I wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. We had an exciting morning of new toys and games.
Our plans have changed a bit because my wonderful mother-in-law is sick. We were supposed to go to her house for brunch but we instead are headed to the nursing home where my father-in-law lives to have our brunch there. IT will be weird without her there but she is sick. I pray she gets well soon....
Then we will head over to my sister's house for dinner . My mom, Nanny, my brother and family will all be there.
I hope you all enjoy the day. Count the many blessings God has given us. I know I am.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Back by popular demand!
Ok- It seems my "tree tour" was a hit and as I sat looking at it, I found that I left out some of my favorites....So here are a few more....
The church gave me this one. On the back it has J's baptism date on it.
How 'bout them O's???
Here is another one from my aunt.
My mom's ex boyfriend gave us this ornament from the White House. It is so ornate and pretty!
Another one of my favorites! I bought this in Texas, maybe in 1994 0r 95. My sister, dad and I went to Texas to have Christmas with my grandmother Trudy. A Santa chili peper really says Christmas in Texas!
I try to buy an ornament from any vacation we take. This is from Disney in 2007. (Now that I put that one up, I forgot to take a pic of another one from a favorite vacation spot! Darn it!)
More angels....
This one is from my dad...Love the angels face, don't you?
My best friend made this angel for me and it makes me giggle. I alwys call it my "Dolly Parton" angel!
Another "B".....
A "bee" tree. My sister in law found it.....it goes with the whole "Bee" thing....
My tree......
When Paul and I started dating, he bought me this ornament, well, an ornament just like this one. In my moves from here to there and back again, I lost it. I felt awful, so I went on Ebay and found it. Phew.....
The church gave me this one. On the back it has J's baptism date on it.
Ever hear the story of the Christmas pickle? It is some German tradition where the pickle is hidden in the tree and whoever finds it on Christmas morning gets a special prize. Well, we must have 5 pickles becasue my mom always forgets that she has already gotten us one and gives us new ones.
How 'bout them O's???
Here is another one from my aunt.
My mom's ex boyfriend gave us this ornament from the White House. It is so ornate and pretty!
Another one of my favorites! I bought this in Texas, maybe in 1994 0r 95. My sister, dad and I went to Texas to have Christmas with my grandmother Trudy. A Santa chili peper really says Christmas in Texas!
I try to buy an ornament from any vacation we take. This is from Disney in 2007. (Now that I put that one up, I forgot to take a pic of another one from a favorite vacation spot! Darn it!)
More angels....
This one is from my dad...Love the angels face, don't you?
My best friend made this angel for me and it makes me giggle. I alwys call it my "Dolly Parton" angel!
Another "B".....
A "bee" tree. My sister in law found it.....it goes with the whole "Bee" thing....
My tree......
Why I love my Christmas Tree
I love my tree. Not just this year, but every year. The reason, you ask? Well, it is purely because of the ornaments. I am not one of those people who have a tree with all color coordinated ornaments, garland and lights. In my eyes, the tree is for remembering. Each ornament on my tree has some significance to my life starting back when I was little. So now, if I may, I'd like to take you on a tour of my tree....
My pop-pop loves Cardinals. He always spotted them in the snow. This is my cardinal ornament in memory of my pop-pop. I miss him still.
This is the obligatory Teacher ornament. There are about 6 teacher ornaments on my tree. Sounds horrible, but I only keep the "nice" ones. This one was given to me by a boy my first year as a teacher. It is a little snow globe and I love it.
Just bought this yesterday. Love the word "joy", loved the colors and love the polka dots!
The year J was born, my sister cross-stitched this for him. The back says "J's First Christmas 2003"
My pop-pop loves Cardinals. He always spotted them in the snow. This is my cardinal ornament in memory of my pop-pop. I miss him still.
This is the obligatory Teacher ornament. There are about 6 teacher ornaments on my tree. Sounds horrible, but I only keep the "nice" ones. This one was given to me by a boy my first year as a teacher. It is a little snow globe and I love it.
Just bought this yesterday. Love the word "joy", loved the colors and love the polka dots!
Long ago, my Aunt made us kids ornaments each year. I am sure Becky, Kristin and Jenny all have these ornaments on there tree too! They are special to me because I remember looking forward to getting them each year. I have a few others as well, but they were in the back of the tree. This Raggedy Anne is one of my faves because my grandmother made me a Raggedy Anne doll.
This one has a story. The first year Paul and I dated, we went to Ocean City. I bought him a crab ornament, like this one to commemorate the trip. It got crushed into a million pieces. He was so devastated that he drove 3 hours back to the store months later to get a replacement. Ol' softy!
The same year, my best friend and I decided to make ornaments. We made reindeer using Christmas balls but since Paul loves racquetball, I made him one out of a racquetball!
One year, BC (before children) we went to New York City. I bought this for him at Macy's.
Paul made this last year, when Miss M was born. It has a picture of my babies in it. J looked at it this year and said, "That isn't M! That is a little baby!"
Since I was little, I collect angel ornaments. Again, I get them from everyone, but only hang up the "nice" ones.
