Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

there are so many inappropriate places I could go with this pic.......

Fantasy Football

I am now the proud owner of a fantasy football team. For the first time. I've done fantasy baseball before-I'm familiar with most of the players in both leagues and know the game well, but football is a whole 'nother world. I watch it, I love my Rams, and I get the basics, but I don't understand all the positions (what the F is a nickelback besides a crappy Canadian band?), I don't get the plays, and I am sometimes confused about who is on offense and who is on defense. What I DO know is that Sam Bradford is awesome, so is Steven Jackson and I have a crush on Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo (it's the East Coast accent). So, when my brother decided to put a league together, I thought it might be fun to try it out. And, I named my team Sam's Rams.

Apparently, fantasy football is taken very seriously, I mean, you have a scheduled draft day/time and everything-WTH? So, in order to not draft a completely crappy team, I did my homework. I printed out the ESPN.com fantasy football cheat sheet and studied who the top ranked people were. I knew what positions I needed to draft thanks to my league commissioner/brother, so, I earmarked some players I wanted. Then.....I played the dumb girl card as a bluff. It worked. You should have heard the uproar from my fellow league participants when I landed Philip Rivers as my QB. Now, the only reason I know he is good is because I listen to ESPN radio to and from work every single day and they talk about him all the freakin time, so, when my brother's girlfriend (we're the only girls in this 10 team league-holla!) took my first choice, Aaron Rodgers, I swooped in for the kill with Rivers. My team is as follows (complete with my reasoning for choosing them), you tell me if it's good or not:

QB-Philip Rivers (he's apparently amazing. Guess we'll find out)

QB (backup)-Sam Bradford (hells yes! I loves me some Sammy B...I even have his jersey)

RB-Steven Jackson (he's awesome and....I'm a total homer)

RB-Benjarvus Green-Ellis (never heard of him, but he was ranked high and on the Patriots, so I went with it)

RB/WR-Ladanian Tomlinson (I'd heard his name before, I don't know if he's actually good though)

WR-Reggie Wayne (again, he was ranked high, so seemed like a good idea)

WR-Mike Sims Walker (again being a homer. I love my Rams!)

WR-Danny Amendola (Ram, he's super hot, and he's like the little engine that could....love him!)

TE-Greg Olsen (I don't really know what a tight end does, but this guy was ranked high.)

D/ST-I got the Eagles defense/special teams. (I don't really know much more than that. Hope they're good)

K-Nate Kaeding (I wanted Rams kicker Josh Brown, but he was already taken. This guy will work.)

HC-the dude from the Steelers (His team always makes the playoffs, so, I'll take him.)

Bench players:

Chad Ochocinco-I saw him on Dancing With the Stars and he was pretty funny. Plus, he's kinda hot.

James Jones-never heard of him, but he's on the Packers and they won the Super Bowl last year. So, there's that.

Darren Sproles-I've heard his name before....and that's about it.

Dustin Keller-never heard of him, but he's on Mike Greenberg's Jets, so that's good enough for me.

DeMarco Murray-never heard of him either.

Jason Snelling-never heard of him either....I think this is when I started getting tired of the draft.

Danario Alexander-DX may not even make the Rams team, but he's a Mizzou alum and we love him here in the STL. Go DX go!

So....whaddya think? Is Sam's Rams a worthy team?

Vapors Part deux

Who knew there were so many sexy pics of Danny Amendola on the internets?

I've got the vapors

Dear God in Heaven, thank you for creating this man. And thank you Robin Daher for discovering this faint- worthy pic on the interwebs. Ladies, meet Rams wide receiver Danny Amendola. Holy bejebus he's hot.

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day-it's You Get Two Friday!

Does his shirt say "cerveza"? I wanna drink cerveza with him.

This is just delish.

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

My two favorite Dominicans

Rylan is one week old today!

No, I'm not gonna bore you with weekly updates about how old my nephew is, just wanted to comment this one time. I can't believe he's already been with us for a week, yet at the same time, it feels like he's always been here. I remember this time last week I was anxiously awaiting a phone call telling me that he was here and healthy. He is 100% healthy and such a handsome little guy (of course). I remember going to the hospital after work to see him and instantly falling in love.

