Thursday 13: Thirteen things I haven't blogged yet

Here is a list of 13 things I have not blogged about in a total hodge podge order.

1) The Name-
Everyone is dying to know what little D's name will be. I must admit I am dying to know too. We have it narrowed down to 25 possibilities. We know everyone is dying to monogram. We know we are running out of time. We know... we know.... we know.......
Here are the names on the original list that did not make the cut. To be on the original list only one of us had to kind of like the name.

Alyssa
Bethany
Anna Claire (This was my front running name for a LONG time-- Anna Claire as a double name)
Lindsay
Madison
Payton
Penny (when this one got cut I was SO sad. Darn that Big Bang Theory and Sheldon knocking on the door or Penny could have stayed)
Abby
Abigail
Ada
Alexa
Alexia
Alexis
Alisa
Allie
Amy
Angelina
Annalise
Ariana
Avril
Bella
Beth
Blaire
Blythe
Brianna
Brooke
Cameron
Camryn
Caroline
Chloe
Colette
Courtney
Danielle (got a maybe until we paired it with our last name- go ahead- say it fast and chuckle)
Giselle (Mr. D. threw this one in for kicks and giggles)
Haley
Holly
Jessie
Jordan
Julianne
Kara
Kayla
Kinsey
Lacey
Laney
Lauren
Lily
Lorelei
Mallory
Molly
Olivia
Paisley- LOVED this name- Mr. D. let me call her Paisley for 3 days then said he thought I was kidding.
Pearl
Polly
Raine
Reagan
Sadie
Samantha
Sloane
Taylor
Tori
Zoe

Sorry I can't reveal the top 25 but know that the next round is a cut throat elimination. We are both writing down 15 names off of the top 25 list and only the names that match on both list will remain. It's a BIG decision Y'all!

2) I can tell you based on the 25 list her name will either start with an A, C, E, F, H, J, K, M, P, or S.

3) Wanted to share this cute picture of Brady and my niece Kaleigh- they were big buddies!
4) Over the break we were invited to dinner at the home of a student of mine. I have become friends with her parents and her mom is a fellow blogger. Being at their house was like stepping into Southern Living magazine. Here is a picture of their dining room.
The little girl, Olivia was so delighted that I was there. I could tell it was a dream come true for her. We played and enjoyed each other's company. It was a great break because it was one of the evening after we had worked in the nursery all day. In addition to the sweet Olivia, there is a little baby boy named Gavin. Emily has been a wonderful source of "Mommy" advise for me.

5) Emily made the most amazing dish called Chicken and Pasta with creamy pesto sauce. My in laws are coming tomorrow night, so I am planning to WOW them by making this dish. It's good enought for company for sure! Here is the recipe. Meredith- this is right up your alley!

• Pesto:
• 2 cups fresh basil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1 medium ripe tomato, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Marinade:
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons dried basil
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 1 (16 ounce) package dried penne pasta
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 (8 ounce) jar oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and sliced
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup heavy cream
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Place basil, garlic, Parmesan, pine nuts, and tomato in a food processor. Gradually add olive oil, while pulsing, until mixture is smooth and creamy.
2. In a bowl, stir together chicken broth, 1 cup white wine, dried basil, oregano, and minced garlic. Stir in chicken pieces.
3. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook until just al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, and rinse under cold water. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Set aside.
4. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions, and sprinkle with sugar. Cook until the onions are soft and translucent. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts, and cook about 3 minutes. Stir in chicken and marinade. Stir in 1/2 cup white wine. Simmer chicken pieces, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.
5. Add pasta and pesto to the skillet. Stir in cream, and cook until the sauce is thickened. Adjust salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan.

6) Speaking for dinner- I have to show you my FAVORITE gift that I got for Christmas.


In addition to this wonder- Mr. D. bought and created centerpieces.
After the Holidays, Donovan recreated the center pieces with the stocking candy. Luckily before Russell left he Trick or Treated me and took a lot of it!



7) I took full advantage of using my new table to sort out the ten million baby clothes that a friend of mine brought for the baby. Here are the hand me down clothes - sorted by size. Believe me- this child is not hurting for clothing!
8) This is Brady's new spot in the yard. It cracks us up because he looks like he it in a Jungle and he is the king of the yard.

9) Speaking of Brady- this is what happened when Kaleigh shared her toy with the wrong kid in the house.
10) Donovan, being my nephew LOVES infomercials. I will never forget the year he begged for an aquaglobe because he was so worried about his plants at home. This year, he confessed that he had really wanted a snuggie for Christmas. So a few days after the holidays, my Mom found one for him in the store. Have you ever seen a child so thrilled?
Here he is showing it off. and... his came with matching socks- (no book light for the kiddies I guess).
11) Here is a picture of me and Donovan at our big new year's eve dinner. We are toasting each other and drinking my favorite holiday drink- Welch's Sparkling White Grape Juice. Donovan thought it was the grossest thing he had ever tasted!
12) After the kids left, our friend Russell came from South Carolina. He came for the PapaJohns dot com bowl game. His team lost but we had fun! Here is a picture of us at the game!


