Meet Gus!

August “Gus” Frank Simcik came into the world on June 10th, 2011. He was a big boy, weighing 8 pounds 3 ounces and 20 inches long. So far he is calm, sweet and easy going. People keep telling me that second children know that they need to be this way. And in the tradition of how parents should be with second children, I’m totally late in getting out pictures of him. I think I posted Leo’s birth blog on his birthday, from the hospital! Oh, and while Gus is very laid-back, he does have one demand: do not call him “Donald Duck” anymore!

 

 

 

		Gus’ First Few Days VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Expansion: The Final Stages

Baby Donald Duck is scheduled to arrive this Friday, June 10th!

 

I am eager for him to get here because this belly just CANNOT get any bigger. Look at this thing:

 

 

Everywhere I go I have to answer to my pregnancy public. 99% of people have nothing but nice things to say but it really adds on time to my errand running.  Yesterday I went to the Dollar Store and Target and I had seven people stop me to talk. One lady said, "Oh. My. Gosh. It’s a girl, right?” And when I told her it was a boy, she said, “I’m rarely wrong about these things.” Then she told me about how she had four girls and for her fifth pregnancy they said it was a girl too but it was a boy. Then she commented on my hugeness and how this baby is sure to be enormous.  The biggest baby she’d ever seen, I think she said. Later I went to Fresh Market and a gaggle of people at the register, including employees, all ambushed me about how I’m probably going to go into labor at any second and they didn’t know how to deliver a baby.

I totally can relate to how celebs feel but at least they can cover themselves up with sunglasses and hats. There’s no covering up this bump!

I’ve got so many stories about stranger comments, I could probably write a book. I’ll stop going on and on about it cause this is most likely my last pregnancy and I should just enjoy the attention. But I do have to tell you about one stranger who stroked my belly for way too long and as she was running her finger over it and I was feeling really uncomfortable, she said, “Do you get annoyed when people touch your belly? I know I did when I was pregnant!”

 

So we’re gearing up for the baby’s arrival by getting out all of Leo’s baby gear, washing tiny baby clothes and spending way too much money at giant baby box stores. Here’s Leo trying out the baby’s car seat:

 

 

 

We’re also trying to shower Leo with attention (and water since it’s so hot)! Here we are last night at the spray ground. That’s my totally-worth-it maternity bathing suit!

 

 

 

And here’s Leo relaxing and goofing off with John after the spray ground. John will be a big brother in September and he is ALSO having a baby brother. I’m sure Leo will be glad to give him some big brother pointers!

Frank’s Rules for the Weekend

Frank works hard all week so he really relishes his weekend time. Sure, he “fires up the computer” (as he puts it) a few times but he rarely goes into the office or does a lot of work on the weekends.

Over the years he’s developed some weekend rituals and traditions:

1. Never wear a watch. In fact, if someone asks him what time it is,  he’ll say, “I don’t wear a watch. It’s the weekend!” Or if I try to coordinate plans he’ll borrow a line from Jordan Catalano in “My So Called Life” and say, “I don’t make plans. Whatever happens happens.”

2. Don’t shave. If we have something to go to on a weekend, like a wedding, he’ll ask me, “Do you think I need to shave for this?” I have no idea what the rules are as far as facial hair and etiquette. (I also don’t know if guys can go outside in their undershirts, another question Frank always ask me. Anybody?)

3. Drink beer. There’s four beer Friday, anything goes Saturday and what’s gone from two beer Sunday to four beer Sunday. Now that it’s summer, he really likes to drink beer by the pool. That’s why he prefers the neighborhood pool (beer allowed) over the YMCA pool (no booze).

4. Don’t tuck in your shirt. He even manages to follow this rule at church. He wears khaki pants and a Polo-style shirt and it actually looks not too sloppy.

5. Listen to country music. This is new in the past few months. I’ve always loved country so I was thrilled when Frank started turning the radio station to “The Bull” and “Kicks.” But come to find out, we have different taste in country music. While I prefer the more pop-sounding Keith Urban and Sugarland, Frank likes blue-collar country like Jason Aldean and Billy Currington. If it has the words “whiskey,” and/or “tractor” in it, he’s a fan. Just to give you an example, Frank likes that Luke Bryan song that goes:

Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey
Whiskey makes my baby feel a little frisky
Back roads are boggin' up, my buddies pile up in my truck
We hunt our honeys down, we take 'em into town
Start washin' all our worries down the drain
Rain is a good thing

Yesterday they were playing country music at the YMCA pool. Frank said, “Yes, it feels like the weekend! If only I could have a beer.”

Then on Mondays it’s back to punctual, clean-shaven, sober, nicely dressed, AM-radio listening Frank.

His co-workers have no idea that he spends his weekends living the trailer park life!

Heat Wave

It’s record temps here in Georgia this week (supposed to be 80-somethings but it’s actually 90-somethings). Looks like we’ll have to tell Leo’s brother that he was born in the middle of a heat wave!

The future big bro is handling it just fine. Since summer unofficially began last weekend we have made four trips to the pool, two sessions at the water table and one excursion to the spray ground. I had my camera handy for a few of these moments. I managed to get the water table, a sing-a-long at a park with our MOMs club and Leo, John and Etienne enjoying Bomb Pops post-spray ground.

Gotta go. We’re off to the pool again! (Oh, and the maternity bathing suit that I hesitated to buy since I would only need it for two weeks? Totally worth it!)

 

House Hunters Junkie: The Sequel

 

It’s been over four years since I first wrote this post on about my love for House Hunters on HGTV.

