We're Moving!!

So I tried to have it all...I wanted to be an amazing wife, a full-time employee, a stellar Mom-to-be, a super cool cat Mom, and a blogger (who doesn't).   In fact I loved the blogger role so much that I got a little crazy and started 2 of them.  This one, the McGee McBlog, intended to be full of personal updates.  And the Mommy McBlog, intended to be geared towards the Mom audience.

But somethings gotta give, and I just can't be SuperWoman.

Let's be real, my prego bump could never squeeze into this tight spandex outfit

So the McGee McBlog has been merged with Mommy McBlog and I'm moving all my updates and posts there.   The merger is a good thing.  It's the equivalent of Disney merging with Pixar; Wendy's fries meeting with a Frosty; Carol Brady marrying Mike Brady.  (Perhaps I'll go back to 2 blogs someday but for now I need to simplify my life, especially with a Beanette on the way).

Moving Day for McGee McBlog

But please calm down... No panicking or rioting please.  If you haven't tuned into the Mommy McBlog yet, it's not too late...  You can still jump on the bandwagon!!

I promise that I'll still include many pictures, lousy attempts at humor, and random ridiculousness.  In fact, I'm drumming up a corny little post right now about our birth class trilogy and it will include all of the above.  So stay tuned for the post this week on the Mommy McBlog.

So now the question you must all be asking... How do I get to Mommy McBlog?!?!

It's quite simple because Mommy McBlog even has it's very own domain.  It is MommyMcBlog.com.
Yep, it's that easy!!  Just click and go.  If you missed it the first time, its MommyMcBlog.com.

AND, there's more to it (no I won't add in a free snuggie), but you can also Like Mommy McBlog on Facebook and follow more updates and comments there.  Click HERE, Like it, and make my day that much better. 

Hope to see you all soon at Mommy McBlog.  We'll be throwing a blog-warming party shortly complete with tours of the new pad, hots dogs, cold beer and even free balloons for the kiddos. 

Thanks for following and see you soon! 

Much McBlogging love,

Erin

Picture of the Week *803 Day*

Friday was One of my favorite days of the year!

August 3rd, AKA 8/03!

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803 was the house number of my grandparents for over 60 years!!  Their little house on Sullivan Street was the location of some of my favorite childhood memories.  To this day I still miss the magic of 803 and I often think about how much I would love to go back for just one more visit with Grandma and Grandpa.

So in honor of 8.03 day, some fun Quilty pictures to walk down memory lane...





Q Family Reunion (1985 I think)
Melissa and I were the kiddos in the front wearing sandals with socks



This picture was taken in front of the tree in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard (they are seated in the middle).  They both got very dressed up for these occasions.  Grandma always looked so pretty and Grandpa always looked very handsome. 

This was the original 803 number on the light pole in front of Grandma and Grandpa's house! 
This did not make it to the new owners when we sold the house (sorry new owners).  The numbers are currently spending some time with the Q's in PA.

Just a few phrases of memories that took place at 803!  The stories behind these phrases would fill at least 10 blogs, but each mean so much to our family.

It's an understatement to say that Melissa and I had a great childhood.  And being a few blocks from Grandma and Grandpa had a huge part of this.  They were so special to us! 

One of my favorite memories with Grandma and Grandpa was eating popcorn along with a huge glass of Country Time lemonade.   Such a small thing  at the time but looking back we had so many great conversations over this late-night snack.  I haven't had a chance to enjoy my lemonade and popcorn yet in honor of 803 day but I have big plans to have some this week. 

Hope you all have a great week, and maybe even take a few minutes and enjoy a stroll down memory lane. 

