Villa Family Events

OK, so it's been a while

2006-11-04T00:21:00.000-05:00

Let's see....

Alan now has 8 teeth.

Danielle is doing well in school, I however have not been to spend as much time with her doing school work as I would like. I'm hoping that will change now that the October birthdays are over.

Ashley had a wonderful birthday party at McDonald's, she and I still have to write her thank yous though.

In other news, there really hasn't been much going on other than my planning one birthday party or another. Since that has calmed down I'm hoping to regain control of the house this next week. Planning 4 parties in two weeks will make your house look like you never clean it, not to mention the laundry situation. I'm working all weekend so everything will have to wait until Monday.

I've started Christmas shopping, but I have lots to do. For me, I'm behind this year. For those of you that are interested there are 50 days left until Christmas. Doesn't sound like much does it?

Now that I've depressed you, it's time for me to go to bed. Hopefully I'll be better at blogging next week.

Recent News

2006-10-26T09:03:00.000-04:00

The computer and I have been having issues so I haven't been able to post lately.

This week we've had Alan getting up at night because of his 8th tooth and/or because he's decided it more fun to sleep with mommy & daddy. We're trying to get him to go back to sleep on his own without us coming in to see him. It's amazing how quickly they learn that if they cry we come and they get to sleep with us.

Ashley had a fever, we took her to the doctor and found out she had an ear infection. He also gave her something for her cough, which was keeping her up at night and therefore keeping us up at night. Yeah for good drugs!

Danielle took a header this week at school, she has a bump on her head and a scrapped up nose. She apparently missed a step on the playground.

Mike has a cold and is feeling slightly better than crap according to him. I'm hoping he takes care of himself and gets better soon.

I'm hoping that I don't get what he has, in fact I've been sleeping with Danielle in the hopes of not getting Mike's cold. It may sound extreme, but we can't both be sick with 3 kids.

In other news, Danielle had a good birthday party with her friends and I've finished the thank you notes, yeah for me. Now we're gearing up for Ashley's with her friends. Mid to late October will always be busy for us. Gone are the days of planning a party just for the family.

I should go now, the laundry and house work are calling. Have a wonderful day.

Busy Busy Busy

2006-10-18T23:34:00.000-04:00

Where to start....I guess I should start with Danielle's birthday, she's now 6. She had a nice party in Toledo on Sunday, Danielle got lots of things for her birthday and she seemed to have a good time and that's all that really matters. That's all that should matter at this age. Aunt JoAnne came, which was nice, she's fun to be around, we don't get see her often. Mike's grandparents came as well which was another pleasant surprise, they don't usally come to the parties anymore since hard for them to get around. My father-in-law seems to be happy too, I haven't seen him smile so much for a long time. I definitely think that when you're young and when you're older you should be happy. I hope when I'm older I'm happy too.

Yeah!! My friend Diane came over and helped decorate the girls' rooms (ok, she did most of the decorating and manual labor, I did the purchasing). I can't thank you enough Di !! Danielle's room still needs a throw rug, a large picture and curtains, but it really is mostly done. Ashley's room is done which is good. Once I clear out all the summer boxes of clothes from the kids' rooms I need to start on Alan's. I think he'll mostly need a throw rug and new curtains.

I had to work tonight so today was not very productive, but I did make some good chicken noodle soup. Tomorrow I will be busy.

Tomorrow I have to do laundry, figure out what I need for Danielle's party on Saturday and spend quality time with the kids. This will not be an easy task, but I'll fiure out how to do it all later. The rest of this month will be chaos for me too. Once I recoup form Danielle's birthday parties I then have to jump into Ashley's.

Well, I just realized what time it is, I have to go to bed now since you all know I have a busy tomorrow. I'll try and write again this weekend. Bye for now.

Birthday Picture II

2006-10-16T14:42:00.000-04:00

This is Ashley's 4th birthday picture. They're both growing up so quickly!

Birthday Picture

2006-10-13T13:06:00.000-04:00

Here's one of pictures that Sears took of Danielle for her 6th birthday. They and she did a great job! Ahsley is having hers done tonight, I hope they turn out just as nice.

