Christmas Prego Pics

Christmas 2005 I was pregnant with P, my first child. At the time I was about 5 and 1/2 months pregnant, maybe a little more...
Christmas 2007 I was (am) pregnant with my second child. I am almost at 9 months. This time around it is a boy. Now I will have one of each and am finished with the prego thing!


(That is my lovely hubby on the right, not my 3rd child)

Too cute for Christmas

P was so cute at Christmas. It all started when we put up the tree. She was enamored with putting ornaments on the tree and then taking them off the tree - over and over again. Then she had to take the ornaments she liked to bed with her. Of course, we could only let that happen a few times because ornaments aren't the sturdiest things...hence, keep out of reach of children tags, which we ignored. She kept saying "hang on tee, hang on tee" and would point to the tree. She also thought her stuffed animals looked good on the tree, so we essentially has a P's toy tree going on for a while.

We have been collecting plush ornaments so that she can play with them and we don't have to worry about them breaking. The last thing I would want is my child getting a piece of that thin glass from a Christmas bulb stuck in her eye. yuck. This year I found some adorable soft ornaments at a few craft shows and World Market. It'll be nice to see them next year for I will surely forget what I purchased by then and am so used to seeing the same ornaments year after year that it'll be a nice surprise to open the Christmas storage bins.

She also learned quickly about presents. She wasn't that interested on her first birthday back in May, but now she LOVED getting a new present to open. I think the present we just got from her friends Amaya and Myka was the cutest to watch her open. I got the excitement on her face in the picture below. Way too cute. Our friends sent us a video of A-n-M opening their presents from us and I wanted to be sure to take pics of P opening their presents to send to them because I thought it was so cute seeing their little reactions to what we got them. Of course, prego brain of mine put the tags on the wrongs presents so the older girl was opening a "baby" gift and the baby openend the game "Cooties." hahah! Oh well....I had to mix something up because I had been doing so darn good.

I just remember when P was baking I sent my nephew's birthday card and gift to my friend and a congratulations on your baby to my little nephew. They were both pretty confused and I laughed like I meant to do it.....

I had P sign her thank you notes to everyone who gave her presents. By "sign" I mean her scribbles that represent her name...again, too cute.

Anyhow - just look at P's little expression in this picture - it makes my heart just melt.

Butt and thigh blowout

I have searched all over the place to read about anyone having the same experience I am in their ninth month of pregnancy, but I can't find a thing! I am almost 37 weeks and literally, my butt and thighs have blown up overnight. Could it be because Christmas was just here and I ate more than I thought or is it merely the whole pregnancy thing?

I truly know I overate for a few days over Christmas, just like anyone I indulged in sweets and had more than 2 helpings of things that tasted good, but c'mon, not enough to make my pants THIS tight! I went to the doctor three days ago and only gained 4 and 1/2 pounds in a month, so I thought I was doing pretty good. I have gained a total of 28 pounds so far, but it really feels like 50 at this point in time. I am hoping to do the 30/35 pound thing (which is more than what I gained with P, but I read that women who are expecting boys tend to eat more while pregnant and nursing than do those women who have girls....go figure).

It was quite shocking to look at myself this morning and see a swollen, double-chinned hippo staring back at me. I seriously look bigger today than I did yesterday! I am so ashamed. I went shopping for the boy so he had some things to wear when he is born and literally was embarressed to be in public. I have had people, literally two weeks ago, ask if I was pregnant. NO - I just have a big belly, boobs and always look this swollen, tired and irritable...thanks for asking. Am I not only with child but crazy, too? I think I look pretty pregnant when I look at pictures of me!

All I want for Christmas is an ear infection...

All in all, we had a very nice Christmas. On Saturday we went to my parents to celebrate the holiday. My brother and his family were in town so that was our time to exchange with them. They drove down from Michigan for a couple of days to spend with us and then my sis-in-law's family. Watching the gifts change as the kids grow is quite interesting. My niece who was once into baby dolls or games was now into make-up and cool clothes, the boys are still into games just "older" ones, and the baby girls were just too cute opening their books, babies and blocks. We usually do random appetizers and finger foods for our Christmas Eve with them. We try to have things that my Grandma Williams used to make, but have strayed from that menu quite a bit. I was surprised that P ate this cheese dip mom made, but she shoveled it in like it was ice cream. At least she ate more than pretzles and cookies like she did at Thanksgiving.