I was looking at Kendall's newborn pics last night and I see a lot of similarities with Rylan. They don't look exactly alike-but pretty close. I've now gone two whole days without seeing him and I'm having baby boy withdrawals! I'm lucky that I got to see him daily for the first five days of his life. I think I'm gonna get to see him tomorrow night, so I'll get my fix.

Kendall has been really good about the new addition so far. There's been some acting out-like her deciding to eat dog food-but overall, she's been handling it really well. She calls him "my Rylan" and doesn't understand why he can't yet play with her. She may change her mind when he's mobile and grabbing her toys. :) When mommy takes Rylan for walks in his stroller, Kendall takes her baby doll she named Dora for a walk in her stroller too-it's too cute. She tries to entertain Rylan but doesn't quite get that all he's into right now is eating, sleeping and peeing/pooping. And figuring out who all these crazy people are that like to hold him all the time.

These are two very loved children. God has blessed us twofold now. They are amazing and I'm so honored I get to call them my niece and nephew.

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

I know he's in a Rays uni, but I like his smile in this pic.

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

It's Monday. I needed a Carlos Pena booty shot to get me through the day.

Ding dong, the witch is dead!

Ok, he's not actually dead, but Cubs fans everywhere are rejoicing today as it it being reported that Cubs GM Jim Hendry has been fired. I'd dance in the street if I wasn't chained to my desk today. Hip, hip, hooray! I mean, I certainly don't like to see anyone unemployed, but Hendry had to go.Yes, during his tenure the Cubs went to the playoffs three times, but  he is also the responsible party for such horrendous acts as an EIGHT year contract for Alfonso Soriano among other atrocities. He.Had.To.Go.

This is the first good decision the Ricketts family has made. Let's hope the smartness continues.

Coma

So, apparently we had a mega storm last night and early this morning. As I drove down my street this morning, I saw trees and branches down, the streets had standing water...mega storm. Yours truly had no idea. Slept through it all. Huh. Musta been sleepy, huh?

I have been quite sleepy this week-not sure why, I mean, I wasn't the one that had a c-section and now has a newborn-that would be my sister. And I haven't been caring for a 2 year old all week-that would be my parents. Yes, I've been at the hospital every night, but I don't think holding my handsome nephew for a couple of hours would constitute exhaustion. Yet, I've been fast asleep by 10pm every night this week. Dude.

So, now the weekend is upon us. My sister and baby Rylan are coming home today! YAY! We are going to have a nice little family dinner at their house tonight. Rylan clearly does not like people messing with him-I hear he was quite angry yesterday when my sister tried to dress him in a cute little outfit for his hospital photo. He apparently screamed the entire time and refused to take a nice picture. That's my boy-already stubborn. :)

He was much sweeter while I was there. He was a hungry boy, that's for sure. And he is so strong! Already holding his head up. He was so cute, holding his head up and looking for his mama. My brother-in-law said he's already a mama's boy. HA!  Kendall is still good with him, she put stickers on him last night (she LOVES to put stickers on people and things). We will see how the transition home goes.

Tomorrow we have our monthly Girl's Lunch and then tomorrow night, my brother and I are going to the Rams game! Yes, it's pre-season, but who cares, we got tickets for $4. Seriously. Go Rams Go!

It's a Cards-Cubs weekend. This time in Chicago. Do I care? Meh. I'll be able to watch them (except for today because it's a day game), and maybe I will. Maybe I won't. I'm more focused on seeing my baby nephew and spending time with my wild child niece. Is it at all concerning that she was singing "Shake Your Booty?". What's funny is that way back when I was a tot, my Aunt Paula taught me that song....so I guess it's a family tradition? Also, if you ask K what her last name is, she says "Kendall Ballgame". Hilarious.

Happy weekend everyone!

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

baseball would be so much cooler if they played shirtless.

My handsome lil buddy!

Meet Rylan! His hat is on crooked-he's totally gangsta.

