Introducing Baby Brody!

One week ago today, I was admitted into the hospital.  I thought baby B would come that day, but he had other plans. 
Born 4-12-12
4:52pm
8lbs 13oz
20 inches

Proud daddy!

36 Week Update

Minus 4 weeks and counting! 

Baby Boy is the size of a coconut.  Still at a length of 17.2 to 18.7 inches and weighing in between 4.2 and 5.8 pounds.  He is continuing to pack on the pounds and his skin is getting smoother.  His liver and kidneys are completely functioning and he is almost able to completely breathe on his own.  His circulation and immune systems are also good to go. 



Minus make-up, hair pulled back, getting ready for bed...sorry for the scary picture!

 As for mommy, I'm holding in there.  Finally feel pregnant with only 4 weeks to go!  Minor swelling, nausea, and the ol' aches and pains.  Nothing we can't live with though.  And, as of last weeks appointment, Dr says we are are right on for an average first time pregnancy.  I guess that's a good thing!

Highlight of this month: Baby Shower!  We had so many friends and family join me at our house for a quick game, decorating onesies, and a round of opening gifts and eating cake!  I don't have pictures from the day yet, but I will be getting them from my friend soon.  I will post a few then.  But I do have a sneak peek into the amount of gifts we received! And boy, all I can say is we are so blessed with great friends and family!  Baby boy is so loved and he doesn't even know it yet.  We got an array of things, from outfits to blankets, bottles to toys and books, a tub to a bouncer, a cow humidifier to baby monitors!  We couldn't ask for a better life! 

Room one!

A few in the baby room

More in baby room

Quilt: Handcrafted by my mom...Never knew she could do this! But we love it :)

Diaper cake #1...took a long time to put together I'm sure, but just as long to take apart and put away!

Diaper cake #2, all those tiny hair bands wrapped around the diapers...I finally gave up!

Super cute diaper motorcycle!! I didn't want to take it apart!



Fire trucks with balloons tied to them and 1 diaper cake!

  As I said, LOTS of stuff!  And tons of diapers because the of the "man shower."  The guys were instructed to bring diapers as their entrance fee.  We let some of the guys in without them, though!

In other news...

We spent the weekend in Duluth, Minnesota doncha know!  This was a quick, unexpected trip for a funeral.  Hubby's great-aunt passed away, so sister-in-law, mother-in-law, hubby and I loaded up in the car and started on the 9 hour drive.  I thought it would be tough and I would be a pain because I would need to stop all the time, but I wasn't the pain.  Baby and I were content being a passenger and stopping when anyone else needed to.  I'm not sure I would travel any later in pregnancy then 35 weeks because it did get a little uncomfortable on the way home due to swollen feet and exhaustion.  But, even though it was travel for a funeral, we did have a good time.

Hubby's family that came for our wedding made the trek to Minnesota also.  We got to spend some time with them, and only a few aunts and uncles were missing, and of course plenty of cousins.  Also a fabulous time when the clan gets together.  They sure know how to celebrate things, whether celebrating marriage or someone's life, they have a good time.  We played dress up with some of Aunt Bunnie's clothes, coats and hats, and shared some good laughs going through all the things in her house. 

After the funeral, we joined up for a little bit of touring the town.  If you have never been to Duluth, I'm not sure you miss a whole lot.  But I can now say I was on the beach at Lake Superior with snow on the ground! 

So after a long weekend of traveling, hubby and I are trying to catch up on our sleep and house work.  It's not working so well since he had things to do Monday night and Tuesday night we had our 2nd child birth class.  The next few days are dedicated to straightening and organizing and cleaning our house because my sister-in-law, good friend, and mom are hosting our baby shower at the house!  And after the baby shower, the ladies are crashing the "man shower" at the farm!  Here's to another long, eventful weekend :)  And beautiful Spring weather!!

Family gender announcement

I tried real hard to be creative when we revealed baby's gender to our families.  We thought about it for a few weeks and tried to come up with something good.  We had ideas like, fill a box with helium balloons in pink or blue and have them open the box, send appropriate colored flowers, or give them all an almond joy or mounds bar.  In the end, I think we could have been more creative, but the idea worked and it was fun!