The actual day of Christmas Eve my parents came over here for a sit down dinner. It was very nice. We ate and then watched a movie. Christmas Day it was adorable watching P open her prezies. She loved her play kitchen and her Sesame Street car wash. She got things from hubby's aunts, Papa Bill and her Uncle Garret and Aunt Jeanne. It was so nice that so many people were so giving this year, but it was still pretty depressing to not have any gifts under the tree from Sheilah. I know hubby was feeling pretty sad knowing he couldn't call his mom to wish her a Merry Christmas. Bill called from Florida and that was really really special to Shane. Later in the day some of our friends came over for a potluck and games. It was a really good time and was so nice to spend Christmas that way. Typically, we go to my Aunt's, but I am trying to stay away from "cat" houses until I deliver. I have been getting dreadfully sick with my cat allergies during this pregnancy - and frankly am tired of not being able to breath for days for just an hour or two of fun.

On the down side, hubby and P have been really sick. P since the weekend and hubby since Christmas night. All he has done is lay in bed. I had to take P to the pediatrician and I am glad I did because she has an ear infection...hopefully not the beginning of three like last year. Well, since we are stuck inside once the boy is born she will probably stay pretty healthy, but we shall see! I am just hoping to bypass all bugs - I can't afford to be sick with a one and half year old running around and being pregnant.

Dad and I

My dad and I have had issues in our past and our present. He can be difficult to get along with at times and he thinks I am difficult, so we butt heads or I just get mad and don't say anything. Well, we had a really long conversation about a ton of things - me, hubby, my brother and his family and my mom. It was nice to see where we were both coming from and giving each other the space to understand each other.

He said something enlightening to me that I generally am very aware of, or at least try to be. But, it is understanding what others are going through and their feelings. We get so caught up in our daily lives and getting upset at how someone else is driving or how someone didn't call us back or how someone didn't hold the door when our hands were obviously full. We have become a very self-centered society and expect others to help us out or don't expect others to help us out. The thing is, we are all here living together, sharing this earth, this neighborhood, this house or this road. Why can 't we all take a little extra time when we are out and about to do something nice for someone. Let them over in your lane even if they have to turn in front of you, hold the door for someone - or smile for crying out loud! These are all trivial things that we all deal with (pretty much) on a daily basis. There are more deep-rooted issues and feelings going on within my family, and much of it is left unsaid and people harbor bad feelings. I was doing that for a while and decided I couldn't take it anymore, and that is why I had to have "a" talk with my dad.

I have to say it was great to air everything out - very scary at the same time because we didn't want to hurt each others feelings with our honesty. But, honesty is the best. And now I feel like I have even more of an understanding with my dad and can give him more flexibility to be himself and he can give me the same respect. I only hope others can do it, too, but that is not for me to make happen. People need to face their problems themselves and in their own time.

Well - on that note....I am going to call my dad and yell at him about something. haha!

Music Class

As I have mentioned before, it is amazing how quickly children grow from babies to toddlers; from knowing just to survive to knowing how to play and enjoy certain games and toys; and to be picky eaters! My latest shout out to amazement is music class.

We travel the same way to music class as we do to the library. Well, we were meeting our mommies group at the library and P lit up and kept saying "moosic cass? moosic cass?" Now how did that little thing gather we were going to music class? I never said anything except that we were meeting her friends and she was going to get to play and look at books. The only thing I can think of is that she recognized where I was driving and assumed we were going to see Mrs. Andrea at moosic cass. She wasn't disappointed, though, she loves all of her friends...especially when she just gets to play and look at books at her discretion.

P has also started grabbing her toys that play music or her instruments and coming up to me saying "pay moosic!" She plays her little instruments and sings. I have to get it on video. It is so darn cute. I have a regular Tori Amos in the house.

Car Seat

I want to get a new infant car seat for the baby boy because the one we used for P wasn't that cushiony. I think the fact that it was so hard was why she cried so much whenever we went anywhere. I am talking every place we went she cried in the car. The reason I am pretty sure it was the car seat is because when I got a new one she literally stopped crying the first time she sat in it. Granted, it is top of the line Britax so it is probably like a recliner in a car, but I don't care. I wanted her to have good experiences rather than being uncomfortable all the time. It makes me feel so bad that I had her in that hard seat for so long - I just didn't know any better.

