WINTER 2009 EDITION

Welcome to our Winter 2009 Edition . It was a fairly Bittersweet winter for us, mainly the month of December. That is the month we lost a beloved part of our 3-unit family, Hank. December 17, hanky-poo passed away with me by his side. Still after 4 months now, he is on my mind more than you may think. I miss him so much, he was my first baby in my eyes. As for that "Sweet" in the Bittersweet part of winter - just 10 days later I found out I was pregnant!!! I was so bummed out from a depressing December I didn’t even care at the time if “it happened” or it didn’t…. but it did and we are just so so thrilled! Somebody knew I needed something so happy and wonderful to pick me up & get me back on track to my old self again. So - I couldn’t have accomplished my goal anymore on target than with this one let me tell ya. The plan for years was to have a baby by the time I was 35, I’m talking I came up with that like before Justin was in the pic. Because god forbid, per all that crap they print out there, you have a kid when you are older than 35. I know, that has all changed now. But that was my original goal, than that goal changed quite effortlessly to "OK BE PREGO WHEN I’m 35 not “by 35", anytime in that year just be pregnant. Well – the way the pieces all fell, I got pregnant THE VERY WEEK OF MY 35th!! (and we had been trying way before that….so it's kind of funny how it all worked out so "on target" like it did).

Read below for retrospective look at our Winter 2008/2009. And until next edition – have a bloom-ful Spring!

We're Pregnant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We found out on Dec. 28 that I was pregnant. Oh if you could have SEEN my face when i read the results on that pregnancy test...we had been trying for quite a few months and so i really thought nope, not this month, but when that wonderful 8-letter word appeared in front of my eyes....well my jaw dropped down to the bathroom tile floor and just hung there, while probably seeping out some drool and than my hand went over my mouth in disbelief and i stared at myself in the mirror and i think i kept saying....oh my gosh! oh my gosh! OH. MY. GOSHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Than the smile overtook me. i was just SO SURPRISED I JUST COULDN'T BELIEVE IT - it worked! It was like magic :) Now the next thing to do was to TELL JUSTIN! He was at work, hitting up his late and LONG hours of Florida Auction Prep at the Toledo office. So i debated - do i call him! OH MY GOSH, DO I CALL HIM!!????? And i was like waiting for somebody to answer that question or something. I was by myself though so i needed to make an executive decision. So i drove to the grocery store, i got a packet of buns. hamburger buns. and i had my whole plan all laid out - i was going to wait till he got home and tell him his dinner is in the oven heating up if he wants to go get it. I was going for this: Justin opens Stove, sees nothing but a Bun...IN THE OVEN - and puts two and two together. ok - well SCRATCH THAT - i opted for this delivery instead. I placed the Pregnancy test, with it still reading the word "Pregnant" on the screen, in a long skinny black box, a box that seemed as if it were constructed for this EXACT purpose - that pregnancy test stick fit like a glove in this skinny box. Then i tied a bow on it and i just waited, and waited, AND WAITED ever so anxiously for him to come home. I had it sitting on the coffee table, he came and sat down on the couch next to me as he always does when he gets home - and i shoud have won a friggin' Academy Award for this let me tell you, i ever so non-chalantly said ' - "so when i was cleaning up around here, i found a xmas gift of yours that i totally forgot to give you" and i steared my eyes over to the little box on the coffee table. So he opened it - and it took about a second or two, a good hefty second or two, for him to comprehend that 8-letter word. Than he said: "Really!? Really!" i said "yup, we did it. Than i said something like "Well, One could say we did it...than we did it, huh ;)

We than waited 3 days to share the news on New Year’s Eve with our families. Over the phone at Midnight with the Clark’s (mind you i gave up after the third time Justin and I yelled into the phone "Happy New Year's Grandma To Be!!". JoAnne seriously missed our SHOUT not once, not twice, but yep, THREE times she didn't catch it! So later Justin eventually got the message across to her, it was hilarious! We told my family in person at our New Year’s dinner while up north in Leland with my parents, sister, aunt, uncle and cousin. Justin wore one of his techy toys, a hidden shirt button camera to capture the moment. We re-watched the video with them a dozen times, it made us laugh so hard, here is why:

When we sat down at the dinner table, I told my mom, dad and sister that we forgot to give them one of their xmas presents, so I handed a small box to each of them just as we sat down for dinner. and when they opened it each one of them had a special note saying “You Are Going To Be A Grandma!” or Grandpa or Aunt!

