Merry Christmas!

Voting on Names

Thank you all who voted on the name for our new baby. Evan James really seems to be the top pick with a vote of 65% (21 votes vs. 10). My pick of Brian James didn't make it with only 31%. It was fun seeing every one's response to our pick of names and what everyone else thought.

Although Evan James "won" we actually aren't going to be using either name! We really didn't want to settle on a name that the other person wasn't really happy with. We were fortunate with naming Brendan that we both loved the name. But this one was a little harder for us, I like the name Evan, but I'm not loving it. The same is true with Scott and the name Brian.

So, we have picked an alternative name that I think we both are very happy with. I'm going to leave you in suspense for a little longer! :) We go in for another Ultrasound next week where we will "officially" find out the sex of the baby. Because I originally found out so early, there is still a chance the baby is a girl (although I doubt it). So we will announce the name after the next ultrasound...Unless it is a girl, then we will probably have another month of discussing names since we have zero girl names picked out!

17 months!

It is amazing to me that my little baby is now 17 months old. Walking, Talking, basically - no longer my baby! I scoop him up all the time, cradle him like a newborn and ask "Where is my baby!?" his response is to throw his head back and cackle at me.

We are having so much fun with him. Although I miss the times of sitting in a rocking chair with a sleeping baby in my arms, I love to chase him around the house, giggle laugh and explore. Everything is new to him, and it is so exciting for us during this age.

Last night, Brendan and I had a "date night". Although it probably wasn't really his choice of events for the night, we did some Christmas shopping. We first started at McDonald's, I can't believe how big my boy is getting, he wont even sit in the highchair anymore but wants his own seat.

Brendan loves his happy meal and was eating his hamburger all by himself. Mr. Independent wants no help eating his food, no even the yogurt Mommy shared with him. I love that McDonald's has more choices for a meal. I asked for sliced apples instead of French Fries, which Brendan will actually eat better than French fries, and I can take them with me for him to eat later, they also gave me a carton of milk instead of sugary soda. Brendan also gets a Preschool toy for 3 and under to play with instead of the older toy that typically comes with the meal. For my meal, I replaced the fries with a Yogurt Parfait which Brendan actually ate most of.

After we spent almost an hour at McDonald's eating, laughing and playing, we went to the Mall. Brendan was so well behaved and mom drug him from store to store doing Christmas shopping and finishing Daddy's stocking. It is times like last night that I will remember and treasure. I'm sure he has already forgotten it, but I hope to have days like that at least once a month that is just Brendan and Mommy, even after the baby is born.

Humanities & The Nutcracker

During my Sophomore year of college, I took probably one of my favorite series of courses. Humanities I & Humanities II. Although I loved the instructor and how passionate he would get about ROME! I think that it was more of my classmates and our take on the course that bring back such fond memories.

We took our very first test for the course, and didn't do so well. From then on, we decided to have a study group the night before the test. Our tests were always at 9:00 on Thursday mornings, so getting everyone together on Wednesday nights were a bit tough. Being the young college students that we were, went to the only logical place to study past 9:00 at night - Denny's. We would laugh so hard during these study sessions, surprisingly, we actually would remember quite a bit. I will never forget that Alexander the Great died (when Sam?) 323 BC. And Charlemagne was crowned king in 800 AD on Christmas Day (even though he didn't want to become King). From Flying buttresses, to the dates of import people, we would find some little quirk to remember the information. Sam was always the humor of the night, and we usually had to call him at 9:00 the next morning to tell him the test was starting and he wasn't here yet.

One of my favorite memories of the course was completing our Cultural Experiences. We had to visit 3 a semester. Our last one of the Fall semester was seeing the Nutcracker. I found cheap tickets for the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. My roommate Shanda, Karina, Sam & I all got dressed up to go see the ballet. As I called Sam that afternoon to remind him he needed to look nice, he said that he was ironing him pants and looking forward to it. But as we got in the car to head to Hollywood he tells us girls "Someone told me there is no talking during this thing, did you know that?" To this day, I still crack up at his surprise that we were taking him to see the Nutcracker, with no words, but pure music and dancing. It's a cultural experience Sam!

