Multitude Monday

201. Christmas Cards

202. Christmas baking

203. Homemade Candy

204. Hot baths

205. Homemade goat's milk soap

206. Christmas

207. Christmas being over!!

208. Shaylah and her witty humor ;-)

209. Nemo's little bark

210. a New Video camera!!!!

Multitude Monday

191. Babies in boots

(Shylie was strutting around the house wearing my uggs...sooo cute!)

192. Christamas programs at Church

193. Holiday Baking

194. Going to the movies with my family

(Chronicles of Narnia --Voyage of Dawn Treader -- great movie!)

195. Working Sewing Machines

196. NEW WINDOWS!!!!!

197. Wind storms

198. Rearranging my bedroom

199. Playing my piano

200. Being the guest of attraction on my mom's blog

;-)

Multitude Monday

181. Christmas Parades

182. Rainy nights

183. My bad dog Maycie

184. The sparkle of Christmas lights against our house

185. A date at Borders with Jeff

186. a day spent shopping with my mom

187. Puppies!!

188. A clean garage

189. Artichoke Dip

190. my bestest friend getting engaged!!!

Yay for Annie!!! :-D

Multitude Monday

171. Thanksgiving

172. Black Friday

173. Family Traditions

174. "Its a wonderful life"

175. Long drives with my hubby

176. Putting up Christmas lights with Jeff

177. New Christmas ornaments

178. Setting up our Christmas Tree

179. Feeling my baby move!!

180. Hearing my baby's heart beat for the 1st time

Our Christmas lights!

Here are my promised pictures!!! The lights aren't totally finished yet, but I figured I'd better take the picture now and post it anyways...otherwise you'll never see any pictures in general. :)

(btw...those fuzzy looking things on the lawn are 3 little deer. The fuzziness is credited to my terrible camera phone.)

Doesn't the tree look like a rosebud? Lol! We plan on putting icicles on the inside of our big window--but we have to wait til we replace that window, which *hopefully* will be in the next week or so! And we also want to get some lights up around our front door. Hopefully I can be faithful (like I was today!) and take a new updated picture when we finish...no promises though!!

IT'S DECEMBER!!!

Yay!! It's December! :) I love Christmas time!!! This past week, Jeff and I have been doing the lights on our house. We just finished our front yard today--tonight I'll take a picture, and I'll *try* to remember to post it tomorrow.

We set up our Christmas tree a few days ago, but that's about as far as we've gotten with decorating the inside of our house. LOL, hopefully tomorrow we get the inside tackled. :) This year, I decided to leave the round boring ornaments off the tree, and only put up the special ones we've acquired. Last year we decided to every year each of us buy a new ornament that represents something from that year. So, last year's ornament was a round ball ornament. One side of it was Miley Cyrus's face and the other side was Zac Efron's face. (You know those candy filled metal ball ornaments? Yea, we bought those and broke them apart and stuck them together to get one.) Lol, and for those of you who don't know the joke behind that....they are our not-so-secret crushes. As we put that ornament on our tree this year, we were both blushing and laughing over the memories it held.

This year, we actually bought two ornaments.

Jeff picked out this one:

And I picked out this one:
(only mine says: "2009" instead of "The Millers" lol)

I think though, because I got an ornament representing last year, I should be able to pick out a second one...besides, our tree looks so...naked! It only has a few little ornaments on it!

We have a Christmas tree lot down the road from our house, and since we have a fake tree, we missed out on the experience of walking through the lot in the brisk coldness with a warm cup of hot chocolate in our hands. So, we decided that Friday evening we're going to go on a date to the Christmas tree lot. I can't wait! :)

As a side note: I'm 19 weeks--almost 5 months along!! I know I haven't been good about blogging this pregnancy, so I'm vowing to make sure I'm a faithful blogger next baby around. By then, we'll actually have Internet in our house, so I'll have access to my blog. :)

Sooo...that's all I have to say about the Christmas Season for now! Hopefully I actually remember to post pictures of our house tomorrow. But if I do forget...just take my word on it: It looks so pretty and Christmassy!

Multitude Monday

*I missed last week's multitude Monday :( So this week and next week will be a bit behind. Sorry!*

161. Fresh from the oven Berry Muffins

162. a Chipotle burrito...all to myself!

163. Watching Finding Nemo with my little sisters :)

164. Having multiple copies of my house keys :-/

(looong story...)

