Congrats Christina!

I would just like to extend a very warm congratulations to our weekend anchor Christina Palladino. If you read this blog around Christmas time, you might have noticed she was hoping for a ring. Well, she didn't get it, at least not at Christmas. It came a few weeks later :) So, congrats to Christina and Shawn on their engagement!

-Amanda

My Brothers

I've been thinking a lot about my brothers lately because of stories in the news, mainly the Pella families that adopted Haitian children recently. My two younger brothers are both adopted from Peru. Mitchell was just a newborn baby and Justin was about a year and a half old. Justin's an civil engineering major at U-W Madison and my brother Mitchell graduates from high school this May. Gosh time flies!

My parents had foster children when we were growing up but it got difficult when they had four young daughters of their own so they decided at some point in the future they would adopt. After a lot of research, paperwork, lawyers and such in 1991 they went down to Peru for roughly three months and came home with my brothers. I'm a little fuzzy on all the details since I was only in 5th grade when it all happened. All I know was at the time it was very rare to adopt and even rarer to adopt internationally.

What I do remember is being in the airport and seeing my dad carry my two brothers down the runway and all of us screamed in delight. Everyone at the airport stopped what they were doing and clapped. Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes, one of my parents friends video-taped it and we watch is every so often.
We instantly loved them, we girls felt that our parents brought them home for us. We argued about who got to baby-sit or feed them or change their diapers. The boys basically had five moms. We all remember when Mitchell took his first steps or how much Justin loved gum and cars.

We had such a close loving relationship with them all growing up. It is funny because I never even think about them being adopted and it catches me by surprise when people see a family photo and sometimes ask who are the two boys. I'm excited and love seeing what nice, handsome, smart young men they are turning into.
-Rachel Pierce
rpierce@myabc5.com

(This is at my sister's wedding in December, behind me are my two brothers, Justin on the left, Mitchell on the right.)

Helping Haiti?

Like many of you, I watched the "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon Friday night. I was actually home sick, that's why I got to watch it. I thought it was a very classy production, definitely somber and even a bit heart-wrenching at times. (my favorite performances: Coldplay, Sting, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Neil Young and Dave Matthews)

It seemed to me that it really didn't matter how much money people were donating, simply that they donated what they could. All the celebrities reinforced that and I thought it was great because five dollars really can do so much good. I just read, the telethon has raised a record $58 million so far.

I'm just curious, how did you choose (or will you choose) which organization to donate to? There are so many options out there.

I don't mind sharing where I donated. I went online to http://www.stillerstrong.org/. It's a charity organized by actor/comedian Ben Stiller. The effort is called the Haitian School Initiative, to help provide temporary schools for Haitians displaced by the earthquake.

Stiller says, “Our goal is to help kids get back in school as quickly as possible. Schools are a safe haven for kids in times of crisis, and are instrumental in delivering not only education but also healthcare, nutrition and other critical services.”

There are so many wonderful organizations to donate to. I just think it's important to do something.

Amanda

akrenz@myabc5.com

Baby Shower

I just had my first baby shower this weekend in my hometown of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. My sister Magdalena and my mom Jenny hosted it at my sister's summer home. Let me first say they went overboard with the decorations, food, gifts and dessert, four cakes from Cold Stone Creamery (my favorite)! Oh, and we can’t forget the strawberry chocolate fountain!

The shower started at noon and about forty ladies were present. Some of my uncles and other male relatives were there too, but the guys stayed downstairs and did guy stuff. The guests came from all over, some driving hours to be there. I just feel so blessed to have so many people in my life that care about me, my husband and our growing family!

We started off a little devotional from my mom. Then we all ate lunch and played a few fun baby shower games, like baby bingo, a word scramble and questions about me. It was so much fun! Then came the time to open presents. I am amazed at the generosity of everyone...it was truly enough to have them just be there! We received a homemade quilt, a painting by my mom, a running stroller, toys, bibs, pacifiers, travel gear, nursing items, picture frames, books and baby clothes upon baby clothes! I just can't believe how cute and little the outfits are, it was just soooo much fun!

Now all we have to do is finish the nursery so we can organize it all!

On a side note, a big thank you to my friend Kirsi Ingram for taking all the pictures of my shower!

(The painting my mom did for Lydia's room)

(Me, my sister Magadalena and my Mom Jenny next to the running stroller they got me.)

(Me with with amazing quilt done by Roxi)

(A view of the food)

(My sister and me)

(That's a lot of presents!)

(And this is a side shot for those of you who have been asking for one. This is me a little over 29 weeks along.)

Rachel Pierce

rpierce@myabc5.com

Clothes

I'm not going to lie, shopping is one of my favorite things to do (now is the time to feel bad for my husband). I love trying on clothes, buying them, looking at them in magazines and seeing them in windows. That was until I became pregnant...now shopping just is not as much fun.

But, having said that, I have been able to find some really cute maternity clothes. My favorite store which I have bought jeans, dresses, tops and more is Urban Belly in the East Village. I also love Isabella Oliver maternity and Pea in a Pod clothing. I have found a few pieces here and there at Gap Maternity and Motherhood Maternity. It has been hard to find clothing appropriate for work since I have to dress up every day, but so far so good.

