favorite places and spaces

Today I was on Pinterest... which has completely taken over my life.  But that is a story sidenote.  One of the boards is a spot to post links of your favorite places.  So I got to thinking about some of mine.  Kevin and I have been very fortunate to take many various vacations and visit some really neat places.  But out of all the little trips we have taken there are a few spots that really just stand out and that I love.  Some of those are repeat staycations just because we love them so much.  As much as I look forward to adding to these over the years.  I have to say, so far my list ain't to bad!! 
Thanks baby for making my life so special and for exploring the world with me!

very personal

To those of you who follow our blog.  All though the last few posts are both happy and then tragically sad I decided to post them because they were real.  The emotion is not something that will be forgotten, and when I chose to share the "experience" with our loved ones, I did not say I would leave out the hard parts.  I think its important for the world to know how much we loved and cared for this baby that we had tried for over a year for.  I think its also good that one day... I will be able to look back and reflect on this.  So yes.. its very personal.  But... its life and its real.  And if you were to ask me right now.  I have nothing else to write or describe feelings for.  So for some of you this might all be news, or a shock.  But I hope in reading it you will pray for us and the grief to pass.

Thank you to all the friends and family who have already prayed so diligently for us in this time.

This was sent to be by someone who has experienced the trials of trying to conceive as well... and has really helped.
Jer 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

sad goodbye

This is probably the hardest/ saddest blog I will ever write.  Today precious baby bean, your father and I received bad news.  For the past 8 weeks you have been growing inside my tubes.  No words can describe the devastation I feel.  You are and always will be my first baby.  And the joy you brought us in such a short time is followed by sorrow in that we will never see your face and hold your little body.  Although you were only with us for a short time you will never be forgotten.  The bond between a mother and child is forever, and because of this my heart is saddened.  The tears/ anguish I have experienced of the past few days are un-measurable.  No one will ever fully know or understand the pain that comes with loosing a child until it happens.  In the sad moments when the warm tears stream down my face I think of how much love I have for you and how badly I want to be a mother.  But I also pray for a healthy baby... and my sweet baby bean this was not something that would have been possible for you.  I know time will heal all wounds, both physical and emotional.  But in this moment, I grieve for you!

I have to remind you of a song that gives me comfort in this time.  A song I hoped to one day rock you to sleep to.  So precious baby bean, I will rock you to sleep in my heart tonight as the Lord takes you home.

Lullaby.

How long do you want to be loved?   Is forever enough?  Is forever enough?  How long do you want to be loved?  Is forever enough because Im never never giving you up.

As you wonder through this troubled world, in search of all things beautiful, you can close your eyes though you are miles away, and hear my voice like a serenade.


Love Mommy.

6

Baby Bean...
This is a big week for you.  Your brain is developing as we speak!  Mommy is trying to make sure she has zen thoughts and that everything stays calm and collected this week while you form that little noggin.  Dr. apt gave you and official date.  MARCH 6TH!!!
Seems like so far from now but I know time will fly.
Trying to eat more fruits and veggies to help you grow big and strong, and I only had coffee once this week.  I was also informed by the urologist that I MUST drink more fluids to avoid kidney stones again.... so down the hatch. 

Your daddy and I got tickled over names the other night.  We have a boy name picked (we have for some time now) but if you are a girl you have already got us stumped!haha

Here is a bit of our conversation of trying to think of girl names that start with a K...
Kevin "I think we should name her Kalli",
Me "ummm didn't you have a cat named that"
Kevin, "ok well it needs to start with a K, maybe we can name her something interesting like Corona...but with a K" 
Me "awesome so the kids name is gonna be Kalli Korona?"
Kevin " No how about Corona Crayon"
Both" hysterically laughing"

Now every name we try Kevin sticks Crayon in the middle.

Yes for now that is all we got, so pray that some inspiration comes to us in the next 8 months or you little bean...are doomed!

Week 5

Dear baby bean,


You are now 5 weeks old today! And yet you are already making your mark. So far since we found out the news a week ago you have been giving me some cramping… and im not talking about a little. Whew!  Luckily it was only a few days worth, but man it was painful.

We also had a 4th of July Crawfish boil this last weekend, and apparently my nose is quite sensitive, because man it was stinky. I also noticed the other morning that milk tastes funny! Strange how all the sudden so many things start to change. But I guess we have a lot to prepare for.  I went to the store this week and loaded up on tons of healthy veggies/ fruits and snacks. Gotta make you big and strong.