165. Living so close to my family

166. My new piano!!!!

167. Home made bean dip

168. An evening spent with friends

169. Daddy's cheesecake...sooo yummy!!!

170. Holiday Peppermint Chocolates

Multitude Monday

151. Baskin Robins $1 scoop Tuesday

152. Winter Sheets

153. Gift Cards

154. Watching the sunset at the ocean

155. When Jeff *thinks* he got a really good deal at the store

156. Peppermint Hershey's kisses

157. Watching Shylie "chill out" on the couch

158. Starbucks Frapichinos!

....how embarrassing! I don't even know how to spell the word correctly :(

159. playing Scrabble with Mama

160. exciting plans for the house!

Multitude Monday

141. Excitement of the upcoming Holidays

142. New bathroom towels

143. Pianos

144. Steak Chipotle Burritos....

mmm! Mmmmm! Mmmmmm!!!

145. Family Vacations

146. Soft Comfy Beds

147. Coming home after a long trip

148. organizing my home

149. The rain

150. Energy!!!

Multitude Tuesday

131. My mom

132. My family

133. upcoming family vacations...

Disneyland or bust!!!

134. Shylie and her finding Nemo kick :)

135. Handmade candy bombs

(aka pinatas)

136. Birthday parties

137. New sewing machines!

138. Watching Jeff make cookies...

and softening the butter with my hair blower :)

139. Vitamin C

140. Making it to the 15 week mark!!!

Multitude Monday

121. Pumpkins

122. Simply Fruit Fruit Roll Ups ... they're all natural!!!

123. Newly bloomed flowers

124. Health

125. Carmel Apples

126. Handmade baby hats

127. cool weather

128. Short walks with Maycie

129. Soup and Salad from Olive Garden....mmmmm!

130. dear friends

Multitude *Wednesday*

211. Electricity

212. Mutt Dogs

213. Freshly mowed lawns

214. Naps

215. Antique Highchairs

216. Pie Contests

217. The anual Chili Cookoff!

218. Sneaking off for a bite to eat with Mama...shhh!!!

219. Picnic baskets full of yummy foods!

220. Energy...something I miss very badly!

Multitude Monday

201. 1st appointment with my midwife

(and grateful the next one isn't for another whole month!!)

202. Haagen Dazs ice cream bars...mmm mmm mmmm good!!!

203. Winco's bulk bins

204. Family trips

205. Bonfires with my family

206. subway sandwiches with all the fixins...except jalapenos--eww!

207. Charades

208. New Dresses

209. Shylie's glare...in the middle of church

210. Mama's bed...so comfy!

Multitude Monday

191. Family Camping Trips

192. Applesauce and Potatoes

...the only foods that have kept me alive in the past weeks!!

193. Vitamin B

194. Taco Bell Nacho Cheese Sauce!!! MMMMMmmmm!!!

195. Going out to lunch with my parents (double date!)

196. Pumpkin bars with thick cream cheese frosting

197. Air Conditioner!

198. Old Disney Movies

199. Internet!

200. Beautiful Fallish Weather

Multitude...Tuesday

181. Good Deals

182. 'B' vitamins

183. Gift Cards!

184. Beautiful Weather

185. Overtime

186. Anticipation of upcoming camping trips

187. Saltine Crackers

188. Mad Money

189. New Clothes

190. Big Bowls.....

I think all bride-to-be's should register for a big bowl.

One day, when you're pregnant that bowl might just be your best friend!

On 2nd thought...

After pondering it some more....I think I need one of those shirts and my mom needs the other. Hehehe! What a picture that would make! Both of us with bellies, wearing our Disney shirts while posing in front of the "Welcome to Disneyland" sign. That would be a keepsake picture. ;-)

Shopping Deals!!

Today Jeff and I went maternity clothes shopping. I got two items and was SOO excited by the amazing deals I got!

First we went to the Goodwill store--I looove that store! I got a cute Motherhood skirt and I only paid $4.00 for it. (Might I also add: I was upset to pay $4.00, the man overcharged me by .25 cents...seriously.) Later on, we went to the Motherhood store in the mall and I saw the same skirt on sale for $19.99.

This is kind of what that skirt looks like (minus the scary belly panel)


Then I went over to Kohls. I had a giftcard with $11.70 on it, and I was determined to get it out of my purse. Do you ever go shopping and find something that you really believe that God had hidden there JUST for you?? Yea, that's how I felt today.

