My Date for the New Year

Here is my date for the evening (at least till 8:30). Afterwards I will be bringing in the New Year with Christmas Ornaments and Lysol. My hope is to get all Christmas items put away and to clean my bathroom. I know, very exciting things that could wait but what else is a pregnant girl to do...

Ryleigh's 2nd Year Video

First let me start off by saying that this idea came from a good friend of mine, Alisa, who has 2 wonderful children. She makes a video every year outlining the year they had. I did the same for Ryleigh for her first birthday (after seeing hers) and once again, I did it for her 2nd year. It's about 8 minutes long but trying to put 365 days into 8 minutes is pretty good. Enjoy!

Holiday Rundown

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. Ours was fun filled although looking back it was a bit of a blur. I hosted Christmas Eve and we did our traditional Honey Baked Ham buffet. It was quite good. My parents, brother, sister, brother-in-law and niece all joined us to celebrate. I spent most of the time in the kitchen either preparing, eating or cleaning up. It wasn't that bad and I actually enjoyed it. The best part was having my family together and having Glenn be home to be a part of it.

Christmas day was an early start for us. I did not sleep well the night before. I woke up at 3:30 am and never really went back to sleep. I got up at 5:30 to shower and get ready to head over to my folks with Ryleigh and Glenn. We got there in time to open presents with everyone. It was mad chaos because the kids (Ryleigh and Avery) were mad unwrappers. My daughter loves bows! If she could, she would have taken every single bow off of every present. She also loved tearing paper but if it was clothes she ran to the next item to be unwrapped. She had a ton of loot. She must have been good this year because Santa spoiled her.

We didn't take many photos... too busy. We did get a good one of the girls late in the afternoon. Glenn was also able to get some video. I will attempt to post that too.

Just checking in...

Okay, I should write a post about our holiday... and I will just not now. I am posting a few photos I took with our new camera. I got it up and running the day after Christmas and I am still learning the ins/outs. I am thinking it will fix my appetite for crisper photos...

Need ideas!

My husband is going Christmas shopping this weekend... I need ideas to give him. Any thoughts?

End of an Era

I did it. I finally put an end to Gymboree! It is scary to think there will be no more Gymbo The Clown, circle time, bubbles... the list goes on. My reason for pulling Ryleigh out of there started in October. We received notification that the location Ryleigh attends would be shutting down and the closest location would be 20 minutes away. We decided we would give it a go though. They were giving us free classes the month of December so I thought why not... make the drive and see how it goes. Well I only made it to 2 of 4 classes. Her new teacher has a great voice and I did love it. Then they called... right after I signed Ryleigh up for 2 classes at our local rec center. They wanted to know if I was going to sign up Ryleigh for Level 5 in January... I decided to bite the bullet and tell them no. It was hard to say no and then write them an email telling them no... we've been going there since she was 9 weeks old. It feels like my little girl is growing up!

I have a cold...but it could be worse

I could by Lynne Spears! Her 16 year old daughter is preggers... good ole Jamie Lynn. The one we thought was responsible. Do you remember when she inked a book deal with a Christian publisher at the end of October... to write (of all things) a book about parenting. I don't know about you, but I suspect I would use it as my, "What Not To Do" book.
In all honesty, I do feel bad in making fun. Her youngest getting pregnant is not something to mock. I suspect if we were all honest we can remember being 16 and naive about the whole sex thing and yet we still did it. So I don't really fault Lynne Spears. And I certainly don't fault her for Britney's behavior. I just had to write a post because I still find it odd that Lynne would put herself out there by writing a book about parenting. I think she needs to re-think that whole idea!

Need to center

I know, I know... my photo is not centered in my title. I am working on it but it may not happen anytime soon.

Birthday Party

Ryleigh had a birthday party on Friday with her friends. Glenn & I invited over my SAHM and their children for some playtime, lunch and cupcakes. It was fun and a nice way to celebrate her turning 2 although Ryleigh didn't seem as happy. At one point during playtime she decided to vacate the playroom and go into our family room for some video time. I think she had enough of watching all her friends invade her toys and listening to all the mommies talk about their pregnancies. Yup, every mom (but 1) that attended is expecting in the new year.