Every time I see the Nutcracker has come to town, I think about our night out. I looked for pictures of the evening, but couldn't find any. I'm really surprised that Shanda & I got dressed up and didn't take any pictures. But the memory of that night, still makes me smile.

Positives to Pregnancy

When I began this post I started a list of things that I don't like about being pregnant. About halfway through my list I realized that I have been pretty negative about this whole pregnancy thing and maybe I should start looking at things more positively. Plus, I know I'll be complaining at the end of my journey so I'll save the list for then! :) For now, let's stick to what I do like, in no particular order, other than what came to mind:

1. The excuse to get out of some housework chores: "Hunny, can you take out the trash? The smell is really bothering me."
2. Being able to cry at sappy chick flicks, Disney movies, or The Biggest Loser, you know whatever. I just blame it on the hormones!
3. Wearing a new wardrobe that you know you will only be wearing for 6 months or so.
4. Having an excuse to go shopping for new clothes!
5. Not really caring what you eat, you are gaining weight anyway!
6. Eating dessert.
7. Feeling the movement of the baby, knowing there is life inside you.
8. The little milestones and countdowns. It helps to have something to look forward to. The next trimester, the next ultrasound, the first real kick, starting maternity leave…
9. Having state paid leave from work for at least 8 weeks. Not quite a vacation, but still.
10. Watching people watch me trying to decide if I just have a beer gut, or if I am pregnant.
11. Being able to have a bad day and be grumpy while people just blame it on you being pregnant.
12. Being able to share this time with other pregnant women/friends, having that common bond to share.
13. Having an excuse to eat odd food at odd times. I don’t know if I just wanted a pickle last night or if it is a craving…either way my husband got up to get it for me!
14. Watching the progress and changes of your belly growing.
15. Planning for the future of your family.
16. Trying to teach an only child that his world is about to be turned upside down! So far, Brendan can say “Baby” when he touches mommy’s tummy. No idea what it means though.
17. Having other people carry heavy objects for you.
18. Sleeping surrounded with pillows.
19. Finding out the sex and being able to call your baby by a name while planning for the arrival.
20. Finally, Counting the days/months when you will get to meet this precious new baby and hold him in your arms.

Our Biggest Fight

Scott’s and my biggest fight with each other is probably about movies. Okay, it may not be our biggest fight, but I feel as though it is our most regular argument, and the one I am just not willing to budge on. I tell people that I used to love movies…until I got married. I will completely agree that I am very difficult to watch movies with. I get bored easily, I don’t like to pay the high price of Movie Theaters to sit through a movie (especially one that I don’t really want to see), and I don’t like to compromise. I enjoy comedies. Romantic Comedies especially, but most comedies I will watch. I can watch some action, if they are like the Italian Job, Oceans 11 and Gone in 60 seconds. Otherwise I tend to stay away from action Adventure, but you are more likely to get me to see that kind of movie than a suspense or thriller. I don’t like to be scared, and images stay with me years later. For example, I still have images from the Sixth Sense that creep me out, and I only saw that movie once back in 2002. I’m don’t like dramas either. I don’t really like to cry. And I hate when the good guy doesn’t win or doesn’t get the girl in the end, I want to happy ending. The argument of “real life doesn’t always have happy endings” doesn’t do it for me. I don’t watch a movie for real life, I watch it to be entertained.

My poor husband on the other hand, grew up on movies and going to the movie theater, and is always trying to convince me to open up and watch one of his movies. I avoid going to Blockbuster with him as much as possible unless we have the movie already picked out. Because walking up and down the movie aisles only causes fights. I want to watch the “chick flick” and he wants to watch the suspenseful action movie with guns and blood, explosions and thrills. And I just don’t compromise. My compromises are the comic-book movies. Fantastic Four, Iron Man, X-men. Although I didn’t watch Wolverine with him and I won’t watch the batman movies either. I know he is called the black night, but his movies are too dark for me, it makes me uncomfortable. That could be why Scott is excited to have two boys when they get older, so he will have someone watch movies with him.

