Last Day of Work

Sophie & Nate posing for the camera...my last day was January 30, 2007.

I worked as a nanny with this family for a year and a half. I started August 2005, and Sophie was 10 months old at the time. She is now over two years old...her birthday is October 1, 2004. Her little brother, Nate was born August 17, 2006. He's five and a half months. I had fun for the most part, but the end was getting to be very difficult with me being pregnant and all. I won't get into my beefs, because the job is over and it just doesn't matter anymore. I wish them the best. :)

Guinness the yellow labrador. She's a sweet dog although she would get extremely needy at times. I guess I really couldn't blame her given her circumstances. It would get to be annoying, especially when I was feeling very overwhelmed, but I tried to be nice to her. I would give her treats and pettings. Before I was pregnant, I would sometimes take her for walks with Sophie and I. She enjoyed a couple of trips to the park on rare occasions. I never knew yellow labs shed as much as they do. Cute dogs, though.

Smiling Nate!

Spunky Sophie...it's true what they say about red heads. She gets the red hair from her grandfather. She's a very smart, little girl. I was always impressed by her ability to speak with such an extensive vocabulary at such a young age.

I'll miss them, but I'm ready to move on and start preparing for my little one to make his appearance into this world. I can't wait to me a mommy! I already love Cedric so much...that love will be ten fold when I finally meet him for the first time. :)

Baby Shower

John and I attended our baby shower for Cedric Shea on Saturday, January 27, 2007. I was 33 weeks on Saturday...only 7 more weeks to go.

We had my brothers with their significant others, except Kevin is single and Michael didn't show up. My parents hosted the shower at their house, and my friends Jackie and Amanda put the shower together. Amanda brought her five and a half month old baby, Isabel, over. We also had our friends Sean, a.k.a. Mobat, and his girlfriend, Athena (also our friend) were there as well.

We had lots of fun, and Cedric made out nicely with some great gifts. He will undoubtedly love all his presents when he is finally out to see them.

John and Isabel mugging for the camera. Look how natural it is for him, and he didn't even mind too much that she kept drooling. John is going to be a great daddy. :)

Me looking at some of Cedric's presents. My mom made Cedric a knitted version of Lumpy the Heffalump from Winnie the Pooh.

Angel(pictured) and Ariel kept loving on Isabel. I think the fascination was mutual. :)

Funny picture of my nephew, James with Isabel. James keeps asking his dad when is Cedric going to be done...hehehehehe, cute!


To see more on the baby shower go here: http://zablanc.blogspot.com/2007/01/baby-shower-pics.html

Is January Over Yet?

I wish John and I had our new Honda CR-V today. It's snowing...yes, again...and it would be nice to be able to get to Childbirth Prep class without having to deal with this white crap. The 4x4 would have come in handy. At least Chester has fairly new tires on him, so I'm not too concerned. I'm just so sick of snow! I've seen more snow this season than I've cared to, but that's what happens at times when you live in a state that has winter. Generally, we've been pretty lucky with avoiding a lot of snow in Colorado...usually the mountains take the brunt of the storms. All I have to say is....I can't wait until it's spring for lots of reasons. ;-)

New and Exciting

First off, my dad is now home. He was able to go home after six days from the start of his surgery, so he went home on Monday the 15th. He is improving everyday, so it is great that everything has gone so well for him.

Next up...John and I bought a new car this evening. We have to wait until mid-February to get it, because it is still in Japan waiting to be sent. We ended up going with the 2007 Honda CR-V LX in Royal Blue exterior with a black cloth interior. We are very excited! John had his heart set on the Toyota Rav4, but it just wasn't going to work for us...sorry Boo Boo. :(

Tomorrow, we are going to exchange Adventure Club presents with our fellow ACers. We are looking forward to it! We weren't able to do the cabin like we originally planned (it was flooded), but this will be just as good.

John goes to his second and last Daddy Bootcamp class tomorrow. On Sunday, we attend our very first Childbirth Prep class. I'm looking forward to all the fun and new things were are going to get to do. I can't believe how close it is getting to Cedric's due date...less than two months to go. :)

Next Saturday the 27th will be our Baby Shower. I wonder how many people will actually show up or respond to invitations we sent out...mostly New York's response. I guess we will just wait and see.

And finally, last but not least, we will be getting snow AGAIN come Saturday and Sunday. When will this crap ever stop?! I wish it would just go away and melt.

The Week in Review.....

