DIY CRAFT- Baby shower Invitations

I love making things myself. Sometimes I get it into my mind, that if I don't do it, then it's not done right. I know that's not true...until it comes to my crafts.
Anyway.....
So my and Mom's good friend Rebecca and mom's boss, are throwing her a ggrandma shower this Month (Or next month if you want to get technical about it, since it is the last day in December...but whatever. )
I begged Rebecca to let me make the Invitations and she said yes!
So while at Hobby Lobby I let mom pick out the color paper and ribbon she liked, and she picked my favorite paper!!! and she picked a pretty cream ribbon with blue, brown, green and yellow dots on it. I get me good taste from her lol

The packet of paper came with envelopes and cards, so since I am completely dumb when it comes to printing, Dad printed all the invitations up, I stamped the envelopes and cards, added ribbon, and came up with this cute and simple invitation:

cute and simple : )

Since I loved the paper so much, I decided to make more invitations out of it.
Mom and Grandma are throwing a shower too.

Let me take a moment to explain the shower situation. Ben and I have a lot of friends. One thing I wanted was to not invite the same people to more than one shower. So i decided to invite only my high school friends and women from my family to the shower being thrown by Amy and Morgan. (which by the way, Amy ordered super cute owl invitations for it).
Then all of my work people will be invited to the shower that's thrown for me at work. Well that left Ben's friends and family, so Mom and Grandma are doing a "drop in" shower for them. It's gonna be at our apartment and the guests can stop by between certain hours. There's a few more from and for specific groups of people, but nobody gets invited twice, so I don't feel like I'm being greedy or anything. Now some people that are invited to to Mom's grandma shower are invited to the drop in shower, but that's only because they've all known Ben and I for a few years and actually some of then even came to our wedding.

So since they are throwing that one, I told them I would also like to do those invitations.

I used my nest stamp that I bought months ago and never had a reason for it, until now. I love it!!!
I am also using the nest stamp on my handmade thank you notes!

DONE! the pile on the left is Ben's Friends and Family and the pile on the Right is the Grandma shower. I was extremely proud of myself for getting them done in 4 hours. haha

3 Christmases

Well, my favorite holiday is over..... so sad.
But we had a wonderful time with both families, and I cant wait for next Christmas!lol
We had Christmas Eve Dinner at my grandparents house with my family. We used to do traditional Christmas Food on Christmas Eve, and then again on Christmas morning at my great-grandparents house, but since my Great grandmother moved, we started a new tradition of spaghetti on Christmas eve. It's easy for Grandma to make and it's yummy too!
This year we drew a name and filled a stocking for that person. Any Size, Any price range. So Ben and I pulled my Dad and my Grandma.
For Dad we got fishing stuff. A new tackle box filled with some new accessories and a fishing tool, and also a shirt.
And for my Grandmother, I just picked out some random stuff she wanted. Like a new food processor, waffle maker, cute kitchen stuff and some cute photo frames.
Ben and I also received really good gifts too! Ben got some Georgia Paci's : )

Then we came home and opened our gifts from each other. we were supposed to just do stockings for each other and one for Finn and a gift for Jasper. So I filled his and Finn's stockings and got Jas some treats and toys. Ben got me a pregnancy massage in my stocking and then he got me a huge pregnancy pillow.

This pillow. Heaven on earth.
seriously.
I started using it Sunday night. I  haven't once had back pain this week. It's amazing. I will be putting a picture on here of me being cradled by it. 
Back pain and hip and butt pain are the only symptoms I have had lately, but this week i have been exhausted when I get home from work. But I guess it could have something to do with the fact I'm working full time this week. I've slept every afternoon so far. Yesterday I slept three hours. It reminds me of early pregnancy.

But anyways, back to Christmas...

Saturday we went to Ben's Aunt's house for Christmas Lunch. I actually hadn't been there in 4 years...since we were only engaged. the last few years, we've had Christmas dinner party at my house and I've had to get everything ready. Last year I was sick. That was the year I took some meds, fell asleep with a candle burning in our room and woke up with black soot stuff all over every surface in my room. even in my nose. horrible.