So, hubby and I are looking at car seats. Well, we both kind of freaked when I suggested this option - a duo stroller travel system. OMG! is right. We have to get a duo stroller...I mean we will have a toddler and a baby! It would really be a smart decision - and almost a necessary decision.

I have looked at used systems, but I just don't know what the history is behind them and would rather borrow someone's or just buy new. I figure if I get the Graco duo system I can use the click-n-go in my single stroller as well. That way I am set if I go somewhere with just the boy or with both kids.

It is crazy to think we are going to have two kids in a little over a month. I was having false pains last night and we decided that we need to get the bag packed and get ready for baby. We have had several friends tell us they went early with the second, but then there are a ton who went on time with the second...never late, though.

Playing mommy?

Darling P was playing with a little shopping cart we have for the kitchen. She was pushing it around putting puzzle pieces in it, her little stuffed animals and blocks or whatever was small enough to fit. Hubby was watching her so I was just laughing at the glimpses I was catching of her playing.

Well, I was cracking up so hard when I looked out of the corner of my eye, and low and behold there was P on her fake cell phone having a conversation while shopping for various "items." I wasn't quick enough to get a photo...bummer!! Hubby asked if that is what I do when I am at the store and I just said that I guessed so. haha! It is amazing what they pick up...for instance...

P was transporting some toys from the kitchen to the living room and dropped them. She proceeded to say what hubby said sounded like "Oh SH$T." Well...the only person who could be guilty of that would be me. I am the one with the sewar mouth in the family, but I have to admit that I have gotten SO much better with having a child around me 24/7.

Update on dog incident

My friend's little boy who got bit by the dog is doing just fine. His final stitch fell out two days ago and his face looks like it will have minimal scarring. While she was at my house I kept my two dogs locked up downstairs. Little W didn't seem afraid of them at all. My friend explained that the incident doesn't stop him from being friendly with dogs, but definitely stops her from trusting anyone's dog. Can you blame her?

Seeing his little bruises and marks where the stitches were just broke my heart. But, seeing that he was okay made me feel okay for him.

The dog was a one-year-old Westie. From what I gather, Little W leaned back and the dog was behind him. The movement of W leaning back freaked the dog out and it just bit him in the face and clawed him a couple of times and then ran off. Luckily, noone had to pry the dog off of him. I have heard of dogs attacking children and just not stopping until the child goes limp. awful to think of....

The best thing I think I can do as a parent is keep educating my kid about dogs everytime she is around them. It is kind of hard when you have dogs of your own that your child wants to love on. I work on P being respectful to her dogs and knowing her limits with them. I really don't even trust my two dogs. You just never know, and no matter how much you love the little furballs they are still animals.

Figured it out

So, I think I have it figured out. I have been having this intense fear of something happening to my darling P. Literally scared off my rocker that someone will come in my house and snatch her from me. Or that we'll be shopping and I'll turn for a second to read a label and man in a long coat will come and take her right out of the cart. It has been overwhelming. So overwhelming that I called hubby at work yesterday and was in such tears I couldn't even breath. I think part of it is it because of the hormones working in my body as the baby grows, but I think mainly it is because conciously and subconciously I know my relationship with P is going to change in just a few short weeks. I am looking forward to the new baby but am not looking forward to having to give up some of my time with P. We are so close and understand each other so well.

It breaks my heart to know I will have to give up some of P and I's precious time together, that it won't just be her and I on a daily basis and that she could possibly hurt from having to share me. I know this new baby is such a blessing and I will love it dearly, but it is also hard to think of it being 3 instead of 2, rocking another baby to sleep, bathing another baby, talking to another baby, feeding another baby...all of those things other than P.

I am positive P will love having a sibling. She loves babies and people. I know she'll just adore having the chance to play with another child and loving it. She'll be a terrific sister. Will I be just as great of a mother to the new little one, will I still be focused and loving towards P? Yes, but my heart just hurts thinking of sharing P and also of having to rob her of her fun little classes we've been going to all winter. What am I going to do when I have to go back to work and drop the kids off at a daycare? Jeez...I will be a total basketcase.

Santa Claus

My Granpda and my uncle are both Shriners and we were invited to go to the Shriner Christmas Party for kids. Santa was there and they had food, gifts and music for the kids. Those Shriners really love kids...and they try to make things really special for them. The party was totally free for family members of Shriners.