Unfortunately the video cannot be edited down to posting size but i'll share these details of it with you:

My Mom: My mom’s lips...well apparently when she screams in excitement her lips suddenly turn into these crazy duck lips.

My Aunt Janice: Well, you’da thought she was the grandma to be honestly, her reaction is priceless & hilarious! I think her jaw dropped down and stayed down the entire time once she realized what news it was that we were sharing with them

My Dad: He doesn’t even have the attention span to read a SIX-word sentence (You Are Going To Be A Grandpa!) instead he shouts “do we gotta do this now THESE STEAKS ARE GONNA GET COLD!) He still didn't even read the flipping note in the box! But by the reaction of everyone else after they read their notes, he had figured it out & smiled.

Meet "Fig"!!

The 3-D beige color ultrasound pic you see above is of “Fig” is at 11 weeks – it’s one of those 3D ones, and just check out the cheeks on our baby! Oh I hope they get their daddy’s poofy cheeks that he had when he was little. And the B&W ultrasound is at my half-way point, around 20 weeks. Just look at those precious pouty lips and perky little nose!!
Now what is this "Fig" you may ask. Well since we are not finding out if our baby is a boy or girl, we have resorted to calling him or her “Fig". An email during my 11th week told me our baby was the size of a Fig and that was just around the time I was getting pretty sick of saying “he or she, he or she”. So just a little FYI: This is just a nickname for during my pregnancy, ok :)

Our Beloved Hank: A Tribute

HANK "Mr. Hanky-poos" (1994 – 2009)

We Miss Him :(

I Miss Him, SO MUCH.

The above pic is Hank at my office on "Hat Day". Hank went to the office every day with me & there is definetly something missing at work every day now....

For anyone that didn't read this already - Justin wrote a poem the day hank died - my husband is incredibly sweet. I also received a ton of replies to my hank email that day and i want to share a few of the special memories my family & friends shared with me about mister hanky-poos, as well as a really precious 20-second video of Hank & a Photo Gallery.

Video: "Raw Hide Car Ride" - just a month before he passed away. On our way to Vermont.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz5VqOuqXNw

Poem by Justin - he was very sad as he was not in town unfortunately when Hank died.

Saying Goodbye to the most faithful of friends - Hanky-Poo,
a loyal pal to the very end.

Losing a best friend is a hard thing to bare,
When it's a great companion like you, it's almost unfair.

I regret so much, that I wasn't around,
But the great memories we have, will always abound.

Your Mom and I loved you, more than you'd ever know
Today, we mourn you, beating the grief will be slow

Your suffering is over, you're in a new Place
We'll miss you forever, especially your face.

Big head like a Newfy, curly tail like Chow,
Id bring you back in an instant, if I only knew how.

Car rides and walks were your favorite things
Now you'll do them forever, and do them with wings.

Oh' how I'll miss those precious times with you
You enlightened our lives, that much is true.

You were the greatest of dogs, you "glowed" like an ember
These are the things we’ll always remember.

You bounced like a rocking horse, with excitement and glee
I wish we could walk forever, just you, Jen and Me.

SPECIAL MESSAGES ABOUT HANK Worth Reading:

"I will never forget that one summer when Jen left to go visit Emiliee for a few days. I was living in the bedroom next to hers. Well, she couldn't take Hank for some reason. Hank just lay in front of her bedroom door the whole time she was gone. I mean, he did not budge at all. I layed on the floor and gave him kisses and tried to tell him that Jen would be home soon. That was one loyal dog!

