Sunday, February 28, 2010

Bulldog Beauties

Today Brady, Frank, Mickey, and I went to the Bulldog Beauty Contest in Long Beach. Frank and Mickey were very excited to go down there and see all the bullies.



We didn't enter Frank and Mickey. We really just went to walk around and see all the bullies. It ended up being a gorgeous day and there were bullies everywhere! There was definitely a whole lotta butt sniffing happening.



What a sleepy bullie. That's the problem with bullies, when they get sleepy, they get sleepy and you end up having to lug them around. Which is no easy feat.



A lot of the girl bullies had tutus. Mickey is definitely getting one for next year.



Princess Bullie! Ok, maybe Mickey will be a princess next year.



Or a daisy, so cute! I'm loving the Coach leash.



Frank can be an old school football player. Bullies are such good sports.



There were also lots of pugs and French bullies. It was a festival of smushy faces and slightly labored breathing.

After the contest, we went to Bono's on Second Street for lunch. It's an awesome Italian restaurant. The burger and tuna melt were amazing. Frank thought he was going to get a little bite. He was wrong.



Two begging bullies. Actually they were very good while we ate. They were asleep underneath the table for most of the time. I love Long Beach, particularly the Second Street area. It's so dog friendly and cute. I was so happy our dogs were well behaved too. I, on the other hand, tried to make a break for it and run into a shoe store. Brady definitely stopped me before I could go anywhere!


It was a super fun day but not without its mishaps. Poor little Mickey hurt her paw. She is not happy about her bandage. My poor little baby!

Friday, February 26, 2010

Lessons in Registering

And I have officially started my baby registry.  Man, this is fun.  I loved registering for my wedding, gun in one hand, husband in the other, I conquered Macy's and Crate and Barrel.  Of course, I had to go online to manage my wedding registry and delete all the stupid stuff my husband registered for that I knew we were never going to use (like a juicer and a gigantic roasting pan that I would never be able to fit anywhere).  I haven't gone in store to register for baby stuff, so far I've just been on Target's website.  Most of the baby stuff isn't available in store, so it looks like my gun totin' days are over. 

Registering for the wedding was such a different mind set.  It was all "will we be eating off this china pattern when we our in our 60s?" and "I finally am going to have matching silverware and a toaster!"  Now, as I look at all the baby stuff, all I can think is "is this the safest product available for my baby?"  "Is there something better?"  So far, I have only picked up the easy stuff, the bedding.  I started looking at bottles, um yea, target.com has like 12 pages of just bottles.  There is glass, plastic, BPA free, colic bottles, breast feeding, formula feeding.  To say that I am overwelmed would be a serious understatement.  When I registered for the wedding, it was all about me, what I wanted, what I liked.  Now that I'm registering for the baby, it is all about what is best for him, what he will like, what is the safest and most nurturing.  It is such a good example of how the focus of my life is going to drastically change in June.

Monday, February 22, 2010

The Quest to Find the One

When Brady and I got engaged I attacked wedding planning with a vengence. Within two months of getting that ring on my finger I had my venue, photographer, and d.j. booked with depsoits paid. And then I did nothing, for months. The last two months of our engagement were spent scrambling. I had my dress hemmed without the shoes I was going to wear because I bought my wedding shoes days before the wedding (and my dress ended up being way too long). I didn't have a florist until almost six weeks before the wedding. I spent many nights getting only a few hours of sleep because I was stuffing favors, printing invitations, figuring out my seating chart. And I was horrifically busy with work for those last couple of months. It was a stressful, stressful time. A lot of wine was consumed.

I am trying to not procrastinate as much with my pregnancy. So at 23 weeks pregnant, I have officially begun my daycare search. I have been thinking about daycare for a while. I considered a nanny, in home daycare and a daycare center. I've ruled out the nanny. First of all, I need full time coverage, and a full time nanny costs a ridiculous amount of money. Second of all, you have to worry about the taxes, the liability of having someone work in your home, and if your nanny calls in sick you have to have a back up plan. The nanny thing just wasn't going to work out for me.

That leaves in home daycares and daycare centers. I have a bunch of tours scheduled over the next couple of weeks and more that I want to contact. I'll be asking lots of questions about ratios, licensing, nap schedules, feeding schedules, cleanliness, and curriculum. Yes, even infants have curriculum. One place teaches baby sign language. Hopefully they teach the parents too, I don't want my baby signing a bunch of stuff to me while I'm standing there just looking confused.