So we went there and ate lunch and exchanged gifts. Ben got a welder from his brother, which he wanted but I had convinced him that Barry got him something else. and I got a gift card, which I bought another pair of maternity jeans and some Christmas baby stuff for next year. I am saving the rest to add to something we need later.
After everyone left, Ben's family ( immediate family) sat around the table and talked and then I got an aunt to take a picture of us:

and then we went home.

Well, I went home. Ben and my brother Avery went to shoot guns with Ben's brother while I cooked a few things for dinner with my parents. After a few hours, the guys came back adn we went to dinner at Mom's and it was yummy.
I brought my pillow for everyone to try. lol
So I never told you all what Finn got in his stocking. I bought him 2 pairs of shorts, 2 books for the bath, a pair of puppy booties, and Ben bought him a blue onsie that reads "chick magnet" It was cute.

Mom, Grandma and I went shopping on Monday for day after Christmas sales, and I got a great wrapping paper organizer, a reindeer outfit for Finn, and a few other Christmas goodies. We went to Hobby Lobby ti get a few invitation supplies and I got some stuff for nursery crafts. I stilllllllll haven't made up my mind about crib bedding, but that's ok....
We have the cradle and someone is supposed to be giving us a crib soon. So if we don't have the crib for the nursery when he's born, it's ok, because the cradle will do for awhile. and it's completely ready.

More later

Family Photo DIY CRAFT

This is my last Christmas project I did. I also happen to have a great job, and had less than 10 kids in my room yesterday with three adults, so I was able to do this at work instead of making a mess in my home hehe.

So, a few weeks ago my family took a family picture.

I was reading around learning about MOD PODGE and stumbled upon a tutorial on how to make your own 'canvas photos'. Websites can take your photos and make canvas's out of them. It's beautiful, but ridiculously expensive. The tutorial basically showed how to use wood and make it yourself. So it's technically not canvas.
So I'll Start with my supplies:
8x10 photo
8 x 10 block of wood. Mine was 1 and 1/2 inches thick, but I think next time I will do 1 inch.
Acrylic paint-I used brown
Mod Podge- I used glossy finish
some kind of soft fabric
paintbrush or sponge brush

First, I took the wood and painted all of the edges and one side brown and let it dry.

Then I took my photo and cut it down to a little but smaller than 8 x 10, not much, just a hair. then I covered the brown painted side of the wood with mod podge.

I lined up the photo on the block, and pressed down, starting in the middle and smoothed out any possible air bubbles. I let it dry for about 30 minutes.

When it was good and stuck on there, I applied my first layer of mod podge. Now, I went one way. I did up and down brush strokes, not making it thick. Then that dried for about an hour. If you want it to dry faster, use the cool setting on your blow dryer, hint hint.

Then I applied a second layer over the first layer of mod podge. This time, instead of going up and down, I did brush strokes side to side. It dried and then I had a canvas look on my photo. I haven't done the sides yet, but it will look really great. Since this is a gift, I am going to wait and see if they want the ribbon attached to hang it, or if they want to stand it up since it's so thick.

Finished Product:

I think the gift receiver will be pleased with her their handmade gift : )

You're Welcome.