Some people can categorize themselves as dog-lovers, cat-lovers, or pet-lovers in general. I am none of those types. However, I can truly say that Hank was that one rare dog that was able to change my point of view. I will miss you Hanky-Poo. You were such a good cuddle dog!"
- Jodi, my cousin

"Hi Jen - I just wanted to find a way to get in touch and tell you how very sorry I am about Hank.... I can't believe he was as old as Jack...He was such a sweet, gentle giant...I will never forget when he sat on the deck and it started snowing and he just sat there and sat there, waiting for something to jump out and run and chase and nothing ever showed up and he just slowly became white with snow - not totally, of course - like an old man slowly graying....he was such a cutey...And when you first brought him over and he wouldn't walk on the hardwood floor - he tried to do it on his tiptoe toenails....remember? What a goof! I'm just really sorry for your loss - our dogs are truly our best friends!"
- Chris J.

"We're so sorry for your loss. We were only around Hank a few times, but saw how easy it was to absolutely love him. He was one of the coolest dogs we ever "met".
- Linda & Dennis Clear

PHOTO GALLERY of HANK:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=cce4pp5d.62mmgf2p&x=0&y=-3oo4sa&localeid=en_US&cm_mmc=site_email-_-site_share-_-core-_-view_photos_button

New Year's Eve 2009, Up North

We had a wonderful time bringing the New Year 2009 with Aunt Janice & Uncle Mark from Georgia and Cousin Ryan & his wife, Lindsey from Tennessee!

It was a Winter Wonderland in Northern Michigan for sure - snowboarding, sledding, showshoeing and lots of lounging by the fire! Oh, and dance party u.s.a at the hill. Check out the video Aunt Janice, Amy and me. But especially check out Amy's sweet-ass dance moves on the ice....it's a bit into the video but hold out for it because it is fantastic, hee hee!! She even calls it out....

Click here for video

YOU WANNA FIGHT?

So one night this winter, on my way into our local grocery store, Krogers, I was minding my own business, actually having a sad day, as I was there to get hank ingredients to make his own dog food (this happened to be our last night together unbeknownst to me). So I was walking into the store, in my cute cute, even got a compliment just hours before at work, black knit dress. Now it’s a little short, above the knee, but I wear it with my black tall uggs, it’s winter cute fun. Well some 20-yr. old beotch with her thug of a boyfriend shouts out loud “put some pants on”. At first, I didn’t know where this voice was coming from and whom it was directed too, but when I looked almost straight ahead of me, they were coming out of the grocery store and I was about 30 feet away, I thought, oh, it must be a joke to her friend or something, until I realized they both had PANTS ON – so hmmmm….it was clearly directed towards ME. and I caught her as she just said it but she didn't even look at me when she said it, she was all tough to shout it but NOT TOUGH ENOUGH to say it to my face! Let me tell you, this was not the night to give me shit. So I non-verbally confronted both of them with my “if looks could kill eyes”, calling them out on it, and he realizes that I am doing so as I’m walking closer and closer to the entrance of the store, and he was kind of surprised given the look, and he didn’t know exactly how to react so he says to me “are you cold?” and smiles. So I say in a normal but very numb straightforward tone, “No.” and then I look at the girl, who at the same time noticed I was looking at them with the evil eye and I proceed to say “WHY DON'T YOU JUST SHUT YOUR MOUTH.”

Omg!!! I thought i was gonna fight someone in my Lambertville Krogers parking lot. Hahahaha! She kept walking, said nothing to me, kind of actually had an embarrassed look on her face. She was this cocky young dipshit of a girl who thought she could get away with shouting something rude and so BLATANT to a stranger and not have them say anything back. Well – if someone is going to make a crack at me and my SUPER CUTE WINTER DRESS – ya just really ought to “shut your mouth.” ☺

After my shopping, I called justin while I was waiting in line to cash out and I tell him the story and I tell him how I just kept walking but I was ready, ready to brawl! Not really, I’d freak out if that happened. But he responds with: now do I need to worry about you when you leave there, are they gonna be waiting for you” I reply: bring It on, I’ll pound someone! He says: jen. You have about the strength of a flea.”

