How We Met: The Benefits of Overreacting

Well, after that very flattering kick in the behind from Grace, I was a leeetle overzealous and wrote an extremely long post that covered only four days. After coming to my senses and realizing that no one except for me would want that much detail, I spent the last few days copy editing that behemoth of an overshare into something a bit more respectable. A bit. So, here we go. 

Part I

After that not-so-smooth (and embarrassing!) smile coverup, I somehow recovered and proceeded to feign normal human emotions by not expressing joy over Chris' break-up. Upon his departure, I whirled around to face Ashley with saucers for eyes and incredulously relayed the news that Chris Harrington had broken up with his girlfriend. I texted Laura and then went to the bathroom because, well I had drank a lot of coffee that day. When I came back, I had already missed a call from Laura. When we finally did manage to connect, I suspect that I was babbling incoherently in shock.

Let me tell you a bit about my best friend, Laura. She is the kindest soul in the world who seriously finds beauty in everything ... even the perma-cloud that hovers over South Bend for the majority of the year.  She is good. I don't mean she is good at something; I mean she is a personification of good. And she is not sneaky and definitely not conniving. So what follows was a complete and utter surprise... and I can't even help her out by blaming liquid courage or runner's high.

Laura bumped into Chris at the dining hall and told him that she was sorry to hear about his break-up and that she had prayed a rosary for them already. That was followed with this statement: "So are you interested in Katrina?" 



Palm to face over here still realizing the forward nature of it all, but eternally grateful because she had just sent the ball that would soon be his old ball and chain rolling (without my knowledge!!). Chris was taken aback, replied no not at all, and told her that he was in no way ready to be interested in anyone else.

But the seed had been planted. He knew that he was graduating in two weeks and then who knew where he would be after that? Once the fact that I liked him had been revealed, he had a limited amount of time to get to know me although he wasn't ready to be in a relationship. I guess he thought I was an okay person.

Laura and I had our normal Monday night shift at Reckers, which I had mentioned to Chris if he wanted to visit after we got off of work. Lo and behold, 10pm came around, and there he was. I don't remember who all was there, but we all sat in the corner across from the smoothie counter. I was venting about how it was going to be a really long night and how I was nervous to write my paper (which was an easy paper...and this is just an example of how nervous I get before I have to write something. I work it all up in my head that it has to be perfect, and nothing is scarier than a blank canvas/paper/word screen. This also happens when I click "New Post" in Blogger. Why I attempt to keep a blog, I do not know). Things left off with Chris mentioning that he was looking forward to watching the Manchester United game on Wednesday with a few of his friends and that I was welcome to watch as well. Cool. Okay, more than cool.

I might have gotten an hour of sleep that night, but don't worry, Mom and Dad, I got an A! I went to my last classes of the year, and then returned home to my dorm room. I sat down at my laptop and there was a message from Chris Harrington! The Manchester United game was today, not tomorrow! I walked (fine, you caught me ... I run-walked) over to Dillon, knocked on room 109, and Chris opened the door. I'll never forget how cute he looked in his blue-green polo that made his eyes just pop. Weak at the knees and everything, but I couldn't even think about him being interested in me. He had told Laura that he wasn't, after all.

Chris' friends all seemed to have only two things to talk about that day: the game and what was an uncomfortable point for me: the rugby formal. Casper (that is his nickname, his parents didn't bestow him with a ghostly name) walked in and started watching the game. At one point, he asked who Chris was taking to the rugby formal. I hoped that Chris didn't see my ears perk up, and I focused on the game I was only vaguely interested in. Attempt #1 to unknowingly embarrass and torture Katrina. A little bit later, Liedl stopped in. Talk, talk talk, "Hey Chris, so who are you taking to the rugby formal? Attempt #2. Both times Chris brushed off the questions. My phone received a text, and I checked it. A friend from my dorm had just texted me, "Hey Katrina, are you going to the rugby formal?" The world was out to make me feel anxious and tortured, and it was succeeding.

