2014 Christmas Card

So we were late ordering Christmas cards this year.  Normally I get this chore done in November but we put off taking our photo until the last minute.  It was incredibly difficult to get the lighting right with the tree behind us and I know if we had planned that we could have corrected it but all things considered I'm happy with it.  Most of our photos had one of us making a face or standing awkwardly, this was the best of the bunch.  It looks dull online but in person the card is brighter.

The best part of our card is that little nugget in the center. Hard to believe that next year we will be taking professional photos and that tiny babe will be about 9 months old!

We usually get our cards printed with TinyPrints and I've always been happy with them.  Usually I choose a 5x7 photo card but this style is simple and was quick to put together.  They always come through!

From our family to yours - Merry Christmas!!!

Santa Lady!

We did something this holiday that I haven't done since I was a little girl....we took a family photo with Santa (Paws)!  Our favorite local rescue, the one adopted Lady to us, helped host Pet Night at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh.

There were tons of dogs - mutts, teacup breeds, large dogs, pups in sweaters, pooches in festive collars, each and every one decked out in their holiday best.  Our girl had to wear her harness so it limited her wardrobe a bit, she wore a snowflake jingle collar though and rocked it.  Our dog was so well behaved, she didn't bark, bawl, or potty on the floor while we had to wait in a rather long line.  She did make a lot of new friends and she was able to see her former foster mother and other TPA volunteers.  We walked away with several treat samples from Unleashed - all of them are appropriate with her special grain free, potato free diet.

As for the big guy, she was a bit nervous so we got in the picture with her.  We had four choices at the end and my husband's eyes were closed in all of them except one.  Of course it was also the one she looks terrified in.  I find it hilarious and I'm so glad we could commemorate Lady's first Christmas with a family photo!

Crabtree has a beautiful Santa set backdrop and this Santa had a perfect beard.  Even after hours of posing with dogs and their owners he was super friendly when we approached, the rest of the staff was, a bit more rushed.  We will have some decisions to make next year which Santa we will take our baby girl to - we may decide to do a mall trip!  The prices are a bit steep, especially if you want to share with family.  It's something I'd never really put much thought into but it might require some research on local Santa sites - meanwhile, I'll keep Crabtree in mind.

Bumpdate: Week 24

Size of the baby: An ear of corn, weighing in at just over a pound

Total weight gain: 10-11# depending on the day I get on the scale.

Maternity clothes: I'm choosing my purchases carefully, hoping that I won't need many more "maternity" clothes but I still have the third trimester to go.  I bought a gray thermal henley from Target this week and a navy sweater.  I also made a return to Destination Maternity (seriously unflattering pants bought online) so I have a store credit that I have to use.  I also received my ASOS order and I think I have found my maternity photo dress, with the right accessories of course.  The other dress I ordered from ASOS is not flattering though, I look a bit like a cupcake on the bottom half so it's going back this week.  I may have found a replacement, fingers crossed.

Gender: girl girl girl!

Nursery:  It's been put on hold until after the New Year.  It's just too complicated now, our schedules are wonky and we want to enjoy our last Christmas just the two of us.  We are taking 4 days off at the start of the year and plan to get the room painted and start on the furniture.  Our crib arrived on Thursday and will remain in the box until we get the room painted.  I'm hoping that our glider will be ordered sometime in January, and then we should have all the main pieces.

Sleep:  I'm sleeping okay.  I was really tired this week, she seems to be more active at night and it makes it more challenging to get to sleep.  I'm still having reflux too and some congestion but sleeping with my head elevated is helping.

What I miss:  Back sleeping.  Stomach sleeping. Festive cocktails.  Being able to bed over comfortably.

Cravings:  Cinnamon trident.  I got a strong craving for cheesecake this week, so we bought a mini sampler from the grocery store which we both enjoyed.  I had some Amys canned tomato soup for lunch this week that was the jam, I plan on buying more on my next grocery trip.

Other symptoms:  Clear skin - a great symptom if you ask me.  I've been spot free for weeks, a far cry from the first trimester.  I've already mentioned reflux - I'm taking zantac 150-225mg per day and pretty much anything can cause it to flare up, including water.  Numb fingers and hands, but only in the mornings.  I was wiped on Friday and had to lay down, that makes two Fridays in a row.