6 Teeth

2006-10-11T13:59:00.000-04:00

Alan now has 6 teeth! Bring on the steak.

Lots to talk about

2006-10-11T10:32:00.000-04:00

Were to start.....

Let's start with Danielle, she now a 'boyfriend' whose name is Trace. He's in kindergarten with her. Apparently a girl at school, Sam, has a 'boyfriend' and Danielle thought she needs one too. The long phone conversations have started also. She has a friend named Katie and they've talked for the last two nights. The first night for 20 minutes. No, she won't be getting a cell phone anytime soon.

Ashley is fine, no real news with her.

Alan tried to give us a scare. He has a viral infection that doesn't seem to want to go away. He's not contagious, but the little spot on his skin are still there. Anyway, I took him to the doctor since he's had them from about 2 weeks, his regular doctor was not in that day. Another doctor saw him and said she thought it might something called pe-teek-e-eye, I don't know how to spell it. Anyway, it has to do with blood platelet count, NO, he does NOT have it and all his tests came back fine. The doctor thinks the viral infection is just taking a while to go away. Again, he's FINE. He and the doctor apparently thought Mike and I need a little stress in our life.

Mike and I celebrated our 8th anniversary yesterday. We went out the place called 'the fish market', they serve beef as well, thank goodness. We had a very nice dinner and Diane was nice enough to watch kids for us. Thank you Di! I'm very lucky to have a such a good husband. I must have done something good in a past life to deserve someone as special as he is. I can ony hope he feels half as lucky to have me.

After dinner last night Mike and I switched over to Verizon wireless. I can you all say saying 'finally!'. So needless to say, we can all talk and not use any of our minutes since we'll be doing 'in calling' for the most part. Now I just have to figure out how to use the new phone, it's pink razor. Mike got the silver razor. He really likes his new phone. I like mine too, but I'm sure I'll let it better when I fiugre out how to use it.

That's everything that's going, oh, I almost forgot, I'm back to being a bookseller according to the rumor mill at work. It does appear to be correct since I'm currently not scheduled on the music side for the next 3 weeks.

Have a good day everyone.

Not much going on

2006-10-05T19:08:00.000-04:00

There really is nothing happening, but it's been a few days since my last post. Mike is coming home tonight, yeah for us! It's always a good thing when he comes home.

In other news, Danielle's birthday is right around the corner and I'm planning her 2 parties, one for friends and one for family. This will be course for the rest of the month, actually, more like the rest of the year (party planning). Ashley's is at the end of the month, then Thanksgiving, Alan's birthday, Christmas, Christmas with my family, Christmas with Mike's family (New Year's weekend) and then Mike's birthday rounding out the end of January and my relaxation period from party planning. Oh, and let's not forget that there will be LOTS of Christmas shopping & B&N working thrown in too. I firmly believe we work 9 months out of the year to pay for the last 3 months of the year. Thank goodness for B&N, they help cushion the blow on the checking account.

Diane, if you're reading this, Happy Birthday!

Have a good evening everyone.

Amazing!

2006-10-01T10:43:00.000-04:00

I fixed french toast and Bob Evans maple sausage for breakfast. I cut 11 patties out of the roll of sausage and we ate the all of them! I find this amazing because it was just the kids and I. Both girls ate 4 pieces of sausage and a piece of french toast. Alan and I shared the other 3. I'm going to have to buy the maple sausage more often. Danielle usually only eats 1 and we usually have to encourage her to eat the whole piece, Ashley usually eats 2. I am still in awe as I type this they both ate 4 pieces of sausage, they're only 4 & 6 (soon to be). Alan, I discover, really likes french toast - at least this morning he did, he ate between 1/2 and 3/4 of a piece. He's 10 months old now for those of you that are counting.

In other news, Alan now has 5 teeth, the 6th will be arriving anytime now I'm sure. They usually come in twos. Alan also has a viral infection and we're confined to the house until his spots clear up. I think they look better today so hopefully we're on the road to recovery. I've deduced that the girls already had it but I just didn't know it.