So that’s one area where I am not willing to change. I’m happy with my comedies. Anyone else have a similar fight where they know they very well could be wrong, but just isn’t willing to change?

Single Parenting

I am very thankful that I am not a single parent, I have a loving husband that is going through this with me. Because of Scott's work schedule, I feel as though I take the brunt of the childcare at home, but I think that most women, when completely honest, will say the same thing.

Last week, Both Scott and I had "plans" (although not yet discussed with the other yet) to hang out with friends. Being that Mondays are on of the only nights in which Scott and I both have free, we don't get a lot of time to spend with friends. Scott graciously agreed to have his friend come over to our house to watch a movie so that Brendan could stay home with him instead of me taking him out in the cold. The girls and I went to Downtown Riverside to the Festival of Lights. (You can read about it on Jenni's Blog.) It was a really great time that we could just enjoy each other's company and walk around the lights of Riverside. As I drove home that night, I thought about how lucky I was to have a husband to share the workload. We both do laundry (especially now that it is in the house with us and we don't have to cart it up and down stairs with a timer set) we both do dishes, clean the house, take care of Brendan. It really is a team effort and I know I could not do it with out him.

Last night, The girls hung out again. We had dinner at Olive Garden, just the girls. Scott once again, watched Brendan so I could have a stress free meal with the girls. Because taking an active toddler to Olive Garden is not my idea of a fun night! In fact, I wouldn't go if I couldn't leave Brendan at home. Scott is lucky enough to have guy friends that understand he has a kid, and some with kids themselves. I am lucky enough to have a husband that understands, I need time alone too.

So Scott hung out with the guys and three kids, while I was able to hang out with 5 amazing girls. I feel so refreshed this morning. I am also reminded that even though I feel stressed with Brendan and the though of another on the way sometimes scares me, I know that I am not alone.

Festival of the Trees

On Saturday after Thanksgiving, while we were still in Idaho, we went to Boise's Annual Festival of the Trees. We took our Niece, Elyse, with us before she moved to California. She loves spending time with Brendan, and Grandma & Grandpa wanted to see her as much as they could before she left. So we bundled up and went downtown. It was very enjoyable, even though we didn't get to spend as much time there as we would have liked.

There was many, many trees; all being auctioned off to raise money for community health care. Some of our favorites (or the ones Scott took pictures of anyway, were the Soda tree, Thomas the Tank Engine, Tribute to Michael Jackson, the Boise State tree with the Broncos, and the Wizard of Oz tree. I love that the tree is upside down!

We also were able to sit for a little bit and watch some performers. There were a dozen different ballet/Jazz/Hip-hop groups that came on and preformed of all ages. Brendan sat on my lap with his juice and watched them intensely for at least 20 minutes. After a while though, he got restless and it was time to move on.

Overall it was a very nice experience, I would love to go back and be able to see more, there was so much more to take in!


I also have to share that Brendan's cute little "Hunter Outfit" was purchased by my Aunt & Uncle (My dad's brother) last Thanksgiving in hopes that he could wear it by Christmas, my kid was so little that I was afraid he wouldn't ever get the opportunity to wear it. Luckily, it fit this Thanksgiving! A year later! That's one reason why I don't shop very much at Gap kids, the size 6-12 months is too large of a gap for me!

Thanksgiving 2009

For Thanksgiving this year, we went to Idaho to visit Scott's parents. It was Brendan's first Thanksgiving being able to enjoy the food. I flew up on Sunday evening with Brendan to spend a few days getting everything ready for Thanksgiving and letting Grandma play with her Grandson. Scott then flew up on Tuesday evening after work to join us. We started Thanksgiving day with monkey bread. Scott and I work together to make it, although I ended up making too large of a loaf, it was so good! It was the prettiest one I have ever made, we were very proud. My Mother-in-Law thought it needed some frosting and whipped some up to spread on top. It was a great breakfast, Brendan's favorite part of the day I'm sure!

My MIL does not like Turkey, (neither does my husband) but she was determined to make a turkey for Thanksgiving. None of us had actually ever made a turkey before, so we bought the smallest one in the store, a little less than 10 pounds. With all of us together, we were able to pull it off.

Okay, so looking back on it, I didn't really help much with the turkey besides picking it out in the store. Great job guys!

Overall, this Thanksgiving dinner seemed to be pretty stress free, we even noticed about 2 hours before dinner, with the turkey in the oven "Shouldn't Thanksgiving dinner be more stressful than this?" But with the whole family working together, it came together fairly smoothly.

The table was set and ready, we had all the "Traditional" dishes: the Turkey of course, green-bean casserole, stuffing, sweet-potatoes with marshmallows on top, mashed potatoes with homemade gravy, olives, pickles, bread rolls with butter, canned cranberry sauce (my favorite) and my mom's recipe of Cranberry Jell-o salad, which I had to chop all cranberries, apples, and celery by hand! It was a very nice dinner surrounded with family.

Scott's sister Brianna & her daughter Elyse

Brendan & Grandma

Brendan liked the Mashed potatoes the best,

but not as well as the Monkey Bread from breakfast!

The weather wasn't as cold as we thought it would be, we still had to bundle Brendan up when he wanted to go outside and play. I thought he looked so cute in his new jacket. His big cousin Elyse helped get him all ready to go outside to watch Daddy & Grandpa play a few games of ping-pong after dinner. After the dinner dishes were cleaned up and our stomachs had settled a bit, we had dessert. As we sat around the table with our pies, we went around the room stating what we were thankful for this year. It was a great time as a family to reflect on the past year and what Gos has given us.

This year Scott & I are thankful to have such great jobs in this economy, many teachers are without work this year, but Scott has found a great school to teach what he loves. I have a great job that I love, and that gives me the opportunity to have vacations and holidays to spend with my family.

We are thankful for our house that God provided at a price we could afford when we thought becoming homeowners was far into the future.

We are thankful that we have found a great church to attend and get involved with. We are excited to see the journey the church is taking and to be a part of God's plan with it.

We are Thankful that we have such a wonderful family. That we are in this together, Scott and myself. We are a team that works together. We have a wonderful and smart boy, and were given the gift of another on the way.

We are tankful that we don't have to face this parenting alone, we have many grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends to help us through it all.

We have a lot that we have been blessed with, and a lot to thank God for.

Baby Names

So now that we know our little one is a boy, we have to decide on a name. Currently Scott and I are unable to decide between two names, although we haven't limited them to only these names, we may find another that we like better. But for now we are "arguing" against two names. What do you think? I have added a little poll to the side so you can vote on your favorite name!

Evan James

-or-

Brian Joseph

Tell us what you think!

Congratulations! It's a.....

Well, we have told our family and closest friends the sex so I thought I would share it for the rest of the world to know. I am currently 15 weeks pregnant. Into my 2nd trimester and feeling pretty good. Except for still being tired. As you know, I went to my doctor's appointment for the California Pregnancy Screening. While I was getting the ultrasound done, we found out the sex! I was surprised to know so early, and it could still change since it was very early, we will confirm at my next appointment. But I am thinking they were right when they told us that...

It's a BOY!

We are very excited to have two boys so close in age! Scott loves the fact that I will be in a family of "Men". I think it is great, plus, we already have a bunch of boy clothes! Although our niece was very disappointed not to be getting a baby girl cousin, I'm sure she will survive with two boys. Now we just need to pick out a name...

