Celebrations!

December 29 was my mom's 50th 60th Birthday! To celebrate we had a party at my house with my sister's family, grandma, aunt, uncle and cousin!

December 30 is Tommy and my 10th 3rd wedding anniversary! To celebrate we waited patiently for our baby furniture to arrive from Nebraska Furniture Mart; patiently  waited on hold with medicom to fix our dvr service and internet service, had a argument discussion about whether to make the bed up in the spare bedroom; and washed, dried and folded four loads of laundry. It's not even Noon yet! Who knows how we'll spend the rest of the day!

Here are some photos from our wedding day:

Tommy's eyes are closed in this picture because he is trying so hard to hold back tears of joy and excitement. This is not a problem for him today!

Funny Conversations

Me: "I cannot believe that I am not looking fatter at 8 months pregnant."
Anne (the receptionist at my office): "Yes, my daughter went through that stage of denial, too."
Me: "No, really! People tell me all the time they cannot believe I do not look bigger!"
Anne in complete disbelief: "Who tells you that?!"

Me after grabbing a big piece of birthday cake: "I think my eyes are bigger than my stomach."
Dad: "Uh.... I don't think so...."

Hickory Park waiter to himself after singing Happy Birthday to my mom with two other waiters who were not singing as loudly: "Wow. That was a great solo."

Tony while visiting me at work: "I want to go to Auntie Dawn's house!"
Grandma: "No, Auntie Dawn has to work."
Tony: "I want to stay with Auntie Dawn at her office."
Grandma: "No, Auntie Dawn has to leave her office and go downtown."
Tony: "I want to ride in Auntie Dawn's black car with her."
Grandma: "Tony, you are coming with me!!"

Merry Christmas!

It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone, and in less than ten hours I will need to return to work. It does not seem like I should have to go to work tomorrow, but I checked my calendar three times today, and all signs pointed to yes.

I planned on working only a half day on Friday, but as usual, I ended up working until 4. Tommy had to work on Saturday morning, so I went with my mom to pick up my Grandma and bring her to my parent's house. On Saturday night we had a nice church service (how many times have a mentioned that O Holy Night is my favorite Christmas song? The only time it gets better than Jessica Simpson's version is when we sing it at church with the candles lit).

On Sunday, my parents, grandma, and sister's family came over for Christmas. I must say that I was extremely impressed with my family's gift giving this year. My parent's got Tommy a new basketball hoop (he loves shooting hoops in the driveway, but our backboard broke in a storm this past summer). They also got us a new deep freeze (due to my recent understanding that breast milk can only be stored in your kitchen freezer for thirty days. Who knew?!). BGT was the recipient of some cute outfits as well as Sophie the Giraffe (I'll post more about this later- under "A Very Pinterest Christmas!"). I had not put as much thought into my gift giving this year as I had in years past. I did score lots of points from my nephew with the gumball machine I got him!

Also, the other day Tommy and I were out to breakfast and saw this sign and knew we had to get it for me mom. It fits our family humor perfectly! It says "Remember, as far as everybody knows, we have a nice normal family."

Our Christmas Meal was absolutely delightful. Tommy had suggested that we make prime rib. I was worried that it would be disappointing compared to the prime rib we had in Vegas over Thanksgiving, but it was not. It was wonderful! If you have a special occasion that you want to cook something different I will provide you this recipe. So easy and so delicious! We also made our famous Cornbread Stuffing, rolls with honey butter, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a few other random side dishes/appetizers. My mom made her excellent cheesy vegetables. My sister found an excellent pecan pie at Costco. I must say, it was one of the best meals we have ever had!

Initially, Tommy and I had decided we were not going to get each other anything for Christmas this year. Between the laptop, camera, snowblower, and all things needed for BGT, it seemed like we had more than we ever could ask for. (And I was too lazy to wrap any of these items up to put under the tree). However, as Christmas neared and the tree looked to bare, we decided to each spend $100 on one another and totally surprise the other person with the gift. This task proved to be much more difficult than I had originally imagined. For one, most items that cost less than $100 we just go out and buy if we really want them. Also, we generally discuss EVERYTHING that we purchase. It was difficult to know whether he would really want any of the items I was thinking, but I also did not want to ruin the surprise. I was somewhat happy with the items I found for him (DVD- Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas; basketball net for his new back board; pair of nike sweat pants; shoe grippers for when he is removing snow on the driveway; a new caphalon pan; and a Calvin Klein tie). Yes, I got that all for $100! I think he appreciated the items I got for him, but I do not think he was totally impressed with the gifts. Tommy also had a problem picking out a gift for me. His problem was twofold: failing to stay within the budget and failing to surprise me! I suppose I did say that we were to spend $100 per person, I just was only referring to myself and not to BGT. I am very pleased with what Tommy got me (he asked for my approval before he placed the order), and I know they will come in handy! But mostly, I was impressed that he was able to order them independently and have them shipped in time for Christmas. Tommy has been sick for the past several days, and I knew ordering my gift may not be on the top of his to do list- so I was quite surprised when they arrived via UPS at 2pm on Christmas Eve! He even wrapped them himself!

