Meet The Barkers!

Gary, Michelle, baby Isa, and brother Tab

Last weekend, we had our beautiful friends Michelle, Gary, and Isa Barker, visit us from Alaska! I take that back, at the moment, they are living in Cali and are getting ready to move back to AK next month. Shel was one of my very best friends when I first moved to the North Pole (back in Nov. 2002). They also have 2 other children (Xavier and Elle), that were in NY visiting Grandma! I also used to have Xavier in one of my classes at the CDC when he was just a baby. They brought Gary's brother, Tab, along with them, and we had a wonderful weekend visiting, cooking, eating, shopping, and just catching up!

Recently, it seems as if a ton of our friends are moving back up to Alaska. I'm jealous and hope we luck out and get the same opportunity to get our bee-hinds back there. Until then, I'll sit here in 105 degree humidity and sweat my pregnant ass off. Oh joy!

Lovies

Salem's Grammy and Papa bought her a lamb-lovie-blanket (that is known as "BAA") before she was born. I thought it was cute, but I NEVER thought it would grow to be such an attachment. I just went in and checked on her sleeping (she went to bed with a high temperature), and she still has her BAA! snuggled in tight up underneath her neck. She slept with it that way for over 10 hours. We also have to check on Baa's whereabouts throughout the day. She has to know that she's okay before she can go on with her daily plans. I will say; however, that she is very good about keeping her at home. She isn't one of those children that you see at the playground dragging their blanket (that they'll go home and take a nap with) in the dirt. Like I mentioned before, she sometimes checks on her and other than that, Baa is only for sleeping with.

Now that we have little Tavin on the way, it seems only fair (and likely), that he's going to need such a thing too. So, mommy drove out to Boerne, TX. last weekend, and picked up 2 (you HAVE to have a least one backup of each) blue elephant lovies for my sweet boy!

Did you grow up with a security blanket/animal/toy? Do your children have an attachment to something special other than mommy or daddy? If you have a child on the way or see children in your future, will you get something similar for them, or would you rather not?

How Often?

Okay, there is no right or wrong answers to any of these, but I'm interested in knowing how often others do some of the various things listed below. For example, when I mop my floors twice a week (mop, not swiffer), I'm constantly thinking to myself, "Geez, I wonder if I should be doing this ass pain chore more often, less, when do other people do it?" It's always a difficult task to get done because I have to vacuum the entire house before Salem goes down for a nap or bedtime, then bust out the mop while she's sleeping. Oh, and keeping Lilly out of the tile areas in between all of that is also a chore in itself. So, with that HOW OFTEN:

*Do you vacuum?Mop?
*Change the tip of your mop out?
*Change your dish scrubber out?
*Wash your sheets?
*Clean and wash your vehicles?
*Dust your fans/blinds?
*Wash your towels?

Non-cleaning related ?'s

*Get your hair done?
*Get a pedicure?
*Massage?


There are a million and one ?'s I would love to ask, but I figured I would just ask a few.

My answers are:
*I vacuum and mop 2 x's a week. I change the tip out every four or five weeks.
*I change my dish scrubber out every other week; however, I put it in the dishwasher whenever I run a load to disinfect it.
*Wash our sheets once a week, towels twice.
*Oh, are vehicles are BAD. We wash the Subaru maybe once a month, and Andrew's every other month. I know, that's bad!
*Dust the fans and blinds once a month
*I get my hair colored and cut every 8 weeks
*Pedicure at a salon once or twice a year
*Massage-once or twice a year

Nashville Star

Andrew was in Nashville last weekend for yet another Indy Race flyby. He had a wonderful time (as usual), and they were all stoked that they got to sit in and listen to the drivers briefing. To make things even better, Danika Patrick "brushed her body up" against his on her way out! Andrew had to immediately call and inform me of such greatness! Then, I had to inform HIM to stop getting his hopes up that she'll be leaving her husband for him anytime soon!

The guys also got to meet and have their picture taken with Cindy McCain. I guess she was there doing some press thing (obviously), and took a car out for a spin. She looks good for her age and I'm sure she's a nice lady, but personally, I'm not a fan of her husband, so I wouldn't have been all that jazzed to meet her like the guys were.

