My snuggler

If you know me, then you know that the word love doesn't begin to describe how I feel about my dogs.


So when they take over our social skills (it's horrible when you know the names of other dogs & refer to the owners as "Max's mom"), want a Kong or need their bellies rubbed it's no surprise that they go to their mommy.


Oscar was the first addition to our family & he took full advantage (still does). The first night with us Paul let him on the bed. Little did he know that Oscar would find himself right at home in the middle of us, under the covers, laying sideways & any other position that pleased him. :/


He's a great snuggler & when I bought my snoogle pillow I didn't realize I'd have to fight for it.

Kat these pics are for you.

Then a few hours later he found himself back comfortably......in my pillow. :/

Disclaimer: We were washing our sheets & pillow cases.....we don't go for the hospital look.

Good times, good times

Even through the stress of moving, packing & mentally preparing for what's to come with the baby & our move out of state it helps to reflect on how I've been very blessed these last few weeks.

September 17th I received a text message from my sister in law Nikita:

He came home early this morning!!!!

My brother Jeremy was finally home. We weren't expecting him until the 27th so this was an awesome surprise. This was his second tour of Iraq & I still can't comprehend how he made it mentally through his first. I've heard & watched documentaries on soldiers who come back not quite the "same" & deal with drinking & drug addictions to fight off the stress of being over seas.

I didn't know what to expect the first time he made it home but after a few days back into the states I finally got to talk & see him. He seemed ok. Not 100% ok but ok in the sense that he wasn't picking up a bottle or pills. He talked a lot. About what he saw, what he did & had to do. The stories seem to horrific to be real but they were & here my (at the time) 19 year old brother was retelling everything he went through.

Now back from his second tour he's changed.......but honestly for the better. He seems more mature, more sure of himself & not afraid to crack a smile or joke around. :)

Nikita set up a surprise welcome home party for that Saturday but he found out the night before. :( Oh well, I'm sure it was still a nice surprise that she put the time & thought into putting everything together.

As we drove onto the base we were flooded with welcome home banners.

Since Jeremy found out that people were coming over he bought a grill & Bar-B-Que chicken, ribs & veggie dogs for me. :) They were delicious!

It was nice to catch up with each other & just spend quality time. Quality time meaning kicking ass in Pictionary. Seriously, who draws a broom that looks like it was made out of hot dog links?

Nikita & Jeremy will be renewing their vows later this month. My cousin Joseph who joined the Army last year was on his first tour in Iraq. He surprised everybody by coming home early to celebrate his 21st b-day in the states & be a part of the wedding. :)

Happy thoughts all around.

Don't forget me :(

This past weekend we drove out to Arizona. I've never been to Mesa & to be honest the only experience I've had with Arizona is Quartzite. Omg we all know how much I LOVE that place.

So needless to say I wasn't expecting too much. I tried not to expect anything so I wouldn't be too disappointed. I am definitely the pessimistic one in our relationship & even though I love Paul sometimes his "everything is sugar & spice & will work out in the end" speeches get a bit old. Especially when I'd rather wallow in self pity.

So early Saturday morning we got up, dressed, packed & kissed the poochies good-bye & told them to wish us luck. I think they might have wished more for themselves because what can I say? Arizona was pretty awesome.

On the drive there we saw a lot of this:

Now you can only play count the cactus for so long. :/

Thankfully the drive wasn't that bad. I drove from Cali to Quartzite & Paul drove the rest of the way (only 4 1/2 hrs. total, not too shabby). As soon as he hit civilization I noticed one thing right off the bat.

The freeway was bare....bare & free of any tagging!

I really wish I took pics but believe me I looked. Nothing on the ramps, street lights, stop signs....nothing. I didn't want to jinx anything so just kept an eye out. Little did I know Paul was noticing the same thing. If there's anything I hate is the awful look & aura of tagging. It's pointless & a disturbing reminder that there's a bunch of dumb asses in the area.

As we drove further into Az I noticed that the traffic was a lot calmer. There were cars on the road but no one was in a hurry, cutting in & out of lanes or riding our ass.

So far so good.

The city we'll be working out of is Mesa but we looked in the city of Gilbert (two exits away) for a place to live. As soon as we exited Power Rd. into Gilbert we were warmly welcomed by a huge sign glowing Super Target. If you know me, you know my love for Target. There was a grand opening for a 76 gas station. Full of free food, drinks, snacks, a jumper & a wall for rock climbing set up for kids to run around & play.

Just as I was settling down & getting rid of some anxiety the real pressure started.

Apartment hunting. BLAH! So after the first place I was already burnt (we arrived close to 1pm) & wanted to grab a bite to eat. New York Pizza Dept. was highly recommended & not a far drive so we headed out.

Cute right?

As soon as we went inside I noticed only one other family eating there. Maybe, they don't pick up until late afternoon? So I went to the bathroom to wash up & I'm not sure what hit me but I realized that this is it. When we go out to eat it's just going to be Paul & I. My aunt won't be waiting or meeting us anywhere. I won't be able to solve the child menu puzzles with my cousins & I can't grab sushi with Diana every time I'm sad.

I thought I was fine but reality hitting me out of nowhere really shook things.

So, I walked back to our table, sat down & cried. Paul held me & just reminded me of all the opportunities moving would give us & Cameron. I know he's right. I know this is the right thing to do. But moving still hurts my heart.

Before leaving the waitress gave us a welcome packet.

It was full of goodies. Menu, coupons & free dessert voucher. I don't know if she felt bad for us or was just truly nice but it did put a better light on the situation.

