It's about damn time

I haven't written in awhile, so, given the fact that I've worked out today, had little sleep AND I am operating on about four hours of sleep, I'm quite hyped up today and therefore, in the mood to write about all things nonsense. So, what's on my mind today? Glad you asked.

I'm very excited that my friend Robin is now working with me. Oh what fun we have together. I like her because she's snarky like me. My partner in crime, if you will. One of our co-workers said that we even have the same mannerisms. Could it be true? After 10+ years of friendship, we've finally morphed into the same person? Does that mean I'll get the awesome hubby that gives me allowance too? No? Robin makes me giggle AND she brought me a giant Slim Jim today. Now that's friendship. :)

And in How In The Hell Did This Happen news, I've apparently been nominated to join the newly formed Newsletter Committee at work. Thanks to someone leaking the fact that I "love to write", I have now been suckered in to this committee. Thus far, I am in charge of a little section they're calling "Kerri's List", similar to Craigslist, (um, are there any copyright laws being broken there?). I've had several people email me about their crap, not exactly sure what I'm supposed to do with it. Here's what you need to know-I am not a joiner at work. I don't do committees, I don't hang out with my co-workers after work, I don't JOIN. My preference is to just do my work and go home. That being said, now, every month, every single person I work with will be stuck with this newsletter with my mug on it. Suckers.

The Cubs game last night made me happy. Finally, the boys won in convincing fashion, beating up on the Dbags 11-3. Several entertaining things occurred during this game, namely, Big Z-THE PITCHER, nearly hitting for the cycle (just a triple shy!) and Ted Lilly placing a giant bug on one of the coaches heads (hey, it was after 11pm, lots of things seem funny then). The team seemed loose and in a good mood-let's hope this winning trend continues, huh?

Someone yesterday paid me a compliment about my writing. And, since I'm a compliment whore, I'm taking it and running with it. See, someone DOES like it when I'm a sarcastic a-hole. Thanks Kate. :) It's inspired me to keep on writing, even if no one cares about what I have to say (which I'm pretty sure is the case). I'm writing (and rambling) about what I want to write about, what I care about, so Mike Tinnin be damned, I'm still writing about the Cubs. Uh, I mean, I love you Mikey, let us never break up. ;)

My precious baby niece Kendall is three weeks old today. I'm convinced she's the greatest, most adorable baby EVER in the history of the world. I love her sooooooooooo much!

Well, folks, I could go on and on and on, but you need a break. And I apparently have to go to my first Newsletter Committee Meeting where I'm gonna have to pretend to be nice, pretend I actually like people and pretend that I care. Peace out.

P.S. I miss my sassy little Canuck. ;)

American Idol Top 5...the end is near

Ok, first off, what the F was up with Paula's dress? It was kinda freakin me out....second, the finale is only THREE weeks away! What in the HELL am I gonna talk about after that????

So, this week, the AI gang was singing songs from the Rat Pack era, American "standards" if you will. Overall, I think everyone did a good job but let me break it down for you:

KRIS-LOVE HIM! Could he be any cuter? I mean, seriously. He sang "The Way You Look Tonight" and I thought he did an amazing job. And I'm pretty sure I heard Simon call him a cocker spaniel.......?????

ALLISON-the last girl standing celebrated her 17th birthday yesterday. Still looks and acts like she's 37 if you ask me. Someone check that kid's birth certificate. Anyhoo....she sang "Someone To Watch Over Me" and she was amazing. Sounded great and I loved the black streaks in her hair. I think Simon told her she was in trouble on purpose to generate votes. No way she's going anywhere. Ok, maybe.

MATT-He sang "My Funny Valentine". I was bored to tears for 3/4 of the song, he busted it out near the end and it was good, but I'm sorry, Matt deserves to go home this week. WTF-Simon liked it? Weird. Moving on.....

DANNY-He's back to the Danny I loved in previous weeks-AMAZING! He sang "Come Rain or Come Shine" and he sounded absolutely amazing. The judges loved it-I mean, DUH.

ADAM-I don't even know what to say about Adam. He sang "Feeling Good". I'm not gonna lie, I'm oddly intrigued by him (even after Mike showed me the pics of him on the internet dressed in drag), I can't quite figure out why, but he's definitely intriguing. Was the song over the top? Yes. Did it sound more like a Broadway number? Yes. Was it amazing? Yes. And diggin the white silk suit dude......

