As you know, if you've ever read my blog before, I had two kids, 4 year old Tyler, and 7 1/2 month old Alexander, whom we call AJ. So I have made a few decisions on baby names, but let me tell you, they didn't come easily!
I put a lot of thought into naming things, especially my offspring! I've thought about names for future children since I was little, but for the most part I was never set on anything! When I got pregnant with Tyler, we found out we REALLY had trouble with names! Our last name is short, one syllable, and begins with an "L". To me, this is a huge stumbling block, because a lot more names have the "L" sound than you think! To me, if that sound is too dominant in the first name, it doesn't sound good with our last name. Add that to the normal preferences and personal vetos (because you knew someone with that name or someone else has already used it, yada yada) we really struggled. Before my big ultrasound during my first pregnancy, we had settled on Tyler Nicholas for a boy and Abigail Nicole for a girl. Nicole was my older sister's middle name, and I had always wanted to use it for my first child. As we know, Tyler is a BOY, so there you go! Tyler was actually a name we simply stumbled onto in a baby name book and liked!
Along comes baby number 2! On ultrasound day, we had a girls name picked out, but no boys name! Obviously, come day's end, we didn't need our chosen Annabelle Rose (Rose after my great grandmother), so we spent the next 10 weeks or so still trying to decided! Eventually Alexander Jacob, aka AJ was chosen. Alexander as a little bit of significance, as my mom was told she was having boy/girl twins when she was pregnant with Angie and me and she'd planned to name the boy "Alex".
So there you go! Although there have been many names I've liked over the years (Caitlin, Ryan, Benjamin, Breanne, Sabrina, etc). I've never been stuck on any. If we have more children in the future, it'll be back to the drawing board for their names!
What about you? Any baby names stick out for you?
This is part of a June blog challenge started by Mommy Someday at Waiting for Baby. Pop over there and join in so I can learn these things about you!
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Blog Challenge Day 5: Pets
Do I have any pets?
Sigh. Yes, yes I do.
I'll start at the beginning. In the summer of 2000, right after I graduated from high school, a stray cat wandered into the yard of my parent's house. I was a huge softie when it came to cats, so I befriended the little female kitty with the pretty tortoise shell coat. Before long, it was clear she planned to hang around for a bit. I called her Autumn, since her fur reminded me of the season. She was extremely friendly. After a few days, we started to suspect she might be pregnant. We were right and she ended up having four kittens on our front porch! Two white ones (one with a black spot on her head, the other the tiny runt of the litter), a black one, and an orange striped one. No one could resist them and eventually they had names and a permanent residence with us. The larger white cat was dubbed "Dot" because of her little black dot, which eventually disappeared, but was later replaced by a black freckle on her nose. The tiny white cat, we named "Little Bit". She is still a little bit, incidentally. The black cat we called Salem and the orange one, the largest was Tigger. All of them stayed at my parents house until Adam and I bought our condo, at which point Dot, who had established herself as mine, came to live with us.
After a while, we decided Dot needed a friend. My husband's sister's cat just happened to be pregnant. Her litter only produced one kitten, a white and gray kitten we adopted and named Tippy.
Side note: Dot and Tippy did NOT become friends
Some time later, my parents and older sister ended up living with us for awhile, along with my mom's three cats (The mother cat, Autumn had been adopted by one of Twin's friends, where she happily remained for the rest of her kitty life) and my sister's dog Misty. We lived in an apartment style condo at the time and we would walk down to the "Dog Run" around the corner so Misty could be loose and run. Our neighbor had a small poodle named Boo and we would all chat while the dogs played. Adam and I liked it so much that when Michelle moved out, taking Misty with her, we found ourselves missing the experience. The fall, I was in a funk. I'd graduated college with a degree I didn't want (long story). I'd gone back to school only to find I couldn't afford it, so that was a bust. I'd been considering asking if my job could become a full time position when they decided just that. However, instead of offering me the full time spot, the hired someone else and let me go. I was bummed out and one night somehow Adam and I decided that a way to cheer ourselves up was to get a puppy! We browsed the newpaper to see what was available. I pointed out an ad for beagle puppies. Adam couldn't think what a beagle looked like, so I googled it and showed him a picture of a beagle puppy and he fell in love. Thus, Gracie came into the family.
Even later, my sister was literally followed to school one day (where she was working as a teacher) by a small black cat. He hung around awhile so eventually she took him home. However, she'd been looking into getting a second dog and when the opportunity arose, since she could only have two pets and I was smitten with the cat, we brought him home and named him Dobby, the housecat.