A lot of these daycares look very promising and I'm very much relieved that there are so many options. I'm excited to start touring them and find a great place for my little one.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Motherly Advice

I have always thought that a sitcom could be based around my mother. She comes up with some great one-liners. She is the one that taught me to "never cook on a Saturday night," hence the name of my blog.

While I was nesting/purging/getting rid of useless crap this weekend, I found the card my parents had given me for my law school graduation:



The front had a lovely quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, so perfect for the occasion.

Inside the card, my mother wrote:

"Balls said the queen, If I had them I'd be king. You're entering a male dominated profession so have some balls. Love, Mom."

So true, Mom, so true.

Progress

This weekend, Brady and I tackled the spare room/room where things go to die/future nursery. We had already done a little work but it was still pretty bad.

When we first started it looked like this:



And now it looks like this.



Much better! There are just a couple things that need to be moved out and it will be all clear! We got rid of the ugly wallpaper border and painted the walls a cheery yellow. Well Brady's dad painted. We don't do paint.

I'm very happy with the progress, but this chair has become the bane of my existence. It is an original Eames chair that has been in Brady's family for a while. While it is very cool looking and supposedly worth a lot of money, it is horribly impractical. It takes up a ton of room, the ottoman has metal corners of death, and it weighs a ton. I'm still not sure what we are doing with this thing, but we can't get rid of it because it is an original Eames chair. (The italics mean you are supposed to be impressed.)



I also need to find a place to donate my gigantic bag of old clothes. Kind of wish I had done that in 2009, might have made taxes a little less painful. But I'm not going to go into a tax rant, all I will say is that I'm bitter, very bitter, and I want to be able to write off my student loan interest damnmit! Ok, mini-rant over.

Brady refuses to remove his cases of golf balls from the wall because he claims it took him forever to hang them. I hope Baby Brady likes golf!



So we are making progress getting rid of the junk. Now I am focusing on the theme. When we painted the room, we were not pregnant. We just knew it would be a nursery someday. So we painted it a gender neutral yellow. But now I have to plan my theme around this color because Brady refuses to re-paint the room. My original and continuing thought was a jungle theme, like lions and zebras. Ok, I just had a total pregnancy brain moment. I feel like I've already blogged about this before, but I can't remember and I'm too lazy to look through my blog. Maybe I just thought about it and meant to blog it...or maybe I did blog it. Well if you are reading this for the second time, a thousand apologies. Back to the theme, I'm thinking a jungle theme but I am stumped for ways to incorporate the theme into the room other than just the bedding. So my next project is to figure out the theme, and donate all those clothes, and figure out what to do with that stupid chair, and find a place to hang the gigantic poster of Michael Phelps in his speedo that we have, hmmm, maybe in my office, right above my desk.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Whatever Baby Wants, Baby Gets

Yesterday I wrote all about how I'm eating healthier and walking and such. I was all "look at me being pregnant and eating well."

That turned out to be a load of crap.

I had my monthly doctor's appointment this morning. My doctor looked at my weight and told me to start "watching my portions."

Look Doc, this baby is hungry and I'm not about to let my child starve. And this baby likes, I mean demands, Mexican food. The matter is out of my hands. If baby wants a two item combo with a shredded beef taco and cheese enchilada, baby's gonna get it. So don't tell me to "watch my portions," tell my baby to stop being so damn demanding and making me eat peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. It's not my fault, I swear!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Yay New Shoes!

On my outlet shopping trip this past weekend, I bought a pair of shoes, running shoes. Not exactly the most exciting outlet purchase ever, but I really needed a new pair of running shoes.



Don't they look fancy, like I actually work out? Please ignore my dorky socks and blinding white legs.

These shoes may not be the coolest thing ever but they represent my re-commitment to being healthy. Not that I'm going to actually run in them, I'm pregnant, give me a break. But I am going to walk at least three times a week and try to increase the length of my walk each time. Right now I can handle a 20 minute walk with no problems, I'd like to work up to 45 minutes.

Back in April I started Weight Watchers. I loved it! It changed my life. Not only did it work, from April to October I lost about 25 pounds. But I felt so much better, physically and emotionally. It totally changed how I look at food and how I put together a meal. When I found out I was pregnant, I stopped Weight Watchers. I was lucky to not have horrible morning sickness during my first trimester but I was pretty queasy. This led me to just eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted because that was what made me feel better. I couldn't stomach eating anything I had prepared, so I basically did not cook for three months.

