I'm not mentally unstable! I'm pregnant!

How are you supposed to get into the holiday spirit when it involves so much work and reorganization?! Last night, we decided to drag out all the Christmas decorations and put up the tree. Mistake #1 was attempting this BEFORE Ella went to bed.

Our first step was the move furniture and make some space for the tree. We decided on our usual spot in the living room, near the fireplace. (We assume if Ella wants to mess with any ornaments, etc... we're most likely to catch her if we're in the same room.)

Since last Christmas we've purchased a leather recliner which occupies that corner. This particular leather recliner is big and fat! We could only bring it in through the front door. It's too wide to be moved upstairs or down to the basement. Basically it's stuck on the first floor, or in the garage.

So we moved it into the front room. You know, the room which we never use that will eventually have french doors and new furniture and become an office. (TANGENT) We couldn't just move it down the front hallway to that front room. It's too big to fit down the hall, so we (meaning Troy since I'm pregnant and can't lift) moved it through the kitchen around the corner and into the front room.

Now the front room is packed full!!! Sofa and love seat, (both big and deep) huge recliner, bookcase, tables, lamps, etc... I hated it! I wanted to put up a big curtain and just close that room off until after Christmas.

Troy says, "I know you want it perfect, but it's only for a month." My response "fine, but no one can come into our house and see this mess for the next month." This is when Troy decided I was mentally unstable in my holiday decorating and furniture moving plans. I chalk it up to pregnancy and nesting and the need for things to be just right.

Eventually, after 4 or 5 re-works, we finally found an arrangement that we could agree on. Yes, the room is still pretty full of furniture and yes, Troy did have to take several ALEVE before going to bed last night. But I think we're actually ready to bring up the Christmas decor tonight. (of course, we'll wait until AFTER Ella is in bed this time.)

NO means NO (unless you're Ella)

It's hard to discipline when she cracks you up! Troy literally had to turn his head away from Ella last night, because he couldn't stop laughing at her. Sometimes, even when she's being rotten, she's just so darn cute!

We're working on "NO." Ella hears it, and sometimes stops what she's doing for a brief second. She says it, "no, no, no, no" when she's doing something wrong, or trying to tell another kid not to do something. But she really doesn't have the slightest idea what this word "NO" means.

She constantly wants to climb onto the leather ottoman, which we use as a coffee table. It's soft, it's the perfect height for her to get on top of, and it's a much better seat for TV viewing than the floor. Unfortunately, Ella's still pretty clumsy, and we're not so sure she won't tumble off and land on her head.

So the battle begins. Ella puts a leg up to hoist herself onto the ottoman. Troy pulls her down and says "NO Ella, you can't climb up there." Ella laughs and we go again. She climbs, Troy responds by pulling her leg down. "NO Ella." By the third round, this is a game and Ella is just cackling at Daddy. What fun they're having she tries to climb and he pulls her legs.

Plan B: Diversion

Finally Troy tries what the parenting magazines, parent educator, etc.. have been telling us... DIVERT THEM TO SOMETHING ELSE. Instead of pushing her leg down, he carries her over to her toys and starts playing. Game over. Who cares about climbing on the ottoman when you can play with Daddy on your car!

I'm not sure who won this battle, but I'm sure we'll fight it again soon. Ella may not know what "NO" means yet, but Mommy and Daddy are certainly learning something!

Thankful that Thanksgiving is over!

I'm so thankful for my husband! I'm thankful for his patience and his ability to juggle multiple tasks simultaneously while grinning and bearing it.

It was a rough weekend. I was sick. Ella was sick. First, we just had bad head colds. Then it got worse, so we made a trip to urgent care. Our colds had turned into bronchitis (Mommy) and an upper respiratory infection. (Ella)

You have to understand Troy's mentality... for him, a holiday is a time to lay around, watch football, play on his computer and enjoy time off from his work. Throw a child into that plan and his ability to be a "couch potato" is limited. Add my family, visiting for the holiday and Troy's free time is gone.

