Pregnancy Update and Holiday Happenings

Pregnancy Update!!!

So, here I am, 5 days away from my due date and very ready to give birth!  For one, I cannot wait to have my hips in working order again!  This relaxin hormone is seriously NO joke!  Every morning I have to pop my legs back into place and shuffle my way to and from where I’m trying to get too while trying to lift my leg an inch off the ground (if I’m lucky)!  But even more than all of the aches and pains that my body is going through in preparation for labor, I’m even more excited to meet my little man!  I cannot wait to look into those adorable newborn eyes and fall madly in love with this little one.  I already have such a strong connection with him and as much as the kicks and jabs hurt at times, they remind me that I have a strong and healthy boy growing inside me who is very much alert and ready to enter this world, and for that, I am so grateful!

       Hopefully the next post that you read from me will be about my birth story and I can share all of the glorious “blog appropriate” details while introducing you to my new little guy!  But for this post, since I took a couple weeks off from blogging I will update you on what happened over the holiday break. :)

Over Break:
       One of the things I love most is a good party!  I love to attend them, help set up (tearing down is a whole different ball game though ;)), and host them!  Every year my friends and I have a Christmas party and it’s always filled with laughter, good food, and loads of fantastic memories!  This year we decided to jump on the bandwagon of the ever popular “Ugly Sweater” theme and rummage the thrift stores to find the most hideous sweaters that made you wonder if there was EVER a good reason for people to actually wear the sweater in public.



Below is just a glimpse of the party.


First you need a fun photo booth with silly props.

 Then strut your stuff in an Ugly Sweater Runway Show (my friend was singing "What Does The Fox Say") and have guests choose their favorite model and sweater!

Have a wide range of team and individual games.  These are just a few of the ones we played.

 

 Snowman race!  
Each team will need:
- Toilet Paper                       - Scarf
-  Black Paper                      - Carrot
- Pair of Scissors                  - Tape
- Plastic Drinking Cup

Directions:  Divide into two or more teams and put the supplies in the middle of the room.  Each team will need to choose one person and dress them up as a snowman!  The first team to have the best looking snowman and grab the carrot wins!





Nut Stacker Game:
Each person will need:
- 5 + nuts from a hardware store
- 1 Candy Cane
Directions:  When you say "Go" each person has to lift the nut using only the end of a candy cane and stack them on top of one another.  The first person to successfully stack 5 + nuts is the winner!

Snowball Fight
What you will need:
- Two teams
- Lots of white paper
Directions:  When you say "Go" everyone runs to the center of the room where the paper is, begins to wad it into a ball and throws it at the other side.  Whoever has the least amount of paper "snowballs" at the end of the time is the winner!

Ball of Tape Game

What you will need:

- A Roll Of Clear Duct Tape (I bought some from the Dollar Tree)

- Lots of little things (i.e. candy, pennies, tiny figures)

- Dice

Before you play:  Wrap the tape around a bunch of items until it's in the shape of a huge ball.  I used an entire roll of tape for this game!

Directions:  Hand the dice and ball to one person.  You choose a couple numbers and if that person rolls that selected number then they begin unwrapping the ball as fast as they can.  The dice continues to move around the room and each person who rolls the specified number jumps up and grabs the ball of tape to get the prizes stashed inside.  

This game was a lot of fun and kept everyone occupied for quite awhile!  Most everyone was able to get a "prize" from the ball.

 Set up a Hot Chocolate Bar.  I was going to make little signs and such, but at nine months pregnant you only have so much energy to give!  So I decided to cut out the signage this time, but still managed to set up a cute and delicious set up that left everyone happy and content with a yummy chocolate fix!  I found some cute little hexagon shaped plates in the dollar section at Target and snatched them up for this and future use.  Used a couple of delicious crockpot chocolate recipes found here and here and put some fun toppings and mix ins in some mason jars.  Simple, fast, and delicious!

It was a fun time and definitely something I think we should continue doing every year!

I hope that you all enjoyed your holiday break and made the most of it surrounded by loved ones and fun memories.


Until next time!
xoxo
Lady Sunshine

Presents versus Presence

     I want you to think hard about the holidays of your childhood. What do you remember most? Do you remember baking special holiday treats with your mom or grandma? Do you remember going to see a display of Christmas lights? What about traditions that your family ALWAYS did that you loved? Now I want you to think about the gifts you received. How many can you remember? Okay fine, I definitely remember my N64 (and yes I still have it) and my Power Wheels Corvette, but aside from that, I've got nothin. Let that sink in for a minute....go ahead....I'll wait....
 
     Okay now...get it? Good. I want you to realize how stressful it is when you are running around frantically Black Friday shopping or last minute gift wrapping..or maybe about preparing for all that company. Do your kids enjoy you when you're stressed? Mine certainly don't.
   
     One last question...how often did they play with last year's expensive gifts? If your kids are anything like mine, they played with them for MAYBE a week before they were lost in the pile that is the toy box. They would get dumped out when company came over of course as you know kids are prone to doing this AWESOME thing where they check to see every single toy the other child has, but were they worth it? Not really.

     What has this holiday become? It used to be about so much more than retail, but I don't want to get preachy. I could rant all day about how materialistic we are now and how insane it is to trample people in a sale to get junk that will likely not even really be appreciated, but I won't.

     So what do we do to make sure our kids have something more worthwhile... I know there was a blog earlier about community service and that was a GREAT idea, but aside from that...do a holiday craft, even if it comes out sloppy. Bake some Christmas tree brownies together. Take them to see a light show. Start some traditions and make them memorable! (you can still do a lot of shopping if you have a preteen who loves to shop with you! :P)

     Here's what I did with my kids today...we made ornaments out of foam balls and sequins. They LOVED IT.

Yesterday, they helped me put together my Christmas village. (my grandmother had me help with hers every year and it was my favorite so I started my own) There's a brilliant local light display that I've been to every December since I was 10, and I'll be taking them to that. If I'm being honest I don't like holidays, but only because of what they have BECOME. Let's create traditions and memories with our kids that will make these holidays meaningful..otherwise, what's the point? :)

-Lady Luck