This blog post is completely pointless. I'm really just bored and waiting on Ben to get home from work. So if you like my ramblings in previous posts thus far...keep reading. It you could care less about what makes my mind tick, or are easily offended, then stop. Talk to you later homeskillet.
This weekend is Christmas. And after this weekend, I am booked for every weekend until the cutoff date. The cutoff date is a specific date where no more plans are made. It's halfway through February. There will be no plans made with anyone in advance: if you wanna hang out, it will solely depend on how I feel. So needless to say, I have quite a few things to get done before CD-cutoff date.
It all starts with the first weekend in January. The nursery plans will still be being executed, and it will be Avery's 18th birthday. I don't want to make any other plans than to do stuff around my house and celebrate with my family.
The second weekend in January we have an ultrasound. It's on the 14th. There's a place in Tallahassee that specializes in 4D ultrasounds, so as a Christmas gift to my family, we are taking Mom, Dad, Avery, Grandma and Grandaddy. Apparently theres like a big screen and couches and we get everything on DVD and a few picture printouts. We're excited about it, but mostly excited for them. When Grandma and Mom had babies, there were no 4D ultrasounds, and I've never seen one live, so it's going to be cool. Then the rest of the weekend will be spent still getting things ready. I know I will be putting this on every weekend, but that just shows how much we haven't done. and maybe it will motivate me to do more in the nursery tonight when I'm done entertaining you readers!
Every weekend after that I have either a shower, or a family birthday, including Ben's. So I have alot to cram into  two months starting this weekend. I absolutely refuse to make plans after the CD, to ensure that I'm stress free and relaxing before the big day!

I'm a planner.
That's just something I have to do. I make lists after lists of things, and rewrite lists because I like to. I've probably killed at least 5 trees so far with baby related lists. So the fact that I know everything that I have planned out in memory isn't weird. It's normal.
Along with the plans for the months leading up to birth, I have plans for the hospital, hospital stay, and our coming home.
And because I feel like restating my plans, i will include them in my blog.

I'm just gonna say that I don't give two craps about anyone but Myself, Ben, and Finn during the hospital scene, but mostly me.  Before you decide to hate me, or hate me more, let me explain.

First off, I am going to be the person that haunts dreams if I don't get what I want as far as a general plan goes. I know these plans can and probably will change, due to natural occurrences, but it's better to have something in mind than nothing. So when you get to a ridiculous part, like the one about having a pony ride outside the hospital, just keep on reading.
LABOR-When I go into labor at home, or work, or wherever I am, I am telling Ben and Mom right away. Those are the people who I want to help me in case something goes wrong or I just need help if I'm by myself. I'm not going to be rushing to the hospital right away until the contractions are at that distance apart that says I have to. I, if able, want to be sure everything is packed, and I possibly shower, and someone puts fresh sheets on my bed, feeds jasper, and all that last minute stuff. then when I go to the hospital, I want it to be Me and Ben only. And I want it to be that way until a little before I go into active labor. I need that time with Ben alone. We will then notify Team Finn. When Team Finn (Dad, Mom, and Avery) get there, then Ben can watch all the ooey gooey fun of birth...while I have my support system near me.
When I am laboring, which I understand to be HORRIBLE, it is all about me. Nobody else in that room is having contractions. Nobody else in that room will be having back pain. Nobody else in that room (except Mom) has experienced, or is about to experience an excruciating destruction of her woman parts. So actually I don't even want anyone else trying to comfort me by saying, "I know it hurts", or "It's gonna be ok" except mom. So since I am planning on making this situation an uncensored one, I have chosen people that have seen me at my worst already. Mom, Dad, Avery, and Ben have seen me at my stomach-bug, and drunken-night-sickest and emotionally worst in my life, so that's nothing new to them. That's why I chose them. I will feel like I have nothing to hide and feel ashamed about. So say I poop during pregnancy, first they'll gag, then they'll make jokes. And when I get mad and threaten them with whatever, they'll brush it off. I want the delivery room to be an environment where I feel comfortable, because honestly, It's all about me at that point. Now I understand that things don't always go as planned, so If for some reason I have to have a C-section, the plan stays the same. But hopefully i wont have to have one.
When Finn comes out, it switches to Ben and Finn and I. Because all the nights we talked to him and wondered what he looked like and how we couldn't wait to hold him, will be a reality. He's something that we made out of our love for each other. This is going to be my favorite part!