This was only compounded by his sick, pregnant wife and a sick toddler. Troy cooked, cleaned, fetched, entertained and pampered ALL of us.

Now that the guests are gone and we're on the road to recovery... Troy is ready for his 4 day holiday weekend to begin!

Ella and I are going to try to return the favor this week. Troy loves putting up the Christmas tree and decorations. He gets very festive! We'll make this a special time and hopefully, get him back in the holiday spirit! We love Troy (daddy) very much and we're so thankful to have him to take care of us!

(****On a positive note: my first Thanksgiving dinner turned out pretty well. Everything was edible and enjoyed by all. Lots of leftovers and we're eating those up during the recovery period!)

3 little words...

I can't believe I heard them today, for the first time, from my girl!

My parents are babysitting Ella today. They're in town for Thanksgiving and Laura's taking a day off from childcare.

Her vocabulary is really increasing lately. She says "Laura" and "truck" and "okay" and "Papa" pretty frequently. We've been hearing "Momma" and "Daddy" and "doggies" for what seems like months now.

But today, when I called home to check on her (and the DirectTV repair man who is late to show up) Ella talked to me on the phone. First she just listened as I said hello and blew her a kiss. I said "I love you Ella!" and soon those 3 little words came right back at me. "i love you..." (Papa says she kissed the phone. )

My heart stopped. She recognized mommy, and said the most precious phrase I'll ever want or need to hear. She loves me. That's it. I've lived my most perfect moment. Everything else... just gravy.

Vikings fan... a life sentence.

Ella is a Minnesota Vikings fan, by default. Troy insisted that just as he was raised cheering for the mighty Vikings, so would he rear his offspring. "MAN LAW." (Okay, whatever, as long as she can cheer for the Cardinals during baseball season, I'm fine with that.)

Football season is an intense time around our house. Sunday morning Troy and Ella put on their purple and gold jerseys and get ready for game day. Troy is glued to TV from noon until he goes to bed Sunday night, then again Monday night. (of course, this week, we have the Thursday night Thanksgiving game.)

Some of this season has been okay. The Vikings have actually won a few games and that makes Ella's daddy very happy. When the Vikings lose--- expect Troy to be disappointed and frustrated--- until Monday or Tuesday when he starts looking ahead to the next week's game.

Ella has learned to cheer and clap when the Vikings are doing well. But she doesn't quite understand why daddy yells at the TV, when they Vikings are messing things up. I guess that's a lesson she'll learn as she gets older. Unfortunately, this weekend was another loss for the Vikings. But Ella, Daddy and grandpa Robinson all hold out hope that someday, they'll see their mighty Vikings win the Super Bowl!

Finally Friday! Will we survive the weekend?

It's funny how I've always looked forward to weekends, and still do, even though they are no longer a time of rest. Once Ella entered our lives, the days of sleeping late ended. 7:15 is a welcome break for us. If she sleeps to that point, we feel like we've had a real treat!

None of us will be sleeping this weekend, we have grocery shopping and prep work to do! My parents are coming into town and I've decided I'll make Thanksgiving dinner. I've never cooked a turkey before. I'm just going with a turkey breast for the 4 of us (+ Ella). I ordered it in advance, so I won't have to thaw a frozen bird for several days. How hard can it be? Worst case scenario, we'll have hot dogs and all the side dishes.

As if Thanksgiving guests weren't enough, we're entertaining friends this weekend. Troy spends Sundays parked on the sofa, in front of his new TV. (more on the 46" monstrosity in a later posting) Anway, he wants to have his friends over to watch football. Great idea! But, the timing means more shopping and more cooking just 2 days before my family arrives!

Oh and I did I mention we have dinner plans tonight with friends at our house, plus Ella's Christmas card photo appointment Saturday afternoon?! Throw a grumpy pregnant lady and a high maintenance toddler into the mix... thank God it's only 37 days until Christmas!

Our doggies

They're Ella's best friends. I had to write about the dogs today so I could share a cute weekend photo.

Daisy and Lola have loved her since the day she came home. Now Ella's mobile, and the dogs have a new playmate. They can chase her around the house and run together in the backyard.

