Christmas

This Christmas was one of the BEST I have ever had.  This is probably due to the fact that Covey and I weren't running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to get to all of the places that everyone else wanted us to be.  I feel bad that some people had to be left out, but with a growing family (and tummy), we had to make the choice this year as to who we saw and when.

To start with, we drove out to Sharon (step-mom) and my dad's house on Friday (the 23rd) evening for my grandpa's birthday party.  (His birthday is actually on Christmas Day.)  We hung out with family and just enjoyed the time together.  Sadly, I don't have any pictures because I was having too much fun talking and hanging out with everyone.  I guess that's as good an excuse as any, right?  

We spent the night at their house and had Christmas Eve breakfast the next morning--yummy french toast and bacon with orange juice.  Covey got one of his Christmas presents early--a big gallon of Simply Orange All Pulp Orange Juice--which he absolutely loved.  

 He was nice enough to share it with everyone for breakfast but he had finished the rest off himself by the afternoon. :)

After breakfast, everyone got ready for the day and we waited for my step-sister, Brooke, and her husband and kids to show up so we could give our presents to them since we weren't going to be seeing them the next day.  Once they got there, the present opening began.  River and Sayler opened their gifts first: we gave River a beanie and Sayler got some Justin Bieber cards that I had made through work.  I'm pretty sure it was her favorite gift cause she couldn't stop looking at the cards.  It was pretty funny.

River's helmet.  This isn't the gift we gave to River but it was the only one I got of him opening his gifts.

Everyone else opened up their gifts afterwards.  Probably one of the best gifts were the marshmallow shooters!  When we were down in St. George for Thanksgiving, the girls had all gone to a craft expo and we found them there and Sharon wanted to get them for us as a Christmas gift.  We loved playing with them and pretty much as soon as they were opened and everyone got their bag of marshmallows, the shooting began!  It was hilarious and so much fun!  I can't wait to ambush Covey one of these days when he gets home from work. ;)

After presents, we got ready to go to my Grandma Baldauf's annual Christmas Eve party.  This year we did it at about 3pm rather than 7pm and it worked out a lot better.  Covey and I picked up my youngest sister, Cheyenne, on our way home so she could spend the night with us and be there for Christmas morning.  (She lives in Salt Lake and currently doesn't have a car.)  We got home and got settled for the night and went to sleep.

CHRISTMAS DAY!  I love that Christmas was on a Sunday this year.  I remember the last time that Christmas fell on a Sunday and it was great because it just set the mood for the rest of the day.  This year was no different.  Me, Covey, Dani, Stephen, Chey and my mom all went to our 9am ward and then came home and made our traditional breakfast of crepes.  It was fun too, because my other sister, Jennie, was able to take a break from work and come by for breakfast and presents.

Present time was fun.  My mom pretty much always has a disclaimer or two to go along with each present given ("Now, I thought you'd like this, but if you don't then we can take it back...") and I give her a bad time about it every year.  (I guess I just assume people are going to like the gifts I give and if they don't then they better not tell me.  hehe.)  Covey and I got a lot of gifts from "grandma" to her new little "granddaughter", as well as some other fun gifts.  Covey got a skill saw, a couple dress shirts and ties, dress pants, socks and a huge case of Dr. Pepper, among other things.  I got some jewelry, a couple shirts, a pair of shoes, a book ("The Brothers" by Chris Stewart--awesome book!), the movie Tangled, a glider (yay!) and a few other fun things.

After we were done with presents, my mom and Chey had to go because my mom's mom (Grandma Sheri) does an annual Christmas Day buffet (another one of the events we decided to forgo this year).  Covey and I actually sat down and relaxed for about an hour before we had to go to Covey's parent's house for Christmas lunch/dinner.  We spent the rest of the night with Covey's family and just relaxed and ate and talked and built a puzzle.  Covey and I got home around 10pm and went to bed soon after.  

