Updates

I wrote in the post about my Grandpa that I had a lot of updates to do. But I'm going to just roll them into one long post. (And it probably won't be super long because I'm kinda tired!).

Friday:
Friday was a SUPER long day. Dominick and I got up and he went to daycare. I spent the rest of the day cleaning the house, running errands, and making chocolates. After Nick got home and picked up Dominick for me, I ran to the grocery store. We were having one of Nick's old co-workers over for dinner and I didn't have anything to make. So I ran to Schnucks. I got the ingredients for a lasagna and salad and some garlic bread and headed home to cook real quick. Luckily dinner turned out fine and we had a good time. They left around 9ish and I changed clothes and headed up to the Relay for Life. I got there around 9:30 and started walking with my friend, Abbie. I told her I couldn't stay long and would only walk 3 miles. Well that turned into 4 miles which turned into 5 miles which turned into 6 miles, which turned into "Let's Run a Mile!" which turned into we have to do a cool down mile....I ended up doing 8 miles. I was proud of that. (Although not as cool as Abbie who stayed all night and did 18 Miles!!) I ended up leaving around 2 a.m. I went home and went to bed only for Dom to wake up at 3:30. I got him back down around 4 and then he was up for good at 6:45.

Here's a few pics of Friday night (courtesy of Abs):




Saturday:
Well, like I said, Saturday started bright and early. Nick had to work so it was just me and Dom. I got up and continued to make the chocolates for Michelle's bridal shower. Around 10 I got ready to head out to my mom's, which is where the shower was. It took me about 4 trips to my car to get everything loaded. It was so HOT! I started the car early (I didn't want my son to suffer or my chocolates to melt). Then I brought out my stuff to make my fruit salad, my computer, my camera, the diaper bag, my purse, the presents, the chocolates and finally Dom. It was a lot. When I got there my aunt Lisa came to watch Dom while my mom and I finished up. The shower ended up being really fun and we had a great time.

Here's a picture of some of the bridesmaids and the bride at the shower (Left to Right - Suzanne, Meghan, Michelle, Ashley, Winnie):


And me and Dom at the shower:


Straight from the shower I headed to Nick's sister, Kate's house for her daughter's first birthday party! Little Jillie is one! We had a good time, although I almost fell asleep the whole time! And Kate took a cute picture of all the grandkids with Nani. I don't have a copy of that yet but I'll post it when I get it. I'm sure it's adorable.

We left around 9ish and went home. We fed Dom and put him right to bed and then Nick and I crashed. We were both so tired.

Sunday:
Was a lazier day but we still had stuff to do. We had my family reunion. At first we were going to skip it but a lot of people there had never met Dominick. I was barely pregnant at the last family reunion. I'm glad we went. We were going to go to the movies afterward (my cousin was going to watch Dom) but he was so tired that he cried and cried so we just went home. Thank goodness we did! Nick and I were asleep with Dom by 9!

It was a LONG weekend, but we had a good time. It's the summer though. I think every weekend from here on out is going to be a LONG weekend!

Happy Summer!

Martini Mondays!

Last night Nick and I had a few people over to celebrate Martini Mondays. It was great. Until I got up this morning! I haven't drank like that in a LONG time. I'm actually pretty impressed with myself that I did get up and come to work today! We tried four different martinis. Here's what they were:

The Indiana Martini:
   * 1.25 oz. Smirnoff Raspberry Flavored Vodka
    * 0.25 oz. triple sec
    * 3 oz. lemon-lime soda
    * 1 piece cherry

The Ultimate Blue Cosmopolitan:
* 1 oz. Citrus Vodka
    * .5 oz. blue curacao
    * 1 oz. white cranberry juice
    * 1 squeeze fresh lime juice
    * 1 piece lemon zest twist

The Vodka Royal Cosmopolitan:
* 1 oz. Citris Vodka
    * .5 oz. champagne
    * 1 oz. cranberry juice
    * 1 splash triple sec
    * 1 splash lime juice
    * 1 twist orange

And the Lemon Drop Martini:
* 1.25 oz. Vodka
    * .25 oz. triple sec
    * .75 oz. lemon juice


They were good and we had a great time. I think my favorite was the blue one or the royal one. They were delicious!

All in all, Martini Mondays are fun, but must be used sparingly.

The Moonwalk

So I steal all my good blogs from BK. You guys should just follow his blog! But for those who don't, here's his latest post.

A tribute to Michael Jackson. Watch the whole thing. It's cute...

Grandpa

Just wanted to add a post that my Grandpa is OK! He is on antibiotics and should be better this week. Thank goodness!

I have a lot of updates to do but no time right now. I'll try to get to them soon though. This update was the most important.

