Thanksgiving, Early Christmas activities

Right before Thanksgiving, we had my glucose test, full blood panel, and midwife appointment. My glucose & all blood work came back normal, so I was very happy about that. My iron was still a little low, and she said she'd just like to get it built up before the birth since so much blood is lost. We talked to her a lot about having a VBAC and uterine ruptures, without getting any real answers. They were questions that really aren't answerable, though.. Nobody knows what will happen until it does. I have been actively reading and corresponding with people about VBAC's, and we feel certain at this point that that's the way to go. We feel it's safest for baby and for me. I know anything could come up before then, though, so I'm not counting on anything- just hoping for the best!

Around Thanksgiving, we started looking for our Elf on the Shelf, Timmy. We could not find him ANYWHERE. Apparently we hid him so well last year (so the kids couldn't find him!) that we couldn't find him this year! We ended up finally finding him just the other day (in a place Eric had already looked at least twice :)). Westen loves having him around. He's been very well behaved and asks me to give Timmy daily behavior reports. Every morning, he jumps out of bed to find where Timmy's new spot is for the day. Aeson's been a little freaked out by him. The first couple of days, Aeson wouldn't look at Timmy & he even hid from him after seeing he moved on the second day! We'd watched a show on tv about the Elf on the Shelf, so I think Aeson really believes he's real and it freaks him out a little. :) I think he's getting more used to him now, though.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We'd had an early Christmas get together with Eric's dad's side of the family before Thanksgiving, since Eric's grandparents will be gone over Christmas. Then we had our Thanksgiving meal at Eric's parent's house, and everything was delicious. The kids were extremely well behaved, and it was just an enjoyable day.

That night, Eric, Aeson, and I braved Walmart for some of their deals. We got what we wanted and got out quickly. They were the busiest I've ever seen, but I think it's pretty fun. :) We got one of ten power wheel cars that Aeson wanted for Christmas, an art set for Westen, some dvd's for all the kids, a couple of play-dough sets, and a deep freeze that Eric's parents bought us for one of our Christmas presents. We also already got our other big present from them, which is a portable dishwasher. I am SO incredibly thankful for both! The dishwasher has been amazing. I can't believe how much time I save not having to do the dishes.. and how nice it is not to have to worry about dishes in my sink, standing there doing them, etc! I've never had a dishwasher before, so I'm pretty much in love! We also got groceries for the first time today since getting the deep freeze & it was nice to not have to worry about how much would fit in our freezer! Hopefully we won't have to grocery shop as much. :) I'm planning on making up some meals and things to put in it over Christmas break for when the baby comes. My sister got me a recipe book full of freezer recipes for the my birthday, so I'm excited to do that. I'm excited to just have the TIME to cook and bake and prepare!

We got the baby a changing table this weekend. Aeson broke the one we had by jumping on it, and luckily we were able to find a very cute one on a used website. We still have a crib, dresser, mamaroo (swing), and a sling to buy. Probably along with some more clothes and cloth diapers. Seems like a lot! We're getting there, though.

Yesterday, we went to Dickens On The Square. The kids got to see Santa and tell him what they wanted (Westen a Nintendo 3DS and Aeson said "toys"!). We took Westen to the children's shopping mall, where he got to pick out gifts for us. He wanted to buy for everyone, but we just didn't have enough money for everyone in our families. It will be cute to see what he picked out! They had some activities the kids did, and then we rode in a horse drawn carriage around the square, which both kids loved!

Today, Eric and I pretty much finished our Christmas shopping! The kids spent the afternoon with his parents, while we rushed around everywhere & then came home to wrap everything. I'm very sore and ready for bed! Tomorrow starts my last week of actual classes.. then all I have left is finals!