So much to talk about...well, to start my dad had major surgery on Tuesday, Jan. 9th. He had to have a part of his esophagus removed, the top part of his stomach removed so they could reattach it to the esophagus, and his gallbladder was removed because of gallstones. The other two parts were removed, because he had cancer on his esophagus. Despite it all, he is doing very well. All the tests he has had show all good things, and the cancer didn't spread. He was removed from the Critical Care Unit Friday evening to a regular hospital room. At the latest, he will be going home on Friday or maybe sooner.

In other news, John did his first baby class yesterday. He went to Daddy Bootcamp to learn all sorts of things related to babies. He enjoyed the class, and he'll be going back again for the second session next Saturday where they discuss safety, car seats, and such. On Sunday, the 21st, John and I will be attending our first childbirth prep class. There will be four sessions. It's definitely getting more real...we are only 62 days left, give or take a few, to go until our baby comes. Also our baby shower is in two weeks, and I can't wait.

Last thing to talk about is the final countdown to my job. I have three more weeks to go...works out to be an eleven and a half days. I only work four days a week, and one of those days is a half day because it is my prenatal appointment. I'm so happy to almost be done with my job...I don't want to get into a lot of details, but I've been very unhappy with these people for awhile. Pretty much since the second baby was born. They've been taking advantage of me a lot, especially lately. However, it is only eleven and a half more days and then I'm free. :)

5 Years Together

John and I have been together for 5 years. Here is the first picture of us together that was taken a couple of months after our first date. We were enjoying a hike at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.

It was a Saturday afternoon on January 12, 2002 when I walked through John's garage and knocked on his door. Little did I know that was going to be my future husband standing on the other end of the door. We should of took a picture together at the time, but you usually don't think to do that when you are on your first date with someone. Would have been cool to have that memory though.

Here we are 5 years later...happy as can be! Our next adventure will be bringing a life into the world. Our sweet baby boo, a.k.a. Cedric, will be making his appearance in two months, and we are excited and a little scared about becoming first-time parents. It's funny how things all work out...I love you, Boo Boo. :)

I think this song is fitting to our relationship...It's from the movie Shrek.

There is something that I see
In the way you look at me
There's a smile, there's a truth in your eyes

But an unexpected way
On this unexpected day
Could it mean this is where I belong
It is you I have loved all along

It's no more mystery
It is finally clear to me
You're the home my heart searched for so long
And it is you I have loved all along

There were times I ran to hide
Afraid to show the other side
Alone in the night without you

But now I know just who you are
And I know you hold my heart
Finally this is where I belong
It is you I have loved all along

It's no more mystery
It is finally clear to me
You're the home my heart searched for so long
And it is you I have loved all along

Over and over
I'm filled with emotion
Your love, it rushes through my veins

And I am filled
With the sweetest devotion
As I, I look into your perfect face

It's no more mystery
It is finally clear to me
You're the home my heart searched for so long
And it is you I have loved
It is you I have loved
It is you I have loved all along
Lyrics by Dana Glover..."It Is You I Have Loved"

Snow AGAIN!!!???!!

I know I've used this picture before, but I think it is very fitting to what has been going on in Colorado the past three weeks.

SNOW!!!!! We have had more snow than I care to ever see again. I think snow is pretty, but I'm tired of being paralyzed by it. I can't go anywhere! The only positive part of all this snow is being with my blizzard buddy...Boo Boo.

We have been playing a lot of Wii games, and we are already 14 hours into Zelda. I love this game!!! John plays, and I'm his wingman. I point out all the things that John doesn't see or think about. We make a great team!

John and I had a nice New Year's. We went to the Bronco game on New Year's Eve...disappointing loss. Although, it doesn't compare to the loss we found out about the morning of the new year. Go here to read the details: http://zablanc.blogspot.com/2007/01/darrent-williams-gunned-down.html
Very sad news about the Broncos, and one of their players. He sounded like a nicest guy you would ever want to meet, and now he is gone from this world. My thoughts are with his family and teammates. :(

In happier news, 2007 is John and I's baby's birth year. Cedric has 71 days to go, give or take a few, before he makes his appearance into the world. We're so excited to meet this little guy. He is definitely growing, because I feel more kicks and lots of moving around. We start our classes this month...it almost seems surreal that we will have a new person living in our house very soon. The time is flying! :)

My resolution for the year is to lose the baby weight after Cedric is born. I know I will, but I figured I would put it in writing on my blog. Happy New Year...2007 is going to be a great year!

Merry Christmas 2006

Cimbi hanging out under the tree after opening up presents.

John got me Happy Bunny gear, X-Files season six & action figures from the X-Files movie, an Uglydoll named Peaco, a cute teddy bear, a cute candy caned striped giraffe, a DS game called Cooking Mama, a card, candy, two ornaments--Crayola Penguin & the Grinch, and a little Happy Bunny onesie for Cedric that says "I'm cuter than your baby." :) Hehehee...I love all of my presents! I'll continue this blog later after we spend Christmas with the family.

The Final Stretch

I'm 28 weeks today, so I'm officially in my third trimester. Woo Hoo!!! I can't believe how big I'm getting and how difficult it is to get a decent night sleep. I guess I won't be having a full night's sleep for a long time. Oh well...I really haven't had a good night's sleep for awhile anyway.

According to my baby ticker I created on myspace, John and I have 84 days to go until we become parents. Less than three months away...the time is flying!

Last but not least, only two more days until Christmas....lots of fun to be had! :)

Round Ligament Pain

My body is feeling better than it did on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I still have a lot of round ligament pain:
Round ligament pain generally refers to a brief, sharp, stabbing pain or a longer-lasting dull ache that pregnant women commonly feel in the lower abdomen or groin, starting in the second trimester.

That is a brief definition of it! I feel my pain more on the right side. I haven't really had any problems with the left side, which is interesting, because that is where one of my incision marks are. I figured scar tissue might make it worse. Oh well, I guess there are worse things that could happen. I'm just happy to be pregnant and less than three months away from becoming a mommy. :)

SNOW DAY!!!!!!

John and I are staying warm inside our house from the cold blizzard pounding the ground outside. Happy Day! No work for us today, just plain fun. Although, I'm having ligament pain that I'm concerned about, because I couldn't really walk last night. It feels a little better today, but I'm still achy. I can't go see the doctor either, because the world is white outside and the roads are treacherous.

If this weather continues like they say, we could end up with two feet of snow. It's suppose to snow all day today and continue into Thursday. I could be staying home tomorrow too. That will be nice! :)

6 More Days

Here is one of our Christmas card attempts for our family and friends. We ended up going with a picture of just the two of us. We couldn't get a really good shot of the cats, and they were tired of us messing with them.

Six more days until Christmas, and I can't wait. We might have a white Christmas this year in Colorado. They are predicting a snow storm of blizzard proportions heading our way. I might be staying home tomorrow... maybe even Thursday too if it gets really bad. We shall see! Of course, I would want my Boo Boo with me, especially if it's a blizzard. I don't want him driving in this, so I hope the snow really dumps on us and doesn't go half way. I hate driving in snow!!!

95 Days to Go

I went to my prenatal appointment today, and I gained more weight than I wanted from my NY trip. I've been feeling like a fat cow lately! My belly is getting bigger and bigger and at times it feels really tight. It's either the baby laying with his back against my belly, or I'm experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions. The tightness doesn't hurt it just feels like I'm really bloated. Aughhhhh.....

Only 95 more days to go until John and I's precious little baby is here. We are very excited for the new year to come, so we can start doing our baby related classes. John is up first with Daddy Bootcamp on January 13th. I can't believe how quick the time is going. March will be here sooner than we think! :)

Back in the New York Groove

Our trip has begun...early Tuesday morning, November 21, 2006, John and I got on a plane to NY. We left around 12:30am and arrived in NY 6:30am. I couldn't sleep a wink...it was hurting too much to sit in an upright position for so long. I did get up a lot to use the restroom to keep my circulation flowing. I don't recommend flying while 6 months pregnant. At least, I will never fly that far along again.

Here is our traveling companion...Huggy! He is sitting on Pam's bed...this is the only shot we took of him the whole time. We should have brought him on an outing, but we forgot.

Me trying to catch up on much needed sleep. You can see my baby bump! :)

John and I on the train heading towards the city. In was Wednesday, November 22nd, and we were planning on seeing them blow up the balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Pam was with us, and she got us on the train for free with the power of her badge. *Side note* We never made it to see them blow up the balloons, because it started to rain.

Today is also a special day for John and I....we have deemed this day, Yogi Day. I got a Kirby at the Nintendo World Store as my gift.:)

John and Pam smiling for the camera as we make our trek into the city.

Here is a picture I took from the train of Harlem. A place we have no desire to visit. A little scary! Although you can't see that from this picture.