Today I'm hoping to work on boxing up Alan & Ashley's summer clothes for Julie, unless my friend Diane comes over and helps me hang things in the girls bedrooms (hint, hint). Danielle's clothes will go in a rubbermaid container to wait for Ashley. It should be a nice day here, 69. I can open up the windows and get some fresh air in the house.

Mike and I are fine, he's still traveling a lot and I'm getting more time on the book side at B&N. The holiday shopping should begin soon so hopefully I'll get more hours at work too, that always help with the Chrismtas budget.

Well, I should start my day. I hope you all enjoy the beautiful day we have while it lasts. Snow will be flying soon.

The Weekend

2006-09-25T00:15:00.000-04:00

It was a busy weekend, but very nice. Mike's Dad came down on Saturday for an over night, it was great seeing him, it had been a while since we'd seen him. He seems to be doing well which is good. I worked in music on Friday night, Sunday I got to work on the book side, which was great. I even took in fudge since I was in such a good mood. I got to watch part of the Steeler game with Mike, Lou (Mike's dad)& Jason (friend) on Sunday before work, we had a feast while the game was on. Unfortunately the Steelers lost, from what Mike said it sounds like Big Ben was off tonight, let's hope they do better next week. At least for Mike's blood pressure I hope so. I'm relatively certain that watching the Steelers play is not good for my husbands health. Too many ups and downs. The kids are all fine and I think they had a good weekend with Grandpa so I'm pleased about that too. It's late, I should go to bed. Goodnight.

Ashley

2006-09-21T11:03:00.000-04:00

Ashley was being goofy in her 1st day of school pictures so I decided to post this one instead. I think so she likes school, she does like some days better than others, but that's life. No other news, we may have company this weekend, Mike's dad. We haven't seen him in a while so it will be nice seeing him, and I'm sure the kids will be thrilled.

More house work for me today. I am getting my bangs trimmed this evening so that's a good thing. Tonight is survivor and csi, thank goodness for the new season. I/we will be taping grey's anatomy, I can't believe it's up against csi! Alan is singing my song......bye for now.

Yeah for me

2006-09-18T10:41:00.000-04:00

I'm working Sunday at B&N on the book side - yeah! I'm sure most of you are thinking 'big dea'. However, if you've ever worked at B&N in the music dept for an evening you'd know how boring it is. I'm hoping (HOPING) that this means that soon I'll get moved back to the book side permanently. I'm not counting on it, just hoping. I'll let you know what happens.

Bummer

2006-09-16T20:17:00.000-04:00

My niece didn't win Homecomeing Queen, how sad. I'm certain she came in 2nd though. She's very sweet and thoughtful of others.

The kids and I went to a birthday party this afternoon and they of course had a great time. The parents of the birthday boy rented a great big truck for the kids to crawl in and jump around. The girls will sleep well tonight. Mike will be home tonight, I will sleep well too.

Tomorrow is back to laundry and couple of errands, small ones, and just relaxing doing nothing. For us that basically means a day of football watching on the tv.

Enjoy your Sunday, Monday it's supposed to rain then the cold front is here, hioghs in the low 60's and low's in low 50's/high 40's. Fall and winter are on there way!

BTW, 99 days till Christmas.

Decorating

2006-09-15T15:37:00.000-04:00

I'm really enjoying decorating the kids bedrooms. Diane was over last night, we looked at the things I've purchased for the kids' rooms and so far she thinks I'm doing a pretty good job. Yeah for me! I can't wait to get the netting for Danielle's bed from Kathy so we can start to hang things up. It's a focal point of the room so it needs to be up before other items. Alan and I were out shopping today, for a birthday party, and I found a couple more things for the rooms. Both girls got a wall hanging and Alan got a plush tiger and zebra. I had to order the giraffe and elephant from the Kohl's website because the store were all out. I'm hoping to put the animals on a shelf in Alan's room as part of his decor. We already have a kangaroo so I'll need a long wide shelf, but that's another matter.

