It's here, it's here!!

My fabulous new camera arrived this afternoon, and I couldn't be more excited!! 

I obviously don't really know what I'm doing with this thing, but, I've been practicing a little today.  I can't wait to learn everything that this baby can do, and start taking some awesome pictures.  Hopefully it won't be too difficult to learn...we'll see! 

Does anyone know of any online photo/camera tutorials I can read up on??  I could definitely use all the help I can get.  ;-)

Here are a few of my random practice pics I took today....and, like I said, I don't know what I'm doing (ha!):

Why hello there, Mr. Fozzie Bear  ;-)

And, I had to throw in Baby B's closet...which is getting SO full already, and I haven't even had my baby shower yet!  I think I'm in trouble...

Oh, and, we're in the process of painting the nursery right now (literally as I type, Hubs is in the other room painting), so I'll have some pics up this weekend...hopefully with the crib all set up, too!  Yay...finally!!  :D

Merry Belated Christmas!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with family/friends yesterday!  I can't believe it's all over and done with already.  It always goes by SO quickly...it makes me a little sad.  I don't want to take down the decorations yet, or see all the Christmas lights go away.  I'm one of those crazies that wishes we could keep everything up all year round.  :P

Sooo, what did Santa bring everyone this year?!  I hope you all got everything you wished for.  I'm SO excited to say that I definitely did!!  Hubs and I didn't do a big Christmas this year...but, my family was very generous and gave me $$ and giftcards to put towards my 'really nice camera' fund.  And, I was so excited last night (around 12:30am) that I got enough to be able to buy my camera, that I bought this baby at Walmart.com:

I paid for 2-3 day shipping, too, so I should be receiving it in the mail by the end of this week!!  I cannot wait!  :D

So, other than that excitement, our Christmas was pretty low-key and relaxing.  It was perfect, and  we couldn't have asked for a better last Christmas as a family of 2.  I honestly cannot believe that next Christmas we will have a 10 month old!  It just seems so surreal to me. 

Oh yeah, and another little thing that happened yesterday....it was the first anniversary of my 29th birthday.  Yep...*whispers* I'm 30.  *sigh*  I feel so old now.  I took down my 'member of 20-something blogger' link on the side of my page and everything.  It was a sad, sad moment.  ;)

Anyways, enough of this age talk!  You're only as old as you feel, right??  (well, I guess I shouldn't base this on how I feel now, since I'm almost 8 months pregnant...but, you know what I mean  ;) )  Here's my latest belly pic, taken on Christmas Eve, exactly 32 weeks:

I officially have cankles...and, a little TMI

For the first time in my life, I have me some cankles...and also, some seriously swollen tootsies.  They look really purty.  *can you sense my sarcasm here?*  Thankfully it's not summertime, though...so, I've been hiding my feets in boots and slippers.  If I can't see them, there's nothing wrong...right??  :P

Oh, and guess what else I have?!  My very first 'roid.  Nope, not a steroid, my friends....a hemorrhoid.  Waaaaah!! 

Ohhhh, the joys of pregnancy!  ;-)

But, it could be SO much worse, right?!  If a little cankle and some 'roids are all I have to deal with, then I'll take it!  Only 2 more months to go!

Speaking of that....tomorrow it will be exactly 9 weeks until my due date.  9 weeks!!  I'm in the single digit countdown now!  I can't believe it.

That is all.  Tomorrow is Friday...yaaay!

30 weeks!

Officially, I'm 30 weeks 3 days today....and that's when I took this picture.  Sorry, I was in sweats/ponytail literally all weekend.  Not a pretty picture.  ;-)  Anyways, on to the survey...

•  How far along?  30 weeks 3 days

• Total weight gain:  Still 19 lbs as of my appointment last week!  Let's hope we slow it down from now on.

• Maternity clothes?  Of course

• Stretch marks?  Just those same 2 on my right boob.  lol

• Sleep:  Still not so great.  The sleeping part is good, but, falling asleep is getting harder and harder, and when I wake up, my entire body is SO sore...especially my back.

• Best moment this week?  Well, not really baby-related, but...we finally had our hardwood floors re-finished!!  That means we can finally start working on the nursery.  Painting is next!  Now we just have to decide what color pink(s) go best with our bedding.  Decisions, decisions!

• Movement?  All the time!  She literally makes me jump half the time.  I feel like she's going to roll/kick right out of my belly!

• Food cravings?  Nothing too crazy.  I've cut back on the candy bars/sweets...go me!  :P  But, I have been a big fan of applesauce lately.  I just ate a whole mug-full of cinnamon apple sauce...Mmmm.

