Weston's first Baby Shower

Ok, so I know that I said that this was coming a long time ago, but things just got away from me.
My sister and some friends from work threw me a co-ed Baby Shower for Weston (located at work) on April 19th. It was a lot of fun... though I now know which baby games are ok, and which ones are just plain mean, as well as the fact that the women with 8-10 month old babies are obviously going to win any baby food smelling/tasting identification contest. But anyways, Weston got some amazing gifts, including over 40 size 0-6 month onesies... and yes, I will admit that we did receive a few duplicates, and that I exchanged them for the exact same thing only in a larger size. On a side note, we cleaned out West's room this weekend, and that might be why I am finally getting to this particular blog. : )

Here's a look at the fun we had:

<---- This was our cake. We are going with

a Mideival theme of Dragons and Knights for Weston's room. You know... to bring magic, loyalty, honor and courage to a boy's youth.

Shannon and Traci put together the Tower of Ballons. --->

These balloons were great! I took them home where they proceeded to fall to the floor within 24 hours. But I kept most of them for a scrapbook.

<--- Shannon was the first to actually taste the baby food during the identification game. She still didn't win.
That's my Chi O Sister Melissa (Fisher) Spencer with Shannon. My Chi Omega "Big Sis" Marinee made it to the shower and Jayme Johnson did a drive by (quick hello, hug and gift drop off. It was still great to see her!)

--->
Family came in from Clinton for the Co-ed Shower!

That's Uncle David, Aunt Linda,

my Mom, Mary Anne and my Dad Chris.

My mom is unrolling toilet paper to play the horribly evil game of guessing how many TP sheets equal my size around my waist. Horrible game for the fat girl,

even if she's pregnant.

<--- We received so many presents for West. This is just one of many creatively and beautifully wrapped packages that our friends and family brought for us.

Here's another gift... West got a baby gym! --->

This way he can have tummy time as soon as he is ready!

Thanks so much to all of our friends and family who were able to make it to the shower, and for all of the gifts! West is definitely going to be the best dressed little boy for quite a while!

Weston is still A Boy!!!

The last 2 Saturdays have been filled with Pictures!

We chose to have a 4D Ultrasound done so that we could be sure that Weston was doing great (the diabetes issues) and so that we could be absolutely sure that he is a boy. And believe me, he left no doubt in our minds that he is a boy! I've always said that he snuggles down as deep as he can when he wants to, and we actually watched him do it! He buries his face into Mommy and hides from the ultrasound! Vindication is great, but really annoying when you pay $150 for pictures. :)

Here's a look at our Baby Boy!

"Cash & Prizes"
He's Still a Boy!!! And he has no problem sharing that part of him with the World.

Weston's adorable face! He weighed 2 lbs, 7 oz here.

His Cheeks are so Chubby!!!


His foot is measuring at 2" long already! And we have 11 weeks to go!

Weston's left profile. I think he has my nose and Scott's face shape.

What do you think?

Mommy's Little Rocker!!!

Scott dropped Shannon and I off in Cherokee Saturday night for Jess' Bachelorette Party. He did his own thing and we joined Jess and 7 other ladies for a Girls' Night Out at the Lakes. (For those of you who don't know Iowa, the Lakes are Spirit Lake, Lake Okaboji, and many smaller lakes north of Spencer, Iowa. It's the Iowa version of Minnesota.) We had dinner and then ended up at some bars. Long story short, dinner left a lot to be desired. It could have been a wonderful time, but our server was awful, and some of the food/drinks needed to be served in a timely manner.

So, we ended up at a bar 2 floors underground of a building called the Emporium. First of all, the men in North West Iowa are much better looking, and they pack into the same buildings. Very convenient. So we were herded to a table by a slightly odd man, positioned right in front of the band. I have never been to a concert while pregnant, our loudest event was a hockey game. So, of course Weston got all quiet and stopped moving around. That bar ended up being a bust (drinks weren't great, $1.50 for a 6oz Diet Coke!!! and the band was too loud.) so we moved on. We ended up at the Captain's "Something." Great bar, lots of chairs, free Diet Coke (!) and an awesome band! They played a few '60s, more '70s, lots of '80s and some from today. As we're hanging out, some dancing, others just talking and listening, "Paralyzer" by Finger Eleven comes on, and my son wakes up. He starts moving around more and more. A few songs later, Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" starts. And West really got going! He started kicking to the beat of the main Bass Drum! As a former Percussionist, this was awesome! He kept time, kicking away. He'd take a few bars off, rest, and start right back in, in time to the music!!! I have little rhythm, Scott has less, so this was very exciting! (Check out the Video for the song: http://www.bonjovi.com/bonjovi/media_videos.php )

And when we were trying to show Scott in the car Sunday, West started right back up again when he heard Bon Jovi. It was hilarious! Mommy's little Rock Star!!!

