I ordered a maternity shirt from Target...I opened the package and received a pair of bikini bottoms instead! TARGET FAIL!!!
Happy New Year all!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Christmas Recap...
...well, Christmas has come and gone in a blink of an eye and I'm still exhausted! I worked right up all last week and even Saturday on Christmas Eve and now I'm enjoying some much needed time off.
Ah! I don't even know where to start but let's start here. On Christmas Day, I was officially 20 weeks pregnant...halfway through! Excited to be halfway there but overwhelmed at all that needs to be done in 20 weeks. Our "big" ultrasound is January 6 but Matt and I have decided NOT to find out the gender. We agreed to not find out but to tell names. I'm waiting until after the u/s to tell names in case he tries to change my mind! We did tell our families the names this weekend with mixed reviews (I'll do a post on that after the 6th).
I did much thinking and realized that I think I turned my infertility blog into my pregnancy blog because I do blog somewhat "annoymously" there and I feel more comfortable writing about the gross things of pregnancy there and posting belly pics. With that being said, here is my 20 week belly shot(and only shot so far!). I couldn't help but post it because of Emma in the background!
Guess she was over us trying to get the "perfect" shot, huh? Anyways, being 20 weeks had to be the BEST present but Santa was still good to me.
After a heated debate of rocking chair vs glider, he realized I would be spending most of the time and he bought me this glider! I was totally shocked and not expecting it at all. He always does a good job in the gift department.
Matt also got me new sheets (which I've been asking for the past 2 years!) and a "gender neutral" baby book (it looks more blue to me though!). His family got me boots and a gift card to the mall. My family got me a World Series hoodie, maternity clothes, some cash flow and the cutest little onesie that says, "Baby G" on it and the G is in camo. The G is for our last name and how the baby has been referred to on my side of the family so far. Matt's dad calls the baby "Butch or Butchette" after my dad...
I got Matt snow camo which he'd asked for, some Mizzou sweatpants, a change jar and socks. We spent all day today buying and exchanging the camo because the pants I got were XL and seriously, we both could have fit into them!
This was our little Charlie Brown Christmas tree we had at our house with a couple presents under it.
Ah! I don't even know where to start but let's start here. On Christmas Day, I was officially 20 weeks pregnant...halfway through! Excited to be halfway there but overwhelmed at all that needs to be done in 20 weeks. Our "big" ultrasound is January 6 but Matt and I have decided NOT to find out the gender. We agreed to not find out but to tell names. I'm waiting until after the u/s to tell names in case he tries to change my mind! We did tell our families the names this weekend with mixed reviews (I'll do a post on that after the 6th).
I did much thinking and realized that I think I turned my infertility blog into my pregnancy blog because I do blog somewhat "annoymously" there and I feel more comfortable writing about the gross things of pregnancy there and posting belly pics. With that being said, here is my 20 week belly shot(and only shot so far!). I couldn't help but post it because of Emma in the background!
After a heated debate of rocking chair vs glider, he realized I would be spending most of the time and he bought me this glider! I was totally shocked and not expecting it at all. He always does a good job in the gift department.
We had a very blessed Christmas not just with our gifts but with the food that we ate (and still are!), the family that we spent time with and our safe travels. I hope you all had a great Christmas as well!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Merry Christmas!!!
...I opened this to write a post about Christmas about four hours ago and have totally gotten sidetracked. So...
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
and
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!!!
I bet this is what the wise men thought!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Our First Onesie!!!
...our first onesie! It is so tiny and so hilarious!
This came from one of my assistant camp directors at work! Guess she doesn't want me to forget about them this summer. Thank you Danielle for this sweet gift. I just hope my baby fits in this!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Christmas Time!!!
...can you believe it's almost Christmas time already? Seriously, where has this year gone!?! I wanted to do a general Christmas post so please, feel free to comment with your thoughts when you're done reading!
Traditions
Let me be honest when I say that we don't really have any traditions yet! Well, I mean we get stockings at my mom's house and Matt's parents but when, where, how we celebrate is always different. This year is actually the first year, I won't be celebrating Christmas with my dad and that side of the family on Christmas Eve because I drew the short straw and have to work this Saturday. Oh well, at least I got Sunday off but it still counts as a weekend shift so I'm not complaining too much. We're moving that celebration to Monday so we'll still get to see everyone.
Matt and I still don't have a set time that we exchange gifts...usually whenever we can squeeze it in between all the family hopping. Some years we go to midnight service with his parents, some year's (like this year because I won't be able to stay up that late!) we don't. So hopefully, we'll figure all that out soon.
Some traditions that I would like to start next year (or maybe the year after):
*A cake that says, "Happy Birthday Jesus!" I mean after all, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. I figure the first few years I'll just make it or get it at the store then when the baby is old enough, he/she can help me decorate it.
*Again, when the baby is old enough, I want him/her to go with me to pick out a "birthday" present for Jesus. I'm thinking it'll either be something we can donate to the church (like the nursery or school rooms) or give to something like Toys For Tots.
I just really want our child to understand that Christmas isn't all about getting presents, Santa and snowmen. Don't get me wrong, we'll still see Santa and I'm sure my family will spoil him/her with presents but I want to try to instill the real meaning. I know this isn't going to be next year or maybe even the year after but when they are old enough.
*I have never been a Christmas tree person but luckily, Matt is. We've only had a tree once since we've been married. I'm hoping that maybe the day after Thanksgiving or a set day that we pick, our family (meaning the three of us) can spend an afternoon putting the tree up together and having a home cooked meal. See Matt and our son/daughter can do the tree and I can cook, just pop in to check on them from time to time but we're all together.
Those are just a few traditions I want to start...I'm sure the list will grow!
Gifts
Well, I think my shopping is done. I have to double check my gifts and start distributing them all. I'm excited about some gifts I got people and I think/hope they'll like it. I don't feel like I got anything great for Matt. He asked for white camo and that's what I got him. Then a couple weeks later, he started describing what kind he wanted...um, didn't know there were so many kinds! I'm not even sure what kind I bought so he might have to exchange them.
For me? Everyone always asks me what I want for Christmas and I NEVER know what to say! I asked for a World Series hoodie (my 2006 World Series hoodie has a hole in the armpit!). I always say sheets because I try to think of things I need (i.e. 2 years ago, I got a mailbox and last year, I got a microwave). Of course, this year there's a ton of stuff we could use for the baby room but we haven't started planning it yet so I don't know what to ask for!
In a dream world, I would LOVE a DSLR camera but that's way too much to ask for. I think Matt has in mind to get us smart phones which I have told him, no absolutely not! Not that I don't want one but our expenses are going to be increasing already, we don't need to ADD to that with smart phones. I usually tell Matt not to get me anything but he always does. To be honest, I wouldn't be upset if he didn't. Winter is always a tough time financially around our house with him having a weather related job so I'd really rather him save his money for bills (or to pay off the truck bill!). I'd settle for a foot rub. :)
Dinner
Let me just say that I'm in awe of people who host holiday dinners at their house! First off, in this house, we will never host a holiday meal because we have NO SPACE. Matt and I usually host summer holidays since we can have additional seating outside. So kudos and good luck to all those hosting!
Now my ideal holiday meal:
Meat: Ribs! Weird, right? But this is tradition in our family. We go to a local store and buy 2 slabs of ribs and they are fantastic! We usually also have either ham or turkey but that hardly gets touched.
Salad: Pasta House salad and/or Broccoli salad (Broccoli salad is made with duh-broccoli, almonds and this yummy dressing! I think my dad calls this St. Louis salad)
Sides: Grandma's homemade macaroni & cheese. green bean casserole (or anything vegetable smothered with cheese!) and rolls (not burnt!)
Dessert: Seriously? I'm not going to be picky about dessert other than NO FRUIT in it! i.e. no apple pie, cherry pie, etc...pumpkin is allowed
So there are my thoughts and what we're doing on Christmas festivities. Let me know what you all do!
Traditions
Let me be honest when I say that we don't really have any traditions yet! Well, I mean we get stockings at my mom's house and Matt's parents but when, where, how we celebrate is always different. This year is actually the first year, I won't be celebrating Christmas with my dad and that side of the family on Christmas Eve because I drew the short straw and have to work this Saturday. Oh well, at least I got Sunday off but it still counts as a weekend shift so I'm not complaining too much. We're moving that celebration to Monday so we'll still get to see everyone.
Matt and I still don't have a set time that we exchange gifts...usually whenever we can squeeze it in between all the family hopping. Some years we go to midnight service with his parents, some year's (like this year because I won't be able to stay up that late!) we don't. So hopefully, we'll figure all that out soon.
Some traditions that I would like to start next year (or maybe the year after):
*A cake that says, "Happy Birthday Jesus!" I mean after all, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. I figure the first few years I'll just make it or get it at the store then when the baby is old enough, he/she can help me decorate it.
*Again, when the baby is old enough, I want him/her to go with me to pick out a "birthday" present for Jesus. I'm thinking it'll either be something we can donate to the church (like the nursery or school rooms) or give to something like Toys For Tots.
I just really want our child to understand that Christmas isn't all about getting presents, Santa and snowmen. Don't get me wrong, we'll still see Santa and I'm sure my family will spoil him/her with presents but I want to try to instill the real meaning. I know this isn't going to be next year or maybe even the year after but when they are old enough.
*I have never been a Christmas tree person but luckily, Matt is. We've only had a tree once since we've been married. I'm hoping that maybe the day after Thanksgiving or a set day that we pick, our family (meaning the three of us) can spend an afternoon putting the tree up together and having a home cooked meal. See Matt and our son/daughter can do the tree and I can cook, just pop in to check on them from time to time but we're all together.
Those are just a few traditions I want to start...I'm sure the list will grow!
Gifts
Well, I think my shopping is done. I have to double check my gifts and start distributing them all. I'm excited about some gifts I got people and I think/hope they'll like it. I don't feel like I got anything great for Matt. He asked for white camo and that's what I got him. Then a couple weeks later, he started describing what kind he wanted...um, didn't know there were so many kinds! I'm not even sure what kind I bought so he might have to exchange them.
