I finally have a chance to wrap up this blog with our final update! Our last family update was written on October 21st. . .

Around that time I was putting our home movies on DVDs and Logan saw a clip from his first night home from the hospital (he'd been 3 days old). In the video he is crying that pitiful newborn cry. Joe and I looked at our current Logan who was watching himself as a baby -- and his lower lip began quivering and he burst into tears! We immediately stopped the tape and gave him a hug! We asked what was wrong but he didn't really answer so we don't know whether he was empathizing or if he was confused and scared by seeing himself as a newborn. . .I don't know, but it was sad! :p

During that time he also became worried about his stroller blowing away! Whenever we'd get it out like at Vala's Pumpkin Patch, he'd tell me to hold on to it and if I didn't (but would tell him it was fine) he'd get nervous and insist that it was going to blow away! Now that it's winter we haven't really been using the stroller so it'll be interesting to see if he has forgotten by the spring (I hope so)!

He still gets bad dreams sometimes, and has started showing fear to things in his room. For example, he'll make Joe and I turn around toys that he feels are "looking" at him. We're about to permanently move his riding horse out of his room because sometimes the music starts playing in the middle of the night -- it's kind of creepy to us, too! But we keep reassuring him that his room is his safe place and there's no need to be scared.

His nap as of October is at 2 pm (the latest of his life). But he still sometimes sleeps 3 hrs so I'm glad his nap doesn't seem to be stopping any time soon.

His entire life he has said "eye" instead of "yeah," although he recently has started saying "yes," but we joke that he is part pirate. It is kind of his unique thing that everyone notices, so I think he'll laugh about it when he grows up.

For awhile he was calling Joe and me "Dad-ee and Mom-ee" (putting emphasis on the ee). Until then he'd always referred to us as Dad/Dadda and Mom/Mama so it was cute, but he has since returned to the originals, even though I often refer to myself as Mommy and Joe as Daddy.

One day when Logan and I came home from Vala's Pumpkin Patch, Joe asked Logan what we had done there. Logan thought for a moment and then answered, "Mama went pee." We both cracked up. I mean, yeah I did, but that was not the main event that day! :p

It's funny what kids pick out to recall. That same week I asked Logan to tell me about his day at Babysitter's house and he said, "Ryder pushed Zay down and Zay cried and Ryder had to go to time out." Then he said, "I hit Mia in the eye but it was an accident so I didn't go to time out." Until then he'd always just told me what toys he played with or what he ate but now I'm hearing interesting stories!Also in October he began referring to himself as "Logan" and has ever since! (No more "Baby.") It's really cute to hear him say his name.

He's also aware on his own when nap time and bed time are. He'll be playing and then stop and say to me, "One more time until sleep?" I have to stifle a laugh because I usually haven't even thought of it yet but will then look at the clock and realize he must be getting tired and is telling himself "one more!" So I nod and say "yes" and then five-ten minutes later he goes down.

He's started telling the dogs and Joe & me when we're "good boys." He'll even pretend he's using a camera and will say "Say cheese! Good boy!" Joe's like, "Is that what you tell him?" I wasn't aware of that but maybe I do!

He also started saying "you're welcome" which is cute. From day one he's always been so polite and well-mannered, all on his own because he wants to be, I am a proud mama!

We're not sure how far back he can remember, but definitely June because one day in October Joe, Logan, and I were upstairs in the master bedroom and Logan walked over to the window and told Joe that he wanted to sit on the roof with him! (Those of you who read my blog this past summer might recall when Joe did that with him one time.) We quizzed Logan by asking him if he'd been eating something when they were out there and he said "Yes, string cheese, but it fell down." That was exactly the case! Still, we had to inform him that was a one-time thing. . .no more toddlers on the roof :p

On Friday, October 22nd our basement was finally fixed after three months of leaking water.

On Saturday, October 23rd my stepdad's parents came to visit us from Eastern Iowa so that was fun. We went out to lunch at The China Buffet, played some games, and ate supper at Red Robin. They left on Sunday, October 24th. Logan enjoyed entertaining his great grandparents and they enjoyed being entertained!On Monday, October 25 Logan and I went to Vala's with our friends Brooke & Kaelyn. That place was just too much fun!

My stepdad's birthday was Wednesday, October 27, Logan sent him the following 9-second video:

("Happy Birthday, Papa! See you Soon, Papa! Bye, Papa!")

He also tried on last year's Halloween costume that night and it fit so he was a tiger again!We went back to Vala's with friends Lisa, Lexi & Riley on Thursday, October 28. It was cold that day so Logan wasn't as playful as he usually is. We'd been spoiled by having a warm fall until then so I think he was a bit caught off guard since I don't think he remembers last winter.

But it was warm again on Friday, October 29 so we played outside in our backyard and went over to our neighbor Jenn's house where Logan enjoyed jumping on their trampoline with her kids. (Jenn spoiled me twice this winter by baking cookies for me. I have the best neighbors in the world!)

That evening Joe & Logan watched the movie Annie for the first time and they both enjoyed it. Logan was so cute singing the songs the rest of the weekend! He also kept referring to Carol Burnett's character as "the bad mama" and his favorite character was "Sandy" the dog. I felt like my life had come full circle since that had been my favorite movie as a child!

We went to Vala's for the final time on Saturday, October 30. Joe got to go with us so we had a wonderful time, it was a great way to end the season. That night we carved jack-o-lanterns!Trick-or-treating was on Sunday, October 31st. Logan had a blast going from house-to-house and putting candy in his Mickey Mouse bucket. Although we couldn't get him to say "trick or treat" to strangers, he always said "thank you" on his own (everyone thought he was too adorable to care about the trick-or-treat, lol). Last year Joe had taken him to a few houses but this time the three of us went together all over the neighborhood for over 2 hours! I hadn't planned on passing out candy this year but at the last minute had decided to buy some just in case. Turns out I should have bought more because kids starting ringing our bell the second we walked in our door. The candy went quickly -- we had to turn off our light because we ran out! Usually I have a ton leftover.Logan got his second haircut on Wednesday, November 3rd. He did great again! Right before his appointment, I got mine trimmed by my friend Stacy for the first time and then after Logan was done she cut Joe's hair as well! He'd never been to a real salon before so I took pics of him, too, haha. (He said to Stacy, "What are you doing washing my hair?" He'd never had that done before in his life!) Afterward we went out to eat to a Mexican restaurant. . .and then the next day Thursday, November 4th I got pregnant! :p Of course I didn't know it at the time. . .the next two weeks I continued to live my life oblivious.

Logan and I went to The Children's Museum with Brooke & Kaelyn on Friday, November 5th. I remember being tired that day, but Logan was full of energy and enjoyed the museum. We'd only been one other time (last January) and it had been too crowded back then to really enjoy it, plus Logan was only 21 months old. This time it was a weekday so we had plenty of room to roam around and with Logan being almost 31 months old he could hold his own.Right after we finished eating lunch a boy threw up right in front of us so I remember thinking "I hope Logan doesn't get sick after playing here all day." He'd had one minor cold since his birthday in April and that'd been it. Well I'm not sure where he caught it since it was 9 days later when he came down with his first real non-colds of his life and what turned out to be his most serious and longest virus ever (more on that in a minute).

The night of the 5th, I met Brooke at the movie theater for our monthly "Mom's Night Out." We saw Hereafter which was okay.

On Saturday, November 6th we took Logan to play in the leaves like we did last year (This & That). It was a fun afternoon and we took a ton of pics.On Sunday, November 7th Logan began wearing underwear every day at home! The day before Joe was playing with Logan but stopped to use the bathroom and when Joe came out he asked me if I knew where Logan went. We found Logan in the other bathroom, sitting on the toilet going, poop! He didn't even tell us that he had to go, he just walked in there, took his pants and diaper off, and didn't even use his toddler seat! (He was on the big toilet) He had the door shut and told us that he wanted to be alone and so he instructed us to shut the door again until he was done! It was taking awhile so we peeked in on him and he told us to close the door. . .then he locked it! A few minutes later he told us he was done so we told him to unlock the door. . .there was poop all over the seat but we ignored that because he did a good job, haha. He has continued to go completely on his own (and still doesn't want Joe & me in there) every time that he has to poop or pee! (And isn't making a mess anymore.)