When Finn and I get cleaned up and moved to a room, I have to have time with my 3 person family. I don't know how much time it will be. Could be 3 hours, could be the first 24 hours. Whatever we feel comfortable with. Also because I don't want to worry about the way I look or worrying about someone visiting while I'm attempting breastfeeding. So when we decide we are ready for visitors, we will call them or send them a text. I think that's going to be cool because up until that point, nobody is even going to know that we had him, till they get a picture message of his sweet face saying come meet me! A total surprise. Hospital visits to Ben and Finn and I are strictly invitation only. invitation by text, that is. You know who you are ; )

Coming home and the first few weeks that follow are kind of the same. Many people have offered to help me when we come home and I really appreciate them, and will definitely take them up on their offers when I'm ready. I feel comfortable with a handful of people helping me out those first few days, but everyone else: There will be a sign on my front door that reads something like "you knock, you die."
kidding. kind of. No, It will say something about how we are sleeping and spending time with our baby boy, blah blah, please do not disturb. And If  you weren't invited over, or we haven't made a plan for you to come help or drop something off, and you knock on the door, prepare to feel like poo. Because that's how I'm gonna make you feel. Worst case scenario, I am going to feel like my girl parts are dying, and I'm going to have a screaming baby, and I don't want anyone over to see me or Finn like that. Best case scenario, I feel adequate and Finn is a great baby. In that case, I will probably be sleeping and still wont want to see you. So that's why I have a phone, and unless you talk to Me, you aren't coming in my house.
I know it's a little extreme, buttttt, I have never been a Mom before. I may really suck at it. I may get stressed out and break down a few times, and I may have postpartum depression, who knows? If I need help, believe you me, I will ask for it. Anyway, to build Finn's immunity and also to let us learn how to be a family,and attempt at establishing a routine,  no visitors will be allowed unless we ask for them. And because I don't want to feel like I have to entertain guests while they hold him. Then, after we feel comfortable with ourselves, we plan on having a meet the baby day.
We will invite extended family and our good friends to meet and pass around Finn. That is going to be a great day, because by then I will have a gazillion pictures on facebook, sorry FB friends, and everyone will be real excited to hold him and stuff.
******Mental note to myself- include those invites with the birth announcements.*******

Speaking of birth announcements, I am going to attempt to design my own! I have a general idea, but I haven't actually tried to make one yet. I am also making my thank you notes. If you know me, then you know it involves a birds nest and his initials. (no I didn't put his initials in a nest...)

Well, I hope I bored you to death here with this post. you're welcome.

Cradle Bumper Pads-DIY Craft

About 2 years ago Mom and I were driving somewhere and we passed a yard sale and there it was... the most perfect wooden cradle I had ever seen. And It was also a very nice price ($20 bucks) so even before we made Finn, I had a bed for him. lol

So the cradle didn't have a mattress or bedding, so Ben and I recently bought memory foam type material and made a mattress pad. This cradle isn't very big at all, so a standard size pillowcase actually covers the pad. I just have to modify the open end. Also missing were bumper pads. So I decided to make my own instead of buying them, because 1)anytime I saw some I liked, I started planning how I could alter it to make it cuter. and 2) They were expensive. So I made mine for the cradle the way I liked, and only spent $20 in supplies!

First off, remember that material that I couldn't make my mind up about? The one that Mom made me get and not change my mind about? Well there it is, brown microfiber. Suuuper soft. Amy says she wants her coffin lined with it so she can be comfy forever. Little morbid, but that should tell you how soft it is...good enough for the afterlife. Anyway, I bought two yards.
Then instead of buying foam inserts or another kind of filling, Mom had these Winnie the Pooh pads that were Avery's when he was little in the baby chest of our old baby stuff. they were shorter in height than crib pads, so they were PERFECT. Also, it's kind of special that they were Finn's uncles'.

Next I measured the length and height of the pads and sewed up the side and basically made a big tube. I turned it inside out and inserted the Pooh bumper pads, and sealed the end. That whole process took about an hour and a half. By the way, prepare to be dusted my little bits of microfiber when you cut this stuff. Made an awful mess. I lint rolled myself multiple times.