While on my errands this morning I stopped at bed, bath and beyond to look for a rug for Danielle's room and ended up finding new curtains for the living room (assuming Mike likes them). I didn't think about looking for curtains for Danielle's room, but we have to go back so Mike can see the potential new curtains for the living room so hopefully I can look then. I'll probably have to get new curtains for Alan's room too, not sure what color though. The ones he has now just blend into the wall - yuck.

I need to go, the laundry and other domestic goddess duties are calling.

Good Luck tonight Jess! We love you! (my niece is in the homecoming court and hopefully she'll be crowned queen tonight)

Walking

2006-09-14T14:38:00.000-04:00

This late info, but Alan is walking. He started walking 3 - 4 steps a day or two before his 9 month birthday. He progressed up to 8 then 13 and once he hit 28 we stopped counting. We're justing going with, yep, he can walk. He does still crawl sometimes, but that's usually in the evening (when I think he's tired).

I can't decide if Ashley likes school or not. So far she seems excited to go, but doesn't say much about it when I pick her up. I'll wait things out for a nother week or so and then call the teachers and see what the have to say about her time in class.

Danielle still loves going to school. I think she'd prefer it if I walked her in every day, but with the rain we've been having I'd prefer not to take Alan out of the van. It also would make it tough getting Ash to school on time. She's been good about it though.

Nothing else is going on. A friend of mine is coming over for dinner and to help me make some decisions about the girls' rooms. I may ask her about Alan's room too. She doens't know what she's in for since I've already asked to look at the house when she gets here and think about what else needs to be done for more curb appeal. Diane I hope you're ready this!

I'll recap the decorating ideas later. Enjoy the beautiful day everyone.

Ashley's 1st day of School

2006-09-07T09:56:00.000-04:00

All went well on Ashley's 1st day of school. (I'll post a picture as soon has Mike has a chance to download them off the camera.) On the car ride Ashley informed me that I could just drop her off like I do Danielle. I told her I had to stay today, the school said so. Her response was 'ok, but you have to stay in a different room'. I agreed. Alan and I had a nice time meeting and socializing with the other mom's for the 1 hour class. Friday Ashley goes for 1-1/2 hours and I still need to walk her in, on Monday the school starts the drop off line, Ash will be pleased. Alan and I will have to be the first or second in line to pick Ash up though since we have to be home by noon to get Dani off the bus.

I should go, the laundry is calling and so is an errand to Sam's club. I hope you all have a wonderfaul day.

Alan - 9 months old

2006-08-31T13:33:00.000-04:00

Danielle

2006-08-31T13:23:00.000-04:00

School seems to be goin well for Danielle, she still likes it - yeah! Ashley is anxiously awaiting for school to start for her, she starts Sept 6th. Alan won't know what to do with 3 mornings a week all to himself and mommy. Mommy's thinking it will be a great time to grocery and Christmas shop. It will also aloow me some time to spend with just Alan doing some simple learning and more bonding.

In other news, we're still trying to get Danielle's room ready to paint. It will have one dark pink wall and 3 light pink walls. We've already been shopping and picked out the comforter and a few wall decorations. Ashley got a couple too. Taking off the old border though has been a major pain the rear. I've decided I don't like borders near the ceiling anymore. In the middle is fine, your neck and arms don't hurt so much. Mike is going to work on the border this evening while I work on laundry. I'm getting the better end of this deal, trust me! Mike will be painting this weekend while I take the kids to Toledo for an overnight. If it turns out well we'll take a picture and put it on the web.

The laundry is calling, I need to go.

2006-08-29T17:09:00.000-04:00

Off to kindergarten

2006-08-29T09:15:00.000-04:00

Well, today is Danielle's 1st day at the big school. I can't believe our baby is already in kindergarten. She was up early this morning, ready and excited. We got pictures, but they will have to wait until Mike downlaods them off the camera. Danielle was fine and had no problems with us leaving her, I on the other cried. Those of you that know me well are not surprised. In fact, I still have tears in my eyes. I know she'll be ok, but I can't help but worry about her, that's my job as the mom. Danielle will ride the bus home and she's very excited about that, I think it makes her feel like she's even more of a 'big' kid.

