enjoying her hubby's company

that's right - Mike is home!! yeah :)

Mike came home last week, a bit early, to help out his school (they're moving their shop locations), prepare for his upcoming semester, and to help us get the house baby-ready. There seems like so much to do!

First step is to get the 'spare bedroom' or my office turned into the baby room. This means disassembling the desk and finding a place for my stash of things, as well as deciding what will fit and what we'll need in that room. We don't really get to decorate much since we rent - just lots of consolidating and moving. Fun fun. Good fun.

I finished a cute pair of booties that I really like:
Mike helped me model them - teehee!



And am dong pretty well getting through a crocheted cap for one of my nieces, I hope it fits her, as I think it's going to be a bit small on my head, but we'll see. My SIL's are both due next month and I'm trying to get a few things done for them too. Other than that - general cleaning and whatnot - lots to do, and never enough time. So it goes in the land of pregnancy eh?

This weekend we did get to go to the beach and spend some down time together which was nice. It's good to have Mike home. In a couple of weeks I'm going to head down to Louisville to visit friends and family and am thinking about taking a trip to Chicago to do the same. We'll see how it all goes.

home alone

This week started my summer without Mike.

I've been taking it easy when I come home for the most part. The worst thing is trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I just have little ideas/motivation, except for the fact that I'm usually pretty hungry and wants something right away. I'm really trying not to take the easy way out and just do cereal or simple salads. I know that's not healthy. I'm working on it slowly.

Today is my day for cleaning, as I didn't do much throughout the week, and it definitely needs it. Part of that means updating my photos, so here are some pictures from my trip:

First I have to explain that on Saturday, Mike and I went walking around Central park and saw some real characters! It was great fun. The best part was happening upon the rollerskating rink. They do this every weekend and holiday during the summer, and anyone who wants can come and rollerskate/rollerblade! It was wild! and the music was great. Here are a couple of clips and pictures of some of the crazy people we saw and met:

This guy had 3 waterbottles balanced on his head while he skated around:



And did his own little 'show':



This guy was selling CD's and talking about his prodigy (above) - guess the terrycloth thing is a linking fashion statement!



A shot of half the circle:



loved his hat:



These video's give you an idea of the crazy skating that was going on - The guy in the black pants had a metal belt that read SEXY SEXY SEXY all the way around - and he had the moves (although I didn't capture them well on here)



And if you didn't know better, you would think this was a shot of my brother (Gabriella's dad) - he really really reminded me of Carlo - even with his dancing! He was completely cracking me up!

The batman guy:



His dancing:



Presenting - Dotty the Chicken! She needs a few more spots, but I'm pleased with how she came out. She looks very regal here I think:


Here's a 'cousins' shot, including the one in my growing belly:



My other niece Gabriella and her new pink hat:



The little guys we found all over union station that cracked us up, and made my feet a little less sore while walking around:







Overall, I'm really glad I was able to spend the time with Mike - I think it was good for both of us - a nice transition. We're able to Skype most nights, so that makes it easier too. Plus, I keep up with his new blog (not to be confused with his website) where he's documenting what he's doing at his internship.

Next time I'll and post more pictures of me an my belly - first I have to get someone to take some pictures for me!

in the Big Apple

New Yooork City!

Well, actually, I'm in Brooklyn - but close enough. Mike and I took a nice drive up through DC, stopped by to see my brother Carlo and his family - it was great to see them - Kristin looks great and Gabriella was as cute as ever.

Then we traveled to Rumson NJ to see Mike's brother and family - man! those kids have gotten big! We had a great time hanging out with them, and even got to attend a Memorial Day parade (as well as have an impromptu one of our own by the kids). If I can figure out how to upload the video from my camera, I think I may have another American Idol candidate. My niece did a beautiful job of serenading us with "God Bless America". Very cute!

Mike started his internship today, and I can't wait to hear how it went. I'm in the process of setting up my 'out-of-the-office-office" and praying I can get the internet phone to work properly. If not ... it's going to be a looong week. I'm hoping everything will work out.

pregnant!

As most of you already knew, Mike and I are expecting! And those that didn't - I'm in the family way, I've got a bun in the oven, I've been... we'll you get the picture. I wanted to make sure immediate family and my work knew before posting publicly and now they all do so I can talk about it!

Plus my belly has 'popped' so it's getting harder to hide. I feel like I just look like I need to hit the gym, but my friends insist that no, it looks like I am pregnant and have a little person growing inside of me.

I'm due the first week of November, the 2nd or 5th. Mike and I aren't finding out the sex of the baby - we want to be surprised. And those of you that know my family or reads my blog, also know that both of my brother's wives are pregnant as well! They're both due in August, so there will be 3 babies on the 'Tamburro' side born this year!!! It's pretty exciting. They're not finding out either, so no one's discussing names and as my knitting friends agreed - this does put a small crimp in knitting something cute and gender specific, but I'm sure I'll find something.

My first trimester went pretty well. I had some 'evening sickness' which was more like a mild hangover, no vomiting, just an uneasy feeling if I didn't eat - so I made sure to always have something on hand to nibble on throughout the day. I told one of my workmates that I was on a new diet - 6 small meals a day! Up until this week, (I'm at 15 weeks now) I haven't gained any weight, but according to the doctors scale at work (don't ask me why there is a full doctor's scale at my office -it's really random!) I've gained 2 pounds this week - which I think is on target. My next appointment is the first week in June so we'll see then.

This has all been part of the reason I haven't been blogging. There were so many things I wanted to talk about, but they all had to do with the pregnancy! Also, I was more tired and was trying to get more sleep and just wasn't motivated to do much for the first trimester.

This weekend I am traveling with Mike up to NY to spend a week with him as he settles into his new place and internship. He's never been to NY so I'm excited to go with him. I'll fly back on Sunday and be here in Charleston by myself for most of the summer. I will take another visit sometime in the next month or two, in between doctor's visits. I'm just trying to prepare myself for the lovely craziness that a baby brings!