My cousins were there and my aunt and uncle. There was also a special surprise - an old friend of mine's family. I got to see her mom, grandma and brother and his family. It was so nice to see them after so many years. Come to find out, too, my friend's dad was one of the Santas! So, we got to go to the side where he was and I thought if P saw that I had a special "connection" with Santa that she would be a little less apprehensive about seeing Santa. Oh no! Hubby and I BOTH had to sit on Santa's lap and she still cried her little eyes out. She was scared to death of Santa. I wish I had a full on shot of her crying, but we just got a side shot. Santa's helper took the picture so I am just grateful we got what we got. ha!

Well, I get home and look through the pictures I took and realized I was auditioning for Playboy Santa or something. Here I am big prego woman sticking my chest out. Why on earth would I do that! Now I forever have a picture of me with my boob in Santa's beard. lovely. And, it is my friend's dad...even more lovely. Gotta just laugh....

Let it snow!

Snow poured on us all morning and into the early afternoon. I think we accumulated about 4 or 5 inches all together. It was really pretty and I couldn't wait to take P out to play in it. Hubby reminded me to be careful because if I fall while I am pregnant I have to go in to the hospital to get checked out. Luckily, the baby is due Jan. 22 and after that I can fall all over the place if I want to. haha!

I dressed P in a warm fleece and realized I had no boots for her. I took a pair of her Baby Legs and pulled them down over her higher top tennis shoes to keep the snow from getting in her shoes. Her snowsuit protected her pretty well, though. It is funny how they make mittens for babies. They have no thumbs and this makes it hard for them to pick up any snow, which I guess is a good thing, but she wanted to pick up other things and was a getting a little frustrated. However, her little mitten fell off and she promptly got my attention to put it back on. She realized she did not want to be cold. It was such a cute moment. Against my hubby's wishes I shoveled the driveway. P was playing in the snow and kept pointing to the house and saying "in there." I think she wanted to go inside to get warm and dry, but she remained patient with me as I finished up getting the snow cleaned up. Guess she wasn't too much of a fan of being cold and wet. Can you blame her? But, she had a great time - it was adorable to see her play, fall in the snow and try to get up.

