Eight People Slept in Our House!

Since Patrick's highlight of the week is going to see one of his favorite teams beat the crap out of another team, he likes to make sure and keep his style super trendy. It's prudent to feel good and look good in a new outfit, but all the mirrors were being used so we resorted to staged life like situational phone photography as a substitute. (Yeah.....this didn't look awkward at all....)

Decked out in game day appropriate gear and ready to cheer, we packed the whole family into the big bertha mobile and headed to Jerry's place.

This place is seriously so big, you can be a mile from it and think it's just a block away. Mind blown......

After our walk across the metroplex (I may be exaggerating a tad, but barely....those bike and carriage guys made a killing off of the swarms of people who didn't want to walk...), we only had a few minutes to spare for hitting up the Vaherencamp tailgate.

For some reason, we can never figure out how to arrive in time for a more decent amount of pre-game celebrations.

I know what you're thinking.....best looking windblown couple in Arlington, right? It turned out to be a really crummy day for flowing locks of hair. Mine was so tangled when we got home, I almost just took out the scissors and went back to my old pixie days.

Let me just say, Patrick was very lucky to make it into the game alive. I was so close to forming a angry mob to take him out during our 45 minutes in line just to get into the doors of the stadium. I'm sure he just thought he was being comical, but my hormones had a tendency to disagree. 

Despite having a great time, I think we can all agree our seats were just ridiculously high....about 9 rows from the tip top, to be exact. The only time I actually spent watching the field instead of the big screen was during Baylor's impressive half-time show, a tribute to all the armed forces with very creative formations to represent each one. 

But let me be completely honest here.....I didn't stay awake for the longest football game in the history of college football. I can barely stay awake for any extensive amount of time these days, no matter what's going on. Some people think this is funny.....

The more I look at this picture, the more I'm embarrassed that this isn't exactly the most flattering pose for me.......but hey, I am who I am!

The sad part about the night is I'm a little slow and wasn't very keen on how to use my new self timer yet, thought I took a great group photo of the entire family with the beautiful shiny empty stadium in the background and then had a lady take our picture also, just in case......to find out once home, that none of those pictures were actually taken!!! Bummer. 

Good thing we paused for a microscopic family picture in the sky mirror before heading to IHOP for dinner because it was basically the only thing left open, and then back to the kpLOVE residence for a gigantic slumber party (a record for us).

What's the most amount of people that's ever slept in your house/apartment/townhome/tailer/car/hotel at one time?

Because I'll Want to Remember: Week 10

1. My body refuses to sleep between the hours of 4-7am. Refuses. No matter what time I go to sleep. And Patrick hates it when I get out of bed, since I'm already absent from bed at least 3 nights out of the week, therefore my tablet's Netflix app is getting it's fair share of use!! I hope, in some magical telepathic way, that guy who accidentally helped me win it knows how much it's saved my life!

2. My nausea has subdued to a constant feeling of overly queasy, and I'll take any kind of improvement in that department that I can get!

3. Although still exhausted, I've actually been quite productive this week, considering. I partook in cleaning house for the first time in weeks, and even cooked a few things (Like these muffin sized breakfast casserole things. I altered the recipe a bit by using tater crowns instead of regular tots, used fresh chopped spinach as my only veggie, used spicy sausage and bacon for the meat, added some garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper to my eggs, and sprinkled mozzerella cheese on top instead of  cheddar.).

4. I'm feeling what they call "round ligament stretching" cramps......or so I hope that's what all the aches and pains are about. I "popped" in the middle of the night at work.......just enough so that anyone who didn't know me would think I have a beer gut. A couple of people mentioned it, so I looked in the mirror and was like, "Holy crap! Where'd that come from?" I read my uterus is still fairly low, but now the size of a grapefruit, so this "pop" is a result of my intestines being pushed out of the way.....TMI? I told a friend I was going to make a saying button reading, "This isn't what you think it is," to pin on the abdomen area of my shirts.

