We put up our Christmas tree yesterday, but half the lights didn't work. Emma was so excited about getting the ornaments on so we went ahead and did that, and I figured we'd just have a half-lit tree. Well, it was annoying me after just a few hours, so today we went and got more lights. Now we'll have to undecorate it to put them on, then decorate it again. I'm sure Emma will be thrilled about it, though.

When we got out all our Christmas stuff from the basement and the garage, some spiders came in as well. We saw two little ones, which we captured and put outside, but then there was this huge monster beast spider crawling across the back of our couch. I hate to kill anything, especially in front of Emma, but this one had to go. I told her to watch it, then ran in her room to get a shoe. When I came back, the spider was nowhere to be seen. She said she didn't know where it was or where it had gone. Ack! That was yesterday afternoon and I haven't sat on our couch since, because I don't want to disturb the monster spider who is apparently living in there now. Blech!

We had freezing rain all day yesterday, and are supposed to get 8-12 inches of snow today. I didn't want to dig my car out from under the sheet of ice, but I really had to go to the store for some food. My doors were frozen shut, but after kicking them, hair drying them, and trying to pry them open, I was finally able to get one open with hot water. Now I am so glad we made it out. It's really snowing outside, and we are holed up in here with everything we need for the next couple of days. Today we are planning on watching movies, baking cookies, drinking hot chocolate, and making Christmas presents. What could be better?

We are home. We took the train back last night, and the 5.5 hour ride on the very crowded train wasn't too terrible. The people all around us trying to sleep or read peacefully might be thinking differently, however. There was another little boy right across the aisle from us, and he and Emma became fast friends and terrorized everyone else in the near vicinity.

Emma is still gimping around, so I took her to the doctor this morning. Apparently she is going to survive, but will just be a bit slow for awhile. Not too long, I hope, because carrying her everywhere seriously wears me out.

We were planning to get Emma this dollhouse for Christmas, but now we're getting her this one from Target. I've been wanting to get her some pots and pans for her play kitchen, and replace her crummy plastic food with wooden food, so this way we can do both, in addition to getting her a dollhouse. So this morning we were at Target looking at toys, and I figured I could slip the dollhouse onto the bottom of the cart without her noticing since she was at the end of the aisle, engrossed in some other toys. I slyly pulled the cart up next to it, then slid it onto the cart. Without even looking up from whatever she was playing with, she said casually, "Are you getting that for me, mommy?" Gah! I said, "What?" and she looked at me, then nodded at the dollhouse, and said, "That box. Are you getting it for me?" I stupidly muttered something like, "Oh, I didn't mean to put this here," and put it back on the shelf. I should have known better than to try to get something past her.

Our Thanksgiving was great. Steve, Emma, and I met my family at a cabin down at the lake for a couple days. We played games, watched old family videos (I was so, so annoying at age nine), hung out outside in the fantastic weather, and wrote our yearly "What I Am Thankful for this Year" letters. It was a perfect weekend.

Now Steve is back home, and Ems and I are staying at my mom's house. Emma hurt herself jumping on the trampoline yesterday afternoon, and has yet to put any weight on her injured foot. I forgot how much work it is to have a child who can't get around on her own! If she is still crying around and not using it by tomorrow, I'm going to try to get her into a doctor somewhere for x-rays. I feel bad for her because she is obviously in pain, and has not been her cheerful self since it happened. Can two-year-olds use crutches? I doubt it.

I am feeling completely irrational today. I brought my favorite kind of bread from home so that I could eat turkey sandwiches (my current food obsession) while I was here. Today I went to the store and got turkey, cheese, and sprouts, but when I got back here I couldn't find my bread. I know it was there yesterday, but it is mysteriously gone today. I actually had to sit on my bed and compose myself for a minute, because I was dangerously close to crying about the ridiculous missing bread. I had to eat my sandwich with some other bread my mom had, and now just writing this I am tearing up again over my lost bread. Apparently I am well on my way to becoming a completely crazy person.

ETA: Today I am thankful that Steve is such a good sport about participating in my family's traditions, including our homemade family Trivial Pursuit game, which includes questions like, "Who was Peter's second grade teacher?" and "Name all the cats we've ever owned."

Our weekend was really great. Friday night we saw my brother's play and it was outstanding. I was so proud of him.

The Bed and Breakfast was also good, although the night away from Emma didn't quite work out. I called to check on her at 10:00 and again a little after midnight, and both times they said she was doing great. The second time my brother said she was looking pretty tired so they'd probably go to bed soon. I hung up thinking the night was going to be a success. As I went to sleep I was really missing Emma and almost wishing that we'd brough her with us. At 3:52 a.m., I was awakened by my cell phone ringing. My poor parents and Emma were in their car on their way to the B&B. Apparently my dad had driven Emma around at 12:30 to get her to fall asleep. They put her to bed with my brother and all was well until 2:30, when she woke up. For the next hour, they tried everything to make her happy, but she just cried inconsolably and repeated, "I can't nurse without my mommy!" So they loaded her up and delivered her to us. Thankfully we were only about 25 minutes away. I met them outside and brought her in. I think I was almost as happy as she was to snuggle up together and go to sleep. The owner of the B&B was pretty surprised to see her in the morning! Kids under 12 are not supposed to be allowed to stay there, but the owner handled it well. For Christmas every year my mom and dad give us a night at a B&B to be used in the next year. We're thinking we'll try to use the next one before the baby comes, but meet up with my parents at midnight or so to get Emma back for the night.