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Good-Bye to Hospitality

Today was the day; my final day as a hotel employee! 
Very bittersweet.  I can't leave the last 7 years of my life without a little ode to hospitality and events.  It is where I met some of my best friends and had some of the most fun times.  So without sharing too much incriminating information, here are

My Top 5 Most Memorable Moments of Hospitality

(Drum roll please)

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#5 - While working as an events planner for 84 Lumber Company, I was responsible for planning the Annual Ten Year recognition Weekend at Nemacolin Woodlands.  The crazy 4-day affair  in 2006 started with about 25 broken awards, which had to be re-made and re-shipped from Chicago in 48 hours, but the craziest part of the weekend came as I was leaving.  I was finally on my way home after barely sleeping for the four-day affair when I got a call that the 84 Lumber beaver head was missing.  (I can't make this stuff up).  It had been wrapped in a trash bag to be shipped back to the office and it was inadvertently thrown away.  I had the pleasure of digging through the trash for hours but never recovered that darn beaver head.  RIP 84 Lumber Beaver Head! 

#4 - It was very fun to come in contact with famous people while working in hospitality.  I saw Nicole Richie (barely) eating lunch, greeted NHL & NFL teams, booked rooms for Tommy Lee and Motley Crue and watched Keanu Reeves during his morning smoke break. 

#3 - Lots of fun travel!   Over the past seven years I've been able to travel to NYC a few times, Phoenix, Chicago, LA, Boston, San Diego, Dallas, Toronto, Albany, Saratoga Springs and lots of other places.    Saratoga Spring never failed to be the most exciting -- Enjoy Saratoga Springs, Always have Excedrin from the next morning.   

#2 - A highlight reel of my time in hotels would not be complete without a recap of some crazy MOD memories that included:  trying to have a rational conversation with wasted Long Island cops (not on duty fortunately) at 4 AM, dealing with guests that pee their pants in public, calling the cops on abusive husbands and handling a hooker that claimed she was assaulted by "clients"!  And you wonder why people in hospitality tend to drink a lot.

#1 - The A-M-A-Z-I-N-G People!!!!  I had great co-workers that are now my great friends!   It wasn't a day at office without morning bagel breaks, covering co-workers walls with birthing pool ads, turkey bowling, co-workers that wear Shape-ups, and even a bomb threat.  But I think that one of my favorite nights had to be when the Hyatt girls took me out for a "few" drinks before Denny and I tied the know.  Yikes, I'm not sure how 1 drink led to 10+ drinks, but it was a super fun night.com!

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Cheers to the next chapter in life.  If I meet half the amazing people as I have met in the last seven, I'll be one lucky lady!

Baby McGee Shower ~Pictures of the Week~

Last Sunday Denny and I attended the most AMAZING shower for our little girl!! 

Our Moms, Melissa and Sara worked really hard to make it perfect, and it was!  

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It's hard to find the words to begin thanking everyone that made it so special.  Beanette is one lucky little girl!

The decorations were gorgeous, and the room was beautiful!  Sara and Melissa even had a Price is Right game complete with music and props.  So cute!

Here are some of the pictures show exactly how cute everything was!  It went so fast that I didn't get to take any pictures but luckily a lot of our friends and family shared pictures.  Thanks to those who sent these our way. 



Adorable invite (with Beanette's picture on it).  Everyone brought a book to help grow our little girl's library!

The shower was held in a room called the Mama Q room at Caffe Capri, so perfect!

Super cute banner 
~Welcome Little Lady!~



A~M~A~Z~I~N~G Desserts!!   The dark ones were Peanut Butter Cup.  Beanette loved them!

Dad with the adorable drawing her did for Beanette's room.  It was such a great surprise!

  ~~~  Some of our Wonderful guests!!  ~~~

            

Sara & Kelly, the best Aunties ever!

Jenn and Fynan even made it to the shower from Germany!!

