Something to ruminate on...

I know this article/post may seem "radical" to some friends, to others it might just be the words you've been looking to piece together this time of year. A perspective on Jesus vs. Santa.

The Christmas Conundrum

Stand out quotes:
*For a five-year-old, how can Jesus compete with Santa? Our children don't have spiritual perspective; when faced with the choice of allegience, they have a baby in a manger, or they can get a jolly, twinkling, flying character who will bring them presents. This is going to be an easy choice for them.
*Ditto for all of us. When there are commercials that say, "Hey? You know how to avoid the terrible Disappointed Face when you give your loved one her gift? Buy her a Toyota!"...we have seriously derailed, folks.
*Four years ago, we started this gift-giving policy for each kid: Something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read. That's it.

Santa Train

Did you know that Chicago has an official Santa Train? Now, this isn't your ordinary train. It is completely decked out with garland, green and red lights, santa fabric chairs, festive music, snow on the windows, elves, and of course Santa! For a moment, when all the kids were running to catch a glimpse of Santa, I felt like we were on the Polar Express. What a sweet moment.

However, while all the kids and parents are enjoying the warmth inside the train cars, Santa has to sit outside on a flat bed while the train moves. Talk about cold! But he seemed to be the jolly ol' santa that didn't have a care in the world except to make little kids happy. And hey, if he rides all night on a sleigh, surely he can ride a few hours outside on a train. :)

Christmas Cookies

I had a lot of fun making cookies this year. Timothy even enjoyed helping me mix batters and cut out sugar cookie stars. I made my grandmother's ginger snap recipe, candy cane cookies, vanilla bean sugar cookies (thanks mom for the real vanilla beans), and my favorite marshmallow wreath cookies.

journal weeks 13 through 16

wk.13: Boo! I'm getting sick. I'm still feeling tired...and am wondering how I'm going to make it pregnant, tired, and sick. Many have gone before me, right? Some days I feel like a little bulge has appeared and then disappears. :)
*Baby/Food comparison: Little peach, if we had a really, really good ultrasound, we could tell your gender now. (I feel like you are a boy, but I keep having dreams of pink and little girls. Daddy doesn't feel one way or the other.)

wk.14: A 'bulge' is definitely apparent, even my husband notices. Wondering if the tiredness is ever going away.
*Little one, hope you enjoy all the Thanksgiving food this week! Your big brother just started giving you a kiss via my belly.

wk.15: I am having CRAZY dreams. Last night I had two bad dreams and one really beautiful one. Bad: one where one by one friends were being killed off until there were only three of us left. second where I thought a cuban leader was going to break into a vacation home we were staying at and either rob or kill us. I try to wake up before the end of that one. The really great one was feeling the baby move. I'm so excited to that to happen in real life. :) No one really says I look pregnant, but I feel it. I feel it in the way I walk, the way my belly feels, the way I eat clementines and peanut butter.

wk.16: I thought I started feeling the baby last week, but this week it is definitely apparent that I feel this little baby. :) What a sweet little reminder as I lay in bed at night or talk with a friend that the baby is moving around. We're excited for our 20wk ultrasound (just after the first of the year) to find out the gender of the baby. 
*Little avocado, I feel like you are already so sweet. Just your gentle reminders that you are there are treasures to your mommy. Amazing that you are already getting toenails. I know, weird, but very special.

Enjoying the season

We sure have been enjoying the season. It came a little earlier than usually with an early Christmas celebration with my family at Thanksgiving. But we've loved having the lights and tree up. They're one of the first lights to go on in the morning and one of the last to go off in the evenings.

One sweet gift received last year was The Advent Book. If you are looking for a great way to keep the focus on Christ during this season, this has been such a blessing in our family. http://www.adventbook.com/ Timothy has been loving opening the 'lift a flap' doors, and I imagine that as the years pass on this will continue to be a treasure to our family as it was to mine growing up.

And countdown calendars are never disappointing. The boys have been enjoying the Andes Mints from each day.