Report: 35 percent of toys contain lead

By JEFF KAROUB, AP Business WriterWed Dec 5, 12:04 AM ET
Tests on more than 1,200 children's products, most of them still on store shelves, found that 35 percent contain lead — many with levels far above the federal recall standard used for lead paint.
A Hannah Montana card game case, a Go Diego Go! backpack and Circo brand shoes (here is the link I found to the shoes which were tested and have lead: http://www.besafenet.com/pvc/documents/lead_in_target_toys.htm If anyone finds another more helpful site, please post it in my comment section) were among the items with excessive lead levels in the tests performed by a coalition of environmental health groups across the country.
Only 20 percent of the toys and other products had no trace of lead or harmful chemicals, according to the results being released Wednesday by the Michigan-based Ecology Center along with the national Center for Health, Environment and Justice and groups in eight other states.
Of the 1,268 items tested, 23 were among millions of toys recalled this year.
Mattel Inc. recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made toys on fears they were tainted with lead paint and tiny magnets that children could accidentally swallow. Mattel's own tests on the toys found that they had lead levels up to 200 times the accepted limit.
The Consumer Action Guide to Toxic Chemicals in Toys, which is available to the public at http://www.healthytoys.org, shows how the commonly purchased children's products rank in terms of containing lead, cadmium, arsenic and other harmful chemicals. It comes in time for holiday shopping — and amid the slew of recalls.
"This is not about alarming parents," said Tracey Easthope, director of the Ecology Center's Environmental Health Project. "We're just trying to give people information because they haven't had very much except these recall lists."
Easthope said 17 percent of the children's products tested had levels of lead above the 600 parts per million federal standard that would trigger a recall of lead paint. Jewelry products were the most likely to contain the high levels of lead, the center said, with 33.5 percent containing levels above 600 ppm. Among the toys that tested above that limit was a Hannah Montana Pop Star Card Game, whose case tested at 3,056 ppm.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a level of 40 ppm of lead as the maximum that should be allowed in children's products. Lead poisoning can cause irreversible learning disabilities and behavioral problems and, at very high levels, seizures, coma, and even death.
A spokeswoman for New York-based Cardinal Industries Inc., which sells the Hannah Montana game, said Tuesday that Cardinal was unaware of the environmental groups' tests or procedures but the product has passed internal tests.
"We test every (product) before it ships numerous times," Bonnie Canner said. "We have not tested this product high for lead."
Easthope said the product is manufactured in China. Canner declined further comment until she had more information.
The center and its testing partners found The First Years brand First Keys, Fisher-Price's Rock-a-Stack and B.R. Bruin's Stacking Cups were among the 20 percent that contained none of the nine chemicals.
"There's a lot of doom and gloom about lead in the products — people only hear about the recalls," said Jeff Gearhart, the Ecology Center's campaign director. "Companies can make clean products. Our sampling shows that there's no reason to put lead in a product."
Gearhart and Easthope said the products, while not necessarily representative of everything on the market, were considered among those commonly bought and used. Testers purchased most at major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us.
The testing began in 2006 but most of the items were checked in the past six months, Gearhart said.
Calls to a Mattel spokeswoman were not immediately returned Tuesday. A Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokeswoman declined to comment because the company had not seen the report.
Toys "R" Us Inc. spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh also declined to comment because she needed to fully review the report's findings, referring questions to the Toy Industry Association.
Joan Lawrence, the association's vice president of standards and safety, said the group and its members support limiting accessible lead in children's products. But she said the industry and standard-setting bodies are struggling with how to measure exposure, accessibility and what limits to set.
She said she hasn't seen all of the Ecology Center's findings but called them misleading because the testers did not appear to follow recognized test procedures for lead and other substances. The two most common ways are to use solutions to simulate saliva and digestion, and another to attempt to dissolve the surface coating.
The center and its testing partners performed what they describe as a "screening" of chemicals using a handheld X-ray fluorescence device that detects surface chemical elements.
"The mere presence of any substance alone is only half of the answer — you need to know if it's accessible to the child," Lawrence said. "We can't tell that from what I know of the tests that have been done by this group."
Easthope said her group's tests aren't meant to replace those tests, and that's noted on the Web site. She said it's important for people to know what's in these products since nobody else is providing this data.
"We're not saying that ... all of it will come out into a child," she said. "We're saying it's a concern that so much of these products have these chemicals of concern in them.
"We shouldn't have lead in kids' products. We can make products without lead in them."
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman Scott Wolfson said he also hasn't seen the Ecology Center's tests but said the federal agency would seek to verify its findings and initiate recalls if warranted.
He said the commission has been meeting with ASTM International, which spearheads voluntary safety standards for toys, to discuss crafting standards specific to lead in plastics. He said there also is movement on Capitol Hill to revise laws on lead in children's products.
Wolfson said the commission launched 40 toy recalls in fiscal year 2006, three involving lead-paint violations. In 2007, there were 61 recalls, 19 involving lead-paint violations.
"What we would like to consumers to know is more recalls are on the way," he said.
___
On the Net:
The Consumer Action Guide to Toxic Chemicals in Toys: http://www.healthytoys.org
Toy Industry Association: http://www.toyassociation.org
List of recalled toys available at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: http://www.cpsc.gov

Is it really all about Nemo

No wonder the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting on watching TV for children until they are 2...they get addicted easily and obsessed. My husband popped Nemo in one day for Miss P while I was out having some mommy-time and she now can't get enough of it. She asks to watch it all the time. I indulge sometimes, but that is only when I need to get things done - laundry, cooking, cleaning -otherwise I have no time to get those things done because she is constantly into something or demanding my attention.

She is watching it right now because I am a sucker. My mom and I took her with us to a craft/art show and lunch yesterday. She was so patient as we browsed jewelry, artwork and knit-wear. When we went to lunch she sat like a champ and colored while we waiting far too long for a soup and salad. Then she went back to my mom's house with us and kept herself busy while I helped mom set up Christmas stuff. I was so proud of her...despite the few little tantrums and refusals to get her diaper changed. So, today when she asked to watch Nemo I let her. I know I should probably turn the TV off and let her color or something, but I need to get some laundry done, clean the kitchen and get the dogs settled with breakfast - and all those little things take too much time if I am chasing her around or having to carry her on my hip. Plus with #2 due in just 7 weeks I am feeling physically tired and just plain big - I get in the way of myself. haha!