13) After the loss of the Gamecocks- Russell was sweet enough to help Mr. D. build the baby's crib.
I cleaned it up. And here is how it looks. There! Caught UP!!!

trip to the ER

My Facebook status for the New Year was"

2009 was a year of "our last time to...". 2010 will be a year of "our first time to..."

Well, January 5, 2010 was our first time to visit the Emergency Room.

But before I get to January 5th, I must take you back to the night of January 2nd. It was the night of the PapaJohns.com bowl game. After the game we had gone out for wings. Russell, Mr. D. and I just ordered a bunch of food for the table and I can assure you none of the food was healthy. That night when I went to bed I had a pain and just assumed it was indigestion. As the night went on, the pain got worse and worse. Now, for understanding purposes, I need you to know I have a very high threshold for pain so if I say I am in pain you better believe it. Anyway the pain got unbearable and there was a conversation that went like this:

Me: shaking Mr. D. and saying--I am in a lot of pain and I am probably about to black out. I need you to listen so you can tell the doctor what is wrong when you get me to the hospital.
Mr D.: uh huh.. ok well if you black out wake me up and I will take you....ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I guess the pain passed or I was pissed or I blacked out or I just fell asleep because I was fine the next morning. I was telling Russell about it the and he determined that it was because we had 3 different versions of potatoes the night before (french fries, potato chips and potato skins). We laughed about how Mr. D. wouldn't wake up and had no memory of the conversation. I am sure you can guess who will be getting up with the baby in the night.

I felt fine Sunday and Monday. Then Monday night when I went to bed the pain started again.
I couldn't get comfortable in the bed and being the considerate spouse that I am, I moved to the new guest room. I had to laugh because I had a baked potato for dinner. Then I thought how horrible my life would be if I developed an aversion to potatoes. The pain was worse this night. I even contemplated drawing with a maker on my body where the pain was in case I was found unconscious. And then, the vomiting started. I vomited for about 2 hours straight when I finally had to go into my bathroom for some Emetrol and to brush my teeth. (note to self- buy wisp tooth brushes for the guest bathroom) I made too much noise and woke the sleeping giant. He fussed for a minute until he was awake enough to realize this was a very serious matter. He did what any logical person would go at 2am- he Googled my symptoms while I was moaning with pain. He decided we were going to the ER. I protested. "I am fine" and " I just need some tylenol" were my go to phrases. Finally I had to do what he said as he convinced me that something was about to explode inside of me and I was going to die right there in the new guest room. So, I got dressed.

The whole way there I complained about how embarrassing this was and how they were not going to believe me because the only people who go to the ER at 2:30 in the morning were drug addicts looking for pain meds. I was just sure that the people were going to think that about me. I was mortified by every drop of what was happening. I had never been to the ER before. So anyway, we arrived. I filled out the paper work. We went back to see a nurse. I just decided to lie about how much pain I was in to eliminate any suspicions that I was after drugs. On a scale of one to ten- how much pain are you in? There was a little chart there with sad faces on it - I guess for non engish speaking people. The truth was a 20 because if it wasn't that painful I wouldn't be there. I looked at the little frowning faces and said 6. It seems like a nice respectable number. Do you have any drug allergies? Yes, I have a reaction to sulfur drugs. That was it with her. She took me to a room and asked for a urine sample. We waited and a Dr. came in and asked where I hurt. I showed her and she said maybe a kidney stone, maybe just a stomach ache. She would run some test. She would bring me something for the pain. I got 2 pills and a ct scan over the next 3 hours. We left with the diagnosis of a stomach virus with abdominal spasms and 2 prescriptions. I came home and went to sleep- unsatisfied that I had not been properly diagnosed. Having been up all night I slept like the dead. Mr. D. went to get my medicine and once he did I realized that one of the meds the prescribed was indeed a sulfur drug- the very medicine they gave me at the hospital too. Glad I don't have a severe reaction to them or I could be dead.
Everyone I have talked to agrees with me that I was having a gallbladder attack and I am fairly sure that was probably it. I am going to discuss it with my Dr. when I have my appointment next week. I can't wait to see how much this little adventure will end up costing me!

I proudly present ... No Name Baby's bedding

Also, the possible name list has been cut down to 25. Yes Karen, Maddy's name of choice is still on the list- but the competition is getting stiff so you better prepare her in case it doesn't make the next round of cuts.

Dear Readers, you asked and you shall receive

Since I posted the picture of the Christmas suitcase I have had several of you ask what all was in it. So, you asked and I provided. Enjoy the photos of everything that was in no name baby's suitcase.

This is a little dress I wore as a newborn. Love it!

.......and the shoes to go with the dress that you have already seen.

pretty much the cutest thing I saw all day

Charlotte (Charlie) Anne Lee
born 12/30
7lbs even
20 inches long

what's been going on

Sorry dear readers for the lack in updates. I am on vacation in Auntville and will be returning on the first! The bed and breakfast is running smoothly and we are having a grand time!

the clock is ticking.......

is gonna have to have a name in less than 6 weeks. We have narrowed our list of 100 down to 33.