One last post for today...Happy 39th Anniversary to my parents!

39 years of marriage is impressive, right? Today is my parents anniversary. They are celebrating by going out to dinner. I'm not sure where in Salem they might be going, but hope it's a good time.

Happy Anniversary to the greatest parents in the world! I love you guys!

Ramblings about family............

My dad's Aunt Mary passed away suddenly last night. While this is terribly sad, I'm not sure how to feel about it. We are not close to my dad's side of the family, particularly the Sedalia relatives, but still, this woman was my Grandma's baby sister. Though I don't really know her, I was still friends with her on Facebook. I think the thing that most freaks me out is that she was only 3 years older than my dad and died of a massive heart attack. That scares me. My dad is quite healthy, but still, dying at 64 is still too young if you ask me.

The whole "not being close" to this side of the family is always weird to me. Particularly since my mom's side of the family is so close. I have a slew of aunts, uncles and cousins I see on a regular basis. I have just as many, if not more, aunts, uncles and cousins on my dad's side that I don't even know. It's sad to me. My dad is one of 9, we only see his older brother, my Uncle Terry, on any sort of a regular basis and that is only on Christmas day. I'm FB friends with a lot of my cousins on my dad's side, but I don't really know them (and trust me, there are a LOT of them). Haven't seen any of them since I was a kid. I even have another grandpa alive and well on the other side of the state. I've met him twice. If my dad didn't look a lot like him, I doubt I'd recognize him on the street if I saw him. That one really gets me-grandparents are so special, especially when you're an adult-to still have them with us is a gift. I have a grandfather in Sedalia that I don't even know. Makes me sad....but also makes me appreciate my Grandpa here in St. Louis all the more. I guess I'm the sentimental one-my dad doesn't seem to care too much if he sees any of those people ever again, but I still hold out a bit of hope, hope that I can at least connect with my cousins and aunts. Most all of us live in Missouri. I don't think I'll ever connect with my grandfather and that is something I've had to live with.

Crazy that my great aunt's death brought up all these thoughts (and inspired me to blog after over a month). I am thinking of the family today, even if they don't know me (and vice versa). I'm hoping my grandma welcomed her baby sister to heaven (I like to believe that's where my grandma is).  I'm hoping that great Aunt Mary's husband, children and grandchildren are doing ok. That's all.

T-Minus 1 week til Cubs Con!

Like a nerd anticipating a Star Trek convention, I am ridiculously excited about next week's Cubs Convention in Chicago. I've never been to one and can't wait to check it out! And by "check it out" I mean staring at Reed Johnson's guns (please be wearing a tight t-shirt Reed.....). I can't believe it's only a week away. This time next week, Rob and I will be sipping mimosas in the bar car of the Amtrak train we are taking to Chi-town.  I also can't wait to meet the Cubs new management-Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer. Both are beyond adorable, I can't wait to see/stalk them in person.

I hear there is an ultra competitive Cubs Bingo happening next Friday night, and several of the Cubs blogs I read are having meet ups over the weekend. SO excited to meet world famous author Jen Estes from Cubblogging (read her book, Big Leagues. I loved it!). I LOVE fellow Cubs fans! We will be amongst our people for three glorious days. I bought some baseballs for the players to sign, I shall wash all of my Cubs gear this weekend in preparation. NERD ALERT. Rob and I are a bit concerned we may be arrested since one of our main goals is to sit on Jed's lap and touch Reed Johnson's ass. I'm not sure how restraining orders work in Illinois.

I wonder if Dale Sveum will let me ride on his Harley with him. Or check out his tats. I wonder if I'll get to actually meet some of the players/mgt or just take stalker pics of them from afar. I wonder if I'll even leave the hotel (if it's like -30 degrees in Chicago, this girl is staying put inside. Just sayin.). I want to meet Ernie Banks. I want them to announce that the Saturday portion of the convention will feature a shirtless player contest. I want to sit on Jed's lap (have I already mentioned that?). So, so, SO excited.

There will probably be a lot of obnoxious updates on Facebook next weekend (well, moreso than usual). I will not be able to contain my excitement. Nor should I.

Watch out Chicago, here we come!