I signed up to participate in a homemade ornament exchange with some friends. We're exchanging the ornaments sometime in early December. There are eight of us, and I assumed we'd each make one ornament and swap with one person in the group. Today I realized that we are all supposed to make one for each person. Yikes! I was already worried about finishing my Christmas knitting, and now I have to add these ornaments to my to-do list. I seriously need to get busy!

Today I am thankful that I have such wonderful parents who I can completely trust with my children.

Emma and I have been listening to a lot of Christmas music lately, and as soon as she woke up this morning, she told me she wanted to listen to the Geese Mamamot song. I told her I didn't know what that was, and she kept saying, "Geese Mamamot! It's a Christmas song, mommy!" Several hours later, Feliz Navidad came on, and she started jumping up and down excitedly. "Geese mamamot! Geese mamamot!" Ah ha. No wonder I didn't get it.

This morning we were at Target, about to check out. We were waiting in line when another cashier opened up the lane next to us. I headed over there, and called to Emma (who was inspecting all the candy for sale in the aisle) to come with me. She looked up, didn't see me, and took off running in another direction. She disappeared into a nearby aisle, so I left the cart and went to get her. As I rounded the corner, there she was holding the hand of some stranger, along with a little holiday Life Savers package, and saying to the stranger, "Should we get this for Christmas, mommy?" The lady looked completely amused, and just stood there looking at Emma, who clearly thought this woman was me. I said Emma's name, and she looked up at me, then looked at the lady for a minute, then dropped her hand and sprinted to me, looking completely terrified. The lady said Emma came running around the corner, saw the Life Savers, grabbed them, then came over and took her hand without ever looking up at her. I guess the excitement of the Life Savers - which I'm pretty sure she has never had before - made her forget that she didn't know where I was!

We are getting ready to have a wonderful weekend. Tomorrow Steve is taking off work, and we're driving to St. Louis. Tomorrow night we're going to see a play - in which my little brother plays the lead - so I'm pretty excited about that. Then Saturday night Steve and I are going to stay at a Bed & Breakfast all by ourselves. That's right...ALONE. Emma is going to stay with my mom and dad. It will be the first night in her whole life that she will not be cuddled up next to me, and I'm feeling a little sad about it. I think she'll be okay, and she won't have to sleep by herself there or anything, but I'm still pretty nervous about it. I hope it goes well, because it will be nice for Steve and I to enjoy a night alone together. We probably won't get another chance for three or so more years.

Sniff, sniff. Emma got her very first haircut yesterday. She looks so old and grown up to me now. She was very excited to get it done, and was a perfect angel the whole time. She had been saying she wanted a "pink haircut" for awhile now, but afterwards she didn't seem disappointed that there was nothing pink about it.

I have no control over myself when it comes to my stomach these days. Last time I was pregnant, I don't remember having such strong cravings for certain foods. Today Emma and I were going to Wild Oats, and I was feeling a little hungry. There is a Cheesecake Factory right in front of WO, and as soon as I saw it I thought about how delicious some of their Chicken Littles (basically chicken strips) and mashed potatoes would be. The Cheesecake Factory is a little extravagant for just a weekday lunch, so we went ahead into WO. I looked in their deli area but nothing looked as appetizing as Chicken Littles and mashed potatoes. I decided to just get my shopping done and go home and eat lunch there. Halfway through, thoughts of Chicken Littles were taking over my brain. I couldn't focus on anything else - I absolutely had to have some. We backtracked through the store and put everything that we had back, then walked over to Cheesecake Factory. Mmmmmmm. It was so very worth it. I don't think I've ever enjoyed a meal of chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans that much in my entire life.

I am realizing that it's going to be difficult for me to buy presents for Emma for Christmas. Last year she was still more or less oblivious, so I could easily slip something in the cart, pay for it, and take it home without her ever noticing. So far this year I have seen several little things that I thought would be good presents, but I couldn't get them because she was right there and there is no way to get something like that by her anymore. How is this going to work? Do I just have to buy everything online? That also poses a problem because she gets really excited about going through the mail every day, and is thrilled whenever a package arrives. Hmmm.

Here is a cute pair of slippers I finished knitting for Emma. I just got the pattern (Stripey Slippers from Little Turtle Knits) yesterday, so they were super fast to knit. I think they are so adorable that I have already started a pair for myself.

