It's Not a Boy

Murphy had a 'surprise' baby shower this weekend. I don't even know why the Murphy family tries to surprise her because she can smell a surprise weeks away.

I was running right on time for this event until I hit Babies R Us. This place can be sort of painful. The gift registry machine was not working and then their credit card system when down, so I stormed out, went to Target, and was out in about 7 minutes. On my way to the Muphy house, I glanced in my rear view mirror and noticed that Thomas and Murphy were RIGHT BEHIND me. I turned off immediately panicking that I has ruined the surprise. Who was I kidding? I later found out that the beans had been spilled several times over, and I'm sure Murph was on to the plan before they had even finalized the details.

Murphy is due in May and I am anxious to meet this bundle of joy!

Ang, this one's for you!

This damn TV tray is always around. Ang picked it up in the street after it fell off a truck. Who does that?!? This TV tray has become quite a conversation piece and there are clearly differing opinions in Big Blue about it. Carly and Ang love it, and use it frequently. I am not a fan and try to 'put it out of sight' at every opportunity. Laura, however, refuses to weigh in but I'm convinced she's just being nice and doesn't want to offend anybody.

Carly named her 'Rose' last night so I guess she is really becoming a permanent fixture.

How Four Girls Pack for Miami

Jill: Who's not packed yet? Me! I'm such a bad packer. I seem to have hoochie and boring....nothing in the middle! I expect that you all have sunscreen with a SPF of at least 15 right?

Tracy: I'm not fully packed yet - I'm bad at that too. I really seem to not have many summer clothes. Jill - I have my sunscreen and sunglasses already packed!

Ash: I brought a ridiculous amount of clothing for any situation we might be in - beach, shopping, going out, dinner, ice cream... I will need to change clothes several times a day to wear everything, which I plan on doing. :-) You can borrow anything you want - I have us all covered, including accessories. I am SUCH a girl, it scares me sometimes.

KEC: Ash, I have to admit that I was planning to scam on your accessories while we're there. :)

Jill: and are mini-jean skirts still in? i am struggling with bottoms...capris??? i DO have tank tops though...tank TOPS!

Tracy: Mini jean skirts are def. still in - you should bring that. I am struggling with bottoms too.

KEC: My "hoochie" skirt is a casual mini jean skirt. I've got capriish stuff for bottoms. It's a struggle.

Ash: PS- I definitely took into account that we'll be in Miami and tried to pack things I would never 'normally' wear - aka hoochie.

KEC: You all may think I'm a tool, but I did bring running clothes. Anyone else? I have a MUCH higher chance of using them if someone else packed them as well.

Ash: I assumed you guys would bring running stuff. :-) I packed one pair of shorts and pumas for beach running. They were smaller than running shoes, but I won't really be able to run on the street.

Our flight leaves at 5:35......

Bokey and Jeannie

My parents would have been married 38 YEARS today! They met when they were 12 at the Clairton Park Ice Skating rink, and I believe my Mom was dunski at that moment. They got married after my Dad graduated from Salem college in West Virginia and moved to the hoodbridge (only for a short time they thought) where my Dad accepted an Industrial Arts (a.k.a. Shop, Tech Ed) teaching job at Rippon Middle School. I remember my Mom saying that she had been saving up for their bedroom set while she was at Robert Morris Junior College in Pittsburgh (yes, I did sell it...it was just so ugly). My parents certainly had differences but I admire that they stood by one another through all of those years and grew so much together.

Second Annual Easter EGGstravaganza

I honestly don't know how Big Blue pulled off an Easter dinner party for 22 peeps! The execution was seamless, especially with everyone bringing something yummy to share.

Thank you to everyone who made the holiday so enjoyable. We had many special guests including Carly's parents all the way from San Diego, my Aunt Janet from Pittsburgh, my cousin Alison from Miami, Laura's parents from CP, and Ang's great Aunt Mavis (and all you locals are special too)! It was so nice to be surrounded by family and friends.Ang ran point on the blender again and her mimosas had a tasty pineapple flare!

I was also pretty impressed with the clean up. As my Dad always said when it was 'clean-up time' in his shop..."If everyone helps, the job goes quicker." That saying has been ingrained on my brain, and I can't help but repeat it every time I see us all working together.

Sunil learned the word 'pastel' on Easter. Look at these Easter bunny cuties!

Swinging into Matt's Thirties

It was tough to follow a raging party and whirlwind trip to NYC for celebrating Matt's 31st birthday. We went with a golf theme this year and tried out Top Golf in Alexandria. It is basically driving range meets bowling alley meets bar. After reading about it on the website, taking the online tutorial, and asking the lady at the front desk how to 'play', our group of 6 college graduates could not figure it out. However, once we got some personalized assistance, it was a lot of fun to compete against one another. By the end of the night (and a few beers later), we finally got the hang of it! Sunil declared himself the worst golfer before we left, however, I think I actually earned the title. Team Crank was strong and Mike Tracey kept the competition intense by going for the longest targets. We topped the night off at a local watering hole where Matt's friends showed their birthday support.

I Heart NYC

"They say the neon lights are bright on BROADWAY."

Matt surprised me with a trip to NYC for my birthday. It was a whirlwind and he did such an amazing job coordinating the weekend and making it so special.

Did I also mention that I met Sly?

Matt and I were on the constant lookout for stars. I was convinced that we saw Lenny Kravitz at a bar but after following him around for a while, I concluded that he was pretty lame and probably not Lenny (and he if was really Lenny, he was a big dork and I wouldn't want to hang out with him anyway).