Can I Be PERFECTLY HONEST With You???

I figured this morning would be as good of a morning as ever to cover this topic, because if you want a completely honest answer from me, now would be a good time to ask.

I don't know if it is because I am having a girl (hence all of the extra estrogen in my system), but man have I been MOODY this pregnancy. I felt it a little bit when I was pregnant with Brett and people tried to give me advice or told me how to live my life (yeah, there were a few times I had to LEAVE THE ROOM when I was pregnant with Brett to stop myself from saying some really harsh and nasty things), but really, for the most part I was pretty laid back and able to deal with people with a patient and friendly demeanor. And, really, I am a pretty laid back person and keep my opinions to myself when I don't have another human being growing in my uterus.

But, man, this time around has been wicked. I feel for my hubby. He's had to deal with me snapping his head off for the stupidest things... like when we were deciding which 2 liters to buy for Brett's birthday party. He suggested one that wasn't on my mind and I couldn't deal with any straying from my plan so I about went off on him in the middle of Meijer. Looking back, he was right, but in that moment I was completely insane. Sometimes I just wake up in a rotten mood and try to avoid people all day, but man, the worst is when it hits me out of the blue. I'll be fine and then something will set me off, and I am crazy pregnant girl again.

These mood swings make me feel for Brett too. He's a young pup...a curious toddler who really (for the most part) doesn't MEAN to make messes or get into mischief (however he does test his limits from time to time), and he requires a lot of time and patience. These are 2 traits that I don't currently have. The worst are the days when I am home alone with him and wake up in a foul mood. 6:00 can't come soon enough. I pray for long naps during those days. I REALLY really hope Brett doesn't remember mommy like this after all is said and done.

I pray I find a cure for this insanity, and that if it doesn't end sooner, it will end for sure with the birth of baby girl in approximately 4 LONG months. Until then, I am trying to keep my days off booked with playdates and lunch dates to at least get me out of the house!

Big Birthday Party

Yesterday we celebrated Brett's birthday. I was a bit nervous to host this shindig since as I have said before, our house is the size of a sardine can, and we were inviting over Steve's family and my family. Well, thankfully the weather permitted and we were able to have part of it in the backyard. So, that allowed us to invite over the whole Chicago contingent (and they all made the trip!) along with Steve's brother from Kentucky and all of my family, and we even squeezed in a couple of friends for good measure.

Brett had a blast, even though he had no idea what was going on :). By the end of opening his presents, he got bored and wanted to play on his slide. I was so thankful we had his slide and his sandbox out so the kiddos had somewhere to play.

Anyway, here are some pictures from the big boy's second birthday bash!!!

Big Boy Room

As part of the process of getting ready for baby, we needed to move Brett out of the nursery and into his new room. Thankfully because of my dad, last fall, our loft was converted into a third bedroom. Otherwise, we'd have no space to have another baby.

So, we took some time in February and March to shop for his furniture and bedding and Steve painted the room. We decided on a White Sox theme. Originally, when we did the nursery I'd envisioned a Butler Bulldogs theme, and I did again for his bedroom, but I was unsuccessful in finding the appropriate bedding and all. With me being very tired during this pregnancy, White Sox was a much easier way to go, considering I could choose from a variety of bedroom sets and borders and all.

Well, we finally got everything shuffled (which included putting the computer in our room and emptying our only storage closet into the garage...yeah, our house is now stuffed to the max) at the end of March and by that last Sunday night we had put the mattress and bedding together, but we hadn't quite assembled the safety rail. Brett jumped right on his new bed and was super excited.

He wanted to sleep in his big bed right then and there, which I took as an encouraging sign. However, we still had to put the finishing touches together, which didn't happen until the following evening.

That Monday night he hopped right into bed and slept happily all night. I was super worried he'd get up and cry and want to go back into the crib, but I was totally wrong. He's loved his new bed ever since and we've had a super easy transition.

This makes me cautiously optimistic for my next experiment... potty training. I am going to ATTEMPT it later this month or early May. It would be WONDERFUL to have him out of diapers before baby sister gets here. But I am not holding my breath.

Below is the finished room...

My Baby Is 2!

With all of the excitement of my last post, I didn't take the time to point out the most important part of the day yesterday... my baby boy turned 2 years old!!!!

We planned the ultrasound the same day as Brett's big day so that Steve could take the day off and spend time with us having fun and going to the doctor.