I ignored the text and thought I would reply later. The game ended, and his roommate asked if Chris was going to the dining hall. I was so shocked and confused and happy at the same time when Chris turned to me and asked when I wanted to go to the dining hall. He wanted to continue to hang out? He assumed we were going to dinner? I don't think Chris thought any special about it. It was just dinner at the dining hall with other people, but to me ... whoa. I had to pick something up at my dorm so we walked that way first and, of course, ran into the friend who had texted me.

"Katrina, are you going to the rugby formal?" Attempt #3. I tried to not turn beet red and to not hesitate at all so it didn't seem like I was expecting an invite from Chris Harrington. "No, I'm not," I replied and tried to change the subject hoping that Chris had miraculously zoned out for those ten seconds.

The next day seemed to be Chris Harrington day as I saw him multiple times. I was waiting outside the dining hall for Ashley when he walked out carrying a grab-n-go bag. He looked so handsome in his corduroy blazer and ... he gave me a hug when he saw me. My first hug from Chris Harrington!  Then that night for dinner was best friend dinner. Laura and I came up with the not cheesy idea that the two of us should go to Chipotle with Chris and his best friend, Chris. I borrowed Ashley's Rav-4, and we picked up the guys at Main Circle.

Dinner was so fun. Chris paid for Laura and me! A gentleman.

I had to work at 8 so we had to rush back so I could change. Once I was at work, Chris and Chris came to grab Ashley's keys from me because they had forgotten something in the car. I was working with Buddha (a nickname once again) who also was on the rugby team. Buddha was working pizzas which is to the left of the cash register, which is where I was working. The Chris' came back, and started talking to Buddha and me. Buddha loudly asked Chris Harrington, "Hey, who are you taking to the formal?"

Oh. My. Goodness. Attempt #4 in two days to unknowingly embarrass me! I was so mortified I didn't even hear what Chris replied to Buddha.

THEN Chris Harrington came over from the pizza area to the cash register which was about two steps, but seemed longer to me and asked me to go to the rugby formal with him.

Silent squeals all around.

(And I'm still squealing five years later). 

Of course, I said yes, and I'm 75% sure I managed to control the giddy twirling on the inside. Once they left, and it was super slow, I ducked into the bathroom and texted Laura that Chris Harrington had asked me to the formal!

Laura came to start our 10-12 shift, and I highly doubt we talked about anything else but deciphering what this meant. He had just broken up with his girlfriend! He had said he wasn't interested! I was still convinced that he saw us as only friends in the future, but I was now gone. Gone, gone, gone. Our managers offered Laura and I a deal: if we came back and worked from 2am-4am, then we wouldn't have to work any final shifts at all. Cloud Nine offers a whole lot of adrenaline so I was all set to do it. We made this insane plan that Laura and I were going to go to the Grotto as we did every week after our shift ended at midnight, I would go home and change and go to a party with my roommates very quickly and then I would come back and visit Chris in CoMo because he was writing his last paper ever and then we would work from 2-4am.

I would have been extremely annoyed with me if I were my friends. I kept insisting that we were only going to the party for 20 minutes. Cringe. I deeply apologize, roomies!  Luckily for me, the party ended up being awkward and a bust so we maybe stayed for ten minutes. Plenty of time for me to visit Chris for five minutes in CoMo with Laura. I was wearing some weird outfit that I thought was sooo cute...gold heels, yellow shorts and this multi-pastel-colored pajama nightgown that I had belted and thought could pass as a going out top. I have no clue what I was thinking. Laura and I returned to work and were so slap happy after that we were rolling around in the hallway of McGlinn completely sober saying that our beer had the word "root" before it. We are really cool people, as you can tell.

The next day was the rugby formal. My friend and I just happened to be in the dining hall at the same time as the rugby team for dinner. They were all muddy from practice, as usual. They were all sitting in the back of the right-right section, and my friends and I were in the front of the same section. Chris came over to my table to tell me about when he was going to pick me up and ... he asked for my phone number. After the he closed his phone, said bye and left our table, the whole rugby team in the back starting whooping, hollering and whistling.

