Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Weekend Recap

Louis and I had an action packed Memorial Day weekend. It all started on Thursday night when we went to Naperville to go to John's Med School graduation party at LouMalnati's. It was great to see John and his girlfriend Jen since the last time we saw these Cali residents was at our wedding. On Friday after work, James, John and Jen came to our house to hang out and spend time together. On Saturday morning Clint came up to our house and Louis, Clint and James went golfing all afternoon. Sean and I went up to Wisconsin for my cousin, Amy's Grad School graduation party. It was great to finally see her house and spend time together-- even though the weather was kinda a bummer. On Sunday Louis and I went downtown Chicago to meet up with Bobby for his birthday. We went to dinner at this Mexican restaurant and I watched him and Louis play some Big Bumpin. We also got to see Vogl for a brief minute before we had to leave and catch the train back home.

Monday was a strictly Jenny and Louis day because 1. we needed to relax 2. we need as much newlywed time squeezed in before its over in a few weeks. Since the weather was awesome we had to take advantage. We woke up and took our standard walk around the neighborhood and then we drove to Three Oaks (where I went with Cheryl and Justin about a month ago) to rent a paddle boat. This was Louis' first time on a paddle boat, I on the other hand am a seasoned veteran thanks to my grandparents lake house in Eagle River. I made sure to bring towels for our butts and snacks and beverages-- man I am going to rock at being a mom! There was some wind to deal with but in the end it was well worth the $10 for the hour because Louis was beyond entertaining. He was immediately complaining about the steering and that we weren't getting anywhere with the wind. Then after approximately 5 mins his poor legs couldn't hack it. He tried to insist he was doing all of the work so I took my feet off of the paddles to which he immediately told me to put them back--- so there I was helping! I forgot my camera but had my phone, heck the phone probably took better pictures than my camera.



My arm isn't as long as Louis' so I am not good at the one handed pic of us



I
I got better at the pic of us :)

Louis taking a goldfish break



Louis attempting to paddle




This is how he looked for most of it....haha I was pregnant and didn't complain!




Pictures on the lake (it felt like we were in Wisconsin and it was really pretty-- except when we saw the cars on the other side of the lake driving by!)








After paddling we came home and grilled out for lunch. We had brats, watermelon slices and french onion dip and chips-- PERFECT meal! Then we hung out in our courtyard area for awhile and then took a nap (mostly it was the pregnant chick in me needing a nap). Then we took a bike ride on this path that Louis discovered near our house. It was a lot of fun but very hot and my bike seat is quite uncomfortable and my butt is still sore today!


Overall we had a great weekend and I am so glad that the weather cooperated yesterday!



Monday, May 30, 2011

Happy Memorial Day

For most people (including myself) today is another day off of work and to spend time outside having BBQ's with friends and family. However, the intent of today is to celebrate and honor those who have died for our country. I have spoken about my friend John before on Veterans Day but today I wanted to show you a glimpse of the person that I knew. John Collins died in August of 2004 when while on guard duty he was hit by a sniper rifle. He was 20 years old.

I met John my senior year of high school, he was sitting next to me in study hall and kept talking to me, getting me kicked out of my only class ever! He had this amazing, fun loving energy that could not be contained. When I had a bad day he stopped by my house with a dozen roses. When I needed a date for prom last minute (my boyfriend and I had just broken up) John stepped right in and offered to take me and took care of every detail. After our high school's Mr. CLS competition he told me that I looked beautiful on stage. He had the biggest smile always on his face and did whatever it took to get a laugh out of everyone. He always knew he wanted to be a Marine and in high school trained each day because he knew what his calling was. I still think about him often and miss him dearly.

Thank you to all of the men and women who have died to protect this country's freedom. We tend to take it for granted but today is a great day to show appreciation.


(Bangs were in during 2002, thank you very much)
John borrowed his uncle's car for prom, he was beyond excited!

Getting ready to go camping after prom

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Happy 29th Anniversary Mom & Dad

Today my parents have been married for 29 years! It is crazy to think they have been married for almost 30 years, time flies. I thought I would share a few of their wedding pictures to see the awesome early 80's style.


Good lord what were they thinking getting those hats? (My mom insists that the bridesmaids wanted them and not her)

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Really?

I hate the weather here! It goes from 50 to close to 90 in a 4 day span. Honestly do I need to go from heat to air with no break....grrr



Monday, May 23, 2011

Maternity Clothes

After the initial shock of realizing I was pregnant wore off, I quickly realized that I would need to get a whole new wardrobe for my ever changing body the next 9 months. For the first couple of weeks I fit into my regular clothes without issue. Then the pants started to feel snug. I didn't want to spend a lot of money so instead of buying a bella band I used a hairtie to keep my pants closed (since I couldn't button them). Then about two weeks ago I realized that the poor hairtie had reached its limit and sitting at a desk all day was getting really uncomfortable. Enter maternity clothes!

I am not a girl that loves shopping so the thought of buying all new clothes scared me, not to mention I still wasn't mentality prepared for getting big. :) Before shopping I laid out a set of ground rules to strictly follow

1. Do not spend more than $40 on any piece of maternity clothing (this means sticking to the following stores: Old Navy, Target, Kohls and Destination Maternity/Motherhood Maternity)
2. Only buy clothes that still might be in style in a few years for baby #2 (I know, I am getting ahead of myself but heck, I am only buying one maternity wardrobe)
3. Get all of the staple clothing first then worry about outfits for random occassions

Thanks to a gift card from my mother-in-law and one from work I was able to get a head start on the maternity clothes without spending a lot.

Here is what I have:
3 pairs of jeans
2 pairs of casual pants that can turn into capri's
1 pair of black pants
1 pair of jean capri's
2 pairs of jean shorts
1 pair of khaki shorts
3 tank tops
3 short sleeve tops
1 swimsuit

Right now I am lucky because I can still wear a lot of my normal tops and they aren't getting too stretched out but I have a feeling that will soon end :) I also caution to NEVER buy any maternity cardigans because you don't need maternity cardigans, just use your regular ones and don't button them.

Here are the pictures of some of my clothes that I got at Old Navy.




Sunday, May 22, 2011

Happy Anniversary Melanie & Ryan

Holy cow does time fly! A year ago I was in Michigan getting ready for Melanie's wedding. The weather throughout the day was touch and go and required Ryan to buy all of us girls rain boots but in the end they had a great wedding which was a lot of fun. The best part of their wedding (besides them getting married) was the photo booth!


Congrats to Melanie and Ryan for making it through year #1 and I hope there are many more anniversaries in your future.


Love, Jenny and Louis











Friday, May 20, 2011

18.5 Weeks

I made Louis take this picture of me before work to give you all an idea of how big I currently am. I am officially in maternity clothes (I will have a future post all about maternity clothes) now and they feel AWESOME.




Thursday, May 19, 2011

I need a hobby

I have been given the same genes as my father and have the inability to just sit around. Especially in this crazy Chicagoland weather, I can't rely on having outside activities as hobbies. I love to read but I want another hobby that I could focus on as well that doesn't involve using a computer or watching TV etc. I know that once Baby Malic comes along, having several hobbies might be difficult to maintain but I think if I could find something now and stick with it...it might just stick after the baby's arrival.

Mom, make sure you are sitting down...but I was thinking of maybe trying to learn how to sew. Crazy I know....but at least it would be a decent skill to have and would come in handy with a baby on the way. The best part is I could borrow my mom's sewing machine and try it out and if I don't like it..then I didn't really waste money on getting a machine.

I am willing to take any other suggestions but I am thinking that maybe sewing might be a good start.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Pillows

I don't know if its because my parents have been trying to decide on new living room furniture or part of my has the same traits as my grandma unti and sean and feels compelled to mix it up but lately I have been starting at my living room thinking "this looks boring and blah". I want something fun and a change of scenary for the summertime. Right now our living has tan walls and cream couches. The pillows (which are super comfy and I heart) are a solid sage green. This pairs well with the connecting kitchen that has sage green walls. I don't know if summer makes me think of water or what the deal is but I was thinking of changing it up and introducing blue into my living room, but then I got to thinking that I might not have a lot of accesories to match. Then I thought what if I combine green and blue...cause well who doesn't love that idea? So I hit up my favorite website (Crate and Barrel) to search for fun pillows as inspiration. Granted, I most likely won't do anything because all of our money should really be spent on the bambino but still...if I can afford it or could mix it up here are some that peak my interest. :)


The pattern on this one is kinda funky (not sure if the hubby would enjoy)

Matches well with the placemats I bought a few months ago


This shouts- summertime and warm weather to me






Friday, May 13, 2011

Happy Birthday MIL and FIL

Today is Kathy and Bill's Birthday. That's right the Malic household before me only had two days a year to celebrate birthday's for 4 people!. Kathy and Bill were also born the same year so they are the exact same age. Its actually quite freaky and weird. :) Last night I was searching my computer for a picture of the two of them to post and it turns out we don't have a single picture of just the two of them together!! That is insane to me so I plan to solve that problem immediately. In celebration of their birthday tomorrow my parents, Louis, James, Kathy and Bill are all going to go up to Lake Geneva, WI to eat at Gordy's. Kathy and Bill have heard many things about the Unti family love of Gordy's so they are excited to see what all the hype is about (hopefully we didn't over hype it).

