My very own Clark Griswold

"If I woke up in the morning with my head sew to the carpet I wouldn't be more surprised than I am right now."



I'm not going to say I didn't have my doubts about the whole "decorate for Christmas in phases and the hubs will never know what hit him" plan. However, it appears as though my Christmas decorating baby-step maneuver is working...my very own Clark Griswold climbed up onto the roof today and hung our Christmas lights! It was a gorgeous day outside, so we decided to take advantage of the weather and hang the lights before a white squall hits. I braced myself for the storm when I suggested putting the lights up this morning, but fortunately, the hubby likes any activity involving a hammer, nails, electricity, and heights,and he gladly agreed. We opted for two strands of colored Dollar Store lights rather than the 258,000 Italian imported twinkle lights, but it still looks great. I took my chances and opted to irritate the neighbors by lighting the Christmas lights while we were at the grocery store so we could see what they looked like when we got back home after dark. They look "chk chk really nice."



Christmas music: check

Blog decor: check

Christmas china: check

Christmas lights: check

Next on the list: Christmas soaps, candles, and air freshener.
Slow and steady wins the race.

"What has two thumbs and loves the hubby?"

This girl.

I love this guy. He is busy rocking out to Carrie Underwood and cooking away for me in the kitchen. Spaghetti complete with parmesean cheese and garlic bread and The Office at 9.



He is my hero. Hands down.

Shoot. Just heard "What the?!? ...Lucy, you have some 'splaining to do!" coming from the kitchen. He must have found out I swapped our regular dishes out for the Christmas china. Told you I do it in phases. Nice and easy. ;)

Bueller....Bueller....Bueller....

Thought I'd work to keep the pattern going- update only once a week detailing why I haven't updated more than once a week.

First of all, may I introduce the true culprit behind my lack of blogging: the Twilight series. I have put off reading these books for the past 3 years since my mom recommended the first one, and at a weak moment after seeing the movie (gasp!) I ran to the store, bought the first book, then planted myself on the couch for 7 days until I had read all 1,800 some pages. In fact, I may or may not have become so desperate to read the last book that I forfeited a week's worth of lunch groceries (consuming only leftover Tootsie Rolls and Starburst at the noon hour) to buy it in hardback.


(*disclaimer: The rumored "great pregnancy hair" phenomena has yet to grace me with its presence. Rather, I have been stuck with frizzalicious hair that resembles nothing of the flowing locks I keep reading about in all these pregnancy books. So give a girl a break, and don't judge me and my frizzy ponytail.)

I have also been busy growing. A diet of kefir, chips, and salsa combined with an exercise routine consisting of sitting in one place reading about the adventures of Bella and Edward for hours on end will do that to you. Being pregnant helps too.



Due to said growth, I have also been busy shopping with my mother in law for stretchy pants and shirts that could house a small country. She spoiled me and wardrobe beyond recognition. I could not be more grateful, as I was hitting the bottom of the "fat clothes" barrel and had moved next door to the hubby's side of the closet, raiding his flannel shirt collection any time I needed to leave the house.



In addition to becoming a rather rotund Twilight fan, I have also been busy celebrating the hubby's 24th birthday! He was thrilled to see the Jeep Jogger stroller my parents gave him, and does not stop playing the XBox 360 Elite his parents gave him unless I whine at just the right decible for an extended period of time. Clearly, a birthday present success. I gave him an outfit for our little baby so our child will be fully prepared to sit next to Dad next fall in all the high fasion of a gym teacher in sweatpants as they cheer on their favorite teams. The hubs could not have been more excited.





It was a busy week for us, but seeing as how I am depressingly out of Twilight books to read, I should be getting around to blogging more often. Until then...enjoy the Christmas music and decor. It's all done in an effort to delay my obsessive compulsive need to decorate early. I have been dropping hints to the hubs about breaking out the silver bells, to which he replied: "You can decorate your blog all you want, but you're not decorating the house." Don't worry. It's all a part of my plan. First the Christmas music. Then the blog. Then the house. I ease him into it, and two weeks from now when he comes home from work to an indoor winter wonderland, he doesn't know what hit him. ;)

I'll meet your Starburst and raise you a Tootsie Roll

Good grief. It's been ages since I've blogged. Leave it to me to put it off until something involving an enormous amount of candy warrants an update. Truth is, we've been busy around here trying to sell our house and eating our own body weight in apple crisp. However, we broke routine Friday night when two of our closest friends, lovingly referred to as Shrek and Fiona, rode into town wearing red pajamas and driving six white horses. We were so thrilled they were coming to visit that I called the hubby at 3 in the afternoon asking if I could spend upwards of 20 dollars on candy for a rousing game of Rummy Royal with our anticipated company. Being the gaming enthusiast that he is, he agreed, and I came home with two bags full of candy (made up of 2-3 bags of Starburst "Fave Reds"- an entire bag full of only the best flavors!!!) waiting to be gambled away amongst friends.

It was a jubilant evening spent with good friends, good laughs, Paula Dean's Chicken Pot Pie, cider and donuts, apple crisp, and more candy than we knew what to do with.





It doesn't take much to make a pregnant lady ecstatically happy. Just 20 dollars worth of Tootsie Rolls.



I'm not going to say we aren't a competitive crowd.





Somebody really wanted to get in on the fun...



