5 DOWN!

I have always said I want to be married to Kevin for at least 50 years! That means we have a little less than 45 to go! We spent alot of time on our anniversary this year trying to decide what we would do next year on our 6th! We will have a 10 or 11 month old baby girl, which at this moment seems so surreal, but we decided we may be ready at that point for a night or two away by ourselves to celebrate! We'll see, right? First we stopped by Kevin's office to pick something up and had our pictures taken with these nice folks. Then Kevin took me to eat at Stephan Pyle's.... mmmmm... and since I was getting over being sick at Christmas, I wasn't able to eat much and got to enjoy my YUMMY leftovers for two days! We got the "heaven and hell" dessert though, which I was actually able to stomach quite a bit of... and then they brought us the lovely selection of chocolates you see below... dessert after dessert... its what I imagine Heaven to be like. After that, since we were dressed for it (and who is going to question a pregnant lady at Christmas) we decided to go crash the wedding reception going on at "our" reception site from 5 years ago. We crashed empty rooms though. No party. I guess not many people are as crazy as we were to try to get married two days after Christmas. But we reminisced and took some pictures. See if you can tell which ones are from 5 years ago and which ones are from this year... I'll give you a hint...
As far as husbands go... Kevin takes the cake... the red velvet wedding cake. However, I give myself alot of credit for picking the greatest husband in the whole world!

Feliz Navidad Frijoles!

Christmas for Beans this year involved a few new toys, a new blanket for her "spot" and the gift receipts that accompanied those purchases. I guess that this doesn't exactly foster the best behavior... since we have spent an awful lot of time trying to keep her from eating our important paper documents that we have accidentally left in her reach. Not to mention the amount of time we have spent chasing her as pieces of paper hang from her excessive lips and then prying her jaws open to try to retrieve the important piece of paper that has already begun to digest in the far reaches of her throat. But it was so cute to watch her sniff her new toys and then scarf down the gift receipts! I didn't get great pictures, but here are a few anyway. Her buffalo was a big hit! She carries it all over the house like a kid with a blankie.

I hate cold ketchup... (and catsup)

My sister and I both do! Its so icky when its cold... and it actually becomes kind of thick and crusty. Who likes it that way? I can't explain it, but if we need ketchup on something we have to have it room temperature. Preferably out of the tiny fast food packets. And as long as we're talking preferences, the "ketchup tubs" at Whataburger are the supreme way to enjoy room temperature ketchup. Kevin prefers the cold ketchup!?!? I just think things like this in life are funny. Why are we the way we are? And what will our little Curley be like? Will she like her ketchup cold or room temperature and why? Because we have influenced her opinion or because she has a strong preference about the temperature or texture or packaging of her condiments? Maybe if I were a good mom I would keep the calorie wasting concoction of sugar and tomatoes away from my child and this would all be a moot point. But then, my mom tried to keep me away from white bread and cream gravy, but I discovered them on my own anyway! (I curse the day I found you, cream gravy...)

I also recently found myself contemplating a few other things. It must be what I am spending all my brain cells on... since I'm not using them for ANYTHING useful like memory or reason or decision making.

1. Why are there button options on an elevator that only goes to two floors? I have found this to be a serious waste! If you get in on the first floor, the elevator can just assume that you wanna go upstairs and similarly assume the opposite when you get in on the second floor. Actually, the elevator doesn't have to assume anything! You should just get in, the doors should close, and you should go to the floor you aren't already on.

2. Why isn't my belly button poking out? I only have 2.5 weeks left! It is one of the cute, funny things I have been looking forward to. Why does it seem to pop out on all the girls that are grossed out by it, and NOT pop out on me, when I've been looking forward to it? Mine is just spreading way out and looking really wide and cavernous. Kevin actually thinks there is something wrong with it.

