Shop 'til You Drop

We're back from our trip to the North Pole, otherwise known as Minneapolis. It was so cold there, I had trouble even taking a breath. To say that it was freezing really doesn't do it justice, because "freezing" refers to 32 degrees. It never got above 23 the whole time we were there. And usually it was colder than that, somewhere around -4 or so....I actually had to break out my Columbia snowboarding coat, snowboots, hat and gloves, and that was just to walk from the hotel to the waiting shuttle. I'm seriously a California girl at heart....

And now, THE MALL. Over 4 million square feet of retail therapy. And we walked all 4 million square feet several times over. I'm considered a professional in some circles when it comes to shopping, and I actually had to take a hot bath to soak away the aches and pains at the end of the day. But hey, that's the best kind of exercise if you ask me! They have every store you can possibly think of, and then some. My favorites were Archiver's (I seriously don't need to ever go in there again!!), and H&M (memories of shopping in Germany). I finished up most of my Christmas shopping, and got some good deals for me!

Aiden did just fine without me for a few days, he had a grand 'ol time with Grandpa. When we first got home and walked in the door, he didn't even really care that I was back, as he was engrossed in some Mickey Mouse cartoons. Such love. But after a few minutes he was excited and running around, dispensing hugs to everyone and just being cute. He was especially interested when presents started getting handed out, and was very curious about the contents of my extremely heavy suitcase. So now that I know he won't cease to exist without me, I'm trying to figure out how I can go back again next year.... :-)

Foster a Soldier

I came across a program that was really neat, and I wanted to share it with everyone. Chris is lucky in that he has a lot of people who love and care about him and are sending him care packages while he's away. But not all of our troops are as appreciated as he is. Not everyone gets mail from home, and a lot of our troops will be going without care packages this Christmas. If you would like to help, you can get involved with the Treats for Troops Foster a Soldier Program. They will pair you with a soldier that you can then send packages to. It's easy, all you do after you get their info is select a gift from the Treats For Troops gift shop, and they will package it and send it for you! What could be easier than that? Let's show our brave soldiers that we care about them this Christmas, and we appreciate their sacrifices for us!

Going on Vacation

My Mom and I are taking a trip together this weekend, we are going to Minneapolis for some serious Christmas shopping at the Mall of America. More importantly, there are no kids allowed. Well, except for the yet-to-be-named child firmly implanted in my belly. That's right, I'm actually taking my first trip away from Aiden. I've left him overnight once before, but this will be 3 nights away from me. Should be interesting for Grandpa!

We're leaving Friday and will be back on Monday, and plan to have a great time eating, shopping, and being pampered by the staff of the Hilton. I've been looking at the Mall of America website, and I discovered that there is a store there called Archivers - The Photo Memory Store. Now, those of you who know me well know that I am a scrapbooking fanatic. So to find out that the store which claims to carry the "largest selection of photo memory needs in the NATION" is at the very mall I will be spending the weekend at is not good news for my bank account. I have a feeling that most of the Christmas shopping I'll be doing is going to be for me! My Mom already told me to only take a certain amount of cash with me into the store - no debit cards or credit cards, that way I won't overspend in there. You'd think I was an addict on the verge of relapse! Of course, that's really not so far from the truth....Now, if only I could find the time to actually scrapbook!

The Pitter-Patter of Little Feet...

...or should I say the kicks, jabs and karate-chops of little feet?? The baby is really starting to kick a lot, and getting stronger and stronger every day. Sometimes he can be felt from the outside, and soon there will be no denying it. I can definitely tell that he reacts more strongly to certain things I eat or drink - namely my peppermint mocha splurge a couple of times a week, orange juice and anything chocolate related. Sometimes ice cream sets him off, too. I guess it's cold!

I had Aiden in bed with me the other night, as happens occasionally, usually when he's sick. He's got a cold (the never-ending daycare sniffles), and so he was tossing and turning quite a bit. Of course, my queen-sized bed isn't big enough for the both of us (seems to work just fine for his Dad and I, but apparently Aiden needs more room to flop around) and I ended up with his feet and elbows and knees digging into me all night. When coupled with the fact that I am also getting kicked and jabbed from the inside, it makes for a fun night of no sleeping.

Oh well, the price of being mommy to two already rowdy boys, right??

The Best Christmas Present Ever

A lot of you know that my Mom has been fighting cancer. She was diagnosed with Lymphoma earlier this year, and has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments. She recently finished the last round, and soon after they moved out here to Alabama, taking the doctor's opinion that the cancer was gone to heart. This last week, she flew back out to California for some follow up tests, namely a full body PET scan to show for sure if the cancer was really gone. And guess what? It's GONE! She is officially in remission, and will be considered cured after 5 years. So I say it is definitely time to celebrate!!

We Have it Easy

Deployments are hard. I'm not going to sugarcoat it and pretend that everything's peachy, and say things like, "oh, it gets easier every time", and "gee, it's nice to have the bed to myself for a year". It's hard to be a war wife, especially at this time of year. It's even harder to be apart when you know your other half is in harm's way. BUT, technology is making the world smaller and smaller, and the miles don't seem so great, even from Iraq to Alabama. Chris and I have been able to connect via Yahoo Messenger for the last few days, and as we were chatting this morning it occured to me how lucky I am to be able to do that! How times have changed from the days of World War II! At least I don't have to wait months for a letter that might never come. Women of my Great-Grandmother's generation didn't have that luxury. I get to talk to my hubby a couple of times a week, and we can chat online almost every day. We can even see each other with a webcam. I can SEE him in Iraq, have you ever stopped to think how amazing that is??

There are other things that make life during wartime easier today than in times past. I don't have to draw a line up the back of my leg to make it look like I have pantyhose on, because all of the nylon is being used for parachutes. My meat, sugar, butter and coffee aren't rationed (although if the price of oil keeps going up, my gas might be!). I didn't have to give up my easy job to work in a tank factory, and my friends aren't being rounded up and sent to detention camps. In fact, I haven't really had to give up a thing. Well, that, but it's not much fun when you have a big pregnant belly, anyway....

So the next time you hear someone complaining about how the war is affecting them, tell them to stick it. We have it easy.

Picture with Santa

I took Aiden to see Santa today at the PX, I was hoping to get a better picture than the one last year (when he was screaming his head off). He was excited until we got up there, and then when he realized I was going to hand him off to this large man in a red suit, he freaked out. So I ended up having to sit with him, so here is the picture! Merry Christmas!