Christmas!

So, we made it through 3 Christmases, and it reminds me of how blessed we are to have so much family here, such great friends, and how wonderful it is to spend the holidays with them all.

We started with Christmas Eve at our house... my parents, Jonathan's parents, my two cousins and both their families, my aunt and uncle, my brother, 2 family friends, and my grandma all came over. It was a packed house, but the more the Merrier. Zoe was decked out in her Christmas finest, while Hayden chose to discretely wear red and green. The kids were going bonkers until we finally opened presents at 7:30ish. After, my cousin had a game for the adults to play... 3rd year in row. Tons of fun! This year, we had to wrap presents with a partner, each of us only using one hand. Then, we were voted on who had the best wrapping job and the winners actually won a prize. Guess who won?? Yours truly! My partner Kathy (family friend) and I each won $25 to Harkins AND $25 to Olive Garden. Whoo Hoo... Date Night! Then, we opened the presents that we all wrapped. At first glance it was just a package of Krispy Kringles.... but, hidden with more gift cards to places like Subway. How Cool! Wonder what next year's game will be...

Then, my parents and brother stayed the night to join us in the morning. The kids did stocking stuffers, then we had our traditional biscuits and gravy, fried potatoes, and fruit. Jonathan's parents came also. Then we did the whole present thing... tons of fun!

Last, we had Christmas day dinner at our house. Hayden had to go back to his mom's but got to celebrate anothe Christmas over there. Jonathan's parents brought over a prime rib and ham, while we had some left overs from the night before... plus salad from his grandparents. AND, Miss Tammy came back for a visit with her whole family. They've taken over our house, but that's ok! The kids, and us, were spoiled rotten this Christmas... geez!

Happy Christmas Eve

I'm so excited for today... we have my whole family coming over plus Jonathan's parents. Hayden will be here momentarily and Zoe is so excited. I love Christmas Eve!!
Merry Christmas everyone!!

Counting down

Christmas time is almost here... my shopping is just about done... except for some odds and ends, and who knows what else I find (which I shouldn't find because then I would contradict the whole point of this post). I'm very smart at my Christmas savings... I put away a little each month so when it's time to buy gifts, we don't go broke and we have it ready and waiting. BTW... I could buy some great things for the house or ME with what I save all year. And, the kids are getting older which means gifts cost more. Like this year... Hayden was SO hard to buy for and he's only 9!

It seems though that each year I spend more than what was budgeted (budget smudget) and then I freak out. NONE of the Christmas songs encourage going broke and saving all year. They chant about joy and a red nosed reindeer and Christ! What happens to the spirit of Christmas when all we do is shop shop shop. And what about the economy? It is said that since the economy is so bad, that Americans will ONLY spend about $450 billion this year on Christmas. BILLION!! Now, don't get me wrong... I shop just as good as the next person, however sometimes it's just in an effort to keep up with the rest. What if we all slowed down, spent less, focussed more on what the celebration is meant to be? How about money limits less that what they are now? Or make it for the kids? Hmm... next year, perhaps...

Gingerbread house...

Last year we started the "tradition" of decorating a gingerbread house.
This year Jonathan made the frosting... ha ha ha

Christmas Party

So, our church always promotes having a Christmas party for our neighbors to get to know them, then at the end invite them to Christmas Eve service. They even hand out a fabulous little party in a box that includes invitations and a dvd packed with ideas for games, recipes, etc. Hayden was with us one day when the pastor promoted this. He was on board in no time and took a box.

Well, unbeknown to us, he started filling out invitations and handing them out to his neighborhood friends. Well... guess who showed up last night! LOL... Jonathan was playing guitar hero in his pj's and I was just getting home from a little trip to the store... and we have nothing planned. Or I should say, Hayden had nothing planned. There they all were with poor little Zoe trying to keep up in her summer tank dress and black patent leather shoes ... her "ballet shoes". So, we quickly pooled our resources and found a frozen pizza, chicken, potatoes, green beans, and apples.... I know, seriously? The kids raved about the "homemade" pizza... (whatever.. thank you diagorno) and said the apples were the best ever. What nice kids! Then we had them make our homemade cup ornaments. Haven't seen them? See pics and directions below... Anyway, the "party" was a success and it was topped off with ice cream at the end. Fun times! Good idea Hayden!

