Christmas Party

Today we had the last Christmas party for the year, which is always sad, I wish it could last a little longer.  The good thing is the Christmas season is still here and we will continue to celebrate.

Today we headed to celebrate with Momma T, Pop, Memaw, and everyone!  It was a lot of fun.  It is always nice to see Brian and Christen and Brett, Mindy, and the boys.  Well it is nice to see everyone, but we see them the least.
Everyone had a great time (at least it seemed that way to me).  Spending time together, just catching up and enjoying each other's company.  The boys loved their presents.  So did Brandon and I, but they were so excited it is always so great to see them truly appreciative of what they receive.

Danny could not wait to get his to his room and he found a place to put them quickly when we did get home.  John Michael was excited to get his home too.  They have had a great Christmas and we thank everyone for thinking of them.

We really hated to leave, but everyone (especially Pop) was ready for bed.  Plus Bear had gotten sick and we knew that they needed to be able to tend to him and keep him calm.  Nothing kills a party quicker than a sick puppy dog.

Christmas Party Time

Today was Christmas with the family at the house. 
Grandma, Uncle Kenny, Uncle Patrick, Uncle Donnie, Uncle Bill, Aunt Peggy, Jessica, James, Gavin, Caleb, Amanda, Joel, Jacob, Alexa, Uncle Jim, Aunt Sue, Margie, Greg, Logan, Makenzie, Hootie, and of course all of us were here and it was so much fun.  The kids were all so sweet and seemed to enjoy everything that they got.

The boys were especially pumped about the remote controled cars.  They played and played with them.

Alexa was so funny with her faces, she seemed shocked and excited about everything that she opened, and that everyone else opened.  She was so sweet.  I will tell you what if I am ever having a bad day I think I will have to find out where Miss Alexa is and go visit, she is so full of personality that you cannot be around her and do anything but smile.

Margie gave me a great pullover, that is pink and purple.  I love it.  Thank you so much and again you did not have to do that, but I do love it so I am glad that you did.
I did a last minute quickie photo shoot with Alexa because she looked so cute (as always) and she was here and well it is Christmastime and I love what I do. 


It was a great night.  It was so nice to see everyone and spend some time together.  I love you all! 

It's Almost Time

So one of my favorite things about Christmas is getting together with family and friends and tomorrow is our family Christmas party at the house.  I am so excited to see everyone.
We spent most of today cleaning and getting ready for tomorrow. 

Last Day

Today was a short day.  We took the boys to school and helped them get all of the presents that they had for the Teacher's and staff inside.  Brandon helped Danny and I helped John Michael.  My headache is still there, I am pretty convinced it is just going to be a part of life now. 
Then Brandon and I rushed to WalMart to get the fruit that I needed to take to their parties.  Every year I say I am going to make something cute and every year I run out of time.  That takes me back to the more organization needed for 2013.  Anyway, we got it and got it to their classes.
Then we headed into the church for the school's Advent program.  They changed it up a little this year and there was a little more Christmas in it.  I personally liked it better.  I know that it is Advent but they are preparing for Christmas and so I think it was a great and very moving combination of the two. 
After the program we went to their parties.  Danny's class did Dirty Santa, which was pretty funny.  Miss Donaldson is pretty brave.  John Michael's class did a book review of the books that they wrote and illustrated.  It was super awesome.  I definitely enjoyed them both.  We checked the boys out and headed home!

Well before we went home we headed to Brookwood Mall since we were closer to it then we would be the rest of vacation and we had the boys pictures with Santa made.  Evidentally the 8th grade class was there doing the same thing.  It was cute to have them in their uniforms and now I do not have to stress about that any more.  Every year I go there and get the snowglobe and I was not looking forward to not getting it done so I was glad that we had this opportunity.

We came home and strated getting things ready for Christmas and wrapping gifts.  There are a lot to get done and not a lot of time to get them done.  Being sick for two weeks really has made things slow going. 

