Hospital Scare

Not me.

My sister threw a Cousin's party on Sunday, the 26th. She did it last year too and hopes to make it an annual party. Anyway, back to the story.

Nick and I got to her house around noon on Sunday. She was running around and trying to get a million things done and looked exhausted. The party was a success even though it was a small party. A lot of people opted to stay home after the long holiday weekend. And that was fine. Angela looked like she needed rest.

Around 4, Dominick fell asleep in my arms and Cecilia had fallen asleep on the couch. Nick and Andrew went upstairs to play XBox and Ang and I watched football and talked.

I noticed that she kept grabbing her stomach and taking deep breaths. I asked if she was ok and she said she thought she had a slight bug, or Braxton Hicks contractions, but that she was fine. I agreed to let it go, but not 15 minutes later and she was grabbing her stomach again. I told her to call the exchange and talk to someone.

She said no.

A little while later, we started cleaning everything up and she was white as a sheet and still having stomach pains. We cleaned as fast as we could and I told her to drink water and lay down. She said she was fine, but I could tell she wasn't.

When we left, I asked her to call the doc if things stayed the same or got worse. She said ok.

I didn't talk to her again until Monday afternoon, but apparently things got worse. She called the doc and her doc office was closed on Monday. She decided to go to the hospital and get checked out.

She was having contractions.

Now she wasn't in labor, and they weren't "productive" contractions, meaning they weren't moving the baby down or causing her to dilate, but they were still painful. They were caused by dehydration. They pumped her with a few bags of fluids and she felt better. Not great, but well enough to be released.

I knew exactly what she was going through. When I was pregnant with Dominick, we were supposed to host Christmas Day with Nick's family and I got sick. I was trying to do too much while 8 months pregnant and got sick and ended up in the hospital with extreme dehydration. It's not labor but it feels like labor. Even after going through labor, those contractions felt like the early stages of labor and not like Braxton hicks. It was not fun.

But I'm glad she is home and better. Hopefully she continues to get the rest she needs and stays hydrated. That baby girl needs a little more time to grow.

Too many posts! :)

I just realized that I have so many new posts today, that you actually have to click "Older Posts" at the bottom of the page to go back and see them all! :)

There are lots of pictures too, so if you haven't seen the blog in awhile (or, um, today) click to go back a page and see more pictures of my cute child.

Happy Reading!

27 Weeks!!

How your baby's growing:

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

How your life's changing:

The second trimester is drawing to a close, but as your body gears up for the final lap, you may start noticing some new symptoms. Along with an aching back, for example, you may find that your leg muscles cramp up now and then. They're carrying extra weight, after all, and your expanding uterus is putting pressure on the veins that return blood from your legs to your heart as well as on the nerves leading from your trunk to your legs. Unfortunately, the cramps may get worse as your pregnancy progresses. Leg cramps are more common at night but can also happen during the day. When a cramp strikes, stretching the calf muscle should give you some relief. Straighten your leg and then gently flex your toes back toward your shin. Walking for a few minutes or massaging your calf sometimes helps, too.

It may be the furthest thing from your mind right now, but it's not too soon to think about family planning. You'll want to have made some decisions about postpartum birth control before your baby arrives. If you're considering a tubal ligation, be aware that most states require you to sign a consent form at least 30 days beforehand. So if you'd like the option of having the surgery during your postpartum hospital stay, don't wait too much longer to discuss it with your caregiver. (You can still change your mind later.)

Only one more week of the second trimester! Wow. That means we're really starting to get there. Not too much has changed except I'm getting very tired, very quickly lately. Going up a few flights of stairs flat out wears me out. I'm also getting a TON of leg cramps lately. All the time. Any time I stretch I have to be careful because my leg will cramp up immediately. And it hurts.

Everything is still going well. Lots of movement and my appointments all seem to be going well. Keeping our fingers crossed but right now, things are good!

Upcoming Appointments:
Tuesday, January 4 - Dr. Appointment and 2nd Glucose Test
Friday, January 21 - Ultrasound at 30 weeks

Spelling is Confirmed

Just so everyone knows. You all win. :)

I say that because I liked the other two spellings better, and Nick liked it this way. But c'est la vie. I still love the name, no matter what.