Doctor Offices and Shots

Last week I had quite a hectic afternoon. It all started last Monday morning, well I guess you could say it started about a month ago (October 15th). I took Brendan to the doctor for his 15 month check-up. While they were doing all of his immunizations, I asked if he could get the Flu shot (just seasonal, not H1N1) as well, being in a day care, I know he is exposed to germs every day and the healthier he is, the better we all are. When they gave him the shot the nurse instructed me that I would need to come back in one month for his booster flu shot.
“Since the 15th will be a Sunday, just come in on Monday. No need to make an appointment, just call and make sure we still have it.”

So on Monday morning, as I am driving to the Doctor’s office, I remember to call and ask if they still have flu shots. The receptionist tells me. “We only do flu shots Tuesday through Thursday, just come back another day, no need to make an appointment.” Frustrated, I go to work, now late. I didn’t have another opportunity to take Brendan back for his flu shot until Thursday (Dentist appointments, work appointments and everything else). So Thursday, I drive to the Doctor’s office at 8:15, when I get to the parking lot I realize it is pretty empty, so I call inside before unloading my son to ask when I can get a flu shot. “We only do flu shots from 2:00 – 4:00.” Why couldn’t you tell me that on MONDAY when I called?? Okay, I didn’t really yell at her, instead I just got flustered and hung up on her. I don’t think I will have another opportunity to get him a flu shot next week, today is my last chance! So once again, I arrive late at work for no reason.

The night before I spoke with my Mother-in-law on the phone, we had a nice conversation and the topic of the H1N1 vaccine came up. Since I am pregnant, I am at high risk for the virus; she encouraged me to get the shot, which I had been avoiding before. I finally gave in and decided to get it done. I call my doctor and they set up an appointment at 2:00 to get the shot. A middle of the day appointment is always stressful with leaving work so early in the day, but I felt I needed to get all these things done before the Thanksgiving break. So I make the appointment, I figure I can also get my blood work done and pick-up my prescription form my OB all in the same office at the same time. I call my OB’s office on the way to ensure they will be open so I can finally come get my prescription. I tell them I am about to go get my blood-work then I will come upstairs to pick up the prescription (since they refuse to call it in and insist I have to pick it up myself). Last time I came by to pick it up, the office was closed. She tells me that someone was there; I probably didn’t wait long enough.

So I am shot in one arm, blood drawn for the next and run upstairs for my prescription. When I get to my OB’s office, it is dark and no one is at the front desk. Very frustrated, I call the office again telling them I am at the office and no one is here. The woman tells me “oh no, there is always someone there.” Again I tell her that it is empty and the computers are shut down. “Oh wait, what office are you at?” The one whose number I called, the one I always visit, the one at Raincross! “Oh their phone lines are transferred to us, we are at the other office, Raincross is only open part time; you will have to go across town to our other office.” Why are the hours not listed on the business card, why don’t they answer the phone with what office they are at if the phone is forwarded?? So leaving Raincross I went back to pick-up Brendan from daycare so I could take him to get his flu shot (seasonal).

Brendan was such a trooper, when the nurse came in he started o cling to me a bit. I'm not sure if it was because he remembered her (and the shots) from last month, or if he is just getting more sensitive around strangers. He was such a trooper! Brendan didn't even cry, he let out a whimper and held me close but was fine after 10 seconds. No big deal!

I had one more stop to make before going home; I had to pick-up my prescription that they won’t phone in for me. I go by my OB's other office, and wait for the PA to write me a prescription. After spending 10 minutes in the waiting room just to pick up a prescription, I am finally done with all my doctor visits!

So I started my doctor runs at 1:45 when I left work to quickly get to 2:00 appointment, and didn't get home until 4:15. Just in time to put Brendan down for a late nap, finish my Bible Study homework and take a quick half-hour nap. Poor Brendan didn’t do so hot with his shot unfortunately, he was “sick” when he got up from his nap, very fussy and I ended up missing Bible Study. Oh well. I have my H1N1 shot, Blood-work done and prescription, and Brendan has his Flu shot, I guess we are taken care of. Still...What a day!


P.S. Sorry this post was so much longer than I expected! I need to learn to write shorter stories!

