Letter to Emma...

Dear Emma,

Today is your due date! I decided to write you a letter on Sunday, January 29, 2012. I was sitting here thinking that I may not possibly be able to write a post about you on February 2nd (your actual due date) so I decided to do it in advance. 

Where do I start...I CAN'T WAIT TO MEET YOU, ACTUALLY DADDY AND I CANT WAIT TO MEET YOU!!! Although we were scared to death when we first found out we were pregnant, we have loved you from the beginning. We both originally thought we were having a boy, but once we found out you are a girl...we went into full girl mode and you have been Daddy's Little Princess ever since. We constantly pray for your development because we found out that you could possibly have a cleft lip, however, we have put it all in God's Hands, and no matter what you are in God's Hands and there is NOTHING that He CAN'T HEAL! Seeing your face in the ultrasounds we can see you have fat cheeks (you took after your Momma) and I cant wait to kiss them, it brings tears to my eyes each time I see you because I cant believe you will be ours and God has blessed us with such a GIFT! 

As I sit here and type this I can't stop crying because I am so THANKFUL to have you and Daddy in my life! You are named after your Grandmother's Emma (Daddy's Mom), and Renee (Mommy's Mom)...Grandma Batts and Papa (Mommy's side) cant wait to join you in the crew of grand-kids they already have, and Grandma Godbott and Poppi (Daddy's Side) are deceased but I know they are watching over you from Heaven! Your Aunts and Uncles are also ready to meet you, they call daily to see how Mommy is doing and if I have gone into labor...I guess one day they will either receive a phone call that we are headed to the hospital or a phone call telling them what day the doctor has scheduled us to come in. 

By the time anyone reads this letter, hopefully you are already in my arms...if not I know it wont be long before we meet you:) Just please try to come before the Super Bowl per Daddy's request:) If not, whenever you decide to come we will be ecstatic, even if its on Super Bowl Sunday! 

Love Always,

Mommy and Daddy

Work...

I wish my office at work looked like this...

or 

maybe like this picture below

Well anyways it doesn't :( LOL! 

Anyways, I'm still working up until the day I go in labor. I planned it like that but I guess by the end of this week (at the doctor's appointment), I should know more of what my plans are since I am due Thursday! I keep having all the signs of going into labor but I think Emma has her own plans:) And at this point I'm not complaining just SUPER anxious to meet her! 

Well I always have a fear when I go away from work for a period of time (vacation, sick time, or anything) that I'm going to come back and everything is going to be different! This is honestly something that I shouldnt be worried about but I cant help it! Before we left for Christmas Break (yes, we get Christmas Break...since I work at a university), my office mate got a promotion and she moved to her own office. Although I'm super excited for her promotion because she really deserved it, I missed the fact that she wouldn't be in the office with me any longer and that I would soon be sharing an office with someone new.  So after about 2 weeks of having an office to myself, I now have new office mate...

Don't really know how I feel about this just yet! Before I shared an office with someone who was in the same age category as myself and usually we had girl talk off and on all day HA! But now everything has changed, and my new office mate is older with kids my age and older...and since she hasn't been in this office she asks a lot of questions (which I really don't mind), its just if I give her an answer she says stuff like, "no its not like that" " I don't think that's correct"...so it leaves me to often wonder why do you ask me if you aren't going to believe anything I say??? Anyways, I went off on a tangent...well I was out sick one day last week and I come back and she has totally rearranged the office...

Since I'm getting ready to go on maternity leave I don't say anything I just left it as is because they weren't horrible changes, however, I am left wondering if she is crazy enough to touch my things on my desk while I'm on maternity leave. I really hope not because that will really make me go off on her! So basically I didn't all this rambling to say I sure hope when I come back and everything is totally different from how I left it. I have gone through everything on my desk and put things away in my locked drawers in case someone uses my desk while I'm gone. However, I didn't take my pictures and things down because its my desk and even if you are sitting there you aren't to be touching my things! And I feel if you are sitting there you should look at my pictures as a reminder that its not your desk its mine, and you aren't to get too comfortable! 

Okay maybe I am tripping...but I dont want people touching my things and I guess I know the culture of our office where they feel if I move something or change something it shouldn't be a big problem to her! 

Am I crazy for worrying about this (be real with me)???

Long Lazy Sunday...

Today I decided to participate in Long Lazy Sundays with Mrs. Pancakes of Adventures of Team Pancakes.  

Well Darrick and I have been on Mission: Make Carissa go into Labor, so our original plans were to go to church this morning, however, since I was up off and on all last night in pain I told him I would stay at home this morning. He decided to stay with me after doing some work around the house (Darrick hits the ground running each and every day)! After eating breakfast, I decided that we should go walking in hopes of making me go into labor soon. So we went to the mall and walked around like we were some mall walkers:) 

After walking the mall, we had a quick lunch in Food Court.  We then finished up grocery shopping, and we stopped to pick up food for the dogs.  Afterwards we stopped by my parents house to visit, then we came home.

