Merry Christmas

I just love Christmas.  What a wonderful day!  A time to celebrate the birth of our Savior and a day to see pure happiness on the faces of our loved ones, especially our children.

This year we went to the 7:30 AM Mass.  It was beautiful to visit with Jesus before opening gifts and before eating breakfast.  My son volunteered to serve, so we had to get there extra early.  My husband worked the night before, so he met us at church.  Although the Mass was beautiful, I can't believe I am going to say this but, I missed the crazy crowd.  It was a bit to calm for me - I know, I must be mad.  I guess I am just used to having a livelier Christmas Mass.  Don't get me wrong, being with Jesus is always special and I love the celebration of Mass.  However, I think I prefer the hustle and bustle of the over crowded Christmas Mass with the choir and  all the new faces.

After church we went home.  Upon entering the great room I noticed a pink bakery box and a card!  My husband is the best.  When he came home to shower and change he placed my birthday cake and card on the kitchen island, so that I would see it as soon as I walked in.  I read the card, cried, and then peeked at my delicious cake.  We then headed to the tree and opened our gifts.  It was so awesome to see those happy little faces.  They were so grateful and so excited.  It was the best.  My hubby cooked us a huge breakfast while the kids played with their "toys" and I rested.  I am the luckiest woman - he's great.  He also made lunch and then everyone sang "Happy Birthday," to me and we had that yummy cake for dessert.

We spent the day just being together and then in the evening we went to a diner to pig out and then to the movies.  It was a bit out of the ordinary, but it was great.  I usually don't like to leave the house on Christmas  and I usually make a huge dinner, but I have to admit that it was VERY nice having such a casual day.  My husband really didn't want me on my feet all day slaving and so he insisted that I take it easy - being nine months pregnant, I took him up on that offer and I am glad I did :)

Christmas was a little different this year, but it was perfect and I wouldn't change a thing, not even the quiet early Mass.

Boring Xmas List

So, my husband told me that my Christmas / Birthday list is boring!  Hahahaha, could it be the nursing bras or the diaper bag?  Hello?  I am having a baby and will have the need for certain items, why not make them cute?  Okay, okay, so my list could be more exciting, but when I put a compost machine on my list last year he told me that there was no way he was buying me a garbage can for Christmas.  So, I've been brain storming and decided that I want two things: 1) a date with my husband and 2) a bedroom makeover.

The date:  I want a romantic day and night with my husband.  With the baby coming we will not be able to just spend as much uninterrupted quality time together, so I want to make sure that we do that before January.  It would be ideal to get a sitter for our kids and go to DC or Maryland for the weekend - have a nice dinner, do something fun (dancing, sightseeing, etc.) and stay at a nice hotel with a romantic suite.  The more I think about it the more I want this as my present.

And our bedroom, well, I was thinking we will be spending a lot of time in our room with the baby and we will have plenty of visitors, so why not spruce it up.  We already have a pretty room, but it's unfinished.  We've focused so much on the rest of the house, that we've neglected our room.  Now I have to get inspired.  I have black and white with a punch of color in mind, but we'll see...

I Love You, My Big Boy

It brings tears to my eyes and emotion to my chest to think of how fast the years have flown by. My first born, my first true love - I never knew what unconditional love was until the day you were born and made me a mom. May God continue to bless you and may your guardian angels help guide you. Remember this, no matter how old you get you will always be my baby. I love you.

-Mom

Happy Birthday My Love

Cake Compromise

Okay, so I chickened out. I didn't make the beautifully decorated fondant cake that I had planned to make. Instead I made a cute buttercream cake. At least I ventured out and once again decorated a cake. The important thing is that my daughter loved it and it tasted great. I will definitely post this buttercream recipe. It's bakery worthy, very delish. Here are some pics...

Let me know what you think!

Happy Birthday Sis!