All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas!  We were more relaxed this year on Christmas than we have been any year since we've been married.  We promised ourselves to make sure to simplify Christmas more in the years to come so that we actually have time to enjoy it and remember the reason for the season.  I made a little plaque this year to put up as a Christmas decoration that says "Simplify Christmas.  Celebrate Christ".  I think that says it all.  Christmas isn't about the gifts or the parties.  It is about spending time with those you love and remembering why we even celebrate Christmas in the first place.

I am so excited for this new year coming up!  We have our baby girl on the way (only 27 more days until my due date!) and Covey and I are getting anxious for her to make her appearance.  We are so grateful for the year 2011 and we hope that 2012 will be just as great!

Temple Square

One of the BEST things about Christmas is going to Temple Square to see all the lights.  Seriously, it just doesn't feel like Christmas if we don't get to see them.  Covey and I went with my dad, step-mom, step-sister, her husband and their two kids, and Dani and Stephen.  

Since it was Sunday, we were able to find some free parking and we (thankfully) didn't have to walk to far.  We sure had to bundle up well though because it was COLD!  Recently, I have run into a problem, which is that none of my coats can be zipped/buttoned up anymore due to my blossoming belly (pictures coming soon).  So what do you do when you're going to be walking around in 25 degree weather and you can't do up your coat?  You wrap a scarf around your stomach, of course!  (Brilliant, I know.)

Besides the freezing cold, we had a good time and it really helped put me in the Christmas spirit, which is good considering that Christmas is less than a week away. :)

Dani and Stephen

Sayler and River

The group

My make-shift belly cover

Attempting to close up my coat

So pretty :)

Bottom's Up!

The baby's bottom that is. :)

33 Weeks and Other Updates

Originally this post was supposed to be titled '32 weeks', but that has come and gone and now I am 33 weeks!  I can't believe that I am due next month!  I am starting to get anxious for this little girl to be here.  Covey is pretty excited too.  It's cute.  :)  (I actually had my first baby shower last weekend, but all the pictures were taken on my sister-in-law's camera so I don't have those yet.  When I get them though, I will post about that.)

As for the 33 week update, I am down to 7 more weeks (give or take) before she makes her appearance and that is just crazy!  Also:

• Baby Girl decided last week that it would be fun to stick her foot in my ribs.  That was not a good feeling.  Eventually she moved but until that point, all I can say is wow.  I understand she's running out of room, but was that really necessary?
• At my doctor's appointment last week, I was told that the baby is about 4 lbs and anywhere between 16-18 inches long.  Knowing that, I feel kind of bad that she doesn't have very much room to move around, but I still don't want her sticking her foot in my ribs!
• She has started to move around quite a bit more lately.  Sometimes I'll just sit back and watch the surface of my stomach move.  It's weird, but so cool to think that she is right there!  She is getting big enough now that I can tell more when she is poking her bum out and sometimes I can feel her head too.
• As of last week's appointment, she is still breech, but the doctor's not too worried.  He says she'll probably move in the next few weeks.  I'll be glad when she finally moves into a birthing position, but I'm also okay to wait for it since I've heard the pressure on the pelvic bone can be pretty uncomfortable and I'd like to enjoy the upcoming holidays as much as possible.

One other update: Covey and I have come one step closer to settling the 'name dilemma'.  We've decided to spell her name 'Makadie', but we are still debating about whether or not to capitalize the K in the middle.  I'll keep you posted.

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays!  Covey and I got our first 'real' Christmas tree (it's still a fake one) and we decorated it last week.  I love turning on the Christmas lights in the evening and listening to Christmas music as we eat dinner and go about the house.  I love the Christmas season!

Thanksgiving in St. George

*Beware--this post has a lot of pictures.

This year, Covey and I were able to go down to St. George for Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family.  My dad and step-mom co-own a condo with some other people and it happened to be available over Thanksgiving weekend so we all decided to go down and take advantage of it!  It was a full house/condo for sure, with 10 people sharing the space.  (Good thing we all like each other!)

We drove down on Wednesday night after work and got there around 9:30 and went straight to bed.  Thanksgiving Day was so great!  We all went over to my Aunt Sue's house, who lives down in St. George, to help prepare the food for the feast. 

