Finally a Picture!

Hi everyone! I've been home for a week now and still feeling a little overwhelmed. Thanks for all the well wishes, emails, comments, and calls. Adam is doing GREAT! He's such a good baby, I feel a little spoiled because Alex was also a great baby.

I haven't had any time to post, let alone read other people's blogs. So bear with me while I try to get back into the swing of things. In the meantime... here's a picture of my two boys! (I love saying that!)

I'll try to post a brief version of the birth story in the next couple of days. I'll also post more pictures, too.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Sorry for the media reference-couldn't help myself! My name is Therese, and I am one of Sydney's real life friends. She has given me the honor of announcing the birth of her latest addition!

At 7:20 PM this evening, Sydney, along with her husband, Craig, welcomed Adam Nicholas into the world. He weighs 7 pounds, 12.5 ounces and is 21 inches long. I am sure that big brother, Alex, will be pleased to finally meet his baby brother!

If Sydney has more she wants me to report, I will do so as she needs me to. I am sure she will have pictures up in a few days, once she is home and settled in.

Congratulations, Syd! I, for one, can't wait to meet Adam!

Let's Have Some Fun With My Impending Due Date

I appreciate and am moderately amused by the amount of concern people have in this, this last week of my pregnancy. At least in theory it's the last week. As I have to keep reminding folks, Alex was a week late!

So we're going to make a little game out of this. It's called "Guess the Delivery Date."
There will be a prize for the winner, but you won't get it until the new year. I have a feeling I'll be pretty busy after baby arrives.

In the comments section, post when you think I'm going to have the baby.
Day, date, and time. Tie breaker will be guessing the weight of the baby.
One entry per customer. Relatives can enter too.

Some background to help you formulate your guesses?

Alex was a week late. He weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz.

Let the games begin!

Getting Ready for Christmas

I sent Alex and Craig out this weekend to get a Christmas tree. They made a stop to see Santa along the way. They did a great job without me! I'll have to keep that in mind for next year!

Such a nice smile! Alex asked for Transformers, Legos, and toys for his baby. He's very generous and wants to make sure the baby isn't left out. He even made a few requests for the baby in his letter to Santa.

At the tree lot. Apparently they took the very masculine approach of walking past a few trees, pointing to one, and saying "That's the one." Unlike me, who usually ends up taking 20 minutes to find "the right one." I'll post pictures of the fully decorated tree tomorrow. I still have a few decorations for the house that are MIA. Need to find my nativity set, and I have a few light-up things that haven't made their way up from the basement.

One week and counting!

I'm one week away from my official due date, December 14.
Seems like forever ago that we found out we were expecting.
The second time around has been a much different experience in a number of ways.

For one thing, I was in much better shape this time when I got pregnant. I don't think
I've gained as much weight this time around, and it's all belly, which is good.

I think another contributor to being healthier is that I'm in a much better job situation than last time. I was still in TV news when I was pregnant with Alex. It was very stressful most of the time... and it's a wonder to me that Alex was a week late, given the amount of stress I had those last few weeks. There were a number of occassions when I was certain that stress was going to
send me into labor, but it never happened.

I'm also not surrounded by unhealthy food choices. My current place of employment has two fabulous cafeterias with many healthy eating options. While I admit I don't always choose those healthy options (the pizza here is SO GOOD!) I have had my fair share of normal sized sandwiches (no footlong anything or greasy burgers for me), salads, soups, and other healthy entrees.

I feel bad that I haven't documented this pregnancy the way I did with Alex. I used a website to create baby web page with Alex that served as a kind of diary for friends and family to follow the pregnancy. It was fun, but now that I have a blog I didn't realyl need to do that this time around. I also don't feel like broadcasting every little detail of this pregnancy.

Craig razzed me about it a little bit, so I let him take some pictures of the growing belly. And we'll definitely post pictures once baby arrives.

As I mentioned yesterday, everything feels ready to go. The house is cleaned. Christmas shopping is mostly done. Now... we wait. And Alex was a week late... so I'm not expecting anything to happen immediately!

Surprise Shower at Work

My co-workers surprised me with a shower at work on Friday. They all seem convinced I won't be back in the office next week. One of the manager's even said she would question my sanity if I came in to work next week, even though I'm not due until December 14th. I hate to tell her, but I plan on working until the baby comes... whether they've written me off or not!
Anyhow... it was a great day, filled with presents, a very well done diaper cake, bagels and muffins, lunch, and more presents.
They also got a couple of things for Alex... a moose and a big brother gift. Plus a giant box of diapers and box of wipes, plus a basket full of bottles, baby wash and lotion, washcloths, etc. Tucked inside the gift bag was some baby clothes and a gift certifcate to a spa for me. WOW!

It was such a sweet surprise! I'm really lucky to have another really great group of people to work with. I had a great group of friends at the TV station. I made a couple of really good friends when I worked for the non-profit org at my first PR job. And now another great group of co-workers. I better stay put for awhile... don't want this luck to run out!

So this weekend is going to be filled with final Christmas preparations. I'm sending the boys out to see Santa and get a Christmas tree. I'm done Christmas shopping. The house is clean. The babies room and 99% of the baby parphernalia is ready. I need to polish up my Christmas card list. I shipped a couple of baby gifts (will post pictures after I know the recipients have recieved them). Now all we need is the baby to let us know when it plans to come! We're waiting!

Recipe Swap Thursday- Sugar Cheese Crescents

Therese requested Christmas Cookie recipes for this week. This is one of my favorites. It's an unsual cookie. There's nothing really Christmas-y about it, other than my mom only made them at Christmas. First the recipe, then a story.

Sugar Cheese Crescents

1 cup sugar (divided)
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup softened butter (I use margerine)
1/3 cup sweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp. cinnamon

Combine 1/2 cup sugar and all remaining ingredients except cheese and cinnamon. Blend well, then add cheese. Mix cinnamon with remaining sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into balls by rounded teaspoonfuls. Roll balls in cinnamon sugar mixture. Shape into crescents.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Remove from sheet immediately.

This is one of my all time favorite cookie recipes. I used to help my mom make these every Christmas. I think my other favorite would be my Busia's Kolachy. There's a bunch of different takes on Kolachy... my grandma's were cookies... made with pastry, with jelly placed on top, then topped with powdered sugar. (I know some people do a Kolachy that is more like a coffee cake.)That's one recipe I don't have yet... will have to get it from my mom. I could gorge myself on Christmas cookies each year, except I don't normally have time to bake that many. These are really good slightly warm with a big glass of milk!