3. Why DO we drink cow's milk and insist that it is so healthy and necessary for a healthy life? I know many of my friends contemplated this long before I did, but again, I think it's pregnancy that has somehow made me think about things a little differently. Every mammal produces milk.... for their young.... including us! God made us that way right? So, why do we drink the milk supply of another species? Cows don't drink our milk. And I suspect that if they could... they wouldn't. I also suspect that if the cows could ask us to stop milking them and drinking theirs... they would. In the words of Gaylord Focker "you can milk anything with nipples" but it doesn't mean you should, and it certainly doesn't mean you should build an industry around it and market it as a necessary part of a healthy diet and lifestyle. There are, in fact, other more efficient ways to get calcium and protein.... but I swear I won't go into it. I'm just putting it out there. I have a quart of soy milk in my fridge. I bought it yesterday. I haven't tried it yet. I'm scared. I put cow's milk on my morning cereal. I'll let you know when I try it. Its funny, because I love other soy products... but I LOVE my skim cow's milk so much, I'm afraid of trying the soy milk and hating it. (Thanks Sara for coaching me through my first soy milk purchase... now I just need you to come over and coach me through my first taste!) (Another aside... my grandmother's family were dairy farmers, and I mean this in NO way to disrespect them or any other cow milkers... I'm just thinking.)

That's enough for now. I've got a million other posts/pics to get caught up on. Enjoy!

duck... duck... duck...

Just wanted to post a pretty picture of my man and my dog. Yes, that's a bunch of dead birds around his neck. Sorry about that. But aren't they cute?

Big Belly Chronicles - Volume 34w

I've been having braxton hicks contractions since mid-November. They were getting increasingly more frequent over the weeks before Christmas, which is why I did so much of my Christmas shopping online (and got SO aggravated by the misleading websites.) Then, as I was getting well after my nasty cold and bronchitis... my gastrointestinal system decided it had been left out of the party... and for 3 days it was like my morning sickness on steroids. It lasted Christmas Eve, Christmas day and the day after Christmas. 3 of the BEST days in the whole year! The first 2 are obviously good days, but the reason I love the day after Christmas is the shopping! I love 75% off Christmas stuff for next year! I love 75% off anything! The last time I missed this shopping day was 5 years ago... the day before our wedding. I shouldn't say missed, because my sister and I were at the mall, frantically trying to find new clothes for me to wear to the rehearsal dinner that night and a few more things to pack and take on our honeymoon. I shop VERY WELL under pressure. :) But I didn't get to do the bargain hunting I love so much. And... 5 years later, Kevin has caused me not to be able to shop again...

But as I was putting Christmas stuff away this year, I was thankful to not have one single additional item to pack away. As much as I love to shop, I hate the clutter that shopping causes. I hate waste, and the over consumption that so many in our society indulge in. Uggg... but I can't help that I still LOVE TO SHOP! (Which is why I love a flexible return policy.)

While resting over Christmas, the contractions stopped. But then, as I began to move around and do some stuff around the house, they have returned. But I'm averaging about 4-5 a day now, whereas before I was up to 4-5 an hour sometimes. (Which my doctor said could turn into REAL labor if I wasn't careful.... so I'm being much more careful.) So this is my belly at 34 weeks 2 days. I am still getting ALOT of comments about not being big enough... but my doctor says my fundus is just fine. :)

We have furniture in the baby's room!! This is a big deal, and I won't go into why. Its a looooong story. But we have it and the room will look like a fun little girl's room in no time! She'll be here in less than 5 weeks now! 2 of the Curley's are extremely happy about this, and the 3rd Curley..... the beautiful furry brown one... is NOT so happy. Here's how you can tell... this is a picture of her while she's watching her dad put the baby's bed together. When Beans' lips are spread out all over the floor like this, it can mean two things.... REALLY tired.... or REALLY mad. And she'd been napping most of the afternoon. So.....

I think she picked up the pouty look from her dad. And I think she is beginning to figure out that something in our house is taking a little attention away from "the CENTER of the UNIVERSE." But we will make sure she still gets plenty. I imagine it would be hard to go from 100% of our undivided attention to anything less than that. But she'll always be our very first baby.