dear riley

ok, you win. you win. you have beaten your sister. you have baked longer than she has. you have given me more false alarms than she ever did. and i pray your next plan of achievements does not include beating her birth weight. i am just not prepared to handle that.

after staying up until 3 this morning making shirts and filling orders, i still find things to do and finish before you come. but all of the important ones are done. so, you can come now.

one of the things that i had on my list was to make a hospital door sign. like everything else, i had no idea what color because your mom thought it would so super fun to keep you a surprise. ha. i am over the fun. anyway, i went with white, khaki and brown and i have to say i love it. i cannot wait to put it on the door. and knowing me, i will probably find a way to sell these, too...by the way, hi, i am your mom, i have a problem filling my plate a little too full.

and before i completely forget details of my last pregnancy, here are a few things to remember...

• i was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at 30 weeks which also means i have been to the doctor every single week, wednesday at 8:30, to check on you.
• i have only gained 14 lbs. that is pretty incredible compared to your sister. she liked mcdonalds a whole lot. and it showed.
• at 31 weeks i got a stomach bug. the worst kind of stomach bug. especially because i had a chick-fil-a #1 combo a few hours before. and now, to my dismay, i can no longer look at a #1 combo.
• i have eaten more eggs, cheese, peanut butter, and veggies than i ever have in my entire life.
• i haven't had anything sweet except for a couple of ice creams since july 1st. can someone please bring me an extra large oreo blizzard to the hospital?
• because of the added protein and the deleted sweets, i haven't had to have any insulin. yay for your mom!
• and like i mentioned, you have beaten your sister. you have proven your point. now come on out. and is you are bigger than 9 pounds, COME. OUT. TODAY.

i love you sweet riley wells.

now seriously, come on out.

preschool and jana

addison started preschool today and i think it was successful. the whole carpool thing intimidated her a little but she did great. heck, the carpool line intimidated me. and as a side note, for some reason i am stuck on 2 things i will never do as a mother: #1 i will NEVER be late picking up my children and #2: i will NEVER miss any event they are participating in. ok, never say never but dang i will try to make those two NEVER happen. and for the record i wasn't late today but i wasn't in the front like i wanted to be...gotta put my game face on for next tuesday. i cannot be in the back of the line.

so i didn't get a ton out of her when i picked her up except that she loves her teacher and the playground was fun. i am pretty sure she didn't say a word the entire time she was there. she is known to only talk to adults in the bathroom when they take her to go tee-tee. so silly. oh and she didn't eat her lunch. she immediately asked for her bag and next thing i know she is chomping down on her pb&j and crackers. huh. i bet she thought someone else's lunch looked better that hers. i wish i could put a spy cam on her to see what super-moms pack for lunch.

so what/who is this jana in the title? well, funny you ask. late this afternoon addison started playing "teacher" where i was finally allowed a little insight into her day. i am pretty sure she was recounting all the things mrs. cheri did at school. it was pretty cute. and of course addison's main student was jana. yes blog world, we have an imaginary friend. jana. i would introduce you but she pops in and out of the house so fast i just can't seem to get a pic. haha. one minute she is here, the next i am sitting on her. such is the life of an imaginary friend. she has been around for a couple of months now and although she has come and gone a few times, i think it is safe to say she is a permanent friend in addison's little world. and thanks to jana i was able to learn a little more about addison's day. and like i said, i think preschool is a success!

sleepless

it is midnight and i am wide awake. 36.5 weeks and insomnia has hit. or maybe it is just a sick joke preparing me for infant-hood. riley starts kicking at 10 and doesn't stop. for hours. quite an active little person he/she is. but, alas, i am thankful for those little kicks.

i am also thankful for tbs on nights like this. 3 episodes of sex and the city in a row make it all more manageable.

it is the off limits midnight snack, however, that make me nuts. you know, just a little pudding would be nice. but nope. no pudding. no cookie. no cake. no ice cream. no fun.

oh and on another note, if you are a mom, pregnant, sentimental, emotional, ect, ect, ect, do not read jane green's new book promises to keep. i really love her books but this one had me boo-hooing. every night. tonight i read for an hour and a half just to finish the dang thing. unless you are a glutton for punishment or just need a good cry, skip this one. it honestly might be the reason for my sleepless nights.

commercial is over. back to my guilty pleasure. nite nite.

preggers ramblings

in just a few weeks this little miss' life will change. she is really excited and will remain excited IF (and only if) riley is a girl. if not, well, she might just try to keep him from coming home and living in these four walls. she is cute. yes. but she is a little tricker, too. i'm gonna have to keep an eye on her.

