Seger, Singing, Santa, and Sleeping...Christmas, you wore us out. :)

Christmas weekend was jam-packed--and we enjoyed every busy minute of it.  Friday night was a family concert night with Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band.  It was a great show, and though he's getting "older," he still has enough energy to entertain for 2 hours, and then come back for TWO encores!  We had a blast, and of course, Kayleigh's favorite was "Old Time Rock-N-Roll." 

Note: Phil did not actually wear this outfit; it was only a trick we played on Kayleigh to see if she would still go with us if her Daddy dressed as THIS guy.   

Saturday we rose bright and early to get ready for Hot Corner's (the sports card shop) Christmas party with auction.  I made meatballs in the crock pot, and we headed down for an afternoon busy with lots of people!  It turned out to be a great success.  After we closed up for the day, it was back home to change and get ready for Christmas Eve at Grandma Marie's house.  We feasted on smoked salmon, bagels with cream cheese, BBQ beef, cheese, spinach dip, munchkins, and all sorts of goodies.  We exchanged some gifts, and headed to church for the 10:00 pm service.  It was absolutely beautiful, complete with a candlelit serenade of Silent Night.  This was the first time I had a hard time keeping my eyes open at this particular service (normally, I'm loving the singing and instruments--must have been that concert the night before).  But we made it home and got Kayleigh off to bed.  I ended up falling asleep on the couch waiting for her to fall asleep, only to wake up at 2:30 am, discovering that I couldn't unlock the entrance to the magical portal that housed all the treasures that Santa had asked me to watch over!  OMG!!   I fumbled around for about 10 minutes when I finally got it.  Thank goodness cause THAT would have been a crisis. 

Christmas morning came so fast, but I got the best present!  A happy family, AND...a keurig! 

Yay for that!  The baby got some cute onesies and a few things to start him or her out, thanks to two very special aunts--Christy--my sister, and Michele--Phil's sister.  My family may have a slight issue with the New York Yankees stuff, but we will work it out. :) There will be some Cubs stuff in the wardrobe too--to keep it balanced and fair. 

Christmas dinner was hosted by my Aunt Mary this year and we had a wonderful day eating, talking, and relaxing.  Some were more relaxed than others...

And some really knew how to party... 

Here are some more shots from our Christmas, 2011...

And the holiday would not have been complete without someone wearing the reversible Christmas vest.  Thank you, Phil, for being THAT guy.  And thank you, Steve, for loaning it to him this year.  :)

We are looking forward to a very exciting 2012 and lots of good things to come!  The next time it's Christmas, we'll have another little angel among us.

Counting Blessings

Although I still don't have my Christmas tree up yet (no gasps, please), I've been pretty busy getting "mentally" prepared for the holidays.  By this I mean, I've made lots of lists.  Not naughty or nice lists, but to-do lists.  And slowly but surely, I am crossing things off.  I plan on getting LOTS accomplished this weekend, and I'm sure I'll feel better once I get some things wrapped, stamped, and plugged in.  I've been trying to enjoy these holiday days before they whisk by, and I am taking my time enjoying each day as I count my blessings.  We have an extremely wonderful family, amazing friends, two businesses to be proud of, and a special addition to our family in the making.
Lots to appreciate.  But then there are also those everyday LITTLE pleasures that can put a smile on my face just as well, and for those I am grateful too. 

 A beautiful rainbow after a rainy day in the car going to pick up Kayleigh from school...

  An unsuspecting kiss from a sweet husband at work...

A virgin Bloody Mary and edamame at Kona Grill...(I've really been on a salty and spicy kick with this baby)

A Chipotle burrito... (yes, that's weighing in at 1.5 lbs)

And beautiful smiles from a doll of a daughter.

And special thanks to Ben and Jerry for making a frozen yogurt version of Phish Food.  Thank you, thank you so much (no photo available, it's all gone). :)

Making the holdiays cheerful and bright... 
Missing all of you family and friends, and wishing you the best of Christmas memories. 

A Very Exciting Day...

Growing up, we always celebrated St. Nicholas Day by putting out our shoes the night of December 5th, hoping for treats and goodies to be filled inside the next morning.  Well, St. Nicholas came through once more, because today was definitely a treat. 

Phil and I headed to the doctor's office for our 9:30 appointment, and I was greeted with my first treat: I had lost a pound.  Score!  Okay, I just want to be clear--I am not TRYING to lose weight.  But with a recent bout of nausea and just trying to be as healthy as possible, I was happy not to have gained extra weight too quickly.  Somehow, I know it will catch up with me though, and as long as the baby is healthy, I am happy.  I also learned that everything came back excellent with test results, blood pressure, and all of that.  Yay.  And then came something really exciting--our little baby's heartbeat.  Found within 5 seconds, it came pounding through loud and clear.  It was breathtaking.  Then the doctor ordered an ultrasound to determine how long I've been carrying this little munchkin.  We left with instructions to come back at 1:00 that same afternoon. 

