Compromising Christmas

A wise friend once told me, "Not everyone opens their Christmas presents the same"...you know who you are! :)  I am finding this to be so true!  While Justin and I were attending a holiday party last week, we started talking about how we wanted Christmas morning to be for Roman, and what kinds of family traditions we would start now that we have the little guy.  My family would tell you, or really just make fun of us for our previous Christmas traditions.  In our typical fashion, we usually can't make it any later than 2 days before Christmas before we break down and decide to give each other our gifts.  This year, we've decided we should really wait until Christmas morning - maybe open one gift on Christmas eve, and that's it!

Where the compromise comes in is how to do Roman's presents and where Santa comes into play!  I grew up having ALL of my gifts from Santa, and ALL gifts wrapped.  Justin grew up having gifts from Mom and Dad, and gifts from Santa, and Santa's gifts were unwrapped.  Obviously, we each think the other's way is crazy!  I mean, why would you want to run down Christmas morning and be able to see everything Santa got you in one quick view.  Justin questions why we never wondered why our parents didn't get us gifts for Christmas!  Soooo, we've decided to compromise, and wrap all but the largest gift - yes just one!  Most gifts will be from Santa, and then one gift from us we'll probably let Roman open on Christmas Eve.  We'll see how this whole thing goes!  Who knows, we may be changing it up next year! :)

P.S. Sorry for being MIA the last couple of weeks!  I promise to be more diligent about blogging again soon!

The Christmas Tree Fiasco...always a fiasco when decorating!

Yay, I got my camera back from my sister last night!  The pictures from the tree farm last weekend that I wanted to post were on the camera, so I've been saving my story for when I was able to post the pictures!

So I had the bright idea to start a "Castelli family
tradition" and go to a tree farm to cut down our very own tree!  We packed up Rome and headed to Greenfield last Saturday afternoon.  We get to the tree farm, and there were literally 1000+ trees there that you choose from and chop down yourself.  Justin gets handed the saw (which he was disappointed because he thought he would be given an axe), and I get handed a piece of paper that helps identify the species of tree so you know what you're buying and what the cost is.  Well, it was fairly cold, and we just wanted an 8ft tree, nothing fancy.  There are families out there with their tape measures, rope, the works.  We see the first tree that looks about 2 feet taller than Justin, and Justin starts sawing away.  I started looking at the tree, and then back at the piece of paper I was given, and it looks to me like the tree we are cutting down is not only one of the most expensive trees (a Norway spruce), but it's needle retention says *FAIR*!  When I read that, I immediately thought our beautiful 8 ft tree was going to look like the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree in a week!  For about 2 seconds Justin and I actually contemplated acting like we hadn't started sawing the tree down and start looking for a new tree with EXCELLENT needle retention...then we realized that would make us horrible people!

Well, we Justin sawed the tree down, we paid for our tree, and haphazardly tied the tree to the top of my card with some super weak twine that I found in the house that I was going to use for crafting!  We then started driving home, and yes folks, we were passed on a two lane country road with the tree on top of our car.  As the car was passing us, Justin hollers, "Go ahead and pass me, and enjoying your life in your mini-van!"

And to make a long story even longer, we had some issues getting the tree to stay standing, and it still doesn't have a topper because our star topper is too heavy and keeps falling off... but without further ado, here are some pics of the tree and our holiday decor (and Roman's scrunchie face because I put him in his puffy coat)!

Seriously Mom??

This is actually the tree in the basement, but I love how he is reaching to put in on the tree!

It would look so much better with the silver star on top...sigh

 ! 

The Contest

I'm not one of those lucky women (ahem, my sister Beth), who could fit into my jeans two weeks after having Roman!  I was lucky to lose 35 of my 49 lbs gained (yikes, almost hit the big 5-0) within 10 days of delivery, and then nursing took about another 7 lbs off the next 6 weeks.  But it was those lagging 7 lbs that have been hanging on for dear life the last 3 months!  Going back to work after only a 6 week maternity leave made it difficult to get into a good work-out routine, so I had pretty much decided those 7 lbs weren't going anywhere anytime soon (especially with winter right around the corner)!  That is until Justin proposed a CONTEST!

I don't know if everyone knows this about me, but I'm pretty competitive!  Even if I don't always show it, secretly in my mind, life is a contest that I'm always trying to win!  Whether it's in my job, or having the best dressed baby - I'm competing!  So when Justin proposed we set a weight goal, and the first person to their goal gets to write a check out of our checking account for a pretty good chunk of change...it was on!