I think it's Matt's turn to exit. It may be he and Allison in the bottom two but if there is any American Idol justice in the world, to steal some words from the wise Bret Michaels, Matt, your tour ends here.

Pics from Friday's Cubs/Cards game

Yikes...I's skurred. Rick Ankiel's pic for this year is a little Chester Molester-esque. The subsequent '70's porn 'stache was even scarier...

The hotness of Rami....yes, it's a picture of a picture...so sue me.
My fave, Aramis Ramirez batting. This was BEFORE he hurt himself, obviously.....
Ryan Dempster pitching. You have to like him because he's Canadian. And he does a mean Harry Caray impression. It's dead on.

Reed Johnson, my favorite center fielder!
the boys warming up before the game...I can pick out Alfonso Soriano and that's about it....
I had to zoom in to the bullpen and make sure it wasn't that damn Neal Cotts warming up. It wasn't. Instead it was the fantastic Carolos Marmol who also got hurt in this game....
look! They're finally doing something with that gaping hole.....

New pics of Kendall

The Baumgart Family. Doesn't Chloe pose well for pics? ;)

pretty in pink

Look at the smiley, happy girl! I love this pic of her.
Kendall with her mama
so sweet

passed out
She's not too sure what to make of her silly daddy.... :)

this is too cute...Jon and his girls.... :)
sleepy girl....being a baby is hard work people!

Baby Kendall is two weeks old today!

Hard to believe she's already two weeks old! She is seriously the most precious thing ever. I love her so much. And considering she's the only bright spot in my life right now, prepare to hear about her often.

American Idol Top 7....again

Let me just say for any future American Idol seasons-Disco Night SUCKS. Just putting that out there, FOX.
That being said, tonight's performances were underwhelming at best, forgettable at worst. And what the hell? Paula was riding the Crazy Train tonight....girlfriend is a hot mess. I'm just sayin. And Simon was a cranky a-hole, but mostly spot on. Here's my breakdown:

LIL-she sang "I'm Every Woman". Ugh. It was a hot, hot mess, the background singers sounded better than she did and Simon is right-she's sooooooo outta here.

KRIS-Wow.....LOVED HIM! He made a surprising song choice, "She Works Hard For The Money" but somehow made it work....he sounded great but I'm not sure I got Paula's reference about shopping in the women's section....I'm pretty sure she was trying to say that it's not often that a man chooses to sing a song originally done by a woman. If so, she should have just said it like I just did. Would have been WAY clearer.

DANNY-He sang a song whose title I've already forgotten. No matter-here's the deal. Love Danny, think he sings great, but all his songs/performances are starting to sound/look the same. In other words-I'm getting bored. And was that Vince Neal they showed in the crowd? Random.

ALLISON-She sang "Hot Stuff" and I gotta say, I liked it! She looked great, very rocker chic, definitely gonna be the last girl standing.

ADAM-He sang a very changed version of "If I Can't Have You". He was kinda freakin me out a bit and the song was screetchy at times, but overall, another good performance and he is definitely the frontrunner. Did you see that ring he had on? What the F? Paula cried? Get it together, honey. Good Lord.

MATT-He did "Stayin Alive". Vocally, I thought it was great (except for the very end-I think he ran out of breath). The background singers were too loud so you couldn't hear him at times, but overall, I think it was a solid performance. I still think he may be going home.

ANOOP-I'm not sure what the name of his song was, it was dumb anyway. Vocally, he sounded great. Some of those notes he hit were amazing. But I can't get over the 'stache. I may have nightmares about it tonight. I'm just sayin.

So, here's the deal, Lil and Matt are going home. No if's, and's, or but's about it. Next.

New pics of Kendall!

Kendall is beyond perfect. Words can't even describe how much we all love this little girl. Tim and I are just in awe of her. Enjoy the pics, I'm sure there will be plenty more a comin!

American Idol Top 7....short and sweet

I'm keeping this one short because, quite honestly, I was only half paying attention tonight. The top 7 had to do songs from movies tonight with the strange direction of Quentin Tarantino who was TOTALLY flirting with Adam Lambert. I'm just sayin....