5. A little fun tid-bit, all my chin zits moved to my forehead this week.
6. Banana's and strawberries! I was craving banana pudding so badly for the last two weeks, so my very sweet mother-in-law brought me some......and it tasted AMAZING. I didn't really want to share. 
7. Anything pumpkin is totally grossing me out. I can't even look at pumpkin recipes or pictures on Pinterest.
8. Still hating water and sweet flavored drinks, but soooooo thirsty I dream of being thirsty. Basically unsweeten tea is all I ever want, which is very very strange. 

Seeing Stars

What I'd wish someone had mentioned to me before attending a hockey game, was how cold the venue is kept in order to maintain the ice! I obviously should have known, but wasn't exactly putting two and two together, considering I'd been to the American Airlines Center a million times (It's incredible how fast that place can be made over into something entirely different; just the very night before that floor was a basketball court!) and always find it fairly warm inside. Needless to say I found myself extremely jealous of the girls sitting in front of me wearing mittens and jackets. 

I've been to a ton of DFW sporting events, but never a Stars hockey game, so when we got the invitation from Patrick's friend, Seth, we of course jumped at going. (Not to mention, I'm always looking for excuses to be near Victory Park so I can eat at Naga or Neo's.)

The only thing I knew about hockey was what The Mighty Ducks taught me, so to put it mildly......I had a lot to learn. Seth and Patrick were very patient with me as I asked more questions then a 5 year old, and then I found this handy dandy tip sheet in the program to teach me more in depth about all the penalties I wouldn't be paying attention to.......I was too preoccupied with how many sticks were broken and left on the ice during the game.

In the mean time, my hero Patrick, went on a search to find me some hot chocolate to keep me from feeling like Miley Cryus at a Late Night Show (Freezing......in case you didn't get it......because she doesn't wear clothes these days and always talks about how cold the sets are.)

I wonder how many people around us were wondering why me and that guy in the plaid shirt were yelling, "Pick 'em up! Put 'em down!"? (Too bad for them, they never went to that Allen hockey game with us a few years ago when we got to be on the Kiss Cam and made up hilariously ridiculous things to yell at the players while drinking a little too much.)

Thanks, Seth, for dinner and a game. We owe you one, buddy.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Casino night is a fantastic part of the year when the Pediatrix group of doctors that collaboratively work with our local NICU's throw a big party to show their gratitude.

Last year it was extra special because it was on my birthday, and this year it was super special because it was Ale's and Zach's very first night out since becoming new parents.

Besides, anytime there's a free dinner involved with dancing and potential take home prizes, I'm totally game.

Latricia managed to take a break in all her hardcore travel nursing in perfect timing for the event, and was sure not to forget her photo albums for bragging rights to make me jealous.

With so many fun things to do, it didn't take long for everyone to split up and cover some ground. I planned on taking advantage of a free night of gambling and headed straight for the Craps table, hoping someone would have mercy on me and teach a sober girl new tricks. As it turns out, I'm a pretty lucky dice roller. I had so much fun betting all my chips like a high roller, I actually stayed at the same table until last call. 

When I got back to the table to retrieve Patrick's gambling ticket he never used so I could add it to my raffle stash, I learned he was having a little too much fun out on the dance floor entertaining all my coworkers. So much fun that he'd lost his ticket; probably danced it right out of his pocket. Tsk, tsk.

That boy loves a crowd. 

To my surprise, someone overheard my gentle confrontation with him about the issue (I was serious about winning something from this raffle), and as a result, donated his tickets to me. Seriously. I tried briefly explaining to him that he could drop those very tickets into prize bags for a drawing to win something cool, but he insisted. So I took them a ran. 

And then I danced the rest of the evening away with my girls. It's so weird dancing while completely sustaining from alcohol; I don't think I've ever done both at the same time before. 

