Fun Filled Weekend

Ryan & I were so lucky to have a member of our Pennsylvania family in town with us for the weekend. Eric flew in on Friday where we kicked off the weekend with BBQ (how else to start a southern weekend for our "yankee" friend) at the Ugly Dog Saloon http://www.uglydogsaloon.net in New Orleans.
For those of you who love BBQ (where are my Jim-n-Nicks fans?) you need to try this place! It was in the warehouse district on Andrew Higgins by the WWII museum...which was our next stop. We did the museum which was very cool & then headed back to the Northshore to sit on lake & do what we do best here.... eat some more!!! This time we had all sorts of cajun food. I made jambalaya, crawfish bread (recipe below pics)& cookies & Wendy cooked fried shrimp & fish & of course we had fresh french bread!
Saturday morning we got up & headed for Baton Rouge to see the Tigers play. We walked around campus, ate more good food & just had a great time hanging out with Eric & Ryan's cousin Roy & his wife Shesha.
Sunday the boys got up & went to the Saints game & then I picked them up & we went and walked around the great city of New Orleans.
We had such a great time hanging out with Eric & can't wait for him to come back & bring Melissa & the kids. Here are a few pics from the weekend:

Crawfish Bread Recipe:

1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup butter 1 cup chopped green onions (tops & bottoms) 1/2 cup finely chopped celery 1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper (I use green/red would be ok too) 4 toes garlic chopped fine (I used minced garlic) 1/2 cup white wine 1 lb. peeled crawfish with fat 8 oz. cream chz cut into squares Seasoning to taste (tony's or zatarans or magic seafood) 1 roll french bread dough or croissant rolls (croissants are easiest) 8 oz shredded pizza chz mix

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, saute chopped veggies in olive oil & butter until wilted. Add crawfish tails with fat & wine; stir well & add cream chz. Stir until melted. Add seasoning & cool until all is thickened, just a few minutes. Remove from heat & let flavors blend.

Carefully roll out each dough on baking sheet. Spoon onto center of dough. Sprinkle on chz. Fold dough over mixture to make loaf. Cut 2 slits in dough.

Bake 20 minutes or golden brown.

Enjoy!

Audrey's Room Continued

Here are a few more pics of the Baby's Room... they were taken with a camera so they turned out a little better. This will eventually be the "Nana Room" so we have a bed for Rollins & we will put a crib in it eventually. Nana's 80 million year old quilt...its holly hobby, how cute!

Books & Quilt Nana made for her

Audrey's Room

Cradle
Changing Table...Her bag is already packed for the hospital (and what a cute bag, Aunt Lori)

So I figured since our child was due in about 2 weeks, I should go ahead & set up her nursery :)

We really didn't do much of a theme or decorate too much since we will only be in this room for a couple of months. Her Aunt Shesha did the letters for me (she is so talented)!

I took these pics with my camera phone so they aren't that great but I will have Ryan download the ones from the camera & update soon.
Two more weeks til she gets here!!!!

Full Term

Audrey is considered full term as of today!

This means that if we were to deliver today, she would not be considered premature!
We did an ultrasound last friday & they said that her lungs look developed & get this... she has a little peach fuzz on her head!

Whenever you are ready Audrey, Mommy & Daddy are waiting to meet you & we love you so much already!

I'm an Aunt... AGAIN

Most of you know that my sister-in-law, Jennifer, & I were pregnant at the same time! It has been such a blessing for me to be able to pick her brain about pregnancy, raising children, schedules & just trying to get it all right. She has been an amazing mentor & role model for me & I thank God that He put her in my life.

They welcomed James Christian to the world yesterday afternoon.
Mom & baby are doing great! I can't wait to meet you Christian!
Ryan, I am so excited for you right now & will be saying prayers for a smooth transition for you & the whole gang (you have a gang now).

Love ya'll
Aunt RahRah
P.S. Rollins & Christian I will always be cheering for you! I love you both so much!

We are so blessed

At our couples shower with my 2 best friends from high school who hosted it for us! Love ya Rach & Char!!!

Ryan & I have been so blessed with the coming of Audrey. We have been given three baby showers & have enjoyed seeing all our friends & family at each one... not to mention gotten plenty of goodies to take care of our little bundle. Ryan & I just want to thank everyone who came & blessed us!!! We love you all!

This was in PA before we left...Thanks to my LAF family!

Audrey will be cheering for her team in style... Geaux Tigers!!!

Saints Game

Probably one of my last Saints games for awhile :(
We had a blast though & our boys beat Tampa Bay 24-20

1 Month=Excitement & Disappointment

So we have exactly one month until Audrey's due date! I have become obsessed with thinking about meeting her & getting ready for her (I think they call this "nesting").

I wonder what she will look & be like.
Will she have dark hair like Ryan & me or will she be a little cotton top like the rest of my family & her Uncle Robbie? Will she have blue eyes like her Mama or will she have big brown doe eyes like her Daddy? What will her personality be like? Will she be calm & laid back like her Daddy or stubborn like her Mom? Will she be funny & like to make people laugh like her cousin Rollins?

I can't wait to see her, hold her & show her how much we love her already. Ryan is able hear her heartbeat with a simple stethescope which is just amazing to me. She is so reactive to many outside factors... we play music for her & she starts "dancing", Ryan will blow on my belly (like a zerbert) & she will "play" with her Daddy. We've been talking to her alot lately & I keep asking her not to make me wait too much longer. Ryan thinks she will come later rather than early but my money is on the first week of October.... not that I got any good news from my doctor. We went yesterday (since we are going weekly now) & my doctor informed me that we have not yet begun the labor process. I am not even dialated one centimeter-I ask her just to lie to me & tell me I was :) I am trying to be patient (not that I have much of a choice) & just wait for her to come in her own time but I am anxious to meet her.

