Take this blog to Cuba!

Hi there,

I have decided to hijack this blog in order to share some of Little T's first photos. First, from the profile, it is easy to see that the little nipper got Lauren's good looks:

You will notice the cute little up-turned nose, the perfectly round little head, and the dainty little chin. The Talicskas have never been described as having dainty little chins.

The Talicskas have also never been described as being camera-shy. Little T is no different. When the bright lights were on, Little T pressed it's little face up to the camera so everyone could get a good look:

Some of you may be straining to see if Little T has girl bits or boy bits. Sorry, we don't know, and we won't know until early June. The one thing I can tell you about Little T is that (s)he will be an athlete. Just look at this:

Are you having trouble seeing it? Are you distracted by my wife's luscious uterus? (doctor's words, not mine)

Perhaps this will help:

Jeez Louise, Little T, that's a big foot!

"All the better to kick my mommy in the bladder!"

Look for me to post another blog in the future. I will be the one covered in paint, trying to figure out how to put together a bassinet. Aw, who am I kidding? I don't even know what a bassinet is!

peace, love and hair grease,

Big T

Craft-tastic

Since we haven't officially started the execution of Little T's nursery I have been trying to find other ways to keep up on my crafting.  I haven't had the amount of time I'd usually like to devote to this month because of our upcoming Brain Game tapings.  But I did get some time to sneak in some things for baby earlier in the month!

For Christmas this year Barb bought me an entire collection of Tulip fabric paints.  Seriously, the last time I used fabric paints was back in the late 80s when I called them "puff paints" and used florescent hues to write things like "NKOTB 4Eva".  But, these paints were top of my Christmas list in 2009.  In fact, they were really the only thing I asked for.  You see, fabric paints+freezer paper+a cricut= the look of silk screen without any of the hassle of actually screen printing.

As soon as I opened my paints I was so overcome with crafty joy.  I was even more excited when Barb revealed that she had freezer paper in the house.  I quickly scanned the room for a clock and realized that if we scooted right away we could make it to walmart and buy onesies and tees to play with.  I am so lucky to have a mother-in-law and future sister-in-law who get as excited as I do when it comes to crafts (and onesies).  That night we made five onesies and two t-shirts!  We gave three to Matt's cousin Marissa when we saw her the next day, but I kept two for myself.

The one on the left was designed by Amanda and the one on the right we painted to look just like my cat, Miss Eartha Kitt-y (or simply Miss Kitty to those who know her well).

Once we got home I knew that I needed to do more.  I have made another three onesies for Little T.  But I want to show you my favorite of the bunch.

The Bump

Well here we are nearly halfway through our 20th week.  We are officially half baked and loving it.  I am a few days late in posting, but I am glad that I am because I think we might have had some bump changes in the past couple days.  Although in looking at the pictures I am not too sure!

Without further ado...

Now, I FEEL bigger.  I keep bumping into things with my belly and I definitely notice that my tummy is starting to round out instead of just looking globby.  But this picture makes me wonder if I am just making it up in my head.  I don't look any different than I did two weeks ago!

With that in mind, I would like to take a closer look at the progression since week 18.  I would throw up a side by side picture, but now that I am learning new web tricks I thought that this might be a more effective demonstration....

The Suite Life

On Saturday the in utero Little T got his or her first taste of the Suite life.  Little T has already sat Club Level at an event before (watching the Red Wings crush the Blue Jackets back in November), but this was an all new experience for the little one.

Let me preface this by saying that our family are not Blue Jackets fans.  We are very allegiant to our Red Wings.  But, in the good spirit of showing some hometown pride, as long as the Jackets aren't playing the Wings (or close in the standings) we will cheer for Rick Nash and his crew.

I am convinced that the Suites at Nationwide Arena we perfectly designed for both male and female patrons.  Matthew was able to quickly score a seat in the viewing box and I was able to immediately grab a seat in a cozy armchair right next to the food.  I am sure that Little T appreciated the plentiful and tasty treats offered.  I "watched" the game, but mainly I gossiped, walked around and then tried to measure up my former coworker's new lady friend.