  ~~~  The Proud Grandmas!  ~~~

Aunt Kathy, BJ and Soon-to-be Grandma McGee

Melissa, me and Nana-to-be

~~  We were so lucky to get so many wonderful gifts for Beanette, and Denny helped me to open everything.  He is very excited for his little girl.  ~~ 

Proud Dad!

  ~~~  Some After Pictures   ~~~

Just a few snapshots of Beanette's room with some of her wonderful gifts!  More pics to come as we finish her nursery.

Poor girl has nothing to wear!

 She has so many cozy places to nap, lots of blankets for snuggling, and tons of stuffed animals!   Can't wait to read her all these books too!

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We can't thank all of our friends and family from Ohio and Pa enough for all you did to make us feel so loved!!  We can't wait to make the trip to visit everyone once she arrives!!

Cha Cha Changes

It's been an exciting few months in the McGee house to say the least, and the changes continue.

Let me start at the beginning...

Four years ago Denny and I were getting ready for our Big Day and I was also making plans in my mind for another big endeavor, grad school!  I had been in the hospitality and events industry at that time for about 3 years and I was starting to wonder what opportunities existed outside of the world of Heads in Beds. 

Denny and I said I Do in August, and in November we said I Do to grad school.  It was half the excitement of our wedding and twice the cost so I'm not sure what we were thinking (perhaps we were still drunk off Balashi beer from our honeymoon in Aruba). 
<><>

Y-U-M!!

Denny and I pushed each other through the program one class at a time.  Finally after 2 1/2 years of very little sleep, gallons of coffee, hours of work and 4 Gigs of my jump drive, we graduated, celebrated and returned to normal life aka sleeping more than 4 hours a night.

Double Hooray!

Since then this little piece of me has still been wondering what else is out there.  Not that I haven't loved my time working with some amazing people in the crazy hospitality world, but I been full of curiosity.  I felt like Columbus wondering if the world really was round.  I just had to find out!

So, I did.  And in just a few days I'll say good-bye to the hospitality world after almost 7 years.

I am SO thrilled to announce that I accepted a Business Development role at the UB Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.  It wasn't necessarily on my To Do while 6 months pregnant, but I have come to find out that life rarely listens to any one's game plan.  And when opportunity Knocks - you open the door, invite it in and serve it iced tea.

I have worked with the UB CEL team in the past, and I am joining an amazing team!  They have been 100% supportive (and informed) about Beanette from Day 1, which makes one more change during this time of my life way less stressful.   The really rewarding part of my new role is that my work at UB will help local business leaders grow their entrepreneurial spirit and ultimately help business in Buffalo thrive. 

I'm really happy and I feel like I found my little place in life.  So here's to another change in one of the most exciting years of our life!  Oh, and go Bulls!

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PS  I'm not the only pregnant woman taking on a new role.  Yahoo recently hired a new CEO due with a Baby Boy this October.  Cheers to brave women trying to have it all while in maternity pants.  To weigh in on this from a Mommy point of view, click here!

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Our June Bug

  ~~  June 23, 2012  ~~

A date that we will always remember.  A day that we thought we be a lot different.
Today is June 23, 2012 and we are here.  I was wondering how it would feel to get to this day but it's not too bad. 

Eight months ago today we found out we were going to be parents!!  We were having a baby!!  Exciting and crazy and overwhelming.  It was finally our turn!  We felt we were patient and we did it right... got our degrees, got married, bought a house,  got more degrees, had good jobs.  It was finally time to make our family a family of three!  It was October 23, 2011 and within minutes I looked at the calendar and figured out June 23, 2012 would be the day we might welcome our baby.  A sweet little June Bug!  Even if if he or she didn't arrive on that day, we knew the day would symbolize a pretty big milestone. 

We bought baby clothes, made our lists of names, told our families and pinched ourselves.  It's amazing how many dreams can play out in your mind over the course of a few weeks.  And it was all becoming real.  We could not wait to decorate the room, meet our little one and spend our lives enjoying every second of a sweet baby. 