Today I am thankful for the baby that kicks and jabs me all day long, giving me a little tingle of joy every time I feel it.

Awhile ago I mentioned that Steve had gotten a speeding ticket, and then because of some sort of miscommunication with our lawyer, he had a warrent out and a threatened license suspension. To avoid the suspension, and all the hassle and money that would be involved in reinstating his license, we had to take a last minute, middle of the night trip to St. Louis (where he got the ticket) Wednesday night. He didn't get home from work until after 9:00 that night, so we ended up rolling in to my parents' house pretty late. Thursday morning he went in and paid the fines, then we hit the road again and were back home a little after noon. It was nice to see my mom - for all of 45 minutes - but it seemed like a huge waste to make that drive and not get to stay any longer.

Emma has suddenly become super whiny and bossy. I'm getting more than a little tired of hearing demands like, "Get me some water!" and (in the whiniest voice ever) "I neeeeed a snaaaaaack," all day long. I think I say, "If you can ask me nicely, then I'll get it for you," a thousand times every day. I hope this is just a phase.

Brrr, it is cold outside! After a few really nice days, it was quite a shock. Emma and I left to go for a walk, but turned around pretty quickly because it was too cold and windy for us.

I threw up today, BUT I am thankful that it was the first time I have puked in almost two weeks!

A year ago today I set up a Sitemeter account to track how many hits I have to this blog. The count is currently at 13,088. It amazes me that, in that last year, people have come to this blog over 13,000 times because they're interested in what I have to say. Or I suppose they could just be bored, but that's okay too.

I heard a great tip about clearance Halloween costumes at Target (thanks, Catherine!), so yesterday Emma and I went to check it out. This dress, at 90% off, cost all of $1.50 and she loves it! It was a struggle getting her to take it off for bed last night, and she put it on right away this morning as soon as she woke up. We're taking a walk with some friends this afternoon and I suspect she'll be wearing it for that as well.

Today I am thankful for this gorgeous weather! Right now it 75 degrees outside and sunny. Does it get any better than that?

Wow, I haven't blogged in almost a week.

Emma and I spent five days at my mom's and had a great time. Here are a couple pictures of Emma while we were there.



















Poor Emma is sick now. Since we so rarely get sick around here, I forget how crummy it is when it does happen. All she really has is a stuffy nose, but that makes it hard for her to sleep and I can hear her struggling to breathe all over the house. I really don't like giving her medicine, but last night we were getting no sleep so I went to look for something. I found a little unopened bottle of decongestant, but it expired over a year ago, so I chucked it. Also, yesterday Emma sneezed while I was carrying her into the post office. When we got home, after the post office, the dry cleaner, and the grocery store, I discovered a huge glob of snot on my jacket. It must have happened when she sneezed, and I'm so glad I went all over town with it stuck to me. Lovely.

Kansas City has two radio stations that play nothing but holiday music around Christmas. One of them has already started, which is a little ridiculous, but has inspired me to download many, many Christmas songs for my iPod. I love Christmas music and am so looking forward to the holidays, so Emma and I are already enjoying all Christmas music, all the time.

My friend Catherine had the idea to blog about something for which we are thankful every day during November. I'm getting a late start, but today I am thankful that, because I went to the store yesterday, today we have a refrigerator full of choices of delicious things to eat.

I think Halloween was a hit with Emma. We started off by going to the library yesterday for a fun Halloween program (I love Dino O'Dell!) The little kids all wore their costumes, and Emma had a mini meltdown when she saw a few other girls in pretty princess-type dresses and decided she'd rather be wearing a dress than a cow suit. I can't imagine why. Anyway, they got some candy at the library and that made her feel better. People were giving out candy as we walked out the door, and she exclaimed, "I'm so exciting about this! This candy makes me very happy!" Next we went to the thrift store, and she got more candy, which she was also very "exciting" about. I let her have one piece, and in the car she asked for another piece. I explained that candy is not good for us so we had to wait before we could have another piece. She laughed and said, "Silly mommy, teasing me 'bout candy not being good! Candy is very tasty for me!" Anyway, she had so much fun trick or treating and was extremely excited about every single piece she got. We're saying she gets two picks of candy a day until it's gone. What she doesn't know is that I'm taking most of it out to send to work with Steve, so it will be gone hopefully by the end of the week.

I'm knitting washcloths for some people for Christmas, and planning to wrap nice soap in them to make them a little more exciting. I realize that knitted washcloths are something that one might expect from an 80 year old woman with not much taste, so I'm trying to find cute ones that people would actually want. I finished this one yesterday, and I don't like it at all. For some reason my bobbles are on the wrong side, and it won't lay flat. I think I'll save this one for MIL, and find a better pattern for the others.

Today I decided to take Emma to St. Louis to visit my family for a few days. We haven't seen them in a few weeks so I am starting to miss everyone. We will probably come back on Saturday, depending on how much Steve has to work this weekend.

And, lastly, here is the belly at 17 weeks.