Our Christmas 2013 Part 3

Catch up on Part 1 HERE

Part 2 HERE

Christmas morning was great!  I love seeing the kids dig into their stockings.  I had some bigger plans for the kids' stockings, but those were ruined by two girls peeking in my closet.  Oh well, they loved everything in their stockings and it all worked out.  Ella's big Santa present was a bow and arrow, Maddi's was a scooter for her American Girl, Brayden's was a Superman and football, and Paisley's was a giggly pig.

My dad and step mom headed for Christmas with her family, and we headed to my mom's house for Christmas with the McGregor side of the family.  It was small, but very nice to catch up with my uncles, an Aunt, and a cousin and her little girl.  We opened presents and had dinner there.  My mom made all the kids pjs and Brayden put his on immediately.  She also got each of them a game and we had fun trying them out.  The night went too fast, and of course there wasn't enough time spent over there.

Thursday morning was spent watching the kids play football in dad's backyard.  Paisley napped in my arms, as Brayden, Ella, and Maddi tried to figure out how to catch, throw, kick, and tackle.  Then came the task of packing up everything, getting some snacks together, and figuring out how to fit everything in the car.

It took forever to pack up and make sure we had everything we needed to bring home.  Marco packed up the car (then I repacked it so everything would fit better).  The car was packed full, and I don't think we could have fit anything else. 

We headed to get the dogs and start our long drive home.  Paisley did good on the first leg of the drive home, but not so much after we stopped for dinner.  She threw a huge fit, so we ended up pulling over so I could feed her again in the car.  It worked out though, because Brayden needed to go potty while we were stopped.  Once I thought I had her calmed down, we started back on the road and she started throwing a mega fit.  So much so, that I had to switch spots with Ella while we were driving.  There was no where to pull over, and I wasn't about to have Marco pull off to the side to possibly be hit by a semi.  So Ella and I switched spots.  She loved sitting in the front for the few minutes it took me to get Paisley calmed down and asleep.  Then, we switched back.  It was an exciting drive home, needless to say.

Unpacking the car when we got home was no fun, but we managed to get everything in the house.  Then we opened up our gifts to each other.  The kids did an amazing job of picking out gifts for each other.  This year instead of dollar store gifts, Marco took them to use $5 for one thoughtful gift.  Brayden got each of the girls a Ty animal from Cracker Barrel.  Both Ella and Maddi found great gifts but they were over their $5 spending limit.  Both girls said they would give their own money from their piggy banks to make up the difference.  What amazing girls!  Maddi got Brayden a superman shirt with a cape, Ella Hello Kitty slippers, and Paisley a little piano toy.  Ella got Paisley a ball toy, Brayden a superman cape, and Maddi some silly stompers slippers.  I really love that they enjoy buying and giving to each other.

We had an amazing Christmas and the only thing that would have made it better would have been getting more time with everyone.  I am glad that the kids and I went in early with out Marco, it meant I was able to spend time with my two best friends.  Even with all the stress, I am very happy we made the decision to go leave the house for Christmas.  The kids had a blast, and it was more than worth it!!

Thank you if you read it all :)  I didn't realize when I started writing about our Christmas that it would end up so long!

 

Our Christmas 2013 Part 2

Catch up on Part 1 HERE

When we left my brother's house Saturday night, we drove to my best friend, Roxy's house.  She had no clue we were in town, and I couldn't wait to surprise her.  I was talking to her earlier that day, and I almost gave myself away, but I had to make sure she would be home when I was going to head to her house.  I tried to record her reaction on my phone but some how stopped the video instead of recording, but it was priceless!!  I enjoyed an amazing night of catching up and only wish there had been more hours that night for us.  The kids and I spent the night, and Roxy and I stayed up way too late chatting and listening to our kids' laughter.

 

Sunday was her annual cookie party (a tradition we missed last year), and I was so excited to have made it this year.  The kids love rolling out their own cookies, making messes with flour and dough, and then decorating the cookies how ever they want.  These cookies are always used for Santa cookies, since they are overly sprinkled and frosted.

 

After the cookie party, the kids and I headed to my mom's for a big kid sleepover with Grani.  The big girls love spending the night with my mom and Brayden was going to try it out for the first time.  They had a blast!  Pepe, our elf, made an appearance, they made chocolate mice and cupcakes, and just overall enjoyed some Grani time.  Brayden did great staying with her, and I got a semi-kid free night.  Paisley and I went back to my dad's Sunday night.

