Feeling the Love :)

I hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas holiday and found themselves surrounded by love and happiness! I know my husband and I did! It was a busy rush to complete our holiday tasks, in which some -making sugar cookies- were never accomplished. However, the important-everybody will know if you didn't do it-tasks were finished just in time!
Last years Christmas, due to the weather, consisted of Mitch and I sitting home alone with the pets because no one could travel. Now don't get me wrong. I love my husband and his company but after so many years of Christmas with family, it just wasn't right. This year was how it was supposed to be. Christmas Eve with the in-laws and Christmas day with my family at the farm. We were especially excited to see everybody since it was our first time to see everybody since sharing the news. It was verified that our baby is so loved already with the gifts we received. It was pretty exciting and as my husband put it "Wow, its getting kind of real" as we were holding a baby pajama set. Kind of nuts yet so exciting!
We ended up having a long holiday stay at my parents because Mitch got sick for several days. We pushed through him feeling icky to drive back home because of a huge rumored storm coming this way. Fast forward a day..............
Yep its here and in full force!! Absolutely blizzard like and impossible to travel. Glad we got our Christmas in and even better we hadn't made any New Years plans because they would be cancelled. Just looking forward to bringing my husband back to good health so that I can have my helper back. Its hard taking it easy when you are the only one who can walk around.
So back to baby: As if baby didn't get enough goods for Christmas, I went to Kohls for another baby purchase. I have been very good at limiting any baby purchases but this one had to be done! For the nursery I am planning on doing an Eric Carle Very Hungry Caterpillar theme and Kohls has some of the books and animals for sale this month. It could not have been more perfect. Here is a picture of my theme collected baby goods.

Also included in the picture is the book and a puzzle. Might try to put together a crafty type project with the puzzle. Not exactly sure of the plans....

Until I figure out another project and / or it stops sounding like a blizzard outside I am going to take the advice of my kitty Jade....

Everything feels better with a nap, right? :)

A Very Special Announcement. :)

This (on mulitiple levels) is what I have been waiting for. The chance to make a very special announcement.

We are expecting our first child!! So exciting to be pregnant although I can imagine it gets more exciting as the nauseousness passes and as my body hopefully adjusts to being pregnant since I feel exhausted constantly. Either way, I feel very fortunate and excited!

Here are some things I have realized about myself since becoming pregnant...

• I can be a left-side sleeper (through a week of night sleep training) 
• My belly has always shown food immediately upon digestion and now apparently a baby too. 
• It is possible to look cute and buy cute clothes when pregnant.
• It is completely possible to develop a food obsession (eggs) in which you devour them constantly and then the next day you are repulsed by the thought of them.
• My pregnancy irony is that I am so hungry all the time but really disgusted by the thought of most solid foods. 
• For the first time in my life....I am not crazy about candy and/or pop. It feels so unlike myself. Kind of odd. Oh yeah and I can't always sleep. Also not like me.
• I can push myself to go about my daily life while feeling icky. Go me!
• I have an unbelievable husband: This was that topic I touched on a few weeks ago but said I would talk more about of course when I could explain why. When I was obsessed with eggs, he would get up at 3/4 AM to make them for me to eat because I was too hungry to sleep. He also had to put up most of the Christmas decorations this year which believe me is dedication when I put up four giant trees with decorations and several mini trees. Most of them up on top of my kitchen cupboards complete with the lighted garland on top of them. He has been a trooper so far with meeting my crazy and annoying demands that aren't completely up to me (in my defense) :) 
• I have learned that so many people could not have been more excited to find out we are pregnant. Apparently being together for 11 years without making a baby makes people just think it wasn't going to happen haha. The best things come to those who wait.
• Also, its fun to check out my tummy constantly in the mirror just to see if it has gotten any bigger. As a girl, this is a rare opportunity to celebrate :) I am enjoying it so much and love having a photographer husband. 

Speaking of a photographer husband:

Here are some pictures from our photoshoot tonight that we quick took to make our "facebook" announcement. We thought we had another night to make the announcement but it seems as though our Christmas cards were received faster than expected ;)

Here are some shots that we took: (All images property of www.mJoyPhotography.com)

Belly Shot (12 Weeks)

Non-Fur Family Member Shot

Mac wanted to be held...

An attempt at a full family shot. Wish we would have had this for our Christmas cards. HAHA Doesn't help that the cat and dog don't really like to be up close and personal with eachother. 

Anyways it feels so much better to have the news out. Hopefully that explains some of my behaviors for those of you around me who didn't know.
Yes, my belly is growing rapidly because there is a baby inside.
Yes, I am hungry all the time and it is necessary for me to shove little snacks in constantly.
Yes, I really do have to pee that often during the day. I am not escaping my classroom of kids just to get away. (Well maybe sometimes haha but I do also go to the bathroom during that break)
I look forward to sharing this crazy, yet exciting journey with you as I go along.
12 weeks today. Only 28 more to go ;)

Cookie Exchange Recipe.