The spelling is confirmed. In March, we'll be expecting a Baby Annabelle Jean.




This was Baby Annabelle's first Christmas present, or first ever present, along with some pink/brown socks.

Nick is trying to stop the pink-ness from getting to our house but I think it's inevitable...and I'm excited. Pink stuff is so cute!

My due date is three months from tomorrow. And I can't wait. :)

And going along with this, Nick got me a great Christmas present this year. Well, Dominick got me a great present. :) It's a charm bracelet that has initials on it.

There's "AJ" with March's birthstone. And then there's "MB" and "DR" with January's birthstone in between. I love it. I've only taken it off twice since I got it, and that's been to shower. (I got it Friday night and showered Saturday night and Sunday night....don't worry. I'm not gross and never shower).

So it's official official. We have monogrammed presents and everything!

Christmas Game Night

My friends and I try to get together once a month for a game night. We have appetizers and drinks and we play Catch Phrase, Cranium, Apples to Apples, etc. Once we did a Wii tournament. We all have a blast. We've been bad lately and haven't gotten together in awhile, but we made time for Christmas game night. It's the best.

Christmas game night is always fun because we do Rob Your Neighbor. The last three years we've done White Elephant Rob Your Neighbor, but next year we might do "halfway nice present" Rob Your Neighbor. We'll see. :)

Everyone came over about 6 on Thursday night and we hung out in the kitchen and ate some food (on my new island - see picture below...).



After awhile, we went into the living room played Rob Your Neighbor. This year we decided to do TWO rounds of Rob Your Neighbor. Our gifts were BAD this year. One was "ok" but the other three were BAD. We put in a pink sequin purse, a creepy doll, a Christmas music box, and some glass coasters you put your own pictures into. I think the coasters were "ok"....

We played the first round of Rob Your Neighbor and Nick and I got ok gifts this year! The first year, we got a can of SPAM and a picture of Adam and Michelle in their PJ's. Not so great! This year we got a bottle of Country Bob's sauce and the movie Flightplan in the first round. We'll take 'em! The second round was worse for us. Nick got a strawberry cookie jar (ok) and I got a bag full of change and a diaper...not so great! :)

Luke got Creepy Carol, as we named her, and Winnie got the music box. Julia actually liked Creepy Carol and traded for her. Ashley got a coat rack (which she left at my house, and if she doesn't meet up and get it, I might put it together and use it!!) and Jim got the pink purse. I had told the boys that the pink purse was actually a good "boy" present and I had three guys fighting over it! Jim traded the pink purse to Brian who was going to give it to his little girl. What a nice Daddy! Jim also got a large creepy doll that Nicole put in. This was the year for creepy dolls...maybe we should do Themed Rob Your Neighbor next year...something to think about.






We had a blast. After Rob Your Neighbor, we did Secret Santa gifts. These were real presents. I got the Mark Bittman "How to Cook Everything" cookbook/encyclopedia and Nick got a giftcard to Wherenberg Movie Theaters. He also got a small gift for Baby A! He got two pink and white binkies! :)

When that was over, we headed downstairs to just relax for a bit. It was great to catch up and just hang out with everyone. The holidays seem so hectic and it was nice to just sit and be.

I think everyone had a good time. I HOPE everyone had a great time! I did. And I think Nick and I will watch Flightplan this week while eating something I make from my new cook book! :)

That's it for Christmas posts now, I swear! I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!

Now I have just under 4 weeks to prepare for Dominick's 2nd birthday! Holy cow....crazy how time flies!!

Christmas Day!

Ok, last Christmas Post...I think.

We spent Christmas Day at Nick's Mom's house. It was crazy. Those kids are SO spoiled there! :)

We got there about 4 pm. We all hung out and the kids played downstairs until it was time for dinner. We had the BEST dinner EVER there. It was seriously the best meal I've ever had at Sue's house (and I've had some good ones). It was beef tenderloin with benaise sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green beans, turkey, dinner rolls, and I don't even know what else. But that beef tenderloin was SO GOOD. Yum.

After dinner, we couldn't hold the kids off anymore and we went into the living room for presents. These kids got so much. Here are a few pictures of the mayhem BEFORE the opening even started.



Can you see how many presents there were!?

We tried to get organized after this. We opened presents from one aunt/uncle group at a time. Dom is so spoiled.