We filled a neutral colored gift bag with candy bars, like Almond Joy, Snickers, Nut Roll, Hershey's w/ Almond, Peanut M&M's....and we attached a little riddle to the front of the closed bag. 
Look into this bag and see what you can find,
Herein lies the riddle to this baby that is mine.
All these things are similar and will try to help you guess,
The gender of our baby, so do your very best!
If at last you fail to see the secret that is hidden,
Check the bottom of the basket for the secret message written.

Then, the message on the bottom of the bag stated,
Our baby has 3 knees...
A right knee,
A left knee,
and a weenie!

Of course they didn't need the secret message, but it was too cute to not make them read it.
I think they all had fun with the idea and I'm glad we didn't just tell everyone.

We gave the bag to my MIL at our nieces birthday party and had her read it and open it in front of hubby's family.  They all guessed right away even though the first candy was a Snickers, which we thought was the least obvious.  A few weeks later, my 6 year old niece told me that she knew it was a boy when she saw all the candy had nuts, because boys have nuts too!  Her mom said, you are right, but don't be going to school saying that.  You gotta love kids honesty!

Happy Birthday!

Today is hubby's birthday!  I feel kinda bad because he got his present last week (a new TV...spoiled!) and we aren't doing anything special tonight.  Actually, we are cleaning out the butcher barn so that we can butch and make sausage this weekend.  What a great way to spend the evening.  I did get him a red velvet cake roll (delish!) and I'm hoping his mom is making him tuna casserole.  Let me explain, I do not like tuna, so he doesn't ever get this meal at our house, but he usually gets it for his birthday from mom.

So, even though we won't be doing anything real exciting tonight, I hope he has a great day and he didn't have to work too hard!   

Happy birthday, love of my life!  Buzz and I love you :)

Santa was good to us this year...

As "he" is every year. 
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Source

I was spoiled with a Kindle fire!  I never asked for it or even mentioned that I wanted one.  I didn't even KNOW I wanted one :) But I'm really enjoying having it.  I think hubby really enjoys it too.  Every night, I have to wipe off the multiple finger prints from the hours of Angry Birds that were played.  Until Christmas Eve, he didn't even know that game existed!

I also got a few other things, like a frying pan with no dents in the bottom, mixing bowls, a cookbook, maternity clothes :), and things for baby Buzz.  He was definitely a spoiled little guy too.  We got his first stroller and car seat, some clothes, and one noisy rocking horse (thanks Gpa and Gma!). 

Hubby must have been a good boy this year too.  He got a pair of Under Armor pants and shirt.  He loves them so much, I think I will have to buy another set for his birthday coming up soon!  Even though he got all the gifts he got, I think his favorite was the gift from me :)  I wrapped up the sheets and curtain for Buzz's room as part of his present.  He loves them so much, that he has showed everyone who comes over. 

Our Christmas Eve was spent with my family like usual.  We ate lots of good food and snacks, played some games, and shared some laughs.  It's always great to be at my parents for the holidays.  Then, Christmas day, we spent at my in-laws house.  What a change from Christmas Eve.  All the nieces running around and the added noise from the extra 10 people.  But I won't complain about the noise, because it only means we are all enjoying ourselves.

Hope Santa was good to you and you all got to enjoy some quality family time. 
Wishing you Happy Holiday's and hopes for an awesome New Year! :)

It's a.............

Adding a little suspense here. 
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I think I will keep you waiting a little longer.
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Ok, ok, ok enough.  I know some long distance family has been waiting anxiously for this announcement...
It's....
a.......
BOY!!!!

Yes, hubby is one happy man.  Happy to have a new little helper and a farmin' buddy.  He's pretty convinced that he will be feeding calves in 3 years with him.  I have a feeling the only cuddle time I'm going to get with baby B is when I'm feeding him. 
And this also means that my mom owes us supper at El Sombrero! Can't wait :)

After the ultrasound, which is the coolest thing ever, we went to our local WallyWorld to get a few things to help hint at the baby's gender.  We also decided to get sidetracked in the baby section :)  We found an adorable little fireman's outfit and couldn't resist.  It was on clearance, so the only size available was a newborn size.  Hoping greatly that this baby will be able to wear it at least once!  Then, I made the mistake of mention all the adorable little things I found at Runnings a few days ago.  Hubby decided we HAD to get over there and buy at least one John Deere thing.