I'm baaaaaaack.

Wow, I haven't posted in almost a month. Mostly cuz I didn't wanna. And mostly cuz I've been too tired. I mean, for reals people! My job is killing me. Or just wearing me out. Whatevs.

Soooooooooooo, what's been going on? The Cubs made their first off-season signing yesterday by signing David DeJesus to a 2 year deal. He's apparently gonna be their starting right fielder. Having never heard of him before, Robin and I of course, did some very important research on him (ie-checked to see if he was hot or not). Good news ladies, he is a delicious piece of eye candy and has Carlos Pena-worthy dimples. Jury is still out on whether or not he has Carlos Pena's ass, however. From what I'm reading, it's a pretty good signing. I don't really know. I just know I have full blind faith in the Theo Trio.

So, Thanksgiving was last week. Gobble, gobble. Hope everyone had a delightful holiday. I was on vacation all last week as is my yearly tradition, so of course, every day was delightful to me. I started the week running fun errands like going to the oral surgeon for a follow up appointment (yes, three weeks ago I had to have emergency dental surgery. It was not a good day. I did enjoy the Vicodin, however.). On Wednesday, my parents arrived in town and the fine family fun began. I got to spend a lot of QT with the fam including my favorite kiddos, my niece and nephew. Rylan is now 3 months old and just as cute as can be! And.....he rolled over for the first time! He scared himself when he did it, but our boy is officially a roller! He is a very smiley, happy little guy. If his smile doesn't melt your heart, then you have no soul. Kendall is a very active and, um, precocious 2 and a half year old. She is so funny and constantly entertains us all. I particularly enjoy it when she stands on the fireplace, Dora microphone in hand, and yells "are you ready to rock and roll?". I mean, what 2 year old says that???? Another fun Kendall-ism: this past Sunday was Rylan's baptism. My brother and I have the honor of getting to be Ry's godparents, so we were standing in front of the entire church along w/K, and my sis and bro-in-law during the actual baptism. After the pastor did the whole water bit, K says "way to go Ry!". It was hilarious. All week we kept asking her what was going to happen on Sunday and she'd say "they put water on his head".

Tomorrow night, Aunt Kerri is watching both kids by myself for the first time. Should be interesting. I think I can handle it. I love being around those kiddos SO much.

Today we can officially say that Cubs Con is NEXT MONTH! OMG, I am so freakishly excited, I can't hardly stand it!  Forget Christmas excitment, bring on meeting my Cubbies!

Let's catch up, shall we?

It's been a crazy last few days around here.

I don't know if you heard, but the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series last Friday night. Although I'm a Cubs fan for life, I wanted to be a part of the hoopla (I mean, after all, it is still BASEBALL. The sport I love.), so me and some of my peeps headed down to Mike Shannon's (located right across the street from Busch Stadium) to watch the game. I even wore red! The place was packed, of course, and buzzing with excitement...which only grew as they hit the 7th and 8th innings, when it became clear the Cards were gonna win. Once the 9th inning came around, I braced myself for what was about to happen. As that final out was made, I tried desperately to take pics of the players celebrating on the TV, but I was quickly swarmed by cheering people, many my friends. There was beer being thrown from every direction (I smelled like a brewery by the end of the night). My body took a beating as we (along with pretty much everyone else there) tried to leave the bar and go TO the stadium. I was slammed into the wall on numerous occasions, but managed to make it outside alive. We never made it inside the stadium (my brother did, however), but got close enough to get pics of the fireworks and the stadium still full of celebrating fans (if you are on Facebook, check out my pics). Afterward, as we headed to our car, I videoed the streets of St. Louis-cars jammed, people honking, yelling, cheering, high fiving strangers. It was quite a thing to be a part of. Yes, it wasn't my team, but it was my hometown team, and pretty easy to get caught up in. My dad said today that the 2011 Cards were the first team he's ever seen that couldn't hit, couldn't pitch, couldn't run and couldn't field yet still won the World Series. He then said "heck, with a team like that, even your Cubs have a chance". Nice dig dad. Nice dig.