Your MeMe says you are going to be a little boy and are already giving us grief for Kevin’s younger days. Haha

But either way, we are praying for your health and safety everyday. The doctor says not to worry, and that all of these symptoms are normal. So for now I am just trying to enjoy the ride and every experience.
We told your grandparents about you today!!!  They were all so excited to welcome you to the world!  Although we are not announcing it to everyone yet..we are finding it  harder and harder to keep quiet.

Anniversary Weekend/ Jimmy Buffett

Well when you are a true parrot head (as Kevin and I are) you will follow Buffett anywhere and this year was no different. Although one day I hope to see him in a more tropical venue we made the trip to Philadelphia this year to see him! It was our 5th year running to see him in concert over the summer. We had a great time, as always. Making friends all around us and enjoying our favorite songs! This year I even brought a few props to help us get in the mood with our little tail gate! Haha It was a good thing too because the venue was literally in an industrial port.

We decided after the concert which happened to fall on our anniversary weekend that we would spend some time in Philadelphia and see the city. We had flown into the airport several times but never seen any parts of this historical city. We stayed in downtown, right by the courthouse. It was so pretty, it reminded me of a history book. There are lots of masonic and founding traditions still present in this town. We went to the zoo, and I must say it was eventful. Usually the animals are all sleeping, but we saw lots of activity that day, including two tigers fighting! That evening we went to a place called Capital Grill. Kevin and I both agreed it was the BEST (and this is hard for me being from Texas) Steak we have EVER HAD! WHEW, yep there I said it. Let me tell you this ribeye was bone-in, dry aged, and had a kona coffee rub on it, drizzled in shallot butter. Makes your mouth water huh! Yep ours too. Our server was so nice, after our delicious dinner we were so full, but he packed up a free desert for us to celebrate our 3 year anniversary! 

The next day we went to the Museum (one of many) in Philly and walked around. Then we headed off to Geno’s Steaks. Its one of the first and most famous place to eat a Philly Cheese Steak, but after waiting in line for 45 min. I wish I would have got two of those puppies! They were very good! And a fun place to check off our list.

All in all it was a great weekend and a fun way to celebrate our Anniversary. 3 down…57 more to go. Haha for anyone who knows our inside jokes.



Catching up.. May & June

Although summer time is always my favorite... its also when Kevin and I are the busiest. I must say the weather finally warming up has warmed my soul. I love to sit out on our back porch and people watch on our street! Kevin and I will come home and enjoy a drink and dinner outdoors most nights of the week. (ah the simple things).

We have met several of our neighbors at this point and are really starting to enjoy the neighborhood. We went to a concert with the Hess’s and met a whole group of fun folks (Including Susan and Dennis who brew their own beer!!!) We also had a Memorial weekend party with the work crew,we cooked out and had a good ol time. Picts Below

This was my new cup.. which I am supposed to drink water out of, but this day it was for Margaritas! ha
So, then came June. Ah yes.. I love June…


Christy, Rick and Haley came up to visit. We had a blast, we tried to pack so much in. Dirks Bentley Concert, Corning, Seneca Lake Wine Trail. Good food and good family. I must say it was great seeing them and showing them a little of our life in the North. At least they came when the weather is beautiful!

the whole crew

a little rain at Dirks wont scare us off!

@ tags

Watkins Glenn Falls



30 is rough

Well, everyone warned me about 30... but I didnt know that it was going to be sooooo tough on me. haha

I went from being excited about being 30 to falling apart in a matter of weeks!  Yep.  Kidney Stones. Maybe it was from all the drinking I did in Vegas?!?!

Let me say if you have never had them you are blessed.... if you have you know the about of relentless pain that comes from something so small. After a few days in the hospital and surgery to break up the larger stones I am feeling better.  After some testing hopefully they will find out what has caused these little puppies and I can make sure to never have them again.  Not to mention I told Kevin, next time... just let me die on the side of the road because a funeral would have been less expensive than this little adventure!  ha

P.S.  at work they are now referring to me as "bubble girl" because I have been so sick.

Vegas baby Vegas

Well, we are finally back from the Birthday extravaganza. Not that I am at all eager to come back to this cold rainy northern weather. But our trip eventually had to end. But it was A GREAT GETAWAY.

