Happy Mother's Day

When I think of Mother's Day, I of course think of my mom. Thinking of her today was bittersweet. Every day without her is difficult, but days dedicated to her, bring the sting of her absence right back. However, I try to remain hopeful and positive that she is looking down from heaven, happy to know that her family is healthy and happy...and more importantly, growing.

I also think of Angie and Julie on Mother's Day.

Happy Mother's Day to Julie - the mother of my two nephews, Matthew & Jake. Since the day Matthew was born he has changed all of our lives and brought so much love and laughter to this family. And Jake has been a constant reminder that boys will be boys and we love him for it. I love my nephews so much and am so grateful that Julie brought them into our lives. Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to Angie - the mother of my niece, Sofia. Sofia was a gift to this family when we needed it the most and has been blessing us ever since her surprise arrival two in a half years ago. Her sweet nature and silly personality will always warm my heart and make me laugh. Thank you Angie - Happy Mother's Day

And to my soon to be family...

Jeff - thank you for making me feel so special today and for giving me the confidence I need to take on this endeavour. You made my first Mother's Day very special - I love my new chairs and the card was very precious!

To Baby K - I didn't know I could love someone I have never met. We are so excited to meet you and no matter how much time I think I need, I so excited to be your Mom!

To all of my aunts, cousins, friends...Happy Mother's Day!!!

Easter 2010

Happy Belated Easter! We had a nice holiday this year. Low-key, but very fun and filled with family and friends.

Louis came in town Saturday afternoon from Austin and spent the evening with us. We went to the local Mexican meat market (there are a lot of them in Oak Cliff) and bought some fajita meat. The boys prepared a mini-Mexican feast, which turned out to be delicious! It was fun to relax for the evening and catch up with Louis. He comes in to town occasionally, but this was the first time we had been able to settle down and just hang. It was fun! Louis - come back more often!

The next day was Easter and I had decided earlier in the week to cook myself instead of going out for brunch. Growing up we always ate ham after church so I figured I'd start the tradition back up again. Louis and Emi pitched in and we had quite the spread. I made scalloped potatoes, ham, and deviled eggs. Emi made her famous salad and Louis brought the peace de la resistance: homemade key lime pie.





I failed to photograph the key lime pie since I was too busy eating it, but I did manage to snap a shot of my FAVORITE Easter treat...



Growing up, my mom would give each one of us a Cadbury egg. I loved them then and I love them now.

It was a nice, relaxing day which is exactly what I wanted. Later on in the afternoon, the neighborhood kids had a Easter Egg Hunt. I love our block. All the neighbors came out to watch, drink wine, and spent the afternoon catching up.

Here is a great action shot our neighbor Jeff took on Sunday.



This weekend was a perfect reminder of how blessed I am and gave me an opportunity to be grateful. And it got us ready and excited for this...



Go Rangers!

We are off to Kansas City tomorrow to visit the inlaws one last time before Baby K gets here! It will be a great weekend filled with family and our first baby shower. Dan, Angie, and Sofia are even coming. Stay tuned for lots of pictures!

Miss Me?

Where have I been? Sorry for the delay in postings, but I haven't had much to say. I suppose it is time for a pregnancy update. To give a quick review, I'll let you in on a few things that have happened since I posted last:

1. I turned 28 on March 19th
2. Enjoyed wearing flip-flops and the snow all in one weekend.
3. Spent an amazing Birthday weekend with my family and friends.
4. Had a friend's car stolen from our front yard. Seriously.
5. Finished registering for all things bebe.
6. My very best friend Tracey visited us from CA.

26 Weeks.

This week I went to see Dr. Blewitt and was given a glucose test. All my mommy friends warned me about the nasty tasting juice they force you to gulp down. Maybe I have a undistinguished palette, because my orange (extra-syrupy) juice wasn't so bad. I gulped, swallowed, and would have happily had more. Maybe it was because it tasted like extra sweet Orange Sunkist, not the diet kind. Mmm...

Dr. B says everything is good with Baby K. I am measuring normal (whatever that means, right?) and baby and I look great. I'll take it. I go back at the end of the month for a sonogram, which I'm very excited about. I haven't seen our girl since early February, but I have felt her!!!

I started feeling pulses in my lower abdomen early last week. It.was.weird. I had heard that in the beginning feeling the baby was similar to gas, but this was defintely something different. Since then, I have felt rolls and pulses every single day, some more powerful than others. I feel her the most when I'm lying on my back. It is pretty phenomenal. Jeff's eyes when he felt her for the first time were priceless. He always figured feeling her move would freak him out, but I think he is adjusting to our little ones movements and secretly enjoying them. Feeling our girl together has to be one of my favorite parts of this pregnancy together.