McQueen Christmas Party

One of my favorite Christmas parties is the one that my Aunt Linda has.  It is always fun and being able to see the whole family (at least the McQueen's) is nice.  This year we stayed home.  Still not feeling well at all and neighter are the boys so we are spending the weekend just laying around and taking it easy. 
We all hated to miss it, but we also know that if we are going to get better and keep this crud from the rest of the family we need home and rest.
Mom was able to go and she had a really great time.  Thank you so much Aunt Linda for my blanket, I love it so much!  It looks great in the living room.  Much better then mom's.  Hers is the wrong colors.  War Eagle!   

Called In

My doctor called me in some medicine for strep. Amoxicillin, it better do something fast. 

Mom had her Bunco party tonight so I pretty much just locked myself in the bedroom so that I kept my germs to me.  It sounded like they had a good time though. Brandon took a few group pictures of them, here is one, which cracks me up because of my mom and the red leather purse that she ended up not getting (Dirty Santa) and we heard about for days! 

I wish I would have felt better so that I could have helped her get ready or helped Brandon with the boys, or well done anything. 

It's Beginning to Feel A Lot Like Christmas

This morning started with a trip to the Legacy Springs clubhouse, which is like 7 houses away from my front door.  The neighborhood was doing a Toy's for Tots Drive and Santa was coming to visit.  I was taking pictures of everyone with Santa, which was a lot of fun.  The boys came up and saw Santa and Mrs. Claus. Danny hung out with me to help me out, which was super awesome.  I love it when my boys help out.

I headed home after we were done and Santa was headed back to the North Pole.  I walked in the door and got to work cooking for the Christmas party.

This is my favorite party of the year and it is simply because there is no stress, it is just fun for everyone.  Next year I am going to be even  more ready.  I already have some ideas.

I was making Taquitos, Coctail Wienies in BBQ sauce, mini corn dogs, and other quick and easy finger foods.  I also made some cookies and fudge.  The elves made some super cute snowmen faces and left the boys the ingredients that they needed to make more.  They were super cute, easy, and yummy.  Definitely three of my favorite things.

The party was a lot of fun, it was great to get together with friends and family and just have a good time.  I am considering making it an ungly sweater party next year, but we will have to see.  I am going to be asking for opinions on Facebook at some point.  I did not take near the pictures that I wanted to, in fact I did not really take any which pretty much was not what I had in mind, but it was nice just talking to everyone and making the rounds.  To those who did not make it you were all definitely missed, maybe next year you can make it.

And the Toy Bowl Begins

I love Basketball season. With both boys now playing it means that most Saturdays will be spent in the car but they will be so much fun.

Danny's game was first today at Prince of Peace. His game was at 12, which means be in Hoover at 11:30. No problem. His team won 21-13. It was a great game and I was so proud of how well all of the boys' did. I know that they were glad to get their first game out of the way.

We decided to go eat lunch with Teresa, Aunt Paula, and B since they came to Danny's game and were going to follow us to John Michael's. It was nice spending some time with them this afternoon.

John Michael's game was at 3:00 at Our Lady of Sorrows. Even though Brandon and the turns into OLS seemed to be at odds we made it. John Michael's team is almost entirely Kindergarten and First graders, I think there are 2 Second Graders. The OLS team that we played was 6 Second Graders and 5 First Graders. We had them until the last minute though, the final score was 6-7 OLS. It was a great game. I saw several old friends there from our days at St. Barnabas. Well, I know I saw one because I talked to her, I am pretty sure I saw another one but by the time I could get out the door she was gone. It is always nice to run into old friends.

Amy, Terry and the kids came over tonight so we could let the kids exchange presents, yes it is still Christmas :0) It was a great night, we had a good time with everyone just hanging out and talking. We all tend to be so slammed through the holidays we do not get to just chat. It was a lot of fun.

Today was a GREAT Saturday. And for the record I pulled the flip flops back out! I need a pedicure!!!

Merry Christmas Eve

So today Brandon got everyone up early in an attempt to get us all on a better schedule. Starting the week with the trip to the ER has severely thrown us off. We will get there though.