When I was getting ready, I was nervous about what to wear. It had to be perfect. I remember telling Ashley and Laura that this was different. I didn't want to look hot. I wanted to look beautiful for him. I can't really describe it, but maybe you understand. I quickly tacked up the chest area of a seersucker dress I hadn't worn yet. He came to pick me up, and he happily took a bunch of photos with me (unlike now...ahem, Chris Harrington, hint, hint).

We walked to Main Circle where the rugby guys were waiting to bring those of us without cars to the formal. It was slightly drizzling, and Chris kept offering his suit jacket for me to wear. We got to Main Circle, and the only spot left was in the trunk of Donnie's SUV. I thought it was so fun and "so college", but Chris kept saying things like, "I'm sorry we are riding to the dance in the back of  car with smelly rugby stuff." Like I cared. I was going to a formal with Chris Harrington.

The formal was terribly fun at the legendary Oak Hill apartments that led to a broken beer pong table and all. We danced a bit, and while we were dancing, Chris told me that I looked very pretty.

Now I feel like I need to make it clear that even though Chris had asked me to the formal, I was still uncertain of his feelings, or if he even had any feelings for me at all.  I was the silly girl who was interpreting every move, and every move was contradicting the previous one, or so I made it seem in my head.  Chris had told me when he picked me up that I looked very pretty. It was the best thing to hear, but I thought that I didn't know what that meant.

So when he told me that I looked pretty a second time, I was completely lost in the maze of confusion I had insanely created in my head. I started asking, "What do you mean?" "You said I look pretty?" "What do you mean??"

Side note: Chris always teases me now about how I overreacted over what was merely a polite thing you say to your date...You said I look pretty! We need to talk. Yikes, sane girl over here, folks.

So Chris suggested that we go outside to get some fresh air, but we didn't make it past the stairs because we kept running into people to talk to. Then they did the speeches about the seniors including a stellar one about Chris Harrington. The girl who had texted me if I was going, nudged me and said, "Wow! Look at who you came with!"

Chris and I started dancing again, but not for long. He suggested again that we go outside to talk. That is how I found myself on the deck standing across from Chris Harrington. It is so hard to describe what it looked like to me so bear with me: it was kind of like Serendipity when the man and woman are finally on the ice rink together at the end of the movie. It's night time, the lighting is just right so it seems like both are glowing and they just know. Are you following me? Now switch out the perfectly falling snow and romantic background music for some red Solo cups and sounds of drunken debauchery wafting from inside and you have the scene on the deck. It was perfect, hollers and all.

I hope at least one person followed that Serendipity-college-party mash up. The concept should be coming to theatres soon.

I think Chris could tell that I was nervous and too shy to start saying what we both knew. He started talking, and I felt so alive. I wanted to soak up every detail. He let me know that he wasn't ready for a relationship yet, but he knew that he thought I was too good of a person to not get to know better. (blush. Maybe the whole love is blind thing had already clouded over his relationship vision).  He didn't know where he was going to be after the next year, but he did know that in spite of that, he wanted to get to know me. When he continued with the fact that he liked me, I think my whole body smiled. I didn't care if he saw my ears perk up. Somehow, I was able to pull off some ventriloquy and told him through a permanent and probably scary beam of a smile that I felt the same way. I liked him.

Since you already know that I was tip-toeing on the line of crazy with my gold sandals that night, let me be fully honest and possibly make you think I was already on the crazy side. I knew I was going to marry him. I just knew.  Not only did I feel awakened because of my feelings for him; I truly admired him, crooked nose and all. I was never, ever confident that I would be able to find the right guy. A guy who would be Catholic, want a big family, be okay with waiting, and still make me laugh, brighten my day with just a glance and all of that mushy gushy stuff.  But, there he was: strong in what really mattered, and strong in what didn't. He was strong in his faith and family values and able to make my twitterpated heart sing when we weren't even dating. He was blond, blue-eyed, athletic and could pull off a British accent. 

(I think I'm going to have to really work on explaining how I just knew in order to do it justice, but for now, this will do or else I will never ever click, "publish" and I will forever be stuck as a girl who smiles when people break up).

After we walked back inside hand in hand, I grabbed my phone from the bench near the kitchen and put my wild and crazy premonition into the very official writing of 2008; I texted my little sister, "I found the one." 

Is there a Stereotypical Like-struck Girl Anonymous organization out there? Although I guess the whole blogging about it concept takes away the anonymous aspect ...

The first photo after we talked on the deck. Beaming.

After the formal ended around 3, we ventured back to school and stayed up the whole night walking around campus. Laura and her roommates had invited the rest of the girls in our section to watch the sunrise on South Quad that next morning so Chris and I decided there was no point in going to sleep when we would get up in a couple of hours anyway. We met the girls in the middle of South Quad, and we didn't even care that we couldn't even see the sunrise because of the cloudy sky. All of us went to the dining hall after, and Chris made the best first impression on some of my friends by getting a piece of his omelet stuck in his throat, trying to drink it down with water and then just spewing water + omelet everywhere. Nothing says nice to meet you like letting people see your breakfast. 

Later that afternoon, I was IMing with my brother, and, I don't know, the guilty-little-sister complex got me telling him all about the guy that I liked. This is what I chose to tell him: that he was the captain of the rugby team (hmm...rugby doesn't exactly have the best reputation), he was an Army ROTC dropout (my brother was in his third year at the Naval Academy), he grew up in England, (my brother is quite the patriot), and that he was a senior (we all know what people think when they hear a senior is interested in a freshman). I would say that I did a pretty good job of making him seem like a guy my brother would approve of, wouldn't you? Needless to say, Peter was not happy and might have issued a few typical big brother threats. 

We had seven days left together before we would be forced into long distance communication for who knows how long. His pending graduation really catapulted us into discussing the future and whether it would be our future. During one discussion on a bench near Old College, Chris was skirting around the concept of what my view of us was, and I felt a surge of confidence and blurted out, "If you are asking if I see you as my future husband, then yes." Surprisingly, I didn't scare him away. And even though I saw him as that and knew he was the one, we agreed to continue to get to know each other over the summer before we officially started dating and all that jazz. 

Chris had a lighter finals schedule than I did so once he was finished with his, he offered to help me study. I still have the flashcards that he made for me complete with funny little notes written in the corners. After finals were over, Chris took me on our first date. I asked him what I should wear, he replied, "Smart casual," and then I asked what "smart casual" meant. Newsflash: you don't live in England anymore, Master Harrington.

Smart casual.

The next day was move out day for me. Chris was supposed to come to my dorm room to help me finish packing, and we were going to wait for my dad to come pick me up. I got a phone call from my brother telling me that campus looked really nice that day. Oh shoot. Chris, the kind of English, ROTC dropout, senior rugger was on his way to my dorm and my big brother had surprised me and was there!! Luckily, the meeting went smoothly. 

Rogue bra strap in 3, 2, 1 ...

At the end of the day, Chris gave me a hug (two things here: we were waiting to kiss until we were dating, and Chris was super scared that my dad saw that he accidentally exposed my bra strap while doing so. Scandal) and closed the door after me. I rode away with the playlist on the old iPod Chris had given me playing in my ear sad, happy, hopeful, in like, waiting for that kiss and not knowing how high a phone bill could reach ... but I was about to find out that summer. 

And so I stretched part II from four days to twelve days. I'll try to pack more efficiently in the next and last memory box blog post. 

How We Met

Linking up with Grace, link-up genius. I am a sucker for love stories and I somehow suckered Chris into being okay with ours joining the fun. I apologize in advance ... you are about to see what Chris experiences every day when he gets home from work; I am never sparse with details so warm up your eyes. 

So when our future grandchildren ask us how we met, will I choose to say, "Facebook," or, "Between the Buns?" A phenomenon that spurred over-sharing or a sports bar with a cheeky name. Both sound like gold mines for future husbands, no?