Once lunch started Ryleigh perked up. She loved the cupcake and blew out her candle all by herself. She got some wonderful gifts and has played with everyone of them at least once a day since!

This time 2 years ago

At this moment, 2 years ago, I was awaiting the birth of my first child. I was 3 hours into my induction and BEGGING for drugs. In 30 more minutes (2 years ago) I was in bliss. I love the epidural!

I can't believe in 7 hours my baby girl will be 2! I am more in love with her today than I was the morning I met her. Happy 2nd Birthday my sweet baby girl. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Seriously???

Am I really having a baby in 12 weeks and 6 days? HOLY COW I am so not ready! Good thing I have the countdown on my blog to remind me.

Feeling like my father

When I was growing up the big Christmas Tradition that stands out is the TREE. We would get a live tree. My father would get the tree into the stand in the garage and bring it in to our house. It would take another 1/2 hour or so for him to get it just right (some times with string, I might add). All the while I would learn every curse word imaginable. It was the only time I would hear my father spew such language.
Well I am right there with him. Our tree, the one you see in the post below.... is a pain in my neck. The darn thing tipped over on Sunday (early morning). Likely I got up with Glenn and saw it from our balcony. He was able to get it upright before he left. I was praying everyday that it wouldn't fall back again.... well it fell over today. The only saving grace is it is falling back into the wall and not falling forward into the family room. I know what the problem is but I am not strong enough to fix it myself. Our tree stand was not made to deal with such a large tree....
so once Ry gets up from her nap we're off to Lowe's to buy a new tree stand. Then when Glenn gets home at late tonight we can attempt to re-pot it. Of course it has ornaments on it.
I think the torch of 'foul mouthing the Christmas tree' has officially been passed from father to daughter.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We went Christmas tree shopping today. Glenn, Ryleigh and I went and got our tree today. The tree shopping wasn't all that exciting. We went to a local nursery to pick one out since Ryleigh is too young to enjoy the experience of cutting one down (and I have no huge desire to do that with an almost 2 year old). We found an eight foot tree that looks perfect in our living room.

When we arrived home we bundled up Ryleigh in all her snow gear to play outside for a bit while Glenn got the tree up. She loved walking in the snow in her new snow boots and throwing snow balls (which fell a little short of my feet).

Ryleigh had a good time playing with the tree stand and the water...

Fluke?

I just got a call from the doctor's office... I don't have gestational diabetes! Crazy, but I made her go through my results and it appears I am in the clear! Thank goodness... now bring on the Christmas Feast!!!!

Bugs!

It has been a crazy few days... on Monday I went in for my big glucose tolerance test (the 3-hour one). It was long morning but I survived. Afterward I went home where my mom was meeting me with Ryleigh. She had spent the night at my folks the evening before. Ryleigh and I enjoyed the rest of our day...
then at about 10:30 I started to feel super hungry. I opted to eat some pretzels hoping it would calm the hunger pains. By 12:30 I am praying to the porcelain god. It was a long night with calls to Glenn, who was in CA. I somehow survived till morning and called my parents right away to come help. They were at my door within the hour (mind you, they live 40 minutes away and it was rush hour). My dad did dishes while my mom entertained Ryleigh. We decided to send her packing back to my folks and I would go it alone. Thank goodness for my parents! They were complete and total lifesavers. I called Glenn too so he could make some arrangements to come home as soon as possible. By 9:30 I was alone...
However I wasn't really alone. The baby inside of me was a kicking madman during this bout of illness which just made it worse. The day wore on... I had times of feeling okay but mostly felt I had been punched in the stomach. I haven't felt that bad in a number of years. It was awful. I went to bed feeling pretty meager and hoping I would keep everything down (not much; water, a bit of tea, a little bake potato).
I woke up bright at 6:30 and felt fantastic (relevant term seeing how bad I felt the day before). I am not 100% but seeing how I was at best 20% yesterday I will take anything over 50 at this time. Glenn will be home sometime this morning. I am excited to have the company and a nurse maid. I think we will keep Ryleigh at my folks one more day... if nothing else, so I can disinfect our home as much as possible.
Lastly, I want to once again apologize to my friend (you know who you are), who had a terrible flu bug not that long ago and called me for help but I was tied up with something. I AM SO SORRY and it will NEVER happen again. You say stomach bug and I am there!

Pregnancy Update

I went in for my blood work to check on my iron and blood sugars. I failed both... SUCKS! I've been down this path before with Ryleigh on both accounts. So now I get to take an iron supplement (no biggie) and I get to go in for the big 3 hour gestational diabetes test. I will fail. I am not being a pessimist rather a realist on this one. I asked for my number and it was 175. I decided to retaliate by eating a PBJ sandwich. How mature of me I know!

Recent Frenzy

Ryleigh and I spent the Thanksgiving Holiday in Crozet, VA (near Charlottesville) visiting my sister and her family. We drove down on Wednesday with my parents, about 7 hours. We left mega early and arrived by lunch. It was great to be able to see my sister's new home and spend time with her family. My brother also came in which was a nice surprise.

The girls had a good time together. Avery was really good with Ryleigh considering their age difference. I think they look possessed in the top photo.

Another Photo

Our Sunday

We spent our Sunday getting our annual family photos done by a great new photographer. Toni gave us a sneak peak of 2 shots. I am so excited to see the rest in a few weeks!

Mary Janes

My favorite show store closed this past weekend. Oliver Kleban shut its doors on Saturday but they had a fantastic sale and went out with a bang. I bought Ryleigh 4 pairs of shoes. They were buy 1 get 1 free + all shoes were reduced. I loved it but at the same time wondered where I would buy Ryleigh's shoes from here on out.
Ryleigh has been wearing her patent Mary Janes for the past few days. Yesterday she wore them with sweats. I never thought a 2 year old to be could be so particular about her footwear. I suspect Imelda Marcos 2 in the making.

Pregnancy Update

Alright, some maybe curious as to how the pregnancy is going. I am feeling great and the baby is starting to move (and I can feel it from the outside). Glenn and I had our second ultrasound a week ago and we did not find out the sex. We are of the school of thought that there are not enough good surprises in life so if we can choose to have one it would be this. We didn't find out what Ryleigh was before her birth and it was great. It gave me extra incentive to push too.

He's coming home

and he's sick! Yup, my man is on his way home right now. He is about to hop a flight in Chicago to head down to C-Bus and he is sick with some sort of stomach bug! Ick!!!! Don't get me wrong, I am excited for him to be home but it certainly makes it tough knowing he isn't well. First and foremost (and obvious), I don't want it and I don't want Ryleigh to get it. So I am going to quarantine him to the spare bedroom till he feels better.

Miss her

Here is my beautiful niece, Avery. She and her family (my sister & brother-in-law) moved to Virginia a couple of months ago. My brother-in-law sent photos from Halloween. I was so excited because they haven't done digitals since she was a wee one and she's now 6. It was good to see her... even in a photo!

Trick Treat

Tonight was Ryleigh's first official Trick-or-Treat Night or as she likes to say, "trick treat". Grandma & Grandpa Corby came over to help. We had dinner and got Ryleigh dressed. Grandpa stayed at the house to man the door while the Grandma, the bumble bee and I went door to door. Since this was her first one I didn't want to hit up too many houses since we weren't in need of candy so the plan was to just hit the houses around our own but she was having such a good time we went all the way down the street and back. We just stopped at the houses where folks were sitting outside.

Grandma pulled the wagon and when we got to the end of a driveway I would pull her out and we would walk up and she would say 'trick treat' and open her bag. Then she would say 'thank you'. It was very sweet and her costume was a hit with the neighborhood.

She took home quite a loot but I was able to exchange it when we got home for her real bag of treats I got her earlier today (books, new crayons, sketch pad and stickers). She didn't even notice that all her lollipops were missing.

It was a great Halloween and the only thing missing was dad. Hopefully he will be around next year.

Great start to the weekend

We've been busy the past 2 days. Ryleigh and I met up with the Parker Clan on Thursday for a morning of COSI fun! Ava and Andersen Parker are twins who are nothing short of miracles. They are now 2 (although we fibbed to COSI to get them in for free) and doing great. Alisa (their mom) took this great video clip of Ava and Ryleigh playing at the water table.

