Doctors Appointment

I am now going every 2 weeks to the OB/GYN for check ups and then in ~1 month, I will go to weekly appointments. Everything seems to be happening so quickly now -- I want it to slow down and I want to enjoy each moment more.

The good news: I DON'T have gestational diabetes. I had that with my first pregnancy and I figured I would have it again, but luckily my placenta is working better this time and everything looks good.

I went to a different doctor today as my doctor was on vacation. I was hesitant about going to a different doctor, since I have such a long relationship with my current OB -- previous pregnancy, miscarriage, this pregnancy and it's ups and downs. I had a choice to go to another male doctor in the practice (there are 5 doctors total) or a female that I saw before in my 2nd pregnancy (the miscarriage). I haven't heard anything positive about the other male doctor. I saw the female doctor in my last pregnancy at 9 weeks -- everything was fine at that point, but it was the next week that I found out I miscarried. I know it wasn't her fault that I miscarried, it's just hard to get over that experience and I remember not liking her too much at that appointment anyway. So, it was really the 'lesser of two evils' I needed to choose from. I tried to postpone my appointment until next week, but my doctor wouldn't let me go that long -- in case of problems, etc. So, I choose the female and told myself I'm not superstitious, it wasn't her fault I had a miscarriage and it wasn't anything she did or didn't do that caused me to go through that experience.

She was very friendly and just did the normal thing -- blood pressure (106/63), weight (we won't go there!), measurement of my stomach (right on track at 30 weeks) and the heart rate (the baby wouldn't sit still long enough to get a 'number'). Then, I reminded her that I don't want to know my due date and I said, "yes, I know I'm crazy, but don't tell me".

That's when I started liking her a little bit...she said, "Oh, I don't think it's crazy, I think it's actually a really good idea -- if you were delivering naturally you wouldn't know your exact due date either."

YES -- this has been what I've been saying the entire time!!! We really started to bond at this point. My regular male doctor put a sticky-note in my chart saying, "Don't tell patient her due date, she doesn't want to know". He told me my date was under that sticky-note. So, I told the female doctor today that my due date was under that note.

Curiosity got the best of her and she lifted the note and guess what was underneath -- ANOTHER STICKY-NOTE stating, "Don't tell her her due date!"

HA!!! My doctor has such a great sense of humor and he knew other doctors wouldn't be able to not peek.....well, serves them all right for wanting to know my due date!

So, I still don't know and the excitement continues to build....

The Reilly Christmas Movie

I didn't have the energy or creative 'juices' to create this movie with music and cool effects...sorry, it's a bit boring...but, gets the pictures out there for you all to see and enjoy!

It's a compilation of all our Christmas events -- from putting up the tree to the various family gatherings. We are still trying to get ourselves together and re-group and get back on a normal schedule and routine...it gets harder as the preschooler gets older (or maybe it's just a 3-year-old-thing?)

This is what happens when you get a real Christmas tree and the tree decides it's not happy being straight:

The tree fell over onto the coffee table sometime two nights ago. We didn't hear it fall, but the hubby found it tipped over when he got up in the morning. This was the temporary fix: a ladder propped up against the tree. I then asked my husband, "What should we do?". His response: "Paint the ladder green and hang some lights on it!"

Fun with Grammy

Board games are a huge HIT around our house - I found this wonderful Strawberry Shortcake board game at a re-sale for a whooping 25 cents! But, lately when playing the game, the preschooler wants to wear her Dora glasses:

Grammy doesn't have Dora glasses, so she just wore her regular glasses

the classic look: Dora glasses, footed pajamas and Spiderman slippers!

Questions and Answers

Have you seen those t-shirts that mothers-to-be are wearing that say, "baby on board" or "baby mamma" or "earthy momma" or whatever catchy pregnancy phrase is of the day?

Well, I need to make a t-shirt that says:
Answer #1: no, we don't know what we're having -- it's going to be a surprise
Answer #2: yes, there's only one baby in there
Answer #3: I'm due March 9th

I swear that's EVERYONE'S questions: "What are you having?", "You look big, are you sure you're not having twins?", "When are you due?"