I bet that guy was kicking himself in the butt when he saw me jump up from the table and cheer for myself excessively after they called my number as the winner of a Samsung Galaxy Mini Tablet!!! I offered to cut it in half and split it with him, but he graciously denied as a gentleman should, and then looked really scared when his girlfriend asked him what the heck I was talking about. Oops. 

When the party was over, Ale and Zach still had some left over babysitter time they wanted to utilize, so we headed to the shops to try out a new upscale Mexican joint. Even with that obscenely unfocused iphone picture, you can tell just how beautiful it is over there during the holiday season........which is the only thing I miss about our old apartment living (besides being walking distance from my favorite Sushi place).

We all  know appearances aren't everything, and this place was lacking in everything but that. After being completely disappointed that they would no longer serve chips and salsa, and a million minutes after everyone placed their drink order (they couldn't even make me a virgin ANYTHING), the drinks rolled out from behind the bar and straight onto Patrick's shirt (not only did the manager already have to apologize for their extreme tardiness when the place was practically empty, but had to come back and pay for the entire table's order since they ruined Patrick's shirt with sangria).

It's a good thing we all know how to laugh off a horrible restaurant decision!  

One shirt down, one tablet gained. Patrick is so jealous, he's now calling me Mrs. Technology. 

What's the best thing you've ever won?

Stupid Nightmares and Flashbacks: Week 9

After a stressful and restless sleep filled with horribly vivid nightmares of unbelievably awful things my subconscious imagined would go wrong at our doctor's appointment the next morning, it was time to get my act together for another ultrasound. Patrick was so sweet and went out of his way before work to switch the cars in the driveway, so I wouldn't have to take the stinky car (still recovering from the mildew accident), a very nice surprise that put an easy smile on my face. 

We didn't have to sit for long. Apparently the earlier the appointment, the less behind the office is. But as soon as we were greeted by the tech who'd be performing our ultrasound, my stomach immediately turned. Not that I'd expect her to remember, but she was the tech who was doing our 12 week ultrasound a year before and walked out of the room without saying a word when she confirmed the baby no longer had a heartbeat. She left us there hanging with the most awful news we'd ever received.

 I tried my hardest to block out any negative associative thoughts as we exited the waiting room and moved closer to another moment of truth, but it's always easier to remember the bad, isn't it? 

"Sorry the gel isn't warmed yet. This is going to be cold, " she said before going in for the view. 

Oh great, she just keeps getting better......NOT.  

Thankfully, all my worries were momentarily put to ease when we saw the heartbeat at a strong 186bpm and the baby doing a little dance, measuring exactly perfect to the date. As she was taking pictures, I asked her to put a "Go Bears" caption for the screen shot and it almost looked as if little Cotton threw up his/her tiny Sic' Em Claw.

If it was up to me, I'd get an ultrasound every week, but since it isn't, 3 weeks will just have to mosey on by so we can have another comparison picture to add to the frig. I can't wait to actually hear the heart beat for the first time.  

It's amazing how fast they grow, isn't it?

Happily Miserable: Week 8

The worst part of my day right now is brushing my teeth, which I'm doing a dentist's nightmare of. As soon as the toothbrush passes the threshold of my lips, my eyes and mouth start watering profusely just to hold back the vomit rising in my esophagus. The gag reflex isn't performing conservatively these days and I fear its causing adverse breath affects, as if the added iron in my multivitamin isn't already doing a good enough job of that already (sorry everyone who gets to close). I'm so thirsty, and yet water tastes terrible.......

The articles say when you're feeling exhausted, a brisk walk can boost one's energy levels, but my body begs to differ. It'd rather survive in a comatose state and literally feel like it's rejecting action of any kind at all times. Sometimes I don't know if I'm so tried I'm nauseous or so nauseous it's making me feel tired, or both!

source

Speaking of action, I think I'm going to bring a bat with me to the gym next week, so I can demolish a T.V. off an elliptical. Up and down and up and down the image shifts. Between being bound to a machine for lengthy periods in a building saturated with the rancid smell of collective sweat and having a shifting image so close to my face the entire time, I'm literally sea sick. I've been attempting to make it Zumba instead so I can look like an idiot by doing the complete opposite of everyone else in class, but it's so difficult being bound to the limited time schedule. 

