Tater it is!

Okay, I know it sounds a little silly, but we've finally come up with a name for our baby/my bump... "Tater." I know most people's names are a little cuter, but Andrew said something today that just clicked, so Tater it is!

I've always gotten cold easily, but since I've been pregnant, the 'I'm Freezing!!!' factor has grown exponentially. After a couple months of high gas bills, Andrew suggested that instead of turning the heat up in the whole house, that I just use my little space heater in my office. I don't leave my office except to go to the bathroom or eat lunch, so there really was no point in heating the whole house. I tell ya, this little Lasko floor heater can really put out some heat! Everytime Andrew comes home, he walks in my office and acts like he is going to pass out because it's so hot in here. Every single day he asks if I'm trying to cook myself and the baby. This morning his dad asked who was making biscuits (because the house was so toasty). Friday afternoon Andrew came in and made the usual 'cooking' comment and said something along the lines of 'that baby's going to come out a baked potato.' I don't remember the context of the baked potato comment this morning, maybe the car was so hot since my A/C isn't working right, but anyways, Tater, that's what we're calling it! I think it's kind of cute, yes, a little redneck, but still cute!

Note to Self...this is a "Family" blog, not "Emily/Baby" blog

As the title implies, this is a family blog, and not just about me/baby/pregnancy. Sometimes I forget though, so here's a little insight into something Andrew has been up to lately.

As many of you know, Andrew LOVES to fish. He also happens to be pretty darn good at it. Last year he made the decision to start fishing tournaments and was highly successful to say the least. Although we do have two boats in the garage, they really aren't big and powerful enough for the types of tournaments he fishes. A lot of these guys are highly competitive and the water can also become pretty treacherous. Our little 18' with a 60hp, which we love, isn't exactly cut out for a high speed take off on a windy day at Sam Rayburn or Toledo Bend. It is perfect for us though! Anyways, all this boat talk was leading me to my point that since our boat isn't really "Boater" material, Andrew decided to fish his first season as a "Co-Angler." For those unfamiliar with how this works, Boaters enter the tournament with their boat and pay a higher entry fee because the pay outs are higher. Co-Anglers enter without a boat and are randomly paired up with a Boater on the Friday before the tournament. Boaters fish against other Boaters, and Co-Anglers are competing against other Co-Anglers. Generally, the Co-Angler is in the more disadvantaged position because they are fishing in the back of the boat behind the Boater and the Boater has full say over where they fish.

Last year in Andrew's Rookie season, he finished 1st in the points standings in the Louisiana/Texas Co-Angler division. He was Angler of the Year! Basically, this means that he was the most consistent fisherman out of 150 Co-Anglers. I'd say that was quite an accomplishment! If you want to check out his angler profile, click here.

He qualified for the Regional tournament on DeGray Lake in Arkansas last October and placed 21st out of 160 anglers... and these 160 Anglers represented the Top 40 from 4 divisions. So really, he was 21st out of ~600 anglers from all four of these divisions. To commemorate his accomplishment, he was given a jacket with his name and "2009 Points Leader - Louisiana/Texas Division" embroidered on the shoulder. Pretty sweet!

He debated whether he was going to fish this year or not since it is a 5-6 weekend committment, and with the baby coming, it might be hard to make all the tournaments. He was going to fish the first tournament to see how he did to help him decide on whether he should fish the rest. He got 11th out of 125 and finished in the money. So yes, he will keep fishing! Hopefully someday (sooner, rather than later), we can have the kind of boat he needs in order to fish as a Boater and really challenge himself. In almost every tournament, he has caught more weight than his Boater did. He has also had to show a Boater how to get back to the ramp and where to fish to actually catch some fish. I have no doubt that he will succeed when he is able to make the switch over to the Boater division. (Donations for "Andrew's New Boat Fund" can be send to us at home) :-)

Andrew with his check from the Regional



Monster Bass caught at Toledo in February 2009

18ish Weeks Belly Shots

I missed my on-the-day 18 week pictures, but I did take one a few days before when I was leaving for Colorado and then took some this morning. So, if you average those two days, it's about 18 weeks. I definitely feel like I've 'popped' in the last couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to continuing to grow because me growing = baby growing!

Before Colorado



After Colorado (I think all the food made me grow a lot!)