• Labor signs?  Just some BH here and there.  Not too bad, though!  *knock on wood*

• Belly button:  I'm pretty sure it's going to pop out any day now.

• What I miss?  Lately it's been wine/beer.  My 30th birthday is coming up (*gasp!*), and I'd really love to celebrate with a little wine or some bubbly. 

• What I'm looking forward to:  Christmas!  And, having almost 2 weeks off from work starting next Wednesday.  OMG, I cannot wait!!!  I need a vacation...BAD.

• Milestones?  Hmm, not sure of any big milestones lately.  How about that I have less than 10 weeks to go?!  Craziness!

 

Silent Sunday

Finally, our Christmas tree is up...and, we have newly re-finished hardwood floors!  I love it.  :-)  (Bailey likes it, too!)

Playing catch-up...

I'm alive!  I'm so sorry I've been MIA this past week. 

I don't have much of an excuse, other than the fact I think the 3rd trimester tired-ness has hit me HARD lately.  By about 2-3pm every day, my eyes are burning because they're so tired.  And, by the time I actually get home between 5-6pm, all I want to do is lay on the couch and not move until I have to get up to go to bed.  Basically, I'm a big lump.

Oh, and...I've been living in our basement since last Friday night, since we had our hardwood floors re-finished this past week.  (They look awesome, by the way!  I'll take pics this weekend and show you all soon.)  So yeah, it's been me, Hubs, Bailey, Roxy, and Fozzie Bear...all crammed into our basement for the past week.  Good times!  ;-) 

So, I'm definitely looking forward to moving back upstairs this weekend and getting back into our normal lives/routine.  It's tough only having one TV to watch, let me tell ya!  There may have been just a few arguments about who gets to watch what show.  And, since I usually go to bed earlier than Hubs, I may have gone all tired-cranky-preggo-mama on him a few times because the TV was too loud and too bright.  Oopsie...whatcha gonna do?  He still loves me.  :-)

Now, to play a little catch-up today...I want to finish up the last few days of Aly's 12 Days of Christmas. 

Day 11 - New Year's Resolutions

Unfortunately, I'm not very good at making/keeping New Year's resolutions...but, I definitely like to try each year!  So, here are a few that I'd love to keep up with:

• Have a BABY!  (This one I'm pretty sure I'll definitely stick with!  ;-) )

• Be on time....whether it's for work, appointments, parties.  I'm usually always late, and I hate it.  I definitely need to work on that.

• Stop procrastinating - This kind of goes along with being late.  I am the queen of saying "Oh, I'll just do that tomorrow, or the next day"....and then it ends up turning into days/weeks/months later, and I still haven't done what I was supposed to do.  Another trait of mine that I hate.

• Decorate our home!  I know I've mentioned this a time or two on here, but, I definitely need to work on painting/decorating our house (our living room especially), so that I'm not completely embarrased to have company over and can actually enjoy spending time in my own home.  Anyone know a good interior designer??  Aly, you know I'm dying for you to help me in this department!  ;-)

Day 12 - Show Us Your Decorations

Well, unfortunately, because of the re-finishing of the floors project, we have not been able to put up our Christmas tree or decorate anything inside yet.  :-(  We did put lights and fun blow-up characters outside, though...I just don't have a picture of those yet.  I'll definitely take pictures as soon as everything's all set and decorated, though, and make a whole post dedicated to it!  (I know you're all SO excited for that, right??)

Day 13 - Favorite Cookie

I don't have any good recipes for this, since I'm not the best cook/baker in the house...so, I'll just show you some pictures of my favorite cookies.  Those are always fun, right?! 

Snickerdoodles...Mmmm!

Sugar cookies...omg, I'm drooling

Day 14 - Oprah's Favorite Things...what I would want

Oooh, this one's pretty easy:

link

And maybe a nice vacation to a place like this:

link

Phew!!  I think I'm all caught up now!  I promise I'll make another post either today or tomorrow with my 30 week bump/quiz!  (30 weeks!!  Eeeek!)  I hope you all have a great weekend!  :-)

12 Day of Christmas - Day 10

Make sure you go link up at Aly's blog to play along!

Day 10 - Favorite Christmas Songs

Oh boy, this might be a long list, seeing as how Christmas music is my absolute FAVORITE!  :-)

For these first few, I love the whole cd!  I can't just pick one song.

{1}  Josh Groban - Noel

{2}  *NSYNC - Home for Christmas

{3}  Mariah Carey - Merry Christmas

{4}  Now That's What I Call Christmas

(Disc 1 has all the old classics that I LOVE...Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Burl Ives, Nat 'King' Cole...love them all!)

