Nesting?

Well, my belly is getting pretty huge. Strangers can't help but know I'm pregnant at this point, although I'm pretty sure they all think I'm having triplets. Ahh, this belly. So big.

I think the belly is making me start to get anxious about the baby that's growing in it and how I'm going to manage two little people with two very different needs. I'm starting to feel the need to organize and get things ready.

When I was expecting Carson, I filled my freezer to the brim with meatballs, spaghetti sauce, chicken and rice soup, and bean and rice burritos. And even if it seemed excessive at the time (my husband took pictures of me working out there because he said I was crazy) it all got eaten! This time around, I'd like to try a new approach.

As I was prepping dinner last night I had what I thought to be an epiphany: use the crock pot. And even better- prep crock pot meals in the freezer ahead of time and then throw them in the day we want to eat it. A major light bulb turned on, I tell ya.

Now, there are only a few problems with this. 1- I actually like cooking and enjoy making dinner for my family so I find this idea to be, well, boring. However, when I'm juggling a new baby and trying to adjust to a very new routine, it will probably be necessary. Plus, I won't have to do this everyday- just a couple days a week will be perfect. 2- crock pot meals, at least the ones I've tried, aren't always that tasty. I usually have an issue with the texture of things... but I'm not so snobby that I won't give it a try. Survival!

So- that's where you come in. If you've got a good crock pot recipe that your family loves, please send it my way! In the meantime, I've found a blog that does exactly this sort of meal prep (when I found it on pinterest yesterday, it was like divine intervention) and I intend to try a few of her recipes. The blog is Mama and Baby Love, and there's lots of interesting stuff there. Not all of it is up my alley (for instance, she ate her placenta. Yes. You read that right.)but it is interesting non the less. And her meal planning ideas are pretty cool.



I'll let you know if I find anything delicious and worth trying! Happy Nesting!

Vail and The Hair God of the Mountains

Sean decided to be extremely romantic and adorable and booked a trip, just the two of us, to Vail, Colorado this past weekend. We traveled Thursday, spent Friday and Saturday there, and traveled back on Sunday (traveling included a two hour mountain drive- which for this Texas girl- was scary. I'm not used to seeing signs for avalanches, falling rocks, steep grades, chain laws, elk crossings, and runaway trucks). It was a wonderful way to celebrate five years of wedded bliss... or at least wedded-ness.

One of many adorable streets in Vail Village.

I started out the trip learning about all the things I wouldn't be doing, seeing as I've got a bun in the oven. No skiing, no ice skating, no hot tubs, no wine (OK, I already knew about that one, but I had no idea Vail would have so much I wanted to try!), no snowmobiles, no horseback riding, and to my eternal dismay- no dog sledding. I really thought dog sledding would be fine for a pregnant lady, but their website flat out said NO PREGNANT WOMEN.

So... I did what any pregnant lady would do. I ate- oh did I ever eat. I got a massage. And I got a hair cut.

The food in Vail is wonderful. Amazing. As Sean and I would joke- every store in Vail is a "boutique" and every restaurant is a "bistro." (Oh, and it's also very Earth friendly in Vail- I've never felt so green before. We really did the Earth a solid by spending the weekend there.) I had the best hot chocolate of my life at Rimini's. I'll probably spend weeks and gain several pounds trying to create a copycat recipe.

My massage was wonderful, however I did find out the hard way that I'm allergic to whatever green laundry detergent they use on their towels... my face was bright red the rest of the trip. It was not awesome.

My hair cut- oh I'm sorry- my hair design was one of the more interesting experiences of the trip.

While Sean did some snowboarding, I had a personal hair design (if I said hair cut one more time, he promised to charge me $5 for incorrect vocabulary usage.) by the self-proclaimed, Hair God of the Mountains, otherwise known as Eric. He was a very thin, 50 something, Norwegian man. He was dressed in designer jeans, black v-neck t-shirt with several necklaces with pendants I am sure had some kind of hippy significance and he smelled like curry powder and coffee. I'm not sure what Norwegians eat for breakfast, but I spent that hour in the salon contemplating this.

After he told me he specialized in hair design, he measured my face (literally) and gave me a complete once-over before telling me I was wearing my hair all wrong. I needed a "very simple" design so that it did not make my "long face and average body build" look any longer. Also, I needed to lose 3 inches and stop sleeping on a cotton pillow case. I needed to switch to a silk or satin pillow case immediately.

How am I to argue with the Hair God of the Mountains? I let him do exactly what he wanted to do. He proceeded to cut my hair while I was standing (I thought I deserved some sort of discount for this). The end result was just fine, albeit reminiscent of the haircut, I mean design, I had from ages 3 to 13. It is simple... which some might say is boring, however he did tell me the "simple sophistication complemented my personality." I was sold.