Eventually I will be dressed enough and will have Andrew take a picture with my face included. :-) Oh, and that last picture made me realize I need to clean the mirror... eww!

18 Weeks and Counting...

So yesterday I hit the 18 week mark. I still cannot believe that I am almost half way there... time sure has flown on by. I'm pretty pumped about the food analogy this week... sweet potato!!! Just the thought has me ready for Thanksgiving and Amanda's sweet potatoes! YUM! That just made me realize that we will have a 4-month old this Thanksgiving...wow.


According to The Bump, "Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon."

As they've just told me, it's that time when I should be able to start feeling the baby. I've had those little flutters or bubbles for a couple weeks now, but am still waiting for that moment when I KNOW that it is the baby. Sometimes the flutters feel like there's a party going on in there, and I know that these feelings are the baby, but I guess my expectation is that I will actually feel a kick, more or less. My concern is that I am never still enough or am constantly distracted enough that I'm going to miss it. I've had a moment when I've moved a certain way and it felt like a jab in my abdomen, but then I just think that it's something getting shoved up next to my rib cage (it's not supposed to hurt, right?!?). I'm not really sure what to expect, so sometimes I think I've missed it. I know it will happen again, but as my new "Grow a Pirate" toy says, "Patience is a Virtue."

Fun Times in Colorado!

So, my dear friend Meghan and I have been talking about me coming to visit her in Denver FOREVER! Earlier this year, we finally picked a date, put it on the calendar, booked a ticket, and actually made it happen! I'm so glad I finally got to go visit the Megs!!!

We took it easy since she had a long couple of weeks and I was preggo. It was nice to just relax and be able to visit and hang out. When I got in on Friday, it was snowing (and didn't stop the whole time I was there). We went to Steubens to grab a bite to eat. Since I'm married to a Catholic, I decided to participate in the 'no meat on Friday' thing during Lent. This is the first year I've decided to do it with Andrew. It's actually a lot harder than I thought. So, to stay true to the sacrifice, I ordered shrimp & grits and their famous macaroni & cheese. Let's just say it wasn't too hard to not order meat when you had these options! :-) All jokes aside, I do like having to be more conscious of my decisions. Plus, I like that it is something that we are doing together.

Saturday we slept in and Meghan made banana nut muffins... yummy! We drove up to Boulder to walk around their little open air shopping district. There were some cute shops, but we all held back and didn't make too many purchases. I did find a cute new cold weather hat. Currently, mine are camo or say 'Team Realtree 'or 'Alaska' widely across the front. It was time for a new hat. We then went to a Michaels that was closing and got some serious bargains on "crap". Probably nothing we would have bought normally (i.e. a "grow a pirate"... the little sponge thing you put in water for 10 days (10 days!!!) and it is supposed to grow 600%). Everything I bought was $0.30 with the exception of my calculator batteries which were 70% off of $3.99...so, not bad. After the Michaels adventure, we went and saw Young Victoria with Emily Blunt. I LOVED it. I love period pieces and biographies, so I essentially got both here. I would definitely recommend it.

It was also Restaurant Week in Denver where they have $52.80 deals (I think 5,280 is the elevation). For $26.40 per person, you can get a three-course meal. Most of the entrees are normally $20-something, so it's definitely a good deal. Saturday we went to Zengo. It was amazing!!! One of the best meals I'd had in a long time, and you better believe I ate every last bite!

Sunday we slept in and then headed to the Nuggets-Celtics game. This was a BIG game and was sold out. I was pumped for stadium food, although I was quite sad that I'm not allowed to have hot dogs... who doesn't love a hot dog at a ball game! Nuggets pretty much owned that game and of course, everyone was happy by the big "W"!

Baby's First NBA Game (Kinda sad it wasn't a Mavs game, but oh well!)



Comparing myself to "Birdman" Chris Andersen. I don't know much about the guy other than he went to Blinn in Bryan, has way too many tattoos, looks extremely trashy, and apparently was convicted or charged with felony drug stuff, but still gets to play basketball and make big bucks $$$... Yeah, that's fair.


Pretty close!



Sunday night we had reservations at Root Down. The appetizer was wonderful, but my fish was only so-so... just because I wasn't wild about the veggie that came with it. I definitely enjoyed my dessert and hot chocolate though!

