Lucy Goes Swimming...Again

As part of Lucy's knee recovery, we introduced some aqua therapy over the last 2 weekends. It's a great way to strengthen her muscles without the pressure of running or walking. Plus it improves her range of motion which is so important for her knee. With the advice from a Facebook friend (thank you Mrs. Busch!), we found out that a local pet resort offered aqua therapy for dogs - The Old Towne Pet Resort to be exact.

Lucy was very excited when we arrived, but as soon as she saw the pool she retreated. Memories of this came flooding back and she was not having it. Well, she had no choice. :)

We were greeted by her swimming companion and she was fitted for her life jacket. It was time to get in the pool!!

She did a few laps and then took a break and kept on doing that for a total of 30 minutes. She did great - she hated it - but she did great.

We did it 2 weekends in a row and will take a bit of a hiatus now that the baby is coming. Lucy is almost 100% back to herself after the surgery which is amazing. I remember bringing her home that first night thinking it would take forever for her to be back to normal. Well, she is back. :)

The Nursery: The Final Reveal

So here it is at last - the final reveal. I know I have kept you all abreast of the nursery progress, so there really aren't any earth shattering changes, but there are a few new pops that I happen to love that just make the nursery what it is. I LOVE sitting in there - it is so sweet and calming and I can't wait for James to test it out. Not much longer...:)

So, without further adieu, the final reveal:

Baby James is scheduled to arrive on Thursday morning so we will keep you all updated. Thanks everyone for your love and support during the pregnancy. We love you all!!

Leap Day Baby?

When we found out I was pregnant it did not occur to us one bit that 2012 was a leap year. It didn't even occur to us when we were told that our baby boy was due on March 7th that we could potentially have him on February 29th. With all the excitement we were feeling, it just didn't come up.

And then it did.

I think my Mom pointed it out first and it became an ongoing joke that he would absolutely be born on leap day because that is our luck. But really, would it be so bad? I bet you didn't know that there is a special honor society for people born on leap day affectionately known as "Leapers".


And that Ja Rule was actually born on February 29th in 1980.


Knowing that fact alone makes me embrace the idea of James being born on Leap Day. :)

But alas, we must disappoint. We will not in fact have a leap year baby, but instead a March 1st baby. That's right...looks like this kid is going to make his appearance next week during a scheduled delivery at Fair Oaks Hospital. Apparently he is rather large and his noggin most likely won't fit through my average-sized body so we are going in for a c-section.

I am relieved and disappointed all at the same time. Relieved that I won't have to put my body through the stresses of labor and can actually plan for the delivery. Disappointed that I won't experience the stresses of labor and have the opportunity to look at Ed and say "It's time".

So we are in "it's time to get our crap together" mode as we prepare to get the house and our psyche ready for the baby. Leap Year - Schmeep Year. We'll take March 1st any day! :)

A Finished Window Seat

Remember that custom window seat that had built a few months back? Well, I'm proud to announce that we finally have a finished window seat in our front window - just in time for baby!! It is currently 100% blocked by baby gear, but I was able to grab some photos to show off our new bench cushion. Voila!

I've never had this kind of custom made textile before. Other than choosing the fabric for our living room chair, never have I had something made totally from scratch. Needless to say, I was nervous. Did I measure correctly? Do I like the fabric I chose? Will the finished product fit in the space?

Well, apparently I did good.

It's hard to tell, but the color is a light/teal blue and is a very durable fabric so that it can withstand Lucy's wear and tear and James' wear and tear once he is mobile. Lucy is a fan of the new seat - if only for the view.

Now if only I can clear this space out so we can enjoy it!

Hap Val

Back on Valentine's Day in 2008, Ed and I had been dating for a little over a year so Valentine's Day was still kind of a big deal. Since I'm a girl and a total sucker for flowers, I was saddened that I would not be receiving any that year because of a "flower incident" we experienced with our cat Joey in the fall of 2007 (he ate a lily, spent the night at the kitty ER, all for the low low price of $1500).

So for Valentine's Day, he surprised me and sent me flowers to my office. Only things didn't go as planned. Instead of delivering the flowers on Valentine's Day, they were delivered on February 13th and instead of the note saying "Happy Valentine's Day - Love, Ed" it said "Hap Valentine's Day - Love, Ed". I didn't care of course - I was a girl ogling at the gorgeous display of flowers, but he of course was annoyed to have spent the money he did for Feb 13th Hap Val flowers.

What he didn't know at the time was that this would be a Valentine's Day we'd never forget. Since then, we no longer refer to February 14th as Valentine's Day, but instead, Hap Val day. This year's Hap Val was very special as it would be the last we would spend together sans kids. I was treated to a gorgeous bouquet of flowers and a delicious dinner at Clydes.

Ed was treated to 2 new pairs of Converse Chucks (his favorite) along with 2 extra long Tootsie Rolls (also his favorite).

Even Lucy got some treats - a new Hap Val mousy and a Jerry Garcia teddy bear!

All in all it was a great Hap Val. We hope that you had a wonderful Hap Val too!

All's Quiet...For Now

And I'm not talking about the baby (but all is quiet with him for now too!). I'm talking about Toy Fair 2012. As I mentioned here, I was not able to be at the show this year for obvious reasons. So I've been manning my battle station from the comforts of home. But I have to say, it has not been any less stressful than if I had been there.

It was a hectic week and weekend as Toy Fair exhibitors and sponsors moved into the Javits Center for the greatest toy show on earth which began Sunday. My usual role - assist sponsors with set-up of their promotional investment. My role this year - stare at my Blackberry and wait for Rich or Anita to call to give me continual updates on how move-in is going. I've never paid so much attention to a phone in all my life!!

