Merry Christmas!!

I know I'm a day late, but sorry. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I know that I have enjoyed spending time with family and friends.

My camera is about to bite the dust so I don't have any pictures. Hopefully someone **hint hint wink wink** will send me some pictures from all of our gatherings. NC didn't know too much was going on other than she liked the sounds of the wrapping and tissue paper. She got a lot of cute outfits and toys that will be used now that we have started TEETHING!!! More about that later.

My mother and I ventured out to Little Rock for a little after Christmas shopping. I don't suggest that to anyone. It was worse than the day after Thanksgiving. We went all over LR and found some good sales. We had a great day.

I think we are going to try to leave for Crowley on Monday. NC was really good on the way up. We only stopped twice. Once for momma and the second time because NC was pitching a FIT. Anthony had to go back on Christmas day. He didn't really have to but he wanted to. We are also going to try to meet with a real estate agent on Wednesday to look at some houses. I really hate looking for houses by the way if anyone was wondering. The housing market down there is so inflated it's ridiculous. More on that later also

I was tagged

I was tagged by couple of people, but I just now got caught up on everything. I don't really know the rules other than I am supposed to tell 7 random things and tag 7 people. So here it goes:

1. I met my husband in a coaching class I was taking to boost my gpa in college.

2. I was engaged to someone else when I met Anthony. God was telling me I was with the wrong person.

3. My husband is a complete romantic and I can not do anything to ever compare. He is always do things that totally amazes me.

4. I had our first child 4 months and 2 days ago and just got back into my size 2 jeans. I really can't believe I fit in them. They have a lot of stretch! Yes I had to brag a little bit!

5. **men look away for this one** I am a brestfeeding, baby-wearing momma that I never thought I would be. I always said that I would "try" breastfeeding, but little did I know that after the first latch I was hooked. About the baby wearing- my daughter wants to be with me all the time and the hot-sling is wonderful.

6. I have an accounting degree and a history degree. And yes I could make 3 times what I do now teaching, but it's all worth it. I get a week during thanksgiving, 2 weeks at christmas, a week at easter, a week during Mardi Gras, and 2 months off during the summer.

7. I am addicted to my blackberry!!!! I can't live without it! In fact, I am typing this post on it!

I don't think I know 7 people on here that haven't already been tagged. Thank you to the people that did tag me!

We are in AR till the 29th at my dad's. Come by and see us!!

So much to do, so little time.

That is the way I felt the whole time we were in New Orleans this weekend. We had a blast!!! Notre Dame lost, but Anthony was just thankful that they made it to the dome. How many coaches can say that at the end of their second year of coaching their record is 25-2? I think that's pretty good.

Let's start with the trip down there...we had a police escort all the way to NO. That was pretty fun. The snow was unbelievable!!! The closer to Baton Rouge we got (via I-10) the more snow we saw. It was so pretty. I thought I was getting away from the snow when I moved down here, guess I was wrong. NC was soooo good for the trip. She slept the whole way until we got into NO. Luckily, I anticipated her getting up and had a bottle ready. Thank god for bottle warmers that plug into the cigarette lighter thingy. Anthony's sister took us out to Nola (one of Emeril's restraurants in NO). It was good, a bit pricy, but good.

I am officially a baby wearer. I bought a hotsling from Target and wore NC all weekend. It was great! We were able to walk around the Riverwalk and the French Quarter. We found an amazing artist that did her name in different characters. I really can't explain it. I will just have to take a picture and post it. We had a great weekend with Daddy, Aunt Karen and Uncle Jason. It was so much fun.

I will have to post more later. There is just not enough time to tell everyone how much fun we had. We are going back in April to the Audoban (sp?) Zoo. We have a friend that lives off of St. Charles and is really close to it. St. Charles is a street in NO that has a BUNCH of really pretty old style houses. I can't wait.

Christmas carols

I love christmas carols!!! I mean really love them. I found a video on You Tube, but I can't figure out how to get it on here. So, sorry.


We are leaving for New Orleans tomorrow around 11. I am driving my car and having someone ride with me. This will be my first long (over an hour) trip with Nora Claire and me driving. It should be interesting. I am not taking my school laptop with me. So I won't be able to update on the game until we get back on Sunday. Unless I can talk my wonderful Dad or Aunt to bring theirs!! Hint, Hint, Wink, Wink. It will be an interesting 4 days in a hotel room with an almost 4 month old!

They WON!!!!

Notre Dame won!!!! That means they are going to the Dome in New Orleans!!! The game was too exciting for words!!! And I only listened to it on the radio!! More to come later!

My blog needs a desperate upgrade and I don't know how to do it! Anyone want to help?

A little late

I hope everyone had a good thanksgiving. Ours entailed alot of traveling and sickness in between the traveling. I will post more later, when I have a little bit more time.

Notre Dame won and they play Redemptorist on Friday. If they win this one, they make it to the Dome in New Orleans. It would be wonderful for Anthony to get to coach a team in the finals. Not to mention we would get to go to New Orleans.

It's COLD!!

I thought it was cold down here. So I called my mom this morning and said, "wow the hi here is only 54." She responded, "well the hi is only 45 here." Hmmm, I think I am going to freeze to death while we are up there. Speaking of which, we are leaving at 5:30 a.m. to meet my mom in Alexandria. Anthony is meeting another coach to pick up film. I would much rather get up early than drive in the dark...we were not going to get to leave until 4 in the afternoon which would get us in Arkansas about 9:30 p.m.