Life in an Elevator

Anyone remember the CHS Band trip to Disney World in 1997? An entire marching band, their instruments and chaperones loaded into 6 (7? 5?) buses, caravaning to Florida. First incident was the issue of the Senior Bus. And one senior's annoying Freshmen girlfriend and her friends. Of course, they whined enough to ride with us. Incident #2 involves a woman named Cheryl who deserves to have her license pulled and then she should be held in a deep freeze for hours. Cheryl was our over night bus driver. She was falling asleep at the wheel... so she turned the air conditioner on so high that most of the Class of '98 (along with a few Freshmen) got sick from the cold. Yeah... Cheryl. Our saving grace? Band Mamas Radke and Smith bullied the evil Cheryl into submission, and a 65+ temperature, as opposed to 40 degrees in tanks & shorts.
The last major incident occurred on our stop over in Cocoa Beach, Florida. A few days for the Iowa kids on the beach. We made a stop at Ron Jon's Surf Shop and Anousha and I happened to step into the glass elevator with the senior boy and his freshmen girlfriend and her gaggle of annoying friends. And they proceed to tempt fate by jumping up (together) in the elevator to see what happens. And when the elevator gets confused... it gets stuck. For 2+ hours. With the annoying freshmen and one other semi-normal person besides us. With 3 glass walls where everyone proceeds to stare and make fun of us. Yeah... It's been almost 11 years and I still do not like long car rides or elevators.
So, when I saw this article in the New Yorker, it brought back all of those memories. And I thought I'd share. :) Check it out:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/2008/04/21/080421_elevators

More Notes on a Scandal

Last week, I received a note from the person who spoke so horribly about me, and who tried to ruin my relationship with my husband. In the note, this person asked for my forgiveness and for Scott to forgive her as well. She was having a bad day. (So let me get this straight. Her day was going so bad that she felt the need to basically call me a Cheating Whore to my husband? right....) On top of that, she asked me to remember the Lord, and to forgive her as the Lord forgives us all our mistakes. Call me crazy, but isn't that taking the Lord's name in vain?
I am working on a response back, basically forgiving her. But not before I air my grievances, six years worth of grievances. I need to make it clear how much I was hurt, and how hurt Scott was. And how I will not tolerate something like this happening again. So... yeah, I am responsible. Who knew?

Coming soon: Weston's Des Moines Baby Shower!!! We had a blast at our co-ed shower over the weekend and there are tons of pictures thanks to our friends, Jason and Erika.

Planes, Trains and Dragons?

Weston is growing. At least I hope it's him that's growing and not just me. He started moving around about 2 weeks ago and for the most part was fairly consistant. He would start moving around 9pm every night, or in response to Daddy's voice. And he loved using my bladder as a trampoline. I swear. I had gotten so used to feeling this, that it took me a little while to panic when i didn't feel anything. (That's not to say he wasn't moving, but I wasn't feeling him.)

So I have been very careful, and resting a lot. Poor Scott gets home from work at 845 or 9, and as soon as he gets home, I say hi and go to bed.

After 2 days, my son has once again decided to grace me with his presence. I asked and begged him to move for 2 days. What did I get? Nothing. I even tried to get him to move last night using Scott's voice. It was like my child was too smart for me, and totally knew what I had planned. This morning, I sit down to try and work, and he starts moving and squishing his way all over the place. Nice. Is this normal? The whole move a lot thing, and then the going into hiding part? Someone please clue me in.

Oh! The Dragon is something we are doing for Weston's room. :)

Notes on A Scandal...

I am not going to say who said what, but I need to vent.
First of all, many of you know that I am immensely loyal, almost certainly loyal to a fault.
And I am not one who will cheat on her husband. I would file for divorce first, but that's not the point. The Point is that I am loyal, and that I love fiercely.
So - Imagine my surprise when I am told by a person who would never lie to me, could never lie to me, that someone is spreading vicious, scandalous lies about me! This person is trying to convince someone that I trust with my life that I am going to cheat on my husband! We'll call this overly-talkative person the Liar. And the Liar's only reason? Because I am a married woman, and one of my best friends happens to be a man. Because women cannot have friends who have a Penis. (I wonder if my homosexual friends are included in this group of No-No's?)
I am immensely upset about this. The Liar is a person very close to our family. In the almost 6 years that I have known the Liar, it has taken the last 2 years for the Liar to stop talking badly about me to anyone who would listen. In these last 2 years, the Liar has made me feel like part of the family, has made me comfortable. And maybe that's my fault, I got too comfortable, and this person finally had the ability to shatter me. But the funniest thing of all? I am the most pure person in the Liar's social circle. I married the only man I have ever been with. Making me much more pure than the Liar. Why is it that I am labeled a cheating, tramping Whore?
But, I digress. When Scott and I discussed this, he was not pleased. He is supporting me 100%, and is supporting our friend 100%. But... what do I do? The Old Erin would have retaliated with such force that the Liar would have been obliterated in front of family and the town where the Liar resides. (The Old Erin had her ways.) In all honesty, I kind of miss the Old Erin. Because now I have to be a responsible adult, a wife and a mother. (Scary, I know.) New Erin... hasn't really spread her wings enough to know how to deal with this. So I called the most polite and proper, but cold-tempered, person I know. I called Grandmother.
So here's the plan: I am to ignore the Liar's calls, requests, everything. I am no longer allowed to volunteer my services as caterer, party planner or family counsellor. When asked to visit, I will not answer, and I will control Scott's answer. In short, the Liar has ceased to exist for me. To further drive the isolation home (this part was all my idea) I am continuing to contact all the regular people surrounding the Liar, keeping things as normal as possible for them. Scott will also have minimal contact unless he changes his mind and proceeds on his own. This is his decision. After my son is born, the Liar will get a sit-down talk. If the Liar wants anything to do with Weston, it must be approved by me and supervised by myself or my husband. If this isn't satisfactory, then all contact will be stopped. No problem with me.
Anyone have a better method for dealing with Liars? I am trying to maintain dignity and decorum, and to continue to be the "better person," all in accordance with my Grandmother's decree.