I am stoked to announce that my Blu-Ray copy of Christmas Vacation came in the mail today. I was going to surprise Brandon with it but I could not wait till tomorrow so I surprised him when I opened the box! We love that movie!

We went to celebrate Christmas with Meme and Pop this afternoon. It was so great to see everyone. With Uncle Brian in Georgia, and Uncle Brett, Aunt Mindy, Hunter, Hayden, and Hudson in Florida we do not get to see each other as much as we would like. It definitely makes Christmas even more special. We had a great time with everyone and wished that we could have stayed longer. We did get there a little early to have some extra time but still once everyone got there we had to eat, open gifts and run.

Tonight was the Children's Choir Mass and both of the boys were in it. It was so great to see them together singing in the choir. I love the children's choir it always reminds me of angels. The boys even got to sing together at the cantor, they sang Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

With the changes to Mass this Christmas Mass seemed more special than others. Fr. Bob mentioned the song A Baby Changes Everything by Faith Hill, and I have to admit I Love this song, it could be my favorite, or at least one. As he talked about the fact that babies do change everything it touched me in so many ways. This is a fact that no mom can argue with. Mary's baby divided time, and changed all of our lives in ways that I think we fail to realize on most days. This I will change in 2012. The Mass was beautiful.

We headed out to look at lights, we have a few favorites that we go visit every year and we always try to find some new favorites too :0)

Well, we are off for those last minute Christmas Eve things and then to wait for Santa. Know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers tonight.

Christmas Parties and Emergencies Rooms

So today was my mom's Christmas party so I spent most of the day baking so that she would have some deserts, especially since that is what I was asked to bring. The elves were awesome enough to make the fudge that I needed made last night. I love it when they help out!

Since the elves made the chocolate fudge I was able to make peanut butter fudge. We also made egg nog cookies, which are amazing! We even made chocolate chip cookies. All of the baking brought me to the realization that a new stove really was going to mean I had to learn to bake again, my times were all off. But I am getting back on track. We also melted some white chocolate, dipped marshmallows in it and then dipped them in sprinkles. These were so much fun for the boys.

Danny's knee was not looking better and the red was starting to spread by the time we headed to moms. Laurie was still there fortunately and she kept a close eye on it. Mom's party is always nice because we are able to get together and enjoy each other. My Godparent's are also there, and they mean so much to me, I wish that we saw them more. After watching Danny's leg and overall temperament we knew we had to call the doctor, we were trying to make it till in the morning so we could see Dr. Lytle. When the nurse finally called me back, I had to call twice, they said to take him to the ER.

When we got to Children's there was nobody there. We never even sat down in the waiting room. We went straight to a room the nurse was there in a few minutes and said the doctor would be right in, but then the ambulances came and right in turned into almost three hours before we saw the doctor, then there was another hour because she got another doctor's opinion and did an ultrasound of his knee. She lanced it and gave us antibiotics for the cellulitis (sp?). Now we wait and see and pray! Danny was so brave and I am so proud of him!

We left the ER and got John Michael's from my mom's and finally got home after an extremely long day.

Christmas Vacation Begins

So this morning was the boys' Advent prayer/program. It depends on who you ask to what the proper name is, but regardless it is always a great thing to be a part of. The boys did great. Danny's class did Little Bethlehem and John Michael's did Jonah, Jonah.

After that was the Christmas parties for both classes.

Danny's class was where we went for the first 30 minutes. They did pizza, cupcakes, and chips. Mrs. Day made his day by giving him (and the whole class) a kit kat bar with a free homework pass...."the best gift ever!" He was super excited, now to see when he uses it.

John Michael's class did a book exchange, which was a lot of fun for them. He got Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and was super excited. Not only is that his favorite song, it also ended up being the book his best buddy Chason brought. They had cupcakes and pretzels, which was plenty for them, most did not eat anything. Too funny as that was their snack.

We left the school after the parties and all of the gifts were delivered. The boys got out at 12:00, and we had a lot to get done. We started by heading up to Liberty Park and meeting a client at Dairy Queen to deliver her pictures before they headed off to Disney World. I love my job, and I hope that one day it can take my family to Disney World. We shall see.

We had some more errands to run and when we got home Danny showed me a bite on his leg. He said he got it at school, but it was HUGE. Seriously one of the biggest bites I have ever seen. We called Brandon's mom to stop by after work and see what she thought. She told us just to watch it and if it grew to go to the doctor.

Cub Scout Christmas Party

The boys' had great days at school. Wednesday is my favorite day because I get to start it with the school at Mass. It is just great for me for many reasons, but more than anything it keeps me some what centered.
After Mass, I headed home to get some work around the house done. It never seems to end and when I got home today I realized just how much I had to get done, so I decided that I would clean out the van. In order to make it through the rest of this week (month actually) I need to be able to use my whole van. Cleaning out my van was a task and made me even sicker because I realized how badly I need to really clean it. Maybe over Christmas break that will happen.
Our Cub Scout Christmas party was tonight so I needed to go find a gingerbread house kit or 2, sugar cookies (not decorated), and decorations for the sugar cookies. I also found some things to add to the gifts I made for my den and some games that they were able to play while we waited for everyone to get to the meeting. I made lime sherbet punch and the boys' loved it. Even the moms and dads did, but the boys were who I was aiming to please. They decorated gingerbread houses and we were able to leave them on display for the school. The boys were excited about that. They also decorated cookies those they ate though. It was a party and everyone seemed to have a great time. It was a fun way to finish up 2011 with the scouts. Ready for 2012 though.
Again tonight it was home, dinner, bath and bed.

Work and Play

So today started off with me getting kicked out of the bed by John Michael. I do not know what his deal was, but he had a bad dream and came to our room. No big deal. Then he kicked me out of the bed not just once, but twice so I decided to come to the living room. I definitely do sleep on the couch as well as I do my bed. At least I was able to get some sleep though.
I had a photo shoot for a 5th birthday party today. I love events, and this one was a Princess party! Extremely cute. Watch www.monicaannephotography.com for more on the party.
After the party I came home to get Brandon and the boys and head to a Christmas party. This is our big family Christmas party and really is one of my favorite ones because I get to see family that I do not see often. It is more like a family reunion. I took my camera, but was so worn out I only took a few pictures. That made me pretty sad when we left, usually I am better than that.
We came home and Brandon and Terry fixed the downstairs shower. Even though we do not use it often, at least now we have the option again. Thank you Amy and Terry for helping out the Thach's yet again this weekend. We owe you.
Well, I am finally off to bed. I still have more I would like to do, but since I am seeing double I will go to bed. Photo shoot tomorrow morning, helping mom get her tree out, and then home to get laundry and yep...editing done. I hope that everyone is having a weekend full of many blessings.

YAY For Fridays!

So this morning I called Whirlpool first thing. I needed to know how my weekend was going to go and a lot was riding on the results of this call. I explained to the lady what the deal was. She had to go research it. She came back to tell me that we have one service call that is complimentary and that there is a 30 day cosmetic warranty. So basically, thanks for listening and getting me through this one. The service guys will be here Monday. She did say that we would probably have to wait for the part to come in, but they cannot just order it under warranty, the repair company is the only one who can do that.
I have been able to bust it and get a lot of editing done, which is something that I needed to have happen. I feel slightly overwhelmed so being able to get on schedule is nice. Hopefully I will not lose that over the weekend. Time will tell.
Tonight we had a Christmas Party we were supposed to go to, well, John Michael had a Christmas party. I thought that it was at 6, well it was at 5. I felt like worst mom of the year. He was okay a little sad, but I let him make his gingerbread house and that softened the blow. I know that everyone had a great time there, I was looking forward to helping out if needed. I seriously felt like the wicked witch. Hopefully tomorrow will go more as it is scheduled to go.