Then I added ribbon at the ends and other cradle corner spots and voila! I had brown pads with blue and brown ribbon. I have a picture of the pads, but not on the cradle. There are a few little things I need to finish, but the Picture is coming soon.

Horrible picture of the finished product.

Since the cradle is going to be in our bedroom, I chose brown because our bed frame (also a DIY project-used to be puke green, probably lead paint with rusted legs) is a dark brown color:

It will look very nice in the room : )

I plan on doing something similar to some Crib bumper pads that were given to us, for the crib, but I haven't quite decided what I want yet.

New Blog

So when I started this blog I wanted to write and tell about our pregnancy. Well there have been many times when I realize I'm talking about more than Finn. And there are times when I want to put some of my crafts on the blog too. So since the pregnancy only lasts 9 months, I have decided to make this blog go on after birth. I can put family happenings and also Finn's development. I will also put my crafts on here. When you visit my blog, if you look on the right hand side, there should be an option for CRAFTS and a separate option for Family Happenings, If I can figure out how to do this right. So anyway, that's about to happen :)

Weird twitches and pains

So naturally Finn is moving more nowadays. today my grandparents could see him nudging and moving from accross the room. Ben and I have seen him lopsided too.
I dont really let people other than Ben, my parents and amy see my tummy, but there are stretch marks, I have been religioulsy putting special lotion on it, and it has helped tremendously so far. But when I showed this picture to Avery he was like oh, you have stretch marks?! Mom said, they were a woman's "battle scars". But anyway, in this picture you can definitely see which side he favors.

The books say this week he is 15 inches long from head to toe. At night when I lay on my side, I can feel twitches and hard kicks on both sides of my stomach. some kicks suprise me and almost hurt. Sometimes it feels like he kicked so hard downwards, that his foots gonna come out. Yesterday and today it feels like he is tickling my ribs. But what is most uncomfortable is when he kicks my badder and I feel like peeing everywhere.

Ben and I enjoy watching my tummy. Seems like we watch it about half an hour every night before bed while Ben talks to him.We have my tummy moving on video, so i will try to upload that soon. 

"Ummmmm...A BABY!"

I've heard of pregnancy brain before and didn't really think anything of it. But my goodness, I have it.
Not only do I forget what I'm doing, thinking, supposed to do. But now I'm not ccomprehending and not remembering people.

At my most recent Shaw Center appointment (doctor), the new midwife was feeling my stomach and measuring and stuff and she asked,
"So, do we know what we have in here?"
I was quiet for a few seconds then Ben said, "A baby boy"
In my head I was dying of laughter because I almost said ,
"UMMM, A BABY!"
Like what else is in there? a soccer ball? really....
So I'm not thinking straight.

Then a few nights ago we went to the grocery store, and Ben went one way and I another, and when I met up with him, he was talking to a woman. It's really not unusual for Ben, since he often sees coworkers, and classmates. He's a popular guy. lol
So I walk up and I'm just gonna walk on by and get something off the aisle and he stops me and says something like, oh here's Kim.
Am I supposed to know Kim?
I didn't recognize her from the hospital and I didn't recognize her from school, so I sort of muttered, Hey, nice to meet you...
Turns out, I know Kim. She's Ben's cousin or aunt. I cant even remember right now. She then she Leans in to give me a hug and I just wanted to smack myself 20 times. I felt like such an idiot. So Kim, if your reading this, I am so sorry. This baby is sucking my brain out!

Who grows Big Mac trees??