So Christmas is less than a week away and I can't believe it. I am getting excited to go home but haven't really felt the Christmas "magic" feeling yet. Hopefully it will hit after my three days of school this week. Tomorrow at work I have a cookie exchange which is a clever way to get lots of Christmas goodies. People sign up to participate and then you bring 6 goodies for each person on the list. I chose to make peanut clusters. Typically a popular treat that I share at my workplaces.

Here is a picture:

In all fairness, it is hard to make a big pile of chocolate look super special. Regardless, they taste amazing!

Here is the recipe:

Super easy to make. My type of baking! Hoping the baking bug hits me later this week so that I can make some other yummy treats. Haven't felt like doing too much lately so we'll see. Guessing the sugar cookies with frosting will call me name :)

Preschool Winter Gear Idea.

Ughh. Starting to feel like I have a ton to do before Christmas and yet not long before its all due. We did get the last of our indoor holiday decorations up finally and that feels awesome. There is something about the glow of the lights that makes it feel warmer. All I have left outside is to hang up my wreaths around our garage lights which with the temperature in the negatives, will take about .9 seconds. Believe me. It is survival mode with it being so cold outside.
I was going to post something I accomplished in my preschool room the other day. I am pretty proud of it because the kids are using it. Anything that catches on to a 3/4 year old and better yet helps them get dressed in their winter gear faster is worth sharing!! (I hung these out in the hallway by their cubbies)

Here is a picture of the charts I made. (Clip Art found in a Winter clip art book by DJ Inkers titled: Serendipity Soup--Winter)

The top pictures list the items in order, one-by-one that need to be put on. The bottom picture shows the bear as he gets dressed and ready. I reviewed the posters before hanging them up so that the kids understood the process and what they were for.

Christmas Wreath Craft.

I had found this project a month or so ago and had put it on my to-do list. 

I realized two things which prompted urgency to complete this project....

1. If I wanted to complete and hang a Christmas wreath, I best do it soon since Christmas is two weeks away.

2. Yesterday I realized I still had a Thanksgiving turkey hanging on my door. Embarassing and clearly a need for an "in-season" decoration.

So here another one is. This is the last Christmas craft I think that I have planned for the season....

Here are the supplies needed:

*Ribbons of all sizes and colors for the represented holiday (Found most of mine pretty cheap at Wal-mart)
*Stick pins to avoid having to deal with the glue gun
*A Styrofoam wreath
--The rest are optional

Here are a few pictures of the supplies to hopefully clarify.

I started out my project by wrapping the whole wreath with a wide, see-through ribbon just to cover the whole wreath to make it easier for wrapping individual colored ribbon strips.

Here is it completely wrapped.

Then I cut several pieces of each color/type of ribbon and started combining the ribbons to make stripes. To secure, I pinned them each in the back of my wreath. I continued all the way around until it was completely wrapped.

Completely wrapped and with a bow added at the top for hanging.

Then I thought it needed a little extra so I rigged up a bow and pinned it on. Then I cut the letters "JOY" with my cricut out of cardstock. To get them to lay flat on the wreath I glued them to two ribbons directly across the back.

Here is the finished product!

Isn't it just too cute? I love it!

Here is the original idea that I used. Click here to see their wreath version

From this project I learned a valuable lesson and honestly I should have known better.

Best not to leave your project unguarded with a puppy around to investigate. Here is what I came back upstairs to find.... (notice the completely chewed and ripped apart ribbon carton)

A picture with the culprit included....

He was wearing this shirt during "the incident". I think we know which one...

My husband is the best!!

No neglect meant. But after my hubby read my ABC blog list, he felt a little left out. I said that I didn't have a letter for him but included him in on the family/relatives subject. He is a little more special though to be clumped into the big category and really he has been a super hubby for the past few weeks. More about that in a later post :) Anyways, because he rocks and I maybe hadn't mentioned it enough I thought of some awesome things we do as a couple.

The first thing we started a few years ago was buy these little mailboxes that we keep on our bedside table everyday. I found them at Target in the dollar aisle when they had out all of the Valentines Day items. Whenever we feel like sharing a special gift or writing each other an extra special note, we simply place it in the mailbox and put the flag up to know there is something in it. Always brings a smile to my face to read some kind words written by the love of my life.

The next extra special activity we do is just during the month of December and really my husband does all the work. We have an advent calendar in which, he places special gifts and/or coupons in for me.

Here is a picture of the calendar how it sits now....I have collected all through the 9th. Check out that awesome Hello Kitty ring I got on the 8th :) 

Here is a close-up of one of the coupons. Read it. Thats love right? Those of you who have hubbies who play video games know its love for him to give up a whole day of black ops (my choice which day) Big time coupon!!

Hopefully this post didn't make you too nauseated. Feel free to pass this link along to the man in your life to get some ideas :)
But let's face it. My husband is pretty awesome. I am VERY lucky and my husband and I pretty much rock ;)

Just a Little Holiday Spirit to Spread.

In light of the holiday spirit I posted a video for you to enjoy. You may recognize the "stars" of the short show. :)

Click here for Our Holiday Video :)
It will take you off of my blog, but its ok. Just come visit me again soon. :)

-mJoy

ABC Edition: Joys of Life.