Geoffrey the giraffe from Toys 'R' Us superstore in Times Square. It was so cool in there. Ahhhh...to be a kid again!

Here is a section for the new Nintendo Wii at Toys 'R' Us.

"I'm walking here!"

Thanksgiving dinner with the Blancos! Here I am waiting patiently to eat...actually I was starving and close to taking someone's life if they didn't feed me soon. Never mess with a pregnant woman's ability to eat on demand.

I'm sitting with Pam and Carolann. You can see Mike Boy and Susan in the background.

The Blanco and the Baldino family. John gives everyone's name here: http://zablanc.blogspot.com/2006/12/day-3-thanksgiving-family-photo.html
He forgot to mention one person...Baby Cedric. I'm pointing to my belly in this picture. Cedric was there incognito! ;)

Saturday, November 25th...John and I went downtown again with Glenn and Danielle. It was our first time meeting Danielle, and we both enjoyed her company. We started off in Times Square, and we went to the Nintendo World Store....John and Glenn got their cool new hats.

We eventually made our way to the Subway system to head to lower downtown to meet up with Chris and Theresa. We were all pretty much newbies with the Subway. Let the adventure begin!

We survived the Subway! FRESH AIR!!!! hehehehe

We met up with Theresa and Chris, and we have made another new friend. Both Danielle and Theresa are very nice girls, and we all hit it off swimmingly.

We walked to Greenwich Village and stopped in Washington Square Park to take pictures in front of a famous arch from movies. John also wanted to go to the park, because a young Bobby Fischer learned to play chess. Very cool!

Glenn, Danielle, and me...what a pretty day!

Another shot of Washington Square Park...you can see some cool buildings in the background.

Funny name of a restaurant!

As we walk along on our journey through lower Manhattan, we visited the Paul Frank store(pic not shown), so I could get some cute monkey shirts. We had lunch and continued on our way.

We headed over to mack on some delicious, famous cupcakes....Magnolia Bakery. The bakery is shown in a Sex in the City episode and in an SNL short skit. We had to wait in line, but it was worth it. However, some of the bakers are a little disgruntle....John was filming the cake batter being mixed, and she thought her ugly mug was being filmed too. "Lady, why the hell would we want your face on our camera? Get over yourself!"

John and his papa...we celebrated John and John's birthday on Sunday, November 26th. We eventually celebrated John Sr.'s birthday again on his actual day, November 29th. My sweet Boo Boo's birthday was on the 10th of November, but it was nice to celebrate again with his family.

Pam's kitties...Rumer and Poncho.

Here is Tiger....Pam's new addition to her family.

Today is Tuesday, November 28th, and it is our third trip into Manhattan...this time John and I went alone. Later, we were going to see the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

This time John and I were going to see Ground Zero. Everytime we go to NY we say we are going to go, but we never make it. Well, we made it this time! We tackled the Subway system all by ourselves, and we pretty much mastered it. We rule!

Here is a picture I took of the Brooklyn Bridge. Next time I would like to walk across it...it has a pedestrian area so you can walk on it.

People reading the timeline from that dreadful day in 2001. Even though it has been five years, Ground Zero still has a very sad, empty feel to it. :(

The Daily Show had Tom Waits as the guest....I wasn't impressed! Too bad we didn't have tickets for the next night....George Clooney would have been there. That would have been cool...oh well, it was still fun seeing Jon Stewart in person and watching a live recording of a show. We had fun! The wait in line sucked for my pregnant belly though.

After the Daily Show, we met up with Chris and Theresa for dinner. We ate at a place called Vnyl(this is how it's spelled). It was cool, and John and I both liked our fried chicken dinners.

I took this shot as we were walking down Times Square heading back to Grand Central to catch the train back to Tarrytown. It's Harmony's very own bar! ;)

While John was sleeping and trying to get over his cold that he has had the entire vacation, Pam and I went to breakfast at Strawberries. We stopped down at the water afterwards to look at the fog swallowing up the Tappan Zee bridge. Here are some seagulls hanging out.

On Thursday, November 30th, John and I went to Mike and Carolann's house in Fishgill. It was a very nice house...I love the yard! Here is Toby sitting on my lap while John and I chat away with Carolann. We waited for Mikey, Tyler, and Mike to come home, so we could all eat dinner together. Later on, John and Mike played Madden '02, and although close, Mike won. Poor Boo Boo! :(

Our final day in NY has arrived or so we thought. It's Friday, December 1st, and like two ships passing in the night, we got to hang out with John's grandma for an hour before we had to leave for the airport. It was my first time meeting her, and John hasn't seen her since 1996.

