It's been a while and boy how life has changed!

So it have been about a month since I have blogged and I promise it was for good reason.  On May 19, 2011, Chris and I welcomed into the world little Connor Wade Ray!

He was 7lbs 1 3/4oz and 20 inches long at the time of his birth.  I happen to think that he is pretty stinkin' cute, but I am also kind of biased.  We were not expecting Connor for another week and a half but he was on his way whether we liked it or not!  I had been to the doctor on Tuesday and she chose to do some blood work based on my protein levels.  On Wednesday afternoon the doctor called and said to come down to the hospital for more blood work and observations.  To quote the lady I talked to on the phone, "We are gonna do your blood work one more time, but unless something has significantly changed, you are not leaving this hospital without a baby."  So I left school early and went home and picked up mine and Connor's stuff and headed to the hospital.  Chris was at work so he met us up there.  They admitted us and did my blood work.  Since my platelet levels were lower then they liked they said that they were going to let me rest and let my body do what it was going to do and then at 4am they would induce me.  I started having contractions around 1am.  They were no fun!  But I survived until 4:00 when they came in and did my induction and my epidural.  After my epidural I was able to sleep for a while and woke up to find that my mom and step dad had made it in from Chicago and my dad had made it in from Florida.  Chris's parents were there before we went to sleep the night before.  So with a waiting room full of people anxiously waiting, Connor arrived at 1:57pm.  Chris and I could not be more excited!  Hopefully in the next week or so I will be able to blog a little more and fill in the rest of the details on how life has changed for us.  I must say that this has been the best surprise I have ever experienced in my whole life!

Happy Mother's Day

It is crazy to think that I will be sitting here with an almost one year old child celebrating my first real Mother's Day next year.  Today I get to spend my day thinking about all the amazing women in my life that have made me who I am today.  Since super prego brain has taken over my life I did not get cards in the mail this weekend but I figure I will see everyone here in a couple of weeks and we can really have a mother's/grandmother's day celebration then!

Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mother-in-law to be!  I hope you and Jerry are enjoying a relaxing weekend in St.Louis. 

Happy Mother's Day to my amazing step-mom Lora!  Thank you for all of your love and support.  You are always there for me when I need someone and have become such a great friend to me.  Thank you for everything you do for me but most of all for all the happiness you bring to my father!  I hope you have a wonderful sunny day in Florida today!

Happy Mother's Day to the most amazing women in the world.  Thank you mom for being the best friend I have ever had and the best role model a little girl could ever have.  I miss you more than anything right now and can't wait to see you soon.  I hope that I am able to be a fraction of the mother you are!


To my Nani and Grandma, I hope you have a wonderful day as well.  Thank you for setting the foundation for the amazing family that we have.  You have set a very high standard for the rest of us to reach.  Thank you for being strong driven women who have helped shape who the rest of us have become.

If you have not done so today...  Make sure you hug a Mom and tell her how beautiful and wonderful she is!

The nicest room in the house

So after what seems like months of work, Connor's room is officially ready for him!  All we need is for him to get here.  Chris worked so hard on it!  The paint was a pain in the rear and so were the curtains.  Chris's dad built all the furniture for us and Chris's cousin Amanda painted the fabulous mural on the wall.  Here is a little photo tour of the little man's suite.

 Chris's cousin Amanda painted this amazing tree.

 Don't worry we are going to hide the cords to the TV.

Amazing that after being in this house for five years this little man who is not even here yet has the nicest room in the house.

Mommy Update:  At our doctor's appointment on Tuesday I was 36 weeks and 1 centimeter dilated.  We are on our way!  

Knowing Greatness

I know that I have not blogged in a while and I have to play catch up with a lot of things.  I am going to leave that for my next entry.  Tonight I just want to leave a short message about an amazing man, my grandpa.  He is one of the funniest, most loving men I have ever met in my life.  About a year and a half ago he got really sick and fought back from odds that many thought he could never come back from.  He has reached milestone after milestone on his road to recovery and in life.  He is part of the glue that holds my family together.  He has helped teach me the importance of family and tradition.  If I ever need a smile, I know that I can count on him!

He is sick again.  Much different this time but still he is in the hospital.  Since I am super pregnant, I cannot travel to Chicago to see him.  I hope he knows how much I love him and that I know he is going to be better in no time.  So if you are a person of prayer or just believe in the power of positive thinking, please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  He is amazing and if you don't know him, I hope that one day your life is blessed with getting to know him.

I love you Grandpa!

Early Easter Morning Reflections

For those of you that really know me, you would know that I am not an extremely religious person.  I do not go to church very often and have never really read the Bible.  I was baptised in the Catholic church and after making my first holy communion and reconciliation I really did not frequent church service or Sunday school.  Most weekends my church pew was a hard silver bench in the dugout of some softball field in the greater Chicago land area.  I spent half the year traveling with my softball team on the weekends and the other half of the year was either spent at a swim meet, or when I got old enough, working at good old Woodfield Mall.

With that little bit of background knowledge in place, I am a very strong believer in God and of the higher power that he holds.  And even though I do not frequent a church I talk to God on a regular basis.  I believe He works miracles everyday and that if you speak to him He will listen.  I believe my Grandfather is living proof that God listens when we speak to him.