It wasn't until Christmas when he began going at other people's houses, though, or if we had other people over at our house. However, now he has started going sometimes even in those situations, so I'm going to start bringing the toilet seat in the car for when we're in public because pretty soon I think he'll be wearing underwear 100% of the time! (Except at night -- he still has never gotten out of his big boy bed/still calls for Joe & me when he wakes up, so I'm guessing it'll be another year before he's potty trained at night.)

On Monday, November 8th we met Brooke & Kaelyn at the zoo! I'm glad we had a chance to go one last time this year. It was fun as always.On Wednesday, November 10th I had a dentist appointment. We were supposed to do x-rays but I told them that I was trying to get pregnant so they held off in case I was. I really didn't think I was (it was our third try, just like with Logan). . .but I would find out in one more week!

On Thursday, November 11th Logan and I spent the morning and afternoon at our friends Andrea, Drew, and Ashton's house. Logan enjoyed playing with Drew (who is 9 months older) and I enjoyed chatting with Andrea and holding baby Ashton (who was born in June). We ordered pizza for lunch and can't wait to do it again.

My dad's birthday was on Friday, November 12th. That weekend I was looking forward to my friend Stacy's dinner party and her friend's Uppercase Living Party that I was invited to, but I began experiencing what I thought at the time was withdrawl from stopping the progesterone cream a month earlier (explained in my November post: Downside To Progesterone Cream: Acne). But maybe it was my body reacting to implantation instead? I don't know, except that I had a mirgraine and felt awful so I ended up staying home all weekend. Logan went to my parents' house on Saturday, November 13 to Sunday, November 14. When he returned I felt back to normal, so he helped me decorate our house for Christmas! :-)

I didn't have Logan go to Babysitter's the week of November 15 because I thought he had a cold. Aside from returning from my parents' place with eczema for the first time in a year (thankfully Aveeno lotion did the trick again, as I first wrote about with other tips on getting rid of eczema in last year's post Snow Day), he'd woken up a few hours after we put him to bed on Sunday night because his eyes were stuck shut with puss! They drained all day Monday and Tuesday, but otherwise he seemed fine so we went to Storytime at the library on Tues, November 16th! He enjoyed the singing and dancing and he made a turkey for their arts & crafts project. I also hit it off with one of the moms there (I never did see the mom again who I met exactly a year before) but we haven't been able to go since then because the next day, Wednesday, November 17 I took Logan to the doctor because his eye had developed a rash around it and was still producing serious amounts of mucous. Turned out he had pink eye -- and on top of that a double ear infection and bronchitis (his second ear infection of his life).

This turned out to be at the same time that I learned I was pregnant! After Storytime at the library on the 16th, we'd gone grocery shopping and bought a pregnancy test because the one I took that morning was inconclusive. It had actually said negative but I'd forgotten to throw it away and when I came back two-and-a-half hours later it looked like it could possibly pass as positive! Sure enough, test #2 was positive! So I called my doctor right away and asked to come in to make sure my hormones were okay since I'd just gone off the progesterone cream; she had me come in the following day and results were back on Thursday, November 18th. Everything was fantastic and so I didn't have to be on progesterone suppositories this time like I was with Logan! My pregnancy has continued to go well and much easier than with Logan. I've had some nausea but it hasn't been as bad as with Logan and it didn't start until week 8. So far things have been VERY different! I'm anxious to find out if it's a boy or girl :-)

On Saturday, November 20 Logan helped us put up our Christmas tree and lights, and we also made a mold of his hand and foot to keep forever :-)Logan finished his nebulizer on Monday, November 22nd so we thought he was recovered to go to Babysitter's house, but we would soon learn that wasn't the case. I should have known when Logan picked up a teddy bear I've had in my house as a decoration, hugged it, and said "my teddy bear" and didn't part with it until January 2nd (when I think he decided to move on from it). He'd never cared about any of the stuffed animals in his room, or really any comfort items before, but for several weeks he was obsessed with making sure that bear was always at his side -- it was sweet! Joe's mom came to our house that evening (we went out to eat to Johnny Sortino's Pizza) and we decorated the tree and hung stockings. She left the next morning to spend Thanksgiving in Colorado with her oldest daughter & family, while we left on the morning of Thursday, November 25th to spend Thanksgiving with my mom and stepdad & family in Iowa. That is where we announced the news of our pregnancy, with a cake we'd had designed with the words "We're Having A Baby! July 2011!"

On Friday, November 26th Joe and I saw the movie Due Date, partly funny but mostly dumb.

We went over to my dad's house on Saturday, November 27th and shared the news with him by bringing a balloon that said "Oh Baby!", before heading back to Omaha.

Joe's mom stopped by again on Sunday, November 28th on her way home from Colorado and that's when he told her the news! :-) We gave her a cupcake with a baby bottle and "July 2011."

On Monday, November 29th I took Logan back to the doctor because he had been coughing the previous few days. His pediatrician feared the worst -- pneumonia -- and so an x-ray was ordered. Sure enough, Logan had right lobe pneumonia which most often requires hospitalization for a two-and-a-half year old but he said that if I kept him at home and put him back on the nebulizer (he was also given a shot of antibiotics in his leg) then he could improve on his own. We had to bring him back on Tuesday, November 30th and he was put on a prescription which caused him diarrhea every hour (obviously he was back on diapers that week) and he screamed bloody murder every time we changed his diaper because he had the worst diaper rash of his life. It was awful to watch him go through that. . .thank goodness for 100% zinc oxide diaper rash cream and pedialite and pediasure! Also, his mood was good and he didn't "appear" as sick as he was. There was only one day he had a temperature (the second of his life) -- we called after hour's because it was 102 but before we had a chance to give him any Tylenol or Motrin, it went down on his own and never back up.

He also developed a scary rash on his legs on Saturday, December 4th. So we called the after hour's number again and found out that was normal when taking Augmentin (amoxicillin/clavulanate) and that unless it didn't go away or got worse we didn't need to bring him in. Sure enough, it was gone by the time he went to bed that night.Logan finished his prescription on Thursday, December 9th -- the same day that I had my first ultrasound! Everything was right on track with Baby, and Logan was able to be there, too, since we wanted to wait until he got the doctor's approval to return to his Babysitter's house.

That weekend, Saturday, December 11th, we went to our friends Matt, Stacy, Jaxson, and Olivia's house for our birthday celebration! Stacy's birthday is five days before mine (but was born a year later) and then our mutual friend Lisa and her husband Jeff and Stacy's friend Callie are all within the month so we all blew out candles together :-) Matt & Stacy had made two cakes and had chili, sandwiches, salad, and chips for supper. Jaxson and Logan (born six days apart) had fun playing as always, and I enjoyed holding Olivia (who was born in July). Stacy, Lisa, Callie, and I had the best time talking, we hated to leave!

Unfortunately, when Logan went to his doctor's appt. on Tuesday, December 14th we were told there was still some fluid in his lungs so we'd need to wait one more week and would do the second x-ray then. So he went back on the nebulizer and was pronounced 100% recovered on my birthday -- the following Tuesday, December 21st! (These days, at 32 Months Old, he is 32 LBS.)

Meanwhile, on Friday, December 17 Brooke and I went to see Burlesque for our Mom's Night Out, which I liked.

On Saturday, December 18th we took Logan to the mall to sit on Santa's lap! We had thought maybe we wouldn't do it this year since he'd been sick and also last year's pic was well. . .you can see for yourself on my post Santa 8 Mos Vs 19.5 Mos! But this year went a lot better :-) Logan chatted with Santa and even gave him a high five!I wrapped Christmas presents on Sunday, December 19 (I was glad I'd done all of my shopping in November since once I found out Logan was sick we had to stay inside all day, every day!)

For my birthday on Tuesday the 21st we went out to eat to Roja for Mexican food and then Joe gave me a blizzard cake from Dairy Queen. For presents I got two DVDs and a Smores ornament (which I've been collecting the past few years and LOVE)! The highlight was when Logan sang the entire "Happy Birthday" song to me all by himself for the very first time!

