Newlyweds no longer!

No, its not about Nick and Jessica, its about Christi and Adam!

If its true that being married less than 3 years makes you a newlywed, then we are officially an old married couple. =)

Happy Anniversary, HB!

It STILL bothers me!

I just can't seem to let this one go.

Last Friday I took Alyssa over to Adam's parents to have lunch with his mom, grandma, and uncle. I realized that I hadn't offered to bring anything over on Christmas Day, so I asked if there was anything that I could bring. Here's our conversation . . .

Me: Is there anything I can bring on Sunday? I should have offered sooner, but it kind of snuck up on me.
Mil: *scoffs* Christi, when are you seriously going to have time to make something with your parents coming tomorrow and you going over to your cousins'?
Me: Well, I'm making chex mix and a cheese ball to take to Mark and Janna's, maybe I'll just bring leftovers over and I do have tons of cookies and stuff to bring.
Grandma: Oh, I haven't had a cheeseball in forever, that sounds really good.
Mil: I made chex mix so don't bring that.

So, Sunday morning I get up and reform and re-crumb my cheeseball so that it looks brand new (not much of it was eaten on Saturday) and put together a plate of a majority of the cookies and treats that I had made. I took over crackers to have with the cheeseball and everything.

After we opened presents everyone was complaining about being hungry, but we kept being told we would eat in an hour to an hour and a half. Fil, Alyssa, and I were in the kitchen and I mentioned to him that I brought a cheeseball. He got really excited and said that he loved cheeseballs, so I got it out of the fridge for him, but then he said he should wait. (Fearing the wrath of mil, no doubt, for eating something that she didn't pre-approve). I thought if she wouldn't let me make anything for the meal, maybe I could at least bring something that people could snack on. And I never did see this chex mix that SUPPOSEDLY she had already made. So, I felt kind of sad that no one was going to eat my cheeseball, but I figured that maybe she forgot about it because of all the other things she had on her mind. But I certainly didn't want to bring it up because I'm kind of scared of my mil.

Then comes time for dessert and she serves her pumpkin pie and her pecan pie, but my cookies just sit on the counter sealed and unopened.

I seriously wanted to cry the entire way home. I felt like such a loser and a failure. I was making an effort to be part of the family. You don't make guests bring food, but family SHOULD bring something. If I go to my parents for a holiday I take something (or usually make something there). We went through this whole "I want us to be closer and really feel like family" thing and then I just feel like I was slapped in the face because she just ignored my effort. I wouldn't have cared if no one ate anything, at least I would have been given a chance. I guess Chris did eat one of my cookies as soon as we got there. I didn't plan on leaving the entire plate there. I actually had some cookies that I made that I didn't get to try because I took them all over to their house. But I didn't feel like I could just walk out with an untouched plate of cookies either.

And I left the cheeseball there because I took it primarily because Grandma said it sounded really good and then fil got excited about it. I hope they at least noticed that it was there.

I know its dumb. I shouldn't feel so bad about something so trivial, but its really eating at me.

New Pet?

Just because I want to see what happens . . .

High point of my day

Even better than finding out that Angie looks like Tom Hanks and Eric looks like Hillary Swank . . .

I called my parents tonight and as I was dialing Adam asked if I was ordering pizza. So, I decided to be silly and as soon as my Dad answered I said, "Yes, I'd like to place an order for delivery". He replied, "Okay, go ahead" and I placed my order for Chicken Tetrazini (sp?) (one of my favorite things my mom makes).

Smooth as can be my dad repeats back "One Chicken Annabimi".

Oh I love him even if he can't pronouse tetrazini (which I can't spell for the life of me, so maybe that makes us even)

More about Alyssa . . .

The day that I've been waiting for for one year, two months, one week, and one day has finally arrived. The day that I would pull out a toy and Alyssa's eyes would light up with joy! She has a new love in her life in the form of her Fisher Price Laugh and Learn House. Now, she hasn't actually gotten to play with it yet, because it IS a Christmas present, but she got mighty excited watching me put it together this afternoon.

