A Very Merry Grinchmas

I could not get myself into the holiday spirit this year. I feel like it gets worse and worse with each passing year (please tell me I am not alone in this). The stress of buying presents, hiding presents, planning dinner, organizing parties, attending parties, parades, cookie decorating, blah blah blah...it's enough to suck the life out of you. And don't even get me started on family Christmas card photos. Y'all, I was a Grinch.

I don't think I finally got into the spirit until O Come All Ye Faithful was sung at children's mass on Christmas Eve. That song reduces me to tears every time, and no not because Carol Brady was singing it when Mike came out of the mine during A Very Brady Christmas. Maybe it's because the song itself is a reminder of what the holiday is all about. There is no mention of presents, or decorating cookies that are Instagram worthy. It's simply O Come All Ye Faithful...joyful and triumphant. It's a reminder that this holiday is about a husband and wife who had a baby in a barn because that was the only place they could find. It's about the foundation of a faith that has raised not only me but countless other people on this planet (trust me I'm not going to go all religious in the post).

That was the moment when, much like the Grinch, my heart grew three full sizes. I looked at my family and smiled. This was what Christmas was about.

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday and have recovered from the sugar/alcohol combination. I'm looking forward to 2019 and plan to push myself harder than I did in 2018. I have times to beat, muscles to gain, and myself to find again. I'll be honest, I have been seriously lazy since the marathon and just cannot get my mind in the right space for running. I'm hoping the new year will help clear some of the cobwebs and help me get back on the right track.

Wishing you a happy 2019!

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Grinchmas....

I'm going to admit it, Christmas was very forced this year. I didn't have my usual cheer when putting up the decorations (which I cannot wait to take down). I listened to Christmas music because, well, it was on. I didn't even cry when they sang "O Come All Ye Faithful" at Christmas mass. I don't know what put me in the funk (I have a sneaky suspicion it had to do with the plague that covered our house), but I'm glad to finally be out of it.

I was lucky enough to have the week of Christmas off from work, so we spent one of the days making our cookies. The kiddos love doing this every year, and just because I wasn't holly and jolly didn't mean I was going to spoil it for them. God love 'em, but they cake those cookies in icing. I have to fight to have a few plain ones left so I do not go into sugar shock.

Scott wasn't able to spend Christmas Eve with us because of work (a fancy new promotion warrants that!), so the kiddos and I made the most of it. We went to children's mass at our church and then came home and opened our Christmas jammies. I let them stay up a little late to watch Christmas movies and drink hot cocoa (well, Aaron drank hot cocoa). While it was not the ideal Christmas Eve since Scott wasn't there, it was still nice and low key, which is perfect for us.

I would like to point out in the photo that the kiddos picked out the most sugar covered cookies they could find. Santa told me it was pretty rough.

Christmas morning wasn't even that big of a deal over here, which was strange, since normally they are up at the crack of dawn. They were very happy with what Santa brought them though and I think Jillian was in a state of shock most of the morning. Ever since that flippin' American Girl catalog landed in our mailbox she has been talking about Isabelle. Santa surprised her and made her Christmas wish come true. It took her until the afternoon to finally come to grips with the fact that they doll was hers.

Aaron was in Lego heaven and scored five different sets. Yes, five. We are still putting them together and he couldn't be happier.

They also scored a ton of games which we have been playing nonstop. For the record, Jillian is a shark when it comes to Monopoly. I have never been beaten so bad at that game. It was almost embarrassing.

We really laid low on Christmas day. Scott had to work and his parents are feeling under the weather, so we just had an early lunch and played with all of our new toys. Honestly, I think with my Grinch-like mood this year, it was for the best.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday (much more joyous than mine!)! I'll be posting more of our adventures soon!

Thanksgiving Thursday

For those of you that don't know what Thanksgiving Thursday is, it is the one time during the week where you stop and basically count your blessings. Even if you've had one of those weeks, I promise you can find at least one thing to be thankful for, no matter how big or small.

This week I am thankful for:

• Scott and everything he does, especially staying up to put together Lego's for his son.

• Aaron who told me everything about his Christmas was his favorite. That totally made my heart melt.

• Jillian who wished me Merry Christmas at least a dozen times and meant it every single time.

• A great holiday season with our families (even if it was over Skype!).