 At 7 weeks, Patrick asked how something the size of a long grain of rice could make my stomach poke out so much.........good question. Bloating is a beast of it's own nature. He's also genuinely concerned about the way I sleep and has repeatedly begged me not to sit up and lean forward anymore, as if I have control over my lifelong awkward sleeping habits. My mom's tried to get me to stop "sleeping on my head" (as she calls it) for years! 

I've been more involuntarily moody than I ever recall. (Crying, getting easily annoyed, you name it, I've done it.) 

Vivid dreams pay frequent visits, except for that night I drank 2 glasses of tea before bed and had to get up 7 times to pee (I counted)!

All this may sound like complaining, but seriously, I'm completely thrilled to have the opportunity to feel this way (I even shortened the list of symptoms so it didn't sound too whiny.....). The whole truth and nothing but the truth: time between ultrasounds passes very slowly and the only thing I have to help subdue my worries are these symptoms making me happily miserable.

The Kessler

Last Sunday night, to continue on with my birthday festivities that everyone's probably tired of hearing about by now (Hey, I get a whole week. It's just how it is.), we met Tim and Lara in the Bishop Arts District of Oak Cliff for some dinner and a concert.

Everyone was letting me decide on the food, and up until the last minute I still couldn't come up with anything that sounded good (very uncharacteristic of me) besides bread, so Eno's it was, where the boys could have their pizza and the girls could have bread and soup after eating appetizers of fresh bruschetta and truffle cheese bread.

As if I wasn't already blessed enough over the weekend, Lara surprised me with a new apron similar to one she has that I really liked. As soon as I start cooking again, I'll be putting it to good use, and it'll be perfect for flower shop days!

From one cute place to the next, we headed down the road to The Kessler. Built in the 1940's, this vintage building with a serious art deco flair that's been partially destroyed by disasters over the years but restored and still standing, has been everything from a movie theater, to a church, to a retail store, and now a unique and understated concert/art venue.

Today, it's renovated to be pretty true to it's original state, making it a very cool and intimate place for a concert. Even cooler, sitting in the comfy seats of the double row balcony was a perfect perch for people watching, especially one drunk girl in particular (who we were taking bets on for puking before the night was over from all the spinning she was doing).

The headliner we came for, A Silent Film, is a British indie band we missed while having lunch at Edge Fest last spring, with a confusing name that leaves most people wondering if you're talking about listening to a band or watching an actual very old style movie with no sound.

If you're vaguely familiar with any of their songs, it'd probably be Harbour Lights, but my favorite for the night was a new song performed beautifully with just the piano, of which the name I remain clueless to.

Now, the important question is.......how do we get Dave and Tim to play here?!?!?!? 

My Favorite Birthday Surprise Yet

Patrick went big for my birthday this year. Badda Big.

I was on the verge of dying from anticipation by the time the day finally arrived. I love surprises, but I also kinda like to know everything about them as soon as I find out there's one in store!! All I knew about this mystery event he'd been hanging over my head was I should wear a dress. 

After letting me sleep in, taking me out to a great little breakfast at an adorably quaint cafe in downtown Plano, and then driving all the way to the McKinney Best Buy to buy me the new camera I'd been wanting, I was sent upstairs to get ready for our hot date.

It was pretty cute how he actually had the directions to our destination memorized so he wouldn't give any hints away with the phone navigation. It wasn't until we parked that I was sure where we were headed, the fancy shmancy Five Sixty restaurant in Reunion Tower! 

When I say fancy, I mean we had an elevator escort who formally introduced himself, a waiter who over graciously kissed our asses by saying "thank you" every time he picked up a dirty dish from our table, and was served pureed butternut squash soup in an espresso cup as a complimentary appetizer.

