Our budding fashionista........

Two year olds are hilarious! Seriously. Check out Kendall's accesories she chose herself-note the zebra print purse that goes oh so well with her pink and black checked shirt...paired with a blue ring and purple necklace. She is STYLIN! I love it. That kid cracks me up more and more every single day.

Remembering Alyssa

It's hard to believe an entire year has gone by.

One year ago today, my brother-in-law's beautiful 26 year old sister Alyssa, passed away. She was Kendall's only other auntie.

The last few times I was around her, we had such a good time. Two of those times were babysitting our then infant niece. One of the things that makes me saddest is that she hasn't been here for this last year to see how much our Kendall has grown-to see what an amazing, smart, funny, beautiful kiddo she's become. And I hate thinking about the fact that she won't be here to meet our nephew and get to watch the both of them grow up. I struggle with feeling guilty because I get to do those things-I know it's irrational, but nonetheless, it's how I feel.

You sometimes don't realize the impact someone has on your life or the world....until they're gone. Alyssa, for better or worse, left a giant hole when she left us. Last Friday as we all gathered to celebrate Kendall's 2nd birthday, we were all acutely aware that one key member of our combined family was missing. That sucked.

I like to think that she is Kendall's (and 2.0's) guardian angel. She watches over her from above, and I do it from here.

Alyssa, I'd give my right arm to have you back with us. We all truly, truly miss you so much. You're gone, but never, EVER, forgotten.

12 games in.....KD's perspective on your 2011 Cubs

Ok, our boys are currently .500 at 6-6. I can't really complain about that. There's been some bright spots this season....and some not so bright spots. Let's discuss, shall we?

1. PLEASE keep Castro and Barney as your 1-2 hitters. They are leading the NL in batting average and on base percentage. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

2. It pains me to say this....but my beloved Tyler Colvin may need to go down to AAA. He is striking out WAY too much, his BA is WELL below the Mendoza line. And while he is adorable, and has more RBI's than anyone would have guessed with that horrendous BA, something needs to change. Go work on your swing kid.

3. Stop leaving the starters in one inning too long. Granted, there are parts of our bullpen that even a team of t-ballers could hit, but you ruin a perfectly good start in one little inning. Take Big Z last night. Dude was cruising....had a great outing (even hit a homerun!)....but was left in one inning too long.....and imploded. Not good.

4.  All Cubs fans should just go ahead and call their docs to get a script for hypertension, cuz watching Carlos Marmol pitch the 9th is ALWAYS gonna cause your blood pressure to rise.

5. Rami is lookin good so far this season.....in more ways than one (wink wink, nod nod). He's hitting, he's fielding, he's got a sweet ass. Ladies, the Rami we know and love is back!

6. Sean Marshall keeps getting sexier and sexier. And I don't typically dig facial hair, but he is rockin the beard. Missouri's own, Blake DeWitt, not so much.

7. I don't know who will ultimately take this division. For the moment, it's anyone's to win. Even the Cubs. Lets see how the rest of the 150 games play out.......

I have no shame.........

Yes, that is my knee. Isn't it pretty? Kinda looks like someone took a baseball bat to it, huh?

This injury is the result of my fall at a local grocery store on Saturday. My mom and I ran to the store Saturday morning and, as we were on our way out, yours truly slipped and fell. Turns out, there was a puddle of water where water shouldn't have been...and that's what I slipped on. My mom ran for the manager because I couldn't get up-I was in shock at first and wasn't sure of the extent of the injury. You should have seen the look on the manager's face, she was totally like "aw hell, she's gonna sue us". I was helped up and was able to walk. She made sure I had her name and store number just in case I needed to go to the doctor. It really didn't hurt much at first, surprisingly. Saturday night it was a bit swollen and gushy when you touched it, but by Sunday that was gone. The bruise probably looked it's prettiest yesterday-as seen above. Yesterday my leg started aching a bit-not enough that I couldn't walk-but aching nonetheless. Today, the bruise is very, very sore, and my knee is stiff, I think because it's healing. I don't think I'll need the doctor, but I wanted to share my totally bad ass bruise. :)

My niece's 2nd birthday

Kendall, or "Hendall" as she now refers to herself, had a great 2nd birthday and party! I can't believe my favorite little munchkin is already two. It doesn't seem possible. I know I'm waaaay biased, but seriously, she is such a beautiful little girl-big blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair. Her paternal grandpa Al says she's gonna be a heartbreaker. I think he may be right. She also might cause her daddy to get a few more gray hairs here in the coming years.....

Friday was her actual birthday. When I arrived at the house, she was standing in the window waiting for me. She gave me a big hug and was in QUITE the good mood. She had a t-shirt on that her Pam-maw (or as Kendall calls her "Pee Pee"....yes, it's hilarious) made her for her birthday. I asked her about her party at school-she and her little friends enjoyed a kosher cookie cake and they all sang happy birthday to her. I think she said it was fun, she may have just said "yea" to get me to leave her alone. We played in the basement until my parents and brother arrived (she was VERY excited to see her Uncle Tim...he may be her new favorite), and then headed out to dinner. She was in a great mood and even went up to a table of boys that were probably about 11 and she......danced for them (Um, see paragraph 1 and the part about causing her daddy gray hairs.....). My previous post detailed one of the most fun events-the announcement that Kendall is getting a little brother. But this night was still mostly about her. After dinner, we headed back to the house and let her open her presents. Now she was having a party on Saturday and my sis requested no presents, but of course, that excluded immediate family, so we did the present thing on Friday night. Kendall's Pam-maw and Papaw set her up with tons of clothes-super duper cute-that she got out of the bag and tossed on the floor. My parents got her a bunch of dress up stuff-princess dresses (with a Cinderella doll to match), purses and fake dress shoes. She LOVED the shoes. She was strutting around in these shoes that were way too big for her. Watching her try to walk in heels was absolutely hilarious. And then she insisted we all wear a pair as well....so yours truly got stuck wearing a red pair with Snow White on them. Hot, I know. She next opened part of the gift I got her-a mix of stuff. Her eyes lit up when she saw the Play-Doh (I'm sure her parents really appreciated it), she didn't so much care about the clothes, but the I'm a Big Kid Elmo book? I struck gold with that one. She stopped everything to sit down and look at  her Elmo book and tell us the names of all the characters in there. I also got her an adorable tricycle (with mom's blessing), she tried to stand on the box (I hear it is now together and she took it for a spin in the driveway...she also took it for a spin in the foyer but got in trouble for that....oops). She then moved on to her gifts from Uncle Tim...which included this way cool book about animals (she LOVES animals)...on each page was a pop-up pic of the animal...we all oohed and aahed about how cool it was...until she turned to the turtle page. All of us (Kendall included) were a bit startled as this giant 3-D turtle popped out at us-it was quite lifelike and just a little freaky.

Saturday was Kendall's party at the carousel, which, apparently, is THE place to have your two-year old's birthday party. She arrived in her adorable pink dress that her P am Maw made for her....she also had one of the purses my mom got her on her arm (quite the lady, don't you know). Kendall, for the most part, ignored everyone and just wanted to ride the "hor" (her word for horse and not, um, a lady of the night). Most family members took turns riding with her. Aunt Kerri was hoping to avoid getting on the carousel because I get motion sick very easily. I thought was in in the clear....however, little miss grabbed my hand and insisted I ride with her. Oh the things we do for those we love. Her party was a lot of fun, even the part where my brother-in-law's friends threatened me with their mob ties if I didn't tell them the gender of the baby. They found out soon enough anyway....my sis had arranged for the inside of Kendall's birthday cake (that was two-tiered and shaped like a carousel, by the way) to be dyed blue. Only it turned out kinda green, so no one actually got it, so they just had to announce they were having a boy.  This will be the 8th great-grandchild in our family and only the 2nd boy, so I'm sure my cousin's little guy Brayden is more than excited to have another dude in the family. :) I'm not sure how they're gonna top this party, it was a pretty good one.

Happy Birthday again to my favorite girl. I can't wait to see how much she changes this next year. She already looks bigger to me. :(

2.0 is a.............

I'll write a separate post later about Miss Kendall's 2nd birthday, but for now, 2.0 has the spotlight. On Friday, my sis and brother in law finally let the cat out of the bag. In approximately 19 weeks, I'm gonna have a.........................NEPHEW! Yes, 2.0 is a boy! I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited, you have no idea. One of each? Perfect. Now I don't have to play favorites-I can have a favorite niece and a favorite nephew. Easy. :)

So, how'd they tell us? My sis informed me beforehand that they weren't creative, but they did tell us in a creative way-even if they stole the idea.

On Friday, I called my sis to see what time she'd be home, I was already in the neighborhood and planned to head over as soon as she was home. She was stuck in traffic and a bit stressed that she may not make it to the bakery before it closed (she'd ordered cupcakes for Kendall's birthday), I offered to go get them for her...she was like "no, no, I should be able to make it" and left it at that.

Fast forward to Kendall's birthday dinner. As we were sitting there, it dawned on me. I whispered to my brother "I think the cupcakes have something to do with 2.0, somehow that's how they're going to tell us", because all through dinner, no one mentioned 2.0. So....after dinner, my sis went to open the box of cupcakes. I was sitting right next to them, hoping to get the first glance....I did, and what I saw was a dozen cupcakes with green icing. Guess I was wrong......right? Well after we sang "happy birthday" to little miss, my brother-in-law's dad cut his cupcake open and was showing Kendall that the middle had icing in it-totally oblivious mind you-and my sister said with great emphasis "yea, what.color.is.the.middle". That's when yours truly caught on, spotted the BLUE icing and I looked at my sis and said "is 2.0 a boy?". Then a bit of chaos ensued as everyone else slowly figured it out. YAY! I'm soooo, sooo excited! On Saturday, after all of Kendall's birthday festivities were over with, my mom and I headed to Carter's and started loading up on baby boy stuff...fun, fun, fun! This little guy is already loved soooooo much. I can't wait to meet him!