We ate around 2 and it was all so good!  Then we just chatted and relaxed and slept and ate more and watched football.  

 My niece, Sayler

My nephew, River, and Aunt Sue

 Me and Dani.  If we are together, you can bet we will take pictures of ourselves.

The boys were all zonked out after dinner

 My step-sister, Brooke

Me and Grandpa

Baby's first Thanksgiving dinner...sort of

Posing as a 'normal' family

Showing our true colors...

By the time we got back to the condo, I we were all so tired that we went to bed early and slept in.

On Friday, all the girls went to a craft expo and found some fun Christmas gifts!  That night, we went to Tuacahn for a little live nativity show.

This is possibly one of the ugliest pictures I have ever had taken of me and Dani

Covey was the official blanket holder for the night.

Saturday was absolutely beautiful and we took advantage of it!  We went up and hiked around Snow Canyon and enjoyed the sunshine.  (And when I say 'hiked' I really mean we walked on the paved path.  That's about all I could do and after 2 1/2 miles in the sun, I was tired.)  

Doing the manly thing of 'seeing who can throw their rock the furthest'

 A couple of 'Erkels'

With the way the shadows hit the rock, it looked like a man.

We ate lunch and then did some more relaxing and chatting with family.  I took a nap, which was fantastic and much needed.  (I still can't believe how easily I get tired!)

This morning, we got up and went to sacrament meeting, packed up and drove home.

We had such a great weekend and it was so nice to get away and relax and spend time with family.  That is what the holidays are all about.  I'm so grateful for my family and what a support they are to me.  I'm especially grateful for my husband, who is so thoughtful and caring and considerate of me and my needs.  I have truly been blessed!

Canning Fanatic

At the beginning of this year, I decided it would be a good idea to do some canning this summer since we were going to be in a new house and I was going to have a cold storage (hooray!).  I also thought it would be a good way to build up our food storage, save a little money and learn a new skill.  

I am proud to say that I actually did do a bunch of canning this summer and fall and for the most part, it was successful considering I've never canned anything by myself before.

First, I did raspberry jam.  And I did not use just any raspberries.  Oh, no.  I used Bear Lake Raspberries.  I am telling you, if you have never had these raspberries, your life is not complete.  I got them from the farmer's market and even though they were a little more expensive that what I could have bought in the store, it was well worth the extra dough I had to fork out.  I made the jam in July and we are already on our third pint out of the five that I made.  I hope we can make it last until next year!

Next, I bottled peaches in September.  A neighbor of Covey's parents sold us a huge box of peaches--probably 15-20 pounds--for $15.  Killer deal and the peaches were divine.  We were able to get 11 quarts of peaches out of all those peaches.

Then, we decided to try our hand at pear/apple fruit leather about a week later.  I know this isn't canning, but originally we were going to bottle some pears that we had got for free from the same neighbor that sold us the peaches, but by the time we were able to get to it, some of the pears had gone bad and there weren't really enough to justify bottling them.  So we thought that fruit leather would be a good idea.  As they say, it's the thought that counts right?  Everything went really well, until it was time to take the leather off of the pans after drying out in the oven.  We thought it would be fine to use wax paper because we didn't have any parchment paper.  Bad move.  We ended up taking my hair dryer, putting it on a low setting and slowly heating up the fruit leather and trying to peel it off of the wax paper.  It was a very tedious process and I've determined that if I ever decide to do fruit leather again, I will be using parchment paper for sure.  On the upside, the fruit leather we were able to pry off turned out decent and we actually still have some left over.

We took a little break from canning for about a month or so until the grapes on Covey's parents vine were ripe so we could try making grape juice.  I had to follow Covey's lead on this one because I had never done grape juice before and he used to help his mom do it when he was younger.  It seriously took us all day long to do the juice, but we ended up with about 8 quarts or so.  We had some last week and it was actually pretty darn good if I say so myself.