These dogs are patient with the newest member of their pack. They let her poke at their eyes, pull their tails, even ride on their backs like a horse, (notice Daisy the lounge chair) and they still want to be with her morning and night.

These are truly a toddler's best friends!

Nightmare night!

Who knew night terrors would be so scary for the whole family!?

Let me first explain that Ella is a great sleeper. She's been this way since she was 2 months old. She wants to go to her bed, with her blankets and be left alone. No bassinet, no co-sleeper, her crib, her room. Now she says "night night" and heads for the stairs when she's ready. She actually looks forward to bedtime!

So this is a new development for us, but apparently it's pretty normal for kids Ella's age. We've had a couple of occasions in the last month... where she just wakes up screaming. Nothing will comfort her expect Mommy and Daddy. She wants both of us, in her room, at the same time, hugging her. She is afraid to be left alone after one of these terrors. She will lie back down, hug her "blankie," cover her head and just cry. She's scared of whatever happened in that dream!

Last night, we spent 2 hours trying to soothe her before we finally gave up, and brought her into our bed. This is not something we like. (by we I mean all 3 of us) Normally Ella just won't sleep in our bed. She lays there talking and playing with Dad's nose or watching the clock which projects onto the ceiling. But in this case, being with mom and dad was all she needed. She was asleep before Troy even got under the covers and she stayed with us until morning. 1-3 a.m. was rough. 3-6 a.m was... well... at least quiet. We all got some, but not nearly enough sleep.

Troy hates mornings in general, he's grumpy when he wakes up. A morning like this could push him right over the edge! But he's trying to take this all in stride. (I think it's hard to be a grump when you get to wake up next to that little bundle in her footed pj's. All we had to do was save her from the bad dream.)

Ready or not, here comes our blog!

Well, I've watched friends do this for months and finally decided it was time to join the electronic age. As Ella gets more active, we get busier, and it just seems tough to keep up with everyone on what's happening in our family. Hopefully, this will give us an easy outlet and you an opportunity to check up on us from time to time.

Troy has already flat out refused to offer ANY CREATIVE INPUT WHATSOEVER to this project. He will provide "technical assistance" as needed. I think he worries that I might actually use some his strange ideas in my posts. (as if!?)

Anyway... here's where we'll start this all off: it's a week before Thanksgiving, 2006. Troy and I are busy as ever with work and keeping up with Ella. She'll be 15 months old next week. She occupies her time chasing the doggies, digging all our Tupperware out of the cabinets, and generally destroying newspapers, magazines, or anything paper that she can get her hands on.

We're lucky Ella is a good sleeper, a great eater, and a generally happy child. She's a big flirt and Troy knows that will come back to haunt us in a few years. But, for now, she's a gem!

I'll try to post photos, updates, etc... every 2 or 3 days. Feel free to check back at anytime and let me know if there is something I'm forgetting to talk about.

Speaking of forgetting things, I've already forgotten to mention baby Robinson to be. He or she is due June 1st, 2007. We are in our 12th week of pregnancy and so far things are going really well. Last week we had our first ultrasound and heard the baby's heartbeat. That was a big relief for me. There's just something about seeing and hearing that life in there for the first time. It was also a big relief for Troy. I've been dreaming of twins and triplets, but the doctor assures us there's only one baby in there!

I should mention right off the bat that this will be my steam of consciousness talking. You may get some random things thrown in from day to day. (I'm a pregnant lady who can barely remember to turn off the faucet after brushing my teeth, so just cut me some slack.) You should also know that I'm a TV person at heart. I've been writing for 15 years in a way that's comfortable for people to speak aloud on camera. I'll use ellipses (...) in places where they probably don't belong. My sentences are usually short and to the point. I'll do my best to avoid the spelling and grammatical errors. But that's just how I write, so take it or leave it. I never promised this would be a work of literary genius.

I do hope you'll find this a fun way to keep up with what we're doing. Until next time... (see there are those pesky ellipses!!! Already!)