{5}  Michael Buble - White Christmas/I'll Be Home For Christmas

{6}  Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige - What Child Is This

{7}  Alvin & The Chipmunks - Christmas Don't Be Late (Hehe, love this one!)

{8}  Frosty The Snowman

{9}  A Charlie Brown Christmas - Christmas Time Is Here

And that's all I can think of off the top of my head right now.  I'm sure there's a ton more that I forgot about! 

12 Days of Christmas - Days 7, 8 & 9

 

Day 7 - Holiday Craft/DIY

Unfortunately, Martha Stewart I am not, when it comes to cooking AND crafts.  I don't really have a creative bone in my body....but, I wish I did!!  I've always been so jealous/envious of those people that can just slap together something fabulous with some glue and a piece of string...if that even makes any sense.  lol  So, here are my holiday crafts that I wish I was able to do on my own.

How fun are these?!  I've always wanted to make my own wreath.

So pretty!

Day 8 - Least Favorite Thing About the Holidays

This one was pretty easy:

• Traffic
• Crowds
• Traffic
• Crowds

Done!  ;-)

Day 9 - Favorite Holiday Recipe

Oooh, this is actually one recipe I can make myself!!  :-)  That's an accomplishment right there...for me, at least.  Easy peasy!!

Chocolate Covered Oreo Balls  (Truffles, if you want to sound fancy)

Ingredients:

• One package of Oreo cookies
• One brick of cream cheese
• 2/3 containers of Bakers melting chocolate (or whatever melting chocolate you prefer)
• One large (thick) Ziploc baggie

Pour entire package of Oreos in Ziploc baggie and crush into teeny tiny pieces.  (This is why you need a thicker bag.  I put a few little holes in my bag the last time I made these b/c I crushed them so hard.  Whoops!)  After Oreos are smooshed, add in brick of cream cheese and smoosh all that together. (Don't you love my technical terminology??  ;-)  )   After the cookies and cream cheese are mashed together, open the bag, stick your hands in (prepare to get all ooey gooey!) and start making them into little balls.  I ended up with about 25 balls total with my last batch.  After all your balls are rolled, microwave your chocolate and start dipping!  I usually just line a cookie sheet with wax paper and line up all the ball on there.  After all the balls are dipped, throw them in the fridge until they're all hardened, and VOILA!  Chocolate covered oreo balls...

Mmm, mmm, mmmmmmm.....deeeeelish!!  :D

Here are pics of some 'fancy' balls out there:

Ruff day

Just because she looks so darn cute!  This was Roxy's napping position last night... 

(I swear, she really does fit in her bed.  She's usually curled up like a little fat blob in there, all snuggled!)

28 weeks...3rd Trimester!!

Um, hi!  WHERE have the past 28 weeks gone?!  I cannot believe we have less than 3 months before we get to meet Baby B!  I'm so excited/anxious/nervous/ecstatic/terrified/unprepared, and probably a million and one other feelings that I can't even wrap my head around right now.

But, slowly but surely we're getting things done around the house....sort of.  We've talked to my cousin (who owns his own flooring company) about coming over in the next week or so to re-finish our floors.  I can't wait until that's complete, because then we can finally start painting and setting up the nursery.  And, HELLO, decorate for Christmas!!  I'm SO sad that we couldn't put up our Christmas tree this weekend.  :(  We would literally have it up for a few days, maybe even a week, and then have to take it down again to move everything out to re-finish the floors.  Boooo.  So, the sooner that's done, the better!

•  How far along?  28 weeks and 2 days

• Total weight gain:  19 lbs total, as of my appointment last Tuesday.  But, and I can't believe I'm admitting this...8 of those 19 lbs were gained in the past month alone!  Eeeek!  Someone needs to lay off the candy bars, huh??  

• Maternity clothes? Oh yes, unfortunately.  And, some of the clothes I bought just a few months ago are even starting to get a little small.  :(

• Stretch marks?  Just a few purple lines on one boob.  I can deal with that.  ;)

• Sleep:  Ugh, not so hot.  Once I'm asleep, I'm OK, and I usually only have to get up once a night to pee.  It's just getting comfortable and actually falling asleep that are getting rough.  My back/sides start throbbing literally 5 minutes after laying down. 

• Best moment this week?  Finally hitting 3rd trimester...according to ALL sources! (The Bump, BabyCenter, my Dr.)

• Movement?  Yep, she's definitely an acrobat in there!  And, her movements are starting to feel more like rolls and flips, rather than just little jabs and punches here and there.  It's such a strange feeling...but amazing, of course!  :)

• Food cravings?  Ugh, too much junk!  Candy bars and donuts have been my weakness...hence the giant weight jump in one month.  