In the summer of 2007, Adam and I bought our first house. My parents had just recently divorced and we had invited my mom to come and live with us.
My mom and her three cats, the kittens from Dot's litter. Over the last few years, we have sadly seen the loss of Tigger and Salem, which leaves us with Little Bit.
That's it though! Aside from our friendly rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks and birds that remain OUTSIDE, those are the pets I plan to have for awhile!
This is part of a June blog challenge started by Mommy Someday at Waiting for Baby. Pop over there and join in so I can learn these things about you!
Sigh. Yes, yes I do.
I'll start at the beginning. In the summer of 2000, right after I graduated from high school, a stray cat wandered into the yard of my parent's house. I was a huge softie when it came to cats, so I befriended the little female kitty with the pretty tortoise shell coat. Before long, it was clear she planned to hang around for a bit. I called her Autumn, since her fur reminded me of the season. She was extremely friendly. After a few days, we started to suspect she might be pregnant. We were right and she ended up having four kittens on our front porch! Two white ones (one with a black spot on her head, the other the tiny runt of the litter), a black one, and an orange striped one. No one could resist them and eventually they had names and a permanent residence with us. The larger white cat was dubbed "Dot" because of her little black dot, which eventually disappeared, but was later replaced by a black freckle on her nose. The tiny white cat, we named "Little Bit". She is still a little bit, incidentally. The black cat we called Salem and the orange one, the largest was Tigger. All of them stayed at my parents house until Adam and I bought our condo, at which point Dot, who had established herself as mine, came to live with us.
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| Pet #1: Dot, feline (note the question mark tail) |
After a while, we decided Dot needed a friend. My husband's sister's cat just happened to be pregnant. Her litter only produced one kitten, a white and gray kitten we adopted and named Tippy.
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| Pet #2: Tippy, feline (picture doesn't do justice to her chub) |
Side note: Dot and Tippy did NOT become friends
Some time later, my parents and older sister ended up living with us for awhile, along with my mom's three cats (The mother cat, Autumn had been adopted by one of Twin's friends, where she happily remained for the rest of her kitty life) and my sister's dog Misty. We lived in an apartment style condo at the time and we would walk down to the "Dog Run" around the corner so Misty could be loose and run. Our neighbor had a small poodle named Boo and we would all chat while the dogs played. Adam and I liked it so much that when Michelle moved out, taking Misty with her, we found ourselves missing the experience. The fall, I was in a funk. I'd graduated college with a degree I didn't want (long story). I'd gone back to school only to find I couldn't afford it, so that was a bust. I'd been considering asking if my job could become a full time position when they decided just that. However, instead of offering me the full time spot, the hired someone else and let me go. I was bummed out and one night somehow Adam and I decided that a way to cheer ourselves up was to get a puppy! We browsed the newpaper to see what was available. I pointed out an ad for beagle puppies. Adam couldn't think what a beagle looked like, so I googled it and showed him a picture of a beagle puppy and he fell in love. Thus, Gracie came into the family.
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| Pet #3: Gracie, canine (beagle) |
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| Bonus photo: Gracie with tongue action |
Even later, my sister was literally followed to school one day (where she was working as a teacher) by a small black cat. He hung around awhile so eventually she took him home. However, she'd been looking into getting a second dog and when the opportunity arose, since she could only have two pets and I was smitten with the cat, we brought him home and named him Dobby, the housecat.
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| Pet #4: Dobby, feline (aka Doobie, because he acts like he is on something) |
In the summer of 2007, Adam and I bought our first house. My parents had just recently divorced and we had invited my mom to come and live with us.
My mom and her three cats, the kittens from Dot's litter. Over the last few years, we have sadly seen the loss of Tigger and Salem, which leaves us with Little Bit.
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| Pet #5: Little Bit, feline (yes, I woke her up to take this picture) |
That's it though! Aside from our friendly rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks and birds that remain OUTSIDE, those are the pets I plan to have for awhile!
This is part of a June blog challenge started by Mommy Someday at Waiting for Baby. Pop over there and join in so I can learn these things about you!
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Blog Challenge Day 4, Favorite Snack
Wow this is a hard one! I'm a bad snacker! I could list a lot, and it ranges from good fruits and veggies to ice cream and chocolate, not to mention day 3's topic of frozen cokes and slushies! Can anyone really just pick one thing? I can't!