Back in the summer of 2007, I had just graduated from high school so I did what incoming freshman did upon receiving their official nd.edu email; I linked it to my Facebook account so I could join my college Facebook network. Facebook stalking escalated as more and more people joined the Class of 2011 group, and awkward, excited messages and wall posts were exchanged: "Hope to meet you on campus!" and "Can't wait to get up there!" Okay, I was too shy to initiate any of that, but I did reply to messages of the sort with many exclamation points. 

One day I received an email that, "Chris Harrington has requested you as a friend." In the typical fashion of my generation, I promptly went through all of his profile pictures, and then called my sister over to the computer demanding that she looked at the guy who just friend requested me by whispering, "Look how hot this guy is!" From my Facebook perusing, I could tell that he was a looker. And he seemed to be from a big family, which caught my eye. However, I also found out that he was a senior so that made me furrow my eyebrows a little bit. "Why would this hot senior guy need to friend freshman girls?" Then I saw that he had a girlfriend. Robbing the cradle while in a relationship? Two strikes. I also saw that a few other freshman girls had written their excited to come to campus declarations on his wall. The fish were swarming. I was not going to follow suit although to be honest before I found out that he was in a relationship, I was tempted for a hot second even though that is something I normally would never ever do.

Chris' facebook photo when he friended me

The next day I received an invitation from him to join the Notre Dame rugby club facebook group, and I saw that a lot of other freshman were invited as well. I realized that he had only friended me in order to invite me to the group to gain support for the rugby club so I gave him back those strikes and went on with my day (which means spent some more time discovering people I would meet on campus). 

Eventually the end of August came, and I moved to the my favorite campus in all of the land. I started working at the 24 hour restaurant attached to the back of the dining hall and across from my dorm. It turns out that Chris lived in the dorm next to it so occasionally he would come in. I remember the few times that he came in when I was the cashier, and I wondered if he recognized me from the book of faces. I sure recognized him, but never said anything, of course. It's funny because now I realize that Chris' first words to me ever were probably, "Hi, can I have a pesto pizza please?"

Right before finals, my best friend, Laura, started talking with Sean, a freshman on the rugby team and he took her to the rugby formal. After Christmas break, she and Sean started dating so she went to more rugby parties and would normally spend some time talking to Chris. Or Chris Harrington as we always called him. Chris Harrington, the captain of the rugby team. When she would tell me about the parties, somehow we would always talk about their conversations. We were fascinated, I guess. He was the oldest of ten (!!!), grew up in England, was a biology major, had a fireplace in his dorm room which was Brady Quinn's old dorm room, was the best conversationalist and was in a serious long distance relationship with a girl from Mexico. We thought it was so serious that he was going to be engaged soon.  (Spoiler alert: little did we know, his relationship had actually been on the rocks for a long time. He is just a gentleman and didn't talk ill of his relationship). After one party, Laura told me that she talked to Chris for a while and he confidently shared that he was a virgin by choice.

What. The captain of the rugby team was a virgin?! And by choice? And from England? And had blond hair and blue eyes? My Mr. Perfect existed, but not only had I only had pizza exchanges with him, he was off the market and presumably soon-to-be off the market for good. And so, I had other crushes. I was already pining after one blond Brit so why add another unattainable blond Brit to the list?

On February 2, 2008, Sean invited Laura, Ashley and me to come to Between the Buns, a local sports bar, to watch a Six Nations rugby match with some of his rugby friends. I, sadly, did not have any other plans so I was game even though I wasn't in a very good mood. We were the first group there. I remember being a little nervous when I saw Chris Harrington walk in. Of course, I was a pro at acting like I had no clue who a person was even though we were facebook friends; I think every freshman has that mastered. He sat down on the other side of the table and two to the left from me. I remember thinking that his girlfriend was a very lucky girl. Chris teases me now because I can remember that his friend was wearing a gray sweater, but I can't remember what Chris was wearing. I knew he was off limits! I do remember what he ordered (a black and bleu burger), and what I ordered (cheesy garlic bread ... and it was really good) so I think that is pretty remarkable about where my priorities lie.

He was so nice that night and tried to make sure we knew what was happening during the game. I remember being a teensy bit (a lot) proud when he asked what was going to happen after the ball went out and I correctly took a stab in the dark and said that the players were going to be lifted up and the ball thrown at them. Thank goodness I randomly watched a girls' rugby match once when visiting my brother at school.

