awwwww....... this makes me kinda sad :-(

Taco Bell ad star Gidget the Chihuahua dies at 15

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gidget the Chihuahua, the bug-eyed, big-eared star of 1990s Taco Bell commercials who was a diva on and off the screen, has died. She was 15. Gidget suffered a massive stroke late Tuesday night at her trainer's home in Santa Clarita and had to be euthanized, said Karin McElhatton, owner of Studio Animal Services in Castaic, which owned the dog.

Although she was hard of hearing, Gidget was otherwise in good health up to the day of her death, eating well and playing with her favorite squeaky toys at the home of trainer Sue Chipperton, McElhatton said.

"She was retired. She lived like a queen, very pampered," McElhatton said.

Gidget was found at a kennel and wasn't show quality, McElhatton said; she had an undershot jaw and huge ears.

But Gidget knew she was a star, McElhatton said.

"She was a prima donna, basically. She absolutely knew when she was on camera," McElhatton said.

In a 1997 Taco Bell television commercial, Gidget was seen as a male dog who, through the magic of special effects and a voice actor, proclaims in a richly accented voice: "Yo quiero Taco Bell" — Spanish for "I want Taco Bell."

Viewers were charmed. What was supposed to be a single ad became a campaign that ran from 1997 to 2000.

The ads made the Taco Bell mascot wildly popular, although they provoked criticism from activists who accused them of promoting Hispanic stereotypes.

While other Chihuahuas had bit parts, McElhatton said it was Gidget who got the closeups and the quips (Carlos Alazraqui was the voice).

Gidget traveled first-class, opened up the New York Stock Exchange and made an appearance at Madison Square Garden, McElhatton said.

In later years, she did other acting work, appearing in a 2002 commercial for the insurance company GEICO and in the 2003 movie "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde."

She remained the object of affection after her retirement, going on hikes and beach visits with her trainer. She aged gracefully, and liked nothing more than to snooze in the sun.

"She was like a little old lady. She'd kind of gotten smaller," McElhatton said.

Gidget will be cremated, McElhatton said. Her owners had not decided on a final disposition of her remains. Taco Bell Corp. said in a statement Gidget would be missed by many. "Our deepest sympathies go out to her owners and fans," the company said.

WEEK 28 - Happy Third Trimester To Me!!!!!

I'm so excited to be entering into the 3rd Trimester. Less than 3 months to go...

I had my Week 28 Doctor Appointment yesterday. It was a bitter-sweet appointment....literally.
My morning started early with a super-sweet Glucose drink at 7am. (Not nearly as bad as what people have told me.) I arrived 15 mins early for my 8am lab appointment. The lab tech took a blood sample exactly 1 hour after I finished the Glucose drink.

Then I waited about an hour for the appointment with the Nurse and Doctor. The nurse surprised me with a sonogram that I had not expected. Little Punkin' was moving all around, but she was being a little shy and kept her arm over her eyes. The absolute highlight was seeing her little tongue when she let out a big yawn. Super Cute!

Sadly, Bobby didn't get to see our sweet girl yawn. This was the first appointment he did not attend with me because it was just supposed to be the Glucose test and a quick talk with the doctor. Like I said, the sonogram was unplanned. I told our favorite nurse (Kristen) that Bobby would be bummed he missed the sonogram so she was on a mission to get a good picture for me to take home to Daddy. Punkin' didn't really work with us on the pictures because she kept her arm over her face, so Kristen promised they would do an extra sonogram next visit Bobby attends. :-)

Below is the best picture from yesterday's sonogram. The right side of her head is down, her left arm and hand is mostly over her eyes..... in the center you can see her nose and lips. What a cutie pie!
Little Punkin is doing great and the doctor is really happy with her growth so far.


