The Claws are Out!

Megan is off of my top list based on the info that Jill shared last week. However, she did not deserve to be the brunt of the drama last night. Erica needs to go...she is so annoying. Just because Megan called her out on being totally 2-faced, she felt the need to drag her down too. I hate girls like that.

I really like Jillian...I forgot about her last week. And I also still like Molly. I am not sure about Nikki yet...a little bit of a tattle-tale. Oh, and does she have side burns? If you didn't notice last night, pay attention next week. And Shannon is borderline psycho.

I think that Stephanie (the widow) is sweet, but I am not sure how long she will be there. I think that she may be too intense. Her story is sad and she is nice, but I don't think that she is right for Jason.

Oh, and I can't believe how many people he is making out with already. Lucky guy, I guess.


Stayed tuned for next week...

All Better!

I was permitted in my sister's house again this afternoon...it's been almost 2 weeks, which in the world of my sisters and me, is a long time.

The girls are much better - eating, drinking, playing, laughing, and pooping (real poop) - sorry for the grossness there, but it was a BIG deal.

For some weird reason Nica was clinging to me. It was really sweet. And then as I was holding her and talking to my sister, she fell asleep. It's so sedating to have a little one sleeping on you...you hear their sleeping breaths and it is so relaxing. I didn't want to move her or leave. We did eventually get her onto the couch and she was out!

It was so nice to spend time with them again...I missed them tons!

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Who's ready for "The Bachelor" tonight? I AM!

Quarantine

I am forbidden to go near my sister's house, and I have been since this weekend. My nieces have been stricken with a horrendous virus (probably Rota virus) that kept Nica (twin #1) in Children's Hospital for 2 nights. Dani finally returned home with her yesterday, spent about 3 hours at home, and then was off to the hospital again with Toni (twin #2). Thankfully, they were able to hydrate her in the ED and discharge her home.

Wait, that's not the end - my Mom just called...Dani is back at the hospital with Nica and my Mom was on her way there too...with Toni. They just can't seem to keep anything down. They are only 20 months, so this is pretty devastating to the family.

I want to help but they won't let me near them. It's pretty frustrating being in the medical field and not being able to do anything for ones that I love so dearly. I know that I have to keep the well being of my little one in mind. So, I guess the best that I can do is pray...and if you could say a little extra prayer for my little nieces...it would be greatly appreciated!

3 posts in 1

Part 1 - SLACKER!

Yes, I am a slacker for I have not posted anything in 2 weeks. Bad Carla! Holidays were quite overwhelming: dinners, parties, shopping, returning, eating, eating, and eating. I am sure that everyone can relate. It didn't help that I worked through all of it...only had Christmas Day and New Years Day off. Don't feel bad for me though because it was my choice...just trying to save up PTO for maternity leave. Now that the holidays are officially over, things will start to calm done. John is back to school, which he is not happy about. I took down the outside lights and wreaths yesterday. Today I think that I am going to try to start on the tree. I like to keep it up for the Epiphany...see following post for explanation. My New Years' resolution will be to try to post more often.

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Part 2 - Epiphany

Most people know that the Epiphany celebrates the visitation of the Magi to Jesus, but what a lot of people are not aware of is the Italian spin on this celebration. Of course Italian celebrate Christmas and children receive presents from Santa, but on the Epiphany, they have another morning of presents from La Befana.

Christian legend has it that La Befana was approached by the Magi a few days before Christ's birth. They asked for directions to where the baby Jesus was, but she did not know. She provided them with shelter for a night, as she was considered the best housekeeper in the village with the most pleasant home. They invited her to join them on the journey to find the baby Jesus, but she declined, stating she was too busy with her housework. Later, La Befana had a change of heart, and tried to search out the astrologers and Jesus. That night she was not able to find them, so to this day, La Befana is searching for the baby Jesus. She leaves all the good children toys and candy, while the bad children get coal or bags of ashes.

Because my parents were born and raised in Italy, this is a tradition they celebrated and therefore carried on. So growing up, we also received gifts on the morning of January 6th (not a ton, just a few little things in our stockings). Even in college, my mom would sneak gifts to my roommates because we would be in Puerto Rico after the New Year for winter training. And since she couldn't give me the gift, she made sure that my roommates knew what day to present it to me. Now as adults, my mom will still give us small gifts on the Epiphany...I haven't seen her yet today, so we'll see if I was good or bad this year!