The next Friday, Laura mentioned that there was going to be a rugby party, and we should all come. I remember passing Chris in the drinks section of South Dining Hall. He had just come from rugby practice, had a cut-off t-shirt on and was muddy (ha! oh the details I remember). He remembered my name, and he said hi to me first, and asked if I was coming with Laura to the party. I remember being floored that he remembered my name and even more floored that I could tell that he wasn't talking to me because he was interested in me. He was just a genuinely nice guy. Silly girl side note: I mentioned to Laura when I sat down that I saw him and asked if she had seen, "Chris Harrington's arms!?"

We went to the party, which was actually my first off-campus party because I'm lame, and I saw him there, but only for a bit. It was "court" night so a lot of the guys were serving out their sentences for various accusations. Chris had to wear a huge, ill-fitting, green polo I think because he always dressed so well? The other sentences being carried out were quite hilarious. I only talked to Chris for a bit. To be honest, I spent most of the night talking to his friend that wore the gray sweater at Between the Buns.

We were really adventurous with our clothing colors

This scene sans the XXXL polo repeated a few more times at various rugby parties. I went on a couple dates with the other guy. After quite a bad night in the beginning of April, I was at another rugby party. That party was a turning point. I somehow spend the whole night sitting on the couch next to Chris Harrington and talked and talked and talked. It was our first real conversation. He motivated me to officially change my major to something that I enjoy amidst near naked men dancing on the coffee table. And I will say it again ... he was just so genuinely kind; he had no interest in me.

A couple weeks later, my parents and sister surprised me and visited during the Blue-Gold football game. I remember taking my sister to a party that night, but then having to leave and being disappointed that she didn't get a chance to meet Chris. I saw he and his friend pull into the parking lot right as our cab pulled out.

The next day, I was walking around campus after giving a friend from home a campus tour. I was on my way back to my dorm when I saw Chris sitting on a blanket in front of South. He called me over. We proceeded to talk for two hours just sitting there on the quad until some of my friends walked by and then we all talked for another hour or so. I couldn't even believe that it had been three hours when we got up to go.

The three of us hung out a few times over the course of the next week. I don't think any of the times were planned. We would literally just run into him. One night, the three of us were sitting outside Reckers, and we made him promise that he would invite both of us to his wedding (another silly girl sidenote: we had no idea I would be the bride and Laura would be a bridesmaid, but he kept his promise! A man of his word). Then on Friday, I had returned from a team project in Chicago, and Laura said that I should go to the baseball game with them. Ashley came along, too (but her earring didn't...remember Ash?). 

We were sitting in the stands at the game when the rugby team doctor came over to talk to Chris, and they were talking about rugby events. Laura, Ashley and I overheard Chris mention that the rugby formal was next week. Laura nudged me and whispered, "He is probably going to ask you!" I promptly dismissed that idea. He had an uber serious girlfriend! And why would he ask me?? I knew that it wouldn't cross his mind. Right after the words left my mouth that he wouldn't, I realized that I was already crushed that he wasn't going to ask me. That was the very first moment that I realized I liked Chris Harrington. 

It was so foreign to me. There had never been a pass of flirting; we had never even been alone other than the one time we talked on South Quad, and even then there were people stopping by all the time. 

Laura and I didn't see him at all over the weekend, and I definitely noted that. On Monday, the day before the last day of class, Ashley and I had just left CoMo, the study lounge with free coffee, and I was precariously trying to walk down South Quad without the too full and lidless coffee burning my hand. I had a short paper to write that night, and I hadn't started so it was going to be a long night. I looked up and saw Chris Harrington walking on the diagonal sidewalk. Hand burned.  He was wearing a green hoodie. Or it was a green t-shirt over a hoodie. There definitely was a hood, and there definitely was green, and I definitely was way too excited to see him.