#1: Everyone is surprised and shocked with my answers -- we want the sex of our baby to be a surprise, what is so shocking about that? I mean, yes, we know we're having a baby -- that's no surprise. My doctor said that only ~5% of his clients/patients DON'T find out the sex of the baby....now, THAT shocked me! Babies are babies -- they have all the same basic needs when they are born: food, clothes, love, diapers -- boys/girls -- it doesn't matter. There are only a few good surprises in life -- this is one of them and we're going to live it up as much as we can!

#2: Yes, I know my belly is big. Yes, I know I've gained weight (currently more than I gained with my first). Yes, my belly sticks out there and is nice and round. I like food-- what can I say? This is the ONLY time in my life that I can really enjoy food and not really worry about my weight -- I mean if I gain the recommended 25-35 pounds, fine....but, what's another 10-15 pounds when you're talking pregnancy? Luckily, I have no issues with body image and concerns about what I look like -- I like myself just the way I am (okay, well most days at least!). I will worry about the weight after I deliver this baby.'

#3: I'm due March 9th, but I'm having a scheduled c-section -- I had a c-section with my daughter and I'm going to go that route again. I had no problems with a c-section and I know no different, so I'm going with what I know and what I'm comfortable with......but, then the question comes, "so when are they going to take you?". Now, you will find out how odd I really am -- I don't want to know my c-section date, even though it's planned. (do you find that surprising -- see #1, I don't want to know the sex of the baby either -- I like SURPRISES!) Ideally, the doctor's office would call me 1-2 days before the scheduled c-section to tell me, "you're having a baby tomorrow!" Then, I would get all excited and ready. Really, if I was delivering 'naturally' I wouldn't know the exact day and time of the delivering of my baby, so why should it be any different with a c-section? So far, my doctor has me on the schedule and my manager at work knows the date (so she can schedule coverage for me while I'm on maternity leave), but I am telling people to NOT tell me if/when they find out my last day of work. I REALLY don't want to know -- I want to build the excitement leading up to the delivery of my baby.....like I said, there are very few HAPPY surprises in life and I'm making the most of this one! :)

So, if you see me soon -- you have all the answers and please ask me a different question! (and don't tell me if you know my scheduled c-section date)

Christmas Tree

We went to get the Christmas tree this weekend. This year, I wanted to get a real tree and cut it down ourselves. First, just for fun and the experience and second, for the 'earth-friendly' thing to do -- I didn't want a tree shipped up from North Carolina that had been cut over 2 weeks ago, just sitting around waiting for someone to but it. So, we headed out to where we picked apples this fall and enjoyed the experience, that's for sure:
Here's our tree, strapped to the top of our car! (I can't get this photo to the end of this post....)

This girl LOVES the snow, we found out -- she didn't want to get into the car when we were done!

After we picked our tree (photos are not in the correct order!), we went to the 'barn' for donuts and hot cider -- YUM!

Riding the tractor out to pick a tree to cut down....

How tall am I?

I'm about as big as this tree!

Okay, so after riding out to the part of the tree farm where we could pick and cut our own, we found out that all the big trees had already been cut down for the season -- there were only 5 foot trees left.

We saw some pre-cut trees when we first arrived, so we thought we would go back and look at those and choose one to take home. We choose one, paid our money and got ready to go and get some hot cider and donuts while they wrapped the tree to put on our roof of the car. I asked the guy before we headed up to the 'barn', "These trees are cut from your farm, right?" "Oh no, they're shipped up from North Carolina"!!!

So much for the 'earth-friendly' attempts at Christmas this year!

My Teachers

Well, not really my teachers, but the preschooler's teachers:

Jeffrey (our friend - the babysitter's son, Mrs. F and the preschooler)

Mrs. C (the teacher's aide)

and, of course, Mae Mae.

We were at the preschooler's school Chirstmas program last week -- 60 kids sang songs on stage. I didn't get any good photos of them singing -- we were sitting too far back, but I did get these photos at the 'cookie party' after the singing. My daughter was about to break down once she got on stage and saw all the people watching...I thought she was going to burst into tears, but she held it together. She then sang so well -- signing the songs (they all learned sign language to go along with the songs) and everything!

Door County -- recap

We made arrangements to ride the train downtown Chicago to meet daddy at work and then head to Door County...too bad our train was canceled and we had to wait 2 hours for the next train....but, we had fun on the ride anyway!

riding the train...