For me? Everyone always asks me what I want for Christmas and I NEVER know what to say! I asked for a World Series hoodie (my 2006 World Series hoodie has a hole in the armpit!). I always say sheets because I try to think of things I need (i.e. 2 years ago, I got a mailbox and last year, I got a microwave). Of course, this year there's a ton of stuff we could use for the baby room but we haven't started planning it yet so I don't know what to ask for!
In a dream world, I would LOVE a DSLR camera but that's way too much to ask for. I think Matt has in mind to get us smart phones which I have told him, no absolutely not! Not that I don't want one but our expenses are going to be increasing already, we don't need to ADD to that with smart phones. I usually tell Matt not to get me anything but he always does. To be honest, I wouldn't be upset if he didn't. Winter is always a tough time financially around our house with him having a weather related job so I'd really rather him save his money for bills (or to pay off the truck bill!). I'd settle for a foot rub. :)
Dinner
Let me just say that I'm in awe of people who host holiday dinners at their house! First off, in this house, we will never host a holiday meal because we have NO SPACE. Matt and I usually host summer holidays since we can have additional seating outside. So kudos and good luck to all those hosting!
Now my ideal holiday meal:
Meat: Ribs! Weird, right? But this is tradition in our family. We go to a local store and buy 2 slabs of ribs and they are fantastic! We usually also have either ham or turkey but that hardly gets touched.
Salad: Pasta House salad and/or Broccoli salad (Broccoli salad is made with duh-broccoli, almonds and this yummy dressing! I think my dad calls this St. Louis salad)
Sides: Grandma's homemade macaroni & cheese. green bean casserole (or anything vegetable smothered with cheese!) and rolls (not burnt!)
Dessert: Seriously? I'm not going to be picky about dessert other than NO FRUIT in it! i.e. no apple pie, cherry pie, etc...pumpkin is allowed
So there are my thoughts and what we're doing on Christmas festivities. Let me know what you all do!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Weekend Recap...
...woo! It was a busy weekend! Let me try to recap it for ya:
Friday
I left work early to go to Haley's school because she had a classroom play. It was one of those days where I left work later than I wanted, traffic was horrible and as soon as I walked in the room, my work phone rang! Needless to say, I missed the first showing. Luckily, a lot of other parents did too so they did an encore performance. H was the Guardian Angel and was actually the female lead! She neglected to tell all of us that but keep in mind it was a 10 minute play. I actually left right after the play because I was not feeling great so I went to my sister's and laid down until her, H and my grandma got home.
Then we had homemade meatballs for dinner-yum and lots of pretzels with icing! H and Grandma played beauty shop which ended in finger nail polish remover all over the floor and that game ended quickly. We then did our coupon cutting and planned out our game plan for the next day.
Saturday
After a quick (well not really quick) breakfast at IHOP, we went to use up our coupons and finish up our Christmas shopping. Haley used a coupon to buy Matt an Axe gift set for Christmas with her own money; I usually get him one every year so he'll be very excited. FYI-we have Axe out the ears at our house right now.
I then headed home to find our Christmas cards had arrived-yah!!! Unfortunately, someone had pregnancy brain when making them and wrote "edition" instead of "addition" so I had to handfix all of them before mailing them. Oops!
Then I headed to work the gate at the local light display to raise money for the American Lung Association.
This is also where Matt works part-time and had worked all day from 8-5pm. I gave him Super Husband of the Day because he came home, ate dinner and went back up to help us work. It was insane! I think something like 700 cards came through and I witnessed a verbal fight because one car was mad the other car couldn't turn off his headlights...how's that for the holiday spirit?
Sunday
The night before really took it's toll on me. I stood outside for 4 hours and didn't get to bed until after 11pm so come Sunday, I had a killer headache which caused an earache which caused Crabby Alyssa. Other than almost crying twice, I think I actually did pretty good not being crabby. We had Matt's mom's side's Christmas yesterday which included 4 children and a flutophone and I didn't even ask to lay down. It was funny because his 6th grade cousin and I found we had a common love for "The Hunger Games" and spent quite awhile discussing it.
Monday
I took a vacation day today. I had to use it before the end of the month. Unfortunately, I had to go in yesterday to take care of some things at work and I had to go in today. It's nice to have a lot of time off at the holidays but at the same time, it's kind of crazy because all of this stuff has to be done before the end of the year.
I had to get up early and take Matt to work because he truck has been in the shop the past week. Apparently, a screw fell out of the bumper and went through all the gearshifts or something. We're going to pick it up today after work...and pay $3,100.
So that my friends was my weekend, it's almost noon and I've done all my errands for the day and I'm back in my pajamas now! Hope you had a good weekend!
Friday
I left work early to go to Haley's school because she had a classroom play. It was one of those days where I left work later than I wanted, traffic was horrible and as soon as I walked in the room, my work phone rang! Needless to say, I missed the first showing. Luckily, a lot of other parents did too so they did an encore performance. H was the Guardian Angel and was actually the female lead! She neglected to tell all of us that but keep in mind it was a 10 minute play. I actually left right after the play because I was not feeling great so I went to my sister's and laid down until her, H and my grandma got home.
Then we had homemade meatballs for dinner-yum and lots of pretzels with icing! H and Grandma played beauty shop which ended in finger nail polish remover all over the floor and that game ended quickly. We then did our coupon cutting and planned out our game plan for the next day.
Saturday
After a quick (well not really quick) breakfast at IHOP, we went to use up our coupons and finish up our Christmas shopping. Haley used a coupon to buy Matt an Axe gift set for Christmas with her own money; I usually get him one every year so he'll be very excited. FYI-we have Axe out the ears at our house right now.
I then headed home to find our Christmas cards had arrived-yah!!! Unfortunately, someone had pregnancy brain when making them and wrote "edition" instead of "addition" so I had to handfix all of them before mailing them. Oops!
Then I headed to work the gate at the local light display to raise money for the American Lung Association.
This is also where Matt works part-time and had worked all day from 8-5pm. I gave him Super Husband of the Day because he came home, ate dinner and went back up to help us work. It was insane! I think something like 700 cards came through and I witnessed a verbal fight because one car was mad the other car couldn't turn off his headlights...how's that for the holiday spirit?
Sunday
The night before really took it's toll on me. I stood outside for 4 hours and didn't get to bed until after 11pm so come Sunday, I had a killer headache which caused an earache which caused Crabby Alyssa. Other than almost crying twice, I think I actually did pretty good not being crabby. We had Matt's mom's side's Christmas yesterday which included 4 children and a flutophone and I didn't even ask to lay down. It was funny because his 6th grade cousin and I found we had a common love for "The Hunger Games" and spent quite awhile discussing it.
Monday
I took a vacation day today. I had to use it before the end of the month. Unfortunately, I had to go in yesterday to take care of some things at work and I had to go in today. It's nice to have a lot of time off at the holidays but at the same time, it's kind of crazy because all of this stuff has to be done before the end of the year.
I had to get up early and take Matt to work because he truck has been in the shop the past week. Apparently, a screw fell out of the bumper and went through all the gearshifts or something. We're going to pick it up today after work...and pay $3,100.
So that my friends was my weekend, it's almost noon and I've done all my errands for the day and I'm back in my pajamas now! Hope you had a good weekend!
Friday, December 16, 2011
My Thoughts on Ugly Sweater Parties...
...first off, thank you so much for all the feedback yesterday! I've got some ideas to get the ball rolling so hopefully I'll have a few posts or so coming up soon. The first one: My Thoughts on Ugly Sweater Parties
The first I'd heard of an Ugly Sweater Party was back in 2008. I thought the idea was FANTASTIC! Now in 2011, I think it's totally overrated. Every time I turn around, people are looking for ugly sweaters or heading to that kind of party...I think it's time we find another theme!
In 2009, Matt and I attended our first (and only) Ugly Sweater Party. What my friends did though was you had to DECORATE an ugly sweater and bring it to the party. Once you arrived, you drew names and then had to wear that person's sweater. Me? I LOVED it because I love to be crafty. Matt? He HATED it. Apparently, men don't like dressing likes fools and then heading into public...who knew?
So if I were to have an Ugly Sweater Party...OH-idea! A Bachelorette Ugly Sweater Party would be awesome! Kind of like wearing your old bridesmaids dresses instead you could make wedding like shirts to wear. I'm a genius! Watch out Stevie, you're getting an Ugly Sweater Bachelorette Party this spring.
Sorry I got sidetracked there! I think Ornament parties are cute and you could even throw in themes each year so it's not always the same...retro, ugly, Santa, reindeer, personalized (you'd have to draw before). What about a Reindeer Party? Everyone wears antlers and you could decorate the antlers.
What do you all think about Ugly Sweater Parties? What other kind of holiday theme parties could people throw? Happy Friday!
The first I'd heard of an Ugly Sweater Party was back in 2008. I thought the idea was FANTASTIC! Now in 2011, I think it's totally overrated. Every time I turn around, people are looking for ugly sweaters or heading to that kind of party...I think it's time we find another theme!
In 2009, Matt and I attended our first (and only) Ugly Sweater Party. What my friends did though was you had to DECORATE an ugly sweater and bring it to the party. Once you arrived, you drew names and then had to wear that person's sweater. Me? I LOVED it because I love to be crafty. Matt? He HATED it. Apparently, men don't like dressing likes fools and then heading into public...who knew?
So if I were to have an Ugly Sweater Party...OH-idea! A Bachelorette Ugly Sweater Party would be awesome! Kind of like wearing your old bridesmaids dresses instead you could make wedding like shirts to wear. I'm a genius! Watch out Stevie, you're getting an Ugly Sweater Bachelorette Party this spring.
Sorry I got sidetracked there! I think Ornament parties are cute and you could even throw in themes each year so it's not always the same...retro, ugly, Santa, reindeer, personalized (you'd have to draw before). What about a Reindeer Party? Everyone wears antlers and you could decorate the antlers.
What do you all think about Ugly Sweater Parties? What other kind of holiday theme parties could people throw? Happy Friday!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Help! What To Do With This Blog???