Will keep you posted after the next visit... say prayers for "good" news!

Audrey's Crib

So we FINALLY have a crib for Audrey. I know, i know... I'm due in 5 weeks & we are just getting the crib. Well, since moving, trying to sell our house, dodging hurricanes & just living life.... I really haven't had time. Now before you go judging me let me tell you that I do have a cradle for her. We really don't have room for a big crib in our "nyc style loft apartment" so we are going to start with the cradle.
I found her crib on craigslist & it is the same manufacture as the original crib I had picked out. I just can't see paying $500 for a crib & I really didnt want to get one from Babies R Us. Not that I'm a babiesrus snob, it's just most of there cribs are made of a soft pine & I wanted a sturdy thicker piece of wood.

Anyway, I love the crib & I am feeling really good about only paying $180 for a $500 crib. It is not the exact crib I picked out but its really close & it matches the furniture we already have to go with it!

Offense Taken-A tribute to all pregnant women

I started writing this after I read my sister-in-laws blog entitled "no offense taken". For those of you that don't know Jennifer, she is one of the kindest & most beautiful people (inside & out). She blogged about how people find it absolutely appropriate to make inappropriate comments to pregnant women. Again if you know her, you know she is one of the cutest & most fit pregnant women I have ever met... I mean she is 37 weeks pregnant & still keeping up with the instructors in her aerobics classes.... in her original gym shorts!

Hats off to ya Jenn!

I don't know if people just don't know what to say so they open mouth & insert foot or if they truly cannot hear their own words. And don't they know that being pregnant we have more hormones raging than a lunatic on her cycle.... we could seriously hurt you :)

I have to give Jennifer credit because she truly acted like a Christian when those women offended her. Some of the comments (now just listen to these...they really are stupid) I've heard or have heard people tell other pregnant women are:

"you look enormous"
"your face is really puffy... are you retaining water" (Isn't it obvious)
"you look alot bigger than the last time I saw you" (no joke, I'm growing a life here)
"man your about to pop" (pop? really, am I a balloon?)
"are you having a girl..bc you are carrying it all over" (was your mom a gorilla bc you are ugly)
or the infamous:
"are you having twins" (just call me enormous & get it over with)

My friend Courtney & I got pregnant at the same time & when we found out our due dates were 2 days apart we were ecsatic to be going thru the whole thing together. I was probably a size 6 when I got pregnant & Courtney was at least one size possible two smaller than me (She is a little girl)

When I was about 5 months pregnant I had a woman at church tell me that I was bigger than her. "no joke" I wanted to tell her.... "I was bigger than her when we both got pregnant". Ryan & I talked about the incident later & I told him I knew that the lady had not meant to hurt my feelings but would she have mentioned that I was bigger than Courtney had I NOT been pregnant?

I had a guy at work comment on how I am always eating (which if you've ever been pregnant you know that sometimes in the first trimester its best just to keep a layer of crackers in your stomach AT ALL TIMES!!!) I ignored his comment, looked at another collegue that was standing with us & said "you know I find that people say the STUPIDEST things to pregnant women" & walked off leaving the guy completely bewildered.

If you are reading this & you are one of those not so smart people who have said something like the above to a pregnant woman SHAME ON YOU. And if you don't know what to say, stick to something like this:

You have such a glow about you
Pregnant women are so beautiful
How are you feeling
Are you excited about your upcoming adventure in life

Anyway, I just wanted to say to Jenn that I am proud of you & that I'm sorry for people that tear you down. Remember that as Christians we live in the truth & the truth is you are beautiful & God has chosen you especially to be this childs mother.
As a mother, I feel so honored that God trusts me enough with HIS creation.
If you know Jenn please go to her blog http://ryanandjenn.blogspot.com/ & leave her a nice comment or email me at mrs.amato1@yahoo.com & I will forward it on to her.

Jenn I love you & have learned so much from you about being a mother, Christian, wife & just an all around role model. Please forget the words that were said to you the other day & only allow the positive to be embedded in your mind & heart.

Audrey Catherine Amato

Ryan & I have decided on a name for our little girl:
We will welcome:



Audrey Catherine Amato
to this world sometime around 10/10/08!

Hurricane Gustav

Well Ryan & I have never been one on timing... we moved to PA in the dead of winter & we moved home to LA in the dead of hurricane season. Less than 2 mos in Louisiana & we've already had our first encounter with Hurricane Gustav.

Even with our town calling for a mandatory evacuation, Ryan & I decided to stay in LA. Smart move right? :) The weather reports kept calling for the storm to turn west away from us & the hospitals were staying open. We just felt that 12 hours in the car in stop & go traffic for a woman that is about to give birth might be just as bad as losing power & dealing with the weather. Gustav did head west & we got winds of about 70-80mph & lost power for about a day. All in all, our decision to stay worked out ok... don't think we will do the same once our baby gets here though.

Saturday we were suppose to have our annual Luau at my father in laws & we turned it into a hurricane party. Here are some pics of us getting ready for Gustav, riding out the storm & the aftermath.

On another note, we are less than 6 weeks away from meeting our little girl. Here is a pic of my growing belly... this will probably be the last since I don't want to admit to getting any bigger than I am now!

Hurricane Party... we are watching the storm!

During the storm

Marina Dr

No entry to get to New Orleans