Ten on Tuesday

1. Kendry has graduated to his big boy seat at the dining room table. Its not like he wasn't part of our meals before when he sat in his high chair, but something about him sitting at the table with us makes it feel more like a family meal.

And it makes me ponder when we will have another kiddo (or two or three) seated at the table with us.

2. I just found out that my very favorite Christian fiction writer, Francine Rivers, has two books in a new series out. I checked out the first one today. Talk about quality holiday reading! (If you are curious, I have included a link to the book Her Mother's Hope in my reading list to the right.)

3. Remember the sweater vest controversy from last week? Well, this week I bought the most adorable houndstooth newsboy cap for Kendry on ebay - FOR FREE, mind you. (Every once in awhile those online surveys pay off; I got a $10 credit to my paypal account. Easy peasy money, baby!) Its a wee bit big yet, but still positively precious!

I can just see it now:

Interviewer: "Mr. President, we at GQ Magazine must know where you developed your keen fashion sense."

Kendry (aka Mr. President): "Well, Bob, I owe it all to my mom."

4. I may be in my own little world but its okay - they know me here. :)

5. The Christmas baking frenzy begins in one week!

6. The mommy in me is just itchin to buy myself a Christmas sweater. Oooo, can't you just see me baking my Christmas goodies in a fun Christmas sweater?

Maybe something subtle.

Or not so subtle.

7. We may have started a new New Year's Day tradition last year when we spent a good portion of the day cleaning out and organizing our basement. Between storing items for family, accumulating more tools and supplies for painting our house, everything being displaced in the Memorial Day Flood, and the hubby recently shattering a glass carboy into a million little pieces on the basement floor (another story for another day), the basement is WAY overdue for some attention.

8. How sick is it to be excited about cleaning your basement?

9. A happy birthday shout-out to my sis, Jaimee! I love you, Jaim!

10. This Week's Blessing: Spending Monday evening as a family, simply enjoying the holiday season. We visited Justin's Grandma and set up her Christmas tree, followed by a visit to see Santa. Then we returned home and enjoyed hot cocoa at the dining room table where Kendry feasted on his very first candy cane. Moments like these are what this time of year is all about.

Bring on the Cards!

I love getting Christmas cards. I enjoy seeing which of my family and friends gets them out first. FYI: This year's winner is my girl Amanda who always finds the most adorable cards.

And I get a fun chuckle out of whomever gets theirs out last (don’t worry, I won’t mention any names - you know who you are).

Somewhere along the line I inherited this Christmas cardholder, complete with an angel at the top. Two days ago it stood empty; not so today.

(Please excuse my yucky door; new doors are on our current home improvement list.)

{On a side note, if you collect the Christmas cards throughout the season like I do, take a look at what Brittany over at Pretty Handy Girl made to display her cards. I am all over this idea for next year. Anyone want dibs on my over-the-door angel cardholder?}

Last year we did our cards at Shutterfly. Their selection is awesome!

Would you look at how little my kiddo was just one year ago?

Our photos were taken by my talented sis-in-law, who has now started her own photography business: Andrea Lopez Photography. (Andrea: If you are reading this, I want to schedule another family shoot with you sometime in the very near future.)

But I digress.

I LOVE SHUTTERFLY! Not only is it the greatest (and easiest) place to upload and share your photos with family and friends, but they have fun projects and gifts that you can make with your photos. My all-time favorite is the photo book I made for my kiddo earlier this year that includes pictures of all the members in his immediate family. Most of our family members live at least a few hours (if not 2,000 miles) away so I wanted Kendry to remember their names and faces. The best part is that this book has become one of his favorites, which makes it worth every penny.

I have also used their photo calendars as Christmas gifts the last few years. This year I am contemplating making one for myself.

Did you know you can also do invites on Shutterfly? These will come in handy for my Tacky Christmas Sweater party next year. Yes, despite the hubby's protests I am determined to host one of these parties some day.

