Nico the Wonder Dog!

Most likely this blog will be full of cute stories about Ryan. So that we never forget who my first baby is, I introduce to you - NICO

FUN FACTS ABOUT NICO

• Nico is a mix of Papillon and Japanese Chin. His mom, Stella, was Chin and his dad, Buddy, was a Papillon. Here is a picture of Nico with his parents:
• Nico was born on November 6, 2002. Rob and I adopted him in March of 2003 while we were both still living in separate apartments. Nico was a great car-rider since he was shuttled back and forth so much. He is not anymore (he will whine the entire time he is in the car)
• I named him! He is named after Nico from All My Children (he has not been on the show in many years). I don't watch soaps anymore, but I did in high school. If I ever get another dog she will be named Cecily (that was Nico's wife!)
• His favorite toy just bit the dust. Poe (yup, I name my dog's toys!) was almost 2 years old. R.I.P Poe
• He has a very loud, annoying bark. He barks at every thing!!! Kara's Fiancee can imitate his bark better than anyone we know!
• Nico LOVES Ryan! He has since the first day we brought the baby home
• But he likes to lick the baby way more than we should! Honestly, the baby ended up with soaking wet hair one day!
• He really leaves all of Ryan's toys alone (except the occasional pacifier). If only Ryan would do the same.
• Nico doesn't know he is a little dog (shhhh, don't tell him!). He thinks like a Great Dane. I admire his self-image.
• His favorite place to sleep is right between Rob and me. I promised him he would never loose that right. I lied - sometimes the baby sleeps there.
• He is "severely under weight". I have switched him to puppy food and extra treats. He still hardly eats. I am very worried about this, but the vet is not.
• Before Ryan was born, I took lots of silly pictures of Nico

Where I babble randomly.....

SLEEP
Want to know exactly how long a person can stay alive on no sleep? I seriously feel like I am about to find out! Turns out that Ryan's 2 front teeth are now coming in. This is in addition to the ones on either side of the front teeth that have been coming in for over a month now! Teething is fun!!!
We were up every 45 minutes last night! YUP! I saw every hour on the clock and I am now sitting at my desk trying to not put my head down and close my eyes....
There used to be an editor here who frequently fell asleep at his desk - his career was short lived! Funny though, he used to snore while snoozing at his desk! My friend Dana and I tried so hard to wake him up one day -- we slammed books onto a book case next to his desk, kicked the cube wall next to him, and even called him! To this day I wonder if he had some medical issue that caused his sleepiness (I know he didn't have a teething child keeping him up at night - maybe his cat was teething?)
MUSIC
Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE satellite radio??? When Rob bought his car last year we got 3 months free of XM Radio. I assumed after those 3 months we would cancel the service, but it ROCKS! So much so that I jealous that my car doesn't have it :( Have no fear - with our subscription I get access to the on-line service! WOOHOO! Commercial free radio all day at work! I really need to get a portable satellite radio for my car! I am currently listening to the 90's station. For some reason I am incredibly nostalgic for my college years (Oh, and Stacey I graduated from college in 1996 and will be celebrating the 1st anniversary of my 30th birthday this summer!). Whatever happened to Joey Lawrence's music career????
Sometime I will have to post pictures of some of my outfits from the 90's - I swear they were funnier than the 80's clothes!
Things to do...
I have so much to do at home that I can not focus on the product I am supposed to be working on today!
I am so behind - I have an new baby gift for our cousin's baby (a crocheted blanket and BRU gift card) who was born in FEBRUARY! AND a birthday present for Ryan's second cousin who turned one in MARCH - I have not mailed out either of these yet! Fortunately we are going to see both of them this weekend so I will just bring the gifts with us. All I have to do is wrap them!
So,

• Wrap the gifts
• PACK
• Get swim diapers (W*almart didn't have any smalls)
• wash the dog (he is going to my mom's for a few days and then my sister is bringing him back to our house)
• Get the dog's stuff packed up (food, greenies - crap! I forgot the greenies at the store yesterday, treats, toys....)
• Finish laundry
• unload dishwasher (since every bottle is in there)
• run the vacuum and clean bathroom

Seems like a lot. I wish I had tomorrow off - sigh....

Back in Time...