Happy Birthday to the greatest Mother-in-Law and Father-in-Law on the planet! Can't wait to see you tomorrow!!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Strike a Pose

With baby Malic's arrival, Louis and I know that there will be many pictures taken of our awesome baby. Unfortunately the camera's in the Malic household are less than stellar. My camera is from college and is a simple cannon camera. It can take video but honestly the quality is better on my blackberry camera than this thing. I think my camera has like .5x zoom....worthless. Louis' camera is definitely better but while his takes video- it won't record sound, making the video a silent film :) Since my birthday is coming up (July 3rd, write it down, and send me presents :) ) I thought that if I asked everyone to give me some money towards a new camera that I can get that as my present. My parents just got a new camera and my mom was showing it to me on Sunday and man, technology has clearly advanced since 2005 when I got my camera. The quality and capabilities are awesome. I was searching online and came across this Nikon camera that is around $260 bucks at Best Buy. It has received awesome reviews and is in a price point I find acceptable. The features that I wanted were:
1. Video capability
2. Lots of options for different settings (i.e. sunset, portrait, outdoor etc)
3. Sports mode (to take a lot of pictures quickly)
4. I didn't want an SLR cause lets face I don't have a super interest in learning to take different pictures and setting up every shot.
5. Not something super huge and bulky-- heck with a baby and diaper bag and my purse I don't have room for a ton more

I don't really have a preference for the type of battery (a card that is rechargable vs regular batteries) but it would be more convenient with a baby on the go to just keep a few extra batteries in the case and call it a day instead of remembering to charge the camera.



(sorry for the slightly blurry pic)




I am willing to take any reviews, suggestions, tips etc for camera shopping.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The 411 on Baby Malic

I have been slightly hesistant to talk a lot about the details of baby malic on this blog because I didn't want this blog to be ALL about babies, although I am sure my 7 readers wouldn't mind that too much. I have decided I will write about fun and key things throughout the pregnancy and definitely have the blog filled of the little one once they arrive-- after all the blog is about my life and clearly the baby will be a large part of it.

How we found out:
It was a Tuesday night and Louis was at class and I was home by myself. I was concerned because I was a little late and I decided to take a pregnancy test. The test was a digital CVS brand. I was honestly expecting it to say "Not Pregnant" and then I could stop having an internal freakout. When that stick flashed "Pregnant" I thought it was a joke. In my crazy head I thought, well maybe its wrong because its just a CVS brand test (not to insult the place my husband works at but you never know) so I raced out of the house and went to Walgreens to get the EPT (Error Proof Test) brand. Then I jugged a bunch of water and took it again....sure enough two pink lines appeared. I then realized that I had the biggest news of Louis and I's life and I was sitting alone at the house and Louis wouldn't be home for 4 hours. I decided to do laundry and watch Glee to get my mind off of things-- which of course did no good. When Louis walked in the door he saw me on the couch folding laundry and I said "Guess What" and he replied "What? Is someone we know pregnant?" and I said "Yep, me!". He had the same look on his face as I did when I looked at the first test, but then I rushed him up the stairs to show him the test as proof. He explained that he knew we would get pregnant super fast, I guess he has great confidence :)

The next day at work I snuck into a room to call the doctor and make an appointment. The appointment wasn't for a week and half and that week and half was the longest of my entire life! At the doctors office he did a quick exam and said "Yep, you are DEFINITELY pregnant". Louis and I knew that we wanted to wait to tell anyone until it was closer to the end of our first trimester and keeping it a secret was beyond difficult.

How we broke the news to family:
I was honestly SUPER SCARED to tell my dad that I was pregnant. For some reason I reverted back to my 15 year old self and didn't want to tell him, haha. We were going to my parents house for dinner one night and as we walked in the door my mom had asked what is new and I simply blurted out "well I am pregnant". At first they thought I was kidding but then I explained that I indeed was not. My dad seems very cool about and his only concern seemed to be around if I could still go on vacation...haha. There was no cute way in which we told them or some elaborate plan to break the news-- I just blurted it out and I felt so much better once they knew. We wanted to tell Louis' parents in person as well but due to the fact they live further away and we wanted them to know around the same time, we called them later that night to share the news. Of course the entire family was happy and excited. It is the first grandchild on both sides and first great grandchild on my side. Both my mom and Kathy were annoyed though that I made them swear to not say a word until I gave the green light at the end of my first trimester....this apparently proved to be the hardest task for both of them :)

Also, the entire family except for James thinks we are having a girl....why I have no idea. My dad also has given our child the name Danielle (his name is Daniel) and it is starting to stick with the family which isn't good cause I am pretty sure its giving my baby a complex already :)