This month has been so hectic so far. I guess I will start with doctor appointments.
I'm 27 weeks now :) My November appointment was in the week of Thanksgiving and Stephanie went with me. Then my next appointment was scheduled for three weeks later. Also the doctor gave me the "glucola" to drink and made an appointment for my glucose tolerance test.
This glucola stuff wasn't that bad. I've heard awful things about it, but to me, it was just a bad tasting Hawaiian punch. I had the red one which was fruit punch. So the morning of that appointment, I drank it and went to the office. I was supposed to fast a certain amount of hours...well I didn't follow the directions, anyways... so the girl in the lab stuck my finger and did the blood sugar test and I FAILED :(  -by TWO POINTS. So I'm thinking great, I probably threw the dang test off with not fasting right. So I go to the checkout counter to leave and the girl tells me I have to come back  and stay for three hours. so I went ahead and made an appointment for two days later, a Friday.
This time I fasted correctly, and woke up, went to office, got my first finger stick and the results were normal, drank the glucola-orange this time (much better), and sat in my car for an hour. Now about this time, I'm getting kind of hungry and bored. I took Ben's Ipod, but there was no network to connect to, so I just sat there.
An hour later, I went back to the lab and got my finger pricked again. This time I failed. So she told me that out of the four pricks, if I failed two, then I would have GD-gestational diabetes. Anyway, I sat in my car another hour, got another prick and it was normal, sat another hour, got another prick and it was normal too. So the good news is that I dOnt have GD. Bad news is, because I failed at two different appointments, I have to "watch my sugar intake" psshh. It's Christmas! and these kids at the daycare are bringing my coworker and I lots of goodies. I have tasted every one of them. I have thrown a lot away, but my coworker makes comments sometimes about me not eating anymore sugar, and then I look at her and reach for a cookie, and say "just one mooooore" haha. I am doing better though.
We started changing our diets, Ben and I. We are eating more healthy at home and out. I have been craving salads, so that's great!
One thing a midwife told me was if it looks like it did when it came off the plant or the animal, then its ok. In my mind I was thinking, where's this big mac tree?

The following Friday I had a regular appointment with a different midwife than the one I've been seeing. Ben went with me and we heard his little heartbeat and also heard whoever was in the room next to us's baby's heartbeat too. :)
Everything went fine with that appointment. I got to ask some of the questions I had recently like about my leg cramps. I don't think I've written on here about charlie horses. Mostly in the mornings when I wake up, I get horrrrrrrrible cramps in my calves. And they leave my legs sore all day. So i just need to keep myself hydrated and also eat more potassium. Easy.

My next appointment was made for two weeks later, so I'm assuming that means I will go every two weeks now..?


Another issue is my back. Now I know that it's supposed to hurt from all the extra changes and weight in weird spots, but I have to have help getting out of bed sometimes because it feels like someone twisting a knife down there. It was only really a problem when I layed down for a little while and then tried to get back up. Mom and Ben have helped me numerous times in the past two months. This week though, it not only hurts when I get up, but when I'm laying down flat. So, Mom made me an appointment with a chiropractor. I went today and I don't think I've ever heard my back pop so much. It's been hard for me to pop it on my own, so it felt good. The Chiro said, "whens the last time you laid on your stomach?"
I almost cried when I asked him if I was going to get to. I used to sleep on my tummy every night. I miss it so much. But there was this adjustment table that the middle part let out to support Finn. I almost asked if I could just lay there for the duration.
So after adjusting what he could, Ben and I went to my grandparents house and I laid on a heat pad for awhile.

Think I might take a tylenol before bed tonight....

two or three weeks...

Goodness! Two or three weeks without a computer seems like a lifetime! kidding.
Ben accidentally opened an infected email, and we got two nice viruses on our computer. Luckily my father owns a store that specializes in virus removal, so BAM! I'm back!
To keep myself straight, and to provide you all with anticipation, I will once again make a list of the blog posts I will be catching up on:
-Will
-Christmas projects
-pregnancy brain
-glucose tolerance test
-Dr. appointments
-nursery furniture
-buying
-ultrasound
-the aunts
-nesting early?
-chiropractor
-fetal movement
-delivery plan
-avery and thomas
-showers and registries
-crafts

That should be all :)

obviously bored right now

I've had a lot of friends and family ask me what I want for Christmas. My mind is so in baby mode that I can't really think of anything I NEED. Pajama pants...but I would have to see what fit me...So, that being said, I would be absolutely fine with stuff from our baby registries. We are registered at target and babies r us. I'm also registering at DDP here in town, but I'm going to wait until the cute spring stuff comes out in January/February.

