New Year's Resolution

I have a lot of blog catch-up to do. Upcoming: Christmas, progress in the nursery (and our great furniture deals), signs of getting old and pregnancy updates.

But since today is New Year's Eve, I thought that I would publicly announce my New Year's Resolution.

In 2009, I will be a better house keeper. It won't be over night, but it WILL happen!

Funniest Christmas Card

Oops! Looks like my two week vacation (yup! two whole weeks) got the best of me. Or maybe it was just the holidays in general. Either way, sorry for not posting in a while. I thought that I would start off the blogging with the funniest Christmas card that we received this year. It was from Freddy's friend, John "Hag" Hagaman. He's single and thought that he would have some fun with his card this year. Pretty funny!

Bah Humbug?

Am I a bad person if I forgo the Christmas decorations this year?

I was going to set up the Christmas tree the weekend following Thanksgiving, but Freddy was hunting and the box was way up in the attic. I didn't think that it was wise to retrieve it by myself. Since then our weekends have been packed and I just haven't gotten around to it.

My thought now is that since we won't be at our house for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, I don't want to go through all of the hassle. I mean, Christmas is only 10 days away. So, all of the decorations are in the attic, not to be hung this year.

At least we have Christmas lights on the house. Thanks, Freddy!

This week my baby girl weighs as much as...

A head of cauliflower -almost 2 pounds - and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended.

Yesterday I went to JoAnn Fabrics looking for some fabric to make curtains for the nursery. Purple is not a popular color for decorating, apparently. I finally spotted the PERFECT material in - where else but the special order section. It was close to the medium shade of purple on the walls and had different shades of purple polka dots in lines down the fabric. PERFECT! It would match the polka dots on the crib sheets AND the stripes on the wall.

Guess how much it cost. $40 a yard! Yeah right I'm paying that much! I wasn't even about to pay the $20 per yard sale price. I quickly hung the fabric swatch back on the rack. Then a Christmas Miracle took place. Okay, not really a Christmas Miracle, but something really fantastic...I spotted that exact material in the remnants sale bin. There were two yards there and the price was half off of the current price, so I bout it for $10 a yard - a grand total of $20. Seventy Five Percent Off, people! I was stoked! The perfect curtains for $20. Go me! Now I just have to sweet talk my mom in to sewing them for me - I mean, for her first-born grandchild.

Photo Shoot in the Park

Last Sunday Freddy and I went to a local park with our neighbors, Sara and Austin. We took their Christmas pictures and they took ours.

Of course we brought Lola along. She always makes the Christmas card. And she had SOOOO much fun in the park. She chased squirrels, tried to follow the squirrels up the tree, sniffed out all of the good trails, let the other dogs know that she she was there and wanted to play, ran through piles of leaves...and back through piles of leaves...and through the piles of leaves again.

Here are a few pictures, but not the one that actually made the card. You will have to check your mailboxes for that one.

Nursery Work Day

Blog Confession: I claim no responsibility for the creativity you are about to witness. I totally stole it from someone else's blog. I changed the colors and I changed the measurements to accommodate this particular room, but everything else was ripped off from Amie Way. We blog stalk each other and we're both cool with that.

She used to be best friends with a friend of mine in Middle School, so I think that MAYBE we might have met once in the early 90's, but I can't recall. Currently, she is friends with my friend Kendra and works with my other friend Melanie. So, there you have it. My blog confession. I am a blog stalker and idea thief. Thanks, Amie for the great idea!

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, this past weekend was work weekend on the nursery. My in-laws came and graciously helped - a lot. Thank you!

We go two major things accomplished:

1. the walls are painted

2. The crown molding is UP!

I would like to send a very special Thank You out to my sweet husband who HATES to paint and hated the idea of installing crown molding more than he hates to paint. Can you imagine what he will do for this little girl when she actually gets here?! He's in a mess of trouble!

Here is the room Before

We finally had to bring a pillow in to the room for Lola. It served as a bed so that she wasn't directly in any one's way. She loved all of the excitement.

This is the room After. Stripes on one wall and lavender paint on all of the others. The wall of stripes is larger than shown in this picture (about 7 or so stripes), but I wanted you to see the stripes AND the lavender walls together.

And since the tools were already out...Freddy and his dad made me shoe shelves!

Lola's Birthday

Lola turned 3 last Tuesday. Why, yes. She does share her birthday with Britney Spears. How observant of you. While they are both blond divas, my Lola has never shaved her head, she's fixed so she will never have puppies and lose custody of them, never been rushed to the hospital...etc., etc., etc.

Landri came over to wish Lola Happy Birthday...and get the advent calendar that I bought for her. It has chocolate in it, so she was super excited!

Lola got some yummy gourmet food. It was free with the birthday cake that I bought her and I split it up over four days so that she wouldn't get sick. (the sign above her doggie bowls says, "Dogs Laugh with their Tails")


She gets a birthday cake every year!

Don't mind me. I just finished a run, so I look like doodie. But I am maintaining a healthy pregnancy. =)

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was at our house this year.

I kind of like it that way because

1. I don't have to travel

2. Everyone brings most of the food

3. I don't have to travel (did I already say that?)

In attendance this year: My sister Cathy and her husband Charlie, my sister Christy and her boyfriend Adam, my parents and Freddy's parents. Had my brother not been working, we would have had everyone there.

Christy and Adam

Cathy and Charlie

Charlie and the Brougham Sisters



The Brougham side

The Clark side

Thanksgiving day was also Christy's birthday.

You know you are a grown-up when you ask for things that belong in your kitchen!

Charlie BEGGED to drink out of our wedding mug.

Typical in every house, right? Men in the living room watching football while women are chatting it up in the kitchen.

Did you notice the sale ads on the floor? For the fifth year in a row, I braved the Black Friday crowds with my mother in law and her friend Susan. We also shop in Plano because they live in Wylie and I lived in Plano the first year we did this. Now I meet them when ever I get up.

This year I headed out my door at 5:45 am and stumbled back in it around 8:15 that night. I love Black Friday! This year seemed a little more crowded than years past, but that's what makes it fun right.

The only bummers of the day: JCPenney extended their door busters, so their computers went down for a while. BUT...to make up for the wait, they gave us an extra 15% off. Also, we didn't make it in time for the door busters. Other than that (and a little rain), it was all in all a good day.


Oops! forgot about this picture. Me with my sisters.

When checking out the baby bump, please keep in mind that these pictures were taken POST Thanksgiving lunch, so I have a baby, some turkey and a lot of mashed potatoes and green bean casserole in there.

This week my baby girl is as tall as...

...an English hothouse cucumber and weighs about 1 2/3 pounds. (Length: 14 inches, head to heel.)

This week my baby girl weighs as much as...

The average rutabaga - - about 1 1/2 pounds.

She is 13 1/2 inches long.

Without fail, this child starts moving and grooving

1. right after a meal

2. as soon as I lay down