On to other news, Ashley starts school on the 6th of Septemebr but that is a short week and the class time is shorter as well. Our new routine will start on the 11th. What will Alan and I do?

We'll post more later after we hear how the 1st day went.

On the move

2006-08-27T12:47:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to let you all know that Alan can climb the stairs. Up go the gates, let the hurdle jumping begin!

work

2006-08-13T13:45:00.000-04:00

I started working at B&N again this weekend, in the music dept not the book dept. While I enjoyed being back at work I unfortunatley was correct that I'm not enjoying the music dept. I'm not that big of a music buff and I'm such a social person that I feel like a trapped rat in the music dept. I'm not giving up though, at least not until the end of Sept. I told myself I would work in the music dept. until the end of Sept. and if I haven't been moved back to the book side I would re-evalute my feelings and decide if my time at B&N has come to an end. Yes, the manager knows I don't want to be in music but he's not the type to care. I actaully have thought about my options. I can either try and switch to a different B&N location or leave B&N and look for empolyment elsewhere. I have made no decision and currently feel it would be premature to decide. I'll keep you all posted, I just felt the need to express my disappointment about returning to work since I was really looking forward to it and I'm not so much anymore.

On a happier note, the kids, Mike & I had a great time at the Ohio State Fair on the 8th. Mike and Leah, friends of ours, joined us. The girls loved riding the rides with them, both girls even rode the big slide by themselves. We all eat too much and I got to have my annual funnel cake - YUM !! Thanks so much Mike and Leah for taking the girls on some of the rides, they enjoyed being with you and so did Mike & I. You guys are great friends!

I have to go now, Alan is crying...more later hopefully.

Jen

Getting so big

2006-07-10T14:32:00.000-04:00

Alan now has 2 additonal teeth, two on the top. He's crawling more and more every day and is happiest when he gets to walk around with mommy or daddy. Dani & Ash try but usually go a little too fast for him. We're still working on his night sleeping and nap schedule. He's getting better, but he still prefers to be with someone all the time.

Mike and I don't expect the house to sell so it looks like we'll be here for another year, and we're ok with that. We may put a small deck on the house in August, will depend on cost. Looking forward to the Dixie Chicks concert on July 23rd (thanks mom & Jess) and some of Mike's family coming for a visit the 29th & 30th.

That's all for now.

Fourth of July Weekend update

2006-07-05T13:55:00.000-04:00

Wow...just returned from a great trip to SC to see Daryl, Heidi, Elisa and Jullian. Was great to spend some time with them without any distractions....no agendas or plans for the weekend, just some food, drink and hanging out for a few days. Jullian is so cute, wish we had taken some pictures, but never even bothered to get the camera out. Alan made his first offical forward crawl while in SC, so that was very cool....he's not proficient yet, but he's starting to figure it out. Danielle and Ashley had a wonderful time playing with Elisa and can't wait to see her agin in a few weeks for the annual reunion.

here are some pics from the last couple of weeks of the kids.....

Alan taking his first bath that's not in the kitchen sink. He loved the water and made quite a mess splashing around.

Cheesy picture, but Danielle and Ashley hamming for the camera after their first day of Ocean Explorers school. Ashley loved the ability to finally go to school and they both had a great time.

So Big!

2006-06-02T10:26:00.000-04:00

Alan had his 6 month doctor appointment today. He is 16 pounds 12 ounces and 27 1/2 inches long. He's in the 83% for his height and 35% for his weight. The doctor said he passed his 6 month appointment with flying colors. He's pulling himself up when he's got something to hold on to and his little legs are moving when he's on his tummy. The doctor said it won't belong before he's moving. His next appointment is his 9 month in August.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Memorial Day Photo Update

2006-05-31T10:35:00.000-04:00

Ashley riding a horse at the Bob Evans Farms.

Danielle riding at Bob Evans

Alan having a great time...you can almost see his two new bottom teeth.