Family at Christmas

One of the Radio stations in town has started playing endless Christmas music, and I love it! As I was listening yesterday on my way home from work, there was a woman talking about her Christmas experience. “I just love Christmas time,” she explained “it was the one time of the year when my family got together and we hardly ever fought, everyone just got along!”

She defiantly did not come from my family! I laughed to myself as I thought about my family at Christmas. I feel like this was the time of year we were at each other’s throats! It just wasn’t Christmas without my mom nagging us to help around the house, help with the decorations, do the dishes, my dad stressed out about the Christmas service at church and the things that needed to be done around the house, all four of us kids with our stubborn and over-dramatic selves fighting with each other, my sister and I yelling at each other, with a constant competition around our parents. It was just a part of home.

I remember one year, my sister and I were driving home together for Christmas, an 8-hour drive across the state. I remember distinctively, we had just gotten on the freeway after fighting the mall a Christmas present for our brother. I don’t remember what it was about, but we were fighting. (My mother will tell you we were always fighting). Not just a discussion here, we were yelling at each other at the top of our lungs. When we stop and are dead silent, my sister turns up the radio, that same station with the endless Christmas music is playing. All of the sudden my sister starts laughing out loud.
Still mad (but curious at what is so funny) I snap “What!?”
“The song, listen”
*Radio* “…It’s the Hap-Happiest season of all!...”
Still mad at her, I try to hold it in, but it is rather funny, I can’t stop the smile. Happiest season of all and we are yelling at each other.
And like that, the fight was over. Until we got home I’m sure.

And that’s how it was, we would fight, yell, I don’t know how many times I stomped upstairs to my room, making sure to hit every step. But we were a family. After the fighting was over, there we were; each other’s biggest allies and enemies all at once. My Christmas memories don’t include everyone “getting along” or peace on earth in any sense. But we were a family, and the love was always present.

I guess the song is right, “There’s no place like home for the holidays.”

Yum! Taco Bell

Today, some friends of mine from work and I went out for our usual Friday lunch. Due to my blog post earlier this week, we were all (or Janelle and myself) craving Taco Bell. So we loaded up the car and headed to the closest one to us. Unfortunately, this Taco Bell is not the top pick of elegant Fast Food restaurants, but it met our need. I had a wonderful crunchy taco and standard bean burrito. Oh, and Cinnamon twists, can't forget those! (A much better choice than french fries with tacos). It was a great lunch!

We are defiantly switching to Taco Bell from now on!

Del Taco

This weekend, we went to Del Taco’s drive through for lunch. I didn’t grow up on Del Taco as my husband did. In fact, I had never heard of Del Taco until college, and to be honest was never really a big fan. I grew up on Taco Bell, much better in my opinion. My Husband though, claims that Taco Bell is "gross" and Del Taco is much better! Come on, a taco place (Del Taco) that serves French Fries? That is just wrong! You should sell Tacos and Mexican food! (Just so you know, I have the same opinion with a Hamburger place, Jack-in-the-Box, selling Tacos) Stick to what you do best!

Anyway, we went to Del Taco because like I said, my husband grew up on the stuff and I am learning to tolerate it. As we get to the Order box (not sure what it is really called) I look at the menu for just the cheap ordinary taco, the cheapest one listed is called the “Classic Taco”. Perfect I think, just their run-of-the-mill ordinary, classic taco, that’s what I want. I then look up on the window of the restaurant and see a big sign, no words, just “59¢” and a picture of a taco. Great! My classic Taco is only 59 cents! But when we order, they charge me 99¢. I question them on the difference, not because I am worried about the 40¢ but it is the principle! You have a huge sign that shows a taco saying it is 59¢, why is my taco coming up as 99¢?? She tells me that I ordered a Classic Taco the one in the picture is the Regular Taco (which by the way is not listed on the menu, nor specified on the advertisement. “Are you kidding me?” I ask, “you have a classic and a regular taco? They should be the same thing!” Then my husband politely thanks the woman and drives off telling me it’s not a big deal. IT IS A BIG DEAL! They didn’t even have the regular taco listed! What could possibly be the difference in the two??

