Fifty.

This is my fiftieth post so I am going to tell you fifty things that you may or may not know about me.  Can this count for all of my Facebook friends who are trying to get me to do the 25 Things as well?  I hope so!  Here goes…

1.  I was born, raised and have spent most of my life (except for college) in the Philadelphia area.

2.  I would love to live in another area of the country but don’t think that I ever will.

3.  I applied to two law schools in Los Angeles and came really close to going to either UCLA or Loyola Marymount but went to Temple instead because I got to go for virtually free.

4.  Despite that, I have a ton of student loans to pay back from college, getting my MBA and living expenses while I was in law school.

5.  I never regret not going to law school in LA because I might not have met my husband.

6.  TK4 and I met at the Princeton in Avalon at 2:00 a.m. after the “ugly lights” had come on.

7.  I was talking to another guy, TK4 stepped literally in between us and said to me “What do you think of my shirt?”.

8.  I responded that he looked like he was wearing a mattress.

9.  I met TK4 at 23, got engaged at 25, got married at 27 and had Aubryn at 29.

10.  My twenties were fantastic.

11.  I’m looking forward to seeing what my 30s have in store for me.

12.  Hopefully more babies.

13.  Being TK4’s wife and Aubryn’s mommy are my greatest joy.

14.  I never thought that I would be “that girl” who said something like that.

15.  I always thought that I would be more of a career-focused kind of girl.

16.  I have one sister who is 5 1/2 years younger than me.

17.  She makes me laugh harder than anyone else can.

18.  We are so different that I often wonder how it is that we are related.

19.  As adults, we can appreciate and embrace our differences.

20.  I hate pumping gas.

21.  I’ve been known to drive my car until there is absolutely no gas in the tank and then persuade my husband that he needs to go to the gas station to fill it up.

22.  He loves me enough to put up with this.

23.  The only new car that I have ever bought is a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

24.  TK4 and I traded cars last fall because the Jeep is getting older and the heat stopped working – he drives the Jeep with no heat and I get to drive a 2009 Toyota Avalon.

25.  It is totally an old man’s car but I absolutely love driving it – my next car is going to have to seat more people though.

26.  I have never traded a car in – they’ve all been totaled although not all by me.

27.  I love to read but don’t get to do nearly enough of it  – especially since I stopped taking the train to work.

28.  One of my guilty pleasures is listening to books on CD in the car and on my ipod but only after I have read the book first.

29.  My ipod is otherwise filled with upbeat country music and cheesy dance music.  Odd combo, I know, but both are great to run to.

30.  I love to run.

31.  I ran the Broad Street while I was pregnant with Aubryn and still kicked my husband’s tushie by 17 minutes.

32.  I totally screwed up my knee in the process by training too hard too fast – despite physical therapy, it has never been the same.

33.  I have always wanted a red kitchen and finally got one.

34.  It took about 6 coats of paint (on top of grey primer) until I finally got it the right shade.

35.  I have painted the rooms in my house really bold colors and I love it – except my laundry room – it’s still builders white but I am thinking of painting it orange.

36.  I am not and have never been a coffee drinker.

37.  However, I drink tea like it is going out of style – seriously, like 6 cups a day.

38.  If I could afford it (both monetarily and calorically) I would drink a non-fat venti chai tea from Starbucks every single day.

39.  I can’t afford either so I drink them about once a month.

40.  I don’t really have any talents – took piano lessons for 10 years but can’t really play, can’t sing – but I can fit my entire fist in my mouth.  C’mon.  You’re impressed!

41.  In 2003, I bought TK4 a dog – Blue – who has lived with my parents ever since (they must be the most patient people ever) – sometimes I wonder how it is that we can’t take care of our dog but manage to take care of our baby.

42.  I was in a sorority in college but my best friends from college were not in the same sorority.

43.  I am blessed to have wonderful girlfriends who laugh at me as well as with me and keep me grounded and real every single day.

44.  I am obsessed with designer jeans – more than 10 pair obsessed – and I can’t seem to stop myself (showing restraint with purses and shoes is hard but not quite as hard).

45.  No matter how bad this recession gets, I cannot forgo getting my hair highlighted or getting my eyebrows waxed.

And perhaps the most important things about me…

46.  I am a Christian and have been since April 1, 1985 – the most defining point of my life.

47. I can’t imagine growing up in a more loving or better home and only hope that I can show my own children 1/10th of the love and grace that my parents have shown me.