Once I entered my second trimester, I started to feel a lot better and was able to be more careful about what I eat. I'm on speaking terms with fruits and vegetables again. I am definitely not dieting, but I am more aware of what I eat. Of course I have my bad days here and there; but overall my eating has improved a lot. I am aware that I'm supposed to be gaining weight during pregnancy, but still don't see the need for my thighs and ass to expand with my stomach.

While I'm feeling better about my eating, the exercise piece has been missing. Before I found out I was pregnant, I worked out about three times a week. Mostly the elliptical machine and kick-boxing classes with an occasional spin thrown in. It feels weird to not work out. During my first trimester I was just too damn tired to do anything. Now, I'm finally getting back into the exercise habit with walking and it feels so good! Even if I can't walk very far or very fast, it makes a huge difference just to get moving.

Back in July, I wrote that my goal was to weigh my high school weight on my 30th birthday. Well that birthday is in a couple of weeks, so that goal is obviously out the window. I think my new goal will be to walk for 45 minutes without feeling like I'm going to pass out. I'll have to push back the high school weight goal to my 31st birthday.

Monday, February 15, 2010

P.S. I Love You

For Valentine's Day, President's Day weekend, and as a mini-babymoon, Brady and I went to Palm Springs for a couple nights. We stayed at Hotel Zoso in Downtown Palm Springs. Usually when I go to Palm Springs or Palm Desert, I like to spend my time drinking in the pool. I had to get a little creative when thinking of ways to spend my time this trip.

Brady and I started off the trip with a stop at the outlets in Cabazon. It was madness, people, madness. The line at the Coach store looked like the line for the Matterhorn at Disneyland. Even though I can't fit into any of the clothes at the outlet, I managed to get a great deal on a pair of Nikes and a smoking good deal on a Kate Spade wallet. We ended up spending 3 hours at the outlets. Brady was quite the shopping trooper.

And then we got into Palm Springs. First we visited some friends in Palm Desert who just happened to be vacationing there. The outlets and visiting with friends made for a pretty full Saturday and I was beat. I started turning into the whiny, pregnant lady. I was like a fussy baby, I just needed to go to bed. So I did. And we started fresh on Sunday.

It was a very relaxing, enjoying the company of my husband kind of trip. We strolled the shops, we sat by the pool, we got ice cream.



This is me eating my ice cream after laying by the pool for a couple of hours. I tried to tinker with the color of this photo on my computer, but I just could not hide the fact that I am completely blinding white. Not a beautiful milky white like Nicole Kidman. But a freaky, translucent kind of white.



For our Valentine's Day dinner we found a cool little sushi place in the heart of Downtown. We were grateful for a light dinner of sushi because we had already eaten a gigantic breakfast at a sidewalk cafe, ice cream, and huge sandwiches with fries by the pool for lunch.



And after dinner we got ice cream again, second time that day. Baby needs calcium. I was a little bummed that I couldn't enjoy a cocktail on my vacation. So instead I ate and I ate and I ate.



I love Palm Springs, the mountains, crystal blue skies, the palm trees. It is so close but is a totally different world. I had a great time with Brady just talking and relaxing. I also liked the gay rights supporting Marilyn Monroe.



And Brady felt the baby kick for the first time! So exciting!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday, I'll withold her age out of respect. In tribute of my mommy's birthday here is a little list of reasons why I love her so much (in no particular order):

1. When I was little she made me and my siblings do book reports and math worksheets during the summer. [She knows education is important and instilled this in us at a very young age.]

2. When I didn't make ASB in high school she called the ASB advisor proclaiming all my wonderful charateristics and why I should be on ASB. [Although somewhat embarrasing at the time, she's willing to fight to the death for her kids.]



3. When Chris and I were very little (pre-Stephanine) she gave me a toy dump truck and Chris a doll for Christmas. Chris and I promptly exchanged gifts. [My mother has always taught me that gender roles are not to be followed and that girls can be anything they want to be and that I should never depend on a man to make me happy.]

4. I once had to physically restrain her from going after a Nordstrom salesman who was taking too long to gift wrap something. [My mom is hilarious and always keeps me on my toes.]



5. For every milestone in my life she has thrown me a party: high school graduation, college graduation, law school graduation, engagement party, wedding. [It means so much to me to know that my mom is proud of me and willing to celebrate with me. She also throws a darn good party.]

6. When I was in the first grade, my mom came dressed as a clown to volunteer at my class Halloween party, full clown suit, funny shoes, face paint and hat. She was the only parent that dressed up. [Not only did my mom work and raise three kids, she was also super involved in my all my activities as well as my siblings' activities. My mom was class mom, team mom, girl scout leader, cub scout leader, helped at church and school fundraisers, drove me to all my dance lessons and competitions. I appreciate so much all the time and effort she put into making us happy, involved, and well rounded people.]