One problem...what am I going to do to win?  Weeeellllll...I found the best Ap on my I-phone that has helped me lose 3 lbs in just 2 weeks!  It's called MyFitnessPal (I think there is a web site too, but it's easier for me to use it on my Iphone because it's always with me).  All I had to do was enter my weight goal and other stats, and it told me how many calories I need to eat each day to reach my goal in a certain amount of time!  The best part is, I log the food I'm eating, and the ap tells me how many calories my food has...I don't have to look at the back of a box or a book to find the caloric details!  I've yet to find a food that's not in their database!  I LOVE it!  It has really made me more aware of how many calories I eat each day, and how few calories fruits and vegetables have...so I can eat so much more of that and fill up on the healthy stuff!  One other thing, it's not magic, I have to stick to the calorie limit each day to see progress! :)

The only downside is I shared this wonderful secret with my competitor!  Now Justin is using the ap too!  I'll keep you posted on our progress!  Hopefully by the end of the year I'll be back to my pre-Roman self!  Now - what will I buy with my winnings???
  

Little sicky-poo

So my goal was to upload the pictures of our BEAUTIFUL real tree with fabulous new ornaments from this weekend...but my amnesia struck again I left my camera at my sister's house!  Pregnancy really caused me to be forgetful!  Pics to come later!

In the mean time, for all of you who saw Mr. Roman on Thanksgiving, the little man wasn't feeling too well.  But, I am happy to say I think we are finally in the clear with little man's first cold.  Not only did he hate having a giant bulb syringe shoved up his nose every other hour, but it broke my heart seeing the way he would look at me as I was doing it!  It was as if he was thinking, "why are you doing this to me?".  Needless to say, after every suction session, I'd pick him up to console him and the tears were dry in 1.5 seconds!  Just to show you how much better he's feeling, take a look at the pic Justin snapped of him this morning before taking him to the babysitter's house.  He's always in such a great mood in the am, and as I was carrying him in the bathroom  this morning, I caught a glimpse of my adorable boy in his little jacket and sweet hat and told Justin we needed a pic!  Enjoy!

Our trees...yes, treeS!

We are in the Christmas spirit here at the Castellis!  Roman and I made our way out to Hobby Lobby today...after our morning nap!  No, we weren't one of those crazies out at 4am!  We headed out at 12:30pm and were home by 2:30p.  Our mission...new tree ornaments!

Since we've been married, Justin and I have always used a fake tree his parents so graciously gave us four years ago.  And while it is a great tree, and such better quality than the fake trees they make these days, I've really missed having a 'real' tree in my home for Christmas!  Well this year, I am getting my wish!!!

It just so happens that one of my clients this year was this great tree farm in Greenfield (Lost Forty Tree Farm).  We filmed a commercial for them on site, and it really made me want to go back with the fam and cut down our own tree and start a new Castelli family tradition.  Well that day is tomorrow - hopefully, if we can all shake this cold we have had today...so of course we needed all new ornaments for the new tree!  I'm pretty proud of what I found, and I'm super excited to get the new tree and the new ornaments up tomorrow!  Until then, please enjoy the picture of our fake tree that we decorated this evening and put in the basement this year!  This will be our fun/family tree and where I think we will open presents on Christmas morning every year!  My real tree will be more themed for now...until we start getting all of the great homemade ornaments from the kids!

And then there is the mini-tree that is in the foyer.  This tree received fresh new ornaments today as well!    Nothing fancy, I just decided to change the theme of this tree to match the decor of my house!  I'll have some pictures of the holiday decor in the house later this week!  I'm hoping we can even get our large 4' wreath hung in the front window of our two story foyer tomorrow!  That was quite the chore last year!  I'm pretty sure Justin swore off ever hanging this wreath again after last year's fiasco, but since I'm not pregnant this year, I can climb the ladder! :)

Ten Things I'm Thankful For...

I know it's cliche being Thanksgiving Eve, but I am sitting here looking at my precious baby, and wondering how in the world I am so blessed!

One of my best friends from Chicago - yes she's a Smarge - came over tonight and we were talking about how Thanksgiving Eve used to be the big night we all looked forward to to go out to the bars and have a blast...yet at 28 years old we were perfectly content staying in and eating pizza and watching Modern Family tonight!  I think as we grow up and go through different experiences, our priorities change for the better, and for that, I'm thankful!

I'm thankful...  