Burried all the way in the back of the racks--on the wrong sized hanger, was the perfect dress with a perfect price! Orriginally $48...I only paid $10.30--total!! I even got a dollar and some change back. I was thrilled, I think I might even have danced out of Kohls with a stupid smile upon my face.

My family and I are planning on going to Disneyland at some point in the next 2-3 months. (Date hasn't been set yet). While we were in Motherhood, I found a "MUST HAVE" shirt for that trip.

Isn't it adorable??? I definately want the blue one, but if I can pursuade Jeff to get me the white one also... (I wish you could see the grin on my face)

Jeff promised me that if I'm showing by the time the trip takes place, he will buy me the shirt. Isn't Jeff wonderful?? :-D

C'mon belly!! Start growing! There are too many cute clothes out there just waiting for me to wear!

How a bowl should be licked

I'm not sure what about these pictures inspired me to post them on my blog...the puppy or the cupcakes...

7 weeks today

Today we're 7 weeks along. (We decided to pick a combined due date, so that it would make things easier for us and other people to remember...so our "new" due date is: May 3rd. bag!!!)

At 7 weeks, the babies are the size of a tic-tac or a blueberry (which ever visual picture you like best!) and weight whatever it is an eyelash weighs. (lol) This week their little brains will be growing at a crazy rate of 100 cells per minute. Insane right?! The mouth hole, ear holes and nostrils are forming this week, as their little faces are beginning to take shape. Their eyes are wide open, but they don't have any irises yet (the colored part.) Little arm and leg "paddles" (digits will form later on) are growing and forming this week and the umbilical cord will be visible by the end of the week.

Here is another mind boggling fact: he's or she's (or one of both!) are 10,000 times bigger today than they were at conception. Wow!

I would post a picture of what they look like right now, but it's kind of creepy...so I'll spare you. Maybe in a few weeks when they actually look like babies.

I've never had morning sickness before with my last two pregnancies, but this time I've had a lot of it. (Not a horrible case, but enough to make me feel like everything is progressing well.) Mama and I realized a few days ago that with our miscarriages we never experienced any of the barfies, so we're feeling pretty excited and positive to be feeling a bit green now. It's weird how something so unpleasant can be turned into something good and happy when looked at in a different light.

Certain smells have been turning my stomach lately, such as...onions, ranch, beef, the soap in our shower, Jeff's cologne and a whole lot more. I've noticed that I've eaten a LOT of potato products lately. That's one food that's not triggering my smell senses and causing a case of the barfies.

My cupcake cravings are back, its time to track down my tried and true recipe and mix up a batch! Mmmmm!

Multiple Monday

171. Birthday Parties

172. Homemade Cheesecake

173. Working cars

174. Morning sickness

...yes even that makes the list!

175. Barking Dogs

176. help from friends

177. A new front door

178. going to church with Jeff

179. Getting projects done

180. 4 day weekends

Update on the balloon count

Currently, the balloon count is:

Pink-34 vs Blue-34

There! I fixed it...

Whoa...now this is one big chair!!

gender guessing game--a bit lame =)

Jeff and I came up with a plan to "guess" our baby's gender.

We decided to save all the balloons I used to tell him I was pregnant, and we're going to let them pop and deflate on their own. The last balloon standing, whichever color it is, is the gender we're having.

I guess it's kind of a lame thing to do, but it sounds fun to see which color is last standing.

We both really want a girl, but as of now, we're both "feeling" a boyish vibe. So I guess if the last balloon standing is a blue one, well, I might possibly go out and buy a baby boy outfit. Of course though, I'll save the tags ;-)

I'll keep you all posted!!

P.S.

the last balloon counting was: pink--36 vs blue--35

The Story of our Cake Topper

Like all married people, we saved the top layer of our cake for our 1 year anniversary. I was very excited to eat it, as I didn't really get to eat any cake at our wedding because we were being so rushed along. We had the cake in a big ice cream bucket in our outside freezer.

A few days before our 6 month anniversary Jeff came inside with a very moldy and wet ice cream bucket. I said, "What is that?!?" Jeff looked a bit sheepish and said, "Um...remember a couple weeks ago how I had to unplug the outside freezer to use the extension cord? Ummm...yea, I forgot to plug it back in." Needless to say, after 3 weeks of sitting in a hot and wet freezer our poor little cake topper was horribly moldy and definitely rancid.

