Nesting

I'm running out of things to clean.

After an entire week of dragging my feet and sleeping for 12 hours a day, I got a huge burst of energy. My dishes still need to be done and my kitchen floor mopped (maybe I'll do it on my hands and knees to use up extra energy), but after that, I'm not sure what to do.

I'm considering sacrificing my toothbrush (don't worry, I have an extra in the cupboard) to use on the baseboards. I could polish the fake wood on my kitchen cabinets or organize my coat closet. I would like to move the furniture around, but I don't think that would be the wisest choice at 9 months pregnant. My windows need serious attention, but since it's freezing cold outside I don't think taking my windows out to wash them would be a wise decision either.

Please help! I need suggestions on how to use up all this nesting energy.

Oh wait! Isn't this supposed to be a sign that labor is quickly approaching? I sure hope so!

Caution: Oversized Load

Makayla and Ellie are getting excited for the arrival of this new little baby. I think they can sense that it's getting closer.

Over the past few days, they have both made hilarious references to my expanding midsection.

Makayla: Friday afternoon, she came up to me with a doll obviously stuffed up her shirt. Rubbing her tummy she said, "Look, Mom. I have a special tummy like you. Do you want to feel my baby kick? Come here. Feel right there." So I put my hand on her stuffed tummy. "Oh! Did you feel that? My baby just kicked your hand."

She also feels it necessary to state the obvious. Every day. "Whoa! Your tummy is getting really big!" Or one of my favorites, "Your tummy just hit me in the head."

Ellie: Today Ellie grunted as she walked up to me with her back arched and her hands rubbing her Buddha belly, "My baby is growing, growing big."

Christmas: The Recap

I got so wrapped up in watching my girls unwrap presents that I got exactly 4 photos the entire day: pictures of them in their new Christmas jammies. And right now I'm feeling a little too lazy to even upload them. So instead of the recap in pictures, which I had intended to do, I'll do a recap of my favorites from the day.

The meal: my 3-layer Christmas jello turned out awesome! Too bad my family didn't like it and I'm stuck with an entire 9x13 pan to devour by myself. I'm sure you can hear me crying about it, can't you?

Ellie: She opened her first present and started playing with it. Makayla kept bringing her more presents to open to which Ellie responded, "I got one." Her eyes got so wide with surprise and delight when we finally explained to her that she got to open more than one present. "More presents?!" It was adorable.

Makayla: Watching her look at all the tags to figure out which ones belonged to her. Seeing how excited she got when she opened her present with the Barbie--the one she's been asking for since October. She and Ellie played with their new Barbies literally all day. They even slept with them last night.

Up until Tuesday night, we didn't know if Kasey would get Christmas day off. Learning that he would get to spend the whole day with us was the best gift to me. We had a nice, relaxing day spent in our pajamas just enjoying being together.

Warm Cocoa Suprise

2 cups chopped Milky Way (3 bars)
3 cups milk

Simmer over medium heat until chocolate is melted.

Seriously easy.
Seriously delicious.
Seriously high in calories.

Seriously wish I had another mugful to drink right now.

Thanks To My Mom

I have a new-found appreciation for my mother after today.

This is the first year that Kasey and I will celebrate Christmas not surrounded by either my family or Kasey's. It's kind of a strange feeling. And not wanting to skimp on Christmas traditions just because we are at our own house, I decided to make a big Christmas dinner.

I planned out our menu and bought all the groceries. Early this week I thought I might want to get a little prep work done on Christmas Eve so that I wouldn't have to spend half of Christmas day in the kitchen.

Boy am I glad! I spent just over 4 hours this evening making a salad, putting together a potato dish, and baking dessert. Tomorrow I still need to bake the ham and the potatoes and rolls. Phew! I'm so exhausted.

And so here's where the appreciation comes in. I never realized how hard my mother worked all these years to get Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners together for us to enjoy. It's such a huge job!

Thanks Mom!

A Blessing and a Curse

Makayla has learned how to change the toilet paper. And while it's very nice when the roll needs to be changed, it's not so nice when I have several rolls of partially used toilet paper sitting around my bathroom. Or worse yet, when she throws away a roll because she thinks it's getting too low.

Spreading a Little Holiday Cheer

This is probably my all-time favorite Christmas commercial.