From Aunt Katie, Uncle Dave, Cousins Sophia, Henry and Jilly:
A Dora Microphone (the kid loves to sing, what can I say?)
A Merry Christmas Book
A Roller Coaster....this is a whole separate post...

From Aunt Lisa, Uncle John, Cousins Kailey and Addison:
A puzzle
CARS Legos
TOY STORY Legos

From Aunt Christy and Uncle Rob:
A puzzle
A couple of outfits

From Uncle Dan:
2 books

From Nani:
A train carpet (a mat with a train track on it that goes on the floor by his train table)
A Thomas the Train tent with attached tunnel to play in
Penguin winter crocs
CARS Legos
A Puzzle


Nani got him more, I honestly can't even think of what else she got him right now...but it was too much! :)

There was so much going on that Dom got tired of it. He literally got up, walked away and went downstairs for awhile. He was done. Couldn't handle that much stimulation.

Here's a few pics of the craziness that ensued once the kids got the green light to open presents:





After the kids opened all their stuff, it was time for the adults, although the adults had a lot less stuff, and a lot smaller of stuff!

Nick got a Lowe's gift card from his Goddaughters, Kailey and Addison. Nick's mom gave us both some money. It was a good Christmas for us!

Us kids got Nick's mom a kindle. I think she'll like it. She has some learning to do, but once she gets it, I think she'll really like it.




After presents, we had dessert. We had ice cream sandwich cake that Christy made and cookies that Christy made. Both were delicious!! I love Christy's cookies. Nick's mom gave us the rest of the ice cream sandwich cake to take home and it will be gone this week, no problem. Nick and I both LOVE it.

It was a crazy busy weekend, but we had a blast. We loved every minute.

haha, I lied. I just remembered I didn't post about Christmas game night...at least one more Christmas post!

Christmas Morning!

We had a good Christmas morning too. Dom woke up about 8ish and we kept him occupied upstairs until almost 9. Mike was coming over at 9 to exchange presents with Dom and watch Dom open his presents from Santa. We didn't want to bring Dom down too early or he'd want to open them or play right away. We brought Dom downstairs and watched Daddy open his present from Dom before Mike got there.



For Daddy, Dominick and I went to a place called "The Painting Paw" in Chesterfield, MO. They had a ton of stuff to choose from. You pick something out and paint it. You can use their stencils or just do something unique. After you are done, they fire it up and do the finishing touches and it's food safe, etc. Dominick picked out a snowman plate for Daddy and put his blue handprint in the middle of it. We had them write "Merry Christmas Daddy" on the front and "Love, Dominick 2010" on the back. I think he liked it. I know I would of!

After Nick opened that, we let Dom open one present. It was a Go, Diego GO! adventure land Hot Wheel thingy. It was just a small $8.99 toy I found while leaving Target's toy section one day and it ended up being Dom's favorite.

Once Uncle Mike got there, we opened all the presents together!

Uncle Mike got a plate like Daddy's! Only Uncle Mike's was a reindeer and Dom's handprint was red. :) He also got a turning spice rack, three spice rubs for grilling and a Grilling cookbook!

Dom got his new Thomas the Train bedding from Uncle Mike. Unfortunately, Uncle Mike got him the twin bedding because that's all he could find, and Dom's still in a toddler bed, so hopefully I can return it and make it work. If not, I guess we'll just save it!

Dom also got a Black and Decker tool set, to be like Daddy, a big toy sorter thingy for his room, and some blocks from Santa.







Dom's last present on Christmas morning was to see his new big boy room. It was the first time he got to see it all put together. He got to see his train table all together and see some other toys too. Dom was in heaven. He ran right in and went nuts. All the time Nick and I spent on getting that train track perfect was wasted, because it was in pieces pretty quick. But Dom had fun. And that's all that mattered.





It was a very Merry Christmas morning at our house. :)

Elves

So Nick and I had our first experience with being up all night putting together Dominick's toys and stuff for Christmas morning. My parents got him his train table but we wanted to have it all put together for him to play with. We were up until about 12:30 or so putting it together. After we were done, we went downstairs to relax for a minute and Nick played XBox for another hour. I think we went to bed about 2 am. And Dom was up at 8. :)

But we got the train table put together and all his toys and stuff under the tree. We also had his big boy room organized. We are trying to get him excited about moving downstairs. I think it's working. He was talking about his "big boy room" all day yesterday. He told us he wants to start sleeping downstairs. So we'll hopefully get the last few things we need for him to move downstairs, and get working on that this week!

