Hodgepodge

Here's a hodgepodge of assorted pictures. First is my beautiful Christmas cactus. This beautiful flower was given to me by my friend Mary before she left for California. It totally freaked me out last year when it began to bloom. I didn't know it was a bloomin' cactus. But as you can see if develops the most beautiful blooms and brightens up my kitchen window.

Here's a Johnny Cash wanna-be. I just had to take this picture. Kyle was less than amused. He was unfortunately on his way to an acquaintances funeral. She passed away in a car accident the Saturday before Christmas and this past Saturday was the funeral. When he came walking out of his room in all black I asked him if he was the undertaker or what. I know you are suppose to wear black to as funeral but this was a bit of over kill..(no pun intended)

This here is my new little brother. Look he even does tricks. He likes to sit pretty for scooby snacks. He was quite the wild pooch before, but I'm beginning to believe he is starting to settle a bit.

Below is a picture of me Christmas morning with my prized possession in hand (the Shark steam mop). I know it's an illness to ask for cleaning products as gifts. I can't help it.

Here's a peek at the boys opening their stocking stuff. Doesn't Josh looked excited about receiving learning, educational backed games for Christmas. I told him that Santa must be wanting him to refine his multiplication facts. Not sure if he was buying it or not.

Last but not least is the "hit of the day". Why Rudolph did leave that "otter graph" after all. Josh was so excited that he could hardly contain himself. This prized possession now has a seat next to Barney the Presidential dog on his dresser. Hope he doesn't ask for Yogi Bear's autograph next year, or Manny the Mammoth off of Ice Age. I'll be in quite the pickle then.

Merry Christmas Eve

They day started out great Tuesday morning. The boys had pajama day at school and wore their favorite Pj's with their red robes. They also enjoyed hot chocolate and "The Polar Express". After school we were off to my in-laws for dinner and an exchange of gifts between the boys and hubby's sister. Dexter sported his holiday sweater too!

Here's a holiday picture for Christmas 2008! Kyle was wrestling at a meet so he missed out on dinner and dessert. this pic was taken before dinner when the pants were still able to be fastened.

With Christmas Eve dinner right around the corner and the anticipation of Santa.....I wish you and your family the true Joy of Christmas! God Bless!

New Song

Check out the new song I uploaded to the playlist. I love this song "How many Kings". It's one of those songs that just touches you and makes you stop and really think about what Christmas means to you. All you have to do is click on the song itself in my playlist and it will start. I have played it a million times today alone.

I haven't even made it out of my jammies today. I was snug in my bed the better part of the morning and really had no desire to go anywhere today. The boys ran around and cleaned up after our overnight guest went home. I mad a scrumptious Chinese dinner and I am contemplating making chocolate chip cookies. Yep...I'm the cookie monster here. Yum, Yum Me love cookies! :-)

Party time

Last night was hubby's Christmas party. Although I really wasn't planning on going, I did have fun in the end. We won a Star Wars DVD for Joshua and after the party we hit the slots. I walked into the slots with every intention of making my $10 donation and leaving empty handed. I won for the first time. Not a lot just $40, but it was something.

Today was cold, cloudy & rainy. I stayed put inside while Kyle & his girlfriend were here and Joshua has a friend over for the night. I have accomplished many of the things on my previous to-do list. How about you? I do need to buy 1 roll of wrapping paper. I had enough left over from years past to wrap about 90% of my presents. I am trying to go through the house still and downsize. I also gave away all the pre-purchased toys I kept on a shelf in the basement that I used for last minute gifts when the boys would get invited to birthday parties. It was a good feeling to give away all of the toys to the "Toys for Tots" group. Try it sometime...it's very uplifting.

The Gift

Here she is in all her beauty (Dad, pay no attention to the dirt markings on the rear tire). This is hubby's new pride & joy. He brought this puppy home the day after Thanksgiving. Hubby is lucky to have such a gracious father-in-law. My Dad bestowed upon hubby the keys to one of his finest worldly possessions and let him drive away with it for a mere $1. At first I was concerned. Why would someone give such a gift...was he sick, did he know something I didn't, but the conclusion came that he was just doing a great deed to our family. That worldly possessions mean nothing , but that seeing family happy means everything. This was a profound moment. My Dad loved this truck so much that it sat for over 10 years in the garage. "Old Blue"(yes I've named it) only has 12,000 miles on it. So for him to give it to us was a true act of kindness and love. So to Dad I send out a big THANK YOU! Love ya lots!

Christmas Chaos

Here is a sneak peek into my kitchen while I was busy preparing dozens of cookies. I never even got around to making the chocolate chip cookies when it was time to leave for a Christmas party.

Below are a few pictures of the little guys from last week's school performance. They were both so cute up there on the stage. Kyle's choral performance is this week. I'll post pictures shortly after.

Here is hubby and the little guys getting ready to cut down the Christmas tree. It was freezing that day and even snowed while we were at the field.

And here's the picture I promised a few of you. During the cold snap that came last week the local funeral home apparently didn't turn off their fountain. This is how I found the fountain one morning on my way to work. It's still beautiful! Kyle couldn't believe that I actually got out of my car and took a picture in front of the funeral home. Good thing he wasn't with me...he'd have to chalk it up to another embarrassing teenage moment.

Now you see it... now you don't.

See this picture! It was one of my favorites. I had all great intentions of having this picture printed out for my Christmas card, but alas I forgot the CD yet again when I went shopping this morning. And as you can plainly see there are only 12 days left till Christmas. By the time I put in my order it would be the middle of next week before I could even think about sending them. So in a short condensed version...well the snow globe e-card and this pic may be my only Christmas correspondence this year. So I will end my post on a happy note: Merry Christmas!