I am so excited to be able to go home for more than a weekend. We don't really have that much planned. We are just going to hang out I guess. I am going to take the camera so maybe I will remember to take some pictures. If you what to come and see us, feel free. We are leaving Wednesday afternoon to come back.

Oh, yeah...ND won last Friday night and they play Church Point tonight. It will be on Cox Sports Channel. It should be an easy game. They beat them 39-0 the last time they played (about 3 weeks ago).

So...

Why is everyone so rude? Nora Claire and I went to Lafayette today. This was our first trip by ourselves. I guess everyone is in the Christmas shopping mode. There were some courteous people, but not very many. If I am ever rude to anyone it is not on purpose. You will know if it is.

Okay, to address the issue again . I appreciate all the comments from my friends about dealing with my issue. It didn't work. So, sorry no more anonymous comments. No comments that are derogatory to anyone will be tolerated. I started blogging to help my family and friends back home stay up-to-date with what's going on down here. Everything I post on here is strictly my opinions and are no way facts, unless stated. Please be respectful of my feelings and don't post any derogatory comments. I have never commented on anyone's blog in a disrespectful manner nor would I ever. With that being said, I would love to know who my viewers are or should I say lurkers. Evidently I some that I don't know. Just shoot me a comment if you want.

obviously...

I need to stop taking anonymous comments. I am about to get fired up about something real fast. I don't care if you express your opinion but be adult enough to at least leave your name. If you are not adult enough to stand up and say yes I said that, then why am I teaching? I teach my students every day to take responsibility for their actions and their mouths. If you are wondering what I am talking about...look two posts down at my comments. Someone decided to leave a not so nice comment about something I wrote.

Let me start off by saying that I lead a normally drama free life. I hate drama and petty sh** like this is stupid. But I feel the need to rant for a minute.

This is for whoever left that stupid comment. Remember I said the comment is stupid not the person because I would never say a person is stupid. Those who know me are laughing their a$$es off right now!! Now, back to business...Yes I have been to a Warren football game. Hello, I am from Monticello!!! Just in case you didn't know. As for games in Fayetteville or wherever else...the "football climate" is totally different. Evidently you have never been to a football game anywhere in Louisiana. There is a reason why 3 different Louisiana teams are on the top 100 football teams in the USA. My husbands football team would walk all over Warren's football team. That is not an opinion, it is a fact. Sports in general are different in Louisiana. I didn't believe my husband when he told me this, but after being here a year I do now. Anthony has always told me that athletes are different in Louisiana, especially at private schools. The athletes WANT to play, not HAVE to play. This makes a big difference in the teams.

Anyways, that is my rant for the night. I might add more later. I am not going to stop allowing anonymous comments as long as you put your names at the bottom. I don't mind answering questions either, but stupid comments are not going to be tolerated here.

I almost forgot...about having teacher's pet...sometimes you do and you don't realize it. As a teacher, you have those students who you know you can depend on. You tend to ask these students to do alot for you. That in turn gets the label teacher's pet.

Football...

Well, the regular season is done, but now on to playoffs. Notre Dame plays at home this Friday against Sarah Reed. Yes that is a school and not a person. They are from New Orleans area. They won their district so they automatically get a seat in the playoffs. ND is number 1 and SR is 32. It should not be a very interesting game.

Other than football, there is not too much going on here. Thanksgiving break is only a week and a half away! YEAH!! Yes, we get a whole week off! I am coming to AR either on Friday night or Saturday afternoon. It all depends on where ND plays. Then leaving that next Wednesday afternoon with Aunt Karen and Uncle Jason. It should be an interesting ride. Nora Claire is trying to sit up all the time. She is trying to be a big girl.

Answers to questions.

How differ is living in LA from AR and which do you like better?
It is very different. The people are super nice here. They are very accepting of everyone, especially football coaches and their families. Football is HUGE here! Nothing in AR compares to this. The food is very different. It is not necessarily spicy, it is full of flavor. They use alot of onions, bell peppers, and celery in their cooking. It is really good. We have alot of fresh seafood here also. You really can't compare AR to LA. My family is in AR, so I love coming home and visiting. But we are so close to Lafayette-only 20 mins-we get to go out and eat GOOD places all the time. We can run to the mall or target or sam's or kohl's anytime we really want to. We don't have to drive atleast an hour.

How is being a mother?
Being a mother is great. It is hard, but I wouldn't change it for anything. A friend told me that being a mother is the hardest job that you will love the most. There is always something new happening.

What is the one event in your life that had the most positive influence on who you are today?
This question is kind of funny, it sounds like a pageant question! Sorry, umm...it would have to be two events. The first would be getting married to Anthony. It was such a great day and it definitley changed the way I looked at life at that point in time. It became Anthony and I and not just me.

The second one would be becoming a mother. Again the same thing, we went from Anthony and I to us three. It is a different type of love than Anthony and I have. Yes, it is unconditional, but it is different. Some one explained it to me perfectly...If someone was shooting at Anthony, it might take me a second to jump infront, but if someone was shooting at NC, it wouldn't even take a second. Does that make any sense?

I hope that answered your questions!

Halloween

Daddy loves playing with Nora Claire in her new playmat. Too bad Nora Claire doesn't love it too much! She does love her mat though. She has figured out that she can grab some of the animals.