The judges, thanks to their long winded critiques from last week, only critiqued two at a time this week-I kinda like that format. Good work, AI. Although I think EVERYONE should be critiqued by Simon. I mean, he's almost always right, in my opinion.



ALLISON-She sang "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" from the Armageddon soundtrack. She sounded good, although her dress was soooo not flattering, made her look a bit hippy. I'm just sayin....



ANOOP-Oh Anoop, loved him! He sang "Everything I Do, I Do It For You" from Robin Hood (Prince of Thieves-don't forget that part). Cheesy song, yes. But Anoop sang it beautifully!



MATT-He sang another Bryan Adams hit, "To Really Love A Woman" from Don Juan De Marco (um, wasn't Johnny Depp in that movie? Yum), which, I'm kinda ashamed to admit, I like to belt out in the car on occasion. Anyhoo....I really wasn't diggin it, parts of it were a hot mess, but the end was good. Because it was over.

DANNY-He sang Endless Love. A great song, but the beginning was slow and boring...the end was GREAT though! Danny didn't listen to Quentin Tarantino when he told him to keep his hands in his pockets. Shame on you Danny Boy.

ADAM-I don't care what Mike says, I think he looked kinda hot. He sang "Born To Be Wild" from the Easy Rider soundtrack, it was a bit over the top, but his vocals were amazing. Again.

KRIS-Loved me some Kris! He sang "I'm Falling Slowly" from some movie I don't remember, his high notes were great, but he looked like was playing dress up in his daddy's suit, didn't he? That suit he was wearing was way too big.

LIL-She sang "The Rose". All I gotsta say is, Lil's in trouble folks.

Hard to say who the bottom will be tonight....I'm gonna go with Lil, Matt and probably Kris.

I think Miss Lil is gone. Buh bye.

Cubs with the 1 hitter on their home opener. Ted Lilly still a bad ass.

Oh, Ted Lilly, how I love thee. Ted got the start on the Cubs home opener today and he didn't disappoint. Ted took a no-hitter 2 outs deep into the 7th inning before giving up a base hit to some dude on the Rockies whose name I've already forgotten. No matter, Ted and the subsequent bullpen pitchers held it to the one measly hit and the Cubbies won 4-0. Goggles (AKA Kevin Gregg, the Cubs supposed closer) only made me wanna hurl once today (which is a vast improvement over previous performances) and things seem to be clicking. The boys are off to a 5-2 start, not too shabby, not too shabby indeed. Tomorrow's game is already making me giggle as the opposing pitcher for the Rockies is one Jason Marquis. LOL. ;)

Kendall's homecoming

The Baumgart Family. How cute are they?Mama and her little girl. My sister looks GREAT!
Lil miss is ready to go!Let's do this people, I wanna go home!


such a cute lil munchkin......

We out.Love, love, LOVE this pic.....walkin out the door...welcome to the world baby girl!

Could she BE any cuter?Kendall meeting her four legged sister, Chloe for the first time.....
baby's first Easter basket! :)
Grandma Val with her precious girl.

think lil miss has Grandpa Ken wrapped around her tiny little fingers yet?Such an angel....Baby girl smiling in her Grandma Pam's arms....

Only TWO more days until Aunt Kerri and Uncle Tim invade Dallas and shower that baby girl with even more love and attention!!!!!! :)

Happy Easter/Kendall's Homecoming/playoff hockey/Cubs at Wrigley North

Ah, holidays with the fam. Always a good time. We had Grandpa rambling away on the couch (to no one in particular), Uncle Nick trying to convince me that the Cardinals are the team to beat this year, Uncle Craig picking on Patrick and Taylor stealing the show with her cuteness. Good, good times. Baby Addison is toooooo cute (and looks exactly like her big sister Taylor, only with black hair). Dinner at the Baggett's was great, I love visiting with my fam. I missed my immediate family, of course, but they were having fun of their own. Yes, miss Kendall came home from the hospital today! Yay! Chloe apparently greeted her with a lick to the face (showing her love as only a dog can). Such a good big sister! Pics coming soon-my computer is being a bit goofy tonight.