I've enjoyed assembling the daunting candy cane cookies and my grandmother's ginger snaps - quite a hit in our house and at the parties!

Happy Holidays friends!

I finally made the jump...

And got bangs. I've been tempted to get them many times before, and I thought better now than never? And I can always pull them back if I hate them. I just don't know what I think except: I look so different.

Before:

After:

Not to lie...I kinda like the before better right now.

Fall Dreams

Today is a beautiful fall day. Almost a "no sweaters required" day. But it reminds me to soak up these last few days of yellow leaves and massive piles of leave along the side streets. We had a brief, magical flurry of snow this last week, so fall is leaving a little too quickly for me.

Today, I imagined Tim playing football out with his friends. Me inside probably with a warm beverage (coffee, tea, or apple cider...take your pick), half watching football on TV, half sneaking glances out the window to watch my boy play ball.

For today, I dwell on the times he chooses to hold my hand, his desperate attempts to say 'ready, set, go!", and the constant vehicle noises. These are simple days, but I know I will dream of these days too.

journal weeks 9 through 12

wk.9: I'm still tired, even to the point of feeling exhausted. I'm very excited to get announcement pictures taken by http://www.alaunapetersonphotography.com/. I've noticed that my belly button is already rounding out from an oval to a circle.
*Baby/Food comparison: Md. Olive. Little olive, at this point you are moving around a bit. Oh how I can't wait to feel you move around!

wk.10: Another tired week, not surprising. I've been more sick to my stomach than usual. Sometimes my pants feel snug, and I don't mind wearing stretchy pants. :)
*Little plum, we announced your upcoming arrival this week! So many people are so excited for you to be apart of our family. You are loved much!!

wk.11: Some days I feel beyond exhausted. How is that possible? (Oh wait! I have an almost two year old!) Some days I look like I have a little bump, other days I look the same.
Music I've been listening to: Sara Groves and Raffi with your brother :)
Recent Movie: Seeing Happy Feet 2 soon!
Books I'm reading: 1000 Gifts, The Teacher's Funeral. Upcoming-Give Them Grace
Top News Story: Upcoming GOP candidates; Cain, Perry, Romney

wk.12: Reflections of the first trimester-Can it possibly be the end of the first trimester? Is it bad that I still don't "feel" pregnant? Little Timtim is keeping me busy and active! He loves to say baby and be the baby. :) He's been very sweet on other babies, and I'm looking forward to how he will love this little one. And looks like chicken is an aversion for me and this little one.

12wk prenatal visit

Notes: Still love our doctor. She was able to give some helpful medical advice pertaining my body and how other areas are effected because of our growing baby. The heartbeat was very strong and quite beautiful. She mentioned that we might get to find out the gender as early as 19wks! (Shouldn't get too excited cause I might have to wait.) I love that my husband is still able/willing to make it to the visits.

Weight: Lost 6lbs. *I've had a hard time wanting to eat (I do eat!), my body just doesn't feel up to eating. Hopefully, by getting some of the recommended foods into my body, I'll start to feel more excited about eating again. This baby needs some food! :)

The latest and greatest...

The Arboretum

We had a wonderful time at the Morton Arboretum! Not only is this a great place to explore nature, but we had a fabulous time with family. (Note: This would be better for a nice 65-80 degree day.)

journal weeks 5 through 8

wk.5: Two other close friends were told this week. I've had a burst of energy verses tired, but I'm feeling edgy.

wk. 6: My energy level has been a bit sluggish. And I notice that I'm definitely hormonal. I've been sick in the afternoons, and I've been napping almost every day.
Little one, you are still so tiny - 1.25mm. You've made me very, very tired. You've only let me eat crackers, peanut butter, and apples.