I am soooo in love with this little guy. He's opening his eyes more and just trying to figure out who all these people are that keep coming to visit him. He's a sweet boy but was a little cranky last night....prolly cuz he was circumsized earlier in the day. That'd make you cranky too, I'm sure.

Aunt Kerri is going back to the hospital today to see my favorite little man. Hopefully he and mommy will get to go home tomorrow! Uncle Tim is already calling him "Ry Guy" and my dad keeps calling him "Riley". Come on dad, even his two year old sister knows his name! ;)

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

I don't know if he was out in this pic.....and I really don't care. He's hot.

I'm in love with my baby nephew!

Oh my goodness, I am in love with a certain newborn little boy.

My nephew is absolutely beautiful. Perfect round head and dark, dark hair. None of us can really tell who he looks like yet-with Kendall most everyone saw her daddy in her, but with Rylan, it's hard to say. He just looks like Rylan. He's got chubby little cheeks.....and a double chin. Boy's got some big feet, long legs. Maybe he'll be tall like his daddy? He is absolutely perfect. His doctor pronounced him 100% healthy, I am thankful to God for that. My sister looks great, even though she didn't think so.

Seeing my niece with her "brudder" was about the cutest thing I've ever experienced. She told him all about his "blue room" at home and all the toys he has in it. She wanted him to come home with her last night. On our way out she did keep saying "where's mommy?", which broke my heart a bit, but we just kept explaining to her that mommy had to sleep in the hospital and that is why Pawpaw and Bal (what she calls my mom!) would be watching her. Once we reminded her that they were taking her to the zoo, she was cool. :)

I'll try to get a pic of Mr. Handsome up soon. I'm having technical difficulties at home currently. Stay tuned.

My nephew is here!!!!!!

Yay for babies! My nephew Rylan Alexander Baumgart was born this morning at 9:44am via scheduled c-section. He was 7 lbs and 13 oz and 20 inches long. Mama and baby are doing great! I haven't seen any pics yet, but I'm sure they're coming.

SO grateful to God that baby Rylan is here safely. I hope that baby boy knows how much he is already loved! Aunt Kerri can't wait to see him this afternoon!

Bonus Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day because my friend Robin is THE BEST!

Yes, it's a repeat pic but seriously, could you ever get tired of seeing this? I think not.

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

Ladies, you like this angle?

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you tomorrow!

Guess what tomorrow is? Tomorrow my nephew will be greeting the world! YAY! I can't believe it's finally time! He will be arriving tomorrow morning via scheduled c-section. Our family is so freakin excited. I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep tonight! Still not sure how big sister Kendall feels about the whole thing, but I think having "pawpaw and bal" giving her attention all week should help.

I just can't wait to see that sweet little baby's face. I can't wait to get that phone call tomorrow that he is here and 100% healthy and that my sister is 100% ok after the surgery. That's all I want right now. That's all life is gonna be about this week. That beautiful baby boy and his big sister are such blessings. We are so lucky!

We're also blessed tha my sis and brother-in-law now live here so that we can all be present when the little guy is born-no, not for the actual c-section, but that day. No more traveling to Texas for us! And now that my brother lives here too, he will have easy access to his new nephew (not to mention his little niece who loves her Tim!).

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

"Rami, you know how it is, being this ridiculously good looking. Life is hard, man".

.....and then there were two.

The Cubs started the season with four Carlos-es: Fat Carlos, Crazy Carlos, Hot Carlos and Filthy Carlos. They are now down to only Hot and Filthy (heh!). We all know the story on Carlos "Fattie" Silva (I wonder what he's doing now?). Well....I believe the Carlos Zambrano Era has come to an end. Or....at least it should.

