Finally Done Decorating!

So I thought I had been done decorating my house for Christmas for at least a week or so. At least the main living part of the house seemed to be done. Soon though I began thinking that I would like to change up what my dining room table looked liked. I was growing tired of the same table cloth and candle combo (picture just below) that I have had for the last 3 years.

So what's a girl to do when she needs a little decorating help? Go to Target of course!

I ended up spending much more then I intended to, but I'm really very happy with the final result. Also everything I bought (minus the votive holders) was on sale. So obviously that justifiably makes it better. The table now goes much better with my kitchen decorations then the silver decorations did.

I'm going to make the bold statement that I'm now completely done buying Christmas decorations for this year. Until after Christmas sales that is!

This seems to happen to me every year. I think there is no possible way that I need more decorations, but every year I end up buying more. Maybe next year will be the year when I won't have the urge to buy anything new. I'm doubting it, but oh well!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! We've got another busy weekend in store. It's looking like they'll all be that way until after the first weekend in January, then we'll finally get to rest.

Our Christmas Tree

Somehow even through the craziness of Thanksgiving weekend we managed to at least get our Christmas tree up. (The rest of the decorations stayed in boxes all over my living room for almost 2 weeks after that.)

Last year Evelyn was much too little to even begin to help put up the tree. This year she wasn't much help, more of a menace, but she sure did like looking at all the pretty lights and ornaments. At one point she even ran off with the star tree topper to get a better look.

Since our cats like to knock out tree over we decided that instead of putting the tree in our bedroom, like we did last year, we're just going to lock them in the basement whenever we leave the house. So far it's worked out pretty well. I'm not too sure the cats appreciate it, but it means far less of a headache for us.

So far Evelyn really only disrupted a few of the ornaments. There are a couple that are right at her height and easy for her to pick off the tree. She always brings them right to me like she's giving me some sort of gift. Next year hopefully we'll have less of an issue, because she'll be able to communicate better.

Now for a little baby #2 update. I had an appointment today and everything was perfect. My first 2 weeks of blood sugar readings we're so good that I now only have to test twice a day instead of 4. The little jelly bean's heart rate was in the upper 140's. My next appointment is in about 4 weeks and it's the big ultrasound to find our the baby's gender! I'm pretty excited to for that one.

I hope you all are doing well and staying warm! It's been pretty cold around here lately, but still no snow :( I'm pretty bummed about that. I'm still hoping for a good layer of fresh snow for Christmas!

End of October Till Now (Plus An Announcement)

Well friends I took a much longer break than anticipated  It was prompted by a little bit of writers block and a huge bit of life being hectic. I'm hoping to be back more regularly, but with Christmas coming up soon I may still be in and out over the next month.

I thought I'd just give a quick overview of what has been going on around these parts. Then I'll reveal the big announcement that I hinted at in my post over a month ago.

Since I pretty much stopped blogging right after Halloween I never had a chance to show off Evelyn's adorable costume. She was the cutest little duck around! We made a stop at each of the grandparents' houses to show her off and then made a quick stop at our friend's house.

On the 18th of November we had Evelyn dedicated at church. She had the prettiest little dress and was well behaved through the dedication. Thankfully they do it at the beginning of service so that she could go to the nursery during the sermon. I don't think she would have been as well behaved if she had to sit through the whole thing.

For Thanksgiving we had quite a busy day. We had lunch with my parents, sister, brother-in-law and niece and then had dinner with Nick's parents. Even though it was too big meals I managed to not over eat which is amazing, because I'm a big fan of Thanksgiving food!

A few days after Thanksgiving on the 24th my sister gave birth to her second child. Her name is London and she was only 5 lb. 6 oz. She's a tiny little thing even though she was only a week early. Her big sister Drew thinks she's pretty cool.

+ + + + + + + + +

Now for the announcement. The big reason why I've been M.I.A. from the blogging world for the last couple of months is because I'm pregnant again!

This time around I was feeling pretty sick during the first trimester. I actually got put on some anti nausea pills, because I was finding it hard to eat since I was so nauseous 24/7. They worked like a dream, but nothing helped with exhaustion and that's why I took a break from the blog. Chasing around a toddler and being pregnant is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.