48.  I only understand how much they fiercely love me now that I am a mommy myself.

49.  I love Tom not only for the person that he is but for the person that he makes me.

50.  Tom and Aubryn are my reason for being and our adventure is far greater than I could have ever hoped or imagined.

What I learned this week.

This week I learned that I am so over winter.

I grew up in Philadelphia.  Old man winter is not exactly a stranger; but, I would not call him a friend.  Unfortunately, we typically have cold and rainy winters with some piddly snow storms thrown in; but, rarely do we see a really significant snow or blizzard.  And by significant I mean: the kind of snow that even closes my office and forces my little family to stay home and drink hot chocolate and watch movies on the sofa in our pj’s all day long.  That kind of snow.  Well that only happens in Philadelphia once every five years or so.

And this year was no exception.  Sure, we had some snow in early December.  But it was only enough to make my trip to Aubryn’s school and work really, really annoying.  January brought us frigid weather but little snow.  Same with February.  Sure there were some days when school was closed or opened late but I still had to get up and go to work.

And then March rolls around and we got about 7 inches – enough to close schools again but not enough to prevent me from having to travel to Harrisburg for depositions.  Not enough to keep TK4 and Aubryn and me at home for the day.  Definitely enough to make me long for spring though.

Oh warm weather, how much I miss you.  How I long for you sunny days that last long enough for it to still be light out when I get home from work.  How I long to go running outside again and take Aubryn to the playground.  How I miss you too my summer wardrobe of airy tops and fun, strappy sandals.

I was doing a great job handling the winter until this past weekend.  Suddenly, it has become too much.

Apparently the winter weather has become too much for Aubryn too.

Although I wonder if it’s the cold weather or the fact that my mom sat her in a bush to take advantage of the photo op…  You be the judge.

What about you?  What did you learn this week?  Head over to Jo-Lynne’s and let her know!

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This is my 49th post and I have some big things in store for this week and the celelbration of my 50th post.  Stay tuned…  You won’t want to miss it!

Adults only.

We have dinner plans tonight with 4 other couples – sans babies. The last time we did anything like this was the first week of December (it has taken us that long to plan this, ahem).  My parents are taking Aubryn overnight.  I am so excited!

(Just don’t tell my mom that Aubryn was up twice in the middle of the night last night.  I finally brought her into our bed which was TK4’s cue to sleep in the guest room.  No fever so I think that she is just cutting her two top front teeth.)

Are you ready?

Spring training is in full swing.  The Phillies played their first spring training game Wednesday.  Opening day is April 5th.

Around here, certain people live, breathe and die by the Phils.  I grew up in a house where Sundays were for church and baseball.  Some of my earliest memories were going to Veterans Stadium with my dad to a Phillies game – he even taught me to “keep score” in the program.   Great quality time – just me and my dad.  My heroes had names like Schmidt, Carlton, Hayes and Samuel.  (I can even remember their numbers – 20, 32, 9 and 8, respectively).

I can remember where I was when the Phillies lost the ’93 World Series (coming home from a high school football game on the student bus – listening to it on the radio) and I am not embarrassed to say that I shed a tear (or 100) when the Phillies won the World Series in ’08 (sitting in my family room by myself because I could not stand to watch that game with anyone else).

I’ve been to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown 3 times.  I can remember summer vacations to Maine where my dad sat in the car listening to 1210 because the Phillies game was being broadcast and if the car was positioned just right, he could get reception.  We’ve been known to plan summer trips around the Phillies out-of-town schedule so that we can catch a game in a different stadium – planning on Pittsburgh this year.  My parents have season tickets and TK4 and I have our own season tickets.  My dad is absolutely among the Phillies’ biggest fans – he never misses a game or spring training.  We’ve been fans when the Phillies have been really awful.  We are fans now when they are really awesome.

I can’t even describe how happy a stadium hot dog with spicy brown mustard and relish and a beer make me!  The perfect date with my husband?  A Friday or Saturday night Phillies game (maybe with a stop at Starbucks on the way home…)  Just thinking about it is getting me all nostalgic and excited.

What picture was used in my parents’ Christmas card this year?  Well, see for yourself:

And my little family of 3?

