My humbled thanks...

The Hubs and I went to the Goodwill last week to buy some tacky Christmas clothes for our annual tacky sweater party. While I was there I couldn't help but notice all the people doing their regular shopping- especially the kids who were picking out toys, clothes, & winter jackets... It was very humbling!
After we left & were in the car, I looked at my husband, squeezed his hand real tight & told him how thankful I was for the life we have been blessed with!
Ever since then & with Thanksgiving coming up, I have thought a lot about the things in my life that I am thankful for...

1. I am so thankful that my husband, baby, and I are togethet & healthy!

2. Thank the Lord my sweet baby girl is growing & thriving every day! I love her so much & feel so blessed to get to be her mommy!

3. Not a day goes by that I don't feel so thankful to be married to such an amazing man! When I think he just can't get any sweeter, he does! I am so thankful that we found eachother... and that he puts up with my sassy attitude!

4. I am thankful to be able to be a stay-at-home mom! I don't thank my husband enough for allowing me to have this gift & providing such a secure life for me & baby!

5. Thank goodness my grueling pregnancy is OVER!! No more throwing up everyday, no more being in the hospital on bedrest, no more hospital food, needles, or bedpans and I can even see my "va-jay-jay" again! (I sure missed you gurl! )

6. I am thankful to have such honest & caring friends! I feel so blessed to have longtime friends like Jana, Elicia & Crystal who have been there for me through my ups & downs over the years & who I know I can go to for anything.
I am thankful for my new growing friendships with Beth & Stephanie. Over the past couple years they have shown me what caring & thoughtful people they are.
I am also thankful to have MY Rhiannon back in my life and that we get to share our lives & babies together!

7. I am thankful to have such a wonderful family to spend the Holidays with! With my side of the family living so far away, we don't get to see eachother that much so it's nice to always have a place to go for the holidays and feel so welcome!

8. Thank God I don't have psycho in-laws! LOL! The "Weber" side of the family is actually more relaxing to be around than my loud & looney family! ;)... & I have the nicest Mother-in-law in the world! I've heard horror stories of MILs gone crazy so I really lucked out with mine!

9. I am thankful for my iPhone!! & my DVR!! (I love you guys!)

10. I am thankful that I get to put out all my Christmas decorations this weekend & I have a roof over my head to put them in!

I know there is SO much more I could write about that I am thankful for but I'll leave it at these 10 for now!
What are you all thankful for this year!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My 2nd favorite day of the year...

It's almost that time of year again!!!... We are just a few days away from one of my favorite days of the year... The day after Thanksgiving (aka BLACK FRIDAY)!!

I LOOOOOVE BLACK FRIDAY!!!!! Its the only day I am more than happy to wake up at 3:00-4:00am to fight big crowds, long lines, & deal with no customer service... WHAT A FUN DAY!!!

For the first time ever, this year I will be venturing out into the unknown all by lonesome!!! Since we have a little preemie princess baby that cannot do big crowds of craziness, the Hubs has volunteered to stay with her while I celebrate my 2nd favorite day of the year (my 1st favorite is Christmas! ;)... which means I will be UNSUPERVISED!!! {Oh Lordy- watch out!!}

For those that do not know me very well, I have a bit of a shopping problem!... Okay, a BIG shopping problem!!!... bottle that up with a good sale = absolutely no self control!! {Don't worry though- no credit cards allowed in our house!} :)

I do, however, always have a "hit list" of items I am on the hunt for each year {meaning: I will elbow a girl in the face if she gets in my way} ;)

These are the main things on my list this merry little shopping day...

1. Steam Mop-I've got my eye on a couple different ones, but one thing's for sure is I HAVE TO HAVE ONE!... The thought of my sweet girl crawling around on the floor has me obsessed with getting my floors & carpets as clean as possible & without the use of harsh or smelly chemicals! I stumbled upon steam mops when I was searching for a Steam Carpet cleaner... and I hate the sticky residue my Swifer Wet Jet leaves... my floors never really seem clean unless I get down on my hands & knees and scrub!... The steam mops just use water & heats the steam to over 200 degrees to kill 99.9% of germs!

These are the two I'm considering... The Haan or a Bissell... (If anyone out there has one or has an opinion, please let me know!)

2. Steam Carpet Cleaner- My friend has this one & LOVES it!... and the regular price is only $80 so if it's on sale on Friday I'll be doing the happy chicken dance all the way to the cash register! :)

And of course I can't forget my sweet little girl's first Christmas!... These are on my shopping list on Friday too for her Christmas presents...

3. This pink activity center

4. Fisher-Price Learning Purse (every girl needs a purse that talks & sings right!?)

5. Fisher-Price Say Please Tea set


{I think I'll have just as much fun with the last 2 things as she will!!} ;)

I'll be sure to let you guys know how successful my day was! Oh, and if you see me coming GET OUT THE WAY! >=[ ... Heehee LOL :) j/k

But I'M not ready...

