The Prettiest Face

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IT'S A GIRL!!!!

She is fabulous and healthy and ALL girl! We saw her beautiful little face sucking on her fingers and singing with her mouth wide open. We got a great butt shut that proves she's all girl, but Giant doesn't want everyone looking at her butt, so I'm refraining from putting it up yet..but its so stinkin' cute! I've always wondered how I would react at the moment when it hits me I'm having a baby. Up until today, I can't say I felt like it was real. Today, that changed. I saw her tiny toes curl first and the water works started. Hearts good. Check. Brains good. Check. Two arms. Check. Two legs. Check. She's perfect! Oh I'm in love.....with this little face!

BIG DAY!!!

In a short summary of my emotions. BAAAAaaaaHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! (Imagine this being yelled with my loud mouth frog face to truly appreciate the capital letters and exclamations). Yep that about sums it up. Any more details needed? .... Ok, I'll give you more than that.

Today has been (almost) perfect so far. Besides that fact that I'm at work, its been fantastic. Let's see, I woke up this morning to a phone call at 6:30am from my cousin Heather that told me Winter was selected as a Disney Kid for the local country radio station 97.3 The Eagle! Every year this station selects a few nominated local kids, usually kids that have health issues and a lot on their plate, and send them to Disney World for FREE! I nominated Winter by writing a little letter explaining about what she has been through the last eight months and what an amazing trooper she has been through it all. Never thinking mine would make it through, even though I knew she deserved it! Last night I got a call from the radio station verifying my letter and letting me know she was in the final pick. Called Heather immediately. Told her what I'd done. She got a call at 6:30 letting her know that Winter was selected! So, Heather and Winter were on the radio for the announcement. TOO COOL!!! Here is the link to hear her clip. http://www.eagle97.com/pages/6698769.php. Now, remember it was 6:30am. She is just getting off steroids (makes her responses- hmmm- a little unpredictable shall we say?!) (I might have been biting my nails as soon as she came on...). And she has know clue where Walt Disney World is. But she did fabulously! Such a sweetheart that baby girl is. So, SHE'S GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!

And, now in 45 minutes, I go to find out what our little Peapod is! I've been advised to get a little sugar in me right before to get her dancing so there are no legs crossed during this appointment. I like it! Snickers it is! ... or orange juice... but probably snickers cause it sounds so good! :)

Check back very soon for our announcement!

Baby Bump Week 19

First baby bump pictures for the record. One day before we find out if Peapod is a boy or girl. EEK!!!

In all seriousness- these pictures were taken at the EXACT same time! Hubs didn't think I looked pregnant enough in my black top, so he told me to go my white top (because apparently it makes me look WAY more pregnant). HOLY COW he was right! These pictures look like there is a two month gap! I mean- granted- I did stick my belly out in the white top as much as possible until I about popped- and he told me I'd look more pregnant with my hand on my back (hehe) so I went with it. In fair judgement, go with the top picture. Its much more accurate!!! And that white top might be going away for awhile- hope it didn't do that pre-preggoness!

Everybody's NOT fine

Update: Caution: Title completely unrelated to baby Peapod. We are fine :)

Genius me... has been having a rough last few days- rough past week more like it. Nothing severe. Just a slump. A dang annoying pessimistic black cloud slump. I can't seem to make many things go my way. Emotions included. Very. Frustrating. I'd say I spent a good chunk of my weekend crying. For what reason you ask? Oh now that I look back, I have no idea what one thing stuck out the most enough to come so unglued. I think I'm starting a habit of saying "Poor Hubs." He used to get so frustrated that I'm not an "easy" person to console or help. It's true. I'm not a comfortable person with the whole crying scene in the first place, even though yes I may have been referred to once or twice as the drama queen in my family. I have a pretty good life when I sit back and look at things. I can't say that I've been handed anything ever that I didn't have some part in creating or something I couldn't handle. I have an amazingly supportive family. I have some fabulously loyal friends. I have a loving husband. And the sun came up this morning- so overall things are positive. However, as I've mentioned before- I'm a "realist" and let's just face it- life is hard. (I'm on a rabbit trail right now because that was not the point of this post! sorry.)

So, last night after yet another difficult day at work, I needed to unwind. I thought, "Hmm I want to watch a movie, get my mind off things." Movie nights always seem to help. So Hubs and I sat for an hour scrolling through the On Demand movies viewing previews of various movies, neither able to make the call. So I narrowed it down to 3 movies, which were all in the wrong category for my mood but there were no side-splittingly funny comedies available. Here's how my thoughts went... "Lovely Bones. Looks like it could be good. But I think I will terrified for Peapod after so lets skip that one. Where the Wild Things Are. Oh man I've been wanting to see that! Well, Cousin said it is pretty dark in the first half and maybe I shouldn't see it tonight and make me worse. OK so Everybody's Fine. that looks like a good family loving movie. Drew Barrymore's in it. Eh she's alright at acting but she's always in peppy movies so this will be a good one to lighten my mood."

Wrong. Very. Very. Wrong. This might have been the worst pick possible for my mood. I mean, geesh, I was crying within the first 2 minutes. Literally. What the crap? Good movie for those not easily swayed by emotions right now or people who don't miss their family already. Ugh! At one point, I was sobbing so hard, I don't think I could breathe. So, lesson learned. Don't judge a movie by its title! Because, last night- everybody was NOT fine!

Tiny dancer

I can't believe I've never posted this. This is a little old- sorry. Granted, its not the most exciting movie since our tiny dancer got a little camera shy, but it was great pre-video on.

The background on this- at ten weeks, we went to an ultrasound for our first viewing of Peapod with limbs (which remains the only picture we have of her :( grr). As soon as the ultrasound screen turned on, we saw little one dancing up a storm. Little arms and legs just jump'n and jiv'n. I yelled for Hubs to grab the camera in my purse and get the video going. Then... as soon as he had the camera pointed and ready to shoot... she froze. Ahhh! Its like Peapod knew the camera was on and she got camera shy (which you'll hear me say during the video). Cracked us up. I tried moving around, doc tried poking around, but nothing. She just froze. Looks more like a photo than a video. Well you'll see!

Team Pink or Team Blue

Hello friends!

This is the week we've all been waiting for! The big Team Pink or Team Blue week. Which side are you on? I was so confident this entire 18 weeks (14 of which I knew about) that it would be pink round and round, but I've got to be completely honest- the closer I get to finding out, the more unsure I am! My gut is still saying girl, but the unknowing is killing me! To my dear sweet Cara Marie, I don't know how you did it- went all 40 weeks without knowing what you were getting with perfect lil chunker E! I thought, wow how cool of you to wait for the big surprise. Now, no no I think YOU WERE CRAZY! I can barely make it three more days without knowing. I think my family echoes the same response here. Don't worry. As soon I know, I'm sure I'll be sure that the rest of the world knows! We moved the appointment to 12:45 instead of 9am because there is just no way either of us could go back to work after that!

I guess its time to start the belly bump pictures. I seem to have sprouted a tummy over the last week or so. I know this because I just got asked. Talking to my sister this morning, I told her I had been indirectly asked-meaning a coworker asked another coworker (who knows but didn't know if she could share the news or not). So as I was talking to my sister, we both agreed I wouldn't be asked directly because it is such an awkward thing if- well -I wasn't. Wrong. A different coworker just grabbed me by the arm (oh, about 30 minutes ago) and whispered, "So, are you....." (note weirdest part: said while reaching to touch my belly) to which I replied "Yep" to which then an eavesdropper said "I thought so, I could see it." Awesome. Thanks for the input mystery contributor. At least that means I'm not just looking a little chubs around the waist! So, belly pics will commence shortly! :) Wish I could think of something to do for them... be thinking...

Let's see, Saturday my MIL Ellen and I went fabric shopping for the baby comforter. We've been brainstorming over this for months it feels like. I have searched and searched for a comforter that I like, and I came up completely empty handed. Notta single one. So, solution. Mother in law quilts and can make just about anything on a sewing machine so I'm putting her to work! Thankfully I didn't have to twist her arm too much! :) Logically, I should have waited until we know what Peapod is, but I tend to lean towards the same colors no matter what baby is- so we went for it. I picked out aqua/teals, greens, whites, robins egg blues.


