It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas....

at least at my house!!! Yep! I have all of my Christmas decorations up! Well, the inside ones! I am actually sitting in my new loveseat (tell you that one in a minute) and looking at my Christmas tree and listening to Christmas music while my dinner is cooking. Do I sound like Martha Stewart or what? LOL I know that many of you think I am CRAzY for having my decorations up already...but I have been putting them up on Veteran's Day for the past several years. My excuse has always been that I had that day off work, so it was a good time to do it since we go away for Thanksgiving....I couldn't really use that excuse this year....but I still put them up on Veteran's Day!!! I love all my decorations! For some reason, I feel like I am missing some...but I can't think of what they are...and I don't know where they would be...so I must just be crazy. But it does feel less "cluttered" this year. Hmm....

Well, anyways! I am sure you are curious what I have been up to in the past week? To answer that....I feel like all I do is clean, referree, change diapers and feed Baby...but I really do love it! Now, I don't think I would be a very good SAHM...I told Hubby that he might come home one day and I would be sitting in a corner slobbering all over myself....or FAB would be.....she is a PILL. But I am really enjoying my time at home. I try to make the most of each day...I don't want to go back to work and realize that I was a bum during my entire time off...so the girls and I usually go somewhere every day....but there are some days where we just stay at home (today was one of those days).

So, let's see....last week...what did I do? Well, when I was in Kentucky, my lovely mother planted the seed in my mind that a loveseat would be a great addition to our "sitting area" in our house....we have a very wide-open floor plan and there is part of it that I feel we just haven't really maximized the space and we never really use it. So, my lovely Mom mentioned a loveseat and also a flat screen tv mounted in the corner (well, I might've mentioned the tv....but you get the picture!). So, I came home and told Hubby my plans....he said no way. Well, the next evening when he came home from work, we all went out to dinner (yes, all five of us) and then we went furniture shopping! Seriously, we went to (during the course of the week) about 6 or 7 stores looking for a blue loveseat. We discovered that blue is not a popular color right now....red is really hot! And I LOVE all the red stuff. I asked Hubby if he could just repaint the wall for me...but he didn't take that too well. LOL SO....anyways....on Saturday (fast forward with me) we went to the Midwest Outlet Center in Fairborn...it is an outlet for Morris and Ashley furniture. Well, they open at 12:00 and we got there at 12:00...along with a bunch of other people. It is one of those places that they only have like one of each thing....so you have to stake your claim before someone else does. So...we walked in and saw a blue loveseat and sofa and BOLTED for it. I didn't really realize the importance of this at the time...but Hubby plopped himself and Baby down on the loveseat and wasn't going to move. We took the tag and looked around some more.....good thing we took the tag because there was another couple who wanted it too!!! We got lucky...there is nothing wrong with it...it was special-ordered for someone who then didn't want it. So we got lucky and got it! It is a reclining loveseat and it is blue....exactly the shade of blue as our wall....and it is that micro-suede or whatever it is called. I LOVE it. Their delivery was over $100...so Hubby asked Swimmer's Hubby to help him (with his truck) to pick it up on Sunday....thanks Swimmer! SO....my Hubby had been still saying no way to the TV...but then last night he asked me where I wanted to put the TV!!! I knew he would come around! We probably won't buy it until after Christmas or put it up until then anyways because the Christmas tree is there.....but YEAH! Hopefully he doesn't change his mind. That is what we are getting each other for Christmas this year...the loveseat, a new garage door....hopefully the TV and also new doors (interior doors). Aren't we romantic? But they are all things we "need" and for the house...so I am totally fine with it.

Ummmm...so last week, we were thinking about the loveseat all week! We also made an appointment with the photographer from our wedding for a family portrait and also a picture of our kids with Little B (my nephew). Those are on Saturday...so I did some shopping last week (my new favorite past-time) and got an outfit for Little B....a sweater for I-Man and a sweater for me. Hubby has a sweater that he has never worn that he is gonna wear and I had already bought the girl's outfits. Seriously though, I need to go back to work so I can stop spending money! I go shopping nearly every day! I have been buying a few things for Christmas. I have bought I-Man two stocking stuffers and three presents....and FAB a stocking stuffer.....and Hubby's birthday presents (his birthday is Sunday....we are going out to dinner on Wednesday with no kids!!!). But, this Christmas, we will be able to buy presents without going into debt! What a great feeling! God has truly blessed us. I just look around at my house and my kids and I get teary-eyed thinking of how much He has blessed us this year. Seriously, Hubby is so happy at his job...he is making more money than ever. He will actually make more money than me (like $10K more than me) and he has never made more than me. I know that does a lot for his self-esteem. So, God has really blessed us. I am not bragging...I am just being grateful. And I really know that it is because we have been very obedient and very committed in our giving for the first time in our marriage...even when we barely had enough to make ends meet...we did what we had to do to be able to tithe to what we committed to at the beginning of the year....what a good feeling that is. I am embarrassed that we didn't commit to tithe as we should have earlier. At any rate, God is good and I am looking forward to celebrating His birthday with my kids and making sure they understand the true meaning of Christmas.

Boy....I am rambling! Sorry about that. Let's see....what else happened last week? KK and I went out for a short "girls-night" on Friday. We just went and she bought a new Vera (I actually made it out of the store without buying anything! SHOCKER! I almost bought the Vera for sister that she bought for herself....so glad I didn't do that!) and then we went out for appetizers. It was nice to just have some "me time" where I could take my Mommy hat off for a few hours. Ummm....oh! Yeah so Saturday....I asked Hubby to get all my Christmas decorations down and just leave them in the garage so I could bring them in one box at a time....well, he brought them all inside. Then the phone rang...he looked at it and said, "Oh, by the way....my Aunt S is coming over to see the kids today." Well, she was coming in two hours. NICE So, I put all my decorations up (just the lights on the tree) and vacuumed and got all the boxes put away in the garage in 2 hours!!! Not the way I wanted that to go, but at least it got done. Then the kids "helped" me decorate the tree later...that was a chore! But it looks nice!!!!

Well, I have so much more to say....but I need to finish dinner and I need to post this or I will never do it! I have started it about a gazillion times but get interrupted by a kid and don't finish! We are having a yummy dinner...mashed potatoes, meat-loaf and green beans. YUM! Love and hugs to all!!!