Well, we started the day by going to the zoo. We tend to go a lot admittedly because we have a membership, but he loves the zoo, so it's a great time for all. We had gorgeous weather yesterday, and with the exception of a few animals being off exhibit, it was the perfect zoo day.


We got home in time for naps and then took a couple hours to visit my doctor, and then we came back home... played in Brett's new sandbox (yes, we were going to buy him a sandbox for his birthday, but my parents have a practically brand new one that they weren't using so they gave it to us), and decided we should go out and have dinner to celebrate the big boy's birthday.

Brett doesn't quite get the concept of Chuck E Cheese yet, and his favorite food is pasta, so we figured Buca di Beppo would be a great place to go. It's kind of a fun atmosphere and it's got the food he likes so we went for it.

What we weren't prepared for was the ginormous dessert they give you at the end of your meal if you are having a birthday. The waiter said they could give Brett a cupcake. I figured that was perfect for the birthday boy. But also, remember this is Buca. It was a cupcake on steroids, so Steve and I got to split it with him.

Then home for bath and bed. I think Brett had a great 2nd birthday! More festivities to come for him this weekend :)

It's a WHAT???

I purposely titled my post this way, because as I remember, this was the same title I used when I found out what gender our first baby was.

A couple of years ago, everyone was telling me that I looked like I was carrying a girl. The heartbeat was fast, so it had to be a girl, etc., etc. So, coming into the ultrasound I was pretty well convinced they were going to tell me I was having a girl.

So I was a little shocked to find out I was having a boy. I had been looking at all of the cute pink clothes and nursery sets and everything and getting geeked up to have a baby girl. So, I had to change my entire perspective and get used to the idea of having a boy. I'd always imagined myself as being a mother to a girl, so I had a big adjustment ahead of me.

Needless to say, everything turned out just fine. I had a beautiful baby boy. Brett is the apple of my eye and I love him more and more every day.

Fast forward 2 1/2 years. I found out I was pregnant and my immediate reaction was that I was having another boy. In fact, I'd been having "visions" of 2 little boys...my blondie Brett, and another little boy with dark hair and dark eyes like his daddy, named Drew. I'd been feeling this way for quite some time before we even got pregnant, so I was preparing myself for a second son.

Plus, I've gotten so used to raising a boy that I wasn't sure I'd be able to raise a little girl. And, I felt like I was carrying a basketball, which according to wives tales means that you are carrying a boy. And, deep down, I guess I have to admit that I hadn't allowed myself to hope I was having a girl. I didn't want to feel the disappointment during the ultrasound if I had set myself up for it.

However, I did have some people say they were thinking I was carrying a girl, and every time we'd ask Brett whether he wanted me to have a boy or a girl, he consistently said "girl".

But the last few days I have been a nervous wreck. A lot of the anxiety stemmed from my fear of having something wrong with my baby. Leave it to me to watch too many of those shows on TLC and Discovery Health where the doctor finds something wrong with the baby on the ultrasound. But, I don't think I gave myself enough credit to realize that a lot of the nerves was about the gender. Steve and I had always talked about having 2 kids, one boy and one girl (which I know you can't pick, but still), and if we wanted to stick with our plan, this was going to be our last kiddo. I'm still not sure I'd rule out having a third, but 2 kids has always seemed like the right number for us.

So, with massive anxiety, I went to the doctor with Steve and Brett yesterday and went in immediately to have the ultrasound. For the first 5 minutes or so, the technician took measurements and didn't say much. But then, she turned on the big screen t.v. and let us get a look, and right away she was able to tell the sex. The baby had their legs open and she got a good clear shot that she said made her 99% sure she was making the right call.

The baby is...A GIRL. I about fainted. For real???? I am getting my girl???? I about started crying right on the spot. I couldn't believe it. I was POSITIVE it was another boy (which would have been okay...I am sure I would love him just as much as Brett), but no, I get to buy pink, and play Barbies and My Little Ponies with her and put her hair in pony tails and share things from my girlhood with her.

I am still in shock. It's almost liked I dreamed it, but no, see the pictures below...the first one has the tech's note about the gender.

So, now I get to buy pink!!!!! Yay!!!! Someone pinch me :)

The Big Game

We didn't shell out money for tickets to the big game of Butler vs. Duke on Monday night. If we went to Lucas Oil I wanted seats in the 100 or 200 level, and they were way out of our price range, so we decided we'd be just as happy to watch at the free viewing party at Hinkle Fieldhouse. We may not have been in the same building as the players, but we were in the building where it all began, and the home to this amazing team.