Adam and I are sooooooooo bad about opening gifts from each other before a set holiday. By the time Christmas, our birthdays, Valentine's day, our anniversary, ect arrive we've already opened, used and/or broken our gifts to each other. This year is no exception. Tonight I opened the best present ~ a pair of soft, comfty, purple flip flop slippers. I had told him how I saw some at Old Navy that I loved, but they were in the kids section and I was seriously pondering seeing if I could fit into a child's size slipper. I love wearing slippers around the house, but then the top of my feet get so hot that I have to kick them off every once in awhile. So, now life is complete; I have a pair of slipper that I can wear all day every day. Until my daughter decided to PEE on my new slippers as she was getting into the bathtub tonight. Now I have soft, comfty, purple, WET flip flop slippers. But I still love them; I just have to wait for them to dry.

Inspirations from Dove and thoughts on Christmas

I bought some Dove milk chocolate with caramel chocolates at Target yesterday and today's "words of wisdom" from my wrappers were: Love is the greatest gift of all and Add some sweetness to each day.

The second quote got me thinking about Alyssa. How I do have a little bit of sweetness in each day ~ in the shape of my beautiful baby girl. Even though there are times that I don't feel like I'm doing a great job as a mom, I am so thankful each and every day that I get to be her mom. Its an absolute honor.

The first quote hit home with some thoughts I have been having lately about Christmas. My mom sent me this in an e-mail this week and it really got me thinking:

"A new verision of the Night before Christmas"

'Twas the night before Christmas
and all through the town
Not a sign of Baby Jesus
was anywhere to be found.


The people were all busy
with Christmas time chores
Like decorating, and baking,
and shopping in stores.
No one sang "Away in a manger,
no crib for a bed".
Instead, they sang of Santa
dressed-up in bright red.


Mama watched Martha Stewart,
Papa drank beer from a tap.
As hour upon hour
the presents they'd wrap

When what from the T.V.
did they suddenly hear?
'Cept an ad.. which told
of a big sale at Sears.

So away to the mall
they all flew like a flash...
Buying things on credit...
and others with cash!

And, as they made their way home
>From their trip to the mall,
Did they think about Jesus?
Oh, no... not at all.

Their lives were so busy
with their Christmas time things
No time to remember
Christ Jesus, the King.

There were presents to wrap
and cookies to bake.
How could they stop and remember
who died for their sake?

To pray to the Savior...
they had no time to stop.
Because they needed more time
to "Shop til they dropped!"


On Wal-mart! On K-mart!
On Target! On Penney's!
On Hallmark! On Zales!
A quick lunch at Denny's

>From the big stores downtown
to the stores at the mall
They would dash away, dash away,
and visit them all!

And up on the roof,
there arose such a clatter
As grandpa hung icicle lights
up on his brand new step ladder.

He hung lights that would flash.
He hung lights that would twirl.
Yet, he never once prayed to Jesus...
Light of the World.

Christ's eyes... how they twinkle!
Christ's Spirit... how merry!
Christ's love... how enormous!
All our burdens... He'll carry!

So instead of being busy,
overworked, and uptight
Let's put Christ back in
Christmas and enjoy
some good nights!

I worry about how I'm going to explain the true meaning of Christmas to Alyssa. How in this day and age where I get so stressed out about finding the perfect gifts and baking the perfect cookies and scheduling where we are going to be when and who we'll see, how am I going to explain to her that none of that really matters? Its a day to celebrate this amazingly important birthday. A day to celebrate family. To me the gift giving is a way to show our friends and family how much we love them and appreciate them and to make them feel special. The whole season gets so busy and stressful and I wouldn't wish that upon anyone, yet, everyone I know I gets stressed about it. My mom stresses about making sure that she spends the same amount of money on each child and grandchild. That everyone has the same number of gifts to open. That she gets things that everyone will want and need. So much of the joy of gift giving is overshadowed by the feeling of dread of going to the mall AGAIN to find a parking spot AGAIN and to stand in the checkout line AGAIN.

My mom and I were talking about going to church last week and even that is a huge deal. The reason for the whole day in a way turns into a big stesser. Planning what time we're going to go based on what time we're supposed to be at Mark and Janna's for Christmas. Planning who we're going with. What church we're going to. It all just builds and builds.

So when I think about it from this stand point it seems like the most horrible time of year. People are cranky and moody and stressed and losing sleep worrying about finding the perfect toy for their child or how they are going to pay their credit card bill come January or if they got their Christmas cards mailed early enough.

