Brotherly Christmas

Ok, for as long as I can remember, my brothers have always made Christmas exciting and magical....sleeping under the tree, or right by the fireplace when we were kids, making sure that presents were always kept secret and as they got older, they would be sure to keep Christmas fun and exciting...like wrapping our presents in duct tape or placing small boxes inside of larger ones and so on. Last year Mike was home and he got me with this LINK

So this year Jeff is home!! YEAH!! I asked him early on for a "wish list", he kept putting it off...until he finally tells me that he will give me his list on the 23rd! -POINT JEFF- Ummmm I don't think so...you do know I am pregnant right?!?! (I am gonna go ahead and give me a point for this too) - POINT JULIE- Andy strongly advises Jeff to rethink his plan of aggravating me this year, and gives him fair warning and the"watch out...she's hormonal" pep talk.

So I fire back with...ok, you get your presents two days late!!!-POINT JULIE- He caved...couldn't risk getting his presents late so he comes to the house with his wish list....in FOUR DIFFERENT LANGUAGES!!! -POINT JEFF- Really?!?! things should not be this hard! Luckily for me not all languages pick up the words he typed, sooooo I was able to treat it like a puzzle and I figured out all of the items....-POINT JULIE- You can't out smart the one who taught you!

Ok, so Christmas day, as mentioned in an earlier post...we got up early, I go to let the dog out and feed him, and I find this.....

a present under our tree! an LG Blue Ray Disc player under our tree....now wait, Andy and I had decided to not exchange gifts...I didn't put it there?!?!? hmmmmm

I go back to the room and wake Andy....I think Santa came to our house??? Did you put the blue ray player there? -POINT JEFF- Yep, that's right, he "broke-in" our house and placed this gift under our tree!!! So two thoughts 1: WOW! That is really cool! and 2: OUR DOG IS FIRED!!!

Fritz the "alleged" Fearless...never even woke up!! I guess it could have been Jeff's stealth like combat training too that got him in and out of the house so quickly...but really DOG!!! Earn your keep!!!

Ok, so if you are keeping score..we're all tied up! It was a nice Christmas adventure with Jeff....

OH but wait there's more...we get to mom's and we get our first gift...from Jeff of course...

Wonder what it could be...such a big box, but not too heavy...hmmmmm...

Oh say five minutes later, we find three little items neatly wrapped in Christmas paper....

Two tickets to the LSU men's basketball SEC opener against Bama with a parking pass!!!

POINT JEFF!!! He got us this year...I really gotta get in the game for next year!! Thanks Jeff for keeping things fun!

Christmas 09

We spent Christmas in Louisiana with my family this year...we had a wonderful Christmas! (again, we missed you Mike!)

Christmas Eve was spent at my house...after church, we came back to the house and had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with potato soup...yummy!! and then we played games.

Jeff absolutely refuses to take a normal pic for me...UGH! Brothers! More on that in a later post!

Last Christmas with just the two of us!!!

Christmas day, we got up early...well early by our standards 8:00am and went mom's for breakfast and present opening. We then headed over to my cousin Suzette's house for Christmas dinner....
Family Pic

The Dumestre Family...

L -> R Uncle Dave (my dad's brother), Aunt Cookie (his wife), Suzette (their daughter), Emily (Suzette's daughter), Donnie (Suzette's husband) and Evan (Suzette's son) And then all of us on the couch.

Our "Katrina Family"....A little side note: Uncle Dave and Aunt Cookie along with her sisters all live in New Orleans, during Hurricane Katrina, they all evacuated to my mom's house for the storm (Suzette and Donnie had Donnie's family at their house for the storm). We have always been around Debbie and her husband Ken and Sandra growing up, but having them stay with mom during the storm allowed us to really get to know them and we now truly consider them family...Our Katrina Family we call them!

We then headed back home...Andy was ready to play with all of his new Christmas toys...his new leaf vacuum, which is actually a present to me as well....remember this from last year's fall LINK

Later Jeff came over to watch the Chargers game with us and help set up the Blue Ray Disc player he got us for Christmas...again, more on that later!!

Please notice that I now have FOUR remotes for my entertainment needs!!! I mean really?!?! I will never be able to watch a DVD on my own!! But on a serious note....BLUE RAY IS AWESOME!!!!!

We had a great Christmas!! Can't wait to see how things will change next year with a little one attending the festivities!!!

27 Week Check Up

Today was my Glucose screening test or as my doctor called it later...torture test! Which it turned out to be just that for me! The test required that I fast from 10 pm the previous night and then go in at 8:30 for my appointment...drink an 8 ounce glass of what tasted like orange Triaminic (remember that taste as a kid)...then sit and wait for an hour.

While I am waiting, I start to feel a little warm and tingle-ly and a little light headed...so I head to the nurses station (love my nurses by the way) and explain to them that something isn't right...any way that I could lie down?!?! So we hurried to a room and I put my feet up and 20 or so minutes later, they came and got me for my doctor complete her exam. Still waiting my hour wait time to go back and get finger pricked....

