Happy Halloween!

Daddy took Dylan trick-or-treating while I stayed home to hand out candy. Our neighborhood kids are the cutiest! But not as cute as our Superman!




Dylan had a lot of fun. Joe said that he was very shy at first but after a few blocks he was more confident and was saying "TRICK OR TREAT" "THANK YOU" with gusto. I am really bummed that I missed his first time out.

Here is the great pumpkin! Me at 38 weeks pregnant.

No baby yet.

I suppose my last post freaked out some of our friends. Thanks so much for your emails and calls. Yes, I am still pregnant. Last week was so hard and this week so much better and even my energy has returned. Probably largely because Dylan has allowed me to sleep for 3 days in a row for more than 5 hours a night. It has made a world of difference not having to wake up to his demands at 3 am. Don't get me wrong, I still have great difficulting bending over, sitting for long periods, walking etc. But I am trying to embrace each day and savor ever moment of this time, since it will be our last time going through this. I am really excited for the next chapter. And as soon as this baby pops we will post the news as soon as possible.
Thanks again for all your well wishes!

Resting today

I woke up at 4:30 am this morning with strong cramps and lower back pain. When I got up to go to the bathroom I felt nauseous and weak. Like I have the flu or something. The cramps are still strong. I was sleeping until the phone woke me at around 10:30 am. I am not sure if I am having contractions. There is tightening and then goes away. Sometimes when the baby moves around it feels the same way, so I am not sure I am having contrax or not. I have my weekly doctors appointment tomorrow morning and will be interested to see what might be happening down there. Probably just false labor. Maybe it was the super hot salsa I had on my baked potato last night, who knows. Hopefully, this kid will stay in there for at least 2 more weeks because we could really use the extra time to finish getting the house ready.

Joe went to work and took Dylan to daycare so that I could rest. I hate sending him to daycare when I have a day off but I really needed the rest. Today was especially hard to see him go, he has been having a hard time with one of the teachers. Last night when I picked him up at 6 pm I found him crying and having a tantrum on the floor, this is very usual behavior for him. His teacher was in the bathroom cleaning the toilet. I was really upset to find him that way. She said that he was mad at her because she asked him to use the potty and he wouldn't. I consoled him and talked him into going to the bathroom. He made a good attempt but had nothing in him, just a tinkle, so I asked her when was the last time he went to the bathroom and she said about 2 hours ago. I thought she was being too hard on him.

On the days that I have to work a full day and pick him up at 6 pm I usually find him upset, mad or just really tired. By 6 he is usually the last kid there and the teacher is busy closing up for the day, cleaning etc. so he doesn't get much attention. He is so whiney and bossy. I just think that 9 hours daily is too long for him to be at daycare. On the days that I pick him up at by 5 he is always happy and well rested.

When we got to the car and he was finally calm enough to talk to me he said that he didn't like his teacher and that she was mean. I asked him if she had put him in timeout and he nodded yes and started crying a little again. What to do? I am sure she thought she was justified in putting him in timeout but I also think that this particular teacher is very rigid and hard on the kids. Sometimes when I show up to pick up Dylan he asks me if he can go into another teacher's room (she is his favorite). We only have a few more weeks to go before he will be at home with me during my maternity leave. And I am glad that he will be in another classroom with a new teacher when he returns to daycare in February. It is a good daycare and I think that they do a good job caring and teaching the kids, I just think he would be better off with another teacher or in new surroundings.

I have to go lay down now.

Things are starting to come together!

Update on the kitchen remodel:
Between business trips and a 60 hour a week work schedule Joe managed to finish installing the hardwood floors and put up some of the kitchen cabinets.


Can you see the vision?




I have been really busy too trying to put some order back in our lives. The basement office is finally back together as well as the several other rooms in the house. Just keeping up with a full-time job and all the stuff going on at our house ie the cleaning, laundry, paying bills, and looking after Dylan so he doesn't get into everything has been hard for me to manage, and has been especially difficult because I haven't been feeling well the last few weeks. I am having lots of back pain, round ligament pain and the normal pains of muscles stretching to accommodate the baby. I am less than 3 weeks away from "popping". I am huge, uncomfortable and now have major insomnia these days. *note it is 3 am as I write this.