Best moments so far:  In my 24th week, we had a Christmas party with the management team at a yummy steak house.  I'm not much on steak so I had seafood, it was a great meal and great company;  I also walked away with some pretty great little gifts from Bath and Body Works.  I wrapped our Christmas presents and addressed our Christmas cards (which will not be sent until tomorrow because we weren't able to get to the post office).  It feels good to get things done this trimester - even though they aren't baby related I actually have the energy to do normal activities.  As for the baby, she is moving a ton these days and I was able to get it on camera.  R still hasn't felt her kick yet, as soon as he puts his hand on my tummy she stops.  She kicked the cat though and Lilly's expression was hilarious.  Oh and we received our rock and play, stroller, and carseat in the mail early in the week.  It's pretty great to see all the baby items in her room.

It's so surreal that nugget will be here at Winter's end.  I told R that after Christmas we have to kick it into high gear to get it all done before she arrives.

Five on Friday

Happy Friday all!

I know I've been MIA this week, as always work is my excuse.  I'm trying to take time off for Christmas and also for New Years so I'm bringing things home to work on at night.  It's been great coming home to a lighted tree and a fire though, much better than working in a closed in office. I actually had some difficulty narrowing my week into just five thoughts, here is my attempt:

This!



I can't explain but it makes me so happy to watch it.  It makes me so proud to be pregnant right now and even though I don't know all the moves I love to jam to this song when the commercial is on.  It's not common to see pregnant gals on tv.  I skipped out on the Vickys fashion show earlier this week, I was so excited about it but on Tuesday I bailed.  I just didn't want to watch tall thin women sporting skimpy clothing while I was snacking on peanut butter and crackers.  But this commercial, I could watch over and over.

And speaking of Tuesday TV, I definitely watched this.

Gosh this show is a total trainwreck and has probably dragged it's story line a hundred times but I can't miss it.  Especially after the cliffhanger in the midseason finale. This episode made me want to attend a festive charity ball, look at those dresses, where can I get one and when can I wear it?

I've mentioned that we have had packages arriving daily from our Black Friday splurges (not just ours but the "grandmas" also bought items and had them shipped to us).  Our Crib Is Here!

We don't have it set up to look like this yet.  Set up will probably be a weekend chore but I can't wait to see it in person.  We chose a Jenny Lind spindle crib in white, very similar to the one I slept in when I was a baby.

Our weekend plans may not include putting together our crib just yet.  We will have to finish setting up the spare room before we start on our nugget's nursery.  But we aren't working on the house all weekend, instead we are tickets to the Polar Express with R's family.  We love this holiday movie and this gives us an excuse to buy the book for our growing collection.  I've read nothing but good reviews so I can't wait!

And I'm kicking off my holiday baking season.  A week late but who's counting, right?  This isn't exactly "baking" but I always make buckeyes during the Christmas season.  This supposedly easier option popped up on my facebook feed today.  Do I dare to try something a bit different?

Cutting them into squares could be really messy if they aren't super cold, and it's not like buckeyes are difficult in the spherical form. But I think they are kind of pretty as a square bar.

Want to fa la la with some Friday linkups?  Here are two great ones to try!

Bumpdate: Week 23

Size of the baby:  A large mango, just over a pound.  She can hear us now, so we have been wrapping headphones around my bump and playing music for her.

Total weight gain:  about 10 pounds total

Maternity clothes:  I mostly wear maternity clothes for comfort, I bought a pair of yoga pants from Pea in the Pod that I absolutely love.  I can wear a few of my own pre-pregnancy items, mostly cardigans and long tops.  Last week I changed my closet so that I can only see what I can fit in and it makes it so much easier to get dressed. The bulk of my clothes are now in storage bins though and it was bittersweet to put them away.

Gender: baby girl and if you peek in her nursery you can start to see it

Nursery:  We have bedding and the crib has been ordered.  R plans to paint after the first of the year and we have a couple of pieces of furniture to refurnish.  He has some big projects to complete before her debut.

Sleep:  I'm sleeping fairly well.  But I have felt more exhaustion this week than I have since my first trimester.  I've been more active at work and I am running on fumes at the end of the day.  We had plans to go to a parade on Friday evening but I could barely function past 4pm so we skipped out.

What I miss:  Energy, walking for periods of time without my feet hurting, and sleeping on my back.  Sushi sounds pretty good too.

Cravings: Trident Cinnamon was my biggest one.  I'm still drinking orange juice almost daily but I'm not sure if it's still a craving or habit at this point. Buttered grits and toast.  I eat a lot of chicken salad too.

Other symptoms:  Numb fingertips - weird.  My feet and legs hurt at the end of the day so I've been propping them up at work when I'm at my desk.  I still get headaches, at least one a week but I've been trying to increase my fluids at work to see if that helps.