She loves the banana and the blue hippo. She has also figured out that she can grab on to them and pull herself over to her side. And she likes to pull them to her mouth.

This picture is from the weekend before Halloween. Another coach lives in a subdivision outside of Lafayette and every year they have a block party and all the kids trick or treat early. It is really nice. This was just one of her costumes this year. She was also an angel Thursday night at our school carnival. Lucky me, I am a student council sponsor and me and the other sponsor were in charge of it. Fun, Fun. NC went home with her daddy. We had a great Halloween. Notre Dame played on Cox Sports Friday night and we enjoyed the game. The weather was great!!

Ashlee, I will answer your questions in the next post!

answers to a couple of questions...

Let me start by saying thank you for those who asked the two questions that I got. Aunt Karen I really don't know the answer to yours, maybe you can help me out with that. So here are the two questions that I got. Oh, and by the way...I don't mind anonymous comments, but please put your name at the bottom. I would greatly appreciate it. I love comments, I would just like to put a name with the comment.


1. what's yours and your husband's heritage? he has a beautiful skin tone, and you both have such nice dark hair, just wondered!

Well, Anthony is predominately Spanish and French. His dad's family is originally from the Canary Islands. They have been in Franklin ever since they got off the boat-literally. When his dad was alive, if you wanted to know anything about ancestors you would go to him. Anthony is the only one in his family that is "that" dark. Hopefully our daughter got his nice dark complexion. Me on the other hand...I know for sure German and Irish. I am pretty sure we have some French mixed in somewhere, but don't really know for sure. As for the dark hair...pretty much everyone in our family has dark hair with the exception of a couple of people.

2. What does your husband do for a living? I think it has something to do with football, but am not sure.

My husband is a football coach. He coaches receivers at Notre Dame High School at Crowley. They are pretty good. Right now they are 8-0 and it looks like they are going to finish the regular season 10-0 again. Yes, I said again. Last years final record was 11-1. They lost in the second round of the playoffs last year. So right now Anthony's record for coaching football is 19-1. Not too bad for only coaching 2 years.

Hopefully I will get to upload the pictures from Saturday nights trick-or-treating we did at another coach's house. They have a big block party every year. I didn't take Nora Claire to houses or anything like that, we just walked around with everyone.

If you have anymore questions, please feel free to ask me!

So...I am sick. Not just a little sick...Really sick. I can't get rid of this stupid fever. I went to the doctor on Thursday and found out that I have bronchitis. Well, I don't think I have ever had this, but I could be wrong. I am tired of sweating then the chills and starting all over again. My coughing isn't that bad, but I can tell it is getting worse. Sorry, but I am about to complain just alittle...my neck hurts, my head hurts, I need to clean my house and do some laundry. Being sick sucks!!! Sorry if that was too much complaining, but I really needed to get that out.

At least Nora Claire survived her first set of shots with flying colors. She woke up Thursday morning like nothing was wrong. At least someone is doing good.

So I am following along with everyone else. If there is any question(s) you would like to ask, feel free to ask. Just please not any ridiculous ones. Some of you already know me TOO WELL!! But if there is something that you don't know that you want to know, I might answer it...depending on my mood. Just kidding, I will try as long as it is not too bad of a question. You can email kellyrodriguez01@gmail.com them to me or just leave a comment if you would like.

I forgot to mention in the last post that Nora Claire got her first set of shots yesterday. Anthony took her so I wouldn't have to take off work. He said that she did really good. She did start crying when he went to hold her leg down. She did run some fever last night, but not too bad. She woke up in a really good mood and was sleeping when I dropped her off at the babysitter. So right now everything is great. Except for the fact that today it is only suppose to get up to 57 degrees and tomorrow it is getting down to 47 degrees for the football game. We might be staying home tomorrow night.

I found the blog that is hilarious. I think I got it from Tiffany, but I am not too sure. But check it out. http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

update

Well, I guess I need to catch everyone up...

So the trip to AR was great. Way too short! Hopefully we can work something out for us to come back down for Thanksgiving. We get off a week and I certainly don't want to stay at home. We tailgated at Hyatt Field for Monticello's Homecoming and then at UAM also on Saturday. Anthony got to see alot of people that he played with. My mom, Nora Claire, Abri and I took our time getting ready. We were in no rush. We stopped in at Cockrell's Shoes to get some Sperrys. Abri and I both got a pair. Now I know why people love these shoes. After the football game we went out to eat at The River. I let my mom keep Nora Claire all night. So when Anthony went out to party with his friends, I got so much needed sleep until about 1:30 when Anthony calls me to come and pick him up. But other than that everything was great.

On Sunday, Nora Claire was dedicated at Pauline and then we went to eat at Young's. They had some good food!! Almost better than the River. We had planned to leave after that, but Anthony was in great need of a nap. He almost fell asleep at the table. He had had a long night. So we ended up leaving about 3:30. It was a long trip back, but we stopped at Ryan's in Alexandria to eat. I have not eaten there in awhile. The steak was pretty good. I didn't get to eat much other than some mashed potatoes, fried okra, and a salad. Nora Claire decided that she wanted to stay up with us while we ate. Which in turn made it very interesting for me to eat.