I hope that Aubryn grows up with heroes with names like Utley, Victorino, Hamels and Moyer.  They just seem like a nice group of guys and a great group of players.  I am ready for the Phillies this year – are you?

Fashion Advice.

Jo-Lynne at Musings of A Housewife is giving me some fashion advice.  It’s for TK4’s cousin Rachel’s wedding in May in Austin.  Check it out and leave her some comment love if you have any advice for me…

Gender Selection. Would you do it?

I read this article today about selecting the gender of your baby.  For about $4000 plus the cost of IVF, you can select the gender of your baby with a pretty good degree of certainty.  The couples interviewed for the article each have their own reasons for wanting one gender child over the other.  I can understand some of the reasons but not all.

But is it right?

Is it moral?

Is it ethical?

Is it not enough to just have a healthy child?

Have we gone too far?

Full disclosure:  I really wanted a girl.  I had a girl.  I’m not sure that I would know what to do with a boy – I grew up in a house of all girls and only have sisters-in-law.  All of the grandchildren are girls.  Basically, the girls in my family and TK4’s family greatly outnumber the boys.

Would I have been disappointed with a boy?  Nope.  When I was pregnant with Aubryn, the doctor could not find a heartbeat at the first ultrasound and I was devastated.  I had some bleeding at 10 weeks and was devastated again.  Both times, my doctor prepared me for the fact that I may lose the pregnancy – lose Aubryn.  I am blessed to have carried her to term and have a beautiful, healthy child.  After carrying her and loving her for 9 months, I would not have cared at all if she were a boy.  I would not love her any more or less if she were a boy.

If parents like the ones in the article are willing to pay for gender selection, it’s their prerogative to do so.  I suppose that it does show how much the child is really wanted – although I do wonder if the gender selection is to fill some other void in the lives of the parents.

Do I think that it’s a bit crazy to use sorting, spinning and unnecessary IVF to predict the gender of your baby?  Absolutely.  Is it for me?  Absolutely not.

(I don’t want to give the impression that I think that fertility treatments for couples who truly are having difficulties having a baby are in any way wrong.  I have good friends who have beautiful children as a result of fertility drugs, IVF and even surrogacy.  Each of these are wonderful options that I fully support.  TK4 and I would consider any of these options if we were facing infertility.  Fertility truly is a gift.)

In current rotation.

I’m really enjoying my current music choices in my car (when I’m not listening to Eclipse on CD, that is)… 🙂

* Viva La Vida – Coldplay.  Love, love, love this album.  I have always been a big Coldplay fan and I think that this might be my favorite album of theirs yet….

* Coming Up to Breathe – Mercy Me. This has been an old faithful in the car.

* From the Wood – Pat McGee Band.  I have always loved this album.  A favorite since college that seems to make its way into my rotation every now and then.

* Circus – Britney Spears.  No judging.  It’s actually fun to listen to while you drive and it was a Christmas gift from my hubby.

* The Road and the Radio – Kenny Chesney.  Another old one but I really enjoy this one.  And yes, I am a country music fan.

And last but certainly not least:

* Yummy Yummy – the Wiggles.  Hot Potato or Fruit Salad anyone?

It’s an eclectic mix but it gives me something for just about every mood…

So what are you listening to right now?

What I learned this week.

Jo-Lynne at Musings of a Housewife is having another What I Learned this Week Carnival.  Join the FUN!

Here’s what I learned…

That I truly value quality time with my husband.

So often the stress of life, parenting, home-ownership and work can consume not only my week but my weekends too.  With TK4 and I both working full time, parenting, keeping a house, TK4 being in grad school, and trying to be a good, faithful friend, sibling and child, often our weekends are as crazy as our weeks and by the end, I realize that TK4 and I have not spent any quality time together.  Last weekend, we spent some good, quality time together and it was wonderful.

On Friday night, TK4 gave Aubryn a bath and put her to bed while I cleaned up the kitchen.  After Aubryn was down, TK4 and I “rented” a movie on demand, opened a bottle of wine and made popcorn.  We didn’t worry about laundry or cleaning, we turned off the computers and put our blackberries away and just spent some time together.  It was so wonderful that we did it again on Saturday with a different movie.