She doesn't just sit and watch Nemo the whole time, but she does watch the majority of it. She likes to have it on while she goes through books or plays "feed the animals" with her stuffed toys. I do set limits - like since she watched TV today she won't get to watch it again for a few days. Then I'll let her see Elmo's World on Sesame Street or a part of Nemo while I cook dinner. I just don't like for her to watch too much TV. I refuse to have an inactive child with weight problems because she is a couch potato. Let's save the self-indulgence for when she is a teenager, and by then hopefully she'll be too busy to tune into Nemo.

Dogs and Kids

I have to post this. I am so sad for my friend whose little boy was bitten by a family dog. It is so scary because I have tons of friends with dogs and we have two ourselves. I am constantly on the watch, but am afraid that isn't going to be enough one day (being a mother makes you worry about everything...pretty much).

I want people to be aware that dogs are still animals, no matter how much you train them or how loving they seem to be. Unfortunately, dogs are like babies to many people but we all have to be smart when we have our kids around dogs - you just never know. My friend's little guy was attacked so quickly and was doing nothing to provoke the dog. He ended up in the Children's Hospital ER Thanksgiving Day having surgery. Truly awful.

Here is what happened:

"On Thanksgiving we were at some family members and W was playing nearby he leaned back or something and brushed their dog. The dog grabbed his face and bit through his bottom right eyelid. He had to have 10 stitches on his face, 5 on his cheek and 5 in and on his bottom eyelid. He's doing remarkably and once the huge and nasty scab falls off his eye it may look similarly close to what it did. He had the cheek stitches removed on Monday since if you leave them in too long they'll create a railroad track appearance. His cheeks are obviously scarred and still not entirely healed but they told me to put vitamin e on them 3-4 times a day for 3 months to fade the scars. It was absolutely awful and I'm thankful he's okay. We spend the last part of Thanksgiving evening in Childrens ER with Will getting surgery on his face."

Here is her blog: http://jasonbethandfamily.blogspot.com/
You need to scroll down to see pics of her little boy.

The War on "No"

I read this article on the Daily Babble the other day: http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/archive/tags/The+War+on+No/default.aspx

This article highlights how important it is to actually "parent" your child and not just befriend them. From what was written, many kids in today's society are having a hard time fitting in...mainly because they haven't learned from being disciplined consistently or have been given pretty much anything they want or overly praised. The author highlights that parents are more concerned with being accepted by their children and winning their approval rather than being the "bad" guy and taking things away from them or just simply saying "no."

Now, I know that I have issues with this already with my 1 and 1/2 year old. I find I want her to be happy so I will do things to redirect her instead of reprimanding her. I have read through a few things and talked to my pediatrician and basically was told it is okay to say no and not just redirect her. I can reprimand her in small ways and not feel guilty about it. But, that is so hard for me because sometimes I almost feel like she won't love me anymore if I reprimand her, which is entirely untrue. I am actually doing her a disservice by not disciplining her. As she grows up she'll actually have social problems if I don't say "no" when it is warranted.

Now, when I write the word "warranted" that is exactly what I mean. They have to do something bad not just do something you don't agree with - like brush their teeth differently than you showed them or throw a sippy cup...they have to be hitting the dog or ruining a toy or coloring on the wall.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I don't agree with parents who let their kids get by with whatever they want. If I ask Peyton to help me clean up toys, eventually I expect her to help me clean up the toys. If I ask her to settle down so I can get her dressed, eventually I expect her to settle down and let me get her shoes on her. Maybe I sound harsh, but eventually she will be in school and have to do those things without me around...and I want to be proud of my little muchkin not embarressed because I didn't do my job as a parent.

Happy Thanksgiving

Miss P says "Gobble Gobble!"

We are having dinner at my aunt's house. My mom and dad, Carol and Rick, Candyce's family and Great Grandpa will all be there. Hubby is making his traditional meat stuffing. The recipe is straight from his family in Ireland. It is delicious and absolutely HORRIBLE for you. I am sure I should probably get my arteries flushed after eating it, but hey, TG comes only once a year. I made a cranberry salad that is really delicious and uses whole fresh cranberries. No canned stuff this year (even though I do like the canned stuff, too).

We already have two Christmas party invites and many of our neighbors have their Christmas lights up. One of our local radio stations started playing Christmas music last weekend. I have to admit, I almost have all of my Christmas shopping finished up, but I am not listening to Christmas music as I do it....yet.

Well - the Macy's Day Parade is starting. Gotta run!