Cup Ornaments
"Ingredients":

• plastic tumbler cups (the kind that would crack/break if you squeezed them)
• plastic beads (the clearish colored ones look best)
• nail
• pliers
  
• candle
• thin ribbon or ornament hanger
  

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place beads inside cup... OR... put cup upside down and put the beads on top. Put them on a baking sheet and bake for about 5 min... or until they are flatish. After they have cooled, using the pliers, heat up the nail over the candle and poke a hole through the ornament. Use the ribbon or ornament hanger to put through the hole.

They are very unique and mess free!

The Next Guitar Hero

Check out Zoe playing Guitar Hero.... Classic!

Polar Express

We donned our pajamas and headed North for the Polar Express this weekend. Even Jonathan wore some jammies. My grandma and mom went, so that added even more to the enjoyment. This was our first time and I'm sure not our last. The kids, even Hayden, were excited to see Santa. The idea of Santa is very appealing to Zoe, and possibly even exciting. However, anytime he gets within a 5 foot radius she becomes a mute and hides her head in the closest armpit. Combined with my accidental hair pulling of her, her bashing her head into Jonathan's mouth, her catching her cheek on the chain outside the train, and her banging her head on the seat arm, things could have been worse. Notice her scowl when Santa is near...and our first family picture... no happiness from her. However, Hayden was a saint and did great.

First family pic...

In awe over the train

So cute!

Hmm... not so excited about Santa

Grandma will save me...Cute... and too many cookies

Best pic we could get of them... Hayden of course looks great, and Zoe is giving an evil look.

No... we didn't stick our heads out the window!

With Grandma and Great Grandma

Another family pic... at least she's not crying

The next day in Flagstaff, we headed towards the Riordan Mansion... a Flagstaff historic state park. It's very cool if you are into history and antiques... and an adult. We bought our tickets for the tour, even after the tour guide so "kindly" stated that it wasn't really suited for kids even though we sell tickets. Great, we'll take both of our kids and they will be great, especially my 3 year old... she's not like the other ones. Then, we were joined by another couple who had a 2 and 4 year old. Good, Zoe will be an angel compared to those other two. So... to make a long story short, the other two were promptly and not so kindly asked to leave because they would ruin the tour... Ahh... see, told you Zoe would be better. Oops, just kidding. We (as in Zoe and I) left about 5 min. after them and headed to the nearest McDonald's to enjoy their playland. Hmm... much more fun for Zoe I must say. And the grouchy tour guide was satisfied. Whatever! We did sneak back and take some outdoor pictures. We can take the pine cones, right??Yes! Finally! A family pic that works!

Brownies

Hayden is such a great big brother, and he loves to cook. Combined, he makes great brownies and lets his little sister lick the spoon... or in this case, the whisk.

I'm Freezin'

So, Zoe's new line....
"I'm freezin' my balls off!"

Great... thanks Hayden and Jonathan.

Stucker

Funny...
Zoe was determined to have a sucker before breakfast the other day, so to make it ok she gave Hayden one. They both ate them even though I suggested that breakfast did not consist of dum dums. Later I found that half the sucker was stuck in Zoe's hair.

Our funny boy Hayden said... "Well, now it's a STUCKER!"

LOL

Christmas came early

Grandma and Grandpa Collard surprised Zoe with an early Christmas present... it was rather large and hard to store, so why not give it early.?! She was ecstatic, to say the least. We had to bribe her each time we needed to leave today... she refused to come out. And another surprise...??? Daddy got Zoe's hair cut while mommy was shopping. Hmmm....

Black Friday Update

Well, I made my goal of leaving the house by 6.... well, probably 6:05, but who's counting. My parents were at the mall by 5, however. I made it to Target and Walmart before 7 (stayed clear of any tramples or stampedes), then headed up to my parents house. I met up with my mom, then later my aunt and cousin (my grandma was sick and we made her stay home) then headed off to PV mall. We literally shopped until we dropped... I walked, rather crawled, in my house about 9:30pm!

Thankful

There are so many things to be thankful for, especially living in this country and even when the economy is down....

• my husband... for putting up with me
• for being able to put up with my husband... :)
• my beautiful children, and experiencing highs and lows in motherhood
• my wonderful, awesome, beautiful friends
  
• my family... both Jonathan and I have our families in town
• wonderful food! I love Thanksgiving potlucks.
• a job, a car, a house, Christmas gifts, and the ability to pay for them all
• for strength from God everyday

Speaking of Christmas gifts. My mom, aunt, cousin, grandma, and I are going to brave the crowds tomorrow and shop til we drop... literally. Family tradition! Some of them get up by 5 and start shopping. I'm not sure I'll fit in that category this time, but I'm shooting by 6. I know... totally insane!

