Yay! It's December!

Just felt like blogging today... been a while. Thanksgiving was great. Got to go to Plano, Texas (Dallas) and get an early taste of winter, hang out with some friends, eat junk all day long, get hooked on GNC's 100% Whey Protein Powder Drink MIx (20g protein in each scoop), let Josh live his dream of watching the Cowboys live at Texas Stadium (for free in the freezing cold), watch McDreamy in the movie Enchanted along with kids and husbands (and they liked it!), bought a 50# bag of short grain rice from the Asia World Market for $24 (believe me, that is a highlight worth mentioning in Texas), played a card game called Blitz (really fun, ask me to teach you if you don't know it), and then Josh drove us all home in the still of the night (just before a massive rain storm hit) and we made it home safely in record time without traffic. Now that we're all caught up... let's talk about what's happening in my world now.

I am proud to say that it's December and we have our tree up (this is a major feat... our tree usually doesn't go up until a week before Christmas). Something about being 6 weeks out from delivering a baby that gets the motor running. I'm nesting, big time. Or maybe it was the all too tempting promise of a $20 Noble Fir from Ikea that started the ball rolling.

It was last Thursday when I put on the most flattering dress I own (at this stage) and went out into the world. This dress gets major attention that focuses straight to the belly. My belly becomes the highlight of my existence, but instead of looks of sympathy, I get compliments and surprised exclamations of "Wow, you look great!" or "You look ready to pop!" (said in a good way, I think). This dress showcased my belly so well that it got an Ikea worker to break the rules and put a Christmas tree on top of my van and then tie it down for me (they're not 'sposed to for liability issues). And then when I got home, I just waited for my overprotective husband, who has banned me from the attic where all the holiday stuff is stored, to come home, take it down, and bring it in. All I had to do was put on that dress.

Now $20 for a noble fir at Lowe's will get you a wreath or a swag or a garland, but not a tree... unless it's like 2 feet tall. The tree we got was over 8 feet tall and Josh had to cut off the sides of the trunk just to get it to fit in the tree stand. My bargain was probably not worth the trouble, but it sure made some nice memories for the family. Sarah helped do some of the cutting, Sarah and Zack helped move the tree into position, Sarah and Zack helped vacuum up the needles, and they both seemed happy to be spending time with Daddy doing something meaningful. They later went up into the attic (which I never let them do when I'm not pregnant) to get the Christmas decorations and loved being able to do it. Seth was mysteriously absent during all the hard work... and then I found him comfortably nestled in the crook of one of the recliners asleep. He's the smart, cunning one of the family.

I took some pictures today now that we've got it all decorated. You have to see this massive thing to belive it. Josh wants to do artificial next year... guess he's had enough of memory making with real trees. But maybe it's just too soon for him to talk about it now... kind of like having a baby... you forget the delivery part and focus on the yummy little darling and WHAMMO, you're pregnant again. We'll broach the subject later... much later next year to see how he really feels because it sure does smell good.