My appointment went well....Sarah's heart beat is at 144...she was kicking and moving all over the place while the doctor was listening for her heartbeat...probably due to the sugar rush from the orange cup- o- sugar that I just drank...not to mention she was probably starving... I know I was!!!

My doctor again giggles at the size of Sarah and assures me that she isn't missing a meal....and we probably won't be needing too many newborn size diapers!! Thanks Doc!

So I finish up with her, and head back to the lab to get pricked....and All is good!!! Thank goodness!! My blood sugar actually went down from where I started after fasting! Guess my almost passing out was my body taking care of the sugar...who knows, who cares.....Bring on the Christmas Treats!!!!

Other stats:
blood pressure 110/70
fasting blood sugar: 88
after Orange stuff blood sugar: 87
weight:...yeah right, not telling...but only 2 more pounds since last month!!
I will now start seeing the doctor every two weeks!!!! probably will have another sonogram around week 36.

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!!

SNOW!!!!

I mean really....SNOW 2 years in a row?!?!?

the New Orleans Saints are 12-0?!?!?

We should all be a little worried at this point!!!

All last week, the weathermen kept saying a lot of "wintry mix", "sleet" and "possible snow"...and we all know how accurate the weather guys can be, so for the most part, we just shrugged off the predictions, because after all, we did just get snow LAST YEAR (check out the link for a reminder)!!

We are right were the "u" is in Baton Rouge....

So according to their predictions...10:00pm the snow would be here....

And that is just about when the snow started to really fall....

This year's snow wasn't nearly the event last year's turned out to be...the snow lasted for about and hour or so and then it was done...we did get to wake up in the morning to snow on top of our roof and a little left on the ground.

But Andy was here this year and he was able to enjoy a true Louisiana snow fall...
Take that Al Gore!!!

LSU 33 Arkansas 30 F/OT

I can't believe football is already over!! And once again, LSU pulled off a win...not sure how, but it happened.

Lifelong friends, Paul and Sarah made it to the game. And yes, they are Arkansas fans...their dad corrupted them somewhere along the way!

Paul....busted!!! Helping put up the LSU flag!!!

A shot?!?! Mom, is that you in there?!?! Man, cooking that Thanksgiving dinner must have really pushed you over the edge!

Visitors: Stacey and Tracey stayed in town until Saturday and were able to make it to the game...and Tiffany stopped by to say hello too!

FYI: Don't leave your camera unattended when Big Mike is around!!!
The Dumestre/Morris combo lives on....
Last game pic:

What's a girl got to do to get a good family pic now-a-days?!?!

I bet this shrub is glad that football season is over...it will need a year to recover from Mike's weekly "watering"

Paul and Sarah... the only red in the sea of purple on gold.

Another football season has come and gone....see ya next year Tiger Stadium!

24 Week Check Up

Today was just a standard check up with the doctor. Sarah's heartbeat was at 145...right where is should be. My blood pressure is holding steady at 120 over 78 and I am continuing to gain weight...no need for exactness on that one! ;0)

My doctor was taking measurements on my stomach....when she let out a giggle of sorts and said "oooooo looks like we're gonna have a big baby!" "WHAT?!?!" I asked laughing, but kind of nervous....."Oh nothing to worry about, I'll just be monitoring her size." She continues to laugh it off while I on the other hand, keep saying "Seriously how big are talking?!?" She never really felt the need to answer that question. I don't know who I am trying to fool...Andy and I aren't exactly small people...he 6'6" and me at 5'8"....he weighed 8lbs 2 oz at birth - me a whopping 9 lbs 8 oz....I mean really....poor Sarah has no shot at being "petite".

I have been feeling great lately...almost normal (with of course the exception of the extra weight and larger than life ta-tas). Last week I had a bout with some major back pain, but my doctor said she thought it was probably my body telling me I was over doing it a little (ole miss trip and all) or that Sarah was possibly positioning herself on a nerve in my back. All is well now, and I am just enjoying feeling so well. I have been feeling the baby move more often and with more force here lately...it's really a crazy feeling!!!

My next appointment will be December 22nd where we will have a blood test and check my blood sugar for gestational diabetes....let's cross our fingers I don't have to go that route....no chocolate, and no pizza!??! a pregnant girls eating nightmare!!! After this appointment, I will start going every two weeks!!! Ahhhhh!!! already?!?!

Thanksgiving 09

Andy and I spent Thanksgiving with my mom and my brother. We actually celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday since Jeff came home late Thursday. Jeff is now out of the Army and is home for good!! WOOHOO!!! He has joined the La National Guard and is going to start school in the spring. (We missed ya Mike!)Handy Andy took care of the carving of the turkey.

