It's a Girl!

Welcome to our baby Girl. Allison Marie was born June 2, 2008 at 4:06am. She was 6 pounds 7 ounces and 19 1/2 inches. She is quickly gaining her weight back and already a great sleeper. Do I chance it by putting that in writing? I am so thrilled to have her here here as I couldn't wait to meet her and we are so blessed to have a healthy son and healthy daughter in the house. When she was born they announced we had a girl and I couldn;t believe it and kept asking them "Really? It's a girl?"

And with this new chapter I move forward. I had a fast paced year as Mrs. Illinois. I learned so much about myself and others and met some amazing people along the way. You know who your are! Thank you to my family,especially John, and friends for their never ending support. Thank you to my new found friends who are proof that as women we can accomplish great things for other women who will follow. May those women carve out new paths as well. I wish the New Mrs. Illinois US the best of luck at nationals and more importantly, I wish you a year in which you can be part of great change and inspiration. It has been a honor to help represent my state and married women. I hope I have made you proud!

From here on out, you can find me via:

www.amygregorio.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/letsgotoajsterling

Illinois Galaxy

Thank you to Britt Harrison for inviting me to judge the Illinois and Wisconsin Galaxy competitions. It was such a great time, but a difficult one as these gals were very well prepared! I loved getting a chance to get to know each of the lovely ladies during the five minute interviews. Then is was show time! The production was very smooth and fast paced. To the new title holders, I wish you all the very best of luck as you get ready for nationals in Orlando this summer.

Something to Ponder.

Thanks to my very dear friend Michelle for this:

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will.
You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken.
You'll fight with your best friend.
You'll blame a new love for things an old one did.
You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone
you love.
So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.
Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.

Hope is on the way!

My hubby and I decided to split for a few days and take a much deserved Babymoon. Actually, my wonderful OB suggested it this time around. With our son, she told us early on that fathers were only allowed in labor and delivery if they came bearing gifts-preferably jewelry. This time she told us a mini vacation ALONE was in store for us. Great idea! So we traveled to a little place called Little Palm Island. Imagine 20 huts surrounded with actual green trees. Just us and the island deer and a racoon who made a visit. It was a great way to close out the winter. Of course, winter was still here to greet us as we arrived home. But I believe! I believe it will eventually get warmer, or above 50 degrees. I guess we are all getting it one way or the other. Flights were cancelled out of Atlanta so we switched to Miami, only to have a major power outage in that city. Miami is not the place to be when the power goes out folks. But adventure is always good.
1)Welcome back home to winter!!!

All 50 states now have Safe Haven Laws!

On January 19, the Alaska State Senate passed the Safe Haven for Infants Bill. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin signed the bill on February 11th.

On February 7, the Nebraska legislature passed its own Safe Haven bill,making it the 50th and final state to enact this important child welfare safeguard. Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman signed the bill into law on February 13th.

By offering the option of safe havens to desperate parents without fear of prosecution or loss of confidentiality, Safe Haven policies provide a safe, non-threatening alternative to illegal newborn abandonment or infanticide, allowing relinquished infants to be adopted into loving, permanent families.

We estimate that more than 1,200 newborns have been saved under these laws across the country.

Welcome 2008 and welcome little one

See ya 2007! It will be a year to remember and much has been learned along the way. I take those experiences with me as we head into 2008. This new year will be filled with many great surprises. One of which will be the arrival of our second child. Baby G is due mid June. Will it be a girl or a boy? We will wait until June. Unlike the first time with my son, this time I was laid out with all day sickness. So now that phase has passed, it is on to getting many things accomplished.

Speaking of, I hope you all have many goals to tackle this year and I hope you are part of great change. Sometimes it is hard to stand up for what you believe in when it would be easier to sit back. However, if it means it will help others in the long run, go for it. The SAB foundation has much work ahead. Nebraska is one of the final states to not have a Safe Haven Law. An old school Senator ERNIE CHAMBERS refuses to allow such a law. Well, that's what he thinks. Two states (Alaska and Nebraksa) are without such needed laws. Ernie, watch out. Time for change buddy.

And here is to my fellow pageant sisters who will be chasing their dreams. I wish you the best of luck with Mrs. America and Mrs. International. May the other delegates and the judges get to know you the way I know you. I will be the big pregnant lady cheering you along the way!
1)The belly at Christmas. Only 25 more weeks?? Thank god the all-day sickness passed in time for all holiday pigging out!

Two more babies.

