Home for Christmas

We made the journey home to Michigan again for the second time in 4 weeks for Christmas last week. Travels were good on I-80 which can be touch and go this time of year so we were very lucky. Of course when we got to Michigan it was a complete winter wonderland,the first day we were there we got about 6 inches of snow, and that was in addition to the foot already on the ground. The worst part was the 40 mph winds and the -30 wind chills, we spent a lot of time just hanging out inside at Jeremy's mom and dad's that weekend. We spent a few days in Mt. Pleasant with mom and dad Rellinger and went out to dinner at Mountain Town and we also caught "Yes Man" at the theater. It will be the last time we see the fam until Rece arrives so it was nice to have a few days to hang out. I do have to say though I did miss having a glass of wine (or four) sitting next to the fire to celebrate the holidays. I have already "called" the holidays for 09 so to speak, meaning I will be partaking in the festivities next year and Jeremy will be on baby duty :-)

Then we were on to Jackson to see my parents. On the way there we went to Babies R Us in Lansing and spent gift cards and got a lot of the items on my "need before the baby comes" list. We spent the actual Christmas holiday in Jackson (pictures below) it was a lot of fun and great to see the whole Dawson crew.

We headed back to State College on Saturday the 27th because I had to work on Monday the 29th. When we arrived home we found that Angel had positioned herself between two of the dining room chairs we had laid on the couch to keep the dogs off the couch when they were being dog sat over vacation. While she was on the couch she urinated. Of course she urinated on the part of the couch that is the largest piece, the chaise lounge. The foam and batting is completely ruined of course and I am not sure about the cover. Luckily when we purchased the couch, just a year ago we purchased the protection plan that also covers bodily fluids from pets. So when the company re opens tomorrow the 5th I have to call and see what will and what won't be covered and then we will go from there. But after a great trip and travels home, this was the last thing I wanted to see, it kind of ruined the trip for me. I was upset to the point of balling about it. Basically because I thought it stunk that we go out of our way to have our dogs taken care of in our home, so they aren't kenneled and we allow them to be in the house rather than keeping them cooped up in our utility room on their beds. To do this we cover our furniture with other heavy furniture and somehow our geriatric stubborn Rottie fits herself there and demonstrates her incontinence on our 1 year old couch....it just doesn't seem fair.....

So then we began the battle of the urine. Angel has begun to leak and pee freely and unknowingly in her sleep. She is 11 and a large dog so these problems of old age shouldn't be a surprise, but with a baby due in 8 weeks or less, it is a problem. Part of my break down also included thoughts of dog urine all over my house when I am going to be welcoming an infant to it shortly.

So we went to the pet store and bought her a doggie diaper which she proceeded to soak through the first two nights. Then came the trip to the vet. He said at her age this is a common issue especially for dogs that had been spade. He gave her some pills to help tighten her "sphincter" and they have worked great! Within two days the dripping completely stopped and no more wet diapers at night! This is a major relief as I did not want to be diapering a baby and a dog.

All dog issues resolved, besides the fact that our couch is now short one end piece, we began working on the nursery (separate post) and we celebrated the new year. We went downtown to see the ice sculptures again this year and went to lunch and to cold stone for dessert. Which as you can see from the Christmas pics I probably don't need at this point, but oh well....

All in all the last two weeks without having to go into the office much has been great I will be very sad to see it end :-(
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year!

29 weeks and Christmas right around the corner

I am 29 weeks pregnant this week and I think my belly grows a size each day now. Sleeping is a whole new adventure as well, I am still getting used to having to wake up to roll over - as it takes that much effort. This is the last full week of work for Jeremy and I for 2008 and we will be heading to Michigan on Saturday morning for the week of Christmas, I can't wait to have some good R&R time.

Also included in the pictures below, our Christmas tree and Emma also got into the action as I was trying out the new camera.

Holy Baby Stuff...