They love going because they get treated like royalty. One of pilots even gave an interview (about the race, not flying), on one of the radio shows that covers Indy. What the heck? They get to have pit-passes, sit, eat, and drink in the primo boxseat areas, get put-up in nice hotels for free all weekend, make money to basically party for 2 nights, and give autographs to little kids at the race....isn't that cute? Then, they come home and complain that they're tired and don't feel well....give me a break!

Andrew was very giving this trip and brought home an extra special gift for his sweetness! "Baby Luvs" just LOVES the pink guitar that daddy delivered to her! I thought is was so cute that he actually bought a pink one for her. He usually isn't to keen on buying her anything pink, and the fact that he did it own his own was quite shocking and sweet! She enjoys rocking out and really finds herself getting into it. It is "one of those" toys that we have to put up at the end of our jam sessions in fear that she'll turn into a metal woman and smash it into a million little pieces if we don't do so.

Would have been..............

Tuli Elise Quinn (pronounced Tu-lee). I still love it and if, IF I can EVER talk Andrew into wanting another baby ( I wanted 3 and when we first met he only wanted 1; so we compromised on 2), and if it's a girl, I would name her Tuli. I think it's so cute and feminine. If Andrew does "tap out" after Tavin, I guess I'll have to settle on getting an english bulldog and naming her Tuli!
And yes, I came up with it and don't even think it's an actual name or has a meaning. There is a ski company called Thule, but I'm not quite sure if they pronounce it the same or not. The spelling of it throws me off. So, what do you think of it?

See you pink toile!

No, the center photo isn't of Andrew and I....I just never got around to putting an actual picture of her in the frame...oops!



Salem's pink nursery is going bye-bye. She is getting ready to transition into her big girl bed! I'm excited, but fearful. I know she's ready for it because last week she tried committing "crib suicide" by jumping out and hitting her head on her wood moose rocking chair. It wasn't pretty and I forgot to get photos of the nasty bruise across her entire forehead. Her friends, Knox and Yana ,are in their big beds, and I can see the puzzled look on her face why they have them and she doesn't.

We've also decided NOT to put her in her castle loft bed and to hold onto it for a few years. We're thinking that we'll put Tavin in Salem's new bed (that I went out and bought for her at IKEA last week) when he turns 2, and by then, we think that Salem will be able to handle the loft bed. I think she is a little fearful of heights, and don't think she's ready to sleep that high off the ground. Plus, I LUWF her new bed and can't wait to assemble it! It's a daybed with 3 storage drawers and A TRUNDLE!
A picture of her bed taken at the IKEA store

I have SO much to do and I'm nesting like CRAZY. I'm refurnishing 4 pieces of furniture (yikes!), I need to remodel and redecorate Salem's, Tavin's, and the office rooms, and paint all of the above. I've decided to paint stripes in Salem's room that will be a huge pain in my ass. Why do I always pick to do things the hard way? Why can't I just be happy with one color? I guess I'm just difficult. With that, bye-bye pretty pink toile room.

" The List"

I haven't slept in DAYS. The week leading up to the ultrasound, I stayed awake all hours of the night wondering what little "who's it" was going to be. Then, Tuesday came when we found out it was a precious boy, and do you think I've been able to sleep since, NO! Now, my days are spent decorating the room in my head, compiling lists of what I need for him, stressing out over the amount of money we have to spend on "necessities" alone. I think Andrew wants me to put him in all of Salem's pink sleepers, but I just can't bring myself to do that to him.

With all of that, let me share to lists with you:

* Baby bedding-CHECK. I bought a fish/bubbled theme set called MIGI Splash. It's funny because that's also my mom's nickname (Midge is her real name).
* Sleepers to get him through the first 9 months-CHECK.
* Socks-CHECK.
* 3 newborn/going home from hospital outfits-CHECK.
* Have a custom made canvas wall mural made to match his room with his name on it-CHECK.
* All the extra things to match the Migi Splash (extra sheet, blanket, valance, etc.),-CHECK.
* Name-CHECK.

