Welp, I failed my very first blog challenge, well not technically since I got 9/12, but you know. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. :)

Our Christmas Eve and Christmas was one of our very best yet. It was more about the family time, the cooking, the food and well, the gender reveal!! We surprised both of our families over the weekend, it was a BLAST! So without further a-do my most gorgeous glowing wife and I present to you....

We are beyond excited and cannot wait to meet the little "G". :)

PS. I am now in the COACH club!!! Nicole got me the BEST Coach bag and I love it! Like I tell everyone though, I feel like I need to walk a little prettier lol

Cheers to a New Year! Stay safe!

Nine Ladies Dancing

Topic: Party Time!

We just went to our very first "Ugly Sweater" well actually it was called Merry Ugly Christmas Sweater Extravaganza, LOL! It was tons of fun! I had some great winter ale while Nicole sipped on water. This was where her glass got spilled and broken. To get her a new glass I walked up to the host and said, "Where are the glasses? That was Nicole's water that broke." And all he heard was "Nicole's water broke" and it startled him for a quick second then we laughed about how those words aren't to be used right now! "Isn't it a little early?" "Do you want me to drive?" LOL It was fun, but one day those words will probably be pretty real!

Anyhow, it was tons of fun and even included some RockBand playing; I forgot how much I like playing the guitar in that game.

Wish we had pics, we looked AWESOME! I looked so hideous I couldn't stand the sweats so about mid-way I took them off and had my normal jeans on underneath. Ridiculous, I know.

Fun fun! I am looking forward to Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner!

Eight Maids a-Milking

Topic:  Holiday Eats

This one is easy - BAKE DAY! My family does an annual bake day where all of the women in the family get together for an entire day to bake! We gab away, tell stories, laugh until we just about pee, pray before we eat, and mass produce cookies. This tradition started with my Grandma and us Grandchildren just won't let the tradition go.We change up what we're baking almost every year. Some of the things we baked this year are: Cinnamon Hazelnut Biscotti, Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, Chocolate dipped shortbread cookies, 4-layer bars, Oatmeal cranberry raisin cookies, White chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookies, Butternut Balls and Muddy Buddies just to name a few!

Seven Swans a-Swimming

Topic: A Moment for Grace

A moment of grace as we remember and continue to heal from our very own loss not so long ago. A moment of grace for those who have lost a friend or family member this year. A moment of grace remembering my grandparents and missing them as another year and season passes without them. A moment of grace for those struggling or persevering through divorce or separation. These are all things I or my family have personally experienced this year. 

A moment of grace for our precious little baby on the way. A moment of grace for those in new relationships both friendships and more. A moment of grace for new changes and beginnings for all of us. A moment of grace to good, lasting health. A moment of grace being thankful for what's to come as we have nothing, but a big bright future ahead of us.

 

Six Geese a-Laying

Topic: Gifts Galore

I love buying gifts for people, but especially Nicole. I will never forget one year, the first year we were together, I bought her a gift for every day leading up to and through Christmas. It was So Much Fun! She just reminded me "yeah, and you said it won't happen again", but I don't know about all that! I just might have to get a little more creative and not spend so much $. That year obviously scarred me financially LOL jk, it wasn't really that bad, mostly time consuming, but boy was it fun! 

One of the daily gifts

It definitely seems that the Christmas times are changing and I'm okay with that. Seems more like people are cutting back on the spending, buying less, more practical things and focusing more on spending quality family time. This year I thought my family was going to not do presents except for the kids, but no one could commit to that. So we drew names, we buy one gift for the person we got for no more than $25. I think it's a nice compromise, but if we removed it altogether, like I said, I wouldn't be disappointed. Nicole's family does something similar, buy one gift for each person no more than $25. It is fun opening presents while the tree is lit, the laughter and joy is in full-force and the Christmas spirit is all around.  

I must admit knowing we have a baby on the way is really helping me stay practical this year. I'm only at 275ish for Nicole. She is well over that for me, but for once I don't feel like I need to go buy more. Sucks for her, ha! She will be just fine, in fact, I'm really happy with the gifts I got her. Just have to finish her stocking! 

I really think the best gift I could have ever wished, hoped and prayed for will be gracing us with his\her presence around June. :)

Five Golden Rings

Topic: Decor and Baubles

Re: Title - Hard to believe we will be a family of 5 here shortly. Our little bun will be the deciding factor on the gender dominance in our household, crazy! But so exciting!

Here are some pics of our decor thanks to Danielle:

This year Nicole really wanted new decorations as ours were more knickknacky and needed to be updated. So we splurged a little to get us some new decorations and we're glad we did. I think after Christmas this year we'll go shopping and take advantage of the sales for more!

Four calling birds

Topic: Holiday cards

Getting Christmas cards is literally one of my favorite things about the Christmas season! I was just telling this to Nicole as we checked the mail the other day and were fighting over who would open which ones! ;)
I also like sending them because I feel like it's our little way of saying hi to each and every person we send them too even though we may not see them very often. It also let's them know they're in our hearts.

Side note: I love receiving cards just in general, be my guest! Doesn't everyone love getting something in the mail other than a bill or junk!?! I do! I do wish I was better at sending them out though.