I know that Little T appreciated living the good life at the game, I am just worried that we are already leading the baby into a spoiled world.  When I was a youngster my Dad worked a lot with Cleveland media and I was a constant attendant in all of the suites and loges around town.  I remember one particularly good Cavs game at the Coliseum.  About halfway into the game my dad leaned over and said, "Lauren, if you marry the right man you can have all of this too."  I remember telling him that I didn't need to marry a man to have it. He laughed and said that I was right and he was sure if I wanted it I'd get it.  From that point on I knew that I needed to have a job with perks.  When I was 23 years old I was in the suites all on my own, and guess who was the first person I told?  Of course it was my dad.

I am always willing to stand in line for the $5 huntington passes or to sit in the tip top of any stadium.  In fact, I am a deal finder in concerts and sports as much as I am with decorating.  I am all for luxury, I am just too cheap to actually buy luxury tickets.  After the thrill of getting a good deal has worn off, I look down into the suites and wonder what food those people are eating and how comfortable they all look not squished into a 18" seat.

Now I know that Little T is too young (unborn) to truly understand the suite life, but I hope that we will be able to raise a child that can appreciate a good game in the nosebleed section just as much as a romp in the suite.

Oh the places we'll go!

One of the things that I have been most excited about in planning for the arrival of Little T has been setting up the nursery.  For those that have been to our house you know that we don't mess around when it comes decorating.  I am like a well oiled design machine ready to take on whatever comes my way as quickly and cheaply as possible.  

My favorite thing to do when people see our house for the first time is to point out how frugal we were with our decorating budget.  I point to the dining room table ($80 on craigslist) the bamboo shades in the kitchen (hello $5...) and then I usually cap it off with my 24" wall tiles (free free and free).

Do you ever watch Design on a Dime?  Yeah--- that show is awful.  I can't figure out how they can make a $1000 budget look so horrible. I think the finished room usually looks worse than when it started.  If you have a designer, a carpenter and another helper working with $1000 you should be able to do more than build an ugly end table and a lamp that looks like a fire hazard.  Just my two cents.

The one room in our house that has not been touched since we moved in is the future nursery.  I have basically shut the door and haven't even looked into it.  We always knew it would be the nursery so we didn't want to start to decorate only to change our minds later.  

But now the time has come to decide what we want to do for Little T.  Since we aren't finding out whether T is a boy or a girl this presents us with some challenges that might scare others into breaking down at their big ultrasound and taking a peak.  But not us.  Not knowing only makes it more fun to find things that can go team blue or team pink.  

Our initial brainstorms involved stripes, dots, alphabets, animals, zoos and other neutral options.   But then, we found our inspiration picture featured on my favorite baby blog Spearmint Baby.  It is a room that is based on Dr. Seuss.  

Unlike other Seussian inspired rooms this room incorporated all of the Dr Seuss characters and all of the bright and fun colors that we love.  Plus, as an added bonus, how can you deny the educational benefits of using a literary theme for Little T? The inspiration is a little busy for our more clean lined taste, so we have come up with our own twist on Seuss for our little one.  (Seriously, I mocked it all up in photoshop to make sure that I wasn't creating something super ugly)

We haven't started "construction" on our room yet, but you can be sure of three things: 

1. It will be so freaking cute.

2. My quest for decorating deals will definitely be in full force.

3. I am so excited I can barely stand it.

The Bump

I have been having a hard time dealing with the fact that I am going to get bigger.  I am not a weight obsessed person, but even when I have a little too much junk in the trunk, I have always thought that I had some pretty fine looking abs.  I officially said goodbye to my abs about 6 weeks ago.