I'm going to admit something to go along with the potato chips. I make a really weird dip. I call it "hot dog dip"--No, it doesn't have hot dogs in it, but rather my favorite hot dog fixings. I'm so embarrassed to admit this! Ketchup, mustard, and pickle relished mixed together and I dip the chips in it! Yes I know it sounds gross but it's GOOD!
OK so I don't end with the weird one, because someone else mentioned it in a post and now I'm CRAVING one!
What's your snack of choice? Make me CRAVE it! :)
This is part of a June blog challenge started by Mommy Someday at Waiting for Baby. Pop over there and join in so I can learn these things about you!
| Cherry Sourballs! From the days of real candy shops! Cheap imitations need not apply! |
| Potato Chips |
I'm going to admit something to go along with the potato chips. I make a really weird dip. I call it "hot dog dip"--No, it doesn't have hot dogs in it, but rather my favorite hot dog fixings. I'm so embarrassed to admit this! Ketchup, mustard, and pickle relished mixed together and I dip the chips in it! Yes I know it sounds gross but it's GOOD!
OK so I don't end with the weird one, because someone else mentioned it in a post and now I'm CRAVING one!
This is part of a June blog challenge started by Mommy Someday at Waiting for Baby. Pop over there and join in so I can learn these things about you!
Super Sweet Blogging Award
AW you guys!!! I've been nominated for a Super Sweet Blogging Award by the lovely Jennifer at It's Jennifer Juniper!
Here are the rules:
Thank the blogger who nominated you. Jennifer, thank you so much! You totally made my day! I've been writing here for many years, but I've never established a very large reader-ship, so I'm always tickled to get a comment, much less be nominated for an award like this! You're a total sweetheart! You and Mr. Ru are so adorable and you're going to make amazing parents when your day arrives--I hope it's soon!
Answer 5 super sweet questions
Include the Super Sweet Blogging award image in the blog post
Nominate 12 other bloggers
Super Sweet Questions:
1. Cookies or cake? I have to say cake! It feels so much more SPECIAL to me than a cookie! :)
2. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate, no contest!
3. Favorite sweet treat? Mint chocolate chip ice cream in a waffle cone! YUM!
4. When do you crave sweet things the most? Evenings after dinner--soooo hard to resist! But I am doing better at that! Back on the get-fit track!
5. Sweet nickname? My hubby calls me "Sweet-Thing" sometimes. *blush* In his phone, my contact name is "Zsweet thing" so that I'm last in his contacts and easy to find (since the top is always voicemail, balance, etc)
And now, the 12 Super Sweet Blogs (in no particular order)!
Super Sweet Questions:
1. Cookies or cake? I have to say cake! It feels so much more SPECIAL to me than a cookie! :)
2. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate, no contest!
3. Favorite sweet treat? Mint chocolate chip ice cream in a waffle cone! YUM!
4. When do you crave sweet things the most? Evenings after dinner--soooo hard to resist! But I am doing better at that! Back on the get-fit track!
5. Sweet nickname? My hubby calls me "Sweet-Thing" sometimes. *blush* In his phone, my contact name is "Zsweet thing" so that I'm last in his contacts and easy to find (since the top is always voicemail, balance, etc)
And now, the 12 Super Sweet Blogs (in no particular order)!
1. Mrs. E at Ttcbabye3. This mama of twins (and one more on the way!) is a sweet commenter of mine!
2. Leah at Single Infertile Female. This amazing woman battled the most severe case of endo I have ever heard of and kept her head up through it all. She is strong, independent, brave, and an AMAZING mom to a miracle baby from a truly touching and amazing story of pure chance and destiny! She's also a phenomenal writer. She wrote a book, you guys! GO BUY IT HERE! I've read it, it's amazing!!
3. Elizabeth at Bebe Suisse. Another awesome writer and a super sweet mama currently days away from meeting her latest little one! Such a sweet commenter and such a fun blog to read!
3. Elizabeth at Bebe Suisse. Another awesome writer and a super sweet mama currently days away from meeting her latest little one! Such a sweet commenter and such a fun blog to read!
4. KelBel at Tales from Our Yellow Brick Road. Another follower, gotta love them! I always love her Wordless Wednesday posts, the pictures really give an awesome insight on her life! She's an inspiring infertility survivor expecting sweet baby boy "Cinco"!
5. Mommy Someday at Waiting for Baby. She is currently pregnant (YAY!) and is responsible for my June Blog challenge! I'm a brand new follower but I'm loving it so far!
6. Ready For My Turn at her blog of the same name! Such an inspiring blog, she's been through so much and she has never given up! She is currently expecting TWINS!