So why all the talk about Shutterfly? I just signed up for their giveaway of 50 free holiday cards when you blog about them. Yes, I am a sellout. But free is free, baby! And I am already in love with their cards, so why not?

Here are some of my faves from their huge collection of Christmas 2010 photo cards:

Now if only I knew which photos I want to use for the card.

No pressure, but when can we expect to receive your Christmas card this year?

Santa Baby

Tonight we took Kendry to see Santa. As Kendry does not sit still for very long we weren't really sure what to expect in terms of a photo op.

We should not have been worried - Santa always knows how to get kiddos to smile.

And adults as well!

"Stop me if you've heard this one, Santa..."

"...a reindeer, a snowman and an elf walk into a bar... Wait, why are you laughing? You haven't even heard my punchline."

Run Run Rudolph

About a week ago a colleague told me about a Santa 5k run scheduled for Saturday, December 4th. Mind you, it has been two months since my half-marathon on October 2nd. Since then I have been on one 4m run and have boycotted the gym entirely. For the first month I used the excuse that my body needed the break. Now that its two months later I will be honest - I'm just being plain lazy. However, I have been getting the itch to dust off the old running shoes, so I agreed to participate.

Not even the chilly weather on Saturday morning deterred us. And by "us" I mean me. Kendry was along for the ride but I'm certain if he were able to decide for himself he would have preferred staying cozy warm at home.

Costumes were recommended, much to Kendry's disgust. Keeping the antlers on him long enough for a photo was no small feat.

The race wasn't officially timed but I was only 5 seconds off my pace from the half-marathon. And the big bonus: it got me excited about running again.

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!

"...a man after midnight!"

Oh, how I love ABBA. But thats not what this post is about today.

Nor is it about dealing with a greedy child during the holiday season; although I might recommend The Berenstain Bears book "Get the Gimmes" if you are dealing with that problem yourself.

Nope, this is about MY greed. You heard me right - I am greedy. But before you judge me, allow me to explain.

A few months ago when Justin and I decided we were ready to do another IVF cycle we agreed that in doing so we would be making the cycle itself our 5th anniversary and Christmas gift to each other. Now, when its only August, and you envision yourself pregnant by Christmas, this compromise seems perfectly logical. But as the holidays near and you start seeing the beautiful (non-maternity) winter sweaters in the store window, the awesome kitchen gadgets in the Bed, Bath & Beyond catalog, and the leopard-print Snuggies on sale at Rite-Aid - I already have one Snuggie, but I am convinced the leopard-print would make my collection complete - you start to wonder why you agreed to let your husband off the hook for buying you a Christmas (and anniversary) gift. Oh right! Its because you can't afford it after dishing out more than you care to admit for fertility treatment. (Don't get me started on the fact that it is now December and our IVF cycle has been postponed twice!)

Alas, an agreement is an agreement. And to be honest, I have no desire to track down a Christmas gift for Justin only 23 days before Christmas. The man wants for nothing - or at least he never vocalizes his wish list items - so he is impossible to shop for. A mission like that requires at least 6 months prep time, which I don't have.

So whats a girl to do in a predicament such as this? Sign up for some awesome giveaways, of course - and then blog about them to increase my entries in the giveaway!

The first giveaway is from Wonderfully Wordy and Perfectly Imperfect for some incredible vinyl lettering. Here is a peek at what Shelley can do:

This scrolled tree is my fave:

LOVE IT!

The second giveaway is from The Frosted Gardner for some adorable office organizers. And we all know how much I love to organize. How cute would this be on my desk?

And last, but definitely not least, is the $25 gift card from Dream Home DIY. I just love watching them complete project after project in their home, and I have already got my hubby brainstorming on how to build me a hutch just like theirs. I would use the gift card for Hobby Lobby, a store that everyone keeps raving about and I have yet to visit. But I have recently discovered that there are - wait for it - 2 Hobby Lobby stores about two hours from my house. I sense a road trip coming on.

You can't win if you don't enter, right? Gimme gimme gimme (please)!