Monday afternoon, Paisley and I headed to my mom's house.  I heard how Grani almost made Pepe lose his magic by accidently knocking him over.  Maddi and Ella freaked out for a few minutes, but Pepe let my mom know (when she was by herself of course), that he was ok because grandparents can touch the elves.  That was a close call though.

After the elf fiasco, mom and I loaded up the kids and went to see my grandpa.  It is a long story, but after a fall he had, he has been placed in a home where he is getting 24 hour nursing care.  But he seems to be slowly declining.  We took a few pictures and tried to talk to him, but he had no idea who we were.  The whole situation is very sad, and I don't like talking about it.

To end Monday on a happier note, the kids and I went to see my other best friend Marsha.  Her hubby, Cliff and I went to high school together, so I have known them forever.  Marsha has an older son, Blake, that Brayden just absolutely adores, and a daughter that is 1 month younger than Ella.  Cliff went to pick up Marco from the airport, which was perfect for me to get in some Marsha time.  I just love her!  Marco and I hung out way too late after he got there.  We let the girls spend the night with Persy, and the rest of us headed back to my dad's.

 
Christmas Eve we headed back to pick up the girls and do some final Christmas shopping.  Maddi started feeling bad, and ended up running fever all night.  She was puny most of the day, but had nothing more than fever.

 
We were getting together for Christmas at my dad's Tuesday, so both of my brother's came there.  The guys played pool, the kids ran around like crazy, Pepe left the kids some green milk (with magic dust to help them sleep), we ate, we opened presents, and we watched movies.  To end the night, my dad drove us around his neighborhood to look at Christmas lights.  When we got back, the kids put out their reindeer food and Santa cookies, and it was off to bed.

 

Part 3 Coming Tomorrow

Our Christmas 2013 Part 1

This post is a "better late than never" kinda post.  I am just now writing about our Christmas.  I am probably the world's worst blogger!  Most bloggers are already writing about Valentine's Day and I am still in 2013.  Oh well.

Our Christmas was amazing, to say the least.  We decided to go to Dallas, which is HUGE for me.  Since we have moved so much the past few years, I had decided for Christmas, we would always stay home.  If the family wanted to see us, they could come to us because:

• I didn't like the idea of the kids not being at home for Christmas Eve.
• I didn't like figuring out how to squeeze in Christmas around Marco's work schedule.
• I didn't like loading up the car with Santa goodies, the kids presents, and the family's presents, plus all the packing for all the kids.
• I didn't like trying to pack the car after Christmas for the drive home.

P.S. I made the rule when I only had the older girls.  Gah, I thought it was work then!  That would be a breeze now.

But my family always understood, and they came to us.  It was much easier when we lived closer, but last year was our first year being 6 hours away in Lubbock.  We had an amazing Christmas just our little family, but that was it.  It was just us.  No one visited Christmas Eve, no one was here Christmas day.

When Marco and I first talked about going to Dallas for Christmas, I was really stressed.  Actually I was really stressed till I was about 1/2 way home (home being Dallas), then I was just excited.  The stress was money, the baby's first long car ride, do I leave a few days before Marco and get more time with friends and family or do we drive in together for just a few days, and packing.  Packing for the big kids and I is easy at this point but I was very worried that I would forget something for the baby. 

But money worked out, I left Friday when the kids got out of school and Marco flew in on Monday night, the baby did amazing on the ride down there when it was just me and the kids, and I made a list for packing (a very long and detailed list).  I made sure I had everything of necessity for Paisley, but of course I could have packed more.  I missed her boppy and baby tub, but they weren't overly necessary.  I nursed with pillows and she bathed (unhappily) in the big tub.

 

I got the girls out of school early and drove in Friday to my dad's loaded down with all the kids, 3 small and 1 large suitcase, Santa's goodies in a very large bag, the presents for the family, the dogs and their kennel. 

I wonder how amazing it would be to be my husband and have ZERO responsibility for 2 1/2 days, no dogs, no kids, no wife.  I wonder if I will ever get that chance?

We made great time, only stopping in Abeline (1/2 way) to stretch our legs, eat, and get Paisley out of her carseat and feed her.  We drove straight to my mom's in Mesquite to drop off the dogs and chat for a few minutes and then we headed to my dad's house in Forney.

 

My dad has recently moved and his new house was perfect for the 3 big kids.  They had plenty of room to watch a movie and run and be wild upstairs and get their "we just sat in the car for 6+ hours" crazies out before bed.