Fishing at the pond at Bob Evans with the girls...no fish biting, but we drowned a couple of worms.

Overall a great weekend...the girls had tons of fun and the weather was bearable. Enjoy.

Quick update

2006-04-12T10:57:00.000-04:00

Morning all....

Found out why Alan has been such a crank the past few days....minor ear infections in both ears. He's on meds now and seems to be a bit better last night and today. Hopefully he'll be back to normal by the end of the week.

The girls are doing great...helping pack up the house and all. Danielle was a huge help to me yesterday while packing up the videos and CDs from the basement and getting them in boxes. Hopefully get started on the books and such over the next couple of days.

We think we've found a house....Johnstown area, Northridge schools, 2600 sq feet, 4 bedrooms...about 2 acres in a very open development (only 12 houses, all with around 2 acres). Only concern is that the house is built on a crawl instead of a basement....we're looking into putting an addition on the house with a basement to rectify the storage problem. Won't know for sure for about 2 weeks, as the house is tied up in bankruptcy court right now.

For now, just trying to get the house ready to sell....painting, rearranging furniture, de-cluttering, replacing windows (ugh...7 windows need fixing...there goes $700). But hopefully we'll get the listing realtors out to the house next week to get it on the market.

ttfn.

Busy Weekend

2006-03-26T23:55:00.000-05:00

My mom came down Saturday to Sunday to watch the kids as much as possible so Mike & I could work on getting the house ready to sell. Thank you mom! (The girls had a great time playing board games with you.) Mike was wonderful and painted Ashley's ceiling, Alan's ceiling & walls (aka the guest room) and the look great! Good job honey! I on the other hand made headway in areas that wouldn't be noticeable, clutter reduction. I still have a long way to go but I'm trying. I can't get over all the stuff we have. Once I get Alan's & Ashley's room put back together tomorrow then I'm going to start cleaning Danielle's room, which shouldn't be too hard until I get to her closet. She has more clothes than I do I think. So, that's my goal this week, to get ALL of the bedrooms & closets upstairs in show conditions, wish me luck...a prayer or two couldn't hurt either. :-) I think Mike is hoping to try and finish staining the last couple of pieces of crown molding for the basement this week since the weather will be warm enough. I'm not sure what else is on his agenda, he mentioned cleaning the garage but I'm not sure when he's planning on doing that. Anyway, that's the latest from the Villa's.

Take care all,
Jen

...and the little one said 'roll over, roll over'...

2006-03-23T09:27:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

I know, Mike and I aren't very good about posting...sorry. The most recents news is that Alan rolled over for the first time last night. He's getting so big...too big too soon for his mommy. The girls are both fine and loving him like nobody's business, just wait until he starts taking their toys.

It looks like we'll be putting our house on the market in 2 or 3 weeks, hopefully. That means we'll be very busy trying to reduce the amount of stuff we have in the house and taking care of little projects that we've both put off. We have two houses we're looking at, it will all come down to timing. How soon we can sell this one and if one of the other two are still available. We'll you all posted, but I have to go back and do more work for now. We'll try and get better about posting, really.

Jen

Sorry it's been so long...

2006-02-01T16:27:00.000-05:00

It's been a month since we've updated the the blog, we apologize. The latest Villa news is that Alan's 2 months old and he's weighing in at 13 pounds 4 ounces and is 24 inches long! The girls are both fighting colds unfortunately. They both are loving their new gymnastic classes though.

Mike and I have resumed our house hunting and we're hoping to find a new one before the next school year starts. We're looking east, northeast and north of where we currently are living. Let's all hope and pray we find something we love and can afford :-) We'll try and keep our progress posted.

Take care...

New Years Weekend Photos

2006-01-05T00:40:00.000-05:00

Wow...time sure flies

2005-12-19T15:19:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of updates on the family post. Everything is going well, Alan lost a few ounces over his first week, but was back about 10 lbs at his check-up last week and seems to be adjusting to life in the world very well. He's showing some strong neck muscles already, as he loves to hold his head up and look around at everyone. Only cries when he's hungry or having some gas bubbles, otherwise he's very quiet and peaceful.