This is just the comforter colors so I think it will be beautiful when we get everything together. Hubs is "a little" hesitant (to put it mildly)- but hey- we agreed along time ago, I'm in charge of the nursery. I actually thought he'd like it more, but apparently I failed that one. Hmphf- I tried. Oh well, I like it! (Note to giant husband if you are reading this- I really did try to pick things you would like *refer to the hours I spent in the fabric store- you can only imagine* and I am very disappointed you are not as big a fan as I am. But I think you will grow to love it, not for it but for what it will be keeping warm. Sincerely, your dwarf wife). So, dear reader, what do you think? I am thinking white sheets and bumper accessories. Easy cleaning right?!

I can't forget to send a quick blogging birthday shout out to my cousin Jen who we lovingly refer to as Momma Jen. Happy Birthday Momma Jen!! And also would like to send a dos shout out to our dear friends' the Saias on their second anniversary! Happy Anniversary parents-to-be Johnny and Christi!! So glad we are in this together. (We might have been perroozing our future family vacation beachhouses over the weekend online)... Max and Peapod will be great beach buddies :)!

18 Weeks Already

Let's see what our busy Peapod is up to this week.

"Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs- movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin, and her ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from her head at bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound." -this is from babycenter.com

"Baby's become amazingly mobile (compared to you, at least), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. And baby is finally big enough that you'll soon be able to feel her movements."- from thebump.com



Have I told you that we scheduled THE BIG ultrasound for next Thursday- April 29th at 9am? Just in time for Giant's birthday! So excited! He asked me today if we could reschedule it for tomorrow because he doesn't want to wait that long to find out. No, dear, no we have to wait...but it will be worth the extra little wait..!!

I have survived!!

I've missed you blog and devoted bloggies! This may be a long post (maybe about a lot of nothing, but I have lots to catch my thoughts up on).

My life for the last week in fast speed- "Cough. Cough. Croke like a 70 year old smoker man. Cough. Choke. Croke like a 13 year boy going through puberty. Lord just take me now. Cough. Cough" What I thought were preggo-induced allergies from all this pollen apparently evolved into a horrible chest cold. Today-finally- I'm starting to feel like a normal 25 year old gal again, and sound like one too WOOHOO!

Due to the whole coughing up a lung and not wanting to be around little Winter with whatever I had, I sadly missed my cousin Kevin's daughter Katrina's 5th birthday on Saturday which was such a bummer. Not so much that I missed a bunch of crazy wild screaming 4&5 year olds hyped-up on sugar (even though I totally did miss seeing that), I missed the family get together. These days, I think because I've been so used to seeing my cousin practically every other weekend for- well since I moved to college in 2003 minus a few months here and there- I hate missing them. The parties and gatherings have gotten fewer in the last year, obviously with Winter's health concerns, so I cherish the times we do all get together more than I used to. And as the time comes closer for Hubs and I to move away, whenever that may be, well it just makes me appreciate my family more. The older I get, and the closer I get to the reality of starting my own family, I realize more and more how very blessed I am with my family. Naturally, I'm a pessimist- which I have always termed "a realist." I stress. Its what I do. I fight the black cloud hovering above tooth and nail, but sometimes it just wins. But that doesn't stop me from trying to conquer it daily. The Giant-eh-he's more of an optimist. Let's just say that height is NOT our only major difference! You know how some people get married and just somehow morph into the same person in two bodies-- yeah-- that's not us. But that's for a whole other time. Back to me. :)

Instead of birthday partying, I did a little shopping on my own while Mike played golf. I might have even snuck into Babies-r-Us for a little baby dreaming too. But, no I did not buy anything! My superstitious side has surfaced again. I am refusing to buy anything baby yet because one- for practical reasons- we don't have anywhere for extra stuff right now and two- for superstitious reasons- the minute I buy something pink- a little peepee is going to pop out of nowhere on her and then I'm just up a creek covered in pink. Its the same logic as its bad luck to try on a wedding dress before you are engaged--which now that I think about, I might have done. Denny? Mom? Well I'm not sure and I guess I got engaged either way, but anyways... no baby buying until at least next week.