Which will now bring me to the list of names we did have in mind followed by the name we picked

* Jasek..people would call him Jase or Jay..no thanks.
* Trevin...people would shorten the name to Trev...no thanks.
* Jevin....." " Jev....no thanks.
* Calen " " Cal.....no thanks.
* Jyan..."what, you're naming him GIANT?" No thanks!
* Tyber..."what, you're naming him TIGER?" No thanks!
* Vail.......mmmmm, just didn't like it after a while.
* Stian..........the kid probably wouldn't be able to say his name until he's 13; shit, it's hard for me to say!

Basically, we didn't want any name that could be shortened where people would suspect that his "real name" was something else. Example: Trevin, people might call him Trev; which would make them think it was Trevor.
Example: Tyber, " " Ty; which people would lead to being Tyler. Anyways, you get what I'm saying. So, we went with:

Tavin Andrew Quinn and we LOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEE IT!

Again, I will never shorten his name ( I will always call him Tavin), but if others choose to say Tav when he's older, I don't think that sounds so bad. Think of the pronunciation as Gavin, but with a T. I feel it's strong, unique, and it means TWIN; which if this one comes out looking anything like Salem did (JUST LIKE HER DADDY), it will be VERY FITTING!

I can't wait to hear all your thoughts on this!

Chinese Calendar.....

predicted both of my babies right! I should give you the calculations/ fill in the blanks so you can figure it out; however, I am feeling generous today, so I'll tell you.....................................................................................................................................

WE'RE HAVING A LITTLE............................................................................ BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my gosh, I couldn't believe it when she spoke of such words. I could have SWORN up and down that "it" was another girl. My pregnancy has been the EXACT same, weight gain:same, food craving:same (there are none), you name it, THE SAME. I've guessed 6 of my girlfriends genders correctly who are all pregnant right now, but I couldn't even get my own figured out!

We're obviously very excited to have one of each (exactly what Andrew wanted). I, on the other hand, was indifferent and leaning more towards another girl because it's what I'm familiar with and to reuse everything. We also had the girl named picked out, and now I will be banging my head against the wall all hours of the night trying to name "who's it". I went out shopping today to buy boy stuff (hello, are you shocked?), and it was incredibly awkward. I had to train my brain to look blue, instead of pink, to look in this section and not the one with all the cute dresses. WEIRD. I love it, but it will definitely take some getting used to.

So, in the next few days, you can expect belly shots, and more to come on the baby boy name!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quinn 4th

We had a wonderful 4th of July, and hope you all did as well! We celebrated the day by having a fajita/mexican potluck with all of our neighborhood friends! We also received a visit from Andrew's parents who will be here until the middle of the week! Salem enjoyed playing with her friends and most of all, wearing my shoes all over Knox's house. What can I say, she is defin. my child!




So, tell me this, do any of your towns have off the charts firework shows? The ones here suck SOOOO bad, that it's almost sad. In Phoenix and Tucson (where I grew up), they were awesome. They even had ones that made designs in the sky; how cool is that! Here, it was the same ones over, and over, and over; they would just change the color around..lame-o!

Just 1 more thing

Just when I thought we had MORE than enough activities scheduled this summer, I went out and added another! I know, what the heck was I thinking is right! Now, Salem is signed up for a FREE NewBraunfit (get it, New Braunfels/fitness)class that is designed to give children toddler age on up the proper fitness activities needed throughout the day in an indoor setting (becuase it's too damn hot out). I like to refer to it as the proper running of my child to get her to nap routine! She also enjoys it and has a few of her neighborhood friends involved in her class.

Now, honest to God, this is IT! I could not, and will not add one more thing onto my plate, for it is full...overfull for that matter! Most days, it is wonderful and I love the fact that we're doing activities together before the baby comes; however, on random days, I could literally ring my own neck for doing this to myself. Adding the gym in 2 hours a day on top of it all, is sometimes an overkill. But, I try not to bitch because this was all my idea. Salem on the other hand, loves it all and that makes it all worth it!




Salem and Peyton doing jumping jacks in a hula-hoop obstacle course