On to Christmas

What you are looking at is the first ever Moore family real Christmas tree. In fact, this is the first time that Scott has ever had a real tree. We are fairly excited about this.

You see, our first Christmas together, we were living in our tiny basement apartment, and we bought the smallest artificial tree known to man.

The next Christmas, we were packing up the apartment to move to this house, and I planned to not even decorate. At the last minute I put up the tiny artificial tree.

And last Christmas, our first Christmas in this house, mom gave us her old artificial tree. We were excited to put that one together because we knew it was a nice tree as far as artificial ones go, but when we were halfway through putting it up, an essential piece broke, and we were once again treeless.

This year we decided, that's it, Ada is old enough to "get" Christmas, it's time to buy a real tree. And when I saw Home Depot advertising a 19.99 black Friday special, we jumped on it. And we couldn't be happier.

It's amazing how festive a house feels when that slight scent of pine fills the air. Don't you agree? And Ada loves it. She is having a really hard time not taking all of the ornaments off though.

Here, she is sharing the joy of the tree with her baby doll.

And after all of that tree excitement, it was clearly time for the baby to go "night-night."Each year that I have been married, I try to stock up on new Christmas items during the after Christmas clearance sales when things are 75% off. The first couple of years I focused on buying ornaments and last year I bought different items to sit around the house. This year my goal is to find very real looking artificial garland. Where do I find this? Please advise. My current garland, bought at the same time as the first artificial tree is oh so puny.
Do you have a favorite place to shop for Christmas decor? After Christmas Pier 1 is a go to for me, but I need some ideas for nice wreaths and garland. Really, help me.Besides getting my house decorated for the Holidays, I also ordered and picked up our Christmas cards. I am so glad to have these two things done. I so wanted to enjoy Christmas this year despite the long to-do list, and this weekend we are making it happen.

Merry Christmas to all!!

And now for Thanksgiving

First things first--what a game, right? Oh my word. I thought I was going to die. Ada finally did get alarmed at the end when her mother was on her knees talking to the television like a crazy person. She ran into my arms and said, "it's okay, mommy." I laughed and gave her a big hug and told her that I was just having a fun, and then she smiled, relieved, and shouted, "touchdown."

I also turned to Scott at the very end, when I knew only a miracle would allow us to win (and oh was I hoping for a miracle), and I said, "I think I might cry. I really might cry." What a game!!

Scott was gracious in the midst of Alabama's victory, and we survived watching the most intense Iron Bowl game ever together in the same room. (I don't think that sentence structure is exactly correct. Forgive me.)

I drowned my sorrows by immediately heading to Home Depot with Scott and Ada, where we picked out our 19.99 Frasier Fur'. What a deal. It is about 6 ft. tall, which is the perfect height for our ceilings (unlike most people, our high ceilings are upstairs, not down), and after putting Ada to bed, Scott and I decorated the tree and the rest of the house with Christmas music playing in the background.

But, I need to blog about Thanksgiving before I talk about Christmas. Of course I am thankful for so many things, this little stinker being one of the main things, but what stood out to me this week was rest. I was so thankful for rest. Because I was away from home with no projects calling my name, I napped every afternoon. As soon as Ada lay down for a nap, I lay down for a nap, and I felt so good all week. What a difference in the evening when I have two hours of deep sleep under my belt!!

Here is Ada on Thanksgiving day (which was Wednesday night for us). She loved this baby doll--Bitty Baby. Do ya'll know American Girl Dolls? As a child I had two dolls--Samantha and Molly--and they were like real little girls to me. Anyway, we are thinking that Ada might get Bitty Baby for Christmas. We have not had to spend any money out of pocket for her Christmas gifts, so we thought we might splurge on this one gift, and it will still come out to be a very inexpensive Christmas.