Here are a few pics of Nick being an elf. No pictures of me, even though I was helping, I swear!!






Well, the organized room lasted just a few minutes, but he loves it and that's what matters. :)

Christmas Eve

This year we went to my Grandpa's house for Christmas Eve. It was great to see everyone. I think for the first time in awhile, EVERYONE was there! The holidays get so hectic, especially now that a lot of us grandkids are older and married and with families of our own, but it's nice to still see everyone. Here are a few pics from Christmas Eve.

As usual, us grandkids and great-grandkids got spoiled!!






We had a great Christmas Eve!!

Christmas Cookies at Great Grandpa's

For the last few years, the girl cousins have gone to my Grandpa's a few days before Christmas Eve to make Christmas cookies. We all bring our own tools and such and make a bunch of different kinds of cookies. Then we set up and decorate Grandpa's tree.

This year we did the cookies on the Monday before Christmas. We made a TON. Here's a few pics of the cookie making. I didn't help with the tree. I was still finishing up my cookies. :)





I love that we've made this a tradition. I think my Grandpa really likes it and we all have fun. After we're done with the cookies (and Grandpa has sampled each type), he makes us milk shakes. That's one of my favorite memories as a kid. Going to Grandpa's for a sleepover and getting to have a milkshake after dinner. Delicious!

The remaining cookies were given to me to take to my in-law's house for Christmas day. Well I forgot them and when we got home, the dogs had gotten up to the counter and eaten all of them... :( I guess they just saved me a few pounds. I hope they enjoyed them. They were delicious!

Kohnen Christmas

I already blogged about the actual day. So I'm just going to post the pictures from the Kohnen Christmas. This was the Christmas that my family does the Sunday before Christmas. So just the immediate family.

I only took pictures of present opening and getting ready for present opening. But it was a good time. Here are a few of my favorites:

Hugs!!

Giggles!

Dress up clothes!!

Dommie's new Train table!!

Daddy's new helicopter

Grandpa's new grilling tool

Up!!

Those are just a few of the best ones. :)

And that was our first Christmas of 2010. Only 4 more to go! :)

Where to begin?

I just uploaded the 200+ pictures from December. I have pictures from Christmas cookies at my Grandpa's. Pictures from Christmas at my parents. Christmas game night. Christmas Eve. Christmas Morning. Christmas Day.

So where do I begin on my blog??

This might take awhile...but rest assured. Pictures are coming.

Fall Grades POSTED

No big deal....

I got an A in both of my classes. So I have a 4.0 this semester taking 7 credit hours AND working full time AND being pregnant AND being a mom AND whatever else I feel like I can add to the list... :)

I'm pretty proud of myself, can you tell?!?

One semester down. Let's see how this next one goes! Classes start back up on January 18th.

Sick

So I've been sick for about 2 weeks now. Usually I get sick every winter and it's a quick 24 hour stomach bug. I'm throwing up and miserable for a day but then it's over. So far, I've avoided this. But I have a congestion/sinus/cold thingy going on.

I was struggling but dealing with it, fairly well. I called my OB the other day and they told me to take Tylenol Cold and Sinus or Sudafed and that was basically it. I'd have to wait it out.

Which I was trying to do. But finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I started getting a shooting pain in my throat every time I swallowed and I was coughing worse. I didn't want to pass this on to anyone else and I'm going to be seeing a lot of people coming up. So I went ahead and called my family doctor.

They could get me in yesterday at 2:20. So I left work and headed to the doc. I was in the room waiting for the doc by 2:25 (and actually on my way home by 2:46!!). So it was a good quick visit to the doc.

When the doc came in, he asked what was going on. I told him that I wasn't feeling well and described my symptoms. He looked in my throat and said he didn't see anything. I was a little swollen but nothing bad. Then he decided to look in my ears.