Sunday was a fabulously sunny chilly day on a bridge. We met up with my "adopted brother" as I've always refered to him Mikey who is also now the father of our god-daughter Jessica. the pictures below are of our "fishing adventure" which included very little adventure and even less fish. It was chilly but we held our ground on the James River Bridge, keeping our poles in the water without a single dang bite! Hadn't been fishing since I was a kid, well I can't really even say I fished. I was more of a bystander. I sure as crap didn't touch the squid bait, nor did I even put my own pole in the water...hmm... well I took a picture holding it so that counts right? Me and my flipflops in 60 degrees over choppy water with a cold and no voice-genius. But, I guarantee we'll be out again sometime soon. I will catch a fish- I mean on my line on the pole I don't put in the water, or bait, or reel in. But it will be mine ;).






AND, I almost forgot the most important part of my sick week! MY DAD WON!!! YAY Dad! As I mentioned in a previous post, my dad was rerunning for his position as Chairman of the Roanoke Valley Republican Committee. It was a hairy race with a lot of interesting challenges, but he nailed it! I mean-shoot-my family don't raise no losers- if they did, theyda named us Dr. Quinn and Medicine Woman. (Name that movie! Anyone?) Sorry- but really- he is amazing. He won 3/4 of the vote! You can just call him Landslide Bailey! Big applause to everyone involved cause it definitely was a team effort. Grassroot elections sometimes get overlooked, but they truely are the foundation of our political system. It takes about ten time the effort to get a vote in grassroots just because people don't understand or appreciate the process. Wish I could have been there Dad! I'm so proud of you Skipper. ;)

Flashes of Hope

I almost forgot to share these beatiful pictures with you!

If you know me- then know about my niece Winter. If you don't- here's a little history lesson. She is my cousin Heather's amazing 7 year old daughter who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia on August 25th, 2009-a week after her 7th birthday. I have resisted talking too much about her on here yet, not because I don't have anything to say or that there isn't important news to share, but everything else of mine is devoted to her right now and, well, this blog is to help me in other areas as well-so I'm branching out. You look at my facebook and you see Winter. You ask me how my family is and I might talk your ear off about her. You ask me what I'm doing for the weekend, and I'll probably tell you instead what is going on with her and what we're doing. If you want to know anything more on her directly, we have set up a website that her mom and I keep updated for people to visit. (You have to login with an email address because we didn't want just any joe-blow in cyber world to know specific details about her- but the email addresses are not used for anything). Thank you friends for caring and loving and continuing to pray. My family has received so much grace from so many during this time, most we may never even meet.

So, the other day she got pictures back from a photoshoot that was done in November at the hospital. This charity called Flashes of Hope came to The Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters and put on a photoshoot for all the chemo kids in oncology clinic. All FREE too. They did her makeup and Heather's too, giving them both an afternoon to look and feel beautiful. I wanted to share these with you. Isn't she just beautiful?













That's our amazingly strong Wintergirl.

Shameless plug

We are alive. I can't believe its Wednesday already. How did this happen? Things have been a little blah this week. All the pollen has begun its attack plan on my soul, and I am now hacking up a lung to survive! I have never once in my entire life had allergy problems. Now, holy moly, I know exactly why all you allergy-ans have complained about pollen all these years! I used to look at the blooms in the trees and smile as the wind blew through it. Now, today, I look at the same blooms and curse the seeds it came from. ~Excuse me for a moment while I try to breathe.~

Husband is back from the Masters- a little tanner and whole lot more in love with South Carolina. Papa Wood and he stayed in Columbia, SC since there were ZERO open rooms in Augusta, GA. They went down a day early to get in a little golf action of their own before taking in the entire rest of the trip devoted to golf. Snore. But they were excited so I was excited for them. Well, they were excited, until... the second hole at the course. Papa Wood, the professional golfer of the Wood family who would without hesitation play golf each and every day of his life if his wife would let him, threw out his back during his second hole swing. He continued on throughout the 18 holes, however, the remainder of the game was described to me as a medley of excruciating cringes and curses. He didn't let that ruin their trip though. They enjoyed their vaca and made it home in one piece.

