Christmas Bliss

I remember so vividly packing up all the Christmas stuff last year and thinking that the next time I opened those boxes I would have a baby, and I kept wondering and wondering what life would be like and what she would look like and what Christmas would be like. It seemed like a surreal, hypothetical situation that would never happen, but after a long year.....it happened. And it was a blast! (Although, my dreams did not include two night feedings and a major battle to get her to sleep (but I'll take the good and the bad)).

It's amazing how kids make everything so much more meaningful. Obviously Sadie had no clue what was going on and she couldn't unwrap her presents or eat candy but it still felt more exciting to be able to share the holiday traditions with her. It's a really fun time of year to be a parent!

On Becoming Domesticated

A good friend of mine, Lori H. (not to be confused with Lori F. or Lori E.), sews these really cute bags. She gave me one for Christmas a couple years ago and then she taught me how to make them. Mine never turn out as well as hers, but I thought I would share because for me this is a huge step towards becoming motherly and domesticated and crafty.

The first one is a diaper bag that Lori and I did together. There are three pockets on the inside - they were not very fun to do but they are there because I am trying to be more persevering in my projects. I had a lot of trouble sewing through all the layers and I may need to redo the handles but I'm going to carry it around proudly until it falls apart and then I'll fix it. This second bag is one that I made for Sarah, my sister-in-law, for Christmas. The inside is brown and has a pocket. Amazingly, this bag only took me about an hour and a half to sew. I worked on the diaper bag (on and off) for weeks. I still need to find a way to secure the fringe a little better, but I thought it turned out really cute. I'm not making any promises but I think this one is well constructed and the handles shouldn't fall off any time soon.

Christmas Dance

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I "Heart" Craigslist

So, I have to take a moment and tell you about how much I love Craigslist. For those of you who aren't familiar with Craiglist it is an online site for classified ads. People post 'wanted' ads, services available, things for sale, personal ads, lost and found, available jobs, ect. In the past couple months this is how Craigslist has blessed my life:

• I've advertised for Sarah's photography business and she actually got a client from my post. Michael told me that they'll give me 10% of whatever Sarah makes off of any new business I can find her. So, I made a wopping $15 off the post, but it was quite rewarding to know that I helped get her business.
• With the change of seasons and the constant growth of Sadie it was time to go shopping for new clothes. So, I thought I would check out what Craigslists had to offer. Well, I found a lot of over 200 pieces of clothing for $50. It had the cutest Ralph Lauren, Polo and Guess dresses. There were 10 different sets of pajamas, tons of play clothes, Baby Gap outfits, and the people threw in 5 different pairs of never/hardly worn shoes!
  
• While looking for clothes of Sadie I stumbled across an ad for the same stroller we have. Well, Michael and Sarah were going to buy that one from Babies R Us, so I thought I would mention the ad to him. It costs $300 brand new and they got it for $140! The stroller is cleaner than ours and has barely been used. Not bad, huh?
• Yesterday, I randomly decided to browse through the ads in Provo, Utah. My parents have been discussing buying a snowboard for Kimmy, but there aren't many snowboards for sale in Florida. So, I thought I would browse through the Athletic Equipment postings...well, don't you know I stumbled upon an ad for a beginners snowboard for someone 5''5' and size 8 boots (that happens to be Kimmy's size). The board has only been used 5 times! The price....(drum roll please)....$40! No, that is not a typo; I didn't leave off a zero. My Mom called up Troy and he drove right over to this girl's place (which happened to be in Wymount) and he bought the snowboard for us. I figured that saved my parents a couple hundred dollars.
  

So, I've never been one for second-hand stuff, but how can I pass up deals like this? Also, when I meet these people to make the purchases they are all really nice, respectable type 'folks'. So, if you want to save a little money and enjoy the hunt for a bargain - I would highly recommend checking out Craigslist.

Thanks for.....

Thanksgiving 2008 I was grateful that:

• Sadie warmed up quickly to Cliffie
  


• Bret (Ben's Brother), Shannon, Marissa, and Derek came to visit

• Auntie Nancy and Uncle Richard came over for Thanksgiving dinner
  
• Christy and I had a great visit together and had a fun 'game night'
  
• My mom is a really good cook
• I got to sleep until at least 7 am for 9 consecutive days!
• The Florida Aquarium was not too crowded and was really fun

• Tarpon Springs has AMAZING Cannoli and Baklava


• Baby Ethan got to go home from the hospital after a 6 day stay
• Ben hardly watched any football at all
  

Things to Improve Upon for Next Year:

• Keep Kimmy under house arrest so we get to see her
• Schedule Sadie's teething for a different week
• Be in shape to run the Turkey Trot (no, I didn't end up doing it....I'm a failure, I know)