West, Texas

I need to start off by saying thank you to everyone who voted on our baby names. Sad news - we're no where closer to a name. Happy news - I found out my next ultrasound is February 24 so we'll find out then if I'm right about having a boy.

In the meantime I have wanted to post about one of my favorite places in Texas for a while and it just kept getting pushed down on my "edit" list. Texas has some fun names for their towns/cities. There are the foreign names: Paris, London, Florence, and Moscow, for example. And then there are the hard to pronounce names: Nacogdoches, Waxahachie, Bexar county (the x is silent), and Pflugerville.

But my favorite is West, Texas. No, not west Texas. Don't be silly. I've only been there once and it's obvious that the people have to be overly-wonderful to make up for the landscape. (I think I worded that perfectly. How can anyone be offended by that?.....)

West, Texas is about 60 minutes south of Dallas and Brian and I used to pass it every time we were driving from Searcy to Temple. The reason it caught my attention? Those people are so cute and clever!

The heritage is purely Czech and you know it the minute you drive into it. (And, actually, that is the same minute that you drive out of it). They have a convenience store/gas station/Czech deli that is called the Czech Stop. I LOVE IT! And, recently, they opened the Czech Inn. Ha! And according to the website there is also a Czech Point Collectibles, but I've never seen that one.

I usually annoyed Brian enough on our road trips that by the time we made it to West he was very focused on making it to his parents house without throwing me out of the car. So we never stopped. And then the one time he offered we had a cranky toddler in the back who was about to crash since we forced her on a flight to Dallas very early in the morning.

Since I was driving by myself from Dallas-Temple last month I decided to give in and stop where they've been telling me to stop for over 10 years - the Czech Stop. When I walked in I did not expect all the signs to be in Czech. If it weren't for the Czech girl in national costume painted on the ladies restroom door I would not have known which door to enter. I would have met a very unhappy Czech man, probably.

Thanks to my in-laws I was introduced to kolaches very early in my dating relationship with Brian. Who would have guessed it but there is a lot of Czech heritage in Texas. If I were to describe a kolache I would have to put it in the same category as a donut but they're not as dense. More light and fluffy. The pastries are usually fruit filled but you can also get them with cheese or meat. I ordered a dozen of fruit variety. I only ate two. I was pretty proud of myself since I could have used the "I'm pregnant and will eat whatever I want" excuse.

But then I saw the sausage. I love sausage. And not really the breakfast kind. More like the Italian kind with peppers and onions that the sell at Yankee Stadium for $57 (or what feels like $57). Polish sausage will fit into this category as well as bratwurst. And the Czech stop had my kind of sausage. I controlled myself and only got one sausage and cheese filled kolache. As I was eating this gooey delicacy I felt my heart shudder (in a bad way) and I feared for the fetus but my body is stronger than cholesterol! I can't imagine eating more than one of those a year. Or maybe once every two years.

When I walked into the house with my Czech Stop bag Brian just shook his head. He knew that I now had one less item on my Bucket List.

www.czechstop.net

Name Our Baby!

We should find out if we are having a boy or girl the first week in March. Until then we have agonized over the boy name. Not only has it tortured us but we have tortured almost every one we know as well. Believe me, all of our friends, family, and acquaintances wish we would make a decision so we will stop talking about it. Or they have been very dedicated to nominating as many names as possible to the point where we are overwhelmed.




We have the girl name decided but I am 95% sure this baby is a boy. Why? Well, there is the very subjective reason of "it feels like a boy" and then the almost scientific test that I took at Walgreens.

The instructions that come with the test clearly state not to purchase boy/girl clothes based on the results and while it also says there is 87% accuracy, most of the customer feedback is "test was wrong". That could just mean that the people who were upset that the test was wrong posted, but whatever. So, based on my boy results on this test I am declaring that I will have a boy.

Brian refers to this test as the "voo doo gender test" and has decided to ignore the results. Let's talk about Brian's thinking process and how he likes to be right. He will ignore these test results because they are not scientific and will call me crazy for believing them. AS A RESULT, if the test is wrong and we are having a girl he can brag for the rest of our lives how I was gullible enough to believe the test. Now, if the test is right and we have a boy he can go on being apathetic about the test because, in the end, it isn't scientific and it was a 50/50 shot anyway. So in his mind he wins either way.

So let's talk names. I am a big believer in family names. Lily Karrine is named after our mothers, Lila and Karan. Jamison David is named after our fathers, Jim and David. In collecting the available male family names, while we admire and respect the people with those names, we don't think that they would fit our family. So then that opens up a huge world of possible name choices. I don't even know how to narrow it down because I feel almost the same way about all of them - BLAH. No names have won me over.

