Weekending: 'Tis the Season!

Phew! What an incredibly busy weekend, but in the best possible way! I haven't felt inclined to share our weekend happenings lately because they've mostly been filled with home projects or lots of laziness. Or a combination of both. But this past weekend was crammed full of family and friends time and even though it's bitterly cold outside, it was a perfect weekend.

Friday

Originally, Friday night was supposed to be Jim's company Christmas party. I wasn't too keen on going given that I'm 37 weeks pregnant and needed to go buy a new dress that fit, but since my Aunt and her husband were more than happy to babysit we figured we might as well go and get a free dinner out of it! Then two days before the party, Jim called to tell me we weren't going to as it wasn't a semi-formal dinner, it was a casual cocktail/appy evening. Ya, not happening in my condition or in this weather. So I gladly returned that dress and instead we headed out to dinner and a movie (never happens!). The timing and location of where the movies were playing that we wanted to see just didn't work for us, so we ended up going to a cheap theatre and watching Deepwater Horizon, the film based on the true story of the BP oil spill. (Mark Wahlberg sold me). It was actually really good and really interesting to see the events of this horrific event from the people directly involved on the rig.

Anyway, afterwards we headed to Phoenix Grill for dinner because I've been wanting to take Jim there ever since the Blog Squad went after our OTF workout back in the spring. Funnily enough though, even though everything on their menu sounds delicious, I ended up ordering the exact same salad I had last time and it's still one of the best salads I've ever ordered at a restaurant.

We grabbed Turtle sundaes from McDonald's on the way home (SO good!) and then ate them while watching F is for Family on Netflix.

Sully had a blast decorating a gingerbread train while we were gone, and clearly didn't miss us at all!

Saturday

I was up early to head out the door to pick up my Baby Box and run a few errands before meeting Jim and Sully at Sully's last gymnastic class of this session. He was so proud to go up and get his certificate at the end. And I was so proud of him because most of the time he's so shy in situations like that and won't go up on his own.

Afterwards, the boys ran some more errands while I headed home to get ready for the annual Blogger Christmas party that I was hosting this year! We were missing several of the girls, but we still had a great time chatting and catching up, eating delicious food, doing our gift exchange and taking cheesy group photos! After I spend time like this with these women, I'm always overwhelmed by how lucky I am to have found such a good and honest group of friends. Our blogs may have brought us together, but it's our friendships that bond us.

{Nicole//Kris//Leigh//Jen//Me//Ange//Alison}

Leigh and I also exchanged our Blogger Christmas Swap gifts, as we were paired up this year. Leigh spoiled me with not one, but two ornaments that are totally me, plus some other goodies!

Sunday

I've been sleeping terribly lately so I opted to sleep in the basement Saturday night hoping to get a good nights sleep and not keep Jim up with my constant repositioning. I tell ya, the day I can once again sleep on my back and give my hips a much needed rest can't come soon enough! Luckily, I had a pretty good sleep and slept in till 10 a.m.! After we all ate breakfast, we got to work tackling clutter and some final home projects. Tomorrow Mad Maids is coming in to do a deep clean of my house and to say I'm so excited would be an understatement! This is the adult equivalent of a kid on Christmas morning!

Anyway, it's time for this pregnant momma to climb into bed and read a few pages of her book before going to sleep!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!


Tell me something fun you did this weekend! 

Weekending: 'Tis the Season!

I just love this time of year, where get-togethers and parties are aplenty, where there are endless things to do with your family, where the food is delicious and oh so decadent, and where the spirit of Christmas feels alive. Home feels extra cozy and seeing the delight in your toddlers eyes every time he sees a Christmas tree never gets old. It's a wonderful time of the year and I honestly wish we had a few more weekends left to celebrate and be festive. Doesn't it always feel like Christmas is weeks and weeks away, and you have nothing but time to buy and wrap presents, bake cookies, watch holiday movies, drink rum and eggnog, yet, it's always over in the blink of an eye!

Before I get to this weekends festivities, I want to share my my gift from the Canadian Blogger Christmas Swap. This is my second year participating in this gift exchange (Lindsey and Leigh host and organize it), and this year I was lucky enough to be paired up with Becky! Cupcake ornaments, chocolates, and a 6-pack of beer - seriously, this girl knows me too well! I haven't tried the beer yet - I feel like it deserves a special occasion since the packaging is so pretty, but it's chilling in the fridge as I write this, so it's only a matter of time before I crack one open.

On Friday, we kicked off the weekend by having dinner with our good friends Kate and Dan - nothing beats a home cooked meal cooked by someone else just days after you get home from vacation and are recovering from jet lag (yes, two hour jet lag is a real thing - it's like the end of daylight saving, only not as bad for some reason). Sully ended up falling asleep on Jim's lap while the men watched the hockey game, so instead of the original plan of me taking him home to bed, we stayed for the game, while us girls drank wine and pinned crafts on pinterest. Now I just need eight more hours in the day to do said crafts.

On Saturday, we decided to drive out to Blackie, Alberta to watch the Canadian Holiday Train arrive. I don't know where I thought I was living that day, as I did not dress appropriately for the weather and was freezing within seconds of being outside. Luckily, I had grabbed Sully's parka, toque and gloves, so at least my child was warm. Sully is obsessed with trains, "train" and "choo-choo" are frequent words out of his mouth on the daily, so he was pretty excited to watch the train arrive, especially since we were so close to it. Totally worth the drive and ten minutes we were there, ha!

That evening, I headed out to my blogger Christmas party, hosted by the lovely Jen of Pretty Little Grub. I have to say, I had been looking forward to this night for weeks and it did not disappoint. It was a small group of us, and while we sure missed some of the other awesome bloggers who couldn't make it, we had a great time eating, drinking wine, laughing and playing our Chinese gift exchange (I went home with caramels and cookies from Trader Joe's!!). I'm so grateful to have this group of girls for friends and confidants, especially living in a city where I don't know a lot of people. It's just too bad that we are all spread out all over the city!

{Jen//Jen//Me//Ange//Leigh//Ashley}

It was a late night, so Jim let me sleep in on Sunday morning (10am!), and even brought me breakfast in bed! Can every day be Sunday? We spent the afternoon putting up our tree (no decorations yet) and running a few errands. Jim headed out to the Motley Crue concert around five, which means I got the whole house to myself for the evening. I have to say, it's amazing what I can accomplish once Sully's in bed and I'm home alone!

Tell me something fun you did this weekend!

Best Chinese gift exchange gift you've won?