Let the festivities begin

Thanksgiving week is always the start of the Christmas madness. This year was a little different but ended up about the same. My hubby surprised me with a trip to a nearby town the day before Thanksgiving and we traded in my car. The new car is nice, with a new payment. Go figure....we just got the old one paid for. Anyway, after a mad scramble to get the house straightened up because I had spent the day buying a car, not getting ready for company, things actually ended up pretty good. The food was good, the company was great and I was very thankful to have them all go home happy. I did find out that my sweet potato casserole tastes like old gym socks according to my cousin, and I am still wondering how he would know that. (He just doesnt' like sweet potato's).

I did break my annual shopping the day after Thanksgiving tradition. After we lost Bob last year the shopping wasn't quite so important anymore. So I snuggled up in bed with my laptop and did my shopping online. It was fabulous. I got to sleep until I wanted to get up and didn't have to fight the crowds once. I don't know if I can ever go back to fighing the crowds and coming home bloodied.

Now the house is all decorated and looking festive thanks to my sweet hubby. I am not thrilled with the girls being introduced to how to get themselves on the roof, but it looks fabulous and we are ready to start this holiday season.

Thanksgiving circus in the making

This morning when I woke up I still was not sure if we were having anyone coming to our house for Thanksgiving this year....yea, the one in three days. I have invited several of my family, but they were apparently holding out for a better offer. First my sister called. She would come, if no one else were coming but decided to stay home and have a quiet day this year. Smart move. Then came the call from my brother who wanted to know if I really wanted them to come or not. If I didn't want you to come, I probably wouldn't have invited you, but whatever.....didn't help with his decision. So I went to the grocery store to buy food for 5..... or 15 people. Take your pick. I chose somewhere in between. Then the call from mom came. We have decided to accept your invitation, and your brother and his boys are coming too. Ok, first I had to recover from the shock. I have invited them for at least 10 years. This year they must be desperate, because this is the first year they have ever come. Then came the question "What about aunt "B"?" My mom said she's a big girl and can figure it out. So being the good daughter that I am I called and invited aunt "B" who is now coming with one of my favorite cousins. I am very excited about that since I don't see him nearly as much as I should. So our usually quiet Thanksgiving has turned into somewhat or a fiasco. Good or bad I don't know. What I do know is the pressure is on. I have two days to get my house in order and prepare a thanksgiving dinner for my family. Granted the pies are in a box in the freezer with the rolls, and everything else is pretty simple too. That's just how I roll. It is a new adventure and I hope it comes out alright. If not we will go back to our quiet thanksgiving dinner we usually have and either way we will have a lot to be thankful for.

What about Bob?

One year ago today our lives got turned upside down. My brother-in-law lost a four day battle with menangitis and everything seemed to fall apart. It all started with a head-ache. Don't ever think that a head-ache is not a big deal. It is. We had a three day vigil at the hospital and went home broken hearted the day before thanksgiving. Not exactally what we were expecting. I still think about him every day. He was the big brother I always wanted. He was my hubby's business partner and best friend. I think I called Bob more than my hubby because Bob carried his phone and my hubby was never far away. He was the kind of person that would do anything for you, no matter what you needed. I thought he would always be around. I have learned some valuable lessons, don't take those you love for granted and you never know how long you are going to be here on this earth. We were lucky enough to have a great time with Bob about a week before he went into the hospital. The company convention just happened to be in Orlando and we got to go with Bob. His family couldn't go so we got him all to ourselves. It was awesome. He spoiled our girls rotten. He and my baby pestered each other the whole trip, both of them loving every minute of it. I cannot express how blessed we were to have this time with him. This is a picture of him and B and M&M in the tea cups. He wasn't feeling very good that day but was a good sport anyway and rode anything they wanted him to. What a blessing it is that we got to spend that time with him. The last time I saw him before he endedup in the hospital he was headed out of the airport laughing hysterically about the poop incident on the plane. If you don't know what that is, I will have to share sometime. It's worth a laugh. It's a good way to remember him. I am a little bit bitter about the fact my baby will forget him. She is getting ripped off. If nothing else take a minute today and tell those you love that you love them. Don't take them for granted. Who knows when they won't be around anymore. And to Bob, we miss you and we love you. We are not enjoying your extended vacation, but know you are in a good place. Hug the ones you love. Now I am off to get ready to go to twilight.........