7. Cristy at Searching for our silver lining. Another amazing example of resilience and never giving up. And she is another incredible success story I have had the joy to follow, pregnant with twins!
8. Tasha at Frozen OJ
first of all, her pun-day posts are HILARIOUS! Second of all, she's
everything a blogger should be, witty, honest, inspiring and a great
writer!
9. SM at Unexplained Rantings. Amazing changes coming for this amazing woman! A baby boy on the way and they are opening their home and hearts to a pair of sisters beginning next week! What a blessing!
10. Liz at Wishing on a Snowflake. Another path to motherhood, this one involving embryo adoption. I love reading all different kinds of stories and this one was one that made me want to write my book. She's a strong lady, much stronger than she knows!
11. Alissa at MissConception. This is a blog I've followed for awhile. She's very busy these days with her adorable son Cooper, but she writes and amazing blog and her story has brought me to tears. She is so deserving of her little rainbow baby and this humble nominiation.
12. Missohkay at the misadventures of missohkay. This is another blog I have been following for a loooooong time. She an adoption mommy of one of the most adorable little ladies ever! She writes an awesome blog about her journey, her life, her daughter, etc etc etc! Her story was one of the first I'd read about a journey to motherhood and a struggle with infertility and loss and it's extremely moving.
I know I haven't done justice to these little tidbits on the blogs of these amazing ladies, but they deserve much more than I can give with this little gesture. They are awesome women!!!
Monday, June 3, 2013
Blog Challenge Day 1: A Family Story
How many siblings do I have? I have three sisters, Twin, aka Angie; older sister Michelle, and my oldest sister, Nicky, who died as a baby. My sisters and I are very close! They visit my house at least once a week and dote on my children. They both live within a mile of my house, which is awesome!
My hubby has one sister, Heather, who is a year and a half older than he is. She is married to Chris and they have four kids, my nephews: Orion, Dagyn, and Toby and my niece: Lizzie
I can't imagine life of an only child! And I'm glad Tyler and AJ have each other! What about you? If you have siblings, do you want more than one child? If you are an only child, do you plan to stick to one?
This is part of a June blog challenge started by Mommy Someday at Waiting for Baby. Pop over there and join in so I can learn these things about you!
Blog Challenge Day 3: Biggest Indulgence
What is my biggest indulgence? I'd probably have to say frozen cokes/slushies! I've mentioned it before here, they are a pretty significant vice of mine! I've always enjoyed frozen cokes and slushies and snow cones (usually cherry), but my true trigger for it becoming an indulgence was when I was pregnant with Tyler. For some reason, I CRAVED frozen cokes! That was the only thing I consistently wanted. If I even thought about it or someone mentioned one, I HAD to have one! I couldn't stop thinking about it until I had one! It was pretty much the only caffeine I drank while pregnant, I couldn't help myself! Snow cones were harder to come by, mostly just at the State Fair or the Zoo. However, this last birthday I was gifted with my own snow cone maker! It makes darn good little slushies and it's awesome for quelling my craving but keeping it small! Next up is to try their recommendation of freezing other liquids (like pepsi!) and then slushing them up!
Photo evidence of this indulgence:
This is part of a June blog challenge started by Mommy Someday at Waiting for Baby. Pop over there and join in so I can learn these things about you!
Photo evidence of this indulgence:
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| Cherry Slushie! Even better when paired with chocolate birthday cake! |
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| They don't stay this full for long |
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| Lounging on the patio while pregnant with AJ |
Blog Challenge Day 2: About a Car
I don't know what's going on here, I have two comments on this post, but yet it's not showing up for me??? Ah well, we'll try again, with updates!
So I'm not really into cars so much, but it's on the challenge, so here goes!
What do you drive? What is your dream car?
My first car was a silver 1992 Cutless Calais. I was 19 when I bought it. Yes, I didn't get a car, didn't learn to drive until I was 19. I bought the car from my dad's nephew for $800. I had it an entire two months before the engine blew.
My second car was purchased a few months later. It was a white 1989 Ford LTD. A steel BOAT basically. It was a sturdy old thing, and that was good. I roughed it up a bit, rear ending someone just days after I bought it (for $900) and later, hitting the barrier on the interstate because of the cars habit of fishtailing if I hit the brakes too hard. I drove it for a few years before I sold it to my sister. She drove it for a few years before the transmission crapped out.
I then bought my first car with a payment, a silver 2004 Chevy Malibu. I got it in 2005, so to me it was NEW. My dad was very briefly working at a car dealership (literally he worked there about 3 weeks) so he got me a decent deal.