Happy Birthday Mommy! These are just a few of the reasons why I think you are the best mommy ever, there are many more.



P.S. Didn't she just look stunning at my wedding? Love the color of her dress and love, love, love the shoes!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

A Little Alone Time

I make no representation that Brady and I are a perfect couple. We are not. In fact, we don't even have much in common. We like different movies, music, books, etc. (For the record: my taste is much better, Brady is so mainstream.) But for some crazy reason, we work as a couple, we work well, and we work in a way that is good for us.


Cypress Point, 2006.

There are some things that as a couple we are really, really good at. For example, we are really good at spending time apart. I know that sounds weird, why would that be a good thing? But I think it is an important skill as a couple to be able to spend some time apart without breaking down, with being able to trust each other. It's important to have separate interests and separate lives or else you'll never have anything to talk about!


Engagement Picture, 2008.

I started thinking about thinking about this because Brady is going to Vegas in March without me. He's going for March Madness and I know that he will be spending the entire time in the sports book. And I'm not going because I don't want to. It's not because I'm pregnant. It's because I don't want to spend an entire weekend watching sports. That is so not my cup of tea. Anytime that Brady's Vegas trips center around a sporting event, I stay home.


Our Wedding, October 11, 2008.

So Brady will go off to Vegas and I will stay home, watching crappy reality television and letting the dogs sleep in the bed. And I won't be mad that he goes to Vegas and he won't be mad that I didn't go with him. I will miss him of course, and I'll be more than happy to see him when he gets home but I'll survive a weekend without him.


Cancun, 2008.

I really like and appreciate that we have mastered this skill of spending time apart as a couple. Everyone needs a little time alone at some point. And of course, Brady knows that when he goes on a trip without me he is expected to bring me a present.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Sleeping Dogs

I really need to buy my dogs new beds. But they just look so darn cute squished into the tiny ones.



(Please note: the bullies have a very nice, large bed. These beds are their "travel beds" for the car.)

Bringing Home the Bacon

Tonight, after work, I rushed to the grocery store so that I could buy ingredients to cook my husband a wonderful home-cooked meal. Despite having worked all day, I wanted to make sure he had something delicious and not from a drive-thru for dinner. So even though I was exhausted, I made the extra effort to go to the store and cook dinner.

I made baked penne with hot Italian turkey sausage, and mozzarella.



As soon as I walked in the door I started cooking, so my hard-working husband didn't have to wait too long for a hot dinner. I didn't even have time to change out of my work clothes. That's just the kind of wife I am.



And I use sauce from a jar because there is no way in hell I'm making marinara from scratch while still in my work clothes while Brady watches Jeopardy. And I made this dinner all for me, Brady hates sausage and I love it. That's what happens when you are a wife who brings home the bacon and cooks it. Or in this case, sausage.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Half-Baked

This week I hit the 20 week mark in my pregnancy, I'm half way done! Here's my 20 week bump, I'm actually starting to look pregnant and not just pudgy.



Typically, I think prego women taking pictures of themselves is kind of silly. I mean why don't they just ask their husbands to take the picture? But I went ahead and took a picture of myself because it was 7:30 p.m., Brady wasn't home from work yet, and I didn't want to wait any longer to put my pajamas on. So there you go, that is the story of my preggers self-portrait.

Now that I am half way through my pregnancy, I have learned a lot of things and I thought I would share my wisdom:

1. Eat every 2 hours, it just makes you feel better. I'm not saying have a full meal every 2 hours, but keeping snacks on hand is definitely a good idea.

2. Maternity tights are a rip off. I bought a special pair of maternity tights from Motherhood (a maternity store in most malls) for $16 and they are no different than my $7 tights from Target (I just bought a size up, they stretch).

3. Keep tums on hand at all times. Never be without the tums, when you are pregnant the tums become your best friend.

4. Dogs can tell when you are pregnant. This makes them want to snuggle you incessantly and climb all over you. Or maybe that's just my Frankie baby. He's so cute with his squishy face.




5. Target has cheap and cute maternity clothes. This could be dangerous.

6. It is really hard to resist buying baby clothes. They are just so damn little and cute. I could not resist this little onesie with a bulldog.



6. If you think your husband is not taking enough interest in the pregnancy, he will greatly surprise you by all of a sudden knowing way more about fetal development than you do because he's been researching on the internet all those nights that you went to bed at 8 p.m.