Exciting times-the Blues made the playoffs for the first time in FIVE years. Holla! And guess who they're playing in the first round? Yep, a certain cutie pie Canadian's home town team, the Vancouver Canucks. Bring it Canucks, bring it. We aren't afraid of those Sedin twins. Or Bobby Lu. Let's do this! ;)



The Cubbies took two outta three from the nasty Brew Crew up at Wrigley North this weekend. Uh, I cannot handle another 156 more ninth innings like tonight's (assuming the Cubs are in the lead all 156 games that are left....). Do you hear me, Kevin Gregg????? I realize we are only six games in to the season but every time that man pitches I feel like hurling. Maybe it's because he tends to make the 9th "interesting" by oh, you know, giving up a home run, allowing some baserunners, you know, that kind of thing. I don't enjoy that. Just go out there, get three guys out and let's call it a day. The Cubbies did win tonight (special thanks to Jeff Suppan walking in FOUR runs in one inning-we owe ya one dude.), but not before my near heart attack. Geez. Um, but much props to one Reed Johnson who STOLE a grand salami from Prince "I'm the fattest vegetarian on Earth" Fielder. Ahhhh, that was a beautiful moment. And one I'd like to see replayed over and over and over again.........



Happy Easter everyone. I hope ya'll had a great and wonderful day.



Three more days until I get to meet my niece!

It's the Easter bunny!

Kendall news

My precious niece is hopefully getting out of the NICU tomorrow and if all goes well, she and mommy will be going home on Sunday. Yay! What a special Easter present! My sister said little miss is doing great and is, of course, the prettiest baby in the nursery. I mean, DUH. :) She's off oxygen now and is eating well. I know her parents will be happy to have her at home. :)

The love of my life.....

I can't get enough of this little girl!!!! Mommy, daddy and all grandparents got to hold little miss today. They also got to feed her and change her diaper for the first time! LOVE IT!Just chillin......Daddy getting to hold his precious baby girl for the first time....
The world's hottest granny's holding their precious granddaughter!
LOVE THIS. My dad holding his grandbaby. Does it get any more precious than this?

My sister holding her was captured on video (as was Grandpa Al holding her) and, sadly, I don't know how to upload that to this blog.........

More baby Kendall pics!!!!

Look at her chunkiness! I LOVE it!!! And my sister looks amazing. Are you sure she just had a c-section yesterday?????

mommy with her baby girl.....

I cannot get enough of her!!!

Instant love.....

Baby Kendall update

Well, my niece is still in the NICU.....just precautionary at this time, her mama and daddy are disappointed because they've been unable to hold her, fingers crossed they can do so today, but more than likely it will not be until tomorrow. Boo. :( But what's most important is that she's in good hands and will be ok soon. Both sets of grandparents are there now, my mom said she's absolutely beautiful (I mean, DUH!), everyone is anxious to get to hold her and start bonding with her. I pray all will be ok and she'll get to be with her family soon! Love you baby girl!!!!!!

Meet baby Kendall!

My brother-in-law Jon is AWESOME, already has pics posted (and video, I got to hear my baby niece cry and see her move-amazing!!!!). Just wanted to share pics of my beautiful baby niece! Auntie Kerri loves you baby girl and I'll see you next Wednesday!

,Getting ready to have that baby!
Welcome to the world baby Kendall!
Yea...not happy. But isn't she beautiful? My first thought was that she looks like my dad. :)

Is that red hair I see?The new parents with their precious baby girl!

Hi baby girl!She's here!!!!

My niece is here!

YAY! I'm an auntie! My niece Kendall Alyson Baumgart is here! Baby Kendall is named after both her grandpas, Ken and Al. LOVE IT!

My sister had an emergency c-section this morning, mama and baby are doing great. Kendall was 6 pounds, 13 ounces and was 19 inches long. Her mama has no idea what she looks like (according to her), as she was wisked to the NICU just as a precaution. :) I will hopefully have pics to share soon! I am so excited and the proudest auntie in the world!

American Idol Top 8

Ok, so not as exciting as the pending birth of my first niece, but still a good night. Tonight's Idol was the Top 8, and they were singing songs from the year they were born. Let me talk to you about this for a second. The oldest contestant, Danny Gokey, was born in 1980. 1980. The oldest. And the youngest, Allison, born in effing 1992. If that doesn't make you feel old and decrepit, I don't know what will. Anyhoo....I'll step off my soapbox now. Thanks for listening. Let's get started with the breakdown. Some were good, some were amazing and some were downright weird. Ok, only one was "downright weird". Read on for more details.....