On Friday, December 24 -- Christmas Eve -- Joe had the day off, so Logan helped him shovel our driveway and then spent the day coloring with markers. In the evening we all watched It's A Wonderful Life and then tracked Santa and left him milk & cookies by the fireplace :-) (For those of you who read my post last year: Santa To Tell Or Not To Tell? I will still never lie and tell Logan there is a Santa Claus but that doesn't mean we can't have fun pretending!)On Christmas morning, Saturday, December 25, we opened presents just the three of us. . .Logan's favorite was the bounce-a-round that we bought him! (An indoor trampoline that holds up to 200 lbs). At noon we went to church (where Logan sang loudly the "Happy Birthday" song during every hymn - by the way he is finally at an age where he will sit still through the entire service!) and then for supper I made my first ham and it was very yummy!We left for Iowa on Sunday, December 26 and arrived to Joe's mom's house at around 1 pm. We picked up a pizza from Pizza Hut for lunch and I took a nap with Logan and we opened presents there! Joe's sister AnMarie visited from California and they all went sledding on Monday, December 27th which even Logan enjoyed (next year I won't be pregnant and can go, too)!Joe, Logan, and I drove to my mom & stepdad's house on Tuesday, December 28 where my bff Sarah came over, too, since she was visiting her family from Seattle. Joe, Sarah, and I went out to lunch at a Mexican restaurant there and then to see the movie Little Fockers which made us laugh.

Afterward, we sadly said goodbye to Sarah (but next year at this time hopefully she will be living in Chicago and we can spend much more time together!) and then Joe and I returned to my parents' house where we opened gifts!

We returned to Omaha on the evening of Wednesday, December 29th. On Thursday, December 30th I had my doctor's appointment where I heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time!!! It was 175 beats per minute which was much higher than Logan's ever was. . .so that makes me think it's a girl! But we won't know until the first week of March.

On Friday, December 31 we had a quiet New Year's Eve at home; Joe and I watched the ball fall as always.We celebrated our final Christmas on Saturday, January 1st with my dad and stepmom at my paternal grandmother's house in Missouri. My brother came from California (where he is an actor) and my aunt & uncle from Texas so it was an extra special time!

This year my brother joined a church outside of L.A. called North Park and has become very involved. He is now one of their paid staff members, as the Student Ministries Associate. He feels he may have found a new calling with counseling, so he plans to finish his under-grad this year and use his degree working in the church, as well as continue to act.

On another subject, I'd like to say thank you to my blog friend Jenny of His Grace Is Sufficient for the BEAUTIFUL 2010 angel snow globe. She sent this to me as the winner of her giveaway last month. It was my 2009 post, What Is Going On? that got us in touch when I published a link to her blog after I'd stumbled across it and asked for prayers because she'd lost a baby at 4 months premature and was in jeopardy of losing her next. Praise God her youngest son is now over a year old!As for Logan, other cute things he's done lately is that sometimes when we're not ready to get up in the morning and we let him come in our bed, I will awake to Logan sitting up and smiling lovingly at me! He'll lean over and kiss me and say in the sweetest voice, "I love you Mama." I swear, life doesn't get any better than that!

At night, too, sometimes I'll lay down next to his bed and I'll tell him how much I love him and how important he is to me, and he gets the cutest grin and says "yeah" then he'll reach over and rub my head. It is just too heart-melting!

One day I mumbled to myself on the couch "I'm cold" and the next thing I knew, Logan was bringing a blanket down the stairs! He said, "Here Mama," as he covered me up! Another day he was getting onrey and said, "You're making me mad, Mama." I felt this was such a good thing because it showed maturity! I immediately stopped whatever I was doing and said, "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to make you mad, thank you for telling me rather than hitting or kicking or spitting." Then we were both calm as the situation resolved itself.

Another day Joe asked Logan, "What does Daddy like?" Logan answered "Football!" Joe asked, "What does Logan like?" Logan said, "Football!" Joe asked, "What does Mommy like?" Logan said, "Pictures!" I laughed forever about that because it is so true. He has us figured out. . .in our spare time Joe watches football and I play with pictures :-)

After I picked Logan up on one occasion from Babysitter's, I asked him who had been at her house that day. He mentioned a little girl named Mia. Having not seen her myself, I said, "Did her mom pick her up?" Logan paused and then said, "No, she walked!" Too funny! (He thought I meant literally, rather than "pick up" as in her mom came to get her.)

And finally, another cute thing Logan did one day was when I opened the door to let Bella outside. It was at the beginning of winter so I think Bella was a bit taken aback because she just stood in the doorway and didn't move. Logan said seriously, "She's too cold, she needs a hat, coat, and gloves on." ! :-) Joe ended up getting TWO promotions during the month of December so we both hope that means the raise (or two) that he was hoping for in February, since obviously due to baby #2 we won't be moving this year. I've also decided to wait until late March/early April (rather than Feb) to start Logan in preschool. The reason being, when I was home with him 24/7 during his five weeks of sickness, I realized that I better get used to the feeling of "no break" because that's how it's going to be once baby #2 arrives. So then I started toying with the idea of getting a nanny one day a week, since I don't think I'll be ready for baby #2 to go to Logan's babysitter's house one day a week until he/she is over 6 months old. But nannies are more expensive for one day then two days of Babysitter's and preschool combined! So I wouldn't be able to afford for Logan to go to two days of preschool and a nanny one day a week for his sibling.

So part of me thought, maybe we'll wait until Logan is 4 to start him in preschool and he can just continue going to Babysitter's throughout the next year (since she's the cheapest) while Baby #2 has the nanny. Plus, with preschool you have to pay even when they don't attend for being sick (so that would have been a waste those 6 weeks when Logan couldn't go) whereas I pay Babysitter based on how many hours I use her.

But the other part of me still wants Logan to start preschool this year (with at least 3 months before baby #2 comes so he doesn't have double-the-adjustment). Maybe it won't be bad for baby #2 to go to Babysitter's for just an hour here & there when they're under 6 mos rather than get a nanny. Or maybe I won't need anyone at all, I never felt like I needed a break with Logan until he was 9-10 months old.

Needless to say, I need February to be when I make my final decision rather than if Logan started going to preschool that month as originally planned I'd have to make the final decision now -- but I HAVE chosen the preschool that I want Logan to attend whenever we are ready to sign him up! So it'll either be preschool & Babysitter's or Babysitter's & Nanny. But. . .this new chapter in our lives won't be written here. . .as 2011 is now upon is, this blogsite has come to an official conclusion! Joe, his mom, and Logan - 12/27/10

UPDATE 12/31/10: Also, I was not comfortable with Melaleuca not revealing their complete list of ingredients. Since I am pregnant, and my mom has allergies, we called and asked to know the ingredients that were not listed on the package or their website and were told that no one is allowed to know! I am glad that I never made Melalecua my business and was just a preferred customer for 7 months!
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I just received an email from Melaleuca, the company that I joined in June to purchase products from as a customer (where you can also become a seller) -- but I was told that I am not allowed to blog about them -- that I must remove my post from July!!! I had written a POSITIVE post about them and encouraged others to join (i.e. GIVING THEM BUSINESS)!!!!! I have complied, but since I have the freedom of speech in regards to my own opinion, I will also state that I am discontinuing my participation with Melaleuca. I have discovered it is NOT saving me any money as I had originally been told, in fact I have been spending more each month than I usually spend, since joining them. Another annoyance is that they advertised that they had holiday gift options which I had planned to purchase for family members, only to find out that they were never available all days that I looked in November & December! So it is fine that I removed that July post -- because I will not be recommending them anymore.

As I've mentioned, this blog will be coming to a final end at the end of this month. I thought I'd take advantage of these last days of my blog and see if maybe, just maybe, I can find four of the people who I've lost contact with over the years.

