I Played the Pregnancy Card

Posted: December 20, 2010 at 11:58 am

Catching up from the weekend? Here are some things you may have missed…

Without a doubt this year has been the best Christmas. I think viewing the excitement of the season through a child’s eyes adds a whole new level to my holiday spirit. I have loved every moment of attending little events like we did this weekend.

Yesterday, at church, our pastor discussed how sometimes we may resent the holiday season for various reasons (resentment, guilt, grief, stress, awkwardness, anger, etc). I know I have felt resentment, stress, and anger with the holidays. That was when Christmas was all about needing things to appear perfect with gifts, family, how I felt about myself, etc. I would always end up distressed because in reality things were not perfect. Now, I focus on enjoying things with family and friends, as well as thanking God for what the season truly brings. The other stuff? It falls into place. Plus, nights like we had last night are way more special when you aren’t tabulating gift lists in your head.

We visited Stone Mountain Park for their Christmas celebration.

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It’s the one we drove out to last weekend only to find it cancelled because of our “wintery weather”? Well, last night made up for that annoyance. It was certainly worth it and I foresee it becoming another annual tradition with our family.

Upon arriving, we had a little bit of time to kill before the main events like a parade & Santa. What to do? Venture around a glass-blowing shop. I love these glass-blowing places. They seriously look like little pieces of art.

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We also stopped at a gingerbread house to hear some tales from Mrs. Claus.

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M was not amused. Mrs. Claus was pretty boring. Makenzie kept asking “Parade? Parade? Santa? Parade?” So that’s where we headed. To stake out our spot. At the perfect time too. We picked a spot right down in front for the parade.

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And after the parade finished, we were able to turn around and hop right in line for a very good spot to wait to see Santa. Once again, Makenzie oohed and awed over the old dude.

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Then, it was time to eat! A pretty pitiful sandwich and kettle cooked chips…which I thought I had taken a picture, but I guess not. Oh well. It was not pretty food.

Following dinner, we finished up the night with a few shows.

A kiddie musical…

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…the Polar Express 4-D experience…

…and a sing-along ride on the train, that stopped for a special message about Baby Jesus being the best gift of all. So glad they included that!!!

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It was pretty funny because after the show, we were ready to head out and decided to skip the special “Snow Angel Appearance & Fireworks” part of the night. Until we walked right into it. There was a huge crowd we had to push through. I played the pregnancy card – grabbed my belly, made a face, and scrambled through the quickly parting crowds who didn’t want a woman’s water breaking on them. 😉 And amidst all of that we still got to see the “Snow Angel” fly right over our heads and catch the fireworks on our way out to the car.

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That’s how it’s done! I would feel bad, but missing a ton of traffic and getting home to my warm bed kind of trumped that.

  • Question of the day – Do you ever NOT enjoy this time of year? Why?

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47 Comments to “I Played the Pregnancy Card”
  1. To me, the holiday season is about being with family and friends and enjoying our time together. NOT about buying a bunch of junk for everyone. Christmas has just gotten so overly commercialized and that annoys me. Not to mention how RUDE so many people can be while they’re all frazzled and stressed out at the mall/in parking lots/etc.

    I don’t need a gift to know that my mother/husband/sister/friend/coworker likes me or loves me. I just need to BE WITH THEM with a smile on my face enjoying the time. I think there needs to be more focus on that, and less focus on whether or not we’re done with our shopping and the awesome deals we got.

    (end rant)

  2. I’ll admit that there’s a few things I don’t love:
    – Crowds. I never like them, they make me nervous!
    – Not living near my family. But we’ve decided last minute to make the 8 hour drive!!! YAY!
    – I put SOOOO much pressure on myself to find perfect gifts for people. It makes it a little stressful.

  3. I am so glad you finally made it and that you enjoyed the time with your family. This year has been full of ups and downs for us, so I do enjoy the small things the season has to offer and I definitely love the excitement my kids have for the season.

  4. I do NOT enjoy the weather this time of year. I lived in Arizona for 7 years and totally miss the 75 and sunny Decembers. I’m so not a winter girl. One mall near our house made fake snow near the holidays, and that was good enough for me!

  5. What a great time with the fam! I love Christmas-themed stuff 🙂

    I have to agree about the holidays being more fun when seeing them through a child’s eyes. My aunt just had a baby and everyone is over the moon about celebrating his first Christmas!

  6. hahaha! that’s so awesome you played the pregnancy card! i would totally do that. 🙂 the only thing i don’t like is the inevitability of being busy and tired and stressed…no matter what i do for self-care and planning it never helps!

    • Tina says:

      I’m hoping the busy, tired, etc of actual Christmas day will start some real contractions. The doctors are ready to let me go after mid-week this week. 😀

  7. Katie H says:

    Aw, I’m glad you had such a wonderful time.

    I usually love this time of year. Now it’s kind of bittersweet with my husband in Afghanistan. A lot bittersweet actually.

    • Tina says:

      I can imagine that. Hopefully this will be the only year you have to face that. And a HUGE thank you to him for being there for our country – and to you for being behind him!

  8. Becca says:

    Soemtimes the crowds and the hoopla of the holidays makes me a little cranky, but it’s mostly becuase people seem to forget what the holiday is REALLY about

  9. What a beautiful day you and the fam had!

    Ya know, my hubby and I were just chatting about this time of year yesterday. Our weekend was incredible…perfect, wonderful. But it was full, completely full of events, lunches, and get togethers that left of full of family and friends but with very little, if any time for the two of us. This is our first year as a married couple and we have been trying to celebrate that as much as we can!