Three French Hens

Topic: Travel Tales

Over the Thanksgiving Holiday we traveled to Maui with Nicole's whole family. I really think traveling together is the way to go! We have also traveled with them for a Mexican Riviera cruise and also traveled with my family to Donner Lake, that was a first for my family! It was tons of fun!

Personally, traveling stresses-me-the-heck-out until we're at our final destination. Thank goodness my lovely wife is a good traveler! 

I really miss traveling to So Cal to visit my Father, Sister and her family (1 niece, 3 nephews (one I haven't met)). Unfortunately, the dynamic has changed. Not by my choice, but my sisters. That doesn't mean I don't miss them, love them any less or hurt because they choose to not allow us in their lives because it "is just easier for them".. boy I wish I had that switch to turn on\off at the drop of a hat. And as for my Father, he struggles with addiction so unfortunately he is in\out of our lives from time to time. I'm hopeful that one day he will be freed from addiction and able to enjoy life with those who love and support him most.

Two Turtle Doves

Topic: Loved Ones (beware mushy)

I have one too many directions in which I could write this post, but I'll go with Nicole and I. I just feel so blessed and so grateful that we fell in love and get to share the rest of our lives together. Before us, I never knew a love like this; a love that is so true, so understanding, so respectful and so on fire... Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming, I kid you not. Personally, I think about Nicole all of the time. It seems like my mind can only keep thinking about what I can do for her to make her feel special, to make her happy, to make her smile, to make her laugh and to make her feel loved by me. From moving the car at 530am in the freezing and raining weather so she doesn't have to walk very far when it's time for her to leave for work, to leaving her little cheerleader notes to have a great day 143 UI (Until Infinity), to sending her flowers at work just so she has something pretty to look at for a few days, all the way to laying her clothes out for her so she doesn't have to think about it while she's rushing to get out of the house... I just can't help it and I don't think she minds.

We are often reminded by friends and family about this love between us and how special it is and I like to think I don't take it for granted, at least most of the time because hey, we're all human. I just feel so lucky to have married the love of my life and I can't wait until we get to share some of this love with our child here shortly.

Life is seriously too short and I wish this same happiness for everyone because after all this is what it's all about.

A partridge in a pear tree

Our tree currently represents the past & present. It has ornaments from Nicoles childhood, back in 87 is the oldest one I think. It has ornaments from each year we have been together, mostly represented by Starbucks ones. (Missing 2007) It has ornaments from some of our most meaningful and unforgettable vacations, newest one from our Hawaii trip!
It's a fake tree but that is the exact opposite of what it really is. It's very much so alive filled with memories, love, happiness, and it's a chronicle of our journey together thus far. I cannot wait until next years tree has one that says baby's first Christmas. I feel like it'll be more complete. :)

guess who got cookies today?

I did! Down 3lbs this am, it's amazing what a little tracking, weighing and discipline can do for me! I figured I'll count the cookies at 2pts each since they're pretty small like one bite size only cookies. I might bargain at 3 for 5pts haha Maintenance allows me to have 37pts a day, and on a good day I can get by just fine with about 31-33, that's my sweet spot.

So, we're busy girls. Not only are we expecting, but we're moving in less than 2 months and we're also going to try to replace the Acura TL. I have it up for sale on Craigslist, but so far not much luck. I'm also working with a couple dealers to see what kind of deal we can work to make it worth it. Our lease payment is pretty low considering, but what we're worried about is what's going to happen to our credit once the foreclosure goes through. We're confident we won't have what it takes to re-lease a vehicle and since my credit still above 750 we want to take advantage of getting a lower interest rate on financing something so why not lessen the payment a bit too? We figure a mid-size to small sedan will do the trick since the big family vehicle will be the Pilot. We're looking at the used Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Hyundai Sonata, and few others. Curious to see how all this pans out, but worst case, we keep the TL for 2 more years then just give it back when the lease is up and we'll be starting from scratch... except that obviously when we go to finance something we'll have crappy credit so I can only imagine what type of interest rate we'll get, if any financing! ha!

Bonus: Major embarrassing moment today... walking out to the car in the Safe.way parking lot and what do I do? Burp out loud and then what? Brunette walking by (I didn't see her beforehand lol) totally looks back at me!! I was devastated! I said to Nicole "She just looked at me!!" haha we laughed so hard and I jokingly said "Of course as the hot brunette walks by!" haha but omg.. so embarrassing!

Tuckered pups!

Our annual Bake Day went really well. Lots of great family time and even a few family secrets were revealed! Good times.
Came home a little early to celebrate our niece Blair's 1st birthday which was absolutely adorable! Can't believe she's 1!
Picked up our boys from grandparents and look what we have on our hands tonight... A whole lot o tuckered pups! They had fun, obviously and of course they were missed by their mommies.

These grateful girls are taking tonight to get caught up so we can have a productive and successful week.

Ps.. I'm up 1.5lbs from the weekend alone, so to get my butt back on track, I've sworn myself to no cookies til I get those lbs off! Ugh!

This really touches my heart..

Here's hoping when we're old we won't have to worry about this..