thanks

The day before Thanksgiving was Robert's birthday. He turned the "big" 2 - 6. I made him a GINORMOUS chocolate frosting and hot fudge covered brownie. It was disgustingly delicious. On Thanksgiving day, my parents gave him a GINORMOUS chocolate and peppermint cupcake. Needless to say, we have a LOT of left over sweets.

Thanksgiving was great for us. Plenty of food, family, and football. I put the boys in the uber-cute turkey shirts that I made this past week. They had fun playing with the pumpkin and corn decorations at my parents' house... And, as is tradition, my mom and I hit up Michael's in the evening for discount deals and holiday essentials. Once at home, I swiftly collected the fall decorations and began replacing them with Christmas decor. I am ready for December.

I had a slightly terrifying experience about a week ago. Last Friday evening, I started having cramps. On Saturday, my cramps felt like full on contractions. Nothing regular or frequent, but they WERE beginning to take on a pattern that was slowly increasing. By Saturday evening, Robert and I were debating a visit to the ER because what I was experiencing was NOT normal and the strength was nearly unbearable. Since I generally fight issues regarding my health, I decided to call the on-call doctor before heading to the hospital (I don't want to see a doctor unless it is ABSOLUTELY necessary). Luckily, the doctor on-call was MY doc. He said to hold out for now (I had an appointment Monday). If the contraction pain increased to every 5 minutes OR I started profusely bleeding, then come in. Early Sunday morning I woke up with new symptoms (no blood). It was then that I realized that I most likely had the stomach flu. What a relief... well, besides the fact that I couldn't keep ANYTHING in my system and had to do a liquid diet for a couple of days. Our appointment was Monday. In two days, I successfully lost ALL the weight that I had gained in 3 months of pregnancy, plus some. Since I was so ill, the doc did an unscheduled ultrasound to check on the baby.Thankfully, all is well. And we may have even had a sneak peek as to what we are having... We told our parents by dying a cake (either blue or pink) and frosting it entirely white. Once they cut into the cake, they were able to reveal the gender. It's a (place your mouse over the picture to reveal):Yay!

ugh....

Hi. I am still alive. Kinda. Just super tired. And super lazy. Remember how I blogged that October was such a busy month for us, what with weddings, funerals, birthdays, family gatherings, and the like? Yeah, well November has been the exact opposite. Basically zero commitments. Which I need. Some days I don't even make it off the couch. Some days I don't even prepare or eat food (though the latter is due to pregnancy - and this one has definitely been the most difficult of the three). The only things that have made it to my calendar are: zoo trip, Robert's birthday, Thanksgiving, and a temp job (one day, no biggie). See? November is easy peasy. Now if you will excuse me, the couch is calling my name.

it's a circus!

On Saturday, we celebrated our boys' birthdays. Yes, we were a month late. Yes, we planned it that way. Robert and I decided to take advantage of family being in town for Amy's wedding; we had the party the day following the wedding. We included our families (Robert's is HUGE, btw) and a few friends in the birthday bash (if you were not invited, do not be offended. This was for our BOYS, not for us. We still love you). It was a vintage big-top celebration, complete with games, treats, & prizes! Best moment: the sprinklers came on mid-party, soaking everyone.Thank you to everyone that came. The boys LOVED their gifts; they received over 60 books!

eternity

I AM pregnant. Due May 28th (my baby SIL Beth's birthday). We find out the gender around Christmas. Moving on...

Friday, October 29th was Robert's second-to-youngest sister's wedding day. Amy is now a Hale (Hale yes!-I had to do it. I apologize). Stephen and Amy had me participate in a lot of behind-the-scenes work: engagement photos, centerpiece ideas, hair, nails, cake "decorating", reception photography, etc. I was EXTREMELY honored to help (weddings are my thang). Their wedding day was fantastic.

Here are a few things that made the day perfect:

Congrats STEAMY!