So all weekend long I kept telling Anthony that I thought I was getting sick, and sure enough Monday afternoon I start running a fever, 103.5 to be exact. Took some Tylenol and got it down. I forget how much a fever takes out of you. But all is good now. Other than the fact that Nora Claire has turned into a Momma's baby. She will not let her daddy put her to sleep. Which makes it hard on me when I am trying to get to sleep early. Every time Anthony would put her next to him she would start pitching a fit and then as soon as she was next to me, she would stop. So needless to say she sleeps right beside me all night long. Which is good for nursing her in the middle of the night.

Anyways, Notre Dame plays Rayne this week in Rayne. It should not be a good game. Rayne is pretty bad. We have trick or treating at another coach's house on Saturday. I think she is going to be an angel. I will take plenty of pictures.

happy fall ya'll

Nora Claire and her Daddy love to watch football in the new KING size bed. I don't know how we slept in that full size.

This is our attempt at doing some pics. You can't really tell from these, but her dress has a scarecrow and pumpkins on it. It is so cute.

Yesterday we went to Lafayette to pick out pumpkins and hang out with Savannah and Lola-another coaches wife and daughter that is 9 months old. Nora Claire did so good. We made our way around Lafayette pretty easily. We have a new play mat that she loves. She also loves her swing right now.

In case anyone is wondering about me...school is going good. Just going to take time to learn almost 150 students names. Some of them I had last year, but 120 of them I didn't. The babysitter is going great!! Nora Claire loves her, I love her and she loves Nora Claire. She also doesn't mind feeding her breast milk instead of formula. So we are starting to use some of the frozen milk. Yes, we did have to get a deep freeze because I filled up the refrigerator freezer.

She now weighs 10 pounds as of last Monday. It very well could be more by now. She gained 2 pounds in 4 weeks. I think that is pretty good myself. She is just growing too fast. She loves to talk to her Daddy in the morning while Mommy is getting ready for work. It is so cute. We are coming down this Friday (17th) and will be tailgating at MHS field and then tailgating on Saturday at UAM. So if you don't get to see us, it's your own fault.

I made a change. You can now leave anonymous comments, but please leave your name for me.

Has it really been 6 weeks

Well, as of tomorrow, yes. I have to go back to work tomorrow. Part of me is really sad, but the other is kind of happy to get back into some kind of routine and make some money. I have really enjoyed staying home with Nora Claire. I wish I could stay home all the time, but oh well.

I just realized that I haven't posted anything about football. How could I have forgotten. Well, right now Notre Dame is 3-0. Their first home game is this Friday against Iowa. It should be a pretty good game. I think this starts their district play, not really sure. Hopefully, I will get some pictures to put up here.

We are coming to Monticello on October 17th (Friday). We are staying until the 19th (Sunday). I know it's a really short stay, but at least we are getting to come up. On the18th, we are going to be out at UAM tailgating. Anthony is going to fix some of his jambalaya. So if you are out that way come by and see us. Yes Blake, you can have some food and we might even let you take some home for Michael. Anthony is getting really good at cooking it too. I can't wait for it to get cold so he can fix some gumbo.

1 month old.

Yes, our baby girl is one month old. It just seems as though time flew by. Before we know it she will be one, but I don't want to think about that right now. These are mine and Anthony's attempt at taking pictures at home. I think she is a perfect blend of Anthony and I. She has some of his traits and then some of mine also.

Tonight we go meet with a new babysitter. She is the grandmother of two of my students. She just moved like 3 blocks from my school and she substituted some for me last year. So I know her pretty well. We had a babysitter, but she had a 1 yr. old and a 3 yr.old. Before Nora Claire came that was alright, but now that she is here I don't think she can give her the attention she will need. And I have called her three times and she hasn't called me back yet.

Oh, by the way Shelley...these pics were taken with no flash. They don't even compare to the ones that you take.

pics from Gustav

These are some pics from around Crowley. Yes, Anthony went out on his bike and took some pics around our neighborhood. No, none of these were in our yard except the one by the fence. As you can see Nemo had to investigate everything.

We have survived...

Sad face. No she wasn't crying which makes this picture even funnier. She just stuck her lip out.
This is the "I'm working on Daddy a REAL good diaper!" look.

3 1/2 weeks with Nora Claire. I can't believe she is almost a month old! These pics were taken today, Anthony set the date wrong on the camera. She is such a joy except at 1 a.m. when she is screaming. Just kidding. She is a really good baby, just growing too fast! Anthony has started calling her our hurricane baby. She has survived two hurricanes, so far.

cont. from the post earlier...

Let me elaborate a little bit on my post earlier. I greatly appreciate some advice...when asked. Feel free to give all the advice that you want. I might take it with a grain of salt or put it to use. It just depends.

Let me explain why I am letting it bother me. Someone told me to prop my daughter up while she sleeps on 2 or 3 pillows. This is alright if I am sleeping with her, but definitely not if I have her napping. Okay, maybe not even if I am sleeping with her. Too many things can happen. She has figured out how to scoot down while she sleeps also. No Haley I am not talking about you.

Then the same person told me not keep her wrapped in a blanket so much. She gets sicker going from hot to cold. Well, if you would keep her wrapped up then she wouldn't be going from hot to cold now would she. The way I look at is this...yes, it is hot OUTSIDE. But what do people turn on INSIDE to make it cooler...the air conditioner. So, it become COLD INSIDE right?!? I have a problem with feeling my daughter's arm and it is cool. I am sorry, I'm weird.