Now for the bitter part.....I did get some bad news at my appointment yesterday, and I took it pretty hard. I failed my Glucose test.
Now I need to change my diet...
- cut out sugar -- the doctor stated that liquid sugars are the worst culprits...uh yeah, I have been having a big glass of OJ pretty much every day.
- low carbs -- this one is going to be pretty hard for me, not gonna lie
- high protein -- I already knew I needed to be better at this one anyway

Now this doesn't mean I have Gestational Diabetes.....yet.....
I have to go back in next week for the 3-hour Glucose test. If I fail that one as well, then I will be diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes and will have to take insulin.

My doctor thinks that my case can be controlled with a healthier diet and will not go beyond that.
So my new diet starts......uh, yesterday.

It is as good of a time as any to get my diet on track. Even though I took this news pretty bad, I know that the changes I will be making will benefit both me and Punkin. This is the least I can do.....
~~~

The Search Is Over.............

I have finally picked my diaper bag!!!!

While in Chicago I hunted down the Storksak Claire so I could see it in person rather than just pictures online. A Pea In The Pod had 1 in stock so Bobby and I went to check it out. It is bigger than I thought it looked online...which is good. It looks really functional and practical, yet still stylish. I love that it doesn't scream "Diaper Bag!"....in fact it looks more like a big purse than a diaper bag.

My favorite feature is that it can be carried 3 different ways.

• On the shoulder, like a purse.
• Across the body, like a messenger bag.
• On the Stroller, with attached stroller straps.

* The shoulder strap is fabric so it is soft and comfortable on the shoulder.
Even Bobby said that it would not be the worst thing to carry around if he had to. But I think he plans on having his own diaper bag. Not sure if he is going to get one like the Diaper Dude, or if he is just going to convert a backpack or messenger bag that he already has into his own diaper bag.
~~~

Chicago Trip

We took our last vacation (for awhile) last week.
On July 2nd we flew to Chicago, rented a car, and drove 3 hours to Bobby's hometown.
We spent lots of time with Bobby's Mom, Step-dad, Sister, Brother-in-law, and twin nieces. It was so great to spend some quality time with all of them since we don't get to see them but 1-2 times a year.
July 4th was the big family reunion. We got to spend all day with Bobby's huge family. They all expressed (over and over) their surprise that 1) Bobby actually got married, and 2) Bobby is about to have a baby. Lots of jokes and laughs at his expense. :-)

Bobby & I headed back to Chicago on Sunday. When in the city, we returned our rental car, checked into our hotel, and had Chicago-style pizza for dinner at Lou Malnati's.
Monday we shopped til we dropped.....The Magnificent Mile of Chicago on Michigan Ave.



We paused shopping for a stop at Millennium Park to see "the bean" and the "spitting fountains".
















After a long day of shopping we decided to have an early dinner at highly-recommended Shaw's Crab House. Bobby enjoyed delicious oysters, and we shared some amazing king crab legs. We decided to stop for some dessert at Tavern near our hotel. We told the waitress to surprise us with her recommendation, and she brought us the BIGGEST chocolate cake I've ever seen in my life.....we were only able to eat maybe 1/3 of it.

Tuesday we did the Double Decker Bus Tour all over downtown Chicago. Our first stop was at the Sears Tower - Sky Deck. We stood in a super-long line to just get into the Sears Tower where several more lines waited for us. Once we got to the ticket buying line, Bobby noticed the "express pass" option and solidified his "Hero" status with me. By getting the express passes, we got to skip all the many lines and get right up to the top.




















For lunch we ate more Chicago-style pizza at the famous Giordano's. Yum! Yum!
After lunch we hit a few more top spots in Chicago that took up the rest of the day:
- Shedd Aquarium - The Field Museum - Navy Pier

After a relaxing breakfast Wednesday morning, we packed and headed for the airport.

Overall it was a great trip...I really enjoyed the few days Bobby and I got to spend together away from our daily life. We really do know how to make the most out of our vacations together. But hands down, the best part of this trip was getting out of the crazy Texas heat for a week***. During our vacation we enjoyed highs mostly in the 70s, and low 80s a couple of times. We took full advantage of the beautiful weather and spent most of our time outside. We even ate most of our meals outside. So Nice!