Wordless Wednesdays

Book Club!

This month's book club was the Twilight Saga. It wasn't supposed to be, but since we had all just finished (or were about to) we figured we'd better just make the book club about Twilight because we'd probably end up talking about it anyway!



The meeting was at Mike's house and it was great! The mood was set up for Twilight. He had candles lit everywhere and some "wilderness" music on in the background. The food was very Twilight Saga-esque. For those of you who have read it - Edward only eats a few things in the books (Pizza and Cake) and Mike served us Bagel Bites and Little Debbie Fancy Cakes! Also Bella goes crazy over eggs in one book so he also served us Deviled Eggs. Delicious! And "blood" red Sangria!



Our group grew by a member this month! We welcomed Abbie's sister, Erin, to our club. The meeting was great. I know a LOT of you out there think I'm a big nerd for loving to read and being in a book club, but I LOVE it. We had a great meeting. Seriously. We talked about the books and had some great discussions. And had a LOT of Sangria! It was amazing how much we could talk about these books. We'd ask a question and that would set us off for about 10 minutes before even taking a breath! And it was neat how much we argued our points. It's very cool to hear someone else's perspective of a book. They caught some things I didn't. And vice versa.



After discussing the book for awhile, we played some games. For anyone who has read the series, you know that nice cars are a big deal to the Cullen's. So Mike had a bunch of Hot Wheels cars to match the cars from the books. We had Bella's old Chevy, Charlie's police car, Edward's Volvo, Jacob's Volkswagon, Alice's Porsche, Emmett's Jeep and more! We had some car races for fun (after two pitchers of Sangria). Then we went outside and played some wiffle ball in Mike's yard (like the Cullen's in the clearing).



It was an awesome night. I didn't get home until 11:00 p.m. Nick was already sleeping and I felt guilty for coming home so late but I had a good time and Dominick was an angel so it all worked out.

Next month's book is Running with Scissors (which I just finished) so I'll have to read something else in the meantime. I had a great time though!

And yes, I'm fully aware that I'm a dork! :-)

Dominick is 5 months old already?!?!?!?

He is! He's getting so old! :)

Here are his 5 months stats (not official since we don't go back to the doc until 6 months but based on my calculations):

Height - 28.5"
Weight - 20 lbs.
Head - 42.5 cm.

Such a big boy!!

Happy birthday Dom (one day late!)!!

My Grandpa

My grandpa needs a few prayers. We really don't know what's wrong with him yet. He went to a doc yesterday and they are sending him for a CAT scan today and a small outpatient surgery tomorrow to check some of his internal organs.

I'm a big worry wart in my family so I'm trying my best not to freak out until I'm told to freak out but it's hard. Please keep my Gramps in your prayers.

Thanks.

Protected

Random, but Nick and I got a home security system last night. Installed and everything. It was very strange but worked out perfectly.



I was feeding Dom some carrots, sweet potatoes and green beans, when there was a knock at the door. I went to the door (covered in orange goo) and there was a business guy on the front steps. He started telling me about this new home security system that GE made and is trying to get the word out. Because they are looking for "free" advertising, they were installing new systems in peoples homes for free. They were supposed to do 5 homes in each neighborhood they were targeting. They already had 3 in our neighborhood and wanted to know if we were interested. Well, as we all know, nothing is free. I can't get rid of sales people though so I asked Nick to take care of it for me. He went to the door ready to tell the guy we were busy. I went to the kitchen to clean me and Dom up and the next thing I know, we're signing some papers!

I'm actually really excited about it though. It's wireless so that's pretty cool and it has an intercom on it. It's hooked up to call police, fire department and an ambulance if needed and when it calls you can talk from the intercom. No phones needed, which is pretty cool since we don't have a land line and our cell phones could be anywhere in the house.

The equipment stays with us. We own it. So that could be a good selling point (WAY in the future, if ever) and we get a discount on our homeowner's insurance.

The installation and equipment were all free (with the requirement that we keep a sign in our front yard "advertising" their system) and we just pay the monthly monitoring fee. This is fine, because we were going to get a system anyway. We just happened to get it sooner than we thought!

The main problem I think we'll have with this is forgetting to arm and disarm it. Nick kept repeating before bed last night, "Must disarm before let Brady out. Disarm before let Brady out. Disarm, disarm, disarm." He was so worried about setting it off this morning. I thought I was going to set it off too! Luckily we didn't and our house is "armed" now while we're at work!

Official Training...

starts today!

We are officially getting ready for the half marathon! I'll keep you updated to let you know how the training is going. This week is the following schedule:

Monday - go to gym and lift weights
Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - basketball
Thursday - 3 miles plus go to gym and lift weights
Friday - rest
Saturday - 30 minutes of cross training (go to gym and do the bike or go to Mom's and swim)
Sunday - 4 miles

I'll let you know on Sunday or next Monday how this first week goes. I'm confident that I can do it....The power of positive thinking!