wk.7: I've been super sick this week; I'd rather not even get out of bed. I'm feeling like a roller coaster - up and down. We told my husband's close friend and his wife.
*Little one, you are growing! 1.1cm! :)

wk.8: I'm still tired, boo. Unfortunately, I've been on and off with nausea. I'd prefer to not wear regular pants anymore.
Baby/Food Comparison: Pinto Bean. Little bean, your body is quite amazing! Eyelids are forming. Very important valves are forming in your heart. You have ELBOWS!

the first pre-natal visit

My OB-GYN is: Dr. Johnson

Our due date: May 22st, 2012

First weigh in: 133lb

Planning on delivery: at the hospital

Here's why: I had a wonderful first delivery at a hospital. If anything goes wrong, I want to be in the right place to receive care. I appreciate the professionalism of the staff and their concern for my family.

Notes: I love, love the OB. She was recommended by a friend and is very caring toward our whole family. She is professional and personal. We had an early ultrasound, and everything looks beautiful! We even got to see the little heartbeat (unable to hear it because of the equipment). And Timothy kept saying, "Baby. Baby." The front desk staff is wonderful! (Such a sweet change from our first office.)

Trains!

Our little guy loves trains!

Whether it is the Thomas Trains generously passed down to us:

*Picture by Mama Buck

Or the train tables at stores or play places: 

Or riding a kid-lifesize train out at Hufford grandparents block party: 

Trains are just his thing. :)

*Not pictured riding the 'L' (aka: TRAIN!) downtown to visit Daddy at work!

Painting

After a good friend of mine said that she had tried painting again with her son, I thought we'd give it a try. And what a success! Only once did the paintbrush go in the mouth! :)
(Bathtub = Easy Clean-up)

A to Z: About Me

  Saw this on another blog and thought I'd share about me since I tend to talk about the little guy.

 

A. Age: 26. The husband reminds me I'm closer now to 30. I remind him he's closer than me. :)

B. Bed size: Queen. Although, I've been tempted toward a King bed so many times.

C. Chore that you hate: Folding laundry. I don't usually mind the hanging or putting away part just the folding.

D. Dogs: I like that our neighbors have one, but I'd rather not. I feel like sometimes it's hard enough keeping up with the responsibilities I currently have.

E. Essential start to your day: Water and not too much talking.
 
F. Favorite color: I honestly don't know. I wear lots of gray so maybe gray?

G. Gold or Silver: Silver.

H. Height: 5'7" 

I. Instruments you play: I can pluck out a few keys on the piano.

J. Job title: Stay at home mom.

K. Kids: Mr. T

L. Live: Midwest

M. Mother’s name: Kim, and not Kimberly. Just Kim. And I like it that way.

N. Nicknames: Don't have any right now. Weird cause I used to have lots in high school and college.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Thankfully only when Timtim was born.

P. Pet peeves: City Stickers. Why do we pay for them when we already pay taxes to this town?! And I get NO privileges with them. That's just wrong.

Q. Quote from a movie: Sorry, drawing a blank here.

R. Right or left handed: Right handed.

S. Siblings: Hannah

U. Underwear: Yes, I wear it.

V. Vegetable you hate: Cooked spinach.

W. What makes you run late: Tim running to the back door, Tim running down the side walk, Tim trying to open other people's car doors.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Wow, a lot. Fortunately, no broken bones. And I'd like to keep it that way.

Y. Yummy food that you make: Meatballs and sweet breads and I have a killer chocolate cake recipe with homemade buttercream frosting (but not too buttery)

Z. Zoo animal: Giraffes. No competition.

Another Week

It's been a pretty low key week here. Lots of chilling around the house, a few visits to the libraries (yes, intentionally plural), and friends.

Mondays have lately been "recoop from the weekend" days. We normally just hang out at home, maybe take a trip to the park, or a walk around our house. It's nice. And I don't mind and Tim doesn't seem to either.

This week brought some sweet moments of lunch with a friend and walking together afterward with the boys. And if you are in or ever in Chicago, this place is worth checking out: http://www.noheacafe.com/. Delicious sandwiches and homemade chips.

