School's Closed Projects

Since schools are closed today, I think I'll have to figure out some fun projects to do.  I bought some window markers a couple of weeks ago, and when Lucas goes down for a nap, I think Lauryn and I will have to decorate the windows with a Christmas theme.  We might bake some cookies this afternoon, too.  I have some leftover decorations and I know Lauryn would love it we made her room a little more Christmas-y.  :)  I need to get laundry done, too, and at some point, I'd like to get a few more things listed on eBay, so I can hopefully make a little more money before Christmas.

Lucas and the Tree

Yesterday I decided to go ahead and put up the tree.  I usually wait until after Thanksgiving, but I thought that if I put just the tree up, without decorations, we could see how Lucas would do with it.  He did great! There was only one time he got a little naughty.  He walked up to it and I told him, "No, no" and he swatted it. That was it, though, all day.  By evening, I was itching to get the tree decorated.  I just couldn't see it up without all our pretty ornaments and lights.  So after the kids went to bed, Lloyd and I went down to the basement and brought everything up.  It didn't take me long to get it done and I saved all of Lauryn's special ornaments for her to put on today.  This morning, Lucas woke up and I brought him out into the living room.  We were snuggling on the couch and I saw him looking at the tree, noticing the ornaments.  I figured it would be a good time to go ahead and turn the lights on, and tell him that we were to look but not touch, before Lauryn got up and tried to interfere and play Mama :).  So I did and his face lit up, too!  It took him a couple of minutes to decide he wanted to check it out.

This is his first up close look:

And then he decided to try to reach out and touch one of the ornaments:

So I gently reminded him that we don't touch the ornaments, we just look.  And that pretty much broke his heart:

It didn't take him long to get over it though and he hasn't touched it again...yet!  :)

 

And We're Done

Christmas break is over and it's time to get back into the swing of things.  Lauryn is super excited to go back to school as she missed her friends and her teacher.  I think she missed the hustle and bustle of it all too.  She only goes for two and half hours, Monday through Thursday, but they go non-stop and she has the energy for it.  When she was home, we tried to keep her as busy as we could but between having the flu, Lucas getting an ear infection and teething, and the every day stuff that needs to get done around the house, it was hard to keep her busy all of the time.  We had a great time with all of our Christmas parties and I'm going to share some of the pictures I took.

Our first Christmas party, with Lloyd's mom's side of the family:







Baking yummy treats for friends:

 



Christmas with Lloyd's parents and brother:













Christmas morning:

 

 

 









Christmas with my Mom:







The kids and I missed Christmas with Lloyd's dad's side of the family due to my having the flu and Lauryn not feeling so well.  :( 

On New Year's Eve, my mom and I took the kids to Grand Rapids to see the lights at 5/3 Ballpark.  Although I took tons of pictures, I'm only going to post one.  I can't remember what the Santa was supposed to be doing here, as they bowl, kick field goals, etc., but this one looks like he's peeing!  I realized later that to the side of him is a light tunnel that you drive through but at this angle, it looks like Santa is relieving himself!  :)



Now the tree is down and so are the rest of the Christmas decorations.  All things snowman are staying up through the rest of winter though :)  The house sure looks bare without all of our pretty decorations!  One of these days I will actually figure out what I want to put on the walls and get this place looking nice and decorated so I won' t have to wait until Christmas time to see it!  :)

Getting Ready

The next couple of weeks are going to be busy!  I'm looking forward to parts of it and other parts I will be glad when it's over.  A couple of things I'm looking forward to are Lauryn's Christmas program at school, family parties and a Cookie Exchange I'm going to.  The biggest thing I'm not looking forward to is all the shopping we still have to do.  I'm going to do a little tomorrow, mostly to get the things I need for the cookie exchange, and then Lloyd and I are hoping to get everything else this Saturday.  Once we have everything we want to get, I hope to relax and try to enjoy the holidays.

Friday Question

I came across this meme this morning and it looked fun so I thought I'd participate.  Go HERE to play along :)

Did you believe in Santa when you were growing up? When did you stop believing? How did you find out he wasn’t real?

I found out that Santa wasn't real when I was in kindergarten.  Some kids told me and I came home and I asked my mom about it.  She told me that they were right and I got really upset and ran to my room.  On my way, I heard my brother say, "Geez, wait 'til she finds out about the Easter Bunny!"  I ran back and said, "The Easter Bunny's not real either?"  It was a very traumatic day! LOL

If you have kids, what will you tell them about Santa?

Lauryn is three and so far, we've told her that Santa comes late on Christmas eve and he only leaves presents if she's been a good girl.  She hasn't asked too many questions about him yet.  I dread the day she asks me if he's real or not.

Is It Nap Time Yet?

I swear, no matter how hard I try, I just can't catch up on my sleep.  I am tired ALL THE TIME!  I'm ready for Lauryn to take a nap so maybe I can catch a few zzzz's too! 

I am really looking forward to this Saturday.  Lloyd and I are going to get our Christmas shopping done.  We don't have any other plans but we don't get much time to do anything by ourselves and that's why I'm looking forward to it. :)  We're also picking up the things I'll need to make some Christmas goodies.  I've been in the mood to bake and make some yummy treats but didn't have all the ingredients.  I'm planning on making everything on Sunday.  The treats I'm making are things I haven't made before so if they turn out, I post pictures and share the recipes. :)

Tis The Season

Our house is looking very festive right now.  The tree has been up for almost a week, there are snowmen everywhere and there's something Christmas-y in every room :)  This is the one holiday that I go all out for.  Looks like we're going to have to get some outdoor lights and decorations if we're going to "keep up with the Joneses" in this neighbor hood!  Most of the house are all decked out already and with nothing going on here, it looks like we're the Scrooges! 

I finished the Christmas cards for the first party we have this weekend.  It took 36 tries to get a good picture of Lauryn to put in the card :)  That's about 50 less tries than last year...LOL  Maybe next year we'll get it down to just a couple!  The one we decided to go with is pretty darn adorable!  Now I just have to wrap the presents for that party and pick up the items I need to make the ham dip wraps and we'll be all set.  I enjoy wrapping presents but I think I go a little overboard with the tape.  By the time I'm done, the person opening the present practically needs box cutters to get to their gift.  I can't help it :)  More tape makes the present look nicer....at least, that's how it works when I'm wrapping!  :)

Decorating for the Holidays

I'm getting so excited to decorate for the holidays!  I have so many Christmas/winter decorations that this house will actually look full!  We don't have tons of every day decorations so it will be nice to see pretty knick knacks everywhere.  I can't wait to get the tree up!  I'm still working on the tree skirt but at the rate I'm going, it shouldn't take too long to get it finished.

Over the weekend, Lloyd got the storage shelves built and we were able to get everything organized and put away.  My craft room is still a mess though.  I forgot I have so many things to work on.  I still have lots of jewelry to make and also a couple of pillows for Lauryn.  The pillows will be made from a medical uniform, like nurse's scrubs, that were covered in teddy bears.  Once that room is all organized I'll be able to see all the projects I've been wanting to work on and really attack them! :)

Thinking About The Holidays

I've been thinking about the holidays a lot lately and I think this year, I want to do a family photo for our Christmas Cards.  We always have a cute picture of Lauryn to put in our cards but we've never had professional pictures taken and I'd really like to do that this year.  A friend from school recently had family pictures taken and they turned out awesome!  I'm going to check with the photographer who did and get some quotes.

Thinking About Christmas

So it's a little early but I'm already thinking about Christmas gifts.  We're usually last minute shoppers and this year I want to have a plan and not save everything for the last minute.  Lauryn is the easiest to buy for, of course.  I already have quite a few things on my list that I'd like to get for her.  I have one idea for Lloyd, something he mentioned once, but I've been searching online to get more ideas.  I found a neat site where you can get a gourmet gift for your husband.  Every thing looks so delicious that I might not be able to wait for Christmas...I might just have to go ahead and order something for myself! :) 

There are still a bunch of people we have to figure out gifts for but Lloyd can help me with some of that.  As I said, I just want to be prepared this year so we can enjoy the holidays as much as possible!

A Warmer New Year?

I heard on the news earlier that it could get up to 47 degrees by the end of the week!  That's Michigan for ya!  I wouldn't mind a warmer New Years one bit! 

I am very much enjoying my new netbook!  I'm still adjusting to the smaller keyboard but other than that, I've gotten pretty used to it.  Other than having a nasty headache on Christmas day, the  holidays weren't too bad :)  For New Year's Eve, Lloyd usually goes to his parents for their annual euchre tournaments while my mom, Lauryn and I will be ringing in the new year here.  We usually just make a few snacks and have some punch, watch the ball drop and hang out.  We're going to rent a few movies that we've been wanting to watch.  I've never been big on partying and waking up the first day of the new year feeling awful.  I like the way we do it :)

I was looking at phones recently and can't believe how many things you can do on the iphones now.  The apps that are available these days are something else.  They aren't kidding when they say, "There's an app for that!"  :)  There seems to be an app for everything!

Almost Done!

I don't mean to go on and on about the holidays but this year it seems like it's taking forever for them to get over with.  I do enjoy them but between writing out a million cards, shopping in crowded stores and going to a ton of Christmas parties, it just gets to be too much.  It feels like we've lost the true meaning of Christmas.  Just a couple more days and it will be all done!

I am very excited about one gift we're giving this year.  We found some romeo y julieta cigars for a friend of ours.  He's going to love them.

Woo Hoo!!!!

My husband is AWESOME!!!  I've been wanting a Netbook for the longest time and he got me one for Christmas!  He even let me open it early :)  I am so excited!  I can't wait to get all of my recipes on it so they can finally all be in one place.  It's also a lot nicer to be able to get online whenever I want.  Our desktop is in the office, which is in the back of the house and right by the basement stairs.  I only go back there when Lauryn is sleeping because I'm afraid she'll decide to take a check out those stairs and since theirs 17 of them and she's not super stable when it comes to steps, I don't want to chance any accidents.

