Lookin' Around

Nicholas has arrived! There is tons to catch up on, but for now I'm just trying to get some videos uploaded. Hopefully this works...

Jay is healthy as a horse -- thankfully his last physical confirmed it -- and training for the Houston Marathon in January. Here he his finishing the 10 for Texas ten mile race in The Woodlands last week. I admire so much the mental and physical stamina it takes to participate in these long runs. My "baby daddy" rocks!
In other news, we're just waiting for Nick. Like his mama, grandmama, and great-grandmama before him, he has opted to stay butt-down instead of heading south to make his exit. I can't say I blame him....birthing oneself seems like alot of work for little bitty guy. So, it looks like C-section it is. We have a C-section scheduled for November 5th at 12:30.
Of course, there is a full moon on October 26th and Nikki said she feels something about the 28th, so until we make it past the 28th, I have the 5th marked as his tentative birthday:)

Happy 31st Birthday to me!!!

So, here I am....one full year officially into my 30s...and can I tell you, so far it really IS fabulous!
I could go through a litany of reasons on why I'm digging life, but some are private (I know, imagine that, I'm learning about privacy) and some are just obvious - how better to celebrate my birthday than with my baby shower - but all just add up to a great year. Life can get so out of control sometimes -- so off the track you know you should be on. At times I was afraid maybe I wouldn't be able to hop back on the right track, let alone find it! But then I would hear my mom's voice pop into my head..."Adelante, mi amor, siempre adelante." And so that's what I would do - move forward.....and get out of my own way:) And so here I am. Praise God!
Ying/yang, laws of the universe, etc., tell me that not all my birthdays will be the bookends to such blissful years. That's why, this year, my gift to myself is to relax, enjoy the moment and thank my Mama. Te adoro, Ma. Thank you for making it through the drug-less labor, emergency c-section and my adolescence.

More parties for Nick!

Thank you, thank you, thank you....to everyone from the Romano/Colonnetta clan for the baby shower last weekend. The food was delicious and the company perfect. I hope that everyone had as much fun as I did celebrating Nick's upcoming arrival. Of course, it was extra special since both my mom and my sister flew in to join me! Outside of Jay and I, I think my mom is the most excited for Nick's birth. She is a phenomenal mother -- I can only imagine her as a grandmother. It will most likely be more fun than being a mother -- she can relax and enjoy it more!
And what can I say about the gift from Dana and Teresa? It was as if Dana took every thought, every prayer and every promise I have silently made and composed this amazing poem for Nicholas. I wasn't able to hold back my emotion and I know I wasn't the only dry eye in the room. And the care and detail that Teresa put into the presentation....it's truly humbling to have friends like that.
On a side note, it appears my blood pressure is a little high so I've been ordered to lay low this week. I'm just taking it as God's reminder that He needs me to let go a little more and let Him finish His perfect work.

Hug a soldier today

Regardless of how you feel about the war in Iraq, President Bush, Congress, Muslims, Democrats or the price of oil, today just be glad someone is out protecting your right to feel anything.
Here's to all of the men and women, and their families at home who sacrifice daily so that we can live in relative peace. Let's think about the fact that we remembering an attack six years ago and not the continuous attacks that could be occurring here if it weren't for the soldiers, sailors and airmen who are stationed all over the world.
So, hug a soldier today. If not in person, then do it by saying a prayer thanking God they exist and asking for their protection.
Here's my shout out and "hug" to my cousins Kevin and Casey....

SOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank God Almighty, sold at last! Yesterday, we closed on the sale of our townhouse in Houston. Papers signed, keys exchanged, checks deposited. 3636 W. Clay Unit E is officially SOLD!
The couple who bought it were very nice, probably my age, maybe a little younger. It's their first house so they were excited, nervous. It seemed perfect that our first home is now another couple's first as well. Even with all the excitement, it was definitely nostalgic to walk through the house one last time. That's where we began - all the good, the bad, the ugly and the crazy. That's where we started. It seems right that we have new walls now. New walls to witness our new life. But the walls at 3636 W. Clay were the first witnesses to "us". Sigh..... we had a moment, then I dug up St. Joseph and headed to the closing table.
Friday morning felt like Christmas. The big gift under the tree? ONLY ONE MORTGAGE NEXT MONTH!!!! Not to mention no more double electric, water, gas and property insurance bills. Or additional home repair. Or yard work. And then, of course, the absolute relief that comes with having a financial weight lifted. SOLD, SOLD, SOLD!!! Isn't it the most beautiful four letter word you've ever heard?

Random summer pics

The summer seems to be flying by. Who am I kidding - the YEAR is flying by. Seems like just yesterday we were spending a fabulous New Years Eve at the Double Eagle Ranch hoping for a new home and possibly a pregnancy before year end. Here we are, in August, in a new house with only 3 months to go until our baby ARRIVES! Crazy.
Speaking of the years passing quickly, here's a couple birthday shots of Lilly's 2nd and Nana's 93rd!

I "summer" in Ohio

It may not have the same ring as "summering in the Hamptons", but my two week vacation in Ohio worked for me. Let's see....some of the highlights.....well, Nikki, Austin and I were home at the same time - TRIFECTA!
My mom, Nikki and Jessica (and Norma) hosted my first baby shower...on an almost ridiculously perfect weather day. Say what you might about Ohio, but there are few places in July a person can enjoy a sunny day with temperatures in the low 80s with low humidity. Baby showers, I've decided, are way more fun than wedding showers - not so much pressure. Basically, I just felt like Nick's proxy. Eating the food, opening the gifts and thanking the guests on his behalf. AND, it's the perfect setting to talk endlessly about the baby without worrying people are getting annoyed. Perfect day with perfect company...here are some of the photos...Take a guess at which ladies are my mom and sister. It was great to see Aunt Marilyn, Kerry, Aunt Jo and Grandma. Especially since they made the drive to and from Mansfield in one day! I know my aunts are anxiously waiting to tell Nick about how cool I thought I was while growing up, and of course, to point out that I am happily living the suburban housewife life I swore I wouldn't! Oh well, I'm thoroughly enjoying my piece of humble pie.Oh, Gerken. While I still think you are nuts for driving back and forth from Nashville for the shower, it doesn't compare to how much I appreciated it. Although I hope I am a pretty good friend, my friends inspire me to work on becoming a better one. Thanks, girl.

Another favorite moment....checking out the crops with Grandpa and playing 1953 Scrabble with Grandma. Golden. But seriously, Grandma, you're getting a new Scrabble board for Christmas.

I ended up extending my trip and was able to hang out with Heidi and Sophia. Standing in the Boyd's kitchen it's almost like 20 years haven't sped by.....until you see Sophia running around and realize Heidi is somebody's "mommy" and we no longer are the crazy teenagers of Lakota Hills. Lakota Hills itself looks different. Quiet. Like even the neighborhood knows it's moment has passed.

Since Paul, Heidi fighter-pilot husband was flying in the Dayton Air Show, we went up on Saturday. It was crazy cool and I suggested Heidi should have a shirt made that reads "My husband has a cooler job than your husband" (sorry, Jay). It's nuts to think the same guy sitting across from you feeding his daughter pulled pork was just doing Top Gun-like stuff moments before. For the record, I was literally biting my tongue a little bit when I overheard one pilot say something about being inverted.....I really wanted to blurt out....what about the mig! (Top Gun reference. What the hell is a mig anyway?)

Seriously, is Sophia not over the top cute, or what? I wish Heid and I could spend more time together. We do a pretty good job keeping in touch considering the distance. Again, the value of fantastic friends.....