Up until last night, I would have said he was sleeping pretty well through the night (about 5 hours from midnight to 5am between feedings), but Jen said he was up every 1-2 hours last night, so it was a rough one. I have to send huge thank you's to Jen, as she pretty much takes care of Alan through the night and let's me sleep...since she's breast feeding, there really isn't much I could do to feed him at this point. I'm sure my time will come as he gets older.

Had a great weekend with the Miko clan in town for the annual cookie walk. Danielle was treated to trip to the Nutcracker Ballet with Aunt Mary and had a great time. She was so excited when she got home...was fun to see that kind of excitement in her eyes and hear her talk about the dancers and musicians that she saw. Thank you Mary for taking her.

Danielle had her Christmas program at school last Wednesday...very cute program with all the little kids singing and such. Danielle did much better this year and actually sang the words to the songs, rather than the 'Stage Fright' she said she had last year.

Danielle and Ashley both passed on to the next class level at gymnastics...Danielle will move to intermediate 5-6 yr olds, and Ashley will be in 3-4 yr old w/ no parents when they both start up after the first of the year. Both of them are excited and doing very well at class.

Not much planned for the week....last minute baking and gift buying/wrapping in store for all of us this week. Happy Holidays everyone.

Announcing - Alan Michael Villa

2005-11-29T16:20:00.000-05:00

Alan Michael Villa arrived at 7:56am this morning, 10 pounds even 21 /4 inches long and in perfect health. Mom and baby are doing fine.

Just finished a nap at home and then I'm taking the girls and grandparents to the hospital to see Jen and Alan.

Alan has been very good about everything so far, but has shown that he has a good set of lungs on him when needed.

The Scoop

2005-11-22T14:18:00.000-05:00

Assuming nothing happens between now and next Monday the 28th I'll be induced on the evening of the 28th. My cervix has started to soften but has not dilated. I'm actaully ok with being induced. It will allow us to have all our ducks in a row, hopefully. I'm still feeling ok and the baby seems to be ok too so as long as we both stay healthy Mike & I are happy. We'll let you all know when Alan arrives on Monday or most likely Tuesday. Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Weekend review

2005-11-21T09:29:00.000-05:00

pretty quiet weekend around the Villa house this past weekend. had some friends over for the OSU game on Sat. made some calzones for the game, and OSU won, so that was all good. Girls were wonderful all weekend, outside of some tired fits on Sat night as a reault of no naps on Sat. Spent some time cleaning the playroom and fingerpainting and such.

Ash was up at 2am with a stomach issue....seemed fine this morning, so not sure what got into her last night.

Jen is still playing the waiting game with Alan....more to follow after the doctor's visit tomorrow.

Colds

2005-11-17T13:46:00.000-05:00

Danielle and Ashley are both recovering from minor colds....just enough to spike a fever for a day and wear them out...but they both seem back to normal today, so that's some good news.

No further developments on Alan joining the party. Seems like he is still pretty content to hang out where he is for the time being.

Time to get back to work...more later.

Nothing Yet

2005-11-15T13:36:00.000-05:00

Well, we went to the doctor this morning and we really don't have any news. My cervix is still hard and the doctor feels if he tries to induce me at this point it's like hitting a brick wall. He said we'd have a 50 - 50 chance of a c-section since my body is showing no signs of being ready to deliver. The flip side is that the longer the baby stays inside the bigger he gets. So basically it's a catch 22, and the doctor agreed. He said his desicion to not do anything is easy since he's not really calling the shots, my cervix is, and there's no medical reason to indcue me. It's looks at this point like we've got a 50 - 50 chance of having a c-section whenever Alan arrives. The doctor also said he won't be surprised if this is a 10 pound baby, he also thinks I might be able to deliver vaginally. That part makes me nervous since I know how hard it was getting Ashley out at 9 lbs 12oz. Oh well, nothing I can do about it. My next appt is Nov. 22nd.