After a long, sleepless night due to the impending arrival of 3 more teeth all at once (in Ryan's mouth, not mine - I have all my teeth, except my wisdom teeth), I found myself saying "What a night" and that brought back a floodgate of memories from COLLEGE.
Does everyone remember the song "December 1963, Oh What a Night"? Okay, good. My sophomore year at Niagara we went to a bar called Riverside every Thursday night (for another time, I can give you the complete weeks line up of bars), and they always played the same songs in the same order and it started with this one (the rest of the mix included Cecilia, Brown Eyed Girl, Come on Eileen, and various other "college bar songs" that still bring me back to those fun fun times). Which got me to thinking of a certain night we were there (cue dreamy harp music and wavy images as we float back to June 1994)...........
I was at Riverside with my friend Pam who had just graduated from Niagara. What was I wearing you ask? Most likely cut off denim shorts, a body suit, a flannel and, oh G-d, Timberland hiking boots (I tried to find a link to something similar, but you can just watch any Beverly Hills 90210 or Melrose Place re-run to get the general idea)! Most likely drinking a Zima. I was there with my friend Pam. As was always the case when I was with Pam, I ended up having some major drama with the guy I was dating and Pam and I raced out of the bar and attempted to find his house from where we were. An unsuccessful venture to say the least and we ended up lost on some country road. We eventually figured out where we were and started home. As we were heading home, Pam decided she needed to pee - BADLY! Since we were no where near a bathroom, I pulled over and she proceeded to pee in the woods. No harm done right? WRONG! Pam called me the next morning to let me know that she must have squatted in poison ivy because her butt was covered in a rash!!! HA! 11 years later and we still laugh about that! We pretty much laugh about the 3 years we knew each other while in school and mostly the men of those years!
I was going to include the whole story behind the drama, but you know what? It is so water under the bridge now and really highlights my poor taste in men (present love excluded!). So who wants to hear that!
Happy Hump Day - I hope you enjoyed our little trip to 1994. Please leave your scrunchie and Nirvana CD at the door!

Random Ryan

This is from Ryan's first trip to the zoo!

Here comes the bride

Here it is! THE DRESS!!
I am mostly happy with it, but I am very concerned that my arms look HUGE in it! I need to start toning them up right away, but most likely I won't and I will spend the next 116 days obsessing over it and not actually doing anything and then hating all the wedding pictures. I know I mentioned in my 100 things that I am unhappy with my weight. This is not a post-baby issue for me, something I have been dealing with my whole adult life. Here is the break down, but please remember that I am barely 5 feet tall so these weights are NOT too low:
I was thin in high school and the first 3 years of college, right around 100 pounds. During my senior year, I gained about 20 pounds. I chalk it up to a bad relationship - I eat for comfort. After graduation, I moved back to Rochester, got a job and kept those 20 pounds until spring. Then I joined a gym, went 4 times a week, watched what I ate, and lost 20 pounds in 3 months!!! I can honestly say I looked my best then. I was able to keep the weight off for a few years and then I took a job in retail and ended up gaining 5 pounds back. I left that job and went back to school and kept those 5 pounds. After school I got a good job and a new boyfriend and maintained my weight at 105 to 108 pounds. That relationship went south and I was a mess - for the first time in my life I was unable to eat! I dropped about 5 pounds in a month, and then I met Rob. It is true - you do gain weight in a happy relationship!!! I went up to 120 pounds again! UGH! I tried tons of diets, but I knew I needed to exercise, so I joined the gym and lost 5 pounds! Then I got pregnant....
By the time Ryan was 4 months old I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight of 115. 5 months later I am still there. I KNOW I need to exercise, but I just don't do it. I try, half heartedly, but I can't seem to get my butt in gear enough to actually do it. You would think the wedding would be enough incentive for me, but apparently it is not. We belong to the YMCA, but I haven't gone in months! Honestly, I haven't taken Ryan to the Child Watch since he got sick (and I am convinced it is from being there!). I walk a few times a week, but that is all I do. Any ideas on how to get my self back in the groove of exercising? I need it for more than just the weight loss - I need more energy too!
Anyway, as promised here is the dress....

Something to look forward to....

Tonight I get to try on my wedding dress! I can't wait! I have been having nightmares for weeks about it not coming in. Now I am having the "it's not the right dress" and the "it is 5 sizes to small" nightmares. Tonight should be my mind more at ease. Now I can start having nightmares about forgetting to bring crucial things on our trip this weekend.
Yup, we are heading west! We are going to Detroit for the long weekend (I get Monday AND Tuesday off!) to visit Rob's extended family. This will be the first time I will be meeting his father's parents (and aunts and uncles) so I am a little nervous. Of course I realistically understand that they are much more interested in meeting Ryan than me, but that just causes me to obsess over his outfits for the weekend even more! Yes, I have an addiction to cute baby clothes - mostly I like to dress Ryan like a little man (khakis, Hawaiian shirts, sandals - that is my favorite outfit!). He just looks so darn cute!
I am sure I will remember to bring everything this weekend - how could I not, I already have a list going! I did, however, dream that I forgot diapers! I woke in a panic, but really I think they may have diapers in Detroit so if I forgot I could probably pick them up somewhere!!!

