Good Morning Beautiful

Funny how this song was playing this morning when James brought our son into our bedroom to nurse. For the longest time, James used to sing this song to me. It was our song. And it always reminds me of him. I really love my husband. Even if I have to get up early in the morning to make him breakfast. Or when I have to stay up late feeding our growing boy. James is the man for me. I can't wait to grow old with him. And spend many more mornings together.

Urban Rain Giveaway

My Cakies is holding a giveaway for the Etsy shop, Urban Rain. You can win a $25 gift certificate. I see a cute ring that I like, for $22. That would work! If you want to enter too, hurry to My Cakies. It ends in a few hours!

Much Love Illy Giveaway

Again, I have to Thank Lola for posting about this giveaway. And my son. For needing to nurse this early in the morning. But Cakies is hosting a giveaway for this shop. Everything in the shop is adorable! I'm just in love! You can enter the giveaway here. And don't forget to look around Cakies. It's just a wonderful blog! Ruby is my inspiration. She also has 3 kids. All girls. And she is so creative. Don't forget to enter this giveaway!

Garden Set Giveaway

Lola posted about all these wonderful giveaways on her blog. Unfortunately, I read about it too late for my favorite giveaway. Isn't that a cute necklace? But Newly Wife is hosting a giveaway for this cute Garden Set. It's everything you could need to start a little garden patch. Oh, I hope I win! You can enter here. And you should look around Newly Wife. There are some really delicious recipes on the blog.

Something Different

This pregnancy feels different. Different from when I was pregnant with the girls. I didn't have horrible morning sickness. I was queasy in the mornings, but only for 2-3 weeks. No actual morning sickness. I'm getting chubby. Not just a little belly, but chubby all over. But my belly did start to appear a lot earlier than with the girls. I also eat almost nonstop. I crave everything under the sun!

I told James last night, I think we are having a boy. He didn't believe me. But I feel so Sci-Fi. I know he doesn't actually understand what I mean. But I called my friend Manders today. And we were talking about our pregnancies. She is having twins in March. She agrees with me.

You see, she is having a boy and a girl. They found out just before Christmas. But Manders told me that from the beginning, she felt different that when she was pregnant with her little girl. Yes, she is having twins this time, but it was a different feeling. We came to the conclusion that it is because she is growing a little boy inside of her. Isn't that crazy? I feel like this too!

It's Sci-Fi to think that inside of me, I'm growing a little boy. A little penis. You have to admit, it's a bit weird. But a HUGE miracle. I can't wait to find out for sure, but something deep inside, tells me that we are going to have a son. James will be so excited! He loves his girls. But I know that he would just love to have a little boy to get rough and tough with.

Slow Cooker

I always wanted a slow cooker. Always. When James and I first started dating, he would tell me about all these good things that his mom would make. He always made me hungry. And when we would go and visit his family, I would get excited to eat all the delicious food.

When we got married, we got a standard Crock-Pot. But I couldn't figure out what to cook in there. It was tall and you couldn't really lay food in it. My Crock-Pot was definitely not like my mother-in-laws slow cooker. She was able to put an entire roast in her slower cooker. And still have room for the vegetables she would add in at the end.

After talking with a friend, I learned that I could use my Crock-Pot for sauces, soups, and beans. Basically, anything that was water based. I'm still not good at cooking those types of things. But I wanted to slow cook.

My mother-in-law makes it look so easy. She adds a nice roast, plenty of spices and herbs. And walks away. 2-3 hours later, she adds in some good vegetables. 1-2 hours later, we are eating. It seems so simple. The food comes out tender and flavorful.

When James asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I had visions of the Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker running through my head. It just excited me. James looked at me like my head had turned purple or something. But on Christmas, I got my slow cooker. My mother-in-law also got me a cute church cookbook. It has 2 large sections of slow cooker recipes. Tomorrow, I'm trying my 1st one!!!

It may not sound like anything wonderful. But for a pregnant mommy, it makes life a little easier. I need to learn how to simplify our life a little bit. Because soon, I will be trying to take care of 3 kids under 4. I need to get some good recipes under my belt. Because something tells me, I'm not going to have 2 hours to come up with dinner anymore.

Anne of Green Gables

One of my very favorite things to do, is to read. All I really remember about my childhood, was me sitting in my bedroom, with my nose stuck in a book. I could dream of far away places. And all the characters in my books. It was a blessing to be able to sit and read.

My favorite series to read as a girl, was Anne of Green Gables. My parents bought me a hardback collection when I was 7 for Christmas. I still have it! I read every book. Cover to cover, about 10 times. Then when I was in college, PBS came out with the Anne of Green Gables series. I never missed an episode. It was my favorite thing to do on Sundays! James even sat through his far share of Anne of Green Gables.

But none of that would prepare me for the fun that my girls and I have now. When I first found out I was pregnant, I went out and bought the complete set of stories, in a large hardback edition. And every night, I would read to the baby. Well before we knew we were having a girl. I would sit and read. When our daughter was born, it became our ritual. To read a few pages a night.

For her 1st Christmas, James bought here the picture book version of Anne of Green Gables. And as she got older, she would sit and "read" to James. It was the cutest thing. They both thoroughly enjoyed the time together. When our 2nd daughter was born, she was read to by the entire family. You can say, Anne has become part of our family. :)

I thought this year would be a great time to buy the girls the audio version of the book. That way they could listen to it when they wanted to. I placed an order online. And waited. I waited a long time. Wondering what had happened. The 1st month, it was charged to our credit card. The 2nd month it was refunded. The 3rd month, it was charged again. But no book.

I decided to call the company. It was back ordered. And they took the charge off of our credit card until they could fill the order. I was sad. I had really wanted to give the girls this for Christmas. I was in tears when James came home that day. I know it seems weird to cry over a book. But I'm pregnant, so I'm blaming it on the hormones. James assured me that it would all work out. I just hoped that it would.

Christmas came and went. We found many amazing gifts for our girls. But I had silently lost hope about their audio books. Here I thought I was doing the right thing, ordering them back in July. Then today, James comes home. Very excited! Our books had arrived. He had talked to someone at the company, and low and behold they were in stock. So James had them overnight the package to his work.

I was so excited. We thought for a few minutes about waiting until Valentine's Day to give them to the girls. But then James assured me that we should just let them have it after dinner. I quickly wrapped up the package in brown paper and twine. And after dinner, the girls opened up their surprise. I had never heard so much squealing. They were so happy!!!

For 2 hours they listened together in their rooms. With big bright eyes. It was the sweetest thing to watch. I'm so happy that the girls enjoy these things together. And after bath time, we still read a chapter in our book.