DANNY-born in 1980,he sang "Stand By Me". A good performance, he had the unlucky task of singing first (the first one is usually forgettable by the end). His voice sounded great and he made Paula dance-which truly, is something I never want to see again. At least her boobs were covered up tonight.

KRIS-born in 1985 (shit, I'm old),he sang "All She Wants To Do Is Dance". Kris is adorable, and he sang well, but I was all kinds of confused, listening to the music and weird arrangement, I couldn't even focus on his singing. Or the fact that he's adorable. Simon used one of his favorite slam words, "indulgent". And I kinda have to agree......

LIL-born in 1984, she sang "What's Love Got To Do With It". Oh, Lil, Lil, Lil. What is going on with you girl? It was a big ol hot mess, totally karaoke, totally sounded like she was trying to do an impersonation of Tina Turner but damn did she look hot!

ANOOP-born in 1986 (what the F?), Anoop sang "True Colors". I think he did Cyndi Lauper justice. It was a nice song, his voice sounded great, loved the high note at the end, he had good control of his voice. Overall good job although I fear he'll be in the bottom two.

SCOTT-born in 1985, he sang....Survivor? "The Search Is Over"? Really? The cheesiest of all cheesy love ballads. He wasn't at the piano! He plays the guitar too! He got a haircut! The high notes were atrocious! And that's all I got to say about that.....

ALLISON-born in effing 1992, she sang "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt. Great job, even Simon liked it. And I was thinking the same thing Randy said about her reminding him of Kelly Clarkson. There ARE similarities.....

MATT-born in 1985, Matt sang "Part Time Lover". LOVED IT!!!!!!! I was dancing on my couch, totally into it, great vocals,great performance, great job!!!!

ADAM-born in 1982, he sang "Mad World" (never heard of it). First of all, is anyone surprised that he liked to play dress up as a child as opposed to playing sports? I mean seriously? Now on to the singing-is this guy for real? Those vocals were INSANE (in a good way). Wow and wow. I mean, he got a standing ovation from SIMON, that's got to count for something, right?

My take is that Adam and Matt were the best of the night, with Danny, Allison and Anoop also doing well.

The bottom three has got to be Scott, Lil and I'm sad to say, but Kris. I think Scott's magical AI run may be over. It's been real dude.

KD out.

Baby Girl Baum update

The contractions are 17 minutes apart and my poor sis is sitting very uncomfortably at work right now. It still may be another couple of days, but baby girl is DEFINITELY well on her way! My mom and I are on standby, phones glued to our sides, will keep you posted. Baby girl will definitely be here in the next couple of days, maybe on the family birthdate of April 8 (joining Kelli and Aunt Paula).

Oh I can't wait to hear that my niece has been born and can't wait to meet her next week!!!!! My only request is this sis-can you make sure she's not born while I'm at work. I mean, I'm gonna cry and as you know, we are not pretty cryers....I'm just sayin. ;)

Oh, and mom would like for the baby to at least wait until after mom's hair appointment at 4:30pm today. Thanks. ;)

Too much technology....oh yea, and it's freakin snowing outside

We now apparently have instant messaging at work. Um....is this a good thing? I mean, we're already on the fine line between productivity and totally wasting the company's time and money, so is IM really a good idea? Already this morning Mike has taken the opportunity to use IM to tell me I'm stupid, to stop being stupid and that I'm stupid. I mean, really, he could have just shouted that over the cubicle and it would have been just fine.

Just peeked out the window (had to unchain myself from my desk first) and saw that it is snowing quite heavily. Fun times. Have fun with that afternoon home game, Cardinals. ;)

Opening Day baby!!!!

It's Opening Day! Yahooooooooooo! Baseball is finally here! I couldn't be more excited. The Cubbies open up the season on the road in Houston. Big Z takes the mound today, although it should be noted he is 0-5 on Opening Day. Not good stats by any means, but whatever. I'm laughing because it's 37 degrees here in St. Louis for the Cardinals home opener with a chance of snow. That's right. My ass won't be laughing on Wednesday night, however, when I'm at the game........

