9 on the 9th

I haven't participated in this carnival in a while, but thought it'd be fun. My list is

9 Favorite Holiday Staples

1. Hot chocolate. I pretty much always like hot chocolate, but it becomes an emotional investment at Christmastime! I highly recommend Ugly Mug's version. Or some of the fancy versions at a certain establishment with a green circle logo. You know the one.
2. Poinsettias, pronounced poin-set-tee-uh. It amazes me that these are from Mexico and grow year round in California and the western most states, yet have become icons for our winter season! They're gorgeous, though. And I was at a big box store the other day and saw some (fake)blue ones... odd, but very striking.
3. Jesse Tree Ornaments. This became a tradition while living with my spiritual mom. I can't wait til the boys are old enough to really get into them.
4. Hunny's green and white striped Santa hat... I love how quirky it is and silly.
5. Holiday menus and parties. I love to entertain. I love to cook and bake. I love cooking for others. I love menu-making for special occasions (not so much for regular weeks!). I love fancy fare.
6. Handmade... I am not doing exclusively handmade this year, though I am attempting to buy and make as many handmade items as possible. Knitting is a favorite hobby of mine, but is clearly more practical and enjoyable when it's not 100 degrees outside.
7. Christmas carols. I really prefer hymns, but I do love to sing Christmas songs... I'm bad for singing them any time of the year!! If only I knew all the lyrics, although it's pretty funny annoying to Hunny when I make up my own stuff!
8. Christmas cards. I love writing letters, and even more love to receive them in the mail.. the real mail (though I'm equally addicted to my email inbox!)
9. I'm going to punk out here.... not because I can't think of a 9th thing, but because there are several, so I'm just going to say generically "all the other wonderful things about the holidays, from traditions, to family, to the weather)

Have fun, and check out All that Naz for her own post!

9 on the 9th

For this month's 9 on the 9th carnival hosted by Mrs. Naz at All that Naz, I am going with 9 ways to say I love you, because we can never communicate this too much!
1. Touch is one of my favorite ways to say I care. Do you know your partner/friend/child's love language? Touch is both mine and Hunny's communicator, so massages or just holding hands makes both of us feel so special. Bear especially loves being held by Daddy, and Bunkin is still nursing, so we get to bond in these ways.
2. Related to touching, don't forget to play! Peek-a-boo, tracing letters to guess, giving wet willies.... these all say "you're special" but in a silly kind of way. And we definitely need more silly.
3. Love letters. Any one who knows me knows that I just LOVE getting letters... mail, email, a little note... I love the written word! It only takes two seconds to write "I love you" on a mirror in lipstick (and a friend of mine likes to write racy messages to her hubby on the glass while he's showering so that they get revealed while he's showering!). We're not at lunchbox stage with the boys (and probably won't be as I want to homeschool), but I would have been thrilled to get a sweet note of encouragement from my mom in my packed lunch. Hunny has sweetly collected all the notes I've ever written him... and I know he loves them, too.
4. Quiet time. I can't stress this one enough. At our old house, I used to fuss at Hunny when he spent after hours in his office, which was at the back of the house instead of adjacent to the family room such as in our first house. The reason was I enjoyed just seeing him and spending time together, even if we were both working on different projects, I wanted to share space with him. Even better is actually getting rid of the extra activities and just taking time to be quiet with one another. Remember the sound of his heartbeat, breathe together, relax.
5. This is a no-brainer: SAY IT!!! Don't just assume everyone knows how you feel about them... say it over and over and over.
6. Use your gifts... you don't have to go buy something to bestow a gift on someone. You can give the gift of time and talents to make someone feel special. If you are crafty, personalizing that stationary tells your sister she's great; if you are a baker, make those cookies, and share!
7. Read 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Dubbed the "love chapter," it often gets a lot of attention without a lot of deep reading... after reading Martha Peace's books, I was challenged to really pay attention to what the Biblical definition of love was... and I do not always measure up or have true expectations from others. These verses tell me what my priorities need to be and what biblical love looks like. For romantic love, it sure doesn't hurt to read Song of Solomon either.
8. Remember. We so often tend to remember only negative things or "keep lists" of wrongs. How about upsetting that trend and remembering why you fell in love, or remembering the good things about the person you love so much. It helps you focus on what to love and why when it's hard, and it helps your loved one because they are then able to bask in your admiration and respect.
9. Pray... again, this should be a no-brainer, but I am ashamed how often I have to be reminded to pray for my loved ones.

