Barbie mania...

I bought a box of Barbies and accessories from my friend and her daughter. It arrived today, and we just haven't been able to do anything (including pee-pee) else! She has dressed and undressed each one at least 10 times, mostly without my help. I am so amazed at how well she can maneuver the clothes...I had no idea she was such a Barbie-pro. The Barbies talk, dance, sing, boss me around, and play very nicely. What fun! We're having a hard time pulling her away from them to go to the Boo Bash. The girl is turning down Halloween for Barbies. Holy moly.


That look of determination...


Reading Barbie a "bed-night" story


Watching a "kids DVD" before bed

It's confirmed

Megan walked up to me with her princess wand. She put it on my belly and said, "Yep, it's a boy," and walked off. Who needs a sonogram when I have a princess wand?

The Buzz

Thanks to Daddy, and some other very nice Daddy's around here, some girlfriends and I went to the movies. Those of you who know me well are probably shocked, but it is true that I went to the movies. There was a reason...I broke one of my long-standing, very strict rules and watched a movie about a book I'd read. Yeah, yeah, that's one of my "nerd" rules, but I broke it tonight and am SO glad I did. If you haven't read or seen the movie The Secret Life of Bees, I would highly recommend both. FABBB-U-LUSSS! The book is actually one of my favorites, and the movie follows the book very well. The casting couldn't have been better. They did way better than I had cast it in my head! *deep sigh* It was just wonderful. Fair warning, ladies: unless your man is highly tolerant of chick flicks, go with the girls and don't forget your tissues!

School Party

Feels like Halloween is dragging on and on...but oh, we sure are enjoying it! We still have a moms group party and the Boo Bash (trick-or-treat) tomorrow. Then we can rest and eat non-sugar food for a while....yeah, right. We'll be in that candy for a month!

Today Megan had her school party, and we (the parents) were invited to attend. The kids ate cookies, brownies, and even fruit! Miss Tiffany had the kids introduce their parents. It was cute to watch each face light up as it was his or her turn (the parents' faces, too). I enjoyed getting to talk to the other moms as we are usually in a hurried rush to get them in or out of class. Apparently it wore Megan and me out because we crashed on the couch while watching Aristocats. Daddy snuck this picture...look, we can both still fit on the couch!

Thursday mornings

Megan and I are getting used to having Daddy around on Thursdays. The past few weeks we've been able to have breakfast together, and Daddy usually rides either to school or back with us. He can get much more info about her day out of her than I can. She likes to go "hang out" with him in the office after school. He gives her little assignments or rather paper to write letters. They're great buds!

Trunk or Treat

We took our plate of unique cookies to the potluck/Trunk or Treat. Megan and Ellie participated in the costume parade and sat still long enough to eat most of a hot dog each. Then out to the parking lot to trunk-or-treat. The daddies took the girls around while we gave out candy from the van. Needless to say, Megan zonked out as soon as we hit the highway. I'm hitting the Tylenol P.M. within the next 30 seconds...

Halloween Cookies

We spent the day with Joanna, Ellie, and Carter. We moms have got to quit having seemingly brilliant ideas...they sure sound good, but by the end of the "idea" we are worn out. No really, we had a good time today making Halloween cookies. The hilarious part was when the girls got involved. We laughed so hard at their excessive frosting and candy use. At one point Megan had 15 marshmallows on a cookie less than 4 inches long. Ellie got extremely excited about sprinkles. We were making them for the potluck dinner, so we had to monitor the frosting/candy on the fingers to the mouth. Megan had a 4 hour meltdown, which almost pushed me to the edge, but thank goodness it sort of ended so we could finish the evening.

Rolling the dough

Ellie and Joanna cutting cookies

Marshmallows anyone?

A loaded Haunted House. Megan thought every cookie needed a worm or two.

Carter got a little fussy in his swing, so Megan came to the rescue. She talked to him, brushed his cheek, and made him giggle. She told me that she's excited about becoming a big sister. Thanks for hosting, Joanna. We'll host the next mess! :)

Star chart

(Last post for the day, I promise)

Three weeks ago, we started the "star chart" incentive program. I got the brilliant idea from my Aussie friend, Kerryn, and it has worked miracles over here. I'll spare you the boring details, but Megan earns or loses a star each day to earn a reward of her choice...the ones she has in the pocket are: new dress, new toy, movie at the theater, and spend the night. It has taken 3 weeks, but she finally earned her reward. Today we went dress shopping and found a beautiful pink dress without bows or pockets. She is excited to start over for a "spend the night." Maybe this one won't take 3 weeks??? I'm so funny.