It was only after I was blow dried and ready to leave that I found out he charges $125 for this simple, sophisticated hair design. I guess I should have asked first, but seeing as I've never paid more than $50 (and almost puked at that) for a cut, I never imagined I'd be paying $125 (more than my massage!!) for this hair design. I guess I got a deal seeing as he is the Hair God of the Mountains.

Sean and I took a gondola trip up to a very picturesque spot and spent a few minutes there ooohing and ahhing at the gorgeous mountains while trying not to get hit by a passing skier.





We also went on a little carriage ride, which would have been a sleigh ride if they had more snow. The horses they used to pull the carriage were not Clydesdales, I can't for the life of me remember what they were, but they are similar in size. HUGE. They were absolutely HUGE. Of course we had to give them some pets... and even after fessing up to the carriage driver that I was pregnant, he still let me get on one of the horses. Sean said "he made you get on one of the horses." He was just very friendly, I think.





Even though I wasn't able to do many of the things I would have loved to do there, I had a wonderful time. Sean chose a great destination. The cold weather and snow felt like Christmas, the views were incredible, and the town was adorable. We really enjoyed ourselves! Thank goodness for grandparents who are willing to keep your nearly-always-grumpy-almost-two-year-old!

Fall Frenzy, I mean, Fun!

It's been a busy, busy fall for the Hales! Here's what we've been up to...

First, I finished a project that I thought I never would. It sat, unfinished, in my closet for months. It's one of those projects that just never went right. Nothing about it was easy. It was really frustrating. So, I finally just finished it. It's nowhere near perfect, but at least it's not sitting in a pile in my closet!



We took a trip to the zoo with our friends Tamra and Lee. The boys were total boys and were more interested in squirrels and birds than the actual animals we paid to see, but we still had a great time! Going to the zoo in the morning is really the way to go... the animals were really active! Carson loved it!





We happened to see Dora and Diego while we were there. Carson had no clue who they were, but we still took a picture with them... he may have been a little freaked out.



While Daddy was away hunting, Grandma, Jenni, and I took Carson to his first school Halloween carnival. The elementary school down the street put on a great carnival! There were lots of games Carson was able to play... he was pretty cute and so he "won" a prize at every game he played! He especially loved riding on the train with Mommy!



The bean bag toss game really cracked me up... the sweet girl running the game handed Carson the bean bags one at a time, and one at a time he placed them right in front of the board. Totally didn't get it! But, he still won a prize!





Showing off some of his prizes...







This Halloween, Carson dressed up as a fireman- the cutest one I've ever seen! He wasn't too interested in wearing his costume until he saw the first trick-or-treaters come to the door. Once he saw the candy get dropped in their buckets he followed them right out the door and on to their next stop! I had to chase after him with his costume and bucket!







Carson had SO much fun at BP's family picnic!! You can't tell from this family picture we had taken (check out his grumpy face- I laugh every time I see it) but he loved it! He rode the pony- twice- and didn't want to leave the petting zoo! Threw a nice little fit as I carried him out of there... yikes. Who knew goats and chickens could be so fun?





He took pony riding very seriously. And he was a natural... not scared in the least.











Carson got to dress up in a tuxedo for his Aunt Jackie and Uncle Alex's wedding! He was so stinking cute in that tux. He hated me putting it on him (so many steps!) but once it was on he was just fine! Carson had the very important job of walking down the isle as a ring bearer- and he did us proud! He walked straight down the isle- and then straight into the play room to have some fun while his aunt and new uncle exchanged their vows. He danced the night away at the reception! Man did he have fun!! I am hoping the photographer got some good pictures of Carson (and maybe his mom and dad too) and keep checking back to see if she has posted any... I hope she doesn't keep us waiting much longer! Until I have others to post, here are a couple my mother-in-law took (yes, I was Matron of Honor, hence the dress. Luckily I had time before the wedding to redo the HORRIBLE make-up job I got. Terrible. I have never seen such bad make-up in my life. My sister Jenni, the Maid of Honor, said she couldn't even look at me). Overall the wedding was gorgeous and so was Jackie! I can't wait to see the pictures!!!





My two men. Sigh. I love this picture, even if it is a scan. Need to ask the MIL for this one via email...



Oh, and I made the groom's cake. Chocolate with Chocolate ganache and fresh strawberries... super rich! Alex is a poker player and requested a poker theme. I was pretty satisfied with how it turned out... at least it didn't fall apart on the way over!



I can't believe I don't have more pictures from the wedding week... we had family in town and had such a great time... guess we were too busy to take out the camera! Kind of like Thanksgiving! We were either too busy eating, or too busy disciplining our nearly-two-year-old who has developed quite a defiant streak (WOAH) to get the camera out. I won't be making that same mistake the rest of the month... we have so much fun planned and I'm looking forward to this Christmas with my family more than I have in a long time!

Until next time... XO