9 on the 9th

Mrs. N over at All that Naz has her 9 on the 9th meme.. you know, a list of, duh! 9 things! Here's my list:
9 reasons I'm excited to move to Dallas
(also known as psyching myself up)
1. I'll be close to sister B! She's my identical sis, and we're pretty close. :)
2. I get to *know* my nephews, and our boys will grow up together. This amazes me because we never had cousins growing up, and I'm so excited that they will have a sense of family outside our immediate ones.
3. It's not Memphis... I mean that as sweetly as I can possibly muster, but this city has her issues, that's for sure.
4. It's Dallas! I think everything's supposed to be bigger in Texas or something. Seriously, though, it's right smack dab in the middle of the country, and that's got to mean something, right?
5. It's a chance to start over, and that's always been kind of exciting to me, even if scary at the same time: new friends, new church, new weather, new neighborhood.
6. College football, which Hunny tells me is THE holy of holies. And we'll be right there to experience it. Hook 'em horns!
*Edited to correct my mistake; I originally said SEC football, but that just shows you what I know! I'm still a-learnin'! But what I meant to say was just college ball in general...and just in case some of you from home are wondering if Hunny's grown a 2nd head, don't worry; he's still the biggest Arkansas (SEC) fan ever.... he just happens to enjoy a team of certain burnt orange fame as well.
7. Texas (I've heard) has a great homeschooling tolerance, so I imagine there will be all kinds of cool homeschooling mamas.
8. I am actually hoping to be able to practice my dusty Spanish... maybe a sweet Mexican woman will take me in under her wing, and feed me lots of salsa!
9. Wide open spaces. And room to make mistakes.
So there's my list... go visit Mrs. N and see the other lists!

9 on the 9th

I love to travel, but since having kids have not done any. My list is of places I'd like to visit (though some I've visted before and would just enjoy going there again).
1. Northern Africa... I know Hunny would have something to say to this, but I'd really love to visit Morocco and Egypt.
2. Romania... I've been here twice, and it's probably the country I love the best.
3. Scotland... Sean Connery. Adrian Paul (ok, ok he's not Scottish, but he played one on TV...dreamy). Need I say more?
4. Greece... This one also speaks for itself!
5. Jamaica... No, I'm not being cliche; however, having studied some Caribbean literature in college, I feel I "owe" it to myself to really "study" all those sandy beaches, palm trees, blue skies... LOL!
6. Spain... I would like a really good reason to remember the Spanish in which I used to be proficient.
7. The rest of the United States... I hope before I die, I will have been through each of the 50 States. We have so much history and natural beauty that gets ignored in favor of overseas travel.
8. Paris... My sister and I were supposed to go here for our 30th birthday; however, we've changed our minds, but there is still something exciting and alluring about visiting this romantic city.
9. Israel... I'm not sure how feasible this one would be, but I'd love to explore biblical history in this country!
If you'd like to do a 9 on the 9th list, head on over to Angela's blog and read other lists to get inspired!

9 on the 9th

Mrs. N from her blog All that Naz has a really fun meme that I am glad to participate in! The rules are simple: offer a list of 9 "tops" on the 9th of every month. So, I'm going to start my list with

9 reasons 6 months is the best baby age!

*They can't crawl yet! I made the mistake with my first son of always waiting for the next stage--this time, I truly appreciate immobility while it lasts! :)
*Toothless grins (from my little Bunkin anyway). They seriously melt my heart.
*Personality. Those 3-month inklings that emerge are in full force: smiles, laughter, personal upsets (you put me down, Mommy?), all are being molded as he watches Bear, cuddles with Mama, and plays with Daddy.
*Physical development. Not to be confused with #1, it's amazing to watch my little rolly-polly roll over (a very recent accomplishment) and "tri-pod" sit up on his own. He is a little lump of cuteness that will fly the coop soon enough, so it is humbling and awesome to see how he grows in Independence.
*No solids yet--this is a personal choice for our family, but while I eagerly anticipated those first messy bites from Bear, with Bunkin, I am glad to be his sole source of nourishment and am not looking forward to the "hassle" of starting solids! Not to mention the decided unpleasant-ness that results in diapers as solids are introduced. :(
*Recognition of Mama. Again, with Bear, it was love at first sight for both mom and baby.. til he hit about 10 months old. It was all Daddy all the time, and I was chopped liver. With Bunkin, I'm still his everything; he knows the minute I enter or exit a room, and his smile lights up the room when he sees it's me (see #2).
*Beginning a schedule. Ahhh, to a control freak, the word "schedule" is magical. I am not pushing one just yet, but am finally seeing one emerge more or less on its own.
*Baby obsessions. Bunkin's are his feet and his tongue. He splutters and drools and "pttth"s all day long, and I think I laugh each time. His feet... little they are not (in baby terms anyway), but so precious, so full of promise, and there is something simply ridiculous about his limber body almost folded in half as he tries to reach his toes!
*Sleep. When I wrote this, I did not think Bunkin would EVER sleep (at night), but alas, 6 months later, he's still in bed with me, and more or less sleeping through the night, which means I'm getting sleep, too. At last.