I have the hospital bags packed, Dylan's backpack packed for Nana B's and we have the car seats ready to go.

Hopefully the cabinets will be in by the weekend and the guys can come out to measure for the granite counter tops. Unfortunately, it will be another 3+ weeks until the countertops are delivered and installed. So the kitchen won't be done but hopefully the appliances can be plugged in and usable so that we can at least eat a home cooked meal for the first time in weeks. I am so over sandwiches and fast food, not to mention the expense of eating out.

There will be no more photos of the kitchen until we can do the big grand "reveal".

A day of pancakes, pumpkins and pony rides

Dylan's daycare organized a fun day at Southlake Stables today. We started the day with free pancakes at a local diner (kids eat free on Saturdays).

Here is Dylan polishing off about 2 pancakes.


Dylan rode a pony named Toodles, he was the disgruntled one in the lot and kept stopping and holding up the whole ride.

We also went on a horse-pulled hayride that took us up to the pumpkin patch.


Here is Dylan picking his pumpkin.



Dylan also got up and personal with a few farm animals. He seemed loved the chickens the most.




It is so hard to get Dylan to sit still for a photo, but I managed to get a decent photo here.


My back was killing me at this point so we skipped the weenie roast (with real camp fires!) and headed out. I carried Dylan to the car kicking and screaming, he did not want to leave the chickens! After we left it took him about 1/2 a minute before he konked out, it was his nap time afterall and all the excitement and fresh air pooped him (and me!) out.

Next year we will try visiting County Line Orchard.

Joe Blogging live from SND

Joe is blogging live from the Society for News Design conference in Boston. Check out his blogs at http://www.ghnewsroom.com/blogs.php?aid=5.

Fall in Indiana

I love the changing of the seasons in Indiana. We didn't have seasons in Texas, one day it is hot and the next it is "winter".
Here is a photo I took on one of our long drives through Indiana a few years ago.



The fall temps have brought on a major craving for pumpkin pie (I like mine with shredded coconut laced in it, yum). I can't wait to have the kitchen done so that I can do some baking. I am going to take Dylan to a pumpkin patch this weekend and it is going to kill me that I can't make any pies when I get home. Hopefully, I can find a good country pie stand on the way back. (Lisa, do you know of any near the Southlake Stables??)

I'll post some new Dylan photos at the pumpkin patch. I want to also start posting recipes and dishes that I'll make when our new kitchen is finished.

I love cooking and if it wasn't so expensive to cook the way I'd like to, I'd do it more. Plus, I am the only one that eats in this family, and it is so ungratifying to cook for just one. Joe and Dylan eat like birds and are total meat and potato kind of people and that isn't my style. Hopefully, the new baby will appreciate a good Black Bean and Corn-Filled Ravioli with Gazpacho Salsa or Vietnamese pancake (banh xeo) with shrimp. Or anything on this website http://citymama.typepad.com/cityfood.

Pranks and progress.

Dylan and I came home from the grocery store to find daddy like this.


Thank goodness he didn't really have an accident. Don't worry I gave Joe a piece of my mind, scaring me like that, but I have to give him credit, it did look real especially with the ketchup pooling out of his ear and the ladder tipped over next to him. To be honest my first thought was, thank goodness the ladder didn't ding the new drywall and paint. Ha! Dylan thought it was funny, hopefully he wasn't scarred for life witnessing such a scene.

Later that night I pulled a prank myself. Having excruciating sciatic nerve pain I couldn't sleep, or barely walk or even go to the bathroom. So I slowly, painfully, dragged my body out of bed to see what all the ruckus was downstairs. It was about 2 in the morning and Joe was sawing and hammering the hardwood floors. When I got downstairs he was surprised to see me and I thought it was a perfect opportunity to pretend that I was in labor. You should have seen the fear and confusion on his face, priceless. He had to help me back to bed, I could barely make it up the stairs by back was hurting so much.

