I have to admit, at Christmastime, I'm like a kid in a candy store. I love it so much. The decorations, the music, the cold, the Christmas movies, the anticipation, the sparkling lights - the whole kit & caboodle. So this weekend, I did some of this:
I ♥ traditional Christmas colors. So pretty!
I'm not near finished, heck, my happy little Christmas table here isn't even finished. But both trees are up & semi-decorated, & hubby got the outside lights up today. I'll photo everything when we're done.
Ok. Two nights before Halloween. But who's counting.
I was so tired when I finally collapsed into bed last night. My nightly routine is to brush my teeth, wash my hands, apply Carmex & climb into bed. Once in bed, I sit up & apply my yummy Bath & Body Works lotion (still using Coconut Passionfruit, btw - need to switch to Warm Vanilla Sugar soon! Mmmm.) to my hands/arms while glancing at the tv. So last night, that's what I did. While applying my lotion, I didn't really like what was on tv. So I put my hand down to grab the remote, which I thought was right beside me. It was dark & I didn't have my glasses on, but I was shocked at what I 'think' I saw. I got a tad closer, my eyes got real wide, as I said to myself "no way". Or was it?
Holy.frickin'.cow. I froze & screamed for hubby. He was upstairs. By this time, my heart was racing. I took a deep breath, mumbled "it's now or never!", hopped up at lightning speed & sprinted to the bedroom door. Hubby came in at that exact moment & found me standing there with my hand over my mouth & in tears. Yes, I was in tears. Unable to speak (miracles do happen), I just pointed to the bed.
He really couldn't see what I was pointing at because it was dark, so he flipped on the light. Then he looked at me & stared. You know, that you are such an airhead sometimes stare. And I think he even rolled his eyes, just for good measure. Then he laughed. I think a tear fell as he began laughing. Ok, that part was a lie. No tear fell. Here's what he brought to me:
This is hubby & Audi on July 4th. Before Audi almost died. Or so he thought. Our little 3 year old daredevil (Mercedes) & hubby were fixing to embark (again) on a jetski ride. They were still located right next to the dock, right next to Audi & his Uncle, when suddenly, our little daredevil decided she would turn the jetski on herself, while holding the throttlewide open! It's a wonder hubby didn't fall off the back, as they weren't ready to take off yet. (Well, obviously she was. ;o) Audi then begins screaming bloody murder. Hubby's brother grabbed him & I went running, panicking, "we've got to get him out of the water, we've got to get him out!!!" Hubby's brother, however, kept him in the water, holding him in a cradle position, calming him down & checking his legs. Come to find out, the jetski did hit him, it actually hit Uncle too, but Audi took the brunt of it. He's fine. More than anything, we think having the strong 'power wash' like water force directly in his face scared the dickens out of him. It wasn't until hubby returned to the dock, dove off the jetski to see if Audi was injured & I was giving him the 3rd degree, did we find out Miss Mercedes was the guilty party. Girl scares me.
Got a good Goodwill run in today! I'll post soon. My plan is to get back to blogging regularly. I really enjoy it & I miss it. Ü
We had a beautiful Christmas, as always. We are ever, ever so blessed & my hope & prayer is that amidst all the hoopla, we never lose sight of our blessings. More importantly, we never lose sight of the reason we celebrate Christmas. Growing up, we always celebrated Christmas. My mother, every single year, went overboard. There were so many presents, by the time we were teenagers, we were getting a little sick of them. Plus, the rule was, only one person could open a gift at a time, so it literally took us hours to get thru all the gifts. I remember one Christmas opening gifts took 4 hours. But there was one thing missing - Jesus. We celebrated His holiday, without Him. In my opinion, my parents had a lot of nerve doing that. I find it appalling. So very thankful my children are being raised the proper way, knowing why we celebrate this awesome holiday.
Every Christmas Eve, we celebrate with my husband's side. They all came here yesterday. It was awesome. So much yummy food that blew my blood sugar level out of the water. LOL I enjoyed every minute of it. ;o) Good conversations. Much laughter. Special Christmas gifts. Beautiful memories. Our final guests left around 7:30 p.m..
Last night, when I finally had time to very, very briefly collapse & reflect, I discovered I am absolutely adamant about changing our Christmas preparations. I say it every year, but next year, changes will be implemented. I'm determined.
It's been a very difficult week. Shopping was not complete. Not one single gift had been wrapped. My boys behavior was pretty much dispicable, which made for M-W being miserable for everyone. The house was not clean & ready for guests. Groceries were not bought for all the food that needed preparing. I was sick (fortunately, I had an antibiotic from a few weeks prior that I had not filled, so I filled it this week. Yay!) Jags was very sick & went to CareNow one night. She received a steroid & antibiotic. Merc was quickly following in Jags' footsteps, so I ran her to CareNow one night. She didn't need an antibiotic. Our plumbing backed up one morning, which resulted in a completely flooded master bath (& parts of our master closet), so we lost time handling that. Hubby typically takes the week of Christmas off, but this year he chose the week after Christmas. His work this week was extremely busy. Tuesday we were alerted by a neighbor that there has been a suspicious vehicle in our neighborhood for several days & the police have been notified (more than once) & the tags of the vehicle have been ran. Thursday early evening, hubby & I feel confident we spotted this suspicious person (right in front of our home, where's he's been spotted before), so we took time Thursday evening alerting more neighbors. By the time our Thursday ended, we headed to bed about 1:00 a.m.