So my little girl turned 4months old this week!! My, my time is just flying by! She is getting SO big!!!... I know the time is here that we need to move my sweet little baby girl out of the bassinet she sleeps in inside our bedroom and move her into her crib down the hall...



I didn't expect how hard this was going to be for me!?... I always thought that around the 3 month mark was when we would start transitioning her into her own room, then 3 months came and went and I just couldn't do it... I wouldn't even humor my husband with a discussion about it... I just said I'm not ready and my sweet husband politely dropped it....



Since I'm mainly the one getting up with her at night, it's just easier for her to be within an arm's reach away... but aside from the convenience of it, I just love having my little girl so close!... I love that I can just roll over and touch her and that I can hear her breathing in the middle of the night... but most of all I love it when my husband leaves for work and moves her into the bed with me. Her & I will usually stay in bed til 9:00-10:00 and for those 2 hours we are together are some of my favorite moments of our day... just nursing & napping together... I love it that every time when she wakes me up from our early morning nap, I just look over and she is smiling at me with the biggest, tooth-less grin!... She is SO happy in the mornings! We'll lay there together in the bed for a few minutes just talking & giggling before we start our day.



But now the topic is being raised again because she is getting too big to sleep in her bassinet now... if we waited until she could no longer fit in her bassinet, then I have probably a few more weeks, but in all honesty I know it's not going to be any easier the longer we wait... I've been joking with my husband that we should just move her crib in our room! ;)

... But I guess I'm going to suck it up and be a big girl... to her crib she will go!... I'll let you all know how that works out for me & her ;)

Prematurity Awareness Day

Today is Prematurity Awareness Day. All day I have been reminiscing & looking at pictures from when my sweet little baby girl was born.




Anniston was born 6 weeks premature and only weighed 4lbs 15oz! She was born just shy of 34 weeks & had to stay in the NICU for 12 days. Looking back now, those 12 days while she was in the NICU were some of the most emotional & grueling times in my life.

In honor on Prematurity Awareness Day, the March of Dimes has asked bloggers to share their story... so here is mine about the emotional roller coaster a parent can go through when their sweet baby is born entirely too soon...




When you give birth to a little baby, you are filled with so many emotions... happiness, joy, excitement... but when you have just given birth to a premature baby, your happiness is a little clouded with worry, concern, and SO many questions {Will my baby be okay? Is this a life-threatening issue? Will there be any side effects as a result of being born early? How do I care for a preemie when I barely know how to care for a healthy baby?}





Being pregnant, you create this life inside of you & carry it around everyday for months... you and your baby grow together with every kick, every trip to the bathroom, and every hiccup... that baby IS a part of you... then the day comes that you have dreamed about for so long. You FINALLY get to meet that little person you helped create & spent hours in labor trying to bring into this world... and then, like a flash, you get a quick glimpse of her and then she's taken away... to the NICU... and your left feeling so empty and uncertain...





I remember my first trip to visit her in the NICU after she was born... it was HOURS after delivery, I was tired & in pain... I turned the corner to see my sweet baby girl and she was covered in wires, monitoring devices, & an IV. She had a bandage on her foot from where they drew blood. There was tape-residue on her sweet little face because she riped off her feeding tube... it was a sight the entire time being pregnant that I did not picture for my sweet baby... it is a sight you don't wish any parent to see...





The days following are still so vivid... I remember being released from the hospital and having to leave her there while I went home empty-handed. My sister-in-law came to pick me up & I cried basically the whole way home & until my husband got home from work... I remember being in so much pain the days to follow because I refused to take my pain medicine so I could drive to the hospital to be with my little girl... I was there every day... most days I spent just sitting in front of her incubator while she slept just staring at her and crying...





I remember the feeling when out of no where, the alarms on her heart monitor would go off & in seconds being surrounded by nurses and all I could do was stand there completely helpless just praying "Please God! Please get her heart rate back up!"... I will probably never forget the sound of those alarms...





I remember the first time getting to hold her... I was filled with so many emotions that my hands were trembling & being so scared because she was so tiny! I remember how painful it was for me to hold her because I was still not healed after delivery & being on bed rest for so long but I was determined to hold her as long as they would let me no matter how bad I was hurting...





I will always remember that feeling of NOT being able to hold her too!! Having to be at home while she had to stay in the NICU was like being in my own prison... I remember spending a lot of time at home sitting in her nursery in the rocking chair, listening to a lullaby CD, & looking at her pictures on my phone... I remember how it felt the times that I WAS allowed to hold her in the NICU... that feeling of being watched while trying to bond with your new baby... I couldn't wait to bring her home just so I could finally cuddle my sweet little baby girl without someone looking over my shoulder... That's probably why I spend most of my days now holding her, hugging her, kissing her, & smelling her because I know that feeling of not getting to do those things...



