Happy Life, Happy Wife!

Lately I have really been counting my blessings. Our Christmas was wonderful, spent with my parents, grandma, and my brother and his fiance. I was happy that even though my parents have split and gone their separate ways they were still able to come over together and watch Rayliana open her presents. We also "adopted" a six year old beagle. He was my mom's dog but with her work schedule she hasn't been able to give him much attention and we said, "We'll take him!" He gets plenty of attention now with a toddler and another small pup!

On Christmas night, I was soooo happy I was unable to fall asleep. I thought to myself, "How lucky am I? Soon we will have another daughter and get to relive the exciting newborn stage, I get to stay home and raise both of my daughters, and Ian is blessed to have a great, stable job during these hard economic times." And of course I was excited about our new furry addition to the family! I've also had a great pregnancy so far, not a lot of unnecessary weight gain, minimal heart burn and back pain, all tests have come back negative, and Scarlett and I are just all around healthy! I've been walking around on cloud 9 and have my friends and family and of course the number one source-GOD, to thank!

Earlier this evening I was thinking how fast time flies! Since tomorrow is the last day of 2010, I was remembering this day four years ago when Ian and I first started dating. It was the last day of 2006 and he was far away in New York with friends and I was in good ol' Chino Valley with friends! We had talked several times that night on the phone and said goodbye to 2006 and hello to 2007 together, well twice due to the time change! And here we are four years later, married, second child on the way, own a house together, and spend everyday together! So here's to 2010, a great career move for me, conceiving our second daughter, and many great memories with my family and friends! May 2011 bring health, happiness, and many exciting new adventures! Cheers!

Anxiety Attack!

So lately I've been freaking out about everything! Could be because partly that's just my personality and/or because I'm pregnant and crazy. I'm worried about what to do with Rayliana when we have to leave to go to the hospital, I'm worried that we haven't set up the other baby room yet (partly because I'm waiting 'til after my baby shower), I'm worried because my baby shower invitations aren't even started yet...and Ashley I know you're reading this and this has nothing to do with you not doing your job it again has to do with me being crazy! I'm worried about going through labor AGAIN, I'm worried about having two children only two and a half years apart-a newborn and a toddler AAAHHHHHHHH! Oh and I'm worried about our financial situation because we can't catch a break- first our Benz pretty much dies and we have to buy a new car, then Ian's truck has $500 worth of problems with it, then we've received three bills for Rayliana totalling almost $700! UGH. Poor, poor Ian pretty much has to calm me down while I cry! Like earlier today, we made fish for lunch and the stone was on the stove. Like a dork, I put the stone back in the oven WITHOUT wearing any gloves or pot holders! I sort of dropped it back on the stove and started crying. It didn't even hurt all that bad I think I was more embarrassed that I would lift it bare-handed! Ha Ha Ha!

So God help me through the rest of this pregnancy (12.5 weeks to go!) and my uncontrollable emotions and anxiety! And all of the stuff I'm worried about really aren't big deals at all! Well, okay maybe the labor and the having a toddler and an infant thing but other than that we're in good shape people! I don't remember being this emotional the first time I was pregnant! But several things are different than my first pregnancy I suppose...Rayliana moves and kicks a lot more than Scarlett does, I've gained a total of 6 pounds so far compared to my grand total of 43 last time, and my ankles and feet don't look like one combined formation!

Baby names!

It's official our second daughter's name will be 'Scarlett Ella Wright.' Ella is Ian's mom's mom's name and we've both always liked the name 'Scarlett.' I love thinking of baby names. I love weird names that nobody else has (i.e. Rayliana!) Although, 'Scarlett' is more common than 'Rayliana,' I still think it is somewhat different and don't hear the name too often. Sadly, this is our last child and I won't be able to come up with any other weird baby names! And I know what most of you are saying, "Oh yeah right, last child whatever!" But it is and we have control of that and believe me we are going to control it! My dad said that 'Rayliana' and 'Scarlett' sound like out of a movie or something! I thought that was cute! Rayliana is starting to understand that 'Scarlett' is in mommy's tummy. But I still don't think she understands that 'Scarlett' is a baby that will soon be here! This is such an exciting time, we have four good friends who are also pregnant all at the same time! Crazy huh! One is due in January, February, March (besides me), and May~! We're missing one for April though! It is nice to be able to use a lot of stuff that I've kept from Rayliana, even some clothes with the tags on them that Ray never wore! Ian and I went to register for my baby shower and it was actually boring...We have EVERYTHING! It will be nice to get new and different stuff for Scarlett though! It's weird to think that Ian and I had to adjust to having a baby at all and it not just being the two of us, now it's weird to think about it not just being the three of us! A family of four! Perfect for us, one adult to one child, an even number, and affordable! Ha! Well happy baby naming to those of you who have the opportunity to!