51 - 100

So the weekend escaped me (don't they always?). It is almost 90 degrees out already today - one of the only reasons I am glad to be working and not home sweating....
I think I left off talking about my house.....
51. Technically, it is Rob's house, but I decorated it so I take ownership rights!
52. I lived in the same house from the day I came home from the hospital until I graduated from college
53. My mom and sister still live there
54. I have one sister, Renee (26) and a half brother T.J. (14)
55. My parents separated when I was in the 4th grade
56. Dad remarried 2 weeks before I started high school
57. My mom has never remarried
58. I think she suffers from depression
59. and I wish she would treat it
60. I worry all the time about the hereditary aspects of it
61. I was so afraid I would suffer from Post-Partum Depression
62. I am grateful I didn't
63. I now hate Tom Cruise for his cruel remarks about Brooke Shield's battle with it
64. I am a closet Bon Jovi fan!
65. I think Jon Bon Jovi is one of the hottest celebs
66. I watch Super Nanny and Sports Moms and Dads so I can see how I don't want to be as a parent
67. There are 14 pictures of Ryan in my office cube
68. 4 of them were brought in before I even returned to work
69. My favorite holiday is Halloween
70. I have 3 rubbermaid containers full of decorations for it
71. And I bought Ryan's costume before he was even born
72. He was a giraffe
73. An ADORABLE giraffe
74. My son amazes me every day
75. Watching him play and eat are the 2 things I find most incredible
76. Some mornings I cry when I leave him at the sitter's
77. Other mornings I am glad to be leaving
78. I don't think that makes me a bad mom!
79. Some of my earliest memories are playing at my grandparents on Sundays with my cousins
80. We used to read a book about a squirrel named Susie
81. It was a favorite because one of my cousins is named Susie
82. My sister and I never got along as children
83. She is one of my best friends today
84. She watched my son come into this world
85. I was amazed since she can't even watch ER without getting light headed
86. She can't think about his birth now with feeling ill!
87. She wants to watch next time
88. I hope there is a next time
89. I only have one ovary that works
90. and scare tissue from the "gift" my ex left me with
91. I want to visit all 50 states before I die
92. I have been to 32 of them
93. my favorite food is Chicken Fingers
94. I can't eat Cesar salads since I got so sick on one while I was pregnant
95. Donuts, V8 juice, banana bread, and poppyseed dressing are also on that list
96. I eat breakfast every day
97. And I drink 3 liters of water a day
98. I have struggled with my weight all my adult life
99. I am not overweight
100. Most days I think I am!

Who is this chick?

Since I know no one is reading yet (I am sure since I have not sent a link out yet!) I feel a little strange writing all about myself to thin air, but here it goes:
1. My name is Andrea Marie
2. I was not named after anyone in particular although both my parents had a grandma named Marie
2. Born and raised in Rochester, NY (well raised in the 'burbs) - I ahve lived here all my 30 years minus the 4 I was in Niagara Falls for college
3. I was a band geek in high school
4. I spent my summers marching in Drum Corps. thus making me a year round band geek
5. I am a mommy!
6. To Ryan Anthony born October 8, 2004
7. after 28 hours of labor
8. and 4 hours of pushing
9. It was as far from my "birth plan" as we could have gotten without surgery
10. I was 41 weeks and 4 days when he was born
11. and 0 cm dilated before the contractions started
12. I did not breast feed my son
13. I regret this every day
14. I plan on breast feeding my next baby
15. who I hope to conceive shortly after our wedding in October!
16. Yes, I am an "unwed mother"
17. We got engaged on January 26, 2004
18. and saw the 2 pink lines on January 28th!
19. We were very excited
20. but very freaked out!
21. The only thing I hate about not being married yet is that my son and I have different last names
22. I feel like we are already married
23. We have both felt this way since we met -
24. In November 2002
25. We were introduced by friends (his friend married my friend, blah blah blah)
26. OH, my fiancee is Rob
27. WE grew up 2 streets away from each other
28. and went to the same college
29. with the same major
30. and never met
31. Do I believe in Fate? HELL YES (See above)
32. I was in a terrible relationship when I met Rob
33. He was a serial cheater
34. who gave me chlamydia
35. he was also a fireman
36. the site of fire trucks makes my stomache turn
37. My son's favorite toy is a fire truck!
38. My grandpa was a fireman - him, we love
39. My dad is cop - 35 years of service
40. His uncle is in the "family business"
41. Oh yeah, I am Italian American
42. Sundays at my house look like the set of the Sopranos
43. I make a mean sauce
44. I am a legal editor
45. I ahte my job and my co-workers
46. I want to be a stay at home mom
47. or a children's librarian
48. I almost have a masters degree in library science
49. I really need to get back to school
50. My house is 90 years old and I LOVE it!!
Okay, the boy is waking from his nap so I will finish this tomorrow!

WOOHOO!!!

My first blog post! I am so excited to have a place to "download" my thoughts!
I think I will start with a 100 things you may or may not have wanted to know about me, but it is going to have to wait since I am leaving work in 20 minutes to go and pick up the boy for a fun-filled afternoon!
Hmmmm, maybe I should give a quick post about who I am first! I'll try to get that up during nap time this afternoon!