While I was pregnant with Tyler, Adam got word that he had to start working out of his employers other location and that his hours were going to be 9-6. That was an issue because we were carpooling the 20ish miles to the northside. Since my hours were 8-5, this wasn't going to work. At the time, we just had the one car. So we bought our 2001 Ford Explorer out of necessity.
A few more years later, Adam and I decided to get a family car, hoping to have a family soon. We bought a black Pontiac Vibe (it's a crossover). I can't remember what year it was. I really liked that car and it did okay for us after we had Tyler, for awhile.
When we were ready transition Tyler from his baby car set (the kind you carry around), we found out his new carseat (which I nicknamed carseatasaurus because it was so big) wouldn't fit rear facing in our Vibe. So it was traded in for a Pontiac Montana van.
Last spring, while I was pregnant with AJ that van decided to blow it's engine :-P. Apparently pregnancy equals car issues for me. So we replaced it with our current van, a Honda Odyssey. This is our family/weekend car and during the week my mom uses it to transport the kids.
During the week, I currently drive a blue 2008 Ford Focus. It's a fairly new acquisition, and I really like it! It's got several bells and whistles I haven't mastered yet, but it also gets much better gas mileage than my old Explorer and it's comfy and drives great so far!
What is my dream car...I don't really have one! My knowledge of cars is pretty darn limited. One time when I was younger I saw a red convertible--I have no clue what make it was--the paint was red, but sparkly! I was a little smitten with that. I'd want something with the fancy screen with back up camera (not my strong suit, would be helpful!), cell phone enabled, on board Pandora, fancy type stuff. That's about as specific as I can get!
What's your dream car? Leave it in the comments!
This is part of a June blog challenge started by Mommy Someday at Waiting for Baby. Pop over there and join in so I can learn these things about you!
So I'm not really into cars so much, but it's on the challenge, so here goes!
What do you drive? What is your dream car?
My first car was a silver 1992 Cutless Calais. I was 19 when I bought it. Yes, I didn't get a car, didn't learn to drive until I was 19. I bought the car from my dad's nephew for $800. I had it an entire two months before the engine blew.
My second car was purchased a few months later. It was a white 1989 Ford LTD. A steel BOAT basically. It was a sturdy old thing, and that was good. I roughed it up a bit, rear ending someone just days after I bought it (for $900) and later, hitting the barrier on the interstate because of the cars habit of fishtailing if I hit the brakes too hard. I drove it for a few years before I sold it to my sister. She drove it for a few years before the transmission crapped out.
I then bought my first car with a payment, a silver 2004 Chevy Malibu. I got it in 2005, so to me it was NEW. My dad was very briefly working at a car dealership (literally he worked there about 3 weeks) so he got me a decent deal.
While I was pregnant with Tyler, Adam got word that he had to start working out of his employers other location and that his hours were going to be 9-6. That was an issue because we were carpooling the 20ish miles to the northside. Since my hours were 8-5, this wasn't going to work. At the time, we just had the one car. So we bought our 2001 Ford Explorer out of necessity.
A few more years later, Adam and I decided to get a family car, hoping to have a family soon. We bought a black Pontiac Vibe (it's a crossover). I can't remember what year it was. I really liked that car and it did okay for us after we had Tyler, for awhile.
When we were ready transition Tyler from his baby car set (the kind you carry around), we found out his new carseat (which I nicknamed carseatasaurus because it was so big) wouldn't fit rear facing in our Vibe. So it was traded in for a Pontiac Montana van.
Last spring, while I was pregnant with AJ that van decided to blow it's engine :-P. Apparently pregnancy equals car issues for me. So we replaced it with our current van, a Honda Odyssey. This is our family/weekend car and during the week my mom uses it to transport the kids.
During the week, I currently drive a blue 2008 Ford Focus. It's a fairly new acquisition, and I really like it! It's got several bells and whistles I haven't mastered yet, but it also gets much better gas mileage than my old Explorer and it's comfy and drives great so far!
What is my dream car...I don't really have one! My knowledge of cars is pretty darn limited. One time when I was younger I saw a red convertible--I have no clue what make it was--the paint was red, but sparkly! I was a little smitten with that. I'd want something with the fancy screen with back up camera (not my strong suit, would be helpful!), cell phone enabled, on board Pandora, fancy type stuff. That's about as specific as I can get!
What's your dream car? Leave it in the comments!
This is part of a June blog challenge started by Mommy Someday at Waiting for Baby. Pop over there and join in so I can learn these things about you!
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