This picture isn't very good for some reason, but it is cute and I can't wait for baby to wear it :)

Also, I need to throw in a Happy Birthday to my dad.  I think he's pretty stocked about having a new little buddy to help farm too! 



21 Week update

Wow, over half way there.  I can't believe it's gone so fast.  And to think that we haven't started on anything yet, except baby names.  We find out tomorrow baby's gender, then it will be an all out baby blast at our house.  I've been looking at cribs for a month now and I THINK I found the one I like, but I'm so worried about finding sturdiest one; so I continue to read other buyer's reviews.  One day, I hope not to be such a worrier and just do it on instinct!  But I guess it can't be all that bad, I did, however, find my husband with careful thoughts.

Anyway, today they are comparing baby to a banana.  This whole time, I thought the fruits and veggies were actually a comparison in overall size, but today, I'm thinking it's just certain parts, such as length.  Because if my baby is the size of a banana in width, we have a long way to go!  Baby almost weighs an entire pound. 

Life is still pretty normal, nothing majorly changing during this time.  Well, except that some people like to call me "fat" because they think it's funny that they can do that for the first time in my life! But it's ok, I know I'm "fat" for a reason. :)  I have a couple pairs of maternity jeans that I wear just for comfort right now.  I am still wearing 4 pairs of pre-preg jeans, but one will soon be retired.  Shirts are a different story.  I continually dig through my closet hoping to find something I forgot I had that was a little too big before, but I am running out of options.  I need to do a full on maternity shirt shopping spree! 

As far as cravings, I still enjoy most foods.  I have noticed that my want for fruits and veggies and salty snacks has increased.  I'm trying to stay away from sugar as much as possible (which is not so easy when I really enjoy candy bars!) because I think Buzz gets on a sugar high and does more partying.  Speaking of parties, Buzz really enjoys the late night ones the best.  Every night, about 9:15, when I am crawling into bed and just getting comfy, he decides he doesn't want to sleep.  Which is fine, because it doesn't keep me awake at all.  But last night, it started then and I fell asleep.  Hubby came home at about 10:30 from fire training, and I woke up to Buzz having ANOTHER party.  But there was one really awesome thing that came from this party...hubby finally got to feel baby movin' an a groovin'!  He was so excited, he called me from work and said he woke up with a smile on his face thinking about it.  I think he will be even more excited when he gets to see the little one tomorrow. 

And, almost every night, hubby says, "Goodnight, Buzz.  I love you!"  And it melts my heart already :)  This is more then I could ask for.  Better then anything hubby could physically do for me right now. 

So, in a few days, I will let the blog world know if we are expecting a Prince or a Princess.  I know what my mom thinks and I know what my hubby think, let's just see who's buying who supper at our favorite restaurant!
(sorry for lack of photos lately.  I do have a post planned with a couple photos soon!)

Enjoy the sunshine and crisp air! Tomorrow will be filled with lots of excitement, fun, and family as we go to our appointment and celebrate our nieces 3rd birthday with hubby's family!

Just a "little" secret!

Yes, I said it....I have a secret! I'm tired of keeping it in.  I have to tell someone!  And no, it does not have to do with the fact that I am SUPER excited that there are only 26 more days until I board the Carnival Inspiration for 5, sweet days of NO WORK!

I could tell you that I got a new job.  But that would be a lie.

I could tell you that we finally bought some land and stated on house plans.  But that would be a huge lie.

I could tell you that we are moving away from the snowy ND winters to somewhere warm during those months.  But I would just be telling you a dream.

So, I guess instead of telling you lies and dreams, I will tell you the "little" truth.
...
....
.....
......
.......
........
.........
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We are EXPECTING!!!! :)

This is baby numero uno for us.  We couldn't be more excited.  Hubby is an oh-so-proud daddy and has almost told the entire state.  I, on the other hand, told the most important people (our families and a few CLOSE friends) before letting the rest of the world know.  I thought it best be kept quiet until I was around 12 weeks.

So, now that I am entering my 12th week, I thought I would share with you all.  We are expecting to share Baby P with the world somewhere around the middle of April. 

Enjoy the oddly nice weather for October!

Weekend of fun

As you may recall (or may not), Saturday was my birthday.  A quarter of a century, yes, I clearly remember! 