The funniest thing to us all weekend I think was that we attempted to watch the same movie 3 times. A childhood favorite book, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs", is now a movie and is actually really cute. We just put it in way too late Friday night, especially after the shrimp & grits and mac & cheese. Saturday morning we tried to pick up where we left off, but we both had fallen asleep at different times. Then, on Saturday, we talked too much while trying to watch it. Therefore, a third attempt was in order. I think we eventually watched the whole thing, albeit somewhat in bits and pieces. :-) Cute movie though!

It was such fun trip, but too short. Luckily I get to see one of the Megs again in a few weeks! Hopefully, I'll get to come visit again soon. Next time I won't be limited physically, so watch out slopes!!! I'm comin'!!!

Rockin' the Preggo Pants!

After accepting that none of my jeans fit anymore and fighting with the whole Be Band thing, I finally decided that I needed to go shopping for maternity clothes. My good friend DeeAnn totally hooked me up with a bunch of cute tops and dresses for the summer, but I was still pants-less! It took me a while to realize this since my daily attire is usually rather comfortable. :-) I'm going to Colorado this weekend to visit Ruble (YAY!!!) and was seriously getting concerned that I had nothing to wear. This was not the usual woman's cry of "Oh, I have nothing to wear!", but had a closet full of perfectly acceptable clothes. This was, I seriously have nothing that will cover my bottom except PJ pants.

Unfortunately, our maternity shopping selection in the Triangle is rather limited to Target, Motherhood Maternity, and Old Navy (that STILL hasn't reopened since the renovation that was supposed to be done a month ago!). I had already tried the jeans at Target a few weeks back with no luck, so I gave Motherhood Maternity a shot. Luckily, I found some jeans that fell into the 'good enough for now' category, but OH, do I miss my cute 7 jeans.

I have never had much of a backside, or any curves for that matter, so my proportions now are quite humorous to me. My belly is bigger than my butt!

Just What We Both Needed...

As one of my other friends put it... we did Valentines "Our Way"! We did not get all dressed up and go out to eat at some fancy restaurant. There were no roses, but there were of course some Ghirardelli chocolates in a heart shaped box. They were my favorite flavors too... caramel, raspberry, and white mint filling... yummy! (I get candy often since Andrew can't have it... he lives his candy fantasies through me.) What we did do was get up Saturday morning after a big breakfast and drive up to the lake. Several years ago we discovered a place, Midlake Kampground, which I have finally forgiven for the dreaded sin of spelling with a 'K' when it should be a 'C' (HUGE pet peeve of mine!!!). Anyways, it's nothing special, but they have these somewhat cozy little cabins that my mother-in-law probably would never stay in... sorry Wanda. :-) Some are better than others, but they are right on the water and have a porch swing. It's just comfortable and relaxing. We have gotten to know the owners very well and they just drive up on their golf cart, beer in hand (this is East Texas), and will just sit and chat about anything and everything for as long as you want to. One of the residents has previous fished professionally on the B.A.S.S. tour and it just taking a little break and guiding and doing some local tournaments. He's also one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. Andrew is just in heaven talking with both these guys about fishing and what not. They were actually the ones that first told him about fishing as a co-angler in the BFL tournaments. Good thing they did because in his rookie year last year he finished first in the points standings and now has a spiffy jacket with his name on it to prove it!



We got up there around lunch time and decided to give fishing a try for a couple hours. It was pretty cold and I had on all my layers... thank God for Under Armour! Fishing was hands down the worst it had ever been, and usually this means Andrew isn't in the best mood, but this time he wasn't. I wasn't either. If I'm not catching anything, I usually end up just playing with the pups or taking pictures. I LOVE fishing when we're catching fish, but when we aren't, I tend to have the attention span of a two year old. We didn't work at it too long and decided that a fire, fajitas, s'mores, and the Olympics sounded like a much better plan. So that's what we did. We went on a rock hunt to build a fire pit, lit up the little smoker, and had ourselves a pleasant evening.



