Lovin' the Holidays

October through the end of the year is my favorite time of year because its the start of cooler weather here in Texas, the beginning of fall, and the beginning of the holidays. Although, the trees don't really start changing color here until the beginning of November. I love getting ready for Halloween because it means that Thanksgiving and Christmas are also on their way. I mean, its three months of holidays!

This year Hubs decided we could stay home for Thanksgiving, which I was so grateful for. It meant I had days to catch up on housework, yard work, put away the fall decor, and get all of the Christmas decor up, all without a time crunch. I also got to take daily naps! Glorious!

Some exciting news, I have definitely been able to feel the baby move already. I have to say, being stretched out from already having had a baby is not such a bad thing, if you ask me. You show earlier, instead of just looking fat longer, you know what to expect, and you feel the baby sooner. I realize my body won't bounce back as well as it did after the first one, but I honestly don't care. A flabby tummy and a bunch of stretch marks are a small price to pay. Besides, this day and age, its all fixable. ;)

I had a coupe of days over the past week where the baby and I were definitely going through growth spurts. I remember having the uncomfortable stretchy tummy feeling with Little Bean, in fact, I remember the exact day and where I was the first time I experienced it. What I didn't remember was that there is no position you can get into to alleviate the stretching. Now I'm not complaining at all. Like last time, I am so grateful to be pregnant that I enjoy the uncomfortable bits. They serve as signs that everything is going well in there. All I have to say is, grow baby. Mama will stretch to make room.

One thing I don't like about this pregnancy is that maternity clothes are so fetching ugly right now! When I was pregnant with Baby Bean there was tons of adorable maternity stuff. Now its all horizontal stripes (as if we pregnant women don't look big enough without that) or shirts with ruched sides. I really hate the ruched sides. REALLY HATE IT. I've almost cried every time I've gone shopping because I am afraid I will just end up naked. I refuse to pay full price for clothes I don't like, and when was the last time you saw a sale in the maternity section? The answer is NEVER. If I have to pay full price for clothes, I damn well better like them... A LOT. I think I have only bought three new tops so far, and have completely given up on getting anymore.

Here is one of the very few cute tops I have managed to find, for this week's belly picture.

In other news, I am almost done with my Christmas shopping. I did most of it back in May when we went to Mexico, then I did a bunch last Wednesday, and now I only have a few things left to get. Yes, I tried to finish up my shopping the day before Thanksgiving. I don't do crowds. I would rather pay more and have the store to myself while shopping, than go out with the crazies and fight over what's left on the picked-over shelves.

I guess that's it for now, so I'll sign off. Later!