We had a BBQ with some friends and family.  Some people brought yummy food to share.  I, as usual, ate too much.  Didn't even have enough room to drink or make a s'more!

A good friend made a LARGE bowl of Gooey Chex Mix.  I forgot to get the recipe, which is probably for the better.  But then I did research online and found it....dammit!  http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=182842  Here is the link.  She had everything except the cashew halves.  It was like heaven in a bowl....or giant gut ache in a bowl.  Whichever you prefer!

I didn't have my camera out to take pictures of all the horseshoe throwin', card playin', eatin', little kids runnin' around, drinkin' action.  But I took 2 pictures of my favorite gifts!

Beautiful flowers from some wonderful friends who couldn't make it to celebrate

And this little guy!

If you don't know what that last picture is, I will tell you.  ahh..... one word....Amazing!
This is the head massager.  Some like it, some don't.  I, personally, love it!
Even better when hubby does it for me.  I almost fell asleep...only he gets bored after about a minute and quits!  We're working on it.
Thanks to my sister-in-law, I now would rather sit on the couch and playing with this little guy. 

So, after the long weekend of food and celebration, my parents took me out Sunday night to my favorite Mexican restaurant....The Hat!  And gave me an awesome birthday gift.  I would picture it here, but then you would all know how spoiled I am! :)

I'm off to enjoy my head massage and relax before some friends come over!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, my sister in law reminded me today that I am a quarter century old today.  Thanks Bri! 

We are having people over to our house for a BBQ and good times.  Hubby spent a long time putting together horseshoe pits (seems to be his new favorite game) and cleaning up the garage in case of rain.  We are hoping to have the fire pit lite and plenty of foods, fun, friends, family, and drinks!

I will be posting later this week my list of things I want to accomplish before I turn 30.  Ugh, that's only 5 years away, I better get my butt in gear!

So, in honor of the last 25 years, I am raising my glass of (yucky) wine and toasting to myself.  Here's to the next 25 years and an even better time! :)  Thank you to all my friends and family who have brought me through those 25 years and made them awesome!

A Lego Saturday

So somewhere between laundry, folding clothes, sweeping and mopping floors, dishes, picking cucumbers, cleaning bathrooms, and catching up on Big Rich Texas and Gulianna and Bill, I managed to baked a cake and make it look somewhat like a Lego cake. 
And now, I'm going to sit down, put my feet up and enjoy a glass of wine.  I feel I deserve it.  I believe weekends were made for catching up and relaxing.  Yes, I sit on my butt during the week, but that is not relaxation! 

I still have a couple hours before we need to head over to Happy Joes for our nieces birthday party.  Heck, I might even catch a nap in my rocking chair on the deck!

Here is a look at the "Lego" cake.  I will admit now, this is NOT my favorite cake. 

Main cake.  Ava asked for a chocolate cake

But, I like vanilla cake, so I used this one for the "8"



After the dirty icing....this was the thinking step




After all my thinking, and winging it, I came up with this.  Not what I wanted, but it works.

 The nobby part of the lego is a large marshmellow cut in half and frosted.  That was NOT easy!

These are the other 2 cakes I made for Malayna.  I also made Ava a butterfly last year, but it was a mess and I didn't take pictures of it.

But I can't decide which of these two if my favorite, so I will pick both! :)

A quick thought...

Tomorrow (Saturday July 30) is National Cheesecake day!! And you will find me in the kitchen baking a Lego birthday cake instead of eating cheesecake. 

Pictures to follow this one.  I'm going to wing this cake.  Hope it turns out like I picture it! 

This cake actually started out as a monkey, but quickly turned to a Lego cake when I found out our neice is totally obsessed with Legos!

Wish me luck!

Enjoy your cheesecake in celebration of the national holiday!  And have a wonderful weekend :)

P.S.---Thank goodness I finished my month end stuff and got to breath for the last 30 minutes of work.  Been a crazy week without my supervisor, but I'm learning new things and enjoying getting to talk to people I don't regularly communicate with!  --- keep your fingers crossed that the House, Senate, and President can compromise on a solution for this LARGE debt issue!