Along the same lines, sort of (to spare a whole 'nother post), Megan got to pick out her new "sss-wrap-book" album today since I got so many pages done on my weekend trip. I started the tradition, if you will, a while ago of letting her pick her album. She used to pick "aquareene" ones, but today she broke that streak. She wanted a pink one, and does Hobby Lobby hate me???? They had a PINK GLITTER one that "would match my glitter shoes, Mommy!" Seriously, I opened it just to look and there was glitter everywhere. It took a lot of convincing and a piece of candy, but we ended up with a bright pink (solid) one.

How to get a pregnant chick to run

"I just colorin' on dis wall. It's bea-u-ti-ful!"

Birthday dinner

After the Halloween carnival, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's for Uncle Scott's birthday dinner. Cati H. made all the food and it was YUMMY! Smothered steak...mashed potatoes...green beans...salad...corn...and *drumroll* apple pie. Definitely not on the pregnant lady complex carb diet, but oh so good! Granna and Double G's dog Leisl sent Baby Connor a present: a weenie dog sleeper! It even has puppy feet! Grandma also gave us some baby boy stuff...I wonder how long it was between her finding out it was a boy to when she went shopping...I'll have to look into that! Uncle Scott had some friends and family over, so of course Megan too center stage for entertainment. She hadn't seen 'Uncle' Beau for a while, so she latched onto him, even giving him lovins and pats. She somehow conned the young people into playing pirates and potato heads...Uncle Scott made a great potato head! Look at that face!

Halloween Carnival

Yesterday we went to the Halloween carnival in Gran and Papa's neighborhood. We went with the cousins, but we all kinda got separated due to pee-pee trips, the different games, and sickness. Megan dressed up in her Millificent costume (notice the "evil fairy" face?) and played lots of carnival games. The highlight was the "spider cupcake". It was SO dang hot!!! Should we be sweating this time of year????

Austin scrappin'

I'm in Austin with my scrappin' friends Sondra and Amanda. We've managed to spend a ton of money and time on our books, and had LOTS of fun!!! We've laughed and laughed and laughed...they are so much fun! They made sure I stayed fed, even if that meant driving to DQ for a Dude. I'm pretty relaxed and can't wait to get home to see my family.



Sondra's favorite page


My favorite page - LAST YEAR's Halloween


Amanda's favorite calendar page


My workspace - I like to call it "organized chaos"

Triangulation

Well, we're a family triangle this weekend: Megan is at Gran and Papa's house having a slumber party, I'm in Austin scrapbooking with my friends, and Daddy is at home working on things around the house. Gotta admit, I don't really like being spread apart like this, but hopefully Megan enjoys the break from us! :) I don't know what all Daddy has done around the house, but Megan's "ssss-wrap-book" is much thicker tonight...and should be even thicker by tomorrow night. Off to dream about "ssss-wrap-book" pages...

Fun, late night

Today was Uncle Scott's birthday. We have plans to have a family dinner on Sunday, but who could resist the invitation to have dessert at 9 p.m.? We met Uncle Scott, Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Mark. I haven't seen my Uncle Mark in a while, and it was good to see him. Megan insisted upon entertaining everyone with her antics (big surprise); as seen below she is sporting the bag for Uncle Scott's new seat covers.

Grandma made Megan a new nightgown to help with the nightgown situation. Grandma knows her so well...she even free-handed a pair of slippers to match! Megan had it on 30 seconds after hitting the garage floor. She's now sleeping better, according to her, in her new, long nightgown. Thank you, Grandma!

New food staple

During my doctor visit yesterday, we had to discuss my blood sugar issues. At first he told me to constantly eat to maintain the blood sugar; after I stepped on the scale, he changed the game plan. Dr. G gave me a new "30 second meal" to try, and whoa, what a difference. It's extremely low in calories (140), high in protein (12.5 g), low fat (4 g but I used fatty cheese), yummy, and I have never felt so full from a "meal" in my life. I had one this morning, and I was not hungry or felt like I had low blood sugar for 4 hours...new thing for me. Anyway, thought I'd share.

1 mini bagel, cut in half (Walmart sells these by the bag)
1 slice of skim cheese (I only had the fatty stuff here)
egg whites (purchased by the carton at good ole Walmart)

Spray the bottom of a coffee mug with Pam cooking spray. Pour a small amount of egg whites (maybe a 1/2 an inch) in the bottom of the cup. Microwave for 15 seconds; stir; microwave again for about 25-35 seconds (until it's solid and fluffy). You're free to season, but I'm not; I didn't, and it was still good. Put the egg on the bagel, top with cheese, and eat. Yum-o!

