Time Flyin'

Is anyone else starting to feel like the holiday season is quickly approaching? Almost too quickly? I was looking at the calendar this morning and about died when I realized that's it's the 9th of November...already. Thanksgiving will be here in only a few short weeks (and my birthday), then Christmas, and then baby. Whew!

I haven't decided how I feel about it yet but the holidays will be pretty low key for us this year. Bret is working Thanksgiving Day and we have no family coming into town. Although I still plan on having a fun brunch for us at the hospital and a late dinner there are no plans for the marathon cooking for 15 people this year. Instead we will minimize our dinner (as much as you really can with a Thanksgiving feast) and take it pretty easy. Cause you know...I have to save some energy for my Friday shopping.

My sister is coming to town for a few days before Christmas and I can't wait. I think for once I am actually more excited to see her than my kids are. We have great plans for holiday baking while she is in town. There is a part of me that feels terribly homesick. Not just for us to be home but for us to be around family. That is what our holidays have always centered around and it feels very strange to be missing that piece this year. We won't see my parents until the middle of January so unlike the previous years when we weren't home for the holidays it won't even be close. On the other hand family can be exhausting. No matter how good of a guest you have they are still guests and knowing that it will just be us for Thanksgiving and Christmas takes a little of the pressure off. I am thankful that my kids are at an age where they enjoy the holidays so much that we enjoy it too.

Besides the baby coming around the first of the year there are a lot of changes coming our way. I feel like we are experiencing the calm before the storm and although I know we are doing everything we can/should to prepare for it all. It's the things you can't prepare for that have me worried.

Sweet Baby

So one of the few things that I knew that I was going to need for this baby was a new diaper bag. Realizing that I wasn't getting a whole lot of new things I decided to splurge just a little. After checking out some of the pricey boutiques and of course the newest Vera Bradley selection I decided that I wanted something more unique. So of course I hit etsy.

Here I met Jenna from Sweet Baby Creations. I liked her bundles that included the diaper bag, matching burp clothes, a diaper clutch, and nursing cover (with drawstring bag). I also wanted a changing pad and wasn't in love with any of the fabrics that she had listed. So much to my delight we began the process of picking out fabrics. One of her listings included a brown corduroy bag with bright prints inside. I loved the brown. I was amazed at how much fabric there is out there and at first it was a little over whelming. Jenna was patient and sent me a lot of ideas to choose from when I found two prints that I just loved.

Last night my package arrived and it felt like Christmas. I LOVE it and am amazed that it was hand made. Even Bret liked it which was a relief cause you know he would carry it if it was to "feminine" or anything. I was too tired last night to get pictures of it but will be sure to post some over the weekend. Not only do I love my one of a kind diaper bag and accessories but I love that I was supporting a mom and her own business too. Check out Jenna's shop and be sure to tell her that I sent you.

Hand me downs

Emily was the first grandchild on both sides of our family. Bret's extended family on his dad's side also has very few small children and lots of aunts and uncles that love to spoil small children. I have mentioned before that my mom works in a department store. Add on top of that three baby showers and you have a recipe for LOTS of baby clothes.

When we first moved from KS to PA I sold a lot of her baby clothes. Palmer had just been born and Bret was adamant that we were not going to haul four large tubs of clothes with us to PA. Although I was a hormonal mess his promise that by the time we had another baby girl we would want to purchase new clothes anyways. So I sorted out my favorite outfits and sold most everything else. My favorite outfits only took up about two tubs instead of four.

Shortly after we moved to PA we met new friends that had a baby girl. Thinking about all of the clothes that were just sitting in storage I asked if they wanted any hand me downs and they eagerly accepted. I loved the fact that Emily's clothes would be used and not just sitting. It eased the guilt of lugging it all with us and the fact that she had so much. What surprised me most was how much I enjoyed seeing Em's clothes on this other child. I had forgotten some of my favorite outfits and seeing them again was a reminder of lots of memories. I still give hand me downs to people and everytime I see a new outfit on them it makes me smile. It has been over five years since I have seen some of these clothes and it reminds me of when Emily was a baby. The best part is that little baby girls are pretty easy on clothes. Albeit there will be new stains here and there but overall they are all still in pretty good shape.

As we prepare for our third child I wonder if those baby girl clothes will be used again in our house. Although we don't know what the sex of our baby is both Bret and I think it is probably a baby boy. My solace is that even if it is a baby boy at least other baby girls are getting to be dressed up in the fancy dresses, hats, shoes, etc that Emily once wore. A new baby boy will still have hand me downs from Palmer but nothing in comparison to what Emily had. The bright side is that I can always go out and buy a few new things for a baby boy and not feel like we already have so much.

Trade ya!