Happy Birthday Eve munchkin!

Tomorrow is my niece's 2nd birthday! She's apparently very excited. I love that she is having a little party at school tomorrow. She goes to the Jewish Community Center (no, we're not Jewish) so any food brought in has to be kosher. No worries, my sis was directed to a grocery store in the area that indeed sells kosher party treats. Crisis averted.

I'm excited because my whole little family will be together tomorrow! It's usually all about Kendall when we're together, but tomorrow it really will be. Aunt Kerri got K's gift wrapped last night. Let me tell you this-I am not a good gift wrapper. No sirree. I'm a throw it in a gift bag kind of girl. But.....the gift I got her is too big for a bag, so, I had to actually wrap it. I gotta say, while it won't win any best wrapped present awards, it doesn't look too bad. Not that K will care. She is an expert on ripping off wrapping paper. It's a fine skill to have.

We find out 2.0's gender tomorrow! YAY!

5 games in, let the angst begin

Well, just as us Cubs fans were riding high on an above .500 record for the first time in two years, we just as quickly were brought back down to Earth. Who ordered the Karma?

Yep, not one but TWO of the Cubs starters were placed on the DL today. Andrew Cashner-who had a marvelous MLB debut as a starter yesterday had some tightness in his shoulder. And apparently Randy Wells has some forearm issue-he also pitched well in his first game.

Not gonna lie, this sucks. BUT, for once, I think the Cubs are being really smart about this. Both injuries are minor, putting them on the DL now allows time for them to heal....and to not let the problem become a bigger one down the road. Plus, I think you'd rather have this happen during the first week of the season rather than, say, during a possible playoff push late in the season (hey, it could happen!).

My main concern is, who do you bring in to replace them? I hear Casey Coleman is being called up, that's fine, whatevs. I also hear they may use James Russell (he pitched well yesterday in relief, so I'm ok with that). What I'm NOT ok with is even the remotest possibility that Jeff Samardjiza be allowed to start a game. Sure, Shark did ok in relief yesterday, but this guy is a hot mess, he is not a good pitcher, should have stuck with football. Just sayin. Not only that, but with his ridiculous long hair and weird facial hair, he looks like one of the Three Musketeers and, my friends, that is not a good thing.

Dear Karma Gods, haven't the Cubs been through enough the last century or so? Hoping these injuries really are minor and that Wells and Cashner will be back in their rightful spots in the rotation soon.

How 'bout them Cubbies?

Five games into the 2011 season and your Chicago Cubs are 3-2. Startling fact, this is the first time they have been over .500 since 2009. Seriously. Wow.

How bout lil Tyler Colvin yesterday, huh? As documented over and over and over and over again, Tyler is among my favorite Cubbies, not just because he's adorable, but because I really feel this kid is gonna do some great things in MLB. Yesterday, he got his first ever Major League start at 1B since cutie pie Carlos Pena had a bit of a thumb boo boo. He did a very capable job at 1B, no errors, but more importantly, he hit his first homerun of the season and helped the Cubbies win, ensuring they'd take at least 2 of  3 from the D-bags (going for the sweep today, baby!).

At this moment in time, the Cubs are tied for 2nd in the NL Central. Those punkass Reds are in 1st, undefeated. Makes me want to punch Joey Votto in the mouth. For reals.

Hendall

Happy Hump Day y'all!

I have a bunch of random stuff floating through my head today. It's been a rough week at work. For reals. Monday we were four people short, Tuesday we were three people short. And my boss hasn't been to work since last Thursday-she apparently has pleurisy. Do people really get that? Apparently. Given work is already overwhelming when we are fully staffed, you can imagine how stressful the last two days have been. But, I am happy to report, I've done it all with a smile on my face. Sometimes it was forced, but I haven't had one meltdown. Haven't dissolved in tears once (unless you count when I was watching Dancing With the Stars, but that's a whole 'nother story.). Haven't gotten mad, or irritable, or frustrated. I decided to put my big girl pants on and tackle the workload head on. My teammates and I (the few that were actually at work this week) banded together and made it through. Today we are only down one person (maternity leave), so I'm hoping things will be better. That, and I'm off on Friday so today is like my  Thursday.

Why am I off on Friday? Well, in my profession, you are made to acquire CEU hours every two years in order to keep your license (trainings and stuff), so I have a delightful 8 hour training on Friday (sucks, but still better than actually being at work)  and then...and then..........

Friday is Kendall's SECOND BIRTHDAY! I cannot believe my favorite little munchkin is already 2! I'm gonna get sappy here-having her in my life has been the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. For realsies. That kid is amazing. She is having a birthday party on Saturday at the carousel (it is THE birthday hot spot for the toddler set here in the STL), but on her actual birthday,  both sets of grandparents, me and her Uncle Tim are all meeting up to see  her and give her her presents. AND......on top of that, I believe my sis and brother-in-law will finally reveal the gender of 2.0. I have my suspicions. They have known for a week now, and have been very good about not slipping and giving it away-kudos guys! The gender really doesn't matter to me, I just want to know so I can stop calling 2.0 "it". "It" is not a nice thing to call a child.

Kendall is very excited about her party. She's a big fan of parties and I'm sure once she realizes this one is all about her, she's gonna ham it up. Should be fun!!! Also exciting, she has finally started saying her own name! She's been calling herself "you"-this is our fault. You see, every time we'd look at pictures, we'd say "Kendall, that's you!"....well, she took that literally and has called herself "you" ever since. Until this week. Now she is apparently calling herself "Hendall". Still struggling with the "K" sound (she's still calling me Heewi), but I love that she's figured this out! She's just plain fascinating. Saturday she said the word "pyramid". That seems to be a pretty big word for a 2 year old, but she said it crystal clear (it was during a fascinating episode of Dora). She also said "sandbox". I was amazed, for real.

So, lots of fine family fun coming up this weekend. I can't wait to celebrate our girls' big day! And find out if she's getting a little brother or a little sister. Exciting stuff people!

Colvin is getting the start at first base today!

Oh boy, my favorite Cubs kiddo is starting at first base today, thanks to Carlos Pena and his apparent thumb issues. GO TYLER GO!!!! He didn't look too bad at 1B during Spring Training, but now it's the real deal. Good luck Tyler!!!!

Andrew Cashner is getting his first MLB start today. Are we nervous Cubs fans? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. His spring wasn't great. Perhaps he'll pull it all together today.

Um and in other exciting news, while the season is still young, it was announced that the Cubs Starlin Castro was named co-NL Player of the Week. WTG Starlin! I guess batting over .600 will do that. The person he was "co" with was some Cardinal. Meh. We don't talk about them on here.

GO CUBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2.0 is doing great!

Good news from my sis, 2.0 is cooking nicely in mommy's belly, is about 9 oz now (awwww!), did a little wave during the ultrasound, was initially shy about showing his/her parts, but did eventually give up the goods and they now know the gender. It is going to drive me crazy not knowing until a week from tomorrow.

Truly I'm just happy that all is going well. Love my unborn niece/nephew! :)

Dear 2.0

Dear 2.0,

Tomorrow your mommy, daddy and big sister find out if you're a boy or a girl. They are withholding this information from the rest of us until next week at Kendall's birthday party. I've decided I can wait. Here is what I care about-that you are nice and healthy. We already love you soooooooooooooo much, we just want you to be healthy, even if you are a blue/brown-eyed girl/boy with brown hair (per big sis  Kendall and her many varying predictions....). I hope you cooperate tomorrow and show the goods so they will know your gender for sure-we don't do modesty in this family kiddo (just ask your sister, who loves to barge on into the bathroom while you're, um, doing your business).

As we near the halfway point of your cooking in mama's tummy, I pray that the next 20 weeks go smoothly. The timing is a bit unfortunate as being 8-9 months pregnant in July and August in St. Louis is not so much pleasant. I'll pray that your mama doesn't try to kill any of us in a heat/humidity induced rage. :)

I can't wait for you to get here, 2.0. I can't imagine what it's going to be like to have TWO awesome kiddos in my life. The last two years with Kendall here have truly been the best. Your sister is my world....and you will be too. And I promise to be the best auntie I can be. I take my job very seriously. :)

Anyone wanna wager a guess about 2.0's gender? After careful consideration, I'm going with another girl. We shall see!!!!

Let's play some baseball!

Ok, so the Cubs Opening Day isn't until Friday, but Opening Day for some other teams is..........TOMORROW! Yay! Baseball is finally here! I've suffered through a hideous Blues season and I've finally made it to my #1 sport. Thank you, baseball gods.

Do I have high expectations for my Cubbies this year?Meh....probably not. But....maybe. I'm telling you, I am loving myself some Mike Quade. I think he's going to make the most of the mediocre players he has (save for a few that I'd actually consider good. Very few.). And if all else fails, Carlos Pena, Aramis Ramirez, Sean Marshall and Tyler Colvin are all hot....so there's that.