...I have to say that I really miss blogging! Part of the reason I'm taking a break is because I was really letting my free time get consumed with blogging...I felt like I had to have a post every day, I felt like I had to read every blog in my blog list and I had to comment on every blog too. It was like I'd come home from work, rush around to get things done, fix dinner, shower and then I'd get on the computer for 2-3 hours/night just doing blog stuff! It's amazing how much free time I have now!
The other part is because I don't really know what to blog about here. Having experienced infertility, I'm really trying to be aware of my readers. I know how hard it was to read about pregnancy when that's all I wanted. At the same time though, I do feel like this is my blog and I want to blog about my life which includes that. I've kind of turned my infertility blog into my "pregnancy" blog if you will. I debated big time over that but my justification is during that first trimester (and still now), I had no idea what was normal or not so I wanted to document that for those experiencing the same thing. And aside from pregnancy, I just don't have a whole lot going on right now outside of work (which I try not to blog about although we did have cake tasting at work on Tuesday which was AWESOME!). Well, I should rephrase that, I don't have a lot going on that's blogworthy! I actually do have a lot going on but it's fundraising stuff for ALA, promoting Hospital Hill and trying to tell my husband that Bethsheba is NOT an option for a girl name!
So help me out, readers! Please leave me some ideas of things you'd like to see me blog about....my thoughts on Albert or Matheny, my ideal holiday menu, pics of my cute furbabies, my thoughts on Ugly Sweater Parties....I need some motivation here! Please nothing political, I don't follow politics enough to do a blog post on that.
Let the ideas start flowing...GO!
The other part is because I don't really know what to blog about here. Having experienced infertility, I'm really trying to be aware of my readers. I know how hard it was to read about pregnancy when that's all I wanted. At the same time though, I do feel like this is my blog and I want to blog about my life which includes that. I've kind of turned my infertility blog into my "pregnancy" blog if you will. I debated big time over that but my justification is during that first trimester (and still now), I had no idea what was normal or not so I wanted to document that for those experiencing the same thing. And aside from pregnancy, I just don't have a whole lot going on right now outside of work (which I try not to blog about although we did have cake tasting at work on Tuesday which was AWESOME!). Well, I should rephrase that, I don't have a lot going on that's blogworthy! I actually do have a lot going on but it's fundraising stuff for ALA, promoting Hospital Hill and trying to tell my husband that Bethsheba is NOT an option for a girl name!
So help me out, readers! Please leave me some ideas of things you'd like to see me blog about....my thoughts on Albert or Matheny, my ideal holiday menu, pics of my cute furbabies, my thoughts on Ugly Sweater Parties....I need some motivation here! Please nothing political, I don't follow politics enough to do a blog post on that.
Let the ideas start flowing...GO!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
An Afternoon in the City...
...this afternoon, Matt and I had planned on using some of my Groupons so first stop was my favorite, the Fountain on Locust. Matt was "starving" so we ordered an appetizer. Before we knew it, our food had arrived but no appetizer. So the waitress gave us free dessert since we didn't get our appetizer-yum!!! Matt said since we got free dessert, we weren't allowed to use the Groupon so I guess that means I'll have to go again! Darn the luck...:)
Next stop was the Laclede's Landing Wax Museum. Luckily, I only spent $6 on this Groupon because it wasn't even worth that. Here are some pictures I snapped...
Matt and the Hulk
Whoopi and Patrick from "Ghost"
Louis Armstrong and Michael Jackson
Indiana Jones
Ronald Reagan
Yeah...see what I mean? Also, this place was FREEZING! I pulled out my gloves and put them on it was so cold. I guess so that the wax didn't melt, that was my guess. They also had a Hall of Horrors but only Matt went since I'm pregnant it said not to go. Matt said he didn't know why unless they were afraid being scared. OH and did I mention that we were the ONLY two there and it only took about 20 minutes to walk through the entire thing?
Since we were downtown already, we decided to drive along the Riverfront.
We found some artists working on graffiti on the flood walls.
And I never pass up a chance to get a good picture of the Arch.
All in all, it was a very nice little date for us. The weather was beautiful, it got us out of the house and was a fairly cheap afternoon. Although I would NOT recommend hitting up the wax museum! Have a great weekend everyone!
Next stop was the Laclede's Landing Wax Museum. Luckily, I only spent $6 on this Groupon because it wasn't even worth that. Here are some pictures I snapped...
Matt and the Hulk
Since we were downtown already, we decided to drive along the Riverfront.
Friday, December 9, 2011
How Expedia Falsely Advertises...
...okay so wow-things have been insane around this house! First off, I was gone all week at my sister's watching H and on Wednesday, Matt calls to tell me that he can't go to FL with me the week after Christmas because his boss is leaving town and he has to run the nursery. I'm going to just leave it alone and not add my two cents but that's the jest of the story. The plan was that Matt and I were going to drive my mom's car down to FL December 27 and then fly back on January 4. So now I would have to drive my mom's car by myself 14 hours and 20 weeks pregnant...not so much fun, right?
So my mom and I start trying to think of different ideas to get me to FL. First off, Matt's ticket is non-transferable to another person. We could receive a credit to use in a year but then they charge you a $150 re-issue fee so right away, our ticket has doubled in price so long story short, we're just out that $121 (hoping that his boss will pay for it but doubtful). My mom and I found a flight on 12/30 for me to fly to FL for only $159 (including taxes and fees). Sweet! That's definitely the best deal because 1. I'm not driving 20 weeks prego across country by myself and 2. It's cheap (well for the most part). Now on to how Expedia sucks!
I get on Expedia, price still advertised at $159 and click, "Book this flight." I fill in all the information and get to the payment page and suddenly the price is $189. Hmm...so I pull up another tab and search the flights again thinking maybe I took too long to book and the price had increased. Nope, still advertised at $159. So I call Expedia to find out what's going on. The agent tells me that the airline is updating the price so $189 is the price. I ask, "So you're telling me that the prices you advertise are false? You don't honor the prices you show?" His reply, "Let me put you on hold." He doesn't tell me why, just puts me on hold for over 15 minutes. When he comes back he tells me, he can't do anything so I ask to speak to a supervisor. He transfers me to another lady and I explain the whole situation to her to which SHE replies, "Let me transfer you to a supervisor." What!?! I thought I was talking to a supervisor!!! She goes to transfer me and surprise! my call gets dropped. I'd given her a call back number in case that "might" happen but no one ever called me back.
I get home from work yesterday afternoon and call again to speak to a supervisor who basically sticks to the company policy of apologize, explain and get them off the phone. I plan on writing a letter to the company, not that it will probably do anything but it will make me feel better. I'll never book with Expedia again and I hope you don't either! I highly would recommend trying out other sites like Travelocity, Kayak, Orbitz, Priceline, Hotwire...should I go on? I am now on a personal mission to spread my story because
1. Expedia falsely advertises and does not honor the price they show. It would be one thing if I clicked and then the entire site increased but for the whole 30 minutes I was on hold or speaking to the non-helpful agent, I kept refreshing and checking and the price stayed at $159 so this wasn't just a moment of I happened to click at the wrong time. They falsely advertised this price for a LONG time.
and
2. There customer service is not service at all. They have memorized the policies and lines to repeat but don't actually listen to your problem and try to help. Excuses, excuses, excuses!
So there you have it, my friends, how Expedia falsely advertises and has horrible customer service! Now let's just hope that my reservations are correct!
So my mom and I start trying to think of different ideas to get me to FL. First off, Matt's ticket is non-transferable to another person. We could receive a credit to use in a year but then they charge you a $150 re-issue fee so right away, our ticket has doubled in price so long story short, we're just out that $121 (hoping that his boss will pay for it but doubtful). My mom and I found a flight on 12/30 for me to fly to FL for only $159 (including taxes and fees). Sweet! That's definitely the best deal because 1. I'm not driving 20 weeks prego across country by myself and 2. It's cheap (well for the most part). Now on to how Expedia sucks!
I get on Expedia, price still advertised at $159 and click, "Book this flight." I fill in all the information and get to the payment page and suddenly the price is $189. Hmm...so I pull up another tab and search the flights again thinking maybe I took too long to book and the price had increased. Nope, still advertised at $159. So I call Expedia to find out what's going on. The agent tells me that the airline is updating the price so $189 is the price. I ask, "So you're telling me that the prices you advertise are false? You don't honor the prices you show?" His reply, "Let me put you on hold." He doesn't tell me why, just puts me on hold for over 15 minutes. When he comes back he tells me, he can't do anything so I ask to speak to a supervisor. He transfers me to another lady and I explain the whole situation to her to which SHE replies, "Let me transfer you to a supervisor." What!?! I thought I was talking to a supervisor!!! She goes to transfer me and surprise! my call gets dropped. I'd given her a call back number in case that "might" happen but no one ever called me back.
I get home from work yesterday afternoon and call again to speak to a supervisor who basically sticks to the company policy of apologize, explain and get them off the phone. I plan on writing a letter to the company, not that it will probably do anything but it will make me feel better. I'll never book with Expedia again and I hope you don't either! I highly would recommend trying out other sites like Travelocity, Kayak, Orbitz, Priceline, Hotwire...should I go on? I am now on a personal mission to spread my story because
1. Expedia falsely advertises and does not honor the price they show. It would be one thing if I clicked and then the entire site increased but for the whole 30 minutes I was on hold or speaking to the non-helpful agent, I kept refreshing and checking and the price stayed at $159 so this wasn't just a moment of I happened to click at the wrong time. They falsely advertised this price for a LONG time.
and
2. There customer service is not service at all. They have memorized the policies and lines to repeat but don't actually listen to your problem and try to help. Excuses, excuses, excuses!
So there you have it, my friends, how Expedia falsely advertises and has horrible customer service! Now let's just hope that my reservations are correct!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
STL Cardinals That One Guy...
...apparently, I'm the only one that remembers That One Guy from Old Busch Stadium. He would do the Clarkson Eyecare challenge and the Southwest Flight challenge. He'd interview people before the game and then there would be a video thing of it between innings. He would DJ at Paddio's after the games....anyone, anyone?
Anyways, today, he offered a free seminar that I couldn't attend but some of my co-workers went. I told them to get a picture and this photo is what they came back with!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
The H & Me...