Its supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year and its still my favorite time of year. When I think back on holidays past I don't remember the stress and the arguing and the lines and the money spent. I remember spending time with family, playing games, eating until you think your pants are going to bust open, standing between my mom and dad, holding a candle, and singing "Silent Night" at the 11 PM church service. The wonder and magic of the day. I hope that I can pass that on to Alyssa. That she can understand the true joy of the day and not get caught up in all the commercialism and stress.

That, my baby girl, is my wish for you today and always. Its all about the love and the magic. :)

I really feel like we're bonding

First we both painted our toenails. Now its 3:01 AM and we're both wide awake. So we shared some leftover cold pizza, some apple juice, and now I'm blogging and she's running around like a chicken with her head cut off. Are you scared now, Angie? ;)

I've been up since about 12:30 ~ just wasn't tired. Alyssa woke up a little before 1. I tried rocking her for a bit and putting her down several times, but she would play for about 10 minutes and then start crying/fussing again. And she's all stuffy and hoarse from her cold, so she sounds just miserable when she "tries" to cry, so I just can't let her go on very long. But then I started thinking, "here I am, awake and not tired and I'm playing on the computer and reading, why should she HAVE to go to sleep just because I say so if she's not tired?". So, thus we're both up and going. I would have a totally different opinion if I was tired and wanting to sleep and she was awake, though, I'm sure.

But I kind of hope she decides to crash soon. I'm still not tired, but the idea of my nice warm bed sounds awfully nice.

Its good to have a daughter

'cuz you can't really do matching pedicures with a son. :)

How well do YOU know Christi?

Okay, so Angie started this "how well do you know _______" quiz that has passed through most of the Julio's gang today. I guess I made my quiz really hard because no one did very well, so I decided to do a blog post of just random little facts about me . . . in case you want to know or you are every on Jeopardy and there's a "Christi" catagory! Enjoy. :)

Most significant days in my life:

May 3^rd, 2002 ~ My Grandpa Nelsen passed away

December 28^th, 2002 ~ I married Adam

February 15^th, 2003 ~ Julia asked me to be her Matron of Honor (I was hoping that I might get to be part of the wedding party, but was trying not to get my hopes up )

March 22, 2004 ~ I saw Bare Naked Ladies live with Julia; hopefully the first of many times!

October 12^th, 2004 ~ My destiny arrived at 4:52 PM and we named her Alyssa Marie

When I was in college I was in a sorority, which many of you know . . . but many of you don’t know that my Sophomore year I was VP of that sorority and Junior year I was President. I hated that group and drove it into the ground, killed it good, then ran away. Mwahahahahaha. I really didn’t mean to kill it off, it just happened that it was really hurting when I became president and I didn’t have what it took to “save” it.

My first car was a 1980 Buick Century that belonged to my Grandma Carlson. We called it my 4 door French Fry because it was a lovely golden yellow/mustard color. I hated that car ~ it would just randomly stop running whenever it got tired, so I was scared to death of it. My next car was a 1990 Dodge Aries K car. Most memorable thing about that car was the “strawberry air-conditioner” that Sarah O was in love with. I traded that car in for a 1998 Pontiac Grand Am my sophomore year of college. Ahhh, Muffy, you were a good car and I miss you! In May of this year I became the proud co-owner of, Gwen, a 2005 Ford Escape that is my first “brand new” car.

Continents I would like to visit in order of preference:

1. Australia

2. Europe (okay, I’ve already been there, but I would love to go to Rome, Paris, and London)

3. Antarctica (as long as I could be warm and have a good tour guide!)

4. Asia

5. Africa

6. South America

If I could be on any reality show it would be “The Biggest Loser”. If I were younger and thinner, I think it would be fun to be on “The Real World”.

5 Places in the US that I want to visit:

1. Las Vegas
2. Raleigh, NC
3. Magic Mountain Vacation Resorts in TN
4. New York City
5. Mount Rushmore

My 4 Greatest Fears:

1. Free falling

2. Snakes/Spiders/Creepy Crawly things in general

3. Losing members of my immediate family

4. Never getting close to my goal weight

My favorite color is blue.

When I was little I wanted to be a babysitter, a taxi driver (where I got this from when I grew up in town without taxis I don’t know, but I remember telling my mom that’s what I wanted to be when I grew up), or a teacher.

3 Greatest Regrets in my life:

1. Not completing my education degree and switching to business instead.

2. The way I handled the Sarah/Adam situation.

3. Bailing on Jen and Jason’s wedding and letting Jen’s friendship drift away.

If someone were to ask me what the dumbest thing I’ve ever done in my life . . .

