Baby's Room Update

It has been quite some time since there have been any updates on the status of the baby’s room. That’s because there hasn’t been any updates… :) This will soon be changing as the color selection will be made in the very near future. Note the color cards on the floor around the room. Also note the drop cloths from the spare/computer that I am pretty sure should be dry after a month or more not being used and should be able to be reused ;)! We’ve been having some fun to break things up, but now it is time to come back to reality and bite the bullet of life for a little while.

Most of our furniture is in and ready for pick up. The hutch has not quite made it to the store yet. While ordering the glider rocker and ottoman a couple weeks ago, we did inquiry, but it wasn’t in. I am pleased that we ordered the furniture so early so that backorders, etc. wouldn’t interfere with the ultimate plan. We are hoping to pick up most, if not all, of the furniture in a week and a half. Actually, I called to inquiry again since starting this post and found that the hutch is on backorder... :(!

Stay tuned for the announcement of the color(s) for the baby’s room. Drum roll please… LOL!!

Citizens Bank 400 Race At MIS

Race day was finally here! The much anticipated excitement of seeing cars flying by at 200 mph right before our eyes has become reality once again.

The morning started off early with a quick scenic trip around Brooklyn to go into a different parking lot than usual. This eliminated the need for a tram ride and the need still for a long walk. This proved very beneficial for the pregnant one… Wonder who that is? :-P!

I forgot to mention, with the pleading, okay so just asking, Amy was able to request to walk through gates, etc. instead of walking over the pedestrian bridges in a number of places around the track. This came in handy for her husband/coach as well. Only one grumpy lady made the coach make the trek over the bridge while mom took the easy route. No complaints from the coach though!

Before the race had begun, we wandered around the garage area checking out the various car haulers, garages, pre-race inspection, pit road, etc. We also walked up onto the track and were able to get our picture taken in victory lane. We were able to get the now infamous NASCAR onesie signed by the President of NASCAR, a few more owners and drivers. The pictures show most of them (too many pictures to load all of them, there are already too many to bore you…). So, the onesie made its mark and will now be framed to make its mark in either the babys room or our sports room in the basement.

The race was again a warm day, but the shade began to protect us from the heat and sun… When was that again Amy? Oh yeah, lap 113, but who was paying attention :-P! The race itself was pretty boring, but was still worth the trip!

Many times after a race at MIS, it is literally hours before you can get out of the parking lot. This race, we were able to walk back to the truck, load up and basically drive right home. We were back to our friends about 20 minutes after the race ended taking the long way around. It wasn’t long and we were all out in the water cooling our tootsies and relaxing away from the heat!

Nextel Cup Practice/Craftsman Truck Qualifying

Saturday was a trip back to the track for some car practice and truck qualifying. We started out with a little practice watching and then headed across the road from the track for some shopping and food. For the most part, it was a stroll of leisure and there was not as much going on as Friday. So, with it being a very hot day and momma getting heated up, we decided to call it a day in the early to mid afternoon.

With the shortened day at the track, it gave us some time to stop by Doug's cousin's home away from home for a little while. We have been in the area a number of times, but unfortunately weren't able to make time before. It was great to see them.

Qualifying - MIS June

It was a quick hook up to the camper and away we went to MIS. First stop, Harold’s Place on US-12 for a heavy breakfast with my cousin’s and one of his friend’s. Okay, so two of his friends, one of which married my cousin. Monroe is funny that way… LOL!! After a quick bite to eat it was off to our friend’s house to drop off our camper and away we went to the track.

Upon arriving at the track, we needed to get our credentials so that we could enter the garage area and pits this year. Amy and I thought it would be a good idea to get a NASCAR onesie for people to sign, so off the merchandise trailers we went. On our way there we saw Kyle Petty flying by on a golf cart. After the purchase of the onesie, we headed for the garage area. There was a large group of people along a fence because Denny Hamlin was signing autographs. So Amy quickly sprung into action (yes, she still has a little bounce left) and got his autograph. After getting into the garage area, we caught the tail end of a press conference with Jeff Gordon at his trailer and received his signature as well. Jeff smiled a bit when he realized was he was autographing. His wife is due anytime now. Amy quickly pushed her friend Hidie up closer to Jeff because her feet suddenly became made of concrete with glue on them… Hidie is a HUGE Gordon fan and just adores him. She has met him before, but for some reason still gets cold feet ;)!

After wandering around in the garage area we spent a large amount of time on pit road meeting drivers, etc. I won’t bore you with all of them, but let me just say that we had an awesome time!! However, I will say that Jack Rousch didn’t want to let go of Amy for a while... We stayed on pit road until Nextel Cup qualifying was over and then watched a little of the ARCA race. It was pretty hot and was a long day as we also needed to wear jeans, no open toed shoes and shirts with at least short sleeves, so we decided to call it a day.

Stay tuned for pictures of the day! I need to cut them down so they don’t get too boring.

Amy Meets Kasey Kahne!!

How cool is that? Amy and baby Gaynier meets her/maybe their favorite NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver. How you ask? Details attached...

Doug's lease is up on his vehicle soon and was making a deal this past Monday at a Dodge dealer. On Tuesday he stopped by to check on some things since the new vehicle was located at another dealership and needed to get back to work the day before. While waiting for the salesperson to return from lunch, Doug noticed this sign... Autographs available. Kasey Kahne will be here Thursday from 5-8. Well, Doug immediately called Amy at work to let her know. It didn't take long, after Amy settled down a bit, to determine that she wasn't taking lunches the rest of the week and leaving early to be there at 5. In case you didn't know, Kasey Kahne is Amy's A#1 driver!!!