My brother...

Many of you know this, but we haven't talked to my brother in a long time. The last time I saw him was my sister's wedding (July 2007) and the time before that, I couldn't even tell you. I've sent him a few emails with no responses. And the last time I heard his voice was right after Cecilia was born.

It's very hard for my whole family, but we are all still here for him. We love him and we'd welcome him here with open arms at any time.

One of the hardest things about him not really talking to us, is we don't know where he is or how he's doing. He's in the Navy and we know he's overseas but never sure where. And we're never positive he's ok.

Well for the time being, we are reassured! Recently there was a segment on NPR about Afghanistan and my brother was interviewed! We got to hear his voice and everything. It's only a short clip of his voice but it was enough to have me sobbing at my computer.

Click HERE and hit play to hear the segment. It's pretty short. My brother talks towards the end. It was hard for my sis to find at first because they spelled his name wrong. (They have it as Connan and it's really Kohnen - don't worry, I emailed them to try and correct it!) But she finally found it and it's definitely him. We are 100% sure.

It was so great to hear him. Please keep him and the other thousands of people in Afghanistan in your prayers.

I love you Alex!!

Hair cut!

I got my hair cut on Saturday. It's not exactly what I wanted. But I couldn't do it the same as the picture because my hair is a lot thicker. I think it looks ok though! I'm still getting used to it. I don't have a "before" picture because my camera won't load it for some reason and the pictures I already have on my computer just show my hair up in a pony anyway.

But enough of that! Here is my new do:


My cousin, Annie, Me, and my soon to be cousin, Michelle at a Wedding Saturday night


The front of my new hair style


The back of my new hair style

I like it. But it will take a bit to get used to, like I said. But it's SOO much easier so far! :-)

In case you were wondering...

it really sucks to run outside when it's 90+ degrees outside!

I had to do my 3 mile run yesterday. Part of me wanted to put it off but I felt motivated so I went ahead and did it. I'm glad I did, but oh my goodness it was tough! I felt like I was running in a sauna for part of the run!

Today is a "rest" day. I'm going to clean the house and go dress shopping for a new "little black dress" for the million weddings we have this summer! That's all I got going on today. The big haircut is tomorrow. I'll post a before and after pic when I get it done!

Life

I got this as part of an email and I thought it was cute:

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:

1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.


SUCCESS (aka the cycle of life):

At age 4 success is . . . Not piddling in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . . Having friends.
At age 17 success is . . . Having a driver's license.
At age 35 success is . . . Having money.
At age 50 success is . . . Having money.
At age 70 success is . . . Having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . . . Having friends.
At age 80 success is . . . Not piddling in your pants.

The Kohnen Girls!

Abbie took a picture of me and my mom and sister at the Race for the Cure last Saturday (Thanks Abbie!!). Here it is. I love my family!!



Mom, Angela, Meghan

Basketball

We had our second basketball game last night. We played a "real" team. The reason I say it like that is because they have been a team for awhile. They have actual plays and everything. We don't. We don't even remember everyone's name week to week! And we definitely don't have plays. We just go out there and play. Well, we lost this week. It wasn't too terrible. But I hate losing! We only had 7 people there this week too so we were a little sluggish going up and down the court. All in all though I thought we did ok. And I still felt like I had energy at the end of the game so I guess my running is paying off!

So far our record is 0-2...hopefully in two weeks I can tell you our record is up to 2-2! I'll let you know next week how it goes!

Some Pictures for Wordless Wednesdays

30 x 30

One of the blogs I'm following had a post called 30 x 30. This was 30 things that this guy wanted to do before he was 30. I thought that looked like a great idea so I'm going to attempt a 30 x 30. I have about 4 1/2 years to get all the stuff done so I'm not getting the earliest start on it, but I think it's doable. If I don't do it, I'll just add 10 more things and make it a 40 x 40!

1) Complete a half marathon.
Hopefully this one gets accomplished this September!!

2) Go back to Europe.
I loved going to Europe and I would love to go again sometime.

3) Learn a foreign language.
This goes with #2, but I would love to know another language, or at least enough to get by. I figure if I start reading books or listening to tapes now, I should be fairly prepared if I get to go before I'm 30!

4) Have at least two of my children (we are still considering having 4 total)
This shouldn't be too hard since Dom is already here! But we would like 4 total and I'd like to have 2 of them before I'm 30. And who knows, by then I might decide two is plenty!

5) Take up golf...for real.
As you know, I played in a golf tournament last week and I had a good time. I think I want to try and play golf, like for real. This gives me a few years to get good!

