What Mother’s Day Means to Me….

12 May

First of all thank you to My Mom, Mother in law, Grandmothers (mine and Dans) and Aunt Kim (my godmother) and Tamarra. Who have shown me how to be a great role model and mother to my children. I am glad you get a day in which you are celebrated because you deserve it!

What Mother’s Day means to me has changed over the past few years and this year it changed again. While I will not have my first official Mothers Day until next year, both of my Mothers have been really great in making it special for my first Mommy-to-be Mothers Day. (After all this is their first Grandmother’s to be day!)

Lets go back to the beginning first though. When I was born in 1985 my Mom was unaware she would be a Mom until the day I was born, but like my child I was born in August so Mom’s first Mother’s Day was in 1986. I think I have told the story of my premature birth on here before so rather than bore you with it just no that she and no one else new I was in her tummy waiting to come out!

So we always celebrated Mothers Day and for the first 21 years of my life that day was about celebrating the ladies in this picture. (From our wedding).

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From Left to Right: My Grandma Fran, My Mommy, Me (DUH), My Memere and Arlene my Pepere’s Girlfriend.

However before I turned 22 I bought myself a gift that changed my life and made me a Mommy, well to a fur baby that is.

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Finny as a 3lb puppy! How could you not love that face! From now on Mothers Day meant celebrating the same ladies but doing something nice for myself as well because now I had someone to look out for and keep alive!

Fast Forward 6 years and this Mother’s Day held a whole different meaning! I am about to be a Mom in August to a living breathing baby boy and MAN was I spoiled for that!

I didn’t have to work today and got to spend my morning snuggling with my fur baby! Plus Dan had given me the best gift.

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Inside the box is a gift certificate for a Mom to Be massage AMAZING!!! I will be making that appointment tomorrow!

Plus now I have a new Mom to celebrate. My Mother in law and soon to be Memere.

So today we headed over to my Mom and Dads for a lunch with both families and had a great time. There was great food….I cant believe I didnt take a picture, and some more gifts.

My Aunt Tamarra got everyone a gerber daisy. I took the smallest one as all the others were taller and I am still a Mom to be!

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My mother in law brought us flowers as well! They have a new home on our front step!

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And finally there are these bags. The stuffed animal is a gift from Dan’s great Aunt for little Camden and it is very cute! he rest of the things filling the bags were my Mother’s Day gift from Mom.

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In the bags are all pool outfits and accessories and an inflatable sun shielded pool for Mr.

Plus some hangers and a backpack full of sunscreen. Clearly this baby will have nothing in his life and want for everything ;) .

Overall it was an amazing day and I was so glad to have such a wonderful first Mommy to be Mother’s Day. Which I concluded with a nap on the comfy chair at Mom and Dads. I cannot wait until next year when Camden is here to snuggle and love!

NOTE: This post was going to include childhood pictures of Dan and I with our Mom’s but we unpacked so well when we moved that I have NO idea where the pictures are currently and yet I know we have them!

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Back by Popular Demand….

10 May

Well really my Aunt Kim who is my number one blogging fan, but I figured it was time for a post!!!

I am now almost 26 weeks pregnant (on Sunday) which means 7 months and the third trimester are quickly approaching! I cannot believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by. Honestly it feels like just yesterday when I found out I would be having a baby! It was December 3rd when I found out by the way. Also the best way to see pregnancy as it is 40 weeks which would= 10 months in by taking the amount of weeks you are and dividing by 4….that is how I figure out how many months I am as pregnancy is not actually 10 months. Some months are 5 weeks and some are 3.5 so yea you try and wrap your head around it….I did the best I could!

Here are some fun things I have experienced/shared since my last post about the baby!

- Pedicures are AWESOME!!! I got one on Wednesday because I was sick of my feet looking gross for Yoga every week. There is no picture of this because my feet are swollen and I have an unattractive cut on my big toe so you can just imagine that situation.