And I present to you...Mr. Snuggles

This is Mr. Snuggles. A stray cat, A.K.A. Hank reincarnated as Emilee pointed out to me, who could not have been any closer to our front door one very cold winter day end of January (if he were any closer to it he would have been on the other side of it, in the house!). He really did have alot of the same habits as my precious Hanky-poo had (like beg for food! have you ever met a cat that begged for food!???) Anyway - i rescued this cute cute cat, fostered him for the next two months (don't worry about the pregnant thing - per my baby doctor you basically gotta rub their cat poop in an big open wound of yours to get the overly warned rare condition of toxomosis from a cat, sounds pleasant huh!). Other foster parent duties of mine included wrapping him up every single day in a towel & fed him medicine from an oral syringe like a little baby (eventually the towel was not needed, he would happily come to my lap and take his medicine), feeding him and SNUGGLING with him on the couch all the time. That's where he got his name - he was quite the snuggler. I'm happy to say Mr. Snuggles has been adopted by some friends of mine, Barb & Gene, pictured above holding him along with Barb's mom, and i'm so happy to hear that the three of them absolutely ADORE him. And i've already been there to visit him, i do miss him, but i certainly do not miss that litter box!

FLORIDA 2009

Another Florida Auction comes and goes. The sunshine was wonderful in mid-winter, Justin's work schedule sucked the big one though with this one, and i had another WONDERFUL week visiting with my friend Britny....and a special bonus, my sister flew in for a week too!!! Britny came down for her 3rd annual Florida gal trip. Amy overlapped towards the end of her trip it was so much fun hanging out with the Clark's while down there, lounging by the pool, taking a break in the hot tub (don't worry, my pregnant butt didn't get in there for more than 10 min), shopping for maternity clothes at the outlets and just visiting with each other.

SNOWBASH 2009

Justin enjoyed a well-deserved week in in Vail, CO again for his annual Snowbash with his friends - too bad i can't post the video from the head cam he used while boarding.

Amy Makes It In A National Magazine!

Here’s an article that came out in the National Magazine, "Elegant Bride". Featured is Amy's letter press company, Alice-Louise Press, and her Peacock Invitation. It hit newsstands on March 23rd!

Terry Makes Cover!

My dad made the cover of a local magazine called In Toledo. It featured his graphic design/adverstising company Lesniewicz Associates. Good Job dad! Oh, and a special thanks to my sister Amy and my Dad for making the rest of us feel like schmucks, with you know, all of your coverage & everything in magazines lately!

BLAST FROM THE PAST Feature

Leland, Michigan. 1991.
Justin and his girls: jen, amy & bridget

My cousin Jodi emailed me this note below after she took a look at the Fall Edition of our blog and this is what she said:

"I love these "blast from the past" photos of you and Justin. Let me share a moment with you. If you were 17 that means I was 8 years old (we're 9 years apart). I remember you had this mirror in your bedroom and you had written "I love Justin" in lipstick across it with your lip print. haha. I just remember everyone talking about how cool Justin was and how he liked snowboarding. We were all like, "what is this thing you call snowboarding?" Obviously this was back in the day before it got popular...!" - Jodi

SHOUT OUTS

Sorry, but as far as this Winter 2009 Edition of our Blog goes, i've been really slacky. Must have been the bummer winter with losing Hank and now I'm so excited & working so much on getting our house ready for Fig - so my apologies if i missed anyone in the shout outs, as i've got only a few here....and a brain full of Baby Prep To Do Chores!!

January 2009
I got nothin'

February 2009
I got nothin'

March 2009
• Jill & Jeff: Congratulations on the arrival of their first born, son, Davis! 3/20/09. Can't wait for our play dates with you Davis!