our life in the NICU

we are just over two weeks into our NICU journey and it's been a mixed back for sure. Don't get me wrong, I want my babies home. Of course. But this down time between pregnancy and taking them home has been a gift i'm not taking for granted. i have had a few weeks to let my body heel while nurses cared for our twins. I have been able to stretch and move and sit on the floor and i have cleaned every square inch of this house. Cabinets that were organized have been reorganized now that i have had a few weeks to see what we will be needing soonest. (Those 6 months bottles that were taking up space in the cabinet? down to the basement they go) And most importantly, it's given us a sweet little gift of just being the two of us for a little bit. We weren't married long before getting pregnant. And pregnancy did not bring out the best in me. We missed out on that honeymoon stage (and the honeymoon!) and it's been a blessing to get this little bit of time to enjoy each other again before the real adventure begins. 

Our babies are doing great, everyday making progress. We are just waiting on my lazy little suckers to get their bottles down consistently for 2 days before we are free to go home. It will be surreal when that day comes. What I'm looking forward to most? reintroducing them to one another! They have been "apart" (about 5 feet apart. but still. they gotta miss each other!) for far too long now and this mama is ready for stroller walks, couch snuggles, and all of the chaos. Bring it on! 

our weekend away to Columbus

 this past Saturday night was our bridal shower and, while it couldn't have gone any better, I'm glad we are one step closer to life being back to normal. I broke into tears twice the day of our shower, absolutely terrified to walk into a crowd of people that were solely around to see myself and Andrew and I was scared to death. I was given a very firm hug by Andrew as he reminded me that everyone was coming only because they loved us. That was it. No other reason.. but it was still a lot to take in. I thought this whole "everyone's eyes on the bride" thing was really going to be right up my alley but it turned out that the pressure of wanting to make sure 40 people in my mom's house was comfy, fed, and feeling attended to was a lot to take. But, like most scary shit in my life, it wasn't a big deal once it got started. We walked in and it was almost instantaneously fine. I've never experienced anything like it and I would do it again every weekend. I made several laps around the house to talk to everyone I could, kept a full drink in my hand for the entire party, and we all ended the night by jumping. in. the. pool. (yes it's November and yes it was midnight) You can tell when my mom is having a good time at her parties because she'll be the one talking everyone into jumping in the pool in their clothes. but it was the best time we could have hoped for.  In the morning, we woke up early and cleaned their kitchen for 2 hours as a quick "thank you for hosting!" and then we took off on our trip up north! 

We've been saying for weeks that we wanted to take one last short and quick getaway before we were officially married and Columbus seemed like the perfect fit. it's only about an hour and a half north and, while it's been a while since I've been in the area, it was so nice to be back. So many good restaurants (we basically just ate our way through the streets. Thank god for Spanx.) great bars, and amazing shops. I picked up a bottle of Davines Oi Oil that I have smothered all over every inch of my body, a new ring to remember the trip, and most importantly ANDREW'S TUX!! It was a rainy, stormy, dreary and amazing couple of days and while trying to stay dry, we ventured into a Jos A. Bank and 10 minutes later we walked out with Andrew's wedding ensemble! I also picked up a new zip up hoodie but that failed in comparison. Our hotel suit was equipped with a full working kitchen and so our nights were spent in our big squishy hotel bed eating our carry out boxes from all of our restaurant adventures. Could life be any more glorious? We woke up bright and early this morning and drove back through the rainstorms and back to reality. 

thank you to everyone that came out to our shower. I can't wait to celebrate the wedding with guys! and an even bigger thank you to my future husband, who makes the simplest adventures an hour north of our house feel like we are the only two people in the world. Lucky for us, too. More donuts. 

and thank you to Staybridge Suites for giving us our weekend home! 

a birthday trip to las vegas

 it has to be getting annoying to the world at large, but i talk about how amazing Andrew is from sun up to sun down and this year, for my birthday, that guy did not disappoint. he surprised me a few months back and told that he booked us a trip out to Las freaking Vegas for my birthday and it's been the longest couple of months ever in anticipation. i'm lucky enough to be dating someone that makes a trip to the grocery store a fun experience, but I knew that a four day getaway to Vegas would be a chart topping experience and yes, I was right.