I look forward to chatting with my blog buddies, both on here and on Facebook. I look forward to yelling at the team I've loved for 20+ years now (the "f" word comes out of my mouth a lot during the course of the baseball season). I look forward to having a heart attack every time Carlos Marmol is pitching. I look forward to my trip to Wrigley in July-knocking off an item from my Bucket List by sitting in the bleachers. I look forward to an inevitable meltdown from Carlos "I'm Cured" Zambrano. I look forward to Starlin Castro becoming a superstar in MLB. I look forward to seeing the Cardinals not be good (sorry fam and friends, no offense...it's just the truth. Not that the Cubs will be any better, mind you). I look forward to trips to Busch Stadium, eating those FABULOUS hotdogs and drinking some fine AB products. I love, love, LOVE baseball!

In other news, I think I've been conned into cheering for the Vancouver Canucks during the NHL playoffs. More on this story as it develops.

What does 4th place get ya? Nada.

I had a really good weekend at home. I was heading down to do a trivia night with my brother and found out about a week or so ago that my sis, bro-in-law and niece were also coming for the weekend-YAY!

Saturday started early-like 6:15am early as per usual at Casa Davidson. Mom and dad like to go into town and have breakfast nice and early. Since I'm the insomnia queen lately, I was awake. And I really can't pass up free breakfast. After that I took my car in to finally get my headlight fixed. I figured it would be a no brainer since they'd fixed my other headlight just a couple of months prior. Boy was I wrong. The answer to the proverbial question "how many people does it take to change a light bulb" would be......FIVE. Five people, really? How hard is it? And WHY DID IT TAKE TWO HOURS? Needless to say, I started to become a bit cranky, especially when they came out and asked me if I know what light bulb it required. I politely reminded the lady that they should have that info in their computer since I'd been there before for the EXACT SAME THING. She responds with, "yea, it looks like they didn't enter it into the system". Awesome. I will NOT be going back there.

My sis and her fam arrived in the afternoon and we all had a good time being entertained by Kendall. She loves a captive audience. She declined to take a nap as there were people to entertain and things to get into. Too bad it was so freakin cold and freezing rain, we were all stuck indoors. Kendall is really saying everyone's name well-I'm either "Hewwi" or "Kiwi". She finally started saying my brother's name (Tim) and says that one the clearest. Poor grandma, she is still calling my mom by her first name, Val (although in Kendall-ese, it's "Bal").

Saturday night we had siblings night out. We needed more team members for Trivia Night, so my sis and bro-in-law came too. We had SO much fun!!!! The rest of our team consisted of a couple of my brother's friends and one of his teachers (who for real carried the team). I didn't have high expectations for our team (team name? Bieber Fever. Seriously), but I'm not gonna lie, we kinda kicked some ass. We finished with 89 out of 100 points.....but only managed 4th place. We missed placing by one point. And, as my sister likes to point out, we would have won the whole damn thing if only we'd listened to her (syphilis? Yes.). We second guessed a couple of answers and it cost us. I'm oh so proud that my biggest contribution was in the criminal/serial killer category. True story. We had lots of laughs Sat night.

Let's address the Cubs elephant in the room. And that is the dismissal of Carlos "Shamu" Silva. Let me just say one thing-Don't F with Mike Quade or his coaching staff. He'll cut a bitch, for reals. I'm liking Mike Quade more and more every day. On Saturday it was announced that Andrew Cashner would be the Cubs 5th starter and that Silva would not even be making the team, but that the Cubs would try to find a new home for him on another team. Well, being the giant a-hole that he is, Silva mouthed off to the media, talked some shiz about the Cubs pitching coach and, well, pissed off one Mike Quade. Yesterday morning it was announced that Silva had been released from the team. Done. Gone. They are eating a lot of money to get rid of this buffoon, but I think it was an amazingly ballsy....and necessary move. And then came Mike Quade's tirade when he found out the trash talk Silva was doing to the media. Coach Q dropped several F bombs which, I'm not gonna lie, was kinda hot.

If the Cubs aren't afraid of Coach Q, they might wanna become afraid of him. He is the new Ted Lilly in that he is the team's Bad Ass Mother F**ker. I'm gonna stop calling him the Hairless Cat because, well, I'm afraid he'll hunt me down. In other Cubs news, although they lost yesterday, one Tyler Colvin (KD's baseball crush as I'm sure you'll recall from last season) decided to end the shut out and proceeded to hit a GRAND SLAM. Grand slams are hot. Tyler is hot. He hasn't had the greatest Spring Training ever, but he is looking better out there in right field and was looking not too shabby at 1st base. I'm hoping his hitting will come along-the strikeouts need to stop kid. Just sayin. Here's what needs to happen (not that I'm telling Mike Quade what to do)-Darwin Barney needs to be the starting 2nd baseman. Blake DeWitt sucks (probably because he's from southern Missouri) and Jeff Baker isn't as cute as Darwin Barney, so really, the decision is easy if you ask me (not that anyone did).

Baseball starts in THREE DAYS PEOPLE! Woooooooooooooooooo!

Happy 21st Birthday to Starlin Castro

My God, little Starlin Castro is finally old enough to drink in the US. The Cubs shortstop phenom turns 21 today. For those of you that are good at math, yes, he was born in the '90's. Make ya feel old? Does me. I could have birthed him, for reals. His mom is probably not much older than me.

Happy Birthday Starlin. May you NOT encounter a sophomore slump this season.

I'm gonna enjoy this

This whole having Ryan Theriot in St. Louis is going to be a plethora of entertainment for me. Us Cubs fans already know that Riot tends to be a media and attention whore and he has not changed since "joining the right side of the rivalry" (his words, not mine).

Last night there was some kind of Cardinals special on that I watched in between American Idol performances (I can't stand commercials, so I need to be watching something when the show I really want to watch has gone to commercial break, and Modern Family wasn't on yet). Of course I turned it just in time to catch the Ryan Theriot interview. He really is kinda a douchebag. Something I started realizing the last couple of years when he was still on the Cubs. He tries to play the funny guy to the media, but the schtick is old. Just sayin. Last night they asked him about the new "super tandem" of him and Skip Schumaker as the middle infield. He made some jokey joke about how Skip doesn't like him because he's better looking (a statement that I MOST disagree with. Skip's a hottie) and got everyone laughing. Whatevs. Why don't we talk about your .170 batting average in Spring Training Riot? No?

I have a feeling being here in St. Louis, my summer is going to be full of Ryan Theriot-interviews, billboards, public appearances. Awesome. Fear not Cubs fans, I'll keep you posted on the douchiness.

The 2011 season starts a week from today! Let's PLAY BALL!

The fun never ends!

Sigh. I woke up with a headache today. It's because of the weather. For reals. It's gonna rain. Awesome.

Life continues to be as busy as ever. I told my boss yesterday that I was going to try my best to be positive...but then I walked in the door and that was shot to hell. Seriously. If we could have just ONE DAY where it wasn't insane around here I think I'd be ok. Just one day is all I'm asking.

I did have a good weekend though. Thanks to my awesome sis for recognizing that I needed a pick-me-up. She invited me to go to K's swim lesson on Saturday morning. The early time was no biggie since, seriously, for the last two weeks, I've been awake at 4am every single day. True story. Anyhoo.....watching a bunch of toddlers swim around like little fishies definitely brought a smile to my face. Especially when K kept looking up to make sure mommy and I were watching. After swim lessons, I hung out at their house until it was nap time. Aunt Kerri needed a nap too after our morning of playing. Yes, K and I had fun playing, including pretending we were frogs and hopping up and down the stairs. K made "Hewwi" go first. Probably to make sure I knew what I was doing. She's kinda bossy. I mean, when she needed her poopy diaper changed, she insisted Hewwi do it. Thanks kiddo. Thanks a lot. ;)
There is seriously nothing better in the entire world than hearing K say my name in her high-pitched little girl voice. She says it repeatedly, but I love it.  I can't believe she is going to be 2 in a couple of weeks. Crazy how time flies!

Speaking of, my sis is now 18 weeks along and FINALLY has a baby bump. She's so cute. I think pregnancy agrees with her. Almost to the halfway mark. They find out next week if it's a boy or girl....but won't be telling us until Kendall's birthday weekend. The suspense is killing me, but I've waiting this long.....I'd been feeling boy all along but just this week decided it's a girl. Only God and 2.0 know for sure. Either way, Aunt Hewwi is super duper excited.

Did anyone watch the season premiere of Dancing With The Stars last night? I wasn't going to, but there isn't much else on Monday nights (at least not until Bethenny Ever After comes on at nine. If you haven't watched her show, you MUST. I laugh out loud every time). Anyhoo, on DWTS, Kirstie Alley was REALLY good! And so was The Karate Kid. No way The Karate Kid is almost 50. He was great. So, I may continue to watch. What else am I doing on Monday nights?

Baseball officially starts next week! Some start next Thursday, March 31, but most start on April 1. YAY! I'm going into the season with no expectations for my Cubbies. If their play in Spring Training is any indication then they won't be all that good, but some of the starting pitching at least looks decent. Big Z, Ryan Dempster and Randy Wells have all been solid, Matt Garza has been up and down and REALLY needs to get rid of that thing on his chin. And he could use an eyebrow wax as well. Just sayin. New first baseman Carlos Pena may be our newest pinup boy for the season, pretty cute with a killer smile. Love. Not to mention there will also be numerous booty shots from first base. Tyler Colvin is still as adorable as can be-he's not killing the ball like he was last spring training, but I still have faith that he will be good this year. No sophomore slumps for him! I have a friend that just got back from Cardinals Spring Training and she says they look terrible. Tee hee hee. ;)

Day 1 and I'm 9-7

My NCAA brackets are not looking nearly as good as they did last year. My very scientific formula for making picks is not working out for me this year. I've only gotten one upset right so far (GO GONZAGA!). I knew Missouri was going to lose but I picked them anyway.......because I'm a homer. I also picked Illinois to win today....because I'm a homer.....but I don't think they will (sorry Jen).

