The state of things

I’m out of the first trimester. YEE-HAW!! I wish I had some exciting baby bump pictures to post but I don’t. The bump has failed to appear as of yet. I have a feeling that it will make an appearance over the holidays though. I am 14 weeks as of today and I better see something soon!

I’ve taking on a bit of a droopy pants look lately and I must say, it’s not very flattering. Given my utter repulsion of most food for the first 12 or so weeks, I dropped a few pounds. On a shrimpy gal like myself, that’s all it takes to alter the proper fitting of a nice pair of pants. Again, with the holidays right around the corner, I’m sure I’ll have easily found those lost pounds.

So what else is new on the pregnancy front?

• Now that I have energy, I’ve signed up for 2 prenatal yoga classes that start after the first of the year and am going to the gym on a regular basis. I got the red light from my OB at around 8 weeks on the running due to some minor complications, so I don’t exactly leave the gym dripping in sweat.
• I still can’t go through the night without going to the bathroom at least 3 times.
• I have an inexplicable rash on my arms.
• I still haven’t had a drop of caffeine since day one.
• Pickles are a very true craving stereotype, at least for me. I think about mini dill pickles during the day and immediately eat 3 of them as soon as I walk in the door. I do not share these jars of pickled goodness with Jeff.
• The baby has a super high heart rate and everybody thinks I’m having a girl which automatically leads me to believe that it will be a boy.
  
  That’s about all I know at this point.

The of Story of Us - one year later.

One year ago today we ended the many miles of driving to see each other every weekend to become permanent roommates. December 1, 2007 did not include the bitter cold and snow that we have today. It was relatively warm and windy - we were even able to take a few pictures outside. This day was many years in the making even though we had only been together a little over 2 years when we said our vows. Our mutual friend, Beth, planted the seed many years ago at a time when exploring a new relationship wasn't possible for either one of us.

A long distance relationship didn't seem like a very attractive option until about 30 minutes into our first date. Then it didn't seem so unlikely. And so began the thousands of miles travelled. Here we are, 1 year later, 1 house later, 1 tiny baby on the way. Marriage isn't easy but the benefits far outweigh the costs. Yep, we are blessed.

Whatchu talkin' bout?

I’ve been contemplating how I’m going to put this news out there for a while. Actually, I already did in my last post but that wasn’t a formal announcement (or was it?). So here it goes – we are having a baby. To actually type that is so odd to me. Saying it out loud is stranger still. I have to keep something alive. Inside of me. For a total of 9 months. Crazy.

We found out the first week in October. It was a Wednesday and Jeff was out of town on business. I had peed about 15 times a day for the last few days but didn’t think anything was up. I’m not sure what possessed me to take that test but I when I got home from work, I walked straight into the bathroom and did it. The “line” appeared immediately. My first instinct was that the test was defective. Then I calmly changed clothes and went for a run. But first I took a picture of myself with the test.

I sat in a semi-comatose state for the next couple of hours after my run. Jeff was supposed to arrive home soon so I snapped back into reality and decided to get creative with my announcement. The best my scattered brain could come up with was to write on his bathroom mirror in lipstick because I knew he would go straight upstairs and take a shower after arriving home.

So I did and he did and we hugged and I got the shakes and I shook for the next 2 days. I’m not shaking anymore though. I’m just kind of sick :-).

I've been tagged

My friend Jen decided to tag me. I'm supposed to tell 7 random things about myself and then tag 7 more people. Unfortunately most people that read my blog do not write blogs of their own so the tagging may end here. So here it goes...

7. I stopped growing in the 8th grade. Height, hands, feet – still the same as 8th grade. Well, I should clarify - I stopped growing up. I’ve grown out in a few places since I was 13.

6. Speaking of height, I absolutely loath being short. On a really good day with my very best posture I can squeak up to 5’2”. But who am I kidding. My parents are 5’1” and 5’7”. I didn’t have a chance.

5. I was my sorority's president my senior year of college. This isn’t really an odd fact but many people think its amusing when I tell them that I was the president of a Delta Delta Delta chapter, which is really only funny to anybody who watched Saturday Night Live in the early 90’s (“Delta Delta Delta…can I help ya, help ya, help ya!”).

