Holiday Decorating

The weekend after Thanksgiving is always reserved for our Holiday decorating. This year was no different, except we were able to get the decorating in the house completed on the night of Thanksgiving.

Our decorating is simple; an artificial tree with simple ornaments and a few things around the house that were either gifts or handed down to me. Each year, we usually add something to our Holiday light display - we're still looking for the new piece this year.

When my Grandma passed away, I was given a large green Rubbermaid tote. It sat in my laundry room through the entire fall. Although I had glanced inside at its contents, I never really went through it. I pulled it out while we were decorating and found Grandma's Dickens Christmas Village.



It brough back lots of fond memories. Grandma would have my Grandpa set up a big table in the living room (heck, for all I know, it was a big sheet of plywood stacked on boxes!) She would cover it in white quilt batting that looked like snow and set up the charming village. She would put some of the boxes underneath the batting to raise up some of the pieces - I remember always staring at it in wonder as a child. The little houses would light up and the figures looked like they were just coming home from a grand Christmas party.



Although I was really happy to have the village - I had no idea where I would put it! There just isn't room in our house to set it up in such a wonderful way like Grandma did. Even if I moved out some furniture, there would be no where to store it through the Holidays. I was stuck and didn't know what to do. Then I looked around our family room. Nearly all homes with finished basements in MN have a ledge that wraps around the outside walls of the house. AHA! That is where I will put Grandma's Village!



The ledge is already painted white - so I added some lighted garland to hide the cords and went to work.

The Village goes across the entire ledge on one end of our family room. It's impossible to get a picture of the entire thing!

I remember I always loved this little house and the couple that I imagined were coming home from a party.

The village shops are so adorable. They look like small town America - the little towns that you can't help but love. There is toy store, a flower shop, and a book store as well.

I'm so happy that I was able to find a place to set up the village. It's a lot of work - and with little hands around, I might not set it up every Christmas for awhile. This Christmas, being the first without Grandma, it's especially important to have it set up. Madison is amazed by the little village and is constantly asking for it to be turned on.

good news!

My BP was down at my Dr. appt. this morning. So, I get to work for another week! YAH! Too bad I got most of my work done already and don't have much to do in the coming days!

Wicked

I had the pleasure to join several of my college girlfriends at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis for a showing of the musical Wicked.

All I can say is WOW.

I wasn't sure if I would like the musical. It is based on the Wizard of Oz, a movie that I have LOATHED since I was a child. I used to look forward to it's annual showing on TV and then I would cry through the entire movie. Strangely enough, Madison just watched it for the first time and she loved it!

The day started with a breakfast buffet at The Local. A very cool downtown Minneapolis restaurant and bar.

The show was sold out - and if I remember correctly, we bought these tickets all the back in early May. We have been planning this girl's day at the theater for a long time!

Wicked isn't really a prequel and it isn't really a sequel to Oz - it's a little of both. It takes place after the wicked witch is killed, but most of it is a flashback that tells the story of how the Wicked Witch became Wicked, how the Good Witch became good and it even ties in the cowardly lion, the tin man, and the scarecrow.

Let's just say, things aren't always what they seem. I think that is the true moral of the entire story. The Wicked Witch really wasn't all that wicked, more like misunderstood. The good witch, althought not bad, was not all that good either. She just did things for all the wrong reasons. I think a lot of people could relate to both the Wicked Witch and the Good Witch. There are lots of twists and turns throughout the entire musical and it gives an entirely new meaning to the movie.

The understudy played the roll of the Wicked Witch - and she was AMAZING. That woman had some serious pipes. She could really belt out a song and there were many times that I had chills just listening to her sing. It made me wonder if it would have been even better had the person who was originally cast for the role performed! The woman that played the good witch was delightful. It was impossible to not like her - one person in our party said it best when she said "Glinda could really deliver a line!" She was spot on. A lot of her performance reminded me of some Saturday Night Live skits and she was perfect for the part.

I'm so glad that I was able to enjoy a day with my girlfriends! It was great to see everyone and I really enjoyed the show.

It's a bird, it's a plane

It's SUPER MADISON!

Grandma snagged some Halloween costumes for Madison at Target. My plan was to let Madison play with one and put the other away for next Halloween. That plan failed miserably when Madison had to try both costumes on! She loves to play dress up, so even if one isn't saved for next Halloween, it will get a lot of use over the year.

Her favorite is the super girl costume. The witch costumer is actually a "Good" witch but she thinks it looks like a scarrrrry witch!

Expert diaper changer

Madison is the official diaper changer in the house! She learned how to change diapers in her big sister class last night. The teacher sent an extra diaper home for Madison to practice. When we got home, she immediately put the diaper on one of her dolls - perfectly! She was so proud of how well she put it on! I'm so excited to have an extra pair of hands for all those diapers we will soon be changing!

In the class, the teacher asked all of the kids who would be staying with them when Mommy goes to the hospital to have the baby. When it was Madison's turn to answer, she said in the softest, sweetest little voice "nobody." It broke my heart! Does she truly think she will be abandoned when the baby is born? I guess, we really haven't talked much about what will happen when the baby comes. It must be time to start talking with her so she knows what to expect.

Despite her heartbreaking answer to the question, she does seem very excited for her baby brother. She has started carrying dolls with her everywhere and proudly tells everyone that Santa Claus is bringing her a baby brother. She wants to buy the baby a present to give him when he is born. We might even make little birth announcements with treats for her to give out to her friends at daycare.

Big Sister Class

Tonight, Madison and I are going to Big Sister Class. It is a class offered by the Mayo Clinic to help her learn what it will be like to be a big sister. She will even get a t-shirt proclaiming her the big sister. I can't wait to see how she reacts to being a big sister.

She is so excited about the class and talked about it the whole way to daycare. When we got there, she had to tell everyone that she was going to Big Sister Class tonight.

She is supposed to bring a doll to practice diapering and swaddling and a newborn baby picture of herself. We got both ready last night and put them in the car today. She insisted on bringing a bottle for the doll. When I told her I was afraid she would lose the bottle, she became very upset and worried that her baby would get thirsty. Too cute.

As we approached daycare, Madison asked me "Mommy, will Big Sister Class be like going to school?"

She has been very interested in school lately and keeps asking to go to pre-school, even though our daycare is beginning to offer some pre school curriculum.

Since I'm not sure what to expect in the class, I told her it will be like school in that she has to sit quietly and listen to her teacher.

Let's hope the class doesn't scare her into not wanting to be a big sister anymore!

Gestational Hypertension

I had my 34 week appointment today and the news wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either.

The good news is the baby is just fine. No worries there.

My blood pressure is still high. Today, it was 120/89. Since all of my labs are coming back normal, I have been diagnosed with gestational hypertension. Basically, that means that my blood pressure has gone up for no apparent reason other than the pregnancy. It doesn't mean much for the baby, but it could be dangerous for me.

So - what does that mean? My doctor normally starts going with every other week appointments at 34 weeks. Instead, I will now have weekly appointments to monitor my blood pressure. If my blood pressure hits either 140 on the upper end or 90 (I'm just one point shy) on the lower end, I will no longer be able to work.

If it continues to rise, we will look at delivering earlier than planned. The goal, of course, is to get to our planned delivery date of December 22. If the blood pressure doesn't cooperate, the next goal is 37 weeks. That is a mere two and a half weeks away.

So - as if I weren't stressed enough by trying to get everything done when I thought I had almost five weeks, now I'm really stressed knowing I may only have two and a half weeks! I'm sure that is just great for my blood pressure.