Bump Pictures – Part 1

Life has been a roller coaster over the past 6 months (2-3 years really).  Blogging has slowed way down but I really want to document my pregnancy and this joyful part of our lives.  And I want to share with family/friend/anyone that cares to read this!  So here is my recap of roughly the first half of my pregnancy with my precious twin babies.

Five Weeks

• My pants still zipped.
• We hadn’t told ANYONE yet.
• I had started to feel twinges of nausea and pregnancy symptoms.  But I felt pretty good overall.  I was counting my lucky stars for no morning sickness.
• No real cravings, other than FOOD.  I kept saying, “I haven’t done anything to warrant being this hungry.”  Scott always gave me a look and said, “You’re growing two humans.”  It just didn’t feel real yet.
• Frank Beamer’s last home game.  Won in overtime against North Carolina. Go Hokies!

Ten Weeks

• Last Christmas before we become a family of four!
• I used a hair tie to hold my pants up (but was anxious to try my newly purchased belly band and Target maternity jeans).
• Had told both of our families and close friends.
• Got 3 high fives per touchdown (one for me, one per baby)  during the VT bowl game on 12/26.
• Exclusively used the “Virginia Tech Mom” and “Virginia Tech Dad” mugs during our stay at my parents house.
• Got nauseous if I didn’t eat basically once an hour.
• Felt like I was hungover every morning (this was the extent of my morning sickness – not nausea but tired/dehydrated/hungry).

Eleven Weeks

• Scott’s 31st Birthday! Celebrated with friends, old and new from near and far.
• Hosted a New Years Eve gathering.  I prepared by fighting with Scott because I was cranky from a week-long headache (no Advil for pregnant women!?) followed by crying in Scott’s lap because I was so happy.  Scott prepared by hanging out (hiding) in the basement and riding the hormonal waves of his wife.

Twelve Weeks

• My 30th Birthday!
• I squeezed myself into the pretty tulle skirt I bought pre-pregnancy.
• Still felt hungover every morning.
• The Bump had popped!
• Scott and I saw our babies looking like babies (not beans) for the first time at our 12 week ultrasound appointment on my actual birthday.  After a broken ultrasound machine and a rush to the hospital, we got to watch our babies move and kick onscreen for a good 45 minutes!  One was nicknamed “The Kicker” aka The Scott Twin.  The other was much more laid back, aka The Rebecca Twin.  Yes, I am laid back in this equation. 
• We officially passed into the “safe” zone and made the big announcement to the world (Instagram and Facebook).

Fourteen Weeks

• Officially out of the first trimester.
• Started to feel less hungover each morning.
• Everybody knew and it was so fun to talk about it. 

Fifteen – Sixteen Weeks

• Life started to feel ‘normal’ again.
• I often commented that I hadn’t realized how bad I felt during the first trimester until now – I felt so much better than I had for the past 3+ months.  But I still think I got it easy overall.
• Forget to do official pictures with the good camera, but I snapped a little something weekly for mom.
• Craving=chocolate cake.

Eighteen Weeks

• Feeling good!
• Went on 2 mile hike with Scott.  Get shell-shocked at the difference in my 16 week picture and this one.  I believe I said, “Why didn’t anyone tell me!?”
• Took advantage of the unseasonal warm weather (and my new pink Hunter boots) at the beach.
• Was getting seriously anxious to start setting up the nursery, but had to wait until we found out what we were having!!
• At this point, I haven’t worn pants that zip in months. Elastic is my friend and there are usually at least 3 layers of clothing over the belly at any given time.
• Prince has to make accommodations for the new shape of my lap.
• Still craving = chocolate cake.

So there you have it- the first half of my pregnancy!  Back with more soon!

This and That

Apparently I don’t feel like being a “share-er” anymore! Here’s what’s been happening.

We went to my favorite concert EVER. Needtobreathe at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. They were everything.

We went to Greece. For ourselves.

We went to Delaware. For a wedding. Amazing dancing.