Cravings!

Okay so here is the truth about pregnant women...We don't actually have cravings to the point where we cannot live without a certain food! Sure there are times when we want something and we want it now, but believe me we can live without anchovies in ice cream or whatever weird concauction an expectant woman may come up with. Also, I've heard some pregnant women refer to their unborn child wanting something. For example, "Oh I don't want to eat this but he/she is making me!" Nope, sorry, that's ridiculous! Sure the hormones may make someone have a weird craving for something, and we may kick, whine, and scream until we get it, but the truth of the matter is that we are pregnant and we know we can usually get whatever we want when we want it. Trust me it isn't life-threatening if we don't get whatever we are craving. In fact, I bet in most cases it is probably better, for health reasons, for the mom and the baby if we don't consume everything we want, when we want it.

Now, I of course have a list of certain foods/drinks that I "crave," however, they aren't anything different than what I loved before I got pregnant. So here is a list of my so called, "cravings" and yes they are in order of priority:

1. Beef Jerkey
2. The $.66 pot pies from Fry's (yum!)
3. DECAF coffee (non-fat vanilla lattes to be exact! Please note DECAF is in all caps, I don't want criticism from people about coffee and being pregnant!)
4. Ice cream (chocolate fudge brownie)
5. Lipton iced tea mix
6. Pasta (I really backed off of this for a long time before I got pregnant but not now!)

So you see, the baby and I would be better off without any of the above! But I do treat myself every so often with one or all of the above! So now everyone knows the truth about pregnant women and their notorious cravings! It's just a ploy to get YOU, to get US, whatever WE WANT!

8 Years and I've Come Full Circle

Hey everyone, this is Ian and this is my first time blogging. I'll be honest, it has something to do with the verbal lashing I received for not having posted on here earlier. So, for my first blog, I decided to write about my near DEATH experience tonight. This is serious stuff people! I'm writing tonight about basketball. Yes, basketball, and it almost killed me tonight. But, before I get to tonight, I should start earlier, 8 years earlier to be exact.

In September of 2002, during one of my first weeks at Riddle, a group of us went down to the gym to play basketball. After about 30 mins I actually thought there was something wrong with me. My lungs were killing me, my muscles (please hold your laughter) ached and I was very short of breath. But fret not my friends, I was OK, turns out I was just not used to the low oxygen levels this mile high city provided. After 4 years of activity here, however, I was able to not feel too effected by the lack of oxygen.

The last 4 years here have definitely been much different for me in the activity department. aside from softball once a week for a couple of months a year and chasing Ray around the house, the majority of my time is spent watching TV. Sad but true people. Now, I will say that I still haven't felt short of breath even with my lack of activity. That was, until tonight...

Once again, basketball was the culprit. I haven't touched a basketball since senior year of college, and it was evident tonight. I used to think that the softball games would give me a decent cardio runabout. Never again will I have that misconception. The only difference between tonight and that night in September 2002 was that it didn't take 30 mins for to feel like death, I'd say it was about 10 mins of actual play time and I was DONE! The lungs were on fire, I was lightheaded and then came the muscle cramps. This was all extremely embarrassing considering that at 26, I was the second youngest player there. I mean DX,sorry work initials in use, is like 90 and he was running circles around me. I have no doubt that my 5 month pregnant wife could have out run me tonight, with all of her Crossfit nonsense. (And she wonders why I won't go with her there)

Something's gotta change. I mean, really Ian? Come on! Don't get me wrong, I'm still not gonna do Crossfit, Nicole is right, that crap is HARD. The one time that I went I puked before I even finished the workout, it's intense. For the time being I'm gonna start slower. More basketball and bike rides mixed in with some workouts from Ted, Nicole's dad, mixed in. Hopefully, the next couple of games I won't feel like I'm dying!