To make things more complicated, I love classic names where Brian tends to lean more towards widely known but unused names. Example? Atticus. Everyone knows Atticus because everyone has read To Kill A Mockingbird. (I would hope. If you have not read it stop reading this and go to Barnes & Noble and buy it. Then read it. Actually, you can read it a few times since once will never be enough.) But really people - should we do that to a little baby? Name it Atticus?? That's such a heavy name.

For the past few months we have kept a running list of possible names. We are sure that there are more names out there but we just haven't thought of them (or haven't been suggested). This is what I'd like to do - I'll list our baby names below. I'd like you to not only vote for one of the names, but offer another name as a suggestion (if you have one). Just post your vote in the comment section. It can even be anonymous (mom - you better not post your vote anonymously 20 times).

In choosing the names here are some things we've kept in mind:

1. Needs to be 2 syllables since our last name is 1 syllable

2. Would like to have a nice nickname (example: We like Nicholas but cannot have Nick Whitt. Poor kid, we'd be subjecting him to years of teasing. Although that could make him stronger, more resilient, and an over all better human being. But why risk it?)

3. Would prefer that it's not too trendy (example: I LOVE the name Ethan but there are a bigillion Ethan's running around now)

Here are our names with our reasoning for choosing them. Drum roll please.....

1. Theodore (pro:nickname Teddy - we love that! con: Chipmunks?)

2. Charles (pro: classic name con: Prince Charles? I am not a fan of his ever since Diana died. I understand that he didn't cause her death but INDIRECTLY he did. If he had just not married Diana and proposed to Camilla when Camilla was single then Diana would still be alive. But I probably have just shared too much with you about my thoughts on Charles and Diana.Yes, I have more to share on the subject but will refrain from showing that I have dwelled way to long on the topic. I have sufficiently embarrased myself already)

3. Henry (pro: classic name con: not a favorite of Brian's, reminds me of a dog now that Lily and I read the Magic Treehouse books)

4. Gabriel (pro: great nickname - Gabe con: too angelic?)

5. Patrick (pro: similar to Patricia, Brian's grandmother's name, classic name con: Pat reminds us of that Saturday Night Live sketch...)

6. Finnegan/Phinneas (pro: nickname - Finn con: doesn't mean anything to us, it's just a random name)

7. Brady (pro: combination of Brian and Katie, nice, solid name con: kinda common name, doesn't stand out. Also, name meaning is "descendant of Bradach". That's barely a name meaning)

8. Callum (pro: we like the nickname Cal con: same as Finn, doesn't mean anything to us; it's just a random name)

9. Joel (pro: we like it con: technically it is only one syllable but if you drag it out it sounds like two. Especially if you're from below the Mason-Dixon)

10. Christian (pro: good name to live up to con: too close to my sisters name, Kristen. Could lead to some very confusing conversations)

11. Dalton (pro: family name on Whitt side con: hard to get a nickname from Dalton-inevitably the kid will be called Dalt)

So, if you would be so kind, please vote on one of these and if you have a suggestion add that too. We won't promise that the one with the highest votes will win but it will definitely influence us. We'd love to hear any feedback you have on the names as well, if you want to share.

And, just because it's fun (and for posterity's sake) here are the names that we have discarded for one reason or another:

Sebastian - reminds us of a certain animated crab

William - while it's a family name on all sides, we can't have Will Whitt

George - for an hour about two weeks ago I was convinced this was the perfect name. I blame hormones on that reasoning.

Jackson - already have Jamison. Can't have two names ending in "son".

Jonas - Obviously the best thing is that the kid would have a theme song thanks to Weezer. But that ended up being the reason it was tossed out. We couldn't talk about it without singing the song.

Crockett - This name is all over the Whitt side of the family in the early 1800's. I honestly think I would consider this name if we lived in the south. I couldn't do that to a kid up here. It would be equivalent to putting our son in those adorable short-alls with white knee-high socks and white shoes up here. You can do it in the south until the boy is around 6 but dress a boy like that in New York when he's over 18 months and you're in for it. That's painful for me because I love those outfits. Jamison would look ADORABLE to short alls with white knee highs.

Alright! That's it! Cast your votes!

Another 80th

Earlier this month we packed up and headed down to Texas. The trip was two-fold. Kristen and I went to market in Dallas for Well Versed Gifts and Brian's grandfather was celebrating his 80th birthday in Troup, TX.

I gave the camera to Brian since Pa's birthday was way more important than market. That being said going to market was really neat! Kris and I had a small exhibit to sell our (yes, Kristen, I know you own the company but I'm using the plural) note cards wholesale to retailers. if you want to look at the website it's http://www.wellversedgifts.com/. Our cards do really well in small speciality gift shops and those were the retailers we were targeting.