The work of Save Abanondoned Babies and the Safe Haven Alliance is to promote both laws and education so newborns can be safely relinquished. All but two states have laws in place. We're still hunting down Nebraska and Alaska. It will happen. It must. Here in Illinois we had two more babies brought to Safe Havens this month. Those are two babies who are now with families who will fully adopt them within 60-days.What an amazing holiday gift! Thank you to these mothers who cared enough to make sure their newborns were safe. www.saveabandonedbabies.org www.nationalsafehavenalliance.org

Congratulations Mrs. NY US!

This weekend I travelled to Niagara Falls, N.Y. to watch my friend Lori Donaudy pass on the title of Mrs. New York United States. Lori has been an incredible queen! She is the best. Her director, Sheila Strassburg, is also amazing and held a great show. She made sure every one of the ladies had a good time and didn't walk away empty handed.

Several of us had the chance to meet up for lunch the days of the finals. Among us was none other than Mrs. United States herself, Stephanie Hunt. The Mrs. US crown is a substantial one. Stephanie it was fun meeting your family. I love that your husband wears a picture of you in crown on a shirt! He may make a U of M fan out of me yet. I also had the chance to meet one of Lori's dear friends Amy Bell. She was Mrs. NY US 2001. We're both are named Amy and we both have husbands named John. Coincidence? I hope to see more of her out there in pageantland soon;)

What competition! I will post pictures so you can see what I am talking about. In the end, Melissa Ognibene won the title. Congrats pretty lady! It's easy to see you have a great heart and a lot you will accomplish this next year.

Pictures:
1)Lori and I
2)The two Amy's
3)Top 8 Finalists
4)The New Mrs. NY!
5)Mrs. US and royalty

My baby is 2 years old???

It's not fair! John is a little boy now and I must face it. He is such a little character. He spent most of his birthday deconstructing his Thomas the Train set. He carried that train with him everywhere and even tried to smuggle it into his bed. We had to be super sneaky about slipping it out of his tight grip. That child is strong! The last couple of years have flown by us. Before I know it, he will be dating and driving. There will be graduations and grand babies...but for now and ever, he will remain MY baby.

Happy Halloween!

This is our little man as half lion, half boy. He refused to wear the mane. I can't say I blame him. Dignity people!

Isn't She Lovely!

Congratulations Michelle! One of my best friends came out to Vegas to support me at Mrs. US. So it was my time to return the favor. She had always wanted to give a pageant a try in spite of her fear of being on stage. So in two month’s time she crammed all the pageant knowledge she could and this weekend she competed in a state Mrs. International competition. She was lovely and she did such a great job on stage. Many of the ladies had done other pageants before so she was in great company. In the end, she won People’s Choice. She was so proud that she had, “SURVIVED,” being on stage. Now, as for whether she will ever do a pageant again?? Chell had a great experience which is all I wanted for her. So here’s to Michelle-my Queen.
Pictures:
1) Michelle no far right with some of the other Mrs. delegates
2)Pre-pageant. Rona, Chell's hubby, me,and Chell's mom all anxiously wait!
3)Michelle post pageant in her evening gown.

Know More, Do more!

I was honored to MC the kick off of a major campaign here in Chicago called, "Know More, Do More." Nielsen, the Chicago Police Dept, and Chicago Public Schools have started a new program to combat Teen Dating Violence. This is the first year for the program that is peer-assisted. Each high school will eventually have a group of students who will volunteer their time to creating their own campign to spread education in their school about dating violence. 1 in 5 teen girls will become victims and 40% of teens girls say they know of someone who has been a victim. The program also is aimed at teens working to end violence in general as many times students know what is really brewing in school and can help keep it from becoming national news. The program will start in several chosen schools who recieved grants. There are more than three hundred thousand students in CPS so this is a great way to reach all of them.I also had the chance to introduce an emotional one-woman play called, "The Yellow Dress." It was based on the experiences of several victims of dating violence and hit home with much of the audience. In a time when school systmes are being criticized, CPS is moving forward. I have pictures from the event, but they are WAY too dark due to stage lighting.

Happy Anniversary!

My husband and I celebrated our third anniversary last night. We had an amazing dinner at a very Chi Chi restaurant called Gabriel's. It was worth every pound! I'm a lucky gal to have John. The past three years have flown by and we have so much to look forward to!And I can still fit into my wedding dress which is actually a little big...for now.

Time to Reach Out!

Recently the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation was part of the state police expo. It was a great way to reach out to the various agencies statewide and let them know that as of NOW, they (those with 24-hour services)must all have signs posted they are a Safe Haven for newborns to be relinquished. Some did not know they were require by law to have the signs, but everyone was so supportive of the efforts.

