32 Weeks!

I can't believe that I am 32 weeks along! It seems like just yesterday that I told you all that I was going to have a baby! It has been a roller coaster so far, but I can't complain. I have managed to avoid many of the really hard parts of pregnancy that so many people have to deal with and I am so lucky to be pregnant at the right time for me-many people get pregnant too soon or have to go through a lot of waiting a frustration before it happens for them and I think of them whenever I am feeling sorry for my big fat bloated self and remember how lucky I am.

At this point- my little preppy baby is around 4 lbs and 19 inches long. He is moving around so much at this point that I sometimes worry that he must be huge! He feels very strong, and rolls and turns and kicks and pushes and generally seems like he is having a wild time inside my belly. I am very excited to see him soon and can't wait to hold him.

I recently found out that my cousin and his wife are also expecting a baby- they are due in may- and I am very excited that our group of cousins has started having kids- I think it will be so much fun to see them all grow up together. Although they live in NYC, I hope our children grow up to be great friends.

We have been busy getting ready for the Holiday that seems to be sneaking up on us really quickly! Budgets are tight this year, so i have been trying to come up with thoughtful and or handmade gifts for family members. I had the idea of doing a dinner exchange with Big Guy's sister. Instead of giving each other presents, each couple could cook be in charge of an interactive night of cooking. Since both couples love to cook, I thought this might be a fun way to spend time together while doing an activity that we enjoy. For my parents, I was planning to make them matching T-shirts with our preppy baby's name on them- I know it sounds strange, but that is what my dad wants, so who am I to argue. The tricky ones are Big Guy's parents! I wish preppy baby was going to be born in time for Christmas so that I could just give framed pictures of him- but no... I will have to think of something else...any ideas?
What are you all getting for your in-laws?

Pre-Christmas Getaway

Tomorrow we're off to Naples, FL to have some fun and sun before the actual holiday. We are returning Christmas Eve day just in time for Big Guy's family get together full of games and grab bags--not really my cup of tea but I am trying to be agreeable since it is, after all, the holiday season and 'giving' is the whole idea. It was decided that Big Guy did not need a Christmas gift this year since we treated himself to a ridiculously expensive stereo system a few weeks ago. However, I have a problem with spoiling those I love and have proceded to pick him up several "small" gifts that have some how snowballed and racked up quite a price tag. Oh well, what are you gonna do, right? He does have a birthday in February, but I had hoped to get him a few shirts from j. Crew with his monogram-- which I really think he would enjoy.

My concept for his gift started off as an idea that I would get him a cute outfit. I wanted to go to Filene's on State Street since they always have large sizes (BG is 6'5" and weighs close to 260lbs- he is built like a big football player, though he never played). But as it always goes, the minute I actually want to buy something, it is nowhere to be found. ! I ended up getting him a Charcoal Herringbone blazer from J. Crew and some cute casual shoes from Patagonia and so now I just need a cute shirt and maybe a pair of pants or cute jeans? Then I also saw this cute courduroy blazer and had to get it for him-because it seemed like such a deal! So if anyone has any ideas about what shirts to pair with the blazers- I would love some ideas!

Happy Holiday's Everyone!

Craft Project Success!

My Friday night craft project was a success! We had so much fun making these ribbon ornaments. A friend and I made a night of it--drinking wine and watching ELF and Love Actually. It was so much fun. The weather was so crummy all weekend that this provided the perfect escape-we stayed in again on Saturday night and made a few more- however, I must admit that there was more wine drinking than crafting that night! I wanted to share the final product with you all in case you wanted to try them yourself! I will say that you need a LOT of ribbon. It takes almost a whole spool to do one ornament. It was worth it because we had a great time making them. Here are two of my favorites.

Holiday Ornament project- a classic

I saw these ornaments on the Pottery Barn web site and thought they were adorable. (There are a lot of holiday decorations on sale at the moment so I may be stocking up for next year.) These really caught my eye because they were so cute and I am almost certain that I could re-create them as a craft/Holiday project. I think it would be a perfect Sunday afternoon activity for the girls. I can picture us drinking cocoa and listening to Christmas music making these. It looks like all I would need is foam balls and ribbon, a hot glue gun and ric rac and a stapler. I am so excited- I feel less cranky now that I have a project on the horizon. I need things to distract me from the fact that we are still living in this stupid apartment!! I will let you know how they turn out and with any luck I will have some pictures to post if they are a success.

What I am Wearing Today

I feel a little cranky today, and can't think of anything exciting to talk about, so I just decided to post what I am wearing. Nothing too flashy or different, just some old stand-by items that were laying around within reach this morning. I was so cold that I snuggled on the couch with my puppy for almost an hour in my giant fleece robe watching the Today show. Then I had a strange breakfast of re-heated left-over cottage pie from last night, and headed off to work. I love the holiday season but feel as though this year is tempered by the disappointment I feel about not having found a house yet. When we started looking in June, I thought for sure that I would be decorating our first home for the holidays and that my family would fly in and spend Christmas in our house and a new tradition would be born- and I could have a beautiful tree, and stockings hung on a mantle dressed with garland and candles- a crackling fire going while we all stayed up late Christmas eve playing board games and watching Christmas movies. In the morning I would make breakfast- dutch pancakes filled with berries and cream and eggs and bacon and toast -- my favorite part of any breakfast!--and maybe we would all have matching pajamas, and exchange gifts near the tree. Then we would all start getting ready to host Christmas dinner!
.....or something like that... I mean, I haven't really thought about it much.....