Sunday was the World Series parade downtown. I've never seen a World Series parade before and nothing was going to stop me from being there. Besides, seeing Skip Schumaker in person? Hells yes. The parade and that day in general were my favorite part of the weekend-not only were several of my friends/family there with me, but so were my brother, my sister, my brother-in-law and my sweet niece and nephew. The first World Series I remember was the 1982 one in which the Cards beat the Brewers. I was 6. Kendall and Rylan won't remember their first one, but we will certainly have the pics to show them and the stories to tell them! Kendall was excited to see "Fredbird and the rally squirrel". She was also excitedly catching confetti while perched on her daddy's shoulders. The parade itself was super fun. I got pics of most of the players (again, located on Facebook) and nearly passed out when Skip and his family went by. Seriously, it's ridiculous to be that hot. My friend Robin and I also discovered just how hot Matt Holliday is, even though we both tried to deny it.

Monday was Halloween and I was honored (truly) when my sister said I could come over to see the kids in their costumes. Kendall, at age two and a half, has been totally in to Halloween this year. For two months she's been anxiously awaiting being able to wear her Tinkerbell costume and for Rylan to wear his pirate costume (seriously, two of the cutest things I think I've ever seen). When the big day arrived, my sister and I helped Tink get dressed (K pronounces it "Tinterbell") and make her grand entrance down the stairs (complete with a ponytail and a wand, of course). She was adorable, not gonna lie. Rylan wasn't a huge fan of his costume, but he looked so freakin cute in it. Sorry, no pics on here, I shared them with family only. I was also able to with my sis and Jon to take K trick-or-treating. SUCH FUN. She fearlessly rang the doorbell at each house and quickly caught on to this whole candy thing. We had to remind her what to say ("tricher-treat", "thank you" and, my favorite, "Happy Hadoween"), but overall, she did a great job. And walked the entire time, only getting whiney towards the end. Such a big girl!

Yesterday, my sister and I took the kids to the zoo (I've been off work all week, killing PTO before the end of the year). It was an absolutely beautiful day. It was Ry's first trip to the zoo (thank you sis, for letting me be a part of that). K was super excited, she told me she wanted to see a baby jaguar (like on Diego) and ride the train. We didn't see a baby jaguar, but we did see a leopard, so that was close enough. We rode the train around the entire zoo, K LOVED the tunnels! We got to see the baby elephant (SO cute!). K loved the hippos (especially when they swam in the water) and decided she wanted to see the gorillas (funny, since last time she went to the zoo she said they were scary). Aunt Kerri took her on the carousel (proof that I love her because I get motion sick VERY easily) where she decided she wanted to ride on the zebra. While on the carousel, she informed me that when he was bigger, Rylan would be riding on the giraffe. She then decided she wanted to go see the real giraffes and zebras (we did). Rylan pretty much chilled the whole time, which is what 11 week olds do. It was SO fun to see the zoo through K's eyes. She just loved everything and was so happy to be there. Although, as we sat down for some ice cream, she says to me "I want to go to the park now, Kerri". Uhm.......the kiddo has boundless energy! That is, until we put her in the car. She was asleep within minutes. :)

Those kids put such a smile on my face, no matter what else is going on. They're pretty awesome.

In other news, the Cubs fired Mike Quade (not a surprise) and the Theo Trio (as Theo, Jed and Jason are now known as) are working hard to convince us they know how to end this 103 year World Series drought. Thus far, I'm buying whatever Theo is selling. He makes me believe. Delusional? Perhaps? Devoted? Definitely. Excited for the future of the Cubs? Most definitely.

I return to work tomorrow (yes, I have to go in for one measly day) but at least it's Friday. Bring on the weekend! Prolly not the right attitude to have when you've just come off a vacation, but, whatevs.

Welcome to the Cubs, Mr. President!

The Cubs front office just got hotter......

Let me tell you a story about a man named Jed....and one named Theo, too.

Ladies, feast your eyes on the Cubs new management. Upgrade over Hendry and crew? Hells yes.

Why hello there, Mr. President.......

contemplative Mr. President

Hey, our new GM ain't ugly either!

scruffy Jed. Yes, please.

Jed Hoyer, rumored new Cubs GM, is the cutie pie in the middle. I don't know who those other dudes are. Nor do I care.