Sports Illustrated predicted the Cubs will three-peat as NL Central Champs. Well, DUH. That's not even the issue. The issue is actually winning a game in the playoffs once there. The Cubs lineup is a bit different than last years, gone are Kerry Wood and hottie mchotterson Mark DeRosa. In are Milton "I beat up umps for fun" Bradley and Kevin Gregg, who is apparently the new closer. Here's hopin Sweet Lou's new roster is the one to take the Cubs to the next level. Ever the delusional Cubs fan, I am once again optimistic, this year is THE year, and all that other good stuff. Baseball rocks my world.

It's fun being an a-hole

So, tomorrow is baseball day at work. Seeing as it's Opening Day for the MLB, I suppose it's fitting. In addition to the free hotdog, chips and a soda that my employer is providing, staff are also encouraged to wear their best Cardinal gear. Um, yea. I'm sure most everyone will. Everyone, that is, except for myself and three of my colleagues. The only four CUBS fans in the place. The four of us are representin, yo. I'll be donning my favorite smart ass tshirt that says "real women love the Cubbies" and my favorite Cubbies hat. That's right, any chance I get to be a giant a-hole, I take it. That's just me. One giant a-hole.

So, I had some fan-damn-tabulous food today. In fact, I may not eat again for a week. Mike, Dr J (who is apparently Judy Jr, who knew?) Freida and J and F's friend Ed and I all went to Pappy's for some lunchtime BBQ. Featured on Man Vs Food on the Food Network, we figured we'd give it a try. And I believe it's safe to say that the five of us ate our weight in pulled pork and beef brisket. Yum. Oh and did I mention the fried corn-on-the-cob? Yes, that's right, I said fried. Love it. Gorging yourself on BBQ is great for the pocketbook and diet if you are planning on going grocery shopping right after you eat. This is what I did and I ended up spending less than normal just because nothing looked good because I was so.freakin.full. Me need nap.

So, my sister still hasn't had her baby. In fact, she and Jon were out at the Blues/Stars game last night (Red was hoping the cheering and screaming would somehow dislodge the baby. Sadly, the Blues didn't win, so I'm guessing there was more screaming than there was cheering....). Four days until Baby Girl's due date. I'm still betting on an April 11 arrival, which is next Saturday. Tim, who is channeling Miss Cleo apparently, is calling for a 3am arrival on April 9. We shall see! She'll come out whenever she's darn good and ready! At this point in my life, it's the only thing I have to look forward to and I SOOOOOOOOOOOOO can't wait to meet her! :)

Happy Birthday Lizzard!

Happy, happy birthday today to my dear friend Elizabeth! I hope you have a fabulous day! Hope you are feeling well, what with that fetus and all. ;) I miss you lots! :)

Happy Week 39 Red! Baby Girl Baum is almost here!!!!

Wow! My sister is now 39 weeks pregnant. Baby Girl Baum is due a week from today. Can't hardly believe it!!!!!! So far, no movement. Baby girl is pretty content inside her mommy's tummy, but she has to come out eventually, so we are anxiously awaiting that day! Here's what's going on with her, she's running out of room, I can tell you that much...... (right sis?) ;)



-The lanugo has mostly disappeared, but you'll probably find a bit on her shoulders, arms and legs and in those protected little bodily creases. It will vanish completely on its own in time.

-Her lungs are maturing and surfactant production is increasing and fully prepared to take on the outside world!

-Your baby doesn't have much room to move and certainly mom agrees! Did you imagine 8 months ago that this wee one would be able to hook a toe in your ribs while elbowing your bladder? She certainly has grown!

-Her body continues laying on the fat stores that will help regulate her body temperature after birth. In addition to normal fat, she is accumulating a special "brown" fat in the nape of his neck, between his shoulders and around organs. Brown fat cells are important for thermogenesis (generating heat) during her first weeks.

-Your infant's weight is around 7.25 pounds (3288gm) and length is 19.9 inches (50.7cm).

Happy Anniversary Red and Jon!

I would like to wish a very, very happy 3rd anniversary to my sister and her hubby, Jon! It will be your last before you become parents (that is, unless Baby Girl Baum decides to make her appearance today....). I hope you guys have a great anniversary. I miss you and love you both very, very much!!!!!!!!!!!!!