Last things first....the trip back to Houston

Before I write about how fun, relaxing and basically perfect the last 2 weeks in Ohio were, I have to discuss the trip back to Houston. Or, better stated, just bitch about it.
When John Young is your ride to the airport, there is a less than zero chance that you will be late for your flight. Papi plans the departure for your departure - what time you need to wake up, be in the car, on the highway, estimated time of arrival to the airport, road and weather considerations. So, even though my flight was scheduled to leave Dayton at 6:25 a.m., 45 minutes away from our house, I was not concerned. John was in charge.
All went as planned until we arrived at the airport at 5:30 a.m.

• Couldn't check in curbside because my bag was slightly over the weight limit
• The Continental check-in counter was a mess because the Cleveland flight was cancelled. HOWEVER, instead of prioritizing the check-in for the 2 early flights - Newark and Houston, the counter people made us all wait together. (Did I mention I was already checked in and all I needed to do was check my bag?)
  
• Finally, I, along with a couple other business travelers complained enough that they opened another kiosk area. I checked my bag - did not pay the overweight charge - and headed for the security line
• Security line chaos. Dayton is a small airport that has grown in popularity faster than sophistication and organization necessary for mass security line chaos. There were no "move to a new/front of the line" opportunities for the 2 flights leaving within 30 minutes. When my flight was called, I was almost at the front and asked the people ahead of me if I could move ahead. They agreed, but then the security agent asked me what gave me the right to cut in front of all those people. My response: I asked them! Well, she made me wait anyway!
• 10 minutes till takeoff: About to run through the Xray machine (sorry Nick, you'll be okay, bebe) and the security guy asks me if I'm pregnant - which I VERY clearly am. He then calls for a female assist to PAT ME DOWN!!! I didn't know if I was more angry, offended or shocked.
  
• Running to gate C-13. Made it! Door is open! Last name? Romano. Whew....wait, what do you mean you don't have a "Romano" on the list. Clearly you do, as I show my ticket. Where am I am going? Houston! On my ticket - Romano, Houston, gate C-13. THERE WAS A WHAT 15 minutes ago - GATE CHANGE!! What the $@&*! This may also be a good time to mention that most gates at the Dayton airport only have the gate number, not the destination information. Gotta get to C-17. Made it to C-17.....in time to watch the plane pull away from the gate. This seems like a good time to pee.
  
• Next flight out of Dayton to Houston - 6:30 p.m. - full. Code share flights with Delta connecting in Atlanta? Leaving Dayton late, oversold from Atlanta to Houston. Available options for arriving in Houston today - leave from Cincinnati. Time to call my parents.

So, I sat at the Dayton airport waiting for my blood pressure to come down, scarfed down a muffin and water and waited for my poor mom to drive the 45 minutes to pick me up, then turn around and drive the hour and a half down to the Cincy airport for me. I felt horrible since I knew she has a laundry list of things she needed to do for her life that had been put on a two-week hold already for MY life.
-- "Mom, I could get a cab."
-- "No sea loca"
-- "Sorry Ma."
-- "Porque?!"
Ah, the love of parents - waking up a dark thirty for a flight I couldn't get on; putting life on hold - again - to drive me from airport to airport......
In the end, I made it back to Houston via the 11:10 a.m. flight from Cincy to Houston. My favorite part, after the heightened security checks resulting in extra long lines and my "are you really pregnant belly pat down", my suitcase was on the original flight from Dayton to Houston. Go figure.

Nana's 93rd and Happy 4th!

I just bought a new MacBook computer so there may be some technical difficulties for a bit. Once I figure this out, we are going to be able to post some really cool videos and slideshows!

As for this post, I think if you click on the icon above, you should see a slideshow of pictures from Nana's 93rd birthday on Sunday.

RR

All the right parts in all the right places

We continue to be a happy bunch of 4 (Jay, Elvis, baby, me) down here in Texas. On Tuesday, June 19th we had our 20 week ultrasound. This is the "big ultrasound" where they check all the organ development, make sure the spine and skull are complete and closed, bones are developing, etc. The tech and doc also calculate the baby's size and, when possible, confirm the sex. As we expected to hear, we are definitely expecting a baby boy Romano this Fall. Apparently, our little guy is actually BIG! He is measuring a week and half ahead of schedule. We know our dates aren't off - we were visiting the fertility docs and they are schedule freaks - so it looks like, for now, he's just BIG! I'm not going to lie, it made me feel great to know that he is getting all the nourishment he needs. Selfishly, it also feels good to know the weight I am gaining is going where it should!