We went to a few more places. I didn't love any of them. Paul was still stuck on the first place which I liked but didn't love. Before leaving to Az I googled dog parks in Az & found Cosmo Park.

Wow! It was better than we imagined.

Full of dogs (most dog parks that we've been to have 5 or less) it had a man made lake for dogs to swim in or play fetch. There was even a ramp so the dogs could run off of it & jump into the water.
Obstacles through out the park to run over, under & through.

I couldn't help but get excited & look forward to bringing Oscar & Sadie back.


An Amphitheatre. Paul already envisioned Shakespeare being played. :)

There was even a kid area which I'm sure we'll visit plenty with Cameron.

To top it all off the restrooms were sparkling clean with no tagging! As you can see this "no tagging" feature is huge with me. When I asked an employee at one of the apt. complexes if they have somebody come out & paint over tagging she replied with, "what's tagging?" I had to explain that it's graffiti. She said, "we don't have that problem in Az." Music to my ears. Now I'm not naive. I'm sure it's somewhere but in the full two days we were there I didn't see it once.

But it's nice to know that if I do see some at Cosmo park there's a number I can call.

Oh, & I will. :)

We finally found (the last place we visited before heading home) an apt. I LOVE in an area that compliments our needs. But I'll save the stories & pics for another post.

WOO HOO!

Maybe the whole "pregnancy brain" myth is true. I swear before I got pregnant I thought that cravings were made up so people could pig out & not hear a peep about it. Then I ate meat...

Now this! My darn cord that connects from my camera to the computer was...........in my top desk drawer at work.

Oy.

My wonderful friend Noel. She was kind enough to not only drive down from San Diego for the big day but she came down early so we could have some alone time & catch up.

My awesome diaper cake. Diana is so creative. ;)
That little bundle of joy is my Cooper. He helped me become less paranoid about becoming a good mommy. He cried, I swaddled & we fell in love.
I am not a fan of carrot cake but my god that was a bomb cake!

My little helper for the day. He was in charge of keeping the guest entertained. Ummmm, I'm thinking of an object & it starts with M.

My brother attempting to guess the baby food.

Little did he know Paul picked out hard ones! Turkey with peas & chicken. Who the heck would guess that?

The fabulous Diana. Who took the time to plan the best baby shower. :)

xoxoxoxooxo

The power of technology

A little over a year ago I met one of my very favorite people. We didn't go to school together, meet through mutual friend or even through our significant others. Of all places, we met online.

While planning for my wedding I went to local online boards to seek help with wedding dilemmas & comic relief from wedding planning.Best of all I made it through my wedding day with out regret, kept 99% of my sanity & met Jenn.

We hit it off right away. Sharing quotes from Superbad, embracing each others twisted way of thinking & eventually swapping email addresses. Little did I know at the time that we would not only keep in contact but become closer than I am with most people in my life.

The day I found out we were expecting she was the 4th person I told. I couldn't wait to tell her & of course she guessed it off the bat. She knows me better than most & when my days are bad she knows how to cheer me up & when they're good she knows how to bring me down (jk). If you're lucky enough to have a friend where you can say one word & they know exactly where the conversation is heading or how you're feeling than that itself says how special the friendship is between you two.

Now, it's her time to shine. I was lucky enough to attend her bridal shower. It was wonderful to see her so happy on her special day(aren't bridal parties better when they're for you?). Pretty soon she'll be marrying her best friend. I've never met her fiance but through chit chat oddly enough he reminds me of my Paul (which wouldn't be the first thing/person/thought we have in common). Through stories I can tell he compliments Jenn & is lucky to have snagged her. They compliment each other & idiosyncrasies that I don't have to wish them luck, just the very best for years to come.

*boop*

My Sadie

It's been so wonderful having you in our life.

4 years ago today we went to the Moreno Valley Shelter to visit "Lady". Lady turned out to be a schizo little rat dog that couldn't sit still if her life depended on it.

I pushed Paul on going down to visit you & when we arrived I freaked out. You weren't my ideal dog or playmate for Oscar.

As we were about to leave to "think" about it the lovely ladies who worked at the shelter told us your story.

No wonder why you were so paranoid. After being picked up off the street several times & returned to your previous owner, only to have them turn bring you back weeks later to be euthanized. No deadly diseases or illnesses just a person who wasn't ready to be a dog owner picked you out of the litter.

Watching you & your personality grow I can't believe what life was before we had your crazy, licking, ball loving, cuddle bug.

Happy 4th Birthday Sadie!

xoxoxo

Cameron's baby shower :)

This past Sunday was our very first baby shower. I haven't been to many baby showers but I knew the gist of it. Food, games, gifts & cake! It's so different when it's thrown for you.

Plus to top it off it was a mix of boys & girls so it was nice to have Paul there to join in the fun.

Through out the whole day I would find myself overwhelmed with emotion. Not only was it a day about Cameron but it was a day full of old & new friends. My bestie Diana was sweet enough to put everything together.

My little hippy in the background. :)

This was her first time throwing a baby shower & I think she did a fantastic job!

The food was delicious,

the games were funny (spanking smurfs) & fun (taste testing the baby food) & it wasn't too terribly hot. I recorded most of the party to Cameron's disk but my friend Jeanie recorded as well. She filled a full 60 mins of the party. It was great going home & watching a few days later.

We had a blast & a gal couldn't ask for better friends. :)

I wish I had more photos to post, but I don't. :( I'm afraid I either lost my camera/computer connection cord or we packed it. Either way I'm heading to Best Buy this weekend & will post more pics soon!