All the preschooler wanted was "be by Lolo"! (her aunt) She started crying each time she couldn't be by Lolo!

Walking around in the snow....at that time, we didn't have snow at home yet.

The preschooler insisted on sleeping on the top bunk in the 'bunk room'. We all shared a room this visit, since all the other rooms were taken -- by Lolo & Fuzzy and my parents. I was very nervous to let her sleep on the top bunk, but she did a great job!

We spent a good time at the end of the trip trying to take a family photo for our yearly Christmas card...this was one option....you can really see my growing belly in the picture!

The preschooler was tired of taking pictures, "I won't smile!"

Again, all she wanted was a photo with Lolo!

We found a nice park, on a crisp day -- who cares how cold it is outside when you can go down the slide, right?

If you take enough pictures (like I do), you'll eventually get a good one!

We had a GREAT time -- next time we travel up there, we'll be a family of four....

Learning to Spell

We're learning to spell at our house. Well, that is the preschooler is learning to spell (mommy and daddy pretty much know how and we have spell-check to make sure!)

While we were in Door County, we did a little shopping and at one of the little shops there were these letters - and as you can see, the preschooler took to them right away!

"Mommy, Daddy & Pocitey" Do you know who Pocitey is? Well, he's our cat: Pooh Kitty. Interesting how she spells it, but it really makes sense, doesn't it?

Happy "belated" Birthday

Happy Belated Birthday, Daddy!! (we won't mention your age.....)

We celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday in Door County with our family, so this year we also celebrated by husband's birthday there. Daddy let the preschooler help him open presents (just so she wouldn't get upset that it wasn't her birthday). It's really all about her right now -- it's an age/developmental thing that is sometimes hard on the adults! :)

He also let her blow out the candles on the cake....

Happy Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving holiday started out with a slow start. The preschooler and I were meeting 'daddy' in the city and going to his work before heading up to Door County for the long weekend. I worked a 1/2 day and then the babysitter was going to drive us to the train station to ride the train to downtown Chicago. This was to be the preschooler's first train ride and we were getting excited!

The problem: the babysitter dropped us off at noon for the 12:20PM train. When we went into the train station (the babysitter had already left), the ticket-lady told us that the 12:20PM train was cancelled because of a previous accident. The next train was to be running at 2:20PM. WHAT!!!? 2:20PM....2 more hours?

To be stranded at the train station (in not the best of neighborhoods) with a 3.5 year old with nothing to do....is rather interesting to say the least!

We walked across the street to the bagel shop and got some lunch and then headed back to the train station and I was racking my brain as to what we were going to do for the next 2 hours. I didn't pack any activities because I thought that we would wait for ~15 minutes for the train and then the train ride itself would be fun and we would not have to be entertained.

Luckily, I found in the bottom of one of our bags a "Brain Quest" trivia card set for 5-7 year olds......but, it was just what we needed in an emergency situation and passed the time nicely.

Once one the train...it was another experience. We met a ~40 year old mom with ~5 year old son. They were travelling downtown to go to the courthouse (from what I could gather from her rather loud conversation) to get some papers for child support or something of the sort. Supposedly the boy took the papers out of the mom's purse and the mom was rather upset and started yelling at the son, "You stupid kid, you are so stupid. You know I needed those papers, why would you be so stupid to take them out of my purse?" The boy proceeded to cry.

My daughter then started using the word 'stupid' and I had to correct her rather quickly, "We don't use that word, it's not a nice word". "but mommy, that lady said that word to that boy", "yes, she did, that wasn't a good choice, was it?".

On this Thanksgiving may I remind you to watch what you say in the presence of others? Be thankful for the right to freedom of speech, but at the same time be thankful for a vocabulary that includes more than just 'negative' words. Be thankful for the kind words others say to you, be thankful that you are able to say kind words to others. Be thankful for where you are -- at home, with family or friends or both or alone. Be thankful to be alive and be thankful for the opportunities you were given as a child....that have you made you into the adult you are today.

Happy Thanksgiving to family and friends -- near and far.