Last month marked our year anniversary with our baby group. Do you know how sweet it is for your children to practically know other kids for their whole lives? And do you know how precious it is to a mom to have friends who are accepting and non-judgmental? It's priceless and a sanity keeper.

We're starting to do more baking and soups now that our weather is turning more and more like Fall. And I don't think the family minds.

And lastly, one other sweet moment of our week has been my husband busting out the guitar a couple nights this week. I enjoy his playing, but I think the real joy here is watching Timothy's utter amazement and thrill watching him play the guitar. The saddest part is when the guitar gets put away. Tim's so upset. And the little guitar I bought for $2 at a consignment sale is helping to easy the pain...but only so much. :)

Here's a glimpse of their time together:

The Week

We've had quite an "exciting" week at the Hufford home. In many ways, we are seeing our little guy grow up and express that "wild at heart" spirit.

One of the funniest things Mr. T is doing right now is trying to talk really fast. Now, he's not saying sentences, just combos of mama dada baba and whatever comes out at that moment. And his mouth is moving SO FAST! And it's hysterical to watch. And even funnier when E and I try to do what he's doing, and he just moves his mouth at the same time with no words coming out! (Imagine a ventriloquist.)

And I'll find him in funny positions like this:

However, some of the things he finds funny or amusing...are a bit scary to mom and dad.

Take Tuesday. I go to put a pot of water on to boil. Tim is using E's old rolling briefcase as a toy, running it up and down the hallway. (I love having a long hallway for just that.) I hear a door close and run quickly to the bathroom...where Tim has locked himself in the bathroom! And here's the catch; there's no way to unlock it unless you are inside the bathroom. So, I try to persuade Tim to come over and knock on the door and then tap where the lock is. No luck. All I keep hearing is the toliet flushing. No crying, just the toliet flushing. A good sign that he's doing okay in there. I try to get the door handle off only to find out, there's still nothing from the outside that would allow me to turn the lock. At this point I'm thinking, "Do I need to call 911 and get the fire dept. here?" My neighbor comes to the rescue and gets a ladder to the window in the bathroom. Sounds good, right? Wrong. We have a safely lock on the window that doesn't allow it to go any higher than 2-3". So, he's just talking with Tim who is totally fine, having a good old time in the bathroom. E gets home at this point, and he THANKFULLY knows a special way to open the window, and he's able to pull Tim out of the bathroom. Sigh...we are so thankful nothing else happened and rather Tim was just having some "play time" in the bathroom. Geez. Moral of this story: get locks you can unlock from the outside. :)

I thought there was one other thing...but my head is all swimmy right now, so I'll update if I think of it.

journal weeks 1 through 4

wk.1: At this point, I had no clue that I was pregnant.

wk.2: My earliest symptoms were a heightened sense of smell.

wk.4: My current disposition is a hormonal hurricane. This is the week we found out. :) And I celebrated my 26th birthday. I'm starting to notice that I'm very tired.
*Little one: You are only about 1mm in length. How small!

it's a positive read!

*Answers based off of a previous pregnancy journal, The Belly Book.
 

Where and when I took the home pregnancy test: I was in our fourth apartment. The date was Sept. 14th, 2011. The time was around 6a.

First reaction when I realized it was positive: I was really excited! I had been nervous that the test would come back negative. But I was so so happy to see a second "pregnancy" line!

How I told my hubby and reaction: He was there when we took the test. He, too, was excited. "We're pregnant!"

Who we told right away and their reactions: Talissyn, needless to say, it took awhile her her to get my "positive" test text. Families: Husbands - Yelled, "We're so excited!" MIL couldn't keep focused finishing up lunch for my birthday. Mine - "Are you serious?!" :)

This is our second baby. :)

Sneak Peek

Here are a few peeks at what I've been trying to work on in Mr. T's room:




*Sorry for the poor picture quality, photographer friends. It's probably painful to look at my pics...:)

"Innovative" Yogurt Top

Tim and I love Stonyfield's Yogurt. And when Whole Foods has it for $.50 for a 6oz. container, you better believe we are going to get some! After not being able to finish our yogurt, I thought, "I bet one of Tim's kid tops will fit this." And so my husband said that I should share this with you!

