Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Drumroll Please....
baby
boy!!!
Yep, his little pee pee was in clear shot in the ultrasound photo - if I can ever figure out how to use the scanner I'll scan the picture and post here.
As for his name - well that is still under debate. Not that we're having a huge debate over it - we just don't know for sure what his name will be. We wanted to use family names for the first two kids - now we're opening it up to any name that suits - which can be a bit overwhelming.
A - by the way - wants to call him 'snowflake.'
A's reaction to the news she was having a new baby brother was less than enthusiastic. She actually cried Christmas morning - in the middle of unwrapping a present - to say 'but I wanted a baby sister!' We told her we had not control over it - and that she would love being the only girl in the house. Eventually she came around - and is getting used to the idea.
Or so I thought...
Sunday night at dinner she looks at me and says:
"Mommy? That baby in your tummy is a boy, right?"
"Yes, A, it is."
"Well, can we have a girl next time?"
pause - while mommy chokes...
"Uh, no sweetheart - there will be no more babies in this house after your new brother is born."
"Why?"
"Well, mommy can't have anymore babies."
I'll spare her the lesson in tubal ligations for now...
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Christmas Cuties
Christmas Cookies at Our House
Another traditional cookie I grew up with is the pizelle. My grandmother used to make these Italian treats by the armful - and she always had them stashed throughout her house - stored in old coffee cans (which are the perfect size and shape for storing these delicate cookies.) A and J were delighted - A of course wanted to help - but when she realized mommy wasn't kidding about the burning hot pizelle iron, she was content to sit and watch and snitch a cookie or two.
J, however, he kept reaching for everything in sight - repeating "hot" when he got near to the iron (but still reaching nonetheless) - and was in pure sugar heaven to enjoy his first taste of this traditional family cookie. (As evidenced by his face in the picture below.)
It always makes me feel closer to my family when I make these treats - the recipes are a part of our family now - and I'm thrilled to be sharing them with my children, and making memories for them to one day share with their own families.
It also makes me a bit melancholy ....
Thursday, December 18, 2008
A's Trip to see the President's Wife
It was great fun, the house was decorated to the nines for the holiday season - with fresh magnolia and evergreen boughs draped over anything standing still, a beautiful Christmas tree, and several different religions decorations (nods to the different holidays.) Mrs. Pastides read several stories to the kids who enjoyed milk (or juice) and cookies and song singing.
That would also be the same child who blew kisses at Cocky, waved at him, and giggled at his flirting with her (from afar) as Mrs. Pastides was reading stories.
Sigh.
When it was all over and we were heading back to her pre-school, I asked her if it was really that bad. She said "no, Cocky is pretty silly, actually - and he's really just a man in a big chicken costume."
Monday, December 15, 2008
Happy Holiday Weekend
Friday night was my corporate Christmas party - we're a small, laid back office, so it was a nice evening out at one of the city's nicest restaurants. Good food, good drink (I heard), good laughs. It was the first time D and I had been out alone - without the kids - in I don't know how long. Seriously. I think the last time we had adult time away from the kids was sometime - lord - I honestly can't remember! Horrible. At any rate, it was nice to get away - but came at a premium. I know I totally overpay babysitters, but the people I choose to let watch my kids aren't the neighborhood teenage girl who will sit on her behind, chew gum, talk on the phone, and watch movies. (I know - I was once a teenage babysitter...) No, we hire the teachers from the kids' school, and they come at a premium. Which is probably why we don't get out that often.
Saturday D took J for his second big boy haircut. Ms. Yolanda did another great job - it's kinda short - but he looks so grown up! We hosted my book club Christmas party Saturday night, so there were a lot of preparations to take place and a lot of cleaning/picking up to do. Thankfully one of A's classmates had a birthday party to attend in the evening (pizza included) and J was allowed to attend - so D had both kids out of the house for 2 hours before our party started. It was amazing all that I could accomplish with both kids out of the house for two solid hours! It was odd though - the silence that resonated throughout the walls...
The party Sat. night was nice - nice to see people I hadn't seen in a long time, to catch up, visit, eat some good eats. The only drawback was that A didn't go to sleep until the last guest left - so she was up well until 11pm. Which made for a grumpy little girl the next day.
D and I are visiting a new church - the reasons why we're not happy with our current church are the subject of another post - but we've committed to visiting this new place of worship through Advent. A and I went last week (D stayed home with J and his tummy issues). Both of us loved it - so we returned as a family this week. Three of us enjoyed it - the littlest one HATED the nursery. I don't think it was the place or the caregiver - just that it was new and he has separation anxiety. It was horrible. I haven't seen my son cry like that - ever.
So we made it through the Sunday school portion - but had to bail out of the church service early - which made me sad as it was the Lessons and Carols service that I always find so beautiful.
And then, Sunday afternoon, my good friend J and her two girls, A, and I all attended the Nutcracker. It was amazing - and A loved every minute of it. I loved watching my favorite ballet of all times through her eyes. It was lovely.
Of course I was emotional and teary when the first strains of the Overture started and the curtain rose - because seeing the Nutcracker is a tradition my mom and I started years ago.
I miss her.
We topped the weekend off with dinner out with our friends - and finally put one overtired A and one overtired J into their respective beds.
Whew!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Getting Ready for the Holidays
Christmas is Coming...
Actually, my weight gain has been minimal - probably due to how sick I've been and not wanting to eat much - but all seems well.
We had our "big" ultrasound last week - and everything looked good. No worries - it always puts me at ease once that milestone is behind us - that the baby is developing and growing as he/she should.
Speaking of gender, yes, we did have the technician note the gender of this baby - but no, we don't know what that gender is yet. D and I decided to have it written down on a card - that we'll open together Christmas morning. We're not exchanging big gifts this year - mostly focusing on the kids and trying to get ready for this new baby - so what better gift to eachother than the knowledge of us having a son or a daughter.
(My money is on another boy - by the way - just a thought - for a while I thought girl - but now am feeling boy...)