An easy way to help some kids in need!

I have sooo much to tell you guys today!

First off, I'm officially 18 weeks as of yesterday. Pipsqueak is very active & kicking around in there. We are getting closer to our big u/s on Jan 13. We are very excited!

Secondly, the house passed the termite inspection yesterday. There was no active termites OR signs of past damage. Awesome news!
Our next prayer is that there will be no leaky pipes when we turn the water on. We have a long list of things that need to be done before we can move in, so as few setbacks as possible would be fantastic.

And lastly, the most important part of today's post.

What do you do with your Christmas cards now? Throw them away?

You could send them to St. Jude's Ranch for Children.

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children rescues abused, abandoned and neglected children of all races and faiths from the vicious cycle of...
child abuse.

They provide healing and nurturing in a safe home-like
environment w...here children can learn life skills to start new lives
with new chances, new choices and new hope.
The children participate in making the new cards by removing the front and attaching
a new back. The result is a beautiful new card made by the children and
volunteers. The benefits are two-fold: customers receive "green"
holiday cards for use and the children receive payment for their work
and learn the benefits and importance of "going green".

They are accepting used, all-occasion cards from: November 15, 2009 - February 28, 2010
You can mail your donations to: St. Jude's Ranch for Children Recycled Card Program 100 St. Jude's Street - Boulder City, NV 89005
(877)-977-SJRC (7572)
www.stjudesranch.org

I thought this was a great idea, and an awesome way for us to help out.

My day has consisted of..

1. Calling Pest Control Companies to compare prices on home inspections.

2. Calling My husband to get his opinion on said prices.

3. Calling the water company to find out the necessary steps for having water turned back on.

4. Calling to schedule the pest control inspection.

5. Frantically calling my husband when I found out that the bug guy could be there in about an hour & a half. (Awesome)

6. Calling bug guy back to say "Okay, see you then!"

You would think that we just bought a house or something......

: ) : ) : ) : ) : ) <- (This is me, reveling in the knowledge that the purchase agreement has been accepted, the contract is being finalized, & that just as soon as we sign that pretty little dotted line, we will officially be HOMEOWNERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Yes, All of the "!!" were entirely necessary.

What my husband will be singing tomorrow.

::Clears throat & attempts to use a deep manly singing voice::

"On the day before Christmas, my dear wife bought for me!
4 Ribeye Steaks,


3 pounds of ground beef,



2 Big Filets,




And a package of beef made for Fajitas.


Obviously, It's the steak lovers variation of the 12 days of Christmas.

They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, & with this little gift I'm going to occupy about 119 oz of that big heart of his.

I have to give all the credit of this gift idea to my blog friend forever, Chelsea @ Roots & Rings.
A few weeks ago she posted about "Green Grass Meats".
It's a Texas Cattle Company that raises 100% natural, no hormones or steroids, completely grass fed cattle.
She mentioned how yummy their meat was & how she was getting some for some of her family.
So Chels, THANK YOU! My husband will have a gift to open tomorrow. He'll have to wait till January for it to be delivered but he does have a box filled with printed out pictures of steaks to open in the morning.

Merry Christmas Eve Y'all!

*P.S. This was our 100th post together!!!! Go us! I have truly enjoyed the past 100 posts and look forward to many hundreds more. Thank you for making them so much fun for me.


Disclaimer: I know not everyone is going to appreciate the pictures of meat that I posted, however it worked good for the song, & I'm not ashamed of the fact that we eat meat. It's a personal choice, but I'm sorry if anyone is offended.

My pathetic day before christmas eve confession.

I love buying people gifts. I like to pick out things that mean something. Not just generic gifts.
So far I have awesome gifts for my mother, father, sister, grandmother, & grandfather.

Did you notice an important person missing from that list?
My HUSBAND, maybe?
I only wish that I was kidding. He should be the easiest person to buy for, but alas, that is not the case.
Have you ever met one of those people that doesn't need much & when they do actually need something, they just go out that day & buy it for themselves?
He'e one of those.
It's incredibly frustrating. So for the past 2 months I have been pestering him about what he wants for Christmas. He gave me 2 things he wanted, which would lead you to believe that I had choices, correct?
Wrong.
He asked for: 1.) The horse that won the 3yr old cutting world championship this year.



(HA Right?)

& 2.) Cabela's Big Game Hunter for Wii

Guess which one my mom already bought for him?
If you guessed the horse, you are incorrect.

(For the record, the horse isn't for sale, and even if it was it would still not be purchasable by us. The whole "current world champion" thing adds a higher price tag obviously, but then add the fact that he is currently owned by Alice Walton. One of the top 5 richest women in the United States, Heir to the Walmart fortune, Sam Walton's daughter.
Yeah, she ain't selling & I'd hate to know what she would ask for him.)

So you see, what appeared to be 2 choices, ended up being zero.
Which led me to plan B. Things he had mentioned wanting but couldn't find in stores around where we live.

A trigger stick for his gun...

& A safety harness for when he is up in his deer stand.

Score right? I can order online.
Wrong again.
You remember that little trip to Texas that we went on? There just happened to be a freaking huge Cabelas sporting goods store right down the road from our hotel.
Guess what he bought for himself?
If you guessed both, you are correct.
::cue hormonal crying::

So that leaves me presentless for my husband. Which in turn, makes me feel pretty pathetic, even though it's most definitely his fault.

I'm welcome to any & all ideas, because at this rate, he will be getting switches & lumps of coal from me.

A must-watch

Anyone up for an new Christmas song?