    What I find hard around the holidays is to take some time for just you, or you and your husband, significant other or little one with no guilt, no worry and no upset at what you might be missing with others in your life! 🙂

  10. Melie says:

    Haha! Good idea playing the pregnancy card! I really wonder though what you are going to do next year, when you will have not one, but two babies wanting to see the snow angel… 😉

    • Tina says:

      Oh, we already decided baby B is likely staying with Nana and Papa that night next year. He would be too young to appreciate it and its cold out!

  11. Shannon says:

    I’m going to be the voice of negativity here. I really don’t like the holidays and I can’t remember ever having liked them. Even as a kid I remember being annoyed by the 10 hour road trip to spend the holidays in an overcrowded, overheated apartment in a city that I didn’t really enjoy. They’re overcommercialized, expensive, stressful and full of expectations that I always fail to meet. Since my cousin married her abusive boyfriend, I’ve been spending them alone and this I love. Sleeping late, making yummy food and watching old movies. No need to brave the malls, wrap gifts until the early morning hours and be with an overly critical family that gets all wrapped up in knots trying not to anger or offend previously mentioned abusive boyfriend.

    • Tina says:

      I definitely see how that would be wearing on anybody. I hope you are able to feel some of the same joy that goes with the holiday by taking time for yourself and considering other blessings. We all deserve that feeling. 🙂

  12. Bah haha! I love how you played the “pregnancy card!” Too funny!!!

    I’ve always wanted to go to Stone Mountain, but have never gone! Thanks for having lots of pictures! 🙂

    Happy Monday!

  13. Heather says:

    OMG, M’s little red nose is so darling!!! So cute.

    And I absolutely LOVE this time of year. Everyone is so friendly and in good moods – I wish it was like this all year round!

  14. I miss Stone Mountain- magical!

    I love that you played the preggers card- hilarious!

  15. I love this time of year b/c the kiddos enjoy it so much. 🙂 What I don’t like is shopping. I used to love the hustle and bustle but I’m way over it now.

    PS – Love your white coat!

  16. Thats so exciting that you are in Fitness!! I would be buying up everyone that I could get my hands on 🙂

  17. Angela says:

    Although they can be stressful, on the whole, I really like the holidays. They force me to wind down a bit, take time to appreciate the company of my friends and family, and reflect too.
    PS- I love your coat too!! 🙂

  18. Haha…I TOTALLY would have played the pregnancy card too 🙂

    Looks like a great holiday time!

  19. I’m hoping that my attitude towards the holidays will change when we have kids. It’s been pretty frustrating for the last few years and I’d love to get the joy back.

  20. Sometimes I just find this time of year hard because we are always traveling. I’m basically living out of a suitcase for the next 3 weeks as we travel to my family, Joe’s family, and then on a trip with my dad to colorado…fun! but a little hectic.

  21. LOL love the pregnancy card being played 😉 This time of year stresses me out because of the crowds and how ugly it seems to make people. Aren’t we supposed to be more happy and thankful?

  22. chelsey says:

    Looks like such a great day! It is hilarious that you played the pregnancy card. I <3 it!

  23. the only thing I don’t like about this time of year is the mob scene at the stores but other than that, what’s not to love??

  24. What a cute night! I can not like Christmas when I’m stressed about gift giving. Ahh!

  25. preg card? sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do 🙂

  26. sometimes I feel like this time of year people lose sight about what xmas is really about. It gets to me.
    I loved seeing all your pictures of how you are enjoying the season with the little M!! Children really do make holidays like this so much more exciting!

  27. Sounds like a wonderful evening! I love these kinds of things at Christmas and does make me hope to someday have children because I imagine it is the best thing ever to see them at Christmas 🙂

  28. Oh I cannot wait to read your blog again; I have been dying to go to “snow” mountain!
    Katherine

  29. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tina Reale, Tina Reale. Tina Reale said: I Played the Pregnancy Card: Catching up from the weekend? Here are some things you may have missed… an updated … http://bit.ly/fZEbIR […]

  30. I’m totally convinced little B is going to be a Christmas baby!

  31. I am definitely guilty of stressing way too much about Christmas. I always feel like I need to have the perfect git for everyone and bring baked goods to every event. I am trying very hard this year to really remember what the season is really all about! I’m glad y’all had fun this weekend!!

  32. Your daughter is so cute! Those big eyes staring at Santa and the parade, absolute bliss for a child.
    I really love the holidays, but the only thing I don’t love is the travel. My husband and I have to make the long trek from Cali to Maryland and the airports are always crazy and the ticket prices are just nuts!

    • Tina says:

      That is a long journey! I am thankful we don’t have to do the travel thing. Both our families live around 30 minutes away.

  33. I completely agree with your philosophy that looking at the holidays through a kid’s perspective makes it even more exciting. We need to remember that this holiday season is not about presents, but about spending time with the ones who love us the most! Congrats again on Fitness magazine!! 🙂 YAY YOU!

  34. emily says:

    I used to hate this time of the year due to my exercise eating disorder. The food at all the parties caused sooooo much stress and anxiety that I had no fun. I would just sit in a state of guilt and depression around my family and friends. Now, that I have recovered and in therapy, I am super excited about the holidays this year! I never been this happy in my life and I give God all the glory!

    • Tina says:

      That’s got to feel awesome! I remember how limiting food and exercise worries made the holidays. Yay for enjoying them.

  35. Steph says:

    It must have been cold – looks like everyone had little red noses! It was a freezing 75 degrees down here today…I don’t believe Christmas is less than a week away…

  36. Good for you for playing the pregnancy card! You deserve to!

  37. The traffic, the hurry and not so nice actions of some people who only have gifts on the brain and not the real reason for the season! (and my husband with little patience + traffic = quite the headache!)

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