…so this week my sister is out of town on business as is her husband so it's just H and me. Minus the 45 minute commute to work and 45 minutes back to her house, there are definitely perks. Let me share with you, the top five reasons it's awesome to stay with my niece:
5. Cash for food!
4. Debit card for gas!
3. Parking in a garage!
2. Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast & Fruit Roll-Ups in my lunch!
And the number one reason why it's awesome to stay with my niece…
1. BUNK BEDS!
I'm not even kidding with this list! I love parking in a garage and all the yummy foods I wouldn't normally have at home. Luckily, Haley is very easy to get up in the morning and it doesn't take her long to get moving so the mornings have been easy. I will let you know that my sister left us a LONG to-do list each night and with my early bed time, it's hard to get it all done! Don't you worry about Mattie, my sis left an entire pan of lasagna for him (I had a couple pieces) plus I made him Sloppy Joes and the TJ's pizzas we ordered from our friends' son came in so he's all set.
Now snow, please stay away until at least next week!
Friday, December 2, 2011
How We Told...
...well, obviously, I didn't get to do anything too cute or creative for Matt since he knew what was going on. I did the best I could with the sticky bun! So on to how we told the rest of our family...
My dad, sister & Haley
Remember, my dad took my sis, H and I to our first World Series Game? Well, that's when I told them. It was actually Matt's idea because my dad is such a HUGE Cardinals fan. So we get to the game and first off, H and I had to go to the bathroom BAD!!! So we went then everyone wanted dinner and then we finally found our seats. It was raining so my sister left to go get napkins to wipe down the seats. Inside I was screaming, let's just sit down already!!! FINALLY, we get situated and I wait a few minutes, heart pounding, when I look at my dad and said, "Dad, how cool that you're bringing BOTH your daughters and BOTH your grandchildren to their first World Series game." I got a confused look from my dad and sister then my dad whispers (as though anyone around us could hear), "Are you pregnant?" I grinned and nodded. H and my sister tackled me with hugs and my dad teared up.
Then my dad said, "It doesn't even matter if they win or not now," which for my dad to say is HUGE! The rest of the night he kept looking at me and saying, "That's cool...really cool" and my 7 year old niece kept telling me, "I'm soo excited!!!" She even told my dad, "You're here tonight with 1 boy and 4 girls," then she looked at me and said, "because I want your baby to be a girl!" When I got home that night, my sister had emailed me. She said, "H said the best part of the game was finding out she was getting a new cousin and spending time with Papa."
OH! And remember the whole World Series and the #11 post? Well, they won the World Series in my 11th week of pregnancy!
My Mom
I told my mom and step-sister at the MIA conference. It was quite hilarious how it all went down. My RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist) and I had briefly worked it out how I would tell her. This is how it went down...
I was in the hallway picking the fellow's from my clinic brain about my thyroid levels & giving him suggestions for research papers but telling him that he'd have to dumb it down for me to understand when my RE arrived. I barely got to tell her hello when I saw my mom round the corner to head to the bathroom and I whispered, "She's coming, are you ready?"
Let me break here. I tried to think of a special way to tell both my parents and I wanted to include Dr. K, my RE, because I figured she never got to be included for this sort of thing. At the same time, knowing I was at an infertility conference, I didn't want it to be a big deal and to upset people's feelings so I was trying to figure out a way to get my mom and Dr. K away from the crowd. So this all just kind of worked out. Okay, back to the story!
My mom walks up and I introduce her to some people standing there and then I turned to Dr. K and said, "And this is Dr. K. She did my retrieval and transfer and now I'm pregnant." My mom had been smiling the whole time and just kept smiling as I said that. It took about 5 seconds and then her face went blank. She looked at me and said, "What? You're pregnant!" I nodded and she started crying and repeating, "You didn't tell me!" Uh...duh, that's kind of what I'm doing right now. I then told her that we put on the whole conference just for her so I could tell her.
So picture this, my mom sobbing, hugging me then Dr. K, kissing me then KISSING DR. K! Yes, you read that right...my mother kissed my RE!?! (Luckily, just on the cheek but more than once!) I said, "Mother! Did you just KISS HER?" They all laughed and Dr. K was crying right along with my mom. Finally, I told my mom, "Go to the bathroom before you pee yourself!" LOL! It was hilarious! Then my step-sis came down and we did the same thing. Luckily, there was no kissing this time around.
When Dr. K left, I thanked her again and apologized saying, "I hope my mother didn't traumatize you by kissing you!" She laughed and said it was the best kiss she'd received in a long time. Oye! My family is so CRAZY!!!
Matt's Family
Well, as always with his family, it was totally disorganized and did not go as planned! We had two different nights planned to have family dinner and tell and both nights got cancelled. The second night, his mom calls and says, she'll take Matt and I to dinner. So we go to dinner with her and I handed her this little photo album I'd made. The first page said, "Grandma's First Brag Book" and then it was the picture of the dogs and their signs then all of our ultrasound pics. She grinned and told our waiter she was going to be a grandma as soon as he brought us more water.
After dinner, we headed to where his dad was working. Matt's mom showed him the book to which his reply was, "Okay, she's pregnant, I get it." No comment...
On the drive home, Matt called his brother and said, "Are you ready to be an uncle?" to which his brother freaked out and then said, "With Alyssa?" Again, no comment...
We tried calling his sister multiple times that night but she didn't answer. By the next afternoon, his mom emailed me to let me know that my FIL had told her and his sister had called her to say she was excited. She didn't call Matt or I until the end of the weekend. OH and apparently, she already knew because Matt had mentioned wanting a gun safe (which we've talked about ever since we got together) and because Matt told her dog not to jump on me (it's a 120 lb rottweiler).
So that's how we told our families. Matt's mom is loving the book I made her because she's showing it to everyone. My mom posted on her FB page about it and Matt and I have yet to mention anything on FB! My dad called me every day for a week asking if he could tell people yet. I think they were all more excited to tell people than we were! Not that we weren't excited, just that we were (and still are!) being cautious.
It's so funny after we tell people and they'll be like, "Oh, I could totally tell when you said..." Because I feel like I said some pretty obvious things but the things people mention I said, I'm like no way did I say that implying pregnancy. So that my friends is how we told!
My dad, sister & Haley
Remember, my dad took my sis, H and I to our first World Series Game? Well, that's when I told them. It was actually Matt's idea because my dad is such a HUGE Cardinals fan. So we get to the game and first off, H and I had to go to the bathroom BAD!!! So we went then everyone wanted dinner and then we finally found our seats. It was raining so my sister left to go get napkins to wipe down the seats. Inside I was screaming, let's just sit down already!!! FINALLY, we get situated and I wait a few minutes, heart pounding, when I look at my dad and said, "Dad, how cool that you're bringing BOTH your daughters and BOTH your grandchildren to their first World Series game." I got a confused look from my dad and sister then my dad whispers (as though anyone around us could hear), "Are you pregnant?" I grinned and nodded. H and my sister tackled me with hugs and my dad teared up.
Then my dad said, "It doesn't even matter if they win or not now," which for my dad to say is HUGE! The rest of the night he kept looking at me and saying, "That's cool...really cool" and my 7 year old niece kept telling me, "I'm soo excited!!!" She even told my dad, "You're here tonight with 1 boy and 4 girls," then she looked at me and said, "because I want your baby to be a girl!" When I got home that night, my sister had emailed me. She said, "H said the best part of the game was finding out she was getting a new cousin and spending time with Papa."
OH! And remember the whole World Series and the #11 post? Well, they won the World Series in my 11th week of pregnancy!
My Mom
I told my mom and step-sister at the MIA conference. It was quite hilarious how it all went down. My RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist) and I had briefly worked it out how I would tell her. This is how it went down...
I was in the hallway picking the fellow's from my clinic brain about my thyroid levels & giving him suggestions for research papers but telling him that he'd have to dumb it down for me to understand when my RE arrived. I barely got to tell her hello when I saw my mom round the corner to head to the bathroom and I whispered, "She's coming, are you ready?"
Let me break here. I tried to think of a special way to tell both my parents and I wanted to include Dr. K, my RE, because I figured she never got to be included for this sort of thing. At the same time, knowing I was at an infertility conference, I didn't want it to be a big deal and to upset people's feelings so I was trying to figure out a way to get my mom and Dr. K away from the crowd. So this all just kind of worked out. Okay, back to the story!
My mom walks up and I introduce her to some people standing there and then I turned to Dr. K and said, "And this is Dr. K. She did my retrieval and transfer and now I'm pregnant." My mom had been smiling the whole time and just kept smiling as I said that. It took about 5 seconds and then her face went blank. She looked at me and said, "What? You're pregnant!" I nodded and she started crying and repeating, "You didn't tell me!" Uh...duh, that's kind of what I'm doing right now. I then told her that we put on the whole conference just for her so I could tell her.
So picture this, my mom sobbing, hugging me then Dr. K, kissing me then KISSING DR. K! Yes, you read that right...my mother kissed my RE!?! (Luckily, just on the cheek but more than once!) I said, "Mother! Did you just KISS HER?" They all laughed and Dr. K was crying right along with my mom. Finally, I told my mom, "Go to the bathroom before you pee yourself!" LOL! It was hilarious! Then my step-sis came down and we did the same thing. Luckily, there was no kissing this time around.
When Dr. K left, I thanked her again and apologized saying, "I hope my mother didn't traumatize you by kissing you!" She laughed and said it was the best kiss she'd received in a long time. Oye! My family is so CRAZY!!!
Matt's Family
Well, as always with his family, it was totally disorganized and did not go as planned! We had two different nights planned to have family dinner and tell and both nights got cancelled. The second night, his mom calls and says, she'll take Matt and I to dinner. So we go to dinner with her and I handed her this little photo album I'd made. The first page said, "Grandma's First Brag Book" and then it was the picture of the dogs and their signs then all of our ultrasound pics. She grinned and told our waiter she was going to be a grandma as soon as he brought us more water.
After dinner, we headed to where his dad was working. Matt's mom showed him the book to which his reply was, "Okay, she's pregnant, I get it." No comment...
On the drive home, Matt called his brother and said, "Are you ready to be an uncle?" to which his brother freaked out and then said, "With Alyssa?" Again, no comment...