We had our fourth wedding anniversary. Scott bought me a trip to Greece for our anniversary.  I planned the trip to Greece for Scott for our anniversary. 🙂

We straight up quit doing work ON the house.  Now I’m buying pretty things FOR the house. Guess which I like better. I dare you.

We went to Bermuda. For a wedding. Bermudians=party!

I jumped on the Essential Oils bandwagon. Have only tried what came in the starter kit. I’ve ordered a few more for immune boosting.  I can’t handle Scott’s ongoing cough/sniffle that lasts all winter this year.

I started taking spin classes.  I love it. Great workout, but it’s such a mental game for me! The first two classes I almost broke down in tears.  I think I need to throw some yoga in for good measure.

Family time and mini golf with my pink-loving mini me.

We (I) have had my heart broken by Hokie football.

We (Scott) have had all our (his) dreams come true. The Mets are in the World Series. Lets Go Mets!

We saw Josh Turner right here in our hometown. His {deep} voice is just as good in person as it is on the radio. And it’s an excuse to wear cowboy boots in Jersey.

And I’ve knitted 6 scarves. Help.

The “During” Stage of Life

{House} facelifts don’t just happen.  But weren’t those “After” pictures nice?  Working on the house has been consuming our weekends and weeknights for awhile now.  I wanted to be sure to document the people doing the “during” work, not just the “after” pictures.  Because one day we’ll be able to just enjoy our house and our weekends, and I don’t want to take that for granted.

We have had some incredible help from our family and friends.  Look at this sooty fireplace.

My family visited for a weekend at the Shore, but cold, rainy weather turned it into a work weekend!  Hi Megan!  Poor girl got roped into re-painting our fireplace.

And it looks so much better!

Mom helped me weed.  ALL the weeds.  They are the absolute bane of my existence.

Dad and Scott replaced rotted boards on the deck. 

And then Scott and his dad re-stained the whole thing.  It’s a BIG deck.

We also painted our 2 downstairs bedrooms.  Somehow we talked our friends, Todd and Allie, into helping us. 

You go to bed thanking Jesus for that sort of blessing.

And when it’s all done – or feels like it won’t end – I employ my good friend, tequila.We have one more weekend of housework to push through.  Send good thoughts, prayers and maybe tequila!

Fitzgerald Fourth of July

We had a Fourth of July full of family and friends. And alliteration.  The whole big Fitzgerald clan was in town for our annual summer get-together.

We were blessed with a gorgeous beach day on Friday (and a day off of work! even better!)

We are lucky to see our nieces and nephews as often as we do, despite the distance.

July 3rd is a big day in the family so we had a celebratory dinner out.  We celebrated 11 years of marriage for Mark and Steph.  I hate that I didn’t know them when they got married!  I would have loved to be there.

And Millie’s birthday!  I believe it was your 29th, right, Mil?

The Fourth wasn’t beach weather (insert sad faces here).  But Uncle Scott still got some good ol’ fashioned American football time in with Liam.  

Liam picked up the football after breakfast and said, “Who wants to play football with me?”  I think Scott walked away from me mid-sentence.

He’s not even four years old! Look at him go.  Scott was so proud he nearly burst.

We spent the afternoon at the track.  It’s outside, you can bring your own food/drink and the kids can run around.  I highly recommend it.

Winning ticket, y’all!

We ended the weekend with a huge cookout.  There was limbo, a pinata and a dance party. 

And my favorite – SPARKLERS!  Most of the kids were in bed so I asked the adults to humor me.  While I was spinning and dancing, I turned around to see this.  A line of people standing.  Just standing! 

Oh well.  Not everyone can have my flair! 🙂

A big thank you to our family for making the trek to Jersey and making our Fourth festive!

Blush and Champagne

Two weeks ago, Scott and I were in VEGAS, BABY for Maria’s wedding!  We took a 5:30 am flight.  From Philadelphia.  We left our house at 3:00 am. I couldn’t talk about it leading up to it.  My father-in-law is an eminently helpful individual and would bring it up to talk through the logistics and details.  Scott would just nod, “Yes, that’s right, 5:30.  Yep, from Philly.  Yes, we figured out the parking.”  I would just walk in the other direction.  Not trying to be rude, but it was just my coping mechanism with that hour of the morning!  Here I am on flight #2, post-make up-application.

