Ahhh...the day after...

...I love Christmas. Next to Thanksgiving it is my favorite Holiday. I am still that little girl that wakes up at 5am and 6 am and 7am...wanting (needing) to open presents. T will not budge until 9am at the earliest (oh is that about to change in the next couple years) so I usually force myself to lay in bed for a little while but just get too antsy and wind up going to the living room to wait and wait and wait.

This year was a little different. There was no one item that I asked for that I "really" wanted so bad that it kept me awake at night. Additionally this year I had a little help from Ambien to sleep straight until 8am.

T and I had a nice small Christmas this year. Really working hard at being careful with our finances, we only got each other a couple small items. I got him a new Bathrobe, slippers, some shirts, Tom Petty documentary and an Infant Life Jacket. He got me some slipper socks (needed for my Hospital stay), a couple of CD's (Lucinda Williams and Kathleen Edwards), new calendar, gift card to Sears (for nite gowns-also needed for hospital) and the Sex and the City movie (extended version!).

After opening gifts at home, having some coffee and watching a Christmas Story at least 6 different times during the previous 18 hours (I love TBS for playing this movie for 24 hrs straight!) we headed over to T's Mom's for the day..She always treats us well on Christmas. Anything we ask for we get. We do make sure not to go over board, but there have been times that there is something we REALLY want and she's good at granting our wish.

This year for Christmas all I asked her for was a rug...you see she is retired and spends most of her time hooking rugs. She makes beautiful rugs. The walls and floors in her house have loads of her pieces covering the surfaces. In our house we have several small rugs scattered through out the house as well as quite a few in the babies room now....back to the rug I wanted..About a year or two ago she began to make this rug, it was a Frog sitting on a snail shell. She completed the center and it was vibrant and gorgeous. I made it known that that rug would look GREAT in my home...to no avail, she stopped working on it.

When we announced to her that we were pregnant I made it known again but a little different this time...that her Grandchild would LOVE that rug hanging on his or her wall.....hint hint hint. At my baby shower she gave me a rug that she hooked about 12 years ago with teddy bears on it (again beautiful) but it was not the Frog rug. So I dropped my last hint....I WANT THAT RUG!!!!

Well I got my rug! What do you think?

It will hang on the wall above the crib....Yeah!! By far my FAVORITE gift I got. She also gave me a bag filled with handmade sweaters, socks and hats for the baby. All really nice. One set may be the coming home outfit...we'll see.

T also got a rug this year (we both usually get one). His was a total shock to him. I knew she was making it, but had only seen the drawing on the canvas. I had not seen any of the work once it began....it is a portrait of him.

She hasn't completed the edges yet. I have to bring it back to her so she can complete it. She is using it in an art show in early January. I told her to put the picture she drew it from next to it...It is really awesome in person. You can see the textures in the face and hands. Just amazing.

Between her art abilities and T's musical abilities, I really hope our kids gets one or both...

What was your favorite gift this Holiday?