Jen

Monday morning

2005-11-14T09:13:00.000-05:00

Nothing new on the baby issue....Alan Michael is still taking his time in making his grand entrance into the world. We have confirmed that he is a Steelers fan, as Jen reported that he was moving around alot last night when Hines Ward scored the TD in the second half of the game...not that thee was a doubt in my mind, but I'm pretty happy to see that he appreciates the Steelers already.

We'll know more tomorrow at the doctor's visit. Will update again after that.

Danielle & ashley had a great time over the weekend with Baby Jonas during his visit. They are so ready to have a little brother in the house...really cute to see them interact with him and help with diaper changing and feeding. I think we took some regular pics over the weekend, but nothing digital, so no pics on the web site...sorry.

More tomorrow....ttfn.

Afternoon update....Ashley picked up ringworm on her lower leg...most likely from gymnastics last week. Julie...keep an eye on Jonas since he was here over the weekend...only contageous if directly contacted the infected area, so risk is minimal. She'll be getting some ointment today, so she'll be fine in a couple of days. Always something going on with the girls....and they're so little still.

Jen's Dr Appt

2005-11-09T07:59:00.000-05:00

I went to the OB/GYN yesterday and we found out that right now the baby weighs 8 pounds 8 ounces. My body is showing no signs of progressing into labor. We don't think the dr will let me go past my 39th week since the baby would be around 10 pounds, the baby should gain about 1/2 pound per week and I'm 37 weeks. I have another appt on Tuesday the 15th. The doctor will check again to see if the baby has dropped or if my cervix is doing anything. We'll discuss what the next thing is we should do, possibly an inducement date if we're lucky. We'll keep you all posted.

Jen

The Dentist

2005-11-07T13:02:00.000-05:00

Today Danielle and Ashley had dental appointments. This was Ashley's first dental appointment. She did really well until they polished her teeth with the toothpaste, she didn't like the flavor. She was a trooper though and let the dentist count her teeth. The dentist thinks she'll need work done someday when she's older because she has a gap between her two front teeth. I'll guess we'll have to wait and see how her adult teeth come in.

Danielle and Ashley got their picture taken and put on the cavity free zone area at the dentists office. They both got little prizes for being so good while they were there too. Danielle loves the dentist, I think Ashley has mixed emotions about it but she said she is willing to back.

Tomorrow I go to the OB/GYN and we'll have another ultrasound to see how big Alan has gotten. Mike or I will post what the doctor has to say sometime in the afternoon or evening.

Jen

Thursday

2005-11-03T09:05:00.000-05:00

Not much going on...Jen has started getting the house ready for the baby and company that will follow the arrival of alan michael into the world. as of Jen's last dr appointment (Mon/Tues) the baby had not dropped and there were no indications of anything happening soon...so we're onto the waiting game. Jen has done a great job in rescuing the house from the birthday and Halloween induced chaos...I have some work to do in the basement over the weekend to try and catch up and make everything presentable.

Did a nice job burning some steaks last night....first attempt were too rare for Jen, so I tossed them back on the grill...unfortunately I left the grills on high and ended up with blackened steaks...sorry honey...

I arrived home yesterday to a house full of napping females...was pretty funny seeing Danielle half on and off the couch...tried to take her picture, but she woke up and moved, so there goes the picture. Not much else to speak of....looking forward to the company from Jen's family next weekend (12-13th) so that will be tons of fun.

take care all.....mike

2005-11-01T08:10:00.000-05:00

Ashley blowing out her candles from the other day for her birthday.

2005-11-01T08:07:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween

2005-10-31T19:36:00.000-05:00

11 bags of candy and it wasn't enough. Danielle and Ashley had a wonderful time....Happy Halloween everyone.

Hello everyone

2005-10-31T13:06:00.000-05:00

decided to make a new blog to focus more on family photos and events, especially with the upcoming baby and all and keep it seperate from my poker blog...now anyone that want's to just see the pics can come hee and not wade through my wins/losses at poker.

more to come this evening with the trick-or-treat festivities.