My scientific formula? Well....one, I pick the team from the region I manage at work. Last year it was all Tennessee teams. This year? GO WISCONSIN! Woot woot. They won last night and I have those Cheeseheads going to the Final Four. Why the heck not? The other part of my formula consists of picking local teams, picking teams in the Big 12 (since that's where Missouri plays) and picking teams whose names are fun.....like Gonzaga. I'm regretting not picking Richmond because their mascot is a spider. That's fun. I could care less about records, and what division is tougher and all that other crap. I like my method.

I'm hoping for a better second half of round 1 today. I have a couple of upsets picked, we'll see how that goes.

Happy March Madness!

Nosebleeds are totally normal......right?

Oh what an eventful morning I've had! Nothing screams "fun" quite like a mega-nosebleed first thing in the morning. Not to be gross, but we're talking MEGA, like it looked like someone tried to murder me, there was so much blood. You're welcome for that visual, by the way. That, coupled with a night of coughing have made for a resurgence of my cold that Just.Won't.Die. It's Day 10 people. DAY 10. I'm so completely over it. I believe the reason I just can't seem to get well is because I am sooooooo freakin stressed out. Like, for reals. I'm so crabby today (all week, really) that I don't even want to be around myself. It's that bad. I realize we all have stress and, in the scheme of things, my life isn't all that bad. I realize there are far worse things going on in the world. But this is MY reality. This is MY life. I'm not minimizing the rest of the things going on in the world, I'm just sayin.

My job has been stressful since April. Yes, 11 months ago. But thus far in 2011 it's getting worse instead of better. We have been slammed nearly every single day, this week has been one of the worst. Not only are caseloads extremely high, but you still have to deal with all the BS things that come along with any job. And we have no time to do that. I've been in near breakdown mode every single day this week. On the verge of tears every single day. We've had ongoing phone problems at work that are beyond frustrating and that no one seems to be able to fix, I've been on the phone with the "help" desk all freakin week. Annoying. I don't care about anything, I don't want to do anything or talk to anyone. Last night, I tried to use my positive coping skills and go for a jog since it was so nice outside. That backfired on me real quick as I began wheezing and coughing. Seems outside air and a nagging cold don't mix. I then proceeded to cough the rest of the night and had to finally give in and take some NyQuil Cough just to be able to get some sleep.

I have plans tomorrow night, something I look forward to every year.....and I Don't.Want.To.Go. I seriously don't want to be around people and I can't fake happy right now. I don't have the energy. I'm irritable and snippy with everyone and I CAN'T CONTROL IT. Maybe I need a dose of my favorite little person....some quality Kendall time might do the trick.

It's March Madness, a time of year I love. But honestly, it's making me sad. March Madness reminds me of my brother-in-law's sister Alyssa, who passed away last April. She was sooooo into sports, even moreso than me, and I remember last March Madness, my sister and I were at her in-laws house upstairs chatting and Alyssa was downstairs with the big TV watching the games. All of a sudden we hear her yelling "yes, yes, YES!" and I looked at my sister and said "well, I guess KU lost" (we all HATE KU). Indeed they had lost so we were all in a celebratory mood and went out to dinner that night and had the best night of drinks, food and conversation. I love that memory, but it also makes me incredibly sad.

This was way more rambling that I intended it to be. I guess I had a lot on my mind. I need to figure out a way to de-stress......and fast. Or I'm gonna give myself a stroke.

Baseball observations and where the heck did this snow come from???

Notice my use of "heck" right there? Yea, ever since I gave up cussing for Lent, I've had to be more mindful of my words. Also, since I decided that for every bad word I say during Lent I'd donate a dollar to my church, the Naughty Word jar is up to $5. All things considered, I'd say that's not bad. Um....Lent is less than a week old, but whatever.

Um.....where did this snow come from, for reals? That was NOT what I was expecting when I awoke this morning. I was fully prepared to have difficulty getting up, since thanks to Daylight Savings Time it is now dark when I get up, but I was not prepared for the hour and 15 minute commute to work....because it was SNOWING. That sooooo was not in the forecast.....was it? And isn't supposed to be like 70 degrees on Thursday? Mother Nature sure is moody!

Although I spent the bulk of the weekend at home as a sickie (this darn cold just will not go away!), I was able to enjoy not one, but TWO Cubs games on TV! Yay! Yes, it's only  Spring Training, but just the sights and sounds of baseball make me happy. During yesterday's game against the Dodgers, I made some observations. Here they are:

-the Dodgers have a lot, I repeat, a LOT of hot players. And this was the split squad, so not even an Andre Ethier sighting...I realize most of those guys will be at AAA, but YOWZA! Made for a fun afternoon of eye candy watching.

-Starlin Castro is a fetus. For real. He's STILL not old enough to legally drink in the US (he will be next week though! March 24 our kiddo turns 21. Holla!). He looks like a 12 year old wearing a grown ups uniform. That said....kid can HIT! His fielding is still suspect, but man what an offensive weekend for him! Two homers on Saturday and more hits yesterday. Love.It.

-Love him or hate him, Carlos Zambrano is one entertaining mo fo. From not knowing what time the game started (did you see him come out to the field still tucking in his shirt?) to throwing off his batting helmet after hitting a double (he said it was too big for his head. Really Z?) to pitching pretty much lights out, Big Z is NEVER boring.

-Jeff Samardzija is terrible. And looks ridiculous w/that pirate-facial hair thing he has going on. And get a frickin haircut already. Long boy hair is soooooo 1997.

-Carlos Marmol was NOT filthy Marm yesterday. Yikes.

-Tyler Colvin looked pretty good at first base yesterday. He botched one play, but made an amazing play later in the game. Plus, there were plenty of booty shots.  Now if he could just cut down on the strikeouts....

-Marques Smith also looks like he's 12. Where do they find these kids?

-I have yet to see my potential new crush, Carlos Pena, play. Stop split-squading it and let me see the goods already!

That is all for now. Less than three weeks before we play for real!

My little munchkin is sick. :(

Little miss Kendall is a very sick little girl. Her doctor yesterday diagnosed her with a pretty icky case of RSV and an ear infection. Munchkin was having trouble breathing, had no appetite and was throwing up. She got sent home with breathing treatments. From what I hear from my sister, it was a pretty rough night, but today, although she is still having breathing issues and has no appetite, she appears to be on the mend. She's taking advantage of her sickness status and is watching her favorite show, "Lala", AKA The Fresh Beat Band. It's a horrible show on Nick Jr but she LOVES it. She calls it "Lala" because thats how the theme song goes. :)

I'm glad to hear she appears to be on the  mend. I just hated that my baby girl was so sick and miserable. My sis said she's been asking for me....um, how cute is that??? Unfortunately, Aunt Kiwi is also battling some sort of bug, so being around the sick kiddo probably isn't the best idea right now. Although I wish I could give her lots and lots of hugs. I miss her every day that I don't see her.

Get well soon baby girl! Aunt Kiwi loves you!

Sizing up the NL Central

Folks, real baseball is just a couple of weeks away. Who's excited? As usually, I really only pay attention to the NL Central since that's the division my beloved Cubbies are in. So, what are their chances this year? I'd be lying if I said that hearing about Cards ace Adam Wainwright and now Brewers ace Zack Greinke going on the DL didn't make me a bit happy. Then again, if the Cubs can't beat their foes at their best,  is it as satisfying? The answer is......I don't think we're gonna have to worry about that. I'm not anticipating the Cubbies being all that good. Then again, they have no expectations on them this year. That could prove to work to their advantage. Maybe. So, what are KD's thoughts on the NL Central rankings this year? Let's take a look, shall we? DISCLAIMER: The following is based solely on KD's opinions and are not, in the least, based on fact or actual statistics.


PIRATES: They're adorable, aren't they? While I think they may be a bit improved, they will still hold court in the NL Central basement this year. They will celebrate only when playing the Cubs since, for some reason, the Cubs don't know how to beat the fearsome Pirates.

ASTROS: What happened to this team? It wasn't that long ago that they were an NL Central powerhouse. They won't be good this year and may even fight the Pirates for the basement

REDS: I'm putting them in 4th place this year (yes, the reigning NL Central champs). I'm doing this mostly because I hate them. They have a bunch of punks and thugs on their team and I just can't be down with that. I hope they implode.

CUBS-A 3rd place finish is realistic, I think. Not good, but not as bad as last season. We pick our battles. IF the starting pitching is as good as it's capable of being, they may have a shot at making a run for the title, but that's a fairly big IF. I hope I'm wrong.

CARDINALS-Yes, they will be without their ace and, yes, it is a high probability that Chris Carpenter's arm will fall off at some point this season and yes, it is also true that Lance Berkman as an outfielder is quite possibly the funniest thing I've ever heard of, but let's be honest, they almost always contend. Albert is going to be playing for the contract of his life, so expect monster numbers from him. Second place it is.

BREWERS-this may be crazy, but the Fatties are my pick to win the NL Central. Think about it-last season, they had one of the best offenses in the league, all that was missing was some decent pitching. They got that this season. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun both "slumped" a bit last season. I doubt that happens again. As much as I want to punch Braun in the face, I think he will probably have a career year. And Prince, like Albert, will be working for a new big contract as he will be a free agent as well. Yes, Greinke will be starting the year on the DL, but that will most likely be short-lived. If he can keep his shiz together, I think this team could be scary.