Then, someone proceeds to tell me that I need to try to get into a daycare because you can't depend on a babysitter. I'm sorry, I am not putting my 6 week old in a daycare (that is when I plan to go back to work). This person said to go ahead and let her build up her immunities, yeah she will be sick at first but then she'll be fine. First off, she won't have any shots at 6 weeks. So if she catches something, it could be really really bad. I don't want my child to be one of 20 kids that 3 people have to watch. If she can get one-on-one attention, then she is going to get it.

This is just a little bit of everything. But I am not letting it bother me. I am going to enjoy every minute I can of holding her and letting her sleep on my chest or in my arms. They are only small once and I am going to enjoy every last minute of it. Thanks Rosjuane!

Do people really think before they open their mouths and say things? I am not going to mention any names-other than my husbands.

Yes, our daughter is sleeping in the bed with us right now. Yes, I know we are spoiling her, but she is only 3 weeks old-today. Like Anthony said, do we want sleep...yes. So she sleeps in the bed. I am not directing this to anyone inparticular. Well, maybe but she doesn't read this so I guess I can. And yes, our daughter is one of those babies who likes to be held, but not by 30 different people in one day. If you want an explanation for that one, email me.

Now on to the big topic at hand. Yes, my daughter HAD a runny nose and small cough. We needed to get her 2 week checkup done anyways, so we went to the dr. She is fine. Just all of this climate change-going from LA to AR back to LA. All that is needed is a little saline solution and a sucker. That's it. He did say that a humidifier wouldn't hurt. Now to the good news, sad for me, but Nora Claire now weighs 8 lbs. and 10 oz. and is 22 in. long! She is growing way too fast. Hopefully she will sleep some today and let me get some pictures uploaded.

Gustav

Did I really come to Arkansas to escape Gustav...yes. But here is the real question, did I escape it...NO!!! According to Anthony, we are getting way more rain than he got at our house. The only bad thing is is that we still don't have electricity and probably won't till the weekend.

But back to the subject at hand. Last night around 3 a.m. I was up feeding Nora Claire and thought I heard a large clap of thunder. Well, come to find out it wasn't thunder. A tree fell on my Dad's house. I will explain more later and post some pics later also. I think it's just funny that I came to Arkansas to escape everything.

Oh and can't forget. I am staying at my mom's due to my dad not having electricity. I went out to take a picture of the flood water-college street was really flooded. Sorry, I thought it was pretty fascinating. Anyways, I was walking back to the house and some girl in a blue grand am decided to speed up to go thru the flood water. I had to run to my mom's sidewalk so she would not splash me. So, being from the south, I proceeded to show her "the bird." Yes, I know that I should not have done that, but how rude is it that you would purposely try to splash someone that is walking down the sidewalk. Then she yells out here window, "F*** Whore." I am sorry but it blew me away.

Just heard from Anthony

Anthony just called. He went by and checked on the house and there is no damage yet. There are tree limbs down everywhere. A tree fell on some powerlines and that is why they don't have electricity. Luckily he was on the west side of Gustav. That is "Good" side. Anthony did talk to his brother in Baton Rouge. They have alot of winds and rain, but they seen the worst yet. He also talked to his cousin in Franklin. The houses are fine, but there are alot of trees down everywhere. They had winds about 110 consistently for a little while. But everyone is safe right now. Thank God.

Update from Anthony

As of the 3 p.m., all Anthony could say is is that it was pretty cool. He is getting to see all of the wind and rain come through. He left the house this morning about 9 going to the school. He got there before the wind and the rain started. So he is safe. I talk to him about every 2 hours, but the last time he said that the electricity just went off. Hopefully he will be able to get service to call me here soon. So keep the prayers coming, they are definitely working!! When we went to bed Saturday night, we thought Gustav was going to hit at a category 5. Luckily those warm dry winds coming off Florida helped out.

We haven't heard anything from Anthony's family in Baton Rouge. Hopefully, by the end of the day, we will have heard something. The eye of the storm was passing over Franklin the last time I checked. Maybe there won't be too much damage. As soon as I know more, I will update everyone. Crowley is getting alot of rain and wind right now, according to the weather channel.

We made it.

So, we packed things up last night and headed out this morning. I can not describe the evacuation process. It is crazy to say the least. Anthony, as of 4 p.m., is staying in Crowley at the school with the dogs. We are only suppose to get category 1 winds. On the other hand, Anthony's family lives in Franklin. Gustav is suppose to hit them head-on. So prayers are greatly appreciated at this time. I will try to keep everyone updated, but for now I am staying at my dad's if anyone wants to come by!

How do you evacuate with a 1 week old?

This is how...wonderful family members that make a 5 hour drive just to turn around and possibly make the same trip the next day, just plus a 1 week old and a niece. Yes, Aunt Karen and Blake to the rescue. Both had planned to come down this weekend anyways, but little did they know what they were getting in to. Check out my Aunt Karen's blog at http://bowling1dayatatime.blogspot.com/

Anthony is going to try to stay to take care of the house and the dogs. But if it gets bad, he will pack them up and come up also. But how do you leave everything and hope that when you come back it's alright? Let me just tell you, it definitely puts a knot in your stomach. All the stuff in our house and in Nora Claire's room. I can't think about it or it will overwhelm me. I just pack the necessities and head out. Please keep everyone down here in your prayers. I would hate to wish this upon someone else, but I really hate for it to hit us. I will keep everyone posted.

