Saturday, December 11, 2010

O Christmas Tree

It's hard to believe, but this is our third Christmas together as husband and wife. We are still working on making our own traditions, so each year has been a little different but lots of fun. One of the traditions we have established is buying a new ornament for our tree each year. We try to find an ornament that represents something we enjoyed over the last year. Last year we found a polar bear ornament that represented our trip to the Tulsa Zoo (they had the most incredible polar bear there.) We have yet to go looking for one for this year, but it is on the list of things to do.

Another tradition is turning on the Christmas music and setting up the tree together. We love decorating the tree together, but I have to admit, this year I wasn't feeling so great, so I was kind of a bum. Our first year married I strung popcorn and cranberries, and we LOVED it! I fully intended to do that this year, but I never did work up the energy for that task. Maybe next year.

Another tradition we established/copied is making pizza after decorating the tree. This is a Palmer family tradition that we carried over to our marriage. You can't go wrong with pizza! And lastly, we go to look at Christmas lights each year. Here in our city we have a huge park that you can drive through that is all lit up beautifully. We grab us some Starbucks (which is always a treat to us) and we just drive around, listening to music, talking about whatever, enjoying the lights and each others company. This year we couldn't help but be excited that we will have a little toddler to share all of our traditions with next year! Surely with a child we will add more traditions, and some of our current ones may change.

Here is our little tree

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Nesting

"The nesting instinct is the name given to the distinctive urge to clean, tidy, and organize that occurs during pregnancy."

While Aaron was home for lunch today I was sharing with him all the things I want to clean before the baby comes. We decided that I must be "nesting" because my list is really quite ridiculous. Do the couches really need vacuumed under the cushions? Are the windows and blinds really that dirty? And the fridge...yes, I plan to clean it out as well. The baseboards need dusted, and the tops of the washer and dryer need wiped down. I even made a list for Aaron. He cleaned the ceiling fans for me, and still has to wash the top of the fridge and vacuum the air conditioning vent. He always says, "you aren't going to over-do it today, are you? You need to be very careful!" He has been so sweet to help me out, and he is also good at reminding me that cleaning can wait. Each day that I feel up to it, I tackle one project that I want done before baby arrives. I don't think I will be disappointed if the list isn't complete before baby arrives, but I sure am glad each time I check something off the list.

Only a few more weeks to go!! We are looking forward to meeting out little gift from God!