-I have gotten Stretch Marks on my Tummy and have Kankles when I stand too long. But hey it is all worth it in the name of having my baby! I have since been rubbing lotion on my belly in an attempt to keep them as light as they are and keep my feet elevated when not at work. Any remedies for either will be appreciated!!

-We have finished the baby registry and are registered at Babies R Us. (giving any man the scanner is a bad idea as Dan really enjoyed scanning gender specific items) I was trying to keep it a secret. But the cat is out of the bag so…

-We announced this on Facebook!.

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He is arriving around 8-18-13…anytime from 8-11-13 to 8-18-13 or beyond I guess as this IS our first and they can go late….the magic of babies!!!!

-Here is a belly front and side shot from yesterday…..PRETTY BIG compared to my last one posted on here.

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I dont know that I even realized there would be a time my stomach would stick out farther than my chest. But that little ball of a bump is CUTE! Also my shirt, phone and nail polish match…..that was the best part of that day for me!

- I have been working a lot between TSI and Scentsy events and think it is time to pull back a bit on Scentsy. I start my maternity leave on August 1st and will stop working late nights until 8 in July. I worked until 8pm yesterday and when I got home I could not keep my eyes open! This growing a human thing is EXHAUSTING!!!!!

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These are pictures from my event on Saturday. As you can see I had Scentsy on one side and TSI on the other. It was nice to spend the day working with my Dad (he is in the grey polo and jeans), it is made even better when he buys you some Ritas Water Ice. Pregnant ladies getting free food= VICTORY!

- I remember to make time for my first baby as well….Also I am totally wearing a shirt here….I realize it looks like I am naked but I promise I am not.

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I hope everyone has a good weekend and all the Mommies enjoy their Mother’s Days. I will be trying to post more if I actually do anything interesting….or anything at all :) .

Slacking with my Blogging….

24 Apr

But for good reason! I have not blogged in so long because I have been really sick. I have been on bed rest with Baby K since Saturday! I wasn’t sure if I would share this on the blog or not as I am a pretty shy person if I don’t know you in real life. But then I thought I share everything with my readers because they are my friends. So thank you for continuing to read the blog even though I have not been blogging. I have also had an extremely bad cold and stomach bug in the past 3 days so not much interesting has happened.

Though I did leave the house once to get someone a very important haircut!

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He is pretty cute and I am a crazy Momma so I had to make this and post it onto my Twitter….you know you want to follow me ;) .

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Yea he is wearing sun glasses, he is one bad ass man! Plus the Bandana made the look. Basically I love my little Man!

In other news what do you do when you are on bed rest?!?! Well you apparently make a Youtube video of yourself talking about Scentsy! I will be uploading a new video talking about something different each week to market my business and get more people interested. You can find my channel HERE.

Basically you can listen to my sweet New England accent made better by my cold. In reality though you can see the warmer of the month for May 2013 and check out the sweet motorcycle warmer, and the other choices.

Finally I have the sweetest husband possibly ever. When the bad stuff went down on Saturday and we both got really scared I did not want to leave bed. We were both really hungry though and so Dan got me dinner in bed!

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I was craving chicken alfredo and this one was SO good!! Plus a baking sheet is the answer to your prayers when you don’t want to spill on your sheets!

Finally in the bad news world NO MORE RUNNING UNTIL BABY K IS HERE!!!!!

I would rather not chance it and I knew it was coming after my last Doctor’s appointment. I can still go on walks so I am looking forward to starting those tomorrow! Does anyone want to walk with me, I find walking SUPER boring because its slow. I love running speed intervals because you change pace, but I doubt I am allowed to do pace changes. Unless I go slower…..so yea looking for a walking buddy!

That is what the Karnolt’s have been up to! What have you been up to in my absence?!?!?!

The rest of last week….

16 Apr

I need to finish my update of last weeks events. Today is the best day to do it as last night I came down with the cold from hell, being pregnant there is not much you can do to solve it besides sleeping and resting. Thus I had to cancel fun plans with a friend for tonight and my training session with Jeff tomorrow.