• Labor signs?  No, thank you!  And, the Braxton Hicks contractions have been less and less frequent, too.  Yay!

• Belly button:  I'm pretty sure it's going to pop any day now.  Not looking forward to that.  Hotness.  :P

• What I miss?  Just being/getting comfortable in general.  I can't even bend over and tie my sneakers without getting winded and needing help from Hubs.  lol

• What I'm looking forward to:  Christmas, of course!  And, just the holiday season in general.  It makes me so happy and puts me in such a good mood.  I'm also loving listening to Christmas music all the time now...my favorite!  Hopefully we'll get to decorate and put up our tree in the next week or so, too!

• Milestones?  3rd trimester!  We're in the home stretch now!  Oh, and I took the always fun glucose test this past week, and I passed!  Woohoo!  :D

Here's my 28 week belly in all its glory...with a rare bare-belly pic thrown in for fun!  Don't judge!  ;)

12 Days of Christmas - Days 4, 5, & 6

 

Day 4 - Tips/Tricks to a Budget Friendly Holiday Season

Unfortunately, I don't think I'm the best person to be giving tips for a budget friendly holiday.  lol  Seeing as how I'm such a last minute shopper, (since I never know what to get anyone!) I always end up buying what's easy and convenient for me, and that usually doesn't equal sale/budget friendly.  I just want to get it D-O-N-E.  Sad, I know.  

So, I'm just going to have to check out all of your tips/tricks, and hopefully this year I WILL have a budget friendly gift-giving season!  Lord knows we need it, with trying to save every last penny we have for baby/daycare, and everything else that comes along with that. 

Day 5 - Favorite Holiday Movie/TV Show Special

 

This category is definitely an easy one for me!  I probably have too many choices/options for my favorite TV show or movie...I love them ALL!  :)  So, here are a few of my top picks:

 

 

 

 See?  I told you I had too many favorites!  And, I'm sure I left out about 3908 others that I love.  ;)

 Day 6 - Gift Ideas...for ME!

This is another easy category for me...I love it.  :)  There really isn't too much that I want for myself this year.  Pretty much everything I want is for Baby B, and I'd much rather everyone spend their money on her, and get things that she'll need throughout the next year or so.  That would be the best gift to me right there!

 

But, if I did have to my choice to pick anything I wanted this year, here are a few things that I would love: 

 

OR

(I'm not picky with brands or anything!  I've heard they're both great.)

 

 

I literally wear these shoes almost every day during the winter (when I'm not at work, of course), and my first pair are now stained and looking not-so-hot lately...so, I would love a brand new fresh pair.  ;)

And, can I point out what the name of this bag is?!  The Madison Sophia satchel!  Hello?  Is this a sign, or what??  Two of our favorite girl names in ONE bag.  I think we may have found a name for Baby B...AND, I totally need this bag now.  :P

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope everyone has a great day today!  Make sure you eat lots of food/desserts, watch some football (Go Pats!!), and relax with family and/or friends.  :) 

I have SO much to be thankful for this year.  But, I have to say that I couldn't have gotten through this year without my wonderful husband.  And, now we have our baby girl to be even more thankful for!  February can't come fast enough, that's for sure.  She's our little miracle! 

12 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge - Days 1, 2, & 3!

I've been a slacker this week, so I'm catching up with Aly's fun 12 Days of Christmas challenge!!  You should definitely join in, if you haven't already!  :)

Day 1 - Christmas/Holiday Traditions

My family doesn't do anything too traditional/exciting for the holidays, and since Hubs and I are our own little family now, I'll just tell you what we do each year.  :)

On Christmas Eve, MIL always hosts.  It's usually just us and his 2 brothers, their wives, and their kids; and we ALL pack into his mom's little living room!  There's tons of presents everywhere, wrapping paper/bows scattered all over the room, and lots of talking/shouting/excitement that comes with opening up gifts.  It's a lot of fun!  After we open gifts, we eat and just relax and hang out for a few hours.  It's actually pretty laid back, and James and I usually get a few hours afterwards to either spend just the two of us, or we'll go see my grandparents/aunt/uncle/cousins on my dad's side of the family for a little bit. 

On Christmas day, Hubs and I usually get to spend all morning and early afternoon just the two of us...and Bailey, Roxy, and the Fozz, of course!  ;)  We'll open up our gifts, watch the Christmas parade, and just lounge and relax all morning.  It's really nice!  Around 4/5ish, we'll head over to my grandmother's house on my mom's side, and spend the night there eating and opening gifts.

