Best Moments of Christmas

Another Christmas has come and gone, and we had a great time. 

This year, like most years, we celebrated Christmas Eve at Brent's Nannie's house, Christmas Day with my family at my sister's house {instead of my parents so the babies could nap easier}, Christmas Night with Brent's family, and the Saturday after with my mom's side of the family {also at my sister's house}. I didn't take a ton of pictures but I did have a few faves to share.

This year was extra special as it was Drew and Mayer's first Christmases. Not that they knew but it was special to me!

Santa came! It was so cute because Christmas morning Trent came into Drew's room {where she and I were playing} and he asked 'Did Santa come yet?' It was so precious! Growing up, we always had our 'Santa' gift on the fireplace, so I want to continue that tradition with our kiddos.

Sidebar - I dislike that Drew's name on her stocking doesn't look the same. Weirdo if I get it redone? Ha!

These 2 kill me. 1 - Trent dressed himself. 2 - Blair is Doc McStuffins and is not frowning, she was sniffling but how cute does she look? 3 - They are so sweet together!

Miles got a DJ stand. Here the 3 bigs are jammin' out. The funniest part was Miles getting all techno with his headphones on but then you hear him singing 'Mary had a little lamb...'

This.face. That is all.

Brent with the babies. Love this man!

Me and my girl!

 Hagan loves Christmas wreaths. So I texted her this picture. Forgive my crazy eyes, will ya?

I have waited 2 years and 9 months to be able to braid Little Bit's hair! I'm a little rusty haha but now can't wait to do it more and get my hands on Drew...you know...when she has hair!

Babs and her girls!

And y'all know I love me some naked babies in the bath!!

So with that...Christmas is over. I'm always sad for a bit but then ready to move on...especially since God blessed us with our little girl the week after Christmas! This week will be a big one in our house with D's first birthday and her party! So Christmas decorations must come down so party decorations can go up! This will be a week of projects and cake decorating and party planning so stay tuned!!

The Great Christmas Card Debacle of 2013

I was so proud of myself. I congratulated myself on my promptness. I patted my back for my foresight... Oh what a fool!

In mid-November, a Groupon caught my eye for cheap Christmas cards through zazzle. I thought why not? On Thanksgiving Day I got a picture of my family and thought yes! That night I went home and created a super cute card. {Although the Thanksgiving photo wasn't quite as cute as I hoped and therefore wasn't the 'center' picture, ha.}

I couldn't believe I had thought about, planned and executed my Christmas card IN November.

And then...my cards were lost in transit. And then zazzle customer service took 48 hours to respond and re-ship a new set of cards. And then both sets of cards came within 24 hours. On December 18 and 19. And to add insult to injury, I didn't even end up with a JPEG of the card and had to create my own {blurry, crappy} one of their 'edit' screen.

I mailed the last of the cards yesterday. December 23.

For what it's worth, I thought the cards turned out great! And I guess I had a little premonition because I didn't get 'Merry Christmas' cards but 'Happy Holiday' ones!{grin}

Wishing you the best!

1 Day

Amanda did a fun post this week about 'a day in the life'. I did one in May while on maternity leave, and I thought it'd be fun to do another one.

The one thing about my job that is consistent is that it is inconsistent. Every day is a different experience. This week, for example, I worked from home Monday, started Tuesday at our office and ended at a client site, went to a meeting at a new client in Dallas on Wednesday, worked from our office Thursday and will work there again Friday. So every day is a little bit different which means Brent and I have to constantly arrange our days for school drop-offs/pick-ups, getting ready, evenings, etc. It definitely makes our days hectic and chaotic but always interesting!

I 'started' Thursday by being awake and working until 2:30 in the morning {big deadline Friday}, so I didn't set my alarm to get up before the kids. I knew this would make the morning extra chaotic, but there was no way I was going to get up at 6:30!

7:00 - Drew wakes up, we nurse.

Hi!!!

7:00 - 7:30 - I get ready while Drew destroys plays in our bathroom.

7:30 - I wake up Brent with the warning that I MUST leave by 8:20 {intake discussion at 9:00 with Drew's next teacher as she moves to the 'First Steps' class in January. Yay!}. I didn't take a picture of this. Ha.

7:30 - 8:00 - Drew eats breakfast in her high chair while I get both kids' lunches and all the rest of Drew's crap stuff together.

8:15 - Trent wakes up. This is unusually late for him. B and I decided he'd take T to school so we didn't have to rush him.

I didn't want to wake the bear with a request for a smile. {grin}

8:30 - Make it out the door. It was pajama day at school, so dressing the kids was very easy!

8:45 - 9:00 - Drop Drew off in her class.
9:00 - 9:30 - Intake discussion with Miss Kim. B arrives with T just as we're finishing up, so I take T into his class too.
9:30 - 10:15 - Drive to work, have a conference call, go to Starbucks, get into our offices, hotel a space, get set-up.

My view for the day.

A co-worker sent me a little Christmas tree computer program. I love it!

10:15 - 2:30 - Work, conference calls, eat lunch that I brought {another unusual event}, more work and calls.

