Taking 2 kids to your OB check ups

My mom has watched the girls for me the last couple times, but let's face it: there are lots of appointments and sometimes it just seems easier to bring them along. Here were the highlights:

-getting lost on the way even though I've already been there twice this pregnancy.
-having our name called quickly and getting my hopes up that our wait will be really short, only to end up waiting longer in the tiny exam room instead of out in the nice big open waiting room with a kids area. Next time we're going back out there to wait and the doc can come get us!
-peeing in a cup in a tiny bathroom with my two kids standing right in front of me and wondering what in the heck I am doing.
-bringing skittles for them to eat during the appointment. Ainsley managed to eat them neatly for the first half of the bag. The second half was smeared all over her face, shirt, and hands. That was a nice sticky mess.
-Addison saying "I have to go to the bathroom!" right in the middle of my time with the midwife.  She was super sweet about it and even offered to keep Ainsley entertained while I took Addison (even though I know she had other people waiting. My sincere apologies to those people who were waiting, but you gotta do what you gotta do). It helps when your midwife is a mom of two young kids too.

Really, in the grand scheme of things, this was a pretty easy breezy experience. No trantrums. No poopy diaper blowouts or accidents, etc. etc. etc. The best part was that my midwife plopped the girls up on the exam table with me and let them help "hear" the baby's heartbeat. She had to completely maneuver around both of them, but it was a really sweet moment.

I think we'll get to find out the sex in about 6 weeks!

Oh and yeah we stayed another 15 minutes so the kids could play in the play area. I got to read a magazine. They played. Win-win.

Halloween Plans

As a kid we went trick or treating and dressed up in normal costumes until my mom decided those days were over. Then it was the good 'ol Halloween Alternatives at the church! Yep biblical costumes and all! I was Queen Esther and Eric was Jonah (complete with a gigantic blow up whale). I think in middle school we started trick or treating again with friends and that was the end of that. I never went to another Halloween alternative celebration again and swore I would never do that to my kids. I mean, it's just so....dorky.

The idea of them just kinda bugs me. I mean, if you think it's that evil of a holiday than why are you still participating in the general idea? Is putting on a costume and going to church different than putting on a costume and walking around the neighborhood? In 9th or 10th grade my mom decided to put bible verses on all the candy we handed out and I was MORTIFIED at the time, but now I think that was a pretty stinking good idea!

As for me personally, I know my own boundaries. I can't step foot in a haunted house or watch a horror movie because I really can't handle scary things. I get images in my head that I can't get out and I have a difficult time sleeping without nightmares. At the same time,  I really don't feel convicted about putting Addison in a princess costume and walking around the neighborhood with her.

Our church never did the Halloween alternative thing. Ever (well in the 5 years we've lived here). And we're Baptist!!  All those years I was so proud.... Then I was at a MOPS steering team meeting and someone announced that we were having a trunk or treat. My heart kind of sank a little. I mean, not totally, but a little bit. REALLY? Our church is doing that?! Awww maaaaan!! What's next our own church gym or church yoga studio? Just kidding....


Then I thought about it for a couple of months. Hmmmm...this could be kind of fun. First we're going to have a big carnival with blow ups and rides and food and then the kids will go around and get candy from people we know. How fun is that?! To see so many friends and see their kids' costumes? You know I am a girl who loves to socialize. We'll all be in the same place! A couple in our life group has a vintage car from the 50s in great condition so we decided to use their car and do a soda shop theme. I mean, this is going to be really fun! I am totally on board now.


Ha! You should have seen the look on my mom's face when I told her the news about participating in this thing. Like my next move would be to dress the girls in denim jumpers, french braid their hair, and talk about homeschooling (not that I have anything against homeschooling. If someone else wants to homeschool my kids (for free) they're hired!!).

Yes I have changed. Who'd have thunk? What are you guys doing for Halloween?

New, Yummy Recipe

I made Italian Skillet Dinner last night and we all happily chowed it down. Addison even ate two bowls of it. It's really good, easy and really healthy. I thought I'd share it with you since I'm all about food these days.

1 lb turkey Italian Sausage
1/2 chopped green pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 cups vegetable juice
1 1/2 cups brown INSTANT rice (uncooked)
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook sausage w/ a small amount of olive oil so it doesn't stick to the pan for 4 minutes. Add peppers and onion and cook until softened.