Monday, May 9, 2011

The Vacation Countdown has begun

In exactly 31 days Louis and I with my parents and Sean leave for Hilton Head Island South Carolina. Anyone who knows me or my family knows that this has been a family favorite spot for the last few years, heck I can't even remember if this is my 4th or 5th time going back! This place is also known as my Dad's version of heaven on earth. I am pretty pumped for a vacation, I definitely could use a break from work and our normal weekly routine. Not to mention the beach and sun do wonders for my mood. As always, we will be driving down, spreading it out over a two day drive. The drive isn't that bad and I find ways to pass the time by sleeping or reading. Every once and awhile my mom feels the need to wake us up to tell us we are going through the mountains and look out the window. Typically Sean and I ignore her but last time was Louis' first time with us and he was very nice and looked out the window :) This year will be interesting as I will be 22 weeks pregnant and probably require a few more stops and a little more space in the car. It will also be a total bummer to not be drinking on vacation but hey-- at least I get a vacation. Some of the things we plan to do on our vacation are:

1. Lots of beach and pool time
2. Family photo (this will be interesting since we did a family vote yesterday and voted Sean out of the picture- haha)
3. Lots of seafood dinners
4. Renting a boat to cruise around the ocean looking for my mom's dolphin
5. Tennis/Crabbing/Biking
6. Eating a LOT of Salty Dog Birthday Cake ice-cream
7. Louis and I celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary




(I stole the pic from Google images) it is the view of Harbor Town at sunset


The best part is 11 days after we get back from this vacation we are going on vacation to the Wisconsin Dells over my birthday weekend with Katie, Eric, James and Sean. WOOHOO

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day

This year Mother's Day has a slightly different meaning for me. For the last 25 years it has always been about celebrating my mom and all she does for me. This year since I am pregnant, I am considering myself a mom to be, which in my book qualifies me to celebrate on Mother's Day. While I have only been pregnant about 17 weeks, I have already experienced the thoughts of wanting the very best for my child, and making sure that the life Louis and I give this baby is the best one. I can only imagine 26 years from now how I would feel towards my child. Needless to say--- I have a much deeper appreciation for my mom today (and Kathy-- god bless you for giving birth to two babies at one time!!) Happy Mother's Day to all of the amazing mom's out there!

Yep, that is me! You can ignore the 80's hair and glasses my mom was rockin!

Proof that my brother can be cute and sweet!!

Kathy and Barb- two awesome mom's!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Man U

On rare occasions I have been impressed with the place I work. Sometimes they surprise us with ice cream days or a key chain etc. Well now that Hewitt is officially now AON (AON bought Hewitt in the fall of 2010) we are now one big AON family. AON is the sponsor for Manchester United. For those of you have live in a cave (and yes Katie Kramer I am talking to you!) Man U is the most widely known sports team in the entire world. They are the premiere football (soccer to us in the USA) team and they have over 333 million fans. This is the team that David Beckham started off on before bouncing around and landing in LA. I find it strange that soccer and NASCAR are really the only sports I know that encourage sponsors on their jersey/car. It is weird to see a team jersey and it not boldly show the team name or logo. AON LOVES LOVES LOVES that they sponsor Man U so they decided to share that love in the form of free Man U jerseys for everyone who works at AON. In addition we got an AON bag to tote around (inside the tote was a coloring book and stickers!!) These jerseys retail for at least $80-90 bucks a pop so I was impressed. In addition, Man U is coming to America to play a few games in the MLS. In July they are coming to Soldier Field to play the Chicago Fire. As an AON associate I get a chance to get tickets in a block of seats that AON has reserved for us.

I decided that Louis will get the jersey because the other week at work I won a Man U t-shirt (looks exactly like the jersey but just a t-shirt). Now we can go to the game and rock out in our Man U gear!!



Monday, May 2, 2011

Cube Makeover

At my office we have the most boring and standard office cubes on the planet. They are this khaki crap color and frankly make work more depressing staring at the walls. When my team moved desks about a year ago, I decided to take matters into my own hands and add some cube wallpaper. I hung black and white flower wrapping paper to give my cube some flare. Well in doing that I got a lot of questions, compliments etc so I left it up all year. Over the weekend, we once again moved desks so I took the opportunity to change up the black and white flowers for something a little more cheerful. Enter the striped tissue paper! I found that it was actually cut much better to size and easier to put up so that was an added bonus. Now I have something fun to look at (well besides the great pictures of Louis and I) and it is cheerful. With the move I also took the opportunity to de-clutter my desk so now I have an empty corner that is screaming to be filled with something. I am thinking maybe a plant-- cause well I have had such good luck with the one at my house, maybe I should branch out here as well. Not to mention, I am pretty sure this office could use some fresh oxygen!