The one bit of wonder that I always have is this.  In a world where we do believe in such a wonderful higher power, why do such sad things happen to people who do not deserve them?  This thought has come over me tonight (or this morning, seeing as it is after 1 am) because I found out tonight that my school was broken into and vandalised this weekend.  The screens were cut out of windows, classrooms were left in disarray, computers smashed, paints busted open and profanity written on boards.  Granted I have not seen this yet.  I received an email from my principal regarding what has happened.  When I read the email, I had to keep myself from crying.  Who does something like that?  Who breaks into an elementary school to destroy what is the only safe haven that some children have?  Why would someone want to take that joy and innocence away from children?  What did they do deserve to have their things destroyed?  I am lucky to say that my room was not one of the places where this damage occurred.  How though, when something like this happens, do we restore that sense of security that we have worked so hard to provide for our children each day?  Some of these children come from homes with violence, poverty, and extreme instability and the one place that they find safety, comfort and a sense of routine is at school.  When things like this happen I feel like the kids lose some of that.  Granted not all kids come from situations like that, but where I work I know that there are plenty that do. 

So my prayers on this Easter are with my friends, family and children.  May they all find themselves surrounded today by love and may God watch over them.  Keep all of us safe and bring unto us that sense of security and love in a world that does not always make sense.

Happy Easter to all!

Let the resurrection joy lift us from loneliness and weakness and despair to strength and beauty and happiness.  ~Floyd W. Tomkins

Slacker Blogger Plays Catch Up

This right here was my fear when I started this adventure.  I have been super busy this last week and therefore become a big fat slacker on keeping things up to date.  So here is where I play catch up!

Saturday, my preciously perfect little niece Taylor, my SIL Erika and my mom flew in from Chicago and my dad and step mom came in from Florida.  We spent the day relaxing and enjoying good company.  We had a mini birthday celebration for Taylor.  I wish I had the right words to describe her.  I don't feel that anything I could say though would really do her justice.  She is so smart and so sweet and so beautiful.  I just think she is the most amazing little girl.  I don't get to see her too often because she is in Chicago, but she completely melts my heart when I do.  When I went into the airport to meet her and Erika she just called my name from her stroller when she saw me!  LOVE IT!

So after we spent the day playing we had Mexican and turned in for the night. 

Sunday my three best friends, Amber, Mary and Lauren, and Miss Martha threw Connor and I an amazing baby shower.  We had a great lunch with an amazing cake followed by lots of fun and gifts.  I was really happy that my to be MIL was able to make it in town.  My to be FIL was in a car accident a few weeks ago and recovery is coming along slowly but surely.  We were not sure if she was going to be able to travel in to see us but she made it which made me very happy.  Connor is already a spoiled little boy.  We received our travel system, pack-n-play, umbrella stroller, lots of clothes, some really wonderful blankets and tons of other things.  Chris got the one thing that he really wanted off the registry.  Why he loves these stuffed goats so much I do not know but he does.

Mary stayed with me on Sunday night.  I wish we could have had more time.  Mary lives just outside of Cleveland so we do not see each other very much.  Having her here was so special.  I miss her like crazy!

Monday brought about the new work week and the continued concerns of my co-workers over my super sexy pregnancy feet!  I have developed the most swollen ankles ever!  They are pretty gross!  They don't hurt or anything but with this swelling, my principal and a few others at school started worrying that I was developing pre-eclampsia or something like that.  There is nothing like sitting in the clinic in an elementary school having your blood pressure taken.  Don't worry I am fine!

I am absolutely positive that I am fine because we had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday.  It was our 34 week check up.  My doctor says that I am fine and so is Connor.  She just assumes that I am bound to have swollen feet during the rest of my pregnancy.  Next time around I have to start getting exams and all that fun stuff!  I cannot believe how close it is getting!!!!  About 39 days to go!

Chris also made our last major pre-baby purchase on Tuesday as well!  Chris was in need of a new car and he got it!  He got just the car he wanted and it was the easiest car shopping experience I have ever experienced!

The only other thing that consumes our lives at this point is playoff hockey.  We went to the game last night and it was pretty disappointing.  The boys are going to need to show up better tomorrow and Sunday if they are going to make it to the next round.  We started off good in the series but what a mess last night was.  Two good things did come out of the whole thing though:  One, we got to sit about 7 rows off the glass which is always fun and two, Carrie Underwood (otherwise known to hockey fans as Mrs. Mike Fisher) played during one of the intermissions with Vince Gill!  Only in Nashville!

Well that is life in a nutshell!  Now for a relaxing three day weekend and hopefully two good hockey games!

Play Date With My Little Boy

So last night I had my first play date with Connor.  I was laying on the couch watching TV when he go very active.  I decided that every time he kicked somewhere I would just give him a little push in that same spot and see what would happen.  Well to my surprise he started kicking me back in all the places I was pushing.  He did this for about ten minutes until I think he got sick of me pushing on him!  It made me giggle and I think I had a permanent smile for the rest of the night!  I like to think that he was playing with me but at the same time it could have just been a coincidence.  Either way this event might just be the highlight of my pregnancy!  I can't wait for him to get here so we can have a lot more play dates!