The flight into Vegas was a PARTY!

We stayed at The Venetian and after checking in, headed straight to the pool party at TAO.  This is so far from my realm of comfort.

But it was a great way to get the wedding guests together in a Vegas atmosphere before everything started.

We roomed with our new friends, Allie and Todd.  Allie is a fellow bridesmaid (thats how we met) and fellow Hokie.  She lives in the next town (coincidence!) and we decided we must be travel partners throughout all the Miami and Vegas travel for the wedding.

We introduced the husbands once before spending 3 nights in one room together.  It went well, but we couldn’t predict just how smashingly they ended up getting along.  Todd came into the room and casually said, “I brought American Flag bandanas.”  The room went dead silent.  And that was when I knew, everything was going to be just fine.After a 2:30 am wake up call and an afternoon in the sun with cocktails, all we could manage for dinner was burgers.  They were amazing – definitely try I Heart Burgers if you can.  They also had great orange crushes/margaritas.  Cause it’s Vegas.  This is a Seoul burger (with Kimchi and a fried egg).

And then we went to bed at 8:30.

The next day was nails and rehearsing for the girls and golf, gambling and celebrity-sighting for the boys.  Isn’t the day before your wedding such a surreal time?  It was fun to spend some quick quiet time with Maria.

Josh came in during our photo shoot and well, grooms need love, too.

The fabulous foursome snuck in a little time at the sports bar in the casino.  Did I mention that the Kentucky Derby AND the Mayweather fight were both that weekend?  In the biggest gambling city in the world?

It was a show.

The girls were so busy with wedding stuff, that we barely got any Vegas time. So we really enjoyed our stroll to and from the rehearsal dinner down the strip.

The desert sunset was just beautiful.  And Las Vegas is really just a playground for adults.

This is becoming gratuitous, but humor me.  We were dressed up and had places to go!

Oh my word, the Bellagio fountains! I was in love.  We stayed for 3 shows. 

Hats off to the designers/choreographers. 

They had classic Vegas-Sinatra, Big Band and the Grand Finale was Whitney Houston singing the National Anthem. We loved it and talked about it for the rest of the weekend.  There may have been fountain-inspired dance moves at the wedding…

Now! The reason for the weekend!  Would you just LOOK at that champagne and blush perfection?

Our bridesmaid gift was this adorable PJ set.

I love it and can see no reason to not always have adorable sleeping outfits.

Here is our beautiful bride!  We had a nice, leisurely time getting ready.  And in true Maria and Rebecca fashion, the two of us wound up hidden from the make up artists fixing our make up, while having a giggle fit.  Don’t stand between us and eyeliner and bronzer, mmkay?

Maria was a beautiful bride, inside and out.  I can’t say enough.  My iPhone photos don’t do it justice.

The day was just perfect, as was the venue.

These handsome gents were there waiting for us.  We couldn’t have asked for a better support team.

The beautiful bride.  (She had a GoPro in her bouquet – brilliant!)

It was a very emotional, beautiful ceremony.  As you can tell by the bridesmaid caught mid-tear brush (that would be moi).

I always try to soak up the messages at weddings, because it makes you treasure your own marriage.

Speaking of marriage – I wore my wedding shoes again and it was GLORIOUS.

BFFs.

I promise, we talked to other people!  There were some dear lifelong friends there and I soaked up every minute of it.

Patrick is the closest thing to a brother I had growing up.  It warms my heart that we are such good friends with each other’s spouses.  Jenny and I talked throughout the whole dang dinner.  And forget about small talk, this was heart-spilling stuff.  And Patrick basically tackled Scott when ‘Enter Sandman’ was played at the end of the night.  My heart could explode from the happiness.

Why didn’t I play Enter Sandman at my wedding? Can I even call myself a Hokie?

Maria had some lovely details. 

I can’t get over the cocktail napkins…Maria loves Josh more.  Are you serious right now with the cuteness!?

Dear friends, old and new.