7. Be nice to your husband. He is just as excited/nervous/anxious/thrilled as you are. Try not to go crazy hormonal on him. He doesn't deserve it. Unless he keeps leaving his socks downstairs and not putting them in the laundry basket. Then it is perfectly acceptable to cry, scream, and threaten his life.

8. Buy the Baby Bargains book. It is super helpful and helps make the world of baby gear a little less overwelming.

Ok, that's all I have for now. Plus, pizza is on its way and I can't ignore pizza.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

The Perils of Facebook

Generally I really like facebook. It has been a great way for me to reconnect with some really good friends that I have not seen or heard from in a long, long time. It definitely feels less sleazy than myspace, I like the little chat function, and even the quizzes can be fun.

But, there are things that I hate about facebook. Farmville, that mafia thing, and people sending me "presents" are among them. Mostly because I don't understand what the hell I'm supposed to do with the virtual present once I get it, send a virtual thank you note?

All in all, I enjoy the social networking. But then, little gems like this pop up:



This is my senior class photo taken at our football stadium. Good ol' class of 98. I know the picture is small and there are a lot of people in it, but you can clearly see me. I'm in the front row, just right of center, wearing a purple skirt and a white sweatshirt (I'm pretty sure it was a dress, I can't explain the sweatshirt). And I am the only one clutching onto my boyfriend. Awesome. Just what I need to see, a picture of me clinging onto my high school boyfriend. What's funny, is that I distincly remember shoving my way to the front of the mob so that I could be in the front row. I've always been a bit of a ham. I just wish I wasn't hanging onto my high school boyfriend, could I be more co-dependent?

Ugh, kids in high school should not be allowed to date. Baby Brady is definitely not dating until college. And when he does start dating, I'm going to make damn sure that he brings flowers, introduces himself to his date's parents, pays for the meal, opens doors, etc. No way am I raising a jerk.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

An Open Letter

Dear Diet Coke,



I just wanted to drop you a note and tell you that I miss you. A lot. I know we haven't talked in a while and I'm sorry. I have to cut you out of my life for a short time and trust me, it is hurting me more than it could possibly hurt you.

I hope you know that I'm remembering the good times and all the happiness you have brought to me. In college, you were always there, sitting beside my two tacos and curly fries from Jack in the Box. You picked me up when I was ready to die from a night of having too much fun. You pushed me along to class, to work, and to wake up before noon.

In law school, you were right by my side whether it be in class learning about the rule of perpetuities or sitting at the library at midnight trying to figure out the mailbox rule. You never left me, even when I was trying to stay awake on my drive to downtown Los Angeles to work at the District Court. You even held my hand as I tried to concentrate on writing briefs, while trying to ignore my pounding Chardonnay headache at the same time. And don't get me started on taking the bar, even though studying was horrible, we were in it together.

As I became a lawyer, you made sure I could get through the 3 p.m. slump after doing mindless legal research for hours. And when a partner gave me a rush assignment, you were there to make sure I could get through it. It's hard to see you now, sitting in the vending machine in my office, all chilled and delicious. I want to reach out to you...but I know this is for the best. It is especially hard to see you in the hands of my husband, I can't stand to see others enjoy you when I can't.

Please know that we won't be separated forever. I'll be back to you soon. The day will come quickly when you will be getting me through a tough morning after a night of 3 a.m. feedings. I'm looking forward to that day, I hope you are too.

Always thinking of you,

Courtney

Duh!

I have always heard of "pregnancy brain." The unexplained phenomenon that strikes normally intelligent pregnant women and robs them of the ability to think logically. I have to admit, I didn't believe that pregnancy brain was real. I didn't understand how being pregnant would affect one's ability to think. I thought it was just an excuse pregnant women used for occasionally saying the wrong thing or failing to come up with a correct answer.

I was wrong.

At almost five months pregnant, I wholeheartedly believe in pregnancy brain. It has definitely hit me. I have always been kind of ditzy. Don't get me wrong, I'm very book smart. I can show you my law school transcripts to prove it. But I am totally lacking in common sense. I've got the book smarts, not so much with the street smarts. My parents use to cry, "we don't understand! You are so smart but you have absolutely no common sense!"

So I'm used to my lack of common sense and the occasional dumb comment. But lately, I just feel like a moron. There are so many weird pregnancy symptoms that I was unprepared for, pregnancy brain being one of them. The runny nose is another one that I wasn't expecting. Who knew being pregnant resulted in a perpetual runny nose? I am very thankful that so far my pregnancy has been relatively easy, I just worry that this means my child will be a little devil when he gets here!