I hope these vlogs aren’t boring you! Please let me know if you have any questions or if there’s something you’d like me to include/talk about in future postings!



I’m planning on starting a video pregnancy/baby blog soon. I taped the first one last night, but ran into some technical difficulites… But stayed tuned I should have one up next week.

In the meantime, I have sad news. My daughter’s fishy, “Blue one” passed away last night. So here’s my question… do I just buy a replacement “blue one?” Or at 2 1/2 years old, is she ready for a fishy heaven talk? What do you think?

R.I.P.  Blue One…

The weekend before Christmas, we took Ivie on her first road trip. We went to the “windy city” (Chicago) so Ivie could see her cousin Natalia. They are just shy of one year apart (2 1/2 years old & 1 1/2 years old.) Oddly enough, my sister got pregnant, shortly after I had Ivie, and she had the same due date as I had had! But while Ivie was 2 days late, my sister had her daughter two weeks early! No fair! (Also not fair… Ivie was nearly 9 lbs, while Natalia was just over 6lbs)

Ivie was thrilled to see her cousin. She loves playing “big sister” reminding Natalia to “listen to your mommy,” even though she could work on that herself!

One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the Shedd Aquarium. They have sharks, whales, all kinds of fish… it was really neat. Here are some pics:

My hubbie, Nick, with our niece and Ivie

Looking at the first exhibit

Ivie looking into aquarium; Natalia taking a break

Ivie & Daddy hanging out with an Octopus

Natalie & Mommy

My sis and her daughter; Natalia's had it with pictures!

In a past blog, I talked about how Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and why that is. Christmas is usually so stressful for me. One reason is that I tend to procrastinate… to be that person on Christmas Eve, scrambling to find places that are open so I can get my shopping done for the next day.

Not this year! And I must say, I’m proud of myself! I actually ventured out on Black Friday for the very first time this year, and kick started checking gifts off my list.

Ever since then, online shopping has been my friend and guilty pleasure! It has been so nice to sit in the comfort of my own home, peruse all the awesome deals and gifts, and get everything sent straight to my door minus the usual exorbitant shipping costs! I feel the freedom of it has even made me more creative and able to be more generous!

I only have a few things left to buy, and I’ll be all done! What a great feeling! But I want to share my joy… a website I found out about kind of late in the game… It’s called goodshop.com. Not only does this online shopping mall feature discounts and free shipping deals, but it lets you donate to charity too! And at no extra cost to you! So you get good deals, buy the gifts you needed to anyway, and get the good feeling that comes with supporting charity over the holiday season! Be sure to check it out!

My favorite holiday is tomorrow!!!

I feel like most people’s favorite holiday is Christmas… although I do like that holiday, and even more what it represents, it comes second to Thanksgiving for me.

While Christmas is heart-warming, what with all the giving & receiving, and dispursing of holiday cheer, (I LOVE Christmas Carols!!!) it can also be quite nerve-racking!! Traffic is ridiculous!! And on the road too! What did you think I was referring to? Shopping cart traffic, of course!! And I get some serious shopping cart rage, I admit. The whole gift-giving process just gets too stressful… I’ve pretty much resorted to online shopping altogether.

Now with Thanksgiving, being that I don’t host it, I just get to show up! And it’s all about the food! And I don’t mind baking the night before and bringing more food to the table either!! For me, it’s just a guiltless day of gorging myself with food, being lazy and watching TV and catching up with family I don’t see nearly enough.

I can’t wait!