Follow the steps VERY carefully:

#1: Find yourself a small "First Years" top.

#2: Don't finish all of your 6oz. Stony yogurt.

#3: Assemble step 1 to step 2.


WARNING: The spill-proof aspect of this has not been tested. This has only been placed back in the frig and not traveled with.

DIY Braided Scarf

I saw this on Pinterest and LOVED it!

Tutorial: http://thisolddress.blogspot.com/2009/07/diy-recycled-t-shirt-braided-scarf.html

And seeing that I had an old shirt I've been trying to figure out something to do with it (it had some holes), I thought I'd give it a try!
(kinda like the step 1 of this look)


Final Product! *My shirt was a little smaller so that's why it's shorter than the original.


Baby Group girls, get ready to see this Friday!

Let's Get Cooking!

I have been on quite a search for a play kitchen for T. I knew that I didn't want to spend a lot of money. I have done a lot of craigslist emailing, amazon searching...and there have been a lot of disappointments. But I'm happy with our final $20!!! purchase! :) And T is too! He's already been cooking up a lot of yummy food.

A friend's giveaway

Hey! Just incase you are pregnant or want to be, you should check out this giveaway. http://babymakingbybecky.blogspot.com/2011/08/jules-ford-maternity-giveaway.html

And it's hard feeling beautiful being pregnant, but this line is really a good start!

Take A Class

If we had money pouring out of our pockets, I'd take a class or lots of classes (cause apparently I'm assuming with all that extra money there would be extra time.)

I'd take a...

sewing class. Get all the basics of how to use a sewing machine and make everything; pillows, skirts, even quilts!

woodworking class. How many times have I said, "I wish I could just build that! It would be so much cheaper than buying it." And I need to learn how to use a jigsaw and, you know, all those other woodworking tools.

photography class. Just cause I'd enjoy following someone around learning the tricks of the trade.

ballet class. I've always thought it would be wonderful to be a beautiful ballerina. I didn't do so well with the Hip Pop class back when I was a freshman in high school. Gotta try a different style.

pastry class. Maybe I should just have Lindsey (http://thegreycity.blogspot.com/) teach me all the new things she's learning. :)

painting class. Cause I'm most relaxed when I'm painting.

Jam!

I had strawberries that NEEDED something to be done with them. They were on the verge of going bad, and I hate spending money on wasted food. Low and behold, (I think it was meant just for me) I found a recipe in Real Simple for a blueberry jam! With a little magic (or following directions) and switching the blueberries to strawberries, I made strawberry jam! I feel so domestic. :)

Another blog

Hey friends. I am blessed by the story seen on a "friend's" blog today.
http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/2011/08/01/and-the-journey-finally-began/

It's a beautiful story of how the Lord is at work in an adoption process.

Loving the Summer

Can't figure out if we are really loving the summer or just loving our new location. And I feel the urge to write here lately. No obligations to read just enjoying this outlet.

Top 10 Favorite "Summer" Things to Do:

10. Eden's Park within walking distance where T loves to watch all the big boys
9. Sticking my feet in the pool while T plays, rather drinks the water and tries getting in and out
8. Mr. T riding the tricycle on the patio
7. Play Groups
6. Obsessive amounts of grilling out. Let's just say we bought 80lbs of charcoal. We might die young but happy. :)
5. Story and folk music time at The Mighty Twig (library).
4. Bible study outside and T playing with Ms. Becca
3. Visitors from all over - TN, OR, IN
2. The beach...the beach! (or lake and don't love the sandy bottoms)
...and...
1. Exploritorium - Just go. *BOGO on Friday

Our Flower Garden (Update)

All the enjoyment with none of the work. We moved in, and these are in the backyard.

*As of August




*As of July