Thankful Thursdays.

I am Thankful for so many things...everyday I am ever mindful of how many things I am thankful for in my life.  There is always something: a person, a word, a glance, a picture, an event, news, an article, a book, that reminds me how blessed I am in my life, and I am always grateful for those little things that keep me feeling alive and aware of how blessed I am in my life. 

I think the only thing that gets me through my work day, without Nik, is how thankful I am to see her for the couple hours I do at the end of the day and the 1/2 hour in the morning.  I try and think how blessed I am to have her in the first place-that we are surviving, with a roof over our head, and food on our table, with our faith, our family, and our health.  If I can keep those things in focus, and how grateful I am, I can get handle how desperately I miss her and want to be home with her during the day.

But, there are always those little things that I am grateful for too. Sometimes they're silly, nearly insignificant, mostly unnecessary, but none the less, things that I am thankful for in my life. That make my days a little better, a little easier, a little more meaningful, a little more enjoyable.  Thought I'd share.

Obviously, there's her..

and him...

All my family and friends....

and

Romance Christmas Novels!

This is my guilty pleasure at Christmas!  I Love these Christmas themed Romance Novels, with the multiple authors, filled with short stories of finding love at Christmas time.  I read them every year, and it always gets me in the spirit for Christmas.

My dad found my old gameboy and was letting Nikolina play with it. I confiscated it, put some new batteries in, blew on the games a little, and what do yo u know?  It still works.  And, no I am not ashamed to be walking around with this old school gameboy I had when I was 7.  I love my Super Mario Land and Tetris.

Now onto the Food.

I am thankful for...

Starbucks Mocha Frapuccinos, no whip.  These are so crazy expensive. I can't even afford to talk about them. But I have been having at least one a week for the past couple months. I can't afford to, but they are like heaven to me. I LOVE THEM.  I think it's winter that makes me want to fatten up.

And, if I'm not having them all the time, I always get the whip. I don't understand people whi don't get whip and chocolate shavings. Might as well go for broke.

At Christmastime I Like the Peppermint Mocha Frapuccinos too, though I think this is a Latte.

Haagen Dazs Chocolate Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. Just saying it aloud sounds fattening, and it is. It so is.  But it is hands down the absolute best Ice Cream Ever!  And CCC, is my favorite. My mom and I used to watch old Black and White Movies and share a pint of Haagen Dazs CCC Ice Cream. Two Spoons, Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, and my mom and I.  I think they actually put Haagen Dazs Ice Cream on a list of the 10 worst foods for you, you can eat, yep, it's that good. 

Salads. I have been loving salads lately. Eating one a day. Yes, I add cheese, and fatty dressing. But still feels and tastes good to eat them. I can't stand fat free dressing. Just no good. I have been eating spinach leaves, with craisins, roasted almond chips, Greuere Cheese, and Ranch Dressing. Fabulous.

I LOVE Subway's Turkey Sandwhiches.  The way I have always gotten them my whole life is Wheat bread, Turkey, American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, black olives, and mustard.  I can still remember walking into the store as a child, and the smell that hits you when you first walk in of fresh baked bread.  Still feel that same feeling everytime I walk in there.

Panera's Turkey Bacon Bravo. If you have a Panera near you.  Go there. Go there now. Seriously, stop reading, and grab your purse, your children, your dog, your clothes, whatever...Drive there, get in line, and order a Turkey Baco Bravo, just the way it comes.  It is the absolute most fabulous sandwhich!  To die for. Tastes so healthy and so filling, without leaving you overfilled.  FABULOUS!  Are you still here? Go!

I'm not usually a big candy person. I used to be when I was younger, twizzlers, sugared gummy worms, sour candy all that. But, then I started getting headaches, jittery, and hot flashes, if I ate it, and too much, so I stopped cold.  But lately, I have been having a wierd craving for candy.  Lifesavers, etc.  Sometimes I satisfy it, sometimes not, but it always sounds so good.  Bananna laffy taffy is my fav. Had a couple of these last month and they were yummy.

 and

                                                                                

Pink and Red Starbursts. I only like the Red and Pink. Especially the pink. Although the watermelon is really good too. I had a package of all pinks the other day.  These were always a fab growing up, along with Mambas.

AND

Don't forget about The Cold Stone Creamery Giveaway!  Last day to enter is tomorrow.  I will be using Random.Org to pick the winner, and will probably post the winner Monday.

To enter go here, GIVEAWAY!!