6) Be Debt Free (except the house)
We have too much debt right now. We are ok financially but we have some old debt still hanging around. I'd like to get rid of all of that, except the house, by the time I'm 30.

7) Complete a full marathon.
This one is a little harder for me to reach since I don't even know how the half is going to go but I think I'd like to be able to say I've done it. Why not, right??

8) Watch Gone with the Wind.
I don't know why, but it seems like a lot of people reference this and I'd like to be able to say I've seen it.

9) Watch the Godfather movies.
Again with the referencing. I've never seen any of these and I'd like to know what the hype is all about.

10) Play in a Poker Tournament (at a Casino).
When Nick and I went to Vegas last year, we were going to play in a poker tournament at Planet Hollywood. Well the trip got cut short and we didn't play. I'd like to play in a real tournament someday, just to see how I'd do.

11) Get a new car.
Maybe not "new" new, but newer. I've never had a car that has less than 65,000 miles on it when I get it. I want one with less than 20,000 miles on it!

12) Go a year without caffeine.
I know I can do this because I didn't have any caffeine (well hardly any) while I was pregnant and I didn't have hardly any while I was breastfeeding, so I know I can do this. I just need to get motivated again to give up coffee. Coffee is my weakness!

13) Learn sign language.
This is a lot to learn, but I'd really like to know sign language. When Dominick was about a month old we thought he had some hearing problems. At first I was really stressed out about it and then I decided it would be ok and we'd all learn sign language. Luckily, Dominick can hear (he just elects not to a lot of the time) but I'd still like learn to sign.

14) See my brother and his family.
This is really a long shot since I've only seen him once in the last 10 years...ish. But I'd like to see him again, so I'm going to try.

15) Shoot a gun.
This one sounds crazy I know. But all the guys I work with go hunting and whatnot and I'd really like to shoot a gun. Not at anyone (obviously) or even at an animal. Not at anything besides a still target, but I'd like to try.

16) Get a bike and actually learn to ride it well.
I had a bike when I was a kid but it was pink and I hated pink, so I never rode it. In fact, I don't really know how to ride a bike well. I can physically do it. But I get nervous and shaky and have to put my feet down. Pathetic I know. So I'd like to get a bike and feel comfortable riding it.

17) Go back to school.
If we can afford it. I don't know what I'd like to take classes in, but I'd love to go back to school. I absolutely love school...

18) Learn how to drive a stick shift.
Nick's truck is a stick and I've driven it a few times but not near enough to feel comfortable. I would really like to know how to drive one in case I ever have to.

19) Learn how to French Braid hair.
This one also sounds silly, but I used to be so jealous in grade school when my class mates had braided hair and I didn't. I want to be able to braid my future daughter's hair. Not that it scarred me by not having braided hair or anything, it would just be nice to have that option!

20) Get really into cooking!
I like cooking ok. But I'd love to get really good and always have a yummy dinner on the table for my family. Something new instead of just one of the 10 things I know how to make now!

21) Finish the Entertainment Center!!!
Anyone who has seen our basement knows what I'm talking about! Nick tore it apart in January of 2007. It's still torn apart! By the time I'm 30, it better be done!

22) Register to vote in St. Louis City
I'm still registered in Calverton Park. I don't want to change it because I'm scared of getting a jury summons! I guess I need to face my fears and finally register...

23) Fly somewhere first class.
I don't think I care where. I'd just like to do it! Maybe not to Kansas City or Chicago though. If I'm paying for it, I'm going to be there longer than 45 minutes!

24) Go on a cruise.
It will take a lot of convincing to get Nick on a boat (he is afraid of sea-sickness) but I think it could be fun.

25) Make my own recipe. (I stole this one from you, bk!)
I want to have my own recipe that I am "famous" for and people like me to make when they come over for dinner/gatherings. My mom makes amazing corn flake potatoes and coffee cake (two separate things, not together!). My grandma makes everything good but especially fried chicken and chicken salad. My sister is awesome at all healthy food (she makes me want to eat healthy!). I want to be good at one really good thing too.

26) Make photo albums for around the house.
I have taken quite a few pictures since Dominick has been born but they are all online and I don't have hardly any in albums. I want to keep taking pictures and print them and put them in an album to keep around the house.

27) Go back to the Signature Room in Chicago.
That is an amazing restaurant in Chicago and the place where Nick proposed to me. That night was perfect but also such a blur. I want to go back and enjoy another meal there.

28) Go on a family vacation.
I'd like to go somewhere with my whole family, or at least the whole family that I still talk to! My parents, Angela, Andrew and Cecilia, and me, Nick and Dominick. I'd love for us all to go somewhere as a big family. Maybe we'll get to do that one of these years.