Last night with the belly

I forgot to post these before we went into the hospital. But as you can tell they are "the belly" on the last night. It got to 42 in. at the biggest part and yes I have the stretch marks to prove it. A couple night after I had her, Anthony and I were walking around the hospital and two different women asked me when I was having my baby. I just looked at Anthony with a sad sad face. He said we should have told them, "If you think she's big now you should have seen that thing before." That made me laugh.

Everyone please pray that this hurricane doesn't come close to us. I will be heading to AR if it does. Anthony will go if it gets bad, but stay otherwise.

more pics of Nora Claire

This is a picture courtesy of Mimi. It is just too precious.
First bath!! Once more Mimi is doing the honors. She was so good. She didn't make a peep until we had to put her diaper on. As you can tell I am taking full advantage of my mom being here! Too bad she has to leave tomorrow.

If anyone wants to make a trip down south, our house is open! Enjoy the pics. If you want to know more e-mail me. I don't really want to put too many details on here.

Miss Nora Claire has arrived by Haley

MiMi & Nora Claire

Happy family

Momma & Nora Claire

Nora Claire was born at 5:24 pm weighing in at 7lbs 14oz & 19 3/4 in long. Everyone is doing GREAT!

4 a.m.

That is what time we have to be at the hospital in the morning. I never dreamed it would be that early, but it is. Wish us luck!

SO...

No change. I guess we are just going to have to wait until Wednesday. We go to the doctor on Tuesday for a checkup and to get our time for Wednesday. Oh well.

What do you do with a dog that can jump a 6ft. privacy fence? We know that Nemo can not get under the fence, so she has to be going over the fence, right? Anthony has witnessed her hanging from the fence by her front legs. She doesn't run off. Earlier she was actually whining for me to let her back into the back yard so she can play with June. I really don't understand that dog. Is it worth getting an electric fence to put around the top? I have no experience with those. Does anyone have any suggestions? I really want Nemo to be able to go outside and stay there most of the day. She really likes being outside, but if she keeps getting out I can't do that.

Update from the Dr.

The dr. did some things. I will spare you the details, let just say it wasn't pleasant. It was something that should induce me naturally without drugs, if it works. If it did work we will know within 24 hours. So maybe, just maybe she'll be here within the next 24-48 hours!! Yeah!! If not then induction on the 20th-BOOO!!

I hate bugs!!!

Well, not ALL bugs, just spiders and cock roaches to be exact. For some reason we can not TOTALLY get rid either of them. Remember we are in South LA and the moisture here is ridiculous. And we have ALOT of trees in our yard that the spiders seems to like. Our house is on pillars-like most houses around here because of flooding-and rain water runs off under our house. This is the main reason why we can't get rid of the cock roaches. Evidently they like decomposing leaves and water. We have significantly reduced the number of them that we see, but I can't get totally rid of them. We have consulted a pest guy, but it depends on what kind of roach they are. Apparently there is a really bad a$$ one called a German Cock Roach. We have to catch one, bag it, and show it to the guy. If it is bad one it will be $250 up front!!! So the great debate begins. I see maybe 1 every 2-3 weeks now, versus 1 every other day when we first moved in. So, is it really worth the money? Anthony bought some stuff from Lowes that is safe to use indoors, but the dogs have to be outside before he can spray it. But it started to rain today and is suppose to rain for a couple of days so... I don't really know what else to do.

Thank God I have Nemo. I saw one crawling on the wall. So, I yelled at Anthony, "bug on the wall, bug on the wall, bug on the wall!!!!!" Nemo comes running instead of Anthony looking on the wall for the bug. I knock it down for her and she begins to step on it for me. I had to tell her a couple of times that it wasn't dead and she proceeded to stomp it a couple more times for me. June helped a little bit, but Nemo did most of the dirty work. This is how I kill most bugs in the house. Nemo is really good at it and I don't like that crunch when you kill one.

Oh, and we go to the dr. today at 1:30!!! At the latest, 8 more days!!!

Someone help!!!

Why is this thing pink?

Most recent belly pics

Once more, there are no words to describe it. I finally have strectch marks-for those of you who wanted to call me bad names. The dr. said that she can come at any time, but that he wouldn't induce until the 20th. There is a long explanation for it and I won't bore you with it. If you really want to know why just ask me. Please leave me your thoughts! I love hearing them. They make me laugh and I need a good laugh right now.

Nemo

This is how I found Nemo laying when I woke up for my nap with Anthony. She does this all the time.

How boring would life be without pets? Nemo is notorious for getting in the bed with Anthony. We fuss at June so much that she doesn't try anymore. But today Anthony and I were taking a nap and the next thing I know Nemo is laying next to Anthony.

I am convinced that Nemo doesn't know that she is a dog or that is as big as she is. Nemo and June didn't get to go outside today because of the rain. So this is what she did instead. They truely amaze me. We can be sitting in the living room and tell Nemo to go find your ball. She will find her tennis ball no matter where it is. She is so smart. She can be hyper at times.

No news is...

BAD!!! So, as you can see...no news. Still pregnant. My due date is the 14th and the dr. said we would induce on the 20th if nothing by then. Anthony wants to take a pic tonight. So maybe tomorrow I will have a picture up.

update...