The next order of business is baby showers. There's a date set for Mom's Grandmother Shower. Other than my house, the only house Finn will be spending the majority of his time or the only place he will be overnight is Mom's house (and my Grandma's if I decide to work a little) so she'll get stuff for her house to make it easier to not have to pack all my junk for Finn to take a bath or something there.  And I'm not really sure what goes on at a Grandma shower, but it will be funnn.

Speaking of Mom's house, Mom has three cats and I wonder how they are going to like a baby coming over and disrupting them...?

Another shower that is in the works is being thrown by two of my best friends. This is the one where I'm inviting high school friends and such.
There are more showers, but I am trying to get a list of addresses for all these showers. Then Ben gives me his list and I don't even know how to get in contact with some of the people on his list. It's a task, but it's a task I want to keep me busy.

I mentioned work. I am so thankful that Ben encourages me to stay home with Finn after he's born, because that's what I want to do. But with Ben not being done with school till August, that's 6 months where he would be responsible for all existing bills, plus new bills like things for Finn, and medical bills. And one stipulation of the scholarship he took from the hospital was he cant work more than 32 hours a week. So things are tight. and I have options as far as if I needed to work a few days out of the week. It's stressful to think about but everything will be OK! :)

New topic: Christmas.
I FREAKING LOVE CHRISTMAS.
Let me just talk about my Christmas plans for a moment.
If you don't want to be bored by my ramblings, then this is a perfect spot to stop reading. I will talk to you all later :)
If you're bored and don't have anything else to do, continue:


Ben and I have started on a little bit of shopping, and I have some stuff I am making for his extended family, but I haven't finished it all yet. I at least have a list of what everyone is getting. Ben takes his last class test Monday, and HESI tests on Tuesday and Wednesday, so I was waiting until after all that stress to go do something fun like dragging him around from store to store.

Ben and I really don't go all out on each other ever. We usually just fill a stocking for each other. So this year, we have a stocking for Finn too. I will upload pictures on here of my Christmas decorations and where we hung the stockings ( as our apartment does not come with a fireplace...) this year. Thomas helped me hang some wreaths and other things while he was here, because he's so tall.

We drew names at work, and I got a super nice lady that I don't ever get to talk to, but I bought her a cuuuuute thing she will like. I highly doubt she reads this, so i can say I got her a bag with her initial on it.
We are having dinner at work and exchanging gifts. Its fun to see what everyone gets.

Then on Christmas Eve, my family does their thing at my Grandma's house. We usually have yummy spaghetti and open presents. We drew names this year, and Ben and I have my Dad and my Grandmother. My dad is getting some pretty good stuff that he likes. And I will go ahead and give Ben the credit for thinking of it all. My grandmother is getting some stuff from me that she will like too. She doesn't even know what a blog is, so I can say that one thing I bought her was a set of acorn salt and pepper shakers that I wanted fro myself... but there are other things to go with it. She will like her presents. My parents got Ben's name and I know he's going to love the stuff he's getting.

Then usually on Christmas Day, we bum around and maybe see a movie. But this year we plan on going to Ben's Mom's Family's Christmas. I haven't been in a few years, so we will go there for lunch and exchange gifts too. Last year I etched plates for everyone and this year it's another cute diy project I found. Not sure if they know about this blog, so I'm keeping it a secret. We also have his parents to buy for and we know what we're getting them. And Ben's brother and Lacey are getting their present before Christmas to use on their vacation in a few days.

I think that night we will have My parents over to exchange gifts with them and Avery because we are only supposed to get gifts for the person we draw names for at Grandma's house. lol Oh, and we will send Thomas his!
CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS
LOVE IT!!!!!!