*When I was four & five years old I was friends with fraternal twins named Mindy and Missy. They lived in Ankeny, Iowa at the time and attended my same daycare, A Child's World. I was especially close with Mindy and so I hid with her on her last day when she cried and didn't want to be picked up because she was moving to Indianola, Iowa. Her mom was a single mother and I believe she was getting married or maybe just moving in with her boyfriend. Anyway, my mom and I were horrified that night to turn on the evening news and see/hear that Mindy's car had been in an accident during their move. Mindy's body was thrown through the window and was in a coma. I never heard whether she lived or died. I have never forgotten the twins despite it being 26 years. I wish that I had a last name. . .I even tried looking up the car accident when I worked at a TV station in 2002/2003 (from the 1985 archives) but was not successful. Mindy was a sweet girl; I pray that she made a full recovery and is happily living somewhere, maybe married with her own kids now. I may never know, but if anyone has any information please leave a comment or email me at MemoriesAsAMom@gmail.com

*In first grade (1986-1987) I was friends with a girl named Michelle Bradford. We had a lot of fun together at our school, Northwest Elementary in Mrs Doup's class. At the end of the year she moved away from Ankeny, Iowa to St. Louis. I have googled her name and found that there are many Michelle Bradfords in the world, but I have no idea which one she is. She would be my same age (born in 1979 or 1980), but it's possible she's gotten married and isn't using "Bradford" as her last name anymore. I think she had an older brother. As stated above, if anyone has any info please leave a comment or email at MemoriesAsAMom@gmail.com -- I do have some pictures of her:*In second grade (1987-1988) I was good friends with a girl named Nicole McElvogue who was a year older than me in school (so, born in 1978 or 1979). We attended the same daycare, Afternoon Connection in Ankeny, Iowa. She had red hair and we were both daughters of single mothers. I think she had two older brothers. We were inseparable, so when she moved away shortly before I did in 1988, we kept in touch. We were pen pals for the next few years but when I was in sixth grade we lost touch. We had usually written each other letters the minute that we received them in the mail, but that year several months went by and I remember that my letter to her came back to me because she had moved. Until then, she had lived in or near Springfield, Missouri. I think her mom had remarried but it also sounds familiar that they might have gotten divorced. I had hoped that maybe she would write me again since I lived in the same house until 1998, but I never heard from her again after 1991-ish. I have tried googling her, thinking that she should be easy to find with an uncommon last name -- but there is no record of her even on Intelius (which, whatever name you've ever had on your drivers license is in the system). I was sad to lose touch with her and pray that she is still alive and well. If anyone has any information, please leave a comment or email me at MemoriesAsAMom@gmail.com

*In junior high I was friends with a girl named Samantha Smith. But she has the most common name of all, so even though I remember the most about her compared to the other girls, she seems to be the hardest to find. We had so much fun together and my other friends all loved her, too. Last week (in my post titled Grown Up Christmas List) I mentioned that junior high was a difficult time in my life. Well, Samantha made it a lot better! She only lived in Marengo, IA for a short time -- a year-and-a-half, but left a strong mark on our lives. She had been through many rough times in her young life but had kept a fun, bubbly personality. She had such a good soul and was so full of life. She promised to keep in touch and she gave me a gift and her new address -- however, she had to leave abruptly before we were able to have a proper goodbye. I immediately sent a letter to her new address but it was returned as not available. I was devastated! I prayed that she was okay. . .and I still do. I know she had an older sister Stacy (among other siblings) and a stepdad named Richard/Rick. Even though she was in my class (that graduated in 1998), I remember that she was a year older (so born in 1978 or 1979). She left our school, Iowa Valley, in 1994. I would LOVE to see her again (pictured below). . .please leave a comment or email me at MemoriesAsAMom@gmail.comIt would be wonderful if my blog could reunite me with any of these old friends!!!!!

My friend Melissa is a nurse in Arizona. Three years ago she lived here in Omaha and used to talk to me about how hard it was to find good clothing to wear at work. I am happy now to pass along a great website for scrubs. In fact, it's a store with discounted scrubs! I browsed their selections and am very impressed -- their scrub sets contradict the stereotype that nurses have to look boring. Blue Sky Scrubs has designer scrubs for both nurses and doctors.

With it being the holiday season, Blue Sky Scrubs is a great place to get a gift certificate for the medical professional in your life. Blue Sky Scrubs not only sells scrubs, but scrub hats, jackets, shirts, medical coats, and accessories. If you decide to purchase items as a gift (or for yourself), enjoy free shipping on orders of $155 or more.

On the Blue Sky Scrubs website are links to frequently asked questions, returns and exchanges, and sizing charts -- among many other helpful information. Read customer testimonials and their authenticity statement. There's even a search box and an option to subscribe to their newsletter.

Visit BlueSkyScrubs.com for the finest and most fashionable medical scrubs and medical hats available.

I thought I'd participate in a Music Monday again. This is my favorite Christmas song. December 1992 was a very hard month for me. I was turning thirteen and, to make a long story short, when I listened to Amy Grant's Christmas album that was released that year, this song seemed to match perfectly what I was feeling and made me feel better. Those are the best types of songs!


LYRICS:

Do you remember me?
I sat upon your knee;
I wrote to you
With childhood fantasies.

Well, I'm all grown-up now,
And still need help somehow
I'm not a child,
But my heart still can dream.

So here's my lifelong wish,
My grown-up Christmas list.
Not for myself,
But for a world in need.

No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts.
And everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win,
And love would never end.
This is my grown-up Christmas list.

As children we believed
The grandest sight to see
Was something lovely
Wrapped beneath our tree.

Well heaven surely knows
That packages and bows
Can never heal
A hurting human soul.

What is this illusion called the innocence of youth?
Maybe only in our blind belief can we ever find the truth.

When my husband and I moved into our house over three years ago, I only had one addition that I wanted to make -- a fireplace in our bedroom. But, five days after moving in we learned that we were expecting our first baby and so the idea was put on the back burner. But I haven't forgotten the plan -- I still hope to have a fireplace in our bedroom. It just seems so cozy. . .and romantic :-)

We would prefer a gas fireplace, especially since we could get gas logs from Hansen Wholesale -- with guaranteed lowest prices online for over 15 years! They are gas log experts and were the first dealer to display gas logs on the Internet back in 1994! Their brand of fireplace gas logs is R. H. Peterson Real Fyre Gas Logs. I like the Vented Gas Logs (for natural gas). There is a current special offer of $75 off as an additional discount, plus no sales tax and free shipping. (No sales tax applies to all gas logs. Free shipping applies to complete gas log sets under 36" in the continental USA.)

It sounds like we don't have an excuse to put off buying our fireplace any longer! For more information, check out Hasen Wholesale's Gas Logs FAQs.

Just a quick post to announce the news that Logan is going to have a brother or sister in July 2011!!!!!!

As I said in my Versatile Blogger Award post, I will no longer be doing updates or sponsored posts after this month (this blogsite will be coming to an official end) so I will explain more about pregnancy #2 in my final post/our winter update next chance I get! :-)

My husband has the day off from work today so he is helping me decorate our final room of the house that we moved into three-years-three-months ago! We have saved our bedroom for last because it requires five curtain rods. Thankfully, at BedBathStore, black Friday specials have already started -- including great savings on their curtain rods and other New Products By The Merchant Source. We like the Moderno Decorative Extendable Curtain Rods by Versailles, or for something fancier the Decorative Bronze Ribbed Wood Pole and Hardware Set, Decorative White Fluted Wood Pole and Hardware Set, Decorative Palatial Gold Smooth Wood Pole and Hardware Set, or Decorative Gold Leaf Fluted Wood Pole and Hardware Set. All would look great in our bedroom!

As of now, we don't need to replace our comforter, but if we did I would love New Bedding by Textrade. The Crystal Orbit Gold 7 piece comforter set includes a comforter with matching solid back, pieced flanged sham, solid tailored bedskirt, 1 decorative pillow, and 2 euro shams.

Or, the New Bedding by Egyptian Peddler -- the last two "print bed in a bag sets" match our current color scheme. Best of all, they are machine washable! Also, apart of the New Bedding by Egyptian Peddler is the Premium Visco Elastic Memory Foam Pillow. I am thinking about getting this for my husband for Christmas because he is often complaining of back pain and I have heard that a pillow can make all of the difference. This pillow molds naturally to your body and surrounds your head & neck for exceptional therapeutic cushioning. The 3 lb high density foam delivers support while relieving pressure point and is hypo-allergenic; the anti-microbial finish guards against bacterial odors, also resists mold, mildew and algae.

Finally, for clocks, RIVERCITY has some great selections. My mom and stepdad have one similar to the 9" Tall Radio Controlled Tambour Mantel Clock with Oak Finish that has lasted for many years. I like the Bosley Parchment Dial Indoor/Outdoor Wall Clock by Seth Thomas as well as the Luminous Black Thermometer Wall Clock by Seth Thomas, and the 9" Tall Beehive Style Clock with Thermometer and Hygrometer. All currently have special holiday pricing!

It's a great time of year to shop at the BedBathStore!

In October I wrote about the trip Joe & I took to Chicago, checking out the suburbs as a possible place to move. We also want to check out the Carolinas before we make a decision because both of us fell in love with that area on a vacation in 2005. I have been to a lot of places in my life, and the Carolinas are my favorite states! I don't think the scenery can get anymore beautiful.