Best moments so far:  Feeling her move, I can't get tired of it.  We have also been getting packages in the mail from our Black Friday purchases and most of them are baby items. We have had some great low key nights at home enjoying our Christmas tree and holiday movies - it's good time for R and I and when coupled with a foot rub, it's heaven.

Five on Friday

Howdy!  I think I'm getting my Five on Friday posted just before midnight, I always meet the deadline, even if just by seconds.  We had plans to go straight from work to a Christmas parade but that did not happen.  I was simply exhausted after an 8 hour day and needed a long nap before dinner.  Yesterday we left work a bit early to make it to the ECU game and made it just through halftime before we had to head home.  It was a late night which made for a very tiring Friday. Anyway, my first thought for the post was the Live theatrical event last night that I had to miss but we have on the DVR.  I saw a lot of facebook hate about it but I'm still holding out for my own opinion.  I like that they were trying to keep it close to an original theater production and I think the lead actress could be a very good choice for the part.  Christopher Walken scares the daylight out of me so he might make an excellent Hook.  We plan to make an afternoon of it tomorrow.

 Speaking of afternoon fun - this is just, yum!  I'm not a big eggnog person, a small glass here or there will do me.  And really if I'm not going to spike it then I really don't care for it, when I'm not preggo I take mine with a shot of Makers Mark, splash of Sprite, and sprinkle of cinnamon.  I had not tried this brand until a few weeks ago and it is the very best I've ever had, even without the add-ins I think it's delicious.  I can't wait to try it next year as a cocktail.

The last three favorites for the week are my favorite deals from Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  I can't post all the great deals because most of what I bought were gifts for others along with some clothes for myself.  So here is the pick of the litter.

Tarte had 30% and free shipping all weekend and I picked up a need and a want.  I love this Amazonian Clay Powder and it's so pricey that I take advantage of any and all coupons.  I'm trying the 12 hour full coverage concealer and so far so good.  I have worn it for the past two days and it seems like a little goes a long way but the coverage is up to par with my Benefit Bo-ing concealer.  I love the packaging, one of my favorite concealers by MUFE is in a stick and I found it so convenient to apply.  

The picture is a bit fuzzy but this is the crib bedding we chose for Nugget.  We didn't actually purchase this but my Mother in Law was able to take advantage of a holiday sale and gave it to us last night before the game.  Oh I love the color! It's PBKids Harper Coral, we chose to get the crib skirt and the bumper - yes, we got the bumper no matter how judge-y and controversial that might be.  I'm not getting into any debate with anyone.  She also got a matching crib sheet in chevron.  I had already purchased a paisley sheet and registered for a few other "less fancy" ones but I love that this one matches.  We didn't get the quilt, I thought it would go unused.  My mom has several quilts made by my grandma that we will probably use to play on the floor and I bought an actual adult throw to go on the glider to keep us cozy when we are in the nursery with her.

 We didn't actually buy this goodie either.  My mom was able to get quite the deal on diapers.com over the weekend when Britax was on sale so we got our travel system.  Something about a carseat and stroller will really snap you to reality.  When we go to our prenatal class, we can get it installed professionally.  I bought a spare base during the sale for R's truck, I figured it would be a lot easier than trying to transfer it.  We've been so lucky that our moms have wanted to help us with most of the "bigger" baby items.

That's it for this week, I need to post my 23 week bumpdate so I'm hoping I'll get 5 minutes of sunshine this weekend to take my picture.  Both linkup hostesses are listed below if you want to participate and share your five.

Random Thoughts...

• Most of my pregnancy weight can be attributed to orange juice which I have daily and chicken salad which I eat at least 4 days a week.
• My orchid has decided to flower!  Apparently it has the seasons confused, she should have flowered in the Fall but is just now starting to sprout a stem.
• I bought way more over Black Friday / Cyber Monday than I expected to.  All our Holiday shopping is done.  Christmas cards were purchased.  Our darling girl made out like a bandit and I purchased some much needed Winter maternity clothes.  We have packages arriving daily!
• Speaking of purchases - I happen to know that Grandma bought our stroller and carseat and the rock in play that we plan to use as a bassinet.  Grammy ordered the crib bedding during the big sale as well.   It's getting more and more real.
• I chew a pack of cinnamon Trident every three days.
• Can't get enough of my Christmas stations on Pandora.
• I saw this commercial over Thanksgiving and the dietitian in me was disturbed, however, the preggo in my found it hilarious!

• Not very festive or holiday related but I am addicted to American Horror Story this season and I'm so glad that there is a new episode this week!