We tried calling his sister multiple times that night but she didn't answer. By the next afternoon, his mom emailed me to let me know that my FIL had told her and his sister had called her to say she was excited. She didn't call Matt or I until the end of the weekend. OH and apparently, she already knew because Matt had mentioned wanting a gun safe (which we've talked about ever since we got together) and because Matt told her dog not to jump on me (it's a 120 lb rottweiler).
So that's how we told our families. Matt's mom is loving the book I made her because she's showing it to everyone. My mom posted on her FB page about it and Matt and I have yet to mention anything on FB! My dad called me every day for a week asking if he could tell people yet. I think they were all more excited to tell people than we were! Not that we weren't excited, just that we were (and still are!) being cautious.
It's so funny after we tell people and they'll be like, "Oh, I could totally tell when you said..." Because I feel like I said some pretty obvious things but the things people mention I said, I'm like no way did I say that implying pregnancy. So that my friends is how we told!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
THE Light Display...
...let me just say that this light display has been the topic of many arguments at our house. Instead of a trivia night, I thought it would be easier to make a light display and work the gate a couple nights at the local park Christmas light display. I should have picked someone other than my super, insanely busy husband to help me with this project! But in the end, it got done...
This is a fundraiser for the American Lung Association. This is a board with clean air facts:
Giant stocking and the present on top is "supposed" to move up and down. However, I think it's too heavy so we'll have to revamp that. Now, bonus points for anyone who notices what's wrong with this picture...
The total scene:
It's nothing too spectacular but it works. We'll be making a minimum of $600 for ALA so that alone was worth it. If you're in my area of town, please be sure to go tour this park!
This is a fundraiser for the American Lung Association. This is a board with clean air facts:
Friday, November 25, 2011
The Story of Baby Awesome AKA My Compact Six...
...okay, wow! Thank you for all the great comments and tweets! Matt and I are very excited but also, a little nervous...okay, I'm nervous and Matt thinks his wife is a crazy freak. This whole thing is just surreal to us and I really feel like I'm in a constant 2ww from appointment to appointment but I wouldn't give it up for anything in the world! I'm going to try to summarize the last 17ish weeks for you so here goes...
After our IVF cycle last December, we froze 3 embryos. On August 26th, we transferred all three. Matt was really leary about transferring all three but I told him that if we end up with three babies at once, we'll make it work! My favorite doctor at the clinic did my transfer so I was super excited!
The Wednesday after Labor Day, I went in for my first beta test and it was positive!!! Matt had forgot his phone at home that day so I was freaking out and couldn't tell anyone. I went to the local bakery and picked up a sticky bun and put it on the table with a note that said, "We've got a bun(s) in the oven!" When Matt walked in, I could hear him opening the bag and he took FOREVER to get to the living room. When he did, he was smirking and munching on the bun and said, "So...what did the doctor say?" Men!
I went back the next week and my beta numbers were doubling like there were supposed to. I started to do a little research and saw that we were OFF THE CHARTS for triplets! When I told Matt, he was freaking out but I surprisingly stayed very calm. The next week or so, we went in for our first u/s and the tech confirmed that we had 2 babies. However, Baby B had a very low heartbeat (probably my heartbeat). At 6 weeks, we got to hear the heartbeat, I was grinning from ear to ear and Matt was practically laying on top of me to get a closer view of the u/s screen. We went back 2 week later again at 8 weeks and they confirmed Baby B had no heartbeat but Baby A was doing great. Matt didn't go with me to this appointment and it was CRAZY to see that the baby already looked like a baby! The tech hooked me up with some good pictures to take home to Matt since he couldn't come.
After that appointment, I graduated from WashU and was released to see my own OB. If you remember, I don't have one because I broke up with mine. I have since found one that I LOVE, who is actually a D.O. At 10 weeks, Baby Awesome looked....well, awesome! :) I've had one more appointment since and didn't have an u/s but a Doppler hearing and Baby A's heartbeat was strong and right where it was supposed to be.
So today I'm 15w4d (give or take a day...one dr measures one way and the other another so it confuses me). I feel blessed to have had an easy pregnancy so far...a little nausea but I've only actually thrown up once, lots of constipation (funny moms out there, I don't remember reading THAT anywhere on your blogs!) and my new bedtime is 8pm. I've had some headaches the past couple weeks but I'm accounting that to stress at work and I'm refusing to take any meds other than my prenatals. I went off all my fertility meds and shots on Halloween per doctor's orders and my hips are so very thankful.
I call Baby A either Baby Awesome or My Compact Six. There's no way to know for sure which embryo it is but I strongly believe my Compact Six is the one that's growing inside me right now (a compact six embryo is REALLY good). My due date is May 13 which ironically is Mother's Day. As far as gender, I do not want to find out but Matt does. At this point, I think I have him convinced not to find out but I'm sure that'll change before the appointment gets here. I also don't want to tell names but my husband's a blabbermouth and has already told some people!!! I got on to him so again, we'll see if he stops or not.
Of course, we want a happy, healthy baby but Matt really wants a boy and I want a girl. I feel strongly that it's going to be a boy because I refer to the baby as he/him and we immediately had a boy name but haven't even thought of a girl name so maybe this means we're already preparing for a boy so it's really a girl? WHO KNOWS!?!
In true Alyssa fashion, I'm a total worrier, nothing has changed on that end. If Matt would've let me wait longer to tell people, I would've but he was ready to tell at 6 weeks! If I feel weird, I think something's wrong, if I feel normal, I think something's wrong...I just want to make sure everything is okay!
So I think that sums things up and answers most questions. Let me know if I didn't answer something. I'll try to post pictures of the u/s next week and I'll also do a post about how we told our families. I tried to be as creative as possible for all of them.
Now you all know why I haven't been blogging and commenting lately...this lady is in bed at 8 every night!
After our IVF cycle last December, we froze 3 embryos. On August 26th, we transferred all three. Matt was really leary about transferring all three but I told him that if we end up with three babies at once, we'll make it work! My favorite doctor at the clinic did my transfer so I was super excited!
The Wednesday after Labor Day, I went in for my first beta test and it was positive!!! Matt had forgot his phone at home that day so I was freaking out and couldn't tell anyone. I went to the local bakery and picked up a sticky bun and put it on the table with a note that said, "We've got a bun(s) in the oven!" When Matt walked in, I could hear him opening the bag and he took FOREVER to get to the living room. When he did, he was smirking and munching on the bun and said, "So...what did the doctor say?" Men!
I went back the next week and my beta numbers were doubling like there were supposed to. I started to do a little research and saw that we were OFF THE CHARTS for triplets! When I told Matt, he was freaking out but I surprisingly stayed very calm. The next week or so, we went in for our first u/s and the tech confirmed that we had 2 babies. However, Baby B had a very low heartbeat (probably my heartbeat). At 6 weeks, we got to hear the heartbeat, I was grinning from ear to ear and Matt was practically laying on top of me to get a closer view of the u/s screen. We went back 2 week later again at 8 weeks and they confirmed Baby B had no heartbeat but Baby A was doing great. Matt didn't go with me to this appointment and it was CRAZY to see that the baby already looked like a baby! The tech hooked me up with some good pictures to take home to Matt since he couldn't come.
After that appointment, I graduated from WashU and was released to see my own OB. If you remember, I don't have one because I broke up with mine. I have since found one that I LOVE, who is actually a D.O. At 10 weeks, Baby Awesome looked....well, awesome! :) I've had one more appointment since and didn't have an u/s but a Doppler hearing and Baby A's heartbeat was strong and right where it was supposed to be.
So today I'm 15w4d (give or take a day...one dr measures one way and the other another so it confuses me). I feel blessed to have had an easy pregnancy so far...a little nausea but I've only actually thrown up once, lots of constipation (funny moms out there, I don't remember reading THAT anywhere on your blogs!) and my new bedtime is 8pm. I've had some headaches the past couple weeks but I'm accounting that to stress at work and I'm refusing to take any meds other than my prenatals. I went off all my fertility meds and shots on Halloween per doctor's orders and my hips are so very thankful.
I call Baby A either Baby Awesome or My Compact Six. There's no way to know for sure which embryo it is but I strongly believe my Compact Six is the one that's growing inside me right now (a compact six embryo is REALLY good). My due date is May 13 which ironically is Mother's Day. As far as gender, I do not want to find out but Matt does. At this point, I think I have him convinced not to find out but I'm sure that'll change before the appointment gets here. I also don't want to tell names but my husband's a blabbermouth and has already told some people!!! I got on to him so again, we'll see if he stops or not.
Of course, we want a happy, healthy baby but Matt really wants a boy and I want a girl. I feel strongly that it's going to be a boy because I refer to the baby as he/him and we immediately had a boy name but haven't even thought of a girl name so maybe this means we're already preparing for a boy so it's really a girl? WHO KNOWS!?!
In true Alyssa fashion, I'm a total worrier, nothing has changed on that end. If Matt would've let me wait longer to tell people, I would've but he was ready to tell at 6 weeks! If I feel weird, I think something's wrong, if I feel normal, I think something's wrong...I just want to make sure everything is okay!
So I think that sums things up and answers most questions. Let me know if I didn't answer something. I'll try to post pictures of the u/s next week and I'll also do a post about how we told our families. I tried to be as creative as possible for all of them.
Now you all know why I haven't been blogging and commenting lately...this lady is in bed at 8 every night!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thanksgiving...
...here it is Thanksgiving morning! In my mind, this post today is going to be so different than my post last Thanksgiving but I'm not so sure. Just the other day, Matt and I were driving to tell his mom our big news when I got all teary and said to him, "You know God is so good, look at all the blessings in our lives" and it's so true. Despite what we have been through, we still have each other, we've got strong support systems in our families and friends, we have jobs that are flexible and support us. We live in a community where the medical knowledge is overflowing! We have a roof over our head and cars that get us from Point A to Point B. We have clothes to keep us warm and food in our fridge. In other words, God is good!
I know we all could list everything we're thankful for but I wanted to call out some extra special things we're thankful for this year....