Pregnancy: Week 13

Pregnancy: Week 13

DATE: December 9, 2010

How far along: 13 Weeks

                                                       Total Weight Gained: Unknown
                                                              Current Weight: 122

  How big is baby? My Little Peach!  Mmm...a Peach sounds good!

Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords... savor this, their non-functional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy.

Maternity Clothes: No.

Sleep: Good.

Best Moment of the Week:
Surprise moment of the Week:

Movement:Sometimes, I think I feel little flutters, sudden movements, I'm sure it's you! (though I'm no supposed to feel anything yet!)

Food Craving:Starbucks Mocha Frapuccinos, no whip. This habit will break me, ha!

Haggeen Daaz Chocolate Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. Yummy!

Milk

Food Aversions: Soda. Caffeine.

Morning Sickness: No. Sometimes I feel a little nauseated if I don't eat enough or get dehydrated, or take my pre-natal on an empty stomach.  Usually fleeting. Sometimes, my tummy gets a little upset after eating.

Gender: Unknown

Symptoms: Puffy Belly!  Little nesting kicking in.  Want house clean!  Vacuumed/Swiffered twice in one day
What I miss: Flat Tummy, ha!  Picking Up Nikolina without hesitiation, and carrying her around on my hip.

What I'm looking forward to: Feeling the Baby Kick, usually around 20 weeks!  Decoraing the Nursery once I'm off restrictions. And, hoping that I am no longer at risk for Placenta Previa so I can go back to carrying/holding Nikolina and cleaning/preparing the Nursery.

Sing-A-Ma-Jigs.

http://www.sing-a-ma-jigs-singing-toys.com/

So, over the Summer, Nik and I were at the Toy Store, and while in line waiting to check out, Nik saw a Display of these Sing-A-Ma-Jigs, and she was reaching and pointing to see one. It was the first time I had ever seen them, and Nik was enthralled with it. It was kind of creepy and strange to me, but she LOVED it!  I let her hold it, and she wouldn't let it go. We ended up having to purchase it because she wouldn't let us leave without it.  I figured I would just confiscate it during nap, and take it back at a later date. She loved it, but it was $11 or $13 dollars, and that was way more than we could spend on this bizzare toy!

I showed it to the hubs, and he thought it was very cool but also very strange.  I wrapped it in the bag, and hid it.  She forgot. It later ended up in her closet till I could return it. The other day when I was cleaning Nik's closet and putting away clothes that didn't fit anymore (which I am happy to say is all done. The only clothes hanging in her closet now are a few dresses from when she was little that I didn't want to fold, a couple for now, and a couple dresses/coats for the future), I found it. At this point, I figured, I would just keep it, and put it in her stocking. I had no idea that these things were the HIT ITEM for Christmas!  How cool!

They remind me of Alvin and the Chimpmunks and sound like them too!  They all sound a little different.  They also harmonize when you put them together, which I though was pretty cool.  I hope Nik is excited to find it in her stocking, though I'm sure I am going to regret giving her this thing as I can still hear it now in my head months later.  It may have to mysteriously disappear and reappear from time to time just to give Mom a break, ha!

HO, HO, NO, HO!

This a picture a Nik from last year with the Santa at Macy's in Chicago. I would love to take Nik back here to see Santa. They really have a fabulous imitation of the North Pole and Santa's Magical Workshop set up within the old Marshall Fields Building. Then, you are led back by an Elf through a winding corridor to a secret room with a fireplace, stockings, a Christmas Tree, and Santa in a Big Chair. It's really fabulous!  My sister-in-law met us there last year.  You are alone with Santa, and you can take your own pictures, or purchase one as well. But, I think we waited for two hours on a Weekday, so I can't imagine the wait on a Weekend!  They should probably just make appointments.  My workplace has Santa Sittings, but you haev to make an appointment, and the Cut off was ridiculously early, like the end of October, and who's thinking about that at that time?  So, we missed it.

Also, as you can see. Nikolina is not crazy about Santa. It was her first time meeting him here. I gave her to him, and first she just looked at him (which the photographer snapped a shot of, a really adorable picture), and everything seemed alright, then all of a sudden she burst out into these tears. Obviously, we didn't torture her, and we took her back.  We felt bad making her wait all that time, and then she obviously was not comfortable.  We though about purchasing the one of her crying instead because it was kinda of indicitive of the moment, but we deicided on the one of them looking at each other, which is really sweet! 