Our plan is to fly to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and then after we soak up the sun, rent a car to drive the three-and-a-half hours to Raleigh, North Carolina where there are job possibilities for Joe.

I have been wanting to visit Myrtle Beach for several years. My husband is excited, too, because he loves to golf and there is a place that lets you book your tee times and accommodations at the same time: http://www.myrtlebeachgolf.net There are also Myrtle Beach golf packages. My husband hasn't been able to golf for a few months because it's too cold now in Nebraska, but this week temperatures are in the 70's in Myrtle Beach! It'd be a great day to check out the Myrtle Beach golf courses. . .I wish we were there right now!

When my husband and I first bought our patio furniture in 2004 we were very careful to bring it in before even the smallest rain drop, and we kept it very clean. Then in 2008 or 2009 we got lazy (or rather, the opposite -- we had a child!) and we began leaving it out through the seasons (except winter) and so it's not in as good of shape as it was 6 yrs ago. In a few years we'll probably be ready to buy some new furniture. I love the look of adirondack chairs! They come in all shapes, sizes, and styles!

I also like utility sinks, so it is possible we could replace our current white kitchen sink with a stainless steel sink like what we had in our previous house. It was very easy to keep clean and helped our kitchen look classy.

Finally, I would love a butcher block. Not only are they beautiful, but they provide storage and give you extra space! Whether it's a standing island, kitchen island and cart, butcher block table, or counter top -- I could use them all.

Are you in need of any of these?

My first post this month shared the tragic news of my mother-in-law's friend's nephew who was killed in a plane crash with three of his sons. The funeral service was last weekend.

Sadly, there are many families all over the world who have lost loved ones due to accidental death. In Australia, 14 males and 7 females die every day due to accidental death. The facts are startling, especially when you consider the families left behind, often without financial protection. If you're searching for Accident insurance Australia, your answer is Guardian Accident Insurance.

Apply online or call 1300 70 9560, and they will help give you the peace of mind of knowing that you have a measure of financial protection if you were to die or suffer a serious injury in an unfortunate accident.

We all hate to prepare for the unexpected, but it does need to be done.

Over the summer I wrote about the water that leaked into our basement. It took until last month before it was finally fixed! We kept having our builder's crew come out to try different things but it wasn't until they dug super far into the ground and sealed cracks in our foundation that it seems to be good now.

But what about the water stain on our floor? Water damage can happen to all of us, no matter where we live. If you are searching the term water damage to floor austin check out The Steam Team Of Texas! They will also help with water damage to walls austin, water damage wood furniture austin, water damaged basement austin, water damaged electronics austin, among many others.

I wish that we had The Steam Team in Nebraska! They are the number one choice for carpet cleaning in Austin and Dallas, Texas. They've had over two decades of experience in cleaning and maintaining commercial and residential flooring, upholstery, air ducting, tile, and much more. They've exceeded their customers' satisfaction. So for those of you in Texas, get a quick quote by phone or online at TheSteamTeam.com.

Thank you, Meretrisha from A Walk Through Life for this award! You have been a great blog friend!!!!!

Originally I'd said that the award I posted on July 13th was my last since I was ending my blog in August with the exception of a sponsored post every now & then and a family update once a season. However, I'm posting this award with the news that I've decided not to even do the sponsored posts or updates once a season anymore, after next month (not only am I still writing on my autobiography site but also I want to focus more on being a Melaleuca consultant now that I'm not really making money as a freelance writer anymore). December 2010 will have my last post ever on this blogsite. So this award goes to ALL of my readers! Pick it up and pass it on :-)

The Rules:
* Be sure to thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.
* Share 7 things about yourself.
* Pass the award to other bloggers who you think deserves it.
* Be sure to let the bloggers know you chose them to receive the award.

Here are 7 things about myself. . .

1) When I was fifteen I met Jamie Walters at The Mall of America. For those who don't know (or need their memory refreshed), Jamie was one of America's hearthrobs during the mid-1990s while playing Ray Pruit on Beverly Hills 90210. Before that he'd been cast on the short-lived TV series, The Heights, where his song "How Do You Talk To An Angel" became a huge hit. (He was also engaged to Drew Barrymore in 1992.) Jamie left Beverly Hills 90210 to focus on his music career (he released three albums, the first went platinum and the second gold) but eventually left the business to have a family and work as a full time paramedic and firefighter for the Los Angeles Fire Department. Anyway, I cried when he looked into my eyes, smiled at me, and said "thanks for coming." (He was there signing autographs.) Yes, I was that girl -- the blubbering dork. My parents were outside the store because it was so crowded and when I ran over to them they thought something bad had happened to me because I couldn't even get the words out. Finally I said, "He spoke to me!" LOL.2) Since I'm on the topic of 1990s hearthrobs, my other celebrity crush during my teen years was Jonathan Brandis. I was convinced I was going to marry him someday. I had posters up in my room, his calendar, and anything else I could get my hands on that was "Jonathan Brandis." Jonathan had been in the business since he was six years old, so many of my friends knew him from his early roles (The Neverending Story II, among others) but I first noticed him in the movie, LadyBugs (released in 1992, I saw it in 1993 or 1994). However, it was his later role as the main character in Steven Spielberg's futuristic science fiction series seaQuest DSV that made Jonathan Brandis a teen idol. By the time he was an adult he was a director as well, but like many child stars, acting roles became harder to get and he went into a depression. On November 11, 2003 he commited suicide at the age of twenty-seven years old. It still makes me sad to think that he's not here anymore, and that was the way his life turned out. It's been seven years now (exactly as of this Thursday) -- think of all that has happened in our lives during that same time -- his life would most certainly be completely different now. Maybe he would have gotten married and become a father, experiencing the best happiness there is! Darn it, Jonathan :(3) My top four favorite books are (in no particular order): Breath Of Scandal by Sandra Brown, The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks, Time Of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch (I wrote about receiving it for Christmas in my Happy New Year post), and all of Emily Giffin's books are tied!

4) My top three favorite movies are (in no particular order): Back To The Future (trilogy), Serendipity, and Forrest Gump.

5) My top two favorite types of food: Mexican, Pizza.

6) My one most prized posession (a thing): My pictures.

7) If I had to pick a celebrity crush now: Bradley Cooper

On September 11, 2009 I wrote the post Can Progesterone Be The Solution? and then on February 16, 2010 I wrote Verdict On Progesterone Cream: Yay! In both posts I raved about how progesterone has been my cure for severe menstrual cramps, migraines, and feeling moody before that time of the month. But, as with everything, I have discovered after more than a year on it that there is a downside to progesterone for many women: acne.

I began using progesterone cream on August 29, 2009. In mid-October 2009 I decided to stop using Clearasil acne spot treatment which I'd been using since I was sixteen because I felt it was damaging my skin -- staining it an orange color and making the texture rubbery. At almost thirty years old, I wanted to start taking better care of my skin to avoid lines and wrinkles.

I bought some organic non-pore-clogging make up at Sephora and used that with my Clearasil cleanser instead of spot treatment. My face broke out but I assumed it was because of the elimination of my spot treatment and that once my face got used to the change it would clear up. I had my first (and only so far) facial in November 2009 hoping that would help, and I was also given samples of the organic and popular Bare Essentials spot treatment, etc.

My face got even worse -- even counting when I was in puberty. Back then, my mom had taken me to the dermatologist for the first time and I was prescribed Retin-A. It worked, but it also caused my sensitive skin to peel and turn red so I stopped using it in place of Neutrogena products which worked well for the next three years. The only reason why I switched to Clearasil was because I liked that it worked as a concealer since I preferred to not wear make-up due to it making my skin break out.

Anyway, in December 2009 I got the best cleanser at Sephora for my skin type but in January my face had still not cleared up so I tried Acne Free (the store's version of Pro Activ). In February my face was even worse. One day I noticed that I had acne wherever my hair touched my face and so I googled whether Moroccan Oil, which I'd begun using on my hair, had contributed to it. It sounded as if it had, so I stopped using it. At first I thought my face improved -- yeay, I'd found my answer!

It was short lived.

I do believe that the Moroccan Oil was "involved", because throughout the year I experimented with using it every now & then, and my face was always worse after those days, but I think my hormones were what made me prone. For example, one day I wore my sunglasses and ended up with pimples right where my glasses had been. It's just like with virus' -- they're always around us, but if our immune systems are weak then we are more prone to catching them. Just as, there are a ton of things in the environment that can cause pimples, but we won't always get them if our skin does what it's supposed to.