Was trying to think of what I could write about tonight and then realized I should reflect on what I love. I mean what makes my world go round. I love reading on other peoples websites, blogs, information random facts that are unique to them. So here is my list....

List of Loves 

A: Amish. Ok, so maybe this is a weird fascination and really i wish they didn't start with the letter "a" since I didn't want to admit this one right out of the shoot. But I guess this blog is about honesty. There you have it. I am fascinated as to how Amish can survive amongst our world while still holding onto their way of life.

B: Birthdays. Mine in particular of course since its usually a special day filled with some fun events. But I do love when others have birthdays since it means I have been blessed with another year of their company.

C: Candy. Blog title. Need I say anymore :)

D: So odd because I wouldn't guess this to be the hardest letter to come up with but after much brainstorming. No idea what my "d" joy is.... Hmmm. Dang. I wanted a complete list. I will have to keep thinking.

E: Experiences. Good or bad, they make you into the person you become.

F: Fur. No I am not big on animal killing but I LOVE fur on anything. Especially on my pets seeing as though we have a persian cat and pomeranian dog.

G: Games. They always bring people together to have fun and memories are made guaranteed.

H: Home. Its always good to be home where you are most comfortable.

I: Internet. It is filled with so many good resources and also provides me with a way to connect to my family and friends.

J: Joy. The word has so much significance. My mom's middle name, my middle name, and now part of our photography business's name. Plus, it meaning feeling great. Who doesn't love to feel great?

K: Kids. They provide you with such insight and humor that hasn't yet been tainted by the outside world. Plus they have so much love to give that its hard not to just love them!

L: Lists. Love them and really run my life with them :)

M: Movies. Love being able to chill and watch movies of all kinds. More so, the type of ones that I don't have to think real hard about though.

N: Naps. Didn't like them as a child but love them now.

O: Opportunities. I see these as choices that are given to you and you decide if you want to participate. Typically they are positive in nature.

P: Prizes/ Presents. Even as a child I would always want "prizes" when my parents would go shopping and even still I love them :)

Q: Quilts. All of the ones I have received have been made by people who love me very much.

R: Relatives/ Family. Love. Support. Enough said.

S: Sprinkles / Sparkles. Anything glitzy and girly is very cute.

T: Teeth / Towels. Ok, so I had a hard time coming up with a "t" word. But these are practical items in which I am grateful for. I mean think of trying to eat with no teeth or showering without a towel to dry off with. No thanks.

U: Uranus. Ok so I have no joy in the noun itself haha. But can anyone seriously say the word without even a silent chuckle? Always good for a laugh and laughing is good.

V: Vacations. Particularly those to Mexico in which we were married almost five years ago.

W: Warmth. I Love to be warm. Blankets, baths, heaters all have my name on them.

X: Xerox copiers / Laminators. All teacher tools that I love being able to use :)

Y: You. Let's face it. Without readers, there isn't much of a reason for a blog. Thank you!

Z: Zoos. I love animals and zoos that provide a good form of living to injured animals are some of my favorite places to go. Omaha Henry Doorley Zoo. I heart you.

I challenge you. Think what would be on your ABC Life Joy list and even better. Share it :)

I heart Mascots.

Fact or Fiction: I was a mascot in high school because I didn't make the cheerleading squad. Fact :(

Here's what I have to say about it. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger......

Yep, that's right. It didn't kill me (physically anyways) to be this scrawny girl in a giant Tiger costume. However, I did endure emotional damage, not to mention physical damage with kids cornering me in the stairs to pull on my tail and hit my head. A lot. Which is why I quit a few weeks later after hiding in the locker rooms.
p.s. Sorry Kool-Aid man for pulling the same stunts on you before I knew better when I was very little.

Pause. A moment of silence for the moment in which my pride died.

Which brings me to my blog topic. Roundabout I know. Bear with me.

So scouting youtube for a video to post tonight made me realize one thing. I love mascots. I should have picked up on this before considering just looking at this computer alone, there are several photos of myself with random mascots. And now that I think about it, I have been stopped dead in my tracks to admire two different animal mascots in the past two weeks. A lion in the winter parade and a moose at the hockey game last night. What is it about mascots that makes them so irresisistible?I just don't think about what possibly could be inside of the costume. I would rather cuddle up with them for the photo opportunity :)

Since I am admitting my addiction, I will share the pictures that document it.

I just realized my facebook profile picture includes myself with two mascots. HAHA. I confess. I am a nut.

Finally, the very random youtube video that I came across tonight. I repeat. Its random and in fact in a different language so I dont even know if its appropriate. But I LOVE IT! How could you go wrong with Crazy Chubby Bunny as the video title???



Another p.s. Another reason why the video caught my attention. Have you ever heard of the Chubby Bunny game? The title of the video also reminded me of the Chubby Bunny game that I had to play at my wedding shower. I had to answer trivia questions about my husband and when I got any questions wrong, I was forced to shove a big marshmallow into my mouth and continue to play the game. Each question wrong would add another marshmallow into your mouth. It was a gagging mess by the end but good times. Feel free to use the game idea to torture any future brides to be at their showers :)