2:30 - 3:00 - Pump! And have a conference call.

3:00 - 4:30 - More work!
4:30 - 5:15 - Drive home. Brent got the kids so I stayed about 30 minutes later since I got in late from Drew's intake.
5:15 - 6:15 - Family time!
6:15 - 10:00 - Book club happy hour! Me doing something on a weeknight is a RARE activity. I typically work for 2-3 hours every night, but we ladies decided we had to get together. And given my night before, I needed it!

10:00 - 11:30 - Blogging, pumping, should-be-working-but-am-not, TV watching, showering, reading.
11:30 - Bedtime, I hope!

And there you, my Thursday!

Game of Thrones - Some Nerd Lovin'

A while back, I asked for help deciding which show(s) I should start watching. I wanted to find something Brent and I could watch together. Well, nothing I suggested {or that you lovelies voted on...I loved reading your faves} struck his fancy, so I picked for myself. I went for what my sister is obsessed with... 

Game of Thrones.

The best part for me is this is not only a TV show but also a series of books {5 so far}! Because 1,000 page Outlander books weren't enough {you think I'm kidding, I just started book 6 and it's 1,432 pages}, I added these - book 1 was 801 pages!

Verdict? L.O.V.E.

I have watched all 3 seasons {season 4 will be out in 2014} and read book 1. They are so good! It has everything you could want - romance, intrigue, sex, war, comedy, action. The only hard part for me is that you canNOT get attached to any character - there is a lot of killing going on! I really like how each chapter is told from a different character's point of view {I think book 1 focused on maybe 10 characters} all in different parts of the same story. It is set in a fictional world where there is an underlying magical component, but at it's heart it is just a well-written, GOOD story!

No clue what I'll watch next, but this was definitely a great pick!

Holiday Newbies

I am a pretty traditional Christmas song lover. I don't find many new songs that I enjoy. I want Nat King Cole and Andy Williams singing with maybe a little Mariah Carey {All I Want for Christmas of course} thrown in for good measure. But my Pandora Christmas station has been introducing me to some new great songs!

Francesca Battistelli - Marshmallow World

Kelly Clarkson - Winter Dream (Brandon's Song)

Francesca Battistelli - Heaven Everywhere

Michael Buble - Cold December Night

{This is apparently not new but new to me!}

Know of any other good new Christmas songs to enjoy?

Just Because

I dressed both kids in Christmas attire today for school. We only have so much time to soak in and celebrate the season!

T is a 'walking cheetah'! 

Wearing a dinosaur!

Wearing a Santa hat!

And look at this little nugget.

She walks!

She has a tree on her tummy!

And she's wearing jeggings!

I die!

Soaking it all in!

A Double Hemi

Over Thanksgiving, I went and saw 2 movies. I went close to 9 months without seeing a single movie and then saw 2 in 5 days. Making up for lost time, I guess! Both movies, coincidentally, starred a Hemsworth brother. {grin}

Allison and I saw the 2nd Thor movie, The Dark World. We saw the first one and have now decided we will see them all together. We saw all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies together, so I guess every few years we'll find a new blockbuster series to enjoy together. 

I also saw Catching Fire with a group of girlfriends. I loved the book series and am thoroughly enjoying seeing the movies come to life. Plus, having a glass of wine while watching a movie is never a bad way to spend an evening!

End result? I would say Catching Fire was the better movie, but Chris is the better Hemsworth...so a great time was had with each!

Ahem...Pardon Me

I didn't intend not to blog all of last week. So let's pretend it didn't happen and move on, shall we? Thanks, love ya.

We've had some nasty weather the last few days. A little bit of ice but a whole lot of cold! So we stuck close to home and just hunkered down.

Drew decided to do some shopping while eating. Topless. Because that's how we roll.

Trent and I took a trip to Bed Bath & Beyond. He loved the foot massager.

Sunday morning we went to Patty's to get out of the house for a bit. The kids played so great. Such a relief after non-stop fighting between Miles and Trent lately.

Watching Planes and playing babies.

And I tried to take a picture with my sister. I brought her Starbucks and everything. She refused. And, Mom, for the record, SHE'S the one flippin' off the camera. Sis, I told you I'd post this pic!

So yeah...life as usual. {grin}

Grow Baby Grow {Drew} - 11 Months

Even though I am in full-on party planning mode, I admit I gagged as I typed that title. And speaking of Ms. Thing's party, I am dying. It is going to be so cute! It's hard to believe this time last year, we were anticipating her arrival and wondering if she'd make it before Christmas or after, and my thoughts were consumed with natural childbirth, haha.

Stats:

Weight: ~18 pounds - just a pure guess

Clothes: 9 months (Carter's), 6-12 months (everywhere else)

Diaper size: size 3 in disposals, all snapped down in cloth (those skinny legs!)

Our biggest milestone this month is WALKING! You took 3 steps from Babs to me on 11/8 and twice more took 2 steps. All of these steps were after we had been separated for 2 days due to Brother being in the hospital. You have been standing and balancing for so long, I guess you just needed the motivation to move!