Things I have heard Megan say in the last 24 hours

"I'll drop you off at de doctor's and den I will go to Ellie's, okay?"

"I had 2 fartses...I need to poop!"

"I'm lookin' for sumthin. I need sumthin I need."

"You go in the office, and I'll be dere in just a minute."

"Here Mommy. You need dis tuning spoon (?) and dis stirring spoon for your dinner. Don't worry, I put dem in the pan for you."

Mommy: Do you want some strawberries?
Megan: If you will wash dem first I would LOVE some.

Completely uneventful

So, Daddy sat down with Megan to talk about her brother. He started out talking about how Wendy has 2 brothers on Peter Pan, Ellie has a brother, her cousins are brothers, etc. Then explained that the doctor saw a picture of the baby and that it's going to be a boy/brother. She was more interested in the fact that she was hungry, so the video I have is her screaming that she wants food. Okay, so we dropped it, fed the child, and revisited it later. It just sort of happened and in my current condition I can only run so fast to get the camera, so this is all I've got. She doesn't seem to care one way or the other...whew. I thought it was going to be ugly.

Oh, Brother!

Yes, I am the weakest link. I caved, but if you were sitting in that sonogram room watching him (giggle, I said "him") wiggle, kick, wave, and swallow, you would've caved too! Okay, maybe not, but I did. I held strong until the last minute, but then I turned to her and said, "Tell me!" It has already helped me, personally, so I'm glad I was weak. Anyway, all of you who knew I would change my mind were right! And in case you were wondering, Daddy is extremely happy! (And so am I if you can't tell from the excessive use of "!")

The sonogram went very well. He measured right on the date and looks healthy. He was VERY active, and the tech had a hard time chasing him around to get measurements. She'd show us the face and then hands and legs would fly into the screen. He's all over the place.

We've got the name picked out: Connor Landry, and as Megan keeps telling people it's "Landry, not laundry!" A side note about Megan: she doesn't know yet. We had names picked out going in there, so that's why she keeps making the laundry comment, but we haven't address the "you're having a brother" issue yet. I'm waiting for Daddy to get home to take care of it. :)

Numbers of the Day

Yeah, I got gas for $2.18 (so under $40 to fill up the van), and it's dropped from 71 degrees to 52 degrees in about 2 hours. I like those numbers, baby!

Megan's interpretation of Daddy's work

Nightgown Drama!

This girl is SUCH a girly girl! Along with shoes and dresses, now Megan has developed a nightgown obsession. It started a few weeks ago, but it really took off after cousin Alex let her borrow a "beautiful nightgown" on Friday night. No more pajama pants for Megan. She has 2 nightgowns that run through the washer at least twice a week, so it's slim pickins for Miss Picky (and one of the nightgowns is actually a tad bit small). Last night we shopped online for a new nightgown, and she found a Princess nightgown with slippers. We found the same exact nightgown, without the slippers, at 2 stores, but those were not the right ones because they were missing the slippers. Just to get a rise out of her, I put a pair of pants pajamas in the basket...she went hysterical! Cheap thrills. Anyway, thanks to Kohls we have a new nightgown with slippers (and it'll buy me an extra day of NOT having to do laundry).

20 week bump

Half-way there! As promised...20 week "little bump" picture. It's starting to seem a lot more real since the nasty sick-o days are over and the bump is starting to show more. We've started the naming process and think we have some good ones on the list. Megan seems to think so, too. For those of you who have been worried with me, Daddy hasn't mentioned the name Gunnar in a while...whew... :)

New adventure

Megan had her first sleepover guest tonight - Cousin Mandy. Last night as we were getting ready to leave Mandy said, "I come sleep at your house tomorrow." We didn't have any plans, so there wasn't a reason why she couldn't. Good idea, Mandy! It has been hiliarious. They have played dress-up, "grand-daughter" (something they made up), kitchen, babies, and watched Cinderella. It's 11:35 p.m. and we still have free entertainment. We can hear them chatting and plotting via the monitor and just won't give it up.