Again!

I survived the midnight movie... made it through the giggling, screaming, sighing, mediocre acting, odd facial contortions of dreamy Edward and his nonsmoothness (that the book Edward so had!), Jasper's I'm-Willy Wonka's-blonde-brother look, and Bella's continuous blinking. With all of that... a fabulous experience. I would do it all over again... maybe in a few months so I forget how tired I really was the next day.

I liked it so much that I went again... AGAIN!... with Kim and... Leslie. The Leslie who said she didn't have time to read the books, who ended up reading the book (well, half way through as of the movie night), who ended up loving the book! It was even better the second time. I even wore my shirt AGAIN!... I had to dig it out of the laundry and spray some Fabreeze on it. ha! "Jacob Bites & Edward Sucks"

ahhh... so many things to say about, but Kim and Katie had mentioned about all of them. I don't have the attention span to repeat it all. I do really wish they put in "Do I dazzle you?"
... "Frequently". It's a must have line!

Poor bug..

Zoe found a carpet bug last night around "dinner" time. Quotes? Because it was pantry night and her "dinner" consisted of Frosted Mini Wheats. Anyway, she found a bug... "my friend!" And would not eat dinner without it near her. She wanted to hold it in her hands while eating... gross! After a slight freak out when I told her that her friend had to eat on the ground, we compromised on a bowl for his new home.

Thinking it would be short lived... I was wrong. She took it to go to the bathroom with her. Now, she didn't carry it in the bowl. She scooted it. Imagine the bowl upside down with the poor bug being dragged across tiles. Once in a while it got lucky and got stuck in a crack, but before it could escape its torment, she figured it out and trapped it again.

Not only did it accompany her to the bathroom, it also took a shower with us. I tried to warn her, "Zoe, your bug can't swim." She disagreed and the poor thing when from water cup to water cup... eventually drowning and going up to buggy heaven. She didn't realize its decent until the shower was over, then stated, "He not alive anymore." Really?... good call. Poor bug....

Update

I've talked my mom into coming to the midnight Twilight movie with us. How fun! And she has to work the next day too. She's used to it though... this would be the 4th time she's done this (3 times with my dad). LOL

Rocket Man

Here are some pictures of Hayden's Rocket Day with his cub scout group. It was a family fun day!

Addiction

It hit me a few weeks ago when Kim said, "Here, I brought this for you to read." It was Twilight. I was hooked. My poor family was left in second place as I read those books, sometimes staying up way too late, reading in the car (while Jonathan was driving), or reading while giving Zoe a bath. I've finished them though and I have nothing else to read... nothing comes after 4. There is Edward's version, but it's not quite the same, and it's unfinished so it will just leave me hanging again. I did fall under the spell and bought a ticket for the midnight showing of the movie. And I'm working the next day. Stupid, I'm sure... but I can't be left out... and at least there will be others at work who will be falling asleep. My plan is to go to bed when the kids do, then get up and see the movie, indulge in my popcorn and diet Coke, then head home and sleep again. It will work... my parents have done it a few times. LOL... they crack me up!

And I need a t-shirt. This will, above all, prove I am a dork... but many already knew this. And the funny thing is, if I don't have a shirt for the movie, I would be a dork... because everyone else will have one! Although my love of the series and for the ever so fictional character Edward are high, my budget is low so we'll see if I purchase a shirt or not. I guess I'll have to do it soon. I sort of like the one that says Jacob Bites and Edward Sucks... ha ha... or Give Blood...Date a Cullen. Ahh... Although Kim's choice is very cute... My heart belongs to my husband, but Edward can have my neck. Fun times! A highly suggested read if you haven't fallen for it already.

Happy Halloween... a little late

So Halloween involved 2.5 hours of driving to Hayden's mom's house for a Halloween Party... what a long drive! But, we made it and the kids had a blast. She and her neighbors rented a giant bounce house and had a pot luck in the street with gobs of candy. We took the kids and Hayden's cousin trick-or-treating. Hayden was Bobafett from Starwars and Zoe was Tinkerbell. So cute!


Sad to say though, that we didn't carve any pumpkins this year. I know... what rejects! I always roast the seeds, too. Ugg... we still have one though, so maybe we'll carve it soon and post date the pictures. No one will know... except the 3.5 people who read my blog. :)