This is a picture of the 3 kids as we were getting ready to leave... hence no one wanted to look in the same direction at the same time.

Today Glenn and I took Ryleigh to story time at the library for their Halloween theme. We dressed Ryleigh up in her costume and I think she thought she was the only one in the room with the witch story reader...

Also was able to get a photo of Ryleigh and Brendan. It's been sometime since we got a photo of these 2 together (the bad date night).

WOW!

I've had a lot of WOW moments as a mom but this one beats them out by a mile. Ryleigh and Glenn were cuddled on the couch reading and chatting away. I overheard him tell her to give me a kiss. She climbs down from her perch with daddy and walks over to me and says, "I love you", and smiles.
I looked at Glenn to see if he provoked her to saying I love you. She will repeat it when asked. He tells me no. I just told her to give you a kiss and hug.
I turned back to Ryleigh and smiled and told her I loved her too. I got my very first I LOVE YOU! I am sure glad I wasn't in Cleveland tonight!

Would've, Should've, Could've

I am not a sports fanatic but I do enjoy my fair share. I really enjoy seeing sporting events live over watching them on a flat screen. I've had my fair share of live sporting events. The bucks football, basketball and hockey games. I've seen the Columbus Bluejackets and Cleveland Indians. My friends and I use to do an annual trip out to Penn State for a weekend of RVing and football. I've been to a Sugar Bowl and a NBA playoff game.


Today was the big one... I received my WORLD SERIES tickets. Yup. 4 tickets for all the home games. They are wonderful seats. SEC 152, ROW GG, seats 1-4 right behind home plate (navy blue section).





BUT... the Indians lost so I won't be enjoying my fab seats or my stadium dog. I am so disappointed especially when you start to think about the AL Series... could the tribe have messed it up anymore. They had to win 1 more of 3 remaining games and they couldn't pull it off. It would have been a great night with my husband and it's all gone. Our tickets (I know some of you maybe curious) we're through my husband's cousin who works for the Angels. Remember kids, when you marry someone you marry their family too (which can be good or bad). Good in this case!

I am sad I won't get to use the tickets but I have friends who are die hard Red Sox's fans. I am happy for them (yes, I can appreciate the other team and their fans... I am not some crazed person). So to my friends Meredith and Erin... congrats. You won fair and square.

Halloween Party

Today Ryleigh and I went to our business meeting for MOMS Club. It was our Halloween party and all the kids were dressed up. It was a lot of fun to see the little ones in their outfits. Here are a few shots.

Is she Asian?

Someone recently asked me if Ryleigh's father was Asian. What do you think?

The answer is no. Glenn is not Asian but I must admit from this picture you have to wonder.

Family Day

I love this time of year. The nip in the air, the pumpkins, Halloween and my birthday all coincide with my favorite month of October. I was so glad Glenn was home this weekend so we could go to Leeds Farm. We found out about it from Meredith (thank goodness...it was 100% better than where we took Ryleigh last year).
We had a terrific time and Ryleigh had a blast. She went down the slides surrounded by hay. She rode the kiddie train, played in the corn, did a hay maze and went on her first hay ride. We also got some great pumpkins. It was a great family day!

Where's Maribeth?