4. Stand up comedians do nothing for me. It’s the whole “I know you are trying to make me laugh” thing. I guess I’m more into unpredictable humor.

3. My parents are not divorced. This is not an odd fact. What’s odd is that in my circle of nearest and dearest friends, every single one of their parents’ marriages are firmly intact. Hopefully this will carry on through our marriages as well.

2. From 8th grade through my senior year, I was a cheerleader every year except for one. My sophomore year, the speech and debate coach convinced me to be on the team but that meant I couldn't try out for cheerleading. She thought I would be good at it. I was pretty good, won a few awards, semi-conquered my fear of public speaking. Not a big surprise to anybody – I tried out for cheerleading again my junior year and ditched the debate team.

1. I was super duper scared to get married. Now I’m super duper scared to be a mom. I have about 7 months to conquer that fear.

Puppy love

I met a woman in Forest Park a couple of days ago who was walking her Boston Terrier with her family. Being the BT fanatics that Jeff and I are, we stopped and talked to them about common BT quirks, how crazy Annie is, etc... After they walked away, we realized we had met the most Boston Terrier obsessed person ever. Its not uncommon for people to open up about how much they love their dogs when we meet other BT owners because they are such a funny breed of dog. This woman took it to a whole new level when she told us that she has created a blog for her dog, written from the perspective of the Boston Terrier. Wow. It was amusing to watch her teenage son and daughter roll their eyes behind her because their mom had gone off the doggy deep end. In a small way, I can kind of relate (as much as I hate to admit it). In June of 2004, I picked Annie out of a litter of 5 puppies when she was just 5 days old. She was the only female and the runt. I loved her perfect little half and half face. I e-mailed the breeder constantly, asking for updates and pictures until I could take her home at 8 weeks. Looking back on it now, I'm sure that I purchased her from a puppy mill because of the sheer volume of dogs that the breeder had. Knowing what I know now about those places, I probably wouldn't have given my money to this breeder but then again, I wouldn't have my Annie. So I tell myself that I saved her life and that makes me feel better.

Annie - 2 weeks

Annie - 5 weeks

Annie is a little over 4 years old now and loves her stepdad, Jeff, very much even though he wants to enforce the rules and not let her sleep under the covers. He threatens to ship her back to Springfield when she refuses to go outside to potty when it rains. She's a diva and she doesn't like to get her feet wet. I can't blame her. I wouldn't want to get rained on either when I'm trying to do my business. I bought her Halloween costume today and decided that she's going to be a piglet this year. Its appropriate because she is notorious for snorting like a pig when she is mad, excited, or drinks too fast. Jeff hasn't seen the costume yet but when he does, he will respond with complete silence and a look of exasperation. Maybe pity. Who knows.

So maybe I'm not too far off from the lady in the park. I never understood people who become so attached to their pets until I got her. I get it now.

Lisa and Jonathan's wedding

Jeff's sister, Lisa, got married last Sunday and it was absolutely beautiful. I'm a week late on this post because it was quite the wedding extravaganza and its taken us a week to recover! Lisa's husband, Jonathan (Jon, JP), is a great guy, brother-in-law, doctor, etc... He's a catch. His proposal to Lisa is one for the record books. Picture this - in July 2007 they went to Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. This is where he proposed. On the summit. At sunrise. Seriously.
So after over a year of planning, the wedding weekend arrived. Friends and family flew in from all over the country. I was happy to be able to reintroduce myself to all of Jeff's family since the only time I had met them was at our wedding. The wedding was a huge celebration and celebrate we did. The only pictures I have are from the reception but thankfully my camera decided to play nice for a little while.

Hava Nagila

Lisa and the parents (my in-laws)

All the new siblings

Showering Beth

I hosted a shower for Beth on Saturday and crammed way too many people into our house. Beth and I have been friends for 17 years. Jeff and I love her and her husband, Mike, like they are family. We are so excited to meet the little guy.

The shower turned out great as Beth left with tons of loot for her baby boy. This was Beth's FOURTH and final shower before his arrival. The worst part of the day was that my camera is officially a piece of junk and only wanted to take fuzzy pictures. Thankfully, Mandy was kind enough to send me hers.

