Category Archives: Holidays!

Christmas Eve Eve

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I’m ready. Really 100% ready. Gifts are wrapped and ready to be put under the tree tomorrow night. I finished getting everything I needed for Christmas dinner, and my final task of finding new pajamas for Christmas Eve.

I’m ready as I can be but so not in the Christmas spirit this year. I LOVE Christmas, usually I am just so overwhelmed with things I need to do I can’t enjoy it, but right now I am done with everything. Trying to keep the kids happy and entertained, and just not feeling it. Our family isn’t whole this Christmas and it just sucks. So I’m trying to throw my pity party and still keep it fun for the kids. It’s been crafts, outings and treats non stop around here. I still need to bake some more cookies to hand out and some sugar cookies for them to decorate. Another batch of bars bars along with Russian Tea Cakes and jam thumbprints.

Today was a trip to the local ice skating rink. Mckenna had been wanting to do it for awhile and I figured hey, right around Christmas would be the perfect time to go. I have to say I was freezing my butt off in there! I think they said it was 58 degrees! The hoodie I was wearing wasn’t cutting it. I stayed with Omar while he skated/slipped/fell around the kiddie section. Mckenna was off on her own in the big rink. I wish Omar had liked it more, he just couldn’t get the hang of it and got frustrated. It wasn’t the magical trip to the rink I had planned (why does nothing ever work out the perfect way I imagine in my head?!) but Mckenna had fun, we got out of the house, Omar had his first skating experience.

Now as I’m sitting here I am starting to feel nauseous. I don’t know if something I ate isn’t sitting right or if I’m getting a stomach bug (which it seems like everyone is getting!) Crap. Hopefully I am just imagining it because my neighbor is sick. I can’t be sick before Christmas!

Christmas Party!

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I invited my football team over for a Christmas party this week. I was a little nervous ahead of time because people are TERRIBLE r.s.v.p.ers these days. So up until people started showing up I was really only sure of two or three ladies. Thankfully more showed up. I made a giant 8lb pork butt in the crock pot and turned it into bbq pork sandwiches. Of course I had told everyone to bring sides or dessert and every. single. person. brought a dessert. Really? So I made some mac and cheese really fast. But there was plenty of food in the end. We all had a really good time, the kids had a great time, so it was pretty much a success!

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Group shot with some of my girls. Don’t worry, the pregnant one doesn’t play, she is one of our assistant coaches wives!

We ate, drank and were merry. Can’t ask for more than that.

Easy Teacher Gifts!

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Okay, these are the Christmas gifts that I got for my kiddos teachers. They would work for male or female teachers which is great because I know the guys can be hard to shop for! I totally forgot to take a picture before my kids took them in but thankfully I was in the class for a Christmas party and snuck a picture. I know, I am so weird and I’m pretty sure the other parents caught me doing it and think there is something wrong with me. But damn it! I needed photographic evidence of my cute craft!

I bought the cups and used some self adhesive vinyl and my cricut to cut out their names. You might be able to find these letters at a craft store pre-cut. I then put drink mixes including some of those Starbucks Via Iced Coffees in there. And I send in some of my bars bars I made. I hope they like them and use them. It’s a step up from the coffee cups it seems like everyone sends in. I got the cups for $6 so plus the various drink mixes I spent less than $10 per teacher. Not too bad.

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Christmas Photo Shoot

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I think pretty much everyone has gotten our Christmas cards so I can share some of the pictures I took. The kids did GREAT for me (especially Mckenna, she does love a photo shoot) and Omar only took minimal yelling at to keep in line! I love, love, love these pictures.

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Sorry, I win for cutest kids on the planet!

Diving into Christmas Break

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I don’t know whose idea it was to let the kids out already for break but it’s killing me.

Two and a half weeks of days to entertain my kids. Honestly it would be that bad, except for the fact that I have one child who wants nothing but to stay home, and one child who wants to be going, going, going.

This was our fourth day off of school. So far we have painted pottery, gone out for lunch, gone to the movies and checked out a stack of books from the library. I have a stack of Christmas craft ideas that I want to pull out, cookies to be baked and, if the weather would warm up, beach days ahead.

Of course I still have boxes of gifts that HAVE to be mailed TOMORROW! I tried going to the main office today but the line of cars to get into the parking lot was blocking street traffic and the post office on base was closed already. 4pm during the holidays? Absurd! Oh and I have to go to the commissary tomorrow too, crap.

Also my poor dog is going a little stir crazy I think… I’ve been taking him for a walk around our neighborhood while the kids are in school and haven’t since they’ve been out. Plus with all the rain the dog park is too muddy. I might have to drag the kids along for a walk so he’s not stuck in the house for another day either.

I got my Christmas cards today, I am really bummed by the way they turned out. I get the majority of them sent straight to my friends but have some come to me for all of my local friends. They were really dark. I do not love the printing job. So I am going to call Hallmark and yell at them. Which is pointless because they can’t really fix it. All the cards are out already. But I am upset because I loved the pictures I took of the kids!

Seriously, Self?

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Today I had a busy day of Family Readiness Group training. It was a really informative day, I learned a ton of information and I had a great time with my board members. I am REALLY excited to actually start with all of the activities and fundraisers we have planned. We are going to have an awesome FRG and hopefully have a great turnout from spouses!

So in my rush to get out the door this morning I left my keys inside. Our door has a lock that turns from the inside even if it’s locked, and as I was shutting the door I was looking inside my purse for my keys so I could turn the deadbolt. No keys. Mckenna had run to get the mail the day before so I am solidly blaming the entire mess on her. Well I knew there was no point in doing anything then so I waited until we were on the way home to call, what was supposed to be a 30 minute wait for maintenance turned into an hour and a half and probably would have been longer had one of the resident service office employees taken pity on me after repeated calls, so she went and grabbed the keys herself. I need to take her cookies or something.

Well that ruined my afternoon and made me grumpy and cold and it was raining outside so I decided to skip football practice. I know, horrible of me, but come on! It was raining, what are my kids supposed to do? Just sit in the car for an hour and a half? Miserable. So I am a team flake. Terrible. I’ll try and do some conditioning on my own time to make up for it!

Lesson learned, one I haven’t had to learn in DECADES. Keys in hand BEFORE you close the front door. (And if you take the keys out of mom’s purse, put them back!)

Tomorrow we are planning to go see Rise of the Guardians and I am DETERMINED to get my last few things purchased AND mailed off tomorrow. I am so very close!