So, this year, I was bound to let her LOVE Santa. I have been reading her books about Santa.  Putting Santas up in the House, Santa ornaments, Saanta movies. We taught her to say "Ho, Ho, Ho." And she seemed to love him. She gets excited when we read the books and wants to skip to the last page where Santa is, whenver she sees the Santa in the house, she walks past, and says "Ho, Ho, Ho."  So, a few weeks ago, I thought she was ready. Our town was having free carriage rides with Santa, and we headed over there to meet the Big Guy. We only had to wait through two families, and then we were next. Nik was very excited to see the horsee, and ride on the buggy and we talked about Santa. When our turn came, I tried to lift her up onto the carriage, and she was not having it. She started crying and wiggling away, trying to escape.  I thoought she would settle down, so we went ahead on, and we tried to introduce her to Santa, and Santa talked with her, but she was not thrilled. Another girl and her mom shared the ride with us as well, but that did not help. She eventually did calm down, but she was definently afraid of Santa, and maybe the whole thing.

I don't know what it is with Santa and children. He's so jolly, what's the deal?  Kids are always screaming. Maybe it's because he's a stranger, and you;re throwing them on his lap, I don't know. I think I may try once more this year with a local Santa, since we may not get up to Chicago again this year!  But, it's so expensive! Crazy expensive.  Maybe children have to be older to really understand, grasp, and love Santa. When I was little, my mom said, I would always cry around people with white hair, so maybe that's what it is for her too. Who knows.  She's loving the Christmas Carols at Church, so I guess that's all that matters. I hope soon, she will grom to LOVE Santa.

Anyone else's child(ren) the same way with Santa? 

This was the magical Fairy/Princess at the Restaurant in Macys. She and Nikolina became fast friends. She sprinkled Fairy Dust on her, and sang to her. It was so cute, and we had dinner around the "Traditional Marshall Fields Tree."  I would love to take her back there, now that she's a year older. I think she'd love it!

And, a pic of Nik with Daddy at my Brother and Sisiter-in-Law's house on Christmas last year.  Wish I had gotten one of the two of us, but you know how Holidays go...

Hope ya'll have a Great Weekend!

A Smile In My Heart...

Today, I have a smile in my heart.  I ran home on lunch to grab a bite, and right behind me was the Fed Ex man. He hoped out jolly as an Elf, and called out, "Lindsay, this is Your Lucky Day!"  I knew what he had for me, and he handed me the box, and ask for my signature, wished me a "Merry Christmas" and then off he went, bounding up the truck again before driving gown my street off to deliver another smile to someone.

On my doorstep was the Playtex Diaper Genie Elite II!

As, I mentioned the other day, I won a Playtex Diaper Genie at the Blogger Event in Chicago at Navy Pier.  As soon as I won, I knew immediately what I would do with the gift.  This year, I had the opportunity to participate in our town's 17th annual Festival of Trees that benefits and raises money for our local Baby Fold. I had the opportunity to meet and decorate a tree with several wonderful people for this wonderful cause. I promise to show pics soon, I've been a little behind:).  I have always wanted to donate time and whatever I could to help this organization becuase I think it's a great cause. My mother has participated in this event as well in the past, her tree even won 2nd Place one year!  I was so thankful to have this opportunity this year!  I still have not heard back on how our tree did, but hopefully, it's adorning someone's family room this Christmas!

During the Holidays, is when I feel the most joy in my heart, and I have the most urge to want to extend that joy in any way I can to those who need it. I have to stop at every Santa/Volunteer for the Salvation Army ringing a bell and donate if I have money, I can't help it or put caned goods in those bins at the Grocery Store.  Ever since I can remember, my mother always took our family to the Toy Store to pick up a toy for the Brotherhood Tree to be gifted to a little boy or girl at Christmas.  I did this last year with Nikolina, and I hope to do it ever year forward. 

I couldn't wait to drop this gift off, so I rushed over there on my lunch.  I knew immidately that this was what I wanted to do to give back.  I tried to think if there was anyone else, a nursery, a daycare, a hospital, any other orginization that could benefit more, or to offer it to all of you, but I the Baby Fold was my first thought.  I know if I were down on my luck, or needing a helping hand, that is where I would go. Driving away, I saw a large Nativity scene in the window, and I just hope that it finds it's way to a new mother and her new baby girl/boy this Christmas.

Thank you Playtex for making a new Mommy's Christmas this year, and for this generous donation!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas in Chicago.