*Matt and I are beyond thankful for the doctors, nurses, embryologists, lab techs, EVERYONE at WashU especially Dr. Keller (who I absolutely love!) and Dr. Omurtag (who puts up with all my freak out medical tweets). Without these knowledgeable people in our lives, we wouldn't have our dream coming true right now.
*Prayer! I am beyond grateful for prayer. This has been what's gotten me through a lot lately. When I'm upset or frustrated, I just stop for a moment and pray. I try to thank God for each blessing He has provided. Last week, I was taking my exam to be a professional in my field and halfway through I was near tears thinking there was no way I was going to pass so I just closed my eyes and asked God to get me through this and He did and I passed! And prayers from all of you and our friends and family. I know I asked for prayers during our journey and I ask to keep them coming please!
*The baby in my belly! Words can't even describe how much we already love this child and are excited to have him/her be a part of our lives. This is a HUGE blessing, one that we've prayed about for a long time and we are so grateful for this baby.
*Most of all, Matt and I are thankful for our support system...our friends, our family, our co-workers, blog friends, doctors, puppies...all of them! I will admit going through treatment this time without telling everyone was a lot harder than last time. All the support we have in our lives makes us feel very loved and for that we cannot even begin to express our gratitude.
There's so much more that we could list but I've got to finish the green bean casserole! I love you all and I'm thankful for each and every one of you. Happy Thanksgiving and remember....THE BIRD IS THE WORD!
I know we all could list everything we're thankful for but I wanted to call out some extra special things we're thankful for this year....
*Matt and I are beyond thankful for the doctors, nurses, embryologists, lab techs, EVERYONE at WashU especially Dr. Keller (who I absolutely love!) and Dr. Omurtag (who puts up with all my freak out medical tweets). Without these knowledgeable people in our lives, we wouldn't have our dream coming true right now.
*Prayer! I am beyond grateful for prayer. This has been what's gotten me through a lot lately. When I'm upset or frustrated, I just stop for a moment and pray. I try to thank God for each blessing He has provided. Last week, I was taking my exam to be a professional in my field and halfway through I was near tears thinking there was no way I was going to pass so I just closed my eyes and asked God to get me through this and He did and I passed! And prayers from all of you and our friends and family. I know I asked for prayers during our journey and I ask to keep them coming please!
*The baby in my belly! Words can't even describe how much we already love this child and are excited to have him/her be a part of our lives. This is a HUGE blessing, one that we've prayed about for a long time and we are so grateful for this baby.
*Most of all, Matt and I are thankful for our support system...our friends, our family, our co-workers, blog friends, doctors, puppies...all of them! I will admit going through treatment this time without telling everyone was a lot harder than last time. All the support we have in our lives makes us feel very loved and for that we cannot even begin to express our gratitude.
There's so much more that we could list but I've got to finish the green bean casserole! I love you all and I'm thankful for each and every one of you. Happy Thanksgiving and remember....THE BIRD IS THE WORD!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Emma & Shadow...
...Emma & Shadow have something they want to tell you...
Matt, Emma, Shadow & I will be welcoming Baby G this coming May (May 13 to be exact-Mother's Day!!!). More details to follow! We feel very blessed this Thanksgiving season. Thank you for all your support and please keep the prayers coming!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
8 Pointer!!!
...this past weekend was opening weekend for rifle deer hunting. Due to the conference, this was the first year since we've been married that I haven't gone and I will most likely not be allowed to go back. Why? Matt got an 8 pointer!!! His first buck ever!!! I'm so proud of him!
As much as they all complain and hate that I take pictures and document EVER moment of our lives, I think Matt was pretty bummed that the only picture taken was on his brother's phone which we can't get bigger than like 2 inches by 2 inches. So this is the best we have:
My pretty husband with the antlers! He's happy because he got a buck and I'm happy because I have meat in my freezer! Deer chili anyone??? Nice job Mattie!
As much as they all complain and hate that I take pictures and document EVER moment of our lives, I think Matt was pretty bummed that the only picture taken was on his brother's phone which we can't get bigger than like 2 inches by 2 inches. So this is the best we have:
Monday, November 14, 2011
MIA Conference...
...whew! We survived the first MIA conference!!! It was a huge success. We definitely have things we can improve upon but let's focus on the great things, ok?
Wonderful bloggie friends who volunteered and dealt with crazy people named Summer!
Moms and step-sis who volunteered and handled the busy registration table!
Cookies, cookies and more cookies! Seriously, we had SO many cookies it wasn't even funny! These were cookies we had made to give to the speakers and sponsors as thank yous.
Wonderful doctors in our community!
A community full of support!
Generous Dr. Simckes from Fertility Partnership who gifted a FREE IVF cycle...on an IOU card! This couple won and they were the sweetest-I'm so happy for them!
After the conference, one couple (who none of us knew) came up to myself and the two other founders and gave us hugs and thanked us. It was truly just an amazing experience and something I'm so glad I'm a part of! I've already got ideas of where to have the conference next year and how we can improve on it. But first, I need like three days to sleep and recover and THEN we'll start planning for next year.
Wonderful bloggie friends who volunteered and dealt with crazy people named Summer!
Monday, November 7, 2011
Misc. Monday...
...UGH! As you can tell from the title, this was SUPPOSED to post yesterday! When I scheduled it on Sunday, it said scheduled and then when I just saw it didn't post about 10 minutes ago, I logged on and it said draft. Blogger keeps doing that...any ideas??? Now on to the meat and potatoes!
...hey all! Hope you had a good weekend! This is probably the only post you're going to get from me this week. This Saturday is the MIA Conference so I'm busy, busy, busy gearing up for that. I'm super excited about what all it has to offer and the speakers that are going to be there but I'm even more excited because I get my guest room back! It's currently been storing giveaways for 200 attendees. So on to the miscellaneous, shall we?
*I was thoroughly looking forward to a weekend of nothingness. Well, I was well on my way to that at 4pm on Saturday when I was still lounging around the house in my pajamas. Then my husband called to inform me that he had a blow out in his truck just west of Columbia. He was with three other guys as they'd been at a paintball tournament. I quickly threw on some jeans and jumped in the car (sans bra, thank goodness its oversized sweatshirt season!) and drove 2 hours to pick up the guys and drove them 2 hours home. We got back to STL around 8:30 and the tow truck had JUST arrived to pick up Matt. To say I was upset would be a MAJOR understatement. Once I got home and calmed down, I realized I'm very thankful the guys didn't get hurt and I sent up some major prayers for that.
*FYI-Matt knew he was in the dog house. When I got to the exit they were at (might I add this was the creepiest, most desolate exit EVER), I offered him a cookie and he said, "No...I feel bad." I responded with, "You should but you can still have the cookie." You might be asking WHY Matt was in the doghouse since a blow out wasn't his fault. WELL, my lovely husband told me their tournament was in Columbia when in reality it was halfway between Columbia and KC. He also "forgot" to tell me that he was even driving. These things, coupled with his family calling me every 5 minutes while I'm trying to get him a tow truck and our conversation less than 24 hours prior about him making more wise money choices and stressing me less equals Matt in doghouse.
*We did not "grow" a garden this summer/fall. A garden kind of grew it's self. Sunday both Matt and I laid down to take a nap so we didn't feed the dogs at their precise time. I woke up about 30 minutes later than we normally feed them and they were both snacking on baby tomatoes straight off the vine!
*Due to the conference this weekend, this is the first time since we've been married that I will NOT be attending Opening Weekend for hunting at the farm. I'm okay with it but very sad. I told the ladies that are helping me with the conference that we need to pick a different date next year.
*Holy moly! Can you all believe Thanksgiving is in 2.5 weeks and then Christmas is a month later?! Seriously, time is FLYING! I'm usually an overachiever and done with my Christmas shopping but I just started this past weekend. I know some people are all about Black Friday and going to the stores but please give me online shopping and I'm a happy girl!
That's all I've got for now. If I have time to post again this week, I will but if not, I'll be sure to post on Monday about the conference...only the highlights like Dr. Hottie who I'll FINALLY meet after a year!!!
...hey all! Hope you had a good weekend! This is probably the only post you're going to get from me this week. This Saturday is the MIA Conference so I'm busy, busy, busy gearing up for that. I'm super excited about what all it has to offer and the speakers that are going to be there but I'm even more excited because I get my guest room back! It's currently been storing giveaways for 200 attendees. So on to the miscellaneous, shall we?
*I was thoroughly looking forward to a weekend of nothingness. Well, I was well on my way to that at 4pm on Saturday when I was still lounging around the house in my pajamas. Then my husband called to inform me that he had a blow out in his truck just west of Columbia. He was with three other guys as they'd been at a paintball tournament. I quickly threw on some jeans and jumped in the car (sans bra, thank goodness its oversized sweatshirt season!) and drove 2 hours to pick up the guys and drove them 2 hours home. We got back to STL around 8:30 and the tow truck had JUST arrived to pick up Matt. To say I was upset would be a MAJOR understatement. Once I got home and calmed down, I realized I'm very thankful the guys didn't get hurt and I sent up some major prayers for that.
*FYI-Matt knew he was in the dog house. When I got to the exit they were at (might I add this was the creepiest, most desolate exit EVER), I offered him a cookie and he said, "No...I feel bad." I responded with, "You should but you can still have the cookie." You might be asking WHY Matt was in the doghouse since a blow out wasn't his fault. WELL, my lovely husband told me their tournament was in Columbia when in reality it was halfway between Columbia and KC. He also "forgot" to tell me that he was even driving. These things, coupled with his family calling me every 5 minutes while I'm trying to get him a tow truck and our conversation less than 24 hours prior about him making more wise money choices and stressing me less equals Matt in doghouse.
*We did not "grow" a garden this summer/fall. A garden kind of grew it's self. Sunday both Matt and I laid down to take a nap so we didn't feed the dogs at their precise time. I woke up about 30 minutes later than we normally feed them and they were both snacking on baby tomatoes straight off the vine!
*Due to the conference this weekend, this is the first time since we've been married that I will NOT be attending Opening Weekend for hunting at the farm. I'm okay with it but very sad. I told the ladies that are helping me with the conference that we need to pick a different date next year.