This one has a story. The first year Paul and I dated, we went to Ocean City. I bought him a crab ornament, like this one to commemorate the trip. It got crushed into a million pieces. He was so devastated that he drove 3 hours back to the store months later to get a replacement. Ol' softy!
The same year, my best friend and I decided to make ornaments. We made reindeer using Christmas balls but since Paul loves racquetball, I made him one out of a racquetball!
One year, BC (before children) we went to New York City. I bought this for him at Macy's.
Paul made this last year, when Miss M was born. It has a picture of my babies in it. J looked at it this year and said, "That isn't M! That is a little baby!"
Since I was little, I collect angel ornaments. Again, I get them from everyone, but only hang up the "nice" ones. This is one from my sis-in-law. She knows I love S'mores and it is an angel.
This is from my sister. The little drop says sisters, although, I haven't taken the wrap off, three years later!
These are super old. I have had them since I was little. They were on my parent's tree and now mine. I must have a bajillion other angels on my tree as well.
J's school has a "Santa's Workshop" where they sell cheap junk for kids to buy their family and friends. Last year, J bought this screw eraser for Miss M. We thought it was hysterical and so we made an ornament out of it. Talk about a fun memory!
I "earned" a nickname in high school---the Queen Bee. Now that my last name begins with a " B", I get a lot of cool Bee ornaments, both the insect and the letter. My wonderful sister finds the coolest ones....ones that are very unique and ornate.
One of my favorite Bees...
This is another from the collection my aunt gave/made me. We all got crayons that year. Very creative huh?
Gotta support out team! This is one of Paul's favorites!
One year, I lived with my two "besties". This is the ornament that reminds me of that year, since this is the one we got to commemorate the year at 21 Benn!
Now I feel like I left out some other memorable ornaments. Maybe I will add to this post later on. Hope you enjoyed the tour!
This is from my sister. The little drop says sisters, although, I haven't taken the wrap off, three years later!
These are super old. I have had them since I was little. They were on my parent's tree and now mine. I must have a bajillion other angels on my tree as well.
J's school has a "Santa's Workshop" where they sell cheap junk for kids to buy their family and friends. Last year, J bought this screw eraser for Miss M. We thought it was hysterical and so we made an ornament out of it. Talk about a fun memory!
I "earned" a nickname in high school---the Queen Bee. Now that my last name begins with a " B", I get a lot of cool Bee ornaments, both the insect and the letter. My wonderful sister finds the coolest ones....ones that are very unique and ornate. 
One of my favorite Bees...
This is another from the collection my aunt gave/made me. We all got crayons that year. Very creative huh?
Gotta support out team! This is one of Paul's favorites!
One year, I lived with my two "besties". This is the ornament that reminds me of that year, since this is the one we got to commemorate the year at 21 Benn!
Now I feel like I left out some other memorable ornaments. Maybe I will add to this post later on. Hope you enjoyed the tour!
What are your favorite ornaments?
Bad title...
I just realized how stupid my last title was..."Hammered"...sounds like I was hitting the wine...:)
I suppose if I had to be stuck in the house another day, I would have wanted some wine, but Paul and I managed to spend 2+ hours shoveling and got the cars out of the deep heavy snow.
So Sunday was better for playing (and shoveling). J loves to play and stayed outside until his skin was pink with cold!
This car was parked in the circle. After we returned from shopping, they had dug it out....Would have loved to see that process!
Here is my car Sunday morning. I brushed it off and dug around it about 2 o'clock Saturday...Can you tell?
I suppose if I had to be stuck in the house another day, I would have wanted some wine, but Paul and I managed to spend 2+ hours shoveling and got the cars out of the deep heavy snow.
This is the house about noon on Saturday. See the bushes in front of the window? You can't see them now. PLus, here is a mound of snow about 6 feet hight in the front yard from dumping the snow that was around our cars.
So Sunday was better for playing (and shoveling). J loves to play and stayed outside until his skin was pink with cold!
This car was parked in the circle. After we returned from shopping, they had dug it out....Would have loved to see that process!
Here is my car Sunday morning. I brushed it off and dug around it about 2 o'clock Saturday...Can you tell?
So after we dug, we went shopping. I had a few more gifts to buy. I was shocked to see how few people were out. To get 18- 20 inches of snow the weekend before Christmas is tough on last minute people like me. But I had no issues with the crowd. (PS- I HATE crowds. Despise people touching me to move me along. Being rude.) The lack of people was wonderful compared to Friday. I took a 1/2 day to take Miss M to get her lead test. Had about an hour before I was meeting Paul so I ventured to a craft store and Target. It was horrible. People actually walked through me. No kindness at all! I was crossing the road in a cross walk and a car never slowed down for me. People are really ugly this time of year!
So today is a SNOW DAY! Yay! I get to go shopping again, all by myself..What a treat! I still need to get Miss M a few things and such.
BTW- I am expecting my Christmas cards to arrive to day so I can mail them out. Those of you expecting one...just hold on......better late then never, like last year!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Hammered- Update
We are getting lots of snow. Like 20-30 inches. The week before Christmas. and Paul is driving to work. I am freaking out! Please say a prayer for his safety.