• Fantastic neighbors that keep the spirit of Christmas alive for our kids (they put a sleigh bell by our front door and made it look like it fell off Santa's sleigh).

• Winter break. It's everything I dreamed of and so much more.

• Egg nog in my coffee.

• The look on my kids faces on Christmas morning.

• Visits from family.

What are you thankful for this week?

Santa's in IRELAND! AKA Our Christmas Shenanigan's

Well, another Christmas in the books. I have to be honest, I think I get more excited every year because of how excited my kiddos get. I feel like I'm 5 again and maybe I act like I'm 5 again (see picture).

We went to Children's Mass last night and it was wonderful. Father Dave brought all of the kiddos to the altar to read the Christmas Gospel and all of the kiddos participated in the homily. By all kids, I mean all kids except mine because they decide to be shy at moments like that.

After mass we went to Mimi and PawPaw's for snacks and then it was home for our one present. Every Christmas Eve we get to open one present: new jammies for Christmas morning. Apparently, Mommy did a fantastic job this year, because both of them could not wait to get into them.

Then it was quick to bed. Aaron was freaking out because he thought Santa was going to get there before they were in bed and he would skip over our house. He kept yelling, "Santa's in IRELAND! We need to hurry!"

Jillian was up at 3:37 a.m. to inform me that Santa left presents, but she didn't peek, but they were there. I politely told her to shut her eyes and go back to sleep.

We all woke up around 6 and the kiddos pretty much lost their minds when they saw their new bikes in front of the tree. Then they saw all the other presents and they couldn't open them fast enough.

Aaron's favorite present was his new football and Jillian was excited about her Sofia the First amulet.

And, really, what kind of holiday would it be without silly cards from Tay Tay? Those were my favorite.

Scott worked today, so the kiddos and I just hung out for the most part. By hanging out, I naturally mean, I opened every single gift and assembled everything that was not a Lego, that's Daddy's job. I did build a mean Lincoln Logs farm though. Boom.

All in all this was a fantastic Christmas spent with the ones we love. I am so thankful for all that we have and everyone that spoils those two cuties. From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!

"Where are the balloons?"

Now that it is officially December, Christmas and all things related are in full swing around our house. That doesn't mean we are fully decorated yet, I mean let's be honest, I have a few more weeks. However, we are in the full swing of Christmas activities.

Before we headed over to the Christmas parade in our town, Michelle and I met up for a quick 5 mile run.

Never in my whole life would I have ever imagined I would be the person that is up for a morning run on a Saturday. I also never thought I would utter the phrase "quick 5 mile run."

I have to say though, the view makes it worth it (and having my buddy with me).

After our run we all met up again at the Christmas parade. The last time I took the kiddos to this they were only a few months old. It was still as crazy as I remember and I'm pretty sure I parked in the same exact parking spot (you know the one all the way across town).

Aaron loved all of the "emergency vehicles" (his words, not mine) and Jillian loved all the baton twirlers and dancers.

I had to laugh though because on the trek to the parade route, Jillian assured me she would not fall asleep before Santa (like she did while watching the Macy's parade) and asked where the balloon floats were. Apparently my daughter assumes all parades are the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Bubble bursted.

She did see the big guy though and he waved right at her which absolutely made her day.

Thank you to the Hall's for securing us some pretty great seats in the shade and thank you to everyone that participated in the parade!

Christmas 2012

Yes, I know it's almost a week since Christmas and I am just now posting about it.

Jill was the first up at 5:30...oh 5:30. Aaron woke up after 6:00 and the only reason it was not earlier is because Scott and I would not let Jill wake him up. 

As always, the kiddos made out like total bandits. Jill is stocked on Barbies and her favorite, Doc McStuffins. Aaron has his Avengers and trains. Scott gave me a new charm for my Pandora bracelet and he was given a deep sea fishing trip. 'Twas an awesome Christmas if I do say so myself. 

We had everyone over for dinner, which was super delicious. MOM and Dad brought down this amazing ham that was to die for. Then we loaded up on desserts, which I always go overboard on. 

I hope you and your family had a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season!

Christmas Pageants

I have not been in the mood to blog this past week. We've had a bunch of truly awesome experiences this past week, but I just haven't been feeling the blog. The tragedy in Connecticut last week hit me hard and I've debated writing about it, but honestly, what does one say? At this point, I think the best thing I can do is hug my kiddos a little more and move forward, so that's what we're going to do. 