So, there you have it. Cheeseheads win it. None of it really matters anyway since we all know that the Phillies will be the NL representative in the World Series. So, really, we'll just be watching this summer for the love of the game. Right?

Lent

Happy Ash Wednesday, everyone!

Lent officially begins today and I have decided to give up.............saying bad words. Now, you may be saying to yourself "there is no way this sweet and docile girl says bad words" (why are you laughing????). But it's true. Bad words just happen.

Here's why this will be a challenge for me for the next forty days and forty nights. Baseball season will start in the midst of Lent. I'm a Cubs fan. The Cubs make me cuss. See where I'm going with this? A true sacrifice indeed. God help me.

23 months!

My precious little niece is 23 months old today! I'm kinda sad because after next month, her 2nd birthday, I will no longer be doing my monthly updates. I mean, who wants to hear "my niece is now 32 months old?". I mean, I can't even do that kind of math. Life with her the last 23 months has been amazing, I can't imagine life before she came along. She is really starting to talk....a lot. I have no idea where she gets that. Nothing makes me happier than to hear her yell "hewwi" or "kiwi" or whatever else she calls me. And I love when I say "Kendall, are we best buddies?" and she says in her cute little voice "yea". LOVE. She is such a funny little person. On Sunday, we were at my grandpa's house after church. Kendall always plays with these coasters he has, only on this particular day, she lined them all up in the hallway. We wondered what she was doing, but just let her play. Well, next she started taking these stuffed animals my grandpa has into the hallway. We went to see what she was doing....she had all the animals lined up in front of the coasters as if they were plates and she was bent over them, telling them all to "eat!". Hahaha. I took a pic and as soon as I get my home internet working again (long story), I'll try to post, it's too cute not to share.

I absolutely cannot believe she will be two next month. Her birthday party is going to be at the carousel here in St. Louis, THE place for two-year old birthday parties. For reals. Her Grandma Pam made her birthday dress...it's gorgeous! She is so talented.

I can't wait to see Kendall as a big sister. She has such a sweet, nurturing side. I think she is going to take to this big sister thing well. Well, at least until that "thing" is getting all of mommy and daddy's attention... ;)

Miss Kendall, Aunt Kiwi loves you very much! You're the greatest kid EVER in the history of kids. :)

The season hasn't even started yet and I'm already angry

I realize being a Cubs fan requires reliance on mood stabilizers and heavy doses of alcohol just to get through the season, but I am already worked up and irritated...and it's only the second week of Spring Training. Yikes.

Carlos Silva sucks. Just putting that out there. The fattie assumed the 5th spot in the starting rotation was his and that there was no contest. Well, let's see, Mr Silva, in your first game you picked a fight with Rami (which did prompt a shirtless Rami interview, so it wasn't all bad) and today? Today I think you outdid yourself, giving up an epic EIGHT RUNS..............in THREE innings. Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaavo!

Seriously, Cubs, cut your losses now. He is not going to get any better. He's not even good enough for AAA Iowa. Make him go away, like, yesterday. Thanks.

Cubs, Hewwwwi and math

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a good weekend! Although it was cold and rainy here, the weekend was fun, thanks for asking.

I spent the bulk of my Saturday with my family-my parents were in town to get their Kendall fix. I love that as soon as I got to their house I hear "hewwwwi!!!!" and see my little munchkin running toward me. Greatest.Feeling.Ever. We are best buddies. K is now learning about genders so we decided to ask her what the gender is for baby 2.0. Kendall says boy. But, then again, she also said her Grandma Val is a boy, so.....speaking of, Kendall has started calling my mom "Bal". Not grandma, or mimi, or nana....no, she is calling her by her first name. Isn't that hilarious???? Even better? She calls her Grandma Pam "pi pi", sounds like "pee pee". Everytime she says it we just crack up. K got to show off her new house on Sat, ok, well her mommy and daddy technically own it, but let's be honest, K rules the roost. At least for now. She showed off her new room, but really just wanted to play and hide in the empty closets. The neighbors kid had a bunch of soccer balls outside. I asked Kendall to count them and she said "one, to, fee, for". Clearly she's a genius. There really were four.

After the fine family fun, I went to my friends Judy and Freida's house for their annual Mardi Gras party. A fun time was had by all. Especially with my Mikey there. I just miss him terribly. It was good to see some friends I haven't seen in awhile. The actual Mardi Gras is tomorrow, and Wed is Ash Wednesday. Time to go to the annual fish dinner at church. Good times. :)

On Sunday, after church, we had a huge family lunch. Just about everyone was there-Grandpa, aunts, uncles, cousins, my parents, etc. It was so fun to have everyone together. Kendall was bossing everyone around and telling them to "sit".  She also yelled "hewwwwwi" repeatedly Sometimes it sounded like "kiwi". She can say my name all day long and way she wants to, I just love it! Also, my sis felt 2.0 fluttering about yesterday at church! YAY! Apparently kiddo liked the music. That church organ was ROCKIN. She's now 16 weeks ago, after much confusion and math, my sis informs me that that means she is starting her 5th month of pregnancy. Math is hard people, and I shouldn't be expected to know how to do it, mmmmkay?

After the fine fam fun yesterday, I rushed home to.................WATCH CUBS BASEBALL!!! Woot woot! Yea, so it was only spring training, but it was the first televised game and I just wanted to be able to see my boys in action. SO exciting! It was like seeing old friends you haven't seen in years. I had such thoughts as: hey Marlon Byrd, how ya doin? Geo, lookin good! Who the F is Thomas Diamond? and why is Tyler Colvin playing in the other split squad game and why don't I get to see him? Stuff like that. Even more fun, the Cubs won on a walk off homer by DJ LeMahieu (sp? I'm too lazy to look it up) in the bottom of the 10th. Pretty sweet day.

KD was then fast asleep by 9pm (no joke) and I woke up at 4am ready to start my day. Um........

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeekend!

The weekend is nearly upon us. I, for one, am happy about this. How bout you?

Let's see what randomness I can thrill you with today. So, on the Cubs front, young Mr Tyler Colvin is getting his first start at 1st base-a position he hasn't played since college. I can't watch the game, but I'm following it online.....Cubs up 1-0 and so far no errors...in the bottom of the 2nd. Works for me!

It's Mardi Gras weekend! It's supposed to rain tomorrow, but I'm sure folks will be out in full force at the parade tomorrow. I will not be one of them. I'm too damn old for such nonsense. I do plan, however, to attend a Mardi Gras party at my friend's Judy and Frieda's house. This is the 3rd annual and sure to be as fun as the previous two. That Judy makes a mean hurricane.

Before reveling in Mardi Gras fun, however, I will be hanging with the fam. My parents are coming to town to get their Kendall fix, so some fine family fun is in order. Kendall is excited to see pawpaw, fdfjdlfjdifj (she has a gibberish word for "grandma") and Harry. Who is Harry? That'd be me. Just last weekend she was still calling me "Kewwi" but has now apparently dropped the K and is just going with Harry. Sweet. I'll take it. She can call me whatever she wants. As long as she's calling me something. Speaking of kiddos, my sis  had her 15 week appt yesterday and 2.0 is growing strong! They will find out the gender on March 31, I can't wait to see if I"ll be doting on two nieces, or one of each. Either way, I'm stoked. I'm fairly certain I was born to be an auntie. It's my most favoritest job ever!

If you're Mardi Gras-ing it up this weekend, please be careful! Don't do anything crazy or anything you don't want posted on Facebook.

Let's discuss The Fight 2011, shall we?

Oh St. Louis, I should not be surprised by this, by the way you jumped all over the "story" about the two Cubs players getting into an altercation yesterday. I realize focusing on another team helps take away the focus on your own team, you know, the team whose players are dropping like flies daily....but I digress. So, yes, Aramis Ramirez and Carlos "Fattie" Silva got into a bit of a skirmish yesterday. Fattie was pissed because his team behind him had like 47 errors (roughly) in the first inning. He apparently said something in the dugout that Rami took offense to, and Rami said something. Let it be known that not only is he hot, but Rami is not a troublemaker. He says so himself: "I never have that problem in my life, not in the regular season, nowhere, not in Little League," he said. "I never got involved with a teammate like that. It's in the past and we'll move on."  See. Never. Nowhere.

The media here is taking this as a sign that the Cubs are already in self-destruct mode before the season even starts. While this may be true (2012 is their year, dammit!), I prefer to see it in a positive light. It at least shows that THEY CARE. Right? Getting pissed about not playing well at least shows some fire, the 2010 Cubs would have just shrugged it off and not cared about leading both leagues in errors after only four spring training games. Am I right?

Now, I realize that Carlos Silva outweighs me by a good 200 pounds, BUT, I swear, if he harmed even one little tiny hair on Rami's head, I WILL come after him. Be afraid, Fattie, be very afraid. I know how to get to HoHoKam. Just sayin.

I leave you with a quote from Cubs manager Mike Quade, who, I must say, I like more and more with each interview.

"You've got two pissed-off people," Quade said after the 12-5 loss to the Brewers. "It was a brutal first inning with plenty of blame to go around, and people get frustrated. Maybe that's what we freaking need. Maybe we need to get pissed off."

One of the Carloses..........

This pic of Carlos Silva running makes me giggle. Probably because he weighs roughly a metric ton. Ok, that's not nice, but he IS a big boy, clearly. Sure hope he pitches well today, since he's convinced he'll be the 5th starter. Um....we'll see about that.