Y’all, I’m still obsessed. You’d think my interest would have waned by now but it hasn’t. See, HH has evolved: they no longer have a host. (Sorry, Suzanne Whang!) I think this is an improvement because now we don’t waste time watching some lady walk down a generic street. We get right to the good stuff—the insides of the houses! Also, they often show you where houses are on a map. What a great visual. Because, if you fancy yourself a pseudo real estate expert like I do, you know that location is everything.

The show also keeps my interest because they keep getting CRAZY people. Now, I don’t think HGTV actually chooses them because they’re crazy. I think HGTV is going for interesting stories, good locales, etc. And the people aren’t obviously crazy like on those intervention or hoarder or couponing shows. But to me, they end up looking ridiculous!

For example, I was watching a House Hunters International (which I actually like better than domestic HH, especially if it’s a beachy place) and this family was looking for a house in St. John. (Bonus since it’s a place I’ve been to!) 

So the voiceover person says that this couple has been scrimping and saving their entire lives to afford a place in St. John. They have two college-aged kids. Even dad tears up when they talk about how long this has been a dream for them and how they can’t believe it’s finally coming true. They have worked hard, lived modestly and now they have a budget of a million dollars for this beach house.

“And they have one day to find it,” says the HH voiceover person.

HUH??? ONE DAY? You’ve saved a MILLION dollars, dreamed for 20+ years and you can only spare ONE DAY to go house hunting? I mean, I would at least want to take two days just so I would have on different outfits for the show!! WHY? WHY? WHY?

I love St. John. I love House Hunters International but these people drove me nuts!!

Then there was one in Charlotte I think where this couple (who were both doctors) and their kid + one on the way had $700K to spend. The houses were awesome because they were older, close to town and beautiful. But the one they chose had no garage. NO GARAGE for $700K? I realize you gotta make some sacrifices living in the city but come on! Of course, in the follow-up segment they were all, “We love not having a garage! It’s no problem at all!” Okay, guys. Your kids obviously don’t have any ride-along toys.

And now onto the wackiest HH I’ve EVER seen. There’s so much to say that I better bullet point it.

(Or check it out here if you like: http://www.hgtv.com/video/fiji-vacation-home-for-six-video/index.html)

• House Hunters International
• Family with mom, dad and four kids live in Tucson
• They want a vacation home in Fiji because that’s where they honeymooned and they “love the people.”
• They pack up their four kids and go house hunting. The house they choose is a compound of several houses.

Now here’s why this one is so ridiculous:

• These people have a pretty modest house in Tucson. Their two daughters—who are 11 and 15 months—have to share a room! My point? They ain’t loaded.
• Fiji? Really? Is it necessary to go SO FAR? How often are you gonna take your FOUR kids to Fiji? Again, they ain’t loaded and that’s a long flight for those kids. Plus, don’t they have to go to school?
• The house that’s a compound: It’s beautiful but not really kid-friendly. Each villa has a bedroom or two and since they can’t be in different houses from their kids, they were just all going to sleep in one room.
• So let me get this straight: You’re gonna spend $500K on a vacation home that takes like 20 hours to get to by plane, pay for six of you to fly there enough times a  year to make it a worthy investment and then, when your jet-lagged kids finally get there, you’re gonna all pile up into one room? All because you like the people?

I take it back. Some House Hunters ARE as crazy as Hoarders.

Choo Chooin in Chattanooga

We took Leo on a “Big Boy” trip to Chattanooga  this past weekend. It was his last trip as an only child so we made him the center of attention. The main draw was the “Day out with Thomas” event that was being held there. We joined other parents and their 2-7 year-olds for a hot, fun-filled afternoon with Thomas, Sir Topham Hatt and the gang. Here are some pics from our weekend which also included the Aquarium and a ride on an electric train at the famous Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel.

Oh, and luckily I found another family of three where the mom was taking all the pics and convinced them to take our pic in front of the Aquarium (in exchange for us taking their pic). If I hadn’t done that, there would be no record of me being on this trip! It looks more like “Leo and Daddy’s weekend fun!” Oh, I was there all right—8+ months pregnant and sweating!!

 

 

“Would you rather?” in Real Life

In college, we used to love to play the “Would you rather?” game. Here’s an example: Would you rather have one great outfit that fits you perfectly that you had to wear every day for the rest of your life or a closet full of clothes that were always two sizes too small?

You can’t answer that you would lose weight or you would just explain to everyone the situation. You have to just answer on impulse and not factor in that you can make any adjustments.

I’d love to offer more examples of this game but I can’t think of any that aren’t vulgar or x-rated.

So here’s a real life one that happened to me. Well, it happened to Frank.

Would you rather have $300 and have to keep a queen size mattress and box spring propped up against the wall of one of your bedrooms for 30 days or NOT have $300 and just keep your mattress and box spring on your bed?

When a research company called Frank and asked if he would participate in this mattress study, he first refused. See, they DO bring you a new mattress and box spring to test out but they insist that you keep yours in a room in the house—not in the attic or garage. He figured I wouldn’t go for that.

But then I asked, “How much did they say they’d give you?” For $300, I’ll have mattresses all over the house! You can even call me Mattress Mack (a little humor only the Houston readers will get)!

So he called them back and here’s how we’re living now: we’ve got a pretty nice mattress on our bed that Frank has to review on a weekly basis for the next 30 days. (First impression: too firm). And in what was formerly the guest room and is now the nursery, we’ve got this:

 

 

It’s scheduled to be picked up around the day that we bring the baby home from the hospital. Boy, is he gonna get a good first impression! He’ll be like, “What kind of white trash family did I get born into?”

Don’t worry, baby. We won’t call you Bubba. But we might call you Mack.