So here we go with last week.

Aside from Wednesday the only pictures I took/day we did anything interesting was Friday. We both took the day off because we had so many errands. We almost never have the same day off. We never do on weekdays and on weekends we only have the same Sunday off once a month. So days like this are important, I bet some people wonder how we can spend so much time together between work and home and not go crazy, but hey it works for us. I guess I love Dan a lot or something ;) .

We left the house around 10 am and got home at 5:30pm. It was still like a full day of work just to get things done.

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The first stop was Dan (and now my new) Dr’s office. He needed a physical in order for our next errand to go smoothly.

I read about half those magazines while waiting, this was one of three racks. This office has a great selection. When the appointment was over we discovered the Dr is also a pediatrician and we can bring Baby K there for check ups as well. I love when things are easy and that the baby can have the same Dr.s office for life.

I found this in one of the magazines and will be making it soon:

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After the doctors we had to go to the DMV. I know you feel my pain on this. I had to update the address on my license to the new house and also get a copy of the registration for my car because for some reason I didnt have one? My things took 5 minutes including the wait time and 20 minutes later I was all set!

Dan however was registering his new dirt bike with my old motorcycle plate. (I sold mine to buy the house). The wait time alone for that was 2 hours. That was crazy especially since it was done in 3 minutes. Oh well at least it was done.

Friday was also extremely rainy here, when we got home there was a worm parade on our driveway. I could not believe how many there were.

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The next day of course they were all dead and stuck to the driveway…..sad life for worms.

After we came home we played with Finny for a bit and then headed out for dinner and more errands. Because of course we were not done yet.

We ate at Boston Market it is one of Dan’s all time favorites!

He got chicken and ribs and I had this.

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A pulled BBQ chicken sandwich and a side of mac and cheese. I only ate half that sandwich, it was so good but I got too full so Dan had the other half Saturday for lunch.

After that we went to Home Depot…..because honestly we go there at least once a month now.

Dan needed a bunch of bolts and some wood to make a new ramp for his dirt bike.

That was our week. Now I can update you on things that happen this week….well once anything interesting happens!

Enjoy your week. My parents are on a trip and I am so excited for them to get home. Don’t get me wrong it is nice for them to have a break and for us to work on our own but seeing them everyday and sharing an office with my Mom does make you notice it more when they are not here!

Boston Marathon….

15 Apr

My plan for today’s post was to write a bit about the Boston Marathon and how I dream of one day being part of it, followed by random tidbits about my day. I think you all understand why my post will be brief.

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone effected by this tragedy today. 

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Sometimes I wonder what kind of world I am bringing a child into, and what the world is coming to. I still cannot believe it and it probably hits me harder being a runner who has been at big races with loved ones waiting. Again my thoughts go out to all involved and hope people are reunited with their loved ones soon.

Ending the weekend with a little fun!

14 Apr

So my Mom tells me the blog has been lacking my usual humor and quirkiness since I got pregnant. I think its because I have been so busy and tired….but sometimes you have to give the people what they want.

How about a little Wacky Fact Sunday!

1.) I like to take pictures in our bathrooms.

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Not really though, I feel like a teenager only I will NEVER make the duck face.

Let me explain: my Mom’s group on facebook (a group of girls all due around the same time as me from all over the country) posts bump photos on the page to see our bellies. Yes they are usually to the side, but then you wouldn’t see the super cute bow. I have to take the pictures in the bathroom due to no full length mirror anywhere in this house….I must change that!

2)  People want to compete with my belly:

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Me and my father in law Joel, who was trying to make a baby bump with his after dinner belly tonight. I told him my belly was still smaller and her said not for long. But I was also not arching my back in anyway. Hey I have a big healthy baby in there!! Plus I a pretty positive my white shirts made it look 10X bigger, why does white have that effect!?

3.) How good is Chipotle?!?!?!