My favorite part was when the tech and doc said he had a "very pretty heart" and they wanted to bring in the med students. I didn't even know what that meant but my heart was swollen with pride - my son has a pretty heart! What a beautiful thing!

For the record, it meant they could see each of the 4 chambers perfectly. They did say they were going to use his ultrasound images for the med students later. Love it!

Seeing our baby, our son (!), healthy, moving around, safe, was a beautiful experience. We both teared up and then laughed. I am trying to live in each of these moments and not get to anxious about the end of the pregnancy. The privelage of being pregnant and participating in this life miracle is beyond words. Grateful doesn't even begin to describe how I feel. My son and his perfect little heart. Life is good.

Happy Father's Day!

There's are few things in life that are as wonderful and important as having a good father. Fortunately for my brother, sister and me, we not only have a good father, we have the best one. I could list out reason after reason for why our dad really would win any "father of the year" contest, but I think it really comes down to this....he loves his family above all else and he has the type of faith required to stay with a family during sorrows as well as the joys of life. So, to the man who made up the "giraffe story", taught me how to count money (YIKES!), said my prayers with me at night, didn't run screaming for the hills during my 13th-18th year and still tracks all my flights to make sure we land safely....Thank you. You are going to be world's best grandfather as well. And, just think, you don't have to worry about the kid's curfew!
As I sit here typing, of course I am also thinking about how lucky my little baby will be. Next year will be Jay's first official "Father's Day". I have no doubt in my mind that he will be going down in the history books as another "world's best dad".
All in all, I'm a damn lucky girl.

Happy 34th Birthday, Jay! (well, yesterday)

Yesterday, May 29th, was Jay's 34th birthday. If I have to say so, I think he had a pretty kick-ass birthday....but I'll explain in more detail later.

On Sunday we hosted a birthday party BBQ and had a great time with some of our friends in town for Memorial Day weekend. Jay and Rohde spent the day perfecting the ribs in Jay's new smoker, drinking beer and well, discussing the ribs they were perfecting in the smoker:) I spent the day running around to prepare for the party, but in the end it was all worth it. Jay had a good time even though he HATES, HATES, HATES being the center of attention (kinda makes you wonder why he married me...), the Callaway golf travel bag from Elvis and I was a huge hit with him and ...P.S. If you want amazing ice-cream cake - go to Cold Stone Creamery. Sinful. By the end of the day I passed out harder than Lindsay Lohan.

So that was Sunday. On Monday, we delivered Jay his REAL birthday present. He went with me to my Dr. appt and heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time. It's a great sound. I'm not going to lie, freaks me out to think I'm walking around with 2 heartbeats, but it's a GREAT sound. We are scheduled for the major ultrasound at the hospital in 3 weeks on June 19th, but I asked if we could just get a sneak peak at the baby since it was Jay's birthday....PLEASE (I even put on my sweet voice). It worked! The PA wheeled in the mobile unit and then the real fun began. It had been 8 weeks since we'd seen the baby so when we saw this actual little baby-like being looking back at us, we were amazed. There was this little person - kicking and squirming around and the whole time sucking on his fingers - just hanging out inside of me! Of course, we asked is she could see anything else and......

Well, boys and girls, I can safely say that I will most likely NEVER be able to top what I gave my husband on his 34th birthday...I gave him the first look at his SON!

We will still have the u/s on the 19th to confirm everything and get more information about the baby, but for 17 weeks, everything looks great! Now, I just giggle when I think I'm growing a penis inside me.

