Fire It Up!

Now that Grace is walking...

RUNNING rather...

she is becoming quite familiar with the phrase "NO!"

Last night, we made our first fire of the season. She was enthralled as can be seen below. Yes that is Grace SPRINTING towards the flames.

Then she heard Mom say "NO!" and she stopped D-E-A-D in her tracks.

And then she peeeerred around at me with a look that asked "Are you talking to meeeeeeee?"

Wait until she sees the Christmas tree. Then we are in REAL trouble!

Thanksgiving "vacation" officially begins for us tomorrow at 5 pm. At that time, Operation Butterball officially goes on hold (where it has been unofficially since Halloween) and will resume next week. Oh wait! My birthday is next week! Hmmm...

Wishing you a safe, happy and YUMMY Thanksgiving.

Gisele

My mom sent me this clipping...

to point out all the "similarities" I'm sure.

Gisele is due about the same time this December as I was last year.

Lots of similarities, huh?

If "similar" means it looks like I ate Gisele, than by God, we are identical!

Goodbye Oprah

I just finished watching Oprah announce that her show is coming to an end in 2011.

Her decision was heartfelt.

She cried. I cried.

I already know I will miss her.

The Death of Me

While out and about shopping with the girls in Philadelphia a few weeks ago, my life began and ended all at once. You see, I tasted a Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Ball for the first time. It was good...dangerously good. Remember that episode of Sex in the City where Miranda throws the cake into the trash can and then finds herself eating the cake OUT OF THE TRASH CAN?! To stop herself, she ends up dousing the cake (that is in the trash can) with dish soap. That is how good these Peanut Butter Balls (PBBs) are. If you can refrain from eating them long enough to get them into your house you are IN trouble! Luckily, the PBBs "live" in Philadelphia so I am safe.

Or so I thought.

Home from Philly for weeks now, the PBBs have been on my mind day and night! I tried to buy them online from the store in Philadelphia but they weren't available for sale on the website. The thought of calling the store and requesting to a real person that I needed...wanted...had to have them shipped across the country was a bit embarrassing. "Luckily", my friend, Jamie, was willing to share her family recipe.

It's all over folks. I made these yesterday so I now have access to Chocolate Covered Peanut

Butter Balls anytime I want. This is going to be the death of me!

Lucky

When he isn't guarding the ball with his life...

he's guarding Grace!

Sure life would be simpler without dogs but it wouldn't be as sweet.

Freedom

Two weekends ago, Court and I got a taste of freedom and it tasted G-O-O-D! Uninterrupted sleep. Drinking to excess. Eating in peace and quiet. Not to say we weren't ecstatic to get back to Grace, I'm just saying....

FREEEEEDDOOOOOOM!

(To get the effect I am going for, this is best said like William Wallace (aka Mel Gibson) in the movie Braveheart.)

Luckily, our friend, Jamie, had the perfect excuse to leave Grace at home and eat and drink to excess again. A surprise 30th birthday party for her husband, Chris, in Seattle.

**Sidenote**

For the record, I didn't get the memo that wives are supposed to throw surprise birthday parties for their husbands when they turn 30. Ooops! For Court's 30th birthday, I went to Vegas to see Tim McGraw and Faith Hill (it was AWESOME!!!).

Oh don't look at me like that! He was in harvest! He couldn't have managed a night - let alone a weekend - of binge drinking with friends. Don't worry. He got his "revenge." When I turned 30, I was 10 months pregnant and 70 pounds overweight. We'll just have to go big on the Big 4-0...that's the new 30 anyway, right?!

I digress.

Last Friday, after Mommy and Me class, Grace and I made the looong drive to Seattle. The party was Saturday night but I wanted to take advantage of being in Seattle and do some Christmas shopping. The pass was a snowy, icy nightmare but I drove it - BY MYSELF! Can I tell you how proud of myself I am? I honestly thought I would never be able to drive in snow again - trapping me in Eastern Washington all winter long. Lucky for me, Grace slept during the "hairy" part of the drive...by the 15+ car pile-up on the side of the road that sent shivers down my spine... and after 5.5 hours in the car, we made it to Seattle!

Court was already in Seattle along with his parents who had agreed to watch Grace while we went to the party. It worked out really well. Dave and Priscilla went to the "surprise" portion of the party, mingled and then came home to their sleeping granddaughter. While the surprise portion of the party was going on, Court and I put Grace to sleep and prepared ourselves for the "post-surprise" party. It was SO fun! We got to see all of our friends, chat and just laugh. I miss laughing so hard you are sore the next day and we definitely laughed on Saturday night. Needless to say, we don't get out of our cages much and when we do, we tend to go a little over board. "Freedom" is exhausting! Feels a lot like being hung over...oh wait!! hehe

After all that "freedom" I was sure happy to get back to Home Sweet Home Place. What's even better is that we have nothing on the agenda this coming weekend, except for sitting by the fire and enjoying the view. Ahhhh...freedom!

Four Years!

It's amazing.

So much has changed since this day four years ago.

Jobs. Home. Baby.

Yet everything is better than I imagined.

Thank you for going above and beyond making my dreams come true.

Happy Anniversary!