29) Learn photo shop.
My sister is SO good with photo shop. If anyone saw the picture she made of Dominick being held by Jesus for his baptism then you know she's good! But she's made some amazing pictures and I'd like to be able to do some too.

30) Be in the audience at the Ellen show!
I love the Ellen DeGeneres show. I would absolutely love to go and be an audience member at her show. She's SO funny and I love all the guests she brings one. This will be a hard goal, but I'm going to try! Maybe I'll fly first class there and knock off two birds with one stone!

I'll try to keep you updated on how I do with each of these. I'll have to keep coming back here to even see what they all are! But it's my goal now to get some of these done (or all if I can!) by the time I'm 30! Wish me luck!!

Haircut time!

My hair has been driving me crazy for awhile now. I keep saying I want to grow it out, blah, blah, blah. But it's just so nasty right now that I think I want to cut it off to make it healthier and cuter. When it's long, I don't do much to it. I basically just put it in a ponytail. So I want something shorter and cuter.

I know this will pose a slight problem with all the running I do, but I'll figure some way to keep it out of my face and off of my neck.

Here's some pictures I found so far. Tell me what you think of them, or if you have a better idea!








Any input??

Great Weekend!

This weekend really was great. It started on Friday. I am currently not working on Fridays, but I usually still bring Dom to daycare so I can clean and run some errands. I couldn't do it on this past Friday though. I kept Dom at home so we could have the whole day together.

Friday during the day, we went to his Aunt Katie's house to go swimming and have lunch. We had a great time. Dom loves the pool! He swam with Aunt Katie, Uncle Dan and Nani (Mommy stayed out of the pool for this trip!). He was so good and we both had a great time. Then Friday night we went with Aunt Angela, Uncle Andrew, Cousin Cecilia and Daddy to the Zoo. They have kids night every Friday. There is live music and children activities. So many animals were out! We saw the monkeys, sea lions, peguins and puffins, bears, flamingoes, and peacocks! Dom especially liked the penguins.

Saturday was also a good day. It started off with the Race for the Cure. Our team raised $1,400.00! My sister and I both ran the race. She finished in 27 minutes (just under) and I finished in about 34 minutes (just over). I started at the 10 minute mile pace group and it took me a good 4 minutes to just get separated from the crowd to start running! It was so crowded, which is great! It was amazing how many people showed up for the Race. After the race, a group of us went to my parent's house and went swimming. That was awesome too. So relaxing. Dominick and Cecilia both swam and they loved the water. Such a nice easy afternoon after running and fighting the crowd in the morning. Saturday night was hard! I volunteered at St. Gabriel's parish picnic and worked the beer booth. It was a long night. I worked from about 4 to 10:15 and basically stood in the same spot all night! I was one of the people filling the cups so I didn't have too much room to walk around. I basically stood at the keg all night. My feet were killing me by the end of the night.

My parents had been watching Dom so after the picnic, I went to their house and just spent the night. I didn't get there until almost midnight anyway, so I didn't want to wake Dom up and bring him home. Unfortunately I couldn't fall asleep (finally fell asleep at 1:45ish) and Dom couldn't stay sleeping (woke up at 3:30) so I didn't get a lot of sleep Saturday night. He did go back to sleep and slept until about 7:30 or 8:00.

I hung out with my parents for a bit Sunday morning and then went home to shower and get Nick. Then the three of us went to Nick's sister Kate's for a BBQ and swim. Dominick swam again! He's becoming quite the little fish! The water was great and the food was fantastic.

Last night we just relaxed. We watched the NBA finals and went to bed. Nice end to a long but great weekend.

I hope this work week goes fast! Another great weekend is coming up with Melanie and Jeff's wedding and Kevin and Diane's wedding!

Don't Drink and Drive

Last night I heard a story from a friend of mine. It made me really sad for her. I hadn't seen her in months and I saw her last night. It looked like she had a smudge of something on her eye, so I asked her what happened. I was truly thinking that it was eye make up messed up or maybe a scratch. Nothing serious. I was wrong. She told me that she got in a car accident. In April. I asked her to tell me about it. This is her story.

I don't know if she'd want me to tell everyone her story so I'm going to call her "Jane".