I hadn't realized this yet the first of April, so I began using Pro Activ. After seeing all of their commercials and even having a friend with a success story, I was sure it would work. But by July there had been NO improvement and so I canceled my membership (but it took until the end of August before I finished the bottles that I had).

I was at the end of my rope. There was clearly SOMETHING that was causing me to break out. I have always had oily skin and pimples here & there but never straight up acne for 9 entire months. I was starting to worry I was going to get scars for the first time because I hadn't had one day without any pimples (even the month that I'd had an improvement). There was nothing different about my life or me except one thing: the progesterone cream.

The reason why this didn't come up during my research before I started using the cream is that for many people progesterone actually treats acne. (In fact, there are many acne medications that have progesterone as an ingredient.) DermaDoctor says, "One woman's hormonal flare is another woman's means to a quick fix."

As with everything, we are all different. I have stated on my blog before that what is right for one person won't be for another. We are not all supposed to do the same things, have the same results, like and dislike the same things, etc. We simply do what works for us.

With that said, when I googled the actual phrase "does progesterone cause acne?" I learned that there are plenty of women who say they had been one of the lucky ones to hardly ever have a pimple in their life, even as teens, but after using the progesterone cream they struggled with acne in their thirties, forties, and even fifties.

So, I reduced my progesterone to just once a day in both July and August 2010. At first I saw a light at the end of the tunnel because my face started clearing up! But then in August I had my former off-the-charts severe cramps during my period to the point of sweating and feeling dizzy. I felt my mood take a nosedive. I began having migraines again. When my face began breaking out anyway I decided that it wasn't worth all of those other things to reduce the progesterone cream and so therefore I went back up to two times a day in September. Plus, with trying to get pregnant, I didn't want to reduce my progesterone levels since you need that to be high to get pregnant and stay pregnant.

However, even though my migraines and cramps went away and my mood improved once I returned to twice a day, my skin got the worst yet in September 2010 -- thus causing an infection in my chin which I blogged about in Autumn Update. I went to the dermatologist for the second time in my life and started an antibiotic and topical cream. (After I stopped Pro Activ I had used Melaleuca's acne systerm and from now on am usuing their Sci Bella facial products.) Since acne is a bacteria infection, the plan was that the antibiotics would fight away the pimples that were on my face and prevent new ones from forming.

But, I have heard that if you have breakouts on your chin then it is due to hormones (which are where the majority of mine have been the past year). Last month, in October, I was so embarrassed that I actually found myself avoiding others and hiding from being introduced to a couple of people by my husband! That's when I knew I had to go off the progesterone cream for good because it was interfering with my life. It has brought me to tears. Make-up does not conceal it enough (I've tried two other organic brands of make up aside from Sephora [Bare Minerals and Melaleuca's Sci Bella] but they didn't make a difference, either). Not to mention, my face often hurt. Considering I am thirty years old and spent the other twenty-nine years without this being a major issue for me, it is not something I'm just going to accept and live with. As bad as my cramps, migraines, and mood swings have been, I also can't take any more acne.

By the time I finished my prescription from the dermatologist on October 31st, the pills had definitely improved my skin and now my face is almost clear. It has been three weeks since I used the progesterone cream so I'm hoping that will prevent my face to go crazy again now that my prescription from the dermatologist has run out, and that my face will be completely clear soon.

DermaDoctor says, "Progesterone causes fluid retention and tissue swelling. We are all familiar with premenstrual "bloating". You can thank progesterone for that monthly puffiness. As the levels of progesterone rise and the skin swells, the pores are effectively compressed shut. This has 2 effects; by day 26, your pores never looked so minimized. However, this tourniquet effect causes sebum to build up beneath the skin's surface contributing to the formation of extra monthly blemishes. An interesting multicenter study showed that almost half of all women do experience a premenstrual flare of acne."

This is also why most women notice their faces breaking out during the first trimester of pregnancy -- because there is a major increase in progesterone. But in the second and third trimesters estrogen dominates which has the opposite effect. This stays in place during breastfeeding which is why I had the best skin of my life during that time. Estrogen is also the main ingredient in birth control pills, thus why that is often prescribed for acne.

The problem with estrogen is that is the hormone linked to cancer so you never want to increase estrogen, as well as it causes other side effects which I detailed in my previous posts (the pill caused me other problems).

Still, estrogen should always be higher in women than testosterone. The ovaries produce both estrogen and testosterone. In women, estrogen should be in much higher concentrations, masking the "male" effects of testosterone: acne, hair loss, and facial hair.

While I have no had facial hair (thank God), I have noticed losing more hair than normal the past few months. When I brought this up to Joe he said an emphatic "yes," as he has noticed it all over our bathroom for the first time in our seven-and-a-half years of marriage! Since progesterone often lowers estrogen, has it lowered mine too much so that my testosterone is now too high? Too much testosterone causes Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome which most often causes infertility. One of the symptoms is acne.

I finally rescheduled my appt. with a general doctor for a complete physical on November 15th (I had planned to do this twice before in the past two years for cholesterol, an EKG, and hormones but canceled). I want a complete hormonal workup done to find out where I'm at with my progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone. Obviously if these are messed up then that could be why I didn't get pregnant in September (we also sort of tried in October but didn't get pregnant last month, either).

I assume it's going to take a few months for my hormones to regulate after being off the cream, so we have decided that we will keep the plan that I wrote about in Change of Plans For Baby #2 which said that if our one try in September didn't work then we wouldn't try again until February -- and at that point we'll try until it happens. Otherwise, having a sudden drop to my progesterone could cause a miscarriage. Whenever I get pregnant, hopefully pregnancy will even out my hormones and not get messed up next time I'm done breastfeeding! (One can only hope.)

Otherwise, is there going to just be something else substituted for this (since my side effects from the pill were substituted with major cramps and then the acne was substituted for the major cramps)? Am I just going to keep trading one thing for another?

I'm disappointed that the progesterone cream didn't have a happy ending for me (especially since I was only two months into using a new tube), but at least it did cure me of cramps and migraines for one year. I still recommend it for these things, as many women don't have acne as a side effect so it's at least worth a try. But if you do break out, you'll know not to stay on it for 14 months (which is how long I did)!

UPDATE: Little did I know that I had become pregnant just 3 days prior to writing this post! (So my first month of being off the cream!) I am due to have baby #2 in July 2011! My progesterone level was perfect in the first trimester so not only did I not miscarry, but I didn't even have to use suppositories like I did with my firstborn. I also haven't had acne since going off the cream.

UPDATE ON 11/4/10: Yesterday Joe's mom called and said the plane has now been found and it was as assumed. . .the four members were killed during the crash. Such a tragedy. My heart breaks for their loss.

I have been saddened since Saturday by some news that my husband told me. Before he and I were married his mom threw me a baby shower with her friends at one of their houses. The host's nephew and his three sons (twins age 14 and another boy age 12) went missing last Monday, October 25 when they flew their private plane after a weekend wedding in Wyoming. The man's wife and their 5 year old son had gone home on a commercial flight.

Even though I've never met them, I have cried off and on about this. It's bad enough when a single loved one passes on, but can you imagine your entire family? My heart goes out to those still here.

The four males have not been found. . . it's freezing temperatures so even if they did survive it would seem unlikely that they could survive an entire week in that area. On October 28 the distress signal was found so that gave hope for finding them, but apparently it is considered one of the most remote areas of the US, so they still haven't been located.

It was his second marriage so his wife was the three boys' stepmother (meaning two women are without their sons), and he'd had two daughters as well as the five year old boy. He was the CEO of a software company in Minnesota, forty years old, and had been flying for many years -- just this month he got his commerical pilot's license. The family was all active in church and sound like wonderful Christian people from the stories others have written about them. Please help pray for a miracle. For updates, you can visit his his family's blog.

After re-reading Autumn Update , I saw there were some things I forgot to write - thus why I am doing a part two!

One, is that a couple of months ago Logan decided that his favorite song is Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)." Whenever he hears that song he starts dancing and singing and when it's over he says "more!" He doesn't really do that with other radio music so it's hilarious considering the lyrics. It reminds me of when I was a toddler with the song "Elvira" by the Oakridge Boys.

Second, one day while I was thinking I made a t-t-t noise. So a couple of minutes later when I asked Logan a question, as he thought of the answer he went "t-t-t" which made me laugh.