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful it's Thursday.

I'm thankful that my trial on Thursday is the last big thing at work before I go on maternity leave.

I'm thankful that I'm prepared and ready for trial.

I'm thankful for my generous bosses who passed out some gifts at work (Note: I am still thankful for their generosity even after one of my bosses stated that I should name my kid "Ocho-Chinco." Seriously, this person is in management!?)

I'm thankful I've mastered a nervous uncomfortable laugh when people say inappropriate things to me (see above).

I'm thankful that my ultrasound is on Friday. I cant wait to see BGT again. Its been 15 weeks since I saw her last!

I'm thankful for all my awesome blog friends who have been so good at updating their blogs and giving me lots of fun things to read about!

And more than likely, I'm thankful for you!

Maternity Pics!

Click here to view these pictures larger

(I hope this link above works! This is the third time I tried, so I apologize for those of you who may have gotten notice that my blog updated so many times! Technology is not my forte.)

On Sunday, my friend, Caprice, came over and took some pics of Giuliana. Tommy and I were allowed in the pics too! This was not an easy task, and I am so grateful for Caprice. I did not care to have professional photos taken, but I felt like if I did not have any photos, I may regret it. While I hope that I have more than one child- I never know what God has in store for me.

The Magic of Christmas

Today could have been really average and in many ways it was. I didn't sleep well, was behind on work, stressed out by an upcoming trial this week, disappointed by people's actions and worked later than I wanted. But as I drove home I could not help the feeling of happiness I had inside. My favorite Christmas tune filling my car (O Holy Night). As I got out of the car and into the house, I continued humming the music. ("A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices"). I could have been disappointed that Tommy wasn't home from work yet, that I did not get all my house work done over the weekend that now needed to be done, or that my US Weekly magazine still has not come in the mail eliminating the prospect of having a nice warm bath with a good magazine read this evening ("For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn").

Instead, I continued to hum my Christmas music ("Fall on your knees! Oh hear the Angels' voices!"). I wrapped Christmas gifts, I changed into my comfy jammies (you know the ones!), enjoyed the soothing movements of my daughter moving around in my belly, baked, yes baked, a yummy Christmas snack,

and enjoyed the new view outside my front window:

Look who fixed their Christmas lights today! (Cue nervous laugh as we all wonder if my neighbor reads my blog or if it was pure coincidence that after three weeks of not having all the lights working on the house they suddenly do today).  I think it's the Magic of Christmas. ("O Night, divine!").

Life Lessons....

I am trying this new Blog Title because I often find little lessons I learn or am reminded about in life.

Here are a few life lessons I have been reminded about recently:

"Why Be Something That You Are Not?"

One thing (among many) that I am not is a baker. I generally acknowledge this but in my heart I hope that I am more of a baker than my head tells me I am. Tommy told me that he needed to bring treats to work on Friday. What I should have done was immediately drive to Costco and pick up one of their wonderful desserts. What I did was sat on the couch and procrastinated all night. Tommy told me that he wanted me to make puppy chow, but I did not have all the ingredients. Instead of driving the .3 miles to Dahls to get the ingredients, I instead looked up recipes for items we did have. (If you saw my kitchen pantry you would understand that this was the second poor decision of the evening). At 9:55, when I realized that I did not have ingredients to make ANYTHING, I drove the .3 miles to Dahls. (Note to self: Dahls closes at 11pm, not 10am. Next time change out of pajamas when going in public before 11pm). I grabbed the ingredients to make scotcharoos. I had been craving them ever since my friend, Laura, made some in August. As I drove back home, I realized that since I went to Dahls anyway, I could have gotten the missing ingredient for Puppy Chow as my husband had originally requested. I think the whole experience of trying to be something I am not made me lose all my common sense.

Here is another example: My neighbor, should not be a Christmas Light Decorator:

Here is another Life Lesson:

"Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get."

I have many friends that constantly remind me of this lesson. It is not that they repeat it to me- they just live it. The ironic thing is, many times I remind others of this lesson, but do not apply it to myself. Case in point: I was buying a gumball for my nephew. Of course we did not know what color he was going to get, and he kept telling me that he wanted a yellow one. I looked down at him and said "You'll get what you get. Just be happy I spent 25 cents on this overpriced gumball."