Opposites Attract!

Ian and I are like night and day! We are soooo different it's actually amusing! Let's define just how different we are: He grew up in Carlsbad, CA; I grew up in Chino Valley, AZ; I went to school for business; he used to make fun of people who majored in business; I have 40 pairs of just flip flops; he has 4 pairs of shoes total; he likes to read novels; I like to read magazines; I take an hour to get ready to go somewhere; he takes 10 minutes; I want to shop at Prada; he wants to shop at the PGA Superstore; I love to dance; he likes to watch T.V. on the couch. I think you get the idea!

A recent incident gave me the idea to blog about this. The other day Ian took Rayliana to run some errands and to give mommy a break from the toddler! Their last stop was by Tim's Toyota Center to pick up our season tickets for the Sundogs' hockey games. After they were gone for almost two hours I was starting to get a little worried about them as I knew what errands they had to run and I knew the total time would be less than two hours. I called Ian and he said that they were still waiting to collect our season tickets. Eventually, they did make it home and he told me that they waited for about an hour at Tim's Toyota Center. I felt bad for him trying to put myself in his shoes; waiting around for an hour with a two year old just doesn't sound fun!

Later that night, Ian says to me, "After waiting all that time at the Sundogs' box office, we never got the tickets." I said, "WHAT!!!" I was fuming! I'm sorry but when I am told that something will be ready on a certain day, at a certain time, I expect it to be ready! It's especially irritating finding out that the tickets weren't ready after waiting over an hour for them! Also, this happened last Wednesday and the Sundogs' first home game was that following Friday. This was the next thing I said, and I quote, "Are they aware that the first game is this Friday? Or do I need to call them and remind them?" Ian just started cracking up, he said, "Our reaction is totally different!" I asked him what he meant. Ian said, "When they said that the tickets weren't ready, they apologized, and I said, 'Oh no that's okay-don't worry about it.' But if you were there you would've been p***ed!" We both just kind of laughed about it and agreed that we handle certain situations completely different.

I suppose we do have some things in common: we both love to travel with and without Chums; we both love our sleep; we are both close to our friends and families; we will both be satisfied with having two children and two children only; we both agree on religious, political, educational, and societal issues (for the most part!); and most importantly we both agree on how we should raise our little SugarRay (again, for the most part!).

So, to end I would like to say Happy Birthday Eve to my better and very opposite half! :-)

Schedule Issues

So I now think stay at home moms should make more than anybody else! Okay maybe not more than doctors! Anyway, I have stayed home for three weeks now and I can't seem to get a schedule down. Ian comes home at 1:15 and Rayliana and I are still usually in our pajamas! Ha~! Of course one of the issues has been Rayliana not taking naps anymore. I took her to the doctor on Friday and the doctor discovered that she had a double ear infection! She has now had 6 doses of antibiotics so I'm hoping and praying that will help with the sleeping and eating issues she has had lately.

I have this idea of what my schedule should be and it goes a little something like this: wake up, change Ray, brush her teeth, wash her face and hands, make breakfast, do the dishes from breakfast, start cleaning (something different every day; Monday=laundry, Tuesday=bathrooms, etc.), make lunch, force Ray to eat the lunch :-), put her down for a nap, straighten the living room, her play room, etc., take a shower, and by then Ian should be home! Sounds great right? NOPE, that's not been happening at all! Once I start cleaning something she is making a mess of something else! And that's just the straightening up I'm talking about, not to mention the dusting, vacuuming, bathrooms, and mopping! Luckily, my dad came over today to play with Ray and during that time I was able to clean! Now, the house is spotless but let's see how long it will last!

I'm sure my schedule will come together sometime soon! Hopefully, before the next little baby comes. All in the middle of that we are also working on potty training! I'm trying not to force it with her and let her become interested in it. A good friend once told me that usually if you rush it they are more likely to have "accidents" down the road and we don't want that! So wish me luck and I will take any advice!

New Career vs. Old Career

Every time I start to feel guilty that I'm not bringing in any income, I think about the days when I worked at the financial company (I won't mention any names in this blog to be somewhat respectful of the company's reputation). I KNOW most of you can remember how absolutely miserable I was while I worked there. Ian of course can tell you all the stories and can remember me coming home an average of three times a week crying and begging him to let me quit. The poor guy felt so bad for me but at the time we financially couldn't afford for me to quit. I either had to find a new job or we had to wait for his big raise. Obviously, it was very difficult to find a new job in this rotten economy. I started looking for a new job when I was on maternity leave with Rayliana!! That long ago! And believe me I wasn't even being picky about the kind of job I would do, that's how bad I wanted to get out of my that job!

I worked there for a total of two and a half years. Unfortunately, they were the best and worst years of my life. All of my huge life changes occurred during those years, I had Rayliana, Ian and I had a wonderful wedding and honeymoon, and we bought our house. At the same, they were absolutely the worst years ever. I lived for the weekends, which really only consisted of Friday evening and Saturday because every Sunday I just anticipated the next week coming that it ruined the whole day off! Some mornings I woke up, got ready, and had to literally force myself to eat something because I was so sick to my stomach. I was just telling Ian the other night that I feel like those years were a waste of my life! His response was, "That's really sad!" The only good that came out of that job was the life experience. If I ever work in a place that starts to even get close to how miserable I was at this unnamed financial company, I will do something to change it a lot sooner than I did the first time.

Every time I talked to friends or family about it, they all had the same response, "Well, how bad can it be?" "Just stick it out a little bit longer." Of course, this irritated me because I didn't think any of them had worked in such a hostile working environment as the one I was stuck in. I won't give complete details because let's face it Prescott is such a small town and I don't want to "bash" anyone in particular in my blog. I will say this however, I would rather work at McDonald's then to ever work for this financial company again! 

I guess I decided to blog about my experience so that people would understand why I am so much happier staying home with my daughter. Nobody is here to tell me that I can't see a doctor when I need to or that I can't call in sick! UGH! Nobody should have to work like that, 40 hours a week is a lot of time to spend somewhere you hate! When it starts affecting your personal life and life necessities, such as health and well being, it's time to make a change! You can't grow unless you have change! So when someone criticizes me for being a stay at home mom, just know that I've paid my dues!

Shopping Etiquette 101

Today was a wonderful day with my mom, Rayliana, and I. We had lunch, ran some errands, and did some shopping at the mall. We went to Dillard's near the end of our trip to the mall (we should start making that the first stop as that is one of my favorite stores in the mall and we should see how much money we are going to spend there before going into any other store!). My mom said she was going to the restroom and said she would meet me in the shoe department. I didn't have to tell her I was going to the shoe department, that is just how well she knows me!

Dillard's was having an incredible shoe sale! Not just any shoe sale, a $9.99 sale! Shoes that were originally priced at $80+, down to ten bucks! I immedietely walked towards the shoe rack! Naturally, Chums was sitting in her stroller. I am just ONE woman and I can't keep my eye on a running toddler in a big department store and search the rack for size 6.5 designer pumps! Not gonna happen!

Usually whenever Dillard's has a shoe sale, several shoes are displayed on racks in between the shoe and the purse department. These racks are separated only by rows, two or three at the most and maybe one column in between. However, today the racks were separated by rows and columns; three columns and three rows each separated by open spaces. And yes I promise this boring description is important to fully understand the story!

After skimming the first row of shoes, I mosey on over to the first open space that I could comfortably fit the obnoxious stroller I was pushing. An African-American woman, I'd say in her 50's, is standing in the center of this open area. (And yes that description is also important!) I pushed the stroller as far right as I could without giving Rayliana whiplash due to hitting the bottom of a rack with one of the wheels on the stroller. She is still not moving, I thought this was weird as it was clear that I was trying to do my part to make room for her to walk through. Of course, the first thought in my head is, "Why doesn't she just move one more row over then down that column or slightly scoot over and we can both fit down this aisle?" Anyway, the story continues...I said, "Excuse me." She doesn't move. Once again I said, "Excuse me." Doesn't even budge. I finally push my way through with the stroller and, still in a very polite voice, say, "Excuse me, I can't get through." She then says to me and remember I'm actaully quoting her, "Well I was trying to get through too!" I reply, "Yes, I know, but I said excuse me several times." She says to me, "You saw that I was trying to come that way too, what did you expect me to move out of your way?" At this point I'm not using my nice voice anymore, "Yes I'm the one with the stroller!" She says, remember still quoting, "How is that my problem, so did you expect me to move over and go down the next aisle so that you can get through?" I answered, "Yes, you obviously never had any children!"