Too Busy to Blog!

Man, the last couple of months have FLOWN by. It has been great to be part of a yahoo group that is for the US class of 2007. It helps us all keep updated on one another. We've had alot to pray for and alot to celebrate! Work has been really busy lately and my little man is growing too quickly for my taste! Since I got back from what was Vegas, I have been part of a fashion show that was simply amazing. It was put on by the Service Club of Chicago. This is a dynasty of sorts where the women are of all ages and they help not only raise funds for the organization, but then they distribute it out to those organizations in need. What a crafty idea! So each year they have a fabulous fashion show and I was invited to wear the fall fashions. It's so weird, because on-air I am AJ Sterling. As Mrs. Illinois- I am Amy Gregorio. So who would I be? A little of both it turned out. I wore the latest styles from the likes of Armani and Blu Marine ect. Granted it was at the top notch Pennisula Hotel's garden terrace on the roof, but it was, I don't know, 97 degrees at 10am. Wearing tights and wool coats (some wore fur)was a little hot and a reminder of Vegas. One of the MC's and a true lady fainted from the heat and got banged up. She is just fine. The good news is I did some shopping there, (after all the preps for US, I am a shopper now!) the bad news is, I did a little shopping there.

Speechless...For once!

Let me preface this by saying that my husband is a scratch golfer who competes around the state and country on the amateur level. So he has plenty of silver cups and crystal bowls for his efforts.

We in the top five were given trophies...he was a little surprised that was it given the time and energy everyone in Vegas had devoted. I had not even unpacked and my son got a hold of my trophy. I swear within five minutes he had that disassembled. Can you say ,"Choking hazard?"

Today my husband said he had as surprise for me. Surely he wasn't pregnant?? He said he "wants to make the presentation." Such golfer's talk. He had ordered a crystal trophy for me engraved as Mrs. Illinois 2007. He also had them create this enormous (think the Stanley Cup) crystal Vase that I swear is two feet tall. He had it engraved with my name and Mrs. United States 2007 Top Five Finalist.

Being my biggest cheerleader,he feels being Mrs. Illinois is a huge deal. He also felt being 4Th runner-up was a great accomplishment and deserved a trophy that can not be taken apart by a toddler.He told me how proud he was of my hard work. How sweet is that?

Pageant pictures from the professional

Here are some pictures taken by the pageant photog. It took forever to get these up as the first disc wouldn't open for me. The second one I lost. Only recently it was found in the corner of a random desk drawer. How did it get there? So here are some pics.

1) Preliminary swimsuit competition.
2)I love this lady. Mrs. Iowa, Amanda Brink Hull. We stood next to each other for most of the rehearsals. She was a doll.
3)Our intros. I wore this dress (when it was a full length gown) YEARS ago. I found it at my parents and it fit. So I chopped it off for this. Back then I didn't know a thing about labels. So imagine my surprsie when I find it is a (vintage yet?)Sherri Hill.
4)Evening Gown. I adore this dress.

Some more from the pageant professional...

Here are some more candids from the week.
1) Rehearsals. It was so HOT out side, I had to concentrate on which arm was left and which was right.
2) My dear friend and roomate, Tracy Rodgers (Mrs. NV)
3) Swim shoot. I was one of the lucky ones to be able to keep my feet cooling in the water. At 8am, it was already pretty toasty.
4) Group shot before a night out on the town.

And the New Mrs. United States is!!!!!

Finals night was a whirlwind and here are pictures just in from my fabulous siter-in-law Lisa. Stephanie is GLOWING!!!!

It turns out July 12th marked an important day for a couple of reasons. Hawaiian Governor Lingle had vetoed a Safe Haven Law. But we across the country emailed and called and helped persuade Representatives and Senators who then came together in an overwhelming majority and voted to over ride her. So now we have our 48th state to have a Safe Haven law in place.

I also returned home to find an email asking me to appear on Larry King Live that finals day concerning a missing persons case. Pretty cool, but I missed the deadline. Vegas was worth missing Larry. Next time, right?

1)Top ten questions
2)Top ten Evening Gown. What a handsome Escort! Va va va Voom!
3)The new Mrs. United States is!!!!
4)Stunning Stephanie

This Just in!!!

More pictures thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law Lisa. She should be a professional photographer!DISCLAIMER-The fuzzy shots aren't hers!

1)I'm Amy Gregorio, Mrs. Illinois!
2)Prelim Eveing Gown
3)After Prelims
4)Some of the top ten