No change. Just getting bigger, which I didn't think was possible but evidently it is. We go back to the dr. tomorrow! Which is about the time it is suppose to start raining here. We are far enough off shore that this will just bring some needed rain, but that means the dogs can't go outside. Oh well.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

For everyone involved in our wedding day, that might say it was kind of hectic, but I knew what I wanted it was just making it happen. It was wonderful!!! We were surrounded by our family and friends just the way it should be. Alot of Anthony's family and friends made the 5 hour drive up. Let's just say that the Louisiana Police liked them alot-4 tickets between 3 drivers. We told them not to speed.

I can't believe that it has already been a year. Wow! Sorry these pictures are so small, but I can't find my CD with the bigger ones. I will keep looking for it and hopefully put the bigger ones up.

So much has happened in one year...got married, moved out of state for the first time, first "real" job, first house, and awaiting our first child. Wow.

Here it is...

There are no words for this. Please come up with your own and leave them for me. I need a good laugh!

update...

So, Anthony has been stealing my Internet at night...when I get on the computer the most because he is playing his XBox. He is playing "Live" now. Anyways, Anthony has said that we need to take one more picture of the belly. So, maybe we will tonight and try to get it posted tomorrow.

We went to the dr. yesterday. She gained almost 2 pounds in one week. The dr. started feeling on my belly and said, "looks like we have a big girl." Anthony started laughing and I immediately said how big. She is up to 7.5 pounds as of yesterday. Hopefully she won't gain another 2 pounds by next week. He said we would see how big she is next week before we talk about inducing. So anytime now!!

update...

So I was told that an update was needed. There is not too much going on here. It's kind of boring. I am just enjoying my summer not doing anything!!! I really thought I would get tired of not doing anything, but I'm not yet. We did have a doctor's appointment yesterday. He didn't have too much to say. He did say that only 6% of women actually make their due date. My luck I am going to be in that 6%. He also said it was too early to talk about inducing me. Maybe next week. He estimated her weight at 5.5 pounds and said that she will gain about half a pound a week. All I know is that it's hot and I am tired of being pregnant. The picture is of Anthony and I before the cubs game in Chicago. I want to know how fair is it that I gained 30 pounds and he loses 30 pounds? As you can tell, Anthony is getting skinny.

...

Hopefully this is the last picture of "THE BELLY" It is huge, as you can see and it is growing by the day. Anthony just laughs everytime I pull my shirt up. I don't think it's that funny. Enjoy.

Our 4th

This one is from Christmas. June has grown since then, but as you can see Nemo is HUGE. These are our first babies. Nemo doesn't know she is a dog or that she weighs almost 90 pounds.

This is a picture when we first got June. We got Nemo in February and June in July.

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July celebrations. We didn't do too much. We went to Franklin to visit Anthony's family. They always have a big family reunion. We came back that night and Anthony went to hear the Benji Davis Project at the square in Crowley. I could hear them from the house. They sounded good, but the walk was a little too far for me. They did a really BIG firework show at 9:oo p.m. I got to see it all from the house. The mosquitos almost carried me away.

The next morning I was awakening by Anthony throwing up. Evidently he drank a little bit too much. I couldn't do anything but laugh. I did as much for him as I could. We are trying to transition Nemo and June to outside/inside dogs. They have been nothing but inside dogs since we got them. But since we have a fenced in back yard we let them out to run all day. Nemo likes it, but I don't think June is too happy about it. Well, yesterday we let them out about 7:30 and I went to check on them about 12:30. They weren't there. Nemo or June found a loose board in the fence and decided she wanted to go exploring. So, Anthony got up and got in his car, I got in mine and called the dog catcher to see if anyone found any dogs. They didn't. We also had a friend get out on his bike. Anthony was so sick that he had to come back home. Nemo and June are so friendly. I was afraid that someone picked them up. But luckily, Bart (our friend) found them only 2 blocks from the house. Thank God he found them. They are our first babies.

This week...

This week has been incredibly boring. For those of you that don't know yet...We made a trip to the hospital Saturday night. I won't go into the reasons why we went, but we did. We got there about 10:00 p.m. and went upstairs to L & D. Let me just start out by saying the hospital and the nurses are absolutley wonderful. It is the Women's and Children's Hospital of Lafayette http://www.womens-childrens.com/ . It is a 3 floor hospital dedicated to nothing but Women's and Children's needs. It is awesome.

Anyways, we stayed until 2:00 a.m. I evidentally having alot of contractions and did not know. So gave me some fluids and a shot. For those of you who know me, know I HATE needles. But the nurse was good and I didn't even feel the shot. Well, the Dr. said for me not to do ANYTHING on Sunday. I don't really DO anything anyways-other than clothes, dishes, clean the house. I couldn't even go to Wal-Mart. This was a scary thing for me. I had to send Anthony to Wal-Mart with our grocery list for the week-YIKES! He did great. He got in and out in less than an hour. When we both go it usually takes any where from 1 hour to 2 hours. I can just imagine him running around Wal-Mart like a mad man.

I also had my regular Dr. appointment yesterday. He pretty much told me that Nora Claire can come anytime between now and August. The latest he will let me go is my due date. He told me from the beginning that he will induce on my due date if something hasn't happened sooner. I am thinking and kind of hoping that she comes in July.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful 4th of July!!

more pics...

It did spill in the floor also. Anthony had to jump straight into the shower to get the paint out of his eyes and mouth and nose. I can barely bend over so there is still some paint on the flooring. Let me just defend Anthony a moment...we have bought ALOT of paint from Lowe's and never had any problem. This was the first time. Thank God it was only 1 quart. Could you imagine if it had been 1 Gallon? We did call Lowe's and they offered to give us something to clean the floors with and replace the whole can of paint. Even though we only lost about 1/3 of it. I couldn't do anything but laugh.

