Bundalo Christmas

We had a great few days with my family this year. My Mom and Dad arrived on Saturday. Katie and Mike came on Sunday. We went to brunch, watched movies, played games, had our traditional Italian beef and mostaccioli, lots of appetizers, and opened lots of thoughtful presents. It was great to be together over the holidays and we were so thankful of them making the trip.

The Christmas that almost wasn't....

We luckily averted a Christmas tragedy this year. At the Bundalo family Christmas we usually play games or cards pretty late and one of the ingredients that keeps the party going are some Christmas libations. The boys were sent on Sunday to get some "soldiers" for the holidays. That was our first mistake sending holiday shopping rookies on this very important mission. As most women know stores actually close on Christmas Eve and Christmas, so it isn't exactly easy to run out and pick up those missing items. I do blame myself for not being more vigilant on our rations but alcohol has not really been on my radar for the last nine months. Well, by Christmas day I opened the fridge and realized we only had four beers left... Not a good realization for the party host. We went to CVS which was open to find out that the state of Michigan has a law that you can't purchase alcohol from 9:00pm Christmas Eve until 12:00pm on December 26th. The rest of the story could have been tragic, however, in Brian's congregations one of the elders is a beer distributer. Brian called his elder on Christmas Day around 2:00. The elder sent us a party pack of different beers to get us throught the night and assured us that he had just done the same for several neighbors who also ran into a similar problem. Luckily, we're Lutheran and not Baptist! Brian brought a card and gift to the elder. The Christmas card was of the wise men following the star to Baby Jesus. Brian wrote on the inside, "Those that follow the star will never be lost. Pastors whose elders are beer distributors will never go thirsty..." Thus our tragedy was averted.

4 Weeks to Go!

My due date is fast approaching and all is continuing to go well. I had my 36 week appointment yesterday and the baby's head is down in position, and I am 50% effaced which means my body is really preparing for birth. Exciting. I am feeling well but very excited to meet my little girl and be pregnant no longer.

Negotiations

On Saturday, Brian's Dad drove in from New York. He was planning on coming Sunday, but with the forecasted snow storm decided to leave a little early. It was a good thing. He made it about three hours before the storm. We had a great visit. We went to a Greek restaurant and Christmas party Saturday and were properly "snowed-in" on Sunday, watching football and making chicken noodle soup. We got to spend a good morning/afternoon together on Monday and we took Wa to the airport that night. One of the reasons for Wa's visit was to bring us their old mini-van. Wa and Linda have upgraded cars and we offered to take their old mini-van off their hands if it would be convenient for them (as if driving nine hours on your Saturday before a snowstorm could ever be convenient). Brian is still in negotiations with his parents on this acquisition with the sticking points of the deal being the loose change currently in the vehicle and the rooster towel. Brian claims the deal for the van was as is, not the van minus the change, minus the rooster towel... Seriously, it is very nice of Wa and Linda to pass along their vehicle. We certainly appreciate their generosity and will use it for as many miles as it will allow.

6 Weeks to go!

The end of my pregnancy has been treating me very well. I am almost used to this larger state, I have been sleeping fine, and feeling less tired than at other times during pregnancy. Brian and I tease that this bodes well for future pregnancies! We'll see how the delivery goes. Last weekend we attended our child birth classes which makes everything seem all too real. We are trying at home to prepare for the arrival of our little girl by doing some last minute things like setting up the bassinet and my goal for today packing my bag for the hospital! We got quite the snowfall Saturday into Sunday and we have a snow day called for today. How nice for the Monday before Christmas. I'm not sure who will enjoy this day more the teachers or the kids. Brian's Dad, Roy, is also here for a weekend visit. Luckily, he made it before the snow so we will have a great day of projects together. The picture above is just before we went to a Christmas party on Saturday night. I'm both looking and feeling pretty pregnant and really only three more weeks until I'm full term!

Brian's Day Off

Brian just moved his day off from Fridays to Mondays and I think it was a great decision. He's actually taken the last two Mondays off! It's been nice because Brian really does need a little rest after the intensity of Sundays, and little things kept popping up during the week pushing his responsibilities to be taken care of on Friday (his supposed day off.) Now by taking Mondays off, he has no choice. Time just runs out on him at the end of the week. I personally love his days off because he is so cute and optimistic about all he'll get done. I think one Sunday he mentioned 20 different things that he could get done on his day off. So precious. To be fair, he has done tons on his days off, and it is great to have such a helpful husband. On Monday, he decorated our exterior for Christmas. The Hessels from St. Peter own a greenhouse and give us the outside decorations as a present. They gave us a fresh wreath, the evergreen roping, a beautiful poinsettia and a batch of holly. Brian put up the lights on Monday and I love them. I turn on the lights even in the morning as I leave for work so I can see them as I drive away. I know I am an absolute goof. Brian really has gotten much done for us on his days off, as I admit my contributions to the household have slowed quite a bit as my pregnancy has progressed. School is taking quite a bit of my daily energy, but I am doing well. Luckily, we have a few more Mondays until the baby arrives for Brian to continue whittling away his honey-do list.

Christmas Tree

One of my favorite days of the year is cutting down our Christmas tree. With moving from year to year Brian and I never wanted to get a fake tree to lug between midwest cities, so we always cut down real trees. Now it has become our tradition, and I would hate to change it (though I'm sure we'll soon see what a new baby does to a lot of our routines.) We went last Saturday to hunt for our tree. Since we live on the edge of the city we didn't have to travel too far, and we cut our tree down at Blake's. They had a lot of great trees to choose from and delicious hot apple cider at the end. We followed up the acquiring of our tree with the set up and our traditional pizza dinner, minus the wine for me. We also did not watch Christmas vacation like usual but a little college football conference championship night enhanced by Brian's new surround sound system, an early birthday gift from Linda and Wa. It was a wonderful night and we got a beautiful tree.

Elf

Brian's friend Mark Svare sent him this link today of the two of them "getting down". It is certainly in the holiday spirit and good for a laugh. CLICK HERE FOR ELF LINK

Chicago Baby Shower

Last Saturday my Mom, Katie, and Ginger threw a baby shower for me and my little girl. They had it in one of the smaller rooms of the Elmcrest, where I worked in college and where we had our wedding reception. Everything was beautiful. Ginger made the invitation and favors, pink bracelets. The flowers for corsages were gorgeous. The decorations were all wonderful and the menu was excellent. They put together some fun games for the shower like not being able to say the word baby and a celebrity trivia baby name game. For another shower game people had to cut ribbon and try to guess how big is baby (or my waist for that matter). They also melted candy bars into diapers that were quite the sight, and you had to guess what type of candy was in each diaper, a candy lineup if you will. The games were fun and everyone brought such adorable and generous gifts, but the best part was seeing all the great people from Chicago. It was wonderful to visit with everyone and it was just a great afternoon. To view our PHOTOS FROM THE SHOWER CLICK HERE!