 

The next morning I was supposed to meet a friend from Sherman for lunch and let the kids play while we caught up, but the weather was terrible.  She was having freezing rain and it was pouring at my dads.  We both agreed that it was just too much trouble.  I am still sad that we didn't get the chance to meet up and that she still hasn't met Paisley.  Better safe than sorry.  And hopefully she will be coming to Lubbock soon.

Not getting out Saturday morning, meant the kids and I were able to enjoy a rainy morning (which we don't get in Lubbock) and just watch cartoons and hang out with my step mom.  Once the rain cleared up, we repacked smaller bags, and the kids and I headed to my brother and sister in law's house.  We had an early dinner, watched movies, and the big kids wrestled with my brother while Melissa got in some Paisley snuggles.

Be back tomorrow with Part 2!

Slow Down Christmas

It amazes me at how early Christmas has come this year.  It seems no one really cares about Thanksgiving anymore.  The stores are putting out Christmas decorations in August it feels like.  What's the rush? 
Have you seen this photo?  It is so true!

Black Friday ads have become 30+ pages long and stores are opening SO early, 6 am on Thanksgiving for Kmart!  I loved shopping on black Friday; the getting up in the middle of the night, the thrill of hunting for great deals, but 6 am, what's wrong with people?  The bad thing is, there will be people there shopping just to save a few dollars. 

Christmas has just become so commercialized and so overdone, it is seriously stressing me out!  The commercials make you think you have to buy everything for your kids or they won't be happy and you are a bad parent.  Or at least that is how I see it.

We have taken God out of everything in this country and it seems that he is slowly being pushed out of Christmas too.  The whole reason for the season is the birth of Jesus!  I think a lot of people are forgetting that.  I know it has even happened in our house.  Santa has outweighed the true meaning of Christmas, a fact that I am not proud of.  My kids know why we celebrate Christmas, but the "give me's" are crazy out of control.  I hope that I can change that this year, but it will have to wait till after Thanksgiving. 

I am very much looking forward to Thanksgiving this year.  My dad and step mom are having Thanksgiving at their new house this year and we won't be able to leave town with Marco's work schedule, so they are coming here this weekend!  My mom will be coming in for Thanksgiving like she did last year.  Marco has also invited some of his coworkers over Thanksgiving lunch.  It should result in some great times all around!

What are your Thanksgiving plans?
What do you think about Christmas becoming so commercialized?

Christmas Catch Up and Happy New Year

I am really sorry for my lack of posting, things have just been crazy around here.  We are packing up to move this Friday, and for some reason I thought it would be a great idea to have family over both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!!  Packing went to the wayside, as I cleaned and organized for family.  I am really glad we had everyone over, because we had an awesome time together. 

Christmas Eve we had my dad and stepmom, my brother Doug, his girl friend Melissa and her daughter, Tori, and my brother Aron.  I cooked a 24 pound turkey that my hubby brined the night before and it came out so juicy and tender, it was amazing, slap yo momma good!!!  My kids opened the billions of presents brought over by the grandparents, and then we all sat around and enjoyed each other's company.

Christmas Day my hubby got up at 5 am to put in the brisket in the oven, that he had marinating in a dry rub and injected with apple juice from the night before.  The brisket was amazing!!  The secret truly is the apple juice to making tender and juicy meat!!  We saw that on a grilling cook off show, and it really makes all the difference (that you cannot taste, in case you were wondering).  Christmas Day my mom and grandpa came by and my brother Aron came back over. 

With all the grandparents and uncles that came by, some how we still managed to have a visit from Santa and we even opened up gifts from each other.  It was a long 2 days, with an abundance of presents, but we had such a great time.

I am not sure with the move this weekend when I will be able to get back on the computer to update, so I want to wish each one of you a very Happy New Year!!!  Make sure to eat your black eyed peas and cabbage!!!  I know we will!!

Christmas Traditions: Decorating

Good morning everyone! I hope your days have been filled with hot chocolates, fires, Christmas lights, and of course the holiday music!! The countdown has officially begun in my house, and the race is once again on to get everything done in time. I have started shopping, and I have even purchased some gifts, mainly on Black Friday, but nothing has been wrapped and I am only about 15% done. Money makes it really hard to buy gifts for everyone on your list, well it does when you have none!