The winnings:




We all walked away with our fair share in high fructose corn syrup gold, and with the trick-or-treating festivities only days away, I find myself facing a moral dilemma: to pass out candy that was used to play Rummy Royal for hours on end or to not pass out candy that was used to play Rummy Royal for hours on end. I mean, I'm sure we all washed our hands. Hmm...

The Birthday Bongos

**the attractiveness of this photo can be attributed to our pure enthusiasm over the opening of the first Sonic within 900 miles of our home. You just can't contain that kind of excitment.

I'd say "Happy Birthday, Mom!" but judging by past experience, I'm a little more than convinced Mom won't read this post 'til at least Christmas, and for that reason, I will say: "Merry Christmas, Mom!"

Just kidding. I will hold her Old Navy velour suit hostage until she reads this, and with that kind of incentive, who wouldn't hop online asap? Yes, she has one too. And to spare you the suspense of wonderment, so does my sister. And you probably need one too. Truly.

Anyway, Christmas and velour suits are not the point of this post (though I do love both Christmas and velour suits). The point of this post is to wish my momma a very HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY!!! I figure it is ok to disclose the age in the event the birthday is a big one. Don't worry, Mom. Next year will be your 27th birthday on my blog. But this year is a special b-day and I have a special gift in the making that I may or may not be currently procrastinating over, and thus, here is the result of spending 43+ minutes uploading pictures celebrating the woman who I admire and love deeper than the holler, stronger than the river, higher than the pine tree growing tall up on the hill, and longer than the song of the whippoorwill. (In addition to Christmas and velour suits, I also love Randy Travis music.)

Mom,I hope you have a fabulous birthday, and I mean it when I say I hope I can be even half the momma to my children that you are to Courtney and me. =)



















I'm saving sappy and heartfelt for the gift I'm working on that is currently sitting in a bag on the dining room table, so I'll leave you with a song that encompasses oodles of birthday enthusiasm and sure got everybody up on their feet when I was in elementary school:

[insert birthday girl playing the bongos entirely off rhythm here]
"It's the birthday bongos, how old are you?
Can you tell the answer?
Can you give a clue?
You're growing, it's plain to see!
Play the birthday bongos for me!
Cha Cha Cha!
Are you 1 are ya 2 are ya 3 are ya 30
are ya 37 are ya 41 are ya 48
are ya 49 are ya 50?!?!? [insert "STOP" from birthday girl here]"

If you'd like to send a b-day wish more dignified than the Birthday Bongo jingle, please leave a comment for her 50th!

Once Upon an Autumn...

I absolutely adore fall and every little thing that comes with it. Today Opie and I are curled up on the couch snuggling through a multitude of weather forecasts telling us to expect snow in the next few days.



Said forecasts are threatening to throw us into a state of panic, as we have decided its just way to soon for a repeat of this experience from last November:



We would rather pass on the winter weather forecasts in the middle of the fall. Nobody wants to see a pregnant lady forced to desperately chase her terror of a dog around the front yard in the snow any time soon, thankyouverymuch.

Despite the 30 and 40 degree weather we've been having that makes me want to don my Old Navy Velour suit 24/7 and curl up in the fetal position on the floor in front of our radiators, I have put my head down and powered through. We have actually been out in the world quite a bit this fall. We spent the weekend at my in-laws celebrating my MIL's 26th birthday, we've been hanging out with some good friends of ours, we've been debating whether or not to get the hiney vaccine, we've been carving pumpkins and lighting fall scented candles, we've been visiting my sister who just started a new crafty job, we've been tossing around baby names, I've been complaining because NONE of my pants fit anymore (hence the Old Navy Velour suit...if the velour suit is wrong, I don't want to be right), we've been arguing over whether or not it is appropriate to play Christmas music in the car on the way to church, and we've been scrambling to find the perfect gift for my mom's BIG b-day which is (ahem) today. More on that later. And by later I mean once I've finished this post, had a good snack, and then sat back down to post again. I have a very busy schedule.

In addition to the aforementioned activities, I have also been painstakingly working on my baby registry online in preparation for the holiday season. This will be the first year I ask Santa for a Chicco carseat instead of a fantastic outfit from GAP. I've been in the habit of giving Santa plenty of notice since the first Christmas I didn't get my Moon Boots. Because of the Moon Boot incident, I am forced to spend time online deciding between the orange Chicco travel system or the green Chicco travel system instead of getting the laundry done or doing the dishes. It really is a travesty.

I better get on with it. Like I mentioned, I have a snack to down before I post a tribute to Mom's big day. =)

Of chili and camo

I've been MIA the past couple weeks, and I have no excuse except to say that we have been busy busy busy.

We've been...

Trying out new recipes (Mom's Chili,Take One was a rip-roaring success!):




Dining with good friends:






Playing with adorable babies:




Hunting wild game:




Shopping classy thrift stores:




Venturing into said stores dressed in camo from head to toe:




And writing notes:


(What can I say? I am not a fan of washing bloody duck clothes)

I was up bright and early this morning to wish the hubby well on his mission to shoot him some ducks. I went over to L's house to enjoy a Panera Cinnamon Crunch bagel and an afternoon of shopping while the men folk hunted their game. All that eating and shopping done in support of the hubby's hunting endeavors has really worn me out. Nobody ever said being the wife of a man whose wardrobe consists mostly of camo was going to be easy, folks. I'm off to a nap. I'll be back later this week with more incredibly interesting information to share. =) In the meantime, I'll leave you with this (please ignore my cooing in the background- I cannot wait to have one of these, and the cooing just comes with the territory):