So, I'm feeling good. Nothing out of the ordinary. I get up to use the bathroom 483 times a night, am starting to each chicken again (woo!), and am extra tired, but can never get comfy...awww, pregnancy joys!! Although, the ice cream cravings have reared its ugly head. Mint chocolate chip is so, so good. Luckily, my sweet Jeff has taken me to Baskin Robbins two days in a row. He said that was enough, though. I hate when he is right.

I think I may need one of these soon, though.

Baby Bump

Twenty-Two Weeks

Jeff and I started dating during the Fall of 2006 and have made traveling a priority ever since. This will be the first year that that we won't be able to take a vacation, so I have been going down memory lane this morning of our travels.

Join me...

Our first trip together...

San Diego, April 2007



Kansas City, June 2007 (Also my first trip to visit his family)



New York City, August 2007



Note: We have one picture from our NYC trip which I don't have on my computer. However, we did go to Yankee Stadium to watch the Royals lose to the Yankees.

Miami, October 2007



Greenville, SC & Atlanta, GA, May 2008



San Francisco, June 2008



Playa del Carmen, January 2009



Chicago, May 2009



Thanks for taking me on so many adventures, Jeff.

Even though we aren't going on a vacation this year, we are looking forward to the best adventure yet: parenthood.

Pregnancy Cravings

Lucky Charms. They're my breakfast of champions!



Lemon Flavored ANYTHING.



Bomb Pops. I remember eating these as a kid with my brother David.



Cupcakes. I'm not picky from where, but they have the prettiest ones.



Sunkist Orange Drink (I even buy the diet kind)



Notice I'm not craving any vegetables...

Happy Anniversary to Angie & Dan!

Today celebrates 8 years of marriage for them. Wow!

8 Years Ago Today:

1. A major ice storm hit DFW
2. En route to the church, Angie & I slid into a guard rail on the highway.
3. After the guardrail incident, Angie cursed...a lot.
4. After a beautiful ceremony, we danced the day away.
5. My mom and dad celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary while watching their first daughter dance with her new husband.

Happy Anniversary to Dan & Angie - Love you both!

(insert cute picture of Angie & Dan here) Oops, don't have one!

Today also marks what would have been my parents 42nd wedding anniversary.

Today is bittersweet, but with my mother's untimeley death almost three years ago, I can only be grateful to what she instilled in all of us. And as a newly married woman, what my parents gave me; which is an example of a long, loving marriage.

Jeff & I are very lucky and have always been grateful that both of our parents marriages have been long and filled with love, honor, and respect. We could not have better role models.

Thanks to Moms & Dads.



Photo taken at a family reunion in Miami Beach in June 2006.

Road Tripping

I'm headed to Houston this weekend to register with my sister for all things baby. It seems like a daunting task, and one that I am not remotely capable of doing on my own, so Angie to the rescue! Thanks, Angie!

It should be a good time since I will finally be able to get my fix here. I have been craving these cheese enchiladas since I became pregnant. Yum!

I'll also get to give this sweet girl kisses.



Isn't her shirt cute? Her favorite aunt has amazing taste.

And I'm off...

Don't Buy Me This

Heidi Klum must not pee 187 times while pregnant.

To see the rest of her collection click here.

Cuarenta Dias (Forty Days)

Today is the first day of Lent. If you're not Catholic, read about it here. Typically, I would give something up like sweets or sodas, but this year I have decided to take something on.

I have decided to start watching Spanish Novelas aka Spanish Soap Operas.

Odd, I know. However, in an attempt to improve my Spanish language skills, I am taking some sound advice from my Aunt, and watching novelas. Yes, it is totally random.

Jeff and I have discussed how important it is to us to raise our daughter to be bilingual. Although, Spanish is not my native language, I grew up in a Spanish speaking household, therefore, consider myself bilingual. I know this will be a very difficult task since Jeff does not speak Spanish, but I'm hoping to raise our little one with Jeff speaking English to her and me speaking Spanish to her. I know it can be done.

I also picked up a book the other day to aid me with the process. It isn't about teaching me a language, but how to create a bilingual environment for your child. It has given me a lot of confidence thus far.



So as I embark on this journey I hope to learn and not fall completely victim to the novelas. Luckily, unlike American soaps, there is an ending. I figure that I watch bad American television, so why not improve my skills by watching bad Spanish television in the process???

Buena Suerte (Good Luck)

90 is the new 20

Friday morning we were supposed to have an 8am flight to Miami, but instead we did this:



and this



After begging Jeff to play with me, he reluctantly agreed. I lasted 10 minutes.

And after our playtime ended, we got the good word: we could fly out of DFW if we hussled and made the 2:45 flight. We made it, but not without some, okay a lot, of hiccups.