He's been the energizer bunny since turning two-and-a-half (what I called him from 9 months to 18 months). But I think he still has more of the personality of a Taurus than an Aries (one of my first posts was titled My Son, The Aries or The Taurus? because he was supposed to be a Taurus but was born three weeks early making him an Aries.)

He has all of his teeth now! I don't know when his final two molars came in but they are there so he is done with teething forever -- yeay! Maybe that's why he's been so easy and well behaved this past month! He is acting more like a three year old lately (my favorite age when I've been around children in the past) -- more like a little boy than a toddler the way he moves, the way he looks, the way he acts, the way he talks, etc. Anyway, now he can go to the dentist at any time, but I think we'll just wait until his three-year check up.As for other things. . .he has an amazing memory. One day I took him to Babysitter's house and he pointed to the other car in the driveway and said, "Mia's car." I was like, "Okay," thinking he didn't really know what he was talking about but when I walked in there was the little girl Mia. I have only seen her a couple of times because she doesn't usually go on the same days as Logan. When I told Babysitter what Logan said about her car she said that was creepy because they are not usually dropped off/picked up on the same day. Joe later said that a few months ago Mia had come on the same day and Logan had seen her get out of that car so he must have remembered from that long ago!

Another day we were walking down the street and Logan pointed to a van and said, "Neighbors!" Once again I just shrugged and said, "oh" but honestly had no idea what kind of van our neighbors drove. Then we watched it pull into the driveway and into the garage! I was like, "How in the world did you know that?!" He doesn't usually point to cars and say who they are so it's not like he's just guessing -- he only does it when he is correct (for example, he can pick our vehicles out in the parking lot as well as my parents' SUV).

As soon as we go to any store or any place that we've been before, he starts reminding me of whatever occurred the last time we were there, even if it has been many months ago.

Whenever we go to Vala's Pumpkin Patch, he always points to one of the Halloween decorations of a man who has fallen into a trash can and Logan points and says, "Oh shoot!" He also says it's silly that there is a car parked on the grass. :-) (In my other autumn update I posted some pics of Logan at the pumpkin patch, here are three more as well as the very first pic on today's post and one later on of Joe & Logan together)For the past several months he loves skipping around so that is cute. Also cute was that day when we took the hour walk around the lake back in September -- as I had pushed him in the stroller he looked up at me and I said, "Hi cutie pie" so then after that he kept looking up at me and he said to me, "Hi cutie pie!"

He is still sensitive to light -- something we noticed on his first day of life in the hospital. He often doesn't want me to turn on the light when I change his diaper.

Two women I know are going to have babies in the spring (Sarah has son Elijah born in October 2008, her next is due in April 2011, and Sara is my friend Lisa's sister, this will be her first due in March 2011).

My oldest cousin's daughter is due to have a baby in either December or January which means my paternal grandma is going to be a GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER! Meanwhile, Joe's nephew & wife who are having their third in January found out it is going to be a boy (they currently have a two-and-a-half year old daughter and a thirteen-month-old son).

Since I wrote Autumn Update, Logan came home the next day with two pumpkins that he and Joe had designed at Joe's mom's house. Joe's was black with silver sparkles and Logan's was white with different colors of paint. Logan was so proud :-)We have mainly spent the month getting good use of our Vala's season pass, going nearly every day that he doesn't go to Babysitter's house.

We put up all of our Halloween decorations on Monday, October 4th so now Logan's not as scared of Halloween because he keeps commenting that he likes our Halloween stuff and now when we're at the store he wants to go down the aisle with the costumes, etc. However, my mom said he was deathly afraid of the scarecrow she had sitting on her front steps! I think he's going to be a tiger again for trick-or-treating since the costume still fits from last year, and probably next year he'll start caring what he wants to be every year.

On Thursday, October 7th Logan & I went to Vala's with Lisa and her daughters Lexi and Riley, and then with my mom & stepdad on Friday, October 8th because my mom's 60th birthday was 10/10/10 and she wanted to see what all of the talk has been the past year about Vala's! She was impressed and said it was a great birthday. Joe joined us that evening for his first time this year to the pumpkin patch, and we also went out to eat to a restaurant called Upstream.

On Saturday, October 9th we continued our annual tradition of picking out pumpkins at the store for our front step. Logan was bummed there weren't any little ones so we went on the hayrack ride today at Vala's and he picked out his own little pumpkin :-)

That evening Brooke and I had a mom's night out at the movies -- we saw Life As We Know It which was good and funny. I forgot to mention that our first mom's night out was in September (literally -- Brooke hadn't been to the movie theater since before her daughter was born a year-and-a-half ago!) when we saw Eat, Pray, Love. I liked it, but it was a bit long.

On Sunday, October 10th Logan had his two-and-a-half year pics taken. We weren't planning on doing any (as of two years old we're just going to do them once a year), but Brooke is a member of MOPs and they were doing a fundraiser where a professional photographer was taking outdoor pics that day and giving anyone who wanted a CD with rights to do whatever we want with 30 pics for $30. It was a beautiful fall day so we participated; Logan seemed to do a good job so hopefully we'll like the CD that we can pick up next week (earlier that week I'd done my seasonal clothes-buying but opted out of a family pic since my face isn't completely recovered yet from what I wrote about in my first autumn update -- although my lip is).

On Monday, October 11th we went to look at a preschool for Logan (as well as to the library). As I wrote about in Autumn Update, we are considering starting Logan around February. We liked almost everything about it but Joe wanted to go to another to compare which makes sense, so I began researching all of the others in the area. But I really only came up with one other one that I'd been interested in seeing. They have a new building just down our street. So we went there today. . .this is going to be a tough decision! Basically the only things that we were "iffy" about with preschool #1 were what we liked at preschool #2, but the things that we liked about preschool #1 were not as good at preschool #2! And then of course there were a lot of things that were exactly the same/equal. So Joe and I have no idea which one we'll go with. . .like, one has web cams for me to check in on him at any time (a plus) while the other one doesn't. But the web cam place is an open setting with all classes separated only by a small/short wall (making it noisy and possibly more overwhelming for Logan) while the other has individual closed classrooms (a plus). The good thing is that it sounded like we could get in whenever we wanted with either place so we have the next three-and-a-half months to make a decision. February is also the month that we're making the decision as far as when Joe will start applying for a new job. Although, not only has his job improved, but the position that he wasn't going to have a year-and-a-half from now has now been secured for another five years. Which means two out of the three reasons he was going to apply for a new job in February have now been eliminated. He still will apply if the third reason isn't eliminated, but if it is (and/or I get pregnant) then we will probably wait one more year until 2012 (I don't want to move at the same time that I have a baby). We plan to check out North Carolina this spring to see if Joe should apply there, but our only other interest is a Chicago suburb.

So, we left Omaha for Chicago on Friday, October 15 -- which was the day after we had a fun time at Vala's with friend Brooke and her daughter Kaelyn (you can read Brooke's blog post about it here).

We spent the night at Joe's mom's house in Iowa because she watched Logan until Monday evening and then my mom and stepdad watched him until Wednesday evening when we returned home. Logan cried when we left (he's starting to do that, even at his Babysitter's) but stopped by the time Joe and I got into the car (so there hasn't been any dramatic moments yet).

On our way to Chicago on Saturday, October 16, Joe and I ate at Chick Fil A for lunch. I forgot to mention that Joe and Logan had their first experience at Chick Fil A back when we went to Iowa in September, while I hadn't eaten there since I was in high school -- it was still as yummy as I'd remembered! I can't wait until Omaha gets one (expected 2012)! So it was great because we also saw one on our way home from Chicago so that made 3 times eating there the past month!