Not only did my 30th birthday turn out to be fun it was positively the best birthday I have ever had.  Kevin did such a great job to make it special.  So, here is a run down of the trip.  We started out the night before we left and Kevin surprised me with an IPAD 2!!!  I had been dying for one so he surprised me the night before so i could have plenty of time to explore my new gadget.  The next day we headed off....  VEGAS it was.  We spent the weekend there.  The first night was all about seeing the strip and drinking champagne!  We visited all the casinos and celebrated being on vacation.  I really thought I might feel too old for the "hype" but once we arrived I put my game face on and was ready to go!  We stayed out so late the first night... but for some reason I was not tired at all....(I still believe it was the oxygen haha) I woke up at 6 am and asked Kevin if we could get up because the oxygen in the room was keeping me awake!!! HA.  At 8am he finally caved and we were up for the day!!  We did it all, shopping, relaxing pool time and then headed out for the evening.  Kevin let me pick dinner, and I found a steak house that is Tom Colicchio's (from Top Chef) and it was excellent!!!!  Then Kevin surprised me with a Cirque show called KA'.  We ended the night be watching the water show out side the Bellagio.

So we said goodbye to Sin City and jet setted off to relax on Catalina Island, CA.  This little bay island town was a great place to slow down and enjoy each other.  It has been such a busy year, the trip was much needed.  We had great food, conversation, massages, and relaxation. Being able to celebrate our birthdays together is such a great thing in life.  I am so blessed to be able to share all these experiences and have Kevin.   What a great time!

Here are some pict's of the trip!

finally in Vegas..it only took me 30 years!

Our first night out, it was about 3am here and felt like noon. haha

the strip

iconic

Catalina was so quaint.

Happy B-Day to Kevin

Manhattan Beach CA

soaking up the last day of vacay

Birthday Week!

Yep, It is time... the twenties are officially fading away.  This is my last week to spend doing anything dumb that can be blamed on the "twenties".  Which also means that it is time for my Birthday Week. Yep, if I have to celebrate the fact that I am getting older and showing more gray hair then I most certainly get to celebrate it big time!  So that means for a week, yep the whole week, I am going to celebrate and pout. haha

Kevin has some trick up his sleeve and we are jet setting somewhere for the weekend.  He will not tell me any details, so we will have to wait it out!  The excitement is killing me!!! Although the only thing I am really dying to have is an Ipad2, I will gladly take any time away to celebrate OUR birthdays. 
Oh yes... he is not out of the woods (since his is only 3 days after mine).  I am excited to see how the week plays out and what he has planned.

And just to start the "big" week off.  I had to rub it in to Kevin's face that for 29 years of my life my birthday has been on TAX DAY.  Which happens to also mean that everyone is grumpy.  But thanks to Obama..... I have been given a break.  No not a tax break, just a slight delay.  HA.  Tax day was moved to April 18th which now falls on KEVINS BIRTHDAY.  Hahaha

Trip to Texas

Last week after I crammed three weeks of office work into 3 days, Kevin and I headed to Texas for a long weekend!

I was really looking forward to the trip and thought it would be a lot of fun.  We had a wedding planned and some other "tentative" things we wanted to do!  Wellllll.. the trip from the start had a different agenda than I was aware of.  Wednesday morning at 4 am (yes we had a very early flight) we woke up to 8" of snow on the ground.  Mind you; its the end of March here!  Soooo needless to say the trip was off to an icy start!  We were delayed all morning long in the airport.  This caused us to miss our connecting flight and spend all of Wednesday watching airplanes instead of enjoying the sunny Texas weather and eating Mexican food! 

 

this is my I'm not happy about the delay face.

 This also caused us to have to "re-schedule" our already tight time frame. 

The trip was ok, we DID get to eat a lot of Mexican food!!  And we DID see all of our family (even if it was for an hour here and an hour there)  but it was such a short trip and we were so rushed that we had NO.. I mean NO time to enjoy or relax.  It was too much. We did not get to spend much time with our friends, or enjoy Texas and the beautiful weather!  I also didn't get my Lasik surgery done (that is another whole story) and instead I am now back to wearing glasses.

By the time we left we were so exhausted. We had traveled all over the place to try to cram it all in. We did however get to do a few things...

Kevin was so happy, he hugged the wall!

Kevin and I both got a pair of boots for our Birthdays (which is in two weeks :)

We got to eat lots of Mexican food!

We got to visit our friends in Dallas (all of whom have turned into parents in the last year!!)

We did go to Drew and Sam's beautiful wedding in Grandbury.

And then in the blink of an eye we were back to the cold cold north! I must say I was so bitter about the snow and its never ending grip it has on the North. But it is now into April and its still snowing... so if you cant beat em', join em'

I'm off to build a snowman!!

Texas our Texas

Not much to say... we are off to Texas this week.  eeekkkkk.
When I come back I expect to be 10 lbs heavier from all the mexican food, a little more tan, and able to see!   I am getting my lasik surgery touched up on my poor eyes!

So.... see ya next week

March Madness

March is a busy month.  Mostly with work :(
We have lots of employees going to the great state of TEXAS.  Including Kevin and I later this month.  We are heading down for Drew & Sam's wedding.  Friends from the old Aerotek days.  But on top of having a ghost office it is also open enrollent for our medical benefits this month.  Which means lucky me gets to take care of all the PA locations. 

I cant believe its already March.  I also cant believe that there is still freakin snow on the ground!  So far this month my basement has flooded and my car slid off in a ditch all due to the March weather!  I could really use some sunny weather and green grass right about now....or better yet, a beach!  hmmm
I am hoping this month flys by so we can get to APRIL. It's my favorite month for obivious reasons; its usually beautiful weather, its mine and Kevin's Birthday month and well... just because. lol

I will go ahead and put it out there, as much as I want April to come... I dont feel ready to hit the big 30 mark!  Such a milestone.  Its like you dont have the excuse of being dumb and in your twenties anymore.  30 is like, ok grown up...time to start planning for your future.  Social Security, Retirement, 401K, a Will, Life Insurance.  Its all downhill from here folks!

Pet Names

I never thought I would be one of those pet name kind of people.  You know you see/hear these people out in public and either snicker to yourself or say ewww.  But now being close to the three year mark and looking back on our relationship I have noticed lately that we have quite a few.  I laughed at the thought of anyone ease dropping on a conversation at our house in the evenings.  So, for giggles and grins and to remind myself  later in life of all the funny things we used to say.... here is the story.

Babes: derived from baby
Hubs: no brainer on this one
K-Fizzle: I started calling Kevin this a while back, not sure why
Fordy: Kevin's college nick-name
Cousband: This is what happens when you come from a small town, and everyone is someones cousin!
Biscuit: This started one weekend when I said I wanted Biscuits for breakfast (a Sunday staple at the Ford's) and suddenly we started calling each other that. But it is my favorite
Cakes: Kevin started this one, I thought it was a short version of baby cakes...turns out he meant it as CRAZY cakes!!! lol
Cheeks: In response to Kevin calling me Cakes, I started calling him Cheeks.  Short for sweet cheeks (this was still back with I thought he meant baby cakes)!!

We have several terms for cuddling: cuddle turned in to snuggle, and then Scuddle (a mix between the previous two terms, which turned into Biscuity (which came from me saying I wanted to eat biscuits for breakfast and go back to bed and get biscuity) ha!


I noticed we also have a few for Ella, my cocker spaniel.... Ella Bear, E.B. El, Ella Bella, Little Brown Dog, L.B.D, and so on!  haha

Guess we are a family full of names!  I feel sorry for our kids.

We got a little snow.

Another busy week on the books.  On Monday we drove to Pittsburgh (in the middle of a snow storm) to pick up the in-laws from the airport and have a meeting about another Ft. Worth Pipe facility in that area. 
Now if you recall, my last post was about my broken rump!  So a long slow trip across the country was less than enthusing to me.  But I loaded up my donut and headed off to get the fam.
Kevin and I took what would be a 5 hour drive from NY to Pitts and turned it into a 14 hour drive!!  Not really by choice though.  The traffic was horrendous.  At one point it looked like someone had shot cars out of a cannon all over the road.  I started taking pictures with my cell phone and within a 30 mile radius I captured 15 accidents!!!  And a few near misses on us!  UGH, talk about white knuckle and exhausting.  I think even more surprisingly was the fact that Tony and Elaine's flight was not canceled...delayed but not canceled!

Here is a pitcure of our drive in Pittsburgh.

So, everyone made it in safe and we had a good week!  Tony and Elaine left on Thursday and a worn out Kevin and I went to bed early...not checking the weather or expecting anything.

  

Woke up on Friday, and BAM!  Two feet of snow....
It continued to snow ALL DAY.  No exaggeration.  Kevin and I were packed and ready to head to NYC for the weekend to meet some friends and hang out in the city!  I was ready to go...but the weather decided for us that it was not going to be possible.  I kept watching the snow build and build and my hopes of getting out of town faded.  It snowed so much that Kevin and I had to shovel the whole driveway last night before we could even get in the garage.  We did venture out for dinner and found snow piled high in all parking lots!

Looks like we will be spending the weekend indoors instead of the city!