Trust me, it was not lost on us that this will be our last easy trip for a long time..... We did take time to appreciate not pushing strollers around the airport, or dealing with crying/screaming babies on the airplane. We know that we have lots of trips in our future that will not be nearly as effortless.

***Did you know that today is Day 28 of triple digit temperatures for Austin!?!?!? Of course I picked the hottest summer ever to be prego.......
~~~

Too Cute Not To Share........Happy Friday!!!

Woohoo!!! The Countdown Begins! ~ Week 26

TODAY IS A BIG DAY! Notice the floating baby on the left side of your screen.....

No more triple digits....99 days to go! :-)

We had a long sonogram appointment yesterday afternoon...so we gazed in amazement at our Punkin for about 30 minutes.
The Sonographer took measurements of every part of the baby girl and recorded the entire event on a dvd for us to take home with us.
She gave us great news....every part of Punkin is developing perfectly....her measurements all look really good. Early on the Sonographer said, "I hope you are not planning on having a small baby....she is on the chunky side."
Punkin's overall measurement is a week ahead of average, which is perfectly fine. Her legs measure about 3 weeks ahead of average, which means she is going to be a tall little girl.

The first Sonogram picture is of her face profile. You can see her cute nose, lips, & chin.

The second Sonogram picture is of her face...She is looking at the camera. You can see her right eye, nose, brain, and right hand.

Overall, the appointment made us feel very optimistic and happy that our baby girl is developing just as she should. Apparently the nickname "Punkin" just might fit her perfectly. :-)
~~~

Punkin's Room.....more progress

I have had several requests to post some pictures of Punkin's room, but I have hesitated because it is still a work in progress....
A note about the glider....
One of our proud Craig's List bargains.
Using the Baby Bargains book, Bobby and I narrowed down our glider search to 3 brands. Of course you have to go to the specialty baby boutiques to try out those top brands, so we spent a recent Saturday test driving gliders.

The prices of these gliders at the specialty boutiques, quite frankly, freaked us out a bit. So after deciding what brand and type was our favorite, we went home to see if we could possibly find a better deal online.

Bobby & I were both on our laptops searching for bargains on gliders when I came across a new listing on Craig's List for a Little Castle Glider-Recliner. Little Castle happened to be the exact brand we were looking for....

The listing looked good, and from what we could tell the chair looked clean and taken care of. I emailed the seller to see if the chair was still available, and immediately received a reply back. Apparently she was sitting at home feeding her baby and checking out Facebook.
She told me she had just listed the chair the night before, and it was still available. She told me where she lived, and ironically, her house was only a few minutes from ours. She gave me directions, and we were on our way.
About 30 minutes later we left her house with our Little Castle glider-recliner for half the price of a new one. We felt very proud of our bargain find that day, and we are still extremely happy with that purchase....and our luck that day.

The picture of the crib doesn't really do it justice. It is so much prettier in person.
So where is the cutesy crib bumper you may ask?
Well, the Baby Bargains book taught us something we didn't know about crib bumpers. Once the baby starts turning over and moving around on its own, you have to remove the cute crib bumper and leave it out. It is a SIDS hazard and not recommended for use in cribs with babies....same thing with blankets, quilts, pillows, toys, etc.

So once we read that neither crib bumpers nor quilts were recommended, Bobby wanted me to cancel my plans to get the matching Dr.Seuss bumper and quilt. I admit that even though I understood the safety concerns, I whined about this...because those 2 items are the cutest pieces in the set. Since those are the pieces with all the colors, they are what tie all the colors in the room together.