Tornadoquakes, oh my!

Mother Nature was being a b**ch last night. I mean, was in necessary to send not one but TWO natural disasters last night? I mean, seriously lady!

So, around 11pm last night the tornado siren started going off. What's more concerning is that I refused to get out of bed....until The Voice started talking. Yes, the City of St. Louis' tornado siren talks. It's this male monotone voice that says "this is a tornado warning, please seek shelter immediately". Instead of seeking shelter immediately, I went over to the big picture window to look outside and see if I could see Dorothy and/or Toto. I did not. I then went back to bed. I mean, nothing to see right? That's when I swore I felt my bed move. It was later confirmed there was an earthquake right around that time in Northern Arkansas. WTH man?
When the sirens started getting louder and the rain was blowing sideways, I decided it might be a good idea to go ahead and go down to the basement. One of my neighbors joined me. First time ever meeting him. It was a bit awkward, both of us in our jammies, in the basement, on a Sunday night. That, and he barely spoke English, but whatevs. We stayed down there until the rain stopped.

After all that fun, I was WAY too keyed up to sleep. Good thing I was off work today (waiting for the cable guy). I didn't fall asleep until 2-ish.

Next time Mother Nature comes to visit, I'd like to politely request only one natural disaster at a time. K? Thanks.

Headin' to Wrigley, y'all!

I was one of those psycho Cubs fans waiting in the virtual waiting room today, the first day single game tickets went on sale. I only had to wait 20 minutes before I was given the privilege of ordering overpriced tickets for what I'm sure is gonna be an underachieving team...but I digress. I'm going with a large group of folks, but everyone was on their own to get tickets....we are going to one of the premium games against the Phillies (my 2nd favorite NL team!), so I wanted to make sure to get my tickets. Granted, I probably could have waited until later in the summer and gotten some off Stubhub for cheaper, but I didn't want to take the chance. And, besides, it's probably gonna be my only trip to Wrigley this summer, so I justified my overspending. Let's just say bleacher tickets for a premium game are RIDICULOUSLY overpriced. But it'll be worth it to be with fellow Cubs fans. My people. I don't really have any Cubs people here in St. Louis, so I'm very much looking forward to it! That, and I can ogle Chase Utley in person. Mama like.

BASEBALL!!!!

TCB

Kids, I'm TCB'in over here.

Ok, so for the last few months (since April 2010, really), I have been incredibly stressed at my job. Both jobs. Y'all know I work in mental health. And with the state of the world, the economy, etc, there's a lot of crazy folks out there. A LOT. Meaning, my job has been quite, quite busy with no let up in sight. You also know I work two jobs. Well, friends, KD is BURNT OUT. Done. But I can't really afford to quit my part-time job quite yet, so I was in a quandry. What to do? Not much is gonna change at my full time job, I just have to suck it up buttercup. BUT, perhaps I could do something about my part time job. I put my big girl pants on yesterday and asked to speak to my supervisor. I told her all of the above and also stated that I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to quit,  but that I needed a break. Granted, I'm only there 4 hours a week, but coupled with about 50 at my full timer, it's a lot. And I'm tired. And old. And cranky. She told me she'd talk to the director and get back to me.

Well, she said because I've been there for 10+ freakin years, I'm a bit "special" (I asked if she meant special in the head....she said no), and that they would be willing to work something out because they don't want me to quit. So.......effective next week, I am only going to work every other Thursday. Yep, a whopping 8 hours a month. It won't be all that profitable, BUT, it may save my sanity. If it means eating ramen noodles for a while then I'm fine with that.  We are going to revisit the arrangement in April and see where I'm at them. I'm incredibly grateful for their willingness to work with me on this. I guess sticking it out for a freakin decade was worth something.

Ice? What ice?

So, apparently the roads iced up overnight. Who knew? Apparently no one, cuz there were roughly 2,000 accidents on St.Louis roads this morning. Give or take a few. Including a 23 car pile up on EB Hwy 40. Yikes. I heard on the radio that my usual route was closed on both sides of the highway (never good), so I took an alternate route to work today. As I was sitting in traffic there as well, totally rocking out to a Goo Goo Dolls song that was on the radio (don't judge, you know you would have been singing it too), I hear someone honking. I looked up and who do I see in the lane next to me but my sister and my niece! How funny is that??? My sis said that after they got off on their exit, Kendall was asking for me, my sister told her that Aunt Kerri had to go to work and my little munchkin said "Kewwi no work no". HOW CUTE IS THAT?????? Seriously.Love.That.Kid.

And I'd much rather hang out with my niece than be at my place of employment. Especially this week. Monday was a typically busy Monday, no surprises there, but yesterday? Yesterday was as busy as Monday with the added bonus of everything going wrong. So much so that at one point, I literally burst into tears. For reals. Stress and hormones do not mix, my friends. I didn't get home until 7pm (after leaving work I then got stuck in hockey game traffic...and the Blues didn't even have the courtesy to win. Rude). Today? Well, I was hoping for a better day...but then I got to work and found out our voicemail system was down. Let me tell you why that's a big deal-WE DO ALL OF OUR WORK VIA VOICEMAIL. This did not bode well for the rest of the day. The good news is, it was up and running again around 11:30 or so, so we only lost half a day of productivity.....yes, I say "only" sarcastically. I'm just about caught up, so I'm hoping the next three hours go by uneventfully. Oh, and for those that follow me on Facebook...I got my hot pink bat back. :)

Let's talk baseball. This Cubs fan is truly saddened to hear that the Cardinals Adam Wainwright may have to have TJ surgery and miss the 2011 season. I don't like to hear about anyone getting hurt. And I imagine if the Cubs actually had an Ace, it would suck to lose him. I'm already reading on various web sites and blogs that people are excited about this and feel this ups their teams chances of winning the division. True, it's a huge blow to the Cardinals, but I would never celebrate the loss of a player due to a season ending injury. That's not cool. And besides, Wainwright or not,  the Cubs will still end up in 3rd or 4th place, so..........

Adult truths (an email forward that's actually funny)

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

17. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

18. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

19. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

20. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

Your Cubs opening day starter.........

The Cubs have named Ryan Dempster as their Opening Day starter for the 2011 season, ending Carlos Zambrano's Reign of Terror and proving, yet again, that Canada is trying to take over the world.

Hangin with my favorite girl

I took Kendall to the park on Saturday while mommy and daddy went house hunting. She was shy at first and didn't want to go play with the other kids there....but that didn't last long. She was all over the slides and, of course, made Aunt Kewwwi slide with her, thus why I'm black and blue today. Nothing cute about a 35 year old sliding down a slide and climbing through tunnels meant for the 2-5 year old set. Just sayin.

After park time, we went home where we watched Yo Gabba Gabba and learned on there how to be nice to everyone (great message, right?). We also learned that one of the characters has a BFF that's a talking balloon. Um.....

When K's mom and dad returned, we had pizza and watched the Blues stellar 9-3 win over the Ducks. K wasn't real excited about watching the game, in fact, during dinner she kept saying "no Blues, Blues no". Ha!  But you'd best believe when mom and dad and auntie started yelling and cheering, little miss wanted in on the action, even doing the power play dance with us. Fun times. :)

My sis said she woke up yesterday morning asking for "Kewwwi". Is that not the greatest thing EVER?????

Who takes the calls at the crisis line when the building has been evacuated?

The answer would be........no one. Yea, so right around 5pm last night, the fire alarm went off at the crisis line (5pm being one of the busiest times) and the building had to be evacuated. I had to hang up on my caller (sorry bout that). They have a plan in place with these cordless phones that supposedly can connect to our call queue so we can keep taking calls even as the building is aflame. These cordless phones have not worked the entire 10 years I've worked there. Just sayin.

Because I'm an a-hole, I took a picture of the fire truck (of course I did!). I'm sad to report that none of the firefighters were hot (believe you me, I looked), but one was carrying a big stick and the other had a ladder that was pretty cool. I wanted to re-enter the building via the ladder but apparently that's frowned upon. Anyhoo....the building was not actually on fire (even as second fire truck showed up...really?), I have no idea what actually happened, but we were outside in the 70 degree weather for a good half hour. SWEET. I swear I didn't pull the fire alarm.......

Old age sucks

People, I tossed and turned all night last night thanks to some annoying lower back pain. And this morning? Well, I can't look down without it triggering pain on my lower left back. Awesome. WTH? I even stretched before hitting the treadmill yesterday. I did what I was supposed to do. My only conclusion is that this must be chalked up to old age. And I want to kick it in the face. It started last week when I was sick ON MY BIRTHDAY. I mean, what better way to say "hey, you're middle aged now, congrats". And now the back pain. I'm waiting for the wrinkles to take over-I don't really have any yet, but with the way things are going, it's inevitable I'd say.

Luckily, I still had one Skelaxin left from the time I had a stiff neck, so I took it this morning and while it is helping the pain a bit, it is also making me nauseated and drowsy. Um...I'm at work, so that strikes me as not good. Oh well, perhaps it will also numb the pain that is this week. Every day has sucked ass. Today is no exception.

I need to go walk around. Later.

Exciting news (watch me make this all about me...)