Turns out, the Classic Taco has slightly more meat and 6 diced tomatoes on top. Great. From now on, we are eating at Taco Bell, they have better Taco Sauce anyway.

P.S. I understand that my outrage with Del Taco could very well be my Pregnancy Hormones getting the best of me, but it is still the principle! The husband will just have to learn to tolerate Taco Bell from now on!

Dentist Follow-up

Today I took Brendan back to the dentist for his follow-up to his problem from two weeks ago. The dentist, once again, was wonderful! He looked at his mouth, where the "black" spot was earlier is now a tooth! Brendan has three of his four molars in, we are just waiting for the last one! Dr. Beam then brushed Brendan's teeth and walked us out to set up an appointment in 6 months. He questioned me on some of Brendan's habits, how often we brush his teeth, if he was still having a bottle before bed and so on. I told him we didn't have bottles anymore, just a sippy-cup of milk about an hour before bedtime. He was very impressed, "It is better for his teeth that way!" he was pleased with Brendan and his "habits".


Although Brendan was not happy at all with having his teeth examined, he still gave his dentist a high-five on the way out. Dr. Beam was also impressed at how advanced Brendan was, he said not many toddlers at 16-months are that capable at high fives, picking out toys and saying "thank you". Brendan got to pick out a toy from the drawer, today he picked up a foam baseball, Daddy would be proud! They also took him to the back room and let him pick a movie, I was thinking it was going to be a movie about visiting the dentist, or teeth care. But Brendan walked out with Horten Hears a Who. I couldn't believe how much they gave Brendan over the standard toothbrush and toothpaste (which we got again this visit). Brendan left happy and ready to go play with the other kids at daycare. I am a little sad that when our insurance changes in January, we will most likely need to find a new dentist for Brendan.

Pregnancy Screening Tests

Monday afternoon I went to the doctor for my 12 week appointment (a little late as it kept getting rescheduled). They told me that I needed to do my “Screening” before the end of the week while I was still in my first trimester. I was actually pretty upset about this. During the screening they check for birth defects and genetic disorders in each of my trimesters. That means I have to have extra blood work done each trimester, and extra doctor visits to a specialist. It probably isn’t a big deal, and most pregnant women probably get it done, but it was a bigger deal to me.

With Brendan, when this screening was offered, I signed the paperwork to deny the tests. But with this pregnancy, I switched doctors. Now I have a brand new set of policies to follow. The PA told me at my last visit that if I choose to deny the tests, they are going to send me to a specialist because they will consider me a “high-risk pregnancy”. With feeling like I didn’t really have a choice, I went ahead and did the test. Although, I haven’t yet done my blood work…I hate needles!

My appointment with the specialist was today at 1:30. When I went in, they gave me an ultrasound. I am in my 13th week of pregnancy and have already doubled the ultrasounds for this kid compared to the last! I wasn’t very excited going into it, but seeing your baby on a large screen really calms you down. She took the measurements, then showed me the arms, legs and head. Then she asked me if I wanted to find out the sex. I said “sure, why not”. She told me that we would confirm on my next appointment.

I am so excited, I didn’t expect to know so soon into the pregnancy, although I am 2 days away from being officially out of my 1st trimester, wow, time is going fast! Of course, she may be wrong with the sex, so we will find out for sure next time.

Aren't you all dying to know what it is??

Good Chocolate

Last weekend Scott and I went to See’s Candy to get a pound of chocolate to take home. We were given a 1 pound gift certificate from my grandmother last April, and finally decided to use it. Scott had never filled a box before by picking out our favorite pieces, usually he just buys either a pre-filled box of nuts & chews, or he will by me a box of molasses chips.

