For Your Consideration

I can't decide on a girl's name. I was on Willa for a while but the more I said it the more it sounded like Willow, which I hate. Here are some (totally serious!) options. I would like some feedback on them. The middle name will be Felicity, after Granny whose name was Phillis (Yale is just going to get over the slutty girl he knew with that name--at least it isn't the girl he knew with the nickname Cooter).

1) Jocelyn--Yale's mom is Jacqueline and while I like the idea of naming a child after someone, I don't want the name to be exactly the same. I don't know if I like Jocelyn Murphy though.
2) Joanna--This is the name Yale's grandmother gave to her daughter that died in childhood and I like the sound of it with Murphy.
3) Susanna--my mom is named Suzanne and I love this version of it.
4) Matilda--I've just always liked the name (especially the book by Roald Dahl) but I'm afraid it's becoming too popular.
5) Philippa--Yale hates the name Philip for a boy, but I want to reference my maiden name somehow. I also think Philippa is a kick-ass name, especially with all the historical queens named Philippa.

Okay, so these are the options. I realize most of them aren't anyone's style but my own, however please don't make fun of the names. We had a boy's name all picked out and my dad kept insulting it so that I ended up hating the name (we have a new boy's name BTW and it's pretty awesome, if I say so myself. It starts with a C--guess away, but it's not Cooter!)

Best Gossip EVER!!!

So a girl I am in law school with is married to a guy from Liberty, MS--this is only minutes away from Kentwood, LA. He went to high school with the Spears clan. This past weekend they hung out with Jamie Lynn Spears (among others).
She is engaged, she's about to be emancipated from her mother, and I know the sex of her baby! This has sadly made my day.
Now this is my mea culpa--I've been completely flakey and shady these past few months and I blame the first trimester. I've not at all felt like myself--more apathetic than anything. Luckily I am back to feeling normal!!!
Ultrasound on 4-16; hopefully the baby will share.

Kiss Me! My Baby and I are Irish!

I am having to put so much various lotions on my skin that I feel like the greased up deaf guy from Family Guy.

The Ups and Downs

Finally I've reached the 2nd trimester. This is allegedly the time when you get more energy and the worst of the symptoms from the past few weeks ease up. I'm still waiting.
This child is the pickiest eater ever. It hates meat--I am only allowed a little bit of chicken before I start feeling sick. It wants sushi--even though I can't eat it (due to some fear of bacteria in the raw fish). And strangely enough, I want hardly anything sweet. Anyone who knows me knows I am crazy about candy, especially Valentine's Day chocolates. Yale and I hit up the after sales and got the hugest candy heart I've ever seen, but I've hardly eaten any of it. I do have a small obsession with ranch flavored Doritos (really, any kind of Doritos) so at least I know that the baby does have something normal about it.
I finally found a crib I like. It's by Green Frog Art and I got a terrific deal on it. I also bought a cradle, even though I realize I don't need one. I'm going to do this whole fancy motif for the nursery. I realize the baby won't care, but I do, so there. :-P
On a much sadder note, my grandmother passed away this past weekend. She was funny and didn't care a wit about what anyone thought (even her own family!). This woman survived the Depression, typhoid fever, breast cancer, and me and my brother as children. She had been in the hospital for a while, so it wasn't unexpected, but that doesn't really make it any easier. She was trying so hard to make it until the baby was born, but I guess it was just time for her to move on. My mother is already betting on Sept. 21st as the baby's birthday, since that was Granny's. Please keep my family, especially my mother, in your thoughts, prayers, or what have you.

