Big News Gets Two Posts!

We had our "big ultrasound" today to see the baby and find out the gender. See the Baby Blog for details!

Christmas Tree Additions

The tree is up and pretty much decorated. I might add a few more filler ornaments but I'm in no rush. I was finally able to get some pictures last weekend. Of course it was during the day so it doesn't really sparkle like at night. Oh well.


In my Christmas post last year, I reflected on how I decorate the tree. Again this year, I had a pretty easy time with the lights and was excited to use all 4 sections, though I made the EXACT SAME mistake when putting it up! (I missed a section and had to take it apart and start over). I enjoyed hanging all the meaningful ornaments and the memories they hold. The boat ornaments made me sad but happy at the same time (we'll get another one one day!).

Here are the new ornaments from this year: New Home 2009 (from my parents)
Mom To Be (from my aunts)
Snowmen making Sugar Cookies -- I got this one last year since cookies are my favorite thing to bake!

Hot Wheels aka "As Close to Darda as I Could Find" that I got for Ryan, Kevin and Eric after Christmas last year.

I'M IN LOVE WITH...

MY OVEN!

It's so pretty and big and roomy and has all kinds of fancy features and I don't have to bend over to use it and there are TWO of them!!!

And tonight, it made me so pathetically happy when I fit all 24 cupcakes on the middle rack. I'm talking so happy that I got my camera and took a picture! Ahhh, I'm in love.

Swing

I've always wanted a front porch with a swing, and now I have one! My parents bought us the swing as a housewarming gift and it was delivered Monday. Ryan managed to hang it all by himself and it looks fantastic!!!

Now all we need is some neighbors so I can be the nosey lady that sits on her front porch and spies on everyone!

First Christmas in Woodforest!

This year I've had a lot of trouble figuring out where all my Christmas decorations should go. And even after putting up the tree, decorating the mantle, draping garland on the stair handrails and putting Christmas colored place mats and napkins on the table, the house just doesn't feel as "Christmasy" as the old house did. I guess this is another one of the fun parts of having more space... gradually getting things to fill it all up.

We ran into the same problem outside. We have all these lights... icicles and nets... and no place to put them. Okay, we COULD line our whole house but just the peaks on our one story freaked us out in prior years. There is NO WAY either one of us are attempting the peaks on this house! None of our plants are big enough for net lights. But, we made it work and it turned out nice.

A few icicles on the porch and some lights up the columns (I've always wanted to do that). Frosty and the lighted trees are in the yard and this year they have snow around them (net lights!). The lights that normally string together the candy canes were on their last leg last year and we were too lazy and cheap to redo them this year so its just candy canes for now.

Another challenge was the front door. Our doors are tall and we have the wrought iron over the top glass panel. How do you hang a wreath without putting a nail in the door? I got creative and used some fishing wire to hang it from the wrought iron.

I opted for a more "natural" look to the wreath this year and left the bow off. I think I like it this way best.

I'm happy with the finished product of the outside decor. And to be honest... I think we have a great shot of winning "Best House" on our street! Ha! :)

Doggie Cousins

Admiral has been a part of our family for over 3 years now and had definitely been our baby boy no matter how big he is. For the first two and half years of his life, he was the only granddog on Ryan's side of the family. He is the spoiled rotten first grandchild who got lots of one-on-one attention from his grandparents!! :)

Now that Ryan's brothers are both married and in their own homes, the doggie family has been growing. When Kevin and Stephanie got married, we added Steph's dog Maya to the family and then we met Clive in June.

Just a few weeks ago, Eric and Whitney drove to Dallas to bring home their baby, Fievel.


Thanksgiving was the first time we got all the dogs together and it was a blast watching the "kids" play. The boys did a lot of wrestling, fetching and swimming while Maya did her best to stay out of the action (which is why I never got her in these pics--I'll do better next time!!! )

Clive and Fievel became fast friends. Fievel would nip and paw and jump all over Clive and Clive seemed to love it.


Admiral seemed to be pretty smitten with Fievel but he can be a bit intimidating to a little guy. Fievel did lots of hiding in small places that Admiral cannot fit! I think that when Fievel gets a little bigger he'll probably be bossing Admiral and Clive around on a regular basis! He's feisty

Kevin started playing fetch with Clive and Admiral joined in. Of course, Admiral thinks the only way to play fetch at the grandparents house is in the pool. Kevin would throw the ball in the grass, Clive would run after it and Admiral would run the opposite direction to the pool wondering where the ball was. Eventually Admiral got a clue. We finally gave in and started throwing the ball in the pool (had to be freezing). Clive followed Admiral right in.

Clive really only likes to get in if someone else (human or dog) is in the pool. He really wanted that ball but was just not so sure about jumping in until Admiral went first.

And you can tell when Admiral gets tired... He starts getting lazy and tries to wait for the ball to drift back toward the edge of the pool instead of jumping in to get it.

Fievel was very curious of what the big boys were doing, but this is about as close as he got to the pool. Only time will tell if he likes to swim!