My sweet, little blog blessed me a lot over the summer, and it sure was nice to pay for some Christmas stuff with that money! Thank you guys for understanding my need to do sponsored posts every once in a while, because every little bit helps in my family!


I want to know more about you guys, yes each one of you that reads this, and I think a great way to do this is by sharing some of our favorite Christmas traditions. Today I want to know about your decorations! When do you put them up? Do you buy new ones every year or just stick with the old? Do you decorate the outside of your house as well?


I will go first! I LOVE decorating for Christmas. I have 5 totes plus a few smaller boxes that are filled with our decorations. One of my favorite traditions is that my girls' have their own tree, it is a small purple tree that they LOVE! I have built up a collection of small ornaments and they get to decorate their tree with those however they want! We also love decorating the big tree together while listening to Christmas music. Both girls get to take turns putting on the star and next year we will be Brayden's first time to help!

The girls' purple tree :)

My gorgeous girls

Ella putting on the star

Maddi's turn

The finished tree

My handsome boy, that helped decorate by taking off the ornaments :)

We usually use our old decorations but I may add in a few new pieces if I can find a good deal on them. Plus I get a lot of decorations and ornaments passed down to me from my stepmom, so that is really nice!


We normally decorate the outside of the house as well, but since we will be moving this year around Christmas, we haven't bothered with it. I also haven't decorated as much as I usually do, since pulling out all my decorations doesn't make sense when I am packing up every thing else.

What are you traditions with decorating?? I really want to know!!

Picture Frustrations

I was really hoping to get on tonight and upload and show off my new pictures of the kiddos and our Christmas tree, since I finally got a new camera card, BUT my computer is being dumb and not letting me!!  I am so frustrated that I can not upload pictures, and my frustration grows every day since this has been happening for months now!!

On a lighter note, Brayden grabbed my camera today and said "cheese!!"  Well as best as a 15 month old can, it was precious!!

I hope everyone is having a great week!  I can't believe December is almost here!!  That means my 30th birthday is 17 days away, not sure whether I should celebrate or cry!

Thanksgiving

Sorry my posts have been few and far between, school is kicking my little bootay!!  Any time I get on my computer from home, I am doing school work.  That is why I am loving coming to my dad's a lot more, I can use his computer without feeling guilty!!  I promise to post more when I can!!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and Black Friday!  I know we did.  We went to my Aunt's house for Thanksgiving lunch, and had a fabulous time hanging out with family!  Marco and I braved the crowds at Wal-Mart for the 10 pm sale, and I must say it was a success!!  Besides the time we spent there waiting for the sale to start, we were in and out with what we wanted pretty quickly and home by 10:31!!  My mom and I went out again later to Target and Kohls for their midnight sales.  Kohls was HORRIBLE!!!!  The lines were so long and very slow moving!  Target was great and their staff was very courteous!  I was very impressed with the way they handled the whole situation.  

We spent yesterday trying to make decisions for my mom's house, paint colors, flooring, lights, and the list goes on and on!!  The countdown is on for our move, T minus 30 days!

I hope everyone had a fantastic week and a great weekend!  I am already in the Christmas spirit and loving Christmas music being played everywhere and I am so ready to get our tree!  We get a real tree, and I love the smell!  

Happy Holidays! 

The smell of sausage in the morning

Nothing beats the smell of sausage cooking on an early Sunday morning!!  We are at my dad's house for the 3rd weekend in a row, and I can honestly say, I am loving the time the kids and I are getting to spend with him and my stepmom.  I am really getting excited to move closer to family and friends, and I know that day cannot come soon enough!!  There is still a mass amount of work to be done on my mom's house, and the idea of packing up our house again is dreadful to think about. 

My stepmom has decorated the house for Christmas already and the house looks so festive and really puts me in the holiday spirit!  All that is missing is Christmas music playing, some hot chocolate with marshmallows, and a fire.  I guess the MAIN thing missing for the fire to work is colder weather!  We got up to 78 degrees yesterday!  Someone needs to remind Mother Nature, that we like fall temperatures here in Texas too!!

I am just sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee, listening to Maddi ring jingle bells while trying to find a movie with her Pappy and listening to my baby boy crack himself up in his high chair!!  I am missing my Ella Bella though, she spent the night with a friend.  I think it will be a great day!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving week!!!

My favorite Christmas gifts!!

I had given up on the idea of cute boots for my feet, since my calves are gigantic, but my hubby and my wonderful kiddos found me a great alternative.