Sure, it won't be officially official until they announce it tomorrow, but, I'm gonna go ahead and get excited anyway. Theo Epstein (of helped-end-the-Red Sox-86-year-World Series-drought fame) will be announced as the Cubs new President of Baseball Operations. And hopefully sitting right beside him will be his BFF and current Padres GM, Jed Hoyer. The band is back together. Can these two work miracles and finally bring a World Series win to the northside after 103 years? It's the ultimate sports challenge. Here's hoping they're both up for it.

World Series 2011

The World Series starts tonight. The St. Louis Cardinals vs the Texas Rangers. I'm excited. Are you?

I am torn, however. The Rangers are my favorite AL team, mostly because Josh Hamilton is my favorite baseball player. That said, I feel like I should root for my hometown team....and wish for a 7 game series so that I can maximize my Skip Schumaker sightings. Sigh.

However, my gut tells me that it's the Rangers year. They've been building toward this the last couple of years and I just think perhaps the stars have aligned for them this year. Cards fans will tell you differently, as they believe "11 in 11" is their destiny-you know, their 11th World Series title in 2011. Um.....ok. Maybe it is, who knows.

I think either way, I'll be fine with it. I just want to watch some good baseball (and watch hot players-see my previous post). I can't believe the end of the baseball season is almost here. I guess once the WS ends, I can concentrate fully on Theo Watch 2011.

Need a reason to watch the World Series?

I've got a few reasons for you in the form of hot mens. There's something for everyone! Enjoy. I know I will.

Tonight's starting pitcher for the Rangers, CJ Wilson. I do solemnly swear to lust after you the entire series.

Michael Young-yes please

Josh Hamilton-tats and all.

Elvis Andrus. Because a man named Elvis is always hot, right?

Ever since his shirt came off, I've been a bit obsessed with tonight's starter for the Cards, Chris Carpenter.

Oh Skip. I've loved you for years.

Shirtless Matt Holliday, anyone?

Hey, Albert ain't ugly either.

Catching up with K

I feel like blogging about my niece today, and catching y'all up on what she's doing nowadays.

K is now two and a half (quite the big girl!) and is an amazing and hilarious little kid. Kids should stay this age forever, they're so much fun!  You can understand most of what she says now and have an actual conversation with her.

She's really into Cinderella and Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She loves this show on Nick Jr called "Bubble Guppies". She recently started watching Dancing With The Stars (she loves anything that has to do with singing, dancing or performing). When we watch baseball, she yells "Go Tarnos!", which is Kendall-ese for "Go Cardinals". She can say "Albert Pujols" as clear as day. Last night I told her I was going to be a witch for Halloween. She said "no, you Captain Hook, Kerri". She then yelled down to her daddy and Uncle Tim "you pirates guys". :)

She loves her baby brother and informed me that he wants baby toys for Christmas. She, on the other hand, wants "Cinerella and a horse". I asked her if Santa was going to bring those things and she said "no, mama get at the store". Kid is smart. 

She's very much into pretend play right now. She's obsessed with school buses and wants to be a big kid so she can ride one. Last night she lined up her bath toys and told them all to "wait your turn guys". 

She helped her mama make dinner last night and informed me "I eat mushrooms Kerri" (she likes to add your name to the end of every sentence). When her mama picks her up from school and the other kids swarm around baby Rylan, K says "dat my brudder guys". :) 

K has also been asking about her Aunt Alyssa a lot lately. I love talking to her about Alyssa, but it breaks my heart to have to try to explain to a 2 year old why her only other aunt isn't here anymore. Last night K told me Alyssa was at her house. I asked her where that was, and she said "up behind the trees". Seems as good an explanation as any. When Alyssa died, I made a promise to her that I would make sure K (and any subsequent nieces or nephews) always knew about her other aunt who loved her very much. And I plan to keep that promise.

K is turning out to be a funny, smart, and absolutely beautiful child. Mama and daddy are doing a great job so far. She's a good big sister (although she does not like her grandmas or auntie holding Rylan-a bit jealous). She's a sweet little girl. Biggest challenge now is getting her potty trained......and figuring out a way to make her stop growing up so fast.