It is now 5:15 and I haven't heard from Paul to see if he has to do mandatory overtime. I hope not. It looks like about 18 inches out there and it is still snowing.
I did manage to take miss M out today. J played several times but M only once. Here are some pics. She didn't mind it at all!
It is now 5:15 and I haven't heard from Paul to see if he has to do mandatory overtime. I hope not. It looks like about 18 inches out there and it is still snowing.
I did manage to take miss M out today. J played several times but M only once. Here are some pics. She didn't mind it at all!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
One
Miss M is one year old today. Oh how quickly the year went!
I remember when I found out I was pregnant with her. I have to admit that I was less than thrilled. Sounds bad right? Well, I had a hard time with J. He was not a fun baby. I had lots of post-partum anxiety and such after he was born so having another scared the Bejeezes out of me...
So I prayed......and I prayed.....that #2 wouldn't be like that......and my prayer was answered..
The day my baby girl arrived was such a happy day. Not only is she a good baby, but she has brought joy to so many lives.
Did anyone else feel nervous, while pregnant with the second child, that that they couldn't possibly love another child the way they love their first? I did! But of course, the second I looked at her, I realized how silly I had been...she just made my heart grow.
So on her first b-day, Miss M...
I remember when I found out I was pregnant with her. I have to admit that I was less than thrilled. Sounds bad right? Well, I had a hard time with J. He was not a fun baby. I had lots of post-partum anxiety and such after he was born so having another scared the Bejeezes out of me...
So I prayed......and I prayed.....that #2 wouldn't be like that......and my prayer was answered..
The day my baby girl arrived was such a happy day. Not only is she a good baby, but she has brought joy to so many lives.
Did anyone else feel nervous, while pregnant with the second child, that that they couldn't possibly love another child the way they love their first? I did! But of course, the second I looked at her, I realized how silly I had been...she just made my heart grow.
So on her first b-day, Miss M...
- has only one tooth
- still has reddish hair
- doesn't say many words...just na(mom) and da (dad)
- can stand and cruise all over, but still prefers to crawl
- eats absolutely everything (unlike her brother)
- loves her brother more than anyone else!
- laughs at pretty much anything her brother says/does
- waves bye-bye, hello, and shakes her head when I say no-no
- loves the tub
- goes to bed by 6:30 almost every night and sleeps about 12 hours
- takes two naps most days
- hates to wear shoes
So happy birthday to my precious angel!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
If I was A/An, I'd Be
I was tagged this from another blog :) I tag everyone reading this who has a blog!
If I was a/an _____, I'd be ______
TV show: The Office
Song: Dancing Queen
Movie: You've Got Mail
Book: The Divine Secrets of hte Ya-Ya Sisiterhood
TV character: Pam Beasley-Halpert:)
City: San Diego California
Verb: sing
Color: pink
Animal: cat
Emotion: anxious
Article of clothing: sleep pants
Flavor: chocolate
Food: chocolate
Vice: chocolate
Plant: "Charlie Brown" Chirstmas Tree
Mythological animal:
Letter: B
Inanimate object: pillow
Scent: clean baby
Season: Fall
Fruit: peach
If I was a/an _____, I'd be ______
TV show: The Office
Song: Dancing Queen
Movie: You've Got Mail
Book: The Divine Secrets of hte Ya-Ya Sisiterhood
TV character: Pam Beasley-Halpert:)
City: San Diego California
Verb: sing
Color: pink
Animal: cat
Emotion: anxious
Article of clothing: sleep pants
Flavor: chocolate
Food: chocolate
Vice: chocolate
Plant: "Charlie Brown" Chirstmas Tree
Mythological animal:
Letter: B
Inanimate object: pillow
Scent: clean baby
Season: Fall
Fruit: peach
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
In a week
...my baby girl turns one. Can you believe it?
It is surely amazing how much babies grow in a year. I will have to begin my "Miss M turns one year!" post this week.
They are calling for snow today. I feel like a kid because I am so excited....and it isn't even a school day! With all of the stress I am dealing with right now, somehow, watching the snow makes it go away for a time. Sitting in the front window, watching the snow gives me a sense of calmness.
J starts basketball today. We kept him in clinic for one more year. He has matured a lot this year so I hope that basketball is a better experience for him. Plus, we switched rec centers. This new one is a bit further away, but last year, it was so unorganized and he didn't learn what we thought he should.
Other than that, I am no where near Christmas shopping or b-day shopping, haven't planned the food for next week.....arg...lots to do this weekend!
It is surely amazing how much babies grow in a year. I will have to begin my "Miss M turns one year!" post this week.
They are calling for snow today. I feel like a kid because I am so excited....and it isn't even a school day! With all of the stress I am dealing with right now, somehow, watching the snow makes it go away for a time. Sitting in the front window, watching the snow gives me a sense of calmness.
J starts basketball today. We kept him in clinic for one more year. He has matured a lot this year so I hope that basketball is a better experience for him. Plus, we switched rec centers. This new one is a bit further away, but last year, it was so unorganized and he didn't learn what we thought he should.
Other than that, I am no where near Christmas shopping or b-day shopping, haven't planned the food for next week.....arg...lots to do this weekend!
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