Running on empty!!

 I like feeling like an ox at the end of the day. I like working hard.

Rachael Ray

Finding the time to blog has been nearly impossible lately, between doctors appointments, working and keeping up with the families random activities I have been running on E. Luckily I have Alex to keep me sane or I may just explode:)

Nothing to exciting has happened since my last post, We have had a few doctors appointments to check on our little man and everything is going well. I have even gotten my appetite back! :) Which is a good thing because the doctor said I was a little under-weight for my pregnancy. I have started to notice that I have a few food cravings now, such as pineapple and pretzels. Chocolate is still a favorite and Eggo waffles in the morning are a must for me! Work is going well and everyone is starting to notice the bump ;) and they all have so many questions!! Most of which I can barley even answer myself. haha! 1st time mommy problems! Anyway working has been great for me but it also drains me like crazy!!

Alex started his new job today! He is so excited and I am too, however; he works from 3pm to 1am :( Bed time wont be the same but at least I get to wake up to his pretty face:) haha. Fingers crossed he likes it!

My little sister Katie moved down to Florida from Ohio this past week, so thats cool! Its nice to have someone else to hang out with. Even if she gets on my nerves a little ;) haha. Just kidding Katie!!

The family went to a pumpkin patch a few days ago to try to get into "fall". Its just to hot outside to believe it!! I mean its 88' today, Im pretty sure people are wearing mittens up north hah. I cant say I miss the cold all that much but I kinda wish it was a little more like fall. It was kinda cool the other day and at night we can sleep with the windows open so thats always exciting!

However not as exciting as going home to ohio for the holidays:) I cannot wait!

Also looking for a great photographer to take some maternity shots! If anyone knows of anyone in the or near the Bradenton, Fl area let me know! :)


xoxoxo
Mandi.

Coming soon: February 14, 2014.

“We are all a little weird and life is a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.”

Dr. Seuss

I am filled with joy and excitement! This morning when I "woke" up ( I use the word woke loosely because I am pretty sure I didn't actually fall asleep last night due to the excitement!) I was a mess of nerves!

What if something is wrong?
Have I been eating well enough? 
Have my vitamins been working? 

So many things where going through my head!

What if we get a girl? Could I handle a little me? - that thought alone is enough to scare someone! haha.
What if we get a boy? I know NOTHING about being a boy! Boys eat dirt and play with worms! Oh and then there is the part where if it is a boy then I know he will act just like Alex! Dont get me wrong Alex is the funniest person ever but I know I will get pranked daily and I am sure they will come up with plans to scare mommy!

So anyway we are on our way to the doctors, Alex, Myself and Mom. Alex is on his phone in the back seat, Mom is driving and I am being forced to drink orange juice and water! Might I add that I had just brushed my teeth so the OJ tasted horrible!!

We checked in at the doctors and waited for what felt like FOREVER but in reality was only ten minutes and the ultra sound tech came out and took us to our room. The room was huge! They had this flat screen in front of the bed I laid on so I could see the ultra sound right in front of me, and mom and alex watched as well. He put the WARMED jelly stuff ( Thank the lord it was warm, My ob's is freezing!) on my belly and started showing us our little jelly bean. At 1st I couldn't make out anything and I could tell that Alex was a little lost as well and then finally he started show us arms ( only two!), legs and feet ( two of each!) and the heart and head! Then he asked the big question!
Do you want to know the sex?
-OF COURSE WE DID! I couldn't wait anymore!!

Baby Hazy is a BOY! 

When our tech said boy, tears swelled my eyes! ( Alex's too!) At that moment I realized that I was going to be a mommy and that my little man would be just as wonderful as his father. Sure they may play jokes on me and laugh at silly things but thats why I fell in love with Alex, and knowing that my little man is going to be just like his father makes me love him that much more! Plus now I will have a big brother to watch out for the little girls I hope to get down the road! ;)

So here we are, This is my Family and I love them both to death:) 

Infinite X's and O's 

Mandi <3 

Miami Memories.

“There are no bad pictures; that's just how your face looks sometimes.” 

― Abraham Lincoln

I absolutely love this quote! Who knows if Honest Abe was the one who actually said this but I would like to think that he did. I mean thats a pretty honest thing to say! hah

I like to start every post off with a quote because it is usually what inspires me to write.

What are some of your favorite quotes? Share them below! Who knows maybe it will inspire something new.

As I have said before I lived in Miami, Florida a few months back. Now usually I am a picture-a-holic, Im often asked why I choose to take some of the pictures I do, and honestly half the time I don't even remember! Well in Miami I didn't take to many, not for lack of memories I wanted to keep but just because I was to busy living in the moment! Over the summer I met some amazing people. Some who I hope to keep in touch with in the years to come. The two guys in most of these pictures with Alex and I are the kindest, most honest and most entertaining guys I have ever met! 

Romo is a guy who has been through hell and back and still wears a smile on his face. He is always there to help you but will also be very straight forward, as he says he always calls a spade a spade! Alex and Romo have been friends and co-workers for 6 years now and I know I can speak for Alex when I say he cherishes their friendship and I am so blessed to have met him and have him impact my life the way he has. 