Last week the kiddos were in two Christmas shows, one at their VPK and one at the church. I missed the one at the VPK because I had an event at work, but the video of it was adorable. Neither one wanted to participate, which of course makes for great photos:

Sunday the kiddos had their Christmas pageant at church. Aaron was originally supposed to be a king, but then decided to not participate in the rehearsal, so he was pulled. Jillian was the star and it's a good thing this was not the really nativity because those wise men and shepherds would never have found baby Jesus with her as the star.

Thank you again to Miss Lucy for walking her up the aisle this year. This pageant has become one of my favorite parts of the season. There truly is nothing sweeter than pre-k to 1st graders recreating the nativity.

A Christmas Reflection

Christmas time is my favorite time of year. I love the songs, the food, the traditions and the excitement my kids have.

Like many of us, I have a favorite Christmas carol, O Come All Ye Faithful. Now, I don't know why this is my favorite, is it because it's just a wonderful Christmas song, or maybe it's because it is the song that Mrs. Brady was singing when Mr. Brady came out of the mine that he was trapped in during the made for TV special, A Very Brady Christmas?

The jury is still out, it's a tough call.

It could also be the lyrics which, to me, give us the true meaning of Christmas and really drives the message home. 

Either way, with the tough week that it has been and the uncertainty in the world right now, I think O Come All Ye Faithful is a great song to get us through it all and prepare us for Christmas. 

Our Christmas!

We had a fantastic weekend! On Christmas Eve we went to the children's mass and the kids ended up singing Feliz Navidad the entire ride home. When we got home the kids put out some reindeer food and then we came inside to open our Christmas Eve presents.

Every year we open a Christmas Eve present, which is always new jammies to wear on Christmas morning. How cute are we?

Jill was the first one up on Christmas morning at 6:30 (I totally called that by the way). She actually turned on the light in the kitchen because she was "looking for Boyd". Uh huh...whatever you say. We were able to convince her to hang out with us until Paw Paw got to the house and Aaron woke up.

The kids made out like bandits and they were so excited with everything they received. This by far was my favorite moment from the morning:

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That monorail was the only thing he asked for this year, so when he saw it he was over the moon. Busia and Dzia Dzio definitely made his Christmas.

We even had a chance to surprise Mimi at the rehab center. The kids were so excited to see her and Mimi loved seeing them.

When we got home I basically spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen getting dinner ready. I made Alton Brown's roasted turkey, so good people, so good. I also made some garlic and chive mashed potatoes and a butternut squash and apple casserole. I should also mention this was the first time I've ever made a turkey. I was very proud of myself, see:

Delicious looking, right? I'll try and post the recipes for all of the cookies I made (yeah, I made a lot) and the sides.

I truly think this was the best Christmas of my adulthood. I am so thankful for everything this past year, and I cannot wait to see what 2012 holds for us!

Thanksgiving Thursday

For those of you that don't know what Thanksgiving Thursday is, it is the one time during the week where you stop and basically count your blessings. Even if you've had one of those weeks, I promise you can find at least one thing to be thankful for, no matter how big or small.

This week I am thankful for:

• Scott having Christmas off this year! I honestly cannot tell you the last time (if ever) he has had Christmas Day off.

• The funny things coming out of Aaron's mouth. He told me we have penguins in our freezer and that's how we get ice. Makes sense.

• My girls day today with Jill. We have to get her sized for her flower girl dress this morning and we are going to make a whole morning/early afternoon of it. I love one on one time with my little miss.

• Kids who really get the meaning of the season. We were talking about Christmas dinner and both asked for birthday cake for baby Jesus. No, we will not be blowing out 2011 candles.

• Kids who are genuinely excited for Christmas this year. This is the first year I think they really get it and I cannot wait until Christmas morning.

• Mimi being on the mend. She will not be home for Christmas, but at least she is getting closer to coming home!

• Paw Paw letting me take the reigns with Christmas dinner.

• My parents who can always give me a laugh when I call, and who can find battery chargers for the crazy amount of batteries we will need this Christmas.

• Only two more nights of having to think of places for Boyd the elf to go. I'm tapped out people.

• Mornings outside all week. The weather has been amazing! Granted, I think it's a bit warm for Christmas, but I'll take it over the 20 degrees my parents have.