The cool thing about sharing a middle school & high school with Maria?  Getting to reconnect with your best friend from 7th grade. And marveling that she married a kid you met in kindergarten. And remembering why you got along so well all those years ago.  Hi Thanh and Randy!

Basically, what I’m trying to say is that we had a good time, to put it mildly.

The Strip by night.  It was a wonderful wedding and I’m glad to have shared in Maria and Josh’s special day.

Best wishes, y’all!  LOVE you!

A Love Letter to Maria

I meant to post this last week.  But then I had to whisk away to Vegas, take 2 days off work and you know, still get all of my work done.  So posting about my friend Maria BEFORE she got married did not happen.  But I still wanted to post this little love letter to her anyways.  And then post all of the pink and sparkly pictures from her wedding next week!

Maria and I went to the same middle school, high school AND college (Go Hokies!).  But we had to go all the way to France to become friends.  We were both Hospitality majors and were mentored by the same fabulous man, Pierre.  We were some of his “shining stars.”  So when he organized a trip post-graduation to the South of France, we both jumped on it.  At one of the planning sessions, Maria approached me and said a shy hello.  And then we ran into each other at the airport where Maria and her mom were frantically unpacking Maria’s {overweight} luggage.  She stored her hot rollers and comforter in my luggage and the rest is history!

We roomed together across St. Tropez, Cannes, Nice and Antibes.

We discovered a love of walking up and down docks admiring boats and yachts.  We each even found the boats named after us.

The Silly Goose.

And the Lazy Princess.

We ate our weight in olive tapenade, cheese, bread, pizza and more pizza (there is a large Italian influence on the food in the South of France, being so close to Italy.  We embraced it.)And gelato, of course!!

Our routine was to each get a cone with two scoops of different flavors.  We would then switch cones half way through as we strolled/power walked along the coast for hours.

We enjoyed the sweet, leisurely way of life in France. We watched old men play bocce ball, we read, laid in the sun, went to the market daily to make the world’s BEST salads for dinner. 

We shared life stories, our dreams for the future and talked about the men we would both eventually marry.  I was there when Maria told her now husband she loved him over Skype, only to have the connection short out directly after.  That is what lasting friendships are made of, people.  At the end of the trip, we gave ourselves the title, “Best Couple.”  And we were 🙂

Back stateside, we supported each other through good and bad jobs, moves, new pets and continued to power walk whenever possible.  She taught me the ways of bronzer when my French tan faded.  She taught me it was ok to wear olive green instead of pink, black or white.  I taught her the reverse.  She lets me borrow her clothes at the drop of a hat.  And no one can talk hospitality and service like we can.

When I got married, Maria stood up beside me and was so sweet and supportive through every shower, bachelorette party and little detail. It was even her idea for my hot pink cocktail dress with the rest of the girls in black.  Love.

She made the trek to Newport, didn’t complain about the windy weather and even let our friend Billy throw her bouquet.  

She and Josh visited us in New York and I have such good memories of that trip. 

Still best couple.

And then it was my turn to shower her with pink and sparkle at her bridal shower (she really took to my pink lessons well!), wear sparkly temporary tattoos at her bachelorette and stand up beside her at her wedding.   I love you, Maria!

Your Hair Looks Like an Easter Egg!

That quote has nothing to do with anything, besides Easter.  I just love Grease.

Since we have a rather early Easter this year, I took a look back at our first Easter in our house.  I never shared anything here about the first big holiday we hosted for MY side of the family at the house.  It was a really nice weekend with my parents, my sister, her boyfriend and some Fitzgeralds and friends peppered in for good measure.

First off, food.  There was much and it was good.  My sister’s favorite blueberry muffins are always a hit.  They are super time-intensive but oh, so worth it.

We had to get fresh bagels for our NJ visitors.  We tried a new place and I’m a fan of the proximity to our house and the fact that the gentlemen behind the counter gave me a 13th bagel for luck (Baker’s dozen? Yes, please.).

Barefoot Contessa Greek Panzanella. You must do this, immediately.

I loved having the whole family in the house. We are always very low key when we are together and this weekend was no different.  The boys golfed, the women lunched, shopped and walked on the beach.