Big Z had yet another one of his patented meltdowns this weekend....threw at Chipper Jones on purpose (after giving up FIVE home runs in one game) and was kicked out of the game. Rather than taking it like a man, Big Z pouted, stomped off to the locker room, cleared out his locker and said he was retiring. Mature, huh? Z has since retracted the "I'm retiring" part, but the Cubs, I think, have had it. I think this was the last straw. Z has been suspended without pay for 30 days. I truly don't think we'll ever see him in a Cubs uniform again. And.....I'm kinda sad about that. Sad that a man with all the talent in the world let his emotions get the best of him and affect his career so greatly. He's his own worst enemy. And let's face it, the Cubs have enough to worry about what with their crappy GM sticking around and their owners that know nothing about owning an MLB team...oh and there's that whole not winning in 103 years thing, so, another Z tantrum is not something they needed right now. I hope, for the Cubs franchise, that this was the last Z tantrum in a Cubs uniform. Let him be someone else's problem now.

Vaya con Dios Carlos! (Impressive Spanish, eh?)

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

Why Carlos, what form you have........

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

Um....I want that job.

Ron Santo Night

Last night, the Cubs unveiled a new Ron Santo statue to honor the Cubs former 3rd baseman. All of Cubs Nation felt the loss when Ronnie passed away, so last night was emotional. I didn't get to see the unveiling ceremony, but throughout the game, they played parts of it and also played clips of Ron during his playing days. I'll admit, I got a little teary-eyed. They interviewed his family and OMG, his son Ron Jr. is the spitting image of him! What a great night to honor the man that undoubtedly is/was the world's biggest Cubs fan.

It was a perfect night too-perfect weather and Ron's beloved Cubbies actually won. Even more significant? They got 10 hits. Ron was #10. Tell me he wasn't loving that!

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

I can't really think of a good caption for this pic...but enjoy it anyway.

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

Boy sure does look good in blue......

8

We're in single digits folks. Eight days until my nephew arrives! Although I'm sure his mommy would be perfectly fine with him coming earlier. I can't believe he's almost here! Nine months is a long time....and now it's down to a week or less. SO exciting!

My brother is officially all moved in and starts his new job next week. Going to be so much fun having him here. Davidson Sibs together again. Watch out STL!

Had a good weekend, got to babysit my munchkin on Sat. We had a good time playing Little People, coloring and K locking me in the dog's room (this is great fun for her). We watched Shrek on TV, she lost her mind when she spotted Tinkerbell in one of the scenes-kid loves herself some "Tinterbell". We made home made pizza...I had a two-year old helper ("I help you Kewwi"). I think she ate more pepperoni than she put on the pizza, but it was still fun "cooking" with her. She did get mad at me when we were coloring-she had her Tinkerbell coloring book and I had a Sesame Street one. I was coloring a picture of Oscar the Grouch and K insisted on his umbrella being colored yellow...this was after I started to color it red. I soon saw the error of my ways and quickly corrected it. I mean, obviously his umbrella should be yellow!

Right now we're just in Baby Watch mode. It's gonna be all about 2.0 for awhile. Aunt Kewwi can't wait!

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

Will we ever get a shot of him like this as a Cub?

11

Eleven days until my nephew is born! Woot! I can't wait to see his sweet little face!

The weekend is upon us....always a good thing. I am babysitting my wild child niece tomorrow for one last hurrah before the baby craziness. This will be the last time I babysit just one. Whoa. Apparently K informed her parents that Aunt Kerri will be taking her for a bike ride tomorrow. Fair enough. The problem with that is that it's all fun and games until we're a half mile from home and she decides she's tired and wants you to carry her AND the bike. Good times!

My brother is officially moving here on Sunday. YAY! Very excited. My parents will be in town to help him move. Definitely can't wait to see everyone.

I have a bit of an ailment. I'm nearly 100% certain I have GERD. Now, you may be thinking, big deal, everyone get's heartburn. This is true, BUT, I also am having difficult swallowing and feeling like something is stuck in my throat-all symptoms of GERD. This is why I'm having an endoscopy done on the 30th. One pleasant side effect of the throat issues is that I don't feel like eating-it hurts too much. I hope I lose like 30 pounds. That would be awesome.

It's gonna be a rainy, stormy weekend here in the STL. Good napping weather. I'm in.

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

I think the ass shot speaks for itself. Happy Friday!

Tyler Colvin-badass?