Halloween costume preview

Some time ago, Megan and I sat down to discuss Halloween costumes. Every time I asked she wanted to be something different - a cat, a princess, a mummy, Tinkerbell, a witch, etc. And one time she declared that she wanted to be Millificent, the evil fairy from Sleeping Beauty. If you haven't been costume shopping lately, Millificent costumes do not just come already assembled on a hanger. Therefore, I suggested she think of something else. Well, the Millificent idea would not go away, so we started talking to creative grandmas about the costume. Gran and Aunt Cathy took the idea and ran with it! Megan now has a very authentic Millificent costume complete with horns, a staff, black bird, and green gloves. She is SO very excited. She walked around in it saying, "Oh look, I'm cute!" We'll work on her humility later. A special thanks to our costume designers!

Halloween Party

Tonight we went over to Uncle Shawn and Aunt Kelly's for a Halloween party. First, we had pizza and cupcakes. Then the kids drew what they wanted to have carved on the pumpkins; the daddy's were in charge of the knives. Megan's pumpkin drawing was a tad bit confusing to Daddy, so she went outside to help interpret and dig out the guts. Uncle Shawn had 3 pumpkins to gut and carve, so it took him a while. :) After pumpkin carving, the kids went in to decorate Halloween masks. Megan's was very princess-esque with lots of glitz. Mandy told me right away that she was making her mask for me, even referring to the mask as "your mask." The kids played "stick the nose on the pumpkin" and that was hiliarious. In between activities, Megan snuck away to Barbie/Princess mania in Alex's room. If we needed to find her, we sure knew where to look. It was hard to pry them away from each other tonight. We didn't leave until 10:45 p.m. That's late for us. Thanks for a wonderful, fun night!

Pumpkin Fest

Today we went to a Pumpkin Fest at the Arboretum with Joanna, Ellie, and Carter. It was a beautiful day! The girls did very well and enjoyed the open air. We had lunch at an outside Garden cafe to the music of a wonderful piano player. The girls went over to dance to his music, and they cracked him up. When he finished the first song, the girls made a request, "Can you play us some princess music?" He obliged by playing some classical music (see below). Then for the next number, they stood in front of him and made "eye-goggles" like they were peeking at him. He asked what they were doing, and I said, "Who knows with those two!" The pumpkin patch area was full of kids, moms, cameras, and photographers, but that didn't stop my kiddo from crawling around like it was an obstacle course. I'm sure I broke some law, but I caught a monarch butterfly and let the girls each hold it. Megan is officially zonked out from all of her running around.

Quest

Don't worry...these pictures were taken the other day. We did not expose other kids to her germs today.

I'm on a quest for the perfect Christmas presents for Megan this year, and oh, am I so frustrated. I've spent some time wandering the aisles but mostly my evenings shopping online, which is much more comfortable than walking through a toy store. Megan doesn't have many 2-3 year old toys simply because I just don't even know what to get, and I hate to get things so close to Christmas. Thanks to playing at friends' houses lately, she is in love with Barbies with removable shoes and those microscopic Princess Polly Pocket things with shoes and accessories smaller than my pinkie finger nails. It also seems like anything she really seems to like has a bajillion pieces. Basically, she doesn't fancy anything conducive to having a new baby in the house. While wandering the aisles and webpages, I can't help but wonder...what are the toy makers thinking? Do parents really look for a box labeled, "Doll comes with 25 accessories!" Not me. I'm looking for a box labeled, "Doll and clothes only - Nothing else to keep up with!" Gone are the days where a little infant drum, a one-piecer, was satisfactory.

I realize that I am VERY picky about toys. I can't help it...they're so freakin' expensive especially if she doesn't like it or it breaks right away or pieces get lost. I'm always so concerned with finding something she will truly enjoy for a while and is age appropriate. For instance, Barbies at 2-3? Is that normal? I'm not being sarcastic or rude; I simply do not know.

Ho-hum, I'll keep shopping. Maybe Megan and I will take some field trips to the toy store over the next few weeks. And I'll keep watching her at playgroup and play dates. Maybe some magical toy will jump out and knock me in the nose.

Glimpse

This is our sick kid...she is all over the dang place. Thank you, Prednisone.

So big

Last round of breathing treatments we had to practically sit on Megan to get them done. We bribed with shows, fruit snacks, toys, etc, and one of us had to sit with her, holding the mask. This time around she declared, "I can do dis by myself." And she does. She came in my room before the sun was even up reminding me that it's time to do "dinosaur". She is also being very good about taking her medicine. I've known her to spew an entire bottle of steroids, refusing to even let a drop down her throat but we haven't had a single incident - yet.

She's home from school today, but the doctor said she is not contagious after this evening (24 hours of antibiotics). We hope to resume normal life as soon as possible. She sure doesn't act sick...bouncing around like crazy!