By now, a young lady turned to me and asked, "Did she really just tell you that?" She was with her baby, her husband, and her very own obnoxious stroller. Before I could open my mouth, this lovely African-American female said, "Yes I sure did!" The young lady's mouth dropped open and looked at me and I just started laughing. Neither one of us could believe this! The young lady said, "Yeah I know how it is we have a big stroller too and it is hard to fit in places. I'm sorry that she said that to you." Then the rude shopper continues by saying, "Prescott is filled with cowboys!" Again I started laughing and the girl said, "What does she mean? Did you bring your horse in with you?" I laughed and told her that I had no idea what she was ranting about.

My mom came back from the restroom and I explained the entire story to her. My mom thinks the lady meant that because she is black and I am white, I shouldn't have thought she should move out of my way. Then it clicked and I thought, "Yeah I guess that is what she meant." Ian also said that he bets she will go home and tell all of her other African-American friends that some white chick actaully wanted her to move when the stupid white girl politely said "excuse me" three times!

I just wonder if she would've done that if Ian was with me. I wish I could have told her that I am married to an African-American to see her reaction. I'm still in shock about the whole incident. I mean if I was pushing an empty stroller that would have been one thing, but she could clearly see that I had a baby in it and there was no other place for me to go! Unbelievable! Oh well, nobody got hurt and I left with one pair of $9.99 shoes and so did Rayliana! That's right only one pair! Even Ian was proud of that! :-)

The Terrible Twos!

Mom and Dad: "Do you want to eat?"

Chums: "NO!!"

Mom and Dad: "Do you want to go outside?"

Chums: "NO!!"

Mom and Dad: "Do you want some milk?"

Chums: "NO!!"

Mom and Dad: "Do you want to play?"

Chums: "NO!!"

I think you get the idea! Now I know why they call it "The Terrible Twos!" Seriously!! She is a terror! I've never seen her act this bad! She screams, she talks back, she throws temper tantrums, she doesn't eat, she doesn't take naps! AHHH! Ironically, it seems as if this behavior started the day she turned two! It's unbelievable.

I wonder if there are toddler meetings that parents are unaware of. They must get together twice a month and have everyone's second birthday listed on a HUGE Winnie the Pooh calendar! The leader of these Terrible Toddlers is in charge of reminding them who's second birthday is coming up. He says, "Rayliana Wright?" Chums says, "Present!" He says, "You are turning two on September 16th, yes?" Chums says, "Yes that's correct." The leader then trains them on how to go from sweet angels to terrorizing little monsters!

Anyway, I had an interesting conversation with Rayliana's dance teacher this morning, after Ray acted out in class which is her favorite place to be these days! She said that she probably senses that I am pregnant and another baby is coming. She said she had the perfect son until she was about six months pregnant with her second son. She said he turned into a completely different kid! Maybe those topics also arise during these toddler meetings!

It's kind of a hard situation because Ian is more of the disciplinarian and I am more of the nurturing mother type. He gets mad or upset and I try to defend her by coming up with some BS theory. I'll say, "Maybe she has something wrong with her, physically, or she is hurt in some way. Yeah that's it, that explains the 30 minutes of high-pitch screaming she just put us through!" I'm still her mommy and even when she is being a brat I love her to pieces and don't let anyone say anything negative about her, including her own father! :-)

Although, I was a little irritated when I came home from working out this evening and Ian told me that she was so well-behaved and thinks she only acts like that in front of me! Time for me to put my foot down I suppose! Any advice? I'd love to hear it! Thanks!

Tah Tah for now! :-)

"Are you sure there is just one in there?"