First off, let me just mention that in most instances we would have canceled our trip and cut our losses, but this wasn't just any trip. We were meeting all of Jeff's family in Ft. Lauderdale to celebrate his grandmother's (Nana) 90th birthday. Bottom line: we were not missing this trip. ONE of us was going to be there.

When we arrived to the airport I, a seasoned traveler, realized that I had no wallet, which posed a delay with in itself, but more on that later (I'm still letting Jeff recover from the shock).

We finally reached our gate, scarfed down some oh-so-healthy McDonalds and were ready to board the flight. Our plane hadn't made it yet, but we weren't too worried, so we waited a bit longer, no big deal. Then the waiting became a little bit concerning, since we had a connection in Ft. Meyers into Miami, but again, what can we do, right? Then we finally got to our seats (middle for me, aisle for Jeff) and thought we were on our way...we thought wrong. After sitting on the plane for 2 hours due to absolutely NO reason, we were off...nope, just kidding we weren't off. We had to mosey on over to be de-iced. And considering DFW airport probably has 1 de-icing truck and maybe 2 guys that know how to do it, it took a bit longer. So after a being de-iced we really were on our way...for real this time, I promise.

We arrived in Ft. Meyers knowing we had missed our connection, starving, and ready to get off the plane (mostly due to the obnoxious drunk guy next to me that put away 5 Jack Daniels during our flight). However, we were in luck! Our connecting flight had also been delayed, so we had time to eat and regroup. Our connecting flight finally took off close to 11pm and we were lucky enough to receive the poorest customer service from an American Eagle crew ever, see a random act of kindness, and an old lady go batsh!t crazy on the said AE crew. It was all very entertaining.

So at exactly 12:07 am EST, we arrived in Miami; 5 hours after originally scheduled. There was no point in heading to Ft. Lauderdale now, so my Dad kindly put us up for the night AND let us borrow his car for the weekend. More on Dad's sweet new digs later... However, a VERY BIG THANK YOU PAPI for helping us out and letting us crash!

We finally made it to Lighthouse Point where Nana lives to meet up with some family. I was so surprised to see how many out of towners had come in for Nana's big day! We had an awesome weekend catching up with all the family.

Since pictures are much more exciting, I'll leave you all with weekend pictures.

It was also my mother in law, Nancy's birthday on the 14th, so we a lot to celebrate. However, so you don't get confused, Sunday was about Nana, not Nancy.

Saturday; February 13th

A mini-birthday celebration for Nancy at The Stained Glass Pub



Notice Cousin Fred. I think he might be calling Nana to tell her someone is trying to steal herthunder

Then later that evening the entire group (appox 30 of us) went to watch some basketball and have dinner. And we threw in another birthday surprise for Nancy...



Uncle Frank apparently didn't get the memo on the party hat



Look! John is smiling!



Happy Birthday Nancy-Mom! We love you and hope you had a great day.

On to Nana's big day!

Sunday; February 14th

The party was held at the Lighthouse Point Yacht Club. It was a gorgeous day and 50 guests (36 from out of town) came to celebrate. It was great time!





Nana greeting her many guests



Cousins (from L to R): Jeff, Matthieu, Darcy, Tim, & Kelly



Avery showing off her walking skills (notice her cute designer shoes)



Jeff & Uncle Todd



Matthieu & Tim



Poor Avery didn't get to enjoy the ice cream sundae bar. She settled for her finger.





CAKE!



Happy Birthday Nana! We love you!

Despite a few travel challenges, we had an awesome weekend. We were so grateful to see so much of our family and celebrate such a milestone.

Need A Laugh?

Yeah, I did too.



This is my all-time favorite SNL "Debbie Downer" skit. It embodies all things funny, including the cast, the setting, and Lindsay Lohan (pre Rehab, Daddy issues, and lesbian love affair).

Enjoy!

Snowing in Dallas

209 S. Windomere covered in snow.



Hope everyone is enjoying the snowy day!

Peer Pressure is Not Always a Bad Thing

I have caved. Peer pressure has gotten the best of me, and here I am, starting a blog. There could be many reasons that I am doing this, but really one justified my decision. No, it was not my husband or my family. Well, in a way it was my family, but I certainly will not give my sister (visit her blog at here) that much credit.

I or shall I say WE, have another reason.

Here she is:

It is true. We are pregnant and it is a girl!

Wow, are we surprised. Okay, I'm surprised. Never in my life have I imagined being a mother to a daughter, never. Jeff doesn't seem too shocked, but that is okay because I am shocked enough for the both of us. Our little girl is due July 10, 2010.

Yes, I know, it will be hot. Really.really.hot.

I welcome this blog journey and hope I can entertain you (my one reader) to keep reading.