I was talking to my sister on my way home from work and I asked her what she was doing. To my surprise she told me that she was grocery shopping for a friend. What? Is your friend sick or something? Her reply was no she wasn't sick she just hated grocery shopping. My sister on the other hand loves to grocery shop. While at first I thought "wow, you need more to do in life" it got me thinking.

There are definitely household chores that I loath. On the other hand there are some chores that I don't mind at all...in fact you could say that I tend to enjoy. What if I were part of a close group of friends and we traded the chores we didn't like for ones that we did.

So here is the list of chores that I don't like to do: laundry, ironing, cleaning the bath tub, cleaning out the fridge, and sweeping/scrubbing the kitchen floor.

On the other hand here are the chores that I really enjoy: cooking, surface cleaning (vacuuming, dusting, picking up clutter), gift shopping, anything for the kids' school activities (party treats, costumes, etc).

My mom is an ideal candidate for this swapping idea. She loves to do laundry and lives to iron. When she comes to stay with Bret and I she actually pulls clean clothes out of the closet to iron them (you know like Bret's dress shirts or slacks that I hang directly out of the dryer and Emily's dresses that have never been pressed...ever). She is also a very impressive folder. She can fold sheets so perfect you think they came right out of a package. Last time she stayed with us she completely refolded and organized my entire linen closet. When you look at it now you can tell exactly what has been used since she left and what hasn't by how it's folded. On the other hand my mom is not much for cooking or anything crafty. Growing up we had the same handful of meals rotated (meatloaf, spaghetti, pork chops w/ potatoes, etc). She loathes cooking and she hates baking even more. It's just not her thing. She loves coming to stay with me cause she loves my cooking. Just think of the possibilities!!

So in this ideal world of mine what chores would you love to give up and what would you be happy to do for something else in return?

Lists

In our family it is hit or miss as to whether or not people tell you what they want for their birthday or Christmas. My husband is the worst in that he can never think of anything that he wants. Luckily after 10 years I'm pretty good at giving people ideas and hiding a couple for my self. I usually ask but also try and keep a mental list going of things that I notice they might be able to use or would want.

Living so far from our family has made this incredibly more challenging. We don't go to my mom's house for dinner anymore and my sister and I only get to shop/browse together once a year at best. These little moments to take mental note of things they might really want are so rare now. I know that it's the same for them. They don't see Emily and Palmer all the time so they don't know how obsessed with dinosaurs and cars Palmer is. Or what the latest Emily phase is either. So the need to communicate these things have become pretty important. That's not to say that surprises aren't possible. I can walk in to any store and still pick out something that I'm pretty sure my sister would just love. I'm also sure that my MIL could pick up a toy for Palmer or shirt for Emily that both would just adore.

So I'm just curious if other people actually ask for what they want for their birthday's and Christmas, do you just leave subtle hints, or do you just leave them to their own bidding? Is it still fun to get a present you asked for?

Mary Poppins & The Firefighter

We survived Halloween. I should say...I survived Halloween and the kids loved it. Friday was busy with school parties and parades. Saturday we had a few people over and took the kids trick or treating. The weather held out only for a short period but with our two small children it was more than fine.

When I condensed all of their candy (from parties, trick or treating, etc) we had a gallon freezer bag so full it wouldn't close. The thing that struck me the most this year was how much each of my kids loved their costumes. This was Palmer's first year of really understanding that he was a "fireman" and he loved every minute of it. He was more concerned about holding on to his fire extinguisher water gun than his bucket of candy. Emily loved being Mary Poppins. Always one for compliments she got more than her fair shared and asked by strangers for pictures and where we got her accessories. Special kudos to her grandmother (MIL) for helping find the most important carpet bag and hat. They really made the costume.

Whew!

I am exhausted already and it is only noon. I planned on dressing like a witch today only to realize that Bret had left with my hat in his truck. This was after I was all dressed in black so I had to think quickly and improvise. What else can you be when you are dressed in all black? A cat of course. So one piece of black felt, one of Emily's head bands, a hot glue gun, and black eyeliner later...whalaa!

The kids' costumes are finished and after a final fitting/modeling last night I am really happy with them both and so are they. I will post pictures this weekend hopefully. Treat bags have all been assembled and are at the school waiting to be handed out and the party treats are at school as well.

Every year I meet with the college's coaches and give a quick overview on financial aid. I'm not sure that quick and financial aid can ever really go together but we manage to compress it all with questions into an hour. For some reason this meeting always falls on Halloween. Oh, well. It's fun and they are great guys that are actually interested in what I have to say. They always have lots of questions and it's a very useful session. The best part is that this meeting takes up most of my morning and since I leave early for the kids' school party/parade my day flies by.

Although I'm looking forward to this afternoon and tomorrow part of me is ready for Sunday to get here already.