I asked a friend of mine who has a 6 month old about this. She agreed that it is stupid to waste money on the crib bumper. When her baby girl was about 3-4 months old, the pediatrician told her to lose the bumper. So she recommended we skip the bumper, but get the quilt because it can be decor in the room as well as so many other uses. I reported this conversation back to Bobby and we agreed to do as my friend suggested.
So now you all know the latest info about crib bumpers. :-)

Lastly, the combo dresser-hutch. This is to be used as the changing table for now and a nice dresser with shelves later.

We ordered the baby's room furniture from JCPenney. Upon the recommendation from the Baby Bargains book to order baby furniture as early as possible, we ordered the set in late April. Unlike many of the other baby furniture places, the furniture was set to be delivered in just 1-2 weeks.

JCPenneys sends the furniture from their warehouse to a local delivery company. The delivery company calls when they have the inventory to set up a delivery date. Of course they give you 4 hour window for when they will deliver at your house. Bobby worked from home on May 14 to accept the furniture delivery.

We waited until the following weekend to take the pieces out of the boxes and move them upstairs. Upon inspection we noticed a few scratches on the dresser (changer), and one of the shelves on the hutch was noticeably warped. I called JCPenney customer service about the faults and was immediately given a $100 credit on the scratches on the dresser. She suggested they completely replace the hutch with a new one since they could not just replace the one warped shelf.

Bobby worked from home again on June 24th to wait for the delivery company to exchange the hutch.When they arrived Bobby asked if he could take the new hutch out of the box to check for damage before they took the other one away. They told him they could not wait for him to check it, and if it was damaged he would have to call customer service and start the process from the beginning. They left with the first hutch and Bobby immediately took the replacement out of the box. Major cussing ensued when he saw how scratched and damaged the replacement was. I got home from work shortly after and Bobby instantly informed me that I was going to be pissed. He was right. When I saw how damaged the replacement hutch was I immediately called JCPenney customer service. The agent noted all the information I gave her and told me she would have someone call me back the next day.

I did get a call the next day and was informed that the furniture had been discontinued. DISCONTINUED!!!!! It certainly wasn’t discontinued when I ordered it in late April…just 2 months earlier. In fact we actually steered away from another set of furniture that we liked because there was a “low inventory” warning message.

So the agent that delivered the bad news said she had checked everywhere and there were no hutches available. I told her I wanted to get the original hutch back. (I planned to replace the one good shelf from the replacement shelf with the warped shelf in the original one.) She called the delivery company to see if they still had the hutch in Austin, but unfortunately they had already sent it back to the warehouse in Reno, NV. It is scheduled to be delivered at the warehouse on Monday, and I will be getting a call back then about the condition of that hutch.

When I updated Bobby with all the new information, he informed me that when the delivery company took the original hutch, they did not pack it back in the box. They didn’t even want to take the box with them. They simply loaded it back in the truck as is. So I am guessing that the original hutch is now destroyed from delivery back to the warehouse. Great. I am not sure what we will do at this point. I am just going to wait until I get the call on Monday confirming that the original hutch is too badly damaged to ship back.

Now I completely understand why it is recommended to order the baby furniture as early as possible. I cannot imagine how pissed and stressed this would make me if I was dealing with this closer to the due date or even after the baby is born. So I am glad we are planners and allowed time to deal with this sort of thing. I am not really stressed about this now, just annoyed.

On a different note… I think we are finished with the closet in Punkin’s room, but I forgot to take a picture.

Next on the list:

- new white blinds

- a rug for a "punch of color

- red (black-out) curtains - that my Mom is making

Lastly, I want to recommend the book Baby Bargains to all the new and future Moms-to-be. It has obviously helped us out tremendously, and I truly believe this book has completely saved us from being completely overwhelmed by the many, many choices in baby land. I already have a pregnant friend pouring through the book, highlighting information she wants to go back to.

The writers also have another book called Baby 411. A new mom has already told me I have to have that book on hand once the baby comes. Apparently it serves as the first line of defense for all those new parent questions….before you pick up the phone and call the doctor.

~~~