Friday, Christmas Eve, started again bright & early. We had last minute preparations to complete before family arrived around 12:30 p.m. Low & behold everything worked out just perfectly. I knew it would. It always does. But lurking in the shadows was exhaustion. Big time.
By the time everyone left, the children were wiped. Which is an extremely huge blessing, on Christmas Eve. ;o) We got everyone shuttled to bed, only to discover they were all hungry. Back down they all came. Bents had a horrible tummy ache (he was the most tired, due to being up reading at 1:00 a.m. on many nights!) & hubby even had to run to CVS to get him some Pepto (we never use that & will never again - it has 2 different reds in it!). We were thinking it could be something serious, but finally the pain ceased & he's been fine today, Christmas Day.
In a not so good predicament, hubby & I then had to pull out all of the children's gifts, sort them into piles & begin putting together & wrapping. None of this had been done in advance. There had been no time. By this time I'm now suffering from a severe tummy ache & thinking I was going to throw up. But again, we got it all accomplished, it worked out just perfectly, & we slid into bed @ 1:00 a.m. Totally, completely & utterly exhausted.
And the funny part? With all the goings on, we totally forgot to purchase groceries for our turkey, dressing & all the trimmings Christmas day dinner. LOL Cracked us up. We have no groceries for us. And believe it or not, because we are so tired, we are thankful there is no large meal to cook! Ü
The above is why I am determined to implement new changes. Not just a few - but many. Such as:
*All gifts will be purchased, documented & wrapped in advance. Hopefully, way in advance. And put under the tree. Because our children are still young, we have never put gifts under the tree for fear of them being destroyed or unwrapped. Next year they will be displayed under the tree for admiring. And building anticipation. :)
*Menus planned in advance, & as much food as possible, purchased in advance.
*The number of gifts my children receive lowered. I think they receive too many gifts, too many expensive gifts (I feel my mother, at Christmastime, creeping in ;o) - I need to remember they receive many gifts from family members - so definite changes will be made in this area. My hope is to get inspiration & suggestions from others & try to come up with a new plan. I.e. does each child get a certain number of gifts? Or does one set a certain price for each child? Etc.
*Deep cleaning can begin in advance, so the last minute cleaning can be done quickly (bathrooms, dusting, mopping, vacuuming).
*My "I want to do" Christmas fun list is always too exuberant for the amount of time we have to actually do them. Resulting in, many items on my list don't get done. I want an abundance of time to watch Christmas movies, view Christmas lights, bake lots of different Christmas cookies w/ my children, do Christmas crafts with my children - I just want ample time to spend & be with my children. They are only little once.
*I want to bring back annual Christmas jammies/lounge wear. I never used to do this - I borrowed the idea from someone else for a year or 2 & fell more in love with my Christmas photos. Too darn cute. I want more time to find & purchase color coordinated jammies (that they can wear all year, of course!)
*And the exhaustion. I desire no more exhaustion. Now I know at Christmastime, with all the activities, hitting the bed tired is expected. But last night, Christmas Eve, I was on the verge of flat out passing out. I wasn't even sure I could sort & wrap the children's gifts. But of course I did, of course we did, all the while swearing we would never experience this misery during Christmas again. I am certain, we won't. And I am very excited about that fact! Ü
We picked up Panda Express for lunch & noticed Albertson's was open. Hubby just ran back to pick up some bananas & frozen pizza & they are closed. LOL It's time for me to ransack the freezer/frig/pantry & see what I can muster up for dinner. ;o)
Tomorrow we are back at it, because my side of the family is coming on Monday. So we get to do it all over again. However, much less elaborate. ;o) Then, Audi's birthday is Friday, Jags' is Saturday & Merc's is Thursday.
Oy! Merry Christmas! ♥
(Enjoy the video of my nephew (he's on the left!) playing a little "Bachman jig" last year. Ü )
I didn't let Jaguar help w/ the mixing, only because she's sick (upper respiratory infection). I did, however, let Mercedes participate, but forgot to take a photo!
Well?
Success! And so much fun! Ü
Next? Mini Kisses Chocolate Blossom cookies! (Basically, chocolate sugar cookies with Hershey's kisses in the middle!)