You are so noisy now! We used to comment on how quiet you were, not anymore! You babble all day and even growl at us. It is so cute to hear such a loud noise coming from a little body.

You clap, wave, blow kisses, and are overall a ham. You love when Papa or Pops chase you - you squeal and crawl away from them so fast, but you look back and wait for them to do it again.

You love to brush your teeth with me. You hear me turn on my electric toothbrush, and you crawl over to me to be picked up. You love to hold onto my toothbrush, but you also love when I hand you yours so you can brush your teeth too.

Speaking of teeth, this was a big month for them! You started the month with 2 and are now sporting a set of 6! 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom. You spent a good chunk of the month with just your top right tooth all the way through, earning you the nickname 'Snaggletooth'.

This face is one of my faves!

You eat 3 meals a day and eat anything just about. You don't like bananas very much or oranges.

This mess was SUPER fun to clean!

You've been showing some attitude this month if you don't get your way. You understand 'no' but whether you choose to listen is another matter completely.

You still don't like books. Well, I don't think it's that you don't like to read, it's that you'd rather eat them. 'Billy Goat' continues to be a phrase used around you. {grin} I am constantly grabbing toilet paper, magazine shreds, scraps of whatever is on the floor out of your mouth.

Sleep is still our 1 battle. You put yourself to sleep like a champ and take great naps at home {daycare is another story}, but you are still waking up at least once a night. I dread making you CIO at night, but I think that'll be our Christmas vacation project, my sweet girl.

You mastered your sippy cup this month and love to drink water from it. We're going to start putting my milk in it at school to start working on transitioning from the bottle. Since you view the bottle as a necessary evil, I don't see this being a hard transition...but time will tell!

We set up the tree after Thanksgiving and so far you aren't overly impressed. Daddy thought you'd destroy it, but you haven't...yet! Babs got you a manger and you love to mess it up after Brother and I set it all up. Stinker.

Godzilla baby!

You celebrated your first Thanksgiving this month and spent lots of time with family. You were your typical shy, reserved self with so many unfamiliar faces but warmed up slowly. You didn't want anyone to hold you for a long time but me. Your feet didn't even touch the ground most of Saturday when we were with Babs' family!

I am so looking forward to what month 12 has in store. I see more walking, more attitude, more crying {as we sort out your nights} and lots more fun as we celebrate your first Christmas! We love you to pieces, Baby Girl!

Thankful

I am thankful for Today. After Trent's illness and seeing truly sick children, I am thankful for every day I am here on this earth. {Don't you just love my block T? Gig 'em!}

I am thankful for my Home. Brent and I have built a small space that is our space, and I love having a place to call our own.

I am thankful for the promise of Always from Brent. No matter how many mistakes I make and the fact that he probably shouldn't love me, he does.

I am thankful for my Nursing relationship with Drew. 11 months and going strong!

I am thankful for my Kids! No brainer on this one! {grin}

I am thankful for my Friends. My peeps bring me joy everyday, and I'm so glad they love me, flaws and all.

 I am thankful for time to Unwind for the next few days. I am still so behind at work from being out for Trent's illness, so it's nice to spend some time not thinking about how behind I am!

 I am thankful for the abundance of Love in my life. My cup runeth over.

iPhone Photo Dump

Time for a photo dump! I have lots of random photos I want to share and no real good topic for any of them. {grin}

I absolutely love taking these 2 on wagon rides. It has been so cold and wet lately we've been cooped up inside, boo. I love that T was cold and wore D's blanket like a cape. Then he wanted me to walk fast enough to make his cap fly. That boy!

Watching basketball. I foresee this scene for many years to come.

My girls. Seriously. This picture makes my ovaries jump.

Trent had to wear these ridiculous shorts for his ortho check-up last week. Brent and I couldn't stop laughing and T was getting so mad at us.

ACL Live

Alternatively Titled: Hey! I did something fun! On a weeknight! There was live music! And I had alcohol! And neither of my kids have fever!

My friend, Dena, got tickets to ACL Live through her job and brought her sis, sis-in-law and me. It was so fun, and the concert was great!

The concert {for an episode of Austin City Limits} featured Dale Watson and Kacey Musgraves, so it was really 2 concerts in 1. Both artists are native Texans but have 2 very distinct sounds/styles.

Dale reminds me of 1950s country - very Hank Williams, George Jones. There was some intense dancing going on in front of the stage during Dale's set!

Kacey's set was much more my style - much more today's Texas Country. {And if you're not from Texas and you think all country music is the same, you'd be wrong. Most of what is played on country radio stations is crap. Come visit me for the weekend, and I'll teach you the difference. End rant.}

She has 1 main CD release 'Same Trailer Different Park' that is so great. She is a very talented song-writer and during her set played the guitar, banjo, and harmonica. She played a single that is new where it was just her playing the guitar. Loved it! We all commented on her catchy her lyrics were, if a little cynical {you just gotta love a song that tells you to 'hide your crazy' while another tells you to 'own your crazy', ha}.

Overall, I had a great time, and if you're looking for a new artist to check out, go download Kacey!