Luckily, between my Type A organization and the amazing skills of my onsite team, everything went off great. Sure there were some snags...will we be able to get the Tegu food truck into the building? Where exactly should we place the 15' Power Ranger statue? Will the App wall work? But all in all, things went very smoothly thanks to the teamwork of Rick and Anita. I can't express to them how much I appreciate their assistance this year!!

So now that the show has started, all is pretty quiet. A little eerie...but normal at the same time. Everyone is all set up and focused on conducting business. So things will stay quiet until Wednesday afternoon when it is time to dismantle. In the mean time, I now stalk Facebook and the Toy Fair website to see all the great happenings at the show.

Oh...and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Wah Wah...

It's official: I will not be at Toy Fair 2012. I've come to terms with it. Well... kind of. It's the right thing to do, but I can't say that I'm not disappointed. With my due date only weeks away, my doctors all agreed that the best thing to do was to sit this one out and not chance going into labor in New York City. I totally get it as I do not want to be the lady that is on the front page of the New York Post with the headline "Woman Gives Birth at the Javits Center". Not cute. But I can't say that I'm happy about it.

Not only is Toy Fair the culmination of a year's worth of work, it is also an opportunity to finally meet and see my clients in person...spend time with my fellow TIA colleagues...see all the friendly faces of the Freeman team...joke around with the Floor Managers otherwise known as "the guys"...and just have FUN. I mean that's what it is all about. It is Toy Fair after all!

Some of the things I'll miss:

1. Hiding out in the Opps Office making candy buckets.
2. Bear hugs from Stella and Sully.
3. Philly cheese steaks from Shorty's.
4. Seeing all the promos in place in the Crystal Palace and North Concourse.
   
5. Smiles on the faces of my clients with the thoughts of "renewal" dancing in their head.
6. The kid in the plexiglass box with the exploding soda bottle.
7. Jim Carney.
   
8. On site purchases because they just "had to have that exposure!"
9. Costumed Characters dancing in the lobby during the Opening Ceremony.
10. "Working" the Shuttle Bus line and getting people to do funny things for restaurant certificates.
11. Being with the TIA team.

Some things I won't miss:

1. The constant chirping of the Nextel devices.
2. The leaky ceiling of the Javits Center that impedes my sponsor's promotion.
3. Achy feet after a long day of walking the floor.
4. Hotel food.
5. Frowns on the faces of my clients with the thoughts of "refund" dancing in their head.

Seems like the "will miss" list is longer which doesn't surprise me, but I know that I've made the right decision for me and the baby. The show will go on without me and I know it will be a HUGE success as it always is. Good luck to all involved in making Toy Fair the best darn toy show in North America. I love you all and will be there with you in spirit!!

With Love, Daddy.

We did something very special for James this past weekend. Let me rephrase. Ed did something very special for James this past weekend. He thought it would be great to buy James a special little cuddly guy that he could hold onto for years to come. And by buy, I mean build. And by build, I mean Build a Bear!

You see, when I was born, my dad bought me a special doll that I still have to this day. So Ed thought he would do the same for James. Off to Build a Bear we went. Being that I'm a child, I LOVE this store. It is filled with smiles and love and I can't get over how cute all the bear options are. Ed is no stranger to this store either. He actually built me a Monkey back in 2006 and gave it to me for our first Christmas together.

Upon arrival he knew that he wanted to get James a stuffed dog. There were a few options including Fudge Pup...

... Black Lab ...

... and Dachshund.

But in the end, we fell in love with Shaggy Pup.

So off to the stuffing machine we went. Ed did the honors and made sure our pup was nice and full. We decided to add a barking sound to his hand and of course Ed kissed the heart and placed it in Shaggy Pup's back. The best part about it (for me at least) was that there was a birthday party going on so Ed was standing in the midst of about fifteen 3-year olds all making their bears!

After we stuffed, it was time to head over to the computers to make the little guy's birth certificate. While we couldn't come up with a name for the little fella' at the time, we now know that he will be called Petey. Here is one happy Daddy!!

We can't wait for James to finally get here so that Ed can give it to him. Not much longer!

MAURICE!!!!!!

You may remember from here, that I have a fixation with a certain stuffed giraffe that currently lives in the TIA office. His name is Maurice and my colleague and good friend Adrienne rescued him from the Melissa & Doug booth during our show in Dallas last Fall. Since he has been in the office, I have lusted over him, telling Adrienne that one of these days, I'm going to steal him for James' nursery.

Well, it looks like robbery is not in my future. Look who was on our door step yesterday:

MAURICE!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't even tell you how excited I am to have this guy in our house and part of our ever-growing family. I went nuts...seriously. Ask Ed. As soon as we took him out of the packaging I hugged him and then called Adrienne. I knew she was behind it and needed to thank her profusely. Turns out it is not the TIA office Maurice, but instead, our very own sent from the offices of Melissa & Doug.

Thank you Adrienne for making me smile bigger than I have it a while. And thank you Melissa & Doug for not only producing this adorable guy, but for sending one to James (and me). What a great industry I work for!!!

A Surprise in the Day

I don't know that there is anything more exciting than opening your front door and finding this box on the porch:

Well, I guess maybe seeing Ed McMahon's replacement from Publishers Clearinghouse with a big check trumps this, but it is pretty darn exciting for a girl to see a box of ProFlowers waiting for her.

I tore through the box (as any sane pregnant lady would) to see who the generous giver of the flowers was. Low and behold...it was my wonderful sister, Suzy Q.

She has been worried about me in my final stages of pregnancy and wanted me to know that she was thinking of me. HOW FREAKIN SWEET IS THAT!!!

Thank you, Sue, for the beautiful roses and for brightening up my day. You are the best sister a girl can ask for and I love you VERY much!!!