this pregnancy has flown by. until now. i remember with addison, how the days just seemed to go on forever. how they creeped along. us just sitting here. waiting. anticipating. and being completely naive as to what this whole parenting thing is all about. then BAM, here we are, three years later. sitting. waiting. anticipating. and yes, still somehow remaining naive.

i am 34 weeks and measuring on time. when the dr told me this i reminded him that little miss also measured "on time" and still seemed to be a whopping 9 lbs 12 oz. his response? "yeah, i don't think we will be getting a small baby this time either." great. nice. can we induce NOW? if we do, i might get a shot at a 6 pounder. just a thought.

so, i am pretty confident induction is in our future. i was a week early to the day when addison was born and i just can't fathom the thought of watching the friday night sidelines show between pushes, wondering when terry is going to turn his phone off silent and get the heck off the field to come join us while we welcome our 16 pound baby into the world. or even better, trying to get a hold of him while he sits and watches "history in the making" as joe paterno and savior saban grace the field of the newly expanded bryant-denny stadium that holds 101, 000 completely insane, crimson wearing, bear bryant worshiping, "we got 13" yelling, good 'ole sweet alabama folks. yep, i pray for an induction. riley doesn't need to be exposed to the roll tide nation quite so early.

on another note, i didn't take many pictures my last pregnancy and i certainly haven't taken any this pregnancy. but today i actually ironed my clothes. i actually fixed my hair. i actually put makeup on. i mean, i actually looked normal. and no one was home to take my picture. so, i took matters into my own hands. for history sake, riley, here is "our" picture. i love you already!

the long ride

i am just shy of 31 weeks. bearing the summer heat as much as i can. you know, staying indoors, riding air conditioned trains, and hanging in the pool watching little miss "jump" off the steps.

thankfully i have gained under 20 lbs this time around but dang it, i still managed to get gestational diabetes. i had a small (ok, large) pity party today. i guess i just have felt so confident and proud for not going overboard with riley. but what can you do. goodbye ice cream, hello glucose monitor. oh yay.

so, what once was a fast moving pregnancy now feels like it is creeping by. like a train ride. at least i have this little cutie to look at along the way.

speaking of this little cutie, we have her orthopedic appointment tomorrow morning to check on her hip. i have no idea if i ever even blogged about her hip but as a baby she was born with hip dysplasia (yes, like the kind dogs have). she wore a brace contraption for a few months and thankfully it corrected the problem. now we just have to keep checking on it, every year, until she is 5 or 6. i just pray that her little bone is still growing the way it needs to be.

things with my cousin are still the same. no real change. just playing the waiting game. i know my uncle just wants to see his eyes open. i so pray that happens soon. just a little flutter, a few seconds to see, for matthew to say to them "i'm hanging on, you hang on too." they have a long ride ahead of them, i pray for them endurance and hope.

i had no intention for this to be a medical blog but i guess that is what it has become. to my friends out there, thanks for reading, thanks for praying. and please, don't eat a donut around me. i might bite your hand off.

(about the pic...a few weeks ago we were in the mountains with my mom and jim and we took a fun little ride along the toccoa river in an old train. she loved it - can you tell?)

what to do?

the tingles are frugal these days but the idea of preschool daily tugs on my mind. to send her or not to send her?

i have been putting it off and today i finally made the call to our church preschool. and just this morning a spot came open for the Tuesday/Thursday 3 year old class. i was secretly hoping in the back of my mind that they were all full so the decision would be made for me. but that just ain't how things work, does it? ha.

so i have until tomorrow morning to make the decision. and i have no idea what to do. i know it should be a no brainer but i go back and forth so much on what to do. i guess after sending her to daycare for two years it would make it easier but it actually makes it harder. i just got her back - do i want to send her away again? i know, i know....2 days for 4 hours is not exactly sending her away again. oh the drama my mind creates :).

so, all you moms out there with cute little preschoolers...help! is two days even worth the money? educationally? socially? ect? ect?

heavy heart

we made it back home after being in georgia for over a week and it feels nice. but my heart and mind are still there. still with family.

my cousin was in a car accident last night that has resulted in some major injuries. from far away my dad keeps us updated. sends his love back for us. and waits with my aunt and uncle. waits with them as they worry. waits with them as they weep. just waiting. the next 72 hours will be critical. as of now he has conquered death for 24 hours. i pray that it quickly turns into 72 hours. 7 days. 5 weeks. a year. a lifetime. in the meantime, we wait. and we pray.