Holiday Updates

I haven't written in a few weeks. I wish it was because we took a big long holiday trip to somewhere cold.. you know where we get to wear heavy coats and see snow. But since I have a big old pregnant belly that of course wasn't the case. I simply have been overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with Thanksgiving and having family in town. Overwhelmed with an abundance of doctor's appointments and specialist appointments. Then still trying to soak in every minute with my little man since his world is about to be turned upside down soon. Then of course there is holiday decorating and making sure we squeeze in holiday activities for little man to do in case our other little man makes an arrival and we run out of time.

First off there was Thanksgiving. Family came into town as they normally do and we "host" it at our house. I say the word "host" because my mom still does all the cooking here. I however did make the green been casserole! I also finally got to see Breaking Dawn. My siblings took me to see it and my husband was more than happy to stay home with little man as long as it meant I didn't drag him to see him at some point. (loved the movie by the way)

Then there was black Friday. I had no intentions on heading out anywhere. We have done it in years past but nothing really caught my attention as far as things that were on our lists for gifts. We also had scored some good deals online for some of little man's gifts. Since I don't really sleep now a days I was up anyway so I ventured out to Home Depot. Every black Friday they have live poinsettas and live wreaths on sale which I love for my decorating at home. Since I was out anyway I stopped by a few other places and found some good deals as well.

My Mother in Law has decided to complete every Christmas project she sees on Pinterest and included me on some of them so I've been doing that too.

This was one of the projects. It is my own version of the millions of burlap wreaths on Pinterest.

Then there are some little things I have been doing with little man. It is all about Christmas around our house. We have been decorating, doing projects, he met his elf on the shelf, his daily books are about Christmas, and his is very into the Christmas movies like Rudolph and Frosty. Christmas is so much more awesome with little people around!

They have these little foam craft kits at Michael's and  Hobby Lobby for cheap. It kept him entertained for quite awhile.

He got his own mini tree to decorate. It was from Hobby Lobby. With their 50% off holiday decor the tree, mini ornaments and lights came out to like 6 dollars. 

He named his elf "Ball". At first I didn't think he would catch on but he did! He has looked for him every morning. 

Thanks for reading!

Halloween Happenings

This year I had big plans to take little man to the pumpkin patch. Had big plans to go all out decorating.Well that all went out the window with the whole bed rest situation so I had to make do. Little crafts and pumpkin carving would have to do.

We took a craft pumpkin and let little man have at it.

I taped off a face.

Let him do what he does best.

And was left with a little Halloween memory for when he was two.

Then there was some pumpkins to be carved.

He even helped with the cleanup!

This was the ghost footprint plate he did that I showed previously.

Happy Halloween!

--J--

Holidays and a New Year

This past few weeks have been a whirlwind of shopping, decorating, baking, family, and travel. I loved it all but I am glad to be able to finally breathe a little bit. Christmas was awesome. We had our first Christmas here in our home as a mini family. Then we traveled to our home town the day after and spent the new year there as well. We received so many awesome gifts. I love each and every one of them and am very grateful. The magic of Christmas through a child's eyes is truly something special and I am so blessed to have my little man to experience each of those little moments.

walking to see what Santa brought him!

So this Santa guy brought me toys?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers to a new year!

I got two kisses at midnight!

The new year is here and like everyone else for me it brings new hope and faith in everything. 2011, although an awesome year with many blessings, was also a teaching year. My husband and I had to learn many different aspects of parenting, this being our first time and all. We had to learn how to adjust to life on just one income with our decision for me to stay at home. This was a big lesson not so much that it was difficult but in that it truly affects every way of living, how the household is ran and maintained, our grocery bill, travel plans, etc. We had to learn how to maintain and nurture our marriage now that we have a child. This will be a ever continuing one but it is something to constantly learn from.

In the new year I hope to make some positive changes in my life. I want to learn to manage time better. I tend to procrastinate and although most everything gets done eventually it ends up being very stressful. I want to manage my time better so I have more time to spend with the people I love and doing the things I love to do. 

I also would like to get in shape. I know I know that is what everyone says but for my situation it is a little bit different. I actually lost all the baby weight in 2011 plus a little more but my body is still not in shape. I need to firm some things lol. I will have to tie this goal into my time management because of course this is another thing that will take time out of my day. 

My most important goal/resolution is to simply let go of and stay away from negativity. This sounds broad and it does cover many things. Negativity is everywhere unfortunately. It is on social media with what people comment or say. It is on tv. Sometimes unfortunately in my life it is with family and friends. Everyone is quick to judge. Judge on personal choices, parenting styles, career choices, etc. I have also been guilty of judging at times too. I have even seen people on blogs have to defend themselves as far as what they wrote about or pictures they posted because they receive an ugly comment on a post. I just need to stay focused. I need to surround myself with people that love me and make me happy and help mold me into a better person, and above all respect my lifestyle choices and way of living. I need to let go of people and situations that are negative or make me question myself. There is no room or time to be negative. 

I look forward to whatever 2012 holds for my family and take each day as it comes. Futures can be scary because there is always fear of the unknown but in the future there is also hope for greatness. Happy 2012.

Christmas Randoms

A whole bunch of Christmas Randoms!

-I baked, and baked, and baked. We love having cookies around the house I also give bags of them away to friends and family and such. Here are some of the ones I bake. 

M&M!

Chocolate Chip

These don't last long in our home at all!