Driving to Colorado with a guy that I had only known 3 weeks (he was a friend, not as in a boyfriend type guy) and back in about 20 hours in college. We drove to Woodland Park after rehearsal one night, had breakfast with my brother, sister-in-law, and niece, and drove back in time for rehearsal that night. Should have been a 9-10 hour drive both ways.

I have “owned” 4 dogs in my life:

1. Buscuit . . . my first dog, he was a “Heinz 57” and just absolutely crazy

2. Freckles ~ my first Pomeranian. The love of my life for 10 years.

3. Lexi ~ really Adam’s golden retriever, but I claim her as mine . . . sometimes.

4. Jocelyn Pooh Bear aka Joey ~ my second Pomeranian. My little bundle of loves and fuzz therapy.

I have also been the proud mother to several fish and gerbils. I had a beta fish during college named Xavier that would rock out to the Beach Boys “Barbara Ann” whenever I played it.

If/when I ever get a tattoo it would be on my lower back in the shape of a very small butterfly. The butterfly story is a story for another day.

I went skinny dipping in hot springs in Lake Tahoe a few years ago with Adam, Amber, and Randy and a few other strangers. I never thought I would be one to get nekkid in front of anyone but Adam, but it was one of the most fun and sensual experiences of my life. I would do it again in a heartbeat ~ and would encourage anyone else to try it!

Mommy Mush

I'm such a pushover. I would rather watch Alyssa spent 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get at something she's not supposed to get than tell her "no" or "relocate and distract" her. I.E. We keep all of her medicines in a zippered makeup bag. She has recently figured out how to unzip it (slowly but surely). So now, I'm sitting her blogging with her next to me on the floor. She has unzipped the bag about 3 inches and she's trying to figure out how to reach in and pull everything out through that teeny tiny zipper opening. The look of pure concentration on her face is just priceless! I know I'm teaching/letting her learn bad habits, but I'm just in awe of her. And she's so stinkin' cute!

And she's off! Mission: Empty out the drugs onto the floor completed ~ gotta find something else to get into . . . with gas drops in one hand and tylenol in the other she toddles out of the room.

Goodness I love this kid!

I think we might be white trash

You might be white trash if . . . your husband sneaks the rest of his margarita out of a restaurant in the children's drink cup.

Wait, do white trash people drink margaritas?

Baking Fool!

Sunday Julia and I went over to Adam's friend Sarah's house to do a little Christmas baking . . .


Okay, maybe a LOT of baking. I think we made at least a dozen different kinds of cookies, bars, and candy. We all had a great time being silly and just hanging out and baking. But I'm kind of sad that I didn't do sugar cookies this year. They are so much work, but it makes me feel like Christmas isn't quite complete without a frosted sugar cookie with sprinkles all over it. I still have 10 days left, though!

Then Monday I made Adam some of his coveted buckeyes.

Today I'm in the process of making banana bread.

Thankfully most of the stuff is going straight into the freezer and then we're giving it away at Christmas.

Ahhh . . . lunch!

I just had the most amazing, borderline orgasmic lunch I think I've ever had in my life. If I didn't know better, I would swear that I was pregnant . . . I have never, ever enjoyed a pickle so much in my entire life. I made this awesome tuna salad (got the recipe from someone on my October Moms board ~ thank you!) and put it on the yummy in the tummy rolls that I got from the store last weekend. And that PICKLE! I also made chicken noodle soup, which is always good, but did I mention the PICKLE!?

I think I need a cigarette and a nap . . . it was THAT good.

Rough Night . . .

and it wasn't Alyssa's fault! She slept through the night like a champ, it was Adam and I who were to blame.

First of all I was dreaming that Alyssa was standing at the top of our steps, fell, and started tumbling end over end so I woke Adam and I both up as I jolted and gasped loudly. Its been a fear of mine lately as she's gotten VERY brave when standing at the top of the steps that she'll decide she's big enough to tackle the steps in the "grown up" way and she'll fall.

Second of all I was rudely awoken when Adam punched me in the shoulder. He was dreaming that he was beating up his little brother, so I got to "stand in" for Chris. Great! Although I have to say I would rather be woken up by Adam hitting me than by him starting to scream/yell in his sleep. There's something less scare about being punched than all of the sudden having someone scream in your ear.

Can't we all just get along and have a peaceful night's sleep?! Maybe tonight . . . stay tuned.