*Holy moly! Can you all believe Thanksgiving is in 2.5 weeks and then Christmas is a month later?! Seriously, time is FLYING! I'm usually an overachiever and done with my Christmas shopping but I just started this past weekend. I know some people are all about Black Friday and going to the stores but please give me online shopping and I'm a happy girl!
That's all I've got for now. If I have time to post again this week, I will but if not, I'll be sure to post on Monday about the conference...only the highlights like Dr. Hottie who I'll FINALLY meet after a year!!!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
How Young Is Too Young for the World Series???
...well, as you all know, my sister, niece and I were lucky enough to have an awesome dad/papa who took all three of us to our first World Series game. My niece is only 7 years old. There have been some snarky comments made to both my sister and I that, "it's a waste of a ticket to take a kid to the World Series." My question is why?
She fully understood what was going on and how "big" the whole thing was. She helped me keep attention because she read the ball-strike-out count to me between EVERY pitch and the girl cried at the end of the game because of how awesome it was! Tell me how many adults (aside from the losing Rangers fans) that cried at the end of their first World Series game because they were overwhelmed with emotion. This 7 year old didn't complain ONE time about being cold or that she was tired and she didn't even bat an eye when it started to rain. Heck, I could barely get her to go to the bathroom with me in between innings! Aside from being hit in the eye a few times by her rally towel, I thoroughly enjoyed having her sit next to me at my first World Series game. It's a memory that my sister, my dad, me and I'm sure my niece won't EVER forget.
So I ask, if it's a waste to send a kid to the World Series then who should go instead? The girl who doesn't even know what teams are playing and runs for cover at the first sight of a sprinkle and only spends one inning in her seat? Or maybe the guy who is so drunk, he probably spent his entire week's salary on beer and won't remember the score of the game, much less who was playing? Please let me know who is the appropriate demographic to go to the World Series so that you're not "wasting a ticket."
The bottom line is, everyone has their own opinions. I don't really care WHO goes to what game. When I go to a game, I'm there for the atmosphere, the excitement and to cheer my team on. I don't look around and judge who should and shouldn't be there. If only the "perfect fans" were allowed to go then people watching at the game would be BORING!
She fully understood what was going on and how "big" the whole thing was. She helped me keep attention because she read the ball-strike-out count to me between EVERY pitch and the girl cried at the end of the game because of how awesome it was! Tell me how many adults (aside from the losing Rangers fans) that cried at the end of their first World Series game because they were overwhelmed with emotion. This 7 year old didn't complain ONE time about being cold or that she was tired and she didn't even bat an eye when it started to rain. Heck, I could barely get her to go to the bathroom with me in between innings! Aside from being hit in the eye a few times by her rally towel, I thoroughly enjoyed having her sit next to me at my first World Series game. It's a memory that my sister, my dad, me and I'm sure my niece won't EVER forget.
So I ask, if it's a waste to send a kid to the World Series then who should go instead? The girl who doesn't even know what teams are playing and runs for cover at the first sight of a sprinkle and only spends one inning in her seat? Or maybe the guy who is so drunk, he probably spent his entire week's salary on beer and won't remember the score of the game, much less who was playing? Please let me know who is the appropriate demographic to go to the World Series so that you're not "wasting a ticket."
The bottom line is, everyone has their own opinions. I don't really care WHO goes to what game. When I go to a game, I'm there for the atmosphere, the excitement and to cheer my team on. I don't look around and judge who should and shouldn't be there. If only the "perfect fans" were allowed to go then people watching at the game would be BORING!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
"Artichoke's Heart" by Suzanne Supplee
...I recently finished another young adult book. It was Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee.
Summary: Rosemary is an overweight high school girl with no friends, no social life and in love with Mr. Reese's, Mr. Snickers and anything else that is bad for you. Her mother and aunt nag her constantly about losing weight but, as we all do, the more someone tells us to do something, the more we resist. Rosemary's mother is diagnosed with cancer and she begins to turn her life around. Between Christmas and the end of the school year, Rosemary looks 45 pounds, gains a best friend and even a boyfriend!
Review: Let's be honest, this was no Pulitzer Prize here but it was an easy read that kept my attention. The kids in her school were REALLY mean. I'm sure my high school was the same way but I just floated in the middle crowd so I never saw it as much as some of these young adult books point out. I almost wrote this book was predictable, and yes at times it was, but I was expecting some sort of conflict with her and her boyfriend but there never really was. On the topic of her boyfriend, I also never really felt there was a true connection but that's just me. Would I recommend it? I wouldn't say go check it out today but if you want an easy read, sure go for it.
Rabbit, rabbit!
Summary: Rosemary is an overweight high school girl with no friends, no social life and in love with Mr. Reese's, Mr. Snickers and anything else that is bad for you. Her mother and aunt nag her constantly about losing weight but, as we all do, the more someone tells us to do something, the more we resist. Rosemary's mother is diagnosed with cancer and she begins to turn her life around. Between Christmas and the end of the school year, Rosemary looks 45 pounds, gains a best friend and even a boyfriend!
Rabbit, rabbit!
Monday, October 31, 2011
That's a Winner!!!
...On October 28, 2011 the St. Louis Cardinals won their 11th World Series Championship. Some fun facts about the 11s:
*11th championship earned in 2011
*David Freese, World Series MVP, has 11 letters in his name
*The game lasted 3 hours and 17 minutes, add that up and get...11!
*Add up the date they won (10/28) and get...11!
*The Cards made it to game 7 by winning in game 6 in the bottom of the...11th!
What can I say? 11 is a good number!
Here's what we did and my thoughts on the World Series:
*We went to our friends house and watched the game because they didn't have a babysitter. During the 5th inning, I pulled my first ever tooth and Cody had his first ever tooth pulled! I apologized before we left since I ended up costing his mom and dad AKA the Tooth Fairy $1.
*When we won, we could see fireworks going off in the three surrounding towns!
*I got up at 6am the next morning and went to the gas station to get a paper for my dad but it hadn't been delivered yet. I headed down the street to the grocery store, got a donut and chocolate milk and sat on the bench to wait for the paper to be delivered. After 30 minutes, I headed home. At 9:30, I stopped back by the gas station and luckily, they still had some. Turns out, they didn't even get delivered until 9am!?!
*Is the world only made up of the US and Canada? I wonder this because it's the World Series but teams that compete are only in the US and Canada.
*David Freese TOTALLY reminds me of David Eckstein from the 2006 World Series.
*My friend Facebooked me to let me know that Lance Lynn reminds her of Matt...it must be the hair.
Congrats to the Cardinals on your awesome, comeback season! I'm proud to be a part of Cardinal Nation!!!
*11th championship earned in 2011
*David Freese, World Series MVP, has 11 letters in his name
*The game lasted 3 hours and 17 minutes, add that up and get...11!
*Add up the date they won (10/28) and get...11!
*The Cards made it to game 7 by winning in game 6 in the bottom of the...11th!
What can I say? 11 is a good number!
Here's what we did and my thoughts on the World Series:
*We went to our friends house and watched the game because they didn't have a babysitter. During the 5th inning, I pulled my first ever tooth and Cody had his first ever tooth pulled! I apologized before we left since I ended up costing his mom and dad AKA the Tooth Fairy $1.
*When we won, we could see fireworks going off in the three surrounding towns!
*I got up at 6am the next morning and went to the gas station to get a paper for my dad but it hadn't been delivered yet. I headed down the street to the grocery store, got a donut and chocolate milk and sat on the bench to wait for the paper to be delivered. After 30 minutes, I headed home. At 9:30, I stopped back by the gas station and luckily, they still had some. Turns out, they didn't even get delivered until 9am!?!
*Is the world only made up of the US and Canada? I wonder this because it's the World Series but teams that compete are only in the US and Canada.
*David Freese TOTALLY reminds me of David Eckstein from the 2006 World Series.
*My friend Facebooked me to let me know that Lance Lynn reminds her of Matt...it must be the hair.
Congrats to the Cardinals on your awesome, comeback season! I'm proud to be a part of Cardinal Nation!!!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Newest G-Card!!!
..well, it's a new season which means new G-cards at Michael's! I'm actually kind of loving this one and I might have to go back and get more.
Happy Friday all!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Not Cool...
...When I let you borrow a book from me, it's not cool when A. you keep it for over 2 months and B. you return it looking like this:
Seriously?
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Another Wedding!!!
...this past Saturday, we attended the last wedding of the wedding season. My co-worker Stacey got married! We only attended the reception. She had a gorgeous day for an outdoor wedding but since it was a smaller venue, she didn't invite everyone to the ceremony.
I must admit that I thought I looked pretty cute. First time for me in leggings! Too bad I didn't get a full length photo-sorry! Here I am though with my co-worker Paula (R) and my good friend Stevie (L). I'll be in her wedding next April.
Here's the beautiful bride. Her dress had so much detail on it, it was gorgeous! Yes, we are in the bathroom. This was the only time I ran into her!
Have fun on your honeymoon and see ya when you get back!
I must admit that I thought I looked pretty cute. First time for me in leggings! Too bad I didn't get a full length photo-sorry! Here I am though with my co-worker Paula (R) and my good friend Stevie (L). I'll be in her wedding next April.
Monday, October 24, 2011
World Series Baby!!!
...I am seriously the LUCKIEST girl alive! Not only has my dad taken my sis, H and I to an NLDS game AND a NLCS game BUT last Wednesday, he took us to our first ever WORLD SERIES game!!! It was Game 1 of the Cardinals vs Rangers at Busch Stadium. Thank you Prince Fielder (of the Brewers who we beat in the NLCS playoffs) for giving the National League the home field advantage by hitting a bomb during the All Star Game.
Unlike the first two games we went to, the temperatures were going to be frigid! I had on two pairs of socks, long underwear, jeans, a tshirt, longsleeve shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, stocking cap and when we sat down, I wrapped up in a fleece blanket. This girl was NOT cold! It did drizzle a bit but we hardly noticed with all the layers we had on.
We got to the game and found out we were in section 166-sweet! H and I were pretty excited, "World Series baby!!!"
This is me, my dad and my sis. Photo taken my 7 year old H which explains the angle.