Cousins... it doesn't get any better! And you know, as I wrote this post, I couldn't help but laugh that sometime in the next few years I could return to this post and replace all the references to dogs and puppies to kids and babies. As I think about how our family is about to grow again and how much my cousins have meant in my life, I think about the fun times our little one will have with his/her older cousin Helmi. And, I look forward to the day (whenever it may be... no pressure) that we add more people cousins to both families!!

A few additions

Yesterday was "Black Friday" and we contributed, but we did not really do real deal hunting. We didn't even leave the house until almost 12. Our main goal was looking for a swing for the front porch. We didn't realize how hard this would be. I guess the city is not the place for a country porch swing. We reverted to the Internet and got this swing which is being stained a dark walnut color.

Thanks Mom and Dad!!!! Hopefully its here by Christmas and you can see it!

While we were out looking, we made a couple of stops to look for side tables and other things we might need. We went to Old Town Spring (to check the Amish furniture store for a swing) and then went into a few of the antique shops looking for tables.

There is a great home decor place, Metals, Petals and More that I've heard about but never been to. It's not a bargain place but its not over the top expensive either. I was really looking for more florals/greenery for my kitchen cabinets but after getting a good deal at the Holiday Market I'm being cheap! But we did find these awesome planters for our entertainment center (and one was priced wrong so we saved $20... ha).

We previously bought something else that we only sort of liked so those are going back to the store today. We are VERY happy with these planters as they add a little color and totally fill the space.





Then, we hit up Pier One to look at some things I'd seen in their Black Friday ad and to look for little side tables. We found this cute little side table with two basket drawers. We didn't know if the drawers would actually be able to function but Ryan said "If they do, it be great to put toys and things in." Definitely not a conversation we'd have had 16 weeks ago unless it was about doggie toys! Luckily there is plenty of room for the drawers to open so it looks like we have some toy storage for the family room! :) And of course, a place for the lamp and nice place for someone to rest their glass.



The biggest thing we are lacking in the Family Room is a rug. We've started that search and have finally seemed to come to a good meeting point on style. I'm more modern and he's more traditional but we seem to be agreeing on several "transitional" style rugs. I guess they are named appropriately. I'm about to head out and try to see if I can see a couple we've found online in person... and to meet Suz, Luke and Hudson for lunch while Brandon and Ryan play golf.

I'm Officially Ready for Christmas

And it's not because...

• Thanksgiving is over
• I put the tree up last night
• It's cold out (well, Houston's version of cold)
• December is just a couple of days away

No, it's not because of any of those things.

It is because of this...

The Way the Cookie Crumbles' "Slice and Bake Brown Sugar Cookies"

If these don't scream "Christmas", I don't know what else does.

Stay tuned for the follow up on these cookies.

Pecan Pie = Thanksgiving

My favorite PIE is pecan pie. I love pecans. I don't want them in my chocolate chip cookies, but I like them in lots of other things. Unfortunately, I married a man who doesn't like pecans, doesn't like pecan pie. Even worse, neither does his Dad or either brother. At least his mom is saving the family name... she likes pecans and pecan pie! Whew. I might have had to rethink things had they all been anti-pecan! I haven't polled my new sister in laws to see which team they are on, maybe this will be a boys vs girls issue. I'll find out tomorrow.

Anyway, I've been wanting pecan pie and wanting to make it myself. I've never made one, this is always Mom's job on the holidays. She makes a "mighty fine" Pecan Pie as my Pop would have said. I'd already committed myself to a side dish for Thanksgiving dinner and didn't want to over-extend myself. So, what do I do when I want to bake something, know my husband won't help me eat it and can't justify eating the whole thing myself??? I bake it, eat one piece, take the rest to work. My coworkers eat anything!

And last night, that's just what I did.
Pecan Pie
from Southern Sideboards, Junior League of Jackson

1 (9inch) pie shell, partially baked
1/2 cup butter (or margarine)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 cups pecans

Bake pie crust 3-4 minutes.

Cook sugar, butter and corn syrup over low heat until the butter melts. Do not let mixture boil.

Cool slightly. Stir in eggs and mix well. Add vanilla and pecans.

Pour filling into pie crust. Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes. Pie should still be soft in the middle.

Overall it was a success. It tasted "different" than my mom's but we've nailed that down to me using real butter, she uses margarine. It was definitely "buttery". My crust also stuck to my pie plate, not sure about that part, maybe because I didn't let it thaw out, who knows. I'll try again one day.

Starting to feel like "Home"

In the last 5+ years, I've lived in a lot of places. 3 apartments in College Station during graduate school; an apartment in Houston; Ryan's house in The Woodlands. None of these places were "Home". And now, I'm finally in OUR first house together. Yes, you could consider the house we lived in for our first 3 years married as "our first house" but it was always "Ryan's house" to me. He bought it. It was his bachelor pad complete with dart board, foosball table and roommates. Even though I slowly made it feel like home, and it was OUR HOME, it was always "Ryan's House".

When we first moved in the new house... OUR HOUSE... it was so empty feeling that it didn't feel like "home". We are still working on filling it up (in more ways than one) but it's finally started to feel like more than "our house"... it's HOME. I even stored our home phone number in my cell as "Home" and changed my parents number to "Mom and Dad". For some reason, this was a big step for me. I will always feel like "going home" when I go to my parents house in Jackson but our new house together is my new home. This is where I'll start my family... where the good times and bad times will happen... where the rest of our lives begins.