As, I mentioned yesterday. My mother came with me to Chicago when I attended the Blogger Event at Navy Pier. We rode the train up, stopping to grab Starbucks for the ride.  I LOVE taking the Train. There is something about it that is so old world style, so nostalgic. People have been riding the train for generations, it having been a main source of transportation for many years for lots of people. There is something about trains that connects us to years and years ago, that I just don't feel with planes. Although I love any form of transportation becuase it's an Adventure from the norm. A sign of going somewhere, visiting a new place, a place unchartered.  I LOVE train stations, especially Union Station, there is so much history there.  And, I have a lot of memories of taking the train with my mother at Christmas to see the windows at Marshall Fields.  We shared a cab, dropping her off on Michigan Ave, and then myself at Navy Pier. After the event, we met up at Water Tower, then headed to the Bllomingdales building.

I LOVE Christmas in Chicago. There is nothing I love more. The hustle and bustle of shoppers, the windows aglow with gifts and Christmas decorations. Shoppers rushing with their bags full of presents for friends and family.  The chill winter air. I love it all.  Since my mother had not eaten, yes, I had to eat twice, horrible I know. We decided to eat at Bistro 110. I have never been, and it was fabulous. The Croque Monsieur is TO DIE FOR, and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it, if you ever go there. Funny enough, my mother ordered Pomme Frites, wanting American fries, and she was a little taken aback, when they actually brought the French style French Fries, known as Pomme Frites. The waitress was kind enough to take them back for the American version. Probably back in the kitchen snickering at us, ha!

I know this is my kind of place becuase they had hats hanging every where in the restaurant. How fabulous!

We had a great lunch and conversation, as I told her about the Event, among other things.  And, afterwards, we walked outside, and what was right next door....

They were bustling with comers and goers. We were going to grab some ice cream, and stepped inside. It was very busy. When we walked through the dorr, they presented us with a piece of Peppermint Bark, and after swallowing that, we decided that was good enough, and headed back outside. Outside the store, they had a Hot Chocolate stand set-up, so shoppers could simply grab a cup and move along, how adorable is that.  There was a horse and buggy walking through the area, with families, bundled up with blankets and grasping Hot Chocolate. One little girl was giggling hysterically as she passed. Ahh...I LOVE Christmas in Chicago.   So sweet.  And across the street on teh other side...

Can't beat being surrounded by chocolate at Christmas.

Also, there was also the Annual The Christmas Parade that evening, and my mother and I snuggled amongst city folk and tourists in teh freezing bitter winds of the Chicago Streets hoping to get a peak at Santa. Unfortunately, we had to head back for the last Train before we caught a glimse of the Magical Fellow.  And, the story about trying to get a Cab when EVERY Street is blocked off for the Parade, and bumper to bumper traffic is a story for another day. But we made it to teh train station in time, and enjoyed a lovely train ride home, seeing a lot of the same people we saw on the way up, having enjoyed a wonderful taste of Christmas in Chicago.

Don't forget to enter the Giveaway for the $20 Gift Card to Coldstone Creamery if you haven't already done so!  See details on Thursday's Post.  Contest ends Friday December 10th.

Pregnancy: Week 12.

Pregnancy: Week 12

DATE: December 2, 2010

 How far along: 12 Weeks

Total Weight Gained: ???, Unknown, I never weigh myself:)

Current Weight 122

How big is baby?
My little Plum!  Mmm, a plum sounds good!

As you move into the second trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of baby's systems are fully formed.

Maternity Clothes: No.

Sleep: Good.

Best Moment of the Week: Watching Nikolina see you on the Sonogram Monitor, Daddy too. 

Seeing that you were ok (the Dr. couldn't find your heartbeat on Tuesday at my pre-natal, and moving all over the place. Hearing your heartbeat-155 beats per minute. 

Surprise moment of the Week: Finding out we were 12 weeks along, not 8 weeks!!  Surprise!

And, that I may be at risk for Placenta Previa. I have a follow up Sonogram in 2 Weeks.

Movement:Sometimes, I think I feel little flutters, sudden movements, I'm sure it's you! (though I'm no supposed to feel anything yet!)

Food Craving:Starbucks Mocha Frapuccinos, no whip. This habit will break me, ha!

South Beach Bars.Yogurt. Milk

Food Aversions: None

Morning Sickness: No. Sometimes I feel a little nauseated if I don't eat enough or get dehydrated, or take my pre-natal on an empty stomach.  Usually fleeting. Sometimes, my tummy gets a little upset after eating.

Gender: Unknown

Symptoms: Puffy Belly!  Little tired sometimes.

What I miss: Flat Tummy, ha!  Picking Up Nikolina without hesitiation, and carrying her around on my hip.

What I'm looking forward to: Feeling the Baby Kick, usually around 20 weeks!  And, hoping that I am no longer at risk for Placenta Previa so I can go back to carrying/holding Nikolina.