• A short, but great, visit with Aunt Bettye and Cousin Karyn. The kids haven't seen them since they were only a few months old.
  

• Training for a half marathon, this will hopefully keep the extra pounds off from all of the cookies I plan on stuffing my face with this weekend.
  

What are you thankful for this week?

The Christmas Pageant

The kids were in their very first Christmas Pageant this weekend. I have been looking forward to this since September. Deep down I think I am a stage mom, minus the pixie sticks and big hair. The kids seemed excited about the pageant as well, but Scott and I knew better. This is their first time being in front of people doing anything, so we knew it would either go remarkable well or it would just go. Well it went, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

It took some convincing to get Aaron in his costume, but he finally put it on. Jill was gone and in the lap of one of the teachers daughters before I could blink, so we were not concerned. When pageant time came though, Aaron bowed out and then back in and then back out. Jill would only go up if the teachers daughter went with her. All of the kids did an amazing job and it was such a sweet show! I cannot wait for them to do it again next year!

I tried to upload some video, but the file apparently is pretty large (20 minutes) and it's taking forever. Any sites that seem to work better with this kind of thing?

Our Christmas Weekend!

We've had a super busy weekend so far. Last night we went to our church's Christmas party. It was so nice and there were a ton of people there. Everyone brought in a dish for dinner and then Father Jean led us in Christmas Carols.

This morning Jill and I were talking about the party and she said she thought it was awesome that Father Jean played the organ and was signing.

We headed out to Brooksville this morning to see the Christmas parade. Our friends Matt, Bonnie and their son were in the parade as Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus. The weather, even though it was overcast, was really nice. We sat right at the step off point so we had a great view of everything.

There were a ton of great floats, but here are some of my favorites:

The inmates above are actual inmates, they were shoveling poop from all the horses. I found this slightly humorous and slightly degrading all at the same time.

The kiddos were excited when they saw Matt and Bonnie on their float. Bonnie, by the way, blogs over at The Not So Modern Housewife, she has a ton of great recipes, you should check her out.

Don't they look great? They were the only live nativity in the parade, all of the others were plastic and such.

After the parade we headed home from a quick refresher and then went back out to our friend Randy's Country Christmas Party. When we went last year Jill decided to jump off of Randy's front porch and landed us in the ER for the night. Thankfully, this year we did not have a repeat.

Randy has two horses and the kids love them. The first thing we did when we got there was run over to say hi. Aaron and Jill both got to feed each horse a carrot and then Randy brought out a saddle and the kids got to each take a ride around.

That's our friend Staci in the photo, the kids love her to pieces and were so glad to see her at the party. The kiddos spent most of the night running around, talking to the horses and playing with baby Henry (you know, baby Jesus from earlier in the day). I got to spend some time with handsome Henry as well. Scott told me that I needed to step away from the baby, but he's just so freakin' adorable, I mean look at him!

And yes, that's my daughter driving Staci's car down the driveway. It's not a country Christmas unless a child is sitting in someone's lap driving a car. Merry Christmas y'all!

O Christmas Tree

I finally got my Christmas tree up and decorated the other day. Naturally, the kiddos wanted to help, which meant they took the ornaments off and handed them back to me.

They are really into Christmas this year, even though Jill keeps confusing it with Halloween. Yeah I don't get that either. The excitement that they have right now makes me so excited for Christmas morning and for Christmas mornings to come.

We've got lots of Christmas themed activities this weekend which we are all excited for. This is my favorite time of year and I cannot wait to make the memories with the kids! Hope you have a a great weekend!

Our Christmas

I truly hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a great day yesterday! Thankfully when we woke up Aaron was feeling 100 times better. Also, darling Bryce got to celebrate Christmas as well (yes I checked my phone before I got out of bed, as I have every morning since the news broke). Those two things alone made my Christmas, everything else was just icing on the cake.

We started the morning with presents from, as Jill calls him (or least yesterday morning) "Ho Ho Ho". Mimi and Paw Paw even came down for presents. The kiddos totally made out like bandits and Scott and I didn't do half bad either.
We ended up having an early dinner because Scott had to work. That's the one thing about where he works, getting a day off on a holiday is near impossible, but it's something we've learned to adjust to. Scott smoked the turkey in his new smoker that FedEx delivered to him and Amazon put in a manufacturer's box. This is the second turkey he's made in it and it was so crazy delicious! After dinner the kids got to try out their 4wheelers that Mimi and Paw Paw got them. They were more excited about the horns than anything else I think.