I did exactly what I said I would do. I knit(ted?). Usually I can knit rather quickly but for some reason I think everything I am doing takes twice as long right now. So,nine squares down and only 27 more to go... Maybe T had the right idea. Howabout 9 washcloths? I just don't think Peapod would enjoy them half as much as a nice big soft blanket. So, I'll continue to knit my squares and pray I get finished one of these days.

In Bailey NEWS!!! Tomorrow is a big day for my parents. My dad is re-running for his position as Chairman of the Roanoke County Republican Committee. He has been dedicated to the RCRC for years and is a true believer in the Republican Creed. He is the strongest person I know and I am continually proud to claim him as my dad. My parents' and I have always had a special bond, one that as I begin to prepare my life for my child, I think about a lot and pray that God grants me a similarly unique bond with my Peapod. Some might call us political conservajunkies but-hey- when the right is right...?! JK, but seriously. Anyways, back to my dad. I will shamelessly plug his election here. If you live in Roanoke County and are a registered voter, howabout you take a little detour tomorrow night at 6pm and go visit the Roanoke Administration Building (5204 Bernard Dr) and vote for my dad. Every vote is needed and- frankly- grassroot politics is always fun to observe!


Ok friends, that's it for now. Sorry it was a little boring, but I'll have something better next time!

Where in the world?

Let's play a little game. It's called Where in the World is the Giant? I think this game will grow more popular as his AF world takes off.

OK, so I'll give you three important hints.



One. Think green. Think lots and lots of green.


Any guesses already? Nahh....


Two. There is a mixed medley of sand and water and hills. Oh my.


Getting closer yet?? Think hard.


Three. The final clue. Hope he's dressed appropriately. I hear they are real sticklers about that sort of thing. I hear a jacket is pretty special there too.


Any guesses yet? Well....
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The giant will be at......





Recognize it? He's at THE MASTERS! To you golfies out there, you know how exciting this is. To you non-golfies (like me- ahem- like I used to be- sorry hubs I'm trying) it is very difficult to get tickets since they are typical passed down only through family lines of club members. This year, the Giant and the Giant-dad were given tickets through a cousin that inherited them.

Wonder what his take on this guy will be, since he's been quite crowd friendly this year.

Watch for husband on tv. He'll be the giant amongst the crowd! What a life... as for me... I'm staying home and knitting a baby blanket- so exciting. Enjoy your weekend!

Thursday Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down

I found this trend on some other people's blogs and thought I'd join in on the fun today. This is my short list of thumbs up and thumbs down.

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Thumbs up to Sandra Bullock for continuing to take the high road that so many celebrities somehow ignore or have dissolved over time. Amiidst all the scandal and allegations of her husband's affair, she remains a poised and personal women, determined to keep her private affairs private. When she could so easily slam her husband in the media, she refuses to stoop to the tabloids level and that merits her a thumbs up.


I'm adding Kate Gosselin to this list for one reason, she is embarrassing herself for her family's future. People criticize her a lot, and I'm not saying I'm all Team Kate but let's face facts. Yes she has made tons of mistakes, but she has 8 kids, who wouldn't make mistakes? Her life now is a single mom providing for her family any way she can. So, I say, soak up the money in the limelight while it's on you Kate, because I have a feeling it might just be coming to an end soon.She'd never be able to go back to nursing and Lordy now we all know she will NEVER be a professional dancer. But, keep at it Kate, even for just my pure amusement at your two left feet :)


Thumbs up to peapod being the size of an avocado right now! I love avocados! Just had to throw that one in.

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Ignore the drawn out Today show parts, but this Nike commercial bothers me. It's gotten a lot of mixed reviews, but I say booo! My personal feelings for him aside, I think it's creepy that the voice is Tiger's deceased father and frankly it just doesn't get my sympathy vote! But, he's a golfer. It's what he does. Let him do what he is good at- hitting a ball around. That's all I have to say on him.