While the kids waited for dinner to be ready, "Cake" graciously played barbie games with Ellie and Ada. Apparently you can design your own barbie, and Ellie loved it. Every five minutes a little girl was requesting that one of the aunts play a game on the computer. Ada decided to start eating early. As soon as she saw food on that plate, she went to it. She loved her carrots.My favorite dishes? The green beans, the dressing (my absolute favorite!!), the sweet potatoes, and the spiced peaches. Really, I loved it all.And my big pregnant belly didn't stop me from enjoying seconds!! Here is the "sister's and husbands" table.The grandparents' table. My dad's mother joins us for Thanksgiving each year. My grandmother is 86 years old and in insanely good health. It never ceases to amaze me. She is as sharp as ever, and she loves her Auburn football!! She is also up to date on current events and pop culture--she even knows what facebook is. Crazy.This little guy got his own individual seat right next to "Near." I can't resist him and that precious face. If you look at his mouth you will see that sweet potatoes were one of his favorite dishes. And the kid's table. Complete with a table cloth underneath, just in case;)So another Thanksgiving is behind us. And how thankful I am. For so many things. Two of the things I am most thankful for are cuddled up on the couch right now watching cartoons. I am warm and cozy in my house, and my stomach never feels empty for long. The list could go on and on and on.

And now I have a grocery list to make. In all seriousness, I am super thankful for couponing. It has saved our family so much money over the past couple of years. The Lord has been good to show me so many ways to make that pay check stretch. He has provided in abundance!!

Quick Iron Bowl Post

I need to post about Thanksgiving and all that it involved, but I wanted to quickly say this.

Ada is loving the Iron Bowl. She is so hyper, feeding off the energy of Scott and me. By the way, she said, of her own accord, "War Eagle, hey," just a minute ago. Though she screams whenever either one of us screams, so she is definitely rooting for both sides.

Seriously, she has gone crazy. She is running in circles around the house, with her hands in the touch down position. In fact, a minute ago, I found her blue pacie under the living room chair, and she screamed and raised her hands in a touchdown position. I wish I had a camera.

Okay, that's all. I just had to record Ada's reaction to the 2009 Iron Bowl. (and give my sincerest apologies to the Auburn football team for ever doubting their ability). Hang in there, Tigers!!

Checking In

Hi everyone.

As usual when I have been away for awhile, I felt the need to check into the blog for a second.

We are vacationing away in Alabama. We spent the weekend with Scott's parents and siblings and other extended family, and now Ada and I are here at my mom's house enjoying the company of sisters and cousins.


It's always good to be with family, and Ada loves her Mae-Mae, Pop, Near, and the rest of the crew.

Remember our plan to transfer the furniture? Well, we woke up to a downpour yesterday, and our transportation was an open bed truck, so plan B immediately went into effect. We are now going to rent a U-Haul sometime during the Christmas holidays and make the move then. In the mean time, Scott promises that we will get the painting done. Will you join me in holding him accountable;) For some reason, I can't imagine why, he just isn't as worried about our house decor' as I am.


What else, what else, do I want to tell you?

We are getting a real tree this year. I am super excited about that, but I am also nervous that our marriage won't survive the purchasing and putting up of the tree. I have heard that things can get a bit testy when a real tree is involved:)

But before all that, there is a Thanksgiving feast to be eaten. Ours will take place Wednesday night, so that Sarah and Kate will have Thursday to travel back to Auburn in time for the Iron Bowl. Have mercy on the Tigers, right? I predict that it's not going to be pretty.


Scott and I will also get out of dodge, since we are in a divided family, and it is best that we don't all watch the game together.


Happy Thanksgiving, my internet friends (real life and otherwise). Enjoy the food and let the Holiday Festivities begin.

Ada strikes again

I have been busy, busy this week trying to clean this house before I go out of town for Thanksgiving and return with the Christmas season upon us.

Because of all the cleaning, I know it has been quite the unfun week for Ada. She has watched too much television and been bored in general, I think. I mean, in the midst of the bored, she has played with her doll house and her kitchen, and she has come up with other various pretend activities, but in general, I am guessing it's been a long week for her. However, my downstairs is (was) clean, so at least I have something to show for it. (Some of upstairs is clean. There is still much to do before tomorrow afternoon).

Well, this morning, after we spent some time sitting on the couch, eating eggs, cuddling, and watching Curious George, I continued with my to-do list, but I do have plans to take Ada to the park later this morning so that she can get some much needed fresh air and exercise. Though I had promised Ada that we were, in fact, going to the park, I am guessing she reached her wits end and decided to take advantage of my distracted state. When I stopped for a second to see what was going on, here is what I foundWhen I asked her about the situation, she explained that her stuffed animal needed to go "night-night." Obviously an entire roll of toilet paper is a necessity in the night-night process.