M&Ms are the devil

My aunt got me a bag of M&Ms for breast cancer survivor month for my birthday. They were light pink and pink, and I believe proceeds of the sale went to breast cancer research. I thought it was a cool gift considering she doesn't have the money to make a donation, but can do something small - and that counts, too...and is very thoughtful. She knows how I try to do what I can for cancer research...and would love to do more.

Anyhow, I ate the whole bag in three days. I wasn't feeling so well from doing that. I have been trying to cut down on sugar and I think eating that much in such a short time was a really bad idea. But, today I feel fine and am trying to stay away from junk - especially since Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I am trying not to gain too much more weight. I have gained 24 pounds already and have 2 months to go! They say the normal amount is 25 - 35 and I really want to stay in that range.

Speaking of cancer...last night in my education class my class friend shared a story with me that really tore me apart...and frankly, I can't really stop thinking about it. Her friend is 18 weeks pregnant and everything was going fine. The two friends even went shopping on Sunday and hung out all day. On Monday the pregnant friend started bleeding, and for those women who have kids understand that bleeding is common and you can still have a perfectly fine pregnancy. Well, she called her doctor and her doctor asked her to come in "right away." He brought her in and gave her an ultrasound.

Now, I bled the first time around and my doctor just said to keep an eye on it for a few days to see what happened. Just because it can be so common they can't just bring in every woman for bleeding, but for some reason her doctor did. And thank God. It truly was God working.

During the ultrasound the doctor noticed her left ovary had dropped and had a mass on it. By looking at the mass he knew he had to get that ovary out of her. He scheduled surgery for the next DAY! She went in and they cut her open from her pubic area all the way to above her bellybutton. They discussed having to take the uterus because when they opened her up the doctor could tell the mass was cancerous. He removed the ovary and a lot of the surrounding tissue to be safe. And this is the clincher - they just moved the uterus over with the baby inside and saved the baby!! He told her she would have a normal pregnancy and they would just monitor her closely for the rest of her pregnancy.

He also thinks he got all the bad cells, so hopefully she won't have to deal with chemo. As far as a complete hysterectomy the doctor said he wanted to wait until after the baby was born to determine what to do. I just think this is an unbelievable story.

8 months pregnant

I am almost 8 months pregnant - a week shy. I cannot believe I am in the single digit countdown! To think this summer I thought it would never be over and was so miserable, now I am enjoying the holidays and feeling great. The baby moves all the time. He was all over the place all night last night, but really didn't keep me up...yet. I am sure when he arrives I'll get the joy of hearing him cry and nursing him during the hours I normally sleep. But, that is such a short time in the scheme of things. Besides, I love having a tiny baby around. They are so cute and are pretty easy to take care of, once you get the breastfeeding part down.

I am really enjoying the time I have left with JUST P. She is so darn cute. I got a Canon PowerShot for my birthday and have shot tons of photos of her already. I love looking at her and hearing her little baby girl voice.

Nice...just as I am giving her all these compliments she just colored on my white tile floor and pooped out the side of her diaper....gotta love it. :)

18 Month Dr.'s Visit

P had her 18 month visit to the pediatrician today. She broke my heart. She was fine when we walked in to the office and played with some of the toys. As soon as the nurse called her she started wimpering. When we got into the room she full out cried. She was scared because she remembered that she doesn't like what happens in that room.

She kept saying "wanna go bye-bye." I was almost in tears when the doctor was checking her out and she was getting her shots because she was crying so hard. As soon as I picked her up she was fine, though.

All in all it was a good visit. I learned a lot about discipline, got the name of a good author that gives advice on raising a toddler and got my questions answered about when to switch her into a toddler bed, how to deal with her eating habits and what to expect over the next couple of months.

As far as discipline, the doc said to not even try a negative reaction to her tantrums (like time-out) until she is at least 2 years old. He said right now she doesn't comprehend certain punishments and that the biggest punishment I can give her is to take myself away from her. For instance, if she is throwing a temper tantrum about a cookie, let her cry and scream but don't give her the cookie and tell her that you will wait until she is done. You walk away and don't talk to her or interact with her until she is calm. That is going to be hard. I hate to see her cry...but, I know I have to be the parent and "parent" her. That is my job...as much as I want to be the big sister, the friend, the playmate, I primarily need to be her mom and her parent. That is hard for me because I just want to let her do whatever she wants so she is happy - but I know raising her like that would not make her happy when she older and has to face the consequences or the judgements of a relentless society.