That was where the bad news was. He told me that I have so much fluid on my ears that he's surprised it took me this long to come in. I told him that my ears don't even hurt!! He was shocked they don't hurt. I have to take an accelerated dosage of amoxicillin and sudafed and come back to see him in 2 weeks. I can't take ibuprofen for the pain since I'm pregnant but if the pain gets back, he'll write me a prescription for a safe steroid. He also said if the fluid hasn't gone down in two weeks, then I'll need to get tubes in my ears.

I laughed. Don't only toddlers and elementary school kids get tubes in their ears!? I'm 26, about to be 27 years old! Weird.

But I'm doing as I'm told.

My dosage of Amox is 2 - 500mg tablets, three times daily. So 3,000 mg of Amoxicillin a day! Plus sudafed. If I don't start feeling better soon, I don't know what to do!

So that's the plan. Keep your fingers crossed that I don't need tubes! How crazy would that be...

26 Weeks!!

How your baby's growing:

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

How your life's changing:

Are you rushing around trying to get to childbirth classes and prepare your baby's room while still taking care of all your other daily tasks? Make sure that you also continue to eat well and get plenty of rest. Around this time, your blood pressure may be increasing slightly, although it's probably still lower than it was before you got pregnant. (Typically, blood pressure falls toward the end of the first trimester, and it tends to reach a low at about 22 to 24 weeks.)

Preeclampsia — a serious disorder characterized by high blood pressure and protein in your urine — most often shows up after 37 weeks, but it can happen earlier so it's important to be aware of the warning signs of this condition. Call your caregiver if you have swelling in your face or puffiness around your eyes, more than slight swelling of your hands, excessive or sudden swelling of your feet or ankles, or rapid weight gain (more than 4 pounds in a week). With more severe preeclampsia, you may experience other symptoms. Let your caregiver know immediately if you have a severe or persistent headache, vision changes (including double or blurred vision, seeing spots or flashing lights, sensitivity to light, or temporary loss of vision), intense pain or tenderness in your upper abdomen, or vomiting.

If your lower back seems a little achy lately, you can thank both your growing uterus — which shifts your center of gravity, stretches out and weakens your abdominal muscles, and may be pressing on a nerve — as well as hormonal changes that loosen your joints and ligaments. Plus, the extra weight you're carrying means more work for your muscles and increased stress on your joints, which is why you may feel worse at the end of the day. Walking, standing, or sitting for long periods, as well as bending and lifting can all put a strain on your back. A warm bath or hot compress might bring relief. (Some women, though, find cool compresses more comforting.) Try to maintain good posture during the day, avoid activities that require bending and twisting at the same time, take frequent breaks when sitting or standing, and sleep on your side with one or both knees bent with a pillow between your legs, using another pillow (or wedge) to support your abdomen.

Second to last week of the second trimester! I'll be thankful to be in the 3rd trimester although I'm not sure I want this pregnancy to speed up. It's crazy to think that in just 3 months, I'll have TWO kids. And a BABY. I'm so used to a big boy. A BABY. And a BABY GIRL at that! Although, I'm still very excited and can't wait get some cute clothes for her. :)

I'm still feeling her a lot, although her movements are slowing down a bit. I think she's starting to run out of room. He kicks a lot during reading time with Dom. And if he's sitting on my lap while I read, she kicks at him a bit while I'm reading. Uh oh, sibling rivalry already?? :) I hope not.

I'm glad to read that even sitting for long periods of time can be hard. I sit at a desk all day but even that gets me tired. I guess I need to consciously get up and move around every so often. That might help.

I might have to try a warm bath or warm compress too. My lower back has been a little achy lately. We'll see. I feel like I don't have time lately!!

I have a dr. appointment with my family doctor today. I have had a cold for 2 weeks now and all of a sudden it feels like there is something in my throat. A sharp pain every time I swallow. I know there isn't much I can take but I'd like to take SOMETHING/ANYTHING to try and help this go away before the main part of the holidays comes.

Other than that, nothing is going on. I'm thankful to say this pregnancy so far has been great. No problems, no worrying, just wonderful.

Happy 26 weeks Baby A!

Family Christmas!!

My immediate family does Christmas the Sunday before Christmas. Just so we can see each other and do our own thing without being rushed and without the fear of having to do another Christmas at the same time. We've done this the last 3-4 years and it's worked out really well.