As luck would have it, he was going to the student center just like us. He had to drop off some paperwork for the rugby club, and Ashley and I were going there to study which means we were going to pretend like we were studying until we realized that we actually couldn't study in there. When we arrived, he went up to drop off the paperwork, and Ashley and I plopped down on some chairs. He came back, Ashley went somewhere, and I over exuberantly asked him how his day was going. 

Katrina: Soooo, how was your day?!
Chris: Um, it actually was pretty bad. 
Katrina: Oh, I'm sorry. 
Silence.
Katrina: Ummm, do you want to talk about it?
Chris: Not really.
Silence.
Chris: Well, I broke up with my girlfriend today.

I'm not going to tell you whether or not my ears saw a grin surpass their width before I was able to recover and look sympathetic. 

---

To be continued. Of course.

ETA: 
Part II
Part III

20 Weeks with Krakens

Krakens, Jailbreak 7s, Summer 2013

Happy Weekend!

We spent the day in Joliet, IL watching the Krakens, Chris' social rugby club made up of all the best men in Chicago (guys who drive to the hospital in the middle of the night through a snowstorm to see a baby) and the rest of the USA, play in the Jailbreak 7's tournament.  I love summer rugby. I'm sure the fact that I (out-of-shape-weak-me) am not the one sprinting up the field and tackling people helps with this summer love, but I truly enjoy watching Chris getting to play his favorite sport. I hope that old man (he was the oldest on the team today) can play for years and years to come. The boys played well and are all warmed up for the next tournament in a couple of weeks!

Ryan pretty much had the best day ever since he got to be surrounded by balls, food, he was outside all day and he had twenty or so people to entertain. He loves our friends, and it is quite adorable to see them be helicopter friends when we, the parents, are the opposite of choppers as Grace would call them.

I looked like the best mother ever because Ryan was topless for the first hour or so of the tournament. Our washer was being temperamental and not draining and I had just so happened to wash pretty much every item of clothing that fits him last night. Drying did not prove to be very fruitful since the clothes were soaking so Ryan got to experience some shirt-free time when we got to the tournament and the shirt had still not dried which led to this I've-got-it-all-together-not photo of Ryan half-clothed, half-shoed, wearing my hat backwards, clutching a rugby ball and balancing on a post. 

I proved myself right and sadly got fried despite applying sunscreen one-hundred-minus-ninety-seven times. It may not seem like it, but skin matches both my maiden name and my married name. Chris applied sunscreen less than I do, has no tasty olive tone to his skin and didn't burn. Doesn't make any sense! Fortunately, my multiple attempts at wrestling that little Ryan-calf of mine and covering him in sunscreen were fruitful, and he escaped the day with only a teensy bit of red on the back of his neck. 

Dad's cheerleaders for the summer.

Trying to get fit so he can join Dad on the field

My summer rugby counterpart and Chris'

Family of four. The big brother already thinks he is too cool to be seen taking photos with Mom and Dad.

My little pregnancy app gave me my weekly notification that I am twenty weeks today. Baby is about the length of a banana, which I am very familiar with since Ryan became obsessed with rubbing one all over his car seat today. Rookie mom. I hope to start updating more about this pregnancy since I really haven't shared much. This baby has just been treating me and his or her hotel womb so well there isn't much to share week to week so far other than how excited we are, but I think things will pick up as the weeks go along. 

Was I able to avoid being Kim Kardashian even though I wore floral? I hope so because I want to repeat this outfit especially since I have the burn-please-turn-to-tan lines to match it. 

Five Favorites, Volume Three

1. 2013 Collegiate Rugby Sevens Television Ad. We have been loving this because my brother-in-law, Brad, is the rugby player scoring a try at the two to three second mark. I call him my big-little brother since he is younger than I am by eight months, but about eight inches taller. The footage came from last year they played each other when Notre Dame played Cal...quite the family rivalry, no? Here is a clip from last year's television interview!

2. "Ho Hey" by the Lumineers cover on Nashville. Ever since I graduated from collage, I have a bad habit of watching mindless dramas while I clean or if I have to do busy work. My roomie, who is from the land of Loveless Cafe and Pancake Pantry, got me started on Nashville, and I have fallen into the abyss of its crooning ways. Both of us are in love with this scene when the star's daughter get to sing one of my favorite songs at the moment on stage. And since I'm pregnant, I tear up while watching it even though no sane person should.