There were 6 big screens set up on the floor and we were seated in the second row, directly in front of one. They had a DJ who was spinning during commercial breaks and even Hink the Bulldog came out to play (I guess they have 2 bulldog costumes, who knew?). By the time the game got going I'd say there were safely 3,000 - 4,000 people in attendance.

Before the game, fellow alumn and basketball band member Jen Claudy drove from Cincy to our house and we all went to the game together...

And, what was super cool were all the alumni we ran into...including some we hadn't seen in years.

We didn't win, but had a great time. Hey, there's always next year, right?

Back to Old Fairview

Easter Sunday was beautiful and we decided to make the most of it by stopping by Butler on our way home from Easter dinner at my parents house.

I had heard about how the school was all decked out for the final four and we decided to go and soak up some of the energy ourselves. Since we didn't have tickets to the big game on Monday and weren't sure where we were going to be watching the big game (as it turned out, Hinkle), we decided to at least try to feel a part of it by walking through campus...

The Pi Phi house... we didn't stop, so I didn't get a better picture, but they had all of these wooden bulldog cutouts painted and decorated - super cute....

The fountain in the middle of campus was festively dyed blue.

Of course we had to be typical alumni and put our kiddo on the bulldog for a photo op... negative: the bulldog's eyes had been attacked by sidewalk chalk so he looked evil... positive: like the trees around campus, he had festive blue bows tied on him, and some other touristy photo op people gave Brett a blue and white pom pom, which he decided to shake the rest of the time we were on campus


And, back to where it all began, good ole' Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Next post... watching the big game...

What the Bunny Brought

This year we were home for Easter, which was very exciting for me as I got to set Brett up on his first little egg hunt. I remember when I was a little girl waking up and going downstairs and seeing what the Easter Bunny had left me, and hope to leave Brett with similar memories.

The Easter Bunny was pretty generous with Brett this year. He got a book, a Wonderpets toy and book and lots of candy (which I am now feeding to him for afternoon snacks...I know, sign me up for mother of the year). Plus, he also received candy and presents from both of his grandmas, so the kid really cleaned up.

And of course, he got to go "hunt" for eggs in our backyard, which was probably a bit more challenging than normal due to the fact that we haven't mowed our grass this year.

Anyway, cute pictures below...

St. Patty's Day Catchup

I realize I have been lagging a bit in my blogging again.

After I took the pictures yesterday from Butler's open practice, I found these photos on my camera that I had completely forgotten about.

My friend Julie from high school, who I have blogged about in previous posts, made her way back up to Indy for a visit. She has 3 girls, and her youngest, Phoebe, was born just a couple of weeks after Brett (actually ON Brett's due date). We have been getting the kiddos together when she comes up to visit. This, I think, was their third date. They had their little rendezvous at the Indianapolis Zoo this time on St. Patty's Day.

Too cute!

Our Bulldogs Are in the Final Four!!!

Looking back on previous posts, I'm not sure I made it clear, but most of you all already know that Steve and I are Butler Alumni. That's where we met and fell in love and all that. And, we were both in the band, specifically the basketball band. Therefore over the 4 years of our time at Butler we attended the majority of the men's basketball home games at Hinkle Fieldhouse sitting along the sidelines, playing the Butler War Song. We watched as they attended their first NCAA championship game my freshman year, and they have continued to progress and advance each year. Now, 10 years after my graduation, they've made it all the way to the Final 4, which just happens to be in Indianapolis!!!

As much as we would love to go to the game on Saturday, after seeing ticket prices, we have one little mouth to feed and another on the way, so we couldn't justify making the purchase. So, we decided the next best thing would be to attend the free open practice to the public at Lucas Oil on Friday. I figured that a lot of locals would be there to support their home team, but the attendance blew me away. I'd say at least 20,000 seats were filled to simply watch an hour long practice that consisted of mostly drills. They didn't even scrimmage. But it was electrifying just to be there with the sea of blue shirts and hearing the band play our beloved Butler War song.

And, Brett got waaayy into it, even though it wasn't a "real" game, as you can see by the cheering and clapping. I still have a feeling that he's gonna be a baller one day.

Anyway, here are pics from the event...