2 weeks

YIKES! There are only two weeks till Christmas. I am totally unprepared. I am done shopping for the two little guys and my in-laws, it's everyone else that I still need to purchase for. I have yet to purchase anything for my parents or even hubby. I haven't really even purchased anything for Kyle except a Adidas bag for sports. I really need to get on the ball. There are things to do:

1. Order Christmas cards
2. Package & send Christmas cards
3. Prepare cookies
4. Make small gifts (food) for neighbors
5. Buy & wrap teacher gifts
6. Purchase Christmas Eve dinner items
7. Wrap presents
8. Put up outdoor illumination
9. Buy gifts
10. Make Christmas packages for my preschoolers
11. Finish preschoolers parent gift...hot glue, ribbon, doilies
12. Clean my house

There just seems to be an endless amount of things popping up on my to-do list. Any suggestions?

Mama Nubs

This is the new nickname given to me by my oldest. Let me set the stage for you. A few weeks ago I attended a Pampered Chef show and purchased a knife. A sharp paring knife to be exact (yes I now your already ahead of me on this one). Ever since I received this new knife I have been warning both Kyle & hubby to beware of the super sharp knife. I again reminded Kyle of this as he was cutting up tomatoes and olives for tonight's dinner. Then I decided last minute to cut up one more tomato. Well you know what happened. Yes, I cut myself. This damn knife cut off the whole tip of my left thumb. I was crying in pain. Kyle couldn't believe it. I told him to throw away the tomatoes and he immediately started looking for my missing bit. It was still attached to the blade of the knife. I thought he was gonna puke. He was totally grossed out. And I was still in pain. He did show off some First Aid skills and got me all bandaged up. So buyer beware when it comes to sharp knives...you too could earn the nickname "mama nubs"

Trees & Hooves

Sundays are suppose to be a day for rest, but today was the exception. I was up and moving at 6:30 to get Kyle off to D.C. for a day of ice skating and sightseeing. Then it was back home. Hubby had to work last night till 4 a.m. this morning so I was trying to take it easy on him. However , I had already made plans to go tree hunting with my in-laws and he was just gonna have to suck it up and come along. After all we needed someone to cut the tree and drag it back. It was bitterly cold today but fun. The boys love stomping through the fields in search for the perfect tree. This year we were treated to a snow squall while we were looking for "Old Tannenbaum". The wagon ride to and from the fields is always fun as well. This particular farm had a gift shop and Santa. The boys were excited and a bit shy. They did recite a few toys that they would like so mission accomplished there. However on our way home Joshua had a revelation. He was upset because the one thing he really wanted for Christmas he had forgotten to tell Santa about it. He had written Santa a letter a few days before and kindly asked for an "otter graph"(his spelling not mine) from Rudolph the Red-Nosed reindeer. I explained to him not to worry because the letter would be received and Santa would know about his special request. Over the past few days I have been diligently looking for hunters to acquire hoof prints. Luckily, (not so lucky for the deer) my mother had seen a newly dead deer on the side of her road. So to my father's mortification she headed out with paint & paper in hand. Yes my mother painted a dead deer's hooves and made hoof prints for her grandson. Kinda sick, huh? But again, mission accomplished!

Mission Accomplished

Eureka! The camera was found. I was beginning to think there was a black hole in this house that seems to suck in everything I seemed to have misplaced. Case solved. We have been pretty busy here decorating for Christmas and putting things away from Thanksgiving. However we were greeted by a jolly old elf....Why it's "Santa Paws"

Have you ever seen anything cuter in your life? This poor dog has suffered from my constant abuse of dressing him up and taking photos. Although he does take great photos! Perhaps instead of sending out the old"family" photo this year I will bless everyone with a photo of the pooch instead.

Below is a picture from this Thanksgiving's wishbone. I couldn't have planned this any better if I tried. When the boys brought it to me I was in a bind. If Andy won then my poor sweet soft- hearted Joshua would be crushed... and if Joshua won Andy would be upset and possibly cry. It was looking like a lose-lose situation. However I warned both before they took hold that someone was going to lose and someone was going to win. You know..soften the blow. But as you clearly see the wishbone broke into not two but three pieces. And each boy had an equal piece. We were all happy. :-)

Well I had better finish putting the finishing touches onto my trees and just sit back and enjoy the twinkling lights while I can. Enjoy!

MIA

A handy acronym- MIA (Missing in Action). This acronym best describes my latest dilemma. My digital camera that is well loved by the little guys is now on my "most wanted list". I have been unable to locate the camera for a few days now. The last time I saw it the little guys were making mini-movies with it and had left it on the kitchen table. I don't mind them taking snap-shots or making movies because the beauty of the camera is that it can all be erased. However the disappearance of the camera is beginning to bug me. There have been three instances that I have wanted to use the camera and for obvious reasons I cannot. Therefore the boys will be on a mission tonight to locate and recover the camera or no one gets dessert. :-)

Raising turtles

No I'm not really raising turtles, although that would be kinda cool. But if I was raising turtles they would certainly be stylin' in the oodles of turtlenecks we have in our home. At first it was just Joshua who seemed to have an obsession with this article of clothing. Really, this kid would wear them from September through May. I pretty much have to hide them in tote buckets to get him to stop wearing them. Now Andrew is requiring a turtleneck daily as well. So essentially I am raising turtles just not the scaly, hard shelled, cold blooded kind.