As quickly as we found out the good news, we realized something wasn't right.  An awful trip to the hospital in the middle of the night, a few tests, some agonizing days of waiting, and our worst fear was confirmed.  We lost our June Bug.  We always knew it could happen, but being naive we didn't think it would happen.  The medical explanations didn't make much sense and certainly didn't help to heal two broken hearts.  Denny became my rock and he supported me when I couldn't support myself. 

Despite feeling totally lost, we realized how lucky we were to have so much love and support.  Tremendous, unconditional support.  Our families, friends, neighbors and co-workers wrapped their arms around us and helped us get by.  And we slowly did.  The good thing about life is that the sun will continue to rise every day.  Eventually we noticed this. 
  
Saturdays were normally  the toughest because I always seemed to wake up thinking Today should have been 14 weeks, or Today could have been spent preparing for our baby.  That and a day without a busy schedule often means the most time to think about things.  But we eventually let go of the would haves and should haves.   It took a while, but slowly the journey didn't seem just so dark anymore.

Four months and two days after the first round of good news, we found out that we were very lucky.  We got good news again!!  We were a lot more cautious and much more nervous, but this time was different (as shown by my growing belly). 

Today we are in a good place.  It has been a bit bittersweet but we have taken this day to relax and enjoy each other.  We are really lucky to be able to focus on a sweet baby girl arriving in about three months.  We have each other and we have an added appreciation for the miracle of a new baby.  We will never take this experience for granted, and we will never underestimate how important it is to share our story with friends and family. 

One reason I really wanted to write this post is to thank all the friends and acquaintances came to me and told me their story of loss (I still hate the word miscarriage and avoid writing or saying it as much as possible because it seems so cold and clinical).   I was astounded at how common it is to lose a baby, yet it seems to be something that is not commonly discussed.  I found a lot of strength knowing that it wasn't a road I was walking down alone and I think that if talking about it helps even one person feel better, it is absolutely worth it.  

Ironically our sweet baby girl is due October 2, just 13 days before Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, a day created to provide support for anyone who been down this road.  It brings me peace to know that perhaps the Beanette will have a an extra little angel watching over her in life, not just on October 15, but everyday. 

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(On a side note, I always thought that our first baby would be a boy, and maybe he was.  About 90% of the people I talked to that lost a baby went on to have a baby girl right after their loss.  It makes me wonder if that is why we are now filling our house with pink.... )

Staycation, please stay longer!

The past 7 days have been the McGee Official 2012 Staycation!  And it has been Fabulous!! 

But even more important than the Staycation are all the great happening with our friends & families this week...  A very happy Welcome to the World to sweet Lola Noelle, and congrats to Missy, Tom & Big Brother Dylan!   

So Gorgeous!!

Congrats to our cousins PJ and Ally for graduating from high school.  College will be some of the most fun years of your life, enjoy!!  And Congrats to our Uncle Bob and our new Aunt Elaine (and 3 new cousins!) on their recent vows and celebration tonight.  We are thinking of you and wish we were with you to enjoy it! 

           

We decided a few months back that with the Beanette on the way we should take some time to relax, work on some house projects, and perhaps save some $$ for all of Beanette's necessities (crib, furniture, car seat(s), hair bows, legwarmers, tutus, etc, etc).

It's not over until Tuesday morning (which makes writing this less painful) but here are some major highlights of the week so far:

• 54 holes of golf for Denny
• 36 holes of golf for me including a few pars and even a birdie!
• 28 hours in Ohio visiting my family, Sara, and some friends from our tap-dancing days.
• 22 week pregnancy mark!  We hit it Tuesday and can't believe how quickly our little girl will arrive (although my closet is clearly aware when I stare at it everyday and say/whine "Oh no, NOTHING fits me")
• 9 hours of garage cleaning and organizing (finished result now includes shelves for organizing and sense of relief that we won't lose our daughter in there once she starts moving)