There is a crazy lady in my house....

Do ya ever have those days where you think your children would rather you disappear into the wild blue yonder so they can just do what they want, and not have mommy dear yappin about everything I think they should be doing? Have they ever pushed you so far you feel like a stranger takes over your body and you lose any sense of reason? Well, today was one of those days. The crazy lady reared her ugly head and my kids all went to bed praying for a better day. I just don't understand some days what they are thinking. Yes, I expect you to clean up the bathroom floor EVERY night. Yes, I do want you to straighten your room and not lie to me about it. Since when did I say it was ok to leave candy wrappers all over the floor and the candy that should have been in them ground into the new carpet. I don't ask a lot out of them, but I do want them to do a few things around the house. The biggest question is why I don't get any response out of them until I lose my cool. "Please" doesn't seem to phase them, but a yelling maniac gets results. (it kind of resembles the tantrums my three year old throws.....how mature is that?) This all could have something to do with the fact that daddy is out of town on business and I have been a single mom all week. They are missing him as bad as I am. Cudo's to all you single mom's out there by the way, I don't know how you survive day to day and I have a lot of respect for you.
Anyway, I need to get my house in order so it feels better tomorrow, get some sleep and make sure I let my kids know tomorrow that I really do love them and think they are the most amazing bunch of girls in the whole world. (hopefully you think that about your kids too....it's just what a mom is supposed to think). Most of all I need to make sure the crazy lady is gone for a long, long time. Takes way more out of me and them than it is really worth.

One wild week-end

I have to say I keep forgetting to take any pictures but I am hoping this blog will make me a little better at taking them. This week-end I was lucky to come out remembering anything. It all started Thurs with a surprise visit from the in-laws. I love my in-laws......especially when I can prepare myself when they come. They tend to pop in and out for anywhere from minutes to days when ever they feel the urge. This time was good, they were staying at another of my hubby's brothers, so they were just here for a little while. We also got a call from some friends of ours asking what we were doing for the week-end.....and maybe they would come visit. This is another one of those calls that makes me wonder just exactally what I am in for. Anyway, since there was no school Friday we got an early start to the week-end. Not thinking I got up and cleaned the house to get ready for the company that may be coming. The girls decided since there was not school they would make the most of the day by fighting with each other. Always makes for a long day with high pitched screaming floating through the house. Then the call came that the company was on it's way.....if only I had thought this through.

These friends of ours have three kids....his, hers and theirs. The two youngest are 2 and one. Cute kids, but messy kids. Their dad reminds me of a 14 year old boy who never really did grow up. My kids love it when he visits for the entertainment value. He operates on their level a lot of the time. He claims they came for breakfast Sat. morning which hubby took as, we are expecting a good one, don't let us down. I didn't think they would be staying long, so I didn't grocery shop for feeding 10 people all week-end. Ended up by the end of the day at one point we had Nate's cousins family, his mom, and my brother just happened to pop in for a while. The house was bulging at the seams with 13 small kids running through it. So much for cleaning it. We ended up going to dinner and since B had a birthday party we got a babysitter last minute. She had 5 kids and a huge mess, which she had all cleaned up before we got home. Awesome job Brit! We thought everyone would be going home, but the friends stayed until Sunday. They left while we were at church, we didn't even see Nate's friend before we left at 11. He was still sleeping so we left breakfast on the table and havent' heard a word since. My girls were so excited to come home to a quiet house. Hailey spread herself out on the couch and just laid there in the quiet for about 15 minutes. I don't mind company, but this time I was glad to see them go. Too many kids helping themselves to the fridge and the cupboard and then tracking it through the house and into the new carpet. Too many toys broken and left to be discovered by my baby who brought them to me heartbroken. I came away from the week-end very thankful for my kids and their manners. They are good girls, and they respect others for the most part. We have all been putting the house together and just enjoying each other since Sunday and that is the best thing that came out of our wild week-end.

Wildflower Blossoms bids farewell

Today was a very exciting, yet sad day. I drove 45 minutes to a scrapbook sale and boy oh boy what a sale it was. I still get giddy thinking about it. That's the exciting part. The sad part it that this is the last sale this company is having. They have had this sale once or twice a year, only once in our town, but always in the neighboring town. It is well worth the drive. Since today was the last day ever, they had reduced all thier merchandise another 50%. What a great surprise. I got more brads than I will probably ever use, but can a girl ever have enough brads???? And paper, paper everywhere. Did I need it? Probably not. But I got it anyway. I love Stampin' Up! products dearly (I should if I sell it) but I just can't pass up a good sale. I took one of my friends with me and my sister met us there and thentook my baby to her house to play while my friend and I shopped. By the way I really owe her one. It was pure bliss. Shopping three year old free for over an hour. Then we went and got them both and went to lunch. It was a good day. Shopping, lunch and then a nap on the way home....for my baby, not for me.

Now I just need to get the stuff ready for my card swap group tomorrow. I am in charge of the project and need to figure out exactally how I am going to do it. Soon as I get it together, I will post the pictures. I think I will use it as a practice for the class I am going to have in Dec. I look forward to the swap every month and always feel like I am coming away with a stack of treasures. I think the little break makes me a happier mom, and that's always a good thing.

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere

Friday morning at our house was a relaxing kind of a day. I spent the morning getting myself ready for the day while my baby took a bubble bath. This is not the normal routine at our house. Usually she is scared to death of bubbles. She always tells me to make sure and not turn the "shets" aka jets on. In fact all I have to do to get her out is tell her she needs to pull the plug and get out or I am pushing the button to turn the "shets" on. This is one of the only times she listens to me. She's three....and very independant, I will do about anything to get her to listen to me. Anyway, Friday she was very amused by the bubbles. Then I showed her how to look like Santa. She loved it. She was so dissappointed when the bubbles all popped she even let me turn those scary "shets" on so they would come back. It was a good morning........if only it had lasted all day.

When B and M&M came home from school, it turned into party time at our house and the relaxation of the bubble bath was the farthest thing from my baby's mind. The older two girls each had a friend, my baby didn't, so it because her goal to let her sisters know she was not happy about the whole situation. If I had been smart, I would have filled the tub, turned the "shets" on and let her sink into oblivion again. Heaven only knows I wanted to!

The whole afternoon did lead to a very nice date night after hubby came home and I declared I needed to get out. I love going out and just enjoying hanging out with my hubby. Sometimes there is very little said, ok.....maybe not by me, but he is a good sport and we have a good time. As a reward for babysitting while we went out on Friday night, I took the girls to High School Musical 3 Saturday. It was a cute movie, not one hubby would have enjoyed, so it was good he stayed home. Next time I am leaving the baby with him so I don't have to try and coax her out of the isle, or buy her a $3.50 piece of licorice, or drag her cute little screaming behind through Walmart as we ran errands on the way home. I am sure we were a sight to behold. Too bad there isn't a mute button we can push in times like that. Wouldn't that look funny.

Anyway, I am always sad to see the week-end pass and start the new week all over again. There is just something magical about being able to take the time to enjoy life just a little more, spend a little more time with each other, and take the time to enjoy the bubbles.

Friends

First of all, I am a little wierd about posting my kids names on my blog. I don't know why, I have very few readers, and yet after all the scary stories you hear, I just don't want to risk it. Those who know my girls will know who I am talking about when I talk about B (my oldest), M & M (the middle child), and "my baby", even though she is three years old now. For those who don't know my girls, it really doesn't matter who is how old, just that they are three amazing girls who keep me hopping. Silly I know, but makes me feel just a little bit better.

Anyway, today was supposed to be a major playdate day at our house. I am not good at arranging playdates. I forget how I used to spend every waking hour I could at my friend's houses. Anywhere was better than my house. Not that my house was a bad place, it just wasn't as fun as somewhere else. My children seem to have inherited the love of playing at thier friends houses. Today however, things just haven't worked out for them and here they sit waiting for the phone to ring. Takes me back to the good ol' days, except back then we could just hop on our bikes and see who was out and about. I also understand why my mom wanted us outside. More quiet, less mess. I am trying to get the nerve up to call one of "my baby's" friends for a playdate, but the thought of two three year olds running the house just makes me twitch.

I have also thought alot today about how lucky I am to have the great friends I have. Not all women are blessed with other women they can trust. I have old friends and new friends, all of whom I treasure. As I watch my girls wait for the phone to ring, I know I still get excited when my friends call to go to lunch, head to the mall, or just hang out. The playgroup we have belonged to still goes to lunch monthly even though I am the only one with children still at home. I know the past year I have relied on my friends a lot and am so thankful for the amazing circle of friends I have.

I wanted to share the fun ornament I made today while stampin with one of my friends. It is for my card swap next week. It is fairly simple to put together if you don't mind a glitter mess. I cut the snowflakes out of chipboard using the big shot and the large snowflake die. Then I used versamark to put heat and stick powder over the entire snowflake. Melt the heat and stick powder with a heat gun and sprinkle with the cosmo glitter from Stampin UP. Then I just put a ribbon through one of the hole and it makes a cute ornament with lots of sparkle. I hope the women in my group like them. They are very talented and I feel blessed to be able to be a part of thier group also.

Well M&M just got a call for a playdate tomorrow. The day is not lost and now we just need to figure out what to do for B. Looks like another day full of friends at our house tomorrow.......and that is always a good thing.

Home again, Home again....

It is always nice to come home from a trip away from home, but this trip was a little different. First of all, I don't have any pictures of the trip because I left the camera home so the girls could take pictures of Halloween for me. (Don't they look amazing, except for little miss "I don't want to wear my pink cowgirl hat"). I am always excited for a little break away from home, and it's even better if I get to go on an airplane. Second, Who plans a convention over Halloween? Just about killed me to leave the girls. They have planned next years convention over Halloween too, so there is a good chance we won't be going. The third reason we were dragging our feet is this is the first time we have ever had to make our own travel arrangements. Pretty sad, but that was my brother-in-law Bob's job. Bob passed away almost a year ago and it was really hard to even think about convention without him, let alone do his job. He was on our mind all week-end, but we managed. It just wasn't the same without him.

When we got there, time just went too fast. This was my first time to Tucson. The hotel was amazing. (We stayed at the JW Marriot Resort and Spa) The weather was gorgeous. I had the opportunity to just sit back and relax for the whole week-end. I really could have stayed a few more days. Being pampered is something I could get used to. I don't think I would ever want to live there, but it was just the thing I needed. I got to experience things I never knew existed. For breakfast one morning we got to go to a sashet bar. We got to take a cute little bag and put aromatherapy stuff in it to make your purse smell gook. It was fun to put that together, although my hubby thought it looked like a bag of marajuana. He is such a man. For dinner that night I experienced my first "tasting menu." If you don't know what that is, you get three small portions of an appetizer, main menu and desert. The presentation was amazing. If you are ever in the Tucson area and have some extra $ to spend, I would highly recommend Acacia for dinner. The little protions were really cute, and a lot of fun. We don't have much of that kind of stuff where I live. I even got to taste the Arizona version of Kobe beef. It was delicious. Anyway, it was really hard to get on the plane and come home.

Now that I am home I have an adorable three year old who will not stray more than about a foot from me and she would really rather be on my lap. I am once again drowning in laundry, trying to figure out where grandma put stuff while we were gone, and getting everyone back on a schedule.

One really strange thing I found when we got home was a soaking wet roll of toilet paper on the counter in the laundry room. I really wondered if grandma was losing it. Then after a monster storm last night, I walked in the laundry room to find a bunch of soaking wet stuff on the counter again, right where the toilet paper had been. Apparently we have sprung a leak in the roof somewhere. Not exactally what I wanted to come home to, but at least I know grandma is not losing it, in fact that roll of toilet paper probably soaked up what would have been a big mess.

Anyway, happy voting today. We have gone and voted and now all we can do is hope for the best. Happy Tuesday!