One funny note is that I bought things in the beginning thinking they were kind of big and that I'll grow into them...well I did and now some are too small. I keep telling myself it's all baby, we will see once the baby comes. But, I'm not too worried, I work out a lot now and plan to continue when the baby comes. Plus I'll be breastfeeding and I heard that burns a lot of calories.

Rachel Pierce
rpierce@myabc5.com

Kids really do say the darndest things!

I can't wait to hear back from some of you on this. I only have one child, Maddox. He's two-years-old and I can barely keep up with the quirky, surprisingly intelligent, hilarious things that come out of this mouth. I will share a few recent ones.

This morning as I was getting him dressed for daycare he was giving me hugs and kisses and he looked into my eyes and said, "Mommy, I love love love love love love love.... love love EYEBALLS." I lost it, I started laughing so hard that he started laughing at me.

Just the other day all three of us were in the living room and my son walked over to the coffee table and stood there with his hands resting on it as if it were a podium. He said with authority, "Ladies and Gentlemen..." then he paused while my husband and I looked at him in shock (we'd never heard him say that before). He continued with, "there's a monster in the basement!" Where does he come up with this stuff?

One more recent example: My husband picked my son up from daycare on a very chilly day. When the two of them were walking out of the car my son asked what was coming out of daddy's mouth. My husband explained to him that it was his breath and that's what happens when it's very cold. Maddox then came to his own conclusion and said, "Daddy, you're dressed like a volcano."

I could go on and on, but I'll anxiously await for some of your responses. Are any of you teachers? I'm sure you've heard some good ones too. Please share!

akrenz@myabc5.com

Amanda

A couple of cute stories from one of our blog readers, Rebecca:

When my son, Trenton, was 3 1/2 he was playing catch with his sister and our neighbors. He fell down, got up and said "That wasn't supposed to happen."

This past June he was in the pre-op room because he had to get his tonsils/adnoids removed. The nurse had just given him the versed (a drug to calm them and make them not remember being wheeled into the o.r.) and he said "I think my heart is out" as he was feeling his chest.

Our "Kids"

Right now I'm about 28 weeks along with our first child, a girl if this is your first time reading.
Up to this point our children have been our amazing, and the cutest, dogs alive, Paris and Mason.
Paris (as pictured on the top on left side) is a Pomeranian Poodle mix that we got while living in Wisconsin. She's about six years old with lots of energy and weights about 10 pounds. She's got a wicked under-bite. My husband thinks he did it because played tug with her toys too much when she was little. He felt so guilty he suggested we look into doggie braces. I shot that down quick!

Funny story how we ended up with her. After church one day I wanted my husband to check out a store called Tropic Waters, he said sure thinking it was just a fish store...ha! We left with a puppy.

Mason (as pictured on top the right side) is a Maltese Chihuahua mix, but only picked up the Maltese characteristics with the exception of his size, he's only about 5 or 6 pounds. We got him about 3 1/2 -years ago when we lived in Omaha, amazing because he still looks like a puppy. He is so calm and just wants to be on your lap or petted.

The dogs are best friends, they play with each other, keep each other company and sleep in the same bed at night. They're so cute.

We keep warning and preparing the dogs for how their life will change when the baby comes...seem to be in denial though.

Rachel Pierce

rpierce@myabc5.com

Raise your hand if your kids are going STIR CRAZY!

This kind of weather makes it impossible to enjoy the outdoors. That means my two-year-old starts to get a little cooped-up between our house, daycare, and an occasional trip to the store or library.

This morning I took him to Backyard Adventures in Urbandale. It's a great place to let kids run. They have several huge play sets (like the one picured below) set up in a large, open, indoor space. It's $5 admission for kids over two, and well worth the price to burn some energy.

We went to the Science Center a few weeks ago. And occasionally we've gone to a mall and spent time in the play areas.

I'm sure there are other options for warm, indoor fun in the metro! How about sharing some ideas?
-Amanda
akrenz@myabc5.com

Big Family, Big Party

My grandparents had a lot of kids, and their kids had a lot of kids, and those kids had some kids...what I'm trying to say is I have a really big family. So big every year for the past 20 years right after Christmas we rent out the local YMCA for the day to host our family Christmas party. It's involves eight hours of a lot of food, basketball, volleyball, swimming, tons of card games and, of course, socializing. Unfortunately due to a flu bug going around many were not able to make it including my Grandma Hazel. But, there was still about 70 people who made it over. We really enjoyed ourselves and will have a great time again next year.

It’s fun to think next year we'll have a 9 month old at the party. I don't know how much she'll be involved though. Volley ball is out for sure, water polo though…

How does your family celebrate Christmas? Any long standing traditions?

-Rachel Pierce

rpierce@myabc5.com

Here it is... 2010!

Is it just me or does 2010 sound like a year in the distant future? I remember when I was little I used to calculate how old I would be in the year 2000. I thought, wow I'll turn 22, that's so old. And here we are a decade later.

I didn't make any New Year's resolutions, I usually don't. But I always hope for health and happiness for myself, my family, and my friends.

I barely made it to midnight last night, but I stayed up so I could call my parents, brother, and sister. It's a tradition to touch base with all of them at midnight.

So let's hear about your crazy New Year's celebrations and resolutions.

Email me at akrenz@myabc5.com

-Amanda