What was I supposed to do?

Mike to Amy: "That picture better not show up on your blog!"

What's a girl to do? That sounds like a challenge to me. If you know me really well, then you know my motto is "You're not the boss of me." I personally think this is a sweet photo.

I bought a "Bundle Me" thing that zips into the car seat. Mike thought it was cool and wanted to try it out. So, he took out the harnesses and threaded in the Bundle Me. Little Faux Baby (I like to say "Fox" baby) seemed to enjoy it!

Love you Honey!

Just Add Baby...

One of the many gifts Mom and Dad gave us for baby Nate is the crib. We absolutely love it! They came up on Friday and Mike and Dad put it together. The nursery is finally finished.

Changing table - check

Comfy chair - check

Dresser - check

Crib - check

Diapers and wipes - check

Baby clothes - check

Receiving blankets - check

Toys - check

The only thing we're misssing is the baby. Can you believe he is due in less than two weeks? We can get the call at any moment. How exciting is that?

So stinkin' cute

I truly DO love these shoes. I can't get enough!

True Love

Okay, one more post!

The baby's room has been painted! Here is a picture of Mike hard at work this afternoon:

You can see the difference in the colors of before and after. I'm also throwing in a picture of the new baskets we bought at Ikea for the changing table. I love the green and white stripes!

Thank you, Mike! Painting the room is the best Valentine's Day gift you could've given me (although I'm loving the green M&Ms too!). Speaking of Valentine's Day, Mike and I celebrated by getting Chinese take-out and eating lunch together this afternoon. I hope you spent your Valentine's Day with the ones that you love!

What a difference a year makes

Today I reached a big milestone since starting the NutriSystem program in September. I have officially lost exactly 40 pounds since 9/3/07. I was browsing through pictures tonight and found this picture that was taken in February 2007:

*Not so flattering, eh?

Today I am wearing the same sweater so I thought, what the heck... let me take an "after" picture. I am quite proud of myself. I've always had the fantasy of losing 30 or 40 lbs but if it included diet and exercise, then I didn't want anything to do with it! I am happy to have made the lifestyle change.

What a Croc!

Yesterday I had a baby shower at BAE. Thank you so, so much Amanda for putting this together! It was a really good time and I feel fortunate to work with such very thoughtful people. We received so many good things - Thank You, Thank You, Thank You everyone!

Here's a little back story to explain the picture. Let's just say that I may be one short step away from being "The Crazy Croc" lady. Apparently I've become known at work for having a pair to match virtually every outfit. I giggled in delight yesterday when I opened a package and I saw Baby Nate sized Crocs! I absolutely can't wait to put them on his little bitty feet! Big thanks to Christina and her son Troy for these - they are SOOOO me.

A great day

So, I came home from my first client this morning and crawled back in bed to talk to Mike. The thought crossed my mind and I blurted it out: Let's go to Ikea today! We've been wanting to go look for a dresser for Nate's room, but my schedule has been jam packed and Mike's been working at the Fire Station and at Network Medical. It seemed today was going to be our only chance to go. We hopped outta bed and started getting ready. I did my mid-day clients and came home to pick Mike up before my last visit.

We got on the road at about 1:30 and we made it to Woodbridge by 4. We were thrilled that there was hardly any traffic - you never can tell what the situation will be on I-64 or I-95. We blew through Ikea in under 2 hours - every minute visualizing what we could do in each room of our house. There should be a cover charge to get in - it is way more exciting than going out to a club! The possibilities are endless!

We found a dresser for the baby's room and lots of organizational bins for the bedrooms. It was glorious. My other favorite thing to do at Potomoc Mills is to visit the Old Navy Outlet. I got a new summer skirt (OMG - a size 10!!), a new shirt, and a bathing suit cover-up. Okay, back to the size 10 thing. I can't recall EVER wearing a size 10. I swear I heard angels singing when I zipped it up!

If Ikea and Old Navy weren't enough, Mike and I headed to our old time favorite food place - On the Border (or OTB as we like to refer to it). The food is okay, but the chips, salsa, and queso are the shizz. Yes, I said the shizz. I didn't partake in my favorite Sangria Swirl margarita this time, but I highly recommend it to anyone who goes there.

The drive home was also uneventful. We made it home in less than 2 1/2 hours, which was AWESOME! It was the end of a great day - I still had time to come home and post a couple of new blogs!

Sleepover!

Last week Skyler called me to tell me she missed me. She asked if she could come have a sleepover at my house. Of course! We had a good time. She helped me out with 5 client visits between Saturday night and Sunday morning. She thought it was awesome to wear her jammies in the car (I didn't make her get dressed), she got to eat powdered donuts and milk in the car on the way, we came home and made her favorite - banana bread, she went to 2 parks, we played in the house, Mikey gave her horsie rides, and she got to love on Bosco. Here are just a few pictures I snapped. (Have I mentioned she loves the camera?)

Car Update - Not too bad!

Getting there... start out small

Ouchies...

All clear

It didn't take Mike too long to cut the tree down. He really made short work of it since he has a handy-dandy chainsaw. Here are a few pics of Mike in action. The car is only scratched, which is good news. We have an appointment next week at the auto body shop to have them prepare an estimate for USAA.

Kudos to the City of Portsmouth - they had the tree debris removed from our driveway by 3 p.m. Not too shabby for City work! :)

It is truly a different view from our front door. The sheared off half of the tree looks a little odd, but we'll get over it!

Car + Tree = Bad

I walked out of the door at 5:30 this morning to do 2 clients before going to BAE. This is what I found. Let’s just say my plans for the day have changed.

It's still dark out, but I'm really hoping the damage to the car isn't too bad. Mike's on his way home from work and I've changed into "get dirty" clothes, so we'll see what happens.

On a positive note, we have been wanting to prune that tree. More later.

Screw fashion...

I'm going for function this time. I had grand ideas of super cute rain boots, as I have seen them at Target.com. However, Target doesn't sell the cute rain boots (or any for that matter) in the store by my house. After walking 2 dogs in a downpour this morning and then getting soaking wet feet in a muddy lake of a backyard again this afternoon, I'd had enough. Bring on the Wal-Mart econo-boots. So I'm going to do my best to make these look good. Even if that doesn't work, my feet are going to be thrilled not to be a wet, cold, soggy mess. Happy Feet = Happy Amy.