With a full bladder and lots of anticipation, we entered the ultrasound room and watched with eager eyes as the life of our little one appeared on the screen.  It was absolutely incredible--I was smiling from ear to ear.  It was so amazing to see him/her just bouncing around in there.  After measurement, the technician confirmed the later due date as being accurate.  So that means, we are due to have this baby June 24 (give or take a few days).  So now I am referring to him or her as our little "June Bug." 

It was such a great day, and though we could see the baby, it is too early to detect the gender, so we'll have to await another ultrasound in a few more weeks. 

So, please allow me to introduce to you for the very first time in photo, Baby Rinella:

(Sort of looks like Spiderman, you're right Suzy!)

I've also been busy baking to get ready for the holdiays.  I tried my Grandma Carol's delicious peanut butter cookies (thanks for the recipe, Bryan!).  And I went old school back to my girl scout days and made the Christmas wreaths.  I also tried a new recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip. 

Hope you all are enjoying your holiday season!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving was wonderful...food, fun, and family, but I am so glad that we are just about out of leftovers.  (I get food guilt and really don't like throwing things away). We had a lovely dinner at Phil's mom and dad's complete with turkey, stuffing, bike-riding, secret-santa drawing, and resting.  Then we followed up with a visit to Grandma Marie's where we visited with Aunt Mary, Uncle Walt, and our beautiful cousins Ally and Charlie.  We never did make it to the Muppet Movie, but we did see it last night instead!  Love those furry guys.  Here are some highlights of our day... 

From the mouths of babes...

Just something funny...

Out of all the friends and family we have seen and heard from over the past few weeks, there is one person's response that sticks out in my mind as the most memorable and humorous.  My five year old niece, Kiera got on the phone with me and said, "So, what do you have to tell me, Karen?"

Me: Kiera, I'm going to have a baby.
Kiera: Aunt Chelle's gonna have a baby?
Me: No, Kiera, I'M going to have a baby.  You're going to have another cousin.

------LONG PAUSE------

Kiera: Are you sure???

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  Now starts the countdown to Christmas.  This is the best time of year!   

Three Months Already?

I have heard all the horror stories of not being able to eat for days, nausea, the whole bit--but luckily, the pregnancy gods have smiled down upon me.  For the most part, my first trimester was a breeze!  I have managed to get through thus far without any sickness (please please please don't jinx myself).  I've even made some drastic (for me) changes to my diet by adding meat back in for protein on a semi-regular basis.  This might not sound like a big deal, but after being a vegetarian for nearly 8 years, it was an adjustment.  You never know what you're going to crave while pregnant.  Some things I used to love I have no interest in eating.  But meat, that sounded good.  So I ate it.  And it was yummy.  And I think the baby is very happy.  To all my carnivore friends and family--I'm baaack (for now). :) These past weeks have already gone by so fast, and I imagine that's how it will be from here on out.  I've really enjoyed being able to share the news with loved ones, and see the expressions on my customers' faces as they squeeze the living life out of me in excitement.  We are really happy for all the enthusiasm.  But the one thing I was not ready for was the need for people to tell you their unpleasantries.  It's crazy the stories people will tell you when they know you're pregnant.  I'll spare you all of that, but to these people, I say...please, save it for AFTER the baby is born.  Who needs to think about that? Getting your house ready for a new family member may not seem like a large task to some.  Like my Grandma Marie says, "Having a baby, it's easy--you just throw one more potato in the pot."  I do appreciate her wisdom, but I also feel like I need to start doing things now to get a head start for when I am too tired to do stuff.  One project that we accomplished over the weekend was giving Kayleigh's bathroom/guest bathroom/soon-to-be-baby's bathroom a face lift.  The walls were white and it was kinda boring so we painted and decorated.  Thanks to Home Depot, Kohls, and Ross, we now have a bathroom that meets Kayleigh's approval, and is also gender neutral so that whether we have a boy or girl, it will be appropriate.  I know there will be LOTS more to do, but it just felt good to get something checked off the list.  Hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving spent eating, relaxing, and giving thanks.  I plan on eating turkey this year, and later going to see the new Muppet movie.  And of course, watch football.

We're off and running...

October was an EXCITING month for the Rinella's!  We had just finished celebrating Kayleigh's 11th birthday on the 23rd of September.  Then we celebrated some more for our 3rd wedding anniversary on October 11th.  And then--one more celebration...we were blessed with the happy news that there is a baby on the way! 

Since I don't have a facebook, I thought I'd open up a blog page.  That way, I can share my experiences with my family and friends who are not with me during this wonderful and exciting time.  I'd like to keep you in the loop!  I will share updates from doctor's visits and things that I wish I had the opportunity to tell you in person.  

Phil, Kayleigh, and I are so excited.  I've been to my first doctor's visit last Wednesday, and here is what I can report: I am definitely pregnant.  :)

My doctor is a wonderful man named Dr. Semrad and I am very happy to be in such good care.  We just did exams, drew blood, and all that fun first-appointment kind of stuff.  My next appointment is December 6th, and I'm really looking forward to hearing the baby's heartbeat.  We are expecting a baby around May 29, but that due date may change so stay tuned...we'll be finding out if our baby is a girl or boy sometime around the first of the new year!