8 years and 1 day...

Sometimes the best way to celebrate something, is to just Be.

We had a wonderful evening yesterday, a wonderfully normal evening.

We strolled the walkways of a local mall.

We took our time shopping with a little holiday cash.

We strolled again, at another favorite shopping spot.

We played with gadgets at this store.

We didn't mind waiting an hour for a table.

We talked.

We laughed.

We ate at this yummy place.

Then we came home, and cuddled under my new blankie.

And watched this silly and funny movie, from the comfort of our family room.

This is the kind of night that I took for granted BK (before kids!)

This is the kind of night that I cherish now.

It was a wonderful, relaxing, and very happy anniversary.

Exactly what we needed right now!

Almost 8 years...

Tomorrow is our 8 year anniversary!

I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it!

I'm ready for a little break from all of the festivities, traveling, eating, kids talking/screaming, cleaning up, un-packing, toy organizing...FUN we've been having.

I'm ready to focus on my one true love for a little while.

I need some time to clear my head.

Here's my dilemma...I have no idea what to do to celebrate our 8 years of marital bliss!

Other than nap...

I checked the movie theatres, honestly nothing really appealed to me there.

I'm sure we'll eat dinner somewhere nice, but then what?

Well yes, there's that. But I mean in between dinner and that.

Any ideas?

I'd love to hear what some of y'all have done for special nights out, that don't involve traveling out of a 60 mile radius!

All I want for Christmas is my Sanity!

Well, I didn't win, but I will be practicing with the fam over Christmas, so you better believe that next time I'll be better!!!


In other news...we're leaving for Texas this afternoon. I haven't packed yet, so I better make this quick. Wish us luck with the 9 hour drive. It's always an adventure with 3 kiddos!


We'll be back on Christmas Eve night, and spend Christmas morning at home (YEAH!), and Christmas afternoon at my Grandpa's, so I doubt I'll get much blogging done for a few days, so... Merry Christmas!!!


I wanted to leave y'all with these pics...

Yep. That's Austin, my little storm trooper!


He had help with this little mess. Annie thought he was hungry, so she got him a yogurt...opened it for him...and gave him a spoon...


Y'all, I don't know what to do with him! He is Everywhere, All the Time!!


He pushed the lamp off the end table after climbing on to the table from the couch.


He unscrewed the drain plug in the bathtub yesterday.


He pushed on the gate to the stairs so hard today, that he made the child safety lock come un-done.


He tried to climb into the dryer the other day.


He can out smart any kind of harness...high chair, stroller, shopping cart...


He is 15 months old today.


HELP!

Ladies...Start the Trash Talk!

3 words...

I will WIN!

Thought for the day...

Sometimes not being able to smell is a good thing.

For instance, when you find a full bottle of milk that's been missing for a week.

It's a Bloggy Christmas!

As I lay in bed last night, drifting off to sleep, I kept thinking of great topics to post on my blog today. Thoughts drifted through my mind. Beautiful words about my children, my thoughts on life, words that would create a post as poetic as this great blogger. This morning I woke up with a headache the size of Texas, and the cold that will never end still with me. However, my excitement over writing a fabulous post was still there, and I breathlessly made my way to the computer, coffee in hand. I logged in, clicked on Create a New Post, and poised my fingers over my keyboard...

Nada. 2 hours later, my page was still blank. I cannot remember anything that I was thinking last night. Not a Thing.

Just another way to document my on-going memory problems.

Dejectedly, I checked bloglines, and discovered that today was BooMama's Christmas Tour of Homes!

Thank you BooMama, for rescuing my blog today.

So, without further ado, I give you my Christmas Decor!

My wreath on my front door. I love this wreath because it looks real, and the ribbon says Fa la la la la, which always starts me singing!


Our "family" tree. It consists of mostly ornaments the kids have made. Notice, I did not photograph the bottom part of the tree. That would be because there are no ornaments there. There were a few to begin with, and that lasted all of about 4 1/2 minutes. Then Austin came around the corner, and flung them to the far corners of the room. Oh, and also note the mismatched paint on the wall. This is the room that I've been meaning to paint for 3 years.



This is the view from the playroom into the living room. I have these giant "ornaments" that I hang in the doorway. They make me happy.



Here's a close-up.


This is my Dining Room, my favorite room in my house. This tree is 9 1/2 feet tall, and I decorate it with red, white, silver, and gold ornaments. This year I added the red angel on top, which makes me happy, and the "snow" which I'm still not sure about. For one thing, snow doesn't really fall in perfect rows of white fluffiness, for another, the kids keep rearranging it, which is driving me crazy. Note: the presents are not under the tree, instead they are on top of the tables. Yesterday I attempted to put some presents on the floor, and thought maybe Austin wouldn't bother them. I was wrong.