"Tagged"

So, I was 'blog-tagged', whatever that really means. I'm not much into chain-letters, chain-emails, chain-anything.....but, I thought it might be kind of fun to participate to a certain degree. My friend, Katrina, 'tagged' me to do this:

The rules are as follows:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random thoughts about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post. (sorry, won't be doing this part of the 'chain')
5. Let each person know he or she has been tagged. (won't need to do this, see above)
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is posted.


MY RANDOM THOUGHTS: (this will be the interesting part....my life is full of random-ness, in fact, I am so random I think I'm starting to become somewhat structured)

1. Why does the majority of society feel that they have to "be like the Jones's"? Whatever happened to being unique? Why do people have to have the latest clothing fashion, the latest car, the newest house, the newest furniture, newest computer, newest game-system, and so on and so forth? I was raised never having the 'name-brand' items -- if I wanted them, I had to pay for them myself. When all my friends had Playstations (or whatever was popular in the late 80's/early 90's), we had an Atari and nothing more. When all my friends were wearing Guess jeans, I had the WalMart special. I started earning money at the age of 12 years old babysitting and I've worked ever since...babysitting until I could get a work-permit at the age of 15. As an adult, even if you earn enough money to buy the new Lexus, the $100 purse, the $150 shoes, etc...why would you for gosh-sake pay that much money for such an item? It seems like throwing away perfectly good money on a material item. I truly think this is the cause of the majority of our economic issues right now -- spending above your means.

2. I find it ironic that at work the other day when it was raining outside, the window washers were there in full uniform, cleaning the windows in the rain....doesn't make much sense -- seems like throwing away money if you ask me!

3. What is it about pop (or soda, as some people call it) that is so appealing? Whatever happened to a good glass of water or milk?

4. Why are people even spending quality life moments thinking so intently about the gas prices? I mean does it really matter in the scheme of life if you pay $1.89 vs. $1.91 for a gallon of gas? Yes, I know the gas prices are really good right now and yes, I know they will go back up -- but, please, for the 2 pennies that you save by driving across town (or several towns away -- as my parents would do), I'll give you the $.50 that you would have saved if you found the cheaper gas.

5. Why is it that the more I try to raise and shape my daughter's behavior and character, the more she rebels and acts in a completely opposite manner - especially in public?

6. I don't like technology (well, except the computer and the basic cell phone!). I mean, do you really need a phone that acts as a computer, a video machine, a PDA and whatever else it may do -- whatever happened to having a life? I see all these people on their phone CONSTANTLY (yes, I do like my cell phone, but I refuse to answer any phone during meals, in the store -- unless it's an emergency and during work). Then, there's texting. Not that I wouldn't like to text (I don't do it), but please -- when I see these kids attached to their phones and they are texting constantly -- even during church!!! Yes, I saw a high schooler texting during church -- there's a REAL problem with society there! And, you know what.....it starts with the parents! I could go on and on about technology and the damage that it's done to our society -- I just read in the paper today that some kid committed suicide while he was on his webcam.....who in the world would be watching that? I feel that technology has caused our youth to get out of hand and they are always looking for the next 'thrill' and because of technology they don't know how to entertain themselves or wait for gratification or reward.....another reason that our economy is in the current crisis -- people can't wait to buy the things they can afford -- they need it now and then use their credit card(s) and can't pay when the bills come in....

LIFE, according to "We Are Reilly"......thanks for listening.

The First Snow

Chicago-land saw it's first snowfall earlier this week. It was nothing of any significance, unless you're a preschooler who's curious about life. As we saw the snow falling outside, the preschooler said to me, "let me get my new boots and let's go outside!"

We found a little snow on the back porch,

"Yummo!" she stated.

Look at all this snow, mommy!

Then, we found some snow on the fallen leaves....it was fun to scrap the snow off of the leaves and eat it.

My big purchase from a local resale: these Strawberry Shortcake boots for $.25 -- I think we already got our money's worth!

A new skill...

Some people have 'issues' with scratchy tags in their clothes, some people have 'issues' with smells or tastes or food textures...but, I believe we each have our own 'issues'....as long as we're ready to admit it.

I will admit I have 'issues' with the texture and smell of play-doh. There is just something about play-doh that makes my skin crawl. I can touch it, but I need to wash my hands right away to get the smell and feeling off of me. I feel the same way about dry sand -- I really don't like sand sticking to me.

My husband has 'issues' with food texture -- he can't stand his food mixed together (makes quick, easy cooking difficult -- I can't use the crock pot often)

So, it's interesting to see what 'issues' our daughter has developed. I try to not pass judgement or make comments when something makes my skin crawl. She has developed an 'issue' with getting her hands dirty....not something that either my husband or I have a problem with...

But, since beginning preschool, she has tackled this 'issue' and I think she's over come it!!! When she first started school, the teacher said, "she doesn't like to paint with her fingers (nothing that surprised me), but she'll get it, don't worry". I thought to myself, 'yeah right -- there's NO way my daughter will get her fingers dirty'.

Well.....take a look:

WE DID IT!!! We painted ALL OVER our fingers and SURVIVED!!!

Potty Words

What is it about 'potty' words that just drives me INSANE and the more insane I go, the more my preschooler uses them? Our typical conversation these days:

me: "so, what did you do at school today?"
preschooler: "We wear underwear."
me: "yes, we do wear underwear, you're right." "what did you have for snack today?"
preschooler: "toilet"
me: "what? a toilet?" "you are so silly".
preschooler: "we poop in the toilet"
me: "yes, you're right, we poop in the toilet"
preschooler: "poohkie (our cat) poops downstairs"
me: "yes, he goes potty in the litter box, that's where cat's go potty"
preschooler: "potty head!"
me: "okay, I'm done with this conversation, if you're going to keep talking about potties, then you need to go in the bathroom"
preschooler: "poop on your head"
me: (walking away, trying to ignore this behavior)

preschooler: (following me) "pee and poop on your head!"
me: "I don't want to hear another potty word, if I hear another potty word you're going to sit in time-out"

Needless to say, she sat in time-out, got treats taken away from her, no TV for the rest of the day and in the end daddy and I had to take a Cars sticker off her wall (those wall stickers -- in Disney Car theme) because she WOULD NOT STOP USING POTTY WORDS!!!

I tried ignoring her, but somehow she finds a way to crawl under my skin. I tried being matter-of-fact about the 'potty' issue and answering a meaningful way. I tried time-out, taking privileges away, but the only thing that really worked was taking a Car sticker off her wall. I guess it's trial by fire, huh?

Today was a bit better day and she earned her sticker back to put back on the wall. But, oh my -- she's testing my patience!!!

Happy Veteran's Day

Both of our neighbors are United States veterans and for their special day, to say "thank you", we decorated cards and took them some pumpkin bread. The preschool daughter has found an interest in writing letters and words. All I have to do is tell her the letters to spell words and off she goes...

Last week gave us the nicest weather anyone could ask for in Indian Summer, so we took advantage of the day and spent the afternoon with friends at the Arboretum:

These two go to preschool together and Cully's mom and I are friends from 'way' back -- a couple of years. So, it's fun to see the preschoolers getting along so well...

I did it...

I shopped at Aldi for the first time today! With the economy the way it's going and not looking too promising in the near future, I've decided I need to make sure we are cutting excessive costs and using our resources in the best possible way. I have a friend that shops at Aldi all the time and she's been encouraging me to try it...so, today I did. My husband is used to name-brand products, so I thought it might be a bit hard, but we're going to try.

Here are some things I learned while shopping at Aldi:

1. Milk was the best savings: $1.99 a gallon!!

2. There are not very many choices -- maybe 2 types of chips, ~4 different cereals, 1 brand of pasta salad, 2 choices of cheese slices, etc. At first I was a bit nervous about the limited choices, but it really made shopping easier and less time consuming.

3. Aldi actually has more than I expected: cereal (some name-brands), fruit snacks, granola bars, baking supplies, hams, turkeys, lunch meat, cheese, yogurt, frozen breakfast items, canned goods, fresh produce, holiday toys and even some clothes! I wasn't expecting to find so much!

4. They only take cash or debit cards. Today was the first day I used my debit card -- it took me three tries to get my PIN number correct!!

5. You bag your own groceries and pay a quarter for your shopping cart (that you get back when you return it to the store), so my canvass bags from Dominick's came in handy!