Usually trips to the lake mean that I don't get to sleep in. Luckily, fishing wasn't the priority on this trip, so we did get to sleep in and have a delicious breakfast out of a box. Those Jimmy Dean sausage sandwiches and omelettes are actually pretty good. We normally get a cabin with a kitchen, but that didn't work out this time. Again, it was pretty chilly, but not near as bad as on Saturday. Again, the fishing was terrible. Andrew caught two, which, after talking to a buddy who fished a tournament at Toledo this same weekend, two was actually really good. The vast majority in the tournament didn't catch anything, much less even get a bite. The bald eagle got two also, except it took him a lot less time. Even though I have been fortunate to see quite a few bald eagles out in the wild, they still fascinate me. They really are majestic creatures (until you see then swarming trash piles in Alaska and realize they aren't that much different than other, far less attractive preying birds). Fortunately, this one lived up to the majestic standards.



It's moments like this when I wish I had an incredible camera with some huge lens...and to not be in a moving boat. Ahhh, the pictures I COULD have gotten. After he caught his fish he flew right over the boat. Man, he made fishing sure look easy.

A storm decided to blow in Sunday night, so we just stayed put inside the cabin and ate our deer steaks and watched the Olympics. Andrew brought me a surprise... hot chocolate, and of course we had the marshmellows for the s'mores! I was always to full after dinner to have a s'more, so I just had one for breakfast... after I ate my real breakfast! Hello truck driver's appetite... you have arrived!!!

Monday morning we got up fairly early and headed home, back in time to work by a reasonable hour. I don't think we realized that this was the LAST Valentines we had alone, except we weren't really alone... we had two pups at our heels the entire time. I guess they are preparing us well! :-)

17 Weeks!

Where has the time gone...17 weeks, really?!?! I am just ecstatic that it is going by so quickly and can't believe that in just a few short months we will have a child... but then I have a reality check/"holy crap" moment. In just a few short months, there will be a BABY...here...at our house...and it's not going anywhere (no return policy here). WOW! That's a lot to take in. As scary as that is, it is also exciting beyond belief. My belly is really starting to take shape, and I really need to get some maternity pants. Luckily, since I work at home the PJs have kept me comfortable for the last few weeks. I have dresses for church and when I go into work, but it just occurred to me that I really don't have anything else. I have one of those Bella band things from Target, but it drives me crazy and I feel like it's always bunching up or not in the right place. I am going to visit my dear friend Meghan in Colorado for a few days and I have NOTHING to wear, at least on my bottom half. A quick trip to Old Navy or Motherhood Maternity may be in store this week, I think those are my only choices around here.

Well, according to my weekly Bump updates, "Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints."

The Bump shows we're at an onion, but I've also seen mango. Either way, it's about 5 inches from crown to rump!


On another clothing note, without getting too personal, I am VERY excited to say that I have finally moved up on the alphabet one notch, if you know what I mean! :-) Whoop! Thanks, and Gig Em!

You are never too old to build a snowman!

Unless you never watched the news last week, you know that Dallas experienced record snowfall on Thursday. Mother Nature must know when I'm coming to Dallas, because both recent trips have included snow. We never lost power at my parents' house, so we actually enjoyed our little winter wonderland. I had a lot of friends who weren't as lucky.

Thursday morning I woke to to find a nice blanket of snow had fallen over night. I thought this was a lot, but it would prove to be nothing compared to Friday morning. It literally snowed ALL DAY on Thursday, and these were BIG flakes. This was the real deal.

Thursday Morning:



Friday Morning:



Thursday night we decided that on Friday morning, we were going to enjoy this rare treat from Mother Nature. I lived at home for 18 years and never got to make a "real" snowman with my parents or go sliding down the hill at Moss Haven Elementary on a cardboard box. It didn't matter that we are 28, 57, and 58... we were making a big snowman and walking up to the school yard. Yes, we would by far be the oldest ones up there, but we didn't care.

















We did learn that the cardboard box didn't work too well. Some little kids had a big Tupperware lid that seemed to do much better. If I had only had one of those little green plastic discs/saucers, I would have been flyin'! Since I'm preggo though, it was probably better that I had slowest sliding device. :-)

Here are some other pictures of this incredible weather:





















In addition to building a snowman and sliding down a hill on a cardboard box, we also made snow ice cream. This was a childhood favorite of mine when we used to go out to Meme and Dede's place in Glorieta, NM. My only recent opportunities to partake in this delicacy have been on my ski trips with Greta. It is actually quite simple and VERY delicious. Just mix fresh snow with some milk, sugar, and vanilla. You just pour enough milk to get the consistency you want (not too much though since snow melts fast). Add sugar and vanilla until it tastes just perfect! Snow ice cream is a rare treat, but SO worth it!