I mean seriously I LOVE IT! This is more of a truth than a wacky fact. IMG_3717

Dan got the taco and the bowl in front I had the burrito in back, we split the chips and I pretty much drank that HOT salsa cup. Dan was in awe of my ability to eat super hot things. If you have been to chipotle you know their hot salsa is pretty darn hot.

Plus the baby loves anything really hot!  That is one thing I know baby K will have got from MOMMY!

4.) Finally I have the best husband in the WORLD!!! I have a scentsy event tomorrow and the bigger I get the harder it is not to breathe heavily from minor actions so lugging things around is not my idea of fun. The solution was we went and bought a little hand truck. A nice tax write off for me and I didnt even have to load it in the car!

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That is one handsome man helping me out ;) .

5.) Pregnancy brain is not good…..

Today I forgot the code to the stores alarm system while trying to lock up, confusing it with the code to our garage door.

and

I went to watch Game of Thrones and had watched about 5 minutes of it before I realized I had it on Spanish HBO and was wondering the whole time why they had new characters who only spoke Spanish.

Yea its kind of like being a blonde.

Wednesday recap on Sunday!

14 Apr

Dan and I had a pretty busy week. This week is looking to be the same, what with my parents being gone on a trip they won from performing well for Harley-Davidson and this week starting my numerous Scentsy Events for the month.

Here is a recap of what went down on Wednesday and I will finish the rest of the week later!

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Dan got a new dirt bike which as you can see he loves, I dont really know what that face or pose is about but okay. This led to a very long trip somewhere awful on Friday, but we will get to that.

Wednesday was Family dinner day but it was also time to celebrate 2 very special birthdays!!!

Harry: here he is blowing out the candles on his birthday carrot cake….EW

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Im not a fan but thats what the bday boy asked for!

Also it was Mr. Finny’s birthday….Harry loves that Finny was born 2 days before him and they share parties now!

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Yes my Grandma’s card spelled Finny wrong and she also called him a piss ant, but that is their relationship…..he actually loves her the most out of anyone and annoys her to no end because of it. For example when she is around he only wants her to take him outside for walks.

Finally I have a Velata event coming up soon and got this…

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New warmers, cheese and mixables!!! Velata is a chocolate and cheese fondue line of scentsy, but they have realized its potential and now it is so much more and is a very versatile kitchen tool!!

I am excited for all the events I have coming up to get my name out there and get my business moving!

You can check out Velata here: https://alexandrak.velata.us 

It is super great for kids, parties or anytime. We have it for dessert all the time at family dinner!

Okay off to work!!!

Summer Foods are my Favorite!!!

9 Apr

Today was like 70 degrees. I don’t know if that’s a big deal where you are but it is for us!

I went to my training session with Jeff (my personal trainer for new readers) in shorts and a t-shirt and it was amazing. Today’s workout was hard, we are still modifying things due to my pregnancy but I get so tired so easily. But hey, I am staying active and that is what counts!!!

In other Baby K news I found this picture online and love it.

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Now that we know what gender Baby K is we are even more excited and cannot wait to tell everyone. Its going to be a long month!!!

Anyway, since today was so nice I decided to make a summery meal and invited our co-worker Todd over. If you read the blog you know (or know us in real life) that Todd is one of Dan’s best friends so clearly he is always welcome.

This was the spread.

IMG_3708That onion isnt cut because I would be crying and probably throwing up. Onions are not my thing but they are Dan’s so I gave him the option to cut them or not.

 Hmburgers, Beans, a version of my Mom’s summer pasta salad and fruit. My Mom’s salad has tri-colored rotini, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and green and black olives, and red onions, cover with italian dressing. Mine was much simpler as I am not able to eat onions or bell peppers right now and Dan hates all olives. But it was still all so good and gave me an early taste of summer!

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For dessert we had this.

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How can you not LOVE Italian Ice?!?!?!? If you say you dont I might not speak to you for a while!!