Michelle Obama and Jill Biden came so security was "extra tight." Other than secret service on the roof of the stadium and you couldn't bring in outside drinks (thanks ladies for making me pay $5 for a bottled water), it wasn't tight at all. They must have left about inning 5 or 6 because the men on top of the stadium were gone by then.
We got there early enough so we ventured down to the field and H snapped this pic of me and my sis.
Probably like 100 military men and women came out and presented this HUGE flag for the National Anthem. It was pretty awesome!
Freese on second!
We won!!! H was so excited that she started crying. When we asked her why she said, "This is just SO awesome!" She's so sweet.
3-2 baby!!! Love that I caught this guy on the screen.
Let's go Cards!!! How about 11 in '11???
Unlike the first two games we went to, the temperatures were going to be frigid! I had on two pairs of socks, long underwear, jeans, a tshirt, longsleeve shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, stocking cap and when we sat down, I wrapped up in a fleece blanket. This girl was NOT cold! It did drizzle a bit but we hardly noticed with all the layers we had on.
We got to the game and found out we were in section 166-sweet! H and I were pretty excited, "World Series baby!!!"
Friday, October 21, 2011
Goodbye Lola...
...it is with great sadness that I found out fellow blogger, Lola, passed away this week. Almost one year ago, Lola was diagnosed with hypoplastic myelodysplastic sydrome and needed a bone marrow transplant to change save her life. Lola fight hard but in the end, it was her decision to stop the fight. Luckily, I had sent her an email back in August to check in with her and she'd sent me her CaringBridge site to keep tabs on her.
Straight from her father's words on her CaringBridge site: "Many have asked me what they can do to help or honor Laura's memory. I will share with you this fact & you can be guided accordingly. What kept Laura alive during the 8 months before and the 3 months after her bone marrow transplant, was the weekly transfusion of blood and platelets. Those blood products are ONLY available because of the generous & selfless donors who took the time to donate blood. It truly is the gift of life and the most direct way any of us can save another persons life. Please donate when you can."
So please next time you see a blood drive, stop and save three lives and do so in memory of Lola AKA Laura the Strong. Many prayers for her husband, parents and family and thank you Laura for being a part of blog land. Your strong will and fight is an inspiration for all of us.
Straight from her father's words on her CaringBridge site: "Many have asked me what they can do to help or honor Laura's memory. I will share with you this fact & you can be guided accordingly. What kept Laura alive during the 8 months before and the 3 months after her bone marrow transplant, was the weekly transfusion of blood and platelets. Those blood products are ONLY available because of the generous & selfless donors who took the time to donate blood. It truly is the gift of life and the most direct way any of us can save another persons life. Please donate when you can."
So please next time you see a blood drive, stop and save three lives and do so in memory of Lola AKA Laura the Strong. Many prayers for her husband, parents and family and thank you Laura for being a part of blog land. Your strong will and fight is an inspiration for all of us.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Monster Munch...
...so at my Game Night, I had high hopes of doing Halloween themed food but then I defaulted back to my usual...meatballs and chips/dip but I DID try to make Monster Munch. Let me tell you that the sauce is AMAZING...chocolate, peanut butter, marshmallows and butter. LOL-what's NOT to love??? Okay on to the recipe:
Ingredients
* 2 bags (3.3 oz each) ACT II® Butter Microwave Popcorn
* 4 cups corn-and-rice cereal
* 2 cups tiny pretzel twists
* 2 cups miniature marshmallows, divided
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
* 1/2 cup Peter Pan® Creamy or Crunchy Peanut Butter
* 1/4 cup Parkay® Original-stick
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 1 cup peanuts, optional
Directions
1. Prepare popcorn according to package directions. Remove all unpopped kernels. Combine popped corn, cereal and pretzels in large bowl.
2. Melt 1 cup of the marshmallows, chocolate morsels, peanut butter and Parkay in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Drizzle marshmallow mixture evenly over popcorn mixture, tossing to coat.
3. Sprinkle confectioners' sugar over mixture, tossing to coat. Spread mixture in single layer on large piece of waxed paper; cool completely.
4. Toss the remaining 1 cup marshmallows and peanuts, if desired, with popcorn mixture before serving. Store in tightly sealed container.
Here's my finished product, not pretty but oh so delicious! And this recipe makes a TON! I had two HUGE bowlfuls. Matt was happy because he got an entire bowl to himself which he deserved because he spent Friday night cleaning the house while I worked. Thank you Pretty!
The only bad thing was that I had powdered sugar EVERYWHERE!!!
Ingredients
* 2 bags (3.3 oz each) ACT II® Butter Microwave Popcorn
* 4 cups corn-and-rice cereal
* 2 cups tiny pretzel twists
* 2 cups miniature marshmallows, divided
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
* 1/2 cup Peter Pan® Creamy or Crunchy Peanut Butter
* 1/4 cup Parkay® Original-stick
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 1 cup peanuts, optional
Directions
1. Prepare popcorn according to package directions. Remove all unpopped kernels. Combine popped corn, cereal and pretzels in large bowl.
2. Melt 1 cup of the marshmallows, chocolate morsels, peanut butter and Parkay in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Drizzle marshmallow mixture evenly over popcorn mixture, tossing to coat.
3. Sprinkle confectioners' sugar over mixture, tossing to coat. Spread mixture in single layer on large piece of waxed paper; cool completely.
4. Toss the remaining 1 cup marshmallows and peanuts, if desired, with popcorn mixture before serving. Store in tightly sealed container.
Here's my finished product, not pretty but oh so delicious! And this recipe makes a TON! I had two HUGE bowlfuls. Matt was happy because he got an entire bowl to himself which he deserved because he spent Friday night cleaning the house while I worked. Thank you Pretty!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
It's All Fun & Games House Party!!!
...I won a House Party for a game night that I hosted this past weekend. Who doesn't love game nights? And now I've got 2 new games to add to my collection: "Quelf" and "Logo."
Apparently, "Quelf" is a pretty crazy "sit on your neighbor's lap" kind of game so we opted to play 2 games of Logo. Marcy won the first and Cece won the second. Basically, each round is a brand and asks 4 questions about their marketing. Some were really easy and others, I had no freakin' clue. Jen, of course, was great at this game and it even prompted a YouTube search of Pampers "Poop There It Is." FYI-I HATE that commerical.
Jen with her thinking jacket on:
Luckily, Matt got home in time to eat all the food we were gorging ourselves on and snap this picture.
It was a fun time and now we all have to get together again to play some "Quelf!" Thanks House Party!!!
Apparently, "Quelf" is a pretty crazy "sit on your neighbor's lap" kind of game so we opted to play 2 games of Logo. Marcy won the first and Cece won the second. Basically, each round is a brand and asks 4 questions about their marketing. Some were really easy and others, I had no freakin' clue. Jen, of course, was great at this game and it even prompted a YouTube search of Pampers "Poop There It Is." FYI-I HATE that commerical.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
NLCS Game 3-Go Cards!!!
...my sister, H and I have been VERY lucky ladies when it's come to Cardinals' Playoff games this year. My dad took us to Game 3 of the NLDS a couple weeks ago and last week, he took us to Game 3 of the NLCS. We got there early to check out the rally and so H could get her face painted. Here's H and I outside the Stadium with the Arch in the background:
If you haven't heard of the Rally Squirrel then you're missing out! I love the Rally Squirrel since squirrels are the mascot of my sorority. Here's H and my dad with the famous Jack Buck saying, "Go nuts, folks! Go nuts!" Turns out we couldn't take the signs in because they had advertising on the back-LAME!
Despite a Fredbird freakout (H is TERRIFIED of him!) and having to wait in line FOREVER to get her face painted (like 5 grandmas were in front of her and wanted some big elaborate decorations), I was SUPER excited we made it to the rally. Jack Clark and MIKE MATHENY were there and you could get your picture taken with them. Now let me tell you about Mike Matheny...he was the catcher for the Cardinals before Yadi. At Old Busch, you could hang out where the players parked and after games Matheny was the ONLY big-name player that would stop and talk to fans. And I don't just mean one or two, I mean EVERY game, win or lose, traveling the next day or not, Matheny would get out of his car and take a picture, sign autographs, shake hands with every.single.person. He is what every baseball player should be...loyal to his fans. I have a few pictures with him after games from back in 2003-2004 but, of course, now I can't find them because digital cameras weren't big then.
So we waited in line and finally got up there to take a picture with them. I told my sister before we went up there, "I'm standing next to Matheny!" I shook his hand and freaked out in my head when he put his hand on my back and then as our photo op ended, I knew I HAD to say something. I turned around and blurted out talking quickly, "OMG! I'm such a huge fan! I loved when you played for the Cardinals!" My sister nodded, "She is! She has pictures with you from then." H just stood between us smiling and wondering why we were acting so goofy. Matheny was super nice and laughed and smiled and thanked us. He's a pretty awesome guy in my book! My dad was being all chatty with Jack Clark and I had to tell him to stop talking during the picture. That's why him and Jack look funny.
We got to our seats and some people from Cape were seating just 2 rows behind us! They took this picture of us. Matt and his sister went to the game on Thursday night. My dad was there in the same seats we were in the night before. Turns out, Matt and his sis were in the exact same row just one section over!
The Rally Squirrel telling us to GO NUTS! FYI-last time the Brewers and Cards met in post season play was during the 1982 World Series (I wasn't even born yet!) AND...the Cardinals won!
And we brought home a winner! Cards won and took the lead in the series. Come on Cards-keep it going!!!
So we waited in line and finally got up there to take a picture with them. I told my sister before we went up there, "I'm standing next to Matheny!" I shook his hand and freaked out in my head when he put his hand on my back and then as our photo op ended, I knew I HAD to say something. I turned around and blurted out talking quickly, "OMG! I'm such a huge fan! I loved when you played for the Cardinals!" My sister nodded, "She is! She has pictures with you from then." H just stood between us smiling and wondering why we were acting so goofy. Matheny was super nice and laughed and smiled and thanked us. He's a pretty awesome guy in my book! My dad was being all chatty with Jack Clark and I had to tell him to stop talking during the picture. That's why him and Jack look funny.
Thanks Dad for taking us!!!
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