Hanging out in Arizona

We had a great time enjoying our vacation last week in Arizona.
Rock star Jay won a trip to The Phoencian in Scottsdale and then we made our way up to Sedona. I had never been to Arizona so seeing that part of the country - the desert, canyons, colors and culture - was amazing. We walked around Camelback Mountain, spent a day at the pool cabanas, golfed and went to the spa. (I really dig the spa portion of trips.) In the evening we ate some great dinners and I slept like a fat kid. Apparently, my little bump decided it was time to make a more public appearance. I swear Thursday I woke up "publicly pregnant". It's surreal to have strangers recognize I'm preggers.

Along with enjoying the relaxation of Scottsdale, we headed up to Sedona. This picture of Boynoton Canyon does not even begin to do it justice. If you go, make sure to make a lunch or dinner reservation at Enchantment Resort. GORGEOUS!

It's not a trip to the West without a cowboy picture!

For the record, "dry heat" is still pretty damn hot. I underestimated this and after this morning walk on the mountain, the day at the pool, the heat and altitude, I was not doing too well. I was still a trooper though and hung in there through dinner. We had a fantastic meal at an Italian restaurant in Old Scottsdale. Yum. Then, put a fork in me....I was DONE!

I Heart Super Suppers

For as long as I can remember, my Grandma has been worrying (and probably saying Novenas) over my lack of culinary skills. She especially worried when I got married. Thankfully, I was smart/lucky enough to marry a man who loves to cook. And this week, I got even luckier. I discovered "Super Suppers". Basically, it's this little piece of suburban heaven where all the ingredients are pre sliced, diced, measured and packaged. You choose which meal you want and the nice chef gives you a baggie full of the material, a card with the mixing and heating ,directions and BAM, you're out the door. I promise you, this is the only way Jay and I could have enjoyed cranberry-barbeque pork chops accomponied by apricot-glazed baby carrots in our own home. And not out of the box. They don't use any nasty preservatives, trans-fats, etc. so it really does taste like you slaved over it all day. Brilliant. Anyway, I heart Super Suppers.

Here we go!

Ok, well, here we go! As soon as I press that lil' "publish" button at the bottom I will officially move from the privacy of my bajillion notebook journals to BLOGGING. Just me and potentially the rest of the civilized world. Eh, I could always move to the Australian outback and live with the Aborigines if I embarrass myself too badly.
So, why am I doing this? Well, for a couple of reasons. First of all, this is a big year of change for Familia Romano. Jay, Elvis and I moved to the 'burbs and, most importantly, we have a Baby Romano on the way! I knew I would want an easy way to post pictures and just update my random findings of life in the burbs. For instance, WHY, seriously, WHY are people in the 'burbs afraid of the computer kiosk at the Post Office? People, do not make the line longer than it needs to be. You really, really can weigh your package, buy your postage and send it at the kiosk. No human needed. I promise. Also, the "change of address" option really does work online. Again, no need to stand in line and make me wait 45 minutes to pick up my mailbox key. But, anyway, I digress. Back to why I'm blogging...
I've missed writing. I remember how much I loved it while I was growing up . Curiously, I hated Journalism School (sorry, Scripps). Anyway, I wanted to find a way to bring writing back. JT gets to bring sexy back. Why not tap into my inner nerd and bring back my love of writing. (By the way, in case you are lost, "JT" refers to Justin Timberlake. You're welcome, Ma.)
So, that's the why of it. I hope along the way I don't offend too many people too badly, but, if I do, this is my apology ahead of time. Sorry!
Good. Got that out of the way. We're on a roll.
The other day I was standing in my new kitchen and I realized I was LITERALLY barefoot and pregnant. AND, I could honestly fill in "housewife" for my occupation (although, for the record, I still choose "freelancer"). Don't get me wrong; I am happier than I've ever been, but still, this transition from a career-focused individual to someone who is contemplating calling the Scrubbin' Bubbles manufacturer questions/comments line is amusing. Especially to me! I'm sure there's a lil' piece of hell freezing over as I type the following.......My parents were right. I do love the slower pace of life in the 'burbs; Saturday is a good day to work in the garden and I would really appreciate everything one day when I was older.

Welcome to the Romano Reality Show.