Ah....December

For any of you who know me well, you know that I love Christmas. I think it is the best time of the year! I love all the houses with lights. I love, love, love having a Christmas tree in my living room. I love buying presents for people. I love the music. I started listening to it before Thanksgiving because I just couldn't help myself. Most years I am thrilled to see December come. This year, however, I have had the worst December. It all started with that stupid wind storm that I like to refer to as Hurricane Utah. Our freakin' neighbor had a freakin' tree fall on the freakin' power lines, so we went without power for four freakin' days! Luckily my parents, who live 2 houses away had power so we were able to stay with them. Don't ask why they had power and we didn't--if I think about it too much it makes me want to freak out all over again. For three lovely nights we got to stay at the Hotel Rounds. Makayla seemed to have a wonderful time. She had a grandma to play with her all day long. It gave me a nice break, but I was really bored at the same time. I was so out of my routine I didn't know what to do with myself. My dad had a nice remedy for that though....

While I was staying with my parents, my dad got a nasty case of the flu. Well, apparently he was dehydrated because he kept passing out after running to the bathroom. My mom got him all cleaned up and back in bed after the first episode, but a few minutes later I heard her screaming for help. When I got to her bathroom my dad was passed out on the bathroom floor and he wasn't breathing. Devin called 911 while my mom and I tried to rearrange him so he could breathe. His head was rammed up against the tub, and when we moved him we saw that he had cut his head open. His cheek was also bloody and gross. The nice EMTs came in to help and took him to the hospital. I don't know what it is about me, but every time my dad does something like this it seems that I am the child that is there dealing with it. Next time, someone else needs to be there when he tried to have a heart attack or has the most violent case of the flu I have ever seen. It is not fun to see your dad lying on the floor not breathing. I think my brother Ryan, being the oldest, should be obligated to be present for any future episodes.

The baby making process has not been fun this month either. I don't know if it has been all the extra pregnancy announcements or what, but I am really struggling this month. I just don't want to deal with any of it anymore. I stopped taking any form of birth control almost a year ago, and I am reaching that limit of sanity. I just don't understand why it seems that I get the short end of the stick when it comes to having babies. I guess we each have our trials. I look forward to the day when this trial can end--until we want another baby.

I am really hoping that the rest of this month will be happy. I know that if I find out next week that I am again, not pregnant I will have a rough few days, but I won't let it ruin my holidays. I am really excited to have Devin home for a few days, and to see the little glimmer of magic in Makayla's eyes. I have a ton of presents wrapped under my tree, and I can't wait until we get to open them. It is going to be a great Christmas!

Christmas Tree Jubilee!

Devin took the whole week of Thanksgiving off from work, and we have been having lots of fun. Last night we went to the Christmas Tree Jubilee for the Weber School District Foundation. Makayla loved looking at all the trees, however, she refused to be held. She had to walk from tree to tree all by herself. Luckily, she is good about holding Mommy and Daddy's hands, so it went well. One day I would love to go and buy one of those beautiful, decked-out trees. Until then, I will continue to just put my tree up (which is quite sad as compared to these trees).

I don't know where Makayla found this hat, but she came running to me with it on, and I just had to take some pictures. This turned out to be one of my favorite pictures of her. Her hair is getting long...

This is our attempt at taking a picture of her Thanksgiving dress that I made for her. She just couldn't bring herself to hold still for three seconds so we could snap a quick picture. The dress has a turkey that says Thankful on it. Next week I need to make her Christmas dress! Any ideas? Maybe a reindeer or something....

Ah, the classic Makayla glare. I tell you what, this kid can give some dirty looks. I don't know where it came from. I know I am capable of giving some dirty looks, but I promise I don't scowl at my child all day long. This picture does remind me of myself a little.....and my sister!

Makayla has loved having Daddy home this week. They have played a lot together, and Devin is constantly doing things to her--like putting sunglasses on. They have a sweet little relationship. It is very clear that this girl loves her Daddy.

I am excited for Thanksgiving. It will be small this year. I will only see one of my three siblings, and Devin's family isn't even getting together (LAME). It will still be great fun eating delicious food and playing games with the fam. And best of all, after the night is over I can freely listen to my Christmas music and be excited without criticism. Christmas already exploded in my house, because I just couldn't wait any longer. I can't help it. Christmas is the best! Happy holidays!

My First Wedding!

So most of you know that I started my own wedding decorating business. Well, last night (11-11-11) I did my first wedding. We jumped in at the end to help out a kid that Devin works with, so I didn't get to use a lot of my stuff. A professional photographer took some pictures of everything before the reception started. When I get those pictures I will post them. For now, you can just see my pictures that aren't very good. I was dodging people and the lighting was terrible.

The bride chose orange and navy blue for colors and had an Autumn theme going on. I had a lot of fun picking things out and setting them up. I think I am really going to enjoy this. Let me know if you need help with a wedding, or know of anyone who does!

This is an iron arch that we added lights and flowers to. The bride and groom stood in front of it. It was super pretty! This arch has a little gate at the bottom, and would be perfect to welcome people to a garden reception! It would look great with a cake under it too.

The room was dim, so this is more what it looked like while the reception was happening. I have tons of different flowers and garlands that could be added to this to make it unique. I am not super fond of the leaves, but it wasn't my wedding.

This is a lantern (they had a lantern theme) that we used as a card holder. People loved it! The sign in table had a navy blue satin table cloth with the other stuff you see. This lantern can also have an LED candle placed in it to be used as another decoration.