Jane told me that she had been out with some friends at a bar. They were all drinking. It got pretty late and they decided to go to a friends house and continue the party. Everyone was drunk. So they decided to get a cab. Smart people. But then another girl in their group (a girl Jane didn't know very well) told everyone that she had a big car and she was sober enough to drive them home. She only lived about a mile away and they could continue the party there. So Jane and her friends got out of the cab (yes they were already getting into the cab) and got into the other girl's car. The girl stopped at a gas station so they could grab more beer for the party at her house. When they were almost to the house a guy in the backseat noticed they were going very fast. About 50 mph in a 30 mph zone. He yelled to her from the back seat to slow down. The girl driving laughed and sped up. Unfortunately then the road curved. The car did not. They hit a tree, dead on, going about 55-60 mph. Jane wasn't wearing her seat belt. She was knocked unconscious. So was another girl in the car. A few people got out of the car and stood on the sidewalk. The girl driving backed the car up and drove home still. I guess the car was drivable.

Jane woke up in the girl's driveway with her eye bleeding. The other friends had come back to the house and called 9-1-1. An ambulance was there but Jane didn't get in because she didn't have any insurance. She called a cab. A cab took her to the hospital. When she got there she found out the cut on her eye was worse than she thought. They had to do a skin graft and take skin from her shoulder to help replace part of her eyelid. Luckily her injury was the worst of the whole accident so everyone did walk away from it.

Jane didn't have insurance and the whole procedure cost about $13,000.

Was it worth it? They already had a cab. She ended up having to pay for a cab anyway later. If she just stayed in the cab from the beginning, she would've been fine. It's a tough lesson to swallow.

I'm so thankful that my friend is ok. I think she learned a lot from it too which is important. But not everyone gets to learn like that. Some people get in car accidents and don't walk away. Can't walk away.

Don't put yourself in that position. I know I'm sounding very preacher-esque right now, but I'm serious. Please don't drink and drive. I don't think I could ever bear to get a phone call from anyone's parents/relatives/friends telling me that I lost someone due to drinking and driving. It's not worth it. Call a cab.

Mornings like this...

make it hard for me to leave Dominick.

He was so sweet this morning. I always find it a little hard to leave him in the morning after dropping him off because I do, literally, miss him that much. But mornings like this make it even harder. He was such an angel.

I heard him making noises at 7 am. I went in and the little man was in one corner of the crib, his head wedged into the bars, on his belly, and just talking. Not crying. Just cooing.

I made his bottle and picked him up and fed him. He just looked at me while he ate with those big beautiful blue eyes! After he was done, I burped him and just laid him on my chest and he just snuggled up to me. So sweet. We "talked" for a bit and then I had to get ready for work so I laid him back in his crib. Again, he was such a good boy. Just laid in his crib and played with his piggy toes.

No crying at all this morning. Just sweet baby boy. It was so rough leaving him. I didn't want to do it. At least after work today, I have 3 full days of him all to myself! (Except for the two hours tomorrow that I'm working out at the gym, but that will go quickly!)

Man, I love that baby boy!

What a night

Basketball got cancelled last night. I was so bummed out. I was really looking forward to playing too. My sister and I rode together since it was too late for the little ones to come (our game was at 9 pm). We got there early and were shooting the ball around with some teammates. When the game before ours ended, we went on to the court to warm up and play, but then we were told we had to get off the court. There was a tornado watch in effect which meant we had to get off the court and either sit in the lobby, the locker room or the hallway. So we sat. We sat for about 30 minutes when I finally went up to a lady who worked at the rec center and asked what was going on. She told me that there were multiple funnel clouds seen in the area and they couldn't let us play yet. Anyone who was 18+ could leave though. So Angie and I waited until they officially cancelled our game and then we left. The rain was coming down so hard we got drenched on the way to the car. The roads were rough too. Lots of big puddles and it was hard to see the lines on the road, but we made it home.Luckily it was hardly raining at our houses when we got home.

I was sad though. I really wanted to play basketball last night!!

Where is that tooth already??

Dominick seems to be teething and has seemed to be teething for quite sometime now, but still there is no tooth!

He's drooling like crazy. He gnawing on anything he can get his hands on. He likes his gums rubbed. But still, no tooth.

I really hope he gets one soon! I feel bad for the poor kiddo! Teething can't be fun...

Growing Spurt?

Dominick has been sleeping like crazy! At first I was afraid that he was sick, but he's happy and doesn't have a temperature or anything. He's just sleeping all the time it seems like.

I picked him up from daycare on Friday and Stella told me he slept good all day. So I figured he wouldn't sleep for me at all. We went to the grocery store and then we went home. I put him in his crib, thinking he would cry but it would only be for a few minutes while I put the groceries away. When I was done, I went upstairs to check on him (the monitor was silent) and he was sound asleep. So I let him sleep. I woke him up at 6:30 so he could eat before friends came over and then he was back down for the night by about 8:30-9:00. He slept all night and woke up Saturday morning around 6.