Flynn is the funniest guy I know! I can say that honestly. He is the youngest guy that they worked with this summer but is wiser than his years. Flynn is a hard working guy who has also had some really hard times. No matter how upset I would be Flynn would always find a way to cheer me up. During my 1st few weeks of pregnancy I was sick a lot and if Alex was busy and I needed help he was right there. He honestly has become one of my best friends and I am so blessed to have met him, as is Alex. 

So here is Miami in a nut-shell! :)

From left to right: Alex, Me, Flynn and Romo.
Since Alex and I are from Cincinnati we love skyline and man were we happy to find out that there was one only a few minutes from us.  Clearly we made some new Skyline lovers<3

Weird little turkey-chicken that I gave bread to ONE time and he came back at the same time for a WEEK!!

One of the pools in our complex:)

Flynn, Romo and Alex 

Miami Beach :)

 Here is to life long friends! Love you guys<3

xoxo 

Mandi

Appreciation.

“Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough” 

― Oprah Winfrey

There are certain things in life that I never really appreciated, such as the changing of seasons. I mean when you live in Ohio for so long you get use to summer tuning into fall and the winter and spring and its on repeat year after year. Well down here in Florida the seasons don't really change, I have been told that the weather will change to super hot to mild hot to semi cold. No color changes in the leaves, no vibrant reds, yellows and oranges. Just bright green palm trees, which are amazing don't get me wrong and at sun set they do kinda look like the palms are changing colors:) This probably sounds a lot like I am complaining, but how can I complain about being able to lay out by the pool at the end of September!

Laying out in SEPTEMBER say what?!?

Although this picture was taken last week it is still hot enough to go swimming here in the sunshine state.

I was thinking though, I might just be home sick. I mean I have live in Ohio for 20 years, and then I just picked up and moved. Baltimore, Chicago, Miami and now Sarasota! I honestly never thought I would miss my little town but I do. Of course we are going to visit and stuff but I miss my friends and Alex's family and the rest of my family. 

Does this get easier? 

Its so bitter-sweet. I guess we will find out. I know Alex misses Ohio, and I know he wants to move back but we cant afford it right now, our little bundle of joy has to come 1st and so that is what we are doing. Who knows maybe this time next year the three of us will have a cute little house back up north. 

God only knows the journey we have ahead of us. 

Time for a little more relaxing in the pool. Ive got some more exciting news to share a little later! 

Until next time.

XOXOX

Mandi:)

The Amazing Adventures of Mandi and Alex.

“What i like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.”  - Karl Lagerfeld

      While cleaning out my iphone to make room for the new ios 7 update I realized I have so many pictures and then I thought "Who better to share them with than my fellow bloggers!" Enjoy!! :)

This is our doggie Carter! He loves to play frisbee golf with his daddy.

My 1st subway ride! Going to downtown Baltimore! 

Inner Harbor-Baltimore Maryland. 

Spencer at Dick's Last Resort! 

Flynn at Dick's Last Resort! 1st time ever!! 

Alex and I loved our stylish bibs, and awesome hats! 

Gotta love this picture<3

Downtown Baltimore in a DRAGON PADDLE BOAT!!

1st time in DC!! Gotta love all of the history and laughs! 

1st street vendor hotdog! I know I know it is probably the same hot dog you can make at home, but I had never bought a street hot dog. Needless to say I was so excited! 

Vietnam War memorial, Im not to sure if Henry F Nugent is family or not but hey we have the same last name! Thats pretty cool in my book. Thanks for your service Henry! 

Fist bumping President Abe! 

Honest Abe:)

Pound it! 

Fingers crossed nothing crashes into the reflection pool like in EVERY movie based in DC! haha:)

White House:)

Chicago White Sox game:) 

The game was so hot! Here we all are sweaty and gross! 

The Bean-Downtown Chicago! 

Reflection<3

    Well now that we have seen all of the amazing times we had in Baltimore and Chicago (Miami's Pictures will come in another post!) Now let me show you why Alex is my best friend and why I love him oh so much:)

We fight crime together! 

How could you not fall in love with that smile:)

We pinky promise in the middle of grocery stores <3

And last but not least we work out together and we are always pushing each other to be the best us we can:)

 So there you have it, five months of the Amazing Adventure's of Mandi and Alex!
(Coming soon- The Adventures of Miami!)

Our little one:)

A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.-Author Unknown

My last post was long and I apologize for that but I have so much to share:) So here we are, the proud new owners of a growing baby! Since I am just starting this blog I didn't share any of my 1st trimester, which honestly was a little rough. I had a hard time with morning and all day sickness:( Luckily I had Alex to help me and he has been so understanding. However, now we are in the 2nd trimester and I am finally feeling so much better!! Since we just moved we had to find a new doctor and we had a 16 week ultra sound done and we got to see our little munchkin! He or she was an active little thing and made very dramatic arm movements. Everyone says that our baby is already as dramatic as I am! I just laugh at them! haha. Anyway we are so excited and I can not wait to share our journey with you all! We find out the sex of baby hasenzahl or baby hazy for short on October 3rd!!! Ahhh! I can not wait, and either can my mom! She is dying to go shopping, and honestly I am ok with that! Here is our little drama queen or king! You can see baby's little are bent and on his/her head:)

Mommy and Daddy cant wait to meet you little one! We love you already. Infinite x's and o's!!