These are the shelves in the Dining Room. They are newly decorated this year. The tray and canister on the top shelf are new, and say things about chocolate in french, which of course, makes me happy. The gingerbread house was a new project this year, that we had a lot of fun making.



On to the kids rooms! Here is Austin's tree. (not sure why the picture is so dark) I like it, but I feel like it needs some sort of "filler". I was thinking raffia, or ribbon. I have one idea to take wide black ribbon, and make it look like a road using fabric paint. But I'm not sure...what do you think? FYI: his tree is "transportation and tools". Oh, and the tires below and behind the tree are a permanent decoration in his "garage" themed room.



Annie's tree is beautiful. It has mostly blue and white and silver ornaments in a "winter" theme. The giant ice skates are new this year.



Ellie's tree is, well, lopsided. It has driven me crazy this year. I have straightened it more times than I care to count. I have tied it to the window. I have propped it up with magazines. It is still leaning. I gave up. It's a new tree, and it's pink and shiny with lots of cat ornaments. It turned out OK, but next year I want to work on it some more.



And here are our stockings. Oh wait, where are they? I keep forgetting to order our new ones from Pottery Barn Kids. I better get that done today. If they don't come in time, we do have the ones from last year in a box in the closet. Don't you love our "mantel?" We have no fireplace, therefor no mantel. So they hang from the back of the desk. Beautiful, I know. We would like to add a fireplace this year or next, with a big beautiful mantel, that I can't wait to decorate. For now, this will have to do.

So there you have it, the pretty, the unpainted, and the leaning.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

13 hours.

This is my brain...

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep.
(that's supposed to be the sound of it not working, you know, like on one of those hospital monitors, just in case you didn't understand, which you probably did, since your brain is working, and obviously mine is not since I can't stop typing this sentence...)

Anyway.

This cold, this stinkin' cold is about to drive me insane!

Despite the nasty cold/sinus infection, I had a crazy and fabulous day yesterday. My day included...

Kindermusik class for Annie, with this fabulous teacher.
Trip to Target.
Picking up Ellie from school.
Trip to the grocery store.
60th birthday party for my daddy!
A cruise on the B-town Belle!
Our last ballroom dancing class.
Dinner with friends!

13 hours of crazy fun!

Whew!

In honor of the 13 hours, I decided to list 13 of my favorite moments from yesterday...

1. "Ice skating" on paper plates with Annie at Kindermusik.

2. Picking up Ellie from school. She had a smile on her face and a tooth in her hand! That's # 4!

3. Surprising my daddy for his birthday!

4. Seeing the Lake. I love its' beauty.

5. Thinking Annie was at my feet under the table during lunch, then looking down to see her crawling as fast as she could over people's feet to get to Grammie! Thankfully the "people" were all our family!

6. Watching Austin run around on the top deck in the cold cold air, just absolutely loving the outdoors!

7. Seeing Ellie drive the Boat!

8. Seeing the delight on all my kids faces during the show.

9. Getting dressed up to go dance with my sweetie!

10. Dancing with my Sweetie! (even if he did "dip" me too far, in turn making me fall, in turn, making me show my undies to the class!)

11. Dinner with friends at a great new restaurant!

12. Hearing this friend make noises that sounded an awful lot like whales mating, not males waiting like I kept saying this morning when the cold medicine was working! He made us all laugh and laugh!

13. Forgetting to play tooth fairy! Apparently she wasn't able to make it due to inclement weather conditions.

I did it all, thanks to much medicine!

And now I'm tired.

Just in case the writers strike is cramping your style...

I have a new favorite tv show, and I just had to share with y'all.

It makes my house with 3 kids look calm, serene, and peaceful.

It's called Jon and Kate plus 8.

And yes, the 8 means children!

These aren't your run-of-the-mill, have a ton of kids people. They are young, bright, fun, energetic parents, who had one set of twins about 7 years ago, and then had sextuplets around 3 years ago.

I've been tivo-ing it, it's on TLC, but I think these are re-runs. From what I can tell, the new ones air on Discovery Health. I don't have that station, so for now I'll settle with the reruns. That is, until I can convince hubby to upgrade to a bigger cable package!

Anyway, I'm hooked!

She's dreaming of an 80's Christmas...

Remember this look?



Big hair, big earrings, flannel nightgown...


...OK, maybe not the flannel nightgown! But definitely this look...

Ugh! My mom is SO un-cool for taking pictures of me while I'm on the phone with my friends talking about Madonna's newest tape.

It's Meme time!

Christmas Meme Fun!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

Both. I love wrapped gifts, but sometimes they are just not easy to wrap, and a bag is just more practical. What I really love is fancy bows! I love to put big fancy homemade bows on my wrapped packages!