The rest of the night we will spend sitting on the couch talking and watching TV. We are getting ready to cook dinner together, and I have clothes to fold...but I cant complain as long as we are sitting here spending time together:) 

Quote of the Day

Happy Birthday Mrs. Obama!!!

I have blogged about First Lady, Michelle Obama before because I LOVE her style, and since its her birthday what better time to blog about her again! To me she has the perfect style, its trendy but it's comfortable as well. Since she has been the First Lady I have taken plenty of style tips from her, one of my favorites is the flat shoes in all colors, cardigans, and dresses. 

I love how she makes it look so easy...

(www.essence.com)

One thing many people don't know is that I love to read self help books. Books that help with style, manner, makeup, etc. So when we picked names this year for Christmas, I asked for the book "Commander in Chic: Every Woman's Guide to Managing Her Style Like a First Lady" I asked for this book because it was about Michelle Obama, and style! Mikki Taylor is the author of this book, and I knew once I heard of the book...I had to have it, and I wanted a hard copy and not the Kindle Version!  

This is what Amazon.com had to say about the book:

With her “classic with a twist” sensibility, Michelle Obama oozes chic! Mikki Taylor, one of the nation’s foremost authorities on fashion, beauty, and style, has taken Mrs. Obama as her muse, to write the book women who admire them both have been waiting for, Commander in Chic.

The nation’s major networks, radio stations, and newspapers call on Mikki Taylor not only to discuss the “Obama look” and its feverish impact on style, but to hear Taylor’s own smart advice on looking polished and pulled together. She’s been privy to Obama’s style philosophy as well as that of countless celebs through her longtime role as beauty and cover director at Essence magazine, where she collaborated with Obama’s team on fashion and beauty choices for prime photo shoots for the magazine.

Now Taylor is sharing the keys to the Obama look with her diary-like observations, tips, and Mikki-isms (her short, ultra-clever style aphorisms) for women everywhere. Mikki knows we all want to possess a signature look and a wardrobe of bankable pieces that allow us the kind of versatility where we never have to worry about what to wear again! Consider Commander in Chic as your personal style diary—one where you’ll find everything you need to know to possess great style—simply, effortlessly, and for keeps.

Cover-to-cover, the book is full of stunning photo-graphs that take the guesswork out of what works. Every chapter in the book shares the kinds of concrete information and inspiring style ideas that not only make getting dressed a fabulous experience, but define what will make you a woman to remember! Here is everything you need to know about style—from your glossary of high-performance hair products and “do how-to’s” to the best makeup finds and techniques to what you need to know to grow your nails long and strong to the most polished hues for all skin tones. In “The Gam Slam,” Taylor tells you how to work summer-pretty legs year-round—from how to keep them even-toned and satiny smooth to vein-free.

Mikki took great care in talking to the experts about what we need to know to manage our lives from the inside out—from our mental and physical health and wellness to the importance of self-nurturing. As a result, you’ll find guiding principles on diet and exercise for the various stages of your life—from age twenty and beyond. You’ll also find the critical information you need to know to nourish your well-being so you can continue to be the empowered woman you are called to be.

All in all, Commander in Chic is a gold mine of information that will inspire you—from head to toe, inside and out—on how to truly style, now and for years to come. 

I must agree, I ABSOLUTELY love this book! It has so many great tips and tricks to have stunning effortless style! 

The Waiting Game...

Oh the Waiting Game...I am not due until February 2, however, I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and she said that everything was prepping to go into labor. Then I went last week and basically got the SAME report again. Boo! I just knew for my last appointment I was going to find out that I am dilated or something, but no I didn't hear any of that. After my appointment last week, I scheduled with the receptionist and she scheduled me for the next 3 Fridays in a row for the same time! Boooo!!! My last appointment falls the day after I'm due and I pray that I don't make it to that appointment and by that time I am holding my baby in my arms! Darrick and I are VERY anxious, and I think that's due to the fact that we had a scare about a week ago while having dinner at Outback Restaurant. I had two contractions within 5 minutes of each other, so we knew we were well on our way to labor (NOT) they stopped and now they are here and there NOTHING CONSISTENT! 

So now we basically play the waiting game...this weekend Darrick and I walked a lot with the hopes that, we would get her moving, but it didn't work! I think its driving me crazy because this is totally out of my hands, its up to the baby and when she is ready! 

COME ON EMMA!!! 

We are ready to meet you! Actually the whole family is ready to meet you not just Mommy and Daddy...the rest of the family is just as anxious as we are! 

Happy Birthday Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.