Given the most excellent job I've done in my role of Auntie, God has seen it fit for me to do it again. Yes, folks, MY SIS IS PREGNANT! Woot woot! We are so excited about 2.0! The job of Auntie has BY FAR been my most favoritest job EVER and I must say, I am pretty damn good at it. Of course, it helps that miss K is so freakin awesome, she makes being an awesome Auntie pretty easy. We're not sure how K feels about being a big sister, but she does like to show you IN PUBLIC, where mommy's baby is. K will be about 2 and a half when the baby is born-just about the same age difference between me and my sister. It's still too early to know the gender of the baby (my sis is 13.5 weeks currently, baby is due August 22), but my gut tells me it's a boy. I don't know why, but that's what I'm going with. Either way, I'm excited. And terrified (back to making it about me). Babysitting K is pretty easy for the most part, she does what you tell her to do (most of the time), takes a bath like she's supposed to and goes to bed when she's supposed to. It's a pretty easy gig. But the thought of Aunt Kewwwi (as K calls me) watching TWO little munchkins? Well, it's daunting at best. We all know what a spaz I am. I will say that this pregnancy excites me because my sis is actually here in St. Louis this time. We can be around her during the pregnancy and will get to be around when the baby is born-something we didn't get to do with K because they were in Texas then-so that makes me happy.

I will vent for one second. Nothing irritates me more than when people say "if you love your niece so much maybe you should have a baby of your own". Actually that statement makes me angry. Just  because I love my niece more than life itself doesn't mean that I need to be a parent. Those that make those blanket statements may mean well, but they need to think before they speak. Has it ever occurred to anyone that maybe I don't want children? That my life is plenty full without "having a child of my own". And hello folks, I'm 35 and single. And I work two jobs. Does having a baby really sound like a feasable option at this current moment in time? I hate that getting married and having childen is what defines you. I am so much more than that. I wish people would believe me when I say that I'm happy with my life the way it is. Would I like to get married? Sure, if that's part of the plan God has for me. Would I like to have kids? Again, sure, IF that's part of my life's plan. I'm not so sure it is. And I have to be ok with that. I'm grateful for what I have. And besides, I'm wayyyyyyy set in my ways at this point. And I'm a giant pain in the ass. ;)

So, when I say that I love being an aunt, trust that I LOVE BEING AN AUNT. K is the greatest kid in the world and I have no doubt that 2.0 will be as well. I love nothing more than spending time with K and jump at every opportunity to babysit her or spend time with her (like this Saturday!). I love that perhaps I will help shape the person K will become. I hope that she and I will always be close like I am with my aunts. I can't wait to bond with 2.0 and am so excited about his/her pending arrival!

Happy Valentines Day!

I got to spend the weekend with all the people I love most, did you?

Friday night we went to the Blues game. Thanks to my friend Allison for pooping out on us, we ended up with an extra ticket....so my brother-in-law and niece got to go with us! Yay! It was Kendall's first hockey game, and I'm pretty sure she loved it. She was so cute in her Blues jersey yelling "Go Blues!" and doing the power play dance with us (I can't really describe the dance, you'd just have to see it). She was high-fiving the guy in front of us every time the Blues scored. Alas, they ended up losing in a nine round shootout, but it was still so much fun!

Saturday, my sis, bro-in-law, nieces (Kendall and the furry niece Chloe), and I headed down to Salem to see the fam. No one makes me laugh harder than these people. There were times at dinner when we were all laughing so hard we were crying. LOVE IT! Kendall, of course, entertained us, especially when trying to say my name, my brother's name and Grandma. I can't even put into type how she says "grandma". As for Aunt Kerri, we think she has settled on something that sounds like "Kelly". And for my brother, we think she was calling him Todd, which is funny since his name is Tim. :)  At one point, we swear she called me "Kitty" and called Tim "Donald", which of course made us laugh the entire weekend. Everytime Tim talked we were like "whatever, Donald". Ok, guess you had to be there. ;) Kendall helped my mom and I make my birthday cupcakes-they turned out pretty good!

Yesterday after dinner we headed back to the STL....maybe leaving right after dinner wasn't the best idea because yours truly got carsick. Like for reals. I was praying to God, Jesus, Tom Cruise, ANYONE to not throw up in the car. I was devising in my head a plan in the event that I was not able to hold it. Luckily, I was able to until we hit the next town and I was able to take care of business at some skanky small town gas station. UGH. There is a big difference between feeling a bit nauseated and knowing you're about to hurl. You're welcome for the visual.

My niece broke my heart as I left their house to go to my own last night. First I hear her upstairs yelling "Kelly!", so I went up to say bye to her and she says "no bye bye" and pointed to my shoes and said "boot off" (if shoes are off, that means you're staying). Then, THEN, she tried to take my keys from me! Kid was serious. I love that she wants her Aunt "Kelly" around though. We're good buddies. Is it sad for my best friend to be a 22 month old? She's pretty much the coolest person I've ever met.

Today is Valentines Day. While I don't have a "valentine" per se, I do have a lot of people that I love and that I'm pretty sure love me. So....Happy Valentines Day, everyone!

Oh and the best-PITCHERS AND CATCHERS HAVE REPORTED. I repeat-PITCHERS AND CATCHERS HAVE REPORTED. Yay! Baseball is coming!!!!! I don't even care if my team is gonna yet again be mediocre (at best), I just so excited for my favorite sport to start. Oh, and looks like Albert Pujols is gonna hit the free agent waters. People in STL are freaking the hell out, and rightly so. I know a lot of my fellow Cubs fans are drooling over the prospect of AP wearing blue pinstripes next season. I, oddly enough, am not one of them. Would it be awesome to have the greatest baseball player that ever played the game be on my team? Of course. But here's the deal-Albert Pujols is a Cardinal. He should remain a Cardinal. That's just the way it is. So to Cards management-just get it the F done already. Thanks.

Colds, hockey and family

I think I might be turning a corner with this cold. Still can't breathe but I'm less achy and actually slept a full nine hours last night, which I think helped. Good thing, cuz I got a lot going on this weekend.

Tonight me, my sis and some of my girls are going to the Blues game----YAY! I hope to see a good game, they're playing the Wild, so we shall see. Tomorrow, I'm heading to Salem with my sis, bro-in-law and niece to celebrate my birthday with my family. Kendall has apparently been talking about going to "pawpaw's house", how cute is that???? I haven't been home since before Christmas, so it will be nice to relax and chill with the fam for a couple of days.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! It's supposed to be in the 50's here this weekend...thank Bejebus. I'm so sick of the ice. MELT ALREADY!

Happy Birthday to me!

Best.Birthday.Ever.

OMG. My friend Robin truly loves me!

Happy birthday to me!!!!! Two great things have happened thus far today-one, I arrived at work to find a pinata hanging outside my cubicle. WITH A BAT. Sweet ass sweet. And it's stuffed with Jolly Ranchers. Thanks Rob, you are the BESTEST!!!!!!!!!!! The other is that my supervisor for reals believed me when I told her I was 29 today! LMAO! Now she's mad at me for lying to her, but whatever.

Truth is folks, I'm 35 today. How the F did that happen? I swear to Baby Jesus that I skipped a couple of years or something. No idea how this occurred. However, I'm not wallowing in self pity about it. I'm happy, healthy, and have some of the greatest friends a girl could ask for. I also have the most amazing family.....I've got no complaints. Except for the cold I have.

Yes, I tried to pretend that the non-stop sneezing on Monday was nothing-I'd been around a cat on Sunday, surely that was it. Um.....no. By yesterday afternoon, I was still sneezing and so congested I could barely hold my head up. I got home around 6:30pm, and proceeded to have cherry NyQuil for dinner. I hurridly took a shower, ate dinner and did some laundry before it kicked in. I slept for a couple of hours but woke up feeling as if someone had punched me in the face-total sinus pressure. I stumbled around looking for some Advil. Hot mess. That's me.

So, today, despite my NyQuil hangover, I'm determined to have a good day. I'm having dinner with two of my favorite girls tonight-my sis and munchkin niece, we're going to the Blues game on Friday for my birthday and then on Saturday my sis, bro-in-law, niece and I are driving to Salem to see my parents and brother and to celebrate my birthday with them. Sounds perfect.

I'll post pics later after I beat the shit out of that pinata! HOLLA!

My niece is 22 months old today!

I can't believe my favorite little munchkin is almost two! It is super crazy how fast time flies! EXCITING NEWS-she finally said my name on Sunday! Or close enough. Before when you said "Kendall, can you say Kerri?" she'd look at me and say "yea". Well, on Sunday she called me "Kee" and my sister swears she heard "Kelly" at one point. YAYYYYYYY! I'm not gonna lie, it totally made my day, week, month, year. Best birthday present I could ever get. Seriously.

The rapid growth in her speech in just the last 2-3 weeks is amazing-she is regularly saying 2 word sentences and having whole conversations in Kendall-ese (it's hilarious, we have no idea what she's saying, but it sure is funny to listen to her!). She still loves the word "no" (ha! What toddler doesn't?). She's so darn cute...and that's what's gonna save her when the Terrible Two's set in. ;)

GO PACKERS!

Today, in the spirit of the Super Bowl, we are having a cubicle decorating contest at work. Clearly, I should win.

Pitchers and catchers report THIS MONTH!

That's really all I got. Get excited people! Baseball is right around the corner! WOO HOO!

This kid cracks me up!!!!

Nothing to see here, just reading the sports page........