I've been really disappointed about this, as I'd always looked forward to our 1 year anniversary and this tradition of eating your wedding cake. But oh well, what can we do about it?

When we got home from our anniversary get away, we went about unloading the car and straightening the house. At one point, I was cleaning the kitchen and saw a Rayley's plastic cake lid on the counter. I was jealous, because the cake sounded yummy and I thought, "Hmmm, I wonder if they saved us a piece." When I opened the fridge this is what I found:

A little 2 person cake with our wedding cake topper on top. (The cake topper is a Willow Tree figurine that sits on my living room shelf. When I got home, I saw the shelf and thought, "Where is my cake topper?!") The cake was the exact same flavor of our wedding cake and the sweet note explained how they bought a "replacement cake" for my ruined wedding cake.

It was such a sweet idea, Jeff and I were thrilled and touched. That night we enjoyed a glass of sparkling cider and a piece of delicious cake while we reminisced about our wedding reception.

How I told Jeff...

With my last two pregnancies, Jeff was right there with me to watch the test as it turned positive. I decided after my 2nd pregnancy that next time, I was going to surprise Jeff and tell him in a special way.

I found out I was pregnant the 6 days before our 1 year anniversary. Jeff was home when I took the test, and it was SOOO hard not to give away my exciting secret. He asked me several times that evening why I looked so happy and I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling him.

I started thinking up creative ways to tell him. I knew I wanted to do something with pink and blue balloons, I just wasn't sure what.

My first thought was to fill his trunk full of helium balloons and not tell him. At his job, when he leaves at night, its required that the security guard checks the trunks of everyone's cars to make sure they aren't stealing anything. My plans was that when the security guard opened the trunk billions of pink and blue balloons would fly out and Jeff would see. But then I realized that at 4am, that would probably give the poor guard a heart attack. I decided to store that idea in the back of my mind for future use.

My second idea, was to to blow up hundreds of pink and blue balloons and have them lying around in our house when we returned from our anniversary get away. That was the plan I went with.

Shelbie and Shaylah came over that week and helped me blow up literally about 200 balloons. We stored them all in the game room and stuck a big "Jeff stay out" sign on the door. We wrote "boy" and "girl" with question marks all over the balloons.

I asked my sisters to come to the house while we were gone and to pull the balloons out of the game room. I was on egg shells allllll week just dying to tell Jeff the news!!!!

It was even harder, and a bit comical, because all weekend long Jeff kept saying, "You are totally pregnant." "You've got to be pregnant!" "You need to take a test." I guess I was showing a lot of prego symptoms. ;-) I did loootttsss of peeing! I was SOOO sleepy! And I ate like a wild buffalo! Each time he said something like that, I just had to bite my tongue and keep quite...so hard!!!!

It was finally Sunday and I was very eager to head home and break the news to him. My family went above and beyond with the decorations ;-) As they were doing the balloons, my mom said, "I wish we had streamers too!" Which of course, when you don't have streamers...what's the next best option? Yea, toilet paper.

Jeff was taken back by the toilet paper and said, "Is this my surprise?" Assuming that the "surprise" was just a tp'd house as a "Welcome home" gift. I semi-nodded-semi-pointed to the balloons. He kicked a balloon that was in his way and said, "I like the balloo-" Suddenly he leaned down and picked up a balloon and realized that it said "Baby B due 2011."

It clicked with him immediately and he started cheering, "I KNEW IT!!!!!" He was very excited!!!! Later on he said that he liked that way I told him, and that it was the best surprise he's ever had.

Multiple Monday

161. Homemade Soup

162. Balloons :)

163. Helpers!!!

(Thanks Brothers for all your help this week!!)

164. Bowling with my family

165. Coming home from camping trips

166. Eating thrifty's ice cream with my brothers

167. Mexican Food

168. Flushing toilets and running water

(something I've missed this weekend while camping!!!)

169. Excitement and joy!

170. Having a pregnancy buddy!!!

Happy memories :)

Our first dinner guests :)

Happy Memories!!

Jeff and I came home from our Honeymoon to find our driveway all chalked up. Our sweet friends came over and marked up our driveway and tp'd our house. :)

pst!! Annie.....our driveway has been looking a bit sad and lonely lately. If I supply the chalk, will you come doodle on it for me?