Add tomatoes and vegetable juice. Cook and stir until mixture boils. Remove from heat and stir in rice (uncooked). Let simmer for about 5 minutes, stir, and remove from heat.  Cover and let stand for another 5 minutes or so until the rice is cooked. 

Add mozzarella cheese and serve.
Because the v8 juice cooks the rice, it is really flavorful.

Anyway things around here have been ok. I've still been dealing with my little friend called morning sickness and this friend is not treating me well.  I have tried everything under the sun and there have been a few things that help:

-Eating all the time. So much that I am totally dreading getting on the scale for my next appointment.
-Those preggie pops. Yes they actually work. I was a total skeptic, but I shelled out the $5 for that tiny little tin and they came through for me. They leave a horrible taste in my mouth so I have to keep peppermint gum around to help with that.
-Yogurt--not sure why, but it does help relieve the nausea a bit. 

Here are my latest cravings:
-Fish tacos (oh my gosh I want to go to On the Border or Houlihans or Cheesecake Factory SO BAD!!)
-Jamoca Shake from Arby's. I wouldn't recommend giving some to your 20 month old. She will dance and jump all over the place late in the evening and you will have to explain to your husband why she is so hyper. I really wish I had video taped this....
-grapes, yogurt (see there are some healthy things on the list)

ANYWAY

Devin had a long work trip to California last week, so the girls and I drove to Manhattan with Heather and Noah and had a little sleepover with the lovely Leah Graves. Yes Leah hosted us and all of our crazy kids. We ate all her food and made a lot of noise and probably scarred her husband for life, but he was extremely sweet and welcoming too. He even made mac n cheese for all the kids. It was a great little getaway and I got to have all my favorite Manhattan things like Rock-A-Belly Deli and Call Hall Ice Cream combined with seeing wonderful friends. It was fun to show Addison where Dev and I went to college even though I'm not sure she totally understood. I need to buy one of those shirts that says "I Miss Manhattan" because it is certainly true.

This Wednesday I am going on another little adventure: the girls and I are flying to DC to see Devin's parents and for me to attend Dan Triman and Julia Golden's wedding. Dan and I went to high school together in Maryland. He was dating one of my best friends and we became friends. When they broke up she and I had kind of drifted apart, but Dan and I realized how good of friends we had become and stayed in touch all through college and beyond. Julia is wonderful and they are perfect for each other. I just need to find where the heck Woodstock, Maryland is and I'm all set to celebrate with them! I am also really excited to spend time with Devin's parents too. There's lots of celebrating to do with them: Roz's surgery went extremely well, Devin's dad got a new job and they are in contract on a new house. Then there's the whole baby thing. :)

I am sorry I don't have any pics to post. Our camera is a real piece of junk and barely works these days. We really need to get a new one, especially before baby comes along.

Love you guys!

It's been awhile!

Hi blogging friends!

Sorry I've been out of commission for the last few weeks! There has been lots happening around the Riley house: some good, some not so good and to top it all off I've been really busy!

I'm pretty sure all of you know by now, but we are pregnant with Riley kid #3. I was so excited about this baby and the whole idea of having a 3rd just brings me so much joy. I am not sure how we are going to fit this baby in our house or in our Camry, but we have about 8 months or so to figure it out.

I wish I could figure out an easy way to get rid of this morning sickness. It is killing me! Oh man...I wake up each day feeling nauseous and go to bed every night feeling the same way. When I wake up in the middle of the night the nausea is still there. I have heard that morning sickness indicates a surge in hormones and that there is a less chance in miscarriage, so on one hand the nausea makes me feel a sense of relief, but WOW, it sure is hard to deal with this everyday. Praise the Lord for preschool!!! Addison goes to preschool for 2 1/2 hours 3 days a week and it's only 4 minutes away. We drop her off, Ainsley takes a nap, and I watch TV and nap and rest and do nothing (and feel kind of guilty) for  that whole time. It is worth every penny.