We left for the airport on my actual birthday, the 31st, after a full day at work and had dinner in the airport. We spent the flight sipping our staple vodka & tonics and while I wish I could say that once we arrived, we went out that night and got crazy in Vegas, we most definitely did not. the evening was spent in our room at about 10:30 at night (cut us some slack, there's a 3 hour time difference AND we had worked that day!) to change into sweatpants and watch Friends in bed unit we passed out! I never did get used to the time change, as I was up at 6 am every morning and tried my damnedest to stay quiet while Andrew slept. BUT! the trip was amazing. Wednesday, we got up and went on the Neon Museum Tour which I highly recommend. (Remember when cousin Vicky and Audrey dance on signs in Vegas Vacation? Yeah, we were there!) and ended the afternoon with a walk thru "Old Vegas" which is totally my style. Picture Roseanne and when she went to Vegas. The good kind of people watching. You know what I'm talkin' about. And then Thursday, Andrew's friend gifted us with tickets to Cirque Du Soleil Beatles Love show and it was absolutely incredible. Obviously, we stayed on the edge of our seats, praying none of these crazy acrobats fell but the show was jaw dropping. Soooo bummed that I couldn't take pictures in there! And on Friday, we went to the Daniel Tosh stand up show and I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. My cheeks actually hurt when we walked out of the theater.

Each day was spent with afternoon naps, cleaning up the hotel room (does anyone else love straightening up their hotel room? putting the shoes in rows against the wall? laying their makeup brushes out on the counter in size order?? maybe it's just me) We ate soooo much food  in so many neat restaurants and drank plenty of booze but I gotta say, we were in bed every night by midnight and spent maybe 15 minutes in the casino. I pull down the slot machine knobs like a boss, let me tell you. It's a crazy world out there in Vegas and while I can't imaging heading back any time soon (it's a little more of an MTV scene while I"m sort of an HGTV kind of gal) I'm so lucky that Andrew took the time to make my birthday weekend so special and fun and different. 29 is already off to a pretty damn good start, I gotta say!!

^ my first time to sprinkles. i hate to say they were the best cupcakes i've ever had.

a road trip to new orleans

over easter weekend, which now feels like one hundred years ago, my best friend and i took a road trip to new orleans. one of our girlfriends was hosting her bachelorette party there and we figured why not make a road trip outta this weekend!?  and so, we did. it was long. it was at times a little stressful but oh my god was it fun. maria is probably one of the three people in this world that i could drive cross country with and not want to murder. and as a an only child with a bad attitude, that's saying a lot. i love her. not to say we didn't get into a few spats along the way. (give us a break. two girls in a car for 12 hours and one of them may have been having her time of the month) but it's all good! we rented our car thru enterprise here in Cincinnati and it's probably the smartest option for anyone trying to get anywhere on a budget. i think between the two of us it was like $70? or something like that? and when you've got two thrifters in the car that are wanting to stop everything antique shop from Ohio to Louisiana, you bet your ass we utilized every inch of that trunk space. our first stop wasn't far into kentucky at a small bar called Spinelli's. the place was empty and we had to explain to the poor bartender how to make a vodka & tonic. (no, seriously) but it was still fun. i like any restaurant or bar that allows people to scribble on the bathroom chalk walls. after that, we booked it down to nashville! 

my best found the sweetest print. and then we found the real one. i love her. 

