Baby Blog

For anyone who may be interested, check out http://www.parkerlaws.com Brandon made us a website to write about our pregnancy. He is a great writer and has some really cute posts and then I have been putting up pictures and writing about different weeks.

Boy or Girl?

Just got back from our 2nd prenatal appointment and we got to hear babys heartbeat and schedule our next ultrasound. Countdown is officially ON! 3 weeks and 4 days until we get to see our baby again and hopefully find out if baby is a he or a she! I cant wait! I feel like its a girl but maybe thats just because I would love a girl since we have a name picked out if it is in fact a she! A boy would be great too, of course. That's what Brandon is rooting for ;-) Now, if only this morning sickness would go away...

So far, it has been a great Friday. Brandon and I both took today off and have been able to spend some time together. We went over to the new cinetopia theater and saw 50/50 (GREAT movie! Definitely need to bring a giant wad of tissues for it!) It was our first time at the new theater and we had purchased and awesome groupon deal for it. It was empty since we went during the day on a week day. Only two other couples in there and we sat in the "living room" which is for 21+ and Brandon ordered a beer and I got a lovely non alcoholic soda ;-) and there is a TON of leg room and they even have comfy little ottomans for your feet to rest on. Cant wait to go back and use our other groupon we purchased!

Just a short little update for today, life is great and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Im off to go spend some more time with the hubby :-)

We're gonna have a baby!

Yep, thats right! We are pregnant and going to have a baby!

I know it has been a long time since either one of us has wrote on here but things have been busy and then once we found out we were pregnant I couldnt write on here because the only thing I wanted to write about was that we were going to have a baby! We finally had our first doctors appointment earlier this week and the night before we actually heard the babies heartbeat on the doppler that my cousin is letting me borrow and then at the doctor we got to see our baby for the first time and it was an amazing moment I will never forget! (I think we might be having a mermaid child, look at the picture, what a cute little mermaid blob!)

I am 10 weeks and Baby Laws is due April 5th and we couldn't be happier!

um... hello? Remember me?

Wow it has been a long time since Brandon or I have wrote on here. I suppose a lot has been going on since we last wrote.

Our adorable niece, Riley Gray Mutschler was born in May and she is so sweet and I love her to pieces! Tricia and Nate are wonderful parents and it is so nice to see them so happy with their new addition! I am looking forward to watching her and getting some Auntie time on Fridays when my sister has to go back to work.







Our furbaby, Mia just went in on Friday to get spayed. She ended up having her hernia fixed, getting spayed, 3 baby teeth extracted, her nails clipped and her rabies shot and the poor little girl is not feeling well at all. I dropped her off Friday morning which was somewhat sad for me but not as sad as it was when I picked her up that afternoon, I dont like seeing her so sad and hurt! She is still barely walking, she will just take a few steps and then fall over and cry. I called the vet and she said it isnt normal that she is doing that but if the incision looks fine then it probably isnt an infection and that perhaps she is just more sensitive and needs some more pain medicine. I am really hoping we just have a giant wimp on our hands and that there isnt anything really wrong with her. She must take after her mommy and wants lots of extra love and attention when we arent feeling well ;-)

Brandon has been playing softball once a week and also playing basketball twice a week so he has been busy with that on top of working hard on his side projects as well as at Xenium. Plus, he has to get in some golf time on the weekends, too! :-) He is such a hard worker!

Work for me has been going well. Nothing crazy and exciting to write about. I am mostly looking forward to the end of this month when Brandon and I will be heading to the beach to stay at the Stephanie Inn for our anniversary. I have read and heard only good things about this place and am excited for some time alone with Brandon and an extra long weekend away to relax!

I hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July!

Work is Play

Quick update

Last week, I took a few days off from work; the first time since August I have taken any sort of extended time off. I planned a mini-trip down to Irvine, CA for a three day event called "Meet the Masters."

I had the opportunity to go for free, all I needed to do was video tape the event; an easy trade to make for a ton of good information on investing, taxes, setting up business structures and other vital business topics.

I've been down before, but this time I didn't have to go alone. I went with my good friend, Doug Utberg, who happened to be speaking at the event, so it was a nice little get-away from the rainy Oregon weather.

A few days into the trip, though, I started getting a little home-sick, particularly because I am a home-body, and since we have a new little puppy, Mia, it's so hard to leave! I absolutely love being around her (and my wife, of course!). I tell you though, that first day I was back and got to see both of them, it's the greatest feeling ever. 

And more thoughts...

As my time rolls on, I realize how important it is to make use of every second we have. I have reduced almost all wasteful activities like watching TV or videogames and replaced them with spending quality time with Angela and my family and other productive business activities.

About this time last year, I started freelance writing for extra cash and to start my own home-based business, and although I am still doing that, I have started picking up Search Engine Optimization (SEO) projects to expand my home-based business activities. Ultimately, I believe this could be a full-time business for me, as soon as I write a business plan and find new clients in the small business sector.

Ever since I became a big part in the development of Xenium's new corporate website (www.xeniumhr.com) I have really developed a passion for SEO and web-content development. It's been a success for our company so far, so it really solidifies the fact that I can do this on my own, given the fact that almost every business person, including myself, has their own website.

Just today, I finished up a project for Robert Adrian Music and I'm pretty excited about the results. When I started, he had nothing optimized and the navigation and structure were not very user-friendly; so  when I got my hands on it, I cleaned up the code, optimized it for the search engines and gave him some content ideas for ongoing maintenance. 

This project only took me about eight hours to complete and it was all pleasure for me! The bonus was that this type of work has great monetary rewards, which is an incentive for me to keep pushing forward.

The way I see it, if I love doing it, why not make a business out of it? Sure, I'll keep my day job, for now, but I'm happy to sacrifice the leisurely activities to build something I'm excited about. At the end of the day, it really is my entertainment.

-Brandon Laws

So, as Brandon earlier posted, we have a new addition to our family. Mia is so sweet and really fun and a little crazy. :-) I cannot believe how much I love this little ball of fur! I thought maybe it would tame my baby-crazyness but instead I think it is making me want one more. :-) If I love an animal this much, I cant even imagine how much I will love our first child! ah, someday!

New Addition to the Laws Family

Angela and I have been talking about it for years and we finally decided to do it since we now have our own home. It was sort of an impulse decision, due to the fact that it came together in a matter of hours, but we finally added a puppy to our family.

Our new puppy, Mia, is a mix of Yorki, Shitzsu and Lhasa Apso, and will get no larger than 12 lbs from my understanding. I never wanted a large dog, so Mia is a manageable size for Angela and I.

We picked Mia up on Saturday afternoon and spent the remainder of the evening getting the bare essentials for Mia and showing her off to our family members. It's always funny to me how a puppy can always warm a person's heart... even if they aren't a fan of dogs!

The first night was an experience. Let me say that I am quite a sucker when it comes to whimpering. At 2 am, soft cries gradually turned into real cries, which led Angela to get up and immediately take Mia outside. I'd like to say it stopped there, but it continued every time we put her back in the crate.

If you guessed that I couldn't handle the cries, you are right. I brought her out and had her sleep in the bed with us after the second pass at putting her in the crate around 3:00am. On the first night with a new home, we would have been wise to let Mia cry it out instead of bringing her into the bed with us, but my gosh did she look comfortable!

She slept very well in the middle of us, and quite honestly, even though it might of taught her a bad habit of sleeping on the bed, I'm okay with it. I love this little fur-ball!

Check out this video of Mia and her first evening with her new parents.