If you've been to Dallas you've probably driven by the big black cube that is the Dallas Market Center (used to be called the Dallas World Trade Center). I've driven past it a million times yet the only thing that could place it on a map for me is when someone said - "It's across from Medieval Times." And then it clicked. I knew exactly where it was. Why? Because that's the way my wacky mind works.

There are no windows in the Market Center but the interior is shaped like a square donut - there is a huge atrium which allowed us to see daylight for the 9 hours each day that we were on the floor. This is the best interior shot I could find off the internet. It doesn't do it justice since there about 17 floors.



We had a great, if not exhausting time the four days that we were there. We made future plans about Well Versed Gifts, got to talk to so many retailers who loved our product, and made some money! (which we haven't seen yet because we're still getting the company up and running.)

Just a comment about the people we saw at the show. I mentioned it on facebook but it bears repeating here - what is up with all the animal prints in this region of the US? It's not just Texans - there were other states represented and a lot of them were enraptured with leopard, zebra, and cheetah prints. And they weren't afraid to mix and match them. I'm all for a highlight item with a print on it - but this was full body and accessory coverage.

So while I did get to go to market I missed Pa's 80th birthday. Brian did a great job with the camera so I could catch up on everything.

I love this shot he took of Pa and Jamison.


We gave Pa a book of penny's for each year of his life. We did the same thing for Grandpa when he turned 80. It's always interesting to see how many of the pennies are still in circulation. I started to think of all the people who held those pennies and the history that the pennies have seen. And then I started thinking about all the germs and had to wash my hands for five minutes.

Brian's parents gave Pa a walking stick and an invisible dog to walk. Low maintenance dogs are the best!

Karan made Pa a cinnamon bunt cake that I heard was delicious yet no one saved a piece for me. It's probably better that way since I haven't been in the mood for sweets. Now, if she had made Pa some chicken quesadillas that would be a different story.

It was a busy Texas trip but we're glad we went. Since baby number three is on the way it's hard to plan when we'll be going back, at least for this year.

Finally

In between Christmas and New Year's Kristen and the girls made their trek up here. My grandparents were also able to come up from North Carolina. Each time they have been up I have neglected to get a group picture but this time I was successful! Here is my Mammy with Maddie, Ruthie, Lily, and Jamison.

Excuse Ruthie's eye patch. We're trying to strengthen her right eye a bit more. Even with the eye patch not only is she looking at the camera but so are all the kids! It only took 2 1/2 years...dnd three of us waving our arms behind the camera and individually calling their names. But it worked!

Pregnant!

Well hello there. It's been a while. There isn't really a good excuse for my lack of posting except that we went to Texas for a week earlier in the month and it took a week to prepare and a week to recover.

But here's the big news - I'm Pregnant! Although most of you probably knew. So it's only somewhat big news.

Here is my 13 week ultrasound. The baby has its' hand up to its' face, that's not the nose. We also got to see the baby spread its' fingers. We'll find out if it's a boy or girl in March, hopefully the first week.

My due date is July 19 but I am going to mentally prepare myself for August 1 so that I can convince myself I wasn't really pregnant for 40 weeks and that I was early.

Lily is excited about the new baby and if it's a girl would like bunk beds. Yeah, I'll get right on that. If it's a boy I'm sure she'll just get more bossy. At least I'll have help keeping the boys in line.

Jamison asked if the baby was him. We told him he already was a baby in my tummy and this is a different baby. He is still highly suspicious about our explanation.

I am planning on writing a longer post later about baby names. Specifically boy baby names. We're stumped. And the list of possible names is long and varied. I might even have a contest for best name suggestion. Yes, we are that desperate.

Coffin

I will admit that the following post could lead some to believe that I am a tiny bit obsessive with a smidgen of psycho thrown in. This will also enlighten you about some things you really did not want to know about me - but if I can laugh at it so can you.

I don't exactly remember when I was given my hope chest from my Mammy but it must have been in junior high or early in high school. Since the hope chest looks like a coffin that is exactly what it has been called since Day 1 in my room.

In November we had to move the coffin from one room into another. In order to successfully do this the coffin had to be emptied. Brian stepped up to the plate and completed this task. After this was done I realized he did this to escape hearing me go on and on about each and every object. I am not exactly a sensitive person but I am incredibly sentimental. Each item in my coffin was in there for a reason; and while some of those reasons escape me now, others I remember.

Apparently I saved everything in this coffin. I have no idea why I kept 87% of the items. Here is a look at some of the randomness of my adolescence (and parts of college). Feel free to laugh - I laughed for a good six hours going through this stuff. There is no order to this presentation...I just took pictures as I saw different things. I could have put them in chronological order but that would have taken some thinking. Let's not do much of that.

My collection of Hard Rock Cafe menus. Why? No idea.

Second semester junior year schedule. I have no other schedules from college so I'm not sure why I kept this one. I like how I left Music 101 until almost my senior year.

My wedding bouquet. I know why I kept this.

Jamison found my volleyball knee pads from high school.

A square remnant of my bedroom carpet in my parents old house. I chose this carpet color when I was three. That should explain it. I will always keep this.

This was thrown out 30 seconds after the picture was taken. This was a costume from one Spring Sing performance at Harding. Our theme must have been "What Not To Wear".

I wore this watch for 7th and 8th grade. I loved it. And the necklace is a Best Friends necklace that is divided into thirds. Michelle (Morris) Mostoller and Kim (Hofschild) Cimuchowski have the other two thirds.

My suite mates Reagan (Weaver) Dennison and Mindy (Baker) Lucas made this birthday card for me our freshman year of college. I know you probably can't read a lot of the things on the card but it is so creative and funny and I will never throw this away.

Incredibly random. An issue of the Times Union from 1973. This was before my parents even moved to Albany so your guess is as good as mine as to where I found this. And yes, this was thrown away.

Awwww, my Brownie and Girl Scout sashes. I am still friends with one of the girls from my troop 88. Albeit, it's on facebook but that still counts.

I love the Diary of Anne Frank. To strengthen my love I used her book as a topic for about 50 essays through high school. It fits so many topics. In 1995 Miep Gies (the employee of Mr. Frank who helped hide the Franks and later helped with the publication of the diary) was speaking at one of the local universities here in Albany so I went to hear her speech. I brought along my book in hopes that I would meet her and by hanging out in the auditorium after the speech I was able to get her autograph. I still can't believe I shook hands with a woman who knew Anne Frank!

I know why I kept this. It's a page from my freshman year at college. I loved reading it and seeing what took up so much of my time and thoughts. And apparently there was a lot of coffee involved.

Of course, my Milli Vanilli tape. "Blame it on the rain, yeah, yeah." I can't wait until my kids are old enough to find this as funny as I do.

And this is where I get real random. Why do I have these clippings? What do they mean? What did I think was so important that I needed to save these in the coffin? In the trash...

This is great. My mom mailed me this picture of my sister when I was at Harding. This is what her note days:

There were no more wallets. I thought you might want to put this up by your desk.

-Mom.

You can argue with it.

This will be shown at my mother's funeral. I should start compiling all those pictures and fun items now so I'm all prepared

And these are a collection of my glasses. Because who doesn't save each piece of eye ware from the time they were in 4th-12th grade?

By now I have a theory as to why I kept so many newspapers. When I was doing all this collecting I had no idea something called "The Internet" would be created thus eliminating my fear of forgetting everything that happened while I was alive. Could I have thought, "if I don't save this paper I will never remember that OJ Simpson was found not guilty?" That would have been tragic.

All of my organizers from 9th grade to senior year of college. I had fun reading some of these.

Sadly, with the invention of my beloved Blackberry I have no need for an organizer anymore. When I am 79 how will I ever know what I did in April 2008 without a handwritten organizer? Hopefully my 79 year old self will forgive my 30 year old self.

And yes, this one shows that I wrote down exactly what I wore each day. I have my entire wardrobe schedule for 8 years in these organizers. Want to know what I wore the first day of college? Or possibly what I wore the day of my 16th birthday? No problem - I can look that up for you!

And this pile. This pile is beautiful and incredibly scary. These are all my journals from 2nd grade on. There aren't that many entries until 6th grade and then I was pretty consistent through high school. I mostly stopped writing once I went to college but I still kept one (and still do) that I wrote brief notes in on important days. I kind of consider this blog a journal so I guess I haven't exactly stopped writing.

And that is just a small portion of the junk that was in my coffin. It was cleaned out and is now safely hidden in a closet in what will soon be Jamie's new bedroom. It was not easy throwing some of the things away or going through some of the things I saved. I don't even know if my kids or grandkids would ever be interested in my going through my memories...but if they are I am well prepared!

Trampoline

In Oklahoma Grandma and Grandpa have a trampoline that has been in use since Brian was a kid.

One afternoon Lily needed to get rid of some energy and I took some pictures. There are a lot of them - I couldn't help myself! She looked like she was having so much fun and pigtails defying gravity are hysterical.

The Snoopy shirt disappeared as she worked up a sweat.

Nothing wrong with throwing in a few ballet moves.

And some interpretive dance choreography...

I think she has nailed the Peter Pan pose.