Our lunch view.

Have I mentioned I love where we live?

When the boys returned, much more sunburned than when they left, we grilled and played games.  Every time we have a full house, I feel so blessed that we have this house that fits our family comfortably and that we are able to host.

My family is big on games and we brought our friends in on the tradition.  Heads Up is our new favorite, mixed in with old favorites like Cranium.

We also dyed eggs.  It’s an Easter tradition!

I don’t think Justin was ready for the intensity of dying eggs with the Burtch family.

And then we satisfied man’s desire to build things and burn things.  We now have a make shift fire pit as a place holder until we can get a real one.

On Easter Sunday we went to church and then had to get down to business.  The business of football.

And my preferred business.  Cooking.

Our feast included ham, Ms. Leslie’s green beans and “Rebecca’s potatoes” (and lots of bread, of course).  You know you’ve made it in our family if you have a side dish named after you.

And then. You must know about this.  The Annual Easter Egg Roll.  It’s a tradition in my family since before I was born.  Basically, you choose your best, most favorite hard-boiled, dyed Easter egg.  This should be done during the egg dying process.  Mine is always a shocking shade of pink.

Then, you pair up, oldest against youngest, get down on the floor and roll your eggs across the floor at each other.  The goal is for them to crash into each other.  Only one will break!  I promise! Try it, you won’t be disappointed.

The winner from each round advances to the next round, and so on and so on.

There will be losers.

And one ultimate winner.  Bragging rights included.Happy Easter, everyone!

A Very Full Valentine’s Day

We celebrated {love} this Valentine’s Day, that is for sure.  Love of Family.  Love of Friends. Even a little bit for each other.  Scott and I had a lovely meal at our new favorite restaurant.  It’s called Mezze Cantina – or maybe the Gas Light – depending on who you ask.  But regardless of it’s identity crisis, the food is always spot on.  These are broiled oysters with lemon, garlic and butter.  Oh, yes.

Valentine’s started on a high note with pork roll and my favorite rook coffee.

But quickly devolved into changing a tire in the freezing cold.  Oh well, real life marches on – even on Valentine’s Day.

For the rest of the day we had a bit of an impromptu reunion with my mother-in-law’s family.  We had people in from Ohio and North Carolina and the local contingent, of course.  We had lunch at the same restaurant – in the same room – as my surprise bridal shower!

It was loud, crazy and fully what I would expect from this clan.

Look at this little Valentine sweetie!  Can you even handle the awesome-ness that is his shirt?  Is my Jersey showing? Because I want one in my size.

After lunch, a group went to a local brewery (Carton Brewing).  It has a great vibe and is only $5 for 6 beer samples.  I can’t finish that many, but enjoy my time there whenever we go.  Probably in part because we are always there with a fun group of people.

I wish we lived closer to Scott’s cousins from North Carolina.  We always have the best time with them!  Although we do have a Virginia Tech vs. NC State game in the works and I could not be more thrilled!

After yet another group get-together at dinner, Scott and I snuck in a drink a local bar, where the mood was anything but romantic.  Lets just say we encountered a couple who had discovered a love for chocolate martinis who wanted to tell us ALL about it.  We couldn’t do anything but laugh.

We ended the day with dear friends.  Scott and Stu are forever friends.  You know, the kind that fight in the snow on Valentine’s Day.

Leslie and I lucked out that we get along famously.  As Scott says, “It makes things so much easier.”  He’s right.  I love doing life with these two. 

I hope everyone else had a love-filled, if not quite as FULL Valentine’s day!

Disneyland Adventures and California Dreaming

I went to DIsneyland!

This fall, I was able to bookend a work trip to Anaheim, CA with trips to Disneyland and California Adventure.  I was there with my {then} supervisor and {still} friend who is also a Disney fanatic.  It felt like we hit the jack pot.  

Since it was October, the park was all done up for Halloween.

Even the haunted mansion had been taken over by the Nightmare Before Christmas characters.  Not just the mansion but the entire ride.