We are Family

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we had our family get together weekend this past week.  The farm is never quite the same when everyone gets there.  More beverages are consumed in that one day then probably the whole year.  Not saying we are all alcoholics, but there are quite a few of us and we like to have a good time!

This year was a little different.  My uncle got married at the farm and had a reception in a nearby town.  After the reception, most of the guys decided to go golfing while the women went back to the farm and enjoyed the beautiful weather and hot temps. 

Every year, we learn a little more about each other and share more stories and tons of laughs to create new memories.  It's even better when a cousin comes that you haven't seen in at least 8 years.  Life kinda stops for the weekend while we all put our feet up and throw back a few drinks.

Sometimes you get the enjoyment of seeing your father in his new shorts, sandals, and holy farmer cut off...for the first time ever.



D checkin' things out.

Hubby showin' us how its done.

Horseshoes

My brother, popping a JiffyPop the hillbilly way



The whole family....minus a few cousins
And I may be from the country, but I am wearing a dress and I like to dress up!



A little glimpse of the farm

Beautiful flat land

This is what we call hills in ND

Hot as fire!

Yes, it is HOT today!  Right now, weather.com tells me it is 91 degrees but feels like 103.  I'm glad I work inside.  Too bad our AC blows sucks!! 

This weekend was almost as hot and we spent the day outside.  This was our family weekend at the farm with lots of laughs, hugs, beverages and reminiscing.  I have pictures, but for the sake of keeping my extended families lives a little more "private", I will refrain from posting them.  Just know that we are one good lookin', fun loving bunch!  ;)

But, before the family weekend, Jon and I helped a friend burn down his barn.  I enjoyed taking a few pictures of something that I don't get to see everyday.

We successfully got the barn burned and kept it undercontrol.  I'm  glad I was there to snap a few pictures!

Hope you are all enjoying the heat and keeping cool at the same time!

....I'm back!

Ok, seems I've been missing for awhile.  Things have been happening, but I sometimes I feel the best blog contains pictures.  And it seems I've been forgetting my camera lately.  But over the weekend, I got a few good shots to help tell the story and I will be posting them soon. 

Quick fourth of July recap:
Hubby and I met up with my parents, brother and a few friends at the Rodeo on Friday night.  This was hubby's class reunion weekend, so we ran into a few old classmates of his and had some drinks at a local restaurant.
Spent July 2nd at the Parade in the morning with my mom, aunt, cousin and grandma.  Afterwards, we went to the Arts Roundup and walked around in the scorching heat.  I burned pretty nicely that day!
That night, we had a birthday party and bonfire at my in-laws for my brother-in-law.  Lots of food, friends, fire, and fun.  Ha!  Also a few minor firework mishaps, or I should call them, malfunctions.
July 3rd was spent doing as little as possible.  We were both tired from the night of partying that we slept until noon!  I think we had a relaxing day...I can't remember!
July 4th - I went to the derby with my mom, aunt, uncle and cousins.  About the only thing I got out of that, was wrinkles, skin cancer, and sun spots.  That night, hubby and I went to his brothers house to see the nieces.  We had a few drinks and some pizza and played with the girls.  I got my fill of baby holding and some relaxation time.  Everything was going well, until Nevaeh tripped and fell and hit her head on a brick. Ouch! Poor girl had so much blood, but she was a trooper while mom cleaned her up.  Little sis, Elli, cried for "Vaeh".  Elli made me tear up when she was crying and screaming "What wrong with Vaeh!!!!!??"

So after all the fun of the weekend, we were back to work on Tuesday. 

After boring you with a weekend recap, I will hopefully entertain you this week with actually stories and pictures.  Family reunion this coming weekend, so I should really have stories for you then! :)

I'm battling a case of the Monday's today along with a massive headache. 
But, on a better note, it's Bachelorette night! And I WILL be watching tonight!

Enjoy your day and remember to smile!

Happy (late) Father's Day!

Yes, this post is coming just a few days late.  It has been quite a busy week at work and the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was sit in front of the computer.  So here is my daddy's post...

Where to start...At one time, I was farmin' daddy's girl.  I may have been forced into it when mom was tired of me, but I loved spending time with dad in the tractors.  I have some good memories of those days.  Like, bologna and ketchup sandwiches from the cooler.  And Twinkies.  Milking and feeling like I was a BIG help.  Feeding the baby calves.  Putting on my "milk" boots just like dad.  Dad jumping out of the grain truck telling me to take it out of gear at the end of the field and stop! (Thanks dad, I think I'm still traumatized by that!)  Those were the easy days.  When nothing else mattered except what my favorite barbie was wearing. 