Soon to be Momma

Me and my awful, POS camera

The quilt that Sarah made. She's crafty.

Ashley, Missy, and Rachel with jazz hands

Should've bought stock in Babies R' Us

Given that Jeff and I are right on the edge of 30, it makes sense that every time we turn around, another friend is announcing that they are pregnant. Or we are going to a christening. Or a baby shower. Or a 1st birthday party. Or a 2nd birthday party…..you get the picture. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of these kids and its especially exciting when one of our close friends announces a pregnancy because its like getting a little niece or nephew. Even though all of our friends are in the prime child bearing years, it never ceases to amaze me when I find out that a friend is pregnant. I can’t seem to wrap my head around that whole “a child is growing inside of you” concept. Its crazy, strange, and absolutely unbelievable. If and when we are blessed to have a little one, I will probably be in a state of shock for at least a week (or 9 months) just trying to absorb the responsibility of having to sustain a life.

With all that being said, back to the subject at hand – babies/toddlers are flippin’ expensive! I spent my lunch break yesterday at Babies R’ Us, which should never be confused with a Toys’ R Us that has a baby section. Babies R’ Us is a whole different ball game. I lose all sense of spending self control in there. I cannot simply walk in and walk out with something off of a registry or the gift that I already had in mind. I have to throw in an extra pack of environmentally friendly diapers or stretch mark cream for a pregnant friend or a pack of Lightening McQueen “big boy” underwear for a potty training toddler. Does the unborn child of my best friend need a Halloween sleeper that says “Little Monster” on it? Nope, probably not. Did I go ahead and buy it anyway? Yes, because it’s that dang cute.

Summer in the City

About a month or so after Jeff and I became engaged, we bought our house in South City. We searched everywhere - Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Soulard. Everything was either way out of our price range or on the verge of being condemned. We were starting to give up hope when our realtor suggested we look at a house that wasn't on the market yet. The family had 2 small boys and mom didn't like the thought of having to keep the house clean for last minute showings. We reluctantly went, dragging along Mike and Beth for second opinions, and fully expected to leave disappointed. It was kind of a strange showing since the current owners were there while we peeked in their closets and wandered through their bedrooms. It was certainly the first and most likely the last time we will receive a house showing from two toddler boys. Jonah and Jakey were so excited to show off their house and were very curious why the 4 strangers were coming to live with them. Their mom seemed like kind of a germaphobe and (as I found out later from the neighbors) rarely let the kids leave the house. No wonder they were so happy to see us. They probably thought we were there to set them free. Despite the weirdness, their amateur realtor skills paid off and we put in an offer the next day.

Its not just the house we love though. The neighborhood has all of the quaint personality that I have always imagined with living in the city. We decided we didn't want to cook one night last week, so we walked a few blocks down to Onesto, a fabulous new Italian place with awesome homemade tiramisu and arancini. A couple of nights later we walked down to Lily's Mexican (not a whole lot of cooking going on in our house). We've got a great coffee shop, running store, and local deli within steps. My newest discovery is a yoga studio, Southtown Yoga, that's right around the corner. I may sound a little new-agey, but this place gave me a great vibe the first time I practiced there. In my 10 or so years practicing yoga, I've tried several studios and I always know within the first few minutes if I will enjoy my experience. STY was warm, calm, and unpretentious. My kind of place.

Of course the area isn't without faults. I've had a few traffic tickets since moving up here (didn't move for the street cleaners, parked too close to the fire hydrant), we park on the street instead of a garage, and I can't run 2 blocks east of our house for fear that some drugged up sketchball off of KingsHighway will drag me into an alley and have his way with me. Nonetheless, we are happy living our urban lives right now and both know that this is exactly where we need to be in this relatively carefree, childless time in our lives.

