Thanksgiving

Hope everybody's Thanksgiving was full of blessings.

Ours was very nice...it was quiet with just Tony and I, but it was very sweet. This year we did something new with the turkey. I bought a turkey from a co-worker who had raised it. Farm fresh....sounds delish right? Not as much as I had imagined.
First of all, I'm kind of reverting back to first trimester food issues...not NEARLY as bad, but some things are really grossing me out...like the fact that we had to still pull out some broken feathers....then after cooking it and the breast and thigh registering the right temp Tony started cutting into it and it was like we hit an artery! So much blood. I'm not sure why it cooked so unevenly. It's not like this is the first time that we have cooked a turkey!
I talked with the guy that I bought it from today and he said perhaps the butcher didn't drain it properly. But who knows. Either way - we cut some breast meat off, ate dinner, then stuck the whole thing back in the oven. Tony carved it later in the evening, but a lot of it was tendony (not sure if that is a word - but you get the picture) and tough. We still have enough for leftovers though.

I had to work today but as I was getting ready at 4:30 AM!!! I decided, why not go shopping on my way? Join the craziese?!? There were 2 items in particular that I was gunning for - and I got 'em, so it was worth it to face the black Friday crowds. Most important of the 2 was the crib mattress. I think we now have everything for the baby.....

Lovely Love

Today Tony and I have been married 9 years!! We couldn't wait last night, so I opened my present early - a Nook Color!!! I was shocked - I never would have guessed that Tony had gotten me one! It is very cool. I already got a book on it and was surprised at how easy it is to read on - not at all like a computer screen. Then today I got beautiful earrings and a matching braclet....needless to say - Tony did good!!
Tonight we went to dinner at Armando's and had a really nice time.

Here's a photo recap of the past years:

Fall 2000 - Shortly after we started dating

Clear Lake, Iowa Summer 2001 - first road trip together

Washington DC 2002

Summer 2003 - UP of Michigan

Graduation Dec. 2004

Jenni and Rob's wedding - 2005

2006 - Craig's new condo party

New Year's - Ringing in 2008

March in Italy - 2008

Fall 2008 - Rockies game

Moab May 2009

May 2010 - Twins Stadium

There are more recent pics of me and Tony - but they are from Will and Andrea's wedding in Oct. and I don't have any of them yet - as soon as I do I will post them.
It's fun to look back on these and remember all the great times we have had and how many more great times lay in front of us.
I wish I had time to put these into some kind of slide show - maybe I'll learn how to do that some time soon, since I'll probably want to do something like that with pictures of the baby.

Congrats and a Belly Update

Last night my friends Renata and Jason had their baby girl!!! So exciting! I can't wait to hear all about it - Welcome Adalai!!

34 weeks 4 days

Absence - Where have I been? Wait....where have you been?

I've been so bad about blogging....but I haven't been the only one (you guys know who you are....those bloggers I depend on for weekly entertainment!!!). But I have good excuses -
Second weekend of Oct. - home to New Mexico for baby shower.
Third weekend of Oct. - Minneapolis for Brother in Law's wedding
Got home from Minneapolis on Sunday the 17th and had to fly out to MD that Monday - Friday. Then I flew out that next Sunday for Ohio, came back Monday night and left again on Wednesday for MD. I was exhausted!! I wanted to cry on that last trip to MD - really not looking forward to the plane ride and hotel....but everything went well. And it's always so GREAT to see our friends in MD!!! I couldn't help but cry when I left....on top of being super emotional already, saying goodbye to friends and knowing I probably won't see them for a long time....I just really miss our friends in Maryland.
This past weekend Tony flew to Duluth to go deer hunting with his dad and brothers. (And he did get a deer!!) My mom flew up to stay with me and we had a wonderful time!! We got to go to a couple of Crap (craft) fairs, which were actually really good! We mostly just shopped and ate out. It was great - but too quick and there are never enough hours in the day.
On Sunday after I took my mom to the airport I did one of the activities I love most in the world - I went to Barnes and Nobles and got some coffee and read magazines!! It was so relaxing. Then I went home, turned up the Frank Sinatra Christmas CD and started to put out my Christmas decorations. I know it's kind of early, but I figured I better do it now while I still feel up to it.
We started Lamaze last week. It's not just a lamaze class - they teach you all kinds of things, like the stages of labor and all that good stuff. The video's were not for the weak...and I am weak! I wanted to throw up but then started laughing and couldn't stop. Of course Tony only egged me on by making comments. But the best part about it is getting to spend time together during the week. Things are always so crazy, it seems like we always have something to do, so the class is really nice in that respect. We are also going to take a baby prep class in a few weeks, which I think will make us feel less anxious....perhaps.
I can't believe it's going to be Thanksgiving next week!! We don't have any big plans - we are just going to stick around home and I'm going to cook. It's always nice to have that day together just to eat and relax.
I'll try to be better about the blog and updates! Hopefully tomorrow I'll remember to take a pic of the belly BEFORE I put on pj's (which usually happens the minute I walk in the door) to post for my 34th week.

Three brothers - this was at the rehersal at the church. Tony was practicing reading out loud.

All the siblings - this was at the rehersal dinner in downtown St. Paul. The neighborhood was amazing!! I told Tony if we move to the Twin Cities that this area is where I want to live!

Nursery

We made so much progress with the nursery. It feels like we got so much accomplished this weekend! It was the first weeked I've been home ALL WEEKEND since the beginning of October.

Here are some pics. Of course I haven't decorated yet, but my mom is coming up this weekend, so I'm hoping we'll be able to get some of that completed.

I love this furniture....I think it matches really well even though we bought it at 2 seperate locations. We still have a few things to get....we need a mattress and a car seat and a stroller, but at least we've come this far. I was kind of getting panicky about our procrastination.

I can't believe I'm almost 33 weeks.....and I still feel really really good! I would say 9.5 out of 10. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and to not feel this good...but here's hoping. We get to have another ultrasound in a couple of weeks and I'm eager to see what she looks like again.