Now, don't get me wrong, dad and I didn't always have an easy going relationship.  There was a period of time that I lost because I was my self-fish self.  My teenage years were filled with me thinking dad was always wrong and just wanted to "boss" me around.  Come to find out, he was just trying to keep our relationship good and guiding me to be a better me! 

So here's to a very hard-working, caring, loving, gentle yet tough, dad.  I may not say it much, or even show it, but I love him more then he knows. 
Thank you dad for everything you have done for me.  My life wouldn't be the same without the struggles we had.  - I love you, Dad!  (and Mom!)

"Just dance. It'll be OK"

My baby sis (in-law) graduated from high school last week Sunday.  We held an open house in her honor on Saturday and spent Friday afternoon and Saturday morning make appetizers for that. 
We decorated my sister (in-law)'s garage in black and orange, and hung cute, embarrassing baby pictures up for the friends and family to see! 

Along with the pictures were tons of awards and medals that Brianna was given over the last 4 years.  She is quite an accomplished lady and we are SO proud of her!

Not only did we celebrate her graduation, but also celebrated her being honored to give the graduation speech.  Her and a friend gave the speech together.  They did an amazing job and made us laugh.  They included things like, Zach and Cody and Andy from Toy Story graduated this year too, and a few inside jokes, and some words of wisdom from famous people, like Lady Gaga -"Just dance.  It'll be OK." 

This is all on video and will be watched by her mother for the next 25 years! 
But, we are all so proud of her!
I can't believe she is graduated, working, and soon, off to Ohio State University!  She will continue to make us proud, but we will miss her intelligence and beautiful voice here.  Brianna was walking around the house singing and Julie asked me who's going to do that when Brianna's gone.  Guess I will have to start taking voice lessons!

Sniff! Sniff! :*(

Camera failure!

Ahh! He was so proud of her (even though he doesn't admit it!)

They will miss their Aunt Brianna next year (so will I)!

News Flash...

My mother is now the owner of an I-phone!  I am preparing myself for the pictures, videos, and other goofy stuff she is about start sending...that is when she figures out how to use it!  I've never even looked at an I-phone and she thinks I'm going to help her figure it out. 
Oh boy, this could be a bumpy ride. 
                 Stay tuned...

Attention: This woman thinks she hip, even without her I-phone!

Still love ya, Mom!

We are those weird people!

The other day, I was looking at some ads on our local classifieds and came across a lady looking to buy lawn gnomes.  She stated that they were those weird people who collect them.

These are just the 5 that greet you at our deck.

We are also those weird people! But that was not me looking to buy more gnomes. 
And maybe I should clarify.
 My beautiful mother brought us a gnome that my grandma didn't want anymore.  I blame her for this!  Hubby fell in love and started getting these things as gifts and buying a few himself.
Next thing I know......
              we have a gnome family.

This guy, I had to purchase my hubby when he was "a good kid" at Hobby Lobby.



This lovely addition came as a Christmas gift from hubby's brother.  Gee, Thanks Mike!

I got one as a birthday gift from my mom (remember I blame you!) last year, they are cute little guys sitting around a tree stump playing cards and its a solar light.  I don't love them as much as J does, though.

Yes, we are officially those weird people.  Thanks everyone!

In addition to those lovely gnomes, I have beautiful flowers in pots this year!

I don't know what any of them are without looking at the little thing that came with them, so I will not attempt to guess!  But they are all colorful, and I love them.

Hopefully, soon, we will see some more pretty green fields and then the golden wheat. I'm kind of tired of seeing puddles.
Would also like to starting taking pictures of the seeding process to add to my collection of farming pictures.

Here's to the beginning of a long eventful weekend spent with hubby's family.  And here's to hoping I don't bawl my eyes out at graduation on Sunday. 
Emotions of the weekend have already hit me, which is odd.  And no mom, I am NOT pregnant, just proud of my baby sis (in-law). 

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.  I hope you get to spend some time relaxing and sharing some laughs!