For further proof that the world is about to end, the Cubs have now won four games in a row. That's right, FOUR. Not that it matters much since they're still 19 games under .500, but it sure is fun! And last night, little TyCo earned his big boy pants and got himself ejected from the game. Not that he actually did much of anything, mind you, Bob Davidson is just an ass, but still, he got tossed. For good measure, their fearless leader, the Hairless Cat himself-Mike Quade, also got tossed. Quade is making that a regular habit. Guess you don't want to piss off the guy with no body hair. Just sayin.

Last night's game was scoreless until the 8th....when little Starlin Castro hit his 4th homer of the year. Crazy enough, that 1-0 score held up. Marmol, despite hitting D Lee, managed to get another save and our heroes in blue lived to see another day. The Pirates are now under .500 where they belong, so all is right with the world.

Carlos Pena hasn't hit a homerun in, like, a month BUT.....dude is still getting on base. Never underestimate the power of taking a walk. Carlos can work a count, I'm just sayin (I'm sure he can work other things too.....but I digress). It's feeling more and more like he will be our 1st baseman again next season...not that I'm opposed to another summer of eye candy, but that would also mean that the Cubbies won't be in the hunt for Fielder or Pujols. I guess I'm kinda ok w/them not risking the entire franchise to pay for one guy. But it sure would be nice to have one of those guys, wouldn't it?

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

He's pretty. That is all.

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

He's so talented he can levitate.....

37 Weeks!

My little nephew is officially considered full term today! As far as I know, he remains in his mommy's tummy, however. Unless he decides to come out on his own, he will be surgically removed two weeks from today! August 16 is his projected date of birth. SO EXCITED! Although he was served his eviction notice from mommy's uterus last week. Guess mommy is done being pregnant. :)

We are so excited to meet our little guy. I'm not sure how excited big sister Kendall is though. Originally she told me all the toys in the house are "Keno's", but she later agreed that her baby brother can have "two toy". Very kind of her, right? I'm sure there will be some jealousy issues, but hopefully she will love her brother.....as much as a two year old can. Actually, I'm most concerned about Chloe, the dog. She's had to endure one kid entering her life already, but now two? It may be too much for her to bear. She's been very needy lately and acting really weird. Poor pup.

His nursery is So.Darn.Cute. It's done in a baby elephant theme with brown, tan and baby blue accents. I can't wait to see his sweet little face....and know what his name is! It's a closely guarded secret. I've waited this long, so surely I can wait two more weeks.

Yay for babies!

Baseball players are even hotter from nine rows behind home plate

I'm just sayin.

So, my girl Robin and I went to the Sunday night Cubs-Cards game. We decided to go have some beverages beforehand at a delightful place that provides trolley rides to Busch Stadium so you don't have to drive. Genius. Our friend Michele decided to meet us there along with her trainer (don't ask). Now, Michele and Trainer boy had sweet seats-nine rows behind home plate, whereas Robin and I were about nine rows....from the top of the stadium. However,  a couple of innings in, Michele texted me to let us know that the seats next to them were empty. So,using an elaborate plan of them meeting us one at a time to give us their ticket, Robin and I snuck in to the cool people section. Those seats were KICK ASS. I mean for reals, if I'd have yelled "Carlos Pena, I love you!", he would have heard me....and probably activated that restraining order. With my zoom on my camera, I was able to get some pretty sweet pics (located on my FB page, perhaps I'll post some on here if I can remember to do so).

Here is what I find funny. Ok, so during that game, some drunk people escaped the stands and ran out onto the field. It was hilarious for realsies. But why is it that I received like TEN messages on Facebook asking if it was me. First of all, Carlos Pena was in the dugout at the time-don't you think if it was me I would have done it when he was on the field? I mean....DUH.

So, ever the pessimist (or realist, however you'd like to see it), I kept telling everyone around me that the Cards would win it with a walk off in the 9th. I mean, hello, I know my team. So, imagine my surprise when not only did that not happen, but Marmol pitched an effective 9th and the Cubs won 6-3. I won't lie, I couldn't watch Marm-he scares the bejebus out of me. But, for that one night, the Cubs were champs. A good night fo' sho.

Today's Carlos Pena Pic Of The Day

Why, hello there, you tall Dominican drink of water......