I was pretty excited to exchange my abs for a cute baby bump, but it looks like the bump must be on back order.  I have definitely not popped by any means.  Instead, everything has just gotten wider.  My itty bitty waist is not so itty bitty anymore.  Those who know me swear that they can "see something", but what they are seeing looks more like the result of a binge session of pizza and cheeseburgers as opposed to any hint of actual pregnancy.  I have been dreaming of the day when a stranger might actually notice that I am pregnant.

So here I was way back when we found out.  (notice the tan... ahhhh to be tan again.)

Here I am right at the start of our second trimester.  1/3 of the way done and barely showing.

This was just a few weeks ago and is my latest belly shot.  I can definitely see that the bump is there... somewhere.  (on the plus side, these are my pre-preg A-pocket Seven jeans... boo ya.  Although the white shirt no longer fits)

Next Monday I think that I'll start weekly updates.  What better way to start out the week then to look at my belly, right?

Where did it begin?

I think that before we launch into the subject at hand, growing our family, we should start from the very beginning.  I'm not talking about the birds and bees... if you need to know how that all works there is this great web service here that will answer all of your questions on this topic or any other.

First things first, dear Thespis acts as cupid in casting the Bread and Circus Theatre Co.'s production of the British Farce, Move Over Mrs. Markham.  We were cast as a husband and wife looking to have flings outside of our marriage, but, spoiler alert, end up falling back in love with each other.  I should have known that Matt had a thing for me when he suggested we lengthen our kiss and double it.  Sly dog.  We began dating right after production wrapped.

First comes love, then comes marriage...  On June 7th, 2008 (6-7-8 for you number geeks), we were married in front of all of our family and friends.  The day was complete with corny wedding pictures, custom groomsmen shoes, wedding pez and the best band in all of Columbus.  We literally danced until we could dance no more.

Of course, once we were married we dreamt of the day that all of our belongings could fit under one roof.  The condo, as beautifully arranged and decorated as it was, was no longer cutting it.  So the search began.  And went on, and on, and on.  Then one soggy and wet Wednesday we saw our perfect house.  The sellers accepted our first offer (suckers) and we closed just two days before our first anniversary.  Since paper is the traditional anniversary gift we thought it was definitely fitting.

In September we were blessed with the best gift anyone could have given us.  That's right, a collection of pregnancy tests all with double lines.  Matthew was the first one to find out we were pregnant.  I was too nervous to stay in the bathroom and wait for the test to develop.  I admit, I peed and ran. Matthew came to get me in the other room when he saw the results.  And no, you aren't getting a picture of the test, that is gross.  We are due just days after our second wedding anniversary.

And here we are!  19 weeks into pregnancy and going strong. The last ultrasound we had was just shy of 8 weeks (above).  Baby was curled up taking a little nap.  In the ultrasound you can see the giant head and the back and spine curled around but not a whole lot else.  (In fact, I think it looks like a little gummy bear.  Mmmm... gummy bears... bouncing here and there and everywhere)

We did not chose to have an NT scan at 12 weeks so the next time we get to see baby we will be 22 weeks.  It seems like it has been forever!

But don't worry, just because you won't get a Little T pic for a few weeks that doesn't mean that you won't have plenty of other pictures to feast your eyes on.  We have been taking periodic pictures of the bump (or non bumpy bump) and will share them with you soon.  I know you are so excited, just try and contain yourself a little longer and your patience will be rewarded.

Hello Blogosphere--- please be nice!

I can't believe that I am here.  Here on the internet that is. I have often thought of starting a blog, I read other people's all the time, but usually by the time I get myself amped up to do it a laundry list of other projects comes up.   I might be good at getting things accomplished, but I am definitely not good at keeping focus.

I kept a journal when I was 11.  Then I made one when I was 13, 15, 16, 17 and 22.  I still have them all.  Not a single one goes past entry #10.  I think I might have been ADHD before there was even a term for it.

But this time it will be different.  This time I actually have something to share and hopefully people who will be interested in reading it.  I am excited to have a place to tell our funny stories and pictures of our expanding waistlines family.

So here I am.  Blogging.  I hope you enjoy it.  We will see if I make it to the ever elusive entry #11.