I had to add her to this list too, because her dancing is attrocious! I am horribly guilty of watching her dance only for the laughs, but its like watching a trainwreck that you can't help but stare at! I hope she stays on the show cause it wouldn't be half as entertaining without her. But, her dancing still gets a thumbs down.


Tiki Barber shame on you. You get a big thumbs down. Don't care the reason. Don't leave your wife of 11 years who is EIGHT MONTHS PREGNANT with your TWINS and has 4 other young children with you! But, sure as all, don't leave her for a 23-year-old blondie intern after you made it a habit of trashing your father for leaving your mother and family in a similar situation when you were a kid! Anyone smell a h-y-p-o-c-r-i-t? Goodness gracious! I liked him! He's a Roanokeian! How can you not?! Must be the Wahoo in him- (insert Go Hokies for affect!)
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Ok, that is the close to my Thursday Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down. Did you enjoy it? Maybe I'll do this again if you did. And, there Giant and T, there's my post for the day. Come again :)

Upchuck Day

Sorry my friends for the graphic title, but that is my life today. Today has not been a good day in the "holding down food" department. Are you tired of hearing me complain about morning sickness yet? Well tough- cause I'm tired of enduring it but that's not stopping it, so you dear reader might have to suffer the gruesome details of pregnancy with me a little while longer. You still love me though, right?! I promise eventually I'll write about other things besides my lovely queezy stomach. Just be glad that that's the side effect I've chosen to write about, instead of other lovelies :) I think I'm about to have to call Dr. Big Sis and find out if I can become immune to my Zofran because, man, my little magic no-more-throw-up dissolvable pills are not so magic anymore. I guess I wouldn't be so alarmed if I knew I wasn't getting too dehydrated. I am gulping bottles of water today in an attempt to help. I do NOT want to end up back at the hospital getting IV fluids to rehydrate my "dry as a bone" body like we did weeks ago. We can thank the loving giant for this glamorous picture... already sent on his phone to lord only knows how many people for a chuckle at my expense.

On to other things that I have no pictures downloaded yet to prove, we went to NC this weekend for an Easter visit with the giant's family. Almost all of his was there, some of which we hadn't seen since our wedding a year and a half ago. Hard to believe how fast time flies. Aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, grandparents and new nephew were all in attendance! I missed my family of course but his family is so wonderful to be with that we both really enjoyed our short visit.

His younger cousin Christian is the manager of a large chain of Raleigh tanning salons (super upscale with huge beautiful black and crystal chandeliers (zgallery.com) that I keep refering to today as I dream of where I'll put them in my mansion one day!) I think these are them.Seriously... in a tanning salon...amazed? So anyways, back to my point. Knowing i'm preggo and seeing how terrifyingly ghostish I was, she offered to take me to her salon and give me a FREE spray tan! I couldn't get the words YES out of my mouth fast enough. I panicked afterwards for a moment because I thought I pulled a Ross (click the link) but I woke up this morning and looked beautifully even so I think I psyched myself out. Thank. You. Lord. Didn't sleep well last night freaking myself out of what I'd look like in the morning...an orange marshmallow danced in my dreams.

I will be sure to post Easter pictures as soon as I upload them from my camera. I'm good about taking pictures. I'm horrible about uploading them. I'll try to get better...too late for april fools again?

To end for the day (because it's now past time for me to go home), I leave you with a picture of our god-daughter Jessica with her first set of Easter bunny ears we sent her. Enjoy! Isn't she a cutie?

I got the go-ahead

Even though "we" are keeping it off facebook until her big announcement, cause you know, things aren't official until they are "facebook official," I get to send out the first loud CONGRATULATIONS to one of my lifelong best friends (and one of my beautiful bridesmaids) Angela on her engagement! Her beau popped the big question last night and, well, I just couldn't be more excited for her! So....CONGRATULATIONS ANGE and NATHAN! July will be here before you know it, so we gots to start planning my friend! :)

Happy April 1...DC Palooza cont'd

Big news today!!! We're having twins!

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April FOOLS! ;) Breathe Mom... breathe...! Gotcha?! Anybody? Bueller? Bueller? Alright...

On to the real post...