When we were dating, we were both poor (I was in law school and TK4 had just bought his first house).  We spent many Friday and Saturday nights renting movies or making dinner instead of going out.  It was laid back and wonderful.  Over time, other responsibilities have crept up and left us both exhausted come Friday night.  My recent pattern has been to go to bed early on Friday nights as a result of my sheer exhaustion from the week.  I realized this week how much I have missed spending that time alone with TK4.

I know that it will be hard replicate every Friday night but I am hoping that sooner rather than later, TK4 and I can have another laid back Friday movie night and spend some time just being us.

(Okay, and in looking at this picture, I realized something else that I learned this week – I am looking OLD.  This picture is circa 2006.  Having a child really does age you!  Sheesh!)

Perfect Sunday.

Today was what I consider to be a perfect Sunday.

Aubryn slept until 7:00 this morning.  I gave her a bottle cup of milk and TK4 took her downstairs and fed her leftover french toast from yesterday while I showered and dried my hair.  I got her dressed and we were out the door by 9:15.  We actually made it to church on time this morning!  Quite a feat for our little family.

Aubryn did well upstairs until the sermon started and then I took her down to the nursery.  I usually stay in the nursery with her because she is the smallest one in there.  The 4 year-old boys make me, well, nervous around her.  They really don’t understand their own strength.  After church, I got to catch up with some church friends and we went to my parents’ for lunch with them, my sister and my Gram.

Aubryn fell asleep in the car on the way home and TK4 was able to get her back to sleep in her crib.  She slept 2.5 hours and while she slept, I took a nap too.  I never, ever get to nap and it was heavenly!  Aubryn and I even got to watch a movie on TV this afternoon.  TK4 is studying for a final he has this week and I am catching up on blogs while doing laundry and making dinner.

What a great, relaxing Sunday!

I need to get some things off my chest.

I have some confessions to make:

*  I still let Aubryn have a bottle at night before she goes to bed… and one in the morning when she gets up.  I know that she’s supposed to drink only from a cup but I do only send cups to school.

*  Aubryn woke up at 5:00 yesterday and I let her have her bottle in my bed so I could get 20 minutes more sleep.

*  We are out of size 3 diapers and I briefly considered rigging two size 2 diapers together instead of calling TK4 to pick up more diapers on his way home.

*  I opened the dishwasher last night and let Aubryn play with the silverware and tupperware in the bottom rack so that I could get some peace and quiet cook dinner and pack tomorrow’s lunches.

*  I let Aubryn play on the stairs from the kitchen to upstairs last night so that I could make her bottle (I could see her the whole time!).

* I DVR 90210 and One Tree Hill..  and Real Housewives of Orange County…. and New York.

*  I finished listening to New Moon in the car yesterday morning and obsessively checked the status of my Eclipse hold all day.  It’s been “in transit” to the local branch since yesterday.  Argh.  I’ll probably do the same thing today.

*  My dinner last night consisted of what Aubryn did not eat of her dinner and cake batter ice cream right out of the carton.  (Yes, my husband was out).

*  If I don’t recognize your number on my caller i.d., I don’t answer my phone.

*  I often sometimes don’t bother to wipe Aubryn’s nose because it’s just not worth the drama.

*  When Aubryn screams in the car for some unknown reason, I’ve been known to turn the radio up so that I can focus on something other than the screaming.

*  My next career is going to be something that I don’t bring home with me at night (physically bring home work or mentally bring it home), like a news reporter.  My friend from college is a reporter for the CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh and she always says that the best thing about her job is that today’s news is today’s news and will be yesterday’s news tomorrow so when she leaves work, she never feels like something is hanging over her head.

*  Aubryn is starting to take a step here and a step there.  Mostly she’ll take one step from holding onto the coffee table to the couch.  I am finding it to be very, very exciting.

*  I hate to be told that I can’t do something.  Part of what motivated me to become a lawyer is that a man in my church once told me that Christians could not be lawyers.

*  Despite how overwhelming Aubryn can be at times, I really want to have another baby.

*  I am canceling my membership to the Y.  I have only gone twice.  Maybe I’ll rejoin in the summer.

*  I wrote all of the thank you notes from Aubryn’s birthday party last week and addressed them.  All that I have to do is put stamps on them and drop them in the mailbox and I just can’t seemed to pull it together to do that this week.

*  I am thinking of growing my hair.  Thoughts?  Opinions?  I know some of you have some – especially my sister…

I feel better.  Thanks for letting me get those things off my chest!