I give you "Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey"

No, I'm not kidding. It's a real song.

Let me know what you think & if you have ever heard it before!

I'm gonna be completely honest....

and mushy. (don't say I didn't warn you)

For the past couple months I've felt like there must be something wrong with me. I have always been excited about the baby, I knew it was coming but there was something missing.
Sure, I cried at the ultrasound & teared up when we heard the heartbeat but something just wasn't quite right.
I just didn't have a connection with the baby.
I'm not sure if that makes any sense to anyone.
But one day last week, I was sitting on the couch & feeling it kick, and in that instant, for whatever reason, it was there.
The connection was just there.
I was unprepared for how powerful it would be.
I don't know if my delayed connection was because of all the fears, sickness & raging hormones that come with the first trimester. Maybe it happens at different times for everyone. I don't know, but what I do know is that I feel whole now, I don't feel awkward talking to the baby now. Instead of just being inside me, I feel like it's a part of me.
I love little baby kicks & flutters. I love the fact that my husband has been able to feel it a couple times already.
I love that when I'm laying on my back in the morning, the fluttering will sometimes get really strong, like it's pressing against me, & then you can feel a hard place on my stomach about the size of my palm in that location. I love that a few minutes later, the hard spot won't be there anymore & it will pop up 5 inches from where it was.
I just love all of it.
So much.


I warned you it was going to get mushy.

This is the coolest thing ever

I'm home.
I'm 16 weeks.
& I'm feeling the baby ALL the time.
I love it.

It's so squirmy.
It usually starts in the afternoon around 2pm.
Squirming & kicking, it actually tickles sometimes.

Another cool thing is that when I wake up in the morning, & sometimes when I'm laying down I can kind of press on my belly down low, and I can feel where it is. It will be soft on one side, & hard on the other.
My husband is eating all of this up, he LOVES it. He says that one day he actually felt the kicking that I was feeling. I wondered if that was even possible but my Dr. said yesterday that it definitely was, especially if the baby was pressed up against the front of my stomach.

How far along?: 16 weeks
* Total weight gain: 2 lbs. woo hoo
* How big is baby?: The size of an avacado. About 4 & 3/4 inches
* Sex: We don't know yet, but our BIG u/s is on Jan 13th!
* Maternity clothes?: I'm starting really love the maternity jeans, even a couple tops. Not that I need those yet, I'm just barely showing a bump.
* Stretch marks?: Nope, & I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one.
* Sleep?: it's much better lately
* Best moment this week? Hearing the heartbeat & scheduling the big u/s!
* Movement?: Yep, not every day but it's pretty frequent.
* Food cravings?: Not really, I'm feeling better, but I get full really quickly. The baby really doesn't like chicken, but loves steak. lol
* Labor signs?: N/A
* Belly button in or out?: In
* What I miss: Eating chicken....& sushi....mmmm
* What I'm looking forward to: The big ultrasound next month & CHRISTMAS!
* Words of Wisdom: Don't ride all the way to Texas in the back seat of the truck while hauling any empty trailer. The road in Arkansas sucks. It will bounce you to death.
* Milestone: We are almost halfway there!

George Strait asked it best...

"Does Fort Worth ever cross your mind?"



Well. the answer for Mr. & Mrs. Pippy is "YES!"
Every year in December.

We'll be gone until Monday, but I may sneak a blog post in sometime.
Have a good weekend everyone!

15 Weeks!

We're moving right along.
I'm fairly certain that I am feeling the baby every once and a while. It's so cool
My "What to Expect" iPhone app says that by now the baby is able to hear my voice too.
There's just all kinds of cool stuff going on in there.
Exciting, huh?

Silly Husband...

I seriously LOL'd at the store today.
Our anniversary is on Sunday.
I really feel sorry for the poor guy. Our Anniversary is on Dec 6th, Christmas is Dec 25th, & His birthday is January 10th.
He grew up getting those Christmas/Birthday presents.
He is also REALLY hard to buy for. He's one of those people that doesn't need much & when he does need something he goes & buys it.
So I have to get creative.
A few weeks ago, we were watching T.V. & a commercial came on for this...

Somehow this Nerf gun hooks up to the Wii & it has a game that goes with it?
Anyways, as soon as he saw it, he looked at me & said "Did you see that? I Want one!!!!" I didn't think much more about it after that.

Then today as I was walking through the store, frustrated & trying to figure out what to get him, I wandered past the videogames & what do I see right there on the shelf?
Nerf N-Strike Elite

Will I get wife of the year?
Obviously.
I'm the only wife he has had this year, I win by default.
I'm so glad we're not polygamists.

Allow me to introduce...(A Giveaway)

Prepperoni!
She is relatively new to the blogging world, but is doing a fantastic job.
To help spread the word about her cool new blog, she is hosting a giveaway!
Yummy bath products anyone?


I thought so.
Click here to head on over & get entered in this fantastic giveaway!
Tell her Pippy sent you!

College food anyone?

Anybody remember these?



I have come up with several recipes using these.
I mean, just the chicken flavoring gets old after a while.

For an easy yummy snack, try adding half of a slice of cheese. Mix it in as soon as you put it in your bowl.
It's really yummy.

Or if you have a little more time, you can cook chicken breast on the stove while you are boiling the noodles.
Mix in a can of cream of herb soup with the chicken, then just add the noodles!
Super easy but really good.

My husband loves it, & he doesn't even like chicken that much.

Enjoy reliving the "old" days.

14 weeks!!

Woo Hoo!!!!

We have officially made it to 2nd Tri!