OK, I can breathe again from underneath all the end of month papercrap... for the moment. Switching mindsets and hopping back into DC memory mode. Lets see- we ate and walked and ate some more and museumed and walked and walked and ate and slept and museumed and ate yet more and more and left. That pretty much sums it up. OK, for those who want more details: First and foremost, DC was an amazing weekend! The only thing missing that would have made it better was T! The giant and I met my parents' at her Arlington house (now being rented out while my sis and bro-in-law pretend being Californianers for a couple years). We met there so we could leave the parents car and drive our car into the district together. One car means less parking tabs and one very less-road-raged-and-frustrated-from-driving-in-a-big-Yankee-city-where-people-don't-know-how-to-drive father :) Not to be too overly dramatic or emotional, but oh man that short drive down her street made me SO sad. We pulled up in front of the house and I was so hoping to see her pop out of the front door, but sadly, nope. No action whatsoever at that door. We would know. We sat there for an hour waiting on Mom and Dad so I continued to just stare at the blue door. Sad yet?! But, most of that sadness went away as soon as Mom and Dad's little minicooper pulled around the corner! It was off to The Melting Pot for dinner thanks to a birthday surprise from the pretend Californianers. THANK YOU! So, have you ever been? It's my fave! This is my official endorsement. Who doesn't love a little fondue in their life?!

Man, I could make a whole post on why I love the Melting Pot- but I will spare you for now (keeping that one in the back of my mind for a slow post day!)

Back to DC Palooza... We stayed at an old DC charmed hotel, the Hotel Harrington on E & 11th. Great location! We walked and walked and walked to everything. We parked our car night one and didn't touch it again until we checked out Sunday. I miss the city life for that one main reason. Saturday we got up and made our way to and around the White House which was a few blocks away. Took some pictures amongst the crowds- see previous post for mentioned pictures. Oh I forgot to mention it just happened to also be the cherry blossom festival the same weekend- thus loooots of people out and about in the sunshine. We made our way to the National Geographic Museum which was what inspired this whole trip in the first place. The exhibit was fascinating, but no pictures to prove it. Dang museum rules on no cameras allowed. Husband, the history buff , enjoyed it so much. I think the museum was mostly for him and the city was mostly for me. I'll take it! We also went to the International Spy Museum on Sunday before we left. Its the one museum that I've never been to in DC but have always wanted to go to. It was not a disappointment! If you haven't been, you should go. It takes a few hours to get through and costs a pretty penny ($18 a person), but we enjoyed it. Cross that off my list of things to do in DC before I die.

The giant and I must have been on a mission to make the parents try new food because we only ate at one place that they had ever heard of, Subway. I mean, who can turn down Subway for a quick lunch? We ate at places like, well Melting Pot of course, then Gordon Biersch for Saturday dinner which we all loved, and Austin Grill (Tex-Mex) for Sunday lunch, and then finished off the weekend with yet another surprise from the sis at the Red Velvet Cupcakery! Mmmm I'm still stuffed. Sooo much food! I figure that's just a sign of a good weekend. Peapod treated me pretty well most of the weekend too, shocker! Thank you Zofran medicine. However, she is back in full force again- but at least we did well for the weekend.

Easter is just a few days away which means two important things. One, our God is good. Two, lent is almost over and facebook will be back up shortly. Be impressed! I have never actually made it through a lent for the whole entire 46 days- they say 40 but its a little tricky so I forget about those extra days without. So, I'll be seeing you back on facebook shortly. Although, I think I'll be leaving peapod off of there for a while FYI. Too many reasons why to explain here. If you want to know specifics, you can message me. Anyways, we're off to the inlaw grandparents' on Saturday to visit with all of the family and (the highlight) to see our new baby nephew Matthew. What are your Easter plans? Any easter egg hunts? I used to love those things! The golden egg! Not to mention that I love easter also because Cadbury eggs are my favorite candy of all time!

Anyways, I'll leave you with some Easter pictures to make your day a little better :)

This one always makes laugh.

Pudgy little cadbury egg! Is it weird this makes me a little hungry for one? Picture by Anne Geddes.

Picture by Anne Geddes.

Doesn't this just make you want a little easter baby? Picture by Anne Geddes.

Happy Easter Everybunny!