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Part 3 - The Bachelor

So last night was the premiere of the new season of "The Bachelor" with Jason who was booted by DeAnna last season as he was on one knee ready to propose. They added a twist last night. The 25 ladies had to vote for 1 lady to "leave" that first night, as they were told. In the end, Megan (the girl from Pittsburgh!) received the most votes, but the joke was on the 24 other ladies because as the host explained "Megan leaves tonight with a rose." So, the most disliked girl was safe. But what was the real reason for the votes? Biggest threat? Jason seemed to like her already? Mean? Vulgar? (they did have to beep some things she said...even when she accepted her rose - I think that she called them all f-ing bitches, but I'm not sure). I wonder if she is as bad as she was portrayed last night. Maybe Jill can enlighten us - her cousin dated her in the past!

Then came the previews for the rest of the season - DeAnna makes a comeback! Now, I am sure that they edit to make it seem like she wants a second chance with Jason, but I think that maybe she is making an appearance to help him with his choices. But we will see!

Here are my top choices for the season:
-Megan (hey, gotta stick with the hometown girl for now)
-Molly
-Shannon (slightly stalker-ish, but cute)

We'll see if the list changes with time...

Brrrrrrrr!

Well it's the second day of winter in Pittsburgh, and it definitely feels like it. We woke up to a brisk 3 degrees this morning!

Actually, the morning was quite chaotic. When I went into the bathroom to take a shower, no water ran from the faucet...at all! CRAP! Frozen pipes. Then I realized...it's kinda cold in here. I felt the vent, and there was air coming through...just not warm air. CRAP again!

So I had to wake John up (which I felt badly about because he got called at 9:00pm last night for a 2 hour delay this morning...and here I am waking him up at 4:30am!). Anyway, I went to our other bathroom, and thankfully we had water there. Our master bathtub is on 2 outside walls (ingenious arrangement by some brilliant architect!), so that explained the lack of water there and the presence of water in our other bathroom.

Fortunately due to John's 2 hour delay, he was able to fix our problems. He propped a hair dryer against the pipes to help thaw them out, which finally worked after 2 hours...now we have water again in our master bathroom! Then he went into the basement and cleaned our filter...which was disgusting apparently (guess we should make it a monthly ritual to clean that thing...probably a common oversight by newer homeowners). Now the vents are blow WARM air.

So now the outside temp has increased to a whopping 9 degrees! With the wind chill, it's still below zero....COLD!!!! I plan on remaining indoors today!

Wedged!

A few weeks ago, John woke me up out of a dead sleep to see if I was okay. Through my confusion and sleepiness, he told me that I was breathing funny and he was worried. Well, this has happened at least 4 times over the past 2 weeks. He concluded that as long as I sleep on my side, I am fine.

Then as I was reading one my pregnancy books, he was reading over my shoulder - right where it explains that at this point in the pregnancy that I should stop lying flat on my back for all the various reasons. And of course he boasts a triumphant "Told you!"

So, now he has stopped waking me up in the middle of my slumber when I unconsciously roll onto my back while sleeping. You would think that I would be content again -

No, he now has resorted to totally wedging me against my body pillow. I now wake up in the middle of the night to find that I have about 1 foot of room to sleep because he is right up against me to prevent me from having room to roll onto my back. WE HAVE A KING SIZE BED! We may as well sleep in a twin bed.

The thing is - it's really sweet that he is that concerned about me and the baby. Not only is he a a great husband...I know that he is going to be a great father!

Suckered into it...

Many of you may already be aware due to "friend requests" (or whatever they are called) that I joined Facebook this afternoon.

Apparently, half of my family is on...my sisters, brothers-in-law, and most of my cousins (1st, 2nd, 3rd...we are a close family!). My cousin Jackie is the one who really persuaded me to do it, and I caved...what a sucker I am!

I don't know how much time I will be spending on Facebook considering the fact that the time that I spend on this site has dwindled significantly.

We'll see....