I have a TON of pictures on my camera, which is at home, so I'll post pictures as soon as I can. Until then, you get the commentary...

We got to my parents around 2:45 pm and sat and watched the end of the Rams game. It was a sad ending to the game (well a sad game really) and after that we opened presents.

This year Dominick and Cecilia knew what they were doing and they really liked ripping the paper off the presents!!

They both got so much stuff! Spoiled and lucky little kids!

Dominick got:
A train table and train set
A container of play food (which he loves)
Lincoln Logs
A book (The Very First Christmas) read by Great Grandma (last year we got Twas the Night Before Christmas - read by Great Grandpa)

Cecilia got:
Dress up clothes
The Very First Christmas Book
A Doll
Some PJs
Play Dough
and something else I can't remember....

Nick and Andrew both got indoor remote controlled helicopters from my parents and some golf balls. (And money).

My sis and I both got some jewelry from Codi Boutique and a mini journal for our purses. (And some money).

Nick got Call of Duty Black Ops from Andrew and Angela.
I got the new Mark Bittman cookbook (Food Matters) and the book about the Food Matters philosophy from Angela and Andrew (can't wait to start using!!!).

We got Angela and Andrew gift certificates for Flemings Steak House.

We got Mom a night out! We're taking her to see Jersey boys in the spring. That was from the four of us, although just Angela and I will go with Mom. Not exactly the boys cup of tea. :)

Angela and Andrew got Dad SLU basketball tickets and dinner (which Nick and I are tagging along for!) and we got Dad a remote grilling thingy that Nick picked out...I think Dad liked it.

So we were ALL very spoiled!! The kids LOVED their presents. Dominick immediately started playing with the food. Cecilia got all dressed up in her fairy outfits. The boys went nuts with their helicopters, flying them all over the house.

It was a good good Christmas.

We had a wonderful dinner of pork tenderloin, feta, apple and pecan salad, green beans, au gratin potatoes, and delicious (organic) cheesecake for dessert.

It was the perfect day!!

I'll post pictures soon, I promise!!!

One Christmas down!! A few more to go. :)

Happy Holidays!

Work, work, work!

Saturday was all about working...

In the morning we went to Bread Co for breakfast. Then we headed over to a woman's house to pick up a sofa table I bought off Craigslist. I was a little nervous because the desk I got last week was NOT what I was expecting...but this sofa table is PERFECT. I LOVE it. :) It's so pretty and matches so well.

After that, I ran home and we put Dom to bed for a nap, then I headed up to school with some girlfriends to turn in my take home final exam. After we turned in the final, we went to lunch to celebrate and just relax.

When I got back from lunch, I took Dominick and we left the house for a bit because Nick had a lot of work on the floors to do. He said I could just take Dominick downstairs but I thought he'd get more done if we were just gone. So Dominick and I headed out to get Nick a simple Christmas present. More on THAT after Christmas with some pictures! :)

The rest of the night was about getting stuff crossed off our lists. Did some more work around the house, went and got my Dad's Christmas present and then went to get sushi for dinner. Dominick didn't like it, but we didn't think he would. We brought him a ham and cheese lunchable with some bananas and he loved that. Nick and I had some delicious sushi and it was heaven.

When we put Dominick to bed, we actually did a little more work around the house and I finished wrapping all the presents we had already bought. I think I'm down to only needing like 2 more presents! Maybe I'll hit Target tonight?? We'll see how motivated I am....

Carriage Ride

Friday night was our Annual Westerheide Family Carriage Ride. Nick's mom takes the whole family on a carriage ride through Tilles Park to see the Winter Wonderland lights display.



It was cold, as usual, but the kids loved it, as usual. We picked up Dom and got him nice and bundled up. Then we headed to pick up Nick's mom. We got her and headed straight over to Tilles Park. When we got there, they were waiting with our carriage. We loaded into the carriage and pulled out our blankets (we brought 3, just me and Nick!). We squeezed in and were on our way.

Dominick loved it. He already loves Christmas lights and points them out every time we are in the car at night, but he loved this even more. I didn't get ANY good pictures. They were either too dark, or too blurry, or something. But know that Dominick had a blast, even if I couldn't capture it.

After the carriage ride, which lasted about 15 minutes (maybe less), we headed back to Nick's sister's house. We ordered Cafe Manhattan and just had take out. Then the kids ran around and the adults talked and we just relaxed.