It helps that Addison loves preschool. She unbuckles herself, throws her backpack over her shoulder and runs up the steps to the door full speed ahead, always stopping to wave and say "Bye mommy!" I don't even have to get out of the car! It's even cuter when we pick her up. Ainsley and I come inside and Ainsley runs in front of all the parents who are waiting to catch a glimpse of Addison. She is always so happy to see her after those 2 hours. Then Addison hugs all of her new friends and gives me the "preschool scoop" on the way home. "Mom, Trent got in trouble because he was chewing with his mouth open" etc...

Because I can't seem to write a post without talking about car drama, I've got more for you! All summer long the Camry's been giving us trouble, but Devin's 97 4runner was holding strong. Then it started overheating and leaking coolant. Thinking it would probably be a quick fix, we took it in. Baaaaaad news awaited us at Midas: $3k Have you ever heard of such a thing? THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS to fix a car? What the heck? That is just crazy! Well considering:

-the radio doesn't work
-two of the doors are pink
-the back won't open because the bumper is dented

and all of this new stuff, Devin doesn't want to fix it. It's only worth $3k to begin with. So now it's up for sale on craigslist and we're trying to decide what we're going to do next. We are only a few months away from paying off our debt, so we have decided to try the one car thing, pay off the debt, and then start saving up for another car.

I know it is not the end of the world, but frankly, I am really frustrated and angry. We have been working so hard and staying on a budget for four years, the end is in site, and now any money that would be used for a fun "we're out of debt" trip has to go towards another car. The thing is, I know we could go out today and get a really nice car with probably a pretty low payment. It would be so easy and it's so tempting. I just know that is not the answer. If we did that, what will we have learned this whole time? I am not judging anyone who has a car payment, I just know how difficult paying off all this debt has been and I don't really want to jump back into round 2. We'd also like to start saving up for a down payment on a bigger house, but how can we do all of these things?

I was so furious this afternoon. Sure we won't have any debt, but I thought we were supposed to feel "richer" than this. But I don't. Things are just as tight around here as they were before and will be even tighter if we have to save up for another car.  Anyway I was pretty mad and felt like God was leading me to open up the Bible to get some perspective. Nope. Didn't want to. Too frustrated.  I watched Oprah instead. It was about this Colombian lady who was kidnapped for 6 and a half years. Now THAT is perspective. She talked about how she was brought to God during the ordeal and her favorite verse was from 2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is sufficient for thee."

Not a fun get out of debt trip, not a nicer car, not having the ease of two cars, but just Him. That should be enough. He will provide our needs; he always has. I feel like I am learning this lesson a whole bunch of times, and it's always hard to go through, but I am so thankful for a God who gives us second chances and a God who does care about our needs, trivial that they may be sometimes.


Thanks for listening!

My Mom

Link over to Brooke for more info on Mommy Guilt Monday.

Today we're all posting a little something about our moms.

I think the thing I should appreciate more about my mom is how firmly she believes in me. She accepts me for who I am and doesn't expect me to be like her, but she believes in me so much she won't let me believe lies. Whenever I start to act like a martyr or feel sorry for myself, she speaks truth. Sometimes it upsets me. Let's face it, when life sucks sometimes you just want to sit in a big ol' pitty pot for a little bit. Considering my spiritual gift is mercy, when people I love are hurting I like to jump in the pit with them and stay awhile. I believe this is good initially, but not for too long. That's where my mom comes in. She is just amazing at pushing her loved ones to be what God has in mind for them.

There's a quote that says "A friend loves you for who you are, understands where you've been, and still gently invites you to grow." She is just so wonderful at that. Whenever I throw out my dreams ( I have a lot of ideas) she is the one to say "Well what would the first step to that be?" When I got a grant writing position she believed in me and said "Yes I believe you can do that!" even though I had a lot of doubts.

Even though I say things like "let me be" or "leave me alone" or "quit pushing me" to her fairly often, I am so thankful for a mom who wants me to grow. It has nothing to do with measuring up. I know she loves me where I am; it's about her knowing what is best for me.

Love you mom.

Mom of the Year

I volunteer at the church every Thursday. My job is to send out postcards and call all the parents of preschoolers who visit our church. I love it! It's so fun to meet with all these new people and get them plugged in.