The only tradition that Hubs and I have each year, is that we always put on Christmas music, turn the lights down, and open up a bottle of wine while we decorate the house/Christmas tree.  I LOVE it!  It's such a fun/romantical thing we get to do together.  Obviously, there won't be any wine for me this year...but, I'll probably pick up some sparkling cider or something like that and put it in my wine glass so it feels 'real' to me.  :P

And, another little thing I do, is have an ornament made each year with our names and the year on it.  There's a little stand in the mall that does customized ornaments, and they have TONS to choose from, so I always pick us out a different one each year and have it personalized.  I love them!  I'll have to take a picture of the ones I have from the past 5 years when we take down the Christmas decorations this weekend.  I'll add it on here later! 

Day 2 - Black Friday/Shopping Tips

Unfortunately, I don't have many tips to share.  I've never gone out on Black Friday, but, I have the feeling I'll be hitting up Toys 'R Us next year!  ;)  And, I'm also the world's worst procratinator when it comes to Christmas shopping.  I NEVER know what to get anyone, so I always wait until the last minute. 

So, as to not bore you too much with this one...here are some of my tips that I tend to go by when it comes to regular shopping.  :)

~  Bring a friend.  Shopping's always more fun when there's someone else who will spend $$ with you! 

~  Go either, really early/late or on a weeknight.  I hate going to the mall on the weekends (Yet somehow, that's when I usually end up there.  Go figure.  lol)  There's so many people, the parking lot is always a madhouse, and I just can't stand trying to make my way through the crazy crowds.

~  Have some kind of plan/shopping list before you get there.  I know for me, if I just walk into the mall not knowing what the heck I'm going there for, I'll walk out with nothing.  Or, I'll just end up buying myself a whole bunch of pretty things, and forget about everone else.  Oops!  ;)

~  Take advantage of sales/coupons!  Over the years, I've become a huge coupon fan.  I really don't buy anything anymore unless it's on sale or I have a coupon.  I mean, why would I spend $40 on a sweater, when I know in a week or so I'll be getting a coupon in the mail for $15 off of my $30 purchase, making that $40 sweater $25.  Sounds like a sweet deal to me! 

Day 3 - Most Meaningful/Best Gift I've Ever Received

I would have to say the two best gifts I've ever received have come from Hubs, of course.  The first one would be my birthstone ring that he bought me for my birthday (which is actually on Christmas Day) a few years ago.  It's my 'right-hand ring' and I wear it every single day.  I love it!

Sorry for the crappy picture.  And, please ignore my wrinkly grandma hands.  ;)

And, my other favorite gift is definitely my laptop that he bought for my birthday/Christmas last year.  I don't think a day has gone by in the last year that I haven't used my laptop!  I love being able to curl up in bed with it each night, or on weekend mornings, and catch up on emails, Facebook, blogs, and everything else!  It's one of my best gifts yet.  :)



I really want to learn how to crochet...

Is it really that hard??  I mean, if my grandma can do it, I can do it...right?!  ;)

My friend, Mrs. D, starting making these ADORABLE little knit hats recently, and taught herself how to do it just from a YouTube video!  How cool is that?!  She's definitely inspired me to try and learn....the key word here being try.  We'll see how quickly I get frustrated and give up.  Ha!

But seriously...how cute would my Little Miss look in these hats?!

Link

Link

Link

Ahhh, I can't take the cuteness!!  :)

Do any of you ladies know how to crochet?  Is it difficult to learn?  You can be honest with me.  ;) 



Progress!

Slowly but surely, things are starting to come along with the nursery!  :)

We went to Babies R Us this past weekend and finally ordered the crib!  Woohoooo!!  I'm so excited.  And, to my surprise, it should be arriving within 7-14 days!  I heard stories about cribs taking WEEKS to come in, so that's why I was so worried about ordering it in time and making sure we did it soon.  Hopefully we'll have it here by next week!  This is the one we went with...

I LOVE it, and I cannot wait to see it all set up in the room with bedding and everything! 

So, now we have:

~ Crib
~ Glider/ottoman
~ Bedding
~ Bumbo (our very first gift off of our registry!)
~ Tons of cute, little clothes/accessories

We're getting there!! 

We're going to go to Home Depot soon to pick out paint for the room, too.  I wanted the bedding early so we could somewhat match up the pinks in it to the pinks that we paint on the walls.  We'll be doing a light pink on top, with a darker pink on the bottom, and a chair rail in between. 

I'll definitely take a few pictures as it progresses!  But, I won't share the final product until it's complete...I'm mean like that.  ;)