Ramblings

Because that is all I could come up with...

• Today is the first of July and truly feels like the beginning of Summer. I am so excited. I am shooting a wedding tomorrow and then nothing but work and preparing for this amazing addition to my life. Whoa!
• I got a B in that godforsaken class.... and I mad. Yup, I hated every minute of it, walked out of the final having not finished half of it and am mad that I got a B.
  
• The office is eerily quiet today. I've been immersed in bad internet and now writing this post.
• I have experienced that for some people seeing a pregnant woman brings out the worst in them. They feel compelled to say things like, "you don't look bad at all" and "getting big huh?" Even the doctor gets in on it and says things like (after putting his hands on my 30 week along belly), "you're pregnant!" I'm still on the fence about the comments (that are supposed to be positive)... "gosh you don't even really look pregnant", is that supposed to mean that all these years that I have been looking pregnant and no one told me? My absolute favorite was said to a colleague that was pregnant, "OMG look at how freaking big you are!" and "They should give her the end seat because she needs all the room she can get" Dang! That has GOT to be the worst. My rule of thumb is and always will be to not comment on anything that I would not want to hear myself, unless it is your very best friend/ sister and she asks you for your complete honest opinion. ... Actually, even then on second thought, tell her she looks great!
  
• I'm hungry. Seems like all the time.
• People are calling me "mom" and I don't realize they are talking to me.
• I am planning on spending some time with my sister and her family this weekend and I am giddy about it. I haven't seen them since Memorial Day and I MISS them tons. Her new house has an in ground pool and I plan on floating my way through the 4th.
  
• When we moved in to my childhood house growing up it had an above ground pool. I have ALWAYS been attracted to water and LOVED to swim and spend time in the ocean. That first year in our new house we had a tough time stabilizing the water, so most of that summer it was a deep swamp like green color. I didn't care one bit and spent every day of that summer swimming and floating and loving every minute of it. I'm surprised that my hair didn't turn green or my skin for that matter. In the end my mom bought a bunch of bleach and poured it in and that was what fixed it.
  

Hope you all have a fabulous 4th. Enjoy and be safe.
Ciao
xo
S

IOU

So this is the third post that I have started in the past month and I hope to finally post. It has been quite a busy month. I started a class in late May that is two nights a week and you would not believe what that does to a woman's social life. Especially a pregnant lady. I can't believe that I am writing this on the 20th. Dang, where are these months going. I am really looking forward to being done with this class, not only because it has not been my proudest moments when it comes to this rocky road to my MBA, but it also marks the end of school until little lady arrives and then not until Jan at the absolute earliest.
June has also been my month of Friday's off... and darnitall if it is not going to be the hardest thing ever to go back to 5 day weeks. I really think that I was meant to only work 4 days a week. I am a happier more productive worker bee and a happier and more productive wife. I tell you I see this at some point again in my future. Probably not immediate future but a future life FOR SURE.
June has also been shaping up to be the "OHMYGOD WE ARE HAVING A BABY" month. Everything from nursery stuff to daycare to changing the house around to maternity leave to pediatricians, to my belly is getting HUGE (not really)... okay, deep breath. But for real peeps, I am having small freak outs on the regular. And so is the hubster. We remind ourselves that this is normal and that we are super excited to be starting a family, but in the middle of the night when you wake up and you can't stop thinking about it all, it is harder to stop and remember.
I just reread that bit and it makes me seem not so happy about this little one that I am growing and I assure that that is NOT the case. I am so freaking excited that I can't event tell you... or can I:

• On a daily, almost hourly, basis I am completely in awe of my belly and what is going on in there. I am by nature a very nervous person so I try to read all about what is happening on a weekly basis to my squirmy girl and I am completely in awe of what my body is doing right now.
  
• I love when she kicks me, it feels like she knows what I am thinking and we constantly have this private conversation going on. Sometimes it really tickles.
  
• I can't watch that pampers commercial or any of the baby programs without bawling my eyes out. I know that this is also due to the raging hormones that are surging through my body. But it is also the anticipation of meeting my daughter... yup said it DAUGHTER. Whoa.
• I whisper her name (or the one that we have picked at this moment) in my head all day long. I am trying it out in different situations to make sure that is the right one. Don't ask, I won't tell.
• I still can't believe that this is happening. When I walk by a mirror and catch a glimpse of my profile I am still surprised. My belly isn't big enough to see when I look down (partly because my boobs have still outgrown my belly, but that is another post for another day) and it isn't big enough to throw me off balance so I am not always aware of it. When she kicks me I stop and think... oh yeah...
• July will be my month of baby showers. I am excited to start to see the stuff that will belong to squirmy girl, but I am more excited to see all my friends and family and talk about being pregnant all the time and be overly excited. I try to hold it in the rest of the time. I don't want people to think I am crazy.
• Lastly although I am nervous as all get out I can't wait to be a mom and see hubster as a dad. I know that it will be hard but I am excited to meet her and help her learn and know her the best.

Whoohoo post accomplished. One thing I can cross of the to do list!

Ciao
S

June Days

Yup, June is here, today. May was a blur, with something to do everyday.

There was:

• Birthing class
• Mother’s day
• Doctor’s appointments and ultrasound
  
• Commencement events and commencement on a super duper rainy soggy day
  
• Gala
• Finished one class (got an A-) started another super intense gonna be done in 6 weeks class
• Began my month and a half of 4 day weeks (yay) (love it by the way)
• Saw Gem of the Ocean at HartfordStage; shout out to the amazing and talented director Hana Sharif!
  
• Surprised my sister for her 40^th birthday; she was surprised and everyone had a great time
• Read the 549 page bookclub book, still don't know where I found time for that one!
  
• Had a really crazy not super fun Memorial day weekend (for another post) (other than the surprise party)
  
• Started a baby registry. whoa.
  
  And here we are… June 1.

Oh the possibilities!

Ciao

S

Mother's Day

This year is new for me. I am about to become a mom and that is so strange and crazy and exciting. I have to be the luckiest mom-to-be in the world because I have an amazing network of mothers to look to for advice and guidance and love. My mother, my sister, my aunts and cousins, my friends... Everyone has already been so amazing to me on this journey, I can only imagine how much more rewarding this becomes.
To my mom: who is by far the most amazing woman that I know. She is always there for me and when we are done chatting on the phone, she thanks me for calling and tells me how much she loves talking to me.
To my sister: who loves me unconditionally and shows me that every day. Every year I try to find the cards that says "Damn, how do you do it? And so that it looks so easy and so that your kids still love you?"
I'm not kidding when I say that I have a lot to live up to in the mom game.
I had a wonderful time today celebrating with my mom and sister and her family.
And then my husband treated me to the milkshake that I have been craving.
Thank you all and I hope that all the mothers out there are applauded and celebrated and loved and treasured today.
ciao
S

May day

Today was a GORGEOUS day. We had the windows open all day and enjoyed the sunshine. I went for a walk with a friend and grilled every piece of protein and vegetable imaginable. Ate a huge dinner and am ready for a nap.
It was a wonderful Saturday too. The morning was kinda chilly but I was at a communion mass for my niece and nephew. Adorable. They did such a great job. Lunch at the Federal was amazing and the best part was visiting with friends and family that I haven't seen for a while.
This time of year is always busy and the next couple of weeks are no exception. At least the weather is getting warmer and it doesn't get dark until real late.
Not really much else to report... I'm 22 weeks along in this pregnancy and everything has been great so far. Haven't gained a lot of weight and not a lot to complain about. I did have a real pain in the ass last week but that has gotten alot better. Swimming will do wonders.
Hubby and I are taking a birthing class tomorrow night (yes, I know it seems early but they only offer this specific one once a month and the next two months don't work out...) so I'm looking forward to that... I think. Almost half of the conversations we have lately are about baby gear or baby situations... baby, baby, baby... so I ask you bloggie friends of the interweb! What say you? Anything you couldn't live without? Must haves? Total skips? Lay it on me!
If you don't want to leave a comment here, email me... or leave me your email and I will email you my addy.
Ciao
S

I gotta tell you something...

For old time's sake...
We went for the targeted ultrasound this week and the baby is doing great. SHE is growing right on schedule and squirmed throughout the whole thing. SHE is beautiful!
My mother and mother in law were both there and loved every minute of it.

So did I!
Ciao
xo
S

Oh the places I've lived...

As I was driving around this afternoon I started to think about all the apartments and houses that I’ve lived in and what I loved about each of them. Don’t get me wrong; I love love love our house right now, but if I could add the bedroom from one apartment and the kitchen from another it might just be better than it could ever be.

When I was in college I moved into an apartment with three other gals. What fun! What a great apartment. 3 regular size bedrooms and one really tiny one; I really got the pick of the litter. If you ever spent any time in the triple deckers in Massachusetts you understand what I mean when I say I lived in the front room. It was all windows and fairly spacious. My bed was on the floor and filled up a cozy corner of the room. It was perfect for napping, doing homework, hanging out… what a great room. The apartment was pretty great too.

The year that I got married my hubby and I moved into my mom’s house; there was a great apartment on the 1^st floor that was pretty perfect, not big but big enough. A few years later we bought the house and moved upstairs into the house that I grew up in. The kitchen in that house was awesome. Sliding doors onto a deck, marble tile floor, gas stove… everything about it was perfect. My favorite thing to do was to sit at that table in the sunshine and drink my morning coffee. If it was a nice day you could open the slider or sit on the deck. Ahhh… the memories.

During my junior year in college I studied abroad in Germany for a semester. I attended two separate programs and both times lived in really old renovated buildings. The first was a nunnery and the second and seminary. What an experience. My favorite by far was the second place. It was more of an apartment with a teeny kitchen and an even teenier bathroom. I shared the kitchen and bath with the guy across the hall. But my room was perfect. There was nothing spacious about it; a single bed, table, bookshelf and closet. I could barely turn around twice. The best part; the window! It took up a whole wall and opened like a door. It was amazing. Even better was that it looked out onto the courtyard. The seminary was shaped like a square donut. There were three floors and four wings. The interior was a courtyard with grass and benches and a place where we could light fires at night. The building was across the street from a river; but was much more like a park. There were walkways and benches; after dinner at night I would walk up and down the river. It was so calming to live near water.

What a fun trip down memory lane!

Ciao
S