Dear family and friends,

I thought I would blog about how completely RUDE people are when you are pregnant. It absolutely boggles my mind that some people, friends included, have the audacity to ask questions such as, "Are you sure there is just one in there?" The funny part is that they ask that question when they positively know that there is in fact "just one in there." The next time someone asks me that I will probably respond, very sarcastically, "Oh gosh I hadn't thought of that! I'm four months along and I've heard the heartbeat already but I bet we the doctor missed another heartbeat! Thanks for asking me that vital question!"

I suppose I shouldn't be blogging while I am angry. Tonight I found out that a friend said something behind my back relating to this issue and now I'm upset! I came home thinking to myself that the only person I can ever trust and who has never let me down is my husband, Ian. He is always honest with me and has never done or said anything behind my back, or at least I've never caught him! :-) But I suppose that is for a different blog.

I wonder why people do ask silly questions and make rude comments when you're pregnant. Are they jealous that they aren't pregnant? Are they mad that I still weigh less than them even though I'm pregnant and they aren't? Are they mad that I am happy and they are trying to bring me down to their sad level? Hmmm...I don't know, but this is a friendly warning that the next time someone asks me a question equally offensive as the title of this blog, they will not be happy with my response. Hopefully, a LOT of friends are reading this particular blog! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

Many people made stupid comments while I was pregnant the first time as well. I am completely shocked that society thinks this is normal behavior! I mean I see pregnant women all the time and even think to myself, "Wow, she is pretty big!" Never would I ask her a question such as, "Are you having twins, triplets?" And yes I have even had strangers ask me said question!

So for the sake of all pregnant women; please I beg of you, do not, I repeat DO NOT, ask stupid, offensive questions or make rude, out of this world comments! Thank you for your fast cooperation with this urgent matter.

The End

CrossFit Anonymous!

Hi my name is Nicole and I am a CrossFitter! "HI NICOLE!"

I am addicted to CrossFit! For some of you who aren't familiar with CrossFit, it is a high performance training center and I try to go three times a week for about an hour. The actual workouts are so intense that they only last, at max, about 20 minutes long.

It's amazing the kind of workouts I can do while being in my second trimester. Today, for instance, I was the only girl working out with 6 other guys. AND we're were doing the exact same workout! Now of course I don't lift as heavy as the guys do on some of the heavy lifting workouts, however, it is invigorating knowing that I am building my strength every time I go workout. I worked out throughout my first pregnancy and still gained a ridiculous amount of weight and had a HORRIBLE labor. Well folks I am four months in and haven't gained a pound yet! Woo Hoo! I realize I still have a long way to go, but at this point with the first pregnancy I had already gained some weight.

I have improved my workouts and maximum lifts since I started, all the while, being four months pregnant! I started in the middle of May and have seen a difference in my strength, my ability to do things, my body, etc. Just a few weeks ago I was moving something that couldn't have weighed more than 30 pounds and whoever I was with said, "Oh no you can't lift that it's too heavy for you while you are pregnant!" I kind of giggled to myself and said, "No really, it's okay!"

In conclusion, I am a CrossFitter and proud of it! Once you go CrossFit you'll never go back!

New Adventure

Well I thought for our very first blog, we would share our latest news! I have decided to be a stay at home mom/housewife and raise our soon to be two kids. This will probably come as a shock to most who read this because I haven't shared this news at all on Facebook. We are both so excited for this new endeavor we have taken on. This is my last week of work at the radio station.

For several years now Ian and I have been tossing this idea back and forth, weighing the pros and cons, and calculating our finances/budget in order to do this. I feel like this is a perfect time for me to stay home because Rayliana (Chums as Ian and I refer to her as, you may read "Chums" in future blogs so just know that is Rayliana) is halfway through potty training. Also, I feel like I need to prepare her for the next baby that will be here in March! So I will be interested in seeing what kind of response I will receive after friends and family read this blog!

I have received more positive feedback than negative after telling a few people. Usually, the negative feedback comes from mothers who are jealous that they can't stay home! I hate to say that but that's what I've noticed lately. It's amazing how in the last three years, every decision I or we have made, has been ridiculed for some reason or another. I finally decided to stop listening to people realizing the difference between advice and annoying lectures! So in conclusion, Ian, Rayliana, and I are very excited for our "new adventure" that we are about to embark upon. This is the end of our first Big, Bang, Blog!

Best Regards!