You remember those 'Where's Waldo' books? I guess that is me right now with my lack of postings. I am not sure if I just don't have anything to write or I am unmotivated... probably a little of both. So here's an update...
Last week Ryleigh and I were alone. Glenn was gone on a 7 day trip. We jumped right into our routine which I tend to like and one of the reasons I don't mind when the man is gone. I feel as if I am not in limbo working around him. I can just do my thing. I can get up with Ryleigh, shower (without disturbing anyone) and be out the door to go run errands, meet up with friends or whatever. The evenings are harder though as Glenn does take on Ryleigh more at night by giving her baths and playing with her while I just chill out. I guess I give up my morning routine but the trade off isn't so bad when night rolls around and I just want to veg out.
The construction behind our house is coming along. They are working on phase 2 and I believe phase 3 (which is directly behind our property line) will take place in the spring. At least baby #2 will be use to the noise. I probably will need to record the construction for once they're gone the baby won't have the hammer/nails lullaby.
Speaking of babe 2... things are going well. I feel great although I do have a pestering headache and I am starting to get a little acid reflux. I got it early with Ryleigh too and it just gets worse. So far I am just managing it with no tums. I am starting to feel the flutters which I am enjoying. I am still managing to fit into my regular clothes (fat clothes at that) but the days are numbered. I have worn a few maternity items but I feel I look like a walking tent. I remember feeling so excited to wear them the first time around and now I loathe the idea. After I had Ryleigh all I wanted was to wear jeans with a button and fly... no more elastic waist.
This week is flying and Glenn leaves Sunday for another 7 day trip. We're hoping to get in some pumpkin patch time on Saturday and enjoy the crisp fall weather. Hard to imagine it was 90 degrees 2 days ago. I think we can officially say Indian Summer is over!

A break through (maybe)

Me: I am thinking once the kids are in school being a teacher's aide. I need to figure out if there are any certifications I may need

Glenn: If this is something you want to do.

Me: Well I would have the same schedule as the kids.

Glenn: As long as this is something that interests you.

Me: I would get paid. I would have the same schedule.

Glenn: (more emphatically) Yes, as long as it really is something you're interested in.

Me: (get more impatient) Yes, well it would be getting paid to volunteer in a school.

Glenn: Just as long as you're interested.

Me: When the hell have I ever been interested in anything I've done in my life thus far!?!?

The fall is here

And the reason I know this... my daughter has her first cold of the season. Yup, can't go too many weeks without a sick one. Her nose ran like a faucet today and I can hear her snoring in her room as I write. Probably will be up at some point to snuggle with me and share her snot and germs. Good thing Glenn is out of town otherwise the bed could get a bit squishy with the three of us. I am hoping the cold is a quick one. I want to be able to send her to Moms Day Out on Wednesday and she has a birthday party to go to on Friday.

Guilty Pleasures

My worst guilty pleasure seems to be 'crap tv' as my husband calls it. I watch all this semi-reality tv and it drives him up a wall. I got into a show while visiting my friend Amanda in Seattle. ROCK OF LOVE! Yup, even I can agree watching Bret Michaels is crap but I can't help myself (I am blaming Amanda for this one). We're now down to the final 2. I can't imagine who is going to win Jes or Heather (Hometown: Columbus, Ohio - nice!). Jes is nice however a bit young. Heather, well I can't figure out her age. She looks old but I suspect she is younger than myself... I can't figure that one out.
Anyway, the show has been a train wreck and I've tuned in every week. I have no clear favorite which makes it better because there will be no disappointment. I suspect Heather will win. She got a tat of his name on her neck. WOW...that's stupidity at its finest.

Zoo

It is a beautiful day and we decided to take Ryleigh to the zoo today. We went to the petting zoo and rode the train. We also showed dad Fluffy, the world's largest snake in captivity. She leaves the zoo at the end of October so if you're in the area you need to check her out. It was a great way to spend the early afternoon before Ryleigh's nap.

This month has been a busy one for us. After returning from Hilton Head Ryleigh started 'school'. At least that is what we're calling it. Mom's Day Out is a program run by a local church to serve the community. It focuses on socialization and nurturing, not academics. In another words, it is not a pre-school. However it is the perfect thing for someone like myself who needs a little break so I can go to the dentist or doctor or whatever.

This month also brings our announcement to all that we're expecting baby #2. It is an exciting time as we plan Ryleigh's Big Girl room (our spare room now) and keep her old room as the nursery. I must admit I am nervous as hell about adding a 2nd one. I finally feel as if I know what I am doing with Ryleigh and I am going to mix it up big time. What was I thinking?!?

My favorites from our trip

Beach Bum

Hilton Head September 2007

This was Ryleigh's 5th trip to the beach. When I saw this picture I realized Ry wouldn't be able to fit in the bucket after this year. Here are photos from visits past which remind me how much she has grown. She is such the little beach bum!

Florida November 2006

Hilton Head September 2006

Duck, NC June 2006

Florida February 2006