now if i'm being honest, i could have spent a lot more time in nashville. have you been there? that city is magic. one of my best gals stef lived there forever and i knew we could count on her to tell us a few places to hit up in the few hours we had to spend there. she didn't disappoint. we went to Hattie's hot chicken (the line stayed wrapped around the building the entire night) i felt bad because my best friend is a rabbit and could only eat sides. but she's a selfless gal and knew i wanted to try the hot chicken. and it was just that. hotter than actual hell. the cashier suggested getting the hottest they made because HEY! YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE!  but i wish i had gone for just the normal, conservative bird. next time! but they did have some of the best mac and cheese that i ate all the way through tennessee from my to go box in the car. 

across the street from hatties was Broadway Brewhouse, a staple location for the area that allowed smoking indoors, had the friendliest staff and offered up Bushwackers. Basically a wendy's frosty made completely out of booze. one of those bad boys and i. was. feelin. it. it made for an even better stop though, as maria and i sat and tried to figure out what our trip hashtag should be. we decided on #twobroketofly in case you were wondering. 

the rest of the night was a blur as we drove a long rest of the way  toward new orleans. we finally stopped at about 1 am in a rest stop and slept in the car. worst choice i've made in a long time, as we were both completely freezing, tired, hungry and ready for a shower. i basically just laid there and watched episodes of The Office on my phone until maria rustled around enough for me to feel comfortable waking her up. once awake, we flew thru the next however many states (georgia, you are one long bitch of a drive!) and fiiiinally we made it to NOLA! 

there's plenty of pictures floating around in my phone of the trip. the fun parts. but i'm pretty sure that the bachelorette party rules clearly state that those photos must be kept private forever. thanks for the road trip, maria! there's no one else i would rather sing usher with. love you. 

The Jerry Springer Podcast

does anyone else out there get super pumped when they learn about some crazy random and amazing thing happening in their city that they had no idea existed? like the fact that Jerry Springer flies into the tiniest little hole in the wall coffee shop in Kentucky and does a live podcast for about 40 onlookers? a coffee shop that's about 20 minutes from my apartment? yeah. things like that. things like that get me more excited than most anything. my good friend Andrew heard about this event, reserved us seats weeks ago, and we had no idea what to expect. but it turned out to be pretty perfect. we went to a bar next door and chugged a few adult beverages before heading over to what ended up being the best possible Tuesday night I've ever had.

we were the youngest people there by about 40 years and i would like to think that's the reason that Jerry (we're on a first name basis, now. us, and good ol' Jer) kept talking to us. that, and the fact that i pushed my way to getting front row seats for us, up close and personal. seeing a man in person that you watched at 4 o clock most weekdays while in middle school (sneaking to watch, obviously) had me totally fan girling and my cheeks were actually hurting when he was talking to Andrew and me about his flip phone. he's had it for about 20 years. god, he's so cool. he ordered the most obnoxious looking drink covered in whipped cream and chocolate shavings and kept moving his glasses from the tip of his nose to somewhere between his brow and hairline and he instantly became my hero for the night. he talked on his podcast about how he was once the mayor of Cincinnati, his love for folk music (i'm thinking that's why he picked this particular coffee shop, Folk School Coffee Parlor) and other bits. he was super personable and while we sat and watched and laughed and snap chatted the whole thing, our only hope was that the guy would come over and have a drink with us next door after the show. it didn't happen, but i have big hopes for the next time we go! here's a few pics from the night...

my beverage lacked whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles and a nice, sturdy mug… but then again, i'm NO jerry springer, ya know? 

i felt like a nerd asking him for a picture, but i figured what the hell, this guy has seen some shit. he won't care. and he didn't. he was more than accommodating. 

he strolled past us while walking up to take his seat and commented on how sorry he was that my jeans were so ripped. he gave a little chuckle and grabbed my shoulder. i then proceeded to blush, let out the most obnoxious laugh and vowed to never get rid of them. they're now my jerry jeans.

if you're up for a drive down into northern kentucky, hit this event up! i'm not sure of the exact schedule or whether or not it changes, but click HERE for more information and to reserve your seats! 

Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!