Today is my birthday.

I am one year older.

I am one more year closer to 30.

It falls on a terrible day. A really terrible day.

I was exhausted from Christmas.

The babes keep saying "no go bye bye." I can totally sympathize.

Plus, I have a bowling ball in my belly.

A little angel that will make his appearance in this world very very soon.

He is the best birthday present I have ever received.

In all this chaos I am grateful.

Grateful for a wonderful birthday dinner with wonderful family and with a wonderful carrot cake.

The babes were nervous to come downstairs this morning. If you think about it, a man with a beard watching you is a pretty scary thing. They came down in Daddy's arms. All fear vanished when they saw the bounty that lay before them...

Christmas night we spent with at my Aunt's with our extended family. I showed up in my pajamas. I'm not kidding. I was so exhausted from the previous 48 that I thought the baby might be coming that night. He didn't. I learned a lot from all the Christmas festivities this year: two year olds make Christmas soo much fun; two year olds make Christmas soo chaotic- roll with it; in the future I do not have to be everywhere for everyone- slow down; it is important to preserve the Christmas morning family-only tradition. I feel like Christmases will just keep getting better and better- this was by far the best one yet!

Presents, presents and more presents.

This morning the babes woke to open presents from Mom and Dad- a new baby stroller and foosball table. Oh, and an American girl doll Bitty Baby from Uncle Joel and Aunt Jo and a new transformer helmet that P has been talking about for the past month. Lunch and naps at my mom's house. Followed by the best (no seriously) beef tenderloin of your life and and more presents...

Far too many presents to mention...lots of helmets and jewels and sports equipment and chaos. Did I mention the chaos? Chaos so intense that I started to sweat. No. I'm not even joking. But when my mom told the babes that they couldn't ride their scooters without helmets (meaning the bike helmets we have in our garage) and Parker ran to grab one of his many new pieces of headgear before jumping on, it made me smile again. And then when I saw this my heart smiled even more and I stopped sweating.

Then it was off to my Aunt's house for dessert and, you guessed it, more presents. And more chaos. Chaos in cute pajamas!

And then to bed we went...eagerly awaiting a visit from Santa!

There are some things that you just can't go fake on.

Like ranch dressing. The lowfat, fat free, healthy kind is just disgusting.

Or ketchup. Anything but Heinz is laughable.

Purses rank among the top five. There's something about a knockoff that just irks me.

Christmas to me equals real. Real wreaths. Real garlands. Real trees. Period.

Taking a trip to the Christmas lot is just part of the festivities. It's like baking cookies or Santa Claus.

What is Christmas without these traditions?!

Friday I (er, my mom) cleaned my house.

Sunday we decorated Christmas cookies.

Bad idea on the clean front.

Really good idea on the fun front.

I said this last year, but this year is the best age ever for Christmas! I feel like the babes really get this year- they know who Santa is and that he comes down your chimney to bring you presents, they know who baby Jesus is, the reindeer, the whole rig-em-roll...

Somehow mom got stuck finishing cookies while dad had a dance party with our utensils...

I am ready to have a baby.

I am tired of being pregnant.

We all desperately want to meet our newest addition.

Parker used to talk to Harry. Now all he does is shout at my belly, "COME OUT BABY HARRY."

I feel you Parker.

He recently made the connection that since dad is a doctor that he could help get Harry out.

It made me laugh.

I carry children like five year old girls playing pretend with soccer balls under their shirts.

I've had someone ask if my belly was real.

The sheer magnitude of my stomach is making it difficult to venture out in public.

Oh, the comments.

Two more weeks. Two more weeks. Two more weeks.

Until then, we wait...

A lot of concentration...

Now that our gingerbread is complete, we've officially made all the cookies on our list- pfeffernusse, wedding cakes, date filled, and decorated sugar cookies. I'm planning on making our neighbors homemade balsamic cherry truffles for gifts this year...we'll see how it pans out.

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Postscript: My cookies were the first to go at the cookie exchange (5 out of the first 6 people picked them!)... Here's the very secret family recipe if you're interested- I promise you won't be disappointed!

2 cups mild molasses
2 cups sugar
2 cups Crisco
2 tablespoons ginger
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 tablespoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 eggs
9 cups flour

Bring molasses, sugar, Crisco, and ginger to a boil. Add baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and eggs (be really careful not to fry your eggs in the batter!). Slowly add flour. Cool. Roll on unfloured surface (I like mine thick!). Bake at 275 degrees for 17 minutes.

Is it just me or does everyone seem to be really on it this year? I'm typically still shopping the morning of the 24th. I thought this was normal.

This year people were requesting lists and buying up presents in November. Now, I just so happen to be one of those people (who is completely done with every single thing Christmas) but I have an excuse! I have another life arriving any day now,- leaving Christmas decorating and shopping and cookie making up to my husband just wasn't an option for me.

People are so on it that stores already have empty shelves. EMPTY. I have gone to two different Targets in search of little white lights for our bushes. None. Nada. Nothing. I left with four boxes (the only four they had) of LED lights thinking that the extra cost was worth all that environmentally friendly nonsense. I made Brian put them up and they are blue. Bright blue ridiculousness in my bushes. All of them came down the next morning. Blue lights are not worth the energy savings. White. I'm going for white. So I go to Lowe's over the weekend. Nothing. No lights. We're the only house on the block without lights and I'm feeling very unfestive.

Then there's the presents. Do you ever stress to come up with things you want when people ask but then come up with a million and one things once you've already given your list away? That's me. If people weren't out snatching all my little white lights and buying my Christmas presents months in advance this is what I would be asking for: