These are a few of our favorite things...

This year, Santa was good to us all! The past two weeks have been filled with large gifts for us all! Luke's favorite is his new train table which he loves! Now we just have to find a place for it. Molly got some new bones, which you can see she really enjoyed! Marc got his flat screen LCD tv for an early gift, and he couldn't be happier! I got a great pink iPod for Christmas, and now that I finally figured out how to use it (Is there a reason it can't come with instructions? I didn't even know how to turn it on!), I am loving it. I am representing Marc by putting on some good Bell Biv Devoe and Run DMC songs as my first ones. I'm still frantically searching for his Vanilla Ice CD... And finally, yesterday we (ok, I!) got a new toy - my new car. We've been looking for a while, and finally I convinced Marc to check out the Nissan Pathfinders, and 5 hours later we came home with one - fully loaded with leather seats, DVD, sunroof, and really anything else we could have asked for. It's not much bigger than our Xterra, which Marc has inherited, which makes it very comfortable to drive, but having that extra seating and just being new makes it perfect!

Thoughts from daddy to be

Since learning we're having a girl, our discussions haven't been centered around names and nursery as much as this child not being allowed to wear head scrunchies. Marc is very against it, and lucky for him, I'm not a big fan. Today at church there was a little baby with one on, and after pointing it out to Marc, he made a comment that I felt was worth sharing... "I'd rather put a sign around my child's neck that says 'I'm a girl' than put a head scrunchie on her." Doesn't that sound like a Marc comment? :) But, I will say, that last night we did buy our nursery bedding and I love it!! So that's one thing to check off the list.

Meet Our Baby!!

Today we had our 3D/4D ultrasound, and it was a really neat experience. When I'd feel the baby move, I'd see it's hand move on the screen too! We saw fingers and toes, and a nose that looks just like Luke's! And yes, a very clear shot that tells us it's a pink baby! :) If you can't tell what you're looking at, let me know! Most of them have a hand up by the face, but the baby also had a foot all the way up there most of the time too. There's a shot of just the two little feet and toes that I thought was cute!

I am thankful...

Ok, I know it's not Thanksgiving season, but I just have to put a quick note on here about how thankful I am that today starts my holiday break! I have so much to do, and even after sleeping in today, I am still exhausted, so I am hoping a few days of this will help me catch up on some much needed sleep! I have tons to do today, including a doctor's appointment, finishing shopping for gifts, baking, making a few gifts, cleaning (yuck... that never ends. Maybe Santa will put a housekeeper in my stocking this year!), and hopefully getting my new car! But even with all that to do, at least I don't have to be at work at 7:00 am! I know most of my readers are feeling my thankfulness, even if you have another day or two of work, at least the end is in sight!

The past few weeks

Last weekend, Carsyn and Marcus came over to make cut out cookies, my favorite of all holiday treats, and then spent the night. I think every cookie Carsyn made was pink, and I'm not sure where more frosting ended up - on cookies, or in 3 year old mouths! But they did great, and seemed to have a lot of fun doing it. Luke's favorite was the Thomas train cookies. There's also a photo of Luke's gingerbread train that he and I had a lot of fun making a while ago. And, for those who want to feel skinny during the holidays (and who doesn't??), there's the most recent shot of my ever growing belly. And finally, just because he never makes it on here much, there's a photo from Marc's district opener basketball game last night, which they won, showing Marc hard at work.

Holiday Eating Tips

A friend of mine sent me this list today of helpful tips for holiday eating. Ok, so I know most of us can eat just fine at the holidays without these tips, but I thought they were worth sharing. And Nancy, the carrots just keep coming up... number 1 is for you! Hope they are helpful to you all.
HOLIDAY EATING TIPS

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table
knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave
immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly; it's rare. You can't
find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000
calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an
eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have
two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy.
Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed
potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or
whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an
automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control
your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other
people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's.
You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time
for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying
a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like
frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near
them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the centre of
attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind,
you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin. Mincemeat, have a slice of each. Or if
you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three.
When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory
celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.


10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or
get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live
by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving
safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in
sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and
screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"


Have a great holiday season

Another Chance

I am pretty excited, because today I scheduled a 3D/4D ultrasound, and it's on our anniversary, Dec. 22. I've heard great things about it from some friends who had one. One girl even said that she could tell that her baby had her sister's lips! How crazy is that?? I can have at least 12 people in there with me too... any takers? OK, just kidding, that's a lot of people to be in there! But I'm really excited that Luke can go too, as usually kids aren't allowed at ultrasounds, and he'll get to see the baby. So we'll see if the third time is a charm, and if this baby really is a little girl! We are pretty sure it is already.