I'm due on May 31st. They were a little iffy on my actual due date since I got pregnant while I was nursing, so we got two ultrasounds in 2 weeks to just confirm everything. The first time there wasn't much of anything to see, but the second time there was a strong heartbeat and a little jellybean.

Unfortunately I have gestational diabetes again. They did the test around 12 weeks this time since I had it with Evelyn. So now I'm testing my blood sugar after every meal and right when I get up in the morning. I'm hoping that my numbers are good enough that I can go down to just testing after one meal and in the morning like last time. So while you're all enjoying your sugary treats this Christmas, I won't be. That's the only part I'm bummed about.

Just one day shy of 15 weeks.

Well there you have it. That's what I've been up to. I hope all of you are doing well. I'm hoping to blog about setting up our Christmas tree either this weekend or next week sometime.

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Pumpkin Patch (Finally!)

I'm finally getting around to blogging about when we went to the pumpkin patch 2 weeks ago.

We were blessed by a beautiful day that started off cooler, but ended up being so nice. It was so windy all week leading up to when we had planned to go that we were a little bit afraid that it was going to be cold. Thankfully it got up to the mid 60's and was glorious.

The first thing we did when we got in was go and see the goats. Evelyn was so intrigued. She even got brave at the end and would stick her fingers through the fence and pet their noses. It was pretty adorable.

It was a very busy day at the pumpkin patch. It had been the first weekend with good weather since it opened for the season and lots of people were taking advantage of that. Thankfully we got there early so we were leaving before the worst of the crowds.

A lot of the stuff Evelyn was still too little for, but we could tell she still had fun. Especially when it came time to share some cookies. She got chocolate everywhere, but boy did she love those cookies!

The last thing we did before we went home was ride the hayrack ride out to where they grow the pumpkins and pick one out. The line for the hayrack ride took a long time to get through, but it was worth it. Evelyn made friends with all the people around us. She loves saying "hi" and "bye" to everyone she meets.

All in all it was a super fun day. It's something I hope we can do every year. Making traditions with our little family is a lot of fun.

Did any of you make it to a pumpkin patch this fall? Tell me about it if you did!

Hopefully I'll be back here blogging about our halloween later this week! Have a good weekend ladies!

So...

I was planning to blog about our trip to the pumpkin patch that we took 2 weeks ago. For some reason blogger is being weird and not letting me upload pictures at the moment. A post of the pumpkin patch without pictures just wouldn't be the same. I guess it will have to wait till either later today or tomorrow.

I know I've been a bit MIA as of late. There is a reason. I'm not quite ready to share what that reason is yet, but I will be soon. Just bear with me for a little while longer.

I hope you all are doing well! Any exciting plans for Halloween?

Evelyn's 1st Birthday Party

Get ready for a lot of pictures!

This last Saturday we had Evelyn's 1st Birthday party. We just had a small party at home with mostly family and a few close friends. It was a pretty fun day. Evelyn got spoiled with lots of toys that make noise, which is a new thing for her, because we have been holding off on letting her have anything noisy for our own sanity.

Evelyn with her big Hippo that we gave her.

All the decor was based around a tablecloth that I got at a garage sale. (It's the one on the dessert table)  I made all the the desserts. We had cupcakes, dipped oreos and rice krispies. Everything else I bought at Sam's Club.

Evelyn wasn't so sure about everyone singing happy birthday to her and instead of trying to blow out her candle she tried to grab it. However she loved getting to eat a cupcake. She didn't let any of it go to waste. This wasn't her first time having cake, but it was her first time having frosting. Boy did she love it!

Evelyn has been all about her new toys. She hasn't played with anything else all weekend. She uses that ladybug racer (right) to get up onto furniture though, so I have to be on constant watch.

All in all it was a really good party. I think I over did it on the food, because we had quite a bit left over. Oh well, I'll know better for next time. The whole process exhausted me though! All I've wanted to do is sleep. Thankfully Nick had yesterday off so he helped get things back to normal around here, whatever that means.

Does your family have any special traditions for birthdays? I'd love to hear about them.

Hope you had a good weekend and that your week is starting off well!