So that was a lot of sleep. Then comes Saturday. Like I said, he woke up around 6. He ate and then played for a bit and then went back down for a nap. Then he was up for a few more hours and ate and then was back down again. He did this all day. My parents babysat and Nick and I went to a movie. He was an angel they said. We got home around 9:30 and he fell asleep in the car. I was able to put him straight down without another feeding. He slept until 6 Sunday morning.

Sunday. Same type of thing. Woke up at 6. Ate, played, napped. Ate, played, napped. All day. At 7:15 though he was done for the day. He was rubbing his eyes and screaming. He was not happy. So we put him down a little early. I had to check on him all night because I was so nervous. He slept all night though. Went down at 7:45 p.m. and slept until 6 Monday morning. He's just been so sleepy lately!

Like I said, I know he's not sick. He's always happy and he doesn't have a temp or anything. I think he's just growing! He is certainly going to be a big boy!

Tilles Park 5k

So I ran a 5K this morning. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it since we had game night last night and I went to bed pretty late, but I made myself get up and I did it.

It was pretty tough. It doesn't seem like it should have been so tough since I've been running but it was. I was worn out but I did it. I finished in 31 minutes even. So I was running close to a 10 minute mile.

When I was showering I was thinking about that. If I do the half marathon running a 10 minute mile it will take me about 130 minutes or 2 hours and 10 minutes...ish.

That's a long time to be running! It kind of freaks me out and makes me nervous that I can't do it. But I can do it. If I stick to the training schedule (and I think my sister will help keep me on it) then I can do it.

3.1 miles I can do...let's just see if I can build my way up to 13.1!!

Changes

I made a few changes to my blog.

1) the template - just for fun

and

2) I added a picture of a runner to keep me motivated!!

Only 14 weeks and 3 days until the half marathon!!

Sore

I'm officially training for the half marathon. The training doesn't technically start until June 22 but I've started training with Ang to keep things rolling and make sure it's not too bad when we start on the 22nd. Well I'm sore. Between running on Tuesday and the golf tournament and basketball yesterday, I'm beat. I have to run 3 miles tonight and I'm very nervous about that. Friday is a rest day and then I'm running in a 5K on Saturday. If I can make it...we'll see!

Basketball!!!

We had our first game last night. It was interesting, but in a good way. We were playing together for the first time and we did ok. There were 9 of us, but we were playing a team that had about 13-14 and they were good. It's a rec league so you play 20 minute halves with a running clock so the games aren't very long. At half time my team was losing 22-12. We made a heck of a comeback in the second half though and I think the final score was 34-28 or something like that?? We were losing 30-28 with only a few minutes to go but we had to foul to stop the clock and they got a few free throws in. I had a great time.

The best part was being on the floor with my sister. I know that sounds silly but we're 8 years apart and have never been on a team together at all. We've never even been in the same schooling system at the same time except when I was in kindergarten she was in 8th grade. But then she was in high school when I was in grade school and when I was finally ready for high school she was already done with college! So this was a big deal to me. I loved it. I loved every minute of playing together. I kind of abused her though. I passed the ball to her a lot more than anyone else. Sorry to everyone else! But I couldn't help it. I liked playing together and I'm glad we are going to get to play together even more.

I can't wait until next week!!

Golf Tournament

I don't know if I've already mentioned it on here but I was in a golf tournament yesterday. I hadn't played golf in about 2-3 years and I've never been great. I've been decent but not really good. Needless to say, I was very nervous about this tournament.

Turns out I shouldn't have been nervous! I had so much fun yesterday! First off, my foursome was awesome. It was me, my friend (and technically boss!) Mike, and two guys who we do work with, Ed and Chris. I couldn't have picked a better foursome. It was great. They were so laid back and kept telling me how good I was doing (even when I really wasn't!) and just having fun.

We only used my ball twice (it was a scramble playing "best ball") but they were good times for me to have good shots! We used one of my tee shots when all the boys shanked it (shankopotamus - anyone seen that e-trade commercial??? I love that one!) and I actually had a good one. So that was pretty cool. I "saved" us that hole. Then when we were on the green I putted one in to give us a birdie on a hole.

I actually had a really great time and I'm glad I played. I think our team even did pretty good. I think we came in 2nd or 3rd!

I might have to do it again next year...we'll see!

Edited to Add: I forgot to mention that I won the longest drive for the women and won a $250.00 driver!!! Woohoo!

The Cards Game!

It was awesome. I had such a great time! I left work a few minutes early and picked up Dom. Nick dropped him off at Nani's while I got ready. Nick came back, picked me up and we went and got Angela and Andrew. Then we were off!