It was a good Friday night. A good kick off to a BUSY weekend for us.

And Dominick had a ball.

Semester is OVER!

I just had to do a quick post about my first semester back in school.

It's over! I'm so glad I decided to go back to school. I'm loving it and doing well so far. I know it only gets harder from here, but I'm happy with my start.

My final grade was posted for my Human Growth and Development class. I got a 95.67% or an A. I'm such a nerd and I love it. :)

I don't have my final Anatomy grade posted yet, but before this final exam, I had an A. I'm hoping that I'll keep that after the final is graded! Grades are due this week so hopefully I'll find out soon and hopefully I'll have a 4.0 for the semester!

Next semester is just one class. Anatomy and Physiology II. It will be tough (especially with having a baby over Spring Break) but I think I can handle it.

Until then, I have a glorious month off! Happy Christmas Break!

Reminiscing

Let me preface this by saying I'm extremely bored at work right now. Winter is always our slowest time and I'm the only one in the office and finished all my work around noon...

So I've spent the last 20 minutes or so looking up old pictures on Facebook. I looked at a few pictures of me from way back and then clicked on my "Dominick" album from when he was born...Holy cow. I can't even remember him that tiny!!!

I looked at all the pictures of my family and friends holding him and wishing us well. Then I looked at another friend's album of him. Then I looked at some of when he's a few months old...

I just can't believe that he'll be two in a month. TWO. I'll have a TWO YEAR OLD. And shortly after that, I'll have TWO kids. Woah.

It's amazing how much our lives have changed in just a few short years.

Les, me, Ash, Win, and Michelle at the wineries for Ashley's birthday

I remember everyone thought I was crazy when I got engaged my junior year of college. They thought I was too young. I was 21 when I got engaged. But Nick was 25 when we got engaged and he was ready.

The next few years out of college are a blur. I got married, Ashley got married, I got pregnant, Winnie bought a house, Michelle and Lauren got married, Ashley got pregnant, Abbie bought a house, Jim and Leslie got engaged, Michelle got pregnant, I got pregnant again. And a million more things that I'm sure I'm forgetting.

So many things have been going on in our lives and it's strange to think about the past.

I remember when we used to call each other and meet at a bar and be out all night having a blast. Or decide to go to a baseball game. Or when we used to not even think twice about being out until 3 am on a work night or a school night. Things are so different.

I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. I am so thankful for all the memories I have with everyone. And I'm so thankful for my beautiful son and my absolutely amazing husband. I'm happy to say that those close girlfriends I gained freshman year of college (and Leslie - sophomore) are still my best friends in the world.

Les, Abbie, Win, Lauren, Ash W., Ash H., Me and Michelle at Ashley's baby shower

Thanks to Ashley, Leslie, Michelle, Winnie, Abbie, Lauren, and other Ashley for some of the greatest times, memories and experiences of my life. These last 8 years have been amazing. I'm looking forward to many, MANY more.

Ice

Yesterday was a very productive day for me, but started off awful.

I was lying in bed when I got a text from my immediate boss, Mike Jr. He told me that the roads were bad and to take my time and just be in by 9:00 am (I normally start at 8). I said, ok, and went back to bed. About an hour later I got another text saying, "Roads are worse than we thought...10 am at the earliest". So I was thinking, score! I get to sleep in and take my time and it will be a great morning. At 8 am, I got a phone call from the big boss, Mike Sr. He told me that the roads were bad and not a lot was going on and I should just stay home for the day. That was fine with me!

So I let Dominick sleep in and then we took our time getting ready. I decided that if I was going to be home for a day, I might as well be productive! So I got Dominick ready for daycare and then I was planning on working my tail off on our house. We have a lot of people coming over next week for a Christmas gathering and I had work to do.

After Dommie and I were all bundled up, we headed outside. The steps looked ok, but not great, so I decided to carry Dominick down the stairs...

The first set of steps went fine.

The second set of steps were not fine.

I made it halfway down and my feet flew out from under me. I had Dominick in my right arm so I tried leaning to my left so he wouldn't get hurt. I also wanted to stay on my back because I didn't want to land on my belly and hurt the baby either. When I landed (straight on my back) my eyes filled up with tears because it hurt but I was even more afraid that I hurt Dominick.