But in all seriousness this is the best brand I have ever had, and comes in Strawberry and Watermelon variety pack.

Add work into the mix and this was my day in a nutshell. I am glad we are finally getting some nice weather and that Finny and I went out for a nice walk through the neighborhood this afternoon! Now I am off to bed, I have a busy day tomorrow including a new workout program I am starting tomorrow night. More on that later.

Thanks for reading,

Alex 

Happy 21 Weeks Baby K!!!

7 Apr

As you know today is my brother’s birthday. It is also Baby K’s 21 week mark. Dan and I are so excited that there are only 19 weeks left until we meet snuggle and love our little bundle of joy.

Tomorrow however we find out if we are having a boy or a girl. You all will have to wait until June 29th however as that is the date of my baby shower and the day we reveal to everyone, aside from our Mom’s what we are having!

The shower is that day due to the hecticness of my work schedule and personal schedule in July, and also because my best friend in the whole world is coming up to visit from North Carolina in July and I would like to have everything ready/get her opinion and help as she majored in interior design in college.

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She is on the left, and her sister one of my other bff’s is on the right. My best friend was my maid of honor and is getting married in September.

The room officially has one coat of paint on it and is looking one million times better already. One more coat and they dresser and crib building are on the horizon. I cannot even believe that I am 5 months pregnant already and that the baby will be here soon. People’s favorite thing to say to me is (you can feel my annoyance at this if you are also currently pregnant), “Oh, you’re only 5 months there is still so much time left.” Actually there is 4 months left and let me tell you the first 5 flew by, and that was with it being slow season at work. Now with busy season on the horizon in both my full time and part time jobs Dan and I are scrambling to get what we can done when we can.

Here is a bump picture from last week, it is pretty badly taken but it shows off my sweet new maternity clothes which are surprisingly stylish!

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I know you are jealous of all the stuff in our hallway from renovations, and that we have a giant mirror on our floor currently that I can pose in, but that cuts off my head. In other news I LOVE those printed skinny jeans.

Here are Baby K’s current stats:

LIKES:

Kicking me from 9pm-midnight.

Small Amounts of iced coffee, and thank goodness because that kicking is making me tired.

Working out: walking and training with Jeff.

Sitting right on my bladder, my bathroom trips have tripled in the past two weeks especially over night.

(see the coffee reference)

Dislikes:  

Working out: as in running, I cannot do very much anymore. I am capped out at 2-3 miles and this includes taking walk breaks.

Me eating a normal amount: I am not sure who is able to eat and eat during pregnancy because I cannot, but that is good for my natural weight and for Baby K.

Going up stairs, I get seriously winded going up stairs but everything else seems to be okay?

All in all this pregnancy has been enjoyable except for the random bouts of “morning sickness” I still get every once in a while. I cannot wait for Baby K to be here right before my 28th Birthday! That is the PERFECT Gift!

Plus if he/she looks anything like these 4 cuties they are all set!

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A Little Harry and I .

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A little Noelle and a little Dan!

Happy Birthday to….

7 Apr

Happy 26th Birthday to my little brother Harry! Soon to be Uncle Harry!!

I cannot believe you are 26, that means I am almost 28, but lets not discuss that part. Let’s talk about you!


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We always did everything together! I even taught you all the things I learned in preschool and kindergarten, no wonder you are so smart now;). Plus I know you always liked to do everything I did. Especially when you only applied to the college I already went to! It was great to have that experience with you though!

I have always looked out for you and will continue to do that even though we don’t always get along. Because you like to do annoying things….

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Classic little brother!!!

But in the end I know we love each other and you give me a hard time out of love.

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h and a

I am so happy with the person you have become and you are such a good brother. I know you secretly love me a lot and cannot wait to teach your niece or nephew all about sports. After all you keep telling me they will be 6 feet tall and must play sports!

I love you little brother and hope you have an Amazing day!!!!

LOVE, 

Alex 

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