Squirrel thieves

I had the luxury of growing up with fresh vegetables every summer since my parents have always had a garden. My Grandma and Grandpa Jernigan had a garden on their farm bigger than most backyards. Now that I'm a city girl, I decided to try my hand in a little "city gardening". I started small, just 2 porch tomato plants on our back deck. With all of the rain that we've had, the plants had grown so large that I considered transplanting them into the ground. At last count, I had EIGHT lovely tomatoes that were getting ready to turn red. That was until yesterday. Jeff called me at work and told me that while he was home yesterday for a bit, he let Annie out and decided to check on my beloved plants. Apparently squirrels like unrippened tomatoes and the little bandits made off with 6 of them. While I am irritated, I kind of have to laugh at the thought of a tiny squirrel hopping on our deck, plucking the tomatoes from the vines and dashing off through the yard with a tomato half their size in their itsy bitsy mouth. I hope that my rodent neighbors will be merciful and spare me the last 2. I'm not going to hold my breath though.

Cali pictures

Northern Cali vacation

We had a fantastic time in Napa and San Francisco June 25 - 30. Five couples went and we shared a beautiful house located on its own vineyard. We hit several wineries each day, ate amazing food, and completely blew our budget. We ended up the trip with one night in San Fran. Somebody should have warned me how different the San Fran summers are from the sticky midwest! Apparently Mark Twain was right when he said "The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco."

For some odd reason, I can't get the slideshow of pictures to play without creating its own post (I'm still a blogging novice) so you can see the pictures above.

Whirlwind trip

We made a brief trip to the motherland over the weekend for a variety of reasons. Mom and Dad have graciously offered to dogsit for TWO WHOLE WEEKS while we are in Napa. No, we aren't going to be in Napa for 2 weeks but darling Annie will be away at summer camp for that long until we return to Springfield for the Bright's 4th of July extravaganza. We also came down to have a belated birthday party for yours truly (the sun has just about set on my twenties), a belated Father's Day, and to see the newly born and incredibly beautiful Mylie Beth Bright. Here are the highlights of the weekend:

• Mom continued her streak of always providing a Dairy Queen ice cream cake for my birthday. I think she may be up to year 18 or something.


• Springfield has also continued its streak of having the most bizarre weather in the continental US. Two hours before the cookout, it hailed so much Dad had to shovel the back deck. By the time he lit the grill, the sun was shining.


• There were 5 little ones ages 3 and under at the house on Saturday night. It was loud, hilarious, and felt like family.


• Baby Mylie got confused when Mom was holding her and decided it was time to eat. She went in, tiny little mouth wide open, for Mom's chest.


• While the boys played hooky and went to the golf course on Sunday, Mom and I went to church with Grandma. I sat downstairs with Grandma & her buddies and listened to a chorus of dying hearing aide batteries through the entire service.

Jeff and Jackson

Big brother Austin

Brooklyn and Daddy (shortly after she demonstrated to me how to breastfeed with her baby that I gave her).

Home Improvement

Projects, projects, projects. We are always in the middle of something with this lovely old house. This week has become the install-wood-flooring-in-the-upstairs week. I had my doubts when Jeff told me before we went to bed on Saturday night that he wanted to rip out the carpet the next morning. I was thinking "yea right". We, being the childless folks that we are, had rolled in around 2:15am and I was looking forward to that "no work on Sundays" part of the Sabbath. But I was wrong. And here's the progress.

The bedroom

The hubby hard at work on the hallway.

Annie hates the mess and the noise.

Don't feel sorry for Jeff. He's not doing all of the work. I was on carpet pad staple removing duty the first day. I was excited to help on a task that Jeff had successfully convinced me was very important to the whole process. By the end of the day I painfully learned why he didn't want that job - I had blisters on my fingers. I declared myself out of commission the next 2 days. I was then demoted to water fetching duty. I'm happy to play waitress though because So You Think You Can Dance is on tonight and y'all know that can't be missed.

Here we go

I’ve been threatening the hubby for a while that I am going to start one of these things. You see, the thing is he is an intensely private person and I’m the polar opposite. I simply cannot keep information to myself. For those of you who know us, its no secret that we’ve gone through some pretty significant changes in our lives over the past year. We went from cultivating a wonderful long distance relationship into joining the married club. I left my job, home, and single status of nearly 29 years in Springfield, MO. So is now the appropriate time to start this silly blog? I can’t think of a reason why not…….