Snowmageddon? More like LAME-ageddon

So, apparently the entire country other than ST LOUIS  CITY AND COUNTY is getting hit with blizzard conditions. Oh, don't worry, it was predicted to come here too......and then it didn't. Most everyone stayed home yesterday in anticipation of the BIGGEST STORM IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. And it never happened. By early evening weather reports were saying St. Louis would get 2-4 inches of snow, when, just hours before we were still hearing 20+ inches. Um....there is a half inch of snow and a couple inches of ice in my yard. I CAN STILL SEE THE GRASS. People working from home today? LAME (unless you live in East Jesus. If you do, you may actually have some snow and for that you will be forgiven). The roads are better today than they were two weeks ago when it snowed 10+ inches. Yes, I'm grateful for the day off yesterday. And yes, I'm grateful that we don't have 20 inches of snow to wade through like the rest of the state. But I'm also irritated. Irritated that the media hyped this up and freaked people the hell out and then.....nothing. I mean, it's one thing to be off by a few inches, but to get NOTHING when they'd predicted a frickin blizzard is just laughable to me. And I will never believe the hype again. I'll believe it when I see it.

Now, a place that really DID get hit with a blizzard is Wisconsin-my territory. And guess what? I just spoke to someone in Milwaukee LIVE. He's at work. And they for real have 20 inches of snow. He was like "um, I'm from Minnesota, this is nothing". Right. For those in Chicago-I know you got slammed, please be safe and don't leave home if you don't have to. For those in the rest of the parts of Missouri-the same thing. Stay home.

So, I'm at work. Not trying to be a hero or anything, I mean, I have no reason to not be at work. It's business as usual. So why are there only like 5 people here? WTH man?

Oh yes, Snowmageddon didn't even happen, yet it's still making me cranky. At least the groundhog didn't see his shadow today. I think that means that spring starts tomorrow. Or something.

Snowmageddon.....Snowpocalypse......Snowlacaust

Take your pick on the name. People are panicking. The worst snowstorm in the history of the universe (as local weather people would have you believe) is about to descend upon us here in the STL metro area. Current conditions from my view from my cubicle indicate cars are already covered under a sheet of ice-swell. Yours truly is still at work because, well, I have assholes who apparently don't care if I get home safely or not and they thus have not called me with the case info I need in order to finish up and get the hell out of here. Snowmageddon is already making me cranky. I anticipate I will not be at work tomorrow. I can handle driving in the snow but throw ice into the mix? Hells to the no. I'm staying home, thank you very much. Charge me as much PTO as you want. Actually, our VP told me today that there is a very real possibility that our office will close tomorrow for the first time EVER. That would be sweet.

Seriously people, be safe out there. An inch of ice followed by a foot of snow ain't nothin to mess around with. F U Mother Nature.

Tay-Sachs SUCKS.

A couple of years ago, my aunt Mary, Aunt Jan and I had the pleasure of meeting the Rochman family. Their beautiful little girl Elise had the same hateful disease that took my sweet baby cousins Adam and Andy, with that "bond", the Rochmans welcomed us into their home to meet them and sweet Elise. Elise was a beautiful girl-big blue eyes and blonde hair. Although she couldn't speak to us, I was still amazed by her strength and beauty. Her parents Tim and Kerri are amazing as well. They work tirelessly with the Tay-Sachs Foundation to find a cure for this disgusting genetic disease. They hold benefits, they get the word out there on Facebook and their blog. They are two of the most wonderful people I've ever met.

And today their beautiful Elise lost her battle with Tay-Sachs. Death is inevitable for children with this disease, but still, the news of Elise's passing leaves my heart heavy this morning. Six year old's are not supposed to die, no matter the circumstance. Although to Elise's credit, she defied the odds by making it to age 6. Most Tay-Sachs children pass away around ages 4 or 5. Elise was a tough little girl. Her parents are even tougher. I'm so sad I didn't go to their yearly benefit last summer-knowing it may be the last one that Elise would be with us. Now this year's benefit will be in her memory, not her honor. Breaks my heart.

Tay-Sachs is one of the reasons I'm scared to have children. I don't know if I'm a carrier, but my mom is, so chances are I am as well. Elise's passing has me thinking about my sweet cousins Adam and Andy. They'd be grown men now if they were still with us, but I will forever remember them as the beautiful little boys that they were. I hope they've taken sweet Elise under their wing.

Please hug your babies today.

Sorry Chicago

Somehow yesterday I committed myself to cheering for the Packers this weekend. I'm not entirely sure how that happened. I was on the phone with someone in Wisconsin and she asked me who I was rooting for. I felt cornered....and panicked....and somehow this led to me assuring her I'd root for the Packers. It was real tricky how it all went down. I do, however, look good in a cheesehead hat. Not gonna lie.

Truth is, I don't really care who wins. I really don't. I've moved on to Blues hockey and am gaining excitment for the upcoming baseball season (pitchers and catchers report next month!). And possible Spring Training plans. So....football shmootball.

Oh and............GO PACK? Um...Aaron Rodgers for President? Er, um.....Cheeseheads rule?

Snow is dumb

Happy Almost Weekend everyone!

Whew, what a long week. I mean, they all seem long, but this one in particular has been really long. Maybe it's the foot of snow we have on the ground. Biggest snow storm in the STL area since like 1998, or something like that. Yesterday it took me an hour and a half to get to work...and I was one of the few that actually showed. Literally there were like 10 people in the office...making for one hell of a busy day. Same amount of work with 1/5 of the staff? Awesome. So, needless to say, I'm glad this week is almost over. And that everyone so kindly showed up today. Dear Snow Gods: We've had enough. Send Spring in please. Thanks.

I am very disappointed in my sister. Here she was, sequestered in the Westin downtown all week (for some work thing-she wasn't even allowed to go home!!!!)....the same hotel that the hated Detroit Red Wings were staying at.....she saw them get on the team bus to head over to Scottrade yesterday and didn't heckle any of them, even once! No "Bertuzzi you suck!" or a nice chant of "Osssssgooooood" or a "Mike Modano I've loved you for 20 years!". Nothing. Very disappointed indeed. ;)

I plan to have a vodka drink tonight. I've earned it. And then laying low the rest of the weekend and working on projects. Have a fun and safe weekend, y'all!

Smile!

This is what I got when I said "Kendall, smile for Aunt Kerri". Gotta love it!

More baseball updates: Alfonso Soriano's mom died unexpectedly and more proof that Milton Bradley is the world's biggest asshole

My condolences to Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano and his family regarding the news that his mom passed away suddenly last night from an apparent heart attack. I just read that Sori had taken her to Disney World just last week-I'm so glad he has that memory to keep with him. Very sad news.

In other, more disturbing (but not surprising news), former Cub Milton Bradley has yet again been arrested for violence toward a woman. Of course, innocent until proven guilty...BUT THIS ISN'T HIS FIRST ARREST FOR THIS. What an asshole. I mean, there is seriously something wrong with him. He defines narcissism.....and sociopath. I'm sure he'll accuse us all of being racist again.  Dear MLB teams: STOP PAYING THIS GUY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. He doesn't deserve it. He needs to just go away.

As if we needed more proof that Ryan Theriot is a douchebag.....

He probably should just shut his pie hole. I mean, seriously. Check out this article in today's stltoday.com:

I don't know about you guys, but this pic makes me want to punch Riot in the face. And where exactly is Pujols' other hand?????

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/article_18a52492-0736-5b28-a98d-948fd6ef9371.html

Prayers

I will never understand why bad things happen to good people.

I was devastated to hear yesterday that my friend Kelly's beautiful two month old baby boy, Adam James, had died Tuesday night. WHY in the world did that have to happen? It makes me so angry and incredibly sad. And my heart is breaking for them. I hate being unable to physically be there for her (she lives in Maryland), but I'm asking everyone that believes in prayer to please keep the Sauk family in your prayers. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain they are going through.

This is yet another reminder to please, please tell your friends and family how much you love them. We really don't say the words "I love you" enough. Maybe people are afraid to be too mushy or sappy? I don't know, but I'm telling you, if you are someone I'm lucky enough to call family or a friend, know that I love you.

My niece is 21 months old!

A happy belated 21 month shout out to my little niece who is now just three months shy of two. Wow. Can you hardly believe it? Time really does fly. She remains the center of all our lives...she's such an amazing kiddo. She got her first haircut on Satuday and it is the cutest little chin-length bob. She loves to show it off! ;)
We're making progress in getting her to say my name (she also won't say my brother's name and is sketchy about "grandma"). Before when you'd ask her to say "Aunt Kerri" or even just "Kerri", she'd look at me and smile and that'd be it. Now, if you ask "can you say Kerri?" she looks at you and says "yea". And that's it.  Haha! She's such a little stinker. I love it! She loves her great-grandpa (my beloved Grandpa that I talk about on here), she was watching him at church yesterday and kept saying "pawpaw bye bye"....that's a sentence people! She's really starting to talk well. She's so darn cute, it's ridiculous.

Matt Garza is a Cub!

Thanks Easter Bunny!

It's nearly officially official-the Cubs and Rays have agreed on a trade that will bring Matt Garza to the Cubs. I, for one, am STOKED. Yes, so we gave up our top pitching prospect in Archer, but let's face it, pitching isn't the Cubs greatest issue. It's everything else....I AM, however, sad to see poor Sammy Fuld thrown in the deal but hope that he will actually get some big league playing time with the Rays-there wasn't much room for him in the Cubs outfield-and he's like pushing 30. But...he IS a feisty player that, when he's out there, plays his little heart out. I'll miss him.

I know some will say the Cubs gave up too much to get Garza, but I don't agree. You DO have to give up something to get something, and I like this deal.

Such a rare occasion for a Cubs fan to be happy but color me happy today!

This pic sums up the Rams game from last night:

it's ok Sammy Bradford, you're still the greatest thing that's ever happened to Rams football. Go get 'em next year, kiddo!