On Sunday we closed out the weekend with a rain soaked trip back down I-80 to PA. It got a little bit interesting when it got dark and we were in the mountains and the temp dropped to 32 degrees. Overall with the weather and traffic it took us about an hour and a half longer to get home than normal. It also doesn't help that I have to stop and pee a bit more often than usual at this point. (The trip home for Christmas at 30 weeks should be even more interesting) Happily when we did make it back to PA the rain had let up enough for us to un-load all the baby gear we received at the shower. For now - it is laid out nicely on the bed in our guest bedroom. Jeremy is set to patch walls and prime this weekend in the Nursery followed by paint next weekend and then we will start to put the room together with all of the new goodies.

We got a lot of the "big stuff" off of our registry which is awesome! Car seats, pack and play, high chair etc. So much less to worry about between now and then. Over the next few weeks I am going to put together a list of any items that are "must haves" before Rece arrives and do a little shopping. Today Jeremy and I both had the day off and we went to Target and bought our crib mattress with some gift cards we got. I really want to put the whole crib ensemble together, it already looks a lot more "real" with the mattress. :-)

Here is a picture of all of the goodies from the shower, this doesn't even include all of the books! My mom had a great idea to have each shower guest write a message in a children's book and now Rece already has a shelf full of books at his disposal!

Baby Shower

On Saturday my mom and Jeremy's mom put on a baby shower for us in Jackson. It was so nice and a lot of fun. There were lots of ladies there from my family and Jeremy's family as well as some girlfriends who also drove in. The theme was snowflakes, so the colors were blues and silvers. My mom made up the cutest centerpieces with snowflakes, puppies and other baby animals. I just can't say Thanks enough to everyone that came, it was so nice of people to drive in from out of town especially on such a busy weekend, and of course also too many Thanks to mention for all of the wonderful baby gear we received. Baby Rece is going to be very spoiled. Also a huge thank you to my aunts who helped make all of the food, it was so good! Finally the biggest thanks of all to my mom and mother in law, Lynn, for putting it all together for us, I don't know where we would be without our families. It was a fitting end to a Thanksgiving weekend, so much to be thankful for. Here are just a few picks from the shower, I need to get a few more from some of my aunts that were snapping away with cameras...

Oh....the name.....

So - as I had mentioned before we were keeping our baby boy's name to ourselves... Well that was more Jeremy's desire than mine although I didn't mind keeping something a secret until the big day. Anyway, he confessed to telling some teachers at school, and also said he didn't care if we told people going forward. And since everyone always asks...and in case we didn't see you over the Holiday weekend...our baby boy will be named Rece Alan Rellinger.

26 weeks going on 27

This was a picture Jeremy snapped on Saturday before my baby shower in Jackson. I will be 27 weeks on Wed. Time is a flying.....

Catching Up

It has been a while since I have done any blogging.... so since then we have had our new washer and dryer delivered, love them! At least for a while laundry will be so much more fun.

We traveled home to MI for thanksgiving on Wed night, my cousin Carly drove to our house in State College from NJ on Tuesday night and rode with us to Michigan on Wed. Luckily we had only a little snow to deal with in PA on Wed and once we got to Ohio it was dry and smooth sailing on 80. On Thursday I went to my Grandma and Grandpa Dawson's for dinner and Jeremy went to the Lions game with Clint (they left at halftime). It was a great Thanksgiving and it was a lot of fun to see everyone.

Friday my mom and I went into Jackson, but didn't do a lot of shopping, although I did finally find a stroller that I truly love at the Toy House in Jackson. Here it is... http://www.dreamerdesignonline.com/index.html?srcad=dreamer-design$

And I ordered a new Camera for Jeremy and I from Sears. It's this one -http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00353139000P?vName=Computers+%26+Electronics&cName=Cameras+%26+Camcorders&sName=Digital+Cameras+%26+Bundles

Ours is starting to fritz out - might be from some of the times I dropped it at the bar in college - and we wanted something that could fit in a pocket for easy handling after baby arrives. Sears was offering $50 off the day after Thanksgiving and I did in store pick up so no shipping.

On Friday afternoon, Jeremy's mom and dad arrived in Jackson and his mom Lynn, my mom and I went to the Church to decorate for my baby shower on Saturday. My Grandma Dawson, Aunt Val and Aunt Luann also helped out so we got everything done pretty quickly. Friday night it was off to the Olive Garden for dinner with Jeremy's mom and dad, my parents and Clint and Taylor. It was great to have a nice long weekend to spend with everyone.