Parent Advice #713

If putting a child down for a nap, double check to make sure there is not a four legged creature hiding under the bed. Once child realizes that her favorite "toy" in the world is in her room, said child will NOT want to settle down and take a nap. She will want to Paaarrrrtaaaaayyyy!

The things we pass on to our children . . .

I think Alyssa is on the road to inheriting my eating disorder. She's going through a phase where she thinks its REALLY funny to gag herself. Most of the time she'll just stick her fingers in her mouth and make the "blech" noise because she gets an immediate reaction from me, but occasionally she goes too far and actually gags herself. Usually she only does it when she's in her high chair, but last night she started doing it while Adam was holding her. I just put her down for a nap about 10 minutes ago and I keep hearing "blech!" "blech!" "blech!" coming from her crib. Makes me want to throw up just thinking about her gagging herself, but it is somewhat funny since she's not ACTUALLY getting sick. Just making the motion and the noise.

Mommyhood 101: I never thought I would miss . . .

marathon breastfeeding sessions! Tonight I was sitting on the couch in the living room with the only light being the lights on the Christmas tree. I love sitting the dark with just the tree on; it makes any room seem a little bit magical. But tonight, I started tearing up because I thought of last year at this time. I thought of the hour to hour and a half that I would sit curled up on the couch, watching "Full House" reruns on Nick at Night by the light of Christmas tree, feeding my sweet little baby girl when everyone else slept on. Or the nights when she wouldn't sleep on her own and we would curl up on the couch with the tree lights on in the background and sleep together. I would fall asleep with my cheek against that fuzzy little head and the soft glow of twinkling lights sprinkling over us. God, I miss that.

I need TiVo!

My life depends on it! I have become way to addicted to TV!

Exhibit A: Tonight a friend of mine from college called that I hadn't talked to in months. I actually had a hard time deciding whether to continue watching "Extreme Makeover: Home Addition" or talk to her. What is wrong with me?!

Exhibit B: Alyssa has always had bad sleep habits because I would nurse/rock/hold her to sleep. I would start putting her to sleep around 8, but I didn't want her to wake up halfway through my show that was on from 8-9, so I would hold her until 9 so that she wouldn't wake up. Bad mommy!

Exhibit C: I will forgo a nap even though I'm cranky as a toddler just so I can watch "Ellen" in the afternoon. I'm too darn lazy to find a tape and program the VCR.

I think TiVo would solve a lot of my problems, so if anyone wants to drop hints to the inlaws on what would be the PERFECT gift for Adam and I (much better than that damn grill or the chest of doom) let me know and I'll pass on contact information. ;)

Is there anything more beautiful . . .

than a big beaming sunshine-y smile from your 1 year old after she lets loose with a big ole fart that would put her daddy to shame? (But he would proudly proclaim, "That's my girl!")

BNL

Jen from my October Mommy board saw BNL in concert last night and I'm hopelessly jealous. I was so excited to be able to attend them in concert with my Julai in March of 04 (Alyssa's first concert!). We had such a great time and I still get pitter patters in my stomach when I think of the opening cords of hearing "Maybe Katie" live. Ahhhhh . . . alas, on this tour they aren't coming anywhere close to us. They are going to be in the St. Paul, MN area, which is only about 6 hours away. Maybe I could offer to apartment sit for Tracy and Jeff while they are in Ethiopia getting Shahara (I don't think I spelled that right, but I don't think they are spelling it right either. I think it should be spelled Shara, but that's just me). BTW congrats to them on getting their baby girl before Christmas, which was totally unexpected! Anyway . . . BNL is going to be in Tampa over New Years. I would like to go to Tampa for New Years. I wonder if I could get Adam on board? (Me thinks the answer would be no) Maybe Julai will go with me. Maybe Angie and I could take our mega-huge New Years Eve food party to Tampa.

Speaking of Angie and food . . . memo to myself to never ever go food shopping with a pregnant friend again. She's craving (and buying) all this yummy sounding food and I'm just drooling. Actually, I think I gained about two inches on my hips just watching her put some of that stuff in the cart.

And one last comment about BNL ~ I've been spelling naked as nekkid too much. FYI, www.barenekkidladies.com does NOT take you to a BNL website. Thank goodness that isn't a real site because I kind of hate to think about what you would find on a site like that.

Oh the places I've been . . .

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.