2. Real tree or artificial?

Artificial! I have no recollection of ever having a real tree. My mom says we did when I was really little, but I don't remember that. I tried to talk my hubby into getting a real tree a few years ago. He said...NO! Actually he said...Are you insane? They are messy, and you have to water them, and they're a fire hazard, and we already HAVE a good artificial tree! Or something like that. He talked me out of it then, however I still want to try it someday!

3. When do you put up the tree?

I like to put it up the week before Thanksgiving, Hubby would rather me wait until after. So we go back and forth. It usually depends on how busy we get. This year we just finished the decorating, which is late for me.

4. When do you take the tree down?

Again, I like to take them down the week after New Years, but their has been years it's been later. Sometimes much much later!

5. Do you like eggnog?

Kind of.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

I'm with Alana on this one...Either I was an ungrateful child or I just have a very bad memory, because I cannot recall anything right now!

7. Do you have a nativity scene?

Yes, I have a Precious Moments one that I love, but will not be getting it out from its normal spot in a cabinet, for fear the kids will destroy it! I have this great little plush Christmas tree with plush Nativity ornaments that the kids play with. We also have the Little People one, and Ellie has a tiny one she plays with in her room.

8. Hardest person to buy for?

Hubby! Our Anniversary is 3 days after Christmas, which makes it that much harder!

9. Easiest person to buy for?

Myself!

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

Again, the bad memory rears its ugly head...I have no idea!

11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards?

Mail. Although I was wondering how a Blog card would go over :)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?

Miracle on 34th street! And I agree with Janelle that Rudolph has a very weird story line!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

December 26th, for the next Christmas!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

Yes! And admit it, you have too!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

My aunt makes the best fudge and chocolate pie...YUM!

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?

Clear on one, Red and Clear on another, Clear on Annie's, Big Colored ones on Ellie's, and little colored ones on Austin's.

17. Favorite Christmas song?

O' Holy Night by any male singer. Mary Did You Know by ????

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?

Every other year we travel to Texas. When we're home we usually visit my Grandma or Grandpa's house on Christmas afternoon.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?

Dancer, Dasher, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?

Angel's on the big trees, Annie has a Snowflake, Ellie has a Star, and Austin has a Plane!

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

Christmas morning!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?

When I get stressed out because I want to do EVERYTHING, but then everyone is miserable!

23. What I love most about Christmas?

The wonderful feeling I have for weeks on end...the music, the family time, the memories, the beauty, the parties, the friends, the food, the fun, and most of all, the TRUE meaning!

It's (FINALLY) begining to look a lot like Christmas...

I am filled with the Joy of Christmas this year.


Really!


Apparently my house wasn't.


UGH! That is how the decorating of my house felt when I started this year. I just finished this morning. I didn't do nearly as much as I normally do...2 big trees, and 3 smaller trees...a little "extra" stuff in the living room and dining room...and that's about it.


OK, I realize that to some people that sounds like a lot. But not in my family. I usually have 2 more trees up, garlands everywhere, wreathes in the windows, and many more "extras" around. But not this year...


I'm changing.


It started when I found out I was prego with baby #3. I'm downsizing. It's a gradual process, but a process that makes me happy. I don't feel the need for the level of perfectionism I used to maintain. Our house is decorated "just enough" to make me happy. Inside and Out. Honestly it was a struggle to do much of anything this year, but I'm glad I did it, and I'm even more glad it's done! It's tough, having 3 young kids, to get anything done. It's been especially tough this year with our little "Turbo Man" around.

But I really do feel "Christmassy." More so than I have in recent years. I think my attitude of "letting go" has helped that. The girls helped me decorate the trees...all of them...and I only Re-decorated one! When I ask them "What is the most important thing about Christmas"? Their first answer is Baby Jesus! It's things like that, along with the chill in the air, that has me feeling good.

So here I sit, in my semi-decorated-yet-perfect house, letting my self relax a bit.

It feels really really good.

Oh, and I heard a great song yesterday. "Christmas with a Capital C", by Go Fish. I love their music, if you haven't heard it, go listen! Our other favorites are "Jammies", "The Mom Song", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", and "Saved!" Seriously, I know it's "kid" music, but I listen to it even when my kids aren't with me! The Christmas song is on their CD "Snow", and the others are on their CD "Snazzy."

Tomorrow I hope to get to the Christmas Meme...we'll see!

Things that make you go Hmmm.

I got to join a new club today!

It's the...

My child just put a bug in his mouth!

club.

Yep.

Austin was walking around, playing, and generally creating havoc as normal this morning, when I noticed he was munching on something. I did the normal "finger swipe" technique and came out with this.

Lovely.

It makes me wonder what he actually swallows, when I'm not looking.