I mentioned in a previous post that I'd like to get some new outdoor furniture.  I think I may have found the place!  There's a little shop here in town and I've seen that they have all kinds of handmade wooden cabin furniture and swings and stuff.  I would love to have some nice wooden lawn chairs.  I'm sure it's not going to be as cheap as it would be if I went somewhere else but I really love handmade furniture.  I'll have to get Lloyd to go with me one of these days so we can check it out.

All I Want For Christmas...

...are some everlon diamonds!  :)  I have fallen in love with the everlon knot ring and bracelet.  They are beautiful!  I think I drool a little when I see the commercials :)  Speaking of Christmas, I have my shopping for Lloyd done but we haven't started shopping for anyone else yet.  I am working on a couple of handmade gifts for a couple of people but there is still a lot of shopping to be done.  Hopefully we can get it all taken care of this weekend.  As much as I love the holidays, I'm also ready to get them over with.  It can all get a little overwhelming at times.  So many Christmas parties, writing a million cards until my hand cramps up and then there's the shopping.  I am not the typical woman shopper.  I'm the get in, get what I need and get out type of shopper and with all the crowds at Christmas time, that is never the way it goes.  Less than two weeks and it will all be over with!

Been Awhile

Here I go again!  Taking way too long to update this!  With the holidays right around the corner, I have a feeling that I might not be able to as much as I'd  like!

We had our first Christmas party last Sunday.  It was with Lloyd's mom's side of the family.  It was a really nice turnout.  I think they counted 104 people there.  Santa even came and had gifts for all of the kids.  Lauryn so did not like Santa in person.  She likes him as decorations and on t.v. but in person, not so much :)

I was able to get the tree up a little earlier than usual this year.  I think it looks terrific.  Now I just have to figure out where I'm going to put all of my breakable decorations!  There are two year old, curious little hands here and I don't have enough high places to put everything on, so most of the knick knacks will probably have to get packed back up :(

A friend of mine was just telling me about allergy issues in the winter.  I never even thought about someone having allergies in the winter before.  For me, when I think about them, it's spring and summer weather I think about.  She said she has talked to allergy doctor austin and hopefully they will be able to get her issues under control.

Very Nice, But Happy It's Over

We had such a nice Christmas.  We all got a little spoiled, it's been wonderful having Lloyd home for so many days in a row and we've eaten a lot of great food but I am glad it's done now.  This is such a busy time of year and it feels hard to keep up with everything and it's also hard on Lauryn.  Her schedule gets way out of whack when we have so much going on.  She was absolutely adorable in her Santa dress :)  Of course I have pictures, I just have to get them on the computer.  I think she really liked her special gift from mommy too!  She really wasn't interested in opening her presents though.  She was much happier trying to touch the ornaments on the tree and exploring the dining room.  She doesn't get to go in there often so she wanted to see what she'd been missing, I guess.

We went to Lloyd's parents for the big family get together yesterday.  There was tons of people and tons of food!  It was really nice visiting with everyone and they all loved seeing Lauryn walk around in her cute little outfit :)

Mom is coming over for dinner tonight.  I'm making Lloyd's favorite bbq meatballs and linguine oil and garlic for dinner.  I may have to get into the rum balls I made too :)  I'll post the recipe for those.  This year I made them with Malibu rum instead of regular.  I thought the coconut would compliment the chocolate very nicely.

I think we're all feeling a little sleepy today.  We need to catch of from the past few days.  :)

I Hate Snow!

Well, I ended up catching Lauryn's cold :(  I think we're at the tail end of it though...finally!  Even though she's been sick, it hasn't slowed her down one bit.  I think we can officially say she's walking now!!!  At first it was a few steps between me and Lloyd, then a few on her own between the furniture and now  she pull up on anything and just go!  When she starts getting wobbly, she stops and gets it together and takes off again!  Have I mentioned before that I am not ready for all of this?

I am so excited about her Christmas gift.  Lloyd and I decided that we'd do mostly gifts from Santa but that we each wanted to get her a special gift - one from Mama and one from Dada.  Lloyd is still looking for a pink chainsaw for her :)  and the gift I ordered came today :)  It took me a while to decide just what I wanted to get her and I came across this site My Bambino that specializes in personalized items.  I decided to get her a jewelry box with her name on the top.  It also has some flowers and butterflies on the drawers.  It's a small one that she can keep her own keepsakes in as she gets older.  When it got here and I opened it, I was so happy with it!!  I'll have to post a pic when Lloyd brings the camera home.
I am so not ready for Christmas yet.  I don't have any of the decorations out, the tree is not up and other than Lauryn's jewelry box, no other presents have been bought.  I am looking forward to a little holiday baking this year :)

On a crappier note, we're having issue with water in the basement again.  It hasn't come up on the floor but it's awfully close.  We're hoping to be able to get someone out here tomorrow but with the weather being as bad as it's getting, we'll see.  We've had someone out here, snaking the pipes four or five times now and we've only been in this house since March!  At the very least we've learned that when the sinks start gurgling, that's our clue to get it taken care of.  Otherwise, we'll have a flooded basement...again!  If we can't figure out what's causing these problems, we're never going to be able to finish the basement and that's terrible because it's huge down there.  I'm sure we'll figure something out.

I guess that just a little update for now :)