• 7 hours of neighbor fun at annual Memorial Day picnic (thanks Kocialskis for another great year!)
• 6 hours at the Buffalo zoo!  Denny's 1st visit since moving to Buffalo over 7 years ago.
• 5 miles worth of enjoying tax dollars while strolling along the Lancaster Bike Path
• 4 baskets of tortilla chips accompanied by salsa, guacamole and cheese dip with our friends at La Tolteca, yum! 
• 3 great daycare tours and happiness knowing Beanette will have wonderful care while we work.  We're not sure if she'll end up being a little DoodleBug, an EduKid or a Briarwood Baby but we did dispel the myth that all daycares give their kids sleeping pills each day to keep them quiet (thanks again Grandma for telling me about that rosy newspaper article, but please end your subscription to the Dire News Daily immediately)
• 2 matching his & hers farmer tans.  Hey, it's what happens when an Irish couple spends a day in the sun.
• 1 great husband that has spent 7 days with me tolerating my Staycation To Do lists, pregnancy hormones, and sneak peek of what our life will be like someday far in the future when we grow old and retire by the water.

Monday is my last day of vacation so I figured it would best be spent getting a little pampering, but I'm in no rush for that to get here.  Staycation, please feel free to take your time.  Put your feet up and enjoy a cold glass of lemonade... that's why you're here after all, right?

To Do Lists

Speaking of my favorite things, nothing puts me in a better mood than a great weekend To Do list (yes, I realize that proclaiming this via a blog is the equivalent to wearing an I'm a Geek t-shirt), but it's the truth and I'm proud to admit it!

Let me clarify that not all to do lists are the same.  From 10 PM Sunday to 5 PM Friday, I live my life by check marks.  If I can get 8-12 checks on my Work or Home to do list (both separate lists) in a day, I view it as a success.  The lists are packed with tiers of organization, sub-lists and categories: To Do, To Send, To Buy.  They go on and on.  This week I was so focused on getting a lot done that I actually found "Relax" on my Home To Do list in Denny's handwriting.  My husband's a smart man so I took his advice.  Thirty minutes of DVR later I placed a check mark next to the Relax Box.  One more item, done!

But the weekend To Do lists have a sense of fun and excitement to them because these lists actually include things I want to accomplish.  Last weekend, I had "Host our reveal party" as an item.  Giant Check!  This weekend my To Do list includes "Pick paint samples for the Beanette's room," "Work on her registry," and "Pick up her crib"... talk about fun!

Tonight I'm actually going out on a limb and not even bothering to write anything down, but it doesn't stop me from formulating a To Do list in my head.  It starts in about 2 minutes with "Post to blog, check!" "Pick up pizza," "Eat it on couch next to hubby," and "Relax!"

So, with that being said, it's time to run!  I've got an order to pick-up and a weekend to enjoy!  I hope you all do the same. 

TGIF!!

Attempting to Blog

Welcome to the 1st official post of the McGee McBlog!

I'm Erin...  

I'm a blogger wanna-be, a comedian wanna-be and a Facebook addict. 

This is Denny, my cute hubby!

He played baseball through college and even pitched in the Independent Frontier League for 3 years.  Now that he has retired his pitching arm, he has become smitten with golf. 

This is Baby McGee...

He or she will be arriving in early October.  We think it's a boy!  We are pretty excited!  We hope that the little one ends up with Denny's athletic ability.  :)

And this is Lexi Kitty!  This picture was taken when she was just a few months old. She is fairly certain that she carries more power than Alexandar the Great.  Her top loves in life are: Fancy Feast, watching the world from a window, and waking us up at 5 AM (by dancing on my head) to eat Fancy Feast.  She also thinks she is a dog.  She waits by the door, sleeps on our feet and always wants to play. 

A few more quick facts about us:

• We both went to Ohio University and then had our wedding there... it was the best day!
• We are both very Irish (hence the names)
• Denny has trouble finding the hamper, in particular when it comes to dirty socks
• I have trouble finding the stove on more nights than not
• Some of the cities each of us have lived in: Washington, PA; Athens, OH; NYC; Niles, OH; Kalamzoo, MI; Chillicothe, OH and now Lancaster, NY
• Denny has an older brother, I have an older sister
• Together we have 3 nephews
• We are pretty lucky to have eachother  :)

Thanks for tuning into the first post, more to come soon!