Timing can be of the essence. One of Doug's long time friends, Jill, who lives in North Carolina was shopping one day recently and found some Kasey Kahne (9) onesies and sent them up for the baby. We were very grateful to receive them and Amy was ecstatic and bouncing off the walls. It was quite the site to see, a pregnant woman jumping like she wasn't... Thanks for the onesies and the giggles Jill!

So, we made it to the dealership in plenty of time. Kasey started signing autographs around 6:00 and we were only allowed one item to be signed. Of course, Amy had more... However, Amy was able to get 4 things signed. One of which was the onesie. Unfortunately, Amy didn't open it up and Kasey unknowingly signed the back. Not a good thing if you are thinking about framing it for the baby's room and the name is on the back. It was also noticed that the hat that Amy wanted him to sign, didn't because it was on Doug's head. So, another trip through the line was made.

It came time to leave, but Amy just couldn't get herself to do it as she was peeking through some vehicles at a distance. Now was the time to pull out the big guns and note that we still needed to get some groceries, etc. and get home so that we could leave in the morning to head out the MIS for the big race weekend.

Yes, Amy made some fun of herself in telling Kasey that she and our baby were huge fans. To which Kasey giggled and grinned as you can see in the picture. Doug wished him well for the race this weekend and he looked up and graciously said thank you. Doug felt pretty good because there wasn't anyone that was wishing him well or even really saying anything to him. Amy thought it was a good idea and wished him well this weekend as well.

24 Week Dr. Appointment

Another Dr. appointment and the locomotive of life is still steaming right along... Mom freaked out a bit when the receptionist handed her an envelope and told her that it was a preregistration form for the hospital. Mom's adrenalin peaked at an all time high with "What the heck do I need this for? I'm not going to the hospital today, am I?" The reception started laughing and said that it was just for when the baby comes. Mom was still a little frazzled and noted "ALREADY?? Isn't this kinda early?" Dad was immediately handed the paperwork and mom went off to "relieve" herself as she is required to do every appointment.

We have now met the fourth doctor (we think there is 5) of the practice and the first male. Mom was apprehensive about having a male doctor, but he quickly became on of her favorites. Jumping up on the window sill and propping his feet up on the garbage can and asking how things were going, quickly made us feel at ease. It helped that his wife is a huge NASCAR fan and he admitted that the Michigan race in June will be the first he has missed in many years.

Well, mom was disappointed/frustrated with the doctor's replies to her achey back, swollen feet, numb and tingling fingers... His comments were that this is normal in pregnancy. Mom commented how she would be okay with the answer if she were a few months more into her pregnancy. She wouldn't welcome it at that point, of course, but would at least be a little more accepting of it. Mom asked if it was okay to spend the weekend (Father's Day Weekend) at MIS in the garage area and pit road, etc. He immediately replied, "Enjoy yourself!!".

A quick listen to the baby's heartbeat (156 beats/minute) and a few more questions and everything checked out fine!!

The next appointment won't be near as easy for mom as we were given a prescription for the Rhogam shot and the glucose tolerance test will be repeated.

For now, we are movin' right along with the pregnancy. Progress is also being made in making room for baby stuff. We are currently haning out in our garage bargaining for the best deal... Anything not sold will be a healthy donation to somehwere yet to be determined. (Hopefully, somewhere that picks up...)

Daddy-to-be Duties

Mom is keeping the daddy do list filled with lots of things to do. Just when you think you can take a breather, it is already time to move onto the next item. One major room redocration has been completed with the exception of a valance that yet needs to be purchased (okay, so one that works with the window). The baby's room is far from complete, but the room has been cleaned out and the ceiling painted (same time as the spare room). Now we are working to determine the paint color(s) for the room and hopefully get that started in the next week or so. The month of June has no room for redecorating, but time will need to be made even if it is after a late night hockey game... Well, I guess I shouldn't get too carried away. ;)! Our current project is getting ready for a garage sale this weekend to make room for all of the baby stuff. St. Vincent de Paul may be very happy in a few weeks :)!

Another newly added project is to resurface/sand the deck. Mom got a huge sliver deep in the bottom of her foot a week ago. After digging at it for a while, a new set of eyes and hands were brought in. Good news/bad news: Good news is that the sliver was able to be removed and Amy didn't have to go to the doctore. Bad news is that there was a lot of pain to be had and Amy now has a hole in her foot to be healed. Needless to say, the deck needs to be worked on so that mom, dad and especially the baby do not have to go through this again or for a first time.

Now the drive is on/will be shortly to start/complete the painting of the baby's room. With color swatches and material lying on the floor, color schemes have been slightly narrowed. There has been quite a few similarilities between Amy and my cousin Jody's tastes in decorating. Dream Teddy was used for her theme(s) and our furniture is very similar. We are trying hard to at least be able to pick our own paint color... ;)! It is funny to hear the similarities of what Amy and Jody have chosen without seeing each other's rooms. Of course, Jody was first in choosing, so we are just trying to keep up with her LOL!!!

Be sure to check out the Memorial Weekend pictures where you can see the progression of momma's belly ;)!