So, it's feeling homier (is that a word? spell check didn't catch it...). We got the couches and the kitchen table.

Now, we've added a new coffee table and end table. They have iron bases and beautiful copper tops.






And we've started to add the little finishing touches. I got these florals and accessories at the Junior League Holiday Market. They help to soften up the kitchen. I still have more to do on the bigger wall of cabinets.



I love this teapot... I couldn't decide on buying it but they put it on sale the last day of the market. So, what did I do... I bought two of them. Ha! I'll find a spot for the other one!





And, we even got a new bedding set for the Guest Bedroom. Mom and Dad, I hope you like it. I've still got to get the square pillows for the solid brown shams that came with the set, and a curtain rod to hang the valance. But, we think its very pretty and much more grown up looking than my old apartment bedding.





We've also added finishing touches in the powder room, but I forgot to take pictures of that... later! Next on the list is drapes in the Master Bedroom and a rug and throw pillows in the family room. I've called an expert to help with these activities so we'll see how that goes.

Slightly Festive

Though we didn't do full Halloween decorations this year, I did pull out the general "Fall" decor. At the old house, I'd do the mantle and the dining room table and it really made the house feel festive. We don't have a dining room table and we didn't really have enough "stuff" to cover then new, huge kitchen table. So, I put it all on the mantle.


I think it looks really good, but I'll definitely be hitting up some sales to try to stock up on more things for next year. I'm starting to get worried about my Christmas decor and if I have enough. I'm pretty sure I DON'T.

Halloween Fun...

Last night was the Hebert's 2nd Annual Halloween bash. We went dressed a Jim and Pam from The Office.
Pam is pregnant on the show (note the belly and ODouls in the picture) and Ryan is wearing Jim's "Facebook" costume from this year's Halloween Episode. If you are wondering about any subliminal meaning to me going as a pregnant woman... click HERE.

Halloween 2009...

I just got a little sad today when I thought about tomorrow being Halloween. The past few years, Ryan and I have enjoyed carving pumpkins and handing out candy. Okay, I did most of the carving and candy giving but Ryan was there, keeping me company!

We decided not to carve a pumpkin this year, instead just hanging out with Ryan's family while they carved their pumpkins. We won't be handing out candy since we don't have any neighbors. We didn't even put our blow up pumpkin man out in the yard. Maybe next year we'll have some neighbors!

We will celebrate Halloween at the Hebert's Halloween Party and I'm very much looking forward to it.

So, in celebration, here are our pumpkins from the past two years.



I'm holding out hope (but not holding my breath) that I'll get to make an Astro's pumpkin one year soon.

Admiral Update

He loves his new yard... even if he sunbathes as close to the patio as he possibly can!

Kitchen Table!

Today we went out in search of some tables. We need to get either a Kitchen table or coffee table so we'd have someplace to eat. We previously looked at kitchen tables when shopping for our couches but never found anything we liked. So many tables we saw were counter height tables and that just wasn't what we wanted.

We found a table on Pottery Barn's website that we really liked but we didn't like the price. We decided we'd spend today table shopping and go to Houston if we had to. We were planning for a LONG day of shopping.

We hit a couple of places in the Woodlands and ran by Pottery Barn to check out the table in person. We still loved it but the price was just... well... obnoxious. The salesperson at Pottery Barn told us they were having some great specials so we looked around at other tables. They helped us find one that was very similar to the one we came in for, but for much less $$. And, she snuck us a 20% off coupon so we could get the whole set for 20% off and they had EVERYTHING IN STOCK.

We did lots of inspection and were just really happy with the table and the chairs, so we bought it. It was just what we wanted, a 60" square with 2 leaves to extend it to 76" or 92". I know, sounds huge but its perfect in our breakfast room with one leaf. By 1:30pm we were headed home with our new table and 8 chairs! YIPPEE!!!

All the pieces were well packaged and all we had to put together was screwing the table legs on. Its very sturdy and very heavy! We love it!

The next mission is still coffee table/end tables for the family room but at least now we can eat sitting down!

Planning to Bake... Again

I have yet to bake ANYTHING in my new kitchen.



I have cooked some meals but no baking. This is going to change soon. My coworkers are asking why I haven't baked for them in a while so I need to rectify this situation.
First, I have to do some test runs on the recipes I am making out of the new Junior League Cookbook for the Holiday Market. I have to make 3 batches each of Peanut Butter Bon Bons and Mississippi Mud Bars.

Second, I saw this on Bakerella today... Snickerdoodle Duo. Yum. I've never made a Martha Stewart recipe so we'll see how it goes.

Moving In

A quick update on the move...

Three Men Movers were GREAT! If we ever have to move again (please God, I hope not) we will definitely call them first!

We unpacked TONS of boxes...

The master bedroom is pretty much complete, just needs some things on the walls (excuse the bad picture).

The chair from our family room set fits perfect!

New washer and Dryer!

New couches in the family room... still need a rug and tables.

And our first use of the new grill!!!