"Are you Ok? Are you Ok? Are you OK???" I asked him after I got up. He looked fine but I was afraid he threw his arm down or something and broke it or something horrible. He looked up at me and said, "I'm ok Mama".

Oh thank God. I made the decision then that I'd rather walk him to daycare than drive because if it was this bad I didn't want to total a car too.

In hindsight...that was dumb. The roads were probably MUCH safer than the sidewalk death traps we were walking on, but that's neither here nor there at this point.

So we walked. I carried Dominick the whole way (well it's only 1/4 mile so it wasn't that hard - but I am 25 weeks pregnant, so give me some credit). We walked mainly in the snow covered grass area between the sidewalk and the street, only coming out into the sidewalk when a big "Look Mama! Twee!" blocked our way. Every time I was on the sidewalk, I slid. I never fell again, but I slid.

And every time I slid, Dominick's eye went wide and he gasped and said, "Are you Ok Mama?!?". And I had to smile and kiss him and say, "Yes baby, I'm ok".

We made it to daycare without any other incidents. I dropped him off and headed back. I was almost to our street when my neighbor was driving and saw me. She pulled over and gave me a ride back home. She's a nurse and she asked if I was since she saw I had been crying. I told her I fell. She assured me that the baby was fine and asked about me. I told her I was fine, it just hurt. When we pulled up to the house, her husband walked me up the stairs to my front door and then he poured salt on our stairs and sidewalk. God bless him.

I went inside and went straight up to bed. I laid in bed until about 11:30. Then I came downstairs, made a quick and easy lunch and headed to the basement couch. I ate lunch and watched Top Chef. Then around 12:30, I got moving.

And then I was productive!! I was still sore, but I got a lot done. I rearranged the basement and organized Dom's toys (and Man does he have a LOT of toys). I dusted the whole basement. I did three loads of laundry. I went upstairs and cleaned the kitchen. Like SCRUBBED cleaned the kitchen. I cleaned the stove. I even cleaned the inside of the oven. I went to the front room and rearranged furniture in there. I brought a bookcase out of Dom's big boy room and brought it to the front room. I moved all the books from the old nasty bookcases to the new bookcase. I moved the old bookcases out of the front room (to either go in storage, or on Craigslist). I did some hard work.

After all this, it was almost 3:30 which is when Nick gets home. He came home and told me that his mom fell on the ice. She was ok, but sore and couldn't go to Nick's sister's house to watch the kids while Kate when to get Nick's brother from the airport. So we loaded up the diaper bag and headed to get Dom. We got him and headed to the airport.

We picked Dan up and dropped him off at Nick's mom's house. Then I was done...

All in all, it was a very productive day... But I still have a lot to do...And my back still hurts...stupid ice.

Wordless Wednesdays

Food Names...

So is anyone out there a big "Friends" fan, like I am??

I don't know if you remember the episode when Rachel has the baby and she and Ross are trying to decide a baby name, but the dialogue went something along the lines of Rachel was sad because they didn't have a name and Monica told her not to worry because the perfect name would come. Ross told her it was easy for her to say because she had her names picked out since she was a little girl. Chandler replied with a, "Oh great. Our kids are going to be named after some snack good, aren't they?" or something like that...

ANYWAY, the point of my story is this:

The other night Nick was playing with Dominick and calling him "My Dommie Salami" like we normally do. After Nick said that, he asked Dominick if the new baby should be a Baby Salami too. Dominick said "No!". Then Nick said, "Well what can we nickname the new baby?". I said, "Anna Banana" because hello, it's an easy nickname for an Anna.

Then I realized that both of our kids will have nicknames related to FOOD!

We'll have our Dommie Salami
and our Anna Banana

Oops! Oh well. I am a fan of food.... :)

Now what the heck would we name the next kid? I think I'm out of food nick names!!

Happy Holidays!!

My sister made me a Christmas Card to mail out to family and friends. However, I didn't think she was going to have time so I had already ordered Christmas cards from Shutterfly. I LOVED her card though and thought it deserved some recognition.

Therefore, to all of those who I didn't get to send a card to, here's your holiday card! :)

Happy Holidays!



PS - Isn't she good?!?