Mom went all out this year!! She did a great job cooking everything from scratch and it was all delicious!!! Andy's is loving the menu!
After dinner I was able to see Stacey and Tracey...who I miss so very much!!!

Stacey is pregnant right now too!! I am due in March and she is due in April...it has been so much fun going through our pregnancies together!! I know, I said no belly pics, but I really liked this one! (see, that's how it works, I get to pic which belly pics go up ;0)

****Update- Stacey found out Monday that she will be having a baby girl!! Baby Sarah was excited to hear the news!!****

And of course, no Thanksgiving is complete unless we start the Christmas season. Andy and I went to the tree farm Friday and got our tree and it is up and decorated...so pretty!!

Fritz had to check it out....
Fritz's Christmas pic....

LSU 23 Ole Miss 25

Late post update on our Ole Miss trip...or as we around the great state of Louisiana like to call it, the Mississippi Meltdown!! I guess it takes a week and a win later to get over a loss like that one! Other than the game, Andy and I had a great time in Oxford, MS. Here are a few of our pics from the trip.

This is a pic of the famous Ole Miss building that you see on all of their logos, the Lyceum in the historic part of campus know as "The Circle". This is were we did most of our tailgating.

Just down a little ways from The Circle, is the more famously know tailgate spot "The Grove"...I know, what's with the naming of all the tailgate spots?!?! Anyway, we were very unimpressed with this tradition. Tailgate tents were jam packed in to this one location can everyone was right on top of each other...
All anyone hears about when going to Oxford for a game is the tailgate experience...well, here it is, a hanging chandelier on a plastic tent, flower arrangements for every table, along with a fancy tablecloth oh and don't forget to bring out the nice silver and family china.....give me a break people!!!
The funny part is that there are no open flames allowed in these tailgate areas, so all of the food is bought or is cold. We were offered by a kind Ole Miss fan to stop by their tent...they had some great Wal-Mart fried chicken to share. Really?!?! Sandwich trays, fruit trays that kind of stuff, nothing cooked fresh...but I can see why since they are so close to each during the tailgate.


Me and Col. Reb! (well at least a good look-a-like)
Our fellow SEC teams have decided that LSU and LSU fans smell like corn dogs and get a kick out of calling us corn dogs...So this theme was seen very frequently around the tailgating area.
Our seats...North end zone bleachers.

Note to self: Never get a person to take your picture that really doesn't want to take it.

Ok, so try to do it yourself....oh great now we have these two idiots in our pic!

Oh well, we may not have gotten the picture of the year while we were there, but overall, we had a great time!

Sneak Peak...

We have purchased a bed and bedding for Sarah!!! Sunday we put it together and put it up in what will be her room! Here is a Pic of the bedding from the website to get a better idea of the colors. I still need to purchase a few parts of the set, but we've at least started the process. I am off of school the week of Thanksgiving and hope to get some painting done in her room, as well as clean out the closet that is in that room and start getting baby ready!

LSU 24 La Tech 16

This week was homecoming, aka take your kid to the game week! So we had a blast having all of the kids at the tailgate.

The Carlton's

The O'Neal's (Brooklyn on the left, Ashlyn on the right)

The Felder's

The Jacobsen's (for the record, our kid was the best behaved and least amount of trouble ;)

The little girls set up their tailgate early. Prepared with all the essentials: Fuzzy pink chairs, Nintendo DS and DSi, books for reading, a brush, sunglasses and of course a pink lucky eight ball! Too Cute!!

Poor Cooper was out numbered...Seems like every week something gets added to our tailgate...this week Big Mike decided he was going to add flags. So the guys worked on putting Mike's new flag poles up...but slight problem- Mike forgot flag protocol, which states that the American flag must fly higher than any other flag...don't worry we set him straight...thus the standing around scratching of the heads of how to now fly the flag appropriately.

I really love the homecoming game...well the festivities that go with it. Michelle and I took the kids to see the homecoming parade.The Divas waiting on the parade...

Mike the Tiger and cheerleaders....It's a small but fun parade, the highlight (or low-light) was seeing the swiming/diving team float all in their speedos!! Seriously!?!?!

On the menu: Fried Ribs!! Jocelyn has perfected the recipe we picked up in Starkville and man where they a hit!

Jocelyn also brought the restaurant shoe string french fries and baked beans all from her restaurant, Cocodries. It was like having a catered tailgate! Great job Jay, thanks!!

Wendy and Jamie showed up late...always good to see my girls!!

We also were lucky enough to have my aunt and cousins stop by for a little while...very rare ocassion for my cousin Suzette to attend an LSU game, so I had to capture the kodak moment! From L to R: Aunt Cookie, Andy, Suzette, her daughter Emily and myself.

Yes, Mike, you lost a LOT of weight...just not that much buddy!! :0)

Once again, a great tailgate Saturday: good food, family, friends and an LSU win...barely. Next week Andy and I will be road trippin' to Oxford, MS for the LSU/Ole Miss game. Geaux Tigers!