One is the Loneliest Number

Went in for another ultra sound last Thursday and found out that my worst fears have not been confirmed--just one baby in there and it appears to have just one head (I say appears because, honestly, who can really tell anything from those stupid grainy pictures anyway?). It was dancing all around when on the screen and I could only think one thing: "Oh, please little baby, don't grow up to go on that show So You Think You Can Dance." I think it's rather normal for a mother to hope her child doesn't want to be a reality TV star. You know, it's kind of like hoping your kid won't be a serial killer. Now whenever we tell anyone of the baby's energetic feats, they always say, "Did you have a coke before?" I just want to say, "No, but I did have the rod that sent out the ultra sound waves stuck up my va-jay-jay pressing on my cervix but a very rude ultra sound technician. Think the baby could feel my distress?" Sorry about the graphic nature of this program, but all ultrasounds aren't like the nice ones they show on the TV with the gel on the tummy. Just thought you should know.
I have discovered the most amazing invention ever: the maternity jean. Okay, so it's not vaccine for polio worthy, but I am totally in love. I had been resisting the maternity clothes, mainly because I'm not really showing yet, I just have doubled the volume of all liquids in my body (just some trivia from the OB-GYN), therefore I have gained enough weight to make my normal pants tight. Anyway, I ordered some on sale from the Gap, because their jeans don't look like old woman jeans, and I tried them on this morning just to see how they would fit. OH MY GOD. They are like a combination of jeans and sweatpants, with the comfort of both. No longer do my jeans dig into my stomach and make me feel like a whale. No longer am I trying to hide the dreaded "muffin top." I have on pants that hid my (little) gut and allow my baby to stretch his long dancer's legs (yes, it's the size of a peanut, but still).
We won't know the sex of the baby for about 8 more weeks. Just in case you were wondering, dear readers. Plus, we're still trying to keep the pregnancy quiet for a couple more weeks, at least until we get through the first trimester.

I'm buying baby stuff--sue me

I just got in THE cutest Halloween costume for Baby M.
I realize that it's a male lion, therefore might be inappropriate should we have a girl.
I DON'T CARE!!! LOOK AT IT'S FUZZY LITTLE HEAD!!

I have officially lost my mind.

We like Murphy Murphy, what about you?

Some of you know I am obsessed with names. I really am convinced that part of a person's personality is determined by their name (and I'm not that wrong. Google "names and personality" and you'll find some interesting studies). For instance, had I been born in December rather than January, my name would have been Holly Hale Phillips, as opposed to Jenna Hale Phillips. Yes, I would have been a Holly. I KNOW I wouldn't be the same person I am today had I decided to greet the world earlier.
This all leads up to the Name Game Yale and I have been playing. I have had a potential list of baby names running through my head for some time (mostly names I would NEVER use, ex: Kaylie, Haley, Bailey, you get the idea) and Yale seems to hate most of them. He's given me free reign on the girl's names (Daffodil Butterfly Murphy has a nice ring) but he's very particular on boy's names. My favorites for some time have been Jonah, Isaac, and Elijah. All of them have been vetoed by Yale for various reasons (Isaac reminds him of Ike Turner, Jonah makes him think of the song My Name is Jonas by Weezer, and we already have a dog named Deuce so he thinks naming a baby Elijah would take the Rebel pride a little too far). He also comes up with stupid nicknames for any other names I come up with (Phillip, Fil-er-up, Holt, get-a-holt-of yourself, etc.) or decides to give our child characteristics that he knows won't make me happy (I was on an Irish name kick for a while and liked Seamus and Patrick; Yale said the kid would come out holding a pint of Guinness ready for a fight). I had to veto his suggestion of Rhett because the only thing I could think of was "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."
As it stands, we have a few favorites on either side of the coin (okay, we have one boy's name we've been able to agree upon and the girl's names, like I said, he doesn't care about as long as they don't remind him of a whore he once knew, like the name Felicity). I'm going to act like a celebrity and not say anything until we at least know the sex of the baby.
We're thinking of setting up a baby pool for all you gambling folk. It can have any amount of possible betting options and you can bet any number of times. I'm not going to go through the trouble to make one if no one wants to do it (or people refuse to pay) so let me know if anyone is interested.
I am not morally opposed to making money off my child. Just thought you should know.