1. that my husband makes me laugh at the silliest things, like knuckle sandwiches and "turdles",
2. for Sunday night dinners with our families,
3. for the friendships I have had since elementary and middle school,
4. that all of my pre-pregnancy pants fit me once again!
5. For sales at the Loft,
6. for hearing my little man laugh and seeing his eyes light up when he sees me when I pick him up from the babysitter,
7. to have "girls nights" with my Pulte girls,
8. to have my sisters to call to ask about anything pertaining to post-pregnancy symptoms and baby questions,
9. for hair color to cover my grays,
10. And for my perfect little family of three!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Another project...I love projects!

When Justin and I built our house over 2 years ago, we were quickly cutting certain things out of the house wish list due to budget!  It's really easy to go over budget when building a house.  The first things to go were finishing our basement, the irrigation system, and the custom wood closet shelving.  All of these were things we didn't need, although I'm sure Justin could argue the irrigation system was definitely needed this summer!  We've since finished our basement and added a huge island in our closet...but still no irrigation system! :)

Anyway, another small item that was cut off of our wish list was our garage entry locker/storage system.  We still have the niche space that is currently occupied by a hall tree, a small table that holds our spare keys, and then about 3-4 pairs of my shoes on any given day (why bring them upstairs when I know I'm going to wear them again in the next day or two??)!  Well, I've been given the OK to get this locker/storage system underway!  In fact, and friend of mine from Pulte is coming over next week to talk about design and details!  I'm pretty excited!  I am hoping it will be similar to one of the pictures below!

 Our space isn't nearly as wide as these two spaces, but I'm thinking it's about 2/3 as wide!  I don't need the cabinets on the sides, really just some cubbies on the bottom (for my shoes), some shelves on top for Roman's many hats, and some hooks for our coats and umbrellas!  I'll keep you posted on the progress!

The pictures are up!

I've always thought when it comes to most things in life, I'm a pretty patient person!  I don't know if it was growing up with 4 siblings, or being in sales, or just the way I was raised, but I've always thought of myself as patient.  Boy was I wrong!  I think I learned in the last 24 hours that I need to work on my patience!

We recently had Roman's 3 month pictures taken.  We found a fabulous photographer a couple of years ago, and she is doing 5 sessions of Roman his first year of life!  I get so excited planning for his pictures, but then once the pictures are taken, I can't wait to see how they turned out!  This time was no different!  I just couldn't wait to see Roman's pictures!  I knew his pictures would be posted today (because Jamie told me they would be), but for some reason, I couldn't control myself!  I just kept checking for his pictures probably 100 times (no joke) between Friday and today!  I even woke up once in the middle of the night, and checked my phone to see if the pictures were posted!  I know, I'm crazy!  I bet my sisters would do the same thing - (that's how I rationalize things...when Justin thinks I'm crazy for doing certain things, I always say, "my sisters would do the same thing")!

Without disappointment, his pictures were posted this evening.  I just love them!  Roman couldn't keep his little eyes off Jamie's camera!  Jamie Sanger does such a great job!  I'll post a few on here once we get the CD, but if you'd like to check out our little man, click here!  Don't forget to click on the slideshow at the end of the pictures!  Once you see them, you'll be calling Jamie Sangar to take some pics for you!

My little laughing man!

Roman is such a happy baby!  We really are pretty blessed when it comes to Roman's demeanor.  We were at a party last night (yes, we still go to parties with Roman - but we head home at 10p these days, not 1 or 2am!) and everyone kept saying how laid back and relaxed he was.  He would just sit there in our arms taking it all in!  And unlike some babies I've known (my brother), he is perfectly content having someone other than Mommy and Daddy hold him!  And in typical baby fashion, he's always the happiest when he's naked!  We've recently discovered he's ticklish on his inner thighs!  I just love hearing my little man laugh - quite possibly the best sound in the world!  Listen for yourself...I'm pretty sure you'll agree! :)

I'm new to this...kind of!

I have been putting this off for a long time now!  Justin started a blog about a year ago, and he told me I should start one to keep everyone in my life that doesn't live in Indy informed about our pregnancy!  After the first couple of months of being pregnant, I really didn't think anyone would care to hear about how exhausted and hungry and nauseous I was feeling!  I then got consumed with losing my job, starting a fabulous new job, managing the construction of finishing our basement, and putting a nursery together...all while trying to take care of myself and my precious baby-on-board!  Needless to say, blogging wasn't the first thing on my mind!  Sooooo, now that our little guy is the center of our world, I want to be able to share it with any and everyone who wants to listen (or read)!  I am new to this whole blogging thing, kind of!  I used to work for a blogging software company - and I hated having to blog at work, but I think blogging about my life should be a lot less painful!

Whew, my first blog post is down! :)  That wasn't so horrible!  I'll talk to you soon!