Merry Christmas!!

Apparently Imogen is very skeptical of a black object on a tripod...

...Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours!

I have thoughts #4

Raise your hand if you can't believe that there's only 6 days left until Christmas. (Spoiler alert: I'm over here raising my hand.) I'm ready...it just doesn't feel like December is already half over! Before you know it, it'll be January and I'll be writing the wrong date on everything all over again.

Speaking of Christmas, one of the best parts...the 2017 Hater's Guide to the Williams Sonoma Catalog has finally been released and I. am. dying. As usual. In case you missed them, there are also guides from 2012-2016. I'm not going to link them all, but just Google "hater's guide to williams sonoma" and you'll find them. They're worth the quick Google search, trust me.

Any of you moms out there decided to get crib bumpers despite the warnings against them? Now that Imogen is getting close to 6 months old, she's moving around in her sleep more and more. I will put her down for bed at the very foot of her crib, and within 30 minutes, she's wiggled and inch-wormed her way all the way to the top of the crib. The problem is, she keeps getting her head stuck in the corner, or wiggling and smacking her head against the top of the crib. It wakes her up, and though she's gotten better at not ramming her head into the wooden slats over and over (and crying), she still takes a good 15-20 minutes to go back to sleep when she wakes up. I'm wondering if crib bumpers would help her fall back asleep faster? Then again, my hope is that she'll just figure out how to back up instead of just go forward, and then this will be a non-issue.

As I write this post, she is currently napping with her head jammed in the OTHER corner of the crib. Sigh.

I am officially done Christmas shopping! For some reason I felt like I was running out of time this year, just like I do every year, but it always seems to work out and somehow everything was delivered on time and I am only still waiting on a couple of items that should be delivered on Friday or Saturday. We're headed out of town on Friday but at least they'll be here when we get back. Isaiah has to go back to work the day after we get back from Seattle - on the night shift, no less (shoot me) - so we won't be having our own little family Christmas until the weekend of January 6th. It's fine. It means Christmas lasts longer, right? 

I wasn't planning on making Christmas cookies for all the neighbors this year because of everything going on (baby, going out of town, Isaiah working really long hours, etc) but I think I might just make one or two kinds of candy instead, just for our neighbors across the driveway from us and maybe some extra for Isaiah to take to work to share. Our neighbors are a nice older couple and we always give them Christmas cookies and I'm starting to feel twinges of guilt over skipping the tradition this year. I'm thinking toffee and...something. I'm not sure what yet. Maybe chocolate mint truffles.

Speaking of Christmas, I feel like we go through this exact scenario every year with Christmas cards. (Also, if you're not following John Crist on Instagram, you're missing out.)

Reliving Myspace, Christmas Edition

One time I saw Cady Heron wearing army pants and flip flops, so I bought army pants and flip flops. other bloggers doing this survey, so I'm doing this survey.

1. Real tree or fake tree?
FAKE, and preferably pre-lit. And then I burn my Bath and Body Works Fresh Balsam candle so we can still have that pine scent. Ain't nobody got time to vacuum pine needles all day and night.

2. Favorite Christmas cookie?
Tough call. I'll go with molasses cookies. Not gingerbread cookies...molasses. Like the round, crinkly, chewy kind. The spicier the better.

3. Home on Christmas morning or travel?
Normally, I much prefer to be home on Christmas morning. This year, though, we're flying to Seattle to be with my mom and sister on Christmas. Should be fun, though I can't say I won't miss our nice, quiet, calm Christmas morning at home in our living room.

4. Clear or colored lights?
This is a tough call, and I'm pretty sure the reason for divorce amongst many couples. My husband is firmly in the "clear lights only" camp. I could go either way, so clear lights are generally fine with me. The one time kind of colored lights I really, really love, however...those large-bulbed, retro ones. I could probably be happy with Christmas decorations strictly from the 50s and nothing else. Give me all the mercury glass ornaments/tree toppers, large glass bulbs, bubble lights, ceramic Christmas trees...I love it all.

5. Send Christmas cards?
Absolutely! We've done a photo card every year since we've been married. I usually post a screenshot of our card here on Christmas day so stay tuned if you want to see what this year's card looks like!

6. Favorite Christmas present received?
Everything Isaiah buys me. He always comes up with the most thoughtful gifts, half of the time things I didn't even know I wanted, or things I've mentioned I want but forgot about by the time Christmas rolls around.

7. Favorite Christmas present given?
I don't know if I have a favorite...I like giving gifts in general. Though this year Isaiah and I bought my mom a duvet cover she's been saying she wants for like a year now, and I'm excited for her to open it. We also splurged and bought Imogen a slightly expensive doll for Christmas this year. It's kind of a keepsake type of item, and dude...it has her name. We also bought her a doorway jumper and I'm super excited about that, too. Lately she's been alllll about jumping up and down while we're holding her under her arms, so I imagine the jumper is going to be quite a hit.

8. Stockings or no stockings?
Stockings! We never did stockings growing up for financial reasons, but Isaiah and I have always done them and we really enjoy it. I just ordered Imogen her first stocking and I can't wait for it to get here! Ideas for stocking stuffers for a baby who'll be almost 6 months old at Christmastime?

9. Christmas PJs?
Of course! Every year, I buy a new pair of flannel PJ pants from Old Navy, because they're usually dirt cheap and they have some fun patterns. I totally spaced it this year, though, with everything going on. And even if I were to order a pair right now, by the time they arrived (#alaska) we'd already be gone to Seattle for Christmas. Maybe I'll make a pit stop at Old Navy once we get there, who knows. So far, Imogen is the only one with new Christmas pajamas...

10. Favorite Christmas carol?
Hands down, O Come Emmanuel.

11. Favorite holiday tradition?
Since we do 95% of our Christmas shopping online (#alaska), on Christmas Eve Isaiah and I go into town, brave the crowds, and buy each other a Christmas Eve gift. We set a strict budget limit and see what we can find.

12. Early shopper or last minute?
Early shopper...again, 95% of my shopping has to be done online because again, #alaska.

13. Favorite Christmas movie or t.v. show?
I have a LOT of Christmas movies I really like (Elf, Christmas Vacation, Home Alone) but my two favorites have always been A Christmas Story and It's a Wonderful Life.

14. Favorite holiday beverage?
This year, the drink of the season seems to be hot apple cider. I can't get enough of it.

15. Cookies and milk for Santa?
Santa, schmanta. Cookies and milk for ANGI.

These Are My Confessions #2 (Christmas Edition)

+ I got a little salty this year toward people decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving even happened. I know it's a commercial thing for stores, so they get a half-hearted pass, but people...what's so wrong with Thanksgiving that we have to completely overlook it and skip straight to Christmas? Maybe I'm just annoyed with this giant effort on the part of half of America to get rid of any holiday that they consider even slightly offensive (Columbus Day, anyone?). It makes me want to celebrate those holidays even harder, so there.

+ I think gift guides are useless and I have never once been inspired by one. First of all, they're so stereotypical. Wives want makeup, purses, cashmere scarves and fluffy bathrobes. Husbands want flasks, ties, socks, and some sort of electronics gadget. Except not. Second, what are with these "stocking stuffer" gift guides where nothing is under $50? I'm sorry, but $500 watches and iPhones are not stocking stuffers.

+ Get your pitchforks ready...I think that the Elf on a Shelf is ridiculous, and kind of wrong. Maybe I'm a little too opinionated on this, but I think I would just feel so extremely weird flat out lying to Imogen and telling her an elf doll is alive, watching her (um, creepy), and reporting back to Santa. I know people who go all out with the elf and that's fine, whatever, but I will forever hate it. We also don't do Santa (cue the collective gasps and "you're ruining your daughter's childhood" comments).

