi)
• Japanese clear onion soup with mushrooms and scallions
• Nectarines
• Cottage cheese with salt and finely crushed black pepper
• Red Lobster's garlic cheddar cheese biscuits
• Skim milk

Pathetically, I had 6 of the 7 items on this list over the weekend. Who am I to deny the baby what he/she so obviously needs??? I wonder what's next, liver and onions??

Blech. I doubt it.

This has been bothering me for years....

So last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I starting watching one of my favorite movies, A League of Their Own. Seriously, it's a classic. I might be able to sing every line of their theme song and may or may not sing it in the shower on occassion. What?? I never said I was normal.

Isn't it funny when you watch movies from your childhood as an adult, and you catch things that you didn't catch before?? For example, the movie "The Witches." I used to watch it all the time. When I saw it again a few years ago, I was appalled. That sh** was terrifying!!!! I would never let my kids watch that movie!

Anyway, back to my point. In 'A League of Their Own' at the very end, it's the bottom of the 9th inning, and Kit is rushing toward home plate. The entire movie Kit and her sister Dottie (the catcher) have been at odds, sibling rivalrly and all that. So even though everyone thinks Dottie is the better player, she ends up literally dropping the ball, and Kit becomes the hero and wins the World Series.

I have to know... did Dottie drop the ball on purpose?? I never thought about it much as a child, but now I wonder... did she do it on purpose because of her love for her sister? Or did she really just drop the ball. I am in agony now because I want to know so badly.

If you have any perspectives to share, let me know. I'm afraid of the free time that will be lost due to this question...

Weddings on the brain

We are on a mission to find cute/stylish/awesome bridesmaids dresses for Lindsay's wedding next May. Kenny, (who will be a bride herself pretty soon!!!) sent me this picture yesterday:

At first I was appalled. I am a plain Jane, very simple girl. But this dress has been growing on me. It's very different, but it kind of goes with the theme of Lindsay and Mark's wedding. It's going to be non-traditional, but also classy. They're having it at The Bluestone (formerly BOMA) and I can't wait!!!!

And because I couldn't help myself, I've already started looking at wedding outfits for our little one. Their colors are purple and gray, so obviously Baby will need to match accordingly :) He/she will be 6 months old by then. How freaking cute are these outfits??

I might die from all the cuteness.

Remember that one time we went to Hilton Head??

If the tourism board of Hilton Head Island, SC came to me and said "Audra, we'd like you to represent the island and convince people to come see what we have to offer," I would quit my job in a heartbeat and move down south.

We headed down there for a week with my husband's two sisters, their fiance's (more on that in a second) and his parents. We also met up with some family friends, and the result was a week of relaxation, eating, sleeping, and celebrating that was much needed and a total blast!

Dinner at Skull Creek Boathouse. The crab legs were AMAZING!

Lindsay and Mark, being cool

Mackenzie and Rodney, about 15 minutes before they got ENGAGED!!

 That's right.... there will be TWO weddings in 2012 for this family. My sister-in-law Mackenzie got engaged to her boyfriend Rodney. They have been dating since, get this, 8th grade, and they are such a cute couple! When most Hollywood marriages last 6 months, this adorable twosome has been together for 11 years and is still going strong!

None of us knew what was happening, but when Rodney took Kenny down by the pier, I happened to look over and I saw him down on one knee. I swear, I almost peed my pants. When they came back, I literally jumped up and down and made a scene, but it was okay because so did everyone else in our party and you know me... since when do I care about making a fool of myself?? Or those I care about?? Exactly.

Here they are on their pier!

I made them do an iconic "engaged hand on chest" shot.

 So then we headed to the Salty Dog Cafe to celebrate.

If you've never been there, go there. The big kids in the group took some celebratory shots while I documented this historic event.

Then we embarrassed them further by announcing to the lovely gentleman who was playing an acoustic show on the deck that they had just gotten engaged. So naturally, he made these two (who do not like attention by the way) get up in front of everyone and have their first slow dance as an engaged couple. To Elvis. It was magical. Especially when some rugrat hijacked the dance floor and tried to look up Kenny's skirt. Ah, memories.

Bling bling!!

Cheers!!!

 One day the boys went charter fishing, and caught lots of fish

 But the girls stayed behind and went to the pool and the beach

All in all, it was an amazing trip!!! It was the most relaxed I have felt in a long time.

Part of it was that I was able to sleep about 10-11 hours a day, thanks to the huge king bed and blackout curtains in our bedroom.

Part of it was that we were far away from all responsibilities, duties, chores, tasks, etc. and could do nothing all day but lay on the beach and it was fantastic.

But the biggest part was that the day before we left, we found out that Jack's little brother or sister is totally, completely, 100% healthy and growing like crazy! 

Being pregnant again has brought a brand new set of anxieties, worries, fears and even guilt, but all of that seems to melt away when I stare at the pictures of our beautiful baby on the way. Though I was scared from the get-go, somehow I knew that our angel Jack was right there with us, making sure that his sibling was going to be okay. When you have your own personal guardian angel, worrying seems like a futile effort.

We even know now if our little one is a prince or princess (modern technology is amazing), but we're not ready to share quite yet. I'm over the moon happy, excited, and in love with this baby, and I couldn't ask for anything more.

The three of us... first family photo :)

And I'm back

I just spent the last 7 days in Hilton Head, SC. One of the greatest vacations ever. I'll post some pictures once I find my camera cord, but it was definitely a memorable time!

One of the best parts??? Well I'm not officially allowed to share yet, but since the 3 of you who read this blog already know, I'll post a little hint:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quote of the Day

"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."
~ Winnie the Pooh

Nerd Alert!

I don't care what you, your brother, or your mailman thinks....

I am SUPER pumped about this:

I look "happy"

For the past few weeks, people at work have been telling me I look "happy." This is a wonderful compliment, because in general I like to be and feel happy. So I decided to take stock of my life right now and think about what could be causing the good mood vibes to flash across my face. Let's see:

1. It's officially summer. See my post about how much I hate winter. Sunshine can always bring a smile to my face (though if we could chill a little on the humidity, Mama Nature, that'd be great).
2. Summer = summer clothes! Wearing shorts, tanktops, flowery dresses in pinks and bright yellows brightens up my disposition for sure.
3. Bathing suit shopping! The thought of being in a bikini doesn't make me smile, but being in the water and by the ocean does. Check out these cute ones from Tarzhay I just bought. Sadly, the body did not come with the suit (I checked)

4. VACATION!!!! In T-minus 8 days, I will be soaking up the sun in Hilton Head, SC! I cannot begin to explain my level of excitement. A week of sun, sand, food, and good people? Sign.me.up. Oh wait, I did already.Eeeeek!
5. In general, the universe has been pretty good to me over the last few months, so I'm going to enjoy today and every day that it lasts.

HAPPY Friday everyone!