Anyway, now that Addison has started preschool we have to bring a lunch to church and eat there because she has to go right to school when we're done at church. On this particular day I had little Lucy with me (one year old girl I nanny for twice a week). I manage to get all the kids outside to the playground at church, settled and eating lunch. Ainsley as usual wanders over to the playground to play, Addison's munching, and I'm spoonfeeding Lucy. All of a sudden I hear the words few parents enjoy hearing when they're in the middle of something:

"I have to go to the bathroom"

Great.

We are outside, on the opposite end of the church where the restrooms are. Our food is all laid out, the kids are all settled. There's no way I'm getting three kids inside in time. Not happening.

There was lots of nice grass around the playground. Hmmm....
No one is around right now.....the parking lot is dead....... Hmmmmmm

Plan B!

Addison and I walked over to the side of the playground, I maneuvered her in squatting position, and she went.

In the middle of the "going" I hear a car beep. Uh oh. I look up and there is Judy, the director of our Childrens' Ministry opening up her car door. Right next to us.

I was mortified. I started stammering something about having three kids with me...too hard...bla bla bla, but inside I was DYING. I mean, who lets their daughter pee in the grass right in front of church?!

She just chuckled and said "Ohh I'm just smiling." I take it she's been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. One can only hope.

P.S. Addison loves preschool
P.S.S. I love the delightful 2 1/2 hours I have to myself while Addison is in preschool.

I love to laugh.....HA HA HA!

(Mary Poppins)

but sometimes my sense of humor gets me into trouble. It's been this way since I was in jr. high. Even to this day, I can take it a touch too far. People who don't know me that well think I'm a weirdo or just completely inappropriate. It even messes up my witness as a Christian.

Like how at Spring Canyon (when I was 15) I got in trouble for my "I Never" statements, and I felt so terrible about it, telling my supervisor "I don't want people to think I'm nasty!!!!"

Or the time at 17 how my friend and I made up a fairy tale that involved trolls and dragons and one particular staffer that we didn't care for. It got in the wrong hands. Oops again.

Perhaps 25/30 facebook status updates? Oops.

Or my snarky comment about my co-worker at Baby Gap. I felt so bad about that one that I had to go back and tell him what I had said and ask if he'd forgive me. That was tough.

There are so many other instances. I'm 28 and sometimes I still do and say stuff that I wish I hadn't. I wish I had remembered the filter. I call it "foot in mouth" disease.

Gossip is right up there with that stuff. There is something about having a nice piece of juicy gossip--you just can't wait to tell it to someone. I am not sure if it is because you want to fit in or again, make people laugh. The thing is, once it's out...you feel disgusting. You feel like a failure. You lose people's trust. It's really pretty awful. I am making a pledge to give that up forever. I know I will fail at this more times than not, but I was thinking how amazing it would be to never gossip again. To never say "have you heard about so and so?" What if you had that legacy? And you all know me well enough to know I don't think I'm better than anyone else. It's hard for us all. The thing is, I've seen what gossip can do to people when it gets bad. It destroys relationships. It's terrible.

Let's just be real for a quick sec: I'm not talking about celebrity gossip!! Like Jake and Vienna: will they get back together? and should the Duggars really have another baby?! That doesn't count!!


Anyway I'm still learning, and I'm trying to be honest about where the line is. Sometimes it's hard to find the balance between "real" and inappropriate. It's so wonderful to have a great laugh (a belly laugh) but not at someone else's expense. You know?

Like I said. I'm still learning. No this is not about that triathlon shirt comment on facebook. That shirt was hysterical. I want one, but my dad thinks it was only funny because the lady wearing it was well in her 50s and quite heavy. Then again Devin would be mortified. Or would he be proud?! See, here I go again....I CAN'T STOP!

This is actually referring to my wine picture on my facebook page. We are supposed to submit pictures for our first Mops meeting. I stumbled across that one of me drinking a glass of wine at Cheesecake Factory and thought about sending it to the girl collecting them to see what she'd say. Thinking she might not get the joke I instead posted it for all of my 700 friends to see......

That would be fine and good except for now I have a leadership position at MOPS and have 95 new friends. Some of them might not get that I only had one glass and not 6. :::sigh::::

Live and learn. And keep on laughing, but maybe I should try to take it down a notch.

Thanks for listening.