6. The only disappointment I had was that the money savings wasn't as much as I was hoping it to be...you see, I'm a very frugal shopper as it is and I shop sales at the 'big box' stores. I don't necessarily look at the ads every week and make my list and go from store to store, but when I need milk and eggs and I go to the 'big box' store, I look around at the sale items and if it's something we usually use/eat, I will stock up if it's a good sale, even if we don't need the item. So, the prices at Aldi were actually similar, if not the same, as the sales at the bigger stores.

I do think I'll try it again, my fear though is that I've heard that every week it's different items in stock than the week before. So, if I go expecting to find something, I might be a bit disappointed. We'll see. It's definitely worth trying....even if it's saving $10 a month - that's enough for me!

Vote early, Vote often

We did our civic duty, we voted. This year we voted as a family. The preschooler actually voted in true Chicago fashion -- she voted this morning with the babysitter and her 5 year old son, then she voted again with us this evening.

Trying to explain voting to a 3.5 year old is interesting.

me: "we're voting for who we want to be President of the United States of America"
preschooler: "can we vote for dinner? I vote for Red Robin" (that's her favorite restaurant!)
me: "no, we are going home for dinner"

me: "who should I vote for?"
preschooler: "I want to vote for Aunt Lolo, then I want to vote for Uncle Fuzzy."

She actually cried when she couldn't write on the ballot.

Maybe I should have voted by write-in, because only until I stood there with the ballot did I decide who to vote for...to be honest, I wasn't 'sold' on either candidate. I really wish I could have given 1/2 a vote to Obama and 1/2 vote to McCain, because I really don't feel 100% comfortable with either candidate leading our nation for the next 4 years.

But, that's just my personal opinion.

Something Unique?

It always fails to occur to me since moving into our house a year ago, that some children don't have leaves in their yard! With our millions and millions of leaves, I take it for granted when we go outside and jump, pile, walk through, throw, collect and crumple leaves that some children are deprived of that experience. Sometimes I forgot how we are caught in the middle of suburban and urban living...with far reaching farm land on one side of us and WalMart, Jewel and the gas station just a mile away...

After school today, we had a friend over to play...he LOVED the leaves!!!

They both loved jumping and throwing leaves up in the air only to come down on top of themselves.

"Do you like these leaves?"

Can you find the hidden preschoolers?

Tricks or Treats?

It has been the yearly tradition for the past 3 years on Halloween to go to the local nursing home after work and collect LOTS of goodies from the residents & their families and then go trick or treating with our babysitting family. The year was no different....except that my daughter was running a fever and it was about 100 degrees in the nursing home! We waited in line for probably an hour to get through the building, but it's always worth it! I work there on occasion that the other speech therapist needs a day off, so I know the staff and the residents and it's always good to have the generations mingle.


Here's the gang (my daughter is more like a sibling to these kids...she talks about them ALL the time as if they are her siblings and lately, they fight like siblings too -- my poor babysitter....)

We've got an 'old fashion' girl, Jengo Fett, Lightning McQueen and a nerd!



Here's Lightning McQueen, herself! :) We saw NO other children dressed up in Cars attire....so, it was a special evening for us.

Winner-winner, chicken dinner!!

Okay, so I never win anything. I often have stopped entering contests because I don't win anything. But, a fellow blogger, Tracey over at Just Another Mommy Blog was holding a contest to win circus tickets and I figured, why not....right? Might as well try.

Check this link out:

http://tracey-justanothermommyblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/da-winner.html

....and see if I won....I know, the suspense is killing you!!

The Pumpkin Carving

We decided to carve a pumpkin this weekend, after much begging by the preschooler! When I say 'we carved', I really mean my husband and daughter carved. I got stuck with pulling all the insides out -- but, at least it was a family affair.

What sort of pumpkin face should we make?

How about this one? Or this?

Drawing the outline...

Using a child-friendly knife....(after my husband already cut around the shape with a sharper knife)

more cutting....

Viola! We have a jack-o-lantern!

Falling Leaves

We really LOVE fall around here -- the cooler temperatures, the crisp air, the jeans and sweatshirts -- it's our kind of weather!!

Raking leaves into a pile and throwing them all around the yard -- what could be more fun? (maybe watching our 75 year old neighbor with his lawnmover/leave collector contraption going around his yard collecting all the leaves so his yard is clean? Only to have our leaves blow over there the next day.....)