Not everything was Halloween-themed though.  Some standbys were their usual selves, like the Tiki Room and Small World.  I wasn’t expecting big things from Small World, but I have to tell you, it might have been my favorite ride!  It’s been redone and they added the Disney movie characters into the scenes of all of the countries.  Here’s Simba and Pumba.

The Little Mermaid!  I’m not sure which country she was supposed to be in. Aladdin!

And they added America to the ride!  There was a farm scene, mountains and cowboys and Native Americans.  I think the Native Americans were Tiger Lily and gang from Peter Pan and Woody and Jessie were the cowboy faction, obviously.

During our work time, we even got to have dinners at some of the Disney-themed restaurants.  I’d never been to a Trader Sam’s but luckily I was with a pro.

While it is a themed restaurant, it is definitely for adults only.  Completely decked out in tiki-Hawaiian-polynesian-ship wreck chic, it was a 360 degree fully interactive experience.  My friend’s seat at the bar would suddenly start to lower, there was a song to accompany every drink order, sometimes with sprays of water, live-action volcanic photos and an indoor thunderstorm.    Ordering a drink caused such a stir, that they had to come in a worthy glass.  Each drink has a corresponding glass, which you can purchase, of course.  And they were limited edition, naturally.  I bought the one on the right.  I thought it would be fun at Halloween but didn’t creep me out too much.

Delicious food and crazy bars aside, lets focus on my favorite part of the trip.  That time we deemed plastic crowns beneath me and asked where to find real, sparkly crowns.

At Disney, they didn’t even bat an eye at that request.  The crown display was next to the real jewelry and crystal stemware, but of course.  And it was magical.  Everyone should have the chance to try on this many crowns.

We also spent a bit of time at California Adventure.There’s more grown up fun and less of a “magical world” feel to it.

However, I would recommend that you definitely make a stop at Radiator Springs from Cars.  It was like stepping into the movie come to life!
It was actually quite amazing.And the Cars ride really takes it over the edge.  You are in a race car, racing other people on another track.  You come up close and personal with a life size animatronic ‘Mater, Lighting McQueen and Porsche.   I’m not kidding about the life-size. Definitely go, if you have a Cars fan in your life.

All in all, this princess was grateful for an unexpected chance to go to Disney again.  I didn’t think I would get the chance as an adult with no kids to use as an excuse!  

It was a real treat and renewed my wonder in all things Disney, sparkle and magic.

Descending on Blacksburg

In November some far-flung Hokies converged on Blacksburg from Jersey, Philly, Maryland and Northern Virginia.

For Scott and I, this was our first trek to Blacksburg from The Jersey.  I’m rethinking my firm stance on all of our future children being automatic, no-choice-about-it Hokies, because the drive took for-e-ver.  Sniffle and tear.

But it was totally worth it to be back, oh my word!  Pretty Blue Ridge.

We fit as much as we could into our weekend.  The first stop was obviously Cabo Fish Taco followed by a trip to the bookstore to buy even more Hokie gear.  You can never have enough.  The benefit of not being in college anymore is that you can afford to buy not only T-shirts nowadays, you can buy new tailgate chairs.  Or an “infrastructure” purchase.  Score.

We couldn’t fit in every favorite bar and restaurant, sadly.

But we did our best to pretend we were still in college, complete with dancing and shenanigans.

Seriously, Jessie Lynn and Lauren, how many pictures like this do we have from college?  It makes my heart happy.

On Saturday, we were up and out for tailgating.  This was my mimosa, plus an uninvited ingredient.

Besides leaf-flavored mimosas, there was much bourbon, fried chicken and biscuits.  What more could you want on a rainy, chilly game day?

The traditional group photo (same positioning, always) with Lee Family Scarves compliments of Lauren’s momma.  We are lucky to have these friends.

Lane Stadium, you pretty lady.

Lets Go!

Hokies!

From Enter Sandman to frozen toes, there was so much goodness.

Sadly, our beloved Hokies were not victorious. We drowned our sorrows in gumbo and jambalaya at Boudreaux’s and parked it at Champs for tunes, Hokie football trivia and dancing.  The weekend was definitely a success.  

Which game are we going to next year, friends?