We got to the lobby with just minutes to spare. We signed in, got our field passes and then our guide came and got us and brought us down to the field. Then we could hang out in a designated area and just watch. We weren't there for 15 minutes when Albert Pujols came out to do batting practice. Man that guy can hit!! I'm a huge Cards fan and a big Albert fan, but I've never really appreciated how good he is. I kind of take him for granted on our team, but he is good and all players look up to him. He came over and was talking to the Cincinnati Reds players for a bit. I got a ton of pictures but haven't uploaded them yet, sorry! He gave one of the Reds players a bat and they acted all cool while Albert was there and as soon as he went back to the dugout the players all acted like kids meeting a pro for the first time. "It's Albert's??" "Let me hold it!!" "It's my turn!!" It was pretty cool seeing that even professionals are awed by him. And Pujols did awesome. I think every other hit he took in batting practice was a home run...and not just barely a home run. Like a LONG home run. He's really good...

We got to see Brian Barden, Albert Pujols, Skip Schumaker, Rick Ankiel, Chris Duncan, Ryan Ludwick, Nick Stavinoha, Tony LaRussa, Dusty Baker, Mike Shannon, and more that I just can't remember anymore. It was awesome!

Rick Ankiel was hilarious. He was signing autographs next to us for some kids and one of the kids said, "Will you sign this?? You're the best outfielder in the whole world!" and Ankiel looked at him and said, "I'm going to sign your ball, you don't have to lie!" and he laughed. It was funny and cool to see him interact with the kids and have fun.

After we had our fill of watching batting practice, we went to the Broadway Oyster Bar for some dinner and some beers. It's been a long time since we've eaten there and the food was so good.

We went back to the game and had tickets on the first base side in Row 4. I thought they were great seats. The game was a little rough since we lost, but all in all, the night was amazing!

It was a great way to pool our money and I think we'll have to do something similar next year too!

Cardinals Game!!!

I am SO excited about tonight! At the Incarnate Auction in April, my sister and I pooled some money my dad gave us to buy an awesome Cardinals package. It includes $100 to the Broadway Oyster Bar, box tickets to a Cards game and you get to go early and be on the field for batting practice and meet the team. I am so excited! We are going tonight. We have to be at the field by 5 to go onto the field, so I hope we aren't late and miss it! I'm bringing my camera so we can take a ton of pictures and I just can't wait. I hope the day goes by quickly so I can get ready to go! I'll post some pictures from the game tomorrow if I can.

EEK! Go Cards!!

Minor set back...

Yesterday my sister and I went running. It was a beautiful day out and we had a plan. She lives 1.5 miles from my house. She she was going to run to my house and I'd run her back to her house and then run home by myself. We'd both get a good 3 mile run in. Perfect. That was my goal.

But it didn't work out that way. It started off good. I was ready when Angela got to my house. She got to my house, turned around and we started off again. Very smooth. We literally got to the second turn and I made a mistake. Angela had the stroller so I tried staying wide of her so she could steer the stroller. We were running across a street and I made a stretch to get up onto the curb and let her use the ramp with the stroller. I thought I stretched enough. But I didn't. I caught the front of my foot on the curb and then rolled my ankle right off the curb and fell down.

Immediately pain ran down my ankle. I've broken my ankles a few times and I didn't think I broke it. But man did it hurt! Angela asked if I wanted to stop but I didn't want to. We just started! So I kept running on it. It hurt for a little while longer but then went numb. When we were almost to her house my ankle felt like it was made of lead and it was hot and tingly. So instead of running back, I stopped at Angela's. I only did a 1.5 mile run. Nick came and picked me up and took me home. I iced it for a bit. That made it stiffen up and hurt worse. But after a bit I was able to rotate it and put weight on it.

Today it definitely feels like I twisted my ankle but it feels like I did it a few weeks ago and not just yesterday. I'm already on the mend. I have to be. I have a golf tournament this Wednesday, basketball Wednesday night, a 5K on Saturday morning, and a 5K on next Saturday morning. I have a lot to do in the next few weeks (not to mention the half marathon training) and a bum ankle just won't do!

Carrots!

Dominick has been eating rice cereal for the last week now with a spoon and he's doing so good! So we went ahead and added carrots. At first he didn't know what to think. He scrunched up his face in a "gross!" face but then kept eating. He ate a lot of carrots. He's doing a really good job eating with the spoon. He's slowly getting the hang of it.

One thing that he's not getting so well though, is understanding that with the spoon, food is not coming into his mouth continuously. He keeps thinking that it should be like a bottle. He cries until the spoon gets close to his mouth and then he slurps that food down. Then he cries until you refill the spoon and bring it back up to his mouth. It's kind of cute, just because he gets so frustrated and then calm. And back again.

I'm very excited that we're at this next stage in his life. And he's catching on really well. Hopefully this week I can start making my own baby food and we'll see how that goes! I'll keep you posted.