Oh the weather outside is frightful . . .

and I love it! Yesterday it just rained ALL DAY long. I know a lot of the SoCalers would kill me for being excited about rain that ruins the perfect sunny days, but I need something to let me know it's winter. My favorite weather year here was our second year here when it rained most of January. I had a fabulous 2nd grade class and so I didn't mind missing recess every once in a while because the weather was awesome. Plus, we need some rain here. It's funny that the news people complain we need rain and then when it comes, they complain about all the problems it is causing. Well, you can't have it both ways!

I had my doctor's appointment bright and early yesterday morning. She checked me and I'm dilated 1cm, but my fruit is still pretty firm:) She says a week makes a big difference, so we'll see where I'm at on Monday and if she'll need to strip my membranes. Oh and it didn't really bother me to be checked. I know it's painful for some women, but I didn't think it was too terrible. Maybe it's because I've already had one baby?

To pass the time today I made caramels and The Boy and I played all his new games. Well, we didn't get to Chutes and Ladders, but he already made me promise we'd play it today. He had so much fun playing the games and since it was his first time doing something with turn taking and rules, it was funny watching him try to assimilate all of the new information. He loved all three of the games we play - Memory, Spiderman & Friends 3-D Memory Game, and Cariboo. He loved Memory because it had animal & food pictures to find, he LOVED the little figurines of the Spiderman game (see below) and he loved finding the balls and opening the treasure chest of Cariboo. They are all such great games for his age. When Will got home that night, we had to play Spiderman like 5 times before he went to bed with his "friend Daddy".We had to venture out into the rain today during lunchtime to send our Christmas package to family in Utah. It was interesting to see me with a baby in a stroller, a preschooler that is afraid of holding the umbrella because he thinks it's going to blow away, I've got my hoodie pulled down to keep the rain off and I'm pushing the stroller one handed while carrying a giant box - all while it pours. I got kind of frustrated at the door because we're almost in and this lady is trying to come out and she thinks she'll help and try to hold the door, but we're already halfway in the door and so she just ends up getting in the way and I'm like - GET OUT OF THE WAY! LOL Poor lady, she was just trying to be nice.

Last night I wrapped up all my caramels - I cooked them about 1 minute too long because The Boy needed something and distracted me at the critical moment of pulling it off the heat. So much for standing there for 20 minutes stirring constantly. LOL They still taste REALLY good, but they aren't chewy, they are more of a suck candy - like a Werther's Original. The Boy and I also made Reindeer Nose Cookies. They were the perfect treat for The Boy to help with and he was so meticulous about unwrapping the Kisses and carefully placing them in the middle of the pretzels.

Today The Boy has his 3-year-old appointment and so we'll see how big he has gotten. He also has to get shots - how many I'm not sure - so I've been trying to kind of prep him for it. I'm not sure which is better: (1) not knowing and dealing with it afterwards or (2) trying to get him a little ready for what is going to happen. I don't think he fully gets it, so we'll see how it goes.

Here are my pages for the last two days: