Christmas with the Pinos

 This being our first Christmas in our new home, I wanted to make sure to decorate it as much as I could.

Being five months pregnant, it took me a good three days maybe even a week to finish it all.

You'll see a lot of empty wall space because I haven't figured out what needs to go there. We moved in only a few months ago so I'm still feeling it all out.

Be prepared for picture overload, so I'll keep the text to a minimum.

By the way, I really need to learn how to use my camera. Good grief!

Enjoy!

THE FRONT

I just wanted white lights this year. I think they look so clean, bright and pretty. Kevin did a great job of hanging them straight. Straight Christmas lights are a must for me. Ha!

 

If you look closely, you'll see Homer Simpson in our window on the left. Kevin insisted. ;)

The gorgeous wreath my MIL made us. The woman can make some wreaths!

ENTRYWAY / FORMAL DINING ROOM

This is the first room you walk into when entering our house. It's our formal room. I went with red and golds in here.

Dining table.

My Nutcracker collection.

I love this tree and the way it turned out!

 

 KITCHEN

I added garland above our cabinets. I hope to add more stuff next year, but I thought this was a good filler for now. It looks so bare up there without anything!

FAMILY ROOM

I have this weird thing where I feel like my Christmas decorations should match my regular home decor. Since this room is in greens, blues, reds, etc. I figured silver/whites would go well with it all.

I'm really pleased with the way this tree turned out, too. It's probably eight years old, and the original lights are about to go out any day now, but she's still standing!

Some of my favorite ornaments.
Hobby Lobby was a lifesaver! This is the first time we've had two trees so all the silver ornaments and decor in this room are new. 

Decorations on our white console table.

The fireplace.

There should be a matching white bookcase on the right of the fireplace, but it's been backordered for days weeks, and it drives this OCD-er crazy!

I am fully aware that next year we will have a crawling eight month old and a lot of these decorations won't even be out for display, so I wanted to take advantage of a kid-free zone this year while I still had a chance.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a great Christmas with your loved ones!

Baby Pino: 24 Weeks

How far along: 24 weeks. Does this mean I'm six months pregnant? The whole weeks into months thing confuses me.

Weight gain/loss: Gained eight-and-a-half pounds.

Size of Preslie: Nearly one-and-half pounds; almost a foot long; the size of an ear of corn.

Movement: Lots of movement. I haven't felt hiccups, but the doctor said today that some women don't feel them at all. Eased my mind a bit because I started worrying there was something wrong with her esophagus. Ha!

Sleep: It's been good. I've been sleeping hard. Still having crazy dreams, though. Comes with the territory.

Maternity clothes: Yes, yes and yes. It's getting more difficult to find outfits (that are comfortable) to wear to work.

Symptoms: My hips are aching A LOT. Today I'm in bed with a tummy ache and a horrible headache. But that's about it.

Aversions: The smell of cold leftovers. *gag*

Cravings: Nothing in particular this week.

What I miss: Being able to drink at gatherings like Christmas parties or birthdays. :(

Best moment this week: Hearing her heartbeat today and scheduling the rest of my appointments through March. It's getting close!

What I'm looking forward to: Only working four more days this week and once I return to work on January 2nd I'll only have two months more of work left until my maternity leave begins!!!

Baby Daddy: I have to give Kevin credit; he's been trying his hardest to be understanding of my sensitive moments/mood swings. I'm sure it's not easy to put up with me sometimes. I can barely put up with myself! Ha!

Thanksgiving 2012

Since Christmas is fast-approaching, I thought it only fitting to document our Thanksgiving. ;)

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year and it was great! It was so nice to be able to fit everyone into our home, comfortably. We had a total of six family members celebrate with us: my dad and mom, brother, my aunt and uncle and Kevin's dad.

The men: Brother and Kev, Kev and his dad, Dad and Brother and Brother with the turkey.

 

 

I can't leave out the pups! We had FIVE dogs here. Ugh! Cleo with her plastic chicken, Mac and Stella enjoying the fire (Hattie and Kahlua were being shy).

My dad wanted to try and fry the turkey this year. He brined it for 24 hours before he fried it. It turned out amazing! Here is the process in photos.

My uncle Martin, Kev and FIL carving the cooked turkey.

Mom and I cooked all the side dishes and I focused a lot on decorating the formal dining room. I have never had a formal dining room so I was really looking forward to using all of our stuff we got as wedding gifts and doing it up right!

I set up a little coffee-dessert station on the bar.

I love my milk glass cake stands!

We set up all the food on the window ledge (which is quite large) that you see in the background.

 Usually, during all the hustle and bustle of hosting, I forget to stop and just appreciate the moment. This time I did. While everyone was eating, I just breathed a sigh of contentment and and gratefulness to have everyone there, in our home.

It was a great meal and everyone left Happy, Thankful and Full!

I seeeeeee you!

Last month I thought it was time to get the 'ol peepers checked out since the end of the year was approaching and I wanted to use the vision insurance I pay into.

The year prior I went to a vision center inside a department store to have my eyes checked. Got a prescription and some new glasses, and I thought that was good. Slowly, I was having a harder time seeing so this next eye appointment was long overdue.

This time I decided to go to a real Ophthalmologist (meaning not one in a department store). After taking about 10 minutes checking my eyes, he was able to determine right off the bat that I have what is known as Karatoconus.

Apparently, it's a degenerative eye disease that there is no cure for, but it can be treated. He said some people end up having corneal transplants, but he doesn't see that happening for me just yet.

I will never be able to see 20/20 using glasses. So instead, he fitted me with some nifty hybrid contacts. This is the first week I've had them and they sure are taking a while to get used to. I've never had/worn contacts before and the prescription is so strong it's taking my eyeballs a while to adjust.

However, I don't remember ever seeing this well! It's amazing all the things I was missing before. Colors are brighter and images are so much more crisp. And I can also see every speck of dust in my house now (which drives me bonkers).

After all this, I'm so glad I went to see this doctor. He even said that the doctor from the year prior should've caught this. Hmmm...

Here's to seeing well again!

The end.

Some [long overdue] randomness!

I always tell myself after posting my pregnancy update that I'm going to post at least once more during that week. And then the week gets away from me and I miss it. But I'm going to this week!

~ I got my nails done and a pedicure on Saturday. I don't think I've had either in about eight months. I also remember why I don't do it often. It just takes a long time and I get antsy. It's nice to have a little holiday flair on my digits though.
 

~ I was not into our Christmas cards this year, at all. Usually, I have them planned out in my head a good month or two in advance. Not this year. I haven't even addressed them yet. I know there's still time, but I just feel behind. I'll get to it sooner or later...
 

~ Stella has been limping for the past three weeks. We thought it'd go away, but it's only getting worse. It's her right front leg but we can't tell if it's a bone or a muscle that's bothering her. Hence, our need to take her to the vet this weekend. I'm hoping it's not going to cost us an arm and a leg (no pun intended) to get her back to her normal, goofy self!
 

~I miss my Grandma Hank. I was going through my phone book to make a list of Christmas cards and I won't be able to send her one anymore. :(
 

~ We only have four Christmas presents to buy for our families! I ordered a bunch of presents a few months ago when some things I was looking at were on sale. Feels good not to have to rush around for a bunch of things on Christmas Eve (because that's usually how my Christmas shopping goes).
 

~ I have yet to have a Starbucks drink this holiday season. Sadz.

~ This may seem like I'm being a party-pooper, but I don't really want to do anything for my birthday this year. I'll be turning 30 in 17 days, so it's a big one, but I'm just not in the mood for a celebration. I don't want attention on me and the fact that I won't be able to enjoy some champagne for the big THREE OH kind of puts a damper on things (but it's still worth it!). Poor Kevin keeps trying to figure out something for me to do and I just don't really want to do much. A massage and a nice dinner will be good enough for me!

Baby Pino: 23 Weeks

How far along: 23 weeks

Weight gain/loss: Gained seven-and-a-half pounds

Size of Preslie: One whole pound; 11 1/2 inches long; the size of a grapefruit

Gender: Girl

Movement: She moves everyday and I enjoy it so much. The days where she's really quiet make me nervous. If she goes the first half of the day without me noticing her movement I'll usually drink a little caffeine or have something sweet to get her going. Tends to work and eases this mamma's mind. ;)

Thursday was the first time she kicked (or jabbed) that it actually hurt a little; but I still liked it. Ha!

Sleep: Has been good! The night sweats have eased up some, but I think a lot of that has to do with it being so cold lately. I'll take what I can get!

Maternity clothes: Yes. I'm pretty set on work pants and dresses for the rest of the pregnancy. I try to stock up on tops when I see a sale online (I'm not a fan of going to stores to shop). So far my favorite has been Gap Maternity. Great quality and I love the colors. For weekend wear or stuff around the house Old Navy and Target have been great. I also found some comfy maternity sweat pants that don't feel like they're cutting off my circulation around the mid-section.

Aversions: None I can think of. Sometimes, I'll smell something that grosses me out but I forget to write it down therefore leaving me with nothing for this update.

Cravings: Just cold stuff. It has to be very cold.

What I miss: Nothing. I have wanted to experience pregnancy for the longest time (the good, the bad and the ugly) and even if this is the only baby that God has planned for us, I'm so thankful He's blessed me with experiencing this.

Best moment this week: Getting to rest all the livelong weekend! I needed it.

What I'm looking forward to: Just making it through another week with no issues and my appointment next Monday.

Baby Daddy: I had a long, late night of work last week and when I got home Kevin had dinner going, he bought me roses (and even arranged them in a vase!) and had Christmas music playing. It was such a nice and unexpected surprise. He got major husband and daddy points for that!

Baby Pino: 22 Weeks

 How far along: 22 weeks

Weight gain/loss: Gained seven pounds

Size of baby: Just about one pound; eleven inches long; the size of a papaya.

Gender: Girl

Movement: More and more each day. She's pretty consistent with her times of movement. She moves a lot from about 6:30am-8am. A little here and there between 11am and 12pm, and her most active time is usually 8:30pm until I go to bed at night. Today she's been rather quiet but I think it's because I've been pretty busy and haven't been paying attention.

Sleep: Sleeping like the dead, lately! Sweet!

Maternity clothes: Yes

Symptoms: Snoring. Yes, I am really turning into a snorer. I'm even waking myself up sometimes!

Achy-ness. Saturday evening I was so achy and couldn't find a comfortable spot to sit or lay down in the house. I'm thinking that's just the beginning...

Aversions: Nothing really.

Cravings: Nothing really stands out this week. I did finally have some chocolate pudding last night and it was so good! Oh, I have been thinking about In-N-Out Burger a lot lately, so I think I'll need to take care of that soon.

What I miss: Nothing really.

Best moment this week: Just making it through another week. It's easy to let the "what-ifs" get the best of me, so I try not to think about the scary things that could happen with pregnancy. Just trying to keep a positive mind and outlook about things.

What I'm looking forward to: Resting up these next few weeks before Christmas gets here. The holidays are always so crazy!

Baby Daddy: Kevin isn't a fan of foot rubs. I don't blame him because I don't care for feet either, but he better start liking them because Mama's feet are achy!