When we aren't being silly and pranking each other we can actually be quite productive.

Joe starting to paint.


Pulling out the big guns. This is the miter saw I gave Joe for Christmas last year. Notice the hardwood floors started in the corner there, and the walls are totally painted (yeah!). Hopefully the floors will be done in a day or two. Joe goes to Boston on Wednesday until Sunday, so we will lose a weekend.


Oh, I also finished the curtains for the baby's room. I will post the photos later, since the room is still needing trim work around the new windows and we still have to get the crib up and decorate.

A quick shout out to my friends Valerie and James. Congratulations on your baby girl, Liesel was born October 6. She is beautiful and perfect. I am so excited for you all!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 4th wedding anniversary.

Four years ago today we were basking in the Mediterranean sun, slurping pasta, sipping Prosecco (and lots of limoncello!) and dancing to That's Amore. Our wedding was a dream come true, it was such a happy day for me and and not a day goes by that I don't daydream, if only for a few minutes, of sitting on a terrace overlooking the "wedding cake" city of Positano.

We were blessed to have our very best friends and closest family attend the wedding. We were blessed to have a perfect couple of weeks in beautiful Italy with the warmest over the top hospitable people and the freshest most gorgeous food. But most of all we were bless to have each other.

I am not a writer and could never express in words the love I have for Joe, but simply put he is the most amazing person I have ever met. Besides being my best friend, he is also a loving husband and devoted father. One of his best qualities is that he always puts his family first above everything. He is an eternal optimist. He works relentlessly to make me happy, to support our family and to make himself a better man. He works tirelessly to build our home and I am so proud of his handywork. One of the most important things I have always looked for in a man is someone that would be a good father to my children and I fall more in love with him everytime I see him have a tender moment with Dylan.

We have accomplished so much in the last four years - adopted a rambunctious dog, we had a son, and are expecting another son, renovated two homes, sold a house, bought a house, started new jobs. I am excited to see what the next four years will bring because I know that amazing things are in store for us.

I love you so much Joe. You are my everything.

Progress (somewhat)

No news is good news, as they say, sorry I haven't updated in awhile. Yes, we have made progress on the house. But not before an emergency call to the plumber for a leak in the basement due to some old valves and compromised pipes. Anyway, here is how we spent the last 7+ days.

Dry-wall is finished and primed - A huge accomplishment!

Bye bye navy blue walls!



Dylan gets a haircut. We have been trying to grow his hair long, but it is so fine and thin and grows so incredibly slow and we keep having to cut it to thicken it out. He didn't fuss at all, the lollipop helped I think. This is his 4th haircut ever.



My belly keeps growing and growing. I am 33 weeks pg here. I think he is a 7 pounder by now, for sure!


Joe and Dylan "help" me with the grocery shopping. Sometimes you have to do what it takes to get through the grocery store, even if it means letting Dylan lay on top of the dog food bag while pushing the shopping cart. Daddy was spotting him.
Boys.



We spent a Sunday afternoon at Arabian Knights Stables for a Gatehouse Media family picnic. Dylan got to ride a horse for the first time. I don't think he realized the horse was real until he actually got on it. Notice the serious look on his face. It was a fun day of games, bbq and farm animals. (Tip: For a closer look, you can open the photos larger by clicking on them.)




Our upstairs windows are in. We are all happy to have our rooms back. Now we need to get Dylan back in his own bed, sleep training starts again this weekend.
Here is the baby's room. I still need to make the curtains.

Here is Dylan's room. You can see the new window still needs to be stained brown or painted white, we aren't sure yet.



Next on our "to do" list is to paint the walls and then put down the new hardwood floors. We chose Valspar 5003-1B Belle Grove Valley Fog for the kitchen walls, a National Trust for Historical Preservation color. I thought the color was fitting with our 1920's house. I was going for cool, muted and serene.


Here is an extra photo. Dylan loves to line up his Matchbox cars. He is very organized with his toys, he keeps all his toys sets together. We still need to work on putting away our toys after playtime though.