+ I don't really like "new" Christmas songs very much. There are some artists who do newer songs that I would consider more of a winter song than a Christmas song (for instance, look up The Sweeplings...bomb!) and those are okay, but overall, just give me the classics. Remixed, just fine! But entirely new songs tend to be cheesy, and I don't love cheesy Christmas songs. Unless it's "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," in which case bring on the cheese.

+ I don't think I'm going to do my annual Christmas craft this year. Maybe I will. We'll see. But I kind of don't think I will. There's enough going on with remodeling bathrooms and keeping a 5 month old alive and making travel plans, busting out the hot glue gun and paint and whatever else just isn't at the top of my priority list. Again, we'll see...on a related note, I can't even believe it's been an entire year since we announced we were having a baby.

Life Lately #13

Reading: I've been on a little bit of a reading stall lately but I have two books started that I want to keep plugging away at ASAP...one is Eve in Exile which I've seen recommended by several friends/bloggers lately, and the other is The Devil in the White City. I'm excited to continue reading both!

Watching: Nothing much at the moment, but Isaiah and I just bought the final season (6) of Grimm and we're going to start it this weekend. Series finales are always bittersweet. I'm excited to see how it wraps up, but super bummed we won't have it to look forward to every fall anymore.

Listening to: Christmas music. I've become that person who listens to it before Thanksgiving. I wasn't going to, normally I try and wait until after Thanksgiving, but Isaiah was playing a Christmas album the other day and I got really into it and now it's been all Christmas music, all day. Anything new this year I should be aware of?

Wearing: My mom uniform: Jeans and a sweatshirt. 

Smelling: This pumpkin scented candle I bought from an Etsy shop. It's WONDERFUL. It's a little pricey, but so are Bath and Body Works candles if you don't buy them on sale, and they charge $20 to ship to Alaska anyway...basically the price of a full size candle to start with.

Eating: Angie's Boom Chicka Pop kettle corn. Only 70 calories per cup means I can eat like, five cups. For LUNCH, obviously.

Thinking: That it's safe to say Imogen has finally noticed the cat. She sat in her little activity center (Isaiah calls it her "command center," hahaha) STARING at him sitting on the kitchen table licking himself for a solid ten minutes. 

Loving: The cold but SUNNY weather we've been having the last week! I don't know how long it's supposed to last, but I'm refusing to look at the forecast so I don't get depressed when it tells me we're back to rain and/or snow soon. 

Annoyed with: My still-limited wardrobe. I'm trying not to buy too many new clothes while I work on getting back down to my pre-pregnancy weight but it's hard. I used to feel like I didn't have enough clothes. Now I look in my closet and I'm like, I HAVE SO MANY CLOTHES!!! And I can't wear 80% of them.

Creating: Does remodeling bathrooms count as creating something? I'm going with that. We wanted to do both bathrooms this past weekend, but ran into some snags with the half-bath downstairs (old house + people who didn't know what they were doing when they built the place = every project taking twice as long). It's done now, and hopefully next weekend we'll be able to knock out the full bathroom upstairs relatively quickly now that we know what we're up against and how to fix the problems we're sure to run across.

Nervous about: The fact that I just got summoned for grand jury from January through March. That means I have to report to court every single Thursday (possibly) for three entire months. I had to fill out a questionnaire online after I got my summons and in the comments, I requested to be excused on account of the fact that I will have a 6 month old baby for whom I am the primary caregiver and my husband is a police officer and cannot leave work last minute if I have to serve. I'm hoping they have mercy on me, otherwise I have no idea what I'm going to do.

Laughing at: This video. I have no idea how I even stumbled across it, but the line "it takes me ages before I decide what my dolls should wear" had me rolling. Is this a thing people actually do for a hobby!? ADULTS, I mean?? I had no idea, and I kind of wish I still had no idea.

Anticipating: CHRISTMAS IN SEATTLE...for the first time since 2008!! To say I'm excited would be an understatement. I love, love, LOVE our quiet Christmases at home, but Imogen will be almost 6 months old and I'm so excited to take her to look at Christmas lights and see her (hopefully) crawl around my mom's house.