John's grandma, Emilia, is full of a lot of spunk for a woman who will be 90 in May. She walks a mile and a half everyday for exercise. I think that is so cool!

Okay here's the situation: Mike picks up John and I to take us to the airport. We run into some traffic, but we eventually make it. I called in a head of time to Jetblue to see if our plane was delayed....it was by an hour and a half. It was raining and windy in NY, but the real problem was the midwest was getting slammed with a blizzard. Augh....I hate waiting!

First off, John and Mike were convinced terminal 4 was our drop off. I said I saw a sign that our terminal should be 6. They didn't listen to me, and they were wrong!!!! Luckily, the air train came to our rescue and took us to where we needed to go.

John and I checked in, had some dinner, and took a shuttle to our gate. We get there, and we find out we are now delayed three and a half hours....are you kidding me! I'm not a happy camper, because my belly is already hurting, and I half to be in an upright position for a long time. John and I read a little and then decide to go for a walk. As we are walking back, we look at the monitor above, and we find out that our flight has been cancelled.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! We waited all this time just to be turned away! We were stranded at JFK...not a place you want to be stuck in. We were told to call the airlines and re-book another flight. Apparrently, communication is not a strong point of Jetblue. We were told on the phone, after waiting 15 minutes of being on hold, that we need to go to the service center. Whatever, so we went! Long lines and frustration, from the lack of communication, was getting to us. The natives were getting restless! It was entertaining at least hearing all the grunts and grumbles from the stranded passengers.

Finally, we talk to someone, and they get us booked for the same flight tomorrow night. Now the new challenge of finding a place to stay for the night. We try Chris and see if Theresa can take us in, but after long discussion of getting there, we decide to call Pam. I wasn't going to attempted the Subway with bags and then walk through a long stretch of Brooklyn. No thanks!

Pam was our savior! She was fine with coming to get us and take us back to her place. We stayed another night in NY, and we had more time to spend with John's grandma and other selected family members. We weren't happy about staying another day, but at least we had shelter and we were safe.

The tired, weary travelers attempt to leave NY a second time. Success! We waited at our gate, that was leaving on time, to take us back to Colorado. The only hiccup was the ground traffic for the planes to fly out. We were 30th in line to leave, so 45 minutes later we take flight for home.

A long trip in deed, but we had a lot of fun. We got to experience lots of new things this time around, and next time we visit NY, we will be a family.

Baby Cedric's Room

Cute graphic of Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter. I'm using this graphic to represent Cedric Shea, because he's not born yet. :)

The nursery furniture was put together by John and my dad. My mom and I watched. You should have seen all the styrofoam that John had to clean up afterwards. It was insane...not to mention the cats were covered in it, and they didn't like it being vacuumed off their bodies. Although, it was very entertaining!

Here is the crib with Winnie the Pooh characters all around to watch over Cedric, and to give him something to look at from his crib.

This wall is across from the crib. Here we have Cedric's armoire and changing table with a honey covered Pooh hanging out overhead.

Different angle of Cedric's room. You can see a part of the crib, and an elephant chair that Cedric can sit on when he is older.

My current add to Cedric's room. It's a Heffalump, and he is pulling a kite with Roo hanging on for the ride. I thought it would be cute to add a Heffalump to the room, because it goes well with the elephant chair and it's a character in Winnie the Pooh. This addition to the wall makes the mural complete!

Here is the elephant chair again...hehehee, so cute!

Here's a shelf I bought a Pottery Barn that was half off. I was originally going to put the books on it, but my dad said it would be too heavy and it could fall. I decided to put stuffed animals on it instead. I'm eventually going to buy wooden letters that spell Cedric, and I'm going to put those letters on the smaller ledge of the shelf. Currently, there are little animals sitting on it.

Here is the Winnie the Pooh lamp I bought at the Disney store before I was pregnant. It was such a good deal that I couldn't pass it up. I also have a sailor Pooh from eBay, and a Heffalump dressed up as a pirate. The little baby in the blanket was a gift from my parents. They bought the figurine while on a recent trip to Alaska.

This picture wraps up what Cedric's room looks like. He is going to love spending time in here looking at all the cute pictures of Winnie the Pooh and his friends.

The room represents the different seasons! I've been working on this room on and off since I've been trying to get pregnant. It took me awhile, because I worked on it in stages. Finally, it's complete! :)