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The whole day was great and I have to tell you, there is nothing better than sitting back at the end of the night (with a pipping hot cup of tea) and watching your kids play with everything. Christmas is always about family and being together for me, and even though Scott had to work, it was awesome to have that moment with the kids just to take it all in. I hope your Christmas was just as amazing!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

My Favorite Ornaments

Mandy over at My Life as Described by Twin Trails and Triumphs has a link up of everyone's favorite ornaments. I am so late linking up seeing that it started on Monday, but *ahem* my tree just went up on Wednesday. So in no particular order here are three of my favorites:

I got this one from Mimi a few years ago. On the back of it there is a description of traditional Polish customs for Christmas. On the front it says "wesolych swiat" which means "seasons greetings". I love this ornament it's always a reminder of where my family came from.

Scott and I got this ornament from my parents after we got married. Since we met and were married at Disney, it was the perfect ornament! This one definitely gets extra bubble wrap before it goes back in the box.

Each of the kids got this ornament from Cathy and Lorren. Cathy is Aaron's Godmother and Lorren is Jill's. The sheer thought of passing this ornament onto them for their own tree makes me break out in hives and reach for a paper bag to breath into, but at the same time it's nice to know they will have some amazing ornaments for their tree.

Play along with Mandy, today is the last day!

Happenings of the last 3 days

I have a ton of blog catching up to do, so let's start where we left off, shall we???

Wednesday night we met up with my parents, sister and niece for dinner at Garden Grill, which is inside The Land at EPCOT. The restaurant rotates, slowly, but rotates, as you eat. It's also one of the character dining restaurants that features Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale. The kids went bananas over the characters, while they were visiting other kids, when the characters came up to them they acted like they were too cool for school. Here's some photos and video from that night:

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The food there was really good too. It's all sustainable and most of it is grown at Disney.


On Christmas Eve my parents came over and hung out with us while I did some serious baking. I started cooking at 7 am and didn't stop until we left for mass at 5pm. Jill found a new toy, Busia's laundry basket. I was informed they are 2 for $5 at Walgreen's and they come in a variety of colors. Clearly I should not have spent my money on Christmas presents, this would have done the trick....

After mass Cathy and Lorren came over and helped Scott put together the climber that they got the kids for Christmas. It looks like it was quite the project from this photo:

In reality it took 15 minutes, and that even included time for Lorren to try out the slide (her feet hit my sliding glass door).

The kiddos actually slept in on Christmas morning. Any other day they are up at 7am on the nose, but on Christmas morning they slept in until 7:30. I have a feeling this will be the last time that happens. The kids weren't too sure what was going on and were not fans of having everyone there first thing in the morning (when I say everyone I mean us, my parents, Scott's parents, my sister and niece). They did LOVE all their presents though and Aaron wouldn't even leave the new toy kitchen to come open the rest of his presents!

The kids made out like bandits this year! And seriously love everything they got! Scott and I didn't do that bad either, I finally got my food processor (see blogging about wanting one totally works!) and we got a Wii! Now with the Wii, I always knew I was competitive, but had no idea the magnitude of my competitiveness. I channeled my inner Monica Geller when I was playing yesterday, for real. Do you remember that episode of Friends when they are in Barbados and Monica challenges Mike to ping pong? It was like with Scott and I sword fighting. I was out for blood, and the only thing missing was the fro that Monica was sporting in that episode.

Dinner was great too! I have a ton of leftovers though! I made ham, polish sausage, garlic potatoes, and green bean casserole and Mimi brought the stuffings and gravy. This was my first time making all this stuff so I was very pleased with how it turned out. I'm going to put up the recipes tomorrow!

I sincerely hope your Christmas was amazing and that you are enjoying the rest of your holiday weekend!

Way back When-esday: First Christmas

Dateline: December 24, 2008
Age: 7 months

This was on the kiddos first Christmas Eve! Mimi and PawPaw have a train set up around their tree and Jill kept trying to crawl towards it, and Aaron being the protective big brother would hold her back. It was hands down the cutest thing I have ever seen!

Play along with Cheryl at Twinfatuation!