We checked into our hotel (Mariott at Medical -- the college area of Chicago) at around 3:30 pm. We didn't run into any bad traffic and the weather was perfect. Our hotel was very nice (a five star hotel) and at 5 pm we walked to a nearby restaurant to eat supper. It was excellent! Called DaVanti Enoteca, it had great atmosphere, great service, and great food! I ordered Riccio di Mare e Granchio (linguine + sea urchin + crab) while Joe had the Paccheri con Salsiccia e Pomodori al forno (giant rigatoni + sausage + oven roasted tomato + parmigiano). We were just in our jeans and tee shirts after all of our hours of traveling, but we still felt comfortable as there were both fancy dressed and casually dressed customers. I would definitely recommend this restaurant for anyone going to Chicago (in fact, this was the only restaurant that I'd recommend from our trip), you can visit their website here.We spent the rest of the evening relaxing in our room and then got up Sunday morning, October 17, for the Bears game! After eating the breakfast buffet at our hotel, we arrived to Soldier Field at around 10 am and the game started at noon. Unfortunately, they lost to the Seattle Seahawks but it was still a terrific, fun experience as we had 4th row seats and nice weather. The morning was a little cool so Joe and I each bought a sweatshirt there (we'd forgotten our coats back in Omaha - duh) as well as I had a hot chocolate and then a hot dog for lunch.I didn't realize that if you have to go to the bathroom in Chicago, good luck finding one! The stores along the streets don't have public restrooms (maybe because of the homeless??) so twice I was almost in pain trying to find one!

We rode the subway around Chicago and visited the Navy Pier that evening. (We'd visited the Willis Tower on our Chicago trip last year, as well as The Hancock Tower and The Blue Man Group, which you can read about in my 2009 post Our Chicago Trip.) I was so glad I had on my walking shoes this year. Last year I wrote about wearing my high heel boots which left my feet blistered. This year I was comfortable! (We also didn't get valet parking at our hotel this time and I carried my own bags, preventing any injuries to the doorman this year :p)The Navy Pier was really neat -- sometime we'll have to take Logan since there is a Children's Museum. We ate Chicago-style pizza at a restaurant there although it wasn't as good as last year's popular Giordano's, of course!

When we returned to our hotel we refreshed our memory on the suburbs to visit the next day. We checked out of our hotel on Monday, October 18 and drove to the west. We don't want to live farther west than Naperville, so to get there we took I-290 to I-294 to Hwy-34 -- meaning we saw a lot of suburbs!

The winner was Naperville. LOVED it. It felt like home sweet home! "The one." Naperville was ranked the #2 best city to live in the US by Money Magazine in 2006. Located 43 minutes west of Chicago, it has a population of around 145,235. With cost of living being 18% cheaper than where we live now, we would be able to afford the house that we'd want. It is four-and-a-half hours away from our parents in Iowa so we'd be able to go there as often as we do now (at three hours away).

Most importantly, it has everything we are looking for. It's hard to describe a "vibe" but basically there was a certain feeling that I was going for (that reminds me of the place I lived the first 8 yrs of my life and where my parents still live). It was all very nice, well-kept, and new-looking with everything that we'd need without seeming too "big city." (Despite it being the fifth largest city in Illinois, it was very cozy.) There would be no adjustment since everything looks the same as Iowa and Nebraska (the only other two states where I've lived).

The people were friendly -- we went to Walgreens to buy some cough syrup because I developed a cough on the trip just like last year (thankfully I am almost over it), and a woman paid for the stranger in front of her's purchase because she didn't have enough money. Cars were very courteous (traffic was no problem), the whole suburb had a calm and peaceful, family-oriented feel to it.

I had been to Naperville once before (back in 2007 for Joe's nephew's wedding) and had noticed all of this back then. In fact, if it hadn't been for that I might never have considered a Chicago suburb as a place to live (although I loved the city of Chicago back when I visited the first time at age seventeen and almost worked there as an intern TV reporter in college, hoping to someday get a fulltime job there, but now that I'm a SAHM I feel the suburb is more my fit). So Naperville held up to the foggy memory that I had of it three-and-a-half years ago.We also liked Lisle, where we stopped for lunch at a Mexican restaurant (the food was just okay), but housing is not affordable there (it's 101% more expensive than where we currently live). However, there are job openings in Joe's field so if he can't find one in Naperville, he could commute to Lisle (9 minutes away). There are also job openings in Downers Grove (16 minutes from Naperville). So even though we didn't care for that suburb to live, Joe wouldn't mind working there if it meant a good job and living in Naperville. Other suburbs that he could commute to for work (but we wouldn't want to live) are Warrenville (7 minutes) and Woodridge (15 minutes).

From Naperville, we drove 24 min. north to stay in Lombard that night. We saw more suburbs along the way, but didn't care for any. We liked Lombard, but even though the population is 42,975, it seemed more "big city" than Naperville. I think that's because it was more businesses vs housing, whereas Naperville was more housing vs businesses. Also, even though it's only 17% more expensive than where we live now, there does not seem to be affordable housing (when viewing their houses for sale sites). However, there are job openings in Joe's field, but with no nearby suburbs to live it does not seem likely that Joe will apply there (Glendale Heights, only 12 min away, was affordable but not our fit to live. We liked Itasca, 19 minutes away which is borderline for a commute, but I think it might be too "small town" with only 8,302 residents. However, even with it being 25% more expensive than our current place, it does have affordable housing.)

We stayed at The Fairfield in Lombard and ate supper at the Clam Jumper where I had a grilled chicken ceaser salad.

We checked out on Tuesday, October 19 and drove to the north suburbs. During our prior months of research, we didn't think we'd want to live farther north than Elgin (because the suburbs we looked at have the same weather as what we're used to, but go north and it's colder), so we stayed at The Courtyard there but didn't care for Elgin.

We liked Schaumburg (located 43 minutes northwest of Chicago), although even though it's only 16% more expensive than where we live now, there doesn't seem to be affordable housing. It is where the most openings are in Joe's field out of all of the suburbs, so statistically that would be the best place for Joe to apply for a job, but like Lombard we feared it had too much of a "big city" feel, despite it being smaller than Naperville, with a population of 75,936. There are a lot of big corporations there. Sure enough, after talking to someone familiar with Schaumburg, it can get crowded, traffic can get heavy, and apparently the holiday season and tourist times are awful since the second largest mall in America is there. It is also farther from our hometowns at five-and-a-half hours.There is a nearby suburb of Streamwood (pop: 39,497) with the best housing out of all of the suburbs that we saw on our trip, but we didn't care for "the look" of the actual town as much, however it runs right into Schaumburg so if we lived on the skirts we'd feel we were living in Schaumburg.

I kind of wish we would have gone a little farther north on our trip. Even though the housing looks "iffy" in the Palatine to Deerfield area based on their houses for sale sites, those two suburbs have been recommended to us (and Palatine is only 15 minutes east of Schaumburg if Joe got a job there to commute, while Deerfield has job openings in Joe's field). Looks like we're going to have to make another trip! We also didn't get to any southern suburbs but there doesn't seem to be as many opportunities for Joe's job there, so we've kind of decided to cross that area off our list.

We ate lunch at Wendy's that day. Before crashing in our hotel room in Elgin, Joe and I walked around a nice park and went to the movie theater to see The Social Network (it was just okay). We checked out on Wednesday, October 20th and headed home after eating breakfast at Dunkin Donuts (they are all over the place in Illinois so since I've only eaten there once in my life, when I was a kid, we decided to splurge)!

Logan did great at both grandparents' houses (he was still napping when we arrived to my mom and stepdad's place so we just talked and then I woke him up after he'd been sleeping for three hrs) and he was easy on our car rides. He now likes his DVD player too much (for the first time I have to start saying "no more" when it comes to TV -- his favorite show is Blue's Clues, he calls it "The Good Guy" and wants to watch him over and over and over! It's not bad, though, because it's taught Logan the alphabet -- he can say it now and recognize half of the letters when seeing them)

The dogs, however, were awful at my mom and stepdad's place. In my Chicago post last year I wrote about how we weren't going to travel with them anymore since they seem to deficate all over my parents' house for some reason (and bark non stop). For the past year we've had our neighbors let them outside while we go away for weekends, but this trip was five nights so we thought that'd be too long to leave them by themselves (and they did fine at Joe's mom's place). But they seem to be more comfortable being alone here than traveling (since there are never any accidents here and the neighbors say they don't even bark at them when they come inside), so next time we'll see how they do staying by themselves even when we're gone longer because there is not any obvious reason (to change) to why they behave like that at my mom & stepdad's.

It was 9:15 pm by the time we pulled into our driveway so Joe and I were exhausted and glad that he'd taken the rest of the week off from work! My step grandparents are staying with us this weekend so that will be fun.

Aside from seeing the second preschool this morning (Thursday, October 21), Joe, Logan, and I spent the afternoon at Vala's. (Here is a pic of Logan with his little pumpkin that he picked out.)Only one more week before it closes for the year :( It's been nice weather this fall, I wish it would stay like this year round.

Okay I think that is it this time for our autumn update! See you in the winter!