I know all these bittersweet memories I have of Anniston in the beginning weeks of her life are things that I will always remember and feelings I do not wish a parent ever to experience... We are so blessed that our sweet little preemie will be 4months old this week & doing well but the sad truth is that 1 in 8 babies born in the U.S. are born premature and that premature birth is the #1 killer of newborns. Please donate to the March of Dimes (http://www.marchofdimes.com/) to help them improve the health of babies who are born to soon so that a parent never has to have these feelings again...

Anniston's first playdate...

Last week my friend Rhiannon came over & brought her cute little guy, Ethan. He was born a couple weeks before my little lady so of course we had to get them together for a play date!

{This was actually the 2nd time Rhiannon has brought Ethan over to our house to meet Anniston but the first time they were both so little they were completely unaware of each other's presence & didn't interact at all}

Here's a few pictures from their visit...

This one is my favorite because Anniston was trying to hold his hand! LOL ;)

The rest of the time she just kinda leaned & snuggled up next to him! HeHe ;)


They don't know it yet, but they're gonna get married one day! ;) LOL...

Oh how I love Christmas Village...

So Friday night me & the girls went to Christmas Village... Oh how I love Christmas Village!!! Six buildings chock full of shopping, food & Christmas decorations!!!... All my favorite things! (For those that have no idea what I'm talking about check out http://www.christmasvillage.org/) Anyhoo... I look forward to this every year! In the past, I've always gone to the "Sneak-a-Peek" night on Thursday, then went back for more shopping on the weekend, but since I'm a SAHM (Stay-at-home-mom), I couldn't justify paying $30 for a "Sneak-a-Peek" ticket so the girls and I went on Friday night, which was the first night it was open to the public...

We had SO much fun!! It wasn't as packed as I was expecting, but it was still crowded!... This year I decided to be really festive & wore my "Merry Christmas crown"... (and of course I couldn't go with out my canvas Christmas Village shopping bags! LOL :)

My crown really came in handy when me & the girls got separated from each other... I was real easy to spot! LOL :) ... My friend Beth said my crown was a big hit & a lot of people I passed would say something about it being cute, but I think they were probably saying something more like "Look at that goofball in the stupid crown!" :) Haha


Every year, I have a few items on my shopping list that I try to find there. This year, my main goal was to find my Sweet Baby Girl an outfit to wear on Christmas day when we open presents... and by golly I found it!!! ...




Isn't it the CUTEST!!!! I am SO excited! {If you can't tell I am just obsessed with the Holidays!!}...




When I got home, I couldn't wait to see what it would look like on her...






The bow is as big as her head!!! PERFECT!! LOL ;)... just what I wanted- for her to look like a big Christmas present! :)





I also have to mention the coolest thing of the night... the booth I bought this outfit at, they lady checked me out all by using an app on her iPhone {P.S.- I am an iPhone user, and like all of us that have one know it is an OBSESSION! and were are all app crazy!} Anyhoo... while most of the other booths had to use the old-timey credit card swiper that takes an imprint on a carbon piece of paper you have to sign... this high-tech iPhone user had an app where all she had to do was enter my credit card number in her phone then I signed my receipt right on her screen!... just like those computer screens at Target! So cool!!! Me & Beth almost bought something else just to try it again!!! :)



And the most troubling part of the night... we spotted 2 different women with the dreaded "Kate Gosselin" haircut!!! {Eeeek!!} Please, I hope this is one trend that doesn't catch on!!

Romance defined...

Isn't it funny once you've been married for a while, you begin to get a new definition of romance?!...

This weekend my husband did something that just made my heart flutter you would have thought he surprised me with a bouquet of flowers & chocolates!

I had been dropping hints for over a year that we needed to clean out the kitchen light fixture. It's one of those long plastic fluorescent units that has been collecting a pile of dead bugs inside since we've lived here! You could actually see a black line from the outside that was the collection of bug carcasses! {so gross-I know!}

So on Saturday when I got home from running errands, hubs looked over at me with the biggest grin on his face...

Hubs- "Guess what I did while you were gone?"...
Me- "What???"
Hubs- "Just guess..."
Me- {my eyes immediately focus in on the kitchen light} "OMG! Did you clean the light out?!?!?"
Hubs- "YUP!!!" ;)

If we wouldn't have had company over at that moment, I would have gave him a BIG KISS on the lips!! It was really hard to contain how excited I was when he told me! ... And ever since then, I can't tell you how many times I've looked over to the kitchen and smiled & said to the Hubs, "I can't believe you cleaned out the light! Look how bright it is in there!" :)

Guess he's still sucking up from that whole "Dish Scrubber" incident! ;)