This is the cutest little fountain of a couple stuck in the rain. It added a little romance and ambiance. Love it!

This again, would be perfect for an outdoor wedding. I can control the amount of water, so we could really make it flow outside.

The chairs were covered with sashes tied around them. I was avoiding people in this shot, and this chair had been sat in all night. The bows were great when things first got started! The tables had long white table cloths with elegant satin navy blue overlays. I don't have pictures of them because people were still sitting down when I was taking the pictures. The reception was in a church, so these few simple things really dressed the place up.

I am really looking forward to the next wedding. This last one I had to deal with an aunt (never once met the bride until the night of the wedding) and she was a little bit bossy pants (I know, I know, comes with the territory). I look forward to sitting down with the actual bride to show her what I have for decor, and to exercise my creativity. It is my job to see what the bride wants, show up to the location and have all her dreams ready to go as she arrives for her own reception. Then as she is swept off her feet and taken away by the groom, I come back in and remove all the stuff I set up. I look forward to doing a lot more of these.....

Crazy Pills

So I started taking my crazy pills again. Let's give a little explanation to those who do not know what the crazy pills are. I take pill to help me ovulate because I don't. The medicine messes with my emotions and has all sorts of weird side effects which make me feel crazy. I don't take pills because I am crazy :) I took the pills about two weeks ago and I took them for one week. I also went and got a trigger shot (forces the eggs to drop. My ovaries are a little special and try to push the eggs back in) which hurt and made me feel like I needed my appendix removed. Ah, the joys of trying to get to motherhood. Anyway, about a week ago I was feeling terrible and I was in my bed while Makayla was playing in her room. When I went to go check on her (mind you I had left her alone for five minutes max) she had pulled every book off the bookshelf, thrown all the diapers about the room, and had started emptying her drawers. Needless to say I was not in the mood for the enormous mess she had made, but when I went in to start cleaning she came and gave me the biggest hug. After that I just couldn't stop smiling and laughing at her. Even though she is sometimes a trial, she is the greatest blessing I have. I didn't take a picture of the mess she made that day, but here is one from about two months ago so you get the general idea of the mess making capabilities this child has.

Halloween!

I know you are just dying to know what crazy costume ideas we came up with this year. Well, I hope we don't disappoint. A few years ago we were watching Elf, and Devin said it would make a killer costume. Well folks, this year the dream became a reality for him. Yes, that's right, Devin dressed up as Buddy the Elf--tights and all! We got a ton of comments at our ward Trunk-or-Treat and we had a good time showing it off to friends and neighbors. I went as Jovee the Elf (Buddy's girlfriend who becomes his wife in the end. Honestly people, don't you have every scene of that movie memorized like we do??) I think most people thought I was a garden gnome or something. Oh well, as a pair we rocked it. Another successful year in the Hubbard home for Halloween. Now, any thoughts on next year's masterpiece?

Nap Time

So lately Makayla has been taking naps sooner than she normally does. Perhaps she has hit a growth spurt? I am not sure the reason, but three times in the last few weeks she has fallen asleep in her high chair while eating lunch or a snack. She is not usually the type to fall asleep in strange places, so this is super entertaining for me to find her zonked in her chair. I thought I would share some pictures so you can be equally entertained...

Ups and Downs

I love being a mommy. I have a lot of fun with Makayla. She is growing and learning so much. It is such a proud feeling to see her talking and running around the house, but at the same time it makes me so sad. I am so ready for another baby, but as always can't get pregnant. We had a miscarriage last month--the most terrible thing of my life to lose a baby--and naturally family members and friends are announcing pregnancies like crazy which makes it even harder, but we were very blessed because my body got back on track quickly and now we are back on the fertility medicine (which unfortunately makes me feel crazy all the time). Cross your fingers for us that it happens soon. Infertility is really hard on my body and emotions and is even harder on the wallet! However, it has given me the most wonderful opportunity to focus on Makayla and really enjoy the time I get to spend with her. One of my favorite things to do is make her hair bows and matching outfits. I just love dressing her up and getting comments on how cute she is :) Here she is with a little pumpkin dress that I whipped up a few weeks ago. I need to get started on a Thanksgiving dress soon!

Makayla turned a year old on August 8th. I can't believe it has already been a year. It seems like the year I was pregnant went on and on into eternity, and she has already been here long enough to have a birthday now! What is a mom to do? Have more babies I guess (not making any type of announcement). She loved her cake--she ate every bite of it all by herself. She also opened each of her presents. On her birthday she had five teeth, she could crawl but not walk (super close!), she could say "mama, dada, daddy, mom, duck, more, and dad". She seems to favor Devin in that list...

Getting The Blog Started

So, this whole blog thing is new for the happy Hubbard family, but we are excited to give it a go. I can honestly say that we are one happy family. Devin and I have been married 3 and a half years, and our daughter Makayla (the cutest baby on the planet--no competition) is about to turn one! I think the best year of my life has been since the day she was born. I love being a mommy. It just gives me little flitters of sunshine all day to stay home and take care of that sweet girl. She is all over the place, and makes a LOT of messes, but it is totally worth it.

Right now Devin is working for the LDS church is Kaysville, and I just quit my job of three years as a first grade teacher. Although I am still very nervous that I put a hold on a career to have a family, I am looking forward to being home with Makayla full-time. I loved being a teacher. I felt like it defined who I am and gave me pride in what I did for a living, but after much prayer and thought, Dev and I decided it would be better for Makayla and (cross your fingers) future kids!