We couldn't have lucked out on a better day for visibility. Not only was the view of downtown Dallas gorgeous, but as we slowly revolved on the human size Lazy-Suzan turntable, we could see all the way over the plains of Texas to Fort Worth and could even point out the Cowboy's Stadium in Arlington. 

With all the nausea I've been experiencing lately, I told him it was a pretty risky move taking me to eat in a tower that was constantly moving, but luckily I was having a mild symptom day and as long as I didn't focus too hard on what was happening, I was fine.  

Our reservations were early enough that we basically got to feel like we had the entire romantic setting to ourselves for a while before the Saturday crowd started to fill the seating arrangements. 

After our appetizers of crispy green beans with candied walnuts, fried shrimp lettuce wraps, and calamari, we moved on to the main course of lacquered Chinese duckling and lo-mein noodles.

Even though I'd already decided to let Patrick eat most of the duck, since all the appetizers we my favorite, I really found the motivation to push the rest of my plate to the side when I figured out what the second half of my surprise was (I'm pretty smart like that). 

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Pinkberry??? Ah, I know I have, but seriously, I LOVE Pinkberry. 

The next day I awoke to a house full of family that came up to surprise me with a birthday lunch and presents (and a special card from my Dad, since he was at the deer lease, instead)!!! Overjoyed, I got dressed as quickly as possible so we could head over to La Hacienda where some other important people in my life would soon show up to surprise me as well! Both my brother and Jessica worked all night and forfeited sleep to make it to my gathering. Oh how I love them all. (The nieces thought it was hilarious that we ate in "Papa's Room", since that's what they call Patrick.)

And since lunch just wasn't long enough of a time to spend together, all the girls went shopping at Charming Charlie's while the men killed time outside, probably complaining about how much time us women can actually spend in a single store without getting bored. 

I really think this was my favorite birthday to date; a great way to kick start the last year of my 20's!

What's your favorite birthday to date?

Baby's First Picture: Week 7

After a bit of convincing on my part, I finally had Patrick on the same page with me to tell our immediate families the exciting, but guarded news. So the night we met up with everyone for the Baylor homecoming game, we made the hushed announcement. We were in need for a different kind of prayers now, the kind for calm nerves (for us), and healthy development (for baby).

The following Monday, I met Patrick at the doctor's office, still trying to eat the same mini package of freeze dried apples I'd been working on for the last hour, and only half ready since I had a choice between finishing my hair and makeup while puking in the sink or laying down under the fan for a few more minutes before getting behind the wheel to fight motion sickness on top of morning sickness. We sat there mindlessly flipping through magazines and pretending to care what was in them until my name was finally called, then braced ourselves as we slowly got up to follow the ultrasound tech. 

The tech then explained to us she'd been informed about what we've been through and from then on, made it a point to be as assuring as possible by explaining every single step during the process we were already familiar with. "There's your baby! Do you see it?"

No. I didn't see it. I actually started to panic a little inside. Why couldn't I see a heartbeat? Where's the baby?! "I don't see it."

"Here, let me zoom in a little bit. It's there, I promise. Just very tiny right now. The little flicker; right there. That's the heart beat."

Ahh. A flood a relief washed over me. I see it. I see the heartbeat. 

When we walked back out to the lobby to wait to be called to see the doctor, Patrick's insight hit home exactly. "When I walk into this place, I think I feel the same way the puppies feel when we bring them to the vet. Terrified something bad is going to happen."

But this time it didn't. 

We were beyond thankful of our doctor's strong reassurance and understanding of our feelings without us even having to voice them. "Everything looks perfect. Measurements are spot on. Do you have any questions?"

"When do we come back for another ultrasound?" Patrick asked. 

He suggested we come back sooner, but reinforced that there was absolutely no need other than keeping us from going crazy.  

So here we go, taking things a couple of weeks at a time. A practice of patience.