It works! For the 1st time in 5 years, I'm able to hang my wreath on the front door! I had to find an adequate location on the beveled glass, so it's a little lower than I anticipated, but that's ok! Ü
It's just a darn shame that I don't like the wreath anymore! LOL :)
Baha! Now typically, this is not how I decorate for Halloween. Last weekend I dusted the family room, so I removed all items off of, well, everything. For whatever reason, I stuck all the Halloween decor on the mantel to get it out of the way. Later on, when I looked back at it, I thought it looked pretty cute! So I'm leaving it. :)
Oh yes, my Christmas wreath. Yes indeed, it's been up all year. Now listen. I'm only 5'2". It is very challenging for me to get that sucker up there, secure it, straighten it & fluff it every Christmas. So, after last Christmas, I left it. (I'm seeing a pattern here - first I leave the wreath & now the Halloween decor. I seem to be getting a case of the lazies. :)
This will be our 5th holiday season in the good ol' Money Pit. I cannot believe we have made it here this long. Anyway. Below is a photo of my front door:
It looks the same on the outside (except it's green. Our last home's front door was painted green too. I don't even like green - unless it's certain shades. How come I get stuck with green front doors?). Because of the glass & wood detail, I have never had success hanging any sort of wreath on the door. I've tried every type of over-the-door wreath hangers they make. To no avail. But ah hah! Today I spied this:
One of those no-damage thingies! And this one claims to hold up to 5 pounds! Tada! Now my other beautimous Christmas wreath can hang on the door! One can hope, anyway. I'll let you know how it goes. Ü
Lowe's has all of their Christmas decor out! I really like Lowe's. They have some great departments & home decor! Mercedes spied the Christmas trees right away. "Kissmas twees! I like the bwue ones (they were all green, not blue. But whatever.) I'z so 'cited!"
I'm ready for cold weather. I'm ready for fires & candles & all the hoopla the Christmas season brings. I ♥♥♥ Christmas! It's my most favorite time of the year. With all the decorating blogs I've discovered, hopefully I can get some new decorating ideas! And I've already bought one Christmas gift. I'm good. Ü
Except in my closet! OMGosh! Help! I could probably lose a kid in there!
Holy pickles! I don't even know where to start! See the bag on the floor, in the middle, right behind the remote truck? Why do I have a remote truck in my closet? Anyway, that bag is full of bank statements from NINETEEN EIGHTY FIVE!
I know you needed a good laugh tonight. You're welcome. ACK! Ü
Spite hubby's truck breaking down the morning we were to leave, spite arriving at 8:30 p.m. to find the state park we planned to camp at closed (due to flooding), spite running my battery down resulting in my car not starting the following morning & spite the miserable heat -
It was fantastic! Ü
Here was our view. Beautimous!
Going to check out the lake.
Saturday afternoon, this little cove became our saving grace. We were so hot, we actually came down here & got in to cool off. Even Bray walked in the water & laid down. If it weren't for this cove, more than likely we would have packed up & headed home due to the extreme heat.
Saving grace #2.
Yay! Got it running. Thanks AAA.
Chef!
This little tyke spent a lot of her time in the car with the a/c on, watching a movie. Smart girl. Sometimes I'm in the photos. See?
Neighbors.
Old enough now to fake smile. Sigh.
Bored? Hot? Both?
Sweat! I was so concerned about my kids in the heat.
I found a clip & pulled her hair up! That helped. A smidgen.
Jaguar faired well. She's tough.
Audi skeptical about roasting.
Gettin' dirty! :)
Adorable.
Typically I don't take this many photographs of wildlife. But there were so many, I was mesmerized. ♥ nature. There's just nothing like it.
Great shot! ♥
We are so excited to camp again! But never again in the heat. Didn't I say the very same thing about having a garage sale? Ü
There's just something about being in the out of doors. Living in nature. Smelling, listening, breathing, seeing, appreciating. Ultimate stress reliever (unless your car won't start & you're stranded at a camp ground. Teehee. ;o). And other campers? Friendliest people around. As we were pulling out Sunday morning, our neighbor campers came running up. Why? His truck wouldn't start & he needed a jump. LOL
I encourage you. Go camping. Try it. Don't let life go by without experiencing the great outdoors. Don't worry - most camp grounds have indoor potties & showers. Live! Ü
Next? Mini Kisses Chocolate Blossom cookies! (Basically, chocolate sugar cookies with Hershey's kisses in the middle!)
It looks the same on the outside (except it's green. Our last home's front door was painted green too. I don't even like green - unless it's certain shades. How come I get stuck with green front doors?). Because of the glass & wood detail, I have never had success hanging any sort of wreath on the door. I've tried every type of over-the-door wreath hangers they make. To no avail. But ah hah! Today I spied this:
Holy pickles! I don't even know where to start! See the bag on the floor, in the middle, right behind the remote truck? Why do I have a remote truck in my closet? Anyway, that bag is full of bank statements from NINETEEN EIGHTY FIVE!
Great shot! ♥