My husband is going to kill me...

There is not much explaining needed here. Other than don't trust the girl at Lowe's that is mixing you paint to put the top SECURELY back on the can. My wonderful husband painting the last room in our house that has not seen a coat of paint since we moved in. Every room in the house was white, except for this one which had wallpaper, when we moved in. I will post some pics when he is done with it.

hmmmm....

I have an issue. I have talked to a couple different people about it, but I don't know that I feel comfortable posting about it yet. It is not anything bad, just something that is bothering. If you feel like being a counselor or feel that you are good at helping people with "things" e-mail me kellyrodriguez01@gmail.com. Sorry, but Haley and Momma you already know about this and can't really help.

The Nursery, part II

This is the pattern of the Travel System. I really really like it. It is very neutral.

I put this one here so you can see the pattern in the bedding. If you can't I will take a better one.

The curtains and bed spread that we got at Wal-Mart.

Okay, I know these aren't great, but it is the best that my dinky camera can do. I am going to get a better picture of the travel system soon. It is rainy here today and I don't have the best lighting in my house for pics. About the travel system...I had to find this one online. I did not like any that Babiesrus, Target, or Wal-Mart had in store. So, I went online. Target marked it down 10% and free shipping. So we jumped on it. We wanted something neutral, just in case next time it's a boy. God willing there is a next time.

So, we went to Lafayette today. It was HOT!!! Anthony is in to golf right now. So we had to make a stop at the two golf stores there. Luckily they had chairs and benches, so I sat the whole time Anthony walked around and made a wish list. I think he has enough for right now. We also went by the mall. At first I was pumped about going to the mall, until I got there. Express and The Limited were having sales, but I couldn't get anything. I have to try on everything! I am not one of those who can just get it and hope it fits. I was kind of upset, but not really. Anthony did find some things that he needed for the fall. He went all last school year with 3 pairs of pants. He has more than three, but only like to wear these 3. So, Express Mens had some on sale-which is the only way I will buy them. The man has way more clothes than me!! Something has to be wrong with that!

Thank you so much for all of the comments, I love them!!

almost forgot...

Our travel system came in!!! I will take a picture of the pattern also, because the advertisment does not do it justice. Now we just have to get the base of the carseat into my car!

It's HOT!!

So, there is not much going on around here. Anthony and I are both off for the summer, for the most part. He has to go to workouts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. He also has class in Lake Charles on Mondays and Wednesdays. Other than that he can be found on the golf course. I recently discovered the swimming pool at the country club where Anthony plays. I went for the first time on Sunday. I felt like a beached whale, but who cares. I did keep my shirt on and didn't blind anyone with the belly, maybe the legs but not the belly.

We completely finished the Nursery on Sunday. I am going to put up pics as soon as I take some. We got sheets, comforter, and curtains all from Wal-Mart. Our Wal-Mart is almost a Super Target now. They offer some of the very same things, just at a better price. I'm not ashamed to say we got a comforter for $18 and sheets for $5. Now they are 250 thread count, but what can you ask for for about $20. No one really sleeps in the day bed anyways. I am really excited about the curtains. They are really panels. We have panels in our living room and love them. We looked at Lowe's for some, but they didn't have any selection.

It is pretty sad that that has been the highlight of my week so far. We are going to Lafayette tomorrow for Anthony to get some contacts and eat at Pete's. If you haven't heard about Pete's ask me!! It is one of the best places to eat in Laf. I never know what to get-fried pickles, homemade chips, fried mushrooms or the burger with a fried egg on top. They are all good!!! Not the healthiest food you can eat, but who cares!

The Nursery

So, yesterday we tried to straighten some things up in the baby's room. We still have something to do, but for the most part it is done. We are keeping the day bed in there. We only have a two bedroom, so we have to have somewhere for people to sleep when they come over. As you can see from the picture, my wonderful husband drew and painted this beautiful wall. Let me tell you the story behind it...when we got the bedding in we thought it would be neat to do one wall with the polka dot pattern. I was just going to copy it on a copier and project it on the wall. Anthony told me no that he was going to handle it. I have to admit, I doubted him. I was so wrong. It is wonderful. We didn't really want any pink walls, so the green was perfect.

Home at last!

So we finally made it back home Sunday afternoon. I don't even want to begin to total how many hours of driving/riding we did in the past 2 weeks. It's alot!! I am going to get some pics from Chicago up here as soon as I get a chance. Between washing all of the clothes we got from the awesome baby shower we had in Monticello-more about that in a minute- and all of Anthony's clothes, and trying to organize the baby's room, I just haven't had a free minute.

So, I had a dr.'s appointment today. He said that I am measuring exactly where I am suppose to be for an August delivery. I had a couple questions for him and I really liked his answer-"This is my job, this is what I do everyday. Let me worry about those things." I really felt bad after that, but this is my first time. Her heartbeat was good-145. Everything was looking great! After that I went around Lafayette doing a little shopping. I feel like I am missing so much stuff that I need, but I don't know what it is. So between Haley, my mom, and I surely we can figure it out. My "travel system"-fancy name for car seat/stroller combo should be in soon. I can't wait!!! I absolutley love the pattern, but you can only get it online. Here is a picture of it-above. Sorry, but I couldn't get it to put it at the bottom!