These are my new slipper boots!!  They are so comfy, so cute, and come nowhere near my calves!!  I am in love and hardly take them off when I am home.

I am also in love with body sprays and lotions, and my hubby found me a new Mariah Carey fragrance that is to die for.  It smells heavenly, not to overpowering but not to subtle.  It is perfect, plus I love the butterfly as the spray cap.

I also love my gorgeous blue scarf that is Vera Wang!  It is just delightful!!

Excuse my tub shot :)

As you can see, I am one very happy girl!!

What was your favorite Christmas gifts??

Wordless Wednesday

Christmas time was here

I was so excited for Christmas this year, and it came and went like a flash.  I spent a lot of time fretting over the perfect gift for the kiddos, and to them it didn't even matter, a gift was a gift.  They were happy just because it was Christmas. 

We were very lucky to not have an overly full calendar this year, so we were able to enjoy everything we were doing to the fullest.  We spent time with my parents (separately), my brothers, of course my friends.  There was no snow this year, but the weather cooperated somewhat and it did cool off enough for a Christmas fire.

Marco and I have started a tradition to not leave the house on Christmas Day and I love it!  We wake up together and take apart our stockings, cook breakfast, open presents, eat lunch and then relax and play ALL day long with our kids.  I have to say, it is the best thing we have started doing.  Last year some of my family came in and spent the afternoon and it was nice, but it was also great to just stay at home in our jammies, house a mess, full off of goodies, and just enjoying each other.  I love that tradition and it is one that will stick!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Festivities

Could this saying be any more true? I love the time of the year that fall gives way to winter, where the air turns colder, fireplaces are filled with glowing warmth, houses are lit up in the dark of the night, and Christmas trees are overly decorated. I am excited to wrap presents with my hubby (or hand him strips of tape as he wraps) while sitting in front of a fire sipping wine. I love the excitement that my kids get during this season while we decorate our family Christmas tree and their shiny purple tree, write letters to and go visit Santa, make and decorate cookies, have family get togethers, and of course open presents on Christmas morning. The countdown has begun in our house, my 6 year old informed me that there are 19 days and counting till the best day of the year. Let the festivities begin!

2010....

It is hard for me to think that 2010 is already here. Thanksgiving came and went, Christmas flew by, and we have already rang in the new year. Where does the time go these days??

Our Christmas was great! I ran around like crazy Christmas eve; last minute shopping, making and decorating cookies and doing Christmasy crafts with the girls, and reiterating to them the true meaning of Christmas. We had a relaxing Christmas morning, staying home and opening presents. My mom and brother came over later and we had a great night playing Wii and hanging out. We were given an oppotunity to go see the new Chipmunks movie the day after and we took it, along with hundreds of other people. Let's just say we had front row seats to the movie. Although we could not have cared less. We loved the movie and had a great time.

We had a simple New Year's Eve, staying home and hanging out. We played Wii and pigged out on junk food all night. All three of the girls were so excited to drink their sparkling juice out of a real wine glass at the stroke of 12. We had little party hats and blowers, and we just had a good time. It was nice to stay in and wear PJ's all night, but I would love to go somewhere next year where I have to get dressed up.

So here's to a New Year and hopefully great year, with lots of changes for a better life and better relationships.

Best time of the year

I love this time of year; being thankful, my birthday and then the best Christmas. I started digging out the Christmas decorations Thanksgiving night, not because I was done being thankful, but I was excited to get the Christmas season under way. I am a believer in not putting up any decorations until Thanksgiving is over. I love having the time to reflect on my personal life and to realize how great I have it. On the other hand, I am excited for Christmas this year. We got a real tree, which smells awesome, we are getting Savannah (my step daughter) for the holiday, and we have decided to stay home and actually have Christmas at our house. Let me just tell you, since Maddi has been born, we have not had a Christmas morning at our house! Santa has always followed us to where ever we are, and he actually gets to come here this year :) Plus after we have a great breakfast (I am still trying to figure out what to make), open presents and play for a little while we are going to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Squeakquel :) Gabriella was so excited watching the preview, that we have to go see it!!

I am also excited for my birthday party! Getting to hang out with some of my best friends, where the focus is on me (LOL) is always awesome!!! In years past, I was getting overly "happy" and more often then not, getting the cops called. I am excited as the years go by, that it becomes just another chance to hang out with friends before the year ends!!

This truly is the best time of the year. The lights, the trees, the decorations, the celebrations, The reason for the season, the family time only gets better as the weather gets colder.