The (Pre) After Pictures...

Okay, as you all know, my super sweet brother came down to the Triangle a couple of weekends ago to help paint. We (and by "we", I mean mostly him) painted all the walls and ceilings in the master bedroom, kitchen, and living room...which is definitely the vast majority of our house. I am still amazed that all of that got done in one weekend. Nonetheless, almost 2 weeks later, the house is still not completely back in order. We (Andrew & me) got kind of sloppy when painting the living room and didn't make as much of an effort to have the dropcloths down in all the right places before we started painting. We learned in the kitchen that the paint drops came up easily with a fingernail...but that would be the bigger ones. The fine mist produced by slopping a heavy roller on the wall produced MANY of those little drops that are all over the place. It would take me a week crawling around the perimeter of the room with my fingernail to try to get it all up. We've tried mopping, using the abrasive side of the mop to scrub, those scratchy little squares, you name it. To say the least, we are deeply regretting our laziness in not securing all the dropcloths before we went to town painting. We still need to get some furniture for the bedroom and living room and re-hang all the artwork/decor/photos. Lastly, we plan to put up some trim/crown molding in all these rooms too. We know that will really complete the room and make all the lines look so much cleaner. No matter how careful you are, with textured walls & ceilings, there is NO way to make a perfect paint line at the seams. So, that's why the title of the post is the "Pre" After Pictures. It probably also doesn't come as a surprise to say that the colors don't look exactly as they do in person. They also don't do the rooms justice in terms of showing how much brighter they are now than they were before with the flat, tan paint everywhere.

Bedroom - Before (well, not really...I had already taken everything down & there are samples on the wall)

Bedroom - After


This is the only room we're not totally sure about yet. The color looked gorgeous on the swatch and when I had painted it on one wall, but when we put it on all 4 and then painted the ceilings, it turned out a little more sky-like than we would have liked. Andrew thinks there should be clouds on the wall and feels like it looks like a 17 year old girl's room. We plan on dark, more masculine furniture and maybe a little darker curtains. I think that will tone it down a bunch.

Living Room (i.e. "The Dungeon") - Before

Living Room - After (and NO, that is not burnt orange)


Believe it or not, the new accent wall was from the same swatch as the previous color, it's just the lightest of the three that were on there. The walls are now a warm, cream color. That room definitely is much brighter, although some recessed lighting would still be nice.

Kitchen - Before

Kitchen - After (to show the color, the whole room was not photo-ready)

We LOVE this green. There's good chance it will go in the nursery too. We still would love to paint the cabinets, but that will be a huge undertaking. I think a simple change in hardware could tide us over for a while. They already look better against the green walls than they did on the tan.

Week 16!...updated

The thing I find most fascinating about Week 16 is that the baby can start hearing you! How cool is that?!? I guess I better watch what I say! :-)


According to my weekly updates, our baby is now the size of an avocado....yummmm...guacamole! I've seen avocados in lots of different sizes, but supposedly it's the ones about 4.6". Next week is an onion... that's got to be one heck of an onion...5"!

Here's a little preview of the baby bump to date. It's still little, but I can defintely tell a difference over the last couple weeks.


I'm taking a picture every week, but since there's not much to look at yet, I figured I would only flash some skin every several weeks until it gets more interesting. There are still a couple pairs of jeans that I can fit in, but not my "cute" jeans. :-( That probably means they were too tight to begin with. Pants in general though are just not that comfortable, especially when you sit all day. If they'll go (like stretchy material), I want to pull them up over my belly...cute, I know. Andrew likes to make fun of me and my "grandma" pants (sorry, Mom). But if they don't, pushing them down below my belly just feels weird. I was never a fan of the super low rise trend. I went ahead a bought a couple of maternity dresses at Target. You wouldn't really ever know they were maternity though, which is good, because I'll probably be sporting them after the baby is born. I feel like they accentuate the baby bump, which is fun. I'm definitely ready to look pregnant. I'm not in a hurry to be huge, I just want that cute belly to where people know you're pregnant.

On a side note, I am FREEZING all the time. I absolutely cannot get warm. Andrew made one of those spur-of-the-moment impulse purchases at Walmart on Saturday while we were checking out... the ultra luxury, plush...blah, blah, blah... SNUGGIE!!! I pretty much wear it all day. :-)