Lastly, we bottled some apple pie filling this weekend.  I found a recipe on Our Best Bites and we went with that since it seemed pretty basic and easy to follow.  We got 11 pints of apple pie filling.  I tasted a little bit of the leftover sauce and piece of apple and it was good.  (This is coming from someone who isn't necessarily a huge fan of baked apples.)

All in all, I am pretty pleased with myself and my canning this year.  (Not to mention that I learned some good skills and some even better do's and don'ts.)  Covey actually helped me out with everything except for the jam, which I did at a neighbor's house.  He is such a good husband.  All this canning makes me feel oh-so-domestic.  Here's to next year! :)

28 Weeks

Wow, 28 weeks!  I am officially in the last week of my second trimester!

Being such, the baby girl decided to make her presence known to everyone on the outside world by pushing my tummy a little further out.  There is pretty much no doubt that I am pregnant and not just gaining a little extra weight around the midsection. But I think this is part of what makes pregnancy fun!  True, most of my tops don't really fit very well and my pant options are decreasing rapidly, but it's all for a wonderful reason.  :)

I had kind of a mini-freak out moment yesterday when I realized that Christmas is next month and that means that baby girl is coming the month after that!  Time is just flying by!  I am really excited for the upcoming holidays and the time spent with family, although the change from nice weather to crappy weather is not very appealing.  I'm feeling like there is so much that needs to be done in such a short period of time--both with the holidays and with getting ready for this little one to come.  But I'll just try to take it one day at a time and try not to get stressed out.  We'll see how that goes...

One thing that I think I've settled on are the colors that I'd like to use to decorate the baby's room.  Since we've only got 2 bedrooms upstairs and an unfinished basement, we are turning the spare room into a combination baby room/craft room.  This also means that I'm not going to be doing any major decorating in the room, such as painting the walls, but I still want the room to feel like a baby room for the most part.  The colors I've chosen to use are pink, turquoise, green, brown and yellow.  Bright and happy colors.  :)  I have yet to make anything specific for the room, but I've been gathering ideas from my new friend Pinterest, so hopefully I can start something up soon. ;)

What's in a Name?

I have had a name picked out for a girl since I was about 16.  I read it in a book and just fell in love with it.  There are about 10 different spellings that I've come up with so far that could work (besides the original), but I've got some problem or other with all of them.  Growing up with a name like 'Shani', it was always getting mispronounced.  (Don't even get me started on my maiden name...)  People had (and still have) this thing where they don't really look at my whole name before deciding how to say it.  So I got things like 'Shay-nee', 'Shaw-nee', 'Shanti', 'Sheri', and so on.  As I got older, I got used to it and it doesn't really bother me so much anymore.  

But in trying to come up with the spelling of the name Covey and I have for our baby, I am running into a bit of a problem because I want to spell her name in a way that most people will get it right on the first try.  Granted, not everyone is going to get it right the first time, because the name is likely not one they have heard before, but I can hope right?

And now I've got you all wondering what the name is, huh? ;)

Here's how it's pronounced: Ma-kay-dee (not Mc).

And here are the spellings I've come up with that I like the most:

-MaCadie, or Macadie

-MaCady, or Macady

-MaKadie, or Makadie

-MaKady, or Makady

Originally, I was stuck on the spelling of  'Macadie', without the capital 'C' in the middle.  But then I started thinking I liked the capital 'C'.  Covey, on the other hand, likes how a 'k' looks instead of a 'c' and he thinks that capitalizing in the middle of a name is weird.

Yeah.  You see my problem (literally)?  I want there to be a syllable break right after the 'Ma', so that's why I was thinking about doing a capital letter for the second half of her name.  But if I hadn't put the pronunciation before the different spellings, would you have pronounced it right?  Without the capital letter, are people going to pronounce it 'Mack-a-dee' (which is really ugly)?  I'm probably being ridiculous about this, but a name is an important thing!

Anyway, we've still got 3 months to figure this out.  Hopefully we can!  But who knows?  Maybe I still won't know how to spell it when it comes time to put it on the birth certificate...Wish us luck! :)