3. Queso, hold the Velveeta. We watched the Blue-Gold Spring Game from home because we are wimps as I mentioned here, and we are pretty lucky that it was broadcast on NBC. I was craving brats, and Chris was craving queso, which we normally make with Velveeta and Rotel. Yum! Except that we are supposedly eating "healthily" right now so eating the rarely expiring Velveeta didn't seem to fit the requirements (because brats do?!...I was holding the pregnant craving trump card). So I searched for a slightly better (is lots of cheese and sour cream really better?) recipe that turned out well! I used pepperjack cheese instead of cheddar to make it a bit spicier.

4. Louis Nix at quarterback. Speaking of the spring football game, have you ever seen a 300lb+ man line up at quarterback and score? Look no further, my Irish loving friends. Ryan high-fives every time he sees it, mostly because he sees a football, but some day he will understand.

Source

5. Take Them a Meal. One of my friends here is South Bend just gave birth to a sweet baby girl! Of course, she and her husband will want to focus on their two little ones rather than make dinner so many of us asked to be put on a meal list. When I was helping my mother-in-law, many people generously brought food over, but a few times there were multiple people who gave meals on the same night. I was so impressed when I received an email from Take Them A Meal. The group organizer can add all the people who volunteered to cook, everyone can see what dates are available, reserve a date, see what everyone else is cooking to avoid repeats and know of any dietary restrictions. Smart idea.

Bonus...What is everyone's favorite mascara? Mine is pretty much out, and since it smudges even though its waterproof, I am all ears (eyelashes?) for your favorites. I have short, straight eyelashes that I inherited from my mother so any help is appreciated!

Sorry for the super boring favorites, everyone. Head on over to Moxie Wife for more interesting favorites.

Gentlemen, Not Hooligans

Mom, where did you put my thumbs?

I decided yesterday afternoon that I wanted to surprise Chris with a pristine and shoveled driveway when he arrived home from work. So I bundled my little sidekick up, somehow got his boots on his kicking feet, threw my own coat on and marched out with my weapon of a shovel to fight the snow. I placed Ryan up at the top of the driveway where he played in the snow while I kicked the shovel under the snow, lifted, threw, repeat, repeat, repeat. 

After a little bit, I heard a giggle whenever I threw the snow to the side. Ryan was pleasantly amused, which is funny because lately he gets upset whenever he sees me lift something heavy. Gentleman in the making? Ryan was now following me down the driveway so my process was now kick, check if baby was still there, lift, check baby, throw, check baby, repeat. Imagine that and then imagine my spider arms...the picture of quick shoveling, no?

Well as I got to the end of the driveway, I heard someone call my name. I looked up and, lo and behold, out came the senior rugby guys who live across the street with shovel in hand. They had seen me, my little giggling shadow and my pace and promptly came to the rescue. As they described it, they had just started a show when I walked outside, the show ended and I had only just gotten to the end of the driveway on my first pass. I guess my spider arms weren't very efficient.

Marriage material

I just wanted to proclaim it to the blogosphere that I am so impressed with our neighbors! I have always been close with the rugby program since Chris played and then now David, my brother-in-law, plays on the team, and all the players in the five years that I have known the team have been so kind to me.  They say that rugby is a hooligan's game played by gentlemen. As you can see from these strapping young men who cleared our driveway in fifteen minutes tops, it really is played by gentlemen around here. Ladies, marry rugby players! Take it from me, a rugger hugger turned rugger wife, they are keepers. 

Boys, you can show this to your parents to give them evidence that they did a great job. 

*Shout out to my brother-in-law who came out to help when he saw the fun being had and shoveled the sidewalks and neighbor's driveway! Gentleman. 
**Another shout out to my brother-in-law's best friend, Dylan, who shoveled our driveway over the weekend without being asked because he is just that proactive and just that nice of a guy. I'm surrounded by gentlemen.