As we are filling our box, we were each given a free sample. Mine was a butter-cream with walnuts covered in milk chocolate. She also gave me some molasses chips to give to Brendan, but I was thinking they would probably be too hard for him to eat. Her reasoning was “they aren’t as messy”. That might have been the case. As I am holding Brendan and looking at the chocolates behind the glass I notice that he as bent down and taken a bite of my chocolate. I let him have a small bite, move the chocolate further away and keep filling the box.

When we are all done, I look at my son, who is in my arms, and realize he has gotten my chocolate and eaten the entire piece! Chocolate is now all over his hands, face and of course, my shirt. I really wish I had taken a picture, but at the time, all I could think about was getting him to the car and cleaning him up with baby wipes! At least my son knows good chocolate when he has it!

Real Parents

After Brendan was away from Day Care for a week, plus two weekends of course, I knew Marion was a little worried at how Brendan would react coming back, getting back into her routine and adjusting back to his “normal” life. When I picked Brendan up on Monday afternoon, I was surprised at her reaction. Not the typical “It was a rough day Mum” (remember the English accent), or “He’s cranky today Mum.”

Instead, we had this conversation:

Marion:“I don’t know what you’re doing, but you’re doing something right”
Rachel: “What’s that??”
M: “You are doing something right, he came back to me like he never left.”
R: “Oh?”
M: “I had no problems today, he just fell right back into his routine.”
R: “Well, we try to keep him on a pretty consistent routine at home too, nap times are around the same time, and bed time is always at 8:00.”
M: “A lot of parent’s are go, go, go, with no routine. You guys are real parents.”
R: “Thank you? I guess?”

It was a compliment I guess. A rather strange one to be called “Real Parents” but I appreciate her attempt. I was glad to hear Brendan didn’t give her a hard time back at Day Care. And it was nice to have confirmation that as parents we are doing something right. When everything else seems to be going wrong, he has bumps and bruises all over, he won’t eat well, I get temper-tantrums in the grocery store – but at least we’re doing something right.

Our Car

On Halloween, 2004, Scott and I went to the Hyundai dealership to buy a car. We were newly engaged and knew that we would need a second car soon. Hyundai has always provided pretty cheap and reliable cars. So we bought the cheapest model, the Hyundai accent. We knew that we wanted a four door, the only four door they had on the lot was red. Very bright red. But neither Scott or myself are very fast drivers so we weren’t too worried about the speeding tickets. After hours at the dealership negotiating, and waiting, we drove off the lot with our brand new car, co-signed by his parents, only 1.2 miles on it, mostly from our test drive.

She was ours.

2004 Hyundai Accent Red 4-door.

Earlier this week, five years later, we made our final payment. The title is in the mail, and the car is officially ours! No more car payments! Wahoo!

Except now we have to buy a bigger family car to replace mine…so much for the no car payments! Oh well, such is life!

Trick-or-Treat!

This was my very first year Trick-or-Treating, oh and Brendan's too! We dressed Brendan up as a little German boy (or Hansel from Hansel & Gretel). I thought he was absolutely adorable! But then again, I am his mom.

Our first stop was Aunt Bekah & Uncle Kevin's house (sorry no pictures) we walked over to my sister's house to show off our cute kid. I think this was his favorite house. Aunt Bekah let him take the candy straight from the bowl and put it in his bag. He kept reaching for more, and being the Aunt that she is, she just kept letting him take more candy and put it in his little bag. On the walk back to our house, we stopped at a few more houses. Each time, Brendan really getting the hang of this candy thing. We weren't out very long because Daddy wanted to race home to hand out candy to other trick-or-treaters.

Unfortunately, we were not prepared for how many kids would come to our house! We ran out of candy in 10 minutes. Next year we will be more prepared. Brendan liked standing next to daddy handing out candy.

Once our candy ran out, we went inside, got Brendan ready for bed, and enjoyed a quite evening to ourselves. It was much needed alone time! I think Brendan's favorite part I think was his candy bag. Even after getting ready for bed, he was so intrigued by his bag of candy and kept taking out his candy to show them to us.