And here she is posing with her masterpiece.Note the unpainted walls. They are driving me crazy. Again, football is preventing the completion of those walls.

What else has Ada come up with to entertain herself? Jumping in her old exersaucer. She climbs in and out on her own, bounces up and down really hard, and announces that she is either baby John or baby Andrew. I hope it survives Ada, so that John can enjoy the exersaucer.

Quick Ada Story

Just a quick story before I head to bed.

Today, Ada was upstairs in my room as I was getting ready to go tutor, and she noticed my gigantic stomach. She started talking baby talk to my stomach, holding her arms out, saying, "here, Baby John, come here Baby John." Then she pretended that she was holding him in her arms and rocking him like she does her baby dolls, and then, this is what tops it all. She pretended like she was stuffing him in her stomach, and she said, "I want to carry him in my stomach."

Oh my word, she makes me laugh.

Sunday Night

Last night when I was on the phone with my mom, she observed that my blogging has slowed down quite a bit.

I'll be honest with you...I'm a bit cranky these days, and I am afraid it will show up on the blog;)

You can all pray for poor Scott and Ada, as I am guessing I am not the easiest person to live with right now. But hallelujah, third trimester starts on Wednesday, and I am taking this thing one day at a time. That's all you can do, right? And soon I will be staring into the face of a precious newborn.

In the mean time, what's on the agenda for this week and the weeks there after as we prepare for his arrival.

Remember my big plans to have everything done before Thanksgiving. Well, you can all laugh with me now. The good news is that all of John's furniture will be arriving next week, when Scott and his dad (I think his dad is coming) drive it to our house after we celebrate Thanksgiving with the Moores this coming weekend.

That means that this week, I must, must, must go through and throw away unused toys. Many of the toys are moving downstairs to what will one day be a dining room? Maybe? Who knows? Right now, the room holds my china cabinet (as I dream of one day actually using my china), my computer desk (where I am typing as we speak), and lots and lots of toys--a dollhouse, Ada's kitchen, and random other things. I moved everything upstairs to declutter downstairs, but then I realized it was much more practical to move it right back down. So there you have it. The makeshift office/play room. I may change my mind and move it all back upstairs to what is now deemed the junk room. We'll see.

In the mean time--PAINTING. It has to happen sometime between now and February. It makes me nearly panic just thinking about it. Scott promises it will get done, as he reminds me that there are only a few football weekends left. Ahhhhhh--I might scream.

Anyway, this week, I plan to deep clean because on Friday we all three travel out of town to begin Thanksgiving festivities. I will not return to Georgia until the following Friday, and then my house needs to be ready, as it will be time to "deck the halls." The practical part of me says that I should simply skip decorating this year, but I can't do it. I just can't. I love Christmas, and because Ada is old enough to get a thrill out of Christmas trees and lights and everything else, the nurturing thing is kicking in, and this house will be Christmasy. My mom never failed to make Christmas magical, and I will carry that on to my children. Ada is very into birthdays right now, so I think at some point we will celebrate Jesus' birthday with a cake and singing. I told her today that Jesus birthday was coming up, and she promptly began to sing "Happy Cake to Jesus--" her version of the Birthday Song. I am thinking that at two, that is the most she can relate to what is really happening at Christmas time--Jesus' birthday. I am sure we will read stories and such as well.

So, that's what is going on here. I don't mean to neglect the blog, but I also don't want to complain about things not worth complaining over, so some days I think it best to remain silent. Scott would most likely agree;) He has been very kind and gracious. Last night I told him that I couldn't understand why he and I don't get along lately, and he remained silent, never pointing out that the real culprit is me.

I will say this--I love being third trimester pregnant in the fall so much more than in the summer. Oh, that is the understatement of the century. I am not swollen; I am not sweating every second of every day; and I am not nearly as miserable as I could be!!! Thank you for a February baby!!!

And on that note, let third trimester begin...