And this year I tried sugar cookies

-Now at one point in my baking frenzy I had little man on top of the counter waiting for a batch to take out of the oven. I had a bowl of chocolate chip dough ready to start putting on the pans. He was playing with a kcup (the coffee pods for the keurig coffee machine) and I didn't realize he had opened it. He proceeded to shake coffee grounds into the cookie dough. An entire batch now unusable!

-We also attempted a gingerbread house this year. They are much more difficult than I thought. Probably because I want ours to look like its out of a magazine. Yeah didn't happen.

-Our Christmas shopping was finally done today. The mall wasn't so bad but Walmart which I had to go to for groceries was crazy. All the wrapping was done too! Little man helped (or played with the ribbon).

wanna see more Christmas pajamas?

We went to see Christmas lights as well! (different place this time)

-Oh and by the way we asked Santa for a Cowboys win this weekend :)

Countdown is on! Only a few more days!

To my son

Another month older this week. 14 months of having the pleasure of being your mommy. I reflected on some things today. Every year around the holidays there is always some strong emotion. I don't really have a word for it but it is a mixture of hope for what the new year is bringing along with sadness about everything that the previous year brought. But this year looking back at the first year of you I am overwhelmed with what I am feeling. There were the holidays celebrated with you, your baptism, your many firsts and milestones, and of course your first birthday. It is a year I reflect on with a heavy heart because I can never get it back but I am also so amazed at the person you have become. 

These past few months your babble is nonstop. You sit there and have "conversations" with me all day. You also sing and dance. You insist that I sing itsy bitsy spider five times in a row before I can stop.You are not only walking but running through the house. You love playing in the kitchen while I cook simply because you get to clear out all the cabinets because there is such fun stuff to play with in there. I guess you have been watching mommy and daddy watch sports for too long because now you sit there and yell at the tv when there is a game on as if you know what is going on. You now understand so many more commands, as in when I say go get me your ball, your water, or snack, you know what I am saying and you go. You are also understanding the word "no" so much better now. I was getting worried for a second there. :)

You did awesome with the Christmas tree and knew not touch or pull on it. You were not a fan of Santa as I mentioned previously. You are so much fun and make mommy and daddy laugh all the time. Thank you. 

Happy fourteen months, Merry Christmas my love, and I cannot wait to see what 2012 brings for us!

Weekly Randoms

Ten days till Christmas! That is just crazy to me. I remember Christmas last year when my little man was just two months old and I would rock him to sleep near the lights of our Christmas tree. That does not seem like a year ago. Now I have this little person running around our house with wrapping paper tubes in his hands calling yelling mom all day long.

A few randoms for the week-

-The weather has just been awful. Nothing but rain. Now I love rain but the fact that it is Mid December and it rainy and muggy and humid and like in the 70s? Gross.

-Almost done Christmas shopping! The stores haven't been as brutal as normal though. I can't help but think to myself when I see people and their loads of shopping carts at the checkout, recession...what recession? Now I know that not everyone is in the boat but it is kind of crazy to see. I am almost thankful I have certain budgets I had to stick to because if money was no object I wouldn't know where to stop. I love buying gifts for people!

-Of all the versions I have heard I must say that one of my favorite versions of "Away in a Manger" is the one by Brad Paisley. It is beautiful!

-I read an article today on Modern Mom about marriage rates being at an all time low in this country. Now I understand that marriage is not for everyone and of course everyone has different views on it but it makes me sad. My OPINION is that marriage is more than a piece of paper, it is a symbol of a forever commitment. I hope that stat changes...

-I ran a poll on Facebook about whether Santa's presents should be wrapped or unwrapped. I grew up without them being wrapped and always enjoyed seeing the display set up. I have been debating with the hubster on this because his were always wrapped with the exception of the big things. I ran the poll to get some opinions and apparently he wins. Most people responded that they had theirs wrapped too!

-and of course I would like to share some lovely pictures-

Happy Weekend!

Santa Fail

So last we took N to see Santa. He was two months at the time. I was paranoid about having him out where a bunch of children would be with germs and him being so young and all. Well we live near a mall that doesn't get all too crowded so there is hardly ever a line. He sat and was completely fine. Took the picture and all was well. This year not so much.

We ventured over to Bass Pro shops. They have a Santa's wonderland with a carousel and different activities. You also get a <free> picture with Santa. 

This is what I have to show for it. 

Ha ha. Lil man is in the stranger danger stage of his life so a furry man dressed in furry clothes was not going to happen. 

Then we tried again at the Trail of lights that I mentioned here. I thought maybe we would have better luck because after all our first attempt was during his naptime.

And no such luck...

no its ok ill pass

He is just not feeling Santa this year!


He did love the carousel at Bass Pro Shops though...

Little Man don't hate me for posting this pictures when you are grown! I personally think they are adorable! 

The Most Wonderful time of the Year!

Continuing on the Christmas season...we always look for different things to try and see throughout the year but even more so at Christmas. Since we aren't from here there are many uncharted areas to explore and things to do for us all the time. Last night we decided to try the 2011 Trail of Lights in a nearby town. For any locals you can find information here. It is a small outdoor theater and for the season they have their trails set up with different light displays. They work on donations and have different activities set up. For example there was some performances, a bonfire to roast marshmallows, petting zoo, and Santa! I loved it and so did the hubby and little man. 

There is a real and fake Santa

roasting marshmallows

they had this little music station set up

my little elf :)

Happy Holidays!